Tag: DHS

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. 

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Court Rules Against Catch and Release for Migrants

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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

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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.

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

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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.”

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

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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.

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Biden Admin to Close ICE Detention Centers Where Officials Allegedly Performed Unnecessary Hysterectomies and Used Excessive Force Against Detainees

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The Biden administration plans to close two Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers after allegations of medical and physical abuse against detainees, CNN reported Thursday.

A doctor allegedly performed unauthorized hysterectomies and neglected other detainees at the privately operated Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, while it is alleged that officials exercised excessive use of force against peaceful detainees at the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center in Bristol County, Massachusetts, both facilities are expected to close, according to CNN.

“We have an obligation to make lasting improvements to our civil immigration detention system,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, CNN reported. “This marks an important first step to realizing that goal.”

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Former Border Officials Say Biden’s Mass Amnesty Proposal Will Worsen Migrant Crisis

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Mark Morgan

Former Trump administration immigration officials criticized President Joe Biden on Thursday for proposing mass amnesty for illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

Biden told Congress to pass his American Dream and Promise Act if they believe in securing the southern border or a pathway to citizenship for around 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally. Former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and Heritage Foundation experts said Biden’s proposal would worsen the migrant crisis at the southern border, according to a press release.

“This is a crisis of his own making,” former DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement. “Instead of returning to commonsense enforcement, the Biden administration is pushing forward with a massive amnesty proposal that will exacerbate the crisis and undermine the rule of law.”

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Over 23,000 Illegal Aliens Released into U.S. by DHS in Two Months

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Under Joe Biden, the Department of Homeland Security has overseen the release of over 23,400 illegal aliens into the United States since February, according to Breitbart.

These illegals were released after they had already been detained at the border for attempting to cross. Of that 23,400, around 15,600 were released in the month of March alone. This is in addition to the thousands of more illegals who have similarly been released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the same period, with the exact numbers currently being unavailable.

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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.”

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Report: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Plans to Gut ICE Immigration Enforcement

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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has introduced a plan to “reorganize”  ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations to the point where it will no longer be about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws, the Washington Times reported.

The Cuba-born Mayorkas floated this plan to essentially “abolish ICE” last week during a telephone conference call with agency personnel in Texas, according to the Times’ sources, who claimed Mayorkas proposed “taking members of the country’s 4,000-strong deportation force off the streets and converting them into criminal investigators.”

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Some Deportations Will Be Put on Hold for Biden’s First 100 Days, New Acting DHS Secretary Says

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A pause in deporting certain noncitizens from the U.S. will be in effect for 100 days starting Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.

The pause will be in effect while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reviews immigration enforcement policies and practices, according to Acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske. The pause will allow officials to “review and reset” policies to focus on public safety, border and national security.

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DHS to Accept New DACA ‘Dreamer’ Applications Under Trump Administration

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The Department of Homeland Security will begin accepting first-time Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival applications starting Monday, officials announced.

U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas George Garaufis issued an opinion requiring U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy that was in effect before September 2017, according to the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump ended the DACA program in September 2017, claiming that the program was unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported.

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Attorneys General Lash Out at DHS Student Visa Rules Letter Limiting Foreign Students’ Stay

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In late October, 23 U.S. states’ Attorneys General submitted a letter to the Department of Homeland Security expressing opposition to a proposed rule change that would place new limits on the time an international student can spend in the U.S.

The new rule would limit the validity of an international student visa to generally four years, the same amount of time it typically takes for a student to complete an undergraduate program. The current stipulation, characterized as “Duration of Stay,” allows a student to stay in the United States as long as they are pursuing a full course of studying or training.

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DOJ and DHS Confirm Active Federal Probe into Criminal Activity and Funding Related to Violent Riots

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The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security confirmed this week that the DOJ is investigating the organizers and funders behind the violent riots that have engulfed the country since May.

“We are investigating coordinated, criminal activity—not First Amendment activity—and violence related to riots, destruction of federal property and violence against law enforcement officers,” said DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec on Tuesday.

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‘We Will Not Retreat’: DHS’ Chad Wolf Defends Portland Intervention Amid Riots

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Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the ongoing protests in Portland are “the complete opposite” of peaceful demonstrations and that the federal government would “not retreat.”

