According to an exclusive email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Republican lawmakers are concerned about illegal migrants traveling on commercial flights across the country without their identification.
It revealed TSA’s national vetting center processed more than 42,000 non-citizens, and non-U.S. citizens requesting document validations between the beginning of the year and mid-October.
Gooden along with Republican Reps. David McKinley from West Virginia and Mary Miller, Illinois wrote a formal note on Nov. 15, asking TSA Administrator David Pekoske about possible national security consequences of allowing illegal migrants “without ID.”
They also sent letters to Facebook and TikTok. In the eight letters, the lawmakers demand answers to a list of different questions based on their policies and screening procedures.
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) November 17, 2021
According to an email, TSA stated that it accepts other forms of identification such as a Notice To Appear (NTA). Before obtaining an NTA, or another Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE)/U.S. CBP states that border agents will only process names that match biometric data.
TSA states that there is an alternative method of identifying individuals for screening.
“The TDC typically verifies the traveler’s identity using an acceptable form of ID. For travelers in normal circumstances who lack acceptable or alternate forms of ID, TSA calls the National Transportation Vetting Center (NTVC), which attempts to verify a traveler’s identity by using the individual’s information along with information from various government and commercial databases.”
According to the email, if a migrant’s identity can’t be established using an accepted form of ID, it is up the airport’s Federal Security Director to decide whether they will be allowed through TSA.
Chad Wolf, a former DHS Acting Secretary who had previously held a variety of high-ranking positions at TSA under George W. Bush administration and the Trump administration, told the DCNF that there are still risks to the process despite the vetting procedures in place.
TSA has confirmed to DCNF that there is a process to verify illegal migrants with immigration documents and a ticket to a commercial flight. We did not receive a response from the agency regarding our request to know the most recent processing numbers for non-citizens or non-U.S. citizens.
DHS did not respond to ICE’s request for comment.
