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Ohio mayor sounds alarm after village rocked by thousands of African illegal immigrants: ‘Unsustainable’

Ohio mayor sounds alarm after village rocked by thousands of African illegal immigrants: ‘Unsustainable’

LOCKLAND, Ohio — The mayor of a small village near Cincinnati says he needs help from the federal government after a surge of illegal immigration primarily from Mauritania that nearly exceeds the local population and that he says is “unsustainable.” “Our county officials estimate that we have around 3,000 of those that have come to a village of 3,420 residents. And our complaint is, if the federal government is going to have an open borders policy, with that they need to have a policy directing these immigrants to communities that can absorb that kind of population increase,” Lockland Mayor Mark Mason told Fox News Digital. Officials want to be focused on revitalizing the village and its economy, which was downgraded from a city due to its shrinking population, but they instead find themselves strained by the stress of the enormous number of illegal immigrants. HAITIAN MIGRANTS OVERWHELMING SMALL INDIANA TOWN: ‘IT’S JUST OVERRUN’  There are multiple apartment blocks that officials and residents say are taken over by Mauritanians, who are said to be packed beyond capacity in apartments. Village Administrator Doug Wehmeyer told Fox News Digital recently that it is leading to around $150,000 in losses for the village, as the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes and are displacing local residents who are moving out of those apartments. It is an assessment shared by the mayor. “Our fire and paramedic services have been stressed. Since they moved into these apartment complexes, a lot of the longtime residents have moved out because of multiple fires. It’s been caused by their not understanding how to cook on stoves, and they use high levels of grease in their cooking, which have caused multiple fires,” Mason said. “And so a lot of people don’t want to subject their families to unsafe conditions in these apartment complexes. So, therefore, they’ve moved out – the working residents – and they have moved in. And most don’t have jobs, they don’t contribute to society. They don’t contribute to your earnings tax base. And it’s a real concern,” he said. Other concerns include littering throughout the village. The mayor also says a number of female residents have complained about how they are treated by the Mauritanians.  “If you’re going to let immigrants just come over freely, you’ve got to educate them on the cultural differences in how things operate here and make them understand that some of the things that maybe you’re used to in Mauritania [isn’t] necessarily acceptable here in the United States,” he said. Ultimately, one of the biggest issues is numbers. SWING STATE OFFICIAL WARNS VILLAGE STRUGGLING WITH FINANCIAL LOSSES AFTER INFLUX OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS  “A village of 1.2 square miles can just not absorb almost a doubling in their population. It’s unsustainable,” he said. He argued that it is up to the federal government to help small communities and to direct migrants to communities, including those that are sanctuary communities. Lockland’s case echoes towns and cities like Springfield, Ohio, which saw a surge in Haitian migration in recent years, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which has also been overwhelmed by Haitian migration. Meanwhile, cities like Chicago and New York City have struggled to handle the waves of immigration they have seen move to their sanctuary jurisdictions as the border crisis has moved north. HAITIAN MIGRATION ROILS TOWN IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE WITH SIGNS OF PRO-TRUMP SUPPORT ON THE RISE  Recently, officials and residents in Logansport, Indiana, say they have struggled with an influx of Haitians. “And shame on the federal government for allowing this to happen to small communities like ours. It’s happening throughout the country,” Mason said.  “Pick a state, pick a small community, and you can read about it. It may not be Mauritanians, but immigration has affected small town USA. And it’s just not fair that this is dropped on local governments, local residents to have to deal with these situations,” he said. Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Pennsylvania House race: 5 former House Republicans say don’t support Rep Scott Perry

Pennsylvania House race: 5 former House Republicans say don’t support Rep Scott Perry

