IMMIGR 5 OPEN BORDER

ESTB 3 24

note immigr 5 dominant thus support = good ppl}:

SEE BIG LIE GOP STEAL ELECTION EMERG XO

SEE MASS DEPORTATION BLACKMAIL COLUMBIA W TARIFF

SEE ICE 3 RENEE GOOD

see violent crime migrant crime BS

SEE RACISM WHITE GREIVANCE blood poison SA APARTHEID 5 25

SEE GT REPLACEMENT

swim pool

SEE POPE LEO CARDS

see eat pet haiti 9 24

see illegal undoc voter BS bartiromo

see waste fraud BS big ugly bill cut snap medicare just for undoc

see border BS

note big issue 2024

see fox hype fear CRM

see xenophobia caravan

census BS reboot 8 25

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RWW 10 26

Finally, Mark Meckler says that if foreign nations won't take back their own citizens who are being deported from the United States, we should "fly over and kick them out of the airplanes with parachutes on."

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MMA 9 26 JRNL FAIL?

Only 3 of 113 Fox News segments about ICE actions mentioned that the majority of immigrants being arrested have no criminal record

-=-=-=

MMA 9 26

September 5, 2026, edition of Real America's Voice On the Line

OSCAR RAMIREZ (HOST): Today we have to understand that the midterm elections are coming. These elections are very important, because if the Senate — it is very difficult for the Democrats to win the Senate — but the House, if won by the Democrats, there will be a big problem there, and they will want to impeach the president, put him on trial, and remove him from power, and it will be a copy-paste of what happened in 2016 and 2020. The same thing happened.

When the Democrats were in power and impeached President Trump, the massive caravans began to arise. I posted a video of a caravan, and many ignorant people, the majority of them socialist Democrats, started to say “the Republicans are creating caravans.” For the love of God. Under the Biden administration I walked with ten caravans to the southern border. Under the Biden administration I crossed the jungle four times with hundreds of thousands of migrants. The policies of the Democrats are for open borders in accordance with the Global Compact for Migration. Who creates the caravans? The same international organizations, the UN, the IOM, the UNHCR, the NGOs with their progressive activists in the U.S. paid to come and agitate and create these movements on a continental scale. It’s unbelievable.

RAV Noticias guest calls for primary challenges against Republicans who vote against SAVE Act

08/10/26 4:38 PM EDT

John Solomon says Bill Pulte as DNI will be a “pretty impressive figure” if “you're for accountability”

06/03/26 10:42 AM EDT

Right-wing media's immigration wish list: Kill the bipartisan Dignity Act, more mass deportations, and fewer paths for legal immigration

04/24/26

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MMA

Right-wing media repeated Trump administration claims that over 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote — now that “inflated” number is falling apart

Right-wing media personalities used unsubstantiated figures from DHS to push for the SAVE America Act and to cast further doubt on election security

Written by Hanne MacDonald & Reed McMaster

Research contributions from Jack Wheatley

Published 08/27/26

Right-wing media ran with unsubstantiated claims from the Trump administration that the Department of Homeland Security found hundreds of thousands of noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections, often using the figures to cast doubt on state election systems and to push for voting restrictions like the SAVE America Act. However, new reporting shows the administration’s numbers are falling apart.

The Trump administration promoted “inflated” DHS claims that hundreds of thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote

In a July 16 primetime speech, President Donald Trump claimed DHS had “identified approximately 278,000 noncitizens who are registered to vote in federal elections.” Afterward, FactCheck.org reported “the White House linked to a DHS document claiming that a ‘review’ of ‘public data files’ in four states — California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada — found over 250,000 noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The document provided no information about how that estimate was derived, or the methodology used.” At a July 17 press conference, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin repeated the 250,000 figure and “said an additional 28,000 noncitizens were registered to vote” in at least 23 other states. But recent reporting undermines the counts the administration provided.
On August 20, The New York Times reported, “The Department of Homeland Security told Nevada election officials that it identified 185 ‘potential’ noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls, not the nearly 16,000 it claimed last month.” The paper explained that “during a meeting last week with state election administrators, Homeland Security officials said they had identified just 185 potential noncitizens in the state so far, according to emails as well as recordings of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.”
The federal officials said they were still considering 14,000 names for further review, according to one of the emails. In the virtual meeting, federal officials told Nevada that the nearly 16,000 they had originally identified represented “the ceiling” of potential noncitizens.

NPR added on to the Times’ reporting on the Nevada call with an August 25 article headlined “DHS acknowledges the noncitizen numbers it touted on voter rolls were inflated.”

NPR has confirmed that officials in Pennsylvania had a similar call with DHS after Trump's allegations in July, but the state has not received a smaller list of potential noncitizens from the federal government.
“It was clear that DHS did not have confidence that the numbers they have stated publicly were accurate,” said an official with knowledge of the meeting in Pennsylvania, who did not have permission to speak publicly. Should DHS provide credible proof, the official said the state would notify law enforcement and work to remove unlawful voters from the voter list.
In response to questions from NPR, DHS provided a statement but did not address why the agency touted numbers its own employees acknowledged were inflated.
…
California, another state mentioned in Trump's announcement, echoed that concern in a statement to NPR.
“The real threat is that eligible voters—your friends, family, and neighbors—are recklessly and mistakenly removed from the voter rolls as a result of the administration's fishing expedition for purported non-citizens,” the statement reads. The state said DHS has not provided a response to its questions about the allegations.

Right-wing media figures amplified the Trump administration's unsubstantiated claims, frequently pushing for the SAVE America Act and fearmongering about noncitizen voting

- On his radio show, Fox host Sean Hannity said Trump's claim that there are “250,000 illegals registered to vote in this country” should “shock every American.” Hannity went on to claim that there could “only be nefarious reasons” why Democrats are opposing election “integrity measures” like the SAVE America Act. In a later episode, Hannity repeated the claim, arguing he does not know why “anybody would ever be against” voter ID mandates. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 7/17/26, 7/20/26]

- Podcaster and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon promoted the claim that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote before asking, “Where's [former Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory] Bovino when you need him?” He stated, “The 278,000 that are voting. In just four states. There's millions and millions of illegal aliens voting. And Markwayne Mullins, the passive voice. Somebody that's a speechwriter, use the active voice. Stop using the passive voice. It's a passive organization. Where's Bovino when you need him?” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 7/17/26; NBC 5 Chicago, 1/27/26]

- Former FBI deputy director and podcaster Dan Bongino said we “need the SAVE America Act” after playing clips of Markwayne Mullin claiming to have identified “250,000 noncitizens registered to vote.” Bongino asked, “How is this not a story?” and explained that the “goal” of the “media” is “destroying the election system and faith in our republic.” [Silverloch, The Dan Bongino Show, 7/20/26]

- The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro played a clip of Trump claiming there are “278,000 noncitizens registered to vote” before stressing the need for the SAVE Act. After explaining what it means for alleged noncitizens to appear on the voter rolls and noting that “the notion that you have widespread noncitizen voting” has “yet to be substantiated,” Shapiro concluded, “Bottom line is this, though: When the president says that Congress should pass the SAVE Act, obviously that's true. The SAVE Act is significantly more prophylactic than it is corrective." [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 7/17/26]

- OutKick founder Clay Travis argued that we need to “find out how many more tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people are currently on voter rolls that shouldn't be there,” after reiterating Trump's claim that there are 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote “just based on four states.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 7/22/26]

- On The Dan Bongino Show, Scott Presler stated that there are “at least 250,000 noncitizens on the voter rolls alone in Cali, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.” Presler, whom The Washington Post has described as “an online influencer with a following built around the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump,” claimed, “The American people demand proof of citizenship, and we demand photo voter ID in order to secure our elections.” [Silverloch, The Dan Bongino Show, 8/18/26; The Washington Post, 11/3/24]

- Hannity argued the 250,000 number is “probably a real number” because Trump said it. He said, “Now, this is a guess, but I would imagine, you know, if the president says that there was information within our intelligence committee — I'm sorry, within our intelligence community — of 250,000 illegals that are illegally registered to vote, that's probably a real number.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 7/22/26]

- Podcaster Dave Rubin claimed “there's a problem here” after repeating the 250,000 number. He said, “250,000 non-registered people, noncitizens are registered to vote. There's a problem here.” [YouTube, The Rubin Report, 7/20/26]

- Days later, Rubin admitted he didn't “have any more evidence” to understand the discrepancy between numbers provided by the Trump administration and election officials, but asserted that Trump is “probably going to be right about this.” Rubin explained, “Now they're slowly admitting there's something, and Trump's giving more specific numbers. I tend to think, as Donald Trump has been directionally right about basically everything for the last 10 years, he's going to probably be right about this too.” [YouTube, The Rubin Report, 7/22/26; ABC News, 7/22/26]

- Turning Point USA's Andrew Kolvet promoted the numbers from DHS and claimed Democrats “don't care.” Kolvet said, “President Trump did that whole press conference, a primetime address, where we found out there's over a quarter of a million in just a handful of states that are on the voter rolls.” Kolvet claimed Democrats “don't care” and “they say nobody's going to do this. Well, actually, we have proof that people do it.” [Real America's Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 7/23/26]

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rt likes violence, punish them

mma

Nick Fuentes says of migrants arriving at Spanish territory: “I wish we could just drop bombs on those people, man. I wish America would just go in with F-35s and just drop bombs on those people.”

07/31/26

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===

MMA

Nick Fuentes on asylum seekers: “You're not a political asylee, you're just a peasant from a shithole country. You're just an 85 IQ, illiterate peasant from some dump.”

07/29/26

left hook 7 26 gmail

gil

While America celebrated its birthday and the World Cup, Musk spent the past week promoting*Citizen Vigilante*, a neo-Nazi’s wet dream of a movie that is so grotesque in its anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hate that Germany banned it due to fear of inciting riots. Musk remains Trump’s most lucrative donor and, in return, was able to steal our data, punish regulators, and kill hundreds of thousands of people by defunding USAID.

Journalist Gil Duran has been following these racist, Silicon Valley sociopaths for years and has tried his best to warn America of their nihilistic end goal.In his forthcoming book,*Nerd Reich*, he connects the dots and lays out their master plan. He joins The Left Hook to discuss their latest plot against humanity.

RWW 7 26

Zachary Pleat, Kayla Gogarty, Hanne MacDonald & Jack Winstanley @ Media Matters: Right-wing media intensify conspiracy theories about birthright citizenship as a threat to American elections: “A huge national security risk”

The Supreme Court’s affirmation of birthright citizenship renews right-wing media’s accusations of Chinese election interference.

Christopher Matthias @ Talking Points Memo: When You Hear ‘Remigration,’ Know That It Means Ethnic Cleansing

Back in 2018, a 19-year-old neo-Nazi going by the name “ThomasRyan” wrote in a private Discord server that a “vast remigration program” in the United States was the “best outcome we can stand to look at.” There was no mistaking what ThomasRyan meant by “remigration,” a term only he and his ilk were using at the time. It meant the forced removal of non-white people from the U.S., a process ThomasRyan imagined would begin with the U.S. government escorting “willing” non-white people to their “ethnic homelands.” The “unwilling” — that is, immigrants and U.S. citizens who refused to leave the country that is their home — would be rounded up in chains so the government could “dump them” somewhere abroad.

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MMA

Jesse Watters: “They're using migration as a weapon against us”

Watters: “This is demographic destruction”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published 06/30/26

Video

Citation

From the June 30, 2026, edition of Fox News' The Five

JESSE WATTERS (HOST): Alito said we blew it. He said in his dissent, this was one of the most important cases the court's ever seen and we blew it. He and Thomas were basically like yeah, this devalues and degrades U.S. citizenship because it opens it up for anchor babies and for birth tourists. Now, the Chinese communists could take their pregnant wife to Guam, have a baby, fly the baby back to Beijing with a U.S. passport and then that baby, when he's older, can get U.S. welfare, he can vote. Technically, when he's 35, he could become president of the United States. That's the stupidest thing anyone ever thought of. Literally, the guy, the senator who put this out in the 19th century said it shouldn't involve foreigners, aliens, or families of ambassadors.

Everybody agreed at the time. The guy that sponsored it, the guy that initiated it, the architect of this 14th amendment. The AG, the president at the time, Grant, all said, yeah, no foreigners, no visitors. Well, this was also before airplanes. So, no one could imagine enemies of the United States flying here to have babies that 18 years later they could use against us to sway elections, soak up welfare, and then steal our defense technology. Because that's what they do. They steal it. So, I'm annoyed. And they're using migration as a weapon against us. And the court didn't protect us. And the Democrats are in cahoots with this. They like it because they like it for money and power, so obviously, we have to agree with the court's decision. Congress, not going to do anything about it. And I think the DOJ has to ramp up prosecutions of birth tourism fraud and Trump's got to deport even more because this is demographic destruction.

[## JESSE WATTERS SAYS HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS ARE PART OF A PLOT “TO OVERTHROW THE COUNTRY” 06/26/26

JESSE WATTERS (CO-HOST): So the Democrats sued to keep the Haitians here. Now, why are we suing to keep Haitians? Because they make money off Haitians. It grows the welfare state. It helps the nonprofits. The Haitians have babies, they become American citizens. They're cheap labor. That's what this is all about. They want to overthrow the country and we caught them and they're going home. I'm not feeling that bad about it.

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GUTFELD MIS RACHEL

MMA

Nick Fuentes claims “the government is tying our hands” on immigrants and “there’s no shortage of guns and … patriotic men” which can “solve the problem in 24 hours”

06/12/26

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mma

April 16, 2026, edition ofThe Benny Show, streamed on YouTube

BENNY JOHNSON (HOST): You know that our take on Iran has been pragmatic. Not light ourselves on fire. Don't burn your MAGA hats. But I don't like the distraction. It's too far away, and the distraction is, like, burning up political capital that should be spent on lowering prices for America.

The economic numbers are underwater for our side, and they need to be flipped. And you can flip them quick. How do you flip them? Cheap gas. Plow gas directly back down to $2 a gallon, which is where it was. Home prices. You must fix affordable housing in this country. How do you do that? Well, first thing is you deport 20 million criminal aliens. Free up 20 million houses, right? Especially the starter homes, the homes that they occupy. The starter homes get people started with the American dream. Free up those houses, more supply that will reduce the prices.

And then you got to get grocery prices down. How do you fix that? Well, 40% of the groceries are free to the parasitic class. Many of them criminal aliens. Many of them people who need to have their benefits cut, to be quite honest. People who are engaging in welfare and SNAP fraud.

And that was ubiquitous on the old block — I used to live in the ghetto in Washington DC. Everybody would trade their SNAP cards for cash. Ubiquitous — is like literally probably the largest scale fraud in the country is SNAP fraud. And so crack down on that. Make it so that all — like, we're not subsidizing with our groceries, so every time you buy a steak for $22 a pound, you're subsidizing some jackrabbit on SNAP who's buying the same steak for free off the government that you're paying for. Anyway, that's how you reduce — so that you get rid of fraud, I think, and you get rid of dependency on those systems, prices lower.

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AN 1 26

The core basis of the MAGA movement's ideology has effectively been debunked, according to one journalist who has been covering President Donald Trump's crackdown in Minneapolis.

The Atlantic's Adam Serwer claimed earlier this week that "Minnesota proved MAGA wrong" in the wake of the Trump administration's "Operation Metro Surge" this month. In a Wednesday interview, Serwer told the Bulwark's Tim Miller: ""The right has a social theory that multiracial, multi-faith communities cannot be 'cohesive,' that our chaos is the result of the presence of people who are different from us," and then argued that the anti-immigration argument didn't pass muster, pointing to the diverse nature of Minneapolis and the hyper-local network that people of all backgrounds organized in order to protect their neighbors.

Miller prodded Serwer by playing a clip of Vice President JD Vance's interview with the New York Times' Ross Douthat last year, in which Vance asserted that "those who care about what may be called the common good" discount "how destructive to the common good immigration at the levels and at the pace that we've seen over the last few years."

"I really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly," said Vance, who is married to the daughter of Indian immigrants. "And so that's not because I hate the migrants or I'm motivated by grievance. That's because I'm trying to preserve something in my own country. Social solidarity is destroyed by migration."

Serwer said while Vance's argument technically "makes sense on paper" and has a "logical progression to it," it was still "wrong."

"We know it's wrong because we can see in Minneapolis, we can see a group of people who, we can see these communities of people who say, 'you are my neighbor whether you were born in Minneapolis or Mogadishu. You are my neighbor and I'm going to protect you. I'm going to walk your kids to the bus stop because I know you can't go outside. I'm going to bring you food if you need to stay at home. I'm going to help you pay your rent. If I see ICE, I'm going to blow my whistle or I'm going to take out my camera and start filming.'"

"It's a little weird to say that when you consider that a substantial amount of the white population in the United States was segregated into ethnic enclaves where people only spoke their original language for much of the late 19th and early 20th century," he contimued. "And it turned out OK. And what we have here is immigrants are actually assimilating much faster than in that period, like much faster, like second, third generation, they only speak English. So it's just not true."

"What is so moving about the sort of neighborism there is that everybody says it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter what gender you are, it doesn't matter what race you are. It doesn't matter what religion you are. You are my neighbor. I will defend you," Serwer added. "And that is a level of commitment to social cohesion that I have yet to see from anybody in the MAGA coalition who all seem to be about stating these things, not so much as a matter of principles they want to see lived in the world, but as a question of brand-building and political identity, which is, I think what JD Vance is doing."

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AN 1 26

IFrame Content

Conservative Bulwark Editor Jonathan Last argued there are two groups of President Donald Trump's voters: Those who signed on to deport 20 million immigrants regardless of whether they had committed any crime, and those who signed on with Trump’s plan to remove only immigrants who were criminals.

“Because people are stupid, that first group of voters believed that there were 20 million undocumented immigrants who have committed felonies. This is not possible,” said Last. “The total number of people in jail in America today — this includes federal, state, local, and tribal land prisons — is just under 2 million. The number of undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes cannot be 10x the entire prison population of the United States. If it were, then daily life in America would look like Escape from New York.”

“So, some Trump voters were duped owing to their general ignorance and/or innumeracy. But others were not,” added Last. “Others signed up for Trump because of his second promise (the 20 million deportations) and viewed the first promise (about deporting only criminals) as the pap necessary to get the suckers onboard.”

The question Last wants to answer is how many “dupes” voted for Trump vs the avowed racists who simply want Brown people gone. To get his answer, Last reviewed an AP/NORC poll showing consistent 80 percent support for Trump’s immigration policies among Republicans. Then he compared that to a more recent YouGov poll showing 80 percent of Republicans still "approved" of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement even after they shot and killed 37 year-old U.S. citizen Renee Good in footage that reveals no threat to agents.

“It seems pretty clear that, at best, one in five Trump voters were duped. The majority of them are getting exactly what they wanted,” Last said. "Now if Trump were to lose the support of 20 percent of Republican voters — or even 14 percent — it would be meaningful for Republican electoral prospects. Which is nice. The problem is that having 80 percent of Republican voters actively supporting a fascist race war is meaningful for our societal prospects.”

That’s a lot of racists in one party, said Last, but what’s worse is the tally of avowed racists occupying high federal positions, including “Vice President JD Vance, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem," as indicated by a recent Homeland Security post claiming to seek the deportation of "100 million" deportations.

“There are 43 million foreign-born Americans. Most of them are legal immigrants. In order to perform 100 million deportations, DHS would have to round up every immigrant of any status —even naturalized citizens — and then also snatch 57 million American who are citizens by birth and deport them, too,” said Last.

“Want to guess who those other 57 million Americans might be?” Last asked, before sharing a recent U.S. Department of Labor X post ordering Americans “To remember who you are.” Last said this slogan is a dead ringer from Adolf Hitler’s own iconic “One People, One Country, One Leader” post from the 1940s. Couple that with a volley of blonde, blue-eyed propaganda posts from Trump’s Department of Labor, and you’ve got even more insight.

