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In November 2017, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy was injured in Raqqa, Syria, while clearing the second floor of a hospital that ISIS had booby-trapped with explosives. Now a quadriplegic, Stacy, his wife Lindsey and their four children are part of a lawsuit brought by military families against the French cement company Lafarge recently found guilty by a French court of paying millions of dollars in bribes to ISIS to keep their factory open in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.

“I mean, they were essentially funneling money to fund terrorists and ISIS and all these heinous crimes and evil acts,” Lindsey Stacy told Fox News while standing by the side of her husband, the former Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist, who just had another surgery to deal with injuries sustained in Syria nine years ago.

“It’s very overwhelming, Kenton struggles mentally and physically with his own battles and the kids and I, we have our own struggles,” she said. “It’s hard to juggle, especially when our oldest son has cerebral palsy and he requires his own 24-7 care.”

President Donald Trump praised Stacy’s service to the nation in his 2018 State of the Union Address to Congress. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Peck bounded into a booby-trapped building to rescue Kenton and then gave him more than two hours of CPR while medics worked to save his life.

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“Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin’s selfless love for a fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated… All of America salutes you,” Trump said.

In a landmark ruling in April, a French court convicted Lafarge, the world’s largest cement manufacturer, of providing material support to a terror group and sentenced its former CEO to six years in prison. Eight former Lafarge employees were found guilty. Lafarge is appealing.

The company acknowledged the court’s finding describing the issue as a “legacy matter,” which was “in flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct.”

Nearly 1,000 plaintiffs, most of them military families, are part of earlier litigation in the Eastern District of New York.

“They were killed, in Syria, by a gruesome terrorist organization that was funded in part by Lafarge. And that’s not an allegation. That is undisputed fact. Lafarge [pleaded] guilty to doing that in 2022,” said Todd Toral, the lawyer from Jenner & Block representing Stacy and about 25 other families.

Toral, who is also a U.S. Marine, is seeking compensation for those families from the $777 million Lafarge paid to the Justice Department as part of the settlement. The Justice Department has had that money since October 2022.

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“I think the ruling by the court in France is significant generally, because it’s the first time in many, many years that a corporation, and not just the corporation, but executives at a corporation have been held to account for their misconduct in aiding terrorism,” Toral said in an interview with Fox News.

In order to operate in ISIS-controlled areas of Syria, Lafarge paid more than $6.5 million to ISIS from 2013–2014 through its Syrian subsidiary to keep production facilities running. The cement produced at its factory in Jalabiya, a factory which was bought for $680 million months before the Syrian uprising began in 2011, was also used for tunnels and bunkers, which helped the terrorist group.

The lawsuit is significant because it marks the first time a company has faced U.S. charges for supporting a terrorist group.

In October 2022, Lafarge settled with the U.S. Justice Department before the French ruling, paying more than $777 million into an asset forfeiture fund currently controlled by the DOJ, funds which are supposed to compensate victims of the ISIS attacks, many of them American Gold Star families like Hailey Dayton, whose father was the first American killed by ISIS in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2016.

“I was 15 when my dad was killed,” Hailey Dayton told Fox News from her home in Florida. “I saw six guys in Navy white step out of the van. I got so excited because I thought my Dad came back to surprise us. I remember opening the door, huge smile on my face, and I was looking at the men, trying to find my dad and I didn’t find, I didn’t see him, but instead I saw six guys with tears in their eyes.”

The Biden Justice Department denied requests to distribute the Lafarge funds while the case was still pending before a French court. Lafarge was found guilty by that court in April. In February, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., pressed then-Attorney General Pam Bondi on when the DOJ planned to release the funds to the families.

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“In February 2025, my colleagues and I sent you a letter urging the department to review the petitions for remission submitted by the families of those fallen service members, including several of my constituents. The previous administration ignored these victims and our requests and left their petitions unresolved,” Biggs said to Bondi during a congressional hearing.

“Congressman, we are aware of that and we’re committed to doing everything we can to support the victims and work with you. Thank you for that question,” Bondi replied. That was more than a year ago and still DOJ has not distributed the compensation funds.

Now the plaintiffs, most of them military families, say the decision to release the funds rests with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“I don’t know why. I don’t know why they’re ignoring us. To me, it feels like being a pawn. My dad, he went in when he was 19, he served 23 years,” Dayton, the Gold Star daughter of Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton, said. “To the current Department of Justice, I would, say, make things right.”

Lindsey Stacy says she and her family have difficulty making ends meet given Kenton Stacy’s severe injuries.

“There’s a lot of families out there that could benefit from these funds. I mean, it’s been almost nine years. It would be nice to, you know, for justice to be served. They have been convicted recently in their own country, guilty. It has been a long battle, but it’d be nice just for it to come to an end, get some closure and be able to just take care of our family,” Stacy added. “I mean he made a huge sacrifice for our country and it would just be nice if they’d stand right by us and all the other co-plaintiffs.”

“We can think of no group of people who are more worthy of receiving compensation from that victim’s compensation fund than these families who lost a son, lost a brother, lost a husband, and they deserve to be treated better by the United States of America,” Toral, who continues to press his clients’ case, said in an interview ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

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The DOJ, which controls the $777 million dollars in penalties forfeited by Lafarge, issued the following statement: 

“The Department is committed to compensating all victims to the maximum extent permitted by law.  While we cannot comment on a pending matter, the Department will always engage in the appropriate process to evaluate claims and ensure that our brave servicemembers receive any amount of compensation to which they are entitled.”

This article is Part I of a Fox News Digital investigative series examining allegations that the communist government of Cuba built an influence network inside the United States that federal authotiries are now investigating. Part I focuses on the network’s rapid response following the indictment of Cuban leader Raúl Castro.

Just nine minutes after U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced murder charges against Cuban leader Raúl Castro for the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft flown by exile group Brothers to the Rescue, a coordinated rapid response network was already mobilizing across the U.S. to defend Castro and the Communist Party of Cuba.

At 1:54 p.m. on Wednesday, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Marxist political organization deeply embedded in a “Hands Off Cuba” campaign, published six pre-produced graphics denouncing the indictment as a “BASELESS INDICTMENT OF RAUL CASTRO” and “A PRETEXT FOR ANOTHER WAR.”

Hours later, at 3:18 a.m. early Thursday morning, Vijay Prashad, executive director at Tricontinental, a Marxist think tank, wrote on X, “Cuba is not a menace to the world. The United States is a menace to the world. The world stands with Raúl Castro, hero of the Cuban Revolution. The world turns its back on Donald Trump, clown of human destruction.” Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of the People’s Forum, a New York-based nonprofit, shared the message without a word, as did leaders from CodePink, another leftist organization.

Then, 24 hours after Blanche’s announcement, at 1:46 p.m. on Thursday, BreakThrough News, a media platform aligned with the same activist ecosystem, published a video featuring defiant Cubans, with one man declaring, “We won’t hand over Raúl.”

Fox News Digital has learned that Justice and Treasury Department officials are investigating U.S. nonprofits and activist groups for allegedly coordinating lobbying, messaging, fundraising, delegations and political organizing efforts with Cuban government officials as part of a possible foreign influence campaign operating inside the United States.

A Fox News Digital investigation has identified 145 nonprofits, labor groups, advocacy organizations and activist collectives across the U.S. that are mobilizing in support of the Cuban government and the Communist Party of Cuba. Together, the organizations report about $1 billion in combined annual revenue.

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To U.S. national security officials examining the influence of foreign governments in the U.S., the rapid-response messaging campaign offers a striking example of how quickly the nationwide Cuba “solidarity” infrastructure synchronizes political messaging across nonprofits, media platforms, labor organizations and activist coalitions following major geopolitical developments involving the Cuban regime.

Making the alleged influence campaign even more complicated, the ANSWER Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation, BreakThrough News, CodePink, People’s Forum and Tricontinental are all part of a network funded by American expatriate tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who lives in Shanghai, supporting the Chinese Communist Party and its global agenda, including its defense of the communist regime in Cuba.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokeswoman for the Embassy of Cuba in Washington denied any improper activity and said the country’s diplomats operate within the bounds of the Vienna Convention, where Article 41 states that diplomats “have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs” of a state.

“Cuban diplomats strictly comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the embassy spokeswoman said, noting that “part of diplomatic work” is to “promote friendly relations” and “interact with organizations and institutions of civil society in the State to which one is accredited.”

The embassy added that “it is neither extraordinary, nor a violation of any international or U.S. law, for Cuban diplomats to engage with civil society,” and said it doesn’t encourage Americans “to overthrow or act against the constitutional order of the United States.”

Sources familiar with the probe said investigators are also examining the activities of several prominent activists and organizers connected to the Cuba solidarity movement, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and CodePink D.C. coordinator Olivia DiNucci.

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Federal investigators are also probing about 40 Americans who allegedly coordinated with Cuban government officials to bring goods and supplies to Cuba in “convoys” and “flotillas” earlier this year, sources told Fox News Digital.

