Biden-Harris Gov’t Has No Clue How Many Unvetted Aliens It Let In

The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security issued a new report revealing that the Biden-Harris administration has endangered Americans’ safety by intentionally welcoming millions of illegal immigrants into the U.S. without properly vetting them. The importance of these findings cannot be ignored, as they directly affect our personal and national security.

The redacted report’s long title is also its conclusion: “CBP, ICE, and TSA Did Not Fully Assess Risks Associated with Releasing Noncitizens without Identification into the United States and Allowing Them to Travel on Domestic Flights.” Among the three agencies, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are entrusted with verifying the identity of noncitizens seeking entry into the United States, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for screening all individuals intending to fly domestically and ensuring the safety of air travel.

The Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits noncitizens without identification from entering the country, and CBP and ICE are supposed to check the identity of migrants and detain those without proper identification, such as an unexpired visa or a valid passport. However, the IG’s investigation found that under the Biden-Harris administration, CBP and ICE have released noncitizens without identification into the U.S. under at least two scenarios.

First, if the noncitizens do not have identification but “indicate they either intend to apply for asylum or express a fear of persecution in their home country, an immigration officer will refer them for a credible fear interview. If asylum officers determine those claims are credible, these noncitizens may be released into the country to await further hearings or reviews of their claims to admission.” 

Second, CBP and ICE agents can “parole noncitizens into the United States temporarily for ‘urgent humanitarian reasons’ or ‘significant public benefit.’” Before releasing illegal migrants into the U.S., CBP and ICE agents typically issue paperwork such as Form I-862 and Form I-220A with information collected from migrants’ legal identifications. However, when illegal migrants do not have legal identification, CBP and ICE immigration officers accept their “self-reported biographical information and use this information to populate the forms.”

Essentially, the Biden–Harris administration has accepted illegal aliens’ word for who they are and uploaded what could be false information on official documents and databases, including the CBP One mobile application. Other government agencies, such as TSA, will later use the CBP- and ICE-generated documents to “screen” illegal migrants. 

TSA requires that all passengers provide a TSA-acceptable form of identification, such as a government-issued driver’s license or passport, before boarding an aircraft in the United States. However, the IG’s report has revealed a concerning practice under the Biden-Harris administration: Illegal migrants without identifications have been allowed to fly around the country. These individuals have been “validated” using the CBP One mobile application and other documents generated by CBP and ICE, which have accepted migrants’ self-reported information. This raises serious questions about the reliability of the vetting process and the potential consequences of such actions on national security. 

When the IG requested data on the number of noncitizens who did not have identification and were released into the United States from 2021 through 2023, neither CBP nor ICE had any idea because their “immigration officers are not required to document whether a noncitizen presented identification in the databases.” Furthermore, both agencies claimed limited resources and legislative constraints have hindered their ability to vet and detain noncitizens without identification. For example, ICE officials declared that “their currently funded detention capacity of approximately 41,500 beds does not allow them to detain every noncitizen without proper and valid identification documents.”

Given the unknown number of noncitizens without identification released into the United States, the IG’s office conducted its own investigation by observing the processing of a small sample of 53 noncitizens at various facilities. It found that “7 of the 53 noncitizens (13 percent) did not have identification.”

This small sample, when extrapolated to the 8 million-plus illegal migrant encounters under the Biden-Harris administration, suggests that more than 1 million of them are without identification. This is not a trivial concern. The potential threat to our personal and national security is significant. As one House report found, “294 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist have been apprehended at the Southwest border between ports of entry since the beginning of FY 2021 — and those are only the individuals Border Patrol agents have caught.”

The IG report concludes:

Under 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.

Byron York, a well-known political analyst, wrote in the Washington Examiner: “What government official would let so many people who entered the country illegally remain in the U.S. without even knowing who they are? That would be crazy.” Yet that’s exactly what the Biden-Harris administration has done.

Since 2021, the administration has created a vicious cycle. Its open-border policies have led to a record number of illegal border crossings, a situation that has overwhelmed the CBP and ICE, straining these agencies’ resources. This strain has then become the administration’s excuse not to enforce existing border security policies and procedures and let even “unvetted” illegal migrants stay. Of course, illegal migrants interpreted the administration’s lack of enforcement of existing laws as rolling out the welcome mat for more illegal border crossings. The cycle goes on. 

Kamala Harris, the Democrat Party’s presidential nominee and the failed border czar appointed by President Joe Biden, recently promised to be tough on the border on day one if elected. But she has zero credibility left on the border security issue. As J.D. Vance, the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee, pointed out in his recent debate with Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, Harris “has been the vice president for three and half years. Day one was 1,400 days ago.”

The IG’s report is the latest evidence that America’s border crisis is the direct result of the Biden-Harris administration’s policies. The American people shouldn’t reward Harris with a promotion.