The Biden-Harrs Department of Homeland Security admitted to letting illegal immigrants into the United States without thoroughly vetting them for security risks.
According to a recent heavily redacted DHS Inspector General report, Customs Border and Protection (CPB), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) failed to assess the risks associated with releasing illegal aliens into the U.S. without proper identification. They allowed them to travel on domestic flights.
Under current processes, CBP and ICE cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country. Additionally, TSA cannot ensure its vetting and screening procedures prevent high-risk noncitizens who may pose a threat to the flying public from boarding domestic flights. Noncitizens without Transportation Security Administration (TSA)- acceptable identification are allowed to board domestic flights. TSA’s vetting and screening procedures do not eliminate the risk that noncitizens who may pose a threat to fellow passengers could board domestic flights.
TSA currently relies on data and background checks regarding illegal aliens from CBP and ICE to determine if a person is a threat. However, if there is insufficient data, “TSA’s methods to screen individuals who pose a threat would not necessarily prevent these individuals from boarding flights.”
NEW: In a new, heavily redacted DHS Inspector General report, the IG finds that “CBP, ICE, and TSA did not fully assess risks associated w/ releasing noncitizens without ID into the U.S. and allowing them to travel on domestic flights.”
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 2, 2024
Key finding: “Under current processes, CBP… pic.twitter.com/mgOACAWu98
According to ICE, its funded detention capacity of 41,500 beds does not allow them to detain every illegal immigrant who doesn’t have ID and valid documents. Meanwhile, the CBP said that detention facilities are “short term” only, and it cannot legally hold illegal immigrants in detention facilities longer than the law states.
The Biden-Harris DHS claimed that the report contained “inaccurate statements.”
The Inspector General’s report contains inaccurate statements, lacks important context, and is misleading about the Department’s efforts to verify the identity of noncitizens seeking entry into the United States and screening noncitizens flying domestically. DHS rejects the OIG’s core recommendations because they are premised on a fundamental misunderstanding of our policies and processes—which already incorporate numerous measures to minimize risk, identify those who pose a potential public safety or national security threat, and detain or refer to law enforcement those who do. OIG’s report also does not reflect policy and procedural updates DHS implemented this year to improve security in accordance with TSA’s normal risk assessment process. This includes updated standard operating procedure at TSA checkpoints to ensure noncitizens without acceptable forms of identification undergo facial matching technology or be denied entry to secure areas of the airport. DHS continuously evaluates its procedures and processes to make adjustments, as needed, with the core goal of protecting public safety.
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) described it as “embarrassing” that the Biden-Harris Administration has allowed millions of illegal aliens to enter the U.S. and that they should not be allowed to fly among American citizens freely.
“It's embarrassing that the Biden-Harris administration needs an official government watchdog to tell them what anyone with the slightest bit of common sense intuitively understands,” Green said. “This administration should not be letting unvetted non-citizens roam free in our communities and get on planes, especially when their identities cannot even be verified. The colossal failures documented by the OIG are bad enough—even worse is that they are happening on a daily basis with the blessing of the Biden-Harris White House.”