Todd Lyons Says A Lot Of Illegal Migrants Are Self Deporting And Explains Why Doing So Could Help Them Later On

Todd Lyons Says A Lot Of Illegal Migrants Are Self Deporting And Explains Why Doing So Could Help Them Later On

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons provided an update on Fox News Wednesday on the agency's ongoing efforts to combat illegal immigration, specifically regarding the self-deportation initiative. The Department of Homeland Securitylaunchedthe CBP Home app in March, encouraging illegal migrants to self-deport voluntarily or face deportation by ICE and permanent barring from re-entry. During an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle," Lyons discussed the success of the program. "We're actually seeing more people self-deport than we thought we would. We're offering these with inside the detention facilities. We were just down with the president, Secretary Noem, and Governor DeSantis at Alligator Alcatraz," Lyons said. Lyons described the self-deportation program as a practical and humane alternative to detention. WATCH: "We have that available for individuals to self-deport there instead of being locked up. The safe and most humane way to go. And it gives them the opportunity to come back legally," Lyons said. Lyons said ICE will keep moving forward despite criticisms and push back from the left. "We didn't let Mayor Bass stop us. We're continuing that mission daily right now. And we're still going to focus on all these sanctuary jurisdictions and all of these places where these left activist judges are trying to rule and shut down ICE, but we're not going to walk away," Lyons said. Lyons then pointed out the importance of the policy decisions made under the Trump administration, reaffirming that ICE is committed to the safety of the American people. "This is what the president wanted, this is what the American people wanted, and ICE is going to make America safe again," Lyons said.(RELATED: Byron Donalds Explains How Florida Set 'Blueprint For Other States' On Border Security) Earlier in June, the Trump administrationintroduceda significant incentive for illegal migrants to self-deport using the CBP Home app. Migrants who voluntarily leave the U.S. will receive a free flight, a $1,000 stipend and forgiveness of any previous deportation fines, all as part of a broader effort to remove illegal immigrants efficiently and cost-effectively. Those illegal immigrants caught could facedetentionat Florida's newly opened "Alligator Alcatraz," a facility designed to hold up to 5,000 criminal immigrants awaiting deportation. The detention center, supported by bothPresident Donald Trumpand Florida's Attorney GeneralJames Uthmeier, is part of a broader push to expedite immigration proceedings, including the proposal toappointNational Guardsmen as immigration judges. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contactlicensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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July 02, 2025

Todd Lyons Says A Lot Of Illegal Migrants Are Self Deporting And Explains Why Doing So Could Help Them Later On

Todd Lyons Says A Lot Of Illegal Migrants Are Self Deporting And Explains Why Doing So Could Help Them Later On Acting U.S. Immigration and ...

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Trump will kick off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary with event in Iowa

Trump will kick off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary with event in Iowa

WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumpcampaigned on a promise to deliver a "spectacular" yearlong birthday party tomark 250 years of American independence. On Thursday, he will be in the U.S. heartland to kick off the patriotic festivities leading up to next year's anniversary. The event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines will feature "dazzling" displays of Americana and American history, musical performances and a fireworks show to cap the night, said U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump's liaison to the organizing group, America250. Organizers see the coming year of festivities as a way to help unite apolarized nationand bridge partisanship — a monumental task given the country's divides. Thursday's event comes as the Republican-controlled Congress pushed for final passage of asweeping tax cuts and spending packagethat's at the heart ofDonald Trump's legislative agenda but has united all Democrats against it. More U.S. adults also disapprove than approve of how the Republican president is doing his job. Iowa was a "logical choice" for the kickoff, Crowley said, because of its central location and Trump's affinity for the state, whichsupported himin each of the last three general elections. She also said Iowa's middle-of-the-country geography is symbolic of the desire to use the coming celebrations to help bring people together. "We've had so much division and so much polarization over the last many decades, but certainly over the last few years, that to be able to bring the country together to celebrate America's 250th birthday through patriotism, shared values and a renewed sense of civic pride, to be able to do that in the center of the country, is incredibly important," she said. A recent Gallup poll showed thewidest partisan splitin patriotism in over two decades, with only about a third of Democrats saying they are proud to be American compared with about 9 in 10 Republicans. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump's performance as president, according to a June AP-NORC poll, while about 6 in 10 disapprove. That poll also showeda majority of Americanssaid theJune military paradethat Trump greenlit in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — an event that fell on his 79th birthday — was "not a good use" of government money. Crowley spoke to the political and ideological schisms that left the country "torn apart" ahead of its last big birthday celebration, noting that 1976 closely followed the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that led Richard Nixon to resign from the presidency. "That moment was critical to uniting the country and moving forward, and I am very optimistic and hopeful that the yearlong celebration that we're about to launch will do the same thing in this present moment," she said in an interview. America's 250th birthday "is something that I think that all Americans can come together to celebrate and honor our history as well as our present and our future," Crowley said. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, officially marking the 13 colonies' split from Great Britain. "We're gonna have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years," Trump said about the birthday during his Memorial Day address to a solemn audience at Arlington National Cemetery. "In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn't be your president for that." Video of then-candidate Trump proposing a "Great American State Fair" in Iowa in May 2023 began to recirculate after his reelection last November. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, told the White House earlier this year that Iowa stood "ready" to host the event and that Trump had the state's full support, according to a draft of Reynolds' letter obtained by The Associated Press. The culminating fair instead will be held next year on the National Mall in Washington, according to a White House official who was not authorized to share details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But Trump honored his initial proposal with a kickoff in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The lineup Thursday night will includeLee Greenwood, according to social media posts advertising the event, whose song, "God Bless the USA," is a regular feature at Trump rallies and official events. Also attending will be Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. ___ Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. AP Polling Editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.

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July 02, 2025

Trump will kick off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary with event in Iowa

Trump will kick off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary with event in Iowa WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumpcamp...

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The House GOP Holdouts Stalling Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

