Red state illegal immigration crackdown produces nearly 50K criminal arrests
According to Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the state’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and Tren de Aragua (TdA) migrant gang activity have reduced illegal crossings by nearly 90% and resulted in close to 50,000 criminal arrests. Abbott’s office said that the Texas-led campaign called “Operation Lonestar,” which was first launched in March 2021 and has seen the participation of over a dozen other Republican states, has led to 530,400 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 49,900 criminal arrests, with more than 42,900 felony charges. During this operation, Texas also became the first state to build a border wall on its own, continuing border wall construction at strategic points despite President Biden putting a stop to it in the early days of his administration. US BORDER PATROL REPORTEDLY CAPTURES RUSSIAN MERCENARY CARRYING DRONE, 2 PASSPORTS AND $4K “Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua,” Abbott said on X. “We will not allow this gang to operate or gain a foothold in Texas.” The governor’s office also said that during Operation Lonestar, Texas law enforcement seized over 620 million lethal doses of fentanyl, which they said is “enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, Mexico, and Canada combined.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The office noted that Abbott designated TdA, whose violent crime has been sweeping across the nation, a foreign terrorist organization and launched a strike team to target, identify and arrest members of the group. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested four TdA members crossing the border on New Year’s Eve, one of whom was identified as a possible high-ranking member of the gang. TREN DE ARAGUA BELIEVED TO BE BEHIND MURDER OF IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL NEAR BORDER The statement also said that Texas has transported a total of 119,400 migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles, all of which have migrant sanctuary policies in place. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, told Fox News Digital that Operation Lone Star has cost Texas more than $11 billion, all of which was spent on efforts to secure the border, including deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers, transporting migrants to sanctuary cities, installing strategic barriers, cracking down against violent gangs like TdA, and building new border wall. “Because of these efforts, Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by 87%,” said Mahaleris. “Texas has held the line against the Biden-Harris border crisis for the past four years, and Governor Abbott looks forward to continuing to work closely with President Trump and his incoming administration to protect our state and the nation.”
Who is Ashley Moody? Meet the Senate’s newest member from Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C., to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate. Rubio is in the midst of the confirmation process to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of state. A 49-year-old mother of two, Moody has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2019, having previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and a circuit court judge. The Republican state attorney general has supported lawsuits to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and pushed against restoring voting rights for felons and marijuana legalization. Her husband, Justin Duralia, serves as the deputy chief of the Plant City Police Department in Hillsborough County. As a senator, Moody promised to work to undo regulations instituted by government agencies and shrink the federal budget. “The only way to return this country to the people, the people who govern it, is to make sure we have a strong Congress doing its job, passing laws and actually approving the regulations that these unelected bureaucrats are trying to cram down on the American people,” she said. DESANTIS ORDERS FLAGS AT FULL-STAFF FOR TRUMP’S INAUGURATION DESPITE 30-DAY MOURNING PERIOD FOR JIMMY CARTER “I’ve got the backs of the American people,” Moody went on. “I am driven by many things in life. I will bring the influence of many things, in my life, my experiences certainly, but I am driven by my faith in God. First and foremost. I am driven by the fact that I am a mother and I still have a kid in school … I’m a trained accountant, so I can shrink the bloat of the federal government.” Initially, Trump and Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., endorsed Trump’s daughter-in-law and former RNC co-Chair Lara Trump to succeed Rubio. However, last month, she said she withdrew her name from consideration. Moody will have to run to keep the seat in a 2026 special election, and House Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., has already said he will run for the seat. ‘THANK YOU RON’: TRUMP PRAISES DESANTIS OVER FLORIDA IMMIGRATION PUSH Moody has worked in tandem with DeSantis to promote his agenda. Most recently she filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice for what she claimed was a federal government effort to block Florida’s investigation into the second Trump assassination attempt, which occurred at his Mar-a-Lago golf course. Last year, she sued the Biden administration for a rule she argued would force doctors to provide gender transition care. In 2024, she also petitioned the Supreme Court to disqualify a Florida ballot measure to expand abortion access by arguing its language could mislead voters.
