All posts tagged: Securitys

Homeland Security’s Plan to Strong-Arm ‘Sanctuary’ Cities

Homeland Security’s Plan to Strong-Arm ‘Sanctuary’ Cities

Published by Daniella Wilson

In early April, shortly after Markwayne Mullin took over the Department of Homeland Security, he floated an idea on Fox News that wasn’t taken seriously; it sounded, in fact, like a proposal from someone very new on the job: Mullin threatened to cut federal screening of international passengers and cargo at airports in cities with “sanctuary” policies, which limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Such a move would trigger flight cancellations to airports in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other major cities and force airlines to reroute to other destinations. Mullin’s proposal seemed more like a wild swing than a real plan. The new secretary is pushing forward anyway. Last Wednesday, Mullin convened a small group of airline and travel-industry executives at DHS headquarters in Washington and told them he may reduce Customs and Border Protection staffing at major airports that serve sanctuary jurisdictions. Mullin told the executives the locations could include Portland International Airport, in Oregon; New York City–area airports such as John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport; …

There’s Something So Embarrassing About Homeland Security’s New Drone Video That We’re Gonna Have to Sit Down for a Minute

There’s Something So Embarrassing About Homeland Security’s New Drone Video That We’re Gonna Have to Sit Down for a Minute

Published by José Betancourt

Whether you’re a one-room film production house or a propagandist for a massive arm of the US government, you’re never too good to have an extra set of eyes take a look at your final draft. That’s a lesson some PR spinsters with the Department of Homeland Security evidently have yet to learn, after the agency posted a 40-second clip for its new drone program, hyping up “American Air Superiority.” As DHS propaganda goes, it’s your typical fare under Trump 2.0. There’s some cloyingly uplifting music, a few shots of drones in the sky, and bold-lettered copy proclaiming things like “innovation in action.” One detail, though, is so out of place that it feels like parody: the inclusion of footage showing DHS agents using a prominent Chinese drone brand. The discrepancy was first spotted by drone researcher Faine Greenwood, who noticed that officers in the video were using a remote controller made by DJI, a company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Given that DJI hardware uses closed-source communication protocols — which means they’re not cross-compatible with …