ICE arrests under President Trump continue in migrant ‘sanctuary’ cities
President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration continues with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials making several criminal arrests over the last week in left-leaning “sanctuary” cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Denver and Washington, D.C. ICE agents conducted a worksite enforcement operation at a car wash in Philadelphia that led to the arrest of seven illegal immigrants, six from Mexico and one from the Dominican Republic. The operation took place at a Complete Autowash in North Philadelphia Jan. 28. It was prompted by reports that employees at the car wash were being subjected to labor exploitation. After the arrests, Brian McShane, acting field office director for Philadelphia ICE Enforcement & Removal Operations, said “the successful execution of this worksite enforcement operation underscores our determined commitment to national security and public safety. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SAYS HE WOULD ‘SEEK PROSECUTION’ IF NJ GOVERNOR SHELTERED ILLEGAL MIGRANT IN HOME “We were able to apprehend individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States. These operations highlight the dedication and diligence of our officers and agents in protecting our communities from potential threats by enforcing immigration laws in accordance with U.S. laws and Department of Homeland Security policies.” ICE Philadelphia also recently arrested Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, a suspected member of the Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua who has a criminal record that includes indecent assault of a person under 16 and harassment. ICE arrested Gualdron-Gualdron without incident despite the agency’s detainer against him being ignored by the Northampton County Prison. ICE Philadelphia also removed a Mexican illegal immigrant, Raymundo Rojas Bacilio, who is wanted for rape in his home country. The office also removed Dominican national Yermanny Suarez Laureano, who is wanted in his home country for homicide. Arrests have also continued in the Boston area, which has strong sanctuary policies in place limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE. ICE SNAGS CRIMINAL ALIEN PAROLED 17 YEARS INTO LIFE SENTENCE FOR PREGNANT WOMAN’S MURDER In the last week, ICE announced the arrests of several illegal immigrants, including criminals charged with rape of a Massachusetts resident, sex crimes, murder and gang involvement. One of the migrants, Salvadoran national Jose Garcia-Salmeron, 34, is charged with raping a Massachusetts resident. Despite being arraigned on rape charges by the Chelsea District Court, the court ignored an ICE detainer against Garcia-Salmeron and released him from custody in July 2024. Another migrant, 37-year-old Haitian national Jean Yves Ovilme, is charged with assault and battery and indecent assault of a person 14 years or older. Another, Cesar Augusto Polanco, 59, has been convicted in a Massachusetts court of murder. He was serving a life sentence and is now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. Finally, another illegal immigrant, reputed Guatemalan MS-13 gang member Luis Adolfo Guerra-Perez, 19, was arrested by ICE Jan. 22. Guerra-Perez illegally entered the country and was released into the interior in 2021 and is charged with drug and weapons crimes. DEM GOVERNOR BACKS ICE ARRESTING ‘CRIMINALS’ DESPITE VOWING TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ AGAINST TRUMP DEPORTATIONS ICE officials in Washington, D.C., arrested a Salvadoran illegal alien named Nicolas Alberto Hernandez-Lopez, 46, who is charged with sexually assaulting a Virginia resident. Hernandez-Lopez was previously removed from the country in 2023, but he unlawfully reentered the country at an unknown date and location, according to an ICE statement. He is currently in ICE custody. Patrick Divver, acting field office director for Washington, D.C., ICE enforcement and removal operations, said Hernandez-Lopez “illegally reentered the United States, and then victimized a resident of our Virginia community. This is not something that the officers of ICE Washington, D.C. will tolerate. “We will continue our mission of arresting public safety threats and removing egregious alien offenders from our Washington, D.C., and Virginia neighborhoods.” VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER ICE has also made several criminal arrests in Denver, whose Democratic mayor, Mike Johnston, has been among the most vocal opponents of Trump’s immigration crackdown in the country. One of the illegal migrants arrested, Luz Maria Ramirez-Monreal, a Mexican national, is charged with child abuse, burglary, strangulation and kidnapping. Another Mexican national arrested includes 48-year-old Juan Benitez-Ortega, who is charged with felony assault and kidnapping. A third illegal alien recently arrested by Denver ICE officials is Mexican national Luis Fernando Melendez-Rivera, 27, who is wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country. According to ICE, Melendez entered the country through the Denver International Airport in 2022. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE ICE officials in Seattle also arrested four criminal illegal aliens who have been either convicted or charged with crimes related to sexual assault. Pedro Garcia-Lopez, 47, a Mexican citizen, has been charged with theft, lewd acts with a child under 14 and sexual battery. Rubi Jeronimo Cruz, 22, a citizen of Guatemala, was convicted of DUI with reckless driving and charged with rape of a child. Manuel De Jesus Zavala-Martinez, 40, a citizen of El Salvador, has several criminal convictions, including assault with sexual motivation and assault with a deadly weapon. Lastly, Jaspal Singh, 29, a citizen of India, was charged with assault with sexual motivation. “Protecting our communities and preventing further victimization is of paramount importance to ICE throughout the Pacific Northwest,” said Drew Bostock, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle field office director. “These arrests reinforce the message that the presence of illegal criminal threats will not be tolerated.”
