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Conservatives dismiss Biden parole limits on 500K migrants: ‘Optics-driven smokescreen’

Conservatives dismiss Biden parole limits on 500K migrants: ‘Optics-driven smokescreen’

The Biden administration’s decision to not renew parole for more than half a million migrants who came under a controversial migrant flight program was greeted with surprise by some when it was announced, but conservatives are warning it will not make much of a difference. “This move is yet another optics-driven smokescreen from the Biden-Harris administration,” House Homeland Security (DHS) Committee Chairman Mark Green said in a statement. The DHS confirmed last week that the administration will not extend the two-year parole status for migrants who came in via the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) program. The program, established in 2022 and expanded in early 2023, allows migrants to receive travel authorization and parole for two years. BIDEN ADMIN WON’T EXTEND PAROLE FOR 500,000+ MIGRANTS IN US VIA CONTROVERSIAL FLIGHT PROGRAM  It allows 30,000 in each month, and so far nearly 530,000 migrants have flown in under the program. However, the administration said those paroles will not be renewed. “As initially stated in the Federal Register notices, a grant of parole under these processes was for a temporary period of up to two years. This two-year period was intended to enable individuals to seek humanitarian relief or other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible, and to work and contribute to the United States,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.  “Those who do not have pending immigration benefits or who have not been granted an immigration benefit during their two-year parole period will need to depart the United States prior to the expiration of their authorized parole period or may be placed in removal proceedings after the period of parole expires,” they said. While the decision was greeted with disappointment by some immigration activists, conservatives have noted that Haitians and Venezuelans may in many cases be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which was renewed by the Biden administration and protects from deportation. Venezuela was renewed for TPS last year, and Haiti was renewed this summer, meaning those who arrived before those redesignations are eligible. Cubans, meanwhile, can apply for green card status via the Cuban Adjustment Act. Nicaraguans do not have a clear pathway but may be able to apply for asylum. “There are numerous other ways these inadmissible aliens could be—and likely will be—allowed to stay, including through applying for asylum or Temporary Protected Status. Even if they don’t, however, given ICE’s low enforcement rates under this administration, most simply will not be priorities for removal,” Green said. NEW POLL REVEALS TRUMP HAS SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE  Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of America First Legal — an organization that worked with more than a dozen states to sue the Biden administration over the program — was also skeptical of the impact of the decision not to renew parole. He noted that the administration has no plans to wind down the program itself, so more migrants will be coming in. He called it “political theater.” “We’re left with a situation where they’ve brought in all these people by the hundreds of thousands. They’re going to use TPS to allow them to stay here for as long as TPS is designated. And they’re not saying that they’re going to end this program in terms of bringing new people in and, of course, what that all amounts to is that none of these folks are going to be going home,” he told Fox News Digital. He said he believes that the administration is trying to “save face” on border-related issues and also suggested that he believes that the administration may be nervous about the ongoing legal battle over the program, given the wide use of parole by the administration.  DHS DOCS REVEAL WHERE PAROLED MIGRANTS UNDER CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN FLIGHT PROGRAM ARE LANDING  “If they get a poor decision from their perspective about the authority to bring in these aliens into the United States under parole, they’re going to be in a world of hurt. Because for them the abuse of the parole authority is really the end all, be all across the spectrum,” he said. Conservatives have long argued that the use of parole, which is limited by Congress to a case by case basis, for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. “If they’re viewed as bringing people in and then renewing it indefinitely, it undermines the integrity of their arguments that this is only on a temporary basis,” Hamilton said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Hamilton also argued that it is hard for even conservative administrations to deport migrants in many cases, given the refusal of some countries to take back their nationals, in addition to legal limits on TPS. Consequently, he said that under a Biden or Harris administration, he doubts that there will be a significant number of deportations of these migrants. “The chances are effectively zero,” he said. The move comes as the Biden administration has claimed its more recent policies at the southern border are working. Officials have pointed to a sharp drop in illegal encounters at the border since a presidential proclamation limiting entries in June. Officials say that since June 5, they have removed or returned more than 131,000 individuals to more than 140 countries, including operating more than 400 international repatriation flights.  “Total removals and returns over the past year exceed removals and returns in any fiscal year since 2010 and a majority of all southwest border encounters during the past three fiscal years resulted in a removal, return, or expulsion,” DHS said in a release last month. Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Arizona begins in-person and absentee voting, here’s what you need to know

