Is REAL ID really necessary? What authorities are saying
The Department of Homeland Security in May will begin implementing REAL ID requirements for U.S. travelers for the first time, a move that comes as the administration looks to act on some of President Donald Trump’s top policy priorities, including its crackdown on illegal immigration and border security. The enhanced ID requirements are slated to take effect May 7 and will apply to all U.S. travelers over the age of 18. The law establishing REAL IDs isn’t new: Congress first passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 in an effort to crack down on identity verification in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and set “minimum security standards” for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. But after 20 years of slow-walking the law’s enforcement, the abrupt timing of the May 7 enforcement is likely to catch many Americans flat-footed. Just how necessary is obtaining a “REAL ID”? We broke down the changes coming next month and what’s at stake for those who don’t comply. Here’s what you need to know in the final weeks before the new rules take force. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS IN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CASE Beginning May 7, all federal agencies, including DHS and TSA, are required to accept only state-issued driver’s licenses and state identification cards that comply with the updated identity verification standards. The goal of the REAL ID Act is “to make state driver’s licenses and ID cards (which are identification cards that states issue to non-drivers) more secure, less susceptible to fraud, and more reliable as a form of identification,” Magdalena Krajewska, an associate political science professor, wrote in a 2020 article for the Oxford Academic. (The government has for years tried to stand up the REAL ID requirements, most recently in the months before the COVID-19 pandemic.) The law seeks to add another layer of security to various forms of identification and to make it harder to counterfeit state IDs. FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS HALT TO TRUMP ADMIN’S CFPB TERMINATIONS The short answer: It depends. In order to obtain this enhanced form of ID, individuals must present to their local DMV valid proof of identity; proof of their Social Security number and date of birth, and two additional documents that prove they live in the state. This varies from state to state, though updated guidance can be found here. The good news is that individuals can obtain one of the enhanced IDs at any time. All 50 states, D.C., and five U.S. territories are now issuing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards, according to the DHS. The REAL ID requirements are a “coordinated effort by the federal government to improve the reliability and accuracy of driver’s licenses and identification cards for individuals across the federal government,” Bart Johnson, TSA’s federal security director for upstate New York, told reporters this month. Every adult in the U.S., if they want to travel by plane or enter government facilities. “Every air traveler 18 years of age and older must have a REAL ID-compliant ID, which is a state-issued driver’s license, state-issued identification card, or another acceptable form of ID, such as a U.S. passport” before the May 7 deadline, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. Though the other IDs are not rendered obsolete, the TSA said Americans will need to present these new IDs every time they board a commercial flight, even when traveling on a domestic trip. They will also need this updated ID to access federal facilities or be granted access to federal buildings. No, not everyone needs to get a new ID. In fact, certain states have required REAL ID verification from residents for years, meaning individuals living in those states and with active forms of identification need not hustle to the local DMV. Enhanced and “REAL ID-compliant” identification cards are marked with a seal, often a star in the top right-hand corner, according to DHS. The abrupt enforcement timeline could catch many Americans flat-footed, especially ahead of what is predicted to be a busy summer travel season. While legacy IDs are still valid for travel, including driving, airline passengers who present noncompliant forms of ID before boarding, and without another acceptable alternative, such as a passport, “can expect to face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint,” DHS officials said.
