EMET Grieves the Deaths of 11 Israelis Murdered by Terrorists in a Week

(March 30, 2022 – Washington, DC) EMET is profoundly saddened to have learned that 11 innocent Israelis have been killed within the span of one week. Yesterday, five innocent civilians were murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv. Sadly, this marks the tenth terror attack in March 2022, the third such incident in a week and marks a return to terror on the streets of Israel that we haven't witnessed in years.

In yesterday's attack, two police officers neutralized the terrorist, Diaa Hamarsheh, 27, just before 8 p.m. local time Tuesday. Hamarsheh was from the town of Ya'bad near Jenin and in Israel proper illegally, according to the Times of Israel, after having served time in prison for membership in a terrorist organization.  

Characteristic of these attacks, celebrations were held outside the Hamarsheh home and Hamas posted a statement on their website praising the attack, the Jerusalem Post reported. Terror attacks in Israel are known to increase around the time of Ramadan, which begins this Friday, April 1. 

Said EMET Founder and President Sarah Stern, "EMET expresses its profound sorrow to the families of the five precious Israelis brutally murdered today in Bnei Brak, the two precious Israeli Druze police officers killed in Hadera on March 27th, and the four precious Israelis murdered in Beer Sheba on March 23rd. We grieve alongside them and hope that they are able to derive some comfort from their loved ones' memories." 

This has nothing whatsoever to do with any so-called "occupation" of any land, but is motivated solely by antisemitism. Deep and pervasive hatred comes from the incitement that has long been part of the curriculum at UNRWA schools, as well as the "Pay for Slay" program by which the Palestinian Authority incentivizes the murder of innocent Jews and Israelis.

Continued Ms. Stern, "If the root cause of terror were the 'occupation,' the Palestinians would have accepted any one of the very generous Israeli offers, going back to the Peel Commission in 1937, the Khartoum Conference of 1967, the very generous offer by Prime Minister Ehud Barak to Yassir Arafat in 2000 or the even more generous offer made by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Mahmoud Abbas in 2008. These brutal acts of murder are inspired by a deep hatred and a refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state."

IRLI Sues Border Agencies for Infectious Disease Records

March 30, 2022

 

Agencies have refused to release records showing extent of illegal alien health threat

 

WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has sued U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, seeking records related to these agencies' policies and practices regarding illegal-alien border-crossers with infectious diseases, including COVID-19, the number of such aliens, and their location and immigration status.

 

The suit was filed on behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington, DC, federal district court. In an attempt to hide information from the public, the agencies have refused to produce these public records pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request.

 

Neither the records request nor the lawsuit seeks any information that personally identifies any alien. Rather, IRLI is suing to find out how many illegal aliens with infectious diseases have entered the country, where they came from, what, if anything, was done to treat them, and where they went after any such treatment.

 

"It is unfortunate that we have to sue to find out what health risks our government may have subjected the nation to because of its policies and practices," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "It is also worrisome; it is hard to imagine why the government would want this information kept secret if there was no problem. In this age of pandemic, when entire economies have been cast down, and freedoms curtailed, the public has an urgent need to know the magnitude of the health threat from porous borders, and what, if anything, has been done about it."

Trump Was Right

"The left-wing media will never admit it, but recent events have once again proven that Donald Trump was right. Let me give you one example. 

In July of 2018, he sat across the table from Jens Stoltenberg, the General Secretary of NATO, and directly confronted him about the lunacy of what our European "allies" were doing -- intentionally becoming dependent on Russian energy while expecting the United States to bail them out when the bullets start flying. 

Trump was attacked for "undermining NATO" and "alienating our allies." But he was right!"

Gary Bauer

Delegate Rob Bell: Public Safety Bills in the General Assembly

3/27/2022

As predicted, the Senate Democrats spent the second half of the 2022 session killing House public safety bills, including ones to improve criminal sentencing, probation oversight, bond rules, and police road safety enforcement. On a party-line vote, the Judiciary Committee members voted down a measure to ensure that child pornographers do not receive retroactively shorter sentences.

