Southwest
Arizona rancher suffering in Dems' border crisis says Trump DHS pick Noem should immediately do 4 things
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security is being welcomed by law-and-order advocates and southern border stakeholders as she prepares to meet with the Senate on Friday for a confirmation hearing.
President-elect Trump announced her as his choice on Nov. 12, just days after beating Vice President Harris in the election, who was widely condemned as ineffective on border security under President Biden.
“She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times,” the Trump transition team noted in a statement announcing her nomination. “She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.”
Trump made combating migrant crime central to his campaign, an important issue for voters that went largely ignored by Democrats, who dismissed congressional hearings involving testimony from victims’ families as politically motivated.
TRUMP SELECTS SOUTH DAKOTA GOV KRISTI NOEM TO RUN DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem visits FOX Business Network’s “Varney & Co” at Fox Business Network Studios on May 7, 2024, in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
“I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful nomination,” said Jim Chilton, an Arizona rancher whose property straddles the end of one section of border wall.
“Last year we had three people die on the ranch, two evidently with dehydration, one was evidently murdered by a cartel,” he told Fox News Digital over the phone. “One of my cowboys found his body and his head cut off.”
Five miles of his 50,000-acre property are protected by the wall, he said, but thousands of people have crossed his property on another half-mile that is left exposed by incomplete construction. In April alone, he said, more than 5,600 people crossed his property around the end of the barrier.
“The solution is to finish the wall, put the Border Patrol on the wall, arrest anybody trying to climb over or cut through the wall, and prevent anybody from coming into the United States without proper documentation,” he told Fox News Digital.
NOEM BOASTS OUTPOURING OF POLICE, BORDER UNION SUPPORT FOR DHS CHIEF
This photo shows migrants at the southern border encountered in Arizona. (U.S. Border Patrol)
Cartel scouts, he said, control the high ground, patrolling the mountains above his ranch and watching for Border Patrol agents, relaying information via satellite and radio to their smuggler counterparts.
Authorities have thwarted their efforts when possible, however.
RACHEL MORIN’S MOM CALLS OUT BIDEN-HARRIS FOR IGNORING FAMILY AFTER MIGRANT MURDER
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is pictured with his head down and his eyes closed during congressional testimony from the mothers of murder victims whose suspected killers were illegal immigrants on Sept. 10, 2024. (Cathie Groenewold)
“Last month, Border Patrol apprehended a group on my ranch, and they had an AK-47 and 100 pounds of cocaine,” Chilton said. “It’s just outrageous.”
As for the agents themselves, they are looking forward to getting back to work under a supportive White House, according to Hector Garza, a member of the force for more than 20 years and the president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 in Laredo.
“We’re excited for the new Border Patrol leadership,” he told Fox News Digital. “For us as agents, it means border security – and it also means safety.”
Under the Biden-Harris administration, he said, agents have suffered from a lack of manpower and equipment.
BIDEN-HARRIS OPEN BORDER POLICY FREED ILLEGAL 3 WEEKS BEFORE JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER, MOTHER SAYS
Arizona rancher Jim Chilton speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
“We had an open border, where our agents were so busy processing family units and unaccompanied children,” he added. “Meanwhile, all of these dangerous criminals were eluding law enforcement, and what that means is many criminals have entered the U.S. and are now living in our communities.”
Those threats include members of the violent, transnational gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.
“They are terrorizing our fellow citizens in the U.S.,” Garza said. “Now we’re going to have a very difficult job to undo everything that the Biden administration has done.”
Hector Garza speaks during a news briefing alongside then-President Trump on Jan. 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
However, he said, he is confident they can get the job done with the backing of Trump, Noem, Homan, Customs and Border Protection commissioner nominee Rodney Scott and supportive members in Congress.
“President Trump can’t do it alone,” he said. “Congress is a very important piece of the puzzle.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File)
Noem, who has advocated for stronger border measures for more than a decade, has vowed to both secure the border and “restore safety to American communities” – many of which have been plagued by migrant crime in recent years. Before she won election to the South Dakota governor’s office, she served in the House of Representatives and as a state lawmaker.
Shocking slayings have victimized women and girls around the country, in Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts and elsewhere, repeatedly grabbing national attention during the Biden-Harris administration.
Trump has invited some of the victims’ families to attend his inauguration to a second term on Monday.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Former MLB great Mark Teixeira makes stance on Minnesota ICE shooting clear
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Minnesota ICE shooting that resulted in the death of Renee Good has drawn strong reactions everywhere.
According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Good was operating a vehicle that agents ordered her to exit. Good, according to Noem, refused and “attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.”
After Vice President JD Vance delivered a strong statement defending ICE agents for their work, the White House posted a graphic with a portion of Vance’s plea and the caption, “STAND WITH ICE.”
Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Ameriquest Field Aug. 7, 2005, in Arlington, Texas. (Tim Heitman/USA Today Sports )
Former MLB All-Star Mark Teixeira, who launched his campaign for Texas’ 21st Congressional District in August as a Republican to “help defend President Trump’s America First agenda,” voiced his support.
“I stand with ICE,” the former Texas Ranger, Atlanta Brave, Los Angeles Angel and New York Yankee wrote on X.
Teixeira’s announcement followed Rep. Chip Roy’s decision not to seek re-election and run for Texas attorney general. Roy, who represents the district, made the announcement in a campaign video shared on X last year. His video centered on preserving the Lone Star State’s legacy of “liberty, freedom and self-determination.”
Former New York Yankee Mark Teixeira throws out the first pitch before a game between the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees in the 2019 ALDS at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)
US PATENT OFFICE DENIES A’S TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS FOR ‘LAS VEGAS ATHLETICS’
Noem called the incident “domestic terrorism.”
