From the APP Store, Notifica ICE Raids

Ah yes those pesky apps found on iTunes and Google Play, funded by George Soros. This app helps illegal immigrants avoid federal immigration authorities. The group behind this scheme is United We Dream and guess what? That organization receives taxpayer funding. Uh huh…

Notifica is a project of United We Dream

***

In Case of an ICE Raid, Undocumented Immigrants Can Use ...

Notifica, is a new app that will act as a panic button for undocumented immigrants who are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Wired reports.

To help immigrants who have been detained, the organization United We Dream, which is led by young immigrants, and digital agency Huge developed the Notifica app. When immigrants are detained by ICE their families and loved ones might not even know what happened, but Notifica aims to change that.

“You have the right to be prepared,” says the app’s site. “Be prepared with Notifica, an app that sends out secure messages to your support network when you need it most.”

How The Notifica App Works

With Notifica, users can select contacts they want to notify in case they are taken by ICE. The app allows users to set up a personalized notification to each recipient, for example, a message to your mom or sibling would be different than the one you send to your attorney. After you write the preloaded messages, others will not have access to them and will not be able to read them. There is also a pin that seals off the messages in case your device is lost or stolen.

If the user is taken by ICE, a single click will send all messages via text in less than two seconds. Huge has also launched a phone hotline for those who don’t have a phone in reach but may be able to make a call afterwards. More here.

***

A division of the Justice Department awarded at least $206,453 to the National Immigration Law Center, which advises illegal immigrants on their rights, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch.

The Office of Justice Programs awarded the grants between fiscal years 2008 and 2010, the records cited by the conservative government watchdog group show. That would overlap the administrations of both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

One of the projects of the National Immigration Law Center is United We Dream, which describes itself as a youth program for “undocumented” immigrants.

The Laredo Morning Times quoted Adrian Reyna, director of membership and technology strategies for United We Dream, as saying that “when something actually happens, most people don’t know what to do at that moment.”

The Texas newspaper also reported that United We Dream is working on a second version of Notifica that will include the ability to use more languages besides Spanish and English.

The second version, set to be released this summer, would include Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese. The updated app also will be able to determine where an illegal immigrant is being detained, the newspaper reported.

United We Dream pushes to give legal status to so-called Dreamers, illegal immigrants brought to the United States when they were children. The organization, which has a hotline, advises illegal immigrants against cooperating with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a press release, the group says: “United We Dream calls on our communities to defend their rights, not open the door to ICE, and to report ICE activities to the United We Dream MigraWatch hotline.”

The April release adds: “United We Dream has also developed the mobile app, Notifica, which immediately alerts your loved ones and legal advocates to the user’s location in cases of detention. Text ‘Notifica’ to 877-877 for a link for download.”

The Soros-backed Open Societies Foundations don’t have a direct role in the app, but doesn’t find it objectionable, said Angela Kelley, the senior strategic adviser on immigration at the Open Society Foundations.

The Monies and Deals that Flowed into Iran, People Swap

  1. Why does France want to keep the Iran nuclear deal? Rohani et Macron au téléphone: promotion des relations ...French exports to Iran for the first 11 months of 2017 rose 120% to €1.29 billion ($1.6 billion) and imports grew 80 % to €2.16 billion,” Celestin-Urbain said.

    “The short-term priority was to keep trade simple and complete a scheme this year to offer euro-denominated credits to Iranian buyers of French goods,” he said, a move that would keep bilateral trade outside the reach of US sanctions.

    The head of state-owned investment bank Bpifrance, which is putting the plan together, said he was confident the scheme, which had a pipeline of deals worth €1.5 billion, could start operating by end-May or early-June. However, he warned that talks were ongoing on how to protect French firms if the US snapped back sanctions.

