National Security

The Government Accountability Office released a new report that shows DHS officials have “limited capabilities” when it comes to detecting fraudulent asylum applications.

The number of illegal alien minors coming across the border is steadily increasing hitting a record high for the month of October according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Around 5,000 unaccompanied minors were caught at the US-Mexico in October, double the number from October 2014 during the border surge.

The House passed H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, which would stop Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the country unless certified by the heads of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence. Republicans unanimously voted for the bill and were joined by 47 Democrats, giving them a veto-proof majority of 289 "yes" votes.

According to statistics released by the U.S. Border Patrol yesterday, nearly 10,000 unaccompanied minors and families were arrested last month along the U.S.-Mexico border, a 52 percent jump from last year.

After a consultation with Secretary of State John Kerry concerning refugee plans for fiscal year 2016, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, warned the Obama Administration may seek to bring in tens of thousands of additional refugees beyond its initial proposal of 5,000. He also demanded that Obama prove to the American people that it will protect national security interests before accepting Syrian refugees who could be tied to terrorist groups like ISIS.

After a four-day sweep in Southern California 244 criminal aliens (both legal and illegal) were taken into custody by ICE.

Five days after being released from jail on a weapons charge illegal alien, Victor Aureliano Martinez, with illegal alien Jose Fernando Villagomez assaulted and killed Marilyn Pharis, a civilian Air Force contractor. Local law enforcement blames conflicting state and federal laws regarding immigration detainer requests as the reason why Martinez, who has been arrested multiple times, was allowed to remain in the US illegally.

The House passed legislation that would block certain federal funds to jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE agents, and would authorize the Department of Justice to block policing grants to localities that similarly adopt sanctuary policies. The legislation is weaker than that the House passed earlier this year and does not address the Obama Administration’s sanctuary policies, such as the mass release criminal aliens.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., introduced the Immigration Slush Fund Elimination Act, which would ban DHS from using the fees collected for legal immigration benefits to fund President Obama’s executive amnesties. In a press release, Sen. Cruz said, “The federal government should not be in the business of looting the wallets of those who followed the law and came here legally to fund the President’s illegal and unconstitutional amnesty. This bill will cut off DHS’s credit card.”

Under pressure from illegal-alien advocacy groups, the Obama Administration has released some aliens from detention and placed them in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. But according to Breitbart News, a report by the Homeland Security Department’s Inspector General says the agency no longer monitors some of the released aliens and over 2,000 were arrested for committing crimes after their release.

Kenneth Palinkas, President of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, issued a press release today stating that the lack of scrutiny given to applicants for entry to the U.S. invites “an even more catastrophic event then what occurred on 09/11/2001,” and increases the likelihood that such an attack could be orchestrated by terrorists already on U.S. soil.

At a press conference yesterday House and Senate Republicans called on Senate Democrats to end their filibuster of the spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Although Senate Democrats want to fund DHS through the end of the fiscal year, as the bill would do, they are blocking debate on the bill to protect the president’s executive amnesties. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said “I believe we’ll prevail. I believe that the American people are not going to allow their Congress to say one thing during campaign season and do another in Congress.”

The Senate Democratic Caucus wrote Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to ask for a vote on a Homeland Security funding bill free of the measures to defund President Obama’s executive amnesties. Sen. McConnell now plans to bring up the House-passed legislation for a vote next week.

ABC News reports that the Department of Homeland Security lost track of, and is now pursuing, over 6,000 foreign students who are deemed to be of “heightened concern.” DHS told ABC that about 58,000 foreign students had overstayed their visa but the vast majority are not being sought.

Reports from the southern border indicate that some of the newly-arrived illegal border crossers are carrying infectious diseases and a few border patrol agents have already contracted the diseases. Physician and Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) has sent a letter to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention asking for more details on the activation of their Emergency Operations Center in response to the border crisis and what steps are being taken to safeguard Americans.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved two immigration enforcement amendments offered by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act. The bill includes funding for the Justice Department, and Rep. King's amendments addressed the recent report of more than 36,000 criminal illegal aliens being released from custody and sanctuary cities.

The Obama administration has issued new exemptions to federal immigration law for asylum and refugee seekers that could allow individuals with ties to terrorists into the United States. The exemptions were published to the federal register on Wednesday and would narrow the ban on refugees and asylum seekers who had provided limited material support to terrorists.

Rep. Paul Gosar, who represents a district in Arizona much impacted by illegal immigration, has challenged Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to tour the border after he called immigration reform "one of the biggest civil rights issues of our time" and called for immigration reform that included more foreign workers.

Kenneth Palinkas , the president of the USCIS union, warned Congress not to pursue amnesty or legal immigration increases before correcting widespread problems at the agency. He said that tasking USCIS to review tens of millions of immigration-benefit applications before correcting political corruption within the agency invites disaster.

The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) issued a press release yesterday urging Republican House leadership to forgo plans to provide amnesty for the 11 million illegal aliens in the United States. The organization instead, calls for the House to focus on enforcing the nation's laws. 

"The NAFBPO urges the American public to directly request Congressmen John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan to abandon their dreams of amnesty, by whatever name, and get on a realistic track to ensure national security and public safety. That track leads to effective interior enforcement in every jurisdiction in all fifty states. Only then can actual border security and control become possible," the group wrote in the release.

Student visa holder Quazi Nafis was arrested last week for trying to blow up the Federal Reserve building in New York City with what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb. Nafis is not the first to use easily-acquired student visas to gain legal entry to, and plot attacks against, the United States.

Border Patrol Agents traveling on horseback near the U.S.-Mexico border were attacked by unknown assailants early today. One Agent was shot to death and another wounded with non-life-threatening injuries. A third escaped injury. The agents were investigating the triggering of a border sensor near Naco, Arizona. It is not known whether they returned fire.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives will consider the Conservation and Economic Growth Act, H.R.2578 - a compilation bill that includes Rep. Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act in its entirety. Rep. Bishop's measure would allow Border Patrol to obtain operational control on federally protected lands, specifically in Southern Arizona along the U.S.-Mexico border.