Month: March 2026

Tucker Carlson alleged in a video statement on Saturday that the Central Intelligence Agency has been spying on him and is preparing a criminal referral against him for alleged violations of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).

Under the law, it is a crime to act on behalf of a foreign principal without proper registration.

Carlson has come under fire recently for his criticisms of Israel and the war in Iran, even prompting Trump to disavow him. Following the initial Operation Epic Fury strikes in Iran on February 28, Tucker responded, calling the war “absolutely disgusting and evil.”

Trump responded to Tucker, saying he “has lost his way” and is “not MAGA.”

Many of Tucker’s other critics on the right, including Fox News host Mark Levin, have attempted to claim that Tucker is paid by Qatar to broadcast his opinions on Middle East conflicts. Most notably, failed presidential candidate Ted Cruz has ramped up his attacks on Tucker, recently smearing him as an antisemite and “the single most dangerous demagogue in this country.”

Carlson said he was “talking to people in Iran before the war,” and the CIA read his text messages to prepare a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, but that he’s “not too worried about an actual criminal case.”

“One, I’m not an agent of a foreign power. Unlike a lot of people, commenting on US politics and global affairs, I have only one loyalty, and that’s the United States and have never acted against it. Its interests are the only interests I care about because I’m from here and I have a lot of kids, so that’s not a concern. I’ve also never taken money from anybody. Don’t need it, don’t want it, and that’s provable,” he said.

“And moreover, it’s my job to talk to everybody all the time and try and figure out what’s happening around the world. That’s literally what I do for a living. And I’m not going to stop doing that, nor should I, I don’t think. I’m also an American. I can talk to anybody. I have no secrets to divulge. So, legally, I think the case is ludicrous, and I doubt it will even become a case.”

He says, “there are some people who are mad at me for my views about Israel,” and they may be filing a criminal referral to justify a warrant or as part of a humiliation and intimidation campaign, the existence of which may be leaked to the media in the near future.

“None of this, in my judgment, as of right now, is a huge threat to me. So, I’m not making this video to complain about it or whine or ask you to send me money because I’m under attack. I’m saying it because it’s true, and you should know what your own government is doing, and you should know what the stakes are, and you should know that a lot of what happens in this country that affects outcomes happens behind the scenes. Some of it is legal; some of it is not, including what I’m describing now, but it has an effect,” Tucker added, comparing the apparent investigation to the Russiagate scandal.

WATCH:

TRANSCRIPT:

Carlson: So the other day, I found out that the CIA is preparing some kind of criminal referral against me, a crime report to the Department of Justice on the basis of a supposed crime I committed. What’s that crime? Well, talking to people in Iran before the war. They read my texts. So, the crime under consideration, apparently, would be the Foreign Agent Act, or something like that, acting as an agent of a foreign power.

And I don’t expect this to go anywhere. I’m not too worried about an actual criminal case against me for a bunch of reasons. One, I’m not an agent of a foreign power. Unlike a lot of people, commenting on US politics and global affairs, I have only one loyalty, and that’s the United States and have never acted against it. Its interests are the only interests I care about because I’m from here and I have a lot of kids, so that’s not a concern. I’ve also never taken money from anybody. Don’t need it, don’t want it, and that’s provable.

And moreover, it’s my job to talk to everybody all the time and try and figure out what’s happening around the world. That’s literally what I do for a living. And I’m not going to stop doing that, nor should I, I don’t think. I’m also an American. I can talk to anybody. I have no secrets to divulge. So, legally, I think the case is ludicrous, and I doubt it will even become a case.

I’m bringing this up for a couple of reasons, though, and they’re pretty obvious. One is that countries tend to become more authoritarian in wartime. It’s just the nature of war. People are dying, the stakes are high, people’s emotions have risen to a very high point, to a crescendo, and so there’s much less tolerance for any kind of dissent in the homeland. The irony, of course, is the United States fights wars on behalf of freedom, but there’s always less of it here in our country during war. So, that’s a widely recognized phenomenon, and it’s likely to happen now too.

Another point to make that is worth knowing is that the USIC, the intelligence agencies, spy on Americans. You probably knew that, and it’s been revealed a lot, including by Julian Assange and Ed Snowden, both of whom were threatened with death for revealing it, but everyone knows. But it’s probably a little more widespread than most people understand, and it’s outrageous. There’s no justification for your government, which you own, you’re a shareholder in it, you pay for it, to be violating your privacy like this. But it happens all the time.

