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Obama Appointee Blocks Trump Immigration Order

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This is far from over…

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from revoking the legal status and work permits of the more than 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who flew into the United States during former President Joe Biden’s time in office. 

The migrants came to the U.S. under Biden’s controversial CHNV mass humanitarian parole program.

In her order, Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote that each migrant needs to have an individualized, case-by-case review.

“The Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, 90 Fed. Reg. 13611 (Mar. 25, 2025), is hereby STAYED pending further court order insofar as it revokes, without case-by-case review, the previously granted parole and work authorization issued to noncitizens paroled into the UnitedStates pursuant to parole programs for noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (the “CHNV parole programs”) prior to the noncitizen’s originally stated parole end date,” she wrote. 

Biden created the CHNV program in 2023 via his executive parole authority. The program was launched in 2022 and initially first applied to Venezuelans before it was expanded to additional countries.

The Biden administration argued that CHNV would help reduce illegal crossings at the southern border and allow better vetting of people entering the country amid an influx of migrants. 

The program was temporarily paused due to widespread fraud.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration told Fox News that Talwani essentially ruled that Trump can’t use his own executive authority, the same authority Biden used, to revoke the parole that Biden granted. 

“It is pure lawless tyranny,” a Trump administration official told Fox News. 

In March, the roughly 532,000 migrants under the CHNV program were told to leave the U.S. 

Report: Noem Demanded Hours-long Meeting With Trump After She’s Sidelined

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By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requested a two-hour meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office late Monday as the administration faced intensifying backlash over a deadly shooting in Minneapolis involving federal immigration agents.

The meeting came after President Trump announced that longtime border enforcement official Tom Homan would travel to Minneapolis to take charge of Department of Homeland Security efforts following the death of protester Alex Pretti during a confrontation with Border Patrol agents, according to the New York Times.

The closed-door discussion, which included several of the president’s top aides, reflected the administration’s effort to recalibrate its response as tensions mounted across the city and criticism grew over how the incident was initially described.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem receives a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center CECOT with the Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

Noem came under fire after she labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” saying he had charged officers while brandishing a gun. However, multiple videos circulating online showed the ICU nurse holding a cellphone and attempting to flee from agents at the time of the encounter.

The administration has since faced pressure to clarify its messaging, particularly as images and video from the scene fueled protests and intensified scrutiny of federal enforcement tactics in Democrat-run cities already resistant to immigration crackdowns.

Earlier Monday, Trump said he was sending Homan — a well-known hardliner on border enforcement — to oversee the situation on the ground. The move sparked questions about whether the president was dissatisfied with Noem’s handling of the fallout.

Despite the speculation, Trump did not indicate that Noem’s job was in jeopardy during the meeting, sources told the outlet.

Separately, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and some of his agents were ordered Monday to begin pulling back from Minnesota, according to sources.

Bovino, like Noem, drew criticism for his initial assessment of the incident. He had said Pretti was brandishing a firearm and “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” a claim later challenged by video evidence.

Amid reports suggesting internal consequences, the Trump administration pushed back against claims that Bovino had been demoted.

“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X. She added that Bovino remains a “key part of the president’s team and a great American.”

Attorney General Sues New York Over ‘Prioritizing Illegal Immigrants’

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Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber make a subway safety announcement at the NYCT Rail Control Center (RCC) on Wednesday, Mar 6, 2024. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Attorney General Pam Bondi Trump filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state of New York and its governor, Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, alleging a failure to comply with federal law by shielding illegal immigrants.

Bondi said Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and state DMV head Mark Schroeder treated their state’s residents like second-class citizens.

“We’re here today because we have filed charges against the state of New York,” Bondi said at a 5 p.m. ET news conference. “We have filed charges against Kathy Hochul. We have filed charges against Letitia James and Mark Schroeder, who is with DMV. This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans – American citizens.”

Bondi invoked a similar suit the DOJ filed against the state of Illinois a week ago and added, “New York didn’t listen. So now, you’re next.”

