The new sexual harassment definition was issued by the agencies in a letter to the University of Montana late last week. The letter states that sexual harassment now will be defined as “any unwelcome conduct of sexual nature” and will include “verbal” conduct, meaning speech is now included.

The letter states that the new broadened definition of sexual harassment will serve as a “blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country.” The new mandate now applies to every college that receives federal funding, which, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), is virtually every American institution of higher education nationwide, public or private.

“It’s a complete disaster for what you can and can’t say on college campuses,” said Greg Lukianoff, president of FIRE. He said the new standards are “so vague and broad” that virtually any student can now be charged with sexual harassment.

Lukianoff said he is appalled at the attack on “free speech on campus from our own government.” He said the DOJ and DOE have now established speech codes that violate the First Amendment and completely ignore decades of legal precedent.

Lukianoff said a student could be charged with violating the new conduct standards if he asks another student out on a date and the other student deems that request offensive. He also said that if a sexual joke is told, and someone who overhears it is offended, the student who told the joke could be charged with sexual harassment.

FIRE claims many presentations, debates, and expressions on campuses can now be viewed as sexual harassment. Campus performances of “The Vagina Monologues,” debates about sexual morality, or discussions on gay marriage could now be subject to discipline.

Additionally, unwelcome flirtation could be viewed as sexual harassment.

“It has bad long-term effects on speech,” Lukianoff said. He also said the new standard “empowers people to punish the people they dislike.”

He pointed out a recent Johns Hopkins case in which a pro-life group was not granted certain rights on campus because some students were “uncomfortable” with their stance. While the university has since reversed its decision, Lukianoff said this expanded definition could give free reign to similar instances.

The Washington Free Beacon asked the DOE for comment. They responded, asking for guidance as to where the word “speech” appeared in their letter to the university. The Free Beacon referred them to the page of their letter that now defined sexual harassment to include “verbal conduct.”

After that email exchange, they did not respond to further requests for comment.

The DOE did not indicate in its press release on the matter the new broadened definition of sexual harassment. Rather, it touted the agreement as a positive step toward achieving student safety on campuses.

“For students to feel safe and welcome on college campuses, sexual assault and harassment must be swiftly and effectively addressed,” said Jocelyn Samuels, principal assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. “We applaud the university for its cooperation and for taking the steps necessary to maintain a safe learning environment for all students. These agreements provide a blueprint for colleges and universities across the country to take effective steps to prevent and address sexual assault and harassment on their campuses.”

The letter also states that “sexual harassment should be more broadly defined as any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” and the expression need not be offensive to an “objectively reasonable person of the same gender in the same situation.”

The new guidance contradicts the 2003 Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights guidance on sexual harassment. That guidance stated that harassment must “include something beyond the mere expression of views, words, symbols, or thoughts that some person finds offensive.”

“The federal government has put colleges and universities in an impossible position with this mandate,” said Lukianoff. “With this unwise and unconstitutional decision, the DOJ and DOE have doomed American campuses to years of confusion and expensive lawsuits, while students’ fundamental rights twist in the wind.”

“All options are on the table” in fighting this attack on free speech on campuses, he said.

College students were also critical of the decision.

“I think considering what someone says as sexual harassment is going a little too far,” said Megan Gallagher, a freshman at Towson University. “Most of the time I hear people making jokes and they don’t mean any of it. It’s just difficult to determine when someone’s joking and when they aren’t.”

“My take on this is that the definition of sexual harassment on college campuses is too broad,” said Joseph Pareres, a junior in Manhattanville College. “This definition puts students at risk of being accused of sexual harassment for no valid reason.”

“A college campus is often a place where students make jokes about sexuality with no real threat,” Pareres said. “A person should be accused of sexual harassment when there is real and imminent danger. Flirting or joking should not be reason for someone to file a charge just because they feel offended. Anyone who is offended should not take this to a higher power but simply avoid the specific person.”

“The ambiguity that this new letter injects into university codes will result in lots of confusion, lots of people punished for slim reason, and litigation at universities for years to come,” said Lukianoff. “I don’t know if they realize what they’ve done here.”

Sandy victims continue to fight with insurers to get a fair payout for the damage they sustained. Flood insurance claims through the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA, are slow in being paid out and are falling far short of what victims need to rebuild.

Residents feel the government is acting as a roadblock to the rebuilding efforts.

Monmouth Beach resident Dan Burke lost the entire first floor of his home. He said despite the positive media coverage praising President Barack Obama’s response to the storm, the government has been extremely slow and inadequate.

Burke paid premiums like many Sandy victims for flood insurance. He’s now been offered $56,000 to rebuild his home. The actual cost for him to rebuild is $270,000. He has already spent $25,000 for the demolition and mold remediation of his home, which leaves him $31,000 to cover more than $200,000 in damages.

Burke is a local advertising executive who ran his business from his house. That business has been severely impacted.

“Every day is Groundhog Day. I keep saying today will be the day I’ll get a response from the insurance company,” said Burke. So far that day has not come. He estimates that he may be able to return home in six months. He has now hired an insurance adjuster to fight to get the adequate amount due him.