“We support and we will protect those who want to peacefully protest,” Wolf said in a press conference Tuesday. “Unfortunately, what we’re seeing in Portland every night, roughly from midnight to 4:30 or 5 a.m. is the complete opposite.”

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Ken Cuccinelli Was Illegally Appointed to Top Immigration Post, Judge Rules

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by Jason Hopkins   A federal judge ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was illegally appointed to lead a top immigration post last year and invalidated some of his directives. Cuccinelli was illegally appointed by the Trump administration to head U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), according to a 55-page ruling issued Sunday by Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., an Obama-appointed judge. Moss also found that a directive launched under Cuccinelli, which hastens screening time for asylum seekers, should also be voided. President Donald Trump tapped Cuccinelli to lead USCIS — the agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that manages the country’s legal immigration system — in June 2019. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general, was later named as acting DHS deputy secretary, making in the second most senior appointed official in the department. During his time at USCIS, Cuccinelli aggressively pushed the president’s immigration agenda. While he no longer leads the day-to-day operations at the agency, he is still listed as the “Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Director,” on the USCIS website. Moss on Sunday ruled that Cuccinelli’s appointment violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, finding that he was not actually…

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

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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.

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

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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.

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‘King’ David Briley Fails to Show Up at The Tennessee Star Report to Debate Steve Glover on His Recent Executive Order

Julie Carr

During a discussion Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Leahy talked with Steve Glover about the recent debate challenge he proposed to Mayor David Briley in regards to the executive order issued on Tuesday. As predicted by Leahy, Briley was a no show.

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‘Six Million Meals’: DHS Chief Breaks Down How Much Care Illegal Migrants Receive

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by Jason Hopkins   Acting Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan revealed exactly how much care illegal migrants receive upon arriving at the border, abolishing narratives set by Democratic critics of the department. “Despite the scale of the challenge we face, and the failure to enact legislation that would have prevented — and could still end this crisis, DHS has made significant strides in its effort to secure the border, and to better protect the health and safety of migrants in our custody,” McALeenan said Thursday during a House Oversight Committee hearing. Since January 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has delivered more than 6,000,000 meals, performed around 400,000 medical health interviews, and conducted over 80,000 medical assessments for migrants in Customs and Border Protection custody, McALeenan said. Furthermore, agents have delivered more than 21,000 sick or injured migrants to hospitals this year, and have “conducted medical transportation or stood hospital watch for over a quarter million hours.” There are now more than 200 medical professionals working at various border facilities who screen migrants upon their detention. “I am confident that no law enforcement agency in the world is providing more critical lifesaving care or medical support than U.S. Customs and…

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President Trump Puts Limit on Asylum Claims at Border

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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…

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DHS Inspector General: Overcrowded Migrant Centers ‘A Ticking Time Bomb’

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  A new report by the Homeland Security Inspector General describes appalling conditions and wretched overcrowding at migrant detention centers in Texas with a top manager at one of the facilities saying he fears for the security of his staff, calling the situation a “ticking time bomb.” The report released Tuesday includes numerous pictures of people behind cages lying on bare cement floors with nothing to do, men in a room with standing room only, men and women wearing surgical masks appearing to be reaching out to the photographers for attention. One photo shows 88 men packed inside a room designed to hold 40 with one pressing a cardboard sign reading “help” against the window. The report says some migrants deliberately clog the toilets with socks and blankets just to get the chance to get out of the cages while the toilets are fixed. The inspector general’s report says the opportunity for personal hygiene is scarce and that many migrants became ill and constipated from the diet of bologna sandwiches that they are given. The inspector general called on the DHS to “take immediate steps to alleviate dangerous overcrowding and prolonged detention of children and adults in the Rio Grande…

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DHS Expects Border Apprehensions to Decrease By 25%, Credits Trump’s Deal With Mexico

