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Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Progressive Dem rep faces backlash for calling ICE 'Nazi thugs' while defending MS-13 gang member
A progressive Democratic state representative sparked controversy after referring to ICE agents as "Nazi Gestapo thugs" following an ICE operation in Providence, Rhode Island, that resulted in the arrest of a known MS-13 gang member. "The Nazi Gestapo ICE thugs kidnapped another of our neighbors in Providence this morning. This time on Alverson St.," wrote Rep. Enrique Sanchez in social media posts. "The ICE thugs damaged a couple of residents' cars as well. They think they are above the law. I strongly condemn this act of terror and will be demanding answers and seeking action tomorrow. I am tired of this s**t. Providence doesn't want ICE thugs in our city." The arrest in question was of Ivan Rene Mendoza Meza, a 27-year-old Honduran national illegally present in the U.S. and a self-admitted member of the violent MS-13 gang. ICE sources told Fox News that during the operation, Mendoza attempted to flee, causing a crash by striking ICE vehicles before running into his apartment. He was eventually surrounded and surrendered to agents. Mendoza was seen smirking in his arrest photo, seeming to be unfazed by his capture. Mendoza has a history of criminal activity, including fentanyl trafficking charges in Rhode Island. ICE Boston had previously lodged an immigration detainer against him following those charges in August 2023. However, the 6th District Court of Rhode Island declined to honor the detainer, releasing Mendoza without notifying ICE, forcing agents to locate and arrest him in the community. According to ICE Boston spokesperson James Covington, "Mendoza is a self-admitted member of MS-13 in Honduras and states he has committed crimes on behalf of the gang." ICE spokesperson Emily Covington criticized Sanchez's remarks: "Mr. Sanchez thinks so little of his community that he refers to ruthless MS-13 as his 'neighbors'? What say you, Providence? The only 'thugs' we see are the illegal terrorist gangbangers we are trying to remove from the neighborhoods of Providence." Mendoza originally entered the U.S. illegally near San Ysidro, California, in May 2019 and was quickly returned to Mexico. However, officials say he later re-entered the country unlawfully at an unknown time and place. Sanchez, who has strongly opposed immigration enforcement, taunted ICE agents on Sunday after a farmworker died from injuries sustained from a fall during an immigration enforcement raid on a California cannabis farm. "F*** ICE," Sanchez wrote. "Vallanse a la chingada ICE." "State Representative Enrique Sanchez (D), who was arrested for DUI earlier this year, calls ICE agents "Nazi Gestapo thugs" in an online rant after an MS-13 gang member facing fentanyl charges was arrested with a smile across his face," Libs of TikTok commented on Sanchez's statements. "Just Democrats supporting criminal alien gangs over American citizens." In 2023, Sanchez filed RI H5461, a bill to give illegal immigrants the right to vote in the state. However, the bill was tabled for further study a month after it was introduced.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
A heckler at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit interrupted a speech by President Donald Trump's border czar.
President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan isn't afraid of hecklers. 'Are you a MS-13 member?' a man shouted at Homan during a speech at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit. The man, who was wearing a t-shirt that said 'I identify as ultra MAGA' and a Trump hat, carried a poster of Homan as he was escorted out of the event in Tampa, Florida, to a chorus of boos after shouting during the speech.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump's border czar Tom Homan challenges heckler to a fight during unhinged rant: 'I deserve your respect'
Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan had some strong words for a heckler - and even challenged the protester to a fight. Homan was just about five minutes into his prepared remarks at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida on Saturday night when he was interrupted by a heckler. 'Are you an MS-13 member?' the unidentified protester could be heard shouting out, referring to a notorious Salvadoran gang that has been targeted in the Trump administration's deportation efforts. Homan quickly turned his attention to the man, as he was being led out of the Tampa Convention Center. 'You know what? I'm sick of these a**holes. You want some? Come get some,' the 63-year-old taunted in an unhinged rant. 'I'm tired of it.' 'For the men and women of ICE, I deserve your respect. They're the finest one percent this country has,' he continued, before referring to himself in third-person. 'And Tom Homan isn't going anywhere. Tom Homan isn't shutting up.' At that point, Homan turned his attention back to the audience - as he hit out at the nationwide protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. 'This guy wouldn't know what it's like to serve this nation,' the border czar claimed. 'This guy ain't got the balls to be an ICE officer. He hasn't got the balls to be a border patrol agent,' he continued, as the conservative crowd cheered. 'This guy lives in his mother's basement. The only thing that surprised me is [he] doesn't have purple hair and a nose ring. 'Get out of here, you loser,' he told the protester one more time as he was being escorted out of the auditorium. 