ICE Agents Ordered to Release All Detainees, Including More than 10,000 Convicted and Suspected Criminals

On Joe Biden’s first day in office, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a sweeping directive calling for a 100-day pause in deportations. As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are being given orders to empty their detention centers and let everyone go free.

Former presidential advisor Steven Miller says that, last year, 180,000 migrants were deported and that 92% of them were either charged or convicted of a crime. ICE will no longer pick up criminals in police or sheriff’s custody, thus leaving 12,000 foreign criminals to be released into communities across America. According to the memo, ICE also is forbidden to deport foreign workers and students who overstay their temporary visas. A federal judge in Texas has blocked the Biden administration’s order for two weeks because, not to enforce existing law would violate federal statutes and the Constitution. -GEG

Excerpt from Breitbart:

“Release them all, immediately,” the ICE official wrote to staff in the memo. Typically, if detainees do not have sponsors in the United States, agents can hold an individual in their custody. The memo, though, states that is no longer the case and that even detainees without sponsors must be released.

It is unclear if ICE is currently carrying out the mass release of all 14,195 detainees in its custody, 71.45 percent of whom are convicted criminals or have pending criminal charges. These detainees are currently held in approximately 138 facilities across the United States.

Read full article here…




Bend, Oregon: Federal Agents Dispersed Protesters Blocking ICE Buses for Hours

Bend, Oregon: On Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered in support of two men detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The group blocked the movement of two buses for nearly 12 hours until Border Patrol agents moved in and using pepper spray to disperse them. A spokeswoman from ICE reported that the two men supported by the demonstrators have extensive criminal records. They also are repeat immigration violators. The men were being transported to a detention center, most likely in Tacoma, Washington. -GEG

A federal judge on Thursday denied an immigration rights law group’s request for a temporary restraining order to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from transporting two detainees at the center of a large protest out of the state — because they already were.

The Innovation Law Lab said the judge denied the emergency motion request after an hour-long hearing.

“We are disappointed that before the hearing, ICE transported our clients out of the jurisdiction,” said Nadia Dahab, senior staff attorney with Innovation Law Lab.

“Although the court denied the TRO, the community was heard. Our clients cannot be deported and we will be able to make contact with them,” Dahab said.

The judge continued the hearing to Sept. 3 at 10 a.m. for additional arguments on the legality of the immigration agency’s actions, the organization added.

Bend attorney Erin Carter told NewsChannel 21 the federal judge rejected the request in the lawsuit for a restraining order because ICE agents already had taken the two men, Josue and Mark, out of state, likely to a Tacoma, Wash., detention center, making the request “basically moot.”

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of people gathered at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott parking lot in southwest Bend to show support for the two men detained by ICE on two unmarked buses that were blocked by protesters for nearly 12 hours Wednesday, until Border Patrol agents moved in and took them into custody, using pepper spray and, according to some protesters, less-lethal “rubber bullets.”.

A number of Central Oregon immigration leaders spoke at the parking lot news conference, including Hilda Leon with the Latino Community Association, who told NewsChannel 21, she and her partners will do whatever they can to help the two men.

“They are not my close friends, but they are members of our community,” Leon said. “We are going to stand up for them. We are going to be their voice any time and any place.”

The attorneys for both men, Carter and Micaela Guthrie, said ICE detained them without showing a warrant. But according to Section 287 of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE does not need a judicial warrant to arrest undocumented people.

Carter and Guthrie, of Bend Immigration Group, are currently working with Innovation Law Lab in Portland on the legal actions.

“Their legal right is to have representation by an attorney in immigration court,” Carter said. “That is something they were denied all day yesterday.”

A spokeswoman for ICE provided NewsChannel 21 with the following statement:

“The two individuals arrested by ice have criminal records that include convictions for assault, harassment, coercion, and criminal trespassing. they are also repeat immigration violators who were previously encountered by U.S. immigration officials and granted voluntary return to their home countries.”

