In a new, heavily redacted report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) finds that several federal agencies release noncitizens into the United States without background checks and allow them to travel on domestic flights. It was revealed that the risks associated with doing so had not been adequately assessed.
In a report, Inspector General Joseph V. Kuffari said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are investigating undocumented high-risk noncitizens. He said that he could not guarantee that the foreigners would not enter the country. Visit the country and board a domestic flight.
The IG said that according to federal law, “undocumented noncitizens will not be admitted into the country and will be detained,” but that CBP and ICE can release noncitizens into the United States based on a variety of circumstances. He said it was approved.
The report notes that CBP and ICE accept self-reported background information to provide immigration documents to immigrants. This will allow immigrants to board domestic flights without having to have ID.
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Migrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, Dec. 7, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
The inspector general asked DHS for data on the number of noncitizens released into the United States between fiscal years 2021-23 without identification, but CBP and ICE did not provide the information because they were not logged into their systems. He said he couldn't do it. Whether the non-citizen has an identification card.
The IG added, “Immigration officials we interviewed acknowledged the risks of allowing undocumented noncitizens into the country.”
As for TSA, the report found that it relies on data and background checks on non-nationals from CBP and ICE to determine whether a non-national is a threat.
The report said that if data from CBP and ICE is incomplete, “TSA's methods of screening individuals who pose a threat would not necessarily prevent these individuals from boarding a plane.”
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Travelers line up at the TSA screening area at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (AP via Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)
Several parts of the report were heavily redacted, particularly the part where TSA conducted an assessment of the risks of using the CBP One mobile phone app as a screening tool, and the results of that assessment were not disclosed in the report.
The IG's report went on to say there were “similar weaknesses” in CBP's vetting process that allowed “high-risk individuals” into the country.
One of the high-risk individuals released into the United States was released while on the FBI's terrorist watch list in 2022. There were also two Afghans paroled by the United States as part of Operation Welcome Allies who posed a threat to national security. I am taking notes on the report.
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Migrants wait for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) appointments in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on May 23, 2023. (Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu) Agency via Getty Images)
“If CBP and ICE continue to admit noncitizens whose identities cannot be verified by immigration officials, they may unintentionally increase national security risks,” the report concludes.
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ICE and CBP both objected to the IG's report, and DHS disagreed with the report's findings. TSA added that this report does not reflect current policy.
DHS said it is unable to detain all detainees, including undocumented noncitizens, for reasons including a lack of bed space and other resources.
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ICE has said it is currently funded for 41,500 beds and cannot detain all noncitizens without ID or valid documentation, while CBP has said its detention facilities are “short-term” ''He said it was for containment purposes.
CBP added that it cannot legally detain a non-citizen for longer than the period allowed by law, even to reduce potential risks.
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, responded to the report in a statement to Fox News.
“It's embarrassing that the Biden-Harris administration needs an official government watchdog to tell it something that anyone with even a modicum of common sense would intuitively understand,” Greene wrote. “This administration should not be allowing noncitizens, especially those who cannot even be identified, to roam freely in our communities or board planes. The colossal failures documented by the OIG are bad enough; What's worse is that it's happening all over the planet, every day, with the blessing of the Biden-Harris White House.”
