President Donald Trump's administration has reached a deal to grant the Texas National Guard new authority to make immigration arrests this weekend.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott referenced the deal on social media, saying it would "boost manpower for border security." Under the agreement, Texas National Guard troops would be able to arrest illegal immigrants so long as there is a U.S. immigration officer or Border Patrol agent present. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Abbott said the deal was "effective immediately" as of Sunday night.

The deal is only the latest front in Trump's nationwide blitz against illegal immigration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other border security groups have leaned into their deportation efforts since Trump gained office.

TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES SLAMMED FOR POST-NYC ICE RAID COMMENTS: ‘GET ON THE SAME PAGE’

Trump's 2024 campaign promised to curb illegal immigration that flourished under the Biden administration. The 47th President promised to deport migrants, including those who had long rap sheets or ties to gangs or terrorist organizations.

On the first day of his second term, Trump issued ten executive orders aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration law and policy. Less than a week back in the Oval Office, Trump touted that he is keeping his promises.

"Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency at our southern border. I sent active duty troops on the border to help repel the invasion. Tom Homan is leading the charge. You know that. We like Tom Homan. Doing a great job," Trump said at a recent rally.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"We immediately halted all illegal entry and began sending every border trespasser and violator back to the places from which they came. I signed an order that will designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. It's a big deal, it's a big deal. Biden didn't want to do that," he added. "Biden didn't know he was alive. He didn't want to do it."

Federal officials deported some 7,300 illegal immigrants in the opening week of Trump's administration alone.

Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report

A Wisconsin man has been charged with identity theft and impersonating a peace officer after prosecutors say he was caught posing as a U.S. Border Patrol agent twice in one week.

According to the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office, prosecutors charged 34-year-old Hank Glembin of New Berlin with two counts of identity theft and two counts of impersonating a peace officer after he claimed to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent on two occasions in January.

In the complaint, obtained by FOX 6 Milwaukee, on Jan. 25, a Muskego police officer was responding to a deer that had been struck by a truck when Glembin pulled up and asked the officer if she needed assistance.

The officer then asked Glembin if he was with the Muskego Department of Public Works and declined Glembin's offer of help, according to the complaint. Glembin then told the officer, "I'm off duty right now. I'm with Border Patrol."

COUPLE WITH FAKE FIRE TRUCK BUSTED FOR IMPERSONATING FIREFIGHTERS NEAR PALISADES FIRE IN LOS ANGELES: SHERIFF

Glembin was reportedly wearing a black hat with "CBP" stitched in yellow, a green duty vest over a black jacket, and khaki pants, according to the officers' notes in the complaint. 

Prosecutors said the officer also noted that Glembin had "DHS, CBP-BPA, and Agent H.D. Glembin" visible on his clothing. In addition to the fake logos on his clothes, the officer noted that Glembin had a handcuff case and a gun, which "appeared legitimate," attached to his belt. Glembin also had a white light mounted on one shoulder and a red light mounted on his other shoulder, the complaint read. 

VIRGINIA WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER IMPERSONATING A NURSE AND WORKING AT MULTIPLE CALIFORNIA HOSPITALS: POLICE

According to the complaint, the officer said Glembin then pulled out an ID card that read "Department of Homeland Security" along with his image. Despite the officer telling Glembin that public works would take care of the dead deer, he dragged it into the ditch "unprompted."

Through further investigation, prosecutors said police confirmed Glembin's uniform was "not consistent" with those worn by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

It was also uncovered that Glembin approached a New Berlin police officer during a traffic stop days later on Jan. 29. 

HOUSTON MAN ARRESTED FOR IMPERSONATING POLICE OFFICER AFTER ATTEMPTING TO PULL OVER REAL DEPUTIES

The complaint detailed that Glembin approached the officer, wearing the same uniform as reported by the other officer during the first encounter on Jan. 25, and told the officer he had just "gotten off duty" and offered help.

The officer noted that he noticed "Border Patrol Unit" on the back of Glembin's vest when he walked away.

New Berlin police then spoke to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection special agent who confirmed that Glembin was not a federal agent and that the agency was aware of his impersonation, according to the complaint. 

Glembin was taken into custody later that evening and investigators determined Glembin was not who he claimed to be and that all his gear was fraudulent, FOX 6 reported.

Prosecutors said Glembin admitted while in custody that he was not a Border Patrol agent but said he wanted to pursue becoming one.

Glembin also allegedly admitted to approaching both officers in Muskego and New Berlin while wearing fake uniforms and gear and showing off his fake credentials. 

Glembin is due for a hearing on Feb. 13 and was issued a $2,000 signature bond by the court, according to court records. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office but did not immediately receive a response.

Multiple social media accounts attached to the Trump administration slammed actress Selena Gomez for posting a video of herself crying over deportations of illegal immigrants.

Both the official White House X account and press secretary Karoline Leavitt called out the "Only Murders in The Building" star after she wept on Instagram in response to the ICE raids that the Trump administration ordered

"Kayla Hamilton, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin were murdered by illegal aliens. Their courageous mothers had something to say to @SelenaGomez and those who oppose securing our borders," the White House account posted on Friday, along with a clip of the aggrieved mothers blasting the pop star.

MSNBC ANCHOR CORRECTS HER CORRESPONDENT ON-AIR: THEY'RE 'UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS'

Gomez uploaded a now-deleted video of her crying to her Instagram page on Monday, where she lamented the nationwide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in the United States. 

"All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something, but I can’t," she said to her 422 million Instagram followers. 

"I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise."

Gomez’s video was slammed by conservatives on social media, as well as by prominent Trump administration officials like border czar Tom Homan, who responded to the celebrity from Fox News Channel’s "Hannity" on Monday.

