Airports are no longer just travel hubs, and law enforcement’s role there isn’t to protect aviation from terrorists. We set up the TSA Secure Flight system to let government screen passengers who posed a terrorist risk to airplanes.
Now that the government scoops up the name, date of birth, gender and itinerary of every passenger they now funnel potential immigration matches to ICE, letting agents know exactly when and where to intercept someone. It’s the sort of mission creep that advocates of the system said could never happen, calling critics unhinged for even suggesting it.
- Plainclothes ICE agents now make arrests at check-in counters, gates and baggage claim – at at least 15 airports in recent weeks.
- Targets include visa overstayers without criminal records, spouses of U.S. citizens, students and skilled workers. Some have pending applications for asylum, adjustment of status and even proper work authorization.
- The TSA–ICE partnership has produced more than 800 arrests so far during the Trump administration.
To be clear, an expired visa does not necessarily mean someone is unlawfully present. A visa controls admission. Presence after visa expiration can still be legal because immigration status and an authorized period of stay are separate. A person with an adjustment of status application may not be ‘illegal’.
But airports are ideal ambush points. The government receives advance notice of travel, knows precisely where the person will be, and they’ve already passed through security where they’ve been screened for weapons. The government now tracks travel as a means of seizing persons of interest and this can easily be expanded beyond immigration.
Furthermore, ICE itself no longer focuses its airport enforcement on security threats, let alone criminals or people with final removal orders. It is using passenger manifests to find ordinary civil immigration violations, including in cases that are still being adjudicated by the U.S. Citzenship and Immigration Service.
A far cry from TSA accepting arrest warrants from undocumented immigrants as ID for airport security just four years ago! In the past few weeks I’ve written about,
- A 57-year old Australian citizen who had overstayed his legal presence. After the plainclothes agents abandoned their attempted arrest at Las Vegas airport, leaving a handcuff attached to him, airport police removed it and the man boarded his flight. ICE arrested him at LAX.
- A Southwest flight attendant in Nashville just off a trip. The Jamaican citizen had entered legally and had both an active asylum claim and work authorization. He hadn’t departed at the end of his original six month entry permission but has no criminal record.
You can believe strongly that immigration laws should be enforced and still have strong concerns about the government tracking all domestic travel and using it as an opportunity to take down minor targets.
- Secure Flight was built to stop terrorism, not identify people with paperwork violations. Data collected for one narrow security purpose has become a general surveillance tool.
- Americans have traditionally been free to move around the country without proving their immigration status.
- This diverts resources from genuine threats. Agents waiting at gates for peaceful visa overstayers aren’t investigating trafficking, violent crime or aviation threats.
- Administrative violations are treated like security threats. Overstaying an admission period is generally a civil matter. Conflating it with airport security is dangerous.
- Immigration status can be complicated (because the law is complicated), involving pending asylum claims, extensions, appeals and work authorization. An itinerary matched against an imperfect database now creates takedowns before resolving actual facts. That punishes people for government dysfunction.
- Plainclothes arrests create an actual security risk. Passengers at the Las Vegas airport thought the man being arrested was being mugged. The agents ran off because they appeared to be the threat to law-abiding travelers around them.
- People with valid work permits, pending cases or mixed-status families may avoid flying, reporting crimes or cooperating with government because they cannot trust how their data will be repurposed. This makes crimes against this community profitable, promoting lawlessness by citizens.
- There’s no principle that keeps the data from being used for taxes, debts, or political investigations. Even if you favor that power being exercised by the current administration, will you like it when it’s exercised by the next one, with different targets?
In an article in the months after 9/11 I warned about the militarization of airports. I also argued that concentrating passengers in security lines created a new target; moving the perimeter simply relocated that vulnerability; burdensome screening diverted travelers to riskier highways; and greater restriction therefore reduced both liberty and actual safety.
I wasn’t especially insightful. It was obvious where we were headed. I thought at the time that our response to 9/11 at the airports should satisfy three tests: legitimate security objective, actual effectiveness and least-restrictive means. That is not the path we chose.
