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Year: 2025

Red states consider ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ spinoffs as WH urges them to follow DeSantis’ lead: ‘Lots of bears’

Red states consider ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ spinoffs as WH urges them to follow DeSantis’ lead: ‘Lots of bears’

The White House and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are encouraging Republican states across the nation to follow Florida’s lead and install their own versions of “Alligator Alcatraz” – a remote detention facility for illegal immigrants located in the heart of the Everglades.  Some red states are already warming up to the idea or already have new detention facilities in the works.  “We don’t have alligators, but we have lots of bears. I am not aware of any plans for an Alaska version of Alligator Alcatraz,” representatives for Alaska’s state government told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Tuesday.  “Dear DHS: We’ve got a swamp and a dream. Let’s talk. South Carolina’s gators are ready. And they’re not big on paperwork. If I was Governor, we’d be bringing Alligator Alcatraz to South Carolina,” South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace posted to X on Tuesday, when Trump traveled to Florida to tour “Alligator Alcatraz.”  TRUMP SAYS ONLY WAY OUT OF ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ IS DEPORTATION Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of 26 Republican governors inquiring if they are considering rolling out their own versions of “Alligator Alcatraz,” with a handful, stretching from Idaho to South Carolina, responding with what they have in the works.  Garrison Douglas, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s spokesman, told Fox News Digital that the Peach State “has helped lead the way in tackling illegal immigration” and recently announced plans to build the “largest detention facility in the nation.” “From maintaining the longest continuous National Guard presence at the U.S. southern border of any state to banning sanctuary cities and directing the Georgia Department of Public Safety to enhance its partnership with ICE, under Governor Kemp’s leadership, Georgia has helped lead the way in tackling illegal immigration,” Douglas told Fox News Digital Wednesday.   “Furthermore, one of our private sector partners recently announced an agreement with ICE to convert a Georgia facility into the largest detention facility in the nation – a move that is supported by the governor and will only bolster national efforts to detain criminal illegal immigrants and process them for deportation,” he added.  The communications director for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sam Dubke, told Fox Digital that Arkansas is building a “a new 3,000-bed prison in the state.” “Governor Sanders is working hand-in-hand with the Trump Administration to deport violent, criminal illegal immigrants, which is why she signed the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act earlier this year to put tough new penalties on illegal immigrants who commit additional crimes while in Arkansas and facilitate greater collaboration between Arkansas law enforcement and federal immigration officials, and is in the process of building a new 3,000-bed prison in the state,” Dubke said when asked about a potential Arkansas version of “Alligator Alcatraz.” Brandon Charochak, spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, told Fox Digital Wednesday that the governor serves as “President Trump’s chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council,” and had just “presided over the council’s first meeting this morning in Washington.”  “South Carolina’s law enforcement and National Guard continue to collaborate and participate with federal officials on illegal immigration enforcement and deportation,” Charochak continued. “Gov. McMaster has directed state officials to continue exploring how the Palmetto State’s unique assets and resources can be utilized to provide additional and enhanced support in the weeks and months to come.”  In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little is “planning to roll out new details on Idaho’s efforts to support President Trump’s agenda,” according to his office.  “Gov. Little fully supports President Trump’s efforts to deport dangerous illegal alien criminals,” Little’s press secretary, Joan Varsek, told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Gov. Little is proud that Idaho is leading the efforts through our recent action to enter into a 287(g) agreement with ICE and the Idaho State Police to assist with transporting these individuals to ICE detention facilities in our state while they await deportation. Secretary Noem recently applauded Idaho’s actions in supporting the Trump administration.”  SELF-DEPORT OR END UP IN ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ,’ NOEM WARNS MIGRANTS DURING TRUMP VISIT Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, touted in a comment provided to Fox Digital that the state has already offered up “4,000 beds for detention.” “Gov. Abbott is grateful to finally have a partner in the White House working with Texas to secure our border and stop illegal immigration. In January, Gov. Abbott directed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas Facilities Commission to identify land and facilities for the federal government to use as detention space, and in February Gov. Abbott offered the Trump administration 4,000 beds for detention,” Mahaleris said. “Texas will continue to assist the Trump administration in arresting, detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller joined Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Tuesday evening following his trip to Florida with Trump earlier that day and called on all Republican governors to follow DeSantis’ lead and erect their own “Alligator Alcatraz.” TRUMP TO VISIT ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ FOR GRAND OPENING OF SWAMPY EVERGLADES DETENTION CENTER FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS “We want to go to every Republican state – now, of course, in a sane country, Democrats would do it, too, but they love the illegals and they hate the Americans,” Miller said. “We want every governor of a red state, and if you are watching tonight: pick up the phone, call DHS, work with us to build facilities in your state so we can get the illegals out and we can get the criminals out.”   White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson added in a comment to Fox Digital Wednesday that “our nation would be well-served by more facilities” like “Alligator Alcatraz.” “Alligator Alcatraz is a state-of-the-art facility that will play a critical role in fulfilling the President’s promise to get the worst criminal illegal aliens out of America as fast as possible,” Jackson said. “President Trump is grateful to partner with Secretary Noem and Ron DeSantis on this important project and our nation would be well-served by more facilities like this one.”  Trump took a trip down to the Everglades

