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Top UK politician says voters, including in US, are demanding ‘robust action’ on migration crisis

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Top UK politician says voters, including in US, are demanding ‘robust action’ on migration crisis

FIRST ON FOX — A top British MP and former home secretary is warning that governments in developed countries need to show the “political will” to limit immigration, both legal and illegal, that voters want “robust action” from their representatives and that the global migration crisis will be a major issue for voters in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Suella Braverman served as U.K. home secretary, making her the top official on matters related to border enforcement and immigration, from October 2022 to November 2023.

She championed lower levels of immigration overall and stricter enforcement of laws related to illegal immigration. She was also a supporter of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

She has also been a champion of the U.K.’s plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda and fought both in the Cabinet and from outside it to make it happen. 

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman attend a meeting with the community and police leaders following the announcement of a new police task force to help officers tackle grooming gangs April 3, 2023, in Rochdale, England. (Phil Noble/Pool/Getty Images)

While there has been a great deal of attention given to Britain’s illegal immigration crisis, particularly from small boats coming across the English Channel, Braverman warns that illegal and legal immigration are two sides of the crisis, noting legal immigration numbers are much higher despite successive governments pledging to reduce that number.

“Last year alone, the net migration figures into the U.K. topped an unprecedented number of 700,000. And just compare that back to 2019, at the time of our general election, when the Conservative Party pledged in our manifesto to lower the numbers,” she said. “Then, as they stood, 245,000. And then if you even go back to 2016, when we had the Brexit referendum, numbers were far lower even then.”

As for the illegal immigration crisis, the government has yet to send a plane of illegal immigrants to Rwanda, with whom it made a deal.

UK’S CAMERON MEETS TRUMP AHEAD OF PUSH FOR MORE US UKRAINE FUNDING

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Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman speaks in the House of Commons, London, on an illegal migration bill March 7, 2023.   (UK Parliament/Andy Bailey/ho photo via AP)

“The premise of the Rwanda scheme is based on deterrence. We believe that the model of people-smuggling gangs has to be broken. So, tens of thousands of people are paying these gangs to cross the channel illegally and break into the United Kingdom because they believe they’ll be able to stay here,” she said.

“If they are relocated to a third country like Rwanda, we believe that they will no longer make that journey in the first place,” she said. “And we’ve modeled it to some degree on what worked in Australia. The Australians managed to solve their illegal maritime immigration problem by relocating people from mainland Australia to Papua New Guinea and Nauru. And in quite a short space of time, the number of people coming into Australia illegally dramatically fell.”

Migrants packed tightly onto a small inflatable boat bail water as they attempt to cross the English Channel near the Dover Strait, the world’s busiest shipping lane, Sept. 7, 2020, off the coast of Dover, England.  (Luke Dray/Getty Images)

However, before a plane could take off, activists appealed, and the scheme was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights and, subsequently, by the U.K.’s Supreme Court for being in contravention of the European Convention of Human Rights. Many Conservatives, including Braverman, believe the U.K. needs to leave that charter.

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LONDON IS THE ‘WORLD’S MOST ANTISEMITIC CITY,’ SAYS ISRAELI MINISTER

“My proposition to the prime minister has been that we need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. We need to repeal the Human Rights Act so that the government, the elected government of the day, which has a mandate to control illegal migration, can actually put the interests of the British people first and impose meaningful border control,” she said.

Britain is not the only country to struggle with the issues of migration. Countries in the European Union are also struggling to stop illegal migration and facing backlash over the number of immigrants coming in overall.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is in the fourth year of a historic crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought to Dover, Kent, by the RNLI after a small boat incident in the channel.  (Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)

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Braverman, who is popular with Conservative voters and could become a future leader of the party, said the world is in a global migration crisis, “and I think that the international community hasn’t necessarily come up with a coherent plan to deal with that global migration crisis.

“Secondly, I would say the other issue, the other problem is that many of these developed countries simply haven’t demonstrated the necessary political will to do what’s essential to fix these problems,” she said.

