Obama TSA leader says ICE at airports ‘could be a good thing’

Former TSA Administrator John Pistole told CNN’s This Morning that ICE officers are a “visible deterrent” to those who would consider carrying out an attack against the hundreds, even thousands, of airline passengers standing in TSA lines at security checkpoints.

“These long lines are a soft target for a putative terrorist, somebody who wants to come in and make a name for themselves, for their cause,” Pistole said.

“And so if somebody comes in, any one of these terminals around the country where we have these long lines, hundreds, thousands, perhaps, people just winding back and forth, and they see these armed officers, that may be a visible deterrent. So, that could be a good thing,” Pistole said.

The Washington Examiner reported on Monday that ICE employees from its Enforcement and Removal Operations arm and Homeland Security Investigations arm had been sent to 13 major airports nationwide.

A senior