Latest news with #MakingAmericaSafeAgain
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Abingdon PD responds after town placed on Homeland Security's ‘sanctuary jurisdictions' list
ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — The Abingdon Police Department and Congressman Morgan Griffith are speaking out after the town was placed on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions.' DHS describes sanctuary jurisdictions on as 'cities, counties, and states that are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities.' Cattle stolen from Glade Spring farm, reward offered Sanctuary jurisdictions are detailed on the under its 'Making America Safe Again' campaign tab. The department claims that sanctuary cities and communities 'protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.' The by state that is considered a sanctuary jurisdiction. Under Virginia, two cities in News Channel 11's viewing area are included: Abingdon and Duffield. Nearby Tazewell and all of Tazewell County are also on the list. The Abingdon Police Department to its inclusion on the list on Friday afternoon. According to the police department, the town was not notified or informed as to why it was classified as a sanctuary jurisdiction. 'Upon learning of the listing, we immediately contacted the Office of the U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith for assistance in correcting the error,' the post states. 'We also contacted our federal law enforcement partners and have been advised that Abingdon will be removed from the list.' The Abingdon Police Department stated that it has and will continue to fully comply with federal law and cooperate with all law enforcement agencies. Griffith issued his own statement in response to the inclusion of the Southwest Virginia communities on the list. The U.S. representative called the designation surprising and claimed that local law enforcement has always cooperated with the federal government, and he claimed the issue was likely due to paperwork problems. 'Ninth District law enforcement organizations and localities are very cooperative with the federal government in the handling and detainment of illegal aliens. 'It is a surprising development to see some of our localities listed as 'sanctuary jurisdictions' by DHS. My office has been in contact with our liaisons in the federal government for an explanation and solution. As of now, we do not have a definitive answer. However, it appears that there may be some paperwork anomalies related to federal detainers, particularly at some regional jails. 'I will continue to monitor the situation and hope I will have specific answers within the next week.' Congressman Morgan Griffith No towns or counties in Northeast Tennessee were included on the DHS list. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU Louisiana sees Gov. Landry's ICE order as more ‘racial profiling'
Officers with Louisiana State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement escort a man arrested March 13, 2025, at the Port of Lake Charles. ICE reported 11 arrests of people working at the port who did not have legal status to be in the United States (Photo courtesy of ICE). Gov. Jeff Landry's directive to link state law enforcement agencies with federal immigration enforcement is a move toward more illegal policing, a civil rights group leader says. Landry issued an executive order this week, which he tabbed 'Operation Geaux,' that calls for state agencies to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 287(g) program. It's part of a federal law approved in 1996 that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to delegate its power to enforce federal laws to state and local police agencies. Louisiana is one of 40 states with active 287(g) agreements with ICE. Hawaii, Delaware, Rhode Island and Vermont have no such agreements in place. California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut have banned them in their respective state laws. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Landry joined ICE officials Thursday to sign the order authorizing the agreement, which he has dubbed Operation Geaux. According to a news release from the governor's office, it will include 'enhanced screening, aggressive identification, and a massive public awareness campaign that is going to wake people up. This isn't just talk—it's action. And it's happening now.' 'If you're here illegally and you engage in criminal activity, you are going to be deported or sent to jail,' Landry said in the statement.. 'Operation Geaux is the kind of historic, one-of-a-kind partnership that the Trump Administration is looking for to fulfill the President's promises of restoring law and order! Making America Safe Again.' Alanah Odoms, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, said in a statement Friday her group opposes Operation Geaux. 'This blatant targeting of the immigrant population continues to exacerbate racial profiling, instill fear in communities, and put disproportionate numbers of Black and Brown people into the deportation pipeline,' Odoms said. 'Moreover, the majority of agencies participating in this program have documented records of civil rights abuses, including beatings and killings.' As of Friday, ICE had signed 571 memorandums of agreement for 287(g) programs in the 40 participating states. They include 91 Jail Enforcement Model (JEM) agreements, which indicate local detention centers will identify, process and help ICE remove non-citizens with criminal or pending criminal charges. There are 12 more JEM agreements pending, according to ICE. Another 205 law enforcement agencies in 32 states have agreed to take part in ICE's Warrant Service Office (WSO) program, which allows the federal agencies to train, certify and authorize state and local police to serve and execute warrants on unauthorized immigrants. There are 29 pending WSO agreements as well. ICE has also reached Task Force Model agreements with 275 police agencies in 28 states. TFMs are described as 'as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties,' according to the ICE website. Another 51 TFM agreements were pending as of Friday. The only Louisiana law enforcement agencies ICE listed as 287(g) program participants are the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office and the Kenner Police Department. Both had reached Jail Enforcement Model agreements with the federal government. The Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office is listed as having a pending Task Force Model agreement. No state law enforcement agencies in Louisiana are listed in the ICE 287(g) participant or pending records, though the Landry administration has said Louisiana State Police and the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections it falls under will join the program. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is also expected to sign an 287(g) agreement as well. State Police assisted ICE with a raid at the Port of Lake Charles in March, when 11 employees of a port contractor were arrested for allegedly not having legal status to work in the U.S. Former LDWF Secretary Madison Sheahan joined Landry when he signed his executive order. She's now ICE deputy director, having previously worked as an aide for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when the latter was governor of South Dakota. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump Ends White House Public Health Advisory On Gun Violence
