Immigration hawks warn Congress that Senate deal will handcuff future administrations on securing border
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of hawkish immigration groups is warning congressional leaders that a border deal released this week by the Senate as part of a supplemental spending bill to fund Ukraine and Israel would limit the ability of future administrations to tackle illegal immigration. “The legislative text confirms our worst suspicions: if enacted, the bill would codify the border crisis and severely limit any future enforcement-minded administration from securing the border,” the groups, led by the Heritage Foundation, said in a letter to congressional leaders. Senate negotiators released the $118 billion supplemental spending deal late Sunday, which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel and $20 billion in funding for border and immigration-related matters. IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS, LIBERAL SENATE DEMS TRASH BORDER DEAL OVER LACK OF AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS It includes a new temporary emergency border authority to mandate Title 42-style expulsions of migrants when migration levels exceed 5,000 a day over a seven-day rolling average, and it narrows asylum eligibility while expediting the process, provides additional work permits for asylum seekers and funds a massive increase in staffing for Customs and Border Protection and asylum officers. It also increases temporary visas and green cards, while establishing an expedited pathway for Afghans who were evacuated to the U.S. The legislation also includes $1.4 billion in FEMA funding for non-governmental organizations and cities to help settle migrants and $650 million to build and reinforce the border wall. It will also provide $450 million to countries to help them remove and integrate illegal immigrants back into their countries. “The bipartisan agreement in the Senate is tough, fair, and takes meaningful steps to address the challenges our country faces after decades of Congressional inaction,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. GOP SENATORS DEMAND ‘ADEQUATE TIME’ TO REVIEW BORDER SECURITY BILL Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., an author of the package, said this week that the bar on asylum eligibility would go a long way to fixing the crisis and change the operating stance at the border. “New bars to asylum eligibility will stop the criminal cartels from exploiting our currently weak immigration laws. The bill also has new emergency authorities to shut down the border when the border is overrun, new hiring authorities to quickly increase officers, and new hearing authorities to quickly apply consequences for illegal crossings,” he said. “It changes our border from catch and release to detain and deport.” However, the bill has faced a firestorm of opposition from the right who remain unconvinced, and the coalition of hawkish groups say that it does not do enough to end catch-and-release and argues it replaces “current statutory monitoring with a mass release program of weaker discretionary ‘monitoring’” while failing to close loopholes for children to be “recycled” by cartels. 5 KEY DETAILS IN CONTROVERSIAL SENATE BORDER DEAL “The advertised reform of standards in the asylum process would not significantly prevent asylum fraud, and when coupled with the supercharged catch-and-release, would only continue the flood of asylum abuse as a means of entry into the U.S.,” they said. “Moreover, the bill would expand funding to fund sanctuary cities and the non-governmental organization’s secretive infrastructure that processes, transports, and provides services for illegal aliens in the United States,” they added. Groups on the letter include the American First Policy Institute, Numbers USA, Border 911, the Immigration Accountability Project, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and Citizens for Renewing America. It also includes former Trump officials including former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan, former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, former acting ICE Director Thomas Homan, former ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau and former Office of Management and Budget Director Ross Vought. The coalition of groups has previously shared the demand by Republicans in the House that the House border bill passed last year — H.R. 2 — must be included as part of any supplemental spending agreement. They have argued that anything that falls short of that is insufficient at a time of a historic border crisis. They also argue that President Biden currently has the authority to end the border crisis without legislation, but have argued in favor of H.R. 2 in order to “close the loopholes that have been weaponized, not because new authorities to secure the border are needed.” As it stands, they warn the package will turn the border crisis into a “political talking point.” “The only measure of the effectiveness of border security policy is whether it actually secures the border. This legislative package does not secure the border, and it will severely curtail the ability of future administrations to do so,” they said.
Kenya religious cult leader, 29 others charged with murder of 191 children
The 191 children were among the 425 victims found in the Shakahola forest in coastal Kenya last year. Kenyan cult leader Paul NthengeMackenzie and 29 associates were on Tuesday charged with the murder of 191 children whose bodies were found among hundreds of people buried in a forest. The defendants all denied the charges brought before a court in the coastal town of Malindi near the Indian Ocean. One suspect was found mentally unfit to stand trial and has been ordered to return to the Malindi High Court in a month. Prosecutors said Mackenzie ordered his followers to starve themselves and their children to death so that they could go to heaven before the world ended, in one of the world’s worst cult-related disasters in recent history. The former taxi driver turned self-proclaimed pastor has already been charged with “terrorism”, manslaughter as well as child torture and cruelty. He was arrested in April last year after bodies were found in the Shakahola forest. Autopsies revealed that the majority of the 429 victims had died of hunger. But others, including children, appeared to have been strangled, beaten, or suffocated. The case, dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre”, led the government to flag the need for tighter control of fringe denominations. A largely Christian nation, Kenya has struggled to regulate unscrupulous churches and cults that dabble in criminality. Adblock test (Why?)
