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GOP congressman introduces ‘Laken Riley Act’ to require ICE to detain migrants arrested for theft

GOP congressman introduces ‘Laken Riley Act’ to require ICE to detain migrants arrested for theft

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is introducing legislation that would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants who are charged with local theft or burglary, after a migrant accused of such crimes was released and later charged with the murder of an American college student. The Laken Riley Act is named after 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley, a college nursing student who was recently killed on the campus of University of Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged with the brutal murder, had been arrested multiple times prior to the murder, but was not detained by ICE. Before being charged with felony murder, Ibarra was arrested for driving under the influence and driving without a license, the Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release citing a sworn affidavit and criminal complaint against the migrant. He also was cited for shoplifting in October 2023, according to police. Collins’ new bill would have required ICE to detain Ibarra after these first offenses, and prior to the death of Riley. Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District of Athens – where the fatal attack occurred – said the murder of Riley is a “wakeup call” for America and the bill seeks to combat the “illegal crime wave” that he attributes to the ongoing border crisis. TRUMP SAYS HE SPOKE TO ‘DEVASTATED’ PARENTS OF LAKEN RILEY, BLASTS BIDEN BORDER CRISIS ‘LIKE A WAR’ “The senseless murder of Laken Riley by Jose Ibarra, who had no business being in this country, was another wakeup call as Americans experience an illegal alien crime wave because of Joe Biden’s open border and local sanctuary city policies,” Collins told Fox News Digital. The congressman said the legislation will work to prevent similar tragic incidents from occurring as a result of the open southern border. LAKEN RILEY MURDER: ATHENS-CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF CAMPAIGNED ON NOT ‘COOPERATING’ WITH ICE: ‘CULTURE OF FEAR’ “I wish we could bring Laken back, but we must now turn our focus to ensuring this doesn’t happen to another American,” the Republican congressman continued. “That’s why I introduced the Laken Riley Act.” The Laken Riley Act would “require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue a detainer for illegal aliens who are charged or cited with local theft or burglary. More serious crimes already require ICE to issue detainers but had Athens, GA Police reached out to ICE about Jose Ibarra when he was cited for shoplifting, and ICE issued a detainer and picked him up, Laken Riley would be alive.” The bill will also allow individual states to take action against the federal government “if an immigration related action harms the state or its citizens.” “Allow states to sue the federal government for injunctive relief if an immigration related action (parole, violation of detention requirements, etc.), harms the state or its citizens. This gives states legal resource to force the federal government to address certain failures related to border security,” a press release announcing the legislation read. The House could vote on the bill as soon as this week, the release added. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Collins recently led the Georgia congressional delegation in a moment of silence for Riley, and has pledged to continue to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

First on Fox: Major conservative group unveils Bidenomics.com to target president’s economic policies

First on Fox: Major conservative group unveils Bidenomics.com to target president’s economic policies

EXCLUSIVE – Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, is announcing a new eight-figure campaign to showcase what it says is the “harmful impact” of President Biden’s economic polices on Americans. The campaign features a new website, Bidenomics.com, which is the nickname for the president’s economic agenda and philosophy.  AFP argues that their website “will serve as a real-time resource for the truth on Bidenomics, up to date information about the economy, and fact checks of Biden’s latest misleading rhetoric on the economy.” The announcement, shared first with Fox News on Monday, comes ahead of Thursday’s high stakes State of the Union address by the president. WHERE BIDEN STANDS ON THE ECONOMY, OTHER TOP ISSUES, IN LATEST FOX NEWS POLL Biden is likely to spotlight his accomplishments, including his economic policies, in the greatly anticipated speech, as he aims to convince voters to reward him with a second term in the White House. The president’s expected to stop in a couple of key general election battleground states in the days immediately after his speech. But AFP vice president of government affairs Akash Chougule argued in a statement that “President Biden will try to paint a rosy picture about Bidenomics in his State of the Union this week, but it’s no use pretending high prices are someone else’s fault. The reality is that everything costs more due to President Biden’s big government spending binge.” DO AMERICANS AGREE WITH BIDEN’S OUTLOOK ON THE ECONOMY? AFP says it “is throwing significant weight” behind what it calls its “accountability efforts to define the true impact of Bidenomics and force lawmakers to own their support of it.” The group says their campaign will kick off with an ad blitz in the nation’s capital that includes physical ads at metro stops, mobile billboards and digital targeting ahead of the State of the Union address. The effort, which AFP says will extend into the autumn with new rounds of digital and connected TV ads in five key Senate states, 26 crucial Congressional districts, as well as in Washington D.C. Digital and mail outreach, door knocking and phone calls, and grassroots events across the country are also planned. While the nation’s economic indicators and job growth have expanded at a steady pace during the Biden presidency – as the economy rebounded from the massive recession sparked by the global COVID pandemic – inflation soared during his first two years in office and remains a problem. While polls show that Americans are slowly starting to feel better about the economy and their own financial situations, Biden is not getting much credit.  A new Fox News national poll released Sunday indicates the president remains deeply underwater on handling the economy – which remains the top issue on the minds of Americans. Biden stood at 37% approval and 62% disapproval on the issue in the poll, which was conducted Feb. 25-28. The president has repeatedly touted his economic agenda. “Guess what – Bidenomics is working,” Biden said last June in a series of economic speeches he delivered last year. “Bidenomics is about building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.”  The president has highlighted what he calls the three fundamental changes in his economic policies: “First, making smart investments in America. Second, educating and empowering American workers to grow the middle class. And third, promoting competition, to lower costs to help small businesses.” But a new ad from AFP as part of its campaign includes snippets of news reports spotlighting rising prices and economic discontent by Americans before the narrator urges viewers to “tell Joe Biden and his allies in Congress we’ve had enough of Bidenomics.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Which cities, counties and states in the US are ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions?