The organizations under scrutiny span labor unions, activist nonprofits, solidarity campaigns, travel networks, socialist political groups and media operations.

The pro-communist Cuba ecosystem includes seven clear communities:

• Singham network: ANSWER Coalition; BreakThrough News; CodePink; International People’s Assembly and its affiliates; Liberation News and Party for Socialism and Liberation; People’s Forum and its fiscally-sponsored projects, Venceremos Brigade and Hatuey Project; Tricontinental Institute; IFCO and its Pastors for Peace project,
• Labor unions and labor activists: AFL-CIO-affiliated organizers, International Association of Machinists Local 1484, Labor/Community Strategy Center, Service Employees International Union, Teamsters tied to Amazon labor campaigns, United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 36
• Cuba travel brigades, convoys and delegations: Activist flotilla and humanitarian caravan organizers; Global Exchange; Hands Off Cuba Committees; National Network on Cuba; Nuestra América Convoy organizers
• Socialist, Marxist, Communist organizations: African People’s Socialist Party, Communist Party USA, Democratic Socialists of America, Peace and Freedom Party, Socialist Unity Party, Socialist Workers Party
• Media and propaganda ecosystem: activist social media amplification campaigns, anti-imperialist podcasts and livestream networks, BreakThrough News, BT News, Liberation News, Tricontinental
• Legal, academic and institutional networks: National Lawyers Guild; church and faith-based solidarity organizations, educational outreach organizers working in schools and campuses, , professors tied to Cuba delegations and anti-sanctions campaigns, university-based Cuba solidarity groups
• Humanitarian and aid infrastructure: agricultural solidarity campaigns, Global Health Partners, medical supply campaigns, “people-to-people” exchange organizers, solar panel fundraising drives

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Investigators are also scrutinizing travel and delegation infrastructure tied to the network, including organizations coordinating labor trips, educational exchanges, people-to-people tours, activist brigades and humanitarian convoys to Cuba.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Americans who engage in political activities in the United States at the direction or control of a foreign government may be required to register with the Justice Department. Advocacy itself is protected under the First Amendment, and registration under FARA doesn’t prohibit political activity. Investigators are examining whether any organizations crossed the line from independent activism into coordinated activity directed by Cuban government officials.

Investigators are examining whether some organizations and activists are coordinating lobbying, messaging, delegations, fundraising and political organizing efforts with Cuban government officials without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, enforces the decades-old U.S. sanctions regime against Cuba, including restrictions on financial transactions, material support, shipping and the transfer of goods and services to the island.

While humanitarian exemptions and licensed travel categories exist, investigators are examining whether some activists and nonprofit groups coordinated shipments, fundraising, “convoys,” flotillas and aid campaigns in ways that may have violated sanctions regulations or evaded reporting requirements.

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Investigators are also scrutinizing whether organizations used intermediary nonprofits, fiscally sponsored projects or generic donation language in ways that obscured Cuba-related transactions that otherwise could have triggered additional compliance scrutiny under OFAC regulations.

One fundraising page soliciting solar panel donations for Cuba instructed donors: “Please do not write ‘Cuba’ in donation comments or on the memo line of checks. Simply write ‘Urgent Aid.’”

Sources familiar with the probe said investigators are also examining the activities of several prominent activists and organizers connected to the Cuba solidarity movement, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, CodePink cofounder Medea Benjamin and CodePink D.C. coordinator Olivia DiNucci.

“Cuba is 100% operating a foreign influence operation in the U.S.,” said Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez, a Cuban-born author who has written extensively on communist influence operations in Latin America.

He described Cuba as “ground zero for anti-American revolutionary organizing in the Western Hemisphere.”

Gonzalez told Fox News Digital, “Cuba is a prep school for revolutionaries.”

“The Cuban regime has spent decades building influence networks inside universities, labor groups, activist nonprofits, churches and solidarity organizations in the U.S.,” Gonzalez said. “The key question for investigators is whether these organizations crossed the line from protected activism into coordinated political activity directed by a foreign government.”

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FIRST ON FOX: Vulnerable border Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., is being slammed for “hypocrisy” on his pro-law enforcement stance after a Black Lives Matter post and interview calling to “deconstruct” and “defund” the police resurfaced.

Vasquez, who is widely reported as a “moderate Democrat” and is a self-described “bipartisan player,” also recently voted against a House resolution expressing support for law enforcement officers and condemning defund the police efforts and sanctuary policies.

With Republicans currently holding a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, every congressional seat considered competitive is critical to both parties in this midterm election. Vasquez’s New Mexico swing district in particular is considered highly vulnerable and is a top target for the GOP this cycle.

This week, Vasquez published an opinion piece in the Las Cruces Sun News in which he argued police officers “deserve thanks, support and funding.” In the piece, Vasquez pointed to the funding streams he helped secure for local law enforcement and wrote that “no amount of public recognition can ever fully express the gratitude they deserve.”

However, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman said, “Defund the police Gabe Vasquez’s shameless hypocrisy isn’t fooling anyone.”

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On June 1, 2020, exactly a week after the death of George Floyd and in the midst of widespread anti-police riots, Vasquez, a Las Cruces city council member at the time, posted on social media, “Black lives matter. Until we deconstruct and rebuild the systems of oppression that keep black people in perpetual harm, justice will not be served.”

He added, “that includes law enforcement, the economy, and the disgusting wealth inequality that keeps white rich men in power.”

Further, a 2022 article published by The Washington Free Beacon resurfaced a local news interview with a masked man resembling Vasquez but named “James Hall” at a 2020 George Floyd protest.

In the interview, the man says, “We need serious police reform in this country,” and “it’s not just about defunding police, it’s about defunding a system that privileges white people over everyone else.” 

The outlet reported that deleted screenshots of social media posts showed Vasquez present at that same rally.

The Free Beacon wrote that a Vasquez spokesperson confirmed he was the man who made those statements, saying, “the name was attributed to him by the news station when he declined to give his name as he wanted the focus to be on the organizers.”

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More recently, during National Police Week last week, Vasquez voted against a resolution expressing support for law enforcement officers. The measure praised police officers’ service and sacrifice, condemned “defund the police” rhetoric, criticized sanctuary city policies, and credited Trump-era “law and order” policies with helping reduce violent crime.

Democrats argued the resolution was overly partisan and politicized.

This week, Vasquez published an opinion piece in which he detailed recent visits with local law enforcement leaders and wrote, “I will always stand with our law enforcement officers.”

He also touted a $250,000 cutout he secured for the Carlsbad Police Department, as well as a $1.06 million investment for Albuquerque’s Real Time Crime Center and a $500,000 investment for technology and training upgrades at the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Vasquez emphasized in his opinion piece that “in addition to our thanks and admiration, they also need and deserve resources, investments, and funding.”

A Vasquez campaign spokesperson responded to the new criticisms by telling Fox News Digital, “If you want to know where Vasquez stands on public safety, look at the receipts.”

“This year alone, Vasquez singlehandedly brought $1.8 million home for local police departments from Albuquerque to Carlsbad to pay for technology, station upgrades and facilities for more officers to keep themselves and New Mexicans safe,” the spokesperson said.

The campaign also pointed to a recent speech Vasquez delivered on the House floor honoring Doña Ana County Deputy Sheriff Antonio Aleman, who was killed in the line of duty in 2025. 

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His critics, however, believe his prior statements will come back to haunt him this November.

Richardson told Fox News Digital that “New Mexicans know Vasquez is firmly anti-law enforcement, which is why they’ll elect long-time Albuquerque Police Officer Greg Cunningham to replace him this fall.”

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A Marine veteran and 20-year New Mexico law enforcement officer, Cunningham is running unopposed in the GOP primary for the seat.

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Cunningham asserted that Vasquez “wants New Mexicans to forget who he really is.”

“He spent years parroting the same anti-police rhetoric that gutted morale and hollowed out departments across this country. Now, six months out from an election, he writes a love letter to law enforcement and hopes nobody remembers the rest,” he said.

“I remember. So do the officers I served alongside for years on the streets of Albuquerque. I know what it’s like to work a drug case at three in the morning. I know what these drugs are doing to New Mexico families, because I spent my career going after the people pushing them. And I know the difference between a politician who shows up for a Police Week photo op and a leader who has his officers’ backs the other 51 weeks of the year.”

He added that “when I get to Washington, the men and women wearing the badge in NM-02 will finally have something they have not had in this seat. One of their own.”

Americans traveling this Memorial Day weekend will face some of the highest gas prices in history.

Despite the soaring costs due to the ongoing conflict in Iran causing shipping bottlenecks and blockades, AAA expects more than 39 million people to hit the roads over the holiday weekend.

Meanwhile, the White House has attempted to build rapport with Americans ahead of the 2026 midterms by rolling out a series of extraordinary measures aimed at easing pain at the pump amid an economic squeeze causing rising prices and stubborn inflation.

