DHS Archives - The Pennsylvania Daily Star

Federal Censorship Machine Started Years Before COVID, Involved Military Contractors: Whistleblower

December 3, 2023 Just the News

The public-private efforts to restrict and suppress purported “mis-, dis- and malinformation” across tech platforms started almost immediately after the surprise election of Donald Trump in 2016, ramped up a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, and included U.S. and U.K. military contractors and plans to cut off financial services to dissenters and sue them.

That’s according to a “highly credible whistleblower” who says they were recruited to participate in the Cyber Threat Intelligence League (CTIL) “through monthly cybersecurity meetings hosted by” the Department of Homeland Security, independent journalists who reviewed the Twitter Files at new owner Elon Musk’s invitation said Tuesday.

Illegal Chinese Pot Grows Are Taking over Maine and Law Enforcement Isn’t Stopping Them

November 25, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Illegal marijuana grows run by Chinese nationals have sprung up all across the state of Maine, and residents say law enforcement isn’t doing enough to stop their spread.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified 270 suspected Chinese illegal marijuana grow operations in the state that could be making an estimated $4.37 billion in revenue, which are often used for more criminal activities or are sent back to China, the DCNF exclusively reported in August. The DCNF visited dozens of properties identified as suspected Chinese marijuana grows by the DHS memo, as well as other locations reported to be possible Chinese marijuana grows by The Maine Wire.

Heritage Foundation Sues DHS over College Program Tying Conservative Groups to Neo-Nazis

October 30, 2023October 29, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over a controversial college program which directly connected mainstream conservative groups and publications to neo-Nazi elements.

As reported by the New York Post, the lawsuit was filed in a Washington, D.C. federal court on Tuesday by Heritage’s Oversight Project. The suit accuses DHS of withholding information by refusing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding a grant of $352,109 that the University of Dayton received for its studies on “domestic violence extremism and hate movements.”

DHS Stonewalls on Legal Basis for Policing ‘Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation’

September 28, 2023 Just the News

The Department of Homeland Security is not only hiding the purported legal basis for its authority to police misinformation, disinformation and malinformation – the latter sometimes jeered as “true but inconvenient” – but also any explanation for invoking an unexpected Freedom of Information Act exemption to hide them.

Hastily stitched together 22 years ago to prevent another Islamic terrorist attack but since turning its sights on domestic political disputes, the agency gave Just the News a lengthy defense of its work against disinformation but not an answer to how disclosure of its “MDM Space” legal authorities would imperil law enforcement work.

Missouri U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt Calls on Biden’s Cybersecurity Chief to Resign over Censorship Campaign

July 7, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt called on a top cybersecurity official to resign Wednesday following a preliminary injunction preventing government coordination with social media platforms to censor protected speech.

Schmitt urged the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Jennifer Easterly to step down in an interview with journalist Michael Shellenberger on Wednesday. A federal judge had issued an injunction Tuesday preventing the Biden administration from coordinating with social media companies to censor content after finding that officials likely violated the First Amendment.

Biden DHS Rewards Sanctuary Cities, NGOs with $290 Million

June 15, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Biden Administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded over $290 million in taxpayer money to various “sanctuary cities,” as well as pro-illegal alien non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

As reported by Breitbart, the nearly $300 million was taken from the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a federal initiative that is funded by the U.S. Congress. The money was divided among 34 different cities, NGOs, and other entities.

Commentary: Breaking Down the Biden Administration’s Political Weaponization Higher Education

June 11, 2023 Admin

The Media Research Center (MRC) has revealed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using the “Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program” to single out and vilify political opposition- effectively criminalizing freedom of thought and free association. This is the same DHS that has classified the American people’s personal “thoughts, ideas, and beliefs” as “critical infrastructure” and “cognitive assets.”

Pennsylvania Representatives Want to Limit Food-Stamp Balances to Curb Fraud

May 31, 2023May 30, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

Two Pennsylvania state lawmakers are spearheading legislation to curb food-stamp fraud by limiting the balances recipients can accumulate.

Representative Ann Flood (R-Pen Argyl) is drafting a bill requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to request a federal waiver allowing the commonwealth to cap the benefits a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) user can amass. Kerry Beninghoff (R-Bellefonte) has meanwhile begun preparing a resolution asking the Biden administration to set such limits itself. Currently, the federally funded but state administered entitlement does not require those who draw SNAP benefits to spend them in order to remain eligible for them.

DHS ‘Bystander’ Training Singles out Pro-Lifers, Government Critics as ‘Radicalization’ Suspects

May 9, 2023 Just the News

Nine days after President Biden’s inauguration, a Department of Homeland Security office proposed creating several “Choose Your Own Adventure” videos to show Americans how to identify and mitigate “radicalization and potential violence.”

Among the Americans that worry the sprawling bureaucracy created in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: middle-aged pro-life women, white men who question the government, and divorced mothers who suspect “government connections to child abuse and trafficking.”

Lawsuit Demands National Archives Obtain Secret Service, DHS January 6 Texts

April 20, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

A new lawsuit in federal court is suing the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to obtain text messages between Secret Service and Homeland Security officials about former President Donald Trump.

Ken Klippenstein, a reporter for The Intercept, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. It asks the Court to order NARA to seek the Department of Justice’s subpoena power to obtain all text messages “sent or received by 24 Secret Service personnel during the period of December 7, 2020, through January 8, 2021,” as well as those sent by top Trump DHS officials at the time, according to the complaint.

Florida Attorney General Calls on Congress to Impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas

April 13, 2023 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging Congress to “begin impeachment proceedings immediately” of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. She cites several reasons to justify her request, including claiming he’s violated federal law, lied multiple times under oath before Congress, and is endangering American lives.

In a letter addressed to five Republican congressional leaders Tuesday, she urged them “to act to protect the American people and impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Secretary Mayorkas is directly responsible, and his actions have caused our unprecedented border crisis.”

Pennsylvania Cabinet Officer Says New Medicaid Fraud Prevention System Coming in June

April 12, 2023April 11, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s acting human services secretary on Tuesday told lawmakers an improved state system to detect Medicaid fraud will be in place this summer.

The comments from anesthesiologist and former Montgomery County commissioner Val Arkoosh came as policymakers expressed concern about erroneous payments made by the government health-insurance program for the poor. In 2020, Governor Josh Shapiro (D) said in his previous capacity as state attorney general that his investigations indicated improper payments could total as much as $3 billion annually in Pennsylvania. That amounts to about one-tenth of all state Medicaid funds.

Border Patrol Union Signals Concern Over Proposed Biden Immigration Policy

April 3, 2023 Admin

The Biden administration’s proposed “Safe Third Country” agreement attempting to crack down on an expected surge in illegal immigration at the southern border has a major loophole that still allows migrants to be released into the country en masse, according to a document the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Daily Caller News Foundation exclusively obtained.

The policy, which was proposed in anticipation of the end of the Title 42 public health expulsion order on May 11, would make migrants seeking asylum that already passed through a safe country on the way to the U.S. ineligible for asylum. The Border Patrol union raised its concerns to DHS, asserting that the rule would still allow for “catch and release” because of loopholes, such as making a claim of credible fear to trigger the need for years-long adjudication, according to the NBPC response.

DHS Heavily Redacted Disinformation Board Emails Despite Claiming Agency Had Nothing to Hide

March 30, 2023 Just the News

When the existence of the Disinformation Governance Board burst into public view, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there was nothing sinister to hide and claimed the office was rooted in “best practices.”

A year later, Mayorkas’ department is refusing to let Americans see most of the legal justifications and talking points it created to defend the now-disbanded board from “blowback,” FOIA documents showed.

Biden Considers Adopting Trump-Era Immigration Policy He Once Criticized: Report

March 8, 2023March 8, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Biden administration is considering detaining illegal migrant families after criticizing a similar program under the Trump administration, according to The New York Times.

The possible policy change would mean the Biden administration might be reversing course on its promises to end many Trump-era immigration policies, according to the NYT. Nothing has been finalized, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Commentary: Americans Should Read the Fine Print on Biden’s Newest Border Enforcement Policy

February 28, 2023 Admin

If you believe the reporting of the legacy media, the Biden administration’s newly proposed 153-page asylum rule is a resurgence of the Trump administration policies they loathed.

The Washington Post describes the new rule as the administration’s “most restrictive border control measures to date,” and The New York Times claims the new policy “could disqualify most migrants from being able to seek asylum at the southern U.S. border.”

Pennsylvania Representative Proposes Expanding E-Verify

February 2, 2023February 1, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

A Pennsylvania lawmaker is asking colleagues to support an expansion of the state’s mandate that contractors use the E-Verify system to ensure they only hire legal U.S. residents.

State Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R-Macungie) this week began circulating a memorandum seeking co-sponsors for his upcoming legislation that would require all public contractors and subcontractors to use the federal government’s E-Verify website. Established in the late nineties and now run by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the site lets employers avail themselves of it free of charge. The system cross-references information from workers’ Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 with preexisting government data to determine whether a hire is living in America legally.

‘Noncitizen Workers’ May Avoid Deportation if They Report Their Employers’ Labor Violations

January 15, 2023January 14, 2023 Just the News

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday that it would streamline a deferred action process for noncitizens who report labor violations so as to help them avoid deportation.

