EXCLUSIVE: Mississippi’s top law enforcement officer said the Magnolia State will welcome ICE agents with open arms compared to their clashes with public officials in California, Illinois and North Carolina – as reports surfaced of an upcoming “Swamp Sweep.”

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to send 250 border agents to areas in Mississippi and Louisiana for a two-month crackdown, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told Fox News Digital on Thursday that her office is proud to have been the first in the state to sign on as a formal ICE law enforcement partner.

“We look forward to working with Secretary Noem and the president to protect our communities and strengthen our efforts to combat human trafficking, drug cartels, and violent crime,” Fitch said.

ALABAMA CONDUCTS FIRST STATE-FEDERAL CHECKPOINT OPERATIONS WITH ICE, DETAINING OVER 20 PEOPLE

“Together, we will make Mississippi – and our entire nation – safer than ever before.”

Another top Mississippi official, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee for Border Security and Enforcement.

Guest’s district runs close to New Orleans, spanning diagonally from Starkville – home of Mississippi State University – down to McComb, just north of the New Orleans metro, where the operation will reportedly have a key focus.

DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

“The men and women of ICE and CBP have been tasked with enforcing the law and working to remove the 15 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States,” Guest told Fox News Digital.

Guest praised ICE for successfully removing unlawfully present people charged and convicted of serious crimes, including offenses against children and suspects who pose a danger to local communities.

“I am confident that Operation ‘Swamp Sweep’ will have the same success as other operations across our nation,” Guest said.

250 BORDER AGENTS TO DEPLOY TO LOUISIANA FOR ‘SWAMP SWEEP,’ REPORT SAYS

“This will result in locating, arresting, and deporting criminal illegal aliens who are residing in Mississippi.”

Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss. – who represents Memphis’ southern suburbs as well as Elvis Presley’s hometown of Tupelo – told Fox News Digital he also supports ICE’s mission.

“I am in favor of getting any criminal illegal immigrant off the streets,” Kelly said.

DHS ARRESTS CHICAGO’S ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ AMID SURGE IN DOMESTIC TERROR ATTACKS

“And I support law enforcement in their efforts to keep our communities safe.”

When asked about the “Swamp Sweep” mission, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said her agency does not discuss future or potential operations.

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“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country,” she said.

In prior ICE operations, DHS was buffeted by official and legal roadblocks tossed in their way by local leaders.

California officials condemned President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reportedly conceived “No ICE” zones and compared Trump’s government to the Confederacy.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves did not respond to requests for comment on “Swamp Sweep.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to Mississippi’s most prominent Democrat and Trump critic, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Hinds County, but he did not respond to a request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A high school assistant principal in Virginia and his brother are accused of threatening violence against ICE agents and local police officers.

According to court documents, an off-duty Norfolk Police Department officer overheard John Bennett and Mark Bennett at a Virginia Beach restaurant discussing the alleged threats, saying they “needed to do something about” ICE agents “kidnapping individuals,” according to WVEC. John Bennett is the assistant principal at Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach.

The off-duty police officer allegedly overheard the two brothers while eating at a pho restaurant on Nov. 15. 

According to the criminal complaint, Mark Bennett said he was planning on flying to Las Vegas where he’d meet with “like-minded individuals” and come back with “enforcement ideas and plans.”

BIDEN-ERA ‘UNVETTED’ IMMIGRANTS NABBED AFTER VIRGINIA HIGHWAY GUNFIRE AS BORDER DEBATE HITS GOVERNOR’S RACE

The two brothers were charged with conspiracy to commit malicious wounding.

Mark Bennett also said he recently bought an assault rifle as it can fire rounds that would pierce through body armor, then said he wanted to “go hunting,” according to prosecutors.

Mark Bennett allegedly said he bought the assault rifle because “it utilizes the explosive rounds that are needed to penetrate the vests,” according to WTKR.

John Bennett allegedly expressed support of Mark’s ideas and was interested in going to Las Vegas as well.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools told the news outlet that John Bennett is employed at the school district, where he has worked since 2009. While the school district wouldn’t comment on the allegations, a spokesperson said he is on leave from Kempsville High School.

