Federal investigators have made yet another discovery of a sophisticated fraud scheme involving a work authorization program for foreigners.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) <a href="https://x.com/JennieSTaer/status/2054232420522598520">announced</a> Tuesday that the Operational Practical Training program, known as OPT, has &#8220;become a magnet for fraud&#8221; with foreign students claiming employment from &#8220;highly suspect employers,&#8221; Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said. He described the controversy at a press conference, noting the program allows foreign students to work in their area of study for up to one year while attending school.
Federal investigators say OPT fraud has exploded nationwide, reporting shocking discoveries upon visiting the alleged worksites claiming to employ the foreign students.
They found empty buildings with locked doors where hundreds of foreign students were said to be working. In some cases, multiple employers claimed the same address, but none of them actually had a lease there.
Some small homes were also listed as worksites for hundreds of foreign students, but had no employees present. When someone answered the door at one of the residences, they claimed to have no knowledge of the business.
Other alleged employers claimed to have offshore HR and payroll personnel. Many of the employers had tax liens, civil lawsuit collections, and breaches of contract on their records.
In some instances, foreign students who obtained work permits through the OPT program never showed up to work at the jobs they claimed to hold.
Lyons said the employment program has &#8220;ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States,&#8221; adding that the latest fraud findings may be &#8220;only the tip of the iceberg.&#8221;
Last week, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a branch of ICE, visited 18 worksites in north Texas and made an &#8220;alarming&#8221; discovery of &#8220;coordinated employer clusters, where numerous employers in the same building complex are running nearly identical websites, sharing job postings and management personnel, but claiming no business relationships with each other,&#8221; John Condon, the agency&#8217;s Acting Executive Associate Director, said during Tuesday&#8217;s presser.
In Houston, agents found an alleged &#8220;pay to stay visa fraud&#8221; scheme in which a company was &#8220;charging students under the table to help them fraudulently maintain visa status,&#8221; he added.
Other cases also raised red flags. In New York, a supposed employer became visibly upset with federal investigators and denied having any knowledge of a company linked to his address &#8220;despite Homeland Security records and student reports confirming otherwise,&#8221; Condon said. A foreign student told investigators that the individual owned the worksite &#8220;but could not explain his denial.&#8221;
Condon discussed an OPT employer in New Jersey claiming to support more than 150 foreign students who couldn&#8217;t answer federal investigators&#8217; &#8220;basic questions about who they were or what they were hired to do.&#8221; The investigators encountered only one student at the site, &#8220;who had revealed that he had not worked for the listed copy in over a year&#8221; and &#8220;was instead being trained by a company based in India.&#8221;
Lyons called the fraudulent activity &#8220;deliberate, coordinated, and criminal,&#8221; vowing that &#8220;more actions are forthcoming.&#8221;
&#8220;DHS will relentlessly investigate, disrupt, and refer for prosecution anyone who exploits our programs. We have intensified our vetting at consular posts overseas, targeting trafficking, forced labor, document fraud, and unauthorized employment among student visa applicants,&#8221; Lyons said.
&#8220;This fraud is not victimless. It is a blatant attack on the goodwill of the American people who generously allow foreign nationals access to our education system,&#8221; he added.

