‘It’s Chilling’: ‘Morning Joe’ Panelist Frets About Lack Of Opposition To Trump Deportations
'We’ve gone further than Hungary in the United States'
Top GOP Senators Stonewalling Indiana Bill To Boost Immigration Enforcement
It's 'unfathomable that states would ignore the overwhelming immigration enforcement mandate we won on in November.'One of Time's 100 most influential people soon to become one of Trump admin's 100 most recent deportees
Jeanette Vizguerra is a leftist fugitive who illegally stole into the United States in December 1997. After her criminal conviction for using fake documents in 2009, she was ordered out of the country — something the Obama administration evidently never got around to. While the first Trump administration similarly failed to eject her from the homeland, the president's second administration is evidently not making the same mistake.
To the chagrin of open-borders activists, Democratic lawmakers, and other radicals, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement nabbed Vizguerra on Monday. ICE Denver indicated that the 53-year-old activist was arrested without incident and will remain in ICE custody until she is sent home to Mexico.
Over the years, Vizguerra routinely hid in the basements of churches to avoid the authorities. Jordan Garcia, a 15-year acquaintance of Vizguerra who works for the leftist American Friends Service Committee, told the New York Times that immigration agents managed to catch her outside the Target store near Denver where she worked.
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Garcia, citing second-hand testimony from Vizguerra's family, claimed that one of the agents told the illegal alien, "We finally got you."
Mike Johnston, the Democratic mayor of Denver who cut the city's police budget in order to provide more services to illegal aliens, whined about the Trump administration's faithful enforcement of immigration law, stating, "This is not immigration enforcement. This is Soviet-style political persecution of political dissidents under the guise of immigration enforcement."
Johnston, among the sanctuary city mayors recently referred by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation, falsely stated that "this is not someone with a criminal record."
Vizguerra was charged in 2009 with not having a driver's license or insurance, driving with an expired license plate, and using a false Social Security number on a job application. CNN indicated the leftist activist who repeatedly violated immigration law ultimately pleaded guilty to "attempted possession of a forged instrument" in the second degree.
'She is a subversive criminal who has abused the laws of the US over and over.'
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted that in addition to her past criminality, Vizguerra apparently also wished ill on the democratically elected leader of the nation she had broken into, sharing an image of an Indian scalping President Donald Trump on her Facebook page with the caption, "This is how you Make America Great Again."
"Jeanette Vizguerra is a mother and pillar in her community. I am deeply concerned about ICE's actions to detain her without any due process, like a deportation order," stated Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.). "ICE should ensure Jeanette has legal counsel and immediately release her."
ICE has reportedly confirmed that, contrary to Bennet's suggestion, Vizguerra does have a deportation order — and she's had one for many years.
National Domestic Workers Alliance, an advocacy group of which Vizguerra is a member, similarly bemoaned her arrest but refrained from similarly lying about the fugitive's criminal history or her affordance of due process.
"After living, working, and contributing to her community in the U.S. for 30 years, Jeanette now faces deportation to Mexico and separation from her children," the National Domestic Workers Alliance said in a statement. "Let's be clear: These attacks are intended to provoke fear and silence us, but we will protect each other."
In 2017, Time magazine claimed Vizguerra was one of the most influential people in the world. Apparently, what qualified her was her willingness to criticize a foreign nation's immigration policy while living there illegally and doing her best to fight its application of the law. According to Time, it also helped Vizguerra's case that she did not come to the U.S. "to rape, murder or sell drugs."
Former ICE Denver Field Office Director John Fabbricatore noted that in 2019, immigration authorities tried to remove Vizguerra, striking a deal with her attorney that she would depart voluntarily — something she had done before — thereby avoiding arrest.
"Plane tickets were purchased and we waited for her to show up at the airport. She left the church and instead fled to a different church to seek sanctuary violating the agreement she had with the government," said Fabbricatore. "I had another plan in place to physically arrest her but unfortunately President Trump unfairly lost the election and when the Biden administration came onboard they shut me down and granted Vizguerra another Stay of Deportation."
"President Trump is back and the immigration law is being taken seriously again," continued Fabbricatore. "Once again, Vizguerra does not have a Stay and it is time to go. She is a subversive criminal who has abused the laws of the US over and over."
