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A retired rear admiral with the U.S. Maritime Administration gave what Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, described as an ‘insufficient’ answer to his question about a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) official’s controversial tweet about White males.

During a hearing Thursday before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure about the shortage of U.S. mariners, Babin grilled Rear Adm. Ann Phillips (ret.) about a June 2020 tweet from Anton Tripolskii, who was hired at the Kings Point, New York, academy last year as its $142,595-per-year sexual assault response director.

‘We don’t have forces who do right by survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence because we don’t have forces who don’t abuse Brown and Black people,’ Tripolskii wrote in the tweet. ‘Same forces, same reasons. Misogyny and racism grow from the same white, male root.’

Tripolskii also retweeted a user in October 2020 who suggested  that ‘White men with a history of domestic and sexual violence’ are more inclined to become ‘radicalized terrorists.’

Tripolskii’s Twitter activity prompted a scathing letter from four members of the U.S. House’s Anti-Woke Caucus to USMMA Superintendent Vice Adm. Joanna Nunan earlier this week.

‘He has made it clear that he believes that White males – the same White males that make up the majority of the U.S. Merchant Marine – are to blame for sexual violence in the United States,’ said Babin, who was one of the members of Congress who signed the letter to Nunan. ‘In fact, Mr. Tripolskii, who is White and male, has made these kinds of comments repeatedly.’

Noting how the USMMA should have been aware of his Twitter activity before hiring him, Babin asked Phillips if she agrees with Tripolskii that misogyny and racism ‘grow from the same white, male root.’

Phillips acknowledged the USMMA’s receipt of the letter from the Anti-Woke Caucus, but she noted that Tripolskii’s tweet was ‘several years old’ and that she and Nunan ‘are looking towards the future’ by ‘building an environment of value that includes inclusiveness’ and values people’s participation based on their professionalism and skill.

Babin cut in to say he did not understand her answer and reiterated his question by asking if Phillips believes Tripolskii’s statement about White males is true.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy needs experienced leaders training our merchant mariners, not some social justice warrior who’s laser-focused on DEI ideology …

— Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas

‘Well, sir, his statements were made a number of years ago, and I have no indication that they apply to his current position,’ Phillips said. ‘And again, I have spoken with Vice Adm. Nunan, we are moving forward with a future and collective future for the academy that values everyone, including White men, for their professionalism and skill and ensures that we have a team to move forward.’

‘I understand what you’re saying, and you’re kind of dodging,’ Babin said, going on to express concern about worsening recruitment shortfalls ‘throughout the services’ and at the USMMA especially.

‘The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy needs experienced leaders training our merchant mariners, not some social justice warrior who’s laser-focused on DEI ideology, expanding abortion or accusing individuals of inherent racism based purely on their skin color – which is illegal, by the way, since 1965,’ Babin said, adding that he found Phillips’ answer ‘insufficient.’

The controversy over Tripolskii’s views comes months after midshipmen currently enrolled at the USMMA told Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity that the academy under the authority of Nunan and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has become increasingly ‘woke.’

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Half of America’s governors are urging the Biden administration to forgo or delay the implementation of a proposed rule from the Department of Education they say could prevent states from enforcing ‘duly-enacted statutes protecting fairness in women’s and girls’ sports.’

In a joint comment submitted Friday to Education Sec. Miguel Cardona, 25 Republican governors pushed back against the department’s proposal to amend Title IX rules to expand the meaning of sexual discrimination to include gender identity that would prevent schools and colleges from banning transgender athletes.

‘We write to submit a joint comment in opposition to the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed new regulation 34 C.F.R. § 106.41(b)(2) and respectfully request that it be withdrawn or delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court can address the questions raised in several pending cases that are challenging this administration’s expanded reading of Title IX,’ the governors, led by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, wrote in the comment.

Under the department’s proposed rule, no school or college that receives federal funding would be allowed to impose a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy that categorically bans transgender students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX.

The proposal, the GOP governors said, could ‘prevent states from enforcing our duly-enacted statutes protecting fairness in women’s and girls’ sports.’

‘If not withdrawn, we are gravely concerned about the impact that the Department’s wholesale reinvention of Title IX’s terms would have on states’ ability to enforce their laws and policies as written,’ the governors wrote. ‘Indeed, under threat of denying essential school funding, the Department’s proposed regulation would attempt to coerce compliance with an uncertain, fluid, and completely subjective standard that is based on a highly politicized gender ideology. Most troubling, the proposed regulation would turn the purpose of Title IX on its head and threaten the many achievements of women in athletics.’