Argentina president Javier Milei says plans to move embassy to Jerusalem
Javier Milei made the remarks upon his arrival to Israel, where is he set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Argentina President Javier Milei has announced plans to shift his country’s embassy to Jerusalem as he embarked on a visit to Israel. The 53-year-old economist, who upended traditional politics to win election last year, was greeted warmly by Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. Milei, on his first official visit since taking office barring a brief swing through the Davos economic forum in Switzerland, said, “My plan is to move the embassy to west Jerusalem.” Confirmation of the widely expected announcement found favour with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said he “warmly welcomes” the move. “The prime minister spoke about this with President Milei after his election, and welcomes the fact that the president has kept his promise,” a statement read. Right-winger Netanyahu and the libertarian Milei, who has been compared with former US president Donald Trump – who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, are set to meet for talks on Wednesday, with the aim of deepening ties between the two countries. After his arrival, Milei headed to the Western Wall in occupied East Jerusalem’s historic Old City, the holiest place where Jews can pray. His trip will also see him visit a kibbutz and meet families of hostages taken by the Palestinian armed group Hamas when it attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli figures. The group, which governs Gaza, seized about 240 other people as hostages. After the Hamas attack, Israel launched a devastating bombardment and ground offensive on Gaza, while severely restricting supplies of water, food and aid to the territory. The campaign has reduced much of the territory to rubble and displaced more than 80 percent of Gaza’s residents. More than 27,500 people have been killed in the Israeli assault, and more than 66,000 others have been wounded, according to Palestinian authorities. Palestinian group Hamas said it “strongly condemns” Milei’s announcement. Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, said it viewed the move “an infringement of the rights of our Palestinian people to their land, and a violation of the rules of international law, considering Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian land”. Milei, known for his fiery speeches and wild sideburns, describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist”. He was raised in a Catholic family but has studied Jewish scripture. After his election win in November, he visited the tomb of a revered rabbi in New York – a popular spiritual destination for some Jews. Argentina’s Jewish community is 250,000 strong and one of the largest in Latin America. From Israel, Milei heads to Rome on Friday for a meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and a private audience with Pope Francis. Milei has previously criticised his fellow Argentinian but toned down his rhetoric more recently. Adblock test (Why?)
Former British PM Liz Truss announces new political movement ahead of polls
Ex-PM Liz Truss unveils ‘Popular Conservatism’ movement, urges Conservative Party to shift to the political right. Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced a new movement aiming to push the ruling Conservative Party more toward the right of the political spectrum. Truss – Britain’s shortest-serving leader, who was in office for only 49 days- announced the “Popular Conservatism” movement on Tuesday alongside former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg. She said it was time to listen to voters and return to traditional conservative values on issues such as immigration, climate change and state regulation. “The fundamental issue is that for years and years and years … Conservatives have not taken on the left-wing extremists,” Truss said at the party’s launch. “And the problem is when we don’t know what we stand for, when we’re not prepared to stand up for conservative values, who is?” she asked. Truss blamed her colleagues in the party for trying to be “popular at London dinner parties” rather than defending conservative ideals and challenging “wokeism” and climate narratives. Rees-Mogg attacked human rights legislation, and railed against the “international elite”, adding that the “age of Davos man is over”. Tory Deputy Party Chairman Lee Anderson, who also attended, argued that Britons care little about hitting net-zero carbon targets. Truss’s brief stint as prime minister was marred by a damaging mini-budget that sunk the pound and affected financial markets. Since leaving office, Truss has urged the government to cut taxes, disregard net-zero commitments and increase the retirement age from its current age of 66. But she remains a deeply unpopular politician among the British public, which faces a cost-of-living crisis that economists say her budget was partly responsible for. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference in Downing Street in London on January 18, 2024 [File: Stefan Rousseau/Pool via Reuters] The Conservative Party, which has been in power for almost 14 years, is currently lagging behind the opposition Labour Party in the polls ahead of the general election later this year. The creation of a new conservative group in a party already divided over immigration and Brexit is another obstacle for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his attempts to bring his party together before the election. Last month, Truss ally MP Simon Clark urged Sunak to step down before the election. However, the new movement has said they are not calling for Sunak to be replaced as Tory leader. The director of Popular Conservatism, Mark Littlewood, said that the group had not been formed to influence the leadership of the party and wanted Sunak to lead it into the election. Adblock test (Why?)