“An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot to protect himself and the people around him,” she said.
Federal authorities said Good tried to run over ICE agents who were part of a 2,000-member team sent to the Twin Cities to round up and deport undocumented immigrant criminals.
Teixeira, 45, played 14 seasons in the majors. He debuted with the Rangers in 2003 but is perhaps best known for being an MVP candidate and World Series champion with the Yankees, the final stop of his career.
New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira hits an RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum May 22, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (Kelley L Cox/USA Today Sports)
One of the best hitters in the game, Teixeira was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and finished his career with a .269 batting average and 409 home runs. He was a five-time Gold Glove winner and was a member of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team.
The congressional race is set for November 2026, with a primary scheduled for March.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Aiming to not only hold but expand their 53-47 majority in November’s midterm elections, top Senate Republicans are showcasing the plummeting rates of border crossings during a stop Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico.
And the group, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is also highlighting how President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are “putting more money in Americans’ pockets.”
The stop at the border, hosted by One Nation, a nonprofit outside group closely aligned with Thune, is seen as an unofficial kickoff by Senate Republicans ahead of the midterms to tout the sweeping “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump’s signature domestic achievement last year that was passed nearly entirely along party lines in the GOP controlled Congress.
At the event at the border, which was a regular stop for Republicans amid the surge in border crossings during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, the GOP senators are teaming up with members of the National Border Patrol Council. And they are highlighting how the passage of the domestic policy measure “secured transformational border security funding,” according to One Nation.
THUNE PREVIEWS SENATE REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM MESSAGE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and fellow Senate Republicans speak to reporters at an event at the nation’s southern border with Mexico, on Jan. 9, 2026. (One Nation)
“This is a remarkable, remarkable difference in just a year,” Thune said at the event. “It’s been an incredible year of progress when it comes to the southern border and the American people are experiencing the benefit of that in the form of having safer streets and safer communities and safer neighborhoods.”
But with Democrats enjoying decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, the Republican senators are also using Friday’s trip to spotlight the tax cut and energy policy provisions in the bill, which they rebranded as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”
“The Working Families Tax Cut will make buying groceries more affordable for working Americans this year,” the Senate Republicans touted on social media on the eve of the border stop. “Every Democrat voted against it.”
DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’
And they also highlighted that “Senate Republicans have worked closely with President Trump to lower energy prices and make life more affordable — and the results speak for themselves.”
Thune, at the border, pointed to the tax cut provisions in the GOP measure, including no tax on tips and overtime and reduced rates for seniors on Social Security, along with “the jobs that are going to be created by the pro-growth policies that we put in place….are going to lead us to a place where the American people are seeing their incomes go up.”
But Democrats see the cost of living as their winning issue heading into the midterms.
“If the Republican agenda actually made life more affordable for working Americans, then they wouldn’t be desperately flailing as families struggle to afford groceries, health care, and housing,” Lauren French, communications director at Senate Majority PAC, the top Senate Democrat-aligned outside group, told Fox News Digital. “Instead of focusing on working people, Trump and Senate Republicans are focused on bringing chaos and instability into our communities.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., holds a political and policy event Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Joining Thune, the longtime senator from South Dakota, at the border is Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, number two in Senate Republican leadership.
There are also Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a bruising GOP primary showdown in March against challengers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt; and Republican Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida, who were appointed last year and will face voters this November.
HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS
GOP Sens. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who are up for re-election this year, are also on the trip, as are former Rep. Mike Rogers and former Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, the GOP Senate candidates in battlegrounds Michigan and North Carolina who are backed by Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“We’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place,” Whatley argued last month in a Fox News Digital interview. “We need to make sure that we have the trade policies, the tax policies, the regulatory policies from this administration that are going to help our small businesses, our manufacturers and our farmers across North Carolina.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
But Democrats are energized as the midterm year begins, as they continue to keep their focus on the issue of affordability.
“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin claimed in a recent statement.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A body was found Tuesday evening as authorities in Bexar County, Texas, grapple with a series of disappearances involving teen girls who all went missing within a week.
The body was found during the search for 19-year-old Camila Olmos, though police said it is too early to determine whether the remains belong to her.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a news conference that investigators had “just recently found a body in a field” around 4:40 to 4:45 p.m., adding that the medical examiner will determine both the identity of the body and the cause and manner of death.
The body was found by a joint team of sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents in an area of tall grass near a landscaping business, a few hundred yards from Olmos’ home, according to Salazar.
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve. (Bexar County Sheriff)
A firearm was recovered near the body, which authorities said had been an item of interest during the search.
Salazar said investigators do not currently suspect murder and noted there were indicators consistent with possible self-harm, though he stressed it is too early to draw conclusions while the scene is still being processed.
Olmos was last seen leaving her home in far northwest Bexar County around 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, authorities said. Her case came as two other girls were reported missing in the area. Fourteen-year-old Sofia Gabriela Peters-Cobos has since been found safe, while 17-year-old Angelique Johnson remains missing, according to police.
Law enforcement has said there is no confirmed connection between the cases.
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
Angelique Johnson, from San Antonio, Texas, was reported missing. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)
Texas Department of Public Safety said the Clear Alert for Olmos has been discontinued, though authorities urged anyone with information related to the cases or the whereabouts of Angelique Johnson to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department did not respond immediately to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
-
Detroit, MI6 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology4 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Dallas, TX5 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Health6 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Iowa3 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Nebraska3 days agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Nebraska3 days agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
-
Dallas, TX1 day agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis