Exclusive: ICE busts pedophile, abuser, and fentanyl trafficker despite ongoing shutdown



The government shutdown has not hindered the Trump administration's federal agents from continuing nationwide immigration enforcement.

‘Nothing will slow us down from making America safe again — not even a government shutdown.’

On Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens, including pedophiles, abusers, and drug traffickers, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

“The Democrats’ government shutdown will not stop DHS law enforcement from arresting and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American communities. Just yesterday, ICE arrested pedophiles, abusers, violent assailants, and drug traffickers from America’s streets,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated.

“Nothing will slow us down from making America safe again — not even a government shutdown," McLaughlin added.

The DHS highlighted five of those arrests.

Elroy Smith, a Jamaican national, was previously convicted in Philadelphia of unlawful contact with a minor — sexual offenses and indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old. Court records show that he was sentenced in 2024 to a minimum of 11.5 months in jail.

RELATED: Major shake-up reportedly under way at DHS as Trump administration works to increase deportations

Elroy Smith. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE nabbed Joel Ocampo-Martinez, a Mexican national with a criminal record in Vernal, Utah, for attempted forcible sexual abuse.

Joel Ocampo-Martinez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents arrested Oscar Hernandez-Aguire, a Salvadoran national who was convicted in Los Angeles for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.

Oscar Hernandez-Aguire. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Luis Mario Martinez-Gonzalez, a Mexican national, was found guilty in El Paso County, Texas, for assault on a public servant.

Luis Mario Martinez-Gonzalez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE also captured Osiris Alexander Rodriguez-Guzman, a national from the Dominican Republic, who was convicted in Essex Superior Court in Massachusetts for trafficking 200 grams or more of fentanyl. Gov. Maura Healey’s administration announced Rodriguez-Guzman’s drug trafficking arrest in 2022 as part of a state and federal takedown operation that resulted in a dozen arrests.

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

Osiris Alexander Rodriguez-Guzman. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

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How The ACLU Indirectly Helped Keep Hundreds Of Young Girls On ‘Kiddie Stroll’

'A failure of government, period'

Trump’s National Guard gambit misses the mark



Crime is bad. Violent crime is worse. That’s obvious. It’s not a partisan point. Most Democrats — I happen to be one of them — don’t cheer lawlessness. In fact, 68% of us say crime is a major problem in big cities. A few progressives have attacked police, but they sit far outside the mainstream. Most Democratic voters hold a higher opinion of law enforcement than of traditional liberal pillars like organized labor or public schools.

So if everyone agrees crime is bad, the real argument isn’t over morality — it’s over solutions.

We all agree crime is bad. The question is whether we fight it with empty theatrics or serious, sustained policing.

That’s where President Trump’s anti-crime efforts collapse. Talking tough doesn’t make streets safer. His approach wastes money, strains resources, and distracts from the hard work of policing.

The problem with militarizing cities

Trump’s main crime-fighting move has been deploying the National Guard to large cities like Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Chicago, Portland, and San Francisco are also on the president’s list. The images look dramatic, but they don’t reduce crime.

The Posse Comitatus Act bars the president from using the military as a domestic police force, which makes it unclear whether Guardsmen can legally arrest suspects or patrol neighborhoods. Most Guardsmen don’t want to cross that line — and they aren’t trained to. In Washington, the Guard’s own report lists its activities: clearing trash, spreading mulch, and painting fences. Good work, yes — but not policing.

These deployments also carry a hefty price tag. The Los Angeles mission, involving 4,000 guardsmen and 700 Marines for less than two months, cost about $118 million. Washington’s ongoing deployment could exceed that. Long-term operations in cities like Memphis, Portland, and Chicago would drive the bills even higher.

And those aren’t the only costs. The Guard is already stretched thin. Disaster relief missions during brutal wildfire and hurricane seasons have drained manpower and equipment. Overseas deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan reduced recruitment and retention. If the president keeps sending Guardsmen into American cities, they may not be ready when the country faces a real disaster — or, heaven forbid, a war.

Ignoring what works

Instead of chasing headlines, Trump could invest in what actually reduces crime. His One Big Beautiful Bill Act offered funding only for local agencies that cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. It provided nothing to hire or retain more police or prosecutors — the people who actually solve crimes and clear backlogged cases.

