Category Archives: Gangs and Crimes

Refugees with Active TB Arrived

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Eleven Refugees With Active TB Arrived in Florida After 2013

Eleven refugees with active tuberculosis (TB) were among more than 111,000 refugees who arrived in Florida during the three years between 2013 and 2015, according to a report the Florida Department of Health recently sent to Breitbart News.

Their active TB status was determined in medical screenings completed within 90 days of their arrival in the Sunshine State.

This news comes barely a week after Breitbart News reported that four refugees with active TB were sent to Indiana in 2015.

The Florida Department of Health provided a breakdown, by year of arrival, of the eleven refugees who arrived in Florida with active TB:

Number of refugees who completed domestic medical screening who were diagnosed with active TB at the time of that screening.

Year        Number Diagnosed with Active TB
2013                               5
2014                               5
2015                               1

Total                             11

Breitbart: The vast majority of these refugees who arrived in Florida between 2013 and 2015–104,000 of the 111,000– came from Cuba  under the “wet-foot, dry-foot policy,” the 1995 “amendment to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act. . . [that] gives migrants from Cuba special treatment that no other group of refugees or immigrants receives… [and] puts Cubans who reach U.S. soil on a fast track to permanent residency,” as Dan Moffett reports.

Only a small percentage of these 104,000 Cuban refugees–an estimated total of 3,000–entered as “traditional arrival” refugees, the program through which approximately 70,000 refugees per year enter the United States from over 100 different countries.

The remaining 111,000 Cuban refugees were classified as part of the additional 70,000 migrants who enter the United States annually and are designated as “other served populations” eligible to participate in refugee programs administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Many in this group are classified by the federal government as “non-traditional arrivals,” a designation that includes “irregular maritime arrivals. . . and border crossers.”

In 2015, for instance, of the 140,093 total migrants who were eligible to be served by the refugee programs administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement 69,933 were refugees, while 70,160 were “other served populations.”

Another small percentage of the 111,000 refugees who entered Florida between 2013 and 2015–a total of 7,000–entered through the “traditional arrival” refugee resettlement program administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement from countries other than Cuba.

While all 10,000 refugees (3,000 from Cuba, 7,000 from other countries) who arrived in Florida between 2013 and 2015 through the “traditional arrival” refugee resettlement program were medically screened overseas prior to being approved to come to the U.S., the 101,000 Cubans who came to Florida under the category “others served by the refugee resettlement program” over the same period were not medically screened prior to their arrival in the U.S.

Most startling of all the information included in the Florida Department of Health data is that only two of the eleven refugees (18 percent) who arrived in Florida with active TB were included in the B1, B2, B3 refugee tuberculosis medical risk notifications sent to the Florida Department of Health by the CDC through the National Electronic Disease Notification System.

Total number of refugees who arrived with a B1, B2, or B3 tuberculosis notification who were diagnosed with active TB at the time of that screening, expressed as an absolute number and also as a percentage of notification of refugees screened.

Year         Number Diagnosed with Active TB          Percentage of Refugee Notifications
2013                                 1                                                              3.7%
2014                                 1                                                              2.4%
2015*                               0                                                               0%
* Preliminary data

The other nine refugees who arrived in Florida with active TB (82 percent) were most likely Cuban migrants in the category “others served by the refugee resettlement program” who were not medically screened overseas prior to their arrival in the U.S. It possible, however, that some of the non-Cubans who were given a clean bill of health by the CDC’s overseas medical screening program were in this latter  group.

When the CDC provides the Florida Department of Health with advance notifications for each “traditional arrival” refugee bound for Florida when they arrive at a U.S. port of entry, it also provides B1, B2, and B3 tuberculosis medical risk notifications for those “traditional arrival ” refugees carrying those classifications. The Florida Department of Health provided Breitbart News with the number of refugees who arrived with  B1,B2, and B3 medical risk notifications between 2013 and 2015:

Number of B1, B2, and B3 tuberculosis notifications sent to the Florida Department of Health by the CDC.

