logo
Trump's border czar to target sanctuary cities in US: ‘We're gonna flood the zone'

Trump's border czar to target sanctuary cities in US: ‘We're gonna flood the zone'

The Guardiana day ago
The Trump administration is targeting sanctuary cities in the next phase of its deportation drive after labelling them 'sanctuaries for criminals' following the shooting of an off-duty law enforcement officer in New York City, allegedly by an undocumented person with a criminal record.
Tom Homan, Donald Trump's hardline border czar, vowed to 'flood the zone' with Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (Ice) agents in an all-out bid to overcome the lack of cooperation he said the government faced from Democrat-run municipalities in its quest to arrest and detain undocumented people.
His pledge followed the arrest of two undocumented men from the Dominican Republic after a Customs and Border Protection officer suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and face in an apparent robbery attempt in New York's Riverside park on Saturday night.
New York is one of several self-designated 'sanctuary cities' across the US, called so because the mayors and local councils have prevented law officers under their control from collaborating with federal immigration officers working on Trump's mass deportation scheme.
Homan – who has previously threatened to arrest mayors if they impede Ice's arrest efforts – said: 'Every sanctuary city is unsafe. Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals and President Trump's not going to tolerate it.
'I'm going to work very hard … to keep President Trump's promise and his commitment several weeks ago that sanctuary cities are now our priority. We're going to flood the zone.
'What we're going to do [is deploy] more agents in New York City to look for that bad guy so sanctuary cities get exactly what they don't want – more agents in the community and more agents in the worksite.
'If we can't arrest that bad guy in the safety and security of the county jail, we'll arrest him in the community. And when we arrest him in the community, if he's with others that are in the country illegally, they are coming too.'
Homan's comments came at a news conference fronted by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, focusing on the incident in New York, which left the unnamed customs and border protection officer in hospital.
The 42-year-old agent was off duty and sitting with a female companion when he was reportedly approached by two men on a scooter shortly before midnight. The officer was not in uniform and police said there was no indication that he was targeted because of his occupation.
An exchange of gunfire ensued when the officer withdrew his service weapon, apparently in self-defense.
A suspect, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, was later taken in to custody after turning up at a hospital in the Bronx with gunshot wounds to the leg and groin.
Noem said the episode was a direct result of the sanctuary city policy adopted by New York's mayor, Eric Adams, as well as the approach to border security adopted during Joe Biden's presidency.
'Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life, because of the policies of the mayor of the city and the city council and the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe, they refused to do so,' she said.
The criticism of Adams came despite widespread reports of a deal made between him and the Trump administration that involved New York giving greater cooperation than before on immigration. The agreement was reached as the justice department moved to dismiss federal corruption charges against Adams, although the mayor has insisted there was no quid pro quo.
Sign up to This Week in Trumpland
A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration
after newsletter promotion
Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles have also suffered crime waves through sanctuary city policies, according to Noem.
'We look at Mayor [Michelle] Wu in Boston and what has happened there under her watch,' she said. 'What's happened in LA with the riots and the violence and the protest that have gone on because of Mayor [Karen] Bass and what she has perpetuated.
'When you look at Mayor [Brandon] Johnson in Chicago, and how devastating it is to live in that city and some of those poorest communities, how they suffer every single day with the violence that's in front of them. Just because these individuals are protecting criminals.'
She also highlighted Nunez – who she said had been arrested four times since entering the US illegally in 2023 – as well as his accomplice, Christhian Aybar-Berroa, saying he had 'entered the country illegally in 2022 under the Biden administration and was ordered for final removal in 2023 by an immigration judge.
'There's absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City,' Noem said, referring to Nunez. 'Arrested four different times in New York City and because of the mayor's policies and was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in the city.'
Homan criticised media reports suggesting that the majority of those detained were not criminals.
'I look at the numbers every day,' he said. 'The numbers I looked at [are] 130,000 arrests and 90,000 criminals. Do the math. That's 70%. Others are those who have final orders, who had due process at great taxpayer expense. A federal judge ordered them removed. Ice's job is to remove them.'
Others were national security threats, he said. 'Under Secretary Noem's leadership, they've arrested several hundred Iranian nationals, national security threats. They may not have a criminal conviction, but they need to be detained. They need to be arrested and taken off the streets of this country.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump administration opens inquiry into universities over Daca scholarships
Trump administration opens inquiry into universities over Daca scholarships

The Guardian

time23 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Trump administration opens inquiry into universities over Daca scholarships

