All posts tagged: immigration crackdown

Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns| India News

Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns| India News

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns Vance, who made the announcement with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration was taking the action “in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money.” Wednesday’s move is part of a larger Trump administration effort to spotlight fraud around the country. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests. President Donald Trump, in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, announced Vance would spearhead a national “war on fraud.” Oz, who referred to …

U2’s new music honors Renee Good and draws inspiration from world events

U2’s new music honors Renee Good and draws inspiration from world events

LOS ANGELES — U2 is returning with its first collection of new songs in nearly a decade, opening with a tribute to Renee Good, the Minnesota mom fatally shot by a federal agent during this winter’s massive immigration crackdown. U2’s new music honors Renee Good and draws inspiration from world events The Irish rock band released the six-song EP “U2 – Days of Ash” on Wednesday. Its first track, “American Obituary,” is dedicated to Good, who died Jan. 7 in Minneapolis during an encounter with a Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. The song is a call for peace and a dedication to Good’s life. “Renee didn’t just believe in kindness; she lived it, fully and fiercely,” said Becca Good, her partner, in a statement released with the project. “She believed every person deserved the same compassion, care and dignity regardless of who they were.” The band released the EP on Ash Wednesday, describing it as an immediate response to current events and inspired by the people “fighting on the front lines of freedom.” Frontman Bono …

Snapchats to informant central at trial for man accused in murder plot of Border Patrol leader| India News

Snapchats to informant central at trial for man accused in murder plot of Border Patrol leader| India News

CHICAGO — Snapchat messages a Chicago man accused of soliciting the murder of a top Border Patrol commander unknowingly sent to a government informant took center stage Wednesday at the opening day of the man’s federal trial. Snapchats to informant central at trial for man accused in murder plot of Border Patrol leader Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, faces one count of murder-for-hire in the first criminal trial stemming from the immigration crackdown that began last year in and around the nation’s third-largest city. It’s the latest test of credibility for the Trump administration’s narratives about the Chicago operation. Federal prosecutors have alleged Espinoza Martinez was a gang member who put a $10,000 bounty on the life of Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official who has led aggressive and controversial campaigns nationwide, most recently in Minnesota. But defense attorneys said Espinoza Martinez, a carpenter with roughly $20 in his bank account, sent messages amounting to “neighborhood gossip” to his brother and a friend who turned out to be a government informant. The Snapchats came in October …

US launches ‘aggressive’ crackdown targeting students and H-1B Holders in India

US launches ‘aggressive’ crackdown targeting students and H-1B Holders in India

The United States revoked more than 100,000 visas in 2025, including around 8,000 student visas, as part of a wider push to tighten immigration screening, the US State Department said on Tuesday. The figure is more than double the roughly 40,000 visas cancelled in 2024, the final year of the previous administration, Fox News reported, citing the State Department’s data. “The State Department has now revoked over 100,000 visas, including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialised visas for individuals who had encounters with US law enforcement for criminal activity,” the department said in a statement posted on social media. “We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe.” 🚨BREAKING: The State Department has now revoked over 100,000 visas, including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas for individuals who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement for criminal activity. We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe. pic.twitter.com/wuHVltw1bV — Department of State (@StateDept) January 12, 2026 Why visas were revoked State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said most …

Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns| India News

Minnesota sues Trump administration over immigration crackdown| India News

The US state of Minnesota sued the Trump administration on Monday over the immigration crackdown that saw a woman protester fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis last week. Minnesota sues Trump administration over immigration crackdown Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who announced the lawsuit, said the Department of Homeland Security’s surge of immigration officers into the Democratic-led northern state in recent days has “made us less safe.” “Thousands of poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the state, of the federal government, have rolled into our communities,” Ellison said at a press conference. “The obvious targeting of Minnesota for our diversity, for our democracy and our differences of opinion with the federal government, is a violation of the Constitution and federal law,” he said. “This is, in essence, a federal invasion.” Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, where 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Wednesday, said Republican President Donald Trump was targeting Minnesota for his immigration crackdown because of its Democratic leadership. “If the goal …

Illinois governor JB Pritzker signs law limiting immigration arrests near courthouses | World News

Illinois governor JB Pritzker signs law limiting immigration arrests near courthouses | World News

Illinois Gov. Pritzker signs bill to further shield illegal immigrants from deportations. (Photo: X/@FoxNews) Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has approved a new state law that restricts when and where immigration agents can make arrests, The New York Times reported. The measure blocks civil immigration enforcement at state courthouses and within 1,000 feet of them, and gives residents more power to sue federal agents if they believe their rights were violated. The law was passed in October as federal authorities carried out a major immigration crackdown in the Chicago area, leading to thousands of arrests and repeated tensions with local communities. However, supporters said the law was needed to protect residents from being detained while going about daily activities. State Representative Lilian Jiménez said, according to The New York Times, that people “should be able to go to court, take their kid to day care and have access to the university they attend without fear.” The law also limits what information hospitals, day care centres and colleges in Illinois can share with immigration authorities. Story continues …

Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis in the US, urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it | World News

Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis in the US, urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it | World News

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on “Trump Accounts” for kids in the Roosevelt Room of the White House as Michael Dell and his wife, Susan look on, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo) President Donald Trump during a lengthy Cabinet meeting on Tuesday said he did not want Somali immigrants in the U.S., saying residents of the war-ravaged eastern African country are too reliant on US social safety net and add little to the United States. The president’s comment came days after his administration announced they are halting all asylum decisions following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington. The suspect in last week’s incident is originally from Afghanistan but Trump has used the moment to raise questions about immigrants from other nations, including Somalia. “They contribute nothing. The welfare is like 88% or something. They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country,” He said. “Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks and we don’t want them in our country.” Disclaimer: We do …

US Justice Dept to ramp up staffing for immigration cases | World News

US Justice Dept to ramp up staffing for immigration cases | World News

The US Justice Department will focus on hiring prosecutors in offices near US borders to enforce President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, despite a federal hiring freeze, according to the new US deputy attorney general. The directive is designed to boost staffing for cases involving illegal entry into the United States, drug and human trafficking and activity by drug cartels, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a memo to department staff on Thursday and seen by Reuters. “Border Districts have a unique role to play in these efforts,” Blanche wrote in the memo. Story continues below this ad The exemption from the hiring freeze will apply to US attorney’s offices in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and southern California along the US-Mexico border. It will also apply to districts in Florida as well as in New York and Vermont near the Canadian border, where Blanche said illegal immigration had increased in recent years. The move is the latest indication that the Justice Department under Trump plans to prioritize immigration-related crimes. Department officials have already …

US refugee group funding suspended under Trump aid pause

US refugee group funding suspended under Trump aid pause

By Ted Hesson US refugee group funding suspended under Trump aid pause WASHINGTON, – The U.S. State Department this week suspended funding to groups that assist refugees with housing, job placement and other needs as part of a broad pause on aid, a letter reviewed by Reuters shows. The letter, dated Friday, said the agencies must stop all work related to the paused federal grants and “cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.” President Donald Trump halted the resettlement of refugees from overseas indefinitely as part of a broad immigration crackdown after taking office on Monday, calling for a review in three months to determine whether the program sufficiently benefits Americans. Trump also ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, a move that could affect humanitarian efforts around the world, including in Afghanistan, where relief operations are already stretched thin. The order freezing funding for U.S. refugee groups could make it harder for refugees already in the U.S. to keep their housing, find jobs and adapt to U.S. life, three people familiar with the …