Jasmine Crockett defends her security guard who was killed in police standoff, wanted for impersonating cop
The man who worked security for Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, but was killed in a standoff with SWAT last week was accused of impersonating a police officer and other offenses, although the congresswoman is defending him, saying his criminal history does not include any violent offenses. The suspect, who was identified as Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39, was shot and killed by Dallas Police SWAT officers on Wednesday. He had barricaded himself inside a vehicle in the garage of a children’s hospital after Dallas Police officers tracked him while investigating an active warrant. Police deployed tear gas to force him out before the suspect exited the vehicle and pointed a gun at officers, leading officers to shoot him. The suspect did not fire his gun, and no officers were injured. Dash camera footage of the incident at Children’s Medical Center Dallas was released on Monday. JASMINE CROCKETT’S ALLEGED SECURITY GUARD KILLED IN STANDOFF WITH DALLAS SWAT TEAM: REPORTS He was wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer and had claimed to be one while recruiting for his business that placed off-duty officers in security jobs. Robinson was driving a replica undercover car with stolen U.S. government plates, often wore fake police uniforms pretending he was a federal agent and created a fraudulent business where he used fake identifying information to hire legitimate police officers for off-duty jobs. Dallas Police also said 11 firearms were recovered during their investigation, including the handgun he was holding during the shooting, which was reported stolen. He was also not using his real name, going by the alias “Mike King.” “The agencies that he reported to work for do not exist. So dignitaries, basically special dignitary police, that agency does not exist within the federal government. So that’s who he portrayed to be. There was no actual federal agency that he worked for that existed. He was very good at hiding his true identity … He had been living like this for many years,” Dallas Deputy Police Chief William Griffith said on Monday. Robinson has a lengthy criminal history, with arrests going back as far as 2010. He has been charged with offenses such as theft and violating probation. Crockett came to the defense of her former security guard, releasing a statement on Monday saying her office was unable to find any violent offenses in his “limited criminal history.” “We are saddened and shocked by some of the concerning revelations. Our team followed all protocols outlined by the House to contract additional security. We were approved to use this vendor who also provided security services for additional entities in the local community and worked closely with law enforcement agencies including Capitol Police,” she said in the statement. The congresswoman said, “the fact that an individual was able to somehow circumvent the vetting processes for something as sensitive as security for members of Congress highlights the loopholes and shortcomings in many of our systems.” JASMINE CROCKETT CAMPAIGN REPORTEDLY KICKED ATLANTIC WRITER OUT OF RALLY FOR BEING A ‘TOP-NOTCH HATER’ “This is incredibly alarming, especially for those members who receive high volumes of credible and sophisticated death threats,” she said. “This situation reiterates the need for Capitol Police to provide security for members of Congress, especially under this administration’s new normal of inciting attacks on those who dare to speak out. We are fortunate that this is someone who used those loopholes without malice. Furthermore, after an initial review of the limited criminal history of Diamon Mazairre Robinson in Dallas County, we’ve been unable to locate any violent offenses.” The progressive lawmaker added that “there was never any reason to suspect that he wasn’t who he held himself out to be,” saying he never endangered her team, worked diligently, coordinated with local law enforcement and maintained positive relationships throughout the community.” “What we’re now learning about his past doesn’t fit the person we came to know as Mike King,” she wrote. “His death evokes a range of emotions. Our hearts grieve the loss of someone we knew and the lost good that could have come from his redemption.”