Arrival         Number of Refugees
2013                             61
2014                             80
2015                             92

Source: Electronic Disease Notification system (EDN)

Refugees who entered Florida with these medical risk notifications were from among the 10,000 “traditional arrival” refugees between 2013 and 2015, 3,000 from Cuba, and 7,000 from other countries. None of the 111,000 Cubans who entered Florida between 2013 and 2015 from the “others served by the refugee resettlement program” category were subject to these medical notifications, since none had been medically screened overseas.

Though the CDC has gone to great lengths to assure Americans that refugees do not present a tuberculosis health risk to them, the actual data from Florida and Indiana belie that claim.

As Breitbart News reported previously:

Refugees who are diagnosed in overseas medical screenings as having “active infectious tuberculosis” are classified as Class A medical risks, and are not allowed to migrate to the United States without a special waiver.

Refugees who are diagnosed as having something the CDC calls, in a classic bureaucratic oxymoron, “active tuberculosis – non-infectious,” are classified as Class B1 medical risks and are allowed to migrate to the United States.

According to the most recent 2007 standards provided by the CDC to the approximately 700 medical doctors who have been authorized by U.S. embassies or consulates overseas to be part of the U.S. Control Panels that perform overseas medical screenings of U.S. bound refugees, any refugee who (1) has a chest radiograph that suggests the presence of TB and has either (1) sputum smears that test positive or (2) sputum cultures that test positive, is categorized as a Class A medical risk.

Class B2 tuberculosis medical risks are refugees who complete the overseas medical screening and require “[l]atent tuberculosis infection evaluation .”

Class B3 tuberculsosis medical risks are refugees who complete the overseas medical screening and require “contact evaluation.”

The Florida Health Refugee Health Program Report for 2010 to 2012 explains why refugees from Cuba and Haiti are treated differently than those from other countries:

Most refugee arrivals in Florida enter through the Miami port of entry and resettle in Miami-Dade County. However, Florida is experiencing an increase in refugees arriving through the Chicago and New York City ports of entry.

The RHP (Florida Refugee Health Program) is notified in advance of traditional port of entry (i.e.,international airports and seaports) refugee arrivals by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Electronic Disease Notification (EDN) System.

The RHP does not receive prior arrival notifications for non-traditional refugee arrivals such as primary asylees, irregular maritime arrivals, and border crossers who are eligible for refugee services.

Irregular maritime arrivals and border crosser populations refer to Cuban/Haitian entrants who may have arrived via water or land (U.S./Mexico or U.S./Canada border) and have received an immigration status that deems them eligible for refugee benefits.

The vast majority of Texas arrivals consisted of border-crossers.

Arrivals through non-traditional ports of entry increased dramatically between 2010 and 2012.

There were 338 (1.4%) non-traditional arrivals in 2010, 2,298 (8.8%) in 2011, and 8,229 (26.9%) in 2012. Non-traditional arrivals include both border-crossers and irregular maritime arrivals.

Border-crossers are Cuban/Haitian entrants who may have arrived via water or land (U.S./Mexico or U.S./Canada) and have received an immigration status that deems them eligible for refugee benefits, such as public interest parole…

Closely related to the trends in ports of entry for refugee arrivals are the trends in the immigration status of refugee arrivals. Although the term refugee is used throughout this report to encompass all eligible populations, there are 11 different immigration statuses represented in Florida’s arrivals.

Since 2010, parolees ( …individuals granted entry into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons or for emergent or compelling reasons of significant public benefit) have been the largest immigration status represented in the eligible arrival population in Florida, followed by refugees and asylees.

Many  Cuban refugees (the majority of whom are technically “parolees”) enter the United States by land, with Texas being the leading port of entry.  These individuals, along with Cuban refugees who are classified as “non-traditional maritime” arrivals are not medically screened prior to their arrival here.

As Pew Research reported:

Thousands of Cubans have migrated to the U.S. by land. Many fly to Ecuador because of the country’s liberal immigration policies, then travel north through Central America and Mexico. The majority of Cubans who entered the country arrived through the U.S. Border Patrol’s Laredo Sector in Texas, which borders Mexico. In fiscal 2015, two-thirds (28,371) of all Cubans came through this sector, an 82% increase from the previous fiscal year.

