Judge Says ICE Can’t Arrest Criminal Aliens at Courthouses. ICE Reminds Her Who’s in Charge

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Sanctuary states: “How dare you ask us to hold illegal alien child sex offenders caught in our jails! Immigration is a federal issue; don’t waste local law enforcement resources with it.”

ICE: “OK, we will have to do it ourselves and get the illegal alien child sex offenders at the courthouses right before they are released on bond, because that is the last opportunity to ensure they are not needlessly sent back into the communities to re-offend when they can be removed from the country.”

Sanctuary states: “We prohibit the feds from doing enforcement at all, and they will be blocked from our courthouses to ensure the sex offenders are released.”

That is essentially the dialogue that has taken place between ICE and the state of Oregon over the past few months. So much for the excuses of sanctuaries not wanting to get local law enforcement involved in immigration. Now we know it was really all about blocking the feds from doing their job, thereby ensuring that the most dangerous aliens, including sex offenders, are released. Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters issued an order attempting to bar ICE from apprehending illegal aliens at courthouses.

By definition, when ICE grabs illegal alien criminals at courthouses, there is no involvement of state officials. ICE is no longer asking state officials to get involved in immigration at all or even hold the alien for them. Yet Oregon’s liberal state officials want to prohibit the feds from doing one of the core federal jobs.

What will ultimately happen is that more recidivist criminals of foreign countries are going to remain in the communities where local law enforcement police on daily basis. So what began as an argument to preserve resources of local law enforcement will now end with local law enforcement needlessly having to deal with other countries’ criminals constantly reoffending along with American ones.

In July, ICE was forced to arrest Fabian Alberto Zamora-Rodriguez, an illegal alien charged with multiple child sex offenses, at a courthouse in Astoria, Oregon, because local police would not cooperate. The courthouse was the last line of defense between ensuring that other countries’ sex offenders are removed and having a dangerous child predator released back into the community.

More recently, in Washington state, which is just as bad on immigration as Oregon, an illegal alien who had at least 10 prior arrests in the Seattle area was picked up on murder charges. Julio Cruz-Velazquez, a citizen of Mexico who is in the United States illegally and is now charged with murdering a father of five as he lay asleep in his own home, had a rap sheet that included recent arrests for rape, domestic abuse, assault, burglary, drunk driving, and robbery. Each time, he was let back on the streets. The courthouses are the only place to nab these people before they post bail, especially in this era of criminal justice “reform.”

“Local law enforcement failed the public in this case on multiple occasions,” said Nathalie Asher, Seattle field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). “Prior to Julio Cruz-Velazquez’s most recent arrest for murder, ICE lodged detainers on him twice. Had those detainers been honored, or had ICE been notified on any of the other multiple occasions he was arrested and released from local jails, we would have taken him into custody. Regrettably, politics continues to prevail over public safety. The detainers were ignored and Cruz-Velazquez was released to the street.”

Now, this judge in Oregon wants to ensure that no foreign rapist or murderer is kept off the streets.

Fortunately, in this situation, the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution renders Judge Walters’ order just a public tantrum. A law enforcement operation to enforce a valid federal law can be executed anywhere. States can thumb their noses at federal immigration enforcement the same way I can. In other words, they can’t. It is quite literally for this very case that James Madison explained in Federalist #42 that the federal power over naturalization solved “a very serious embarrassment” and “defect” of the Articles of Confederation whereby “certain descriptions of aliens, who had rendered themselves obnoxious” can force themselves on several states had they “acquired the character of citizens under the laws of another State.”

We all agree to strong state powers over education, housing, and local governance, but states have no right to harbor those who trespassed upon the whole of the union before entering that state.

If the DHS and DOJ choose to run away from this fight and allow this neo-confederate version of secession to take root, they will have nobody to blame but themselves. States are wrongly crushed by the feds on almost every local policy. Are we to believe that suddenly, when it comes to the most federal policy imaginable, states are all-powerful and can thwart federal agents?

The Trump administration should coordinate ICE operations with the U.S. Marshals under the Department of Justice and have them arrest any state official violating federal law and interfering with the execution of those laws, as they would when any private citizen who does the same.

For its part, ICE made it clear it would go on offense. “Despite attempts to prevent ICE officers from doing their jobs, ICE will continue to carry out its mission to uphold public safety and enforce immigration law, and consider carefully whether to refer those who obstruct our lawful enforcement efforts for criminal prosecution,” said ICE in a statement on Thursday.

When Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, merely wanted to uphold both state and federal law by maintaining marriage as between one man and one woman, ratified by 75 percent of state voters, she was thrown in jail. We were told that the federal judiciary is such a juggernaut, it can trump federal law in addition to state laws, even though Anthony Kennedy himself wrote in the Windsor case just two years before, “The states, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, possessed full power over the subject of marriage and divorce.”

Are we suddenly going to believe that a state judge can now thumb her nose at the most foundational sovereignty laws that all agree are exclusively controlled by the federal government?

If imprisonment was deemed the proper response to Kim Davis upholding what rightfully belongs to the states, it sure as heck is the proper remedy for Oregon Justice Martha Walters violating what rightfully belongs to the feds. (For more from the author of “Judge Says ICE Can’t Arrest Criminal Aliens at Courthouses. ICE Reminds Her Who’s in Charge” please click HERE)

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President Trump’s Physician Releases Statement On His Recent Medical Examination

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President Donald Trump’s physician released a statement on the president’s health on Monday night after the president made a previously unannounced visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last week, which sparked conspiracy theories from some in the media.

“This past Saturday afternoon the President traveled up to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a routine, planned interim checkup as part of the regular, primary preventative care he receives throughout the year. Due to scheduling uncertainties, the trip was kept off the record,” Sean P. Conley, D.O., wrote in memo. “After a little more than an hour of examination, labs and discussions, the President took a brief tour of the hospital to visit with some of the medical staff as well as speak with the family of a soldier undergoing surgery, after which he returned home to the White House. Despite some of the speculation, the President has not any chest pain, nor was he evaluated or treated for any urgent or acute issues. Specifically, he did not undergo any specialized cardiac or neurologic evaluations.”

Conley continued, “A full summary of his labs and exam will be incorporated into next year’s report, but the President has consented to me sharing that his total cholesterol is now 165 (mg/dL), with an HDL of 70, an LDL of 84 and a non-HDL of 95.”

“Primary preventative medical care is something that occurs continuously throughout the year, it is not just a single annual event,” Conley concluded. “As such, I will continue to monitor the President’s health, planning on a more comprehensive examination after the New Year.”

(Read more from “President Trump’s Physician Releases Statement on His Recent Medical Examination” HERE)

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Poll Reveals a New 2020 Front-Runner

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Remember this poll we analyzed last week? It wasn’t a fluke. One of the most respected public opinion surveys in Iowa now shows South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg bouncing out to a clear lead in the Hawkeye State, roughly two-and-a-half months out from the first in the nation presidential caucuses. Monmouth showed Mayor Pete with a small edge, within the margin of error. Then this one dropped over the weekend:

. . .Nobody has really taken any shots at Buttigieg during the campaign, aside from the recently-departed Beto O’Rourke (who apparently doesn’t think too hard about messages on hats before he puts them on). That’s going to change. We’ve heard some whinging and griping on background about his nerdy know-it-all-ism, but he’s mostly operated in an attack-free zone. I suspect we’ll start hearing more about his inexperience managing anything beyond a small city, some of the racial flare-ups in that city, and the seemingly calculated shifts in his political image — from ‘progressive’ to ‘moderate.’ Meanwhile, he hasn’t been afraid to throw a few sharp elbows, especially at Elizabeth Warren, on the issue of healthcare. Warren has shifted her single-payer policy in recent days, rolling out a tweaked plan that would extend the transition period, delaying the coercive outlawing of private insurance (which she still supports). Buttigieg, who’s been harping on her proposal for weeks, pounced:

(Read more from “Poll Reveals a New 2020 Front-Runner” HERE)

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Mike Pompeo Just Reversed A Major Obama Administration Policy on Israel

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced from the State Department Monday afternoon that the United States will no longer condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank, citing inconsistencies in previous policy and international law on the issue.