Five former House Republicans penned a letter on Monday urging voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania not to re-elect Republican Rep. Scott Perry.  Former Republican Reps. Barbara Comstock, of Virginia, Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, Denver Riggleman, of Virginia, Dave Trott, of Michigan, and Joe Walsh, of Illinois, told fellow Republicans that “they know how difficult it is to vote for a member of the other political party,” but to join them in supporting Perry’s Democratic challenger, Janelle Stelson. Among other concerns, the five mostly condemned Perry’s “brazen self-interest” and “involvement in the plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election.”  Pennsylvania’s 10th district has been represented by Perry, the former chair and current member of the House Freedom Caucus, since 2013. Perry is the only sitting member of Congress whose cellphone was seized by the FBI in its investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and that has also become a theme in television ads. The race between him and Stelson recently moved from leaning Republican to a toss up, according to the Fox News Power Rankings.  “After playing a direct role in the effort to nullify the will of Pennsylvania’s voters, Perry had his cell phone seized by the FBI and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal defense fees,” the letter says. “Former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson testified under oath that Perry requested a presidential pardon for his actions in the leadup to the deadly January 6th insurrection.” OBAMA SLAMS PRO-TRUMP MEN AT PHILADELPHIA RALLY; SPRINGSTEEN WARNS GOP NOMINEE IS ‘AN AMERICAN TYRANT’ The five former House Republicans go on to say Perry’s “lack of remorse for his actions is a slap in the face to every public servant who has made the United States the greatest country in the world. Our nation deserves better than someone who was so easily willing to break his sworn oath to the Constitution for political expediency.”  “At this moment of great consequence in American history, we need leaders who will tell the truth and be willing to work in a bipartisan fashion no matter what party to deliver for Americans,” they wrote, according to the letter obtained by Mediaite. “Janelle Stelson is the candidate in this race who will do just that. Janelle was a Republican for most of her life and she is running on a mainstream platform of cutting taxes for the middle class, securing the border, lowering the cost of living, adhering to the Constitution, and supporting democracy and fair elections.”  Perry’s district has favored Republicans since it was redrawn in 2018, and Trump won it by four percentage points in 2020, according to The Associated Press.  HARRIS HECKLED AT PENNSYLVANIA CHURCH, SAYS VOTING FOR HER FULFILLS GOD’S EXPECTATION ‘FOR US TO HELP HIM’ Now, as Perry runs for a seventh term, he faces a vigorous challenge.  Stelson, a former TV news anchor and former Republican, has raised over $1 million more than Perry, forcing top House Republicans to come to his aid as they try to hold their narrow majority. Democrats have outspent Republicans in the race so far, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign ad spending. They have spent more than $7 million as of last week, compared to more than $4 million spent by Republicans. In shifting the contest between Perry and Stelson more toward the Democrat earlier this month, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report surmised that while the “political environment should still favor Perry, his unique vulnerabilities, coupled with Democrats’ spending advantage, moves this race from Lean Republican to Toss Up.”  The letter from the former GOP lawmakers claims Stelson “will work with Republicans and Democrats to find common ground,” while Perry “is consistently rated as one of the least bipartisan members of Congress” and “is routinely the only member of the Pennsylvania delegation – Republican or Democrat – to oppose common sense measures that would improve the lives of his constituents, including legislation to protect firefighters and crack down on human trafficking.” They claim Perry “also turned his back on our brave veterans by being the only Republican or Democrat in the Pennsylvania delegation to vote against legislation to house homeless veterans. He also opposed the bipartisan PACT Act, the largest expansion of VA benefits in history, which provided healthcare and compensation to servicemembers who suffered from toxic burn pit exposure.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “These are the men and women who risked – and in many cases, gave – their lives to defend our freedom,” the five former House Republicans said.  Fox News’ Remy Numa and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

USPS gives critical warning about mail-in ballots as Election Day looms next week

USPS gives critical warning about mail-in ballots as Election Day looms next week

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is warning Americans looking to vote by mail to post their ballots today to ensure they are counted. The USPS said it has already enacted “extraordinary measures” in preparation for Election Day on Nov. 5 in a press release posted Monday. “If you choose to vote by mail, please mail early as every day counts,” the USPS statement said. “We continue to recommend that it is a good common-sense measure for voters who choose to mail in their ballots to do so before Election Day and at least a week before their election office needs to receive them. If a ballot is due on Election Day, the Postal Service recommends mailing the ballot by this Tuesday (October 29).” ‘ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID’: GEORGIA JUDGE STRIKES DOWN NEW ELECTION RULES AFTER LEGAL FIGHTS A majority of U.S. states currently do not accept mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have varying grace periods to account for postal delays.  Alaska gives voters a 10-day window for their ballots to arrive if postmarked by Election Day, while Texas gives an extra day. FORMER REPUBLICAN US SENATOR ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, SAYS ELECTION OFFERS ‘STARK CHOICE’ Among those 18 is the battleground state of Nevada, where ballots received up to four days after Election Day but postmarked by Nov. 5 are still counted. Ballots with unclear postmarks that arrive up to the third day after Election Day are also counted. Battleground states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia all require mail-in ballots to arrive on or before Election Day to count. GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE “In addition to the processes and procedures specific to Election Mail that the Postal Service deploys all year long, as in previous general elections, the Postal Service is deploying extraordinary measures in the final weeks of the election season to swiftly move Ballot Mail entered close to or on Election Day and/or the state’s return deadline,” USPS said. The postal agency said those measures began last week and include additional delivery and pick-ups scheduled, “specialized sort plans” to expedite the movement of ballots, and “local handling and transportation of ballots.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

