The Department of Homeland Security has paid undercover informants to obtain and relay information on the caravan of migrants moving towards the U.S. border, NBC News reports.
“While not commenting on sources or methods, it would be malpractice for the United States to be ignorant about the migrants—including many criminals—attempting to enter our country,” DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman told NBC in a statement. “We have an obligation to ensure we know who is crossing our borders to protect against threats to the Homeland and any indication to the contrary is misinformed.”
According to NBC, the agency has paid informants to join WhatsApp groups being used by the 4,000 people seeking asylum. DHS officials said Monday that their intelligence indicated that one group of migrants were looking to cross the border by running through car lanes at a crossing close to San Diego, though this did not end up happening.
John Cohen, the former acting undersecretary of intelligence for DHS, told NBC that although it is not illegal for U.S. law enforcement to pay informants, the agency’s actions do raise questions about the use of resources.
“Those resources have to come from some place. They are not being devoted to thwarting terrorist threats, mass shootings, mailed fentanyl coming into the country or cyberattacks,” he said. “I find it hard to believe that the highest risk facing this nation comes from this caravan.”
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