Trump Floats Death Penalty For All Convicted Of Murder In DC

ICE Makes New Major Fraud Discovery Involving 10,000 Foreign Students

Department of Homeland Security

foreign students

Fraud

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Todd Lyons

An illegal immigrant who was allowed into the country by the Biden administration went on to land a job at a Wisconsin nursing home, where he allegedly sexually assaulted elderly residents, including one who has severe dementia, The Daily Wire has learned.
The Fitchburg Police Department <a href="https://www.fitchburgwi.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/2585" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last month that it received a report that an employee of Dimensions Living &#8220;may have assaulted vulnerable residents.&#8221; Following an investigation, authorities charged 23-year-old Julio Morales-Jarquin, of Nicaragua, with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an elderly victim on April 29.
In one instance, a worker at the facility said they found Morales-Jarquin one night with a dementia patient who was completely naked, <a href="https://www.wmtv15news.com/2026/05/06/complaint-fitchburg-caretaker-accused-sexually-assaulting-patients-including-woman-with-dementia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to WMTV. The report said the patient is also in hospice care.
A staffer reported encountering the illegal immigrant exiting the bathroom with his pants down, and Morales-Jarquin seemed to be &#8220;caught off guard,&#8221; according to WMTV. When the colleague asked what he was doing, he claimed that he was helping the patient get dressed.
Morales-Jarquin admitted that he touched the patient inappropriately and that he engaged in sex acts with her around February or March, according to the report. He also allegedly took pictures and videos of another patient&#8217;s intimate area, and later deleted those images from his phone.
A patient who was over 60 years old told a detective that she had sex with Morales-Jarquin, and that she didn&#8217;t really give consent but gave in after he kept asking, WMTV reported. Morales-Jarquin later claimed that the patient consented to his actions. Another resident said that Morales-Jarquin had tried kissing and touching her inappropriately before she told him to stop and leave, according to WMTV.
Since Morales-Jarquin&#8217;s arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer requesting that he be transferred into federal custody. The Department of Homeland Security has criticized Dane County policies in the past regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities, arguing that such policies can complicate efforts to take custody of inmates who are illegal immigrants.
In some cases, the county gives ICE officers just 30 minutes&#8217; notice before releasing an illegal immigrant inmate, according to DHS. In a previous email to ICE, Dane County stated that &#8220;if you want the subject held, you must provide a court document signed by a judge,&#8221; adding that if federal authorities didn&#8217;t show up within 30 minutes of a phone call, &#8220;the subject will be released without delay.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1090451" style="width: 946px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1090451" class="wp-image-1090451 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967.jpg" alt="" width="936" height="139" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967.jpg 936w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967-300x45.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967-768x114.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px" />(DHS)</div>
The Biden administration released Morales-Jarquin into the country in 2023 through its signature humanitarian parole program. The Trump administration ended the parole scheme in April 2025.
The program allowed more than 500,000 &#8220;poorly vetted aliens&#8221; from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to fly into the country and stay and work for a two-year period, <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/06/12/dhs-issues-notices-termination-chnv-parole-program-encourages-parolees-self-deport" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to DHS.
In Morales-Jarquin&#8217;s case, he overstayed his welcome.
“This dirtbag was released into the country by the Biden Administration,&#8221; Acting Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. &#8220;DHS is calling on sanctuary politicians in Dane County, Wisconsin to NOT release this criminal from jail back onto the streets to commit more crimes.&#8221;
&#8220;We need Wisconsin sanctuary politicians to cooperate with us to remove criminals from our country,&#8221; Bis added.

Untitled design – 2026-05-06T131959.242

EXCLUSIVE: Biden-Freed Illegal Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Elderly Women At Nursing Home

Crime

deportation

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

Nearly a decade ago, he led an attempted coup d&#8217;etat in the West African nation of Burkina Faso.
Zakaria Songotoua, 40, fled his country and eventually ended up in New York, and has since become a target of President Donald Trump&#8217;s mass deportation effort, The Daily Wire has learned. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers sent him back to Burkina Faso on April 22.
The one-way flight came after Songotoua was ordered deported by an immigration judge after he was found &#8220;ineligible&#8221; for immigration status.
Songotoua participated in the coup attempt which began on September 16, 2015, while he was a member of the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP). At the time, a rogue group of his force stormed the presidential palace and took the interim president, Michel Kafando, along with the country&#8217;s prime minister, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida, and several cabinet members hostage, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/world/africa/burkina-faso.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
They also fired upon protesters, resulting in an estimated 11 fatalities, while more than 100 people were injured. The overthrow attempt ultimately failed after 13 days of violence and chaos, according to The New York Times.
Songotoua fled his home country before his trial, where he was convicted in absentia of murder, assault and battery, and an attack on state security. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo said that &#8220;individuals&#8221; like Songotoua &#8220;who engage in such bloodshed anywhere in the world have no place in the United States.&#8221;
ICE did not disclose when or where he entered the United States.
“Songotoua’s role in the violent 2015 effort to overthrow Burkina Faso’s government, which included holding a national leader hostage and killing and injuring protesters, reflects a grave disregard for human life and the rule of law,&#8221; Genalo said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents investigated the case as part of the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, which focuses on targeting individuals who have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers, ICE said.
HSI has more than 190 active investigations into suspected human rights violators. The agency has also received more than 1,985 leads and removal cases involving alleged human rights violators who hail from 95 countries.
&#8220;ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] New York, with essential support from Homeland Security Investigations New York and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, will continue to identify and remove human rights violators who attempt to seek refuge in our communities,&#8221; Genalo said.

