Tag: illegal immigration crisis

Arizona Rancher Accused of Murdering Illegal Immigrant Unlikely to Accept Plea Deal Following Mistrial

Tom Pappert
George Alan Kelly

The Arizona rancher who was accused of murdering a Mexican national who illegally immigrated to the United States is unlikely to accept any plea deals offered by prosecutors after his case ended in a mistrial, according to Wednesday remarks by his attorney.

Kathy Lowthorp, one of the attorneys who represented rancher George Alan Key after prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder for allegedly killing a Mexican national who trespassed onto his property, said in a Wednesday interview with NewsNation’s Cuomo that her client would be unlikely to accept a plea deal if prosecutors move for a retrial.

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Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares Joins 20-State Coalition Against Biden Admin’s Decision to Abandon Immigration Law

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigrants arrested at the southern border

Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Virginia’s decision to join a 20-state coalition of attorneys general who seek to compel the Biden administration to defend an illegal immigration law on Wednesday.

The coalition of attorney generals, led by Kansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and West Virginia, seek to intervene in a lawsuit brought by those advocating on behalf of illegal immigrants against President Joe Biden’s Department of State. 

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Conservatives Applaud Youngkin in New Ad for Amending Bill Critics Claim Provides Free Healthcare to Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert
Glenn Youngkin Medical Bill

Governor Glenn Youngkin received praise on Wednesday in a commercial celebrating his decision to amend a bill critics argue would have allowed illegal immigrants to receive free healthcare by expanding a federal program.

As passed by lawmakers, SB 119 would expand the federal 340B program that was designed to for hospitals to buy drugs at discounted prices in order to provide healthcare to low-income individuals.

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ASU Students Earn College Credit for Helping Illegal Immigrants at Charity Accused of Aiding Border Crossings

Tom Pappert
University of Arizona faculty volunteers at Casa Alitas

Students at Arizona State University (ASU) have the ability to enroll in a program that allows them to provide support services to illegal immigrants serviced by a Catholic Charities organization in exchange for school credit.

A university website reveals that any student enrolled in an ASU Health Sciences program and some students from the ASU School of Social Work are eligible to “provide aid to migrants looking for a better life” at Casa Alitas in what the university calls the MILAGRO Collaborative.

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Federal Budget Includes Money for Groups Accused of Aiding Illegal Immigrants in Arizona

Tom Pappert
Catholic Community Services

The new federal budget signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday includes funding to continue providing shelter to illegal immigrants in Arizona, even as many were reducing operations or preparing to close after Republicans defeated a controversial immigration and foreign aid bill.

Lawmakers approved a $1.2 trillion budget to avoid a government shutdown despite opposition in the U.S. House, where the funding bill proposed by Speaker Mike Johnson received the support of 101 Republicans. A total of 112 Republicans and 22 Democrats voted against the spending bill in the House.

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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Vetoes 22 Democratic Crime Bills That ‘Would Have Undermined Public Safety’

Tom Pappert
Youngkin Virginia

Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday announced that he vetoed 22 crime bill passed by Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly that he said “would have undermined public safety” in the commonwealth.

Youngkin confirmed the 22 vetoes in a press release announcing action on 60 bills. In addition to the vetoes, Youngkin signed 36 bills into law and made amendments to two.

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Father of Laken Riley Demands Gov. Kemp Declare Illegal Immigrant ‘Invasion’ in Georgia Senate Speech

Tom Pappert
Laken Riley's Dad

The father of Laken Riley addressed the Georgia State Senate on Wednesday with a call for lawmakers and Governor Brian Kemp to “declare an invasion” following his daughter’s murder.

Invited to address the legislators by Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton), Jason Riley called on lawmakers and the governor to recognize the severity of the illegal immigration crisis in Georgia and “protect citizens from this illegal invasion.”

