Happy New Year 2025

Tag: limits

House, Senate lawmakers move to slap limits on NGOs aiding illegal immigrants amid Trump funding crackdown

FIRST ON FOX: Two lawmakers in the House and Senate are introducing separate bills to slap limits on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) they believe are undermining U.S. immigration law – coming amid broader questions about funding of NGOs and a funding crackdown by the Trump administration.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas is reintroducing the “Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act,” while Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is introducing the Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration (Fence) Act.

Hagerty’s bill would end tax-exempt status for organizations that help illegal immigrants, requiring that exempt organizations do not engage in a pattern of providing assistance, benefits, services or other support to those who they know “to be unlawfully present in the United States.”

TRUMP’S ICE LIMITS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASES AMID MOVES TO SHAKE OFF BIDEN ‘HANGOVER’

“Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, and these organizations will be able to preserve their tax-exempt status simply by ceasing these activities,” his office said in a release.

Army soldiers patrol the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2025. President Donald Trump ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border with Mexico as part of a flurry of steps to tackle immigration, his spokeswoman said on Jan. 22. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Gooden’s bill would prevent federal contracts and grants being awarded to NGOs unless they certified to the Office of Management and Budget that they are not involved in human trafficking or smuggling. It also would yank tax-exempt status from organizations who knowingly violate federal law.

The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a written strategy and best practices guide for non-profits to ensure they are in compliance with the law.

It also requires NGOs to go through a verification process to ensure illegal immigrants are not receiving benefits.

“For years, non-governmental organizations have exploited taxpayer dollars to facilitate illegal immigration under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid,’” Gooden said in a statement. “The exploitation of the American taxpayer will end under the Trump Administration. This bill ensures that not a single cent of hard-earned American tax dollars will fund organizations complicit in human trafficking and illegal border crossings.”

TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS

Migrants seeking asylum in the United States who previously requested an appointment on the CBP One Mobile application, are silhouetted as they queue at El Chaparral border crossing toward the U.S. to attend their appointment, in Tijuana, Mexico, Jan. 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Jorge Duenes)

It comes amid longstanding concern about the role of NGOs in assisting the government during the 2021-2024 migration crisis at the southern border, where millions of dollars went to NGOs that would receive migrants, assist them and potentially give them shelter and travel to their final destination. The funding is provided via contracts and grants from DHS, Health and Human Services and the State Department.

Gooden has introduced a number of pieces of legislation on the matter, and has been working for years to bring attention to the issue.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday that it has stopped funding nonprofits, saying they have been facilitating illegal immigration. It is part of a broad effort by the administration to ramp up border security and crack down on illegal immigration.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“Many of these NGOs actually have infrastructure and operations set up in Mexico, on that side of the border, and are telling those illegal immigrants to come to them, and they will get them across the border,” Noem said on Fox News Channel’s “Will Cain Show.” “So they’re not just operating in the United States, they’re operating outside the United States to help make it easier for those who want to break our laws.”

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Until an evaluation is completed, Noem said the department is “not spending another dime to help the destruction of this country.”

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding a review of all federal funding going to NGOs. These two pieces of legislation would enshrine limits beyond this administration. Meanwhile, the administration has also frozen USAID as the agency’s funding is being reviewed over concerns about how the funding is being used.

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

February 10, 2025
Trump’s ICE limits illegal immigrant releases amid moves to shake off Biden ‘hangover’

EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is taking dramatic steps to limit the number of illegal immigrants released from custody, as it moves at speed to shake off what one official described as the “hangover” from the Biden administration.

Fox News Digital is told that, as of this week, officials are being instructed that any release of an illegal immigrant in ICE custody must be personally signed off on by acting ICE director Caleb Vitello.

The administration has racked up thousands of arrests in the first week as it launched a mass deportation operation in cities and states across the U.S., with agents quickly hitting over 1,000 arrests a day as the agency drops Biden-era restrictions and takes a more aggressive stance towards illegal immigration.

TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS

ICE agents arrested seven illegal immigrants during a workforce operation raid. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

“We are fending off the hangover and some of the bad habits,” a senior ICE official told Fox News Digital, comparing the task to turning around the Titanic. “We are fixing four years of really bad habits.”

ICE currently has just under 42,000 beds available to it, and has been exceeding capacity under the current administration. The administration has been pushing hard to get more beds and detention space, but sources tell Fox it typically takes around 30 days for contractors to deliver given the time taken to identify buildings, hire people, conduct background checks and related requirements. That help is expected soon, but it is still in the process of coming online.

The White House confirmed on Wednesday that around 460 illegal immigrants have been released from custody of the more than 8,000 arrested. While that’s a small percentage, it’s expected to get even smaller with the additional restrictions.

“I expect the number of releases to fall off a cliff,” the ICE official told Fox News Digital, stressing that the new sign-off requirement sends a message to agents about a new posture by the agents.

The official stressed that any releases do not include public safety or national security threats. Anyone released is only done so with monitoring like ankle bracelets. Cases where illegal immigrants could be released could include someone who is pregnant or who is ill with cancer.

“That’s someone we are likely going to release…not only for the human side of it, but ICE and the government incur all of those medical costs the minute we take somebody into custody and so now we’re passing that on to the taxpayer as well,” they said.

