Mexican cartels amassed fortunes on par with major corporations, but that has all changed since President Donald Trump closed the border.
Under the Biden administration, the Mexican cartels&#8217; profits jumped from $500 million in 2018 to an estimated $13 billion in 2022, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/25/us/migrant-smuggling-evolution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times. The massive flow of cash was largely due to their migrant smuggling enterprise, which grew even more profitable than their vast drug empire.
Border Patrol agents were instructed to release illegal crossers into the United States as swiftly as possible under then-President Joe Biden, and many likened what the job had become to aiding in the smugglers&#8217; enterprise.
But now that&#8217;s all changed since Trump&#8217;s return to office. For the last six months, the Trump administration hasn&#8217;t released a single illegal border crosser into the country, putting an end to the major catch and release pipeline and driving migrant encounters to record lows.
Smugglers, however, have grown desperate to maintain their profits, shifting operations to the high seas to move people illegally into the U.S.
Along the California coast, the pace of interdictions of boats packed with illegal immigrants has remained constant.
Last fiscal year, the Coast Guard encountered &#8220;well over&#8221; 2,000 illegal immigrants. And traffic has remained &#8220;fairly steady&#8221; with the Coast Guard seeing an increase in interdictions, Coast Guard Capt. Jason Hagen, who is the southwest district chief of enforcement, told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.
&#8220;As you lock down the land border, the cartels will need to make their money, so they push to the maritime, to the water side. And, unfortunately, there is no border wall in the ocean; we&#8217;re challenged with the tyranny of distance,&#8221; Hagen said.
Earlier this month, Coast Guardsmen in San Diego&#8217;s Mission Bay were forced to fire several rounds to disable the engine of a 20-foot smuggling boat carrying 12 <a href="https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4330965/coast-guard-interdicts-12-aliens-offshore-mission-bay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal immigrants</a> from Mexico and El Salvador as they tried to escape.
<div id="attachment_1004923" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004923" class="wp-image-1004923 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg.webp" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg-150x150.webp 150w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Credit: Customs and Border Protection</div>
Days later, Navy sailors came across a small boat packed with <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-apprehends-17-illegal-aliens-coastal-waters-near-san-clemente" target="_blank" rel="noopener">17 illegal migrants</a> traversing the sea near San Clemente Island. Border Patrol took them into custody, as is standard procedure.
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At least four illegal migrants died after their boat recently capsized off Imperial Beach in a separate incident. The Justice Department has since hit a Mexican man believed to be the captain with charges of &#8220;Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain&#8221; that could result in life in prison, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/two-charged-human-smuggling-event-led-least-four-deaths">according</a> to the Justice Department.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a dangerous game, and I can tell you the cartels are not in the business of safety, they&#8217;re in the business of money,&#8221; Hagen said.
The cartels have also increased their maritime smuggling fees.
Under the Biden administration, they were charging illegal immigrants between $10,000 &#8211; $15,000 in smuggling fees to take to the seas. Now, they&#8217;re forcing migrants to pay between $20,000 &#8211; $40,000, Manny Bayon, the President of the Border Patrol union’s San Diego chapter, told The Daily Wire.
Bayon echoed that maritime smuggling in the Pacific Ocean has picked up &#8220;due to the increased enforcement on the southern border.&#8221;
In response, federal authorities are now preparing to bolster security along the coastal border by installing new thermal imaging cameras to spot smuggling activity before it reaches America&#8217;s shores, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2025-11-19/san-clemente-cbp-maritime-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.

Untitled design – 2025-11-21T120849.513

How Cartels Are Shifting Tactics After Trump Crushed Their Human Smuggling Empire

How Cartels Have Changed Tactics After Trump Destroyed Their Multi-Billion Dollar Human Smuggling Bu