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Tennessee Lawmakers Seek Tougher Penalties for Transporting Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigrants

Tennessee lawmakers are poised to pass legislation instituting harsher penalties for those caught providing transportation to illegal immigrants in the state, but first plan to introduce amendments protecting “good Samaritans” and professional drivers from unknowingly violating the law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee considered SB 2802, which would impose a $5,000 fine for individuals caught transporting illegal immigrants in the state on Wednesday, when Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) introduced an amendment to his bill he said closed existing loopholes within the law.

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Georgia Latino Coalition Demands UGA ‘Denounce’ ‘Hateful Rhetoric’ After Murder of Laken Riley

Tom Pappert
Laken Riley

A number of Latino and Hispanic organizations in Georgia signed a Monday letter to the University of Georgia (UGA) president to demand action against alleged “hateful rhetoric and fear mongering” they claim started following the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the university’s campus. Police say Riley was slain by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

Sent by the GALEO Impact Fund and signed by over 100 organizations and individuals, the letter claims “the community in Athens has been plagued by hateful rhetoric and fear mongering,” with “some Latino students” allegedly “afraid to walk to class alone” following Riley’s death.

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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Asks Congress for over $750 Million for Illegal Immigration After Vetoing Border Invasion Act

Tom Pappert
Gov. Katie Hobbs

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs asked Congress on Wednesday to support a request by Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) to provide more than $750 million in funding to support the southern border.

While Hobbs urged the U.S. Congress to take action on the border, her letter came after she vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have made it a state crime to enter Arizona outside official ports of entry.

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Tennessee Senate Kills Bill That Would Have Seen Driver’s Licenses Issued to Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigration TN Driver License

A Tennessee Senate committee on Wednesday voted down a bill that would have required the state to provide a form of driver’s license to illegal immigrants which would have conferred the same rights and privileges as official licenses issued to United States citizens.

State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) called the identification documents “driver privilege cards” during Wednesday’s Senate Transportation and Safety Committee meeting, arguing her bill would have made roads safer in Tennessee.

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Chilean Nationals Allegedly Behind String of Arizona Burglaries Came to America Using Tourist Visa Waiver

Tom Pappert
Scottsdale Police Department

Three Chilean nationals arrested by the Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) over a string of burglaries in Arizona and California were originally allowed to enter the United States as tourists.

Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther confirmed in a Tuesday press conference that three Chileans the department arrested Sunday entered the country using the U.S. State Department’s visa waiver program, which allows citizens of other countries to remain in the United States for 90 days if the purpose for their travel is business or tourism.

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Leader of Human Smuggling Organization that Held Illegal Immigrants in Phoenix Sentenced to Four Years Prison

Tom Pappert

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday the sentencing of a Phoenix man who led a human smuggling ring which moved illegal immigrants from Central America and held them in Arizona before driving them to destinations across the United States.

Tony Cardenas, a 36-year-old man from Phoenix, was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release earlier this month for his role as “the leader of a Phoenix-based human-smuggling operation” involving a total of at least 19 criminals, the DOJ announced. Cardenas is of no known relation to U.S. Representative Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29).

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Virginia Republicans Could Abandon Youngkin Unless Governor Vetoes Bill Providing Funds for Illegal Immigrant Healthcare

Tom Pappert
Glenn Youngkin

A poll of Virginia Republicans released Tuesday shows the majority would be less likely to support Governor Glenn Youngkin in the future if he does not veto a bill expanding a federal drug program which makes funding available for hospitals to provide care for illegal immigrants.

The Tyson Group poll asked Virginia Republicans if they would be more or less likely to support Youngkin in the future “if he strengthened a program that subsidizes healthcare for illegal immigrants?”

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Navajo County Confirms Five Men Behind Alleged Arizona Train Robbery Are Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Department (NCSO) confirmed on Monday that five men who allegedly robbed a train in Joseph City are illegal immigrants and are being held on a federal immigration hold.

Law enforcement confirmed in a news release that five men were arrested in Joseph City for robbing a BNSF Railway train as it was parked, explaining police received a call reporting suspicious activity and found the suspects in a vehicle containing tools that could be used to break into a train car.

