Homeland Security

Feds discover ‘most sophisticated’ cross-border tunnel with extensive ventilation, rail system

Immigration enforcement agents have uncovered a cross-border tunnel that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is saying could be the “most sophisticated” yet. Stretching from San Luis, Ariz. to San Luis, Mexico, the smuggling passageway includes a fully developed ventilation system, electrical wiring and a rail system. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), authorities discovered the tunnel in late July, before it could be completed. Photos show the tunnel measured three feet wide and four feet high. The discovery was made during an ongoing, multi-agency effort by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “This appears to be the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history, and certainly the most sophisticated I’ve seen in my career,” Border Patrol Yuma Sector’s Acting Chief Patrol Agent Carl Landrum said in a statement Thursday. “We will continue to work closely with our partners – Homeland Security Investigations and state and local agencies — to provide the best national security possible.” Earlier this year, authorities announced they had found the longest known border smuggling tunnel, which stretched from Tijuana to San Diego. The tunnel originated near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and measured 4,309 feet long — more than three-quarters of a mile. The next-longest tunnel in the U.S., discovered in San Diego in 2014, was 2,966 feet long. In March, authorities located a tunnel containing a variety of drugs — including about 1,300 pounds of cocaine, 17 pounds of heroin, and two pounds of fentanyl. CBP has warned in the past that drug trafficking from the U.S.-Mexico border region results in the loss of American lives. News of the tunnel came on the same day that CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan held a press conference in which he warned about the scourge of smuggling. “As the U.S. continues to take on the challenges posed by COVID-19, we must secure our borders from illegal aliens who show their complete disregard of even the most basic application of health and safety precautions, which have become our new norm against COVID-19,” said Morgan, showing pictures of container trucks packed with migrants He added that criminal organizations and smugglers provide false promises to migrants and “have no concern for their safety or the safety of American citizens — again in this backdrop of COVID-19.” He explained that the migrants are kept in crowded, unsanitary stash houses for days in the sweltering heat, a situation he described as a “perfect incubator” for the new coronavirus.

Indeed..  And that’s just the latest consequence of illegal immigration..  Kudos to the great people in CBP and Homeland Security who discovered this before it was completed, and shut it down.  Excellent!!       🙂

Supreme Court denies request to halt construction of the border wall

The Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote has denied a request to halt construction of President Trump’s border wall over environmental concerns. A number of groups, including the ACLU and Sierra Club, had asked the high court to get involved again after the justices last year cleared the way for the administration to use military funds for construction while the case played out in the courts. A federal appeals court had ruled against the administration last month, but the justices, for now, have given another temporary victory to the administration. “The fight continues,” said Dror Ladin, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project. “Every lower court to consider the question has ruled President Trump’s border wall illegal, and the Supreme Court’s temporary order does not decide the case. We’ll be back before the Supreme Court soon to put a stop to Trump’s xenophobic border wall once and for all.” The four liberal justices dissented from Friday’s order. In June, the Supreme Court also declined to hear an appeal from a coalition of environmental groups that pushed back against the Trump administration’s construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, challenged a 1996 law giving the president authority to fight illegal immigration and border crossings, and limiting some legal challenges. The coalition claimed that the Trump administration did not conduct sufficient environmental impact studies for the construction and that endangered species like the jaguar and Mexican wolf would be adversely affected by the barrier. They had asserted in their case that the law’s allowance for the secretary of Homeland Security to waive any laws necessary to allow the quick construction of border fencing violates the Constitution’s separation of powers. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had dismissed the case, citing a prior case from 2007 with “a nearly identical context.” “This Court finds that precedent persuasive, and it compels the conclusion that Plaintiffs’ complaint fails to state plausible constitutional claims as a matter of law,” the Circuit Court’s ruling said.

