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Chicago community activist sounds off on migrant crisis: ‘I welcome’ Trump border czar

Chicago community activist sounds off on migrant crisis: ‘I welcome’ Trump border czar

CHICAGO – Community activist and Chicago Against Violence founder Andre Smith may be a Democrat, but he says he’s willing to work with incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan to deport illegal immigrants from the Windy City.  “I welcome in Chicago the border czar [Tom Homan],” Smith told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And [truth] be told, I wouldn’t mind working with him seeing that I was the first person in Chicago to stand up and fight against the migrants.” Smith, who is also a preacher, has been on the front line of helping his community in Chicago, from helping the homeless population to fighting against local efforts by Mayor Brandon Johnson to disperse migrants throughout the city.  CHICAGO RESIDENTS SLAM THE ‘STUPIDITY’ OF MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON’S LIBERAL POLICIES DURING CITY COUNCIL MEETING “I would love when he come[s] to Chicago to work with him, and getting them expedited back where they came from,” Smith said of Homan. “Because to lie to a federal official is a federal offense, and if they came over on the pretenses of they are in fear of their life, then you have women, you have men, and all of them said they’re in fear for their life because someone is going trying to kill them, and lying, you have to make examples.” Smith’s comments come as many Chicago residents have been outraged by “sanctuary city” policies that have brought in thousands of migrants to a city already plagued by one of the highest violent crime rates in the U.S. “Here we are in Chicago, where we [are] supposed to be celebrating a season of joy, love and happiness,” Smith continued. “And a lot of people have Christmas trees and under their trees in Chicago. We are unwrapping gifts of neglect. We are unwrapping gifts of disappointment and heartaches. We are unwrapping gifts of $575 million of taxpayer dollars given to and misallocated to give to illegal migrants. We need solutions, and we need change.” NEW DATA REVEALS AMERICA HAS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS FROM US ADVERSARY WITH DEPORTATION ORDERS Following President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election, Johnson — who allocated millions of dollars to migrant resources — vowed to defend the illegal migrants residing in Chicago, saying “we will not bend or break,” according to local news outlet WTTW.  “Our values will remain strong and firm. We will face likely hurdles in our work over the next four years, but we will not be stopped, and we will not go back,” Johnson said. Meanwhile, Homan spoke in Chicago last week and told local Republicans he wanted Illinois Democrats to “come to the table,” but if not to “get the hell out of the way.” That comment sparked a fiery response from Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill. “Tom Homan, the next time you come to #IL03 — a district made stronger and more powerful by immigrants — you better be ready to meet the resistance,” she warned. ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SAYS ‘VIOLENT’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE DEPORTED, OPEN TO MEETING WITH TRUMP OFFICIALS “You may think Chicago needs to get out of the way of Trump’s plans for mass deportation, but we plan to get ALL UP IN YOUR WAY.” Ramirez’s comments add to a growing number of statements from Democratic leaders nationwide vowing to oppose or refuse cooperation with Trump’s mass deportation plans.  But while Homan may face opposition from Illinois Democrats, there’s one Democratic leader willing to work with him: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.  “Violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime should be deported,” Pritzker said at a Northwest Side GOP gathering last week. “I do not want them in my state, I don’t think they should be in the United States.” Pritzker, 59, is considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.

Dems push drastic move that Mike Lee calls ‘a phenomenally bad idea’

Dems push drastic move that Mike Lee calls ‘a phenomenally bad idea’

Several Senate Democrats are pushing a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a presidential election system where the winner of the popular vote wins the White House contest. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the proposed amendment, according to a press release. “In 2000, before the general election, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Constitution and abolish the Electoral College. I still believe today that it is time to retire this 18th century invention that disenfranchises millions of Americans,” Durbin said, according to the release. “The American people deserve to choose all their leaders, and I am proud to support this effort with Senators Schatz and Welch to empower voters.” WHAT IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? HOW DOES IT WORK? “In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” Schatz stated. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.” Welch claimed that “right now our elections aren’t as representative as they should be because of the outdated and flawed electoral college.” GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah slammed the proposal, calling it “a phenomenally bad idea,” in a post on X. “So naturally, Democrats are pushing it,” he added. MCCONNELL ISSUES SMACKDOWN OF KENTUCKY DEM GOVERNOR’S CALL TO ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., responded to the proposal by accusing the Senate Democrats of wanting “to trample the Constitution.” President-elect Donald Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote. But there have been elections in U.S. history in which the winner of the Electoral College did not win the popular vote. TIM WALZ BACKPEDALS STATEMENT THAT THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ‘NEEDS TO GO’ The most recent example was Trump’s 2016 victory where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote but lost the Electoral College.

