Tag: dhs

EFF Sues DHS and ICE For Records on Subpoenas Seeking to Unmask Online Critics

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today demanding public records about their use of administrative subpoenas to try to identify their online critics.

Court records and news reports show that in the past year, DHS has used administrative subpoenas to unmask or locate people who have documented ICE’s activities in their community, criticized the government, or attended protests. The subpoenas are sent to technology companies to demand information about internet users who are often engaged in protected First Amendment activity.

These subpoenas are dangerous because they don’t require judges’ approval. But they are also unlawful, and the government knows it. When a few users challenged them in court with the help of American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in Northern California and Pennsylvania, DHS withdrew them rather than waiting for a decision.

DHS and ICE have ignored EFF’s public-records requests for documents about the processes behind these subpoenas, so EFF sued Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“DHS and ICE should not be able to first claim that they have the legal authority to unmask critics and then run from court when users challenge these administrative subpoenas,” said EFF Deputy Legal Director Aaron Mackey. “The public deserves to know what laws the agencies believe give them the power to issue these speech-chilling subpoenas.”

An administrative subpoena cannot be used to obtain the content of communications, but they have been used to try and obtain some basic subscriber information like name, address, IP address, length of service, and session times. If a technology company refuses to comply, an agency’s only recourse is to drop it or go to court and try to convince a judge that the request is lawful.

EFF and the ACLU of Northern California in February ​wrote to Amazon, Apple, Discord, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Reddit, SNAP, TikTok, and X​ to ask that they insist on court intervention and an order before complying with a DHS subpoena; give users as much notice as possible when they are the target of a subpoena, so the users can seek help; and resist gag orders that would prevent the companies from notifying users who are targets of subpoenas.

And EFF last week ​asked California’s and New York’s attorneys general to investigate Google​ for deceptive trade practices for breaking ​its promise​ to notify users before handing their data to law enforcement, citing the case of a doctoral student who was targeted with an ICE subpoena after briefly attending a pro-Palestine protest.

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DHS Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Placed on Leave Amid Allegations She Used “Sugar Daddies” to Fund Lavish Lifestyle

A Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for counterterrorism was placed on administrative leave for having multiple “sugar daddies.”

The Daily Mail on Wednesday revealed that Julia Varvaro, 29, was under investigation for using ‘sugar daddies’ to maintain a lavish lifestyle.

Varvaro allegedly demanded designer handbags, expensive jewelry, and luxury trips from her sugar daddies.

One man who dated Varvaro, identified as “Robert B,” triggered the investigation after he complained to the DHS watchdog over claims that she bilked him for tens of thousands of dollars.

“I did not want a sugar daddy/prostitution relationship, after spending $30,000-$40,000 for vacations, Cartier jewelry, expensive handbags, and various shopping trips,” Robert B. wrote in a complaint to the IG, according to The Daily Mail.

“She also told me directly that the $40,000 worth of jewelry on her wrists and ears are all trophies from her sugar daddies,” he wrote. “I believe that she’s under financial stress and that her actions pose a security risk.”

Robert B said Varvaro had a profile on a sugar daddy website. Varvaro denied she was on a sugar daddy/sugar baby website.

Varvaro hit back and called Robert B a bitter ex-boyfriend. She said she did nothing wrong by going on vacation with a boyfriend.

The Daily Mail reported:

A top-level Trump counterterrorism official is under investigation amid claims she actively looks for sugar daddies to maintain her exorbitant lifestyle.

One man complained he spent $40,000 on Julia Varvaro during a three-month fling that started when they met on the dating website Hinge.

‘She was attractive and I swiped right,’ executive Robert B, who asked that his last name be withheld, told the Daily Mail.

Varvaro, 29, who earned her PhD in Homeland Security in 2024, has served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism since May 2025.

Robert, a divorced father, says he took the raven-haired beauty on first class trips to Aruba, Italy, San Diego, and South Carolina during their short time together.

But he could never spend enough to keep her happy, he claimed in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.

Later Wednesday, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin said Varvaro was placed on administrative leave.

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DHS Deports South American Illegal Aliens to Africa as Part of New ‘Safe Third Country’ Agreement

The Department of Homeland Security has deported approximately 15 illegal aliens from Latin America to the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of a bilateral agreement that allows the U.S. to send third-country nationals to African nations when their home countries refuse repatriation or when migrants successfully block removal by claiming their lives would be in danger at home.

The group arrived in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, early Friday.

An official at the Congolese migration agency confirmed the arrivals to the Associated Press but provided no further details.

U.S. attorney Alma David, who represents one of the deportees, told the Associated Press the migrants are all from Latin America and that the Congolese government plans to keep them in the country for a short period. David said she has been in contact with her client since the arrival.

