Academia Caving to Trump, Bombshell Group Chat Atlantic Report, Massive ICE Roundup: AM Update 3⧸25
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Summary
Trump administration secures slate of wins against Columbia University, the main university system, and Democratic-linked law firm Paul Weiss. Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic says he was accidentally added to a group chat discussing high-level war plans among Trump administration security officials. Tom Homan rounds up hundreds of criminal illegal aliens in Boston, and President Trump has a bone to pick with Colorado s governor over something you probably didn t see coming. All that and more coming up in a moment on your AM Update.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, March 25th, 2025, and this is your AM
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Update. It wasn't even like, do all of this and you'll get your money back. It was do all of this
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and maybe we'll talk to you about getting your money back. The Trump administration securing a
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slate of wins against Columbia University, the main university system, and Democrat-linked law
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firm Paul Weiss. I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me,
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it's a magazine that's going out of business. Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg
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says he was accidentally added to a group chat discussing high-level war plans among Trump
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administration top security officials. Borders are Tom Homan rounds up hundreds of criminal
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illegal aliens in Boston, and President Trump has a bone to pick with Colorado's governor over
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something you probably didn't see coming. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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donewithdebt.com. President Trump securing a recent slate of victories against Columbia University,
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the state of Maine, and the law firm Paul Weiss. Columbia University facing the loss of $400 million
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in federal funding, giving in to the Trump administration's demands aimed at curbing
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on-campus anti-Semitism. The university rocked by violent anti-Israel protests since the start of
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Israel's war against the Hamas terrorist organization that killed 1,200 Israelis on 10-7-23. The university
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agreeing to implement a mask ban on campus, protesters had used masks to shield their identities and to
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require that protesters identify themselves when asked or face disciplinary action. The New York Post
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reporting 36 campus cops also now empowered to arrest students or remove them from the campus when
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necessary. Previously, these actions required direct authorization from the university president.
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The school says it will also appoint a senior vice provost to review the Middle Eastern, South Asian,
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and African Studies Department. The provost will be responsible for reviewing curriculum,
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ensuring program offerings are comprehensive and balanced. Columbia officials not fully complying with
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all Trump administration demands. The university is restructuring the university judicial board rather
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than fully abolishing it. Critics of the judicial board accuse it of taking insufficient disciplinary
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action against students accused of anti-Semitic behavior. The New York Times' The Daily podcast
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explaining even with the concessions, Columbia University is not totally in the clear.
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That $400 million does not just automatically return. These concessions that Columbia made
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were essentially their effort to get the government to come to the negotiating table.
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It wasn't even like, do all of this and you'll get your money back. It was do all of this and maybe
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we'll talk to you about getting your money back. That's exactly right.
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The Department of Education reporting Columbia holds roughly $5 billion in federal grant commitments.
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The original $400 million cut just an initial warning to the university. The Trump administration
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is serious about ending on-campus displays of anti-Semitism as the law requires.
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The University of Maine system agreeing to comply with President Trump's executive order banning men
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from women's sports. Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture freezing nearly $30 million
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in research contracts across the system's eight campuses, part of a broader standoff
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between the Trump administration and tough-talking Governor Janet Mills. On Wednesday, the USDA
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reinstating the funding, saying the university system is now in full compliance with the executive
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order. But the issue is not yet fully resolved statewide. The Maine Principals Association, which oversees
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public school sports, is under federal investigation for allowing a male athlete to compete in the high
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school girls' pole vault championship. The MPA has not yet agreed to federal demands.
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The HHS Office of Civil Rights setting a Thursday deadline for the MPA, the Maine Department of
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Education, and Greeley High School to come into compliance with Title IX. President Trump this
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weekend, posting to Truth Social, writing, quote, We need a full-throated apology from the governor
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herself and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the federal government
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again before this case can be settled. I'm sure she will be able to do that quite easily.
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Governor Mills previously threatened to take the Trump administration to court in order to protect
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the rights of boys in her state to compete in girls' leagues. Instead, she already surrendered at
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the university level, so we'll see. Paul Weiss, a powerful law firm with deep ties to Democrat
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politics, caving to the demands of the Trump administration, and then some. On March 14th,
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President Trump signing an executive order reading in part, quote, global law firms have for years
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played an outsized role in undermining the judicial process and in the destruction of bedrock American
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principles. The president identifying Paul Weiss as one such firm with specific examples. The order
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suspended security clearances for Paul Weiss employees, restricted their access to federal buildings,
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and directed federal agencies to cancel contracts with the firm. On Friday, following a negotiated agreement,
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President Trump revoking the executive order and laying out a number of concessions. The law firm
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will dedicate $40 million in pro bono legal services throughout the remainder of President Trump's term
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to support mutually agreed-upon causes, such as supporting veterans. Paul Weiss committing to
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adopting a policy of political neutrality and abandoning any diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
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The firm also acknowledging the wrongdoing of former partner Mark Pomerantz. In 2021, Mr. Pomerantz took a
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leave of absence from Paul Weiss to join the Manhattan DA's office, where he helped lead the criminal
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investigation into the Trump organization's alleged inflation of asset values. Upon taking office in
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2022, DA Alvin Bragg paused the case, saying he was not prepared to move forward with that one.
