Cruz sounds alarm on ‘open border policies’ he says are weakening airport security

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is sounding the alarm about the effect the Biden administration’s "open border policies" are having on airport security -- alleging that weaknesses in vetting could be putting safety at risk.

"DHS, particularly TSA, must explain how it is responding to the serious ways in which the administration’s open border policies are undermining airport security and Americans’ safety," Cruz, who is ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said in a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Cruz has been quizzing various agencies and airports about the effect that migration has had on the safety and security at airports, including the sheltering of migrants at a number of major U.S. airports.

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

In this letter to Mayorkas, Cruz highlighted three ways that he says "the administration’s open border policies are weakening airport security…"

He pointed first to the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), which allows up to 30,000 migrants from those countries to fly into the U.S. via humanitarian parole. The program was recently paused due to large amounts of fraud in sponsor applications. 

He also highlighted data that those being allowed in via the CBP One app, which is used for both CHNV and entrants at the border via parole, nearly 96% of those who got an appointment were approved.

The Republican senator also pointed to a recent DHS OIG report, which faulted parts of the app and its use of data, finding also that it could not access all biometric data.

"Meanwhile, as these unvetted aliens fly into the country, TSA has deployed a significant number of air marshals—who are supposed to be protecting planes in the sky—to assist CBP with administrative tasks at the southern border, a concern I raised with TSA last October," he said.

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He also reiterated his prior concerns about sheltering migrants at airports in Chicago, Boston and New York since the middle of 2023. Separately, he raised concerns about the release of migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-tied group. Eight people with suspected ISIS ties were arrested across the country earlier this year.

"Airports remain an attractive target for anyone looking to harm this country and its citizens," he said.

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Cruz is requesting all documents related to airport security from illegal immigrants, sheltering, vetting or screening of migrants, as well as fraud found in parole programs.

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He is also seeking documents related to the shelter of migrants at multiple airports, the numbers of migrants flown into airports, and actions taken to remove illegal immigrants from airports.

The letter comes amid a continued debate over the ongoing border crisis. The Biden administration has said it needs more funding and reforms, while arguing that expanded lawful pathways have been successful in reducing numbers at the border.

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Republicans claim that the crisis was fueled by Biden-era policies and the rolling back of Trump-era measures.