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The fuel cost surge persists amid renewed turmoil in global energy markets as escalating tensions in Iran have disrupted oil supplies and driven crude prices higher after the war broke out in late February.

National gas prices are now hovering near record territory, eclipsing levels seen during previous summer travel seasons and raising fears of even higher costs ahead.

President Donald Trump has released record amounts of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to ease prices and has called for a federal gas tax holiday. His administration also temporarily waived a century-old shipping law known as the Jones Act to move fuel more quickly between U.S. ports.

Despite those efforts, drivers across the country are continuing to see sharp increases at the pump.

West Coast drivers are facing the steepest costs, with gas hitting $6.14 per gallon in California and $5.70 in Washington state, according to data compiled by AAA.

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On the East Coast, prices have climbed above $4.50 in several areas, including $4.67 in Washington, D.C., and $4.62 in Pennsylvania.

In the Midwest, Illinois stands out at $5.01 per gallon, while much of the region remains in the mid-$4 range. Southern states continue to see comparatively lower costs, though prices are climbing there as well, reaching $4.03 in Georgia, $4.09 in Texas and $4.51 in Florida. Mississippi currently has the nation’s cheapest gas at $4.01 per gallon.

Beyond gasoline, other fuel costs are rising even faster.

Diesel has climbed to $5.65, up about $2.10 over the past year. As a key fuel for freight, shipping and public transportation, it is especially sensitive to supply disruptions and its rising cost can quickly ripple through the broader economy, pushing up prices on everything from groceries to goods.

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The surge underscores the broader economic risks tied to the standoff, as uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz continues to rattle energy markets.

With midterm elections looming, rising gas prices are once again becoming a major political vulnerability as frustrated Americans watch the cost of filling up climb higher.

As pervasive fraud schemes continue to sweep across the U.S., a group that seeks to preserve economic freedoms at the state level says that former President Joe Biden‘s policies were a main driver for the proliferation of the issue.

OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, said “relaxed controls” during the last administration opened the door to widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars. And state treasurers are now leading the fight to strengthen oversight and reclaim funds for the American people.

“This isn’t a partisan statement, but it is a true statement to say that this kind of exploded during the Biden administration,” Oleka told Fox News Digital. “A lot of the controls were turned off. A lot of states who have the philosophy that ‘more government is good’ just simply turned on the spigots and allowed anybody to get access to any benefit.”

Speaking from SFOF’s annual conference in Clearwater, Florida, Oleka said fraud has become so deeply embedded in government programs that it’s now “a feature in the system, not a bug.”

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SFOF’s first-ever Oversight Report for 2025 found that affiliated state financial officers protected and returned $28 billion to taxpayers last year, uncovering $5.7 billion in waste, fraud and abuse. They, meanwhile, generated or returned another $22.3 billion through investment earnings and unclaimed property programs.

“We say that fraud actually has an industry in this country,” Oleka said. “What we’re trying to do is root out the fraud industrial complex that exists within our government programs. That’s the biggest challenge.”

He pointed to weak eligibility requirements during Biden’s time in office — and sometimes no requirements at all — exploding the instances of fraud.

“Then practically anybody can have access to the benefits — people who don’t need them, people who don’t deserve them, people who aren’t even eligible for them,” he lamented.

President Donald Trump this year tapped Vice President JD Vance to lead a nationwide “War on Fraud.” It stemmed from the highly scrutinized Minnesota “Feeding Our Future” scheme, which allegedly defrauded the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Oleka praised the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts, and in a February letter to the White House told Vance that SFOF members are “allies already on the battlefield” ready to help protect taxpayer dollars.

“The beauty of what’s happening now is you’ve got the Vice President and the task force and our state financial officers rooting to get this stuff out,” he said. “That’s the goal: you get it out root and branch, you stop it from being in the system, and you make a benefit system that actually works again for the American people.”

But, he said, future administrations need to continue the crack-down if Americans want to see lasting change.

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The SFOF is also working directly with members of Congress, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and state officials to ensure fraud is addressed beyond the Trump administration, according to Oleka.

He also would like to see some of the changes cemented through executive order.

“You’ve got a system that is allowing you to do the things that you’re doing, but it’s clearly unethical, it’s clearly wrong, and you saw a lot of this actually take off during the Biden-era,” Oleka said.

Massive fraud was recently exposed in California, Maine and Ohio, where he said Democratic leaders failed to act because they “don’t have the political will to stop the fraud.”

A multi-million dollar hospice fraud scheme in California was uncovered, while a Maine health services company was accused by a whistleblower of misusing millions in Medicaid funds in December. In Columbus, Ohio, hundreds of home health companies that shared the same addresses and operated out of vacant or poorly maintained properties were found to have billed the federal government more than $250 million in Medicaid spending.

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“We’ve seen it in Minnesota, we’ve seen it in California, Maine and Ohio, all across the country,” Oleka said. “But what you also see are state financial officers who are standing up for the American people. What you also see is Chairman Comer standing up for the American people. You also see the Vice President and the task force and the President of the United States standing up for the American people.”

He insisted that taxpayers should not be on the hook to foot the bill for fraud.

“The American people do not benefit when there is a system that’s giving out their money to people who don’t deserve it and who don’t need it,” he said.

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Oleka argued that the push to end fraud goes hand-in-hand with lowering costs for Americans.

“Our folks not only talked about fraud, but also about how they can help lead the fight to make things more affordable for the American people,” he said. “As a result, the tone of the conference was hopeful.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment.

Cuban despot Raul Castro’s federal indictment is likely sparking paranoia inside the regime as officials look at what has happened to other despots this year, the one member of Congress who personally experienced the dictatorship’s terror told Fox News Digital.

Though no longer Cuba’s formal leader since Miguel Diaz-Canel took over in 2021, Raul Castro still holds a tighter grip on the levers of power in Havana than the island’s established government, House Homeland Security Committee member Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said.

Gimenez said the indictment, while long overdue, could bring some measure of justice to the families of Americans killed in the 1996 downing of two humanitarian aircraft in the Strait of Florida.

Gimenez said Castro intentionally targeted a group that searched the sea almost daily for Cuban refugees attempting the 90-mile trip to the congressional district he now represents, spanning South Dade to the Keys.

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“We have him on tape saying [he did it],” Gimenez said of Castro — indicted on Cuban Independence Day.

“We cannot tolerate any regime murdering American citizens wherever they may be.”

Asked whether Cuba may see a mission similar to the one in Venezuela, where U.S. forces extracted an indicted dictator, Gimenez said every situation is different even if the actors are ideologically and criminally similar.

“I think that the president’s going to let this kind of percolate for a while and also continue the pressure on the regime that we’ve been exerting,” he said, agreeing with fellow Miamian Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime is collapsing under its own failure.

The suspense — coming amid additional arrests of regime allies stateside and Castro’s charges Wednesday — is proverbially killing the Cuban government, he said.

“The island goes dark for hours and so I think [President Donald Trump’s] going to let it percolate for a while. I’m sure that he is drawing up plans for every contingency. He now has the legal authority to come in and try to arrest him, but I don’t think he is going to do that right away.”

Unlike Venezuela or Iran, America has a home base in Cuba — Guantanamo Bay.

But Gimenez — who recently visited the compound, and therefore his homeland, for the first time in more than 60 years since fleeing at age 6 — said the geopolitics are such that Gitmo is helpful but not the end-all.

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Guantanamo lies on the opposite side of Cuba from Havana, so U.S. assets would need to be positioned closer in the event of any incursion.

“Just in case,” he said. “If something were to happen and the people rise up – so that Raul Castro doesn’t sleep very well at night; not knowing if our helicopters are coming for him.”

He said the best idea at present is creating an environment of constant psychological pressure for the regime — so that they are “looking out and [not] inward as much – thinking that somehow, Uncle Sam is just outside there, floating in the water with a big aircraft carrier.”

Gimenez said the U.S. government appears “actually serious this time – the first time any administration is taking the kind of action against one of the Castros.”

In prior comments, Gimenez referenced an Orange Bowl event attended by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright shortly after the murders, where the Clinton administration promised a response.

Therefore, protesters risking their lives in the streets may feel real change is afoot, Gimenez said, and that unlike in past administrations, the feds will “have their back.”

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“[The regime doesn’t] wholesale kill thousands of people [like Iran] but they do put thousands of people in prison; torture them … Let’s see what’s going to happen inside the island with the Cuban people themselves.”

The administration also has a vocal Havana hawk in Rubio, the son of Cuban emigres.

Shortly after the interview, the feds in Miami detained the head of GAESA, Cuba’s public-private military-led entity that Gimenez said is the true lever of power in Havana. DHS then revoked Adys Lastres-Morera’s green card.

Diaz-Canel is a figurehead, Gimenez said, noting Castro leads GAESA and therefore is the end-all.

Gimenez quipped that his Miami colleague Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart made the point that “presidents” of Cuba essentially mean nothing – when he asked another interviewer if they had heard of a past president not named Castro.

Diaz-Balart also noted that his brother, former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., wrote to the Clinton administration in 1996 demanding action, but none came.

