Outrage against DHS for putting up billboards in Texas promoting assistance to illegal immigrants
One of the controversial billboards reads, "Your brother in immigration custody has rights, we are here to help."
Border Patrol agents with a group of immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is under fire for using taxpayer money to put up billboards in Texas with messages promoting legal assistance for detained immigrants.
A report by Bill Melugin, of Fox News, revealed that some of the billboards read messages such as "Your brother in immigration custody has rights, we’re here to help."
The ads are from the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), an independent DHS office established by Congress in 2019 "charged with overseeing and promoting safe and humane conditions for people in immigration detention in the United States." The OIDO began operating as early as 2021, at the height of the immigration crisis.
The billboards have begun to generate domestic outrage, especially from officials within DHS, ICE and Border Patrol, Melugin reported.
"They’re more than insulting," one ICE official said about the billboards.
"This is so wrong," a Border Patrol agent said.
Politics
A DHS official in the Biden-Harris administration used his social media to promote illegal immigration
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón
In particular, officials are furious with DHS because their agencies are already working with limited funds and resources.
When Fox News asked DHS for comment on the billboards, the agency merely responded that they are part of an OIDO campaign without mentioning key details about how much money and effort is being invested in their installation.
The billboards' placement has already drawn criticism from Texas Republican lawmakers.
"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 (R-TX) said on X. "Congress should NOT be funding propaganda to undermine our own laws. That’s insane."
"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..." -Rep. Roy https://t.co/DWY5ObDNvv
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) October 29, 2024
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), also added to the criticism.
"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."
“It’s time for Congress to pull the plug on programs like these.” - Tony Gonzales https://t.co/QMurodHn0H
— Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) October 29, 2024
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