Cruz Demands Answers from TSA over Air Marshals Deployment to Border

(DailyVantage.com) – Texas Senator Ted Cruz is seeking answers from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on why US air marshals are being taken from US flights and reassigned to the southern border, Fox News reported.

In a letter to TSA Administrator David Pekoske, Cruz, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, voiced concern that the Biden administration is prioritizing “ushering illegal immigrants into the country” over protecting the safety and security of US travelers.

The Department of Homeland Security initially requested volunteers from the Air Marshals Service late last year but later sought mandatory deployments, prompting some air marshals to say they would refuse the deployment.

US air marshals are just one of several law enforcement groups that have been deployed to the border to deal with the unprecedented surge of illegal aliens crossing into the United States from Mexico.

Air marshals assigned to the border are escorting migrants to processing centers, conducting welfare checks, and helping with administrative duties.

In his letter, Senator Cruz called out the Biden administration’s hypocrisy for simultaneously declaring the border secure while enacting emergency measures like reassigning air marshals to the border.

Citing recent security incidents aboard US flights, Cruz wrote that the TSA’s decision to reassign air marshals to the border could be “putting the traveling public at risk.”

A spokesperson for the TSA declined to comment on Senator Cruz’s letter, telling Fox News that the agency only responds to congressional letters “via official channels.” However, the spokesperson pointed out that air marshals were also deployed to the southern border in 2019 during the Trump administration to support Customs and Border Protection.

Senator Cruz is asking the TSA to provide the number of air marshals that have been deployed to the border, both voluntary and mandatory, since 2019. He also asked if there were additional deployments planned for the future.