Immigration and Customs Enforcement Archives

ICE Arrests Another International Student As State Department Revokes 300 Foreign Student Visas

April 1, 2025/in Criminal Illegal Aliens, Culture War, Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, Immigration, National Security, Policy, Politics, Radical Islamic Terrorism, Terrorism/by The Daily Caller

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a University of Minnesota (UMN) graduate student Thursday as the Department of State moved to revoke about 300 foreign student visas.

UMN authorities announced the ICE arrest occurred at an off-campus residence, calling the situation “deeply disturbing.” The Minnesota Daily vaguely identified the graduate student as an international student in the university’s Carlson School of Management.

“The University had no prior knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities before it occurred,” university leadership said. They also offered mental health support to any member of the university distressed by the incident.

“Carlson School staff have been in close contact, monitoring the situation and helping connect the student with resources and support,” Dean Jamie Prenkert wrote, adding that “[i]n the current climate, detentions like these deeply affect our community.”

The arrest occurred as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while meeting Thursday with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, told reporters the State Department had revoked an estimated 300 international student visas.

“It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa,” Rubio said.

Prospective international students who intend to join “movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus” will not receive study visas, Rubio added. Should such students receive their visas under false pretenses and then join such movements while in the U.S., they would lose their visas, he said.

“Now, once you’ve lost your visa, you’re no longer legally in the United States, and we have a right, like every country in the world has a right, to remove you from our country. So it’s just that simple,” Rubio told reporters.

ICE arrested Columbia University student and prominent pro-Palestine protester Mahmoud Khalil on March 8. The State Department revoked his green card as prosecutors argued Khalil did not disclose his work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) while applying to be a U.S. legal permanent resident.

Fellow Columbia student Ranjani Srinivasan fled the U.S. for Canada after her study visa was revoked. In a letter to a France-based group of pro-Palestine academics narrating her experience, she alleged the university cooperated with law enforcement to target her.

Yunseo Chung, another Columbia student and legal permanent resident, became the object of an ICE search and decided to sue the Trump administration, The New York Times reported. U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Buchwald reportedly ruled Tuesday that ICE must stop trying to arrest and deport Chung.

“After the constant dread in the back of my mind over the past few weeks, [Buchwald’s] decision feels like a million pounds off of my chest. I feel like I could fly,” Chung told The Guardian.

Rumesya Ozturk, a 30-year-old Tufts University student, was also taken off the street Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking her deportation, The Associated Press reported.

In addition, ICE asked twice-suspended Cornell University international student Momodou Taal to surrender after he preemptively sued the Trump administration.

AUTHOR

John Oyewale

Contributor.

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Illegal Migrants Hit Exit As Trump Rolls Up Biden’s Welcome Mat

March 31, 2025/in Child Sex Trafficking, Courts & Law, Criminal Illegal Aliens, Culture War, Elections, Hot Topics, Immigration, Marxism, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

Faced with a new administration laser focused on mass deportation and the real possibility of being sent to a mega-prison in Central America, many illegal migrants are choosing to hit the exit button voluntarily.

A number of foreign nationals in Denver, the city that absorbed the most illegal migrants per capita than any other major U.S. city, are becoming far more receptive to the idea of self-deportation, according to a report from the New York Times. The current sentiment is a sea change from the Biden-era, when immigration officials allowed millions of foreign nationals to apply for asylum and remain.

Christian, a 29-year-old Venezuelan national who arrived in Denver in 2023, obtained a work permit and requested asylum, according to the NYT. However, he told the outlet that his feelings have changed “360 degrees” since Trump returned to the White House, and he has since made an appointment with a judge to request voluntary departure from the U.S.

“I just hope to manage to leave before they deport me,” Jesus, a 29-year-old Venezuelan, said to the NYT. He arrived in the U.S. in 2024 and was detained for some time before being released. He now says he’d rather return voluntarily to his home country rather than be detained again.

The current crackdown is a major deviation from the asylum policies implemented in the past four years. The Biden administration expanded the CBP One app, constructed Safe Mobility Offices across Latin America and established the CHNV program — all of which streamlined migrants’ ability to apply for asylum and enter the U.S. en masse before the Trump administration scrapped or defunded them all.

More than 18 million illegal migrants are estimated to be living in the U.S., according to the most recent study released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Those new figures were released after 8.5 million migrant encounters were recorded along the U.S.-Mexico border during the four fiscal years of the Biden administration.

The Biden White House oversaw the worst humanitarian crisis at the southern border in history, with fiscal years 2023 and 2024 being the highest and second highest, respectively, of recorded migrant encounters, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Before Biden finally issued an election-year directive that began a slowdown of encounters, millions of illegal migrants had already entered the country.

After winning election to a second term in an electoral landslide, in part on a pledge to crack down on the illegal immigration crisis, President Donald Trump got to work on enforcement reforms. The Trump administration deployed troops at the southern border, successfully coerced Canada and Mexico to put more effort into border security and designated a number of transnational gangs and cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Trump also threw the hammer down on interior enforcement, successfully pushing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to apprehend tens of thousands of illegal migrants in the first months of his administration. The ICE arrests, which far surpass the rate of the previous administration, included convicted criminals and gangbangers loyal to Tren de Aragua, MS-13 and other ruthless crime syndicates.

In an unprecedented agreement, the Trump administration reached a deal with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele allowing U.S. authorities to transport criminal illegal migrants to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a mega-prison in El Salvador that has the capacity to hold up to 40,000 inmates. The maximum-security prison is not known for being a relaxing venue, where prisoners are packed tightly into cells, recreation and visitation are forbidden and cellphone signals are blocked.

While Trump fights a court challenge on his use of wartime powers to deport Tren de Aragua gang members, media attention has surrounded the Venezuelan nationals who were already deported to the mega-prison.

While Venezuelans see some of their countrymen be sent to one of the largest prisons in the world, the Trump administration is encouraging all illegal migrants to leave on their own accord. Earlier in March, the administration rolled out the CBP Home app — a relaunch of the Biden-era CBP One app that now includes a feature for illegal migrants to declare their intentions to self-deport.

“The Biden Administration exploited the CBP One app to allow more than 1 million aliens to illegally enter the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously said. “With the launching of the CBP Home app, we are restoring integrity to our immigration system.”

“The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self-deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” Noem went on. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.”

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian national student allegedly involved in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, notably used the app to leave the U.S. after the State Department revoked her student visa. Foreign nationals in Chicago, Ohio, and elsewhere across the U.S. have also self-deported, according to the NYT.

The monumental push for self-deportation — and the subsequent signs of success of this effort — appear as a far cry from years past. When then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney touted self-deportation as a viable immigration enforcement plan during a 2012 GOP debate, he drew audible laughs from the audience. Other critics at the time blasted the idea as a strategy blunder.

However, under Trump’s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration, the policy appears to be all the more realistic.