“The Trump Administration is reversing the Obama Administration’s approach toward Israeli settlements. U.S. public statements on settlement activities in the West Bank have been inconsistent over decades. In 1978, the Carter Administration categorically concluded that Israel’s establishment of civilian settlements was inconsistent with international law. However, in 1981, President Reagan disagreed with that conclusion, and stated that he didn’t believe the settlements were inherently illegal,” Pompeo said in his prepared remarks. “Subsequent Administrations recognized that unrestrained settlement activity could be an obstacle to peace, but they wisely and prudently recognized that dwelling on legal positions didn’t advance peace. However, in December 2016, the Obama Administration, through Secretary Kerry, changed decades of this careful, bipartisan approach by publicly re-affirming the supposed illegality of settlements.” (Read more from “Mike Pompeo Just Reversed A Major Obama Administration Policy on Israel” HERE)

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He Who Denied It: Eric Swalwell Denies Emitting Massive Fart on Live Interview (VIDEO)

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Democrats’ efforts to impeach President Donald Trump are going over with the public like a juicy, wet fart.

Seriously. Such wind was broken live on MSNBC on Monday night on the eve of the Democrats’ next round of impeachment hearings on Tuesday, where a Democrat Congressman helping lead the charge for impeachment was being interviewed by a network host. Then, mid-interview, a loud fart broke out on air.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) denied Monday evening that it was he who ripped the massive fart live on MSNBC during an interview with Chris Matthews on Hardball.

Meanwhile, Matthews and MSNBC remain silent on whether they are owning up to the blast of flatulence that interrupted the top Democrat’s argument backing House Democrats’ push for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

During the video, as the fart was being ripped, Swalwell pauses and appears to smirk as he says, “The evidence is un-contradicted that the president used taxpayer dollars…”:

(Read more from “He Who Denied It: Eric Swalwell Denies Emitting Massive Fart on Live Interview” HERE)

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REVEALED: Leaked Focus Group Results Reveal Democrats’ Impeachment Messaging Plans, Weak Legal Case

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By The Blaze. . .As political observers noticed this week, the Democrats have a new messaging strategy in their impeachment inquiry of President Trump: accuse him of “bribery” in his dealings with Ukraine.

The shift came after focus groups in battleground states by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed that voters were less receptive to the Latin legal term “quid pro quo” (which means this for that) than to charges of “bribery.” The latter, according to sources familiar with the focus group results, is likelier to persuade swing voters, said National Review.

As the Washington Post points out, House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) was the first to announce Democrats’ intentions to retire “quid pro quo” during an appearance on “Meet the Press” last week where he said “it’s probably best not to use Latin words” when describing the administration’s negotiations with Ukrainian officials.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi subsequently began accusing Trump of “bribery” during a press conference on Thursday. “Talking Latin around here: E pluribus unum — from many, one. Quid pro quo — bribery. And that is in the Constitution, attached to the impeachment proceedings,” she said.

As Pelosi noted, a likely reason why Democrats have replaced quid pro quo with “bribery” is that the latter is one of only two crimes cited in the Constitution as an impeachable offense. Article II of the Constitution states that the president “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” (Read ore from “Revealed: Leaked Focus Group Results Reveal Democrats’ Impeachment Messaging Plans, Weak Legal Case” HERE)

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Democrats Invite Trump to Testify in Impeachment Inquiry

By AP. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited President Donald Trump to testify in front of investigators in the House impeachment inquiry ahead of a week that will see several key witnesses appear publicly.

Pushing back against accusations from the president that the process has been stacked against him, Pelosi said Trump is welcome to appear or answer questions in writing, if he chooses.

“If he has information that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame, then we look forward to seeing it,” she said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Trump “could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants,” she said. (Read more from “Democrats Invite Trump to Testify in Impeachment Inquiry” HERE)

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Google Reportedly Manipulates Its Search Results Way More Than It Wants You to Believe

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As an antitrust investigation led by state attorneys general expands from advertising to take a closer look at Google’s search practices, which we told you about on Thursday, the results of a newspaper investigation published on Friday may add even more fuel to that fire. Specifically, it’s a report that probes all the ways the search giant manipulates the results that you see — in ways that contradict Google’s insistence that it doesn’t tip the scales — and takes a closer look at blacklists and ways that Google favors big businesses over small ones in search results, among other tweaks the company’s engineers make behind the scenes.

The investigation was published by The Wall Street Journal and based on more than 100 interviews, as well as what the Journal said was its own testing of Google Search. The findings are likely to provide more ammunition for critics such as those on the right who believe the company lets left-leaning political bias influence its search results, as well as small businesses that don’t rank as highly as companies like eBay and Amazon.

Among the findings, even though Google says in a company blog post that “We do not use human curation to collect or arrange the results on a page,” the Journal implies the company does exactly that. Often in response to pressure from governments worldwide, businesses, or a variety of interest groups.