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Biden did that? No, it’s Marco Rubio making gas prices skyrocket this time
Last month’s termination of Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela marks a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy. It also has grave implications for U.S. interests in South America.
The decision, which effectively forces Chevron — responsible for nearly 30% of Venezuela’s oil revenue — to cease operations within 30 days, moves U.S. policy back toward ill-fated interventionism.
Rubio’s adventurism arguably undercuts American dominance of the Western Hemisphere.
At first glance, this shift may appear to be a classic recalibration within the Trump administration. Insider reports suggest, however, that it was driven by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a leading neoconservative, who has seized a moment of political leverage to advance a hard-line stance on Venezuela.
A hard-line shift
With much of Washington’s focus on Ukraine, Rubio worked with Cuban-American lawmakers from Florida, including Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez, and Maria Elvira Salazar, to pressure the administration into taking a more aggressive position against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Rubio has long sought the removal of Maduro — whose leftist politics he detests — but his current approach poses a serious threat to U.S. national security.
This move is based on the assumption that by cutting off American engagement with Venezuela’s oil sector, Maduro will be weakened, potentially leading to his ouster.
But history suggests that this kind of economic pressure, typical of neoconservative thinking, has not — that is, never — yielded the desired results.
A similar “maximum pressure” strategy on Venezuela during Trump’s first term did not lead to regime change. Instead, it exacerbated instability in the region and contributed to the surge of migration at the southern U.S. border.
This was hardly an outcome that had conservatives jumping for joy.
Economic consequences
Beyond border security, Rubio’s decision could have severe economic consequences. U.S. oil refiners, particularly along the Gulf Coast, rely on Venezuela’s heavy crude to operate properly and keep pump prices as low as possible for working Americans.
Consequently, restricting access to this supply will likely increase fuel costs for American consumers — something that contradicts the president’s commitment to boosting U.S. energy production to supercharge our flagging economy.
The immediate market response has been telling, with oil prices rising more than 2% following last month's announcement. A neoconservative State Department, therefore, looks set to hit Americans where it hurts.
Strengthening our adversaries
Rubio’s adventurism also arguably undercuts American dominance of the Western Hemisphere.
Rather than halting Venezuelan oil production, hamstringing Chevron leaves Maduro’s government with little choice but to deepen ties with China and Russia. These antagonists are more than ready to fill the gap left by Western firms and American technology.
The U.S. had been making progress in reducing Venezuela’s reliance on Beijing, but this policy reversal could undo all that — strengthening adversaries at America’s expense.
This is not to say that engagement with Venezuela should come without conditions, but a more measured approach would have preserved American leverage rather than ceding ground to geopolitical competitors.
A pivot from MAGA
For example, President Trump last month outlined the framework of a U.S.-Venezuela détente: ramping up crude oil imports in exchange for Venezuela’s agreement to accept the return of its nationals who are in the United States illegally.
This would be a boon for the MAGA movement, strengthening energy and border security in one policy shot.
But Rubio has other ideas. His influence in shaping this turn away from Venezuela is evident. But the broader question remains: Will America return to the failed policies of the past, or will it stick to the optimistic realism of the Trump-Vance ticket?
The right answer, for me at least, is clear as day.
ICE deports illegal immigrant wanted for human smuggling that led to the deaths of 3 minors
An illegal immigrant was deported back to his home country of the Dominican Republic, where he was wanted for human smuggling, which resulted in the deaths of three minors.
Edgar Batista Matos is a Dominican national who was deported last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE coordinated with the Dominican National Police to deport Batista Matos.
'ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of criminal alien fugitives.'
On March 4, Batista Matos was placed aboard an ICE removal flight that transported the illegal alien from Miami International Airport to Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Local law enforcement in the Dominican Republic took the illegal migrant into custody at the airport.
Batista Matos has reportedly been deported at least five times.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that Batista Matos was first deported in October 2010 "when he was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol after he entered illegally near Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico."
Batista Matos was also deported in 2011, 2019, and 2023. ICE did not provide details of the prior deportations.
In September 2024, Batista Matos was arrested by police in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after law enforcement in the Dominican Republic issued a warrant for his arrest for his connection with the fatal illegal alien smuggling venture.