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Thanksgiving is a time when families thrive, and our conservative movement can learn key lessons from this uniquely American tradition as we move forward together.
Let’s begin with what’s best about the day: a shared table, familiar laughter, and the quiet grace of gratitude. Gratitude is not the fruit of harmony; it is the seed. Traditions renew; children grow up knowing the laugh of a cousin; and an uncle regales with stories of where the family came from. The mystic chords of memory, those invisible threads that bind generations, grow stronger and endure.
Thanksgiving is meant to be practiced. The meaningful work of breaking bread with people who vote differently, pray differently, and have different points of view preserves more than a holiday tradition. Amongst people you don’t always like but with whom you share a deep bond is where public deliberation starts — a practice foundational to American self-government. We keep the muscle memory of belonging to something larger than ourselves.
What’s true for our families is, of course, also true for our conservative movement and the nation we all endeavor to save.
Ronald Reagan is often remembered for saying, &#8220;All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” What is left out, however, is the line that follows: “So, tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven&#8217;t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let &#8217;em know and nail &#8217;em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.&#8221;
Let the talking begin this week — and let our conversations be an invitation to those we love to once again find unity in our purpose, first as families and then as a nation. At Heritage, we’ve started this family conversation, centered around four questions plain enough to ask around the dinner table and significant enough to guide a movement and save a republic:
What does it mean to be a flourishing American family?
What does it mean to honor the dignity of work and secure the future of free enterprise?
What does it mean to have true national security?
What does it mean to be an American citizen?
At Heritage, we have a point of view, confident in our thinking and our institution’s 52 years of robust intellectual history. We believe that united, good-faith conservatives will engage in this discussion. We are also certain we know what a restored America looks like:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Marriage and family celebrated, not ignored or mocked.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Work dignified, wages rising, and two incomes a family choice, not a necessity.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Borders secure, military strong, enemies deterred.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Children learning truth — not ideology — in educational institutions that parents control.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Faith respected, civic virtue restored, patriotism the norm.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Government limited, debt shrinking, freedom expanding.</li>
</ul>
We call this Heritage 2.0 inside our organization, where every colleague contributed to its creation. We present it to you as our battle plan to save America.
Let there be no mistake; we are taking back Washington to save America. That puts a target on us — from the uniparty, the entrenched bureaucracy, and the deep state. Now may be a suitable time to reiterate with clarity our message to the purveyors of the status quo: Bring it on.
We sweat not for the elites, but for everyday Americans. We toil not to be keyboard warriors but to chart a course of national renewal. The future of conservatism — a fusion of old and new right — will succeed when we return power to the people.
Today’s populism didn&#8217;t emerge in a vacuum. It arose from failed leadership, calcified institutions, and elites who prioritized bureaucracy over everyday Americans. The people aren&#8217;t seeking minor fixes; they&#8217;re challenging the very credibility of the system, and often, they&#8217;re spot on. This ought to inspire our movement!
The clearest path to returning power to the people is through a wholehearted rejuvenation of federalism. We will never lose sight of the many millions who feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. More than any organization across the country, Heritage is fully engaged in the work required to ensure a free, self-governing people can raise families and engage in community and commerce with peace, principles, and prosperity.
Of course, the people will decide our future, as President Trump last week noted, appealing to the beauty of our American system. We are clear-eyed that our effort comes at a time of cultural and civic strain. But we’ve been here before. My friend and predecessor Ed Feulner wrote in his book The March of Freedom that conservatism is “a broad social movement of diverse but reinforcing beliefs, gathering travelers on the same journey — pilgrims who argue over the topography of their promised land but move in the same direction.”
As Vice President Vance also said, the forces arrayed against conservatives of all stripes have massive resources, and there is a point where infighting becomes counterproductive.
So, let us pull up chairs at the family table. Let us channel that turbulent passion and refine it with cool reason through public deliberation. Let us all be builders of a better America. Just as we will nurture the family tree through open dialogue, let us build America’s next 250 years under a thriving canopy of vibrant, interconnected branches rooted in self-governance.
Our Heritage is our future. Through it, together, we will save the republic and secure its future.
* * *
Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., is president of the Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
* * *
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Roberts III

Thanksgiving, The Family Table, And A Playbook For The Work Ahead

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The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection approved $4.5 billion for the construction of highly technical sections of the border wall.
CBP announced last week that 10 contracts were cleared in September for 230 miles for “barriers” and roughly 400 miles for “technology,” including a “Smart Wall,” which uses multiple elements to monitor and prevent people from crossing over the border illegally.
Some of the new technology includes “steel barriers, waterborne barriers, lights cameras,” and other tools to detect potential “illegal traffic,” according to CBP.
“For years, Washington talked about border security but failed to deliver. This President changed that,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement. “The Smart Wall means more miles of barriers, more technology, and more capability for our agents on the ground. This is how you take control of the border.”
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The 10 contracts were the first to be paid for through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed in July. The bill included billions for border and immigration purposes, including hiring more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and $12 billion to pay back states for costs inflicted by the Biden-era border crisis.
The funding will go to projects along the border, spanning from California to Texas. Since Trump took office in January, several other projects have been cleared through contracts or waivers to continue wall construction, which was primarily halted during the Biden administration.
CBP’s webpage on the Smart Wall explains that the overall goal is to “gain operational control of the border” by combining a mix of measures, including a “secondary” wall and other technologies based on factors such as “geographic characteristics” and “procurement timelines.”
“The Smart Wall serves as a necessary tool to protect areas between ports of entry along the Rio Grande, where crossings already constitute improper entry,” Brandy Perez, a research assistant at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, said.
“The Department of Homeland Security’s $4.5 billion investment in Smart Wall construction amplifies America’s inherent right as a sovereign nation to decide who legally belongs on U.S. soil and who does not,” Perez added.
“The previous Trump administration implemented barriers in regions across the Southwest border and witnessed a decline in illegal crossings by 87% in the<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2020/10/29/border-wall-system-deployed-effective-and-disrupting-criminals-and-smugglers?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Yuma </a>sector and a 26% decrease in narcotics seizures in the Rio Grande sector, proving that walls deter foreign nationals who seek to break the laws of the United States and jeopardize public safety,” she continued.
As long-term developments at the border continue, the administration recently touted that fiscal year 2025 was the lowest for apprehensions at the southern border since 1970, and no releases of those crossing illegally in five months as of September, according to a CBP news release.
“Fiscal Year 2025 shows what happens when we enforce the law without compromise,” Scott stated at the time. “For too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies. Today they are empowered to do their jobs – and the result is the lowest apprehensions in more than five decades, and the most secure border in modern history.”

