DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

The Department of Homeland Security was created 20 years ago in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and hundreds of employees from across the department gathered Wednesday to mark the anniversary.

Top state election and cybersecurity officials are warning about the threat posed by Russia and other foreign adversaries ahead of the 2024 elections.

A federal task force has reunited nearly 700 children who were separated from their families during the Trump administration.

The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers.

The deadline for obtaining the Real ID needed to board a domestic flight has been pushed back again, with the Department of Homeland Security citing the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the slower-than-expected rollout.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the REAL ID full enforcement date to May 7, 2025.

The Supreme Court is wrestling with a politically tinged dispute over a Biden administration policy that would prioritize deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk.

A new Senate report is criticizing the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security for not doing enough to track domestic extremists.

A federal judge has granted the Biden administration a five-week delay to end far-reaching asylum restrictions, writing in upper-case letters that he was doing so “WITH GREAT RELUCTANCE.”.

A Senate investigation has found that U.S. immigration authorities didn’t do enough to adequately vet or monitor a gynecologist in rural Georgia who performed unnecessary medical procedures on detained migrant women without their consent.

A federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to lift Trump-era asylum restrictions that have been a cornerstone of border enforcement since the beginning of COVID-19.

U.S. officials say Russia is working to amplify doubts about the integrity of American elections while China is interested in influencing policy perspectives in favor of Beijing.

Top congressional Democrats have requested sit-down interviews and internal documents from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.

The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack has subpoenaed the Secret Service for text messages agents reportedly deleted around Jan. 6, 2021, as the panel probes Donald Trump’s actions at the time of the deadly siege.

A new cybersecurity panel created by President Joe Biden says a computer vulnerability discovered last year in a ubiquitous piece of software is an “endemic” problem that will pose security risks for potentially a decade or more.

Election officials have a long list of challenges as they prepare for the upcoming midterms.

The Department of Homeland Security says a looming Supreme Court decision on abortion, an increase of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and the midterm elections are potential triggers for extremist violence over the next six months.

The federal government is warning law enforcement agencies around the nation of the increased potential for extremist violence after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion striking down the constitutional right to abortion.

The Department of Homeland Security has paused a new and controversial board’s work on disinformation and has accepted the resignation of its leader.

The Department of Homeland Security has launched a new panel to tackle disinformation.

The Biden administration says U.S. airport security procedures will become more gender-neutral.

A first group of Afghan refugees have arrived at a new temporary housing facility in Northern Virginia as the U.S. works to resettle people who fled the Taliban takeover of their country.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has set off the largest mass migration in Europe in decades, with more than 1.5 million people having crossed from Ukraine into neighboring countries.

Extremist groups in the United States appear to increasingly view attacking the power grid as a means of disrupting the country, according to a government report aimed at law enforcement agencies and utility operators.

A key part of President Joe Biden’s plans to fight major ransomware attacks and digital espionage campaigns has been languishing for more than eight months.

A Biden administration effort to reunite children and parents who were separated under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance border policy has made increasing progress as it nears the end of its first year.

Agents with an investigative unit of the Department of Homeland Security will wear body cameras for the first time as part of a six-month pilot program that will focus on the costs and benefits of using the technology in federal law enforcement.

Security pros say it’s one of the worst computer vulnerabilities they’ve ever seen.

The Associated Press is seeking answers from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter.

Washington state's Republican secretary of state is preparing to move across the country to take a key election security position within the Biden Administration.

The Department of Homeland Security says the U.S. faces a “heightened threat environment” with the approach of the holidays.

U.S. immigration authorities will limit arrests at schools, hospitals and other so-called protected areas under new guidelines issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib has questions for U.S. Customs and Border Protection that she claims are going unanswered.

Two Michigan members of Congress are speaking out regarding the Haitian migrant crisis along the United States’ southern border and what they agree needs to happen.

The Supreme Court says the Biden administration likely violated federal law in trying to end a Trump-era program that forces people to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S. With three liberal justices in dissent, the high court refused Tuesday to block a lower court ruling ordering the administration to reinstate the program informally known as Remain in Mexico.

The Supreme Court says the Biden administration likely violated federal law in trying to end a Trump-era program that forces people to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S. With three liberal justices in dissent, the high court refused Tuesday to block a lower court ruling ordering the administration to reinstate the program informally known as Remain in Mexico.

