Federal agencies cannot ensure they are stopping migrants who potentially pose a threat to Americans from boarding domestic flights, an inspector general report says. 

According to a report by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Transportation Security Administration failed to “fully assess risks associated with releasing noncitizens into America.” 

Mr. Cuffari says that CBP and ICE “have policies and procedures to check the identity” of migrants trying to enter America. However, his report states, “They cannot always verify the noncitizens’ identities.”

The report warns, “TSA’s vetting and screening procedures do not eliminate the risk that noncitizens who may pose a threat to fellow passengers could board domestic flights.” It also states officials cannot ensure they are stopping “high-risk” migrants from getting on flights.

The inspector general’s office sought data on how many migrants without identification were released into America. However, it could not obtain such information because immigration officials are “not required to document whether a noncitizen presented identification.”

While federal law requires migrants to show proper identification to gain entry to the country, the inspector general points out immigration officials can release them into America “on various considerations.” Immigration officials can release individuals who present “self-reported biographical information,” which can be used “to issue various immigration forms.” 

The inspector general says noncitizens are allowed to board domestic flights after they undergo extra screening measures, such as a search of law enforcement and immigration databases to “validate the information on Department of Homeland Security-issued immigration forms.” 

Transportation security officers will also take a picture of the citizen and conduct a search using the CBP One app to see if the person “presenting the document is the same person previously processed by DHS.” A portion of the report highlights an analysis of the “risks associated” with using the app to screen migrants, but it was redacted.

While CBP and ICE officers “acknowledged the risks of allowing noncitizens without identification into the country,” the report says CBP and ICE did not conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment for these noncitizens to assess the level of risk these individuals present.”

The inspector general notes it has previously “documented similar weaknesses” in immigration officials’ screening process “that allowed high-risk individuals into the country.” It highlights one instance of an individual being released into America who was later found to have been on the FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist and an example of two people released into the country who “may have posed a threat to national security and the safety of local communities.”

Immigration officials are also unable to access “all data” from other federal agencies to “ensure complete screening and vetting” of migrants, the report says.

The report’s conclusion warns, “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 Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. However, in a statement included in the report, the department sought to defend its protocols for screening migrants. 

The agency stated that immigration officials use a range of biometric and biographic data to vet migrants and noted that “categorical detention of all individuals subject to detention does not occur” because holding every migrant without identification would require more resources than are currently available.

In addition to the lack of resources, Homeland Security notes federal law prevents CBP from holding migrants for longer than “short-term” detention, “even to mitigate potential risks associated with releasing noncitizens without identity documents.”

When it comes to releasing migrants, the department says ICE examines a “totality of factors” to determine their “dangerousness to the community,” such as whether they have any arrests, convictions, known gang activity, or “other activities” that could put the public at risk. 

The inspector general’s report comes as Homeland Security released its annual threat assessment, which stated, “Over the next year, we expect some individuals with terrorism ties and some criminal actors will continue their efforts to exploit migration flows and the complex border security environment to enter the United States.”

Through July of the 2024 fiscal year, the assessment said, 139 individuals on the Terrorist Screening Data Set were apprehended at the southern border, and 283 were stopped at the northern border.