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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Blamed ICE After the Sanctuary City Released an Illegal Immigrant Who Then Raped a 3-Year-Old

Christopher Puente, an illegal immigrant from Mexico with a long criminal history, was released by Chicago police instead of being held for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and he went on to rape a three-year-old girl in a McDonald’s bathroom. Puente was arrested for theft in June of 2019 and should have been held by Chicago police on a detainer from ICE so he could be deported, but Chicago is a sanctuary city that denies ICE detainer requests. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed ICE, saying, “If ICE is complaining, then they should do their job better.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said ICE needed to do their jobs better during a press conference about Christopher Puente.
Chicago, IL – An illegal immigrant whom Chicago police released instead of holding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) went on to rape a three-year-old girl in a McDonald’s bathroom, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has blamed ICE.

ICE Deputy Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations Henry Lucero said Illinois’ “sanctuary” status made it difficult for federal immigration authorities to find and remove criminal illegal immigrants, the Daily Mail reported.

ICE has said that Cook County, where Chicago is located, denied more than 1,000 detainer requests just in 2019.

“If ICE is complaining, then they should do their job better,” Lightfoot told reporters, according to WLS.

ICE said that 34-year-old Christopher Puente, a Mexican national, has a criminal record that dates back 20 years.

Court records showed Puente was convicted of burglary, forgery, trespassing, domestic battery, and additional related offenses between 2006 and 2018, the Daily Mail reported.

ICE said he was initially deported to Mexico on Dec. 4, 2014 pursuant to an administrative removal order because he was a convicted aggravated felon, WLS reported.

Puente returned to the United States five days later.

He was arrested again after he claimed to be a U.S. citizen and presented a fake birth certificate to border agents at the Brownsville, Texas border crossing, WLS reported

ICE said Puente was charged with falsely claiming citizenship and ordered to appear before an immigration judge.

But he never showed up for court.

The judge ordered Puente removed, in absentia, on March 30, 2017, WLS reported.

He was arrested for theft in June of 2019 and should have been held by Chicago police on a detainer from ICE so he could be deported, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, Puente was free until he was arrested for raping a three-year-old girl in the men’s room at a Chicago McDonald’s, WLS reported.

Police identified Puente through McDonald’s security video and he was later arrested.

He confessed to some of what he had done to the little girl after he was arrested, WLS reported.

Prosecutors said Puente told police “he was f–ked up and thinking dirty” when he pulled the little girl into his bathroom stall, according to the Daily Mail.

ICE once again requested that Chicago police detain Puente on Feb. 20, according to WLS.

The Chicago mayor defended the police department’s earlier decision to release Puente before the little girl was raped.

“They’re critical because we have said very clearly we are a welcoming city, a sanctuary city,” Lightfoot said. “Chicago Police Department will not cooperate with ICE on any immigration-related business. And that’s affected their ability to conduct immigration raids across the city.”

Read full article here…




Montgomery County, Maryland: Adult High School Students from Central America Are Accused of Raping 11-Year-Old Girls


Jonathan Coreas-Salamanca, a 20-year old illegal alien from El Salvador, is accused of repeatedly raping an 11-year old girl, and faces up to 55 years in prison. Ivan Reyes Lopez, 19, immigrated to the US from Honduras three years ago, and is accused of raping another 11-year old girl, on one occasion. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The Montgomery County Public School District sent a letter to parents stressing that the alleged rapes did not take place on school property.

In November of 2019, Montgomery County rolled back a portion of its “sanctuary” policy after a series of alleged sexual abuse and rape charges were leveled against multiple illegal aliens.

Jonathan Coreas-Salamanca, an illegal alien, and Ivan Reyes Lopez were both arrested at school.
Montgomery County, MD – Two men who have been attending public high school in Montgomery County have been arrested for allegedly raping two different 11-year-old girls.

One of the suspects, 20-year-old Jonathan Coreas-Salamanca, is an illegal alien from El Salvador, WJLA reported.

The second suspect, 19-year-old Ivan Reyes Lopez, immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras approximately three years ago.