Meanwhile his expenses continue to soar. He is still paying the mortgage on his ravaged home and now has to pay $2,600 in rent. When asked how he is doing it, he said he is living off his savings.

“I know people who are borrowing from their retirement just to get back in to their homes,” Burke said. No one in his immediate neighborhood of 40 homes has moved back.

Burke is unsure why the government is taking so long to settle insurance claims.

“They are terribly inefficient and incredibly slow in dealing with claims,” Burke said. “There are at least two to three natural disasters in our country a year. You’d think they’d have it down by now. But I’m sure if something flares up in the Middle East, we’ll be the first one to send money there, to people who hate us.”

Burke is not alone in his frustration. Several Sandy victims came in for supplies during a Free Beacon reporter’s visit to the Highlands Resolution Center, a makeshift relief center at the local firehouse in the town of Highlands, N.J.

Carmen Jamgochian, the owner of the town’s Irish Pub, the Claddagh, was one of eight Sandy victims who stopped by the center for relief supplies in a half-hour period. She said she is still several months away from reopening her business. “I’m taking it one day at a time,” she said.

Jamgochian said it took approximately five months to get money from the insurance company. When asked what assistance FEMA gave her to reopen her business, she shook her head and said none. “It’s a waste of time for business owners.”

She said FEMA offered her a loan with a 4 percent interest rate, which she said was higher than what some banks were offering.

“FEMA only helped the destitute,” Jamgochian said, adding that she applied for a Small Business Administration loan and was turned down.

Jamgochian is vowing to rebuild in the face of such obstacles. “I have to reopen my business, it’s good for the town. Twenty employees are out of work, and many live in the town.” She said she keeps fielding calls from her 20 employees who are asking when they can return to work.

She considers herself fortunate and hopes to hold a big grand-opening party at the pub soon despite her losses. “We’re very lucky. We’re not homeless. I thank God every day for our little blessings.”

Edie Moskowitz, one of the workers manning the relief center, has encountered many Sandy victims.

She told the Washington Free Beacon of the impact of Sandy: Highlands was devastated, with 90 percent of the downtown area homes and businesses flooded. She estimates only 30 percent have returned. Workers at Borough Hall that was flooded out are now working out of trailers.

“There are a lot of struggles with insurance which I am hearing from a lot of victims,” Moskowitz said.

“Every day, you just move on,” Moskowitz said. “Hopefully at the end, everyone will become whole again. It’s a matter of how long it will be.” She said the needs of Sandy victims have changed: Before, they needed water and food; now they need building supplies.

The grassroots organization Stop FEMA Now continues to grow and hold meetings. The group is fighting the elevation maps, fighting the drastically higher flood insurance premiums that are on the horizon, and trying to repeal or dramatically change the Biggert-Waters Act.

Two hudred people attended its most recent meeting. A local television station interviewed victims who stood among the wreckage of their homes, and their anger and frustration were palpable.

“We’ve gone past frustration, and now it’s turned into anger,” said George Kasimos, the founder of Stop FEMA Now. “Are they not prepared for emergencies? … President Obama flew in and hasn’t been back to New Jersey.”

Kasimos said homes on the ocean haven’t even received insurance money to be demolished.

FEMA officials said they are doing their best to help life return to normal.

“FEMA’s top priority is to provide assistance to those in need as quickly as possible, while also meeting our requirements under the law,” a FEMA spokesperson said in an email statement to the Free Beacon. “To do this, FEMA must work with its private sector, write-your-own insurance (WYO) company partners who sell flood insurance under their own names and are responsible for the adjustment of their policy holders’ claims.”

“There’s no accountability in government,” Burke said. He also questioned the out-of-state adjusters who have been flown in to assess people’s homes and are unfamiliar with labor costs and building materials in the Northeast. Their offer to him didn’t include HVAC system, hot water heater, windows, and a host of other high-dollar items needed for him to rebuild.

“I would love to know how they are incentivizing public adjusters to come out and lowball to save insurance companies in paying out claims,” Burke said.

“FEMA will not be satisfied until policyholders have received payments for all covered losses,” the FEMA spokesperson wrote. They indicated policyholders should call FEMA directly if they have concerns. “When a claim or any part of a claim is denied by the insurer, the policyholder may also appeal that denial directly to FEMA.”

“According to polling estimates from the WYO companies, of the more than 143,000 claims that have been filed, more than 97 percent have been closed and approximately $7.3 billion has been paid out to survivors,” the FEMA spokesperson wrote.

Former Navy Chaplain and current Colorado pastor Gordon James Klingenschmitt is offering the bounty to the first high school student in St. Johns County, Fla., who says the Our Father or a prayer ending in Jesus’ name over the school microphone during the graduation ceremony.

It is the latest escalation in several months of controversy after the school board considered adopting a policy allowing inspirational messages, including prayer, at graduation.

