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DOJ says Southern Poverty Law Center funneled $3M+ to white supremacist and extremist groups like the KKK

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:58:30 -0400

FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a sweeping indictment Tuesday against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), accusing the far-left nonprofit of fraudulently paying members of extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

A grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned an 11-count indictment charging the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the Justice Department (DOJ). Between 2014 and 2023, according to the DOJ, the SPLC "secretly funneled" more than $3 million in donations to at least eight individuals associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, the Nationalist Socialist Movement, Unite the Right, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, and more.

Meanwhile, the SPLC paid members of these extremist groups so it could create a "work product that reported on these activities," according to Blanche.

"To that end, [SPLC] was doing the exact opposite of what it told its donors it was doing – not dismantling extremism but funding it," Blanche argued Tuesday during the press conference announcing the indictment.

LEFT-WING GROUP CHASES PROOF OF KASH PATEL'S ALLEGED ‘EXCESSIVE DRINKING’ AS DEMS EYE FBI DIRECTOR'S OUSTER

The SPLC is a longstanding left-wing nonprofit that claims to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement about them with the goal of dismantling the groups. SPLC's CEO, Bryan Fair, addressed the probe in a video message posted online, arguing the Trump administration has "made no secret who they want to protect and who they want to destroy."

"We are reviewing the charges," a subsequent statement from Fair sent to Fox News Digital added. "However, after today’s Department of Justice press conference, we are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC – an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive. Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do. To be clear, this program saved lives."

"The actions by the DOJ will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure the promise of the Civil Rights movement becomes a reality for all," Fair continued in his comment to Fox News Digital. "SPLC will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff and our work; we will continue to fight hate; and we will continue to envision and create a safer and more just world."

Patel and Blanche on Tuesday accused the SPLC of conducting "widespread, decade-long, multimillion dollar fraud" funneling money to the very groups it claims to combat. The complete list of these groups, according to a Justice Department, includes the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, Unite the Right, National Alliance, the National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party), and the American Front.

The pair also argued Tuesday that the SPLC tried to hide its payments, leading to several of the charges in the indictment.

"They set up shell companies and entities around America so that the financial institutions that we rely on as everyday Americans were deceived in believing that money was not coming from the Southern Poverty Law Center in the perpetration of this scheme and fraud, but rather fictitious entities," Patel argued during the press conference. "They stood up to perpetuate this ongoing fraud. This is a serious and egregious violation of a group that purported to dismantle violent extremist groups, but in turn actually only fueled that hatred."

For example, the SPLC was paying roughly $270,000 to a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, that resulted in the death of one person and injured dozens more.

"This is an important case brought by President Trump's administration, and we're thankful to the president for his leadership and funding of not just the FBI and DOJ, but his commitment to go out there and wipe out fraud, and conspiracy, and waste and abuse wherever it occurs, including the Southern Poverty Law Center," Patel said Tuesday.

Senate takes first step to fund ICE, Border Patrol in bid to cut Dems out of the funding process

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:01:26 -0400

Senate Republicans launched their party-line gamble Tuesday to fund immigration operations for the remainder of President Donald Trump's time in office.

The GOP took its first step in the budget reconciliation process, which is meant to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three-and-a-half years. The party-line vote sets up a forthcoming marathon vote on amendments in the upper chamber before the budget blueprint is shipped to the House.

It’s a maneuver meant to cut Democrats out of the process, as they refused to fund immigration operations absent stringent reforms during weeks of negotiations to end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.

SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS GOP AIMS TO SPEND LESS

"Republicans are doing something that must be done quickly, and that our Democrat colleagues are trying to prevent us from doing," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who crafted the resolution. "That something is simple: fully fund Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great threat to the United States."

Republicans earlier unveiled their budget resolution, which will serve as the guiding framework as the GOP moves forward to fund immigration enforcement. It sets instructions for the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to spend up to $70 billion each.

While the combined sum of $140 billion is eye-popping, Republicans are eyeing between $70 billion and $80 billion as the final total for immigration enforcement and want to give both committees maximum flexibility as they craft the legislative meat of the package.

Senate Democrats argue that the money could go toward tackling affordability issues in the country, citing healthcare, housing, and soaring gas prices stemming from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran as examples.

SENATE GOP READYING PARTY-LINE FUNDING BILL DESPITE DIVISIONS, ANGER AT THE HOUSE

"No reforms, no accountability, no strings attached, let it sink in," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "One hundred forty billion for ICE, $0 to lower your costs. That's these days what the Republican Party seems to stand for. Senate Republicans are choosing to follow Trump and Stephen Miller instead of the needs of the American families."

Turning to the party-line process to fund immigration operations was not the first choice for Republicans, but one made out of necessity given Democrats’ blockade of funding for ICE and much of CBP.

Still, some are worried about the precedent that could be set for how Congress is supposed to fund the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., raised that concern and argued, "I don't see any way, in a Trump administration, that they're gonna come to the table and fund those two agencies."

SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS

"We tried to avoid this. But at some point, we recognized that they're just not gonna get to ‘yes,’" Thune said. "And that was pretty clear after spending weeks trying to negotiate with them."

Still, Republicans have a long way to go before they advance the budget resolution to the House — and even further before the final product lands on Trump’s desk. He’s demanded that the GOP produce the package no later than June 1.

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Not every Republican in the upper chamber is thrilled with the narrow scope of the plan, with some wanting to front-load several issues into one package out of concern they may not get another shot.

For now, however, they’re moving full speed ahead.

"It’s not am I OK with it, is the president's administration OK with it," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a fiscal hawk who was critical of the GOP's previous reconciliation attempt. "I mean, do they think they have enough through fiscal year 2029? That's their call, not mine."

Senate GOP readying party-line funding bill despite divisions, anger at the House

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:32 -0400

Senate Republicans hope to nail down the first step of their party-line funding package for immigration operations this week, but other legislative obstacles and divisions could slow the process.

Republicans and President Donald Trump are in agreement that the partisan budget reconciliation process is the key to bypassing Democrats’ blockade of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol funding.

But in order to hit that fast-approaching deadline, Senate Republicans largely want to keep the package as narrowly tailored as possible to avoid any hiccups in the process. The main plan from Republican leadership is to fund immigration operations for the next three years with the current reconciliation package and look to a future bill as a later landing spot for other issues.

SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will kick off the process with a budget resolution that will act as the guiding document for the GOP as they push forward into reconciliation. That resolution will tee up the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as the main panels running the process.

"I hope we can get moving on it as early as next week," Graham said before lawmakers left Washington, D.C., for the weekend.

Despite keeping the resolution, in theory, as slim as possible, other lawmakers in the upper chamber and in the House want more added to the package.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow last week that he was making the case that Republicans should "go big" on reconciliation. Cruz said he wants a decade of funding for ICE and Border Patrol and, more broadly, tax cuts and affordability measures.

SENATE GOP VOWS TO ‘GO IT ALONE’ ON ICE FUNDING AS DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON SHUTDOWN

"Right now, leadership’s plan is to have the skinny, anorexic bill that just has funding for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. I think that is short-minded, short-sighted," Cruz said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reiterated that the forthcoming package would have to "fall within the contours of what we’re trying to do here," but he acknowledged that other Republicans viewed the current package as a vehicle that could fit several other issues.

"We have another vehicle available, we’ll see, but right now, keep it tight," he continued. "That’s the plan."

GOP RACES TO PASS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING BILL AS PRIORITIES PILE UP, DIVISIONS EMERGE

Part of the problem with adding more to the package is that more committees would have to get involved, like during the crafting of Trump’s "big, beautiful bill," which involved every panel in the Senate and House and narrowly survived in the upper chamber.

And House Republicans are on the same page as Cruz — they want to supersize the bill to take advantage of the GOP’s trifecta in Washington, D.C., ahead of the midterm elections in the fall.

It’s a give-and-take between the chambers in their quest to end the longest shutdown in history. House Republicans aren’t keen on passing the Senate’s bill to fund the bulk of DHS, minus funding for ICE and chunks of CBP, until the reconciliation package passes.

But that could further prolong the shutdown, and Republicans in the upper chamber argue that DHS should be reopened while they hammer out the details for funding immigration operations in the background.

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Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital that adding more to the package would slow down the process.

"Every time you add stuff to it, you add committees of jurisdiction, you add complexity, and you add more time," Hoeven said. "So if they want it expeditiously, which is what we're working on right now, then you wouldn't add stuff, right?"

Sledgehammer murder spurs ICE manhunt for illegal immigrant suspect

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:55:34 -0400

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has asked officials in Democratic-run Harris County not to release an illegal immigrant suspect from custody after he allegedly beat a coworker to death with a sledgehammer on a construction site in a suburb of Texas’ largest city, Houston.

This comes as Texas officials feud with the City of Houston over a new policy limiting law enforcement cooperation with ICE. The confrontation mirrors the broader national debate between Democrats and Republicans over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies. Disagreements over immigration enforcement have resulted in an ongoing lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security during a partial government shutdown.

Now, Venezuelan national Josue Abraham Chirino-Leonice has been charged with the murder of carpenter Juan Antonio Salinas Leija at a north Houston home earlier this month, according to reporting by local outlet KHOU-11. The outlet said Salinas Leija was found dead at a home under renovation with severe wounds consistent with a sledgehammer attack. Chirino-Leonice was later arrested driving the victim’s truck in east Houston.

A spokesperson for Harris County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that Chirino-Leonice has been charged in the murder and was booked into the Harris County Jail.

ICE lodged a detainer — a request to hold — with the Harris County Jail last week. According to DHS, Chirino-Leonice was released into the country under Biden administration in 2023.

DHS SLAMS CALIFORNIA 'SANCTUARY' COUNTY AFTER MOM ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY 2 HONDURAN NATIONALS

DHS said U.S. Border Patrol first arrested Chirino-Leonice in November 2023. The agency said the Biden administration "subsequently released him into the interior of the country."

The spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriff's Office did not comment on the ICE detainer, telling Fox News Digital that "questions regarding federal immigration law enforcement should be directed to the appropriate federal agency."

Gabriel Martinez, acting field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston, called the alleged murder a savage attack by an illegal alien "who never should have been allowed into the country."