Coreas-Salamanca, who is enrolled as a Montgomery Blair High School student, was arrested at the school on Feb. 13, WJLA reported.

According to court documents, the illegal alien gave an 11-year-old girl a cell phone at some point in 2019, then began exchanging explicit photos and text messages with her.

Coreas-Salamanca also allegedly used the phone to arrange sexual encounters with the pre-teen girl.

The victim’s father discovered the phone on Dec. 24, 2019, and began scrolling through the messages.

Read full article here…




Department of Justice Sues Sanctuary States and Threatens State and City Officials with Criminal Charges


The Department of Justice filed civil lawsuits on sanctuary jurisdictions across the US asking judges to overturn the policies, and warning state and city officials they could face their own criminal charges for harboring illegal immigrants. Target cities include New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Newark, N.J.

A lawsuit was filed against California over a new law that bans private prisons and immigration detention facilities used by ICE. A second lawsuit challenges New Jersey’s policy of restricting communications with ICE. A third lawsuit asks to overturn a King County, Washington, policy banning ICE from using an airport for detention flights that is disrupting deportation operations.

The Justice Department unleashed a legal assault on sanctuary jurisdictions across the country this week, filing a new round of civil lawsuits asking judges to overturn the policies, and warning state and city officials they could soon face their own criminal charges for harboring illegal immigrants.

Lawsuits were filed against California, New Jersey and King County, in Washington, each of which has adopted novel ways of interfering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to arrest, detain and deport illegal immigrants.

Attorney General William P. Barr also said his department is taking a look at state and local prosecutors who pursue lesser charges against illegal immigrants in order to keep their rap sheets cleaner, keeping them off ICE’s radar.

And Mr. Barr said he’s ordered a review to see whether the Justice Department can use a criminal law “that prohibits the harboring or shielding of aliens in the United States” against jurisdictions that have sanctuary policies.

“Today is a significant escalation in the federal government’s efforts to confront the resistance of sanctuary cities,” Mr. Barr said in remarks to the National Sheriff’s Association, where he unveiled the legal barrage. “We will consider taking action against any jurisdiction that, or any politician who, unlawfully obstructs the federal enforcement of immigration law.”

The Trump administration has been in a running battle with sanctuary cities, whose number has grown exponentially as anti-Trump state and local governments seek new ways to thwart the president’s get-tough immigration policies.

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions had tried to cut off some grant funding for sanctuary cities, but courts across the country rejected that policy as illegal.

Mr. Sessions also raised the possibility of using the criminal alien harboring laws against sanctuaries, though he never followed through.

Mr. Barr on Monday signaled the administration’s patience has run out as the sanctuary movement has shown no signs of letting up.

Indeed, states and cities seem to be competing with each other to find new ways to refuse to work with ICE.

One of those is King County Executive Dow Constantine’s 2019 ban on ICE detainee flights taking off or landing at King County International Airport – Boeing Field, a major regional airport for ICE activities.

Federal prosecutors said the flight ban has disrupted deportation operations throughout the Northwest.

“King Country’s action was improper, it was illegal,” said Brian T. Moran, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington.

In New Jersey, the Justice Department’s lawsuit challenges a state attorney general directive that requires local law enforcement to tell immigrants when they are being released — but bans them from telling the same information to ICE in many cases.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said the case “seeks to restore the balance of power between the federal and state governments” by reasserting the supremacy of federal law.

Mr. Barr also highlighted a lawsuit brought against California late last month challenging state law AB32, which outlaws private prisons.

That has severely dented ICE, which heavily relies on those facilities to hold migrant detainees in the state.

Under the ban, ICE says it must now ship detainees out of state, then pay to shuttle them back and forth for their court dates. The ban also hurts the migrants themselves, because they are held far from family, ICE says.

“California has every right to decide how it wants to manage its own prisoners and detainees, but it has no authority to dictate to the federal government how it conducts federal operations,” Mr. Barr said.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal blasted the new lawsuit against him as election-year politics, pointing out he issued the directive in 2018, and suggested it was odd that it was only now being challenged.