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Mr. Pomerantz, in turn, very publicly resigning from the DA's office, publishing a scathing
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resignation letter in March 2022, and a book titled The People vs. Donald Trump, using his platform to
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pressure Bragg and or others into resurrecting the probe. In April 2022, Mr. Pomerantz then returning to
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his position as of counsel at Paul Weiss. It's unclear when Mr. Pomerantz's association
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with Paul Weiss officially ended, but it apparently has. Ultimately, New York Attorney General Letitia
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James, a fellow elected Democrat, filed civil charges in a case accusing Trump of inflating asset values
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to secure favorable loans. In 2024, she secured a civil judgment imposing over $450 million in penalties
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against Trump, the Trump organization, and its top executives. Trump allies and legal experts
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blasted that case as politically driven, as a witch hunt, with no clear victim. None of the banks who
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allegedly been defrauded complained at all. Despite Mr. Trump's 2024 election victory,
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A.G. James has refused to drop the case, which is now under appeal.
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Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, shocking Washington Monday with a piece
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headlined, The Trump administration accidentally texted me its war plans. Mr. Goldberg claiming he
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was added by National Security Advisor Mike Walls to a Signal group chat with what appeared to be senior
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Trump administration officials. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes later confirming to
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Mr. Goldberg and to ABC News the authenticity of the group message chain. On March 15th, the Trump
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administration began bombing the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. Mr. Goldberg writing, quote,
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I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I
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knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, had texted me the war plan at 1144 a.m.
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Mr. Goldberg outlining days of communications on the encrypted messaging app message chain,
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which also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other high-ranking
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officials. The officials engaging in a nuanced policy discussion, weighing the pros and cons of
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launching the attack on the Houthis. The user identified as J.D. Vance, pointing out,
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the Europeans had the most to lose with the shipping disruptions being caused by the Houthis,
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questioning why America should take on this risk, writing, quote, I am not sure the president is
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aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There's a further risk that we
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see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. Mr. Goldberg then claiming days later the group chat
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receiving a follow-up message from Defense Secretary Hegseth. Mr. Goldberg writing, quote, I will not quote from
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this update or from certain other subsequent texts. The information contained in them, if they had been
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read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military
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and intelligence personnel. This report quickly picked up and circulated by the media, including
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MSNBC and CNN. What we're seeing here is just pure carelessness. It is recklessness. It is laziness.
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It's really a disgraceful situation. If you think signal is equivalent to U.S. government secure
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telecommunications, think again. Democrats quickly leaping to comment. Senate Minority Leader Chuck
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Schumer struggling to shore up his own support with progressives, slamming the administration from the
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Senate floor. It's bad enough that a private citizen was added to this chain, but it's far worse that
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sensitive military information was exchanged on an unauthorized application, especially when that
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sensitive military information was so, so important. Secretary Hegseth denying Mr. Goldberg's description
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of his communications. You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's
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made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again to include the, I don't know, the hoaxes of
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Russia, Russia, Russia, or the fine people on both sides hoax, or suckers and losers hoax. So this is the guy
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that peddles in garbage. This is what he does. I've heard I've heard I was characterized. Nobody
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was texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that. Thank you. President Trump learning
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about the story in a press conference with the governor of Louisiana from a reporter who brought
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it up. I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of the Atlantic. It's to me, it's a magazine
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that's going out of business. I mean, the attack on the hood. Yes. Well, it couldn't have been very
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effective because the attack was very effective. I can tell you that. I don't know anything about it.
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The breach raising questions about the handling of sensitive information. The AP reporting under
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the Biden administration, some officials were authorized to download signal on their White
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House phones, but were directed to use it sparingly. The National Security Council is
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investigating how a journalist was added to the group message and no one seemed to notice.
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Coming up, Porter Czar Tom Homan announcing hundreds of arrests of criminal illegal aliens in
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Boston as sanctuary cities fight against ICE officials. And President Trump has a bone to
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pick with Colorado's governor over something you probably did not see coming. All that and more in
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Border czar Tom Homan announcing the arrests of 370 illegal aliens in and around the Boston area.