  2. The U.S. government wired $848,000 to Iran in July 2015 to settle a dispute over fossils and architectural drawings now in Iran’s possession.
  3. The U.S. also wired $9 million to Iran in exchange for 32 tons of heavy water.
  4. There is some chatter also about $400 million relating to the freedom of a U.S . spy. (likely part of #2) also came from the New York Federal Reserve and was converted to Swiss Francs.
  5. The $1.7 billion that went to Iran traveled through a network of the New York Federal Reserve and several European banks. This money was then transferred to the Swiss bank, converted to Swiss banknotes and moved to the Swiss National Bank. The U.S, government then transported them to Geneva via a flight bound for Iran. The transactions out of the U.S reserves were three separate transactions. At the same time there was a large hostage exchange. Iran released 4 American hostages. The Dutch Central Bank was also instrumental in facilitating the $1.3 billion into Euros. These monies appear to all be spent on the export of terror, supporting Bashir al Assad of Syria and keeping the Houthi rebels armed in Yemen.
  6. People:

    Khosrow Afghahi

    Afghahi, 72, was arrested in California in April and faced charges for allegedly violating the Iranian embargo and money laundering.
    He was the managing director and part owner of Tehran-based Faratel Corporation and the minority owner of Houston-based Smart Power Systems, according to a grand jury indictment filed in federal court in Texas in April.
    He was accused of participating in a scheme to illegally export high-tech microelectronics as part of an “Iranian procurement network operating in the United States,” the Justice Department said after his arrest.
    He had pleaded not guilty and the case had not yet gone to trial, attorney David Gerger said. A pardon was handed to him at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, allowing him to be released from prison after nine months behind bars, according to his attorney.
    Gerger described his release as “the right result,” adding that his client is now spending time with his family.
    “He is a good man,” Gerger said, “and we are glad to put this behind him.”

    Tooraj Faridi

    Faridi, of Houston, was vice president of Smart Power Systems and was accused of participating in the alleged scheme. In a statement released at the time of the indictment, an FBI official said such microelectronics shipments could put national security at risk.
    “The proliferation of sensitive U.S. technologies to Iran and the direct support to their military and weapons programs remains a clear threat to U.S. national security,” said Randall Coleman, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division.
    Faridi’s attorney told CNN affiliate KPRC that his client never posed a threat to the country.
    “He’s as American as anybody that was born in this country. He’s loved being here, he’s fought hard to be here and he’s going to stay here, so it’s been very stressful to him to be accused of being somebody who’s a threat to national security when he’s just as American and patriotic as anybody in this town,” attorney Kent Schaffer said.
    He faced charges for allegedly violating the Iranian embargo and money laundering. The case had not yet gone to trial. He was pardoned on Sunday as part of the deal.

    Bahram Mechanic

    Mechanic, the majority owner of Faratel and Smart Power Systems, also was accused in the same alleged scheme. He faced charges of violating the embargo and money laundering, among other counts.
    Attorney Joel Androphy told CNN that Mechanic, Faridi and Afghahi were met by their wives after their release and headed to their homes.
    “They were ecstatic to be out,” he said.
    The attorney told KPRC that his client eventually plans to return to Iran.
    Androphy told Forbes the accusations against his client were baseless and he believes they would have won if the case had gone to trial.
    Mechanic was pardoned on Sunday as part of the deal.

    Nima Golestaneh

    The 30-year-old Iranian national pleaded guilty in December to charges of wire fraud and unauthorized access to computers, the Department of Justice said.
    He was arrested in Turkey in November 2013 and extradited to the United States last February.
    According to a plea agreement, he conspired to hack the network and computers at Arrow Tech, an engineering consulting and software company in Vermont.
    His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Nader Modanlo

    The naturalized U.S. citizen, who lived in Potomac, Maryland, was convicted in 2013 of conspiring to illegally provide satellite services to Iran, federal officials said at the time.
    He was a mechanical engineer with science and engineering degrees from George Washington University. Prosecutors argued he’d broken the law by helping Iran launch communications satellites.
    He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2013. That sentence was commuted as part of the deal.
    His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Arash Ghahreman

    A naturalized U.S. citizen, Ghahreman was convicted in April of violating U.S. export and money laundering laws as part of a scheme to buy marine navigation equipment and military electronic equipment for illegal export to Iran.
    He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison last August. That sentence was commuted Sunday as part of the deal.
    Attorney Ellis Johnson said Ghahreman and his family were extremely relieved after his release.
    “He plans to spend some time with his aunt and her family on the East Coast, reunite with his girlfriend who’s currently on the West Coast, and hopefully visit his elderly parents in Iran, whom he hasn’t seen in years since this case began,” Johnson said.
    Ghahreman, the attorney said, is a “kind, considerate man who poses no threat to the United States.”

