(The Epoch Times)—President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Feb. 19 directing all agencies to identify any federally funded programs that provide financial assistance to illegal immigrants and “take corrective actions” to ensure funds to states and localities “will not be used to support sanctuary policies or assist illegal immigration.”
The order will also mandate improvements in eligibility verification to block federal assistance from reaching anyone present in the nation illegally.
Initially reported by Fox News, a White House official confirmed the order to The Epoch Times and provided a fact sheet stating it is Trump’s commitment to “safeguarding Federal public benefits for American citizens who are truly in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans.”
“With this Executive Order, President Trump is ensuring taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens,” the fact sheet states. It notes that illegal immigrants are “generally barred from welfare programs” but suggests that if some are granted parole and classified as “qualified aliens,” they may become eligible for various programs on a sliding scale.
It is the latest action in the president’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration since reentering the White House on Jan. 20. Trump has signed numerous executive orders related to immigration, including one reinterpreting the 14th Amendment’s Birthright Citizenship clause, another creating a “national border emergency,” and others targeting “sanctuary” cities and jurisdictions.
Trump also ordered the continuing construction of a wall at the southern border, ended most asylum programs, reinstituted his previous “Remain in Mexico” policy, and ended the CBP One app, which migrants used to schedule asylum hearings ahead of entering the United States.
Trump recently signed an executive order calling for detaining criminal illegal immigrants at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and began crackdowns in major cities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The president’s attempt to end birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants has faced numerous legal challenges. On Feb. 18, a federal judge denied the Trump administration’s motion for a partial stay on a previous preliminary injunction blocking the executive order from going into effect.
Trump also ended the Biden administration’s policies known as “catch and release,” which allowed many illegal immigrants to enter the United States and live for potentially years while they wait for their immigration court hearings. The president’s border czar, Tom Homan, said that daily border encounters have declined to fewer than 300, compared to more than 11,000 during their peak under the previous administration.
Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
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Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