POST-MADURO, PRESSURE BUILDS ON MEXICO OVER CUBA’S NEW OIL LIFELINE

“So, in the case of GAESA, it is run by military officers under the control of [the] Castros [and] controls 70% of Cuba’s economy… It shows you that there is a government inside a government,” Gimenez said.

He argued the estimated $16 billion held by GAESA self-enriches the regime while ordinary Cubans face economic collapse and private industry fails.

In a Spanish-language statement, Rubio noted GAESA is the reason the island has been “plundered” by its government – not from any alleged U.S. oil blockade.

As Gimenez and Rubio spoke, congressional support for the indictment was already building.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News military intervention in Havana should never be off the table.

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“Raul Castro – he’s killed Americans, and I’m so glad he’s indicted,” Scott said, adding that a 16-year-old was recently imprisoned for complaining his family lost electricity — agreeing an uprising may be in the offing.

Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., who represents the U.S.-Cuban diaspora in Calle Ocho, said her community waited 65 years and 10 U.S. presidents to express this “message to the Castros.”

“It’s time for you guys to go.”

Now, with Castro’s indictment and the predictions of Gimenez, Diaz-Balart and others, Cuban Independence Day may have new meaning by the next time it passes on the calendar.

President Donald Trump isn’t backing down from his administration’s latest move that has blown up his agenda in Congress. 

Trump on Friday stood by the newly created “anti-weaponization” fund that some Republicans have described as a slush fund launched by the Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this week. He argued that what could have been a massive payday for himself was converted into “justice” for others. 

“I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune.” 

SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING

“Instead, I am helping others who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE! President DJT,” he continued.

The fund stemmed from an agreement among Trump, his family and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to settle his $10 billion lawsuit against the government over the leak of their tax returns. 

The nearly $1.8 billion fund would “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare,” according to the DOJ. 

But its creation foiled his agenda in Congress to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol throughout his term. Republicans contended that the timing could have waited.

REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN

“Well, it would have been nice if they had consulted, and I think they probably would have gotten plenty of advice from lots of folks about it, but it’s water under the bridge now,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. 

“And you play the hand you’re dealt, and we’ll sort it out from here, but obviously it became a more complicated and bumpy path than we hoped,” he continued. 

That’s because the majority of Senate Republicans on Thursday took issue with a lack of clear guardrails on whether those convicted of assaulting police officers during the riots on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, could make a claim and get a taxpayer-funded payout.

The announcement of the settlement and subsequent creation of the fund earlier this week derailed what was meant to be the last sprint to pass the massive, $72 billion package. The goal was to have the legislation on Trump’s desk by June 1. 

SENATE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO DERAIL ICE, BORDER PATROL PACKAGE OVER TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR REQUEST

But Republicans, facing severe political headwinds, weren’t satisfied with the explanations of how the fund would work and what guardrails could be installed. 

And despite the administration’s argument that the fund has nothing to do with the reconciliation process, it is inextricably tied to the maneuver because the Senate Judiciary Committee oversees the DOJ and has played a major role in crafting the broader package.

The Senate doesn’t return until Trump’s deadline, and the likelihood that lawmakers solve the issue and finish their work is low. 

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Meanwhile, Senate Democrats cheered the result.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of “fleeing” from Washington, D.C., on Thursday, and charged that “they’re at each other’s throats.”

“Trapped in a corner by their own president, Republicans have their backs to the wall with no way out. Nowhere to hide. No end in sight,” Schumer said. “The only way for Republicans to get out of this box is to stop backing the slush fund. Stop pushing the ballroom.”

Republican attorney general candidates are betting that crime, border security and public safety will drive voters to the polls in November as they position themselves as frontline fighters against Democratic policies on immigration and law enforcement.

The Republican Attorneys General Association and its affiliated groups are launching an aggressive $11 million television offensive across key battleground states this fall, with initial ad purchases targeting attorney general races in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia and Kansas.

“I think we have learned that being aggressive is a good thing,” RAGA Chairman Austin Knudsen, who also serves as Montana attorney general, told Fox News Digital. “Being aggressive works.”

Republicans say the effort reflects a broader push to put Democrats on defense over crime and public safety issues in some of the country’s most competitive statewide contests.

END OF DEFUND POLICE ERA? CRIME, PROSECUTORIAL CRACKDOWN IN BLUE AND PURPLE STATES SIGNALS SHIFT, EXPERTS SAY

“I don’t think there’s any question that the winning message for AG races around the country in 2026 is public safety,” Knudsen said. “Americans care about public safety, they care about law enforcement, they care about border security.”

Knudsen argued attorney general races have become increasingly nationalized because they can quickly challenge federal policies through lawsuits and multistate legal coalitions.

Republican attorneys general scored major victories against the Biden administration, including a successful challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that ended with the Supreme Court striking down the program in Biden v. Nebraska. GOP attorney general coalitions also sued to block the administration’s revised SAVE repayment plan, winning court orders delaying parts of the program.

Republican-led states also challenged Biden administration efforts to expand Title IX protections to include gender identity, turning attorney general offices into a major front in the nation’s culture wars.

“Congress talks. Attorneys generals act,” Knudsen said. “When we see something bad coming out of Washington, D.C., we can quickly mobilize. We can file lawsuits.”

REPUBLICAN AGS DOUBLE DOWN ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAWSUITS AS PRESIDENT PREPARES TO LEAVE OFFICE

The ad reservations build on a broader Republican expansion effort already underway. Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird’s campaign has already reserved more than $2 million in fall television advertising, while RAGA says it raised a record $29.3 million across affiliated entities in 2025.

RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper said Republicans intend to capitalize on what they view as voter frustration over progressive criminal justice policies pushed by Democrats in battleground states.

“RAGA has a good map in 2026 and will be on offense because the reality is voters prioritize public safety and prefer Republican AGs who fight crime and win at the courthouse over Democrat AGs who pander to criminals with cashless bail idiocracy,” Piper said in a statement.

“These early TV reservations and direct candidate investments are merely a down payment on the resources RAGA will marshal this fall,” Piper added. “Democrats should understand that Republican AGs are not playing defense. We are taking the fight directly to them.”

The GOP is making Michigan a centerpiece of that argument.

Democrats there nominated Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, whose office became the first in Michigan to stop seeking cash bail and announced it would no longer prosecute certain low-level drug offenses.

TUDOR DIXON RETURNS TO MICHIGAN POLITICS WITH NEW PAC AIMED AT BOOSTING REPUBLICANS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND

Michigan Republican attorney general candidate Doug Lloyd, the longtime Eaton County prosecutor, told Fox News Digital he believes public safety concerns cut across party lines in the battleground state.

“People want to feel safe in their communities, and they’re not feeling that safe right now,” Lloyd said. “That’s an 80-20 issue.”

Lloyd also accused Democratic prosecutors of selectively refusing to enforce laws, an issue Republicans increasingly plan to elevate nationally.

“I believe that when you start making that statement that ‘I refuse to enforce the laws that our legislature has created and which are constitutional’, then you’re on the road to anarchy,” Lloyd told Fox News Digital. “We’ve seen how that’s gone for the last eight years and I believe that our citizens are actually tired of it.”

In Georgia, Republicans are targeting Democratic attorney general nominee Tanya Miller over her vote against HB 1105, a post-Laken Riley immigration enforcement law requiring local officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Knudsen said Republicans learned important lessons during the Biden administration about how aggressively voters want attorneys general to challenge Democratic policies in court.

“We’ve seen the fentanyl, cartel fentanyl and methamphetamine flood in from the southern border during Joe Biden and flood every state,” Knudsen said.

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Knudsen said Republicans learned important lessons during the Biden administration about how aggressively voters want attorneys general to confront Democratic policies in court.

“People have figured out that attorney general’s races matter, I think we’ve gotten a lot more attention because of what we’ve been able to do,” Knudsen said. “As attorneys general, we can move quickly and our bread and butter is going to court. That’s what we do.”

“So when we see something bad coming out of Washington, D.C. or something big on the national scale, we can quickly mobilize.”

Fox News Digital has contacted the Democratic Attorneys General Association for comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) vowed to appeal a federal judge’s decision Friday to dismiss human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who initially entered the U.S. illegally and allegedly had suspected ties to MS-13, slamming the ruling as “wrong and dangerous.”

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. on Friday threw out a two-count indictment in Tennessee against Abrego Garcia, ruling the DOJ’s actions amounted to “vindictive and selective prosecution” in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Abrego Garcia was facing charges after allegedly conspiring to smuggle roughly 600 illegal immigrants into the U.S. annually, between 2016 and 2025, according to a cooperating witness.

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR ADMITS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ TIMING IN ABREGO GARCIA SMUGGLING CASE CHARGES

“Another activist judge has placed politics above public safety,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News. “The judge’s order is wrong and dangerous, and we will appeal.”

The federal investigation was initially sparked by a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee and included suspected ties to the MS-13 gang and human trafficking.