DHS employee warned colleagues that Walz’s nomination ‘feeds into’ China’s efforts to influence DC

DHS employee warned colleagues that Walz’s nomination ‘feeds into’ China’s efforts to influence DC

FIRST ON FOX : An official within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told colleagues that Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to name Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate “feeds into” activities the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were conducting “with him and local government,” warning that Beijing could “target” him to exert influence on U.S. policy.  House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., launched an investigation in August into Walz’s alleged “longstanding” ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  Last month, Comer subpoenaed DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for records relating to those alleged connections after a whistleblower notified the committee of the existence of a non-classified Microsoft Teams group chat among DHS employees, as well as additional intelligence reports that allegedly contained information regarding Walz’s alleged connections to the CCP.  COMER SUBPOENAS DHS FOR RECORDS RELATING TO WALZ’S ALLEGED TIES TO CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY On Tuesday, Comer penned a letter to Mayorkas, making public the fact that DHS has been “unresponsive to the subpoena.”  Now, Comer has unilaterally released a portion of DHS internal communications it received from the whistleblower.  “Walt’s [sic] got the Vp,” reads the message, with the identity of the sender redacted. “You all have no idea how this feeds into what prc has been doing here with him and local gov.”  The official added, “It’s seriously a line of the intel. Target someone who is perceived they can get to DC.”  “The Committee is releasing the above message as an example of communications within DHS’s possession in which DHS officials express concern about the CCP targeting politicians and their influence operations at the state and local levels — and specifically, concerns about the CCP’s influence operations as they related to Governor Walz,” Comer wrote in a letter to Mayorkas Tuesday.  Comer explained that the message was sent using a Microsoft Teams group chat among DHS employees, entitled “NST NFT Bi-Weekly Sync,” the same chat identified in Comer’s subpoena.  Meanwhile, Comer said that a whistleblower provided further information to the committee that indicates officials from DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis and Homeland Security Investigations have been involved in the agency’s investigative and/or intelligence work connected with the CCP, the state of Minnesota and Walz.  “The Committee’s concerns surrounding CCP elite capture operations seeking to influence public officials like Governor Walz have intensified given recent reports about Governor Walz’s extensive travel history, unusual interactions in the People’s Republic of China, and recent inability to answer basic questions about his involvement in China,” Comer wrote.  Comer is also subpoenaing all intelligence information reports and regional intelligence notes from November 2023 to present related to Walz.  Last month, Comer revealed that Walz had “engaged and partnered with” Chinese entities, making him “susceptible” to the CCP’s strategy of “elite capture,” which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to “influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.”  HOUSE OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATING WALZ OVER ‘LONGSTANDING CONNECTIONS’ TO CHINA Comer has pointed to reports that Walz, while working as a teacher in the 1990s, organized a trip to China for Alliance High School students. The costs were reportedly “paid by the Chinese government.”  Comer is investigating Walz’s 1994-created private company named “Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,” which coordinated annual student trips to China until 2003 and was led by Walz.  The company reportedly “dissolved four days after he took congressional office in 2007.”  Comer said Walz has traveled to China an estimated “30 times.”  Comer also pointed to Walz’s time in Congress, when he served as a fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University — a Chinese institution that characterizes itself as having a “long-held devotion to and love for the motherland.”  In 2019, Walz headlined the 27th National Convention for the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association in Minnesota. Walz also spoke alongside the president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. A year later, the State Department exposed that organization as “a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments,” including efforts to “directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda,” the House Oversight Committee revealed.  WALZ APPOINTEE WITH APPARENT CCP TIES COULD EXPOSE POTENTIAL VEEP’S NATIONAL SECURITY WEAKNESS, LAWMAKER SAYS Additionally, in March of this year, Walz had a meeting with Consul General Zhao Jian to discuss “China-U.S. relations and subnational cooperation.”  As for the subpoena, Comer said that DHS has been “unresponsive” and is not operating in “good faith.”  Comer said the DHS “did not produce responsive documents.”  Last week, Comer said he spoke with DHS’ senior advisor for legislative affairs during an Oct. 21 phone call, but said that official “offered no substantive information, nor any assurance that substantive information would be forthcoming.”  “DHS has been wholly unresponsive, and the Committee is considering all available options,” Comer wrote. “The documents covered by the Committee’s subpoena will inform the Committee’s understanding of CCP political warfare against the United States and how effectively federal agencies are countering the communist regime’s infiltration operations.”  Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign and DHS for comment.

