Libertarian think tank pearl-clutches about reduced Islamic migration — but it's music to MAGA ears



America's most prominent libertarian think tank released a report on Monday concern-mongering over the drastic drop in legal immigration from third-world Muslim nations under President Donald Trump.

The Cato Institute — admittedly a big supporter of immigration and longtime opponent of the president's border wall — is fretting over an apparent 96% drop in immigrant visa issuances and refugee admissions from majority-Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Libya, Pakistan, and Somalia.

'We’ve come so far on these issues.'

Meanwhile, prominent voices in the MAGA movement are celebrating the news from Cato.

The White House's rapid response account even shared a Cato Institute graph showing the decline in migration from Muslim countries.

In response to the graph, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet wrote, "I couldn't love this stat and this graphic any more. This is actually exactly what I voted for."

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "Coming to America means committing to America: our Constitution, our laws, our freedoms. Tougher vetting under POTUS Trump has cut admissions from high-risk countries by 96%. We owe Americans nothing less than knowing exactly who we let in."

Texas Rep. Brandon Gill (R) noted, "Absolutely incredible victory for the American people, thanks to POTUS."

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Aaron Schwartz/AFP/Getty Images

The libertarian think tank underscored that Trump and his administration are directly responsible for the drop in admissions of refugees and migrants from nations, highlighting:

  • Trump's Jan. 20, 2025, proclamation that the U.S. "admit only those refugees who can fully and appropriately assimilate into the United States," "ensure that the United States preserves taxpayer resources for its citizens," and suspend the entry of refugees into the U.S. under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program;
  • Trump's Sept. 30, 2025, determination allocating refugee admissions for fiscal year 2026 primarily to Afrikaners from South Africa;
  • Trump's Dec. 16, 2025, proclamation restricting the entry of foreign nationals into the U.S. from scores of third-world countries including Afghanistan, Mali, South Sudan, and Yemen;
  • the State Department's pause on immigrant visa processing from 75 countries "whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates";
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Jan. 1, 2026, memo applying Trump's 40-country entry ban; and
  • the State Department's recent immigrant visa interview freeze.

Many of the administration's actions have been challenged and in some cases blocked in the courts. The State Department's pause on visa processing from 75 countries, for instance, is no longer in effect as of Aug. 21, owing to a court order.

Nevertheless, these actions have proven impactful.

The libertarian think tank's analysis of State Department data shows incredible drops in migration from various Muslim terrorist hot spots.

Whereas, for example, 5,563 immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan were admitted by the U.S. in former President Joe Biden's final month in office, there were only nine in February 2026 — a decline of 99.8%. Whereas 3,026 Pakistani refugees and migrants were admitted in December 2024, only 63 were admitted in February 2026. Similarly dramatic declines were observed among admissions from various other Muslim nations.

"If the current pace continues, the fiscal year 2026 (which started in October) would see the fewest immigrants and refugees from majority-Muslim countries in at least 30 years," said the Cato Institute report.

'Of course, there are immigrants who don’t work and commit crimes.'

The report noted further that if these levels continue for the rest of this fiscal year, "then only about 40,000 immigrants and refugees from these countries will have immigrated that year. This would be down nearly 80 percent from 2024 and even about 30 percent lower than 2020, when the first Trump administration used the pandemic as an excuse to cut off legal immigration."

The libertarian outfit also questioned the administration's justification for the 40-country entry ban on the basis of security, claiming that "only two of the ten majority Muslim countries on that list have ever carried out a deadly terrorist attack in the United States."

The Cato Institute further characterized immigrants from Muslim nations as hard workers who have a positive effect on government budgets and as "much more highly educated than the US-born."

RELATED: Diversity is our strength? Britain has to remind migrants: Don't rape kids

Afghan migrants attempting to cross US border near Sasabe, Arizona, in January 2025. John Moore/Getty Images

Minnesota is among the states that has had a different experience on the ground with some of these supposed scholarly and industrious imports.

The Center for Immigration Studies reported in December that approximately 54% of Somali-headed households in Minnesota received food stamps and 73% of Somali households had at least one member on Medicaid. By way of comparison, the figures for native households were 7% and 18%, respectively. The CIS also noted that 58.2% of working-age Somalis do not speak English very well and 39% have no high school diploma.

