Tag: revenue generation

Detained illegal immigrants will face $5K ‘apprehension fee’: Border Patrol chief

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks announced that nearly all illegal immigrants detained will be charged a $5,000 “apprehension fee.”

In a post on X on Thursday, Banks said illegal immigrants ages 14 and older who entered the country without inspection will face a fee, a provision included in the “big, beautiful bill,” which President Donald Trump signed into law in July.

“This message applies to all illegal aliens — regardless of where they entered, how long they’ve been in the U.S., their current location, or any ongoing immigration proceedings,” Banks wrote.

The warning came after a lawsuit was filed Thursday against the federal government on behalf of 21,500 immigrants facing daily penalties of $998, reaching up to $1.8 million each for staying in the U.S. illegally. 

Their lawyers argued they were attempting to comply with federal immigration laws.

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TSA Announces $45 Fee for Passengers With No REAL ID, Passports, or Other Accepted Documents

Passengers who lack a REAL ID, passport, or another equivalent document will have to pay a $45 fee to travel domestically, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Dec. 1.

The agency will start charging air travelers $45 on Feb. 1 if their IDs do not meet the new, stricter federal standards.

Travelers without a REAL ID will have to use the TSA Confirm.ID for 10 days, which will cost $45, according to the agency. It advised people to schedule an appointment at a local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) location to update their IDs as soon as possible before traveling by plane.

“All travelers without an acceptable ID, including those who present a non-REAL ID-compliant state driver’s license or ID, will be referred to the optional TSA Confirm.ID process for identity verification upon TSA check-in and prior to entering the security line,” the TSA stated.

“This process will differ airport to airport, and TSA is working with private industry to proactively offer online payment options prior to arrival at the airport.”

Passengers without REAL ID or another accepted form will face longer wait times at airports, the TSA warned.

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Nassau won’t have to pay back $400M in illegal red-light camera fees as judge oddly claims payments were ‘voluntary’

Nassau County won’t have to pay back $400 million in illegal red-light camera fees as a judge bizarrely ruled drivers voluntarily paid the fines — even though they were threatened with getting their licenses suspended.

The “outrageous” ruling by County Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker has the plaintiffs’ attorney calling for the judge to be removed from the case while Nassau administrators hold onto improper administrative fees it took in from drivers for over a decade.

“Judge Rademacher issued a radical decision and ruled, despite Nassau County’s illegality, its citizens paid voluntarily,” attorney David Raimondo, who represents drivers in cases against Nassau and Suffolk County, said of the decision.

“This ruling was so far off from the law that you can’t even comprehend it,” he added, claiming the judge issued the ruling to protect the county from its massive liability.

Raimondo questioned how the judge could view the payments as “voluntary” when Nassau threatened to revoke licenses and registrations, boot and tow people’s cars — and even put a mark on credit reports if the fee is not paid.

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‘Din’t get cracked’: Watch female police officer threaten to ticket ‘everyone’ because she didn’t have sex last night

A female police officer in the Houston area is now under investigation after posting a video on TikTok in which she threatened to give everyone a ticket because she did not have sex the previous night.

Harris County Constable Precinct 5 Deputy Jennifer Escalera was in uniform as she recorded herself writing on a notepad.

“Din’t get cracked last night so everyone is getting a ticket…” Escalera indicated in her now-deleted video.

Although she blurred portions of her uniform, the officer left her name tag visible.

“Our administration is aware and internal affairs has opened an investigation. We have no other comment at this time,” the constable’s office said.

The New York Post reported: “The female cop’s TikTok account features several posts showing her in uniform. She also posts about being a mom.

“One of the posts shows Escalera getting ready ‘to work as a female Police Officer’ as the text across the screen reads, ‘contemplating if I really need this job, knowing that I do.'”

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New Utah law requires license for hiking and biking in wildlife areas

A new law in Utah might surprise even seasoned RVers. As of May 2025, anyone over 18 venturing onto certain Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) for hiking, biking, trail running or wildlife viewing needs a valid hunting or fishing license.