Trump questions Newsom’s fitness for White House, citing his dyslexia
President Donald Trump on Monday questioned California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fitness for higher office, citing his learning disability. Trump was speaking with reporters in the Oval Office when he talked about requiring identification to vote in elections and the resistance from Newsom and other Democratic elected officials. “That’s how crazy it’s gotten with a low IQ person, you know, because Gavin Newsom has admitted…that he has learning disabilities,” Trump said. “Honestly, I’m all for people with learning disabilities. But not for my president…I think a president should not have learning disabilities.” GAVIN NEWSOM SPOX TELLS REPORTER ‘F— OFF’ WHEN ASKED FOR RECORDS OF HIS DYSLEXIA DIAGNOSIS “I know it’s highly controversial to say such a horrible thing,” he added. “Gavin Newsom admitted that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia. Everything about him is dumb.” Newsom, who is widely believed to have White House ambitions, has spoken about his dyslexia, a neurologically-based learning disability that makes it difficult to read, according to the International Dyslexia Association. “You’ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech,” Newsom said in Atlanta last month while promoting his memoir: “Young Man in a Hurry.” “I haven’t overcome dyslexia. I’m living with it.” Trump also criticized Newsom for his remarks at that same Atlanta event. “I’m not, you know, I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, I’m like you. I’m no better than you,” Newsom told Mayor Andre Dickens at a book tour event. NEWSOM RIPPED FOR ‘RACIST’ VIRAL CLIP TELLING BLACK MAYOR ‘I’M LIKE YOU’ BEFORE TOUTING POOR SAT SCORE “You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy. And, you know, and I’m not trying to offend anyone, you know, ‘trying to act all there if you got 940,’” he continued. “Literally a 960 SAT guy, you’ve never seen me read a speech. Because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.” Republicans criticized the governor for allegedly talking down to a mostly Black audience. “So now, on top of everything else, I call him a racist because it happened to be a black audience,” Trump said Monday. “I will tell you this, I think it was the worst interview I’ve ever seen of any human being in my life.” At the time, Newsom’s office defended his comments in a previous statement to Fox News Digital. “First MAGA mocked his dyslexia and now they’re calling him racist for talking about his low SAT scores. This is MAGA-manufactured outrage,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said. “The Governor has said this publicly for years — including with Charlie Kirk and dozens of other audiences. The same people who excused or ignored Trump’s racist ape video can go f— themselves.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office.
Trump lawyer in Jack Smith case draws conservative backing after DOJ praise rattles ‘elite’ legal conference
President Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer received swift backing from conservative legal figures online after facing pushback at a recent American Bar Association (ABA) conference for praising the Trump Department of Justice. Attorney John Lauro, who defended Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election case, said the DOJ was “in a better place” under Trump, causing fellow panelists and audience members to shudder, according to a Bloomberg Law report of the event. Lauro told Fox News Digital in a brief phone call on Monday that the event “was a highly triggered environment.” “I called out the ABA and other elite legal organizations for not condemning the prior administration in holding political sham trials and show trials, particularly the one directed at President Trump, where the Biden administration wanted to put him on trial in 90 days, which is shorter than it takes for a traffic ticket to get worked through in D.C.,” Lauro said. LABOR DEPARTMENT ORDERS LAWYERS TO CUT TIES WITH ABA, SLAMS GROUP AS ‘RADICAL’ ACTIVIST FORCE The tense panel put a spotlight on the Trump administration’s ongoing fight with the ABA as it spurred DOJ officials and lawyers to voice their disdain for the organization. “The ABA is trash and I’m proud to never have been a member,” Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said. “Its stunt trashing Judge [Robert] Bork did it for me.” “As if we needed anymore proof of the absolute disgrace that is the ABA,” wrote Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana. “John Lauro, one of the best trial attorneys in the country and patriot, treated terribly for simply daring to voice a view contrary to the liberal white collar bar.” Lauro said during the panel, held at a conference in San Diego, that he had “the unique experience of representing a political figure who was probably more abused by the criminal justice system in America than any other political figure ever.” “Everything that has gone on in the current administration must be looked at from the eyes of a man who was victimized by the criminal justice system,” Lauro said. Among those rallying behind Lauro was also Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan, who said the ABA “represents a hyperpartisan faction.” “That’s fine! But they should play no role in law school accreditation (or judicial selection),” Wessan said. Former DOJ official Jeff Clark, an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 2020 election case, called Lauro “a bold man of principle.” WHO ARE THE 6 CO-CONSPIRATORS NAMED IN TRUMP’S JAN. 6 INDICTMENT? HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW Another social media user, an anonymous Georgia-based legal commentator, said that while he disagreed with Lauro’s comments, he was “jealous” that Lauro “had the opportunity to tell a room of the type of haughty, effete defense lawyers who hang around at ABA conferences to go f— themselves. He should have taken it.” Lauro’s remarks had elicited pushback from participants. Nancy Gertner, a Harvard University law professor and retired federal judge, responded that any issues surrounding Trump’s prosecutions did not “justify the fracture of American democracy.” Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner said: “I wanted to thank Mr. Lauro for admitting the emperor has no clothes. The rule of law is dead because the people in this room and the Department of Justice pissed off President Trump.” “I can’t believe that you think that that’s normal or good that one person can dictate who the Department of Justice investigates and indicts,” lawyer and panel moderator Sandy Weinberg said. Republicans have long argued the ABA promotes Democrat-aligned viewpoints and that its institutional presence in the legal world is a disadvantage to conservatives. The ABA’s website showcases work that includes support for “LGBTQ+” initiatives, abortion access, stricter gun control measures, and diversity, equity and inclusion. The ABA has also taken a stance against Trump, condemning what its president described as the administration’s “wide-scale affronts to the rule of law.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IT WILL NO LONGER COMPLY WITH RATINGS FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES The ABA has for decades wielded enormous power, weighing in on nominations of federal judges, engaging in litigation and helping firms across the legal industry with recruitment. One arm of the ABA also handles law school accreditation. Under Trump, several departments and agencies, including the DOJ and Department of Labor, have told political appointees they cannot affiliate with the ABA in their official capacity. The DOJ, meanwhile, moved to terminate more than $3 million in federal grants to ABA programs, though a judge ruled the move was unconstitutional. Attorney General Pam Bondi told the ABA last year that the DOJ would not give advanced notice to the organization about judicial nominees, a reversal of a decades-long practice of allowing the organization to rate the nominees before they advance in the Senate. Fox News Digital reached out to the ABA for comment.
Cornyn clashes with progressive Rep Greg Casar in heated airport face-off over DHS shutdown
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, got into a heated exchange Monday afternoon over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding after the progressive lawmaker attempted to interrupt the senator’s news conference. “Why don’t you tell the Democrats to vote to pay these poor people,” Cornyn told Casar, referring to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees who missed their first full paychecks due to the shutdown on Friday. “Let’s do it,” Casar, chair of the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus, responded. “No, you do it,” Cornyn shot back. “I’ve voted for it time and time again.” SCHIFF, BOOKER DEFLECT ON SHUTDOWN BLAME AMID TERROR CONCERNS, THOUSANDS OF DHS WORKERS WITHOUT PAY The shouting match comes as the DHS shutdown entered its fifth week Monday, with negotiations to end the stalemate appearing to stall in recent weeks. Senate Democrats near unanimously blocked a Republican effort Thursday to fully fund the agency, citing opposition to spending measures that do not rein in immigration enforcement. Cornyn, who is vying against Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-Texas, in a runoff election for a fifth Senate term, held a news conference outside the Austin airport on Monday to protest Democrats’ refusal to fully fund DHS. Casar, who represents the Austin area, crashed the event before Cornyn arrived. The airport is currently advising passengers to arrive at least 2.5 hours before departure due to a shortage of TSA workers. Cornyn also brought lunch to TSA employees who are reporting to work without pay — a gesture that Casar criticized. “Instead of bringing people burgers, he should bring them their paychecks,” Casar told reporters in response to the Whataburger haul following the altercation. Casar, however, has repeatedly voted against a full-year DHS appropriations bill that would fund the salaries of TSA employees through the end of September. The Texas Democrat has instead pushed for a standalone measure to fund TSA while leaving the immigration enforcement-related functions of DHS without funding. Republicans have characterized that proposal as a nonstarter, arguing that every individual employed by DHS — including those working for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — should be paid. House Democrats are expected to force a vote as early as this week on legislation that would fund the non-immigration portions of DHS. SWALWELL PRESSED ON DEMOCRATS’ RESISTANCE TO FULLY FUNDING DHS AMID IRAN THREAT Roughly 300 TSA officers have resigned and absences have more than doubled since the shutdown began, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday. The departures come after many TSA employees — who often live paycheck to paycheck — were also required to work without pay during a 45-day shutdown in fall 2025. “At some point, when you’re not getting your paycheck, people are going to have to look for ways to support their families, which means they’ll be leaving the TSA for other employment,” Cornyn said Monday. “And that’s unacceptable.” Lawmakers are guaranteed their pay under the Constitution, though some members of Congress have deferred their salaries in solidarity with federal employees. Cornyn also excoriated Casar for declining to back a full-year DHS funding bill after a terrorist shooting at an Austin bar left the city reeling. The country has also seen terror-related attacks in New York City, Norfolk, Va., and West Bloomfield, Mich., over the past week. “How about all the terrorist attacks like we’ve seen down on Sixth Street?” Cornyn told Casar. “You want those to continue? These people are keeping us safe. Tell the Democrats to vote for funding the DHS.” Fox News Digital reached out to Casar’s office for comment.
