DHS feeds talking points to Republicans as opposition to ICE warehouses swells

"The episode highlights how DHS has tried to quietly enlist local Republican leaders to promote the administration's $38 billion plan to transform industrial warehouses in towns and cities across the country into migrant detention centers. Faced with swelling opposition, the agency is backchanneling to political allies, in at least one case with a misleading message, while staying largely silent in public."

"The department sent talking points to a Republican state lawmaker in Maryland. It supplied an Arizona congressman with economic projections touting the benefits to the local community. And it held closed-door discussions with members of Congress from Pennsylvania and Mississippi."

"Notter cited crime statistics about arrested migrants that are inaccurate according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's figures, and she claimed that protesters who gathered in front of town hall earlier that month had been brought in by bus. The claims closely tracked talking points drafted by a Department of Homeland Security staffer."

The Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security has been quietly enlisting local Republican leaders to promote a $38 billion plan to convert industrial warehouses into migrant detention centers across the country. When protests erupted over a proposed detention facility in New Hampshire, DHS staffers sent talking points to local officials, which were subsequently used by state lawmakers in op-eds and public statements. These talking points contained inaccurate crime statistics about arrested migrants and misleading claims about protest organization. The agency has employed similar strategies in multiple states, providing economic projections to congressmen and holding closed-door discussions with members of Congress. This coordinated effort represents an attempt to manage opposition through political allies while maintaining limited public engagement.

Read at The Washington Post