Proving yet again how dangerous the American southern border is for the migrants making the journey, members of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations UH-60 aircrew made two separate rescues of groups of individuals this past weekend.
Earlier this week, CBP announced that five illegal aliens had been rescued in the Peloncillo Mountain range in the Tucson Border Sector on Friday and Saturday. This range is near the Arizona-New Mexico border. On Friday, three migrants were evacuated from the range after they had suffered from heat exhaustion. The responding aircrew was initially flagged by Douglas Station Horse Patrol Agents. On Sunday, two additional individuals were rescued by the aircrew, and the Douglas Horse Patrol Unit assisted seven other migrants to safety.
“Our aircrews are trained and capable of rapidly shifting from operational missions to humanitarian roles,” stated Jessie Scruggs, Director of Air and Marine Operations, Tucson Air Branch. “These two incidents represent what our aircrews are called to assist agents on the ground who encounter the growing number of migrants who become distressed by the unrelentless conditions they are placed in by callous smugglers.”
According to the press release from CBP, enforcement actions from CBP’s Air and Marine Operations during Fiscal Year 2023 “resulted in 1,004 arrests and 89,909 apprehensions of undocumented individuals, as well as the seizure or disruption of 256,883 pounds of cocaine, 2,049 pounds of fentanyl, 4,050 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,200 weapons, and $15.3 million.”
There are approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel who serve in CBP’s Air and Marine Operations.
Illegal aliens making their way to the United States encounter many dangers along the way, including from the extreme climates along the southern border and the abuse from the cartels and smugglers who profit from their travels. Very vulnerable children are also subject to these journeys – several of whom are forced back and forth across the border to help adult migrants exploit loopholes in U.S. immigration policies.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Congress’s Joint Economic Committee (JEC) warned that the Biden administration’s economic policies have caused an unsustainable debt crisis and historic inflation.
This assessment was announced formally earlier this week by JEC Vice Chairman and Congressman for Arizona’s first district, David Schweikert, through the 160-page Republican Response to the Council of Economic Advisers’ 2024 Economic Report of the President.
Schweikert stated in a press release that 2024 serves as a “critical juncture” for the nation’s fiscal health, one that transcends political parties.
“The challenge before us is neither Republican nor Democrat — it is our moral obligation to ensure American families aren’t left behind. Congress holds the keys to determine which path we choose,” said Schweikert. “We can either behave like adults and choose the path of fiscal responsibility or continue our partisan gamesmanship that will put the American dream further out of reach for future generations.”
Schweikert said that the problems and proposed solutions put forth by the JEC report were inherently bipartisan, focusing on common-ground economy boosters like a healthier population and secure social safety net programs.
“Those of us on the Republican side, we built a report that offered actual moral, great economic solutions instead of the election year rhetoric.”
— Joint Economic Committee Republicans (@JECRepublicans) June 21, 2024
The JEC assessed that the Biden administration’s demand-side policies financed by increased borrowing have placed unsustainable pressure on constrained supply. As a result, JEC predicted that debt-to-GDP would grow from 99 percent to 116 percent by 2034, with interest costs rising. JEC noted that the labor force participation rates haven’t recovered to prepandemic levels; historic mortgage payments for new homebuyers, the highest in 30 years; constraints on budding American industries due to new restrictions on trade; and the cost of clean energy subsidies amounting to $1.2 trillion over 10 years, despite emissions from electricity production declining.
Further exacerbation of the economy comes from an aging population, declining fertility rates, and decreased prime-age labor force participation among men, per the JEC. The aging population is anticipated to drive Social Security spending to 6 percent of GDP by 2035, an increase from the present 5.2 percent and the 1970s at 3.1 percent, though no major expansions have occurred in over 20 years. The JEC reported that one in nine prime-age men remain out of the labor force; if just 25 percent of those entered, the economy would grow by $215 billion.
JEC disputed the Biden administration’s belief that increased taxes of wealthier individuals would amount to their desired revenue, a dwarfed amount of around 1.1 to 2 percent of GDP compared to future deficits. JEC stressed that only reduction in spending would improve fiscal consolidation.
Another demographic with an outsized impact on the economy, according to the JEC, is the rapid increase in obesity. Excess medical expenditures are anticipated to amount to over $9 trillion, as well as federal government spending of over $4 trillion within the next decade. Labor productivity and supply reductions impacted by obesity are projected to cost nearly $3 trillion and $12 trillion, respectively.