And in fact, one of the reasons that CIA, or people within CIA— just to be clear, it’s a huge, sprawling, disconnected agency. What it does in a specific case doesn’t represent what everybody in the building thinks. But there are some people who are mad at me for my views about Israel, and they have some latitude, and one of the reasons they pass on criminal complaints, in effect, to law enforcement is to justify warrants for spying on Americans.

So, that is an absolutely real thing, but the main reason they do it is to leak the existence of the investigation, such as it is, to the media and then humiliate and terrify the subjects of this op. And that’s, of course, happened to me repeatedly, many times, including in, famously, 2021, when I was still at Fox News and trying to set up an interview with Vladimir Putin, and the NSA, I heard from someone there, had grabbed my text messages with an American citizen and had leaked them to news outlets. Those texts were basically my attempts to set up an interview with a foreign head of state, and they leaked them to the New York Times in order to stop the interview, which they successfully did, by the way. And they admitted that they were spying on me.

This is not a fantasy. It actually happened. They did it again two years later in my second attempt to get a Putin interview. I managed to get it anyway, and they’ve done it since. And so, when you get a call from a reporter who knows the contents of your texts, it’s pretty clear something’s going on.

None of this, in my judgment, as of right now, is a huge threat to me. So, I’m not making this video to complain about it or whine or ask you to send me money because I’m under attack. I’m saying it because it’s true, and you should know what your own government is doing, and you should know what the stakes are, and you should know that a lot of what happens in this country that affects outcomes happens behind the scenes. Some of it is legal; some of it is not, including what I’m describing now, but it has an effect.

And the Intel agencies— again, not everyone in the Intel agencies because there are decent, hard working Americans who work in the Intel agencies that are Americans, just like there are decent, hard working Americans who work at the DMV. But there are also people with agendas and grudges and no sense of restraint, who are happy to misuse the power they have granted them by our elaborate secrecy laws to hurt fellow Americans for ideological reasons. That is entirely real. That’s the story of Russiagate, and it’s likely that things like that will begin to happen at greater scale now. So, you should just know that going forward. Thanks.ects outcomes happens behind the scenes. Some of it is legal; some of it is not, including what I’m describing now, but it has an effect.

This is a developing story.

The post JUST IN: Tucker Carlson Says CIA Has Been Reading His Texts and is Preparing a Criminal Referral Against Him for Alleged FARA Violation – “You Should Know What the Stakes Are” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Left-wing podcaster Jennifer Welch erupted into an unhinged tirade, lashing out at Joe Biden for failing to unleash the full force of the federal government against conservatives after January 6.

Welch, during the Choice Words with Samantha Bee, unloaded on Biden in vulgar fashion, saying he “f***ed us” by not appointing an attorney general willing to jail the people she claims were the “real criminals” behind January 6.

Welch’s rant did not stop at criticizing Biden.

She openly demanded broader prosecutions of Trump-world figures and even dragged Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, into her rage-filled screed.

“Joe Biden f—ked us. F—ked us so hard,” Welch said.

That was only the beginning.

Welch went on to rage that Biden’s Justice Department failed to lock up what she described as the “planners” and “funders” of January 6, sneering that the people prosecuted were merely “low-level offenders.”

She then named Ginni Thomas as someone she believed should have been targeted, while also lobbing accusations at conservative institutions like The Heritage Foundation and Turning Point.

In Welch’s warped telling, Biden’s great failure was not the economy, the border, inflation, Afghanistan, or the collapse of public trust in government. No, according to her, Biden’s real sin was not launching an even more sweeping political purge against conservatives.

That is the modern Democrat mindset in a nutshell.

They are not interested in equal justice under law. They are interested in weaponized justice, the kind aimed squarely at their ideological enemies.

And Welch said the quiet part out loud.

Jennifer Welch:
…I like Joe Biden. I was so excited when he won. I was. You had one important appointment: who you appointed to be attorney general.

You should have said, ‘Look, you’re going to be independent. But if you’re not interested in putting the people who paid for this in jail… because here’s the problem with January 6th, and it’s linked to Jeffrey Epstein, and this is super important…

The people that were tried and prosecuted for January 6th, these are the low-level offenders. These aren’t the planners. These aren’t the funders. This isn’t Ginni Thomas, Clarence Thomas’s wife, that was a big machinator of the whole thing.

