DHS Calls Out Media ‘Smears’ After Illegal Aliens Allegedly Ram Border Patrol Car
'These are more disgusting smears'
Exclusive: Pedophiles, Abusers Among Aliens Arrested By ICE While Dems Withhold Agents’ Paychecks
'Our officers continue to risk their lives every day to arrest criminal illegal aliens despite not getting paid,' said DHS's Tricia McLaughlin.Texas National Guard deployed to Chicago amid increasing left-wing violence
The Trump administration is deploying 400 troops from the Texas National Guard to Chicago amid escalating violence over Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city. The move comes on the heels of an attack on ICE officers, allegedly by left-wing activists, and weeks of rolling protests and riots around ICE detention facilities in and around the city.
'Violent incidents ... are impeding the execution of the laws of the United States.'
The unrest has increased in response to Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration enforcement operation targeting illegal aliens in Chicago. The city has become a hotbed for illegal immigration due in large part to its status as a sanctuary city, meaning that law enforcement is not permitted to cooperate with federal personnel and city resources are open to illegal aliens.
In a memo on Sunday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced he was activating the Texas National Guard, writing, “Violent incidents, as well as the credible threat of continued violence are impeding the execution of the laws of the United States.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said that he “fully authorized the President to call up 400 members of the Texas National Guard to ensure safety for federal officers.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called the deployment "Trump's invasion” in a post on X and said, “Every American must speak up and help stop this madness.” He lamented the fact that “no officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.”
Pritzker signed a law in 2019 banning Illinois law enforcement from cooperating with ICE. He has stated that “the state of Illinois will not coordinate with ICE on federal immigration enforcement.”
In a press release, the Department of Homeland Security announced that special operations teams have been deployed to Chicago following attacks on federal law enforcement on Saturday. The attacks occurred as Border Patrol officers were carrying out operations in Chicago.
According to DHS, Border Patrol vehicles were boxed in and then rammed by left-wing “domestic terrorists.” One of the alleged assailants, Marimar Martinez, “was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a history of doxxing federal agents.”
CBP agents fired shots in self-defense, hitting Martinez, who has been discharged from a local hospital and is now in FBI custody, the press release said. Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, suspected of driving another vehicle "involved in the ramming," has also been arrested.
Crowds “began throwing smoke, gas, rocks, and bottles at DHS law enforcement” as the scene became increasingly violent. DHS reported that Pritzker refused “to allow local police to help secure the scene.”
Another ICE vehicle suffered a flat tire and was “mobbed by domestic terrorists, forcing law enforcement to abandon the vehicle for their own safety.” DHS added that several CBP officers have been hospitalized with various injuries.
In addressing the situation, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “We will not allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement. If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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'War from within': ICE agents descend from helicopters to nab suspected TDA gangsters in Chicago apartment
Operation Midway Blitz, the immigration enforcement surge underway in Chicago since the beginning of September, continued with a large show of force targeting gang members. Tensions are running high among different leaders as Trump continues to execute on his deportation mandate.
On Tuesday, federal agents descended on a building in Chicago in a raid targeting illegal aliens, some with suspected ties to Tren de Aragua. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surrounded a building, with some agents rappelling down from Black Hawk helicopters.
'If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.'
Nearly 300 federal agents from FBI, Border Patrol, ICE, and the ATF assisted in the operation in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. Newsweek reported that roughly 30 illegal aliens were detained, some with suspected Tren de Aragua affiliation.
President Trump designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization at the beginning of his second term.
On Tuesday morning, Trump called out the largest of the infamous sanctuary cities, describing the deportation operations as a "war from within": "What they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places. And we're going to straighten them out one by one."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) fired back at Trump's message on X. "To Donald Trump: Stop using military troops and ICE to invade and disrupt American cities. Stop calling your political opponents 'enemies' of the U.S. Stop attacking the 1st Amendment. Our troops and our nation deserve better than you acting as a petty tyrant."
Operation Midway Blitz was announced on September 8, 2025, in honor of Katie Abraham, a young woman killed by an illegal alien in Illinois.