Bernie Sanders, Josh Hawley team up on Trump pledge to slash credit card rates to 10%
An unlikely duo is working together in the Senate to make good on one of President Donald Trump’s campaign pledges. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a new bill on Tuesday to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, which Trump had proposed doing temporarily during his 2024 presidential campaign. “During the campaign, President Trump pledged to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent,” Sanders said in a statement. “Today, I am proud to be introducing bipartisan legislation with Senator Hawley to do just that.” Sanders accused financial institutions that charge more than 25% interest on credit cards of “extortion” and “loan sharking.” TULSI GABBARD ADVANCES OUT OF INTEL COMMITTEE IN BOOST TO CONFIRMATION ODDS “We cannot continue to allow big banks to make huge profits ripping off the American people. This legislation will provide working families struggling to pay their bills with desperately needed financial relief,” his statement concluded. The bill would cap rates at 10% effective immediately and stay in effect for five years. ‘OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC’: BIPARTISAN SENATORS TARGET FENTANYL CLASSIFICATION AS LAPSE APPROACHES In his own statement, Hawley said, “Working Americans are drowning in record credit card debt while the biggest credit card issuers get richer and richer by hiking their interest rates to the moon.” “It’s not just wrong, it’s exploitative. And it needs to end. Capping credit card interest rates at 10%, just like President Trump campaigned on, is a simple way to provide meaningful relief to working people.” ELIZABETH WARREN GRILLED RFK JR ON DRUG COMPANY MONEY, BUT RECEIVED OVER $5M FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY Trump talked about capping rates during a September campaign rally during which he laid out his economic agenda. “While working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates,” he said. “We’re going to cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%.” SEN TILLIS OPENS UP ABOUT ROLE IN PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION AFTER HEGSETH’S EX-SISTER-IN-LAW’S ALLEGATIONS After Trump was elected, Sanders promised to spearhead legislation to do that and followed through on Tuesday. The White House was asked whether Trump is still considering this action and if he supports the senators’ bill, but it did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Teens spend more than a quarter of their time at school on phones, new study finds
A new study shows that more than a quarter of high school-aged students’ time spent on their smartphones occurs in school. It comes as state lawmakers across the country introduce and pass legislation aimed at cracking down on student cellphone usage in schools. The study, spearheaded by Seattle Children’s Hospital, found that among the more than 115 eighth- through 12th-grade students that it tracked, 25% of them spent more than two hours on their phones during a typical six-and-a-half hour school day. The study found that the average time spent among all the students they tracked was roughly 1.5 hours, which contributed to 27% of their average daily use. The study’s findings come just several days after the state of Colorado introduced House Bill 1135, which would require school districts in the state to adopt policies that limit the use of cellphones by students during school hours. If passed, Colorado would join 19 other states that have adopted some type of cellphone restrictions for students, according to Democratic state Rep. Meghan Lukens. DC COUNCIL PROPOSES BILL TO BAN CELL PHONES IN DISTRICT’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS “I’m not a big fan of government controlling people’s lives, but in this context, I’m all for it,” psychotherapist Thomas Kersting told Fox News Digital. Kersting is a former school counselor who has lectured for 16 years about the adolescent impact of increased screen time. He wrote a bestselling book called “Disconnected,” which posited that increased screen time for kids is re-wiring their brains. “I started seeing an incredible influx of kids diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) from when I was working as a high school counselor. It did not add up,” Kersting said. “The