FEDS CHARGE ‘KEYBOARD WARRIORS’ WHO THREATENED ICE DEPORTATION OFFICER AND WIFE ON INSTAGRAM

Attorneys for the suspects said Mark Bennett went to Las Vegas for a Formula 1 race, where he met up with his two sons. The defense attorneys said Mark Bennett was arrested at the Norfolk International Airport. 

Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul W. Neudigate called the allegations “incredibly alarming.”

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“We are grateful this information was brought to our attention. VBPD was able to work with various law enforcement agencies to assess the credibility of the information, leading to today’s arrests, ensuring the safety of both our law enforcement community and the public at large,” Neudigate said.

The Bennett brothers were granted bond, but can’t talk to each other, cannot have guns and must stay at their home with a GPS tracker.

Happy O’Brien, Mark Bennett’s attorney, told Fox News Digital “this case represents a gross overreach by the government.”

“The arrest was triggered by incredibly flimsy, circumstantial information attributed to an off-duty Norfolk police officer who was sitting several booths away in a restaurant on a weekend. Despite the obvious limitations of what he claims to have observed, law enforcement treated these statements as if they were verified fact,” O’Brien said. 

O’Brien alleges that federal and law enforcement “took virtually no steps to verify, corroborate or even meaningfully assess the credibility of these claims.”

“If you, as an American citizen, believe that something like this cannot happen to you, think again. Mark Bennett is the embodiment of what it means to be an American,” he said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Bennett’s attorneys and Virginia Beach City Public Schools for comment.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — As the FBI investigates 18-year-old Anna Kepner’s mysterious death aboard a cruise ship, a custody battle involving her 16-year-old stepbrother has unveiled allegations of inappropriate behavior, family turmoil and disputed claims that underage drinking occurred in international waters.

No criminal charges have been announced, but her stepmother Shauntel Kepner’s ongoing legal fight with her ex-husband Thomas Hudson revealed Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother has been eyed as a suspect.

Anna’s ex-boyfriend witnessed creepy interactions with the stepbrother visiting her bedroom at 3 a.m. FaceTime calls, a source close to the family told Fox News Digital.

“When I was on FaceTime with her, and she was lying down, and her brother tried to go on top of her,” the 15-year-old ex-boyfriend told reporters after Anna’s memorial service.

STEPMOTHER IN CRUISE SHIP DEATH MYSTERY FEARS CHILD COULD BE INCRIMINATED: COURT DOCS

He said he reported the encounter to Anna’s parents and said she had complained about being “uncomfortable” around her stepbrother before. He went on to describe Anna as his “first love” and said he would have been on the cruise with the Kepner family earlier this month if they hadn’t broken up.

“She was scared of him,” the ex’s father, Steven Westin, told Inside Edition separately. “Because he always carried around a big knife.”

WATCH: Anna Kepner’s ex-boyfriend breaks silence on her cruise ship death

After Anna’s death, the stepbrother’s father demanded a custody hearing, accusing his ex-wife of alienating their two youngest children from him after a violent altercation involving their oldest. He argued that his lack of involvement in their lives is having a serious impact on them.

The teen stepsiblings had access to alcohol in international waters despite being under 21, Hudson alleged at a hearing Thursday morning, according to Click Orlando, a local news site. Shauntel’s lawyer denied the claim.

FBI INVESTIGATES CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP DEATH IN MARITIME MYSTERY THAT CAN BE ‘VERY COMPLEX,’ FORMER AGENT SAYS

“The [16-year-old]’s future has been put in jeopardy because of the choices made by [Shauntel],” according to Hudson’s filing.

Carnival requires that guests under 21 travel with someone 25 or older. Kids 14 and under have to be in the same or a connecting cabin. Teens 15 to 17 can be in a nearby stateroom, within about three cabins of the adult, and 18- to 20-year-olds can be booked anywhere on the ship as long as they’re linked to an adult over 25.

The teen’s current whereabouts are unclear. According to the filing, he has been released from custody and is staying with an unnamed third party.

At some point during the course of the week, Anna’s obituary was also edited to change which family members were reflected.