Multiple migrants wade through the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023 (Benjamin Lowy for Fox News Digital )

Braverman, who was named Sue Ellen at birth after the character in the American TV show “Dallas,” met with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when she served as home secretary and said she believed that immigration will be a major issue in the U.S. election as numbers increase.

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“The impact on communities around the United States of America is getting more and more pressing. And, as a result, this issue is going to be a very big issue in your presidential election. People want solutions. They want border control, and they want robust action by their elected officials,” she said.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

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McCarthy says Trump will use ‘everything he can’ to force Senate action on SAVE America Act

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McCarthy says Trump will use ‘everything he can’ to force Senate action on SAVE America Act

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As infighting over the SAVE America Act throws congressional Republicans into disarray, President Donald Trump’s bid to get the stalled election bill across the finish line gained one notable ally.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital that he supports the election integrity measure and indicated that Trump should continue to use every available tool to pressure the Senate to pass it.

“He’s going to try everything he can to make sure he passes that through,” McCarthy said in a brief interview outside the U.S. Capitol. 

The ex-speaker’s comments came after Trump abruptly called off a signing ceremony Wednesday for a bipartisan housing bill to pressure the Republican-controlled Senate to act on the SAVE America Act.

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President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pa., on June 23, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

IRATE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE TRUMP OF HANDING DEMOCRATS A WIN AFTER BLOWING UP HOUSING PACKAGE

The move surprised Republican lawmakers, some of whom were praising the bill’s passage at a press conference when Trump’s Truth Social post broke.

But Trump has repeatedly cast the election measure — requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and voter identification requirements — as his top legislative priority.

The legislation’s momentum, however, has slowed in the upper chamber, where Republican leadership insists the votes aren’t there amid widespread Democratic opposition. Senate Republicans have also been unwilling to eliminate the legislative filibuster, which requires a 60-vote threshold to pass the legislation.

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Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks during a ceremony honoring President Ronald Reagan on the 115th anniversary of his birthday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2026. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group)

TRUMP CALLS MAIL IN VOTING CORRUPT AS SENATE BEGINS DEBATE ON SAVE ACT REQUIRING VOTER ID

Amid the SAVE standoff, a group of conservative lawmakers effectively shut down the House floor in an effort to force Senate action on the election bill. 

But the Senate recessed Wednesday for two weeks over the July 4 holiday, leaving the measure in limbo until lawmakers return.

The conservative-led blockade sparked fierce backlash, with several members inside the GOP conference telling Fox News Digital the move risked torpedoing their own legislative agenda.

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Meanwhile, the House has also yet to pass a version of the legislation incorporating several of the president’s priorities, including a mail-in voting crackdown and provisions banning men from competing in women’s sports and child sex change procedures. 

Trump has not indicated whether he will sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, despite the likely existence of a veto-proof majority.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Thursday that the housing bill had been transmitted to the White House for Trump’s signature following a meeting with the president.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol on June 10, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Trump now has 10 days to sign the package or veto it. If he does nothing, the legislation automatically becomes law at the end of the 10-day period.

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Trump budget request omits funds for L.A. fire relief, prompting criticism from senators

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Trump budget request omits funds for L.A. fire relief, prompting criticism from senators

California’s two Democratic senators on Thursday criticized the Trump administration after it requested $87.6 billion from Congress to address some of the nation’s most “urgent needs” but omitted funding for victims of last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.

“Donald Trump’s desire to punish Los Angeles and the state of California for not voting for him, means once again that thousands of Angelinos are left watching this administration fight for anything but them, their businesses, and their communities,” Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff said in a joint statement.

“These fires did not discriminate based on party or political preference. Neither should this administration,” they added.

The omission is the latest strain in a yearlong standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration over federal disaster aid, and it comes after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with President Trump at the Oval Office in April to request the funding.

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At the meeting, Trump signaled his commitment to working with local officials to help with disaster recovery efforts. The officials asked for $16 billion that would be split between the city and county. The money would consist primarily of disbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency flagged for communities hit by the fires, part of a $33.9-billion wildfire relief funding request made by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Two months later, those talks have yet to yield results sought by local leaders.