The case became a constitutional standoff after the executive branch deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in March 2025 due to an alleged “administrative error.”

MARYLAND IMMIGRANT WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR MUST RETURN TO US, SUPREME COURT RULES

Abrego Garcia sued the government, and the judicial branch — ultimately backed by the Supreme Court — unanimously ordered his return be “facilitate[d]” to the U.S.

Crenshaw, an Obama appointee, noted that just days after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Department of Homeland Security suddenly reopened a closed investigation into Abrego Garcia’s 2022 traffic stop.

TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES

Top Justice Department officials, under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, then pushed for an indictment, according to court documents.

In his 32-page memorandum opinion, Crenshaw determined the DOJ’s rapid pivot from closing the case to prosecuting Abrego Garcia was a direct retaliation for his successful civil lawsuit.

Calling it an “abuse of prosecuting power,” the judge concluded “absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution.”

As a result of the finding, Crenshaw formally dismissed the indictment and vacated Abrego Garcia’s conditions of release.

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Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who flew to El Salvador in April 2025 to meet with Abrego Garcia after he was deported to the country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) megaprison, hailed Friday’s decision.

“Today, a federal judge made clear what we have long known: the Department of Justice was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said in a statment. “This decision is a strong repudiation of Trump’s lawless DOJ and a win for the Constitutional rights of everyone in our nation.”

The parents of Sheridan Gorman, the college freshman who was killed in Chicago earlier this year, appeared Friday at a New York rally hosted by President Donald Trump, where they demanded that leaders oppose sanctuary policies, saying the fight to protect children shouldn’t belong “to only one party.”

Trump was at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, when he introduced Gorman’s family. Jessica Gorman said her daughter’s life was “stolen” by someone who should have never been in the United States.

“At every step the system had a chance to stop him. At every step, it failed. And my daughter paid for those failures with her life,” she said. “No mother should ever have to wonder if her child called out for her in her final moments. No mother should ever have to imagine her baby left alone and bleeding on the cold pavement, and no family should ever have to bury a child because public officials failed to put innocent American lives first.”

CHICAGO MAYOR ASKED ABOUT CITY’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY KILLED COLLEGE STUDENT

Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student, was shot and killed on March 19. She was walking along a lakefront pier at Tobey Prinz Beach with a group of friends when they encountered a masked man hiding behind a lighthouse structure.

Jose Medina, 25, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, was arrested the following day and charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Medina was released from custody months earlier despite an active Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer. DHS released a statement confirming that Medina was released from custody twice. In 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended the suspect before releasing him, according to DHS. Later that year, he was arrested and released again following a shoplifting arrest.

“This is what failed policies have done to our family,” Tom Gorman said about his daughter’s death. “No family should have to become experts in immigration failures, release policies, warrants, sanctuary laws, and enforcement breakdowns because their daughter was killed by someone who should not have been here and should not be free.”

CHICAGO MAYOR JOHNSON UNVEILS ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SNOWPLOW DAYS AFTER STUDENT ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANT

Days after Gorman was killed, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a vocal Trump critic, unveiled a snowplow named “Abolish ICE,” infuriating the Gorman family.

“When they’re naming trucks and laughing and joking several days after our daughter was murdered, we’re waiting in Chicago to claim her body,” Jessica Gorman told “The Story” at the time. “It was more than infuriating. I don’t have—the vitriol that I felt was overwhelming.”

At Friday’s rally, Gorman’s father, Tom Gorman, thanked Trump and criticized leaders who oppose immigration enforcement.

ANGEL PARENTS SLAM ILLINOIS SANCTUARY LAWS AFTER ‘PREVENTABLE’ TRAGEDY IN STUDENT’S DEATH

“But I do not understand why this is a fight that belongs to only one party,” he said. “Protecting our people is not politics. It is the first responsibility of government.”

Many Democrats have expressed opposition to Trump’s deportation policies and targeting of undocumented immigrants, despite many suspects having been accused of or convicted of committing violent crimes while in the U.S.

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Gorman’s death has taken a tool on her family, but Friday’s rally comforted her sister, Madelon Gorman.

“I have to say you are just so funny,” she said of Trump. “My family has laughed more, smiled more in the past hour than we have since March 19th,” she said.

President Donald Trump announced during a rally in New York that he was posthumously awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor to Welles Remy Crowther, the 9/11 hero remembered as the “Man in the Red Bandana” after he repeatedly led victims to safety from the burning South Tower before dying in the terrorist attacks.

Trump revealed the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor during a Rockland County stop on Friday with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who had urged the president to recognize Crowther’s heroism ahead of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11. Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who also worked as a volunteer firefighter, became a symbol of American courage after survivors recounted being guided through smoke and wreckage by a man wearing a red bandana over his face.

“At the request of Bruce, and Mike, and some of the political — great political people we have, and we are approaching the 25th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, a dark day that will live in infamy. We are posthumously awarding Welles the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump told the Rockland County crowd, earning a resounding applause.

FOX NATION, TUNNELS TO TOWERS EXPLORES HOW AMERICA’S PASTIME HELPED A GRIEVING NEW YORK HEAL AFTER 9/11

“It’s the highest award outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor — those are the two biggies and Welles has one of them. I just want to congratulate his great mother in doing a phenomenal job in raising that young man. Boy, what bravery, saved those people and became a legend in a sense, nobody else would have done what he did. So he’s going to be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

The president subsequently brought up Welles’ mother, Alison Crowther, who addressed the pro-Trump crowd momentarily, describing the award bestowed on her son as a “huge honor.” 

“It’s such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles’ light still shines brightly,” she told the crowd, noting she has traveled the world telling her son’s story to places as far away as Jordan. Alison Crowther remarked that in these travels, when she tells children Welles’ story, “They’re tremendously moved and inspired … to be better people.”

NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS

Welles, an equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower, was in his office when the first aircraft hit the North Tower that morning. He left his mother a voicemail shortly after the towers were struck, letting her know he was okay, but his body was later found amid the rubble.

According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Welles “made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed,” with some reports indicating he saved up to 18 lives that day. As he did so, Welles covered his nose and mouth with a red bandana he kept at his desk.

That red bandana is currently displayed at the 9/11 museum in New York City. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports first responders and their families, including those who became victims after 9/11, said Welles always kept a red bandana at his desk.

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The foundation recounted how, when he was asked why he always carried the red bandana, Welles replied: “With this red bandana, I’m going to change the world.” His father, the foundation said, told Welles to always carry a red bandana on him for “messy jobs.”

“People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did,” a survivor rescued by Crowther has said.

In November 2017, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy was injured in Raqqa, Syria while clearing the second floor of a hospital that ISIS had booby trapped with explosives. 

Now a quadriplegic, Stacy, his wife Lindsey, and their 4 children are part of a lawsuit brought by military families against the French cement company, Lafarge, recently found guilty by a French Court of paying millions of dollars in bribes to ISIS to keep their factory open in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria. 

“I mean, they were essentially funneling money to fund terrorists and ISIS and all these heinous crimes and evil acts,” Lindsey Stacy told Fox News while standing by the side of her husband, the former Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist, who just had another surgery to deal with injuries sustained in Syria 9 years ago. 

“It’s very overwhelming, Kenton struggles mentally and physically with his own battles and the kids and I. We have our own struggles,” she continued. “It’s hard to juggle, especially when our oldest son has cerebral palsy, and he requires his own 24-7 care.”

SENATORS CALL ON BIDEN TO BRIEF UPPER CHAMBER ON EFFORTS TO RETURN AUSTIN TICE FROM SYRIA

President Trump praised Stacy’s service to the nation in his 2018 State of the Union Address to Congress. Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck bounded into a booby-trapped building to rescue Kenton and then gave him more than 2 hours of CPR while medics worked to save his life.

“Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin’s selfless love for a fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated.…All of America salutes you.”

In a landmark ruling in April, a French court convicted Lafarge, the world’s largest cement manufacturer, of providing material support to a terror group and sentenced its former CEO to 6 years in prison. Eight former Lafarge employees were found guilty. Lafarge is appealing.

The company acknowledged the court’s finding describing the issue as a “legacy matter,” which was “in flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct.”

Nearly 1,000 plaintiffs, most of them military families, are part of earlier litigation in the Eastern District of New York.

“They were killed in Syria by a gruesome terrorist organization that was funded in part by Lafarge. And that’s not an allegation. That is undisputed fact. Lafarge pled guilty to doing that in 2022.”

Todd Toral, the lawyer from Jenner & Block, is representing Stacy and about 25 other families.

Toral, who is also a US Marine, is seeking compensation for those families from the $777 million Lafarge paid to the Justice Department as part of the settlement. The DOJ has had that money since Oct 2022.

“I think the ruling by the court in France is significant generally, because it’s the first time in many, many years that a corporation, and not just the corporation, but executives at a corporation have been held to account for their misconduct in aiding terrorism,” Toral said in an interview with Fox.

