The lawyer for a Maryland school district and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch had a wild exchange this week about a children’s book amid an ongoing case brought by parents who want to be able to opt their children out of reading LGBTQ storybooks in their public school.

Gorsuch was asking Alan Schoenfeld, the attorney representing Montgomery County Public Schools, about “Pride Puppy!” a 32-page book that tells the story of a family celebrating Pride Day when their dog gets lost in the parade and the effort to reunite the pup with his loved ones.  

The rhyming alphabet book, which was described as “affirming and inclusive” by its publisher, allows readers to spot items starting with each of the letters of the alphabet while offering “a joyful glimpse of a Pride parade and the vibrant community that celebrates this day each year.”

The book was previously used in the district’s pre-kindergarten curriculum.

THE SUPREME COURT APPEARS TO SIDE WITH PARENTS IN RELIGIOUS LIBERTY DISPUTE OVER STORYBOOKS 

“And they’re being used in English language instruction at age 3?” Gorsuch asked. 

“‘Pride Puppy!’ was the book that was used for the pre-kindergarten curriculum. That’s no longer in the curriculum,” replied Schoenfeld. 

“That’s the one where they’re supposed to look for the leather and things – and bondage – things like that,” Gorsuch responded. 

“It’s not bondage. It’s a woman in a leather…”

A “Sex worker?” asked Gorsuch. 

“No. That’s not correct. No,” replied Schoenfeld. 

PARENTS TELL SCOTUS: LGBTQ STORYBOOKS IN CLASSROOMS CLASH WITH OUR FAITH

“Gosh, I read it…drag queen?” said Gorsuch. 

Schoenfeld said the leather is actually a woman in a leather jacket and that “one of the words is drag queen.” 

The high court was hearing arguments in the case brought by religious parents who say young children can’t be expected to separate a teacher’s moral messages from their family’s beliefs. 

Eric Baxter, the attorney representing Maryland parents in Mahmoud v. Taylor, told the justices that the school district violated the First Amendment by denying opt-out requests for books that “contradict their religious beliefs,” even while allowing exemptions for other religious objections – such as books depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

Baxter said teachers were required to use the materials in class after the district approved certain LGBTQ-themed curriculum books in 2022. 

“When the books were first introduced in August of 2022, the board suggested they be used five times before the end of the year,” he said. “One of the schools, Sherwood School, in June for Pride Month said that they were going to read one book each day.”

The district initially allowed parents to opt out their children for religious concerns but reversed course by March 2023, citing concerns about absenteeism and administrative burdens.

Among the other storybooks at the center of the case is “Prince & Knight,” a modern fairy tale aimed at children ages 4 to 8, which tells the story of two men who fall in love after joining forces to defeat a dragon and later marry. 

Another book frequently referenced during oral arguments was “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” which follows a young girl processing her favorite uncle’s decision to marry another man.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by late June.

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump signed multiple Executive Orders relating to education Wednesday afternoon, with several tied to the theme of returning meritocracy back to the education system. 

The orders, seven in total, included actions to integrate artificial intelligence into K-12 school curricula, reforms to school discipline and accreditation guidelines, requirements related to the disclosure of foreign funding to schools and enhancements to the country’s workforce development programs. 

Trump’s slew of education-focused orders also included another directive demanding an end to DEI ideology in schools, specifically the use of “disparate impact theory,” on top of his previous executive order from January ordering an end to DEI-like programming and ideology in K-12 schools. An Executive Order setting up a White House initiative supporting the efficiency and effectiveness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities was also signed by the president on Wednesday.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO RESUME COLLECTIONS ON DEFAULTED FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2020

“They’re allowing people into school – they can’t do math – and yet kids who have worked really hard and are number one in their class out of high school – some place in New Jersey or Mississippi – they can’t get into the best schools,” Trump said as he signed his order implementing new school accreditation requirements. “What is that all about?”

“I think that gets to your policy, sir, of meritocracy – that we should be looking at those who have real merit to get in,” Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was standing over Trump’s shoulder as he signed, chimed in. “And we have to look harder at those universities that aren’t enforcing that.” 

The accreditation reforms, along with the president’s Executive Orders on school discipline and “disparate impact theory,” were all connected to pulling back from the Biden administration’s era of prioritizing DEI over meritocracy. Specifically, the accreditation reforms seek to prevent accreditors from imposing “discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-based standards,” while compelling them to “prioritize student outcomes.”  

‘THIS IS INDOCTRINATION, NOT EDUCATION’: PLAINTIFF IN SCOTUS CASE SLAMS SCHOOLS FOR FORCING LGBTQ+ CURRICULUM

Meanwhile, under the Biden administration, the Department of Education released student discipline guidance contending that persistent racism clouds school disciplinary systems. Trump’s Wednesday Executive Order rescinds that guidance.

“Under, I believe it was the Biden administration – first Obama and then Biden – the Department of Justice issued guidance that made it almost impossible for schools to enforce adequate disciplinary policies,” Trump’s executive assistant Will Scharf said of the order as Trump was signing it. “Basically they focused on CRT and diversity ideology, instead of actually just enforcing the rules in classrooms to ensure a safe learning environment.”    

The prohibition of “disparate impact theory” builds on the president’s past orders on ridding “discriminatory” DEI programs and influences from educational settings.

“This is a theory that underlies a lot of the modern DEI and CRT-driven diversity culture,” Scharf explained. “The basic idea is instructing your department and agencies to no longer rely on disparate impact theory as they’re regulating, as they’re issuing guidance, as they’re making rules. We want to focus on results, we want to focus on actual fairness, we want to focus on merit, not things like disparate impact theory and the whole sort-of diversity, equity and inclusion cult.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SCOTUS TO APPROVE DEI-RELATED EDUCATION CUTS

Besides focusing on returning meritocracy to the education system, the president’s Executive Orders also sought to modernize American education and workforce preparation through the implementation of AI education in schools and through a commitment to add 1 million new apprenticeships.  

The AI order, Trump’s latest pro-AI measure, established a White House task force for AI and education that will work with federal agencies and the private sector to help draft AI programs for schools. 

The president previously signed an Executive Order in January, which worked to rescind Biden-era policies that critics say restricted the nation’s AI growth.

The so-called deported “Maryland man” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom Democrats have been demanding the Trump administration return to the U.S., was previously pulled over by a highway patrol officer while driving a car belonging to a confessed human smuggler, multiple sources in DHS confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The sources confirmed documents reported by Just the News that revealed Abrego Garcia was pulled over driving an SUV belonging to Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, another illegal alien who in 2020 confessed to human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old illegal alien whom the Trump administration recently deported back to El Salvador, was pulled over on Dec. 1, 2022, by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper who stopped him after he was “observed speeding” and unable to stay in his lane.

The trooper noticed eight individuals in the car with Abrego Garcia, who said he began driving three days prior from Houston, Texas, to Temple Hills, Maryland, via St. Louis, Missouri, to “perform construction work.” The report on the stop states that the trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident, as there was no luggage in the vehicle. Additionally, the individuals in the car reportedly gave the same address as Abrego Garcia’s home address.

KILMAR ABREGO-GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS

When speaking with the trooper, Abrego Garcia allegedly “pretended to speak less English than he was capable of and attempted to put encountering officer off-track by responding to questions with questions.” After the incident, the officer decided not to give Abrego Garcia a citation for the driving infractions, but rather to give him a warning for driving with an expired license. 

New documents further reveal that Abrego Garcia was driving a black 2001 Chevrolet Suburban that he said belonged to his “boss.” The Suburban was identified by DHS as belonging to Hernandez Reyes, who pleaded guilty to human smuggling after being caught in Mississippi in a car with passengers from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

According to another document also confirmed by DHS sources, the Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore field office further flagged the vehicle being driven by Abrego Garcia as belonging to a target they suspected of human trafficking or smuggling.

