Tag: dhs

Department Of Homeland Security Q-9 Reaper Drones Are Orbiting Over Los Angeles

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been flying its Predator B drones, also known by their military designation as MQ-9 Reapers, over Los Angeles as part of the U.S. government’s response to the unrest there, the agency confirmed to us on Wednesday. The flights are in response to protests that escalated to violence on multiple occasions, following a massive operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last Friday.

Persistent aerial surveillance like this has long been controversial, with civil rights advocates saying it violates the right to privacy and undermines the Constitution. At the same time, the fact that a drone is doing it largely evokes a uniquely upsetting response. While using the Reapers over urban locales is rare, it’s not unprecedented, and manned platforms do this kind of work every day across the country.

CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) “MQ-9 Predators are supporting our federal law enforcement partners in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with aerial support of their operations,” spokesman John Mennell told us Wednesday afternoon in response to our query earlier this week. “Additionally, they are providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers. AMO is not engaged in the surveillance of First Amendment activities.”

CBP had been mum about the issue for days, even though open-source reporting on social media had already presented compelling evidence of the drones’ orbits. On June 9, user @Aeroscout on X posted air traffic control (ATC) audio stating that two “Q-9s” – call signs TROY 703 and TROY 701, had passed each other in airspace over Yuma, Arizona, as one was replacing the other over Los Angeles. @Aeroscout had previously posted ATC audio of TROY 701 checking in on Los Angeles Center Sector 09. A short time later, Alaska Flight 1020 was given a traffic advisory for “drone traffic.”

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Snarky fashion influencer who regularly mocks Trump, Vance’s outfits admits he’s in US illegally, DHS responds

A snarky fashion influencer who regularly mocks President Trump’s outfits has posted a now-viral confessional about being in the US illegally — with the Department of Homeland Security signaling it is aware and zeroing in on the critic.

Derek Guy disclosed his “lack of legal immigration” in an X post seen nearly 5 million times as he criticized the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown.

The fashion enthusiast, who boasts millions of followers on Instagram and X, admitted he came to the US as a baby — via Canada — after his parents fled Vietnam following the Tet Offensive.

“I’m still unsure whether we technically broke an immigration law. The border between Canada and the United States was pretty porous (as it is today, for the most part). But either way, since I came here without legal documentation, I eventually fell into the category of being an undocumented immigrant,” he wrote.

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Kristi Noem shuts down controversial TSA watchlist program, calls for Congressional probe

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday ended an expensive and controversial watchlist program, overseen by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), that she claimed failed to “stop a single terrorist attack.”

Republicans have accused the program of targeting the Biden administration’s political opponents, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, while caving to Democratic influence by keeping some elites off the list. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said TSA will continue its own vetting functions, including verifying the identities of travelers through REAL ID, but that the Quiet Skies program will close.

“It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends,” Noem said in a statement. “The Trump Administration will return TSA to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public. This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans.” 

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Homeland Security hits back at claims ICE agent at Martha’s Vineyard has ‘white supremacist’ tattoo

The Department of Homeland Security has hit back at claims that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has a “white supremacist” tattoo after footage circulated online during an arrest operation in Martha’s Vineyard.

An ICE officer was spotted on the Massachusetts island last week with what appeared to be a Valknot tattoo, a Nordic symbol of the god Odin.

Charlie Giordano confronted the ICE agents and posted the footage on Instagram, the Martha’s Vineyard Times first reported.

“When reviewing the images I made of ‘ICE Agents’ on Martha’s Vineyard yesterday, I noticed several had the ‘Valknot’ tattooed on their arms,” Giordano posted on Instagram. “It’s a symbol often used by white supremacy groups.”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin characterized the claim as a “smear” in a post on X Tuesday and said the officer was “a combat veteran.”

“His tattoo is a tribute to fallen warriors —a pretty common tattoo in the military among combat veterans who embrace the Nordic Viking warrior culture,” McLaughlin said.

“Attempting to smear this ICE officer and pretend his tattoo is meant to be a tribute to White Supremacy is false, pathetic, and insulting to veterans.”

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Feds bust fraud ring accused of stealing $47M in COVID, small business loans

For the second week in a row, the Department of Homeland Security carried out a dramatic, early-morning raid in Los Angeles targeting transnational organized crime rings. This week’s bust netted fourteen arrests from an Armenian fraud ring that investigators say stole $30 million in COVID relief and Small Business loans meant to help taxpaying Americans.

“If you are taking money from the government that doesn’t belong to you, your door could be the next one that we’re hitting,” said U.S. Attorney for California’s Central District, Bill Essayli.

Fox News was exclusively embedded with DHS in the multi-agency sting that included the IRS and the Small Business Administration.

Thirteen of the suspects are Armenian-born but have become naturalized. At least one of the suspects faces deportation.

“This is the police. We have a warrant. Come out with your hands up!” one officer’s voice echoed on a loudspeaker attached to an armored vehicle with agents inside. The special unit inside the armored vehicle first cut the chain on a gated driveway and then demanded one of the targeted suspects come out of his L.A.-area home in a sunrise bust.

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Trump’s $795M Data Power Play Sends Palantir Soaring 140%–But Here’s the Hidden Risk

Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) is riding a wave of government contracts as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to centralize and analyze federal data. Since Trump signed an executive order in March calling for more interagency data sharing, Palantir has quietly become the go-to vendor for building that digital infrastructure. The company has landed more than $113 million in new and extended federal contracts since Trump took office including a blockbuster $795 million deal with the Pentagon last week. Palantir’s Foundry platform is already in use at Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, and engineers were recently embedded at the IRS to begin building a unified, searchable database for taxpayer records. Talks are also underway with the Social Security Administration and Department of Education, suggesting more agencies could follow.