Kristi Noem

Trump Admin Paves The Way For Miles Of ‘Smart Wall’ Along The Southern Border

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A Colombian company worked on behalf of a U.S. immigration law firm offering deportation defense, identifying prospective clients as the firm targeted illegal immigrants with its marketing, according to a newly discovered lawsuit.
The 2023 lawsuit reveals how entities both inside and outside of the United States continue to profit from America’s mass illegal immigration crisis. The Colombian company explained that it was tasked with “the identification of Spanish-speaking individuals confronting immigration problems” on behalf of the law firm.
The data gathered by the Colombian company and intended for the use by the law firm was improperly obtained by a competing law firm that also provides deportation defense and other legal services to illegal immigrants, according to <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-njd-2_23-cv-03038/pdf/USCOURTS-njd-2_23-cv-03038-0.pdf">the lawsuit</a>.
The Colombian company Professional Consulting Services was hired to gather all relevant data. The Colombian company’s software enables it “to collect and organize the personal information of potential Spanish-speaking individuals who may need assistance with immigration matters,” the lawsuit states.
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Professional Consulting Services then provided this information to the South Carolina-based law firm, Inmigracion al Dia, which explicitly assists illegal aliens, stating on its <a href="https://inmigracionaldia.com/">website</a> that they are a &#8220;team of attorneys with experience in immigration proceedings representing thousands of Hispanics in the United States.&#8221;
“It doesn&#8217;t matter how you got here,” the law firm says on its <a href="https://inmigracionaldia.com/">website</a> in Spanish. “We evaluate your options for legalizing your immigration status in the United States and help you find a path to enjoying the benefits of legal status.”
The company offers <a href="https://inmigracionaldia.com/cancelacion-de-remocion">deportation defense</a> services and assists those who want to apply for an immigration forgiveness waiver, which the firm <a href="https://inmigracionaldia.com/waiver-perdon">describes</a> as “a legal process that serves as a lifeline for people who are illegally in the United States, violating immigration laws.”
Inmigracion al Dia <a href="https://inmigracionaldia.com/comienza-de-nuevo-organico?utm_content=297006179&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;hss_channel=fbp-1700914376888936">promises</a> to help its clients “live and work legally in the United States indefinitely.”
The leads generated by Professional Consulting Services on behalf of Inmigracion al Dia are alleged to have been improperly used by yet another U.S.-based law firm that specializes in serving illegal aliens. That firm, called Inmigracion OK, also courts illegal aliens and promises to help them remain in the United States.
Inmigracion OK <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&amp;country=US&amp;is_targeted_country=false&amp;media_type=all&amp;search_type=page&amp;source=ad-report&amp;view_all_page_id=101909022324252">advertises directly</a> to illegal aliens on Facebook, where it spent more than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&amp;country=US&amp;is_targeted_country=false&amp;media_type=all&amp;search_type=page&amp;source=ad-report&amp;view_all_page_id=101909022324252">$140,000</a> in 90 days from mid-May to mid-August.
“Are you undocumented in the United States? We could help you understand the process of obtaining papers. No matter how you arrived in this country, we can help you,” reads one of the law firm’s advertisements, which were originally posted in Spanish. “Having legal immigration status in the United States and a better life is possible.”
“Are you in New York undocumented? We can guide you on how to obtain your work permit,” one ad says. “Are you in the United States without regular immigration status?” yet another ad asks.
One member of the law firm, Oscar Barbosa, has an office with another law firm called Diaspora Law, the lawsuit claims. Also based in New Jersey, Diaspora Law “specializes in family immigration, business immigration and deportation defense.”
“We are immigrants too. Diaspora Law is passionate about helping immigrants because we all have a deep connection to the cause,” <a href="https://www.diasporalaw.com/">the firm’s site</a> says, also adding that it works “with local organizations to advocate for fair changes in immigration law.”
Neither Inmigracion al Dia nor Inmigracion OK responded to a request for comment.

