Department of Homeland Security

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GOP Senator Holds Up Confirmation of DHS Nominee

Hawley says Mayorkas wouldn't commit to spending $1.4B on border wall

(Newser) - President-elect Joe Biden’s hopes of quick confirmation of his nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security have been blocked by a Republican senator. Sen. Josh Hawley said Tuesday that he would block a procedural move to bypass full committee consideration of the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to lead...

DHS Boss Quits Before Inauguration
Next Out Is
DHS Boss
Chad Wolf

Next Out Is DHS Boss Chad Wolf

The acting secretary was to help plan security for Biden's inauguration

(Newser) - Blaming "recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary," Chad Wolf resigned Monday from the Department of Homeland Security. Wolf told staff members in a letter that he was saddened to leave, CNBC reports, and had planned to...

Vaccine Scams Are Already Happening
Vaccine Scams
Are Already
Happening
the rundown

Vaccine Scams Are Already Happening

Homeland Security agents are already chasing down fake websites

(Newser) - If you're seeing coronavirus vaccine deals, look again: US officials say they're almost certainly scams. Whether by email, phone, or online, scammers are angling to take advantage of our desire for inoculation. "If you're receiving unsolicited offers for a vaccine—not one, not two, but about...

Behind Epic Breach of US: a Software Patch
Basic Hackers' Trick May Be
Behind Epic Breach of US
the rundown

Basic Hackers' Trick May Be Behind Epic Breach of US

Russian operatives allegedly hijacked a software patch to gain entry into sensitive agencies

(Newser) - It's big. The full scope of a cyberattack by suspected Russian operatives on US government agencies is coming into focus, and the sentiment in coverage can be summed up in this quote from a US official to Politico . "This is probably going to be one of the most...

Trump Fires Agency Head Who Vouched for Vote Security

President says statement defending election's integrity was 'highly inaccurate'

(Newser) - President Trump has fired the director of the federal agency that vouched for the reliability of the 2020 election. Trump fired Christopher Krebs in a tweet , saying his recent statement defending the security of the election was "highly inaccurate." The firing of Krebs, a Trump appointee and director...

Judge Throws Cold Water on 'Dream Act' Suspension

Chad Wolf wasn't 'lawfully' in position when he suspended DACA, judge says

(Newser) - Looks like DACA was wrongly suspended this summer because the acting Homeland Security chief didn't belong there —at least not in the eyes of the law, NBC News reports. Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled Saturday that Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary, "was not lawfully serving" in the...

'Anonymous' Comes Out of the Shadows

Miles Taylor says he's the author of a book and op-ed about President Trump

(Newser) - "Anonymous" has emerged. Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at Homeland Security, says he is the author of a scathing op-ed and a book about President Trump that roiled Washington over the past two years, the New York Times reports. "Much has been made of the fact that...

Border Officials: Let's Use That 'Heat Ray' on Migrants

Back in 2018, Kirstjen Nielsen nixed it right away

(Newser) - Right before the 2018 midterms, a Homeland Security meeting gave birth to an extreme idea: zapping border migrants with a "heat ray" to make them feel like their skin was burning, former officials tell the New York Times . Customs and Border Protection officials apparently suggested it to Homeland Security...

Watchdog: Homeland Security Bosses Ineligible for Their Jobs

Appointments violated the Vacancy Reform Act, GAO finds

(Newser) - The top two officials in the Department of Homeland Security were improperly appointed to the posts under federal law by the Trump administration, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog said Friday. The Government Accountability Office says acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and his acting deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, are ineligible to run the...

DHS Made 'Incredibly Dumb' Move on Protest Journalists

'Intelligence reports' were shared with law enforcement agencies

(Newser) - In what former Department of Homeland Security general counsel John Sandweg calls an "incredibly dumb" move, the department compiled "intelligence reports" on journalists covering the Portland protests—and shared them with state and local law enforcement agencies. The reports, which usually deal with security threats, noted that the...

Governor Says Feds Are Withdrawing From Portland

Not so fast, says acting DHS secretary

(Newser) - Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says she has reached a deal with administration officials that will see the "occupying force" of federal agents removed from downtown Portland. Brown said Wednesday that agents from the US Marshals Service and US Customs and Border Protection will begin a phased withdrawal Thursday and...

Team of Tactical Border Officers on Standby in Seattle

Move comes ahead of expected weekend protests

(Newser) - Officials in Seattle say they won't allow the city to become another Portland, despite a beefed-up federal presence ahead of protests expected this weekend. The federal government said Thursday that a "Special Response Team" of tactical border officers will "be on standby in the area, should they...

First Portland, Now Chicago: Federal Agents Are on the Way

ACLU criticizes the deployment, which the mayor wasn't interested in

(Newser) - Chicago is being sent about 150 agents by the Department of Homeland Security to combat violence in the city, much like the controversial deployment of federal force in Oregon. The agents are to help local police and other federal agencies, the Chicago Tribune reported. Other details, including who will supervise...

Portland Mayor to Trump: Send Your Boys Home
Portland Mayor to Trump:
This Is 'an Absolute Abuse'
the rundown

Portland Mayor to Trump: This Is 'an Absolute Abuse'

Words are flying after federal agents scooped up protesters in Oregon

(Newser) - Portland's mayor threw down the gauntlet Friday after federal agents—some wearing camouflage in unmarked minivans—were seen grabbing people off the streets, the AP reports. "Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city," Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a press conference...

Ex-Aide: Trump's Hateful Words Derail Staff

Fear of 'deep state' limits president's circle, Elaine Duke says

(Newser) - Elaine Duke gives the White House response to Hurricane Maria devastating Puerto Rico as an example of her disappointment in her brief tenure running the Department of Homeland Security. She wanted President Trump to issue an emergency declaration before the hurricane hit land but was rebuffed, the New York Times...

Immigration Chief Unlawfully Named, Lacks Authority: Judge

Ken Cuccinelli didn't have right to give asylum seekers less time to prepare for interviews

(Newser) - A federal judge has ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to lead the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency and, as a result, lacked authority to give asylum seekers less time to prepare for initial screening interviews. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and an immigration hardliner, was named...

Trump Says This Guy Is DHS Chief 'Right Now'

But Chad Wolf may not have the job for long

(Newser) - A guy named Chad Wolf might be the new acting Homeland Security chief—at least for now. President Trump casually named him to the position on Friday after reporters inquired about rumors to that effect, the Washington Post reports. "Well he's right now acting and we'll see...

Ex-DHS Chief Nielsen Reveals Why She Resigned

At 'Fortune' summit, Kirstjen Nielsen also says has no regrets on 'enforcing law' that separated families

(Newser) - "These conversations can be tough, and arguably should be tough, as I'm sure this next one will be" is how the intro for Kirstjen Nielsen went at Tuesday's Most Powerful Women Summit sponsored by Fortune magazine. And interviewer Amna Nawaz got right into it with the former...

Acting Homeland Security Chief Is Out

Kevin McAleenan is stepping down

(Newser) - Kevin McAleenan, a career civil servant who became the unlikely point man for President Trump's hard-line immigration policies, is stepping down as acting Homeland Security secretary after six months on the job. McAleenan told the AP he's leaving on his own terms—a contrast to other top administration...

Report: Trump Suggested Shooting Migrants in Legs

He wanted alligators in border trench, sources say

(Newser) - President Trump aired some disturbing ideas during a "frenzied" week in March when his frustration with border security reached a boiling point, reports the New York Times , which cites "more than a dozen White House and administration officials." According to the sources, during one meeting in March...

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