Which cities, counties and states in the US are ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions?

“Sanctuary” jurisdictions, which do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers as a policy, are once again under the spotlight after a slew of violent crimes were committed by illegal immigrants, who were released despite having a detainer lodged against them. When ICE believes a removable illegal immigrant has been arrested on criminal charges, it will lodge a detainer — a request that they be notified before the immigrant is released from custody and to keep them in custody until ICE can take custody of them. WHITE HOUSE CALLS FOR SANCTUARY CITIES TO COOPERATE WITH ICE AMID FUROR OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMES But sanctuary jurisdictions generally do not honor detainers, sometimes arguing that it is not their responsibility and that doing so has a chilling effect on relations between immigrants and the community. “When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission,” ICE’s website warns. For the below list of sanctuary jurisdictions, Fox News Digital has listed those with state statutes, directives, executive orders or city council ordinances. If a jurisdiction does not honor an ICE detainer, it does not necessarily qualify them as a sanctuary jurisdiction, nor does independent judgments from local law enforcement or jails. Sanctuary jurisdictions are always evolving, often moving between declaring themselves sanctuaries and redefining their ordinances.  Here are the jurisdictions currently classed by Fox as having “sanctuary” policies. California Colorado Connecticut Illinois Massachusetts New Jersey New York Oregon Vermont Washington NYC MAYOR CONTINUES CALLS FOR SANCTUARY CITY AMENDMENT TO ALLOW DEPORTATION OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS California: Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco (county and city), San Mateo County, Santa Ana, Santa Clara County, Watsonville. Colorado: Boulder, Denver Washington D.C. Illinois: Chicago and Cook County. Massachusetts: Amherst, Boston, Cambridge, Concord, Lawrence, Newton, Northampton and Somerville. Maryland: Howard County, Hyattsville, Prince George’s County, Rockville. New Jersey: Newark New York: Albany, New York City, Westchester County. Pennsylvania: Lancaster, Lehigh County, Northampton County, Philadelphia. Vermont: Burlington Washington: King County, Seattle, Walla Walla County.

Cruz targets UNRWA, introduces bill allowing international organizations to be held accountable in US courts

Cruz targets UNRWA, introduces bill allowing international organizations to be held accountable in US courts