The House GOP Holdouts Stalling Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R, La.) is surrounded by security and staff as he heads to the House Chamber for a procedural vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the U.S. Capitol on July 2, 2025. Credit - Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday found himself in an all-too-familiar position: scrambling to win over a bloc of Republican holdouts to prevent a signature piece of President Donald Trump's agenda from collapsing on the House floor—and once again, needing Trump to help close the deal. The top House Republican spent the day behind closed doors with about a dozen wavering lawmakers after several of his members shuttled to the White House to raise complaints directly with Trump about the revised "big, beautiful bill" thatthe Senate passeda day earlier. Fiscal hawks warned that the Senate's version of the sweeping tax and spending bill adds too much to the national debt, while more centrist Republicans expressed concern about steep cuts toMedicaidand food stamps that would harm their constituents. "We can't make everyone 100% happy," Johnson told reporters of the negotiations between different factions of his party. "Never going to ask anybody to compromise core principles, but preferences must be yielded for the greater good." But by Wednesday evening, enough House Republicans remained opposed to the Senate's version of the legislation to effectively stall, at least for the moment, the bill's passage in the lower chamber, where Speaker Johnson can afford to lose no more than three votes. Moments after Trumpposted on Truth Socialthat "the Republican House Majority is UNITED" and "ready to vote tonight," his bill failed to muster enough votes on a procedural measure that would have allowed Republicans to bring it to the floor for final passage. At least five Republicans—Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia,Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania,Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Keith Self of Texas, andVictoria Spartz of Indiana—joined all the Democrats in voting against the "rule" amendment by Wednesday night, as the vote remained open into Thursday morning with eight other Republicans still to vote. With the late-night voting at a seeming standstill, Speaker Johnson said he was prepared to wait in an attempt to convince members to switch their votes. "I'll keep it open for as long as it takes to make sure we've got everybody here and accounted for and all the questions answered," he said shortly before 11 p.m. on Fox News. "What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!" Trumpposted on Truth Socialjust after midnight. Read More:The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Is Massively Unpopular and Democrats Plan to Keep It That Way The tense rule vote underscores just how fragile the coalition behind the bill remains—and how difficult it has been for Johnson to manage competing demands within his narrow majority. "The bill is not going to pass today," said Rep. Jason Smith, an Ohio Republican who chairs the powerful Ways and Means committee, ahead of the rule vote. House leaders could bring the procedural vote back to the floor later Thursday, but any further delays or changes to the bill would almost certainly blow past Trump's July 4 deadline. The legislation, which justbarely passed the Senateon Tuesday with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance would broadly fund many of Trump's biggest priorities of his second term: extending his 2017 tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year; eliminating taxes on tips and overtime; and providing a large funding boost to his immigration and border policies. To offset some of those costs, the bill also includes deep spending cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance and slashes green energy tax credits. But House Republicans are being asked to quickly vote on a bill that was just altered by the Senate in ways that fiscal hawks argue irresponsibly expands the national debt and breaches the red lines they laid out months ago. The Senate's bill also includes more drastic policy shifts on Medicaid that centrists warn could put them at risk of losing their seats if they vote in favor of the changes. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the Senate version of the bill would increase the deficit by $3.4 trillion, which is about $1 trillion more than the bill the House previously passed in May. The Senate's proposed changes to Medicaid would also leave about 12 million people without insurance by 2034, the report said, compared with 11 million people in the House version. Some deficit hawks from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which includes Clyde and Self who voted against the procedural measure Wednesday night, have said that they would block the bill if changes aren't made. The groupreleased a memoearlier Wednesday that tore into what it called the "failures" of the Senate's bill, taking aim at its deficit increase and a carveout that helped swing Alaska's Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski by delaying food stamp cuts in states with high error rates, among other new provisions. Trump on Wednesday met with members of the House Freedom Caucus and moderate Republicans, urging both sides to get on board and send the legislation to his desk before Friday. Trump brought in Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the agency in charge of Medicaid, to downplay concerns about Medicaid cuts and related portions of the Senate GOP bill, such as provisions that would impact provider taxes that help fund the low-income health insurance program and increase a fund for rural hospitals. Vance was also present during the meetings. "The President from day one has been our best closer, and he's going to continue to be through today," said House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Trump's involvement in the discussions. Some signs soon emerged that critics were starting to come around. Rep. Ralph Norman, who previously lambasted the Senate bill and said he would vote against it, sounded slightly more positive after the meeting. "I can't tell you I'm a yes, I can't tell you I'm a no," the South Carolina Republican told reporters. "The meeting was very helpful." Hours later, Norman voted yes on the rule vote and signaled that he would also vote in favor of the bill. "We found out things that are going to happen, which will affect the whole country in a good way," he said. But several sticking points remained. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a key GOP holdout who did not cast his vote on the rule before midnight, said earlier Wednesday that he was still trying to go through the bill and understand a number of the Senate's changes to Medicaid provisions before deciding how to vote. "I will note that I have now gotten a little bit more information on some of the Medicaid stuff that I feel like it's a little bit better than I originally anticipated," he said in a Fox Newsinterview. "But I still have concerns." Write toNik Popli atnik.popli@time.com.

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July 02, 2025

The House GOP Holdouts Stalling Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

The House GOP Holdouts Stalling Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R, La.) is surrounded by securit...

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Stateless Palestinian woman released from ICE custody after 5 months

