by Matthew Holloway | Dec 14, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) is renewing his push to dismantle the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, doubling down on efforts he began earlier in the year by urging Congress to terminate the program outright rather than merely condemning employers who use it.
In a Dec. 11 op-ed published by the Daily Signal, Gosar argued that OPT has evolved into an unauthorized guest-worker system that disadvantages American graduates while rewarding corporations that favor foreign labor over U.S. workers.
In his op-ed, Gosar wrote that OPT was created “by bureaucratic fiat in 1992,” later “radically expanded” by the Obama administration, which he argued did so without congressional authorization. He argued that the program has since grown into what he described as a de facto guest-worker system. The congressman described OPT as “a massive, unauthorized foreign guest-worker pipeline to operate outside the law, undercut American students, and expose our nation to significant economic and national-security risks.”
The renewed call follows Gosar’s September criticism of major corporations and institutions for exploiting OPT to hire foreign workers at lower cost. In that earlier statement, Gosar accused businesses of favoring foreign workers over Americans by using the program to avoid payroll taxes and to undercut wages, a charge he now says requires legislative correction rather than corporate shame alone.
At the time he wrote in a post to X, “OPT incentivizes greedy businesses to fire Americans & replace them with inexpensive foreign labor by avoiding having to pay FICA and Medicare payroll taxes and other employee benefits. My bill, HR 2315, would terminate the OPT Program.”
OPT allows foreign students on F-1 visas to work in the United States for up to 12 months after graduation, with an additional 24-month extension available for STEM graduates. Unlike H-1B visas, OPT is not capped by Congress, and many F-1 OPT participants are generally exempt from FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes for a period under federal tax residency rules, creating a cost advantage for employers in many cases.
Gosar argues the structure incentivizes companies to bypass American workers while skirting congressional limits on employment-based visas. In his op-ed, he described OPT as a “shadow substitute for the H-1B visa program” that has expanded through executive action over multiple administrations.
He wrote, in part, “Why would we invite foreign students from strategic competitors to work inside America’s most sensitive research, technology, and defense sectors—often without meaningful oversight? Why would we maintain an unregulated guest-worker pipeline that Congress never approved? And why would we subsidize it with taxpayer dollars? The answer is simple: We shouldn’t.”
Gosar explained that the program incentivizes corporations to favor foreign workers by exempting OPT participants from payroll taxes, a structure he argues disadvantages American graduates entering the workforce.
To address the issue, he is calling on Congress to pass his March 2025 legislation, the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act (HR2315), which would permanently end the OPT program and prohibit future executive-branch work-authorization programs without explicit congressional approval.
The congressman framed the issue as both an economic and constitutional concern, arguing that immigration and labor policy should be set by lawmakers rather than federal agencies. He also cited national-security risks tied to insufficient oversight of foreign nationals working in sensitive industries under OPT.
In a post to X on Dec. 12, Texas Congressman Chip Roy’s office announced his support for Gosar’s efforts, writing, “Rep. Roy is proud to join @RepGosar in ending the fraud-ridden Optional Practical Training (OPT) program that displaces American tech workers and undermines our national security. Let’s get it done.”
Supporters of OPT, including universities and business groups, argue that the program helps fill workforce shortages and makes U.S. schools more competitive in attracting international students. Critics counter that the program’s scale, which has grown to hundreds of thousands of participants annually, distorts labor markets and suppresses wages for entry-level American workers. Department of Homeland Security Data shows that 194,554 OPT students had employment authorization documentation and employer information filed in 2024.
Gosar’s latest push signals a renewed legislative challenge, placing OPT squarely in the ongoing national debate over immigration, workforce policy, and executive authority.
Whether Congress will act on the proposal remains uncertain. Still, Gosar’s redoubled effort suggests the issue is unlikely to fade as lawmakers consider broader immigration and labor reforms in the coming year.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Ethan Faverino | Nov 3, 2025 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
Republican lawmakers, backed by President Donald Trump and prominent allies including Elon Musk, are escalating efforts to impeach Chief Judge James Boasberg, citing a pattern of rulings they allege usurp executive authority, exhibit political bias, and endanger national security.
The campaign gained fresh momentum on October 30, 2025, when Representative Eli Crane (AZ-02) weighed in on Senator Mike Lee’s tweet, “Should Judge Boasberg be removed from office?”
Crane fired back, “Here’s the real question, @basedmikelee: Why hasn’t it happened already?”
Boasberg, elevated to Chief Judge in March 2023 after his 2011 appointment to the bench by President Barack Obama, has become a focal point in GOP frustration during Trump’s second term, as he keeps getting assigned Trump cases.
Republican lawmakers label him an “activist judge” whose decisions repeatedly obstruct administration priorities on immigration, national security, and government efficiency.
In March 2025, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), along with 22 cosponsors, including Arizona Representatives Eli Crane (AZ-02), Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), and Paul Gosar (AZ-09), introduced H.Res.229, impeaching Boasberg for “high crimes and misdemeanors” under a single article titled “Abuse of Power.”