A statute passed in Florida last year gave school districts the option to allow such messages by students. The statute says school district personnel may not influence the message, and students “shall be solely responsible for the preparation and content of the inspirational message.”

The school board was asked to consider adopting the policy but then decided against doing so after recommendations by its attorney.

A letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist group, was sent to the school district in late March. It pointed out that no other district in Florida used the new law to pass such a policy and any board that passes the policy likely would be sued.

“The board that first passes this policy is asking for a lawsuit,” the atheist group’s letter stated. The letter indicated the Florida law was clearly an attempt to get prayer back in the state’s schools.

“Our preference is to work with the school. We prefer not to sue,” said FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel.

The FFRF has deep pockets. Its 2011 Form 990 shows it spent more than $201,572 in lawsuits in 2010 challenging “entanglement of religion and government” and more than $500,000 on education events that included scholarships to 39 students and youth activist awards to six other students.

“So far, everyone’s been very reasonable,” Seidel said, claiming, “a total of six or seven different groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Anti-Defamation League” are monitoring the situation.

The specifics of Klingenschmitt’s offer are outlined on his website and YouTube.

“We are going to recognize students that have more courage than their school board,” said Klingenschmitt. “I wonder if the school board is being led by fear or by courage. We want to reward courage.”

St. Johns County School Board chair Tommy Allen said it will abide by the law and the Constitution.

“We will follow the law as we always have and not violate any student’s constitutional rights or the Establishment Clause. We will comply with the U.S. DOE [Department of Education] guidance on constitutionally protected prayer in public schools,” he said in an emailed statement.

“The Florida legislature passed the law last year which specifically allows prayer. The school board may adopt a policy, so clearly the law allows the students to pray,” said Klingenschmitt. “The Freedom From Religion Foundation is not allowing students to pray. The atheists are pressing the school board to break the law.”

However, FFRF claims the pastor is encouraging students to break the law. “He is inciting people to violate the law,” Seidel said. He said the pastor, in his reward video, “misconstrued the facts.”

Klingenschmitt said the group’s letter states it annually gives thousands of dollars to students who “stand up for atheism” and also stated it would “incentivize a free thought message and discourage prayers.”

Seidel said his letter to the school board indicated his group would “publicize our awards if the school district adopted the policy. … [But] we would never suggest a student, atheist or otherwise, get up and break a law or get up to the microphone and give a message when it is illegal.”

“If the atheists are offering monetary rewards to students not to pray, it’s only fair Christians can offer monetary rewards, too,” Klingenschmitt said. He called the atheist group “hypocritical.”

The reward is good for the next four years, said the chaplain. He explained that of the six high schools in St. John’s County, “I expect in the next four years we will have one student stand up to pray.”

Frank Upchurch III, the attorney for the school district, said the DOE’s guidance on school prayer is clear and also relates to graduation. “That’s the policy we follow,” he said.

That guidance states that students at graduation retain “primary control over the content of their expression” and as long as that expression is not attributable to the school, it therefore “may not be restricted because of its religious (or anti-religious) content.”

Upchurch said previous graduation addresses have been “celebratory and uplifting, and no one was censoring students’ addresses to purge any references to faith.”

Klingenschmkitt told the Washington Free Beacon he has already raised $835 of the $1,000 needed for the reward.

The testimony came during a hearing for a lawsuit filed by 10 ICE agents against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. The agents are challenging the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and ICE’s policy of prosecutorial discretion.

DACA, which allows those who came to the country before the age of 16 and are not yet 31 and have committed no crimes to apply for a deferral of removal for two years. The White House introduced it last year. The controversial executive action by President Barack Obama was enacted in lieu of the DREAM Act, which failed to pass Congress.

ICE Director John Morton introduced prosecutorial discretion in a 2011 memo. That memo gave ICE agents parameters to use in considering whether or not to cancel removal proceedings. Individuals that warranted particular care included veterans, pregnant or nursing women, individuals who suffer from serious mental or physical disability, and those with serious health problems among others.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies, testified that internal DHS statistics show that deportations, interior enforcement, and criminal alien removals are down dramatically as a result of policies implemented by the Obama administration.

The Obama administration said in 2012, it deported a total of 409, 849 illegal immigrants, 225,390 of which were convicted criminal aliens. Their chart detailing the number of criminal immigrant removals shows a record high. However, Vaughan says removals of these criminals are running 40 percent lower since the Morton memo was issued.

Her testimony contradicted claims made by the Obama administration, which were widely repeated in the media, that deportation is at record highs. Vaughan said the administration has “cooked its removal statistics” and wrote about the hearing in a blog post.

“In some cases, it’s more of a function of their record-keeping system,” Vaughan said. Their data system “produces double-counting” and “they have obscured the real numbers.”

Additionally, Vaughan said the statistics reported by the administration are not interior enforcement cases but are border patrol cases.

In the past, only a small number of border patrol cases were included in the removal numbers.

The hearing also revealed that many criminal illegal immigrants are abusing DACA to get released.