Trump Kennedy Center’s board votes unanimously to approve $257M renovations and two-year closure
Plans to shutter the Trump Kennedy Center were made official through a board of trustees vote on Monday afternoon, setting up a two-year renovation process that some Democratic lawmakers believe should have required more congressional input. The board unanimously approved the changes, according to a source familiar with the vote. The source also said the board had set July 6 as the official closure date, installed Matt Floca, the center’s vice president of facilities operations, as the new president of the Trump Kennedy Center and ended its exclusive affiliation with the Washington Opera. The overhaul will include fixes to the building’s heating, ventilating, air-conditioning systems and elevators, among other structural renovations, according to plans for the project submitted to Congress. BOARD VOTES KENNEDY CENTER TO BE RENAMED ‘TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER,’ LEAVITT SAYS Allocations for the project, set aside in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, are set to cost $257 million. Last year, Trump installed a hand-picked set of board members, leading Democratic critics to condemn the center’s management and its renovation as direct control from the White House. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., an ex officio member of the board, blasted Monday’s vote, arguing the renovations were made unilaterally. “Unfortunately, recent actions by the president and certain board members have treated the center like a personal vanity project, including firing career management staff, removing trustees and sidelining ex officio members who are meant to provide congressional oversight,” Warner said on Monday. GRAMMY WINNER ACCUSED OF CAVING TO ‘WOKE MOB’ AFTER KENNEDY CENTER CANCELLATION Ex officio members provide lawmakers input on the management of the Kennedy Center. Ric Grenell, the now-former Kennedy Center president, pushed back on characterizations from Democrats, stating that lawmakers have had multiple opportunities to speak into the process. EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP-LED KENNEDY CENTER NEARLY DOUBLES FUNDRAISING FROM BIDEN ERA, SMASHING RECORD WITH $23M HAUL “We gave all that information to Congress. It was in the Big Beautiful Bill. We didn’t just come up with the $257 million number. We actually gave them specifics as to what needed to be fixed,” Grenell said. “My reaction is — last summer we gave you this information, you could have joined any number of the tours we were giving to members of Congress.” Earlier this year, President Donald Trump framed the renovations as key restorations. “Subject to board approval, I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of success, beauty, and grandeur, is to cease entertainment operations for an approximately two-year period of time,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in February. Trump promised the center would return with a “grand reopening” after the renovations are complete.
Mexican illegal alien allegedly used Roblox currency to solicit explicit content from kids under 10
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an arrest detainer request for a Mexican illegal migrant who was charged with soliciting sexual content from children under 10 years old. Angel David Rubio Marin allegedly used “Robux,” the currency used in the Roblox video game platform, to entice children to send him sexually explicit videos and images of at least three young children under 10 years old. He was arrested in Prince William County, VA. Rubio Marin was previously charged with two counts of public masturbation, but was released in Virginia prior to the current charges, according to DHS. “This sicko preyed on innocent children by offering to pay them in a video game currency in exchange for child pornography,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital in a statement. ”This illegal alien was RELEASED from jail after an arrest for public masturbation. This case is a perfect example of why we need state and local cooperation with ICE.” SANCTUARY POLICIES LET ALLEGED CHILD PREDATOR ROAM FREE UNTIL DHS MADE PORTLAND, OREGON, AIRPORT ARREST “We are calling on Virginia sanctuary politicians and Governor Spanberger to commit to not releasing this child predator back into Virginia neighborhoods,” Bis added. “No one wants this pedophile loose on American streets.” Roblox is an online video game where users interact via chat. Robux is an in-game currency where players can purchase accessories and items for their character. The game is popular among young children. Roblox made clear that the platform’s filters make it impossible for users to share images or videos through in-game chat. ICE NABS IRANIAN NATIONAL WITH RAPE, SODOMY CONVICTIONS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO CURB COOPERATION Rubio Martin entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown place and time, according to DHS. The department was quick to bash Democratic Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, who ended cooperation with state agencies and federal immigration authorities through an executive directive in February shortly after her inauguration. In a statement issued after signing the directive, she argued that requiring state and local officers to take on federal immigration duties diverts them from their primary responsibilities of enforcing Virginia law and investigating crimes. According to Spanberger, shifting those duties can damage relationships between police and residents and create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust that ultimately makes it more difficult for officers to effectively do their jobs. The directive also reverses the 287(g) program adopted under former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. That policy allowed certain local law enforcement officers to carry out limited immigration enforcement responsibilities under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including helping ensure criminal illegal migrants were not released back into communities and identifying illegal migrants already being held in local jails. Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s office but has not yet heard back.