However, a larger percentage increase occurred in the Miami sector, which operates in several states, but primarily in Florida. The number of Cubans who entered in the Miami sector during fiscal 2015 more than doubled from the previous year, from 4,709 .

Over 80 percent of the more than 56,000 Cuban refugees and migrants who arrived in the United States in FY 2015 were resettled in Florida. Ten percent were resettled in Texas, while the remainder were resettled in other states.

In Florida, Cuban refugees and migrants account for well over 90 percent of all resettled refugees, as this breakdown of refugees arriving in the Sunshine State between 2013 and 2015, as provided to Breitbart News by the Florida Department of Health, shows:

FY 2013-2015 Arrivals,  By Country of Origin
Country                   2013              2014              2015              Total
Cuba                      29,506         31,443            43,681           104,630
Burma                         383              408                 467                1,258
Iraq                              481              577                  302               1,360
Haiti                             486             538                  189                1,213

Total                       31,906      33,978              45,907             111 ,791

NOTE: some of this data is still preliminary in nature.

Residents of the Sunshine State can take some comfort, however, in the fact that Florida has consistently had a very high rate–well over 90 percent–of arriving refugees who successfully complete their medical screenings within 90 days:

Total Arrivals, FY 2013 to FY 2015

Year                    Number of Arrivals Number Screened Percentage Screened
FY 13                            31,906                      29,838                   93.52%
FY 14                            33,978                      33,217                   97.76%
FY 15                           45,907                      44,672                    97.31%

This is just part of the TB refugee health data provided by the Florida Department of Health to Breitbart News, important information that is not made available to the public in many other states, particularly those like Tennessee where refugee resettlement operations are controlled by VOLAGs (voluntary agencies) selected by the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the statutorily questionable Wilson Fish alternative program.

The special treatment of Cuban refugees, however, may be coming to an end, a result of concerns over financial scandals reported in the resettlement program in Florida, as well as the re-establishment of formal relations with Cuba by the Obama administration in 2015.

Critics question why Cubans should not enter through the traditional refugee resettlement program like the 70,000 refugees resettled by ORR each year. Should that take place, Cuban refugees would then be subject to overseas medical screenings.

Since two of the eleven refugees who arrived in Florida with active TB between 2013 and 2015 went through that screening and were classified B1, B2, B3 tuberculosis medical risks cleared for entry into the U.S., it is not clear if adding overseas medical screenings to Cuban refugees will offer significant improvements to the public health risks Americans face from refugees who are now readily cleared by an obviously imperfect  medical screening system.

But, since nine of the eleven refugees who arrived with active TB between 2013 and 2015 were likely not subjected to overseas medical screening, adding overseas medical screenings as a requirement for entry for all Cuban refugees would not make the current flawed system worse.

The only sure-bet policy that could make the current system better, however, at least in terms of guaranteeing that no refugees arriving in the U.S. will increase the risk of Americans being infected with active or latent TB, would be to completely shut down the program and allow no refugees to enter.

Fast and Furious Weapons and Mass Killings

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Documents: Mexican Cartels Used Fast and Furious Guns For Mass Killings

TownHall: New documents obtained by the government watchdog Judicial Watch prove, again, that guns sold through the Obama Justice Department’s Fast and Furious Operation have been used by Mexican cartels for mass murder south of the border.

“According to the new records, over the past three years, a total of 94 Fast and Furious firearms have been recovered in Mexico City and 12 Mexican states, with the majority being seized in Sonora, Chihuahua and Sinaloa.  Of the weapons recovered, 82 were rifles and 12 were pistols identified as having been part of the Fast and Furious program.  Reports suggest the Fast and Furious guns are tied to at least 69 killings,” Judicial Watch reports. “The documents show 94 Fast and Furious firearms were seized, 20 were identified as being involved in ‘violent recoveries.’  The ‘violent recoveries’ involved several mass killings.”

The documents include locations, type of gun recovered and number of people killed:

June 30, 2014 — One 7.62mm rifle recovered in Tlatlaya, Estado de Mexico.  This is the reported date and location of a shootout in which 22 people were killed.