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by Jason Hopkins   The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects apprehensions of illegal aliens to decline by 25% along the U.S. southern border in June and directly credited President Donald Trump’s immigration deal with Mexico for the change. “It’s become clear that over the past three weeks, since the administration reached a new agreement with Mexico, that we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of interdictions on the Mexican southern border, and a sincere effort to the transportation networks coming through Mexico,” DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan said to reporters Friday. “In terms of when we’re going to know if these efforts in Mexico are making an impact, I think these three weeks have demonstrated that they are ready. That 25% decrease in June is more than we’ve seen in past years. We are not really tracking a seasonal pattern anymore,” he stated, explaining the decline is not completely attributable to the change in season. The DHS chief’s announcement follows a deal between the Trump administration and Mexico City reached on June 7. In return for the U.S. not slapping a 5% tariff on all its goods, Mexico agreed to dramatically ramp up its own border enforcement. Its government…

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Report: Trump Insiders Want DHS Chief to Step Down

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by Jason Hopkins   Several Trump administration officials and other immigration hawks outside the White House are pushing to remove Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan amid accusations of disloyalty, according to sources familiar with the matter. Immigration hardliners within President Donald Trump’s orbit want McAleenan ousted, according to several people within the administration and former officials within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who spoke with Politico. McAleenan, who only began leading DHS in April, is too liberal on immigration and not supportive enough of the president’s agenda, according to critics. Efforts to push McAleenan outcome after accusations that he personally sabotaged a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid targeting thousands of illegal immigrants. The Trump administration planned to apprehend a significant number of illegal aliens across the country in a single day, an operation meant to deter other foreign nationals from considering illegally migrating. However, critical details of the plan were leaked to the media beforehand, revealing the day, the number of illegal aliens being targeted, and the cities involved. Release of the information put ICE agents at risk, ultimately prompting the White House to call the raid off. Current and former officials within the administration said…

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Officials Accuse DHS Chief Kevin McAleenan of Personally Sabotaging President Trump’s Planned ICE Raids

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by Jason Hopkins   Administration officials are accusing Homeland Security Acting Director Kevin McAleenan of sabotaging Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) deportation raids by leaking key details of the plan. President Donald Trump abruptly announced Saturday that he would delay plans for Sunday raids targeting around 2,000 illegal immigrants across the country. The president claimed the two-week hiatus would give the White House time to reach a consensus with Democrats on “asylum and loophole” issues at the southern border. However, senior administration officials say there is much more to the story. Current and former officials within the administration who spoke to the Washington Examiner and BuzzFeed are accusing McAleenan of ruining the Sunday operation by either personally releasing details of the plan or by having people in his staff do it for him. “I know he has not approved of this operation for months,” one source familiar with the matter said to the Washington Examiner. “The president wouldn’t leak that. ICE wouldn’t leak that. There’s only a few people involved in these discussions. … The only one who could have shared the details of those operations were [McAleenan]. Revealing details of the deportation raids, such as dates and locations, put ICE…

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Thousands of Alleged Asylum-Seekers Booted Out of US Under Trump’s ‘Remain In Mexico’ Policy

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by Jason Hopkins   Thousands of Central American migrants have been sent back to Mexico after lodging an asylum claim, a result of President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” directive. Over 5,000 asylum seekers from Central America’s Northern Triangle region — El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala — have been sent back to Mexico as they wait for their claims to go through the U.S. immigration court system, according to a Mexican government official who spoke to CBS. The number, if accurate, would indicate a sharp rise of the 3,700 asylum seekers the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed were booted earlier in May. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation. “It has many implications,” the Mexican official stated to CBS, speaking about “Remain in Mexico,” which is also known referred to as the “Migrant Protection Protocols” program. “However, with the new immigration policy, all the tools we have to apply to safeguard the physical and moral integrity of foreigners must be applied, regardless of condition or nationality.” The program, which began in late 2018, prohibits non-Mexican immigrants from immediately entering the U.S. interior after claiming asylum at the southern border. Instead, the directive requires them to wait in…

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Rep. Green Introduces Bill to Streamline Intelligence Sharing at Department of Homeland Security

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) on Thursday introduced a bill that would streamline and improve intelligence sharing at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Intelligence Officer (CINT) to establish a homeland intelligence doctrine for the department, according to a press release from Green’s office. Also, the bill ensures the CINT will have dedicated staff. Green’s new bill is similar to H.R. 2468, titled the “Unifying DHS Intelligence Enterprise Act,” which was introduced during the previous Congress on May 16, 2017. The goal is to ensure all of the entities at DHS are speaking the same language, using the same tradecraft and disseminating their products to the appropriate stakeholders, which include both the intelligence community and State and local partners, according to the press release. Green said, “As a former member of an Army special operations task force, I know the value of synchronized intelligence processes when on a mission. That experience has prompted me to introduce this bill so that DHS can fulfill its very important mission to keep Americans safe.” In other national security news, Green tweeted, “In the past year, the rates of active-duty military suicides have increased dramatically.…