If you’re RVing into the Beehive State planning to explore its renowned trails, you want to pay attention.

What changed (and when)

• Effective date: May 7, 2025.

• Who’s affected: All non‑commercial users age 18+ entering WMAs in Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties.

• Activities covered: Non‑consumptive uses like hiking, biking, trail running, birdwatching and photography now technically require a hunting or fishing license on WMAs.

While WMAs remain open to public recreation, the twist is that their upkeep has historically been funded by dollars from hunters and anglers. This law simply aligns all users with the cost of managing these specialized wildlife areas.

Why licenses

• Equitable contribution: Non‑consumptive trail users were benefiting from habitat conservation financed solely by hunting and fishing fees. Lawmakers deemed it only fair that everyone accessing WMAs pitch in.

• Federal matching funds: Hunting dollars are matched under the Pittman‑Robertson Act; fishing dollars under the Dingell‑Johnson Act. More licenses sold means more federal grants for habitat and species conservation. These benefits extend beyond WMAs themselves.

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Trump’s Federal Budget Cuts Could Boost Marijuana Legalization Efforts As States Seek New Revenue, Congresswoman Says

A Democratic congresswoman says the Trump administration’s push to make states pay a larger share for public services such as food assistance and health care amid his efforts to cut federal spending might ultimately “push them in the direction of legalizing marijuana” so they can offset those costs with cannabis tax revenue.

In an interview on the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Voice of Cannabis podcast that was released on Thursday, Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) commented on a wide range of marijuana policy issues—including bipartisan legalization legislation, stalled action on federal reform and the destigmatization of cannabis use in her state after enacting an adult-use marijuana market.

One of the “only good things that comes out of the policy of the White House is that they are pushing more things to the states to pay for—like [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)] and like Medicaid—and so states may be looking for additional sources of revenue,” Titus said. “That may push them in the direction of legalizing marijuana, to some extent, so they can get that tax revenue generated.”

Titus said the lawmakers who back reform were initially “optimistic” about the prospects of a federal policy change under President Donald Trump because of comments he made on the campaign trail in favor of rescheduling, industry banking access and a Florida adult-use legalization ballot initiative left the impression “he was going to be supportive.”

“Now we’ve seen that kind of stall, and we have this crazy secretary of [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)] that I think is on drugs,” the congresswoman said, referencing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I don’t know where he’s coming from, and so it’s hard to read what the administration is going to do and if they’re going to make it a priority and if they’re going to weigh in. So that’s another element of the politics that we have to keep in mind.”

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Louisiana Lawmaker Proposes Marijuana Legalization Pilot Program As ‘Revenue Source’ For The State

Louisiana lawmakers are gearing up for another push to legalize marijuana in the state, with at least two proposals now filed to enact cannabis-related reform this session.

Rep. Candace Newell (D)—who has made repeated attempts to end criminalization—discussed her latest legislation in an interview with Louisiana First News that aired on Saturday, describing a proposed three-year pilot program that is “designed to test and evaluate parameters of the implementation of a permanent adult-use cannabis program,” according to a legislative analysis.

“Aside of just wanting to have legalized recreational marijuana, I’m also looking at another revenue source in the state of Louisiana,” Newell said. “I’m talking about statewide, across the board, education on the product—the use of the product, the dangers of it and how it can be beneficial.”

The sponsor added that, from her perspective, “what we’ve seen is the states where they’ve done just the full blanket legalization and regulation that that is failing.”

At the same time, she emphasized the potential revenue stream from legalizing and taxing cannabis for adults.

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Pay Attention to Any New Surveillance Cameras While Driving – Breakthrough Technology Could Be Targeting You

Traffic cameras have been the bane of Britons for many a year now — but our neighbors across the pond have recently upped the battle, and the technology is coming over to America, as well.

According to a Dec. 21 report from NBC News, police departments in the United States have become the latest to use an AI-powered traffic camera system made by an Australian company named Acusensus.

