Verdict with Ted Cruz - July 29, 2025


BONUS POD: Worst of the Worst: ICE Targets Convicted Child Predators in Houston Sweep


Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

159.57985

Word count

2,522

Sentence count

190

Harmful content

Toxicity

11

sentences flagged

Hate speech

8

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

ICE has arrested over 200 illegal alien child sex offenders in one city in the past six months, and the media won t cover it. Also, a CEO is headed to prison and must pay a $128 million fine after defrauding the government.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.840 Well, I haven't been overly interested in it.
00:00:08.440 You know, it's something, it's a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion. 0.99
00:00:12.040 I can say this, those files were run by the worst scum on earth. 0.99
00:00:16.220 They were run by Comey. 1.00
00:00:18.300 They were run by Garland.
00:00:19.960 They were run by Biden and all of the people that actually ran the government,
00:00:24.060 including the autopen.
00:00:25.780 Those files were run for four years by those people.
00:00:29.020 If they had anything, I assume they would have released it.
00:00:31.580 The whole thing is a hoax.
00:00:33.000 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:36.740 Good Tuesday morning.
00:00:37.780 Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:00:40.140 And we've got two major stories we're covering this morning.
00:00:42.940 You want to know just how bad the number of sex offenders are where you live?
00:00:49.480 Well, this is exactly what President Trump talked about. 0.97
00:00:52.860 Getting rid of the worst among us that are illegal immigrants. 1.00
00:00:55.940 ICE has arrested over 200 illegal alien child sex offenders in one city alone over the past six months. 0.97
00:01:05.360 Not the country, but in one city alone.
00:01:09.120 I'm going to tell you that story coming up in just a moment.
00:01:12.260 I also want to talk about Donald Trump's promise to clean up waste, fraud, and abuse.
00:01:18.140 Well, you may remember back in 2012, there was a scam.
00:01:22.060 It was called the Obamaphone scam.
00:01:24.040 You may remember a woman saying she's going to vote for Obama because he gives her a free phone.
00:01:29.300 Well, now a CEO is headed to prison and must pay a $128 million fine after defrauding the government.
00:01:37.360 And it deals with exactly that.
00:01:39.460 Those Obamaphones are still around. 0.96
00:01:42.080 But first, I've got to ask you a question.
00:01:44.180 Are you one of those that is just so tired of giving your money to radical left, woke companies
00:01:49.080 that actually are fighting against your values every day?
00:01:52.200 Well, there are certain bills that you pay every month that if you can go with a conservative company,
00:01:58.760 why not do it?
00:01:59.800 In fact, why not go with a conservative company that actually takes part of your bill every month
00:02:04.460 that you're going to pay to somebody?
00:02:06.060 And they give it back to organizations that support your First and your Second Amendment rights,
00:02:11.120 that support the rights of unborn children,
00:02:13.480 that stand with our military,
00:02:16.260 our first responders,
00:02:17.600 and so many wounded warriors that need help.
00:02:21.720 Well, that bill I'm talking about is your cell phone bill.
00:02:25.740 And I've been telling you for a long time about Patriot Mobile,
00:02:28.880 but there's no better time to switch than right now.
00:02:31.980 Not only does Patriot Mobile operate on all three major networks in this country.
00:02:36.780 Yeah, all three.
00:02:37.520 That means you get the same great coverage you're used to right now.
00:02:40.440 But you also make a difference with every call you make and every text you make.
00:02:44.700 And why would you want to give your money to Big Mobile?