“On the one hand, it feels weird to say that the U.S. government is attempting some low-key ethnic cleansing,” said Last. “On the other hand, the reality is that we have a masked secret police force going door-to-door attempting to kidnap brown people; one government agency publicly daydreaming about deporting 100 million people; and another government agency saying that the ideal worker is a 20-year-old white guy.”

Last said this information mingles horribly with the White House’s obsession with white Americans’ falling fertility rate and it’s constant citation of “Stuff white people like” including false claims that white men who “did extremely well” in high school are not getting invited to college despite white men having a “significant advantage” during the application process.

Read the Bulwark report at this link.

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AN 12 25

After President Donald Trump's bitter diatribe against Somali-Americans — including progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) — he got a vigorous defense from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump described Somali-Americans living in Minnesota as "garbage," calling for them to be deported "back to where they came from." And Leavitt praised his comments as "amazing" and an "epic moment."

Greg Sargent, host of The New Republic's podcast "The Daily Blast," discussed Leavitt's defense of Trump with former U.S. State Department official Vedant Patel in episode posted on December 8.

Sargent, a former Washington Post columnist, argued that Leavitt "went full cult in giving White House sanction to Trump's ugly bigotry."

Sargent told Patel, "White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted to this with obsequious praise, calling it 'epic.' We thought this was a telling moment. The Trump cult has gotten so out of control that his propagandists now go out of their way to deliberately highlight his most racist and disgusting moments and pump those up into moments of heroism and triumph. Meanwhile, almost no Republicans had anything critical to say about any of this. In fact, JD Vance pounded the table in agreement with Trump on Somalis. How far is this madness going to get?"

Sargent got no argument from Patel, who served in the State Department under former President Joe Biden.

Patel told Sargent, "I want to say that I wish I were surprised, but truly, Greg, I mean, this is a playbook out of the president's first administration. I mean, I think you recall that there was a really poignant moment in which President Trump was saying that he didn't want immigrants from a certain fill-in-the-blanks, swear-word types of countries. This is the exact playbook that we've seen before of dividing this country, targeting sort of immigrant communities. It's despicable."

When Sargent told his guest that the "cultishness is off the charts" with Trump's second administration, Patel responded, "I certainly would say so."

Patel continued, "Let's put the policy aside just for a second. Let's put the Somali piece aside for just a moment. I worked in the press office under President Biden. That is not the way you are supposed to be doing media relations. Let's remember that these are spokespeople that should be working. Yes, they work for a president, but really, ultimately, their job is to try to inform the American public, be good arbiters of truth and good engagers with journalists, help answer questions, help inform coverage and stories and TV packages and things of that nature. It is not to be sycophants and just be partisan hacks with a taxpayer dime."

*Listen to the full podcast at this link or read the transcript here.

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mma

GOP efforts to reject dual citizenship come after months of pushing by right-wing media figures

Written by Sophie Lawton

Research contributions from John Knefel

Published 12/05/25

What began as legislation to make political candidates disclose foreign citizenships has spiraled into a new Senate bill eliminating dual citizenships altogether after right-wing podcast hosts — including Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, and Nick Fuentes — have spent months calling for the total end of dual citizenships in the United States.

In March, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced legislation that would require political candidates to disclose dual citizenship in order to seek federal office. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh spoke about the bill on his podcast, saying, “I don't know — why do we allow the concept of a dual citizenship at all?”

During the spring and summer of 2025, various right-wing podcasters repeated similar sentiments about prohibiting dual citizenship in the United States:

On his Uncancelablepodcast in April, extremist host Stew Peterssaid: “Massie introduced this legislation about dual citizenship. … I don’t think it goes far enough. I don't think that just having to disclose that you have dual citizenship is enough. I think you should be illegal. You should be arrested. ... You should be tried before a military tribunal of American citizens. And if you're convicted of high crimes, crimes against humanity or treason that you should be executed.”

Speaking about the New York City mayoral race in June, podcaster Benny Johnson said, “I don't know why this is even remotely controversial. We need to get rid of dual citizenship.”

White nationalist podcaster Nick Fuentes claimed on his show in July: “When the right wing moved to the right and they embraced all my positions, ... they embraced my emphatic rejection of dual allegiance and dual citizenship.”

The late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk argued on his show in August about immigrating to America: “You need to have the proof that you are all in. None of this, like, multiple passport stuff. None of this dual citizenship stuff.”

The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles said in August, “I hate dual citizenship.”

On October 10, Trump ally Laura Loomer hosted Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) on her podcast, asking, “Do you agree with me that it should be illegal for Muslims to hold political office in our country?” He replied that the “solution to a lot of this is to consider whether you should have to be a natural-born citizen in order to be elected to Congress or other certain offices.” She added: “I think that it's an abomination that you should be able to hold office in our country as a lawmaker and be a dual citizen.”

On October 24, Fine introduced legislation to prohibit Americans with foreign citizenships from running for office.

One America News Network’s Dan Ball hosted Fine on October 28 to discuss the legislation, telling his audience: “Putting America first should be of utmost importance for all Americans. … Randy Fine has taken a bold step in making it not only a mission statement, but the law.”

Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon took to his War Roompodcast to promote Fine’s legislation on October 27 and declared, “I'll see you and raise you, Randy. There’s no — should be no dual citizenship in the United States of America.”

The issue of dual citizenship also came up multiple times on Tucker Carlson’s podcast throughout the year:

In early October, while discussing Israel, Carlson asked “why would you allow” dual citizenship and argued that “it shouldn’t be allowed for a single moment."

After Fine’s appearance on Loomer Unleashed and before his introduction of the bill, Carlson also weighed in on the issue, arguing, “You can't have dual citizenship because you can't have dual loyalty."

During Carlson’s controversial October 27 interview, Fuentes said, “In terms of tangible things, I don't think we disagree on any of it, like registering AIPAC and FARA, banning dual citizenship.” Carlson replied, “I think 80% of the public agrees with those things."

In November, Carlson interviewed Ambassador Nikki Haley’s son, Nalin Haley, who said, “We should also not allow dual citizenship because that's the stupidest idea. You’re either American or you’re not.” Carlson responded, “That's totally right."

The newest iteration of the GOP’s efforts is Sen. Bernie Moreno’s (R-OH) bill, introduced on December 1, to eliminate dual citizenship altogether. Bannon, recently embroiled in controversy surrounding his connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, hosted Moreno on War Room to discuss the bill, telling the senator, “It’s fantastic. Great work, sir."

Video

Citation

From the December 2, 2025, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

Knowles also praised Moreno’s new legislation on his December 2 podcast, saying: “We should not have dual citizens. Dual citizenship is absurd.”

And Moreno appeared on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, where host Laura Ingraham praised the bill, stating: “I hope we see legislation moving forward in the Senate on that issue. I think that is a fantastic idea."

Video

Citation

From the December 3, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle

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afghan guy shot 2 nat gd

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mma

### Trump's calls for “remigration,” a form of ethnic cleansing, echo Nick Fuentes' calls to roll back immigration

12/04/25

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November 17, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Frontline with Carl Higbie

CARL HIGBIE (HOST): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issuing a special message to our country on immigration.

First of all, stay in your lane, guys. This is why we separated the church and the state. After all, the church loves not paying taxes. Second, isn't the Vatican literally protected by wall — oh yes, it is. It has walls all the way around it. Big ones at that. Do you want our country to be open up to everyone? I tell you what, lead by example. You tear down your walls. I mean, why not? Matter of fact, how many immigrants are you offering to house in your churches or even your own home? A few have done it, but not in the rectory. Brianna Lyman, election correspondent at The Federalist, and David Medina, founder of Project Libertas. Brianna?

BRIANNA LYMAN (GUEST): You know, Carl, first and foremost, they're not actually upset or concerned with immigration. They're upset about the fact that President Trump's administration took away all their funding that they got under Biden.

Second of all, it's a little disingenuous for these Catholic bishops to come out and talk about humanity. They say nothing when abortion is running rampant in this country. But they're so-called devout Catholics, aren't they? They said nothing when devout Catholic Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi were over here encouraging abortions and Planned Parenthood, but they speak up as soon as their funding gets threatened.

HIGBIE: That's actually an excellent point.

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9 25 govt shutdown scapegoat BS

an 10 25 reporter no ID

President Donald Trump has repeatedly — and falsely — claimed that Democrats want to shut down the federal government in order to obtain $1 trillion for health care for undocumented immigrants, who by law are not allowed to access programs like the Obamacare exchanges, Social Security, or Medicare.

Democrats are “threatening” to shut down the government “unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens,” Trump alleged last week.

He also wrongly claimed Democrats want to “force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”

In a rare moment, a reporter told the President that undocumented immigrants are not eligible for health care, and pressed him on what he meant.

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“They’re not eligible for the healthcare subsidies that Democrats are demanding,” the reporter said. “So can you clarify, what are you talking about when you say, Democrats want to protect their healthcare?”

“So,” Trump responded, seemingly unaware of the law, “when an illegal person comes in, a person who came into our country illegally, therefore, breaking the law, and — look, we all have big hearts, I have a bigger heart than you do — they’re all breaking the law, and they’re coming into our country, and we just, as a country, cannot afford to take care of millions of people who have broken the law coming in.”

“We want them to come into our country, but we want them to come and legally,” he claimed, before going off on a tangent about the border.

“I mean, we had a border that was reckless. We had a border that was a disaster. They were coming in by the millions. I say 25 million people, and you’re saying less, but I say 25 million people came in illegally.”

“And no system can take care of the healthcare of all of those people that came in our lifetime for that,” Trump added, again, apparently unaware that that is not what Democrats are asking for.

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mma

As mass deportation intensifies, right-wing media expand their aim to include American citizens

MAGA volk: Right-wing media personalities are expanding their hostility toward undocumented immigrants and now are targeting naturalized and native-born citizens in an assault on American identity

Written by Jason Campbell

Research contributions from John Whitehouse

Published 08/25/25

Since its inception, the MAGA movement has focused energy on trying to purge the United States of people who do not have legal status in the country. The Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts accelerated this summer after passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, alongside the opening of new migrant detention centers. Now, MAGA media are extending that hostility toward immigrants to take aim at naturalized and native-born citizens in an assault on American identity itself.

This weekend, MAGA personality Jack Posobiec shared a meme asking Americans what kind of “stock” they are, and suggested that new citizens are somehow less “American” than others. Lest anyone doubt his intent, on Monday morning, he shared it again. (“Foundation stock” is a term used for animal breeding, for what it’s worth.)

Citation

Via @JackPosobiec

The notion of certain Americans being less “American” has escalated in right-wing media in recent months.

In July, The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh launched an attack on Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) for proposing legislation, The Dignity Act, to allow certain undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status. During his tirade, Walsh said Salazar is “not American” and should “go back to Cuba” — a startling claim given that Salazar is an American citizen who was born in the United States.

In a follow-up rant, Walsh doubled down on his attacks and argued that citizenship does not give a person equal claim to American identity “as someone who's lived in the country their entire life, who speaks the language, respects the culture, has ancestral ties to the country and its history."

Salazar is not the first U.S. citizen to have their national identity come under assault in recent months. After winning the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City, Zohran Mamdani was attacked across the right-wing media ecosystem. Many of these smears focused on his Islamic faith or his political views, but some targeted his status as a naturalized citizen. Right-wing pundit Jack Posobiec said Mamdani is “not an American,” and the Article III Project’s Will Chamberlain wrote: “Denaturalize and deport Zohran Mamdani."

Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh has received similar attacks. Posobiec also claimed Fateh is “not an American,” while Walsh acknowledged that Fateh “was born in America, but he’s not actually an American."

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has long been a target of right-wing media. In April, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk said Omar has not “assimilated to America” and is instead trying “to infect the United States of America with her radical, anti-American Mohammadism, amongst her extreme leftist beliefs."

On Newsmax, Mercedes Schlapp attacked another common target for right-wing media, saying “I’m thinking that maybe they should deport Rashida Tlaib."

To put a fine point on the issue, there is a demographic thread that unites Salazar, Mamdani, Fateh, Omar, and Tlaib — they are all non-white citizens. As Kirk’s executive producer and co-host, Andrew Kolvet, declared last month: “Just by stats, by history, yeah, [being] white probably helps be an American.” He then called for an “immigration moratorium” in the United States.

While hostility to undocumented immigrants also characterized President Donald Trump’s first administration, the current racially focused rhetoric on the right has been building for years.

In 2022, an 18-year-old gunman killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York. He left behind a 180-page racist manifesto filled with hateful rants about the “great replacement” conspiracy theory — once relegated to the fringe of online discourse — which argues that white people in the U.S. are being intentionally replaced with non-white foreigners. Three years after the Buffalo attack, claiming “the great replacement is real” is no longer a fringe idea; it’s a bedrock talking point in right-wing media.

This mentality is linked with growing suggestions that the United States is not “a nation of immigrants,” as Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy argued in July, but “a nation of settlers.” Some personalities are even attacking the Statue of Liberty; Walsh claimed the famous poem at its base, which offered haven to “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” “in no way represents any kind of core American value."

MAGA attacks on Americans’ identities also extend to religion. Kirk said that Islam is “not compatible with Western civilization” and “fundamentally is at odds with the fiber and the DNA of our existence, of our birthright” under the U.S. Constitution, which “cannot coexist with Islam.” Muslims are dangerous, according to Kirk, plotting to “conquer” the United States “whether by sword” or “having a lot of babies.” And this view seemingly extends into the Trump administration, where Christian nationalist figures fill Trump’s religious liberty commission.

In the MAGA consciousness, America is not a melting pot but a homogenous identity, a MAGA “Volk,” and anyone else’s protections of legal immigration status or even citizenship can be removed at any point. This is why we see growing calls from the right for curtailing dual citizenship and demands to end all immigration into the United States. Kirk recently said that “America was at its peak when we halted immigration for 40 years and we dropped our foreign-born percentage to its lowest level ever. We should be unafraid to do that."

It’s not only immigrants and Muslim Americans who right-wing media are seeking to target. For MAGA, Democrats and the left are also incompatible with American identity. Kirk claimed that Democrats “don’t love the United States of America. They are at war with the American republic. There is no appealing to their higher angels. … There’s only the lower demons of the Democrat Party.” Fox’s Jesse Watters accused Democrats of “straight-up treason” over immigration policy. Laura Ingraham suggested Democrats opposing the Trump administration are trying to start an “armed rebellion,” and Newsmax’s Chris Plante asked, “At what point are they to be declared a terrorist organization?"

Manufacturing the friend-enemy distinction through political rhetoric and then enforcing that divide throughout society is an integral aspect of fascism: Those loyal to the regime are considered friends while those opposed are cast into the outer darkness, treated as enemies of the state, traitors, or parasites on the body politic. By calling into question the citizenship of immigrants, Muslims, and anyone who opposes the MAGA ideology, the right’s assault on American identity under the Trump administration is shaping a chilling new reality for our country.

And the MAGA assault on American identity is not just rhetorical — the angry rants on podcasts and social media platforms today could become White House policy tomorrow. Trump has mused about deporting U.S. citizens found guilty of a crime. Right-wing media have likewise campaigned to denaturalize and deport citizens.

“Not everyone in this country is an American,” said Walsh, “even the ones with legal status."

We’re seeing the end result of that mentality now: MAGA media want the Trump administration to target those with legal status next. Charlie Kirk made that clear, connecting all of these threads when he said, “If you're not an American, that's fine. Go back to your place of origin. … Just go back. Hasta la vista. But we have a culture to protect. We have a country to love. No man can serve two masters. Christ our Lord said that. We have a heritage to preserve."

### The right-wing media campaign to denaturalize and deport American citizens

:{03/26/25

### Fox's Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters on the FBI raid of John Bolton: “Some people say it's retribution. I say, who cares?”

:{08/22/25

### Charlie Kirk says he can’t find “Christ-like compassion” for long-term immigrants who don’t speak English

08/22/25

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an 8 25

Trump is reviving his years-old plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the U.S. census, which legal scholars say is in direct conflict with the Constitution’s requirement to count all persons.

“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024,” Trump wrote Thursday morning. “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The President’s remarks appear to align with his plan to redistrict red states to deliver more GOP-controlled seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority.

Absent court orders, it is extremely rare for a state, outside of the census window, to redistrict with the direct goal of providing more seats to a particular party, and the United States has never conducted a decennial census officially excluding undocumented immigrants.

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The Fourteenth Amendment states that “the whole number of persons in each State” is to be counted.

On Wednesday night, Trump White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller claimed that during the first Trump presidency, Democrats “rigged” the 2020 census by including undocumented immigrants, causing them to gain an extra 20 to 30 seats in the House.

“At every level this country—Illinois, Chicago, New York, Massachusetts—Democrats have gerrymandered the vote beyond recognition to try to maintain their advantage in the House elections,” Miller alleged.

“Democrats rigged the 2020 census by including illegal aliens,” he charged, despite every census in U.S. history, per the U.S. Constitution, having done so.

Independent analysis contradicts Miller’s claim.

“A Pew Research Center analysis found that if unauthorized immigrants were excluded from the 2020 apportionment count, three states could have each lost a congressional seat,” Axios reported.

Watch the video below or at this link.

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AN 8 25

There are nearly 25 million naturalized citizens in the United States, accounting for 7% of the total population. Each and every one of them should be laser-focused on the Trump administration’s plans to denaturalize and deport as many of them as possible.

*This story originally appeared at Truthdig.

Denaturalization is the process by which the federal government revokes the citizenship of persons born outside of the country who became citizens by meeting the standards set by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which include swearing an oath of allegiance to the United States, and demonstrating “good moral character.”

Although denaturalization rates have declined over the past several decades, there is ample historical precedent for the revival President Donald Trump is planning. Between 1906 and 1967 — when the Supreme Court stepped in to tighten the legal requirements — more than 22,000 Americans were denaturalized. Many were left-wing activists who were singled out during the two Red Scares of the 20^th century. A common method to denaturalize them was to accuse them of fraud in taking their oaths of allegiance. In 1919, in perhaps the most famous case of all, the government deported Emma Goldman to Russia under the Anarchist Exclusion Act after revoking her naturalized citizenship. In the 1950s, the government tried but failed to denaturalize labor leader Harry Bridges.

On June 11, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote a memorandum that lists denaturalization as one of the Department of Justice’s top legal objectives to further Trump’s political goals. The memo was directed to the DOJ’s Civil Division, the department’s largest litigating component, which represents the United States and its executive agencies, members of Congress, cabinet officers and other federal employees in thousands of legal matters each year. It instructed the division’s attorneys to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence,” focusing on 10 broad categories of enforcement actions:

Cases against individuals who pose a potential danger to national security, including those with a nexus to terrorism, espionage, or the unlawful export from the United States of sensitive goods, technology, or information raising national security concerns;*

Cases against individuals who engaged in torture, war crimes, or other human rights violations;
Cases against individuals who further or furthered the unlawful enterprise of criminal gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and drug cartels;
Cases against individuals who committed felonies that were not disclosed during the naturalization process;
Cases against individuals who committed human trafficking, sex offenses, or violent crimes;

Cases against individuals who engaged in various forms of financial fraud against the United States (including Paycheck Protection Program [“PPP”] loan fraud and Medicaid/Medicare fraud);

Cases against individuals who engaged in fraud against private individuals, funds, or corporations;

Cases against individuals who acquired naturalization through government corruption, fraud, or material misrepresentations, not otherwise addressed by another priority category;

Cases referred by a United States Attorney’s Office or in connection with pending criminal charges, if those charges do not fit within one of the other priorities; and

Any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue.

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The first nine categories are generally consistent with the government’s existing powers, reflecting Trump’s penchant for exploiting the loopholes and weak links in current law whenever feasible. The 10th category, however, is a wildcard that could expand those powers exponentially and lead to a Red Scare encore.