The ICE union president and an ICE agent testified that a significant number of criminals are being released from jailhouses because they say they qualify for DACA. ICE agents then are forced to release them as a result of the administration’s policies.

Chris Crane, president of the National ICE Council, testified that the policies are forcing agents to release criminal illegal immigrants from custody simply because they claim they qualify for deferred action.

ICE Agent Samuel Martin also testified that some are saying they qualify for “Obama’s Dream Act,” the term they give to DACA.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

“We’re giving immigration benefits based on the honor system,” said Vaughan.

She said agents have to “just accept what the applicant says, and everybody understands they just need to say, ‘I qualify for deferred action’ and know they will be released. … These people have been arrested and are in jailhouses.”

Vaughan said the lawsuit is “the first time this executive order has been challenged” and that the numbers reported are “giving the public a false impression of improved enforcement.”

Whether the lawsuit or the questions raised about the Obama administration’s removal statistics will have an impact on comprehensive illegal immigration reform bill now introduced remains to be seen.

Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R., Ala.) office provided the following statement when asked for comment on the ICE lawsuit and removal statistics, and the immigration bill recently introduced.

“In recent years interior enforcement has been significantly undermined,” Sessions said. “And yet our interior enforcement needs are almost totally neglected in the Gang’s proposal. Alarmingly, the bill leaves intact the single greatest obstacle to immigration reform: the administration’s abuse of prosecutorial discretion to prevent the enforcement of federal law. It will also provide safe harbor to those who have committed a variety of offenses—ranging from identity theft, to multiple immigration violations, and even those with criminal records.”

A total of 12,206 residents live in Red Bank, 34 percent of whom are Hispanic. The census shows that 2,232 in Red Bank are not U.S. citizens.

Many illegal immigrants work as day laborers, doing lawn and garden work. Others work in local restaurants. A ride through town in the early morning hours shows many men loitering in parking lots or on street corners, waiting to be picked up for a day’s work.

The Washington Free Beacon visited a local parking lot where more than 10 day laborers were gathered. One man said he spoke English and agreed to answer questions. However, when illegal immigration and pathway to citizenship were mentioned, the man shook his head “no” and walked away. Six other men also declined to be interviewed. Those who drove up to pick the men up also declined to answer questions.

Kaaren Sena, a resident in the nearby town of Middletown, said she is aware of illegal immigrants who live in Red Bank. If immigration reform were to pass in Washington, Sena said she is not sure it will make a difference in Red Bank.

“Why would they get a job and then work to pay taxes,” she said. “Why would they want to pay taxes?”

She also believes any type of reform should include some form of back taxes and penalties.

“I think many of them are hard-working, trying to make a living, and raising their families,” she said. “But so am I.”

She described her own situation, raising two children and continuing to pay more and more in taxes and fighting to make ends meet. However, she said, the illegal immigrants in Red Bank receive “all the benefits” from schooling to health care without paying taxes on their wages or worrying about doctor bills.

Gayle Kesselman, the co-chair of New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control, said the cost for illegal immigrants to state taxpayers is sizeable. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates New Jersey residents pay $3.5 billion for illegal immigrants, and the organization estimates the illegal population at 410,000, far below than the Pew Hispanic Center’s estimate of 550,000.

“Cheap labor is not cheap,” Kesselman said. “Many do not have the equivalent of a high school education and are not literate in English. It’s a huge cost in terms of social benefits. They go to the emergency room for health care. … You can even make the case that we imported the health care crisis.”

“When illegal immigrants use the emergency room for health care, the U.S. taxpayers bear the cost,” Kesselman said. “There’s a huge cost for social benefits for illegal immigrants and the U.S. taxpayers get the bill for all of this.”

Enrollment in the school district continues to rise, and the school’s budget for 2013-2014 includes “adding four teaching positions to respond to the increased enrollment.”

The booming student population in Red Bank schools has reportedly stretched the school’s resources: Recent school board of education minutes show discussions centering on whether to cut either the athletic program or afterschool enrichment program.

The Red Bank school district received national attention for its work with “dual language learners.” A recent report highlighted the town’s successes.

“In Red Bank, the young sons and daughters of day laborers take Suzuki violin lessons, put on theatrical performances, and perform ballet; teachers follow their social development as closely as they do their recognition of letters and letter-sounds,” according to the report.

Aside from using the hospital for health care, free dental and health care is offered for the uninsured, including illegal immigrants, at the Parker Family Health Center. ABC News interviewed the founder after the center opened and he said he faced resistance “from some in the community who said the town’s illegal immigrants didn’t deserve access to the clinic.”

There have been reports of criminal activity by illegal immigrants in Red Bank. An illegal immigrant from the town was one of three men charged for distributing child rape videos last month.

Kesselman said the illegal immigration problem could be solved by E-Verify. A bill requiring the technology, which helps ensure that employees are in the country legally, has been introduced in the state. It is stuck in committee because there is not enough support among lawmakers, she said.