chronic eight or nine hours a day of stimulation affects the executive functioning, executive functions of the brain, which is what you need to be able to concentrate, focus, retain, and all that stuff.” Kersting pointed out that schools and school districts are also taking the lead in implementing various ways to cut down on students using their cellphones during class time, but added that state and local legislation can have the power to push schools that may be afraid to act due to parental concerns. COULD SMARTPHONE USE CAUSE HALLUCINATIONS? “The phone has become the umbilical cord between parent and child,” said Kersting. “So, the idea of a parent nowadays sending their kid to school is more terrifying and schools, I believe, are probably concerned about litigation, violation of rights and things of that nature.” But while parents may be apprehensive, taking phones out of school can help improve students’ test scores, attention spans and socialization, while reducing the need for disciplinary intervention, Kersting said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The study by Seattle Children’s Hospital found that, excluding web browsers, the top five apps or categories used by school-aged students were messaging, Instagram, video streaming, audio apps and email.
Trump’s ‘rare’ price for US military aid to Ukraine called ‘fair’ by Zelenskyy
President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine begin offering critical minerals to the U.S. in exchange for military aid, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemingly welcomed the idea. “We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do (that),” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, in a sign that he may be open to continuing aid to the war-ravaged country. Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday that Ukraine was open to an “investment” from “partners who help us defend our land and push the enemy back with their weapons, their presence, and sanctions packages.” “And this is absolutely fair,” he added. ZELENSKYY WARNS PEACE TALKS WITHOUT UKRAINE ‘DANGEROUS’ AFTER TRUMP CLAIMS MEETINGS WITH RUSSIA ‘GOING WELL’ Zelenskyy had been trying to develop the untapped resources, offering tax breaks and investment rights to outside entities looking to mine the minerals in 2021, before the start of the war. The Ukrainian leader pitched the mining of such minerals as part of the victory plan he drew up last year and pitched to U.S. lawmakers. Ukraine has strategic reserves of titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium, but much of its critical minerals are in areas currently under occupation by Russia. Donetsk, Luhansk and Dnipropetrovsk are all some of the most mineral-rich regions, meaning Ukraine would need to take back territory to get them out. Zelenskyy revealed Ukrainian leaders have had contact with U.S. officials, including Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and are nailing down a time for them to visit. ZELENSKYY PRAISES TRUMP FOR ‘JUST AND FAIR’ RHETORIC TOWARD RUSSIA: ‘EXACTLY WHAT PUTIN IS AFRAID OF’ “We have working dates when the American team will come. The dates and composition are being coordinated right now. We are waiting for the team and will work together,” Zelenskyy said. Congress has approved around $175 billion in aid for Ukraine – consisting of military and economic assistance – since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Russia framed the Trump idea as proof the U.S. no longer wanted to give free aid to Ukraine – but suggested they’d rather the U.S. did not offer any aid to Ukraine. “If we call things as they are, this is a proposal to buy help — in other words, not to give it unconditionally, or for some other reasons, but specifically to provide it on a commercial basis,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday. “It would be better, of course, for the assistance to not be provided at all, as that would contribute to the end of this conflict,” he added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Trump’s suggestion “very egotistic, very self-centered,” and said Ukraine would need its resources to finance postwar rebuilding. China is by far the biggest producer of rare earth minerals, used in smartphones, electric vehicles, household appliances and even cancer drugs. It accounts for around 70% of global production.