The budget request, submitted by the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday, mostly seeks funding for the Pentagon to address costs related to the Iran war. It also includes $11.1 billion in economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion to address the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa, $500 million to support “ongoing efforts to complete restorations and construction projects” across the nation’s capital and $1 billion to boost the pensions of workers at General Motors that were cut as a result of the automaker’s bankruptcy.

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” White House budget director Russell Vought wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Vought said the administration was open to discussing “additional relief for other urgent matters.” The White House did not immediately respond when asked why the budget request did not mention the Eaton and Palisades disaster relief funds.

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State leaders, including Newsom, have repeatedly accused the Trump administration of stonewalling billions in wildfire aid. The governor visited Washington in December to meet with lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House appropriations committees, to push for the funding.

The governor also attempted to meet with FEMA about the matter, but said his request was denied. Newsom, a political foe of Trump’s, would not say whether he had attempted to meet with Trump to talk about the recovery efforts.

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Trump administration pledges $150M in aid, deploys Navy warships after deadly Venezuela earthquakes

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Trump administration pledges 0M in aid, deploys Navy warships after deadly Venezuela earthquakes

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Following a catastrophic set of earthquakes that left at least 235 people dead in Venezuela, the Trump administration has activated a government-wide humanitarian response, pledging $150 million in aid and deploying U.S. Navy warships to assist in life-saving rescue operations.

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The rapid mobilization Thursday comes after back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes rocked northern Venezuela roughly 120 miles west of Caracas Wednesday night. 

The rare earthquake “doublet” injured more than 940 people and turned the state of La Guaira into a disaster zone, while forcing the closure of the damaged Simón Bolívar International Airport, according to Venezuela’s Health Ministry.

US RESCUE TEAMS TO DESCEND ON HARD-HIT CARIBBEAN AFTER CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE MELISSA’S IMPACT

Rescuers search for victims in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on June 24, 2026. (Manaure Quintero / AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday it is mobilizing $150 million in aid, which includes $50 million in new bilateral awards for relief partners on the ground — such as Samaritan’s Purse, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision — along with a $100 million contribution to a United Nations humanitarian pooled fund.

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To spearhead efforts on the ground, the State Department has deployed a regional Disaster Assistance Response Team alongside two highly specialized urban search-and-rescue teams from fire departments in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County, California. 

U.S. WARSHIPS TO PATROL INTERNATIONAL WATERS AROUND VENEZUELA AS TRUMP VOWS TO STOP CARTELS

Members of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s international urban search and rescue team (USA-2) prepare to leave for Venezuela, in Pacoima, Calif., Thursday. (Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said it is surging assigned U.S. military forces to the region, directing the USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS Billings to Venezuela to back the State Department-led operations.

The USS Fort Lauderdale will serve as a “floating command center” with a flight deck to support heavy-lift helicopters and a well deck to launch landing craft, according to SOUTHCOM.

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Meanwhile, the agile USS Billings will provide critical support close to the shorelines to accelerate the disaster response missions.

U.S. SOUTHCOM said it has directed USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) and USS Billings (LCS 15) to Venezuela to support State Department-led U.S. government relief operations in Venezuela. (@Southcom/X)

SOUTHCOM said it is also sending rotary-wing aircraft, which will provide critical life-saving airlift support, transporting U.S. government response personnel, search and rescue teams and partners during relief operations.

Amid the crisis, the State Department emphasized that the safety of U.S. citizens remains the administration’s highest priority.

“The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. The Department of State is working tirelessly to provide consular assistance to U.S. citizens and their families in the affected areas,” officials wrote in a statement. “The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to helping Venezuela recover from this devastating disaster and will continue to explore additional ways to provide meaningful assistance during this critical time.”

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U.S. citizens in Venezuela are urged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) and can contact the State Department 24/7 at 202-501-4444 for emergency assistance.

Family members in the U.S. seeking information on loved ones can call toll-free at 888-407-4747.

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