“You can have E-Verify in New Jersey, with set penalties in place, and you have to enforce it,” Kesselman said. “That is the single most important thing to stop illegal immigration. … What is it that brings illegal immigrants here? The magnet is jobs. If you enforce e-verify, you’re cutting off the magnet.”

Harvard economist George Borjas spoke about his report on immigration and its effects on the U.S. worker in a Tuesday conference call with reporters. He said the focus of his report was to answer “what happens when immigrants come into the labor market,” one of the central questions in the debate over immigration reform.

“What is the wage impact? Who loses and who gains, and how much does the economy gain on average?” asked Borjas. He said that while the U.S. has a “lot of highly skilled immigrants,” there are “many, many more low-skilled immigrant groups.”

The report shows the “immigration surplus,” or the benefit to Americans as a result of illegal and legal immigrants in the workforce, is estimated at $35 billion.

However, the wages of American low-skilled workers, who directly compete with immigrants, are reduced by some $402 billion a year. That amounts an average of $1,396 in reduced wages yearly for American workers, Borjas said.

Other winners are the businesses that hire immigrant workers, which benefit by $437 billion a year.

Those without a high school diploma lose the most, the report claims.

The overall result, according to Borjas, is a redistribution of wealth from America’s poorest to the owners of businesses and the immigrants themselves.

“There’s a huge redistribution of wealth,” Borjas said, which is where the argument of “winners and losers” comes in.

“Winners win by more than the losers lose,” he said.

“The biggest winners from immigration are owners of business that employ a lot of immigrant labor and other users of immigrant labor,” according to the report. “The other big winners are the immigrants themselves.”

The report states that while the overall net impact of immigration on Americans is small, it does not mean that the wage losses suffered by lower-skilled workers or the income gains to other Americans “are not substantial.”

Immigrants in the labor market increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $1.6 trillion, an estimated 11 percent, according to the report. However, 97.8 percent of that increase goes directly to the immigrants themselves.

“The $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion, most goes to the immigrants themselves,” Borjas said. “What remains for the nation is $30 billion to $40 billion.”

Other key findings of the report include the fact that illegal immigration has increased GDP by an estimated $395 billion to $472 billion a year, and that the benefit to Americans is six one-hundredths of one percent, or $9 billion a year.

Though the net benefits to Americans from illegal immigrants are small, the report cites the “sizable redistribution effect” in wage reduction equates to $99 billion to $118 billion a year.

If highly skilled workers were affected in such a manner by immigration, Borjas said, “We may see a very different type of debate.”

The ‘Sandy Ground, Where Angels Play’ park is located in Union Beach, a town hit hard by the devastating storm. Gray skies overhead matched the somber mood of those in attendance, but the sun broke through the clouds at the start of the emotional ceremony.

The playground will be dedicated to six-year-old Jack Pinto, one of the 20 children slain in the Connecticut school in December. Six educators were also killed.

Pinto, an avid New York Giants fan, was laid to rest in a Victor Cruz jersey. The new playground will be constructed in his honor, complete with a Giants theme.

Pinto’s parents, Dean and Tricia, and his older brother Ben were joined by his grandparents and aunt at the ceremony. State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R), local officials, and the New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association (NJSFMBA), which spearheaded the project, were among those present.

“‘The Sandy Ground, Where Angels Play’ is a blessed project designed to appropriately honor the children and teachers from Newtown while rebuilding our shore communities.,” Bill Lavin, president of the NJSFMBA, wrote in an email. “With an emphasis on family values and hope and recovery, Sea Bright represents the beginning of a project that changes the lives of millions of children and their families for generations.”

“I have been honored to meet the families of Newtown, their strength and courage will be an inspiration to all, especially those who continue to work to recover from Hurricane Sandy,” Lavin wrote.

Dean Pinto said when he first learned of the Sandy playground project, he knew it “would have made Jack proud.” He thanked all those who are making the playground in his son’s honor and all of the first responders, including the state trooper who was assigned to his family after Newtown.

A total of 26 playgrounds, the number of shooting victims from the Sandy Hook Elementary School, are planned across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Each one will be dedicated to a victim of the school shooting and designed in a theme that depicts the victim’s life.

Many local nonprofits have united to back the project.

The nonprofit RAINE (Reaching All in Need Everyday) purchased the playground in Union Beach. RAINE was presented by New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s office with an American Flag recovered from Ground Zero in New York City at the ceremony.

“It means a lot,” RAINE president Mike Fabozzi told the Washington Free Beacon. “It’s an honor for us.” He explained that RAINE was formed after 9/11 and continues to help those in crisis. Fabozzi said his group was delivering 20,000 meals a day to those who lost everything in Hurricane Sandy.

Partnering with the firefighter’s union for the playground was a positive step forward, according to Fabozzi.

“It is very important because it brings a sign of hope in the community for the children who lost everything,” he said. “It’s a good way to see something positive that comes from such tragedy.”

Kyrillos spoke about the town of Union Beach that suffered so much devastation as well as the victims of those in Sandy Hook Elementary.

