Sunshine Sentinel

WASHINGTON, D.C.— On March 13, 2024, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) reckless screening policy which enables unvetted illegal aliens to travel without a government-issued photo ID by using the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “CBP One” app. According to a recent FOIA lawsuit, DHS approved 320,000 inadmissible illegal aliens traveling through 43 United States airports in 2023 through the CBP One app, while legal American citizens and visitors were required to present valid IDs. In his letter, Senator Scott notes this as another brazen attempt by the Biden administration to undermine U.S. law as his open border crisis allows millions to enter the country unchecked, further endangering the American people.   

Almost two years ago, during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Senator Scott grilled the TSA about illegal aliens not being required to present a valid ID to fly in the United States. Watch his questioning HERE.

Read the full letter to Secretary Mayorkas HERE or below:

Dear Secretary Mayorkas: 

I write to request additional information regarding the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) reckless screening policy, which enables unvetted illegal aliens with no government-issued verifiable identification to board commercial airplanes alongside American citizens. A recent report from the Center of Immigration Studies through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request identified that in 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the transit of 320,000 inadmissible illegal aliens to 43 U.S. airports pre-approved by your agency through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “CBP One” app.[1] This shows yet another brazen attempt to undermine U.S. law by using CBP One to conceal the Biden administration’s self-inflicted border crisis. 

While American citizens and foreign visitors legally in the U.S. must present an approved form of identification to fly, TSA has chosen to allow illegal aliens with no identification to choose an alternate identity verification process operated by CBP One before flying on commercial airlines into U.S. airports. [2] This reckless policy puts the authenticity of fundamental identity verification information for illegal aliens at issue, such as their name and dates of birth, potentially allowing secret agents, terrorists and other criminals to adopt a new identity here in the United States. Further complicating matters, TSA is not reviewing authenticated identity documents from an alien’s home country. 

Under the Biden administration, countries whose citizens are eligible for parole through CBP One are Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and Ecuador.[3] It is well documented that Iran-backed terrorist groups live freely and under the protection of the illegitimate Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela.[4] In 2017, it was revealed that the Maduro regime used its embassy in Iraq to sell Venezuelan passports and IDs to individuals from the Middle East, including people connected to Hezbollah.[5] It is now credibly alleged that Hezbollah is working to infiltrate Colombia under the radical-left Gustavo Petro regime.[6] The Biden administration CBP routinely paroles inadmissible illegal aliens into the U.S. under a self-provided name and date of birth, which has allowed other agencies like TSA to later rely on the uncorroborated CBP One data as if it were verified.[7] DHS has intentionally made our country more vulnerable to adversaries with dangerous policies that put Americans and fellow passengers at great risk and weaken U.S. national security. 

Please provide the information requested below with written responses no later than March 27, 2024:

1. Of the 320,000 illegal aliens who have arrived at 43 U.S. airports via CBP One, how many are unaccompanied alien children?
2. Provide a complete list of all U.S. airports to which CBP One passengers have arrived.
3. Provide a complete list of all domestic and international commercial airlines CBP One passengers have traveled on into the U.S.
4. Are domestic commercial airline passengers made aware that they are sharing a flight with CBP One passengers who lack basic identification documents?
5. Has DHS identified any CBP One passengers as threats to the homeland following their domestic travel?
6. How does TSA verify a CBP One passenger’s identification with countries with which the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with, such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela?
7. Provide examples of “acceptable alternate identification” identified by TSA.[8]
8. Provide examples of “special circumstances” under which alternative identification may be used.[9]
9. Since January 1, 2024, and March 10, 2024, how many illegal aliens have DHS approved transit into the United States via a U.S. airport? 
   1. Of those, how many are unaccompanied alien children?
10. Are American taxpayer dollars being used to fund CBP One passenger flights?

 

I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

Original source can be found here.