Oklahoma removes 450,000 from voter rolls as part of election integrity efforts



Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) announced Wednesday that the state has removed nearly half a million ineligible voters from its voter registration list.

According to the state, since 2021, 453,000 individuals — including 194,962 inactive voters, 143,682 who moved out-of-state, 97,065 deceased voters, 14,993 with duplicate registrations, and 5,607 felons — have been purged from its rolls.

'Only U.S. citizens who are residents of Oklahoma may register to vote in our state.'

The update was provided by the governor and state election officials as a part of their "ongoing efforts to maintain Oklahoma's status as a national leader in election integrity," according to a recent press release that noted "routine voter list maintenance" is required by law.

Stitt stated, "Voting is our most sacred duty as Americans— and every Oklahoman wants to know their vote is securely cast and properly counted."

"The State Election Board and the Secretary of State's office continue to go above and beyond in their responsibility to ensure only eligible Oklahomans can vote in our elections. Their progress reassures me we will continue to lead the nation in election integrity efforts," the governor added.

Secretary of State Josh Cockroft said that the collaborative efforts between the governor's office, the State Election Board, and lawmakers have ensured that "Oklahoma has fortified our electoral process."

"We've aggressively pursued policies to ensure voting is secure and accurate, and we're innovating to protect our elections from emerging technology like AI. In Oklahoma, every eligible citizen will have their vote counted and their voice heard," Cockroft stated.

In a recent post on X, Stitt wrote, "You may have heard about 'ballot harvesting' in other states. That doesn't happen in Oklahoma."

"Only U.S. citizens who are residents of Oklahoma may register to vote in our state," he continued. "And Oklahoma state law explicitly prohibits non-citizens from accessing voter registration services."

Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) made a similar announcement, noting that his state had removed more than one million ineligible voters from its rolls since 2021, Blaze News reported. Abbott attributed that sweeping clean-up to Senate Bill 1, which created uniform voting hours across Texas and banned drive-through voting and unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots.

Abbott called SB 1 the "strongest election laws in the nation to protect the right to vote and to crack down on illegal voting."

"These reforms have led to the removal of over one million ineligible people from our voter rolls in the last three years, including noncitizens, deceased voters, and people who moved to another state," Abbott remarked.

According to the governor's office, more than 6,500 of the one million individuals removed from the voter rolls were noncitizens. Additionally, 1,930 of them have reportedly previously voted in an election. Those instances of noncitizens voting were referred to the Attorney General's Office for an investigation.

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Over 100 suspected Tren de Aragua members participated in ‘riot’ at the border: Gov Abbott



Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) revealed on Monday that more than 100 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were identified within the massive group that stormed the southern border in El Paso, Texas, in March.

During a press conference in Houston, Abbott announced, in response to TDA’s expanded presence within the United States, a “comprehensive, statewide operation that will aggressively target the dangerous” group.

'Texas is aggressively going after these foreign terrorist organizations.'

As part of the mission, the governor designated the gang a terrorist organization. The Texas Department of Public Safety has been instructed to elevate TDA to a Tier 1 gang. The agency will also create a TDA Strike Team dedicated to rooting out the criminal organization. TDA members caught illegally smuggling people into the state could face a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence.

“The recent entry and expansion of the vicious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a dangerous and deadly problem facing our state and nation,” Abbott remarked.

“Our goal is to defend Texas from the growing threat of the gang. We will not let them use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens. They have a target on their back, and we are going after them. Texas is the wrong state for them to try to do business in,” he said.

Earlier this year, law enforcement agents at the El Paso border were bombarded by a large group of unruly illegal aliens who attempted to push past them on their way into the U.S. Footage of the incident, captured by the New York Post, showed the group of primarily adult men tearing down the concertina wire near Gate 36, which is not a designated port of entry.

As a result of the incident, 211 individuals received riot participation charges. However, El Paso County Judge Ruben Morales dismissed the charges in May, Blaze News previously reported. The suspects were released and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to face federal illegal entry charges.

An ICE spokesperson previously revealed to the Post that many of the suspects were released into the interior of the country, others were deported, and some remained in custody.

On Monday, Abbott revealed that suspected TDA members were believed to be a part of the incident.

He stated, “Earlier this year, more than 100 suspected TdA members were arrested after the riots at the El Paso border, when immigrants assaulted the Texas National Guard.”