“It’s coming back, slowly, but surely,” Kyrillos said. He said all the communities continue to look out for each other. “We remember the victims, the children, and the adults, we lost in Newtown, Conn. We will never forget them.”

The founder of RAINE, Patti Dickens, said the “devastation, destruction, and despair” that Hurricane Sandy wrought when it hit on October 29 paled in comparison to the loss the Pinto family suffered.

While Sandy victims lost “things,” she said, “there’s nothing harder than losing a child. We realized our losses were so small compared to what the Pinto family lost.”

A handprint of Jack, provided by the Pinto family, will be a part of the playground along with handprints of children of Union Beach.

One by one, children recited the names of the 26 lost in Newtown. Then they released white dove balloons into the sky.

Union Beach Mayor Paul Smith thanked everyone who was part of the project and then pointed out, “The sun came out when this ceremony started, that’s Jack smiling down on us.”

One family present was Shawn and Jillian Poling, residents of Union Beach. They were with their two children. They said they came to offer their support for the Pinto family. “It’s great for our town, and we’re here to support Jack Pinto and his family,” Jillian said.

“It does bring two tragedies together in two totally different aspects of life,” said Shawn.

The first playground built in the Sandy project is located 14 miles south of Union Beach in another town devastated by the storm, Sea Bright, N.J.  It will be dedicated to Anne Marie Murphy, the special education teacher from Sandy Hook Elementary, on Saturday, April 6.

The Free Beacon visited that site three days before the planned ribbon cutting and found more than a dozen firefighters working feverishly to complete the project. Retired firefighter Bill Valentine said he has been at the site every day, working alongside other firefighters to see it to completion.

“A lot of us become firefighters not just for the pay, but to help people. Now, I’m still active in helping people,” he said.

Retired fireman Joe Candeloro said he has been busy manning the trailer and feeding the workers. He said working on the playground has been worthwhile. But, he added, being on the ground helping Sandy victims within days after the storm hit, “has been gratifying.”

The playground project’s idea came from a third-grader in Mississippi, who sent a video to the firefighter’s union. Years after Hurricane Katrina hit, the union went to Mississippi to build three playgrounds for children there. Mississippi then sent a truckload filled with thousands of Christmas presents for children of New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

The tragedy at Newtown propelled a 9-year-old from Mississippi to ask the New Jersey firefighters to begin the Sandy playground project.

No announced cuts have been made for amenities at detention centers, which include taxpayer-funded health care, dental services, barber services, and bingo and movie nights. Funds for the detention centers come from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

ICE and DHS are under fire for the release of more than 2,200 illegal immigrants from detention, some of which were level one offenders and had to be re-apprehended.

The amenities afforded detained illegal immigrants are numerous and are part of the Obama administration’s detention reform initiative. Over the past four years, millions have been spent revamping detention centers.

One such center is the Karnes County Civil Detention Facility in Texas that opened last year at a $32 million cost to taxpayers. Tours of the facility were given to reporters, and their stories depict a college-like setting in which detainees are housed in dorms or suites that hold eight.

Each is equipped with a television and private bathroom. Soccer fields, basketball courts, and other recreation areas, in addition to a computer lab with Internet access and legal resources, are all available to illegal immigrants.

“Detainees will be free to move through much of the center 24 hours a day. Unarmed staff members, dressed in blue polo shirts and khaki trousers, are known as ‘resident advisers,’ not guards,” according to a New York Times report.

Other detention centers have also been revamped, including one in Essex County, N.J., which has robust indoor and outdoor recreation.

The spending on such amenities for detainees by one DHS agency, while border patrol agents face cuts in their salaries of up to 40 percent by another agency of DHS, does not sit well with the border patrol union.

“It’s another case of misplaced priorities at the highest level of this agency,” said Stuart Harris, vice president of Local 1929 of the National Border Patrol Council in El Paso, Texas.

“It is highly frustrated for our members, when prisoners [are being taken well care of],” said Shawn Moran, the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council. “Agents are facing the loss of their homes. It’s a huge frustration for us.”

Border patrol agents are bearing the brunt of the sequester cuts and face 14 furlough days beginning next month as well as cuts in overtime.

Harris said agents have approached him more frequently in recent weeks, saying they are afraid they will lose their homes since they will be unable to pay their mortgages. Others have asked if they should start looking for another job.

“The administration is making politically motivated, rather than fiscally responsible, selective cuts to immigration enforcement in order to advance its unpopular immigration policy agenda,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies, in an email to the Washington Free Beacon.

“It chose to release thousands of immigration detainees, at least thirty percent of whom had been arrested for crimes, and to remove border patrol agents from duty, rather than find ways to cut expenses in a way that would not compromise their mission,” Vaughan said.

She added that the agency had more than $100 million in a surplus account. That would be enough to cover the sequestration cuts, “which they have now acknowledged that they could have tapped instead.”

Border agents are now dealing with gas rationing. Some agents are being doubled up in vehicles.

Moran said all this will “decrease our effectiveness.”

