WASHINGTON DC, Today, Jeanette Manfra, National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Assistant Secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, released the following statement regarding the recent NBC news coverage on the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to combat election hacking.
“Recent NBC reporting has misrepresented facts and confused the public with regard to Department of Homeland Security and state and local government efforts to combat election hacking. First off, let me be clear: we have no evidence – old or new – that any votes in the 2016 elections were manipulated by Russian hackers. NBC News continues to falsely report my recent comments on attempted election hacking – which clearly mirror my testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last summer – as some kind of “breaking news,” incorrectly claiming a shift in the administration’s position on cyber threats. As I said eight months ago, a number of states were the target of Russian government cyber actors seeking vulnerabilities and access to U.S. election infrastructure. In the majority of cases, only preparatory activity like scanning was observed, while in a small number of cases, actors were able to access the system but we have no evidence votes were changed or otherwise impacted.
“NBC’s irresponsible reporting, which is being roundly criticized elsewhere in the media and by security experts alike, undermines the ability of the Department of Homeland Security, our partners at the Election Assistance Commission, and state and local officials across the nation to do our incredibly important jobs. While we’ll continue our part to educate NBC and others on the threat, more importantly, the Department of Homeland Security and our state and local partners will continue our mission to secure the nation’s election systems.
“To our state and local partners in the election community: there’s no question we’re making real and meaningful progress together. States will do their part in how they responsibly manage and implement secure voting processes. For our part, we’re going to continue to support with risk and vulnerability assessments, offer cyber hygiene scans, provide real-time threat intel feeds, issue security clearances to state officials, partner on incident response planning, and deliver cybersecurity training. The list goes on of how we’re leaning forward and helping our partners in the election community. We will not stop, and will stand by our partners to protect our nation’s election infrastructure and ensure that all Americans can have confidence in our democratic elections.”
Ridgewood NJ, you may have noticed yesterday that News 12 New Jersey was spoofed by a fake tweet of President Trump . When challenged by the lack of skepticism and fact checking ‘reporter” Kurt Siegelin responded on Facebook to our query by attempting to justify his biased faux pas , “Have you read some of the President’s tweets? It’s not hard to believe he actually would have tweeted something like a couple years ago.”
We countered “Ever watched 12 news? Biased much ??” , after all it was News 12 that called Ridgewood a town of bigots because so many were skeptical of Aronsohn’s stupid make work ADA ramp at Graydon pool when far better alternatives existed . The doubters were proved correct when the fiasco ran well over budget and is basically unusable because it gets slippery when wet (duh) . The far better alternative the “mobi chair” used at Allendale’s pool was passed on because it did not cost enough .
Kurt Siegelin ended the conversation, ” Dude, whatever. I can only tell you people here are earnest in trying to present unfiltered truth. If you don’t believe it, I can’t help you.” Translation News 12 New Jersey will remain smug and content in its biased , ignorant and bigoted point of view .
A post from Kurt Siegelin(FACEBOOK)
“A few words (maybe more than a few) about this fake tweet…
I saw this on my timeline this morning and immediately thought ‘Man, he’s going to have to explain this!’ And then? Then I read a little more and find out President Trump never tweeted this. It’s Photoshop, or whatever-fakes-a-tweet-shop. Never happened. The guy responsible even admits he did it as a joke and he realizes it’s going around twitter, Facebook and the internet LIKE IT DID HAPPEN and he’s sorry for that. Oopsie. Buddy, in short, too late. This fake tweet is now being shared and re-shared like it DID happen by anyone who hates the President and would like to further undermine him. People are seeing this and believing it did happen.
So what can you believe anymore? If some yahoo on twitter can create something which looks so authentic, is anything legit? Is anything not fake-able? And how do you know? Honestly, I don’t have an answer for that. And really, I don’t blame this idiot. People do stupid stuff. They aren’t “journalists”, trying to be careful with the truth in every post. No, they’re just looking for some shares. And this guy is having his moment. As of this writing, this fake tweet has over 27,000 retweets and 59,000 likes. The likes? They could be people who like the sentiment, hate Trump, whatever. It’s the retweets which are the concern. That’s the virus spreading. Leading to more people actually believing a lie. My question, how many who saw this know it’s fake? You’d have to do some clicking to see the author’s contrition — which people typically don’t do — so yeah, this is out there tonight and I think people believe it. But again, I don’t blame this guy. He was just looking for a reaction.