This is great news!!  Kudos to the Supremes for this excellent decision.    🙂

Antifa: The truth behind the mask

As protests for the killing of George Floyd and the unfair treatment of African Americans by the hands of police officers took place across the nation, a lot of attention has turned to Antifa, an anti-fascist group that has remerged. Just last week President Trump called the group a terrorist organization on Twitter saying, “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” During a press conference at the White House, the president went on to say, “Those who threaten innocent life and property will be arrested, detained, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This includes Antifa and others who are leading instigators of this violence.” Attorney General William Barr echoed Trump’s comments on Antifa and said the Department of Justice will treat violence from individuals associated with Antifa as domestic terrorism. “Such senseless acts of anarchy are not exercises of First Amendment rights. They are crimes designed to terrify fellow citizens and intimidate communities. There are groups that exploit the opportunity to engage in such crimes as looting. We have evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity,” Barr said in a press conference. In December of 2019, Fox News spoke to Andy Ngo, a conservative journalist who was assaulted by Antifa multiple times, including on June 29, 2018, when members of the group punched him in the head and pelted him with milkshakes and other objects. “The city has had by this point, years of protests [that] turned into riots and they still have not learned from any of the mistakes of the past,” Ngo told Fox News. “They have not evolved and changed the policing tactics. Over and over its always what is now a mantra for them that they will not go in to intervene because it could incite the mob.” Fox News also spoke to Gabriel Nadales on Oct. 15, 2019. Nadales is a former Anfita member who told us there are a lot of different groups within Antifa itself. “You’ll find a lot of the members may do it for animal rights or for anti-capitalism, pro socialism. Personally, when I was in Antifa, a lot of the activism I did was for animal rights,” said Nadales. “But once they come together in the Black Bloc and behind the black mask, they kind of forget all that. They go for that common goal of silencing whatever their opposition at the moment is and oftentimes, we’ve seen them silence people simply for political disagreements.”

 

23 Deported Sex Offenders Arrested by Border Patrol in May

Border Patrol agents arrested 23 previously deported sex offenders after they illegally crossed the border into the United States. “Transnational criminal networks don’t do background checks on the people they help smuggle into the country,” said Chief Rodney Scott. “Our vigilance makes this country safer, one encounter at a time.” Border Patrol officials report that all migrants apprehended after illegally crossing the border undergo a biometric background investigation that includes checking local, state, and federal law enforcement databases for warrants and previous convictions. In these cases, the illegal aliens had previous convictions for sexual offenses — many against children. Here are some of the examples cited by Border Patrol officials: Border Patrol Apprehends Convicted Sex Offender Near Nogales Human Smuggler, Convicted Sex Offender Arrested by Border Patrol Border Patrol Nabs a Sex Offender and Armed Smugglers Over Memorial Weekend Sex Offender, Human Smuggler Arrested by Border Patrol Utah Sex Offender Arrested By Border Patrol Border Patrol Nabs a Sex Offender and Armed Smugglers Over Memorial Weekend Sex Offender, Human Smuggler Arrested by Border Patrol Convicted Criminals Arrested at the Border in the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Agents Apprehend Two Sex Offenders Over Weekend Two Career Criminals Captured at the Border by RGV Agents Border Patrol Agents Arrest Convicted Child Sex Offender

Thanks to the great men and women of the Border Patrol for all they do every day to keep us safe, and make sure vermin like these criminal aliens (many of them sex offenders) are not roaming our streets.  Great work!!  For more, click on the text above.

Trend of Armed Human Smuggler Arrests Continues in Texas near Border

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents arrested another armed human smuggler in South Texas near the Rio Grande border with Mexico. Del Rio Sector agents patrolling Val Verde Road near the Mexican border with Texas attempted to stop a 2004 GMC Yukon SUV. As the vehicle stopped, about 16 people bailed out of the vehicle and fled on foot toward the Rio Grande, according to information provided by Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials. Joined by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations aircrew, Border Patrol agents arrested the two U.S. citizen human smugglers and one of the Mexican illegal aliens before they could get to the river. Officials said the remainder of the group made it into the river and crossed back into Mexico. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Del Rio Sector Foreign Operations Branch contacted the Mexican government and provided the location of the illegal crossing. Mexican law enforcement responded and rounded up the migrants. Mexican authorities turned them over to civil services in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, for processing. Agents searched the SUV and found a loaded .380 caliber Ruger pistol. They also found drug paraphernalia. A records check on the driver identified him as a 24-year-old U.S. citizen with a criminal record for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The smugglers now face a felony charge under 8 USC 1324, alien smuggling. They could also face a federal charge for being a felon in possession of a firearm. “With effective cooperation between our law enforcement partners, our reach to disrupt their dangerous activities is greatly enhanced.” Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Doyle E. Amidon Jr. said in a written statement. “Collaboration continues to be an invaluable key to our success in capturing these dangerous criminals.” Under coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mexican illegal alien will likely be returned to his home country after clearing a medical screening and criminal background check.