Arizona begins in-person and absentee voting, here’s what you need to know

Arizona began early voting Wednesday, marking yet another major swing state where voting is underway in the 2024 election. With Arizona now in the mix, 41 states and Washington, D.C., have launched some form of early voting. Here is everything you need to know to cast your ballot in the state. NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION HAS TO ‘GET SERIOUS’ ABOUT IMMIGRATION, SAY VOTERS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE President Biden scored a crucial victory in Arizona in the last presidential election, flipping the state to the Democrats for the first time since 1996. Four years later, the state remains highly competitive. In late September, a Fox News Poll put Republican former President Trump at 50% and Democrat Vice President Harris at 47% among likely voters; an AARP survey around the same time had Trump two points ahead of Harris at 49%-47%. Maricopa County remains the most important battleground in the state. It is the fourth-highest populated county in the United States, represents more than 60% of Arizona’s registered voters and has a large suburban population, particularly in Mesa. Arizona is also home to a higher proportion of Hispanic voters than the rest of the country, and while they favored Biden by 19 points in the last election, they have shown signs of shifting toward Trump. Republicans are strongest in sparsely populated rural areas, particularly Mohave County (Trump +51) and Graham County (Trump +45), but they run up the margin most in the outer suburbs and exurban areas in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. Arizona is a Toss Up on the Fox News Power Rankings. The Grand Canyon State will also vote for a new senator after independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema decided not to run for re-election this year. The Republican candidate is Kari Lake, a former TV news host who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022. The Democrats have fielded Rep. Ruben Gallego, a former Marine who represents Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. The Senate race is ranked Lean D. There are two competitive House districts in Arizona: This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Arizona. Arizona began absentee voting on Monday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 25 and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Arizona offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 9 and running through Nov. 1. Arizona residents were required to register to vote by Oct. 7.

Biden-Harris admin ‘taking advice from foreign governments’ on policing speech, lawmaker charges

Biden-Harris admin ‘taking advice from foreign governments’ on policing speech, lawmaker charges

A newly released tranche of documents shows senior Biden-Harris administration officials gained pointers from British “disinformation” officials about partnering with social media companies and establishing an all-of-government effort for fighting disfavored content that includes elections and COVID-19.   The revelation, which comes as Congress investigates potential censorship efforts by the executive branch in the lead-up to the 2024 election, has prompted a House Republican to propose legislation to prevent U.S. tax money going to countries that regulate online speech. The National Security Council held a private meeting with the U.K. government’s Counter Disinformation Unit on Aug. 21, 2021. The Counter Disinformation Unit is part of the British government’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. America First Legal, a conservative watchdog group, obtained a slide deck shown at the meeting through a larger Freedom of Information Act lawsuit with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The slides were part of hundreds of pages of documents obtained from the CDC. WALL STREET JOURNAL KNOCKS SUPREME COURT FOR GIVING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ‘LICENSE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP’ The document release comes shortly after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, wrote President Biden and Vice President Harris to request information on suppression campaigns the administration might be engaged in regarding political speech. Mace is also pushing free speech abroad. Last week, she introduced the No Funds for Fascists Act, a proposal to prohibit taxpayer funds from assisting foreign governments that abridge free speech and bars aid to governments that coerce social media platforms or news outlets to block speech. The NSC meeting with the British unit was “over-the-top,” Mace said. “The Biden-Harris administration is so desperate to control speech and information they’re actually taking advice from foreign governments on how to violate our core constitutional rights,” Mace said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It’s extreme, over-the-top, and un-American. We introduced our ‘No Funds for Fascists’ bill in response to this.” A congressional probe into censorship and meetings with foreign governments “that have taken place and are likely still taking place” would be helpful, said Michael Ding, counsel to America First Legal. “Whether it’s election misinformation or COVID-19 disinformation, you can trace these actions to a web of international NGOs pushing to police free speech, whatever the cause of the day might be,” Ding told Fox News Digital. NRA ACCUSES META OF ‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’ AFTER LABELING POSTS HITTING HARRIS ‘FALSE INFORMATION’ Although the stated focus of the NSC conference was about combating lies regarding COVID-19, the British presentation veered into elections. “We’ve previously stood up an operational response to counter disinformation during the 2019 European elections, the 2019 UK general election, and the local and devolved UK elections in May of this year,” the Counter Disinformation Unit slides said. For elections, the unit shows it connects with the “central election cell,” the social media companies, strategic communication teams, and the monitoring and analysis teams. The 2021 NSC-British meeting on disinformation included officials from the Defense Department, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC, CIA, FBI and other agencies. The America First Legal lawsuit with the CDC aimed to investigate federal government efforts to block certain information related to COVID-19. A CDC spokesperson declined to comment for the story. Spokespersons for the NSC and the White House did not respond to inquiries for this story. The Counter Disinformation Unit is a British “cross-departmental” entity that includes the foreign policy and domestic policy agencies as well as intelligence services. According to the slides, it is intended to “support formulation of a coordinated government response” to misinformation. The British slide deck included suggestions such as establishing a unit to lead a multi-department government-wide effort to stop “disinformation,” similar to the Counter Disinformation Unit. The slides suggest legislation to regulate misinformation and disinformation policies of tech companies, including fines and penalties, similar to Britain’s Online Safety Act. The slides say of the Online Safety Act: “The bill delivers the government’s commitment to make the U.K. the safest place in the world to be online, whilst defending the freedom of expression.” This was only a selling point to get the law passed, Ding said. “The gaslighting the pro-censorship side engages in is ridiculous,” he said. As a more serious matter, he said U.S. policymakers should consider the First Amendment implications of extradition policy with Britain in circumstances when Britain seeks to arrest a violator of speech laws. The British law also references a “duty of care” that would be imposed on tech companies under the act. “The duty of care will require companies to address harms to individuals on their online platforms, including misinformation and disinformation,” one slide says. Further, the British officials suggested using the State Department to partner with international allies and use multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, G7 and NATO to fight what it designates as misinformation or disinformation. The slides say an international effort provides a “Clear message that the international community is prioritising (sic) this policy area, encouraging cooperation from platforms.”