Free Republic

New legislation being proposed in California would ban the expedited security screening company Clear from operating in the state’s airports, as proponents say the service raises equity issues given it effectively lets wealthier people skip ahead of passengers waiting in line to be screened by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. The bill, SB-1372, the first of its kind in the U.S., would require third-party vendors like Clear to get their own dedicated security lane or lose the ability to operate in California airports. Clear charges members $189 per year to verify passengers' identities at airports, allowing them to bypass TSA...

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah noted in a post on X that days after calling for the abolition of the Transportation Security Administration, he was subjected to a pat-down. "Update: days after calling to abolish TSA, I got 'randomly selected' for the needlessly slow, thorough TSA screening & patdown. Maybe it's a coincidence. Or not. Impossible to know. That's part of the problem with having a federal agency in charge of airport security," Lee wrote in a Thursday post on X. In a Monday post, Lee, who has served in the Senate since early 2011, called for nixing the...

The Transportation Security Administration began developing the new system five years ago to make screening more efficient and give passengers more autonomy and control over the pace of their screening. The TSA checkpoint being tested in Las Vegas — initially only for TSA PreCheck customers and only in the English language — incorporates a screen with do-it-yourself instructions for travelers on how to smoothly pass themselves and their carry-on luggage through pre-flight screening with little or no help from uniformed TSA officers. Testing is being done at a unique “innovation checkpoint” the TSA unveiled in 2019 in Harry Reid Airport’s...

The top 20 global airlines hauled in more than $33 billion in revenue from bag fees last year, .. That accounted for about 4.1% of global airline revenue in 2023. It was also an increase of 15% from the $29 billion the companies collected in 2022... Baggage fees, according to the report, are seen as a "significant component of ancillary revenue" ... It comes from checked baggage in the aircraft hold, added fees for heavy and extra-large bags and, in some instances, the price charged for larger carry-on bags. It started "as an economic necessity" as airlines sought relief from...

Migrants without proper identification may apparently opt out of being photographed by TSA upon entry at Miami International Airport. According to a sign posted on X by conservative podcaster Dave Rubin Thursday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is allowing migrants to pass through entry points without having their picture taken.“U.S. airport Non-U.S. Citizen Document Validation Using CBP One Technology,” the top of the sign reads.“CBP One” refers to the mobile application launched in October 2020 that allows migrants to pre-plan their appointments with U.S. customs officials. Last fall, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) records made public by the Center for...

United Airlines is the “Bud Light” of the airline world. They’ve shifted gears, moving away from their core customer base, which prioritizes safety and security. Now, it’s all about drag queens and flamboyant celebrations. But is this the direction most air travelers want? Hardly. Flyers don’t want in-flight gay entertainment featuring CEOs in ladies’ pantyhose or a strong push on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). When passengers board a plane, their primary concern is a competent, professional pilot, not one who’s more interested in theatrics and show tunes. This trend in air travel is starting to mirror our “woke” military,...

A photo taken from Miami International Airport showed a notice from the Transportation Security Administration indicating that migrants entering the U.S. at the airport did not have to supply a photo or have their photo taken in order to enter the country. Political commentator Dave Rubin snapped the photo, tweeting, “This is the state of absolute insanity happening at our airports. I’m in the Pre-TSA line, where migrants don’t have to have an ID to get through security and it’s their choice whether they want their picture taken. There is a plan to destroy America.” The sign read, “U.S. airport...

In recent months, videos and images of migrants boarding U.S. commercial airline flights have flooded social media. This month, North State Journal reported on an American Airlines flight out of Arizona carrying non-U.S. citizens to Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport. Within hours of the article being posted online, a General Assembly staffer who wished to remain anonymous relayed a similar encounter at an Arizona airport while returning from a conference on Dec. 1, 2023. Per the staffer, the individuals all appeared to have brand-new backpacks and were carrying plastic bags with what looked like “snacks.” The staffer said most of them...