Untitled design – 2026-05-05T090655.272

EXCLUSIVE: Foreign Rebel Who Led Coup Attempt Booted From U.S.

Immigration

New York

Trump Administration

The former superintendent of Iowa&#8217;s largest school district, who was in the United States illegally, published a book from jail while awaiting sentencing on federal charges.
Ian Roberts, the former head of Des Moines Public Schools, released a book titled &#8220;Unshakable: How Bold Leaders Win Hearts, Inspire Minds, and Obtain Results During Crisis&#8221; on Monday while in custody.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/27/ice-arrests-criminal-alien-serving-des-moines-public-schools-superintendent-prior">arrested</a> Roberts, a Guyanese national, in September. Authorities said he had an active deportation order and was living in the United States illegally at the time of his arrest.
Roberts attempted to flee from the federal agents and was found with a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife, the Department of Homeland Security said at the time.
Roberts pleaded guilty in January to federal charges of making false statements about his immigration status and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) called Roberts&#8217; book release &#8220;insane,&#8221; saying he&#8217;s &#8220;trying to profit&#8221; from his situation.
Roberts came to the United States as a tourist in 1994, then obtained a student visa five years later, according to DHS. He applied for a green card on four separate occasions and was denied each time.
Roberts was <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/03/dhs-releases-new-information-extensive-criminal-history-illegal-alien-ian-roberts">charged</a> in 1996 with criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery device, and possession of a forged instrument in New York, according to DHS. Two years later, he was charged with third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York, which was later dismissed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What on earth?? The illegal immigrant &amp; ICE fugitive who led Iowa’s largest school district is now trying to profit from it?
You can’t make this up. Insane. <a href="https://t.co/tDgbGsVEAY">pic.twitter.com/tDgbGsVEAY</a>
— Ashley Hinson (@hinsonashley) <a href="https://twitter.com/hinsonashley/status/2049951022508855604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Roberts was convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding in Maryland on November 1, 2012. In 2020, he was hit with charges for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (having a loaded firearm outside his home or business); third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (an ammunition feeding device); and fourth-degree weapons charges, according to DHS.
His work permit expired on December 18, 2020, roughly three years before he was hired to lead Des Moines Public Schools. He never showed up to his immigration hearing and a judge ordered his deportation in his absence.
Roberts was convicted of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania in 2022.
Federal officials say Roberts falsely claimed to be a United States citizen when applying for the superintendent role in June 2023.

Untitled design – 2026-05-01T112342.104

Illegal Immigrant Ex-School Official Accused Of ‘Trying To Profit’ Behind Bars

Illegal Immigration

Iowa

The Trump administration is suing the sanctuary state of New Jersey over its recent law banning federal agents from wearing masks.
Democratic New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the “Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act&#8221; last month, barring federal agents, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, from wearing masks on the job. At the time, the sanctuary governor declared: &#8220;We’re not going to tolerate masked roving militias pretending, pretending to be well-trained law enforcement agents.&#8221;
Now, the Justice Department is taking legal action against the state, arguing that its unmasking law violates the federal government&#8217;s power granted by the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday. Additionally, the Trump administration asserted that the mask ban would put agents at risk at a time of heightened threats.
&#8220;The law creates a Hobson’s Choice for all federal officers: either put themselves at risk by unmasking and providing individual identification, at the cost of officer safety, the safety of their families, and operational effectiveness or face legal consequences by Defendants,&#8221; the lawsuit stated.
&#8220;Federal law enforcement officers have faced a significant increase in doxxing, harassment, and assaults, with antagonists and criminals filming and tracking officers using  individual identifiers such as their faces and badges. This conduct has led to violence and undermined law enforcement operations,&#8221; it added.
After Sherrill signed the unmasking law, masked ICE agents arrested a twice-deported illegal immigrant who faced domestic violence charges in 2024, <a href="https://www.app.com/story/news/local/2026/04/09/ice-mask-ban-ignored-during-jackon-nj-arrest/89532168007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Asbury Park Press.
At the time, ICE openly admitted that the agents were masked, making &#8220;crystal clear&#8221; that &#8220;we will not abide by this unconstitutional ban.&#8221;
“Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from wearing masks is despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers,” an ICE spokesperson said.
Sherrill&#8217;s office responded, saying she was &#8220;prepared to take any necessary measures if ICE continues to violate the law,&#8221; &#8220;including taking the Trump Administration back to court.”
The Justice Department then sent the governor a letter &#8220;seeking assurances that the law was not enforceable against federal officers and no officials would  attempt to enforce it,&#8221; according to the lawsuit. Days later, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport responded in an email &#8220;declaring that the law was constitutional and that federal officers were obligated to comply but refusing to opine on any enforcement actions.&#8221;
The Justice Department said they were &#8220;unsatisfied&#8221; and &#8220;sought clarity on whether New Jersey would enforce the law given the recent alleged violation,&#8221; according to the lawsuit. They also sent another court&#8217;s decision that struck down a similar law in California.
&#8220;To be clear, the Federal Government will not comply with this blatantly unconstitutional law. But the threat of enforcement by Defendants chills individual officers from protecting themselves and performing their duties. The consequences for public safety are severe,&#8221; the Department of Justice wrote in the lawsuit.