“Texas is aggressively going after these foreign terrorist organizations of TdA,” Abbott added.

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Texas requires hospitals to collect, report health care costs for illegal aliens



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order on Thursday that will require the state’s public hospitals to collect and report health care expenses for illegal immigrants. A press release from Abbott’s office stated that the executive action aims to track the costs of the Biden-Harris administration open-border crisis.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will be required to “collect information on illegal immigrants who use Texas public hospitals for inpatient and emergency care and to report incurred healthcare cost.” HHSC will provide annual reporting to the governor and the Texas legislature, which will be used to request financial reimbursement from the federal government.

To track such information, hospitals will ask patients about their immigration status and collect information regarding the costs associated with their care. Hospitals under HHSC will be required to submit quarterly reports to the commission. HHSC will begin collecting this information starting no later than November 1.

“The surge of individuals unlawfully crossing the Texas-Mexico border posed an ongoing and imminent threat of disaster for a number of Texas counties and for all state agencies by this disaster,” the executive order read. “The surge of individuals crossing the southern border has continued, resulting in more than 11 million people—a number larger than the population of 40 different States—entering this country illegally in less than four years under the Biden-Harris Administration.”

The executive order requests hospitals to inform patients that their responses to immigration status questions will not impact the care they receive.

Abbott released a statement regarding the new executive order, saying, “Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state.”

“Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants,” Abbott continued. “That is why today I issued an Executive Order requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants in our state. Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies.”

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) responded in opposition to the governor’s order.

“Here we go again,” Garcia stated. “Our MAGA Republican Governor just can’t stop social engineering. First, he wants doctors and nurses to police women’s choices for reproductive care, then he wants to make criminals out of parents who support their child in seeking gender-affirming care, and now he wants to make ICE officers out of doctors providing immigrants with medical care.”

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Texas' buoy barrier to deter illegal crossings can remain in Rio Grande, court rules



On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Texas may keep its water barrier in the Rio Grande.

Last summer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced his administration's plan to install a 1,000-foot floating fence in the river in response to the Biden administration's refusal to secure the southern border. The barrier consists of interconnected inflatable sphere buoys, four feet wide, that spin when grabbed to prevent individuals from climbing over.

'Biden tried to remove them. I fought to keep them in the water.'

Abbott said that the water barrier would be placed near Eagle Pass, a highly trafficked area of the border. The governor also placed concertina wire along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass to further deter unlawful crossings.

The Biden administration entered into a legal battle with the state over its attempts to stem the illegal immigration crisis, filing lawsuits against Texas' installation of the concertina wire and the buoy wall. Biden's Department of Justice claimed that Texas violated federal law by not obtaining authorization to install the barrier. It further alleged that the buoys present environmental and safety concerns.

On Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the marine barrier may stay for now, reversing a lower court's injunction that ordered its removal. The broader case will return to a district court in Austin next week.

Following the court's latest ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced, "The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Texas's favor, finding that the federal district court abused its discretion when it ordered Texas to remove the buoys floating in the Rio Grande that prevent aliens from attempting a dangerous river crossing to enter America illegally. The buoys can remain in the river. I will continue to defend Texas's right to protect its border from illegal immigration!"

Abbott called the court's Tuesday decision "justice."

"Biden tried to remove them. I fought to keep them in the water. That is exactly where they will stay," Abbott said.

Abbott's interventions to curb the border crisis were deployed as part of the governor's Operation Lone Star, a joint effort between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard. According to the governor, the effort has resulted in more than 516,600 illegal alien apprehensions and over 45,500 criminal arrests.

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Texas joins the ranks of the red states rejecting Biden's woke Title IX rules



The Lone Star State has joined the ranks of the Republican states that have rejected the Biden administration's woke rewrite of Title IX. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made expressly clear Monday that Texas will not be party to regulations that force schools to embrace radical gender ideology at the expense of girls.

"Title IX was written by Congress to support the advancement of women academically and athletically," Abbott noted in a letter addressed to President Joe Biden. "The law was based on the fundamental premise that there are only two sexes — male and female. You have rewritten Title IX to force schools to treat boys as if they were girls and to accept every student's self-declared gender identity."

Blaze News previously reported that under the new rules, sex discrimination is expanded to include sexual preferences and "gender identity." Sex-based harassment includes "harassment" on these bases.