And as dark and dangerous as that possibility sounds, it may be perfectly legal.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to establish a “uniform Rule of Naturalization.” Pursuant to this authority, Congress passed the first naturalization act in 1790, and ratified additional acts well into the late 19^th century. But it was not until the passage of the Naturalization Act of 1906 that Congress federalized naturalization procedures.

The act incorporated earlier race-based legislation that limited naturalization to white people and those with African origins. It also created the Bureau of Immigration Services, the precursor of the present-day U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, which promulgated uniform application forms, and began the process of moving naturalization jurisdiction to the federal courts. (Prior to 1906, immigrants were able to apply for citizenship before any court of record, including state and municipal courts. In 1990, Congress shifted jurisdiction from the federal courts to the executive branch, where it remains to this day, although naturalization ceremonies are still conducted by federal district court judges.)

The Naturalization Act of 1906 was also the first federal law that provided for denaturalization, centered on individuals who had obtained citizenship by fraud, were racially ineligible and lacked “good moral character.” The act was amended on several occasions, most notably in 1952 by the McCarthy-era McCarran-Walter Act, which added provisions for denaturalization based on activities deemed subversive or connected to communist or communist-front organizations.

Today’s denaturalization procedures are set forth in two sections of Title 8 of the U.S. Code. Section 1451 authorizes the Department of Justice to institute civil proceedings, alleging that citizenship was “illegally procured” or obtained “by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.” The section also mandates denaturalization for individuals who refuse to testify before a congressional committee concerning their alleged subversive activities in cases where they have been convicted of contempt for such refusals.

Section 1425 of Title 8 authorizes criminal prosecutions, making it a felony punishable by 25 years in prison to knowingly procure, “contrary to law, the naturalization of any person.” A conviction results in automatic denaturalization.

Once denaturalized under either section, a person returns to their immigration status before becoming a citizen, rendering them vulnerable to deportation.

It’s easy to see why Trump and his advisers have opted to emphasize civil denaturalization proceedings over criminal prosecutions. In civil cases, there is no right to a jury trial or court appointed counsel, and there is no statute of limitations. The standard of proof is also lower. According to the Supreme Court’s precedent decisions, to prevail, the government must present “clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence” that the targeted individual obtained citizenship illegally or willfully misrepresented a material fact during the naturalization process. That is a rigorous test, but one far lower than the “beyond a reasonable” doubt standard for criminal prosecutions.

The first Trump administration attempted to make denaturalization a priority, launching an initiative dubbed “Second Look,” which built upon a similar Obama administration program called “Operation Janus” to identify alleged terrorists and fraudsters who had naturalized. In the end, however, Trump 1.0 filed a mere 102 denaturalization cases, amounting to an annual rate higher than the 16 cases per year filed under Obama, and eclipsing the total of 24 cases filed under Biden, but still miniscule. This time around, Trump 2.0 is pledging to bring the resources of the entire DOJ civil division behind the effort, reviving the specter of mass denaturalization.

The Shumate memo had largely flown under the media’s radar until Trump started talking in early July about deporting former best bro Elon Musk and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and stripping comedian and longtime celebrity nemesis Rosie O’Donnell of her citizenship.

O’Donnell, who is seeking dual citizenship in Ireland, appears safe from Trump’s clutches as she was born in Commack, New York, and enjoys birthright citizenship under the 14^th Amendment. Even Trump’s January executive order attacking birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants would leave her unscathed.

Musk and Mamdani are another story, as both are naturalized citizens. Musk, born in South Africa, naturalized in 2002. Mamdani, born in Uganda to Indian parents, naturalized in 1998. Musk allegedly worked illegally in the U.S. in violation of his student visa after leaving Stanford University in 1995. Mamdani has been accused of posting comments on X quoting rap lyrics suggesting support for Hamas.

Even if Trump’s threats against O’Donnell, Musk and Mamdani are basically performative, thousands of less affluent naturalized citizens will likely be caught up in the coming denaturalization dragnet. Millions more who are not targeted will be intimidated from exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and full political engagement. The net result will be a society less diverse and less free for the vast majority, exactly what Donald Trump and his cohorts want.

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an 7 25

As President Donald Trump ramps up immigration enforcement, targeting immigrants at workplaces and street corners across California, his administration is turning its attention to adult students.

*This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

In a memo earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education said adult students without legal status must be banned from federally funded career technical education classes, English-language programs and high school equivalency courses. Adult schools offer these courses to anyone over 18 years old, including immigrants, and many school leaders say the new policy could lead to enrollment declines. California’s K-12 districts may also need to adapt since they use federal funding to offer numerous career technical education classes that teach skills such as welding and farming.

The new policy poses administrative challenges for these schools, which don’t require students to prove their legal status. Many students, including U.S. citizens, lack the proper verification documents.

“It’s going to perpetuate this atmosphere of fear,” said Randy Tillery, the director of economic mobility for the nonprofit WestEd, which helps collect data on behalf of the state.

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Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state is suing over the new policy.

The U.S. Education Department refused to comment on the new policy. In a press release, the department said it will enforce it starting Aug. 9.

Adult schools ask students to voluntarily share their Social Security numbers, which are only available for those with a legal right to work in the U.S. Of the more than 500,000 adult learners taking classes in California, about 10% voluntarily share their numbers with their schools, Tillery said.

Schools across the state say that they are waiting for more guidance from state and federal agencies before barring students from any classes.

‘What if you don’t return?’

V., a student at Huntington Beach Adult School, has been taking a beginner-level English-language class for the past two years, in-person, Monday through Thursday, for two and a half hours a day. V. agreed to be interviewed on the condition that CalMatters not identify her because she doesn't have legal status and fears deportation.

Her three children, who are U.S. citizens, couldn’t stand the idea of their mom going to school this summer as the threat of immigration raids loomed. “When I grabbed my backpack to go to school, my kids said, ‘Don’t go, mom. What if you don’t return?’” she told CalMatters in Spanish, her voice shaky, on the verge of tears.

Last month, she sent a note to her teacher, saying that, because of “uncontrollable anxiety” she needed to take the class online. “I was, I am and I continue to be terrified to leave (my house),” she said later.

Normally her class has about 40 students, but this summer, it’s down to 24, according to her teacher. The class is livestreamed, and an increasing number of students are opting to take the course online, the teacher said. CalMatters is withholding the teacher’s name to ensure V.’s anonymity.

It was harder to focus while taking online classes, V. said — her kids often interrupted the livestream or something on the computer distracted her. After about two weeks of online school, V. returned to class in person, despite her kids’ fears.

Steve Curiel, the principal, said the school is allowing students without legal status to attend, at least for now, until the education department provides more guidance about its new policy.

For a month now, adult schools have been managing uncertainty over federal policy and funding. Federal funding for adult schools typically comes through on a yearly basis, with the fiscal year beginning July 1, and it provides as much as 30% of a school’s budget. The education department withheld the money for a month, leading California Attorney General Rob Bonta to sue Education Secretary Linda McMahon. On Friday, the department said it would begin releasing the money this week, but the lawsuit is still ongoing, according to Elissa Perez, a spokesperson for Bonta's office.

“We’re feeling optimistic but we’re still holding our breath a little bit because we want to see the actual release of the funds,” said Curiel. He was about to begin making cuts on Friday to contracts at Huntington Adult School but said he will now hold off.

“It’s going to perpetuate this atmosphere of fear.”

Randy Tillery, director of economic development at WestEd

Many states rely entirely on the federal government to fund English-language learning and high school equivalency programs for adults, whereas California has a financial cushion: The state provides over $650 million each year specifically for adult education, representing the bulk of funding for California’s adult schools.

Turning teens away from classes

The education department’s new policy on adults without legal status could also affect high school students. Although much of the federal funding in question supports adults taking English classes and high school equivalency courses, career technical education is part of a separate pot of money, known as Perkins funds, and includes hundreds of high schools across the state. The education department memo says that funding for those programs should be restricted to students who are legal residents or citizens.

An estimated 150,000 children between the ages of 3 and 17 live in California but lack legal status, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The vast majority are enrolled in school.

The U.S. Supreme Court case Plyer v. Doe requires K-12 school districts to provide all students, regardless of their legal status, with “a basic public education,” but in the memo, the U.S. education department said that career technical classes are no longer considered part of a “basic” education. The memo also says that children without legal status are now prohibited from taking college-level courses in high school.

To implement the education department's new policy, public K-12 schools would need to tell certain students that they can’t take specific classes because of their legal status. It would create “an enormous problem for schools,” said Tillery, since schools don’t ask students about their legal status. Public schools would need to gather data about who is a legal resident and who isn’t, he said, which could deter some students from attending school at all.

The U.S. Education Department did not respond to CalMatters’ questions asking how schools should respond or what enforcement might look like. The Los Angeles Unified School District said it was “awaiting further guidance” from the state’s education department, which also declined to comment.

For V., the English classes are about her family more than anything, she said repeatedly. Her daughter is about to be 11 years old and prefers to speak English over Spanish, though she has a speech impediment and struggles to communicate in either language. V. said she wants to be able to speak more English with her daughter, hoping it might help, despite the risks of going to class.

“We’re not living our own lives,” said V. “We’re living for our children.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

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MMA

PIX SCAMNESTY RETURNS

Right-wing media lash out at “The Dignity Act,” a bipartisan immigration bill, and attack its GOP co-sponsor

Written by Helena Hind & Isabella Corrao

Research contributions from Jane Lee

:{Published 07/18/25

On July 15, Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) introduced the bipartisan “Dignity Act of 2025.” The bill aims to grant undocumented immigrants who have been in the country since 2021 up to seven years of legal status.

Right-wing media attacked the bill as “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants, called for Salazar and GOP co-sponsors to be primaried, and in some cases launched attacks on Salazar that focused on her ethnicity and that she spoke Spanish at a public event.

Jump to section

## A Republican lawmaker introduced bipartisan immigration reform legislation
- The Dignity Act of 2025 allows undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. since before 2021 to apply for up to seven years of legal status with work authorizations. Migrants would have to “pay restitution and check in regularly with the Department of Homeland Security.” NBC News, [7/15/25]
- The bipartisan effort is led by Salazar and Escobar. Salazar previously introduced the Dignity Act of 2023, which did not make it to the House floor for a vote. This revived version will “not cost U.S. taxpayers a dime,” instead being fully funded by “restitution payments and application fees made by immigrants.” WLRN, [7/15/25]
- This proposal follows the Trump administration’s ICE raids on farms. By the end of June, Trump had promised to find a method for some migrant workers to stay in the U.S., but his administration continues to target farm workers. NBC News, [7/15/25]
- Legal status granted through the Dignity Act of 2025 would not lead to a pathway for citizenship or give amnesty. Salazar and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) both assert that this bill is “not amnesty.” NBC News, [7/15/25; WLRN, 7/15/25; NBC Miami, 7/15/25]
## Right-wing media attacked the Dignity Act and claimed it is “amnesty”
- Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk: “Congresswoman Elvira Salazar is a snake.” In a rant against the Dignity Act, Kirk also called Rep. Salazar “chief amnesty czar of the US Congress” and “Miss Amnesty.” *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [7/18/25]
- Steve Bannon called the Dignity Act “essentially an amnesty bill for the non-bad hombres that are here.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) responded: “There’s not going to be amnesty.” Real America’s Voice, *War Room*, [7/16/25]
- Fox host Laura Ingraham repeatedly dismissed immigration reform as “nonsense” and claimed the bill represents “a very negative view on the American workforce.” Ingraham: “Any move toward that nonsense will be fought tooth and nail by. not just MAGA, but by millions of people across the country who are sick of those lies, and frankly, it's a very negative view on the American workforce. I completely reject it and it's been defeated about five times. Just ask Marco Rubio how it worked out for him.” A chyron reading, “Amnesty is a terrible idea” aired throughout the segment. Fox News, *The Ingraham Angle*, [7/17/25]
- Daily Wire host Matt Walsh claimed that the bill is “so expansive that it would grant legal status to some of the most dangerous and depraved criminals in the country.” Daily Wire, *The Matt Walsh Show*, [7/17/25]
- Article III Project’s Will Chamberlain wrote, “It is an amnesty bill for illegal aliens and would absolutely blow the door open on legal migration.” Twitter/X, [7/16/25]
- Kirk called the bill a “ruse” and warned it will “grind President Trump’s mass deportations to a halt.” Kirk: “This is worse than ‘soft amnesty.’ This de facto ends the mass deportations Americans just voted for.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- TheBlaze described the bill as an “amnesty plan.” [Twitter/X, 7/17/25]
- Right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich called the bill “a great betrayal.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Turning Point USA contributor Savanah Hernandez attacked undocumented immigrants: “If you broke into the United States of America and are here illegally you deserve NOTHING.” Twitter/X, [7/16/25]
- Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter questioned whether undocumented migrants “deserve dignity.” Schlichter: “What action did they take that earned this from me?” Twitter/X, [7/16/25]
## Right-wing media criticized Salazar and her co-sponsors, calling for them to be primaried
- Chamberlain wrote: “The goal here should be to publicly humiliate Salazar and every one of her co-sponsors. GOP legislators should be terrified of touching anything resembling amnesty going forward.” A follow-up post read: “‘Oh, you proposed an amnesty bill? As a Republican? Guess we're dropping $50 million and a credible primary challenger on your district.’” Twitter/X, [7/17/25; 7/17/25]
- Walsh wrote, “She’s a disgrace, a traitor, and should be run out of office.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Rogan O’Handley, known online as DC Draino, called Salazar “a backstabbing RINO” who “needs to be primaried.” O’Handley wrote, “Not only does she want amnesty for illegal aliens, but her terrible law explicitly forbids the gov’t from using gang databases to determine if an illegal alien is a gang member. What?! This is anarcho tyranny.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Right-wing political operative Ned Ryun posted, “Unreal. She’s gonna get a primary challenger.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- The Blaze’s Auron MacIntyre wrote that Salazar “should be expelled from the party.”MacIntyre: “She tells Trump that God saved him to give illegals amnesty, then compares illegals not getting citizenship to slaver, then says Trump should act like Reagan who turned California blue with amnesty. This is a Democrat, she should be expelled from the party.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Newsmax’s Chris Plante listed the social media handles of some of the GOP co-sponsors “who support the give Kilmar Abrego Garcia U.S. citizenship bill.”Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Right-wing writer Ryan Girdusky seemed to direct his social media followers to call some GOP co-sponsors of the bill, listing their names and office phone numbers. Girdusky wrote: “Several Republicans who are running for re-election in safe Trump districts have co-sponsored Salazar’s amnesty for over 10 million illegal aliens. Here are their names and office numbers.” Twitter/X, [7/16/25]
## Right-wing media launched attacks against Salazar that focused on her ethnicity and that she spoke Spanish
- Walsh claimed Salazar wrote the bill “because she’s Hispanic, and, so, she is siding with who she considers her people to be, her countrymen who are not Americans.” Walsh also said that none of the bill’s GOP co-sponsors “should ever receive another Republican vote for any reason ever again, needless to say.” Daily Wire, *The Matt Walsh Show*, [7/17/25]
- Chamberlain posted: “Denaturalize and deport Maria Elvira Salazar.” Salazar was born in Miami. Twitter/X, [7/16/25; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed 7/18/25]
- In her monologue criticizing the “scamnesty” bill, Ingraham attacked Salazar for addressing reporters in Spanish: “María Salazar unwittingly refuted her own underlying point that millions of illegals deserve a pathway to legal status because they're already integrated into American life. Otherwise, who do you think she's talking to here?” Fox News, *The Ingraham Angle*, [7/18/25]
- Prominent right-wing account EndWokeness posted the video of Salazar addressing reporters in Spanish, captioned: “Republican Maria Salazar tells Trump to give mass amnesty to illegal aliens… in Spanish.” The clip garnered numerous reposts containing racist attacks on Salazar. Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Former Daily Caller editor Scott Greer reposted EndWokeness’ clip, adding: “When she does interviews in English, she frequently stumbles over her words and can't figure out what she's trying to say. But in her true tongue, she finds the right words.” Greer stepped down from The Daily Caller in 2018 after his contributions to a white supremacist website under a pseudonym came to light. Twitter/X, [7/17/25; Media Matters, 9/5/18]
- MacIntyre also reposted the clip, writing: “Maria knows she belongs to a people. She is loyal to those people, speaks their language, servers their interests, fights for them. She knows that Americans are not those people.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]
- Laura Loomer posted: “Why is a US Congresswoman holding a press conference in SPANISH about how she wants her bill to grant amnesty to illegal aliens? @MaElviraSalazar should resign. This is NOT what I voted for.” Twitter/X, [7/17/25]

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ALTHO... es Gunn's new "Superman" movie is performing well at the box office, many right-wing media outlets are attacking it as "woke." The film touches on immigration, much to the chagrin of Fox News and others.

In an biting article published on July 21, Salon's Amanda Marcotte argues that right-wing media attacks on Gunn's film aren't just silly, but underscore their troubling view of the world.

"Every time there's a pop cultural phenomenon — a blockbuster movie, a chart-topping single, a hot new fashion trend — conservative media and MAGA influencers rush to denounce it as anti-American, anti-family or even demonic," Marcotte observes. "Labubu dolls are Satanic. The 'Barbie' movie is anti-male. Conservative men are being traumatized by rap songs informing them that women can experience sexual arousal — not that said conservative men are willing to believe it."

Marcotte continues, "The reasons right-wing pundits engage in this are transparent. The biggest is simple attention economics. Glomming onto popular topics is a good way to attract new audiences, especially those who may not be that political, and lure them into engaging with reactionary content. It also helps feed the paranoia that fuels the right, by propping up the narrative that all of pop culture is out to destroy them and their way of life."

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The "MAGA talking heads" attacking Gunn and his "Superman" film, Marcotte observes, are "mad" because "Superman is an immigrant" in the movie.

"My initial reaction when I saw right-wing media conduct its all-too-predictable tantrum over the new 'Superman' movie was that it’s just more of the same: Claim it’s 'woke' propaganda, work the audience into a tizzy of boycott threats and reap the reward of alienating their base further from the rest of society so that the MAGA cult is all they have left," Marcotte explains. "Which, to be fair, is bad enough. But the actual content of the complaints made this whole exercise even more sinister."

The Salon journalist continues, "The attacks on 'Superman' are part of a larger effort by the right to completely rewrite history, so they can pretend that being a patriotic American means embracing authoritarian values…. Immigrants and kindness are both canceled in Donald Trump’s America, so the right was outraged. Jesse Watters of Fox News 'joked' that Superman should have 'MS-13' on his cape…. There have been a lot of dutiful, fact-check-style responses pointing out that Superman is an immigrant and the character was always 'woke,' in that he has a history of fighting fascists and KKK members. But in a sense, that was unnecessary, because everyone already knows this. That's where this Fox News gambit goes from being stupid to deeply sinister: They are asking their audience to deny not just the facts, but a fact we all grew up with, something woven into the DNA of our American identity."

:{:{Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.}:

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MMA

May 30, 2025, edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): If you can believe you had a federal district judge on Wednesday say that the Trump administration's effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil may be unconstitutional, but I'm sorry, conservative legal experts are not buying -- you're not from this country. Why do you think you have constitutional rights?

This guy was leading these pro-Palestine, anti-Israel activists and protests at Columbia University. An immigration judge said he could be deported, but then a US district judge for New Jersey said that the order is likely to be dismissed as unconstitutionally vague. Again, judge shopping, judicial activism.

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REF PP

The Trump Administration’s Legal Battle to Cast Immigration as an “Invasion” — ProPublica

The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the far right has been building this case for years.

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When top Trump adviser Stephen Miller threatened on May 9 that the administration is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus in response to an “invasion” from undocumented immigrants, he was operating on a fringe legal theory that a right-wing faction has been working to legitimize for more than a decade.

