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Whistleblower: TSA Skirting ID Requirements for Illegal Aliens

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Illegal aliens are being allowed to fly with domestic airliners without a proper form of identification, a Border Patrol union president in Texas is warning.

According to Hector Garza, the President of National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 in Laredo, President Joe Biden’s catch and release policies have resulted in illegal aliens skirting TSA’s ID requirements. Garza said illegal aliens are utilizing Notice to Appear paperwork as a form of ID, something he warns “could easily be reproduced or manipulated on any home computer.”

“The Notice to Appear form has no photo, anyone can make one and manipulate one. They do not have any security features, no watermark, nothing. They are simply printed on standard copy paper based on the information the illegal alien says is the truth,” Garza said in a Facebook post.

(Read more from “Whistleblower: TSA Skirting ID Requirements for Illegal Aliens” HERE)

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TSA Says Mask Violators Could Get Hit With Fines of $1500 or More

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Travelers who violate the federal transportation face mask mandate could receive fines ranging from $250 to as much as $1500 for repeat offenders, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced in an update on Friday.

This press release from the TSA also noted that “substantial aggravating or mitigating factors” may result in a recommended fine “outside these ranges.”

The TSA first announced the implementation of its mask requirement on Sunday in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order targeting COVID-19 protocols in domestic and international travel.

(Read more from “TSA Says Mask Violators Could Get Hit With Fines of $1500 or More” HERE)

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Amid Declining Air Travel, TSA Is Finding 3 Times More Guns in Carry-On Bags

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While the number of people traveling by plane remains at historic lows nationwide, the number of guns being seized at airport security checkpoints has taken off, prompting concern for the federal government.

The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that its officers found 3 times more firearms inside passengers’ carry-on bags in July than it did the same month last year. For every 1 million people screened by TSA, 15.3 guns were detected compared to 5.1 in July 2019.

“The rate is particularly alarming, given that TSA screened about 75% fewer passengers in July 2020, over the previous year’s volume,” the federal agency wrote in a statement.

“TSA is diligently working to ensure our employees and passengers are safe and secure while traveling during a pandemic, and yet we are noticing a significant increase in loaded firearms coming into checkpoints,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Travelers must understand that firearms are prohibited items at airports and in the passenger cabins of aircraft. As hard as we are working to mitigate other risks at this time, no one should be introducing new ones.” (Read more from “Amid Declining Air Travel, TSA Is Finding 3 Times More Guns in Carry-On Bags” HERE)

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Air Travel Is Ticking Upwards in May, Remains Near Record Lows

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported a steady increase in traveler screenings throughout the month of May as life begins to take shape in the era of the Wuhan coronavirus.

Screenings have gone up more than 200 percent since mid-April at the height of state and local lockdowns but remain a mere fraction of daily screenings from pre-pandemic times.

More than 250,000 people passed through airports on Sunday, compared to more than 2.6 million flyers who were screened on the same day last year. Contrast this month to about the same time in April, when fewer than 100,000 individuals passed through TSA checkpoints on 11 days. On April 14, screenings hit a record low of about 87,500 travelers.

(Read more from “Air Travel Is Ticking Upwards in May, Remains Near Record Lows” HERE)

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TSA Agent Tricked Traveler Into Baring Breasts

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A federal Transportation Security Administration agent tricked a traveler into twice showing him her breasts as she went through security at one of the world’s busiest airports, California’s attorney said.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Johnathon Lomeli, 22, was working at Los Angeles International Airport in June when he used fraud or deceit to falsely imprison the woman. Lomeli was arrested early Thursday at his home.

He first said he had to look inside her bra to make sure she wasn’t hiding anything, then had her hold her pants away from her waist so he could look inside, she told investigators.

He subsequently took her to what he said would be a private room for more security screening, according to an arrest affidavit. But once they were alone on an elevator, she said he told her he could do the screening right there.

The woman said Lomeli told her he had to make sure she still had nothing in her bra, requiring her to lift her shirt “to show me your full breasts.” He also again looked down her pants, she said, before telling her she was free to go and adding that she had nice breasts. (Read more from “TSA Agent Tricked Traveler Into Baring Breasts” HERE)

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Family Sues TSA After Man’s $82,000 Life Savings Were Seized at an Airport

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A Pennsylvania man who kept his entire life savings in a Tupperware container is suing the federal government after the money – $82,373 in cash – was seized at an airport after DEA agents deemed it ‘suspicious’.

Terrence Rolin, 79, and his daughter Rebecca Brown are the lead plaintiffs in a federal class action lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Institute for Justice which accuses the Drug Enforcement Administration and Transportation Security Administration of ‘treating American citizens like criminals’ by seizing large amounts of cash from airline passengers without evidence of an underlying crime. . .

She was flying back home to Boston to do that when TSA and DEA agents at Pittsburgh International Airport noticed the large sum of cash and began questioning her.

Brown said she had checked the TSA website beforehand to confirm that she could fly with that amount of money, and the site didn’t say that anything would prohibit her from doing so.