Offering further criticism of the proposal, the governors said the recommended regulation from the department ‘lacks foundation in established law’ and ‘includes terms not found in Title IX in an attempt to expand Title IX’s clear language beyond Congress’ intent.’

‘The proposed rule also lacks any Congressional authority. The plain language used in Title IX does not allow the sweeping rewrites of Title IX that the Department persists in seeking,’ the governors stated. ‘It is undisputed that Title IX prohibits discrimination ‘on the basis of sex.”

‘Undeterred by plain English, the Department invents new categories solely based on a student’s ‘gender identity’ — a term not used in Title IX,’ they added. ‘This overreaching interpretation exceeds the Department’s Congressionally granted authority. Not only does the Department lack the authority to unilaterally re-write Title IX, such a regulation would disrupt states and schools and eviscerate the lived experience and achievements of generations of courageous women.’

The governors also highlighted the importance of defending the ‘hard-fought’ achievements of female athletes.

‘This administration apparently sees no irony that its policies validate an average male athlete stealing the recognition from a truly remarkable female athlete whose lifelong athletic discipline and achievements are discarded based on a deliberate misreading of a law whose very purpose was to protect, preserve, and encourage women’s athletics,’ the governors said. ‘The scandal of 1970’s and 1980’s East German women athletes pales in comparison to the logical result of this administration’s relentless pursuit of draconian enforcement of its gender ideology. Leaving aside the Department’s utter lack of authority to promulgate such a regulation, neither states nor schools should be subjected to such a fluid and uncertain standard. Nor, most importantly, should the historic advancements and achievements of our sisters, mothers, and daughters be erased.’

In a press release, the Biden administration said the proposed rule ‘affirms that students benefit from the chance to join a school sports team to learn about teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness.’

The joint comment from more than two dozen Republican state leaders comes amid widespread support from Democrats and liberals to allow transgender athletes to compete in sports that do not align with their biological sex.

The House passed legislation last month aimed at preventing biological males from competing as transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports at schools across the country. The measure, known as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, passed in a 219-203 vote on April 20. All the ‘yes’ votes came from Republicans, and all the ‘no’ votes came from Democrats.

Republicans defended the bill as an attempt to spare women and girls from having to compete against transgender women and girls — biological males who can sometimes dominate these sports and prevent some female athletes from making the team. But several Democrats argued in debate that the GOP bill is an extension of the bullying that transgender students are already facing at school.

Cardona has said that he supports allowing biological male transgender people to compete in women’s sports. He said during his confirmation hearing that it is ‘critically important’ that educators and school systems ‘respect the rights of all students, including students who are transgender’ and that all students should be able to participate in activities.

The Friday comment to Cardona included signatures and support from Reeves, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller, Peter Kasperowicz, and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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The California Reparations Task Force, a committee created by legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, formally recommended that the state legislature repeal a constitutional amendment that prohibits the government from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, someone based on their race.

Last weekend, the task force formally approved its final recommendations to the California Legislature, which will then decide whether to implement the measures and send them to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

Much of the public’s attention has been focused on the price tag of the committee’s proposed reparations to make amends for slavery and anti-Black racism. However, several aspects of the committee’s recommendations, which are outlined in hundreds of pages of documents, have received little attention, including a proposal to repeal Proposition 209.

California voters passed Proposition 209, now enshrined in California’s constitution, in 1996. The measure amended the California Constitution, adding a section that states in part, ‘The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.’

The California Supreme Court said in a case from 2000 that, in the context of Proposition 209, discrimination means ‘to make distinctions in treatment; show partiality (in favor of) or prejudice (against)’ and preferential means ‘a giving of priority or advantage to one person … over others.’

Proposition 209 is largely known for banning affirmative action but effectively outlawed racial discrimination in California outright. Repealing it would appear to allow discrimination as the court defined it.

Nonetheless, the task force wants to get rid of the measure, arguing it is actually created more racial discrimination.

‘Since its passage, Proposition 209 has had far-reaching impact on efforts to remediate entrenched systemic anti-Black bias and discrimination,’ the task force writes in a final report outlining its proposals. ‘In recognition of the systemic discrimination faced by the African American community and the barriers to justice and repair imposed by Proposition 209, the task force recommends that the legislature take steps within its authority to seek the repeal [of] Proposition 209. This effort must continue until California’s constitution has been cleansed of this or any other measure rooted in racism.’