“If you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next,” she said. “Get ready. And the great men and women of law enforcement are standing behind me today. We have FBI, DEF, DEA, ATF agents. They put their lives on the line every single day to protect us.”

Bondi alleged New York had given a “green light to any illegal alien in New York where law enforcement officers cannot check their identity if they pull them over.” She concluded:

Law enforcement officers do not have access to their background, and if these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day. Violent criminals, gang members, drug traffickers, human smugglers will no longer terrorize the American people, and that is why we are here today. You will be held accountable if you do not follow federal law. It’s over, it ends, and we’re coming after you.

Blue City Prosecutor Vows To Pursue Federal Agents Criminally After Trump Term Ends

By U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/ero, Public Domain,

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Soros-backed progressive prosecutor, is facing mounting bipartisan criticism after making fiery remarks comparing federal immigration agents to Nazis and suggesting they should be “hunted down.”

Speaking last week, Krasner denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as “a small bunch of wannabe Nazis,” adding, “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities.”

The comments prompted swift backlash from Republicans, with Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) a member of the House Intelligence Committee, urging the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation.

Steube cited federal statutes that make threatening a federal law enforcement officer a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

“The DOJ should absolutely arrest and convict this guy,” Steube said.

Krasner has a history of antagonism toward federal immigration enforcement. He previously claimed he would seek to arrest and prosecute federal agents who “come to Philly to commit crimes,” an apparent reference to controversial law enforcement actions during a Minnesota operation in which a woman was shot after allegedly attempting to ram officers with her vehicle.

In the speech that drew Steube’s condemnation, Krasner boasted that the 350 million Americans living in the United States vastly outnumber ICE agents, and he floated the idea of coordinating with prosecutors in other states to pursue them criminally after President Donald Trump’s term ends.

Even prominent Democrats distanced themselves from Krasner’s rhetoric. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called the remarks “unacceptable… abhorrent and it is wrong; period; hard-stop; end of sentence.”

Republicans were far less restrained.

“We have a psychopath with a badge,” Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa) said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Meuser blasted Krasner for what he described as chronic failures to prosecute violent crime, pointing to reports that the district attorney’s office prosecutes only about 30% of violent crime arrests.

“Every responsible Democrat must condemn this behavior,” Meuser said. “Failure to do so only increases the temperature in an already volatile situation, endangering federal law enforcement and communities alike.”

Meuser also accused Senate Democrats of borrowing Krasner’s “reckless political playbook” by using Department of Homeland Security funding as leverage in government shutdown negotiations.

Critics have long dubbed Krasner “Let ’Em Go Larry” for his lenient prosecution policies—an approach Meuser contrasted sharply with Krasner’s aggressive posture toward federal immigration officers.

Meuser has authored the Holding Prosecutors Accountable Act, legislation that would strip Justice Department grant eligibility from district attorney offices that fail to prosecute at least two-thirds of arrests.

The Department of Homeland Security weighed in as well. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called Krasner’s comments “vile,” accusing him of encouraging violence and doxing of law enforcement officers.

“He is intentionally stoking the flames of hatred and division in this country for political gain,” McLaughlin said, citing a reported 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE agents. “The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.”

McLaughlin argued that Krasner should instead be thanking ICE for removing dangerous criminals from the Philadelphia region, including Yehi Badawi of Egypt, convicted of aggravated assault and robbery; Cuban national Alan De Armas-Tundidor, a convicted drug trafficker; and Thanh Long Huynh of Vietnam, convicted of rape and cocaine distribution.

Other Pennsylvania Republicans emphasized that Krasner’s threats are legally hollow.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) who taught constitutional law at the U.S. Army War College, noted that the federal supremacy clause would override any attempt by Philadelphia officials to interfere with lawful federal immigration enforcement.

“The Constitution is not optional,” Mastriano said bluntly.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Allentown) chairman of the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee, echoed that warning, calling claims that city officials can block ICE “empty threats.”

