There has likely never been a more tendentious transfer of power in presidential history than the Biden-Harris team’s final act. They salted the ground by allocating billions of unspent COVID funds to George Soros and other radical left-wing groups.
Out of spite, they sold the border wall at giveaway prices. They tied down policy preventing offshore oil drilling, granted Social Security benefits to previously ineligible government employees, defied the Supreme Court to forgive student loans, and were uncooperative in relinquishing the VP residence.
Yet by far the most consequential crisis they unleashed is the massive number of illegal aliens now embedded within our borders. Many Americans were astonished to see our leadership not only ignore American immigration law but actively work for its violation.
Now we know for certain their claims that they needed more funding and legislation were made-up excuses. Their successors have reduced daily crossings to near-zero without the benefit of either.
Their attempted deceptions fooled some but not all. As public outcry grew, they doggedly persisted, willing to take the heat in order to transform America’s future electorate.
Worse, they succeeded. No reliable statistics are available for the getaways, unlawful crossings or total new “guests,” but most estimates are in the range of 20 million illegally within our borders.
Many sanctimonious Americans claim these lawbreakers should be allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons since they’re just “seeking a better life” or “fleeing persecution” in the case of the mostly bogus asylum seekers. But when a busload of “victims” was delivered to the left-wing enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, they were speedily transported elsewhere within a day.
That’s understandable, hypocrisy aside. These are not your grandfather’s immigrants, who wanted to be contributing Americans and often endured generations of hardship to assimilate, learn the language, and become self-supporting.
Today’s illegal immigrants are rewarded for wading the Rio Grande by becoming entitled wards of the state. They are fed, sheltered, and transported around the country. They are housed, sometimes in luxury hotels, and introduced by helpful NGOs to benefits like health care, education, and permanent food programs.
No serious consideration was given to the prospect that immigrants or their proxies would bear financial responsibility for all these goods and services. Thus, jurisdictions like New York City are feeling the pinch of what amounts to a sudden, dramatic expansion in their welfare roles, forcing out existing programs.
Trump made the resolution of this threat a major feature of his election campaign by vowing to close our borders and deport millions of illegal immigrants. To his credit, he has made a sincere effort, reducing breaches of the border from 130,000 monthly last April to a mere trickle today.
But reversing the inflow has proved more problematic. As of recently, relying almost solely on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove illegals has resulted in a total of 65,000 deportations. Those with criminal records have commendably been prioritized, but at the rate so far achieved, we would deport only 1 million, or about 5%, of those who are eligible, in four years.
Trump often prefers confrontation to resolve conflicts, but there’s a better way, using incentives and voluntary self-removal. Immigrants are attracted to America primarily by work and welfare. If those magnets could be eliminated, immigrants would eventually self-deport.
The welfare piece is relatively simple logistically. There is no coherent reason to grant benefits to those who intentionally defy our laws and take advantage of our generosity.
Government welfare benefits to illegals should be phased out immediately. Moreover, their home countries would benefit from having their working age citizens return.
Jobs are more complicated. E-Verify is the federal system for assuring that illegal immigrants don’t take American jobs, but it has not worked well, partly due to lack of cooperation from employers who frankly prefer foreign nationals who are compliant and work for less.
To prevent a future glut of unskilled, unneeded workers, President Trump must work with Congress to make E-Verify the enforceable law of the land. Like the border itself, it is simply a matter of having the will to make it happen. Lettuce may cost a bit more, but the vegetables will still get picked.
Dr. Thomas Patterson, former Chairman of the Goldwater Institute, is a retired emergency physician. He served as an Arizona State senator for 10 years in the 1990s, and as Majority Leader from 93-96. He is the author of Arizona’s original charter schools bill.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed a Republican-sponsored immigration enforcement bill, drawing sharp criticism from Senator John Kavanagh and other GOP lawmakers who say the legislation was a necessary step toward protecting public safety.
SB 1610, introduced by Kavanagh, would have required county detention facilities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities by providing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with access to information about non-citizen individuals arrested for certain serious crimes, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, burglary, and offenses resulting in serious bodily injury or death.
Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill, saying it would have undermined trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement and could have led to racial profiling. Hobbs has previously said that Arizona should not be in the business of enforcing federal immigration law — a view aligned with many Democrats who argue that local entanglement in immigration enforcement can have unintended legal and social consequences.
Senator Kavanagh sharply disagreed, framing the veto as a dereliction of duty.
“Hobbs continues to give her veto stamp more attention than the citizens she’s required to protect,” Kavanagh said in a statement. “People are fed up with the massive tsunami of dangerous criminals who have entered this country illegally.”
He added that the bill was a way to align Arizona with federal deportation efforts and referenced the recent Laken Riley Act, a congressional proposal with bipartisan support that also centers on deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.