“The Constitution is clear — and that of course is the supreme law of the land — that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion,” Miller said earlier this month in response to a question about Trump’s threat to suspend habeas corpus, the legal right of a prisoner to challenge their detention. Days after Miller’s remarks, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued the same warning when a member of a House panel asked her if the number of illegal border crossings meets the threshold for suspending the right. “I’m not a constitutional lawyer,” Noem said. “But I believe it does.”

Hard-liners have referred to immigrants as “invaders” as long as the U.S. has had immigration. By 2022, invasion rhetoric, which had previously been relegated to white nationalist circles, had become such a staple of Republican campaign ads that most of the public agreed an invasion of the U.S. via the southern border was underway.

Now, however, the claim that the U.S. is under invasion has become the legal linchpin of President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-immigrant campaign.

The claim is Trump’s central justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport roughly140 Venezuelans to CECOT, the Salvadoran megaprison, without due process. (The administration cited different legal authority for the remaining deportees.) The Trump administration contends they are members of a gang, Tren de Aragua, that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is directing to infiltrate and operate in the United States. Lawyers and families of many of the deportees have presented evidence the prisoners are not even members of Tren de Aragua.

The contention is also the throughline of Trump’s day one executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” That document calls for the expansion of immigration removal proceedings without court hearings and for legal attacks against sanctuary jurisdictions, places that refuse to commit local resources to immigration enforcement.

So far, no court has bought the idea that the U.S. is truly under invasion, as defined by the Constitution or the Alien Enemies Act, on the handful of occasions the government has used the argument to justify supercharged immigration enforcement. Four federal judges, including one Trump appointee, have said the situation Trump describes fails to meet the definition of an invasion. Tren de Aragua “may well be engaged in narcotics trafficking, but that is a criminal matter, not an invasion or predatory incursion,” U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote. Indeed, Trump’s own intelligence agencies found that Maduro is not directing the gang. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the question but froze any more deportations without due process on May 16.

The Trump legal push has been in the works for years. After Trump left the White House, two of his loyalists, former Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli and his now-two-time budget chief Russell Vought, quietly built a consensus for the invasion legal theory among state Republican officials and ultimately helped persuade Texas to give it a test run in court.

Most legal scholars reject the idea that the wave of undocumented immigration fits the original definition of what an invasion is, but they worry nonetheless. When U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines, a Trump appointee, issued a preliminary ruling earlier this month that allowed Trump to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, she did not label immigrants “invaders.” Instead, she proposed that Tren de Aragua was “the modern equivalent of a pirate or a robber.”

If the Supreme Court ultimately takes up the invasion question, a ruling like Haines’ offers a blueprint for sidestepping the issue while giving Trump what he wants, or for embracing the invasion theory wholesale, legal scholars said.

“All this really comes down to the issue of whether the United States Supreme Court is going to allow a president to behave essentially as an autocratic dictator if he’s prepared to make entirely fictitious factual declarations that trigger monarchical power,” said Frank Bowman, a legal historian and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law.

Under the Constitution, if the United States is invaded, Congress has the power to call up the militia and can allow the suspension of habeas corpus, the constitutional right that is the core of due process. The states, which are normally forbidden from unilaterally engaging in war, can do so according to the Constitution if they are “actually invaded.”

The Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law enacted during a naval conflict with France, also rests on the definition of an invasion. It allows the president to expel “aliens” during “any invasion or predatory incursion … by any foreign nation or government.” It has only ever been invoked three times, during the War of 1812 and World Wars I and II.

Habeas corpus has likewise been suspended only a handful of times in the Constitution’s nearly 240-year history, including during Reconstruction, to put down violent rebellions in the South by the Ku Klux Klan; in 1905, to suppress the Moro uprising against U.S. control of the Philippines; and in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor in order to place Japanese Americans under martial law. In each of these cases, the executive branch acted after receiving permission from Congress.

An exception was in 1861, when President Abraham Lincoln unilaterally suspended habeas corpus at the outbreak of the Civil War. This provoked a direct confrontation with Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who ruled that only Congress was empowered to take such an extraordinary step. Congress later papered over the conflict by voting to give Lincoln the authority for the war’s duration.

Today, nearly every historian and constitutional scholar is in agreement that, when it comes to suspending habeas, Congress has the power to decide if the conditions are met.

“The Constitution does not vest this power in the President,” future Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in 2014. “Scholars and courts have overwhelmingly endorsed the position that, Lincoln’s unilateral suspensions of the writ notwithstanding, the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive authority to decide when the predicates specified by the Suspension Clause are satisfied.” Even then, the Constitution only allows Congress to act in extreme circumstances — “when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University who has closely followed these arguments, argues there is virtually no evidence that the drafters of the Constitution thought of an “invasion” as anything other than the kind of organized incursion that would traditionally spark a war.

“The original meaning of ‘invasion’ in the Constitution is actually what sort of the average normal person would think it means,” Somin said. “As James Madison put it, invasion is an operation of war. What Vladimir Putin did to Ukraine, that’s an invasion. What Hamas did to Israel, that’s an invasion. On the other hand, illegal migration, or drug smuggling, or ordinary crime — that’s not an invasion.”

In 1994, Florida Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles Jr. filed the first modern-day lawsuit arguing otherwise. The Haitian and Cuban refugee crises had spawned a new wave of anti-immigration sentiment, and hard-liners accused the federal government of owing states billions for handling immigrants’ supposed crimes and welfare claims. Chiles, who died in 1998, took the concept one step further. He filed a $1.5 billion suit claiming the U.S. had violated the section of the Constitution stating the federal government “shall protect each [state] against Invasion.”

Federal courts slapped down his lawsuit — and a spate of copycat suits from Arizona, California, New York and New Jersey — and the legal case for calling immigration an invasion died out.

In the late 2000s, a group of far-right voices began to revive this approach. Ken Cuccinelli was among the first and most strident. He was an early member of State Legislators for Legal Immigration, part of a powerful network of anti-immigration groups that pioneered efforts like ending birthright citizenship. The organization contended that immigrants were “foreign invaders” as described in the Constitution.

Cuccinelli evangelized for the theory as he rose from a state legislator to an official in Trump’s first Department of Homeland Security.

“Under war powers, there’s no due process,” Cuccinelli told Breitbart radio shortly before his appointment in the first Trump administration. “They can literally just line their National Guard up with, presumably with riot gear like they would if they had a civil disturbance, and turn people back at the border. … You just point them back across the river and let them swim for it.”

Cuccinelli got traction after Trump’s reelection loss. He joined a think tank Vought had founded as its immigration point man. During his time in the first Trump administration, Vought became frustrated that the president’s goals were frequently thwarted. He founded the Center for Renewing America, dedicated to a sweeping vision of remaking the government and society — what ultimately became Project 2025.

In remarks to a private audience at his think tank in 2023, Vought, who is now Trump’s budget chief and the intellectual force behind Trump’s unprecedented executive power grab, said he specifically championed the term “invasion” because it “unlocked” extraordinary presidential powers.

“One of the reasons why we were very, so insistent about coming up with the whole notion of the border being an ‘invasion’ because there were Constitutional authorities that were a part of being able to call it an invasion,” Vought said. Documented and ProPublica obtained videos of Vought’s speech last year. Vought and Cuccinelli did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2021 and 2022, Cuccinelli, with Vought’s help, mounted press conferences and privately urged Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to proclaim that their states were being invaded.

After Arizona’s then-attorney general, Mark Brnovich, released a legal opinion in February 2022 proclaiming violent cartels had “actually invaded” and opened the door for Ducey to deploy the state’s National Guard, Vought bragged to his audience that he and Cuccinelli had personally provided draft language for the opinion. In a previous email to ProPublica, Brnovich acknowledged speaking to Cuccinelli but said his opinion was “drafted and written by hard working attorneys (including myself) in our office.”

Ducey never acted on the invasion theory. But Abbott was more receptive. He invoked the state’s war powers, citing the “actually invaded” clause, in a 2022 open letter to President Joe Biden. “Two years of inaction on your part now leave Texas with no choice,” he wrote. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said the governor “declared an invasion due to the Biden Administration’s repeated failures in upholding its constitutional duty to secure the border and defend states.”

Abbott ordered the banks of the Rio Grande river to be strung with razor wire and a shallow section to be obstructed by a 1,000-foot string of man-sized buoys and blades and signed a law, S.B. 4, giving state authorities the power to deport undocumented immigrants.

When the Justice Department sued, Abbott’s administration argued in legal briefs that its actions were justified in part because his state was under “invasion.” Twenty-three Republican attorneys general filed a brief in agreement.

“In both scope and effect, the wave of illegal migrants pouring across the border is like an invasion,” their brief read. “The Constitution’s text, the principle of sovereignty in the federal design, and the broader constitutional structure all support the conclusion that the States have a robust right to engage in self-defense. Contained within that right is presumptively acts to repel invasion.”

Texas’ invasion argument did not prevail. The 5th Circuit has blocked S.B. 4., and a lower court and a three-judge panel skewered Abbott’s constitutional argument in the buoy case. In 2024, the full 5th Circuit ruled under another law that Abbott was entitled to leave the floating barriers in place. It avoided ruling on Texas’ invasion claim altogether — but not without one judge dissenting. Trump appointee James Ho argued courts have no ability to second-guess executives about which threats rise to the level of an invasion and justify military action.

In his speech, Vought credited “the massive take-up rate” of the invasion legal theory to his and Cuccinelli’s behind-the-scenes efforts. Now the concept is being taken seriously by the president’s top advisers as they threaten to upend a core civil liberty.

“The definition of ‘invasion’ has broad implications for civil liberties — that’s pretty obvious,” Somin said. “They’re trying to use this as a tool to get around constitutional and other legal constraints on deportation and exclusion that would otherwise exist. But they also want to use it to undermine civil liberties” for U.S. citizens.

Molly Redden is covering legal affairs and how the second Trump administration is attempting to reshape the legal system. You can send her tips at molly.redden@propublica.org or via Signal at mollyredden.14.

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NOTE TAKES TPS FROM AFGHAN TRANSLATORS SAME TIME?!

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MAGA is furious at the Episcopal Church for refusing a directive from the federal government to help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status.

Newsweek reports the church submitted its refusal days after almost 50 South Africans arrived at a U.S. airport under a fast-tracked refugee program that appears to only serve white south Afrikaners. Other groups, including Black Sudanese refugees fleeing religious violence — who are also from Africa — are not similarly fast-tracked.

The new arrivals are minority descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who created the segregationist system of apartheid in 1948, which allows white people to legally steal land and resources from the majority Black population, who were relocated to segregated overcrowded, townships of lean-tos and shacks.

Data show 73 percent of privately owned land in South Africa is white-owned despite white people comprising only 7 percent of the population. In corporate South Africa, white individuals also occupy 62 percent of top management positions while 17 percent of leadership roles are held by Black managers.

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Critics say Trump’s decision to expedite resettlement of Afrikaners bypasses an onerous refugee system that leaves thousands from conflict zones stuck in a years-long vetting processes and dangerous conditions.

Rev. Sean W. Rowe, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, confirmed in a letter to church members that the government contacted the church and expected it to resettle some of the South Africans under terms of a grant. But Rowe said the request posed a moral dilemma for the Episcopal Church, which has deep ties to the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and counts the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu — an outspoken apartheid opponent — among its spiritual forebears.

"In light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step," Rowe wrote. “… Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government."

Right-wing figures roasted the Episcopal Church, with conservative political activist Charlie Kirk posting on X: "I guess you aren't a refugee if you are white. According to the Episcopal Church Jesus doesn't love white people."

Conservative commentator Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who settled a lawsuit with families of Sandy Hook victims after calling the mass shooting a “hoax”, wrote: "All Federal Funds MUST Be Pulled From The Episcopal Church. It's Time To Enforce The Separation Of Church And State."

Read the full Newsweek report here.

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dr phil ice raid OTHER CELEB COSPLAYERS? NOEM BOYFRIEND

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In the Missouri Legislature, State Sen. David Gregory, a far-right MAGA Republican, is proposing a bill that, if passed, would give a $1000 reward to anyone who reports someone who is in the United States illegally if the report leads to an arrest. And the bill is fueling heated debates among Missouri residents.

Gregory, who served in the Missouri House of Representatives before being elected to the Missouri Senate in 2024, vigorously defended his proposal during a hearing on Monday, January 27.

Gregory told members of the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, "This bill seeks to create an ICE program at the state level. That's essentially all it does. This is an ICE program inside the state of Missouri."

But Democratic Missouri State Sen. Barbara Washington, whose district is in Kansas City, is calling out the bill as racist and argues that it encourages Missouri residents to file reports based on a person's skin color or proficiency in English.

During the January 27 hearing, Washington warned, "Don't tell me it is not going to happen because it is happening now."

Missouri Independent reporter Rudi Keller, in an article published on January 28, explains, "Gregory, a Republican from Chesterfield, wants to authorize bounty hunters, usually employed by bail bond businesses to catch absconders, to track down people identified in tips. And if the tip proves accurate, the person arrested would be charged with 'trespass by an illegal alien,' and subject to life in prison without parole if federal immigration authorities declined to take custody."

The New York Post's Jon Levine noted that Gregory's bill would "develop an information system for people to report violations of this act, which shall include a toll-free telephone hotline, e-mail and online reporting portal."

Washington wasn't the only person speaking out against Gregory's bill at the January 27 hearing.

Gabriella Cepeda of the Hispanic Law Students Association at St. Louis University told attendees, "This bill fosters a climate of fear, where people feel unsafe engaging in even the most basic activities beyond going to work or school. They are terrified of being profiled or targeted (for) life in prison for simply existing in the state without documentation. It is not just extreme, it's cruel and unusual punishment."

Similarly, immigrant Aura Velasquez — who has been a U.S. citizen for five years — testified, "It is inhumane to say people should be hunted like a sport. It would turn neighbors against neighbors and friends against each other."

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and 17 other Republican attorneys general are questioning the temporary protected status for immigrants from 17 distressed countries. They’re asking officials in President Donald Trump’s explicitly anti-immigrant administration to review whether protections are necessary.

In a statement Tuesday, Yost said some have been allowed to stay in the United States even after it was “safe for them to return home.” However, he didn’t name a single such country — and publicly available reports make it hard to guess which places he might mean.

His office was asked if he could name a person with temporary protected status who could safely return to her or his home country. A spokeswoman responded that it wasn’t the attorney general’s job to make such determinations.

An immigrant advocate said the letter was another way to scare vulnerable immigrants into the shadows. It’s akin to last summer’s false claims by now-President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and others that Haitians under temporary protected status in Springfield were stealing and eating their neighbors’ pets, she said. That led to dozens of bomb threats and reports of violence against immigrants.

“It’s about intimidation,” said Lynn Tramonte, founder of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. “It’s about destabilization. These are authoritarian tactics where you make people unsafe in their homes and communities. It’s really sad. J.D. Vance himself brought violence to Springfield.”

Longstanding problems

Yost and the other attorneys general sent a letter to Kristi Noem, Trump’s head of the Department of Homeland Security. Now confirmed, Noem has the power to grant or revoke temporary protected status, or TPS. Her farewell address last week as North Dakota governor was peppered with starkly anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The Trump administration is giving immigration officers an expanded authority to rapidly deport immigrants, including people the Biden administration temporarily allowed into the country under parole authority, according to an internal memo, States Newsroom reported this weekend.

“TPS beneficiaries represent over 1 million immigrants residing in the States who are otherwise without legal status,” the attorneys general’s letter to Noem said. “Converting TPS into a license for long-term residency frustrates congressional aims and only increases the financial and governmental strain on States.”

In addition to Yost, attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming signed the letter to Noem.

The letter makes much of the fact that the word “temporary” is in the name of the designation, and that people from some countries have had temporary protected status for decades.

“Honduras, for instance, first received TPS after a hurricane hit in 1998 and DHS bases its current TPS designation on ‘persist[ing]’ conditions from that same event,” the letter said. “TPS extensions spanning decades have become routine.”

According to statutory language provided by Yost’s office, the Homeland Security secretary can grant TPS if she finds “that there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions in the foreign state that prevent aliens who are nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety.”

Tramonte said the attorneys general are misreading the law.

“It’s called ‘temporary protected status,'” she said. “It’s not called ‘short-term protected status.’ When a crisis happens, whether it’s a natural disaster or a political crisis, it takes years to recover. They’re fixating on the word ‘temporary’ as if that means short-term. But all that means is that Congress said we’re going to give you a break and not deport you because it’s dangerous to send you back.”

Harrowing conditions

In its 2023 report on human rights practices, the U.S. State Department had this to say about Honduras, the country the Republican AGs cite as being designated a TPS country for almost 27 years:

“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including threats against media members by criminal elements; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, and femicide; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.”

In fact, of the 17 countries designated for TPS, 11 have the State Department’s most severe travel warning — do not travel. Three have the next-highest, reconsider travel. And three have the second-lowest, exercise increased caution.

Reports for the latter countries — Cameroon, Nepal and El Salvador — indicate how dicey it might be to return there, especially if you’re not a tourist from a developed country.

Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2024 says that El Salvador had been stricken by gang violence, and then “a state of emergency (that was) adopted in March 2022 that suspended basic rights remains in force. Authorities have committed widespread human rights violations, including mass arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, ill-treatment in detention, and due process violations.”

The Human Rights Watch report for Cameroon detailed “continued clashes between armed groups and government forces throughout Cameroon’s Anglophone and Far North regions severely impacted civilians, with cases of unlawful killings, abductions, and raids on villages increasing in the second half of the year.”

And the State Department’s 2023 report for Nepal described “significant human rights issues (including) credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; arbitrary detention; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and unjustified arrests of journalists.”

Those are the TPS countries that the State Department deems to be the safest of the 17 to travel to. The letter the attorneys general wrote to Noem criticized former President Joe Biden for extending temporary protected status designations for Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela, in addition to El Salvador.

Ukraine has been devastated by war since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded in 2022. Sudan has been torn by civil war since 2023, spurring the enlistment of child soldiers, sexual violence and other atrocities. And in Venezuela, the socialist government has made the economy so dysfunctional that 90% live in poverty, and it has the highest crime rate in the world.

Safe?

In a statement announcing that he and other Republican attorneys general called for a review of TPS designations, Yost, said some could safely return to their home countries.

“This program has been applied too loosely, allowing noncitizens to live here indefinitely, even after it’s safe for them to return home,” the statement quoted Yost, who last week announced a 2026 run for governor, as saying.

Asked if the Ohio AG could name one, his spokeswoman said that wasn’t his job.

“The Ohio Attorney General isn’t the person with authority to make TPS judgments, regardless,” the spokeswoman, Bethany McCorkle, said in an email. “That’s why the letter doesn’t call for the designation to be immediately lifted from any one nation.

“What the letter does ask is that the Secretary engage in a review of the country conditions and exercise her judgment regarding the status of countries that have been designated as ‘temporar[ily]’ protected for years — sometimes decades — based on the same insular events,” she added. “If conditions are currently unsafe in a certain country based on new/current factors that would reach the high bar set by Congress for TPS, then the Secretary would have discretion to give TPS on that basis.”

The call for an administration led by a vehemently anti-immigrant president to review and possibly deny immigrants’ protected status might be out of step with public opinion. A December poll sponsored by the National Immigration Forum and the Bulfinch group said that 73% of Americans agreed that immigration policies should protect the persecuted and keep families intact.

Tramonte, of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said the real point of the letter is to distract the public from the real cause of many Americans’ suffering.

“This gets them headlines, this gets them accolades from the people they’re trying to stir up,” she said. “They’re trying to distract from their bigger agenda, which is getting corporations bigger tax breaks and helping the wealthy while average people are having to work multiple jobs just to pay the rent.”

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.

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TRUMP? COMPLAINS ABOUT DEMS FLYING ILLEGALS AROUND?!

