'Disastrous program': Trump administration pauses 'diversity' visa Brown University shooter used to enter United States



The United States has paused a visa program after shocking details emerged in the Brown University shooting investigation.

Late Thursday night, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause of the DV1 program, a visa lottery system that the Brown University shooter, identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, reportedly used to obtain a green card.

'At President Trump's direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.'

"The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," Secretary Noem said on X. "In 2017, President Trump fought to end this program, following the devastating NYC truck ramming by an ISIS terrorist, who entered under the DV1 program, and murdered eight people."

RELATED: Suspect in deadly Brown University shooting and fatal shooting of MIT professor found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

"At President Trump's direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program," Noem added.

Valente, who is also believed to be responsible for the recent slaying of an MIT physics professor, was found dead inside a storage facility Thursday night.

The DV1 program, also known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, makes up to 55,000 visas available to immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The program is "random and blind to the number of family members who might immigrate with the selectee," according to the State Department website.

The 2026 visa lottery drew from 20,822,624 applicants from over 170 counties all around the world, according to State Department statistics.

The top 10 countries, from highest volume to lowest are: Egypt, Russia, Algeria, Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kenya, Nepal, and Morocco. Other countries that broke 3,000 are Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.

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Court Finds Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan Guilty Of Obstructing ICE

'Judges are not above the law. Their core function is to respect the rule of law, not to undermine it,' attorney Daniel Suhr said.

Illegal alien bus driver who can't speak English allegedly kills American while 'distracted by a video on his phone'



An American citizen was killed in a multi-vehicle pileup in Tennessee last week after an illegal alien bus driver allegedly rear-ended a semi-truck while driving along I-40.

This marks the latest fatal crash tied to an illegal alien who obtained a commercial driver's license in the United States despite unlawful status.

'Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs.'

Yisong Huang, a 54-year-old Chinese national, illegally entered the U.S. in 2023. While he admitted to Border Patrol agents that he had unlawfully entered the country, the Biden administration released him and provided him with work authorization documents and a Social Security card, the Department of Homeland Security reported.

Huang used his work documents to obtain a Class B CDL in New York, which allowed him to operate a bus.

On December 9, Huang allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash after he rear-ended a tractor-trailer. Investigators found that Huang was "distracted by a video on his phone."

The incident resulted in the death of American citizen Kerry Smith and injuries to two other individuals. There were no passengers on Huang's bus at the time of the crash.

RELATED: Trump’s DOT claims 53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally

Sean Duffy. Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images

Huang failed his English proficiency test administered after the fatal collision.

"Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs. And yet sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver's licenses. The Trump administration is ending the chaos," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. "The brave men and women of ICE are working nonstop to get criminal illegal aliens out of our communities and off our roads."

RELATED: Illegal alien trucker accused of causing crash that killed newlyweds

Kristi Noem. Photo by ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, "It's not just that Joe Biden let millions of migrants flood into our country illegally. His administration doled out the documentation these unqualified foreigner drivers needed to obtain trucking licenses and operate 40-ton missiles on the highway. The fact that this individual failed a basic English test also calls into question how he even got the license in the first place. Working with Secretary Noem, we will continue to fight to keep you and your family safe on America's roadways."

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Fly home or get caught: Trump’s TSA feeding ICE names before takeoff to nab illegal aliens 'without apology'



President Donald Trump's Transportation Security Administration is partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up immigration enforcement.

While the two agencies are under the Department of Homeland Security, a New York Times report last week stated that “ICE has historically avoided interfering with domestic travel.”

'The message to those in the country illegally is clear: The only reason you should be flying is to self-deport home.'

However, beginning in March, the TSA reportedly quietly expanded its data sharing with ICE.

According to the NYT, the TSA has been providing lists of travelers’ names to ICE ahead of their scheduled flights. ICE then cross-checks that information against its own database of those subject to deportation, the outlet wrote. Agents are then dispatched to apprehend those individuals at the airport.

The report noted that it is unclear how many arrests have resulted from this data-sharing effort. It claimed there was at least one such arrest by immigration officials at Boston Logan Airport on November 20. That individual was deported.

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“The administration has turned routine travel into a force multiplier for removals, potentially identifying thousands who thought they could evade the law simply by boarding a plane,” Scott Mechkowski, the former deputy head of ICE’s New York office, told the NYT.

“This isn’t about fear; it’s about restoring order and ensuring every American knows their government enforces its laws without apology," he added.

RELATED: 'Make travel family friendly again': Trump admin launches $1B effort to improve airport experience

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A DHS spokesperson told Blaze News that the program was “nothing new,” adding that in February, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country and do so without identification.”

“Under President Trump, TSA and DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport,” DHS added.

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Trump official pins DC National Guard attack on Biden's open border crisis



The Trump administration’s National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent exposed a terrifying reality about the fallout from former President Joe Biden’s open border crisis.