Untitled design – 2026-04-30T085656.219

Sanctuary State Tries To Place ICE Agents In Danger. Trump DOJ Says No Way.

Face Masks

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

New Jersey

Sanctuary Cities

U.S.

President Donald Trump indicated his willingness to change the name of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to &#8220;NICE.&#8221;
Trump shared a screenshot of an X Post that read: &#8220;I want Trump to change ICE to NICE (National Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so the media has to say NICE agents all day everyday.&#8221; He responded on Truth Social, saying &#8220;GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT. President DJT.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I want Trump to change ICE to NICE (National Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so the media has to say NICE agents all day everyday
— alyssa (@alyssamariiee11) <a href="https://twitter.com/alyssamariiee11/status/2036655163025526989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The latest proposed change for ICE wouldn&#8217;t be the first time the president ran with outside advice.
His &#8220;no tax on tips&#8221; policy came from a waitress, former Trump economic advisor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wN-piGOkhI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Fox Business last week.
&#8220;I asked Trump about this &#8230; he said a waitress,&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;He asked a waitress in a restaurant about how can I help you and she said &#8216;don&#8217;t tax my tips.&#8217; And that was the start of a great policy that is very popular with the American people.&#8221;
Sources within ICE told The Daily Wire they wouldn&#8217;t put it past Trump to change their agency&#8217;s name.
&#8220;I could easily see him doing it,&#8221; one agency source said.
Another ICE source said it &#8220;would be hilarious,&#8221; adding &#8220;we so should.&#8221;
Some sources criticized the move, saying it would be a waste of taxpayer funding.
&#8220;Imagine the wasted spending for all the stuff we got recently,&#8221; one source said.
&#8220;We&#8217;d probably be made fun of and have to change all our letterhead, agency logos, credentials, badges, business cards. Seems more like a headache than anything good,&#8221; said another.
ICE has also gone unfunded for more than two months amid the partial government shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also expected to run out of emergency funds to pay personnel come May, Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently warned.
DHS is spending more than $1.6 billion every two weeks to pay its workforce, Mullin said, adding, “So the money is going extremely fast.”
&#8220;So the president can’t do another executive order for us to use money because there’s no more money there,&#8221; Mullin said.
Some of that funding is going to ICE agents tasked with carrying out Trump&#8217;s mass deportation effort.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers continue to push for major ICE reforms, such as unmasking federal immigration agents and requiring them to have judicial warrants to make arrests, in exchange for a funding package.
Congressional Republicans have refused to agree to the changes to ICE, arguing that Democrats&#8217; demands would further expose federal immigration agents to attacks while making it impossible for them to arrest illegal immigrants.

US-POLITICS-IMMIGRATION-ENFORCEMENT

ICE Agents Could Soon Get A ‘Nice’ New Name

Sources within ICE told The Daily Wire they wouldn't put it past Trump to change their agency's name