“For years, Governor Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets — putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the beginning of Operation Midway Blitz. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: No city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
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Exclusive: DHS disputes ‘false’ narrative from legacy media — ‘ICE does NOT arrest or deport US citizens’
A New York Times report published on Monday claimed that at least 15 American citizens have been “arrested or detained and questioned” by law enforcement officials as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The Department of Homeland Security rejected the Times’ accusations in a press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News.
The Times claimed that the DHS has “roamed the streets, courthouses and workplaces demanding proof of citizenship from residents,” particularly in Southern California communities.
'Any US citizens arrested are because of obstructing or assaulting law enforcement.'
The DHS rejected the Times’ accusation, emphasizing that its operations are “highly targeted” and do not result in the arrest of U.S. citizens.
“We do our due diligence,” the department explained. “We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability. ICE does not arrest or detain U.S. citizens.”
The Times further reported that Americans had been detained overnight in immigration facilities without access to a lawyer or a phone call.
The DHS stated this was not true, noting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers have higher standards "than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”
RELATED: Pam Bondi issues zero-tolerance order on violence against federal officers
“Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false,” the DHS said.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members,” the DHS continued.
The Times highlighted several cases, including those involving Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, Jason Brian Gavidia, Javier Ramirez, George Retes, and Leonardo Garcia Venegas. The outlet reported that all the individuals were American citizens who were unjustly targeted by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
According to the news outlet, Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, was riding in his employer’s truck with his co-workers in May when the Florida Highway Patrol pulled them over. After Laynez-Ambrosio and the other vehicle occupants refused to exit the vehicle, troopers forcibly removed them, the Times reported. Laynez-Ambrosio was allegedly held at a nearby Border Patrol facility for roughly six hours, despite repeatedly telling officials he was a U.S. citizen.
The DHS argued that Laynez-Ambrosio, who was in the vehicle with “several adult male illegal aliens from Guatemala,” resisted arrest during the traffic stop. Border Patrol agents, who were responding to a request for assistance from the FHP, arrested the illegal aliens.
Law enforcement officials detained Gavidia, 29, and Ramirez, 32, after conducting an operation at their place of business in East Los Angeles in June. The Times claimed that both were American citizens who were improperly targeted.
“Gavidia was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer and interfering with agents performing their duties,” the DHS stated. “Javier Ramirez was detained on the street for investigation for interference and released after being confirmed to be a U.S. citizen with no outstanding warrants.”
RELATED: Pot farm raid update: Trump's DHS found convicted rapists and kidnappers working near migrant kids
The Times reported that law enforcement agents unjustly detained Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran, in July. During the detainment, officers allegedly broke his windshield and pepper-sprayed him after mistakenly identifying him as an unruly protester. Retes was on his way to work as a security guard for Glass House Farms, a marijuana farm in California. At the time of the incident, the farm was the site of a federal law enforcement operation, which sparked an anti-ICE demonstration.
The DHS claimed that Retes “became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement” while they were executing criminal search warrants at the farm.
“He challenged agents and blocked their route by refusing to move his vehicle out of the road. CBP arrested Retes for assault,” the department said.
The Times reported that authorities wrongfully targeted Venegas while he was working at a construction site. He began recording the officers after witnessing them push his brother, who is an illegal immigrant, to the ground, according to the news outlet. An officer allegedly tackled Venegas and kept him handcuffed for hours.
“During a targeted worksite operation, Garcia Venegas attempted to obstruct and prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien,” the DHS wrote. “He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands. Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “We have said it a million times: ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens. Not even a week after the terrorist attack targeting ICE in Dallas, the media is once again shamefully peddling a false narrative, attempting to demonize our DHS law enforcement agents, who are already facing a 1,000% increase in assaults against them.”
“Any U.S. citizens arrested are because of obstructing or assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin declared.
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The Zizians’ violent spiral: A trans group tied to killings across America
The assassination of Charlie Kirk, connected to a suspect who is reportedly in a romantic relationship with a man who claims to identify as female, reignited concerns about increasing violence associated with transgender ideology. Kirk's murder follows the Covenant School shooting in Nashville in 2023 and the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in Minneapolis last month, both of which were carried out by individuals who claimed to identify as trans.
Among those accused in this surge of violence is a crew of young, trans-identifying radicals from the Bay Area known as the Zizians, who have drawn particular attention from the authorities for their alleged string of deadly attacks.