Reporter’s Notebook: GOP weighs ‘nuking’ filibuster to pass Trump’s SAVE Act
You’ll hear volumes from congressional Republicans about the importance of passing the SAVE America Act in the coming days. The bill requires proof of citizenship to vote. “We need to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in America,” said Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. “The SAVE America Act is an important bill,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Fox News. “So we’ve got to figure out how to get it passed.” TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL FACES GOP RESISTANCE AS TILLIS VOWS TO STOP IT And that is the conundrum facing Senate Republicans — figuring out how to get it passed. The SAVE America Act is the touchstone of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. In fact, the president warned he wouldn’t sign any other bill into law — except perhaps a DHS funding measure — until Congress aligns with his demands. Republicans agree on the importance of the SAVE America Act, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. is promising everything but passage. “I will be bringing the SAVE America Act to the floor, and we will be having a full and robust debate,” said Thune. That’s because Republicans can’t break a Democratic filibuster. “This is one of the worst things we’ve seen in America in a very long time,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. SCHUMER SWINGS AT HEGSETH OVER KING CRAB MEALS FOR THE TROOPS, BUT BIDEN-ERA RECEIPTS SHOW SIMILAR TAB “The real reason this president wants this bill to pass is to reduce the number of people voting in the November election,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. It takes 60 votes to break a filibuster. Republicans only have 53 votes in the Senate. So some Republicans advocate parliamentary ballistics to obliterate the filibuster. “I would nuke the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. Cold War rhetoric permeates this entire debate. In fact, conservatives implored Thune to launch a pre-emptive first strike to terminate the filibuster before Democrats again win control of the Senate — be it this fall or a decade from now. “It’s really about the only way I can see preventing them from nuking the filibuster once they gain the majority in the Senate,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Other Republicans want to force Democrats to filibuster the old-fashioned way — until they’re exhausted. “They should have to go hold the floor like it used to be in the old days. They can go and talk as much as they want. But sooner or later they’re going to run out of time,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. If everyone finally fades after days or weeks of debate, then the Senate doesn’t need a test vote to break a filibuster — needing 60 yeas. That means they can pass the bill with a simple majority: 51. Lots of Republican senators are now invoking the 1930s Frank Capra classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” That’s where Jimmy Stewart plays an idealistic senator who filibusters until he collapses in the Senate chamber. “They should have to go out there, hours on end, like a Jimmy Stewart moment,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. But most Republicans reject the Jimmy Stewart approach. They’re not so much worried about unlimited debate during a talking filibuster, but the unlimited amendment process. “The talking filibuster, I think will be a goat rodeo. I mean, it could take two or three weeks. The Democrats will tee up all kinds of problematic votes,” predicted a skeptical Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. “I haven’t had anybody describe to me the project plan. Here are the number of days. This is how we counter people. We’ve got all of our political flanks covered. And this is how we succeed at the end.” But there won’t be an unlimited amendment process. While Thune will allow the debate to go on for a while (Fox is told perhaps a week or more, perhaps around the clock), he will maintain “ball control.” Thune won’t immediately tee up a test vote to end debate, needing 60 yeas. But Thune will immediately block all amendments from both sides. Like everything on Capitol Hill, it’s about the math. And while there will be a lot of talking about the SAVE Act and the talking filibuster, there’s not enough support on the GOP side of the aisle to unspool the Senate’s filibuster rules and precedents. “Many of us don’t believe that we should undo the filibuster because it holds the rights of the majority. And one day we’ll be back in the