Despite compelling testimony from Taylor Shifflett, they even rejected my bill to allow prosecution for manslaughter of an unborn child.  You can watch the debate (which begins at 19:48) by clicking here.

There were some successes. The Assembly passed House Bill 4, which will require schools to report crimes like sexual battery and stalking to law enforcement. The bill will reverse the worst parts of a law that was passed over Republican objections in 2020 when Democrats were in the majority. The Assembly also passed Senate Bill 649, which will require that principals be notified when one of their students is arrested for certain serious offenses. You can watch the House committee debate here.

Some issues, like funding for law enforcement, are still being discussed as part of the state budget. The other bills that passed have been sent to Governor Youngkin for his consideration.

Sincerely,

Rob Bell

Border Security and Enforcement is Out, Processing and Facilitating Mass Illegal Immigration is In, Charges FAIR

(March 28, 2022, Washington, D.C.)  - The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in response to the Biden administration's FY 2023 budget request containing a Department of Homeland Security component that is not only inadequate, but inappropriate:

"After more than a year of unprecedented chaos at our borders and another crisis on the horizon, the White House's FY 2023 budget request reaffirms that open borders and unchecked illegal immigration is the policy of the Biden administration.

"The administration has essentially redefined 'border security' to mean more orderly admission and processing of illegal aliens regardless of how many migrants show up at our border. The coming year's budget request proposes to spend billions of dollars on technology to alert us when people enter the country illegally, and billions more to expedite the processing of their asylum claims, many of which are frivolous. For all intents and purposes, they might as well change the name of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to U.S. Customs and Border Processing.

"What is glaringly absent from the budget request are funds to secure our borders with manpower and infrastructure, increase detention space, and restore programs like the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which have proven to deter - rather than encourage - mass migration.

"Having created a full-blown border crisis during his first year in office, President Biden's goal in his second year is to facilitate it, rather than end it."

Alien Detention Company Seeks Reversal

March 29, 2022

IRLI defends federal alien detention system

 

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals urging the reversal of a district court's ruling in a case aimed at crippling the federal government's system of detaining illegal aliens and criminal aliens, largely in facilities operated by federal contractors. At issue is the requirement, set by Congress, that aliens who volunteer to work in these detention facilities receive $1 per day in compensation.

 

The district court ordered that a facility operated by the GEO Group, a federal contractor, had to pay its detainees Washington State's minimum wage of $11.50 per hour—even though detainees receive free room and board—and awarded millions in back wages. The GEO Group appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

 

In its brief on appeal, IRLI shows that in setting the $1-per-day rate by statute, Congress sought to align voluntary-work compensation in immigration detention facilities with similarly-low rates of compensation for voluntary work in state and federal prisons and other facilities across the country, and that this congressional purpose is blocked if facilities have to pay $11.50 per hour. As IRLI points out, a state law that poses an obstacle to the purpose of a federal law violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.

 

"This lawsuit is part of a nationwide effort to make the cost of detaining aliens unacceptably high, in hopes of crashing the system," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Fortunately, it won't succeed in the end. It makes no policy sense to pay detainees minimum wage when they already get free room and board, especially since they can leave detention at any time and return to their own countries. And it makes no legal sense to claim that a state's minimum wage law trumps an act of Congress. We trust the court will recognize the obvious point that federal law is supreme over state law, reverse the district court, and affirm Congress's authority in this area."

Victory! Biden Non-Enforcement Enjoined Nationwide

 

Court agrees with IRLI that standing down is not an option

 

WASHINGTON—Today an Ohio federal district court granted a preliminary injunction, sought by Arizona, Montana, and Ohio, against the Biden administration policy of detaining and removing far fewer criminal aliens than had the previous administration. The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case urging that result.

 

In its brief, IRLI had shown that the language Congress used when it directed that criminal aliens be detained and removed from the country is mandatory, leaving no discretion to the executive to exempt and release the great majority of these aliens, as the administration has done.

 

Today the court agreed, finding it significant that, as IRLI had pointed out, Congress makes the laws, and the executive is supposed to carry them out—not make its own laws opposed to those of Congress.