This sorta thing is happening EVERY day in Texas, California, and other states on our border with Mexico.  It is just another reason (we’ve documented so many) why it is absolutely critical that we BUILD THE WALL NOW!!!….and put U.S. Army National Guard troops physically ON the border, until that wall/fence is finally built, above and below ground to prevent tunneling, etc.  Securing our southern border needs to be our federal government’s #1 domestic national security priority.  Period.  The Trump Administration is making big strides.  But, it’s nowhere near enough.

SILENT MAJORITY: Poll Shows American Voters Support Use of Military, National Guard in Riots

A new poll by Morning Consult found that large majorities of American voters, including a majority of Democrat supporters, back use of the National Guard to address the riots and protests tearing apart cities around the nation. A smaller majority of Americans supports using the military. The poll backs up the President’s claim that a “silent majority” is on his side in cracking down on the unrest. 71 percent of polled American voters said they support the use of the National Guard to supplement city police forces in addressing “protests and demonstrations” (the poll did not use the word “riots”) in American cities. Of these, 42 percent of voters said they “strongly support” use of the National Guard and 29 percent said they “somewhat support” it. Only 11 percent “strongly oppose” the measure and 9 percent “somewhat oppose” it. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support the use of the National Guard, but a large majority of Democrats (63 percent) either “strongly” or “somewhat” support it as well. African-American voters are evenly split on the use of the National Guard. 43 percent of polled African-American voters either “strongly oppose” or “somewhat oppose” use of the National Guard, while 42 percent either “strongly support” or “somewhat support” the measure. Hispanic voters support the use of the National Guard. 54 percent of polled Hispanic voters either “strongly” or “somewhat” support the use of the National Guard, compared to 25 percent who “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose. A smaller majority of American voters (58 percent) support the use of the U.S. Military to supplement city police forces. 33 percent said they strongly support the measure and 25 percent somewhat support it, compared to 19 percent who strongly oppose and 11 percent who somewhat oppose. Republicans are again more likely to support use of the military, but once again, a plurality of Democrat voters also support the measure. 48 percent of polled Democrat voters either strongly or somewhat support use of the military, compared to 43 percent or strongly or somewhat oppose it.

To review the poll in detail, click on the text above.  It definitely backs up President Trump’s assertion that a “silent majority” of Americans support either the use of the National Guard and/or active military units to help put an end to the craziness in our big cities.  Our politicians would be wise to read this poll…

White House establishing ‘central command center’ to combat riots as Trump issues warning

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced Monday the White House is establishing a “central command center” to monitor and combat riots following the death of George Floyd after President Trump posted a video on Twitter with the message, “Anarchists, we see you!” Gen. Mark Milley, chief of Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be involved, along with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Attorney General Bill Barr, McEnany said. “There will be additional federal assets deployed across the nation,” McEnany told reporters Monday. “There will be a central command center in conjunction with the state and local governments, that will include Milley, Esper and Barr, to deal with violence and looting.” McEnany, like Trump, called out local officials, accusing them of failing to act to control the crowds. “It is their responsibility to police their streets,” she said. McEnany’s announcement came after Barr directed the Bureau of Prisons to send Special Operation Response Teams to Washington, D.C. and Miami to respond to violent protests and riots. Meanwhile, according to law enforcement officials, as a matter of process, local police make arrests during protests and riots, and then the FBI conducts interviews to review whether any federal crimes have been committed—such as the crossing of state lines to conduct violence, arson and possible domestic terrorism. Trump on Monday morning unloaded on governors, calling their response to violent protests “weak” and urging them to “dominate.” “Most of you are weak,” Trump said. “You have to arrest people. “You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time,” he said, according to a senior staffer in a governor’s office who was listening to the call. “They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.” “You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again,” said Trump. “We’re doing it in Washington, D.C. We’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before.”

Largest contract yet for US-Mexico border wall announced, worth $1.3 billion

A North Dakota construction company has been awarded a massive $1.3 billion contract to build a portion of President Trump’s signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota confirmed that the contract to build the 42-mile section of wall in Arizona was awarded to Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that there was no set date to start or complete construction on the latest contract award. Construction will take place near Nogales and Sasabe, both in Arizona. The Army Corps of Engineers, which awards contracts, said Fisher was one of several companies chosen in May 2019 to partake in building $5 billion worth of border wall. This month’s contract to Fisher was part of that award. When asked if there were any additional bidders for this latest contract, a spokesman said the agency couldn’t provide that information because of “procurement sensitivities.” The Arizona Daily Star first reported news of the contract. Trump has promised to build 450 miles of wall along the border with Mexico by the end of the year. So far, the government has awarded millions of dollars in contracts for the construction of 30-foot-tall barriers, along with new lighting, technology and infrastructure. The Trump administration says it has already built 187 miles of wall. Some of it is new but most is replacing old, much shorter barriers that officials said were not sufficient.