Get them out. Period
Regardless of how one feels about immigration enforcement, this should serve as a reminder that every bit of privacy or freedom that is given over to the government will inevitably be used in ways far different from what was originally intended and likely eventually in a way you find problematic.
No problem-if you don’t break the law and follow immigration rules you will be fine. Most developed countries are at least as aggressive at enforcing immigration law as the US
Great job Ice! Even this publication has forgot the truth! ILLEGALS! Criminals!
Hmm, interesting take.
“This diverts resources from genuine threats. Agents waiting at gates for peaceful visa overstayers aren’t investigating trafficking, violent crime or aviation threats.” Ask family members of those lost on 9-11 if they wish security had been better.
“Administrative violations are treated like security threats. Overstaying an admission period is generally a civil matter. Conflating it with airport security is dangerous.” Is it? If you are here legally you should not violate the law. Get with your consulate or ours and make sure information is updated.
“… imperfect database now creates takedowns before resolving actual facts. That punishes people for government dysfunction.” I love this one. Union Government Employees not doing their job efficiently is the reason. Cool.
“Plainclothes arrests create an actual security risk. Passengers at the Las Vegas airport thought the man being arrested was being mugged. The agents ran off because they appeared to be the threat to law-abiding travelers around them.” This is total BS. Do we abolish plain clothes officers? No what happened is brainwashed, childish libs thru a fit and the officers backed away.
“There’s no principle that keeps the data from being used for taxes, debts, or political investigations. Even if you favor that power being exercised by the current administration, will you like it when it’s exercised by the next one, with different targets?” Good point. If only the last administration had not allowed so many unvetted, non-vaccinated, illegal invaders into the country.
@Retired Gambler I agree and also the HB1 Visa is out of control. In some ways it’s worse than illegal immigration as it takes away good paying jobs.
The liberals are all for the “worker” unless it involves an illegal, HB1 visa or offshoring taking away their jobs.
This is the safest way for everyone involved. Officers won’t be rammed by vehicles everyone has been disarmed. Genius. There’s outrage when it’s done on the streets and now outrage when it’s done at the airport. Please advise where can law enforcement officers actually enforce the law?
What part of “illegal” don’t you understand? Suicidal empathy is really stupid.
Seems this airplane has just a Leff wing?
I can’t wait for the day a Democratic president makes being a republican illegal and start arresting registered republicans at airports and churches with her secret police force. Tread on me harder.
Get rid of the Brownshirts in Black. Get rid of the mall cops that infest our airports with their Anal Logic. Airlines handled security before 9/11 and did it pretty well. One bad day should not have invalidated that system.
@George Romney – I wouldn’t be surprised. During the last administration senior citizens were arrested for going to church, praying near an abortion clinic and kids playing in playgrounds. But it was OK to protest for their pet causes.
^^Oh, look a far-right circle-jerk. Gary, at this rate, why not just rename it ‘View from the Right Wing.’
@1990 – Hey Cool guy – trolling for illegal invaders to sign up for the elections?
Since when if following the law “far-right wing”? Just being light hearted everyone here knows you only follow laws that you agree with.
Very happy that ICE is using the info to deport people here illegally. Don’t care about their story. I’m first generation and my family followed the rules to legally enter the US and become naturalized citizens.
No surprise this would bring out a few MAGA “AMERICA IS FOR WHITE CHRISTIANS ONLY!” crew.
Nothing against white Christians at all btw, I know a lot of truly good people that are white Christians. I also know a lot of people of other faiths and ethnicities that are also very good people and just as American as anyone. That is what made America the great country it is. The melting pot of immigrants that came here to escape hatred and repression.
Sadly, ICE is taking a page out of 1930’s Germany and creating an America that history will show was a very dark period for us. ICE is going after people that are not a threat to America, in fact many are good people that are contributing to the economy and are being lumped in with the criminal element that should be deported. Too many ICE agents are poorly trained, weakly vetted and given a gun and a badge to wreak havoc on America. They are giving the many good law enforcement personal in our country a black eye.
@JohnW — Well said and thank you. Now, prepare to be ‘attacked’ by a bunch of online-haters.