Illegal alien deportation

A Foreign Company Found Clients For Immigration Law Firm Specializing In Deportation Defense

Foreign Company Fielded Clients For Illegal Alien Deportation Defense Firm

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WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to complete the border wall with materials that former President Joe Biden sold off &#8220;for pennies on the dollar,&#8221; as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-races-to-sell-off-border-wall-parts-before-trump-takes-office">first reported in December</a>.
The president spoke with the press on Wednesday at the Kennedy Center after announcing the recipients of the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Asked by The Daily Wire about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/border-wall-supplies-sold-off-by-biden-to-be-returned-to-trump-admin">reports that parts of the border wall</a> will be returned to the federal government, Trump promised: &#8220;We are taking that wall back.&#8221;
The president pointed to the Biden administration&#8217;s efforts to sell off the wall materials. Videos obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in December showed trucks hauling away unused sections of the wall from a section of the border just south of Tucson, Arizona, a hotspot for illegal crossings during the Biden administration.
&#8220;They sold the wall,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;This is expensive stuff. Hardened steel, very expensive. 9,000-pound concrete and rebar. Rebar is very expensive. The hardest rebar. It&#8217;s very hard to cut. You have different materials. It&#8217;s very hard to cut. They cut it down if they can. It&#8217;s very hard to cut.&#8221;
&#8220;Biden sold it for pennies on the dollar, $0.03 on the dollar, $0.04 on the dollar, he sold it,&#8221; Trump added.
&#8220;Well, Pam Bondi has been working very hard on suing that company and I think they&#8217;ve reached a settlement where we&#8217;re taking the wall back,&#8221; Trump added, glancing at the attorney general, who was watching the president&#8217;s remarks along with other administration officials. &#8220;But they stole the wall from us. That wall was so expensive to build. And we had it, as you know, hundreds of miles of it. They came along and they basically sold it for scrap. What a shame that is.&#8221;
&#8220;But that was when I first realized that these people actually want to have open borders,&#8221; he added of the Biden administration. &#8220;No country — poor countries don&#8217;t have open borders. We had open borders where people just walked in, didn&#8217;t matter what they look like, who they were, they could have — we had 11,888 murderers. Half of whom killed more than one person. Literally. Killed more than one person. And this is who we took into our country. So the wall is the least of it.&#8221;
&#8220;We are going to take the wall back,&#8221; he said again. &#8220;We are paying a small amount of money, as I understand it, to get it back, to get rid of the litigation. We&#8217;ll take it back. We&#8217;ll put it up.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaryMargOlohan</a>: Biden was auctioning off border wall materials, now they&#8217;re selling them back&#8230; Are you finishing the wall? <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: Biden sold it for scrap&#8230; That&#8217;s when I first realized they really wanted open borders&#8230; We&#8217;re gonna take the wall back and put it up. <a href="https://t.co/yfV26qvVhV">pic.twitter.com/yfV26qvVhV</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1955670345001927143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I built hundreds of miles of wall and I was getting very close,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;I actually finished the wall but then I added another 200 miles&#8230;I got it to the specifications of the border patrol and ICE, they wanted steel they wanted concrete inside, they wanted rebar inside that, they wanted it to have wires, the walls are wired for all the internet stuff and security things.&#8221;
&#8220;And we built it, hundreds of miles,&#8221; Trump explained. &#8220;We did great. That&#8217;s one of the reasons even now we are able to have such good [illegal immigration] numbers at 0, essentially, very little people coming in &#8230; I was going to do another 200 because that&#8217;s the way it is. We were all set to do it, and then we had the bad election result, horrible horrible what happened to our country, what they&#8217;ve allowed to happen to our country.&#8221;
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Spencer Lindquist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/border-wall-supplies-sold-off-by-biden-to-be-returned-to-trump-admin">previously reported that GovPlanet</a>, the government supply auctioning site listing the border wall materials, has said that it will expedite the return of the materials and expressed support for the Trump administration&#8217;s border security plans.
&#8220;GovPlanet has reached an agreement, working with the Office of the Border Czar, to return border wall materials that were previously deemed surplus and sourced by the federal government to GovPlanet via existing contracts,&#8221; the company <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/what-happened-border-wall-components-got-sold-off-under-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a>. &#8220;We are expediting the transfer of these materials to support the administration&#8217;s border protection plans.&#8221;
GovPlanet did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.

Trump Says He’ll Host Kennedy Center Honors For Stallone, Kiss

‘We’ll Put It Up’: Trump Says He’s Getting Border Wall Materials Back After Biden Sold Them Off

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Parts of the border wall that The Daily Wire revealed were auctioned off by the Biden administration are now expected to be returned to the Trump administration to support the President’s “border protection plans.”
The Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-races-to-sell-off-border-wall-parts-before-trump-takes-office">sold off</a> portions of the border wall in Arizona for pennies on the dollar in December, just one month before Trump reentered office in a move that critics called an attempt to hamstring the new administration. Now, those materials will be handed back over to the federal government.
GovPlanet, the government supply auctioning site that listed the border wall materials, says that it will expedite the return of the materials to the federal government, citing its support for the Trump administration’s border security plans.
“GovPlanet has reached an agreement, working with the Office of the Border Czar, to return border wall materials that were previously deemed surplus and sourced by the federal government to GovPlanet via existing contracts,” the company <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/what-happened-border-wall-components-got-sold-off-under-biden">explained</a>. “We are expediting the transfer of these materials to support the administration&#8217;s border protection plans.”
The sale of the border wall materials, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) told The Daily Wire, was an attempt by the Biden administration to hamstring the Trump administration. “The Biden Administration is well aware they shouldn’t have reversed the construction of the border wall. If it’s true, they’re purposefully hamstringing an incoming president, it wouldn’t be shocking,” Crane charged. “Why would they want to see President Trump succeed with policies they aggressively sabotaged?”
The Republican Congressman from Arizona called the sale “a direct affront to the will of the people,” who had given President Trump a mandate to secure the border just a month before The Daily Wire broke the news of the auctions.
The sale came after Biden presided over a record-breaking surge of illegal immigration into the United States.
The materials will now be handed over to a firm that has been contracted by the government to build the wall, GovPlanet says. “We value our longstanding partnership with the U.S. government and look forward to continuing to support America’s federal agencies,” GovPlanet added. “A third-party firm that has been contracted for construction of the border wall will take receipt of the materials over the next 90 days.”
GovPlanet also said that the supplies will be returned to the federal government “at-cost” in order to “protect the millions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers had already invested in this initiative.”