minority,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “It’s a real splitter here.” Capito added that there was a “will” to deal with the SAVE America Act. But the parliamentary machinations it would take to blow up the filibuster to pass the bill do not exist. “There’s not enough numbers to get it done,” observed Capito. Trump and other conservatives are starting to dial up pressure on Thune. THUNE GUARANTEES VOTER ID BILL TO HIT THE SENATE DESPITE SCHUMER, DEM OPPOSITION: ‘WE WILL HAVE A VOTE’ “I think he’s a wonderful person. I do,” the president said of the South Dakota Republican on Fox News Radio. “But it’s not that he doesn’t want to do it. He doesn’t think he can do it. And that’s bad.” Despite criticism directed at Thune, some Republicans are defending him. “It’s not John Thune that’s killing it. It’s members of the Republican Party that are not convinced that a talking filibuster can be used to pass this,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. “It will be an infliction of tremendous delays on other matters before the U.S. Senate without the positive results of passage of the SAVE Act.” It’s significant that the president has not called out Thune over his reluctance to end the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act. However, Trump routinely demanded that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., do just that during his first term. The president often lambasted McConnell’s stewardship of the
Supreme Court to hear Trump challenge to protected status for Syrian, Haitian nationals in US
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will review the Trump administration’s effort to revoke temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants living in the U.S. — a significant update that comes as the president looks to deliver on his hardline immigration enforcement promises in his second White House term. Justices on the high court let stand, for now, a pair of lower court orders that blocked the Trump administration from immediately halting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for the Syrian and Haitian migrants. The Supreme Court did agree to review the consolidated cases on an expedited basis, and said Monday that it will hear oral arguments in both cases next month. A ruling is expected by late June. SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP The news comes as the Trump administration has moved to end the TPS designation for migrants from roughly half a dozen countries, including some 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S. under the program. The TPS program allows individuals from certain countries to live and work in the U.S. legally if they cannot work safely in their home country due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” Last week, Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the high court to intervene and stay a lower court order from U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes that blocked the administration’s effort to immediately revoke temporary protected status designations for Haitian migrants. BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S ‘THIRD COUNTRY’ DEPORTATION POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL Sauer urged the high court to take up the broader issue of whether the Trump administration can revoke TPS protections for other migrants living in the U.S. — citing the Justice Department’s appeal of a similar case centered on TPS protections for Syrian migrants that was kicked to the high court earlier this year. “Unless the court resolves the merits of these challenges — issues that have now been ventilated in courts nationwide — this unsustainable cycle will repeat again and again, spawning more competing rulings and competing views of what to make of this court’s interim orders,” Sauer said last week. “This court should break that cycle.” Haitians were first granted TPS status in 2010 after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left some 1.5 million in the country homeless. The protections were extended several times, including under the Biden administration in 2021 after the July assassination of Jovenel Moïse, Haiti’s last democratically elected president. The appeal comes as the Trump administration has sought to wind down most TPS designations, arguing the programs have been extended for too long under Democratic presidents. Trump officials have also taken aim at lower courts that have sought to block or pause their efforts to wind down TPS protections, accusing the lower court judges of exceeding their authority and unlawfully intruding on the executive branch’s authority on immigration policy.
