Texas Weekly Online

Fox News Politics Newsletter: Of ‘Burn Bags’ and Russia Probes

Fox News Politics Newsletter: Of ‘Burn Bags’ and Russia Probes

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -What to know about Judge Boasberg, the Trump foe at center of DOJ complaint –SCOTUS to discuss Ghislaine Maxwell’s case privately in September at post-summer conference –Virginia councilman set on fire with gasoline by attacker at his place of business FBI Director Kash Patel found a trove of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump–Russia probe buried in multiple “burn bags” in a secret room inside the bureau, sources told Fox News Digital.  Sources told Fox News Digital that the “burn bag” system is used to destroy documents designated as classified or higher. Sources told Fox News Digital that multiple burn bags were found and filled with thousands of documents…READ MORE BABY BONUSES: Trump accounts for newborns could grow to $1.9 million, Treasury says AMERICAN DREAM: Trump signs VA Home Loan Program Reform Act to prevent veterans from losing homes to foreclosure CIRCLE OF TRUST: Who is Steve Ricchetti, the longtime Biden confidante questioned in Comer’s cover-up probe? CLOCK IS TICKING: Trump says his Aug 1 tariff deadline ‘will not be extended’–here are the countries that might not make it REFUGEE REVERSAL: Trump says Ukrainians can stay in US following months of uncertainty BOLSONARO BACKLASH: Trump admin sanctions Brazilian judge overseeing Bolsonaro coup-plot probe ULTIMATUM TO TERROR: Arab nations for first time pressure Hamas to disarm, relinquish power in Gaza BEIJING BLUNDER: Trump blasted for ‘steep concessions to Beijing’ after chip deal, canceled Taiwanese visit NATIONAL FAILURE: Canada’s antisemitism envoy resigns, citing exhaustion amid hate surge FAMILY FEUD: Democratic lawmaker ‘no longer on speaking terms’ with some family over Israel support ‘NO RATIONALE’: Top GOP senator demands probe into whether Jack Smith ‘unlawfully’ tried to influence 2024 election RACE-BAIT BACKLASH: White House knocks Chuck Schumer over Jim Crow claim: ‘Professional gaslighter’ ‘LITTLE-KNOWN LAW’: Schumer says century-old law forces Trump DOJ, FBI to release Jeffrey Epstein files by August deadline TRADITION SLAMMED: Grassley rebukes Trump’s pressure to ‘have the courage’ to speed up nominations COST OVERRUN EXPOSED: Hundreds of billions in over-budget federal projects exposed, as Senate DOGE tries to claw money back DODGING QUESTIONS: Zohran Mamdani dodges questions on mass shooting after returning from Africa vacation ‘RECKLESS POLICIES’: Newsom office dismisses crime fears, defends sanctuary policies amid surge in violence DRAWING THE LINES: Trump, Republicans race to redraw Texas congressional map as Democrats threaten legal war UNDER OATH: Epstein, Maxwell grand juries relied on two law enforcement witnesses, DOJ filing reveals Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Bernie Sanders to force Senate vote on blocking arms sales to Israel