 

"There is a good reason the law says that aliens who turn out to be criminals should be removed," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Many of them Biden has let go are dangerous, and Americans' safety is very much at stake. We applaud the court for reading the law the only way it can be read, and vow to continue putting as much legal pressure on the administration to do its sworn duty as possible."

 

The case is Arizona v. Biden, No. 3:21-cv-314 (S.D. Ohio).

Biden's New Order

By Gary Bauer

Joe Biden met yesterday with members of the Business Roundtable. When I first heard about the meeting I thought, "Wow! It's a meeting of everyone who got wealthy off communist China!" But here's what jumped out at me. Biden said:

"I think this [the current global crisis] presents us with some significant opportunities to make some real changes. You know, we are at an inflection point, I believe, in the world economy — not just the world economy, in the world. . . And now is a time when things are shifting. There's going to be a new world order out there, and we've got to lead it." 

Well, here we go again.

Rahm Emanuel infamously said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before." And the Obama/Biden Administration used the Great Recession to expand big government.

When COVID came roaring out of the Wuhan lab, the left exploited it to destroy Trump's presidency and to expand the power of big government. 

Now we're in a showdown with nuclear-armed Russia. We're facing foreign policy disasters all over the globe. Our alliances are frayed. Our supply chain is breaking down. And what is Joe Biden saying? "It's time to exploit this crisis, too," for the sake of a "new world order."

Abortion With Ice Cream

Friday, March 18, 2022

By Gary Bauer

Leave it to Planned Parenthood to sink to the bottom of the swamp and keep digging. The abortion Goliath, swollen with tax dollars, hit a new low at the South by Southwest music and arts festival in Austin, Texas, this past week.

Smearing another icon of Americana, Planned Parenthood retrofitted an ice cream truck and festooned it with messages advocating abortion and filling it with swag bags containing free condoms and "education" materials.

If you're like me, you remember summer days when Mr. Softee or the Good Humor van came down the street, chiming merrily with bright signs and yellow carnival lights. More than once, I remember digging into my pockets to see if I had enough coins to get an ice cream cone that day.

Planned Parenthood doesn't quite feel nostalgia the way you and I do. For them, abortion and the sexualization of young girls (see these images from the Texas event) are themes for celebration. Planned Parenthood national president and CEO Alexis McGill screeched the words emblazoned on the truck, "Ice scream, you scream, we all scream for abortion rights."

To her followers, this is no matter for sensitivity or discretion. It's a joyful enterprise, akin to motherhood and apple pie. This is how you come to see the world when you work for an entity that aborts more American children than any other group in the nation, 350,000 or more per year.

This is the jaded reward you reap for the $45 million you spent last cycle to elect legislators and the Biden-Harris Administration to give you everything your business demands. This is what set the stage for the vote earlier this month on a proposed federal "health" bill that would have mowed down every last state law limiting abortion, including parental notice laws that the vast majority of families support.

Thankfully, this bill failed. But it reminds us of what we are up against – a relentless enterprise steeped in blood and brutality that thinks America ought to be a place where ice cream trucks touting abortion come chiming down the street where you live.

Vega Announces Veterans for Vega Advisory Board

Wed, 16 Mar 2022

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY – Today, Yesli Vega released a list of highly qualified veterans who will be serving on her Veterans for Vega Advisory Board and chaired by President Trump's former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Sergio de la Peña.

 

"I'm honored to have the support of so many incredible veterans from across the 7th District serving on our advisory board. With Virginia being home to over 700,000 veterans, my husband being one of them, I understand the importance of having a team of veterans who I can call on for advice and who support my race. I'm excited to work with this incredible team who will provide valuable insight and knowledge about the issues our veterans are facing across our Commonwealth and what our elected officials can be doing to take better care of our men and women who have served our country."  - Yesli Vega, Candidate for Virginia's 7th Congressional District

 

The Veterans for Vega Advisory Board includes the following retired military officials:

 

• Chairman Sergio de la Peña, retired U.S. Army Colonel and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Trump
• Colonel Joseph Fontanella, U.S. Army (Ret.)
• Brigadier General John F. DePue, U.S. Army (Ret.)
• Colonel Stephen Walters, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
• Captain William Milne, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)
• Colonel Jon. G. Doering, USMC (Ret.)

