Tag Archive for: Department of Homeland Security

Northern Border Agents Were Asked To Deploy To Florida Due To Massive Illegal Migrant Surge

Agents patrolling the northern border were asked to deploy to Florida due to a large surge in illegal migrants in recent months, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told the Daily Caller News Foundation Friday.

The Miami sector has seen increasing flows of illegal migrants with a surge of hundreds of them reaching the Florida coast in a matter of days in early January, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded more than 1,300 migrant encounters. For the last few months, agents stationed along the northern border have been dealing with their own migrant surge and deployments to address another surge at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“While the southwest border with Mexico continues to be the most problematic area for border security, Biden has made it possible for people and cartels to exploit weakness on all our borders including our coastal borders and northern border. Robbing Peter to pay Paul by moving resources from one area to another is, and has never been the answer, while it might help one area, it weakens the area the agents vacated. This Administration has proven it has little ability and care to protect our borders thereby safeguarding US Citizens,” Judd told the DCNF.

Border Patrol agents stationed along the U.S.-Canadian border, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak, confirmed to the DCNF that they were asked to volunteer.

“What’s next?” one of the agents told the DCNF. “We’re all being stretched pretty thin.”

“The situation in Florida isn’t uncommon. However, it wasn’t consistent as it has appeared to be recently. Once the boats started showing up consistently, and with hundreds of apprehensions per vessel, the need for additional agents brought about the requests for agents who wanted to volunteer to deploy down to Miami Sector,” a second northern border agent told the DCNF.

The situation has also led Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to send in additional state resources, including the National Guard, and declare an emergency. In one instance, two cruise ships in the area came to the rescue.

CBP told the DCNF that it had deployed additional resources to address Florida’s influx of illegal migrants.

“Due to maritime migrant fluctuations in Florida, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has deployed additional Border Patrol and Air and Marine Agents to the south Florida area of operations. These additional resources along with our integrated collaboration with our federal, state, and key stakeholders, allows for a rapid and efficient response to any increase in migratory flows. CBP seeks to deter and disrupt human smuggling activities by transnational criminal organizations and ensure our personnel are properly equipped to maintain border security,” a CBP spokesperson said.

AUTHOR

JENNIE TAER

Investigative reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: American Dissatisfaction With Immigration Levels Increases As Border Crisis Continues: POLL

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Migrant Encounters At The Southern Border Hit New All-Time Record

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) migrant encounters at the southern border surpassed 250,000 for the month of December, the highest ever recorded, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) source, who requested anonymity as they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The new total surpasses May 2022’s more than 241,000 migrant encounters, which was the highest DHS ever recorded before December 2022. The total encounters include Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations encounters of migrants both at and between U.S. ports of entry.

Fox News first reported the new record.

In December, Republican states and the Biden administration fought over whether or not to scrap Title 42, the Trump-era public health order used to quickly expel illegal migrants to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Illegal immigration surged during that time period in places like El Paso, Texas, where hundreds of migrants crossed into the area in a matter of days in anticipation of Title 42 expiring on Dec. 21 due to a previous court ruling that the Supreme Court quickly paused.

The influx in El Paso drew the attention of President Joe Biden, who visited the area Jan. 8 in his first border visit.

Biden’s tenure in office has been marked by years of record migrant encounters. In fiscal year 2022, CBP encountered another record of more than 2.3 million at the southern border.

Biden announced Jan. 5 new efforts to expel illegal migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua to Mexico. The plan also means that migrants from those countries who don’t cross illegally will have the opportunity to apply for asylum at U.S. ports of entry if they have a U.S. sponsor.

CBP didn’t respond to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

JENNIE TAER

Investigative reporter.

RELATED VIDEO: CA Rep: Legal Immigrants Are FURIOUS With Illegal Migrants Cutting The Line

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

After Coast Guard Academy ‘Excommunicated’ Cadets For Refusing Vaccine, Pleas For Reinstatement Go Unanswered

  • The Coast Guard Academy has not reinstated seven Coast Guard cadets discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine after the academy denied religious exemption requests, representatives of the cadets told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
  • The cadets hoped a new law nixing the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate would allow them to re-join.
  • “They are the only cadets that are getting screwed,” retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. William Dean Lee told the DCNF.