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Nearly 54% of extreme conservatives say the federal government should use violence to stop illegal immigration

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As media figures, Trump picks Homan, Waltz, and Bondi have repeatedly spread fear about ISIS crossing the southern border

01/06/25

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okeefe doku

Tucker Carlson then reposted this two hours later, with the message: "Coming soon..."

O'Keefe posted a video to his X account on the evening of September 24 of him and Carlson in Fort Worth and a trailer for his new film 'A Line in the Sand.'

The film premieres on October 10 on the Tucker Carlson Network.

insert

Undercover journalist James O'Keefe goes to the front lines of the migrant industrial complex using hidden cameras and raw testimonials. O'Keefe reveals the shocking reality of the U.S. border crisis like never before: Mexican freight trains, cartel tunnels, and U.S. funded child detention camps. Watch this gripping exposé of a corrupted system that demands change. "Line in the Sand" premieres October 10th, exclusively on the Tucker Carlson Network.

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Long-standing American principle of birthright citizenship under attack from Trump allies

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Public opinion research conducted in October shows a shift in one political party that might make Donald Trump’s election on Nov. 5 less of a surprise. A majority of the party now agrees with a sentiment about immigration that has previously been associated with organized hate — that they are “poisoning the blood of the country.”

While October marked the first time respondents were asked that question, responses to others indicated a hard shift against immigrants by Republicans and white evangelical protestants — especially after Trump became president.

The Public Religion Research Institute is a nonpartisan group that studies political issues alongside religious values. Since its founding in 2013, it’s conducted its American Values Survey and done more than 200,000 interviews in the process.

Among its most recent findings was a 50-point gap between Republicans and Democrats over how pressing an issue immigration is for the country. And there now is a huge difference between the parties about whether undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria should be offered a path to citizenship.

In 2013, 71% of Democrats and 64% of independents believed a path to citizenship should be offered. The percentage for Democrats rose to 77% by October, while it fell to 55% for independents.

But for Republicans, the change was far more dramatic.

In 2013, most Republicans — 53% — believed that qualifying people should be offered a path to citizenship. As of October, just 36% did.

At a recent conference in Washington, D.C., Public Religion Research Institute Founder and CEO Robert P. Jones said that support for a path mostly held steady for Republicans between 2013 and 2019, “then it begins to drop, then it just fell off a cliff beginning last year.”

Jones said the partisan disparity indicates that we’ve entered a new era when it comes to the politics of immigration.

“This is a very, very different world than we were living in even 10 years ago,” he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is a religious element to the disparity.

White evangelical protestants make up the only major religious group that does not have a majority supporting a path to citizenship. That support has fallen from 53% in 2013 to 40% now.

The Public Religion Research Institute survey seemed to find an element of hatred in some of the opposition to allowing more undocumented immigrants to become citizens.

“There were a number of questions that, as a social scientist, I found myself having to ask that I never thought I’d have to ask,” Jones said of the most recent survey.

One was prompted by Trump’s statement a year ago that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” The statement has ominous implications because Adolph Hitler, who murdered 6 million Jews along with millions of other targeted groups, made several versions of the statement, including that a male Jew “poisons the blood of others…”

In the survey, Jones asked, “Do you agree or disagree that immigrants who are entering the country today are poisoning the blood of our country?”

A full 34% of Americans agree.

“There is a gigantic partisan gap on this question,” Jones said.

Almost two-thirds of Republicans — 61% — 33% of independents, and just 13% of Democrats agreed that immigrants are poisoning the blood of a nation of immigrants.

Jones, who holds a Ph.D. in religion, said that so many Americans agree with such a statement should concern everyone.

“A racist and hate-filled conception of immigrants has really taken hold with a significant minority of the population,” he said.

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6? 24

Under President Joe Biden, the United States has enjoyed record-low unemployment and considerable job growth. The unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), was 4.1 percent in June — which was an increase from 3.7 percent in May but shows no sign of a recession.

Trump has claimed that much of the job growth under Biden has gone to illegal immigrants. But liberal economist Paul Krugman debunks that claim in a July 23 newsletter for the New York Times.

"Since President Biden took office," Krugman explains, "the United States has gained 15.7 million jobs. Trump, however, has been dismissing the good news on employment, claiming that all the job gains are going to illegal immigrants."

The economist/columnist goes on to lay out some data.

"The question…. is whether the jobs immigrants have taken would have gone to native-born workers if immigration had been lower," Krugman writes. "Well, if immigrants were stealing our jobs, we'd expect to see a sharp rise in unemployment among the native-born. We don't."

Krugman adds, "The unemployment rate among native-born workers is near a historic low." The economist adds that there is no evidence showing that immigrants cause wages to go down.

"Most labor economists now believe that immigrants don't do much head-to-head competition with native-born workers; they bring different skills and take different jobs," Krugman argues. "And the past few years, with elevated immigration, have also been an era of exceptional growth in wages for the worst paid. So, none of these negative claims about the effects of immigration hold up.

===

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mma 12 24

This week in scary

Fox’s Laura Ingraham called for “consequences” for those who prosecuted Trump.
- War Room host Steve Bannon: “We’re for 100% deportations … everybody’s got to go.”
- Fox’s Brian Kilmeade said young unaccompanied undocumented children should be put on a plane and sent “right back to El Salvador.”

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an 11 24

Far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been a highly divisive figure in Lone Star State politics, often drawing vehement criticism not only from Democrats, but also from fellow Republicans. Nonetheless, Paxton survived an impeachment trial in the Texas State Senate, where he was acquitted on 16 articles. And the Donald Trump ally hasn't become any less combative.

Paxton, a Baptist who embraces a severe brand of Christian fundamentalism, is known for picking fights with churches he considers impure. And his latest religious target, according to Chron.com reporter Eric Killelea, is a church in Austin that helps the homeless.

Killelea reports that on Tuesday, November 26, Paxton announced a lawsuit against Austin's Sunrise Community Church in response to their activities on behalf of the city's homeless.

READ MORE:['Encouraging decision': Here are the Trump Cabinet picks Russia is most excited about

The Texas attorney general declared, "By operating a taxpayer-funded drug paraphernalia giveaway next to an elementary school, this organization is threatening students' health and safety and unjustly worsening daily life for every single resident of the neighborhood. We will shut this unlawful nuisance behavior down."

In Austin, Sunrise operates a nonprofit called the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center.

Paxton, in the lawsuit, describes the church as a "magnet" for people with drug problems and alleges that the Navigation Center encourages them to commit crimes.

The lawsuit alleges, "Sunrise homeless clients break into residents' homes. They menace residents with machetes. They routinely urinate and defecate in the streets. They masturbate in public, while trying to grab passing women. They wake up residents with high-pitched screams in the middle of the night."

READ MORE:['Do we advise the president to look elsewhere?' GOP senators uneasy about Tulsi Gabbard

According to the Sunrise Community Church, however, the Navigation Center has helped many homeless Texans overcome homelessness.

Killelea reports, "Sunrise Community Church, which is part of the Reformed Church in America — a generally liberal denomination within the Protestant faith — has described the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center as the largest provider of homelessness services in Travis County. The Center, founded in 2015, provides meals, showers and computer access to people experiencing homelessness, per reporting by the Austin American-Statesman's Skye Seipp. The church claims to have helped more than 4275 people move into housing through the ministry.

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rww 11 24

They Need To Be Killed': Joel Webbon Says Anyone Trying To Cross The Border Must Be Shot Radical Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon says anyone trying to cross the border must be shot and killed: "That is the way biblical justice is done."](https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/they-need-be-killed-joel-webbon-says-anyone-trying-cross-border-must-be-shot)

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mma

Sinclair Broadcast Group’s The National Desk is spreading misinformation about immigration and the CBP One app

A Sinclair anchor reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One app increased illegal immigration when the program does the complete opposite

Written by Chloe Simon & Pete Tsipis

Published 10/30/24

During an October 29 segment on The National Desk about the “number of illegal migrant crossings” during President Joe Biden’s administration, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Jan Jeffcoat misleadingly reported that the migrants who used the CBP One app should be included in that number.

Previously, on October 25, apparently referring to encounters and apprehensions at the border, Jeffcoat claimed that “we're learning as many as 14 million illegal migrants entered the U.S. in the past four years,” mentioning that this number “excludes the 1.3 million migrants who used Biden-Harris parole programs,” of whom at least 420,000 used the CBP One app. Repeat guest Mark Morgan, a senior fellow with the extremist anti-immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform, also appeared on The National Desk on October 15, claiming that the Biden administration had “unlawfully used an app” to “actually make it easier for individuals that should not enter the country to be able to enter the country.”

Sinclair’s attempts to correlate usage of the CBP One app with increased illegal immigration are not based in reality.

Since its launch in 2020, the CBP One app has been a tool for the Department of Homeland Security to identify and track asylum-seekers while allowing them to apply for humanitarian parole. The American Immigration Council describes the app as being for “migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum at a port of entry,” as well as being for “Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans seeking to secure travel authorization.”

The app allows “noncitizens without appropriate documents for admission who seek to travel to the United States through certain southwest border land ports of entry (POEs) the ability to submit information through a module within the application instead of coming directly to wait at a POE”. Nevertheless, only a small portion of users have been admitted as asylum seekers into the U.S. While there have been over 64 million applications submitted through the app, only “813,000 individuals” had “successfully scheduled appointments to present at ports of entry” using CBP One, as of August 2024.

NBC News has reported that the app has been helpful to those on the border, quoting Texas pastor Abraham Barberi, who claimed the app has “contributed to the decline” in illegal entries. Barberi said, “I think now people think, ‘Well, I don’t have to go all the way to the border, I don’t have to cross the river illegally.'” Forbes also noted that immigration analysts have credited “the ability to use the CBP One app” in helping “reduce unlawful migration from Haiti.”

Video

CitationFrom the October 29, 2024, edition of Sinclair Broadcasting Group's The National Desk

JAN JEFFCOAT (ANCHOR): A new analysis found the number of illegal migrant crossings is 25% higher than what the Biden-Harris administration has said publicly. The Telegraph reporting data by Customs and Border Protection showing 7.15 million tried to enter the U.S. since Biden and Harris took office, but that does not include gotaways, which add another 1.8 million, bringing the total to roughly nine million. And that does not include, they say, the migrants who've used the CBP One app or parole programs. The Telegraph writing, "Critics accused the White House of attempting to 'launder' migration figures and deliberately misrepresent its record on border security."

Anti-immigration extremist continues to spread debunked lies on Sinclair's local TV stations

02/24/21

### Sinclair Broadcast Group is justifying Republicans' despicable migrant flights

09/27/22

### A year of misinformation on Sinclair's morning show The National Desk

01/19/22

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AN 10 24

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — the world's wealthiest man — has come out harshly against undocumented immigrants since becoming one of former President Donald Trump's biggest donors and campaign surrogates. But a new report reveals that he launched his career in the United States without legal status.

The Washington Post is now reporting that Musk was illegally staying in the U.S. on a student visa despite dropping out of school. While Musk, who is from South Africa, emigrated to attend Stanford University, he called his department chair shortly after the fall 1995 semester began to inform him that he wouldn't be attending classes.

At that point, Musk was legally obligated to leave the United States, according to the Post. But instead, he illegally overstayed his visa while building his first company, Zip2 (originally called the Global Link Information Network).

Eventually, venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures made a $3 million investment into Zip2 in 1996. Upon learning that both Musk and his brother, Kimbal, didn't have legal status to be in the United States, the funding agreement included a clause that stipulated Mohr could claw back its investment if the two didn't obtain a legal work visa within 45 days.

"Their immigration status was not what it should be for them to be legally employed running a company in the U.S.,” Zip2 board member Derek Proudian told the paper. “We don’t want our founder being deported."

Because U.S. immigration records aren't public, determining when Musk's immigration status changed is difficult to ascertain. However, the Post cited two different biographers who wrote that Mohr ultimately arranged for an attorney to line up visas for both Elon and Kimbal Musk in 1996. This means both he and his brother were technically illegal immigrants for the better part of a year. This is particularly noteworthy, as Elon Musk has used his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to regularly launch attacks against and spread disinformation about undocumented immigrants.

"[I]llegals in America can get bank loans, mortgages, insurance, driver's licenses, free healthcare (California & New York) and in-state college tuition," Musk tweeted in February. "What's the point of being a citizen if an illegal gets all the benefits, but doesn't pay taxes or do jury duty?"

The Post's reported that Musk's colleagues confirmed that he drove a car during the period in which he was in the United States illegally, meaning he would have needed both a driver's license and auto insurance in order to do so. The report also confirms what Kimbal Musk said in a 2013 interview, when saying that he and his brother "were illegal immigrants" when their company landed the $3 million investment from Mohr. Elon didn't use that exact phrasing, but rather said that their status "was a grey area."

Despite making a promise in March to refrain from endorsing a presidential candidate, Elon Musk has not only appeared onstage with Trump, but is now his second-biggest campaign donor. Forbes reported earlier this week that Musk has donated roughly $118 million to a pro-Trump super PAC. His largesse is outpaced only by Timothy Mellon, who had given $150 million to the former president's 2024 bid for the White House.

Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).

READ MORE:[Elon Musk donates 'sizable amount' to shadowy pro-Trump super PAC

===

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note self def violence justification

used to be neo nazi stuff?

October 14, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): This election is literally about are we allowed to fight back against invading armed hordes. Let me say that again — this entire election is about are we allowed to fight back against an invading armed fighting force and hordes and swarms of people that want to take our stuff, take women, and loot the entire nation. These are landing parties on the United States of America. Donald Trump's campaign is a rejection and a refutation of the Third World conquering America.

mma

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10/25/2024 RWW

Kyle Mantyla

Alex Griffing @ Mediaite: ‘WHEN I WIN’: Trump Vows Crackdown On ‘Unscrupulous Behavior’ With ‘Prison Sentences’ At ‘Levels Never Seen Before’

Former President Donald Trump posted an ominous threat to Truth Social on Friday, promising prosecutions at “levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”

David Gardner @ The Daily Beast: Trump Calls America a ‘Garbage Can for the World’ in Dark Illegal Immigration Rant

Donald Trump likened America to a “garbage can for the world” while ranting about illegal immigration in a doom-laden rally speech in Arizona on Thursday.

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AN 10 24

'Full eugenicist': Trump says 'bad genes' make immigrants more likely to commit murder

===

mma

right-wing media falsely and dishonestly claim that Hurricane Helene survivors are only entitled to $750 in aid

According to FEMA, survivors can also qualify for “tens of thousands more dollars” in disaster-related financial assistance

Written by Alicia Sadowski & Isabella Corrao

Published 10/04/24

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, right-wing media falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration are ignoring millions of Americans impacted by intense flooding. Media personalities and MAGA influencers have falsely and dishonestly claimed that victims are only entitled to $750 in aid, when in reality that is just the start of federal benefits.

FEMA can provide assistance for victims of Hurricane Helene, but chronic underfunding and climate change, not undocumented migrants, threaten future aid availability

In addition to FEMA providing residents of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia with “a one-time $750 payment to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies,” victims can also qualify for “disaster-related financial assistance to repair storm-related damage to homes and replace personal property.” After visiting the wreckage in Georgia, Harris reiterated that “FEMA is also providing tens of thousands more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs.” The White House, [10/2/24, 10/2/24]

- After President Joe Biden signed a stopgap spending bill in September, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA can properly respond to Helene recovery efforts. FEMA spokesperson Daniel Llargués said that FEMA is in a “good position” to respond to Hurricane Helene relief efforts after the agency received $20.3 billion under the spending bill. Biden has suggested bringing lawmakers back to Washington to provide additional funding for disaster relief, but Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has claimed “there’s no necessity for Congress to come back”. The New York Times, [9/26/24, 10/2/24; Roll Call, 10/3/24; FEMA, 10/3/24]

- Future concerns for FEMA’s funding are attributable to chronic underfunding by Congress and increased costs associated with extreme weather disturbance as a result of climate change, not aid given to undocumented immigrants. Mayorkas warned that FEMA “does not have the funds to make it through the [hurricane] season.” A DHS spokesperson clarified, however, that aid provided to undocumented immigrants through the Shelter and Services Program is “a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA's disaster-related authorities or funding streams." The Associated Press, [10/3/24; Axios, 7/14/23; Bipartisan Policy Center, 7/23/24; Newsweek, 10/3/24]

### Fox News personalities grossly misled viewers about federal aid that Helene survivors are entitled to

Fox’s misleading coverage of $750 payment was “one of the more dishonest omissions ever seen on Fox News – which is saying something.” Mediaite columnist Michael Luciano wrote of the misleading attack by Fox hosts Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, and Laura Ingraham. Watters and Ingraham aired misleading clips from a speech by VP Kamala Harris suggesting that $750 was the only benefit survivors were entitled to, while Harris continued explaining that it was just the start of substantial federal aid. Hannity described the aid efforts in similarly dishonest terms:

To wit, on Thursday, Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters aired a clip of Vice President Kamala Harris speaking in hurricane-ravaged Georgia the previous day. As Harris spoke on Ingraham’s show, the Fox News chyron read, “Kamala: Here’s $750 that’ll do the trick.”

…

As X/Twitter super-poster Acyn Torbai noted in the video below, Fox News actually carried Harris’s speech live the previous day. The vice president explained that the $750 is just the beginning of the assistance available to impacted residents. Mediaite, [10/3/24]

- After cutting off the video of Harris in Georgia before her promise of “tens of thousands more dollars” in aid, Fox host Laura Ingraham claimed that all victims are “getting right now is a $750 check … from the federal government — the government you’ve been sending taxes to your entire life.” She asked, “Did Joe and Kamala care more about the millions of illegals coming across our border than the people struggling in the storm-ravaged Southeast?” Fox News, *The Ingraham Angle*, [10/3/24]

- Fox host Jesse Watters lamented that Vice President Harris is “tossing a few hundred bucks at people who lost everything.” He continued, “$750. Democrats sent checks for thousands of dollars during COVID. Thousands. None of those people had their homes swept away by floodwaters.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [10/2/24]

- Watters told Fox News guest and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that “Kamala Harris throwing $750 at people who lost everything — their homes, their family, their cats, their dogs, everything” is “insulting.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [10/2/24]

- Watters scoffed: “$750 per person in America after you lost your entire home, all of your belongings, and you have no food, power, or water.” He complained, “When American citizens — the ones who were born here and pay taxes — deserve help, Biden and Harris are saying, ‘Ah, sorry, we give it all away to the people who broke into the country.’” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [10/3/24]

- Sean Hannity blamed FEMA’s lack of funds on its provision of “free food, housing, health care, education, sex-change surgeries, debit cards, four-star hotels” to undocumented immigrants while Helene victims get “a lousy … $750.” “They've been completely abandoned by your border czar, who prioritized her unvetted illegal immigrants over the American people.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [10/3/24]

- On his radio show, Hannity claimed that Hurricane Helene victims are receiving “a mere $750 one-time payment from FEMA because they gave all of it to Harris-Biden unvetted illegal immigrants.” He continued, “What about the people whose entire lives have been upended here? And that’s all you’re going to offer them? Is a mere 750 bucks a week after the event happened?” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [10/3/24]

- Fox anchor John Roberts complained that the $750 payment would not be effective. He said, “If they really wanted to help people out, they’d be going up and down the street with hundred dollar bills and handing them out to folks that need to buy things immediately, and, as well, doing everything that they can to get supplies to them.” Fox News, *America Reports*, [10/3/24]

### MAGA media figures inaccurately blamed migrants for taking FEMA funds and lied about Helene victims only receiving a one-time $750 payment

* Anti-Muslim activist Brigitte Gabriel claimed that victims of Hurricane Helene would get “$750” but that a “criminal thug from South America” would get “a 4-star hotel with credit cards.” She posted, “If you lost your entire house during Hurricane Helene, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will give you $750. If you are a criminal thug from South America and cross the border illegally through Mexico, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will put you up in a 4-star hotel with credit cards.” Twitter/X, [10/3/24]

- The Federalist’s Sean Davis posted that victims are not receiving aid because FEMA is “refusing to provide because you spent all the money on illegals.” Twitter/X, [10/3/24]

- Former Trump adviser and frequent Fox guest Stephen Miller’s America First Legal posted that “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season” but “spent over $1 BILLION in taxpayer dollars on providing housing and services to illegal aliens.” The group also inaccurately wrote that, “Kamala announces victims of Hurricane Helene will get only $750.” Twitter/X, [10/3/24]

- Townhall’s Dustin Grage repeated, “FEMA is out of cash because of illegals.”Twitter/X, [10/3/24]

- Fox News contributor Sara Carter posted, “Yes, Harris and Biden did - they stole FEMA money from Americans and then abandoned them.” She called it “tragic and disgusting.” Twitter/X, [10/3/24]

- Right-wing conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich claimed Mayorkas “laundered all of the money to open borders NGO’s.” Twitter/X, [10/3/24]

===

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mma

Fox News misrepresented ICE data on immigration and crime in over 50 segments

85% of Fox segments about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics included misrepresentations of the data even after multiple Fox personalities attempted to debunk the falsehoods

Written by Rob Savillo

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe & Harrison Ray

Published 10/01/24

Since September 27, when GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) released data on immigration and crime that he requested from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Fox News has misrepresented the meaning of the statistics over and over: In 53 of 62 segments about the data (or 85%), Fox spun the information to promote a number of falsehoods about immigration and crime in the U.S.

