Federal DEI funding cuts threaten the work of the few remaining Black farmers in East Texas
Trump’s rollback is another example of the federal government’s lackluster efforts at giving Black farmers a boost in recent years.
Texas judge dismisses case against migrant deported to El Salvador for being an alleged gang member
DPS troopers labeled Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, who remains in a Salvadoran prison, a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member based on a photo of him with a tattooed man.
Ken Paxton sues adult swimming organization for allowing transgender competitors at San Antonio event
The Texas attorney general said U.S. Masters Swimming violated the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s events.
Trump’s modest spending cuts package survives narrow Senate vote as some Republicans break ranks
What can you get for $9.4 billion? 3G Capital recently purchased footwear giant Skechers for $9.4 billion. $9.4 billion could cover your rent for a pretty nice apartment in New York City for more than 40,000 years. Yes, it will just be you and the cockroaches by then. Or, you could pay the cost of every major disaster in the past four decades – ranging from Chernobyl to Fukushima to Hurricane Sandy. ‘LONG OVERDUE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM THROUGH TRUMP’S CLAWBACK PACKAGE WITH CUTS TO FOREIGN AID, NPR But $9.4 billion isn’t a lot when cast against nearly $7 trillion in annual spending by the federal government. And it’s really not much money when you consider that the U.S. is about slip into the red to the tune of $37 trillion. Which brings us to the Congressional plan to cancel spending. That is, a measure from Republicans and the Trump Administration to rescind spending lawmakers already appropriated in March. The House and Senate are now clawing back money lawmakers shoved out the door for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and foreign aid programs under USAID. The original proposal cut $9.4 billion. But that figure dwindled to $9 billion – after the Senate restored money for “PEPFAR,” a President George W. Bush era program to combat AIDS worldwide. In other words, you may have a couple thousand years lopped off from your rent-controlled apartment in New York City. Of course that hinges on what Democratic mayoral nominee Zorhan Mamdani decides to do, should he win election this fall. Anyway, back to Congressional spending. Or “un-spending.” The House passed the original version of the bill in June, 216-214. Flip one vote and the bill would have failed on a 215-215 tie. Then it was on to the Senate. Republicans had to summon Vice President Vance to Capitol Hill to break a logjam on two procedural votes to send the spending cancellation bill to the floor and actually launch debate. Republicans have a 53-47 advantage in the Senate. But former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted nay – producing a 50-50 tie. Fox is told some Senate Republicans are tiring of McConnell opposing the GOP – and President Trump – on various issues. That includes the nay votes to start debate on the spending cancellation bill as well as his vote against the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in January. “He used to be the Leader. He was always telling us we need to stick together,” said one GOP senator who requested anonymity. “Now he’s off voting however he wants? How time flies.” Note that McConnell led Senate Republicans as recently as early January. But McConnell ultimately voted for the legislation when the Senate approved it 51-48 at 2:28 am ET Thursday morning. Murkowski and Collins were the only noes. The services of Vice President Vance weren’t needed due to McConnell’s aye vote and the absence of Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. She fell ill and was admitted to George Washington Hospital for exhaustion. As for the senior senator from Alaska, one GOP senator characterized it as “Murkowski fatigue.” “She always asking. She’s always wanting more,” groused a Senate Republican. Murkowski secured an agreement on rural hospitals in exchange for her vote in favor of the Big, Beautiful Bill earlier this month. However, Murkowski did not secure more specificity on the DOGE cuts or help with rural, public radio stations in Alaska on the spending cut plan. SENATE TO DEBATE TRUMP’S $9B CLAWBACK BILL AFTER DRAMATIC LATE-NIGHT VOTES “My vote is guided by the imperative of coming from Alaskans. I have a vote that I am free to cast, with or without the support of the President. My obligation is to my constituents and to the Constitution,” said Murkowski. “I don’t disagree that NPR over the years has tilted more partisan. That can be addressed. But you don’t need to gut the entire Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” In a statement, Collins blasted the Trump administration for a lack of specificity about the precision of the rescissions request. Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee in charge of the federal purse strings, also criticized the administration a few months ago for a paucity of detail in the President’s budget. “The rescissions package has a big problem – nobody really knows what program reductions are in it. That isn’t because we haven’t had time to review the bill,” said Collins in a statement. “Instead, the problem is that OMB (the Office of Management and Budget) has never provided the details that would normally be part of this process.” Collins wasn’t the only Republican senator who worried about how the administration presented the spending cut package to Congress. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., fretted about Congress ceding the power of the purse to the administration. But unlike Collins, Wicker supported the package. “If we do this again, please give us specific information about where the cuts will come. Let’s not make a habit of this,” said Wicker. “If you come back to us again from the executive branch, give us the specific amounts in the specific programs that will be cut.” DOGE recommended the cuts. In fact, most of the spending reductions targeted by DOGE don’t go into effect unless Congress acts. But even the $9.4 billion proved challenging to cut. “We should be able to do that in our sleep. But there is looking like there’s enough opposition,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Fox Business. So to court votes, GOP leaders salvaged $400 million for PEPFAR. “There was a lot of interest among our members in doing something on the PEPFAR issue,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “You’re still talking about a $9 billion rescissions package – even with that small modification.” The aim to silence public broadcasting buoyed some Republicans. HOMELAND SECURITY HALTS $18.5M IN TAXPAYER FUNDS FOR ‘RADICAL’ PROGRAMS “North Dakota Public Radio – about 26%
Trump calls for immediate end to ‘unjust’ trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
President Donald Trump is calling for an immediate end to the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who he said is the victim of “unjust” politically motivated attacks. The Brazilian leader is facing an investigation and an upcoming trial accusing him of leading an attempted coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. Earlier this week, Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, was at the White House for meetings. He later said in a video posted to social media that “decisions are being made” with respect to possible sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes that the U.S. has been considering. “I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you. This should end immediately!” Trump wrote in a letter he sent to Bolsonaro, which the president posted on his Truth Social account Thursday evening. PROSECUTORS TIED TO JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT CASES FIRED BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: REPORTS “I share your commitment to listening to the voice of the people and I am very concerned about the attacks on free speech – both in Brazil and in the United States – coming out of the current government. I have strongly voiced my disapproval both publicly and through our Tariff policy.” Last week, Trump threatened a 50% tariff on products from Brazil in a letter to the country’s president that cited the ongoing case against Bolsonaro. In November, Federal Police filed a 884-page report with Brazilian Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet detailing the scheme that alleged Bolsonaro and 33 others participated in a plan to remain in power despite losing to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. They allege it involved systematically sowing distrust of the electoral system among the populace, drafting a decree to give the plot a veneer of legality, pressuring top military brass to go along with the plan and inciting a riot in the capital. A panel of justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court accepted the charges against Bolsonaro in March, and it ordered the former leader to stand trial. All five justices ruled in favor of accepting the charges, which included accusations involving a plan to poison Bolsonaro’s successor and kill a Supreme Court judge. WHITE HOUSE PUSHES BACK FORCEFULLY ON EPSTEIN FILE CRITICISM: ‘ASININE SUGGESTION’ Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years. When combined with the other charges, it could result in a sentence of decades behind bars. In his letter to Bolsonaro, Trump said it was his “sincere hope” that the government in Brazil “changes course, stops attacking political opponents, and ends their ridiculous censorship regime.” “I will be watching closely,” Trump added. For his part, Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters, “I have no concerns about the accusations, zero.” TRUMP’S TREASURY DEPARTMENT TARGETS DANGEROUS VENEZUELAN PRISON GANG WITH SANCTIONS ON 6 TOP LEADERS The Washington Post reported Thursday that, according to four sources familiar with the situation, the U.S. is considering levying sanctions against Judge Moraes, who is leading the case against Bolsonaro. The sanctions, according to the sources who spoke with the Post, would come under the Magnitsky Act, which allops the U.S. to impose sanctions against foreign nationals accused of corruption. After Trump threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil over the case against Bolsonaro, his successor, Lula, vowed retaliation. “If there’s no negotiation, the reciprocity law will be put to work. If he charges 50 (% tariffs) from us, we will charge 50 from them,” Lula said, according to The Associated Press. “Respect is good. I like to offer mine, and I like to receive it.”
