Todd Bensman, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, has asserted that hundreds of thousands of migrants are arriving in American cities by air, largely unnoticed and unreported. In an article penned on September 21, Bensman shed light on the obscured data concerning the influx of foreign immigrants entering the country via air travel.
Bensman states, "Migrants flying directly into America go uncounted in the monthly tallies, unnoticed, without media inquiry, all information hermetically sealed." He further reveals that "records obtained by @cis for ongoing FOIA litigation show the flights have brought 221,000 into the US."
In his piece published on the Center for Immigration Studies website, Bensman discusses several "lawful pathways" established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Biden's administration to regulate migrant entry into the United States. According to him, these policies were designed as a solution to high illegal immigration numbers, which could potentially evolve into a political issue. The logic, as Bensman explains, was that by creating more avenues for legal entry, the numbers of illegal crossings could be decreased. He cites one such policy that encourages illegal migrants to use the "CBP One smartphone application" to schedule appointments with port of entry officials. After scheduling an appointment through this app, he says "DHS invites these inadmissible aliens to walk over to the American side at the land ports, where U.S. Customs officials quickly 'parole' them in."
Bensman's article also highlights another program that enables migrants from several foreign countries to fly directly into American cities using the same app. Reportedly over 220,000 individuals from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua have been approved for flights into the United States.
Furthermore, Bensman underscores that specific ports receiving these migrants remain undisclosed. While there are reportedly 43 ports involved in this program their locations are withheld due to potential harm to "techniques or procedures". Based on the available data, Bensman infers that there is a preferred airport for immigration from each of these foreign countries. He speculates Miami as a possible location, but admits this cannot be confirmed due to lack of information.
Bensman argues that for the public to be accurately informed about the scale of immigration, migrants admitted via "the administration’s new ‘legal pathways’" must be accounted for. Without this data, he contends, it will not be possible to prepare for the influx of migrants entering the country.
Bensman's biography on the Center for Immigration Studies' website reveals his role as a senior national security fellow for the organization. His career spans intelligence, journalism, counterterrorism and border security. He holds an undergraduate journalism degree and master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
