DHS Fiscal Year 2022 - June 17th Testimony of DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS
For those who are unaware -in June/July various Federal Agencies appear before Congress to fully explain their (new) Fiscal Year Budget Request. I know that this is boring but it’s also very important
The radicalization is happening here, right here in our very Homeland. And sadly the social media companies have failed and continue to fail to proactively address the proliferation and saturation on their own platforms. Americans are being radicalized literally in their own homes. This horrid propaganda has proliferated on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram (see last week’s 5thCCOAs ruling1 ) etc. To be fair the 2016 lawsuit was a very and I mean very long shot, as the injured Dallas Police Officers previously argued that CDA-230 improperly shielded the social media companies from being held responsible for propaganda and radicalization of Americans…see footnote for a more detailed summation. In short last week the 5thCCOAs upheld the district courting ruling stating the social media companies are not liable.
Bottom line is the Social Media giants cling to the CDA-230 as their ubiquitous “immunity shield” —at best their “actions” are reactive —at worse they profit off of the deadly and dangerous propaganda. While social media can be a platform for good —often times it has become a weaponized echo chamber. Add in purported “news” networks like Fox, OANN and NewsMax. This creates a convergence of two echo chambers. And the consumer/reader/viewer are fed an all you can eat diet if misinformation, disinformation… which fuels their rage and hate. Resulting in the amalgamation of a perfectly calibrated weapon that has radicalized countless Americans.
Generally speaking I am not in the habit of saying “Trump was right” —his last remaining quest as the “leader of the free world’ was repealing CDA-230. But it was done in furtherance of his own selfish vindictiveness. For years I railed on Twitter —explaining how social media giants wrapped themselves in the CDA-230 immunity blanket… see archives here, here, here and here - just to give you a quick refresher.
The point was/is CDA-230 acts as a protective shield. If the immunity was repealed and social media giants are forced to defend their indefensible positions in a Courtroom —I can assure you the changes would be proactive. Imagine if you will, a victim of domestic terrorism argues the nexus between social media and news organizations like Fox —the causation, culminating into the radicalization of a domestic terrorist, who went on a murder spree. All it would take is one wrongful death lawsuit —resulting in the multimillion dollar award of both compensatory and punitive damages. CDA-230 isn’t a first amendment issue —it is a liability and immunity issue. Period. Full Stop.
Fiscal Year 2022 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget request:
DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS Written Testimony found here - in the Secretary’s written testimony he speaks a length about the growing and lethal threat that Domestic Violent Extremists pose to our Country.
The point is Domestic Violent Extremism is on the rise and it remains a top priority for DHS, DOJ, DOD and the FBI… if you want to read the previous articles I’ve written concerning DVEs click here
But I’ll also remind you of Director Wray’s March 2021 Testimony - you can read more here - one thing that you should keep in mind is agencies like DHS and the FBI have to walk a very thin line. As Americans hold our constitutional right “free speech” dearly and the line of protecting our constitutional rights and privacy but law enforcement ability to delineate when a person’s “free speech” is a dangerous with the intent of engaging in acts of Domestic Terrorism …it’s like walking on the knife’s edge. And I don’t fault those in our Intelligence Community because balancing the first amendment to the potential of a person who’s going to engage in acts of Domestic Terrorism is not an easy job.
Back in December 2020 I walked you through the FY2021 NDAA and explained how the FY2021 NDAA actually strengthened Agencies like DHS and DOJ to fight the ever metastasizing cyber attacks - as Secretary MAYORKAS written testimony states -on May 12, 2021 President Biden Issued an Executive Order (see more here)
…announced a series of 60-day “sprints” to mobilize action across the Department focusing on specific priority areas. The first sprint was dedicated to elevating the fight against ransomware, a particularly egregious type of malicious cyber activity.
The second is dedicated to building a more robust and diverse workforce at the Department and beyond, including a DHS cybersecurity hiring sprint during the 60-day sprint and the development and launch of several other workforce-focused initiatives
the Full (nearly) Three hour hearing can be viewed in it’s entirety below
On May 28, 2021 Secretary MAYORKAS and the Biden/Harris Administration published their Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget
The President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reflects our continued commitment to the security of our homeland and the American public.
2022 Budget of $52.2 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) focuses appropriations
DHS missions and reflects our commitment to protect the homeland at our borders, in cyberspace, and beyond. The personnel of this Department are charged with protecting our country, our people, and our way of life by safeguarding trade, travel, transportation, personal freedoms, and economic prosperity.
DHS - Cyber Security
$2.1 billion is requested for cyber activities including
$408 million for the National Cybersecurity Protection System and $325 million for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program. This request builds on the $650 million already provided to CISA in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to respond to the recent Government-wide cyber breaches and boost U.S. cyber defenses.
CISA 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW “key examples of CISA’s work to carry out its mission in 2020, including milestones and accomplishments as the Agency advanced strategic priorities to maintain a secure and resilient infrastructure for the nation”
SAFECOM was formed in 2001 after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as part of the Presidential E-Government Initiative to improve public safety interoperability, allowing emergency responders to communicate effectively before, during, and after emergencies and disasters. You should read the SAFECOM Introduction Presentation - June 15, 2021
Sadly most people “think” they know what CISA does and for that matter what DHS does - I now refer you topages 55 thru 60 of the DHS FY 2022 Budget-in-Brief because this provides a condensed but accurate description of what CISA does.
Notwithstanding I’d like to draw your attention to page 58 of the DHS FY 2022 Budget-in-Brief - it is abundantly clear that under the Biden/Harris Administration strengthening and fortifying our Cyber Defense and our critical infrastructure is a top priority.
