An U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer left a gun in a public bathroom after the security checkpoint at a major U.S. airport, an airport official said Friday. The incident happened on July 21 at San Francisco International Airport, a busy hub for domestic and international flights. A flight attendant discovered the gun in a stall in the area beyond where passengers pass through pre-flight security, airport spokesman Doug Yakel told AFP. Security officers arrived to close off the bathroom and San Francisco Police officers were on the scene when the ICE officer returned to retrieve the weapon. Neither ICE nor the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) -- the body responsible for airport security -- immediately responded to AFP requests for comment. There has been a huge surge in the number of ICE agents operating across the United States since Donald Trump retook the White House, as the U.S. President seeks to fulfil campaign pledges to carry out mass deportations. Critics say the expansion has led to a drop in recruiting and training standards, even as the agency is having resources lavished upon it to equip staff with new tools, like electro-shock gloves that were unveiled this month. The agency came under fire over a series of fatal shootings during enforcement operations, including those of two American citizens in Minnesota in January.