Seven Coast Guard cadets booted in September after commanders denied their vaccine exemption appeals were not reinstated after a last ditch effort to allow them to start the new semester, which began Wednesday, representatives of the cadets told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The cadets hoped that law overturning the Department of Defense (DOD) COVID-19 vaccine mandate would persuade the Academy to permit the cadets, already behind by one semester, to re-join with their cohort, one of the cadets involved and advocates for the group told the DCNF. Among the military schools, the Coast Guard Academy, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in peacetime, is the only one to have officially dismissed unvaccinated cadets, the advocates said.

“I sent a letter to the Coast Guard Academy superintendent asking him to use his administrative powers to have us go back in since the [National Defense Authorization Act] was signed by the president and the mandate should be lifted soon,” Sophia Galdamez, one of the seven discharged, told the DCNF.

“However, all he responded with is that it’s out of his control, and you don’t have authority over that decision. And for me and my family to have a happy holidays,” she added.

Although operating under DHS authority, the Coast Guard went along with the mandate after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced it in August 2021 as the FDA officially approved the first COVID-19 vaccines for use. Congress’ defense bill for 2023, signed into law on Dec. 23, overturned the service-wide vaccine mandate.

Despite being a semester behind the other cadets in their cohort, the seven could still achieve their commissions if the Coast Guard allowed them to rejoin, retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. William Dean Lee, who, along with retired Rear Adm. Peter J. Brown, is lobbying to have the cadets reinstated, told the DCNF. Cadet processing began Wednesday, while classes are slated to begin on Jan. 9.

After initially refusing the vaccine on the grounds of religious belief in the fall of 2021, “I was immediately treated differently than all my other classmates that were vaccinated,” Galdamez told the DCNF. “I was bullied by my command and administrators, faculty at the academy.”

Administrators confined her behind a plexiglass barrier at the back of the classroom, she told the DCNF. One teacher pulled her aside to commend her performance as a student, but said her unvaccinated status would impede academic progress, Galdamez said.

She and her fellow unvaccinated cadets submitted requests for religious exemptions, which authorities are required to review on an individual basis.

Citing the government’s “compelling interest in mission accomplishment,” the force’s time sensitive role in emergency response and high rate of interaction with the general public, Coast Guard adjudicator Capt. Eugenio S. Anzano shot down Galdamez’s exemption request in a letter, dated March 4, 2022, that was shared with the DCNF.

“I do not question the sincerity of your religious belief or whether vaccine requirements substantially burden your religious practice. The Coast Guard reserves the opportunity to make these determinations, but I do not need to address them here to resolve your request,” Anzano wrote.

When the Coast Guard denied Galdamez’s request, she appealed, but the answer remained firm. The Coast Guard struck down Galdamez’ appeal on May 2, according to a copy of the response letter shared with the DCNF.

Days after reporting to campus for the fall semester on Aug. 15, the cadets were called into the office and told they had 24 hours to pack and leave campus, Galdamez said, a statement echoed by Michael Rose, a pro-bono legal counsel for several of the cadets, according to The Day newspaper. Two of the cadets did not have homes to which to return.

The cadets were formally discharged on Sept. 23, according to Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, where Rose serves as general counsel.

“I sent letters to the academy, senators have written letters on [sic] the cadets’ behalf. And so far we have heard nothing regarding our reinstatement or if I’d be able to finish my degree and commissions,” Galdamez told the DCNF Wednesday.

Academy superintendent Rear Adm. William Kelley acknowledged receipt of Galdamez’ letter and wished her a “good holiday season” but did not indicate future action in an email dated Dec. 22 that was shared with the DCNF.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina wrote to Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan pressing for the servicemembers’ reinstatement, according to a Dec. 22 letter the senator’s office shared with the DCNF.

Galdamez is one of thousands of servicemembers who remain in limbo as the DOD develops new guidance on COVID-19 vaccination, while lawsuits challenging the legality of the mandate and whether military leaders appropriately considered exemption requests continue to make their way through court.

The Air Force and Navy and Marine Corps have been placed under an temporary injunction against discharging unvaccinated troops, while the Army has paused separations.

“They are the only cadets that are getting screwed,” Lee told the DCNF.

The National Defense Authorization Act gave DOD a 30 day period to develop new COVID-19 guidance but stopped short of calling for reinstatement or restitution to the roughly 8,400 already discharged for refusing to receive the vaccine.