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) swept up a woman believed to be an MS-13 killer, who was hiding in a Washington, D.C., suburb.
Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was wanted in her home country over charges of aggravated homicide and illicit associations before she was nabbed, <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/meet-one-medias-non-criminals-ice-washington-arrests-another-illegal-alien-fugitive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to ICE. Authorities in El Salvador notified ICE in February that they believed Morales-Mejia was in Northern Virginia.
The Salvadoran woman was charged with her alleged crimes in 2013, ICE said.
Once ICE officers learned of her possible presence in the area, they began looking for her. They eventually caught her in Woodbridge.
On March 12, ICE arrested her in Woodbridge, the agency said.
“Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia is not only a known associate of the notorious MS-13 transnational criminal organization, but she apparently attempted to flee justice in her native country by illegally residing in Virginia,” ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Robert Guadian said in a statement Thursday.
Guadian took aim at some members of the media who have criticized ICE for arresting illegal immigrants who lack any rap sheets. The ICE official said the narrative is all wrong.
“The media would consider her to be a ‘non-criminal’ because she has no known criminal history in the United States — despite the fact that she is facing charges for aggravated homicide in El Salvador. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities,&#8221; Guadian said.
Morales-Mejia entered the United States as what&#8217;s known as a gotaway, meaning she crossed the border illegally without facing apprehension, ICE said. It is not known when exactly she entered the country.
Virginia has become a hub for illegal immigrant crime.
Another illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who was convicted of groping multiple female students at a Virginia high school, was sentenced Tuesday to just 360 days behind bars and two years of probation, <a href="https://katv.com/news/nation-world/illegal-immigrant-sentenced-groping-girls-fairfax-high-school-israel-flores-ortiz-sentencing-assault-groped-multiple-students-el-salvador-victim-courtroom-attorney-statements" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to 7News.
A Guatemalan illegal immigrant, Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran, 28, allegedly tried to rape a woman as she was waiting for her rideshare in Arlington, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/04/15/ice-asks-governor-spanberger-and-virginia-sanctuary-politicians-arlington-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Thursday.
Fairfax County, which notoriously operates as a sanctuary jurisdiction, has seen three murders tied to illegal immigrant suspects in 2026.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> Secretary <a href="https://twitter.com/SecMullinDHS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecMullinDHS</a> says Fairfax County officials and Gov. Abigail Spanberger need to do their jobs and protect Virginians amid an illegal immigrant crime spree in Northern Virginia. <a href="https://t.co/YUdSlB0ZwM">pic.twitter.com/YUdSlB0ZwM</a>
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickMinock/status/2047072785747345805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has faced some of the blame after ending agreements between local authorities and ICE.
In a recent interview with 7News, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called out Spanberger over the lack of &#8220;cooperation.&#8221;
&#8220;If we want to combat crime, which every law enforcement agency and every judge and every elected official should honestly all be on the side of fighting crime and making our streets safe, and we&#8217;re not seeing that under the current leadership,&#8221; Mullin said.

Wanted_Murderer

Suburban Mom? Try Wanted Murderer Tied To One Of The Deadliest Gangs

El Salvador

MS-13

Virginia

The Houston City Council voted Wednesday to walk back a policy that prevented local police from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the state of Texas threatened to pull more than $110 million in funds.
Texas Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-texas-governor-greg-abbott-puts-blue-cities-on-notice-over-sanctuary-policies?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Texas+Governor+Greg+Abbott+Puts+Blue+Cities+On+Notice+Over+Sanctuary+Policies">Greg Abbott</a> (R) accused the city of violating the terms of the public safety grants after the passage of an ordinance that prevented local police from holding individuals with immigration arrest warrants for 30 minutes while ICE arrives at a scene.
Houston Democratic Mayor John Whitmire revised the ordinance with the help of Abbott&#8217;s office after voting in favor of it, according to KHOU. The new version states that Houston police will comply with federal laws and can temporarily hold someone for as long as reasonably necessary.
The Houston City Council passed it in a 13-4 vote, KHOU <a href="https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-city-council-approves-revised-immigration-policy-amid-funding-fight/285-feefb140-c43c-4143-afc7-90be1e14119a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
A spokesperson for Abbott told The Daily Wire it’s “a step in the right direction after Houston leaders put public safety at risk with reckless policies that undermined law enforcement.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued the city of Houston over the original ordinance, arguing that “no Texas city will be a safe harbor for illegals.”
Paxton said Wednesday that the legal pressure forced Houston to take &#8220;action to reverse its sanctuary policy.&#8221;
&#8220;My office will continue to review the updated ordinance and ensure that the City of Houston fully complies with SB 4 and does not restrict law enforcement&#8217;s ability to assist ICE and enforce immigration law,&#8221; Paxton wrote on X Wednesday.
Houston originally passed the ordinance barring local police from assisting ICE on April 8. That led Abbott to threaten to pull the $110 million, arguing the original version of the ordinance resulted in a breach of contract over the grants.
The state requires that recipients of the public safety grants must work with ICE. If they refuse to assist ICE, “they forfeit the money” and must “repay to the state every single dollar they have received,” Abbott told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.
“As President Trump sometimes says, they have no cards,” Abbott said. “We have all the cards in this, and they are going to lose, and they’re not going to be able to balance their budget.”
Last week, Whitmire said the city was facing a &#8220;crisis situation,&#8221; adding that “the potential loss of state funding poses real challenges” for local authorities and for security at the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