The falsehoods Fox aired included claims that most or all of the migrants with criminal convictions entered the country during the Biden administration, suggestions that migrants with criminal convictions are moving freely within the U.S., suggestions that most or all migrants entered the country with prior criminal convictions from elsewhere, and claims that the total number of migrants with criminal convictions grew dramatically under Biden.

Video file

Video

Media Matters found at least two instances of Fox News personalities or reporters attempting to debunk the false claims about the ICE statistics that were spread widely on the network: one from The Five co-host Jessica Tarlov and another from Los Angeles-based correspondent Bill Melugin. Both instances occurred the same day the data were released.

Moreover, the Department of Homeland Security subsequently issued a statement to media outlets September 28, which was included in a fact check by CNN the following day, properly contextualizing the numbers from ICE:

The data in this letter is being misinterpreted. The data goes back decades; it includes individuals who entered the country over the past 40 years or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this Administration. It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners.

News outlets soon followed with their own fact checks on the ICE statistics, but that didn't stop Fox News personalities and guests from ignoring clarifications on the data and repeating false claims. The network included such context in less than half of total segments in the study period: 30 segments, or 48%.

When Fox did include the proper context from DHS or ICE — or even from their own reporters — the network continued to push false narratives about immigration and crime. Fox personalities and guests downplayed, undermined, or dismissed the clarifications in more than half of such segments: 17 segments, or 57%.

* Right-wing media ran with those false characterizations of the data, and they were bolstered by former President Donald Trump's misrepresentations in several social media posts.

Trump posted the false claim that “13,000 convicted murderers entered our Country during her [Kamala Harris'] three and a half year period as Border Czar,” followed up with another falsehood, “almost 14,000 MURDERERS to freely and openly roam our Country,” and finally double-downed on both false statements with another post, writing, “14,000 CONVICTED thugs and slimeballs who have committed MURDER have been allowed to enter our Country, totally unvetted and unchecked, and roam free.”

Such rhetoric is not only false and misleading; it intentionally stokes unwarranted fears about immigrants and crime, specifically those who have crossed the southern U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump campaign has been using these misrepresentations to unfairly attack Vice President Kamala Harris' record — despite the fact that immigrants in general are more law-abiding than native-born Americans and that studies have consistently shown that undocumented immigrants do not commit more crime than U.S. citizens.

## Methodology...

Fox News

White House mum amid outrage over data showing how many illegal immigrant criminals are in US

1 day ago

FOX NEWS ALERT ROBERTS AND BLONDE NANTUCKET GOTAWAYS CHILD RAPE

The White House has yet to comment on new data released to lawmakers showing the number of illegal immigrants with convictions for sex offenses and homicide convictions who are not in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.

The agency provided data to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about illegal immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention and those who are not in detention, known as the non-detained docket.

The non-detained docket includes noncitizens who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not in ICE custody.

There are more than 7.4 million people on that docket, up from around 3.7 million when former President Trump left office.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT, MURDER CONVICTIONS ROAMING US STREETS: ICE DATA

U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S. and Mexico border fence in Calexico, Calif. ( Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The data shows that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges. The data does not reveal how many of those criminals are recent arrivals.

For comparison, in August 2016, toward the end of the Obama administration, ICE said there were about 2.2 million noncitizens on the non-detained docket and about 368,574 were convicted criminals.

In the latest data, the criminals include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions, and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions. There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the data and whether it had been aware of the numbers. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign also did not comment. Harris is at the southern border in Arizona.

Fox News Digital has also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security.

The news sparked outrage from Republicans, who tied the numbers to the policies of the Biden administration and those sanctuary jurisdictions who refuse to cooperate with ICE.

‘POLITICAL STUNT': CRITICS DISMISS HARRIS' EXPECTED ARIZONA BORDER VISIT AS IMMIGRATION REMAINS TOP ISSUE

Rep, Gonzales called the data "beyond disturbing" and said "it should be a wake-up call for the Biden-Harris administration and cities across the country that hide behind sanctuary policies."

"It’s time for Washington to move past rhetoric and toward results. Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities. As an appropriator, I will do everything in my power to ensure ICE has the resources necessary to deport noncitizens with a criminal record. This must be a priority," Gonzales said in a statement.

"The Biden-Harris administration also plays a part in cleaning up the mess their failed policies have created. They have the ear of sanctuary city mayors. It’s time to encourage them to reverse course and put the safety of American citizens first."

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said the release of illegal immigrants into the U.S. "defies all common sense."

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico in Lukeville, Ariz. (John Moore/Getty Images)

"This is madness. It is something no civilized, well-functioning society should tolerate," he said.

In the letter to Gonzales, ICE took aim at so-called "sanctuary" cities that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrant criminals.

"ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations. However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities," it said.

It also stressed DHS’s efforts to remove illegal immigrants.

"From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned or expelled."

In a statement on Saturday, DHS said the data was being "misinterpreted."

"The data goes back decades; it includes individuals who entered the country over the past 40 years or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this Administration," a spokesperson said. "It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners."

The administration has said it needs more funding and reforms from Congress to fix a "broken" immigration system, including via a bipartisan Senate bill introduced this year – which has been rejected by Republicans. DHS said that bill would have provided much-needed resources, including additional immigration enforcement agents and officers and additional detention resources.

It has also pointed to a sharp drop in arrivals since President Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum at the border in June. DHS also said it has removed over 180,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions since Jan. 2021.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

The Biden administration has prioritized the removal of public safety and national security threats in narrowed priorities it released in 2021, but critics have linked those priorities with a drop in ICE removals.

Video

Republicans have blamed the border crisis on the policies of the administration, including rolling back Trump policies that limited "catch and release."

Asked about the increase in the non-detained docket this summer, a White House spokesperson pointed to that bill.

"Congressional Republicans had an opportunity to support the fairest and toughest set of reforms in decades, and they chose to put partisan political interests ahead of fixing our immigration system and securing our borders," the spokesperson said.

"Congressional Republicans have proven that they do not care about securing our border because, frankly, if they did, they would have supported the bipartisan agreement."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The data’s release comes as Harris visits the southern border in Arizona and seeks to present herself as tougher on the border than former President Trump, who she blames for the border bill not passing.

"Donald Trump tanked a bill to improve border security — just so he can win this election," she said Friday. "As I have shown throughout my career, I won’t back down from my plan to make our border more secure."

*Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

===

mma

Colorado media are fighting against the right-wing smear that a Venezuelan gang has “taken over” the city of Aurora

Written by Casey Wexler & Sage Hodil

Published 09/27/24

Right-wing media outlets have turned an uncertain story that a Venezuelan gang “commandeered” apartments in Aurora, Colorado, into a lie that gangs are “taking over” and have fully “overrun” the city of 390,000 people.

A right-wing claim about an apartment complex ballooned to smear a whole city

- Since 2023, Aurora has reportedly been trying to force CBZ Management to fix multiple derelict apartment complexes which the company has claimed that it could not repair due to activity by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. CBZ Management’s claims of gang violence gained traction in right-wing media after a video went viral showing a group of armed men in one of the buildings. Aurora police have since claimed that they have identified and arrested multiple TdA members, but it’s unknown if these arrests are connected to the viral footage. The New York Times, [9/15/23]

- In August, right-wing media eagerly jumped on the video and claims of gang violence to promote a narrative of migrant crime.Fox & Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy stated that Tren de Aragua had “commandeered this building.” Fox host Greg Gutfeld said that the Venezuelan gang was “capturing and holding territory in America,” adding, “This is literally an invasion.” Media Matters, [7/16/24; Fox News, Fox & Friends, 8/30/24; Fox News, The Five, 8/29/24]

- Pushing back on these claims, the city of Aurora has said that incidents of gang violence are largely isolated and law enforcement has been taking action. In a statement the city wrote, “As for the perception and reality of public safety in Aurora, please understand that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it. TdA has not ‘taken over’ the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months.” City of Aurora, [9/11/24]

- Several residents of the buildings owned by CBZ Management have also pushed back on the narratives proliferating in right-wing media. Some tenants have said claims about crime in their apartment complexes are being used to spread “false anti-immigrant and anti-Venezuelan narratives” and that “reports of gang activity have also led to acts of xenophobia and racism from the community.” CBS News, [9/4/24]

- During the September 10 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump escalated the narrative of gang activity from a few buildings to whole cities, claiming “they are taking over the towns.” Trump continued, “They are taking over buildings. They are going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country, and they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous. They’re at the highest level of criminality. And we have to get them out. We have to get them out fast.” During a September 24 campaign stop, Trump doubled down and claimed that migrant gangs would “take over the whole damn state.” KVDR, [9/10/24; Mediaite, 9/24/24]

- This misinformation about Venezuelan gangs in Aurora comes as right-wing media and Trump have both pushed the racist lie that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), has also spread this smear campaign, which has been widely debunked. NBC, [9/10/24; Media Matters, 9/18/24]

* ## Colorado media debunked that gangs are “taking over” the whole city

- Denver’s 9News called the allegation that Tren de Aragua is taking over Aurora “a false claim” and previewed a Trump visit to the city and pushback on the story from city leaders. 9News, [9/19/24]

- 9News again debunked the claims about Aurora being overrun in a report on Trump claiming that gangs would take over the whole state of Colorado if he is not elected. Anchor Kyle Clark reported, “Donald Trump’s claims about a Venezuelan gang in Aurora are getting even more outlandish now extending to the rest of Colorado. Three weeks ago Trump falsely claimed on the national debate stage that a migrant gang has taken over Aurora. … But Trump continues to focus on Aurora on the campaign trail, with increasing exaggeration.” 9News, [9/24/24]

- Denver Fox station KDVR published an article titled “‘Simply not true’: Aurora leaders dispute claims Venezuelan gang has ‘taken over’ city.” The piece features an interview with Republican City Council member Danielle Jurinsky, who said, “Listen, if the entire city had been taken over, I would have left with my family.” KDVR, [9/12/24]

- A Denver Post article acknowledged that while some gang violence is occuring, Tren de Aragua isn’t “taking over” a city of 400,000.The Post wrote, “Aurora police named the Tren de Aragua members and detailed the charges against them after former President Donald Trump twice mentioned Aurora during Tuesday night's nationally televised debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump falsely claimed that violent immigrants ‘are taking over the towns,’ further fueling a false narrative that members of the Venezuelan gang have overrun Aurora, a city of 400,000 people.” The article also details that while crimes were committed at apartment complexes, “The allegations do not include evidence of broad, organized, systemic gang-led extortion or control at the apartment complexes.” The Denver Post, [9/12/24]

## Despite pushback on the narrative from local officials and residents, right-wing media claimed migrant gangs are “taking over” Aurora

- Newsmax host John Bachman pushed the white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory and claimed “violent gangs are taking over communities” like Aurora. As the viral video of armed men in an apartment complex in Aurora played, Bachman stated, “Illegal migrants are replacing U.S. citizens all over America. Remember when they told you that was a conspiracy theory? Violent gangs are taking over communities.” The white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory claims that nonwhite immigrants are intentionally being brought in to replace white people in the United States and other countries. Newsmax, *Prime News*, [9/24/24; Media Matters, 1/12/24]

- On Glenn Beck’s show, conservative radio host Jason Whitlock claimed there are “Venezuelan gangs taking over neighborhoods and communities.” Whitlock based his claim on the Netflix show Narcos, saying, “I watch it now or I remember it now and think holy cow, we’re just like that. The corruption, the criminals are actually — we’ve got Venezuelan gangs taking over neighborhoods and communities and we have politicians doing nothing about it.” Whitlock also pushed the great replacement conspiracy theory directly, saying that he would use his upcoming show to teach listeners about it. The Blaze,*The Glenn Beck Show,* [9/5/24]

- Previewing an interview with Aurora’s mayor, Newsmax host Lidia Curanaj claimed that a “Venezuelan gang [is] taking over his city.” Over the viral video of armed men in the apartment complex, Curanaj asked viewers, “Does this look like America or an apartment complex in a Third World country?” Newsmax, *Rob Schmitt Tonight*, [8/30/24; NPR, 9/23/24]

- Speaking to Trump adviser Jason Miller, Newsmax co-host Sharla McBride claimed that “Aurora, Colorado, has been overrun with those Venezuelan gangs.”McBride added that “you’re not seeing that with mainstream media, they’re trying to push that under the rug.” Newsmax, *Wake Up America*, [9/19/24]

- On his radio show, Fox prime-time host Sean Hannity explicitly claimed gangs are “taking over cities like Aurora, Colorado.”Hannity claimed, “The fact that Americans are being murdered, raped, victims of violent crime, that we have gangs taking over cities like Aurora, Colorado, like this town in Ohio that we’ve heard so much about.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [9/12/24]

- OutKick founder and host Clay Travis said immigrants, including those in Aurora, were “coming in and taking over these communities.” Travis said his wife asked, “Have you seen what's going on in Springfield, Ohio? Have you seen what's going on in Aurora? Have you seen what's going on all over the country where all of these immigrants are coming in and taking over these communities? You need to do something about it.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Clay and Buck Show*, [9/10/24]

- Speaking to OutKick’s Buck Sexton, former Fox host Megyn Kelly claimed that Aurora was “overrun” and “overwhelmed” by “these migrants that have been shipped there by the Biden administration.”According to Kelly, “They created a magnet is what they did, Buck. And now the citizens of Aurora, Colorado are overrun, and what's happening in Springfield, Ohio is equally disturbing. We're now spent three days arguing about whether cats are being killed. There are testimonials that they are. The city manager says it's not true.” *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [9/13/23]

- Anti-LGBTQ influencer account “Libs of TikTok” tweeted, “Residents in Aurora, Colorado are being forced to flee their homes as migrant gangs take over the city. Meanwhile the Governor said the gang takeover is in your imagination.” Multiple bomb threats to schools, public libraries, hospitals, and Planet Fitness gyms have previously followed Libs of TikTok's anti-LGBTQ campaign. Twitter/X, [9/2/24, Media Matters, 4/5/24; 11/2/23]

===

badash an 9 24

With less than six weeks until Election Day and early voting already underway in four states, Donald Trump seems to have locked in on his closing message for what he acknowledges will be his final presidential campaign if he loses in November. It’s the same message that launched his political career nine years ago: attacking immigrants.

In a sign anti-immigrant sentiment is the highest it’s been in over two decades, Gallupreports as of June, 55% of Americans want to see immigration decreased. In October of 2001, following the September 11 terror attacks, 58% wanted immigration decreased.

Trump’s anti-immigrant attacks reached a crescendo two weeks ago during the presidential debate against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Seemingly out of nowhere, he dropped his “pet-eating” lie that would lead to dozens of bomb threats across more than 20 facilities in the small town of Springfield, Ohio.

“What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country,” Trump said, attacking Vice President Harris and President Joe Biden. “And look at what’s happening to the towns all over the United States. And a lot of towns don’t want to talk — not going to be Aurora or Springfield. A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”

That lie was quickly debunked but Trump and his vice-presidential running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, continued to spread it.

This week Trump excised his pet-eating derangement, adding in another element: machine guns.

“We can’t have factories being built where you have criminals walking down the street with the worst weapons that you’ve ever seen, with machine guns and everything else,” Trump declared Tuesday at an event billed as a manufacturing policy speech in which he appeared to come out in favor of an assault weapons ban.

On Wednesday, the ex-president, a convicted felon who legally cannot own even a pistol, standing in front of banner that read “Jobs Jobs Jobs,” expanded his claims at (video below).

“But Kamala should have closed the border years ago, and we wouldn’t have hostile takeovers of Springfield, Ohio, Aurora Colorado, where they’re actually going in with massive machine gun-type equipment. they’re going in with guns that are beyond even military scope, and they’re taking over apartment buildings, they’re taking over, real estate – they’re in the real estate development business. Congratulations,” Trump said sarcastically. “These are, in that case, people from Venezuela. Young street gang members that were sent here by the Venezuelan government.”

Mark Jacob, an author and former Chicago Tribune editor turned media critic, blastedTrump and the mainstream media: “Trump’s lies to foment hatred against immigrants keep getting more vivid and unhinged, and major media are DOING A TERRIBLE JOB of explaining how dangerous this is.”

Luis Moreno, a former U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, remarked: “Besides eating cats, Haitian immigrants are now deploying crew served laser beam systems. We need to find out who is training these people!”

Trump had made similar, false claims during the debate, saying, “we have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums. And they’re coming in and they’re taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics and also unions. Unions are going to be affected very soon. And you see what’s happening. You see what’s happening with towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country. And they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous. They’re at the highest level of criminality. And we have to get them out. We have to get them out fast.”

The New York Times reported Trump’s claims of hostile takeovers by Venezuelan gangs appeared to originate from allegations made by a landlord.

“As far back as May 2023, Aurora officials had been trying to force an out-of-state landlord to fix up three blighted apartment complexes,” The Times reported earlier this month. “In July 2024, the landlord, CBZ Management, which says it is based in Colorado and Brooklyn, offered a new argument for why it couldn’t repair the buildings: Venezuelan gangs had taken over, and the property managers had been forced to flee.”

Those claims were quickly repeated, and later, a public relations agent hired by the landlord sent an even more elaborate story to a local Fox affiliate as a “tip.”

On Tuesday a nonprofit representing Haitian immigrants filed criminal charges against Trump and Vance, through its attorney, thanks to Ohio state law that allows private individuals to do so. They have asked a judge to issue an arrest warrant.

Watch Trump’s remarks from earlier Wednesday below or at this link.

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Laura Ingraham calls immigration an “evil” and vindictive punishment aimed at conservative districts

09/19/24 mma

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September 19, 2024, edition of Fox Business' Mornings with Maria

MARIA BARTIROMO (ANCHOR): It's just incredible to me that in order to see the numbers get lower at the border the Biden-Harris administration decided to fly all these people into swing states. I mean -- does that resonate with people? What are they saying about that and the potential for those people to become voters of the Democrat party?

LEE CARTER (POLLSTER): So I think --

MARIA BARTIROMO: Which is what Andy Ogles just told us.

LEE CARTER: People's primary concern about immigration, and a lot of people talk about it related to crime, one of the things that I'm hearing from voters the most is that they're taking our services, they're taking over our schools, they're taking over our jobs, they're getting a lot of free things. We had people in the focus groups the night of debate, a couple of them were immigrants who came here legally and they are furious. What they said was we came here the right way --

MARIA BARTIROMO: That's right.