I actually blame Facebook and twitter for allowing this be disseminated. Both have made some very public statements in the last months about trying to stop fake news from being spread on their sites. They claim to now actively censor material. I haven’t seen that in action, but I guess this one got past both their censors. Hey twitter and Facebook! You know what? Do more. And do it better. The people who run these social media platforms need to realize they are the new newspapers. They are what America reads. They shape what America thinks. Any self-respecting newspaper editor of the past 100 years would never have printed this fake tweet, so why are Facebook and twitter allowed to? There’s no oversight. No ethical standard they’re trying to adhere to (at least none I know of). So understand, always, reader beware. Be suspicious of it all. In the meantime, I’d like to give twitter and Facebook execs a lecture on journalism. They could use a good talking-to right now.”
Washington DC, Illustrating the national security threats created by the nation’s immigration system, the overwhelming majority of individuals convicted of terrorism are foreigners who entered the United States legally through various federal programs. Three out of every four convicted terrorists between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2016 are foreign born and came to the United States through our immigration system, according to a new report issued jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
At least 549 individuals were convicted of terrorism-related charges in American federal courts since 2001 and 402 of them—approximately 73%–were foreign-born, the report says. Here’s the breakdown by citizenship at the time of their convictions; 254 were not U.S. citizens, 148 were naturalized and received American citizenship and 147 were U.S. born. Additionally, 1,716 foreigners with national security concerns were removed from the United States. The Trump administration stresses that figures include only those aliens who were convicted or removed and therefore do not represent the total measure of foreign terrorist infiltration of the United States. Statistics on individuals facing terrorism charges who have not yet been convicted will be provided in follow-up reports that will be made available to the public.
This DHS/DOJ report, issued this month, is disturbing enough and reveals that a significant number of terrorists entered the country through immigration programs that use family ties and extended-family chain migration as a basis for entry. Among them is Mufid Elfgeeh, a national of Yemen who benefitted from chain migration in 1997 and was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for attempting to recruit fighters for ISIS. Sudanese Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan came to the U.S. in 2012 as a relative of a lawful permanent resident and eventually pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Pakistani Uzair Paracha was admitted to the U.S. in 1980 as a family member of a lawful permanent resident and in 2006 was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for providing material support to Al Qaeda. Khaleel Ahmed, a national of India, was admitted to the United States in 1998 as a family member of a naturalized United States citizen. Ahmed eventually became an American citizen and in 2010 was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Other convicted terrorists came to the U.S. through the controversial visa lottery program, the multi-agency probe found. Among them is Abdurasaul Hasanovich Juraboev, a national of Uzbekistan who was admitted into the country as a diversity visa lottery recipient in 2011. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to support ISIS and in 2017 Juraboev was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Sudanese Ali Shukri Amin was admitted to the U.S. in 1999 as the child of a diversity visa lottery recipient and subsequently obtained American citizenship through naturalization. In 2015, he was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS. Amin admitted to using social media to provide advice and encouragement to ISIS and its supporters and facilitated ISIS supporters seeking to travel to Syria to join the terrorist group. Amin also helped a Virginia teen named Reza Niknejad get to Syria to join ISIS in 2015.
“The United States faces a serious and persistent terror threat, and individuals with ties to terror can and will use any pathway to enter our country,” the new DHS/DOJ report states. “Accordingly, DHS has taken significant steps to improve the security of all potential routes used by known or suspected terrorists (KST) to travel to the United States to ensure that individuals who would do harm to Americans are identified and detected, and their plots are disrupted. These figures reflect the challenges faced by the United States and demonstrate the necessity to remain vigilant and proactive in our counterterrorism posture.”
Washington DC, The White House on Friday declassified a partisan and bitterly disputed memo on the Russia investigation, clearing the way for House Republicans to release allegations of what they say is FBI misconduct.
The memo alleges that the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference; using a fake dossier paid for by the Clinton campaign to gain permission from the FISA court to spy on the Trump campaign.
Punxsutawney PA, Punxsutawney Phil, America’s most famous groundhog, and foremost weather rodent saw his shadow Friday morning, predicting six more weeks of winter.
