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Tag: migrant

‘Rampant’ abuse in blue state migrant shelter system, says former director: ‘Colossal mess’

After being attacked by an immigrant rapist, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director, is blowing the whistle about the “rampant” abuse in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system, which he said is “just a big, colossal mess.”

Fetherston, who served as the director of the Marlborough migrant shelter from 2023 to 2024, said that the amount of crime, domestic abuse and child neglect that takes place in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system is “mind-boggling.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Fetherston revealed that he was grabbed and attacked by a Haitian immigrant after he was confronted about raping and impregnating his own teenage daughter.

The Maine Wire first broke the story about the Haitian migrant, Ronald Joseph, 42, impregnating his then 13-year-old daughter. Joseph repeatedly raped and impregnated his daughter while staying at a government-funded migrant shelter at a Holiday Inn in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS SHELTER PROGRAM THAT HOUSES MIGRANTS HAS HAD OVER 300 ‘SERIOUS INCIDENT’ REPORTS THIS YEAR

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and former Marlborough migrant shelter director Jon Fetherston. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Jon Fetherston)

A report by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities obtained by Fox News Digital says that after being informed he would lose access to his daughter, Joseph “got very agitated and started yelling” at Fetherston that “this was all his fault, and he was to blame.”

Fetherston told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he “reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening.”

“I’m going to be honest; the entire experience has shaken me to my core,” said Fetherston.

MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT CONDEMNS RIGHT-TO-SHELTER LAW TURNING BAY STATE INTO ‘DESTINATION FOR MIGRANTS’

Meshach Little of Northill Wilkston Security Firm walks the perimeter of the main living area at the state’s new emergency overflow shelter for migrants at the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

He clarified that “it’s not so much the lunging at me and swinging” but rather the conversation that jarred him the most.

“The conversation was probably the most jarring conversation I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “His justification for having sex with his daughter was — and he did say it through an interpreter; he didn’t say it in English — that in his country — which his country of origin was Haiti — if a woman bled, meaning if she had her period, you could have sex with her and that was his justification for having sex with his daughter.”

Rather than arresting Joseph immediately, Fetherston was directed by authorities to order the immigrant a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months later when Marlborough police finally apprehended him earlier this month.

“The Marlborough police came and calmed him down and actually had me transfer him to another shelter,” he explained. “I asked the Marlborough police like: ‘Why isn’t he being arrested? He admitted to this. At least why aren’t you just detaining him at the very least?’ And they’re like: ‘We’ll figure it all out.’ It took them eight months to figure it all out.”

BLUE STATE FACES SPIKE IN MIGRANT SEX CRIMES AS TOP CITY PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

ICE agents are pictured arresting a man. ICE agents arrested an Indian citizen following his convictions for child sex abuse. (ICE ERO El Paso/X)

Though this case was particularly egregious, Fetherston said that “there is a lot of undocumented violence that goes on” and that rape, domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing and other crimes are so commonplace in the Massachusetts shelter system that many incidents simply fall through the cracks.

“I will tell you, unfortunately, that it happens a lot,” he said. “There were times when I was running the shelter that there probably should have been times when I should have done more reporting, you just didn’t have the time to do it.”

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“It’s just a big, colossal mess,” Fetherston added. “I’ve been in public service most of my adult life, either through elective office or volunteering. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the migrant shelters would be the chaos that it is… It’s a systematic problem, that there is chaos in these communities and the public has the right to know what is going on.”

The former shelter director said that before quitting his job he brought his concerns about the widespread abuse to Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll — both Democrats — but neither gave him the time of day. Although Healey recently vowed to reform the shelter system and begin mandatory background checks on residents, Fetherston said there have yet to be any real changes.

ICE ARRESTS ‘PREDATOR’ MIGRANT CONVICTED OF SECRETLY RECORDING OTHERS IN BATHROOM

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was being used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Despite promises of reform, the legislature renewed shelter funding at $425 million through June with no new changes.

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“People are frustrated from top to bottom,” he said. “The governor has spent over $3.5 billion just of the taxpayers’ money just on the migrant hotels [and]… just last week the Senate and House passed [a bill] to fund this migrant program until July of this year, zero reform, zero mandatory checks.”