00:02:47.280 Big Mobile has been giving big donations to democratic causes,
00:02:51.520 democratic candidates,
00:02:53.100 and radical left organizations.
00:02:54.740 I'm talking about organizations that actually support abortion.
00:02:59.660 That is why I want you to switch right now to Patriot Mobile.
00:03:04.260 Go ahead and make the switch,
00:03:06.340 and it's so easy.
00:03:07.460 All you have to do is simply call Patriot Mobile's 100% U.S.-based team
00:03:12.760 from the comfort of your home or your office,
00:03:15.040 and they'll have you activated in minutes.
00:03:17.500 And if you're still locked in a contract, not a problem.
00:03:20.400 Patriot's Mobile contract buyout program covers up to $500 per device.
00:03:25.620 Keep your same number, keep your phone, or upgrade to a new one.
00:03:28.840 So back to my point.
00:03:30.040 What are you waiting for?
00:03:31.380 Call Patriot Mobile today and make a difference every single day
00:03:35.180 with every call you make.
00:03:36.240 PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson.
00:03:39.960 That's PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson.
00:03:43.660 Or 972Patriot.
00:03:46.080 And if you use the promo code FERGUSON,
00:03:48.160 you're going to get a free month of service on top of that.
00:03:51.380 PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson.
00:03:53.540 Or 972Patriot.
00:03:56.000 That's PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson.
00:03:58.420 Or 972Patriot.
00:04:00.300 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:04:04.240 Story number one.
00:04:05.360 I want to talk about some new news and data that is coming out
00:04:09.240 that is going to shock or should shock every American.
00:04:12.900 Unfortunately, the media is refusing to cover it.
00:04:15.360 ICE arrests are happening at record pace, and it's not just random people.
00:04:20.540 ICE has now arrested over 200 illegal alien child sex offenders
00:04:26.840 in the Houston, Texas area alone.
00:04:30.000 I want to say that again.
00:04:31.440 ICE has arrested over 200 illegal alien child sex offenders in Houston alone.
00:04:37.940 Not the country.
00:04:39.400 Not the state of Texas.
00:04:40.920 In one city.
00:04:42.480 This coming from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
00:04:46.220 Saying it this way.
00:04:47.500 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 214 illegal aliens
00:04:52.780 for immigration offenses in the Houston area who have been charged or convicted
00:04:56.940 of a sex offense involving a minor.
00:05:00.160 The 214 arrests were more than the Houston field office arrested
00:05:05.020 during the entire 2024 fiscal year,
00:05:09.200 when officers there arrested 211 illegal aliens charged or convicted of child sex offenses.
00:05:15.380 The surge in arrests over the last six months of illegal aliens charged with or convicted
00:05:20.780 of child sex offenses is a direct result of a whole-of-government approach
00:05:25.980 implemented under the Trump administration
00:05:29.000 that has now led to the establishment of multi-agency targeting teams
00:05:34.040 in each area of responsibility.
00:05:36.940 Now, these teams conduct daily enhanced immigration enforcement operations
00:05:42.060 targeting the worst-of-the-worst criminal aliens, 0.91
00:05:46.100 something that the president promised when he was running for president
00:05:49.260 and, yes, making good on that promise.
00:05:51.920 They are targeting the worst-of-the-worst criminal aliens for one reason, 0.94
00:05:56.160 arrest, and then the second reason is removal.
00:05:59.160 In Southeast Texas, those efforts have resulted in an increase in arrests
00:06:03.480 of all, quote, dangerous criminal aliens,
00:06:06.580 leading to safer communities, stronger national security,
00:06:09.840 and enhanced border security as well, saying this,
00:06:13.780 bringing together the resources and expertise
00:06:16.520 of the entire federal law enforcement community