With Groundhog Day festivities well underway in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the groundhog known as Phil saw his shadow Friday morning, which, according to legend, means another six weeks of winter.
The 20-pound groundhog’s predictions have been accurate 39 percent of the time since the first Groundhog Day in 1887, according to StormFax.com. Phil has done slightly better in recent years, getting the forecast right 46 percent of the time since 1988.
However the average weather man or women prediction fairs far worse predicting 25 or the last 6 snow storms .
Jason Vigorito gives us some history (I’m biased on this one since it’s my hometown!) On this day in 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring. In 1993, the movie “Groundhog Day”, starring Bill Murray, popularized the usage of “groundhog day” to mean something that is repeated over and over. Today, tens of thousands of people converge on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney each February 2 to witness Phil’s prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration featuring entertainment and activities. Also as a sidenote, the Punxsutawney Area School District is the only district to have the day off as a holiday, since most of the students played hooky anyway before the policy went into effect.
Washington DC, Judicial Watch last week asked a federal court to unseal the depositions of Lois Lerner, the former director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Holly Paz, her top aide and former IRS director of Office of Rulings and Agreements. Both played key roles in the targeting of conservative nonprofit groups opposed to Obama policies in the run up to the 2012 presidential election.
The request came in an amicus curiae brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division supporting NorCal Tea Party Patriots’ class action lawsuit seeking the unsealing of the depositions (NorCal Tea Party Patriots, et al. v. The Internal Revenue Service, et al. (No. 1:13-cv-00341)). The depositions were sealed by a federal judge after Lerner’s and Paz’s lawyers claimed the two were receiving threats. Judicial Watch’s brief argues that the documents sought may shed light on government misconduct, and the shielding of internal government deliberations does not serve the public’s interest.
Judicial Watch details how the Lerner and Paz depositions may significantly impact ongoing Judicial Watch lawsuits seeking information about misconduct of government officials in the IRS targeting scandal:
In addition to the revelation of IRS employees’ conduct in the emails uncovered, the records obtained by Judicial Watch [in the course of its FOIA investigation] also sparked investigations into Lois Lerner’s emails and IRS’ failure to preserve thousands of emails that were potentially relevant to the various investigations about the IRS’ treatment of conservative groups. While the federal government has now admitted that the targeting “was wrong” and “for such treatment, the IRS expresses its sincere apology” the IRS continues to this day to withhold from the public in Judicial Watch’s main IRS case … email communications with Lois Lerner and/or Holly Paz …
Lerner was actively engaged in the attempted cover-up of IRS misconduct. In July 2016, Judicial Watch revealed that both Lerner and Paz, knew the agency was specifically targeting “Tea Party” and other conservative organizations two full years before disclosing it to Congress and the public. They also knew donor lists of tax-exempt organizations were being used to target those donors for audits.
After refusing to acknowledge the targeting, Judicial Watch forced the IRS to finally admit in that the agency had used “inappropriate political labels” to screen the tax-exempt applications of conservative organizations. IRS agents were targeting organizations requesting tax-exempt status based on “guilt by association” and “party affiliation.” Judicial Watch brought to light that the IRS was going to require 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations to restrict their alleged political activities in exchange for “expedited consideration” of their tax-exempt applications.
In April 2015, Judicial Watch released court ordered IRS documents that included an email from Lerner asking that a program be set up to “put together some training points to help them [IRS staffers] understand the potential pitfalls” of revealing too much information to Congress. The documents also contain a Lerner email from 2013 in which she says she is willing to take the blame on some aspects of the scandal. She also indicates that she “understands why the IRS criteria” leading to the targeting of Tea Party and other opponents of the President Obama “might raise questions.”
In July 2015, Judicial Watch revealed the IRS scandal also included the Justice Department and FBI as well. According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch under court order, in an October 2010 meeting, Lerner, Justice Department officials and the FBI planned for the possible criminal prosecution of targeted nonprofit organizations for alleged illegal political activity. As part of that effort, the Obama IRS gave the FBI 21 computer disks, containing 1.25 million pages of confidential IRS returns from 113,000 non-profit, 501(c)(4) social welfare groups as part of its prosecution effort. According to a letter from then-House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, “This revelation likely means that the IRS – including possibly Lois Lerner – violated federal tax law by transmitting this information to the Justice Department.”