The solution is straightforward: Redirect the hundreds of millions spent on National Guard deployments into state and local law enforcement. Departments nationwide face critical shortages. Chicago alone needs about 1,300 more officers.

RELATED: The city that chose crime and chaos over courage

Stock Depot via iStock/Getty Images

History proves this works. Between the late 1960s and early 1990s, violent crime surged 371%. By 1991, the U.S. murder rate hit a historic peak. Then came the bipartisan 1994 Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act. The law funded new prisons, domestic violence prevention programs, and — most importantly — about 84,000 additional police officers.

The result? Crime fell sharply. Violent crime has dropped roughly 50% since then. The law had flaws — cutting inmate access to higher education was one — but safer streets remain its chief legacy.

The way to fight crime

If President Trump truly wants to make America safer, he should stop staging photo ops and start funding proven methods. Deploying the National Guard is costly, risky, and legally questionable. Hiring cops, prosecutors, and judges works — and has worked for decades.

We all agree crime is bad. The question is whether we fight it with empty theatrics or serious, sustained policing. The answer should be as clear as the problem itself.

LA Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen puts Christian faith front and center ahead of World Series: 'Make heaven crowded'



Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen is putting his Christianity front and center yet again.

Treinen is part of a pitching staff that, along with star Clayton Kershaw, has stood up for religious freedoms in the face of disturbing times in California.

'Every single one of us have been given a gift ...'

When a transgender-promoting, anti-Christian activist group was invited to Dodger Stadium in 2023, Treinen accused the group of "mocking the religious habits of nuns" and "mocking what [Catholics] hold most deeply."

Now, ahead of the Dodgers' second straight trip to the World Series, Treinen made it clear how important his Christian faith is in his life.

"I think my family's name is great in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of the world, nobody really knew the Treinens," the pitcher told CBN Sports.

"I don't really care if they do," he continued. "I want them to see Christ's greatness and what he's accomplished in my career."

Treinen said he wanted to see everyone go to heaven while also expressing care for others, saying, "I don't want to see any of my teammates or anybody in the stands or anybody in this world face the alternative."

"How do we make heaven crowded?" Treinen asked. "That's really my goal."

"Every single one of us have been given a gift, and our way of repaying it to the Lord is how do we honor Him with that gift?" he concluded. "When I am welcomed into the gates of heaven, I want to hear 'job well done, good and faithful servant.'"

RELATED: Christian LA Dodgers pitcher defies Pride Night with subtle in-game protest

Teammate Kershaw, meanwhile, stood out for his own religious fervor earlier this season when the Dodgers celebrated gay Pride Night.

While Kershaw took issue with the same event as Treinen in 2023, on Pride Night this June, the pitcher participated in wearing his team's rainbow-themed cap — but added a caveat.

"Gen 9:12-16," Kershaw's hat read. The player had written a Bible passage next to the Pride logo.

In the King James Bible, the passage states the following:

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

The Dodgers have been mired in controversy all year as the team seemingly battles the ethics of a far-left California setting with its generally conservative baseball fan base.

Also in June, an activist singer purposely sang the national anthem in Spanish at a Dodgers game to protest against the deportation of illegal immigrants who are Hispanic.

RELATED: Make-A-Wish exec resigns and loses job after threatening to call ICE on Dodgers fan at Brewers baseball game

Photo by Josie Lepe/MLB Photos via Getty Images

There were also reports in June of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents using Dodgers property as a staging area; the team and ICE gave conflicting reports on the matter.

Furthermore, in July, the Dodgers were hit with an anti-discrimination lawsuit over alleged diversity hiring initiatives.

Lastly, a Make-A-Wish foundation executive resigned in October after being caught on camera threatening to call ICE on a Dodgers fan at a playoff game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Democrats, Media Rushed To Blame Deadly California Fire on Climate Change. It Was Actually Arson.

Democrats and media outlets were quick to blame climate change and oil companies for the devastating Palisades Fire that ravaged Los Angeles earlier this year. But that narrative crumbled on Wednesday when federal law enforcement officials charged a man for deliberately starting the fire.

The post Democrats, Media Rushed To Blame Deadly California Fire on Climate Change. It Was Actually Arson. appeared first on .