The system, called “Heads Up,” doesn’t just check speed or running traffic lights like in other locales.

Instead, they look for violations, like failure to wear a seat belt or texting while driving.

“The Heads Up cameras take pictures of every vehicle that passes by them, capturing images of their license plates, as well as their front seats. AI analyzes the images and determines how likely it is that a violation occurred, assigning each one a ‘confidence level,’” NBC News reported.

“The cameras have been widely tested in the U.K., where nearly half of the country’s police forces have tried them, and in Australia, where they’ve sparked debates about privacy and drawn media attention. ”

Those cameras use the AI technology to send tickets once they’re reviewed by human sources. In the United States, where Acusensus has cameras in Georgia and North Carolina, the systems work a little different.

“The Heads Up Real Time system in the United States sends images to nearby police officers, allowing them to stop drivers before violations occur,” NBC News reported.

“The other Heads Up product used internationally sends the pictures to law enforcement officials as part of an evidence package, and they can mail out tickets to offending drivers. [the company’s vice president of government solutions] said an automated ticketing program, such as Heads Up, would require state legislation to authorize its use. ”

However, don’t think for a second that this hasn’t led to more ticketing.

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Florida Man’s Tall Grass Saga Comes to an End

Retiree Jim Ficken can finally breathe easy. After six years, two lawsuits, and harrying legal wrangling over a $30,000 fine for tall grass in Dunedin, Florida, a new settlement has brought him closure.

The agreement, announced on April 22, ends the city’s pursuit to recover $10,000 in attorney fees that Dunedin officials tried to characterize as “administrative expenses” after reducing Ficken’s original fine by 80 percent. The reduction was only possible because of reforms the city instituted soon after Ficken filed his first lawsuit.

Initially, the city attempted to tack on $25,000 for out-of-pocket legal expenses before realizing it had miscalculated that figure. As a result of this settlement, Ficken will not have to cough up any amount for bogus fees—an important consolation following setbacks in his first lawsuit.

Ficken attempted to reason with code enforcers before going to court—explaining that his lawn had grown long while he was settling his late mother’s estate in South Carolina and that the landscaper he had hired to mow his grass while he was gone had died unexpectedly. He asked for leniency, but the city refused to budge and insisted on full payment: $500 per day for nearly two months, plus interest. They even put liens on Ficken’s home and authorized city attorneys to initiate proceedings to seize it.

In response, Ficken filed a federal lawsuit with representation from the Institute for Justice, asserting that the excessive fines and lack of due process violated his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He lost in district court in 2021 and again in 2022 at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals—but he won in other ways. His case ignited a media frenzy and public calls for reform, prompting Dunedin to overhaul its code enforcement regime to prevent ruinous fines for trivial offenses.

After his legal battles, Ficken managed to get the fines reduced enough to prevent foreclosure. He thought he was safe. But then the city hit him with the bill for attorney fees, a retroactive attempt to penalize him for seeking his day in court. Left with no choice, he sued again in 2023.

The city could have avoided both lawsuits merely by treating Ficken like a neighbor instead of a cash machine.

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Pay to stay: Florida inmates charged for prison cells long after incarceration

It’s a common saying: You do the crime, you do the time. But when people are released from prison, freedom is fragmented. It marks the start of new hardships, impacting families and communities.

Part of that is due to a Florida law many people are unaware of, further punishing second-chance citizens, preventing them from truly moving on.

It’s called “pay-to-stay”, charging inmates for their prison stay, like a hotel they were forced to book. Florida law says that cost, $50 a day, is based on the person’s sentence. Even if they are released early, paying for a cell they no longer occupy, and regardless of their ability to pay.

Not only can the state bill an inmate the $50 a day even after they are released, Florida can also impose a new bill on the next occupant of that bed, potentially allowing the state to double, triple, or quadruple charge for the same bed.

Critics call it unconstitutional. Shelby Hoffman calls it a hole with no ladder to climb out.

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