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Year: 2025

GOP governor greenlights state troopers to join ICE in immigration crackdown

GOP governor greenlights state troopers to join ICE in immigration crackdown

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed an agreement last week with ICE, enabling local law enforcement in select counties to work alongside federal agents in tracking and detaining illegal immigrants. Limited members of the Wyoming Highway Patrol in five counties – all of which encompass major interstates – will be able to assist ICE with enforcement during the execution of their day-to-day work and at the direction of and under the oversight of the federal law enforcement agency, according to a statement from Gordon’s office. The agreement marks only the second such pact made directly between a state and ICE. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the first to sign a similar “memorandum of agreement,” while several individual counties around the country have also approved methods of cooperation with ICE. SENATE BILL LOOKS TO BOX OUT FUTURE PRESIDENTS WHO MAY TRY TO SKIRT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT LAWS “Wyoming has been firm in our commitment to helping secure the border, and this is another step in that process,” Gordon said in a statement. “Our nation’s security depends upon effective immigration enforcement, and I am proud that our Wyoming Highway Patrol continues to support this effort and is now formalizing their commitment to this work through our agreement with ICE.” Wyoming Highway Patrol, under ICE oversight, will be able to take action and develop evidence against people who violate federal immigration law. A January executive order from President Donald Trump allows Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to forge such agreements with state and local authorities. Wyoming Highway Patrol Administrator Col. Tim Cameron cited Wyoming’s unique position of hosting several cross-country highways. “Our troopers are uniquely positioned to support immigration enforcement through our daily operations along Wyoming’s interstates – key corridors for cross-country travel that are sometimes exploited for unlawful activity,” Cameron said in a statement. SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH CRACKDOWN ON DC PERMITTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS The nation’s longest interstate, the Boston-Seattle I-90, runs 200 miles through the upper corner of the state, New Jersey-San Francisco I-80 runs 400 miles across the bottom of Wyoming, and I-25 notably runs from near the southern border in New Mexico to I-90 in Buffalo. The select troopers will hail from Laramie County, which includes the capital, Cheyenne; Carbon County, which includes Rawlins; and Sweetwater County, which includes Rock Springs, Green River and a very long remote stretch of I-80. Select patrol officers in Campbell and Natrona counties will also be participating, as I-25 bisects both along the Nebraska border and into the city of Casper. “[This] agreement enhances our ability to identify individuals in violation of federal immigration law and take appropriate action under ICE’s direction,” Cameron added. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This partnership strengthens public safety, expands our access to federal resources and intelligence, and reinforces the strong working relationships we maintain with local law enforcement.” Wyoming taxpayers will not be fronting any additional costs for the partnership, as officers will receive free training from the feds. Robert Guadian, a top official at ICE’s Denver Field office, praised Gordon for the agreement, calling it a “force multiplier” in immigration enforcement operations. Wyoming had previously independently dispatched troopers to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety at the southern border during the heat of the Biden administration’s open border crisis.

Cornyn takes swing at James, Schiff with new LETITIA Act targeting ‘crooked politicians’

Cornyn takes swing at James, Schiff with new LETITIA Act targeting ‘crooked politicians’

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to crack down on public officials who use their position to grow their wealth. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is set to introduce legislation that would create stiffer penalties for public officials who commit federal bank fraud, tax fraud, or loan or mortgage fraud. Cornyn’s bill comes on the heels of two such instances where top officials and lawmakers were hit with allegations of mortgage fraud. FEDERAL HOUSING OFFICIAL SUBMITTED SCHIFF CRIMINAL REFERRAL TO DOJ OVER MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS Indeed, Cornyn’s Law Enforcement Tools to Interdict Troubling Investments in Abodes (LETITIA) Act is named for New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Justice Department earlier this year opened an investigation into James, who successfully won a civil case last year against President Donald Trump and his Trump Organization over allegations of faulty business practices, for alleged mortgage fraud. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OPENS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO NY AG LETITIA JAMES Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte alleged in a letter that James could have engaged in mortgage fraud by making false or misleading statements on property records, like a loan application that said her property in Virginia is her primary residence, a building record stating her multifamily Brooklyn property incorrectly has five residences instead of four, and a mortgage application that falsely stated James was her father’s spouse. “This legislation would empower President Trump to hold crooked politicians like New York’s Letitia James accountable for defrauding their constituents, violating their oath of office, and breaking the law, and I’m proud to lead my Republican colleagues in introducing it,” Cornyn said in a statement. Fox News Digital reached out to James for comment but did not immediately hear back. TAXPAYERS COULD BE FORCED TO FUND TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES’ LEGAL DEFENSE IF DEM BUDGET ITEM PASSES Cornyn’s bill also comes after his colleague Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was similarly hit with allegations of mortgage fraud. In another letter to the Justice Department, Pulte charged that Schiff falsified bank documents and property records by listing homes in Maryland and California as his primary residence out of an effort to allegedly get more favorable loans. Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that both Trump and Pulte’s “false allegations are a transparent attempt to punish a perceived political foe who is committed to holding Trump to account.” “The facts here are simple: Senator Schiff and his wife accurately represented to their lenders that they would occupy and use the Maryland house they purchased in 2003 as a ‘principal residence,’ rather than a vacation home or an investment property,” she said. “He also disclosed to his lenders – repeatedly – that he maintained another home in his district in California, where he lived when not in Washington, and which was also a principal residence, not a vacation home or an investment property.”  “This was done in consultation with relevant House counsel. As was proper, he claimed only a single homestead tax exemption (from California) worth approximately $70 in annual savings,” she continued. The bill, which is so far co-sponsored by six Senate Republicans, would increase federal statutory maximum sentences and fines for public officials who abuse their offices and violate the public trust to commit bank fraud, loan or mortgage fraud, or tax fraud. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP It would create new mandatory minimum sentences, including one year for bank fraud, one year for loan or mortgage fraud, and six months for tax fraud. And if a public official engages in a repeated pattern of offenses, minimum sentences increase to five years for bank or loan fraud and two years for tax fraud.