Delegate Scott Phillip: Weekly Newsletter

Sun, 13 Mar 2022

Friends, the 2022 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourned sine die yesterday. House Republicans came into this session focused on addressing the issues most impacting Virginians. While House Republicans were successful in many areas, the Commonwealth's biennial budget remains unfinished due to the Senate Democrats inability to come to an agreement. 

 

We have a constitutionally mandated responsibility to pass a budget to fund the government, but just like most things in our constitution, Democrats just do not care.

 

The Republican budget provides relief that Virginians desperately need amid the stresses of inflation, high gas prices, and a possible recession on the horizon.

 

But the Democrats refuse.

 

The reason is simple. Democrats want to force a special session which would give them an opportunity to kill any recess appointments made by Governor Youngkin.

 

Democrats would put tax relief, school funding, and other priorities on hold just to ensure that the Governor can't appoint judges or members of several boards. This is unconscionable, but not unsurprising.
 

We hope Democrats will put the gamesmanship aside soon and come back to the table.

Governor Youngkin sign[ed] my bill, HB 40, into law. This law authorizes a disabled veteran special license plate issued to a disabled veteran to be transferred, upon his death, to his un-remarried surviving spouse.

 

The Democrat machine in Richmond continued their streak of being simply unreasonable, refusing to allow for forward-thinking policies like school choice.

 

They consistently pushed back against our policies to make schools better for all Virginians. They consistently tout the successful public schools in wealthy parts of the Commonwealth but refuse access to schools of the same quality to all students.

 

The fight for school choice will be back and it will remain a top priority of mine.

 

Misinformation from the White House

By the Institute for Energy Research

When asked by a news correspondent this month if President Biden intended to reverse course and reinstate pro-America energy policies, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded that there are 9,000 approved oil leases that the oil companies are not tapping into currently. But, as American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers indicates, her statement amounts to factual distortion. "Just because you have a lease doesn't mean there's actually oil and gas in that lease, and there has to be a lot of development that occurs between the leasing and then ultimately permitting for that acreage to be productive," Sommers said. In fact, the industry is using a higher percentage of federal onshore and offshore leases than at any time in the past, and it is continuing to increase production to meet surging demand.

The Biden administration and particularly Jen Psaki need to better understand the oil industry and energy markets so that they stop spouting misleading statements about oil leases and other industry-related subjects. The reason there are 9,000 undeveloped oil leases is because companies do not want to invest the massive amounts of money and manpower necessary to drill for oil when the Biden administration is constantly threatening to impose new or increasing taxes, fees and regulations on the industry, and "working like the devil" through all the financial institutions to cut off their funding and "bankrupt them." With the ban on lease sales on federal lands, Biden has shown the U.S. oil industry through his actions that he does not want to do business with them. He would rather import oil from OPEC, Venezuela and Iran than to further develop the U.S. oil industry. His actions speak louder than his words.

Quote of the Day

"Thirty years ago we warned about what was coming when gay activists protested that all they sought was tolerance. It's manifest now that what they seek is desensitization of the youngest of children to a radical sexual agenda, and that this has always been the goal of their sponsors and funders. 

Parents need to hold their ground, because the truth is that, as far as our nation has fallen, even more cliffs lie ahead and the victims will be our children."

Gary Bauer

March 15th - Derrick Anderson Guest Speaker at Madison County Republican Women

Derrick Anderson

7th District Congressional candidate

will be the Guest Speaker at Madison County Republican Women's next meeting on

Tuesday, March 15th, 6:00 PM -8:00 PM

at the Fellowship Baptist Church, 725 Gate Road, Madison. 