Nancy Pelosi to skip Trump inauguration ceremony: report
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, plans to skip President-elect Trump’s inauguration next week, her office told ABC News on Thursday. Pelosi has attended 11 inauguration ceremonies, including Trump’s first in 2017. Her office has not provided an explanation for her absence, but she has a history of dramatic displays of opposition to the president-elect. Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Trump has also made no attempts to play nice with the former speaker, frequently calling her out as an “enemy” at his campaign rallies. “She’s a crooked person. She’s a bad person, evil. She’s an evil, sick, crazy,” Trump said before appearing to mouth the word “b*tch,” at a campaign rally in Michigan. “Oh no. It starts with a B– but I won’t say it. I want to say it. I want to say it.” MICHELLE OBAMA, DICK CHENEY AMONG NOTABLE ABSENCES AT CARTER FUNERAL Pelosi infamously tore apart a copy of Trump’s State of the Union address while standing just behind him on the floor of Congress in 2020. TRUMP, OBAMA CHATTING AND LAUGHING AT CARTER FUNERAL LIGHTS UP SOCIAL MEDIA Former first lady Michelle Obama also plans to skip Trump’s inauguration, though her husband, the former president, plans to attend. Michelle was also absent from the funeral for President Jimmy Carter last week, where Trump was also present. Former presidents Trump, Bush and Clinton and their spouses all attended Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as did former President Barack Obama. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband also attended, along with former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife. Former President Bill Clinton will attend next week’s swearing-in ceremony, a person familiar with the former president’s schedule confirmed to the AP. Former first lady Hillary Clinton will also attend, a spokesperson said. The Office of George W. Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush are attending. All three former presidents and their wives attended Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, including Hillary Clinton, after she lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump. Carter also attended. President-elect Trump and former first lady Melania Trump did not attend President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Trump transition team asks 3 State Department officials to resign: report
Trump’s transition team has reportedly asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, according to Reuters. Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz, the career diplomats who were allegedly asked to leave their roles, oversee the State Department’s workforce and internal coordination. This request could signal the Trump team’s desire to implement major changes within the department. “There’s a little bit of a concern that this might be setting the stage for something worse,” a U.S. official familiar with the matter told Reuters. All three of the career diplomats named in the report have worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, Reuters noted. Unlike political appointees, diplomats do not typically resign when a president leaves office. RUBIO TO PITCH FOREIGN POLICY CREDENTIALS TO SENATE AS HE VIES TO BECOME AMERICA’S TOP DIPLOMAT Throughout his political career, Trump has gone after the “deep state,” and this move could be seen as part of his efforts to fundamentally change the government on a bureaucratic level. “It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump’s vision for putting our nation and America’s working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals,” Trump’s team told Reuters in response to a request for comment. WHO IS DONALD TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENVOY STEVE WITKOFF? This report comes as the world sees itself in the middle of a chaotic period with wars between Ukraine and Russia, and Israel and Hamas raging. While there are those who are skeptical at best when it comes to Trump’s foreign policy plans, others see shifts on the world stage as early signs of success. JOHN KIRBY SAYS BIDEN, TRUMP WORKED AS ‘ONE TEAM’ IN SECURING CEASE-FIRE DEAL One of the hallmark foreign policy moves of Trump’s first term was the Abraham Accords, which saw peace break out in the Middle East. After more than a year of fighting, Israel and Hamas have come close to ending their war. In fact, Biden White House national security communications adviser John Kirby recognized Trump’s incoming Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff as a key figure in brokering the potential deal. “The president made it clear to us on the national security team that we needed to make sure that the Trump team, in particular Mr. Witkoff, were part and parcel and fully invested in everything we were doing because they were going to own it when we left office,” Kirby told “Your World” on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Blackmailed by uncle over private photos, 24-year-old techie dies by suicide at Bengaluru hotel
A 24-year-old techie died by suicide after setting herself ablaze in a hotel room based in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, NDTV reported.
