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☆ U.S. lawmakers criticize Biden administration Puerto Rico fuel waiver
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 21 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of House of Representatives lawmakers criticized the Biden administration decision on Friday to waive U.S. shipping rules in September for the delivery of fuel to Puerto Rico. The Sept. 28 Jones Act waiver allowed for the delivery of diesel sourced from the mainland United States by British Petroleum (BP.L) Products North America. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, and top committee Republican Sam Graves expressed "concerns and disappointment" over the waiver. DHS issued a waiver of the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S.-flagged ships. Last month, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi asked the White House for a waiver to increase the availability of fuel after the storm.

☆ U.S. grants Temporary Protected Status to Ethiopians fleeing conflict
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday granted Temporary Protected Status for 18 months for Ethiopians currently residing in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security said. "The United States recognizes the ongoing armed conflict and the extraordinary and temporary conditions engulfing Ethiopia, and DHS is committed to providing temporary protection to those in need," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the designation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine. An estimated 27,000 Ethiopians in the United States will be eligible for TPS under the new designation, a Homeland Security department spokesperson said. To qualify for the program, Ethiopians in the United States will have to show they have been continuously resided in the United States since October 20, 2022, and those who attempt to travel to the United States after that date would not be eligible, the department said.

☆ Social Security now allows individuals to self-select gender
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Individuals will be allowed to make sure that their records with the Social Security Administration align with their gender identity under a plan announced Wednesday. The action, which is part of the agency’s “Equity Action Plan,” follows through on a March announcement to do so by the agency’s acting commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi. Kijakazi said the move is part of a “commitment to decrease administrative burdens and ensure people who identify as gender diverse or transgender have options in the Social Security Number card application process.” It’s also part of a larger Biden administration-wide effort to increase acceptance of gender identity. In June 2021, the State Department started implementing procedures to allow applicants to self-select their gender, including an “X,” and no longer required medical certification if an applicant’s self-selected gender does not match the gender on their other citizenship or identity documents. The Department of Homeland Security has reformed its screening process at U.S. airports for transgender travelers and the Department of Housing and Urban Development has implemented protections for homeless transgender people who seek emergency shelter access consistent with their gender identity.

☆ Microsoft, Apple, Meta, other big U.S. firms run ads urging Congress to protect 'Dreamers' as DACA fades
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“Collectively, we represent the backbone of an American economy facing tremendous workforce challenges as a result of the pandemic. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that DACA was illegal but allowed more than 600,000 current DACA recipients to keep their status while a lower court reviewed a new DACA rule the Biden administration put forward. He is predicted to rule against the new DACA rule ultimately, because he found its previous iteration illegal. “Tragically, the 5th Circuit and courts have made it clear that not only did they rule the current DACA rule is illegal, but the new DACA rule will be illegal, too,” said Todd Schulte, the president and executive director of FWD.US, a group that has advocated for DACA to continue. “Now, no one trusts Democrats of the Biden administration to actually enforce the law and crack down on illegal immigration.

☆ A financially independent 26-year-old who built a 250-home neighborhood in the suburbs of Atlanta explains the 6-phase process that goes into completing a new housing development project
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The 26-year-old developer explains what exactly goes into completing a new housing development. His company is wrapping up a 250-home development called Somerset Hills in Fairburn, Georgia, a suburb outside of Atlanta. His team has 10 homes to finish before the development project is complete. Insider spoke to Uboh about what exactly goes into completing a new housing development from the ground-up. Identify your vision and strategyThe first phase of the process is nailing down your vision and strategy for the project.

In one ledger obtained by the Oversight Committee and published in the report, the Secret Service was charged $1,160 for a room at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. for agents protecting Eric Trump on March 8, 2017. On Nov. 8, 2017, another ledger shows that the Secret Service was charged $1,185 to lodge agents protecting Donald Trump Jr. The Trump Organization and the Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump Organization properties overall charged the Secret Service more than $1.4 million for agents’ accommodations when traveling to protect former President Trump, according to figures first reported by The Washington Post. “The Secret Service received authorization for additional flexibility for expenses during protective missions, including per diem expenses above the government rate,” Maloney said in her letter to the Secret Service.