Rather than go through the trouble of remaining on the run, one 23-year-old Venezuelan illegal migrant walked into a Detroit ICE office building in February and surrendered himself to authorities. The migrant reportedly told agents he needed to be taken into custody or else he’d go on to commit crimes.

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Wanted Foreign Student Protesters Cook Up Preemptive Lawsuits To Ward Off ICE Deportation

March 27, 2025/in Anti-Semitism, Chinese influence, Culture War, Education, Elections, Hot Topics, Iranian influence, Lawfare, Marxism, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Radical Islamic Terrorism, Socialism, Terrorism/by The Daily Caller

As the Trump administration continues to crackdown on alleged pro-Hamas agitators on college campuses across the country, foreign students hiding from immigration authorities are adopting another legal strategy — suing before they are even arrested.

The Trump administration is cracking down on the many anti-Israel foreign student protesters who clashed with police, overtook campus property and allegedly harassed Jewish students at universities across the U.S.. The White House, which has made immigration enforcement a top policy priority, has already overseen the detention and deportation of several high-profile foreign nationals allegedly sympathetic to Hamas, a terrorist-designated organization.

Two foreign students — Yunseo Chung of Columbia University and Momodou Taal of Cornell University — are both wanted by federal immigration authorities. While neither have surrendered or been caught by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, both individuals have sued the Trump administration to put a halt to enforcement actions against them. In Chung’s case, she successfully requested a court to block her arrest — at least temporarily.

“This action challenges the government’s shocking overreach in seeking to deport a college student, Plaintiff-Petitioner Yunseo Chung, who is a lawful permanent resident of this country, because of her protected speech,” Chung’s lawyers stated in a lawsuit filed Monday against the Trump administration. “The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny.”

Virtually every foreign student targeted by the Trump administration so far has claimed the actions violate their freedom of speech, but immigration experts that previously spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation pointed out that the issue has nothing to do with the First Amendment. The State Department has the authority to remove any non-citizen deemed a potential threat to U.S. foreign policy, which would include individuals appearing sympathetic to a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

“This is definitely not a free speech issue,” Matt O’Brien, investigations director for the Immigration Reform Law Institute. O’Brien, who previously served as an immigration judge, pointed to a section in U.S. code that states, “An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.”

“Temporary visa holders can have their visa revoked if they are found inadmissible and permanent visa holders (green cards) can lose their green cards and be removed if they violate a ground of removability,” said Lora Ries, the border security and immigration director at the Heritage Foundation. “The U.S. Government hasn’t charged terrorism-related grounds of deportability or sought to have a green card revoked for too long. And it shows.”

Chung, a 21-year-old permanent resident of the U.S. and native of South Korea, has been involved in the anti-Israel protests that have swept college campuses, her lawyers acknowledged in court documents. She was among the individuals arrested on March 5 amid a sit-in at Barnard College’s main library — a protest that turned violent.

As has become typical with pro-Palestine student activism, the protest at Barnard’s library disrupted classes and led to law enforcement arriving on scene. A bomb threat was called in, prompting police to evacuate the building, but some protesters allegedly chose to resist, leading to some being arrested. Following her arrest by the New York Police Department, Chung was given a desk appearance ticket for “obstruction of governmental administration,” which her lawyers framed as a “a common citation issued by the police at protests” in their court filing.

However, it didn’t take long for more serious consequences to materialize for Chung. Her lawyers accuse ICE officials of signing an administrative warrant for her arrest on March 8 and allege that ICE agents visited her residence looking for her on March 9. The following day, a federal law enforcement official informed her counsel that her lawful permanent status was revoked.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Chung is wanted by immigration authorities, and accused her of participating in pro-Hamas activities.

“Yunseo Chung has engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested by NYPD during a pro-Hamas protest at Barnard College,” a DHS spokesperson said to the DCNF. “She is being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws. Chung will have an opportunity to present her case before an immigration judge.”

In an interview with the New York Times, her lawyers would not comment on her whereabouts, but she likely is in no need to hide out for the time being. On Tuesday, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the Southern District of New York temporarily blocked the Trump administration from arresting her.

“Defendants-Respondents are enjoined from detaining the Plaintiff-Petitioner pending further order of this Court,” Reice, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, wrote in her order. The judge also instructed the Trump administration to give advance notice to the court if it wishes to detain Chung for reasons beyond her removal from the country.

Taal, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student in Africana Studies at Cornell University, sued the Trump administration shortly before the State Department decided to pull his student visa. In his lawsuit, Taal challenges two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump — Executive Order 14161 and Executive Order 14188 — that aim to clamp down on anti-Semitism and pro-Hamas activity by foreign student protesters.

The Gambian national claims the orders have forced him to withdraw from public engagement, depriving others of their “rights to listen” to his rhetoric sympathizing with Hamas and espousing anti-Israel sentiment, according to his lawsuit.

“As a result of the executive orders, Mr. Taal has been forced to profoundly alter his prior speech and association patterns,” his attorneys stated. “He has refrained from attending protests and public political meetings, has substantially reduced his activity on social media, and no longer discusses politics with associates from Cornell, fearing his words will be misinterpreted or reported to government authorities.”

“He lives in constant fear that he may be arrested by immigration officials or police as a result of his speech,” the lawsuit continues.

Taal has repeatedly declared his hatred for America over the years on social media and he celebrated the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists.

“The end of the US empire in our lifetime in sha Allah,” Taal posted online in February 2022. Just several months later, he — seemingly contradictorily — celebrated his acceptance into a U.S. university, writing “Student Visa issued. We going to America baby! Alhamdulillah! Let’s get this PhD.” He later reiterated his contempt for America, posting “My hatred of the US empire knows no bound. Wallahi,” in November 2022.

Taal rejoiced online the day Hamas militants stormed into Israeli territory and killed roughly 1,200 people. “The dialect demands: That wherever you have oppression, you will find those who fighting against it. Glory to the resistance!” he posted in the early morning hours of Oct. 7, 2023.

Taal was facing consequences for his campus actions before Trump returned to office and signed any executive orders targeting pro-Hamas protesters, according to Inside Higher Ed. Cornell University officials suspended him for a second time by October 2024, with a university email telling him he “demonstrated a pattern of escalating, egregious behavior and a disregard for the university policies.”

Earlier in March, DHS asked Taal to surrender to immigration authorities. The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that his student visa was pulled, arguing that the move is in line with Trump’s directives.

“This Department has already been fighting in court to vigorously defend President Trump’s agenda and will continue to do so, especially when it comes to protecting Jewish Americans,” a DOJ spokesperson stated.

Trump has taken unprecedented steps in attempting to remove allegedly pro-Hamas students from U.S. soil.

In the most high-profile case to date, immigration authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, earlier in March and have kept him detained at a facility in Louisiana while his deportation challenge plays out in court. ICE agents have also detained Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and researcher at Georgetown University, and arrested Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, after her student visa expired and was previously arrested for her alleged participation in pro-Hamas activity at Columbia University.

