Two House Republicans on Tuesday introduced legislation that would block the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from allowing illegal immigrants to use arrest warrants to board flights.
Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., introduced the “Crime Doesn’t Fly” Act, which would prohibit TSA from allowing illegal immigrants to use civil immigration warrants as an alternative form of identification.
TSA confirmed to Fox on Friday that it is allowing the warrants, which represent civil immigration enforcement and are not criminal arrest warrants, as an alternative. The Daily Caller had first reported the TSA response to an inquiry on the matter by Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas.
“For noncitizens and non-U.S. nationals who do not otherwise have acceptable forms of ID for presentation at security checkpoints, TSA may also accept certain DHS-issued forms, including ICE Form I-200 (Warrant for Arrest of an Alien),” a TSA spokesperson told Fox News. That refers to a civil immigration arrest warrant.
The agency added that the document will then be validated via an “alien identification number” being checked against a number of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) databases for personally identifiable information – including the CBP One mobile application and TSA’s National Transportation Vetting Center (NTVC).
“All passengers whose identity is verified through alternate procedures receive additional screening before being allowed into the secure area of the airport,” the statement said. A TSA spokesperson stressed that the DHS-issued forms are civil immigration documents and not indicative of a public safety or national security threat.
While the policy of accepting alternative forms of identification, including for illegal immigrants, has been in place before the Biden administration, Republicans are raising new concerns about it amid the ongoing crisis at the southern border – which has seen tens of thousands of migrants released into the U.S., many of whom do not arrive with the necessary identification. Republicans have been expressing concern for months about migrants without adequate ID getting on flights.
The bill from Malliotakis and Davis would bar TSA from using either the I-200 or the I-205. The bar would not apply to an illegal immigrant who is being deported from the country.
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“If we learned anything from the Sept. 11 attacks, it’s that our federal agencies must be diligent in screening passengers to ensure those flying don’t pose a terrorist or criminal threat to themselves or other passengers on board,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “Allowing illegal immigrants, particularly those with arrest and deportation warrants, to board domestic or international flights is a public safety and national security risk of the highest extreme and against the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. “
The Daily Caller reported that TSA data show that between Jan. 1, 2021, to Oct. 31, 2021, the NTVC processed 45,577 noncitizens and non-U.S. nationals seeking validation of their DHS documents, 44,947 of which had their documents verified through the NTVC. CBP One was used approximately 60,000 times between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2021. Gooden told the outlet that he was told by a border patrol officer that “they often have to take migrants at their word that they are who they say they are” when issuing DHS documents accepted by TSA.
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“Anyone who is in our country illegally should not be allowed to travel throughout the United States unless they’re being deported,” Rep. Davis said in a statement, adding that it is “time for Congress to re-assert its authority because President Biden’s reckless open border immigration policies are a harm to families everywhere.”
The bill has 12 co-sponsors, including Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Michael Guest, R-Miss.
The bill comes as the Biden administration announced that there were 178,840 migrant encounters in December. On Tuesday, Fox News published footage showing large numbers of single adults being released and transported to a nearby airport in Texas.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
