DHS Inspector General finds that Biden-Harris border agencies 'did not fully assess risks' of releasing 'noncitizens' into US, does not trust 'vetting and screening procedures'

A redacted report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General has found that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not "fully assess risks associated with releasing noncitizens without identification into the United States and allowing them to travel on domestic flights." 

The report stated that although the CBP and ICE have policies and procedures in place to check the identification of those crossing the border into the US illegally, "they cannot always verify the noncitizens’ identities."

"Under current processes, CBP and ICE cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country," the report stated. "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 stated that under federal law, "noncitizens without identification are not admissible into the country and shall be detained," but CBP and ICE officials are "permitted to release noncitizens into the United States based on various considerations."

The report stated that ICE and CBP officers can "accept self-reported biographical information, which they use to issue various immigration forms," and "once in the United States, noncitizens can travel on domestic flights." 

The report also noted that the TSA relies on background checks conducted by ICE and CBP background checks to determine if someone could pose a threat, and because of this, "TSA’s methods to screen for individuals who pose a threat would not necessarily prevent these individuals from boarding flights."

The report included a heavily redacted section on the results of the TSA Requirements and Capabilities Analysis office’s assessment on the risks associated with the use of the CBP One app.

"In recent reports, we documented similar weaknesses in CBP’s screening processes that allowed high-risk individuals into the country. For example, one noncitizen released into the United States in 2022 was later found to appear on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Watchlist," the report stated.

"We also identified at least two persons paroled into the United States as part of Operation Allies Refuge/Operation Allies Welcome that may have posed a threat to national security and the safety of local communities,: the report continued. "Finally, in June 2024, we reported that DHS’ biometrics system, the Automated Biometric Identification System, could not access all data from Federal partners to ensure complete screening and vetting of noncitizens seeking admission into the United States."

"Specifically, we determined that CBP could not access all biometric data held in the Department of Defense’s Automated Biometric Identification System, which contains the Department of Defense’s Biometrically Enabled Watchlist."

The report concluded that "If CBP and ICE continue to allow noncitizens — whose identities immigration officers cannot confirm — to enter the country, they may inadvertently increase national security risks."

The Office of the Inspector General recommended that "senior officials with the CBP and ICE "conduct a comprehensive analysis of the risks associated with releasing noncitizens into the country without identification and develop and implement policies and procedures to mitigate those risks" and that the TSA Administrator use the "results of the Requirements and Capabilities Analysis office’s updated CBP OneTM risk assessment to develop and implement policy and procedural changes needed to mitigate risks."

In response to a draft version of the report, the Department of Homeland Security "did not concur with the recommendations" the office offered and "expressed concerns about the analysis and conclusions presented in the report." TSA officials said that "the statements and conclusions in the report do not reflect current policies and procedures and that the report did not integrate and emphasize substantive information TSA provided."

In a statement following the release of the final report, the Department of Homeland Security said, "The Inspector General’s report contains inaccurate statements, lacks important context, and is misleading about the Department’s efforts to verify the identity of noncitizens seeking entry into the United States and screening noncitizens flying domestically."

"DHS rejects the OIG’s core recommendations because they are premised on a fundamental misunderstanding of our policies and processes—which already incorporate numerous measures to minimize risk, identify those who pose a potential public safety or national security threat, and detain or refer to law enforcement those who do."

The DHS said the report doesn’t reflect policy and procedural updates that the department implemented this year "to improve security in accordance with TSA’s normal risk assessment process," including an "updated standard operating procedure at TSA checkpoints to ensure noncitizens without acceptable forms of identification undergo facial matching technology or be denied entry to secure areas of the airport."

"DHS continuously evaluates its procedures and processes to make adjustments, as needed, with the core goal of protecting public safety," the department said, adding that every person processed at the border by DHS "goes through rigorous national security and public safety vetting, and if any individual is identified as posing a threat, they are denied admission, detained, removed, or referred to other federal agencies for further investigation or prosecution as appropriate." 

"We continually monitor available sources of intelligence and law enforcement information to identify threats and public safety risks. If and when any new information emerges, DHS work closely with the FBI and other partners to take appropriate action.”