Investor enthusiasm hasn’t lagged. Since Trump’s re-election, Palantir shares have surged more than 140%, fueled by the prospect that the company may now become the digital backbone of the U.S. federal government. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)a Musk-led initiativehas been instrumental in Palantir’s rise, with several DOGE members having ties to Palantir or Peter Thiel-backed ventures. The company’s tools are now being used to connect data points ranging from immigration status and bank accounts to student loans and disability claims. In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded Palantir a $30 million contract to track migrant movements in real time another sign of how fast the government is scaling its use of Foundry.

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America’s Next Top Migrant: White House Denies Noem Backing DHS Citizenship Game Show

The White House has denied a report that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is backing a proposal for a reality TV series that pits immigrants against each other for the grand prize: a fast-track to U.S. citizenship.

According to a 35-page pitch obtained by DailyMail.com, the Department of Homeland Security has been in contact with reality TV producer Rob Worsoff – known for Duck Dynasty and Millionaire Matchmaker – on a show called The American. The show would take a dozen pre-vetted immigrants on a cross-country journey aboard a train, competing in “cultural” challenges like assembling a Model T Ford in Detroit, rolling logs in Wisconsin, and digging clams in Maine.

Contestants would be greeted in New York City at Ellis Island by “a famous, naturalized American who was also born in another country,” the pitch reads, with names like Sofia Vergara, Ryan Reynolds, and Mila Kunis floated as possible hosts. Each contestant would receive a personalized baseball glove before hitting the rails aboard “The Citizen Ship.”

“Along the way, we will be reminded what it means to be American – through the eyes of the people who want it most,” Worsoff’s pitch says.

There’d be elimination rounds, dramatic town halls, and viewer voting tallied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff – yes, actual DHS employees, according to the proposal. The live finale would see the train stop in Washington, D.C., with the winner sworn in on Capitol Hill as Thunderbird jets roar overhead. “There won’t be a dry eye within 10 miles!” the pitch promises.

Game show prizes? Think red-white-and-blue Americana: 1 million American Airlines points, a $10,000 Starbucks gift card, or a lifetime supply of 76 gasoline.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s top spokesperson, confirmed the department had a call with Worsoff last week. “I think it’s a good idea,” she said. Though she claimed Noem “is yet to be briefed,” DailyMail.com reports Noem supports the show and wants to move forward.

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DHS Warns AOC of Possible Arrest Over Potential Interference at ICE Facility Following Her Viral Threat

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has drawn a direct warning from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after suggesting she may take action similar to that which led to the recent arrest of a Democratic mayor outside an immigration facility.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, told Fox News that if Ocasio-Cortez attempts to interfere with federal immigration enforcement in the same manner as Democratic Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka, she could be subject to arrest.

“If she trespasses and if she assaults law enforcement officers, as we saw earlier, I think that’s certainly on the table,” McLaughlin said during an appearance on “The Bottom Line,” per Trending Politics.

“As far as we’ve heard, a lot of Democrats make the argument that they’re just conducting oversight, congressional oversight.”

The remarks follow the arrest of Baraka outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in New Jersey, as Resist the Mainstream highlighted last week. 

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DHS Probes Whether California’s Noncitizen Handout Program Is Paying ‘Ineligible Illegal Aliens’

The Trump administration is investigating whether California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI), a program that pays state money to noncitizens who are not eligible for Social Security benefits because of their immigration status, is paying “ineligible illegal aliens.”

Noncitizens who are over 65, blind or disabled, and are ineligible for Social Security benefits — specifically Supplemental Security Income and State Supplementary Payment — due to their immigration status alone, can receive CAPI benefits. Those eligible can typically receive up to $1,206.94 a month, according to California Disability Benefits 101.

U.S. citizens are not eligible to receive CAPI. In July 2024 alone, CAPI paid 16,852 recipients, a state report shows.  

CAPI benefits are purportedly reserved for eligible noncitizens who are legally present in the U.S. or meet refugee criteria. However, ICE Homeland Security Investigations served a subpoena Monday to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, which administers CAPI, to “determine if ineligible illegal aliens received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration” from January 2021 to present.

According to the DHS, the subpoena requests applicant information, including name and date of birth, application copies, immigration status, and proof of ineligibility for benefits from the Social Security Administration.

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DHS Announces They Will Pay for Flights of Illegals Who Want to Self-Deport and Give Them a Stipend – Here is How Much Money This New Policy Will Save Taxpayers

The Department of Homeland Security has announced a creative way to ensure illegal aliens leave the country while saving taxpayers money.

As Fox News’s Bill Melugin reported this morning, the DHS announced it would start paying for the commercial flights of illegals who self-deport America. In addition, the government will also pay these illegals $1,000 extra once they are confirmed to have left the country.

To qualify, illegal immigrants must register on the CBP border app and file their notice to leave America. Moreover, illegal migrants who self-deport will be able to come back to America in the future, provided they use the legal channels.

Bill Melugin notes that the DHS told Fox News that this would result in tremendous savings for American taxpayers. Right now, it costs over $17,000 to detain, arrest, and deport someone from America.

But if an illegal accepts the offer of self-deportation, the self-removal flights and the stipend will cost only $4,500 per illegal. This is a savings of at least $12,500 for just one invader or 70% savings for the taxpayer alone.

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