"This criminal illegal alien — who never should have been allowed into the country in the first place — is accused of savagely beating a co-worker to death with a sledgehammer and leaving him to die in a house they were renovating together," said Martinez.

He said ICE officers in Houston are "working tirelessly to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system to bring an end to the carnage and unnecessary suffering in this country that’s caused by criminal illegal aliens," adding, "We won’t rest until we’ve accomplished that mission."

TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN ADMIN FOR RELEASING HAITIAN IMMIGRANT NOW CHARGED IN FATAL HAMMER ATTACK ON FLORIDA MOTHER

ICE has arrested thousands of illegal immigrants in the Houston area since President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January 2025. Those arrests have included at least 414 criminal illegal aliens who have been charged with or convicted of child sex offenses, according to DHS.

At the start of the month, ICE Houston said that in the span of five days it arrested nearly 150 criminal aliens, including five child predators, two drug traffickers, 14 thieves, 62 violent offenders, one arsonist, seven hit-and-run DWIs, and nine immigrants convicted of a combined 31 DWIs.

The Democratic-majority Houston City Council recently voted to end a policy requiring law enforcement to hold illegal immigrants for ICE for at least 30 minutes. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has called the policy a "breach of contract" with the state. Last week, he issued an ultimatum to the city to reverse the move or pay the state back $110 million in funding.

TWO BOYS DEAD AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM MEXICO ALLEGEDLY DROVE DRUNK AND HIT THEM ON A SIDEWALK

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Democratic Mayor John Whitmire has called the situation a "crisis" for public safety. The city council is set to reconsider the policy this Wednesday.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris County Sheriff's Office for comment.

Two boys dead after illegal immigrant from Mexico allegedly drove drunk and hit them on a sidewalk

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:36:53 -0400

An illegal immigrant accused of driving under the influence and killing two young boys in South Carolina is now the subject of an immigration detainer, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday.

Eri Otoniel Roblero Perez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, allegedly veered off a road and hit Dereon James Robinson, 12, and Mikhail-Lee Smith, 9, who were riding their bikes on a sidewalk, FOX Carolina reported.

Both died at a hospital.

Perez was charged with two counts of felony DUI resulting in death, driving with an open container and driving without a license.

ICE LODGES DETAINER FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED WITH STRANGLING WIFE AND DUMPING BODY NEAR OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY

Dereon's mother, Megan, said during a court hearing she was walking behind the children when the crash happened and was "almost hit" herself, WYFF reported.

"I ran to my son while he bled to death," Megan told the judge.

One of Dereon's brothers added, "Now I have to bury my own brother who looked up to me on his own birthday."

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DHS confirmed Perez entered the country illegally at an unknown date and time.

"This criminal illegal alien from Mexico had no business being in our country, and now two boys are dead because he decided to drive under the influence," said DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

"Dereon Robinson and Mikhail-Lee Smith should still be with us today," she continued. "Our prayers are with Dereon Robinson’s and Mikhail-Lee Smith’s families."

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Perez is being held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center and has been denied bond.

Texas AG sues Houston mayor and city council over new sanctuary city ordinance limiting ICE cooperation

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:21:15 -0400

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Houston city officials over the adoption of a "sanctuary" ordinance designed to limit cooperation between local authorities and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ordinance, passed by a 12-5 vote last week, ended a Houston police policy that required officers to wait at least 30 minutes for ICE to arrive if a suspect had an immigration warrant.

The lawsuit names Houston Mayor John Whitmire, the city's 16 council members and Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz as defendants.

Paxton argued the ordinance violates Senate Bill 4, a state law passed in 2017 that prevents local governments from adopting, enforcing or endorsing policies that prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

EXCLUSIVE: NYC OFFICIALS REFUSE ICE HOLD FOR ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED IN ARSON THAT KILLED 4 AND INJURED 7: DHS

"I will not allow any local official to push sanctuary policies that make our communities less safe," Paxton said in a statement. "Under my watch, no Texas city will be a safe harbor for illegals.

"The Texas Legislature passed strong legislation that specifically stops the type of lawless ordinance that Houston adopted," he added. "Houston has no authority to ignore the Constitution and the laws duly enacted by the Legislature. I’m calling on Houston to immediately repeal this ordinance."

LOUISIANA AG URGES NOPD TO COOPERATE FULLY WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES

In a statement, Whitmire said it was "unfortunate that so much time and resources are being spent on an issue that should not be partisan. It interferes with our responsibility to keep Houston safe and protect all residents."

Houston City Council member Alejandra Salinas urged the city to defend the ordinance in court.

BOSTON POLICE IGNORED 100% OF ICE DETAINER REQUESTS IN 2025, CITING SANCTUARY LAW

"It’s no longer a question about whether the City should go to court," she wrote on X. "We’re already there. The Mayor and City Council must vigorously defend the law we voted for and that the City Attorney deemed legal. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to defend our laws and protect Houstonians’ constitutional rights."

Fox News Digital has reached out to several city council members for comment.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also threatened to freeze public safety funding if Houston moves forward with the ordinance.

"Houston received more than $100 million from the state based on a written agreement that they will comply with immigration enforcement," Abbott wrote on X in a post Tuesday.

"If they refuse to comply, they better get out their checkbook. It will be costly if they refuse to keep their streets safe."

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A special City Council meeting scheduled for Friday was rescheduled after Abbott extended the deadline for the city to respond to his funding freeze threat.

Turkish grad student who co-authored anti-Israel op-ed at Tufts self-deports after legal battle with DHS

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:18:43 -0400

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University medical graduate student from Turkey whose charges were dropped after DHS detained her for allegedly "[engaging] in activities in support of Hamas," has self-deported to Turkey, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Ozturk self-deported from the U.S. late Thursday night on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, according to sources familiar.

Ozturk was detained by ICE in Somerville, Massachusetts, in March 2025, sparking a battle between the Trump administration and a federal judge over her detainment.

The Tufts graduate student was living in the U.S. under an F-1 student visa, which the Trump administration revoked around March 21, 2025. At the time her visa was revoked, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration were cracking down on student visas for students who were involved in protests and demonstrations regarding Israel and Palestine.

JUDGE WHO BLASTED TRUMP AS 'AUTHORITARIAN' BLOCKS US FROM DEPORTING PRO-PALESTINIAN CAMPUS ACTIVISTS

"After 13 years of dedicated study, I am very proud to have completed my Ph.D. and to return home on my own timeline," Ozturk said in a statement. "The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for. With them in mind, I am choosing to return home as planned to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state-imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States – all for nothing more than co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights."

Ozturk co-authored an opinion piece on March 26, 2024, that was published in Tufts Daily, a student newspaper on campus.

"Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide," the op-ed read.

The authors, including Ozturk, were critical of the university’s response to anti-Israel protests, saying that the university should publicly acknowledge Palestinian suffering.

Rubio specifically referenced opinion pieces in a statement surrounding the revoking of student visas, notably after the arrest of Ozturk on March 25, 2025.

DHS SAYS COLUMBIA STUDENT TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IS ILLEGAL ALIEN WHOSE VISA WAS TERMINATED UNDER OBAMA ADMIN

"If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus — we're not going to give you a visa," Rubio said.

Trump's Department of Justice also weighed in on Ozturk's self-deportation.

"Attending elite colleges and universities in the United States is a privilege afforded to foreign students who respect our values and follow our laws," a DOJ official told Fox News. "Rümeysa Öztürk chose not to abide by those simple conditions, and as a result left the United States - something the Administration sought to accomplish from the beginning. We will continue to seek the deportation of any foreign student who abuses their opportunity to study in America by engaging in vile antisemitism, harassment, or other illegal behavior."

Following Ozturk’s arrest, she was transferred to Methuen, Mass., then Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Vermont before she was sent to the South Louisiana ICE processing facility, according to reports.

Protests erupted at Tufts and across the country over her arrest, and two months later she was released on bail.

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The legal battle continued between the Trump administration and Ozturk, who was legally represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), until Feb. 9 when Biden-appointed Boston immigration Judge Roopal Patel terminated deportation proceedings.

Patel ruled that the Department of Homeland Security lacked the legal grounds to deport her.

"I grieve for the many human beings who do not get to see the mistreatment they have faced brought into the light," Ozturk said in a statement released by her attorneys after the ruling. "When we openly talk about the many injustices around us, including the treatment of immigrants and others who have been targeted and thrown in for-profit ICE prisons, as well as what is happening in Gaza, true justice will prevail."

THE US GOVERNMENT TARGETED ME FOR MY POLITICAL SPEECH. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, TOO

The Trump Department of Justice fired Patel, among other immigration judges, last week.

Since Patel ruled as an immigration judge and not a federal Article III judge, the Trump administration and the executive branch has authority over her tenure.

The White House issued a press release on April 9, titled: "Era of Amnesty Is Over: President Trump Restores Rule of Law to Immigration Courts," in which the administration touted "the most aggressive and successful immigration enforcement overhaul in modern history."

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"President Trump promised to end the open borders nightmare — and he is delivering on that promise with unrelenting force. The era of catch-and-release, mass releases, and activist judicial amnesty is over," the White House statement reads.

Minnesota prosecutor charges ICE agent in gun incident as Savanah Hernandez case remains uncharged

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:47:15 -0400

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent is facing felony charges in Minnesota after prosecutors said he pointed a gun at two people during a highway confrontation.

This comes as no charges have been filed in the separate attack on Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges Thursday against ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. tied to a Feb. 5 incident on Highway 62 in Minneapolis as part of the broader "Operation Metro Surge" federal immigration crackdown that drew protests and scrutiny in the Twin Cities.

Morgan "sped up, pulled alongside the vehicle, matched its speed, opened his window and pointed his duty weapon directly at both victims," Moriarty said during a press conference.

ICE SAYS VIOLENT MOB HELPED CRIMINAL ESCAPE AND LEFT ICE AGENT PERMANENTLY MAIMED

According to a criminal complaint, the incident unfolded around 4:20 p.m. near the Interstate 35W interchange as traffic slowed to a single lane. Prosecutors said Morgan drove on the shoulder to bypass congestion before pulling alongside the victims and pointing a handgun at their heads.

Investigators said Morgan was driving a rented SUV with no markings identifying it as a federal vehicle. Both victims said they felt threatened by his actions, according to the complaint.

