State Department blasts back at ‘rogue judge’ who overturned aggressive visa crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department tore into the “rogue judge” who overturned its freeze on immigrant visas from 75 countries after she blasted the administration’s legal rationale as “an exercise in Orwellian logic.” “American taxpayer-funded public benefits belong to Americans,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital. “President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient to protect these public benefits for American citizens.” “This rogue judge’s misguided opinion wrongfully undermines the longstanding legal authority of the Secretary of State. We will keep fighting for commonsense visa policies that put America First.” U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled Friday that the State Department could not force consular officers to deny immigrant visas to otherwise eligible applicants solely because they are nationals of one of the 75 countries covered by the policy. BIDEN JUDGE OVERRULED ON KEY TRUMP IMMIGRATION POLICY Vargas, a Biden appointee who joined the Southern District of New York bench in November 2024, previously spent more than two decades as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Yale, then clerked for future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the Second Circuit. Earlier this year, Vargas temporarily blocked Department of Government Efficiency personnel from accessing sensitive Treasury payment systems, citing privacy and cybersecurity concerns. But she later narrowed that order and allowed vetted and trained DOGE employees to access the systems. Vargas found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s directive required officers to deny visas even after determining an applicant was not barred under any existing provision of immigration law. She vacated the policy and visa refusals based solely on the directive, sending those cases back for further consideration. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ORDERS GREEN CARD APPLICANTS TO LEAVE THE US, APPLY FROM THEIR HOME COUNTRIES The Immigration and Nationality Act allows consular officers to deny immigrant visas to applicants they determine are likely to become a “public charge,” meaning dependent on government assistance. Consular officers are supposed to make that assessment on an individual basis. The Trump administration has revived a more expansive approach to that screening, directing officers to weigh factors including an applicant’s age, health, finances, English proficiency and potential need for long-term medical care. TRUMP SCORES MAJOR IMMIGRATION VICTORY AS JUDGE CLEARS WAY TO END TPS PROTECTIONS FOR THOUSANDS OF SOMALIS But Vargas found that the State Department went beyond that individualized review when it directed officers to refuse immigrant visas to otherwise eligible applicants from the 75 countries simply because of their nationality. Fox News Digital first reported in January that the State Department would pause immigrant visa issuances to citizens of 75 countries, including Somalia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Russia and Iran, while it reassessed screening procedures meant to identify applicants likely to become a public charge. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The policy did not apply to tourist or other nonimmigrant visas. Affected applicants could still submit applications and attend interviews, but consular officers were directed to refuse immigrant visas under the pause. The ruling does not require the State Department to issue visas to any particular applicant. Consular officers may still deny a visa based on an individualized public-charge finding or another statutory ground of inadmissibility.
Clarence Thomas scorches racial litmus tests policing thought: ‘Stay Black and die’
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas rejected the idea that Black Americans should be expected to hold particular political views because of their race during a rare interview with Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. “We had this saying [that there are] only two things I have to do: stay Black and die,” Thomas told Cruz, responding to a comment about the conservative justice having an individualist streak. “That was a retort to people who had these sort of requirements for us, these these mandates for us because of our skin color … But at any rate, they think that here’s the way you’re supposed to think. Again, here’s your skin color. There’s this kind of deterministic view that you’re supposed to think this because we say so.” “And I, of course, declined that invitation. And so now that means that something, that I’m a walking contradiction because I’ve deviated from their perception of what I should think,” the justice added while speaking on the “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast. DEMOCRAT LAWMAKER CALLS CLARENCE THOMAS AN ‘UNCLE TOM’ AND ‘LYNCHMAN’ AFTER SUPREME COURT REDISTRICTING RULING Thomas, who is Black, grew up poor in segregated Georgia, initially living in his parents’ wooden shack in Pin Point and later in Savannah with his grandparents. As a child, Thomas was raised speaking Gullah, a creole language derived from English spoken by the descendants of African slaves. At the College of the Holy Cross, he initially embraced left-wing Black nationalism, admired Malcolm X and helped establish the school’s Black Student Union. Thomas began moving right after participating in a violent 1970 protest in Cambridge, Massachusetts, later saying his shame over the episode prompted him to reject left-wing activism and reconsider the self-reliance preached by his grandfather. CLARENCE THOMAS WARNS AMERICA: LIBERTY DIES WHEN WE CHOOSE COMFORT OVER COURAGE To further explain his point, Thomas compared efforts to dictate which ideas Black Americans should embrace to the restrictions of racial segregation. “Here’s what I’ve asked people. I said, ‘When I was a kid, the Savannah Public Library was segregated.’ I said, ‘Do you think it was right that the Savannah Public Library was segregated?’ Oh, no. You should have been able to go in,” Thomas stated. “I said, ‘What if they allowed me in but said I couldn’t go to certain floors? That would be wrong.’ I said, “What about if they said you couldn’t go to certain stacks?’ Well, that would be wrong. ‘What if they had certain books marked that were off limits to me?’ That would be wrong.” BLACK GOP CONGRESSMAN SHUTS DOWN RACE QUESTION FOLLOWING SUPREME COURT REDISTRICTING RULING “Then my question is, why is it then that you have a problem with me embracing certain ideas in certain books? What’s the difference?’ Thomas went on.