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Border Wall Supplies Sold Off By Biden To Be Returned To Trump Admin

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Three Venezuelan nationals released into the United States by the Biden administration have been charged in connection with a murder in Texas.
The three men were each <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1952396528934629851">charged</a> with capital murder and are believed to have shot and killed a 48-year-old man at a Motel 6 in Garland, Texas.
Two of the three men, Jose Trivino-Cruz and Jesus Bellorin-Guzman, were released into the United States by the Biden administration through the Customs and Border Patrol One app, an online platform that allowed migrants to remotely schedule asylum appointments and expedited the entry of thousands of migrants into the United States.
The third Venezuelan national charged in connection with the murder, named Yosguar Aponte-Jimenez, entered the United States illegally in 2023 before ultimately being released into the country by the Biden administration.
Two of the men are also believed to have held a woman at gunpoint at a different hotel that same day, allegedly robbing and sexually assaulting her.
“Three depraved criminal illegal aliens from Venezuela were released into the U.S. under the Biden administration and are now facing capital murder and robbery charges for shooting and killing a man at a motel in Dallas County, Texas,” Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary, <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/08/04/ice-lodges-arrest-detainers-3-criminal-illegal-aliens-venezuela-charged-capital">charged</a>. “Thanks to the brave men and women of ICE law enforcement, these criminal illegal aliens&#8217; crime spree is OVER.”
“These vicious criminals have no place in the U.S. ICE has lodged a detainer to ensure they are removed from our country after they face justice for their heinous crimes,” McLaughlin went on to add.
Both Jimenez and Trivino-Cruz are also believed to be involved in additional crimes. DHS says that Jimenez admitted to more than 25 robberies, while the federal agency says that Trivino-Cruz, who has been charged with aggravated robbery and indecent assault, confessed to perpetrating two robberies that same day.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer request on the three Venezuelan nationals and is expected to gain custody of the men.

Venezuelan Criminals

Three Venezuelan Migrants Released Into United States By Biden Admin Charged With Murder

Three Venezuelans Let Into United States By Biden Admin Charged With Murder

Crime

Crossings over the treacherous landbridge that connects South and Central America, called the Darien Gap, have plummeted to near-zero amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Darien Gap, which connects Colombia and Panama, witnessed hundreds of thousands of migrants traveling north through it in 2023 during the Biden administration. But <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/30/migrant-traffic-darien-gap-panama-trump">just 10 migrants</a> traveled north through the dangerous stretch of jungle in June, marking a stunning drop after six months of the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the precipitous decline in crossings through the Darien Gap.
“In Panama&#8217;s Darien Gap, migrants are turning BACK before they even reach our border — only 10 migrants crossed in June,&#8221; DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, adding that the new figures amount to more than a 99.8% drop from migration through the region under the Biden administration. &#8220;The world is hearing our message that America&#8217;s borders are closed to lawbreakers.&#8221;
The figures come as migrant encounters on the southern border of the United States continue to drop dramatically, with officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/border-patrol-saw-fewer-migrant-encounters-last-month-than-one-single-day-under-biden-homan-says?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=28&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Border+Patrol+Saw+Fewer+Migrant+Encounters+Last+Month+Than+One+Single+Day+Under+Biden%2C+Homan+Says">recording fewer encounters</a> in the month of June than were seen in single days under the Biden administration.
Not only are migrants not traveling through the jungle passageway — which is replete with alligators and snakes — many even turned around and went south through the region at the start of President Donald Trump’s term.
Colombia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/latin-american-country-sees-massive-drop-in-migration-attributes-decline-to-trump-border-policies">witnessed</a> a drastic increase in the number of migrants crossing back into the narrow stretch of jungle toward their home countries in South America earlier this year. The nation recorded just under 10,000 people crossing back south from January to February, a significant increase from the previous year, when just over 4,000 returned south from the Darien Gap.
The Colombian government issued a report indicating that the new trend was the result of the Trump administration’s border security policies. “The majority of migrants indicate they come from Mexico, where they had been waiting for an appointment with U.S. authorities for one to three months,” the report noted before going on to say “with the change in U.S. immigration policies, they made the decision to return.”
Panamanian President Jose Mulino asserted in March that his administration would not allow migrants to cross into the Darien Gap and ordered the closure of sites to assist migrants in their northward trek.