☆ Biden uses controversial Trump policy to deal with influx of Venezuelan migrants at the border even as his Justice Department fights against the policy in court: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Biden is using a Trump-era rule to curb Venezuelans from entering the US at the southern border. Title 42 was invoked in 2020 under Trump to send migrants back to Mexico, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden's Justice Department, however, has been fighting the policy in court. According to the AP, Mexico has said it would only take in one Venezuelan migrant for each Venezuelan allowed to enter the US on humanitarian parole. Under the current policy, Venezuelan migrants who walk or swim across the border will be expelled and those who illegally enter Mexico or Panama won't be able to enter the US, DHS said.

☆ Ron DeSantis flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard may have unintentionally opened the door for them to remain in the US permanently
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis flew nearly 50 migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard last month. Ron DeSantis chartered planes to fly migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard last month, he may have unintentionally given them an opportunity to remain in the US indefinitely. Lawyers for the migrants have also said they were given a misleading brochure that promised cash assistance and job placement. Salazar certifying the migrants as victims of a crime was part of their lawyers' efforts to help them obtain visas. The Martha's Vineyard flights were just the latest example of a tactic being used by Republican lawmakers to draw attention to the Biden administration's immigration policies.

☆ Congress asks Secret Service for account of contacts with Oath Keepers up to and on Jan. 6, 2021
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection has asked the Secret Service for records of all communications between the far-right Oath Keepers group and Secret Service agents prior to and on the day of the attack, after a preliminary accounting by the agency indicated multiple contacts in 2020, according to a Secret Service spokesman. “Following the (Oath Keepers) trial, the committee reached out to the Secret Service and a verbal briefing as provided to staff, which was specific to the comments made at trial,” said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. The Washington Post first reported an agent from the protective intelligence division was in communication with the Oath Keepers prior to Jan. 6, 2021. Two Secret Service officials told NBC News once the Oath Keepers had the phone number of the member of the agency’s protective intelligence detail, they made numerous calls directly to that agent. But regular contact with a militia type group like Oath Keepers, especially if treating them as a legitimate security partner, raises lots of concerns.”

A federal judge in Texas on Friday extended an order temporarily allowing hundreds of thousands of young immigrants enrolled in a program to work and study in the U.S. without fear of being deported. The administration's revised version of DACA, aimed at codifying and strengthening the protections, is set to go into effect on Oct. 31. Texas, which is home to over 100,000 people enlisted in the DACA program, filed suit to end the program in 2018, alleging that the program is illegal because it should have been created by legislation, not executive order. Hanen agreed that the program was unlawful his July 2021 ruling. The program narrowly survived a different challenge before the high court in a 5-4 ruling in 2020, but the court now has a larger conservative majority.

☆ U.S. to Issue Maximum Number of Visas Allowed for Seasonal Workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Santiago Nava—a guest migrant worker from Hidalgo, Mexico, on his first trip as a seasonal worker—cleans a container at a crab house in Fishing Creek, Md., in 2020. WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security for the first time intends to issue the maximum number of H-2B seasonal-worker visas allowed by law this year, a total of more than 130,000, the agency announced on Wednesday. Each year, 66,000 visas are set aside, split evenly between the winter and summer seasons, for seasonal employers such as landscapers, ski resorts, fisheries and vacation-town vendors. On top of that, the secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to issue up to nearly 65,000 additional H-2B visas for the year, though to date no secretary has done so, despite demand.

☆ The Secret Service painted a damning picture of Trump to the Jan. 6 committee. It wasn't the first time agents have been called to testify.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The House Jan. 6 committee obtained hundreds of thousands of internal Secret Service emails. Before the new revelations, the Secret Service was already at the center of the committee's investigation. The panel is also looking into how the Secret Service lost countless other records from January 6, reportedly including agents' text messages. Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, has said there was no malicious intent behind the messages' deletion. Secret Service agent Larry Cockell (left) was forced to testify in an investigation into then-President Bill Clinton.