The Supreme Court is temporarily halting a judge’s order that would have forced the government to reinstate a Trump administration policy forcing thousands to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S. Justice Samuel Alito issued the temporary stay late Friday night.

Federal investigators are on heightened alert as the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches.

The U.S. government is extending a ban on nonessential travel along the borders with Canada and Mexico to slow the spread of COVID-19 despite increasing pressure to lift the restriction.

A federal appellate court has refused to delay implementation of a judge's order reinstating a Trump administration policy forcing thousands to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling late Thursday.

In its new report, the Michigan ACLU accuses the Michigan Branch of Customs and Border Protection of “blatant racial profiling” and making people of Latino or Hispanic descent a “primary suspect.”

The latest terrorism alert bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security warns that the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as well as approaching religious holidays could inspire violent attacks by extremists.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced new requirements for U.S. pipeline operators to bolster cybersecurity following a May ransomware attack that disrupted gas delivery across the East Coast.

The Biden administration is extending a program that allows people from Yemen to stay in the U.S. temporarily because of the turmoil from the civil war there.

The Biden administration says it is moving to increase the pay and union rights for security screeners at the nation’s airports.

The Biden administration will stop using immigration detention facilities in Massachusetts and Georgia that are the subject of abuse allegations.

Americans will have more time to get the Real ID that they will need to board a flight or enter federal facilities.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced an internal review to address the threat of domestic violent extremism within the sprawling agency.

“I have family in St. Clair Shores. I can’t get in my car and cross by myself to go see my family,” St. Louis said. “But I can get on a plane through Toronto with thousands of people on a crowded flight to fly to Detroit. Like, does that make any sense?”

A prominent cybersecurity firm says suspected state-backed Chinese hackers exploited widely used networking devices to spy for months on dozens of high-value government, defense industry and financial sector targets in the U.S. and Europe.

President Joe Biden’s administration announced an increase Tuesday in the number of temporary seasonal workers who will be allowed to work in the U.S. this year as the U.S. economy recovers from the pandemic.

President Joe Biden has selected two former senior National Security Agency officials for key cyber roles in his administration.

Key lawmakers say they’re concerned they’ve been kept in the dark about what suspected Russian hackers stole from the federal government and they pressed Biden administration officials for more details about the scope of what’s known as the SolarWinds hack.

DETROIT – Michigan may play a role in easing overcrowding at border facilities. The Great Lakes State was mentioned in a list of states along the Canadian Border to potentially be used in a little-known immigration program to help decrease over-crowding. According to emails obtained by the Washington Post, officials have requested air support from U.S. Immigration to relocate migrants to states like Michigan, South Dakota or Montana. The DHS program, known as ICE Air, was used during the Trump Administration at the height of immigration in 2019. Rep. Rashida Tlaib visited the U.S. southern border Friday alongside other lawmakers to tour a facility in Texas.

The restrictions at the border took effect March 21, 2020 while allowing trade and other travel deemed essential to continue. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)DETROIT – Travel restrictions across the U.S.-Canada border will remain in place at least through April 21, 2021, officials announced Thursday. The same rules will still apply: Essential travel, including certain workers and transportation of goods, is still allowed to cross the border between the neighboring countries. Nonessential travel is prohibited across the U.S.-Canada border. AdRead more: Canada: US border measures to last until COVID is under controlFor the latest on cross-border programs and services, travelers can call the Canada Border Services Agency’s Border Information Service at 1-800-461-9999.

About half of the money covered comes from two widely used grants: the State Homeland Security Program and the Urban Area Security Initiative. AdThat translates into at least $77 million to address domestic extremism, funds that Mayorkas said can be used to improve intelligence sharing across state lines, training and public awareness. AdConcerns about domestic extremism have been mounting in recent years. DHS listed domestic violent extremism, particularly by white supremacists, as among the top threats facing the nation late last year, and in January for the first time used a national terrorist advisory to warn about domestic extremism. In the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have called for increased focus on domestic extremism.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – Immigration enforcement in the U.S. would be more targeted under President Joe Biden than under his predecessor, with authorities directed to focus on people in the country illegally who pose a threat, according to guidelines released Thursday. Under Biden, ICE would primarily apprehend and remove people who pose a threat to national security, committed crimes designated as “aggravated” felonies or recently crossed the border. The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimated that 87% of noncitizens in the country without authorization would not be priorities for enforcement if Biden used the national security and public safety criteria as was done under Obama. AdThe national security category includes anyone suspected of involvement with terrorism or espionage. The public safety category applies to anyone convicted of a crime that involved their “active” participation in gang activity or convicted of an aggravated felony.