The deportations are part of the Trump administration’s expanded “Safe Third Country” removal policy.

This approach bypasses legal maneuvers commonly used by migrants who persuade immigration judges that returning to their home country would be unsafe. The policy also addresses cases where countries such as India, China, Vietnam, and Laos refuse to accept their own nationals, particularly those with criminal records.

According to reporting, the Trump administration has now secured agreements with at least seven African nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Eswatini, and Equatorial Guinea.

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Largest Gift Card Fraud in History: Illegal Chinese Males Biden Imported Bankrolling CCP Troops

A senior Homeland Security Investigations official outlined details of a large-scale fraud case involving gift cards and international criminal activity, while lawmakers raised concerns about the impact on victims and national security.

During an exchange with Rep. Ashley Hinson, Todd Lyons described how HSI identified and dismantled what he said was the largest gift card fraud operation uncovered by the agency, involving networks operating across international borders.

“What we’ve found is that it’s key for HSI to have the ability to work International,” Lyons said. “And that is with our partnership, again, as I spoke earlier about in the Indo Pacific region, that is key right now.”

Lyons said the investigation revealed connections to transnational criminal organizations tied to the Chinese Communist Party, which he described as a significant threat.

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New Homeland Security Secretary Cracks Down on Sanctuary Cities

What we are now witnessing with sanctuary cities is not simply a political disagreement, it is the breakdown of the rule of law at the structural level. The federal government is now openly questioning whether it should continue providing core services, including customs processing at international airports, to cities that refuse to comply with federal immigration law.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has made that position clear in direct terms, stating, “If they are a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?” and further pressing the issue by pointing out the contradiction, “If they’re a sanctuary city and they’re receiving international flights… but once they walk out of the airport, they’re not going to enforce immigration policy?”

Sanctuary cities are, by definition, jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal enforcement, effectively creating a dual system of governance within the same country. Once you reach that point, you are no longer dealing with a unified legal framework, you are dealing with fragmentation.

Mullin has also made it clear that the federal government is being forced into difficult decisions, stating that “we’re going to have to start prioritizing things at some point” as funding battles intensify. That statement is critical because it signals a shift from negotiation to enforcement.

This is precisely the type of breakdown that unfolds during periods of broader systemic stress. The sovereign debt crisis, rising geopolitical tensions, and internal political divisions are all converging at the same time, and governments respond to that pressure by attempting to reassert control.

Sanctuary cities represent a direct challenge to that control, and the response is now escalating accordingly. The implications extend far beyond immigration because once the federal government begins selectively withdrawing services, whether it is funding, enforcement, or infrastructure support, it creates a chain reaction. Major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco are not isolated municipalities, they are economic hubs that handle millions of international travelers and billions in trade. Any disruption to customs operations alone would ripple through tourism, supply chains, and business activity, amplifying economic pressure at a time when the system is already under strain.

This is where the situation becomes dangerous because it introduces a new layer of uncertainty into the economy. Businesses and capital do not respond well to fragmented legal systems or political conflict between levels of government. Capital flows toward stability, and when stability is questioned, it begins to move. That is the core principle that has driven every major financial shift throughout history.

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Los Angeles Teen Blinded in One Eye by DHS Agent at ‘No Kings’ Rally, Attorney Says

An 18-year-old college freshman was blinded in his right eye by a federal agent during the Los Angeles “No Kings” protest on March 28. 

Tucker Collins, who is studying astronautical engineering with a minor in cinematic arts at the University of Southern California, was documenting the rally protesting policies implemented under President Donald Trump near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigration detainees are held. Video of the incident shared by Collins’ attorney, V. James DeSimone, shows a crowd of people separated from agents by a tall black fence surrounding the facility. Collins can be seen holding his phone and filming near the back of the group before abruptly falling to the ground. Blood streams from his right eye as bystanders come to his aid. He was helped by a nurse present at the protest, DeSimone told CNN, and later taken to the hospital.

In the video, DeSimone accuses Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents of unlawfully shooting Collins with “a less-lethal launcher…shooting directly into his head” while exercising his First Amendment rights. The strike caused irreparable damage to Collins’ eye and fractured bones in his eye socket, DeSimone told CNN. Collins’ eye had to be surgically removed. 

In a statement made to the Los Angeles Times, a DHS spokesperson claimed that agents “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property” after a group of 1,000 protestors “threw rocks, bottles, and cement blocks at officers.” The agency said seven warnings were given before crowd control measures were used. “The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly—not rioting,” the spokesperson continued. 

Under DHS use-of-force guidelines, while agents may be authorized to use less-lethal weapons, such as pepperballs and rubber bullets, using such a device is considered deadly force when “it carries a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury,” such as “strik[ing] the neck or head.” Deadly force is only permissible when “the [officer] has a reasonable belief that the subject of force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the [officer] or to another person.” 