145 House Dems vote against bill to deport migrants who commit sexual assault
More than 140 Democrats voted against a House bill to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes on Thursday. The legislation passed along bipartisan lines in a 274 to 145 vote. All present Republicans supported the bill, while the opposition was all made up of Democratic lawmakers. The bill was first introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in the 118th Congress but was not taken up by the formerly Democrat-controlled Senate. At the time, 158 Democrats voted against the bill. “Our country has been ravaged by a horror of illegal immigrants…violently raping American women and girls,” Mace said during debate on the bill. “I know the lifelong scars, the irreversible scars, these heinous crimes leave behind.” Elon Musk has notably been among the bill’s most ardent supporters, even calling for lawmakers who voted against it to lose their House seats. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE “There is no excuse. Please post the list of people who opposed this law and want to keep illegals who are convicted sex offenders in America,” Musk wrote on X in response to a conservative influencer discussing the bill. “They all need to be voted out of office. Every one of them.” In addition to deporting immigrants convicted of sex crimes, the legislation would also deem illegal immigrants who admit to domestic violence or sex-related charges — or are convicted of them — to be inadmissible in the U.S. However, Democrats argued the bill would harm domestic abuse victims who fight back against their partners and broaden the definition of domestic violence to the detriment of survivors. GOP REVIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DETENTION BILL NAMED AFTER 12-YEAR-OLD MURDER VICTIM During debate on the bill Thursday morning, progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the bill “does absolutely nothing to address the needs of the American people” and “widens the highway to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.” Jayapal said it would “create a chilling effect for reporting future crimes” and “empower abusers to go after immigrant women and children.” Mace wrote on X during debate on the bill, “The Left justifying why they are against deporting r*pists, p*deophiles, and m*rderers who are here ILLEGALLY, never ceases to amaze me.” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 House Republican, also criticized Democrats who voted against the bill. “House Democrats’ votes against H.R. 30 should be seen for what they are: Prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants over the safety and well-being of their constituents. It’s unconscionable that we have to pass legislation like this, much less have members oppose it,” Emmer told Fox News Digital. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, one of the Republicans who voted for the bill, argued the Biden administration’s border policies made the bill necessary and said the legislation would “ensure that any illegal immigrant who commits a sex crime or domestic violence offense is swiftly detained and deported.”
‘No better dealmaker’: Trump reportedly considering executive order to ‘save’ TikTok
President-elect Trump is seeking to “save” the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, according to his transition team – even if the Supreme Court looks to enforce a federal law that could essentially outlaw it in the U.S. When questioned on Wednesday about a Washington Post report claiming that Trump might issue an executive order to prevent TikTok from being banned, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for national security adviser, suggested that Trump could consider the move. “If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear. First, TikTok is a widely used platform by many Americans and has been instrumental in his campaign and in spreading his message,” Waltz told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “But number two, he’s going to protect their data. He’s a dealmaker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place.” SUPREME COURT APPEARS SKEPTICAL OF BLOCKING US BAN ON TIKTOK: WHAT TO KNOW Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, echoed that sentiment on Thursday. “President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there’s no better dealmaker than Donald Trump,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. A recent law giving the company nine months to either divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be removed from U.S.-based app stores and hosting services was the subject of oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court in January. Trump’s attorneys filed an amicus brief in the case in December, urging the Supreme Court to delay a potential ban until Trump takes office. TENNESSEE AG OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SCOTUS CASE AFTER ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY’ REVERSAL IN LOWER COURT The Supreme Court’s decision on the fast-tracked case will determine whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act – a law signed by President Biden that passed Congress in April with bipartisan approval – would be enforced and restrict U.S. access to the app. There are roughly 170 million active American users on the social media app, data shows. While Trump tried to ban the app from U.S. access during his first administration, he credited TikTok for reaching young voters during the 2024 presidential campaign. Fox News Digital reached out to TikTok for comment and did not receive a response by time of publication. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
DeSantis announces choice for Senate appointment after Rubio’s expected resignation
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., revealed on Thursday who he plans to appoint to the Senate once Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., resigns, as he is expected to be confirmed to be President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of State after his inauguration. The governor selected Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to be the next senator. CONFIRMATION DELAYS STACK UP FOR TRUMP NOMINEES AS PAPERWORK LAGS IN FEDERAL OFFICES Moody has been a key ally of DeSantis in the state and worked in tandem with him to facilitate his agenda as governor. During his Thursday announcement, DeSantis said “So this is something that I thought about long and hard. We did a lot of research. We got a number of great candidates throughout the state of Florida, and many of them, I think, could have done a good job. But the final criteria I used was because you can say all those things and say you stand for it—I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results on those important issues. Talk is cheap.” “We need people that have demonstrated fidelity to these principles with their actions. So that is why today I’m proud to announce that I am selecting our Attorney General, Ashley Moody, to serve as our next U.S. Senator,” he told attendees. Moody accepted the challenge and thanked the governor for choosing her. “Thank you so much. I will bring the same persistence and passion and tenacity as a United States Senator that I have brought as Florida’s Attorney General,” she said. DEM SENATOR WHO BASHED HEGSETH’S QUALIFICATIONS STANDS BY DOD SEC WHO OVERSAW BOTCHED AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL “If you have worked with me and fought with me over the last six years, you know, I don’t think of this as a job. I think of it as a calling,” she explained. When asked about potentially taking on the role on “Fox and Friends First” in November, Moody previously said, “I have my hands full here as attorney general, and I’m incredibly focused on this job, working on behalf of Floridians, making sure I’m protecting the autonomy of the state and pushing Washington out of our business and holding them accountable. Of course, I love … being in leadership, working with President Trump, working with Governor DeSantis. And I hope to continue working on behalf of Floridians.” Initially, Trump and Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., endorsed Trump’s daughter-in-law and former RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump to succeed Rubio. However, she later withdrew her name from consideration. TRUMP ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE PAM BONDI TO TESTIFY BEFORE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” she wrote on X. Following Thursday’s announcement, Scott congratulated Moody on X. “I welcome @AGAshleyMoody to the United States Senate! Ashley has done an incredible job fighting for Floridians and keeping our communities safe as Attorney General. I have no doubt she will do an incredible job as senator!” he said. DeSantis added on Thursday that he expects to appoint Moody to the Senate the afternoon of January 20, after Trump is sworn in to office. “We anticipate Senator Rubio to get confirmed very quickly after the inauguration of the 47th president, President Trump,” he said. He further thanked Rubio for his service as a senator. “I want to thank Senator Rubio for his service in the United States Senate. I think he will serve the country ably as Secretary of State and, we need it because, the last four years has been a total disaster, under the Biden-Harris administration,” the governor said.
