ABC anchor admits Biden interview was ‘heartbreaking up close’
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos reportedly said his post-debate interview with former President Joe Biden was “heartbreaking up close.”
Chris Whipple’s new book, titled “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History,” which was released on Tuesday, recounted behind-the-scenes conflicts between members of the Democratic Party and the Biden administration over whether Biden needed to step out of the race after his disastrous debate with then-candidate Donald Trump on June 27.
To “staunch the bleeding” of Democrats beginning to publicly call for replacing Biden on the ticket, Whipple wrote about how the White House accepted an interview with the “This Week” host on July 5 to reassure the public about the president’s candidacy.
EX-BIDEN AIDE SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WAS ‘FATIGUED, BEFUDDLED, AND DISENGAGED’ PRIOR TO JUNE DEBATE: BOOK
Whipple described Biden as “hoarse and semi-coherent” throughout the interview and said Stephanopoulos was equally disappointed.
“Stephanopoulos questioned the president gently, like a grandson,” Whipple wrote. “Afterward, when I asked the ABC anchor by email for his impressions, he replied: ‘Heartbreaking up close.’”
Fox News Digital reached out to Stephanopoulos’ team for comment.
Stephanopoulos had a similar response in a video shared by TMZ just days after the interview when he was asked by a man on the street whether Biden needed to step down.
“I don’t think he can serve four more years,” Stephanopoulos responded.
A spokesperson for ABC News told Fox News Digital at the time that Stephanopoulos was expressing “his own point of view and not the position of ABC News.”
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Biden’s answers in the Stephanopoulos interview largely failed to calm the storm over his debate performance. Biden at one point suggested he was doing the “goodest job” he could, according to the ABC News transcript. He also seemed somewhat unsure when asked if he’d watched his own debate performance, saying, “I don’t think I did, no.”
Biden officially dropped out of the race on July 21, less than three weeks after his ABC interview.
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Dem’s rant about why US needs illegal immigrants takes odd turn, gets met with silence
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the far-left group of progressive lawmakers known as “the Squad,” told congregants at a historically Black church that America needs robust immigration because “we done picking cotton.”
Crockett, who represents Texas’s 30th Congressional District, made the remarks during Connecticut-based Grace Baptist Church’s 125th anniversary celebration held over the weekend. The comments were part of Crockett’s broader attempt to slam the Trump administration for cracking down on illegal immigration.
“So I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country, or the fact that we are a country of immigrants. The fact is ain’t none of y’all trying to go and farm right now,” Crockett said, garnering a sheepish laugh from a few members of the audience.
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“OK, so I’m lying?” Crockett shot back, noticing the awkward silence. “You’re not! You’re not! We done picking cotton! We are. You can’t pay us enough to find a plantation.”
Crockett’s weekend remarks are just the latest in a line of other questionable comments and controversies that have resulted in her facing possible censure in the House of Representatives.
One of those controversies occurred after she referred to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is paralyzed and has been confined to a wheelchair for decades, as “Governor Hot Wheels.”
While Crockett attempted to walk back her comments after they drew nationwide backlash, she has exhibited a pattern of promoting remarks about Abbott “rolling places.”
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“Rolling up to the White House to cheer on the president destroying the agency that makes sure kids in wheelchairs have equal access to education is wild,” read a social media post Crockett shared days before her “hot wheels comment.” Prior to that, during Abbott’s re-election campaign against former Democratic Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, Crockett once again blasted the Texas governor, saying, “The new nickname I have for Beto O’Rourke is the king of the clap backs! Beto is rolling around the state… Where is Abbott rolling to?”
Other questionable remarks leading up to the censure resolution included suggesting Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz should be “knocked over the head.” Meanwhile, amid a spate of violent attacks targeting Elon Musk and Tesla, Crockett mused that “all I want to see happen on my birthday is for Elon to be taken down,” while she was speaking at a rally pushing Tesla owners to sell their cars and get rid of any stock in the company.
Another remark that has put Crockett in hot water lately included comments that Democrats need to be “OK with punching.”
“I think you punch,” Crockett said in an interview when asked how Democrats regain the momentum they lost in the 2024 election. “I think you’re OK with punching.”
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Comments criticizing the interracial marriage of Florida GOP Congressman Byron Donalds, a Trump ally, from June 2024 have also resurfaced amid Crockett’s spate of questionable statements.