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Past Support by Ruben Gallego for Illegal Immigrants in Military Highlighted by Kari Lake as Bill Would Trade Service for Citizenship

Tom Pappert
Ruben Gallego

Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake highlighted the previous support by Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) for legislation that would have allowed illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Lake noted Gallego’s previous support for the legislation after Tucker Carlson posted a discussion of a bill currently in the U.S. House that would allow illegal immigrants to serve in the military in exchange for an expedited path to citizenship.

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UGA Refuses to Release Audio, Provide Details of Attempted 911 Call by Laken Riley

Tom Pappert
Laken Riley 911

The University of Georgia (UGA) declined to provide details to The Georgia Star News on Monday about the attempted call to emergency services by Laken Riley, the nursing student who police say was killed at the UGA campus by Jose Ibarra, who illegally immigrated to the United States from Venezuela.

An arrest affidavit filed against Ibarra on February 23 offered new details about her death, including the revelation his alleged attack disfigured Riley’s skull, and claims the nursing student attempted to dial 911 for help during the attack but was stopped by Ibarra.

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DHS Secretary Mayorkas Denies Illegal Immigration Led to Murder of Laken Riley: ‘One Individual Is Responsible’

Tom Pappert
Alejandro Mayorkas With Immigrants

In a Sunday interview, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas denied a link between the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus and illegal immigration despite police charging a man who immigrated illegally from Venezuela with the killing.

Asked if there was a breakdown in the federal immigration system that allowed Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra to allegedly murder Riley, Mayorkas on Face the Nation cited his experience as a prosecutor and declared, “one individual is responsible for the murder and that is the murderer.”

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Tennessee AG Skrmetti Joins 24-State Amicus Brief Supporting Texas, Warns Federal Immigration Showdown Threatens State Sovereignty

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Attorney General Jonthan Skrmetti was among the 22 attorneys general who joined the amicus brief filed by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on Friday in support of Texas and Governor Greg Abbott in their in its legal fight with the federal government over the governor’s decision to protect the southern border.

The amicus brief argues that individual states “have a constitutional right to defend themselves that federal law cannot override absent” a declaration from U.S. Congress, and Skrmetti told The Tennessee Star the question ultimately relates to the sovereignty of states.

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Wife of Illegal Immigrant Who Allegedly Killed Student on UGA Campus Admits They Married to ‘Join Our Asylum Cases’

Tom Pappert

The wife of Jose Antonio Ibarra, the 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela who police arrested Friday for the murder of nursing student Laken Riley, 22, at the University of Georgia (UGA) campus, revealed in a Saturday interview that the couple originally married with the goal of furthering their cases for asylum in the United States.

Layling Franco told the New York Post on Saturday that she and Jose Ibarra entered the United States illegally through El Paso with her five-year-old son on September 8, 2022. Franco said the alleged killer made money by delivering food for Uber Eats, DoorDash and a local restaurant.

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Catholic Charity Aiding Illegal Immigrants in Arizona Fires Staff After Republicans Rebuke Border Bill

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigrants

An Arizona affiliate of Catholic Charities USA has reportedly notified 30 of its employees that they will be terminated on March 30 after Republicans in the U.S. Senate successfully blocked a controversial border bill.

News that Catholic Community Services (CCS) of Southern Arizona now plans to reduce its apparent “temporary sheltering and transportation assistance” of illegal immigrants who were released into the United States by government officials surfaced through a memorandum written by Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher to the Board of Supervisors on February 16.

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Gov. Brian Kemp Pledges Additional Georgia National Guard to Texas After State Senate Condemns Biden Border Failures

Tom Pappert
Gov. Brian Kemp

Governor Brian Kem said up to 20 additional Georgia National Guard members will support Texas Governor Gregg Abbott in his efforts to secure the state’s southern border in his standoff with the Biden administration.

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Kemp pledged 15 to 20 additional Georgia National Guard troops to assist with constructing a command post at the border.

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