TSA Assistant Federal Security Director Maxine McManaman was arrested in Atlanta by U.S. C+BP on Dec. 28. McManaman had a warrant for her arrest posted by the St. Lucie County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, which claimed she and an alleged accomplice named Delroy Chambers Sr. exploited a relative suffering from dementia by falsifying documents in their name, according to Port St. Lucie Police.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) tells me that thousands of illegal aliens are being flown to cities and towns across the nation courtesy of the American taxpayers. Norman said a pilot reached out to him for a major American air carrier and was very disturbed about the illegals who he was being forced to board his plane. The pilot said none of the illegals had government identification or medical clearance. Meanwhile, journalist Bill Melugin posted a photograph of a sign at the Tucson airport. The sign directed illegals with no passports to form a separate line. There’s a very real chance...

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday wrote to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas seeking more information about the screening of migrants who have come through the border via the CBP One app and are seeking to board flights. "While Americans must present an acceptable form of identification to fly, or at least have their identities confirmed, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is permitting illegal aliens without ID to opt for an alternate identity verification process utilizing the…'CBP One' app," Cruz says in the letter to Mayorkas, saying the process "takes illegal aliens at their word"...

TUCSON, Arizona — Migrants recently released by the Border Patrol waited patiently to board flights leaving the region at the Tucson International Airport on Friday afternoon. The event marks their last day on the southwest border and their first day of free movement across the United States. Despite the firm requirements for United States citizens and legally admitted international travelers to possess valid forms of identification to board aircraft, the migrants were shuffled through a “special” security screening line set up by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), specifically for migrants — many without any identification whatsoever. ... several regular travelers...

Sonya Labosco, Director of the Air Marshals National Council said Air Marshalls are quietly following Americans who flew into the DC area around January 6, 2021. Labosco said Air Marshals are no longer going after terrorists or the bad guys because they are now stalking and following every single person who flew into the DC area around January 2021 even if they did not go to the US Capitol. “We’re not flying right now. The only missions that we are doing are ‘Quiet Skies’ missions and those are missions that are following the January 2021 people,” Labosco said. “So we’re...

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers found a .22 caliber revolver in a man’s carry-on bag at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The revolver appears to be a North American Arms Black Widow .22 Magnum with Boot Clip grips. These are some of the smallest repeating pistols made. They carry five shots of .22 magnum cartridges, as can be seen in the TSA photograph of the pistol, which was discovered on September 21, 2023. From tsa.gov: A King George, Va., man was cited by police after he was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers with a loaded handgun at one...

Imagine, going to the airport and through all the indignities of security just to eat at the P.F. Chang’s near gate B12 and then go home. Or better yet, imagine trying to get to your gate and having to deal with people just poking around and taking their sweet time while you have a flight to catch. Every side of this scenario is uniquely miserable, yet more airports are trying to tempt locals into visiting the shops and restaurants in their terminals without all the hassle of actually flying somewhere. Orlando International Airport is now getting in on the action,...

pic Charges were dropped for 2 of the 3 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents caught on surveillance video stealing from passengers at Miami International Airport. In early July Josue Gonzalez, 20, Elizabeth Fuster, 22, and Labarrius Williams, 33 were arrested and charged for stealing money from passengers’ luggage at MIA. ......

Charges were dropped for 2 of the 3 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents caught on surveillance video stealing from passengers at Miami International Airport.

Surveillance video caught TSA agents at Miami International Airport stealing from passengers as they went through security. The shocking footage shows Labarrius Williams, 33, and Josue Gonzalez, 20, working together to steal money from passengers’ bags at security checkpoint E on June 29. Video provided by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's office shows Williams shifting around items in a bin and then walking away while Gonzalez puts his hand on the item. Gonzalez is then seen gripping something in his hand while removing it from the bin, then immediately dropping something in his pocket before returning to the conveyor belt....

Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Many Ways Our Rights Have Been Usurped Since 9/11“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” — Abraham LincolnThose who gave us the Constitution and the Bill of Rights believed that the government exists at the behest of its citizens. It is there to protect, defend and even enhance our freedoms, not violate them.Unfortunately, although the Bill of Rights was adopted as a means of protecting the people against government tyranny, in America today, the...

@TheRightMelissa BREAKING: Alex Jones says a TSA whistleblower has told him TSA employees were instructed on Tue that masks are coming back by October for travelers & full Covid restrictions/lockdowns by December due to a new “dangerous variant” out of Canada.