Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and other Republican members of the House Oversight Committee have accused the Federal Aviation Administration of capitulating to the Biden administration regarding the censorship of media coverage on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Ranking member Comer and other GOP committee members say they have seen documents that reveal an FAA headquarters manager initially determined banning media drones in Del Rio, Texas, amid last year’s surge of Haitian migrants was illegal before suddenly reversing course following a phone call from an unknown Department of Homeland Security official.
"Redacted FAA documents provided to Committee Republicans show that an unknown U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official initially requested the TFR [temporary flight restrictions] via e-mail on the afternoon of Thursday, September 16, 2021," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.
"In the e-mail request, the official stated that '9,000 Undocumented Aliens are drawing attention from several UAS's [unmanned aircraft systems] and Media in the area' and that it was requesting 'a TFR for the purposes of Officer Safety, Aviation Safety, and due to the Law Enforcement Sensitive activity happening at the Del Rio, TX International Bridge.'"
The lawmakers claim an FAA Headquarters’ System Operations Support Center manager rejected the request and said that issuing a TFR would be "illegal ... for the purposes as specified."
The Republican congressmen's letter, however said "a later e-mail then documents an apparent phone call between the FAA manager and the requesting CBP official, with the official thanking the manager for 'assistance over the phone.'"
The letter said the FAA changed its opinion about the drone ban after the phone call and issued a TFR.
Comer and his fellow Republicans first called on the FAA to answer questions in September about the order banning flights, including drones, over a bridge in Texas that offered cover for thousands of Haitian migrants and many migrant camps.
The lawmakers accused the FAA of attempting to protect the Biden administration, which Republicans have accused of bungling an immigration surge at the southern border.
"Using government resources to conduct such blatant censorship is exactly the kind of abuse of power that must be rooted out of our government — to say nothing to the basic lack of transparency," they wrote at the time.
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