Game-changer shakes up key voter issue as hard-hitting numbers tell a stark story
EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of illegal immigrants have soared under the Trump administration compared to the same period last year under the Biden administration, with some metrics doubling or even tripling.
According to Department of Homeland Security data, obtained by Fox News Digital, there were 11,791 interior ICE arrests from Jan 20 to Feb 8., compared to 4,969 during the same period in 2024. That’s a 137% increase.
Arrests of aliens with criminal histories have soared by nearly 100% from 4,526 in the same period in 2024 to 8,993 under Trump this year.
Arrests of fugitive aliens at-large, meanwhile, have gone up from 2,164 to 5,538 — a 156% increase. Arrests of criminal aliens in local jails have gone up 59%.
TRUMP’S ICE LIMITS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASES AMID MOVES TO SHAKE OFF BIDEN ‘HANGOVER’
Arrests of suspected gang members, including those belonging to the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua, went from 210 in that period in 2024 to 430 under Trump, a 105% increase.
The data is the latest sign that the Trump administration’s flat-out push to ramp up arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants, including by loosening the cuffs on ICE agents imposed by the prior administration, is having a significant impact.
The administration has said it is trying to target the “worst of the worst,” focusing on criminal illegal immigrants and gang members, but has also stressed that it is not ruling anyone out of contention.
ICE has been conducting operations throughout the country, including “sanctuary” cities that do not cooperate with federal enforcement. Fox reported last week that the administration is using federal prisons to house illegal immigrants as it looks to provide additional bedspace.
TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS
The administration is using Guantánamo Bay to house up to 30,000 detainees, with multiple flights leaving last week. Meanwhile, the DOJ has announced legal action against New York and Chicago over sanctuary laws in place there.
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Those moves came after a slew of moves in the first days of the administration. President Donald Trump signed orders declaring a national emergency at the border, restarting border wall construction and terminating Biden-era parole policies. The Department of Homeland Security has since removed limits on “sensitive places” placed upon agents by the Biden administration, and has ended Temporary Protected Status for some Venezuelan nationals.
“We have thousands of beds in detention facilities that are open today,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on “Fox News Sunday. “We’ll continue to do ops in the different communities to get these dangerous criminals off of our streets and to get them home.”
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Other numbers have suggested policies are having an impact on the border as well. Fox News reported this week that the daily average number of known gotaways — illegal migrants who successfully entered the U.S. without apprehension — at the southern border since the beginning of February has plummeted to just 132 per day, down 93% from the highest numbers when former President Joe Biden was in office.
Scientist spills the ‘secret’ to making America’s defense system the world’s best
President Donald Trump is seeking to bolster the defense of the American homeland with a U.S.-style Iron Dome missile system. However, one expert believes that a system similar to Israel’s is “not needed.”
“So let me tell you at the outset, the president is using the term ‘Iron Dome’ as a metaphor,” rocket scientist Ari Sacher said during an interview on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria” Monday. “It’s perfect for defending Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, it is not something that the United States needs very much.”
In President Trump’s first few weeks in office, he signed a slew of executive orders, with one focused on the construction of an American Iron Dome. The order addressed the need for the implementation of a next-generation missile defense shield to protect the homeland “against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks,” as well as to “further the goals of peace through strength.”
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S ‘IRON DOME’ PLAN FOR AMERICA
Sacher explained that when it comes to missile defense, the U.S. needs a more extensive system than Israel’s to grapple with distant adversaries.
“To defend the U.S. homeland, as the president wants to do, you need something completely different,” he said. “You’re defending against rockets not launched from Canada or Mexico… you’re defending against rockets that are launched from North Korea, from China, from Russia, potentially, and you need something far more complex than [an] Iron Dome to shoot it down.”
The rocket scientist, who has expertise in missile defense, further detailed how the system could look under President Trump.
“What the president is looking at is something that probably would be called space-based intercept. You bring up a whole bunch of interceptors into outer space, and the whole intercept will take place in outer space. So if you want to call it ‘Iron Dome’ or you want to call it ‘Fred,’ doesn’t make a difference, it’s not [an] Iron Dome.”
However achieved, Sacher believes that the American Iron Dome’s chances of success are “excellent,” and that “the U.S. has a tremendous amount of engineers and gumption.” The expert also pointed out the threats that U.S. missile defense could address with the more complex shield compared to that of the Israeli system.
“We’re talking about Korea and points west, China’s even farther. That’s the threats America has to look at, our near-peer threats.”