The White House successfully deported Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese national working as an assistant professor at Brown University, after immigration officials allegedly discovered adoring pictures of deceased Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah and other pro-terrorist images. Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian national who allegedly participated in anti-Israel protests, self-deported to Canada after her visa was revoked.

The Trump administration appears to have only just begun cracking down on anti-American foreign students. DHS says it will continue to investigate students allegedly engaged in pro-Hamas activity.

“ICE [Homeland Security Investigations] will investigate individuals engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization,” a DHS spokesperson said to the DCNF. “Based on investigative findings, the Department of State may make a determination which may result in visa revocation or other action impacting the immigration status of an alien in the U.S.”

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

ICE Asks Pro-Palestine Foreign Student To Surrender Himself After He Sues Trump

March 23, 2025/in Anti-Semitism, Elections, Iranian influence, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Radical Islamic Terrorism, Religion, Terrorism, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asked a Cornell University doctoral student and prominent pro-Palestinian protester to surrender himself for deportation proceedings after he preemptively sued the Trump administration, his lawyers said.

Momodou Taal’s lawyers said Friday that ICE ordered and pressured Taal to surrender after he sought a judge’s temporary restraining order to prevent the Trump administration from detaining and deporting him. He sought the restraining order after ICE sent agents to stake out his house, according to Taal’s representatives.

“ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA [Notice to Appear] and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody,” an email sent Friday by the Department of Justice prosecutors partly read, according to The Cornell Daily Sun.

An NTA is an initial step toward deportation, according to CNN.

The prosecutors said they “wanted to reach out to establish a line of communication, and relate some information concerning your client” while their application for admission to the federal court in New York was pending, according to the email.

“In the past 48 hours, this administration has taken unprecedented steps to bypass the courts, by pressuring our client, Mr. Momodou Taal, to surrender to ICE,” Maria Kari, one of Taal’s attorneys, wrote in part.

“The Trump administration responded to Momodou Taal’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the executive orders by sending agents to stake out his house,” wrote Eric Lee, Taal’s lead counsel. “When we asked the Court to enjoin the administration from detaining Mr. Taal as the case progresses, the administration responded by ordering him to surrender to ICE. This does not happen in a democracy.”

Taal’s lawyers and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed the lawsuit enjoining the Trump administration from using two executive orders to “authorize deportation or prosecution based on protected speech,” the ADC said March 16.

I’m suing Trump.

This is my statement: pic.twitter.com/sw9Uv1F4YY

— Momodou ✊🏿 (@MomodouTaal) March 16, 2025

Taal and two other fellow plaintiffs — identified in the lawsuit as plant science doctoral student Sriram Parasurama and Professor of Literatures in English Mũkoma Wa Ngũgĩ — felt the “chilling effect” of the executive orders, which they argued “violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike by impermissibly restricting speech based on viewpoint, in violation of the First Amendment,” according to the lawsuit.

Taal is a British-Gambian PhD candidate at Cornell’s Africana Studies and Research Center, the ADC noted. The Ivy League university suspended him twice in 2024 for disruptive on-campus political activities, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. The other two plaintiffs are U.S. citizens, according to the ADC.

All three plaintiffs “now fear government retaliation for engaging in constitutionally protected expression critical of U.S. foreign policy and supportive of Palestinian human rights,” the lawsuit partly read.

Kari said the case was “a litmus test for the state of free speech in America.” Lee said ICE‘s request for Taal to surrender should make every American outraged and keen to defend free speech.

Law enforcement agents appeared around Taal’s home and on the Cornell University campus — both in Ithaca, New York March 19, Taal posted on X. He claimed that the Trump administration was seeking to preventively detain him and reiterated his commitment to pro-Palestinian activism.

Taal posted Oct. 7, 2023 — the same day Hamas conducted a lightning terrorist attack on Israel — “Glory to the resistance!” The post drew criticism.

AUTHOR

John Oyewale

Contriubutor.

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March 2, 2025/in Courts & Law, Criminal Illegal Aliens, Elections, Hot Topics, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Regulation/by The Daily Caller

A Democratic congressman chided Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for making an arrest near a school building, despite that individual being a confirmed member of a street gang with multiple criminal convictions.

Illinois Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia issued a scathing statement Thursday evening in reaction to an ICE arrest that took place outside of a Chicago charter school the previous day. Garcia, who referred to the apprehension as an “ambush,” touted legislation he introduced in Congress that would prohibit deportation officers from making such arrests at “sensitive locations” such as schools or hospitals.

“In my district, ICE ambushed a parent while dropping off their child at school. No family should have to fear being torn apart in a safe place meant for learning,” Garcia stated in a social media post.

“This is why [New York Democrat Rep. Adriano Espaillat] and I introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act — schools, hospitals, and places of worship are off-limits! Congress must act now,” Garcia continued.

The Illinois congressman was reacting to a Chicago Tribune article about a parent who was apprehended by ICE agents Wednesday morning while dropping off two students at an Acero charter school in Chicago’s Southwest Side. The article did not identify the detained individual.

However, ICE confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that this individual is Francisco Andrade-Berrera, a Mexican national who’s been deported twice, a member of a “violent” street gang and previously convicted of several high-profile crimes. His immigration status was not specified.

“ICE Chicago arrested Francisco Andrade-Berrera, 37, a citizen of Mexico, Feb. 26 without incident,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “Andrade is a known member of a violent street gang with criminal convictions for drug trafficking, gang loitering, and damage to property who was previously removed from the U.S. to his home country in 2005 and 2013.”

The agency’s statement further clarified that ICE supervisors exercise discretion on when to conduct immigration enforcement actions at or near schools. Their operations, the agency reiterated, prioritize criminal migrants and public safety threats.

It’s not immediately clear how or when Andrade-Berrera was able to re-enter the U.S. after his second deportation in 2013.

Garcia’s office did not immediately respond to a DCNF inquiry asking if the congressman stands by his statement or whether he ever finds it acceptable for ICE agents to perform enforcement actions on school property to remove criminal gang members.

Garcia was not the only high-profile individual angry at ICE. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates called the arrest “an act of terror” in a separate public statement.

“I don’t care what agency they turn out to be, targeting a father as he tries to provide an education to his children at their place of learning is a deliberate act of terror on behalf of this government,” Gates stated Thursday. “Our union will join with the Acero mothers tonight to denounce the targeting of anyone in our school communities and demand leadership from the board, CEO, mayor, and governor that actually stands up to the sadists in charge of federal policy and their corporate friends who bank off their cruelty.”

The CTU did not immediately respond to a DCNF request for comment regarding Andrade-Berrera’s criminal history.

Controversy surrounding the Chicago charter school arrest follows a January directive by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that freed ICE agents to conduct enforcement actions at so-called “sensitive locations,” such places like schools, hospitals or churches that were previously deemed off-limits. Under the new changes, deportation officers have far more discretion on where to conduct arrests, making it much harder for criminal migrants like Andrade-Berrera to avoid justice.