Feds make arrest in connection with devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles



The federal government on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 29-year-old male in connection with the origin of the devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced on X the arrest of Jonathan Rinderknecht "on a criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in January."

'True disaster.'

Essayli said the criminal complaint alleges that Rinderknecht "started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year's Day — a blaze that eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction."

RELATED: LA approves only handful of building permits 75 days after fire devastation

Jonathan Rinderknecht. Image source: Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli on X

Fire crews extinguished the initial fire, but it continued to smolder underground before reigniting during high winds, Essayli said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press.

The acting U.S. attorney noted that among the evidence collected from Rinderknecht's digital devices "was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city."

RELATED: Woke, tearful Jimmy Kimmel rips Trump as 'our alleged future president,' blasts 'his gaggle of scumbags' over LA fire remarks

Image source: Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli on X

Rinderknecht fled the scene of the original fire but returned to the same trail to watch it burn, Essayli said, according to the AP: “He left as soon as he saw the fire trucks were headed to the location. He turned around and went back up there. And he took some video ... and watched them fight the fire."

What's more, the outlet — citing the criminal complaint — said Rinderknecht not only made several 911 calls to report the fire but also during a Jan. 24 interview told investigators where the fire began, which was "information not yet public and that he would not have known if he hadn't witnessed it."

The outlet said the fire erupted Jan. 7, killed 12 people, and destroyed more than 6,000 homes and buildings in the wealthy Pacific Palisades coastal neighborhood of Los Angeles.

RELATED: LA Times owner regrets his paper's endorsement of Karen Bass: 'That's a mistake'

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Rinderknecht's initial appearance was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Essayli also noted.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the "great work by @USAttyEssayli and our federal agents to make this crucial arrest." Bondi added that the Department of Justice "will deliver justice for the Palisades Fire and keep Californians safe — even if California leadership won't."

Donald Trump — who was president-elect at the time the fire erupted — blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom, calling the Democrat's handling of the fires a "true disaster" while citing lack of proper infrastructure and leadership.

Democrat Mayor Karen Bass also was criticized, given she was in Africa attending a presidential inauguration in Ghana at the time the fire was spreading. In fact, Bass reportedly was at one point living it up at a cocktail party in Ghana while the fire burned. The Los Angeles Times said Bass was hobnobbing and posing for photos at a Jan. 7 embassy shindig.

In February, Bass fired the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who had blamed officials' incompetence for a disastrous response to the wildfires.

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Suspected LA Arsonist Allegedly Created Eerie Pictures Of Burning Cities, Felt ‘Liberated’ Setting Bible On Fire

'That is from his ChatGPT'

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'Would create significant cost pressures for the state'

Brett Kavanaugh Tussles With Fellow SCOTUS Judge Over Immigration Injunction

What do you think?

Gavin Newsom’s DARK message to those struggling with addiction



California has been facing a homeless crisis for a long time, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is of the mind that in order to solve it, the homeless need less rules and regulations and more freedom to appease their addictions.

“Clean and sober is one of the biggest damn mistakes this country’s ever made,” Newsom said once in a statement about the homeless crisis, noting that he has been known to “self medicate” with a glass of wine as well.

Founder of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, Matthew Barnett, calls it “one of the most discouraging statements ever made by our governor.”

“When I heard that comment I’m like, we’ve given up. We have no belief that people can change. We have no belief that people can escape darkness. And when I heard that, my jaw dropped. It was almost like something that was said that came from the spirit of darkness,” Barnett tells BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey on “Relatable.”


“It really was. Kind of like a really creepy, defeatist mentality,” he continues.

“The great accuser,” Stuckey agrees. “You’ll never get better. You’ll never defeat drunkenness or whatever.”

Barnett’s foundation helps those struggling with homelessness and addiction, and Barnett tells Stuckey that he has seen people with fentanyl addictions successfully get clean.

“They’re getting free and getting clean, and they’re excited. They’re praising and worshiping the Lord,” he explains.

Barnett believes Newsom’s attitude is a “total slap in the face” to those who are actively trying to change.

“That comment was simply kind of like the cultural feeling over the last five years. We can’t overcome stuff. We can’t win. We can’t fight poverty. We can’t achieve on our own,” he says, adding, “And so we just kind of have to rebuke that message every day by the way that we live.”

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