Investigators said Morgan was not responding to an emergency at the time and told authorities he was heading back to the Whipple Federal Building to end his shift and get gas.

Morgan told investigators he feared for his safety, yelled "Police! Stop," and believed the individuals were "agitators" who cut him off because he was a federal agent, according to the complaint.

Authorities have issued a nationwide warrant for Morgan’s arrest. He faces two counts of second-degree assault, each punishable by up to seven years in prison. Bail was set at $100,000, with conditions including no possession of weapons and compliance with all court appearances.

MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN TO ACCESS EVIDENCE IN FEDERAL SHOOTINGS, INCLUDING ALEX PRETTI, RENEE GOOD CASES

Moriarty said the case moved more quickly than other investigations tied to Operation Metro Surge because authorities were able to complete their work "without obstruction or interference."

"Today’s charges reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability," Moriarty said, adding that her office is continuing to investigate more than a dozen other incidents involving federal agents.

Prosecutors are also reviewing whether to file charges against individuals accused of assaulting Hernandez during an anti-ICE protest outside the Whipple Federal Building last weekend.

Protesters swarmed Hernandez while she was reporting, blowing horns in her face, yelling obscenities and shoving her as she attempted to leave, according to video from the scene.

At one point, a protester pushed Hernandez into a fence, and another later shoved her to the ground as she yelled, "Stop touching me" and "Leave me, I am trying to leave!"

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Hernandez later said she suffered minor injuries, including scrapes and soreness.

A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office told Fox News Digital that three cases tied to the Hernandez incident have been submitted by law enforcement and are under review for potential charges, though a timeline for a decision remains unclear.

The cases were submitted out of custody, meaning no arrests were made at the time.

The FBI has opened a federal investigation. No charging decision has been announced.

Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE and DHS for comment.

Fox News' Elizabeth Heckman and Garrett Tenney contributed to this report.

Senate temporarily extends nation’s controversial spying powers after House fumbles

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:58:38 -0400

The Senate quietly extended the nation’s spying powers Friday morning after the House failed to reauthorize the program before the fast-approaching deadline.

The upper chamber’s unanimous vote to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) gives Congress a little more breathing room beyond the April 20 deadline but still leaves lawmakers in the same divided place they started.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had positioned the Senate to swiftly receive and possibly pass a FISA reauthorization, but after progress on the legislation blew up in the House, he's eying putting the upper chamber in the driver's seat.

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"We can't go dark," Thune said. "We just can't afford to go dark, so we've got to figure it out. Hopefully, we can move a 10-day extension, and we'll try and set things up to try and do something over here."

The original plan was derailed because of the controversial Section 702 of FISA. On the surface, it allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad, but nothing stops that law from collecting data on Americans if they happen to be involved in those communications.

While FISA as a whole is a vital tool for the government, particularly as uncertainty swirls about the true end of the war in Iran, Congress still isn’t on the same page as the White House.

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President Donald Trump and the White House pushed lawmakers to pass a clean reauthorization of the program, which both Republicans and Democrats in both chambers have pushed back against.

It’s a rare horseshoe issue in Washington, D.C., that draws opposite ends of the political spectrum — conservatives and progressives — together on privacy rights.

Opponents of Section 702 want warrant requirements for the government to parse communications involving Americans. Congressional Democrats similarly demanded warrant requirements for immigration agents to enter people’s homes as part of their list of demands to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS SHUTDOWN ENTERS DAY 60 WITH ALL EYES ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO END IT

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has strongly pushed back against a clean reauthorization, arguing in a letter to his Democratic colleagues that leaps and bounds in AI are "supercharging how the government can surveil Americans."

And Wyden nearly derailed chances for the extension to pass in the upper chamber, but later argued it was the "right decision for today," and that tacking on another few days would give more leverage to lawmakers wanting reforms.

Wyden told Fox News Digital that "the focus here needs to be what Ben Franklin talked about."

"Anybody who gives up their liberty to have security really doesn't deserve either," Wyden said. "And I don't buy the idea that liberty and security are mutually exclusive, and that's what the proponents, who just want a straight across the board approach are calling for."

"They say, basically, 'The sky's gonna fall, unless you pass our bill right away,'" he continued.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried and failed with two options for FISA. One route was a clean, 18-month extension. Another was a five-year extension with modest reforms. Conservatives joined the bulk of House Democrats to tank the latter.

Lawmakers will return next week with a bevy of issues on their plates, including reopening DHS and sprinting to craft the framework for a party-line budget reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement for the next three years.

The FISA issue will linger until the next deadline at the end of the month.

EXCLUSIVE: NYC officials refuse ICE hold for illegal alien accused in arson that killed 4 and injured 7: DHS

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:50:23 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: A Mexican national illegal alien accused of randomly setting a New York City apartment building on fire that killed four people and injured seven others, could be released back onto the streets as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials say the city is refusing a request to turn him over to immigration authorities.

Roman Ceron Amatitla, 38, of Maspeth, is charged with eight counts of second-degree murder and first-degree arson after allegedly lighting a three-story Flushing building on fire March 16, which he had selected at random.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said that on the day of the blaze, Amatitla entered and exited the Avery Avenue building multiple times, urinated in front of the apartments, and then went to a nearby gas station — where he bought a beer, stole a second one and took a pack of matches after refusing to pay for a lighter.

Authorities allege he then entered the apartment building for a fourth and final time, lighting a piece of paper on fire and tossing it onto trash near a stairwell.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF KILLING LOYOLA STUDENT RELEASED UNDER BIDEN, DHS SAYS

As smoke engulfed the street, Katz said he stayed in the immediate area to watch people burn and jump from the windows while sipping his beer, in what she described as an "act of mass murder."

On Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) requested the New York City Department of Corrections (NYCDOC) not release Amatitla from jail.

However, because of New York’s sanctuary policies, the NYCDOC told ICE that it will refuse to cooperate.

"This monster set fire to a building and watched as innocent people, including a three-year-old, burned to death. New York City sanctuary politicians REFUSE to cooperate with ICE and are choosing to RELEASE this MURDERER onto New York streets," DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

CHILD AMONG 4 DEAD AS ACCUSED ARSONIST ALLEGEDLY DRANK BEER DURING CHAOS

"New York’s sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety," she continued. "Releasing this monster from jail is insanity and will allow him to commit more crimes and create more innocent victims. We are calling on Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to not release this public safety threat."

DHS claims New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's executive order shields criminal illegal immigrants and "allows them to reoffend and create more innocent victims."

Mamdani’s action came after Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul’s legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating with ICE enforcement.

DHS said New York’s failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 6,947 illegal immigrants from Jan. 20 to Dec. 1. They are accused of crimes including: 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 199 burglaries, 305 robberies, 392 dangerous drugs offenses, 300 weapons offenses and 207 sexual predatory offenses.

In addition, DHS said 7,113 illegal immigrants in the custody of a New York jurisdiction had an active detainer during that time period for crimes including: 148 homicides, 717 assaults, 134 burglaries, 106 robberies, 235 dangerous drugs offenses, 152 weapons offenses and 260 sexual predatory offenses.

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DHS officials confirmed Amatitla is an illegal immigrant, though it is unclear where and when he entered the country.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submits resignation letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:16:20 -0400

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons submitted his resignation letter to Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin Thursday, writing that he will stay on through May 31 to assist the transition process, Fox News has confirmed.

According to a source, Lyons said in his letter he wants to spend more time with his family, including his sons, who are "reaching a pivotal point in their lives," and that it's been a privilege to serve under President Donald Trump.

"Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE and key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists and gang members from American communities," Mullin said in a statement.

"He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer."

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS POLITICO REPORT ON ACTING ICE CHIEF HOSPITALIZATIONS AS ‘INACCURATE TRASH’

Lyons has overseen roughly 584,000 ICE deportations since President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term last year.

He has served with ICE for 20 years and was previously in special forces in the U.S. Air Force.

"We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector. His last day is May 31, 2026," Mullin concluded.

In a statement to Fox News, Trump border czar Tom Homan praised Lyons' selflessness in serving as director.

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS POLITICO REPORT ON ACTING ICE CHIEF HOSPITALIZATIONS AS ‘INACCURATE TRASH’

"Todd has served selflessly as a highly respected and effective acting Director of U.S. ICE," Homan said. "Under his leadership, ICE achieved a record number of removals in the first year of this Administration, despite unprecedented challenges, delivering on the President’s promise to deport illegal aliens who have no right to be in the U.S., especially those that are public safety risks or pose a threat to our national security.

"I commend him for a distinguished law enforcement career and the countless contributions he has made to protect our country and advance its interests."

ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEFENDS AGENCY'S FOCUS ON TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, DETAILS THREAT TO AGENTS

White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller added in a statement to Fox News that, "Todd is a phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader who has been at the center of President Trump’s historic efforts to secure our homeland and reverse the Democrats’ sinister border invasion."

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"His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans," he added.

Hillary Clinton rips Trump on migrant child detentions, but Bill Clinton’s own record cuts deep

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:00:09 -0400

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the Trump administration's immigration enforcement practices, warning that the detention of thousands of migrant children is causing "terrible damage" – but data from former President Bill Clinton's tenure shows a similar trend.

"Terrible damage to children is being done in our name," Clinton shared in an X post on Wednesday, along with data showing the Trump administration has so far detained 6,200 children, with an average of 226 children held a day.

Clinton’s criticism lands against a historical record that complicates the attack, because federal data from the 1990s showed hundreds of juveniles in custody on an average day under former President Clinton as immigration enforcement toughened.

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

The Clinton administration's Immigration and Naturalization Service, a former agency within the Department of Justice, detained 4,136 unaccompanied illegal juveniles in fiscal year 2000 for longer than a 72-hour period, according to a Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report published in 2001. About 400 to 500 children were held in custody on an average day that same year, the report continued.

In 1996, former President Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, two laws that expanded immigration enforcement by broadening mandatory detention and speeding up removals.

The data Clinton referenced in her tweet came from the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on the criminal justice system, and outlined detainee figures during the second Trump administration.

"ICE does not target children or separate families," a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday when asked about Clinton's post. "Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement."

Clinton's tweet followed her appearance at the Munich Security Conference in February, when she said there's a "legitimate reason" to have a debate on immigration policies, adding that it "went too far."

"It's been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way with secure borders that don't torture and kill people, and with a strong family structure, because that is at the base of civilization," said the former 2016 presidential candidate.

Following the influx of over 18 million illegal immigrants under the Biden administration, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), DHS says it has stopped the exploitation of 450,000 unaccompanied children.

"Many of the children who came across the border unaccompanied were allowed to be placed with sponsors who were smugglers and sex traffickers," the DHS spokesperson said. "The Trump administration has located more than 145,000 of these children in person in the United States through visits and door knocks."

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS MIGRATION 'WENT TOO FAR' AND 'NEEDS TO BE FIXED IN A HUMANE WAY'

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Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Reporter's Notebook: GOP clashes over ‘skinny’ vs ‘obese’ DHS bill as Trump agenda looms

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:09:41 -0400

If it’s up to top Senate GOP leaders, the next budget reconciliation package to finally fund the Department of Homeland Security will be on a fiscal cocktail of Wegovy and Ozempic.

But other Republicans want this measure to be a high-calorie, political feast. Pop-Tarts, Sour Cream and Onion potato chips from Pringles, topped with Reese’s Pieces and a side of Häagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream. All washed down with an entire two-liter of Mountain Dew.

Stymied by Democrats — and in many cases themselves — congressional Republicans are now teeing up a reconciliation package to end the two-month-long DHS funding stalemate. By using budget reconciliation as a tool, Republicans can ignore Democrats, sidestep a Senate filibuster and prospectively pass the bill on their own.

If they all stick together.

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

There’s a push by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to prep a bill as svelte as possible, since DHS has been penniless for so long.

"We're going to move quickly, decisively, and hopefully in a very focused way," said Thune.

This is why Republicans call this a "skinny" bill, devoted to ending the shutdown.

"We want to fund ICE and Border Patrol and maybe a few other things. But very narrow. Very focused," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

But not everyone in the Senate Republican Conference is on parliamentary Weight Watchers.

Some want to stuff the reconciliation bill with tens of billions of dollars to cover the cost of the war in Iran. Others want to include the touchstone of Trump’s legislative agenda, the SAVE America Act. It requires proof of citizenship in order to vote. There’s a push to tack on farm aid. Others are arguing for disaster relief.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES RAGE AGAINST SENATE DHS SHUTDOWN DEAL

"It doesn't need to be skinny. We need to do the SAVE America Act. We need to fund the war. We need to do whatever President Trump needs to do with DHS and TSA," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., on FOX Business. "Let's put as much stuff in there as we can get now."

But loading up the bill could slow it down. Especially when time is of the essence.

"The broader you make this, the longer it's going to take to pass the bill," yours truly pointed out to Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.

"That’s a fair assumption," replied Hagerty. "But we have some critical needs as well. We're going to have to debate all of this and decide exactly how far we're going to go. Speed is critical."

I asked Thune if he was "worried" that some Republican senators may ask to dump "other things" into the legislation.

"Well, they could," replied Thune. "We have members who want other things. I mean, I want other things. But obviously we have a specific mission and purpose here."

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., opined on what skinny or fat means for the fate of the legislation.

"If John [Thune] holds firm, then the bill will remain skinny. If he doesn't, it'll jeopardize the bill being passed," said Kennedy. "If he starts making deals, there will be four or five senators who take a run at it to try to have their stuff included. If he starts making deals to get their votes, it'll be a huge mistake because you're talking to one senator, and he is going to insist that [his] stuff be included, too."

Kennedy called adding legislative sweeteners — increasing the political caloric count — into the legislation to convince reluctant senators to vote yes would be "a huge mistake." Kennedy noted that "this skinny bill is going to become obese very quickly."

So adding Iran dollars into the bill is one option, but some Republicans are reluctant to spend any more money on Iran until they get some answers about what’s next.

"It's going to be very difficult to get my support for any funding, or any additional resources from Congress until I have a clear, articulated strategy, how this is going to be ramping down over the next 60 or 30 to 35 days. Or, if it's going to be escalated," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. "We need a clearly articulated plan if we're going to be there for the long term."

'WE DIDN'T CAVE': THUNE HIGHLIGHTS SCHUMER, DEMS' LOSSES IN DHS FUNDING DEAL

Other Republicans are willing to give the administration some leeway on Iran.

"We can't control the time it's going to take to accomplish the mission. So the mission should be the goal. Not the time it takes to accomplish the goal. We're in it. We need to be in it to win it," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. "Look at Vietnam. The reason we lost is because that war was being managed by LBJ from the White House. And when the White House tries to manage the military and call the shots and make the day-to-day decisions, we fail."

This is an apples-and-oranges question, but some Republicans are not-so-quietly getting skittish about how long the U.S. will be on the hook for the war. Especially as the conflict creeps toward the 60-day mark later this month.

"I think it will be solved by then," said a confident Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.

But even if the battle is over, it’s probable the U.S. would still maintain military assets in the region. There’s a running cost on that. That bill will come due at some point. And that’s why this reconciliation bill is such a ripe target for additional items like Iran war funding."

But Republicans are already promising an additional reconciliation bill. If the first bill remains lean, GOPers will inevitably push to stash whatever they can in the later package. Still, that’s hard. And with DHS unfunded for so long, that’s why Thune is trained just on approving DHS money.

But reconciliation bills are complex. The House and Senate consumed the entire period from early February through July 3 last year just to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Thune and President Donald Trump want the DHS funding bill wrapped up in the next few weeks. So a third bill?

"Those who tell us that we're going to have a third reconciliation bill have been smoking the devil's lettuce. We will never have a third reconciliation bill," said Kennedy. "This is the last major piece of legislation that we will likely pass until the midterms. There's a feeling, which I share, among the Senate caucus that this is the last train leaving the station. We had better get all our cargo aboard. Now."

Most diets fail. It’s not a question of willpower. But sometimes dieting is a challenge the deeper you get into it.

The House and Senate are just beginning the current effort to pass the reconciliation bill for DHS funding. It may start out slender, but maintenance is hard.

Here’s something else working against lawmakers: history.

Congress is used to piling lots of things into "must-pass" bills. That’s where the extra parliamentary pounds come from.

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Diets often succeed because someone makes lifestyle changes. Will Congress make a "lifestyle change" and pass a reconciliation that only ends the DHS shutdown?

It’s a weighty question.

Two icebreakers headed to Alaska as US combats Russian, Chinese influence in Arctic

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:13:33 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced two Arctic Security Cutters will be homeported in Alaska by the end of 2028 and will serve to strengthen American maritime power in the Arctic region.

The USCG, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, could potentially award up to 11 Arctic Security Cutter contracts in 2026 using roughly $3.5 billion in funding provided by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

"Homeporting these two Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska is a decisive step forward in securing America’s Arctic frontier," Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News Digital in a statement.

TRUMP UNVEILS $1.5T DEFENSE SURGE, DEEP DOMESTIC CUTS — WHAT’S ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

"I want to thank President Trump for his bold leadership and vision in directing this critical investment, as well as Senator Sullivan and the entire Alaskan Congressional delegation for championing the funding that made these icebreakers possible," he said.

"These vessels will deliver the enduring operational presence our nation needs to protect sovereignty, deter foreign adversaries, and safeguard vital resources for the American people," Mullin added.

Arctic Security Cutters create opportunities for operations in frozen regions where ship transport is normally challenging or impossible to navigate. The vessel is structured with a rounded and sloped bow, allowing the ship to ride up on top of the surface of the ice and smash through using the weight of the ship.

Where most ships would get stuck, icebreakers use reinforced hulls, high-powered engines and special propellers to plow through dense ice fields, creating a passageway after the ice separates.

CHAD WOLF: TRUMP IS SERIOUS ABOUT THE CHINA THREAT AND IS REBUILDING OUR ARSENAL

Coast Guard Arctic District has a total of 16 cutters homeported in Alaska, according to the USCG

The move also comes as Russia and China have both increased interest in the Arctic and icebreaker production.

Russia has roughly 40 icebreakers in the polar region, according to multiple reports, and has been developing the Northern Sea Route (NSR) using the vessels in an effort to establish a potentially dominant trade route as ice melts and paths are cleared.

The China Research Center reported that the NSR would be a 40% faster trading route than the Suez Canal traditionally used for trade between China and Europe.

The Arctic is known to have high levels of oil, gas, minerals, hydrocarbons and rare elements, sparking moves from prominent countries to have more presence in the region.

WHY TRUMP ZEROED IN ON GREENLAND AND WHY IT MATTERS IN 3 MAPS

Reports indicate that China and Russia are collaborating on patrols, research and shipping in the Arctic, as China is reliant on the Russians for access to Arctic routes.

Last October, President Donald Trump signed a $6.1 billion agreement with President Alexander Stubb of Finland to acquire four icebreakers for the U.S.

"We need these ships very badly, because we have a lot of territory, more than anybody. And so, I’m very honored to have this deal. And thank you very much. It’s going to be great," Trump said.

TRUMP’S $12B RARE EARTH PLAN TARGETS CHINA AS EXPERTS WARN US IS ‘ONE CRISIS AWAY’

U.S. defense officials have identified the Arctic as a top national security priority, noting the importance of early-warning systems and missile detection networks.

"Homeporting Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska underscores the United States’ leadership as a maritime power in the Arctic," USCG Commandant Adm. Kevin E. Lunday told Fox News Digital in a statement.

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"By strategically positioning these state-of-the-art icebreakers in Alaska, the Coast Guard will maximize our ability to defend our northern border and approaches, while reinforcing America’s maritime dominance in a crucial region of strategic importance," Lunday explained.

The USCG said that a revitalized icebreaker fleet will also counter malign influence in the Arctic as well as allow for faster response to crises and contingencies in the region.

I was a supervisor for the Secret Service. It has huge problems with the people it hires

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:00:16 -0400

The Secret Service doesn’t have a recruiting problem, it has a hiring problem — how woke, DEI hiring practices have destroyed the world’s most enigmatic and foremost protective agency.

Again, the U.S. Secret Service finds itself in the news and again, it’s another issue involving one of its employees. Embarrassing, yes, but the bigger problem is that when it involves the Secret Service there is a thin line between embarrassing and someone actually getting killed.

On March 27, it was reported that a Secret Service agent assigned to the detail of former first lady "Dr." Jill Biden claimed that his weapon had fallen out of its holster and discharged itself. The agent reportedly shot himself in the leg and was hospitalized.

