GOP-controlled Senate keeps taxpayer dollars flowing to criminal aliens after parliamentarian's ruling



As the Senate continues to work through the "big, beautiful bill," lawmakers axed yet another key provision from President Donald Trump's landmark legislation.

Senators are hammering out key amendments in the reconciliation bill before the final Senate vote, which will likely come Tuesday. Certain amendments, based on advisory rulings from the parliamentarian, are required to pass the 60-vote threshold instead of a simple majority, making it more difficult to codify key provisions in the bill.

'An unelected Senate staffer is thwarting the will of 75 million people who voted to make sure foreign alien invaders aren’t getting taxpayer benefits.'

RELATED: Democrats unanimously vote against condemning 'mostly peaceful' anti-ICE riots

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One of these amendments included a provision that would reduce federal funding for states that provide Medicaid to illegal aliens who were charged with additional violent crimes. Because of the parliamentarian's ruling, the amendment failed in a 56-44 vote on Tuesday.

As a result of these rulings, the parliamentarian has been the focal point of a lot of criticism leading up to the vote, particularly from prominent voices on the right.

"Elizabeth McDonough stopped the Senate bill from blocking illegals from getting Medicaid," Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk said in a post on X. "An unelected Senate staffer is thwarting the will of 75 million people who voted to make sure foreign alien invaders aren’t getting taxpayer benefits. This is a red line. The Senate needs to CHANGE THE RULES, fire her, or find a solution. This is in the hands of the Senate to find a solution. We have 53 votes — figure it out! No more excuses."

RELATED: Republicans rage over Senate's ‘watered-down’ version of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' 

  Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Many Republicans and even the president have called for leadership to overrule the parliamentarian. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has the authority and the precedent to overrule her, but he decided against it.

"That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done," Thune said.

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The Democrats get their left-wing battering ram



For anyone who read my commentary last week, it should be no surprise that I am overjoyed that state Rep. Zohran Mamdani trounced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Cuomo is a repulsive creep who, as governor, killed thousands of elderly New Yorkers by filling nursing homes with COVID-infected patients. He then lied persistently about his misdeeds. Adding insult to injury, Cuomo groped and mishandled vulnerable women, an offense that led to his resignation in disgrace.

Except for Mamdani’s use of the verboten term 'socialist' and his outspokenly anti-Israeli positions, someone like him fits quite well into the present Democratic Party.

Finally, Cuomo removed bail for violent criminals, something he tried to cover up in his primary race by promising to be “tough on crime.” The fact that Wall Street plutocrats — led by the feckless former mayor, Michael Bloomberg — were backing this shameless reprobate made me even more eager to see him defeated.

Clearly, I am not happy to see Mamdani victorious because I agree with his politics. Looking at the positions he advocates, I can’t find one that doesn’t turn my stomach — but that is also the case when listening to Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.

I’ve been told that Mamdani is worse than these other leftists because he calls himself a socialist and bleeds for Hamas. Let me register my doubts that once in office (if he manages to win the general election) he would do anything to nationalize anything. His Upper East Side Manhattan backers, who poured out to vote for him, wouldn’t allow him to act like Castro or Lenin.

What Mamdani would likely do if elected mayor would be to make all the horrible conditions produced by New York’s big-city government even worse. Streets, outside the opulent neighborhoods inhabited by Mamdani’s benefactors, will be overrun by criminal thugs. New York City will become even more of a magnet for LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter exhibitionists, and normal people will move out of the urban zoo even faster than they’re doing right now.

Mamdani fits right in

Those claiming that Zohran Mamdani marks some unprecedented plunge into leftist madness haven't been paying attention. High-ranking Democrats such as the Squad, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii have long paved the way. Cultural leftists already infest Congress and crowd the statehouses. Aside from Mamdani’s unapologetic use of the word “socialist” and his anti-Israel posturing, he fits quite well in the modern Democratic Party. Nothing about him signals a deeper descent than what voters already hear nightly on MSNBC.

RELATED: New York City’s likely next mayor wants to ‘globalize the intifada’

  Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the general election, Mamdani may end up splitting the left-wing vote with fellow Democrats, including Mayor Eric Adams, who plans to run as an independent. That kind of vote-splitting could hand the race to Republican Curtis Sliwa, who has positioned himself as the law-and-order candidate. He’s the only one I’d actually like to see win. Still, I won’t pretend I wouldn’t enjoy the irony if Mamdani pulled it off. A Mamdani victory would deliver maximum schadenfreude.