The office said that the “vehicle is used by HSI Baltimore target in human smuggling/trafficking operation. Vehicle makes trips to southern border to pick up non-citizens.”

THERE’S ‘NO QUESTION’ THAT ABREGO GARCIA ‘HAD DUE PROCESS REPEATEDLY,’ GOP LAWMAKER SAYS 

According to police and court records shared with Fox News Digital, Abrego Garcia was arrested in Hyattsville, Maryland, in October 2019, at which point he was identified by the Prince George’s County Police Gang Unit as a member of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang.

A federal immigration court in Baltimore further determined Abrego Garcia was not eligible for release because he “failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his release from custody would not pose a danger to others, as the evidence shows that he is a verified member of MS-13.”

The court held that “the fact that a ‘past, proven, and reliable source of infonnation [sic]’ verified the Respondent’s gang membership, rank, and gang name is sufficient to support that the Respondent is a gang member” and that Abrego had “failed to present evidence to rebut that assertion.”

Court records involving Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, have further shown that he is a “violent” repeat wife-beater.

DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN AND SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER TRANSFERRED FROM NOTORIOUS EL SALVADORAN MEGA-PRISON

Fox News obtained the written domestic violence allegations filed in court against Abrego Garcia by his wife in 2021.

In the filing, written in Vasquez’s own handwriting, she alleges Abrego Garcia repeatedly beat her, writing: “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Vasquez alleged that Abrego Garcia punched and scratched her on her eye, leaving her bleeding. He also allegedly threw her laptop on the floor.

She wrote that on another day, Abrego Garcia got angry again, started yelling, and ripped her shirt and shorts off before grabbing her arm and leaving marks.

LEAVITT GOES OFF ON DEMOCRAT FOR TAXPAYER-FUNDED TRIP TO SUPPORT DEPORTED SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER

Vasquez recalled two times in 2020 that Abrego Garcia hit her.

“In November 2020, he hit me with his work boot,” she wrote. “In August 2020, he hit me in the eye leaving a purple eye.”

Local Fox affiliate Fox45 reported that court documents further showed that a man named Edwin Ramos, who claimed to be the father of two of Vasquez’s children, filed for custody of the children because he was concerned about the children’s safety, alleging that Vasquez “is dating a gang member.”

A second U.S. judge scolded the Trump administration on Tuesday night for failing to answer questions in an ongoing deportation case, raising the threat that some Trump officials could be held in contempt of court.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland upbraided Trump officials for failing to comply with the court’s requests for information in a case involving the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia — accusing officials in a blistering eight-page order of submitting “vague, evasive and incomplete” responses that she said demonstrated “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”

She further described the Justice Department’s “false premise” objections as “a willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”

Xinis is not the first federal judge to raise the possibility of holding the Trump administration in contempt for failing to abide by court orders. Just 15 miles away, at a courthouse in Washington, D.C., another judge had already threatened the same.

FEDERAL JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

At issue in both cases is President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime immigration law the administration invoked last month to immediately deport certain individuals from the U.S. to El Salvador.

Hours after Trump’s March 14 proclamation that he would use the law to deport certain migrants — including alleged members of the gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, or TdA — the U.S. sent more than 260 migrants to El Salvador to be detained in the country’s maximum-security prison.

The weeks since have been characterized by a wave of frantic court proceedings, appeals, and emergency Supreme Court orders, as judges across the country weigh the administration’s use of the wartime law. 

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

But Trump’s lawyers have appeared less than willing to share certain information with the courts. Their behavior has sparked fury from federal judges, who have accused them on more than one occasion of acting in bad faith and willfully defying their orders.

Xinis took umbrage Tuesday night at the administration’s refusal to respond to at least one interrogatory, saying their refusal is “based on the false premise that the United States can or has been ordered to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody” in El Salvador.

She also rebuked officials for their failure to comply with her earlier order to return Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man and alleged MS-13 member who was wrongfully deported last month to El Salvador. “For weeks, Defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this Court’s orders,” she said.

Her earlier ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court in an emergency order. The ruling said the government must “facilitate” his release — a definition that was subsequently clarified again by Xinis and by judges on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“‘Facilitate’ is an active verb,” U.S. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a Reagan appointee, said in authoring the circuit court opinion. 

“It requires that steps be taken as the Supreme Court has made perfectly clear,” he added.

TRUMP ADMIN DEFIES COURT OVER MARYLAND DEPORTATION, IGNITES LEGAL SHOWDOWN

At a hearing last week, Xinis ordered an “intense” and expedited two-week discovery period to determine whether the Trump administration has acted in good faith to comply with her order to return Abrego Garcia. Should they fail to supply the required information, or indicate they acted in bad faith, she could have sufficient information to move to consider possible contempt proceedings.

Additionally, in a related case, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said there was probable cause to find Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for defying his order to return deportation flights to El Salvador on March 15.

In a 48-page ruling, Boasberg accused the government of “willful disregard” for court directives, citing missed deadlines to submit flight details and identify officials who knew about his emergency order halting removals. Although a federal appeals court in D.C. has paused the contempt proceedings, Boasberg has requested further declarations and warned that officials may be required to testify under oath.

If they fail to comply, the judge could refer the case to the Justice Department for prosecution or appoint outside counsel if DOJ declines.

JUDGE BOASBERG POISED TO HOLD TRUMP ADMIN IN CONTEMPT, TAKES DOWN NAMES OF DHS OFFICIALS: ‘PRETTY SKETCHY’

The appeals court that paused Boasberg’s contempt proceedings did so temporarily, requesting additional briefing from both the Justice Department and ACLU attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

What happens next remains uncertain. Trump officials have repeatedly railed against so-called “activist judges,” accusing courts of obstructing the administration’s immigration agenda. In an earlier emergency appeal, officials claimed Boasberg’s actions amounted to a “massive, unauthorized imposition on the Executive’s authority to remove dangerous aliens,” arguing those individuals “pose threats to the American people.”

Meanwhile, Judge Xinis’s order in Maryland comes amid a flurry of immigration-related legal battles nationwide, as Trump pushes forward with his border security priorities.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that the administration can continue using the Alien Enemies Act to deport migrants, provided they receive due process protections, including the right to challenge removals in court.

Separately, federal judges in New York and Texas temporarily blocked use of the Alien Enemies Act in specific cases, siding with plaintiffs who argued certain migrants could be removed without a chance to seek habeas relief.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on next steps in the Abrego Garcia case, or on the possibility that Xinis might move on possible contempt proceedings.

A Minnesota state employee avoided criminal charges after vandalizing at least six Tesla vehicles, the local district attorney announced this week, prompting outrage from local leaders who spoke to Fox News Digital.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) said it would seek “diversion” over charges against Minnesota Department of Human Services data analyst Dylan Bryan Adams after causing $20,000 in damages. The diversion approach “helps to ensure the individual keeps their job and can pay restitution,” according HCAO. 

When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, the Minnesota Department of Human Services did not clarify Adams’ employment status, but said: “We are reviewing the matter at this time. State employees are expected to follow our code of conduct and hold themselves to the highest ethical standards through their words and actions.”

Republicans across the North Star State have condemned County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s decision, as President Donald Trump’s administration has identified Tesla vandalism as “domestic terrorism” and led a nationwide effort alongside the Justice Department to hold vandals accountable. 