Trump shared a graph on Jan. 4 titled "Immigrant Welfare Recipient Rates by Country of Origin," which showed that the percentages of immigrant households on assistance from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Pakistan, South Sudan, and Yemen were all over 40% and went as high as 75%.

The Cato Institute's report claimed, "Of course, there are immigrants who don’t work and commit crimes. But they are the minority. The vast majority of immigrants — including those from majority-Muslim countries — want to contribute to the United States, and they have contributed to it."

The libertarian think tank implored Congress to "go further to protect Americans’ right to associate freely with people born in other countries, regardless of their countries of origin."

William Wolfe, the executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership, tweeted, "To see an official White House account celebrating a decrease in 1) legal immigration and from 2) explicitly Muslim-Majority countries is truly amazing. We’ve come so far on these issues. Some of the young guys don’t know that, but it did not used to be like this."

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Kansas Republicans muddy the waters on ICE enforcement



Cabaña Mexican Grill in Garden City, Kansas, temporarily closed last week as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted operations across the southwestern part of the state.

In a bilingual Facebook post featuring a Mexican flag, the restaurant said, “ICE is in our community, and fear is spreading through the families who work hard every day to keep businesses like ours running.”

Establishment Republicans, always preferring business interests over their voters, may not get the message by midterms. They may not ever get it. But the voters certainly do.

The post urged other businesses to stand with their employees: “People before profit. Community before business. Together.”

Kansas Republican U.S. Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran responded by stressing coordination between federal agents and local law enforcement.

“When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement,” Marshall posted to X. “Our sheriffs and police know these communities better than anyone, and working together keeps officers and residents safe.”

Marshall said he was closely following events and had been in direct contact with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and local authorities “as ICE executes warrants in order to keep Kansans safe.”

Moran added that he had spoken with Mullin and stressed “the importance of DHS working with our local law enforcement to safely execute these warrants.”

He also relayed an assurance from Mullin that the warrants were “only for the purpose of arresting individuals who have been charged with criminal activities.”

Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton struck much the same note. He said immigration agents should focus on serious criminals, coordinate with local officials, and avoid leaving Kansas families afraid.

How strange that the Republicans and the Democrat should sound so similar, especially to voters who expect Republicans to offer an unapologetic defense of immigration enforcement.

Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on carrying out what he called “the largest deportation operation in American history.” More than 77 million Americans voted for him, and he carried Kansas by 16 points.

RELATED: Sanctuary cities’ get-out-of-jail fail

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

Yet when federal immigration agents arrived in Southwest Kansas, the state’s two Republican senators did not lead with a defense of the administration’s enforcement authority. They led with concerns about coordination, local knowledge, and public safety — language strikingly similar to Hamilton’s.

That distinction is worth getting right.

ICE routinely works with state and local law enforcement, including through its 287(g) partnerships. Asking federal agents to communicate with sheriffs and police is not, by itself, a sanctuary policy, nor does local government possess a veto over federal immigration enforcement.

The real question is what Moran and Marshall believe ICE should be enforcing.

ICE is not merely a federal version of a local police department. Immigration enforcement is itself at the core of its mission. Removal does not depend in every case on a separate violent-crime conviction.

When Moran and Marshall say that ICE should be focusing on public safety or illegal aliens charged with criminal activity, what they seem to mean is that the overwhelming majority of illegal aliens should receive enforcement amnesty. That’s madness.

I don’t think it is even worth pointing out to either Republican senator that it is illegal for illegal aliens to work under the table in the United States, and usually that implicates other crimes, including identity theft and document fraud.

Logic cannot prevail when we are hearing Democratic talking points from the mouths of Republicans. This is particularly troubling at a time when some Democrats, including Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), are openly calling to abolish the Department of Homeland Security.

RELATED: The mass-deportation promise is disappearing

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images

Establishment Republicans, always preferring business interests over their voters, may not get the message by midterms. They may not ever get it. But the voters certainly do, particularly in areas that have been transformed by mass immigration, both legal and illegal.

Comments responding to a KSN story included blunt reactions: “The businesses hiring them should be fined and arrested,” “Sounds like they need to stay closed if they can’t hire Americans,” and from one Western Kansas resident, “I voted for this!!!”

