JFK airlines were told that there would be a reduction of Customs Border Protection (CBP) personnel as a result of moving a number of officers from JFK and other locations to beef up the southern borders.
This stems from the recent national headquarters CBP official statement that it “will send CBP officers from airports and northern border locations on temporary assignments throughout the Southwest border to support the U.S. Border Patrol during the current border security and humanitarian crisis.”
According to one terminal opertor the redution of Customs officers has slowed down the arrivals clearances and some baggage handling inspections.
Our local Congressman Meeks had this to say about the redirecting of assets. “JFK airport is one of the largest points of entry for the United States, a hub to the world. More contraband comes through our ports than through the border. That CBP would divert necessary resources from JFK and Atlanta to the southern border, where net crossings remain at their lowest in decades, is a concerning sign that decisions are being made based on politics and not security. CBP and DHS should make it clear to the public what are their justifications for this seemingly political shift of personnel.”
Former Deputy GM at JFK, and Hartsfield-Jackson general manager John Selden told the recently said that the movement of customs agents to the southern border “has reduced our staffing levels here at Hartsfield-Jackson. And we are advocating through our Congressional delegation to hopefully get more staff here to balance it out throughout the country.”
There were no immediate comments from the NY Governor’s office, Port Authority nor JFK CBP on deployment details or potential impact on JFK Airport during the upcoming busy travel season.
