Tag: Department of Homeland Security

Biden Administration Refuses to Release Full Number of Illegal Alien Population

Admin

In an unprecedented move, the Biden White House still has not yet released an official total of the number of illegal aliens who are currently occupying the United States, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

Although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has given those numbers to Congress in a report, that report has not yet been made public. Common practice dating back to the Obama Administration has been to release the report publicly shortly after the Congressional briefing, with a focus on the number of possible visa overstays. Congress has warned that “the large number of annual in-country alien overstays threatens national security and the integrity of legal immigration.”

The report in question is formally called the “Entry/Exit Overstay Report,” and documents foreigners who were originally approved to stay in the United States with a visa, but whose visas have since expired. The report is compiled using travel data across multiple agencies, including DHS and the State Department.

Read the full story

Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas Can’t Answer Sen. Cruz’s Questions on Illegal Immigration

The Center Square

DHS Secretary Mayorkas couldn’t answer Sen. Cruz’s questions on illegal immigration, kept replying, “I’ll have to circle back with you”

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week on illegal immigration, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas grilled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on policies he’s implemented that have enabled an ongoing humanitarian crisis at the southern border.

Read the full story

Biden Administration Says It Doesn’t Release Migrants Without Court Dates … Anymore

Admin

The Biden administration said it’s no longer releasing migrants into the U.S. without court dates, CNN Politics reported Tuesday.

Migrants will be issued formal notices to appear in an immigration court when released from federal custody instead of notices to report, which direct them to check in with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office within 60 days, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, according to CNN.

Read the full story

Border Agents Ordered to Cease Deporting Nicaraguans under Public Health Emergency Authority

Admin

On Friday, Customs and Border Patrol agents received instructions on a new policy: Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security would no longer allow deportations of Nicaraguan illegal aliens under Title 42, a clause within the 1944 Public Health Services Law that “allows the government to prevent the introduction of individuals during certain public health emergencies.”

All Nicaraguans entering the U.S. illegally, with some exceptions related to criminal history, will be released directly into the U.S. as of Friday afternoon, Just The News has learned.

The order to all CBP agents was issued verbally on a conference call. Official orders in writing are expected soon. The Department of Homeland Security has not issued a statement, nor has CBP.

Read the full story

Thousands of DHS Employees Won’t Be Vaccinated Before the Federal Deadline

Admin

Around 30% of Department of Homeland Security employees won’t be fully vaccinated before the federal deadline, My RGV reported on Tuesday.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees needed to receive their second COVID-19 vaccination shot or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Monday, two weeks before President Joe Biden’s executive order goes into effect, to be considered fully vaccinated, according to My RGV.

Read the full story

Amnesty International is Campaigning on Debunked Border Patrol Whipping Story

Admin

Amnesty International USA is campaigning to reform the immigration system by circulating debunked claims that border patrol agents used whips to engage illegal Haitian migrants.

The advocacy organization launched a Facebook ad campaign Friday featuring several ads advancing claims that mounted Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents used whips to disperse Haitian migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The ads, each of which have an estimated audience size of over one million Facebook users and one of which has reached over 50,000 views, show images of CBP agents on horseback apprehending Haitian migrants.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Washington Post Finally Releases Sketchy Details That Raise Questions About the January 6 ‘Pipe Bombs’

Admin

Several storylines related to the events of January 6 have crumbled under closer scrutiny over the past 10 months: the “fire extinguisher” murder of Officer Brian Sicknick; the notion it was an “armed” insurrection and a grand “conspiracy” concocted by right-wing militias; claims that the building sustained $30 million in damages, and so on.

In the meantime, the Biden regime has attempted to cover up key aspects of that day, including the name of the officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, which was only recently revealed. Justice Department lawyers continue to resist the release of 14,000 hours of surveillance video and the U.S. Capitol Police refuse to publish an 800-page internal investigation on officer misconduct as well as internal communications before and after the Capitol breach.

But a deep dive by the Washington Post, published last weekend, raises new questions about the alleged “pipe bombs” discovered just before Congress met on January 6 to certify the results of the 2020 Electoral College vote. Like so many supporting scenes, the veracity of the pipe bomb tale is in doubt after the Post revealed eyebrow-raising details about those involved.

