Tag: Department of Homeland Security

Panama Official Says Biden Administration Was Warned About Mass Migration from Haiti, 60k More Coming

Admin
Haitian migrants on a boat

Erika Mouynes, Panama’s foreign minister, says the Biden administration was warned in advance about thousands of Haitians heading to the U.S.

About 15,000 migrants recently arrived in Del Rio, Texas. According to the Department of Homeland Security, some were deported but the majority were released into U.S. communities while they await their asylum claim to be adjudicated.

According to Axios, Mouynes said an estimated 60,000 more migrants are making their way to the U.S. Many of the Haitian migrants travel through Panama to get there.

Read the full story

House Passes Rep. Harshbarger’s Bill to Increase Transparency Within the Department of Homeland Security

Cooper Moran

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Contract and Reporting Act of 2021, introduced by Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01).

The goal of the legislation is to provide both Congress and American citizens a better understanding of how DHS decides to utilize taxpayer funds, increasing transparency.

Read the full story

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Claims at Least 20 Percent of Migrants Have Illnesses

Admin
Alejandro Mayorkas

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced on Monday that the rate of illegal aliens carrying diseases with them into the country is “approximately 20 percent,” even though many such illegals have not been properly tested, as reported by the New York Post.

“When one is speaking of 7,000 or 7,500 people encountered at the border every day,” Mayorkas said at a press conference, “if one takes a look at that system, it is not built for that in a COVID environment where isolation is required.”

Mayorkas did not expand on what he meant by “illness,” and whether he was referring to the Chinese coronavirus or other diseases. However, he did mention that he does not expect to see a “tragic rise in the Delta variant” (also known as the India variant) following the latest surge at the border, which saw over 10,000 illegals, mostly from Haiti, enter the country illegally.

Read the full story

Gov. Abbott Says Texas Will Hire Border Patrol Agents If Biden Administration Fires Any

The Center Square

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would hire any Border Patrol agent fired by the Biden administration after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said agents would no longer be permitted to use horses to guard the border in Del Rio, Texas.

Criticism of mounted agents was widespread after a photograph showing agents using horse reins was misconstrued by members of the media and some politicians suggesting the agent was using the reins as a “whip.”

Read the full story

Around 12,400 Migrants Are Waiting to See Whether They’ll Be Allowed to Remain in U.S.

Admin
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visits with a group of Border Patrol agents and CBP employees as he tours the Del Rio Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, September 20, 2021. DHS photo by Benjamin Applebaum

Around 12,400 migrants could be allowed to remain in the U.S., Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during a White House press conference on Friday.

Border officials relied on Title 42, a Trump-era public health order implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to expel most migrants from the U.S., according to Mayorkas. Migrants who needed immediate medical attention or who feared torture if they were returned to their home country weren’t subject to removal.

“Approximately 12,400 will have cases heard by an immigration judge to make a determination on whether they’ll be removed or permitted to remain in the United States,” Mayorkas said. If someone is not subject to title 42 expulsion for the three reasons that I explained, acute vulnerability, operational capacity limitations, or a convention against torture exception, then the individual is placed in immigration proceedings.

Read the full story

Commentary: National Sabotage by Immigration

Admin

As the first year of a Biden presidency that has felt like a decade nears its end, only the most ardent Democratic partisans still insist that the country is on the right track. The rest of us are left to debate whether the rancid fruit of this regime is a result of incompetence or design. By analysis of this administration’s immigration agenda alone, the inescapable conclusion is that it is indeed the latter. The macabre consequences of this fact threaten to take America into one of the darkest chapters in its history.

These kinds of conclusions run contrary to the traditional American ethos. Those who grew up with Ronald Reagan’s “shining city on a hill” imagery or John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier vision experienced leadership that sought the best for America and its citizenry. In those eras, politicians from both major parties seemed to prioritize the good of the country; they only disagreed on the means to get us there.

Such notions seem quaint given today’s realities. Beneath the surface of Biden’s genial Uncle Joe schtick is an executive branch controlled by some of the most dogmatic left-wing apparatchiks ever seen in American politics. Among their witch’s brew of radical ideas, they have seized upon immigration as one of the quickest and most effective ways to transform the country to their vision.

