'I don't regret that vote': Democrat TORCHED for refusing to deport sex-offending illegal aliens



Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) faced intense — but warranted — backlash from Fox News’ Sean Hannity after voting against a bill that would have mandated the deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes, a position that exposes the Democratic Party’s dangerous priorities.

And BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales isn’t thrilled with Thanedar either, whom she likens to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as another foreigner in our government.

“We’re allowing foreigners to come into our country and lecture us about what America stands for. And in some cases, not just lecture us, but that we then allow them to actually participate in representing constituents,” Gonzales says, before playing the clip of Hannity and Thanedar.

“You voted against a bill mandating the deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes. Can you explain that to me?” Hannity asked.


“Well, look, look, anybody who breaks U.S. laws, an immigrant that breaks U.S. laws, should be deported. Anyone that commits —” Thanedar responded, before Hannity cut him off to say, “Sir, sir, you voted against a bill that mandated the deportation of illegals convicted of sex crimes. Do you regret that vote now?”

“No, I don’t regret that vote,” Thanedar responded. “Look, no bill is perfect.”

“What if it was your wife, your sister, your daughter that was raped? That’s a sex crime. You want that person to stay?” Hannity asked.

Thanedar continued to make the excuse that there are multiple reasons to vote on a bill, but Hannity isn’t the only one calling him out.

“You’ve got Shri Thanedar over here thinking that he can just come in here and lecture us about how to run our country while he is voting not to deport illegals convicted of sex crimes. Those are his values that he’s bringing from, I don’t know, I guess wherever he came from,” Gonzales says.

“The Democrats are having a very, very difficult time. They’re having an identity crisis because they’re dealing with all of these radicals who are taking over their party. They’re dealing with, literally, their position is, ‘We should protect illegal criminals from being deported. We want to keep the violent gang members, rapists, child diddlers,’” she continues.

“‘And on top of that, oh wait, hold on,’” she says, still mocking the Democrats. “‘President Trump is actually eliminating fraud and corruption at the federal level? No. No. We won’t stand for it. In fact, if you vote for us in the midterms, we will both make sure that the illegal criminals are protected and also apparently make fraud great again.’”

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Pritzker sides with criminals once again, signing controversial 'Clean Slate' bill into law



Despite an appalling violent crime problem in Chicago, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a bill protecting convicts, making it easier for them to get past hiring filters and find jobs in Illinois.

On Saturday, Pritzker signed the Clean Slate Act, which will enable officials to seal non-violent criminal records for over 1.7 million people in Illinois, Fox 32 Chicago reported.

Just last month, Gov. Pritzker fortified the state's sanctuary laws.

The new law will require eligible records to be sealed by 2029.

The law applies only to non-violent convictions and dismissed or reversed charges and arrests. More serious crimes, such as sexual violence, DUI, or any crimes that require sex offender registration, are not eligible for automatic sealing.

While this particular law excludes violent felonies, it comes at a time when violent incidents on Chicago trains are making national headlines.

Moreover Pritzker has a long history of siding with suspected law-breakers over victims. In 2023, cashless bail became the law of the state, thanks to the SAFE-T Act he signed previously. Just last month, he fortified the state's sanctuary laws, prohibiting federal immigration agents from conducting operations near courthouses, hospitals, university campuses, and day-care centers.

RELATED: Chicago Bears may leave city over rift with Democrat leadership

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The Clean Slate Act is celebrated by the Democrats as a jobs initiative, since many businesses use background checks to filter out candidates with prior convictions. Once the records are sealed, that traditional filter will be less robust, allowing potential former convicts to remain in the running.

"There is no reasonable public safety justification for making it hard for returning citizens to get a job or housing or an education," Pritzker said, according to Fox 32. "It's a policy guided by punishment rather than rehabilitation."

The Clean Slate Initiative lists Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York as states that have passed legislation that meets their criteria for Clean Slate laws. Washington, D.C., is also listed.

The criteria include automation of record sealing, including arrest and misdemeanor records. The Clean Slate Initiative also includes a "strong recommendation for laws to include eligibility of at least one felony record."

Sheena Meade, CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, stated: “Our coalition partners — including Live Free Illinois, the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, the Workers Center for Racial Justice, Impact for Equity, and Code for America — and bill sponsors Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and Sen. Elgie Sims have shown the resolve, persistence, and heart needed to drive real change."

The new law will take effect June 1.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Don Lemon claims illegal border crossings ‘aren’t criminal’ — gets schooled by Chicago residents



In another man-on-the-street-style interview, Don Lemon has proven yet again that he is devoid of common sense on the topic of illegal immigration — telling a woman mid-interview that crossing the border illegally is “not a criminal act.”