“The Coast Guard, in coordination with the Department of Defense, is evaluating policies with respect to previously separated members, including cadets,” a spokesperson for the Coast Guard told the DCNF.

“I think it’s important to let the service members back in, and for the service members to accept going back in, because this mandate and then the subsequent denial and basically excommunication of all these service members was getting rid of a good group of people … enlisted and officers alike that display true leadership qualities that are needed in our military at the moment,” Galdamez said to the DCNF.

The Coast Guard Academy did not return a phone call from the DCNF.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: Coast Guard Illegally Denied Hundreds Of Vaccine Exemptions, Attorneys Say

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Kevin McCarthy Threatens Biden’s DHS Secretary With Impeachment If He Doesn’t Resign

House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with impeachment Tuesday during a visit to the border in El Paso, Texas.

McCarthy, who is vying for the House speakership, said Republicans will push for Mayorkas’ impeachment if he refuses to step down. He was joined by several Republican colleagues, including Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents a southern border district, that made the trip to show support for Border Patrol.

“His actions have produced the greatest wave of illegal immigration in recorded history. Our country may never recover from Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty. This is why today I am calling on the secretary to resign. He cannot and must not remain in that position,” McCarthy said.

“If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure to determine whether we can begin an impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said.

The Republican Study Committee was previously pushing for Mayorkas’ impeachment, but McCarthy argued that he “wants to make the case before we go for the jugular,” Axios reported in April.

Under Mayorkas’ leadership, federal border authorities have been overwhelmed by a surge in illegal immigration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered a record of over 2.3 million migrants in fiscal year 2022 and more than 230,000 at the start of fiscal year 2023.

Mayorkas, however, continues to insist that the southern border is “secure.” He most recently made the assertion during a House Homeland Security Committee on Nov. 15.

For months, Republican lawmakers have called on Mayorkas to resign for making the false claim.

“I’m not unhappy. I’m pissed. Secretary Mayorkas needs to resign: he’s incompetent,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told Martha MacCallum, host of Fox News’ “The Story,” in September, adding “The border is not closed. It’s been surrendered.”

“Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people. The Department will continue our work to enforce our laws and secure our border, while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” DHS said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Members of Congress can do better than point the finger at someone else; they should come to the table and work on solutions for our broken system and outdated laws, which have not been overhauled in over 40 years,” the department added.

AUTHOR

JENNIE TAER

Investigative reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Even Worse’: Illegal Migrants Will Flood The US Border When One Major Trump-Era Policy Ends

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Government Officials Have A Special Portal To Flag Facebook Posts For Censorship

The Department of Homeland Security has left open a special feature that allows government officials to flag Facebook posts for misinformation after scrapping a controversial advisory board tasked with developing guidelines for social media censorship, the Intercept reported Monday.

DHS announced plans for a Disinformation Governance Board to “develop guidelines, standards, guardrails to ensure that the work that has been ongoing for nearly 10 years does not infringe on people’s free speech rights, rights of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in May, according to The Hill. While DHS shuttered the initiative after an onslaught of bipartisan opposition decrying the potential censorship, the Intercept found through an analysis of public and leaked documents that government efforts to police tech companies goes on.

Those activities include a Facebook portal only accessible by government and law enforcement representatives to formally request the platform kill or label alleged misinformation, according to the Intercept. A leaked set of slides contains instructions on how to operate the system, and the URL to access the site — facebook.com/xtakedowns/login — was still active at the time of publication.

“Platforms have got to get comfortable with gov’t. It’s really interesting how hesitant they remain,” a DHS official told a Microsoft representative in February, according to the Intercept.

The U.S. government has for years discussed the scope and scale of online content moderation the government should engage in, as well as how to compel social media platforms to flag or remove “misinformation,” “disinformation” and “malinformation,” the Intercept reported, citing meeting minutes and records appended to a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

The department now considers rooting out misinformation online as a critical element of its overall mission, according to a draft of the 2022 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review reviewed by the Intercept.

While the document highlights counter-terrorism as DHS’s primary objective, it acknowledges that “misinformation and disinformation spread online” can exacerbate terrorist threats from “domestic violent extremists,” according to the Intercept. It calls for DHS to use advanced computer analytical software and hire experts “to better understand how threat actors use online platforms to introduce and spread toxic narratives intended to inspire or incite violence.”