EXCLUSIVE: Trump administration eyes Alcatraz reopening to house nation’s ‘worst of the worst’
EXCLUSIVE: Fox News was granted access to Alcatraz Island Thursday as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured the infamous former prison in California’s San Francisco Bay at the direction of President Donald Trump. The visit was part of an official review to determine whether the site could be brought back into use as a high-security federal detention center. “This was an idea of the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained during a White House briefing Thursday in Washington, D.C. “He spoke about it in May and directed his administration to review a reopening plan for Alcatraz if it is possible.” TRUMP PUSHES TO REOPEN ALCATRAZ, BUT PELOSI AND NEWSOM DISMISS IT AS A ‘DISTRACTION’ After Trump’s May 5 announcement about reopening Alcatraz as a working prison, Bondi and Burgum joined Fox News correspondent David Spunt to visit “the Rock” to receive a briefing on the site and assess the 91-year-old former federal prison’s infrastructure. The visit, which included walk-throughs of the main cell blocks and off-limits areas normally closed to the public, was a fact-finding mission and not an official announcement of reopening. Bondi and Burgum spent several hours inspecting the crumbling infrastructure while discussing the island’s potential for future federal use. They toured the prison and surrounding island, met with National Park Service (NPS) officials and directed staff to collaborate on a preliminary plan to rehabilitate the complex. The island is managed by the NPS under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. If reactivated, it would be operated by the Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). “So many people remember Al Capone, but this isn’t about the past. It’s about what Alcatraz could be again,” Spunt reported from the island. “They believe, along with their boss, the president, that this may be the symbol of law and order this administration is looking for.” Alcatraz operated as a federal prison from 1934 to 1963, originally operating as a military prison in the 1850s. The name derives from “Alcatraces” after Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala’s 1775 exploration mission of San Francisco Bay. While its etymology has inspired debate, the Bureau of Prisons contends it most likely means “pelican” or “strange bird.” LEGAL EXPERTS SAY TRUMP CAN DEFINITELY REOPEN ALCATRAZ, BUT COULD FACE ‘AVALANCHE OF LAWSUITS’ Alcatraz as a federal prison had a maximum capacity of 336 inmates, plus over 150 staff members and their families. At its peak in the early 1960s, the prison’s operating cost per inmate was over $10 per day, nearly double the national average, according to Bureau of Prisons data. “This is a terrific facility,” Bondi said. “It needs a lot of work, but no one has been known to escape from Alcatraz and survive.” Bondi told Fox News the prison could theoretically hold a range of offenders, including “violent criminals, federal predators and illegal aliens.” She emphasized the symbolic value of its isolation and reputation for strict control. Burgum said the goal is to evaluate the feasibility of restoring Alcatraz to its original use. “It’s a federal property. Its original use was a prison. We’re here to take a look at whether it can serve that purpose again,” he said. The island poses serious logistical challenges. Alcatraz has no direct power or water lines from the San Francisco mainland more than a mile away, and over 1 million gallons of water per month were once ferried in. Restoration would also require major upgrades to meet modern codes, including ADA compliance, environmental regulations and approval from the Bureau of Prisons and federal courts. The DOJ this week sent letters to California sheriffs seeking information on undocumented migrants being released from state prisons. An administration official noted to Fox News Digital that while these letters reflect the DOJ’s ongoing public safety mission, they are not directly related to the Alcatraz review. Not everyone is on board. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco in Congress, called the initiative “the stupidest yet” from Trump. The administration has not announced a timeline for a decision. Bondi and Burgum will report their findings to the president before any formal steps are taken. After its closure in 1963 due to high costs and decaying infrastructure, Alcatraz reopened to the public in 1973 under the Department of the Interior. It is now one of the most visited national historic landmarks in the country, drawing more than 1.5 million tourists annually. That popularity could become a factor in any decision to return it to a secured corrections site. Alcatraz has long captured the American imagination. Between 1934 and 1963, 14 escape attempts involving 36 men were recorded, but the Bureau of Prisons maintains that no escapee ever made it to freedom. Officials believe that frigid, high currents may have claimed the lives of those who vanished. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This is Alcatraz,” Burgum said. “The name still means something.” The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump Interior Department moves to dismantle ‘regulatory favoritism’ for wind, solar projects
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) said Thursday it was adding “enhanced oversight” of agency decisions about new wind and solar projects in an effort to end “favoritism” of these “unreliable” and “subsidy-dependent” energy systems from the previous administration. The new directive updates review procedures that will require senior leadership at the Interior Department, including the office of the secretary, to conduct a final review of any relevant decisions, including leases, rights-of-way, construction and operation plans, grants, consultations and biological opinions. “Today’s actions further deliver on President Trump’s promise to tackle the Green New Scam and protect the American taxpayers’ dollars,” said acting Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management Adam Suess. “American energy dominance is driven by U.S.-based production of reliable baseload energy, not regulatory favoritism towards unreliable energy projects that are solely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and foreign-sourced equipment.” DOUG BURGUM EXPLAINS HOW WIND AND SOLAR DO NOT ‘RUN AMERICA’ A source familiar with the DOI’s new enhanced oversight directive said the agency had serious concerns the Biden administration gave preferential treatment for permitting to new wind and solar projects, which a DOI press release Thursday described as “unreliable” forms of energy. The press release argued that, with the removal of “artificial advantages,” the Trump administration is “leveling the playing field” for “dispatchable, cost-effective and secure energy sources, such as clean coal and domestic natural gas.” “These actions mark a return to commonsense permitting standards that support national security, grid stability and American job creation,” the press release says. WHAT AI’S INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR POWER MEANS FOR OUR FUTURE The actions are in alignment with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month, “Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources” and other presidential directives, while also serving to implement certain provisions of the newly passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The “big, beautiful bill” provisions that the directive supports ask the Interior Department to eliminate right-of-way and capacity fee discounts for existing and future wind and solar projects, which the DOI said Thursday will end “years of subsidies for economically unviable energy development.” “For too long, the federal government has forced American taxpayers to subsidize expensive and unreliable energy sources like wind and solar,” Trump’s executive order says. “The proliferation of these projects displaces affordable, reliable, dispatchable domestic energy sources, compromises our electric grid, and denigrates the beauty of our Nation’s natural landscape. “Moreover, reliance on so-called ‘green’ subsidies threatens national security by making the United States dependent on supply chains controlled by foreign adversaries. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts to unreliable energy sources is vital to energy dominance, national security, economic growth, and the fiscal health of the Nation.”