"The return of this fugitive to the Dominican Republic is a prime example of how ICE works closely with our international law enforcement partners to identify, locate, and remove criminal aliens who are wanted in their country for allegedly committing crimes," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Miami acting Field Office Director Juan Lopez Vega. "ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of criminal alien fugitives. As a result, our communities are safer and more secure."
As Blaze News reported last month, Venezuela has agreed to repatriate its citizens who are illegally living in the United States, including members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. The deal also brought back six U.S. citizens who were being detained by the regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro following the country’s July presidential election.
President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, "It is so good to have the Venezuela Hostages back home and, very important to note, that Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua."
“Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back,” Trump noted. “We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all Countries, and all Countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back. Furthermore, record numbers of criminals are being removed from our Country, and the Border numbers are the strongest they have been since the First Term of the Trump Administration!”
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Feds dismantle huge human smuggling ring that funneled 20,000 Guatemalan aliens into US, leaders face death penalty
Federal authorities in California have arrested and charged alleged leaders of a criminal organization said to have smuggled more than 20,000 illegal immigrants from Guatemala to the U.S. over five years — including seven who died in a car crash in 2023.
The U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement said in a recent statement, "An illegal alien from Guatemala was arrested on a four-count indictment alleging he led one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States."
'The indictment and arrests here have dismantled one of the country’s largest and most dangerous smuggling organizations.'
U.S. officials said the huge human trafficking ring "smuggled approximately 20,000 illegal immigrants from Guatemala to destinations nationwide over a five-year span." U.S. federal authorities estimated that illegal immigrants paid the human smuggling ring "between $15,000 and $18,000 for each illegal immigrant smuggled into the United States."
The human smuggling ring allegedly smuggled illegal aliens into Arizona, "where they were held in stash houses and eventually picked up by Renoj-Matul’s lieutenants." Illegal aliens were reportedly offered to be transported to Los Angeles for an additional fee.
ICE noted that the illegal immigrants who did not pay the fees were "held hostage in a stash house in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles."
"The defendant held some victims in stash houses as hostages and is responsible for the deaths of seven illegal immigrants — including a 4-year-old child — who were killed in a November 2023 car accident in Oklahoma," the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.
Federal officials said that 51-year-old Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul – also known as "Turko" – was arrested in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 28.
Authorities also noted that Renoj-Matul's "right-hand man" – 49-year-old Cristobal Mejia-Chaj – was also arrested on the same day.
In all, four suspects in significant roles in the human smuggling ring were reportedly arrested. All the suspects are purportedly Guatemalan nationals who are or were illegally living in the U.S. at the time of the alleged offenses.
U.S. officials said they also arrested 41-year-old Helmer Obispo-Hernandez — a lieutenant in the criminal organization. ICE also allegedly nabbed 44-year-old Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj — a driver for the smuggling organization who is incarcerated in Oklahoma.
In a separate federal criminal complaint filed on March 2, Obispo-Hernandez is accused of threatening to cut off the heads of an ICE task force officer and members of his family on Feb. 28.
The feds said all four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States, transporting aliens in the United States, and harboring aliens in the United States for private financial gain and resulting in death.
“These smuggling organizations have no regard for human life and their conduct kills,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “Their members pose a danger to the public and law enforcement. We must vigorously enforce our immigration laws so that these organizations cannot operate. The indictment and arrests here have dismantled one of the country’s largest and most dangerous smuggling organizations. This work saves lives, and the members of the organization will now face significant consequences.”
ICE Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco said, "These arrests illuminate the dangers and victimization associated with aliens attempting to unlawfully enter our country. Every day, similar human smuggling organizations put profits ahead of safety in these reckless and illegal endeavors. ICE Los Angeles and our partners are committed to continue identifying and dismantling these organizations so no further lives are lost and our borders are secure.”
The U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement noted that if the defendants are convicted of all charges, they would face a statutory maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment.
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Red States Snap Into Gear To Help Trump Enforce Immigration Laws
'Having employers that are knowingly coming in and bringing in illegal aliens who they know should not be in our country ... there needs to be stiff penalties.'Today's top stories
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