In the years following the tragic 9/11 terror attacks, Congress passed the Real ID Act in an attempt to fight terrorism by raising the minimum standards for domestic forms of identification like driver’s licenses.

That’s why, if you are at least 18 years of age and flying in the United States, you will need a Real ID-compliant driver’s license, a passport or another acceptable form of identification if you fly on or after Oct. 1, 2020, according to Newsweek.

Now, the purpose of the Real ID Act was to implement stricter, and therefore safer, security standards in an effort to thwart terrorism on American soil.

That sounds like a wise and sensible response.

What doesn’t make a lot of sense is that the Transportation Security Administration doesn’t always enforce those standards for illegal aliens flying within the United States, according to an exclusive Thursday report from the Washington Examiner.

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You heard that right.

Even though the purpose of the act is to fight terrorism, and even though many, many terrorists are from outside the United States, the TSA has reportedly been allowing illegal immigrants to fly without proper identification documentation.

There are currently 15 forms of acceptable identification one could use to fly domestically.

According to the Examiner, the TSA has been permitting illegal immigrants to fly without using any of them for the past six months.

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The Examiner’s report detailed a confusing back-and-forth between that outlet and the agency.

“A TSA spokesperson initially told the Washington Examiner migrants were allowed to board flights if they could present the document they are given when they apply for asylum,” the Examiner reported.

“The Notice To Appear, known by DHS as Form I-862, is a paper that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will give to a person who has passed a credible fear screening and will have his or her asylum case decided by a federal judge as many as five years down the road,” the outlet added.

“TSA said the court order served as the individual’s identification because that person had already gone through a background check while in custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” the Examiner noted.

But a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official told the outlet that the TSA’s understanding was incorrect.

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The official claimed the TSA “would not provide any type of travel authorization document to a person who has passed a credible fear screening,” the Examiner said.

The I-862 has one purpose, according to the USCIS official, and that is to inform the migrant when to appear in court.

Upon discovering that the USCIS official had thrown them under the proverbial bus, the TSA changed their story.

“TSA said another possible document that might be used would be the USCIS employment card,” the Examiner reported.

However, according to the report, migrants are not issued that employment card “until 180 days after a credible fear claim has been approved.”

The Western Journal reached out to the TSA for comment, and received a statement claiming that “all travelers are required to provide proper documentation prior to flying.”

“CBP, ICE and TSA have been working together for years, ensuring that those who are leaving detention facilities are provided with the proper documentation, or given additional information about proper documentation at that time,” a TSA spokesperson said via email.

“TSA has always had protocols in place for those that are unable to produce documentation and need to travel. However, we expect the vast majority of travelers to appear with one of the documents listed on our website,” the statement added.

Despite that statement, it seems pretty clear is that the TSA isn’t being all that, well, clear, about what they are doing.

And that should be terrifying.

We don’t have reason to believe there is a conspiracy at hand or a nefarious unwritten policy at the TSA.

Rather, this appears to be a case of the left hand not knowing which ID the right hand is requiring.

If the report is accurate, TSA’s conduct is reckless at best.

At worst, it could be deadly.

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