Are airports safe? What good is it to screen passengers if you don't know who's working in restricted areas?

Question

Illegals immigrants working at airport arrested

By Mary Lou Pickel
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/05/06
Federal immigration agents arrested six illegal immigrants Wednesday who had security badges that gave them access to restricted areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, including the tarmac.

The immigrants, all of Mexico, worked installing drywall for T.C. Drywall, Inc. of Alpharetta, according to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

None of the men was considered a security threat.

ICE continues to investigate the circumstances of the immigrants' employment and possession of the restricted access badges, ICE spokesman Marc Raimondi said. The six likely will be deported to Mexico.

The arrests are a part of ICE's "critical infrastructure worksite" focus on facilities such as airports, power plants, oil refineries and military bases. The goal is to protect against the risk of terrorism posed by unauthorized individuals working in secure areas.

"Hartsfield-Jackson International is one of the busiest airports in the country," said Kenneth Smith, special agent-in-charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Atlanta. "These facilities must know that the people who have access to their sensitive areas are entitled to such access."

The men were arrested early Wednesday in Hartsfield's south terminal, said Smith.

They were on their way to work, he said

Answer 1

just an illusion to rip off more tax dollars i recently came back from the US to china the TSA agent i you want to call him/her that or better imbeciles is more appropriate i was asked for positive ID an boarding pass OK i said no problem her is my valid US passport tsa said not valid expired in 2013 i said OK we are on 06 asked for other ID i gave my retired US Marine Corps ID asked what was an 05 in grade told him major TSA said sorry cant accept this ID because you are not active.pissed me off and asked for supervisor (she _ more of an idiot then he never looked at my US ID documentation said i could not board long story short had to call federal officials to verify that both were the most positive IDs any one can get TSA BS agency to rip off millions

Answer 2

No they aren't safe,the illegal alien that is hiding in the church was arrested while working as a cleaning person at the Chicago airport.She was arrested and convicted of using a fraudulent social security card and being in the US again after being deported.

The transportation security act, passed by Congress requires workers with access to a "secured area of an airport" to be screened in a manner "that will assure at least the same level of protection as will result from screening of passengers and their baggage."Those screening measures should be taken "as soon as practicable."
Whether background checks and random searches fulfill the provisions of the law is "an open question," says David Schaffer, counsel to the House subcommittee on aviation. He says the law requires "some sort of screening," but it doesn't require ground-crew employees "to go through metal detectors."

Deciding what steps to take won't be easy. Workers often leave and re-enter secured areas. Making them pass through metal detectors or regularly searching them would be burdensome. Moreover, because the layout of each airport is different, developing uniform standards could prove difficult.
Even so, Friend and Hofer say reports from flight attendants around the nation indicate that few searches of ground crew are being conducted, and only a swipe card is needed to access secured areas at many airports.

Results of tests from November through early February by the Transportation Department's inspector general underscore the concerns. Memos obtained by USA TODAY show that undercover agents secretly boarded aircraft or gained access to the runway in nearly half their tries.

"We're creating the illusion of security only where the traveling public can see," Friend says. "Meanwhile, the part that they can't see, nothing is being done."

Answer 3

I can almost understand all of the illegal immigrants working for other companies who don't do strict background checks, but I expect more from an airport. Those illegal immigrants could have easily been terrorists.

Answer 4

there all over the place. if it's that easy for the illegals to get a job in a secured place. it will be easy for a terrorist to get the same kind of job. company's need to do a research on the employees they hire. especially after 9/11.

Answer 5

You're using one incident to say that airports are not safe?
Need I say more?

Thank you very much, while you're up!!!!

Answer 6

They are everywhere.