Jackson, Mississippi, mayor facing federal bribery charges trails challenger in mayoral election results
The federally indicted mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, is trailing his opponent in the city’s Democratic primary runoff. Unofficial vote totals show state Sen. John Horhn leading two-term Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba 18,493 to 6,246, according to the city clerk’s office. Although absentee votes have not yet been counted, Horhn declared victory in the race. Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens II and Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks are facing charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department announced last November. All three have pleaded not guilty. An indictment alleged the three Democrats accepted payments, including $50,000 for the mayor’s reelection campaign, from two people they thought were real estate developers looking to build a hotel near the city’s downtown convention center. It turns out they worked for the FBI. ‘MISSISSIPPI MUSK’: STATE AUDITOR’S MOGE REPORT FINDS $400 MILLION IN GOVERNMENT WASTE “Residents have been, you know, told a narrative that should – that should give them every reason for us not to be here, right? And we’re trying to make it clear that that’s not who we are,” Lumumba said Friday, according to the Associated Press. Lumumba and Horhn faced off in a Democratic mayoral primary once before in 2017. In that race, Lumumba defeated Horhn outright, earning 55% of the vote. The winner of this race will advance to the June 3 general election. “People are ready for something different,” Horhn recently said. “They are ready for change; they’re ready for leadership; they’re ready for better streets; they’re ready for less crime; they’re ready for more opportunities.” Lumumba, son of the late Republic of New Afrika leader Chokwe Lumumba, released a video statement last year denying ever accepting a bribe and calling the indictment a “political prosecution” intended to “destroy [his] . . . reputation.” CAPITAL CITY DEMOCRATIC MAYOR, PROSECUTOR INDICTED IN UNDERCOVER BRIBERY STING “Jackson residents, it is with great disappointment that I come before you. My legal team has informed me that federal prosecutors have, in fact, indicted me on bribery and related charges,” he said. “There is no coincidence, and its timing being just before the upcoming mayoral race. My legal team will vigorously defend me against these charges. Again, while I am disappointed, I am not deterred, so I ask for your patience and your prayers during this process. Thank you.” The three officials were in a bugged room on a yacht in Broward County, Florida, negotiating what they believed to be the developers’ payments when they were caught, according to the local Mississippi Clarion-Ledger. One undercover agent reportedly asked the officials to move forward a deadline for an “SOQ,” or statement of qualifications, required for the planned hotel development, and Lumumba reportedly went ahead and made a phone call. Another agent then handed the mayor five checks worth $50,000 total. After returning to Mississippi, the funds were reportedly deposited in the mayor’s campaign account, according to the paper. Fox News Digitals’ Charles Creitz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
EPA fires or reassigns hundreds working on ‘environmental justice’
President Donald Trump’s administration is firing or reassigning over 450 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency as part of a larger push to eliminate “environmental justice” programs. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the employee moves on Monday, saying 280 staffers were being fired, and 175 others would be reassigned. The cut roles were in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and EPA regional offices. “EPA is taking the next step to terminate the Biden-Harris Administration’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Environmental Justice arms of the agency,” a spokesperson told Axios. Zeldin explained at a Monday press conference that tax dollars put toward environmental justice issues were widely misspent. MEXICO IS POISONING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN A BORDER CRISIS ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT “The problem is that, in the name of environmental justice, a dollar will get secured and not get spent on remediating that environmental issue,” he said. The firings come the same week that Zeldin launched talks with Mexico about eliminating sewage contamination that flows over the border from Tijuana to pollute California’s coastlines. MEXICAN SEWAGE GUSHING INTO NAVY SEAL TRAINING WATERS IS US’ ‘NEXT CAMP LEJEUNE,’ VETS WARN Zeldin visited San Diego to discuss the issue on Tuesday, noting that one of the affected areas is the training grounds for Navy SEALs. “The Americans on our side of the border who have been dealing with this… for decades, are out of patience,” Zeldin said Tuesday. “There’s no way that we are going to stand before the people of California and ask them to have more patience and just bear with all of us as we go through the next 10 or 20 or 30 years of being stuck in 12 feet of raw sewage and not getting anywhere.” EPA CHIEF TAKES ON MEXICAN ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FLOWING INTO US WATERS WHERE NAVY SEALS TRAIN “So we are all out of patience,” he continued. “There’s a very limited opportunity. We’re in good faith, both on the American side and also on the Mexican side, what’s being communicated by the new Mexican president is an intense desire to fully resolve this situation.” Zeldin said that he met with Mexican officials for about 90 minutes Monday night to discuss the sewage spewing into U.S. waters — and relayed that the Mexican environmental secretary wants to have a “strong collaborative relationship” with the U.S. to end the pollution. “I will be speaking with the chief of staff to the Mexican environmental secretary to ensure that over the course of the coming days, over the course of the next couple weeks, that we are able to put together a specific statement from both countries on a mutual understanding of what Mexico is going to do to help resolve this issue,” he said. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Young Americans sour on congressional Democrats, new poll finds
