Bill Could Ban Use of Notice to Appear Form for Airport Clearance

A newly proposed bill would make the Notice to Appear an invalid form of personal identification for those attempting to clear airport security.

Texas Rep. Kenny Marchant introduced new legislation on Wednesday that would prohibit the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from accepting the Notice to Appear as a valid form of personal identification for clearing airport security, according to an article in the Carrollton Leader.

The Notice to Appear, or Form I-862, is a summons that orders someone caught in the U.S. illegally to present themselves in court for removal proceedings.

Marchant, who serves as a member of the Border Security Caucus, introduced The Verified And Legitimate ID (VALID) Act in response to concerns he expressed to TSA Administrator John Pistole in August. Marchant brought his concerns to Pistole after speculation appeared on watchdog site Breibart.com that illegal immigrants were using the document as a means of identification to pass through security. Pistole issued a letter dated August 7 outlining the TSA’s requirements for identification, stating that the Notice to Appear is only accepted with other forms of identification. If another form of identification is unavailable, the TSA is to utilize resources from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to confirm the passenger’s identity.

In a statement on Marchant’s website, he expressed his concerns that the forms “contain no real security features, no photo, and could easily be forged or manipulated. [The] TSA should not consider a document like this to be a valid form of ID for any person, much less someone that has been caught entering our nation illegally.

“By prohibiting [the] TSA from accepting Notice to Appear forms as legitimate identification, my bill would strengthen airport security measures and stop [the] TSA from giving illegal immigrants special leeway,” the statement continued. Marchant called for support from his colleagues, stating, “Those who violate our laws should never be held to a lower security standard than law-abiding citizens.”

FlyerTalk reached out to the TSA for a response to the announcement of the bill. Officials stated they do not respond to pending legislation, but did refer back to their earlier statements explaining the agency’s procedures with respect to the acceptance of Form I-862 for security clearance.

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