He continued, comparing those threats to those of the Middle East.
“Things like Gaza and Hezbollah, that’s just too small,” he said. “That’s a minor league United States of America.”
Sacher also revealed the key challenge when it comes to missile defense systems.
“There’s a whole new slew of technologies that are needed to do this sort of thing. [The] most difficult one is, believe it or not, not the interceptor, it’s not the launcher. The most difficult thing is [not even] getting it into outer space. The most difficult thing is controlling everything,” he stressed.
He broke down the different elements one needs to be aware of while operating the Iron Dome.
“It’s understanding what we call sky picture,” Sacher stressed. “You got to know when you’re shooting an Iron Dome. You got to know who’s firing on you, how many, which is a good guy, which is a bad guy. ‘What’s that 777 landing at the airport? Can’t shoot that down.’ Imagine doing all of that in outer space. And there’s so much more to take care of and there’s so much more that could go wrong, and you have to take account of all these things.”
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Emphasizing the importance of control, Sacher said that once the situation is resolved in space, the system can be applied for use on Earth.
“If you can solve that problem in outer space, then you can use it on the ground for a whole bunch of other control problems; controlling fires, controlling electric grids, controlling everything… That’s the secret: control.”
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CNN host deletes social media post about murder suspect Luigi Mangione after backlash
CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins apparently deleted a social media post after receiving backlash for appearing to promote a defense fund for Luigi Mangione, the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer.
In the post on X, Collins showed a link to a new website launched by defense lawyers for Mangione, who faces charges of first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, stalking and other state and federal charges in New York and Pennsylvania for allegedly gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024. Thompson was a married father of two.
Mangione, 26, who was born into a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., on Dec. 9 after a multi-state manhunt. Following his arrest, followers donated over $300,000 for his legal defense.
LUIGI MANGIONE ACCEPTS $300K FROM ‘SICK’ DONORS CHEERING MURDER OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO: EXPERT
Collins’ post garnered criticism from a number of users on X, including The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller.
“Real bottom of the barrel stuff. Even for @kaitlancollins,” Miller posted Friday on X.
Miller also called Collins out for deleting the post with “no explanation,” saying, “guess it wasn’t White House correspondent related.”
WMAL host Larry O’Connor commented on the situation, saying Collins “used her considerable platform to promote a link for the defense fund of a cold-blooded killer.”
“She has not yet apologized nor has she posted anything else in 24 hours,” he added.
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New York Times best-selling author Jack Posobiec also shared his take on Collins’ X post.
“CNN’s Kaitlan Collins promotes Luigi Mangione’s legal defense fund after Mangione [was] shown on video murdering a man in cold blood,” he posted Saturday.
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Some users have even suggested Collins should lose her press credentials and access to the White House.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Collins for comment.
Death row inmate makes an unusual request about another killer
A South Carolina death row inmate who is the next person scheduled to be put to death by the state is again requesting that his execution be postponed because his lawyers have not received the autopsy report from the last execution two weeks ago.
Brad Sigmon, 67, whose execution is scheduled for March 7, had made a similar request that the state Supreme Court rejected earlier this month, but his attorneys said in a motion Friday that the situation is now more urgent because of the Feb. 21 deadline to decide his execution method, as he can choose to be killed by lethal injection, firing squad or electric chair.
Sigmon was convicted in the 2001 baseball bat killings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents at their home in Greenville County. The two were in separate rooms, investigators said, and Sigmon went back and forth between the rooms as he beat them both to death.
After killing the couple, Sigmon kidnapped his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint, but she managed to escape from his car. He shot at her as she ran away but missed.
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“I couldn’t have her, I wasn’t going to let anybody else have her,” he said in a confession.
If he does not choose an execution method, Sigmon would be killed by the electric chair, which his attorneys say he does not want to die from. Sigmon plans to choose next week between lethal injection and the firing squad.
He remains hesitant to choose lethal injection because witnesses to the three previous executions in the past several months since the state began using a massive dose of the sedative pentobarbital have said that despite the inmates appearing to stop breathing and moving in only a few minutes, they were not declared dead for at least 20 minutes.
The autopsy report has been released for only one of the executions. Prison officials said Richard Moore was given two large doses of pentobarbital 11 minutes apart on Nov. 1.
A defense expert who reviewed the results reported that fluid found in Moore’s lungs likely made him feel like he was consciously drowning and suffocating during the 23 minutes it took for him to be pronounced dead.