Read the full story

Judge Ruling Prevents Abbott from Closing Planned Entry Points Along Southern Border

Admin
Greg Abbott

A ruling from a federal judge on Thursday led Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to abandon his plan to close six entry points on the southern border amid a surge of migrants, the El Paso Times reported.

The U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia blocked President Joe Biden from turning away migrant families with children under 18, citing a health order related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the El Paso Times reported. The order will take effect in 14 days.

Abbott announced Thursday he had directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to close six entry points along the southern border in a statement obtained by Fox News.

Read the full story

Over 200,000 Illegal Migrants Encountered at the Southern Border for the Second Month in a Row

Admin

Monthly border encounters with migrants attempting to illegally enter the U.S. decreased slightly in August for the first time since President Joe Biden took office but remain near record highs, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Border officials encountered nearly 209,000 migrants at the southern border in August, down from a record high of 213,500 people in July, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Officials encountered a record-high number of migrants compared to 50,000 in August 2020 and 62,700 in August 2019.

However, a “larger-than-usual number of migrants” are attempting to illegally cross the border several times so “total encounters somewhat overstate the number of unique individuals arriving at the border,” CBP announced. Officials encountered 156,600 unique individuals in August and 25% of them had at least one prior encounter in the last 12 months.

Read the full story

Pentagon Inspector General to Review Vetting of Afghan Evacuees

Admin

The Department of Defense Inspector General’s office will review how Afghan evacuees were vetted before leaving their country and upon arrival in the U.S.

The evaluation will look into the biometric screening process, the handling of individuals flagged as “security risks,” and the management  of “individuals’ ingress and egress to a DoD-managed facility when screening/vetting is not complete,” according to a letter Department of Defense Inspector General for Evaluations Michael Roark sent Thursday to senior Pentagon officials.

The Inspector General’s office will conduct the review at locations where evacuees are being housed upon arrival in the U.S., including Virginia’s Fort Picket, Marine Corps Base Quantico and the Dulles Expo Center.

Read the full story

Afghan Refugees Undergo ‘Biometric and Biographic Vetting’ Before Coming to America

Admin
Joe Biden

Afghan refugees are subject to security and health screening performed by Department of Homeland Security officials before they’re evacuated to the U.S. or a third country for additional processing, a Biden administration senior official said.

Afghans must clear biometric and biographic vetting including iris scans, palm and voice prints and photographs before they’re evacuated from the country, CNN reported. The refugees are also tested for COVID-19 and offered vaccinations before they’re released, the senior official said in a background press call on Aug. 24.

“That [security screening] process involves biometric and biographic security screenings conducted by our intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism professionals who are working quite literally around the clock to vet all of these Afghans before they’re allowed into the United States,” the Biden administration senior official said on the call.

Read the full story

CNN Confirms Biden Administration is Bringing Afghan Refugees to the U.S. with No Paperwork or Vetting

Admin

The Biden Administration’s hasty extraction of Afghan refugees to the United States has been so rushed and so sloppy that many are arriving into the country with no documentation to confirm who they even are, Breitbart reports.

Even CNN’s coverage of the debacle confirms the lack of preparation and failure to properly vet refugees. Sources from within the evacuation process told CNN that the goal of the Biden Administration has been to “get as many people on the plane as you can, and we’ll sort out the [paperwork] stuff later.” The same sources added that “some people have landed with no documents whatsoever, creating a very challenging work environment for the officers.”

Read the full story

DeSantis Demands Feds Account for All People ‘Resettled’ in Florida

The Center Square

During the first six months of 2021, more than 6,250 “unaccompanied alien minors” were transported to Florida by the federal government and released to sponsors with little oversight, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Other than that, the governor says there’s little information provided by the federal government about where people detained for attempting to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border are being housed and how many are now in Florida.

Read the full story

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar Introduces ‘Americans Not Aliens Act’

Rachel Alexander

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) introduced the “Americans Not Aliens Act” on August 20, which would prevent the Department of Homeland Security from issuing work permits to migrants with deportation orders. These are generally illegal immigrants who have received hearings before an immigration judge who has declined to give them asylum, instead ordering their removal. 