Democrats forsake the working class

For decades, New Yorkers and denizens of other major cities have sabotaged themselves at the ballot box — electing pro-criminal politicians, embracing every deranged social experiment, and lately drooling over criminal illegal aliens. Despite the hand-wringing on Fox News, these urban voters aren’t victims of the Democratic Party. They’ve reshaped it. They turned a once-working-class coalition into a hive of government dependents and ideological psychopaths.

Justice demands that these “progressives” live with the consequences of their own political choices. They asked for this. Let them have it — good and hard. The tragedy, of course, is that normal people will suffer too. Those without the money to flee to private buildings with armed security or relocate entirely will pay the price. That’s why I hesitate to cast Mamdani as some kind of avenging angel.

Still, even with the obvious costs of a Mamdani administration, his rise might accelerate a trend that’s both inevitable and necessary. Sane people with means will keep fleeing cities run by criminals and ideologues. Those who stay behind — those who cheer on the chaos — can live with the rot they helped create.

Nothing new under the sun

Let me close with a brief speculation about politicians like Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, Mamdani, and their counterparts in Europe — figures who somehow blend radical leftist politics with expressions of Islamic fervor. On paper, devout Muslims ought to align with the Christian right on most social issues. And many Muslim parents across the country have taken a stand, loudly opposing LGBTQ+ indoctrination in schools.

So why don’t Muslim politicians follow suit? Two possible explanations come to mind. Either they’re mimicking the old communist playbook — aligning with fringe social movements as a means to power — or they’re using Islamic identity as a wrecking ball to level what’s left of Western tradition and cohesion.

Let’s not pretend both options are equally likely. I suspect it’s the latter.

A version of this article was originally published in Chronicles.

The reckless left is turning ICE agents into cartel targets



Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) recently took aim at Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for covering their faces during immigration raids, framing the practice as both a lack of transparency and an authoritarian overreach. Jeffries went so far as to vow to “unmask every single ICE agent,” declaring, “This is America, not the Soviet Union.”

This reckless rhetoric will lead to innocent people being harmed or killed if it continues.

By posting videos online or sharing personal details, activists provide cartels with a roadmap to retribution.

ICE agents cover their faces to protect both themselves and their families from violent retribution by human trafficking cartels, a threat exacerbated by the unprecedented lawlessness of the former Biden administration’s border policies.

The words of Jeffries, Goldman, and their activist allies not only endanger lives but also expose their inability to grasp the seriousness of the illegal immigration crisis. Such comments disqualify them as honest brokers on the subject.

Masks save lives

ICE agents operate in a high-stakes environment where their identities are a liability. Human trafficking cartels, particularly those tied to groups like MS-13 or Sinaloa, thrive on fear and retaliation. These organizations don’t just smuggle people across borders — they exploit, extort, and kill.

When ICE agents conduct raids to apprehend illegal aliens, many of whom are entangled with these cartels, they themselves become targets. Cartels have the resources and networks to track down agents’ personal information — addresses, family members, daily routines, and so on.

A single photo of an agent’s face, circulated online or sold to the wrong hands, can lead to harassment, assault, or worse. Border czar Tom Homan recently said that agents are being “doxxed all over the place,” with their pictures posted on telephone poles in major cities.

Masking is not a power play — it’s a necessity to protect agents and their families.

— (@)  
 

Doxxing could be a death sentence

Activists who film these raids and attempt to expose agents’ identities are not champions of transparency — they’re overzealous enablers of violence. By posting videos online or sharing personal details, they provide cartels with a roadmap to retribution.

This is not speculation; it is happening. Agents have faced death threats, their children have been harassed, and their homes have been targeted.

RELATED: Sen. Fetterman breaks ranks, admits the truth about Democrats' radical position on the anti-ICE riots

  Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images

The precautions agents take stem directly from the Biden administration’s catastrophic negligence on the southern border. Over the past four years, millions of illegal immigrants have crossed into the United States, overwhelming border facilities and local communities.

The previous administration’s policies — from stopping border wall construction to limiting deportations — created a vacuum that cartels have exploited. Human trafficking, drug smuggling, and violent crime all surged as a direct result of these policies.