WALZ STAFFER ACCUSED OF VANDALIZING TESLAS MIGHT NOT FACE CHARGES: REPORT

“In Tim Walz’s Minnesota, there is a two-tiered justice system that does everything possible to protect Democrats. As the victim of a domestic terrorism attack in Minnesota myself, I know first-hand that Minnesota’s justice system does not work for me nor Conservatives in our state. If Dylan Adams was a police officer and not part of Walz’s Minnesota state government, Mary Moriarty would have tried to charge him with a felony,” Kendall Qualls, Founder of TakeCharge and former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

DEMS WHO RAILED AGAINST DOMESTIC TERRORISM SILENT AS TRUMP FLOATS 20-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE FOR TESLA VANDALS

Qualls was targeted in a suspected arson case that left three conservative group offices heavily damaged in Minnesota in 2024. Qualls said on Wednesday that authorities never found the arsonist. 

“Minnesota is again bucking the national trend: While the Justice Department and FBI are investigating the nationwide vandalism and attacks against Tesla as acts of domestic terrorism, Minnesota Progressives are giving them a free pass,” Matthew RJ Brodsky, President of Red Ax Strategies and Board Chair of the American Center for Counter Extremism, told Fox News Digital. 

Adam Schwarze, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that Minnesota vandals “get a free pass if they have the approved political philosophy.”

“This would have been an obvious opportunity for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to make clear that the right to political protest doesn’t include the right to destroy personal property. We must reaffirm that our commitment to justice means ensuring all individuals, regardless of their political affiliations or employment status, are held to the same legal standards,” Adam Schwarze said. 

Republicans told Fox News Digital that Moriarty refusing to criminally charge a Minnesota state employee, following a string of targeted violence, could invoke domestic terrorism. 

“This is a dangerous precedent that tells every Minnesotan that political violence is acceptable here. After Gov. Tim Walz cheered on the loss of Tesla’s stock to the detriment of his own pension. Now we have one of his employees damaging a Tesla and a Democrat country attorney letting him get away with it. It’s a Democrat double-whammy: They insult the professional law enforcement officers of our state by ignoring their work, and then let their political allies and supporters off the hook for breaking the law,” Minnesota Sen. Mark Koran said. 

John Nagel, a retired police lieutenant in Minnesota and former candidate for the Minnesota state legislature, said diversion can be a “great tool for someone who is younger and dumber, but this individual had a responsible job and was old enough to know better.”

WISCONSINITES KICKED OUT AND DENIED ENTRY TO THIS DEMOCRAT’S ‘FAKE TOWN HALL’

“This sends a bad message to an already hostile group of politically charged individuals,” Nagel said. “As a police officer, I have had several people tell me that if they had spent even a few nights in jail, they wouldn’t have committed a crime the second and third time.

Brodsky added that Moriarty’s latest legal blunder is consistent with her legacy in Walz’s home state. Moriarty, who handed Adams a “pre-charge diversion” on Monday, has been backed by groups tied to money from megadonor George Soros, one of the most prominent backers of progressive issues in the United States.

“It would be an understatement to say that Progressive County Attorney Mary Moriarty has been soft on crime since she took office in 2023. She has consistently shown undue leniency for violent criminal suspects charged with sexual assault and even murder. It is one of the many reasons the Minneapolis Police Department has been at loggerheads with the county attorney’s office, to say nothing of the outrage among the victims’ families,” Brodsky said. 

Nagel questioned how many tax dollars were invested in finding Adams “only to have their efforts wiped out by a progressive prosecutor” and leaving Minnesota dealerships on alert “knowing someone can come into their lot and damage cars.”

As Republicans ripped the state’s “soft on crime” practices, they tied Walz’s own anti-Telsa rhetoric to the string of violence against Elon Musk’s multi-billionaire electric vehicle business. Amid the string of attacks on Tesla as its stock was taking a tumble, Walz told a Wisconsin town hall that he checks Tesla’s stock when he wants to feel better. 

“Gov. Walz’s rhetoric on Tesla stock, Democrats all over the country spewing,’We need to rise up and take it to the streets’ is all fueling the fire. Angry elected Democrats are encouraging this kind of behavior. Refusing to hold adults accountable for attacks based on their political hatred is bound to end badly for regular folks,” Nagel added. 

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Brodsky said each Tesla vandalized is a felony, adding: “These crimes didn’t take place in a vacuum either, with progressives focusing their anger at Elon Musk and DOGE’s effort to shrink the bloated federal workforce.”

“It’s likely not a coincidence that the suspect in this case is a State of Minnesota employee with the Department of Human Services. Moreover, these attacks began the same day that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made controversial remarks where he cheered the decline of Tesla stocks and disparaged Elon Musk at a Wisconsin event on March 18. The double-standards here speak for themselves. Political violence appears to be acceptable if carried out by progressives. Needless to say, this will undoubtedly embolden pProgressive activists to engage in further attacks,” Brodsky said. 

Gov. Walz, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minneapolis Police Department and Hennepin County Attorney’s Office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard referred two intelligence community professionals to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution Wednesday over alleged leaks of classified information, Fox News Digital has learned. 

An ODNI official told Fox News Digital that the intelligence community professionals allegedly leaked classified information to the Washington Post and the New York Times. A third criminal referral is “on its way” to the DOJ. 

GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY

The official told Fox News Digital that intelligence community professionals should take the move “as a warning.” 

“Politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end,” Gabbard told Fox News Digital. “Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” 

“Today, I referred two intelligence community leakers to the Department of Justice for criminal referral, with a third criminal referral on its way, which includes the recent illegal leak to the Washington Post,” Gabbard said. “These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine President Trump’s agenda.” 

Gabbard added: “I look forward to working with the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate, terminate and prosecute these criminals.”

An ODNI official said the move to refer for criminal prosecution is the first step in the process of “holding these individuals accountable.” 

TULSI GABBARD REVOKES SECURITY CLEARANCES, ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION FOR BIDEN, HARRIS, CLINTON, OTHERS

The official explained the process in their decision-making, telling Fox News Digital that they conducted an internal review and then sent the criminal referral to the Justice Department. The DOJ would then send the referral to the FBI to begin a formal, criminal investigation. 

“We are aggressively investigating other leaks and will pursue further criminal referrals as warranted,” the official told Fox News Digital. “Any intelligence community bureaucrat who is considering leaking to the media should take this as a warning.” 

The official added that the Trump administration “will identify leakers and leakers will face legal consequences.” 

DNI TULSI GABBARD MOVES TO TERMINATE, REVOKE SECURITY CLEARANCES OF NSA EMPLOYEES TIED TO EXPLICIT CHATROOMS

Earlier this month, Gabbard established a new task force to restore transparency and accountability in the intelligence community. Fox News Digital first reported on the Director’s Initiative Group (DIG), which started by investigating weaponization within the intelligence community.

Officials said the group will also work to root out politicization and expose unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence. In addition, it will work to declassify information “that serves a public interest.” 

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Gabbard also has held employees who participated in sexually explicit NSA chatrooms accountable, and is pursuing action on those who have made unauthorized leaks of classified information within the intelligence community. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-Is REAL ID really necessary? What authorities are saying

-Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says Trump called him about arson attack at governor’s mansion

-Angel mom of Rachel Morin condemns Dems’ trip to see deported migrant, mainstream media bias

Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill., the Senate Democratic whip and the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2026. 

Durbin, 80, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, made the announcement in a video message on X Wednesday.

