'The single largest transfer of money to criminal groups in our history'

'I'm really over this nonsense'

'Provided no documents'

President-elect Donald Trump made mass deportations a pillar of his winning campaign platform. Trump and Tom Homan—the former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who Trump tapped to be his border czar—say they will prioritize the deportations of criminal illegal aliens.   Whether all of the estimated more than 10 million illegal aliens who entered the country under the Biden-Harris administration are deported or not is ultimately up to the incoming Trump administration, says Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.   But when mass deportations begin, “the media will do everything they can to find a heartbreaking story,” Cruz told The Daily Signal after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill discussing mass deportations, adding, “there are a lot of tragic stories. One thing the media never covers are these tragedies that are produced by these open borders.”   A mother who is all too familiar with the tragedies of the open-border crisis shared her story before Cruz and the other senators on the Judiciary Committee during Tuesday’s hearing.   In the summer of 2023, Patty Morin received a phone call that her daughter’s body had been found. At the time, Morin only knew that her daughter Rachel, 37 and the mother of five, was dead, but she soon learned the details of Rachel’s death.   “I was told that she was beaten so badly that her body was blanketed in bruises, that she was strangled, that she was raped, and that she was stuffed into a drainpipe,” Morin told the senators.   My Daughter Was Raped, Strangled, and Stuffed Into a Drainpipe by an Illegal Alien—Mother Recounts Daughter’s Violent Death in Front of U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee pic.twitter.com/yF9DUpApRw— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) December 10, 2024 After a lengthy investigation, authorities arrested Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, on charges of rape and murder in the death of Rachel Morin.   “We need to close our borders. We need to protect American families. We need to protect our women and children, which are the most vulnerable in this country,” Patty Morin said.   “I think that you should put American citizens first,” Morin told the senators. “We are the ones that pay your paycheck. We are the ones that pay taxes.”   It is not Americans alone who have suffered because of the current administration’s border policies, according to Cruz.   “Incredible abuse of migrants” has taken place because of the border crisis, the Texas lawmaker said.   “Every day, illegal immigrants are killed,” he said. “They are raped. They are brutalized. When you go down to the southern border, and you look in the eyes of a little girl, a little boy who has been brutalized by human traffickers, it is haunting, and the media doesn’t tell that story.”   In August, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that it doesn’t know the location or status of more than 300,000 migrant children. Between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, some 32,000 illegal alien minors did not appear for their immigration court hearing, and an additional 291,000 were never given an immigration court date at all.  Nearly 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children were encountered at the southern border in December 2020, the last full month of Trump’s first term. By July 2021, Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 19,000 encounters with unaccompanied migrant children for the month.    According to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, 81% of unaccompanied alien children are between the ages of 13 and 18. The average age of a trafficking victim in the U.S. is between 12 and 15, according to Anti-Trafficking International.     The criminal cartels have exploited a loophole in U.S. law that has allowed unaccompanied alien children from any country except Mexico and Canada to be paroled into the country. A bill known as HR 2 would have closed this loophole. The House passed HR 2 in May 2023, but the Democrat-controlled Senate never took it up.   Even with Republicans set to take control of the Senate in January, Cruz, who authored the Senate version of HR 2, says, “Democrats are not going to pass HR 2. Every Democrat has voted against it, and every Democrat continues to support these open borders.”   “The good news,” according to Cruz, “is the vast majority of the damage that has been done the last four years in open borders was done through unilateral executive action, which means it can be undone through unilateral executive action.”   Cruz added that Congress is going to act and will take up “a budget reconciliation bill that is going to provide the funding to secure the border.”  Stopping the flow of illegal immigration begins by answering the questions, “What happens when someone’s apprehended?” Cruz said. “And if the answer is that they’re put on a plane and sent back to the country they came from, the numbers plummet, and if the answer is they’re released and allowed to stay in this country, the numbers skyrocket.”   Trump will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, and Cruz predicts that “we will see the numbers plummet in January and February of next year.”   