In compliance with President Donald Trump's executive order protecting Second Amendment rights, the White House has removed an advisory identifying gun violence as a public health issue. The government webpage detailing the consequences of America's easy access to guns is no longer live. It came down some time between March 5 and March 15, internet archives show, removing data about firearms being the leading cause of death for children and adolescents, among other disturbing statistics. 'Illegal violence of any sort is a crime issue, and as he again made clear during his recent speech at the Department of Justice, President Trump is committed to Making America Safe Again by empowering law enforcement to uphold law and order,' White House spokesperson Kush Desai told HuffPost when asked about the page's removal. The White House confirmed the advisory, which went into effect last summer, was removed as part of last month's executive order demanding a review of all federal firearms regulations to determine whether there are any 'ongoing infringements' of constitutional gun rights. The order specifically takes aim at gun safety legislation enacted under President Joe Biden. The advisory was put into effect last June by then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who said at the time that driving down gun deaths would require a ban on automatic rifles and the introduction of universal background checks, laws restricting guns' use in public spaces and penalties for people who fail to safely store their firearms. 'People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe,' Murthy told The Associated Press when he released the advisory. 'America should be a place where all of us can go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our house of worship, without having to worry that that's going to put our life at risk.' His since-removed advisory noted that for people between ages 1 and 19, firearms now outpace motor vehicles as the leading cause of death. Gun deaths for that age group have been steadily on the rise for the past decade, far surpassing deaths from poisoning, cancer, suffocation, congenital anomalies, drowning and cardiovascular disease. It also referenced a survey finding that more than half of Americans report they or a family member have experienced a firearm-related incident. Trump is part of that group, too, having been shot at a campaign rally in July. Trump's demands to overhaul gun safety regulations come in spite of the fact that 61% of Americans say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in the U.S., according to Pew Research. A similar percentage of Americans favor stricter gun laws, with broad support across party lines for laws preventing those with mental illnesses from purchasing guns and increasing the minimum age for buying guns to 21 years old. Another survey from Fox News, the conservative broadcaster favored by Trump, found that a whopping 87% of Americans support universal background checks ― one of the policies endorsed by Murthy. Columbine Survivor Dies 25 Years Later Of Complications From Shooting Alex Jones Blames 'Globalists' After Infowars Writer Killed During Car Burglary What A Trump Win Means For Guns
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
White House removes advisory defining gun violence as a public health issue
The Trump administration has removed former surgeon general Vivek Murthy's advisory on gun violence as a public health issue from the US Department of Health and Human Services' website. This move was made to comply with Donald Trump's executive order to protect second amendment rights, a White House official told the Guardian. The 'firearm violence in America' page, where the advisory had been posted, was filled with data and information about the ripple effects of shootings, the prevalence of firearm suicides and the number of American children and adolescents who have been shot and killed. Now, when someone reaches the site they will be met with a 'page not found' message. Related: Pentagon webpage for Black Medal of Honor winner restored after outcry When it was originally released last summer, Murthy's advisory was met with praise from violence prevention and research groups, and was lambasted by second amendment law centers and advocacy groups that argued the Biden administration was using public health as a cloak to push forward more gun control. 'This is an extension of the Biden Administration's war on law-abiding gun owners. America has a crime problem caused by criminals,' the National Rifle Association (NRA) said in a statement posted to X on 25 July 2024. But Daniel Semenza, a firearm violence researcher with Rutgers University, argues that talking about gun violence through a public health lens is meant to 'bring the heat down' about a deeply politicized issue and broaden what prevention can look like. In 2023, nearly 47,000 people died by firearms, most of them suicides. 'When people read gun violence is a public health problem, they read guns are a public health problem,' Semenza said. 