While there are now additional limits on releases, ICE is also moving quickly to ramp up detention space. ICE has requested an apportionment of around $575 million from Congress as an advance of its funding for the year in order to be able to work quicker and get another step closer to a reported target of 100,000 beds and one million removals a year.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It’s also working with the Bureau of Prisons to identify space to house illegal immigrants as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — where there may be plenty of open space in soft-sided facilities due to a dramatic plunge in encounters at the border. This week, the administration began flying illegal immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, where there are expected to be around 30,000 spaces.

“We are looking well outside the box,” the official said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Family detention is one of the biggest challenges facing the agency. The Biden administration ended family detention in 2021, choosing instead to release families on Alternatives to Detention. The Trump administration is turning that back on.

“The Biden administration cut down so many of our beds and they canceled so many contracts. And the problem with that is you can’t just immediately turn those back on. It’s not a switch, it’s a dial,” they said.

ICE has been talking with other agencies, including the State Department to expedite travel documents for deportable illegal immigrants. That’s in addition to a slew of new agreements by the Trump administration with other countries. Venezuela and Colombia have both announced they will accept back illegal immigrants.

That cooperation was on display on Wednesday when Guatemala has said it will accept migrants from other countries in what is known as a safe third country agreement.

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That announcement came shortly after both Mexico and Canada had announced new restrictions at their borders with the U.S. in response to the threat of U.S. tariffs.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

February 6, 2025
Federal court rules ATF age limits on handgun sales violate Second Amendment

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled a nationwide ban on handgun sales to young adults is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans found a federal law that prohibits adults aged 18-20 from buying handguns violates the Second Amendment. The ruling comes as key firearms regulations have been struck down across the country following a landmark Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights in 2022.

“Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected,” the opinion of the court states. The decision refers the case back to a lower court judge.

MASSIE AND OTHER REPUBLICANS PUSH ‘NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY ACT’ TO PROTECT AMERICANS’ GUN RIGHTS

Customers shop for handguns at the Des Moines Fairgrounds Gun Show at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, in March 2023. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Previously, the appeals court had upheld the requirement that adults must be at least 21 to purchase a handgun. But since the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, judges are required to determine if a firearm restriction being challenged is firmly rooted in the nation’s historical traditions. Judges in Minnesota, Virginia and Texas have already found that state laws restricting handgun sales to young adults do not pass that test.

The Biden administration fought those rulings, but the Trump administration is expected to be friendlier towards gun rights. At a National Rifle Association event last year during the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump said, “no one will lay a finger on your firearms.”

Constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley observed that the Trump administration may not appeal the fifth circuit’s decision, which could mean the Supreme Court will not have a chance to review it.

“For gun rights advocates, it may have been better if this decision had been handed down during the Biden Administration,” Turley posted on X. “The Trump Administration will likely support the ruling and not appeal to the Supreme Court. Such an appeal could have extended this precedent nationally.”

BIDEN ADMIN DROPS ITS ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’ POLICY TARGETING GUN DEALER LICENSES OVER PAPERWORK ERRORS

Federal law prohibits handgun sales to young adults under 21 years of age. (Reuters )

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, decided to keep a federal gun law on the books last year. The high court overturned a different ruling from the 5th Circuit and upheld a law intended to protect victims of domestic violence.

“Today’s ruling is yet another critical FPC win against an immoral and unconstitutional age-based gun ban,” said Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs in a statement. Two FPC members sued to overturn the law, along with the Second Amendment Foundation and the Louisiana Shooting Association.

SUPREME COURT MAKES DECISION ON GUN LAW CHALLENGES IN DELAWARE, MARYLAND

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)

“We look forward to restoring the Second Amendment rights of all peaceable adults throughout the United States,” Combs added.

Federal law requires a person to be 21 to purchase a handgun from a licensed firearm dealer and 18 to buy a long gun from a dealer, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. There is an 18-year-old minimum for handgun purchases from unlicensed sellers and no minimum age for long guns, according to the group’s research.

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“The law that prohibits dealers from selling handguns to those under twenty-one is both constitutional and crucial for public safety,” said Janet Carter, senior director of issues and appeals at Everytown Law. “Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens, and 18-to-20-year-olds commit gun homicides at triple the rate of adults 21 and over, according to FBI statistics.”

“We hope the federal government will fight this reckless ruling by seeking rehearing en banc, or taking the case directly to the Supreme Court. We look forward to supporting the defense of this common sense law.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

January 31, 2025
New York City Mayor Eric Adams limits public schedule for ‘routine medical tests’

Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams will have a limited public schedule this week, with his office saying that he will be undergoing medical tests.

“Over the last few days, Mayor Adams hasn’t been feeling his best,” New York City Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said in a statement. Levy did not specify a condition or medical concern.

“As a result, this week, the mayor will have a number of doctors’ appointments and undergo routine medical tests,” Levy continued. “While Mayor Adams will continue to communicate constantly with staff and ensure city business continues undeterred, during this time, the mayor will have a limited public schedule.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a news conference outside Gracie Mansion, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Adams’ office said that New Yorkers City Hall would continue its everyday functions as Adams focuses on his health this week.

“New Yorkers can rest assured that their local government will continue to deliver for them every day as our committed workforce at City Hall, and more than 300,000 employees at dozens of city agencies, continue to show up on the most important issues,” Levy said. “Like every other New Yorker, Mayor Adams has a right to privacy when it comes to personal matters, but we will continue to communicate in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day.”

January 27, 2025