The resolution accuses the judge of violating his oath by substituting his judgment for the President’s under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and interfering with executive orders.
Specific charges include:
- Issuing a March 2025 temporary restraining order halting the deportation of hundreds of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members—designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization—without due process.
- Ordering mid-flight aircraft carrying deportees to El Salvador to turn around, despite a subsequent Supreme Court ruling permitting the Act’s use with mandated judicial review.
- Initiating contempt proceedings against administration officials for “willful disregard” of his order, actions Republicans called a “constitutional crisis” that jeopardizes public safety.
Newly disclosed FBI documents, released in October 2025, revealed that Boasberg approved covert subpoenas for phone records of nine Republican senators during the Justice Department’s January 6 investigation. The orders barred carriers like AT&T from notifying targets, citing “reasonable grounds” they might tamper with evidence. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), among those targeted, denounced the move as a “weaponized legal system.”
Affected senators also include Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).
On October 30, Cruz urged the House to impeach Boasberg and seek federal sanctions, stating, “If a judge signs an order reaching a factual conclusion for which there is zero evidence whatsoever, that judge is abusing his power.”
Lawmakers allege the broader probe—conducted under former special counsel Jack Smith—targeted up to 156 Republican lawmakers, conservatives, and organizations at significant taxpayer expense.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 30, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Newly obtained evidence reveals the pornographic and violent past of a Democratic leader in Tucson.
The posts, advocating for the harming and murdering of his political opponents and promotion of his pornography, came from Rocque Anthony Perez: an appointed Tucson City Council member (Ward 5) and, until joining the council in recent months, an executive director for Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva’s Metropolitan Education Commission (MEC) nonprofit.
MEC advises and makes recommendations on K-12 education for Tucson as well as all of Pima County.
The California Globe published copies of since-deleted social media posts they received as a reflection of Perez’s recent past as a creator and disseminator of pornography, and an advocate of political violence.
In addition to the trove obtained by the Globe, AZ Free News recovered archived posts by Perez detailing his consistent advocacy for the harming and murdering of his political opponents.
The incriminating posts recovered occurred under two accounts: “@rocqueperez” and “@localanthony.” From the former, Perez posted his controversial political posts, and from the latter, Perez posted his pornographic posts.
From 2019 to 2020, Perez had served as Student Body Senator at the University of Arizona. He also led Tucson’s Pride Festival in 2019.
Throughout 2020, Perez advocated for the assault and murder of his political opponents.
In a June 2020 post, Perez told a friend to murder his conservative family members after the friend complained that living with them was unbearable.
“So kill them, do your duty baby girl,” said Perez.
In July 2020, Perez retweeted a picture of Ivanka Trump posing with a can of Goya beans with the following caption:
“Someone throw this b***h off the capitol building roof please,” said Perez.
Perez asked for someone to assault conservative activist and pundit Kaitlin Bennett in a January 2020 post.
“How has she not gotten beat yet? Like… hath no one the bravery to literally hurt her cause…?” said Perez.
“Roses are red, violets are blue, vote for Joe Biden, or I’ll cut you,” posted Perez in one post, with a picture of him pointing scissors at the camera.
“This vapid white girl is defending Trump[’s] response to COVID in my Zoom public relations class, do I end her or do I end her,” said Perez.
Perez expressed his hope, multiple times, that President Donald Trump would contract COVID-19 and die.
“PLEASE give Trump the Coronavirus please lordt, he is an at risk PLEASE,” posted Perez in March 2020.
In October, when then-President Donald Trump announced that he and then-First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, Perez advocated for the president’s death.
“Take his life baby! Get him!” said Perez.
“Honestly I would take one for the team and knock him out if I could,” said Perez in a repost of a July post from Trump.
In an August 2020 post, Perez made a post about how he and the purportedly haunted Annabelle doll (who, at the time, was the subject of a viral rumor of having escaped the museum housing it) should kill the president.
“Annabelle escaped and I’m like, hey bb girl we got some people you should meet, don’t be shy, go say hell [knife emoji],” said Perez.
In July 2020, Perez expressed hope that COVID-19 would infect and eliminate multiple elderly Republican voters and members of the Arizona Republican Party leadership, including then-chair Kelli Ward, then-Sen. Martha McSally, and Rep. Paul Gosar.
“A lot of old white people in one place, it’d be a shame if [COVID] got em,” said Perez.
In March 2021, Perez asked in a post on X whether he should fight then-Governor Doug Ducey.
“Just saw Doug Ducey, do I square up or do I square up,” posted Perez.
Under his @localanthony handle, Perez posted pornographic videos and pictures to promote his Only Fans account.
Despite his numerous posts advocating for harm and death to his political opponents and his publicized OnlyFans content, Perez maintained his post as the public relations lead, then marketing and communications strategist for the University of Arizona, his alma mater. He would maintain that latter job through 2022 before joining Arizona State University as their communications manager.
