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    Mother Of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew Nabbed By ICE

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4

    Federal immigration authorities have detained the mother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, a woman who officials say overstayed a decades-old tourist visa. Bruna Caroline Ferreira was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, after allegedly remaining in the United States illegally since her B2 visa expired in June 1999, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson quoted by NBC News.

    Ferreira, originally from Brazil, shares an 11-year-old son with Leavitt’s older brother, Michael Leavitt. In a statement to New Hampshire outlet WMUR, Michael emphasized his son’s welfare amid the situation. “The only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son,” he said.

    Karoline Leavitt, 28, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, declined to comment on the arrest. However, a source told WMUR that Ferreira and Leavitt have not been in contact “for many years,” adding that the child “has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother.”

    According to DHS, Ferreira entered the United States legally in 1998 but failed to depart when required. “She entered the US on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the US by June 6, 1999,” the agency said. “She is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings. Under President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”

    NBC News reported that Ferreira had previously been arrested on suspicion of battery, though the outcome of that case is unclear. No charges appear in Massachusetts’ online court records.

    Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, strongly disputes DHS’s characterization of his client, arguing she should not be facing deportation. He said she has “maintained her legal status” through the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and was actively working toward obtaining a green card before her arrest.

    “She’s in the process of actually getting her green card and she was abruptly arrested and taken from her young child right before Thanksgiving,” Pomerleau told WCVB. “Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever. I don’t know where that is coming from. Show us the proof. There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal illegal alien.”

    Pomerleau said the family has been struggling with the distance, noting that Ferreira’s son has not spoken to her since she was taken into custody. “I’m just trying to fight to get her out of jail,” he said. “She should not be sitting in a jail hours away from her family and from her child’s life. She’s a great mom, and from what I heard, I think he’s been a pretty good dad.”

    He added, “His mother is locked up in Louisiana, where she should have never been in the first place.”

    The case comes as the Trump administration carries out what it describes as a broad “mass deportation campaign,” emphasizing stricter enforcement of existing immigration laws. The initiative includes encouraging voluntary return for those in the country illegally and increasing operations by ICE, the Border Patrol, and state National Guard units.

    A relative of Ferreira has launched a GoFundMe campaign, stating she was brought to the U.S. as a child and “followed all protocols.” The fundraiser says, “Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here. She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.”

    Ferreira remains in federal custody as her removal proceedings continue.

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    Texas Defunds Border Wall Construction

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Construction continues on new border wall system project near Yuma, AZ. Recently constructed border wall near Yuma, Arizona on June 3, 2020. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.

    In a disappointing turn for border security advocates, the Texas Legislature has officially canceled the state’s ambitious effort to build its own border wall — a project that Gov. Greg Abbott hailed in 2021 as a bold step toward protecting Texans in the absence of meaningful federal action. Despite allocating more than $3 billion to the initiative, only about 65 miles of wall — much of it scattered in rural areas — has been completed.

    Gov. Abbott launched the state-funded wall project in December 2021 after Biden administration inaction left Texans on the front lines of an escalating border crisis. At the time, Texas was the first state to attempt such a massive undertaking — one born out of necessity as illegal crossings surged and federal authorities turned a blind eye.

    Standing beside towering steel beams at the border, Abbott made it clear that Texas would do what President Biden refused to: secure the southern border. “It’s heavy and it’s wide,” he said. “People aren’t making it through those steel bars.” He was right — but it turns out they didn’t have to. Thanks to landowner restrictions, bureaucratic red tape, and court battles, the wall was never continuous. Instead, it became a patchwork of isolated segments that migrants — and cartels — could easily walk around.

    According to The Texas Tribune, only 8% of the 805 miles identified for construction have been completed. Those segments — largely concentrated on privately owned ranches — often sit in remote areas with lower migrant traffic. In other words, the federal government’s refusal to act left the state with the toughest and most expensive terrain, forcing Texas to play defense on the hardest frontlines with both hands tied.

    And while the total cost of the wall project now stands at more than $3 billion, legislators pulled the plug quietly, slipping the decision into the final state budget without debate or public notice.

    The 2025-26 state budget, passed in early June, includes a substantial $3.4 billion allocation for border security — but none of that will fund further wall construction. Instead, those resources are being redirected to Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s ongoing border crackdown that mobilizes Texas Department of Public Safety officers and National Guard troops to deter illegal crossings and apprehend migrants.

    Sen. Joan Huffman (R), who led budget negotiations, defended the shift, stating that wall construction “should have always been a function of the federal government.” Texas had stepped up, she said, because Washington had failed — and continued to fail.

    Some GOP lawmakers have raised concerns not about the need for border security, but about the strategic wisdom of funding isolated wall segments. Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) questioned whether lawmakers were spending billions “to give the appearance of doing something rather than taking the problem on to actually solve it.” Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) was more blunt, calling it a “hamster wheel” strategy.