The bill comes at a time when immigration remains a political issue in Arizona, a border state that has long wrestled with foreign nationals attempting to enter illegally into the U.S. Republican lawmakers have increasingly advocated for state-level legislation to fill what they see as gaps in federal immigration enforcement. Democrats, however, claim that such bills often cast too wide a net and risk violating constitutional protections.
Governor Hobbs has issued more than 100 vetoes since taking office in 2023 — a record-setting pace that reflects the divided government in Arizona, where Republicans control the Legislature and Democrats hold the governor’s office.
With the latest veto, the clash between state lawmakers and the governor over immigration policy is likely to continue into the next legislative session and could become a focal point in upcoming elections.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
On Monday night, hundreds of protesters organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation took to the streets of Phoenix. They marched against the mass deportation policy of the Trump administration in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on Central Avenue and the Capitol Museum.
The demonstrators blocked traffic and paraded with obscene signs and Mexican flags. The protests, which included several distinct marches throughout the city, were part of a “Day Without Immigrants,” opposed to the enforcement of U.S. immigration law. AZ Central reported that several incidents of reckless driving near a protest at 43rd Avenue and McDowell Road were observed with at least one person detained by Arizona State Troopers after fireworks were set off in the street. The radical leftist group posted to Instagram on Sunday, “Join us tomorrow to stand against the attacks on our communities. We refuse to let ICE tear apart our families and terrorize our people. Arizona says NO to raids, NO to deportations, NO to family separation!”
AZCentral noted that, among the signs visible, some read: “Families belong together” and “Donald Trump is a racist to all nations,” as well as “No more ICE,” “Don’t bite the hands that feed you,” “We speak for those that can’t” and “Mexicans Aren’t Going Anywhere.”
AZ: decenas de personas se manifiestan justo frente a las instalaciones de ICE en el centro de Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/1f7bQWbrcB
Metro Light Rail service was impacted by the protestors taking over the intersection as they approached Monterey Park, as reported by Arizona Family. ABC15 reported that the intersection was later closed by Phoenix Police responding to “reckless and unsafe” activity there.
Arizona Senator Wendy Rogers posted video of the march in front of the Capitol Museum, referring the gathering to ICE writing, “Hey @ICEgov! Right now. One-stop shop our in front of the @azcapitolmuseum”
Independent journalist ‘The Stu Studio’ posted a video of protestors to X chanting “Chinga La Migra!” which roughly translates to “F**k the Border Patrol,” in front of the ICE field office in Phoenix.
BREAKING: In Arizona, radical protesters have gathered outside the ICE Phoenix Field Office and are chanting the Spanish equivalent of "Fuck the Border Patrol." (Chinga La Migra)
A Phoenix Police Spokesman Sgt. Robert Scherer told AZCentral that Phoenix PD was notified of the protest in advance and had officers monitoring the situation. “The Phoenix Police Department respects the rights of all community members to peacefully express their first amendment rights,” he said in a statement.
“To ensure the safety of our community, resources were organized, and we began to monitor activity related to this event,” said Scherer. “This included working with our partners with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.”
A violent anti-immigration enforcement protest rapidly devolved into a violent riot on Sunday in Glendale near the intersection of 67th Avenue and Camelback Road.
The riot became “violent and unruly” according to Glendale Police with an estimated 1,000+ people crowding the intersection, shutting down traffic, and even stealing a Glendale PD SUV and driving it a short distance before ditching it.
Pro foreign invasion "protesters" steal police vehicle as part of their "protest" in Glendale Arizona…
"Glendale police say more than 1,000 people gathered near 67th Avenue and Camelback Road Sunday in protest of the Trump Administration’s new immigration policies" -ABC15… pic.twitter.com/WfiuXhojuO
In a statement reported by AZFamily, a Glendale Police spokesman wrote, “Both Glendale PD and Phoenix PD were already in place with the purpose of ensuring the safety of protestors, commuters, nearby businesses/property, and officers.”
As reported by KTAR, the event was planned far beforehand and officers of both Glendale and Phoenix PD were already deployed to ensure the safety and orderliness of the scheduled protest at about 5 pm. The protest went forward peacefully along the sidewalks for the first couple of hours. However, by 7:30 pm, with over 1,000 people spilling into the roadway, events took a destructive turn with rioters igniting fireworks and becoming violent with officers hurling rocks, concrete pieces, and glass bottles at them. They were described as “behaving unruly and defiant towards officers.”
KTAR released footage from two Glendale PD vehicle cameras in a post to X.com, showing a rioter jumping onto a vehicle with at least one officer inside and stomping the windshield in.