“The fact that you’re sitting around talking about ‘life was better under Jim Crow,’ like, is this because you don’t understand history? Or literally it’s because you married a White woman and so you think that whitewashed you?” Crockett said on “The Breakfast Club” in June, which was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
“I feel like they give [Donalds] his talking points and he’s like, ‘Yes, massa. I got it.'”
The censure resolution against Crockett, introduced March 26 by Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, remains under consideration by the House Committee on Ethics. In comments to Fox News’ Sean Hannity last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi added that Crockett needs “to tread very carefully,” noting that “words have consequences.”
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“She needs to immediately apologize and denounce [her rhetoric] because, even in her home state, violence is happening after she made these statements,” Bondi said, referring specifically to Crockett’s comments about wanting to see Musk “taken down” for her birthday amid a spate of violent attacks targeting Tesla.
“It’s dangerous,” Bondi continued. “She has to know it’s dangerous, and she’s calling for further insurrection on her birthday this weekend.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett’s office for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
VP Vance slams longtime GOP leader for vote against Trump nominee
Vice President JD Vance spoke out against Sen. Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., vote against confirming Elbridge Colby to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy.
“Mitch’s vote today—like so much of the last few years of his career—is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen,” Vance declared in a post on X.
Colby was confirmed in a 54-45 vote on Tuesday. McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirmation, while three Democrats voted in Colby’s favor.
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President Donald Trump announced Colby as his pick for the Pentagon post when he was the president-elect.
“Elbridge Colby’s long public record suggests a willingness to discount the complexity of the challenges facing America, the critical value of our allies and partners, and the urgent need to invest in hard power to preserve American primacy,” McConnell said in a statement.
“The prioritization that Mr. Colby argues is fresh, new, and urgently needed is, in fact, a return to an Obama-era conception of a la carte geostrategy. Abandoning Ukraine and Europe and downplaying the Middle East to prioritize the Indo-Pacific is not a clever geopolitical chess move. It is geostrategic self-harm that emboldens our adversaries and drives wedges between America and our allies for them to exploit,” the senator asserted.
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McConnell has voted against multiple Trump nominees this year.
“Mr. Colby’s confirmation leaves open the door for the less-polished standard-bearers of restraint and retrenchment at the Pentagon to do irreparable damage to the system of alliances and partnerships which serve as force multipliers to U.S. leadership. It encourages isolationist perversions of peace through strength to continue apace at the highest levels of Administration policymaking,” McConnell said.
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Vance spoke out in support of Colby last month at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Colby’s nomination.
American man who vanished during dinner in tourist hot spot found dead on beach
An American man who briefly disappeared during a vacation to the Bahamas with his parents was found dead on a beach the next morning, according to his family.
They believe his death is suspicious after authorities found 23-year-old Dinari McAlmont, of Maryland, dead on Paradise Island in Nassau on April 6, just 12 hours after he landed on the Caribbean island with his parents.
Michelle McAlmont, McAlmont’s mother, told Eyewitness News Bahamas that she was “traumatized” after identifying her son’s remains, alleging he appeared to be beaten, FOX 5 D.C. first reported.
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Royal Bahamas Police Force Commissioner Shanta Knowles told Eyewitness News that authorities are awaiting McAlmont’s autopsy results.
The police commissioner did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
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The McAlmont family was staying at a resort called The Reef at Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Dinari apparently left his parents during dinner to get a jacket, which is when he disappeared, and his parents filed a missing person report when they could not track him using phone location data.
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“We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of our guests,” the resort told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. We are fully cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation.”
The State Department has issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory for the Bahamas, as well as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Netherlands Antilles and Turks and Caicos.
The Level 2 Travel Advisory warns tourists to “be aware of heightened risks to safety and security.”
Mayor blasts rock star’s charity for making town a ‘dumping ground’ for homeless
Jon Bon Jovi’s soup kitchen is causing more issues than it’s solving, in the opinion of Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick.
Rodrick spoke with Fox News Digital via phone, explaining that the New Jersey city has a homelessness problem that is being exacerbated by Bon Jovi and other nonprofits.
“We don’t want to be ground zero for homelessness. We don’t want to be a dumping ground for the homeless problem in the state of New Jersey. The state of New Jersey needs to step up and take care of this problem. They have the resources, and bussing people in from all over to Toms River is not a safe situation.”
Rodrick has not spoken directly with Bon Jovi or his organization that runs the soup kitchen, the JBJ Soul Foundation, but admits he is frustrated that the community kitchen opened in the library in Toms River.