Bernie Sanders to force Senate vote on blocking arms sales to Israel

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plans to force a vote on banning arms sales to Israel, a move that will prove to be a test for Senate Democrats whose position on the Jewish state has shifted in recent weeks. Sanders, an independent who routinely caucuses with Senate Democrats, announced he would force a vote on a pair of resolutions to block the $675 million sale of thousands of bombs and guidance kits for the bombs and to halt the sale of “tens of thousands” of automatic rifles to Israel. “U.S. taxpayers have spent tens of billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government,” Sanders said in a statement. “Enough is enough.” WATCH: BERNIE SANDERS REACTS TO TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES IN REAL TIME AT ‘FIGHTING OLIGARCHY’ RALLY It’s not the first time Sanders has pushed to block arms sales or military aid to the Jewish state. Since December 2023, just months after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the lawmaker has either introduced or forced votes on resolutions five times, each intended to block military aid and billions of dollars in munitions and arms. His latest attempt comes after photos revealed starving children in Gaza, which he squarely blamed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. WATCH: DEM SENATORS BLAME TRUMP FOR IRAN CRISIS AS GOP URGES HIM TO STAND FIRM WITH ISRAEL “The time is long overdue for Congress to use the leverage we have — tens of billions in arms and military aid — to demand that Israel end these atrocities,” he said. The vote, expected late Thursday, comes as Senate Democrats have undergone a tonal shift on Israel since the events of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas executed a brutal attack on Israeli soil. Sanders’ last attempt earlier this year that sought to block over $8 billion in arms sales, saw 15 Senate Democrats vote for it, while all Senate Republicans voted against it. Though the resolutions are likely to fail as his previous attempts have, more Democrats are expected to vote alongside him.  ISRAELI OFFICIALS OBJECT TO EXPECTED UN SECURITY COUNCIL CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION Earlier this week, 40 Senate Democrats wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and called on the administration to push for “a large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance and services throughout the Gaza Strip.” Senate Republicans have largely blamed the reported conditions in Gaza on Hamas, with some calling for more food aid making its way into the Gaza Strip. President Donald Trump vowed that more food centers, administered by Israel, would be coming. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he shared Trump’s view and that there was a desire to “meet that need and alleviate that pain.” “But you got to understand, too, that when you got a terrorist group like Hamas operating in that region, they intercept and divert a lot of that food aid that’s going in there,” he said. “That’s the challenge that the Israelis have. That’s the challenge that we have and other nations around the world.” 

Trump rips ‘luxury hotels’ for migrants while American citizens are ‘living from hand to mouth’

Trump rips ‘luxury hotels’ for migrants while American citizens are ‘living from hand to mouth’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized spending taxpayer money to house migrants in “luxury hotels” while others continue to struggle to afford necessities.  Trump was traveling back to the United States after a four-day trip to Scotland when he was asked about mass migration to the United Kingdom.  A reporter pointed out that many in the U.K. have taken issue with housing migrants in hotels at the expense of taxpayers while their asylum claims are being processed and asked whether Britain needs its own “Alligator Alcatraz.” It was a reference to Florida’s illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades’ swamplands. DEMOCRATS FUME OVER NEW PLAN TO HOUSE ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN NEW JERSEY, INDIANA MILITARY BASES “They’re putting people in luxury hotels and other people that are working their a—- off are living from hand to mouth. They’re not living the same way,” Trump said aboard Air Force One. “I’ve looked at some of the hotels they’re using.” Trump noted that illegal immigrants in some parts of the U.S. have also been housed in hotels.  “They put them in like the best hotels anywhere in the world,” he said. “Thousands of dollars a night, and other people are living out in the streets, including our veterans. They can’t get a room. “There are pictures of our veterans staying right by the door where they’re walking in to live, and the veterans are sitting out in the sidewalk in front of a fancy hotel. And the illegals are coming into that hotel and staying for a week,” he added. “That’s no good.” In 2023, Fox News reported that claims that homeless veterans were displaced at hotels in upstate New York were false.  FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER SAYS TRUMP IS BUILDING ‘MODERN-DAY CONCENTRATION CAMPS’ However, that same year in Massachusetts, military families who booked rooms in Foxboro, Massachusetts, the site of the 124th Army-Navy football Game at Gillette Stadium, received cancellation notices from hotels that were being used by the state to house migrants. In June, the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, which served as one of the main migrant shelters in the city, closed its doors.  The converted site, which has around 1,000 rooms, processed more than 173,000 migrants since its opening in May 2023, the city said.  The hotel was linked to gang activity, and the Justice Department in May launched a probe into the Roosevelt, which is owned by the government of Pakistan, and the Stewart Hotel, which was also transformed into a migrant shelter. New York City taxpayers have forked out billions of dollars to pay for housing for more than 232,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022.