    Ali Saboonchi

    A federal jury in convicted Saboonchi, who holds both Iranian and U.S. citizenship, in August 2014 of conspiracy and seven counts of exporting American manufactured industrial products to Iran.
    He was sentenced to 24 months in prison last February. That sentence was commuted Sunday as part of the deal.
    In a written statement, his attorneys described Saboonchi as a “hard-working family man and American” who poses no danger and “has a bright future ahead.”
    “He was born in the U..S and is proud to be raising his young family here. His arrest and incarceration were devastating to his many friends and family,” attorneys Elizabeth Oyer, Lucius Outlaw III and Meghan Skelton said. “Ali is thrilled and grateful for his release and return to his family.”

El Chapo Charged on his Drug Empire, but what About Murder?

Remember when Sean Penn decided he could befriend El Chapo Guzman and successfully plotted to interview him? Was Sean Penn ever debriefed by DEA or other law enforcement officials for more intelligence gathering on El Chapo? In fact this case is so dangerous that the jurors are to be sequestered and protected by U.S. marshals.

Related reading: 2009 Indictment from Illinois

Related reading: The case against Guzman in the Eastern District of New York does not have murder charges, only all offenses relating to the drug empire.

 

Moving ahead…         Mexico's El Chapo: From most wanted kingpin to extradited ... photo

Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman may face murder charges after several former Mexican police officers accused him of killing six Americans and a DEA agent within a nine-week span in late 1984.

Three former Mexican police officers told the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles they witnessed Guzman carry out the killing spree between late 1984 and early 1985. Jorge Godoy, one of the former cops who is now under witness protection, told WFAA that Guzman took pleasure in killing people.

“He likes to cut the people,” Godoy told the news site.

Four Americans who were Jehovah’s Witnesses — Benjamin Mascarenas, 29; his wife Pat Mascarenas, 27; Dennis Carlson, 32; and his wife Rose Carlson, 36 — were murdered during a missionary trip in Guadalajara, Mexico. Godoy said he was the bodyguard of drug kingpin Ernesto Fonseca at the time and the missionaries made the wrong decision of knocking on a drug lord’s door on Dec. 2, 1984.

He told WFAA he saw them rape the women and torture the Americans. He added that Guzman shot each person and watched their bodies fall into an open grave. Former DEA agent Hector Berrellez also said Guzman was involved in their deaths.

“He shot them with his Uzi 9mm and I have witnesses that were there that saw ‘El Chapo’ kill these four Americans after they had been severely tortured,” Berrellez told WFAA. “The women were even raped. We’re talking about an animal here.”

But the killings didn’t end there, according to Godoy. Two other Americans, John Walker, 35, and Albert Radelat, 33, were the crazed drug lord’s next targets in Jan. 30, 1985. Walker was a Vietnam veteran and two-time Purple Heart recipient in Guadalajara writing a novel at the time. He and Radelat went to La Langosta restaurant to have dinner — in what turned out to be a fatal mistake.

Drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero mistook the two for DEA agents and ordered them in the restaurant.

“[Walker and Radelat] passed by me and I said, ‘Oh my God,’” Godoy recalled.

He said Guzman cut Walker’s throat. He then wrapped them and buried the two people in a nearby park, according to the report.

The last killing involved DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who busted the cartel’s marijuana fields and torched 10,000 tons of marijuana that cost them about $5 billion. He and a pilot who took him to the fields were tortured, killed and their bodies dumped on the side of the road. “Absolutely, he [Guzman] tortured both of them,” Berrellez said. “[Guzman] was seen by two witnesses slap, kick and spit in Camarena’s face. He was involved in physically torturing Camarena.”