The agency hopes that the policy will help it to identify exploitative work environments by protecting those who come forward from “immigration-related retaliation from the exploitive employers,” according to a press release. DHS contends that workers often avoid reporting labor violations for fear that their employers will retaliate on the basis of their immigration status.

DHS Chief Mayorkas Insists Border is Closed as Biden Tours El Paso

January 9, 2023January 8, 2023 The Center Square

Ahead of President Biden’s first trip to the southern border on Sunday in El Paso, Texas, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas again said the U.S. southern border is closed.

His comments came despite thousands of illegal border crossers pouring into the city, filling the airport, sidewalks, homeless shelters. Over the past few days, many were bused out of town and otherwise cleared out ahead of the president’s visit.

State Senators Propose Pennsylvania Law Against Social Media Censorship

December 16, 2022December 15, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania State Senators Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) and Scott Hutchinson (R-Oil City) Thursday announced they would reintroduce a bill proposed in the last legislative session designed to prevent social media platforms from censoring Pennsylvanians.

Mastriano and Hutchinson introduced the original measure in May 2021. They secured the cosponsorship of four other senators, all Republicans, but the bill did not receive a vote in the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. The two lawmakers said new developments impelled them to try again in the new session. They cited the recently released “Twitter files,” internal documents pertaining largely to the social-media company’s decision in late 2020 to deny users access to a New York Post story concerning Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s personal computer.

Judge Denies Jen Psaki’s Attempt to Avoid Testifying About White House-Big Tech Collusion

November 22, 2022November 21, 2022 Admin

A federal court denied former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s request Monday to avoid deposition in a lawsuit alleging coordination between Biden administration authorities and social media companies to suppress free speech.

The lawsuit first filed by Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry in May accuses President Joe Biden and administration parties, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of colluding with or coercing the companies to “suppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content” on their platforms with “dis-information,” “mis-information” and “mal-information” labels. Psaki filed a motion last week in a bid to avoid complying with the subpoena requiring her to testify, but Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District Court of Louisiana decided Monday to reject the motion and Psaki’s alternative request to stay her deposition.

Top Border Official Resigns Under Pressure After Historic Bad Year of Illegal Migration

November 15, 2022November 14, 2022 Just the News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus resigned Saturday night under pressure from President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, vacating a crucial post just two months before a new Congress is seated.

The White House announced the departure just days after Magnus was ordered to resign or be fired. He initially resisted but bent on Saturday.

Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan Demands Biden Admin Show Compliance with Landmark Energy Decision

November 2, 2022November 1, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Republican Ranking House Judiciary Committee Member Jim Jordan told Biden administration authorities Tuesday to show how their agencies are obeying the Supreme Court’s June West Virginia v. EPA decision limiting the EPA’s power to unilaterally regulate emissions.

The court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not set carbon dioxide emissions caps for power plants to force a national transition away from coal power without explicit congressional authorization. Jordan sent letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Kathi Vidal, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan asking whether their agencies are complying with the decision.

Government Officials Have a Special Portal to Flag Facebook Posts for Censorship

November 1, 2022October 31, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

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.

Biden Admin Weighing Plan to House Migrants in Guantanamo: Report

November 1, 2022October 31, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Biden administration is weighing a plan to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, according to NBC News.

The White House National Security Council asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the number of Haitian migrants apprehended at sea that would require them to designate a third country for them to stay while they await processing to enter the U.S., NBC reported, citing two U.S. officials and an internal document. If there is an overwhelming number of Haitian migrants for a third country, the Biden administration is considering Guantanamo Bay as a holding center.

Venezuelans Expected to Flood U.S. Border Due a ‘Perception’ They Can Stay Indefinitely, Internal DHS Report Says

September 24, 2022September 23, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sounded the alarm over a potential surge in Venezuelans illegally crossing into the U.S. due to an incorrect understanding of U.S. immigration policy, according to an internal memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The recent alert mentioned a number of reasons that Venezuelans are increasingly coming to the U.S., including political changes, new visa requirements, a lack of resources due to the COVID-19 pandemic and poor economic conditions in Latin American countries they’ve fled to. There’s a possibility that many are also coming because of the protections for Venezuelans already in the U.S.

Inspector General: DHS Failed to Properly Vet Afghan ‘Refugees’ During Evacuation

September 11, 2022September 10, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

On Tuesday, an inspector general’s report was released regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) handling of the vetting process for alleged “refugees” fleeing Afghanistan as the country collapsed last year.

The Daily Caller reports that the DHS Inspector General concluded that the agency failed to “properly” vet refugees who were determined later to be a “risk to national security,” bringing potential terrorists back to the United States while leaving behind many American citizens as the country fell into the hands of the Taliban.