Drivers with a vaccine appointment enter a mega COVID-19 vaccination site set up in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. One of the largest vaccination sites in the country was temporarily shut down Saturday because dozen of protesters blocked the entrance, stalling hundreds of motorists who had been waiting in line for hours, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Los Angeles Fire Department shut the entrance to the vaccination center at Dodger Stadium about 2 p.m. as a precaution, officials told the newspaper. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)WASHINGTON – The U.S. government says it won’t be making routine immigration enforcement arrests at COVID-19 vaccination sites. Vaccination sites will be considered “sensitive locations” and generally off limits for enforcement actions, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Monday.

The state crossed that mark Monday, exactly a year after officials reported the first case of a coronavirus infection in Massachusetts. — Maryland’s acting health secretary says the state’s hospitals have received less than half of their expected allocations of second doses of the coronavirus vaccine for front-line health workers this week. Schrader says state officials were talked with the federal Department of Health and Human Services all weekend trying to figure out what happened. The CDC says Iowa has delivered 190,689 first vaccine doses to individuals, or 6,044 per 100,000 people, the third lowest rate in the nation. Ad___PRAGUE — The Czech Republic is not planning to limit use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for elderly people like some other European Union nations.

LANSING – Hundreds of Michigan National Guard members are being sent to Washington, D.C. after the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that the deadly Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol Building could motivate more domestic terrorists. In a letter House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Michigan’s Congressional Republicans asked for “an immediate intelligence briefing” about why 1,000 troops from the state’s National Guard are being redeployed to protect Washington. Rep. Lisa McClain said she hasn’t been given a briefing by the speaker or congressional leaders about any imminent threats. Three GOP officials from Michigan -- including McClain -- still voted to object to election results after the insurrection that killed six people. National Guard troops are expected to stay in D.C. through March.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. In contrast, the deadly attack by rioters on the U.S. Capitol targeted the very heart of government. It brought together members of disparate groups, creating the opportunity for extremists to establish links with each other. The document singles out crimes motivated by racial or ethnic hatred, such as the 2019 rampage targeting Hispanics in El Paso, Texas, as well as the threat posed by extremists motivated by foreign terror groups. The alert comes at a tense time following the riot at the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump seeking to overturn the presidential election.

A federal judge on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium that is a key immigration priority of President Joe Biden. Tipton said the Biden administration had failed to provide any concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day pause on deportations. (AP Photo/Emilio Espejel, File)HOUSTON – A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium that is a key immigration priority of President Joe Biden. That was a reversal from Trump administration policy that made anyone in the U.S. illegally a priority for deportation. The 100-day moratorium went into effect Friday and applied to almost anyone who entered the U.S. without authorization before November.

President-elect Joe Bidens pick for national intelligence director Avril Haines arrives for a confirmation hearing before the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Washington. Neither Blinken nor Biden's other nominees for national security Cabinet posts encountered substantial opposition Tuesday. “When it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics — ever,” she told the Senate Intelligence Committee. The House majority leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, indicated Tuesday that the full House would consider an Austin waiver bill on Thursday. Like Blinken, Austin said he views China as the leading international issue facing Biden's national security team.

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2021 file photo, The Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge overlooks the newly-completed Moynihan Train Hall in New York. Two major railroad workers unions have asked the Department of Homeland Security to beef up security on Amtrak and other passenger rail lines, including by creating a no-ride list akin to the no-fly list that prevents people identified as risks from boarding planes. – Two major railroad workers unions have asked the Department of Homeland Security to beef up security on Amtrak and other passenger lines, including by creating a no-ride list akin to the no-fly list that prevents people identified as risks from boarding planes. Ferguson, of SMART-TD, acknowledged there would be a cost to creating a no-ride list, but he said it should be minimal considering that officials would simply be sharing the existing no-fly list with railroads. The unions also asked the Federal Railroad Administration to require more security, but that agency declined to intervene Thursday because the Department of Homeland Security has jurisdiction over such matters.