UPI transactions not working, netizens claim several bank servers down
Many bank servers across the country were reported to have experienced outage, which impacted Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.
UAE to get its first Hindu temple: Here is all about BAPS Hindu Mandir that will be inaugurated by PM Modi on Feb 14
Spiritual leader Mahant Swami Maharaj will also attend the inauguration of the temple in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Top Senate Republican will oppose bipartisan border security package
The No. 3 Senate Republican has joined a growing chorus of GOP lawmakers opposed to a bipartisan border security and foreign aid package. Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said he will not vote for the $118 billion border and immigration deal, which would also provide aid for Israel and Ukraine. “The proposed legislation does not meet most Americans’ standard of securing our border now. It doesn’t force the Biden administration to end its abuse of current law,” said Barasso, who is up for reelection in November. “Joe Biden will never enforce any new law and refuses to use the tools he already has today to end this crisis. I cannot vote for this bill. Americans will turn to the upcoming election to end the border crisis,” he said. SEN. TIM SCOTT A ‘HADES NO’ ON SENATE BORDER, IMMIGRATION DEAL Senate negotiators released the $118 billion supplemental spending deal package late Sunday, which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel and approximately $20 billion in funding for border and immigration-related matters. It includes a new border authority to allow Title 42-style expulsions when migration levels exceed 5,000 a day over a seven-day rolling average, narrows asylum eligibility while expediting the process, provides additional work permits for asylum seekers, and funds a massive increase in staffing at the border, in the immigration courts and asylum offices. The foreign aid portion of the agreement includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel and aid for Indo-Pacific allies. But the deal faces huge backlash from conservatives, especially in the House and from Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who called it “dead on arrival.” IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS, LIBERAL SENATE DEMS TRASH BORDER DEAL OVER LACK OF AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., has also promised the Senate bill will not receive a vote in the lower chamber. Scalise oversees the schedule in the House. Senate negotiators, including Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., had worked for months to put together a border security and foreign aid agreement. Republicans had demanded that any further funding for Ukraine be tied to legislation that would address the illegal immigrant crisis at the southern border. Proponents of the bipartisan deal say it would enact tougher and quicker enforcement measures to deal with the overwhelming number of asylum-seekers crossing the border illegally. According to the legislative text, if the number of illegal border crossings reaches above 5,000 daily for a five-day average, an expulsion authority would automatically kick in so that migrants are sent back to Mexico without an opportunity to make an asylum claim. If the number reaches 4,000, presidential administrations would have the option of using the expulsion authority. But Republican critics say the 5,000 daily illegal crossings threshold is an invitation for that much illegal immigration. They also argue President Biden has the authority to secure the border now and does not need additional action from Congress. 5 KEY DETAILS IN CONTROVERSIAL SENATE BORDER DEAL Democrats have also criticized the bill for lacking a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Barasso is the second member of GOP leadership in the Senate to publicly oppose the deal. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont., declared himself a “no” vote on Monday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “I can’t support a bill that doesn’t secure the border, provides taxpayer-funded lawyers to illegal immigrants and gives billions to radical open borders groups. I’m a no,” Daines wrote. Others, including Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have said they will not support the package. “I’m a Hades no,” Scott told Fox News Digital on Monday. “I’m thankful that we are finally having a conversation about the border, but it’s the wrong one. It should be in a silo. We should be fixing and securing our southern border, and the president of the United States can do that right now,” Scott said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a vote on the package could come as early as Wednesday. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion, Jamie Joseph, Adam Shaw and Andrew Murray contributed to this report.