Darien Gap

Migrant Crossings Of Infamous Darien Gap Plummet To Near-Zero

border security

Trump Administration

World

The Department of Homeland Security has busted scores of illegal alien human traffickers and sex predators, and The Daily Wire has obtained exclusive details on the criminal illegals busted by the federal law enforcement agency.
Operations spanning from Newark, New Jersey, to Camarillo, California, resulted in the arrest of dozens of illegal aliens perpetrating the heinous crimes, with the federal agency saying that “the full weight of the American government is bringing the hammer down on human trafficking rings.”
“The brave men and women of DHS are the best in the world at going after traffickers. They are always able to track down those who are trafficking individuals, find the ringleaders, and rip that evil off by its head,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told The Daily Wire.
“I’m so thankful that I get the chance to lead individuals like that, and agents who get up every day to help save our children and to save women and men from the kind of slavery that we’ve seen,” the secretary went on to say, celebrating the work of DHS agents to bust human trafficking rings on the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
One late July operation in Newark resulted in the arrest of four illegal alien child predators by ICE agents over a four-day span. Those arrested in the enforcement action, which was part of Operation Apex Predator, were all registered sex offenders.
A July 22 operation resulted in the arrest of a human smuggler in Laredo, Texas, who was found to be smuggling 101 migrants in a locked trailer. Of those 101 individuals, 12 were children. The man was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
ICE and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation teamed up to levy a four-count indictment against eight people with ties to the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, with the defendants charged for their involvement in a “transnational commercial sex enterprise.”
In one particularly disturbing case, Homeland Security Investigations arrested an Ecuadoran national in New York for the sexual violation of a minor. Authorities discovered that a 15-year-old girl who was pregnant with the man&#8217;s child had been apprehended after attempting to illegally enter the United States, and that the man had been in a relationship with the child in Ecuador since she was 13 years old. The Ecuadoran national, authorities say, arranged to have her smuggled into the United States.
Not all of the perpetrators busted by federal authorities were illegal aliens. One American citizen, who was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals working in coordination with Customs and Border Protection, was identified as a &#8220;high-priority target linked to a criminal syndicate operating in human exploitation.&#8221; The suspect was arrested in Yuma, Arizona, and was wanted for placing individuals into prostitution, residing in a house of prostitution, and profiting from the earnings of prostitution.
Other operations targeted human smuggling rings that sought to bring illegal aliens into the United States for profit. The federal agency busted a transnational smuggling ring on May 2, when it discovered that four Mexican illegal aliens were running an “international human smuggling conspiracy” to bring illegal aliens into the United States from the Canadian border. Those smuggled into the United States would pay thousands of dollars to the criminal ring.
Homeland Security busted another smuggling ring on March 25, when a woman who had smuggled more than 100 Colombians into the United States was sentenced to 30 months in prison following her arrest by ICE in Arizona.
Customs and Border Protection apprehended a Mexican national in California’s Port San Luis who sedated a child and attempted to smuggle the child across the border. The woman claimed that she was the mother and presented a false birth certificate, with agents discovering that the woman did not have any familial ties to the child.
Under Trump and Noem, Homeland Security has also cracked down on forced labor rings. One South Korean company, Taepyung Salt Farm, is <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-issues-withhold-release-order-taepyung-salt-farm">no longer able to import</a> its products to the United States, with Customs and Border Protection agents detaining their imports on account of “information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor in the production of the company’s sea salt products.”
Agents also shut down a now-infamous marijuana growing operation in Camarillo, California, rescuing 14 migrant children who were at risk of exploitation, trafficking, and forced labor. Agents arrested a whopping 361 illegal aliens, including some with charges for rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, and attempted child molestation.

ICE Agent

EXCLUSIVE: DHS Arrests Scores Of Criminal Illegals In Nationwide Anti-Trafficking Raids