The task force highlights a study commissioned by the far-left Equal Justice Society, an organization of which a task force member is president, that concluded between $1 billion and $1.1 billion in contract dollars were lost annually by businesses owned by women and people of color due to Proposition 209. The task force’s report also argued admissions declined for Black applicants ‘at every campus.’

According to UCLA law professor Richard Sander, however, the number of Black graduates from the University of California had risen 70% above pre-Proposition 209 levels by 2017. That same year, he wrote, the number of STEM graduates rose from an annual average of around 200 before Proposition 209 to 510. The figure increased to 558 in 2018.

It is unclear how repealing a measure that bars discrimination or preferential treatment based on race would help combat racial discrimination.

One possible explanation relates to legality.

Many of the task force’s proposals are explicitly race-based to make distinctions in favor of Black Californians as a way to make amends for slavery and subsequent racism. With that in mind, critics of reparations have argued Proposition 209 could present a legal hurdle for their proposals.

For example, San Francisco resident Richie Greenberg, who founded the successful movement to recall the city’s former District Attorney Chesa Boudin, has argued that large-scale reparations would violate not only Proposition 209 but also the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

Ward Connerly, the leading Black voice supporting Proposition 209, has expressed similar sentiments.

‘It is [Proposition] 209 that will prevent our legislature and governor from doing something so ridiculous as to compensate some of us based on the color of our skin or being the ancestors of slaves,’ he tweeted last year.

Connerly served as president of the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign in the 1990s and is now founder and president of the American Civil Rights Institute.

The task force didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story. However, the committee appeared to acknowledge the potential legal hurdle that Proposition 209 presents in its report, writing, ‘More broadly, Proposition 209 is widely viewed as an impediment to the adoption of remedial measures. The chilling effect has been far-reaching.’

This is not the first effort to repeal Proposition 209. In 2020, Proposition 16 appeared on the general election ballot asking California voters to amend the California Constitution to repeal Proposition 209. 

Proposition 16 failed, with 57% of voters saying they want to keep Proposition 209, which still remains in effect.

‘In other words, a majority of California voters wanted to keep Prop 209 in place, maintaining the constitutional ban on the state engaging in race-based discrimination or preferential treatment,’ Edward Ring, a senior fellow at the California Policy Center, wrote recently of the 2020 vote.

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President Biden’s administration is seeking to ‘move beyond’ the controversy caused by Chinese spy balloons shot down over the continental United States, The Associated Press reports.

The drastic shift in tone came from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a meeting with Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi. 

The two officials spoke at a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday and Thursday, during which they reportedly agreed the February incident was ‘unfortunate.’

The White House called the unpublicized meeting between Washington and Beijing leaders as ‘candid’ and ‘constructive.’

An administrative official familiar with the meeting, speaking with members of the press on condition of anonymity, said both the White House and CCP leadership are looking to ‘reestablish standard, normal channels of communications’ after months of tensions caused by the foreign aircraft.

Many had speculated the Chinese balloon gathered intelligence from U.S. military sites as it roamed freely across the country from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 before being shot down over South Carolina.

According to several current and former U.S. officials in an April report, the Biden administration struggled to block the intelligence gathering of the Chinese spy balloon that ultimately fed information to Beijing in real time.

Last month, Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines told Fox News Digital that even briefings with intelligence officials left him with more questions than answers. 

On Feb. 9, Daines posed 10 questions for the Biden administration, including why the balloon was allowed to enter U.S. airspace, how close it got to Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base and missile silos, and what other sensitive national security and military sites it flew over – all of which remain unanswered.

Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom will likely announce that California, one of the few states to have a shortfall this year, may see an extra $5 billion in losses after reporting a budget deficit of $22.5 billion.California’s economic shortfall reflects a sagging stock market and delayed tax payments following a series of powerful and damaging winter storms. To cut spending, Newsom proposed delaying funding for a subsidized child care program which has angered California’s Democratic lawmakers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday is expected to announce an even bigger budget deficit than the $22.5 billion hole that he confronted in January, reflecting an economy burdened by a sagging stock market and disrupted by a series of powerful winter storms that delayed billions of dollars in tax payments.