May 22, 2015 — Two 7.62mm rifles recovered from the site of a massive shootout in Rancho el Sol, Michoacán, that left one Mexican Federal Police officer and 42 suspected cartel members dead.

August 7, 2015 — One 7.62mm rifle was among five firearms reported as recovered from an abandoned stolen vehicle in which three dead shooting victims were found in Parral, Chihuahua.

January 29, 2013 — One 7.62mm rifle seized in Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco is reportedly related to the assassination of the town police chief, Luis Lucio Astorga and his bodyguard.

January 11, 2016 — One .50 caliber rifle seized from the Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman’s hideout in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, where he was (re)arrested.

Keep in mind these stats only relate to 94 Fast and Furious guns, most of them being AK-47s and .50 caliber rifles, that have been recovered. The Department of Justice, with help from ATF, trafficked more than 2500 of them right into the hands of violent Mexican cartels members. Fast and Furious guns are only recoverable and traceable when they are left at crime scenes, which doesn’t account for the number of times they were used in previous crimes.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder admitted during congressional testimony years ago that guns trafficked by the DOJ would be used to carry out violent crimes. In 2011, former House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa told reporters, citing Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales, hundreds of Mexican citizens had been murdered as a result of the operation. Since then, a number of guns from the operation have been found at crime scenes in the U.S.

“These documents show President Obama’s legacy includes one of gunrunning and violence in Fast and Furious,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement.  “As the production of documents from the ATF continues, we expect to see even further confirmation of Obama’s disgraced former Attorney General Eric Holder’s prediction that Fast and Furious guns will be used in crimes for years to come.”

Last month a federal judge struck down an executive privilege claim made by President Obama in June 2012 over thousands of Fast and Furious documents. Those documents show the lengths Holder and his closest aides at DOJ went to cover-up the Operation and the scandal that followed, which became public when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered by Mexican bandits in December 2010. They were carrying guns from Operation Fast and Furious.

Warning: Europe Terrorist Explosive Stockpiles

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Terrorists likely stockpiling explosives in EU, says Europol

The threat of terrorists attacks in the EU remains the top national security concern among member states, with some 211 foiled plots last year alone, according to a top EU security official.

The threat of another attack similar in scale to the Paris attack in November last year or in Brussels this past March has national authorities on edge. Manuel Navarrete Paniagua, the head of the European Counter Terrorism Centre at the EU police agency Europol, told euro-deputies on Monday (23 May) that terrorist cells in the EU were likely stockpiling explosives for later use.

“We have some information reported by the member states that terrorists groups are trying to establish large clandestine stockpiles of explosives in the European Union to be used eventually in large scale home attacks,” he said.

Related: EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report

Paniagua was briefing MEPs in the civil liberties committee on the yet-to-be published EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (TE-SAT) compiled by Europol and member states.

The report is set for publication in a few weeks’ time.

Paniagua cited figures and broader conclusions due in the report, noting that “jihadist terrorism” remains the top threat to security in the European Union.

The latest attacks in the EU suggest much better coordination among the terrorists than previously thought. He said their combined use of explosives and firearms was also a novelty and a threat that is evolving rapidly.

Authorities have yet to nail down any single profile of a home-grown terrorist or foreign fighter.

But he said many have petty criminal backgrounds. He pointed out a significant proportion of foreign fighters have also been diagnosed with mental problems.

More than 4,000 so-called foreign fighters have been identified in the EU and entered into a Europol database.

“Using the terrorist financial tracking programme, we provided last year more than 2,700 leads regarding foreign terrorist fighters to the member states,” he said.

Some 1,057 people were also arrested last year on terrorism-related offences, he said.

He said there are also unconfirmed reports that some jihadist militants have set up training camps in the Western Balkans and some EU states.

Terrorists and migration flows

Other concerns related to terrorists exploiting the migration flows from Turkey and elsewhere to enter the European Union.

“We found no evidence of the systematic of using this flow to infiltrate terrorists into the European Union. But they do, they use it, we have some cases, some of the people that perpetrated the Paris attacks were eventually disguised in this immigration flow,” he said.