However, DHS has defined the “critical infrastructure” threatened by domestic terrorists to encompass trust in government, public health and election security, according to the Intercept.

“No matter your political allegiances, all of us have good reason to be concerned about government efforts to pressure private social media platforms into reaching the government’s preferred decisions about what content we can see online,” Adam Goldstein, the vice president of research at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told the Intercept.

Agencies under DHS — Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Science and Technology Directorate and the Secret Service — all have directives to combat misinformation online, the Intercept reported, citing a DHS Inspector General report from August.

Meta and DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: GOP Senators Release Documents Showing Biden Admin Lied About Disinfo Board

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Biden Admin Promises Legal ‘Response’ After Court Declares DACA Illegal

Federal Appeals Court Rules DACA Illegal


The Biden administration says it will take legal action after a court declared Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) illegal Wednesday.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling “deeply disappointed” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said his department will work with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to devise an “appropriate legal response.” The case will go back to a lower court while nearly 600,000 DACA recipients currently in the U.S. will be able to remain in the program.

“The Department of Justice respectfully disagrees with the decision and will continue to vigorously defend the lawfulness of DACA as this case proceeds,” DOJ spokesperson Dena Iverson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Wednesday’s decision is part of a 2018 lawsuit led by nine Republican states, contesting the legality of then-President Barack Obama’s 2012 program.

“DACA—part of Dems’ program to flood our country with aliens—is illegal & will stay enjoined. Huge victory for the Rule of Law in America!,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a tweet Wednesday.

The Biden administration attempted in August to codify DACA as a federal regulation before the latest decision. A federal judge ruled in July 2021 that the Biden administration couldn’t process new DACA applications, which the administration appealed.

“Today, we are taking another step to do everything in our power to preserve and fortify DACA, an extraordinary program that has transformed the lives of so many Dreamers,” Mayorkas said at the time.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it will continue to accept DACA renewal requests and will accept new requests without processing them.

DHS didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

JENNIE TAER

Investigative reporter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Biden’s Handlers Alter Federal Laws to Make it Easier for Terrorists to Enter the United States

The Biden Admin Just Made It Easier for Terrorists To Enter the United States

by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon, June 29, 2022:

The Biden administration altered federal law to make it easier for individuals who have worked with designated terrorist groups to legally enter the United States.

The State and Homeland Security Departments last week amended federal immigration laws to allow foreigners who provided “insignificant material support” to designated terror groups to receive “immigration benefits or other status,” according to the policy published in the Federal Register but not formally announced by the administration. Examples of individuals who would fall into the new category, according to the announcement, include individuals who provided “humanitarian assistance” or “routine commercial transactions” to terror groups.

The policy shift is fueling concerns that the Biden administration wants to make it easier for individuals who work with or for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the country’s paramilitary fighting force that has killed hundreds of Americans, to enter the country. Notice of the change came several days before the Biden administration and hardline Iranian government resumed talks aimed at securing a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear deal.

A State Department spokesman said the law was amended to help vulnerable Afghans, who might have inadvertently worked with terror groups, gain refuge in the United States following the Biden administration’s bungled withdrawal that left the Taliban in power. Lawmakers and former U.S. officials, however, say the new regulations are so broadly written that they would apply to organizations like al Qaeda and the IRGC. The policy change is also raising red flags as U.S. officials, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, face credible death threats from Iran.

The rule does not specifically mention Afghanistan but is written to cover all U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, such as the IRGC and al Qaeda, experts told the Free Beacon. The Taliban is not designated as a foreign terrorist organization, leaving lawmakers and former U.S. officials concerned the changes extend far beyond vulnerable Afghans and cover those tied to some of the globe’s most violent terror groups.

Gabriel Noronha, a State Department special adviser for Iran during the Trump administration, said that “the Biden administration is claiming this regulation is all about Afghanistan, but they didn’t even mention Afghanistan once in their action, and have made no serious attempt to limit the scope to the situation there.”

“Instead,” said Noronha, who is a fellow with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America think tank, “this looks like a massive watering down of our immigration restrictions against members of terrorist organizations.”

The State Department says the changes are limited to Afghanistan, but would not say why the country is not mentioned once in the new order….