“Providing work permits to aliens who have been ordered removed from the United States is the very definition of insanity,” Gosar said in a statement. “At a time when American citizens are struggling to find jobs, my legislation removes the incentives for aliens to ignore the rule of law and not return to their country of origin.” Under the current system, they can easily find jobs in America which they may not be able to find in their home countries. 

Read the full story

Court Rules Against Catch and Release for Migrants

Admin

A federal trial court in Texas ruled against the Biden administration’s directives to catch and release some migrants on Thursday.

A Texas federal judge blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from enforcing the Biden administration’s Jan. 20 and Feb. 18 memoranda prioritizing certain migrants for detention over others, granting Texas and Louisiana’s motion for a preliminary injunction, according to the court opinion.

“The States point out that the priority categories enumerated in these Memoranda omit certain others—namely, aliens convicted of serious drug offenses, aliens convicted of crimes of moral turpitude, and aliens subject to a final order of removal,” the opinion continues.

Read the full story

ICE Halted Deportation of Criminal Illegal Alien Due to Far-Left Activist’s Request

Admin
Tania Mattos

Internal emails from within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reveal that the acting director went out of his way to block the deportation of an illegal alien with a criminal record after a request was made by a far-left “Abolish ICE” activist, as reported by Fox News.

The request was made by Tania Mattos, who serves as a policy director with the far-left pro-amnesty group Freedom for Immigrants. Mattos was an illegal alien herself before being granted amnesty by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and has publicly called for the abolition of ICE.

Read the full story

Report: Border Officials Encountered 21-Year Record High Number of Migrants in July

Admin

Border officials encountered an estimated 210,000 migrants at the southern border in July, the highest monthly total since 2000, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Preliminary government data reportedly shows border officials encountered some 19,000 unaccompanied migrant minors, a record high from previous months including just over 18,800 in March, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy David Shahoulian said, the AP reported.

Read the full story

Biden Administration Allegedly Planning to Distribute Johnson and Johnson Vaccine to Illegal Aliens

Admin

Joe Biden is planning an effort to distribute doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to illegal aliens pouring into the United States across the southern border, as reported by Breitbart.

The report first came from the Washington Post, after several officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spoke under condition of anonymity. According to the officials, federal authorities will soon begin administering the single-shot vaccine to illegals currently held in U.S. custody along the southern border with Mexico. DHS plans to get illegals vaccinated as soon as possible upon their entry into the country, to be done even before they are fully processed.

Read the full story

Representative Harshbarger’s Bill Mandating Daily Contract Reports from Department of Homeland Security Advances Out of Committee

Corinne Murdock

A bill from Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) mandating daily reporting on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contracts passed out of committee Wednesday. The “DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021” was approved by the House Committee on Homeland Security, according to a weekly report from Harshbarger. Harshbarger serves on the committee.

The bill currently has bipartisan support, with two Democratic and one other Republican cosponsor: Representatives Elaine Luria (D-VA-02), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08), and John Katko (R-NY-24). It would require the DHS secretary to publish daily reports of all covered contract rewards of $4 million or greater on a public website. It would also give the public the option to subscribe to notification alerts for updated reports. 

Read the full story

Report: Biden Admin Will Keep Restrictions Allowing Border Officials to Expel Migrants for Another Month

Admin
Crowd of immigrants

The Biden administration will reportedly keep restrictions allowing border officials to expel most migrants for another month, The Monitor reported Wednesday.

The Trump administration implemented public health order Title 42 prohibiting some individuals from entering the U.S. in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Border officials encountered nearly 190,000 migrants at the southern border in June and over 100,000 of those were rapidly expelled under Title 42, according to CBP.

Read the full story

Arizona Attorney General Seeks Injunction on Biden’s Order to End Border Wall Construction

Corinne Murdock

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is seeking an injunction on President Joe Biden’s executive order halting the border wall construction. Brnovich wants the Biden Administration to reverse their current border policies and refrain from any further action until they analyze the environmental impact of those policies per the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The attorney general’s office submitted the injunction request in an amended complaint. The original lawsuit, State of Arizona v. Mayorkas et al, argues that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal officials violated NEPA by not providing environmental impact statements or assessments when they halted construction of the border wall and permitted additional migrant entry by ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy. 