The Zizians, dubbed a cult-like group that has been likened to a modern-day Manson family, have been implicated in a chilling series of killings: a Vermont Border Patrol agent gunned down during a traffic stop, a Pennsylvania couple found shot in their home with no signs of forced entry, and the stabbing of a California landlord scheduled to testify against group members.
Beyond the ominous headlines, their story reveals not a well-organized underground network but rather a disjointed group of tech-savvy youth who were drawn into progressive movements and ensnared by a toxic mix of gender dysphoria, artificial intelligence doomsaying, radical veganism, and anarchism. These ideologies have directed their quest for logic and innovation down a path of isolation and increasing violence.
The birth of a fringe group
Before the group came to be known as the Zizians, its lead founding member, Jack "Ziz" LaSota, moved to San Francisco in 2016, with the aspiration of breaking into the Bay Area's tech startup scene. LaSota, a male who identifies as a woman, became deeply involved with the local rationalist movement, a philosophy that emphasizes the use of reason, logic, and evidence to understand the world and make informed decisions. LaSota's stated goal was to make a positive contribution to the tech industry by addressing the potential existential threat posed by artificial intelligence, a major concern for rationalists focused on "effective altruism," which stresses prioritizing actions that promote good.
However, LaSota encountered several issues after relocating to the Bay Area, the first of which was the high rental prices. Determined to address this problem, LaSota formulated a plan with Gwen Danielson that involved dodging exorbitant rent costs by living on boats with other rationalists. LaSota dubbed the communal living initiative the "Rationalist Fleet."
'Ziz planned to drive across the entire continental United States to murder me.'
LaSota's blog, Sinceriously — which has since been taken down, but mirrored and archived versions still exist — described Danielson as a "bigender" "trans woman."
At the time, LaSota was actively attending in-person meetups hosted by users of LessWrong.com, an online discussion board for rationalists. During one of those events, LaSota met Jacob Pekarek, also a "trans woman," who went by several names, including Jay Leo Winterford, Jane, and Fluttershy. Pekarek became involved in the boat venture, for a time living with LaSota and Danielson.
In 2017, the group invested in a tugboat, "The Caleb." They lived on it while it was illegally docked in Pillar Point Harbor, according to a lawsuit.
While the Rationalist Fleet aimed to address the lack of affordability of the Bay Area, both internal and external pressures soon began to fracture the group.
RELATED: Zizians: The vegan trans cult behind a Border Patrol agent’s murder?
Clashes with the rationalists
Things for LaSota and the crew started to take a strange turn around 2019 amid growing friction between the group and the area's rationalist movement.
In November, LaSota staged a protest against the Center for Applied Rationality, a Berkeley-based nonprofit that hosts rationalist workshops. The organization was scheduled to host an alumni weekend retreat at the Westminster Woods camp along the Bohemian Highway in Sonoma County, but the gathering was interrupted by LaSota and several others — Danielson, Amir "Emma" Borhanian, and Alexander "Somni" Leatham — who showed up wearing Guy Fawkes masks and hooded black robes.
LaSota and the group claimed that CFAR had "betrayed us," going so far as to accuse members of the nonprofit of sexual misconduct against children. CFAR's leadership has repeatedly denied those claims. LaSota also argued that instead of forwarding the mission of protecting humanity from AI, CFAR was pushing its members to work on AI.
The protesters allegedly blockaded the entrance to the retreat with their vehicles, knowingly or unknowingly trapping inside a class of over two dozen elementary school children who had been attending a ropes course.
Law enforcement responded to the scene by deploying a SWAT team and a helicopter after receiving reports that one of the protesters may have had a gun. However, no firearm was found on the protesters. The group was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment, false imprisonment, conspiracy, resisting arrest, wearing a mask while committing a crime, and trespassing.
They each were released from jail after posting bail, and prosecutors dropped felony charges to misdemeanors.
The group later filed a civil rights complaint against Sonoma County authorities, claiming that officers had subjected them to excessive force and "sexual assault and battery" by ignoring their requests to be searched by female officers instead of male officers. The complaint further alleged that, while incarcerated, their clothing was "forcibly stripped off their bodies" and officers "crowded around to look at the Claimants' genitals and naked bodies." They claimed they were "tortured" and "woken whenever they started to fall asleep … and were kept naked and cold for days."