ICE busts several convicted criminals, including child rapist who threatened to kill 11-year-old victim

ICE busts several convicted criminals, including child rapist who threatened to kill 11-year-old victim

FIRST ON FOX: Multiple convicted criminals in the country illegally were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday, including some convicted of sex crimes against children. Sierra Leone national Mohammed Sesay was convicted a decade ago in Maryland of raping an 11-year-old girl multiple times within five months in 2014 and threatening to kill her if she spoke up about the abuse. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Sesay’s actions were only revealed after an “assault” during a family function when the father of the victim learned of the incident. ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ SNARED: ICE NABS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF HORRIFIC CRIMES “What these innocent children had to endure is horrifying: a criminal illegal alien raping an 11-year-old child 15 different times; a pedophile; innocent children who were struck and injured by an illegal alien driving drunk, sending one child to intensive care. These criminals should have never been in this country in the first place, and these children should have never been victimized,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, this department is putting the safety of Americans first. Thanks to ICE, these monsters are in custody and will be removed from our communities.” Guatemalan national Pablo Tahay-Par was convicted of unlawfully contacting a minor as a sexual offense in Pennsylvania. DHS ARRESTS FIVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF SERIOUS CRIMES, INCLUDING MURDER AND CHILD ABUSE Salvadoran national Alex Ventura was convicted of drunk driving, which resulted in six children being hurt, according to KPRC. The outlet reported that the 2022 crash resulted in a fractured skull to one of the children. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Venezuelan national Jose David Contreras-Sierra also has a long rap sheet in Rockville, Maryland, including “armed robbery, handgun use during a felony, first-degree assault and drug distribution,” according to DHS. In addition, Dominican national Deibe Ramos-Rodriguez was convicted on alien smuggling charges in Texas. Daniel Gutierrez-Leiva of Guatemala was arrested by ICE Baltimore and has a second-degree rape conviction in the Old Line State. ICE ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ILLEGAL ALIENS IN LOS ANGELES WHILE PROTESTERS ADVOCATE FOR CRIMINALS: DHS According to the ICE website, Wilbert Rudlof Wiebe-Thiessen was also arrested by ICE Dallas Tuesday. The Mexican citizen, 34, has been charged with “assaulting a family or household member by impeding their breath or circulation and terroristic threats causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury in Texas.” The announcements come as the agency regularly updates its “Worst of the Worst” arrests as it tries to ramp up deportations and hire more ICE agents, including with a new ad campaign and bonuses meant to entice people to join. The recent Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes funding for 10,000 more agents. Besides the arrest highlights, ICE also maintains an active “Most Wanted” list.

Trump exploits loopholes to keep Alina Habba in US attorney role, triggering court clash

Trump exploits loopholes to keep Alina Habba in US attorney role, triggering court clash

President Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to keep his loyal allies in top prosecutor roles in blue states, including his former personal attorney Alina Habba in New Jersey, where a court battle now casts doubt over who is running the U.S. attorney’s office. Trump has attempted to circumvent the Senate confirmation process to maintain Habba’s authority, as well as the authority of his appointees in California and New York. Habba’s appointment, however, has been complicated by a legal challenge from a criminal defendant in her district. Habba said in a statement to Fox News Digital she is unfazed by the development. “I am confident we will win any and all attempts to thwart the well-established Article II Powers of the Executive Branch and the President of the United States,” Habba said. NEWARK MAYOR SUES INTERIM US ATTORNEY FOR FALSE ARREST, MALICIOUS PROSECUTION Habba’s appointment appeared set to end last week when federal judges in New Jersey voted to replace her instead of extending her temporary term under federal vacancy laws. The judges picked veteran prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace to succeed Habba, who lacks a prosecutorial background. But the Trump administration attempted to outmaneuver the judges by firing Grace and switching Habba from interim to “acting” U.S. attorney. The move has caused confusion about who is leading the office, according to the attorney of criminal defendant Julien Giraud. Giraud is facing run-of-the-mill drug and gun charges in Habba’s district, but his attorney, Thomas Mirigliano, said Habba’s “irregular” designation and re-designation as U.S. attorney is unlawful and grounds for dismissing his client’s case. DOJ SWIFTLY FIRES ALINA HABBA’S COURT-APPOINTED REPLACEMENT FOR US ATTORNEY IN NEW JERSEY “Facing an imminent criminal trial proceeding under questionable legal authority, Giraud Jr., hereby seeks dismissal of the indictment or, alternatively, injunctive relief barring Ms. Habba, or any Assistant United States Attorney acting under her purported authority, from exercising further prosecutorial powers in this matter,” Mirigliano wrote in court papers. Court proceedings across the District of New Jersey were also brought to a standstill because of the lingering questions about Habba’s authority, the New York Times reported Monday. A federal judge in Pennsylvania is overseeing Giraud’s new motion because of the New Jersey federal court’s conflict of interest in the matter.  To appoint Habba as acting U.S. attorney, Trump also had to withdraw her nomination as permanent U.S. attorney. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, New Jersey’s Democratic senators, had blocked her path to confirmation through the Senate’s blue slip tradition. Booker said in a statement that he too thought Habba had unlawfully reassumed the role as top prosecutor in his state. “This Administration may not like the law, but they are not above it,” Booker said. Similar situations cropped up in New York and California but have not invited the same level of scrutiny as Habba’s has at this stage. WHITE HOUSE HITS BACK AT DEM MAYOR SUING US ATTORNEY AFTER ICE ARREST: ‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’ Bill Essayli, the temporary U.S. attorney in the Central District of California, was transitioned Tuesday from interim to acting U.S. attorney at the end of his 120-day tenure. Essayli is a Trump-aligned prosecutor who made national headlines after he brought a series of high-profile charges against anti-ICE activists protesting in Los Angeles last month, but critics have observed that his office has since moved to dismiss some of those cases or reduce the charges. The chief judge in Essayli’s district, Dolly Gee, an Obama appointee, declined to take action on permanently approving Essayli after his 120-day interim period. The Trump administration’s legal maneuvers to keep him in his job have positioned him to serve as the district’s lead prosecutor for at least an additional 210 days, the designated term for an acting U.S. attorney. In the Northern District of New York, John Sarcone was also transitioned from interim to acting U.S. attorney. Matt Finn contributed to this report.