According to the Journal’s sources, Google has also manipulated its search algorithms to favor big businesses — and that in at least one instance, did so to favor eBay, a major Google advertiser. (Read more from “Google Reportedly Manipulates Its Search Results Way More Than It Wants You to Believe” HERE)

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Trump Labels Top Pence Aide a ‘Never Trumper’

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President Donald Trump on Sunday labeled one of his vice president’s top national security aides a “Never Trumper,” a day after it was disclosed that she had said the president’s July call with Ukraine was “unusual and inappropriate” in a deposition to Congress.

Trump tweeted that the aide, Jennifer Williams — “whoever that is,” he said — should read the transcripts of both his calls with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine: the July 25 call at the center of the impeachment inquiry, as well as an initial April 21 call that the White House released a summary of Friday. . .

The April conversation between Trump and Zelensky included no mention of an investigation into the Bidens, serving more as a congratulatory call for the Ukrainian leader’s election victory. However, it also did not mention Ukrainian corruption, even though a White House readout of the call issued back in April said the two presidents discussed “reforms that strengthen democracy, increase prosperity, and root out corruption.”

Williams, who began working for the State Department during the George W. Bush administration, serves as Pence’s special adviser for Europe and Russia. She told House investigators in early November that she took notes while listening to the July 25 call from the White House Situation Room, and she believed that Trump’s request to Ukraine was politically motivated. Williams is scheduled to testify on Tuesday before the House Intelligence Committee. (Read more from “Trump Labels Top Pence Aide a ‘Never Trumper'” HERE)

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Hunter Takes Down 17-Point Buck After Tracking It for 6 Years

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After spending six years tracking and watching the animal grow, a hunter finally put down a massive buck. . .

David Miller first spotted the animal in 2013, the West Virginia Gazette-Mail reported. Miller and his friends had leased a piece of property in Mingo County, West Virginia, and would notice the impressive animal on a network of game cameras they had set up.

“The funny thing about that buck was that in the six years I followed him, I only ever saw him one time in the daylight,” Miller told the Gazette-Mail. “All the pictures we had of him were at night. He had learned early on how to avoid hunters.” . . .

After noticing that the animal seemed to be avoiding certain areas, Miller set up a camera where he thought the buck might be avoiding hunters. After the camera made a rare daytime spotting of the animal, Miller went to work, bringing a bow and arrow with him. . .

“I caught a movement at one of the scrapes,” Miller told the Gazette-Mail. “The old buck had slipped in. He lowered his head to go under a branch, and I could see it was him. He stepped out into the open about 18 yards away. When his head went behind a tree, I shot him.” (Read more from “Hunter Takes Down 17-Point Buck After Tracking It for 6 Years” HERE)

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Michigan County Seized Retiree’s Home Over $8 Debt

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In August 2011, Uri Rafaeli bought a three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot home in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich., for $60,000. He converted the fixer-upper into a rental property.

Two-and-a-half years later – and at the time unbeknownst to the retired engineer – Oakland County seized his property, put it up for auction and sold the house for $24,500. All this, after a mistake in calculating his property taxes left Rafaeli’s account delinquent by just $8.41. Oakland County ended up keeping all of the $24,500 from the sale, while Rafaeli, now 83, was left without the home and the income he made from renting it.

Rafaeli’s stunning case, which is at the heart of a legal battle currently being considered before Michigan’s Supreme Court, is an extreme example. Yet it is hardly unique: more than 100,000 homeowners in the state have fallen victim to an aggressive property tax law that legislators in Lansing passed two decades ago. Similar statutes have been passed in more than a dozen other states. . .

At the core of Martin’s argument is a clause in the Fifth Amendment, which states that the government cannot take a citizen’s private property for public use, “without just compensation.” In the case before the Michigan Supreme Court, Martin argued that Oakland County has violated both the state and U.S. constitutions under the Takings Clause by seizing and selling Rafaeli’s property and then failing to recoup him any of the money made from the sale.

Martin added that even if the county had paid Rafaeli the extra $24, 491.59 that it made from the sale of his property, that money still pales in comparison to what the retired engineer really lost given that he paid $60,000 for the house, pumped thousands more into fixing it up and has lost years of rent he could have collected were the property still in his possession. (Read more from “Michigan County Seized Retiree’s Home Over $8 Debt” HERE)

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