PETA applauds GOP lawmakers’ demand to halt NIH funding for ‘cruel’ overseas animal testing
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is applauding a letter sent Thursday by Republican lawmakers to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, urging the agency to stop using taxpayer dollars for experiments on animals conducted in foreign laboratories. The letter, signed by Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., highlights concerns about the lack of oversight and inadequate standards in certain foreign facilities. The bipartisan Cease Animal Research Grants Overseas (CARGO) Act—led by the Republicans along with Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.—seeks to end NIH funding for animal experiments outside the U.S. and ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused for the unnecessary suffering of animals. Between 2011 and 2021, the NIH issued more than $2.2 billion in grants for controversial research in 45 countries. NAVY HALTS DOG AND CAT EXPERIMENTS AFTER PETA WRITES HEGSETH ABOUT US TAXPAYER-FUNDED ANIMAL TESTS According to the letter, the “research” included genetically altering cats to be born with deformed legs, infecting bats with diseases that were transmissible and fatal to humans, and force-feeding mice human feces. NIH CLOSES EXPERIMENTATION LABS ACCUSED OF BRUTALLY KILLING THOUSANDS OF BEAGLES FOR 40+ YEARS Nehls and Scott noted there are little to no inspections at the facilities where research is conducted or where the animals are housed, and there is inadequate auditing of foreign NIH-funded animal studies, resulting in significant gaps in oversight and accountability of how taxpayer dollars are being used. “It is deeply concerning that American taxpayer dollars have been used to fund harmful and abusive animal experiments overseas that lack the same oversight and accountability as labs here in the United States,” Nehls and Scott wrote in the letter. “…It is a waste of resources that should be allocated to more ethical and effective research practices that do not involve animals.” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said the organization is grateful to Nehls, Scott, Titus and Booker for serving as the lead sponsors of the CARGO Act. “This effort represents a significant step in halting cruel and wasteful animal experimentation abroad, and it aligns with the Trump Administration’s broader shift toward more relevant, non-animal research methods,” Guillermo wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We are excited to continue working alongside these dedicated lawmakers to pass the CARGO Act and ensure that taxpayer money is no longer used to support pointless and unethical research.” SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICANS REQUEST BAN ON FEDERALLY FUNDED ‘TRANSGENDER ANIMAL’ EXPERIMENTS IN 2026 BUDGET The CARGO Act was introduced following a PETA investigation into Caucaseco Scientific Research Center, a discredited Colombian laboratory with a history of violating animal care standards. Caucaseco Scientific Research Center received more than $17 million in U.S. funding, and the Biden administration’s NIH encouraged additional funding, even after it was caught confining monkeys in filthy conditions, leaving them to die from infected wounds, and starving mice to the point of cannibalism, according to PETA. The PETA investigation reportedly led to multiple investigations by local authorities, the rescues of 108 monkeys and 180 mice, and the retraction of a research publication. “The letter’s request for NIH to immediately cease funding animal experiments in foreign labs is a crucial step toward protecting animals and ensuring taxpayer dollars are used responsibly,” Guillermo wrote. “PETA remains committed to advocating for legislative and policy changes that prioritize ethical, practical, and non-animal research.”
State Department says US ‘unequivocally condemns’ Israeli airstrike in Syria, calls for ‘dialogue’
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the United States does not support recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria and called for “dialogue” between the two Middle East powers. “The United States unequivocally condemns the violence. All parties must step back and engage in meaningful dialogue that leads to a lasting ceasefire,” Bruce announced at a State Department press briefing Thursday afternoon. WHY SYRIA PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN TRUMP’S PLANS FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE On Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus struck the country’s Defense Ministry headquarters and an area near the presidential palace, killing three and injuring dozens of others, according to reports. The Israeli military said it was intervening to defend the minority Druze population in southern Syria, a community that shares a border with Israel, amid armed skirmishes between local Bedouin Sunni tribes and the recently installed Syrian government. “We are acting decisively to prevent the entrenchment of hostile elements beyond the border, protect Israeli citizens and prevent harm to Druze civilians,” Eyal Zamir, chief of the Israeli Defense Forces’ general staff, said during a situational assessment at the Syrian border. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday afternoon that an agreement had been reached between Israel and Syria to end the “troubling and horrifying situation.” “This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made, and this is what we fully expect them to do,” he added. TRUMP’S PUSH FOR ISRAEL-SYRIA PEACE GETS MAJOR BACKING AS ACTIVIST BRINGS MESSAGE TO JERUSALEM “Thankful to all sides for their break from chaos and confusion as we attempt to navigate all parties to a more durable and peaceful solution in Syria,” U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack added. When asked Thursday what prompted the Israeli strikes and whether the U.S. suspected any foreign fighters, like ISIS, of being involved in the conflict in Syria between the Bedouins and the Druze, Bruce said there will need to be continued investigation to figure out exactly why this Israeli airstrike occurred. Rubio said Wednesday he believed Israel’s strike on the Syrian capital of Damascus was “likely” due to “a misunderstanding.” Bruce on Thursday responded to reporters’ questions about what U.S. officials meant when they said “confusion” and “misunderstanding” from Israel were what led to their involvement. “This is an ancient rivalry between the Druze and the Bedouins and violence ensued, the Syrians moving to that area to quell and stop that violence. And the Israelis, who see that occurring to the Druze community and their concerns, then entered what they assessed was something larger than what, or even not what it was at all,” Bruce said at Thursday’s briefing. “The good news is, the story is, it stopped, as within the management of that larger conflict. Again, there’s still skirmishes and other issues. … The Syrian government is going to have to lead — obviously, there will be other involvement — but lead in to this de-escalation and to the stability.”