Court proceedings in the cases slowed to a crawl during COVID.
The protest not only led to legal battles but also deepened the group's alienation from the rationalist community, pushing them toward more extreme ideologies.
Spiraling ideologies and isolation
Following the protest, the group was ultimately banned from LessWrong.com and CFAR meetups.
For the last several years, Danielson had also been experimenting with a sleep technique LaSota described as "partial sleep" or "unihemispheric sleep," which supposedly lets "parts of your brain do REM sleep without the rest."
LaSota built on Danielson's sleep practices, creating the concept that people are made up of two hemispheres and each hemisphere can be either "good" or "nongood." Those with two good hemispheres are considered "double good"; those with one, "single good"; and those with none, "nongood." LaSota noted that "double good" is "far less common than single good."
"This means that they cannot have fusion concerning good, only treaties, and will tend to take actions where the two sets of concerns seem to overlap, with infinitely recursive mutually-warped epistemics," LaSota wrote, describing the concept of "single good."
The group's living situation also began to change.
Curtis Lind, an 82-year-old man who was living on his boat, reportedly befriended the group. In early 2020, Lind, who owned property in Vallejo, California, allowed some of the friends — including Borhanian and Leatham — to live in box trucks and RVs on his land.
The crew abandoned "The Caleb" in 2022, allowing it to sink in the harbor.
It was around this time that things appeared to go off the rails completely for the group of friends.
Michelle "Jamie" Zajko, who was living in Vermont, claimed publicly in February 2022 that LaSota had made death threats against Zajko. LaSota allegedly demanded that Zajko kill Alice Monday, Zajko's romantic partner, and provide photographic proof.
"And if I didn't do it," Zajko wrote in a blog post, "Ziz planned to drive across the entire continental United States to murder me."
LaSota's Sinceriously blog posts had become progressively more bitter and aggressive over the years, even calling for "airlock[ing]," a term used to mean killing, certain types of people. The friends' comments on LaSota's blog further revealed the extent of the group's fractures and ongoing disagreements.
After Danielson failed to show up at a court hearing related to the protest incident, the defense attorney asked for a stay in the case in August 2022, stating that he believed Danielson had committed suicide.
That same month, reports surfaced that LaSota had also died. The Coast Guard received a call from a relative who claimed LaSota had fallen overboard while boating in San Francisco Bay. After the Coast Guard concluded an 18-hour search, LaSota was presumed dead.
At this point, it seemed that the group had largely fallen apart, with Danielson and LaSota both presumed dead and two other individuals tied to their clique — Chris "Maia" Pasek and Pekarek — having reportedly committed suicide in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
RELATED: Police nab suspected leader of trans murder cult linked to Border Patrol agent's killing
Faked deaths and violent retaliation
Amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, California implemented an eviction moratorium that allowed those living on Lind's property, including Borhanian and Leatham, to avoid paying rent. The state extended this moratorium for more than two years, with it officially coming to an end in late June 2022.
After they still failed to pay rent, Lind moved to evict the friends by scheduling a date with the sheriff's office.
With the eviction date looming, Lind claimed one of the friends, Suri Dao, asked him on November 13 to inspect a leaky outdoor water tap. During the visit, Lind stated that he blacked out and woke up to find several individuals standing over him as he was covered in stab wounds.
Lind pulled out his gun to defend himself, and that is when Leatham stabbed him with a samurai sword, he claimed. Lind opened fire, killing Borhanian and wounding Leatham.
Lind, somehow, survived the alleged attack — this time.
When police arrived on the scene, they arrested Dao and transported Leatham and Lind to the hospital. A blonde friend who identified as "Julia Dawson" was taken to the station for questioning, then transferred to the hospital after appearing to suffer from a medical emergency. Dawson quietly left the hospital, evading further interaction with law enforcement.
Authorities later confirmed that "Dawson" was a false identity, and the individual who had been living with Borhanian and Leatham was, in fact, the previously thought deceased LaSota.
The alleged attack on Lind was only the beginning of a wave of violence that extended beyond California.
