‘Every American needs to show ID to enter our country. So why do we make it simpler for illegal immigrants to come in than for our own people?’
Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced legislation on March 26 to prevent illegal immigrants from exploiting “loopholes” for air travel into or within the United States without valid identification.
The legislation titled the “Verifying that all Aliens have Legitimate Identification Documents (VALID) Act” prohibits the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from accepting the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) phone app known as CBP One, Notice to Appear (NTA), and a Notice to Report (NTR) as legal forms of identification for illegal aliens at TSA security checkpoints and for boarding planes.
The VALID Act also bars aircraft from foreign nations that accept those documents as valid forms of identification from flying into the United States.
“Every American needs to show ID to enter our country. So why do we make it simpler for illegal immigrants to come in than for our own people? As our nation grapples with an unprecedented invasion at our southern border, the VALID Act resolves to close the loopholes that have allowed 200,000 illegal immigrants into the country unchecked,” Mr. Lee said in a March 26 statement announcing the legislation.
“The Biden administration’s policies have blatantly facilitated this crisis, encouraging illegal immigration and compromising our nation’s security,” he added.
The CBP to Fly One app was created during the Trump administration in 2020 to reduce wait times for perishable commercial goods entering the United States at legal points of entry. But the Biden administration expanded the use of the app last year, allowing illegal immigrants to schedule appointments with the CBP.
According to CBP, in January 2024, it processed about 45,000 non-citizens at ports of entry via appointments using the CBP One app to enter the United States. From January 2023 to January 2024, nearly 460,000 aliens used the app for “successfully scheduled appointments to present at ports of entry.”
Mr. Scott, in a March 13 letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanded information and questioned the TSA for allowing 320,000 inadmissible illegal immigrants to fly on commercial airliners without government-issued identification.
The legislation is co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and John Thune (R-S.D.).
By Aaron Pan