"We got a half a million children who were sex trafficked into this country, separated from their families, put in the hands of criminal cartels to be smuggled into the country. This administration can't find over 300,000. Where's the tears for them?"

TRUMP’S ICE NABS CHILD SEX OFFENDERS AMONG 530+ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN SINGLE DAY

In the clip shared by the White House account, the mothers of the victims – Tammy Nobles, Alexis Nungarary, and Patty Morin – asked why Gomez wasn’t crying for the victims of illegal immigrants.

"What about our children who were brutally murdered and raped and beat to death and left on the floor by these illegal immigrants?" Nobles, the mother of Hamilton, asked Gomez. 

Nungaray was featured saying, "Seeing that video it’s hard to believe that it’s actually genuine and real because she’s an actress."

Later in the clip, she added, "My daughter was a child. There’s many other children whose lives were taken due to people who cross here illegally."

"I just feel like it’s a ruse to deceive people and garner sympathy for lawlessness," Morin said, later adding, "No one has stood up except for us mothers to cry out about our children."

As noted by Mediaite, Leavitt shared the clip to her official government account on Friday night, tagging Gomez’s account to make sure she saw it. 

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 7,400 people in nine days across several states amid its aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration since the new Trump administration came into office. 

ICE officers have been seen carrying out raids of homes, work sites, and other establishments, while deportations have also ramped up, with the Trump administration also vowing to send the most violent migrants to Guantánamo Bay.

According to a compilation of daily totals of arrests, as of Jan. 31, ICE has so far arrested 7,412 people who the agency says are in the country illegally. The agency says that nearly 6,000 ICE detainers have been placed on individuals.

NYC RESIDENTS PRAISE ICE RAIDS AFTER VIOLENT GANG MEMBER CAPTURED

ICE has posted nine daily arrest totals to X and has also posted details from various raids across sanctuary cities like New York City, Chicago and Boston where they have scooped up illegals accused of sex crimes against minors, rapes, guns and drug offenses, while violent gang members belonging to Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have also been taken off the streets. 

Border czar Tom Homan has said the administration is currently only targeting violent illegal aliens while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE, says federal immigration authorities are arresting the "worst of the worst" in raids. She says the streets are now safer as a result.

Many of the ICE raids have been carried out alongside other federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Noem joined an immigration enforcement raid in New York City Tuesday morning in which officers picked up Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, an alleged ringleader of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Zambrano-Pacheco is the same man caught on camera in a viral video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, last summer.

Luis Adolfo Guerra Perez, 19, a Guatemalan citizen and MS-13 gang member, was arrested by ICE in Massachusetts last week. He was facing state gun charges and had previously been ordered to be deported before he was released by a Boston court.

ICE has published details of more than 60 cases while the White House X account has posted details of at least 20 others.

NOEM SAYS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ARRESTED IN NYC RAID TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

However, for the vast majority of the 7,412, details on their criminal histories are not yet available.

The arrests total come as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed that the "worst of the worst" criminal migrants will be temporarily housed at Guantánamo Bay detention camp and that "all options will be on the table" for military action against the cartels.

Hegseth made the announcement in an interview with "Fox and Friends" on Friday and it came on the heels of an announcement made by President Donald Trump on Wednesday that he will be instructing the Pentagon to prepare Guantánamo Bay to detain 30,000 "criminal illegal aliens."

"Today I'm also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantánamo Bay," Trump said. "Most people don't even know about it."

It was later learned that Trump signed a presidential memorandum, not an executive order, on the matter.

News of the arrests has been generally well-received by locals living in these areas. 

Ramses Frías, a local Queens activist who’s voiced concerns over a crime crisis gripping his neighborhood, which is partially represented by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the raids have also been warmly received by the community.

"Many residents, from immigrants to citizens, welcome ICE coming in and taking the criminals out of these communities," Frías, a city council candidate, told Fox News Digital. "They welcome law and order and want safe streets."

However, not everyone agreed with the raids and Mayor Brandon Johnson recently "reaffirmed" his commitment to keep Chicago a sanctuary city, as did Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is urging Colombian nationals in the U.S. illegally to return home, promising to provide loans to those who return, days after being embroiled in a diplomatic controversy with the U.S.

"I ask undocumented Colombians in the US to immediately leave their jobs in that country and return to Colombia as soon as possible," Petro said on X.

"Wealth is produced only by working people.

COLOMBIA PRESIDENT WELCOMES FIRST FLIGHTS OF DEPORTED MIGRANTS AFTER LOSING PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP 

"The Department of Social Prosperity … will seek to provide productive loans to returnees who enroll in its programs," he said. "Let's build social wealth in Colombia."

Petro had initially refused Sunday to take U.S. deportation flights carrying Colombian nationals, saying the U.S. cannot "treat Colombian migrants as criminals." 

The Trump administration, in response, announced the immediate suspension of visa issuance and travel sanctions on government officials. President Donald Trump warned he would slap 25% tariffs on all goods from Colombia.

"Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. "America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests."

A VICTORY FOR TRUMP'S 'FAFO': HOW THE WHITE HOUSE STRONG-ARMED ONE-TIME CLOSE ALLY COLOMBIA OVER IMMIGRATION

At first, Petro retaliated with his own 25% tariffs on U.S. goods. Petro insisted he would not accept the return of migrants who were not treated with "dignity and respect" and who had arrived shackled or on military planes. 

But the White House later said Colombia's president had caved "to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

On Tuesday, two Colombian air force planes carrying deportees arrived in Bogotá. 

On Friday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that visa processing in Bogotá had resumed.

"Our commitment to work together with Colombia to advance our mutual interests remains steadfast," she said.

Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

A manhunt is underway for a 32-year-old woman suspected of buying the handguns used in the killing of a Vermont Border Patrol agent last week, according to a report. 