“It’s a misdemeanor,” he added.

The woman, surprised, asked, “So why are they being sent back and saying that they’re breaking the law?”

“That’s the point,” Lemon responded, before doubling down on a misdemeanor not being a criminal act.


“So why charge at all, then, if it’s not a criminal act?” she asked.

“Because we have different levels of crime. Everything is not the same,” Lemon answered.

“So it is crime,” she shot back.

“He’s confused himself now,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray says on “Pat Gray Unleashed.”

“He thinks that because he’s talking to a black woman in Chicago, she’s going to be on his side. That’s the kind of idiot he is, because he’s not exposed to anything but his own little world where he hates Donald Trump and everything Trump does,” Gray says.

“He’s not aware of the fact, I’ll bet you, that so many of these Chicago residents are fed up to here with all this nonsense. They don’t want illegal aliens taking their jobs. They don’t want them in our country,” he continues.

In the interview, Lemon continues doubling down on the idea that crossing the border illegally is not a crime, while the woman and another man that he’s interviewing grow more insistent that it is.

“You’re breaking the rules, but you’re not necessarily breaking a law,” Lemon argued, and when asked what happens if you break the rules, he answered, “You suffer the consequences.”

“No one is saying no one should suffer the consequences. You guys are getting things mixed up,” he added.

Gray is shocked, commenting, “Don, you’ve lost.”

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Mother Of Slain 6-Year-Old Infuriated After Son’s Alleged Killer Sprung From Prison After Less Than 10 Years

‘I will kill the man’

White liberal denial meets black reality



I know what it’s like to live in the neighborhoods white liberals only mention when it suits them. I’ve lived on the South Side of Chicago. I’ve lived in Southeast D.C. I’ve seen crime with my own eyes, and I’ve experienced the fear that comes with it.

I’ve walked streets where parents teach their kids to drop at the sound of gunfire. I’ve seen drug corners where police barely bother to show up because they know the system won’t back them. And I’ve watched Democrats — who run these cities decade after decade — pretend nothing is wrong until an election season or a TV crew arrives.

The truth is out. Democrats have failed — in DC, in Chicago, in New York, and across the country.

Every four years, they roll in with cameras and promises. They shake hands, hug babies, stand in front of boarded-up storefronts, and pledge “change.” Then they disappear back to their safe neighborhoods, leaving residents with the same violence, the same fear, and the same hopelessness.

That isn’t leadership. It’s exploitation. I know because I’m a black man who worked as a Democratic staffer not so long ago. I’ve been in the rooms where campaign strategy is written. I’ve heard the cynical playbook: “Do a barbershop tour.” “Visit a black church on Sunday.” Deliver a few lines about “taking back the community” — then roll right back out. When the cameras leave, so do they.

Now, when President Trump does what Democrats refuse to do — when he sends in federal law enforcement and the National Guard to cities that won’t protect their own people — those same white liberals suddenly find their voice. They shriek about “authoritarianism.” They cry about “militarization.” They insist crime is “under control.”

It’s dishonest. It’s insulting. And it proves how little they care about the lives being lost. What they really care about is their four minutes on MSNBC.

Take Washington, D.C. Liberals wave charts claiming violent crime is down. But the city got caught manipulating the numbers. A police commander was placed on leave for allegedly altering stats to make the streets look safer. Whistleblowers confirmed what residents already knew: Violent crimes were downgraded or mislabeled so politicians could maintain the illusion of control. That’s no conspiracy theory. It’s now a federal investigation.

Yet, Democrats still claim Trump’s intervention wasn’t necessary. They say crime is “exaggerated.” They say the city is “safe.” Tell that to families who won’t let their kids walk home after dark. Tell it to small-business owners robbed so often they don’t bother reporting anymore. Tell it to mothers in Anacostia burying their sons while city officials massage the data for press conferences.

Chicago tells the same story. Democrats have ruled the city for generations, but whole neighborhoods on the South and West Sides remain plagued by violence and poverty. I lived there. I saw it. And here’s the truth: Polite white liberals from gentrified districts or leafy suburbs don’t want to see it. They want to protect the illusion that Democrats defend the poor, even as they use these communities as political props.

Chicagoans plead for help at City Council meetings every week, and Democratic aldermen ignore them. No wonder grassroots groups like Chicago Flips Red are gaining ground.

New York is no different. In Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district, major crime has spiked 70% since she took office in 2019 — more than double the citywide average. Residents there say what residents in every Democrat-run city say: Our leaders don’t care. They show up for headlines, then vanish when the bullets start flying.