Derrick Anderson a native of Spotsylvania County, was in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech.  He is a former Special Forces "Green Beret" with 6 tours of duty overseas, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and various countries throughout the Middle East. Following his time in the Army, Derrick graduated with his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019. Following graduation, he clerked for two separate federal judges where he worked on a variety of civil and criminal cases. Derrick also served in the White House during President Trump's Administration, where he worked in the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The Menu features Corn Beef and Cabbage, with great side and desserts by MCRW members. Dinner donation $10.  Everyone is invited to attend this informative meeting. For more information, please call (540) 923-4109.

Biden needs to look in the mirror on inflation

March 10, 2022, Fairfax, Va.—

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the latest Consumer Price Index numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

"President Joe Biden is pointing fingers all over the world for inflation that has been going on for more than a year for the dramatic increase in the costs of goods and services in America. C'mon, man. In less than 13 months, the inflation rate has gone from 1.4 percent to 7.9 percent, underscoring Biden's direct responsibility for what is now runaway inflation. As a reminder, before the war in Ukraine even started, inflation was already at 7.5 percent over the prior 12 months.

"Early in Biden's term, inflation began to rise and the President dismissed it as 'transitory' while groups like Americans for Limited Government argued that rampant inflation was baked into the cake as the federal government continued to use Covid as an excuse to for massive deficit spending, borrowing and printing totaling more than $6 trillion. Now the chickens are coming home to roost, and Biden wants to blame the war, instead of his own policies that laid the groundwork for price increases unseen in America for 40 years."

Victory! Illegal Aliens’ Grab for Stimulus Checks Fails

March 8, 2022

IRLI had shown why case should be dismissed

 

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, a federal district court in Maryland dismissed a lawsuit brought by taxpayers demanding that the Treasury Department provide COVID-relief stimulus checks to their spouses, who lack social security numbers because they are illegal aliens. On behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case urging that result.

 

By law, the checks, which are meant to stimulate the American economy, can only go to those who have social security numbers. But the plaintiffs claimed that this law discriminates against them on account of their marital status, in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

 

In its brief, IRLI showed that there is no fundamental right to marital recognition that encompasses a right of illegal aliens to receive checks from the United States government. Accordingly, the federal statute in question should be upheld if it has a rational basis. It surely has that—giving public benefits to those in our country unlawfully only encourages others to break our immigration laws.

 

In yesterday's ruling, the court dismissed the case as IRLI had urged, but on a different basis, finding that, because the suit was barred by the Anti-Injunction Act, the court did not even need to reach the constitutional issues.

 

"The main thing stimulus checks for illegal aliens would stimulate is more illegal immigration," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Congress knew that, and was absolutely right to reserve the stimulus for American citizens and certain legal aliens. We are pleased that the court dismissed this meritless lawsuit, which had no basis in the Constitution."  

Virginia Senator David Suetterlein: General Assembly Passes Suetterlein's Limit on Emergency Powers

Unilateral Executive Emergency Orders would be Limited to 45 Days
 

RICHMOND - Bipartisan legislation limiting the duration of emergency executive action is heading to Governor Glenn Youngkin's desk. Senator David Suetterlein's Senate Bill 4 passed the House of Delegates 91-8 following the Virginia Senate's own 29-11 vote.  

Virginia has been in the minority of states that does not have legislative oversight over executive emergency orders. SB4 would require an affirmative vote by both legislative chambers for an emergency action to be allowed to continue after 45 days. Without SB4, an executive emergency order issued when the General Assembly adjourns this month could stay in effect for fifteen months until June 30, 2023. 

"Limiting the duration of unilateral emergency executive orders with the force of law is critical to restoring checks and balances in the Commonwealth. It is important that we do this while we have a reasonable Governor like Glenn Youngkin, because the kind of Governor that would need these limits would never sign them into law in the first place," said Suetterlein.

This is the third time Suetterlein has carried this legislation, but it was not considered by the then-Democratic controlled legislative chambers during Ralph Northam's administration

Ten of the 21 Senate Democrats and 39 of the 48 House Democrats joined all of the General Assembly Republicans in supporting the bill this year. Democratic Senators Chap Petersen and Lynwood Lewis were among Suetterlein's eleven co-patrons. 

