Homeland Security is releasing hundreds of thousands of migrants who haven’t been able to prove their identities to authorities, the department’s inspector general said Wednesday.
Many of them are then allowed to board airplanes based on the information they self-reported, introducing a new element of risk to the flying public, investigators said.
The audit supports the claims of security experts who have warned about the lack of proper vetting for migrants in the current border surge. The report also challenges Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ claims that his department does know who’s sneaking into the U.S.
“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 inspector general said.
Customs and Border Protection guards the border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement handles interior enforcement and some releases, and the Transportation Security Administration handles passenger screening at airports. All three agencies are part of Homeland Security.
Many of the key details are redacted from the report released publicly on Wednesday, citing security reasons.
Jim Crumpacker, Homeland Security’s liaison to the inspector general, disputed some of the inspector general’s conclusions, saying the report “contains inaccurate statements” and lacked context.
“The realty is that TSA’s current policies and procedures already mitigate the potential risks associated with travelers who do not have an acceptable form of identification,” he said.
Mr. Crumpacker acknowledged the government’s difficulties in dealing with migrants who show up without identification. He admitted the government has released “hundreds of thousands” of them.
But he said the department’s hands are tied by lack of detention space and other countries’ unwillingness to take back deportees.
The inspector general, though, said border authorities have the power to block entry of people without valid identification unless they make asylum claims.
“The point we make in the report is that CBP and ICE cannot always verify some noncitizens’ identities when they make decisions regarding whether to release the noncitizens into the country. The lack of assurance creates a potential risk,” the audit said.
Investigators observed immigration officials as they processed 53 migrants in April 2023. Seven had no identification.
They, like the other migrants, had their fingerprints entered into government databases, along with other biographic information.
But the border authorities aren’t required to document in their files whether the information came from an identification or from the migrant’s own say-so.
“CBP and ICE immigration officers we interviewed 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 audit said.
Even when migrants have identification, it doesn’t always reflect their actual identities. The Washington Times reported last month on the ease with which migrants are able to erase their identities, with smuggling cartels providing new fake documents as they cross the border.
Investigators said CBP has a history of catching and releasing “high-risk individuals into the country.”
That problem is compounded when the migrants try to board airplanes, the inspector general said.
The audit said TSA has acknowledged risks in several studies, including one as recently as July 5. The details of that were redacted in the report.
Investigators made three recommendations, including conducting risk assessments to see what threats may be lurking in the population without identification.
Homeland Security disagreed with all three recommendations.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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