@JohnW – Yawn. You libs are very transparent and simplistic. However, you do excel at strawman. MAGA does not believe in what you wrote. Do your research. We welcome legal immigration. My mother immigrated from WW2 Germany in 1957. My fathers parents from the early 1900s.
So legal immigration – 100%. Illegal invasion by any skin color or religion – no, GTFO.
Hope your brain can handle the nuance.
@1990 – As noted many times by many posters you are the hater. You prefer the online echo chamber.
@John@ – “Too many ICE agents are poorly trained, weakly vetted and given a gun and a badge to wreak havoc on America. They are giving the many good law enforcement personal in our country a black eye.”
Oh please cite your source for this lie – MSNOW? The DNC? Huffington Post?
Illegally in the country sounds illegal to me.
If it is an overstayed the Visa situation, the person knows they have overstayed and should have taken steps to correct that situation or risk the consequences. No amount of excuses or buts can excuse the fact that if you entered this country illegally you are an illegal. It is not as if ICE has been a secret. States such as Minnesota, California, Illinois, New York have made the task of weeding out the Criminal element virtually impossible. That leaves us with Murderers, Rapists, Child Traffickers and all the other criminal element that came in illegally. Had there ever been proper support to let them do their job, they would not have to hang around airports.
Let them do the job they should be doing or go with the consequences.
No government given powers like those described in this article has ever been able to resist abusing them.
Gary, since this comment section has already gone full-cuckoo-bananas, before I forget, I just wanted to say: I read your article, appreciate the nuance, and agree that it’s unfortunate how the TSA’s Secure Flight system has been weaponized into a domestic mass-surveillance tool to ambush travelers for civil immigration violations.
This is classic ‘mission creep.’ Paperwork infractions are not security threats. Executing plainclothes takedowns in crowded terminals creates unnecessary confusion and safety hazards. Diverting law enforcement to sit at gates for peaceful individuals wastes resources that should be dedicated to investigating actual threats, violent crime, or human trafficking (ya know, the ‘worst of the worst’ like was promised…)
Finally, anyone who actually cares about civil liberties should be ‘up in arms’ over this, especially given how it threatens basic freedom of movement within the US. And, future administrations might repurpose this traveler data for other uses, like tracking tax debts or political targets. Yet, instead of engaging with that reality, commenters are tripling-down. Such overreach isn’t healthy, for aviation security or civil liberties. (Nah, get those quick-‘wins’ in, folks. ‘Own’ those libs!)
@ Michael Mainello — Are you stupid, or just act stupid?
@1990 when you try to be me at least spell my last name correct. What a loser you are? BTW, care to reveal your actual name? I thought so.
@Retired Gambler, @G19JHP, @Michael Mainello — On the “just follow the law” trope, immigration status isn’t a simple binary. US processing backlogs take years. Many travelers being intercepted have active work authorizations, pending asylum claims, or pending adjustment applications. Now, we could properly fund the administrative side of processing those…
@UnitedEF — On airport safety, tactical ‘convenience’ for agents isn’t the same as safety for the flying public. Plainclothes takedowns in crowded, high-stress terminals cause panic and confusion, like the Las Vegas incident that Gary posted about where officers had to abandon an arrest because bystanders thought a mugging was in progress.
@Travelgirl, @Don, @Ja7 — On the surveillance precedent, you can favor hardline immigration enforcement and still see the dangers of mission creep. Secure Flight was created to stop aviation terror incidents. Turning domestic airport security into a general civil surveillance dragnet opens a door that future administrations will inevitably repurpose for other targets. Ask yourselves, would you be comfortable with a future administration using that same tracking infrastructure against targets you care about? Of course not.
@George Nathan Romey — You do not need to believe me, but, no, I did not impersonate you above. Nor, am I interested in ‘doxing’ anyone. I think we can have fun conversation, regardless.
@1990 – Fear mongering got us into this situation. 9-11 happened because we were afraid to question strange behavior. Many citizens have been killed because illegal immigrants were allowed to stay in this country.
These agents are doing their job and all the fear mongering divides the country.
