Top Points:
Security Lapse at U.S. Airports: Senator Ron Johnson warns that American airports are at risk of becoming "easily exploited avenues for illegal immigration and terrorism" due to inadmissible travelers being released into the U.S. interior and failing to return for their deportation flights.
Procedural Failures: A DHS Office of Inspector General report found that nearly 67,000 inadmissible travelers were identified at U.S. airports between October 2021 and May 2023. Almost 400 were released from one airport, with nearly half not returning for their deportation flights. CBP failed to issue required court appearance notices for many of these travelers due to inadequate tracking and staffing.
ICE Detention Limitations: ICE's limitations on detention space and staffing contributed to the security gap, as officers were instructed to deny overnight detention requests from CBP. This resulted in many inadmissible travelers not being detained overnight, exacerbating the risk of them disappearing into the U.S. interior.
Full Report:
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has issued a stark warning regarding American airports potentially turning into "easily exploited avenues for illegal immigration and terrorism" under the current administration. In an exclusive letter shared with Breitbart News, Johnson highlights the risks posed by inadmissible travelers who are released into the U.S. interior and often fail to return for their deportation flights.
Inadmissible travelers are foreign nationals denied entry into the U.S. by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents for various reasons. Typically, these individuals are detained by CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while awaiting deportation flights. However, there are instances where they are released into the U.S. and asked to return later for their flight.
A recent report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed that nearly 67,000 inadmissible travelers were identified at U.S. airports between October 2021 and May 2023. Disturbingly, nearly 400 of these travelers were released into the U.S. from a single undisclosed airport, and almost half did not return for their deportation flights.
Senator Johnson, in his letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, emphasized significant procedural lapses. The OIG report noted that CBP failed to follow required procedures for 77 of the 168 inadmissible travelers who missed their removal flights. According to the report, CBP did not issue the necessary notices to appear in immigration court (NTAs) for these travelers due to a lack of an effective tracking process and insufficient staffing for issuing NTAs.
The report also identified ICE as contributing to this security gap. ICE leadership reportedly instructed officers to deny CBP overnight detention requests before removal flights due to staffing and bed space limitations. The local jail housing ICE’s detention center near this airport has 540 beds, but ICE only has access to about 80 of them. Consequently, CBP struggled to detain inadmissible travelers overnight, lacking both an overnight shift and sufficient overtime hours.
Johnson has demanded that Secretary Mayorkas provide detailed information on inadmissible travelers, especially those who remain in the U.S. after failing to appear for their deportation flights. He stressed the urgency of addressing this security lapse to prevent American airports from becoming conduits for illegal immigration and terrorism.
Original Story by John Binder, Breitbart
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