“In a republic, citizens have a right to know what their government is up to, especially when officials abuse the powers entrusted to them,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This effort to seal Lois Lerner and Holly Paz depositions for all time is affront to the rule of law and government accountability.”
In response to Judicial Watch’s litigation, the IRS initially claimed that emails belonging to Lerner were supposedly missing. Later, IRS officials conceded that the “missing” emails were on IRS back-up systems. Throughout its litigation, Judicial Watch repeatedly exposed a variety of IRS record keeping inconsistencies, erroneous claims, and failures to produce court-ordered records:
In June 2014, the IRS claimed to have “lost” responsive emails belonging to Lerner and other IRS officials.
In July 2014 Judge Emmett Sullivan ordered the IRS to submit to the court a written declaration under oath about what happened to Lerner’s “lost” emails. The sworn declarations proved to be less than forthcoming.
In August 2014, Department of Justice attorneys for the IRS finally admitted Judicial Watch that Lerner’s emails, indeed all government computer records, are backed up by the federal government in case of a government-wide catastrophe. The IRS’ attorneys also disclosed that Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) was looking at several of these backup tapes.
In November 2014, the IRS told the court it had failed to search any of the IRS standard computer systems for the “missing” emails of Lerner and other IRS officials.
On February 26, 2015, TIGTA officials testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that it had received 744 backup tapes containing emails sent and received by Lerner. This testimony showed that the IRS had misled Congress, Judge Sullivan, and Judicial Watch that Lerner’s emails were irretrievably lost. The testimony also revealed that IRS officials responsible for responding to the document requests never asked for the backup tapes and that 424 backup tapes containing Lerner’s emails had been destroyed during the pendency of Judicial Watch’s lawsuit and Congressional investigations.
In June 2015, Judicial Watch forced the IRS to admit in a court filing that it was in possession of 6,400 “newly discovered” Lerner emails. Judge Emmet Sullivan’s ordered the IRS to provide answers on the status of the Lerner emails the IRS had previously declared lost. Judicial Watch raised questions about the IRS’ handling of the missing emails issue in a court filing, demanding answers about Lerner’s emails that had been recovered from the backup tapes.
In July 2015, U.S District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan threatened to hold John Koskinen, the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and Justice Department attorneys in contempt of court after the IRS failed to produce status reports and recovered Lerner emails, as he had ordered on July 1, 2015.
Newark NJ, With all the things you cant bring on a plane you can add one more , you can’t bring your emotional support peacock either.United Airlines turned away Brooklyn artist Ventiko and her big bird Dexter, after she tried to bring the service peacock onboard her flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Los Angeles.
Ventiko had even purchased a seat for bird , which has its own Instagram account , but it was still denied entry past the ticketing area of the airport.
A spokesperson for United further told Fox News that the traveler(s) with the peacock were told they would not be able to bring it on board, “This animal did not meet guidelines for a number of reasons, including its weight and size. We explained this to the customers on three separate occasions before they arrived at the airport,” said United in a statement.
Washington DC, Top FBI official Andrew McCabe has been “removed” from his post as deputy director, Fox News is told, leaving the bureau after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans including President Trump.
This on the same day that the House Intelligence Committee on Monday evening voted to make public a GOP-crafted memo alleging what some Republicans say are “shocking” surveillance abuses at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The memo is believed to contain allegations that the FBI did not adequately explain to a clandestine court that some of the information it used in a surveillance warrant application for Trump adviser Carter Page came from opposition research funded by the Clinton campaign, now known as the “Steele dossier.”
Washington DC, The Department of Justice today sent the attached letters to 23 jurisdictions, demanding the production of documents that could show whether each jurisdiction is unlawfully restricting information sharing by its law enforcement officers with federal immigration authorities.
All 23 of these jurisdictions were previously contacted by the Justice Department, when the Department raised concerns about laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal statute that promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement and with which compliance is a condition of FY2016 and FY2017 Byrne JAG awards.
The letters also state that recipient jurisdictions that fail to respond, fail to respond completely, or fail to respond in a timely manner will be subject to a Department of Justice subpoena.