“The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy,” Durbin said…Read more 

‘BURDEN LIFTED’: Trump lifts police ‘burden’ with executive orders in first 100 days

‘SMEAR CAMPAIGN’: Hegseth maintains White House backing amid ‘smear campaign’ alleging likely ouster

‘MOST UNIVERSITIES FAILED’: Former Biden official ‘pleased’ Trump admin tackling antisemitism

‘TOP OF THE LINE’: Trump unfurls plans for double 100-foot flagpoles during White House lawn walk

PEACE ON THE LINE: Vance issues ultimatum to Russia, Ukraine on peace negotiations

‘TERRIBLE INJUSTICE’: Nikki Haley on Russia and Ukraine says US should ‘want to be on the right side of history’

PUTIN ON A SHOW: Trump insists Ukraine-Russia peace deal is close, but mistrust in Putin leaves experts skeptical

TREN DE ARAGUA: Venezuelan government uses violent gang as proxies in US to undermine public safety: FBI assessment

‘VERY HARMFUL: Trump says ‘inflammatory’ Zelenskyy statement on Crimea prolongs war with Russia

VISA STRIKE: Leader of Colombia says Trump admin revoked his US visa

‘SONS OF DOGS’: Palestinian leader demands Hamas release remaining hostages

DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY: Young Americans sour on congressional Democrats, new poll finds

SPRING BREAK: 25 ‘vulnerable’ House Dems targeted by GOP ad blitz offering airfare to El Salvador

BAD TIMING: Illegal immigrant charged with murder of Maryland mom days after Van Hollen’s El Salvador return

‘BAD FAITH’: Federal judge alleges ‘willful and bad faith refusal’ to comply in  Abrego Garcia deportation case

AGENCY PURGE: EPA fires or reassigns hundreds working on ‘environmental justice’

STAND BACK: New York’s Nassau County seeks to ban standing within 15 feet of cops under bill panned as unconstitutional

‘DISGUSTING’: Illegal immigrant convicted of killing teens in high-speed crash to be released early

SHOCKING SIMILARITY: DHS chief Kristi Noem’s purse was stolen days after similar incident just blocks away: report

‘CULTURAL ZEITGEIST’: Supreme Court likely to side with parents in letting them opt out of LGBTQ storybooks, expert says

‘UNCONSCIONABLE’: Feds file charges against illegal immigrant set to be released early after FOX report

COME ON OVER: Red state gov urges firearms makers to ditch Colorado amid its anti-gun push

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

EXCLUSIVE: Bicameral lawmakers are putting forward a bill Wednesday to strengthen penalties against illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes.

The Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by Unnaturalized Emigrants (BE GONE) Act will codify key parts of President Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” border crackdown.

It is also timed in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, according to the bill’s sponsors: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas.

In September, Gonzales’ office obtained data from ICE showing 15,811 illegal immigrants on their “non-detained docket” have sexual assault convictions, out of 425,431 convicted criminals on the list overall.

ICE NON-DETAINED DOCKET EXPLODES TO 7.4M CASES

The BE GONE Act formally expands the definition of “aggravated felonies” under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, also known as Title 8 – which consolidated several immigration provisions prior to the Eisenhower administration into one comprehensive U.S. code, set visa quotas, and exempted certain family members of Americans from some immigration restrictions.

“President Trump and his team have hit the ground running, reversing the damage from the last four years, but we must ensure that every last sexual predator let in by Joe Biden is deported,” Ernst told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“The health and safety of our citizens must always come first, and I am proud to continue working with President Trump to protect the American people,” she added.

“These violent, criminal illegal aliens need to BE GONE!”

Gonzales, who represents the largest Mexican-border district in the House, said the illegal immigration epicenters of Eagle Pass and Del Rio are both in his jurisdiction.

DEMOCRATS’ EL SALVADOR TRIP LAMPOONED BY SENATE GOP GROUP IN FAUX-TOURISM AD: BIENVENIDOS

He told Fox News his district witnessed pre-Trump “tying [of] the hands of our Border Patrol agents and ignoring warnings from law enforcement that illegal aliens with violent criminal charges were entering our country.”

“Thousands of these criminal illegal aliens had a sexual violence charge on their record.”

Gonzales added that the BE GONE Act would give Homeland Security officers more tools to identify and deport sexually violent illegal immigrants.

“I look forward to joining forces with my colleagues in the House and Senator Joni Ernst to move this critical legislation across the finish line,” he said.

The bill also received support from “sensible immigration” group NumbersUSA.

“This is common sense legislation, following up on the Laken Riley Act, that Congress passed this year to protect Americans from criminal illegal aliens,” Michael Hough, its director of federal affairs, said.

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Joe Chatham, an official at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, added that Congress should pass the change to Title 8 swiftly.

“FAIR is proud to support the BE GONE Act and protecting American communities from illegal alien crime,” said Chatham.

“Under the Biden administration’s policies, tens of thousands of criminal aliens were apprehended attempting to enter illegally, with shocking data last year showing that there were at least 16,320 aliens in the U.S. convicted of sexual assault.”

Co-sponsor Ernst also notably spearheaded Sarah’s Law — signed by Trump earlier this year.

That bill was named for Sarah Root, who was killed by an illegal immigrant in 2016, and for whose family Ernst fought for nearly a decade to get justice.

Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging the popular platform has been “openly defying” state law aimed at protecting young minors from addictive social media features and obscene and dangerous content. 

Attorney General Uthmeier, who was recently appointed by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleged in a circuit court complaint filed Monday that Snapchat utilizes addictive features to attract minors under the age of 13, who companies like Snapchat aren’t even allowed to provide accounts to under state law H.B. 3 in Florida. 

The suit also alleges Snapchat does not adequately verify its users’ ages, noting parental consent is required in Florida for Snapchat users who are under 16, and has been deceptive about its identification of content that is not supposed to be accessible to minors.  

“Snap’s conduct is particularly egregious because it continues to market Snapchat in Florida as safe for users as young as 13 even though it knows that Snapchat can be easily used to access pornography and buy drugs, among many other dangers,” Uthmeier’s complaint states. “Rather than obeying Florida law by removing 13-year-old users from the platform and seeking parental consent for 14- and 15-year-old users, Snap is actively deceiving Florida parents about the risks of allowing their teens to access this platform.”

META’S ANTITRUST TRIAL KICKS OFF CHALLENGING THE COMPANY’S SOCIAL MEDIA DOMINANCE

Uthmeier argued in his suit that Snapchat’s current age ratings for content are “highly deceptive and unfair,” pointing to a Washington Post columnist who tested Snapchat’s AI chatbot feature and was able to get it to provide instructions to a 13-year-old on how to mask the smell of pot and alcohol. He pointed to Snapchat’s “Find Friends” feature as well, among others, which Uthmeier alleged has “connected minors with adult strangers seeking to groom, harass, exploit, and even assault them, or to sell them illegal drugs.”

According to Uthmeier, Snapchat has recognized in other litigation that it is subject to the provisions under Florida’s H.B. 3, leading him to assert in the Monday complaint that the platform is “openly defying this important public health measure.” 

However, Snap Inc. argues that the underlying premise of Uthmeier’s complaint, that Snapchat is violating H.B. 3, is flawed because the law infringes on the First Amendment rights of adults and young people. Simultaneously, Snap Inc. said, H.B. 3 fails to adequately address age verification and opens up Floridians to data protection and privacy issues.

TEENS ARE TURNING TO SNAPCHAT’S ‘MY AI’ FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT – WHICH DOCTORS WARN AGAINST

“We believe there are more privacy-conscious solutions to online safety and managing age verification, including at the operating system, app store, or device level,” a Snap Inc. spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In addition, there is a current challenge to the constitutionality of this law pending in Florida federal court, and we hoped that the state would allow this challenge to proceed through the proper legal process. Unfortunately, they’ve decided to file a complaint in state court in an attempt to bypass the issues that are already being heard in federal court.”