'That number, alarmingly, remains unknown at this time.'

During a Thursday Committee on Homeland Security hearing, Kent testified that, under the Biden administration, thousands of foreign nationals with known or suspected terrorist ties were allowed into the country.

“Despite the progress that we’ve made so far in the Trump administration, the threat posed by terrorists of all brands remains very high right now,” Kent said in his opening statement before lawmakers.

He explained that the country is facing “a persistent threat from the individuals that were allowed into this country by the previous administration.”

Kent noted that the most significant threat “is the fact that we don’t know who came into our country in the last four years of Biden’s open borders.”

“What we have identified is alarming,” he stated, adding that the federal government recently issued a warning about the heightened risk of terrorist attacks, particularly posed by ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

RELATED: White House makes touching gesture to honor assassinated National Guard member, allegedly by CIA-linked Afghan

Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images

“So far, NCTC has identified around 18,000 known and suspected terrorists that the Biden administration let come into our country,” Kent revealed.

He accused the prior administration of having “facilitated” the entry of individuals with ties to jihadi groups, including the Afghan suspected of attacking National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., on November 26. The attack resulted in the death of 20-year-old National Guard member Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, while Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was wounded.

“That Afghan was brought into the country as a group of over 100,000 Afghans who were brought here during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. These individuals, despite what has been reported, were not vetted properly to come into the United States,” Kent said.

RELATED: Wajahat Ali says quiet part out loud in attack on Trump's re-migration plan: 'Mistake that you made is you let us in'

Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images

He stated that the NCTC is working with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to track down individuals with ties to terrorist organizations. However, he noted that the 18,000 figure does not include foreign nationals who came into the U.S. illegally through the open border.

“That number, alarmingly, remains unknown at this time,” Kent remarked. “We’re trying to figure out who those individuals are as well.”

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Trump’s DHS rolls back more of Biden’s immigration handouts for foreign nationals



President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is continuing to roll back Temporary Protected Status, which was widely granted to numerous countries under the previous administration’s leadership.

On Friday morning, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a press release announcing that the DHS will terminate TPS for Ethiopia.

'Conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals.'

The current TPS designation was set to expire on Friday. Ethiopian nationals without another lawful basis to remain in the U.S. have 60 days to leave the country.

Those individuals are encouraged to use the Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Home mobile app to report their departure. They will receive a plane ticket and a $1,000 exit bonus.

The DHS may begin making arrests and deportations after February 13 for those who fail to leave voluntarily. They will not be eligible to return to the U.S.

“Temporary Protected Status designations are time-limited and were never meant to be a ticket to permanent residency,” a USCIS spokesperson stated. “Conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals. Since the situation no longer meets the statutory requirements for a TPS designation, [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem is terminating this designation to restore integrity in our immigration system.”

RELATED: Trump DHS makes 'temporary' finally mean temporary again, revoking Biden's free pass for 4,000 foreign nationals

Kristi Noem, Donald Trump. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

TPS was first extended to Ethiopia in December 2022 under former President Joe Biden, whose administration claimed the designation was necessary due to “ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

“Ethiopia faces armed conflict in multiple regions of the country resulting in large-scale displacement. In addition, Ethiopia has been experiencing severe climatic shocks exacerbating humanitarian concerns over access to food, water, and health care,” Biden’s DHS stated.

RELATED: 25 years after a Central American hurricane, Noem's DHS to end associated immigration Temporary Protected Status

Joe Biden, Alejandro Mayorkas. Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended the TPS designation in April 2024.

“While some residual challenges in regions affected by the conflicts remain, there are signs of improvements in the country,” Trump’s DHS wrote in a Federal Register notice that will be published next week.

“The Secretary has determined that, while some sporadic and episodic violence occurs in Ethiopia, the situation no longer meets the criteria for an ongoing armed conflict that poses a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals,” the DHS continued.

Trump's DHS previously terminated TPS for Burma, Haiti, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. Countries that continue to hold TPS designations into 2026 include El Salvador, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen.

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'Naked judicial activism': Judge issues restraining order on ICE in Kilmar Abrego Garcia deportation case



The high-profile deportation case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is once again in the spotlight after an "activist" judge once again temporarily threw a wrench in the Department of Homeland Security's work.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued an order barring immigration enforcement officials from detaining and deporting Garcia.

'This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.'

Judge Xinis, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, upheld requests from Garcia's lawyers for a temporary restraining order against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Newsweek reported.

Garcia was freed from immigration detention on Thursday after months of being in limbo, the Associated Press reported.

RELATED: Kilmar Abrego Garcia's days in the US may be numbered after court's latest ruling

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

"For the public to have any faith in the orderly administration of justice, the Court's narrowly crafted remedy cannot be so quickly and easily upended without further briefing and consideration," Xinis wrote.

Garcia's attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, celebrated the news of the restraining order and his client's release.

