At the end of January, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he would introduce a bill “ to prevent the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) from allowing illegal immigrants to use arrest warrants as identification when boarding commercial flights” and he unveiled the “Secure Flights Act” last week.
The bill “would clarify that DHS-issued documents, such as arrest or deportation warrants, are not valid for commercial airline travel” and “if a traveler presents one of those documents, the bill requires the TSA agent to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and local law enforcement to determine whether the individual is in violation of any terms of release.” Under the proposal, “if the individual is found to be in violation, he or she will not be allowed to fly, with an exception if the individual is traveling for purposes of self-deportation.”
“The rule of law went out the window when the Biden administration took office,” Rubio said. “It is dangerous and deranged to allow illegal immigrants to use arrest warrants to board commercial flights and travel throughout our country.”
Rubio reeled in nine co-sponsors, all from the GOP ranks, for the bill which was sent to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, introduced the bill in the U.S. House at the start of the month. He has more than a dozen co-sponsors, all Republicans, for the proposal which was sent to the U.S. Homeland Security Committee.
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