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Disinformation Czar Resigns, Board On ‘Pause’ Following Criticism She Spread Disinformation

The Department of Homeland Security put a “pause” Monday on its disinformation board after the truth czar, who resigned Wednesday, came under fire for spreading disinformation herself, The Washington Post reported.

DHS shut the board down Monday and Nina Jankowicz, who was tapped to lead the department, drafted a resignation letter Tuesday, according to The Washington Post. Jankowicz was reportedly pulled into a meeting late Tuesday night, however, with officials giving her the chance to stay on as the department determines whether to move forward with the highly polarized board. Jankowicz formally resigned Wednesday, according to The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz.

The decision comes as Jankowicz faced extreme backlash for pushing disinformation.

Jankowicz attempted to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story as a “Trump campaign product” while speaking to ABC News in 2020. During the second presidential debate, Jankowicz posted that President Joe Biden cited “50 former natsec officials and 5 former CIA heads that believe the laptop is a Russian influence op.”

The laptop was authenticated by several outlets including the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Jankowicz also claimed the now-discredited Steele Dossier was funded by Republicans in a 2017 tweet.

She also expressed concern about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and what would happen if “free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms.”

Jankowicz also said in 2021 the GOP is made up of “disinformers” who “have seized on” issues like Critical Race Theory to spread “disinformation.”

A DHS spokesperson defended Jankowicz in a statement to The Post.

“Nina Jankowicz has been subjected to unjustified and vile personal attacks and physical threats. In congressional hearings and in media interviews, the Secretary has repeatedly defended her as eminently qualified and underscored the importance of the Department’s disinformation work, and he will continue to do so.”

The DHS announced the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board in April to counter what it considers misinformation and disinformation, particularly disinformation coming from Russia and misleading rhetoric about the U.S.-Mexico border. DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas has fended off criticism of the board, recently saying the “board does not have any operational authority or capability.”

AUTHOR

BRIANNA LYMAN

Reporter. Follow Brianna on Twitter

RELATED ARTICLE: These Are Not Bright People’: Bill Maher Rips Nina Jankowicz, ‘Disinfo Governance Board’

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

House Republicans Introduce Legislation To Defund Biden’s Disinformation Board

Republican Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson will introduce legislation Tuesday that would defund the Department of Homeland Security’s new “Disinformation Governance Board,” which is set to be led by Nina Jankowicz.

The Daily Caller first obtained the legislation spearheaded by Johnson, which has 50 cosponsors. The bill would completely bar federal funding for the DHS’ “Disinformation Governance Board,” something Johnson said the Republicans will do if President Joe Biden does not get rid of the board.

“The Biden Administration’s decision to stand up a ‘Ministry of Truth,’ is dystopian in design, almost certainly unconstitutional, and clearly doomed from the start,” Johnson told the Daily Caller before introducing the legislation. “The government has no role whatsoever in determining what constitutes truth or acceptable speech. President Biden should dissolve this board immediately and entirely. If he won’t then Republicans will.”

READ THE BILL HERE: 

(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers

Jankowicz attempted to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story in the past and is now in charge of the DHS disinformation board. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson sent a letter April 27 to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying Jankowicz is a “beacon of misinformation online” and mentioned that she has published multiple tweets “furthering the false media narrative” about the Hunter Biden laptop.

Both The Washington Post and The New York Times noted the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop in March 2022, more than a year after the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) first verified it on Oct. 29, 2020. The DCNF obtained a full copy of Hunter Biden’s alleged laptop from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2020 and had the emails forensically verified as real.

Just days before the DCNF verified the authenticity of the laptop, Jankowicz tweeted about the laptop, saying it “is a Russian influence op.”

During the second presidential debate, Jankowicz sent out a tweet which said that Biden cited “50 former natsec officials and 5 former CIA heads that believe the laptop is a Russian influence op.”

In a tweet from December 2017, Jankowicz also claimed the Steele dossier, which has been totally discredited, was funded by Republicans. Christopher Steele, the dossier’s author, was never funded by Republicans. The Washington Post reported in October 2017 that Marc E. Elias, a lawyer for the Clinton campaign and DNC, and his law firm, Perkins Coie, hired Fusion GPS last April to investigate Donald Trump — something Jankowicz failed to mention.