California is one of the only states to have a shortfall this year, mostly because its progressive tax code relies on wealthy taxpayers whose income is closely tied to the performance of the stock market.

The deficit is small compared to the cash crunch that the state faced during the last recession. But the challenge for Newsom will be persuading lawmakers to spending cuts who are not accustomed to enacting them.

Since taking office in 2019, Newsom’s biggest budget fights with the Democratic-controlled state Legislature is how to spend California’s record-breaking surpluses. Agreeing on what to cut could be much more difficult.

Newsom’s plan in January was to cut money for flood protection projects, delaying an expansion of a subsidized child care program and canceling a $500 million plan to help small businesses pay higher tax rates associated with some state debt.

On Thursday, Newsom announced that he was restoring money previously cut from flood protection projects, plus introducing another $250 million in new spending, which includes raising a levee to protect the Central Valley community of Corcoran.

It’s not yet clear if he can or will relent on his other proposed cuts. Newsom signed off on an expansion of a subsidized child care program last year that would pay to help an extra 20,000 families. But because of the deficit, Newsom proposed delaying that funding for one year. He argued that the state was having trouble filling the child care slots it already had.

That angered some Democratic lawmakers, who said the reason the state was having trouble filling its child care slots is because there aren’t enough child care workers. On Monday, Democrats in the Assembly proposed $1 billion in new spending to increase the pay of child care workers.

‘Now, we just need to put a little pressure on the governor to make sure he’s on board,’ Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gomez-Reyes said on Wednesday while speaking to a rally of parents and child care workers at the state Capitol.

It’s not just child care though. Democrats in the state Senate want to raise taxes on 2,500 of the largest companies so they can cut taxes by about 25% for most other businesses — a plan that Newsom has already said he opposes. And environmental groups want Newsom to reverse his planned $6 billion cut to some of his climate proposals.

But restoring those cuts could be difficult. The situation has only gotten worse since Newsom first announced the deficit in January. California’s tax collections have continued to decline, falling $4.6 billion below what the governor’s office had been expecting. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says they expect the deficit to be about $5 billion bigger.

Then there’s the weather. Since January, California has been hit by roughly a dozen atmospheric rivers — intense storms that bring heavy rain and snow. The storms caused so much damage throughout the state that officials decided to give people more time to pay their taxes — extending the deadline from April to October.

That’s a problem now for Newsom and the state Legislature, which must pass a budget before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Delayed tax collection means they’ll have to make a plan without knowing how much money they have to spend.

The last time this happened was at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when taxpayers had extra time to file their taxes. Newsom and state lawmakers assumed the worst, approving a budget that slashed spending in order to cover what they thought would be a $54 billion deficit. But that deficit never happened because the pandemic’s impact on state revenues turned out to be less damaging than anticipated.

This time, California’s deficit looks to be for real. California’s Legislature taxes the wealthy more than other states. About half of the state’s money comes from just 1% of earners. That means that the state is vulnerable to big swings in the stock market, which is the source of wealth for most rich people.

The stock market has been down as the federal government has raised interest rates to combat inflation.

The downward turn has had the biggest impact on California’s massive technology industry as companies like Google, Facebook and PayPal have laid off thousands of workers. Earlier this year, Silicon Valley Bank — one of the nation’s largest financial institutions, whose clients were mostly in the tech industry — failed and was bought by North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank.

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Kansas’ Democratic governor on Thursday scuttled a small legal settlement favored by top Republican officials between the state and the owner of a Wichita fitness studio forced to shut down during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic and then operate under restrictions.

The settlement would have cost the state $4,305.46 and ended a lawsuit filed in December 2020 by Ryan Floyd and his business, Omega Bootcamps Inc. The case has yet to go to trial in Sedgwick County District Court in Wichita, and Attorney General Kris Kobach asked Gov. Laura Kelly and eight leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature to sign off, as required by state law.

Six of those eight legislative leaders are Republicans, and all six voted to approve the settlement during a live online WebEx meeting that Kelly convened. But Kelly opposed it, along with the House and Senate’s top Democrats, and under Kansas law, the governor’s action decided the issue.

Kelly did not explain why she opposed the settlement, though a spokesperson later said in a text that the settlement ‘is not in the best interest of the state.’ The governor and the lawmakers had no public discussion of the settlement but met in private for 35 minutes with two members of Kobach’s staff.