Following its bipartisan passage, Suetterlein's SB4 joins his six other bipartisan bills passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate and the Republican-led House of Delegates that are now on Governor Youngkin's desk. Also among these proposals are bills to make Parole Board votes public, allow for car tax relief, and increase supports for Virginians with developmental disabilities. His SB3 to end election night mirages by counting absentee votes by precinct is expected to be considered later today or Friday.

Pronouncement of Evil Intent

"I'll keep vocally supporting access to abortion."

Senator Mark Warner

$746,595

Total contributions from Planned Parenthood PAC to federal candidates, 2019-2020

$737,785

(98.82%)
To Democrats

$0

(0.00%)
To Republicans

https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00314617/candidate-recipients/2020

What Is Biden's Border Chief Hiding?

March 9, 2022

 

Tucson Police Department stalls IRLI investigation into Chris Magnus

 

WASHINGTON–In the time before, during and after his Senate confirmation as the Biden White House's commissioner for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Chris Magnus' previous employer, the Tucson, Arizona, Police Department (TPD), has been stonewalling an Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) investigation into Magnus' leadership of the department and policies on illegal immigration.

 

In April 2021, IRLI submitted a records request with the TPD, where Magnus had been serving as police chief since January 2016. The request asked for documentation including directives given to TPD members on how to engage with the immigrant community, directives on how to work with federal immigration authorities, directives on how to handle ICE detainer requests, and all communication from Magnus that pertained to the subject of immigration enforcement.

 

In May 2021, IRLI made contact over the phone with a TPD records division staffer and received confirmation that the request was being processed. In August 2021, after months of no response, IRLI again contacted their office to obtain a status update on this request. A staffer claimed she had no idea what happened to the original request and asked for another one to be submitted – which IRLI immediately did.

 

Between September and mid-October of 2021, IRLI contacted their office three additional times to inquire about the status of this request. Each time, a staffer said the request was being processed, but never offered a tangible timeline or date of completion.

 

In late October 2021, IRLI contacted their office again. A staffer—this time a new individual—took the call. During the phone call, the staffer discussed this request with a coworker while the phone connection was open. IRLI could hear the staffer express confusion as to why a request submitted in April had not yet been completed. The TPD ultimately said that the request was still being processed and that IRLI would be contacted the following Monday.

 

"The Tucson Police Department either has very poor records management, or is deliberately trying to hide embarrassing details of Chris Magnus' time there," said Dale L. Wilcox, IRLI's executive director and general counsel. "These records belong to the public. The public paid for them and owns them. Government agencies cannot ignore records requests because the records might be politically damaging to those currently in power. We will continue to pursue the transparency the American people deserve from their government"

 

The TPD is required to comply with such requests pursuant to the Arizona Records Law as well as Arizona Common Law, relating to the discovery of police records.

 

Later that October, IRLI called TPD after they failed to respond, despite a promise to do so. Their office could not provide a timeline on when the request would be completed. In December 2021, IRLI called TPD for another status update. The staffer who answered claimed that the department was backlogged and still working on July 2021 requests – to which IRLI informed her that this request was submitted in April of that year. IRLI learned during this phone call that the TPD chief (Magnus himself) had to personally review the records request before it could be released. It is not clear if Magnus reviewed the request before being confirmed to CBP Commissioner.

 

In January 2022, IRLI again followed up. A staffer claimed that staffing changes led to the slow response time on this request, and promised that the request was being worked on. However, the staffer could not give an estimate on when the requested records would be released to IRLI.

During these months of no apparent action from TPD, Magnus was able to successfully win confirmation to the top position in CBP.

 

The Senate confirmed Magnus' nomination on December 7, 2021 by a narrow 50-47 margin with three senators not voting, and he was officially sworn in as CBP commissioner on December 13, 2021.

 

Magnus has a documented history of hindering immigration enforcement. IRLI uncovered email exchanges from Magnus during his time leading the Richmond, California, Police Department that showcased his aversion to working with federal immigration authorities and his work to implement sanctuary policies for his officers.

 

As Tucson Police Chief, Magnus took several actions to thwart cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and authored a New York Times op-ed denouncing former President Donald Trump's immigration platform.

