I have been stopped several times, and not just near the TX, NM, AZ and CA border. Several times in upstate NY and like I said before, once at the Fort Lauderdale Amtrak station.

Also, a quick google search reveals that the TSA plans on teaming up with and doing more joint operations with ICE in the future and not just at the airports: http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/185675.html Just because some random anonymous commenter on this board hasn't run across ICE at the Fort Lauderdale airport, doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. Like poster stated above, it only takes one time to be caught, deported, and banned from the USA. Also, just because you speak pure English and carry a driver's license doesn't mean that you can be worry free. The LEO will still ask you for your citizenship, and while the risks are slim that he will conduct further investigation, if you get caught lying to a federal LEO, I think you will have much bigger problems on your hands. Again, the risks are quite small, but the consequences can be quite severe. Only you can make the determination as to what you are comfortable with.

Or just go on vacation and not worry about it? I agree that the OP needs to get his situation straightened out because eventually it will bite him in the ..., but flying down to Florida is less risky than driving on the interstate and getting pulled over for speeding or something.

There are tens of thousands of Haitian and hispanic illegals floating around South Florida, on top of hundreds of thousands of quasi-legal Cubans and actual legit hispanic immigrants. They simply are not going to hassle anyone who seems at all American. The same goes at LA. You may see ICE/CBP guys floating around, but again, on a domestic flight - where they have absolutely zero authority and absolutely no interest in wasting time - they're not going to care.

There are millions of illegals in the US, and they generally function pretty well, regardless of what the paranoid types on Flyertalk seem to advise. If you only listened to the paranoid types, you would believe that there's a cop or Federal officer waiting around every corner to arrest you or strip search you. That simply is not the case. Guys who argue that if you don't declare a candy bar on your Customs form on re-entry, you'll be arrested for lying and thrown in jail. Stuff like that.

The information is incredibly wrong, or are actual corner cases but are given much higher weight on the pros and cons scale. Remember, you can theoretically be arrested and convicted for tearing the label off of a mattress, or in most states, having oral sex, especially on a mattress where you've torn off the tag. You can be arrested, tried, convicted and even incarcerated for littering, for jaywalking, for spitting on a freaking sidewalk.

This board does good work in flagging TSA abuses and everything, but in many cases, like this thread, posters come off as paranoid, scared people who anticipate the worst-possible outcome to just about any interaction with any form of TSA or law enforcement. Even if, in reality, that worst-case scenario is a once-in-many-millions chances of happening. Not to say they don't from time to time, but the odds extremely small, like 0.000001%

I think you have a higher chance of the plane crashing on the way to Florida, and a much higher chance of your car crashing on the way to the airport, than a random ICE/CBP inspection tripping you up.

You're not being racist, but merely realistic. I always wondered how that AZ anti-illegal law can be enforced or even be acted upon without hassling everyone, rather than only people who aren't lily white (or who once were but are now leathered).

I agree with you on everything else you've said but this one. The CBP may set up a random immigration check anywhere within 100 miles of the border. The OP will be departing and arriving in the places that are less than 100 miles from the border. But like you said, the chances of encountering such a checkpoint are very slim.

We're talking about a person who has lived almost his whole life in the USA and has graduated from college here. Slim chance or not, it's reckless to take any chance, particularly because these situations can be sorted out. But, not after an unfortunate incident.

I am also an imigrant and I have gone to vacations with three of my friends several times. All three of them are illegal and have the said IL driver's license. Go for it, no problem.

That is a VIPR operation which is completely different from CBP/BP/ICE operations at airports. VIPR operations are when the TSA (BDOs/FAMs) go out somewhere, usually to a train or bus station, with the stated goal of preventing and detrrring terrorism by being random and visible. But that would produce no tangible results since they are extremely unlikely to catch any terrorists, so they bring along the local law and some other federal alphabet soup (DEA/ICE/BP) depending on the operation. The operation then becomes about finding and arresting criminals and unlawfully present aliens with terrorism as as the excuse and BDOs end up looking for 'suspicious' brown people while drug dogs sniff away. In other words, the temptation of running a dragnet under the excuse of (and possibly with the funding for) preventing terrorism is unsurpassable.