The Trump administration's Department of Education announced on Wednesday that it has opened national-origin discrimination investigations into five US universities over what it described as 'alleged exclusionary scholarships referencing foreign-born students'. According to the announcement, the department's office for civil rights has opened investigations into the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University. The department said that the investigations will determine whether these universities are granting scholarships exclusively to students who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, who came to the US as children, or who are undocumented 'in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964's (Title VI) prohibition against national origin discrimination'. The investigation stems from complaints submitted by the Legal Insurrection Foundation's Equal Protection Project, a conservative legal group. The group alleges in the complaints that certain scholarships at these schools are limited to students with Daca status or who are undocumented, which they argue is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 'and its implementing regulations by illegally discriminating against students based on their national origin'. In a post on X announcing the investigations on Wednesday, the education secretary, Linda McMahon, said that 'non-citizens should not be given special preference over American citizens for scholarships at American universities'. In addition to those scholarships, the education department's office for civil rights said on Wednesday that the investigations would also 'examine additional scholarships that appear to exclude students based on other aspects of Title VI, including race and color'. The education department's announcement on Wednesday came shortly after the US state department said it had launched a new investigation into Harvard University's 'continued eligibility' as a sponsor in a government-run visa program for international students and professors. In the announcement, the statement department wrote: 'To maintain their privilege to sponsor exchange visitors, sponsors must comply with all regulations, including conducting their programs in a manner that does not undermine the foreign policy objectives or compromise the national security interests of the United States.' 'The investigation will ensure that State Department programs do not run contrary to our nation's interests,' the announcement added. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Earlier this week, lawyers representing Harvard University and the Trump administration appeared in federal court for a hearing over the administration's decision to cut billions in federal funding to the university – an action that Harvard has argued is unlawful. The Trump administration has taken various steps to restrict the entry of foreign students to the US. It has attempted to ban Harvard from enrolling them at all in a move blocked last month by the same federal judge overseeing the case over funding cuts to the university, and announced new rules scrutinizing the social media presence of international students applying for US visas.

Trump axes loan for Grain Belt power transmission project
Trump axes loan for Grain Belt power transmission project

Reuters

time23 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Trump axes loan for Grain Belt power transmission project

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump on Wednesday axed a loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express transmission project to send power from wind and solar energy projects in Kansas to cities in the Midwest and East. American farmers had opposed the conditional $4.9 billion loan guarantee that was initiated by the administration of former President Joe Biden, mainly due to the Grain Belt filing dozens of eminent domain, or compulsory acquisition, petitions against state landowners. The 800-mile (1,290 km) project, backed by private company Invenergy, was described by the company as the second-longest transmission line in U.S. history and a national "energy security backbone" that would connect four grid regions, including the PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid spanning states from Illinois to New Jersey. The Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office, or LPO, issued the conditional loan guarantee in November. The department said in a release on Wednesday it found the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee were unlikely to be met and "it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project." Invenergy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The project would also have supported Trump's "energy dominance" policy of maximizing energy output. The White House on May 9 had praised a $1.7 billion Invenergy investment in the project in a "list of wins" that bolster the U.S. economy and enhance national security. But Grain Belt also jarred with the administration's opposition to renewable energy sources, which it views as unreliable and expensive compared to fossil fuels. Trump only tapped the LPO for nuclear power in his first term. The Energy Department has said it is reviewing loans, including the $85 billion in closed loans and conditional commitments LPO made between the day Trump won the election in November to the day he came back into office in January.

Kaylee Goncalves' sister taunts 'basic' Bryan Kohberger with slew of blistering insults after snapping 'Sit up straight when I talk to you!'
Kaylee Goncalves' sister taunts 'basic' Bryan Kohberger with slew of blistering insults after snapping 'Sit up straight when I talk to you!'

Daily Mail​

time23 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Kaylee Goncalves' sister taunts 'basic' Bryan Kohberger with slew of blistering insults after snapping 'Sit up straight when I talk to you!'

The sister of Kaylee Goncalves who was murdered by Bryan Kohberger ripped her sibling's killer apart while delivering a blistering impact statement in court. Speaking at Kohberger's sentencing in Boise, Idaho, Alivea Goncalves ordered the quadruple murderer to 'sit up straight when I talk to you'. Watching him intently, Alivea said: 'I wont stand her and give you what you want. I wont give you tears instead. I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer.' 'The truth is you're basic. You're a textbook case as insecurity disguised as control. You spent months preparing and still all it took was my sister and a sheath. 'You're as dumb as they come. Stupid, dumb, weak, dirty', before she then hit him with the very same questions that Kohberger posed in a survey on Reddit as part of his criminology degree at DeSales University. She went on to blast Kohberger's past and all his failings, including unanswered questions in the Idaho murder case. Alivea told Kohberger he was a 'delusional, pathetic, hypochondriadic loser' who 'thought you were so much better than everyone else.' In a damning conclusion, she added: 'If you hadn't attacked them in your sleep like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f****** ass.' The courtroom erupted in clapping at the end of Alivea's statement. Koberger remained emotionless throughout. Her father Steve turned to face his daughter's killer prior to Alivea's statement, and said they all refer to him as BK, a mocking nickname. He said: 'Today you have no name. Even the media just called you BK. That's all you are. 'A Master's degree? You're a joke, a complete joke. But we took this disaster and we did what we could He read a statement from his phone where he stared down Kohberger, telling him 'you picked the wrong family and we are laughing at you'. Goncalves said that Kohberger united everyone 'in our disgust, in our love for these children', while adding the family would forget him after today. Kohberger didn't show a flicker of emotion as the statement was directed at him. Kaylee's mother Kristi also spoke to Kohberger, telling him he left a 'trail of devastation far beyond that house'. She cited her disappointment that he would not be facing a firing squad, but warned that 'your fellow inmates are anxiously awaiting your arrival' The hearing is the final chance for the 30-year-old PhD candidate to reveal why he walked into a house in Moscow and stabbed them in their beds.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store