Federal agents arrested more than 20,000 illegal migrants during the Trump administration’s first month in office, smashing the Biden administration’s pace of illegal migrant arrests, according to DHS. President Donald Trump has vowed to conduct the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, and has so far issued a flurry of executive orders and other administrative edicts aimed at restoring order to the immigration system.

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

EXCLUSIVE: Meet The Worst Criminals ICE Arrested This Week … So Far

February 13, 2025/in Child Sex Trafficking, Criminal Illegal Aliens, Elections, Featured, Gun Rights, Hot Topics, Immigration, Marxism, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Promoted Video, Radical Islamic Terrorism, Regulation, Social Issues, Terrorism, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been conducting raids across the country, illegal immigrants, criminals and gang members have been taken in en masse, with several big arrests occurring Monday alone, the Daily Caller has learned.

As of Jan. 29, ICE has made a minimum of 4,829 arrests since President Donald Trump was inaugurated and the widespread raids began, according to NBC News. In the last week of January, the Trump administration was averaging 753 arrests per day. Though the number of total arrests Monday is so far unclear, ICE arrested several big criminals, including an MS-13 gang member, the Daily Caller has learned.

ICE Corpus Christi arrested Sergio Arquimides Pineda on Monday, an aggravated felon and MS-13 gang member who was in the U.S. illegally, a White House official told the Caller.

Pineda, who was criminally convicted for assault, was first ordered for removal by an immigration judge in May 2015 and had an outstanding order of deportation for failing to appear at his immigration hearing, according to the information shared with the Caller. He has since been processed for removal and will remain in ICE custody.

On Monday, ICE Miami arrested Cuban citizen Dario Gonzalez, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, the White House official shared with the Caller. Also previously sentenced to ten years in prison but arrested on Monday was Silvester Kagwe Akola, a citizen of Kenya who was taken in by ICE Baltimore, the Caller learned. Akola had previously been convicted of robbery.

Also on Monday, ICE Houston arrested Mexican citizen Jorge Hernandez, who was previously convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to five years in prison, the official told the Caller.

The White House’s Twitter account announced other major arrests that came Monday in the raids, including the arrest of Ciro Teodoro-Rivera, a Mexican national and registered sex offender who was found in Cincinnati, Ohio. Teodoro-Rivera reentered the country illegally without being admitted, and had previous convictions for sexual imposition and aggravated assault, the tweet explains.

In Dallas, on Monday, ICE arrested Guatemala citizen Juan Ramos-Alonzo, who had been convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor and sentenced to 25 years in prison, the White House Twitter account shared.

MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: Ciro Teodoro-Rivera, a Mexican national and registered sex offender, was arrested by ICE Cincinnati on February 10, 2025. Prior convictions: Sexual imposition and aggravated assault. Teodoro-Rivera illegally reentered the U.S. without being admitted. pic.twitter.com/csrLKgwqNx

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 11, 2025

MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: Jose Miguel Perez-Perez, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE Chicago on February 10, 2025. Conviction: Sexual assault of a child. Perez was sentenced to 6 months in jail. pic.twitter.com/7kY3b3jSor

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 11, 2025

ICE Chicago arrested Mexican citizen Jose Miguel Perez-Perez, who had previously been convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 6 months in jail, according to the White House.

Trump campaigned on the promise to conduct the largest mass deportation operation in the country’s history. In the first few weeks of the Trump administration, daily ICE arrests have increased and deportation officers have taken enforcement actions in more areas across the country.

Under the Biden administration, there were roughly 8.5 million migrant encounters along the southern border, an era of unprecedented illegal immigration into the country. According to Customs and Border Protection data, Border Patrol agents made nearly 120,000 encounters specifically with criminal non-citizens during Biden’s time in office.

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

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Kristi Noem Confirmed As Secretary Of Homeland Security

January 26, 2025/in Elections, Featured, Gun Rights, Hot Topics, Immigration, National Security, Policy, Politics, Promoted Video, Social Issues/by The Daily Caller

The Senate confirmed Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Saturday.

“The yeas are 59, the nays are 34. The nomination is confirmed,” Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who presided over the confirmation, said on the floor of the Senate after the livestreamed roll call vote.

Noem, 53, becomes the eighth DHS Secretary. Her confirmation hearing was held Jan. 17. She will take over from Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman, who was serving as a placeholder pending Noem’s confirmation.

She is expected to execute President Donald Trump’s executive orders regarding border security and immigration while overseeing the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies.

Noem resigned Saturday as South Dakota’s governor, with Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden to replace her. “As you assume the role of Governor, please remember our state motto: ‘Under God, the People Rule.’ I chose you because I knew that you would approach the role the same way that I did,” she wrote to Rhoden in her resignation letter.

The voting margin for Noem’s confirmation was not similar to that for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation went down to the wire Friday and required Vice President J.D. Vance to break the tie with his vote and ensure Hegseth’s confirmation.

Border security reinforcement and the deportation of illegal immigrants are already underway, as the Department of Defense announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and military planes for the deportation of 5,000 illegal immigrants detained by the CBP. Two military airplanes flew 160 illegal immigrants to Guatemala Friday, Reuters reported.

Trump picked Noem to be DHS Secretary in November 2024. “Kristi has been very strong on Border Security,” Trump said. “I have known Kristi for years, and have worked with her on a wide variety of projects — She will be a great part of our mission to Make America Safe Again.”

AUTHOR

John Oyewale

Contributor.

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The Trump administration rescinded two major Biden-era immigration initiatives Tuesday, further cementing the White House’s dedication to tougher enforcement policies.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a directive that rescinds the Biden administration’s guidelines on so-called “sensitive locations” where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are prohibited from conducting enforcement activities. The administration also announced it would be rolling back the “broad use” of humanitarian parole and returning it to a case-by-case basis.

The Trump administration lauded the moves as a step away from the soft-on-enforcement approach taken by the previous White House.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murders and rapists — who have illegally come into our country,” a DHS spokesperson said of the revocation of sensitive locations. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”

“The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the spokesperson continued.

An ICE memo establishing “sensitive locations” was introduced in October 2011, which mostly prohibited ICE agents from entering schools, hospitals or churches. However, this list was expanded incredibly under the Biden administration to include broad areas of social services and public spaces, limiting the scope where ICE agents could work.

The second directive announced Tuesday includes a phaseout of parole programs that allowed migrants to enter and work in the U.S. en masse under the Biden administration. Republicans have long criticized parole initiatives such as the CHNV program for being rife with fraud and allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela into the U.S.

“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country,” the DHS spokesperson said. “This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration.”

“This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis,” the spokesperson continued.

The two directives were issued by acting DHS Director Benjamine Huffman. If confirmed, South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be taking the reins at the department.

On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump issued a slate of executive orders that declared a national emergency at the border, designated cartels as terrorist organizations and sought to reinterpret the 14th Amendment as denying birthright citizenship for individuals born on U.S. soil by illegal migrant parents.