Camarena’s death sparked one of the biggest manhunts by the U.S. government.

The families of the six Americans told WFAA they want to see “El Chapo” charged with the murders. The drug lord had murder charges dropped before he was extradited to the U.S. The U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles did not comment on the possible charges to WFAA. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where Guzman is awaiting trial, also declined to comment.

“El Chapo” pleaded not guilty to drug-related charges including money-laundering, use of firearms and murder conspiracy.

*** There is also the case of Rafael Caro Quintero : Despite being wanted in the U.S. for Camarena’s murder, Mexico’s Supreme Court in 2013 overturned the ruling that voided Caro Quintero’s conviction and led to his release. Once freed, Caro Quintero quickly disappeared and his current whereabouts are unknown.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.

“DEA and Treasury utilize every possible tool to attack and dismantle violent, deadly criminal organizations such as that of Rafael Caro Quintero, who is responsible for the 1985 murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena,” DEA Deputy Administrator Jack Riley said. “Thanks to this Treasury action, Diana Espinoza Aguilar has been exposed as a key enabler and facilitator for Caro-Quintero and his vicious global drug trafficking and money laundering regime.”

A founder of the now-defunct Guadalajara cartel, Quintero spent 28 years in jail for the 1985 murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena, but was unexpectedly released in 2013 – to the disgust of the US government – and promptly disappeared. Today the ageing narco is said to be hiding out somewhere in the golden triangle, intent on reimposing old school narco order in Sinaloa. “There is no logic to what is happening,” the record producer said. “The sense I get is of an atmosphere of pending war.” Luís agrees. He spent 10 years as one of El Chapo’s gunmen, loading drugs on to planes heading to the US as well as torturing and killing cartel members who stepped out of line. Luis has retired and complains of nightmare flashbacks to his days as a killer, but he still keeps in contact with the few members of his old crowd who are still alive. They tell him all is not well in the cartel. “Before all the cows went in one direction. Now there are too many cowboys,” he said, sipping a beer and fiddling with a joint. “There will always be drugs moving, for as long as it is not legal, but I see a lot of weakness, a lot of internal disputes and mistreatment of the local population and that creates problems too.” Luis said that while the police were as accommodating as ever, new tactics being used by the federal government were causing problems. Time was, he said, when soldiers would help cartel members load up drug shipments “for a beer and a woman”. Now, however, he said army units were rotated so often that deals with corrupt commanders had to be constantly renegotiated.

 

 

7 States Suing Over DACA, Know the Details

There are countless lawsuits already and here comes another. Several DACA cases have been ruled against by liberal judges. Now Texas has joined other states.

 

TX v USA Re DACA Complaint 050118 by Kaitlyn on Scribd

Perhaps those judges have not read all the real details of DACA.

Renewal deadline approaching for DACA applicants photo

DACA is a request for consideration, it is NOT an automatic approval and it is temporary. See the stipulations here.

DACA banner with forms

Guidelines

You may request DACA if you:

  1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
  2. Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday;
  3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
  4. Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;
  5. Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012;
  6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
  7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor,or three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

***

The Obama administration chose to deploy DACA by Executive Branch memorandum—despite the fact that Congress affirmatively rejected such a program in the normal legislative process on multiple occasions. The constitutionality of this action has been widely questioned since its inception.

DACA’s criteria were overly broad, and not intended to apply only to children. Under the categorical criteria established in the June 15, 2012 memorandum, individuals could apply for deferred action if they had come to the U.S. before their 16th birthday; were under age 31; had continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007; and were in school, graduated or had obtained a certificate of completion from high school, obtained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or were an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States. Significantly, individuals were ineligible if they had been convicted of a felony or a significant misdemeanor, but were considered eligible even if they had been convicted of up to two other misdemeanors.