TSA pay bill unveiled as shutdown leaves agents unpaid, strains airport security
FIRST ON FOX: A House GOP lawmaker is unveiling new legislation aimed at easing airport chaos that’s hitting travelers across the country during the ongoing partial government shutdown. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., introduced a bill on Monday to ensure Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers are paid during shutdowns by creating a Transportation Security Trust Fund to help operations and personnel wherever needed. It would be funded by the Aviation Passenger Security Fee, also called the 9/11 passenger security fee in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. It’s a small cost collected by airlines — $5.60 for a one-way trip and up to $11.20 for a round-trip — for flights that originate in the U.S. and is meant to go toward passenger security. Langworthy’s proposal comes days after TSA agents missed their first full paychecks of the shutdown, which has now gone on roughly a month with no end in sight. ‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER While they are entitled to back pay when the shutdown is over, the lack of a consistent paycheck and uncertainty over its duration have forced scores of TSA agents to call out sick and look for other ways to earn income to pay bills and feed their families. Travelers in places like Louisiana and Texas have been asked to arrive hours early for flights to accommodate longer wait times for security. Delays have also been exacerbated by bad weather in parts of the country, including up and down the East Coast. HOMELAND SECURITY REACTIVATES MAJOR GLOBAL ENTRY PROGRAM FOR TRAVELERS AMID SHUTDOWN “This is now the third time in just six months that TSA agents have been forced to work without receiving a paycheck,” Langworthy told Fox News Digital. “Morale and recruitment are taking a profound hit, and we’ve already lost more than 300 agents, putting the agency’s mission at grave risk.” He said his bill “will help ensure that our hardworking agents get paid, and that we retain the vigilant, professional workforce necessary to protect the traveling public.” “Doing nothing is a national security crisis waiting to happen,” Langworthy warned. Democrats walked away from bipartisan funding negotiations earlier this year after Congress passed federal budgets for all aspects of the federal government except for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Democratic leaders are protesting the Trump administration’s handling of illegal immigration and withholding support from any spending bill that funds Trump’s crackdown, turning down multiple compromise offers for guardrails from the White House. DHS oversees a wide variety of federal agencies, including the TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Secret Service, and others. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced Monday that Democrats would try to force a vote on funding all of DHS except for immigration-related agencies — likely a nonstarter for Republicans. The standoff has seen new significance as more and more TSA agents are forced to choose between working without pay and finding second jobs to make ends meet. Concerns have also been exacerbated by the U.S. and Israel’s operation in Iran, which has raised the national security threat level within the country.
DHS nabs Afghan man admitted under Biden after conviction for exposing himself to minor
FIRST ON FOX: An Afghan national let into the country during the Biden administration has been arrested by the Department of Homeland Security following a conviction for indecent exposure to a minor. Basir Ahmad Safi, who is in his 30s, was arrested by DHS on March 11, according to the agency. Before his conviction for indecent exposure to a minor, Safi was charged with lewd or lascivious exhibition, soliciting a child via computer, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and child abuse. He was admitted to the country in 2021 under former President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” according to the agency. Two years later, in September 2023, Safi was arrested in Florida by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on those charges. In an emailed statement to Fox News Digital, DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis slammed the Biden administration for having allowed “this unvetted Afghan pedophile” in the U.S. ANGEL MOM WHOSE 13-YEAR-OLD SON WAS EXECUTED BY ILLEGAL GANG MEMBER URGES INCOMING DHS CHIEF TO ACT “He should NEVER have been allowed into our country or given the opportunity to prey on innocent children,” wrote Bis. DHS said Safi was arrested as part of a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations Jacksonville and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. By the time of his arrest, Safi’s status had been revoked, and he was unlawfully residing in the U.S., DHS said. Safi is being held in ICE custody pending removal. This comes after Rahmanullah Lakanwal, another Afghan national allowed into the country under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, shot two U.S. National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. One of the service members, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of the West Virginia National Guard, died from her injuries. The other, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded but survived. GOP LAWMAKERS WOULD STRIP CITIZENSHIP FROM TERRORISTS AFTER ATTACKS TIED TO NATURALIZED CITIZENS According to DHS, the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome relied on “unvetted referrals” to allow nearly 190,000 Afghan nationals into the country. The agency said those admitted into the U.S. included terrorists, sexual predators, pedophiles, domestic abusers and kidnappers DHS said that “understanding this massive threat to American national security,” President Donald Trump halted Biden’s Afghan refugee resettlement program almost immediately after returning to the Oval Office. Months later, Trump suspended the entry of all Afghan nationals into the U.S. ICE BUSTS HUMAN SMUGGLING RING THAT KIDNAPPED FAMILY, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED PREGNANT WOMAN Bis said that “under President Trump’s leadership, DHS has been focused on identifying, arresting, and removing public safety threats like Basir Ahmad Safi from our country.” A spokesperson for former President Biden did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.