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Another anesthesiologist who reviewed the autopsy for the state said fluid is often found in the lungs after a lethal injection, also arguing that witness accounts and other evidence gave no indication that Moore was conscious beyond 30 seconds after the sedative was first injected.
Prison officials have not disclosed the reason why Moore needed a second massive dose or whether that is part of their normal procedures, pointing to a 2023 shield law that keeps the providers of lethal injection drugs, the identities of members of execution teams and the procedures used a secret.
In a sworn statement issued after an execution date is scheduled, Corrections Director Bryan Stirling certifies that each method is available. He said “lethal injection is available via a single dose of pentobarbital.”
Sigmon’s lawyers have yet to see the autopsy report on Marion Bowman, who was executed by lethal injection Jan. 31. There was no autopsy after the execution of Freddie Owens on Sept. 20 at his request, citing religious reasons due to his Muslim faith.
Additional information is being sought by Sigmon’s lawyers about the lethal injection drug. Requests had been rejected before the previous three executions.
His lawyers also want his execution date postponed until they can review the autopsy results.
Once one of the busiest for executions, South Carolina resumed executions in September after a 13-year pause caused in part by the state having difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs after its supply expired due to pharmaceutical companies’ concerns that they would have to disclose they had sold the drugs to state officials. The state legislature then passed the shield law allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private.
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The state Supreme Court agreed to set executions at least five weeks apart, but Sigmon’s lawyers, who also represent others on death row, want to extend that time between to 13 weeks so they can fully review previous autopsies and other reports.
South Carolina has executed 46 inmates since the death penalty was resumed in the U.S. in 1976. In the early 2000s, the state was carrying out an average of three executions per year. Only nine states have killed more inmates.
Details emerge about ‘career criminal’ suspect at center of Super Bowl reporter’s death
The “career criminal” accused of stealing a Super Bowl reporter’s credit cards after he was found dead in his Kenner, Louisiana, hotel room earlier this month may be tied to a second man’s death in the Big Easy, according to Kenner Police.
Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old Telemundo reporter based in Kansas City, Missouri, traveled to New Orleans on assignment to cover the Super Bowl last week and was found dead in his room at the Comfort Suites hotel in Kenner Feb. 5.
Danette Colbert, 45, nicknamed the “Bourbon Street Hustler,” is facing multiple fugitive and fraud charges, as well as a robbery charge, in connection with Manzano’s death.
“We suspect that the investigation will lead to her being involved in another death case in the city of New Orleans back in December,” Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley told Fox News Digital. “We are working with [the New Orleans Police Department]. We’re working with state police and the attorney general’s office to get as much information as we can before we come to any conclusions because, in cases like this, you have to investigate, you can’t just speculate.”
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Kenner Police believe Colbert may have drugged Manzano and then stole his credit cards before authorities found him dead.
“They met in the French Quarter, probably in the wee hours of the morning. They came back to the hotel that was in the city of Kenner about 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 5, at which time we do have surveillance video from the lobby of the hotel showing them going into [Manzano’s] room around that time,” Conley said.
“Then [Colbert] came out, ran to the store, came back about 30 minutes later, and within 10 or 15 minutes, she left the room. And he was never seen again on any video other than when he went into the room. So, she was the last one to be with him.”
‘BOURBON STREET HUSTLER’ ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH SUPER BOWL REPORTER’S DEATH LINKED TO LAS VEGAS DRUGGING
On Feb. 8, Conley told reporters during a press conference that detectives found one of Manzano’s credit cards was missing while processing his hotel room.
Detectives reportedly obtained a search warrant allowing them to track the locations where the credit card was used after Manzano was found, and that led them to Colbert.
YOUNG TELEMUNDO REPORTER ADAN MANZANO DIES IN NEW ORLEANS SUPER BOWL ASSIGNMENT
Conley said Colbert is also tied to several cases involving male victims being drugged and robbed in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, and Las Vegas.
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“She has a long history of … bringing men into her confidence. The men become incapacitated by some manner, at which time they lose all their money, their property. By the time they wake up or come to regain consciousness, they are out of a lot of money. Their credit cards have been used at various places, and they find themselves in an awful fix,” Conley explained.
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The police chief added that police had received between 12 and 13 tips related to the Colbert case as of Wednesday, but some victims do not want to come forward publicly due to the sensitive nature of the suspect’s alleged crimes.
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Authorities executed a search warrant at Colbert’s address after identifying her as a potential suspect in connection with Manzano’s death and located a stolen gun that did not appear to be related to Manzano’s death and narcotics.
