The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a scathing report criticizing agencies within the Biden-Harris administration for allowing released migrants without identification to board scheduled airline flights.
The DHS OIG, headed by Joseph V. Cuffari, released a heavily redacted report finding several DHS agencies did not fully assess risks associated with releasing migrants without identification into the United States and allowing them to travel on domestic flights. The report was rebuked by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The report offered three recommendations to improve processes within the agencies to reduce the risks noted within the report. All three agencies failed to concur with the recommendations. Instead, they offered excuses for failing to detain the unidentified migrants and allowing them to board the domestic flights without identification.
OIG investigators requested information concerning how many migrants without identification were released into the United States by CBP and ICE during fiscal years 2021-2023 but were told that data was not recorded at the time of processing.
Oig 24 65 Sep24 Redacted Tsa Ice Report
The report describes the process used by TSA to identify the migrant’s identity only serves to prove the migrant is using the same self-certified identity provided to CBP and ICE at the time of apprehension. The TSA requirement that passengers provide a TSA-acceptable form of identification before boarding an aircraft in the United States is waived for the migrants.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, TSA has created special express lanes to accommodate migrants released by ICE and CBP who do not possess identity documents.
Special TSA inspection lane for migrants without identification (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
CBP and ICE officers interviewed by investigators clearly acknowledged the risks associated of allowing migrants without valid identification into the country and ignoring federal law that says the migrants “shall be detained.”
The report redacted information regarding the risk and reliability of the TSA using the CBP-One smartphone application to verify identity. The Biden-Harris administration has used the application, never authorized by Congress, to admit up to 1,450 migrants into the United States daily. As reported by Breitbart Texas, some of the migrants have been admitted without being asked any questions related to the validity of their asylum claim.
In recent reports released by the DHS OIG, similar weaknesses in CBP’s screening processes were identified that allowed high-risk individuals into the country and were noted in the most recent report. The report highlighted the case of one migrant released into the United States in 2022 who was later found to appear on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Watchlist.
OIG also identified at least two persons paroled into the United States as part of Operation Allies Refuge/Operation Allies Welcome that may have posed a threat to national security and the safety of local communities. In another example provided in the report, in June 2024, OIG noted that DHS’ biometrics system, the Automated Biometric Identification System, could not access all data from Federal partners to ensure complete screening and vetting of migrants seeking admission into the United States.
Three recommendations were offered to CBP, ICE, and TSA to mitigate the risks associated with releasing the unidentified migrants and allowing them to board domestic flights:
Recommendation 1: We recommend that the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner of CBP conduct a comprehensive analysis of the risks associated with releasing noncitizens into the country without identification and develop and implement policies and procedures to mitigate those risks.
Recommendation 2: We recommend that the Director of ICE conduct a comprehensive analysis of the risks associated with releasing noncitizens without identification from ICE custody and develop and implement policies and procedures to mitigate those risks.
Recommendation 3: We recommend that the TSA Administrator use the results of the Requirements and Capabilities Analysis office’s updated CBP OneTM risk assessment to develop and implement policy and procedural changes needed to mitigate risks REDACTED.
DHS did not concur with the recommendations, saying, “detaining all individuals without identification would seriously risk DHS exceeding its detention capacity and may hamper DHS’ ability to prioritize detention for individuals identified as a possible national security or public safety risk.”
TSA’s rationale for non-concurrence with the report’s recommendations included the following statement, “As part of TSA’s continuous review of its processes, TSA conducted a risk assessment earlier this year concerning allowing low identity-assurance passengers to fly, which was briefed to TSA leadership on July 1, 2024, before approval. This risk assessment was sent to the OIG on July 5, 2024. This assessment includes a tiered structure of supplementary physical screening measures (above standard screening) that can be used, if warranted, by the threat status or conditions at the airport.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.