Democrats spent thousands in campaign funds to visit illegal Kilmar Abrego Garcia: report
Despite some claiming they spent money out of their own pockets, several Democrats spent thousands in campaign funds to visit illegal alien and alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, according to reporting by the New York Post. Democrats rallied around Abrego Garcia after they claimed he was wrongly deported by the Trump administration to his home country of El Salvador in March. Several Democrats, including representatives Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.; Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., Maxine Dexter, D-Ore.; and Glenn Ivey, D-Md., flew to El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia’s return. The New York Post reported that Frost, Garcia, Ansari and Dexter, all of whom made a joint trip to San Salvador to pressure the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia April 21, paid for the trip through campaign funding, despite all except Garcia claiming they paid out of pocket. TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN LA IGNITES ‘SAME EMOTIONAL NOTES’ FOR DEMS, TOP LOCAL GOP LEADER SAYS The New York Post wrote that Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show Frost’s campaign reported spending $1,362 on Salvadoran-Colombian airline Avianca May 8, about a week after his trip to visit Abrego Garcia. Dexter’s campaign similarly reportedly spent $1,315 on travel with Taca Airlines April 18, despite the representative saying he had self-funded the trip. Despite telling a local news outlet she had used her own money for the trip, Ansari’s campaign reported in FEC filings that the congresswoman spent $2,616 on travel with Salvadoran airline Avianca the same month she flew to visit Abrego Garcia. Meanwhile, California Democrat Garcia’s office confirmed he spent $1,982 on another Salvadoran airline, Taca International Airlines, in April, and an additional $502 for “event space rental” at the Hilton San Salvador, the outlet reported. FEDS CHARGE 3 MORE MEN IN MARYLAND MS-13 RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY INVOLVING MURDER: ‘REIGN OF TERROR’ Ivey, who attempted to visit Abrego Garcia in late May, spent $291 in campaign funds, according to the Post report. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the first Democrat to make the trip and who remained an outspoken voice on Abrego Garcia’s behalf, notably did not report any campaign spending for Salvadoran air travel or lodging in mid-April, when he made his trip. Abrego Garcia, who was returned to the U.S. in June, faces charges of human smuggling and conspiracy. MEXICAN WOMAN IN US ILLEGALLY CHARGED WITH FAKING HER OWN ICE ‘KIDNAPPING’ According to an indictment, Abrego Garcia played a “significant role” in a human smuggling ring operating for nearly a decade. Attorney General Pam Bondi described him as a full-time smuggler who made more than 100 trips, transporting women, children and MS-13 gang-affiliated persons throughout the U.S. According to police and court records shared with Fox News Digital, Abrego Garcia was arrested in Hyattsville in October 2019, at which point he was identified by the Prince George’s County [Maryland] Police Gang Unit as a member of MS-13.