The details are in a new report from the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security. It has the clunky title “CBP, ICE, and TSA Did Not Fully Assess Risks Associated with Releasing Noncitizens without Identification into the United States and Allowing Them to Travel on Domestic Flights.” (CBP refers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE refers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and TSA is the Transportation Security Administration.) The stated reason for the report is to explore the problem of unvetted migrants being allowed on airliners inside the U.S. But the report also delves into why the unvetted migrants were allowed to stay in the country in the first place. Forgive the long excerpt, but this is the basic story, from the report:

According to CBP enforcement statistics, officers encountered more than 3.2 million noncitizens nationwide in fiscal year 2023, including more than 2.4 million encounters at the Southwest border. When CBP or ICE immigration officers encounter noncitizens who arrive in the United States, these individuals are generally considered applicants for admission and are subject to inspection by immigration officers. Procedures an immigration officer may perform during the inspection process include: 

* review noncitizens’ identification and travel documents, if available;

* obtain noncitizens’ biographical and biometric information and enter it into DHS databases;

* interview noncitizens;

* collect DNA samples; and

* query law enforcement and immigration databases for derogatory information using biographical and biometric data obtained.

OK. So that is a lot of people — 2.4 million encounters at the southwest border alone. Clearly the top priority for border officers is finding out who the illegal border crosser is. Most of the procedures officers are instructed to follow are based on the premise that the officer succeeds in finding out who the crosser is. Here is what the officer is supposed to do then, again from the report:

If CBP or ICE immigration officers’ inspections yield derogatory information, depending on the nature of the information, noncitizens may be (1) deemed inadmissible and refused admission; (2) detained, or (3) released into the United States pending immigration hearings or review of their admissibility claims by an immigration judge. 

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However the case is handled, in every case, the officers assign each noncitizen an alien registration number, known in the biz as the A-Number, that will be used in all paperwork concerning that particular illegal border crosser. But here’s the thing: What if the illegal border crosser does not have any identification beyond the A-Number that the U.S. government has just given him? What if he just shows up? It happens hundreds of thousands of times. From the report:

If noncitizens do not have identification such as an unexpired visa, unexpired passport, re-entry permit, border crossing identification card, or document of identity and nationality, immigration officers may deny their admission and subject them to removal from the United States without further hearing or review. However, if noncitizens without identification indicate they either intend to apply for asylum or express a fear of persecution in their home country, an immigration officer will refer them for a credible fear interview. If asylum officers determine those claims are credible, these noncitizens may be released into the [U.S] to await further hearings or reviews of their claims to admission.

It seems obvious that anyone who has crossed into the country illegally can stay simply by stating that he or she is afraid of returning home. The Biden-Harris administration has been exceedingly generous in deciding what migrant claims are credible, so expressing fear of return is the ticket to staying here — even if the real reason one has illegally crossed into the U.S. is purely economic or some other reason that is not an acceptable reason for admission. Migrants know that, of course, so they tell U.S. officials they’re afraid.

But wait. Border officers, under instructions from Washington, can let anybody else in for any reason at any time. And it doesn’t matter if those officers have no idea who that person is. It doesn’t matter if the illegal crosser has no identification. It doesn’t matter if he has no proof of identity. The officer can just let them in. From the report:

CBP and ICE immigration officers can also parole noncitizens into the United States temporarily for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit.” Before releasing noncitizens into the country, CBP and ICE immigration officers issue such documents as a Form I-862 [which is an instruction to appear before an immigration judge at some point in the distant future] and Form I-220A [which places a noncitizen in removal proceedings but also releases him into the country on his own recognizance]. If the noncitizens do not have identification, CBP and ICE immigration officers accept noncitizens’ self-reported biographical information and use this information to [fill out] the forms.

They accept the illegal border crosser’s word for who he is. He has entered the U.S. illegally, he has no identification, and border authorities say, “OK, just tell us who you are and we’ll let you in.” So in he comes, and the U.S. government has no way to know whether he is who he says he is or not. Nor does it have any way to know his history. And in the grand finale, TSA — remember, this report was originally about TSA — will accept the documents generated with the illegal crosser’s own “self-reported” information to allow the crosser to fly domestically in the U.S.

It’s a mockery of security from DHS. You will obviously want to know how often this happens. The answer is DHS does not know because DHS does not want to know. Its rules do not require officers to keep a record of how many noncitizens without any identification are released into the U.S. The inspector general was appalled, but there was nothing he could do. From the report:

We requested data on the number of noncitizens who did not have identification and were released into the United States from fiscal years 2021 through 2023. Because immigration officers are not required to document whether a noncitizen presented identification in the databases, the data we obtained may be incomplete. Therefore, neither CBP nor ICE could determine how many of the millions of noncitizens seeking entry in the United States each year entered without identification and whose self-reported biographic information was accepted. CBP and ICE immigration officers we interviewed acknowledged the risks of allowing noncitizens without identification into the country, yet neither CBP nor ICE conducted a comprehensive risk assessment for these noncitizens to assess the level of risk these individuals present and developed corresponding mitigation measures.

So there it is. DHS has no idea how many illegal border crossers without identification it has allowed to stay in the country. So the inspector general conducted a tiny survey that provides a little information. Investigators observed the processing of 53 noncitizens at various facilities and found that seven of them, or 13%, had no identification. That’s far too small a sample to conclude much of anything, but if it just happened to be right, 13% of 3.2 million noncitizens who crossed into the U.S. in just one year, fiscal 2023, would be 416,000 people. In just one year.

It’s a scandal, but it’s not a surprise. We’ve known since the 2020 campaign that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris intended to open the U.S. border to illegal crossers. No one can be shocked that they did what they said they would do. Now, running for president herself, Harris likes to talk tough about the border. Should you believe it? Not before you read the new inspector general report.