Tag: illegal immigration

Trump DOJ Invokes State Secrets Privilege, Tells Judge Boasberg it will Provide Him No More Info on Deportation Flights

The Trump DOJ said it is exercising the State Secrets Privilege and informed Judge James Boasberg it will no longer provide him with any information related to deportation flights.

Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has been grilling DOJ lawyers about the Trump Administration’s move to deport dangerous Venezuelan aliens under the Alien Enemies Act.

Judge Boasberg said Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport criminal aliens is “incredibly troublesome and problematic” and threatened the Trump Admin with consequences if they violate his order in the future.

On Monday evening, the DOJ had enough of Judge Boasberg’s intrusive orders and invoked the State Secrets Privilege.

“The Executive Branch hereby notifies the Court that no further information will be provided in response to the Court’s March 18, 2025 Minute Order based on the state secrets privilege and the concurrently filed declarations of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security,” the DOJ wrote.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi told the judge that President Trump has plenary authority under Article II to remove from the homeland designated terrorists.

“This is a case about the President’s plenary authority, derived from Article II and the mandate of the electorate, and reinforced by longstanding statute, to remove from the homeland designated terrorists participating in a state-sponsored invasion of, and predatory incursion into, the United States. The Court has all of the facts it needs to address the compliance issues before it. Further intrusions on the Executive Branch would present dangerous and wholly unwarranted separation-of-powers harms with respect to diplomatic and national security concerns that the Court lacks competence to address,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ straight up told Boasberg you will get no more information related to the deportation flights and that’s the end of the story.

“No more information is needed to resolve any legal issue in this case. Whether the planes carried one TdA terrorist or a thousand or whether the planes made one stop or ten simply has no bearing on any relevant legal issue. The need for additional information here is not merely “dubious,” or “trivial,” it is non-existent. The Executive Branch violated no valid order through its actions, and the Court has all it needs to evaluate compliance. Accordingly, the Court’s factual inquiry should end,” the DOJ said.

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Red States Are Paying For California’s Illegal Aliens’ Health Care

In 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proudly made California the first state to offer medical care for people who entered the country illegally and reside in the Golden State. However, the cost, estimated at almost $8 billion, is being paid by all taxpayers, not just Californians.

Do people in Texas, North Carolina, and hyper-taxed Illinois want to fund California’s 700,000 illegal immigrants? They don’t have a choice. Newsom is using Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid safety net program, and the federal government matches the state’s funding, using American taxpayers’ money. Yet illegal immigrants are prohibited by the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act from enrolling in Medicaid.

Federal Funding of States’ Medicaid

All state Medicaid programs are funded jointly by the state and federal government using a formula called Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). Poorer states such as New Mexico and Mississippi get as much as three federal dollars for every one they budget, while rich states like California get one federal dollar for every state dollar.  

The FMAP formula provides an incentive for states to increase spending because as they spend more state dollars, they get more dollars from taxpayers nationally.  

Newsom is budgeting $42 billion for Medi-Cal in 2025-26.

In Newsom’s budget estimate last year, the cost of insuring illegal immigrants was estimated at $6.5 billion, but it has been revised to $9.5 billion “and is expected to grow even higher,” according to the L.A. Times. In fact, Newsom is now seeking a loan of an additional $3.4 billion to cover the increased costs.

Newsom’s Fraud

By law and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules, illegal immigrants are prohibited from enrolling in Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). By allowing illegal immigrants to enroll, Newsom directly contravenes federal rules and takes matching Medicaid funds that he should not. He acquires the money in several fraudulent ways. 

Paul Winfree of Economic Policy Innovation Center and Brian Blase of Paragon Health Institute recently exposed a money laundering scheme that Newsom uses. California put a tax on insurers that increases “costs” to Medi-Cal. This forced Washington to contribute more taxpayer dollars to California. The state then approves higher rates for the insurance companies, which compensates them for the additional tax. California gains federal dollars. The only losers are taxpayers and the rule of law. 

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Border czar Tom Homan accuses Biden administration of deliberately undermining immigration enforcement

In a fiery interview on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on March 14, Tom Homan accused the Biden administration of intentionally dismantling effective immigration enforcement policies, leading to a surge in illegal border crossings.

Homan, a veteran of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), argued that President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas knowingly abandoned strategies that had successfully reduced border crossings during the Obama administration. The discussion, which touched on political motivations and the administration’s handling of the ongoing border crisis, has reignited debates over immigration policy and its broader implications for national security and electoral politics.

Homan, who served as acting ICE director under President Donald Trump, pointed to Biden’s tenure as vice president under Barack Obama as evidence that the current administration understands how to secure the border but has chosen not to.