Faith leaders react to Kamala Harris’ comments about her prayer life: ‘What do you do with your faith?’

Faith leaders react to Kamala Harris’ comments about her prayer life: ‘What do you do with your faith?’

Faith leaders from multiple denominations shared their reactions on Monday to Vice President Kamala Harris‘ recent public remarks about her prayer life and her campaign’s broader effort to focus on faith and religion during the final days leading up to the election. Last week, Harris told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during a town hall appearance that she prays “every day” and “sometimes twice a day.”  While some of the faith leaders commended Harris for her public testimony about her faith, all of them indicated that – at the end of the day – it is actions that really matter the most, not words. “I think it’s a good thing when public officials do share the fact that they are people of faith and that they pray,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who serves as associate dean and director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. “I think those kinds of expressions are important – they’re positive.”  HARRIS HECKLED AT PENNSYLVANIA CHURCH, SAYS VOTING FOR HER FULFILLS GOD’S EXPECTATION ‘FOR US TO HELP HIM’ However, Cooper added that “the most important thing” is what one does with one’s faith. “How does it display what kind of person you are? How do you interact with others?” Cooper’s take was echoed by a former Catholic priest and Fox News religion contributor Jonathan Morris, who insisted “we need candidates who are willing to express not only in words, but in actions,” that they are faith-centered, God-fearing people.  Morris said he wished that Harris would have been asked a follow-up question about the details of her daily prayer life. “I would have loved to have heard Anderson Cooper respond in this way: “What does your daily, and sometimes twice daily, prayer look like, sound like, or feel like? What does it mean to you?” Morris noted that he would never make a judgment on someone’s internal faith and prayer life, but he said that in Harris’ case, she is choosing to be public about it, and that opens her up to follow-up questions.  CATHOLICVOTE CALLS OUT HARRIS FOR PHOTO WITH CONTROVERSIAL SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE DRAG NUNS The Faith & Freedom Coalition, a nonprofit that represents evangelical Christians, also echoed the argument that actions speak louder than words when it comes to faith. However, the group argued that Harris’ actions as a public official have been antagonistic to people of faith. “In an eleventh-hour attempt to appeal to America’s largest voting bloc, Vice President Harris is suddenly visiting churches and pretending she’s had nothing to do with the Biden-Harris administration’s posture of antagonism toward people of faith for the past four years,” said Timothy Head, the coalition’s executive director. “Harris has refused to defend religious freedom or take seriously the concerns of church-going Americans while pandering to pro-abortion radicals, making this last-minute effort both insincere and destined to fail. If ever there were an illustration of ‘too little, too late,’ this is it.” Harris, the daughter of a Hindu mother from India and an Anglican father from Jamaica, was influenced by a Christian woman throughout her upbringing, according to The Washington Post.  HARRIS’ CATHOLIC DINNER SNUB IS JUST THE LATEST IN CAREER FULL OF SWIPES AT THE FAITHFUL, CRITICS CHARGE “I grew up in the Black church,” Harris said in a recent interview. During the interview, Harris discussed her relationship with her pastor, Rev. Amos Brown, noting that she called him immediately after she learned about becoming the Democratic nominee for president. Earlier this month, the Harris campaign launched a “Souls to the Polls” initiative, led by the campaign’s National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders. One of those advisory board members, Bishop Leah Daughtry, told CNN that faith leaders have been canvasing the country to make a case for Harris.  Harris has also been campaigning at numerous churches as of late, where she frequently quotes Scripture verses, and on Monday, Harris received an endorsement from more than 1,000 faith leaders across the country. Meanwhile, this week, a Catholic advocacy organization, CatholicVote, released an ad calling on Harris to denounce a controversial drag group whose members have mocked nuns and other Christian symbols in their performances. In the ad, Harris can be seen in a picture with members of the group, which CatholicVote claims “intentionally mock[s] and degrade[s] Christians.”