“The Heritage Foundation, Turning Point, the president of the United States—which has now been revealed—spent $3 million of his own money for planning and transportation and lodging for these people. So those were the real criminals involved in this. The fact that that DOJ didn’t take that seriously, that Biden didn’t tell Garland, ‘Full tilt, follow the law, follow the facts’—but Jack Smith wasn’t appointed for two years.

That’s where… did he do the CHIPS Act? Did he do the Infrastructure Act? Did he do all of those things? Yes. And all of those are great. But the biggest threat now is that we had fascism at the door…

Video via Western Lensman:

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Welch erupted into a profanity-laced anti-ICE, anti-Trump screed during a GLAAD Media Awards appearance earlier this month.

Gateway Pundit also reported in January that Welch joined ex-CNN host Jim Acosta in pushing a revenge-driven “accountability” campaign against President Trump and those around him.

And in late 2025, Gateway Pundit highlighted other inflammatory remarks from Welch, including attacks on Trump supporters, ICE personnel, and Trump allies.

The post SICK: Unhinged Radical Lefty Podcaster Jennifer Welch MELTS DOWN, Demands Biden Launch Mass Purge of Conservatives — Wants Ginni Thomas Tossed in Prison Over Jan. 6 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

There are things that could only take place in Japan.

Videos are going viral in social media regarding a very unusual incident that took place Thursday (12), in Kumamoto City, Japan.

The owner of a sweet potato food truck that caught fire decided to drive the vehicle to the fire station, dashing across the city in a blazing truck!

Yes, you read it right.

CRAZY JAPAN

The Japanese owner of the sweet potato food truck decided to drive to the firefighters himself rather than endanger anyone else. So he drove across the city in a burning truck! pic.twitter.com/rvJ5hzpf6W

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) March 13, 2026

According to the fire department, the truck for the sale of baked sweet potatoes was driven by a man in his 70s that was able to reach the Nishi Fire Station.

The Sun reported:

“The driver ran red lights in his truck-turned-fireball through the streets of Kumamoto City. The flames engulfed the vendor van at around 10pm on March 12 and locals were quick to film the flaming spectacle.

The blazing truck careened around a bend, music blaring and lights twinkling from its vendor trade. Thick plumes of smoke spiraled off the truck as it continued down the highway at high speed.”

BURNING FOOD TRUCK

On the night of the 12th, in Kumamoto City, a truck selling baked sweet potatoes drove about 2 kilometers while making a fire and rushed to the fire station. No one was injured.

According to the fire department, what burned was a truck for the sale of… https://t.co/FWci66GJqA pic.twitter.com/tv73fkv2Pv

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) March 13, 2026

The lucky driver escaped unharmed, as the local firefighters extinguished the fire.

“The van was burnt to a crisp, leaving behind only a blackened skeleton.

One commenter on X quipped: ‘Japanese society is so civilized that the fires simply drive themselves to the fire station’.”

Read more:

SHOCK VIDEOS: Tram Derails in Milan, Kills 2 and Injures More than 40

The post INSANE VIDEOS: Japanese Food Truck Owner Drives Burning Vehicle Across City Streets Towards Fire Station appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Jesse Kelly of “The First” discussed the serious threat that millions of illegal aliens are to the future of the United States of America.

Kelly explained that the main priority of our nation is to mass deport all the illegals that are in the US.

“I have to always remind myself not to always chase the most recent story, the most recent shiny object in the news,” Kelly said.

“Not that the stories we chase aren’t important. All the talk right now is about Iran. Not that that’s not important,” Kelly said.

“But we can’t allow the media to dictate what we do and don’t talk about because there are societal issues that are so important, they should always be in our focus no matter what else is going on, like immigration. Well, to put it bluntly, mass deportation,” Kelly continued.

“I don’t care what else is going on in the world. That has to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Kelly said.

“Every country in Western Civilization should be hyper focused on that,” Kelly continued.

“Many of them are hyper focused the other way. They are trying to bring in as many foreigners as humanly possible,” Kelly warned.

“We just had a report out from the Federation for Immigration Reform, and they estimated that we have 19 million illegals in the United States of America,” Kelly said.