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Boston, a sanctuary city, a prime target of Mr. Homan from the start of the second Trump
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administration. In February, Mr. Homan calling out Boston officials for their refusal to cooperate
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with federal officials tasked with rounding up the worst of the worst illegal alien offenders.
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I read a story last night, the police commission of Boston. You said you doubled down on not helping
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the law enforcement office of ICE. I looked at the numbers this morning, nine child rapists
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that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer,
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released them back into the street. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress
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battling sanctuary cities, they say violate the law by not coordinating with ICE officials to remove
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illegal aliens. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, along with several other sanctuary city mayors,
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called in March to testify in front of the Oversight Committee.
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Last year in a Boston suburb, an illegal alien raped and impregnated his 14-year-old daughter while
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living in a shelter for illegal aliens. Mayor Wu, under Boston law, would you turn this criminal over
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to ICE on a detainer? Whenever there's a criminal warrant, Boston police enforce that
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and hold people accountable. If ICE deems that they are dangerous enough to hold, obtain a criminal
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warrant, and the Boston police will enforce it. Mayor Wu clearly intentionally using very precise
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language there to describe her city's legal process for releasing illegal immigrants from city
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custody back onto the streets. In Boston, when local police arrest someone they know is a criminal
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illegal alien, that person is typically processed and released from custody without notifying ICE.
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In non-sanctuary jurisdictions, local law enforcement works with ICE by notifying them of
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the arrest and handing over the individual from within the jail, a process ICE says is safer for both
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officers and the detainee. In Boston, ICE is often notified only at the last minute, if at all,
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of the release forcing federal agents to locate and arrest individuals in public places like parking
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lots where safety risks are higher. ICE officials argue this approach makes communities less safe
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and undermines immigration enforcement efforts. Mr. Homan describing the recent effort in Boston
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on X as a multi-agency five-day operation resulting in arrests of six foreign fugitives, including
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four who were wanted for murder or to serve a criminal sentence for murder, along with drug
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traffickers, child sexual predators, and numerous other violent public safety threats.
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The immigration situation, not much better in neighboring New York. Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul
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telling The David Pakman Show, New York State Police will not cooperate with mass deportations.
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We're not going to allow this mass deportation. If you have a warrant, or you know someone's on a
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terrorism watch list, or committing crimes in their home country, or committing crimes here,
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that's a different category. What I control is the state police, and they will not cooperate in that.
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Tom Homan warning the governor in recent weeks, if state officials do not cooperate with federal
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officials, he will take aggressive action. We'll double the man force here if we have to.
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Because rather than one officer arresting a bad guy in the jail, one officer arresting one bad guy,
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now I've got to send the whole team. New York State, you've got to change the sanctuary status.
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If you don't, get out of the way, because we're going to do our job.
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Since the spring of 2022, more than 200,000 illegal aliens shipped to New York from the Texas border.
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Many of the new arrivals making headlines for crimes like vandalism and public drunkenness
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to far more horrific acts. Jose Iberra was arrested and released in New York
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just months before he was put on a taxpayer-funded flight to Georgia,
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where he savagely killed 22-year-old Laken Riley.
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President Trump calling on Democrat Governor from Colorado Jared Polis to remove his presidential
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portrait hanging in the state capitol building. In a Sunday night Truth Social post,
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President Trump writing, quote, nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves,
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but the one in Colorado in the state capitol put up by the governor along with all other presidents
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was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.
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A spokesperson for Governor Polis saying the governor was, quote, surprised to learn the
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president of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado state capitol and its artwork.
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President Trump also calling out the governor as, quote, extremely weak on crime, in particular,
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with respect to Tren de Aragua, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.
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President Trump saying the artist, Sarah Boardman, painted a much more flattering portrait of President
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Obama. It's almost an exact likeness, truth be told. President Trump writing that the White House
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received many calls and complaints from the people of Colorado regarding the portrait of Mr. Trump,
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which was unveiled in 2019. Ms. Boardman telling the Denver Post at the time of the unveiling,
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her aim was to craft a neutral portrait, quote, in today's environment, it's all very upfront,
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but in another 5, 10, 15 years, he will be another president on the wall. The portrait commissioned
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for $11,000, donations raised by a state Republican lawmaker in 2018. New York Magazine describes the work
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as jowly. That's putting it nicely. He looks 50 pounds heavier than he actually is. A picture of
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the portrait is posted on megankelly.com, where you can judge for yourself. And that'll do it for
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your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph
00:20:09.160
Channel 111 at New East, on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.