The governor cut off public discussion before the private session with Kobach’s staff, even though House Democratic Leader Vic Miller asked to have the case verbally summarized in public. The Associated Press requested by email before the meeting that the discussion be held in public.

‘We had this meeting here today, and you voted ‘no,’ ‘ Republican state Sen. Rick Billinger, who chairs the Senate budget committee, told Kelly, as she moved to adjourn the meeting immediately after the decision. ‘I mean, I don’t understand that.’

Kelly said, ‘I mean it’s very clear; I voted ‘no,’ ‘ and then said they could have a discussion after the group adjourned — out of public view.

Ryan Kriegshauser, an attorney representing Floyd and Omega Bootcamps, called Kelly’s action ‘an insult to common sense,’ and Floyd said the settlement amount represented the rent he still had to pay during 53 days he remained closed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

‘All the dude ever wanted was his rent back,’ said Josh Ney, another attorney representing Floyd. ‘Now the state will likely spend untold thousands to continue litigating this case.’

The state asked the judge handling the lawsuit to dismiss it without a trial in October 2021. But the judge has not ruled on that request. Miller, a veteran attorney, said he expects the judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

‘Just in general, when we become an easy target for cases that have no merit, it encourages other cases with no merit to be filed,’ Miller said. ‘You have to look at the bigger picture.’

The lawsuit argued that the state used Floyd’s and his business’ private property ‘for the benefit of the general public’ when it and local officials imposed restrictions to check the spread of COVID-19. Statewide restrictions started with Kelly’s order shutting down most businesses for five weeks, starting in late March 2020.

The lawsuit cited part of the state’s emergency management law that says people can seek compensation in court if their property is ‘commandeered or otherwise used’ by state or local officials. Miller said that language doesn’t cover COVID-19 restrictions, while the lawsuit contends it does.

Kriegshauser said it’s notable that the judge has been ‘struggling’ for more than 18 months with a decision on whether the case should go forward. Also, the Legislature whittled away over time at the power of the governor and local officials to shutter businesses or issue mask mandates in response to criticism of their actions.

‘Of course there is merit to this action,’ Kriegshauser said of the lawsuit.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Omega Bootcamps received two pandemic relief loans totaling about $24,000 in 2020 and 2021. In his lawsuit, Floyd said he wants an appraiser to be appointed to set the amount of damages owed by the state.

Kelly spokesperson Brianna Johnson noted those loans in defending the governor’s action.

Kobach was elected attorney general last year but served as secretary of state, Kansas’ top elections official, from 2011 to 2019, and Kriegshauser worked for him as an attorney and policy deputy in 2011-12. Lawyers outside the attorney general’s office have handled the state’s defense in the lawsuit.

Kelly’s action came the same day as the formal end of the U.S. national public health emergency for COVID-19. In Kansas, Republican legislative leaders forced an end to a state of emergency in June 2021, about three months earlier than Kelly wanted.

The lawsuit was put on hold by the judge in 2021 so that Kriegshauser could urge Kansas lawmakers to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to compensate small businesses for their financial losses during the pandemic. Republican lawmakers approved a plan that could have set aside tens of millions of dollars, but Kelly vetoed it, arguing that the ‘well-intentioned’ measure violated a national coronavirus relief law.

In 2022, Kelly and lawmakers agreed on providing up to $50 million worth of refunds on the local property taxes paid by retail ‘storefront’ businesses shut down or restricted during the pandemic, up to $5,000 for each business.

But critics have said the process of getting the aid is difficult, and the $5,000 cap discourages businesses from applying. The state Department of Revenue reported Thursday that it had approved 23 applications worth more than $22,000 in aid.

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Discriminating against someone because of weight when it comes to work, housing or in public accommodation would be barred in New York City under a bill passed Thursday by the City Council.

The measure would amend city law to add weight and height to the list of identifiers that are considered protected, like race, sexual orientation, gender identity and national origin.

‘People with different body types are not only denied jobs and promotions that they deserve, their whole existence has also been denied by a society that has offered no legal remedy for this prejudice,’ said Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who sponsored the legislation.

He said New York would join a handful of cities in the country with similar protections. Michigan is the only state with a law that expressly bans weight discrimination, while in Washington state, a court ruled that obesity is covered under an anti-discrimination law for employees with disabilities.

A few other states have had legislation introduced on the issue for consideration.

The New York City bill carves out exemptions such as jobs where height or weight considerations are integral to the role being performed.