00:06:19.100 to confront the overwhelming surge of illegal immigration
00:06:21.800 that we saw over the past four years
00:06:24.260 has resulted in the arrest and removal of historic numbers of violent criminal aliens,
00:06:30.460 transnational gang members, and child sex offenders.
00:06:34.700 That is what ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations
00:06:38.100 Houston Acting Field Director Paul McBride said in a statement.
00:06:41.760 He continued by saying this,
00:06:43.520 While we still have a long way to go to truly get this crisis under control,
00:06:48.140 the strides we have made in just the last six months
00:06:50.360 to make our local communities safer are substantial,
00:06:53.280 and our officers continue to work tirelessly every day
00:06:56.240 to get the worst-of-the-worst criminal aliens out of Southeast Texas 0.97
00:06:59.800 to return our communities to places we can all enjoy.
00:07:03.380 Now, among the illegal aliens that were charged or convicted of a child sex offense 0.52
00:07:08.480 who were arrested by the ICE Houston Field Office in the past six months,
00:07:12.860 here are some of the worst.
00:07:14.260 A man by the name of Jesus Gutierrez.
00:07:16.780 He was a 67-year-old, three-time deported criminal alien from Mexico.
00:07:22.100 He was arrested March the 28th
00:07:23.720 and has been convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
00:07:27.300 He's also been convicted of driving while intoxicated.
00:07:30.380 ICE removed the man to Mexico April the 4th.
00:07:34.060 George Zebra, a 48-year-old criminal alien from Mexico,
00:07:37.920 was arrested March the 21st.
00:07:39.920 He's now been convicted of not one,
00:07:41.620 but two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor
00:07:44.900 and sexual indecency with a minor.
00:07:47.240 ICE has removed him to Mexico March the 24th as well.
00:07:50.940 Manuel Antonio Castro, a 37-year-old,
00:07:54.400 has also a rap sheet,
00:07:56.100 twice deported criminal alien, this time from El Salvador.
00:07:59.100 He was arrested July the 18th
00:08:01.440 and has been convicted of sexual assault of a minor
00:08:04.480 and twice for illegal re-entry.
00:08:06.620 He remains in ICE custody pending his third removal to El Salvador.
00:08:10.740 Jose Meza is a 40-year-old,
00:08:13.420 four-time deported criminal alien from Mexico,
00:08:16.260 who was yet again arrested June the 24th.
00:08:18.980 He's been convicted of theft and sexual assault of a child.
00:08:22.780 ICE removed the man to Mexico June the 25th.
00:08:25.100 Sergio Rolando, a 45-year-old,
00:08:28.680 three-time deported criminal alien from Mexico,
00:08:31.300 who was arrested June the 12th,
00:08:33.100 has been convicted of DWI
00:08:34.900 and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
00:08:38.160 He's been removed to Mexico July the 14th.
00:08:40.660 Now, you look at the difference now
00:08:42.540 between what's happening and over the last four years.
00:08:46.080 Federal law enforcement agencies have been contributed
00:08:49.120 to the multi-agency targeting teams,
00:08:52.240 including the Houston Office of the FBI,
00:08:54.640 the Houston Office of the ATF,
00:08:56.400 the Houston Office of the DEA,
00:08:57.940 and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
00:09:00.100 as well as the Diplomatic Security Services
00:09:01.940 and the U.S. Marshal Service.
00:09:03.780 You add in state and local law enforcement agencies
00:09:06.420 that have also assisted ICE.
00:09:08.420 You look at this,
00:09:09.520 and this, I go back to what I said,
00:09:11.400 is just in one city.
00:09:14.040 214 illegal aliens have been arrested
00:09:16.440 for immigration offenses in the Houston area
00:09:18.280 in the past six months,
00:09:19.420 and they've been charged or convicted
00:09:21.080 of sex offenses involving minors.
00:09:24.100 Now, story number two.
