Southeast
First historically Black university tells Trump admin about desire to participate in academic compact
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EXCLUSIVE: A historically Black university in North Carolina is the first to express interest in joining President Donald Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education after Ivy League and high-profile state universities declined the offer.
Verjanis Peoples, the interim president of St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, sent a letter to David Barker, the Trump administration’s assistant secretary for postsecondary education, confirming the school’s wish to participate in the compact. Sophie Gibson, the chair of the school’s board of trustees, also signed the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, which was sent to the Department of Education on Wednesday.
“On behalf of Saint Augustine’s University, we write to express our desire to participate in and help shape the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” the letter says.
“As one of the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with a 158-year legacy of expanding educational opportunity and transforming lives, we support the Compact’s broad goal of strengthening academic excellence, accountability, and transparency across American higher education.”
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An aerial view of the St. Augustine’s University campus in Raleigh, N.C. (St. Augustine’s University)
The school representatives added that they “see alignment between this mission and the Compact’s aspirations for excellence and accountability.”
However, the letter lays out a few candid acknowledgments of some unique challenges an HBCU might have upon joining.
President Donald Trump talks to guests after signing the HBCU executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2017. (Reuters/Yuri Gripas)
The compact, which is tied to preferential federal funding for universities that participate, explicitly bars consideration of race, ethnicity and other identity-based characteristics for admissions and scholarship decisions, an obvious potential hurdle for a historically Black school.
“For example, the Compact’s current restrictions on the use of race, ethnicity, or related indicators in admissions or financial support — while well intentioned — conflict with Title III of the Higher Education Act and with the explicit purpose of HBCUs to expand access for Black students and historically marginalized communities,” the letter says.
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The letter also notes that the compact’s tuition freeze, which says schools joining the compact cannot raise tuition for five years after signing, could be a significant hurdle to clear given that HBCUs typically have smaller endowments than private schools and large state universities.
An entrance to the St. Augustine’s University campus in Raleigh, N.C. (St. Augustine’s University)
Another concern for the school is whether the compact, which forbids DEI programs and caps foreign admissions to 15% of the student population and 5% from any single nation, will be compatible with the compact, noting the school’s “global partnerships across the African diaspora,” which is part of a longstanding HBCU tradition.
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The letter ends on a positive note, saying the school “remains eager to participate as a constructive partner and early-engagement institution.”
“We believe that with thoughtful collaboration, the Department and participating institutions can refine the Compact to ensure that its implementation is rigorous, mission-aligned, and inclusive of the Nation’s diverse higher education landscape,” it says.
“Saint Augustine’s University respectfully requests a dialogue process that allows HBCUs to contribute expertise, articulate mission-specific constraints, and help shape the final framework in ways that uphold both the letter and spirit of the Compact while safeguarding our statutory purpose.”
A stone building on the campus of St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, N.C. (St. Augustine’s University)
“Our mission as a Historically Black College/University is not symbolic — it is statutory, purposeful, and essential to the students and communities we were created to serve,” Peoples said in a statement. “We fully support efforts to raise the bar on academic excellence nationwide, but those efforts must recognize the unique role HBCUs play in expanding opportunity. Saint Augustine’s University is eager to collaborate on a grant that is rigorous, mission-aligned, and reflective of America’s diverse higher education landscape.”
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The Trump administration solicited feedback from nine schools, some public and some private, nationwide. A feedback deadline was set for Oct. 20. None of the colleges signed the compact, with MIT, the University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California and the University of Virginia declining to participate.
Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas at Austin remain noncommittal on the proposal.
Read the full letter:
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Southeast
Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’
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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.
The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.
The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.
The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”
Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.
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Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.
The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.
The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.
Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)
“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”
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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.
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Southeast
Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work
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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.
Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.
During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.
Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )
“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”
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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)
Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.
His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.
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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.
Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.
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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.
GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.
A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)
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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.
This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.
The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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