FIRST ON FOX: Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz will introduce a bill this week to clarify that international organizations (IOs) like UNRWA – a United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians that recently came under scrutiny for its alleged ties to Hamas – are not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts in certain terrorism-related cases. Under the measure, titled the Limiting Immunity for Assisting Backers of Lethal Extremism (LIABLE) Act, IOs would not be immune from U.S. jurisdiction for claims for money damages in which an IO’s agents caused personal injury or death by engaging in torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support or resources for such an act, while acting within the scope of their employment. The measure further provides that U.S. courts shall hear claims where an IO conspired with, materially supported, or otherwise aided and abetted a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO); and the claimant, at the time of such an act, was a U.S. national, a member of the U.S. armed forces, a U.S. government employee or individual performing a U.S. government-awarded contract; or the IO “is based in or has a substantial presence in the United States.” CRUZ DEMANDS DOJ LAUNCH CRIMINAL PROBE OF US NONPROFIT ALLEGEDLY HELPING TERRORISTS Cruz’s introduction of the measure comes after UNRWA, which was established by the United Nations in 1949, faced backlash earlier this year for its alleged ties to Hamas. Critics of the U.N. agency have long said it promoted an anti-Israel agenda in the region where it operates. UNRWA’s ties to Hamas came into focus after Israel provided the Biden administration with a new dossier containing information about how some 12 agency staffers allegedly assisted or supported the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel. “UNRWA has knowingly provided salaries and materials to Hamas for decades. That support enabled Hamas to arm itself, create its vast underground terrorist infrastructure, and launch the Oct. 7 terrorist atrocities,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “That attack included the murder and kidnap of dozens of Americans.” He added, “The victims and their families deserve the ability to hold UNRWA accountable for its support of Hamas and for what happened on Oct. 7. The LIABLE Act will provide them with that opportunity.” Cruz was joined by seven original GOP co-sponsors in introducing the measure, including Sens. Mike Braun of Indiana, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rick Scott of Florida, Steve Daines of Montana and John Barrasso of Wyoming. Since the 1940s, the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 has provided international organizations with some of the same privileges and immunities afforded to foreign governments, which at the time included immunity from suit in U.S. courts. At the time of the IOIA’s enactment, courts looked to the State Department in determining from which lawsuits foreign governments should be deemed immune. US TAXPAYERS HAVE FUNDED UNRWA BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AMID CALLS FOR ITS SCRAPPING: ‘HORROR SHOW’ The State Department adhered to a broad view of foreign sovereign immunity at the time before adopting the more restrictive view that sovereign immunity is available only with respect to sovereign acts, and not with respect to commercial acts. Congress codified that more restrictive view in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976, which provides several exceptions to sovereign immunity. FSIA contains two terrorism-based exceptions to foreign sovereign immunity in U.S. courts. The first exception, section 1605A, exposes a foreign government to legal liability for acts of violence that result in “personal injury or death” only if it is a designated state sponsor of terrorism (SST). Under the second terrorism-based exception, section 1605B, foreign governments are only subject to suit for acts that cause injury “in the United States.” FSIA’s terrorism-based exceptions are not crafted to apply to IOs, leaving organizations such as UNRWA with less legal liability in the U.S. for support of terrorism than a foreign government would face for similar conduct. FSIA’s 1605A exception relies on an SST designation inapplicable to non-state actors, such as UNRWA, and the section 1605B exception covers only acts perpetrated in the U.S., making Hamas’ actions in Israel inapplicable for the purposes of this exception. Since October, the Biden administration has sent about $121 million in taxpayer funds to UNRWA. A remaining $300,000 in appropriated funds for this fiscal year was supposed to be delivered to the agency earlier this year. However, the U.S. froze those funds over allegations that some UNRWA members participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. In addition to the U.S. putting a pause on “additional” funding to UNRWA in response to the dossier, other countries have followed suit. Germany, Italy, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland have also joined the boycott following the accusations, which have already resulted in the termination of multiple staffers. From 2009 to 2024, a little under $4 billion in taxpayer money was given to the humanitarian relief organization, according to a Fox News Digital review published last month. Despite the allegations, the Biden administration has defended UNRWA, insisting the entire agency should not be judged by the purported actions of roughly a dozen people. “We very much support the work that UNRWA does, we think it’s critical,” Miller said earlier this year. “There is no other humanitarian player in Gaza who can provide food, medicine at the scale that UNRWA does.”

South Korea to suspend doctor licences as strike crisis escalates

South Korea to suspend doctor licences as strike crisis escalates

Some 9,000 doctors walked off the job two weeks ago over government plans to increase medical school admissions. South Korea has said it will suspend the licences of trainee doctors who have ignored an ultimatum to end a strike over government plans to increase medical school admissions. About 9,000 junior doctors walked out on February 20, leading to the cancellation of some operations and treatments as well as hampering the operation of hospitals’ emergency units. On Monday, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said the authorities would visit hospitals to find out whether the doctors had returned to work and “take action according to the law and principle without exception”. Speaking in a televised briefing, he said those who had not returned “may experience serious problems in their personal career path”. The doctors taking strike action are a fraction of South Korea’s 140,000 doctors. But they account for as many as 40 percent of the total doctors at some major hospitals. Thousands took to the streets of Seoul on Sunday at a mass rally organised by the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents private practitioners, defying a February 29 government deadline for them to return to work or face legal action, including possible arrest. The doctors say the government should first address pay and working conditions before trying to increase the number of physicians. “The government is pushing the reforms unilaterally and that, the doctors cannot accept under any circumstances”, Kim Taek-woo of the Korea Medical Association told the crowd of protesters, who wore black masks. Under South Korean law, doctors are restricted from taking strike action. “The government is very aware of the reasons why all doctors are opposing the increase in the medical school admissions but are exploiting policies to turn doctors into slaves forever.” Thousads of doctors have joined the strike against a government plan to make more places available at medical schools [Jung Yeon-je/AFP] The government says the move to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools by 2,000 from the 2025 academic year is necessary because of the rapidly ageing population and the country’s low number of doctors to patients. At 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people, South Korea’s rate is one of the lowest in the developed world. The plan to boost medical school admissions is popular with the public, with about 76 percent of respondents in favour, regardless of political affiliation, according to a recent Gallup Korea poll. President Yoon Suk-yeol has taken a hard line on the strike and has seen his approval ratings climb as the standoff drags on. With legislative elections in April and Yoon’s party looking to win back a parliamentary majority, the government is unlikely to compromise quickly, analysts said. But doctors have also pledged not to back down, saying the government’s plan did not address the sector’s real problems. “We have nowhere to retreat any more. We will not just sit idly by the government acting undemocratic,” Lee Jeong-geun, the interim head of the KMA, said at Sunday’s protest. Adblock test (Why?)