What in the hell is up with this statistic - 80% of the personnel at Dulles Airport's security gates are NOT, repeat, NOT citizens?

In a recent story in the Dallas Morning News, we were told that 80% of the security personnel at DFW Airport were NOT American citizens.

Is this the way it's supposed to be?  I can't imagine that someone who hasn't been in this country long enough to become a citizen has a sufficient enough understanding of the US to even determine what's suspicious and what's not!

See the complete story at:
[url]http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24719[/url]

From the article -

"Kenneth Mead, inspector general of the Department of Transportation, testified in Congress last week that 80 percent, or more, of the security screeners at Dulles International Airport in nearby northern Virginia are not U.S. citizens.

"The hijacked American Airlines flight that smashed into the Pentagon on September 11 originated at Dulles.

"At a Sept. 20 hearing, when asked the citizenship status of the screeners at Dulles, Mead said that 'a substantial percentage of them are not U.S. citizens.'

'What percent?' asked Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky.

'I think it's about 80 percent. It may be somewhat more,' said Mead.

'Eighty percent of the people checking for terrorists at Dulles Airport are not American citizens?' asked Rogers in disbelief.

'I believe that's so, sir,' said Mead.

'What is wrong with this picture?' commented Rogers."

And in the most excruciatingly idiotic part of the Mr. Mead's testimony, we learn this:

"Mead testified that [u]it may not be feasible to do good background checks on immigrants who have not been in this country for long.[/u] He said the government should consider requiring credit checks and proof of citizenship and employ 'an automated profiling system that takes into consideration factors including an individual's place of birth.'"

Un-f***ing-believeable!

Eric The(INeedToGoTakeMyMeds,Now)Hun[>]:)]

Is it any surprise that immigrants are taking boring, low-paying, dead end jobs that native Americans don't want?  I don't know about you, but [b]I[/b] don't want to work as a rent-a-cop enforcing the silly rules at the airport.  

BTW, the last time I was returning to the US from Canada, the government agent at the border who asked me "Are you a United States citizen?" had such a pronounced accent that I had to stifle a laugh.  

Hey Eric,

I think the story refers to Dulles Airport (IAD) outside of Washington, D.C., not Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) in Texas.  Now, when they re-open Regan National (DCA) is a whole 'nother story.

F.
8-)

Hopefully, the 'boring, low paying, dead end' will not be the description of such jobs in the future.

And even more hopefully, we can begin to take our borders seriously!

Pitiful me, I always [u]thought[/u] that our borders were at least as well guarded as the local county fairs. I guess that's no longer the case.

It's easier to get into America than it is to get into the State Fair of Texas!

Eric The(AndIfYouGetCaught,AWholeLotLessSerious!)Hun[>]:)]

Post from Gee Ten -

Yeah, I know. I guess I should have put that second paragraph at the end of the story.

What I meant was that the gates at DFW Airport were ALSO reported by the Dallas Morning News to have more than 80% non-citizens as security personnel.  I thought it odd that the same percentage applied in both airports.

I'm certain it's probably the same percentage for all airports, more or less.

Sorry for any confusion.

Eric The(SometimesLessThanCogent)Hun[>]:)]

Airport security will always be a boring job because 99.9999% of the people passing through will NOT be terrorists.  A guard is going to spend far, far more time confiscating nail clippers and tiny toy guns from annoyed tourists and business travelers than he will foiling the plans of would-be hijackers.

The fact is, there are only so many people who have the skills, mindset and integrity to be good at police and security work.  By passing volumes and volumes of laws to enforce, our government has ensured that these people are spread very thin.  There are a lot of second and third raters filling the gaps, and there are going to be more of these weak links as the chain gets longer.  

BTW, I wonder what percentage of the other airport workers (such as the baggage handlers, plane cleaners, and food service workers) are citizens (with or without a background that would pass inspection).

Eric: Renamed:

Imho the military should control airport security, create an MOS for Airport security, along with a civillian counterpart--make the civillian pay very high, like a GS-15, hard to get job. Give them H&K's to sport around and Then you'll see improvement.

Hello Eric(always causes a smile)TheHun,
Nobody is talking about how this can be. As I remember during the '70s (I was young) there was an immediate need for security and these Temp companies were able to provide "warm bodies" immediately. The reason for this to remain some 30 years later is simple: easy big bucks. It was recently reported the company that supplies security to Boston's airport paid a one million dollar fine for failing to meet the terms of the contract. My wild guess is they charge $40 - $80 an hour for each of these Temps - warm bodies - they supply.

It would not have stopped the 9-11 attacks IMHO, but making these jobs permanant and professional might stop a similar attack in the future.

We'll see the military guarding our borders before they start guarding our airports -- and there's still a lot of open, undefended land along the border.  

Eric, I would believe that the 80% non-citizen statistic applies to DFW, also.  I went through DFW on September 23, and I was shocked at how lax security checks were only 12 days after the terrorist attacks.  I had just flown in from Frankfurt, Germany, where security was unbelievably strict (documents checked three times, baggage X-rayed three times, metal detector twice, and I don't even look Arabic).  I could hardly tell a difference in the security at DFW between September 9th and 23rd.  I could have easily gotten a small knife or box cutter onto the plane.  My wallet set off the metal detector and they didn't bother to figure out why.  (I carry a couple keys in it.)  After that experience I decided we definitely need a better-paid, better-trained, more-professional security force at airports.