Researchers blame CA wildfires on climate change, pedal ‘alarmist’ non-peer reviewed studies: Experts
An international research group backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos and the progressive George Soros Foundation has made headlines in major news outlets recently for its study claiming that the LA wildfires were caused by “human-induced” climate change. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group, founded in 2014 by Dr. Friederike Otto and Dr. Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, has published many scientific studies built on the presupposition that climate change may affect, and even cause, extreme weather events. The group also receives funds from the Grantham Institute and the European Climate Foundation. On Jan. 28, the research group published what it called a “rapid attribution” study titled, “Climate change increased the likelihood of wildfire disaster in highly exposed Los Angeles area,” and was subsequently picked up by several major media outlets. EDERAL AGENCIES SCRUB CLIMATE CHANGE FROM WEBSITES AMID TRUMP REBRANDING Some environmental critics are pushing back on the group’s rise to notoriety in the media and classified the group as “alarmist,” fueled by “leftist organizations that are driving the climate narrative.” “They’re just trying to manipulate people, and it’s effective. It works. I’ve talked to people that are saying that this is caused by climate change, and it’s frustrating,” Jason Isaac, founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute – a nonprofit think tank group platforming environmental policies that “promote economic freedom” – told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There’s no peer review that’s been done on this data,” he added. “They rush out a flash study that supposedly found that global warming boosted fire weather conditions in the area by 35% and intensity by 6%. Well, what about the fires that happened in 1895? Who’s to blame for those? This is just a geography that’s sort of right for this situation to happen from time to time.” Isaac added that California’s “poor management” is largely to blame and will “happen when they’re telling people they can’t clear their land.” Isaac criticized California’s spending priorities, noting that while the state allocates tens of billions of dollars to its climate commitment – originally over $50 billion, later reduced to around $45 billion – it spent roughly $4.2 billion on fire prevention in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. TRUMP ELIMINATING LNG PAUSE TO HAVE ‘QUICKEST EFFECT’ ON ENERGY INDUSTRY: RICK PERRY “You would think it would be a major priority for California, because of how susceptible they are to wildfires,” he said. Former Trump EPA Transition Team Member, Steve Malloy, also told Fox News Digital that the WWA’s recent study was problematic, and dubbed it “pal-reviewed.” “There’s no peer review going on. It’s not science,” Malloy said. “You know, this whole attribution thing is bogus. There’s no scientific foundation for it. It’s good propaganda, because they have the whole system organized where no one in the media asks any questions, they hide the origin and everything, and it makes for good headlines.” Both Malloy and Isaac agreed that there will likely be an uptick in climate change-driven initiatives after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to axe the Biden-era U.S. climate commitments, which aimed to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035. The WWA co-founder, Otto, has previously claimed in a 2022 UK magazine article that “Who ‘does science’ is a hugely important issue,” and that if “climate change is worked on exclusively by white men, it means that the questions asked are those that are relevant to white men.” “But people most affected by climate change are not white men, so if all these other people are effectively excluded from the scientific process, the problems we have to face in climate change will not be properly addressed and you will not find solutions for how to best transform a society,” Otto wrote. CLIMATE ACTIVISTS HIT WITH FELONY CHARGES AFTER DEFACING US CONSTITUTION’S DISPLAY CASE According to the WWA’s FAQ page on its website, “rapid attribution studies are published before peer review in order to release the results soon after events have taken place” and adds that its studies are later published in peer-reviewed journals. “Scientific studies on extreme weather events, going through peer-review, are usually published months or even years after an event occurred, when the public has moved on and questions about responsibilities, rebuilding or relocating have been debated without taking scientific evidence on the influence of climate change into account,” the WWA website states. TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND On its website, WWA lists several papers included in peer-reviewed journals including in the Weather and Climate Extremes, Environmental Research: Climate and Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, among others. WWA conducts its studies by analyzing real-world weather data from regional weather stations to determine how rare and intense an extreme weather event is, according to its website. Researchers then compare the likelihood of such events currently with their expected frequency before the widespread burning of fossil fuels in the late 1800s. WWA researchers occasionally face difficulties that prevent them from providing numerical results in their studies. These challenges may arise, its website states, if there isn’t enough reliable weather data available or if the computer models used for analysis are not well-suited to accurately simulate the specific weather event being studied. “If a study does not have a conclusive result because of these challenges, that does not necessarily mean that climate change played no role in the weather event,” the WWA website states. WWA did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Ohio governor orders government employees to return to office, following Trump’s lead