El-Sayed distances himself from Hasan Piker after disturbing remarks about Jewish Americans
Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan Abdul El-Sayed is trying to put some distance between himself and one of his top supporters, Hasan Piker, after the controversial streamer sparked a new firestorm. El-Sayed, who is facing off against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in battleground Michigan in a high-stakes Senate showdown, on Monday emphasized in a statement, “I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.” The statement from El-Sayed came after Piker, on his stream last week, featured an image of state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Moss, who is Jewish, has said that people are sharing a fake audio clip of him claiming that his entire reason for running for Congress is to make sure that America continues to support Israel. “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker warned. DEMOCRATS ‘WHO NEVER VOTED REPUBLICAN’ BACKING THIS GOP SENATE NOMINEE Piker, who endorsed El-Sayed for the Democratic nomination and appeared at some of the candidate’s campaign events including a primary night party in Detroit, has repeatedly stood by his numerous past comments critical of Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Piker’s latest comments have been blasted by a growing number of Republicans and Democrats since they grabbed attention this past weekend. Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan charged that Piker is “a hack who thrives on hate.” Rogers, in a social media post on Sunday, took aim at both Piker and El-Sayed. “More calls for violence coming out of the El-Sayed campaign,” Rogers said. And he claimed, “Here is his running mate, Hasan Piker, saying that if AMERICAN JEWS support Israel, they will be violently targeted because of it.” Rogers added, “Absolutely DISGUSTING. If Abdul El-Sayed had any courage at all, he would call this out and disavow Hasan Piker once and for all. We’re waiting, Abdul…” DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB El-Sayed, in his statement, wrote, “I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate for what they believe without fear of violence. This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past.” “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters. Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk,” he added. In an apparent jab at Rogers and other Republicans who have repeatedly tied El-Sayed to Piker, the Democratic nominee wrote that “while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we’re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools, and healthcare. Because that’s what Michiganders keep asking about.’ Responding, Rogers on Monday afternoon argued, “Abdul’s attempt at distancing himself from this violent and hateful rhetoric now that he and Hasan won the primary is the epitome of what a conman does — says one thing when it serves him and another when it doesn’t. His rhetoric is causing fear in Michigan communities, is un-American, and makes him unfit to represent our state.” A former Wayne County Health Department director, El-Sayed, if elected in November, would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator. The epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018 has made support for Medicare for all a major component of his campaign and has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN MICHIGAN’S BLOCKBUSTER SENATE RACE But it’s El-Sayed’s stance and comments on Israel that have offended some Jewish people in Michigan, a state that also has a large Arab and Muslim population. El-Sayed used the word “bloodthirsty” to characterize Israel’s military moves in Gaza in an MS NOW interview this month and accused Israeli leadership of genocide against Palestinians. He has argued against unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, as have other progressive politicians. And El-Sayed has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has the right to exist. But El-Sayed has also repeatedly stated that he stands “in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers” to “condemn antisemitism.” After falling just 20,000 votes shy of winning the U.S. Senate election in Michigan two years ago, Rogers is urging Democrats, including Jewish voters, to cross party lines and vote for him as he makes a second straight Senate bid. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES SHOW After a combustible and divisive Democratic Senate primary in which El-Sayed narrowly edged more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens for the nomination, Rogers is heavily courting Democrats disaffected with their left-wing nominee. A key part of Rogers’ pitch is directed toward Jewish Democrats, who are uneasy with El–Sayed’s vocal criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and who are outraged by El-Sayed’s association with Piker. “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m going to be voting for Mike Rogers,” Rabbi Asher Lopatin said as he stood next to Rogers late last week as the former congressman and former FBI agent unveiled his Democrats for Mike coalition at a campaign event on Detroit’s west side. Lopatin, a rabbi in suburban Detroit who has made trips to the Middle East in search of peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, argued that El-Sayed “has shown contempt for the Jewish community and, frankly, for American values by making Hasan Piker, a vicious antisemite and racist, his campaign surrogate and somebody he buddies up with.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Meanwhile, some Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the Great Lakes battleground state to sign their names in support of Rogers. The news was first reported this
As India-US trade deal nears, why Canada-US trade breakdown is a warning for New Delhi
The collapse of US-Canada trade talks serves as a warning for India that tariff concessions can come with demands affecting strategic and regulatory autonomy. Here’s what experts suggest.
Delhi-NCR Weather Update: IMD issues red alert for parts of National Capital, warns of heavy rain, lightning for next 2 hours
According to the map, several other parts of Delhi are under red warning, while nearby areas are on orange alert. Red-warning areas include large swathes of eastern and southern Delhi, while orange-alert covers parts of western and central Delhi.
JPSC Exam Row: Supreme Court seeks Centre, Jharkhand Govt response on CBI probe plea
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard the plea filed by social worker Haroshara Devgan. Know what the apex court said.
Manipur ‘No NRC, No Census’ Protest: What are demands behind massive torch rally?
A large number of activists continued to demand that the census exercise should not be conducted until the NRC is updated and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are resettled.
Harbhajan Singh stuns Punjab govt with political ‘doosra’ as police confirm viral drugs video to be genuine
The crickter-turned-politician had shared a video posted on X by BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu and took a dig at critics, saying that “paid trolls” would now even claim that the Jagraon bridge is in Rajasthan.
Delhi-NCR Rains: 15 flights diverted, over 50 delayed as heavy showers, thunderstorms hit city; Airlines issue advisory
Intense showers triggered waterlogging and traffic congestion in Delhi, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded a red alert for heavy rain in several districts and a yellow alert for moderate rain in others.
MEA clarifies Sergio Gor’s ‘no media questions’ remark on Modi-Trump meeting
The government sources said that discussions regarding arrangements for public appearances of leaders are normal practice ahead of any VVIP visit, and in this regard, the Indian side communicated its standard practice for such visits.