Jankowicz is currently a fellow at the Wilson Center. On her website, she calls herself an “internationally-recognized expert on disinformation and democratization.”

AUTHOR

HENRY RODGERS

Senior Congressional correspondent. Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘They Want To Stifle Dissent’: DeSantis Declares War Against Biden’s ‘Ministry Of Truth’ At DHS

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to fight the Biden administration’s proposed Disinformation Governance Board Friday, which he said was an attempt to censor ordinary people and impose narrative control.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the formation of the board Wednesday, which will be run by Nina Jankowicz, a self-described “disinformation expert” who previously attempted to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story. DeSantis promised to fight the board in a Friday press conference.

“You cannot have a Ministry of Truth in this country. And so let’s get real here,” DeSantis said. “We’re not gonna let Biden get away with this one, so we will be fighting back.”

Critics including DeSantis have compared the board to the “Ministry of Truth” in the novel “1984,” an agency that produces government propaganda and decides what citizens are allowed to say and believe.

“They now have an idea – and I honestly thought this was a belated April Fool’s joke – but they are actually going to create in the Department of Homeland Security a Bureau of Disinformation. It’s basically a Ministry of Truth,” DeSantis said. “And what they want to do is, they want to be able to put out false narratives without people being able to speak out and fight back.”

“They want to be able to say things like ‘Russia collusion’ and perpetuate hoaxes and then have people like us be silenced. They want to be able to advocate for COVID lockdowns, they want to be able to advocate for school closures, things that are not supported by the evidence. But then when you speak out, they want to stifle dissent,” he added. “And so we reject this bureau in the state of Florida.”

The board announced Wednesday that it would begin by focusing on Russian disinformation in the lead-up to midterm elections and misinformation aimed at migrants at the southern border, according to the Associated Press. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said it sounded “like the objective of the board is to prevent disinformation and misinformation from traveling around the country” during a Thursday press conference, but declined to comment on Kankowicz’ appointment, claiming she had no information about her.

Kankowicz said “We should view it [Hunter Biden’s laptop] as a Trump campaign product” on ABC News in October 2020 and claimed Republicans had funded the claimed the now-discredited Steele dossier in a 2017 tweet.

Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson demanded answers from the DHS about the board in a Thursday letter which focused on potential biases Jankowics could bring into the position and called her a “beacon of misinformation online.”

DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

AUTHOR

LAUREL DUGGAN

Social issues and culture reporter.

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“Ministry of Truth” Trends on Twitter After Government Unveils New “Disinformation Governance Board”

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Relax: 44 Afghan Evacuees Could Be Jihad Terrorists

My latest in PJ Media:

The sudden influx into the United States of 94,000 evacuees from Afghanistan has many defenders, and they’ve used the usual arguments against those who have raised concerns: These people are in need, they’re in need because of American actions, and thus anyone who objects is selfish, heartless, and probably bigoted and racist as well. “Criticism is intensifying,” the Washington Post opined on August 24, from some of the stars of the Left’s enemies list: “on Fox News, among Republican state lawmakers in Wisconsin where some refugees are being temporarily housed, and from the nativist, anti-immigrant factions in the country that helped Donald Trump ride into the White House.” Amid all the festivities, however, the same Washington Post reported Friday that “the Department of Homeland Security flagged 44 Afghan evacuees as potential national security risks during the past two weeks as the government screened tens of thousands for resettlement in the United States.”

Not only that, but “two Afghan nationals who were previously deported and returned as evacuees have been transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities after landing in the United States, according to two DHS officials. Both were deported after felony convictions: one for a 2010 sexual assault and the other for an armed robbery in 2011, according to one official who was not authorized to discuss the criminal records. The two individuals are currently in ICE custody in Virginia.”

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refuses to answer the question of “how many Afghans have been blocked from traveling or failed to clear the vetting process, but he characterized the number as ‘extraordinarily de minimis’ during a briefing with reporters Wednesday, using the legal term for an insignificant quantity.” So apparently most of those who are vetted get through, including at least two people who had been previously deported.

Nonetheless, Mayorkas not unexpectedly worked hard to put a good face on it all, saying that evacuees who have been barred from entering the country are “an example of a multilayered screening process working.” Well, that’s terrific, but the problem is when the multilayered screening process doesn’t work, and people who are national security risks or criminals who were deported and yet still able to board a plane out of Kabul end up back in this country. Mayorkas doesn’t seem to have bothered to address that.

