Pope Leo XIV has announced a pro-immigration pastor as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, which is home to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. 

On Friday, Pope Leo named Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Queens, New York, as the new bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.

Rodríguez, born in the Dominican Republic and ordained a priest in 2004, has been described as a supporter of immigrant rights.

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In an interview with the Associated Press, Rodríguez said, “I never, never, never expected anything even close to this,” and added, “I’m even a little bit scared. But I trust in God’s assistance. One thing I can tell you is that this diocese is a diocese of hard-working priests and hard-working people, and I’m here to help.”

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is located in the Diocese of Palm Beach, and Rodríguez said he wants to “help” Trump when it comes to immigration. 

“The president is doing really good things, not only for the United States, but for the world. But when it comes to the migrant, the immigration policy, we want to help,” Rodriguez told the AP. “We want to assist the president as a church because we believe that we can do better… than the way we’re doing this right now.”

Rodríguez said he believes it isn’t appropriate to enforce immigration policy on minors. 

“When it comes to enforcing immigration laws, we shouldn’t be enforcing them by focusing on deporting 5-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 9-year-old kids, people that have never committed any crime,” Rodriguez said. “So, we’re here to help. We’re willing to help, and God willing, we will.”

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In November, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a “special message” on immigration, which said in part: “Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants. We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures. Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together.”

It added, “We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good. Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.” 

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Boca Raton, Florida’s Republican Mayor Scott Singer announced a run for Congress last week and spoke to Fox News Digital about his case to voters that Washington needs more local, common-sense leadership and fewer policies that he says have fueled inflation, weakened border security and slowed economic growth.

Singer announced his run against Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District with a launch video referencing New York City’s onerous taxes and referencing Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s “radical left policies” while contrasting the economic and tax landscape with Florida, where many New Yorkers have fled to in recent years.

“I love public service,” Singer told Fox News Digital. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as mayor. We have an opportunity to keep America going in the right direction and reverse some of the policies from the past four years that led to porous borders, high taxes, higher inflation and have hurt our economy.”

Singer, who joins a race where several other Republicans have also declared, praised recent Republican-led efforts in Washington, including what he described as historic tax relief and policies aimed at boosting wages and lowering costs for working families.

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“The Republican Party has become the party of the middle class,” he said, pointing to proposals to eliminate taxes on overtime and tips, strengthen domestic manufacturing and bring jobs back to the U.S. “These are the things that are helping the middle class, higher wages, lower inflation and lower costs.”

The mayor drew a sharp contrast with today’s Democratic Party, arguing it has moved too far to the left to deliver practical solutions.

“Unfortunately, the Democratic Party of today is not our parents’ Democratic Party,” Singer said. “With an increasingly out-of-touch, far-left progressive party, it’s hard for common-sense solutions to come out of that.”

Singer said his experience in local government has shown him what effective governance looks like — and what Washington is missing.

“At the local level, we’ve excelled because we have to,” Singer said. “We have balanced budgets. We can’t shut down the government. We have to pick up the trash every day and deliver essential services. And we do that by finding common ground.”

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That approach, Singer argued, is increasingly absent in Congress, where partisan gridlock often stalls progress.

He also voiced strong support for President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, particularly efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses, reduce the size of government and roll back federal regulations.

“Our campuses have been unsafe for years,” Singer said. “President Trump has stood up to antisemitism by holding universities accountable. We need to codify those gains, not just rely on executive orders.”

Singer pledged he would also push to restore more authority to states and local governments, particularly on education and environmental policy, and continue efforts to rein in federal spending.

“Harmful regulation has killed jobs and increased costs,” he said. “We need long-term solutions that put power back in the hands of states and communities, not Washington bureaucrats.”

Singer told Fox News Digital one of his day one priorities if elected to Congress will be legislation to “ban individual stock trading by members,” which he called an “important” issue.

The Cook Political Report currently ranks the race as “Lean Democrat” as House Republicans will try to buck historical trends and hold their razor-thin majority in the House next November.

“What Americans want is a strong economy, a strong national defense and common-sense solutions,” Singer said. “That’s what I’ve delivered as mayor, and that’s what I want to bring to Congress.”

Earlier this year, shortly before Mamdani’s victory, Singer told Fox News Digital that the socialist candidate’s rise in New York City is likely to spark an exodus of businesses to Florida, a move he said he has already started to see in his conversations with business owners.

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“It’s hard to predict how bad the economic situation is going to be, but Mamdani doubled down at last week’s debate and said it’s about time we raised taxes, and he was grateful for it,” Singer said. “When he’s proposing a 17% marginal tax rate for New York City residents between state and local taxes, that’s 17% that they can simply give up by moving here and with jobs more mobile because of technology and with companies finding great office space here, there’s less and less reason for people to stay there.”

Singer continued, “I think one year out, you’re going to see a substantial exodus of companies that are able to move. Two years out, we’re going to see depressed values, more unemployment, higher crime. And four years out? We don’t know. I think at that point, they’ll be ready for a new mayor if what we expect to happen in November happens.”

Three inmates who escaped a DeKalb County, Georgia, jail on Monday were captured without incident in Miami, Florida, after a multistate manhunt led by the U.S. Marshals Service and regional fugitive task forces.

The inmates – 24-year-old Stevenson Charles, 31-year-old Yusuf Minor and 25-year-old Naod Yohannes – escaped the DeKalb County Jail in Decatur, a northeastern suburb of Atlanta, early Monday morning.

The inmates were facing felony charges, including murder, arson and armed robbery, and were considered dangerous and possibly armed, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators learned Charles contacted his girlfriend in Florida, and about 2:30 a.m., a Lyft driver picked up all three suspects at the home of Minor’s girlfriend.

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The driver then took the suspects to a vacant address in Stone Mountain, Georgia, associated with Minor.

Investigators identified the Lyft driver and began efforts to locate her.

Authorities later determined the fugitives allegedly forced the driver to take them to Florida along a route toward the Miami area, where Charles’ girlfriend was located.

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At about 9:30 p.m. Monday, investigators learned the fugitives had rented an Airbnb in Miramar, Florida.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office spotted the Lyft vehicle about 10:45 p.m. and attempted a traffic stop, but Charles and Yohannes fled.

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By 11:40 p.m., all three fugitives were apprehended without further incident.

The Lyft driver was located and treated by emergency responders.

A Lyft spokesperson told Fox News Digital the company is working with law enforcement in any way it can.

“We are deeply concerned by this incident and relieved that the driver is safe,” the spokesperson said. “Our hearts are with the driver, and we have reached out to offer support.”

The investigation into the escape remains ongoing.

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According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Charles was convicted of federal weapons violations and sentenced to 10 years to life in prison. Minor was convicted of murder in 2024 and is serving a life sentence, while Yohannes was being held on arson and criminal damage charges. All three now face additional charges.