“19 million people. That’s greater than the population of 46 states in the United States of America. That is the end of the United States of America,” Kelly continued.

“Any other issue really has to fall under that because if that continues, if we continue to have the mass importation of foreigners, many, almost all of them from these third world dumps, barbarian savage cultures, where they loot and rape and murder,” Kelly warned.

“None of it matters if your country and my country is handed over to foreigners,” Kelly said of any other issue if we don’t deal with illegals first.

Kelly went on to explain that looking at ISIS related attacks in Europe revealed that one place you didn’t see that was in the country of Poland. The reason for that was because they did not allow mass importation of the Islamic culture into their nation.

“There was this one big blotch where they didn’t have any. No ISIS attacks,” Kelly said.

“Oh, that was Poland. How did they get out of that? Did they have just the best security forces? The best police? How did they avoid all these ISIS attacks? Well, Poland was the country that said no, no, no, we are not doing Islamic immigration here. We’re not interested,” Kelly explained.

Watch:

The post Jesse Kelly on the Priority to Deport Millions of Illegal Aliens – “I Don’t Care What Else is Going on in the World. That Has to be at the Forefront of Everyone’s Mind” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

For months now, the Diaper Diplomacy outlet has posted weekly videos of “Baby Trump”, his administration, and DC Democrats and officials discussing major issues, including foreign policy, the economy, and bickering in congressional committee hearings.

According to USA Today, Diaper Diplomacy videos use artificial intelligence software to transform some of the nation’s most well-known political figures, such as President Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), into irritable infants while using the actual audio from the interviews or press conferences.

Diaper Diplomacy now has 127,000 subscribers.

This week Diaper Diplomacy included a shot of reporters at the Pentagon attending a war update by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

And, The Gateway Pundit’s Jordan Conradson and Cara Castronuova are traveling with President Trump this weekend.

President Trump flew back to Mar-a-Lago and is playing golf this afternoon.

He deserves the rest.

The post MUST SEE! TGP’s Jordan Conradson and Cara Castronova Star in Latest Baby Trump Video appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Hillary Clinton’s nonprofit political group, Onward Together, is now making a mockery of her ties to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein by peddling merch with the slogan “Hold Me in Contempt Until the Cows Come Home.”

This phrase stems directly from Clinton’s heated testimony before the House Oversight Committee in February, where she told lawmakers, “You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home,” amid frustration over questions about her and Bill Clinton’s ties to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

WATCH:

WATCH: Hillary Clinton absolutely LOSES HER MIND after a member of Congress revealed someone took photos of her and leaked them:

“If you guys are doing that, I AM DONE.”

“You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home. This is just typical behavior.” pic.twitter.com/tuIgBykiAu

— George (@BehizyTweets) March 2, 2026

The merch launch comes just weeks after the committee voted to recommend holding both Clintons in contempt for initially refusing to testify live, opting instead for written statements.

The duo eventually appeared, with Hillary claiming no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities, no recollection of ever meeting him, and describing Maxwell as a mere “casual acquaintance.”

However, information in the Epstein files contradicts this, with Maxwell boasting of having a “very central” role in establishing the Clinton Global Initiative.

Maxwell also attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding, and Bill is featured in many compromising photos with Epstein.

Onward Together, a 501(c)(4) organization founded by Clinton in 2017 after her 2016 election defeat, is using the Epstein controversy to fundraise. The group works with left-wing groups like Swing Left and Color of Change, and each purchase is billed as a “contribution” to their causes.

The new line includes a $35 black cap with the slogan embroidered in white, a $55 crewneck sweatshirt featuring the phrase, and a $32 t-shirt with the same message.

The move is incredibly distasteful, given the serious nature of the Epstein investigation and the Clintons’ long-documented associations with the disgraced financier.

The post VILE: Hillary Clinton Makes Mockery of Epstein Ties with Her Organization Selling Tone-Deaf ‘Hold Me in Contempt’ Merch appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump on Friday touted the SAVE America Act, supported by over 80% of Americans, as the most popular bill he’s ever been involved in when asked if Senate Majority Leader John Thune should be replaced over his refusal to ensure its passage. 

The bill would easily pass if Republicans terminate the filibuster and 60-vote requirement for legislation to pass.

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Republicans terminate the filibuster and pass various bills, including voter ID legislation.