LEE CARTER: -- we came here for the American dream, we came here for opportunities, we didn't come here for handouts. We came here to work hard and what these people are doing are just coming in and taking handouts and we're changing the dynamics in the country so that instead of seeking opportunities of the American dream, we're putting our hands out.

===

MMA 9 24

PBS NewsHour highlights the positive impact of migrant workers in Springfield, Ohio 09/10/24

===

mma 9 24

September 11, 2024, edition of Fox News' America Reports

JOHN ROBERTS (CO-ANCHOR): You know, General, when you consider the hell that 19 people who made it into this country did, what's the potential for the future with so many millions of people coming into this country in the last few years, many of whom have not been properly vetted, as we discover after they commit crimes?

RET. GEN. KEITH KELLOGG (GUEST): Yeah, John, you're absolutely right. Look, the lights are blinking red. The potential for something like this happening again is there.

...

But, boy, we need to be very, very concerned about what's happening now with our southern border, with those people coming across. How many are coming across that are illegal, we don't know. Undocumented, coming from unprotected states. You know, we talked earlier about the special-interest aliens coming in from countries like Tajikistan. That number last year was over 74,000.

So, I think the potential is out there and we have to be very, very aware of it. You know, just -- if you just imagine just the few number of terrorists, what that did to our nation and the things we had to go through subsequent to that.

So, yeah, I think it's a big concern and we need to be concerned about it. And I think the potential of that happening again is very, very real. Our adversaries see it, they know there's a porous border in the south, they know they can push through what I would call advanced parties that come through and put them into sleeper cells. It's been done before, that's not unknown, it's not unusual. And I think we have to be ready for it.

Right-wing media are gleefully promoting a false, racist rumor that Haitian migrants are eating pets

Right-wing figures have called Haitian people “locusts,” zombies,” and “weird Third World aliens”

Written by Chloe Simon & Reed McMaster

Research contributions from Gideon Taaffe

Published 09/10/24 mma

On September 9, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance claimed that Haitian migrants had “abducted and eaten” pets in Springfield, Ohio, seemingly referencing debunked social media rumors.

Though local officials explained that there was no truth to the claim, right-wing media immediately jumped on the bandwagon, amplifying Vance’s allegations and pushing racist narratives about Haitian immigrants.

Some right-wing figures accused Haitian migrants of consuming “cats and ducks” and comparing them to “zombies” and “locusts.”

Select a Section

## JD Vance falsely alleged Haitian migrants are kidnapping and eating people’s pets, continuing long-standing right-wing media attacks on Haitians

- JD Vance wrote on X that he had previously raised concerns about “Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio” and “reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country.” While Vance did admit in a subsequent post that “it's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false,” he doubled down by telling by telling his “fellow patriots” not to “let the crybabies in the media dissuade you” and encouraged them to continue making “cat memes.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24, 9/10/24, 9/10/24]

- The claim Haitian migrants are eating cats seemingly originated from a commentator at a local meeting, Facebook rumors, and a video of a woman accused of eating an animal. The video used as evidence took place in Canton, Ohio, not Springfield, Ohio, and The Guardian reported that the woman did not appear to be a Haitian immigrant. The Guardian, [9/9/24]

- Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck says there is no truth to the story.In a statement to ABC News, Heck said that “in response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.” (Vance had previously cited Heck in a Senate Banking committee meeting about issues Springfield has had with housing for Haitian migrants.) ABC News, [9/9/24]

- The debunked attack on Haitian people is the latest in years’ worth of racist right-wing media tirades against the country. In the aftermath of the deadly 2010 Haiti earthquake, right-wing media said that the “Haitian pact with the devil is historical fact” and that the country was “so screwed up because it wasn’t colonized long enough.” Then in 2018, when Trump had labeled Haiti a “shithole country,” Infowars’ Alex Jones backed him up, saying it is a “literal craphole” and a “hellhole.” Media Matters, [1/14/10, 1/20/10, 1/21/10, 1/12/18; NBC News, 1/11/18]

## Right-wing and far-right media figures and Trump allies have used this claim to launch hateful attacks at migrants, criticize the Biden/Harris administration’s immigration record, and encourage people to vote for Trump

- The Federalist posted an article titled “If You Want Haitians Eating Cats And Decapitating Ducks In Your Town, Vote For Harris.”The piece also alleges that even though many have denied this claim, “officials have no way of knowing whether this is really happening” and that the debunks serve to “shame anyone who dares to notice the problems that arise when you inundate a community with foreigners from the Third World.” The Federalist, [9/10/24]

- Fox anchor Trace Gallagher claimed migrants are “taking over” Springfield Ohio and eating people’s pets. He stated, “They’ve got 20,000 illegal immigrants that have flooded into this place. They are taking over the city. They are taking people's pets and killing them and eating them.” Media Matters, [9/9/24]

- Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz claimed that “President Trump made it a felony to abuse animals” and “Kamala Harris allows illegal aliens to eat pets.” Bruesewitz also added, “Vote for Trump.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24]

- Trump ally Laura Loomer released “limited edition” “pet collars for your furever friends so that Kamala’s @KamalaHarris’s invaders know our pets are NOT YOUR LUNCH.”The collars say “Not Your Lunch #MAGA” and cost $23.28. Twitter/X, [9/9/24; Untamed USA, accessed 9/10/24]

- The Gateway Pundit published an article titled “Epic Memes Emerge Online Following Reports of Cat and Bird-Eating Haitian Immigrants in Ohio, Causing Liberals to Lose Their Minds.” The article argued that the memes showed “not even our most beloved animals are safe from Harris’s open border,” noting that some of them depicted Trump as “a protector of the animals while telling Americans to vote for him in November.” The Gateway Pundit, [9/9/24]

- Conservative outlet Townhall suggested voting for Trump to stop cats and ducks from being “consumed by illegal immigrants.” The site posted, “Right now—somewhere in Ohio—innocent cats and ducks are being consumed by illegal immigrants. Don't just sit idly by while your pets are victimized. Do something.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24]

- Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter said that he wants to “close our borders to weird Third World aliens who want to eat our cats and dogs and our geese and ducks.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24]

- Libs of TikTok posted a poll asking people “which do you prefer,” “mean tweets” or “Haitians grilling cats.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24]

- In a discussion about the Haitian migrant story, Outkick host Clay Travis compared migrants coming into the U.S. to “locusts” who will “become a plague upon your land.”Travis further claimed that migrants in the U.S are “not going to adopt any of your values” and are going to “bring whatever awful things had destroyed the country that we were in to your country.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show*, [9/9/24]

- Travis also claimed “Kamala’s illegal immigrants” are “eating up cats,” which he said puts “cat ladies for Kamala … in a tough spot.” He stated, “The wild thing to me is, Buck, you had all the cat ladies for Kamala that were running around because JD Vance made a reference years ago to childless cat ladies, and you had people showed up dressing up like cats. These cat women are in a tough spot now that Kamala's illegal immigrants are eating up cats.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show*, [9/9/24]

- Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk amplified the rumor about Haitian immigrants, claiming that “allegedly, Haitians are going around and taking people's pets and eating them.”Media Matters, [9/9/24]

- Infowars host Alex Jones argued that Haitians are being “brought in” to the country and committing multiple violent crimes as well as eating pets. He stated, “You've got the Haitians, who have had a collapsed country for many decades, the Clintons feeding off of them, all of it. Being brought in, in medium-sized towns, cities, you know, 20-, 30,000 a pop like Springfield, Ohio. Which is they're eating the dogs, the cats, raping, burning, murdering, just like zombies running around.” InfoWars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [9/9/24]
- Daily Wire Matt Walsh argued that the cat eating is “happening everywhere that illegal immigrants are being imported.” He continued, “One wonders what the childless cat ladies will say when their cats end up in a Haitian's crock pot or whatever they use to cook cats — I don't know. After all, this isn't just happening in Springfield, Ohio. It's happening everywhere that illegal immigrants are being imported.” The Daily Wire, *The Matt Walsh Show*, [9/9/24]

- TPUSA contributor Jack Posobiec shared a screenshot of a Facebook post claiming the poster’s neighbor’s daughter lost her cat to Haitian migrants who were “carving it up to eat.” Posobiec added, “20,000 Haitians have been imported to Springfield, Ohio since Biden and Kamala took office.” Twitter/X, [9/8/24]

- Right-wing figure Ian Miles Cheong posted a video of a cat and a duck playing together with the caption: “Don't show this to the new 'residents' of Springfield, Ohio.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24]

- Right-wing commentator Mike Crispi alleged that we’ve “now reached the point where the poor asylum seeking migrants are eating house cats and wild birds.” Crispi also claimed that “Democrats are seeking to make these individuals citizens/voters.” Twitter/X, [9/9/24]
- In response to someone asking him if he’s ever “met or helped any Haitians,” Gab CEO Andrew Torba posted that he’s “more concerned with helping and serving my own people in Ohio who the Haitians are terrorizing with their savagery.” Twitter/X, [9/10/24]

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mma

fox shrugs at Maria Bartiromo’s peddling of “kind of racist” election fraud lies

Written by Matt Gertz

Published 08/21/24

Fox’s response to Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo peddling thirdhand election fraud falsehoods she didn’t bother to check demonstrates how the network has abandoned anything resembling journalistic standards in its quest to return Donald Trump to the White House.

Bartiromo repeatedly told her Fox Business viewers this week about a “Democrat operation” to register “massive lines of illegals” to vote at Texas government offices, a story she originally attributed to the wife of a friend of a friend and made no apparent effort to verify. Her thirdhand gossip was swiftly debunked by the local Republican Party and the Texas Department of Public Safety, with a spokesperson for the latter noting that her conspiracy theory was “kind of racist.”

It should go without saying that at any credible news outlet, an anchor promoting wild claims they hadn’t verified that promptly dissolved like this would be facing disciplinary action for breaching standards. But Fox apparently doesn’t have standards barring its purported journalists from citing gossip they haven’t bothered to try to confirm on the air.

Zeteo News media columnist Justin Baragona reached out to a Fox spokesperson on Tuesday about whether Bartiromo planned to address or correct her false claims about undocumented immigrants registering to vote en masse in Texas.

“According to a Fox News spokesperson, Maria Bartiromo was clearly citing a source of hers and never said she confirmed the story,” Baragona subsequently posted to X. “The spox also said it is worth noting that Republicans have been speaking a lot about this issue of noncitizens voting in recent months.”

Meanwhile, Bartiromo did not mention her debunked claims on her Wednesday show, though she did ask the Republican member of Congress she hosted questions like, “Do you have any evidence that you can share with us that tells us that illegals are registered to vote?” and “Do you think you’ll be able to stop it? I mean you’ve got 76 days before the election. How many people will be voting illegally?”

Fox’s response simply emphasizes the problems with Bartiromo’s coverage:

Yes, it is true that Bartiromo was citing a “source,” if that’s what you want to call her friend who said they heard it from a friend who heard it from their wife.
Yes, it is true that Bartiromo never said she confirmed the story.
Yes, it is true that Republicans have sought to undermine the election with baseless claims of noncitizens voting.

But all of that is bad!

If you work at a national cable news network, you’re not supposed to feed your viewers thirdhand, unverified gossip simply because it supports the claims of a political party, and if you do that and the story is subsequently debunked by everyone who bothers to actually try and look into it, that’s a black mark on your credibility.

I don’t want to suggest there was some halcyon day when Fox acted responsibly — the network prioritized Republican political success from its founding — but there was a time when the network’s executives at least tried to curtail its most obvious and indefensible journalistic failings.

When the hosts of Fox & Friends in 2007 cited a right-wing outlet’s quickly debunked report that then-Sen. Barack Obama had attended an extremist Islamic madrassa as a child, the network made clear both publicly and privately that its standards had been violated.

Host Steve Doocy issued a clarification on the show’s next edition. John Moody, at the time Fox’s vice president for news, also acknowledged to The New York Times that the network had erred. “The hosts violated one of our general rules, which is know what you are talking about,” he said. “They reported information from a publication whose accuracy we didn’t know.”

Moody also sent a daily editorial note to staff stating what should have been the obvious: “For the record: seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC.”

Seventeen years later, seeing a text from a friend detailing a story the friend’s friend heard from their spouse apparently means it is ready for air on Fox. The spokesperson’s comments about Bartiromo effectively confirm as much. And meanwhile Jesse Watters, the network’s biggest star, is now apparently preparing to send a staffer to Hawaii to “dig deep” and “get the truth” about Obama’s birth certificate.

It all makes perfect sense when you recognize that Watters, Bartiromo, and the spokesperson work not at a news outlet, but a propaganda network that is in the tank for Trump’s presidential campaign. The peril for Fox, however, is the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit shows how letting people like Bartiromo spin up poorly sourced conspiracy theories to benefit Trump can get very, very expensive.

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### Maria Bartiromo's wild and “kind of racist” election conspiracy theory collapses immediately

:{:{08/20/24}:

### Fox News and the MAGA media are lining up their shot at American democracy

:{:{05/14/24}:

### Maria Bartiromo's source for election conspiracy theories: “The Wind tells me I’m a ghost, but I don’t believe it."

02/16/23

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mma

Bartiromo's wild and “kind of racist” election conspiracy theory collapses immediately

Bartiromo, who was deeply involved in promoting the Dominion election conspiracy theories that Fox News paid for, is at it again

Written by Matt Gertz

Research contributions from Lis Power

Published 08/20/24

Maria Bartiromo repeatedly used her Fox Business show to peddle an election fraud conspiracy theory that she claimed originated with the wife of a friend of a friend in Texas and that she made no apparent effort to confirm. But when the Texas Department of Public Safety and the local Republican Party investigated her reckless allegation, they discovered that none of it was true.

On Sunday morning, Bartiromo posted an item to X alleging that “a massive line of immigrants” had been obtaining driver’s licenses and registering to vote at three Department of Motor Vehicles offices in Texas:

From a friend ...

Friend of mine’s wife had to take her 16 yr old son to the DMV this week for a new license. Couldn’t get an online appointment(all full) so went in person and had to go to 3 DMV’s to get something done. First DMV was in Weatherford. Had a massive line of immigrants getting licenses and had a tent and table outside the front door of the DMV registering them to vote! Second one was in Fort Worth with same lines and same Dems out front. Third one was in North Fort Worth had no lines but had same voter registration drive.

Bartiromo brought the wildly flimsy allegation to Fox’s airwaves the following day, having apparently done no independent reporting to confirm claims that she said originated with the wife of a friend of her friend.

She brought up the story in at least three segments on the Monday and Tuesday editions of her Fox program — including in interviews with two Republican U.S. senators.

Indeed, the story became even more sinister for the Fox audience, with Bartiromo alleging that the people registering to vote were not just “immigrants,” as stated in her X post, but “illegals.” A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety noted that assuming that nonwhite Texans are undocumented is “kind of racist” and called her story “simply false.”

### Bartiromo used Fox show to trumpet thirdhand claim of “illegals” getting registered to vote

Bartiromo first flagged the story during a Monday morning interview with Sheriff Thad Cleveland of Terrell County, Texas, and Republican strategist Michael Balboni.

“I'm serious about this issue of illegals voting, and I want to get your take on this,” Bartiromo told Balboni. “Apparently, the DMV offices right now are packed with illegals right now trying to get driver's licenses, and they're getting Social Security cards, driver's licenses, apparently, in very short order after coming into the country. They want to get them naturalized as soon as possible before the election.”

She returned to the subject later in the segment, saying that a “person … spoke to me about this this weekend” detailing how DMV offices had been “jam-packed with illegals” and claiming that “he” had told her there had been a voter registration “tent and a table” in Weatherford, Texas, that had been “an obvious Democrat operation.”

Bartiromo further discussed the DMV conspiracy theory during an interview with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). This time, she said the allegation came not from the wife of a friend of a friend, as she originally wrote on X, but from “a friend” who had personally seen the “massive lines of illegals getting licenses” and registering to vote, and texted her directly.

“I reported, earlier, and over the weekend, that a friend had sent me a text this weekend telling me that they went to DMV for a new license, and there were lines and lines of illegals all over the DMV office, the Department of Motor Vehicles,” Bartiromo said. “There was one in Weatherford, Texas, massive line of immigrants getting licenses. They had a tent outside and a table to register them to vote.”

“So, what is going on in terms of illegals voting in this election? And do you think that is the reason that the border has been wide open for three and a half years?” she asked.

Video

CitationFrom the August 19, 2024, edition of Fox Business' Mornings with Maria

“Yeah, I’ve been saying that for about three and a half years,” Johnson replied, quickly pivoting from Bartiromo’s anecdote to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory. “I saw no other explanation of why Joe Biden-Kamala Harris would open up the border, presenting a clear and present danger to America, other than to change the electorate to bring in more people — it would be, you know, very beneficial to them from a standpoint of getting elected.”

“Democrats want to make it easy to cheat,” he added. “They want to change the electorate, that is what this has all been about, and it’s destroying this country.”

Bartiromo discussed the story with a second senator on Tuesday.

“I got a tip over the weekend that these DMV offices are jam-packed with illegals and they’re getting them Social Security cards and drivers' licenses,” she told Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS). “Do you have any evidence that illegals are registered to vote?”

### Bartiromo’s thirdhand claim was “simply false,” “kind of racist”

Others who saw Bartiromo’s initial X post did what she apparently failed to do and tried to confirm her story.

Sgt. William Lockridge, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the account Bartiromo promoted was “simply false” and “kind of racist.”

From the Monday report:

Contrary to Bartiromo’s friend’s wife’s account, there is no office for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles in Weatherford. Folks there get their licenses at a DPS Driver License office.

Still, no such tent and table were set up outside the office last week.

“None of it is true,” Lockridge said, adding that the assumption that non-white Texans lined up to get their driver licenses are immigrants or illegal is “kind of racist.”

“Just because these people aren’t white, that doesn’t mean they’re illegal,” he said.

There was a table set outside the DPS Driver License office in Lake Worth on Friday, Lockridge said, but not at the other two sites mentioned in Bartiromo’s post.

Similarly, Brady Gray, the chairman of the Parker County GOP, said on X that his group had spent “24 hours investigating the claims” Bartiromo made about Weatherford and found them to be “erroneous.” From the post:

While we are everyday registering more voters in Parker county, there has been no large submission of registrants consistent with the claim.

All voter registration applications in the county are processed by the county EA office (County Voter Registrar) and are uploaded to SOS to verify the applicants eligibility to vote (i.e. citizenship, etc.). Not only have there been no recent instances of ineligible individuals attempting to register in Parker county, there have only been two in the last 15 years.

The DPS office has confirmed that there have been no tents or tables and no one registering voters on their premises, and that if it were the case they would be told to leave, as it is not allowed.

### Bartiromo’s history of promoting absurd election conspiracy theories

Bartiromo’s ludicrously thin claims of Democrats trying to register undocumented immigrants to vote in the 2024 presidential election fit neatly within her recent career.

Bartiromo promoted a series of wild claims about election fraud following the 2020 election. Her deeds included hosting Trumpist lawyer Sidney Powell to baselessly allege that Dominion Voting Systems had rigged the vote against Donald Trump. She brought Powell on after Powell forwarded her an email from a woman who claimed that Dominion’s software flipped votes from Trump to Joe Biden — and also that “the Wind tells me I’m a ghost, but I don’t believe it.”

Her Dominion segments were featured in the company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox, which resulted in her network paying a record settlement. But they had no apparent impact on her standing at Fox: She retains a weekly Fox News show and a three-hour weekday show on Fox Business, giving her platforms where she can ask U.S. senators about unverified thirdhand claims.

That leaves her well-positioned to help Trump if he once again tries to subvert a presidential election.

---

note hates am conspiracies/ anti-commie

Charlie Kirk: “Kamala Harris wants to see the elimination of the United States of America”](https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-kamala-harris-wants-see-elimination-united-states-america)

08/05/24

August 5, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on YouTube

CHARLIE KIRK: This economic crisis is a national security issue. Over one trillion dollars a year in interest payments alone. And the current kleptocrats of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker — they could not care less about the damage that's being done to the country because it is the Cloward-Piven strategy.