Department of Homeland Security

Noem

Tren De Aragua

The Trump administration has set a new monthly record for criminal prosecution of illegal aliens in June, as it utilizes a powerful tool in its multi-agency approach to crack down on illegal immigration.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) brought cases against more than 3,000 illegal aliens last month, charging the foreign nationals with illegal reentry, a new <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jul/28/trump-sets-new-record-criminal-prosecutions-illegal-immigrants/">report</a> indicates. The charge can be brought against illegal aliens who reenter the United States after having been previously deported back to their country of origin. DOJ prosecutors brought an additional 3,200 cases against illegal aliens for illegal entry.
The decision to criminally prosecute thousands of illegal aliens is part of the administration’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-sealed-the-border-in-his-first-100-days">whole of government</a>” approach to curtailing illegal immigration. The DOJ asserted that it is “using all available investigative and prosecutorial tools” in the effort to fight the “invasion of illegal immigration.”
Jonathan Fahey, former assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia and the acting director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump’s first term, explained that the cases almost always end in a conviction. Prosecutors are tasked with proving that the illegal alien has previously been deported, but is currently present in the United States despite the prior deportation.
“They’re a great way to get a conviction, a great way to get a criminal off the street, and a great way to remove them from the country in an expeditious way,” Fahey noted.
While cases have been brought against illegal aliens in states across the country, the increase in prosecutions has been particularly notable in New Mexico. Authorities in the state brought forward 245 cases in May and another 277 in June, marking more than a 100 percent increase since late 2024, when fewer than 100 cases were brought forward each month.
The cases are one more way that the Trump administration has discouraged illegal immigration and encouraged illegal aliens currently present in the United States to self-deport back to their country of origin.
The strategies appear to have been effective, with illegal alien encounters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/border-patrol-saw-fewer-migrant-encounters-last-month-than-one-single-day-under-biden-homan-says?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=24&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Border+Patrol+Saw+Fewer+Migrant+Encounters+Last+Month+Than+One+Single+Day+Under+Biden%2C+Homan+Says">plummeting</a> more than 90 percent in certain months while tens of thousands of illegal aliens are said to have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tens-of-thousands-of-illegal-aliens-self-deport-through-cbp-home-app-report?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tens+Of+Thousands+Of+Illegal+Aliens+Self-Deport+Through+CBP+Home+App%3A+Report">voluntarily left</a> the United States.