Law enforcement agencies in several states are searching for Michelle J. Zajko, who is considered "armed and dangerous," Albany’s Times Union reported, citing police records. 

U.S. Border Patrol Agent David "Chris" Maland was gunned down near the Canada-Vermont border Jan. 20, and, four days later, Teresa Youngblut, 21, was taken into custody.

"The United States Attorney’s Office District of Vermont has charged Youngblut with assault on a federal law enforcement officer," the FBI’s office in Albany said at the time. "Our hearts remain with our partners at U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector as they mourn this tremendous loss." 

GUN USED IN VERMONT BORDER AGENT SHOOTOUT LINKED TO DOUBLE MURDER SUSPECT, PROSECUTORS SAY

Maland was shot and killed during a traffic stop of Youngblut between Newport and Orleans, Vermont. Her passenger, Felix Bauckholt, was also armed but was fatally shot by federal agents after Youngblut opened fire. 

Zajko allegedly bought .40-caliber and .380-caliber handguns in February 2024 in Mount Tabor, Vermont, that were used in Maland’s shooting, the Times Union reported, citing court documents. 

GERMAN NATIONAL SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN KILLING OF US BORDER PATROL AGENT IN VERMONT

Zajko is also considered a "person of interest" in a double murder in Pennsylvania and another murder in California, prosecutors revealed, without naming her. 

Maland, a Minnesota native and U.S. Air Force veteran, worked as a Border Patrol agent at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station. He spent nine years in the military and 15 working for the federal government. 

He was also a K-9 handler and previously served as a Border Patrol agent in Texas near the southern border, Maland's family told The Associated Press. 

"On January 20, 2025, at approximately 3:00 pm, an on-duty, uniformed United States Border Patrol (USBP) Agent initiated a stop of a blue 2015 Toyota Prius Hatchback with [a] North Carolina license plate ... to conduct an immigration inspection as it was driving southbound on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vermont," an FBI criminal complaint obtained by Fox News states.

"The registered owner of the vehicle, Felix Baukholt, a citizen of Germany, appeared to have an expired visa in a Department of Homeland Security database. Youngblut was driving the Prius, and Baukholt was the lone passenger in the Prius.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Between approximately 3:00 pm and 3:15 pm, agents reported gunshots at the scene," the affidavit added. "Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Cameron Thompson was notified of the incident and responded to the scene of the stop, arriving at approximately 3:35 pm. 

"He spoke with two of the Border Patrol Agents involved in the incident. They described that both Baukholt and Youngblut possessed firearms and that Youngblut drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol Agents without warning when outside the driver's side of the Prius." 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI's Albany office. 

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI is on the ground working alongside agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other law enforcement bodies conducting a nationwide crackdown on criminal aliens ordered by President Donald Trump, photos obtained by Fox News Digital reveal.

"I've talked to every single one of our special agents in charge of all 55 of our divisions," acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll told Fox News Digital on Thursday. "I know that every single one of them has reached out to their DHS counterparts to offer assistance and support. So we here at the FBI are really leaning forward to assist DHS the best that we can, to stand shoulder-to-shoulder."

The FBI's presence bolsters Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and other partner agencies with the bureau's vast resources, including tactical teams and its intelligence network. 

VP VANCE DOUBLES DOWN ON WHITE HOUSE GOAL TO GET CRIMINAL MIGRANTS OFF THE STREETS

Those resources worked alongside DHS agents in New York City earlier this week, helping identify and capture dozens of "the worst of the worst" suspects, including a 25-year-old suspected Tren de Aragua gang member.

He is believed to have been involved in a violent incident in Colorado before police found him Monday in a Bronx apartment across the street from a school.

MIGRANT TDA GANG MEMBER BREAKS OFFICER'S ARM AS 10 INDICTED IN MASSIVE GUNS, DRUG RUNNING OPERATION: POLICE

And they extend across the country.

In El Paso, Texas, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, ICE and agents from its Enforcement Removal Operations wing were seen on the ground as part of a mission that led to the capture of a suspect accused of running a stash house for human smugglers.

CHINESE MIGRANTS FLOOD SOUTH FLORIDA VIA BOAT AS AUTHORITIES SEEK HELP WITH CUBAN SMUGGLERS

"Our best chance to protect Americans, whether it's from the threats posed by groups like ISIS or in our efforts to dismantle groups like Tren de Aragua, the best way to do that is to put our heads together, our tools together, our efforts together with DHS, but also with all of our United States intelligence community and law enforcement partners around the country," Driscoll said.

In a series of targeted raids in Chicago, the FBI provided not just intelligence and tactical SWAT team members, but also legal experts to help round up illegal immigrants with suspected criminal ties.

In New York, they provided "advanced tactical support" and helped set up a crisis management coordination center covering the whole city.

"We are and will remain postured to support DHS the best that we can over here at the FBI," Driscoll said.

Operations across the country over the past seven days have netted roughly 5,500 suspected criminal aliens, according to figures released by ICE.

Democrats sounded off about the White House sending U.S. troops to the southern border, but Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll insisted that he did not believe it would affect readiness. 

"Is there a cost in terms of readiness?" Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Driscoll during his confirmation hearing on Thursday. 

"The Army has a long, 249 history of balancing multiple objectives," Driscoll said. "If this is important to the commander-in-chief, the Army will execute it." 

"I think border security is national security," he went on. "We’ve had soldiers at the border for a number of years, and the Army stands ready for any mission."

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., also voiced concerns about sending the military to the U.S. border.

"We're seeing now active duty military, Army, be sent to the border, being sent on missions right now to support DHS," she said. "But according to our Constitution, the US military active duty cannot perform law enforcement roles." 

