Tag: Department of Homeland Security

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ICE Deports Former Nazi labor camp guard Jakiw Palij back to Germany

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi labor camp guard in German-occupied Poland and a postwar resident of Queens, New York, has been removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Germany, Attorney General Jeff Sessions of the U.S. Department of Justice, Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and ICE Deputy Director and Acting Director Ronald D. Vitiello announced today. ICE removed Palij based on an order of removal obtained by the Department of Justice in 2004.

Continue reading ICE Deports Former Nazi labor camp guard Jakiw Palij back to Germany

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Middlesex County Man Arrested and Charged with Attempting to Obtain United States Citizenship by Fraud

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Iselin NJ , Special Agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested a Middlesex County, New Jersey, man this morning for allegedly trying to fraudulently obtain citizenship, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Continue reading Middlesex County Man Arrested and Charged with Attempting to Obtain United States Citizenship by Fraud

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Former New Jersey Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Receipt Of Child Porn

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July 30,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Lodi NJ,  A former officer with the N.J. Department of Corrections today admitted receiving images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Stephen Salamak, 38, of Lodi, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Salamak used email to seek and obtain images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children.

The receipt of child pornography charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Salamak will be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Nov. 15, 2018.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Protection Unit in Newark.

 

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Cliffside Park, Man Charged with Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse

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July 29,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Cliffside Park NJ,  A Cliffside Park, New Jersey, man was arrested by federal agents today for allegedly distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

George Karkantzelis, 27, was arrested at his home by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He is charged by complaint with one count of distributing child pornography.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Karkantzelis used peer-to-peer file sharing on his computer to distribute files containing images and videos of child sexual abuse, including images of prepubescent children. He made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Steven C. Mannion and was released into third-party custody.

The charge of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited HSI special agents, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Department of Homeland Security Calls NBC’s Election Hacking Story “irresponsible reporting”

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February 13,2018

Department of Homeland Security

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.”

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Department of Homeland Security Looks to Lodge to criminal charges against leaders of sanctuary cities

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January 17,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, while Governor Phil Murphy pushes forward to turn New Jersey into a sanctuary state , Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed Tuesday that the department has asked federal prosecutors to see if they can lodge criminal charges against sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal deportation efforts.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reviewing what avenues may be available,” Ms. Nielsen told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

This came on the heels of California’s new sanctuary law went into effect Jan. 1, severely restricting cooperation the state or any of its localities could offer.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan says those policies put his officers and local communities at more risk because they have to arrest illegal immigrants out in the community.

Director Homan told The Washington Times last July that he wanted to see local officials charged as complicit in human smuggling if they shielded illegal immigrants through sanctuary policies.

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TSA Screeners Fail Home Land Security Check Point Test

Image: TSA security at the airport in Seattle

November 10,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, traveling , hate the lines at the TSA security check points ? ABC news is reporting that ,in recent undercover tests of multiple airport security checkpoints by the Department of Homeland Security, inspectors said screeners, their equipment or their procedures failed more than half the time.  Sources told When ABC News the failure rate was in the 80 percent range.

In a public hearing after a private classified briefing to the House Committee on Homeland Security, members of Congress called the failures by the Transportation Security Administration disturbing, you think ? I guess strip searching 3 year olds and 70 year old women  and taking away nail files didn’t really get the job done.

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You Still Can Use a New Jersey Drivers Licenses to Board a Plane

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October 21,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, when is an ID not and ID? According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 22 U.S. states including New Jersey missed the federal government’s REAL ID deadline, meaning their drivers licenses still don’t comply with government security standards.

Without certification from DHS, people who live in those states won’t be able to board commercial airline flights using their drivers licenses or state IDs. For most people, that would mean carrying a passport every time they go to the airport even for 100 percent domestic flights.

For some back ground ,the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on December 20, 2013 a phased enforcement plan for the REAL ID Act (the Act), as passed by Congress, that will implement the Act in a measured, fair, and responsible way.

Secure driver’s licenses and identification documents are a vital component of our national security framework. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” The Act established minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards. The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, no sooner than 2016, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.

DHS is committed to enforcing the REAL ID Act in accordance with the phased enforcement schedule and regulatory timeframes and is not inclined to grant additional extensions to any states that are not both committed to achieving full compliance and making substantial and documented progress in satisfying any unmet requirements. It has been 12 years since the REAL ID Act was passed and half of all the states have already met the REAL ID minimum standards. It is time that the remaining jurisdictions turn their commitments to secure identification into action.