During the record-setting government shutdown last October, Trump called for the “nuclear option” to be used almost daily. During a cabinet meeting in November, Trump pulled out a two-page list of bills and told reporters, “Here’s some of the things that we’d pass if we terminated the filibuster: voter ID, no mail-in voting, no cash bail, no men in women’s sports, no welfare for illegals. You could go on and on. This is two pages of things we’d do if you did that.”

“I wouldn’t have been in favor of that a long time ago, but you know, the Democrats are going to do that, and most of you will admit the Democrats are going to do that. So why aren’t we doing it?” Trump said.

(VIDEO) “They’re Making a Big Miskake” – Trump Demands Republicans Terminate Filibuster, Reads a List of Bills They Could Pass: “It Doesn’t Make Any Sense that a Republican Would Not Want to do That”

Now, we’re in the midst of another partial government shutdown, and Republicans still refuse to terminate the filibuster– even to pass critical election integrity legislation.

The Gateway Pundit asked Trump on Friday if Senate leadership should change if Thune fails to get Republicans on board with the SAVE America Act.

The President declined to say whether Thune should be removed from his Majority Leader role in the next session, but he noted that the SAVE America Act is “certainly a very popular thing,” adding, “I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in anything that’s had the support of the SAVE America Act.”

“So, we’ll see what happens,” he continued.

Conradson: If Leader Thune cannot whip up the Republican support to nuke the filibuster, reopen the government, and pass the Save Act— if Leader Thune can’t accomplish that, do you think Senate needs a new leader?

Trump: It’s certainly a very popular thing. I don’t think there’s ever been a bill that’s more popular than the SAVE America Act. It’s voter ID, it’s a proof of citizenship, it’s things that are so popular. No men in women’s sports, no transgender, mutilation of our children, so many different things. It’s so good.

No running around with the mail-in ballot nonsense that’s gone on for so long that no other country does, no other country. We’re to clean up our elections. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in anything that’s had the support of the SAVE America Act. So, we’ll see what happens.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump responded to Thune’s excuses for failing to pass the bill earlier this week.

It’s “not that he doesn’t want to do it, but doesn’t think he can do it,” Trump said. “And that’s bad.” The President continued, “I mean, how can you not get voter ID approved? How can you not get, you know, citizenship approved? Proof of citizenship! That’s all we’re asking.”

Thune recently said he would force a vote on the SAVE Act, but that “getting an outcome would require Democrat votes.” Thune has repeatedly said that nuking the filibuster is “not going to happen” because there isn’t enough Republican support in the Senate, and he refuses to whip the votes.

The post (VIDEO) Trump Asked if RINO John Thune Should be Removed as Senate Majority Leader: Says He’s Never Seen a Bill as Popular as the SAVE America Act – “We’ll See What Happens” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The pressure cooker on Capitol Hill just hit a boiling point.

A growing bloc of House Republicans is now drawing a bright red line in the sand: No more Senate business moves through the House until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act.

And according to Rep. Brandon Gill and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, this is not some fringe rebellion by a handful of members. It could be 40 to 50 Republicans, more than enough to bring the House floor to a grinding halt.

That threat is politically devastating for the Senate establishment, which has spent weeks dragging its feet while grassroots conservatives, President Trump, and election integrity advocates demanded action on the SAVE America Act.

The legislation, already passed by the House in February, would require proof of citizenship and voter ID for federal elections. The Gateway Pundit previously reported that the House passed the bill 218-213, with only one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, voting yes.

Now House conservatives are making clear they are done waiting.

During a Fox News appearance with Kayleigh McEnany, Rep. Brandon Gill said the House GOP bloc willing to block Senate legislation is already substantial.

Gill said he believes there are “probably 40 or 50 Republicans” who will refuse to vote for any Senate-passed legislation because they recognize that election integrity is “the political issue of the day” and a key issue for keeping the Republican majority.

He warned that Republicans will have a hard time facing voters if, after winning control of both chambers, they still fail to pass a common-sense voter ID bill backed by the public.

That was followed by an even more direct warning from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.

Luna said House Republicans absolutely have the votes to stop Senate business cold. In her words, “No rules will pass. None of their legislation will get through.”

Kayleigh McEnany:
How big is this bloc of congressmen willing to not vote on other legislation? You only need a few to make a difference here.