Post from BostonTeaParty -

Oh, it does, it does. The Dallas Morning News had run a story on that situation at the DFW Airport, prior to the story running on the above thread concerning Logan International in Boston.

Not only is it amazing that both airports are the same, but the American Airlines security gates at both airports are run by the very same company - Global International Security!

Eric The(IHopeThisMakesEveryoneFeelBetter)Hun[>]:)]

The only thing about this that surprises me is why the terrorists didn't apply for these $6/hour rent-a-cop jobs. I mean, they had three guys working at Metro Airport here in food service. That way they could've let their buddies through with all the firepower they wanted.

Seems pretty clear that the feds need to take this job over.

If an airport security guard takes a bribe to "look the other way" while "someone" (a terrorist) goes through the checkpoint, is he guilty of treason?

You should see SFO.

That is ok. Dubyah will just grant them all citizenship, just like a previous GOP president did.

I don't think 80% of the people at sfo even speak english and none of them are citizens.


[;)]

GOP-Bashing! I can't imagine berating those selfless leaders of our nation who are doing everything in their power and have been all along to protect our civil rights.

Ugh! I didn't think of that :(

Leave it to Imbroglio to poor coffee grounds on your freshly baked cake.

Because the border inspector had an accent?  Is there a correlation?  I think that INS and Border Patrol officers have to be citizens.

I seem to be missing something here.  Is the airport security pathetic because of non-citizens?  Or because of the minimum wage that they get paid?

You mean President Ronald Reagan? If you mean President Ronald Reagan, simply say President Ronald Reagan. In what, 1986?

I pretty much think events have overtaken any attempt to legalize any aliens in the very near future!

Eric The(IForOneAmAllForThat!)Hun[>]:)]

Yes, I believe the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act passed in 1986.

So what exactly does a US citizen sound like (look like)?  [:|]

No to all your questions, including the wage they are paid. Airport security sucks because they are only interested in doing the most minimal job only. I am talking about the firms that do the work and the airports that hire them. More work equals more cost directly and indirectly in terms of the inconvenience that they perceive will cost them customers.

As a former Attorney General of the United States just said on tv (paraphrasing because I'm tired): "We don't know how many of them are here illegally, or where they are, and have no way to track them." He also said that we need to modify our immigration laws and enforce the existing ones we have.

There was nothing preventing these characters from getting an airport security job. And yes I think that mandating citizenship as a prerequisite for employment in such a job would reduce the possiblity of a future attack. That is if it is not simply federalized. The vast majority of the terrorists, now and in the past, were here for a couple years to only months with no possiblity of becoming a citizen in that time frame. Most of them seem to lack the patience that an application would entail. Perhaps that will change but it seems prudent for now.

It is still somewhat of a shock to hear that 80% are not citizens. I mean that's the converse of the resident to citizen population figures probably...

I heard on the news a few nights ago that the airport security personnel do not work for the airports. They work for firms specializing in airport security, who contract their services to the airports and airlines as needed. They said the turnover was high, and as a result they do have a difficult time finding and retaining qualified individuals.

Here in the Bay Area, the majority of airline security personnel seem to be Filipino (at least at the gate). I have yet to find one who does not have a heavy accent and I don’t know if they are citizens or not. My wife, who is also Filipino (although she came to the US when she was three and therefore has no accent), seems to think they are not yet US citizens. I don’t know how she can tell, but I think it has to do with their accent and their use of colloquialisms. In her words, they are FOBs (fresh off the boat). I don’t know if this has any bearing on how well they can do their jobs, because AFAICT, they seem to be checking everyone fairly well.

Some of you guys may have seen that series on PBS about Heathrow Airport in London. I can’t help but compare the behavior and professionalism of those workers to our own. I guess it comes down to how much we value those people and their services. As long as we consider them to be of lesser or equal value to mall ninjas, what can we expect? If we want good, thoughtful workers, we need to compensate them accordingly. That’s true in all vocations and I don’t see why airport security workers are any different than anyone else in that regard.

Since most US citizens were born and raised here, [i]most[/i] (not all, of course) speak "Americanized" English as their native tongue.  And outside of Canada, there are very few "American" speakers who are [i]not[/i] American citizens.  That's why I found humor in the role reversal of a likely immigrant questioning the citizenship of a likely native.

Also, I found it funny that when I entered Canada, the officials there were very casual and friendly.  But when I re-entered the United States, the guy who was asking about my citizenship was very uptight and officious.

So, please understand that I did not actually laugh at the border official with the accent.  I'm glad that people from outside the US want to come here, get jobs, and become citizens just like my grandparents did.  And if I ever move to Pakistan and become a border guard there, I'll understand why returnees giggle a bit at my broken Urdu or Punjabi.  [rolleyes]

I had a similar experience in the last week of August.  My wife and I drove across the US / Canada border to Vancouver.  Crossing into the border, the Canadian officer did not even look at our passports, and waved us on in about 20 seconds.  Crossing back into the US, our passports were carefully examined and we were asked a bunch of questions.  All people were polite.