Compare this with BP checkpoints set up in airports-- these are unrelated to VIPR. These can work one of two ways: The first way is a BP officer standing behind the TSA TDC looking at the documents presented to the TDC and stopping passengers whose documents indicate that they are potentially aliens and then verifying status-- another variation of this is a BP officer in the same location asking everyone if they are US citizens and verifying the status of those who aren't. The second way is to station a team of BP officers in the jetway of a flight and ask boarding passengers if they are US citizens and verifying the status of those who say they aren't; each way has its pros and cons.

The chances of encountering a BP officer at ORD doing an immigration checkpoint are extremely slim due to allocation of resources; not only is ORD a huge airport with numerous checkpoints and flights, but Chicago is not a common origin for air travel by unlawfully present aliens as compared with other airports. The same cannot be said of FLL. Airports near borders (including maritime borders) are good target airports since those airports yield a steady influx of unlawfully present aliens making the trip North to settle at their final destinations. SJU is probably the most popular airport for these types of checks; other popular ones include LAX, SAN, BUF, PHX, MIA and similar. It is possible for FLL to have this type of check though it is not something I've seen there.

Always a good idea.

Not always an option.

SecureFlight is part of the TSA; it does not run things through the USCIS/CBP database.

Were they checking IDs or just asking citizenship, or both?

Again, note the difference between VIPR and airport BP operations. (There are also plenty of stand-alone BP operations).

Making a false claim of citizenship is a big deal; having a valid DL, perfect English and white skin makes getting caught very unlikely. Nervousness would be the only thing to worry about-- and any BP officer worth his salt knows that IL is one of a few states that doesn't verify status when issuing DLs so additional investigation would be done.

This can be sorted out before or after an "unfortunate incident" in point of fact; sometimes it can only be sorted out after the fact as a practical matter. An alien who entered with inspection is at a signifigant advantage.

Hey everyone, i had a question for all of you if you dont mind...
Im planning on taking a trip to hawaii but i am "illegal" no papers no anything all i really have is a "matricula" and i was wondering if it was possible for me to take a plane there safely?

You need identification to board an airplane.. I have no idea what a "matricula" is, but I'm pretty sure that its not an acceptable form of ID for the TSA..

Do you have a passport from your country? That will work.. The TSA won't check your legal status.

Matricula Consular... it's not a recognized ID by the TSA.

If you have your country's passport, you should be ok- it's not their job to check immigration status. If you have a driver's license or other non-driver ID, even better.

My friendly advice is NOT to use a Matricula card. Never use it for TSA. ICE will be called, and that will ruin your trip. In fact, leave that card at home, just in case you are searched.

As another noted, if you have your passport, use that, but if your worried that the Visa may be checked, do you have any credit cards, school identification, work ID? If so use those.

Have fun in Hawaii!

A Matricula Consular Identification, to put bluntly, is an ID that a foreign government gives to its citizens who plan on living in another country illegally, so that they can get basic services, such as utilities, banking accounts, and so on. If the immigrant is living in another country legally, they have no need for this ID, as they will have "official" identifications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matr%C3%ADcula_Consular

http://www.theamericanresistance.com...a_id_card.html

But what if they want to do the call-in thing?

That is not the type of website I would cite as authority on this (or any other) topic.

Then the individual in question would be questioned by CBP.

As far as the article the poster above mentioned, I totally agree with the quote "Specifically, a state or local government official or employee who provides any benefit or service to such a presenter possesses the criminal intent (mens rea) necessary for a felony indictment under Section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act"

No agency should accept that card. People can argue all day long, but there's nothing legal about being illegal.

First, regarding your last comment, neither web-site is an "authority". One, I would argue, is more reliable than the other, but both neither are authorities. But I was in a rush for time, and it provided the information to convey what those identifications are. If you are really interested, you can actually find a web-site from our national Congress discussing that particular card, and I would say that site is an authority. But I did not want to spend the time looking for it, as what I needed was on those 2 sites.

Second, regarding your question, the call-in thing would be tricky for an illegal immigrant and perhaps end with a trip with some ICE agents. I would not suggest it. If someone is here illegally, the more questions they are asked, the more likely they are to get caught in a lie.

If you remember, some time ago at SAT a student was taken away by ICE for trying to use the Matricula Consular Identification to gain entry through the TDC. He was and is currently a student at Harvard (it appeared Harvard knew he was illegal, but accepted him anyway). There was a thread about it here on FT. And nationally there was anger on both so-called sides of the issue. Eventually, our government decided he could stay, since his family brought him here illegally when he was a toddler or infant. But I am sure for this particular man it was a major hassle, even though he prevailed.