Rosen Demands Answers from TSA Administrator Nominee on Las Vegas Airport ICE Arrest, Pledges to Not Support Until Addressed

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) demanded answers from Donald Trump's nominee to become the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), David Cummins, regarding TSA's information sharing agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), how law enforcement is supposed to identify itself at airports when making arrests, and how, if confirmed, he would ensure ICE provides an active warrant before TSA assists in ICE enforcement actions at airports. Senator Rosen is pledging not to support Cummins' nomination until her questions are fully addressed. Rosen's actions come in the immediate aftermath of an incident at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas where masked, plain-clothed ICE officers - without any identification and seemingly with the support of TSA - attempted to violently arrest an elderly man before running off following public intervention. It was later reported that the man had no outstanding warrants.

"ICE's violent attempted arrest of an elderly man at Harry Reid International raises a lot of serious questions about how ICE agents are continuing to act with impunity. These actions instill fear in our communities - scaring away tourists and further hurting Nevada's economy," said Senator Rosen. "As someone nominated to run the federal agency in charge of security at our nation's airports, Mr. Cummins needs to answer my questions about the conduct of ICE agents at Harry Reid International Airport and commit to preventing such abuses in the future. Let me be clear: if I don't get adequate answers to my questions, I will not support the confirmation of David Cummins."

You can find the full line of questioning HERE.

Senator Rosen is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which has jurisdiction over TSA. She has been adamant about the need for commonsense guardrails for ICE agents. Senator Rosen criticized Trump's decision to reverse the suspension of ICE traffic stops following two separate ICE killings during enforcement operations. In June, Senator Rosen voted against the ultra-partisan Republican budget, which gave ICE more funding without any guardrails or accountability mechanisms. In February, she released a statement reaffirming her commitment to fighting for ICE reforms following the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

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