Fewer than one in three young Americans approve of the job President Donald Trump and Congress are doing, according to a new national poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. But while the approval ratings for Trump and congressional Republicans have mostly stayed consistent since the start of the president’s first administration eight years ago, the 50th Harvard Youth Poll indicates that approval ratings for Democrats in Congress among Americans aged 18-29 have nosedived. According to Harvard’s annual spring survey, which was conducted March 14-25 and released on Wednesday, the approval rating for congressional Democrats stands at 23%, down from 42% in the spring of 2017 at the start of Trump’s first term. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING “In that same period, approval of Congressional Republicans has held steady, inching up slightly from 28% to 29%,” the poll’s release notes. And the approval rating for Trump, who next week marks 100 days into his second tour of duty in the White House, stands at 31% in the new survey. AMERICANS WEIGH IN ON TRUMP’S TEASING OF A THIRD TERM The release highlights that Trump’s numbers are “virtually unchanged from the 32% reported in Spring 2017 and the 29% recorded in Fall 2020.” Harvard’s survey is the latest to indicate troubling numbers for the Democrats. The confidence rating for Democrat leadership in Congress stood at a record-low 25% in a Gallup poll conducted April 1-14 and released last week. That’s nine points below the previous low of 34%, which was recorded in 2023. Fueling the drop in confidence in the Democrat congressional leadership was a 41-point plunge among Democrats questioned in the Gallup survey. DEMOCRATS FAVORABLE RATINGS DROP TO RECORD LOWS National polls conducted in February by Quinnipiac University, and last month by CNN and by NBC News, indicated the favorable ratings for the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows. The Democratic Party is in the political wilderness after November’s election setbacks, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black and Hispanic voters as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base. Democrats have become increasingly angry and energized in response to Trump’s aggressive and controversial moves in slashing the federal government and upending long-standing national since returning to the White House three months ago. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans but also at Democrats. Many in the party’s base feel their leaders in Congress haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. According to the Harvard poll, only 15% say the country is headed in the right direction, with just over half (51%) saying the country’s on the wrong track. And just one in four surveyed said the current state of the country is better now under Trump than it was during former President Joe Biden’s single four-year term in the White House. Forty-one percent said things were better off under Biden, with 14% saying they see no difference and 17% unsure.
Nikki Haley on Russia and Ukraine says US should ‘want to be on the right side of history’
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley indicated in a post on X that amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. should “want to be on the right side of history.” “Rewarding an aggressor will only lead to more aggressive actions. Failing to stand up for democracies who are invaded will lead to more invasions of free countries. To reward Russia for bad behavior and punish Ukraine for fighting to defend itself would be a terrible injustice, America should know the difference between right and wrong and want to be on the right side of history,” she declared in a Tuesday post on X. “Russia started this war and has been the aggressor and violator in the conflict. Ukraine deserves the right to defend itself,” she had previously declared in part of another tweet on Tuesday. RUSSIA REDUCES SENTENCE FOR AMERICAN ROBERT WOODLAND, WHO WAS CONVICTED ON DRUG CHARGES Haley, a former South Carolina governor, sought the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, but ultimately dropped out after failing to gain traction against then-former President Donald Trump, who she eventually endorsed. Trump has been aiming to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. REPUBLICAN USES GEORGE WASHINGTON, AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO REJECT NOTION UKRAINE SHOULD SURRENDER TO RUSSIA “HOPEFULLY RUSSIA AMD UKRAINE WILL MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK. BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!” he declared in a Sunday Truth Social post. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., recently visited Ukraine. PUTIN ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY EASTER CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE WAR CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The lawmaker said in a tweet last week, “It was my profound honor to deliver a very ‘personal’ message to Vladimir Putin today, from the front lines of the war near the Russian border, on behalf of our PA-1 community. The only permissible details to share are that ‘the message was delivered on target.’” Fitzpatrick has noted that he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while visiting the foreign nation.
