XPost: talk.politics.guns, rec.travel.air, alt.security.terrorism
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Feds don’t know how many noncitizens were released into US without identification
(The Center Square) – Twenty-three years after Islamic terrorists used airplanes to conduct the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the
federal agency created to protect Americans from national security
threats “cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country.”
The potentially high-risk noncitizens are being flown on domestic
flights without identification, creating a public safety risk, according
to the latest Office of Inspector General report assessing several
federal agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The OIG has repeatedly published reports identifying potential national security risks created by Biden-Harris policies identified within DHS
and its subagencies.
In the latest redacted report that has “sensitive security information,” the OIG expressed concerns about Americans’ public safety to the administrators of the Transportation Security Administration, US Customs
and Border Protection, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The report states the agencies didn’t assess risks to public safety by releasing non-citizens into the United States without identification and putting them on domestic flights.
The OIG requested data on the number of noncitizens without
identification who were released into the United States from fiscal
years 2021 through 2023. “Because immigration officers are not required
to document whether a noncitizen presented identification in the
databases,” the data the OIG obtained “may be incomplete.”
“Therefore, neither CBP nor ICE could determine how many of the millions
of noncitizens seeking entry in the United States each year entered
without identification and whose self-reported biographic information
was accepted,” the report states. CBP and ICE officers interviewed by
the OIG “acknowledged the risks of allowing noncitizens without identification into the country, yet neither CBP nor ICE conducted a comprehensive risk assessment for these noncitizens to assess the level
of risk these individuals present and developed corresponding mitigation measures,” the report states.
One of the primary responsibilities of CBP and ICE is to verify
noncitizens’ identities prior to seeking entry; TSA is responsible for screening everyone who boards domestic flights. The OIG audited them to determine to what extent CBP and ICE policies and procedures confirmed individual’s identities “for the documents TSA accepts for domestic
travel and whether TSA ensures noncitizens traveling on domestic flights provide proof of identification consistent with all other domestic travelers.”
As Border Patrol officials have explained, the majority of illegal
border crossers are not vetted and released with DHS papers. The OIG
confirms this, stating CBP and ICE officers accept “self-reported biographical information, which they use to issue various immigration
forms. Once in the United States, noncitizens can travel on domestic flights.”
The OIG also notes that noncitizens do not have TSA-acceptable
identification but “are allowed to board domestic flights.” TSA requires them “to undergo vetting and additional screening,” which involves
running their information through systems to validate information on DHS–issued immigration forms and conducting additional screening
procedures like pat downs.
“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,” the OIG report says.
It gets worse, the OIG says.
“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.”
The 37-page redacted report details the procedures that must be followed according to federal law and notes in bold: “CBP and ICE have policies
and procedures for screening noncitizens, but neither component knows
how many noncitizens without identification documents are released into
the country.”
Security issues also exist with the CBP One app, which has been used to
fast track over 813,000 inadmissible illegal foreign nationals into the country, The Center Square reported.
These issues are redacted. “Because of CBP’s and ICE’s process for inspecting and releasing noncitizens, TSA’s methods to screen for
individuals who pose a threat would not necessarily prevent these
individuals from boarding flights,” the OIG warns.
It also points out that it has released previous reports where its
office “documented similar weaknesses in CBP’s screening processes that allowed high-risk individuals into the country,” including those on the terrorist watchlist.
It concludes, “If CBP and ICE continue to allow noncitizens – whose identities immigration officers cannot confirm – to enter the country,
they may inadvertently increase national security risks.”
The agencies did not concur with the OIG’s findings. In response, the
OIG, as prescribed by a DHS directive, gave them 90 days to respond and
provide corrective action that would be taken as well as a target
completion date for each recommendation.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_ce7b31f2-81d8-11ef-99d3-c3b0ec743621.html
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