The rules also bar schools from separating or treating people differently based on sex. The Biden Department of Education clarified that preventing "someone from participating in school (including in sex-separate activities) consistent with their gender identity causes that person more than de minimis harm."

The result is that federally funded institutions and programs will have to allow male transvestites into girl's locker rooms and restrooms. Those that defy the requirement could face legal action.

Abbot referred to the new rules as a "ham-handed effort to impose a leftist belief onto Title IX," adding that doing so exceeds Biden's authority as president.

"I am instructing the Texas Education Agency to ignore your illegal dictate," continued the governor. "Your rewrite of Title IX not only exceeds your constitutional authority, but it also tramples laws that I signed to protect the integrity of women's sports by prohibiting men from competing against female athletes."

"Texas will fight to protect those laws and to deny your abuse of authority," added Abbott.

Texas is not alone in fighting back.

Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told the administration to pound sand, stressing the Sunshine State "will not comply."

"We are not going to let Joe Biden try to inject men into women's activities. We are not going to let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents. And we are not going to let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida," added DeSantis.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody made clear that the Sunshine State would be challenging "this betrayal of women in court."

Louisiana took action, suing the Biden administration this week over the rules.

The state's Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement, "This is all for a political agenda, ignoring significant safety concerns for young women students in preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities across Louisiana and the entire country."

"These schools now have to change the way they behave and the way they speak, and whether they can have private spaces for little girls or women," continued Murrill. "It is enormously invasive, and it is much more than a suggestion; it is a mandate that well exceeds their statutory authority."

The States of Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho have joined Louisiana in the case, Louisiana v. The U.S. Department of Education.

The lawsuit notes that the Biden administration's final rule "drives a dagger through the heart of Title IX's mandate" and will have consequences both "shocking and severe."

Louisiana made clear the lawsuit serves to save Title IX and protect the myriad interests threatened by the DOE's rule.

Wyoming, Oklahoma, and South Carolina are similarly not on board with this apparent effort to impose a radical ideology on the nation.

Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder was among the first to take a stand, noting on April 22, "I am outraged by the Biden administration’s action to effectively repeal Title IX protections for women in America. Not only does the Biden administration continue to attack the protections of biological women and the rights of parents, but it does so without any congressional action."

The next day, Ellen Weaver, South Carolina's state education superintendent, told school districts across to disregard the new rules, stating, "This rule is contrary to the express text and undisputed original understanding of the statute it purports to implement. Worse yet, it turns the statute on its head and would rescind 50 years of progress and equality of opportunity by putting girls and women at a disadvantage in the educational arena."

"Even a surface-level analysis of the 1,500 pages of regulations reveals violations of the U.S. Constitution, long-standing civil rights protections, and the Federal Administrative Procedures act," added Weaver. "Because of these and potentially other violations, we fully anticipate this rule will be tied up in litigation for some time."

State Superintendent Ryan Walters similarly told all districts in Oklahoma to ignore the regulations, calling the changes "illegal and unconstitutional," reported KGOU-FM.

The Hill indicated that the states' resistance has greatly angered LGBT activists.

"These MAGA politicians are threatening to put schools in an incredibly precarious position, encouraging them to violate federal civil rights law, potentially opening them up to costly lawsuits, and putting their federal funding at risk," said Brandon Wolf, press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. "Their theatrics could prove incredibly damaging to students."

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Texas judge orders release of illegal aliens after they mobbed National Guard troops, rioted



A migrant horde largely comprising military-age men from Venezuela stormed the U.S. border on March 21, attacking Texas National Guard soldiers and destroying American property in El Paso. Even though federal immigration officials were reportedly uncooperative, Texas managed to arrest a number of the rioters.

Rather than hold the illegal aliens accountable, however, Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta ordered that they be set loose in the U.S. "on their own recognizance."

Invaders riot

Blaze News previously reported that an angry mob of foreign nationals breached a razor-wire barrier at Gate 36, then overwhelmed a group of Texas National Guard soldiers who ultimately elected not to open fire.

Today down in El Paso I witnessed one of the wildest scenes I\u2019ve ever seen in my time covering the border. National Guard troops were attempting to \u2018push back\u2019 male migrants hoping to be admitted into the U.S. when the crowd grew impatient and surged forward, tearing down razor\u2026
— (@)

Another video shows illegal aliens in the area attempting to steal past razor wire and into the U.S.