Read the full story

Commentary: Biden’s Domestic Terrorism Strategy Has Roots in Clinton Years

Admin

The “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism,” released last month by the National Security Council, claims to take a “narrowly tailored” approach. Something along those lines is indeed evident throughout the document.

In 2016, readers learn, “an anti–authority violent extremist ambushed, shot, and killed five police officers in Dallas.” The national strategy document does not identify the killer, Micah Johnson, an African American veteran who hated cops. Johnson actually shot a dozen officers but managed to kill only five, and he had bomb-making materials in his home. This killer only opposes “authority” and his murder victims remain unidentified in the NSC document.

In 2017, according to the National Strategy “a lone gunman wounded four people at a congressional baseball practice.” Readers are not told this was James Hodgkinson, a Bernie Sanders supporter who hated Republicans and targeted them for assassination. That should easily qualify as domestic terrorism but here Hodgkinson is only a “gunman.” The National Strategy does not reveal that the “wounded” included Representative Steve Scalise (R-La.), who barely escaped with his life. The NSC document fails to mention that Hodkinson also shot Capitol Police special agent Crystal Griner, an African American.

Read the full story

Rep. Diana Harshbarger Introduces Bill to Increase Transparency Within the Department of Homeland Security

Cooper Moran

U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) introduced a bill on Tuesday that is aimed to increase the level of transparency associated with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The legislation, known as the DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021, would instruct DHS to publish a public, daily report of all headquarters and component contracts related to the agency that exceeds $4 million.

Read the full story

U.S. Group Connected to Wuhan Lab Is Stonewalling Congressional Investigation of Pandemic Origins, Committee Ranking Member Says

Admin
COVID-19

Months after its initial requests, a congressional committee investigating COVID-19’s origins is still awaiting answers from a U.S.-funded group that worked with a Wuhan lab considered a possible origin of COVID-19.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak answer questions about his group’s work with the Wuhan lab in a letter on April 16, and have still received no response, a committee aide confirmed Thursday.

Only the chair of the committee, Democrat Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., of New Jersey, can use subpoena power to require a witness’ attendance, testimony and related documents.

Read the full story

Biden’s ICE Shuts Down Trump-Era Initiative to Help Victims of Illegal Aliens

Admin

Under the orders of Joe Biden, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered the shutdown of an office created by President Donald Trump for the purpose of helping victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens, as reported by CNN.

The announcement was made on Friday that the Victim Of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE) office was coming to an end, instead being replaced with an office that will focus on helping victims of crime irrespective of the immigration status of either the victims or the culprits.

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that “all people, regardless of their immigration status, should be able to access victim services without fear,” directly implying that the new office will actually cater to illegal aliens rather than American citizens. Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson confirmed these intentions in his own statement, declaring that ICE would be “committed to serving all victims of crime.”

Read the full story

Arizona AG Tells Hotel Not to Let ICE House 1,200 Migrants

Cooper Moran

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to a local hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona to urge them not to allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to convert the location to a detention center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The hotel is considering a proposed contract from DHS that would allow for the establishment of a facility to hold up to 1,200 migrant adults and children.

Read the full story

Senators Propose $1 Billion to Aid DHS in Addressing Future Migrant Surges

Admin
Members of Galveston County S.W.A.T. work with with Customs and Border Protection Agents during Maritime Tactical Operations Group vessel boarding training in the Houston Ship Channel, Aug. 23, 2016.

Senators introduced legislation that would require federal agencies tasked with managing migration at the border to make strategic plans and allow access to $1 billion in contingency funding, lawmakers announced Friday.

Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly introduced the Border Response Resilience Act that would establish a $1 billion “Irregular Migration Border Response Fund” for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide food, clothing, blankets, and transportation for unaccompanied migrant minors and family members without having to transfer funding allocated to border security, according to the lawmakers. The act would require federal officials to make plans and “conduct exercises to improve the federal response to increased migration at the border.”

“DHS has been unprepared for unlawful migrant surges at our southern border in 2014, 2019, and again during the current crisis. This is unacceptable. DHS and other federal agencies must be able to respond immediately to the need for shelter for migrants as well as additional personnel to handle surging numbers of unlawful migrants at our border,” Portman said in a statement.