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2020, file photo, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s acting head of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly resigned Monday, leaving the post ahead of schedule as the nation faces a heightened terrorism threat from extremists seeking to reverse the election. The announcement by acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf was perplexing. Peter Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will serve as acting head of the Department of Homeland Security until the Biden administration takes over. Trump appointed Wolf acting secretary in November 2019, following the resignation of Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary who took over following the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

SAN DIEGO – A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s most sweeping set of asylum restrictions less than two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. The court order has limited immediate impact because the government has largely suspended asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border during the coronavirus pandemic, citing public health concerns. He said it was the fifth time a court has ruled against Homeland Security on the same grounds. Any foreigner who steps on U.S. soil has a legal right to apply for asylum, according to U.S. asylum law and international treaty obligations. Donato took issue with how people came to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. government on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, said a devastating hack of federal agencies is likely Russian in origin and said the operation appeared to be an intelligence gathering effort. The Justice Department said that on Dec. 24 it detected "previously unknown malicious activity" linked to the broader intrusions of federal agencies revealed earlier that month, according to a statement from spokesman Marc Raimondi. Separately, the court office said on its website that “an apparent compromise” of the U.S. judiciary's case management and electronic case file system was under investigation. The actual reach is probably significant,” said a federal court official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information. Rid wondered how sure the Justice Department could be about the extent of its compromise.

The intrusion was stark evidence of the vulnerability of even supposedly secure government networks, even after well-known previous attacks. U.S. authorities acknowledged that federal agencies were affected by the breach on Sunday, providing few details. The national cybersecurity agencies of Britain and Ireland issued similar alerts. SolarWinds is used by hundreds of thousands of organizations around the world, including most Fortune 500 companies and multiple U.S. federal agencies. “It’s obviously incredibly significant and widespread,” said Chris Painter, who coordinated cyber-policy at the State Department during the Obama administration.

The threat apparently came from the same cyberespionage campaign that has afflicted FireEye, foreign governments and major corporations, and the FBI was investigating. FireEye’s customers include federal, state and local governments and top global corporations. Cybersecurity experts said last week that they considered Russian state hackers to be the main suspect in the FireEye hack. Federal government agencies have long been attractive targets for foreign hackers. “I suspect that there’s a number of other (federal) agencies we’re going to hear from this week that have also been hit,” Williams added.

SAN DIEGO – The Trump administration said Monday that it fully restored the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shields hundreds of thousands of young people from deportation, complying with a federal judge’s order. The announcement is still a major victory for young people who have been unable to apply since Trump ended DACA in September 2017. DACA shields about 650,000 people from deportation and makes them eligible for work permits. It allows certain immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children to work and be exempt from deportation, though it does not confer legal status on recipients. "I don't want people caught in the crossfire.”___Associated Press writer Anita Snow in Phoenix contributed to this report.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said the government had to post a public notice within three days — including on its website and the websites of all other relevant government agencies — that new DACA applications were being accepted. Garaufis also ordered the government to put together a status report on the DACA program by Jan. 4. “Every time the outgoing administration tried to use young immigrants as political scapegoats, they defiled the values of our nation. The Trump administration had announced the end of the program in 2017, leading to the legal challenges that wound up in front of the Supreme Court. For the second time, a court has ordered the administration to resume processing DACA applications.

Biden on Monday announced the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas, who served under President Barack Obama as deputy secretary of homeland security and director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services. And he helped negotiate the first homeland security memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Cuba, where he was born. If confirmed by the Senate, Mayorkas, who turns 61 on Tuesday, would be the first Hispanic and the first immigrant to lead DHS. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and received his law degree from Loyola Law School. Bersin said Mayorkas is a “centrist” who will seek to balance humanitarian concerns with the need for border security.

While abrupt, the dismissal Tuesday of Christopher Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was not a surprise. Hours before being dismissed, Krebs tweeted out a report citing 59 election security experts saying there is no credible evidence of computer fraud in the 2020 election outcome. Biden campaign spokesman Michael Gwin noted that bipartisan election officials have dismissed Trump’s claims of widespread fraud. Some state election officials and Republicans, suspicious of federal intrusion on their turf, were opposed to the designation. But the Trump administration supported the designation, and, eventually, skeptical state officials welcomed the assistance.

While abrupt, the dismissal of Christopher Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was not a surprise. Hours before being dismissed, Krebs tweeted out a report citing 59 election security experts saying there is no credible evidence of computer fraud in the 2020 election outcome. Biden campaign spokesman Michael Gwin noted that bipartisan election officials have dismissed Trump’s claims of widespread fraud. Some state election officials and Republicans, suspicious of federal intrusion on their turf, were opposed to the designation. But the Trump administration supported the designation, and, eventually, skeptical state officials welcomed the assistance.

“DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated,” U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis wrote. About 650,000 people are part of DACA, which allows young immigrants who were brought to the country as children to legally work and shields them from deportation. In Garaufis' ruling Saturday, the judge wrote that DHS didn't follow an order of succession established when then-Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019. Kevin McAleenan, who succeeded Nielsen until he resigned in October 2019, also didn't have statutory authority to hold the position, Garaufis wrote. President-elect Joe Biden plans to reinstate DACA and is expected to use executive orders to reverse some of Trump's other immigration actions.

Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised. In Michigan, Trump and his team have filed a lawsuit in an effort to halt the state’s certification of its election results. The Trump campaign is suing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson along with the Wayne County and the Michigan Board of Canvassers, which are in charge of reviewing elections. More: Hundreds provide testimonies -- but no real evidence -- in Trump campaign lawsuit to stop certification of Michigan election results

NEW YORK – A group of Democratic lawmakers called on the Trump administration Monday to stop the expulsion of unaccompanied children and other asylum seekers at the U.S. border using emergency powers granted during the coronavirus pandemic. “Clearly, expulsions lack a public health rationale, and the U.S. government is fully capable of receiving and placing unaccompanied children and asylum seekers while also protecting public health,” said the letter, signed by 58 lawmakers. The CDC’s order covers the U.S. borders with both Mexico and Canada, but has mostly affected the thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants arriving at the southern border. Public health experts had urged the administration to focus on a national mask mandate, enforce social distancing and increase the number of contact tracers to track down people exposed to the virus. In their letter, the lawmakers say the order endangers children, including by exposing them to risks such as human trafficking.

Documents in the report suggest Health and Human Services officials weren't told by the Department of Homeland Security why shelters were receiving more children taken from their parents in late 2017. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released the report Thursday with emails obtained from government agencies. The report outlines discussions since the start of the Trump administration of family separation as a law enforcement tactic. Documents in the new report suggest CBP did not communicate with HHS about why shelters were receiving more separated children. The email notes “the increase in referrals” of children unaccompanied by a parent “resulting from separation of children from parents.” White sent McAleenan a chart of all the children HHS had received.

This March 27, 2018, provided by the Department of Homeland Security, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and then-Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor, right, meet with Honduran President Juan Hernandez, not pictured, and security ministers from the Northern Triangle countries in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Taylor, a former Trump administration official who penned a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name Anonymous made his identify public Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. (Tim Godbee/Department of Homeland Security via AP)

Taylor, a former Trump administration official who penned a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name Anonymous made his identify public Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. (Tim Godbee/Department of Homeland Security via AP)WASHINGTON – A former Trump administration official who penned a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name “Anonymous” revealed himself Wednesday as a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security. He left the Trump administration in June 2019 and endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president this summer. Trump and White House officials moved quickly to describe Taylor as someone with little standing and clout. He said he considered resigning from the Trump administration a year before he did and wishes now that he had.

The federal lawsuit alleges the U.S. government violated federal environmental law by deploying “an unprecedented amount of dangerous chemical weapons” without assessing their environmental impacts beforehand, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality noted that “the repeated deployment of tear gas in downtown Portland has led to elevated levels of certain contaminants” in stormwater drains. But state officials said air-quality monitors aren’t located nearby and don’t measure tear gas exposure. Medical experts say there are few studies on health effects of tear gas. A European Union agency says it “is very toxic to aquatic life.”Figuring out precisely what tear gas components are in the environment is also a challenge.

And it added to charges from Trump critics that DHS and other agencies have become overtly politicized under this president. “Now, he’s trying to use the department to benefit himself electorally.”Few issues are as important to Trump's political base as immigration. But attention to the issue has ebbed in the 2020 race, as Trump has focused more on unrest in Democratic cities, leftist activists and other matters. Then Wolf followed up with the news conference to announce the enforcement operation — a fairly routine operation that resulted in a fairly low number of arrests. Trump has said Biden wants to abolish ICE and end deportations, but that's not correct.

The issues identified in the public service announcements run the gamut from the spread of online disinformation about the electoral process to cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure. That's precisely what the FBI and CISA are warning may take place to trick Americans during the election. Besides spreading false information, officials say, such spoofed websites and email accounts can gather personally identifiable information and spread malicious software. The U.S. agencies say they have no information that any attack targeting election infrastructure has compromised the integrity of election results or the accuracy of voter registration information, prevented a registered voter from casting a ballot, or prevented an election from occurring. In 2016, Russia searched for vulnerabilities in state elections systems across the U.S. and also breached the Illinois voter registration system.