Hundreds of migrants were pushed south of the concertina wire in the middle of the night by Texas National Guard. Hours later they again breached the concertina and made a rush for the border wall in El Paso, Texas. #Border #Texas
— (@)

The incident reportedly kicked off when Texas National Guard soldiers allegedly separated some women and children while attempting to create smaller groups for processing. Hundreds of foreign nationals seized upon this as an excuse to riot and overwhelm the guardsmen.

A National Guard source told the New York Post that one migrant attempted to grab a soldier's firearm. Other migrants were apparently armed with knives and other stabbing utensils.

"These people were willing to assault military," said the source. "They were willing to assault law enforcement. They have complete disregard for our laws."

Following the incident, Abbott announced that Texas had deployed 700 additional Texas National Guard troops along with 200 members of the new Texas Tactical Border Force.

Invaders arrested

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) indicated the incident was contained by the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety, adding that the DPS was "instructed to arrest every illegal immigrant involved for criminal trespass & destruction of property."

Over 70 illegal aliens involved in the riot were arrested. Texas authorities reportedly identified over 200 additional suspected rioters, but federal immigration authorities have failed to cooperate.

One migrant, 21-year-old Honduran Junior Evaristo Benitez, was thrown into the El Paso County jail. Benitez, facing possible charges including assault on a public servant, is accused of stomping on a guardsman's knee "purposefully and with malice," according to court documents.

Invaders set loose

Magistrate Judge Acosta chastised the El Paso District Attorney's Office during an online teleconference bond hearing Sunday for suggesting prosecutors were not ready to proceed with detention hearings for each of the alleged rioters, reported the El Paso Times.

"So if the DA's office is telling me that they are not ready to go, what we're going to do is we're going to release all these individuals on their own recognizance," said Acosta.

Acosta did not indicate how many illegal aliens had been booked on a charge of "riot participation" and how many he would ultimately have released, but he noted Sunday that "hundreds of arrestees" had a right to individual detention hearings within 48 hours.

The judge rejected a request by Assistant District Attorney Ashley Martinez for a continuance to have the hearings at a later date, reported the Times.

Another hearing is expected to take place Monday for other individuals facing charges in relation to the riot.

Extra to seeking the release of the rioters, Acosta reportedly granted the release of two other illegal aliens who were jailed for allegedly cutting border fencing.

The local paper emphasized that the arrestees will remain jailed if there are U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds blocking their release. ICE previously told the New York Post that it is holding over 200 illegal aliens.

Response

The incident was roundly highlighted as yet another example of the fallout of the Biden administration's mismanagement of the border and the type of characters flooding into the nation by the millions.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) said, "Every American should witness this chilling footage. This is the result of the Biden Administration refusing to secure our border and protect America."

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said, "This assault on our sovereignty is an invasion at the invitation of Joe Biden."

The Biden White House attempted to displace blame, suggesting congressional Republicans were responsible for the border crisis.

"When the former President told Congressional Republicans to block the bipartisan border security agreement – he said to blame him for it," a White House spokesman told Fox News. "Well he got his wish, and the result was chaos after Governor Abbott's Operational Lone Star and razorwire were overrun yesterday. While we cannot comment on individual cases, anyone who does not have a legal basis to remain in the United States is promptly removed."

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Gov. Abbott celebrates success of Operation Lone Star, citing significant declines in illegal alien encounters



The Biden administration has worked hard to hinder the Lone Star State's efforts to fend off invading waves of foreign nationals. In recent weeks, the Democratic administration has fought in the courts to prevent Texas from enforcing Senate Bill 4, which makes illegal entry into Texas a misdemeanor offense and enables state law enforcement officials to send illegal aliens packing.

Fortunately, Texas has other arrows in its quiver — some of which appear to have been thinning the waves of migrants encountered at the border.

Early Wednesday morning, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott highlighted recent indications that "Operation Lone Star is working."

The governor cited a recent Media Research Center report indicating that the number of encounters of illegal aliens at the border dropped by 28% between October 2023 and last month — from 560,920 to 406,458.

The report was referencing U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, indicating that there were steep declines in four of the Lone Star State's five Border Patrol sectors between the last five months and the same period in fiscal year 2023. El Paso saw a 46.8% decline; Big Bend, a 65.1% decline; Laredo, a 38.1% decline; and the Rio Grande Valley, a 22.6% decline.