00:09:25.340 I want to take you back in history for just a moment.
00:09:28.320 You may remember when President Donald Trump
00:09:30.080 ran for office.
00:09:31.040 One of the things he promised
00:09:32.480 was he was going to clean up waste, fraud, and abuse.
00:09:37.400 Now, when did our government get really big
00:09:39.920 into waste, fraud, and abuse?
00:09:42.160 A lot of it actually happened
00:09:43.720 when President Barack Obama was in office
00:09:46.500 because he understood that it's easier to buy votes
00:09:49.620 than to convince people to vote for you
00:09:52.200 for actual policy reasons.
00:09:54.540 You may remember the perfect example of buying votes.
00:09:58.100 A woman that became famous
00:09:59.880 for her reason for voting for Barack Obama
00:10:02.580 over a guy by the name of Mitt Romney.
00:10:05.100 Now, let me be clear.
00:10:06.020 I'm not advocating for voting for Mitt Romney for anything.
00:10:09.000 We now know what a disaster he was.
00:10:11.260 But at the time, he obviously was going to do
00:10:13.980 a lot better job for this country than Barack Obama.
00:10:16.820 Insert September the 26th of 2012.
00:10:21.640 And the famous woman who loved her Obama phone.
00:10:25.320 Obama.
00:10:25.900 You got Obama phone?
00:10:27.040 Yes.
00:10:27.480 Everybody in Cleveland, low minority, 0.99
00:10:29.600 got Obama phone.
00:10:30.860 Keep Obama in president, you know?
00:10:33.160 He gave us a phone.
00:10:34.300 He gave you a phone.
00:10:34.760 We're going to do more.
00:10:35.400 How do you give you a phone?
00:10:36.140 You sign up if you're on full stamps,
00:10:39.100 you're on social security,
00:10:40.300 you got low income, you disability.
00:10:43.100 Hey, I have a question.
00:10:44.140 Okay, what's wrong with Romney again?
00:10:45.660 Romney? 1.00
00:10:46.440 He sucks. 1.00
00:10:47.520 He behaves. 1.00
00:10:49.800 There it is.
00:10:51.020 The woman made it clear.
00:10:52.520 You can buy my vote.
00:10:53.700 The Obama phone was real.
00:10:55.320 And it was a way to buy votes.
00:10:57.180 And the Democratic Party was giving out those Obama phones
00:11:00.440 and free cell service each and every month.
00:11:02.960 Well, fast forward to where we are today.
00:11:06.100 And we know a lot more about how corrupt the program actually was.
00:11:10.400 The Obama phones?
00:11:11.760 It was also a big scam.
00:11:13.840 And a Florida CEO is now headed to prison
00:11:16.860 and has been ordered to pay $128 million in fines
00:11:22.380 after, quote, defrauding the government.
00:11:26.200 And we're also being told this may be the tip of the iceberg.
00:11:29.680 The owner of a Florida telecommunications company
00:11:32.840 will spend the next five years in prison.
00:11:36.240 That's it.
00:11:37.020 Only five years.
00:11:38.580 And his firm must pay a hefty fine regarding the Obama phone scam.
00:11:43.200 Q-Link Wireless LLC and its owner,
00:11:46.700 identified as his CEO, Issa Assad,
00:11:49.560 previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit wired fraud
00:11:53.640 and steal federal funds from the Lifeline program
00:11:57.560 that originally began in the 1980s
00:12:00.080 to offer home phone service to those that were in need
00:12:04.200 so they could call 911.
00:12:06.160 Well, the program offered subsidized cell phone service
00:12:09.440 then to lower-income people.
00:12:11.180 And then free phones.
00:12:13.020 And in that 2012 video,
00:12:14.520 you had that protester emerging outside a Mitt Romney event
00:12:17.940 who claimed her neighborhood received an Obama phone.
00:12:21.200 Everybody's got one.
00:12:22.120 Every minority.
00:12:23.000 When asked why she supported Obama,
00:12:25.380 the woman said everybody in Cleveland, low minority.
00:12:29.140 Got Obama phones.
00:12:30.260 Keep Obama up in president.
00:12:31.960 You know, he gave us a phone.
00:12:33.160 He's going to do more.
00:12:34.300 Now, this clip was really the first time