In order to operate in ISIS-controlled areas of Syria, Lafarge paid more than $6.5 million to ISIS from 2013–2014 through its Syrian subsidiary to keep production facilities running. The cement produced at its factory in Jalabiya, a factory which was bought for $680 million months before the Syrian uprising began in 2011, was also used for tunnels and bunkers, which helped the terrorist group.

The lawsuit is significant because it marks the first time a company has faced U.S. charges for supporting a terrorist group.

DOJ ACCELERATES SETTLEMENT OFFERS IN CAMP LEJEUNE WATER CONTAMINATION CASES

In October 2022, Lafarge settled with the DOJ before the French ruling, paying more than $777 million into an asset forfeiture fund currently controlled by the DOJ, funds which are supposed to compensate victims of the ISIS attacks, many of them American Gold Star families, like Hailey Dayton, whose father was the first American killed by ISIS in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2016.

“I was 15 when my dad was killed,” Hailey Dayton told Fox from her home in Florida. “I saw six guys in Navy white step out of the van. I got so excited because I thought my dad came back to surprise us. I remember opening the door, huge smile on my face, and I was looking at the men, trying to find my dad and I didn’t find, I didn’t see him, but instead I saw six guys with tears in their eyes.” 

The Biden Justice Department denied requests to distribute the Lafarge funds while the case was still pending before a French Court. Lafarge was found guilty by that court in April. In February, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., pressed then-Attorney General Pam Bondi on when the DOJ planned to release the funds to the families.

“In February 2025, my colleagues and I sent you a letter urging the department to review the petitions for remission submitted by the families of those fallen service members, including several of my constituents. The previous administration ignored these victims and our requests and left their petitions unresolved,” Biggs asked Bondi during a Congressional hearing.

“Congressman, we are aware of that and we’re committed to doing everything we can to support the victims and work with you. Thank you for that question,” Bondi replied. That was more than a year ago and the DOJ has still not distributed the compensation funds.

Now the plaintiffs, most of them military families, say the decision to release the funds rests with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“I don’t know why. I don’t know why they’re ignoring us. To me, it feels like being a pawn. My dad, he went in when he was 19, he served 23 years,” Dayton, the Gol Star daughter of Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton, said.

“To the current Department of Justice, I would, say, make things right.” 

Lindsey Stacy, who says she and her family have difficulty making ends meet given Kenton Stacy’s severe injuries, added, “There’s a lot of families out there that could benefit from these funds. I mean, it’s been almost nine years. It would be nice to, you know, for justice to be served.”

FREEDOM ISN’T FREE: HONOR THOSE WHO NEVER CAME HOME ON THIS MEMORIAL DAY

 “They have been convicted recently in their own country, guilty. It has been a long battle, but it’d be nice just for it to come to an end, get some closure and be able to just take care of our family,” she added. “I mean he made a huge sacrifice for our country and it would just be nice if they’d stand right by us and all the other co-plaintiffs.”

“We can think of no group of people who are more worthy of receiving compensation from that victim’s compensation fund than these families who lost a son, lost a brother, lost a husband, and they deserve to be treated better by the United States of America,” Toral, who continues to press his clients’ case said in an interview ahead of Memorial Day Weekend.

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The Department of Justice, which controls the $777 million dollars in penalties forfeited by Lafarge, issued the following statement: 

“The Department is committed to compensating all victims to the maximum extent permitted by law. While we cannot comment on a pending matter, the Department will always engage in the appropriate process to evaluate claims and ensure that our brave servicemembers receive any amount of compensation to which they are entitled.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had never appeared before a congressional panel asking for money to run his department until Tuesday morning.

And even though cabinet secretaries routinely make their budget requests to Congress, it appears that Blanche apparently didn’t even need to ask lawmakers for the most-controversial batch of federal funds in years. 

It was already approved. Somehow. 

Blanche’s Justice Department announced the creation of a billion compensation fund to pay people who Republicans say are victims of government weaponization. Who gets the money isn’t clear. And what’s murkier still is how the stash of cash came about.

APOLOGIES AND CASH HEADED TO ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ VICTIMS IN BILLION-DOLLAR TRUMP SETTLEMENT

In short, President Donald Trump sued his own IRS for leaking his tax returns – along with the filings of several hundred other Americans. Then, Blanche’s own Department of Justice announced that the president essentially settled with himself. 

“Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax,” read the DoJ statement.

The fund is worth $1.776 billion. Get it? 1776.

REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN

So while the president couldn’t receive money from this fund, his political allies and donors could.

All without congressional input. 

“I realize it’s a lot of money,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “I want to understand where the money comes from. Do we find it in the budget? Do we have to borrow it? There’s just a lot of unanswered questions.”

DAVID MARCUS: HE BARELY SURVIVED BIDEN LAWFARE, AND NOW HE DESERVES TO GET PAID

“What I want to know is how the fund is created and what its purpose is,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.

“And (I want to know) the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn’t had anything to say about.” 

The government swept up the phone information of multiple Republican lawmakers after the January 6 riot as part of Operation Arctic Frost. That included the records of Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. He defended the fund.

‘COMPLETE FAILURE’: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS THREATENS CAPITOL HILL AS TRUMP PLANS POLICY OVERHAUL 

“What we ought to be talking about is the reasons for the compensation. Weaponization of government that took place under former President Joe Biden was an absolute disgrace,” said Hagerty.

Blanche formerly served as President Trump’s personal legal counsel. Lawmakers argued that Blanche reverted to that role when he created the compensation fund out of the ether. 

“Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president’s personal attorney. And that’s the whole problem,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“You’re a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America. And you’re the president’s consigliere,” piled on Sen. Jack Reed D-R.I.

Lawmakers questioned who qualifies for compensation.

“Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?” asked Van Hollen.

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“Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization,” replied Blanche.

And that’s what concerned bipartisan lawmakers. The compensation conundrum instantly spilled over into a major bill, due to the hit the Senate floor. 

Congressional Republicans were trying to pass a bill to finally address funding for ICE and Border Patrol, once and for all. But they planned to bypass a Democratic filibuster using a special process called budget reconciliation.

SENATE GOP LAUNCHES ALL-NIGHT VOTE-A-RAMA TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL THROUGH END OF TRUMP’S TERM

The good thing about reconciliation is that you can pass a bill with 51 yeas and don’t need to clear the filibuster with 60 votes. The bad thing is that the reconciliation process entails what the Senate refers to as a “vote-a-rama.” This is where senators can offer practically any amendment on any subject in a drawn-out process which might consume an entire calendar day.

Republicans freaked out that Democrats would force them to take controversial votes on the compensation fund. And frankly, many Republicans intended to author their own amendments to curb the fund – simultaneously inoculating themselves from blowback. 

That political brew was too much for Senate Republicans.

DEMOCRATS’ LAST-MINUTE MOVE TO BLOCK GOP FUNDING PLAN SENDS LAWMAKERS HOME EARLY

They summoned Blanche to Capitol Hill Thursday morning to explain the fund. The meeting didn’t go well. Fox is told that Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., were pointed in their comments to Blanche. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., popped into the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor en route to the meeting. Tillis was in mid-conversation. All anyone could hear Tillis say was “And I’m not voting for it!” as he walked by.

By early afternoon, Republican leaders scrapped the bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sent everyone home for Memorial Day. It was the biggest legislative rebuke of President Trump’s second term.

 “I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work,” said Kennedy. “I think there were six or seven people who are going to vote no.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS

Yet Republicans were practically on the verge of finally ending the ICE and Border Patrol funding impasse.

“The sole reason we are here today is because Democrats refused to fund law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

The debate over funding for the president’s ballroom wasn’t exactly the foxtrot for Senate Republicans. But the compensation fund converted the reconciliation process into the samba.

CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER WEEKS OF SHUTDOWN DRAMA

No fancy footwork here. Republicans managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

“There are a lot of questions about it. I have Republican colleagues who have concerns about who can receive funding from that fund,” said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.

However Banks noted that “every single Republican who was on the ballot like I was in the ‘24 cycle talked about stopping the weaponization of government.”

HOUSE GOP TENSIONS ERUPT AS REPUBLICANS TURN ON EACH OTHER HEADING INTO YEAR’S END

Democrats watched as Republicans blanched at what Blanche told them. 

“I think my Republican colleagues have reached their limit,” said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

Thune said the compensation fund “makes everything way harder than it should be.” He declared that the White House should should have “consulted” with Congressional Republicans about the fund ahead of time. So deadlocked, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed everyone until early June.

OUT OF POWER: DEMOCRATS DISORIENTED IN FIGHT AGAINST TRUMP AGENDA

“Republicans are so divided, so dysfunctional, so disorganized, that they are fleeing Washington. Their majority can’t melt down fast enough,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

However, some of the President’s allies defended the compensation fund. 

“I feel comfortable that whose who have been wronged by their government should have some sort of redress,” said Sen. Eric Schmidt, R-Mo.

And even though the president recently steamrolled some GOP foes politically, Republicans blocked him legislatively.