Glendale Police released footage of two of their patrol vehicles being damaged during the protest on Sunday evening. pic.twitter.com/p2JEvIavLp
By 10:16 pm the outlet reported that Glendale PD closed traffic to the area and employed crowd control tactics to “disperse the unlawful assembly.” Officials said “various chemical agents” were deployed by officers and the intersection was cleared in approximately twenty minutes.
As reported by AZFamily, five marked Police SUVs were damaged by the rioters with windshields and windows shattered, tires slashed, hoods and body panels dented. One of the police SUVs was even briefly stolen and driven a short distance before the would-be thief abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. 12News obtained video footage of the brief theft and posted it to YouTube.
Local businesses also suffered damage as did several civilian vehicles, and a storage container near a business was set on fire.
The Glendale Arizona FOP Lodge posted a video to X writing, “Law Enforcement in this country is going to need some prayers. Last night, our officers were attacked by a mob. They targeted our vehicles. And they targeted area businesses and civilian vehicles also. This was no peaceful protest. But they held the line. You all know what we’re in for. Keep praying. Good prevails.”
Law Enforcement in this country is going to need some prayers.
Last night, our officers were attacked by a mob. They targeted our vehicles. And they targeted area businesses and civilian vehicles also.
This was no peaceful protest. But they held the line.
Over 7,300 illegal aliens have been deported in President Donald Trump’s first week in office, per the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS published this latest dataset on Monday. Following Trump’s inauguration, DHS and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began posting daily updates with immigration enforcement totals.
DHS reported that among these 7,300 apprehensions were “hundreds of convicted criminals” for crimes such as sexual assault and rape, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault and battery, drugs and weapons offenses, domestic violence, suspected terrorism, firearms trafficking, kidnapping, vehicular manslaughter, driving while impaired, and possession of an illegal substance.
This latest update follows the Senate’s confirmation of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last Saturday as Trump’s DHS secretary.
“Ensuring Americans’ safety and securing the border is President Trump’s and Secretary Noem’s top priority,” stated DHS.
DHS also reported that their novel implementation of deportation flights returned many of these detained illegal aliens to Mexico, Jordan, Brazil, and El Salvador.
In the first week of the Trump Administration, we have fulfilled President Trump's promise to the American people to arrest and deport violent criminals illegally in the country. In one week, law enforcement officials have removed and returned 7,300 illegal aliens. pic.twitter.com/JKZYMD0f00
In remarks made Monday during the House GOP’s annual Congressional Institute conference, Trump declared his administration’s use of military planes for deportations marked a historic approach to U.S. immigration enforcement.
“For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came — and made clear to every country they will be taking back their people,” said Trump.
Per data provided by ICE in their daily enforcement updates, as of Monday there were over 3,500 arrests and 2,650 detainers lodged since Trump took office.
Under Trump, immigration and law enforcement officials have also begun “enhanced targeted operations” on major hotspots for illegal aliens. On Sunday, ICE announced a partnership on such an operation with the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP, and Marshals Service to enforce immigration law in Chicago, Illinois.
“For the record: targeted enforcement operations are planned arrests of known criminal aliens who threaten national security or public safety,” stated ICE.
Chicago considers itself a “sanctuary city.” Chicago and other cities which adopted this status are now under investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, per a letter sent to local leaders on Monday. Other sanctuary cities named in that letter were New York City, New York; Denver, Colorado; and Boston, Massachusetts.
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) January 26, 2025
Although Phoenix declined years ago to declare itself a sanctuary city officially, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego maintains a position similar to those maintained by sanctuary city leaders. Last November, in the weeks following Trump’s election, Gallego declared that no city resources would be used for mass deportation efforts.
“I can say without equivocation that as long as I’m mayor, Phoenix will not use its police department—or any city resources whatsoever—to assist in mass deportation efforts by the Trump Administration,” said Gallego in a statement to Arizona’s Family.
Phoenix Police Department policy set years ago requires sergeant approval prior to contacting ICE.
Reportedly, Phoenix city leaders plan to meet privately for legal advice on the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The Department of Justice issued a three-page memo last week directing U.S. attorneys to investigate any state and local officials who refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands or requests,” read the memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
The Trump administration put in a workaround to these refusals by major cities on immigration enforcement. Several days after Trump’s inauguration, then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued an internal memo granting immigration enforcement authority to law enforcement agents throughout various agencies, as reported exclusively by The Wall Street Journal.
Days later, the Phoenix office of the DEA announced its partnership with the DOJ and DHS in carrying out illegal alien apprehensions. Like its federal peers, the Phoenix DEA has taken to posting about their work with greater frequency since their Sunday announcement of a federal partnership.
Like Phoenix city leadership, Tucson’s city leaders vowed in a press release to not participate in any federal immigration enforcement efforts.
In his first week in office, Trump’s administration also ended the CBP One app enabling illegal entry into the border, and repealed ex-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ memo limiting ICE agents.
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