Paniagua said migrants were being victimised twice as result. First they flee terrorists and then again when the same attempt to infiltrate the EU by hiding among the refugees, he said.

“Again, we have no indication that this systematic,” he said.

Earlier this month, Europol announced it would deploy some 200 counter-terrorist and other investigators to migrant arrival centres known as hotspots in Italy and Greece.

Related: Implementing the European Agenda on Security:
EU action plan against illicit trafficking in and use of firearms and explosives.

Of those, Europol said it would dispatch around 50 “at key points on the external border of the EU” to track down and help identify suspected criminals and terrorists.

A European Commission report earlier this month noted that Turkey is suspected to have around 1,300 Turkish citizens fighting alongside Islamic militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

It noted that the plan to lift visa restrictions on Turkish nationals “could potentially have an impact on the terrorist risk in the EU”.

*****

For the United States, the Warning from DHS in 2011

(U//FOUO) DHS Warning: Terrorists Making Explosives With Commercial Products

Terrorist Acquisition of Commercial Products for Improvised Explosive Device Production(U//FOUO) Recent plots and attacks in the Homeland and overseas demonstrate a continuing terrorist focus on acquiring commercially available materials and components that can be used in constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Heightened public and state and local official awareness, as well as tightened legal controls, have made it more difficult to purchase certain products that contain explosive precursors in bulk quantities or concentrated forms. Operatives are now more likely to use surreptitious, though legal, methods—such as multiple purchases in smaller quantities—to acquire sufficient amounts to create explosives.

— (U) On 27 July 2011, investigators found precursor chemicals and other IED components, including smokeless powder, clocks, batteries, wires, and other items commonly used to make IEDs in the hotel room of a US Army soldier who allegedly sought to target military personnel.
— (U) The admitted perpetrator of the 22 July 2011 attacks in Oslo, Norway avoided law enforcement suspicion by acquiring through legal means the ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder, nitromethane, and blenders he used in constructing IEDs.

(U//FOUO) Commercial products containing precursor materials may include:
— (U//FOUO) Fertilizer and first aid cold packs (ammonium nitrate).
— (U//FOUO) Swimming pool chemicals (calcium hypochlorite/hydrogen peroxide).
— (U//FOUO) Some types of water filtration/treatment systems (potassium permanganate).
— (U//FOUO) Beauty supply products (hydrogen peroxide and acetone).
— (U//FOUO) Industrial cleaning supplies (hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid).

(U) Potential Indicators of suspicious purchases: Most commercial products suitable for constructing IEDs serve legitimate purposes. Consequently, it is often difficult to identify purchases or other activities that may be associated with terrorist intent to create explosives. No single indicator is likely to divulge suspicious purchases, but, depending on specific circumstances, a combination of the behaviors listed below may warrant reporting and investigation:

— (U) Attempts to purchase all available stock or materials in bulk, especially by individuals with no previous history of bulk purchases.
— (U) Payment or insistence on payment in cash for bulk purchases, or using a credit card in another person’s name.
— (U) Insistence on in-store pickup instead of store delivery of bulk purchase.
— (U) Use of rented or out-of-state vehicle to transport bulk purchases.
— (U) Smaller purchases of the same products at different locations within a short period of time.
— (U) Displays of nervous or suspicious behavior and evasive or vague responses to questions about intended use of products.

(U//FOUO) For additional information, please see DHS-FBI Joint Homeland Security Assessment “(U//FOUO) Use of Common Precursor Chemicals to Make Homemade Explosives,” 10 August 2010; and Roll Call Release “(U//FOUO) Indicators of Suspicious Acquisition of Beauty Supply Products,” 26 February 2010.

More than 100 McAuliffe/Clinton Donations

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Feds Reportedly Examining More Than 100 Donations Made to Both Clinton Foundation and McAuliffe Campaign

LawNewz: Federal investigators are reportedly examining more than 100 donations made to both the Clinton Foundation and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s campaign as part of a larger probe into whether McAuliffe’s campaign accepted illegal contributions.

McAuliffe is a longtime friend to both Bill and Hillary Clinton, having previously served as Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign chairman and as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a part of the Clinton Foundation.