They’re facing the same problem over in Britain. The Daily Mail noted Friday: “An Afghan special forces commando has been arrested by armed police at a Manchester hotel where he was quarantining with his family. Armed officers stormed the hotel in a pre-dawn raid on or around August 31 or September 1, it has been revealed. The unnamed individual is still in detention although it is not yet known if he has been charged with a crime.” The Daily Mail, unlike the Washington Post, didn’t shy away from the obvious conclusion: “It raises questions about the quality of vetting of the roughly 8,000 Afghan refugees who were airlifted to the UK from Kabul after Joe Biden’s rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

There is more. Read the rest here.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Even Washington Post Is Reporting Biden Brought Afghans Jihadis ‘Flagged for Suspected Associations with Terrorists’ to U.S

Grateful Migrants in Pennsylvania Send Thousands of Dollars to ISIS

‘We Have Won’: Fort Hood Jihad Murderer Congratulates Taliban

Germany: Muslim migrant beats man, screams, ‘I’m going to kill all the people’ and ‘Allah’

Florida: Failed Leftist Congressional candidate says January 6 Capitol incident worse than 9/11, ‘not even close’

UK: Boris Johnson claims 9/11 terrorists ‘failed to shake our belief in freedom and democracy’

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Tlaib Calls for Defunding Border Protection, Immigration Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security

One might almost get the impression that she wants America defenseless before its enemies, if it weren’t for the establishment media and the political elites reassuring us of how patriotic she is.

Rashida Tlaib calls to defund immigration agencies amid border crisis

by Mark Moore, New York Post, July 8, 2021:

​Rep. Rashida Tlaib, original member of the progressive “Squad,” is calling for defunding immigration agencies like Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and even the Department of Homeland Security, because they “terrorize” migrant communities.

Tlaib (D-Mich) in comments released Wednesday from an interview with Just Futures Law was reacting to a question about her thoughts on President Biden wanting to increase technology at the border for CBP​, Immigration and Customs Enforcement​ and the Department of Homeland Security in response to the ongoing crisis of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants arriving in the US.

“Look, the simple answer to that question is we must eliminate funding for CBP, ICE and their parent organization, DHS,” Tlaib told the legal group that opposes deportation.

“Time after time we have seen it as advocates on the ground, as human services agencies on the ground continue to see over and over again, that these agencies are inept to humanely guiding migrants through our immigration system and instead they further continue to terrorize migrant communities located within our communities,” she said in the interview​ recorded last month.​…​

RELATED ARTICLES:

NYC: Muslim arrested for throwing a firework at a Jewish woman, leaving her with burns

Turkish Webinar Wages Anti-Israel Jihad (Part One)

Nigeria: Muslims kidnap 150 Christian schoolchildren from boarding school

Israel’s Medical Treatment of Leaders of Hamas and the PA, and CUNY’s Double Standard

Israel: Muslim former MK interrogated on suspicion of jihad incitement on social media

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

DANGER ZONES: ICE List of Counties harboring Illegal Aliens includes Alachua County, Florida

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published the list below of counties that have refused to detain criminal illegal aliens.

ICE Declined Detainer Outcome Report – Jan 28 to Feb 3 2017[1] by JessicaDurando on Scribd

Breitbart’s Ben Kew in his column Trump Publishes 1st List of ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Protecting Illegal Aliens reports:

In an attempt to increase pressure on sanctuary cities, the Department of Homeland Security has published its first weekly list of all 118 localities refusing to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Each week, the list will publish every detention request rejected by local jails — detailing the relevant agency, the status of the immigrant, and the charges they are facing.

The first report was published this Monday, listing 206 cases in which illegal aliens were arrested and consequently released from jail without charge, despite recommendations from the Immigration and Crime Enforcement agency (ICE) to detain them for at least 48 hours.

The cases listed took place between January 28th to February 3rd, Donald Trump’s second week in office.

In his executive order signed January 25th designed to properly enforce immigration policy, Trump said regular lists were necessary to better inform the public “regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions.”

Read more…

Kew notes, “A poll conducted by the University of California Berkeley in January found that in the state of California, where sanctuary cities are particularly prominent, 74 percent would like to see them abolished.”