“What’s disappointing is that my former colleagues at the Justice Dept have agreed to go along with this election year stunt,” he said on Twitter.

In King County, Mr. Constantine accused Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr of “bullying” him, and defended his attempt to use local rules to shape federal policy.

“Mass deportations raise deeply troubling human rights concerns, including separation of families, racial disproportionality in policing, and constitutional issues of due process,” he said.

He said the local airports voluntarily refused to serve ICE flights, and said they are working with federal aviation officials on working out issues over the policy. He said Mr. Barr’s lawsuit circumvents those discussions “for the sake of grabbing headlines.”

The Justice Department moves come a week after Homeland Security announced punishment for New York, where a new law grants driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, while banning ICE and Customs and Border Protection from access to the state’s motor vehicle records.

In response, CBP announced New Yorkers are no longer able to sign up for some trusted traveler programs that speed people through customs at airports and border crossings.

Read full article here…

Additional source:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/14/dhs-to-deploy-elite-border-patrol-teams-to-sanctua/




Illegal Alien Arrested for Raping and Murdering 92-Year Old Woman After Allegedly Attacking His Father and Being Set Free, Despite ICE Detainer, Due to New York Sanctuary Law


Reeaz Khan, 21, an unlawfully present Guyanese national, was arrested January 10 by the NYPD and was charged with murder, rape, and sexual abuse against Maria Fuertes, 92, a person incapable of consent. Khan is accused of pouncing on the elderly woman from behind, throwing her to the ground and then sexually assaulting her before he ran from the scene. Khan was previously released from local law enforcement custody in November 2019 with an active ICE detainer, due to New York City’s sanctuary policies. The incident six weeks prior to the murder of Fuentes reportedly involved Khan’s 41-year-old father, who had to be hospitalized from slashes to his arm and chest after his son allegedly used a broken ceramic mug to attack him. Although Khan was charged with misdemeanor assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment, he paid no bail and was released. A spokeswoman for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed the mayor’s sympathies and chastised President Donald Trump’s administration for “politicizing this tragedy.”

ICE said that 92-year-old Maria Fuentes was murdered by an illegal immigrant with a criminal history named Reeaz Khan.

Queens, NY – Federal officials said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “sanctuary city” policy is to blame for the brutal murder of a 92-year-old woman at the hands of an illegal immigrant in Queens on Jan. 6.

“Clearly the politicians care more about criminal illegal aliens than the citizens they are elected to serve and protect,” U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement, The Washington Times reported.

Reeaz Khan, who is an illegal immigrant from Guyana, was arrested on Nov. 27, 2019 after he attacked his father in their South Richmond home, the New York Post reported.

Khan’s 41-year-old father had to be hospitalized after his son used a broken ceramic mug to slash his father’s arm and chest.

Court records showed that Khan was charged with misdemeanor assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment, the New York Post reported.

The records also showed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents placed a detainer request on him the day he was arrested.

However, because of New York’s new bail laws and the mayor’s liberal policies, Khan was released without bail after the judge issued a temporary order of protection for his father, the New York Post reported.

Only six weeks passed before Khan allegedly sexually assaulted and strangled 92-year-old Maria Fuentes.

“It was a deadly choice to release a man on an active ICE detainer back onto the streets after his first arrest included assault and weapon charges, and he now faces new charges, including murder,” Thomas Decker, ICE’s New York field-office director of enforcement and removal operations, said.

“New York City’s sanctuary policies continue to threaten the safety of all residents of the five boroughs as they repeatedly protect criminal aliens who show little regard for the laws of this nation,” Decker added.

Court papers said the elderly woman was found lying in the freezing weather about two hours after she was attacked by Khan, the New York Post reported.

Fuentes died from injuries that included rib fractures and a broken spine at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

Investigators found surveillance video that showed the before and after of the attack and shared it with the public to identify Fuentes’ murderer, the New York Post reported.

