LOST & LOADED

Bungling ICE Agent Triggers Airport Alert in Shock Discovery

A deportation officer left a firearm unattended in a San Francisco airport restroom.

Police rushed to San Francisco International Airport after an ICE agent left a loaded gun unattended in a public restroom last month. A flight attendant discovered the weapon in a men’s bathroom beyond security in Terminal 2 on July 21 and alerted airport staff, NBC Bay Area reported. Police arrived within minutes, and the ICE agent later returned to recover the gun. Officials have not said how long it had been unattended or whether the agent faced disciplinary action. The airport reported the incident to the Transportation Security Administration. The airport’s public information officer Doug Yakel told NBC Bay Area that the airport was not aware of the nature of ICE’s operations that evening. He added that it does not assist ICE operations, in keeping with San Francisco’s sanctuary-city policies. It comes as ICE has expanded immigration enforcement at U.S. airports under the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration agenda, with agents increasingly arresting travelers over immigration violations such as visa overstays.