Homeland Republicans to TSA: Prioritize the Safety & Security of Law-Abiding Americans

WASHINGTON, DC – Republican Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security are calling out the Biden Administration’s policy of allowing arrest warrants to count as a valid form of identification for illegal migrants at airport security checkpoints.

In a letter to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske, the Members laid out indisputable facts and raised serious concerns about the Administration’s handling of its record high crime and illegal migration crisis.

The Members wrote: “We understand that TSA has allowed migrants who do not have acceptable forms of identification to present alternative DHS-issued documents so they can proceed through TSA security screening to board flights. We are extremely concerned that TSA is allowing illegal migrants to use arrest warrants and removal/deportation warrants as valid identification documents to go through airport security screening.”

“With crime and illegal migration at record numbers in this country, there is no excuse for this irresponsible and misguided policy. The reliability of these DHS documents for confirming an individual’s identity should never outweigh the risk of allowing unescorted illegal migrants with arrest or removal/deportation warrants to proceed through security checkpoints and board commercial flights without an ICE or other law enforcement escort. The American people deserve a safe and secure U.S. aviation system,” the Members concluded.

The letter is signed by Ranking Member John Katko (R-NY), Vice Ranking Member Michael Guest (R-MS), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Ranking Member of the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Jake LaTurner (R-KS), Peter Meijer (R-MI), Kat Cammack (R-FL), August Pfluger (R-TX), and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY).

Click here to view the full letter.

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