“Why do I think he did it on purpose? Because Joe Biden was vice president under Barack Obama when he had those record removals. Alejandro Mayorkas was a deputy secretary under Obama when he had those removals,” Homan said.

During the Obama administration, Homan explained, the government implemented measures such as family residential centers, which detained migrant families long enough to ensure they appeared before a judge.

“We held them long enough to see a judge, 90 percent lost a case, 90 percent, so we put them on an airplane, sent them home, and border numbers tanked,” Homan said. He argued that Biden and Mayorkas deliberately reversed these policies, opting instead to release migrants into the U.S. without ensuring they faced legal consequences. (Related: SECURE BORDERS: Trump’s border czar reports historic low in illegal immigrant encounters.)

“So both those men [Biden and Mayorkas] knew how we solved that crisis. When it came back in, as the now secretary and the president, what did they do? The complete opposite. They didn’t defend. They released. They didn’t make them see a judge, and they weren’t removing them,” Homan said.

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San Diego Border Patrol chief: Trump’s troop deployments have transformed BORDER SECURITY

A senior official of the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) has remarked that President Donald Trump’s deployment of military troops to support border security efforts has proven to be a game-changer.

Jeffrey Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the USBP’s San Diego Sector, pointed out that the presence of military personnel at the border has enabled USBP agents to focus on critical law enforcement tasks.

According to the chief patrol agent, the presence of the Army, Navy and Marines along the southern border has acted as a “force multiplier.” The military’s role in surveillance, detection and infrastructure support has freed up agents to respond more swiftly to illegal crossings. State forces, in the form of Texas National Guard (TNG) soldiers deputized as immigration officers, are also helping ease the USBP’s load. (Related: Texas Military Department ramps up recruitment to support border security efforts.)

Task Force Sapper, a unit of nearly 500 Marines, has been instrumental in fortifying border barriers with razor wire and other protective measures. Aside from barrier construction, the Marines are also engaged in surveillance and detection along stretches of the border. Meanwhile, Army engineers and military police from Fort Campbell in Kentucky have bolstered observational capabilities by backing up their counterparts from the Marines.

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Maduro Bends The Knee: Venezuela Agrees To Resume US Deportation Flights Of Illegal Immigrants

Venezuela has said it will once again accept U.S. repatriation flights carrying its nationals deported for illegally entering the United States.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro announced that a deal had been reached in a televised address on Saturday.

“Tomorrow, thanks to the government’s perseverance, we’ll resume flights to continue rescuing and freeing migrants from prisons in the United States,” Maduro said.

Venezuela’s Parliament President and chief negotiator with the United States, Jorge Rodriguez, said in a statement on social media, “We have agreed with the U.S. government to resume the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants with an initial flight tomorrow, Sunday.”

This will prevent illegal immigrants who are Venezuelan nationals from being deported to detention centers in El Salvador, as well as guarantee “the return of our compatriots to their nation with the safeguard of their Human Rights,” he said, referring to Venezuelan gang members currently detained in El Salvador.

“Migrating isn’t a crime, and we won’t rest until everyone who wants to return is back and we rescue our kidnapped brothers in El Salvador,” Rodriguez added.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened on March 18 further harsh sanctions after Maduro on March 8 suspended taking in repatriation flights in response to the U.S. Treasury Department’s withdrawal of Chevron’s license to participate in Venezuela’s oil

A diplomatic spat erupted, with the United States threatening to send criminal illegal immigrants from Venezuela to El Salvador for detention if Caracas would not accept them.

Some 350 Venezuelan nationals had already been deported back home as part of Trump’s rapid deportation program that prioritizes removing illegal immigrants who are violent criminals or terrorists. Among them were some 180 alleged to be Tren de Aragua members who spent up to 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Tren de Aragua originated in a Venezuelan prison. Members have accompanied an exodus of millions of economic immigrants and political refugees from Venezuela seeking better living conditions after their nation’s democracy and economy came undone last decade.

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Deal is Reportedly in the Works for the IRS to Share Addresses of Illegal Aliens with ICE

A deal is reportedly underway for the Internal Revenue Service to share tax data, including addresses, of illegal aliens with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the deal has been the subject of “weeks of negotiations,” citing four unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

The newspaper also obtained leaked portions of a draft of the agreement.

The Post reports:

Under the agreement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement could submit names and addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants to the IRS to cross-reference with confidential taxpayer databases, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional reprisals.

Normally, personal tax information — even an individual’s name and address — is considered confidential and closely guarded within the IRS. Unlawfully disclosing tax data carries civil and criminal penalties.

However, tax information may be shared with other federal law enforcement under certain, limited conditions — and typically with approval from a court. It would be unusual, if not unprecedented, for taxpayer privacy law exceptions to be used to justify cooperation with immigration enforcement, the people said.