Biden made raids necessary

ICE raids don’t create problems — they respond to them. Agents now face the task of cleaning up a border disaster the last administration let spiral out of control, and they’re doing it at great personal risk.

If Democrats like Jeffries and Goldman understood the threat cartels pose, they wouldn’t push policies that put federal agents in danger. If they grasped the scale of the crisis — millions crossing unchecked, with thousands of criminals among them — they wouldn’t waste time posturing about “transparency” while ignoring the lawlessness that forced ICE to act in the first place.

Their obsession with exposing agents reflects a dangerous unseriousness. It disqualifies them from offering any credible solution.

ICE agents are not faceless storm troopers; they are public servants enforcing laws that Congress itself passed. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, still in effect, mandates strict enforcement measures, including deportations. Jeffries and Goldman, as lawmakers, should be aware of this. Yet, their rhetoric aligns more with activist talking points than with the reality of law enforcement.

Strong leadership needed

To solve the illegal immigration crisis, we need leaders who acknowledge its severity and prioritize the safety of both American citizens and law enforcement. Jeffries and Goldman have shown they are not those leaders.

Honest brokers would address the root causes — lax policies, cartel exploitation, and unchecked migration — rather than scapegoating the agents tasked with upholding the law. Until they demonstrate a willingness to confront these realities, their voices in this debate are not only unhelpful but also part of the problem. Our ICE agents, their families, and our communities demand better.

Why is Gavin Newsom going full Jefferson Davis?



What triggered the American Civil War were state officials who refused to honor federal law and instead boasted of their open defiance of Washington.

That precedent appears to be the incendiary model for the increasingly erratic behavior of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

Has Newsom accepted the polls and decided to end his political career in a blaze of ideological glory?

He now backs the often-violent protesters in Los Angeles resisting federal enforcement of immigration laws. Newsom labeled President Trump’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain those here illegally “reckless,” “chaotic,” and “eroding trust.”

Does he imagine that this rhetoric is calming the situation or building public trust? Or is he consciously following the model of Confederate President Jefferson Davis?

Does Newsom also support the defiance of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who nearly called for official resistance to federal law, declaring, “We will not stand for this”?

— (@)  
 

Bass — who was junketing in Ghana as large swaths of Los Angeles burned in January — used the term “we.” Does she mean the entire city? The LAPD? Will Bass direct city police to block federal officers lawfully enforcing federal immigration statutes?

Does the governor understand that his reckless rhetoric about “states’ rights” empowers violent protesters who torch vehicles, assault civilians, and attack officers?

Consider fellow California Democrat Rep. Norma Torres. She issued a vulgar message to federal immigration officers: “Get the f**k out of L.A.”

Does Torres now believe Los Angeles should become the 21st-century South Carolina, circa 1861, defying the federal government outright?

Is she echoing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who recently boasted he would “identify” endangered ICE agents and publicize their personal information? His words: “Every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will of course be identified.”

— (@)  
 

Does Torres view ICE officers — outnumbered, undermanned, and increasingly under siege — as modern-day incarnations of the federal troops cornered at Fort Sumter?

Newsom didn’t stop at siding with street protesters who resist federal authority. He also lashed out again at the Trump administration for warning California that it must comply with federal Title IX executive orders prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s sports.

Trump, in this case, followed the precedent set by the Obama administration, which also threatened to cut off funding from schools to schools that refused to follow its Title IX interpretations.

Here’s how Newsom responded: “Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off.”

— (@)  
 

Cut that off?

Has Newsom read the Constitution?

Is he actually calling for Californians to stop paying federal taxes? Does he understand he just implicitly endorsed felony tax evasion under 18 USC Section 2?

States have no legal authority to withhold federal income taxes from their citizens. In 1861, rhetoric like that nearly destroyed the Union.

RELATED: Lies, flags, and firebombs: Just another ‘mostly peaceful’ riot in LA

  Photo by BLAKE FAGAN/AFP via Getty Images

And does Newsom really believe that California’s supposed $80 billion “contribution” somehow bankrolls the federal government? That surplus amounts to just 1.5% of the $5.5 trillion in federal revenue this fiscal year. Hardly enough to “pay the bills.”