ARMY SEC NOMINEE QUESTIONS WHETHER MILITARY PILOTS SHOULD TRAIN NEAR DC AIRPORT

Slotkin, a former CIA agent, said she was concerned that without proper training an incident could occur that would turn public opinion against the nation’s armed forces. 

"I'm deeply concerned that active duty troops are going to be forced into law enforcement roles, and we're already hearing stories that really, really touch right on the line," she said.  

"They're not properly trained. There's going to be an incident," she said. "Someone's going to get hurt, there's going to be some sort of blow up, and suddenly we're going to have a community that’s deeply, deeply angry at uniformed military who were just told to go and drive those DHS vehicles through that building, perform support for somebody." 

Slotkin asked Driscoll if he would follow an order from President Donald Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if it "contravened with the Constitution." 

"I reject the premise that the president or the secretary would ask for an order like that, but I will always follow the law," Driscoll said. 

HEGSETH SHARES DETAILS ON BLACK HAWK CHOPPER TRAINING FLIGHT

Slotkin shot back: "Your predecessor, Army Secretary [Mark] Esper, had this exact thing that he wrote about in his book, 82nd Airborne Army was asked to come in and clean up a peaceful protest in Washington, DC. So I reject your rejection that this is theoretical."

"We’re counting on you to protect the integrity of a non-political military that is not trained in law enforcement roles." 

Immediately upon taking office, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border and 1,500 active duty troops — 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines — deployed to the southern border. 

There already were 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. The troops were ordered there in May 2023 during the Biden administration under Title 10 authorities approved by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and are planned to be there until the end of fiscal year 2025, according to a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson. 

"Whatever is needed at the border will be provided," Hegseth said Monday, hinting at the possibility of additional deployments in the coming weeks.

Trump also signed an executive order designating drug cartels in Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations, granting the military greater authority to interdict them. 

Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration is doing exactly what it said it would with regard to the nationwide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting migrants who have committed crimes.

Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday the White House has an "ambitious" goal of getting criminal migrants off the street at a rate of nearly 2,000 per day.

"If you think [about it], we've got 20 plus million illegal aliens in this country. We have got to get these people out of our country and regain control of our own border," he said in a sit-down interview from the nation’s capital on "Hannity." 

The number of migrants arriving at the southern border since Trump took office last week has dropped dramatically by more than 60%.

Data obtained by Fox News Digital shows there were roughly 7,200 migrant encounters in Trump’s first seven days in office, compared to more than 20,000 in former President Biden’s final seven days. 

"I guarantee we're going to cut it even further," Vance said of the more than 60% decrease. "Policy matters. Elections have consequences and President Trump ran explicitly on regaining control of the border and redelivering American prosperity. That's exactly what we're doing."

Migrants are being repatriated to their home countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador.

"The take-home message here is, ‘Not today. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week. Do not come to the United States and enter illegally,’" said U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Supervisor Hamid Nikseresht after more than 80 illegal migrants were loaded onto a C-17 military plane and deported from El Paso, Texas, back to Ecuador.

Vance took aim at the hysteria from the left over the mass deportation efforts, pointing to Trump’s win in November and his "mandate" from the American people.

"Now he's doing it," the former Ohio senator said about Trump’s immigration crackdown. "That's how democratic politics in this country works and thank God for that."

The vice president made a shocking admission about the arrests of criminal migrants, telling Hannity the United States government, in some cases, knew their names and addresses. 

"We just needed to send somebody to go to their house and get them the hell out of the country," Vance said. 

"We've known at least that they had violent criminal backgrounds. And we haven't done anything until about eight days ago when Donald Trump became the President of the United States again. It really should shock the conscience of the American people."

Ten alleged members and associates of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) have been indicted in a massive arms and drugs-running operation spanning at least six states and prosecutors said they had plans to expand on an international level to Colombia.

In New York City on Wednesday, police said that one of the accused violent migrant gangbangers broke an NYPD officer’s arm after he got into a scuffle during his arrest.

Authorities seized a cache of 34 illegal guns, including AR-15 assault rifles and a Glock 9mm with a trigger modification making it an automatic, tied to the suspects, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. 

NYC RESIDENTS PRAISE ICE RAIDS AFTER VIOLENT GANG MEMBER CAPTURED

Katz said the TDA gang members were also peddling deadly drugs including pink cocaine, a designer street drug that includes a mixture of ketamine, MDMA and ecstasy.

All ten are migrants – including two women – are from Venezuela and entered the country illegally via the southern border, police said. 

This subset of the gang was spearheaded by two Venezuelan nationals who came to New York City two years ago and established a gun-running crew that was also comprised of other foreign nationals. 

Enyerbert Blanco, 24, the alleged ringleader, has been in custody in Florida since October after being charged in connection with a human trafficking case involving a 15-year-old girl, Katz said.

"We allege that as members and associates, they trafficked weapons and made money in furtherance of TdA’s agenda and as they seek to establish themselves in New York City, we are individually dismantling them," Katz said. 

Katz said the investigation, dubbed Operation Train Derail, began more than a year ago and was carried out by her office and the NYPD.

Five of the 10 are charged with two counts of criminal sale of a firearm and face up to 25 years in jail if they are convicted. 

The remainder are variously indicted on firearm possession charges and other crimes. They face a maximum of 15 years in prison. All ten of them are charged with conspiracy to possess and sell illegal firearms in New York City. 

NOEM SAYS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ARRESTED IN NYC RAID TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Four are now in custody in New York City, while four others are behind bars outside the state, including two in Texas and two in Florida. The others are still on the loose. Their illicit operation also spanned Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Colorado, Katz said.

Katz didn’t say whether ICE would be deporting the suspects, insisting she was treating the operation as a gun-running case.

She said that the group were brazen in gun dealings.