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to sharply limit visas issued to skilled workers from overseas, a move officials said was a priority amid job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump in June issued an order temporarily suspending the H-1B program until the end of the year. workers are being ousted from good paying, middle-class jobs and replaced with non-U.S. workers,” Pizzella said. There would also be increased workplace inspections and additional oversight of the H-1B program, Cuccinelli said. The U.S. can issue up to 85,000 H-1B visas per year in technology, life sciences, health care and other sectors.

WASHINGTON – House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Tuesday he will subpoena the Department of Homeland Security after a department whistleblower wasn’t allowed access to documents and clearance he needs to testify. Brian Murphy said in a whistleblower complaint earlier this month that he was pressured by more senior officials to suppress facts in intelligence reports about Russian election interference and other matters. Schiff said he will issue two subpoenas to the department for documents and testimony after “unnecessary delay and obstruction” over materials that would allow Murphy to testify to the panel behind closed doors. Schiff, D-Calif., said the committee would compel the document production by Oct. 6. A former FBI agent and Marine Corps veteran, Murphy also alleged that senior DHS officials pressed him to alter reports so they would reflect administration policy goals.

WHAT STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO PROTECT THE NATION'S ELECTION SYSTEMS FROM POTENTIAL INTERFERENCE BY FOREIGN POWERS LIKE RUSSIA? HAVE VOTING SYSTEMS BEEN “HARDENED” IN ANY WAY? After the 2016 interference, state election officials complained that they were not alerted until nearly a year later that Russians had conducted extensive scanning of election systems, specifically targeting voter registration systems. State election officials have been working to build redundancies into their systems so they can recover quickly in the event of an attack. Layers of security, including firewalls, threat-detection sensors and multi-factor authentication protocols, have been added to protect voter registration systems.

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says the committee is scheduled to depose a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower on Friday, pushing the closed-door testimony back four days due to a dispute with the Trump administration over his appearance. Brian Murphy said in a whistleblower complaint this month that he was pressured by more senior officials to suppress facts in intelligence reports about Russian interference and other matters. In a statement Sunday, Schiff said that the department has refused to authorize security clearances for Murphy's lawyers and also is blocking Murphy from reviewing “relevant classified documents” before the deposition. Schiff, D-Calif., said the committee is prepared to “use all the tools available to us to secure relevant testimony,” including a subpoena. said that his team has repeatedly requested the access from the department and is still waiting for a response.

WASHINGTON – A whistleblower's complaint and a tight timeline are making it increasingly unlikely that the Senate will confirm Chad Wolf as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the election. President Donald Trump formally sent the nomination late Thursday to the Senate after announcing his intention to appoint Wolf in a tweet last month. But the full Senate is unlikely to hold a confirmation vote before the election, said two Republican aides granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Trump appointed Wolf acting secretary in November 2019, following the resignation of Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary who took over following the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. “Their toxic and unethical actions are wholly incompatible with the non-partisan mission of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said.

Brian Murphy says in a whistle-blower complaint filed with the agency's inspector general that he was demoted for refusing to alter his intelligence reports in an illegal and improper" manner. The former FBI agent and Marine Corps veteran had served as principal deputy under secretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. In August, he was demoted to assistant to the deputy under secretary for DHS Management. A copy of the complaint was released Wednesday by Rep. Adam Schiff of the House Intelligence Committee. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON The Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to expand the collection of personal biometric information by the agency in charge of immigration enforcement, raising concerns about civil liberties and data protection. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a component of DHS, already collects biometric data, including iris scans, from people captured trying to enter the country without legal authority. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is also a component of DHS, to collect biometric data from non-citizens legally working and living in the U.S. or seeking to do so. It would also require U.S. citizens sponsoring relatives to come to the country to provide biometric data, including in some cases their DNA, if it was needed to verify someone's identity. The more data you collect and the more sensitive it is the more that opens up the government to potential data breaches," Hussain said.

