ICE Union Officers to Trump: ‘”Catch and Release” Is Not Just Happening, It’s in Overdrive’

In a letter sent to President Donald Trump on Monday, ICE officers said they still have to catch and release illegal aliens into the U.S. because they don’t have the resources they need — and that they are forced to waste man-hours on a border enforcement shell game.

First reported by the Washington Times and signed by National ICE Council president Chris Crane and other union leaders, the letter details that the situation currently at the border doesn’t reflect the president’s promises to get tough on illegal immigration.

“As you know, every day thousands of illegal aliens are being released into the United States by your Administration,” reads a copy of the letter obtained by Blaze Media. “‘Catch and Release’ is not just happening, it’s in overdrive. Catch and release must continue as ICE doesn’t have sufficient custody space to hold the massive number of family units illegally entering the United States every day.”

The letter then goes onto describe a work arrangement inside the Department of Homeland Security in which ICE officers are being told to perform duties related to the ongoing catch-and-release policy in order to keep Customs and Border Protection personnel from doing it.

“So ridiculous is the combined DHS, CBP and ICE policy, that Border Patrol Agents and contractors are prohibited from opening the doors of Border Patrol detention vans after transporting immigration detainees to a location for release,” the letter claims. “The Border Patrol transports the detainees for release, but ICE Officers must follow in a separate vehicle for the sole purpose of opening the doors of the van upon reaching the destination so the detainees can exit the vehicle.”

As a result of this arrangement, the officers claim, ICE personnel are being pulled from working on other agency duties like combatting terrorism and hunting down fugitives: “Hundreds of man hours are wasted each day at a time of crisis on the border when the focus of our leadership should be streamlining efforts and eliminating redundant and unnecessary work.”

“DHS resources on the border are overwhelmed,” the letter says.

“Political games in Washington, DC have rendered the United States completely incapable of controlling its southern border. While agencies like ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cannot control the agendas of political leaders, they have a responsibility to properly manage our resources, under the hand we’ve been dealt, in a manner that best provides for enforcement generally, and first and foremost public safety. That isn’t happening.”

Indeed, contrary to President Trump’s calls to end catch-and-release, illegal immigrants are still being released into the American interior after being apprehended by U.S. immigration authorities. For example, late last week, the Arizona Republic reported that around 50 or more illegal immigrants were dropped off at a Phoenix-area bus stop, overwhelming volunteers.

Last week, CR’s Daniel Horowitz explained the relationship between continued catch-and-release policies and February’s record illegal immigration numbers. Additionally, Reuters reports, current asylum policies have made existing sections of border fencing a magnet for would be border-crossers, rather than a deterrent.

“Again, as there is no custody space, the hundreds to thousands apprehended each day by CBP must be released to charitable organizations that facilitate their travel to locations throughout the U.S.,” the first section of the letter concludes. “In a nutshell, this is ‘Catch and Release.’ And this is where the utter nonsense begins.”

At time of publishing, the Department of Homeland Security had not responded to Blaze Media’s request for comment. (For more from the author of “ICE Union Officers to Trump: ‘”Catch and Release” Is Not Just Happening, It’s in Overdrive'” please click HERE)

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The Roots of Ilhan Omar’s Extremism and Anti-Semitism

Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitism and Islamic supremacism are very likely a product of her upbringing and an accompanying U.S. policy failure on assimilation.

In her native Somalia, Omar grew up in a completely Judenrein (free of Jews) country. Many in the region have come to rely upon and promulgate anti-Jewish mysticism, folklore, and conspiracy theories, in addition to Islamic fundamentalist teachings to come to their conclusions about Jews. In much of the Middle East and North Africa, the Jews are to blame for all of one’s struggles in life. And this actually has very little to do with the State of Israel. Anti-Jewish sentiment has remained consistent in the Islamic world for centuries.

Abe Greenwald described the anti-Jewish folklore that permeates the Islamic world in an article for Commentary magazine earlier this year. “In the Greater Middle East, from which Omar’s family hails, conspiracy theory is the coin of the realm, and much self-inflicted grief is blamed on dark Jewish magic,” Greenwald wrote in January, in reacting to Omar’s earlier anti-Semitic comments.