Johnson rips Biden’s threat to veto $17B Israel aid bill as ‘act of betrayal’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., lashed out at President Biden Monday evening after the White House threatened to veto House Republicans’ stand-alone Israel aid bill. “The President’s veto threat is an act of betrayal,” Johnson said in a statement. “Israel is at war, fighting for its very right to exist, while our brave men and women in uniform are in harm’s way on his orders to deter Iran. In threatening to veto aid to Israel and to our military forces, President Biden is abandoning our ally in its time of greatest need. I urge friends of Israel and opponents of Iran to call the President’s bluff and pass this clean aid package.” CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH TO ISRAEL AID BILL COULD FORCE JOHNSON TO SEEK DEMOCRAT SUPPORT AGAIN Johnson announced over the weekend that he intends to pass legislation to send $17.6 billion to Israel as it fights a war against Hamas. It is expected to be voted on later Tuesday, fast tracked under suspension of House rules — meaning it would bypass a procedural hurdle known as a rule vote in exchange for raising the threshold for passage to two-thirds of the chamber rather than a simple majority. The White House panned the bill as a “cynical political maneuver” made in response to the Senate’s bipartisan negotiations on security funding and border policy. GOP SENATORS RALLY AGAINST BIPARTISAN BORDER DEAL, CITING BIDEN’S POWER TO SUSPEND ‘EMERGENCY’ BILL “The Administration spent months working with a bipartisan group of Senators to reach a national security agreement that secures the border and provides support for the people of Ukraine and Israel, while also providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by conflicts around the world,” a statement from the Office of Management and Budget said. “Instead of working in good faith to address the most pressing national security challenges, this bill is another cynical political maneuver. The security of Israel should be sacred, not a political game. The Administration strongly opposes this ploy which does nothing to secure the border, does nothing to help the people of Ukraine defend themselves against [Russian President Vladimir Putin’s] aggression, fails to support the security of American synagogues, mosques, and vulnerable places of worship, and denies humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are women and children.” One of Johnson’s first acts as speaker was putting a $14.3 billion Israel aid bill on the House floor, but the funding would have been offset by money Biden allocated to the IRS. That bill passed the House with some Democratic support, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., panned it as a nonstarter. “During debate in the House and in numerous subsequent statements, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was with its offsets,” Johnson wrote on Saturday. “The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally.”
Trump meets with Ronna McDaniel – then calls for changes at Republican National Committee
As he moves closer to securing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump is getting ready to call for changes at the GOP’s national party committee. The former president met on Monday with Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, sources confirmed to Fox News. Trump wrote in his Truth Social platform following the meeting that McDaniel was a “friend” but that he would be urging changes at the RNC after the Feb. 24 South Carolina GOP presidential primary, which is the next major contest in the Republican 2024 nominating calendar. “Ronna is now Head of the RNC, and I’ll be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth,” the former president wrote. FIRST ON FOX: RNC REBOUNDS WITH STRONG FUNDRAISING MONTH In an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, Trump said of McDaniel: “I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me.” The former president pointed to McDaniel’s previous tenure as chair of the Michigan GOP. DNC OUTPACES RNC LAST YEAER IN FUNDRAAISING RACE “I think she did OK, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now, there’ll probably be some changes made,” he added. McDaniel is the longest-serving RNC chair in modern history. She was nominated by Trump soon after his presidential election victory in 2016, and she won re-election in 2019, 2021, and January of last year. While she ended up easily winning her last re-election, she faced a vocal faction of far-right detractors who viewed her as too close to the party’s establishment wing. She’s also come under plenty of criticism in recent months over the RNC’s finances. Alarms are ringing over the party’s fundraising heading into the general election. The RNC ended 2023 with just $8 million in cash on hand, less than half as much as the Democratic National Committee. But as Fox News Digital was first to report, the RNC did haul in $12 million in January, its best monthly fundraising haul in the 2024 election cycle. And Trump, who is the commanding frontrunner for the Republican nomination as he bids for the White House a third straight time, was angry at McDaniel and the RNC in recent months for holding GOP presidential primary debates, which he skipped. When she won re-election last year, McDaniel said in an interview with Fox News that it would be her last two-year term steering the national party committee. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Senate Republicans mobilize to block border bill: ‘This will not pass’