BTW – The IRS (aka theirs) is far more intrusive.
The bottomline is illegal is illegal and if you are in America or any other country for that matter, you follow the law.
Airports have always been a good place to arrest people wanted by the law.
Perhaps the TSA–ICE partnership have made arrests more efficient.
I’m glad.
I want ICE to deport so many illegals that I NEVER have to press “1” for English ever again!
If anyone wants to call me names that’s fine with me.
Liberal outrage makes me smile and laugh!
This is a hot button topic for my pal @1990 in NYC.
@1990 you are welcome to have the last word…
@Michael Mainello — I’m not gonna say the September 11 attacks happened for any one single reason. It was a multiplicity of factors and failures, and we’re very much still dealing with the fallout today, even as we approach its 25th anniversary. As someone who lives nearby the Memorial here, I can assure you we have not forgotten. However, honoring that memory means maintaining real security focus, not scapegoating all immigrants or turning anti-terror systems into civil dragnets.
@OnePatriot77 — We can and should protect both aviation safety and civil liberties. Cheering on government surveillance dragnets because you don’t like pressing “1” for English isn’t patriotism.
Besides, shouldn’t you take that complaint up with the for-profit corporations that offshored all those call center jobs in the first place? Those management teams and shareholders slashed domestic jobs and customer service quality just to boost their overhead margins.
@1990 – as one of the greatest presidents in the US said, there you go again.
– ” scapegoating all immigrants.” I don’t and nor does anyone on this site.
– “honoring that memory means maintaining real security focus” and I agree with you, but using the systems available is a good idea, that could be abused. But it hasn’t been.
-“I can assure you we have not forgotten” Oh I disagree 100%. Just look at communist NYC that you live in.
You voted for this repeatedly, Gary.
@Michael Mainello — Thank you for bringing up President Reagan. Within this context, he was actually a champion of broad immigration reform and legal amnesty, signing the 1986 reform that granted legal status to millions, something that seems sadly rejected by today’s party.
When you lump active asylum applicants and work-permit holders in with violent criminals as “invaders,” that is definitively scapegoating.
Constitutional limits on government surveillance aren’t regional; they apply equally in New York, Texas, Florida, and everywhere else in the country.
And finally, calling NYC “communist” is certainly a take; someone should probably let those capitalists down on Wall Street know!
@1990 – Let me tell you the whole truth.
“…signing the 1986 reform that granted legal status to millions, something that seems sadly rejected by today’s party.” President Reagan regretted that decision because the Democrats didn’t hold their end of the bargin in illegal immigration enforcement especially the wall. This is standard practice amongst Demomcrats.
“When you lump active asylum applicants and work-permit holders in with violent criminals as “invaders,” that is definitively scapegoating.” Not sure who you referring to here, but that is not me nor other conservatives. If you follow the law then you should stay, break into the country – bye bye. Another strawman of yours defeated.
“And finally, calling NYC “communist” is certainly a take; someone should probably let those capitalists down on Wall Street know!” Well they are beginning to look at leaving NYC due to the Free this and free that and tax the wealthy more here and there. Even Gov Cruella Hochel is begging tax payers to return.
Nice try though.
@Michael Mainello — The 1986 bill was a bipartisan compromise by Congress; not a ‘wall deal.’ Reagan repeatedly recognized that millions of non-citizens were contributing to the economy and deserved a path to legalization. Pointing to subsequent political disputes doesn’t change the fact that the conservative icon of the 80s supported broad legal status over mass roundups.
It’s not a strawman when multiple comments in this thread explicitly label visa overstayers and people awaiting adjudication as “illegals,” “criminals,” and an “invasion.” That is conflating civil administrative backlogs with criminal threats.
Wall Street remains the financial capital of the world, and NYC remains the primary engine of global capital markets. Hyperbolic political theater doesn’t change the economic reality.
@Tuck – what makes you think *that*?
@1990 – Again, you are a master at not answering the facts.