DHS Codifies DACA as a Federal Regulation

August 26, 2022August 25, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken a major step to solidify its support of the widely unpopular amnesty program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), codifying the policy as a federal regulation that enables new protections for the program.

According to the Daily Wire, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released a statement announcing the department’s decision to create a new rule that placed DACA into the federal register.

Biden Admin Reducing Illegal Border Crossing Prosecutions: Report

July 19, 2022July 18, 2022 Admin

Prosecutions of illegal border crossings under the Biden administration have significantly decreased amid historically high migrant encounters, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo The Washington Free Beacon obtained.

There were only 2,896 migrants transferred to the U.S. Marshal’s custody in the 2021 fiscal year, compared to 13,213 during the previous fiscal year and 20,604 in fiscal year 2019, according to the memo.

Department of Homeland Security Warns of Political Extremism in Heated Midterm Year

June 12, 2022June 11, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a warning about a “heightened threat environment” ahead of the coming midterm elections in November.

The Daily Caller reports that the warning was made in a bulletin released by the department, “regarding the continued heightened threat environment across the United States.”

Commentary: Congress Authorized DHS and CISA’s ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ Activities in 2018

May 3, 2022May 2, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In 2018, Congress unanimously passed legislation, H.R. 3359, that authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to disseminate information to the private sector including Big Tech social media companies in a bid to combat disinformation by potential foreign and domestic terrorists.

According to the agency’s website, CISA says it “rout[es] disinformation concerns” to “appropriate social media platforms”: “The [Mis, Dis, Malinformation] MDM team serves as a switchboard for routing disinformation concerns to appropriate social media platforms and law enforcement.”

Pennsylvania Republican Lawmakers Planning Bill to Relocate Illegal Aliens from Covert DHS Flights to Delaware

January 16, 2022January 15, 2022 Admin

In Pennsylvania, Republican members of the state legislature are drafting a bill that would forcibly relocate illegal aliens brought into the state by Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and instead move them to Biden’s home state of Delaware.

Fox News reports that the legislation was first mentioned in a memo by State Senator Mario Scavello (R-Penn.), who informed his colleagues of his intentions to introduce the bill.

“In the very near future, I intend to introduce legislation to address the influx of illegal immigrants being relocated into Pennsylvania,” Scavello stated. “How many illegal immigrants has the president relocated to his own home state of Delaware? If it is good enough for Pennsylvania, then why not redirect the relocation to Delaware?”

At Least Nine Republican Senators Demand Answers from DHS on Afghan Refugee Vetting

December 26, 2021December 25, 2021 The Center Square

At least nine Republican U.S. senators are continuing to pressure the Department of Homeland Security for answers over its vetting process of Afghan evacuees entering the U.S.

Three Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members sent a letter last week to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting information about Afghan evacuees. This week, six additional senators sent a letter to DHS asking for an overdue report they were supposed to have received Nov. 30.

Their letters followed news reports that the State Department didn’t have reliable data on everyone who evacuated Afghanistan and what types of visas they qualified for, and after a convicted rapist on an evacuation flight reached Washington-Dulles Airport. The letters also were sent after assaults and arrests were reported at military bases in New Mexico and Wisconsin where evacuees were being housed, and after several of the senators expressed concerns at a senate committee hearing in September.

Biden Administration Refuses to Release Full Number of Illegal Alien Population

December 1, 2021November 30, 2021 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In an unprecedented move, the Biden White House still has not yet released an official total of the number of illegal aliens who are currently occupying the United States, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

Although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has given those numbers to Congress in a report, that report has not yet been made public. Common practice dating back to the Obama Administration has been to release the report publicly shortly after the Congressional briefing, with a focus on the number of possible visa overstays. Congress has warned that “the large number of annual in-country alien overstays threatens national security and the integrity of legal immigration.”

The report in question is formally called the “Entry/Exit Overstay Report,” and documents foreigners who were originally approved to stay in the United States with a visa, but whose visas have since expired. The report is compiled using travel data across multiple agencies, including DHS and the State Department.

Border Agents Ordered to Cease Deporting Nicaraguans under Public Health Emergency Authority

November 15, 2021November 14, 2021 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

On Friday, Customs and Border Patrol agents received instructions on a new policy: Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security would no longer allow deportations of Nicaraguan illegal aliens under Title 42, a clause within the 1944 Public Health Services Law that “allows the government to prevent the introduction of individuals during certain public health emergencies.”

All Nicaraguans entering the U.S. illegally, with some exceptions related to criminal history, will be released directly into the U.S. as of Friday afternoon, Just The News has learned.

The order to all CBP agents was issued verbally on a conference call. Official orders in writing are expected soon. The Department of Homeland Security has not issued a statement, nor has CBP.