Those comments are not a scientific sample of Kansas opinion, obviously. They are, however, a reminder of the constituency Republican politicians helped create when they spent years promising tougher immigration enforcement and failed to deliver.

Now that enforcement has arrived in Southwest Kansas, voters can see clearly how their elected officials respond.

'NEVER going to happen': DHS Sec. Mullin CRUSHES 'open borders' Democrat pushing 'radical' anti-ICE bill



The Trump administration has fired back a scathing response to a Democrat congresswoman who called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished.

Democrat Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois said the bill she announced Wednesday would dismantle the Department of Homeland Security, abolish ICE, and reroute their funding to a new department pushing community-based justice policies.

'Our 270,000 DHS patriots are keeping Americans SAFE — unlike this open borders politician who refuses to prioritize Americans over illegal aliens.'

The DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin replied in a statement to Blaze News.

"Radical leftists are calling to defund the police and abolish DHS. It’s NEVER going to happen," said the secretary. "Our 270,000 DHS patriots are keeping Americans SAFE — unlike this open borders politician who refuses to prioritize Americans over illegal aliens."

A spokesperson for the DHS also responded to Ramirez with a list of the worst illegal alien criminals ICE has deported from the U.S.

"Representative Ramirez should be thanking our law enforcement for removing these dangerous criminals from her district — NOT vilifying law enforcement," the spokesperson said.

Ramirez replied in a lengthy statement to Blaze News via email.

"Every day, Americans wake up with a new reason to dismantle DHS, reimagine safety, and build something that honors our shared humanity," the Democrat said.

"The people have the power to reshape the government: instead of the weapon DHS has proven to be, we need a department built on the best parts of who we are and can be, and the best examples of how we can take care of each other in hard times," she added.

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"My Reimagining Safety Act PROTECTS [the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency], [the Transportation Security Administration], the Coast Guard, and Customs functions, expands [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], and delivers funding back to our communities," Ramirez continued. "Markwayne and DHS will keep spreading cheap lies and fearmongering in a desperate attempt to save face because dismantling DHS and building something new is part of how we hold them accountable, stop corruption, and end their lawlessness."

Ramirez had previously said the new criminal justice department would be "human- and community-centered" rather than be centered on "surveillance" and "terrorizing people."

She had also earned the scorn of many when she said she was a "proud Guatemalan" first and an American second.

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DHS blasts Democrats, liberal media over gaslighting campaign about illegal alien shot by ICE



An individual identified by the Department of Homeland Security as an illegal alien from Venezuela was shot on Sunday during an immigration enforcement operation in Austin, Texas.

Democratic officials and the liberal media rushed to vilify Immigration and Customs Enforcement and characterize 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez as a victim who has been subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of federal authorities.

'He entered illegally under the Biden Administration.'

The DHS has, however, cast doubt on the veracity of the anti-ICE crowd's various claims regarding Perez's case.

"Sanctuary politicians and the mainstream media have wasted no time in spreading lies about an ICE officer-involved shooting of an illegal alien in Austin, Texas," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.

"Contrary to their claims, this person is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life," continued Mullin. "No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again."

The DHS fact-checked numerous claims that have been advanced by Democrats and/or the liberal media since the incident.

RELATED: Texas shuts down rioters, Democrats fan the flames after ICE shooting

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) and multiple news outlets pushed the claim by Perez's immigration attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, that the Venezuelan was issued a work permit.

The DHS countered that Perez's "work permit expired in 2025" and noted that "a work permit does NOT grant legal status."

As for Goldfinch's complaint that Perez was ordered removed in absentia, the DHS replied, "Yes. This is why aliens must show up to their removal proceedings. Legal obligations do not end because someone’s address changed."

The DHS similarly rejected the suggestion by Castro and others that Perez lawfully entered the United States and is here legally, stating, "He entered illegally under the Biden administration. The illegal alien had no valid work permit, had no protective status, and had a final order of removal from a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge."

In a letter to Sec. Mullin dated Tuesday, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and about 100 other Democratic lawmakers also claimed that Perez "is not receiving the care he needs in detention," has received no pain medication, and was forced to sleep on the floor.