The Del Rio sector saw less significant year-over-year decline in encounters of 5.7%. However, that number is likely to improve since the state took control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, where the Biden administration previously failed to prevent multitudes of illegal aliens stealing into the country.

Texas has since installed razor wire, fencing, and shoreline barriers in the area, reducing the number of unlawful entries by 41.2% in January and by 38.5% as compared with the same months in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, sectors in Democrat-run states saw massive spikes. For instance, the San Diego sector saw a 76.1% increase in encounters. Tucson, Arizona, saw a 167.2% spike in illegal alien encounters at its southern border.

Newsweek noted that Kari Lake, presently running in Arizona for the U.S. Senate, previously attributed the surge at Arizona's border to the success of Texas' border control efforts.

"Because Greg Abbott is now working to secure the border in Texas, we're seeing an influx of people pouring across our border even more so than we had in previous months," Lake said in January. "The Tucson sector is being overrun with people from 168 different countries."

Abbott is evidently pleased with this turn of events, at least as it pertains to the well-being of his state and its inhabitants.

"Illegal crossings are going down in TX while at the same time they are skyrocketing in CA & AZ," wrote Abbott. "It's b/c of the border wall, razor wire barriers, the National Guard & arrests by DPS."

Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021. Abbott said at the time, "Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open-border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans. We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis."

The governor's office indicated on the third anniversary of Operation Lone Star earlier this month that the multi-agency effort has resulted in over 503,000 illegal alien apprehensions; 40,400 criminal arrests; 36,100 felony charges; and the seizure of 469 million lethal doses of fentanyl.

While Texas cannot presently lawfully eject illegal aliens from the U.S., under Operation Lone Star, it has sent them packing to Democrat-run sanctuary cities around the country, including over 12,500 to Washington, D.C.; 39,100 to New York City; 32,200 to Chicago; 3,400 to Philadelphia; 16,600 to Denver; and 1,500 to Los Angeles.

Several hours after celebrating the apparent success of Texas' efforts to secure the border, Abbott announced that 200 soldiers in the Texas Tactical Border Force had been deployed to El Paso to "bolster Texas' ability to hold the line."

Nearly 200 soldiers in the Texas Tactical Border Force arrived in El Paso yesterday.\n\nThese soldiers will bolster Texas\u2019 ability to hold the line.\n\nTexas will continue to utilize all available resources and personnel to secure our border.
— (@)

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WTF: US patron booted from American Airlines flight to make room for illegal immigrant



U.S. children are being kicked out of schools to make room for illegal immigrants. Airports and other spaces are being repurposed to house illegal immigrants. American taxpayer dollars are being used to provide care and resources for illegal immigrants.

You get the picture: illegal immigrants > American citizens.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the pattern will shift anytime soon, at least while Biden remains in office.

“I could not believe what I was watching this morning when I was on Twitter,” says Sara Gonzales before playing a clip of the local news report she stumbled across.

“Airline passengers are advised to check in with your Airlines mobile app as soon as possible — up to 24 hours in advance — and arrive at the airport with at least two hours before your plane takes off. That's because asylum seekers illegally released by the Department of Homeland Security are waiting on standby for seats, and if you aren't at the boarding gate when agents start to fill empty seats, you could be bumped,” a reporter warned.

She goes on to tell the story of one patron who “had trouble checking in on the American Airlines app” but still “arrived at the airport an hour before his flight” only to find out “had been bumped from the flight.”

Sara, who’s outraged by the situation, has witnessed firsthand how illegal immigrants are given priority at airports (and everywhere else).

“They get priority through TSA ... they get to take your seat on the plane, and then they get to come to a city near you where they get to keep your kids out of school because they get a cot in your kids’ school,” she says, referring to the many incidents of American children being forced out of school to house illegal immigrants.

“The state has to be paying these airlines in some capacity,” adds BlazeTV contributor Eric July. “That’s the only reason they would bump somebody off of a plane ... They’re getting their pockets lined."

In addition to Americans being treated as second-class citizens, there’re also serious implications to consider as the 2024 presidential election draws nearer.

“What does a legitimate election even look like with 50/60/70 million illegal immigrants in your country?” asks Blaze Media digital strategist Logan Hall.

To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip below.


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