“If they do obstruct federal law enforcement efforts, the Pennsylvania Senate will be the least of their worries,” Coleman said, adding that if Krasner focused more on prosecuting violent offenders, “Philadelphia wouldn’t be such a s—hole.”

As criticism intensifies, Krasner’s remarks have reignited a broader debate over progressive prosecutors, public safety, and the limits of local resistance to federal law enforcement—one that now may draw scrutiny from the Justice Department itself.

Report: Trump Admin Sends Over 100 Iranians Back To Tehran In Rare Deal

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By United States Government - https://x.com/PressSec/status/1882759560613527770, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159931598

The Trump administration has reportedly deported a planeload of more than 100 Iranians under a deal struck with the Iranian government.

Iranian officials confirmed to The New York Times that the planeload of migrants took off from Louisiana on Monday night and was expected to arrive in Iran via Qatar on Tuesday. A U.S. official also reportedly confirmed the plan to the outlet.

Monday’s round of deportations is the first step in a larger plan to deport approximately 400 Iranian nationals.

“The Trump Administration is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of illegal aliens in history, using all the tools at our disposal,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News on Tuesday.

The deal marks a rare instance of cooperation between Tehran and the US, which saw heightened tensions in the wake of this summer’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials told The Times that the deportation deal came about after months of discussions between the two nations.

The identities of the Iranian deportees are unknown, but The Times reported that the group included men and women, some of whom were couples. The outlet also noted, citing Iranian officials, that some of the deportees volunteered to leave the U.S. after spending time in detention centers, while others were not going voluntarily.

Iranian officials also told The Times that in almost every case, the deportees either had asylum requests denied or had yet to appear before a judge for a hearing on their requests.

“We have urged the American government to respect the rights of Iranian migrants and their citizenship rights under international law. They must not be denied consular services, fair judicial process, or the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Noushabadi told Tasnim news agency.

Another official told the news agency that the individuals being deported had left Iran legally, but how they entered the U.S. was “another matter.” For decades, the U.S. had granted refuge to Iranians fleeing political repression due to the regime’s reputation for brutal human rights abuses.

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Pro-Trump Mayor Accused Of Illegally Voting As A Noncitizen

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Missvain, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A small-town Kansas mayor who has supported President Donald Trump for years is now facing serious felony charges after state prosecutors allege he voted in multiple elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.

The New York Times this week highlighted the case of Joe Ceballos, the recently re-elected mayor of Coldwater, Kansas — a rural community of just 687 residents — who is now charged with multiple counts of voter fraud-related crimes.

Ceballos, 55, is facing three counts of election perjury and three counts of voting without being qualified under Kansas law. Prosecutors say he illegally cast ballots while holding permanent resident status rather than full citizenship.

“Nobody ever told me that I couldn’t vote or register to vote,” Ceballos told The Times. “And so, as a young man, yeah, I did it. I registered.”

A Case Raising Broader Questions About Election Integrity

The case arrives at a time when election security and voter eligibility remain central concerns for many Americans, particularly Republicans who argue that citizenship requirements must be enforced to protect the integrity of U.S. elections.

While instances of noncitizen voting are considered rare, conservatives have long maintained that even isolated cases undermine trust in the system — and that laws already on the books should be applied consistently.

Ceballos was born in Mexico and moved to the United States at age four, according to the report. He later obtained a green card in 1990. Ceballos said he believed that being a lawful permanent resident allowed him to vote.

“His defense, essentially, is that he did not understand that being a permanent resident should have precluded him from voting and holding office, and that no one ever told him he was not eligible,” the paper wrote.

Citizenship Application Triggered Investigation

Ceballos said his legal troubles began last year when he applied to become a U.S. citizen. During the process, he admitted to a federal official that he had previously voted.

“His eyes got real big, and I was like, ‘Boy, did I do something wrong?’” Ceballos recalled.

That admission reportedly halted his citizenship application and alerted Kansas officials, setting off the investigation that ultimately led to criminal charges.