As for a positive solution to the nation’s current and looming fiscal woes, JEC indicated that artificial intelligence could grow the economy and improve government efficiency.
JEC also issued a lengthy assessment of the Congressional Budget Office’s revised budget and economic projections for the next decade. This included a $400 billion increase in projected FY2024 deficit, with about 80 percent of the increase coming from President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation failing to recover payments from 2023 bank failures quickly, new legislation, and higher than expected Medicaid outlays.
CBO recently released its updated budget and economic projections for 2024-2034 from the original forecast in February 2024. Below are some key takeaways from the revised estimates 🧵
— Joint Economic Committee Republicans (@JECRepublicans) June 19, 2024
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A Republican member of the Arizona Legislature is sounding the alarm after the release of a shocking revelation tied to the southern border.
Earlier this month, national media reported that eight suspected terrorists were arrested in major U.S. cities. The aliens, who were Tajikistan nationals, were apprehended in New York City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia by ICE and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Bill Melugin, a Fox News journalist, shared that he was “told all 8 crossed the southern border illegally, received ‘full vetting’, and had no initial derogatory information that flagged.” He noted that “derogatory info/potential national security concerns flagged later on – apparently after release into the U.S.”
BREAKING: Per federal source familiar, ICE, in conjunction w/ the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, arrested 8 Tajikistan nationals w/ suspected ISIS ties in NYC, LA, and Philly in recent days. I'm told all 8 crossed the southern border illegally, received "full vetting", and had…
Arizona State Senator Frank Carroll reacted to the stunning news, writing, “A recent Fox News report revealed eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were caught by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in three major cities across America. These terrorists crossed the border illegally and were processed then released into our country without being flagged. Luckily, we were able to catch them later on, but eventually, our luck WILL run out! Clearly, our vetting process is not very efficient, and that’s for the people who we actually processed! This doesn’t include the millions of gotaways who’ve entered our country illegally and were never caught. How many more terrorists will we allow in before we wake up to the reality of what’s really going on?
Carroll added, “Thankfully, Republicans get it. That’s why we’re sending the Secure the Border Act to the November ballot. It will help prevent these violent terrorists and criminals from entering our country. The threat to our safety as Arizonans and Americans is at an all-time high!”
The FBI and DHS issued a joint statement to Fox News about the news, stating, “Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment. The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security.”
Melugin later called attention to an earlier interview with an illegal alien from Turkey, who told the media how American citizens should be “worried” about the state of their border security and the individuals who are making their way into the homeland from all parts of the world.
Seems like a good time to highlight what this Turkish man told us again regarding security concerns at the border. https://t.co/0rNEcazHw3
A massive new ad-buy released by State Solutions, Inc., a company connected to the Republican Governor’s Association, has placed Governor Katie Hobbs under a microscope urging her and her office to cooperate with the criminal investigation of her ongoing pay-to-play scandal with Sunshine Residential Homes, Inc. The new ad campaign represents a six-figure investment to pressure Hobbs to clean up corruption in Phoenix.
In a press release from State Solutions, spokesman Ryan Koopmans explained, “Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and Katie Hobbs’ administration is up in flames. “This pay-to-play scandal is so brazen, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched a criminal investigation. Arizonans deserve answers, and Katie Hobbs needs to cooperate, not dodge questions.”
The ad explains, “Three days after a state agency denied a contractor’s request to charge taxpayers higher rates, a donation appeared: One hundred thousand dollars from the same company… into a slush fund controlled by Governor Katie Hobbs. Within months the Hobbs administration reversed course, approving the request for more taxpayer money. Pay-to-play so brazen, Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched a criminal investigation. Tell Hobbs to cooperate — and cut the corruption..”
The ad, in video and audio formats, is already hammering the Arizona airwaves and digital spaces.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Hobbs has been implicated in an alleged “pay-to-play” corruption scheme with Sunshine Residential Homes (formerly Sunshine Group Homes), a major donor to her inaugural fund and the Arizona Democratic Party which enjoyed a major increase in contract rates from the Arizona Department of Child Services (DCS) shortly after the donations. The rates received by Sunshine Residential Homes was almost sixty percent according to an Arizona Republicreport.