“The governor says that all this stuff is coming,” he concluded, “and ultimately, at the end, there was no reform put in the package. It was just the approval to fund the shelters through the end of July. So, there is no reform.”

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 18, 2025
Migrant flight architect to lead Florida’s immigration enforcement

The man who helped organize a planeload of illegal immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard during the Biden administration has been tapped to lead Florida’s new immigration enforcement board.

Larry Keefe, a longtime trial attorney who served previously as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s “public safety czar” since 2021, will have $250 million at his discretion to help bolster the state’s immigration enforcement efforts.

Keefe was at the center of helping private contractor Vertol Systems Company earn a $1.5 million contract to fly dozens of mostly Venezuelan migrants from San Antonio to the ritzy Massachusetts island in 2022. At the time, illegal crossings along the southern border were surging under the leadership of former President Joe Biden, with more than 2 million during FY 2022.

TRUMP GREENLIGHTS SOME PRO-IMMIGRANT MOVES AMID BROADER ANTI-MIGRANT CRACKDOWN

Larry Keefe, inset, was at the center of organizing a flight from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard amid a massive influx of illegal migrants into the U.S. under President Joe Biden. ( U.S. Department of Justice)

The new board that Keefe will be heading was created during a recent special legislative session, called by DeSantis last month, to advance efforts at implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

The group held an emergency meeting Monday, during which Attorney General James Uthmeier nominated Keefe to be the new board’s executive director just hours after being appointed himself by the governor.

“For several years, I had the pleasure of working alongside [Keefe] when he was the state’s public safety czar. In that position, Larry worked with law enforcement all across the state to spearhead interdiction efforts. He also helped us with executive actions to collect data and better understand the real harms and taxes that the state faces as a result of an influx of illegal immigrants,” Uthmeier said at Monday’s meeting. “He also helped organize some relocation flights that I think some of you might have heard about, including one to Martha’s Vineyard.”

Illegal immigrants arrive at Martha’s Vineyard Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (Video provided to Fox News Digital)

Desantis said during Monday’s meeting that Keefe’s work on the migrant flights, in particular the one to Martha’s Vineyard, “changed the dynamic of the whole debate” from immigration simply being an issue for border states, to an issue for all states.

TOP FEDERAL AGENCY EXPOSED FOR SPENDING BILLIONS ON MIGRANTS IN A SINGLE YEAR

“They thought it was fine to have tens-of-thousands overrunning these border towns, but the minute you had 50 show up in Martha’s Vineyard, they had massive spasms about this. They called out the National Guard, they were doing a state of emergency,” Desantis said. “And then you started to see New York City and California and Chicago trips, and all of that I think helped bring this issue to a crescendo and resulted in the 2024 election.”

Immigrants gather with their belongings outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Sept. 14 on Martha’s Vineyard. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)

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Fox News Digital reached out to DeSantis’ office and was directed to his comments during the Monday meeting and on social media. DeSantis said Keefe “is a great public servant” and “will do a fantastic job” leading the state’s immigration enforcement.

February 18, 2025
ICE arrests ‘predator’ migrant convicted of secretly recording others in bathroom

ICE officials in Houston arrested an immigrant “predator” previously convicted of secretly recording others in a bathroom in one of the latest developments in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The immigrant, Mexican national Daniel Alejandro Tristan-Guerra, was arrested by Houston Homeland Security Investigations officials “when his guard was down” on Feb. 11, according to an ICE statement released on Friday.

Tristan-Guerra, 28, was arrested in a small town called Hallettsville in Lavaca County, Texas. After his arrest, he was taken to the Victoria County Jail pending his removal from the U.S.

TOM HOMAN ON SUCCESS OF IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN: WON’T BE HAPPY UNTIL EVERY CRIMINAL MIGRANT IS ‘ERADICATED’

Mexican national Daniel Alejandro Tristan-Guerra was arrested by Houston Homeland Security Investigations officials “when his guard was down” on Feb. 11, according to an ICE statement released on Friday. (ICE/Adobe Stock)

While several law enforcement entities in Democrat-controlled cities and states are refusing to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, this arrest was made following a joint investigation by ICE and the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Tristan-Guerra was convicted on two counts of invasive visual recording in a bathroom in August 2021 after an investigation by ICE HSI Houston and the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office.