Read the full story

House Passes Two Immigration Bills as Border Crisis Intensifies

Admin

The House passed two separate immigration bills Thursday evening, marking the first time the 117th Congress has voted on the issue under President Joe Biden.

The pair of bills are the first immigration proposals to be voted on since a surge of migrants reached the southern border, resulting in heightened scrutiny on the Biden administration over its handling of what Republicans have labeled a serious crisis.

The House first passed H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (ADPA), with nine Republicans voting with Democrats in favor of the bill. The act would provide a pathway to citizenship for so-called “Dreamers” who were brought to the United States as young children, as well as for Temporary Protected Status recipients and Deferred Enforced Departure beneficiaries. The legislation, sponsored by California Democratic Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, could give over 4.4 million people a path to permanent status, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Read the full story

Biden Leaves Key Immigration Posts Vacant Amid Border Surge

RealClearWire

There was no break-in period for the new Department of Homeland Security secretary.

Alejandro Mayorkas went from his confirmation hearing in the Senate to confronting a surge of migrants along the southern border almost immediately, and while the new DHS chief won’t call the current situation a crisis, he did announce Tuesday that the nation is on track to record the highest number of apprehensions in over two decades.

Read the full story

Eleven States File Motion to Intervene in Ninth Circuit Case over Public Charge Rule

The Center Square

Eleven states, led by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, have filed a motion to intervene in a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case over challenges to a 2018 public charge rule change that required immigrants coming to the U.S. to prove they could financially support themselves.

The Biden administration removed the rule change, effective March 9. Subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security announced on March 11 it will no longer apply the rule.

In a statement, it said it had “closed the book on the public charge rule and is doing the same with respect to a proposed rule regarding the affidavit of support that would have placed undue burdens on American families wishing to sponsor individuals lawfully immigrating to the U.S.”

Read the full story

Biden Quietly Nixes Trump-era Rule Combating Chinese Communist-Funded ‘Propaganda’ Centers

Admin

The Trump administration attempted to enact a policy that would force American universities to reveal cooperation with chapters of the Confucius Institute. President Joe Biden quietly revoked the policy a few days after his inauguration.

Axios reported that in the final days of his presidency, Trump enacted a policy that would compel primary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions to disclose all contracts and transactions with the Confucius Institute. Under the policy, schools that do not report information would lose certification for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

Read the full story

Homeland Security Nominee Mayorkas Raked in Millions at Corporate Law Firm Representing Utility Company Responsible for Fatal Gas Explosion

Admin

by Chuck Ross   Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of homeland security, received $3.3 million last year as a partner at his law firm, where he represented a defense contractor accused of kickbacks to secure a Department of Energy contract and a utility company found responsible for an explosion that killed one person in Massachusetts. Mayorkas, who served as deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Barack Obama, also faced an investigation during the Obama administration regarding a visa program he oversaw as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A 2015 report from the DHS inspector general said Mayorkas “exerted improper influence” to help politically-connected Democrats navigate the EB-5 visa program, which awards green cards to foreigners who invest in American companies. Mayorkas was also accused in a House report in 2002 of “inappropriate” intervention on behalf of a Democratic donor who sought a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton. Mayorkas will appear before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Jan. 19 for his confirmation hearing. Mayorkas, who was a U.S. attorney in Los Angeles during the Clinton administration, joined Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, a prominent Big Law firm, after…

Read the full story

Dems Ask That Public Charge Rule Not Apply to Immigrant Coronavirus Treatment, Which It Already Doesn’t

Admin

A group of House Democrats is asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not to penalize green card applicants for seeking medical care for coronavirus, but the government already made clear it wouldn’t.

Thirty-eight House Democrats signed a letter delivered to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Tuesday, asking him to remove any assistance for COVID-19 care as part of the recently-enacted public charge rule. The rule takes into account a migrant’s past use of government-funded assistance when they apply for permanent status.

Read the full story

Illegal Border Crossings Drop by Half Under Coronavirus Shutdown

Admin

Since the Trump administration ordered a shutdown of the U.S.-Mexico border, government officials are reporting a roughly 50% drop in illegal alien apprehensions.

Under orders from the Centers for Disease Control, the Trump administration on Friday declared a lockdown of the southern and northern borders, permitting only the flow of “essential” travel. In that short time, border officials have revealed that they are seeing a huge drop in the flow of illegal aliens.