Kamala Harris wants to see the elimination of the United States of America. The Cloward-Piven strategy is we are communists, number one, who hate America, and number two, we are going to do things to destroy the country. And we do that by mass inflation and mass migration. Mass inflation and mass migration. Ruin the dollar, open the borders. Ruin the dollar, open the borders. And that's what you're seeing on a daily basis.

---

Fox has run nearly 1,000 weekday segments on “migrant crime” in 2024. The GOP turned that bogus narrative into a convention night theme.

07/16/24

---

aha maga do not want to legislate just clickbait, provocateurs must weigh in on every event, feed the maw, stay relevant, own the libs/dems, racists b/c every problem/disaster is the fault of POC

// rep collins bigot not 1st

MACE blames biden infra bill

'Disgusting': Maria Bartiromo ripped for linking Baltimore bridge collapse to Biden border policy - Alternet.org

mma 7 24

During the June 27 CNN presidential election debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, Trump made false and misleading claims about immigration and migrants seemingly drawn straight from the right-wing media echo chambers.

Trump falsely claimed that Biden “wants open borders” and “wants our country to … be destroyed,” as migrants are supposedly violent criminals stealing American jobs. He also pushed the “great replacement” theory, saying Biden wants to import migrants to vote Democratic.

Below are some of Trump’s debate claims and recent instances of right-wing media making the same points.

## Claim: Biden has opened up the border

- During the debate, Trump claimed that Biden “decided to open up our border, open up our country” and said he wants “open borders.” CNN [6/27/24]

- Numerous debunks have explained that the U.S. border is not open.NPR, [6/28/24; The Nation, 11/22/23; Axios, 10/17/23; Newsweek, 1/24/22]

- Fox News host Sean Hannity claimed that “there are terror cells here because of [Biden’s] wide-open borders — 11 million unvetted people from countries with terrorist ties and our top geopolitical foes.” Hannity also said Biden has “blood on his hands.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [6/24/24]

- After the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo suggested it could be due to a “wide-open border.” Although she acknowledged that the White House issued a statement “saying that there is no indication of a nefarious intent,” she went on to discuss “the potential for wrongdoing or potential for foul play given the wide-open border.” Fox Business, *Mornings with Maria*, [3/26/24]

- Fox guest T.W. Shannon said that Biden’s “open border” is “poisoning the bloodline in this country because we’re allowing illegals to vote.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [4/10/24]

- Fox guest Sheriff Mark Dannels said that we’ve had “three and a half years of leaving the border open.”He continued, “People come into the country that don't respect our cultures, our rule of law, and the people within.” Fox News, *Your World with Neil Cavuto*, [6/21/24]

- The Real America’s Voice X account posted, “Joe Biden and his administration, along with Obama, are using the open border as a tool to allow millions of immigrants and God only knows how many terrorists in to the country.” Twitter/X, [6/19/24]

- Fox News contributor Larry Kudlow penned a Fox News online op-ed titled “Biden's open border is killing innocent Americans.” Kudlow claimed, “Brutal gang warfare has come across the southern border into our sanctuary cities where blue state mayors and governors will not, in most cases, cooperate with border authorities to deport them.” Fox News, [6/18/24]

## Claim: Biden wants to import migrants as voters

- At the debate, Trump claimed Biden “wants open borders. He wants our country to either be destroyed or he wants to pick up those people as voters."CBS News, [6/28/24]

- In recent years, right-wing media have been pushing the xenophobic “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which alleges that “elites” encourage illegal immigration to bring nonwhite people into the country to “replace” white voters. This false narrative has led to real-world violence, including mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. Media Matters, [5/15/23, 1/12/24; Southern Poverty Law Center, 5/12/23]

- Fox News contributor Paul Mauro asked, “Does it not seem like we’ve hit a point where somebody in Washington has made a decision that there is an acceptable level of collateral damage in order to get a permanent Democratic voting bloc into this country?”The discussion was around the killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray that led to the arrest of two recent Venezuelan migrants. Mauro also suggested that if migrants “were calculated to vote Republican, the [border] wall would be 60 feet high.” Fox News, *Outnumbered*, [6/21/24; The New York Times, 6/25/24]

- Turning Post USA’s Charlie Kirk claimed that “the left” “won't stop until you and your children and your children's children are eliminated.”Kirk also said, “They hate those of you that own land and have guns and believe in a better country, and they have a plan to try and get rid of you.” Real America’s Voice, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [3/1/24]

- Fox host Jesse Watters alleged that the “far left” wants an “illegal alien nation where they can blow up the welfare state and just increase their political power. Same with the corporate class.” Fox News, *The Five*, [6/12/24]

- Pro-Trump troll Laura Loomer claimed that “to the radical left, the replacement of the American core is essential to their ideology and their communist takeover of America.” She went on to say that Biden and the radical left view “traditional America” as something to be “destroyed and relegated to the dustbin of history.” Rumble, *Loomer Unleashed*, [6/6/24]

## Claim: Migrants are violent criminals, and millions are coming from jails and mental institutions in South America

- Trump said at the debate, “Because of his [Biden’s] ridiculous, insane and very stupid policies, people are coming in and killing our citizens at a level we’ve never — we call it migrant crime. I’d call it Biden-migrant crime.” The New York Times, [6/27/24]

- Trump also said that Biden “allowed millions of people to come in here from prisons, jails, and mental institutions — to come into our country and destroy our country.” Trump made similar claims on at least three occasions in 2023, according to CNN, which reported that he “claimed the leaders of unnamed South American countries are deliberately emptying their ‘insane asylums’ and ‘mental institutions’ to send the patients to the United States as migrants.” His campaign was unsuccessful in finding evidence for the claim. Trump made a similar claim in February, saying that “jails … throughout the world” are “emptying out” because countries are “dumping” migrants here and that others are coming from “mental institutions and … insane asylums.” The New York Times, [6/27/24; CNN, 4/29/23, 2/29/24]

- Studies show no link between immigration and high levels of crime, and evidence shows immigrants are less likely to commit crime than U.S.-born citizens. According to the Brennan Center, “Numerous studies show that immigration is not linked to higher levels of crime, but rather the opposite. Studies [also show] … immigration is associated with lower crime rates and an increase in structural factors — such as social connection and economic opportunity — that are linked to neighborhood safety.” NPR, [3/8/24; Brennan Center for Justice, 5/29/24]

- Border security expert Adam Isacson told PolitiFact that “‘millions’ would mean one in eight was someone released from a jail or a mental institution, a claim too ridiculous to dignify.”He also said that it “‘strains belief’ … that someone with serious mental illness could navigate the route to the U.S. after release from an institution.” Politifact, [6/6/24]

- Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller claimed on Fox that migrants are “above the law” and “being dumped into this country by the millions as they rape and pillage and murder.”Miller continued, “Joe Biden’s flying them in day after day, busing them in, escorting them in to rape and pillage and murder more Americans.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [6/21/24]

- Loomer said the migrant “invaders” “just disappear … only to be seen again when their faces are plastered on the news after they commit heinous crimes like murder, rape, human trafficking, assault, and drug dealing.” Loomer also suggested that Democrats embrace immigration because they want “white America” to be “punished by being replaced.” Rumble, *Loomer Unleashed*, [6/7/24]

- Tomi Lahren of Fox’s OutKick said that migrants including men from “Venezuelan gangs” in the U.S. are “preying on young women” and targeting them because they are “the most vulnerable among us.” Fox News, *Outnumbered*, [6/21/24]

- Watters said Biden is “catching and releasing killers and rapists,” saying they’re “serial sexual predators, they’re serial killers, and they don't belong here.These are third world animals.” Watters also claimed, “Biden migrants are exploding all inside our country like IEDs. It feels like a terror attack to me.” Fox News, *The Five,* [6/21/24]

- In a discussion about the killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, whose alleged attackers were migrants, Fox news host Lawrence Jones claimed, “They’ve emptied the jails and now we have to deal with it.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [6/26/24]

- Jones also complained that people are calling “the former president crazy for saying they were emptying their jails, and what do you know, Venezuela, crime rate is going down.” While talking about the killing of Rachel Morin, allegedly by an immigrant, Jones continued, “There is actual proof of people that have criminal records, that have committed murders in their country now coming to our country to do the same thing.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends,* [6/21/24]

- Fox News contributor Tyrus claimed,“They are emptying their jails and their psych asylums to America and we don't have asylums for anybody.”He added: “The floodgates are wide open.” Fox News, *Gutfeld!*, [6/24/24]

## Claim: Migrants are stealing jobs from Americans

* In the debate, Trump claimed that migrants “are taking Black jobs and they’re taking Hispanic jobs. And you haven’t seen it yet.” The New York Times, [6/27/24]

- Research is mixed on the impacts of migrants on jobs, but some research shows that “immigrants raise wages and boost the employment of U.S.-born workers.” Forbes reported on research that looked at 2000-2019, also noting: “Even simulations for the most recent 2019-2022 period suggest small positive effects on wages of non-college natives and no significant crowding out effects on employment.” Additionally, as Brookings senior fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown explained in 2017, “Undocumented workers often work the unpleasant, back-breaking jobs that native-born workers are not willing to do.” The New York Times’ fact check of the debate says that “whether or not immigrants depress wages or displace some workers has been examined by economists for decades, and there is no clear conclusion.” Forbes, [5/1/24; Brookings Institution, 8/24/17; The New York Times, 6/27/24]

- Right-wing media have been lying for at least a decade about migrants stealing jobs from U.S. workers.Media Matters reports from 2013 and 2015 gathered right-wing media commentary claiming migrants steal U.S. worker jobs, countering that “there is no evidence that immigrants crowd out U.S.-born workers in either the short or long run.” Media Matters, [2/1/13, 10/27/15]

- Right-wing influencer Amuse posted that “military aged” Chinese migrants “are here to steal our jobs, our information, our welfare benefits, our elections, and our freedom.” Twitter/X, [2/5/24]

- Fox Business host Sean Duffy said, “The Biden White House keeps bragging about the strong economy, pointing to the job market as evidence, … but a closer look under the hood reveals that all those job gains — they’re going to immigrants.” Duffy’s co-host Dagen McDowell further added: “Why are all the jobs going to these people and not people born here in the United States? Hmm. Is it DEI? Maybe.” Fox Business, *The Bottom Line*, [2/14/24]

- The Center for Immigration Studies’ Steven Camarota wrote a piece for The New York Post complaining that “job gains are going to immigrants, and keeping young US-born men out of the workforce.”Camarota further claimed, “Allowing millions of immigrants into the country to fill lower-wage jobs means we have little incentive to undertake the difficult task of getting more men back into jobs.” The New York Post, [2/13/24]

- Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo said, “When you look at the jobs numbers, they look really strong -- they do -- every month. We seem to have a strong jobs market. But when you peel back the onion, a lot of those jobs are going to noncitizens; a lot of those jobs are part time.” Fox News, *America’s Newsroom*, [6/20/24]

NOTE merge of racism and violent crime and border hype fear mma

### Fox News returns to “migrant crime” fixation as migrant crossings, crime plummet

:{:{06/25/24 }:

### Fox News' Jeanine Pirro says all undocumented immigrants should be presumed to be violent criminals

:{:{06/24/24 }:

mma 624

PAUL MAURO (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): One of two things is going to happen here. Either you are going to end up with a capital case which is going to go on forever in which case we're responsible for their care and feeding or you don't get the capital case and assuming they are guilty and convicted, which they are still just the accused, we are then responsible for their care and feeding.

And in the old days — and I'm talking the old days in the deep, dark past of maybe five, six years ago — folks like that you capture who are going to be in jail for a long time in some instances the bureau of prisons in any state or federally can say: "You know what? Why should we have to pay for this character? Let's get him out of here. We'll send him back to his own country at some point so that we're not responsible for him until he's old and gray." That option is off the table. Now you wouldn't use it in a murder case anyway but in the situation that we're facing with all of these migrants, we don't have that option anymore because they are going to come right back.

So realistically they are here for good and from where I sit, Dana, this has now morphed into biowarfare. These guys are smart weapons, they are bioweapons deployed against America. They are killing Americans and we don't seem to be really catching anybody's attention in Washington to stop it.

===

another jrnl fail (foreign migrant shoplifter//

After Fox News promoted a hoax about homeless veterans being “evicted” from New York hotels to house migrants last year, some of the network’s anchors said they would provide viewers more information “as we get it.” That promise was apparently disingenuous: Fox has yet to report that the originator of the bogus story now faces federal fraud charges.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors charged Sharon Toney-Finch, an Army veteran whose Yerik Israel Toney Foundation claims to “help homeless and low-income military service veterans in need of living assistance,” with multiple counts of fraud. They alleged that she raised funds for the group by falsely claiming to have received a Purple Heart after surviving a terrorist attack and spent the group’s money on personal expenses. They also alleged she received “hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits” by falsifying her military discharge paperwork to match her story.

Toney-Fitch drew notoriety as the source for a May 12, 2023, New York Post report in which she alleged that nearly two dozen homeless veterans her organization had been helping were kicked out hotels in upstate New York to make room for migrants.

The story became a cause celebre for right-wing commentators seeking to demonize migrants and attack Democratic politicians. But Toney-Smith’s tale collapsed within days, as local news outlets reported that she had fabricated her story and the homeless veterans had never existed.

Fox, which relentlessly portrays migrants as dangerous criminals conducting an “invasion” of the United States, picked up Toney-Fitch’s hoax the day after the Post published its initial story. Fox News and Fox Business gave the story, which Fox claimed to have “confirmed,” more than an hour of credulous coverage over six days.

“This is pretty infuriating, homeless vets who served our great country, they’re being put out on the street and replaced by illegal immigrants,” prime-time star Sean Hannity alleged in one such segment.

But as the story unraveled, Fox personalities began backtracking and admitting they had been duped. On May 24, 2023, several Fox anchors read an on-air statement which said in part, “We've since learned that veterans advocates misled local officials, and it now turns out those eviction claims were false. We want to update you on this story, make sure the record was set straight, and we’ll get more to you as we get it.”

Apparently the “veterans advocate” behind the story facing criminal charges after allegedly faking a Purple Heart and defrauding the government of hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits wasn’t worth mentioning.

:==

judd pop info 4 24

in the 2024 presidential election, one of the central attacks that Trump and his political allies are levying against Biden is that Biden is responsible for a "migrant crime" wave. The argument was summarized by Trump in a March 22 video:

[A] real bloodbath is occurring right now under crooked Joe. It’s Biden’s Border Bloodbath. There’s never been anything like that. Every day, Joe Biden is setting loose thousands of unvetted, unscreened, military-age men into the United States from parts unknown… We had the safest border in history. Now we have the worst border probably in the history of the world. Every day innocent citizens are being killed, stabbed, shot, raped, and murdered because of Biden migrant crime. It’s a new word, a new term. It’s migrant crime, but we call it Biden migrant crime cause he’s responsible for it 100%... When I’m your president, we’re going to end this disgrace, and we’re going to stop Biden’s Border Bloodbath. It is a bloodbath indeed, and we’re going to get it stopped.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has launched a website dedicated to the issue, BidenBloodbath.com. "History will remember Biden for his destruction, chaos, and failure. Lives of everyday Americans have been shattered as a direct result of Biden’s open border policies — and he doesn’t care," the RNC claims on the homepage. "We have to stand up and stop Biden before he destroys our nation. The cost of doing nothing is measured in the lives lost to the… crime wave washing across America."

This message has been amplified by the right-wing media. Fox News' Jesse Watters, who hosts the network's top-rated primetime show, offered this commentary on April 12:

Migrant crime is quickly becoming one of the largest issues affecting the American people. Communities all across the United States are being terrorized by violent illegals, while Biden rolls out the red carpet for them with his open border policies, but Donald Trump is pledging to take care of the problem and keep our citizens safe when Republicans get back in power

There are violent crimes committed by undocumented migrants, which are traumatic for the victims, their families, and their communities. That is why the accusation that Biden is responsible for a surge in violent crime by undocumented migrants is so politically potent. There are disturbing anecdotes of crimes that make powerful fodder for attacks during a political campaign. People, understandably, want to feel safe.

But is there evidence that, since Biden took office, there has been a surge in violent crime by undocumented migrants?

The most straightforward answer would be to look at crimes committed by undocumented migrants over time. Unfortunately, this data is unavailable because law enforcement agencies do not typically collect or report information about immigration status, analyst Jeff Asher notes.

In his newsletter, Jeff-alytics, Asher came up with the next best alternative. He looked at trends for "violent crime across the 14 counties along the Texas border with Mexico." If there is, in fact, a violent crime wave fueled by migrants, it would show up in these counties before anywhere else. The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains up-to-date, reliable crime data at the county level.

Asher found "no evidence of increasing violent crime along the US border with Mexico." In fact, these border counties "have seen a relatively steady violent crime rate below that of the rest of their state and the nation as a whole."

The same trends hold when you look at murder alone. The murder rate in border counties is consistently lower than the country as a whole, with little change over the last four years.

In other words, the best available data does not support the claim that Republicans have made a central issue in the 2024 campaign. There is no "bloodbath" at the border. These areas, in fact, have less crime than the nation as a whole.

The national crime decline

If there is no migrant crime wave at the border, perhaps it will show up in other areas of the country. The data does not support that claim either.

Nationwide, homicide and violent crime dramatically declined in 2023. According to the latest FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime report, which was released in March, homicides were down 13% in 2023 compared to 2022. Meanwhile, violent crime and property crime dipped 6% and 4% respectively. This data is preliminary and based on reports submitted by 15,199 of 19,152 law enforcement agencies across the country, reflecting “about 82% of the U.S. population.” (The FBI will release a more complete analysis for 2023 in the fall.)

Based on initial findings, Asher said “[t]he decline in murder in 2023 is likely the largest one year decline ever recorded.” The last time that happened was in 1996 when murder dropped 9.1%. In 163 of the 232 cities that submitted data, murder “was down or even,” Asher wrote. These findings were also mirrored in a survey by the Council on Criminal Justice, “which found that homicides were down an average of 10%” across 32 cities. The preliminary data also “suggests 2023 likely had the lowest reported violent crime rate nationally since the late 1960s,” Asher said. A few cities, including Chicago and DC, bucked the trend and saw an increase in violent crime in 2023. But there is no evidence this increase was attributable to migrants.

Asher said early data from 2024 shows that “murder is down around 20 percent in 2024 in more than 180 cities” compared to the same time period last year. In some cities, like DC, Las Vegas, and New Orleans, murder has declined by “more than 30 percent.” In Chicago, murder has declined 12%. But Asher concluded that the data, though incomplete, is encouraging overall. “A murder decline of even half the magnitude suggested by the early 2024 data would place the US murder rate this year largely on par with or below where it was from 2015 to 2019,” Asher noted.

The fact that we are not seeing evidence of a migrant crime surge is consistent with historical data that shows migrants, even undocumented migrants, are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. A peer-reviewed 2020 study, which used data from the Texas Department of Public Safety from 2012 to 2018, "found a lower felony arrest rate for immigrants in the U.S. illegally compared to legal immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens and no evidence of increasing criminality among immigrants." An upcoming study by a researcher at the libertarian Cato Institute similarly found that "undocumented migrants in Texas were about 26% less likely to be convicted of homicide than native-born Americans over the decade of 2013-22."

It appears, however, that Republican messaging around the issue is having an impact. Despite the data, most people believe crime is up. A Gallup poll in November 2023 found that 77% of Americans “believe there is more crime in the U.S. than a year ago.”

===

Fox News' attempt to manufacture a Biden crime crisis runs into a problem: Violent crime is down | Media Matters for America

'There’s no evidence': Experts debunk Trump’s claims of 'migrant crime' wave in US cities - Alternet.org

===

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