Even more remarkable is how little coverage this incident received — partly due to the ever-changing news cycle, partly due to the media and the public becoming less surprised by the downward spiral that the Secret Service has been mired in. One of the most-storied and enigmatic, if not the premier protective agency in the world, is unraveling before the eyes of the public and no one seems to care.

SECRET SERVICE AGENT ASSIGNED TO JILL BIDEN INJURED IN 'NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE' AT PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT

As quickly as this story vanished, it was replaced with one involving yet another Secret Service employee. On April 8, court documents surfaced indicating that an agent-trainee had been arrested after he was caught spying on his fellow agent-trainee roommate while both were attending Secret Service training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Allegedly, this trainee used a hidden camera secreted inside a cellphone charger to spy on and engage in a weeks-long campaign of harassment and cyber-stalking of the roommate. The trainee was reportedly able to surreptitiously watch as his roommate walked throughout his suite, including the bathroom. The trainee was arrested and charged with unlawful eavesdropping and surveillance.

The Secret Service was forced to issue a statement. Deputy Director Matt Quinn said, in part, "the charges are deeply troubling and raise significant concerns about the individual's character and fitness to serve." More troubling is that this individual had been a civilian employee of the Secret Service in which his job was to monitor and assess threats to the president.

BONGINO DETAILS FBI’S ‘ZERO-FAIL MISSION’ AFTER HUNTING STAND FOUND NEAR TRUMP’S AIR FORCE ONE EXIT AREA

These two recent incidents raise the question, "What the hell is going on with the Secret Service and the people that it is hiring?"

The hiring process for an agent is lengthy — there are multiple interviews, an intrusive polygraph exam, a physical exam and the most comprehensive background investigation that anyone can undergo by the federal government before receiving a job offer and the Top Secret clearance that goes along with the position; a year’s wait is not uncommon.

Somehow, in spite of this process, there have been way too many people who have managed to secure a slot and ultimately achieve the position of special agent; people who somehow were hired yet have no business being in that position.

SECRET SERVICE AGENT ASSIGNED TO VANCE PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER ALLEGED SECURITY LEAK

I contend that it is the model that the leadership of the Secret Service has chosen to follow, pushed heavily during the Biden administration, which has crushed this once vaunted agency. Wokeness, optics, appeasement of minority groups and DEI hiring practices replaced common sense, negated the purposes of the agency and broke every rule of successful business practice.

The Secret Service has now been thrown into a quandary that will take at least a generation to fix. The unqualified applicants who should never have been hired to begin with are ascending the ranks to leadership positions that they are equally unqualified for, assuming these critical positions out of necessity due to astronomical levels of attrition, continued DEI practices (which continue under this Trump appointed director), and ineffective leadership not willing to engage and shut this nonsense down. So, the loop is now running in a very public way with the world watching.

Don't fool yourselves either, it isn't just the typical international terror groups that we can all name, it’s much worse. It’s the next Thomas Crooks or Ryan Routh, even the (as of yet) unnamed activist group egged on by woke liberal elected officials combined with an outspoken anti-Trump judiciary and ultra-biased media. It’s people who have taken note of the high-profile failures and very public display of ineptitude, incompetence, lack of focus and an outright inability to do the job of the Secret Service who might now seize the opportunity to harm the president.

FORMER SECRET SERVICE OFFICIALS WARN OF LOW-TECH THREATS FACING TRUMP AFTER LATEST MAR-A-LAGO BREACH

Is the president safe? Certainly not as safe as he can or should be. A huge part of the ability of the Secret Service to provide complete protection to any protectee is perception — the perception that this agency and its employees will do whatever they need to ensure not just the safety of the president but the continuity of the United States government, going to whatever lengths are necessary to successfully complete the mission, paying ridiculously high levels of attention to detail and building upon critical foundational aspects of advance work toward the goal of ensuring a safe environment not just for the protectees but for the public as well.

It is not overly dramatic to say that when the Secret Service fails, the resulting cascade affects the entire world.

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But this level of focus, motivation and commitment requires not only the best people — it requires the right people. The failures by this agency, the public comments made by some employees and the display of woke ineptitude and disdain have shattered the public's confidence in the abilities of this once untouchable agency to do the job.

For an agency whose mission truly allows for zero failure, they have completely lost focus and show no signs of fixing themselves. If this were a private enterprise, the Secret Service would have shuttered its doors long ago. The Secret Service does not have a recruiting problem — it has a hiring problem.

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You want to fix the Secret Service? Clean house of all senior leadership — stop this cycle of woke DEI hiring and promotions. Find the right people, people who understand the magnitude of the job, who are willing and capable to actually do it. Truly restore the search for the "best qualified applicants," uphold physical and training standards, and get the agency back to the foundations that made it great.

This cannot be someone's first-time job, nor can the Secret Service continue to hire every legacy applicant or appease every special-interest group ticking a box for optics’ sake.

Homeland Security official's killing leaves agency 'devastated' as vetting breakdown exposed

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:00:55 -0400

A Department of Homeland Security official was killed in Georgia by a naturalized U.S. citizen with a prior criminal record, a case that is raising new questions about the federal government’s vetting process after the agency recently acknowledged significant screening gaps.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Wednesday that Lauren Bullis, 40, was "brutally shot and stabbed to death," identifying the suspect as 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel, who was naturalized in 2022 and has a record that includes convictions for sexual battery, assault and battery against a police officer.

The killing comes shortly after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services disclosed "significant national security and public safety risks" in U.S. vetting processes, describing past screening processes as "wholly inadequate" under former President Joe Biden.

Mullin said DHS is "devastated" by Bullis’ killing. The agency also said she "was a bright spot for so many of the DHS community."

DHS SLAMS CALIFORNIA 'SANCTUARY' COUNTY AFTER MOM ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY 2 HONDURAN NATIONALS

Bullis was walking her dog when she was attacked, according to DHS. She served in multiple roles at DHS’ Office of the Inspector General, including as an auditor and a team leader in the Office of Innovation.

The agency said Abel was also arrested in connection with the murder of an unidentified woman he reportedly shot outside a Checkers, as well as a homeless man he shot multiple times outside a Kroger in Brookhaven, Georgia.

Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, said, "This is just the latest impact of the Biden administration's immigration policies."

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Arthur, who served under the Bush and Obama administrations, said the case raises concerns about whether existing safeguards were properly applied during the naturalization process.

"There were plainly steps that were missed when this person was naturalized," he said, adding that recent agency findings suggest broader vulnerabilities in the system.

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

It is not yet clear from publicly available information how Abel’s prior convictions factored into his naturalization review or whether they should have disqualified him under existing standards.

USCIS announced the creation of a new vetting center in December that DHS said would "enhance screening and vetting of immigration applications, with a focus on identifying terrorists, criminal aliens, and other threats to public safety." The agency said the center would leverage advanced technologies and work closely with law enforcement and intelligence partners to uphold the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.

MAJOR NATIONAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY EXPOSED AS DHS REVEALS HOW RELATIVES OF TERROR ARCHITECT ALLOWED INTO US

The month before, USCIS also restored the practice of conducting neighborhood investigations of potential new citizens to verify aliens’ eligibility for naturalization by reviewing their residency, moral character, loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, and commitment to the nation’s well-being.

Arthur lauded this decision, saying, "That's never been a priority, because of the numbers that we talk about, about 800,000 people naturalize every year."

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"This is a huge number of people, and we have assumed in the past that a simple fingerprint check and NCIC run will identify individuals who pose a danger to the community before they can be naturalized. We now know that that's not true."

He cautioned that though "the numbers are big, and we want to encourage people who are green card holders to become citizens," the U.S. must continue to "invest resources in order to ensure that we don't confer citizenship on anybody who poses a danger to the United States going forward."

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Biden for comment.

Markwayne Mullin decries CA governor front-runner Tom Steyer, claims he ‘doesn’t understand’ ICE

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:00:07 -0400

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer of failing to understand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as the new Democratic front-runner pledges to abolish the agency if elected.

During an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle" Wednesday, Mullin pushed back on Steyer’s comments that ICE has "criminal" tendencies.

"I’m very straightforward about this; ICE should be abolished," Steyer said at a February debate. "You really can’t reform an organization which is absolutely wrong and criminal from top to bottom."

Mullin, who took the reins of the Department of Homeland Security roughly three weeks ago, said the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful does not have the power to abolish the federal immigration agency.

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

"He doesn't have the authority to do it, and he's talking on the left side of his mouth," he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. "He doesn't understand ICE's role."

Recent polling places Steyer as the front-runner in the race to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom. He leads with 21% of likely voters, while Republican candidate Steve Hilton trails at 18%.

Steyer has emerged as a sudden Democratic front-runner after various sexual misconduct allegations forced Eric Swalwell to drop his gubernatorial campaign and resign from Congress.

Mullin criticized Steyer’s stance on immigration enforcement, arguing that ICE is required to abide by federal law.

"ICE simply enforces the nation's immigration policies and deports individuals and goes after the criminals that should never be in this country to begin with," the DHS chief told Fox News.

DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN SIGNALS CLOSER SCRUTINY OF CUSTOMS AT MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY AIRPORTS

"We're not doing anything outside the law, we're working well within the law, and they're doing a job every single day protecting, even people like himself, that want to decriminalize criminals. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Mullin also said Steyer’s fellow California Democrats, who largely hold anti-ICE stances, have the power to reform ICE through congressional legislation.

"[Steyer] says they're criminal from top to bottom? ICE is enforcing the laws that Congress passed. That means that the Democrats that represent California in the federal government, if they wanted to change ICE's authority, they could do it," he added.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Steyer said President Donald Trump is responsible for turning ICE "criminal."

"I understand perfectly well the role ICE has played under this president," Steyer wrote in the statement. "Donald Trump has turned ICE into a criminal enterprise, so we will treat them like one. If they break the law in California, they will be prosecuted — just like anyone else."

In addition to defending ICE, the new DHS secretary pledged to maintain the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign and communicated a willingness to accept the "right" kind of immigrants.

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"We're not slowing down," Mullin said. "We're going after the illegals, and we would love for them to leave on their own, and we'll assist them. We have programs to help assist you to go back to your country, because if we have to go through the prosecution process, you'll never come back in this country legally ever."