More senseless killings
In early January 2023, authorities discovered Zajko's parents, Richard and Rita, dead from gunshot wounds in their Pennsylvania home.
Law enforcement noted no signs of a break-in, concluding that the killer must have been someone the couple knew.
'We are seeing all across the country an increase in violence from the transgender community and those that are obsessed with breaking out of gender norms and sexual norms.'
Several days later, police detained Zajko, who was staying in a hotel room in Pennsylvania after attending a graveside ceremony. While being apprehended by authorities, Zajko requested that the hotel's lobby attendants inform Daniel Blank, another friend of the group who was also staying in the hotel, of the arrest.
Police obtained a warrant to enter Blank's hotel room, where they say they discovered him hiding in the bathroom with LaSota.
Zajko and Blank were already released by the time authorities allegedly recovered Zajko's Smith & Wesson 9mm and five boxes of ammunition hidden in a cloth bag in Blank's hotel room.
RELATED: If radical Islam was terror, why isn’t transgender extremism?
The group of friends, now widely referred to as the Zizians, seemed to lie low for a couple of years amid ongoing investigations until January 2025, when Lind, who was scheduled to testify against the Zizians accused of attacking him a few years earlier, was found stabbed to death on his property in California.
Maximilian Snyder, another individual tied to the Zizians, was arrested and accused of the murder. Prosecutors alleged that Snyder had killed Lind to prevent him from testifying against Leatham and Dao.
Days later, two other Zizians were wrapped up in yet another tragic and senseless killing.
A Vermont Border Patrol agent, David "Chris" Maland, 44, was performing a vehicle stop on January 20 when vehicle occupants Teresa "Milo" Youngblut and Felix "Ophelia" Bauckholt opened fire. The exchange of gunfire resulted in the deaths of Maland and Bauckholt, a German national.
Authorities recovered multiple guns, ammunition, cell phones, laptops, and tactical gear inside the suspects' vehicle. They noted that some of the cell phones were wrapped in foil. It is unclear why the suspects were in the area. However, when previously stopped by authorities, they claimed they were looking at real estate.
Zajko allegedly purchased the guns in Youngblut and Bauckholt's possession. Further tying the incident to the Zizians, Youngblut and Snyder had previously applied for a marriage license.
Where are they now?
In February 2025, Danielson's father told the New York Post that Danielson had not committed suicide and was still alive and in hiding from the "dangerous" Zizians.
"She checks in regularly and I heard from her very recently, but she's not ready to come out of hiding just yet," Brett Danielson stated.
He noted that the Zizians' "political ideology was that killing animals is just as violent as killing people, and therefore everybody is guilty of violence."
"And that probably led some of them to a self-justification for their own propensity for violence," he concluded.
LaSota, Zajko, and Blank are currently being held without bond at the Allegany County Jail, facing trespassing, obstruction of justice, weapons violations, drug possession, and felony drug-trafficking charges. LaSota was also federally charged with possessing firearms and ammunition as a fugitive.
No charges have been filed in response to the killing of Zajko's parents.
Youngblut is currently in federal custody, facing a four-count superseding indictment for the murder of Maland, the assault of two other Border Patrol agents with a deadly weapon, and firearms offenses.
Dao and Leatham are in custody, facing aggravated mayhem and murder charges. Leatham is also facing charges for allegedly trying to escape from jail.
Snyder is in custody, facing murder charges for the death of Lind.
An increase in violence
The killings allegedly linked to the Zizians appear to stem from personal disputes or impulsive actions taken in moments of panic, rather than organized efforts. However, the possibility of future shifts in their behavior remains, as the number of active Zizians and those influenced by their ideologies is unknown.
"We are seeing all across the country an increase in violence from the transgender community and those that are obsessed with breaking out of gender norms and sexual norms. It's growing out of hand," Terry Schilling with the American Principles Project told Blaze News. "The internet is fueling it at an incredible rate, and it's one of the main reasons why American Principles Project has decided to focus so heavily on protecting children online from these dangerous social media sites that warp these kids' brains and turn them into absolute monsters."
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Blaze News, "DHS works diligently with law enforcement partners to keep our nation's communities safe from ideologically driven violent extremists."
The FBI declined to comment. Attorneys for LaSota and Zajko did not respond to a request for comment.