Donald Trump saw that reality. He campaigned on it. He walked into those neighborhoods and spoke plainly to people who had been ignored for decades. That’s why millions more black voters supported him in 2024 — a political earthquake. It’s a warning to Democrats: Their monopoly on minority voters is collapsing.

White liberals screaming on cable news about Trump’s law-and-order strategy don’t live in the neighborhoods where gunfire is commonplace. They don’t send their kids to the schools where gangs recruit. They don’t shop at the corner stores hit by weekly robberies. They don’t ride the buses or walk the sidewalks ordinary people in D.C., Chicago, and the Bronx walk every day.

They can afford to believe crime is “under control.” They can afford to believe more gun control will fix things, ignoring the obvious truth: Criminals don’t care about your new laws. They can afford denial because they can afford to live somewhere else.

But crime is not under control. It never has been. And until leaders — real leaders — admit it and act, people in these communities will keep suffering. Trump understands that. Democrats never have.

RELATED:Trump to DC: Public safety isn’t optional

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

So when white liberals lecture that Trump is wrong to send federal law enforcement into cities that can’t protect their residents, I have one question: Where were you? Where were you when crime stole futures and destroyed families? Where were you when Democrats cooked the books to protect their power? Where were you when Biden was in charge or when AOC’s district saw crime explode?

You weren’t there. You didn’t care. And that’s why the Democratic Party is collapsing.

The truth is out. Democrats have failed — in D.C., in Chicago, in New York, and across the country. They’ve failed black voters. They’ve failed working-class Americans. That’s why support for their party sits at record lows. That’s why more voters are walking away.

The future doesn’t belong to the party of denial and decay. It belongs to the people who demand safety, security, and accountability. It belongs to those ready for real change.

Donald Trump is delivering that change. Democrats never will.

Here Are The 37 Brutal Murderers Joe Biden Let Off Death Row

A rundown of the gruesome murders committed by the death-row inmates getting commutations by President Joe Biden.

Democrats want to revise Constitution, limit presidential pardon power now that Biden got what he wanted



President Joe Biden gave his felonious son, Hunter Biden, a "full and unconditional" pardon Sunday, absolving him — in the eyes of the state — of a decade's worth of crimes that he both committed and may have committed against the United States of America. In doing so, the Democratic president went back on his word, making clear once again it was never reliable to begin with.

Republicans blasted Biden over his hypocrisy as well as the vagueness and breadth of the pardon, which neatly overlapped with the timeline of the Bidens' Burisma scandal — a scandal originally exposed by a report that was strategically censored before the 2020 election and downplayed by a cabal of intelligence officials and the liberal media.

While a handful of Democrats proved willing to criticize Biden, others signaled a desire to exploit the outrage over the pardon in order to prevent a Republican president from following suit.

Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, told CNN Monday that "we have to revisit the pardon power in the Constitution."

The first clause of Article II Section 2 of the Constitution states, "[The president] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

Connolly said that he could sympathize with Biden's "perspective that his son was, you know, subject to vigilante justice," insinuating that congressional investigators' questions about Hunter Biden's scandalous dealings with the Ukrainian company Burisma and other suspect foreign entities were legally illegitimate.

'I don't believe the pardon power should be as broad as it is.'

"But having said that, what other father in America has the power to pardon his son or daughter if they're convicted of a crime?" said Connolly. "We've got to circumscribe it so that you don't get to pardon relatives, even if you believe passionately they're innocent or that their cause is just."

Connolly refused to condemn either Biden's controversial pardon or former President Bill Clinton's pardon of his drug-trafficking half-brother but proved more than happy to criticize Trump's 2020 pardon of Charles Kushner, Ivanka Trump's father-in-law, calling it an "abuse of power."

After Jim Acosta acknowledged Congress is presently powerless to block pardons, Connolly said, "I think we're probably going to have to amend the Constitution because the pardon power is so sweeping."

Connolly added, "I don't believe the pardon power should be as broad as it is, and we can clearly see how it can be used and abused even with, you know, righteous cause. No other parent in America has the power to pardon their son or daughter for a crime."

'That is the exact opposite of our national principles of the rule of law, equal justice: that no one can be the judge at his or her own trial.'

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also suddenly decided to start caring about presidential pardons, tweeting, "Democrats should have been for reforming and curtailing pardon power from Day 1 of the Biden Presidency. As a father, I empathize with President Biden, but we must be the party of reform whether it's about the archaic pardon power, opposing super PACs or broad war powers."