"We want legal immigration, people that want to make the country stronger. We're a nation of immigrants. We understand that. But the right kinds of immigrants."

CBP officers seize over $2.8M in cocaine and meth in back-to-back busts at California port of entry

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:14:42 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized more than $2.8 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine in back-to-back busts involving suspected drug smugglers at the southern border.

CBP officers discovered more than 430 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in California, April 7 and 8.

They first seized cocaine after a 51-year-old man from Mexico driving a Toyota Prius was referred for a secondary inspection.

Following an alert from a canine team, officers found 44 packages of cocaine concealed within the vehicle’s doors, back seat and rear quarter panels during a physical inspection.

In a news release shared with Fox News Digital, the drugs weighed about 124 pounds and had an estimated value of $2.4 million.

OVER 190,000 "LETHAL" DOSES OF COCAINE SEIZED IN VALENTINE'S DAY WEEK BUST AT SOUTHERN BORDER

The following day, a U.S. citizen described by CBP as a 21-year-old man driving a Nissan Frontier was also referred for secondary inspection.

A canine team and imaging system scan alerted officers to a compartment in the truck bed, where they discovered 25 packages containing about 307 pounds of methamphetamine.

The estimated value of the drugs was $491,200, according to the CBP.

Both drivers were arrested and will face federal prosecution.

COAST GUARD SEIZES OVER 4,500 POUNDS OF COCAINE WORTH $34M FROM SUSPECTED NARCO-TERRORIST VESSEL ON EASTER

The seizures highlight ongoing efforts by federal authorities to curb drug trafficking along the southern border, where cartels use increasingly sophisticated smuggling methods, including hidden vehicle compartments and trusted traveler lanes.

Officials say both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals are frequently recruited to transport drugs across ports of entry.

"These back-to-back seizures stopped dangerous criminals in their tracks and prevented deadly narcotics from ever reaching our communities," Otay Mesa Port Director Rosa Hernandez said. "By combining their professional expertise with advanced technology, our officers demonstrate their commitment to securing our borders and keeping our country safe."

The two drug busts come after President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, praised Trump's immigration policies and the impact of border patrol efforts.

"He's saving thousands of lives a year because he has a secure border," Homan said about the president when speaking outside the White House. "Where President Trump had the most secure border in the lifetime of this nation, right now, lives are being saved."

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"Human traffickers are out of business, right? The cartels are going bankrupt because of that secure border," he added.

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

DHS shutdown enters Day 60 with all eyes on House Republicans to end it

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:25:15 -0400

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown entered its 60th day on Wednesday, but House Republicans are standing in the way of reopening much of the agency.

Congress returned in full on Wednesday, but there is no sense of urgency to end the longest government shutdown in history. Instead, the House is mired in a fight over extending the federal government’s spying powers, which expire next week.

The House did not schedule a vote on the Senate DHS bill for this week after returning to Washington following the Easter recess.

SENATE GOP VOWS TO ‘GO IT ALONE’ ON ICE FUNDING AS DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON SHUTDOWN

Though it’s an issue started by congressional Democrats in the dead of winter, Republicans have now been passed the buck to finish it and are eyeing a party-line maneuver to fund immigration enforcement — the main sticking point in the ongoing back-and-forth — for the remainder of President Donald Trump's term.

"Republicans have been forced to do this the hard way," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

Part of the problem on the DHS funding front is that House Republicans are frustrated that they are being forced to consider the Senate’s Homeland Security funding bill, which carves out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The only deal that can pass with Democrats' support is to remove funding for those agencies, while Republicans say they’re being cornered into defunding law enforcement.

SENATE PASSES BILL TO FUND MOST OF DHS AFTER HOUSE GOP CAVES

In the meantime, the solution is to produce a "skinny" budget reconciliation package that funds ICE and Border Patrol, cutting out Democrats from the process entirely.

"The intention is that we now have to come in behind that and pass a reconciliation bill that would enable those agencies to continue to be funded three years into the future," Thune said.

He and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are slated to meet Wednesday afternoon to get both chambers in alignment on the plan. For now, it’s unclear whether both chambers can mark up identical budget resolutions — the first step in the budget reconciliation process — prior to the House’s next scheduled recess at the end of April.

Several House Republicans were irate at Thune’s comments suggesting the second reconciliation package should be a narrow bill.

"Well — he isn’t the only voice in this, is he?" Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has advocated against funding the department in two separate legislative vehicles, wrote on social media Monday. "Isolating DHS was stupid. Isolating ICE/CBP is worse. We should move other priorities with ALL of DHS… we’re running out of time to deliver and to clean up these repeated swamp messes."

GOP RAILS AGAINST 'S--- SANDWICH' DEAL AS ALL EYES TURN TO HOUSE TO END DHS SHUTDOWN

And the House won’t vote to fund the bulk of DHS until the party-line bill hits Trump’s desk.

Johnson, before his huddle with Thune, said his chamber would take up the Senate’s "skinny reconciliation" blueprint.

"We're going to do our part and fund the most essential functions of the government, and then we'll do the rest of Homeland Security," Johnson said.

He said he expected the upper chamber would have its budget blueprint — which undergirds the entire reconciliation process — crafted and passed by "the middle to the end of next week."

"We're going to move it as expeditiously as possible," Johnson said.

Senate Republicans huddled Tuesday behind closed doors to sell the plan to their members, which, in itself, could prove challenging because of the desire among some to pay for ICE and Border Patrol spending by cutting funding elsewhere — a position that runs counter to GOP leadership.

But many Republicans view the forthcoming reconciliation package in a different light than the previous "big, beautiful bill," which was initially loaded with steep cuts and offsets to fund Trump’s tax cuts.

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They see it as a version of the normal appropriations process and argue that, because of that, they don’t need to find other parts of the budget to trim to front-load funding for immigration operations for the next three years.

"Not on this one," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., an ardent fiscal hawk, said.

And as the responsibility for ending the shutdown has politically shifted to Republicans, Democrats aren’t wasting the chance to knife them.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, "Republicans could fix this today."

"Instead of reopening DHS and delivering for the American people, Republicans are dragging the Senate through a partisan circus just to avoid basic accountability for ICE and Border Patrol," Schumer said.

Senate Republicans race to fund ICE, CBP without Democrats as shutdown drags on

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:06:14 -0400

Senate Republicans are moving to fast-track funding for immigration enforcement without any Democratic support as a partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown stretches into its second month.

The upper chamber returns to Washington, D.C., on Monday, and the GOP already has its plan in motion to bypass Democrats’ blockade of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

With President Donald Trump's blessing, they are using the budget reconciliation process to front-load funding for immigration enforcement for the remainder of his presidency. Taking that route doesn’t require any Democratic votes, but Republicans will have to put aside any differences they have if they want the legislation to work.

SENATE GOP VOWS TO ‘GO IT ALONE’ ON ICE FUNDING AS DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON SHUTDOWN

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who chairs the committee that will launch the reconciliation process in the Senate, met with Trump on Friday to lay the groundwork for the package.

Trump said on Truth Social shortly afterward, "Reconciliation is ON TRACK, and we are moving FAST and FOCUSED."

"Radical Left Democrats like Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem ‘High-Tax’ Jeffries, will do their best to stop us, but we don’t need their votes on this Bill, as long as Republicans UNIFY, and stick together," the president said.

"I am calling for the Bill to be done no later than June 1st, and on my desk," he continued. "The Department cannot wait any longer for full funding. We must beat the Radical Left Democrats at their own game."

Trump’s push for a focused package is what Senate Republicans had been hoping for, given that several other items, like the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, making their way into the bill could slow down work or get nixed by the rules that reinforce the process.

GRAHAM EYES ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ ON TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT

"The reconciliation train is on the tracks," Graham said on "Special Report." "We're gonna have a very specific bill coming out before June 1 that will fund the Border Patrol and ICE for the entire presidency, the three years left of President Trump."

Keeping both chambers in alignment will be key, too, given that reconciliation will officially start in the House.

The whole reason Republicans are coalescing behind a reconciliation strategy is because of the ongoing DHS shutdown. The Senate, before leaving Washington for a two-week break, again passed a funding bill that carves out spending for ICE and parts of CBP.

It remains unclear when the House, which returns on Tuesday, will vote on the Senate-passed DHS funding bill.

House Republicans are frustrated that, after passing their own 60-day extension to reopen the agency, they again have to consider the Senate bill.

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

Many in the conference want to see the Senate make actual progress on a reconciliation bill before voting to fund DHS, while others on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s, R-La., right flank would rather fund the entirety of Homeland Security through reconciliation.

And a source familiar told Fox News Digital that House GOP leadership is waiting to see the upper chamber take concrete steps on a reconciliation package funding ICE and the Border Patrol before holding a lower chamber vote on the Senate bill.

Resistance in the House would guarantee that the partial shutdown, which hit 58 days on Monday, will continue.

Barrasso urged Johnson to pass the bill quickly to fund the rest of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and others.

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"I would recommend that the speaker of the House take it up and pass it as soon as possible," Barrasso said on "The Faulkner Focus."

Meanwhile, he noted that Senate Republicans have already been working on their budget resolution, which will kick off the reconciliation process in the upper chamber, for the last two weeks, and blasted Democrats for spending weeks blocking DHS funding.

"It's critical to get FEMA up again," Barrasso said. "The Coast Guard, cybersecurity, all those things are necessary. The Democrats are against the security of this homeland, and it is just wrong, and we're gonna put an end to it using reconciliation."

Fox News Digital's Adam Pack contributed to this report.

Four reasons why Markwayne Mullin may be the steady hand DHS needs at a critical time

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 05:00:21 -0400

Kristi Noem may still be grabbing headlines, but we shouldn’t overlook her replacement at DHS, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. Here are four reasons why Mullin, confirmed by the Senate in record time, could be the right man for the job.

He’s the real deal.

Unlike many other politicians, Mullin has worked with his hands and broken a sweat. He can ride a horse, drive a truck, haul Sheetrock and, unlike Chuck Schumer, likely grill a burger. He ran a company that employed more than 150 people in the state he represents — a plumbing business providing real services anyone can understand, not a consultancy or lobbying group or NGO feasting off government grants. Clinton once told voters, "I feel your pain," but like millions of regular Americans, Mullin really knows what it’s like to suffer under arbitrary, dumb or unnecessary policies. He reportedly got into politics after an Obama-era regulation shut down one of his businesses.