DOGE Caucus co-founder introduces 2 bills to kick-start waste cuts in Trump term

DOGE Caucus co-founder introduces 2 bills to kick-start waste cuts in Trump term

FIRST ON FOX: One of the founding Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus members, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is leading the introduction of a legislative package targeting government waste related to the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s next term.  The Oklahoma Republican gave Fox News Digital an exclusive first look at two bills he will introduce Tuesday, one to address cases of unemployment fraud and another to extend the statute of limitations to prosecute COVID-19 recovery fund fraud.  “Making the government more efficient isn’t a partisan issue—it’s an American issue. Loopholes in the law let fraudsters get away with billions in COVID recovery and Unemployment Insurance payouts while forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. The decades of government waste must come to an end,” Lankford said in a statement. The first measure would allow states to halt unemployment payments to claimants if they are deemed fraudulent, getting rid of a requirement for unemployment agencies to restart payments within two weeks if they are appealed, despite potential fraud.  TOM COTTON DEMANDS DOD RECORDS ON BORDER-WALL MATERIAL SALES BE PRESERVED The latter bill would expand the extended statute of limitations for certain pandemic-era programs to all of them, including large and costly ones such as the Coronavirus Relief Fund, Economic Impact Payments and Unemployment insurance.  According to Lankford’s office, Government Accountability Office Comptroller Eugene Dodaro endorsed the bill addressing COVID relief fraud.  JUDGES BACKING OUT OF RETIREMENT AHEAD OF TRUMP TERM LEAVE GOP SENATORS FUMING “I am very pleased that this bill addresses the Inspector General community’s request to extend the statute of limitations for pandemic unemployment insurance program fraud,” he said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital by Lankford’s office.  “If enacted, this bill would give our oversight partners and law enforcement additional time to pursue federal fraud-related investigations in these programs and hold individuals accountable to the American people.” NJ LAWMAKER CRAFTS STATE DOGE COMMITTEE TO ‘MIRROR’ ELON’S BRAINCHILD: ‘WE NEED IT MORE’ In November, Trump announced that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead DOGE, a proposed advisory board tasked with eliminating government waste. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” he wrote in a statement at the time.  Afterward, caucuses were formed in both the House and Senate, led by Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Blake Moore, R-Utah, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, respectively.  REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: A DOGE IN THE FIGHT Ernst is a co-sponsor of Lankford’s COVID fraud bill. Before Trump officially announced DOGE and his choice of Musk and Ramaswamy to lead it, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO said at an October rally that he believed it could cut trillions in government spending. “I think we could do at least $2 trillion,” Musk said at the time. 

TN lawmaker proposes sending illegal migrants accused of minor crimes to sanctuary cities instead of deporting

TN lawmaker proposes sending illegal migrants accused of minor crimes to sanctuary cities instead of deporting