Brandon Gill:
You know, I would guess that right now there are probably 40 or 50 Republicans that are not going to vote for any piece of legislation from the Senate. That’s a large chunk of the Republican conference.

And again, I think it’s because we realize, we recognize, that this is the political issue of the day right now. This is what the American people want. And, by the way, this is going to be key to House Republicans keeping a majority in November.

It’s going to be hard for us to go back to our voters in November and tell them, “Listen, you gave us control of the House, you gave us control of the Senate, and we couldn’t get a common-sense voter ID bill passed that both parties, at least from a voter standpoint, support.”

That’s going to be really difficult. So I hope that the Senate sees that, sees that this is key to us maintaining control of the House. And if we don’t do this, it’s going to be a lot harder for us in a few months.

Kayleigh McEnany:
Congresswoman, is that what you’re hearing? Because you only need a few votes that would stop legislation in the House. Is it 40 to 50? That’s huge.

Anna Paulina Luna:
Oh, most certainly. In fact, most of our frontline members understand, as Representative Gill had stated, how important this is, not just for their reelections, but also, remember, we all campaigned on election integrity.

The president literally got shot. I don’t know if the American people remember that, and still won by overwhelming majority. And yet you have, you know, senators, both Democrat and Republican, saying they won’t support this. And that’s unacceptable. And so, yes, they will not pass any legislation. We have the votes to kill it. No rules will pass. None of their legislation will get through.

WATCH:

Luna delivered a direct ultimatum to Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the voter ID fight, and Luna also posted on X that House Republicans have the votes to block Senate bills until the SAVE America Act passes.

She is pushing to attach the SAVE America Act directly to the must-pass FISA bill, aiming to force the Senate’s hand. She also vowed to vote against any Senate legislation, except DHS-related funding, until lawmakers act.

WATCH:

An update on the inside baseball happening in DC regarding the Save America Act. pic.twitter.com/9HR004caWe

— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) March 13, 2026

The post Capitol Hill Standoff: Up to 50 House Republicans Say Senate Bills Are DEAD on Arrival Until SAVE America Act Passes appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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The big banks don’t want you to know this — but you can stop paying them interest right now.

With today’s 0% intro APR credit cards, you can pay off your debt without handing over another dollar in interest until nearly 2028.

Hardworking Americans are using these cards to finally get ahead. Instead of feeding the banks’ profits, they’re using 0% interest to crush their balances for good.

If you’re serious about financial freedom, this is one move that puts you back in control.

Hint: Don’t just apply for one card – apply for your top three cards to see which get approved.

The post Freedom from Interest Payments Starts Now — 0% APR Until Nearly 2028 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

 

ICE enforcement operations are widely understood as a deportation mechanism, but the agency’s mandate extends well beyond removing illegal aliens from the country. As ICE and its partner agencies conduct raids and sweeps, they frequently uncover human-trafficking networks, rescue victims, and open new criminal investigations, including cases involving children trafficked from Mexico into the United States.

These operations are often carried out through coordinated, multi-agency task forces that bring together ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, and state and local law enforcement to target exploitation networks operating across the southern border.

The scale of the trafficking problem is closely tied to the surge of unaccompanied minors entering the United States. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Customs and Border Protection encountered more than 526,000 unaccompanied alien children at the southwest border, more than twice the number encountered under the Obama and Trump administrations during comparable periods. Roughly 75 to 80 percent of these unaccompanied minors are believed to be victims of trafficking.

After these children enter the country, many disappear from government oversight. During a 2023 congressional hearing, the Department of Health and Human Services admitted it had lost contact with more than 85,000 unaccompanied children after placing them with sponsors. A Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report issued in August 2024 revised that number upward to more than 320,000 children whose whereabouts are unknown.

The same report found that an additional 290,000 children were released by HHS without being issued a notice to appear in immigration court, meaning ICE has no mechanism to monitor their location or safety. Another 32,000 children failed to appear for scheduled immigration court hearings, which represent one of the few opportunities for ICE agents to observe possible signs of trafficking or exploitation.