Senate Republicans are poised to obstruct the much-anticipated bipartisan border package released Sunday by negotiators, which includes heightened asylum restrictions and gives President Biden the authority to suspend the bill on an emergency basis. By Monday night, the bill appeared to be in flames as Republicans argued in a closed-door leadership meeting that they don’t have enough time to look over the text and offer amendments. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., already teed up a cloture vote on the package for Wednesday. It will need 60 votes, or three-fifths of the upper chamber, to pass. If it fails, it will take another 60 votes to restart consideration. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., a member of the appropriations committee, told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday morning that “this will not pass” and predicted there would be 40 “no” votes in the chamber. So far, 25 senators – more than half of the votes needed to filibuster it – have already vowed they would vote against the cloture motion, including three Democrats. GOP SENATORS RALLY AGAINST BIPARTISAN BORDER DEAL, CITING BIDEN’S POWER TO SUSPEND ‘EMERGENCY’ BILL “In 2023, Secretary Mayorkas is assuring us that there is no crisis, that the border is secure. And suddenly, you come into an election year, they say there’s a crisis,” Hagerty said. “They put forward this legislation, ask for more authority, more funds, and frankly, more flexibility – and they say if we don’t go for it, Republicans are now responsible for the crisis at the southern border. It’s preposterous.” Hagerty said “the way forward” if the bill fails is for the Senate to take up the House’s H.R.2 – the GOP-led bill that would restore most Trump-era and Title 42 style expulsions – which Schumer has already called a “nonstarter.” “Everyone agrees the border is a mess. For years, years, our Republican colleagues have demanded we fix the border. And all along, they said it should be done through legislation. Only recently did they change that when it looked like we might actually produce legislation,” Schumer said on the floor Monday. “Well, we are producing legislation in a bipartisan way. And now, unfortunately, many on the hard right are running, are turning their back on this package.” Lead Republican negotiator, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also indicated he is considering voting against the package even though he supports it, which House Republicans have already vowed to tank. “It’s determining if everybody had enough time to look at this,” Lankford told reporters Monday night. “Why would we force a vote on something that would kill it, to be able to force the vote now, versus give it more time and give the opportunity to be able to go through it?” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., “has read the conference” and may also vote against the cloture, Hagerty said. McConnell and Republican leaders are expected to give a press conference Tuesday afternoon after their policy lunches, where debate on the bill is expected to continue. GOP SENATORS DEMAND ‘ADEQUATE TIME’ TO REVIEW BORDER SECURITY BILL “We had a great discussion,” McConnell told Fox News Monday night. “We’ll continue discussing.” Leaving the meeting Monday night, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told reporters “it’s the sense of the room” that Senate Republicans will not vote for cloture to advance the border bill on Wednesday. He added the bill may not be “dead” but wants a full legislative process to offer amendments. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News “there’s a lot of things” he likes about the bill, but “there are things that must change for it to be the bill that we want it to be.” “I’m going to put together some ideas I have to make the bill better and insist that we take them up. So that’s where I’m at,” he said. The package – negotiated by Lankford, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., with Biden administration officials – also drew criticism from Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Tuesday. “The proposed legislation does not meet most Americans’ standard of securing our border now,” he said in a statement. “It doesn’t force the Biden administration to end its abuse of current law. It leaves in place a number of the Democrat-created incentives that are fueling the crisis.” Meanwhile, Democrat Sen. Alex Padilla, of California, who also plans to vote against cloture, argues the bill goes too far to the right, dubbing the bill a “failed Trump-era immigration policy.” “After months of a negotiating process that lacked transparency or the involvement of a single border-state Democrat or member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, it is no surprise that this border deal misses the mark,” he said in a statement. “The deal includes a new version of a failed Trump-era immigration policy that will cause more chaos at the border, not less. It is in conflict with our international treaties and obligations to provide people with the opportunity to seek asylum. It fails to address the root causes of migration. And it fails to provide relief for Dreamers, farm workers, and the other undocumented long-term residents of our country who contribute billions to our economy, work in essential jobs, and make America stronger.” SENATE RELEASES LONG-AWAITED BORDER LEGISLATION, MAJOR ASYLUM CHANGES The proposed 370-page legislation, released Sunday evening after months of negotiations, will total just over $118 billion, with 50,000 new visas. Biden’s original request amounted to around $106 billion last October. The emergency border proposal, appended to the national security supplemental package, is aimed at gaining control of an overrun asylum system that has been overwhelmed by historic numbers of migrants illegally crossing the border. The bill proposes an overhaul to the system with tougher and quicker enforcement. The bill’s provisions come into effect when there is an average of 5,000 or more daily encounters with illegal immigrants over a seven-day period or, alternatively, when a combined total of 8,500 or more aliens are encountered on any single calendar day. The calculation