Claim: Individuals in the United States must now illegally carry a passport when traveling by air or land
A March 17 Instagram video (direct link, archived link) shows a man talking about immigration documents.
“From now on, immigrants without legal immigration status will now have to carry their passports with them, whether they travel within the United States, on local planes, or by road,” commentators wrote. Says. video.
The post received over 6,000 likes in five days.
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Our rating: False
The Transportation Security Administration accepts passports and other forms of identification, such as driver's licenses, for individuals who enter the country illegally and wish to travel. Travelers without a passport will need facial recognition to verify their identity in order to travel.
TSA accepts passports and other forms of identification
TSA accepts a variety of identification documents from travelers, including foreign government-issued passports and state-issued enhanced driver's licenses.
Kelly Ortega, an attorney with the Jamie Barron Immigration Law Group, said, “For domestic travel within the United States, TSA requires a valid ID, either a state or federally issued ID.” told TODAY. “Foreign passports are also often accepted. In practice, many people arrested and released at the border either don't have a passport or have their passports confiscated, so they can't get their passports on a TSA plane when they're released. I am unable to provide valid identification to travel.”
The post may be based on a March 14 Associated Press report that the government has begun requiring immigrants without passports to submit identification using facial recognition technology to board domestic flights. did. However, contrary to the post's assertion that a passport is required even for land travel, there are no reliable reports of a passport being required for travel.
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According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states and the District of Columbia allow immigrants already in the country illegally to obtain driver's licenses. A driver's license is the document approved by her TSA to board the plane.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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