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Tuesday directing state employees to return to offices by Monday, March 17. DeWine’s executive order requires state employees to stop routinely working from home and return to work in their designated offices, with few exceptions. “State agencies, boards, and commissions under the authority of the Governor (collectively referred to as agency or agencies) shall require all permanent employees to routinely perform their duties in the physical office or facility assigned by their appointing authority, and not routinely from a remote location,” Gov. DeWine said in the executive order. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office terminating all remote work in the federal government. DONALD TRUMP WHITE HOUSE EXPECTING ‘SPIKE’ IN FEDERAL RESIGNATIONS AS AT LEAST 20K TAKE BUYOUTS “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,” Trump said in his executive order. DEM AGS WARN FEDERAL WORKERS ABOUT TRUMP BUYOUT OFFER: ‘AIMED AT DISMANTLING OUR FEDERAL WORKFORCE’ DeWine permitted state employees to work from home beginning March 9, 2020, declaring a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, with the state of emergency lifted, DeWine permitted some Ohio employees to continue working on a hybrid basis. “It is now in the best interest of the citizens of Ohio for State of Ohio employees to complete a return to a physical office or facility to best serve the public and maximize the use of state-owned assets and facilities,” DeWine said in the executive order. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has requested comment from Gov. DeWine’s office on his executive action.
Trump reinstates ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran
President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order reinstating a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran on Tuesday, coinciding with a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Trump voiced that he was “torn” on signing the order and admitted he was “unhappy to do it,” noting that that the executive order was very tough on Iran. “Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it very much,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. The order instructs the Treasury Department to execute “maximum economic pressure” upon Iran through a series of sanctions aimed at sinking Iran’s oil exports. His first administration also adopted a “maximum pressure” initiative against Tehran, issuing greater sanctions and harsher enforcement for violations. TRUMP’S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL Lawmakers are also interested in exerting more pressure on Iran. For example, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Fetterman, D-Penn., along with lawmakers in the House, introduced a resolution on Thursday that affirms that all options should remain on the table in dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat. Graham said in a statement Thursday that should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, it would prove “one of the most destabilizing and dangerous events in world history.” Additionally, Graham said ahead of Netanyahu’s visit that the moment is right to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat now, and that the U.S. should back Israel if it chooses to “decimate” Iran’s nuclear program. IRAN’S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS “Israel is strong. Iran is weak. Hezbollah, Hamas have been decimated,” Graham said in an interview with Fox News Sunday. “They’re not finished off, but they’ve been weakened. And there’s an opportunity to hit the Iran nuclear program in a fashion I haven’t seen in decades. And I think it would be in the world’s interest for us to decimate the Iranian nuclear threat while we can. If we don’t, we will regret it later.” Strict sanctions were reimposed upon Iran after Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2018. The 2015 agreement brokered under the Obama administration had lifted sanctions on Iran, in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile, Trump signaled in January some optimism about securing a nuclear deal with Iran, when asked if he backed Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. TRUMP’S NEW UKRAINE ENVOY ISSUES WARNING TO IRAN, SAYS ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE MUST BE REINSTATED’ “We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days,” Trump told reporters on Jan. 24. “We’ll see, but hopefully that could be worked out without having to worry about it.” “Iran hopefully will make a deal. I mean, they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK, too,” Trump said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Other executive orders that Trump signed on Tuesday include pulling the U.S. out of the United Nations Human Rights Council and cutting funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Fed resignations spike on Trump’s offer