The DHS said instead that Perez "is receiving medical care around the clock, including pain medication," and that he "was released from the hospital and arrived at the detention facility just a few hours later, where he slept on a bed."

Democrats further claimed in the letter that "there is no indication Mr. Garces Perez posed a threat to officers." However, newly released footage appears to show a car matching the description of Perez's vehicle speeding away from law enforcement.

"Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public," said the DHS. "We remind the public that resisting officers and evading arrest is a felony and a federal crime."

His translator at a news conference Monday said, "He asked the ICE officer if he could please at least pull over so that they could detain him. They said no, and they side-swiped him, basically. He did a U-turn to try and find a spot to park so that he could go with them, and they basically ran into him and then shot him."

Perez is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 30 in connection to his attorney's effort to challenge his deportation.

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The mass-deportation promise is disappearing



At the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas last week, Vice President JD Vance said, “Under Donald Trump’s leadership, we have seen the foreign-born share of our population drop by 3 million people. That’s illegal aliens that we sent back home.” That is not true, and I wish he hadn’t said it.

The first sentence appears to round a recent estimate that the total foreign-born population fell by 2.9 million. The second recasts that estimate as 3 million illegal aliens whom the administration sent home. That is not what the underlying study says. But Vance said what he said, and if we are going to be straight shooters with Americans, then we need to hold all our political leaders to the same standard. That is especially true when it comes to the base’s favorite candidate for the next Republican presidential nomination.

It’s one thing not to mention mass deportation, but quite another to throw out numbers that nobody believes and the government’s own public data does not support.

With all due respect to the vice president, who has earned a deep reservoir of trust and support, we still need to be clear-eyed if we are going to build momentum for a mass deportation campaign.

As the vice president himself has said, “We need people to be pushing back from inside the tent.” We cannot accept premature celebrations in place of action. There could be a million explanations for how that statistic made it into the speech instead of the term “mass deportation” itself. My read is that someone ordered them not to speak about mass deportation at the convention, so it may have been hard to come up with something to say in its place. I have drafted and edited my fair share of speeches over the years. Group projects can take on lives of their own, and things end up in speeches that should not.

I was on the ground in Dallas, and I heard no speaker use the term “mass deportation.” It was a noticeable departure from the term’s prominence at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where viewers and attendees saw signs calling for “mass deportation now” while President Trump promised the “largest" deportation operation in history.

The promised mass-deportation campaign has not come to pass, and the absence of any reference to it just two years later speaks volumes about the abandonment of the cause.

The only reference to mass deportation I caught at the convention came from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during an offstage interview. “Our base wants mass deportation. We need mass deportation,” he said. Mullin, who receives the sharpest mix of criticism and encouragement, including from yours truly and the Mass Deportation Coalition, deserves credit for at least being willing to say it. Obviously, doing it is what matters, but it starts with saying it.

Instead of mass deportation, we have a growing scandal over basic deportation data. ICE has not released its fiscal year 2025 annual report, which congressional appropriators directed the agency to issue within 90 days of the fiscal year’s end. The ICE dashboard that was regularly updated, even during the Obama and Biden years, has not posted new removal data since November 2024.

RELATED: Trump’s mass-deportation promise needs receipts

Megan Varner/Getty Images

In place of numbers are far-fetched claims and surface-level figures tossed out on social media and suspiciously amplified by networks of influencers. I suspect the amplification is not organic. Many of the posts are not even logical on their own terms, including one I saw recently claiming that ICE achieved a monthly record of 50,000 arrests. It then multiplied that “record” by the 20 months President Trump has been in office and claimed that 3 million people had therefore been deported. But 50,000 multiplied by 20 is 1 million, not 3 million. And arrests are not deportations. Nonetheless, the 3 million claim made the rounds on social media.

Then came another 3-million claim, this time drawn from a study based on the Current Population Survey, a voluntary monthly household survey used to measure the labor force. The study estimated that the total foreign-born population fell by 2.9 million from January 2025 to July 2026. It also preliminarily estimated that the illegal immigrant population fell by 2.3 million, from 15.8 million to 13.5 million. Importantly, that is an estimated net change in population, not a count of people deported. The study says the change can reflect new arrivals, deportations, voluntary emigration, legalizations, and deaths.