In recent years, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) conducted a global anti-Semitism survey. Throughout most of the Islamic world, anti-Semitism remained overwhelming, widespread, and consistent. However, Somalia was not included in the anti-Semitism survey, possibly for safety reasons, as it is largely a failed state.

The values of Somalia are as far removed from American values as you can get. In Somalia, Islam is the only acceptable religion. Everyone must be a Muslim or be prepared to face tremendous consequences for “insulting Islam.” This is something that Rep. Omar appears to have no issue with, although she rejects a Jewish-based state in the Middle East. Omar remains active in the internal politics of Somalia. She recently endorsed a candidate for president there.

Moreover, blasphemy laws in Somalia maintain that blasphemy of Islam (not accepting Islam as your faith or mocking Islam) is punishable by multiple years in prison, or even a death sentence if necessary. The constitution of Somalia maintains that “Islam is the religion of the State,” adding that “No religion other than Islam can be propagated in the country.”

These restrictions in the Somali constitution are completely antithetical to the Western values that we hold so dear in the United States. Yet when Somali refugees make their way to the United States, it appears that for the most part, the Somali values system remains intact.

See, for example, this investigative video from filmmaker Ami Horowitz on the Somali community in Minnesota:

It has become quite clear that too many in the Somali community in Rep. Omar’s district have failed to adopt Western values. It’s certainly legitimate to ask whether it’s ever a good idea to import individuals whose values and customs are so foreign to Western values. Logic may tell us that these refugees may find a more accommodating home elsewhere in the Islamic world. But legislators and past presidents who have imported these communities en masse have also imposed U.S. policies that have worsened the issue. These policies allow the pooling together of refugee communities, essentially encouraging them not to assimilate.

And these U.S. sanctuary policies, coupled with broken immigration and refugee policies, have turned Somali refugee communities, particularly the one in Ilhan Omar’s district, into Islamic terrorism recruitment havens.

Somali refugees in Ilhan Omar’s Minnesota district have become the terrorist recruitment capital of the United States. As ISIS came to power, dozens of Somalis left Minnesota to link up with the Islamic terrorist groups. But long before ISIS, others in Omar’s district routinely hopped on the next flight out to join al Shabaab- and al Qaeda-linked groups in Africa.

We cannot ignore the alarming statistics from Rep. Omar’s district. “FBI stats show 45 Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined. And as of 2018, a dozen more had been arrested with the intention of leaving to support ISIS,” Fox News reported in February.

Given what we know about Ilhan Omar, we should not at be at all surprised when we continue to hear about her Islamic supremacist connections and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Omar is an unassimilated refugee who has, according to the sums of public evidence in front of us, rejected the American way. And if U.S. policies continue to defer to the customs of the homelands of refugee communities, in addition to entirely ignoring the anti-American customs of migrant communities, we can surely expect to see many more Ilhan Omars join the ranks of Congress. (For more from the author of “The Roots of Ilhan Omar’s Extremism and Anti-Semitism” please click HERE)

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This Video Exposes AOC for the Hypocrite She Truly IS

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hasn’t been in office very long and we’ve all seen right through her. We know she’s a hypocrite. She likes to tout her Socialist ideas that “benefit everyone” and the “community as a whole” but really, she’s talking out of both sides of her mouth. She wants everyone to share their hard earned money but she doesn’t want to share hers. She wants “dark money” out of politics, but only if that money is someone other than hers.

After all, just a few days ago a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint was filed against Ocasio-Cortez, saying her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabart, allegedly created multiple LLCs to funnel campaign contributions from various political action committees (PACs). Of course, the Congresswoman denied the claims, saying there was “no [FEC] violation.”

AOC is such a hypocrite that the Republican National Committee created a video, called “hypAOCrite” (like the pun?) showing just how much of an imposter she truly is. The video features the Congresswoman’s hearing testimony where she talks about the dark money in politics and how politicians hide the skeletons in their closet in order to get elected. As she’s saying the words, news headlines about her alleged FEC violation take over the screen.