A DEA agent asked Brown to put her father on the phone so he could verify her story about where the cash came from, but Rolin, who is suffering mental decline, was unable to verify some of the details, she said. (Read more from “Family Sues TSA After Man’s $82,000 Life Savings Were Seized at an Airport” HERE)

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TSA Found Nearly a Dozen Guns a Day at U.S. Airport Checkpoints in 2019

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Nearly a dozen guns a day were discovered in carry-on bags or on passengers at airport checkpoints across the country, resulting in 4,432 firearms in total in 2019, according to a report released Wednesday by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

“The continued increase in the number of firearms that travelers bring to airport checkpoints is deeply troubling,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “There is a proper way to travel safely with a firearm. First and foremost, it should be unloaded. Then it should be packed in a hard-sided locked case, taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared, and checked.”

Firearms are prohibited from being brought on an aircraft, but TSA said 87 percent of those detected — 3,863 guns — at the 278 airport checkpoints across the country were loaded. Thirty-four percent — 1,507 guns — had a round of ammunition chambered.

The five percent uptick from 2018 — when 4,239 guns were detected — signaled the largest number of unauthorized guns attempting to pass through security checkpoints than ever before in the TSA’s 18-year history. . .

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International had the highest number of gun catches with 323 discoveries. That was followed by Dallas/Fort Worth International with 217, Denver International with 140, George Bush Intercontinental with 138 and Phoenix Sky Harbor International with 132 guns found. (Read more from “TSA Found Nearly a Dozen Guns a Day at U.S. Airport Checkpoints in 2019” HERE)

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Handgun Toilet Rolls and Monsters With Grenades: The Weirdest Items Confiscated by TSA in 2019

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Airline passengers attempted to bring tens of thousands of banned items with them through security checkpoints at U.S. airports since January, according to the government agency that inspects travelers.

Federal officers for the Transportation Security Administration found the normal prohibited contraband, such as loaded guns, ammunition, and knives in carry-on and checked bags in 2019. They also found a variety of unusual and dangerous items on passengers and in their luggage, some of it documented by the unexpectedly droll TSA blog.

In March, a survival flare pen and seven flares were discovered in a checked bag at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Mississippi.

Someone who may have been getting ready for the Fourth of July attempted to bring boxes of fireworks through security at Miami International Airport in April. TSA in a blog post noted a variety of banned explosives: “Spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, donkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don’ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or whistling kitty chasers” are not allowed on planes. “Oh, I almost forgot, snakes and sparklers are NOT allowed either! If we do find snakes we will for sure call Samuel L. Jackson to come handle the situation!” . . .

“Someone had a crappy day at one of the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints yesterday at Newark Liberty International Airport when he didn’t watch his ‘Pees and Qs’ and instead of rolling through the security process, this cowboy got stopped up when he was found to have a most unusual prohibited item in his carry-on bag on Tuesday, Oct. 29,” the agency wrote. “When the carry-on bag entered the checkpoint X-ray machine where a TSA officer spotted the revolver. TSA needed to get to the bottom of it, and when the bag was opened, the item that had triggered an alarm wasn’t an actual firearm at all. Instead, it was a realistic replica gun that had been configured into a toilet paper roller. Yes, this most unusual revolver was not designed to spin bullets. It was designed to spin toilet paper.” (Read more from “Handgun Toilet Rolls and Monsters With Grenades: The Weirdest Items Confiscated by TSA in 2019” HERE)

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Trump Admin Proposes Using Facial Recognition on All Airport Travelers – Including Americans

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The Department of Homeland Security is proposing a rule that would allow the government to use facial recognition data to identify everyone traveling to and from the country, including U.S. citizens.

Non-citizens traveling through U.S. airports have been required to get their fingerprints scanned and have their picture taken since the mid-noughties. American citizens have enjoyed the choice of opting out of this requirement. However, in a recent regulatory filing, DHS is pushing to require all international travelers — including U.S. citizens — have their photograph taken. . .

“To facilitate the implementation of a seamless biometric entry-exit system that uses facial recognition and to help prevent persons attempting to fraudulently use U.S. travel documents and identify criminals and known or suspected terrorists, DHS is proposing to amend the regulations to provide that all travelers, including U.S. citizens, may be required to be photographed upon entry and/or departure,” the filing continues.

Facial recognition technology, which has become increasingly popular at airports across the country, matches an image taken of a traveler to a still image of them stored in a database.

Not only is the tech able to catch criminals and prevent fraudulent activity, it also can dramatically speed up processing times for travelers. The verification process can take less than two seconds and touts a 99% match rate, according to Customs and Border Protection. (Read more from “Trump Admin Proposes Using Facial Recognition on All Airport Travelers – Including Americans” HERE)

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WATCH: Customs Computers Systems Down, Major Delays at Airports across Country

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s computers systems shut down nationwide on Friday, prompting widespread delays at airports across the country.

New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport confirmed the computers were down and said officials were moving quickly to get its system up and running.

LAX also confirmed its CBP computers were offline, writing on Twitter: “.@CBP systems are experiencing an issue which appears to be impacting multiple airports including LAX. Officers are processing passengers manually so please check with your airline for the latest status of any flight impacts. More details as they become available.”

(Read more from “Customs Computers Systems Down, Major Delays at Airports across Country” HERE)

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