The TSA has a history of having crooks in its rank and file, so why let those facts get in the way? To defend the TSA checking passenger ID for who knows what purpose? It seems so.
As a practical matter, the Passport Card is pretty addresses, at least in good part, the different reasonable concerns in the following quoted post:
Originally Posted by
Flaflyer
Different security concerns.
Even though he has only the DL and BP, in many cases it tells the TSO too much. If a man and his wife come through the checkpoint in ATL and their BPs are for the nonstop to Tokyo, the TSO knows even if they are on a MR the Smith residence at 123 Main Street is most likely unoccupied for a minimum of 30 hours. Should there ever be a dishonest TSO
with friends in the home burglary field it could be bad news for the Smith household.
A foreign national might not want the TSO to read his passport and see his last work trips took him to Pakistan or Yemen, or Blacklight Bob might think he has the Big Catch™, even though CBP has already cleared this person.
As in the quoted post above, the facts are that postal employees and neighborhood-"patrolling" police have most certainly been involved in enabling thefts at houses they knew were highly likely to be empty.
Given the history of the TSA stealing from passengers' checked luggage and otherwise (including stealing from the government/taxpayer), it wouldn't be a surprise if the TSA has also been involved or gets involved in swiping passenger info for various criminal purposes at the airport or beyond. The TSA certainly aren't all going to avoid home burglary out of moral reasons.