Sen. Rand Paul favors the prospect of abolishing the Federal Reserve

Sen. Rand Paul favors the prospect of abolishing the Federal Reserve

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., explained to Fox News Digital during an interview on Tuesday that he would support abolishing the Federal Reserve System, with the key proviso that the country stop engaging in deficit spending, and instead, run a balanced budget. But the fiscal hawk and son of former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a famous Federal Reserve critic, says he does not anticipate that will happen. “I see the opposite,” he said, indicating that many in the GOP who previously cared “about deficits under Biden, seem to care less about deficits under Trump.”  SEN RAND PAUL: THERE ARE $186 BILLION REASONS WHY WE MUST AUDIT THE FED “I frankly think if Congress weren’t running deficits you could do without a Fed,” he said.  Though he added that there would need to be a “clearinghouse” system, indicating that with the Fed out of the picture, the market would need to be allowed to “fill that space” over time. Paul believes that the free market — supply and demand — should dictate interest rates. “Interest rates are a universal price,” he explained, opining that they are likely “the most prolific price in all of the economy.” TRUMP IS CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THE FED IS MANAGED MORE THAN ABOUT FIRING POWELL, SAYS DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF The last time the Federal Open Market Committee decided to decrease the target range for the federal funds rate was back in December, and President Donald Trump has been stridently calling for the Fed to move on rate cuts. But Paul compared rate-cut demands to insisting that meat is too expensive, and Trump should lower its price — the senator pointed out that most people would view such a call as “nonsensical” as it pertains to consumer goods, “but for some reason even conservatives sort of lose their mind when it comes to interest rates,” he said. The senator noted that he thinks “really what we want is a Federal Reserve that’s less involved with manipulating interest rates.” FEDS HAVE COMPLETELY TAKEN THEIR ‘EYE OFF THE PRIZE,’ ECONOMIST SAYS Paul, who opined that there is likely “no more powerful and secretive organization in all of government,” is pushing a bill to audit the Fed. The proposed legislation, which is also backed by some of Paul’s GOP colleagues, calls for the Comptroller General of the U.S. to audit the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks.  He is also pushing a measure, which has been cosponsored by left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., titled the “End the Fed’s Big Bank Bailout Act,” which includes language stipulating, “No Federal Reserve Bank may pay earnings on balances maintained at a Federal Reserve Bank by or on behalf of a depository institution.”