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“He’s already operating, he operated something in the Silverton section of town. But it was like a restaurant where people go, and they pay for their meal, and they feel good that the money’s going to be used for something. But this pop-up thing at the library was primarily geared toward making the library, the public library, ground zero for homelessness,” Rodrick said.
The pop-up restaurant opened on Feb. 11 and is one of a total of four locations in the state. It allows diners to pay it forward and cover a suggested $12 cost for those who can’t afford a meal there.
Those who can’t pay are able to volunteer at the community kitchen, which is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, in exchange for sandwiches, wraps, bowls and salads.
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In a statement to the New York Post, Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, who both run the nonprofit, said, “The JBJ Soul Foundation and JBJ Soul Kitchen are committed to ending homelessness through real solutions. We are not here to just move people around or force them into the shadows. Our Foundation has built nearly a thousand units of affordable and supportive housing.”
“Through our JBJ Soul Kitchen, we connect people to resources and services. Whether they need employment, mental health support, or housing, we try to remove the barriers that are keeping them from thriving, not just surviving.”
Prior to Bon Jovi’s organization, Rodrick told Fox News Digital his concerns began after he took office about a year ago, when he was able to close down two homeless encampments and get individuals into housing. But then the Ocean County Board decided to open a warming center, and according to Rodrick, nonprofits began “bussing people into town.”
Rodrick said he raised his concerns to the board, but “they did it anyway and engaged a nonprofit that has various warming centers across the state and, inevitably, they start bussing people into town. Because if their beds are full in one town, they’re incentivized to hang on to these people, and they start putting them in your warming center.”
“We wound up with dozens and dozens of people being dropped off downtown every single day at the library no less, where a mom should feel comfortable walking into the library with her daughter and get a book. You shouldn’t have to walk through gangs of two dozen intoxicated or mentally ill homeless individuals, and that’s the real issue here,” adding there have been numerous police and EMS calls since March from the library.
He also claims that there is “a lot of money that chases around this issue.”
“One of these nonprofits, he formed a nonprofit, this guy, and within a few short years he’s bringing in almost a million dollars in revenue, $750,000 according to charitable organization reports,” Rodrick said, while declining to call out a specific charity.
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“So, I mean, that’s just this little operator who handles 15-20 people at a time, and three quarters of a million dollars is a lot of money, so you can only imagine how much money there is out there for this issue; and you know when they call it the ‘homeless industrial complex,’ I mean, man, they’re not kidding. It’s a big problem.“
He continued, “I feel they’re bussing them in to create the appearance of a problem so that the solution will be to open up a shelter, which will not improve the situation. It will drastically worsen the situation because then you’ll have people dropping people [off in Toms River] from all over the place. And what do you do with them when you can’t keep them? It’s a real problem. It’s a mental health problem, and it’s a substance abuse problem.”
“I’m not accusing Jon Bon Jovi of being in this for profit,” Rodrick noted. “We all like his music. And I think he means well and what he’s doing is the right thing, trying to feed people. We could all agree on that.”
“However, bussing dozens of people from all over the state of New Jersey, all over the County of Ocean … I’ve had people come in from as far away as North Carolina and Philadelphia that wind up in housing that I have to then provide, hotels and such. So they’re being bused in here, dumped here.”
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Bon Jovi and Dorothea also addressed Rodrick’s claims that some nonprofit organizations are actually benefiting financially from bringing homeless people into Toms River.
“We are unsure where the mayor thinks millions of dollars are trading hands, but we are completely unaware of any such programs and receive no such funding,” they told the NY Post. “We invite anyone to the BEAT Center in Toms River or to the JBJ Soul Kitchen Pop Up to see what we are doing to end homelessness and hunger in our community.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Bon Jovi, the JBJ Soul Foundation, the Ocean County Board of Commissioners and Ocean County Library for comment.
Rodrick said Bon Jovi’s community kitchen is set to close in May since it is a temporary pop-up, but he feels like the setup “ran roughshod right over the municipality” after he voiced his concerns.
“They purposefully made the problem worse after me complaining that they were creating this public safety problem,” he said. “Again, everybody, now every nonprofit around takes their people there. Would you want to take your daughter to the library when somebody’s dying on the stairs? It certainly doesn’t sound like Toms River, that’s for sure.”
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The mayor also said he is looking at legal action against “certain nonprofits” that are “creating a public nuisance and who have cost the township money.” This does not include Bon Jovi’s community kitchen.