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Illegal Migrant Who Voted In Multiple Elections Slapped With Jail Time

January 18, 2025/in Courts & Law, Criminal Illegal Aliens, Election Fraud, Elections, Featured, Gun Rights, Hot Topics, Immigration, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Promoted Video, Socialism, Techno-Fascism, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

An illegal migrant will serve five years in jail for assuming a false identity and voting in multiple U.S. elections, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Angelica Maria Francisco, a 42-year-old Guatemalan national living unlawfully in the country, was sentenced to a 60-month prison sentence for stealing a U.S. citizen’s identity, using that identity to fraudulently obtain several U.S. passports and participating in the 2016 and 2020 elections, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Francisco was living in the Russellville, Alabama, area at the time of her arrest in 2024.

“This sentence sends a clear message that any attempts by non-U.S. citizens to vote in the Northern District of Alabama are unacceptable and will result in serious consequences,” U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said in a prepared statement. “Maintaining the sanctity of the U.S. election system is one of the most important responsibilities of federal law enforcement.

“My office will remain vigilant in carrying out this mission and, to that end, will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who seek to undermine our elections,” Escalona continued.

Francisco assumed the identity of an American citizen in 2011 and used it to score a U.S. passport that same year, which enabled her to travel to and from her home country of Guatemala, according to the DOJ. Using this same false identity, she registered to vote in Alabama in 2016 and voted in the primary and general elections in 2016 and 2020.

The illegal migrant pleaded guilty to two counts of false claims of citizenship in connection to voting, one count of aggravated identity theft, five counts of use of a United States passport obtained by false statements and one count of false statements in application for a United States passport, according to the DOJ.

The sentencing showcases how noncitizens, and illegal migrants in particular, are capable of participating in U.S. elections, despite objections from liberal groups.

The Biden administration in October successfully blocked the Alabama Secretary of State from implementing a program meant to remove noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls. Earlier that month, America First Legal sued Arizona for withholding the names of around 200,000 registered voters in the state who allegedly did not provide proof of citizenship.

Just days before the 2024 presidential election, state officials in Michigan charged a Chinese national for allegedly voting in the election.

A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not able to provide further details about Francisco to the Daily Caller News Foundation by the time of publication for this article.

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s Border Czar Has Plan For ‘Super’ Sanctuary County Wanting To Shield Its Criminal Migrants From ICE

December 26, 2024/in Child Sex Trafficking, Courts & Law, Criminal Illegal Aliens, Hot Topics, Immigration, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Social Issues/by The Daily Caller

Tom Homan, the incoming border czar for the Trump administration, has a plan to deal with a major jurisdiction that recently doubled down on a statewide sanctuary law.

The Democrat-controlled San Diego County Board of Supervisors in December voted to expand a California sanctuary policy that already limited local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The county-wide ordinance further restricts law enforcement from notifying ICE agents about a foreign national in their custody, even if they have committed severe crimes such as rape, child abuse, burglary or gang violence.

Homan, who has been tasked with fulfilling President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass apprehensions and deportations of illegal migrants across the United States, blasted the lawmakers involved with the vote and said they can simply expect more ICE agents in their neighborhoods as a result.

“Rather than arresting an illegal alien criminal in the safety and security of a county jail where we know he doesn’t have weapons, they’re forcing ICE officers into the streets, into neighborhoods to find these people,” Homan said to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s ridiculous.”

“[Sanctuary laws] make it more difficult, but it doesn’t mean we’re not going to do it,” Homan said. “It just means we’ll have more agents in San Diego because rather than one guy arresting a guy in a jail — we have to send a whole team to safely arrest a guy, so they can expect a lot more agents in that jurisdiction.”

In her proposal for the policy change, Democrat Supervisor Nora Vargas referred to the provision within California law that made exceptions for foreign nationals with serious criminal histories as a “loophole” that “fell short of protecting all residents.” The proposal passed by a vote of 3-1, with GOP Supervisor Jim Desmond being the lone vote against it.

The resolution calls on San Diego County to no longer allow ICE agents use of county facilities for any purposes, no longer respond to ICE inquiries, or otherwise assist in any civil immigration enforcement matter.

In a scathing public statement after its passage, Desmond referred to the policy as a “super” sanctuary law that serves to protect illegal migrant criminals.

“This reckless measure not only goes far beyond California’s already extreme Sanctuary State laws but actively endangers our communities by shielding illegal immigrant criminals from deportation. Consider this: under this policy, law enforcement is prohibited from notifying ICE about individuals, in custody, who have committed violent and heinous crimes, including: Rape and stalking, Assault and battery, Burglary, Child abuse and more,” Desmond said in a statement provided to the DCNF earlier in December.

During an interview in December, former Democrat California Gov. Jerry Brown — who signed SB 54 into law in 2017, which prohibits some cooperation between ICE and local authorities — said he believes some cities across the state have now gone “way, way beyond” what he put on the books, and noted that his statewide policy made exceptions for migrants convicted of violent crimes.

The vote in San Diego County was just one of several moves by Democrat-controlled jurisdictions to tighten sanctuary policy in the wake of Trump’s election victory. Lawmakers in Los Angeles, Boston, Arlington County, Virginia and elsewhere have all voted to either make their sanctuary laws official or reaffirm what laws they already had in the books, and other Democrat mayors have voiced public opposition to Trump’s pledges of a hardline immigration enforcement agenda.

These efforts to refuse cooperation could prove to be problematic for the Trump administration’s plans for mass enforcement actions. The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for stricter immigration laws, estimates that are nearly eight million illegal migrants currently live within sanctuary jurisdictions.

Homan expressed confusion at politicians who wouldn’t rather have heinous criminals handed over to ICE, rendering them a threat no longer to their constituents.

“I’ve been clear and President Trump’s been clear, we’re going to concentrate on public safety threats right out of the gate,” Homan said to the DCNF. “What elected official doesn’t want public safety threats removed from their community?”

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

‘Common Sense’: GOP Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto Of Anti-Sanctuary Bill In Swing State

November 23, 2024/in Child Sex Trafficking, Communism, Courts & Law, Criminal Illegal Aliens, Drug Abuse, Elections, Hot Topics, Immigration, Marxism, Must Read, National Security, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Socialism, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

North Carolina lawmakers overwhelmingly voted for legislation that will require law enforcement across the state to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The GOP-dominated state legislature on Wednesday completed its override of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto against HB 10, a bill that effectively bans sanctuary city policies across the state. The new law requires sheriffs to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers on non-citizens that have been arrested for serious crimes and are suspected of living in the country unlawfully.

“The bill itself is purely common sense,” Senate leader Phil Berger said after the upper chamber voted for the override in a 30-19 vote, according to ABC11. “I question why anyone in law enforcement — these elected sheriffs — would deny a community the safety that is allowed by taking the process in this way.”