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Colbert may face additional charges as the investigation into Manzano’s death develops. It was not clear if she had retained an attorney.
Telemundo 39 remembered Manzano as “a true professional and a rising star who exemplified excellence in his work” in a statement.
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“We will deeply miss Adan and his passion for sports and the contributions he made to the local community,” the statement says.
Manzano’s wife, Ashleigh Boyd, died in a car crash last year in Kansas.
Florida’s spring break hotspot spoofs reality TV show in viral warning
Once an enclave for spring breakers searching for warmer weather, the city of Miami Beach is making a concerted effort to curb raucous partying by launching a “Spring Break Reality Check” campaign.
The reality TV-themed PSA video shows just how unwelcome college students are to the Florida destination.
“Consider this your reality check. Spring Break and Miami Beach don’t mix,” the city of Miami Beach wrote on X.
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The show is fake, but the rules apply
The video begins with a group of college-aged people driving to Miami Beach on what one young woman says will be “the best spring break ever.”
About 15 seconds into the promo, another says, “Once we got to Miami Beach, things went downhill fast.”
The video launches into a compilation of strict police oversight, DUI sobriety checkpoints and pricey parking fees.
“Apparently, the only thing that wasn’t contraband was the grapes and the cheese,” one young woman laments.
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At night, the crew is met with a strict curfew, leading to several arguments and tension, with one member of the group saying: “I’m so sick of crying!”
“The real villain here is all these rules,” said another.
The concluding message of the video? The show is fake, but the rules apply.
Play by our rules, or face the consequences
The video is the latest campaign effort by Miami Beach officials to discourage rowdy revelers from descending on the miles of pristine beaches and renowned nightlife.
“This year it’s a reality check, it’s showing what is going to happen if you come here, and you don’t play by our rules,” Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said.
Last year’s campaign resulted in Miami Beach seeing limited crowd sizes and less violence. Police Chief Wayne Jones said that arrests citywide went down 8% by March 17, 2024, compared to March 2023.
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Police enforcement is hoping to see the same, if not better, effect with the “Reality Check” parody released this year.
While the city saw last year’s campaign as a success, some businesses said the measures went too far. M2, a nightclub in Miami Beach, reported half a million dollars in revenue loss during this period, according to WSVN.
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‘Spring break and Miami Beach don’t mix’
The “Reality Check” ad points viewers to a website that lists the many prohibitions to prevent even the most insistent partyers from enjoying themselves during the busy weekends of March 13-16 and March 20-23: no novelty vehicle rentals, raised towing fees, sobriety checkpoints and the closure of all parking lots in South Beach, a section of Miami Beach that typically heaves with tourists.
American hockey star reacts after national anthem boos force players to drop gloves
The U.S. and Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off matchup on Saturday night quickly became a slugfest as multiple players dropped gloves following boos during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The Americans defeated Canada, 3-1, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, but U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski was unhappy with the booing during the national anthem. In the NHL, boos have been heard during the song after Trump announced tariffs on Canada, which have since been paused. The president has also teased Canadians with the idea of Canada becoming the “51st state.”
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Still, the boos have been heard.
“We knew it was going to happen,” Werenski said. “It happened the last game, it’s been happening in the NHL before this, and we knew tonight was going to be the same way. We obviously don’t like it.”
The U.S. faced boos ahead of their game against Finland and later won 6-1.
“It is what it is,” Werenski said. “We kind of had an idea. We used it as motivation the best we could and found a way to get a win. But we had an idea going into it, so it wasn’t a surprise. Definitely don’t like it, though.”
Saturday’s game saw three fights occur in the first nine seconds.
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Matthew Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, his brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett and J.T. Miller fought Colton Parayko. Brady Tkachuk told ESPN that his brother’s fight “happened pretty organically.”
“Matthew said that he wanted to go first, it just happened and now it’s over and done with,” he said. “It’s right when Matthew found out the starting lineup, he said that he wanted a piece of him (Hagel).”
Hagel added that he thought it was a “long time coming” between him and Matthew Tkachuk.
Conor McDavid started the scoring for Canada but the U.S. answered with a Jake Guentzel goal. Dylan Larkin scored in the second period to take the lead. Guentzel then put in an empty-netter.
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“It’s just unbelievable, the atmosphere, to play on this stage in Canada, that was pretty cool for all of us I think,” Guentzel added. “There’s a lot of excitement from our team coming out for warmups and just seeing how packed it was. That was pretty special.”