☆ The Secret Service gave emails to the Jan 6 committee that could explain what happened inside Trump's limo, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In July, the House committee investigating the Capitol riots issued a subpoena to the Secret Service. The Secret Service provided more than one million electronic communications to Jan 6 investigators. The messages could help investigators piece together information about efforts to protect Mike Pence. The communications include emails and other electronic messages from agents in the days leading up to and during the Capitol insurrection, as per NBC. Representatives for the US Secret Service did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Facebook whistleblower, former defense and intel officials form group to fix social media
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A Facebook whistleblower, two former U.S. defense secretaries, several past lawmakers and intelligence chiefs are forming a new group to address the harmful impacts social media can have on kids, communities and national security. The council said it aims to drive bipartisan conversation around tech in Washington, D.C., and across the country, elevate nonpartisan voices like parents and pediatricians, and advance effective solutions to reform social media. Haugen said the issues stemming from social media are truly bipartisan in nature, which could be made more clear by avoiding framing them as issues of content moderation. Many conservatives are skeptical of content moderation because they believe platforms can use it to censor certain viewpoints, though mainstream platforms have repeatedly denied they do so. Haugen said she sees content moderation as largely a "distraction from the real path forward, which is around product design, safety by design, transparency."

☆ Secret Service has given investigators over 1 million electronic communications agents sent before and on Jan. 6, 2021
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Secret Service has handed congressional investigators more than 1 million electronic communications sent by agents in the lead-up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the matter. While the communications do not include text messages, they do include emails and other electronic messages, according to a Secret Service spokesperson. It was previously unknown that the total number of communications provided to congressional investigators surpassed 1 million. NBC News previously reported that Secret Service agents have been trying to get an account of what information may have been taken from their personal phones and handed over to congressional investigators, but they were recently denied. Most recently, a member of the far-right Oath Keepers group testified in court he believed their leader, Stewart Rhodes, was in communication with at least one Secret Service agent prior to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

☆ Secret Service agents were denied right to know what Jan. 6 info was seized from their phones
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Secret Service agents asked the agency for a record of all of the communications seized from their personal cellphones as part of investigations into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, but were rebuffed, according to a document reviewed by NBC News. NBC News previously reported that two sources with knowledge of the action said Secret Service leadership seized 24 cellphones from agents involved with the response to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The letter also raises key questions about what Secret Service communications both congressional and inspector general’s investigators may have. The Secret Service declined to comment. Most recently, a member of the far-right Oath Keepers group testified in court that the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was in communication with at least one Secret Service agent before the Jan. 6 insurrection.

☆ Biden White House preparing to take executive action to protect DACA 'Dreamers'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Josh-Lederman-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Josh Lederman | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The White House is preparing to take executive action to protect hundreds of thousands of immigrants known as “Dreamers,” people close to the White House told NBC News, as the Biden administration braces for a potential court defeat that could end the decade-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Circuit Court of Appeals, possibly within days. Although the Biden administration is likely to appeal the order, the Supreme Court has indicated it would agree with a 5th Circuit ruling that ends the Obama-era program. The order would direct Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deprioritize deporting DACA recipients and refrain from deporting them if they aren’t deemed threats to public safety or national security. And if something terrible comes out of the 5th Circuit, I think it could be an issue in November,” said Durbin, referring to the November midterm elections.

☆ Roger Stone sought a second pardon from Donald Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot: New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stone, a Trump confidante, sought a second pardon from the former president after the Capitol riot. Stone had a prison sentence commuted by Trump before he left the White House. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyRoger Stone sought a second pardon from former President Donald Trump after the Capitol riot, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Stone asked Schoen to "plug" his request for a pardon when he spoke to Trump, per the outlet. "Fuck the voting, let's get right to the violence," Stone can be heard saying to his associates during a car ride.

