U.S. citizens barred from TSA’s ID-free migrant check-in lines at Tucson airport

by WorldTribune Staff, December 10, 2023

Team Biden policies have not only opened the southern border to illegal aliens but have also expedited their boarding on flights from the Tucson International Airport by not requiring proper identification.

U.S. citizens, on the other hand, are not allowed to take advantage of the Transportation Security Administration’s ID-free migrant check-in lines.

“Despite the firm requirements for United States citizens and legally admitted international travelers to possess valid forms of identification to board aircraft, the migrants were shuffled through a ‘special’ security screening line set up by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), specifically for migrants — many without any identification whatsoever,” Randy Clark reported from Tucson for Breitbart Texas on Saturday.

Clark reported that several regular travelers were told to leave the special “migrant security line” because they were not non-citizens.

According to TSA regulations, all passengers age 18 and older must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint in order to board a plane. Acceptable identification listed by the TSA includes state driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, DHS trusted traveler cards, U.S. Department of Defense ID, Legal Permanent Resident cards, and foreign passports, among other similar government-issued photo-bearing identification cards.

A caveat at the bottom of the list reads: “In coordination with its DHS counterparts, TSA has identified acceptable alternate identification for use in special circumstances at the checkpoint.” This likely refers to the procedures that allow migrants released by the Border Patrol to board aircraft without such identification.

“The migrants traveling on Friday carried manila envelopes that contained a Notice to Appear and documents showing the migrants were released from federal custody on their own recognizance,” Clark noted.

Several migrant family groups told Breitbart Texas they were waiting for an afternoon flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

The Biden Administration is quickly moving migrants out of Tucson, where more than 4,000 migrants are being held in a space designated by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to hold slightly more than 2,600.

Clark cited a source as saying the quick release of the migrants poses a significant risk to U.S. national security.

According to an investigative report by the DHS Office of the Inspector General, in April 2022, one migrant on the Terrorist Watch List was released by the Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona. The report noted a series of failures by multiple DHS agencies resulted in the failure to conclusively determine that the migrant was on the Terrorist Watchlist, resulting in the release from custody.

The migrant and family members were later encountered attempting to board an aircraft by TSA security screening personnel at the Palm Springs International Airport. Despite the second encounter by DHS personnel, the migrant was ultimately able to travel to Tampa, Florida, and was not rearrested by ICE for more than two weeks.

Breitbart Texas reported on Dec. 2 that Border Patrol apprehended nearly 190,000 migrants entering the United States illegally at the southern border in November.


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