'And if you're such a bad***, meet me offstage in 13 minutes and 50 seconds.' But Homan didn't stop there, telling the audience: 'I guarantee you, he sits down to pee.' Much of the rest of his speech also focused on the growing protests against ICE officers across the country, which he said are targeting federal immigration officials on almost a daily basis. He also said he has never before seen 'such hate against the men and women of ICE and in the Border Patrol,' but vowed that agents will not be intimidated because 'we're going to do the job that President Trump gave us to do.' 'If these protesters, these people with purple hair, with a nose ring who live in their parents' basement, who don't work and want to go protest us, or get paid by people if they're going to stop ICE or stop Border Patrol doing their job, they got another thing coming,' Homan claimed. 'Because every time they double down, we're going to triple down.' He then concluded his remarks by vowing: 'Tom Homan is going to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen. 'Take it to the bank.' The comments came just one day after President Trump directed federal law enforcement officials to use 'whatever means necessary' to arrest anyone who throws rocks or other projectiles at ICE agents during immigration raids. The president appeared to be referring to footage of protestors violently clashing with ICE agents during the Thursday raid of a cannabis farm in Camarillo, a city in Southern California. The raid, despite the chaos, resulted in 200 migrant workers being detained. This included some juveniles who authorities say were illegally working on the farm. One Mexican farm worker, Jaime Alanís, died in the hospital Friday after he fell 30 feet off a building and broke his neck and skull. The raid was on Glass House Farms, which employs hundreds of people and bills itself as the largest cannabis operation in the world. CBP said it served a warrant on the farm, accusing it of employing illegal migrant workers. ICE and the National Guard reportedly executed that warrant on Thursday. Protestors then showed up to impede federal agents, some of whom threw smoke canisters and flash bangs to control the growing crowd. Once the smoke and tear gas was deployed, most of the protestors ran in the opposite direction, though some were seen throwing rocks at the agents. The demonstration lasted past 11pm on Thursday, with federal agents remaining on the scene as well. Video and photos from the scene showed ICE agents clashing with a crowd of more than 100 people - many of them farmworkers or their family members - who had initially formed a human blockade along the road. It was a scene of absolute chaos, with protesters, farmworkers, and family members scattering throughout the fields.
Fox News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Border czar Tom Homan's message to anti-ICE protesters: 'You want some? Come get some'
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan fired up the crowd at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit Saturday night when a heckler asked Homan, "Are you an MS-13 member?" But the heckler's comments added fuel to Homan's fire as he delivered fiery closing remarks, saying, "Tom Homan is going to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen. Take it to the bank." "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A," the crowd chanted as Homan exited the stage. About five minutes into Homan's speech, he was interrupted by a heckler who was escorted out by security, lighting a fire for the rest of the speech. Homan had a message to the anti-ICE protesters across the United States, including to those who gathered outside the summit in Tampa, Florida, Saturday night. "You want some? Come get some," Homan said. "I'm tired of it. For the men and women of ICE, I deserve your respect. They're the finest 1% this country has. And Tom Homan isn't going anywhere. Tom Homan isn't shutting up." When the heckler asked Homan if he was an MS-13 member, referencing the Salvadoran transnational criminal gang that has been targeted through Trump's deportation rollout, Homan said federal immigration officers are dealing with these types of detractors on a daily basis. "This guy wouldn't know what it's like to serve this nation. This guy ain't got the b---- to be an ICE officer. He hasn't got the b---- to be a border patrol agent," Homan continued, as the crowd cheered him on. As the heckler was escorted out, Homan added, "This guy lives in his mother's basement. The only thing that surprised me is [he] doesn't have purple hair and a nose ring. Get out of here, you loser." While the crowd continued cheering Homan's fiery speech, he assured that those protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not intimidate agents because "we're going to do the job that President Trump gave us to do." Homan said he has never seen "such hate against the men and women of ICE and in the Border Patrol," and those protesting don't have the courage to put on a badge and stand in their place. While Homan said he was disappointed he didn't see any protesters when he arrived at the summit, protesters had lined the streets outside Saturday afternoon, rejecting Trump's agenda and his crackdown on illegal immigration. The demonstrations on Saturday followed protests that deteriorated into riots in Los Angeles last month as rhetoric against ICE agents has reached a boiling point. Federal immigration law enforcement officers have been targeted since Trump signed his "big, beautiful bill," which includes legislation for robust immigration reform, into law last Friday. There have been at least two ambushes in Texas, and protesters clashed with federal officers at the Portland, Oregon, ICE center. The brazen border czar had made it clear his speech might contain some profanity Saturday night, telling the crowd at the top of his remarks, "Sometimes, I'm harsh. But if I offend anybody here tonight, I don't give a s---." Homan also applauded Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, telling the crowd, "Under his leadership, we got the most secure border in the history of nation, and we did that in seven weeks. President Trump did in seven weeks what Joe Biden couldn't or wouldn't do in four years."