Where’s the outrage? More taxpayer funds wasted on DHS campaign to give

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

The Biden-Harris administration has been wasting taxpayer money to fund billboards in Texas that advertise free legal assistance to detained criminal aliens.

The Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in particular has been using the funds to erect the billboards — or even more specifically, the DHS’s Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO).

According to a website description, OIDO is an independent DHS office (meaning it’s separate from CBP and ICE) that “assists individuals with complaints about the potential violation of immigration detention standards or other misconduct by DHS.”

NEW: Last week, I was tipped off about DHS billboards that have gone up in TX:

“Your brother in immigration custody has rights, we’re here to help.”

The ads are for the DHS OIDO (Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman).
This office was established by Congress in 2019 &… pic.twitter.com/EuYQXCq7LE

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 29, 2024

Sources within ICE and CBP told Fox News‘ Bill Melugin that they’re furious about the billboard ads, especially since their respective agencies are already dealing with a shortage of available funds and resources.

“They [the ads] are more than insulting,” a source in ICE said.

“This is so wrong,” a Border Patrol agent added.

In response to this bombshell finding, Melugin pressed DHS with a series of questions about this endeavor, but the agency never answered.

“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, completely missing the point of Melugin’s inquiry.

Congressional Republicans are furious over the findings.

“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.”

Taxpayer dollars are being spent to help illegals get out of jail. We need to stop defending and start deporting.https://t.co/yQaXm8ElTk

— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) October 30, 2024

This disturbing but not surprising news — this is the Biden-Harris administration, after all — comes days after a report emerged about how DHS greenlighted the refugee applications for a number of Venezuelan gang members after failing to spot their otherwise glaringly obvious gang tattoos.

Kevin Grigsby, the head of refugee operations at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is also a part of DHS, later slammed his employees for failing to notice the 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, the policy director at the Immigration Accountability Project, called the error unforgivable.

“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 boss Emilio Gonzalez concurred.

“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.

BizPac Review has previously reported about how members of the violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua have been commandeering apartment complexes and causing heaps of trouble all across the United States.

Senior Staff Writer — [email protected]
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.

V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.