The bill specifically mandates law enforcement to hold onto a non-citizen who is subject to an ICE detainer for 48 hours, according to the text of the legislation. It will officially go into effect on Dec. 1.

The wide-ranging legislation also pertains to school vouchers, something that Cooper largely focused on when his office published his veto message in September. However, the Democrat governor has also been opposed to anti-sanctuary legislation in the past, and he reiterated this opposition when asked about his veto of HB 10.

“I’ve vetoed the sheriff’s [portion of the bill] a number of times. Obviously, I’m still opposed to that,” Cooper said during a press conference about the veto, according to ABC11.

While there are some localities in the state that do not honor ICE detainer requests, such as in Wake and Mecklenburg Counties, law enforcement officials appear largely supportive of the bill. The North Carolina Sheriff’s Association came out in support of the legislation earlier this year.

Other GOP lawmakers pointed out that the new law will not affect non-citizens who have been stopped by police for minor offenses.

“This would not impact folks who are stopped for minor traffic offenses, this is not something those people would be facing deportation over,” Senator Danny Britt stated days before the veto was overridden, according to Queen City News.

The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.,-based organization that advocates for stricter immigration enforcement laws, has labeled at least nine different counties in the state as sanctuary havens for illegal migrants, citing various policies that restrict cooperation with ICE agents. The new law will force sheriffs in these counties and across the state to adhere to ICE detainers moving forward.

AUTHOR

Jason Hopkins

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

America’s Border Crisis Could Get A Whole Lot Worse Under Kamala Harris, Experts Say

July 24, 2024/in Elections, Hot Topics, Immigration, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

The border crisis could reach new heights or largely remain unchanged if Vice President Kamala Harris ends up winning the presidential election in 2024, border hawks warn.

President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race Sunday and immediately endorsed Harris, making her the leading contender to snag the party’s delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. Her past voting record in the Senate, comments she’s made about federal immigration authorities and recent actions taken in the White House all signal a sharp pivot left if she were to win election.

“I would say more of the same or potentially even worse,” Eric Ruark, research director for NumbersUSA, a group that works toward limiting illegal immigration into the U.S., said in a conversation with the Daily Caller News Foundation about possible border policy changes if Harris were to replace Biden at the Oval Office. “Biden had a history of being at least rhetorically against illegal immigration.”

“Harris has yet to come out and say, ‘it’s a crime and we need to enforce the law,” Ruark continued. “Clearly she was tasked with addressing the border crisis by President Biden, and her approach was basically to say, ‘don’t come.’ That was the extent of her policy approach.”

NumbersUSA publishes “report cards” on every single lawmaker in Congress, evaluating how they performed on immigration and other border security issues. During her short time in the Senate before leaving for the White House, Harris earned an F- rating, the lowest possible score offered by the group.

The then-Senator earned failing grades for votes on a host of immigration-related issues, such as border security, interior enforcement, refugee management and amnesty, according to NumbersUSA.

NumbersUSA highlighted her 2019 co-sponsorship of the RAIDER Act, which would’ve blocked then-President Donald Trump’s construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and her 2019 co-sponsorship of the FACE Act, which would’ve made it more difficult for Trump to continue border wall construction. The group also graded her vote against the Secure and Protect Act which, they argue, would’ve positively reformed the Flores Settlement.

Other border hawks expressed trepidation over Harris’ enforcement record.

“Kamala Harris wasn’t just Biden’s Border Czar, she was his Abolish ICE Director — directing the agency in charge of enforcing our immigration laws to willfully violate them,” RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), told the DCNF. “Now that Biden is out of the picture, she is sure to return to some of the most insane anti-enforcement positions that we’ve ever seen from an elected official.”

As illegal border crossings quickly climbed early in the administration’s tenure, Biden tapped Kamala to lead an effort to address the root causes of unlawful migration from Central America, a position many described as “border czar.” However, Border Patrol encounters at the southern border went on to reach recording-setting levels since her appointment, according to the latest Customs and Border Protection data.

Enforcement experts have noted that the root causes of illegal immigration still remain unaddressed and lawmakers in Congress have sought to hold Harris specifically responsible for the ongoing border crisis. Harris was also heavily criticized for taking so long to finally visit the southern border.

“The choice in November will now be even more clear — mass deportation or mass release of illegal aliens and violent criminals into American communities,” Hauman continued.

Harris compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan during a November 2018 Senate confirmation hearing, asking Ron Vitiello, a nominee to lead the agency at the time, if he knew there was a “perception” among Latino immigrants that ICE agents operate like Klan members. Then-Senator Harris had also suggested during a June 2018 media interview that ICE should essentially be abolished and rebuilt again “from scratch.”

Upon election to the White House, the Biden-Harris administration oversaw a monumental overhaul of the policies established by President Donald Trump that beefed up border and interior enforcement, undertaking 89 executive actions that specifically reversed or began the process of reversing Trump’s immigration policies, according to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute.

The White House immediately halted construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, shuttered the Remain in Mexico program that had largely eliminated asylum fraud by keeping asylum seekers in Mexico while their cases were adjudicated in the court system, and they attempted to enforce a 100-day moratorium on all deportations.

If Trump were to be successful in his re-election bid, Ruark said the Republican would need to do more than offer criticisms of Harris, but also put forward a policy platform on how his administration would hit the ground running on day one to “undo the damage” the Biden administration has done on border security.

In his Republican National Convention speech last week, Trump promised the “largest deportation operation” in the country’s history, finishing construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and other hardline approaches to border security.

One local border leader noted the incredible burden the current border crisis has placed on the district he represents.

“Under Biden with the open border, we had over 150,000 people dropped in the streets here in San Diego County from a period of about eight or nine months,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said Monday to the DCNF.

“It put pressure on our law enforcement, put pressure on our hospitals and shelters, and we bore all the burden of these people just freely and willingly able to cross the border,” Desmond continued, noting that it was Harris who was placed into a leadership position by the Biden administration to address the crisis. “She has failed us on the border.”

Desmond noted that the border crisis isn’t a “red or blue” issue, but something that’s been affecting everyone in his district, particularly those with homes near the border who’ve had to deal with a constant flow of asylum seekers passing through their property.

Since Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Harris, a growing number of Democratic leaders have gotten in line behind the vice president’s fledgling candidacy, establishing her as the presumptive nominee before the DNC convenes on Aug. 19 in Chicago.