Federal judge issues ruling on White House ban on Associated Press
The White House violated the Constitution for barring the Associated Press from Oval Office events, according to a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, said that the White House acted against the First Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on viewpoints, by blocking the longtime publication’s access over its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America.”
“The Government offers no other plausible explanation for its treatment of the AP. The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office,” McFadden wrote.
“Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” he added. “The Constitution requires no less.”
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McFadden ruled the White House must restore AP’s press access but delayed the order for one week to allow the White House a chance to appeal.
After President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” on his first day in office, the AP issued style guidance for how the news outlet would refer to the body of water.
“The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” the guidelines state.
The White House blocked AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One in February over its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America.”
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X at the time, “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.”
Days before, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that “it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that.”
In a statement Tuesday, AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton expressed gratitude for the decision.
“We are gratified by the court’s decision,” Easton said. “Today’s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation. This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the U.S. Constitution.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
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In a comment to Fox News Digital, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression public advocacy director Aaron Terr celebrated the decision as a win for the First Amendment.
“This decision is a clear victory for press freedom,” Terr said. “The court held tight to the basic First Amendment principle that the government can’t punish journalists just because it doesn’t like their views or reporting. The AP is free to use its own stylebook — no pre-approval from the White House required.”
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Death toll nears 100 in nightclub roof collapse that left two former MLB players dead
Octavio Dotel, a World Series champion pitcher, and former major league Tony Blanco were among the nearly 100 people who died following the collapse of a roof at a Dominican Republic nightclub, officials said Tuesday.
Dotel was a native of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s capital city, and was inside the Jet Set nightclub early Tuesday when the roof fell as singer Rubby Pérez performed on stage.
Officials had rescued Dotel from the debris earlier and brought him to a hospital. But the World Series champion later succumbed to his injuries. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Professional Baseball League spokesman Satosky Terrero also confirmed the death of Dominican baseball player Tony Blanco.
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Blanco played one season in the majors with the Washington Nationals in 2005. He played most of his career in the minors and in Japan.
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A Dominican National Police spokesman confirmed Dotel died while he was in transit to the hospital.
“Dotel was taken to one of the designated hospitals. On the way there, his condition worsened and he died,” police spokesman Diego Pesqueira said.
Fox News Digital contacted the Emergency Operations Center comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Dotel’s agent and president of Beverly Hills Sports Council, Dan Horwits, remembered Dotel in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“The BHSC Family is saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Octavio Dotel. OD was one of a kind. One of the true joys to be around both on and off the field,” he said. “His energy, positivity and zest for life were infectious to all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
“During his Major League career, he set the MLB record for playing with the most organizations (13). He was genuinely proud of holding that record and would always crack a joke to anyone who asked. It was an honor to represent OD. We pass along our thoughts and prayers to his entire family as well as everyone affected by the tragedy.”
Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz, was also among the victims. She had called Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader at 12:49 a.m. local time, saying she was trapped and that the roof had collapsed, Dominican Republic First Lady Raquel Abraje told reporters.
Officials said Cruz died later at the hospital.
Manfred released a statement on their deaths.
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the pasings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” he said. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family.
“The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
Dotel played for the Houston Astros from 2000-04. The team paid tribute to the late pitcher on Tuesday afternoon.
The confirmed death toll had reached 98 people as of early Wednesday, with at least 160 injured, officials said.
Dotel played for 13 MLB teams during his 15-year major league career. He made his debut with the New York Mets and last appeared in a game with the Detroit Tigers in 2013.
The pitcher was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals team that defeated the Texas Rangers in game seven of the 2011 World Series. He finished his big league career with 109 saves.
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Dotel is survived by his wife Massiel and their two children, according to his MLB-listed bio.
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Sheriff vows to defy statewide sanctuary law: ‘This is common sense’
Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman waded into a bit of controversy this year when he openly said he would buck a California law that limits cooperation between local and federal authorities.
Citing his duty to enforce public safety in his rural county located 135 miles east of San Francisco, Redman remains the only sheriff in the state who has pledged to defy California’s 2017 sanctuary state law, also known as the California Values Act, or SB 54.
More specifically, Redman said he will contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when he’s aware that a person in local custody is in the country illegally and poses a serious public safety threat.
“It’s almost [like] we’re going to re-victimize the victim again. That’s what I see with this law,” Redman told Fox News Digital. “How can you tell me that I have to let somebody who is here illegally in the country … and put them back into society when they’ve committed a heinous crime?”
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“You’re making me make that choice. Well, I’m just not willing to do it because I got elected to be the sheriff of Amador County, where public safety is my No. 1priority,” he added.