☆ Google and Amazon ignore employee protests and plow ahead with deals involving the US military, ICE, and CBP
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Caroline Haskins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google and Amazon used third parties for contracts with DHS and DOD agencies in the past year. Their dissent has been largely ignored, according to an Insider review of contracts involving Google and Amazon. In the same time frame, Amazon used third parties to work with DHS agencies at least 28 times, including at least 14 contracts with CBP. As Insider previously reported, these companies have used third parties to work with CBP as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Google and Amazon employees have a history of speaking out against their companies' work with the military and immigration enforcement.

☆ Secret Service took cellphones of 24 agents involved in agency's Jan. 6 riot response
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Senior leadership at the Secret Service confiscated the cellphones of 24 agents involved in the agency’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and handed them over to the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, according to two sources with knowledge of the action. It is unclear what, if any, information the Office of Inspector General has been able to obtain from the cellphones. One source familiar with the Secret Service decision to comply with Cuffari’s request said some agents were upset their leaders were quick to confiscate the phones without their input. The Secret Service has said the texts were lost as part of a previously planned systems upgrade that essentially restored the phones to factory settings. A spokesperson for the Secret Service declined to comment about the confiscated phones.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A ship carrying much-needed diesel fuel has been unable to dock in hard-hit southern Puerto Rico since Sunday while it awaits federal authorization because of the Jones Act, a century-old shipping law. That means that a foreign ship with goods for Puerto Rico would first have to disembark in the mainland U.S. and change crews. Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson two years after World War I ended, the Jones Act was passed as a protective measure against foreign competition. On Thursday, eight members of Congress called for the federal government to grant a one-year waiver from the Jones Act for storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. As of Monday morning, only 16% of power customers in Ponce had their electricity restored, according to the Puerto Rican government.

☆ While DeSantis was flying legal asylum seekers to Martha's Vineyard, business owners in his state are struggling for workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Which is why some business owners in Florida were perplexed when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent legal asylum seekers from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard on two flights earlier this month. Asylum seekers are legally able to work in the United States while they await their asylum cases. Whether the asylum seekers intended to go to Florida or not, business owners there are signaling they would welcome them. Florida granted 7,101 asylum seekers permanent political asylum status between 2018-2020, just behind California and New Jersey. Gautam believes if more asylum seekers are granted permanent status, it will be “a game changer” for the longevity of his business and workforce.

☆ While DeSantis was flying legal asylum seekers to Martha's Vineyard, business owners in his state were struggling for workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Which is why some business owners in Florida were perplexed when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent legal asylum seekers from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha's Vineyard on two flights earlier this month. Asylum seekers are legally able to work in the United States while they await their asylum cases. Whether the asylum seekers intended to go to Florida or not, business owners there are signaling they would welcome them. Florida granted 7,101 asylum seekers permanent political asylum status between 2018-2020, just behind California and New Jersey. Gautam believes if more asylum seekers are granted permanent status, it will be "a game changer" for the longevity of his business and workforce.

☆ Hurricane Ian barrels toward Florida's Gulf Coast, canceling Biden rally and bringing Ron DeSantis his biggest storm test as governor
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency in Florida as the response kicks into high gear. "We know we are going to have some major impacts throughout the state of Florida," said DeSantis, a Republican. DeSantis' emergency declaration also allows Floridians to bypass typical time limits on prescriptions and stock up early. In a press conference Monday afternoon in Largo, Florida, state Attorney General Ashley Moody reminded businesses that Florida law prohibits them from price gouging supplies people will need. "Our entire county is going to feel some type of impact," Cathie Perkins, director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, said at the Largo press conference.

☆ Border chief says GOP governors are worsening crisis by 'lying' to migrants
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also criticized Republican governors for sending migrants to other cities in an interview with José Díaz-Balart on MSNBC. Migrants line up after having arrived by bus in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday. Magnus said that despite the releases and the busing of migrants to Northern cities, the Border Patrol is managing the influx. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said the city’s shelters are full, which is why he, like Republican governors, has begun busing migrants out of the city. Unlike Republican governors, Leeser is notifying cities that will be receiving migrants from El Paso.

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