Fox News Power Rankings: Arizona is Trump’s to lose, but this election is anyone’s to win

Fox News Power Rankings: Arizona is Trump’s to lose, but this election is anyone’s to win

After an unprecedented four years in politics, voters are evenly divided on who should next lead the free world. Former President Donald Trump is one state closer to a stunning comeback in this week’s Fox News Power Rankings; the final forecast before the election. But Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both have pathways to victory, and among many scenarios, it is plausible that Democrats win by a single electoral vote. Americans feel overwhelmed at the end of this presidential cycle. They have grappled with rising prices, illegal immigration, abortion laws, two global conflicts and the sudden departure of an incumbent from the presidential race. Meanwhile, Trump faced indictments over Jan. 6 and storing classified documents, crushed more than a dozen rivals after reentering the presidential race, and survived two assassination attempts. Through it all, the former president has kept an unbreakable bond with his voters. For more than a year, Trump has received support from between 48% to 50% of voters in the Fox News Poll, while support for the Democratic candidate has been more elastic. Now, as the final week of the campaign begins, this electorate is locked in. Polls show a tight national race and curiously, the battleground states are just as close. This weekend, Harris spoke at a rally with Michelle Obama in Michigan with a sharply negative message about Trump and women’s health. The tone stood in contrast to previous appearances by the first lady and is a sign that the campaign feels the race is close, or even that they are behind. On Sunday, the vice president went to Philadelphia. There are more voters here than any other city in battleground Pennsylvania and combined, Black and Hispanic people make up the majority of its population. Those voters remain a weakness of Harris’ new coalition. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: VOTER OUTREACH, BALLOT EFFICIENCY AND A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING Harris’ visit to a Puerto Rican restaurant the same day, however, proved to be more helpful than the campaign could have expected. Later that night, Trump made his closing arguments at Madison Square Garden. The event was visually powerful. Some Republicans on the fence about “MAGA” who saw throngs of supporters in red hats in Manhattan could have been persuaded that the movement is more popular and inclusive than before. But the program gave Democrats new attack lines about Trump and his allies’ dark rhetoric, and included jokes from an insult comedian about Puerto Rican, Latino, and Jewish people. The Trump campaign distanced itself from the remarks Monday, telling Fox News the joke “does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” These moments are not quite the strategic mistakes that some observers believe them to be. Trump has a long record of comments like these, and they help drive his supporters to the polls. But there is a large Puerto Rican community in Pennsylvania, where the margins will matter. 5 NUMBERS THAT WILL DECIDE THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION The rally was a bow to the campaign’s full-throated effort to turn out young males, including low-propensity voters. This could be the bloc that gets Trump over the line on November 5. But last week, there were rumblings that this could be a reunion with Nikki Haley to play for the 20% of higher-propensity, non-MAGA Republicans who say they will vote for Harris in November. This event was not that. The former president remains very well-positioned on two of the top three issues. The economy is by far and consistently the most important issue in deciding voters’ ballots. Voters say Trump will better handle the issue by 7 points. He is even more heavily favored on immigration at 15 points. The strength reverses for abortion, where voters favor Harris by 13 points. The issues polling looks less lopsided further down the list, though still with a Trump advantage. Harris leads on health care, climate change and election integrity, while Trump is ahead on Israel, crime, and guns. Fox’s latest survey also asked voters which issue was motivating them to vote. 12% said the economy, but 11% chose candidate character and values, and 10% said protecting democracy, rights, and freedoms would get them to the polls. The presidential race is a toss-up. Neither Harris nor Trump have the 270 electoral votes required to win the race. They need to win the right combination of six toss-up states worth a total 82 electoral votes to bring it home. Surveys show races within the margin-of-error in all the battleground states, but when looked at together, the polling in Arizona tells a different story. In eight high-quality polls conducted in this state since August, Trump has been ahead in seven. His edge has been between 1-6 points. That advantage does not exist for Harris or Trump in any other battleground state.  Immigration continues to be a highly important issue in Arizona, which shares a border with Mexico.  In the latest Wall Street Journal survey, 25% of voters said immigration was the most important issue to their vote, higher than any other battleground. It was a “deal-breaker” issue for 24% of voters. And Arizona voters preferred Trump on the issue by 10 points. Trump allies do not appear to be a drag. Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake is less popular with voters despite their shared policies and traits (her Senate race remains Lean D). But the level of ticket-splitting is high and has endured throughout the campaign. This is still a highly competitive race. If Trump loses, it will be because of suburban growth and non-MAGA Republican voters, who are a strong faction. There is also an abortion measure on the ballot. But the statewide polling has been directionally consistent and immigration reigns supreme.  Arizona moves from Toss Up to Lean R. (Fox News Power Rankings are nonpartisan pre-election predictions. Each ranking is informed by data, reporting, and analysis.) Battleground states have been won and lost together in recent elections. Trump won the bulk of them in 2016; Biden flipped them