The name of her dad’s second ex-wife, Tabitha Kepner, was removed entirely after initially being identified as her mother. The current version lists her mom as Heather Wright. A reference to the Donohue family was removed. So was a reference to her 16-year-old stepbrother, who is now believed to be the suspect.

Anna’s stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, formerly Shauntel Hudson, is her father’s current wife. In an emergency motion filed in Brevard County, she asked a judge to postpone a December hearing in a proceeding with her ex-husband due to the FBI investigation into Anna’s death aboard a Carnival cruise ship on Nov. 7.

“The Respondent (Shauntel) has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys, that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” her attorney, Millicent Athanason, wrote to a Brevard County judge on Nov. 17.

The 16-year-old was hospitalized “immediately after the incident” on the ship for an undisclosed reason, according to Athanason, and is now living with one of his mother’s relatives, according to ClickOrlando.com.

CRUISE SHIP DEATH: CHEERLEADER’S STEPMOM COULD BE FORCED TO TESTIFY AGAINST HER OWN SON

Relatives say they have received few official answers since the ship docked. Anna’s birth mother, Heather Wright, told WESH 2 she learned of her daughter’s death through an online search. She has not responded to Fox News Digital’s attempts to reach her.

“I found out through Google. I ended up Googling it, because the only information I had was that my daughter was on a cruise,” she told the local outlet.

Similarly, Anna’s stepgrandfather, Christopher Donahue, 53, told Fox News Digital Wednesday that he too learned about her death through social media.

CRUISE SHIP DEATH MYSTERY: CHEERLEADER’S FINAL POSTS HINT AT HEARTBREAK AND RESILIENCE AS DAD BREAKS SILENCE

“I don’t know why Anna was staying in a room with her stepbrother,” Donahue said. He said he learned about the arrangement from a news article. 

“All I know is that she went on that boat, and she never came back,” he added. “You don’t go 0 to 100, but we weren’t on the boat. Everyone is heartbroken. There are questions. I don’t think we’ll ever know.”

READ THE FILING – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

The swirl of public claims around Anna’s death has revived long-simmering disputes. In a March 31, 2023, divorce petition filed in Brevard County and obtained by Fox News Digital, Anna’s former stepmother, Tabitha L. Kepner, alleges that Christopher Purcell Kepner, Anna’s father, had a “history of physical and mental abuse toward the minor children and toward the Petitioner,” and she sought sole parental responsibility for the children she shared with him and supervised time-sharing. 

She was married to Christopher Kepner after he split with Anna’s mother and before he met his third wife, Shauntel.

READ THE FILING – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

In 2024, Michelle Johnson filed a small claims suit in Brevard County against Shauntel Hudson seeking the return of several firearms, including a 12-gauge shotgun and two rifles, which she alleged Hudson refused to hand back.

The filings include a series of emails in which Johnson accused Hudson of “manipulating and alienating” her children from their father, describing the situation as “a very sad and heartbreaking ordeal.”

“Prior [sic] to you, manipulating controlling and brainwashing them for the past month,” Johnson wrote to Hudson. “It’s devastating and upsetting. Please step back and look at what’s the best for these kids? They need their family…”

That case was later dismissed after Johnson missed a service of process deadline.

Together, the records paint a portrait of a fractured family now thrust into the spotlight following Anna’s mysterious death aboard the six-day Carnival cruise.

Anna’s family and friends attended a service at The Grove Church in Titusville, Fla., on Thursday evening. One of the Kepners’ neighbors told Fox News Digital Thursday that their street has been quiet since Anna’s death. He described the Kepners as a friendly family.

Two vehicles, a Dodge truck and Chevy SUV, were parked in the Kepners’ driveway, but no one answered the door. Investigators have not disclosed a cause or manner of death, and prosecutors have not filed charges.

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Hundreds of mourners gathered Thursday at The Grove Church in Titusville, Florida, to celebrate the life of Kepner. Guests were greeted by her graduation photos and invited to leave a fingerprint on a poster bearing her picture. Inside the church’s auditorium, a slideshow traced her life through images of karate lessons, Disney trips, lake days, beach outings, cheerleading fundraisers, and carefree flips at a bounce house.