Republicans launch investigation into TSA over concerns it checks migrants’ identities less stringently than US citizens: Lawmakers allege CBP One App, used to process migrants, allowed 96 percent of applicants into US last year

Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee are investigating the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for having weaker identification standards for migrants than U.S. citizens.

The committee’s investigation comes after reports indicated that migrants may use the CBP One app as an identification method before boarding flights to or within the US.

U.S. citizens, meanwhile, are usually required to provide standard identification, such as a passport, driver’s license or permanent resident card.

Now, House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and other members are asking TSA Chief David Pekoske to turn over documents and communications related to the agency’s migrant identification standards, according to a letter exclusively obtained by DailyMail. com.

“The committee is concerned that TSA’s screening procedures apply a weaker standard of identity verification for alien migrants than for U.S. citizens, creating an aviation security risk,” Green wrote.

Migrants from Central and South America wait in Mexico for admission to the US

Migrants attempt to enter El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in early March

TSA “is reportedly allowing aliens to pass through airport security checkpoints without verification of identity documents, relying on unverified biographical information collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the CBP One application.”

“The biographical information collected on aliens arriving at a port of entry may be insufficient to screen and investigate individuals for potential security risks,” the letter said.

According to CBP, more than 45,000 migrants used the CBP One app to enter the US in January

About 96 percent of migrants who had an appointment scheduled through CBP One from January 12, 2023 to September 30, 2023 were released, the letter said, totaling 267,000 individuals released into the US.

An earlier DailyMail.com report showed how the CBP One app was central to a Biden administration program that has flown more than 320,000 migrants from abroad to the US

The program was part of Biden’s expansion of the CBP One app, which launched in early 2023.

Under Biden’s expansion, migrants could apply for asylum from their home countries through the app.

However, transporting these migrants directly to the US is one of the app’s lesser-known uses.

Migrants seeking asylum in the United States who previously requested an appointment based on the CBP One application attend their appointment

A migrant from Venezuela seeking asylum in the US uses his phone to make an appointment

“There is no logical reason why U.S. citizens and other legitimate travelers should undergo more thorough screening than inadmissible aliens,” Green said Thursday during a committee hearing on CBP One.

“Yet the flying public has witnessed this at airports across the country thanks to Secretary Mayorkas’ unlawful use of the CBP One app to implement mass catch and release.”

“As our adversaries’ threats become more complex, now is not the time to make it easier for them to take advantage of us,” Green continued. “This troubling TSA policy is just one example of the Biden administration’s utter refusal to take the homeland security mission seriously.”

During the hearing, members examined the purpose of CBP One and how it is used by migrants.

Inadmissible aliens from countries including Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua who are participating in DHS parole programs can use the CBP One app to request permission to fly to the U.S., Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., said Thursday. .

“CBP One was created to reduce wait times for perishable commercial goods passing through these ports for legitimate commerce. But Mayorkas DHS has repurposed the CBP One app.”

“Most of these aliens have been paroled and released into the United States. And in most cases we really don’t know who they are.’

“This is intentional abuse of parole.”