ICE and federal agents in Houston have been very active in recent weeks, making several arrests in addition to Tristan-Guerra, including the arrest of several suspected members of the international criminal migrant group Tren de Aragua.

FIRST 10 ‘HIGH THREAT’ ILLEGALS TO ARRIVE TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY ARE ALL TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS

This image shows migrants boarding a military flight to Guantánamo Bay. (Department of Homeland Security)

On Feb. 12, HSI Houston arrested three suspected Tren de Aragua associates wanted for their involvement in a multi-state sex trafficking ring operated by the group.

Elsewhere in Texas, a South Texas man named Eusebio Cavazos, 33, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 36 illegal aliens in a tractor-trailer after an investigation by ICE and U.S. Border Patrol.

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Commenting on the recent operations, ICE HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said “the days of transnational criminal organizations raking in billions in illicit profits each year by trampling on our nation’s sovereignty and flooding our country with millions of unvetted aliens who could present a threat to public safety or national security are over.”

TRANS MIGRANT FINDING SANCTUARY IN NYC ACCUSED OF RAPING 14-YEAR-OLD

(Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

“The law enforcement community in Southeast Texas is united in our effort to restore law and order along the southern border by aggressively pursuing and dismantling human smuggling organizations and other criminal organizations who are bold enough to test our collective resolve,” he said.

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Addressing Tristan-Guerra’s recent arrest, Plantz commended local law enforcement for cooperating with ICE, which he said ensured the safety of the community.

“Working alongside our partners in Lavaca County, ICE HSI special agents were able to safely apprehend him when his guard was down and minimize any threat to the public,” said Plantz. “The residents in Southeast Texas can rest easier today knowing this predator has been removed from the community.”

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 17, 2025
Trans migrant finding sanctuary in NYC accused of raping 14-year-old

A transgender woman wanted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is accused of stalking and raping a 14-year-old boy in New York City.

Nicol Suarez, a 30-year-old trans migrant from Colombia, was arrested Wednesday after allegedly following the child into the bathroom of a bodega across the street from Thomas Jefferson Park and attacking him, according to a report in the New York Post.

The boy was able to leave the bathroom and flag down witnesses after the attack, resulting in Suarez’s arrest the next day.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS SKYROCKET UNDER TRUMP ICE COMPARED TO BIDEN LEVELS LAST YEAR: ‘WORST OF THE WORST’

Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem, New York CIty. (Google Street View)

Suarez was already wanted in both New Jersey and Massachusetts at the time of the crime, the report notes, while ICE had a detainer on the Colombian migrant, the agency’s way of requesting that any law enforcement agencies that arrest the suspect hold him to be turned over to federal authorities.

That detainer means ICE could quickly deport the individual if local authorities cooperate, a source told the New York Post.

“It just goes to show that Donald Trump and [border czar] Tom Homan are correct that you need to get the violent people out of New York City and Eric Adams, Letitia James and Kathy Hochul should all cooperate because this person has an ICE detainer,” the source said.

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

New York City mayor Eric Adams (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“ICE could just pick this person up and deport them back,” the source continued, adding that New York City’s “sanctuary laws” will mean local police “can’t do anything.”

Prosecutors asked for $500,000 bail and $1.5 million bond for Suarez, according to the report, a number that was shot down by Judge Elizabeth Shamahs, who settled on a $100,000 bail or $250,000 bond.

But the source believes the amount shows that the city is still not concerned with the true victims of migrant crimes.

Migrants line up outside a re-ticketing center on Jan. 5, 2024, in Manhattan. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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“I feel really bad for the kid that has to go through this because his life will never be the same,” the source said. “We worry about the migrants but what about the victim? This is a true victim.”

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 16, 2025
Eric Adams to sue Trump admin over revoked $80M in FEMA migrant shelter funding for New York City

New York City mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the federal government secretly revoked more than $80 million in funding for the city’s migrant shelters.

Counsel for the Adams administration sent a letter Friday to city Comptroller Brad Lander saying that the city’s Law Department planned to take legal action by the end of next week to have the $80.5 million in FEMA payments taken earlier this week returned, according to the New York Post. Lander is running against Adams in June’s Democrat primary election for the city’s mayor.