Stateless Palestinian woman released from ICE custody after 5 months

Ward Sakeik -- a stateless Palestinian woman who wasdetained on her way back from her honeymoon-- has been released from ICE detention nearly five months after her arrest, her husband confirmed to ABC News. Sakeik, whose husband is a U.S. citizen, was arrested at the St. Thomas Airport in the U.S. Virgin Islands in February. "The Trump administration's brazenly unconstitutional attempt to deport this young woman in violation of a federal court order should shock the conscience of every American. Had we not intervened, she may very well be in a foreign country right now, separated from her family like so many others illegally deported to third countries," Eric Lee, Sakeik's attorney, said in a statement Wednesday. MORE: Newlywed bride's honeymoon ends with months of ICE detention and the prospect of deportation Asked by ABC News for comment egarding Sakeik's release, a Department of Homeland Security official said in an email, "Following her American husband and her filing the appropriate legal applications for her to remain in the country and become a legal permanent resident, she was released from ICE custody." The government had attempted to deport Sakeik twice -- the first time reportedly to Israel just hours before it launched its attack on Iran in June. Thesecond attempt to deport hercame despite a federal judge ordering that she remain in the northern district of Texas and not be removed from the U.S. The government and its attorneys told her husband, Taahir Shaikh, and Sakeik's lawyers that the attempt to deport her earlier this week was "an honest mistake," according to Shaikh. On Tuesday evening, Shaikh received a call from his wife asking him to pick her up from the Texas detention facility where she was being held. "I'm just completely confused. And she says, 'An ICE officer just came to me and said he's going to serve me papers for my release.' And I told her, 'I don't believe it,'" Shaikh told ABC News. "The ICE officer spoke directly with our legal team, and about four hours later, I was able to go pick her up directly from Prairieland Detention Center -- just me by myself, and at 9:30 at night, she ran directly into my arms," Shaikh said. Sakeik's family is from Gaza, but she is legally stateless and has lived in the U.S. since she was 8 years old. Her family had traveled to the U.S. on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, according to Shaikh. MORE: Government attempts to deport stateless Palestinian woman again despite court order Sakeik was issued a deportation order more than a decade ago after her asylum case was denied, but she was permitted to stay in the U.S. under what's known as an "order of supervision," in which she was given a work permit and regularly checks in with federal immigration authorities, according to her attorney and her husband. The first stage of Sakeik's green card application was approved while she was being detained, Shaikh said. "Now that we have that first part of the green card application already approved, all we need to do is work on reopening her immigration case, and once that order of deportation is lifted, she has a clear path to a green card," Shaikh said. After nearly five months in detention, an ICE officer told Sakeik that she would not be re-detained but there will be future commitments for her to show up either in immigration courts or immigration check ins, Shaikh said. "I'm not saying that that is justice served, because five months of detention for a woman who never committed a crime, there is no justice served by, you know, announcing her discretionary release, but it's a good step in the right direction," Shaikh said. Shaikh said his wife's release was a shock after the government had refused her release at every stage of her detention. "Whoever it was that made the call probably saw just how many mistakes the people on the ground were making with my wife, and they probably felt like they dug themselves way too deep to where they knew they couldn't afford to make another mistake. And before they allowed that mistake to happen, someone made a call to say, 'We're going to grant this release,'" Shaikh said. Shaikh also pointed to the media attention his wife's case had garnered. In statement about Sakeik's detention shared with ABC News previously, DHS said Sakeik was not detained as part of a targeted operation by ICE. "She chose to leave the country and was then flagged by [Customs and Border Patrol] trying to reenter the U.S.," Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in an initial statement. When ABC News asked if the government's stance was that travel to the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory, constitutes someone choosing to "leave the country," DHS provided an updated statement. "She chose to fly over international waters and outside the U.S. customs zone and was then flagged by CBP trying to reenter the continental U.S.," McLaughlin said in a second statement. "She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade," McLaughlin said in the statement. "President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S." DHS did not acknowledge the judge's order barring Sakeik's removal from Texas or that she was previously under an order of supervision.

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July 02, 2025

Stateless Palestinian woman released from ICE custody after 5 months

Stateless Palestinian woman released from ICE custody after 5 months Ward Sakeik -- a stateless Palestinian woman who wasdetained on her way...

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleges "psychological torture" at Salvadoran prison

Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleges "psychological torture" at Salvadoran prison

Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the man whose mistaken deportation by the Trump administration has fueleda monthslong legal saga— alleged Wednesday that he faced "psychological torture" and "severe beatings" after he was sent to a supermax prison in El Salvador earlier this year. The new allegations emerged in alegal filingby attorneys for Abrego Garcia in Maryland federal court, seeking to amend his lawsuit against the Trump administration over his deportation. Abrego Garcia was flown back to the United States in early June — months after a Maryland judge ordered his return — andpromptly chargedwith human smuggling in Tennessee, but his attorneys say they're concerned he could be deported again. Abrego Garcia's lawyers havepreviously describedhis more than three-week stint at El Salvador'sTerrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, as "torture." But Wednesday's court filing offers new allegations of his "severe mistreatment," which Abrego Garcia says included "severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture." He says he lost 31 pounds during his time in prison. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was part of a groupof more than250 Venezuelan and Salvadoran men who weredeportedfrom the U.S. to El Salvador and held in CECOT in mid-March. Shortly after his arrival at the Salvadoran mega-prison, an official there said, "Welcome to CECOT. Whoever enters here doesn't leave," the court filing alleges. The filing states prison staff then forced Abrego Garcia to strip and change into a uniform, kicked him to make him hurry up, shaved his head and marched him to a cell while hitting him with batons — leaving him with "visible bruises and lumps all over his body." Abrego Garcia says he was kept in a crowded, windowless cell with metal bunks and lights that remained on for 24 hours a day. In one case, Abrego Garcia and his cellmates were allegedly forced to kneel for nine hours, and were struck if they fell down. After more than three weeks, Abrego Garcia says he was transferred to a different area and was "photographed with mattresses and better food" in what he believed to be staged images. Abrego Garcia was eventually transferred to a different prison in early April, but he says he was still denied contact with his attorneys or family members. Early on during his time at CECOT, Abrego Garcia says prison staff sorted a group of inmates based on whether they had gang tattoos but acknowledged that wasn't the case for him, saying, "Your tattoos are fine." The Trump administration has alleged in the past that Abrego Garciahas tattooslinking him to the gang MS-13, which his lawyers have strongly denied. Separately, Wednesday's court filing says U.S. immigration agents falsely told Abrego Garcia after his March arrest that he would be allowed to see a judge. Prior to his removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia said he "repeatedly requested judicial review," but officials responded by "deliberately misleading" him, according to the court filing. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: "This illegal alien is an MS-13 gang member, alleged human trafficker, and a domestic abuser. The media's sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal gang member has completely fallen apart, yet they continue to peddle his sob story. We hear far too much about gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims." Abrego Garcia has denied membership in MS-13. His wifesought and received a temporary protective orderin 2021 after alleging domestic abuse, but the case was dismissed after she didn't appear at a hearing. She said earlier this year she "acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar," and decided not to move forward with the process because they "were able to work through this situation privately as a family." CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. Abrego Garcia's lawyers ask for his return to Maryland Wednesday's amended lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to declare the Trump administration's actions unconstitutional and order Abrego Garcia's immediate return to Maryland. The suit also asks Xinis to reinstate a 2019 order that allowed Abrego Garcia to remain out of custody as long as he checks in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement regularly. He is currently being held in pretrial detention in Tennessee. Xinishas not ruled onAgrego Garcia's lawyers' request to file the amended lawsuit, which would update an earlier suit that led Xinis and theSupreme Courtto order the government to "facilitate" his return to the U.S. That original lawsuit — filed in March — hinged partly on a 2019 court order barring Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador. The government said he was sent there anyway due to an "administrative error." Meanwhile, the Trump administrationasked Xinis last monthto dismiss Abrego Garcia's lawsuit as moot, arguing he has already received the relief he requested because the government took "extraordinary steps" to return him to the U.S. The administration says Abrego Garcia — who entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 — has "no right to remain in the United States." A hearing in Xinis' courtroom isscheduled for Monday. Abrego Garcia is separatelyfacing criminal smuggling chargesin Tennessee, with federal prosecutors alleging he worked to transport undocumented migrants from Texas to other parts of the U.S. for years. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty. A judge in NashvilleorderedAbrego Garcia to be released ahead of trial last month, but his attorneysaskedthat he remain in custody, citing fears the Trump administration could detain and deport him on immigration grounds as soon as he leaves jail. A Justice Department lawyersaidin Xinis' courtroom last week that once Abrego Garcia is released from detention, Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to begin removal proceedings to send him to an unspecified "third country" other than El Salvador. The Justice Department maintains there are "no imminent plans" to deport him. A Tennessee magistrate judge ruled Monday that Abrego Garcia will stay in custody until at least mid-July. Seven still missing after fireworks warehouse explosion in California Piece of plane found in North Carolina driveway may belong to Delta flight Puget Sound orca pod threatened by salmon decline

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July 02, 2025

Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleges "psychological torture" at Salvadoran prison

Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleges "psychological torture" at Salvadoran prison Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the man whose mistaken deportatio...

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