Vance also said Americans had competed for jobs and homes against “25 million new illegal immigrants.” If you are confused, then you are in the right place. The new claim that 3 million illegal aliens were sent home rests not on administrative deportation records but on an extrapolation from the survey, which does not ask respondents about their immigration status. It is a stretch to turn that estimate into 3 million illegal aliens “sent back home,” especially after claiming moments earlier that 25 million new illegal immigrants had competed with Americans for jobs and homes.

RELATED: The conservative base will remember this betrayal

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images

None of this should even be part of the argument or public conversation. The Trump administration has administrative data on removals and returns; it is choosing not to release a detailed public accounting.

This should be among the easiest data to track and compile in all of government. Each formal removal or return generates case records and departure paperwork. Officials review those figures regularly. They know what I know: Actual interior deportations are far below the estimates being bandied about.

My estimate is that interior removals are probably closer to one-sixth of the 3 million the administration claims. I have sued the DHS with the Oversight Project to obtain this data, but the agency is still spending taxpayer money on lawyers to keep it hidden. It is a cover-up and a scandal, and there are unfortunately no better words for it.

It’s unfortunate that the ascendant vice president decided to jump headfirst into the deportation-data mess. It’s one thing not to mention mass deportation, but quite another to throw out numbers that nobody believes and the government’s own public data does not support.

Homan confirms 'ongoing criminal investigation' into Ilhan Omar



Over the past decade, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has continuously dodged allegations that she married her brother to help him obtain legal immigration status in the United States. Last week the controversy exploded anew as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Benny Johnson an investigation into the claim is under way.

On Sunday, another Trump administration official, border czar Tom Homan, confirmed the existence of an “ongoing criminal investigation” of Omar by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division.

'We're gonna take a look at it. If we think that there's a crime, we're gonna prosecute that crime.'

Homan’s admission came during a segment on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing.”

Homan told Fox News that “if someone committed immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they're a congressman or not, no one's above the law.” When pressed he further, confirmed the existence of a current criminal investigation into Omar.

Homan and Mullin are not the only Trump administration officials to claim that investigations into Omar and the validity of her citizenship are under way. In May, Vice President JD Vance told a reporter, “We're gonna take a look at it. If we think that there's a crime, we're gonna prosecute that crime. And that's something the Department of Justice is looking at right now.”

For her part, Omar has consistently denied the allegations. In March, after an earlier claim of fraud by Vance, her chief of staff released a statement to Fox News: “This is a ridiculous lie and desperate attempt to distract from the pedophile protection party’s unpopular war of choice, increasing gas prices, and rapidly dropping polling numbers.”

RELATED: DHS secretary: Ilhan Omar married her brother, and consequences are coming

The allegations have dogged Omar since she won her primary for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016. In August of that year, Scott Johnson reported at Power Line blog that a since-deleted post on Somalispot claimed that “Omar married her brother Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, implying that the latter marriage assisted his entry into the United States.”

Power Line’s Johnson further looked into marriage records and reached out to those involved. He received a response from attorney Jean Brandl, which was the first in a long line of Omar denials regarding the allegations, “There are people who do not want an East African, Muslim woman elected to office and who will follow Donald Trump’s playbook to prevent it."

Brandl continued, “Ilhan Omar’s campaign sees your superfluous contentions as one more in a series of attempts to discredit her candidacy.”

RELATED: JD Vance reveals Ilhan Omar is under federal investigation — and it may be about her marriage

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In 2020 after the allegations again surfaced, Omar unequivocally denied the allegations via a statement. She wrote, “A number of baseless rumors have been made recently about my personal life and family. I will say it again here: they are absolutely false and ridiculous.”

Omar went on to detail her side of the marriage timeline.

The Department of Homeland Security and Rep. Omar have not responded to Blaze News’ requests for comment.

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DHS secretary: Ilhan Omar married her brother, and consequences are coming



An unexpected surprise occurred on the floor of the 2026 Republican Midterm Convention on Thursday, when the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) married her brother and that consequences are coming.

“Something’s going to happen,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said after Benny Johnson asked about the accusation that Omar married her brother so that he could stay in the United States.

‘We know that she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States.’

Rumors that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who married Omar in 2009, is Omar's biological brother have swirled for years. Mullin seemed to confirm those rumors to Johnson Thursday night.