Even more blatantly, CEO and founder, Simon Kottoor, of Sunshine Residential Homes and his wife, Elizabeth, were even appointed to Hobbs’ inauguration committee.
Hobbs’ refutations via spokesman Christian Slater impugned the accusations as unsubstantiated attacks from ““radical and partisan legislators,” adding, “Governor Hobbs is a social worker who has been a champion for Arizona families and kids. It is outrageous to suggest her administration would not do what’s right for children in foster care.”
These protestations have widely fallen flat though with Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes sparring with Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell over their office’s dueling investigations. As reported by The New York Post, Treasurer Kimberly Yee, a Republican, urged Mayes to stand down after she asserted she has jurisdiction over any investigations.
“As the Treasurer of Arizona, I am responsible for overseeing, safekeeping, and managing the State of Arizona’s securities and investments, which are duties I take seriously. Arizona taxpayers need financial accountability and deserve to know how their money is being spent,” Treasurer Yee told the Post. “Providing state dollars to political donors is a grave misuse of public funds. ‘Pay to play’ and special favors have no place in state government.”
“I have requested a separate investigation to be conducted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office,” Yee said. “The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has separate jurisdiction in this matter and the current investigation by the Attorney General’s Office raises concerns of potential ethical conflicts of interest in representing state agencies and officials involved in the alleged scheme.”
In a respone, Mayes wrote, “As with any other investigation our office conducts, we will follow the facts wherever they lead us. As with everything else we do, we are also fully cognizant of our ethical obligations and have taken appropriate measures to protect the interests of all concerned, including directing the Department of Child Services to obtain outside counsel in this matter.”
As of this report, it appears that the calls for Hobbs to submit and cooperate with investigators are not only coming from political action campaigns but also from within her own cabinet, and her own party.
Governor Katie Hobbs, who bedecked the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower with the Progress Pride Flag to mark Pride Month, has chosen to also mark the month by vetoing SB 1511. The bill would have required fair treatment for one of the most marginalized groups of all: those who suffer from gender transitions and now seek to reverse the damage, known as ‘de-transitioners.’
Arizona Senator and Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Janae Shamp (R-Surprise) proposed the “Detransitioner Bill of Rights” in February, which would guarantee an equality of care and medical coverage for those seeking to reverse so-called ‘gender affirming’ care. On February 22, it was passed by the Senate, and on June 12 was sent to Hobbs after passage in the House. The governor issued her veto six days later with the comment: “This bill is unnecessary and would create a privacy risk for patients,” and no further explanation.
According to Greg Scott, the Vice President of Policy at the Center for Arizona Policy, the bill was a “simple ‘good faith’ bill that levels the health care playing field for a vulnerable population of Arizonans and takes the politics out of medicine and insurance coverage.” In an Op-Ed for the AZ Capitol Times, Scott added, “The purpose of SB 1511 is not to pronounce judgment about the merits or the dangers of gender transition. And it doesn’t. Rather, it does what a law is supposed to do – solve a real problem affecting real people.”
Responding to the veto from Hobbs, Sen. Shamp wrote in a press release, “If doctors are going to block the natural puberty process of children and surgically alter the genitalia of people struggling with gender dysphoria, they must be prepared to undo the damage – as much as possible.”
“And if insurers are going to pay for gender-altering drugs and surgeries, they must also pay for any effort to regain the victim’s God-given identity. My heart goes out to the growing number of people, especially children, who are struggling with their identity and are being pushed into physically altering their bodies as a solution, instead of receiving the mental healthcare they deserve. Shame on Governor Hobbs for sending a message that the institutions tasked with protecting their health and wellbeing have turned their backs on them.”
🚨 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hobbs Marks "Pride Month" by Denying Necessary Medical Treatment for Growing Number of Detransitioners
Shamp added, “I’m fighting for equal treatment for people like Chloe Cole, who traveled to the Capitol from out of state to share her heartbreaking experience of the irreversible damage and regret from attempting to transition into the opposite sex,” said Senator Shamp. “As a child who was confused with her gender identity, she was given puberty blockers and underwent a double mastectomy. She has since detransitioned and struggles with the severe damage left behind. It’s unfathomable that we consider mutilating an undeveloped child’s body as “healthcare,” but what’s even more horrifying is the fact that we deny them access to care when they go on to suffer the mental and physical consequences.”