H.B. 3 has been challenged by industry groups in a lawsuit last year arguing the state law violated First Amendment rights. The plaintiff’s in that suit, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, which collectively represent numerous major social media platforms including Snapchat, have also challenged other state laws aimed at protecting minors from harmful social media features and content on the grounds they violate the First Amendment.  

The law prohibits social media apps that utilize certain addictive features, such as push notifications, autoplay features, infinity scrolling, and more, from allowing users under the age of 13 to open an account. For users under 16, parental notification must be obtained. 

The bill also requires companies like Snapchat that knowingly publish adult content on their platforms to take steps to prohibit access to such material by any users under 18.

SNAPCHAT AI CHATBOT ALLEGEDLY GAVE ADVICE TO 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL ON RELATIONSHIP WITH 31-YEAR-OLD MAN, HAVING SEX

According to the law, any platforms that knowingly or recklessly violate H.B. 3’s requirements can be subject to enforcement under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, which can result in fines of up to $50,000 per incident. Meanwhile, account holders who are minors may also pursue up to $10,000 in damages.

“We’re actively challenging Florida’s law because it violates the First Amendment,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Associate Director of Litigation, told Fox News Digital. “We’re confident we will be successful.”

Nonprofits that promote parental rights, including the American Parents Coalition and the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, expressed support for Uthmeier’s suit, pointing out that social media use among minors can have detrimental impacts to their mental fitness and overall well-being later in life.

“It is indisputable that social media is hurting our kids’ mental and physical health,” Alleigh Marré, Executive Director of American Parents Coalition, told Fox News Digital. “Beyond the broad challenges young people face with the intentionally addictive nature of the platforms, Snapchat has allowed poor safety measures and inadequate parental controls to put our kids at risk. From sexual predators to drug dealers, to pornography, Snapchat’s leadership is aware of the risks associated with the platform, especially for young people, but they’ve put profit ahead of protection.”

“Attorney General Uthmeier recognizes that Florida’s children are the future of our community and our most precious asset. General Uthmeier’s focus on protecting children from inappropriate content and the threats posed by child predators demonstrates a profound understanding of their vulnerability and the imperative need to keep them safe online,” added Bob Cunningham, Director of Policy Engagement for the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “By prioritizing their protection, he is not only enhancing our current legislative landscape but also setting a vital example for others to follow.”

It’s DOGE, Texas style. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed a bill to create the state’s own version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in an effort to get rid of unnecessary rules and slash regulations. 

In Austin, Abbott signed SB 14, which would create the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office and streamline the way state agencies establish and enforce regulations.

“The regulatory environment in Texas is getting too burdensome,” Abbott said before putting pen to paper. “The regulatory environment in Texas is well-known for being good, but it seems like it’s not as easy to navigate as it once was.”

TEXAS POISED TO CREATE ITS OWN VERSION OF DOGE AS BILL PASSES BOTH CHAMBERS

An advisory panel would be created to work with the governor’s office to streamline processes. It would be made up of business owners, researchers, state agencies and the public.

The bill also aims to create an accessible online portal, so the public can look up state regulations.

DOGE REVEALS WHAT YOU GET FOR THE HALF MILLION YOU’LL PAY IN TAXES OVER YOUR LIFETIME

“Texas businesses, Texas citizens, they deserve regulations that are in plain English that you can understand what they mean,” said Dustin Burrows, the Republican speaker of the Texas House. “They deserve to know what they actually do, and they deserve to make sure they’re consistent and as few as possible.” 

The legislation was authored by state Republican Sen. Phil King and backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

It passed the Texas House with a 97-51 vote and the Senate 26-5.

The bill is similar to what the Trump administration has aimed to do with DOGE by getting rid of unnecessary rules, as well as rooting out fraud and wasteful spending. 

Abbott said DOGE “crystalized” what Texas lawmakers were seeking to achieve. 

“It gave strategies to it,” he said. “Texas DOGE will lead to spending cuts, regulation cuts and a more user-friendly government.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Justice Department is charging a high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua on terrorism and international drug distribution charges—the first time the U.S. government is using terrorism charges to prosecute a member of the violent gang. 

A five-count superseding indictment was unsealed Wednesday, and first obtained by Fox News Digital, charging 24-year-old Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, also known as “Chuqui,” with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. 

VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT USES TREN DE ARAGUA AS PROXIES TO UNDERMINE US PUBLIC SAFETY, FBI ASSESSMENT FINDS

Flores is allegedly a high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua, who allegedly serves as a Plaza Boss in Bogota, Colombia. He is allegedly a part of the inner circle of senior Tren de Aragua leadership, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Flores was also charged with conspiracy and distribution of cocaine in Colombia intended for distribution in the United States. 

“TdA is not a street gang—it is a highly structured terrorist organization that put down roots in our country during the prior administration,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Digital. “Today’s charges represent an inflection point in how this Department of Justice will prosecute and ultimately dismantle this evil organization, which has destroyed American families and poisoned our communities.” 

FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that Tren de Aragua is a “violent arm of the Maduro regime operating inside our borders.” 

“With these charges, we are using every available tool to confront them as the transnational threat they are,” Patel told Fox News Digital. “From drug trafficking and human smuggling to brutal violence, this group has inflicted chaos on American communities.” 

Patel added: “Today’s indictment is a critical step in dismantling their network and holding its members accountable.” 

Colombian authorities arrested Flores in Colombia in March 30, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant the United States had been requesting.

The Trump administration’s State Department designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Feb. 20. 

“This is the first time the DOJ has used terrorism charges to prosecute members of TdA,” a DOJ official told Fox News Digital. “President Trump’s Foreign Terrorist Organization designation means that we have a fuller suite of legal options to use against these groups.” 

The indictment comes after the Trump administration filed its first racketeering charges — also known as RICO charges, which include conspiring to commit murder, sex-trafficking, assault, dealing drugs and more — against Tren de Aragua members and its associates in New York Tuesday. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

That case was part of “Operation Take Back America,” which it said is a “nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

The charges filed against 27 alleged current and former Tren de Aragua members include human smuggling, sex trafficking and murder.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that 21 of the 27 alleged gang members and associates are currently in federal custody. The statement said that 16 were already in federal criminal, immigration or state custody, and five were arrested in the past couple of days.

The indictment also comes after Fox News Digital exclusively reported that the FBI assesses that Venezuelan government officials “likely facilitate” the migration of members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua from Venezuela to the United States to advance the Maduro regime’s objective of undermining public safety in the U.S. 

A Democrat in the House of Representatives’ progressive “Squad” is arguing that the Trump administration could soon jail people in the U.S. for a variety of non-criminal reasons, seemingly regardless of their legal status.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., made the comments after visiting college students Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil. Both are being held at an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility after being accused of espousing pro-Hamas beliefs. Neither are U.S. citizens, though both are in the country legally; Khalil is a legal permanent resident, and Ozturk is on a student visa. 

“If people are tempted to marginalize and ‘other’ who this could happen to, again, in Donald Trump’s America, this could be you. This could be you, for some, for a miscarriage. This could be you for practicing diversity, equity and inclusion. This could be you for reading a banned book,” Pressley said in a press conference after the event. “It is acutely about Mahmood and Rumeysa, because those are some of the most high-profile cases, but it has implications for every single person who calls this country home.”

Pressley traveled to a Louisiana ICE facility alongside fellow Massachusetts Democrats, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

VIDEO SHOWS ARREST OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY STUDENT FOR ALLEGEDLY SUPPORTING HAMAS

She alleged that Khalil and Ozturk are being put through significant strain at the hands of the authorities there.

“This is torture. They are sleep-deprived. They are being denied the basic essentials. Their humanity completely erased,” Pressley said. “And every person of conscience — this is not about Democrat or Republican right now. This is about right and wrong, good and evil. And people of Congress need to join us, apply pressure, continue to say their names to demand their freedom, due process, justice, and to demand that Rumeysa’s visa is reinstated.”