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DHS Issues Warning for Water and Wastewater Systems Targets

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May 4,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Water and Wastewater Systems Sector provides millions of people in New Jersey with drinking water and wastewater removal services vital to public health. As if Ridgewood does not already have issues with water, these facilities may be targeted by terrorists looking to disrupt a sector on which the public heavily relies

The Water and Wastewater Systems Sector consists of drinking water and wastewater systems that treat, transmit, store, collect, and distribute water across the nation.

The water sector in New Jersey includes about 600 community drinking water systems. The 20 largest systems collectively serve roughly 3.8 million people and support water service to another 140 systems in the state.

Wastewater systems include treatment plants, pumping stations, collection systems, and sludge management processes. There are approximately 350 wastewater facilities, which vary in size and function. The largest 50 facilities process and treat 88 percent of the sludge residuals and 90 percent of wastewater generated in New Jersey.

THREAT

Cyber: Moderate
The threat to the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector is moderate because of the known targeting of critical infrastructure by both state and non-state actors capable of conducting disruptive, manipulative, or destructive attacks. While there are no specific threats to this sector in New Jersey, numerous incidents over the past decade have demonstrated the vulnerability of industrial control systems (ICS) that regulate various components of water and wastewater operations. In 2015, the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector reported 25 cyber incidents to the US Department of Homeland Security ICS Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), a roughly 80 percent increase from 2014.

Terrorism: Low
Terrorists have not targeted the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector in the last decade in the United States. Internationally, drinking water sources remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks because of limited security. In January 2016, Turkish intelligence officials reported individuals affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria plotting to poison the water supply using tularemia, a bacterial disease found in animals that is transmissible to humans.

Natural Hazards
During Superstorm Sandy, 427 community water systems in New Jersey lost power. The heavy reliance on electric power makes any water or wastewater system vulnerable to extreme weather. Ninety-one wastewater treatment facilities were affected by flooding or power loss, resulting in reduced treatment capacity and discharging as much as five billion gallons of raw sewage into state waterways. Additionally, coastal flood waters damaged water utility infrastructure, leaving the communities they serve without clean water.

There are currently no credible threats to the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector in New Jersey.
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Federal agents conduct sweeping immigration enforcement raids in at least 6 states

ICE Raids

UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 2017, 9:19 P.M.

By Abigail Hauslohner, Lisa Rein, Sandhya Someshekhar Abigail Hauslohner, Lisa Rein and Sandhya SomeshekharWashington Post

U.S. immigration authorities arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in at least a half-dozen states this week in a series of raids that marked the first large-scale enforcement of President Donald Trump’s Jan. 26 order to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living here illegally.

The raids, which officials said targeted known criminals, also netted some immigrants who did not have criminal records, an apparent departure from similar enforcement waves during former President Barack Obama’s administration that aimed to just corral and deport those who had committed crimes.

Trump has pledged to deport up to 3 million undocumented immigrants with criminal records. Last month he also made a change to the Obama administration’s policy of prioritizing deportation for convicted criminals, substantially broadening the scope of who the Department of Homeland Security can target, to include those with only minor offenses or those with no convictions at all.

Immigration officials confirmed that agents this week raided homes and workplaces in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, the Los Angeles area, North Carolina and South Carolina, netting hundreds of people. But Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said they were part of “routine” immigration enforcement actions. ICE dislikes the term “raids,” and prefers to say authorities are conducting “targeted enforcement actions.”

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/feb/10/federal-agents-conduct-sweeping-immigration-enforc/

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Trump team seeks agency records on border barriers, surveillance

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By Julia Edwards Ainsley | WASHINGTON

In a wide-ranging request for documents and analysis, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team asked the Department of Homeland Security last month to assess all assets available for border wall and barrier construction.

The team also asked about the department’s capacity for expanding immigrant detention and about an aerial surveillance program that was scaled back by the Obama administration but remains popular with immigration hardliners. And it asked whether federal workers have altered biographic information kept by the department about immigrants out of concern for their civil liberties.

The requests were made in a Dec. 5 meeting between Trump’s transition team and Department of Homeland Security officials, according to an internal agency memo reviewed by Reuters. The document offers a glimpse into the president-elect’s strategy for securing the U.S. borders and reversing polices put in place by the Obama administration.