Harris said agents in his region are being loaded into vans and taken to vehicles in the field at each post. Agents must complete their shift in eight hours, even if it means they are in pursuit of drug smugglers in the field.

“They are limiting what agents can do,” Harris said. “It’s a hard pill for many agents to swallow. Border patrol agents take pride in what they do. If I’m out in the field, going after drug smugglers, I have to stop whatever I’m doing. They want us to do that.”

A review of administrative salaries of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows 1,000 people make between $123,758 and $224,625 per year.

“We look at the CBP and see wasteful spending,” Moran said, citing a $237 million no-bid contract for 14 more unmanned aerial vehicles, which he said not one agent he knows has operated.

Vaughan pointed to other expenses that ICE could cut that do not impact public safety. They include: the travel and entertainment budget; the chauffeur-driven limos for mid-level political appointees; investigations on matters such as stolen antiquities, counterfeit DVDs, and NFL jerseys; free refills and movie nights in jails; and the office of the Public Advocate, “which spends most of its resources advocating for illegal aliens.”

According to Vaughan, CBP does not “need to force the Border Patrol to absorb such a large share of the sequester exercise. They should look at headquarter expenses as well, and slight cuts at the ports of entry where the effect would be a slight inconvenience to travelers, rather than the safety of U.S. communities.”

Border patrol agents, whose morale is now at an all-time low, feel the leadership in the DHS is lacking.

“All Border Patrol agents take an oath of office to uphold and enforce the laws of the United States of America,” Harris said.

“Now, DHS and CBP, by way of their sequestration plans, are not going to allow us to uphold that oath or stay true to what we swore we would do. There simply is not any leadership in this organization. We have plenty of managers, but apparently those at the top have never heard the phrase ‘lead from the front.’”

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

“It’s the perfect storm,” said Stuart Harris, the vice president of Local 1929 of the National Border Patrol Council in El Paso, Texas.

The planned furloughs of border patrol guards and the push for immigration reform has now given illegal immigrants the perfect opportunity to come across the border, he said.

“Now’s the time to do it,” Harris said.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies, agreed.

“It’s a giant catch and release program,” she said. “Why go through the expense of applying for a visa, when you can get turned down?”

Instead, said Vaughan, if you come here illegally, “you’ll get processed and get released and the worst that will happen to you is you will be turned back to Mexico.”

The recent release of more than 2,200 illegal immigrants from detention centers sends a clear message that illegal immigrants will not be detained.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) release of detainees would be communicated back to friends and family in Mexico.

“They send word back,” Vaughan said. “Our policy decisions make people think they have much to gain and it is easy to get in.”

Agents on the ground are already seeing an increase. Harris, who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon as a union representative, is also an agent. He said he has seen an “increase in illegals coming through the border recently.”

In addition to those of Mexican descent, he said, there has been a “significant increase in OTMs [Other Than Mexican].”

Tucson, Ariz., has also experienced an increase in illegal immigration, locals say.

“As of the announcement being made that amnesty is on the horizon, that has raised the amount of illegals,” said Art Del Cueto, president of the Local 2544 Border Patrol Union.

“Agents are announcing a much higher amount of illegals, and there a higher amount of violence on the border,” Del Cueto said.

He went on to explain the conditions in his region. “The people cross dangerous terrain,” he said, and “there are border bandits who attack children and rape women.”

Cuts to border patrol could put the immigrants themselves at risk.

“Less security will also mean more people will die in the desert,” Del Cueto said. “These people cross with their children, with their newborn babies.”

“[After three to four hours in the desert,] some turn themselves into us, saying they need food and water,” he said. “You’re going to see a lot more deaths in the desert.”

The Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has targeted border patrol agents for cuts. Border agents are facing furloughs beginning early next month of 14 days and major cuts in overtime. Union representatives say they are facing a 40 percent cut in pay due to furlough days and overtime cuts.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesman said in an email to the Free Beacon that they are trying to minimize the effects of the more than half a billion dollars in budget cuts due to sequestration and will “make every effort to minimize the sequester’s impact on public safety and national security.”

“Even with these cuts, though, individuals apprehended illegally crossing the southwest border will still be processed as usual,” a CBP spokesman said.

The CBP believes it can do more with less.

“Significant border-wide investments in additional enforcement resources and enhanced operational tactics and strategy have enabled CBP to address the changing composition of attempted border crossers, and maintain border security,” the spokesman said in a statement.

A recent report indicated that some illegal immigrants were actually turning themselves into patrol agents, knowing they would not be detained.

Harris confirmed those reports and said he was aware of 1,000 apprehensions in the McAllen, Texas, station last weekend, many of whom turned themselves over to agents knowing they would not be detained.

Vaughn said this has happened in the past.

“I do know from having watched over the years, I have seen this phenomenon before,” she said.

When visa restrictions were eased on Brazilians by Mexico in 2005 a large influx of Brazilians came through Mexico into the U.S., she said.

“After arriving at either the border patrol stations or approaching the agents in the field, they said, I’m here, arrest me.”