“What we’ve seen from her career in the Senate and the public statements she’s made, it would only get worse,” Ruark said of the border situation. “As bad as things are, they can get worse, and that’s something we should all realize.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

AUTHOR

JASON HOPKINS

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

ICE Nabs Convicted Sex Offender And Illegal Immigrant Roaming Free In ‘Sanctuary County’

July 13, 2024/in Courts & Law, Culture War, Elections, Hot Topics, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

RIVERDALE PARK, Maryland — Deportation officers apprehended a registered sex offender living illegally in a “sanctuary” jurisdiction after he was convicted of false imprisonment and sex crimes, the Daily Caller News Foundation exclusively witnessed.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended 21-year-old Honduran national Darwin Adonai Garcia-Garcia in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 11. Garcia-Garcia’s apprehension came roughly two months after a local Maryland court chose to suspend virtually all of his 30-year prison sentence relating to his conviction for sex offenses and false imprisonment of a child, according to ICE. Authorities had previously charged him with kidnapping, abducting a child under 12, abducting a child under 16, assault in the second degree and a fourth-degree sex offense.

The DCNF was on scene to witness the apprehension, which took place around 6 a.m. outside his residence in Riverdale Park, Maryland. Numerous ICE agents staked out Garcia-Garcia’s apartment complex and waited for him to exit the building, which he eventually did, allowing agents to make an arrest outside in the apartment parking lot.

He did not appear to know any English, as deportation officers communicated with him solely in Spanish during the apprehension.

Border Patrol arrested Garcia-Garcia on December 4, 2018 after he illegally crossed into the U.S. near San Luis, Arizona, the agency told the DCNF. Border Patrol served the Honduran national with a notice to appear before an immigration judge and, the next day, he was transferred into ICE custody and subsequently released into the U.S.

Several years later, Garcia-Garcia was targeted by local law enforcement for his alleged abduction and sexual assault of a minor, according to ICE. He was arrested by Prince George’s County, Maryland Police on Jan. 4 and charged with kidnapping, abducting a child under 12, second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sexual offense.

The Circuit Court for Prince George’s County in Upper Marlboro, Maryland convicted him of a fourth-degree sex offense and false imprisonment on May 13, sentencing him to three decades in prison, according to ICE. However, the court subsequently suspended all but 229 days of prison sentence, allowing him to roam free in the country again.

ICE Baltimore became familiar with Garcia-Garcia’s daily activities and knew roughly when he’d be leaving his residence in Prince George’s County. The DCNF accompanied deportation officers as they staked out his residence Thursday morning and nabbed him as he was presumably on his way to work.

The apprehension took place without incident, with no apparent signs of him resisting arrest or attempting to flee the deportation officers. Garcia-Garcia remains in Enforcement and Removal custody, where he will presumably remain pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.

He is currently listed as a sex offender, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Baltimore deportation officers told the DCNF that they prioritize the apprehension of dangerous illegal migrants who pose serious risks to the local community, and they are seeking to increase their number of sex offender apprehensions.

It’s not entirely clear why the circuit court in Prince George’s County chose to suspend nearly all of Garcia-Garcia’s entire 30-year prison sentence, despite the severity of his convictions. The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF about the case.

Prince George’s County is listed as a “sanctuary” jurisdiction by the Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that seeks stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration law.

In the past, ICE has publicly criticized Prince George’s County specifically for local non-cooperation policies that, they say, protect criminal illegal migrants.

“The county leadership has chosen misguided politics over public safety,” the Baltimore field office director said at the time. “We aren’t asking Montgomery County or Prince George’s County to conduct immigration enforcement, we’re asking them to honor a lawful request to transfer these individuals into our custody where they can avail themselves of due process in the immigration court system.”

A spokesperson for Prince George’s County did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

AUTHOR

JASON HOPKINS

Immigration reporter.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

‘Fool The American People’: Biden’s Immigration Order Has More Holes Than The Border, Experts Say

June 5, 2024/in Courts & Law, Culture War, Elections, Featured, Healthcare, Immigration, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

President Joe Biden was met with a wave of criticism from both the left and the right after announcing Tuesday an executive order that aims to clamp down on illegal immigration at the southern border.

In an announcement at the White House, Biden unveiled an executive order that aims to control the daily illegal crossings taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border. The presidential proclamation, which is expected to go into effect on Wednesday, follows 6 million southern border encounters during his presidency.

The order will temporarily suspend the entry of foreign nationals across the U.S.-Mexico border once the number of average border encounters exceeds 2,500 a day over a week time period, according to the White House. This will stay in effect until two weeks after there has been a seven-day average of fewer than 1,500 encounters along the southern border.

The order — which largely draws its authority under 212(f) and 215(a) from the Immigration and Nationality Act — will make it easier for Border Patrol agents and other Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to quickly remove foreign nationals who have no legal basis to remain in the country.

However, the announcement was met with near universal criticism from immigration hawks who argued it would fail to properly address the crisis and immigration advocates who argued the order is dangerous for asylum seekers.

“This executive order is nothing more than [Biden] trying to fool the American people and hide the results of his disastrous immigration policies,” Joe Chester, communications manager for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Chester noted that the executive action still allows 1.8 million illegal crossings annually, provides exemptions to illegal immigrants crossing at ports of entry using the CBP One app, and does not apply to parolees or unaccompanied minors, among other “loopholes” that will allow exemptions for migrants.

“This executive order is nothing more than ‘smoke and mirrors’ to create Democrat talking points for the election on immigration and border enforcement,” John Fabbricatore, a retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office director, said to the DCNF following the announcement. Fabbricorte argued the Biden administration could’ve issued such an executive order months ago “if this had been a serious effort,” but is doing so now because his polling is down.

James Massa, the CEO of NumbersUSA, also took umbrage with the “blanket waivers” allowed under the executive order, making mention of the fact that any alien who uses the CBP One app is excluded from its restrictions.

In addition to those who seek entry to the U.S. via ports of entry using the CBP One app and unaccompanied minors, those exempted from the executive order are victims of a “severe form” of trafficking and those who face immediate medical emergencies or imminent threats to their safety, according to the White House.

The proclamation is vaguely similar to legislation introduced by Oklahoma GOP Sen. James Lankford earlier this year. However, that bill was quickly shot down by Republicans in the House.

“This executive order does three things, none of which include securing the border,” Lora Ries, border and immigration director for the Heritage Foundation, said to the DCNF. “It: (1) allows Biden to claim he ‘did something’ regarding the border; (2) allows Biden to try to blame Congressional Republicans for legislative inaction (never mind that the House did its job by passing H.R. 2); and (3) whistles to the Administration’s ally leftist groups to sue the executive branch to halt implementation of this exception-riddled order.”

“Right on cue, the ACLU has already stated it will sue,” Ries continued. “I’d bet the Biden Admin gave advanced copies to these groups.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — a liberal advocacy organization that became an ardent courtroom foe of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda — did make an immediate announcement on Tuesday, declaring that they would be suing the Biden White House to stop the order.

“We intend to challenge this order in court. It was illegal when Trump did it, and it is no less illegal now,” Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a Tuesday statement.

Other pro-migrant organizations were also unenthusiastic in their reaction. The American Immigration Lawyers Association, while not overtly critical in their statement, stressed the importance of providing a “fair and efficient process” for asylum applicants who arrive at the southern border, in a Tuesday announcement.

