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    Trump Administration Suffers Major Court Defeat In Sanctuary Cities Fight

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4

    The Trump administration suffered a significant legal setback on Wednesday after a federal judge dismissed the Department of Justice’s lawsuit challenging “sanctuary” immigration policies in four New Jersey cities, ruling the federal government lacks standing to bring the case.

    U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin threw out the DOJ’s lawsuit against Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Hoboken, concluding that even if the administration prevailed, New Jersey’s statewide immigration restrictions would remain in effect, meaning the court could not provide the relief the federal government was seeking. The case was dismissed without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that the DOJ could refile if it establishes standing.

    The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in May 2025, arguing that the four cities’ policies unlawfully obstruct federal immigration enforcement and violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

    The complaint described the municipal policies as “a frontal assault on the federal immigration laws and the federal authorities that administer them,” arguing they prevent willing local law enforcement agencies from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    According to Politico, Padin said the administration’s argument ignored a critical legal reality.

    “The Federal Government’s case has a fundamental flaw—it treats the Challenged Policies as though they operate in isolation. They do not,” Padin wrote.

    The judge noted that New Jersey’s statewide Immigrant Trust Directive independently limits how state and local law enforcement cooperate with federal civil immigration authorities. Because that directive would remain in force regardless of what happened to the four cities’ individual policies, striking down the local ordinances would not remedy the federal government’s alleged injury.

    The Immigrant Trust Directive, originally issued in 2018 under then-Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, was codified into state law earlier this year by Gov. Mikie Sherrill. It sharply limits voluntary cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities except where required by law. The directive has already survived multiple legal challenges, including lawsuits brought by Republican-led counties that were rejected by both the U.S. District Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

    The DOJ argued that portions of Newark’s, Jersey City’s, and Hoboken’s local policies went further than the statewide directive and therefore could be challenged independently. Padin disagreed, finding those differences either too minor or too speculative to justify continuing the case.

    The ruling marks the latest courtroom setback for the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign against sanctuary jurisdictions. Earlier this week, another federal judge dismissed the DOJ’s lawsuit challenging Los Angeles’ sanctuary city ordinance, dealing another blow to the administration’s effort to compel greater local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

    Neither President Donald Trump nor the White House has publicly commented on the ruling.

    Have you abandoned MAGA too? Or can Trump still count on you? He needs an answer NOW.

    Trump To Sign Order To Prepare Guantanamo Bay For 30K Prisoners

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    President Donald J. Trump participates in a roundtable discussion on immigration and border security at the U.S. Border Patrol Calexico Station Friday, April 5, 2019, in Calexico, Calif. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

    President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would sign an executive order for the Pentagon to prepare Guantanamo Bay to detain 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”

    David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    “Today I’m also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay,” Trump said. “Most people don’t even know about it.”

    He said they need 30,000 beds to house the detainees, adding that putting them there will ensure they do not come back.

    “It’s a tough place to get out of,” Trump added.

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

    VP Vance Says Trump Aims To Complete Border Wall By 2029

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

    The Trump Administration is working hard to secure the border.

    During a visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, a reporter asked Vice President Vance how he and the President would define “success” when it comes to the initiative and how much of the border needs to be “walled off” before the end of Trump’s administration.

    “I think the president’s hope is that by the end of the term we build the entire border wall,” the vice president replied.

    “And of course that’s the physical structure — the border wall itself — but we even heard today, there are so many good technological tools, so many great artificial intelligence-enabled technologies that allow us” to guard the southern border, he added.

    The Hill reported that Vance also suggested the administration would employ artificial intelligence (AI) tools to aid with efforts to combat illegal immigration — a top priority for Trump, who promised while on the campaign trail to conduct the largest deportation operation in history. The vice president pointed to AI-enabled cameras that can spot migrants up to 2 miles away from the border, before they cross over.

    “We’re using artificial intelligence to make us better at the job of border enforcement, but we’ve got to make sure that technology is deployed across the entire American southern border,” Vance said.

    “We’re going to do it as much as we can, as broadly as we can, because that’s how we’re going to protect the American people’s security,” he added.

    Building the wall was a centerpiece of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. During his first term, his administration reinforced more than 400 miles of the already existing wall and added about 80 miles of barrier to the border.

    Trump administration officials recently told GOP senators that they’re running out of money to secure the border and need Congress to immediately pass $175 billion to complete the U.S.-Mexico border wall and hire more law-enforcement agents.

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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5
    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!!!

    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?

    Noem Impeachment Calls Escalate As ICE Shooting Fallout Continues

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    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)

    Prominent Democrats are escalating calls to remove Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing her of rushing to defend federal officers involved in two separate fatal shootings — a push that Republicans are likely to view as more partisan pressure on law enforcement than a serious, evidence-based accountability process.

    According to Axios, a House Democratic caucus phone call on Sunday “lit up” with demands to impeach Noem after the death of Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday.

    Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) reportedly warned colleagues that if Noem refuses to step down, “we will have no other option but to begin impeachment,” according to anonymous sources cited by Axios.

    House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) — “who was once reticent about impeachment” — also called for Noem to be impeached during the same call, Axios reported.

    Outside Washington, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) also demanded Noem’s removal, writing, “@Sec_Noem has forfeited her right to lead. I’m calling on her to resign.”