"In one instance, the defendant transported an AR-15 wrapped in a black garbage bag for sale in the Bronx County. This buy occurred at 3:45 p.m. in front of a residential building."

Five other firearm buys – between Oct. 30 through Dec. 10 - took place inside a Target car park in College Point, in Queens.

The going rate for an assault weapon is $2,500 to $2,800, while loaded operable handguns sold between $1,200 and $1,800, she said. 

"This group was very entrepreneurial. They really made sure that this business was run like a clock," Katz said. "They stole firearms that were proceeds of burglaries and car break-ins from other states. They relied on use of rental vehicles to come up the iron pipeline and sell them to people in the city of New York. They were aware that they could make money in the city of New York, and they even discussed potentially smuggling them into Columbia due to the success of this investigation."

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the injured officer is set to have surgery after this week and separate charges will be filed. 

"TDA is a dangerous transnational gang that has specialized in murder, trafficking, and mayhem," NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said. "The NYPD will always work with our federal and our local partners to take down international gangs like TDA, who would wreak havoc on this city."

Some of the TDA members indicted include Wrallan Meza, 27; Leoner Aguilera, 21; Brayant Aguilar, 21; Rosemary Sanchez, 24; Enyerling Zambrano, 29; Alejandro Rondon, 19, and Oscar Sosa, 31.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The bust in Queens came a day after immigration raids in the Bronx which saw gang member Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, picked up by Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

Zambrano-Pacheco is wanted by police in Aurora, Colorado, for first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm from an Aug. 18, caught-on-camera incident where police say he and five other armed men are accused of breaking into an apartment at gunpoint.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tells Fox News that Zambrano-Pacheco is also wanted in part of a gun weapons exchange and was trying to buy grenades. Police say he’s also been charged with kidnapping, extortion, and menacing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested Wednesday he will veto a state Republican-sponsored immigration bill he said would weaken illegal immigration enforcement. 

The threat of a veto comes as DeSantis continues to feud with state Republican lawmakers, saying they passed a watered-down immigration bill.

"We must have the strongest law in the nation on immigration enforcement. We cannot be weak," DeSantis wrote on X. "The bill that narrowly passed the Florida legislature last night fails to honor our promises to voters, fails to meet the moment, and would actually weaken state immigration enforcement."

‘THANK YOU RON’ - TRUMP PRAISES DESANTIS IMMIGRATION PUSH IN FLORIDA 

This week, the GOP-dominated Florida legislature gaveled out a special session called by the two-term governor to take up a series of proposals to help with President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Instead, state lawmakers held their own special session, where they passed other immigration bills and overrode a DeSantis budget veto, the first time in 15 years the legislature has overturned a Florida governor's veto.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES QUICKLY ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Hours after lawmakers passed the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy Act, or TRUMP Act, DeSantis said, "The veto pen is ready."

He called the bill a weak effort to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, specifically those with criminal records. 

"The removal of illegal aliens residing in our state requires strong legislation that will guarantee state and local deportation assistance, end catch and release, eliminate magnets such as remittances, and adopt supporting policies that will protect Floridians from the scourge of illegal immigration," he wrote. 

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website is no longer accepting forms needed to sponsor migrants as part of the Biden administration's defunct parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV).

The 2023 program, which allowed certain migrants to apply for U.S. entry and stay for up to two years, was shut down on President Donald Trump's first day in office.

As of August 2024, nearly 530,000 people were granted parole through the program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Requirements included having a U.S.-based supporter, passing security vetting, and meeting other criteria. 

The "Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support" form, an avenue to meet one of the main requirements, was bumped from the website, as of Wednesday night.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently removed expedited removal restrictions and allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to review migrants' parole status – which may include changing it.

TRUMP'S ICE NABS CHILD SEX OFFENDERS AMONG 530+ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN SINGLE DAY

A memo obtained by Fox News Digital noted parole is a "positive exercise of enforcement discretion to which no alien is entitled" and that it should "not be regarded as an admission of the alien," according to previous reporting.

While the Biden administration claimed the program would expand legal pathways to citizenship and decrease illegal border crossings, Republicans contended it was an abuse of limited parole power.

Prior to Trump's reelection, the program was temporarily paused amid fraud claims. 

An internal review was ordered, leading to the DHS adding enhanced vetting measures for U.S.-based supporters in August 2024.

ICE and CBP officials have been tasked with compiling a list of instructions, policies and procedures related to parole, reviewing them, and creating a plan to phase out any that are not in accord with the statute.

Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this story.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday announced that her agency had canceled a Biden-era extension of deportation protections for Venezuelan migrants — accusing her predecessor of tying the hands of the Trump administration.

In a notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has vacated a Jan. 10 decision by then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to extend a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation to Venezuelan nationals by 18 months.

"Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months they were going to extend this protection to people that are in Temporary Protected Status, which meant they were going to be able to stay here and violate our laws for another 18 months," Noem said, announcing the move on "FOX and Friends." "And we stopped that today."

MAYORKAS EXTENDS DEPORTATION SHIELD FOR EYE-POPPING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMIN

TPS grants protection from deportation and allows work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, as well as El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine for an additional 18 months.

Venezuela's extension applied to approximately 600,000 nationals already covered by TPS, but would not allow new applications. The extension would have further complicated the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants from Venezuela, which has been a focus given the rise of Tren de Aragua (TDA), a bloodthirsty street gang from Venezuela.

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

"We signed an executive order within the Department of Homeland Security in a direction that we were not going to follow through on what [Mayorkas] did to tie our hands, that we are going to follow the process, evaluate all of these individuals that are in our country, including the Venezuelans that are here and members of TDA," she said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The announcement came a day after Noem oversaw an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in New York City, where officers have been targeting criminal illegal immigrants. That operation is part of a broader nationwide effort to deport illegal immigrants throughout the U.S. DHS has made a flurry of moves to empower ICE officers, including taking Biden-era limits off expedited removal powers and canceling the use of parole. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, signed a slew of executive orders concerning border security and illegal immigration.