The Attorney General sent a letter to the Department on September 4, 2017, articulating his legal determination that DACA “was effectuated by the previous administration through executive action, without proper statutory authority and with no established end-date, after Congress’ repeated rejection of proposed legislation that would have accomplished a similar result. Such an open-ended circumvention of immigration laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch.” The letter further stated that because DACA “has the same legal and constitutional defects that the courts recognized as to DAPA, it is likely that potentially imminent litigation would yield similar results with respect to DACA.”

Based on this analysis, the President was faced with a stark choice: do nothing and allow for the probability that the entire DACA program could be immediately enjoined by a court in a disruptive manner, or instead phase out the program in an orderly fashion. Today, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Duke issued a memorandum (1) rescinding the June 2012 memo that established DACA, and (2) setting forward a plan for phasing out DACA. The result of this phased approach is that the Department of Homeland Security will provide a limited window in which it will adjudicate certain requests for DACA and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents meeting parameters specified below.

  • Please see the USCIS website for the latest information about DACA.

 

FBI: C’mon Director Wray Explain This

  1. Findings of Misconduct by an FBI Special Agent for Contacting Witnesses for an Improper
    Purpose, Divulging Law Enforcement Sensitive Information to Unauthorized Individuals,
    Providing Misleading Testimony, Providing False Information to the OIG, Mishandling
    Classified Information, and Misusing Government Devices and his Position, all sounds like a common condition within the FBI, right?
  2. A former Minneapolis FBI agent who sought to expose what he called “systemic biases” within the bureau has been charged after allegedly leaking secret documents to a national news reporter, according to federal criminal charges filed in Minnesota this week.

    The charges, filed by prosecutors for the Justice Department’s National Security Division, are the first to come in Minnesota since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a broad crackdown on government leaks last year.

    A two-page felony information, a charging document that typically signals an imminent guilty plea, outlines two counts filed against Terry James Albury of unlawfully disclosing and retaining national defense information.

    Albury is accused of sharing a document on assessing confidential human sources — otherwise referred to as informants — and a document “relating to threats posed by certain individuals from a particular Middle Eastern country” with a reporter for a national media organization.

    The second count charged against Albury alleged that he failed to turn over a document “relating to the use of an online platform for recruitment by a specific terrorist group” last year.

    The charges do not name the reporter or news organization but allege that Albury possessed and shared the information between February 2016 and Jan. 31, 2017 — the same date that the Intercept published an entry to its “FBI’s Secret Rules” series on how the bureau assesses potential informants.

    The report drew upon a secret document obtained by the Intercept that has the same publication date described in the charges against Albury. More here.

    FBI director meets with black caucus over criticized ... Director Wray

  3. But we still have the whole Andrew McCabe affair that dovetails with the Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. McCabe lost a large portion of his retirement due to many of the same charges as Albury. Yet, Peter and Lisa are still on the payroll. So?
  4. We have yet this other SA, Special Agent, whose name has not been released caught up in a case very much like that of Albury. Yet, there will be NO criminal charges. Why? Calling Director Wray for an explanation.
    An FBI agent found to have leaked sensitive information to witnesses, mishandled classified information and lied to investigators will not face criminal charges and appears to have retired while an inquiry into his conduct was underway, according to the Justice Department Office of Inspector General.

    An investigative summary posted online by the department’s internal watchdog unit on Monday is short on details, but says investigators opened an investigation after receiving allegations that the unidentified special agent “contacted witnesses in a criminal investigation for an improper purpose.”

    “The OIG found that the SA contacted individuals who he either knew were, or had reasonable belief would be witnesses in the criminal investigation and that the SA’s contacts with several individuals appeared to be designed to improperly influence their prospective testimony,” the statement said. “Accordingly, the OIG concluded that the SA’s contacts with the witnesses were improper and constituted misconduct.”

    Investigators also uncovered other instances of serious misconduct by the agent, saying he “divulged law enforcement sensitive information to unauthorized individuals; misused his government issued electronic devices; provided misleading testimony during a related civil deposition; mishandled classified information; misused his position during contacts with local law enforcement officers; and provided false information to the OIG.”

    All rather a funky way to apply the law, policy and maintain integrity eh?