Joe Scarborough Outraged At Democratic Senator For Not Going Far Enough To Confirm His Preferred Anti-Trump Narrative
'With all due respect, wrong answer'
'War from within': ICE agents descend from helicopters to nab suspected TDA gangsters in Chicago apartment
Operation Midway Blitz, the immigration enforcement surge underway in Chicago since the beginning of September, continued with a large show of force targeting gang members. Tensions are running high among different leaders as Trump continues to execute on his deportation mandate.
On Tuesday, federal agents descended on a building in Chicago in a raid targeting illegal aliens, some with suspected ties to Tren de Aragua. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surrounded a building, with some agents rappelling down from Black Hawk helicopters.
'If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.'
Nearly 300 federal agents from FBI, Border Patrol, ICE, and the ATF assisted in the operation in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. Newsweek reported that roughly 30 illegal aliens were detained, some with suspected Tren de Aragua affiliation.
President Trump designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization at the beginning of his second term.
On Tuesday morning, Trump called out the largest of the infamous sanctuary cities, describing the deportation operations as a "war from within": "What they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places. And we're going to straighten them out one by one."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) fired back at Trump's message on X. "To Donald Trump: Stop using military troops and ICE to invade and disrupt American cities. Stop calling your political opponents 'enemies' of the U.S. Stop attacking the 1st Amendment. Our troops and our nation deserve better than you acting as a petty tyrant."
Operation Midway Blitz was announced on September 8, 2025, in honor of Katie Abraham, a young woman killed by an illegal alien in Illinois.
“For years, Governor Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets — putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the beginning of Operation Midway Blitz. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: No city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
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The White House Should Go Back To Its Crackdown On Sanctuary Officials
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment on whether the Trump administration will seek to prosecute public officials for enforcing sanctuary city policies.Team Vance fires back at Rand Paul for defending 'foreign terrorists' killed in drone strike
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky took aim at Vice President JD Vance over the weekend for defending the administration's drone strike of alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers. Since then, a source close to Vance told Blaze News that "hypocrites" like Paul are simply suffering from a "debilitating case of Trump derangement syndrome."
President Donald Trump's administration greenlit a drone strike in Venezuela last week, claiming to have killed 11 drug traffickers identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Vance defended the strike, calling it the "highest and best use of our military."
'That pisses off hypocrites like Rand Paul.'
Paul quickly sounded off online, calling Vance's remarks "despicable and thoughtless."
"JD 'I don’t give a s**t' Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the 'highest and best use of the military,'" Paul said in a post on X. "Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation?? What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial."
RELATED: Republican senator takes aim at JD Vance: 'What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment'
In response to Paul's pushback, a source close to Vance told Blaze News that the Republican senator was "sticking up for foreign terrorists" killed in the strike. At the same time, Paul defended a drone strike executed by Obama in 2015 that killed three Americans in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
"I do think there is a valuable use for drones," Paul said in 2015. "And as much as I'm seen as an opponent of drones, I think in military and warfare, they do have some value."
"The world is so partisan, I tend not to want to blame the president for the loss of life here," Paul said of the Obama strike in 2015. "I think he was trying to do the right thing."
"The vice president believes in the Trump doctrine and using overwhelming force to protect core American interests and save American lives," the source told Blaze News on Monday. "That pisses off hypocrites like Rand Paul, who during his failed run for president defended Obama droning American citizens without due process, but now is sticking up for foreign terrorists thanks to his debilitating case of Trump derangement syndrome."
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Paul has since stood by his remarks, noting that he was one of Obama's staunchest critics for using drones against American citizens overseas.
"During my time in the Senate, I have been the foremost critic of drones being used on civilians, especially Americans," Paul told Blaze News. "In 2013, I spoke for nearly 13 hours filibustering Obama's use of drones on American citizens overseas. I have not, however, opposed the concept of using drones in war. That position remains unaltered today."
Paul argued that the recent strike against the Venezuelans was not part of any declared war, which he says "defies our longstanding Coast Guard rules of engagement."
"The recent drone attack on a small speedboat over 2,000 miles from our shore without identification of the occupants or the content of the boat is in no way part of a declared war and defies our long-standing Coast Guard rules of engagement which include: warnings to halt, nonlethal force to capture, and ultimately lethal force in self-defense or in cases of resistance," Paul told Blaze News.
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Rand Paul Compared Trump Cartel Strike To Lynching, Backed Obama Droning Americans
Sen. Rand Paul harshly criticized a Trump administration strike on a Venezuelan cartel, but supported Obama's drone strike of Americans.Republican senator takes aim at JD Vance: 'What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment'
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky once again bucked his party, this time taking aim at Vice President JD Vance.
The Trump administration claimed to have successfully struck a Venezuelan drug boat on Tuesday, killing 11 traffickers identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Vance and other high-profile Republicans championed the strike, calling it the "highest and best use of our military."
'Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird?'
Vance experienced pushback from the usual suspects like Brian Krassenstein, who called the strike a "war crime." Vance promptly responded by saying, "I don't give a s**t what you call it."
While the left raged on about Vance's comments, Paul joined the chorus.
Paul criticized the military action for not providing the Venezuelan alleged drug traffickers due process before being killed.
"JD 'I don’t give a s**t' Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the 'highest and best use of the military,'" Paul said in a post on X. "Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation??
"What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial."
Paul's criticism was met with backlash from some of his Republican colleagues who accused Paul of "defending foreign terrorist drug traffickers."
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"What's really despicable is defending foreign terrorist drug traffickers who are *directly* responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in Kentucky and Ohio," Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio said in a post on X. "JD understands that our first responsibility is to protect the life and liberty of American citizens."
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