If convicted, Ceballos could face up to 68 months in prison and a $200,000 fine.

“This alien committed a felony by voting in American elections,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said about Ceballos.

Trump Supporter Says He Doesn’t Belong in “Criminal” Category

Ceballos acknowledged voting for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and said he still supports much of the president’s immigration agenda — particularly efforts to remove violent criminals from the country.

“I still strongly believe in Trump’s immigration laws about, ‘Let’s get the bad guys out of here,’” he said. “You know, they’re murderers, they killed people, they molested people, let’s get them out of here.

“But I feel like I don’t fit that category,” he added. “And I feel like that’s how they’re treating me.”

His comments reflect a broader debate within the immigration discussion: Republicans often emphasize the difference between legal immigrants who follow the process and those who break the law — while also insisting that voting is a right reserved only for American citizens.

Small Town Residents Rally Around Mayor

Coldwater residents told The Times they view the prosecution as a “personal attack on a pillar of the town.” Ceballos was overwhelmingly re-elected last year by a margin of 101 votes to 20.

Supporters argue the case is a tragic example of confusion over complex immigration and election laws, while critics say citizenship rules are clear and must be upheld regardless of intent.

SAVE Act and Growing Push for Proof of Citizenship

The case comes as Trump has backed the SAVE Act, legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections — a measure Republicans argue is common sense and necessary to restore confidence in elections.

Democrats such as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have criticized the proposal, calling it discriminatory, but polling consistently shows strong public support for voter identification requirements.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten noted that surveys dating back to 2018 show at least 75% of Americans support voter ID laws, including a 2024 figure showing 83% approval.

“Normally, you might expect… a big divide by party,” Enten said. “But not really here.”

Sen. Susan Collins recently became the 50th lawmaker to signal support for the bill.

In an exclusive comment to The Maine Wire, Sen. Collins said she supports the current version of the SAVE Act.

Collins said she will support the version of the SAVE Act that has now cleared the House, calling it a “simple reform” aimed at strengthening confidence in federal elections.

“The law is clear that in this country only American citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections. In addition, having people provide an ID at the polls, just as they have to do before boarding an airplane, checking into a hotel, or buying an alcoholic beverage, is a simple reform that will improve the security of our federal elections and will help give people more confidence in the results,” she said.

Collins said that her support hinges on changes made to the legislation. She said she previously opposed an earlier draft that would have required voters to prove their citizenship each time they cast a ballot.

“Requiring voters to produce passports or birth certificates on election day — as opposed to just a state-issued ID — would have placed an unnecessary burden on the voters. That provision is no longer in the bill and dropping this requirement was key to getting my support.”

Supreme Court Rules Trump May Rescind Biden-era Immigration Policy

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Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a significant immigration win on Friday…

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a lower court order that blocked the Trump administration from deporting roughly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. 

Fox News reports:

The Supreme Court decision stays, for now, a lower court ruling that halted Trump’s plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for some migrants living in the U.S., which allows individuals to live and work in the U.S. legally if they cannot work safely in their home country due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” 

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer asked justices earlier this month to allow the administration to proceed with its decision to revoke the status for the migrants, accusing U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of improperly intruding on the executive branch’s authority over immigration policy.

“The district court’s reasoning is untenable,” Sauer told the high court, adding that the program “implicates particularly discretionary, sensitive, and foreign-policy-laden judgments of the Executive Branch regarding immigration policy.”

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Stephen Miller Reportedly Sidelined By Trump Admin.

By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54346096651/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160407812

White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller — long viewed as one of the chief architects of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration agenda — is reportedly losing influence inside the administration as other top officials gain the president’s ear.

According to a new report from The Atlantic journalists Michael Scherer and Nick Miroff, Trump has privately expressed concern that Miller’s aggressive instincts sometimes go too far, marking a notable shift for one of the president’s most loyal and powerful longtime advisers.