(Read more from “This Video Exposes AOC for the Hypocrite She Truly IS” HERE)

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Critics Used This Photo to Try and Prove the Trumps Were in an Unhappy Marriage…but They Missed the Context

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump traveled to Alabama last week in the wake of a series of deadly tornadoes. They toured the devastation and offered what comfort they could to those affected. The natural disaster killed 23 people and destroyed homes for miles. Per usual, however, the media misinterpreted some photos that were produced from the trip.

In one particular picture, the president and Mrs. Trump are looking at something on the ground with pained faces. So, author Molly Jong-Fast, who contributes to The Bulwark, amused herself by joking that the two are in “martial bliss.”

That’s when Donald Trump Jr. reminded the critics that of course they look glum. They are touring a storm-ravaged community. In the supposed “martial bliss” photo that Jong-Fast mocked, they are paying respects at a gravesite.

The Trumps’ trip to Alabama also resurrected another “scandal” that some folks have found reason to peddle. The ladies of “The View” spent some time on Monday analyzing the “fake Melania” conspiracy in which theorists suggest that wasn’t really the first lady by Trump’s side this weekend.

(Read more from “Critics Used This Photo to Try and Prove the Trumps Were in an Unhappy Marriage…but They Missed the Context” HERE)

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2020 Dems Forced to Face Sex Accusations

Several Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls — including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and now Kirsten Gillibrand — are defending their self-professed commitment to the ideals of the #MeToo movement against a series of accusations they recently mismanaged sexual-misconduct claims against their subordinates.

As the three prominent senators each have sought to draw a sharp contrast with President Trump, who has faced his own misconduct allegations, the claims highlighted vulnerabilities that could become major liabilities not only in a heated Democrat Party primary, but also in the general election.

Back in 2017, Gillibrand and others ramped up the pressure for then-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations. He ultimately stepped down.

Gillibrand, who has been described by GQ Magazine as “the face of the MeToo movement,” said at the time that Franken’s alleged conduct had “shocked and disappointed her” and that he should “step aside” because “enough is enough.” But, it emerged on Monday that last summer, an aide in her mid-20’s who was working in Gillibrand’s Senate office also apparently decided that enough was enough, as she resigned in protest over the office’s handling of her sexual-harassment complaint against a senior male adviser to Gillibrand.

“I have offered my resignation because of how poorly the investigation and post-investigation was handled,” the woman, who resigned less than three weeks after reporting the purported harassment, wrote to Gillibrand in a letter obtained by Politico. Gillibrand, responding to the allegations on Monday, said an appropriate investigation was launched — and her office later said the male staffer had been fired after other unreported, “deeply disturbing” comments surfaced. (Read more from “2020 Dems Forced to Face Sex Accusations” HERE)

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Bishop Accused of Sexual Abuse Invited to Private Retreat With Pope Francis

An Argentinean bishop and personal friend of Pope Francis who suddenly resigned and fled his diocese after being accused of the sexual abuse of seminarians and who now holds a high-ranking post in the Vatican, is currently participating in a private spiritual retreat with Pope Francis and other senior Vatican officials, according to an article published today in the Catholic Herald.

The Herald reports that Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, who is the former bishop of Orán, Argentina, is attending the exclusive retreat, which is being conducted for the Pope and 64 members of the Roman Curia by a Benedictine abbot at a retreat center outside of Rome. The retreat began yesterday and is scheduled to last until March 15.

The inclusion of Zanchetta in the retreat follows reports that Vatican officials, apparently including Pope Francis himself, have been aware since 2015 of well-substantiated accusations against Zanchetta of inappropriate conduct with male seminarians, as well as other forms of personal misbehavior on the part of the bishop, including his sharing naked selfies on Whatsapp showing the bishop in a posture of self-abuse.

Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti has denied it was informed of the accusations in 2015, but admits that it has known of them since autumn of last year, when it says an internal investigation was begun of Zanchetta.