“We should have full review of what we’re funding,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont. “Congress has our obligation.”

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So President Trump may get the personnel he wants in Congress next year as Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., go by the wayside. But securing the policies may need to wait until the president’s preferred candidates are in place in 2027.

That’s why some lawmakers are questioning whether Congress can move any more meaningful legislation the rest of this year. Everything else from here on will be “way harder than it should be.”

Findings from audits of six New York City agencies intended to ensure compliance with the city’s sanctuary laws found that federal immigration authorities use aggressive and deceptive tactics, the office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday.

The audits and recommendations were part of Executive Order 13, which mandated a public safety audit for six specific city agencies: the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the Departments of Correction (DOC), Probation (DOP), Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and Social Services (DSS).

The order was issued by Mamdani upon taking office in an effort to fulfill a promise to protect the city’s immigrant communities.

The 19-page executive summary details the interactions between the agencies and federal immigration authorities, as well as recommendations to close loopholes and blind spots in the city’s sanctuary policies.

MAMDANI CLARIFIES NYC WON’T CHECK IMMIGRATION STATUS FOR UNIVERSAL CHILDCARE ENROLLEES

“The findings and recommendations released today will strengthen City agencies’ protocols when interacting with federal authorities and ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, can safely access the City services they deserve,” said Faiza Ali, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, in a statement.

Among the findings were that federal immigration authorities have intensified their targeting of city shelters, resulting in a sharp increase in detainer requests to the city’s Department of Correction and New York Police Department. The report also accused immigration authorities of using aggressive and misleading tactics.

The NYPD received 3,672 requests for civil immigration detainers in 2025—a massive spike from just 99 requests the previous year. The NYPD did not transfer any individuals to ICE in response to these requests.

MAMDANI VOWS NYPD WILL ‘NEVER’ GO BACK TO ADAMS-ERA COOPERATION WITH ICE ENFORCEMENT

In June 2025, personnel with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) visited a shelter and initially falsely identified themselves as Fire Department officials, the report states. They only admitted they were with DHS after a city employee demanded identification.

In April 2025, officers from several federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), DHS, the FBI, and the DEA visited shelters ten times, sometimes in plainclothes. They used tactics such as asking to conduct “wellness checks” on children in order to inquire about specific clients. In other instances, agents presented subpoenas or administrative warrants, which do not legally authorize access to shelters, though they did present legally binding judicial warrants on two occasions (leading to one arrest).

In another instance, ICE agents entered a Department of Probation (DOP) building in Brooklyn and asked to use the bathroom, but then attempted to look through the facility’s sign-in book. Staff intercepted them, checked their identification, and escorted them out, the report said.

MAMDANI DECLARES HE’S READY FOR ‘ANY CONSEQUENCE’ FOR STANDING AGAINST TRUMP’S FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Mamdani has been a vocal opponent of ICE and the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. In a statement, he called the audit a “critical step towards strengthening compliance with our local laws and reinforcing New York City’s protections for immigrant communities.”

“I am proud to share key findings and recommendations from the audit that will ensure that we are responding to the changing nature of federal immigration enforcement and protecting the rights of all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status,” he said.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the White House urged leaders to cooperate with ICE. 

“ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities — local officials should work with them, not against them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. “Anyone doing otherwise is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens. The Trump Administration will not waver on enforcing federal immigration law.”

The recommendations in the report include:

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• Limiting the inclusion of immigration status details in pre-sentencing investigation reports.
• Strengthening internal protocols for tracking and publicly posting detainer requests.
• Revising shelter incident reports and protocols regarding access to city property.
• Establishing protocols requiring the NYPD Communications Division to notify its Operations Division about any 911 calls or requests involving federal immigration authorities.

EXCLUSIVE: Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her post as Director of National Intelligence to support her husband through his battle with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” Fox News Digital learned.

Gabbard notified President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office Friday. Her last day at ODNI is expected to be June 30.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained her formal resignation letter, in which Gabbard says she is “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”

GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY

Gabbard said her husband “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she said. 

Gabbard added: “Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns and now my service in this role.”

“His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge,” she continued. “I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.”

Trump reacted to the resignation later on Friday, writing on Truth Social, “Unfortunately, after having done a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the Administration on June 30th.”

“Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together,” he continued.  “I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.” 

Gabbard said she has “made significant progress at the ODNI — advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community,” but said she recognizes “there is still important work to be done.”

“I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum,” she said.

“Thank you for your understanding during this deeply personal and difficult time for our family.”

Gabbard added: “I will remain forever grateful to you and to the American people for the profound honor of serving our nation as DNI.”

Gabbard posted her resignation letter to X later Friday afternoon, noting that, “It has been a profound honor to serve the American people as DNI.”

GREGG JARRETT: LONG-HIDDEN DOCUMENTS REVEAL FIRST TRUMP IMPEACHMENT WAS A TOTAL FRAUD

Gabbard, as DNI, began a transformational effort to reshape the Intelligence Community— reducing the agency in size and saving taxpayers more than $700 million per year, dismantling DEI programs in the IC and more.

Gabbard, as of this month, declassified more than half a million pages of government records, including those related to the Trump-Russia investigation, the JFK and RFK assassinations and more.

Gabbard also declassified documents tied to the origins of the Trump-Russia “Crossfire Hurricane” probe, arguing they showed Obama administration officials politicized intelligence related to Russia’s 2016 election interference and used it to undermine Trump’s first presidential victory.

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Meanwhile, Gabbard created the first-ever “Weaponization Working Group,” aimed at coordinating efforts across the federal government to expose the Biden Admin’s weaponization of government. 

As DNI, Gabbard’s National Counterterrorism Center prevented more than 10,000 individuals with ties to narco-terrorism from entering the country in 2025 and placed more than 85,000 similarly tied individuals on the terror watchlist.

A top Senate Republican is publicly pressuring President Donald Trump against pursuing what he described as a weak Iran deal as administration officials signal negotiations with Tehran are making progress. 

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a sharply worded warning Thursday urging Trump not to abandon military pressure on the Iranian regime in favor of diplomacy.

“We are at a moment that will define President Trump’s legacy,” Wicker said in a statement. “His instincts have been to finish the job he started in Iran, but he is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”

REPUBLICANS URGE TRUMP TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HIS PLAN TO DISMANTLE IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES

“Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait,” Wicker went on. “Further pursuit of an agreement with Iran’s Islamist regime risks a perception of weakness. We must finish what we started. It is past time for action.”

The remarks expose growing tension inside Republican national security circles as the Trump administration weighs whether to pursue a negotiated agreement with Iran or continue its military campaign against the Iranian regime and its nuclear capabilities.

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wicker’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged there had been “some progress” in ongoing negotiations with Iran, while cautioning that no agreement had been reached.

“There’s been some progress,” Rubio said Thursday. “I wouldn’t exaggerate it. I wouldn’t diminish it.” 

“We’re not there yet,” Rubio added. “I hope we get there.” 

Rubio said key issues remain unresolved, including Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and whether Tehran would be permitted any future uranium enrichment capability under a potential agreement.

“The issue of highly enriched uranium has to be discussed. Its disposition has to be dealt with. And of course, the issue of future enrichment has to be dealt with as well,” Rubio said.

He also indicated discussions involving the Strait of Hormuz remain part of broader negotiations.

The comments marked one of the clearest public signs yet that active diplomacy between Washington and Iran remains underway despite recent military escalation and fears of a wider regional conflict.

Trump himself recently signaled he remains open to giving diplomacy additional time before considering further military action.

“If I can save war by waiting a couple of days, if I can save people being killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it’s a great thing to do,” Trump said in recent days. 

PAKISTAN’S AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN TOO ‘WAR-TORN’ TO RESPOND QUICKLY AS TRUMP EXTENDS STRIKE DEADLINE

The administration’s diplomatic push has coincided with intensified regional mediation efforts, including a high-profile visit by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to Iran — a trip widely viewed as part of broader backchannel efforts aimed at reducing tensions between Washington and Iran.

The visit fueled further speculation that Pakistan is playing a quiet intermediary role as negotiators explore possible frameworks to avoid additional military escalation.

Still, Rubio repeatedly emphasized Thursday that negotiations remain fragile and could ultimately collapse.

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“We’re dealing with a very difficult group of people,” Rubio said. “It may not” happen

He added that Trump “has other options” if diplomacy fails, while stressing the president still prefers “the negotiated option and having a good deal.”

A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Thursday.

The lawsuit, brought against Bellows in September, alleged that Maine violated federal election laws when the state refused to turn over data about Maine voters to the federal government.

Bellows argued that the DOJ did not provide an explanation for how it planned to use the data they requested, which included the names of everybody on Maine’s voter rolls as well as driver’s license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth.

She rejected the DOJ’s request in August and then filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit in December.