His lawyers have 14 days to challenge the deportation order. Mancuso's removal to Italy, where he also has citizenship, was ordered by the Department of Homeland Security in April after he completed in March a 12-year sentence for cocaine trafficking. Just a week ago, Justine Department attorneys reaffirmed before a Washington, D.C. federal court the Trump administration's pledge to remove Mancuso to Italy no later than Sept. 4. Mancuso can still prevent his removal to Colombia if granted asylum in the U.S. like his ex-wife and youngest child. His lawyers contend that others still in power have not hidden their desire to find a Colombian court to order Mancusos arrest in an effort to silence him.

Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to examine Department of Homeland Security personnel deployments to recent protests on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Washington. (Toni Sandys/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will nominate acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to the top spot in the agency. I am pleased to inform the American Public that Acting Secretary Chad Wolf will be nominated to be the Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump tweeted. Wolf was named acting secretary in November 2019 after Trump removed his predecessor, acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan after six months in the post leading an agency that has the third largest budget in the federal government. The nomination comes amid uncertainty over whether Wolf, as well as acting deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, has been legally entitled to hold the top job at DHS.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to examine Department of Homeland Security personnel deployments to recent protests on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Washington. (Toni Sandys/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

(AP Photo/Noah Berger)The Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly Saturday night when people gathered outside a police precinct in Oregon's largest city and threw bottles toward officers, police said. Speakers included activists as well as Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. For the first time since the presence of federal agents in Portland diminished law enforcement and protesters noticeably clashed Saturday night. Just before 10 p.m., Portland police declared an unlawful assembly and told people to disperse or they may be subject to use of force or be arrested. In early July, President Donald Trump sent more federal agents to the city to protect the federal courthouse, but local officials said their presence made things worse.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)WASHINGTON They are the most highly trained members of the Border Patrol, agents who confront drug traffickers along the U.S.-Mexico border and track down dangerous fugitives in rugged terrain. It's not just the Border Patrol Tactical Unit that has been called to duty in Portland. DHS has dispatched Air Marshals as well as the Customs and Border Protection Special Response Team and even members of the Coast Guard. The deployment of DHS agents and officers is legal, both under existing law and an executive order President Donald Trump signed June 26 to protect federal property and monuments. Former DHS officials concede the agency has worked with state and local law enforcement before, with the consent and cooperation of local authorities.

DETROIT U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy federal agents to cities across the country, including Detroit, amid ongoing national protests. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said sending Department of Homeland Security agents in, as the government has done in Portland, Oregon, is not needed here. Since the weekend, Detroit has had multiple shootings, including three people killed at a Coney Island and a man who opened fire at a gas station on Tuesday. Duggan said hes been given no indication from the federal government that Homeland Security personnel are heading to Detroit. What would be a help, according to the mayor, are federal prosecutors to assist in prosecuting gun crimes and more ATF agents to help Detroit police tackle illegal guns.

And President Donald Trump says federal agents could be deployed elsewhere as he makes law and order a central element in his struggling re-election campaign. A relatively small number of activists have vandalized downtown buildings, including the federal courthouse, and attacked police and federal agents. Federal officers and protesters clashed in the streets outside the federal courthouse. These and other legal actions could force the federal agents to change tactics or perhaps downsize their mission in the city. Trump, who sees the use of federal officers as a way to embarrass Democratic local officials, wants them used in other cities.

Officials say they haven’t been contacted about any plans to sends DHS officers to DetroitPublished: July 21, 2020, 6:38 pmPresident Donald Trump said he’s sending 150 agents from the Department of Homeland Security to Chicago because of the spike in violence in that city.

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019, file photo government contractors erect a section of Pentagon-funded border wall along the Colorado River, in Yuma, Ariz. The federal Bureau of Land Management said on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, it's transferred over 65 acres of public land in Arizona and New Mexico to the Army for construction of border wall infrastructure. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)PHOENIX The federal Bureau of Land Management said on Tuesday that it has transferred over 65 acres of public land in Arizona and New Mexico to the Army for construction of border wall infrastructure. The agency says its now handing over 53 acres in Yuma County, Arizona, that is needed to install power and other utilities around the border wall there. This marks the second time in the past year that the agency has transferred public land to the military for border wall-related construction.

WASHINGTON The Trump administration has deployed agents with tactical gear to confront protesters in downtown Portland, Oregon. And President Donald Trump says federal agents could be deployed elsewhere as he makes law and order a central element in his struggling re-election campaign. Federal officers and protesters clashed in the streets outside the federal courthouse. These and other legal actions could force the federal agents to change tactics or perhaps downsize their mission in the city. Trump, who sees the use of federal officers as a way to embarrass Democratic local officials, wants them used in other cities.