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TSA Sending Hundreds of Officials to the Border, Including Air Marshals

Agency official admits redeployment to confront migrants risks aviation security, CNN reports.

Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration officials—including air marshals—are being redeployed to the southern U.S. border with Mexico to help deal with migrant inflows, CNN reports, in a move the Trump administration admits brings “some risk” to air security. As many as 175 law-enforcement officials and 400 staff from security ops could reportedly be moved to the border, with some parts of TSA being asked to contribute 10 percent of its workforce. To begin with, the redeployment will not involve uniformed airport screeners. “We also understand that we are accepting some risk as we enter a very busy summer,” wrote senior TSA official Gary Renfrow, who called the effort an “additional challenge.” The teams will be drawn from six cities, according to CNN’s sources, and will mainly be made up of staff who carry out behind-the-scenes security work. Officials expect the groups to include federal air marshals, who are tasked with flying in plain clothes on commercial flights to prevent terrorist hijackings.