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge scolds Justice Department for 'refusal' to detail deportation plans for Kilmar Abrego Garcia
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland scolded the Trump administration on Friday for its 'utter refusal' to detail its deportation plans for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, including where the government plans to send him and whether he'll get a chance to fight his expulsion before he's whisked away. The Salvadoran national could be released from a Tennessee jail as soon as next Wednesday to await trial on human smuggling charges. U.S. immigration officials have said they would immediately detain him and begin deportation proceedings. 'I'm deeply concerned that if there's not some restraint on you, Mr. Abrego will be on another plane to another country,' U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis told Justice Department lawyers on Friday. Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Republican President Donald Trump's immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a U.S. immigration judge's order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there. The administration claimed that Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, although he wasn't charged and has repeatedly denied the allegation. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last month to face the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called 'preposterous.' The administration argues now that Abrego Garcia is a danger to the community and can be deported before his trial to a country other than El Salvador. Abrego Garcia's attorneys have asked Xinis to order the government to send him to Maryland if he's released in Tennessee, a request that aims to prevent his expulsion before trial. In court on Friday, Abrego Garcia's attorneys asked for at least a 72-hour hold that would prevent immediate deportation. Attorney Andrew Rossman called it the 'critical bottom-line protection' needed to prevent a potentially egregious violation of due process rights. Xinis didn't rule from the bench Friday, but said she'll issue an order before a federal judge in Tennessee holds a hearing on Wednesday to discuss Abrego Garcia's release. The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without any luggage. Police in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive on. Abrego Garcia lived and worked in Maryland for more than a decade, working construction and raising a family. His American wife is suing the administration over his wrongful deportation in Xinis's court in Maryland. Given the history of the case, Xinis raised concerns on Friday that the government will take action without properly informing Abrego Garcia and his attorneys until it's too late. 'The point is the utter refusal of your clients to engage in any conversation about what's going to happen on Wednesday despite the extraordinary facts of this case,' Xinis told Justice Department attorneys. Thomas Giles, an assistant director for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, testified previously that Mexico or South Sudan may be willing to accept Abrego Garcia. But he said the Trump administration hasn't decided on anything yet. Xinis on Friday criticized Giles' testimony, describing it as garden variety information that lacked specifics. She also expressed concern that Abrego Garcia could be deported to a nation that would just send him back to his native country. Sarmad Khojasteh, a Justice Department attorney, declined to discuss in detail what could happen. But he said one possibility is the initiation of deportation proceedings to a third country. Another is revisiting the immigration judge's 2019 order that shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador. When Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported, he was first held in a notorious megaprison. Abrego Garcia's lawyers recently alleged in court documents that he was beaten and subjected to psychological torture. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele denied the allegations. Regarding deportation to a 'third country,' Khojasteh told the judge that people are first told what country they're being sent to, then allowed to express fear of going there. If the fear is deemed credible, the person gets a hearing before an immigration judge. Khojasteh declined to discuss what happens after that, calling the line of questioning 'like six layers deep in speculation.' 'These things haven't happened yet,' he said. 'The controversy's not ripe.' He said Abrego Garcia would be treated like any other immigrant under the circumstances. But Xinis sharply rejected that notion. She said the case has already received so much attention that she can't imagine it will be subject to a routine decision-making process among immigration officials. ___