The report claims Trump “has also told others in recent weeks that he understands Miller sometimes goes too far.” The alleged change reportedly became more noticeable following unrest in Minneapolis and the death of protester Alex Pretti.

Trump reportedly “recognized immediately after the second killing in Minneapolis, of the protester Alex Pretti, that the policy needed to shift.” Miller, however, took a far more confrontational tone, referring to Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” in the aftermath of the incident.

For years, Miller has been one of the most influential figures in Trump’s orbit. The former Senate aide rose to prominence during Trump’s first campaign in 2016 and quickly became the driving force behind many of the administration’s toughest immigration policies, including travel bans, refugee restrictions, and mass deportation proposals.

Unlike many Trump officials who cycled in and out of the administration, Miller built a uniquely durable relationship with the president. His fiery populist rhetoric and uncompromising stance on immigration made him a hero to many MAGA voters, while critics accused him of pushing excessively punitive policies.

But according to The Atlantic, recent months have revealed growing divisions within the administration over how aggressively to pursue Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The report states that Trump backed away from several Miller-backed initiatives after consulting with border czar Tom Homan and other officials. One major example involved a proposal to slash seasonal worker visas by 50%, a move that reportedly alarmed business interests and other administration figures.

“The new secretary is listening to Tom Homan and Rodney Scott before he is ever listening to Stephen Miller,” one senior administration official told Scherer and Miroff.

Another former official summed up Miller’s changing position bluntly: “The president knows who he is, period.”

The Atlantic also reported that while there have been no known clashes between Homan and Miller, the two men have promoted very different strategies for carrying out Trump’s mass-deportation agenda.

Miller has reportedly pushed for maximizing deportation numbers as quickly as possible, while Homan has favored a more targeted approach focused on illegal immigrants with criminal records.

“There have been no accounts of clashes or tension between Homan and Miller, and the former has even praised the latter as ‘one of the most brilliant people I’ve met in my entire life,’” the report noted.

Still, Homan’s influence appears to be growing.

According to the report, the Department of Homeland Security has quietly reversed several changes Miller pushed earlier in Trump’s second term. One key example involved accelerated training for new ICE recruits.

Miller had reportedly advocated for shortening ICE academy training to roughly eight weeks in an effort to rapidly expand deportation operations. Veteran officers reportedly warned that the abbreviated training created serious concerns, especially as dropout rates surged among recruits.

“In recent weeks, ICE reverted to a four-and-a-half-month training program similar to its former academy course,” the report stated, citing three officials familiar with the matter.

Despite the apparent shift, insiders told The Atlantic that Miller remains deeply embedded in Trump’s inner circle and is not expected to leave the administration anytime soon.

“White House insiders said that Miller remains a top adviser to the president, that he has a singular relationship to Trump built over the past decade, and that his job is not in jeopardy,” Scherer and Miroff reported.

The claims stand in stark contrast to earlier reporting that portrayed Miller as perhaps the single most influential policy figure in Trump’s second administration.

A bombshell report published by The New York Times in March suggested Miller had effectively become the driving force behind major Justice Department priorities.

“It was clear from the start that Mr. Miller, who is not a lawyer, would exercise control inside the department, current and former Trump aides said,” the Times reported at the time.

Whether Miller’s reported decline in influence proves temporary or permanent remains unclear. But the emerging picture suggests that even some of Trump’s most trusted allies are now competing for influence as the administration navigates mounting political and public pressure over immigration enforcement and domestic unrest.

Former First Lady Reveals The Trump Policy That ‘Keeps Her Awake At Night’

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FLOTUS at Fayetteville, N.C. -The Arts Center speech Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

Former first lady Michelle Obama expressed fear over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, saying they have kept her up at night. 

“Now that we have leadership that is sort of indiscriminately determining who belongs and who doesn’t,” the former first lady said Monday during an appearance on the podcast “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” adding that such deportation decisions “aren’t being made with courts and with due process.” 

“I worry for people of color all over this country, and I don’t know that we will have the advocates to protect everybody,” she continued. “And that makes me … that frightens me. It keeps me up at night.” 