Pressley also claimed that Ozturk “had her hijab removed” by “one of the nurses” at the facility.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT PROTESTER SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO PREVENT DEPORTATION 

“So religious accommodation not being honored. Basic human needs not being met. She talked about a culture of intimidation where they often chide her for being an educated woman and a troublemaker. And yet, even in the face, in the midst of all of that, she is still doing her research. She is still advocating for the women alongside her,” Pressley said.

Meanwhile, like Pressley, McGovern told reporters, “If the government can imprison people, like them, who dissent, without due process — in this instance, there is nothing to stop the government from going after you, too.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called the allegations about Ozturk’s detention “unequivocally false.”

Both Ozturk and Khalil have been accused by the Trump administration of making pro-Hamas statements while enrolled at Tufts University and Columbia University respectively.

The Massachusetts progressives’ trip comes after several Democrats traveled to El Salvador in a bid to secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deported illegal immigrant married to a U.S. citizen who the Trump administration accused of having ties to MS-13.

The Supreme Court found Abrego Garcia to have been wrongfully deported and ordered the U.S. government to facilitate his release, though El Salvador has no plans to return him.

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment, “Ms. Ozturk was in communication with legal counsel within hours of her arrival at the facility in Basile. On the day of her arrival, one of her attorneys contacted the facility and was informed that she was already engaged in a meeting with her other attorney. Since then, she has had four attorney visits. Her dormitory has not exceeded capacity.”

“Daily inspections are conducted by the facility administrator, and there have been no reports or documented complaints of rodent activity. In accordance with the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS), the facility maintains regular pest control services. ICE has also provided Ms. Ozturk with prompt medical care and services, and she has not filed any grievances regarding delayed medical care. Being granted a visa to live and study in the United States is a privilege, not a right. The State Department makes specific determinations about visa revocations when an individual poses a threat to national security,” the spokesperson said.

When reached for comment on Pressley’s remarks on Trump, White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded, “”Wow, Democrats being hysterical about President Trump. What else is new?”

ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) partnered with a special law enforcement unit of the government of Mexico to arrest a criminal boss affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel known simply as “440.”

This comes after the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said last year that the U.S. is facing the “most dangerous and deadly drug crisis” in its history, with fentanyl and methamphetamine flowing across the border — and that the “Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of this crisis.” 

The Sinaloa Cartel, which operates a drug trafficking empire out of western Mexico, was recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump State Department. 

The administration has also designated several other Mexican cartels, the Salvadoran gang MS-13 and the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations as well.

TRUMP ADMIN FILES FIRST RACKETEERING CHARGES AGAINST MASSIVE MIGRANT TERRORIST GROUP PRESENT IN US

The man arrested by Mexican authorities, Ivan Fernando Zepeda Leyva, is an associate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a member of the “Los Demonios” criminal group and the leader of the drug plazas in Nogales and Imuris in the Mexican state of Sonora, which spans the entire U.S.-Mexico border with Arizona.

According to a statement posted on social media by ICE, Zepeda Leyva was arrested by a specially vetted team with the Mexican Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection and Secretariat of the Navy in collaboration with HSI on April 19.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

ICE said Zepeda Leyva’s arrest marked a “major milestone in combating illegal drug trafficking and racketeering through U.S.-Mexican law enforcement cooperation.”

The Trump administration has promised to be “ruthlessly aggressive” in responding to cartel threats to American citizens.

PRESIDENT TRUMP BLASTS COURTS FOR GETTING IN THE WAY OF DEPORTATION AGENDA

In late March, the Trump administration announced a barrage of sanctions against the Sinaloa Cartel. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six individuals and seven entities involved in a money-laundering network supporting the Sinaloa Cartel for sanctions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the time that his department “proudly leveled new sanctions against financiers of the criminal Sinaloa drug cartel,” which he said has “flooded our borders with fentanyl and senselessly murdered innocent American citizens.”

“This ends under President Trump’s leadership,” said Bessent. 

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

The state of California plans to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detainer after an illegal immigrant convicted of vehicular manslaughter was set to be released on July 19 – over six years before his full sentence is up.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office announced he would be brought into federal custody ahead of the July release date. Fox News reported earlier that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation tends to follow ICE detainer orders, but there were concerns that the state’s sanctuary policies could have played a role in letting him be released back into the community. 

“After being deported in 2013, this individual unlawfully re-entered the US & committed heinous crimes. A GOP DA then gave him a plea deal instead of pursuing 2nd-degree murder. CDCR will again coordinate with ICE—as they have w/ 10,000+ inmates—to transfer him before release,” the governor’s press account tweeted on Wednesday afternoon. 

EXCLUSIVE: FOX TOURS ICE DETENTION FACILITY; MANAGER HOPES TO ‘DISPEL’ ‘FALSE NARRATIVES’

Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk, high, and speeding at nearly 100mph on the 405 freeway in Orange County in November 2021, when he crashed into a car being driven by a young couple, 19-year-old Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin, which killed them both as they burned alive. In spring 2022, he was convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Fox News reported on Wednesday morning that Ortega-Anguiano will be released by the California state government on July 19 after serving just 3.5 years, and the victim’s families were notified on Easter Sunday.

After the report came out, the Department of Justice said they would be prosecuting Ortega-Anguiano on federal charges in order to keep him behind bars longer.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CONVICTED OF KILLING TEENS IN HIGH-SPEED CRASH TO BE RELEASED EARLY: ‘IT’S DISGUSTING’

“My office has filed a felony immigration charge against this defendant. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted for 8 USC 1326. If the State of California will not seek the full measure of justice against this individual, the [DOJ] will,” Bill Essayli, United States Attorney for the Central District of California, tweeted.

Border czar Tom Homan said ICE planned on quickly arresting and deporting him if he was released by the Golden State.

“I will work with [Homeland Security] Secretary Noem on this case, and I guarantee you, if they don’t honor the detainer, we’ll have ICE agents outside that facility to take custody of this individual and deport him,” Homan said Wednesday on “America’s Newsroom.”

TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS FILE CHARGES AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT AFTER FOX NEWS EXPOSES EARLY RELEASE PLANS

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ICE told Fox News that he had entered the country illegally twice before and had a prior criminal background before the two teens were killed in the fatal crash.

“His previous criminal convictions include burglary in 2005; vehicle theft in 2007; and battery on spouse with kidnapping in 2014,” ICE stated.

“An immigration judge ordered Ortega removed Nov. 3, 2014; he filed several unsuccessful appeals and was taken into ICE custody Dec. 2, 2016, and removed to Mexico the same day. Ortega attempted to reenter the United States Feb. 2, 2018, near Otay Mesa, California by presenting a counterfeit document; he was paroled into the U.S. pending criminal prosecution for illegal reentry after removal. An immigration official issued Ortega an expedited removal order and removed him June 1, 2018, to Mexico; after his latest removal, he again illegally reentered the U.S. on an unknown date and location. ICE issued a detainer with the Orange County Jail, California, Nov. 27, 2021, where he was being held on vehicular manslaughter charges at the time,” the statement continued.

Several Supreme Court justices signaled sympathy Tuesday toward Maryland parents who are seeking to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed classroom materials. One education expert said the case could lead to a ruling that expands parental rights in public schools nationwide. 

“This looks pretty promising for the parent petitioners in this case,” said Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow of the grassroots organization Defending Education. “I heard a lot of very aggressive questioning from the three liberal justices, but no matter how you slice this apple, it looks to be a very clear violation of the First Amendment, as exercised through the 14th Amendment’s right to direct a child’s religious upbringing.”