    The Left wants to erase the Electoral College — will you speak up?

    Supreme Court Rules Wrongfully Deported Man Must Return To US

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland, from an El Salvador prison.

    Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported to the El Salvadoran mega-prison last month for being an alleged MS-13 gang member, however, his attorneys maintain he does not have any gang ties. Garcia’s wrongful deportation has triggered an onslaught of criticisms from both sides of the aisle. (RELATED: IRS, DHS Reach Game-Changing Agreement For Trump Immigration Agenda)

    The Supreme Court sided with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis who initially ordered federal officials to coordinate Garcia’s return back to Maryland in a Monday order, calling his deportation “wholly unlawful.”

    Fox News reports:

    “On March 15, 2025, the United States removed Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from the United States to El Salvador, where he is currently detained in the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT),” the order states. “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.” 

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she “would have declined to intervene in this litigation and denied the application in full.”

    “Nevertheless, I agree with the Court’s order that the proper remedy is to provide Abrego Garcia with all the processes to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador,” Sotomayor wrote. “That means the Government must comply with its obligation to provide Abrego Garcia with ‘due process of law,’ including notice and an opportunity to be heard, in any future proceedings.”

    The Justice Department responded to the order in a statement to Fox News in a statement. 

    “As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs,” the statement says. “By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”

    Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Admin. From Deporting Migrants To Guantanamo Bay

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    7

    A federal court on Sunday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp.

    Lawyers for the trio said in a legal filing that the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”

    In the filing, the lawyers asked a U.S. District Court in New Mexico for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from flying them to the U.S. military base. The lawyers noted that “the mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction.”

    The filing came as part of a lawsuit on behalf of the three men filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Las Americas Immigrant Advisory Center.

    Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the temporary restraining order, according to attorney Jessica Vosburgh, who represents the three men.

    “It’s short term. This will get revisited and further fleshed out in the weeks to come,” Vosburgh told The Associated Press.

    Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt separately said that flights carrying detained illegal immigrants had been sent to Guantánamo.

    Immigrant rights groups sent a letter on Friday demanding access to people who are now being held at the U.S. naval station, arguing that the base should not be used as a “legal black hole.” Guantánamo has been criticized around the world for its inhumane abuse and torture of detainees, including interrogation tactics.

    The immigrants are being held in the Guantánamo detention camp that was set up for detainees in the aftermath of 9/11. The immigrants are separated from the 15 detainees who were already there, including planners in the 2001 terrorist attack.

    Trump has promised to expand the detention camp to hold up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”

    Latino District Flips To Trump As Democrats Confess ‘Massive Shift’ On Border Policy

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3

    Some Democrats are finally acknowledging they need to course correct on their immigration stance.

    A new report from The New York Times revealed some leading Democrat lawmakers have admitted that open borders and immigration are costing the party and

    “When you have the most Latino district in the country outside of Puerto Rico vote for Trump, that should be a wake-up call for the Democratic Party,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas).

    The report highlighted that Gonzalez witnessed President Donald Trump “win every county in his district along the border with Mexico.” Gonzalez’s 34th district in Texas has swung dramatically from voting heavily Democratic in recent presidential elections to going in favor of Trump in 2024.

    “This is a Democratic district that’s been blue for over a century,” Gonzalez told the Times.

    Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said the Democrat Party “got led astray by the 2016 and the 2020 elections, and we just never moved back.” 

    “We looked feckless, we weren’t decisive, we weren’t listening to voters, and the voters decided that we weren’t in the right when it comes to what was happening with the border,” Gallego told the Times. 

    In May, Gallego released a border security plan that would speed up asylum seekers’ claims and make other countries do their “fair share” in receiving asylum seekers, as well as take action against cartel violence.

    The New York Times reported that various Democrats “are pushing for a course correction they see as overdue,” noting a new proposal from the Democratic policy shop and left-wing think tank Center for American Progress. The organization is calling for expanding legal immigration but also for ramping up border security and clamping down on abuse of the nation’s asylum system, the latter two of which are longtime Republican priorities.

    Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, admitted to the Times that Democrats will have to adopt some level of border security policy.

    “I’m happy to argue with Stephen Miller or anyone else about why they are wrong,” Tanden told the New York Times. “But the way we’re going to be able to do that is to also honestly assess that the border has been too insecure, that it allowed too many people to come through and that we need to fix that.”

    The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to deport illegal immigrants as well as increase security at the U.S. border. The administration’s efforts have been criticized by progressives and violent anti-ICE protests recently prompted Trump to deploy the National Guard to California.

    This is About More Than Politics. Mike Huckabee Stands With Trump And Israel. Do You?