According to the draft, the data sharing would be limited to “confirming the addresses of known unlawful immigrants who already have been ordered to leave the country.” Additionally, the IRS will only comply with requests submitted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem or Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons directly.

The requests “must include the name and address of each taxpayer, the date of their order for removal and other identifying information that would allow the IRS to verify the taxpayer’s identity,” per the report.

In 1999, the IRS promised illegal aliens that it would not share their data with immigration officials while encouraging them to use the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) program, which had been established three years earlier. It was part of an effort to encourage tax compliance among those not eligible for Social Security numbers, including illegal aliens.

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Illegal migrants caught using expensive gear straight out of James Bond movie to cross border

A pair of undocumented immigrants were arrested after attempting to illegally cross the Rio Grande with expensive scuba gear on Thursday. 

Officers from the Eagle Pass Police Department in Texas caught the two men who had hidden themselves under a bridge. 

The border-crossers were found dressed in full-length wetsuits intended for scuba diving across the river, an approach bears an eerie similarity to the James Bond film Thunderball. 

A community member reported two suspicious subjects in a residential neighborhood in south Eagle Pass, police said in a press release. 

The two men were found to have come from Guatemala without documentation, according to EPPD. 

Police also found the men to have been in possession of individual water propulsion devices. Similar models of the water propulsion devices, called the Robosea Seaflyer Seascooter, is sold on Amazon for $799. 

The devices were presumed by police to have been intended for use to navigate through the Rio Grande waters, according to the release. 

Both men were arrested and turned over to US Border Patrol for processing. 

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Trump’s DOJ Launches Criminal Probe Into Deep State’s NYT Leak Undermining Trump’s Crackdown on Tren de Aragua Terrorists

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed Friday that the Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into a leak of classified intelligence aimed at discrediting Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TDA).

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized the leak as a politically motivated attempt by the “Deep State” to undermine President Trump’s agenda, particularly his recent crackdown on the gang.

“The Justice Department is opening a criminal investigation relating to the selective leak of inaccurate, but nevertheless classified, information from the Intelligence Community relating to Tren de Aragua (TDA),” Blanche said in a statement.

He continued, “We will not tolerate politically motivated efforts by the Deep State to undercut President Trump’s agenda by leaking false information onto the pages of their allies at the New York Times. The Alien Enemies Proclamation is supported by fact, law, and common sense, which we will establish in court and then expel the TDA terrorists from this country.”

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Judge Boasberg Grills DOJ Lawyers AGAIN Over Deportation of Criminal Aliens, Threatens Trump Admin with Consequences if They Violate His Court Order

Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, once again grilled DOJ lawyers about the Trump Administration’s move to deport dangerous Venezuelan aliens under the Alien Enemies Act.

A showdown between Boasberg and the Trump DOJ played out in court this week after the judge issued an order forcing planes en route to Central and South America carrying dangerous Venezuelan aliens to turn around and come back to the US.

On Sunday, the Trump DOJ provided an update to Boasberg’s order and said the criminal aliens were outside of US territory when the order came down.

The DOJ argued that the Judge has zero jurisdiction over international airspace.

The Justice Department also refused to give Judge James Boasberg sensitive information in a case against Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

This angered the judge and he insisted that disclosing sensitive information won’t put state secrets in danger because Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly spoken about the deportation flights.

“Defendants shall have until March 20, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. to provide the information discussed in the Minute Order of March 18, 2025, or to invoke the state-secrets doctrine and explain the basis for such invocation,” the judge wrote on Wednesday.

The Thursday noon deadline passed and Judge Boasberg once again lashed out at the DOJ’s response as “woefully insufficient.”

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DOJ May Invoke State Secrets Privilege In Showdown With Federal Judge, Agency Says

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering invoking its state secrets privilege in its showdown with a federal judge over the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deportation of illegal immigrants, a high-ranking DOJ official said in a new court filing submitted Friday.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former criminal defense lawyer for President Donald Trump, confirmed a statement issued by Robert Cerna, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, in court papers filed earlier this week in the case that Cabinet secretaries under Trump “are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege.”

“I attest to the accuracy of those statements based on personal knowledge of the events described by Mr. Cerna,” Blanche wrote, “including my direct involvement in ongoing Cabinet-level discussion regarding invocation of the state-secrets privilege.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told government officials that they have a Friday deadline to submit a sworn declaration by a person “with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions” about the state secrets privilege and to tell the court by next Tuesday whether the government will invoke it.

Invoking the state secrets privilege—an evidentiary rule used under U.S. legal precedent—means that government lawyers can assert that court proceedings may divulge sensitive state information that may endanger national security.

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