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How many immigrants have actually left the country?
About a month ago, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference to announce that about “1.6 million illegal immigrants have left the United States population.”
That’s a fraction of the number of people who arrived in the years that the Biden administration essentially opened the border. But it’s a lot of people, and it engendered much eye-rolling among journalists who compared Noem’s claim to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s declaration that President Trump’s drug interdiction policies had saved 258 million lives, roughly 75% of the U.S. total population.
The foreign-born population in the US declined from 53.3 million at the beginning of the year to 51.9 million by the end of June — a decline of 1.4 million in just six months.
However, in the weeks since Noem’s announcement, several data points have since emerged that suggest her estimate may be reasonably accurate. It might even be too low.
Numbers don’t lie
In August, the Pew Research Center estimated that the U.S. foreign-born population dropped from 53.3 million at the beginning of the year to 51.9 million by the end of June — a decline of 1.4 million in just six months. The Pew report noted that the January count of 53.3 million was “the largest number ever recorded” and that the decline this year will be the first decline in the immigrant population since the 1960s.
About the same time, the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that the foreign-born population fell by 2.2 million in the first seven months of the year. The center estimates that 1.6 million of those who left were in the country illegally. If this estimate is correct, it would indicate that about 600,000 immigrants left, despite having the option legally to stay.
The center’s report indicates that it relied in part on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks the number of foreign-born workers. The bureau’s data shows that the number of foreign-born workers peaked in March at 32.2 million, before falling to 30.8 million by August — a decline of 1.4 million. Even so, the level remains historically high, and numbers appeared to stabilize in late summer.
Last week, the Congressional Budget Office updated its demographic projections, based on changes in immigration patterns and enforcement since the beginning of the year. It lowered its projection for the population in 2055 from 372 million to 367 million. The current population is about 350 million, so their projection suggests that the U.S. will add only 17 million new residents over the next 30 years. That will be the slowest population growth in the country’s history.
The Congressional Budget Office also projects that natural population growth (births minus deaths) will turn negative in 2031. At that point, any population growth will be almost entirely dependent on incoming immigrants. (Longer life spans play a minor role in such projections.) The office’s numbers still assume growth from immigration this year and in subsequent years. That certainly seems unlikely, at least for this year, given all the preliminary data showing that many immigrants have already left the country.
If the U.S. population declines this year, it will be only the second time in the nation’s history. The only other time was in 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic.
Uncharted territory
There will be those who decry a lower population trajectory as a calamity and others who celebrate it as a blessing. But the truth is that we are in uncharted territory. Classical economic theory holds that the change in economic activity is the sum of the changes in population and productivity, implying that a population decline will lead to economic contraction.
However, many argue that there are conditions today that distort the classical theory. These include the negative impacts of a dysfunctional immigration system, declines in the proclivity of immigrants to assimilate, and a potential massive increase in productivity driven by technology, especially AI.
In other words, all these opinions about the advantages or disadvantages of slower population growth, or perhaps even a population that is declining, are nothing but speculation at this point. For 250 years, companies, institutions, governments, policymakers, and investors have been basing decisions on the assumption that our population will continue to grow each year. At a minimum, this new trajectory will require a major reset of those long-standing assumptions.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
Radical college lecturer charged after allegedly throwing projectile at Border Patrol in California pot farm clash
A federal grand jury has indicted a far-left university instructor for his alleged actions during a federal raid of California pot farms over the summer.
On July 10, Jonathan Caravello, 37, was among a group of Cal State University Channel Islands faculty and students who protested federal agents carrying out search warrants at a state-licensed marijuana facility operated by Glass House Farms in Camarillo.
He 'turned around, ran towards the canister, picked it up, and threw it overhand back at Border Patrol agents.'
The crowd of unruly protesters soon turned violent, throwing rocks at government vehicles that attempted to leave the facility, breaking windows and side-view mirrors, the DOJ claimed in a press release.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by Blaze News, Caravello engaged in several behaviors that impeded federal agents from doing their job. For one thing, the complaint said, he marched along the yellow police tape "loudly playing a siren sound on the megaphone" that he directed toward Border Patrol agents.