“The Law Department is currently drafting litigation papers with respect to this matter,” corporation counsel Mureil Goode-Trufant told Lander in a letter, the outlet reported.

“We intend to initiate legal action by February 21, 2025. As the Law Department is representing the City of New York in this matter, there is no need for an authorization for the Comptroller’s Office to engage external legal counsel,” the letter reads.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP CASE AGAINST NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS

New York City Mayor Eric Adams departs Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City on Friday, November 1, 2024. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital )

The letter came after Lander urged the Adams administration to either file a lawsuit or authorize him to hire his own attorneys to sue Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Given the gravity of the situation, we cannot afford to waste any more time. If the Mayor would prefer to spend his days advancing President Trump’s agenda instead of fighting for New Yorkers, then the Law Department must allow me to do so,” Lander said in a statement Friday.

“Recovering these funds is imperative, and any action, or non-action, allowing the Trump administration to proceed without consequence would set a dangerous precedent and make our City a target for the next four years,” he added.

The revocation of FEMA funds from New York City’s accounts happened Tuesday and was first discovered by Lander the following day.

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS HE WILL RUN FOR RE-ELECTION AS A DEMOCRAT

New York City Mayor Eric Adams departs Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City on Friday, November 1, 2024. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital )

“Let’s be crystal clear: This is highway robbery. Elon Musk, with no legal authority, illegally seized federal funds from New Yorkers,” Lander said Wednesday.

Musk claimed that DOGE found a $59 million FEMA payment to New York City was being used on luxury hotels to house illegal migrants. Trump later repeated Musk’s claim and argued that “massive fraud” was happening.

New York City was awarded two separate grants during the Biden administration — one for $58.6 million and another for $21.9 million — as the city attempted to pay to house migrants, many of whom were sent by Texas officials who were frustrated with the Biden administration’s handling of the influx of migrants entering the U.S. through the Southern Border.

The payments were made under the Shelter and Services Program that Congress appropriated $650 million for last year to help local governments respond to the migrant crisis.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams departs federal court in Lower Manhattan on Friday, September 27, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

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The FEMA money, which was funded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, paid $12.50 a night reimbursement for each hotel room. The city said most of the hotels used to house migrants are not luxurious. The remainder of the funds went toward security, food and other services for migrants.

This came after the Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop their federal corruption case against Adams, who had been indicted on charges of fraud, bribery and soliciting campaign contributions from foreigners. Some have raised concerns that Adams may be beholden to the president because his case was dropped.

February 15, 2025
‘Clawed back’: DHS chief Noem secures eye-popping sum sent to NYC for migrant hotels

The Department of Homeland Security says it has taken back $59 million in FEMA funds earmarked for hotels housing migrants in New York City, a day after it fired those involved in making the payment.

“Secretary Noem has clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“There will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people,” they said.

FEDERAL AGENCY IN DOGE’S CROSSHAIRS PLAYED KEY ROLE IN HARRIS’ STRATEGY TO CURB MIGRANT CRISIS

Migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on July 31, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The announcement came after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said it had uncovered $59 million in payments for luxury hotels for migrants who had flooded into the sanctuary city during the recent crisis at the southern border. Elon Musk said the payments had been sent in the last week.

DHS announced Tuesday that it had fired four employees “for circumventing leadership” and making the payments unilaterally. The firings included FEMA’s CFO, two analysts and a grant specialist.

The use of FEMA to make payments related to immigration has been a topic of controversy in recent months. The funding comes via the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). It is congressionally appropriated and requires FEMA to use funding shifted over from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The Biden administration pushed back last year over claims that disaster funding was being diverted, noting that the funding is appropriated to CBP and administered by FEMA.

A New York City Hall spokesperson confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that the city had received funds “through the past week” that were allocated by the Biden administration for the purpose of housing and supporting illegal immigrants.

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

Of the $59.3 million, $19 million was for direct hotel costs, while the balance funded other services such as food and security. According to NY City Hall, the funds were not part of a disaster relief grant.

