Politics
Trump admin on pace to shatter deportation record by end of first year: ‘Just the beginning’
DHS confirms cartel bounties on ICE and CBP agents in Chicago
Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin says Mexican cartels and U.S. gangs are offering up to $50,000 for attacks on federal officers in a coordinated campaign targeting ICE and CBP agents on ‘America Reports.’
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EXCLUSIVE: With over 500,000 illegal aliens deported since President Donald Trump took office in January, the administration is on track to significantly exceed the record number of illegals deported out of the United States.
Since Trump’s return to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, the administration has deported over 515,000 illegal aliens, according to a high-ranking official at the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital the administration is “on pace to shatter historic records” by deporting 600,000 illegals by the end of Trump’s first year back in office. She said that in total, more than two million illegal aliens have left the U.S., including 1.6 million who voluntarily self-deported, as well as the over 515,000 deportations. Another 485,000 illegal aliens have been arrested by DHS since Trump took office.
McLaughlin said that “this is just the beginning” and that Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “have jumpstarted an agency that was vilified and barred from doing its job for the last four years.”
DEM JUDGE IN HOT SEAT AFTER DHS EXPOSES ‘WHOLE NEW LEVEL’ OF ACTIVISM, SHELTERING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
A high-ranking Homeland Security official said the administration is set to “shatter” the record for illegal aliens deported in President Trump’s first year. (White House; Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)
“Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now or face the consequence. Migrants are now even turning back before they reach our borders,” said McLaughlin, pointing to what she said has been a 99.99 percent drop in migration through Panama’s Darien Gap, which is a key migration route to the U.S.
“In the face of a historic number of injunctions from activist judges, ICE, CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard have made historic progress to carry out President Trump’s promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country.”
Just this weekend, DHS said that it continued its sweep of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens across the country amidst the ongoing government shutdown. Over the weekend, DHS said it arrested illegals convicted of rape of a child, assault, hit-and-run, kidnapping and other crimes.
One of those arrested was Erick Xavier Romero, a Dominican national, who the agency said was convicted of rape of a child in Boston. Another illegal, Guatemalan national, German Osvaldo Cortez-Chajon, was arrested this weekend after being convicted of traveling to meet a child for an unlawful sex act in Dale County, Alabama. A third illegal, Mexican national Graciano Lopez-Flores, was arrested following a conviction of indecent liberties with a child in Orange County, North Carolina.
DHS FLIPS SCRIPT ON MEDIA NARRATIVE WITH NEW DETAILS ABOUT ILLEGAL TEEN ARRESTED BY ICE: ‘SAFETY THREAT’
Left to right, from top: Erick Xavier Romero, German Osvaldo Cortez-Chajon, Graciano Lopez-Flores, Shahed Hassan, Van Pham, Patricia Pimental-Cordero, Ramona Mercado-Vasquez and Karlett Zagal-Salazar. (ICE; DHS)
Also in North Carolina, ICE arrested Shahed Hassan, an illegal from Bangladesh, who was convicted of simple assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegally carrying a concealed gun, driving while impaired, probation violation, felony larceny and domestic violence protection order violation in Wake County.
Just to the north, ICE arrested Van Pham from Laos, who was convicted of five counts of abduction and burglary in Fairfax County, Virginia.
In Massachusetts, ICE arrested Patricia Pimental-Cordero, from the Dominican Republic, who was convicted of two counts of hit-and-run in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Another illegal, Ramona Mercado-Vasquez from the Caribbean island of Dominica, was arrested by ICE in Bergen County, New Jersey, following a conviction for kidnapping and robbery.
In Wisconsin, ICE arrested Mexican national Karlett Zagal-Salazar, who was convicted of drug trafficking.
ICE REVEALS ‘DISTURBING DETAILS’ AFTER AGENCY RESCUED 3-YEAR-OLD ABDUCTED TO MEXICO
Shackled migrants board a transport van after getting off a plane at the Valley International Airport, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Harlingen, Texas. (Michael Gonzalez/AP Photo)
Commenting on the arrests, McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that “nothing—not even a government shutdown—will slow us down from making America safe again.”
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She slammed the Democratic Party, saying, “While Democrats in Congress continue to keep the government shutdown, our ICE law enforcement officers aren’t slowing down in arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
Politics
Republican House leader signals plan to begin contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton
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GOP House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he plans to commence contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton for ignoring the committee’s subpoenas related to its ongoing probe into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
In July, a bipartisan House Oversight Subcommittee approved motions to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton and a slew of other high-profile political figures to aid its investigation looking into how the federal government handled Epstein’s sex trafficking case.
The subpoenas were then sent out in early August, and the Clinton’s were scheduled to testify Dec. 17-18.
“It has been more than four months since Bill and Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed to sit for depositions related to our investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes. Throughout that time, the former president and former secretary of state have delayed, obstructed, and largely ignored the committee staff’s efforts to schedule their testimony,” Comer said in a press release issued Friday evening.
DOJ CLEARED TO RELEASE SECRET JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE GRAND JURY MATERIALS
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“If the Clintons fail to appear for their depositions next week or schedule a date for early January, the Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings to hold them accountable.”
Comer’s threats come as Democrats from the House Oversight Committee released a new batch of photos obtained from Epstein’s estate, which included further images of the disgraced financier with powerful figures like President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Thousands of images were reportedly released, with potentially more to come.
Other high-profile figures subpoenaed by the Oversight Committee include James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.
FEDERAL JUDGE APPROVES RELEASING GHISLAINE MAXWELL CASE GRAND JURY MATERIAL
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Jeffrey Epstein. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
In addition to testimony from these individuals, Comer and the Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for all documents and communications pertaining to the case against Epstein.
In September, the committee released tens of thousands of pages of Epstein-related records in compliance with the subpoena, and the Oversight Committee indicated the DOJ would continue producing even more records as it works through needed redactions and other measures that must occur before they are released.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
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Politics
Kristi Noem grilled over L.A. Purple Heart Army vet who self-deported
The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.
“Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).
Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday. He was joined on a video call by Sae Joon Park, a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea.
(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)
An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case, given her discretion as a Cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”
Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.
“It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.
The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.
“Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”
Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.
Sae Joon Park received a Purple Heart while serving in the Army.
(From Sae Joon Park)
The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.
Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.
At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.
Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean-language skills — have improved.
“It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”
Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would die while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.
“She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you?’ And I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”
Politics
Video: Trump Signs A.I. Executive Order
new video loaded: Trump Signs A.I. Executive Order
transcript
transcript
Trump Signs A.I. Executive Order
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would limit individual states in regulating the artificial intelligence industry.
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“It’s a big part of the economy. There’s only going to be one winner here, and that’s probably going to be the U.S. or China. You have to have a central source of approval. When they need approvals on things, they have to come to one source. They can’t go to California, New York.” “We’re not going to push back on all of them. For example, kids’ safety — we’re going to protect. We’re not pushing back on that. But we’re going to push back on the most onerous examples of state regulations.”
By Shawn Paik
December 11, 2025
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