The post When Deportations Start, Expect ‘Heartbreaking’ Stories From Corporate Media, Sen. Cruz Warns  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The voters have spoken—they are ready for change. Tired of government overspending, overregulation, and excessive economic intervention, the American people seek real economic reform. Consumers have grown weary of paying the price for overreaching government policies and now hope for meaningful, impactful change.  An immediate priority for the Trump administration should be appointing a new chair to the Federal Trade Commission. Under the current Biden administration and FTC Chair Lina Khan, the agency has continually overstepped its bounds, aggressively intervening in the economy beyond its legal jurisdiction. In response, the American people are now seeking to reassert free market principles and reduce government overreach.  While it’s true that Sen. JD Vance, President Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, has expressed support for many of the actions taken by Khan, it’s worth taking a closer look at the commission’s record under her leadership to assess the costs versus the benefits of the agency’s actions.  Since assuming her role in 2021, Khan has spearheaded an ambitious agenda aimed at challenging mergers, launching wide-ranging investigations, and openly calling for a fundamental rewriting of the nation’s competition laws. Her mission has been fueled by a craven power grab, using the FTC as a personal battering ram to advance her own ideological crusade rather than objectively upholding the rule of law. Disregarding the principles of due process and the agency’s intended nonpartisan role, her actions have introduced legal and procedural ambiguity that risks damaging innovation and consumer wellbeing.  Evidence shows that the FTC under Khan hasn’t truly been effective in achieving tangible outcomes, with some high-profile cases and initiatives stalling or facing setbacks in the courts. This includes cases against Microsoft’s Activision acquisition, Meta’s purchase of Within, and Illumina’s acquisition of Grail, just to name a few.  The recent House Oversight Committee report on the FTC paints an even more concerning picture of Khan’s leadership. According to the report, Khan has “sidelined career FTC staff, collapsed their morale, triggered an exodus of critical employees, and destroyed career staff’s confidence in the honesty and integrity of Commission leadership.” This suggests that Khan has not only abused her power, but also undermined the credibility and integrity of the FTC itself. The damning findings from this report alone warrant removing Khan from her position as chairwoman.  The report also found that Khan has been undermining due process, the rule of law, and ethical standards in pursuit of her ideological agenda at the FTC. It states that Khan has orchestrated sweeping changes to the FTC’s rulemaking practices and policies, enabling the commission to overstep its legally recognized boundaries at the expense of consumers, regulated businesses, and the general public.  This excessive exercise of authority is evident in her rulemaking against so-called “junk fees.” While some minor add-on fees that accompany various consumer purchases may seem unfair on the surface, they can provide customers with more flexible pricing options tailored to their individual needs. Imposing a universal ban would be an overreaction, ignoring the legitimate business reasons for certain fees, such as covering administrative costs, offsetting risks, or offering optional services.  Ironically tens of billions of dollars of “junk fees” are yearly costs passed on to consumers from government mandates themselves, so a sweeping, blanket prohibition against these fees won’t help consumers but actually harm them further by reducing choice, increasing prices, and limiting access to valuable products and services. Regulators should take a more measured, industry-specific approach that balances consumer protection with the need for businesses to remain viable and innovative.  The airline industry showcases the benefits of back-end fees, such as baggage, seat selection, and change/cancellation fees, which give flyers more control over their travel experience by allowing them to pay only for the services they need. Instead of enforcing a rigid ticket pricing structure, these à la carte fees enable budget-conscious passengers to avoid unnecessary add-ons. While “junk fees” often face criticism, it’s important to recognize that in certain situations, they can enhance consumer choice and flexibility. This makes them a practical tool rather than an unjust burden on travelers.  The FTC has lost its way, prioritizing misguided initiatives that risk undermining the very economic competitiveness that has long fueled America’s prosperity. Rather than focusing on its traditional role of addressing demonstrable market abuses, the agency has instead sought to reshape the economy according to Khan’s own ideological preferences. This overreach into areas outside the FTC’s purview threatens to stifle the dynamic innovation and healthy competition essential to a thriving, free-market system. By pursuing novel legal theories and interventionist policies, the FTC risks disrupting the delicate balance that allows businesses to invest, grow, and deliver value to consumers. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The Misguided Agenda of Biden’s Overreaching Federal Trade Commission Chair appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FEMA: Depends What Your Definition of 'Tent' Is

