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DHS Tag

The lower federal courts repeatedly have attempted to strip the executive (meaning THIS executive, because he's Trump) of his constitutional and legislatively-granted powers. We saw it in the Travel Order cases, which resulted ultimately in a Supreme Court rebuke of this judicial overreach.

The House Appropriations Committee has introduced a fiscal year 2019 Homeland Security bill that includes $5 billion for a border wall that spans 200 miles and money to hire more ICE and border patrol agents. This could trigger a showdown with the Senate since that chamber only included $1.6 billion for a wall in its bill. President Donald Trump threatened a shut down of the government if he does not get more.

It looks like you got your wish, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). She told MSNBC that #TheResistance will "harass them [members of the administration] until they decide that they're going to tell the president, 'No, I can't hang with you.'" Professor Jacobson documented the times that members of President Donald Trump's administration has faced harassment just this past week. Now the Department of Homeland Security has issued safety warnings for its staff after someone left a burned animal carcass on one official's front porch.

The totalitarian impulses of #TheResistance have been a focus here ever since the attempt soon after the 2016 election to intimidate Electoral College Electors into not honoring the vote in their states. Since then, whether through Antifa or more normalized liberals, anything goes so long as it seeks to unwind the result of the election. The initial excuse was the Russia-collusion-mania, which we now know as the byproduct of Hillary operatives and intelligence/law enforcement agency Trump haters. There have been a rolling series of fabricated excuses, from Trump planning nuclear war with North Korea to the now omnipresent "border separation" issue.

President Donald Trump's administration has decided to end special protections given to some El Salvador immigrants who came to America in 2001 after devastating earthquakes. Now, before you get all crazy, I'm seeing outlets bury this important detail: the protections will not end until September 2019. This will give those immigrants plenty of time to work on citizenship and stay in America. It will also give Congress time to work on immigration reform.

One of the key reasons President Trump won last November was his stance on illegal immigration.  Between the wall and his promise to provide relief to ICE agents whose hands were tied by the Obama administration, the president won a first: an endorsement for a candidate in a presidential election from the ICE agents' union. ICE, like (too) many executive agencies, has been polluted by Obama appointees and loyalists, so the ICE agents in the field are not getting the support they need to meet the president's illegal immigration goals.  Indeed, ICE managers are reportedly making questionable calls like ordering ICE agents not to wear bullet-proof vests because doing so "might offend" illegal aliens. A contingent of ICE agents frustrated by their management have launched the website JIC Report in the hopes of getting the Commander in Chief's attention and letting him know that they are being hobbled by Obama holdovers who flout the president's illegal immigration agenda at every turn.

President Donald Trump's administration has finally waived the Jones Act, which will allow foreign ships to bring aid to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. The Jones Act has been enforced since its inception in 1920. It states that any goods transported by water into U.S. ports must come in on ships made in the U.S., owned by U.S. citizens, have American crews.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have filed a lawsuit on behalf of eleven people against the federal government to end warrantless searches of electronics at the border by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From The New York Times:
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, claims the plaintiffs’ First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated when United States agents searched, and in some cases confiscated, their devices without a warrant. The government has said those searches happen to fewer than one-hundredth of one percent of international travelers, and that they are authorized by the same laws that allow border agents to look through suitcases without a judge’s approval.

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson testified before the House Intelligence Committee over the Russia probe into possible interference and collusion into our presidential election. Last summer, the Democrats accused the Russians of hacking into their system after a trove of emails appeared on Wikileaks. But Johnson told the committee that the DNC didn't want DHS's help with the investigation.

The Department of Homeland Secretary has issued memos that provide new guidelines for immigration. These include hiring more agents and ending "catch-and-release," but kept Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) intact. Due to security concerns, Secretary Kelly wants to hire 10,000 ICE agents and 5,000 border patrol agents.