Free Republic

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday additional documents related to the Operation Fast and Furious scandal during the Obama administration will be released to the House Oversight Committee. The documents were previously withheld by Attorney General Eric Holder, who was voted in civil and criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to turn them over. “The Department of Justice under my watch is committed to transparency and the rule of law. This settlement agreement is an important step to make sure that the public finally receives all the facts related to Operation Fast and Furious,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions released in...

Shortened title. Full title: Obama’s DHS Sec Says Administration Knew About Russian Hack, Waited To Tell Public For Fear Of Label As ‘Taking Sides’ Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said on MSNBC Monday morning that although the Obama administration knew of Russian hacking as early as summer of 2016, the administration did nothing initially out of concern for being labeled as “taking sides.”

Reps. Randy Hultgren (R., Ill.) and James McGovern (D., Mass.) want answers from the Trump administration about the reasons behind a Department of Homeland Security decision to deny refugee status in the United States for dozens of Iranian Christians and other Iranian religious minorities. The congressman, co-chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, on Tuesday said they are disappointed that DHS has denied asylum to a large percentage of a group of roughly 100 Iranians fleeing religious persecution in Iran. Roughly 76 to 80 members of the group, which is largely Christian but also includes Zoroastrians, Andeans, and at...

A group of open borders activists blocked and surrounded federal immigration officials in downtown Los Angeles, California on Thursday, preventing the agents from accessing a nearby detention center. Coordinated by a slew of open borders groups, about 50 illegal immigrant activists stopped a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) van of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while they were on their way to a detention center.

A federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday that the government must fully restart the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty and accept brand new applicants as well as renewals, throwing a potential wrench in the ongoing debate over the fate of “Dreamers” on Capitol Hill. Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis said the administration does have the power to revoke DACA, but it must give a sound reason for doing so — and the Homeland Security Department’s September 2017 rationale fell far short of what is required in that regard. He becomes the second judge to rule President Trump’s aides bungled the phaseout...

The Department of Homeland Security made the rare move Monday to officially discredit an NBC News report that claimed a top Trump official found that “Russians successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election.” In a statement, DHS said the “breaking news” report was not only wrong and hyped but is also being ripped by other media. In the report, NBC interviewed Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, who said, “We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually...

President Donald Trump has signed a national security memorandum establishing a new National Vetting Center within the Department of Homeland Security to better coordinate information on individuals who may pose a threat to the country. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the effort will allow law enforcement “to better identify individuals seeking to enter the country who present a threat to national security.” She’s calling current vetting efforts “ad hoc” and says they impede the government’s ability to keep up with threats. …

American border officials cannot refuse to let in gang members who either sneak in or show up at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, government officials said Tuesday as they pleaded for congressional action to close loopholes gang members are exploiting. “When they come to our border I have to let them in,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said at a White House roundtable. “This is unique to our country, and it’s got to change,” President Trump chimed in. Mr. Trump has made highlighting and combatting MS-13 a major tenet of his immigration policy, and his aides bolstered his...

President Donald Trump threatened Friday to cut off aid and slap sanctions on countries that refuse to accept nationals the U.S. tries to deport. Trump said during a briefing with Department of Homeland Security officials at the Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center in Virginia that he knows how to change the trend. “If they don’t take ’em back, we’ll put sanctions on the countries, we’ll put tariffs on the countries,” Trump said. He added: “They’ll take ’em back so fast your head would spin.” He’s also threatened to cut off aid to the countries, which include China and...

The U.S. refugee program will enhance screening Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen announced Monday. The agency will also set a minimum security standard for countries in order to share counterterrorism data. "We will be rolling out new security measures for applicants from high-risk countries, which will seek 'to prevent' the program from being exploited by terrorists, criminals and fraudsters.... The trio of federal groups also created a first-of-its-kind global baseline that all foreign countries must meet before sharing counterterrorism data. "We have worked successfully with almost every country in the world to reach this baseline, which has improved both...

Homeland Security will demand more information from applicants from high-risk countries before accepting them as refugees, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Monday as she defended President Trump’s steps on immigration and visitor screening. Ms. Nielsen also highlighted a recent report that found the government weeds out an average of seven travelers each day — 50 a week — who are on the terrorist watch-list yet still try to enter the U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Trump administration announced Monday it was preparing to replace existing vehicle barriers along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico that officials call “an area of high illegal entry.” The notice published in the Federal Register said the area extends around 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry. According to the notice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will replace the existing barriers with bollard walls to deter and prevent illegal crossings. Bollard walls are made up of sturdy, vertical posts that are spaced to provide visibility to the...

The Trump administration is waiving more than 30 environmental rules to accelerate the construction of President Trump's proposed border wall in New Mexico, forcing environmental groups to consider another round of lawsuits.The Department of Homeland Security published a notice Monday that said the waiver was necessary to ensure the "expeditious construction of barriers" near the Santa Teresa Land Port of Entry. "The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the...

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is not done with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Not even close. The intense tantrum from Booker at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday was due to two things; 1) He’s running for president in 2020; and 2) the “tears of rage” that flowed when he heard about the president’s remarks about immigrants from “s**thole countries,” and why are we letting them come here. Nielsen couldn’t recall the president using this exact language when he said it during a meeting between Democrats and Republicans over immigration, the obstacle that could shut down the government later tonight.

U.S. health officials on Friday said they were revoking legal guidance issued by the Obama Administration that had sought to discourage states from trying to defund organizations that provide abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials also said the department is issuing a new regulation aimed at protecting healthcare workers’ civil rights based on religious and conscience objections. The regulation protects the rights of healthcare workers from providing abortion, euthanasia, and sterilization, the officials said during a media call with reporters. The announcement comes one day after HHS said it was...

When their oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, it's taken for granted that politicians are also tasked with protecting the life and liberty of those they represent. But when it comes to protecting the public from those who've entered the country illegally and subsequently committed crimes, too many our politicians believe that enforcement of our immigration laws is optional. The problem is countless of Americans have been impacted by the presence of illegal aliens; many have had personal property stolen and they physical damages range from varying degrees of injury from drunk drivers, assault, rapes,...

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed Tuesday that her 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 is reviewing what avenues may be available,” Ms. Nielsen told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her confirmation came after California’s new sanctuary law went into effect Jan. 1, severely restricting cooperation the state or any of its localities could offer.

RUSH: Grab sound bite number 21. Kirstjen Nielsen (she’s the director of Homeland Security) testified today before the Senate Judiciary Committee on immigration. She was in the meeting that Durbin claims Trump used that derogatory term to describe countries. She did really, really well today. I have three sound bites. But here’s one. This is an exchange with Patrick “Leaky” Leahy. LEAHY: Did President Trump use this word — or a substantially similar word — to describe citizen countries? NIELSEN: I did not hear that word used. No, sir. LEAHY: I’m not… That’s not the question. Did he use anything...

en. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was enraged during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday and admitted he was "seething with anger" over President Trump's alleged "shithole comments" and a Cabinet official's statement that she did not recall the incident. “I had tears of rage," Booker bellowed at Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen in reference to when he first heard of Trump's "shithole countries" remark last week. "And for you not to feel that hurt and that pain and to dismiss the questions of my colleagues, with tens of millions Americans hurting right now because they're worried about what happened...

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed Tuesday that her 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 is reviewing what avenues may be available,” Ms. Nielsen told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her confirmation came after 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 Director Tom Homan says those policies put his officers and local communities at more risk because they have to...