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Minnesota Democrats Criticized for Not Taking Child Care Fraud ‘Seriously’ After Release of Second Report

Anthony Gockowski

A second report released last week by the non-partisan Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ “program integrity controls are insufficient to effectively prevent, detect, and investigate fraud” in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). In March, the OLA released its first report on the issue, which found “pervasive” fraud in the program and confirmed that millions of dollars in government payments went to fraudulent child care centers. After the release of the report, DHS Inspector General Carolyn Ham (pictured, left) was placed on “investigate leave.” The OLA’s second report, released Wednesday, focused more specifically on the “internal controls” in place within DHS to prevent fraud. The 44-page report produced five key findings, including: DHS and county agencies did not sufficiently leverage independent, external data sources to verifying recipient eligibility for CCAP. DHS had weak processes to validate that CCAP provider billings aligned with actual child care provided. Among other functions, MEC² (the payment system for CCAP) was developed to accurately process provider billings and payments; however, MEC² lacked some key controls to identify errors to inhibit, track, and recover improper payments. DHS did not implement sufficient program integrity controls for licensing…

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President Trump Accepts DHS Chief Kirstjen Nielsen’s Resignation, Names Kevin McAleenan as Replacement

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by Chuck Ross   President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Kirstjen Nielsen is resigning as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, bringing an end to an at-times rocky relationship between the two. Trump said on Twitter that Kevin McAleenan, the current commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, will take over as acting homeland security secretary. The announcement came shortly after Nielsen met with Trump privately at the White House to discuss her future. Trump and Nielsen have battled behind the scenes over the administration’s immigration policy and efforts to build a wall on the southern border. That tension reached its breaking point in the days after Trump abruptly pulled the nomination of Ronald Vitiello to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2019 ….I am pleased to announce that Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, will become Acting Secretary for @DHSgov. I have confidence that Kevin will do a great job! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2019   Trump said he wanted to go with someone “tougher”…

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Obama’s DHS Secretary Agrees the Border Is ‘Truly in a Crisis’

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by Whitney Tipton   Former President Barack Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday that the U.S. is “truly in a crisis” at the southern border. “A little bit of context here. When I was in office in Kirstjen Nielsen’s job, at her desk, I’d get to work around 6:30 in the morning, and there would be my intelligence book sitting on my desk, the PDB, and also the apprehension numbers from the day before,” Johnson said during his appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “My staff would tell you if it was under 1,000 apprehension the day before, that was a relatively good number, and if it was above 1,000, it was a relatively bad number, and I was going to be in a bad mood the whole day.” “On Tuesday there were 4,000 apprehensions. I know that a thousand overwhelms the system. I can’t imagine what 4,000 a day looks like. So, we are truly in a crisis,” he continued. Johnson isn’t the only Obama official to break from 2020 Democrats on immigration. Obama’s Border Patrol chief Mark Morgan praised Trump’s push for a border wall during an interview with the Law & Crime Network, saying “The wall works.”…

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Watchdog: US Agency Error Exposes 2.3 Million Disaster Survivors to Fraud

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Reuters   The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) exposed 2.3 million disaster survivors to possible identity theft and fraud by sharing sensitive personal information with an outside company, according to an internal government watchdog. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said FEMA had shared financial records and other sensitive information of people who had participated in an emergency shelter program after being displaced by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the California wildfires in 2017. The Inspector General’s office said FEMA had shared participants’ home addresses and bank account information with the contractor, along with necessary information like their names and birthdates. That “has placed approximately 2.3 million disaster survivors at increased risk of identity theft and fraud,” the Inspector General’s office said in a report. The name of the contactor was redacted. In a statement released on Friday, FEMA spokeswoman Lizzie Litzow said the agency had found no indication to suggest survivor data had been “compromised.” She said the agency has removed unnecessary information from the contractor’s computer systems. But FEMA’s review only found that the contractor’s computer systems had not been breached within the past 30 days because it did not keep…

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