Earlier this evening, I wrote this article pertaining to the controversy of certain types of documentation which may be accepted by the Transportation Security Administration for the transportation of passengers who are considered to be illegal migrants by many lawmakers.
Update: Official TSA Response to Controversial Identification at Airports
I contacted a representative of the Transportation Security Administration regarding this story — and I received a response via email message almost immediately which stated that “We are working on something now, and I will be in touch soon.”
Soon came at 9:39 Eastern Standard Time earlier tonight, Friday, January 21, 2022, as this is the official response which I received and posted below in its entirety:
Brian,
Thank you for your patience and interest in TSA.
To confirm the identity of an individual and ensure they are not on the no-fly list or pose a known threat to public safety or national security, TSA verifies the identity of every traveler before they are permitted to enter the secure area of an airport. Noncitizens without a standard form of identification may instead present certain DHS-issued forms to a TSA officer. These forms are civil immigration violation documents, do not include criminal arrest warrants, and are not indicative of a threat to public safety or national security. TSA confirms the identity of the individual by verifying the personally identifiable information found on these forms using DHS’s CBP One™ Mobile Application.
There are two main points here on background:
- These forms represent civil immigration enforcement and are not criminal arrest warrants
- TSA uses these forms to verify personally identifiable information found in CBP’s database
R. Carter Langston
Press Secretary
Strategic Communications and Public Affairs
Transportation Security Administration
Final Boarding Call
I still have a lot of thoughts and questions about this entire situation; but I am interested in reading your thoughts and questions as well — which you can post in the Comments section below — before I impart what is on my mind.
Photograph ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