California taxpayers are American citizens first, Californians second. Newsom, with his history of championing sanctuary cities and nullifying federal law, increasingly resembles a modern-day George Wallace.

But Newsom, Bass, and Torres aren’t just echoing Confederate-style defiance. They’re also swimming against public opinion.

Despite media theatrics and left-wing outrage, even CBS’ own polling found that 54% of Americans support deportation as a legitimate enforcement tool.

Meanwhile, Newsom’s political stock continues to plummet. Just 2% of Democrats in one recent poll want him as their 2028 nominee. In a broader average of 30 polls, only 27% of Americans view him favorably.

So does Newsom think violent lawbreakers — some burning the American flag while waving foreign ones — are winning over the American public?

Does he understand that 97% of Americans in a Pew Research survey said they favor deporting violent criminal aliens like those seen sowing chaos on the streets of Los Angeles?

Or has he accepted the polls — and decided to end his political career in a blaze of ideological glory?

Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally on X.

Why Trump had to do what Gavin Newsom refused to do



When local leaders won’t act against a growing national crisis, the president must. That’s what leadership requires, plain and simple.

Since retaking office in January, President Trump has made real progress in the fight against illegal immigration. Federal officers have arrested thousands of individuals who pose a threat to public safety. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stepped up enforcement, and law enforcement agencies across the country are finally empowered to act. Momentum is building.

Rather than call in help, Newsom let the protests spiral. Rather than support enforcement, he played to his base. So Trump stepped in.

But even as law enforcement cracks down on criminal networks, a wave of resistance has emerged. Some people are so determined to shield illegal immigrants from accountability that they’re willing to risk arrest themselves. This isn’t civil disobedience — it’s delusion.

Now Los Angeles has joined the act. Protests against ICE raids over the weekend overwhelmed police, and Trump believed he had no choice but to respond. He deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard to restore order, assist law enforcement, and help track down additional criminal suspects shielded by sanctuary activists.

Trump’s response wasn’t arbitrary — it was necessary. The local police needed backup. The goal: support enforcement efforts and remove dangerous individuals from our communities.

Yet the protesters insist they’re the ones defending freedom. They march in the streets, chant slogans, and claim the government threatens their civil liberties. In truth, they’re protecting people who broke the law — many of whom have criminal records or known ties to gangs and trafficking rings.

This isn’t about rounding up innocent neighbors. It’s a concentrated operation, led by ICE and overseen by border czar Tom Homan, to target known offenders and restore public safety. Trump’s opponents may not like the optics, but the mission remains clear: remove dangerous individuals who never should have been here in the first place.

California officials aren’t helping. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called the troop deployment “purposefully inflammatory” and accused the administration of escalating tensions. The League of United Latin American Citizens quickly condemned the move, describing it as a “deeply troubling escalation” and criticizing the use of “military-style tactics.”

What exactly would they have us do?

Under President Biden, federal authorities responded to the border crisis like an inconvenience rather than an invasion. Cartels, traffickers, and criminal networks exploited weak enforcement to gain a foothold in American cities. That lax approach put law-abiding citizens in danger. Now Trump is reversing course — and the left wants him to stop?

Let’s be honest: Violent actors don’t care about humanitarian gestures. They care about power and control. They harm people to maintain it. They don’t want leniency — they want impunity. When you reward lawbreaking with amnesty, you don’t get peace. You get more lawbreaking.

RELATED: Illegal aliens aren’t just ‘guests’ — they’re future voters

  Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Police Department has been walking a fine line. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell on Friday said the department would not aid ICE with its deportation efforts. L.A. remains a “sanctuary city,” after all.

But on Saturday, the department released a measured statement in response to the arrival of the National Guard: “We will maintain a heightened readiness posture and remain ready to ensure the continued safety of our communities.” That might be the best we can expect in this fraught political environment.

The LAPD didn’t complain — at least not publicly. It didn’t politicize the moment. The department chose duty over posturing. I commend the LAPD for that.

But I worry this situation could escalate — not because of Trump’s actions, but because of Newsom’s vanity. Rather than call in help, he let the protests spiral. Rather than support enforcement, he played to his base. So Trump stepped in to do the job Newsom wouldn’t.

This decision wasn’t made out of spite. It wasn’t political theater. It was about restoring order and ensuring the law applies equally. The people ICE is arresting are criminals. The objective is clear: locate them, arrest them, and remove them from American streets.