"Listen, I was in New York City yesterday, and the people of this country want these dirtbags out. They want their communities to be safe. It was so amazing to me to see people walk by us on the street early in the morning and just say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for being here,’" Noem said. "So this is part of our plan to make sure that we're protecting America, keeping it safe again, just like President Trump promised."

FIRST ON FOX: A top conservative group is offering a roadmap as to how President Donald Trump can effectively deploy the military to secure the southern border, arguing that there is a "substantial historic precedent" for such a use.

"A broad and diverse set of options and legal authorities are available to the second Trump Administration for using the resources and capacities of the U.S. military to ensure the integrity of the border with Mexico," the Heritage Foundation report, obtained first by Fox News Digital, says. "Additionally, there is substantial historical precedent for an active U.S. military role in border security and managing migration crises."

The report, "How the President Can Use the U.S. Military to Confront the Catastrophic Threat at the Border with Mexico," argues that an "unchecked growth" of Mexican cartels, as well as illegal immigration and narcotics have "deepended and accelerated," posing a destabilizing threat to the U.S.

TRUMP DHS MAKES KEY MOVE AGAINST MIGRANTS ALLOWED IN VIA CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN PAROLE PROGRAMS

Simultaneously, it argues that there has been a "rapid deterioration" in U.S.-Mexico security cooperation and Mexico’s own anti-cartel operations.

It is a view shared by the new Trump administration. Trump issued an executive order on day one to deploy the military to the border as part of a slew of broader efforts to secure the southern border and crack down on illegal immigration.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Authors Robert Greenway, Andres Martinez-Fernandez and Wilson Beaver argue for a number of follow-up measures to confront the threat of the cartels and what they see as a "reluctant" Mexican government.

"The first steps on this front should consist of measures, such as substantial bolstering of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border security capacities, increasing restrictions on formal and informal border crossings, ramping up U.S. law enforcement efforts, targeting illicit financial flows tied to the cartels, and sanctioning corrupt Mexican officials," they wrote.

The report stressed the need for appropriate funding from Congress and planning from agencies in order to prevent impacting other missions. It highlighted the potential for military equipment for immigration purposes, including deportation.

"When it comes to large-scale illegal-alien detention and deportation, some of the underused but most impactful resources include U.S. military transport vehicles and facilities around the world which could support detention and repatriation of illegal aliens, including to higher-risk and extra-hemispheric countries of origin," it says.

As for direct military action against cartels, the authors say that it should be a "last resort," with joint military action with Mexican coordination being the ideal condition.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"However, in the appropriate context, unilateral U.S. military action may be employed to disrupt cartel activity and prompt cooperation from a resistant Mexican government," it says.

It argues that Mexico is unlikely to change its stance with the election of President Claudia Sheinbaum, even in response to what the authors argue is a dramatically escalating threat from the cartels.

"Today, drug cartels are the fifth-largest employer in Mexico, with between 160,000 and 185,000 members," they wrote. "Cartels are also equipped with military-level weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons and armored vehicles, while increasingly employing advanced technologies, such as drones and signal jamming systems."

The report also touts other uses for the military, including aiding border wall construction, helping supplement an overstretched Border Patrol, and the use of intelligence and surveillance methods to detect cross-border activity, as well as migrant detention at U.S. military facilities.

The report comes after a flurry of activity from the administration, including the deployment of the military to the border, to tackle the border threat and limit illegal immigration.

Troops began arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego on Thursday evening, providing 1,000 U.S. Army personnel and 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California.

"This represents a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces since President Trump was sworn-in Monday," then-acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement late Wednesday.

There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. 

Fox News’ Christina Shaw contributed to this report.

While nearly two dozen states are suing to stop President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, some legal experts, such as Hans von Spakovsky with the Heritage Foundation, say the order is perfectly legal under the 14th Amendment and should be upheld by the courts.

"I strongly believe that Donald Trump is correct, that we need to enforce the 14th Amendment as it was originally intended," Spakovsky told Fox News Digital. "No doubt there will be lawsuits against it, it'll get to the U.S. Supreme Court, and if the court follows the actual legislative intent and history, they will uphold what Donald Trump has done."

As Trump has moved quickly to clamp down on illegal immigration, his most controversial move yet was to issue an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

The order titled the "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship" states that "the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States" when that person’s parents are either unlawfully present in the U.S. or when the parents’ presence is lawful but temporary.

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’

Twenty-two Democrat-led states and the ACLU are suing to stop the order, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

The lawsuit argues that "the President has no authority to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment or duly enacted statute. Nor is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth."

However, Spakovsky, who is a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an authority on civil rights and immigration, told Fox News Digital that the 14th Amendment was never meant to include the children of individuals in the country illegally or temporarily and that this broad interpretation has led to widespread "birth tourism" and abuse.

He said the key phrase often overlooked today is "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," which necessitates the immigrants’ loyalties be to the U.S., not to some foreign power.

TRUMP'S HOUSE GOP ALLIES PUSH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BILL AFTER PROGRESSIVE FURY AT PRESIDENTIAL ORDER

"The 14th Amendment has two key clauses in it. One, you have to be born in the United States, but you also have to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. All those who push birthright citizenship just point to that first phrase and ignore the second," he said. "I've done a lot of research on this. I've looked at the original passage of the 14th Amendment and what that phrase meant subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. According to the original sponsors of the 14th Amendment in Congress was that you owed your political allegiance to the United States and not a foreign government." 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"That means that children born of aliens who are in this country, and it doesn't matter whether they're here legally, illegally, as diplomats; if their parents are foreign citizens when they are born they are citizens of their parents' native land, they owe their political allegiance to and are subject to the jurisdiction of those native lands, not the United States. So, they are not citizens of the U.S.," he said.