Government statistics show that in 2005 there was a huge spike in apprehensions of illegal immigrants from the previous year. In some regions, such as the Rio Grande Valley and the Del Rio, the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions tripled.

Vaughn said the policy was for people not from Mexico to be released pending a hearing date, then “they would just disappear” and not be found.

History may soon repeat itself, as that policy of releasing OTMs on their own recognizance is increasing.

“The problem is that people are coming from different countries expecting to be released with no intention of reporting for their court dates,” Harris said.

“They then will migrate to the interior of the United States where immigration enforcement is virtually nonexistent, with the intention of living out their lives until such time as immigration reform is passed, and they can get some sort of paperwork that allows them to be here legally.”

“We have no way of checking criminal history in foreign countries,” Harris said. “Essentially, we could be releasing very bad people into the general population of the U.S. with no hope of ever finding them again. … With the increase in illegal immigration, gangs are seeing more money, as are the drug cartels. None of this is in any way beneficial to the American public or to national security.”

“It’s amazing that we’ve forgotten all the problems since 9/11,” Del Cueto said. “We’re the first line of defense of this country, and we’re getting slapped in the face by our leaders. We’re being used as political pawns so politicians can further their careers.”

The Free Beacon found that DHS has embarked on a hiring spree even as it releases “low risk” detainees. More than 100 job openings were listed for DHS on the government’s job board site as of March 13.

A sample of the full-time jobs the DHS is looking to fill include three regional director positions, with a salary range of $118,846 to $155,500; two emergency management specialists for FEMA, who can earn up to $100,859; and several supervisor federal air marshals, whose salary ranges are $119,554 to $172,550. Several personnel security specialists are also being sought and employees can earn up to $97,333 a year.

The part-time jobs listed for the DHS include many Transportation Security Officers who can earn up to $43,697 per year working part time. The agency is also seeking to fill several child and youth assistant positions.

The salaries of all the future employees at DHS do not include other costs, as the Federal government also offers health insurance, a thrift savings plan, a retirement plan, life insurance, and long-term care insurance. Additional perks could include uniform allowance, tuition reimbursement, and transportation subsidies.

FEMA also continues to fund training exercises with a UFO-zombie theme. One such session is planned next month in Moscow, Idaho, according to a local newspaper account.

The DHS is also planning numerous conferences, many of which could cost more than $100,000. They include the 30th Annual Flood Conference from May 5-8 at the Hilton in Anaheim; the U.S. Coast Guard National Convention, Aug. 18-25; and the GFIRST National Conference Aug. 25-30.

The DHS may also realize cost savings in furniture purchases this fiscal year after a four-year binge purchase exceeding $180 million. The Free Beacon found the DHS has spent $184,624,540 on new furniture from 2008 to 2012. Those purchases include the hiring of a New York interior designer and upscale furniture retailer purchases.

Additionally, DHS continues to tout a new grant on its website authorized by President Barack Obama’s FY 2013 budget. It is looking to the public for suggestions on how to spend the new grant money.

DHS did not comment on why it continues hiring during the sequester, why it continues to fund questionable training exercises, or if it plans to cancel any of its conferences due to the sequester.

According to reports, more than 40 lawmakers have sent letters to DHS secretary Janet Napolitano demanding answers for the agency’s choice of budget cuts.

Sen. John Cornyn, (R., Texas) questioned Napolitano’s leadership in a letter: “Border security and the detention of those who violate our laws are at the core of DHS’s mission.” Cornyn urged her to renew “efforts to eliminate wasteful and duplicative spending not aligned with core missions.”

The senator has not yet received a response from Napolitano, he said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday evening.

“When the secretary of homeland security decides to pull thousands of border patrol agents from their posts instead of making already identified, common-sense, administrative cuts, there can only be one motive: Using fear to make a political point,” Cornyn said.

“Her homework’s been done for her; it’s time for Sec. Napolitano to target real excess in her department and trim her budget without putting our national security at risk,” Cornyn said.

Asked by the Free Beacon for a response to the many senators who have questioned their cuts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) responded by email, saying they would “respond to the senators directly.”

ICE spokesperson Gillian Christensen sent the following statement: “As fiscal uncertainty remained over the continuing resolution, and with the strong possibility of sequestration, ICE officials identified and released detained individuals who posed the least threat to public safety, were not subject to mandatory detention, and who were appropriate candidates for supervised release.”

The statement added that ICE officials reviewed each case prior to release and does not “maintain records on whether an individual was released primarily for budgetary reasons.”

The agency is now indicating that the release of illegal immigrants is not necessarily due to the sequester.

ICE stated it has funding from Congress to detain an average daily population of approximately 34,000 and over the “course of this fiscal year, ICE detention levels have exceeded 36,500. As of February 25, ICE’s annual average daily population for FY ‘13 was 33,925.”

ICE must reduce its expenditures by $294 million across all of its programs, the statement said.

The Office of Management and Budget referred the Free Beacon to the DHS when asked what recommendations it made to the DHS regarding sequester cuts.