ASU hired him, though Perez posted “F**k Arizona State University Bro” on his page in early January 2020.
Perez’s term on the Tucson City Council ends in December.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Oct 27, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ02) led a bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers in sending a letter to the National Park Service (NPS) last week, requesting $28.36 million to upgrade aging water infrastructure serving Page and surrounding communities.
The funding, sought under the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), would rehabilitate systems managed by Page Utility Enterprises (PUE) that supply water to Page, nearby Navajo Nation areas, and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Cosigners on the letter addressed to Acting NPS Director Jessica Bowron included Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Greg Stanton (D-AZ).
In a post to X, Crane wrote, “Despite the ongoing shutdown, my team and I remain focused on #AZ02. Yesterday, we urged @NatlParkService to help upgrade the water delivery system serving Page and nearby communities that serve as a gateway to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.”
The current aging infrastructure, over 60 years old, includes a 12-inch intake pipeline through Glen Canyon Dam that is undersized and vulnerable to fluctuations in Lake Powell’s water levels, according to the letter. Peak seasonal demand often exceeds capacity, and if lake levels drop below the intake level, PUE could lose the ability to deliver water to customers.
Recent wildfires, including the Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires, have burned thousands of acres in northern Arizona, further straining the drought-impacted region and highlighting the need for long-term solutions, the lawmakers wrote.
The proposed project would involve installing a new water intake and pump station on the south side of Lake Powell, along with an 18-inch replacement pipeline. This would double daily delivery capacity from 3.3 million gallons to 6.6 million gallons.
The GAOA, enacted in 2020, provides up to $1.3 billion annually through 2025 for public lands infrastructure and recreation access. The representatives noted that the Page project aligns with the program’s goals and should be prioritized if remaining funds are available or if the act is reauthorized.
“I’m proud to lead this bipartisan letter to ensure Page and surrounding communities have reliable water delivery infrastructure,” Crane said in a statement.
“With the Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires devastating the region, we must do more for what is a critical gateway to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I’m grateful to Reps. Stanton, Gosar, and Biggs for joining this effort, and we will continue pushing for a positive outcome.”
The bipartisan letter from the Arizona congressmen emphasized the project’s role in supporting public health, economic stability, and tourism in the region, which relies heavily on the national recreation area.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Oct 24, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
President Donald Trump’s glowing endorsement of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ09) for a safe CD-9 re-election is raising eyebrows in the 2026 Arizona primaries. The president’s move casts a spotlight on the unconfirmed Trump endorsement of AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda’s jump into the toss-up CD-1 race.
“Dr. Paul Gosar has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, hailing the eight-term Congressman as a “fearless Warrior” who’s ridden with him “from the very beginning.”
In full, President Trump wrote:
“Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S., is an America First Patriot, who is doing a fantastic job representing Arizona’s 9th Congressional District!
A MAGA Warrior, who has been with us from the very beginning, Paul is working hard to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Advance American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Support our Brave Military/Veterans, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.
Dr. Paul Gosar has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
The blast on Truth Social, posted on October 21st, lands amid murmurs that Gosar is likely to run unchallenged in his primary, with a recent 2024 margin of 22 points. No real competition has materialized for the incumbent Congressman as of this report. Still, President Trump has rewarded Gosar’s long-term loyalty, creating a solid fundraising basis for him and boosting the congressman’s campaign early on.
Contrast the President’s thunderous endorsement of Dr. Gosar, however, with his apparent radio silence around AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda, despite her announcement of his backing at the launch of her candidacy.
As AZ Free News reported, the Arizona GOP leader vaulted into the open CD-1 race, controversially opting to chase Rep. David Schweikert’s seat in a district that was narrowly won by 3.8 points last cycle, while stating she is not stepping down as AZGOP chair until January. Swoboda publicly announced an endorsement from President Trump upon launching her campaign. However, it has yet to materialize on any of the President’s social media feeds or official campaign statements.
Swoboda shared a quote from the President stating, “Gina will be a tremendous champion… She will never let you down!” Outlets from AZCentral to The Hill ran with the endorsement as gospel.
In full, the quote attributed to President Trump reads, “Gina Swoboda has my complete and total endorsement for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District! Gina will be a tremendous champion for Arizona in Congress. She will never let you down!”
The last post on President Trump’s Truth Social account about Swoboda dates to January 26, 2024, in which he endorsed her for AZGOP Chair.
With no original post or official statement and no proxy quote from a campaign surrogate, online commenters are casting doubt on the validity of the endorsement.
The situation has not been lost on Arizona’s political movers. Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point Action, posted a suggestion on Wednesday that former NFL player Jay Feely, already a declared candidate for Congressional District 5 since April, would be “great to run in CD-1 in Arizona.” Bowyer added, “He’s a great Christian, well-known name in AZ sports & supported by a ton in the business community. President Trump loves him and I think would really like to have both him AND Sheriff Lamb in Congress!”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