“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law. We have seen too many examples of the threat to public safety represented by jurisdictions that actively thwart the federal government’s immigration enforcement—enough is enough.”
Failure to comply with section 1373 could result in the Justice Department seeking the return of FY2016 grants, requiring additional conditions for receipt of any FY2017 Byrne JAG funding, and/or jurisdictions being deemed ineligible to receive FY2017 Byrne JAG funding.
The following jurisdictions received the document request today:
Chicago, Illinois;
Cook County, Illinois;
New York City, New York;
State of California;
Albany, New York;
Berkeley, California;
Bernalillo County, New Mexico;
Burlington, Vermont;
City and County of Denver, Colorado;
Fremont, California;
Jackson, Mississippi;
King County, Washington;
Lawrence, Massachusetts;
City of Los Angeles, California;
Louisville Metro, Kentucky;
Monterey County, California;
Sacramento County, California;
City and County of San Francisco, California;
Sonoma County, California;
Watsonville, California;
West Palm Beach, Florida;
State of Illinois; and
State of Oregon.
Washington DC, Federal investigators are demanding answers from the FBI over missing text messages between agents accused of anti-Trump bias, leaving the FBI scrambling to defend its reputation amid an explosion of criticism from the White House, Congress and conservative media.
All roads lead to Allendale native former FBI director James Comey, whose Boy Scout image has come under attack .After all it was Comey’s top deputy, Andrew McCabe, where agents discussed an “insurance policy” in the event that Trump won. Reports indicated that the Russia-collusion probe was that insurance policy.
Each day brings credible reports suggesting there is a massive scandal involving the top ranks of America’s premier law enforcement agency. The reports, which feature talk among agents of a “secret society” and suddenly missing text messages, point to the existence both of a cabal dedicated to defeating Donald Trump in 2016 and of a plan to let Hillary Clinton skate free in the classified email probe.
It began with the view that the FBI used a debunked Russian dossier on Trump that was paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee to get FISA court warrants to spy on Trump associates, meaning it used the opposition research of the party in power to convince a court to let it spy on the candidate of the other party, likely without telling the court of the dossier’s political link.
There is also growing reason to believe someone in President Barack Obama’s administration turned over classified information about Trump to the Clinton campaign.
The FBI informed the DOJ’s inspector general this week that the data was not retained because of “misconfiguration issues” related to software upgrades on the bureau’s phone devices.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into how the FBI “failed to preserve” 100’s of text messages sent between Peter Strzok, the FBI’s top counterintelligence officer, and Lisa Page, a senior FBI lawyer.
President Trump on Tuesday called the revelation “one of the biggest stories in a long time” . White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the development “absolutely outrageous.”
“It looks like there could have been some really inappropriate and possibly illegal behavior,” Sanders said at Tuesday’s press briefing.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in finding the missing messages and GOP lawmakers are now calling for a second special counsel to investigate and have floated the possibility of issuing a subpoena to the bureau’s cellphone carrier.
Washington DC, The Federal Bureau of Investigation today released the 2017 Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, a part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). The report, which covers January-June 2017, suggests that the violent crime increases that occurred in 2015 and 2016 may have begun to level off. The number of violent crimes decreased by 0.8 percent nationwide in the first half of 2017 when compared with the same period in 2016. The nationwide violent crime rate (the number of violent crimes per 100,000 people in the U.S.) increased by a total of nearly 7 percent during 2015 and 2016, (3.3 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively), the largest two increases in a quarter of a century.
“When President Trump took office, he ordered the Department of Justice to prioritize the reduction of violent crime, and that is what we have done every day since,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “Last year, we charged more defendants with violent crime offenses than in any year in decades. We convicted hundreds of human traffickers, arrested thousands of violent gang members, and charged hundreds of people suspected of contributing to our opioid abuse epidemic. Working with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners, we are making a difference and protecting our communities. These data are encouraging, because it is essential that drastic increases in violent crime not become the new normal. We are dedicated to ensuring they do not.”