Iranian supreme leader appears in public for first time since conflict with Israel

Iranian supreme leader appears in public for first time since conflict with Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was seen in public for the first time since the beginning of Israel’s war against Iran on Saturday. Khamenei had been secluded in a security bunker for the entirety of the conflict, though President Donald Trump claimed to know his location at the time. Khamenei attended a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura on Saturday, waving to a large crowd but not making any statement. Trump asserted during the 12-day war with Israel that the U.S. knew Khamenei’s location, but would not kill him, “at least for now.” Khamenei made his first public statement in days on June 26, shortly after a cease-fire between Israel and Iran began. He said in a pre-recorded statement that Tehran had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a U.S. air base in Qatar, and warning against further attacks by the U.S. or Israel on Iran. WHAT’S NEXT FOR IRAN’S TERROR ARMY, THE IRGC, AFTER DEVASTATING MILITARY SETBACKS? In reality, none of Iran’s missiles hit their mark on the Al-Udeid Air Base. Despite the U.S. strike on three nuclear facilities across Iran last month, experts say the regime is still bent on developing nuclear weapons. “Repair, reconstitute and rebuild is going to be the modus operandi of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program told Fox News Digital. “It just depends on how are they going to be doing it? While flirting with the international community? Are they going to go dark totally altogether?” “All of this remains to be seen,” he added. GEN. KEANE: IRANIANS HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON A NUCLEAR WEAPON Spokesman for the Iranian regime, Fatemeh Mohajerani, confirmed this week that the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites had been “seriously damaged” following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last month. Questions remain over the extent of damage that was incurred, as well as skepticism over whether Iran was able to move any enriched uranium or centrifuges away from the heavily guarded sites prior to the strikes.  Though the Trump administration said last week that it had “obliterated” the three facilities it struck, and has fervently rejected reports suggesting that Iranian officials may have been able to transfer some elements of the regime’s nuclear program, Israeli officials confirmed this week that they are continuing to monitor the situation closely. TRUMP COULD ARM ISRAEL WITH US B-2S AND BUNKER BUSTERS IF IRAN TRIES TO GO NUCLEAR UNDER NEW PROPOSAL Experts in the U.S. and Israel have said they believe Iran is still assessing the extent of the damage from the “bunker buster” bombs, and that the regime will look to recover and repair what it can — meaning it may be looking to buy time. “No doubt, the regime will still have a diplomatic strategy designed to rope-a-dope anybody, and to find as much time as possible for this government to do that,” Ben Taleblu said. Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report

Iran still wants a nuclear weapon despite ‘serious damage’ from US, Israeli strikes: expert warns

Iran still wants a nuclear weapon despite ‘serious damage’ from US, Israeli strikes: expert warns

