President Donald Trump's proposed crackdown on undocumented immigrants could wind up leading to more headaches at airports.
According to internal documents reviewed by Politico, the administration wants to pay for more border agents and the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in part by significantly cutting the budgets of the Coast Guard (by 14%), the Transportation Security Administration (by 11%), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (also by 11%).
Needless to say, those first two—the Coast Guard and TSA—play pretty big roles when it comes to securing the nation's waterways, skies, and railroads.
So let us see if we have this right: We're going to stop terrorists and undocumented foreigners from entering the country by . . . slashing the resources of the people who stop terrorists and undocumented foreigners from entering the country.
Got it.
Security threats and lapses in logic aside, fewer resources where the TSA is concerned could easily lead to a lengthier and more chaotic airport screening process of the sort seen last spring, before Congress approved extra funding.
Congress will also have to decide whether to approve Trump's budget when it's submitted in the upcoming weeks.