A Tennessee state lawmaker introduced a bill to require law enforcement to send illegal migrants accused of minor crimes to sanctuary cities rather than deporting them to another country. State Rep. Todd Warner, a Republican, filed the bill, the Tennessee Illegal Immigration Act, ahead of the legislative session. The proposal would also ensure that all law enforcement agencies report illegal migrants to federal immigration authorities. Warner told Fox 17 that sending migrants to a sanctuary city could cost the state less than deporting them to their home countries, even if the federal government would eventually take on the deportation costs. “It seeks to make Tennessee safer. It seeks to make the federal government, you know hold their feet to the fire and enforce immigration law and it seeks the state to recoup some costs back out of it,” he said. INCOMING MISSOURI STATE LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL TO GIVE $1K TO ANYONE WHO TURNS IN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS Under the bill, if ICE fails to show up in 48 hours to pick up an illegal migrant who is detained, law enforcement would help send them to a sanctuary city. Warner said the arresting agency would be responsible for relocating the detained migrants. Warner said this would be paid for by withholding money Tennessee generates for the federal government through the gas tax. The lawmaker said he plans to add an amendment clarifying that the bill would only apply to illegal migrants charged with a minor offense. Violent criminals would still be subject to deportation. GREG ABBOTT BLASTS MIGRANT ACCUSED OF SETTING TEXAS HOME ON FIRE WITH CHILDREN INSIDE: ‘LOCATE & DEPORT’ “This is for victimless crimes. This is not for someone that has committed a terrible crime,” Warner told Fox 17. Hannah Smalley, the Advocacy and Education Manager at Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors, argues that the proposal would unnecessarily separate migrant families. “The mere act of being transported away from your family is damaging,” she told Fox 17. “This means that people, including people who have not been charged with crimes, are going to be facing these really punitive consequences just on the basis of their immigration status.” “When U.S. citizens commit crimes and we pay a fine or we go to jail,” she added. “Immigrants are also doing that. So to then make this about someone’s immigration status, which is totally separate from any kind of crime that they would have committed, is not productive to our community as a whole.” Warner said he still has to tweak the bill, but he is hoping it will receive bipartisan support in the legislature.

Top Republican touts ‘real motivation’ behind House DOGE Caucus’ mission before first meeting

Top Republican touts ‘real motivation’ behind House DOGE Caucus’ mission before first meeting

A co-chair of the House of Representatives’ Congressional DOGE Caucus said there is “real motivation” behind accomplishing its mission of cutting the federal deficit. Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, is House GOP Conference vice chair and the No. 6 House Republican, and recently joined Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in leading the caucus. The group’s name is an acronym for Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, coinciding with the Department of Government Efficiency – also DOGE for short – a new advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The caucus’ first meeting is slated for Tuesday. Moore said he hopes they can “create some structure on what we want to accomplish and set some initial first easy wins.” REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS He did not elaborate on what those wins would be, but suggested one of the caucus’ main goals would be delivering recommendations to Musk and Ramaswamy on how to make the federal government more efficient. “We’ve got people that have great ideas from their various committees on things, areas that we can find efficiencies, and just get that all on paper and eventually, you know, provide some recommendations,” Moore said. The Utah Republican is hopeful that his unique position as a member of House leadership will allow him to be a conduit between the caucus and fellow congressional leaders. “I was looking for another opportunity to help serve the conference,” Moore said of his decision to become a co-chair. “There is a ton of bipartisan work that’s already been done on this type of stuff for years leading up to it. We needed this moment as a catalyst to do it. So I am just thrilled to be a part of the leadership team.” He also suggested that the enthusiasm for DOGE was unlike anything he’d seen for prior government initiatives. REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY “There’s real motivation behind this, and the American people are galvanized by this. For example, I’m the chair, co-chair of the Ski and Snowboard caucus. Utah has… got the best ski – greatest snow on earth and all that. That doesn’t draw the attention,” Moore said. “But I became a co-chair also of the DOGE Caucus, and you could tell a widespread interest in this from both media back home [and] constituents. We have to honor that.” Moore also dismissed concerns that DOGE’s internet meme-inspired branding might make people take it less seriously, arguing instead that it will help make Americans enthusiastic about the mission. “Doge” is also the name of an internet meme popular in the 2010s, depicting a Shiba Inu and frequently accompanied by phrases in broken English representing the dog’s supposed internal monologue. Musk has made no secret of his affinity for the meme, and even coined the name “Department of Government Efficiency” while posting references to it on X, formerly Twitter, before Trump made it a reality. He’s also promoted a cryptocurrency of the same name. “I’ve never seen so much excitement and engagement from my constituents,” Moore said. “The fact that it’s the Doge, I think this is how people connect now. Like, you know, that’s a good thing because it makes it relatable. And so I think it’s definitely something that kind of makes people laugh a little bit and just find the irony in it.” “Whatever can get people’s attention, you have to use that for good. Then you’ve got potential for impact.”