Read the full story

Obama-Era DHS Whistleblower Philip Haney Found Dead with Gunshot Wound to Chest

Admin

An Obama-era whistleblower was found dead Friday morning in a remote area roughly an hour outside of Sacramento, California with a gunshot wound to his chest.

Philip Haney, one of the founding members of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), exposed the Obama Administration’s dangerously P.C. national security policies in 2015 and 2016. His body was found next to a vehicle near Drytown, California.

Read the full story

DHS Chief Rips Nancy Pelosi’s Claims on Travel Ban Expansion as ‘Grossly Inaccurate’

Admin

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, accused Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of “grossly inaccurate and irresponsible” rhetoric for claiming that the administration’s updated travel ban affects 350 million people.

“Facts are stubborn. The new travel restrictions do not apply to 350 million people — as some of our critics would lead you to believe. Such statements are grossly inaccurate and irresponsible,” Wolf tweeted out on Sunday, linking to an official statement from Pelosi regarding the administration’s new travel ban rules.

Read the full story

Mark Green’s New Intelligence Enterprise Act Passes House

Chris Butler

  U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican representing Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District, announced Thursday that his Unifying DHS Intelligence Enterprise Act, passed the House of Representatives. According to a press release from Green’s office, the bill directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to establish a homeland intelligence doctrine, synchronizing intelligence sharing and improving coordination across the department. “During my time as an Army special operations flight surgeon, I learned the value of streamlined intelligence on a mission. I am proud to sponsor this legislation unifying the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence apparatus and enabling the Department to better carry out its mission to keep America safe.,” the press release quoted Green as saying. “At a time of heightened threats to our security at home and abroad, we must equip the men and women of DHS to easily and effectively do their jobs as they stand on the frontlines protecting our country, patrolling our border, and enforcing our laws.” As The Tennessee Star reported last month, Green is also co-sponsoring legislation to protect U.S. technology from Chinese espionage. That legislation “would place certain technology on the U.S. Commerce Department’s export control list and impose sanctions on individuals who violate those…

Read the full story

President Trump Puts Limit on Asylum Claims at Border

Admin

by Fred Lucas   While waiting for Congress to act on closing immigration loopholes, the Trump administration is imposing a new rule to limit asylum claims by requiring professed refugees to first seek asylum in another country closer to home. The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security announced the new rule for asylum-seekers, which is set to take effect Tuesday. Asylum-seekers will be required to apply for protection from prosecution or torture in at least one other country outside their country of citizenship or nationality before entering the United States. The rule comes as President Donald Trump tries to gain control over the southern border amid a surge of migrants from Central America. Kevin K. McAleenan, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the change is designed to decrease that surge. “Until Congress can act, this interim rule will help reduce a major ‘pull’ factor driving irregular migration to the United States and enable DHS and DOJ to more quickly and efficiently process cases originating from the southern border, leading to fewer individuals transiting through Mexico on a dangerous journey,” McAleenan said in a formal statement. The Trump administration contends it has the flexibility to place the restriction on asylum-seekers…

Read the full story

Florida Officials, Congressional Delegation Demand FBI Disclose Election-Hack Details

Admin

by John Haughey   Russian hackers gained access to voter information files in Washington County, a sparsely populated Republican-dominated Panhandle county, where 77 percent of its 11,000 votes cast in the 2016 presidential election went to Donald Trump. The revelation was reported by The Washington Post Thursday night, citing two unnamed officials “with knowledge of the investigation,” who said Washington County was one of the two Florida counties breached by the Russian military spy agency, the GRU, in the days before the November 2016 election. The Washington Post also cites two unnamed Florida sources that the second county the FBI maintains was penetrated by the GRU in 2016 is “a mid-sized county on the East Coast of the state.” The disclosures have further inflamed already angry state officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Florida’s congressional delegation, who are demanding the FBI and the Trump Administration be more forthcoming in discussing with them and county election officials what its investigation has uncovered. “The public needs to know which counties were hacked and what steps are being taken to hold the bad actors accountable,” U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Orlando, said during a bipartisan Washington D.C. press conference staged by five of the…

Read the full story