In our column Forget Sanctuary Cities — Florida has 7 Sanctuary Counties we reported:

Well San Francisco has nothing over the Sunshine State. Florida is home to seven “sanctuary counties.” The sanctuary counties are: Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

These counties are perfectly located along Florida’s East and West coast lines to allow illegal felons, like Francisco Sanchez, to enter with ease.

Sanctuary-Cities-Map

Map of sanctuary counties (yellow) and cities (red) in the United States. Map courtesy of the Center for Immigration Studies.

shrf-darnell (1)

Sheriff Sadie Darnell

Harboring illegal aliens is wrong and endangers Florida’s citizens. Alachua County is now another danger zone in the Sunshine state.

Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell has a constitutional duty to uphold the laws of the State of Florida and federal laws concerning illegal alien detention. Not to do so is simply wrong.

If Sheriff Darnell can break the law then anyone can.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sanctuary policies ‘led to’ brutal, bathroom rape of 14-year-old schoolgirl

EDITORS NOTE: It was San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi who allowed five time deported illegal alien Francisco Sanchez to kill helpless, unsuspecting Kate Steinle.

Woman targeted by TSA Agent for reading The Jewish Press newspaper

Phyllis_Chesler

Phyllis Chesler, author of “An American Bride in Kabul”

I just read an article about a Jewish woman Phyllis Chesler who was at John F. Kennedy International Airport waiting for a flight to Florida (my home state) last Wednesday and she was notified there would be a delay because of the ice storm. So, not being inclined to be bored Ms. Chesler pulled out a newspaper called the “The Jewish Press” and went about reading it.

Paul Joseph Watson from Infowars.com writes:

Award winning Jewish author Phyllis Chesler was questioned and had her bag searched at New York’s JFK Airport as a result of a TSA agent’s suspicions over the fact that she was reading a conservative newspaper.

The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon after Chesler’s flight to Florida was delayed due to the recent ice storms.

As soon as Chesler pulled out a copy of The Jewish Press, a popular English language weekly with a conservative political bent, a TSA agent eyed her with suspicion, approached the author and asked to see the newspaper.

Read more.

Upon reading this article I immediately called the TSA at JFK in New York. I waded through all the press 1 for Spanish and 2 for Mandarin Chinese and then got hold of the TSA Special Agent in charge and laid down the law like Senior Chief’s are supposed to do. I don’t take prisoners.

He told me the phone call was being recorded and he wanted me to spell my first and last name and give him my phone number. No problem said the senior Chief here you go. I told him I am on so many lists adding me to yours at JFK is a badge of honor and make sure he records what I have to say. Do it !!

I then told him that we the people are watching them the government and how they treat Americans. I also added that I understand they are trying to keep us safe but not at the expense of the US Constitution. No way was this lady a threat to anyone and we are not putting up with it. I told the TSA agent that they are now on my list and we are watching like hawks.

I then stated that effective immediately all patriots that fly will be carrying a copy of the newspaper “The Jewish Press” I told him that tomorrow I will take my copy of the “Jewish Press” and stand in front of the TSA agents at Okaloosa Regional Airport and will read it. If they don’t like it well tough crap. Suck it up.

The TSA agent (Name withheld by me) said he was really sorry this happened he gave me directions to pass onto the lady how to file a discrimination charge against the agents that harassed her. He said he will initiate an investigation and find out what happened too. He got worried when I refused to stand down and I refused to stop my offensive posture. I was the castle crushing the pawns swooping across the chess board like a chess master on steroids.

The TSA Agent then surrendered to me emotionally told me that in accordance with TSA rules, Section 504 articles of rehabilitation Section 15.3b and 15.3d, Mrs Chesler has 90 days to file a discrimination complaint. The TSA Agent in charge thanked for me for my 30 years in the US Navy and again apologized for what happened. I think the man thought I was friends with Ms. Chesler or that I was an attorney but I am not.

I just stood up for her, the US Constitution and her freedom to travel freely unmolested at any airport in the United States.

EDITORS NOTE: Phyllis Chesler is the author of An American Bride in Kabul.

RELATED COLUMNS:

“American Bride in Kabul” Wins National Jewish Book Award

An American Bride in Kabul: My Life in Hell in an Afghan Harem