The Biden administration is considering giving IDs to migrants who cross into the country illegally, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The ICE Secure Docket Card (SDC) program is part of a pilot program to modernize various forms of documentation provided to provisionally released noncitizens through a consistent, verifiable, secure card,” the ICE spokesperson told the DCNF. (RELATED: Migrant Encounters At US-Mexico Border Hit Another Historic High)
The proposed program is included in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations bill, which could be implemented before the midterms when Democrats risk Republicans gaining a majority in Congress, according to Axios.
The ID would contain a photo, biographic identifiers and security features that would work for the “mutual benefit of the government and noncitizens,” the spokesperson added.
The pilot program being considered would allow migrants to use IDs as their cases process with QR codes to access their court documents, according to Axios. The IDs will also allow migrants to prove to authorities that they’re processing in the immigration system and to travel through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints with more ease at airports.
TSA already allows migrants to use ICE forms labeled “Warrant for Arrest of Alien” and a “Warrant of Removal/Deportation,” according to an email obtained by the DCNF in January.
TSA referred the DCNF to ICE for comment.
BORDER REPORT: The first group of migrants I encountered last week in Yuma, AZ were from China, Peru, Georgia, Venezuela, Cuba, and India
Only a few dozen migrants out of the ~1,500 crossing each day into the Yuma border sector are being returned under Title 42 pic.twitter.com/iqdwAX0QKH
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) May 31, 2022
The program is “still under development,” according to the ICE spokesperson, who said that the program is focused on improving “inconsistent paper forms that often degrade rapidly in real world use.”
The potential plan comes amid an all-time high in illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Biden administration that have exceeded 3 million, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The White House didn’t respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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