'This idea actually removes the politics from the issue and is an engine to get us on the same page. [The removal] feels like an unnecessary and mean-spirited way to politicize something that people have actively been trying to bring people together on.' The removal of Murthy's advisory and the rest of the information on the page is one of the thousands of pieces of health information and research removed from federal websites. They include information about vaccines, health risks among youth and gender-based violence, the New York Times reported. Some of these pages have been restored following a court order, and it is unclear whether the removal of the 'firearm violence in America' will see the same fate. In response to the Guardian's question about the removal of webpages, the White House said: 'Illegal violence of any sort is a crime issue, and as he again made clear during his recent speech at the Department of Justice, President Trump is committed to Making America Safe Again by empowering law enforcement to uphold law and order.' While researchers and violence prevention advocates have described gun violence – including both suicides and homicides – as a public health issue for more than a decade, it's only recently that this language has entered mainstream discourse. Experts across the field of violence prevention argue that this updated lens is meant to reflect the widespread impacts of shootings on entire communities and offer solutions to violence beyond law enforcement and firearm restrictions and policy. Related: 'We've been at this rodeo before': gun-safety groups prepare for second Trump term This new framing has also led to more dollars from federal government offices, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, for research that could illuminate preventive methods. These efforts were supercharged with the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in June 2022, which allocated millions of dollars for research into the unseen consequences of shootings. It also allowed researchers to evaluate groups that are working on the ground in the nation's most underserved communities where shootings happen most. If this work doesn't continue or is severely pared down, years of progress and gun violence status as a public health is at risk of being lost, Semenza said. 'The vernacular of gun violence as a public health issue that has shaped in the last five to 10 years of research and advocacy is under direct threat,' he said. 'I'm really disheartened and sad to hear about it. But it's not because I'm surprised. This is a clear example of this administration pulling the wool over people's eyes and being disingenuous about the things that harm people who are most vulnerable.'
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
White House removes advisory defining gun violence as a public health issue
The Trump administration has removed former surgeon general Vivek Murthy's advisory on gun violence as a public health issue from the US Department of Health and Human Services' website. This move was made to comply with Donald Trump's executive order to protect second amendment rights, a White House official told the Guardian. The 'firearm violence in America' page, where the advisory had been posted, was filled with data and information about the ripple effects of shootings, the prevalence of firearm suicides and the number of American children and adolescents who have been shot and killed. Now, when someone reaches the site they will be met with a 'page not found' message. Related: Pentagon webpage for Black Medal of Honor winner restored after outcry When it was originally released last summer, Murthy's advisory was met with praise from violence prevention and research groups, and was lambasted by second amendment law centers and advocacy groups that argued the Biden administration was using public health as a cloak to push forward more gun control. 'This is an extension of the Biden Administration's war on law-abiding gun owners. America has a crime problem caused by criminals,' the National Rifle Association (NRA) said in a statement posted to X on 25 July 2024. But Daniel Semenza, a firearm violence researcher with Rutgers University, argues that talking about gun violence through a public health lens is meant to 'bring the heat down' about a deeply politicized issue and broaden what prevention can look like. In 2023, nearly 47,000 people died by firearms, most of them suicides. 'When people read gun violence is a public health problem, they read guns are a public health problem,' Semenza said. 'This idea actually removes the politics from the issue and is an engine to get us on the same page. [The removal] feels like an unnecessary and mean-spirited way to politicize something that people have actively been trying to bring people together on.' The removal of Murthy's advisory and the rest of the information on the page is one of the thousands of pieces of health information and research removed from federal websites. They include information about vaccines, health risks among youth and gender-based violence, the New York Times reported. Some of these pages have been restored following a court order, and it is unclear whether the removal of the 'firearm violence in America' will see the same fate. In response to the Guardian's question about the removal of webpages, the White House said: 'Illegal violence of any sort is a crime issue, and as he again made clear during his recent speech at the Department of Justice, President Trump is committed to Making America Safe Again by empowering law enforcement to uphold law and order.' While researchers and violence prevention advocates have described gun violence – including both suicides and homicides – as a public health issue for more than a decade, it's only recently that this language has entered mainstream discourse. Experts across the field of violence prevention argue that this updated lens is meant to reflect the widespread impacts of shootings on entire communities and offer solutions to violence beyond law enforcement and firearm restrictions and policy. Related: 'We've been at this rodeo before': gun-safety groups prepare for second Trump term This new framing has also led to more dollars from federal government offices, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, for research that could illuminate preventive methods. These efforts were supercharged with the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in June 2022, which allocated millions of dollars for research into the unseen consequences of shootings. It also allowed researchers to evaluate groups that are working on the ground in the nation's most underserved communities where shootings happen most. If this work doesn't continue or is severely pared down, years of progress and gun violence status as a public health is at risk of being lost, Semenza said. 'The vernacular of gun violence as a public health issue that has shaped in the last five to 10 years of research and advocacy is under direct threat,' he said. 'I'm really disheartened and sad to hear about it. But it's not because I'm surprised. This is a clear example of this administration pulling the wool over people's eyes and being disingenuous about the things that harm people who are most vulnerable.'