“The previous administration left New York City largely on its own to manage an international humanitarian crisis. At its height, we took swift emergency action to house thousands of migrants arriving in our city every week – including in completely vacant hotels – ensuring that no family slept on our streets and that the public safety of longtime New Yorkers was not compromised,” a spokesperson said. “Thanks to our smart management of the crisis, we have helped over 184,000 migrants leave the city’s shelter system since the spring of 2022. But, we are not out of the woods yet.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan speak with reporters at the White House, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A spokesperson said that it never paid luxury hotel rates, that the city applied for funding in April and FEMA allocated the funding last year.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

On Wednesday, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander responded to the revocation of funds by saying that NYC “cannot take this lying down.”

“I call on the Mayor to immediately pursue legal action to ensure the tens of millions of dollars stolen by Trump and DOGE are rightfully returned. If instead Mayor Adams continues to be President Trump’s pawn, my Office will request to work in partnership with the New York City Law Department to pursue aggressive legal action,” he said, according to the New York Post.

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Mayor Eric Adams later said on X that his office “learned about the federal government clawing back more than $80 million in FEMA grants applied for and awarded under the last administration, but not disbursed until last week.”

“While we conduct an internal investigation into how this occurred, our office has already engaged with the White House about recouping these funds and we’ve requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible. The Corporation Counsel is already exploring various litigation options,” he said.

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 13, 2025
Federal agency in DOGE’s crosshairs played key role in Harris’ strategy to curb migrant crisis

When the Biden administration launched its strategy to tackle “root causes” of migration at the southern border during a time of rapidly rising and historic illegal immigration, the now-frozen United States Agency for International Development (USAID) played a significant role.

During the Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked with leading diplomacy in Latin America to tackle the root causes, identified as issues like gang violence, climate change and poverty. It consisted of both government initiatives and funding from private organizations.

USAID, which was frozen in recent days over concerns about misspending, played a key role in the distribution of funds. While certain operations have been halted to get a full picture of USAID funding to the region, it is possible to get a glimpse of the help it provided.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP FROM PLACING 2,200 USAID WORKERS ON LEAVE

President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Feb. 7, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2021, the first year of the Biden administration, USAID announced Centroamérica Local, a 5-year, $300 million initiative that funded organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address the root causes of migration to the U.S.

“Under this new initiative, Centroamérica Local, USAID intends to invest up to $300 million, subject to the availability of funds, toward engaging, strengthening, and funding local organizations to implement programs to advance sustainable and equitable economic growth, improve governance, fight corruption, protect human rights, improve citizen security, and combat sexual and gender-based violence,” USAID said in a statement at the time.

“These programs are being carried out under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Root Causes Strategy and deliver on the Agency’s goal to foster greater engagement with local organizations and communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and advance stability in the region.”

More was still to come.

TOP DEM STRATEGISTS WARN USAID FUNDING FIGHT IS A ‘TRAP’ FOR THE PARTY

In 2022, USAID announced programs in Central America to end gender-based violence, including a $6.5 million program in Guatemala and a $2.7 million program in Honduras. That built off a program announced in El Salvadaor.

In March last year, Harris met with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and announced a planned investment of $135 million in USAID funding, alongside $170 million to aid development, economic health and security assistance.

Included in the announcement was an expansion of the Central American Service Corps, which was created in 2022 at the Summit of Americas. The expanded program was funded by USAID and aimed to reach 2,800 people seen at most risk of migrating by engaging them with volunteer work, employment and training.

Also announced for Guatemala was a USAID-implemented “Feed the Future” program to strengthen the capacity of research and education entities to scale agricultural technologies and to support research and education related to “climate smart” agriculture.

A flag outside U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

USAID was also to implement a new “Guatemala Biodiversity Conservation” program to promote the conservation of biodiversity and strengthen protected areas and other areas of ecological importance.

In September, USAID announced an additional $10.75 million in funding for Guatemala.

USAID STAFFERS STUNNED, ANGERED BY TRUMP ADMIN’S DOGE SHUTDOWN OF $40B AGENCY

That came after USAID invested over $153 million in Guatemala in 2023 to allegedly support the government in efforts to strengthen democracy and improve opportunities. According to a release, funded activities included “integrated rural and agricultural development, sustainable economic growth, support for the construction of climate-resilient infrastructure, and digital development and e-governance.”