The data released by the FBI today also show that murders increased by 1.5 percent nationwide during the first six months of 2017, compared with the same period in 2016. This suggests a significant leveling off of the previous increase. In the first half of 2016, murders increased by 5.2 percent. Other categories of violent crime, including rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, all decreased in the first half of 2017 (by 2.4 percent, 2.2 percent, and 0.1 percent, respectively). All three categories increased during the same period in 2016. The FBI’s 2017 Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report is based on information received by the FBI from 13,033 law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Washington DC, in a bombshell report a four-page memo detailing extensive FISA court abuse was made available to the entire House of Representatives Thursday. The contents of the memo are so explosive, says Journalist Sara Carter, that it could lead to the removal of senior officials in the FBI and the Department of Justice and the end of Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation.
The classified document outlining what is best described as extensive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse was made available to all House members Thursday and the revelations could lead to the removal of senior officials in the FBI and Department of Justice, several sources with knowledge of the document stated. These sources say the report is “explosive,” stating they would not be surprised if it leads to the end of Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel investigation into President Trump and his associates.
The House Intel panel’s passage of New York Republican Rep. Peter King’s motion to release the FISA abuse memo to fellow House members has rocked Washington, D.C . The House Intelligence Committee passed a motion along party lines on Thursday to make the classified report alleging extensive ‘FISA Abuse’ related to the controversial dossier available to all House members.
The report reveals extensive abuse of power, corruption of electoral process, subversion of democracy and highly illegal collusion between the Obama administration, the FBI, the DOJ and the Clinton Campaign against Donald Trump and his team during and after the 2016 presidential election. The report also contains information regarding the debunked dossier that alleges President Trump and members of his team colluded with the Russians in the 2016 presidential election.
Steve King
✔ @SteveKingIA
I have read the memo. The sickening reality has set in. I no longer hold out hope there is an innocent explanation for the information the public has seen. I have long said it is worse than Watergate
Ron DeSantis
✔ @RepDeSantis
The classified report compiled by House Intelligence is deeply troubling and raises serious questions about the upper echelon of the Obama DOJ and Comey FBI as it relates to the so-called collusion investigation.
Washington DC,the Trump Bump has turned into the Trump Jump. The US Jobless claims drop to lowest level in nearly 45 years .The Washington Examiner reports that “new applications for unemployment insurance benefits plunged by 41,000 to 220,000 in the second week of 2018, the Labor Department reported Thursday”—the lowest level they’ve reached in nearly 45 years. “Low jobless claims are a good sign because they suggest that layoffs are relatively scarce,” Joseph Lawler writes.
According to Federal Reserve data reported by Bloomberg, “U.S. factory production rose for a fourth straight month in December, capping the strongest quarter since 2010 and underscoring a resurgence in manufacturing that’s primed for further advances.” What’s driving the uptick? “Stronger consumer spending, increased business investment and more shipments of merchandise to overseas customers are providing plenty of fuel for the nation’s producers,” Katia Dmitrieva writes.
Christopher Buskirk writes in USA Today that President Donald J. Trump’s first year in office has been a story of promises kept. “By every measure of personal and national prosperity, the nation is better off than it was a year ago, and it’s thanks to the integrity of our leader,” Buskirk writes.
Washington DC, On January 16, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report revealing that three out of every four, or 402, individuals convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2016 were foreign-born. Over the same period, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed approximately 1,716 aliens with national security concerns. Further, in 2017 alone DHS had 2,554 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watch list (also known as the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database) traveling to the United States.
This report was prescribed by Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which declared that “it is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including those committed by foreign nationals,” and directed a series of actions to enhance the security of the American people.
The actions directed by Executive Order 13780 have—among other things—raised the baseline for the vetting and screening of foreign nationals, improved our ability to prevent the entry of malicious actors, and enhanced the security of the American people.
“My top priority as Secretary of Homeland Security is to ensure the safety and security of the American people,” said Secretary Nielsen. “This report is a clear reminder of why we cannot continue to rely on immigration policy based on pre-9/11 thinking that leaves us woefully vulnerable to foreign-born terrorists, and why we must examine our visa laws and continue to intensify screening and vetting of individuals traveling to the United States to prevent terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous individuals from reaching our country. Without legislative change DHS will continue to see thousands of terrorists a year attempt to enter the United States, and while we must be right every time, the terrorists only need to be lucky once. Therefore, DHS has personnel deployed around the world and along our borders working with our global and domestic law enforcement partners to stop terrorists before they enter the homeland.”