In addition, prosecutors in Argentina say they have opened two criminal investigations based on accusations of sexual abuse filed against Zanchetta in the province of Salta, where Zanchetta was a bishop. (Read more from “Bishop Accused of Sexual Abuse Invited to Private Retreat With Pope Francis” HERE)

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Planned Parenthood Sends Woman to the Hospital, Demands Ambulance With ‘No Sirens’

Emergency 911 records recently obtained by Operation Rescue reveal that a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in the Frandor area of Lansing, Michigan, callously ordered an ambulance to run without sirens in an apparent attempt to keep the public from being alerted to a medical emergency that was unfolding inside the abortion business.

The Lansing Planned Parenthood, which is located in a strip mall, dispenses abortion-inducing drugs but does not conduct surgical abortions. It also provides post-abortion follow-up exams.

The call, which took place on March 15, 2018, indicated that a 38-year-old woman had fainted and hit her head hard on the floor. It appeared that the person who placed the 911 call was a bystander, and not on Planned Parenthood’s staff. . .

Before the address of the emergency or the condition of the woman could be given to the 911 dispatcher, the caller was heard saying, “No sirens! They said no sirens.” . . .

“The first thought, even before anything else, was to make sure the ambulance ran without sirens. A woman was laying on the floor dazed and vomiting, but ordering no sirens was Planned Parenthood’s first priority. Silent running is known to delay emergency responders from reaching the scene and getting timely help to the people who need it,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, which documents medical emergencies at abortion facilities. (Read more from “Planned Parenthood Sends Woman to the Hospital, Demands Ambulance With ‘No Sirens'” HERE)

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Federal Court May Reveal Trove of Evidence to the Public in Epstein Sex Trafficking Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is headed towards releasing a trove of evidence in a controversial case involving alleged sex trafficking by billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

The Miami Herald filed the motion to unseal documents related to a settlement made in 2017 by Epstein’s former partner Ghislaine Maxwell and a woman accusing Maxwell of coercing her into a prostitution operation involving Epstein.

“We’re grateful that the court ruled the summary judgment papers are open and they are moving to expedite having them unsealed,” said the Miami Herald’s lawyer Sanford Bohrer.

Epstein agreed to plead guilty to two counts of prostitution under a controversial agreement made in 2008, but numerous other parties were granted immunity from federal prosecution.

The agreement was made under former Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who is now working as the secretary for the Department of Labor in President Donald Trump’s administration.

(Read more from “Federal Court May Reveal Trove of Evidence to the Public in Epstein Sex Trafficking Case” HERE)

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Alyssa Milano, Privileged Actress, Catches Major Liberal Backlash

Alyssa Milano made the ultimate Twitter faux pas over the weekend which saw many social media users mocking the activist actress for her white cisgender privilege. . .

Milano celebrated International Women’s Day on Friday, tweeting support for her “transgender sisters.” . . .

While the tweet in itself was fairly innocuous, her response to a fellow social media user’s question caused slightly more controversy. . .

One social media user called Milano out for her “gross” and “condescending” response. Another explained that they felt Milano was benefiting from white privilege to be able to make such a remark. . .

Another social media user wrote, “[I]t’s actually not that woke or empowering to others for you to declare yourself a marginalised identity when you aren’t … come on dude.”

(Read more from “Alyssa Milano, Privileged Actress, Catches Major Liberal Backlash” HERE)

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Sarah Sanders Spars With the Press: Ask Democrats Whether or Not They Hate Jews

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders sparred with the press Monday afternoon during a rare briefing at the White House. . .

“Referring to the recent anti-Semitism controversies with Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, Trump told the donors: ‘The Democrats hate Jewish people.'” Axios reported. “Trump said he didn’t understand how any Jew could vote for a Democrat these days. Trump talked about how much he’d done for Israel, noting his historic decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.”

(Read more from “Sarah Sanders Spars With the Press: Ask Democrats Whether or Not They Hate Jews” HERE)

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