 

It's likely that IRLI's records request would yield more examples of Magnus' behind-the-scenes work to impede cooperation with ICE and CBP, but his department's stonewalling successfully kept these records from seeing the light of day before his confirmation.

Former Trump Defense Official Sergio de la Peña to Chair Veterans for Vega Coalition

March 4, 2022

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY – Today, Yesli Vega announced that former Trump Administration official, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Sergio de la Peña has endorsed her campaign for Virginia's 7^th Congressional District and will serve as the Chair of Veterans for Vega.

 

"Yesli's service as a law enforcement officer and a supervisor in Prince William County proves she's the ideal candidate to represent the people of the 7th district. As your next Congresswoman, she will fight to reverse Joe Biden's destructive agenda while standing firm in her conservative principles. I'm proud to endorse my friend Yesli Vega for Congress." – Sergio de la Peña, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Trump

 

"It's great to have Sergio on our team serving as our Chair of Veterans for Vega. His insight and experience on military affairs and veterans' issues is second to none and we are excited to have him leading the charge on our veteran's coalition. I look forward to working with him on ways we can strengthen our nation's military might and support America's veterans who have served our country." – Yesli Vega, Candidate for Virginia's 7^th Congressional District

Congressman Good Update: The State of Our Union

March 5, 2022

America's Vets Deserve Our Best

The House of Representatives this week considered legislation to address the healthcare needs of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances.

The Pelosi-backed bill -- H.R. 3967 the Honoring Our PACT Act -- abandoned the longstanding tradition of working in a bipartisan fashion to take care of our veterans, and it ignored crucial input from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Were this bill to become law, the VA expects that the disability claims backlog would increase to 1.53 million claims by the end of Fiscal Year 2023.

I know many of our constituents who served already face long wait times for VA assistance, which is why I voted instead to pass the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act which already passed the Senate unanimously. This bill would act as a first step to improve care and access to benefits for toxic exposed veterans by establishing a one-year open enrollment period for post-9/11 combat veterans. This bill could be on President Biden's desk tomorrow and begin helping veterans immediately.

Standing with Ukraine

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to condemn Russia's invasion of a sovereign nation. I proudly stood with my colleagues and voted to denounce the tyrannical acts of Vladimir Putin and to support continued United States aid to Ukraine. While President Biden failed to deliver on his promise to stand up to Putin, the Ukrainians need to know that we stand with them against this power-hungry bully.

There should be zero loopholes in sanctions on Russia. Our leadership has failed to keep intact sanctions on Russia that would limit their desire to attack surrounding countries. Weak leadership exemplified by this President has led us to where we are, and it is our duty as the Congress to protect the American people first while remaining committed to aiding those who value freedom and individual liberties around the world.

I am also calling on the Biden Administration to make America energy independent again. Unleashing American energy will not only help people here at home who are suffering from skyrocketing gas prices, but it would displace Russian leverage over world energy markets.

State of the Union Address

President Biden gave a poorly organized and willfully misleading speech for this year's State of the Union Address. The Biden Administration's COVID spending, lockdown and mandate policies undermined our economy for the past year. His new "plan" to fight inflation demonstrated a fundamental failure to understand economic principles and would leave the American people worse off a year from now. In fact, there is absolutely no question we would be better off had President Biden done nothing for the past 14 months.  Instead, President Biden continues to double down on failed, radical, socialist policies that Congress has already rejected. He called for the passage of a national election "right to cheat" bill as well as the irresponsible spending programs like Build Back Bankrupt. This President and his administration have created crisis upon crisis for the American people to deal with, including a wide-open southern border and disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. No speech will make up for his failed record or poor leadership.

President Biden did make a brief mention in his speech about finally returning federal employees to in-person work. While he did not make a specific promise on the timetable for the return, I can tell you it is well past time for the federal government to catch up with the private sector and get back to work for the American people. Too many Americans are simply not receiving the benefits or services they were promised.

This week I published an Op-Ed talking about a story not enough in the media have covered -- the failures of the deserted federal agency offices. You can read it here.