As a tax payer I’m okay with the increased FY 2022 budget for DHS. I think it’s money well appropriated and an investment towards our collective National Security - particularly in the cyber theater…
On May 11, 2021 the DHS issued the following Press Release which formally announced the: New Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships and Additional Efforts to Comprehensively Combat Domestic Violent Extremism Since January 20, 20212
DHS has increased the development, production, and sharing of intelligence and other actionable information central to countering domestic violent extremism, which now poses the most significant and immediate terrorism-related threat to the United States.
January 27, 2021, DHS issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin due to the heightened threat environment. It was the first NTAS issued in more than a year and also the first to focus solely on a domestic threat.
As a result, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments are required to spend at least 7.5 percent, or a minimum of $77 million, of their DHS grant awards toward combating this threat.
The Department is also increasing training opportunities for law enforcement partners, including through threat assessment and management programs related to domestic violent extremism.
DHS Border Issues
I am actually glad that the new administration has no fear or favor of calling balls and strikes. Those of us in DC know that during the Obama Administration (see archived Northern Triangle Fact Sheet) —this was known as Northern Triangle’s Alliance for Prosperity Plan (see USAID 2014 presentation) —the Obama Administration figured out the driving factors of the precipitous uptick in immigrants at our border. Some of the known factors included (but not limited to); unemployment, poverty, gangs, drug cartels, and government instability. By sending aid down to the Northern Triangle it helped to stabilize the unsteadiness that caused immigrants to flee.
The previous administration cut the Northern Triangle Aid and let’s be brutally honest. Trump hated everything about Obama and I mean everything about Obama. And in Trump’s damaged little head of his - Trump was like; Trump mad! Trump smash!! Trump shove Big Macs in his pie hole!!! And inarguably Trump’s decision were made “out of pure spite” versus making a pragmatic or informed decision.
During the Obama Administration - DHS invested in the Northern Triangle - the point was by sending financial aid to our partners in the Northern Triangle we helped stem the flow of immigrants emigration to our Southern Border
Compounding this challenge is the fact that the previous administration dismantled our Nation’s immigration system, terminated the Central American Minors program, and cut hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
As a result, the recent surge in unaccompanied children presented a serious challenge for DHS and our colleagues at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). We have made significant progress on this front.
The numbers are just staggering but equally impressive is how the new DHS Secretary has marshaled government resources and streamlined the intake and interview process - admittedly the January to March 2021 numbers and unaccompanied minors in DHS custody was unacceptable. Conversely what the DHS Secretary (and his team) did in such a short amount of time is astonishing.
As of June 14, 2021, USCIS personnel have conducted approximately 10,000 interviews and recommended more than 7,000 children for release to a sponsor
unaccompanied children in CBP custody—from 5,767 at its peak on March 29 to 685 on June 11.
number of unaccompanied children who have been in custody longer than 72 hours has decreased from 4,078 at its peak on March 29 to 2 on the morning of June 11
while CBP encountered 18,000 unaccompanied children in the month of April. For the seven-day period ending on June 10, CBP transferred an average of 392 unaccompanied children per day to HHS’ ORR
$1.2 billion for effective and modern port and border security, which includes $655 million for modernization of land ports of entry (POE)
includes no additional funding for border wall construction, and requests that Congress cancel remaining border wall construction balances upon passage of an FY 2022 appropriations act.
$28 million for the first land interdiction configuration of the Multi-role Enforcement Aircraft, which integrates with the $9 million request for the U.S. Border Patrol small Unmanned Aircraft System program.
And ICYMI on Friday June 17, 2021 Attorney General Garland and FBI Director Wray announced a sweeping new programs to counter domestic terrorism
In early June 2021 the FBI published a relatively short report - Senator Heinrich’s office posted the 2 page report - found here —it’s the conclusion that’s “scary as hell”
The question is we’ve known about QANON since at least 2017 - and now Federal and State and Local Law Enforcement are reacting to a known danger QANON presents to all Americans —will Congress finally codify Domestic Terrorism and/or will Congress approve the FY2022 funding. Hopefully they will —because saying QANON is a fringe conspiracy is like saying the sky is blue. Yet frighteningly QANON is taking root and untold number of Americans believe in this incongruent ideology that on its surface is antithetical to real American values and beliefs.
Apologies for the data/documents dump but this article took a while to research and it was in my queue of drafts. At any rate it’s Monday and I’m going to be offline until later this afternoon.
in 2016 Dallas Police Officers (Jesus Retana; Andrew Moss) filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Google and Facebook -arguing that each of the aforementioned social media giants should be held liable (known as secondary liability) pursuant to the Ant-Terrorism Act. On June 16, 2021 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held:
The issue in this case is whether Internet services and social media providers may be held secondarily liable under the Anti-Terrorism Act (“ATA”) for aiding and abetting a foreign terrorist organization—here, Hamas—based only on acts committed by a sole individual entirely within the United States. We conclude that they cannot, and therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.
Every day I am more thankful for the Biden Admin. These numbers are incredible. How does something of this magnitude isn't blasted daily on msm? We have some incredibly talented people keeping America on the rails. Thank you Filey - you are one of them.
Every day I am more thankful for the Biden Admin. These numbers are incredible. How does something of this magnitude isn't blasted daily on msm? We have some incredibly talented people keeping America on the rails. Thank you Filey - you are one of them.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 CDA230!!! DVE’s!!!