Mamdani hints he feared customs hassle en route from Uganda vacation: ‘Sad reality’

Mamdani hints he feared customs hassle en route from Uganda vacation: ‘Sad reality’

During his first press conference since the mass shooting in New York City, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani criticized President Donald Trump’s immigration policies while saying he was prepared for problems with customs returning back to the U.S. from his African vacation. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, two days after a deadly mass shooting killed four, including a police officer, Mamdani addressed questions about his wedding trip to his birthplace in Uganda. Mamdani said he “flew commercial economy both ways, and I did not have issues getting through customs, though I was prepared for the potential of those issues.” “That is a sad reality of living in our president’s United States,” Mamdani added. ZOHRAN MAMDANI DODGES QUESTIONS ON MASS SHOOTING AFTER RETURNING FROM AFRICA VACATION According to Mamdani, after returning to New York City from Uganda, he traveled directly to visit the family of 36-year-old NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was slain in the mass shooting. He said he had called the family in advance to “ask if that was something that I could do.” “They welcomed me into their home. They refused to let me leave until I had breakfast with them,” he said, adding, “They are an embodiment of so much of what makes this city the one that we love.” Mamdani said he visited with the family for close to an hour. He highlighted how Islam and one of the other victims of the shooting, security guard Aland Etienne, were both immigrants. “It is not lost upon me that both Officer Islam and Aland Etienne were immigrants who came to the city in the hopes of a better life, immigrants whose own sacrifices made it possible for their own family members to have better lives,” he said. MAMDANI PAYS TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS OF NYC SHOOTING On Monday, a lone gunman, later identified as Shane Tamura, walked into a midtown Manhattan office building and opened fire, killing four people before turning the gun on himself.  The four people killed in the shooting were identified as NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, security guard Aland Etienne and Julia Hyman, an associate at Rudin Management. The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but the gunman reportedly had a grievance with the NFL, blaming football for his apparent issues with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a side effect from repeated hits to the head. Mamdani was on vacation for his wedding at the time of the shooting. After the tragedy, his previous criticisms of the NYPD and 2020 calls to defund the police came under renewed scrutiny. He also came under scrutiny for a more recent pledge to “disband” a special NYPD force known as the Strategic Response Group, which is responsible for riots, civil disorder and shootings. The press conference on Wednesday was the first opportunity for reporters to question Mamdani on these controversial statements. YANKEES HOLD MOMENT OF SILENCE BEFORE FIRST PITCH AGAINST RAYS IN HONOR OF FALLEN NYPD OFFICER In response to a question about a 2020 post mocking a police officer for having a breakdown in his car, Mamdani said, “To be very clear, as I have been over the course of this campaign. I am not defunding the police. I’m not running to defund the police.” He said the post “is out of step with the way in which I not only view police officers, the immense work that they do in this city, but also the seriousness with which we need to treat that work and the difficulties that come with that work.” During the press conference, Mamdani also addressed threats that he has received since becoming a mayoral candidate. “My life is sadly not the one that it was. There are far more threats,” he said. “And with that comes precautions that I wish I didn’t have to take. Though they are also precautions that I am immensely grateful for, especially in the example of the NYPD detail that I have here in New York City.”