Khan’s brother was one of multiple people who identified the suspect for police.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Grasso said that after Khan was taken into custody, he told detectives that he had found his victim lying on the ground, the New York Post reported.

The 21 year old said he was trying to help Fuentes when he “fell down, his belt broke, his pants fell down and his penis fell near her vagina,” Grasso said.

Read full article here…

Additional source:

https://nypost.com/2020/01/16/reeaz-khan-indicted-in-murder-of-92-year-old-queens-cat-lady/




New York and New Jersey Join 13 Other States in Allowing Illegal Aliens to Obtain Driver’s Licenses

New York’s new law allows immigrants to use foreign-issued documents to prove their identity and age and does not require a valid Social Security number to obtain a driver’s license. There now are 15 states that allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

The Hill

@thehill

 

Lines to apply for New York driver’s licenses go as far as around the block on the first day undocumented immigrants can apply for them http://hill.cm/vZUqpSP 

5,969 people are talking about this

Read full article here…

Additional source:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/17/new-yorks-drivers-licenses-for-illegal-aliens-halts-verification-of-american-citizens-identities/




Portland: Deranged Anti-ICE Protester Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison After Attacking Disabled Man

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An anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protester, William Bryant Pierce, took a plea deal and a three year prison sentence after using a 6′ flag pole to attack a 60-year old disabled man, jabbing at him through the window of his truck and striking him in the eye. According to court papers, Pierce told jailers that he uses THC daily and LSD intermittently. He said he was homeless and living off food stamps.

Another crazed leftist protester receives a prison sentence stemming from the rampant chaos that has enveloped Portland. William Bryant Pierce took a plea deal and a three year prison sentence after using his anarchist flag staff to attack a disabled man who was trying to get by on the sidewalk.

 

The initial story, from August of 2018, via KPTV Fox 12:

A local man said a Portland protester attacked him with a flagpole outside City Hall on Thursday.

The alleged assault occurred on Southwest 4th Avenue near City Hall just before 10:30 a.m., according to the Portland Police Bureau.

Police said the suspect, 33-year old Warren Pierce, was arrested and is facing an assault charge.

Officers said the pole was collected as evidence.

With a swollen and black eye, 60-year old Tim Schmitz spoke with FOX12 after being released from the hospital.

Schmitz said he may have a detached retina after an Abolish ICE protester jabbed him in the face, with what he believed was a 6-foot flag pole.

“He started coming at me through the window and started spearing me with the flagpole. I ducked it six or eight times and he finally got me the one time,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz said it all started when he was leaving City Hall, trying to make his way past a crowded sidewalk full of Abolish ICE protesters when he and one demonstrator began exchanging words.

Schmitz said he got in his truck to leave, pulled out to the street, where he stopped at a red light. That’s when he said the protester followed him, ran out into the street, and jabbed the flagpole through his truck window, striking his eye.

“I’m really disgusted with Portland. I’m disgusted and I feel ashamed that I even call it my birthplace. I know all about protesting and I understand it, I agree with. I don’t agree with stepping on my rights to do it though, especially because you don’t like what I say,” Schmitz said.

Read full article here…




Child Rape Suspects from Mexico Released In New York & New Jersey After Local Jails Refuse To Hold Men For ICE

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Federal immigration officials say two alleged child rapists are on the run after authorities in New York and New Jersey refused to hold the suspects in jail for ICE. Luciano Trejo-Dominguez was arrested by New Jersey police for allegedly restraining and sexually assaulting a child between 13 to 15 years old on August 12. ICE was not notified, and Trejo-Dominguez was released. A second illegal immigrant, Joaquin Rodriguez Quiroz, was arrested on charges of 3rd-degree rape of a minor under 17-years old in Westchester County, New York, which is considered to be a ‘sanctuary’ jurisdiction. ICE again lodged a detainer request with the Westchester County Jail on Sept. 7, but the Mexican national was released after posting bond. -GEG

Federal immigration officials say two alleged child rapists are on the run after authorities in New York and New Jersey refused to hold the suspects in jail for ICE.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Mexican nationals were each taken into custody for separate incidents in the Tri-State Area on charges they sexually assaulted a minor.