“And I and I see that when I’m driving around LA. I’m just looking in the faces of folks who could be a victim and I’m wondering, how are you feeling, how do you feel standing on the bus stop,” she said. 

“In this current climate, for me it’s what’s happening to immigrants,” Obama said when asked about “recent tests of fear” related to individuals facing discrimination over the color of their skin. 

Obama noted that the “fear” does not personally impact her as a former first lady who has police protection. 

“It’s not the fear for myself anymore,” she continued. “I drive around in a four-car motorcade with a police escort. I’m Michelle Obama. I do still worry about my daughters in the world, even though they are somewhat recognizable.”

“My fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the city,” she added, referring to her hometown of Chicago. 

During a Monday White House briefing to discuss border enforcement during President Donald Trump’s first hundred days border czar Tom Homan said that under Trump, unlawful crossings were “historically low” and that the border was the most secure it has ever been. Homan drew a sharp contrast to the record number of illegal immigrants that entered the United States under the Biden administration.

“Every president I ever worked for took border security seriously because you can’t have national security if you don’t have strong border security,” Homan said. “Even President Obama and President Clinton took some steps to secure the border because they understood national security was important. Joe Biden is the first president in the history of this nation who came into office and unsecured a border on purpose. That’s just a fact.”

Homan accused the Biden administration of weaponizing its immigration policies, motivated by the desire that a future Democrat president would give illegal immigrants released into the country amnesty, saying Biden was “selling this country off for future political power.”

Watch:

Contrasting Biden and Trump, Homan said that between 11,000-15,000 people were crossing the border illegally per day this time of the year under Biden, while under Trump, just 178 had crossed in the last 24 hours. During the same time, he said there were 1,800 known “gotaways” under Biden, compared to just 38 under Trump. Homan added that from January 20 to April 1, 2024, Biden released 184,000 illegals out of federal custody into the country. The Trump administration has only released nine total, including four so they could testify in criminal cases and four with extreme medical conditions.

In total, Homan said that there have been 139,000 deportations under Trump. He added that the administration was prioritizing the estimated 700,000 illegals who have been charged with crimes.

Florida Attorney General Held In Contempt After Defending Trump Immigration Agenda

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A federal judge has found that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier was in civil contempt of court over her ruling to pause a new state law making it a crime for people living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered on April 29 that Uthmeier show cause on “why he should not be held in contempt or sanctioned” for violating a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the court, though Williams ultimately decided he was unable to convince her otherwise.

“If being held in contempt is what it costs to defend the rule of law and stand firmly behind President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration, so be it,” Uthmeier said Tuesday in a post on X.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation into law in February that made it a misdemeanor for illegal immigrants to enter the state as part of President Donald Trump’s push to crack down on illegal immigration.

But on April 4, Williams issued a 14-day TRO in response to the law, following a lawsuit filed by the Florida Immigrant Coalition and other groups. She then extended the TRO another 11 days after learning the Florida Highway Patrol had arrested over a dozen people, including a U.S. citizen.

The court said on April 18 that Florida law enforcement officers were bound by the TRO, preventing them from enforcing the criminal immigration law.

The court also ordered the attorney general to provide notice to all law enforcement officers, which Uthmeier initially complied with.

On April 23, he sent a follow-up letter telling the law enforcement community that “no judicial order…properly restrains you from” enforcing the immigration law, adding that “no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce” the statute.

As a result, the court required Uthmeier to show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt for violating the TRO.

Following his response, the court opined that litigants cannot change the meaning of words as it suits them, ruling that Uthmeier was in contempt of the court’s April 18 order to provide the TRO to law enforcement officers regarding the enforcement of the immigration law.

As such, the court ordered Uthmeier to file bi-weekly reports detailing arrests, detentions or law enforcement actions when it comes to the immigration law prohibiting undocumented immigrants from entering the state of Florida, with the first being filed by July 1.