Iran is preparing its next step in what one security expert warns remains its chief objective: developing a nuclear weapon. “Repair, reconstitute and rebuild is going to be the modus operandi of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program told Fox News Digital. “It just depends on how are they going to be doing it? While flirting with the international community? Are they going to go dark totally altogether? “All of this remains to be seen,” he added. WHAT’S NEXT FOR IRAN’S TERROR ARMY, THE IRGC, AFTER DEVASTATING MILITARY SETBACKS? Spokesman for the regime, Fatemeh Mohajerani, confirmed this week that the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites had been “seriously damaged” following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last month.  Questions remain over the extent of damage that was incurred, as well as skepticism over whether Iran was able to move any enriched uranium or centrifuges away from the heavily guarded sites prior to the strikes.  Though the Trump administration said on Wednesday that it had “obliterated” the three facilities it struck, and has fervently rejected reports suggesting that Iranian officials may have been able to transfer some elements of the regime’s coveted nuclear program, Israeli officials confirmed this week that they are continuing to monitor the situation closely. Experts in the U.S. and Israel have said they believe Iran is still assessing the extent of the damage from the “bunker busting” bombs, and that the regime will look to recover and repair what it can — meaning it may be looking to buy time. “No doubt, the regime will still have a diplomatic strategy designed to rope-a-dope anybody, and to find as much time as possible for this government to do that,” Ben Taleblu said. The Iranian regime this week suggested it remained open to negotiations with the U.S. after President Donald Trump signaled that the talks could begin as soon as next week, though multiple Iranian officials said that that timeframe was overly ambitious.  “I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a CBS News interview. “The doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”  TRUMP COULD ARM ISRAEL WITH US B-2S AND BUNKER BUSTERS IF IRAN TRIES TO GO NUCLEAR UNDER NEW PROPOSAL But the regime also took steps to further hinder the UN nuclear watchdog — which is tasked with tracking all nation’s nuclear programs — and suspended all interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday.  That same day, the State Department condemned the move, and spokesperson Tammy Bruce said it was “unacceptable that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity.” Iran has limited IAEA access in the past and Ben Taleblu argued Tehran will likely look to do this again as it attempts to hold on to any bargaining chip it can. “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s next step, and likely most dangerous capability right now, is its diplomatic capability,” the Iranian security expert argued. “This is the capability of the regime to either enter negotiations with a weak hand and leave with a strong hand, or try to prevent a military victory of its adversaries from becoming a political victory.  “If negotiations do take place between the U.S. and the Iranians, be they direct or indirect, the Iranians are going to be dangling IAEA access. This is already their most important weapon,” he added.  Ben Taleblu explained that using the IAEA as a bargaining chip not only enables Iran to play for time as it looks to re-establish its nuclear program, but to sow division in the U.S. by creating uncertainty.  GEN. KEANE: IRANIANS HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON A NUCLEAR WEAPON “By diminishing the monitoring and by circumscribing and even cutting IAEA access to these facilities, the regime is trying to make America have to rely on intelligence alone,” he said. “And as you see from the very politicized debates over the battle damage assessment, relying on intelligence alone without sources on the ground inspecting the sites, inspecting the facilities, documenting the fissile material, can lead to drastically different conclusions being taken by similar but not the same intelligence organizations or representatives.” Ultimately, Iran is not going to give up on its nuclear ambitions, Ben Taleblu warned, noting that Tehran’s security apparatus completely changed during its war with Iraq in the 1980s.  “Everything that we face from the regime that is a security threat was started then — the ballistic missile program, the drone program, the maritime aggression, the transnational terrorist apparatus and the nuclear program all have their origins in the 1980s,” he said.  “By resurrecting this nuclear program, the Islamic Republic was not engaging in a science fair experiment.  “The Islamic Republic was seeking an ultimate deterrent,” Ben Taleblu continued. “It was seeking an ultimate deterrence because it had a vision for what the region and the world should look like, and it was willing to put foreign policy muscle and the resources of its state behind that vision.” The expert on the Iranian regime warned that Iran’s 40-year “obsession” with developing its nuclear program to achieve its geopolitical aims is not going to change because of U.S. military intervention.