    Hochul went further, adding, “Gregory Bovino must also be fired,” referring to a senior Border Patrol official who publicly defended the shooting at a press conference Sunday.

    Democrats point to pattern; Republicans see familiar impeachment politics

    Democrats argue Noem is showing a troubling pattern of defending federal officers before facts are fully established, pointing to a similar incident earlier this year.

    The article notes that Renee Good was “shot four times and killed” on Jan. 7 by “officer Jonathan Ross,” and that Noem also immediately said the officer acted in self-defense.

    Noem’s supporters — and many Republicans — are likely to counter that federal officers operating in volatile environments, including protests and border-related enforcement actions, deserve the presumption that they were responding to a real threat until evidence proves otherwise, especially amid increasingly aggressive anti-police rhetoric.

    Republicans have also criticized Democrats for using impeachment as a political weapon in recent years, arguing that removing Cabinet officials should be reserved for clear misconduct, not disputed narratives still under investigation.

    Border Patrol official calls Pretti “assaultive,” claims he interfered with federal action

    At Sunday’s press conference, Bovino described Pretti as an “assaultive subject” who was “assaulting” officers and interfering with a federal action — language that underscores how federal officials are framing the encounter as a fast-moving confrontation rather than an unprovoked shooting.

    Bovino’s comments, however, are now being disputed by Democrats and major media outlets that reviewed video from the scene.

    Video review raises questions about the Trump administration’s initial account

    Major news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, reviewed bystander footage and reported that “Bystander footage appears to tell a different story” than the Trump administration’s claims.

    The Journal reported: “A frame-by-frame review by The Wall Street Journal shows a federal officer pulling a handgun away from Pretti. Less than a second later, an agent fires several rounds. Pretti died at the scene.”

    Both The Journal and The New York Times concluded that “At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds.”

    Political fallout likely to intensify as facts emerge

    The dispute is now shifting into familiar political territory: Democrats are pressing for impeachment and firings, while Republicans are likely to insist that the federal government should not allow high-pressure incidents involving officers to be immediately adjudicated by political opponents — especially before investigators have fully reviewed evidence, witness statements, and body camera footage, if available.

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    Report: Appeals Court Blocks Trump Admin’s Deportation Flights

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    Image via Pixabay

    A federal appellate court declined to issue a stay on a lower court’s orders in a suit challenging the Trump administration‘s authority to deport Venezuelan nationals via a 1798 wartime law. 

    In a 2-1 decision Wednesday, a three-judge panel sided with the plaintiffs in the suit, further blocking the Trump administration’s ability to move forward with its deportation agenda. 

    Judges Karen Henderson, Patricia Millett, and Justin Walker of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals presided over Monday’s oral arguments, which they agreed to hear last week on an expedited basis. 

    In a concurring opinion of the ruling, Henderson, a Bush appointee, said: “At this early stage, the government has yet to show a likelihood of success on the merits. The equities favor the plaintiffs. And the district court entered the TROs for a quintessentially valid purpose: to protect its remedial authority long enough to consider the parties’ arguments.

    “Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons, the request to stay the district court’s TROs should be denied.”

    Their decision could ultimately be kicked to the Supreme Court for further review.  

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

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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    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.”

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    Democrat Files Articles Of Impeachment Against Kristi Noem

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    On Wednesday, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) introduced articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

    At a press conference on Wednesday, Kelly outlined three impeachment articles against the secretary, accusing Noem of obstruction of Congress, “violation of public trust” and “self-dealing.”

    “Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, L.A., New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham, and communities north to south to east to west,” Kelly said at the press conference. “She needs to be held accountable for her actions.”

    The Hill reports:

    The first impeachment article alleges Noem denied Kelly and other members of Congress “oversight of ICE detention facilities,” the congresswoman said at her presser.

    Kelly explained the second article, which accuses Noem of violating public trust, by saying Noem “directed DHS agents to arrest people without warrants, use tear gas against citizens, and ignore due process.”

    Kelly said Noem frequently says “she’s taking murderers and rapists off our streets, but none of the 614 people arrested during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago has been charged or convicted of murder or rape.”

    On the third impeachment article, which accuses the secretary of self-dealing, Kelly said Noem “abused her power for personal benefit,” and “steered a federal contract to a new firm run by a friend.”

    Kelly announced her intention to file the impeachment articles last week, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis.

    Jonathan Ross, ICE agent who shot Good in her car last week in Minneapolis, experienced internal bleeding as a result of the encounter, officials claim.

    In video shot by an eyewitness, Ross and other ICE agents were seen approaching Good’s red Honda Pilot as she blocked a road during an ICE operation. When one of the agents ordered Good to “get out of the f*cking car” and stuck his hands in the vehicle, she tried to drive off. That’s when Ross, who was in front of the car, fired off three shots. Good was pronounced dead a short time later.

    The Trump administration has argued that the shooting was justified as self-defense, going so far as to call Good a “deranged leftist” and “domestic terrorist” who was looking to harm federal agents.

    Video shows Ross walking away on his own after firing the fatal shots. Noem said at the time that he was hospitalized, but she did not specify his injuries.

    The congresswoman said that as of Wednesday morning the measure has the support of almost 70 members of Congress.

    A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) brushed off the impeachment effort as “silly.”

    “How silly during a serious time. As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill.

    “We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem.”

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

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    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.

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