Trump, Vance official portraits released ahead of inauguration
The Trump-Vance Transition Team unveiled on Thursday the administration’s official portraits of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. “In just four days, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States and JD Vance as the 50th Vice President of the United States — and their official portraits are here,” the team said in a statement. “Official Portraits Released — And They Go Hard,” the statement added. In the new portrait, Trump is seen with no expression, compared to his first official portrait in which he was smiling. Both Trump and Vance will be sworn-in to office on Monday, Jan. 20, in Washington, D.C.
5 Dem-supporting billionaires Biden didn’t mention while calling out political ‘oligarchy’
President Biden is warning Americans of an “ultra-wealthy” “oligarchy” taking shape that is presenting a danger to the country, but did not mention in his farewell speech Wednesday night the numerous billionaires that have supported his campaigns in recent years. Biden spoke about the “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few, ultra-wealthy people” and said “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” Here are five billionaires who have recently supported President Biden: George Soros, a left-wing billionaire, investor and philanthropist, sent $250,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in September 2023, filings reviewed by Fox News Digital show. BIDEN WARNS OF ‘ULTRA-WEALTHY’ ‘OLIGARCHY’ DESPITE ACCEPTING DONATIONS FROM DEMOCRAT MEGA-DONORS Soros’ check followed a maxed-out contribution directly to Biden’s campaign that summer. Soros and his son Alex, who recently took control of the Open Society Foundations network that funnels large amounts of money to left-wing nonprofits and causes, both pushed $6,600 to Biden’s campaign on June 30. During the last presidential election, George provided $500,000 to the Biden Victory Fund while sending millions more to super PACs backing him. Alex added $721,300 to the Biden Victory Fund in 2020. On Thursday morning, Alex Soros shared an Instagram story with a caption of Biden and the message “Joe Biden warns an ‘oligarchy’ is emerging in America in his final White House address.” LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman donated $699,600.00 on April 26, 2023, to the Biden Victory Fund, the campaign’s joint fundraising vehicle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. Biden attended a fundraiser that Hoffman hosted on behalf of the super PAC at the private residence of Shannon Hunt-Scott and Kevin Scott in Los Gatos, California, in June 2023. Former New York City mayor, billionaire entrepreneur and media magnate Michael Bloomberg contributed nearly $20 million to help boost President Biden in his 2024 election rematch with former President Trump, sources confirmed to Fox News last year. Bloomberg, a one-time Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat, wrote a massive $19 million check to the Future Forward PAC, known as the FF PAC, which was the leading super PAC supporting Biden’s bid for a second term in the White House. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced in 2020 that he would be voting for Biden that year and would be contributing to the former vice president’s campaign. BIDEN TAKENS SOLE CREDIT FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS DEAL, WARNS OF ‘OLIGARCHY’ IN FAREWELL SPEECH “In my view, our choice this November is not just for one candidate over another,” Schultz wrote in a letter to supporters at the time. “We are choosing to vote for the future of our republic.” Schultz went on to say, “What is at risk is democracy itself: Checks and balances. Rigorous debate. A free press. An acceptance of facts, not ‘alternate facts.’ Belief in science. Trust in the rule of law. A strong judicial system. Unity in preserving all of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In 2020, Biden reportedly brought in $4 million during a virtual fundraiser hosted by a small group of billionaires and other Silicon Valley donors. The virtual event was held by Climate Leaders for Biden, a group of environmental activists that includes billionaire and former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer, according to an invitation.