Tag Archives: DHS

DHS To Conduct Internal Review To Root Out Extremists

The Washington Post reports: The Department of Homeland Security will carry out a “comprehensive review” of its agencies to root out violent extremists within its ranks who may harbor racial or ethnic hatreds, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced in a statement Monday. The Biden administration has directed DHS to increase its efforts to counter violent extremism and white-supremacist violence, which the …

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DHS IG Blocked Probe Into Lafayette Square Debacle

The Washington Post reports: The chief federal watchdog for the Secret Service blocked investigations proposed by career staff last year to scrutinize the agency’s handling of the George Floyd protests in Lafayette Square and the spread of the coronavirus in its ranks, according to documents and people with knowledge of his decisions. Both matters involved decisions by then-President Donald Trump …

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AP: Russian Hackers Got Emails Of Top Trump Officials

The Associated Press reports: Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned. The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and his staff is not …

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DHS Sec Axes Trump-Era Holdovers Including Cuccinelli

The Washington Post reports: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas fired most members of the department’s independent advisory council on Friday, a purge that included several allies of former president Donald Trump and veteran officials who served under both parties. Most members were nominated during the Trump administration, including a fire chief in northwest Arkansas, sheriffs who backed the former president’s …

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DHS May Put “Domestic Extremists” On No Fly Lists

Politico reports: The Department of Homeland Security is considering monitoring the travel of domestic extremists and expanding its use of the No Fly List, law enforcement sources told POLITICO. The discussions are part of the Biden administration’s strategy of treating domestic terror as a national security threat, and not just a law enforcement problem. They’re also part of broader conversations …

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DHS Confirms It Once Employed Neo-Nazi Leader

Vice News reports: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it once employed an American neo-Nazi terror leader now based in Russia after he posted what he said were letters of appreciation DHS and the Pentagon sent him thanking him for his service. Earlier this month, Rinaldo Nazzaro, 47, founder and leader of the Base, one of the most violent …

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Court: DHS Must Post Web Notice Welcoming Dreamers

Law & Crime reports: Formally rescinding acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf’s memo on the grounds that he was illegally appointed, a federal judge on Friday ordered the DHS to unfurl the welcome mat on its website and invite aspiring Dreamers to make first-time requests for consideration under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Homeland Security website must also …

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Trump Fires Homeland Security Dept Cyber Chief For Reporting That Election Was Most Secure In History

USA Today reports: The Department of Homeland Security’s cyber chief, who presided over an elaborate election security effort guarding against foreign interference and fraud, was ousted by President Donald Trump on Tuesday as part of a continuing post-election purge of top national security officials. Trump announced the dismissal in a tweet Tuesday night. The dismissal of Christopher Krebs, director DHS’s …

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DHS: This Was The “Most Secure Election In US History”

From Sinclair Media Group: A federal government agency under the Department of Homeland Security says this election was the “most secure in American history.” In a statement from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, part of DHS, the agency says there is no evidence any voting system was compromised. “While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for …

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DHS Agencies Prep For Election-Related Civil Unrest

CNN reports: Two of the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement agencies are preparing for the possibility of more civil unrest amid a contentious election, according to officials, part of a concerted effort by federal and local authorities to prepare for large-scale protests. The Trump administration’s deployment of federal officers to US cities came under scrutiny this summer and drew …

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Trump Admin Says Iran Behind Proud Boys Emails

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. government has concluded that Iran is behind a series of threatening emails arriving this week in the inboxes of Democratic voters, according to two U.S. officials. Department of Homeland Security officials told state and local election administrators on a call Wednesday that a foreign government was responsible for the online barrage, according to the …

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US Extends Border Closures With Mexico And Canada

The Washington Post reports: Restrictions on all nonessential travel at the United States’ land borders with Canada and Mexico will enter their eighth month, U.S. acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf said Monday. “To continue to limit the spread of covid-19, the U.S., Mexico, & Canada will extend the restrictions on non-essential travel until Nov. 21,” he said in a …

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Federal Cops Were Directed To Praise Kenosha Killer

NBC News reports: Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News. In preparing Homeland Security officials for questions about Rittenhouse from the media, the document suggests that they note that …

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ICE Readying Enforcement “Blitz” On Sanctuary Cities

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is preparing an immigration enforcement blitz next month that would target arrests in U.S. cities and jurisdictions that have adopted “sanctuary” policies, according to three U.S. officials who described a plan with public messaging that echoes the president’s law-and-order campaign rhetoric. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, known informally as the “sanctuary …

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Feds Warn Domestic Extremists Pose Election Threat

Reuters reports: U.S. security officials are warning that violent domestic extremists pose a threat to the presidential election next month, amid what one official called a “witch’s brew” of rising political tensions, civil unrest and foreign disinformation campaigns. FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memos say threats by domestic extremists to election-related targets will likely increase in the …

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Company Of DHS Head’s Wife Got $6M In Contracts

NBC News reports: The consulting firm where the wife of acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf is an executive has been awarded more than $6 million in contracts from the Department of Homeland Security since September 2018, according to records on the federal government website USA Spending. Wolf became chief of staff at the Transportation Security Administration, a DHS agency, …

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DHS: White Supremacists Greatest Threat To Election

The Nation reports: The assessment, dated August 17 of this year and marked for official use only, provides an overview of different threats to the election. Threats are said to include not just white supremacists but also individuals wary of the government’s Covid-19 restrictions, Second Amendment extremists, and confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters. The report reads: “We continue to assess …

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DHS To Probe Report Of Medical Abuse At ICE Facility

The New York Times reports: The Department of Homeland Security is investigating allegations that immigrant women detained at a privately run detention center in Georgia underwent gynecological procedures without fully understanding or consenting to them. The allegations, some of which were submitted this week as part of a whistle-blower complaint by a nurse at the facility, already have prompted more …

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DHS Wants Biometric Data For Sponsors of Immigrants

The Hill reports: The Trump administration on Friday issued a proposal to expand its DNA and other biometric data collection of immigrants to include citizens sponsoring them. In a document published on the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed that “any applicant, petitioner, sponsor, beneficiary, or individual filing or associated with an immigration benefit or request, including …

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Whistleblower Says Top DHS Officials Ordered Analysts To Downplay Threat Of Violence By White Supremacists

The New York Times reports: Top officials with the Department of Homeland Security directed agency analysts to downplay the threat of violent white supremacy and of Russian election interference, according to a whistle-blower complaint filed by a top intelligence official with the department. Brian Murphy, the former head of the intelligence branch of the Homeland Security Department, said in a …

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