The vow goes against SB 54, which allows local authorities to contact ICE only when an illegal immigrant is convicted of certain offenses and is about to be released from custody. State lawmakers passed the law during the first Trump administration in an effort to ensure that local law enforcement is not used to assist immigration officials.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), various immigrant rights groups, the Amador County and statewide Republican and Democratic parties, and the governor’s office for comment on the matter.
“I worked in the justice system for years and saw how weak laws put the public in danger,” California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin told Fox News Digital. “What we’re hearing from Sheriff Redman is what many in law enforcement have been saying for a long time: California’s sanctuary state law makes it harder to stop violent criminals.”
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“Democrats in Sacramento passed these laws knowing they tie the hands of sheriffs and police. When local officials see a threat, they should be able to act,” Rankin added.
Around 6% of Amador County’s 42,000 residents are foreign-born, according to U.S. Census data. Despite the low figure, Asian gangs with illegal immigrants have set up marijuana-growing operations in the area, Redman said.
“That’s what we dealt with over the last 10 years,” Redman said.
The sheriff announced his stance on the sanctuary state law in a February news release posted to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page in response to persistent questions from residents about how his office would handle immigration-related matters during President Donald Trump’s second term.
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While other sheriffs across the state have said they will work around SB 54, Redman’s announcement is different in that he makes it clear that he knows he will violate state law. That has put him in the crosshairs of the California Attorney General’s Office.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has pledged to protect immigrant communities up and down the state by upholding SB 54, despite detractors pointing out that it allows criminal illegal immigrants to walk the streets and possibly reoffend, sometimes violently.
In an email to Fox News Digital, Bonta’s office noted that federal courts have ruled that the state sanctuary law doesn’t conflict with federal law.
“The Attorney General is committed to protecting and ensuring the rights of California’s immigrant communities and upholding vital laws like SB 54, which ensure that state and local resources go toward fighting crime in California communities, not toward federal immigration enforcement,” the email states.
“Federal courts have upheld SB 54 and have found it to not be in conflict with federal law (the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 opinion is attached for reference),” his office said. “We are closely monitoring law enforcement compliance with SB 54.”
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Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., who recently introduced federal legislation that would enable local authorities that wish to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement to do so regardless of any state law, cited the case of David Mora, 39, who overstayed his visa after entering California in 2018 from Mexico.
In 2022, ICE asked to be notified upon Mora’s release from jail after his arrest for assaulting a California Highway Patrol officer. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office had Mora in custody and received a request from ICE to detain him, but Mora was released because of the sanctuary law, the sheriff’s office said.
He then killed his three daughters inside a Sacramento church as well as a chaperone who was supervising his visit with the children, before taking his own life.
“There is no doubt in my mind that if I was able to cooperate with ICE, this tragedy could have been avoided,” Merced County Sheriff Vernon H. Warnke said in a statement at the time. “Under current law, nationwide law enforcement’s hands are tied with policies that have a significant impact on our communities and their quality of life.”
“The sanctuary law is utterly indefensible,” Kiley told Fox News Digital. “It has led to many, many tragedies across the state. It’s one of the reasons California has had the very worst illegal immigration problem during the Biden administration.”
He added the law was “legally dubious” in that it seeks to violate federal law.
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Redman, who grew up in progressive Los Angeles County, said he partially came out publicly with his stance on the sanctuary law because of the Trump administration and its willingness to defend local officials who work with ICE.
“I’ve always felt this way, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to say this under the Biden administration,” Redman said. “I didn’t trust the attorney general at the time. I didn’t trust the Biden administration as far as coming after me. Absolutely, I don’t think that’s going to happen under the Trump administration.”
Among California sheriffs, Redman, who considers himself a moderate Republican, stands alone.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running to become California’s next governor, has advocated for abolishing sanctuary state policies and requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
In addition to Redman, two California cities, Huntington Beach and Oroville, have defiantly declared themselves non-sanctuary cities. In Amador County, nearly 49% of voters are registered Republicans, dwarfing the 27% who align with Democrats, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.
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That could be a reason why a Change.org petition calling for Redman to be removed has only received 53 signatures since March 1.
“I’m friends with a lot of progressives here in Amador County, and what they’ve always found is I’m reasonable and I’m willing to listen,” Redman said. “My Democratic friends have come out and said, ‘We support you, Gary. This is common sense. We’re tired of California and the way California’s going where they continue to elevate criminals.'”