US-IMMIGRATION-ICE-SHOOTING

Blue City Reverses Sanctuary Policy After State Threatens To Pull Millions In Funding

Greg Abbott

Houston

Texas

Sheridan Gorman&#8217;s father is decrying the sanctuary policies that resulted in his daughter&#8217;s alleged killer being out on the streets.
Venezuelan national <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-steps-in-after-illegal-immigrant-accused-of-slaying-college-freshman">Jose Medina</a>, 25, allegedly gunned down the 18-year-old Loyola University freshman in Chicago last month. At the time, Gorman was walking with her friends around 1 a.m. to look for the northern lights near the Chicago lakefront.
Before that, Medina had crossed the border illegally in May of 2023 and was subsequently released into the country.
He was caught allegedly shoplifting from a Chicago Macy&#8217;s that June, according to the Chicago Tribune. When the illegal immigrant failed to appear for his hearing in the case, a warrant was sworn out for his arrest.
Sheridan&#8217;s father is now arguing that local authorities should have handed Medina over to federal authorities at the time due to his lack of immigration status.
&#8220;There needs to be some cooperation between state and local government and federal officials. When someone commits a crime and they&#8217;ve been here illegally, there needs to be cooperation,&#8221; Sheridan&#8217;s father, Thomas Gorman, told CBS News in an interview that aired Wednesday.
&#8220;He was arrested for, yes, a nonviolent crime, but he was also here illegally. In our mind, he should&#8217;ve been handed over to the feds at that point,&#8221; the grieving father added.
Sheridan&#8217;s mother said they were told their daughter likely saved her friends&#8217; lives the night of her murder.
&#8220;He, like, moved towards her threateningly,&#8221; Jessica Gorman, Sheridan&#8217;s mother, told CBS News of Medina&#8217;s actions that night. &#8220;She turned around and she warned her friends that there was a man with a gun, and you need to run. And they ran.&#8221;
Sheridan was able to run about 40 feet before she was shot in the back and neck, Thomas said.
&#8220;They say it was a senseless tragedy. It wasn&#8217;t. It was a murder. It was a preventable murder,&#8221; Jessica said.
Medina was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder in the first degree, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with local authorities, but it is not likely to force any action due to sanctuary laws in Illinois.
Before he was released into the country after crossing the border, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-era-illegal-dubbed-likely-to-flee-now-accused-in-college-student-murder">Border Patrol agents</a> said that Medina was &#8220;likely to abscond,&#8221; according to federal documents that were recently obtained by House Judiciary Committee Republicans.
The agents also noted that Medina didn’t make any asylum claims, writing that he did not “fear harm or persecution” if returned to Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Medina&#8217;s defense has argued that the Venezuelan national is developmentally delayed and can&#8217;t read or write after being shot in the head during a 2018 robbery in Colombia, <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/what-we-know-about-loyola-murder-suspect-jose-medina/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to WGN.

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Parents Of Slain Student Say Her Murder Was ‘Preventable,’ Sanctuary Policies Released Her Killer

