August 1, 2025

Feeling safer yet? Approximately 200 Federal Air Marshals have reportedly been reassigned from their usual duties protecting the U.S. transit system to assist with deportation flights alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Via The Independent:

The Marshals, the main law enforcement arm of the Transportation Security Administration, better known for missions like protecting U.S. commercial flights, are instead carrying out tasks on deportation flights like providing security, handing out sandwiches to detainees, checking them for lice, and cleaning plans, CNN reports.

The reported deployment has proved controversial within the Marshals community, with the Air Marshals union praising the mission, while a lobbying group for Air Marshals argues it distracts from the agents’ core function and sees the Marshals acting as glorified security guards for government contractors that manage some flights.

The group, the Air Marshal National Council, has filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s office, and has warned the new mission could “undermine aviation and national security and expose federal officers to unsafe and improper working conditions.”

Exclusive: Air Marshals diverted from protecting commercial passenger flights act as "highly paid guards" on deportation flights. cnn.it/46UooMP

CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-07-31T19:44:04.971Z

Our taxes hard at work supplementing Contractor airlines deporting migrants with Federal Air Marshals 🤷🏻‍♀️ amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/07/...

LibsLikeMe (@danihere.bsky.social) 2025-07-31T23:34:30.226Z

IRS agents have helped establish perimeters during immigration raids and other operations, and a new partnership offers 100 TSA Air Marshals to conduct deportation flight security functions

www.govexec.com/management/2...

Kathleen Bush-Joseph (@kathleenbush.bsky.social) 2025-06-16T18:14:15.759Z

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