Even with this guideline in place, a federal court in California issued a preliminary injunction last September prohibiting DHS agents from, in part, “using crowd control weapons,” including less-lethal weapons, “on members of the press, legal observers, and protesters who are not themselves posing a threat of imminent harm to a law enforcement officer or another person.” The order was a result of a lawsuit in which DHS agents were accused of using excessive force and suppressing First Amendment-protected activities when officers shot less-lethal weapons at people protesting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in Southern California last summer. 

In this case, Collins “was not threatening anyone. He wasn’t attacking anyone,” DeSimone told The Guardian. “DHS officers took out his eye and they did it despite a federal injunction that plainly forbids firing these weapons at people’s heads,” he continued. 

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Trump’s New DHS Head off to Blistering Start, Considers Crippling Sanctuary Cities’ International Airports

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin may take action against “sanctuary cities” that subvert federal immigration laws by removing customs agents at their international airports.

The move would crush the tourist economies of sanctuary cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco by rendering them incapable of processing international travelers.

Mullin floated the idea Monday during an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.

“I believe sanctuary cities — it’s not lawful,” the DHS boss said. “This one area we may take a hard look at is … some of these cities have international airports. If they’re a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?

“If they’re a sanctuary city and they’re receiving international flights, and we’re asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they’re not going to enforce immigration policy — maybe we need to have a really hard look at that,” Mullin continued.

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US & EU Negotiate Biometric Data-Sharing Deal

Washington wants to run European fingerprints through American databases, and the EU is considering it. The Department of Homeland Security and the European Union are in formal negotiations over an arrangement that would give DHS direct query access to biometric records held by EU member states, a level of access that Brussels has never granted to a non-EU country for border security purposes.

The deal sits inside DHS’s Enhanced Border Security Partnership program, which effectively tells Visa Waiver Program countries to open their biometric databases or risk losing visa-free travel privileges. Washington has set a December 31, 2026, deadline for EBSP agreements to be operational. After that, DHS reviews each country’s compliance. Countries that fail to meet expectations risk suspension from the VWP, which would reimpose visa requirements on their citizens.

When DHS encounters a traveler, asylum seeker, visa applicant, or anyone flagged during immigration processing, it would query a participating country’s database using that person’s biometrics.

A match returns fingerprints and related identity data to DHS.

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Illegal immigrants charged in 75% of this year’s murders in Fairfax County, VA: DHS

The Department of Homeland Security revealed on Friday that of the four defendants in Fairfax County, Virginia currently facing murder trials so far this year, three of them are illegal immigrants.

“Of the four defendants in Fairfax County murder trials this year, THREE are ILLEGAL ALIENS,” the DHS wrote. “Governor Spanberger must end her sanctuary policies that allow these illegal aliens onto our streets and work with DHS to protect the citizens of the commonwealth.”

In one of the most recent cases, Misael Lopez Gomez was arrested on Tuesday and charged second-degree murder and a felony child abuse for allegedly killing his 3-month-old daughter. Preliminary results from the autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

The DHS said that it had issued an arrest detainer. He allegedly admitted to entering the US illegally through the southern border near Albuquerque, New Mexico in July 2023.

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Chinese-Americans Accused Of Terrorism Were Anchor Babies For Illegal Parents

A man and a woman who entered the United States illegally three decades ago were arrested by the Department of Homeland Security after their children brought an explosive device to a military base, The Daily Wire can first report.

Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng illegally entered the United States in the ’90s, were denied asylum, but remained in the country for several decades, The Daily Wire has learned. They had two children as they illegally resided in the country — Ann Mary Zheng and Alen Zheng.

Last week, the Department of Justice charged 27-year-old Ann Zheng with her part in attempting to explode an IED at MacDill Air Force Base Visitor’s Center in Tampa.  She was arrested as she returned to the United States from China, where authorities believe her brother remains.

DHS arrested the duo’s parents on March 18 for illegal entry.

Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng remain in ICE custody. They had applied for asylum in 1993 but their applications were denied by an immigration judge, who ordered their removal from the U.S. in 1998. DHS says that the Board of Immigration Appeals repeatedly denied their attempts to have their case reopened. Despite this, they remained in the United States for decades.

The arrests come as the Supreme Court mulls President Donald Trump’s executive order banning birthright citizenship.

“Automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. is based on a historically inaccurate interpretation of the Citizenship Clause and poses a major national security risk,” argued Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

“That reality became apparent last week when two U.S.-born children of Chinese illegal aliens were indicted for planting a potentially deadly explosive device outside MacDill Air Force Base in Florida,” Bis explained. “This incident underscores the severe national security threat that illegal immigration and birthright citizenship pose to the United States.”

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