“Funding Shortfalls: Congress failed to consistently fund and aggressively enforce the promised border security upgrades and workplace audits.Unintended Consequences: Because the enforcement pillars failed to deter future unlawful entry, the undocumented population in the U.S. began to grow rapidly again in the years following the bill’s passage.”
“visa overstayers” They are criminals as they are in other countries not just those in the US.
“…people awaiting adjudication as “illegals,”” They could be, but these people have the same access to courts if arrested.
“Wall Street remains the financial capital of the world” Yes it is and it helps fund all the free stuff that NYC wants to give your fellow citizens. What I said was “they are beginning to look at leaving NYC due to the Free this and free that and tax the wealthy more here and there. Even Gov Cruella Hochel is begging tax payers to return.” California and Illinois have lost a lot of companies due to their suffocating state taxes (you know that is why prices remain high in blue states) and WS is looking at how to remain competitive due to the suffocating taxes imposed on the rich in NYC.
This is why your affordability BS goes over so well in blue states. Poor education and brainwashing.
@Michael Mainello — (Pardon my delay; was helping @Patrick out with a Hilton Aspire downgrade decision on Gary’s other post. You know, you can talk cards, hotels, and frequent flyer programs on here, too! Wild stuff. But hey, you do you.)
Let’s clean this up: Overstays are a civil administrative violation under federal law, not a crime. Next, having access to immigration court doesn’t justify using an anti-terrorism database to execute plainclothes takedowns in gate areas for civil paperwork delays. Finally, post-1986 funding disputes don’t change the historical fact that Reagan signed and championed broad legal amnesty for millions.
What’s your endgame here? Not in this comment section, but, like, if everything went 100% Mike’s way? Is it mass deportation of anyone without citizenship, followed by shifting the definition of who counts as a citizen? Where does the line actually stop for you?
Its a brilliant strategy but resource intensive. We need a higher volume strategy. 20 million more to go!
Bottom line: Every person in the USA illegally must leave or be forced to leave.
@1990. Once again you’re wrong. The 911 attacks happened for one reason and one reason only. Because people like you invited it. We don’t desire
to harm you personally, it’s the ideology that causes the problem. That being said, there is no doubt this world would be a far better place without you and your ilk in it.
@1990 – I never said it changed the fact he signed it. But he signed it because DEMOCRATS promised to fund the wall and enforcement, DEMOCRATS did not honor their word. This is par for the course and why bi-partisan immigration reform won’t happen right now. Republicans know that Democrats lie and can’t be trusted.
My end game – First you are very cynical and love to project. I want a country of citizens and immigrants that followed the law. Don’t care that visa overstays are administrative, they are here illegally – administrative or not. Notice I never said white, nor Christian so don’t ass u me.
“if everything went 100% Mike’s way” I prefer discussion of all people, unfortunately like President Reagan and Charlie Kirk discovered, in their current form Democrats can’t be trusted. Just 20 to 30 years ago Democrats like your Senator Schumer and sHillary Clinton supported deporation of illegals. Now you have drinks with them (probably on tax payer funds).
@Mike s — Wishing that people who disagree with you politically didn’t “exist” isn’t a solution. Don’t you see the peak irony in your making an extreme statement like that… while invoking 9/11?
@Michael Mainello — Dismissing federal law as “just administrative” while claiming to care about “following the law” is the contradiction we’ve been talking about. Civil administrative backlogs are legally distinct from criminal offenses. (Drink responsibly!)
@1990 – there you go again. As I said earlier, the courts will ejudicate. If they are on the list, then they can be detained. If a union government employee made a mistake putting that person on the list then the courts will allow the person to stay.
Work on your reading comprehension.
@Michael Mainello — It’s not about your or my reading comprehension; it’s about the jurisdiction, here. Recall that ‘TSA Watchlist’ was created under Title 49 for aviation security threats, not civil immigration processing under Title 8. An immigration judge has no authority to fix an improper ‘security watchlist’ designation, and a terror-screening database isn’t meant to execute civil warrants. My point (and Gary’s, actually) remains that our government is increasingly misusing anti-terror tools for civil enforcement.
@1990 – I hear you, just disagree. Democrats love to go to court, let it be sorted out. If a person is on a list showing immigration issues then they are fair game.
