#ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational

[finickyengineer]

ICE shifts resources to address crisis at Southwest border

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reallocating resources to the Southwest border to investigate human smuggling operations and the use of fraudulent documents to create fake families seeking to exploit U.S. immigration laws.  from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational http://bit.ly/2ZJ9Fz7

[shirlleycoyle]

Spot is a Cop

Cops are already using Boston Dynamics' creepy Spot robot, and they’re not being very transparent about what the four-legged mechanical hellhound is getting up to while it's in their care.

According to a report by Boston news station WBUR, documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts show that the state’s bomb squad had Spot on loan from Boston Dynamics for three months, from August to November this year.

It's not clear from these documents, or statements made by the department, how the Spot was used in those three months. State police spokesman David Procopio told WBUR that it was used as a “mobile remote observation device," and that Spot is a valuable tool for law enforcement "because of its ability to provide situational awareness of potentially dangerous environments.”

Although you might be more familiar with Spot's appearance in cutesy marketing videos, Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert has said in the past that the company is courting police departments. “We’re doing a limited amount of work with police departments,” Raibert told VentureBeat in November. “Only on hazmat and bomb squad type activities. When they go into a situation where they don’t know what a thing is and they want to take a look? Send the robot in. They’re learning and we’re learning."

Massachusetts state police told WBUR that Spot was used in two incidents, in addition to testing. It's unclear what those incidents were. Massachusetts State Police did not respond to Motherboard's request for comment.

"There is a lot we do not know about how and where these robotics systems are currently deployed in Massachusetts," Kade Crockford, Technology for Liberty program director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, told Motherboard. "All too often, the deployment of these technologies happens faster than our social, political, or legal systems react. We urgently need more transparency from government agencies, who should be upfront with the public about their plans to test and deploy new technologies. We also need statewide regulations to protect civil liberties, civil rights, and racial justice in the age of artificial intelligence."

According to emails reviewed by WBUR, a lieutenant on the special tactical operations team in Massachusetts wrote to a colleague, “Dude, it’s time,” with a link to a New York Post article headlined, “Boston Dynamics’ creepy dog-like robot is about to go on sale," and other troopers later shared a YouTube video of Spot dancing to Bruno Mars and navigating a construction site.

Listen, I'll be honest: This robot demon was never cute to me. I have only ever wanted to fight it. Like cops needlessly pulling people over to give them ice cream, Boston Dynamics marketing that depicts Spot as anything but a tool of authoritarian police forces goes squarely into the category of being cute for propaganda purposes—something other technologies with marketing campaigns that mask potential privacy abuses, such as Amazon’s Ring, have in common with Spot.

It's not hard to imagine a future where people are fighting to keep Spots out of their communities like they currently fight against mass facial recognition, Amazon HQ, and electric scooters.

Spot is a Cop syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[lackingintermis]

Heroin, crack seized in Vermont drug trafficking organization takedown

Fourteen individuals were arrested as part of the operation, with two other suspects charged but still at large. The nearly 1,000 bags of heroin and 70 grams of cocaine base were seized by law enforcement after searches conducted on three residences and one hotel room in the area. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Narcotics http://bit.ly/2VUiXWQ

[massivehysteria]

Twin Cities-area child sex trafficking sting nets 47 arrests during 'Final Four' weekend

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nearly four dozen people are facing state felony charges after being arrested for attempting to solicit children for sex following a four-day sting operation conducted during the Final Four weekend of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Child Exploitation http://bit.ly/2P5omaH

[deeplyranch49]

2 Chinese nationals charged with operating global opioid conspiracy resulting in deaths

Fujing Zheng, aka Gordon Jin, 35, and his father Guanghua Zheng, 62, both of whom reside in Shanghai, China, are charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances into the United States, operating a continued criminal enterprise, money laundering and other crimes. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Contraband https://ift.tt/2oa8Wpf

[finickyengineer]

ICE HSI special agent honored by DOJ for his work on a child exploitation investigation

HSI special agent John Shields was among law enforcement officers and prosecutors honored during a ceremony at the U.S Attorney’s Office for their work providing vital support and services to crime victims. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational http://bit.ly/2XFlwfS

[finickyengineer]

ICE arrests Canadian man twice convicted of trespassing at Kendall Jenner's home

John Ford, 38, was arrested in the parking lot of a local hotel by HSI special agents and officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2Uh21w4

[finickyengineer]

Brazilian man sentenced to a year in federal prison for intimidating, interfering with a flight crew and flight attendants

Information disclosed in the case shows that, on or about June 23, 2018, Guilherme Alves De Melo (Alves), 34, a citizen of Brazil, was a passenger on an international American Airlines flight originating in Calgary, Canada, and bound for Chicago, Illinois. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2BUkHY0

[finickyengineer]

ICE HSI New York SSA reflects on Hurricane Maria efforts

When Andrew “Andy” Borra boarded his flight from New York to Puerto Rico in September 2017, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see.As the plane approached San Juan, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria was overwhelming for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York supervisory special agent. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2CVws2k

[finickyengineer]

ICE HSI Ho Chi Minh City participates in destruction of 13 tons of seized counterfeit items

The destruction – which marked the first time Vietnam has invited U.S. government representatives in Ho Chi Minh City to attend such an event – came on the heels of a visit to Vietnam by White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Vishal Amin and HSI Global Trade Investigations Assistant Director Alex Khu. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2NAq5rh

[finickyengineer]

ICE HSI Nairobi, Kenyan National Police Service implement CyberTipline

After facilitating the December 2017 signing of the official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of Kenya (GOK) and NCMEC, HSI Nairobi partnered with both the AHTCPU and other stakeholders to ensure both the technical capacity and resources were in place to begin delivering actionable child exploitation leads to the GOK. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2KH7S4Y

[finickyengineer]

ICE HSI Boston, US Attorney, FBI announce arrest for contract killing threat of ICE agent via Twitter

Brandon J. Ziobrowski, 33, was charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday with one count of use of interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat to injure another person. Ziobrowski was arrested Aug. 9 in New York and will appear in Boston at a later date. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2AUOKkh

[finickyengineer]

ICE HSI Academy trains special agent candidates

CITP is a 56-day program that provides HSI special agent trainees, as well as criminal investigators from other federal agencies, with an understanding of basic criminal investigative techniques. Seasoned HSI special agents, along with instructors from FLETC and numerous other federal agencies, bring their expertise and knowledge to instruct trainees on topics such as criminal law, enforcement... from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2MhjvAY

[finickyengineer]

ICE's Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Program celebrates 15 years

For the past 15 years, the center and its partners have worked collaboratively to support ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) efforts to bring numerous individuals to justice for human rights-related violations, such as genocide, torture, ethnic cleansing and various other forms of persecution. Through its work over the years, the center and its dedicated personnel have ensured that the... from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2Knd3qA

[finickyengineer]

Team of ICE-led investigators in North Dakota receives prestigious DEA award

This case came to the attention of law enforcement as part of Operation Denial, an OCDETF investigation into the international trafficking of fentanyl and other lethal drugs. The case was significantly aided by the national and international coordination led by the multi-agency Special Operations Division near Washington, D.C., as part of Operation Deadly Merchant. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2LascR2

[finickyengineer]

El Paso, Texas, native selected special agent in charge of HSI El Paso

An El Paso native — with more than 20 years’ experience in law enforcement, border security and intelligence — was recently selected as special agent in charge (SAC) of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso. from ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Operational https://ift.tt/2ui5gFp