The U.S. State Department’s most recent Trafficking in Persons Report on Mexico documents the source-country conditions driving that pipeline. Organized criminal groups force Mexican and foreign children into sexual exploitation, as well as into roles as assassins and lookouts and into the production, transportation, and sale of drugs. Local observers reported an increase in organized criminal groups exploiting children in trafficking, with particular concern over the forced recruitment of Indigenous children, who are coerced through torture and threats of murder. Some government officials in Mexico collude with traffickers or participate directly in trafficking crimes, with corrupt immigration officials allegedly accepting payment from traffickers to facilitate the irregular entry of foreign victims into the country.

The majority of trafficking cases occur among family members, intimate partners, or acquaintances on social media, or through employment-related deception. Experts have noted an especially high prevalence of child sex trafficking in Tlaxcala, where family-run networks target and seduce girls in the community and then exploit them in Mexico or the United States.

Traffickers increasingly use social media to recruit victims. An NGO reported that more than 60 percent of victims who called Mexico’s anti-trafficking hotline were initially recruited through websites or social media platforms.

Through the efforts of the Trump administration to secure the border and discourage illegal entry, the number of unaccompanied minors entering the country has dropped from nearly 9,000 in 2024 to less than 700 in 2025.

In addition to preventing new trafficking victims from entering the country, the administration is conducting raids and arrests to catch predators and rescue children already in the United States.

In January 2026, Arizona authorities rescued an 8-year-old boy after a traffic stop in southern Arizona uncovered an alleged human trafficking plot involving a Mexican citizen possibly working for a cartel. The suspect admitted to being paid $500 to deliver the child to unknown individuals and now faces federal charges.

That same month, ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents conducting welfare checks on unaccompanied alien children placed with sponsors under the previous administration discovered sponsors in possession of child sexual abuse material, minors subjected to forced labor, and in some cases girls who were pregnant with children fathered by their alleged sponsors.

In February 2026, a week-long statewide crackdown in California called Operation Reclaim and Rebuild resulted in more than 600 arrests and the rescue of 170 people, including 74 children, some as young as 13. The operation began with a single citizen tip about a suspected residential brothel in Walnut, which led to months of surveillance and the discovery of multiple additional brothels across Los Angeles County. Victims were recovered from as far away as Illinois, Oklahoma, Missouri, and tribal lands of the Muscogee Creek Nation.

The San Diego component alone included the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, California Highway Patrol, and multiple county sheriff and district attorney offices. Also in February, under the Making America Safe Again initiative, ICE announced the arrests of criminal illegal aliens convicted of sex crimes against children, injury to a child, and drug trafficking, and lodged an arrest detainer for a Tren de Aragua gang member charged with sex trafficking and racketeering across multiple states.

In March 2026, Operation Safe Return, led by the U.S. Marshals Service in partnership with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, identified more than 50 missing children and rescued 37 of them, ranging in age from 14 to 17, across Riverside County, Northern California, Nevada, and Arizona, resulting in seven arrests. ICE announced additional arrests on March 4 and March 9 of criminal illegal aliens convicted of offenses including possession of child sexual abuse material, kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault, and murder.

One of the most diabolical child trafficking busts during the second Trump administration was the case of Martha Alicia Mendez Aguilar, known as “La Diabla,” arrested in Juárez, Mexico, on September 2, 2025, after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s National Counterterrorism Center provided supporting intelligence.

Aguilar, affiliated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, allegedly lured pregnant women in vulnerable or impoverished circumstances to remote locations under false pretenses, performed illegal cesarean procedures, harvested the mothers’ organs postmortem, and sold the newborns to buyers in the United States for up to 250,000 pesos, approximately $14,000 each.

At least one infant recovered in connection with the case was confirmed alive and hospitalized. The arrest was supported by the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI El Paso, the Diplomatic Security Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with Mexican law enforcement and the Fiscalía Especializada en la Mujer executing the operation on the ground. Aguilar faces charges of femicide, human trafficking, and organized crime and remains in Mexican custody, while investigators continue working to identify buyers in the United States who purchased the infants.

NCTC Director Joe Kent described the scheme as “one example of what terrorist cartels will do to diversify their revenue streams and finance operations.” The CJNG was formally designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in February 2025.

Counterterrorism operations on both sides of the border are coordinated by the Homeland Security Task Force, established under Executive Order 14159 signed by President Trump, and as a result of those expanded authorities, the NCTC has added over 21,000 cartel members and associates into its classified terrorist database, creating over 35,000 identities related to the newly designated foreign terrorist organizations.

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