“This report reveals an indisputable sobering reality—our immigration system has undermined our national security and public safety,” said Attorney General Sessions. “And the information in this report is only the tip of the iceberg: we currently have terrorism-related investigations against thousands of people in the United States, including hundreds of people who came here as refugees. Our law enforcement professionals do amazing work, but it is simply not reasonable to keep asking them to risk their lives to enforce the law while we admit thousands every year without sufficient knowledge about their backgrounds. The pillars of President Trump’s immigration policy—securing our porous borders, moving to a merit-based immigration system that ends the use of diversity visas and chain migration, and enforcing our nation’s laws—will make their jobs easier and make the United States a safer place.”
The report reveals that at least 549 individuals were convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2016. An analysis conducted by DHS determined that approximately 73 percent (402 of these 549 individuals) were foreign-born. Breaking down the 549 individuals by citizenship status at the time of their respective convictions reveals that:
254 were not U.S. citizens;
148 were foreign-born, naturalized and received U.S. citizenship; and,
147 were U.S. citizens by birth.
According to information available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), since September 11, 2001, there were approximately 1,716 removals of aliens with national security concerns.
As mentioned above, in FY 2017, DHS encountered 2,554 individuals on the terrorist watchlist (also known as the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database) traveling to the United States. Of those individuals, 335 were attempting to enter by land, 2,170 were attempting to enter by air, and 49 were attempting to enter by sea. Where consistent with the law, such individuals are denied entry into the United States, while in some cases law enforcement authorities are notified and can take appropriate action.
From October 1, 2011, to September 30, 2017, a total of 355,345 non-U.S. citizen offenders, were administratively arrested after previously being convicted of an aggravated felony, as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43), or two or more crimes each punishable by more than one year (felony offenses). During that same period, a total of 372,098 non-U.S. citizen offenders were removed from the United States after conviction of an aggravated felony or two or more felonies.
Data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate shows that between 2007 and 2017, USCIS referred 45,858 foreign nationals who applied for immigration benefits to ICE for criminal or civil enforcement action, based on information indicating that such foreign nationals had committed egregious public safety-related offenses within the United States.
Between FY 2010 and FY 2016, CBP identified and prevented the boarding of 73,261 foreign travelers on flights destined for the United States, who may have presented an immigration or security risk.
In October, the Trump Administration sent to Congress a list of legislative priorities that would enhance our national security—such as eliminating the diversity visa lottery and extended family chain migration, funding the wall, closing loopholes in our asylum system, combatting visa overstays, and closing other loopholes in existing law that potentially benefit aliens who pose threats to our national security.
Washington DC, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) established the Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office to acknowledge and serve the needs of crime victims and their families who have been affected by crimes committed by individuals with a nexus to immigration.
This office was explicitly called for in the President’s Executive Order titled, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” dated January 25, 2017.
***ICE may not be able to provide information regarding certain offenders to victims of a crime with a nexus to immigration due to the information being protected by policy or law. ***
Mission Statement
With honor and integrity, we will support victims of crimes committed by criminal aliens through access to information and resources.
Objectives
Use a victim-centered approach to acknowledge and support immigration crime victims and their families.
Promote awareness of rights and services available to immigration crime victims.
Build collaborative partnerships with community stakeholders assisting immigration crime victims.
Provide quarterly reports studying the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States.
The men and women comprising the VOICE Office will be guided by a singular, straightforward mission – to ensure victims and their families have access to releasable information about a perpetrator and to offer assistance explaining the immigration removal process. ICE wants to ensure those victimized by criminal aliens feel heard, seen and supported.
Types of Support Available
Dedicated toll-free VOICE Hotline to answer questions from victims (1-855-48-VOICE).
*This is not a hotline to report crime. To report crime, please contact your local law enforcement agency or call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.
Assistance signing-up to receive automated custody status information about an alien in custody (DHS-VINE);
Additional criminal or immigration history may be available about an alien to victims or their families;
Local contacts to help with unique victims’ requests, and
Access to skilled social science professionals available to refer victims to appropriate services.
Who can VOICE help?
A victim of crime(s);
A witness of crime(s);
An individual with a legal responsibility to act on behalf of a victim or witness (e.g., attorneys, parents, legal guardians, etc.); or
Individuals acting at the request of a victim or witness.