Read the full story

Biden Admin Rescinds ‘Remain in Mexico’ Again Despite Court Ruling

Admin

The Biden administration said Friday that it intends to repeal former President Donald Trump’s “Remain In Mexico” policy after a federal judge denied its first attempt, the Department of Homeland Security announced in a statement.

President Joe Biden had originally suspended the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program, mandating non-Mexican migrants wait in Mexico until their immigration court date in the U.S., in June. However, a Texas federal judge ruled in August he was violating federal law in the way he went about ending it.

Read the full story

Rep. Andy Biggs Demands Answers From DHS on New Guidelines That Gut Immigration Enforcement, Calls for Mayorkas’s Removal

Rachel Alexander

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-05-AZ) and Rep. James Comer (R-01-KY) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers regarding new “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law” that they assert hamper the ability of ICE agents to enforce immigration laws. They warn that the new guidelines will restrict enforcement even more than the interim guidance which was implemented in January, which caused arrests and removals to plummet by more than 60 percent.

Biggs called to remove Mayorkas in a statement accompanying the letter, “These guidelines are an affront to the rule of law and will only further incentivize illegal immigration. Instead of preventing ICE from enforcing the law, the Biden administration should be empowering them to keep our country safe. Moreover, Secretary Mayorkas should be removed from his position of authority immediately for implementing crisis-creating policies.” 

Read the full story

Department of Homeland Security Insider Blows the Whistle on Biden Regime Policies That Allow Sex Traffickers and Drug Cartels to Operate in U.S.

Admin

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee has gone public to expose U.S. immigration policies that help sex traffickers and drug cartels operate in the United States.

Aaron Stevenson, an intelligence research specialist for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), told Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe that he came forward because the Biden administration is dangerously overhauling America’s immigration policies with zero oversight.

Read the full story

DHS Insider Blows Whistle on Biden Policies that Allow Sex and Drug Traffickers to Operate in U.S.

Admin

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee has gone public to expose U.S. immigration policies that help sex traffickers and drug cartels operate in the United States.

Aaron Stevenson, an intelligence research specialist for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), told Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe that he came forward because the Biden administration is dangerously overhauling America’s immigration policies with zero oversight.

Read the full story

Over $100 Million Worth of Border Wall Equipment Wasted, Sitting Unused in Texas

Admin

Ever since the Biden Administration halted all construction of the border wall, over $100 million worth of construction equipment intended to be used in finishing the wall has been sitting unused along the border in Texas, as reported by the New York Post.

After Biden ordered a halt to all construction and illegally cancelled numerous construction contracts with various companies, the material has been slowly rusting along the border, often right next to portions of the wall that were already completed.

Read the full story

DHS Stops ‘Mass’ ICE Worksite Raids of Undocumented Workers, Will Instead Target Employers

Admin

The Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum that will stop “mass” Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids of undocumented workers at job sites and instead target employers, the agency announced Tuesday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to prosecute “employers who exploit the vulnerability of undocumented workers,” DHS Secretay Alejandro Mayorkas said in the memorandum. He added that the raids negatively impact workers who may already be subjected to low wages and unsafe working conditions.

Read the full story

DHS Says Climate Change Will Lead to More Illegal Border Crossings

Admin

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said extreme weather caused by climate change will lead to more illegal entries into the U.S. across the southern border.

Severe earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, tropical storms and other weather events caused by climate change will lead to “border mass migrations” that could put additional stress on U.S. border patrol, the DHS warned in its Climate Action Plan released Thursday. Climate change has “deep implications” for the security of U.S. borders, the agency said.

Read the full story

Secretary Mayorkas Said Investigation into Border Patrol ‘Whipping’ Migrants Would Be Finished Weeks Ago

Admin

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said an investigation into the Border Patrol agents seen allegedly “whipping” migrants in Del Rio, Texas, would be completed in “days, not weeks,” and the two-week mark just passed, The Hill reported on Wednesday.

Mayorkas promised to investigate the incident in “a matter of days, not weeks” on Sept. 22, but the agency said the review was ongoing two weeks after his remarks, according to The Hill.

Read the full story

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