Democrats have a tendency to advocate for limits on the president's power to pardon when a Republican president is in office or, in this case, about to take office.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.), for instance, repeatedly advocated for limiting the president's pardon power during Trump's first term, suggesting in a December 2020 op-ed that the Republican president was so anomalous and self-serving a character as to warrant constitutional revisions.

"The broad language used in the Constitution was designed to allow for flexibility, but it also assumes public interest-minded leaders and a respect for institutional norms," wrote Cohen. "With a president unbound by the institutions and norms of our democracy, the ability to pardon himself or herself and his or her family could be abused to create a quasi-hereditary monarchy where the first family is literally beyond the reach of the law. That is the exact opposite of our national principles of the rule of law, equal justice: that no one can be the judge at his or her own trial."

Cohen spared Biden from a similar tongue-lashing on Monday, stating, "President Biden has lost one son and would do anything he could for his remaining son. I'm in no way surprised at this pardon since the father-son bond is so strong. It's also clear that Hunter Biden was targeted because he was the son of the President and held to account in ways similarly situated people would not have been."

"The pardon power is supposed to be a safety valve against injustice, and I understand why President Biden thought it appropriate in this instance," added the Tennessee Democrat, apparently no longer so worried about the creation of a "quasi-hereditary monarchy."

Although sympathetic when a fellow traveler is abusing the power, Cohen signaled a renewed interest in limiting the reform power now that Trump is about to take office, urging his fellow lawmakers to cosponsor and support his constitutional amendment that would "eliminate pardons for the President's self, the President's family, Administration officials and campaign staff, and those who commit crimes on behalf of, for the benefit of, or at the direction of the President."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Biden’s lax border policies unleash 647,000 criminal aliens



Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Patrick Lechleitner revealed in a letter to Congress last week that 425,431 migrants with criminal convictions — which include charges such as rape, murder, assault, and drug possession — have been released into American communities. Lechleitner also noted that another 222,141 migrants who were allowed into the United States currently face criminal charges in U.S. courts. None of these individuals are currently in ICE custody.

This means 647,572 convicted and accused criminal aliens are currently free in the United States. For those who argue that the 222,141 individuals facing criminal charges are innocent until proven guilty, you’re correct. However, upwards of 98% of criminal cases in U.S. courts result in a guilty plea or conviction. Based on these statistics, roughly 217,000 of the 222,141 individuals facing charges are likely to be convicted.

Team Biden is more committed to 'helping' foreigners than it is in protecting American citizens from threats to their safety and national security.

To put these numbers in perspective, Boston has a population of 675,647, and Washington, D.C., has 689,545 residents. Cities like Rochester, New York; Richmond, Virginia; and Spokane, Washington all have populations between 200,000 and 225,000. Thanks to the Biden administration’s refusal to exclude ineligible foreign nationals, we now have enough criminal aliens to fill a medium-sized U.S. city.

You might be asking yourself, “How could the federal government miss nearly 700,000 convicted and potential alien criminals?” The simple answer is by willfully ignoring the immigration laws of the United States.

The Biden administration doesn’t like the Immigration and Nationality Act, the law that dictates when and how foreigners can enter the United States and how long they can stay. Under our system, if an administration doesn’t agree with a particular law, it lobbies Congress to draft and vote on a new bill. But that hasn’t happened with immigration. Even though Americans have repeatedly expressed their desire for secure borders and safe communities, that doesn’t align with the Biden administration’s worldview.

For more than three years, the Biden administration has assured Americans that everything is OK at the southern border, all while turning the Department of Homeland Security into a concierge and taxi service for border crossers. The administration has been unapologetically allowing criminals, terrorists, and Lord knows who else to enter the country, all while smiling and telling the public, “Don’t worry, you’re safe! All those military-aged men crossing the border just want asylum and the American dream. And besides, we’re carefully vetting them all.”

Of course, Lechleitner’s letter shows that little to no vetting has taken place. That’s not surprising. Anyone with experience in immigration enforcement will tell you it’s impossible to thoroughly vet that many people so quickly. In fact, anyone with common sense should be able to tell you that. But when it comes to border security and immigration policy, common sense has been in short supply lately.

To the extent that the corporate media covers this story at all, it will engage in theatrical handwringing and attempt to blame everything from xenophobia to capitalism. But this issue stems directly from the choice to ignore binding laws duly enacted by Congress. This means the problem never had to exist in the first place. The Immigration and Nationality Act grants the president more than enough authority to restore order at the border, if only Joe Biden would use it.