Harris was dogged by the “border czar” title throughout her unsuccessful presidential bid as she largely dropped the root causes emphasis and instead focused on the Biden administration’s efforts to secure the border.

President Donald Trump’s administration has demonstrated a skepticism of the root causes strategy, both in its leaning in on border security and interior enforcement and also its moves to cut or freeze funding abroad.

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In his first week in office, Trump also rescinded Biden’s 2021 executive order creating a “comprehensive regional framework to address the causes of migration, to manage migration throughout North and Central America and to provide safe and orderly processing of asylum seekers at the United States border.”

He also revoked an executive order to rebuild and enhance programs to resettle refugees and plan for “the impact of climate change on migration.”

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 12, 2025
GOP lawmakers introduce bill aimed at stopping trafficking of migrant children

Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, is joining GOP colleagues in the Senate by introducing legislation to protect unaccompanied migrant children from human traffickers.

“Over 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children effectively disappeared under the Biden administration, leaving them vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, and exploitation. Instead of ensuring their safety, these children are released with no follow-up, falling into the hands of cartels and criminals,” Luttrell said in a release announcing the Stop Human Trafficking of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Act of 2024.

Luttrell’s legislation is a companion to a bill introduced in the Senate by senators Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and aims to prevent further trafficking of migrant children by implementing proper vetting for adults who sponsor a child in the United States, including vetting for parents, immediate relatives and unrelated adults.

MIGRANT SEX TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR SPEAKS OUT: ‘I SAW GOOD PEOPLE DIE’

Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, and the U.S. southern border. (Getty Images)

The bill will also require that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) take steps to vet all adults who will live in the home of a migrant child.

“It is terrifying to think that over 300,000 young, innocent children have been brought into this nation, potentially forced into unsafe conditions and at risk for human trafficking,” Scott said in the release. “As a parent or grandparent, it’s unimaginable to think what might happen to these children and that former President Joe Biden allowed this to happen by completely dismantling our immigration system and opening our southern border, completely ignoring the consequences or the tolls on human life.”

Luttrell’s bill seeks to beef up vetting of adults who sponsor a child in the United States to combat cross-border child trafficking. (Fox News)

JUDGE APPROVES EMERGENCY ORDER TO CLOSE MIGRANT GANG-INFESTED AURORA, COLORADO, APARTMENT COMPLEX

The bill aims to put multiple steps in place to prevent trafficking of children, including a prohibition on children being released to a sponsor who is in the U.S. illegally, unless the sponsor is the child’s legal guardian or a relative. The bill will also require authorities to complete a home visit prior to a child being released to the sponsor and calls for at least five additional unannounced home visits during the child’s first year in the country.

The legislation will also require reporting to Congress on actions being taken to account for current missing children, according to the release.

Children play near a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in May 2021. (Getty Images)

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“HHS must implement thorough vetting to ensure these children are placed with responsible adults — not predators,” Luttrell said. “President Biden’s border policies failed everyone, and this legislation will support the Trump administration’s efforts to course correct the disaster we were left with.”

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 11, 2025
DOGE focuses on millions in migrant hotels billed to US taxpayers as DHS Sec. Noem targets key agency

The government’s leading disaster relief agency reportedly spent millions on hotels for illegal immigrants just last week, according to Elon Musk, who is leading the Trump administration’s efforts to cut government spending.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by the tech billionaire, has been conducting a sweep of federal funding and identifying areas in which “waste” within the government can be slashed. Musk found his most recent target in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government’s disaster relief branch that recently sparked concern over a reported lack of funds during Hurricane Helene.

“The @DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants,” Musk claimed in a post on X on Monday morning.

Musk charged that “sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” which FEMA was under review to improve the agency’s “efficacy, priorities and competence.”

KRISTI NOEM HEADS TO ASHEVILLE AMID HEAVY CRITICISM OF FEMA RESPONSE UNDER BIDEN

Musk claimed that FEMA sent millions to house migrants in NYC. (Getty Images)

“That money is meant for American disaster relief,” Musk wrote.

A New York City Hall spokesperson confirmed to Fox that the city had received funds “through the past week” that were allocated by the Biden administration for the purpose of housing and supporting illegal immigrants.