“We know that she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States,” he began.

“There may be more to this — the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with. But all of this, we’re investigating.”

Perhaps in anticipation of left-wing backlash about his comments, Mullin added: “If we actually move a case forward, it’s not a political case. It’s actually a case because they did things wrong.”

“If you decided to break the law or lie on the information you gave the United States ... but you didn’t tell us who you actually were ... there’s no expiration to that. If we can prove it that you shouldn’t have been here in the first place, we’ll deport you.”

Blaze News reached out to Omar's office for comment but did not receive a response by the deadline.

In 2020, Omar released a statement calling the allegations "absolutely false and ridiculous," reiterating that "insinuations that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is my brother are absurd and offensive."

RELATED: Is Ilhan Omar getting deported? Trump's post raises eyebrows

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

President Donald Trump weighed in on the allegations late last year. “If that's true, she shouldn't be a congressman,” he said definitively. “And we should throw her the hell out of our country.”

Trump then hinted as recently as last month that she may be the subject of ICE "enforcement proceedings" on account of alleged "fraud."

Vice President JD Vance also addressed the accusations against Omar back in May and indicated an investigation was underway. "You read the things about Ilhan Omar and about who she married and whether she didn't marry this person or that person," Vance said.

"It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody's entitled to equal justice under the laws, so we're going to investigate it," he added. "We're going to take a look at it. If we think that there's a crime, we're going to prosecute that crime. And that's something the Department of Justice is looking at right now."

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Trump administration taps 'Transformers' for new deportation program: 'You don't know how to drive, Mr. Singh'



The Department of Homeland Security is casting itself as the Autobots — with Megatron and illegal immigrants playing the Decepticons.

It’s the latest Hollywood-inspired message from the Trump administration, which rolled out a “Transformers” mash-up to promote a new ICE tip line for reporting commercial driver's license fraud.

'Self-deport or find out.'

The video uses footage from the “Transformers” franchise to depict Decepticon leader Megatron demanding that the government free his allies. Instead, a voice-over identifies several illegal immigrants who the DHS says obtained commercial driver's licenses before being involved in fatal crashes or other crimes.

First is Harjinder Singh, an Indian national accused of making an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer on a Florida highway last August, causing a crash that killed three people. Singh had received a commercial driver's license from California, according to DHS.

The video also names Rajinder Kumar, another Indian national who the DHS says received a California CDL before jackknifing his tractor-trailer in Oregon in November 2025, causing a crash that killed a newlywed couple.

Also featured are Bekzhan Beishekeev, a Kyrgyz national who the DHS says killed four people in an Indiana crash, and Akhror Bozorov, an Uzbek national wanted in his home country on terrorism-related charges. Both received commercial driver's licenses in Pennsylvania.

RELATED: Legendary video game company threatens the White House — and gets results

The video concludes with the message: “Aliens don't belong behind the wheel of American trucks on American roads.”

The DHS followed the video with a “Transformers”-style poster — that has since been removed — showing Optimus Prime facing off against an Indian truck driver.

“Self-deport or find out,” the poster read. “Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr. Singh.”

“Too many American lives have been lost or permanently changed because illegal aliens who have no business being on our roads have been granted CDLs,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in announcing the tip line.

“ICE and our federal partners, including the Department of Transportation, will be cracking down on CDL fraud so that not one more American life is lost to a reckless illegal alien behind the wheel of a semi-truck,” Mullin added.

The “Transformers” footage isn't the only borrowed material in the video. The mash-up also uses music from Linkin Park, a band that has previously objected to the use of its music in Trump-related videos.

RELATED: Trump's new Space Force uniforms based on 'fascist' sci-fi classic. Would you like to know more?

In 2020, the band issued a cease-and-desist after a campaign video shared by Trump used the band's hit “In the End.” “Linkin Park did not and does not endorse Trump, nor authorize his organization to use any of our music,” the band said at the time.

Earlier this year, a White House video featuring “Somewhere I Belong” was reportedly removed after representatives for the band took action over its use.

Whether the latest video will prompt similar action remains to be seen.

The “Transformers” film rights are held by Paramount Pictures, although it is unclear whether the DHS obtained permission to use footage from the franchise.

The video comes just days after the White House removed a “Tetris”-inspired game from Arcade.gov following a copyright complaint from the Tetris Company.