The federal government procurement process is a complicated and convoluted one, to be sure.  But, sounds like they’re making some good progress here.  Hopefully now that the contract(s) has been awarded, they can get to work soon.

14 Miles of New Border Wall Coming to Laredo Sector in Texas

Fourteen miles of new border wall is scheduled to be constructed in the Laredo Sector where no physical infrastructure currently exists. Construction will begin in January 2021, officials reported. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the awarding of a contract to build approximately 14 miles of contiguous new border wall systems in the Laredo Sector along the Rio Grande. Currently, the Laredo Sector is wide open with no physical barriers to stop illegal border crossings. There are approximately 110 river miles of border in the Laredo Sector, Border Patrol officials previously told Breitbart Texas. The contract awarded on Friday calls for the construction of a 30-foot steel bollard wall system, all-weather access roads, lighting, and enforcement surveillance equipment. The border wall system will create a “complete enforcement zone,” CBP officials said in a written statement. Caddell Construction Company, (DE) LLC received the $275 million award to build the new border wall system. Officials sad the funding comes from FY 2020 appropriations approved by Congress. “The Laredo Sector is an area of high illegal activity, with over 21,000 illegal alien apprehensions and over 19,000 pounds of drugs seized this FY to date,” CBP officials stated. “The majority of its activity is occurring in areas where Laredo Sector lacks infrastructure, access and mobility, and technology. These projects will improve Laredo Sector’s ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and the drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations.” In an interview in April, Laredo Sector Chief Patrol Agent Felix Chavez told Breitbart Texas that the sector is unique in that migrants crossing the border here are not looking to be apprehended like most other sectors. He explained the lack of physical infrastructure makes it challenging for agents to maintain operational control of the area and dangerous for migrants crossing the border illegally. “We are inches away from the heat of summer,” Chief Chavez explained. “Crossing the river here is very dangerous as the lake continues to release water creating deadly currents. The desert-like ranches in this sector are dangerous and present a great risk for injury or death to the migrants being smuggled around checkpoints. Then, add the dangers of COVID-19 on top of all of that.” “We have carried out more than 1,400 rescues during this fiscal year (which began October 1, 2019),” he explained. “Illegal border crossings are down, deaths are down, but rescues are up.” So far this fiscal year, Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 24,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border from Mexico. That number is up from more than 22,222 during the same period last year.

Some good progress on this issue.  But, it’s still taking far to long to get contracts approved, and construction to begin.  Securing our southern border needs to be our #1 domestic national security priority.  Period.  This whole Wuhan virus crisis only adds to the urgency of it.

Federal Judges Help Free Nearly 200 Illegal Aliens: Murderers, Rapists, Sex Offenders

Federal judges have helped release nearly 200 illegal aliens into the United States — many convicted of murder, rape, and child sex crimes — in the midst of the Chinese coronavirus crisis. Data released by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency this week reveals that about 192 illegal aliens, thus far, have been ordered freed from detention into the U.S. About 171 of those illegal aliens have either been convicted or accused of crimes against Americans. Los Angeles, California; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have seen the most widespread court-ordered releases of illegal aliens. In Los Angeles, for instance, 52 illegal aliens have been freed into the U.S. About 43 of those illegal aliens have been convicted or accused of crimes such as homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, juvenile sex offenses, and child cruelty. Federal judges in Boston have helped free 44 illegal aliens from ICE custody so far. About 42 of these illegal aliens have been convicted or accused of crimes like rape, assault, drug trafficking, and domestic violence. Likewise, ICE has been forced to release 34 illegal aliens in New York City — 32 of whom have been convicted or accused of sexual assault, rape, assault, cruelty toward a child, drug possession, and drunk driving.

Holy crap!!  Sooo…to be clear, they’re fining, and in some cases jailing, law abiding citizens for not wearing masks or going to the beach in places like California..  BUT, they’re letting criminal aliens out of jail who have committed rape, murder and so on…  Insanity!!   For more, click on the text above..