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☆ Uyghur forced labor: US blocks imports from 26 Chinese textile firms
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington (Reuters) — The United States has barred imports from 26 Chinese cotton traders or warehouse facilities on Thursday as part of its effort to eliminate goods made with the forced labor of Uyghur minorities from the US supply chain. US officials believe Chinese authorities have established labor camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region. “The so-called ‘Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’ is just an instrument of a few US politicians to disrupt stability in Xinjiang and contain China’s development,” the spokesperson said. Washington has restricted imports from 65 entities since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List law was passed in 2021, according to the department. “We enthusiastically endorse DHS’s action today to nearly double the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s ‘Entity List’ — while recognizing that the current list remains only a fraction of the businesses complicit in forced labor,” Representative Chris Smith and Senator Jeff Merkley, chairs of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said in a statement.

Persons: ” Alejandro Mayorkas, “, Chris Smith, Jeff Merkley Organizations: Washington, Reuters, Uyghur, Labor, US Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security, Congressional, Commission, DHS Locations: United States, China’s Xinjiang, China’s, Xinjiang, Beijing, Washington, China, Asia

☆ ICE draft plan would release thousands of immigrants in order to cover budget shortfall
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Immigration and Customs Enforcement has drafted contingency plans to cut detention capacity and release thousands of immigrants as a result, according to a source familiar with the plan. The draft plan comes as ICE faces a dire budget shortfall amid stalled congressional action on the White House supplemental request. President Joe Biden has repeatedly implored Congress to give him more resources to deal with the situation at the US-Mexico border, assigning blame on Republicans for not doing more. Over recent years, ICE has assisted Customs and Border Protection in its border mission as that agency is also overwhelmed. Homeland Security officials have attributed the decline to ongoing high-level talks between the US and Mexico, which has doubled down on enforcement, but caution that encounters historically drop in January before ticking up again.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mayorkas, ” Biden, Alejandro Mayorkas, Troy Miller Organizations: Washington CNN — Immigration, Enforcement, ICE, White, Department of Homeland Security, GOP, impeaching, DHS –, The Washington Post, Administration, Homeland Security, CBP, Protection, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, US Border Patrol, DHS Locations: Mexico, Congress, Venezuela

☆ Biden officials confront limits of federal response in exercise preparing for 2024 election threats
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Carolyn Kaster/AP/FileUS national security officials have to weigh whether publicly calling attention to disinformation might inadvertently amplify the very message they’re trying to bat down. In both scenarios, federal officials favored a muted public response, largely choosing to let state and local governments take the lead. State and local officials run elections and are more trusted voices in their communities, but how can federal officials act decisively to support them? “It’s a trick box,” said Adam Hickey, who worked on election security issues for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “[W]e prioritize tabletop exercises that integrate the range of cyber, physical, and operational threats election officials may encounter,” Conley said in a statement to CNN.

Persons: “, ”, —, Carolyn Kaster, there’s, Biden, Xi Jinping, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden, deepfakes, ” Sen, Mark Warner, Kevin Dietsch, Francisco Aguilar, ” Aguilar, Donald Trump’s, Adam Hickey, Hickey, Cait Conley, DHS’s, ” Conley, –, ” CNN’s Evan Perez, Natasha Bertrand, Donie O’Sullivan, Katie Bo Lillis Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, Biden White, Jeffersonville Masonic, New Hampshire, Foreign Ministry, ”, Senate, Committee, White, Senate Intelligence, Virginia Democrat, Republican, Trump, Capitol, Justice Department’s National Security, “, Justice Department, Department of Homeland, National Security Council, US Army, DHS’s Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency Locations: China, Jeffersonville, Jeffersonville , Ohio, American, Woodside , California, Nevada, Russia, Iran, Russian, Iranian

Washington CNN —Special counsel Jack Smith’s office has asked former US officials about a February 2020 Oval Office meeting where then-President Donald Trump praised improvements to the security of US elections, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Those details offer a stark contrast to the voter-fraud conspiracy theories Trump began spreading publicly just weeks later and continued to use to question the 2020 election results. Investigators seemed particularly interested in understanding Trump’s mindset about election security before he embarked on a monthslong campaign to cast doubt on elections, the source added. After losing the 2020 election, Trump repeatedly made false claims that contradicted what he was told at the White House briefing about the security of voting systems. The briefing grew tense when the topic turned to Moscow’s preference for Trump over Joe Biden in the 2020 election, the sources said.

Persons: Jack Smith’s, Donald Trump, Trump, Zach Gibson, Elie Honig, “, ” Honig, Jack Smith, ”, Claire Woodall, Scott Olson, Chris Krebs, Trump’s, Joe Biden, National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, Drew Angerer, Maguire Organizations: Washington CNN, White House, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, CNN, Trump, Oval, Bloomberg, Getty, White, DHS, National Intelligence, Capitol Locations: Washington , DC, Venezuela, Italy, Milwaukee, Trump

☆ Judge gives US government one week to handle request for Prince Harry’s visa records
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A federal judge has given the Department of Homeland Security until next Tuesday to decide how it will handle a conservative think tank’s request for Prince Harry’s US immigration records. The group is questioning whether immigration officials properly granted Prince Harry’s application, since admission of past drug use can be grounds to reject a visa application. In court filings, DHS has noted that the US Customs and Border Protection agency originally denied the requests from Heritage because the group did not have Prince Harry’s authorization or consent to release the information. “A person’s visa … is confidential,” DHS attorney John Bardo said in court Tuesday. When asked about the privacy aspect of their records request, attorney Samuel Dewey, who represents Heritage, said Prince Harry’s privacy on the issue of past drug use has been “extraordinarily diminished” given his public remarks on the subject.

Persons: Prince, Prince Harry’s, Carl Nichols, John Bardo, Samuel Dewey, “, ” Dewey, “ He’s, ”, Dewey, Prince Harry, it’s Organizations: CNN, Department of Homeland Security, Heritage Foundation, US Border Patrol, DHS, US Customs, Border Protection, Heritage Locations: Washington , DC, London

☆ U.S.-Backed Researchers Use AI to Probe for Weaknesses in Drug Supply Chains
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has approved research that will use artificial intelligence to delve into drug supply chains and probe for weaknesses, including foreign influence. Any overreliance on foreign inputs in drug supply chains could leave the U.S. open to dire shortages in the event of conflict or natural catastrophe. PREVIEWThe DHS-backed dive into drug supply chains will examine to what extent the supply of drugs might be susceptible to disruption. The new DHS-backed study will try to map out supply chains several layers deep, and potentially uncover previously hidden issues, Mr. Tuchman said. Consultant Steven Lynn says the pandemic opened people’s eyes to issues inherent in far-flung pharmaceutical supply chains.

The report found that the FBI and DHS continue to spend more on international terrorism, despite saying for years that domestic terrorism now poses a greater threat to Americans. The report said a change in how the FBI categorizes domestic terrorism ideologies has been a hindrance to understanding the problem. In 2017, FBI created a new category of domestic terrorism ideology called “Black Identity Extremists,” but then stopped using it. The report also criticized the FBI and DHS as having been conservative in hunting for threat intelligence posted publicly on social media. Research conducted by MIT’s Technology Review found that “users consistently migrate from milder to more extreme content” on YouTube.

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