A week ago, I wrote that many “National Day” proclamations are nonsense and dilute the significance of those days that actually are worthy of national recognition — one being Medal of Honor Day.

Well, you might have missed it, but yesterday was “International Transgender Day of Visibility,” and, predictably, it was celebrated by Joe Biden at the White House, including a national statement affirming all the ways his administration is advancing gender confusion. That would include the promotion of puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and “sex-change” mutilation for children. Surreal.

There is added emphasis this year because of Florida’s parental rights legislation prohibiting “classroom instruction … on sexual orientation or gender identity” for children in kindergarten through grade 3 — what amounts to gender-confused grooming of children. Florida is the Rainbow Mafia’s target because it knows that state legislation should be the model for other states.

To draw ample Leftmedia attention to its “transgender” celebration, and the lie that anyone can change genders (just follow the science), Biden invited a “transwoman,” “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider, to the White House. Do Demos understand that, in effect, they are pushing the narrative that “anything at woman can do, a man pretending to be a woman can do better”?

Yes, this clown show would be better celebrated today — April Fools’ Day.

Unfortunately, I was alerted to “International Transgender Day of Visibility” before sunrise in my regular official briefing email from the Department of Homeland Security. It was the most absurd message I have ever received from DHS.

For 25 years, I held a national security reserve appointment dating back to the last year of Ronald Reagan’s second term – and the last 10 years of that service were under DHS after the 9/11 Islamist attack on our nation. DHS was true to its mission to protect the safety and security of our nation through the end of Donald Trump’s administration. Only once did it have a leader of the stature of Trump’s DHS secretary, Gen. John Kelly (USMC, Ret.), who then became Trump’s chief of staff.

But now, under Joe Biden’s Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS has become, like most other Biden agencies, a taxpayer-funded advocacy organization for his political agenda, as made clear in the DHS email yesterday.

That message arrived in a week when our nation faces the rapidly elevating threat of kinetic confrontation with Russia and, closer to home, a week when DHS’s border security division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), confirmed it has been completely overrun by record numbers of illegal immigrants flooding across our southern border for the past year.

There have been more than one million illegal border crossers since last October. That invasion is the direct result of Biden’s open-border policies, which is why DHS’s mission has been subverted. And he keeps reducing restrictions to increase the number of what he hopes will be future Demo bulk-mail voters.

Despite the crisis at our southern border, which began the day Biden took office and is spreading nationwide as a result of Biden’s distribution of illegal immigrants to specific voting districts across our country, Biden has now diverted DHS to the promotion of his gender-confusion mandate. The DHS briefing this week was an astounding example of the sidelining of that department’s national and border security mission by its “leadership” so that it can advocate Biden’s political agenda.

For your assessment, here is the full email text of the DHS “International Transgender Day of Visibility” directive:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

DHS Announces New Measures to Better Serve Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Non-Conforming Travelers

Today, on International Trans Day of Visibility, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new measures to better serve all Americans, regardless of their gender identity. Through technology updates, process changes, and expanded partnerships, TSA and CBP are improving their screening procedures and ensuring they are conducted in a manner that respects the dignity of each individual. These measures are part of a concerted effort by the Biden-Harris Administration to advance equality for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming Americans.

“DHS is committed to protecting the traveling public while ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender identity, is treated with respect,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The new measures announced today are part of a whole-of-government effort to promote equity and inclusion in all our programs and processes. We are proud to work with our interagency partners on this effort and look forward to rapidly implementing these changes to better serve the American public.”

The new DHS efforts announced today include:

Implementing enhanced screening technology: TSA will update its current Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) scanners with new technology that increases security and efficiency by reducing false alarm rates and pat downs for the traveling public. By replacing the current, gender-based AIT system, this new, more accurate technology will also advance civil rights and improve the customer experience of travelers who previously have been required to undergo additional screening due to alarms in sensitive areas. TSA will begin deploying this new technology in airports throughout the country later this year.

Adopting more efficient, less invasive screening procedures: TSA will update its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) to permit less invasive screening procedures for certain passengers who trigger the AIT scanner in a sensitive area. This change will reduce pat downs for TSOs and the traveling public without compromising security, and will be in effect until the new gender-neutral AIT screening technology is deployed.

Making TSA PreCheck more inclusive: TSA will update its TSA PreCheck program this year to include an “X” gender marker option on its application to ensure the TSA PreCheck system accurately reflects traveler gender and keeps pace with identity documents that offer the “X” gender marker option, including U.S. passports beginning April 11.

Expanding airline partnerships to enhance the overall travel experience: TSA is working closely with air carriers across the nation to promote the use and acceptance of the “X” gender marker to ensure more efficient and accurate passenger processing.

Streamlining identity validation: TSA updated its checkpoint SOP to remove gender considerations when validating a traveler’s identification at airport security checkpoints. This ensures that TSOs can accurately and efficiently validate an individual’s identity while avoiding unnecessary delays caused by a mismatch in gender information on the boarding pass and identification document (e.g., driver’s license or passport) and/or the gender presentation of the traveler.

Facilitating effective communication at U.S. ports of entry and beyond: CBP has provided a job aid and memorandum to all staff that will serve as a guide for facilitating effective communication with the diverse public CBP serves, including LGBTQI+ individuals. The guidance includes using gender-neutral language and an individual’s self-identified pronouns and name.

Updating Trusted Travel Programs to align with the U.S. Department of State’s passport options: CBP will soon issue a Federal Register Notice for public comment to evaluate whether to update the Trusted Traveler Programs application form to add an “X” gender marker option.

Read the White House Fact Sheet to learn more about the Administration’s effort to better serve the transgender community.

Review the TSA webpage for Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-Nonconforming Passengers for more information on all gender-related updates, including changes to AIT screening protocols, identity-verification practices, and the TSA PreCheck program.

(Update: No small irony that my briefing email from the CDC today concerned “(New CDC data illuminate youth mental health threats during the COVID-19 pandemic](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0331-youth-mental-health-covid-19.html).” They failed to mention the “mental health threat” posed by the Biden administrations promotion of gender confusion in youth.)