Led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the VALID Act would prohibit the TSA from accepting the CBP One Mobile App, a Notice to Appear, or a Notice to Report as legal forms of ID for the purposes of successfully passing through TSA security and boarding a plane. (Getty Images)
"Every American needs to show ID to enter our country. Why has our government made it simpler for illegal immigrants to enter and fly around the nation than for our fellow citizens? As America 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," Lee told Fox News Digital.
"The Biden administration's policies have blatantly facilitated this crisis, encouraging illegal immigration and compromising our national security," he added.
According to DHS, up to 1,450 migrants are currently allowed into the country each day at ports of entry via parole. Separately, the CBP One app is used to bring in up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela each month via a separate parole process.
Republicans have repeatedly accused the administration of abusing the parole law, which the administration has denied. They have also raised concerns about the use of the CBP One app to verify documentation when boarding airplanes.
CBP has stressed that those who have entered the country are vetted using biographic and biometric information, and those who are paroled have already provided a photograph. Parolees are not granted an automatic path to citizenship, and Republicans have said that the CBP One app is being used to waive in otherwise illegal immigrants. Many have expressed skepticism about how the verification can match that of those going through normal processes.
Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on December 07, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)
"The administration’s unlawful use of the CBP One app to mass parole inadmissible aliens into American communities raises both legal and public safety concerns," he added. "The VALID Act is an important step in reining in these abuses and ensuring the safety of the American people."
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The administration has pushed back on criticism of the use of the app, saying that those without ID go through a "stringent identity matching process" and additional screening, and are denied boarding if they cannot be identified. Those who pose threats to security or public safety are turned over for investigation.
"The Department of Homeland Security works to detect and prevent individuals who pose national security or public safety risks from entering the secure areas of an airport to depart on a domestic flight or entering the United States upon arrival from another country," a spokesman told Fox News Digital in February. "Recent reports that noncitizens have lower security bars for traveling on domestic flights are false. Noncitizens without acceptable forms of ID must undergo additional, more robust screenings to fly within the United States."
Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. Story tips can be sent via email and on X: @RealKyleMorris.
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