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro says Trump called him about arson attack: ‘Very gracious’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump called him over the weekend to discuss the arson attack on the governor’s mansion a week before. Shapiro said Trump called him Saturday morning and that the president was “very gracious.” The governor said he did not answer Trump’s call and let it go to voicemail because he did not recognize the number the president was calling from. “I appreciated that the president called me,” Shapiro told reporters at the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg. “I actually didn’t take his call because it came from his cellphone and I didn’t have that number in my phone, so I didn’t know who it was. As soon as I heard his message, I called him right back.” SUSPECT’S 911 CALL RELEASED AFTER ARSON AT PA GOVERNOR’S MANSION THAT APPEARED TO BE FUELED BY WAR IN GAZA Shapiro said he spoke with Trump for about 15 minutes about various topics, including the arson attack and how his wife and children were doing following the fire incident. “He was very gracious,” Shapiro said. “He asked how Lori and the kids were doing. [We] talked for a couple of minutes about what transpired at the residence, and then we talked for maybe the next 15 minutes or so about a whole host of other topics.” “Obviously, I’m not going to get into our private conversation, but he’s attuned to the issues that are important to me,” the governor continued. “I, of course, know the issues that are important to him, and we agreed to stay in touch going forward.” Shapiro told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview recorded late last week and aired Sunday that Trump had not called him after the April 13 attack on his residence. The governor said at the time that he had heard from Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump said last week when asked if he knew of the attacker’s motive that he had not heard about one. He also said that the suspect “was not a fan of Trump.” SUSPECTED PENNSYLVANIA ARSONIST MAY HAVE BEEN MOTIVATED BY WAR IN GAZA: POLICE “He’s probably just a whack job. And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen,” Trump said at the time. Cody Balmer, 38, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism and related offenses for allegedly setting fire to Shapiro’s residence last week. Balmer has reportedly admitted in multiple instances that he was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and what Shapiro, who is Jewish, “wants to do to the Palestinian people.” “Governor Josh Shapiro needs to know that Cody Balmer will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” Balmer allegedly told a dispatcher in a 911 call after the attack. “He needs to leave my family alone. He needs to get his eyes off of my daughters. And he needs to stop having my friends killed.” “You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done,” he added. A warrant details Balmer’s interview with state troopers in which he allegedly admitted to “harboring hatred towards” Shapiro. Balmer also reportedly admitted to a trooper that he was responsible for the arson attack and said he planned to attack Shapiro with his hammer if he were to find the governor in the mansion. Surveillance video described in a warrant allegedly shows Balmer breaking a window at the governor’s residence before throwing “an incendiary device” inside. According to the warrant, Balmer then broke another window, entered the residence and deployed another incendiary device before he “approached the dining room exit.” The warrant also says a woman — seemingly identified as Balmer’s “ex-paramour” — said he confessed to the attack and asked her to call police to turn him in.
Democrats, struggling for oxygen, blame the media – is AOC the answer?
Jim Clyburn is ripping the media. The Democratic congressman, who essentially handed Joe Biden the nomination in 2020, says the party is having trouble getting its message out. “I think the message coming from the Democratic Party is a good message,” the South Carolina lawmaker told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. “The problem we’ve got, I’ll say, is that we have to depend upon the media to deliver it.” Let me stop right there. The party’s approval ratings are in the toilet – that’s not the media’s fault. The party lost every swing state to Donald Trump in November – that’s not the media’s fault. And the Democrats have no clear leader at the moment – again, not the media’s fault. SCHUMER SINKS, AOC SOARS IN NEW POLL AS LIBERAL VOTERS DEMAND HARDER LINE ON TRUMP “If we have The Washington Post, for instance, caving to this wannabe dictator and we’ve got other media entities that seem to rather push a narrative that will bring eyes to their newspapers or to their television sets and not really give a fair hearing or reporting to what we’re doing,” said Clyburn, exempting Velshi. “I would hope that there are people outside of the audience taking in what we’re saying because my message is gonna be very, very coherent. It’s going to be very – a little bit alarming. But it’s gonna be a message that I think everybody will understand if they were to hear it.” Sorry to break it to the esteemed congressman, but it’s not the media’s job to carry water against the man he calls a “wannabe dictator.” You and your colleagues can only do it by getting out there and making, uh, news. At the same time, everyone already hates us. So it’s hardly surprising that the left, as well as the right, is bashing our business. I mean, Joe Biden barely talked to