Trump confirms 2 nuclear submarines are ‘in the region’ to counter Russia

Trump confirms 2 nuclear submarines are ‘in the region’ to counter Russia

President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that nuclear submarines he ordered to counter Russia are now “in the region” ahead of U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit.  Before boarding Air Force One in Allentown, Pa., to return to Washington, D.C., Trump was asked if the nuclear submarines had already been deployed to “face Russia.” Trump said on TRUTH Social on Friday that he ordered two nuclear submarines “to be positioned in the appropriate regions” in response to what he considered “highly provocative statements” from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about potential war with the U.S.  “I’ve already put out a statement and the answer is they are in the region, yeah, where they have to be,” Trump told reporters at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Sunday.  Trump said that Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia on “Wednesday or Thursday.” Russian state media reported Monday that Witkoff would arrive on Wednesday. The visit comes ahead of the Friday deadline Trump set for Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine or face additional sanctions and tariffs. Trump also has warned about potential secondary tariffs for the purchasers of Russian energy.  TRUMP BRUSHES BACK RUSSIA’S MEDVEDEV AFTER ‘WAR’ WARNING: ‘WATCH HIS WORDS’ “Well, there’ll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions. You know, they’re wily characters, and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions,” Trump told reporters in front of Marine One. “So we’ll see what happens.” Asked about Witkoff’s message to Moscow and if there’s anything the Russians can do to avoid sanctions, Trump said Sunday, “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”  “A tremendous number of Russian soldiers have been killed. And likewise Ukraine, a lower number, but still thousands and thousands of people. And now we’re adding towns where they’re being hit by missiles. So it’s a lot of people being killed in that ridiculous war,” Trump said. “We stopped a lot of countries from war, India and Pakistan, we stopped a lot of countries. And we’re going to get that one stopped too. Somehow. We’re going to get that one stopped. That’s a really horrible war.”  “This should be the easiest to stop, and it’s not,” Trump added.  Before ordering the deployment of nuclear submarines last week, Trump had warned Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, to “watch his words.” Medvedev had complained that Trump had shortened the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deadline from 50 days to just 10 to 12 days, saying that the “ultimatum” was threat toward war “not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.”  Despite Trump cautioning that Medvedev was entering “dangerous territory,” the Russian official doubled down and referenced Russia’s “Dead Hand” – the Cold War-era automated nuclear retaliation system developed by the Soviet Union.  The U.S. and Russia hold the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. Top Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly downplayed the U.S. deployment of nuclear submarines Monday. He told reporters that “American submarines are already on combat duty – that’s a constant process” and the Russians “don’t believe this is a case of any sort of escalation,” according to the Russian-language news website Meduza. Asked about Medvedev’s remarks, Peskov said members of the leadership in any country have different views but stressed Putin definitively decides Russian foreign policy. “We approach any statements related to nuclear issues with great caution,” Peskov added at the press conference, according to The Moscow Times. “Russia is firmly committed to nuclear non-proliferation, and we believe that all parties should exercise the utmost restraint when it comes to nuclear rhetoric.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES 25% TARIFF ON INDIA, SLAMMING ‘OBNOXIOUS’ TRADE BARRIERS, RUSSIA MILITARY AND ENERGY BUYS Meanwhile, Beijing and Moscow have deepened their ties in recent years, with China providing an economic lifeline to Russia in the face of Western sanctions over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia and China have started mock combat drills and other war games in the Sea of Japan, The Telegraph reported. Citing a statement from the Chinese Defense Ministry, the newspaper said the three-day exercise involves four Chinese vessels, including the guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, and entails “submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defense and anti-missile operations, and maritime combat,” as well as naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific.”  At a press conference announcing details of the annual drills last week, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said the Joint Sea 2025 exercise would be held in the air and seas near the Russian port city of Vladivostok, positioned across the sea from Japan’s west coast. Last year, the drill was held off southern China in the South China Sea. “This is an arrangement within the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries. It is not targeted at any third party, nor is it related to the current international and regional situation,” Zhang said.  China and Russia also signed a “no-limits” economic partnership shortly after the war in Ukraine began.  Zhang criticized ongoing drills that the U.S. Air Force is conducting with Japan and other partners in the western Pacific. Resolute Force Pacific is the largest contingency-response exercise ever conducted by the Air Force in the region, according to the U.S. military. The U.S. Air Force has said their exercise will train its forces to maintain readiness and execute missions under stress to demonstrate their ability to defend the United States and partner nations in the Pacific. “The U.S. has been blindly flexing muscles in the Asia-Pacific region and attempting to use military drills as a pretext to gang up, intimidate and pressure other countries, and undermine peace and stability in the region,” Zhang told reporters.  Japan’s Defense Ministry said in an annual report earlier this month that China’s growing military cooperation with Russia poses serious security concerns. The Associated Press contributed to this report.