TRUMP-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES DOJ LAWSUIT SEEKING ARIZONA VOTER DATA

“The Gulf of Maine is awfully cold, but maybe that’s what the DOJ needs to cool down. So, here’s my answer to Trump’s DOJ today: Go jump in the Gulf of Maine,” she said in a July news conference.

On Thursday, Maine Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, who Trump appointed in 2018, granted Bellows’ motion and dismissed the DOJ lawsuit.

“The United States’ requests would require me to turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism and how those expressions have found expression in American elections,” Walker said.

DOJ SUES SIX STATES FOR REFUSING TO TURN OVER VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS, WARNS ‘OPEN DEFIANCE’ OF FEDERAL LAW

Bellows praised the ruling. “Today’s ruling affirms that the states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections. From the moment the Trump Administration sought every American’s voter data, I said no. When they tried to bully me by suing Maine, I helped lead of coalition of states to fight back – and we’re winning. I will continue to defend every Mainer’s voting rights and their privacy,” she said in a statement.

“Let me be clear – Trump and the DOJ may continue to try to interfere with free and fair elections run by the states. We will not let them,” Bellows said. “Under our Constitution, states are the primary regulators and administrators of elections for federal office, unless Congress passes legislation that preempts that framework. And Congress’s power to do even that is itself subject to limitations.”

The DOJ has sued 30 states for refusing to turn over unredacted lists of their voter rolls. Those lawsuits have been dismissed in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and now Maine, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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The DOJ has not publicly commented on the dismissal.

Fox News Digital contacted the DOJ and Maine secretary of state for additional comment.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday a major shift in immigration policy, dictating that noncitizens in the U.S. who have applied for a green card, or lawful permanent resident status, must leave the country indefinitely — even if they are in the country legally and regardless of whether they have spouses or children with citizenship.

Green card petitioners will then be required to wait for their application to be processed outside the country through consular processing via the U.S. Department of State.

USCIS said it will grant “adjustment of status” only in extraordinary circumstances, on a case-by-case basis.

CAN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORT GREEN CARD HOLDERS? HERE’S WHAT RIGHTS THEY HAVE IN THE US

The Trump administration’s position remains that when noncitizens travel into the country via student visas, tourist visas or temporary work status, they are supposed to leave once that term expires and that temporary permission to be in the U.S. should not serve as the first step toward getting a green card.

Officials claim the policy reflects the original intentions of the law, though lawsuits and litigation are expected to follow.

“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler wrote in a statement. “From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances. This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.”

‘SHAMEFUL’: LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FACE UPHILL BATTLE AMID ONGOING BORDER CRISIS

Kahler added that when noncitizens apply for a green card from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who “decide to slip into the shadows” and remain in the U.S. illegally after being denied residency.

“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose,” he said. “Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the green card process.

“Following the law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at U.S. consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases that fall under its purview, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, naturalization applications and other priorities,” Kahler added. “The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient.”

Critics of the policy shift argue many overstays have U.S. citizen spouses or children, pay taxes and fill labor shortages and, if removed from the country, will face long processing delays and humanitarian concerns.

It is unclear if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will begin deporting green card applicants.

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Maye Musk, Elon Musk’s mother, took to X to react to the policy change.

“When I wanted to get my green card, I had to have numerous vaccinations, health tests and a lung x-ray,” Maye Musk wrote in a post. “Because I was Canadian, I had to fly to Montreal to have a lung x-ray again to confirm that it’s the same person. However, when the x-ray had to be delivered to me at my friend’s home, the delivery truck was stuck on a bridge because of thick ice. I had to stay an extra day. Nothing was easy. It took another five years before I could get citizenship. Worth it.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

House Republicans are reportedly frustrated by the Senate GOP’s move to kick the can down the road instead of voting on a budget reconciliation package pertaining to immigration enforcement this week.

“The Senate’s demonstrated once again that they don’t even know how to get their work done properly,” Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said, according to The Hill.

President Donald Trump is backing Donalds for Florida governor.

“It’s gutless, and I’m very frustrated,” Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said, according to the outlet. “They need to work. They didn’t want to work …. The Senate ought to be calling on the leadership over there. If the House did it, I’d be doing it too.”

SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING

“I’m frustrated that it’s not done, but hopeful that they can finish it up when they come back, I guess, and we can get this done,” Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said, according to The Hill.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House.

President Donald Trump indicated on Truth Social in April that he wanted a bill on his desk by June 1 to provide funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol.

The Justice Department recently announced an “Anti-weaponization Fund,” noting in a press release “that as a part of the settlement agreement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, the Attorney General established ‘The Anti-Weaponization Fund’ to provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans on Thursday.

Sources told Fox News Digital that over two dozen Republicans demanded answers from Blanche on what kind of guardrails could be put into the fund, and specifically if those convicted for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots could be excluded. 

There have been discussions of including those guardrails into the reconciliation package, given that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the DOJ, is a major part of the process.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital that Blanche had a “healthy discussion on the settlement.”

“He made clear that the Anti-Weaponization Fund announced Monday has nothing to do with reconciliation. Indeed, not a single dime from the money the president is seeking in reconciliation would go toward anything having to do with the fund,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to work with the Senate to get critical reconciliation funds approved.”

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Trump declared in a Friday Truth Social post, “I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward. I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!”

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Fox News Channel’s Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

The United States has temporarily paused weapons sales to Taiwan in order to ensure readiness for a potential escalation in Iran, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao testified to the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on Tuesday.

“I have not heard, I have not spoken to the Taiwanese. However, we have done some military, foreign military sales to them. And it’s just, right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury, which we have plenty, but we’re just making sure we have everything,” Cao testified.

When asked by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., if sales would be resumed at any point, Cao replied, “That would be up to the secretary of war and the secretary of state, sir.”

“Well, that’s really distressing,” McConnell responded.

TRUMP RALLIES DEFENSE TITANS TO SURGE WEAPONS OUTPUT AS IRAN WAR RAGES

Cao did also add that “the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.”

His testimony came a week after President Donald Trump’s state visit to China, where Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of Taiwan as a red-line issue.

“President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement after Trump and Xi’s bilateral meeting.

BEHIND SUMMIT SMILES, XI GIVES BLUNT WARNING TO TRUMP OF ‘CLASHES’ AND ‘CONFLICTS’

Congress pre-approved a $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan in January, though Trump has yet to formally notify the package, a key step in approving the delivery to Taiwan. Though a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged him to do so before his China visit, Trump withheld his stamp of approval, leaving the armament deal in limbo.

During an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier from China, Trump urged both Taiwan and China to “cool down” and remained ambivalent on the likelihood he’d sign off on the weapons bundle.

“I may do it. I may not do it,” he told Baier. “We’re not looking to have wars. If you kept it the way it is, I think China is [going to] be OK with that. But we’re not looking to have somebody say, ‘Let’s go independent because the United States is backing us.’”

CHINA PROMISES ‘COUNTERMEASURES’ TO US ARMS SALE TO TAIWAN

Beijing has long viewed Taiwan as a “breakaway province” and lays claim to the island as belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The U.S., in concert with President Ronald Reagan’s “six assurances” to Taiwan, has historically been the island nation’s chief weapons supplier, a trend that many Washington lawmakers wish to see continued.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asserted as much during Tuesday’s subcommittee hearing, insisting that weaponizing Taiwan provides the U.S. strategic leverage in ongoing security competition with China.

“I’m sorry, what more do we have to know?” he asked Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Navy’s chief of operations.

US COULD BURN THROUGH KEY MISSILES IN ‘A WEEK’ IF WAR WITH CHINA ERUPTS, TOP SECURITY EXPERT WARNS

“President Xi has telegraphed his anxiety, his insecurity now that he knows that America’s re-learned how to fight. We want leverage. We want stability, not a hot war. We want leverage. What’s his insecurity? Taiwan. Why don’t we just go ahead and sell the weapons to Taiwan that Taiwan wants? The president can call President Xi and say, hey, President Xi, don’t take it personally. Don’t get excited, don’t get your bows in an uproar. But I’m selling these weapons. Why wouldn’t we do that?”

“We definitely want Taiwan to be as strong as they can be,” Caudle replied.

“They’d be stronger with those weapons are, wouldn’t they?” Kennedy asked.

“Yes, sir,” Caudle replied.

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WATCH: KENNEDY PRESSES NAVY ADMIRAL ON WEAPONS SALES TO TAIWAN:

Taiwan, meanwhile, said they haven’t received any notification from the U.S. about the pause.

“Currently there is no information regarding any adjustments the U.S. will make to this arms sale,” Taiwanese presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said Friday, according to The Associated Press.

“As President Trump said, he will make a determination in a fairly short time regarding a new Taiwan arms package,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.

“The President approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December 2025, consistent with U.S. policy since the 1950s. In his first term, President Trump approved more arms sales to Taiwan than any other President in history. In his second term, President Trump approved more in his first year than all four years under President Biden,” the official said. 

Fox News Digital contacted the Department of War, the State Department, the U.S. Navy and a representative for the Taiwanese government for comment.