journalists – even for a Super Bowl interview – and now we know why. BILL MAHER SAYS AOC SHOULDN’T BE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE IN 2028 DESPITE RECENT HYPE Gavin Newsom is clearly running for president in 2028 – and he makes news by appearing on Fox and right-wing podcasts. This shows that he’s willing to engage the other side. “I don’t know what the party is. I’m still struggling with that,” Newsom told the Hill. He also had California sue the White House over the tariffs. The buzz right now is about AOC running for president. This seems far-fetched on its face – not because she was once a bartender, which gives her street cred, but because of her uber-liberal record. Yet she and Bernie Sanders are drawing huge crowds around the country in what feels like a generational handoff – an image captured on the front page of Sunday’s Washington Post. After making an initial splash as a rebel, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now works with the party’s leadership. POLLSTER NATE SILVER CALLS OCASIO-CORTEZ MOST LIKELY TO BE 2028 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE A conservative columnist for the Hill listed her as No. 1 for the next election, calling AOC “simply the most exciting figure in Democratic politics…Yes, she has a legion of detractors. But she also has charisma, authenticity and the ability to draw huge crowds.” But even the columnist, Niall Ferguson, asks: “Would a left-wing Latina from New York City really be the best option for a party that needs to win states like Michigan and Pennsylvania to take back the White House?” Axios says Ocasio-Cortez, 35, “has been cheered like a political rock star over the past two weeks” and knows how to make the cash register ring: “In the first three months of 2025, she raised $9.6 million – more than double what she’d ever raised in a quarter.” She would undoubtedly be opposed by center-left liberals like Josh Shapiro who would stress the importance of winning swing states like, uh, Pennsylvania. Now it’s a bit crazy to be talking about this just three months into Trump’s second term. Someone who’s “hot” now could easily cool off by then. Name recognition only takes you so far. SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES In a recent Gallup poll, just 25 percent expressed confidence in Democratic congressional leadership, an all-time low. Republicans don’t expect fair coverage from the media. But many Dems act personally offended when they draw critical coverage. The takeaway: Democrats have to make their own news, not just bash the media. But hey, we’re the easiest target out there.
New York’s Nassau County seeks to ban standing within 15 feet of cops under bill panned as unconstitutional
Lawmakers in Nassau County, New York, are pushing a measure to make it illegal to stand within 15 feet of police officers or other first responders during an emergency, although critics of the proposal argue that it is unconstitutional. People who enter the “buffer zone” for first responders during an emergency would face a misdemeanor charge and a $1,000 fine along with the possibility of up to a year behind bars, according to the bill introduced by the county Board of Legislators. The measure seeks to protect first responders from “threats, harassment, and physical interference,” lawmakers say. “It is important that first responders are not obstructed during emergency situations and that our frontline heroes are allowed to engage in the lifesaving actions they are trained to perform without distractions,” legislator John Ferretti, a Republican, told the New York Post. NEW YORK PROPOSAL WOULD BAN POLICE FROM MAKING TRAFFIC STOPS FOR MINOR VIOLATIONS TO PURSUE ‘RACIAL EQUITY’ State law already subjects people who interfere with first responders to up to a year in jail, three years of probation or a $1,000 fine. The new bill was introduced by Republicans but has garnered support from some Democrats, according to the newspaper. “Our cops and first responders shouldn’t have to fight crowds while they’re saving lives,” Democrat legislator Seth Koslow, who is running for county executive, told the New York Post. “This bill gives them the authority to keep chaos out and do their jobs without interference. It’s backed by both parties — because protecting those who protect us shouldn’t be political.” Despite the bipartisan support among lawmakers, critics say the bill goes too far and could be abused to curb people’s constitutional rights. “Floating buffer zones offer yet another way for police to keep their activities hidden from public scrutiny,” New York Civil Liberties Union senior policy counsel Justin Harrison told the New York Post. “Laws that make it harder to monitor the police don’t make anybody safer — in reality, they violate the Constitution, run counter to government transparency principles, and foster distrust in law enforcement.” Some other states have passed similar laws that were later struck down by the courts. VIDEO CAPTURES NEW YORK GRANDMOTHER, CHILDREN NARROWLY AVOIDING MANHOLE EXPLOSION Louisiana passed a law last year prohibiting people from being within 25 feet of police after being told to back up. But last month, a federal judge blocked the measure, finding that it violated the 14th Amendment’s due process regulations and could infringe on journalists’ press freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment that grants them the right to film officers. Similar laws in Arizona and Indiana have also been blocked by federal judges. “We expect that Nassau’s law, if passed, will meet the same fate,” Harrison said.