RELATED: Pot farm raid update: Trump's DHS found convicted rapists and kidnappers working near migrant kids
After agents began releasing tear gas "to assist with crowd control, ensure officer safety, and to allow law enforcement to depart the location," a gas canister rolled near the feet of some protesters, including Caravello, the DOJ press release said. Caravello first attempted to kick the can, but it "rolled past him," so he "turned around, ran towards the canister, picked it up, and threw it overhand back at Border Patrol agents," it claimed.
The canister thrown by Caravello "came within approximately several feet above law enforcements’ heads," the criminal complaint added. Other statements in the criminal complaint indicate that Caravello may have thrown multiple "canisters" at agents.
Caravello then left the scene, only to return a couple of hours later, having changed from a blue shirt into a pink shirt and wearing a different pair of shoes, perhaps in a failed attempt to "disguise" himself, the criminal complaint said. He was subsequently identified as the "agitator" who threw the canisters and arrested despite his apparent resistance.
"CARAVELLO would not comply and attempted to grab a BP Agent’s leg," the criminal complaint said. He also "continuously kicked his legs and refused to give the BP agents his arms."
'We do not need to prove injury to prove assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon.'
The day after his arrest, the California Faculty Association claimed on Instagram that ICE agents had "kidnapped" Caravello by throwing him into an "unmarked vehicle" without explanation. The Instagram post also included a video of the protest, as well as a clip of Caravello's appearance at a Camarillo City Council meeting the night before.
"Many of my students are undocumented," Caravello said during the public comment period of the meeting, "and many of their families are undocumented. It's my responsibility to protect them, and so I've been patrolling the city streets, following armed, masked thugs trying to kidnap my neighbors."
During his public remarks, which he delivered almost exclusively in a dull monotone, Caravello denounced the "genocide" in Palestine, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and alleged instances of police misconduct in the U.S. dating back to the 1960s, as well as current ICE efforts at immigration enforcement.
The only moment in which Caravello's voice became slightly animated was when he seemingly addressed members of the council but without lifting his gaze from his prepared statement to look at them. "You, our elected officials, should swear [ICE] off, if not in policy then in spirit, to at the very least pay back your undocumented community members for picking your f**king strawberries," he said with emphasis, prompting a faint spattering of claps from the audience.
"No one is illegal. Power to the people," he concluded, returning to his previous monotone delivery.
Caravello is listed as a philosophy lecturer with the Mathematics Program at CSUCI. The university confirmed to Blaze News that he remains employed there and will be teaching this semester. The university also claimed that it will not be assisting with his defense.
"We are aware of the recent indictment involving Jonathan Caravello. As this matter is currently before the courts, we will not be commenting on the details of the case. We respect the legal process and believe it is important to allow it to proceed without speculation. Our focus remains on our ongoing work and commitments to our students," CSUCI said in a statement to Blaze News.
Caravello has been charged with one count of assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is currently free on $15,000 bond.
Neither Caravello nor the California Faculty Association responded to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Public affairs officer Ciaran McEvoy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California did not directly respond to Blaze News' question about whether any agents were injured on account of Caravello's alleged actions, but did state, "We do not need to prove injury to prove assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon."
After clarifying that agents were not executing an "immigration raid" on the day in question but "judicially approved search warrants in connection with an ongoing investigation," McEvoy added, "We have no further comment."
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Border czar: Trump built the most secure border in American history
I was out to dinner with my wife when my phone rang. The caller ID said “POTUS.” My wife muttered, “Oh, s**t.” President Donald Trump told me he wanted me to take care of three things: secure the border, run a mass deportation operation, and find hundreds of thousands of missing children. Those were his instructions when he offered me the job as his border czar.
As of today, we have the most secure border in the nation's history. I don’t take credit for that. The credit goes to President Trump for signing the executive orders that ended catch-and-release, reinstated Remain in Mexico, and put into place the agreements and policies that worked. And the greatest credit belongs to the men and women of the United States Border Patrol, the finest I’ve ever met.
Every day I look at the numbers: criminals arrested, terrorists stopped, children rescued. It makes me proud — proud of ICE, proud of Border Patrol, and proud of the president who made it possible.