    4 FEMA Employees Fired After Approving ‘Egregious’ Payments For Illegal Migrants

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    Image via Pixabay free images

    The buck stops here…

    The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that “four employees are being fired today for circumventing leadership and unilaterally making the egregious payment for hotels for migrants in New York City.”

    The firings come after Elon Musk wrote on X Monday that “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” 

    “Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” Musk added. “That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!”  

    “A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds,” he added. 

    A New York City Hall spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that the city had received funds “through the past week” that were allocated by the Biden administration for the purpose of housing and supporting illegal immigrants. 

    Of the $59.3 million, $19 million was for direct hotel costs, while the balance funded other services such as food and security. According to NY City Hall, the funds were not part of a disaster relief grant. 

    Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that the firings were ‘long overdue.”

    “These funds have been misappropriated going back to the Biden administration and New York City – a sanctuary city – has been wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money to provide free housing, clothing, food, education and healthcare to illegal immigrants, including criminal aliens that are here illegally,” he added.

    “And so I applaud DHS for taking action to stop these payments under President Trump’s leadership because we have incentivized cities like New York and states like New York – a sanctuary state – to allow this to continue and it has to stop,” Lawler also said.

    The Department of Homeland Security previously told Fox News Digital that those who made the payment will be “held accountable.”

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that she supported getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “the way it exists today.” 

    In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Noem’s stance appeared in line with that of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who have both suggested shutting down FEMA could be an option, as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly gained access to FEMA’s sensitive disaster relief data to review its programs. 

    “Can and should Donald Trump shut it down?” CNN’s Dana Bash asked Noem. 

    “He can. And I believe that he will do that evaluation with his team,” Noem said. “And he’s talking about it, which I’m grateful for. He’ll work with Congress, though, to make sure that it’s done correctly and that we’re still there to help folks who have a terrible disaster or a crisis in their life. He’s been very clear that he still believes there’s a role for the federal government to come in and help people get back up on their feet. But there’s a lot of fraud and waste and abuse out there. And since President Trump has taken over and come back into this administration, we’ve seen incredible change.” 

    Noem, who visited Asheville, North Carolina, on Saturday to meet with Hurricane Helene victims and survey the damage, told CNN that she oversaw 12 different natural disasters that prompted a FEMA response when she was governor of South Dakota.

    During former President Biden’s term, FEMA faced backlash after it was reported that while they lacked the necessary funds needed to help Hurricane Helene victims, they were dishing out money that ended up being used to aid illegal immigrants.  

    Speaker Mike Johnson clarified that emergency relief funding is separate from FEMA funds allocated to immigration, but said that the agency should not have any part in funding the border crisis. 

    FEMA partners with Customs and Border Control (CBP) and administers money to the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a government-funded program that provides assistance and housing for illegal immigrants released into the U.S. 

    “FEMA spent tens of millions of dollars in Democrat areas, disobeying orders, but left the people of North Carolina high and dry. It is now under review and investigation,” Trump posted, adding:

    THE BIDEN RUN FEMA HAS BEEN A DISASTER. FEMA SHOULD BE TERMINATED! IT HAS BEEN SLOW AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE. INDIVIDUAL STATES SHOULD HANDLE STORMS, ETC., AS THEY COME. BIG SAVINGS, FAR MORE EFFICIENT!!!

    DeSantis Opens ‘Deportation Depot’ in Florida a Day After Alligator Alcatraz Court Victory

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has opened “Deportation Depot” migrant detention center in Florida, a follow-up to the embattled “Alligator Alcatraz.”

    “Deportation Depot” is located about 45 miles away from Jacksonville in the community of Sanderson, at the site of the Baker Correctional Institution.

    The facility has the capacity for 1,500 detainees, Fox News reported. As of Friday, a little over 100 migrants had been moved there.

    DeSantis said last month that he moved to begin work on a new facility to fulfill an urgent need for more shelter for illegal migrants as they’re rounded up by ICE agents throughout the state.

    “There is a demand for this,” DeSantis told reporters at the time. “I’m confident that it will be filled.”

    The opening of the new facility came a day after the $250 million “Alligator Alcatraz” was granted a rare win by an appeals court.

    The detention center was ordered to ship out all detainees and close within 60 days. The ruling by Judge Kathleen M. Williams stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Tribe that accused the Sunshine State of violating the National Environmental Policy Act.

    A stay on Williams’ ruling was granted by a three-judge panel in Atlanta on Thursday, pending an appeal. “Alligator Alcatraz” can continue holding detainees for now.

    In a video posted on his X account Thursday, DeSantis declared: “The mission continues on immigration enforcement.”

    Until yesterday, “Alligator Alcatraz” faced a series of legal and PR losses, with some detainees alleging mistreatment.