@Michael Mainello — Replacing the rule of law with “if you’re on a list, you’re fair game” is authoritarian.
@1990 – You are really cherry picking today, now you know why we don’t trust Democrats. Re-read and comprehend the entire quote, not just half of it.
at least we don’t have checkpoints like in Panama, Belize, Colombia, and other places.
All of this could have been avoided, but we were PROMISED by the LEFT and our past administration there WAS no immigration problem, the southern border was just FINE, and all of this was just a hoax.
Its a shame they didn’t push back even a little bit. Now they’ve imported basicly the State of Florida with hopes of converting all those illegals into voters, democrat voters. But what its done is push the LEGAL immigrants with citizenship a lot more to the right… you know, people who followed the rules, spent thousands, and waited their turn to enter legally.
@haolenate — Checkpoints do already exist. Border Patrol operates dozens of interior highway checkpoints across the US every day. Non-citizen voting is already a felony that triggers instant deportation and a lifetime ban. If legal immigration is all about “following the rules,” then government agencies need to follow the law, too. Blaming “the Left” doesn’t change the law.
The issue to several of the comments is that it seems that in a few cases, there’s a real problem with databases not talking to one another and so if an overriding permission is issued from “somewhere else” you might still have a flag in the system.
@Gray — Yup, these ‘lists’ are notoriously out-of-sync and prone to administrative error, leading to people with valid legal status getting swept-up when they should not be. This is why the “if you’re on a list, you’re fair game” approach is also flawed.
@1990 – referencing your checkpoint response to @haolenate. How can we check if illegal invaders are voting if we don’t check IDs at the polling booth, 75%+ of all Americans support this to include Democrats. Do you support voter ID laws? If not should I be able to purchase alcohol or weapons just by saying a name and ensuring it is on a list? Or mail in weapons purchases? Since I am on the rolls as legal, then I can get my guns thru the mail?
@Michael Mainello — World Cup ended over a week ago, yet here you are attempting to shift goal posts to voter ID and mail-order guns. Changing the subject doesn’t change the law; agencies still have to follow Title 8 and 49.
@1990 – so do agree with voter ID, good to know.
@Michael Mainello — Putting words in my mouth won’t rescue your (lack of an) argument. Changing the subject won’t rewrite Title 8 or 49.
@1990 – You are the one that introduced voting to the discussion – “Non-citizen voting is already a felony that triggers instant deportation and a lifetime ban.” Those are your words.
So I asked your position and since you didn’t say you were against voter ID, then you are for it.
With regards to your ICE issue, how many people has ICE “snatched off the street” using the traveler DB? Is this a non-issue so you Democrats can stir up your base? if it is a problem I am sure it can be fixed easily.
@Michael Mainello — Pointing out to another commenter (haolenate) that non-citizen voting is already a federal felony was not inviting an unrelated debate on Voter ID. Co-opting Title 49 travel databases for Title 8 civil immigration enforcement violates statutory limits. If an agency exceeds its legal authority, it’s an administrative law violation, no matter how much you try to minimize it.
@1990 – whatever floats your boat. If you see it as a major problem, then sue the government. You have yet to show it is being abused. You argument is factual but week. Lots of “Ifs” and “buts” .
And as usual you didn’t anwer a question. Voter ID? Yes or No.
@Michael Mainello — Agencies are bound by statutory limits whether you personally care about procedural overreach or not. Demanding a “Yes or No” on an unrelated political topic won’t magically give ICE authority under Title 49 that Congress never wrote into law.
@1990 – So are you going to sue or lodge a complaint with the authorities? The article is fear porn as far as I am concerned. Title 8 or 49 or whatever.
@Michael Mainello — Dismissing the actual law as “fear porn” isn’t an argument. You’re admitting you don’t care if the government breaks the rules as long as they’re on your ‘team.’ As a concerned citizen, I want transparency, accountability, and for our government agencies to follow the law, regardless of which party is in charge. Preserving civil liberties here really should matter to all of us.
@1990 – very righteous talk coming from you. If you think the law is being violtated then do something about it. And stop putting words in my mouth.