A report by CNN on Monday indicated that federal investigators have spent the past year examining whether McAuliffe’s 2013 gubernatorial campaign accepted illegal contributions.  The probe is reportedly focused on contributions made by Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang.  However, sources familiar with the probe also told CNN “investigators have scrutinized McAuliffe’s time as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a vehicle of the charitable foundation set up by former President Bill Clinton.”

Adding to the initial report, federal officials reportedly told NBC News late on Monday that investigators are examining more than 100 contributions made to both the Clinton Foundation and McAuliffe’s 2013 campaign. Wang is reportedly one of the individuals who made overlapping contributions, pledging $2 million dollars to the Clinton Foundation and another $120,000 McAuliffe’s campaign.

There is currently no allegation of wrongdoing on the part of the Clinton Foundation, according to the reports.  The investigation is said to be focused on McAuliffe and campaign contributions.  Federal law prohibits campaigns from accepting contributions from foreign nationals.  However, a spokesman told CNN that Wang has permanent resident status which makes him eligible to make campaign donations.

On Monday, a lawyer for the campaign denied any wrongdoing and promised McAuliffe would cooperate with the investigation.  McAuliffe issued his own statement on Tuesday morning denying any wrongdoing and saying he is “confident” Wang is a legitimate donor.  According to Politico, the statement reads, in part: 

This has nothing to do with the Clinton Foundation. This was an allegation of a gentleman who gave a check to my campaign. I didn’t bring the donor in. I didn’t bring him into the Clinton Foundation. I’m not even sure if I’ve ever met the person, to be honest with you. I know the folks that worked at his company. Has nothing to do with the Clinton Foundation. And I can tell you this, I’ve worked and helped the president on the foundation. I’ve traveled all over the globe with Bill Clinton. And you go to Africa and other places around the globe and you look what he has done for children, health clinics, AIDS research all over the globe, it really is something to see. I’ve traveled to Malawi and seen him with young women businesses over there. They have really done great spectacular work to help people’s lives. And that’s what’s what he’s focused on. He’s done a great job and honestly I’m very proud to be part of it.

****

The investigation also involves the Clinton Foundation, according to CNN. CBS reported last year that Wang’s company, Rilin Enterprises, pledged in 2013 to give the organization $2 million. CNN noted that there is “no allegation” of impropriety on the foundation’s part and that McAuliffe formerly served on its board. Last year, the foundation’s decision to accept Wang’s company’s pledge drew pointed criticism because of Wang’s ties to the Chinese government—the billionaire used to be a delegate to the country’s parliament.

“Indirectly the Clinton Foundation has political influence, that’s why people give to it,” Jim Mann, former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, told CBS. “People give to the Clinton Foundation particularly because it is the Clintons and because they are prominent politicians in the United States.”

The Department of Justice and the FBI both declined to discuss their investigation with The Daily Beast, and a spokesperson for McAuliffe said the governor would cooperate.

 

Wang and his company have spent big to influence American politics—$1.4 million from 2012 to 2015 to lobby Congress and the State Department, according to CBS’s estimate. And Dandong Port Co., a subsidiary of Rilin Enterprises, has hired former politicos to lobby for its interests, as lobbying disclosure forms show.

It has also shelled out for nongovernmental efforts, including a grant to New York University in 2010 to create a center for U.S.-China Relations, as well as a grant to launch the Zbigniew Brzezinski Institute on Geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in 2014.

Rilin Enterprises isn’t the first Chinese business to get mixed up in McAuliffe problems. McAuliffe and Tony Rodham, Hillary Clinton’s brother, courted Chinese investors for the troubled electric car company GreenTech Automotive. Politico called Rodham “a kind of traveling salesman” for the company.

During McAuliffe’s 2013 gubernatorial campaign, his work with the company became a liability—especially because of allegations that McAuliffe and Rodham used their political connections to unfairly expedite the visa process for their investors. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general issued a report in 2015 saying a top official there, Alejandro Mayorkas, made “an appearance of favoritism and special access.”