While he is a solid Trump supporter and conservative Republican, he had no truck with those who entered the Capitol illegally on January 6, 2021. At the time, he reportedly helped Capitol police barricade the House chamber, and from the look of him at the time, the first man through any breach would not have fared well. His air is of a man who went to Washington because he felt it a duty, not because of perks, fame and future financial rewards.

DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN SIGNALS CLOSER SCRUTINY OF CUSTOMS AT MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY AIRPORTS

He gets to be the good cop.

Like Hulk Hogan coming in to save the day, Mullin just got tagged into the remaining three years of Trump’s term — and the boss’s promise to deport millions of illegal aliens. Mullin is following a DHS secretary who has had a tough time in the ring. Noem inherited a nightmare. She went from governing a state with a population under a million to managing 22 federal departments and 260,000 employees. It would have overwhelmed most people.

After four years of an open border, rampant abuse of pardons and paroles, and a mix of purposeful mismanagement and incompetence, Noem was tasked with cleaning up. The Augean stables were a newly-detailed late-model Bentley by comparison. Noem achieved a lot: under her leadership, the border was mostly sealed. The number of illegal arrivals plummeted more than 90%. Bogus parole programs were stopped. Fraud was investigated instead of tolerated. Interior immigration enforcement, moribund under Biden, was resumed with great fanfare.

Perhaps too much fanfare, because the huge challenge of enforcing deportation was the Achilles heel in Noem’s performance, through which came a poisoned arrow in the form of the Ryan Pretti and Renee Good shootings by ICE officers in Minnesota. The Democratic mainstream has hardened its position from Clinton’s reform-but-enforce to now opposing almost any immigration enforcement.

Whatever really went down in the Twin Cities, the net result was a public relations disaster. By playing to the base over swing voters, seeming to put show over metrics, and presiding over the agency when things got out of hand in Minneapolis, Noem had become a liability to Trump and Republican mid-term hopes. Mullin gets to throw off this baggage and make his own impression.

He has a welcome measure of self-control.

Ben Franklin once said that any three people can keep a secret — as long as two of them are dead. He died the year Congress decided that the future capital of the United States was to be in 10 square miles of what was then literally, and remains figuratively, a swamp. Scandals plague Washington like malaria once used to. But the vaccine that prevents it is clean living and a skeleton-free closet. No doubt Mullin will be under extreme scrutiny as secretary of DHS. But provided his past is the no-nonsense westerner we’ve seen so far, he can survive the spotlight. He appears immune from capture by the Washington establishment blob.

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While affable and upright, he does have a temper. He is indeed "blunt and to the point," as he testified in his confirmation hearing. But his relatively calm and measured response to goading by Sen. Rand Paul showed some growth. "Let me earn your respect," he asked Paul, using "sir" in the address throughout, as people still do in his part of the country. In an age where elitist politicians use profanity in a token effort to be "real," Mullin’s attempted self-control stands out — even if he doesn’t always succeed.

He’s a brawler and can take a hit.

In his brief career as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, Mullin had a 5-0 record and made the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Senate is no picnic, but being a political appointee in a Trump administration is like covering yourself in honey and beating a beehive with a stick. You have to hold your friends close and your enemies closer. Democrats want your seat, and other Republicans want your job.

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Mullin has Trump’s confidence. He knows how the Hill works, and he has allies in the Senate. The half of America that still respects borders and puts public safety ahead of left-wing ideology is rooting for him to succeed.

Let’s give him a chance and see what he can do.

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'Christmas Vacation' and Congress: 'We're all in misery' amid the ongoing DHS shutdown

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 03:41:14 -0400

If you thought the congressional appropriations process couldn’t get any worse, I present you with 2026. And perhaps beyond.

The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, running on pocket lint, nickels lost between the couch cushions and faded S&H Green Stamps (look ‘em up, kids). Congress hasn’t funded DHS for two months. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., torqued himself into a political pretzel – opposing, then supporting, then not acting on – a Senate-approved package to fund most of DHS.

As we always say, it’s about the math, and when it comes to DHS money, it appears that lawmakers have locked a box to which they lack the combination. There is apparently no sequence of votes in the House and Senate which can crack the DHS safe as a traditional, standalone appropriations bill.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: WHY TRUMP MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FORCE CONGRESS BACK OVER THE DHS SHUTDOWN

Now, congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump are turning to one of the few methods which might work to fund DHS – something called budget reconciliation.

The congressional budget reconciliation process is not customarily used for appropriations bills – although lawmakers can plug the measure with money to spend on federal programs. However, reconciliation is inoculated from filibusters. Thus, Republicans don’t need 60 votes. They can – ostensibly – pass a DHS bill on its own without help from Democrats if they hold their narrow coalitions together in both the House and Senate.

Congressional Republicans intend to stuff this reconciliation package with only money for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. Nothing for disaster aid. Nothing for farmers. Nothing about the SAVE America Act. The president agrees. The goal is to finish this by June 1 – months after the latest DHS funding lapse.

But it’s more complicated than that.

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

The House and Senate must take a number of steps to approve a shell of a budget resolution in order to have the filibuster-proof reconciliation tool available to them. Republicans undertook a similar endeavor last winter and spring. It was absolutely harrowing and consumed months before finally approving the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, via reconciliation. Republicans don’t have that kind of time now. Then again, DHS has either been unfunded or held together by interim spending bills since last October.

We haven’t even mentioned how Trump is using a somewhat dubious authority to pay TSA workers and others from other funds – without congressional approval.

That leaves some to question why the administration didn’t do this to start with. But the bigger issue is an alarming pattern of Congress ceding its most precious prerogative – the power of the purse – to the executive branch. That’s to say nothing as to whether Trump’s gambit to pay workers is even constitutional. And, it establishes a precedent which may be hard to ignore during other funding impasses.

However, here’s the bigger problem: the congressional paralysis to pass appropriations bills on a timely basis. That’s been an issue for years now.

Historically, Congress has missed the Oct. 1 fiscal deadline, relying on "Continuing Resolutions" (CR’s) which simply renew all funding on a temporary basis. Or, lawmakers cobble together a set of the 12 annual spending bills in a "minibus" appropriations package. Lawmakers who might oppose an individual bill are willing to support a group of bills – because there’s something in there which they like or support.

But turning to reconciliation as a way out of the appropriations box canyon is also another precedent which likely agitates congressional appropriators. Sure. They’ve done that before. And in this instance, it might finally get DHS funded. But what does this mean for the future?

Which brings us to Oct. 1, 2026. That’s when the federal government pivots from Fiscal Year 2026 to start Fiscal Year 2027.

Congress has struggled to fund the federal government since early 2025, when it began work on appropriations bills for this year. The FY ’26 funding crisis – which spawned the record-breaking, 43-day, government-wide shutdown in the fall, another partial government shutdown last winter and the current DHS stalemate – has been an issue since lawmakers were working on bills for this cycle around this time LAST spring. So how pray tell is Congress going to avoid a shutdown THIS autumn for FY ’27?

In fact, few are even speaking about that possible peril – because no one can wrap their heads around the present appropriations saga. And it’s possible that this fall’s problems could be worse than last fall’s impasse. The reason? The midterm elections hit in November. It’s doubtful that either side will be willing to make much of a deal right before voters head to the polls.

The scenarios are frightening to fathom, so people are just kind of ignoring them.

SEE IT: LAWMAKERS CAUGHT ON VACATION AMID RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN WHILE DHS WORKERS GO UNPAID

We have entered a new period of semi-perpetual funding standoffs – exacerbated by mistrust between the sides, narrow congressional margins in both the House and Senate, parliamentary mathematical equations which don’t balance and an unwillingness by Trump to broker deals or even negotiate with Democrats.

Yes. They have options to cover DHS into next year, but it’s the other 11 spending bills which could be problematic.

Imagine trying to pass a defense spending bill which has a price tag 44% higher than the one last year? Or tacks a bunch of money on for the war in Iran?

Where’s the vote combination to approve a CR, let alone an individual bill? Will Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., be willing to help Republicans hit the 60-vote threshold to fund things? Especially if he sees the possibility of emerging again as majority leader? Probably not.

And let’s say Democrats win the House, Senate or both in the fall? Do you really think these spending standoffs get better over the final two years of Trump’s term?

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Back to Chevy Chase and Clark Griswold. There’s a second part to that iconic quotation from "Christmas Vacation": "We’re at the threshold of hell!" he declares.

Pretty funny, but not if you’re trying to keep the government open after the adventures of the past year. This is not hilarious to millions of federal workers who suffer from paycheck PTSD. Another round of spending mayhem could only erode further trust between federal workers and their employers. It will damage morale – which is already subterranean. That’s to say nothing of courting people to work for the government.

Yes. Things can get a lot worse. The political schisms are deep and the vote matrices to pass the bills simply don’t exist.

It may be spring, but the "Christmas Vacation" movie provides insight into where we stand with the congressional appropriations bills: "It’s Christmas and we’re all in misery," declares Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D’Angelo.

Yeah. And wait to see what Congress has in store for THIS Christmas.

Anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil one step closer to deportation with immigration board ruling

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:14:15 -0400

An immigration appeals board has issued a final order of removal for anti-Israel protester Mahmoud Khalil, advancing the Trump administration’s effort to deport the Columbia University graduate, according to his legal team.

The Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled Thursday to deny Khalil’s bid to dismiss the case, marking a significant development in the administration’s push to deport him from the U.S.

Khalil, a 31-year-old lawful permanent resident, has been at the center of a broader federal crackdown on noncitizens involved in anti-Israel campus protests tied to the war in Gaza. He was the first person whose arrest became publicly known as part of the crackdown.

His legal team blasted the decision as "baseless and politically motivated," arguing the government is retaliating against his speech and lacks evidence to support the case.

MAHMOUD KHALIL AVOIDS EXPLICIT HAMAS CONDEMNATION, CRITICIZES 'SELECTIVE OUTRAGE’ AMID PALESTINIAN SUFFERING

"In all my decades as an immigration lawyer, I have never seen such a baseless and politically motivated decision," Khalil’s lead attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, said in a statement issued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "The BIA's decision has absolutely no support in the record, violates a federal court order, and we’ll be fighting it until the end."