I support President Trump. I support the National Guard. I support the LAPD.

The time for softness is over. The border crisis created this problem. Now it falls to this administration to fix it.

Amid ongoing migrant influx, Border Patrol apprehends previously deported criminals



Shortly after midnight on Saturday, a Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agent encountered an individual who unlawfully crossed the international border. Records checks showed that the individual had a significant criminal history in the U.S., including conviction for negligent vehicular homicide in the state of California in 2004, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The Mexican man, Modesto Hernandez-Rechiga, had been "convicted of negligent vehicular homicide in California in 2004 and was sentenced to 16 months in prison," according to CBP. "Hernandez-Rechiga also had several arrests and convictions for driving under the influence and served jail time for those as well."

While he had been ejected from America in 2005, he was eventually apprehended and deported yet again.

"Hernandez-Rechiga was formally removed from the United States in 2005. He was apprehended again and subsequently deported a second time in 2016 after serving jail time for reentry of a deported alien. For his latest illegal entry, Hernandez-Rechiga will again face charges for reentry of a deported alien, with an enhancement for being an aggravated felon, which could add more jail time to his sentence if convicted," according to CBP.

Also early on Saturday morning, authorities apprehended a group of six individuals who unlawfully crossed the border. Within that group was Jose Ramos-Lopez, who, according to records checks, had been convicted of sexual battery in the Golden State in 2007 and sentenced to two years of prison time.

However, Ramos-Lopez served half of the sentence and was removed from the country in 2008.

"Ramos-Lopez faces charges for reentry of a deported alien, with an enhancement for the previous felony conviction," according to CBP.

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents have already apprehended 314 criminal aliens so far during the current fiscal year, which began in October 2020, according to CBP.

As the U.S. continues to face an influx of migrants along its southern border, the capture of previously deported criminals serves to highlight the public safety implications of the nation's border security.

ICE arrests 170 criminal aliens in sanctuary cities



Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday announced the arrest of more than 170 criminal illegal aliens in sanctuary city jurisdictions throughout the United States.

ICE authorities arrested criminal aliens in Seattle, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., in a targeted enforcement operation that began on Oct. 3 and ended Oct. 9. According to a press release from ICE, the law enforcement actions were directed at illegal aliens who were arrested for crimes and had immigration detainers but were nevertheless released by state or local law enforcement agencies. ICE said more than 80% of those arrested had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges at the time of their arrest.

ICE, @DHSgov announce the arrests of more than 170 at-large aliens in sanctuary jurisdictions https://t.co/rx5qv5JlTb
— ICE (@ICE)1602869620.0

"Last fiscal year, 86 percent of people arrested by ICE had criminal convictions or pending charges. ICE focuses its resources on those who pose the greatest threat to public safety. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line every day to keep these individuals off the streets," acting DHS Secretary Chad F. Wolf said. "The Department will continue to carry out lawful enforcement actions in order to keep our communities safe, regardless of whether or not we have cooperation from state and local officials. Politics will not come before safety when enforcing the law and keeping our citizens safe."

The ICE statement notes that in the New York City area alone, authorities arrested nearly 50 illegal aliens with histories of crime including sexual assault, sex crime, assault, robbery, larceny, family neglect, and DUI.

Among those arrested include a 29-year-old Mexican citizen who was convicted in 2018 of illegally re-entering the United States and convicted in October 2020 on charges of menacing-real/simulated weapon, child abuse, and violation of bail bond conditions; a 64-year-old Panamanian citizen convicted in 2010 of sexual conduct against a child in the 2nd degree; a 61-year-old citizen of Peru convicted in 2016 of a criminal sex act in the 3rd degree involving a victim younger than 17 years old; and a 25-year-old Guatemalan citizen arrested for commercial sex abuse of a minor in February 2019 who had previously been removed from the United States in 2013 and illegally re-entered the country.

This operation follows the arrest of 128 at-large illegal aliens last week in sanctuary city jurisdictions in California.

"ICE continues to protect communities by taking criminal aliens off the streets regardless of any locality's cooperation policies – which is part of our Congressionally mandated mission," ICE senior official Tony H. Pham said. "Officers and agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are sworn federal law enforcement officers who enforce U.S. immigration laws created by Congress to keep this country safe."