“Mayorkas intervened in an administrative appeal related to the denial of a regional center’s application to receive EB-5 funding to manufacture electric cars through investments in a company in which Terry McAuliffe was the board chairman,” the report says. “The intervention was unprecedented and, because of the political prominence of the individuals involved, as well as USCIS’s traditional deference to its administrative appeals process, staff perceived it as politically motivated.” More from the DailyBeast.

DHS: Border Patrol/Coast Guard Drone Conflict

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But in 2015, the Office of Inspector General says the CBP drone program has essentially been grounded.

The IG report, the second audit of the program since 2012, found there is no reliable method of measuring the program’s performance and determined that its impact in stemming illegal
immigration has been minimal.

According to the CBP Fiscal Year Report, the drones flew about 10 percent fewer hours in 2014 than the previous year and 20 percent fewer than in 2013. The missions were credited with contributing to the seizure of just under 1,000 pounds of cocaine in 2014, compared to 2,645 in 2013 and 3,900 in 2012. But apprehensions of illegal immigrants between 2014 and 2013 fell despite the flood of more than 60,000 unaccompanied children coming across the border from Central America.

Combined with the decrease in productivity, the OIG report disclosed the staggering costs to run the program, more than $12,000 per hour when figuring fuel, salaries for operators, equipment and overhead. More from FNC.

Related: Coast Guard UAV System

Related: CBP and Coast Guard even share buildings

   

Bungling border agency can’t find drone records

WashingtonTimes: Homeland Security can’t find a single record of a request to fly drones to help the Coast Guard, the agency said this week in a letter to a top member of Congress — an admission that’s likely to add fuel to the guard’s request for its own fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles.

R. Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said his agency’s Air and Marine office records all requests, but for some reason it “could not locate any prior requests from the USCG” for unmanned aerial surveillance flights.

For Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and chairman of a subcommittee that oversees the Coast Guard, the admission was the latest signal that the border agency isn’t treating its colleagues in the guard fairly.

“It’s baffling, really. This response goes to show just how disadvantaged the Coast Guard truly is under the DHS umbrella,” said Joe Kasper, Mr. Hunter’s chief of staff. “It’s impossible to excuse the terrible record keeping, but that aside — we know for a fact that the Coast Guard has made numerous requests for UAS support.”

Both the Coast Guard and CBP are part of the Homeland Security Department, and under the current arrangement the guard has to use CBP’s drones. That leaves the maritime mission hostage to the whims of border officials, who have their own missions, and who already struggle with logistics and maintenance problems that keep their fleet of drones grounded far too often.

Mr. Hunter is pressing for the Coast Guard to get its own ground-based drones, which it can assign on its own.

“The Coast Guard shouldn’t have to rely on CBP and vice versa. We know CBP is well intentioned, and it has its own mission, but that doesn’t help the Coast Guard beyond the joint operational space,” Mr. Kasper said.

Neither CBP nor the Coast Guard had substantive replies to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon, but in his letter, dated Monday, Mr. Kerlikowske insisted the two agencies “work side-by-side.”

He said even if Coast Guard requests aren’t recorded, there are clear instances when CBP was assisting the guard’s operations. He pointed to a Guardian drone that aided the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell in making three interdictions over the last year.

“CBO and USCG are close partners and have been highly successful performing joint operations in support of DHS’s primary mission to protect the American people from terrorist threats,” Mr. Kerlikowske said.

He said they will try to improve operations.

But his agency has been promising better drone use for years, and has consistently fallen short, according to watchdog reports.

Just 5 percent of Drone flights were conducted in the southeast, meaning off the coast of Florida, according to a new report Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office. The rest of the time the drones were operating on the border with Canada or the landlocked southwest border with Mexico.

Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth last year called CBP’s drone program “dubious achievers,” saying hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted to stock a fleet that often can’t even get into the air.

He put the cost of flying each drone at more than $12,000 an hour — five times the figure CBP had given.

“Notwithstanding the significant investment, we see no evidence that the drones contribute to a more secure border, and there is no reason to invest additional taxpayer funds at this time,” Mr. Roth said in releasing his report last year. “Securing our borders is a crucial mission for CBP and DHS. CBP’s drone program has so far fallen far short of being an asset to that effort.”