Daines: Air Marshals are for Safeguarding our Skies, Not Cleaning up Biden’s Southern Border Crisis

Calls on Biden Administration to Recall Air Marshals from Border During Busiest Travel Season of the Year

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to immediately recall Federal air marshals (FAMs) from the southern border and return them to air service in order to protect flying Americans.

“I am writing with great concern for the potential impacts the diversion of air marshals of the Federal Air Marshal Service from our nation’s skies to the U.S. southern border may pose to air travel Federal air marshals (FAMs) serve a critical role in ensuring the safety of those travelling by air and the security of America’s transportation systems. With the holiday travel season in full swing and the heightened threat environment, it is critical that FAMs are safeguarding our skies, not cleaning up the Biden administration’s mess at the southern border,”Daines wrote.

Daines continued, “Reassigning FAMs from their duties protecting the skies to handing out water at the border, especially during the busiest travel season of the year and at a time when the threat of attacks against Americans is at the highest level in years, is an ill-advised and ineffective way to mitigate the crisis at the border. Instead, the Biden administration should take concrete and aggressive steps to actually secure our border including, but not limited to, finishing the border wall, tightening asylum standards, ending its abuse of parole authority, and ending the disastrous policy of ‘catch and release.’”

“Ensuring the safety and security of the traveling public should be the sole focus and responsibility of FAMs. I urge you to immediately recall all FAMs from the southern border and cease from engaging in this practice in the future.”

Read the full letter to Secretary Mayorkas HERE.

Earlier today at a Senate Republican Leadership press conference, Daines spoke about his concerns with air marshals being deployed to the southern border. Watch his remarks HERE.

To see more of Daines’ work to secure the southern border, click HERE.