Doing so would ensure that asylum is reserved for people genuinely persecuted by their home governments. Right now, the Biden administration is making a mockery of America’s legitimate responsibilities under international humanitarian law. We’re not helping people who are actually facing persecution, because a rogue chief executive has unlawfully turned asylum into a “get across the border free” pass.

Anyone who prefers to be in the United States rather than their own country is taking advantage of our corrupted asylum system. Meanwhile, U.S. citizens are paying the price, both in blood and treasure, for uninvited guests — many of whom have repaid our kindness with violent, criminal behavior.

But Team Biden is more committed to “helping” foreigners than it is in protecting American citizens from threats to their safety and national security. Therefore, we should all be asking ourselves how many more Kate Steinles, Laken Rileys, and Rachel Morins it is going to take before the White House and Congress put their heads together and do something to stop this insanity?

EXCLUSIVE: Feds Are Helping Register Alabama Prisoners To Vote

Feds 'deployed' a 'liberal' org to help register Alabaman federal prisoners to vote, according to a statement from the secretary of state.

Memphis pastor shot in face unlikely to see proper justice thanks to leftist DA's office



Rev. Clemmie Livingston Jr. is the 71-year-old pastor of New Zionfield Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. On Feb. 25, Livingston attempted to stop thugs from stealing a car just feet away from the doors of his church. One of the thugs shot him in the face while driving away, leaving the pastor for dead.

After multiple surgeries, Livingston told WREG-TV, "Laying there, I kept saying to myself that I'll be dead in a little while. Well, what would a person say when they bleeding in the manner that I was bleeding?"

"While I was down on my knees, let me tell you what [God] said. He said to me, 'Stop trying to die and start back living,'" said the pastor. "In my spirit and in my heart, I know that Jesus brought me through this."

Gwendoline Livingston, the pastor's wife, indicated Friday that Livingston is still wearing a face brace and may have to either undergo a bone graft or have a metal plate inserted in his jaw.

"I am still not able to eat like normal people, and, of course, my bone is still shattered down there," he told WHBQ-TV.

The Shelby County District Attorney's Office has given the pastor one more thing to be sore about.

R'Shunio Greer, 18, was arrested in May in connection to unrelated car theft and aggravated assault cases. WHBQ reported that investigators found photos of Greer in the victim's 2019 Corvette. He allegedly admitted to being at the scene of the robbery when the pastor was shot and driving one of two Camaros spotted at the scene by witnesses. The same Camaro was later wrecked during a police chase.

Greer was slapped with various charges including aggravated robbery and theft of property.

However, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office — helmed by Steve Mulroy, a Democrat with a reputation for being soft on criminals who has reportedly received donations from Soros-linked organizations — dropped all but the theft charge against Greer in Livingston's case.

'I don't let things disappoint me such as this.'

Mulroy's office tried to blame the dismissal of the charges on witnesses failing to show up in court, but the pastor insisted that was simply not true, reported WHBQ.

"I was stunned when they said there were not any witnesses there, knowing that we were there," said the pastor. "That was the thing that shocked me."

"I don't let things disappoint me such as this," said Livingston. "I feel like the judicial system, they do what they want to do anyway."

After the pastor refuted the claim about witnesses showing up in the press, Mulroy's office effectively confirmed it had misled the public, indicating the aggravated robbery charge had been dropped despite witnesses having been present for the hearing.

Livingston indicated he will continue to pray about the situation, holding out hope that the accomplices referenced in Greer's statement will be brought in. The pastor expressed an interest in the rehabilitation of his attackers while in custody.

Livingston's case is far from the only one in Shelby County in which Mulroy's office has sought to let off criminals lightly. Mulroy recently indicated he would lean toward rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration for felons caught with illegal firearms, citing the need to address racial disparities.

Tennessee state Sen. Brent Taylor (R) told WMC-TV in a statement, "In a city plagued by gun violence, the thought that our DA will not aggressively prosecute felons in possession of a firearm is not only nonsensical, but it is dangerous. Our county is being targeted by restorative justice scheming groups because they know our DA is weak, compliant, and acquiescent. Not only is it harming our community, but it's harming law enforcement across the state."

Taylor notified Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R) last month of his intent to remove Mulroy.

"Public welfare demanding it, causes for such removal will be set forth in the Senate Joint Resolution, but shall include 'dereliction of duty' for failing to properly prosecute convicted felons in possession of a firearm," Taylor said in his letter.

McNally responded with words of encouragement, indicating he "wholeheartedly" supports the removal effort, reported the Tennessee Lookout.

"DA Mulroy's record of refusal to prosecute laws he does not personally care for is long-standing and clear. I believe it is time for him to go," said McNally.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!