Biden Admin’s Plan To Give Illegal Immigrants Photo IDs Inches Closer To Reality

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is moving closer towards giving illegal immigrants identification cards, according to new images obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In 2022, the agency announced the ICE Secure Docket Card program as a “pilot to modernize various forms of documentation provided to provisionally released noncitizens through a consistent, verifiable, secure card,” an ICE spokesperson told the DCNF at the time. The program is intended to allow migrants to use IDs as their cases progress; the IDs contain QR codes allowing migrants to access their court documents to prove to authorities that they have pending immigration cases, allowing them to travel through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints with greater ease. (RELATED: Biden Admin’s Claim Of Success Over Recent Border Policies Drowned Out By Renewed Illegal Immigration Surge)

“Present this card upon any contact with an ICE or CBP officer as a tool for verifying your immigration case and current release status. In addition, you may access online tools available through the ICE portal through the Quick Response (QR) code on the front of this document to manage and monitor your immigration case,” a recent memo regarding the use of the cards read.

Internal ICE document obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation

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.

“This administration continues to normalize and make illegal immigration easier for those who disregard our laws. This ID program is another example of wasting taxpayer money on programs that don’t solve this immigration crisis,” Retired ICE Field Office Director and current board member with National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) John Fabbricatore said in a statement to the DCNF.

Meanwhile, illegal immigration continues to surge at the southern border, where Border Patrol has recorded more than 1.6 million illegal crossings in the first ten months of fiscal year 2023, according to federal data. Additionally, a few thousand migrants have been seen crossing the southern border into the small Texas border town of Eagle Pass in recent days, leading the mayor to declare a state of emergency, according to videos of the incidents.

Border authorities in San Diego and El Paso have also seen surges in illegal immigration in recent days.

“The ICE secure docket card concept is a pilot program that would modernize documentation provided to some noncitizens. While the specifics of the program are under development, it is important to note the secure card will not be an official form of federal identification. The secure card will indicate it is for use by DHS agencies and would be provided only after national security background checks have been performed,” an ICE spokesperson told the DCNF of the program.

“Currently, noncitizens receive paper documents from the federal government about their immigration status. Paper documents pose a security risk, are easily lost, and degrade rapidly in real-world use, creating inefficiencies for the government and noncitizens. Moving to a secure card will save the agency millions, free up resources, and ensure information is quickly accessible to DHS officials while reducing the agency’s FOIA backlog. For provisionally released noncitizens, the digital modernization will provide ongoing access to important immigration documents through the secure card and connected portal,” the spokesperson added.

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