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -House delays key vote on Trump budget bill after conservative fury over spending cuts -Gabbard explains why she wouldn’t call Edward Snowden a traitor as she seeks to assuage concerned senators -Senate confirms Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs The White House is expecting a “spike” in federal resignations ahead of a Thursday deadline for a buyout offer, Fox News Digital has learned. Nearly all federal employees were offered a buyout as part of President Donald Trump’s plan for government employees to physically work out of their offices, following years of remote work stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Government employees have until Thursday to take the offer, with the Trump administration expecting an influx of resignations in the next two days. “The number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing, and we’re expecting the largest spike 24 to 48 hours before the deadline,” a White House official told Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning…Read more ADVANTAGE TRUMP: Trump handed opportunity ‘to save Medicare’ after Biden admin’s final blow to seniors…Read more BORDER BATTLE: Trump White House makes crucial pledge as left-wing activists sue over border crackdown…Read more ‘UNLAWFUI’: FBI agents sue Trump DOJ to block any public identification of employees who worked on Jan. 6 investigations…Read more ‘PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH’: Trump and Netanyahu expected to discuss Iran, Hamas at White House meeting…Read more AI SUMMITT: JD Vance to attend AI summit in Paris, French official says…Read more GAZA REBUILD: Trump eyes Abraham Accords expansion, Gaza rebuild with Netanyahu meeting on deck…Read more GUAC FAUX PAS: Schumer mocked for Corona and guac clip warning Trump tariffs will hurt Super Bowl parties: ‘Not good at this’…Read more NATIONAL SECURITY: Tulsi Gabbard scores key committee Republican’s support ahead of pivotal vote…Read more TULSI’S TIGHTROPE: Tulsi Gabbard confirmation fate to be tested with key committee vote…Read more VYING FOR VOTES: RFK Jr. to get key committee vote as crucial senator remains tightlipped on stance…Read more ‘ONE SHOT’: Elon Musk dunks on Sen. Chuck Schumer, declaring ‘Hysterical reactions’ demonstrate DOGE’s importance…Read more TULSI’S TIGHTROPE: Tulsi Gabbard confirmation fate to be tested with key committee vote…Read more ‘LEARNED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING’: New DNC vice chair sets social media ablaze after ‘radical’ posts exposed: ‘Learned absolutely nothing’…Read more ‘BETRAYED OUR TRUST’: DC Councilmember Trayon White faces possible expulsion vote over federal bribery charge…Read more PROTECTING PILLS: New York Gov. Hochul signs law protecting abortion pill prescribers after doctor indicted in Louisiana…Read more ‘I HOPE HE RUNS’: Senators back Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio governor ahead of expected gubernatorial bid…Read more ‘PROTECTING’ MUSK: Federal prosecutor vows to protect DOGE staffers from any ‘threats, confrontations’ targeting Musk team…Read more ‘EXCITING CHAPTER’: Interior Sec takes aim at Biden oil lease ban, ‘coercive’ climate policies in Day 1 orders…Read more DC POLITICIAN EXPELLED: DC Council expels Trayon White following federal bribery charge…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Dozens of illegals arrested in Trump’s home county in Florida
Amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 32 criminal illegal immigrants in the president’s Florida home county. Crimes committed by those arrested include drug-related offenses, prostitution, robbery, fraud and driving under the influence. The agency announced on Monday that officials arrested 32 criminal illegal aliens through “targeted immigration enforcement operations” in Palm Beach County on Jan. 27 and 28. Trump’s permanent residence, Mar-a-Lago, is in Palm Beach County, which is a highly affluent county known for its pristine beaches and golf courses. ICE SCOOPS UP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH MURDER, ROBBERY CONVICTIONS IN WEEKEND CRACKDOWN According to the Monday announcement, ICE officers and agents based in Miami, in coordination with the U.S. Border Patrol, arrested criminal immigrants from Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua. Though the ICE statement did not name any of the detainees, the agency said those arrested included a 30-year-old Venezuelan male convicted of drug possession, robbery and resisting an officer; a 44-year-old Haitian female convicted of battery, drug possession and prostitution; a 24-year-old Cuban male convicted of fraud through illegal use of a credit card and larceny; and a 25-year-old Guatemalan male convicted of cocaine possession and driving under the influence. Fox News Digital reached out to ICE to obtain information on the detained criminal migrants’ identities but had not heard back at the time of publication. TOM HOMAN CALLS DESIGNATING CARTELS AS TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS A ‘GAME CHANGER’ The ICE statement said that all those arrested will remain detained pending their removal from the U.S. or hearing before an immigration judge. This comes as ICE and federal authorities under the new Trump administration have unleashed a string of targeted operations, arresting several thousand illegal immigrants since Trump’s second term began on Jan. 20. ICE officers have been seen carrying out raids of homes, work sites and other establishments, while deportations have also ramped up, with the Trump administration beginning flights this week, transporting the most violent migrants to Guantánamo Bay. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE According to a separate ICE statement, the agency has been conducting “enhanced enforcement operations” in Chicago and New York with routine daily operations taking place throughout the country. The agency said it is currently utilizing a “whole-of-government approach” to target criminal aliens with no legal basis for removal. In many cases, ICE is partnering with the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out these arrests. Fox News Digital breaking news writer Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Tulsi Gabbard advances out of Intel Committee in boost to confirmation odds
Tulsi Gabbard passed a key committee hurdle on Tuesday, and her nomination will now head to the Senate floor where she’ll get a final confirmation vote. President Donald Trump tapped Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in his second term. “I’m pleased that the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence. Once confirmed, I look forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to keep America safe and to bring badly needed reforms to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a statement. ‘OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC’: BIPARTISAN SENATORS TARGET FENTANYL CLASSIFICATION AS LAPSE APPROACHES Gabbard was advanced out of the committee along party lines, 9-8. She received a last-minute endorsement from Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the committee, minutes after the vote was scheduled to get underway. “I will be voting today for [Gabbard] to serve as President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Tulsi throughout the confirmation process, and I’m confident she will bring a fresh perspective to President Trump’s national security team and the intelligence community. Tulsi and President Trump have my support,” he wrote on X. Some issues the nominee has been pressed on during her confirmation process are her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her previous FISA Section 702 stance and her past support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. She faced questions about each in her hearing last week. Gabbard managed to impress some Republicans on the Intel committee with her answers, as both Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, revealed afterward that they would vote to advance her. ELIZABETH WARREN GRILLED RFK JR ON DRUG COMPANY MONEY, BUT RECEIVED OVER $5M FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., endorsed Trump’s DNI nominee last month after she announced her changed beliefs about section 702, a critical and controversial intelligence gathering tool. He reiterated this support after her hearing. However, there were remaining questions about certain senators up until the committee’s closed-door vote on Tuesday. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is one of the lawmakers that did not disclose how he would vote until hours before. In a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, the senator said, “American intelligence officers around the globe deserve our respect and support. I appreciate Tulsi Gabbard’s engagement with me on a variety of issues to ensure that our intelligence professionals will be supported and policymakers will receive unbiased information under her leadership.” “I have done what the Framers envisioned for senators to do: use the consultative process to seek firm commitments, in this case commitments that will advance our national security, which is my top priority as a former Marine Corps intelligence officer. Having now secured these commitments, I will support Tulsi’s nomination and look forward to working with her to protect our national security,” he added. In a since-deleted post on X the weekend prior, Trump-aligned billionaire Elon Musk slammed Young as a “deep state puppet” in regard to his uncertainty about Gabbard. But the two seemed to patch things up on a phone call soon after. SEN. TILLIS OPENS UP ABOUT ROLE IN PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION AFTER HEGSETH’S EX-SISTER-IN-LAW’S ALLEGATIONS A spokesperson for Young told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Senator Young and Mr. Musk had a great conversation on a number of subjects and policy areas where they have a shared interest, like DOGE.” Musk also shared on X over the weekend, “Just had an excellent conversation with [Young]. I stand corrected. Senator Young will be a great ally in restoring power to the people from the vast, unelected bureaucracy.”