The Trump administration has argued Khalil’s protest activity was "aligned with Hamas," a claim cited by the Department of Homeland Security and other officials, though authorities have not publicly detailed specific evidence linking him to the terrorist group.

Khalil has also denied allegations of antisemitism. Officials have also cited a rare foreign policy provision of U.S. immigration law, sometimes referred to as a "Rubio determination," as well as alleged issues tied to his green card application.

Despite the ruling, Khalil’s attorneys say he cannot be deported while his separate federal habeas case continues to play out in court.

A federal judge in New Jersey previously found the government’s justification for detaining Khalil was likely unconstitutional and ordered his release.

After his arrest, Khalil spent 104 days in immigration detention, missing the birth of his first child before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release.

Khalil later suffered a setback in his federal case when a U.S. appeals panel ruled that the New Jersey judge overstepped his authority by ordering his release. In a 2-1 decision, the panel found the case must proceed through the immigration court system before it can be challenged in federal court.

His lawyers are now requesting the full appeals panel reconsider that decision and have asked one of the judges to step aside over his prior role as a Justice Department official involved in investigating student protesters.

Khalil has denied wrongdoing and said the case is an attempt to silence him.

"I am not surprised by this decision from the biased and politically motivated Board of Immigration Appeals. I have committed no crime. I have broken no law. The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine — and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it," Khalil said in a statement released by the ACLU.

DHS FIRES BACK AFTER MAHMOUD KHALIL TARGETS TRUMP ADMIN FOR $20M OVER DETENTION

"My family is here. My life is here. I reject any attempt to intimidate me out of my home based on lies and ideological attacks," he said. "This is not justice. This is just another attempt to retaliate against me."

Khalil, a prominent organizer of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University in 2024 who the Trump administration is seeking to deport, was initially arrested in 2025 at his university-owned apartment in New York City.

Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told him at the time they were revoking his green card, according to his attorney, Amy Greer. He was later transferred to a detention center in Louisiana.

Khalil played a major role in protests against Israel that rocked Columbia University in 2024 and met with school officials on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of student groups pushing the university to divest from Israel. He completed the requirements for a Columbia master’s degree in late 2024.

Born in Syria, he is the grandson of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homeland, his lawyers said in a legal filing. His wife, a U.S. citizen, gave birth to the couple’s child while he was in detention.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously defended the Trump administration’s actions following Khalil’s arrest in March, saying he allegedly distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers on campus.

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"This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans," Leavitt told reporters at a White House press briefing at the time, noting that on her desk were the "pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas" on them that Khalil allegedly was distributing.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for siding with terrorists, period," she said.

Fox News Digital has contacted the Justice Department for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

I'm a drone CEO. Our skies are dangerously exposed — here's the solution

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:00:01 -0400

Imagine building a solution to a problem you never fully defined.

That’s where we are with airspace sovereignty. Especially when it comes to drones.

We’ve spent billions of dollars on counter-UAS systems (C-UAS), deploying sensors and expanding capabilities. For many officials, C-UAS has become the solution. The problem is, it was never the full problem to begin with.

Before we talk about stopping drones, we should answer a more basic question: which ones belong in the air?

BORDER ON THE BRINK AS CARTEL DRONES FORCE US TO ACT AFTER YEARS OF PARALYSIS

We can’t answer that with confidence.

We’ve gotten better at seeing the sky. But seeing is not the same as knowing what is flying in it.

Today, when a drone appears in controlled airspace, we can detect it and track it. With Remote ID, we can occasionally determine who’s operating it. What we cannot do, quickly and with certainty, is determine whether that drone is authorized, meaning the aircraft, the operator and the mission are approved and operating as intended.

And in airspace security, speed is everything. This isn’t a problem you solve in minutes or hours. Decisions have to be made in seconds. In that moment, operators need to answer three questions: Is it authorized? Is it compliant? Is it a threat?

If you can’t answer those questions immediately, you don’t control your airspace.

That’s the gap.

US MILITARY SHOT DOWN PARTY BALLOON NEAR EL PASO AFTER SUSPECTING DRONE, OFFICIAL SAYS

In traditional aviation, that gap is managed far more effectively. Operations in controlled airspace tie together a verified operator, a known aircraft and an approved flight plan, all continuously monitored.

The stakes are higher, but so is the structure and the time to respond. Aircraft operate from known locations, along defined routes, over longer periods of time.

Drones don’t operate that way.

TRUMP ADMIN CUTS RED TAPE ON COMMERCIAL DRONES TO COMPETE WITH CHINA'S DOMINANCE OF THE MARKET

They can be launched from less than a mile away and reach a target in minutes, often without any of those elements being reliably connected or visible in real time.

Today, who is flying, what they are flying and why they are flying are not reliably connected, consistently verified, or available in real time to the people responsible for making decisions.

In complex airspace like the National Capital Region, this problem becomes impossible to ignore. A single drone operation may require approvals from multiple jurisdictional authorities, each operating through separate systems and timelines. There is no unified view of what’s been approved, no shared system to see what’s happening in real time and no reliable way to ensure that an approved operation is doing what it was approved to do.

BRETT VELICOVICH: ‘MYSTERY’ DRONES ARE NO MYSTERY, THEY ARE A DANGEROUS THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

Authorization today isn’t a system. It’s a patchwork. An operator might go through LAANC, DroneZone, a COA, a waiver, or even a chain of emails and phone calls to get approval. Few of these systems talk to each other. Few provide a shared, real-time picture. None were built for the kind of airspace we’re trying to manage today.

Even when a drone is fully authorized, no one can immediately know that. The people responsible for securing the airspace are left piecing together fragments, seeing a drone, checking what they can and then making a judgment call.

That’s not sovereignty. That’s uncertainty.

This didn’t happen because people aren’t paying attention.

Federal, state and local law enforcement, among others, are all actively working this problem, and they’re doing it the way they were trained to, as a threat.

That’s not a criticism. It’s reality.

PENTAGON EXPLORING COUNTER-DRONE SYSTEMS TO PREVENT INCURSIONS OVER NATIONAL SECURITY FACILITIES

This is a security issue.

But it’s also an airspace problem.

And unless you’ve operated in both environments, it’s easy to focus on how to stop the threat before fully understanding how the airspace is supposed to work.

PENTAGON WATCHDOG WARNS DRONE INCURSIONS REQUIRE 'IMMEDIATE ATTENTION' AT US MILITARY BASES

I’ve seen this from both sides, operationally and from a security perspective.

I was asked during a congressional hearing, "If you’re not sure, why not just shoot it down?" It’s a fair question, until you consider where these operations happen.

Over cities. Over crowds. Over critical infrastructure.

Because when you don’t know what’s flying, what it’s carrying, or what it’s doing, you don’t know what happens when it falls. That’s not policy. That’s physics.

We’ve spent years building the ability to respond. We never built the ability to define it.

Without that distinction, every drone becomes a question, and when every drone is a question, every decision becomes slower, harder and riskier.

More sensors, better detection and improved counter-drone systems are necessary. But they don’t solve the problem on their own.

What’s missing is a system that establishes trust before a drone takes off and maintains it throughout the operation.

The missing piece is a fully integrated Digital Flight Authorization System (DFAS).

It replaces today’s fragmented processes with a single system, scattered approvals with one authoritative source and uncertainty with a real-time picture of what is authorized, who is operating, and what they are doing. It binds the operator, the aircraft, and the mission into a single, verifiable identity and confirms conformance in real time.

Instead of guessing, decision-makers know. In seconds.

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That’s the difference between reacting to the sky and controlling it.

Airspace sovereignty isn’t about seeing more. It’s about knowing.

The President has set the standard: "It is the policy of the United States to ensure control of our national airspace."

That’s the right goal. But control isn’t achieved by seeing more. Control comes from knowing.

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Until we can know, in seconds, who is flying, what they are flying and why, we haven’t finished the job. And until we implement the system required to deliver that mandate, we won’t.

We’re not securing our skies. We’re leaving them exposed. And that’s not control.

ICE detainer lodged for illegal migrant accused of murdering 15-year-old Missouri boy who begged for his life

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:33:50 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security lodged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer request for an illegal migrant accused of murdering a 15-year-old boy who allegedly begged for his life before being killed.

Yefry Archaga-Elvir, a Honduran national, and other suspects allegedly lured Miles Young into believing he was meeting a girl. DHS cited a prosecutor in the case who said that Archaga-Elvir blocked Young’s vehicle and chased him down on foot before allegedly shooting him in the chest with a handgun.

The department says that witnesses heard Young’s final words — "I just don’t want to die."

"Miles Young was lured to his death believing he was going to meet a girl. Instead, he was ambushed and killed in cold blood by this illegal alien who went on to brag about the murder," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

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"This animal was released into our country by the Obama administration. ICE lodged an arrest detainer requesting Missouri not release this depraved killer from jail into American neighborhoods," Bis added.

According to DHS, a probable cause affidavit revealed Archaga-Elvir allegedly made a "braggadocios" phone call regarding the killing of Young.

The department says Archaga-Elvir was arrested in Texas as an accompanied minor in 2015, but he was released by the Obama administration.

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also weighed in on the arrest and ICE detainer lodged for the suspect, saying Archaga-Elvir should have never "been in Missouri in the first place."

"A child in my home state of Missouri was ambushed and murdered by an illegal alien," Hawley told Fox News Digital. "Miles Young begged for his life. The criminal never should have been in Missouri in the first place."

"He must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and all criminal illegal aliens must be deported so this tragedy never happens again," Hawley added.

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Court documents obtained by KY3 show alleged premeditation prior to Young’s death.

The suspects used two vehicles to block Young from escape, and tracked his location before carrying out the attack.

A fundraising page was set up for Young following his death, where his family grieved their loss in a post.

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"Miles was a compassionate, loving, and kind 15-year-old who brought light to everyone around him," his family wrote. "He was a big brother, a son, a grandson, and a friend… full of life and always showed care for others."

"No parent should ever have to outlive and bury their child," the statement continued.

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Unlike many "sanctuary" states and jurisdictions, Missouri law RSMo § 67.307 promotes cooperation with federal immigration officials, and prevents the state from adopting policies that block or limit interaction with ICE or related agencies.

Fox News Digital reached out to Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, but did not receive a response in time for publication.