Marc Andreessen: AI Plus Woke Equals Dystopia

Someone should tell Politico's senior foreign affairs correspondent Nahal Toosi that Team America: World Police was meant to be a comedy, not an instructional film. Yet on Sunday Toosi was strategizing how to get President-elect Trump deep into the Syria mess that he wants to avoid. Her story in which she ditches any hint of attempting to be an objective reporter in favor of a flat out advocate for foreign interference by Trump is made crystal clear in the title of her more than obvious pitch piece, "How to Convince a Reluctant Trump to Get Involved in a Liberated Syria." “American leadership matters for the whole world,” Prince Turki Al-Faisal, a former ambassador in Washington, said during the IISS Manama Dialogue. “It is time for America, under your presidency, to change the course of this troubled region.” Maybe the prince was trying to boost the ego of a self-obsessed politician, a man whose famous quotes include “I alone can fix it.” Pssst! Nahal, if you want to nudge someone to take your advice, perhaps not the best idea to describe him in public as having "the ego of a self-obsessed politician." Toosi continues revealing that her oozing TDS condescension trumps (pun intended) any sense of diplomacy on her part: ...based on my conversations with half a dozen people in Trump’s orbit and others who’ve worked for him, telling the incoming president that America should take the lead on some global issue is more likely to annoy than persuade him. It might even backfire. The better approach? Show him what you’re doing for the United States, especially if you’re investing in the American economy; lay out your plan to solve the latest crisis; and assure him that you’re willing to take the lead. Then, maybe, he might help you. It’s not what America can do for you, but what you can do for America — if not Trump himself. ...to convince Trump, the regional leaders may have to put a finer point on things. They could, for instance, tout the money U.S. businesses could make helping rebuild Syria. I won’t sugarcoat all this, though. Similar arguments about Ukraine have had limited effect on Trump. Some serious creativity will be needed. But given that Trump is inconsistent and unpredictable, who knows what he will do, even about a country he has described as “sand and death.” Toosi concludes her interventionist appeal by condescendingly suggesting waving what she thinks are the Trump version of shiny trinkets in front of him. “Check the sovereign wealth funds,” one Arab diplomat advised me. He might want to take along some screenshots of those investment portfolios the next time he sees Trump. Now you wouldn't be thinking that Trump could get stuck in a Middle East quagmire would you, Nahal? You only have what are in the best interests of America and Trump in mind without any thought about what happened with Lyndon B. Johnson in Vietnam....or Bush/Cheney in Iraq. 