Turkiye’s glaciers fall victim to climate change

Turkiye’s glaciers fall victim to climate change

Kemal Ozdemir looked up at the bare peaks of Mount Cilo in Turkiye’s southeast: “There were glaciers 10 years ago,” he recalled under a cloudless sky. A mountain guide for 15 years, Ozdemir then turned towards the torrent carrying dozens of blocks of ice below a slope covered with grass and rocks – a sign of glacier loss being exacerbated by global warming. “You can see that there are quite a few pieces of glacier in the water right now … the reason why the waterfalls flow so lushly actually shows us how fast the ice is melting,” he said. The glaciers of Mount Cilo, which rises to 4,135 metres (13,566 feet) in the province of Hakkari on the Iraqi border, are the second largest in the country behind those of Mount Ararat (5,137 metres / 16,854 feet) – 250 kilometres (155 miles) further north. As global temperatures rise amid human-caused climate change, new sections of the mountains that were once capped in ice are melting rapidly year after year. Turkiye, which is experiencing punishing heatwaves, drought and wildlfires, even registered a record temperature of 50.5 degrees Celsius (122.9 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday in Silopi, some 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Hakkari. “The melting process is faster than we expected. According to our research, in the last 40 years, we have lost almost 50 percent of this continuous snow and ice cover in this place,” said Onur Satir, a professor at Yuzuncu Yil University and specialist in geographical information systems in the eastern province of Van. Advertisement “Some places melt faster than others, so actually it’s showing us which places must be protected, but we have no opportunity to cover the whole ice area,” Satir said. In recent years, several glaciers in the Alps have been covered with white tarpaulins in an attempt to delay their demise. According to the United Nations, glaciers in several regions of the world will not survive the 21st century, threatening the water supply of hundreds of millions of people. The surrounding landscape is a delight for walkers, many of whom have flocked to the Hakkari mountains since the guns fell silent in recent years in the region, where fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have long challenged the Turkish state. The ongoing peace process with the PKK, which has begun a disarmament process, suggests that tourism will accelerate in the area, which became a national park in 2020. But melting ice has made certain areas dangerous. In July 2023, two walkers were killed when they were swept away by a block that broke off from a glacier. “People should not walk on the ice,” Ozdemir warned, voicing concerns about the safety of walkers and the preservation of glaciers. “This region is 40–50 kilometres (25–31 miles) away from the city, but there was no road in the past. Now, with the construction of the road, more vehicles are coming here and the increase in the number of people coming here actually accelerates the melting a little bit,” said the 38-year-old guide. A UN report on desertification worldwide estimates that 88 percent of Turkey’s territory is at risk: rainfall is expected to decrease by 30 percent by the end of the century, while temperatures are expected to rise by 5 to 6C (9 to 10.8F) compared with averages recorded between 1961 and 1990. Adblock test (Why?)

Trump’s approval rating in US drops to lowest level of his second term

Trump’s approval rating in US drops to lowest level of his second term

Polls find that Americans have mixed feelings about Trump’s handling of the US economy and immigration. United States President Donald Trump‘s approval rating has dropped to 40 percent, the lowest level of his second term in office, as Americans remain concerned about his handling of the economy and immigration. The three-day poll by Reuters news agency and Ipsos, which closed on Monday, surveyed 1,023 US adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Trump had a 41% approval rating in Reuters/Ipsos’ most recent prior poll, conducted on July 15 and 16. This latest poll showed a nation deeply polarised over Trump, with 83% of Republicans and just 3% of Democrats approving of his performance. About one-third of independents approved. Trump campaigned on promises to supercharge the US economy and crack down on immigration, and the poll found that Americans gave him mixed marks on both those areas, where his administration is using aggressive tactics. The recent slippage on immigration is particularly significant because the issue was a major strength for Trump in the 2024 election. Earlier in his second term, it was also one of the few areas where he was outperforming his overall approval. In March, about half of US adults approved of his handling of immigration. Other recent polls also show growing discontent with Trump’s approach on immigration. A poll conducted by US media outlet CNN and SSRS found that 55 percent of US adults say the president has gone too far when it comes to deporting undocumented immigrants who are living in the US, an increase of 10 percentage points since February. Advertisement “I understand wanting to get rid of illegal immigrants, but the way that’s being done is very aggressive,” said Donovan Baldwin, 18, of Asheboro, North Carolina, who did not vote in the 2024 election. “And that’s why people are protesting, because it comes off as aggression. It’s not right.” Some 38 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, up from 35 percent approval in the mid-July Reuters poll. The CNN poll, however, found that ratings of Trump’s handling of the economy, which were more positive during his first term, have been persistently negative in his second term. It found that few Americans think Trump’s policies have benefitted them so far. There are concerns over the negative effect that Trump’s tariffs may have at home. Even if he is not a fan of everything Trump has done so far, Brian Nichols, 58, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is giving him the benefit of the doubt. Nichols, who voted for Trump in 2024, likes what he is seeing from the president overall, though he has his concerns both on style and substance, particularly Trump’s social media presence and his on-again, off-again tariffs. “We put him into office for a reason, and we should be trusting that he’s doing the job for the best of America,” Nichols said. Adblock test (Why?)