It now goes to Mayor Eric Adams, who has said in the past that weight shouldn’t be a basis for treating people differently. There was no immediate response to an email sent to his office seeking comment.

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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, warned the ‘the worst is ahead’ for the intensifying migrant crisis, as districts border-wide brace for the multitude of migrants surging the U.S. after the expiration of Title 42. 

‘Many of my cities have declared a state of emergency,’ Gonzales said during in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Thursday. ‘Basically, my office is turned into a mini FEMA office… Everybody is inundated at the same time. So that’s why I’ve been in constant communications with my local leaders to go, You tell me what you need when you need it, so that way I can go to the highest levels and advocate for the things that you need.’

The House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would increase border security amid the expiration of Title 42 — the pandemic-era policy that allowed the immediate expulsion of migrants from America for the past three years — but Gonzales stressed that ‘this bill does nothing’ without action from the Biden administration.

‘It doesn’t end with 218 votes in the House. It’s only the start,’ Gonzales said of the House bill. ‘This ends when the President of the United States signs a bill into law that incorporates border security and has some immigration reform applications in there.’

The Texas congressman also revealed that House Republicans reportedly removed language from the bill that would have labeled the cartel as ‘terrorists.’

‘This is a part I’m a little disappointed in. I pushed hard to label cartels as terrorists, because that’s what they are. And I got a lot of pushback on that. And at the 11th hour, a lot of House Republicans removed the word terrorists. I guess that offends Republicans that we call cartels the terrorists,’ Gonzales said. 

‘In a district like mine, this bill does nothing,’ he told Fox. ‘I’ve been on the phone nonstop to include, with the secretary of homeland security, saying ya know what are the things were some things that I think need to happen today, not ten years from now.’

Gonzales is continuing push for a 14% increase in pay for border patrol agents through the Border Patrol Pay Parity Act, as he seeks to reform the current immigration system. ‘The asylum process is completely broken, and it needs to be it needs to be fixed,’ the congressman said.

The representative recalled having a ‘love hate relationship’ with the Biden administration, as congressional Republicans and Democrats clash on ways to manage the crisis at the southern border.

‘I think we have a love hate relationship. They know how active I am in the space and how involved I am and also how much my district is a large percentage of the border. They also know when they don’t respond, that I’ll be the first one to kind of knock them over the head, if you will. 

On Thursday, border patrol agents reported 10,000 migrant encounters for the third day in a row. While there remains a multitude of illegal immigrants make their way into America, Gonzales noted that there has also been an increase in ICE deportations.

‘But you know what? There’s a lot of coordination. One of the things that I was very happy to see was in the last few days, there’s been more ICE flights that sent people back to their country of origin. I know yesterday there was a couple hundred that got sent back to Guatemala. And these were some of the things that I was working on.’

He highlighted making real progress with the administration.

‘Last week, I spoke with the president of Guatemala. He was having difficulties connecting with the administration. So yesterday I worked with the administration to connect with the president of Guatemala. And then, yesterday, 200 Guatemalans get flown back to their country of origin. To me, that is moving the ball forward. That’s a real tangible thing that is helping kind of secure the border. Some of the political theater that’s up here, that’s all politics.’

As Title 42’s expiration prompted tens of thousands of migrants to journey towards the U.S. in hopes of being allowed entry, Biden sent 1,500 active military troops in an attempt to control the influx of illegal immigrants heading North.

‘I spent 20 years in the military, fought in two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan. Our military should be trained to fight and win wars and not do administrative work,’ Gonzales said in response to Biden’s order. ‘I am of the mindset, if you want this crisis to end you, you surge immigration judges to the border, and you have their cases heard in days, not years.’

Gov. Greg Abbot of Texas also deployed the national guard to aid in the border crisis, but Gonzales reiterated his claim that the border crisis needs to be address at a federal level for there to be real change.

‘I’m a little mixed. As a Texas resident, we have spent billions of dollars on border security where we could have spent that money on school safety or other things. On the other end, I know the governor is doing everything he possibly can to keep his head above water,’ Gonzales said. ‘But this is a federal issue, and it can only be solved when the federal government enforces the laws that are already on the books. Anything else is — I don’t think it meets the mark. But, you know, I understand whether it’s local or state, folks are doing everything they can to alleviate some of the stress.’

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Title 42, the Trump-era policy  used to manage the border crisis by allowing the swift expulsion of illegal migrants from the U.S., reached its expiration date Thursday.