Never waste an opportunity to trash Donald Trump by dragging him into a story, no matter how tenuously related. That could be Joe Scarborough's motto, given his performance on Tuesday's Morning Joe. Scarborough managed to exploit the acquittal of Daniel Perry in his New York City trial to suggest that Trump was fairly convicted by a jury there. He boasted: "A jury of his peers found him not guilty. A lot of people that were also screaming when a jury of peers found Donald Trump guilty, of course. They [the jurors] were dismissed as hacks. Well, in the same Manhattan jury pool, a jury of Daniel Penny's peers found him not guilty." Scarborough suppressed the glaring differences between the two cases. Unlike the Penny case, Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg boasted during his campaign that he intended to go after Trump, much like New York Attorney General Letitia James did.  As for the jury pool, Penny had never run for office. In contrast, Manhattanites gave Trump only 12 percent of the vote in 2020. So the odds were high that the jury was stacked with people who were, going in, opposed to Trump. And if any jurors were Morning Joe viewers, they would have been immersed in years of Scarborough branding Trump a fascist, and a mortal threat to American democracy.     Even liberals like Jonathan Chait and Ruth Marcus had criticized Bragg's indictment of Trump.  The Penny and Trump cases are apples and oranges. Although, Scarborough's attempt to drag Trump into the Penny case was bananas. The Penny case gave all members of the panel the chance to describe their experiences on the New York subway. When it was his turn, Eugene Robinson let his elitism show. He said: "I'm not a New Yorker. I've ridden the subway on occasion. I usually get lost. I take an express when I should have taken a local, or vice versa. And I end up -- [snickers] I've seen parts of Queens and the Bronx that I really never intended to see. As someone who was born in the Bronx and grew up there and in Queens, I'm so sorry, Gene, that your delicate eyes were subjected to seeing parts of New York of no interest to you. Stick to the tony parts of Manhattan, and leave us Outer Borough types alone.  The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC's Morning Joe 12/10/24 6:11 am EDT MIKA BRZEZINSKI: A verdict has been reached in the case involving Marine veteran Daniel Penny and Jordan Neely, a homeless man, that Penny -- who Penny put into a chokehold on a New York City subway that resulted in Neely's death. Penny has been acquitted of criminally negligent homicide after Neely's final moments were captured on video by a bystander that set off weeks of protests and drew national attention. The decision came on the fifth day of deliberations after the jury was deadlocked last week on manslaughter charges, which the judge later dismissed. JOE SCARBOROUGH: And, and, Tom, a jury of his peers found him not guilty. A lot of people that were also screaming when a jury of peers found Donald Trump guilty, of course, they were, they were dismissed as hacks. Well, in the same Manhattan jury pool, a jury of, of Daniel Penny's peers found him not guilty. . . .  EUGENE ROBINSON:  But the New York subway, you know I'm not a New Yorker. I've ridden the subway on occasion. I usually get lost. I take an express when I should have taken a local, or vice versa. And I end up -- SCARBOROUGH: That happens to us all. You wind up in Flushing Meadow when you were trying to get to Macy's in midtown. It's terrible. ROBINSON: Exactly. I've seen parts of Queens and the Bronx that I really never intended to see.

The United States Border Patrol issued a warning to its officers to prepare for potential gunfire following reports that a Mexican cartel had issued a hit against agents.A Border Patrol memo from Thursday, obtained by NewsNation, stated that the San Diego Sector Intelligence Unit received an alert on December 4 "regarding a possible threat" to agents stationed at the Imperial Beach and Chula Vista Border Patrol Stations.'They fear no one anymore, especially the US law enforcement.'"Information received indicated top cartel leaders ordered the shooting towards agents in response and retaliation for an incident that occurred," it read.The memo referred to a November 27 incident in which a Border Patrol officer struck an illegal immigrant with a patrol vehicle. According to the agency, the individual was a cartel member.Video footage of the incident showed a group of men attempting to scale the border wall. NewsNation reported that these men were aiding another person in unlawfully crossing the border when a Border Patrol agent, responding to the breach, struck the alleged cartel member.The agency stated that the driver was fixated on two other individuals who were actively scaling the wall when he hit the man."Therefore, cartel leaders are angered, claiming the incident occurred without cause or remorse," the Border Patrol's memo stated. "The information received indicated the shooting could possibly occur over the next few days."The agency advised agents to remain vigilant. NewsNation's Ali Bradley reported that activists have called for the Border Patrol agent who struck the suspected cartel member to be fired. The incident is still under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office and Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility. "Sources within border patrol leadership tell me that anytime the cartel threatens to shoot an agent it should be taken seriously and the san diego Sector should be on high alert," Bradley wrote in a post on X. The man who was struck "got up and ran back to Mexico," according to Bradley.CBP confirmed that two of the men were arrested in connection with the "human smuggling incident." It is unclear if the man who was hit by the patrol vehicle was one of those detained. The Sinaloa Cartel previously issued an order for its members to shoot at Border Patrol agents in Texas after its co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was arrested. Victor Avila, a former Department of Homeland Security agent, told NewsNation, "This is the difference of the evolution of the cartels. They fear no one anymore, especially the U.S. law enforcement.""We know that they have no regard, and they do whatever they want in Mexico, and they're running a parallel government over there," he stated. "In fact they do have the resources, and in fact they do have the capabilities and will use them against us."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!