‘Terrorists’ at the Border? To Please Donald Trump, Homeland Security Tweaked Reports

[ad_1]

In this daily series, Newsweek explores the steps that led to the January 6 Capitol Riot.

The ongoing change in role and turmoil in the Department of Homeland Security has essentially destroyed the department’s ability to secure homeland. On November 15, for example, Chad Wolf was removed from power. A federal judge in New York City ruled that Wolf was unlawful serving as Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, violating the rules of succession and the Vacancies Reform Act. His orders, therefore, the judge said, especially those related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, are “not an exercise of legal authority,” overriding the Trump administration’s suspension from the program.

This is the latest court decision against Donald Trump’s attempt to undo the Obama-era program that protected approximately 650,000 young immigrants illegally brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. Earlier in June, the Supreme Court dismissed the administration’s attempt to cancel DACA, saying Trump’s reasoning was “arbitrary and capricious.” President-elect Joe Biden has already announced that he plans to restore DACA and reverse the Trump administration’s other immigration actions.

Wolf, a fierce Trump loyalist, rose from chief of staff at TSA to deputy chief of staff, to acting chief of staff before moving to the secretary’s office and becoming Chief of Staff to Kirstjen Nielsen, all in his first year. of Donald Trump’s presidency. He then became the acting Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans and then the Senior Official Performing the duties of the Undersecretary, the political commissar of the department. While working for the new secretary, he did point to both immigration and the border wall.

Thousands of “suspected terrorists” tried to enter the U.S., Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen claimed, inaccurately. Here, he listens as President Donald Trump answers questions about family separation policy on June 20, 2018 in Washington, DC Win McNamee/Getty

Soon, Nielsen stumbled upon his statements about how many terrorists had crossed the southern border, trying to justify the wall. He said 3,755 “known and suspected terrorists” were intercepted, and an average of 10 individuals a day on the terrorist watch list were trying to enter the United States.

“It’s likely that 98 percent of the people who want to go here want hope, opportunity, freedom, liberty and everything we can ignore on our own,” Fox News ’Sean Hannity said in a Nielsen interview. “But it’s a 2 percent that I’m worried about … There are chances that you can confirm that you know the terrorists who tried to cross our southern border and we caught them.”

“Yes, Sean,” Nielsen replied, “and we’ve talked about the thousands — the thousands of terrorist watchlist individuals who traveled our hemisphere last year. To pretend to be safe in an insecure environment. that border, on an open border, is just ridiculous. It belies common sense. “

But the 3,755 number refers to all individuals interested in fiscal year 2017, and not just those on the watchlist. Most of them attempted to travel by air to the U.S., or applied for visas and never traveled anywhere, and most never attempted to enter the southern border. Moreover, the 3,755 number were entangled with more than 3,000 “foreign special interests” —individuals with suspicious travel patterns that could pose a risk to national security — who encountered border patrols at the border.

The Department and the White House have dug on their heels to justify the border wall, though new information indicates that a total of six people on the terrorist watch list actually encountered the southern border in FY2017 . Three crossed. While Brian Murphy, the DHS analyst who supplied the actual numbers, complained about the manipulation of Trump -appointed leadership, Wolf and others discussed how they could oust him. He was soon excluded from meetings and eventually emerged as a whistleblower.

Nielsen resigned. The Senate -confirmed Undersecretary for National Protection will be next in line to become acting secretary, but the department has appointed Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner, Kevin McAleenan, as Acting Secretary.

In June 2019, Wolf, as acting undersecretary, testified before Congress that “our Country is faced with constant threats and a dynamic threat environment.

“As we look at the attacks since 2014, what we see is four-fifths of those are domestic terrorism-related attacks here in the homeland. About one-fifth, or a little under one-fifth we call homegrown violent extremist (HVE).) attack, which focuses more on a foreign ideology. “

Wolf said identifying the culprits of domestic terrorism “and racially motivated extremists,” deciding how to intervene, and how homeland security can “counter the narratives” on social media, are tasks as the department moves forward.

But Wolf and DHS continue to be busy changing offices. And the department’s focus really remained on Donald Trump-satisfying issues of immigrants and the border wall. Within months, McAleenan also left. Wolf will be acting Secretary of Homeland Security. It was only days before the Senate actually confirmed Wolf as Undersecretary, allowing him to be sworn in. His appointment was illegal, as it happened before the Senate confirmed Wolf as Undersecretary. Many experts and former government officials have argued that appointing him in the first place from an unconfirmed Senate position is unconstitutional. And again, under the rules, he is not the highest official of the department, thus making his appointment unlawful.

Wolf’s claim to fame in 2020, before he disappeared from the public scene after the election, was contested by New York State. He revoked the ability of New York residents to participate in Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler programs in response to the state’s “sanctuary” immigration policies. The case went to courts where Trump administration lawyers admitted that DHS made false statements to justify the exception. The department then removed the restrictions on Global Entry.

Congress forced Wolf and the department to focus more on the issues that mattered. But it is not domestic terrorism they are pushing: it is protecting the country against COVID. And even there, to the fury of COVID, Wolf focused on Russia’s disinformation, particularly on dismissing rumors of a national closure, which he blamed on Moscow.

The Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Aug. 6, 2020 in Washington, DC, to answer questions about the use of federal agents in during the protests in Portland, Oregon. Wolf was one of the DHS officials cited in a whistleblower complaint filed with the DHS Office of Inspector General on Tuesday. ALEX WONG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Although the department began to grow into the growing anti-vaxxer movement, it roared in mid-2020, mediated by George Floyd and racial justice protests that erupted across America. Whistleblower Murphy again complained about pressure to focus on Antifa and “anarchist” groups rather than white supremacist groups — including pressure on him to change intelligence reports to align them with what President Trump says. In November, homeland security was unrelated.

[ad_2]