Under Trump, Border Patrol brought down illegal immigration more than 90% in just seven weeks — even faster than I thought possible. I expected it would take 120 days. That’s what happens when the men and women of Border Patrol are allowed to do their jobs.
A border crisis by design
For the last four years, I’ve been raising hell about the open border intentionally inflicted on this country by the Biden administration. This wasn’t mismanagement or incompetence. It was by design.
I know because I was there under President Barack Obama. Former President Joe Biden was vice president, and former Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas was deputy secretary. We faced a family surge back then. We stopped it by building family residential centers, detaining migrants until they saw a judge, and then deporting the 90% who lost their asylum claims. It worked.
But when Biden and Mayorkas returned to power, they did the opposite of what they knew worked. They refused to detain. They refused to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement do its job. They created chaos by design. Every day the border was open, women were raped, children died, families were trafficked, and terrorists slipped through. A harrowing 31% of women who cross the border through cartels are sexually assaulted. That’s horrendous.
Trump’s policies cut illegal immigration by 96%. That meant fewer rapes, fewer deaths, fewer trafficked children, and less fentanyl poisoning Americans. Trump’s policies saved thousands of lives every week. But you won’t hear that from the media.
Nothing about Biden’s border was humane
The Biden administration called itself humane. That’s a lie. Under Biden, a record number of migrants died — over 4,000. A quarter-million Americans died from fentanyl crossing an open border. Sex trafficking hit all-time highs. Cartels made record profits smuggling people and drugs.
Compare that to today: Trump’s secure border has reduced crossings from 10,000 to 15,000 a day under Biden to as few as 162 — all arrested, all returned, zero releases. That is a secure border.
Biden’s so-called humane approach killed more Americans and more migrants, and it enriched cartels. There is nothing humane about that.
Enforcing the law saves lives
ICE removals since January are approaching 400,000. About 70% of arrests are of criminals — and yes, DUI counts. Ten thousand Americans die every year from drunk drivers. The other arrests include gang members and even suspected terrorists. ICE is enforcing the laws Congress passed.
But sanctuary cities stand in the way. They release criminal aliens back into neighborhoods instead of handing them over to ICE. They call themselves “welcoming.” In reality, they are sanctuaries for criminals. Victims in immigrant communities don’t want predators back in their neighborhoods. Sanctuary politicians know this, but they put politics above safety.
So we’re flooding the zone. Chicago’s mayor said I wasn’t welcome. I went anyway. In one day, ICE arrested child predators, gang members, drug traffickers, and murderers. Chicago will be made safe again.
Attacks on ICE, silence on missing children
ICE agents are under attack like never before. Assaults against agents are up 1,000%. Their families are being doxxed. Members of Congress call them Nazis and racists, even though all they do is enforce the laws Congress wrote. It’s disgusting.
Trump also tasked me with finding hundreds of thousands of missing migrant children. It’s the hardest job, because kids don’t have digital footprints. We rely on the so-called sponsors who took them in — many with fake addresses. Too often, these children end up in sex trafficking or forced labor.
We’re trying to reunite kids with their parents. We even had agreements to return children safely to Guatemala. But liberal judges blocked us. These same people accuse Trump of family separation. Yet Biden’s failures have led to half a million separations and more than 300,000 missing children. Who are the real masters of family separation?
The stakes
Biden released millions into this country because he wanted to delay their hearings for years. Why? To buy time for amnesty and to gain political power through census reapportionment. That’s not just cynical — it’s selling out America.
Trump’s policies, by contrast, work because they follow the law. If you enter illegally, the law says you shall be detained. That law is saving lives today.
I took a pay cut to come back under Trump because I respect him as much as I respected my father. He’s not perfect — no man is — but when it comes to border security, there’s no one better.
Every day I look at the numbers: criminals arrested, terrorists stopped, children rescued. It makes me proud — proud of ICE, proud of Border Patrol, and proud of the president who made it possible.
To those agents on the front lines: Thank you. You are making this country safer every day.
And to the politicians, judges, and media who attack us: Shame on you. We’re not going anywhere.
Editor’s note: This article has been adapted from remarks delivered on Wednesday, September 3, at the fifth National Conservatism conference (NatCon 5) in Washington, D.C.
Indiana Governor Announces National Guard, State Police Boost To Federal Immigration Enforcement
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