According to Spakovsky, the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War to acknowledge citizenship for former slaves and their descendants, was not used to confer birthright citizenship to illegal aliens until more than 100 years after it was adopted by Congress. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP'S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER FACES LEGAL CHALLENGES FROM 22 STATES

As Democrats and left-wing groups prepare to launch a legal war with the Trump administration over the order, Spakovsky said he is confident the Supreme Court will rule in Trump’s favor.

"The problem with birthright citizenship is it gives rights as an American citizen to individuals who have absolutely no loyalty to and no connection to the U.S. government, our culture, our society," he said. "The Supreme Court should uphold it because the original meaning of the 14th Amendment is clearly not recognizing birthright citizenship."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that congressional Republicans must expedite funding for President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan to continue his mass deportation plan, or else they could "own another attack on this country." 

Graham made appearances on NBC and CNN Sunday shows advocating for two separate bills – a $100 billion border package, and a second $200 billion bill centered on "national security." 

As deliberations in both chambers continue, Graham cautioned Republicans against taking too long to reach a consensus. He said Homan needs immediate funding to further execute his mass deportation strategy, including to increase the number of detention beds from 41,000 to approximately 150,000, to hire more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, finish the border wall and secure new technology. 

HOMAN WARNS DAILY MIGRANT ARRESTS WILL 'STEADILY INCREASE' AS TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS NONVIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS

"This whole debate in the Republican Party, do you need one bill or two right now? Right now, Tom Homan needs more money to hire ICE agents. He needs more money to finish the wall to increase bed space," Graham told CNN's "State of the Union." "He doesn't have the tools necessary to carry out this plan that President Trump gave him until Congress appropriates more money." 

Graham argued that the tax debate could wait until the end of the year, but Congress cannot delay funding for the border given the national security implications.

"So to my Republican colleagues, we've hit a wall here. We’re not building a wall. We've hit a wall," Graham told CNN. "We need to appropriate money to Tom Homan so he can do what President Trump promised. And if we delay that – the taxes expire in December, we got plenty of time to deal with that – I worry that we're going to own another attack on our country. I worry that we're delaying this plan that President Trump ran on if the Congress doesn't give his administration, Tom Homan, the money to do the plan that he promised, that President Trump promised. We need to come together quickly on this, in my view." 

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

"We need more money for Tom Homan. I'm for deporting illegal immigrants here who are criminals. Most people are. The public's with him. But if you don't get new money into the system, Tom Homan can't do his job," Graham added. "We need more bed space. We need to finish the wall. But I think the signature issue for Donald Trump was to get a handle on illegal immigration, and he's off to a good start. We just need to help him in Congress." 

In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Graham doubted that Homan was interested in deporting close to the approximately 11 million people in the U.S. illegally. As host Kristen Welker noted, Trump has signaled potentially being interested in cutting a deal related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for people who were brought into the United States illegally as minors.

Graham said the Trump administration's focus with deportations appeared to remain on criminal illegal immigrants. He cited how there are about 1.4 million illegal immigrants "who've had their case fully adjudicated, and they're still here," and there are "about 680,000 convicted of serious crimes." 

Federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their partners conducted nationwide roundups of more than 1,200 illegal immigrants over the weekend who were charged or convicted with committing crimes on American soil.

In a series of photos shared by ICE Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) from coast to coast, agents can be seen taking handcuffed suspects away.

In Atlanta, which is more than 1,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border but became a lightning rod in the immigration debate after an illegal immigrant brutally murdered a jogging college student in broad daylight, ERO teamed up with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations to grab "criminal aliens" off the streets and prepare them for deportation flights.

COLOMBIAN LEADER QUICKLY CAVES AFTER TRUMP THREATS, OFFERS PRESIDENTIAL PLANE FOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

Miami-based federal agents arrested at least four illegal immigrants accused of committing crimes on U.S. soil over the weekend, including a Nicaraguan jailed in Broward County for an alleged shooting.

Up north, a joint operation including ICE, the FBI, ATF, DEA, Border Patrol and U.S. Marshals was underway in Chicago, a struggling blue city where Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed to "protect" illegals from enforcement operations.

The "enhanced targeted operations" in the Windy City were designed to "enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities," ICE said in a statement.

Boston ERO announced the arrest of a Haitian man with 17 criminal convictions in Massachusetts, suspected gang member Wisteguens Charles.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

"Mr. Charles is illegally present in the United States and has consistently broken our laws, causing significant harm to the residents of Massachusetts," Patricia Hyde, the acting director of the Boston Field Office, said in a statement. "ERO Boston will not tolerate the repeated victimization of our New England neighborhoods. We will continue our mission to apprehend such illegal alien offenders and remove them from our communities."

Charles, 25, first entered the U.S. illegally in 2013 and between 2022 and 2024, he racked up 17 criminal convictions. ICE filed an immigration detainer request in 2023, but a Massachusetts jail ignored it and released him back into the community, authorities said. 

The arrests come as part of what ICE said would be an operation targeting "known criminal aliens who threaten national security or public safety."

President Donald Trump campaigned heavily on border security after his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, appeared ineffective or unwilling to stop an influx of illegal immigration for years. 

By the time he finally acknowledged the issue, a wave of high-profile migrant crimes had shocked the country and shattered victims’ families. The parents of some of those murdered American women and girls went to Capitol Hill to lobby for the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Congress sent to Trump after his return to the White House.