00:12:36.400 many Americans ever heard about the abuse in this program.
00:12:40.720 And the name Obama phone caught on after the video went viral.
00:12:44.400 Some telecommunications companies with Lifeline contracts
00:12:47.960 embraced the term as a marketing ploy.
00:12:51.280 The government, by the way, did not.
00:12:53.520 Go back to 2013.
00:12:55.400 Breitbart News reported the opposition to the Lifeline program was growing.
00:13:00.200 As track phone wireless,
00:13:01.880 the company that most benefited from the government subsidy,
00:13:05.500 is now advertising on the inside the Beltway News websites
00:13:09.500 in an effort to, quote-unquote, save it.
00:13:12.020 You go to the Fox article,
00:13:13.860 and it now says that Assad was sentenced to prison,
00:13:16.760 and he, along with his company,
00:13:18.100 must pay $128 million in fines.
00:13:21.880 In a press release on Friday,
00:13:23.780 the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida
00:13:26.220 shared more details about the case
00:13:28.560 and just how bad the fraud may be.
00:13:31.480 Assad defrauded another federal government program,
00:13:34.120 it states the Paycheck Protection Program,
00:13:36.720 also known as PPP,
00:13:39.000 by making false statements about Q-Link's business.
00:13:42.700 Congress, you may remember,
00:13:44.240 created PPP,
00:13:45.480 and it was filled with waste, fraud, and abuse
00:13:47.780 during the COVID-19 pandemic
00:13:49.420 to authorize forgivable loans to small businesses
00:13:52.220 for job retention,
00:13:53.800 as well as, quote, other expenses.
00:13:56.100 Assad, the Q-Link's name, 0.95
00:13:58.120 executed a fraudulent scheme
00:14:00.040 to obtain and keep PPP proceeds.
00:14:03.280 To further the scheme,
00:14:04.400 Assad made false statements
00:14:05.700 about Q-Link's business,
00:14:07.700 including a false claim
00:14:08.800 that Q-Link's lifeline reimbursements
00:14:11.360 substantially decreased
00:14:12.720 because of the pandemic.
00:14:14.940 Assad then, in 2021,
00:14:17.280 engaged in an unlawful financial transaction
00:14:20.440 involving approximately $389,000 of those proceeds.
00:14:24.600 Assad spent PPP loan proceeds
00:14:26.620 on a Land Rover payment.
00:14:28.520 His personal Amex card,
00:14:30.960 jewelry,
00:14:31.800 and personal property taxes.
00:14:34.220 Assad was reportedly charged with murder
00:14:36.560 several years ago
00:14:37.560 in connection with driving over a groundskeeper
00:14:40.960 at his business,
00:14:42.360 per another Fox article.
00:14:44.180 He later pleaded no contest
00:14:45.840 to misdemeanor culpable negligence
00:14:48.060 and was slapped with one year probation
00:14:50.220 in order to pay just a $125 fine,
00:14:55.260 the outlet said.
00:14:56.420 Proof, if you've got really good lawyers,
00:14:58.660 you can get away with a hell of a lot.
00:15:00.300 As for the Obama phone scam,
00:15:02.480 Ford's CEO at least is headed to prison
00:15:04.480 and will pay, in theory,
00:15:06.420 $128 million in fines
00:15:08.720 for defrauding the American taxpayer.
00:15:11.400 But is this program still going?
00:15:14.040 Yes. 0.85
00:15:14.860 Is the program still corrupt as hell? 0.58
00:15:17.660 Yes.
00:15:18.540 And is it time that the Trump administration
00:15:20.560 look into it?
00:15:21.720 You better believe it.
00:15:22.840 And there's a very good chance
00:15:24.280 that's exactly what's happening right now.
00:15:26.960 Thank you for listening
00:15:27.740 to the 47 Morning Update
00:15:29.460 with Ben Ferguson.
00:15:31.160 Please make sure you hit subscribe
00:15:32.940 wherever you're listening
00:15:34.400 to this podcast right now.
00:15:36.240 And for more in-depth news,
00:15:38.160 also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast,
00:15:40.880 and we will see you back here tomorrow.
00:15:42.660 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:15:47.400 Guaranteed human.