Despite requests that the men be held in jail until officers from ICE could pick them up, local law enforcement in both states released the suspects back into the public.

ICE says the first man — Luciano Trejo-Dominguez – was arrested by Vineland, New Jersey police for allegedly restraining and sexually assaulting a child younger than 16 on Aug. 12.

Over the next two days, ICE and Pacific Enforcement Response Center both filed detainers to have Trejo-Dominguez held at the Cumberland County Jail. Those requests were denied and the alleged rapist was released on Aug. 23.

Trejo-Dominguez has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault of a victim 13-15 years-old, criminal restraint, criminal sexual contact, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The other man – Joaquin Rodriguez Quiroz – was arrested by police in New York’s Westchester County on 3rd-degree rape charges on Sept. 6.

Quiroz allegedly raped a minor under 17 years-old, which is a class-E felony in New York.

ICE again lodged a detainer request with the Westchester County Jail on Sept. 7, but the Mexican national was released after posting bond.

Read full article here…




New York City Bans Calling People Illegal Aliens Or Threatening to Call ICE to Deport Them

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It’s now against the law in New York City to threaten someone with a call to immigration authorities or refer to anyone as an “illegal alien” when motivated by hate. The 29-page directive from the city’s Commission on Human Rights instructs that “the use of certain language, including ‘illegal alien’ and ‘illegals,’ with the intent to demean, humiliate, or offend a person or persons constitutes discrimination.” The restrictions are punishable by fines of up to $250,000 per offense! Mayor Bill deBlasio’s Office of Immigrant Affairs announced a joint $1-million investment with the state to guarantee free legal services to immigrants facing imminent deportation. -GEG

It’s now against the law in New York City to threaten someone with a call to immigration authorities or refer to them as an “illegal alien” when motivated by hate.

The restrictions — violations of which are punishable by fines of up to $250,000 per offense — are outlined in a 29-page directive released by City Hall’s Commission on Human Rights.

“‘Alien’ — used in many laws to refer to a ‘noncitizen’ person — is a term that may carry negative connotations and dehumanize immigrants, marking them as ‘other,’” reads one passage of the memo. “The use of certain language, including ‘illegal alien’ and ‘illegals,’ with the intent to demean, humiliate, or offend a person or persons constitutes discrimination.”

The directive goes on to list several examples of acts and comments that would run afoul of the restrictions, including harassing people over their accents or grasp of English, or wielding the threat of a call to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a tool of hate.

Read full article here…




Feds Demand Apple And Google Hand Over Names Of 10,000+ Users Of A Gun-Scope App

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The US government wants Apple and Google to hand over names, phone numbers, and other identifying data of everyone who downloaded an app for a gun-scope app called Obsidian 4. It is a tool that uses video to calibrate gun scopes from an Android or iPhone. The data would deliver the identities of more than 10,000 people so they could be rounded up and forced to surrender their guns. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says it is seeking the data to aid in an investigation into possible breaches of weapons export regulations, but no one believes that who is aware of the government’s long-standing drive to disarm the American people. -GEG

Own a rifle? Got a scope to go with it? The U.S. government might soon know who you are, where you live and how to reach you.

That’s because the government wants Apple and Google to hand over names, phone numbers and other identifying data of at least 10,000 users of a single gun scope app, Forbes has discovered. It’s an unprecedented move: Never before has a case been disclosed in which American investigators demanded personal data of users of a single app from Apple and Google. And never has an order been made public where the feds have asked the Silicon Valley giants for info on so many thousands of people in one go.