"Yesterday's order from Judge Xinis and now the temporary restraining order this morning represent a victory of law over power," Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who allegedly faced death threats from twin brothers from New Jersey earlier this week, told Newsweek that the decision was "naked judicial activism."

"This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts," McLaughlin added.

Garcia, an illegal alien and alleged MS-13 associate living in Maryland, was deported to an infamous Salvadoran prison earlier this year before being returned to the United States for continued processing of his case.

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'Stop ICE raids!'

App allegedly endangers ICE agents — now its creator is suing the Trump administration



The creator of ICEBlock, an iPhone app that allows users to report sightings of federal immigration agents, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over alleged violations of free speech.

The app's website describes ICEBlock as "an innovative, completely anonymous, crowdsourced platform that allows users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity with just two taps on their phone."

'ICE tracking apps put the lives of the men and women of law enforcement in danger as they go after terrorists, vicious gangs, and violent criminal rings.'

In the lawsuit, the app's creator, Joshua Aaron, admitted that he created the program in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement crackdown. Aaron claimed that he feared President Donald Trump's "incendiary rhetoric about immigration would lead to aggressive, indiscriminate enforcement of immigration laws, exposing immigrants and citizens alike to violence and rampant violations of their civil liberties."

"Aaron was right," the lawsuit contended.

Aaron's complaint accused the Trump administration of retaliation, threats, and false claims, citing comments from several federal officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said the app "looks like obstruction of justice," and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said it was "not protected speech."

RELATED: House Democrats' ICE 'tracker' will 'put our lives in danger': DHS agent

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

"[Aaron] believes that speech about publicly observed law and immigration enforcement activity — the expression enabled by ICEBlock — lies at the heart of the interests the First Amendment was intended to protect," the complaint read. "The Bill of Rights — including the First Amendment — was crafted precisely to safeguard the People's ability to question authority, expose governmental abuse, and hold public officials accountable: a reflection of the founders' belief that an informed and vocal citizenry is the ultimate guardian of liberty."

The suit alleged that the app was ultimately removed from Apple's App Store because of pressure from the Trump administration.

RELATED: ICE locks up pedophiles, other violent illegal aliens as DHS launches ‘worst of the worst’ searchable site

Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"ICE tracking apps put the lives of the men and women of law enforcement in danger as they go after terrorists, vicious gangs, and violent criminal rings. Our law officers are facing more than a 1,150% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to Blaze News.

"But, of course, the media spins this correct decision for Apple to remove these apps as them caving to pressure instead of preventing further bloodshed and stopping law enforcement from getting killed," McLaughlin added.

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ICE locks up pedophiles, other violent illegal aliens as DHS launches ‘worst of the worst’ searchable site



Immigration and Customs Enforcement is locking up more pedophiles and violent criminals as the Department of Homeland Security launches a new “worst of the worst” searchable website.

A press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News highlighted the Monday arrests of five criminal illegal aliens.

‘This is all about transparency and showing results.’

“Americans may be busy with Christmas parties and shopping, but the mission to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens never stops — and neither does ICE law enforcement,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated.

“Every day, our law enforcement are removing the worst of the worst from across our nation,” McLaughlin continued. “Just yesterday, ICE arrested pedophiles, armed robbers, and drug traffickers. Thanks to our new website, Americans can see for themselves the criminal illegal aliens that we are arresting and removing from their communities.”

ICE nabbed Juan Aucenjio-Natalio, a Mexican national who was previously convicted in Fort Bend County, Texas, for indecency with a child by exposure.

RELATED: Illinois, Gov. Pritzker have released almost 1,800 violent illegal aliens back onto the streets in defiance of ICE, DHS says

Juan Aucenjio-Natalio. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents captured Phathana Phouthavong, an illegal alien from Laos who was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Phathana Phouthavong. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Immigration officials also arrested Ernesto Leonardo Mercado-Mejia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. He was previously found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed weapon in Santa Maria, California.

Ernesto Leonardo Mercado-Mejia. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Salvador Flores-Castellenos, a Mexican national, was convicted of robbery and assault with a firearm in Fresno, California.

Salvador Flores-Castellenos. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE agents also captured Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Ramos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was convicted of selling cocaine in Randolph County, North Carolina.

RELATED: Exclusive: ICE arrests criminal illegal alien who allegedly operated shady unlicensed dental clinic

Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Ramos. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

The agency’s recent arrests coincide with the launch of wow.dhs.gov, a webpage that highlights the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens nabbed by federal immigration officials since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. The website provides their names as well as their country of origin, arrest location, and prior arrests and convictions. Users can search for arrests by both country of origin and state.

The DHS announced the new searchable website on Monday.

“This new worst of the worst webpage allows every American to see for themselves the criminal illegal aliens that we are arresting, what crimes they committed, and what communities we removed them from. This is all about transparency and showing results,” McLaughlin said.

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