In anticipation of that expiration, tens of thousands of migrants began journeying through Mexico in hopes of finding asylum in the United States. 

The unfolding crisis is quickly turning into one of the largest migrant surges America’s southern border has ever seen.

On Tuesday, President Biden said he anticipated the crisis at the border will be ‘chaotic for a while.’

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded about 10,000 migrant encounters daily in the days leading up to Title 42’s expiration, but this number is expected to increase. 

The chief of Border Patrol released a memo that revealed agents would begin releasing migrants into America without a court date if the border becomes overwhelmed.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

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California’s reparations task force is pushing for the state to end cash bail and the prosecution of low-level crimes as part of its campaign to pressure the Golden State to make amends for slavery and anti-Black racism. 

The task force, which was created by state legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, formally approved last weekend its final recommendations to the California Legislature, which will decide whether to enact the measures and send them to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

The recommendations included several proposals related to criminal justice, including the elimination of cash bail.

‘The cash bail system is at the core of many of the class and race-based inequities in the criminal legal system,’ the task force wrote in its proposal. ‘The task force accordingly recommends that the legislature take all steps necessary to definitively end cash bail.’

Democrats and progressive prosecutors across the country have in recent years taken steps to end cash bail, arguing it’s unfair to low-income people who can’t afford it. According to the committee’s final report outlining its proposals, a cash bail system allows those with resources to return to their homes and jobs while others remain in jail before their trials despite the presumption of innocence.

‘Pretrial detention can last months and even years, during which incarcerated individuals suffer countless harms, including deteriorating mental and physical health, risk of sexual violence and lasting trauma,’ the task force wrote. ‘These harms exert significant pressure on defendants to accept plea bargains in order to be released from custody rather than fighting the charges at trial.’

Many Republicans and other critics counter that bail helps keep people from committing crimes and that eliminating it will only incentivize more criminal behavior. A recent study found that criminal offenders let out with low bail or at no cost under zero-bail policies re-offended more often than those who posted bail.

Still, the Newsom-backed panel says racial disparities persist in pretrial detention outcomes, arguing the setting of bail hurts Black defendants more than White defendants. 

As a result, the committee wrote that California should codify ‘a presumption of pretrial release in all criminal cases,’ increase funding for ‘non-law enforcement pretrial services agencies to improve pretrial release support programs,’ and implement a ‘statewide zero bail schedule.’ Additionally, the task force calls for the legislature to create a framework for compensating people held before trials who were later acquitted or exonerated.

The task force’s proposal to eliminate cash bail appears to be part of a broader push to lessen penalties for criminals. Indeed, later in its report, the committee outlines what it describes as ‘overpolicing’ of Black Americans before calling for California to stop prosecuting low-level crimes.

‘Given the devastating impacts of this kind of over-policing, the task force recommends that the legislature prohibit law enforcement from criminally enforcing public disorder infractions and other low-level crimes,’ it wrote. 

‘Instead, a public health and safety institution, without criminal arrest or prosecution powers, would enforce prohibitions such as sleeping on the sidewalk, fare evasion, spitting on the train and similar transit-related or other public disorder violations that criminalize poverty.’

The task force goes on to propose those arrested or criminally prosecuted for such violations should be allowed to sue for damages or automatically receive a damages payout. Similarly, the report calls for the legislature to establish a way to compensate those previously convicted of loitering with intent to commit prostitution.

Such proposals wouldn’t be new for California, which has in recent years pursued several initiatives deemed soft on crime by critics. 

The state, for example, has changed crimes like theft of goods under $950 and drug possession from felonies to misdemeanors, reducing California’s prison population by 13,000 inmates. Prisoners are also able to shorten their sentences through good behavior.

In recent years, lawmakers in California have voted to limit gang-related sentence enhancements, allow loitering related to prostitution and automatically seal conviction and arrest records for most offenders not convicted of another felony within a four-year period. A bill under consideration would prevent police from using K-9s for arrests or crowd control.

The task force additionally recommends the legislature create a system to pay California inmates a ‘fair market value’ for their labor while in prison. These were among a host of other proposals related to criminal justice contained in the report — from abolishing the death penalty to abolishing certain legal protections for police officers that shield them from liability in many cases while carrying out their law enforcement duties.

The recommendations are part of an effort by the task force to remedy what the panel describes as an ‘unjust legal system’ toward Black Californians.

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