HECKLERS SHOUT DOWN ATHENS MAYOR AS HE DENIES SANCTUARY CITY, ANNOUNCES PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDS

Riley, a 21-year-old Georgia nursing student, was brutally killed at random while jogging in Athens, about 75 miles east of Atlanta, by a Venezuelan illegal with suspected ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. 

Jose Ibarra, 26, was convicted of 10 counts in November and sentenced to life without parole. He had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and received border parole, freeing him to travel within the country.

He racked up criminal charges in New York City, where authorities released him before ICE could lodge a detainer. He then made his way to Georgia, where he attacked and murdered Riley.  

"Removing criminal aliens from our communities isn’t just enforcement — it’s protection," HSI's Atlanta office said in a statement over the weekend as part of the deportation sweep. "Ensuring the safety and security of our neighborhoods starts with upholding the law."

Fox News' Heather Lacy contributed to this report.

A special legislative session called by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take up a series of proposals to help implement President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown gets underway on Monday.

However, with pushback from top Republican lawmakers who call the session "premature," it is unclear if any measures will be considered.

DeSantis wants lawmakers to pass bills that would support the president's flurry of immigration and border executive orders, signed since last Monday's inauguration, and Trump's plans for mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

‘THANK YOU RON’ - TRUMP PRAISES DESANTIS IMMIGRATION PUSH IN FLORIDA 

The governor wants to mandate that Florida's counties and cities participate in the federal deportation program and wants the power to suspend officials who do not comply. He is also proposing to make it a state crime to enter the nation illegally, and he wants to mandate that people show identification and their immigration status before sending money back home.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES QUICKLY ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

"We've got to make sure that we are working hand-in-hand with the Trump administration," DeSantis emphasized last week in an interview on Fox News' "Ingraham Angle."

He added that the special legislative session would help "to facilitate the Trump administration's mission."

Eleven bills were filed on the eve of the special session by Florida lawmakers. Among them are measures to create a state immigration czar and to allow the governor to activate the national and state guards for immigration enforcement.

Under Florida's constitution, if the governor calls for a special session, lawmakers are obligated to show up at the capitol in Tallahassee. However, the top Republicans in the state House and Senate say that while they support Trump's immigration efforts, the special session is unnecessary with the regularly scheduled legislative session scheduled for early March.

"It's not premature," DeSantis told Fox News. "We've been waiting four years to have a partner in Washington, D.C., on this issue. We have a sense of urgency. We have to get the job done. No more dragging your feet." 

DeSantis, who waged a bitter and unsuccessful primary challenge against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was praised by the then-president-elect earlier this month.

"Thank you Ron, hopefully other governors will follow!" Trump wrote in a social media post after DeSantis announced the special session.

However, the pushback by GOP state lawmakers over the calling of the special session is a dramatic turn of events for DeSantis, who long enjoyed massive influence over the Florida legislature, especially after his nearly 20-point re-election in 2022.

Following his unsuccessful 2024 White House bid, the lame duck governor does not appear to have the same clout over lawmakers that he once enjoyed.

Pushing back against opposition to his plans, DeSantis has warned that any lawmaker who stood in his way over the special session would pay a political price.

They need more planes.

The Trump administration began its promised deportations of illegal immigrants this week, but senior Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Friday that more aircraft are needed to speed up the process. 

Miller told reporters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been hampered in its ability to deport illegal migrants because of a lack of aircraft and the administration is trying to secure enough planes from half a dozen sources, per Bloomberg.

ICE raids took place as early as Tuesday and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt released photos of people boarding C-17s on Friday morning, announcing that "deportation flights had begun,". One of the photos was taken at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, U.S. and it was one of two flights that had departed for Guatemala on Thursday at 5 p.m. local time.

MEXICO DENIES ACCESS TO LAND FOR US DEPORTATION FLIGHT AFTER MISCOMMUNICATION, STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL SAYS

Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News the plane in the image had 80 people. A third flight, bound for Mexico, never took off after Mexico declined to consent to the landing, a State Department official told Fox News.

But on Friday Miller suggested the administration was looking to scale up the operations and was looking into sourcing aircraft including from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to do so.

"You have obviously DHS air assets, you have DOD air assets, you have State Department air assets, you have commercial air assets, you have charter air assets, so every asset that can be used to conduct a lawful deportation," Miller said, per Bloomberg. 

"Border czar" Tom Homan told ABC News on Friday that the administration will use military aircraft every day to help carry out the operation.

Around 2,000 illegal immigrants were deported to Mexico on Thursday, both on the ground and in the air. In addition, Mexico detained roughly 5,000 migrants within its borders, Fox News reported.

When asked about the need for more aircraft, Leavitt said that the Trump administration is using both military and non-military aircrafts to accomplish this mission.

UP TO 250,000 CHILDREN BORN TO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN 2023: PRELIMINARY REPORT

"In one week, the Trump Administration has already facilitated a record number of illegal migrant deportation flights, and the Administration is using both military and non-military aircraft to accomplish this mission," Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"Joe Biden allowed tens of millions of illegal criminals into the country, and in order to detain and deport as many as possible, Congress must past a reconciliation bill that includes funding for border enforcement, detention centers, and deportation efforts."

The administration has taken a number of actions to secure the border, including deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era parole programs. 

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a slew of memos since President Donald Trump's inauguration, ordering reviews of parole and expanding the ability of officials to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. who have recently arrived. Those memos have been signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman. 

Meanwhile, Miller also said that the administration would use various tools to remove those granted humanitarian parole to enter the country when they otherwise wouldn’t have permission. 

"There’s digital footprints, there’s financial footprints, there’s routine law enforcement intelligence," he said. "There’s a wide array of tools we have to identify and remove those individuals."

According to Bloomberg, former President Joe Biden declined to use military aircraft. His administration often used commercial aircraft to deport migrants. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.