Beginning on May 7, illegal aliens can no longer fly without a “REAL ID,” according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Noem. The exception to the new flight identification standard is for those who are self-deporting.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents began enforcing the REAL ID Act at airports across the United States on Wednesday. Congress passed the REAL ID Act about 20 years ago following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In a REAL ID ad posted on social media by DHS Secretary Noem, she reported, “Illegal aliens should not be allowed to fly in the U.S. UNLESS SELF DEPORTING.”
In March, Breitbart Texas reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection relaunched the Biden-era CBP One app as a self-deportation tool. President Joe Biden used the app to admit nearly one million illegal aliens into the U.S., and it was renamed CBP Home.
Last month, DHS ordered all migrants who received the Biden-era immigration parole under the CBP One app to leave the United States “immediately.”
“Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security,” DHS officials said in response to an inquiry from the Associated Press. In an email to a Honduran migrant family who entered the U.S. in late 2024, DHS officials stated, “It’s time for you to abandon the United States.”
According to CBP, the re-launch of the application, renamed CBP-Home, includes the new feature “Intent to Depart,” which allows aliens illegally present in the United States or those whose parole has been revoked an orderly and defined voluntary process to notify the Department of Homeland Security of their intent to depart the United States.
During the Biden era, the TSA set up special screening lines at airports for illegal aliens to fly without photo IDs, Breitbart’s Randy Clark reported in December 2023. Many were allowed to fly with no identification at all.
An NGO staffer escorts migrants through the Tucson International Airport to a special TSA screening line. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it will pay migrants a stipend of up to $1,000 and provide a free flight to those illegal aliens choosing to self-deport using the CBP Home app. DHS officials said that the free flights and stipend will reduce the cost of deportation by about 70 percent.
DHS officials wrote:
Illegal aliens who register for voluntary self-departure through the CBP Home app may be eligible to receive financial assistance for their departure. If requested, the U.S. Government will assist in booking tickets and/or with obtaining necessary travel documentation. Aliens requesting assistance will have a timely departure arrangement facilitated for them (estimated departure to be within 21 days of approval). Aliens in need of assistance should take extra care to ensure they provide accurate contact information and are responsive to outreach attempts
Officials said the program is already working, citing a free flight by an illegal alien from Chicago to Honduras arranged through the CBP Home app. Officials describe self-deportation as a “dignified way to leave the U.S.” that will “allow illegal aliens to avoid being encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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