Pentagon Inspector General to Review Vetting of Afghan Evacuees

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.

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

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.

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Court Rules Against Catch and Release for Migrants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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…

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

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’

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

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 —…

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President Trump Puts Limit on Asylum Claims at Border

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…

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

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…

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Report: Trump Insiders Want DHS Chief to Step Down

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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The Number of Illegals Caught at the Southwest Border Nearly Doubles, DHS Reports

by Jason Hopkins   Apprehensions of illegal migrants at the southwest border in January increased dramatically from the same time last year, and experts predict 2019 will experience increases in illegal migrant arrests overall. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — a subset agency of the Department of Homeland…

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Despite Security Concerns, DHS Official Says No Signs of Successful Election Cybersecurity Attacks

by Gavin Hanson   An official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reportedly said the department had not picked up on any indications of successful election cyberattacks as of early Wednesday morning. The 2018 midterm election came and passed without any official observations of hacking, according to the DHS, The Hill…

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Restaurant Manager Where Secretary Nielsen Was Mobbed ‘Happy About What Happened’

Security Nielsen Was Mobbed

by Julia Cohen   The Mexican restaurant where Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was swarmed by protesters Tuesday in Washington, D.C., took no action to quell the protesters or ensure Nielsen’s safety, a manager told The Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday. “We are not upset the protesters…

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