Fed agencies released noncitizens without ID into US, allowed them to board domestic flights: DHS OIG report

In a new, heavily redacted report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general found that several federal agencies did not fully assess risks associated with releasing noncitizens without identification into the U.S. and allowing them to travel on domestic flights.

Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari said in the report that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) failed to ensure that high-risk noncitzens without ID are not entering the country and boarding domestic flights.

The IG said that according to federal law, "noncitizens without ID are not admissible into the country and "shall be detained," but that CBP and ICE are permitted to release noncitizens into the U.S. based on various circumstances.

The report notes that CBP and ICE accept self-reported biographical information, which they use to give migrants immigration forms. The migrants are then able to get on domestic flights, even if they do not have identification.

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The inspector general said he asked DHS for data on the number of noncitizens who did not have identification and were released into the U.S. between fiscal years 2021-23, but CBP and ICE were unable to provide the information because they did not log into their system whether or not noncitizens had identification.

The IG added that "immigration officers we interviewed acknowledged the risks of allowing noncitizens without ID into the country."

When it came to the TSA, the report found it relied on data and background checks on noncitizens from CBP and ICE to determine if a noncitizen was a threat.

The report said if the data from CBP and ICE was incomplete, "TSA’s methods to screen individuals who pose a threat would not necessarily prevent these individuals from boarding flights."

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Several portions of the report are heavily redacted, particularly where TSA conducted assessments on the risks of using the CBP One cellphone app as a screening tool — the results of the assessments are not disclosed in the report.

The inspector general's report goes on to say they identified "similar weaknesses" in CBP’s screening processes, which allowed "high-risk individuals into the country."

One of the high-risk individuals who was released into the U.S. was done so while on the FBI Terror Watchlist in 2022. There were also two Afghans paroled into the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome, who have posed a threat to national security, the report notes.

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"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 report concluded.

Both ICE and CBP pushed back against the IG's report, and the DHS did not concur with the report’s findings. TSA added that the report does not reflect their current policies.

DHS said they cannot detain all individuals subject to detention, including inadmissible noncitizens without ID, due to several reasons, including a lack of resources, such as bed space.

A spokesperson for the DHS told Fox News the report contains inaccurate statements, lacks important context and is misleading about the DHS's efforts to verify the identity of noncitizens seeking entry into the U.S., and screening noncitizens who fly domestically.

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"DHS rejects the [the Office of Inspector General'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," the spokesperson said. "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."

ICE said it is currently funded with a detention capacity of 41,500 beds, which does not allow it to detain every noncitizen who does not have ID and valid documents, while CBP said its detention facilities are for "short term" detention.

CBP added that it cannot legally hold noncitizens longer than the law allows, even to mitigate potential risks.

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee - Republicans, reacted to the report in a statement to Fox News.

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"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 wrote. "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."