According to an application for a court order filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on September 5, investigators want information on users of Obsidian 4, a tool used to control rifle scopes made by night-vision specialist American Technologies Network Corp. The app allows gun owners to get a live stream, take video and calibrate their gun scope from an Android or iPhone device. According to the Google Play page for Obsidian 4, it has more than 10,000 downloads. Apple doesn’t provide download numbers, so it’s unclear how many iPhone owners could be swept up in this latest government data grab.

If the court approves the demand, and Apple and Google decide to hand over the information, it could include data on thousands of people who have nothing to do with the crimes being investigated, privacy activists warned. Edin Omanovic, lead on Privacy International’s State Surveillance program, said it would set a dangerous precedent and scoop up “huge amounts of innocent people’s personal data.” 

 

“Such orders need to be based on suspicion and be particularized—this is neither,” Omanovic added.

Neither Apple nor Google had responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. ATN, the scope maker, also hadn’t responded.

Today In: Innovation
 

Why the data grab?

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department is seeking information as part of a broad investigation into possible breaches of weapons export regulations. It’s looking into illegal exports of ATN’s scope, though the company itself isn’t under investigation, according to the order. As part of that, investigators are looking for a quick way to find out where the app is in use, as that will likely indicate where the hardware has been shipped. ICE has repeatedly intercepted illegal shipments of the scope, which is controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), according to the government court filing. They included shipments to Canada, the Netherlands and Hong Kong where the necessary licenses hadn’t been obtained.

 

“This pattern of unlawful, attempted exports of this rifle scope in combination with the manner in which the ATN Obsidian 4 application is paired with this scope manufactured by Company A supports the conclusion that the information requested herein will assist the government in identifying networks engaged in the unlawful export of this rifle scope through identifying end users located in countries to which export of this item is restricted,” the government order reads. (The order was supposed to have been sealed, but Forbes obtained it before the document was hidden from public view.) There’s no clear stipulation on the government’s side to limit this to countries outside of America, though that limitation could be put in place.

It’s unclear just whom ICE is investigating. No public charges have been filed related to the company or resellers of its weapons tools. Reports online have claimed ATN scopes were being used by the Taliban.

If the court signs off on the order, Apple and Google will be told to hand over not just the names of anyone who downloaded the scope app from August 1, 2017 to the current date, but their telephone numbers and IP addresses too, which could be used to determine the location of the user. The government also wants to know when users were operating the app.

Innocents ensnared

The request is undeniably broad and would likely include all users of the app within America, not just users abroad who might indicate illegal shipments of the gun appendage. Tor Ekeland, a privacy-focused lawyer, said it amounted to a “fishing expedition.” (The DOJ hadn’t responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.)

Read full article here…




Children Were Encouraged to Whack ICE Agent Piñata at Chicago East Side Community Day

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East Side Chicago Community Day organizers, a chamber of commerce comprised of over 25 local businesses, were criticized after a piñata of an ICE agent was presented to children to strike open. A representative said they never would have imaged their event would cause commotion. A spokesman from the Los Brown Berets, a far left activist group that brought out the piñata, said the ICE piñata was “not meant in a negative way.” Children also got the chance to throw balls at a painted image of President Trump, social media images show. Some applauded the activity, while others criticized it for teaching children to hate.

A community in East Chicago was left divided
earlier this month after children at a block party took turns smashing a
piñata made to resemble an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) officer.

According to a Tuesday report, the “East Side Community Day in Chicago,” on July 13 was organized by a chamber of commerce comprising 25 businesses.

Pictures
on social media showed children waiting in line to smash the piñata,
while some parents held their sons and daughters to hit it, CBS 2 reported

Anthony
Martinez, who leads the Chicago chapter of Los Brown Berets, the group
that brought out the piñata, told CBS 2 the activity was meant as a
nuanced statement. “It was not meant in a negative way at all towards
law enforcement,” he said. “We’re just making a statement that the
federal government’s recent actions regarding deportation are wrong.”

Read full article here…

Additional source:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/07/parents-laugh-and-urge-children-to-take-turns-whacking-ice-agent-pinata-at-chicago-east-side-community-day-video/