Trump admin files first racketeering charges against massive migrant terrorist group present in U.S.
The first RICO racketeering charges against members and associates of the migrant terrorist group Tren de Aragua were filed this week in New York. A statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that the case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” which it said is a “nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.” According to the statement, the charges filed against 27 alleged current and former Tren de Aragua (TdA) members include human smuggling, sex trafficking and murder. “Today, we have filed charges against 27 alleged members, former members, and associates of Tren de Aragua, for committing murders and shootings, forcing young women trafficked from Venezuela into commercial sex work, robbing and extorting small businesses, and selling ‘tusi,’ a pink powdery drug that has become their calling card,” announced Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. PRESIDENT TRUMP BLASTS COURTS FOR GETTING IN THE WAY OF DEPORTATION AGENDA Podolsky said that the indictments “make clear that this Office will work tirelessly to keep the law-abiding residents of New York City safe, and hold accountable those who bring violence to our streets.” The charges were filed in two separate indictments, the first against six alleged current members of Tren de Aragua and the second against 21 alleged members and associates of a splinter gang known as “Anti-Tren,” which consists of former TdA members. The Trump State Department has designated Tren de Aragua, as well as several other migrant gangs present throughout the U.S., as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that 21 of the 27 alleged gang members and associates are currently in federal custody. The statement said that 16 were already in federal criminal, immigration, or state custody and five were arrested over the last couple of days. OHIO SHERIFF DEFENDS NEW ICE PARTNERSHIP: ‘JUST DOING THE RIGHT THING’ Most of the alleged gang members are in their twenties, with the oldest being 44. Many are facing multiple life in prison sentences if they are found guilty. Charges include racketeering, sex trafficking, alien importation, drug trafficking and carjacking conspiracy, robbery, illegal firearms possession and use and extortion. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Among the most egregious of the charges included in the indictments are the smuggling of “multadas” – indentured sex workers – from Venezuela into Peru and the U.S. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement, both TdA and Anti-Tren operate keep the multadas trapped in a life of sex slavery by threatening to kill them and their families and by assaulting, shooting and killing them and tracking down those who attempted to flee. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on the RICO charges, saying: “Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country.” GORSUCH, ROBERTS SIDE WITH LEFT-LEANING SUPREME COURT JUSTICES IN IMMIGRATION RULING “Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang,” said Bondi. “It is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities.” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch also praised the operations, saying that “for the first time ever, TdA is being named and charged as the criminal enterprise that it is.” “This gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers,” said Tisch. “As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns. Thanks to the dedicated members of the NYPD and the important work of our federal partners, their time is up.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office statement also mentioned that this case received significant support from Joint Task Force Vulcan, a collection of U.S. attorneys’ offices and law enforcement agencies that was created in 2019 to eradicate the Salvadoran gang MS-13 and has now expanded to target Tren de Aragua.
Voice of America restored by judge after Trump dismantled taxpayer-funded outlet in March
A federal judge ordered the restoration of Voice of America (VoA) on Tuesday, the federally-funded state media network that the White House dismantled earlier this spring. Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in favor of the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction, though the Trump administration is allowed to appeal the decision. The plaintiffs asked the court to “cancel the orders putting approximately 1,300 VOA employees on administrative leave” and to “cancel the termination of contracts with approximately 500 personal service contractors (PSCs) with VOA, cease dismantling VOA, and restore VOA’s personnel and operating capacities.” President Donald Trump dismantled the news agency through an executive order (EO) in March, claiming that VoA promoted biased reporting. TRUMP ORDERS THE DISMANTLING OF GOVERNMENT-FUNDED, ‘PROPAGANDA’-PEDDLING MEDIA OUTLET “The non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law,” the EO stated. The EO also dismantled VoA’s parent company, the United States Agency for Global Media, as well as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now,” a senior White House official told Fox News Digital at the time. TRUMP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO CHOP DOWN MAGNOLIA TREE PURPORTEDLY PLANTED BY ANDREW JACKSON: ‘MUST COME TO AN END’ On Mar. 22, VoA employees filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and Kari Lake, who serves as the special advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media. “In many parts of the world, a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored news media is left to fill the void,” the lawsuit reads. “The second Trump administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely,” the suit stated. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.