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    Report: Impeachment Articles Officially Hit Federal Judge

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    7
    By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54325633746/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159707159

    On Tuesday, A house Republican filed articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who recently ordered the Trump administration to stop deportation flights being conducted under the Alien Enemies Act.

    “For the past several weeks, we’ve seen several rogue activist judges try to impede the president from exercising, not only the mandate voters gave him, but his democratic and constitutional authority to keep the American people safe,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “This is another example of a rogue judge overstepping his…authority.”

    Gill’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accused U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg of abusing his power in levying an emergency pause on the Trump administration’s plans to deport illegal immigrants under a wartime authority first issued in 1798, which President Donald Trump recently invoked to get members of the criminal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua out of the U.S.

    “Chief Judge Boasberg required President Trump to turn around planes midair that had aliens associated with Tren De Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the resolution said. “This conduct jeopardizes the safety of the nation, represents an abuse of judicial power, and is detrimental to the orderly functioning of the judiciary. Using the powers of his office, Chief Judge Boasberg has attempted to seize power from the Executive Branch and interfere with the will of the American people.”

    In a brief interview with Fox News Digital shortly before filing his resolution, Gill suggested he wanted the matter to go through the House in traditional form – which would first put the resolution in front of the House Judiciary Committee, where Gill is a member.

    “I’ll be talking to [Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio] about it,” Gill said. “I think the best way to do this…is to go through the judiciary committee, which is where impeachment of judges runs through. I think the more we can stick with that plan, the better.”

    Read:

    rep.-gill-articles-of-impeachment-judge-james-boasberg-final-1Download

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

    Trump Puts Sanctuary Cities On Notice With New Executive Order

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this week to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions impeding federal immigration enforcement.

    The directive requires the Justice Department to compile a list of all sanctuary city jurisdictions and then take action to cut off or suspend federal funding to those places. Under Trump, cities across the country, like Boston, have already made it difficult for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to apprehend illegal immigrants.

    “This invasion at the southern border requires the Federal Government to take measures to fulfill its obligation to the States,” Trump wrote in the executive order. “Yet some State and local officials nevertheless continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws. This is a lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government’s obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States.”

    After the list of sanctuary jurisdictions is published, those entities would be given the chance to comply with federal law. If they don’t comply, they could lose federal funding.

    The executive order also directs the Justice Department and Homeland Security to ensure that federal benefits are not provided to illegals in sanctuary jurisdictions and to “take appropriate action to stop the enforcement of State and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable.”

    Earlier this month, Trump called sanctuary jurisdictions “death traps” and promised to cut off federal funding.

    “No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country and are being mocked all over the World,” he posted on Truth Social. “Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!”

    While contrasting the Biden and Trump administrations, border czar 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.

    Border Wall Supplies Sold Off By Biden To Be Returned To Trump Admin

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

    Sections of the U.S. border wall that had been auctioned off by the Biden administration will reportedly be returned to the Trump administration to support Trump’s “border protection plans.”

    The Daily Wire previously reported that the Biden administration sold off portions of the border wall in Arizona for pennies on the dollar in December, just one month before Trump reentered office in a move that critics called an attempt to hamstring the new administration. Now, those materials will be handed back over to the federal government.

    GovPlanet, the government supply auctioning site that listed the border wall materials, says that it will expedite the return of the materials to the federal government, citing its support for the Trump administration’s border security plans.

    “GovPlanet has reached an agreement, working with the Office of the Border Czar, to return border wall materials that were previously deemed surplus and sourced by the federal government to GovPlanet via existing contracts,” the company explained. “We are expediting the transfer of these materials to support the administration’s border protection plans.”

    Construction continues on new border wall system project near Yuma, AZ. Recently constructed border wall near Yuma, Arizona on June 3, 2020. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.

    The sale of the border wall materials, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) told The Daily Wire, was an attempt by the Biden administration to hamstring the Trump administration.

    “The Biden Administration is well aware they shouldn’t have reversed the construction of the border wall. If it’s true, they’re purposefully hamstringing an incoming president, it wouldn’t be shocking,” Crane charged. “Why would they want to see President Trump succeed with policies they aggressively sabotaged?”

    The Republican Congressman from Arizona called the sale “a direct affront to the will of the people,” who had given President Trump a mandate to secure the border just a month before The Daily Wire broke the news of the auctions.

    The materials will now be handed over to a firm that has been contracted by the government to build the wall, GovPlanet says. “We value our longstanding partnership with the U.S. government and look forward to continuing to support America’s federal agencies,” GovPlanet added. “A third-party firm that has been contracted for construction of the border wall will take receipt of the materials over the next 90 days.”

    GovPlanet also said that the supplies will be returned to the federal government “at-cost” in order to “protect the millions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers had already invested in this initiative.”

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