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DHS Asks Justice Department To Investigate Voter Roll Group For Sharing Personal Data With Private Organizations

ERIC requires that member states never share data indicating that an individual on voter rolls is not a citizen.

Trump administration closes trucking schools linked to incompetent foreign drivers



Numerous Americans have died horrifically after foreigners were issued commercial driver's licenses and took to the roads in what U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has characterized as "80,000 pound missiles."

To neutralize these threats, the Trump administration has cracked down on unqualified drivers and taken off the road those commercial truck drivers who can't speak English; purged thousands of unqualified training schools from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration registry; and barred DACA recipients, asylum-seekers, refugees, TPS holders, and other noncitizens from obtaining, renewing, upgrading, or transferring non-domiciled CDL licenses.

'Congress must now do its part.'

Expanding on this campaign to keep American roads safe, the DOT announced on Monday that it has executed the emergency closure of over 110 commercial driver-training schools linked to thousands of drivers who failed English language proficiency tests.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration checked the records of over 5,000 CDL holders who failed the ELP requirements against records in the Training Provider Registry to determine which schools were certifying these failed assimilators. The agency ultimately identified over 110 entry-level driver training providers that must now cease all operations.

The FMCSA also launched nearly 400 investigations into training schools in 40 states. Investigators found "serious cases of non-compliance," resulting in hundreds of additional proposed removals from the Training Provider Registry.

According to the DOT, drivers certified by the over 160 training schools that were served with notices of proposed removal are linked to 239 commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities.

"To fully root out the scourge of fraud, hold criminals accountable, and restore safety, we need the support of federal law enforcement," Duffy said in a statement. "I am so grateful for President Trump raising the alarm on this issue, and to Vice President Vance for leading the charge to crack down on fraud nationwide. From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain."

The DOT is hardly alone in this campaign to spare Americans from incompetent foreign truckers.

RELATED: Massachusetts fought the rule that would have kept Pennsylvania trooper's alleged killer off the road

Homeland Security Investigations is working with the DOT and FMCSA on a criminal investigation initiative focused on "CDL fraud, unauthorized employment, identity-document fraud, financial crime, money laundering, labor exploitation, and potential links to human smuggling, drug trafficking, and cartel activity."

Starting Monday, HSI conducted a surge at over 200 driving schools and targeted CDL-related businesses, schools, carriers, and employers.

"Criminals who exploit our nation’s transportation systems through fraud and deception are not only breaking the law — they are putting the safety and security of the American public at risk," said HSI acting Executive Associate Director John Condon. "HSI will bring the full weight of our investigative authorities, financial expertise, and global law enforcement capabilities to this historic, whole-of-government effort."

Enforcement and Removal Operations will participate in the surge this week, which will focus on Maine, Michigan, and Wisconsin. ERO officers will work with FMCSA-certified inspectors to "conduct commercial vehicle enforcement activity and inspection checkpoints at separate locations."

The Justice Department, which is also involved, announced on Monday the formation of Joint Task Force Crossroads of America — an interagency task force committed to enhancing roadway safety in part by deterring illegal trucking practices and holding offenders accountable.

Vice President JD Vance emphasized the importance of cracking down on fraud in the trucking industry, telling reporters on Monday that fraudulent CDLs in recent years not only made American streets and highways "a lot less safe" but were "bad for people's jobs" and undercut American wages.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association lauded this interagency initiative.

President Todd Spencer said in a statement given to Blaze News, "OOIDA and professional truck drivers across America commend Secretary Duffy and [FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs] for taking concrete actions to crack down on fraudulent training operations and restore rigorous English language proficiency enforcement."

Spencer added, "Congress must now do its part and pass Dalilah’s Law to ensure CDL mills remain closed and English language proficiency enforcement is permanently made the law of the land."

H.R. 5688, Dalilah's Law, would ban states from issuing commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens and limit issuance to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and holders of specific work visas. The legislation would also require the revocation of any existing ineligible CDLs.

The proposed law takes its name from Dalilah Coleman, a little girl injured in a car accident allegedly caused by an illegal alien from India who obtained a commercial driver's license from Gov. Gavin Newsom's Department of Motor Vehicles.

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