Trump’s transition team did not comment in response to Reuters inquiries. A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to comment.

In response to the transition team request, U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffers identified more than 400 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border, and about the same distance along the U.S.-Canada border, where new fencing could be erected, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Reuters could not determine whether the Trump team is considering a northern border barrier. During the campaign, Trump pledged to build a wall and expand fencing on parts of the U.S.-Mexico border but said he sees no need to build a wall on the border with Canada.

One program the transition team asked about, according to the email summary, was Operation Phalanx, an aerial surveillance program that authorizes 1,200 Army National Guard airmen to monitor the southern border for drug trafficking and illegal migration.

The program once deployed 6,000 airmen under President George W. Bush but was downsized by Barack Obama, a move blasted by some conservatives who argue the surveillance is vital to border security.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-border-trump-exclusive-idUSKBN14N0TY?il=0

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‘All Hands on Deck’ to Protect Election From Hack, Say Officials

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by KEN DILANIAN, WILLIAM M. ARKIN, ROBERT WINDREM and CYNTHIA MCFADDEN

The U.S. government is gearing up for an unprecedented effort to protect Tuesday’s presidential election from cyber attack, U.S. officials told NBC News.

“There are a lot of eyes on this presidential election — more than there normally would be,” a senior Obama administration official said.

Cyber centers at the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and the FBI — as well as the Pentagon, the CIA and other intelligence agencies — will be on alert, with extra staff hunting for any possible threat, officials say.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-hands-deck-protect-election-hack-say-officials-n679271

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Department of Homeland Security Raids Rentboy, an Escort Website

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Raid of Rentboy, an Escort Website, Angers Gay Activists

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORDAUG. 26, 2015

For some gay activists, it had shades of bathhouse raids and gay-bar roundups from decades ago. On Tuesday, federal authorities burst into the Union Square office of the gay-escort website Rentboy.com and arrested the chief executive and several employees on prostitution charges.

Rentboy, which federal authorities called the biggest male-escort website, had been around for almost two decades, allowing escorts to pay to advertise themselves. It was well known in the gay community, hosting pool parties, dances and awards shows throughout the country.

After federal authorities charged its top executives with promoting prostitution, seized the website and went after the business’s assets on Tuesday, many gay activists were infuriated. The Transgender Law Center, a civil-rights group, criticized the arrests, as did some male sex workers. Several activists said they would use the episode to renew calls to decriminalize prostitution.

“To many in our community this feels like a throwback to when the police raided gay bars in the ’50s and ’60s,” Justin Vivian Bond, a performer and an activist who is transgender, wrote in an email. “This invasion of a consensual hookup site which is run for and by members of the L.G.B.T. community feels like a real slap in the face after gentrification and the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations drove so many gay bars out of business and forced people to meet online instead of in person,” the activist added, referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Danny Cruz said he had posted ads on Rentboy “to supplement income” for about seven years, starting when he moved to New York. He said he had talked regularly to the executives who were arrested, both about his business and about staying safe.

“I don’t see why the government would be interested in what two people do behind closed doors,” Mr. Cruz, who is now involved in the Sex Workers Outreach Project in Los Angeles, said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/27/nyregion/raid-of-rentboy-an-escort-website-angers-gay-activists.html

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Department of Homeland Security stumped that employees don’t like their jobs

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Department of Homeland Security stumped that employees don’t like their jobs
February 21,2015
Greta Van Susteren

You won’t believe this one — actually, you will because this kind of stupid stuff by our government does not stop. You just paid for a study as to why Homeland Security employees have low morale. Really? taxpayer money for a study why government employees don’t like their jobs?

But it gets even worse….Department of Homeland was stumped by the FIRST study and did TWO more of the same! Who authorizes this stuff???

“Afflicted with the lowest morale of any large federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security did what comes naturally to many in government.
It decided to study the problem. And then study it some more.
The first study cost about $1 million. When it was finished, it was put in a drawer. The next one cost less but duplicated the first. It also ended up in a drawer…” [Washington Post today]

But it gets worse:

“…So last year, still stumped about why the employees charged with safeguarding Americans are so unhappy, the department commissioned two more studies….”

—
https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/f626eba8-b15c-11e4-886b-c22…