Chicago

illegal immigrant

Illinois

It&#8217;s a real Texas showdown as the Lone Star State battles blue cities attempting to impose sanctuary policies.
Governor Greg Abbott (R.) has threatened to pull $110 million dollars in public safety grants from Houston over a recent policy that prevents local police from waiting 30 minutes for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrive at a scene to detain individuals with immigration warrants. The state has threatened to withhold $90 million in funds from Dallas and $2.5 million from Austin for taking a similar approach to policing.
In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Abbott fumed at the &#8220;radical leftists and progressives who are running our large blue cities in the state of Texas,&#8221; adding, &#8220;You would think this would be something that would happen in some other state, especially because of the laws that we have in place in the state of Texas that don&#8217;t exist in some of these blue states.&#8221;
&#8220;It was in the city of Houston where there were two illegal immigrants who were apprehended and let go and then went on to murder Jocelyn Nungaray,&#8221; Abbott said. &#8220;And so these people are not comprehending the reality. And that is there are deadly consequences by their failure to ensure that we detain illegal immigrants and make sure they clear through ICE and pose no danger to our community. The city of Houston is making their community more dangerous.&#8221;
&#8220;But I&#8217;m not going to tolerate, and Texans will not tolerate, policies Houston&#8217;s trying to adopt that let dangerous illegal immigrants roam the street without ICE having the opportunity to try to detain them and put them in the deportation process,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NEW: Gov. <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GregAbbott_TX</a> has threatened to pull $110 million dollars in public safety grants from Houston over its recent policy barring local police from waiting 30 minutes for ICE to arrive at a scene to detain individuals with immigration warrants. Tomorrow, the Houston City… <a href="https://t.co/sjmXP8gF0g">pic.twitter.com/sjmXP8gF0g</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2046713949031190818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If things don&#8217;t change in Houston, the city could be losing a lot more than just the $110 million in state funds, Abbott warned. The state comptroller could also withhold $40 million a month that the city receives as a sales tax rebate.
It may be Houston&#8217;s &#8220;largest source of revenue,&#8221; Abbott said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s like you getting a paycheck &#8230; on a monthly basis to be able to pay your bills. The city of Houston is going to not get a paycheck of about $40 million a month where they&#8217;re not going to be able to pay their bills,&#8221; Abbott said.
&#8220;So this truly is a crisis, a financial crisis, the city of Houston is going through. And it&#8217;s not a crisis made by the state of Texas. It&#8217;s a crisis made by their leftist agenda insisting they&#8217;ll pay whatever the consequences in order for them to have sanctuary cities,&#8221; he said.
It all started on April 8, when the Houston City Council passed an ordinance barring local police officers from holding illegal immigrant detainees for extended periods of time for ICE.
Abbott has threatened to pull $110 million in public safety grants to the city, arguing the latest ordinance has resulted in a breach of contract over the funding.
The state requires that recipients of the public safety grants agree to work with ICE. And if they don&#8217;t, &#8220;they forfeit the money&#8221; and must &#8220;repay to the state every single dollar they have received,&#8221; Abbott said.
&#8220;As President Trump sometimes says, they have no cards,&#8221; Abbott said. &#8220;We have all the cards in this, and they are going to lose, and they&#8217;re not going to be able to balance their budget.&#8221;
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also sued the city of Houston, arguing that &#8220;no Texas city will be a safe harbor for illegals.&#8221;
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said last week that the city has found itself in a &#8220;crisis situation,&#8221; arguing that &#8220;the potential loss of state funding poses real challenges&#8221; for local authorities and for security at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Whitmire has called a city council meeting on Wednesday to discuss possibly repealing the ordinance.
&#8220;We have significant work ahead, and I&#8217;m considering all options,&#8221; Whitmire said.

Trump Set To Sign Executive Order To Dismantle Education Department

EXCLUSIVE: Texas Governor Greg Abbott Puts Blue Cities On Notice Over Sanctuary Policies

