Chairman Green Requests Unredacted DHS OIG Report on DHS Failures to Vet, Screen Inadmissible Aliens Being Released, Allowed to Board Flights

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Friday, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) requested an unredacted copy of a September 30, 2024, report by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), concerning the failure of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to bar inadmissible aliens without proper identification from entering the country, or to adequately vet them prior to boarding domestic flights. Chairman Green requests OIG provide the report to the Committee by October 7 at 5:00PM. Read the full letter here.

"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," Chairman Green said upon release of the redacted report. "This administration should not be letting unvetted inadmissible aliens 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."

BACKGROUND:

In the heavily-redacted September 30 report, the DHS OIG states, "[u]nder current processes, CBP and ICE cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country. Additionally, TSA cannot ensure its vetting and screening procedures prevent high-risk noncitizens who may pose a threat to the flying public from boarding domestic flights." The report makes three recommendations, including an examination of potential risks "associated with releasing noncitizens into the country without identification," as well as the implementation of policies to mitigate these risks.

In March 2024, Chairman Green was joined by Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Dan Bishop (R-NC), Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Giménez (R-FL), and Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-LA) on a letter to TSA, demanding answers on the airport security screening process for inadmissible aliens who have been mass-paroled into the country through the CBP One app.

In January 2024, a sign posted at a TSA checkpoint in Miami revealed that the agency is "partnering with CBP to test the use of CBP One" at various TSA checkpoints and further stating that inadmissible aliens without identification may decline to have their photo taken by TSA officers. In other words, inadmissible aliens are boarding flights across the country every day without ever presenting the identification that American citizens and other travelers are required to provide.

While the CBP One app was created for commercial purposes, the Biden administration unlawfully expanded its use in January 2023 to allow otherwise-inadmissible aliens to schedule appointments at ports of entry and be released into the interior with a Notice to Appear (NTA) after minimal, if any, vetting. That expansion further enables a violation of the clear statutory limits on granting parole.

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