Illegal alien arrest

Trump Admin Sets New Record For Illegal Alien Prosecutions

Department of Justice

Deportations

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Groups tied to the left-wing billionaire George Soros are rallying in support of a Republican congresswoman&#8217;s plan to give millions of illegal aliens legal status in the United States.
Rep. Maria Salazar&#8217;s (R-FL) Dignity Act would allow illegal aliens to apply for a renewable, seven-year legal status, so long as they don’t have a criminal record beyond illegal entry. Illegal aliens who’ve been shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be allowed to gain permanent legal status.
Conservatives have slammed the legislation as a handout to illegal aliens. But liberal groups, some with a history of supporting the legalization of all illegal aliens, are lining up behind the joint effort from Salazar and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX).
That includes several organizations with ties to George Soros, the leftist billionaire and Democrat donor who has <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2022/10/01/soros-open-society-foundation-millions-pro-amnesty-pro-illegal-immigration-groups/">bankrolled</a> efforts across the country to encourage mass immigration and offer mass amnesty to illegal aliens before leveraging new immigrants as a Democratic voting bloc.
One <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-soros-backed-organizations-leverage-waves-of-new-immigrants-to-sway-elections">Soros-backed group</a> tracked the demographics of key swing states and worked to naturalize immigrants to “sway the outcome of national, state, and local elections.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: Soros-backed NGOs are leveraging mass immigration to &#8220;sway the outcome&#8221; of our elections.
The New American Voters project tracks demographics of key swing states as it seeks to build a &#8220;new American majority.&#8221; Here&#8217;s how they could swing the election towards the Dems🧵 <a href="https://t.co/juRsvloCPe">pic.twitter.com/juRsvloCPe</a>
— Spencer Lindquist 🇺🇸 (@SpencerLndqst) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerLndqst/status/1838603262129315855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
Another Soros-backed group, called United We Dream, raked in $700,000 from the far-left billionaire as it called for an amnesty for all illegal aliens, the closing of ICE detention facilities, and the defunding of ICE and Border Patrol.
Now, Soros-aligned organizations are lining up behind the Dignity Act.
One radical organization that advocates for an amnesty for all illegal aliens, FWD.us, came out <a href="https://www.fwd.us/news/fwd-us-statement-on-reintroduction-of-the-bipartisan-dignity-act/">in support</a> of Salazar’s bill in a statement that also bashed President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and “attacks on immigrant communities.”
“The bipartisan Dignity Act is a much-needed step forward. We thank Congresswomen Salazar and Escobar, along with the bill’s other co-sponsors, for reintroducing this important bipartisan legislation,” the far-left group wrote.
The organization doubled down on its support for mass amnesty for all illegal aliens, framing the Dignity Act as a step towards the group’s end goal.
“We will continue to fight for a more fair and just immigration system, including a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants building their lives in the United States. We hope today’s reintroduction will be met by more steps towards commonsense immigration reform,” the group stated.
The organization frequently <a href="https://www.fwd.us/news/fwd-us-statement-on-trump-administrations-plan-to-end-tps-for-honduras-and-nicaragua/">criticizes</a> the Trump administration&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fwd.us/news/fwd-us-statement-on-trump-administration-executive-orders-on-immigration/">policies</a> on immigration and <a href="https://www.fwd.us/news/fwd-us-statement-on-the-2024-election-results/">complained</a> when he won the 2024 election.
The group’s partner organization, the Fwd.us Education Fund, has <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=fwd.us">received nearly $600,000</a> from the Open Society Foundation, a project of billionaire Democrat donor and far-left philanthropist George Soros. One $125,000 grant bankrolled an effort “to catalogue and provide comprehensive legal analysis of federal immigration policy.” The Fwd.us Education Fund shares the same board members as Fwd.us.
The group also <a href="https://www.fwd.us/team/executive/todd-schulte/">opposed</a> the Trump administration&#8217;s Remain in Mexico policy, which bars illegal aliens from entering the country while asylum claims are being adjudicated. FWD.us did not respond to a request for comment.
FWD.us is far from the only leftist organization that has come out in support of the effort to grant legal status to millions of illegal aliens.
Far-left organization UnidosUS also sang the praises of the bill online. “The reintroduction of the Dignity Act comes at a critical time. Immigrant families across the country are living with fear and uncertainty amid rising enforcement and threats of mass deportation,” the group wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/weareunidosus/status/1945595952099721670?s=46&amp;t=Xt7LDGYR54I2nQa-aK0rOA">post on X</a>. “We welcome bipartisan efforts to protect long-residing immigrants who have built their lives here. Any serious solution must offer stability, legal status and a path forward.”
The organization was awarded a $22 million grant from the Biden administration to encourage that “vulnerable populations,” including illegal aliens, receive the COVID-19 vaccine, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-government-is-spending-22-million-to-help-illegal-immigrants-get-covid-vaccines">reported</a>.
The group also came out <a href="https://unidosus.org/press-releases/unidosus-condemns-us-senate-for-passing-president-trumps-cruel-costly-and-harmful-federal-budget-bill/">against</a> Trump&#8217;s budget bill, arguing that it will allow the administration to &#8220;turbocharge its chaotic, malicious and unlawful deportation machine.&#8221;
The group’s sister organization, UnidosUS Action, <a href="https://www.unidosusaf.org/pathtocitizenship">called</a> for illegal aliens to receive a pathway to citizenship in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. That group has raked in <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=unidosus">half a million dollars</a> from the Open Society Foundations, with all of the money going to “support policy advocacy on immigration.”
UnidosUS told The Daily Wire that it has “consistently voiced support for bipartisan bills that offer immigrants the stability they deserve.&#8221;
&#8220;It’s why we welcome the Dignity Act, a genuine bipartisan effort that protects long-settled immigrants who contribute to our country from deportation while allowing employers to retain their workforce,&#8221; the group explained.
The American Immigration Council, which has received <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=American+immigration+council+">nearly $2 million</a> from the Open Society Foundations and <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/taking-action-trump-first-100-days/">dubbed</a> Trump&#8217;s immigration agenda &#8220;cruel,&#8221; also appears to support the legislation, favorably showcasing it on its site.
“Members of Congress reintroduced what has sadly become an increasingly rare bit of legislation: an immigration reform bill aimed at addressing large-scale systematic problems with our immigration system,” the organization wrote in a <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/legislators-immigration-reform-reintroduced-dignidad-act/">glowing review</a> of the bill, which called it “one of the most sweeping attempts to modify the immigration system that has been proposed in years.”
The organization has received <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=American+immigration+council+">numerous grants</a> from Soros’s foundation, including funding “to support strategies that ensure legal protections for immigrants and demonstrate the value of immigrants to America,” “to develop advocacy strategies around federal immigration policy,” and to “support policy advocacy on immigration.”
The American Immigration Council did not respond to a request for comment.
While Salazar’s legislation has been celebrated by leftist organizations, conservative politicians and organizations have spoken out against it.
“Some of my colleagues in Congress want to reward illegal aliens with amnesty,” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) charged in a post on X in an apparent <a href="https://x.com/RepTiffany/status/1945944219438260265">reference</a> to Salazar’s effort to legalize illegal aliens. “No amnesty — only mass deportations.”
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) told The Daily Wire that it opposes the Dignity Act, calling it a “de facto amnesty.”
“‘A pathway to citizenship’ is just a more verbose term for amnesty. As for the non-DACA beneficiaries of this bill, being allowed to remain here legally indefinitely is still a de facto amnesty,” FAIR Media Director Ira Mehlman told The Daily Wire.
“The five-year requirement for eligibility seems to have been carefully chosen to predate the onset of the Biden administration. But, nevertheless, by FAIR&#8217;s estimates, there were some 15 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. prior to Biden taking office — which would mean that the bill would grant legal status to an enormous population of illegal aliens,” Mehlman added.
He added that the bill would almost certainly provide a way to give full citizenship to those granted renewable legal status under Salazar’s bill.
“There is also pretty much close to a 100% chance that within a few years, there would be an effort to put these millions of people with renewable status on ‘a pathway to citizenship’ as well,” Mehlman charged. “We would almost certainly hear the same arguments that are being made for granting DACA beneficiaries a full amnesty.”
Salazar did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Salazar, George Soros

Soros-Tied Groups Back Republican Bill To Give Amnesty To Millions Of Illegal Aliens

amnesty

George Soros

Soros

Maria Salazar

Republicans Just Launched An Open Revolt Against Trump’s Deportation Operation

Matt Walsh

Opinion

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