Of the $59.3 million, $19 million was for direct hotel costs, while the balance funded other services such as food and security. According to NY City Hall, the funds were not part of a disaster relief grant.

PRESIDENT TRUMP PREDICTS ELON MUSK WILL FIND ‘HUNDRED OF BILLIONS’ IN WASTE IN NEXT DOGE DIRECTIVES

The report comes just one day after Secretary Kristi Noem of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, suggested getting rid of FEMA “the way it exists today.”

Migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on July 31, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service)

During former President Biden’s term, FEMA faced backlash after it was reported that while they lacked the necessary funds needed to help Hurricane Helene victims, they were dishing out money that ended up being used to aid illegal immigrants.

Speaker Mike Johnson clarified that emergency relief funding is separate from FEMA funds allocated to immigration, but said that the agency should not have any part in funding the border crisis.

FEMA partners with Customs and Border Control (CBP) and administers money to the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a government-funded program that provides assistance and housing for illegal immigrants released into the U.S.

After Hurricane Helene made its deadly sweep across the south in the fall, Republican lawmakers warned that “FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’ efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission.”

President Donald Trump said that ‘FEMA has turned out to be a disaster.’ (Roberty Schmidt)

President Donald Trump has also called for FEMA to be reformed, suggesting during his first week in office that states be in control of their own disaster funding.

“FEMA has turned out to be a disaster,” Trump said while delivering remarks on the Hurricane Helene damage in January. “I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away, and we pay directly — we pay a percentage to the state.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to FEMA for comment.

Fox News’ Grace Taggart, Adam Shaw and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 10, 2025
Massachusetts migrant shelter resident charged with impregnating his teen daughter

A Massachusetts migrant shelter resident has been arrested and is being charged with raping and impregnating his own teenage daughter while staying at a government-funded shelter.

The MetroWest Daily News reported that the man, who has not been identified by police to protect the identity of his daughter and victim, raped his daughter repeatedly, both during their journey to the U.S. and while in the country.

The immigrant was staying at a shelter run by Eliot Community Human Services, which operates two government-funded shelters at Holiday Inn and Extended Stay hotels in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in the Boston area.

BOSTON MAYOR SILENT ON SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES AMID MIGRANT CRIME REPORTS

Meshach Little of Northill Wilkston Security Firm walks the perimeter of the main living area at the state’s new emergency overflow shelter for migrants at the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

According to The MetroWest Daily News, Marlborough Police arrested the immigrant last week, following reports of his crimes being filed by shelter staff in May 2024.

The outlet reported that the teen had sent text messages indicating she was pregnant “in the past by her father,” and that “her father had sex with her multiple times, both on the journey to the U.S. and in the U.S.”

The Marlborough District Court arraigned the immigrant on Monday, charging him with one count of aggravated rape of a child. District Judge Meghan Spring ordered him held without bail pending another hearing on Friday, which will determine if he is a danger to the public.

This comes after Jon Fetherson, a former director of the Marlborough migrant shelter, spoke out about what he said were incidents of widespread violence, child sexual assault and rape at shelters in the state.

BLUE CITY RESIDENTS BLAST NEW 2,200-BED MEGA MIGRANT SHELTER AS ‘DUMPING GROUND’

The Massachusetts State House is photographed in Boston. (Tim Graham/Getty Images)

The Maine Wire reported in December that shelter staff determined to separate Joseph from his daughter and he was given a taxpayer-funded Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Maine Wire reported that after being moved, Joseph started yelling and making threatening gestures at the shelter staff.

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Massachusetts is a “right to shelter” state with laws mandating the government provide housing to immigrants with no other means to obtain housing. Massachusetts is also a migrant “sanctuary” jurisdiction that prohibits police and law enforcement in the state from cooperating or assisting ICE and federal authorities in enforcing immigration law.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, left, and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was being used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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This is not the first time a Massachusetts immigrant shelter has been used for illegal, criminal activity. In January, Revere Police arrested Dominican national Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, 28, after he was caught with an AR-15 and about $1 million worth of fentanyl in a state-subsidized hotel room.

In response, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, has expressed outrage over the abuse of the state’s shelter system and called for the legislature to change the system’s rules to limit illegal immigrants staying in shelters.

Fox News Digital Breaking News reporter Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 6, 2025