An illegal immigrant is accused of sexually abusing his minor daughter over several years before she gave birth earlier this month in a South Carolina hospital parking lot, The Daily Wire has learned.
Mexican national Luis Armando Argueta Montejo, 43, was arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree criminal sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of incest after the girl gave birth on April 11 in Oconee County, <a href="https://www.wyff4.com/article/man-charged-child-sex-crimes-incest/71054399" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to WYFF.
Investigators say Montejo engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim, who is believed to be between 11 and 14 years old, between 2022 and 2025, WSAZ <a href="https://www.wsaz.com/2026/04/19/man-charged-with-incest-after-minor-gives-birth-parking-lot-deputies-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Arrest warrants identify Montejo as the biological father of the juvenile victim, according to WYFF.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer on April 17 and expects that local authorities will comply and hand him over to federal immigration agents, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire. Montejo told ICE he first entered the United States in 2006, the agency said.
“This sicko should NEVER have been in our country to prey on children in the first place,” Acting Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis told The Daily Wire. “He now faces charges for incest and multiple child sex crimes.&#8221;
&#8220;Under Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, ICE lodged an arrest detainer with South Carolina to ensure this monster is never loose in our communities again. Thankfully, South Carolina cooperates with ICE law enforcement. This is why we need cooperation from state and local partners, so together we can keep criminals off our streets and make America safe again,&#8221; Bis said.
Deputies were alerted after the girl gave birth, <a href="https://people.com/man-charged-incest-after-minor-gave-birth-parking-lot-11954108" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to People Magazine. The case was then turned over to the Violent Crimes Unit of the Criminal Investigations Bureau, resulting in Montejo&#8217;s arrest on April 16.
Investigators have yet to determine the identity of the father of the young girl&#8217;s baby, according to FOX Carolina. The victim and her baby were subsequently placed into protective custody.
Rep. Sheri Biggs (R-SC) called Montejo&#8217;s alleged crimes &#8220;the worst of the worst&#8221; and &#8220;truly sickening and evil.&#8221;
&#8220;I thank ICE for their quick action, and I pray nothing like this ever happens again,&#8221; she said.
Montejo is being held on an $80,000 surety bond, according to multiple reports. The illegal immigrant has no previous criminal history in the United States, according to DHS.

Untitled design – 2026-04-21T125951.409

EXCLUSIVE: Illegal Accused Of Unspeakable Crime After Young Daughter Gives Birth In Parking Lot

Deportations

An illegal immigrant convicted of groping multiple female students at a Virginia high school was sentenced Tuesday to just 360 days behind bars and two years of probation, <a href="https://katv.com/news/nation-world/illegal-immigrant-sentenced-groping-girls-fairfax-high-school-israel-flores-ortiz-sentencing-assault-groped-multiple-students-el-salvador-victim-courtroom-attorney-statements" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to 7News.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-call-out-sanctuary-policies-after-illegal-immigrant-accused-of-groping-multiple-girls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz,</a> 18, of El Salvador, was found guilty earlier this month of nine counts of assault after roughly a dozen girls accused him of groping them in school hallways, including placing his hands between their legs and touching their private areas, the outlet reported. He is a junior at Fairfax High School.
He has already served roughly half of his jail sentence, leaving about 140 days remaining, though the exact time will depend on credit for time served, according to 7News.
After his conviction, one of his victims, a ninth-grade girl, said the assault left her with new fears.
“Now I have to make sure and look around extra to see who’s around me and make sure that nobody touches me that way again,” she told 7News at the time.
One victim&#8217;s mother said the assaults &#8220;had been occurring for several months.&#8221;
“It was all perpetrated by a single individual who is a stranger to the girls,” she previously told 7News. “He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area.&#8221;
Flores-Ortiz crossed the border illegally in 2024 and was subsequently released into the United States under the Biden administration&#8217;s catch-and-release policy, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
After his latest arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer requesting that local authorities transfer him to their custody in pursuit of his deportation. Following Flores-Ortiz&#8217;s conviction, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Wire that &#8220;ICE has been notified of Ortiz’s location at the ADC [Adult Detention Center], and they are able to execute their detainer by responding to the ADC and taking Ortiz into custody once his time sentence is completed and he has been ordered released.&#8221;
&#8220;The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office does not obstruct or prevent ICE from acting on their civil detainers,&#8221; the sheriff&#8217;s office said.
The sheriff&#8217;s office didn&#8217;t respond to a follow-up question about whether they would give ICE advance notice of Flores-Ortiz&#8217;s eventual release.
The latest case comes amid a string of violent crimes allegedly perpetrated by illegal immigrants in Virginia.
Last week, a Guatemalan illegal immigrant, Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran, 28, allegedly attempted to rape a woman as she was waiting for her rideshare in Arlington, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/04/15/ice-asks-governor-spanberger-and-virginia-sanctuary-politicians-arlington-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Thursday.
There have also been three murders tied to illegal immigrant offenders in 2026 in Fairfax County, accounting for 75% of the area&#8217;s killings this year.
The Trump administration has responded by calling on Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to keep the offenders locked up.
Since entering office, Spanberger has signaled that ICE detainers aren’t enough for local authorities to hand inmates over to ICE. She also ended an agreement allowing state law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration agents.

Untitled design – 2026-03-17T141907.282

Blue State Gives Illegal Who Groped High School Girls Less Than A Year Behind Bars

abigail spanberger

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