Perry previously served as the lead lawyer to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education from 2020 to 2021, where she drafted the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) annual report to Congress.

THE SUPREME COURT APPEARS TO SIDE WITH PARENTS IN RELIGIOUS LIBERTY DISPUTE OVER STORYBOOKS 

“They’re very malleable,” Perry said of the 4-and 5-year-olds in the case. “They’re very much shaped by their environment, by what they’re exposed to, and they don’t have the meaningful agency to be able to opt out or object or push back. And so these individuals are learning their own familial values while being exposed to material that is, as Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett and Justice [Neil] Gorsuch pointed out, designed to influence their thinking.”

At the heart of Mahmoud v. Taylor is a lawsuit brought by religious parents—Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox—who argue that the school district’s policy violates their First Amendment rights by forcing their children to engage with instruction that contradicts their faith.

The Fourth Circuit Court, a federal appeals court, ruled last year that there was no violation of religious exercise rights, stating that the policy did not force parents to change their religious beliefs or conduct and that parents could still teach their children outside of school.

Several conservative justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, appeared sympathetic to the parents’ concerns during the two-and-a-half-hour oral debate. Alito questioned the moral messages conveyed by books like “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” suggesting that such content might conflict with deeply held religious beliefs. Justice Brett Kavanaugh also pressed the school district’s attorneys on why opt-out provisions, similar to those in sex education, could not be extended to these storybooks.

PARENTS TELL SCOTUS: LGBTQ STORYBOOKS IN CLASSROOMS CLASH WITH OUR FAITH

Meanwhile, the liberal justices argued that mere exposure to these books may not constitute coercion or a violation of religious freedoms. The school district contended that the policy promotes inclusivity and exposure to LGBTQ viewpoints does not equate to forced belief changes.

“I think it was highly sort of predictable,” Perry said of the liberal justices’ arguments. “They are trying to prove that there is going to be too much of a burden on the school district to allow these children to opt out because the consequences could, for example, be catastrophic for the ability of a public school to manage its own affairs.”

“The reason we see an issue like this at the Supreme Court is because these are issues directly related to religious liberty and directly related to the very early cognitive stages of development for minor children,” Perry said. “And it’s very clear … that a burden of religious liberty within public education has to be treated quite seriously by the court and deference must be given to religious parents if the burden is very clear.”

“I think in this instance, it is indeed crystal clear,” she added. 

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

Among the storybooks at the center of the case is “Prince & Knight,” a modern fairy tale aimed at children ages 4 to 8, which tells the story of two men who fall in love after joining forces to defeat a dragon and later marry. Another book frequently referenced during oral arguments was “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” which follows a young girl processing her favorite uncle’s decision to marry another man.

“Because parental rights have become sort of the cultural zeitgeist for where we are in this political day and age, I think we are certain to see more litigation, not less, and more pushback,” Perry said. 

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by late June.

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds vowed to Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by any of these protesters” after he was captured on video shutting down a woman yelling about Israel during a town hall he hosted this week. 

Footage showed the individual being escorted away by security at Estero High School in Florida on Monday night. Donalds, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, is running to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

“This is why Donald Trump supports me to be Florida’s next governor. Because I will take the message of common sense and conservatism anywhere, any place, any time, in any audience. I’m not going to be intimidated by any of these protesters,” Donalds said during an appearance on “Hannity.” 

“Members of Congress should not be intimidated by these people. They want to shout you down to try to deflect and distract from their terrible policy and how they left America really at the bottom in the pit because of the terrible presidency of Joe Biden,” he continued. “We shouldn’t put up with it. We should confront it head-on, and if they are going to be rude and disrespectful, then kick them out of the room, it’s that simple.” 

FLORIDA PROTESTER SCREAMS AT REP BYRON DONALDS DURING TENSE TOWN HALL 

Donalds also said, “Local Democrats are being organized about coming into congressional town halls” and that he has never seen so many show up at his events. 

HOW DEMOCRATS INFILTRATED ‘THUNDEROUS’ GOP TOWN HALLS   

“That’s OK. If they want to show up now, you are going to hear the truth, you are going to hear the facts. You are not going to hear Democrat talking points. You are not going to hear spin, and they want to yell and be upset because they want you, quite frankly, to reverse course, reverse your positions, stand against things that are right, stand against deporting illegal aliens, stand against Israel,” he added. “That is what they want you to do.” 

“But when you don’t bend to their will, then they yell and they get upset like they did last night,” Donalds said. 

Donalds later shared the Fox News segment on his X account, writing that “ALL REPUBLICAN MEMBERS should hold Town Halls to confront them DIRECTLY.”

President Donald Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement on Crimea, saying it was “very harmful” to peacemaking efforts.

“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that make it so difficult to settle this war,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country.”

Trump also rejected Zelenskyy’s red line in the Truth Social post, saying it was “not even a point of discussion,” as the territory was “lost years ago” under then-President Barack Obama.

VANCE ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

American officials have apparently floated the idea of recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, a territory that Russia seized in 2014, as part of a ceasefire proposal. This would also involve the freezing of current frontlines. 

In 2022, Zelenskyy said that the “Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea — and its liberation,” Axios reported. He reiterated this stance on Tuesday, shutting down the idea that Ukraine would recognize Russian control of Crimea.

“Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference here on Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.”

NIKKI HALEY ON RUSSIA AND UKRAINE SAYS US SHOULD ‘WANT TO BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY’

This is not the first time Trump has criticized Zelenskyy’s statements about the war. During their infamous meeting in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, Trump said that Zelenskyy’s “hatred” of Russian President Vladimir Putin was making it “very tough” to make a deal.

“You see the hatred he’s got for Putin, it’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate, he’s got tremendous hatred,” Trump told reporters. “And I understand that, but I can tell you the other side isn’t exactly in love with, you know, him either.”

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

Trump appeared to allude to the Oval Office meeting in his Truth Social post, calling Zelenskyy “the man with no cards to play.” This echoed Trump’s remark during the tense February meeting in which he said that Zelenskyy didn’t “have the cards” to make major demands in peace talks.

While Zelenskyy has made his demands clear, it remains uncertain what might persuade Putin to agree to a ceasefire. Although Trump administration officials have stated that they have had productive conversations with Putin, they have yet to get Russia to agree to a ceasefire proposal.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance suggested that the U.S. was prepared to walk away from peace talks if Ukraine and Russia did not reach a deal soon.

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI assesses that some Venezuelan government officials “likely facilitate” the migration of members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua from Venezuela to the United States to advance the Maduro regime’s objective of undermining public safety in the U.S., Fox News Digital has learned. 

A senior administration official exclusively shared with Fox News Digital Wednesday unclassified portions of the FBI’s classified intelligence assessment of the Venezuelan government’s relationship with Tren de Aragua.

TRUMP ISSUES WARNING TO MADURO AS VENEZUELAN LEADER ENTERS THIRD TERM, US EXPANDS SANCTIONS

President Donald Trump, upon taking office, designated Tren de Aragua, as well as several other migrant gangs present throughout the U.S., as a foreign terrorist organization. 

Fox News Digital has learned that the FBI assesses that some Venezuelan government officials are likely using Tren de Aragua members as proxies for the Maduro regime in an effort to destabilize Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and the United States. The official said the FBI assesses that this demonstrates Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s willingness to violate the territorial sovereignty of Venezuela’s neighbors to advance his regime’s policies. 

The FBI assesses that in the next six to 18 months, Venezuelan government officials likely will attempt to leverage Tren de Aragua members in the United States as proxy actors to threaten, abduct and kill members of the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States who are vocal critics of Maduro and his regime. 

