The Biden-Harris administration has allocated taxpayer funds for billboards in Texas promoting free legal help for detained individuals facing criminal charges related to immigration.
Specifically, the funding is funneled through the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO).
OIDO is described on its website as an independent entity within DHS, meaning it operates separately from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The office “assists individuals with complaints about the potential violation of immigration detention standards or other misconduct by DHS.”
According to insider sources from ICE and CBP, reported by Fox News’ Bill Melugin, there is significant frustration surrounding these billboard initiatives, especially in light of the ongoing budget challenges facing their agencies.
“They [the ads] are more than insulting,” a source in ICE said.
“This is so wrong,” a Border Patrol agent added.
In light of these revelations, Melugin sought answers from DHS regarding the ads, yet the agency failed to provide a direct response.
“Instead, DHS provided background comment to me, pointing out that the OIDO was approved by Congress in 2019, and is tasked with a mandate to independently review immigration detention to promote humane conditions & address complaints for illegal immigrants in immigration detention,” according to Melugin.
“DHS and its employees provide the highest standard of care for individuals who are detained in its custody,” a DHS spokesperson said, seemingly missing the central concern of Melugin’s inquiry.
The reaction from Congressional Republicans has been one of anger over these developments.
“The news that DHS is using taxpayer money to launch billboards advocating ‘rights’ for individuals in ‘immigration custody’ should be alarming because it’s a preview of the legal arguments that radical progressive democrats will use to argue against deportation of the millions dumped in America by Biden-Harris-Mayorkas,” Rep. Chip Roy told Melugin.
“Time and again, we’ve seen DHS put an open borders agenda ahead of its mission to safeguard American families,” Rep. Tony Gonzales added. “Whether it’s FEMA splurging hundreds of millions of dollars on migrant housing or OIDO running ads like this, our government is hemorrhaging money on the wrong priorities. It’s time for Congress to pull the plug on programs like these.”
This unsettling news — which is not entirely surprising given the administration’s track record — comes on the heels of a report revealing that DHS had approved refugee applications for several Venezuelan gang members, failing to recognize their prominent gang tattoos.
Kevin Grigsby, who leads refugee operations at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is part of DHS, later criticized his staff for their oversight regarding these tattoos.
“Unfortunately we did not ask about the tattoos during our adjudication or did not identify that the tattoos asked about were consistent with gang membership,” he wrote in a letter obtained by the Washington Times.
“The potential entry of suspected gang members into the United States represents a serious public safety concern that we need to make sure we are being vigilant against,” he added.
Rosemary Jenks, policy director at the Immigration Accountability Project, deemed the oversight inexcusable.
“This is one of the most absurd things I’ve seen,” she told the Times. “We have a real problem with importing gangs here. That got a whole lot worse over the last 3½ years. This is a stunning national security failure.”
Former USCIS leader Emilio Gonzalez echoed her sentiments.
“It is egregious that the Biden-Harris administration knowingly continues to admit individuals that belong to transnational criminal organizations whose only purpose is to enter the United States and prey on U.S. citizens,” he said to the Times.
Previous reports have highlighted how members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have been taking over apartment complexes and creating significant disruptions across the United States.