@Michael Mainello — I’m not gonna ‘yuck your yum’ or ‘yum your yuck,’ but I didn’t put anything in anyone’s mouth.
Absolutely 100% in favor of this. FAFO. Now if we could only find a way to deport that evil SOB Fauci. Everything he said was a lie. His own diary confirms it. Caught dead to rights.
@1990 – Tell yourself whatever gets you thru night.
@Michael Mainello — Nighty-night!
Hey guys. I’m in the same boat as the WN flight attendant: I entered the U.S. on a visa and applied for asylum a month later, back in 2023. My application is still pending, and my receipt notice says I can remain in the country until my case is decided.
I can’t speed up the process, just like more than a million other people with pending affirmative asylum cases. I have a valid Employment Authorization, SSN, and I’m not hiding from USCIS. I’d actually be happy to have my interview as soon as possible so I can finally get a decision. But there’s literally nothing I can do. That’s why it’s called limbo. We’re just stuck.
And yes, I can’t fly anymore because, from ICE’s perspective, I’m detainable.
For MAGA supporters: in just three years, I learned English from scratch (I speak five languages now) and landed a six-figure job in airline loyalty. Can you learn at least basic Spanish within 3 years?
So yes, I guess I’m “stealing your job.” The funny part is that my after-tax salary in my home country was only about 20% lower than it is here. On top of that, the airline I worked for consistently delivered better (88-95%) customer benefits than any of the U.S. Big 4 while maintaining around a 90% LF and 95+% OTP. Now name at least one manager in the US who’s worked under performance standards like that.
And I’m not even talking about the overall level of customer service, because it simply doesn’t exist here. Yet people keep saying that immigrants are stealing their jobs instead of helping improve things here
@1990 @Michael Mainello When does a travel blog become a chat room? And when is this fair to folks who came to a travel blog?
@1990 – you now have me wanting to dig thru all of the paperwork & manuals from my last PSS (airline res system) project when I oversaw PreCheck implementation. Im curious to see the Statute & regulation references in terms of demand for information from passengers to airlines to government (eg: APIS information too).
My brain never really questioned government or agency use of traveler data, my feeble mind just views government as one big, massive turd or blob and never thought about the different agencies and Statuatory authority over the collection & use of the data. I just always viewed it as TSA gets it and any agency under DHS has legal access or rights to the same data.
If you think that’s bad, wait until you hear about that new safety company, Flock…
@cr — Objectively ‘fair,’ or subjectively ‘fair’ to you, personally? Ironically, the answer is the same; doesn’t matter. Ignore or engage.
@haolenate — Dig! Dig! Dig! Dig!
@Kevin — Our lack of privacy protection goes way beyond Flock (which, yes, is its own ‘Black Mirror’-style nightmare). Recall that we haven’t had a meaningful protection properly legislated since 1988 and that was to prevent Blockbuster from misusing your video rental history. All the digital surveillance, data brokers, etc. are mostly, completely unregulated. We’re living in the Wild West these days. Or, perhaps, the bizarro Outback Steakhouse… ‘no rules, all wrong.’
Sleepy Joe was not principled, more like asleep at the wheel I guess. Hey y’all, “viewfromthewing” says all ya can overstay your visas. Just don’t commit any crimes (and pay yer taxes!). SMH.
And I can be a strong privacy advocate and also want the “catch & release” demographic kicked out.
@jake — True privacy advocacy means insisting the government respects statutory boundaries regardless of the target. Using Title 49 travel screening data to bypass Title 8 statutory immigration procedures hands executive agencies unchecked power. Precedents set today won’t disappear when the political pendulum swings tomorrow.
I think it is a good way to enforce policy.
@jns — A little late to the party, sir. Rule of law means that the end doesn’t justify the means. If executive agencies can bypass statutory limits whenever they think it’s a “good way to enforce policy,” then the law becomes whatever the current administration wants it to be. (You cool with that when ‘your team’ or ‘you preferred policy’ isn’t in-charge?) Rules either bind the government, or they aren’t rules at all.