The FBI expects an expansion of similar activities throughout South America. 

TRUMP ADMIN FILES FIRST RACKETEERING CHARGES AGAINST MASSIVE MIGRANT TERRORIST GROUP PRESENT IN US

“These findings should shock Americans but not the law enforcement community,” a senior administration official told Fox News Digital. “They reflect the sentiments of numerous other intelligence assessments across multiple agencies.” 

Any further details or specific examples remain classified.

“Nicholas Maduro is a Marxist dictator who hijacked a once-prosperous Venezuela and brought in nothing but total economic collapse and gang takeover,” the official said. “He crumbled Caracas, now overrun with drugs and violence, and wants to do the same across the United States by sending his most violent and dangerous criminals into our communities.” 

The Venezuelan leader, deemed a “dictator” by American lawmakers, is set to hold office until 2031.

“The Trump administration will continue to use every authority in our power to make sure these TdA terrorists, who are some of the worst in the world, are kept out of our country,” the U.S. official said. “The American people voted overwhelmingly to make America safe again, and that is exactly what we will do.” 

Fox News Digital also spoke to an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Wednesday, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The ODNI official told Fox News Digital that the FBI’s assessment is based on its domestic law enforcement operations against Tren de Aragua in America. 

“This information and intelligence are the most robust and accurate given their focus on domestic security and crimes, versus limited intelligence assessments from other intelligence elements who by law focus solely on foreign intelligence collection and who, until President Trump took office, had very limited resources focused on TdA,” the official said. 

Meanwhile, the ODNI official briefed Fox News Digital on unclassified information from its assessment on Tren de Aragua’s relationship with the Venezuelan government. 

The official said ODNI assesses that Tren de Aragua leaders historically have been “located and broadly benefited from conditions in Venezuela created by the Venezuelan government.” 

“The Venezuelan government gives sanctuary to TdA, aiding and abetting their crimes and terrorist activities against the United States by enabling them to thrive,” the ODNI told Fox News Digital. 

The official said that unlike most countries, the Maduro regime has “been eager to welcome violent TdA criminals back to Venezuela, providing further proof they see them as allies. Again, this mirrors the behavior of the Taliban in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern failed states like Syria and Libya that have welcomed terrorists with open arms.” 

The Associated Press recently reported on a classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council, citing anonymous sources, that its assessment found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government. 

But Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard blasted the report, saying the officials who illegally shared the classified information weaponized the intelligence to undermine Trump. 

“The weaponization of intelligence to undermine the President’s agenda is an assault on democracy,” Gabbard said. “Those behind this illegal leak of classified intelligence, twisted and manipulated to convey the exact opposite finding, will be accountable under the full force of the law.”

The ODNI official said the unclassified assessment information shared with Fox News Digital Wednesday “are facts based on intelligence that the illegal leakers and propaganda media conveniently did not include because it gets in the way of their biased narrative and attempt to deceive the American people.” 

The release of the unclassified information to Fox News Digital comes after the Trump administration filed its first racketeering charges — also known as RICO charges, which include conspiring to commit murder, sex-trafficking, assault, dealing drugs and more — against Tren de Aragua members and its associates in New York Tuesday. 

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That case was part of “Operation Take Back America,” which it said is a “nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

The charges filed against 27 alleged current and former Tren de Aragua members include human smuggling, sex trafficking and murder.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that 21 of the 27 alleged gang members and associates are currently in federal custody. The statement said that 16 were already in federal criminal, immigration or state custody, and five were arrested in the past couple of days.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on the RICO charges, saying: “Today’s indictments and arrests span three states and will devastate TdA’s infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country.” 

“Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang,” said Bondi. “It is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) charged an illegal immigrant with the murder of a mother in Maryland on Wednesday, just five days after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., returned to the state from his high-profile El Salvador visit to try to retrieve a deported alleged MS-13 member.

ICE arrested Keycy Robinson Alexis Barrera-Rosa, a 23-year-old Guatemalan national on April 5 in Charles County. He was later charged on April 23 after the body of Lesbia Mileth Ramirez Guerra from LaPlata was discovered buried near a state forest.

ICE said Barrera-Rose would be “fully prosecuted” for the alleged murder, according to ICE.

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Van Hollen, who returned to Maryland on Friday after trying to bring deportee Kilmar Garcia back from El Salvador, has not appeared to make any public comments on the news regarding Guerra. He has, however, commented on illegal immigrant crime in the past, including in a January statement explaining his no vote on the Laken Riley Act.

“We must keep our communities safe and prioritize the detention of violent offenders,” Van Hollen said on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, Van Hollen and the several House Democrats who followed his lead in traveling to Central America to aid Garcia have become the focal point of the GOP’s derision in recent days. For instance, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) launched a fake tourism ad saying Democrats “should feel free to make their trip to hang out with MS-13 gangbangers one-way.”

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The ad came after serious crimes at the hands of illegal immigrants cropped up around the Old Line State.

Most recently, Victor Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty of killing Rachel Morin on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air.

Morin’s mother, Patty, was later invited to speak from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, where she lambasted Van Hollen for traveling to El Salvador to help Garcia.

On Sunday, Van Hollen told “Fox News Sunday” that what happened to the Morin family “was awful and unacceptable.”

Last week, a jury took less than an hour to convict another Maryland illegal immigrant murder suspect – Victor Martinez-Hernandez – on first-degree premeditated murder charges in Harford County.

Also last week, ICE arrested Guatemalan national Rene Pop-Chub in Hyattsville, Maryland, outside Washington. Pop-Chub had pending murder, assault and reckless endangerment charges, and was the subject of an ignored detainer by a county corrections office, according to an ICE statement.

“The arrest of Rene Pop-Chub underscores the critical importance of cooperation between federal and local counterparts,” ICE Baltimore Acting Field Office Director Nikita Baker said in a statement.

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In a 2024 case in Montgomery Village, a northern suburb of Washington, ICE detained an “unlawfully present” Honduran national and previous deportee named Madai Gamaliel Amaya. 

Amaya’s arrest marked what ICE said was a record of 153 arrests of noncitizen sex offenders in Maryland in FY-2024. An ICE official called the case a “landmark arrest” for the Baltimore field office, and said in a statement that Amaya was previously arrested in the same county in 2009 and charged with second-degree rape. He was deported in 2013 and 2018, albeit from other states.

Despite the high-profile cases in Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore told Fox News Digital the state has seen “significant drops” in violent crimes.

“Our law enforcement officials work hard every day, in coordination with federal partners, to root out violent crime in our state. This is exactly what happened in this case, and what we do every day to keep Marylanders safe – hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, regardless of immigration status,” Moore added, referring to the Guerra case.

Fox News Digital reached out to Van Hollen, DHS and ICE for comment but did not immediately hear back.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday revealed plans to install two “beautiful” 100-foot flagpoles on the White House lawns that will each fly an American flag.

Trump told reporters about the plans after he was spotted touring the North Lawn of the White House with Dale Haney, head White House groundskeeper.

“We’re putting up a beautiful, almost 100-foot-tall American flag,” Trump said, adding that the two flagpoles will be “top of the line.”

“And they’ve needed flagpoles for 200 years,” Trump told reporters. “It was something I’ve often said. You know, they don’t have a flagpole, per se. So we’re putting one right where you saw us, and we’re putting another one on the side on top of the mounds. It’s going to be two beautiful poles.”

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The president noted that the flagpoles will be “paid for by Trump,” and should arrive at the White House in about a week.

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The White House currently flies an American flag from a flagpole on its rooftop. The flag is always flown there, no matter the president’s location. 

The POW/MIA flag has also been flown at the White House since 2019.