Between courtroom challenges and other factors, it’s yet to be seen how long this executive order will last. Tom Homan, who led ICE during the Trump administration, said he expects the order to go away as soon as the election is over.

“It’s terrible — it does nothing to stop catch and release, and it does nothing to stop child trafficking,” Homan said to the DCNF. “The most disgusting part of the whole thing is that it’s temporary and if [Biden] wins re-election, this thing will go away on day one. This is nothing but a political stunt to get him re-elected.”

The southern border crisis has raged on, proving to be a headache for the administration. Recent polls indicates illegal immigration is now a top concern for Americans and most voters believe former President Donald Trump would better handle the issue than the current occupant of the White House.

However, not everyone had critical reaction to the Tuesday announcement. The Migration Policy Institute, an organization focused on unbiased analysis of migration issues, said the order would likely have an effect on encounter numbers, at least in the short term.

“This executive order will make it harder to access asylum,” MPI spokeswoman Michelle Mittelstadt said to the DCNF. “Fewer people will pass credible fear interviews with the higher standards. This could also have a deterrence effect in the short term.”

“That said, the reality is that until Congress fully funds all elements of the border management enterprise – including the immigration courts and asylum processing functions at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as ICE removal capacity – any administration is going to face very significant challenges at the border given the vast diversification of nationalities and the changed characteristics of arriving migrants,” Mittelstadt said.

The Biden administration did make a concerted effort to show that his proclamation wields some measure of support. This was demonstrated in the slate of border mayors who attended his Tuesday announcement.

Additionally, even mayors who were not at the event expressed support for the move.

“My office did not receive an invitation to the ceremony,” Sunland Park, Arizona Mayor Javier Perea said to the DCNF on Tuesday. “Regardless, I am glad someone is taking action to address the issue.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

AUTHOR

JASON HOPKINS

Contributor.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Illegal Immigrant ‘Serial Masturbator’ Finally Snagged By ICE After Numerous Arrests

May 23, 2024/in Courts & Law, Culture War, Elections, Hot Topics, Immigration/by The Daily Caller

An illegal immigrant who has been repeatedly arrested for public lewdness over the last two decades was apprehended by federal immigration authorities earlier this month, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a press release earlier this month on their apprehension of a foreign national repeatedly convicted for “open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior” in the Boston area. Through court records, local news reports and social media posts, the DCNF identified the man as Lucio Tomar, a Cape Verde national living illegally in the U.S.

Deportation officers apprehended Tomar on April 24, ICE announced in the press release, with an agency spokesperson describing the individual as a “public safety threat to communities” for his litany of convictions for lewd conduct. However, the agency did not identify him by name — a practice that has become much more common under the Biden administration.

ICE revealed that the individual was legally admitted into the U.S. in September 2003 by Customs and Border Protection, but he has since been convicted for lewd offenses and indecent exposure in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2022. Under Massachusetts law, committing lewd acts includes public masturbation, and federal officials confirmed that he has been convicted of lewd acts over the past twenty years.

It was his 2022 conviction, ICE says, that nullified his legal immigration status, making him an illegal immigrant. However, he was never removed from the U.S. and was arrested again by local police in 2023 for allegedly committing more lewd acts before federal immigration authorities finally apprehended him.

After the DCNF reached out to ICE, the agency confirmed Tomar’s identity.

“Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested Lucio Tomar, a 39-year-old national of Cape Verde, with ten convictions of exposing himself and committing lewd acts spanning two decades,” and agency spokesperson said. “He will remain in ICE ERO custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings.”

The DCNF identified Tomar by reviewing Boston Municipal Court records and the Massachusetts sex offender registry.

A law enforcement official familiar with Tomar’s history in Boston referred to him as a “serial masturbator” when speaking to the DCNF.

Tomar is classified as a level 3 sex offender — the highest level in the state, meaning he is at major risk of reoffending and a danger to the public, according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. The registry board shows Tomar was convicted of “open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior” in 2009, 2010, 2015, 2021 and 2022.

The ICE press release said Tomar’s conviction in 2022 in the West Roxbury District Court finally nullified his legal immigration status. However, this change to his legal status — or the fact that it was at least his ninth conviction — did not stop him from getting into further legal altercations.

A Boston woman was waiting for her Uber on the morning of October 6, 2023 when she noticed a BMW pulled up in front of her, according to local reports. Tomar, the individual allegedly driving the vehicle, was then seen with his penis “fully exposed.”

The woman’s son called the police and reportedly smashed Tomar’s car window with a hammer, prompting him to flee the scene.

Just three days later, Boston police responded to a call about a man in a black hooded sweatshirt “pleasuring himself” in the area, according to Boston.com.

Police reportedly stopped Tomar shortly afterward, finding him in a black hooded sweatshirt and a shattered car windshield.

“While no one may have been physically hurt in this incident, that by no means diminishes the disturbing and lasting impact it had for the victim,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said at the time. “This individual’s chronic lewd behavior has inflicted intolerable emotional trauma across many neighborhoods. His continued actions endanger the community and himself.”

Local prosecutors noted that Tomar has been involved in other offenses, such as larceny, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct and failure to register as a sex offender. However, publicly available documentation indicates his most frequent crime is open, lewd conduct.

In another instance, Tomar was arrested and charged for open and gross lewdness after allegedly whipping his penis out in plain sight of cops.

Officers assigned to the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston on Nov. 19, 2019 on an unrelated matter allegedly observed Tomar expose himself and “commit a lewd act” roughly seven yards away from them, according to a press release by the Boston Police Department. He may not have known he was exposing his genitals to police at the moment, as they were in an unmarked vehicle and dressed in plain clothes.

It’s not entirely clear why Tomar was continually released from prison after being convicted of sexual offenses so many times. The charge of open and gross lewdness in Massachusetts carries a maximum of 2.5 years in the House of Correction or three years in state prison if indicted as a repeat offender, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office told the DCNF.

A spokesman for the district attorney said their office regularly sought tough sentencing for Tomar in the past, but it isn’t always easy.

“Our prosecutors have often sought strong sentences for Tomar and the courts have sometimes agreed, sometimes not, since the crime does not involve actual violence against a person. But it is still traumatic for anyone subjected to it,” said James Borghesani, chief of communications for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Local law enforcement in the Boston area have been admonished by federal immigration authorities in the past for not cooperating with deportation officers. The City of Boston and the state of Massachusetts are both listed as “sanctuary” jurisdictions by the Center for Immigration Studies, citing a city ordinance and a court case, respectively, that restricts local authorities’ ability to honor ICE detainer requests.

Immigration enforcement advocates have long argued that these types of sanctuary laws make it harder for ICE to remove criminal aliens from the community.

The Boston Police Department declined a records request from the DCNF, citing a state law that forbids the sharing of documents relating to some sexual crimes. The Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office also declined records requests by the DCNF.

Tomar could not be reached for comment.

AUTHOR

JASON HOPKINS

Contributor.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tag Archive for: Immigration and Customs Enforcement