WATCH:
Speaking to a press conference on February 1, Cole told reporters, “Everything that I went through did nothing to address the underlying mental health issues I had. My doctors, with their gender theories, thought all my troubles would go away as soon as I was transformed into something that vaguely resembled a boy. Their theories were wrong. I now have two giant scars across my chest that remind me every day that I was butchered by the institutions that we all thought we could trust. The drugs and surgeries changed my body, but they did not and could not change the undeniable reality that I am, and forever will be, a female.”
According to the release, SB 1511 would have “required insurers and providers of gender-altering drugs and surgeries to also provide and cover detransition procedures. This bill would have held health care providers and insurance companies accountable for the damage they cause by prescribing off-label drugs and experimenting on children and adults with irreversible surgeries.”
When asked by AZ Free News if she intends to reintroduce SB 1511 or another bill like it, Shamp said, “Absolutely. This legislation will continue until there is coverage for detransitioners.”
“Will it be run again?” she continued. “Absolutely. It might actually get more robust to include more informed consent with patients who are transitioning. Patients need to know that insurance companies will not cover detransition.”
A measure to potentially reform Arizona’s judicial retention system is heading to the November General Election ballot.
Last Wednesday, the Arizona Legislature passed SCR 1044, which is another ballot referral for state voters to consider in the all-important election this fall. If passed, the measure would “constitutionally replace term limits for Arizona Supreme Court justices, intermediate appellate court and superior court judges with terms of good behavior and outline conditions that require a vote of retention for a justice or judge; [and would] require an intermediate appellate court judge who is subject to a vote of retention to be elected on a statewide basis” – according to the purpose statement from the Arizona State Senate.
The Arizona House of Representatives approved the measure with a 31-29 vote, sending the proposal back to the Senate since it was amended. The Arizona Senate then concurred with the changes with a 16-10 vote (with four members not voting).
The Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus “X” account championed the passage of this measure, posting, “Democrats HATE when judges respect the justice system by accurately interpreting our laws, and as a result, they want to punish these judges for doing so when their rulings go against radical Left ideologies. Today, all Senate Democrats voted ‘NO’ on protecting ethical judges and want to allow bad actors to continue to fly under the radar within our justice system.”
🚨JUST IN- Democrats HATE when judges respect the justice system by accurately interpreting our laws, and as a result, they want to punish these judges for doing so when their rulings go against radical Left ideologies.
Legislative Democrats and progressive interest groups were very vocal in their opposition of the measure. Senator Priya Sundareshan said, “This ballot referral would be a fundamental reworking of our judicial retention system in fact it would move us away from a retention process towards lifetime appointments.”
Senator @priya4az explains the dangers of SCR1044 and the power it will strip away from voters. #azleg
➡️ “This ballot referral would be a fundamental reworking of our judicial retention system in fact it would move us away from a retention process towards lifetime… pic.twitter.com/SmFghgp1TS
— Arizona Senate Democrats (@AZSenateDems) June 14, 2024
Representative Analise Ortiz added, “SCR 1044 would take away my right and the right of my constituents who want to vote not to retain those judges who approved the 1864 total abortion ban. It says your voice doesn’t matter, we are throwing out your vote. That’s what authoritarianism looks like, and it’s terrifying.”
“SCR1044 would take away my right and the right of my constituents who want to vote not to retain those judges who approved the 1864 total abortion ban. It says your voice doesn’t matter, we are throwing out your vote. That’s what authoritarianism looks like, and it’s… pic.twitter.com/q8DtiFJb2l
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) June 12, 2024
Many Democrats and their allied organizations pointed to Republicans’ motivations being the protection of two Arizona Supreme Court justices, who voted in favor of the legal standing of the state’s longtime abortion ban earlier this year. These justices, Kathryn King and Clint Bolick, are up for retention on the November General Election ballot this year.
Last month, Bolick wrote an opinion piece for The Arizona Republic on the dangers of weaponizing the judicial retention system over controversial decisions from courts. He wrote, “Justice O’Connor warned of the danger that ‘a retention election will be infected with issue-based politics.’ That is exactly what is happening, placing her precious legacy in grave jeopardy. In our state, the people have the ultimate lawmaking power, including the ability to overturn our decisions. But we cannot afford to have conscientious judges voted out for unpopular decisions.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
