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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has denied Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker\u2019s request to suspend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state over Halloween weekend.<\/p>\n
Pritzker announced Thursday morning that he had sent a letter to Noem asking for a temporary pause in \u201cimmigration enforcement,\u201d saying his goal was to ensure children in Chicago could safely enjoy the holiday weekend, implying that federal immigration enforcement agents were targeting kids.<\/p>\n
But during an appearance on Fox News, the DHS secretary denied the request, noting that immigration enforcement efforts, which are primarily targeting illegal alien criminals, would actually make Chicago streets safer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, we\u2019re going to be out on the streets in full force and increase our activities to make sure kids are safe. Every day in Chicago, we\u2019re arresting murderers, child pedophiles, those who have perpetuated assault and pornography against children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be out there to make sure that they can be safe, enjoy the holidays, spend some time with their families and their neighbors and their communities, and they don\u2019t have to be the victim of a crime because of these illegal aliens that are in our country victimizing them,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Ray Lopez, a Democratic alderman representing Chicago\u2019s 15th Ward, voiced support for President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to increase the number of federal personnel deployed to the city, saying many of his constituents agree with the move.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Fox News, Lopez was asked whether residents in his ward shared the views of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Pritzker, who have accused the Trump administration of \u201cdeclaring war\u201d on Chicago with its expanded federal presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely not. There are many people in the city of Chicago who completely support having the additional resources to keep both ICE agents and community protesters safe,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n
He then ripped Pritzker and Chicago leaders for having an adversarial relationship with an administration simply attempting to make the city safer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we have seen is a complete abdication of responsibility, both by Governor Pritzker and by the mayor of the city of Chicago, who have refused up until this point to allow police just to maintain the peace for protesters and for ICE agents doing their job,\u201d Lopez continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to bring some sanity back to the conversation, and a majority of Chicagoans want to see that happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
A week earlier, Trump ordered the deployment of 300 Texas National Guard personnel to reinforce federal agents operating<\/p>\n
A Lakeville man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to one year of probation for his involvement in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud investigation.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Khadar Adan, who pleaded guilty in August to one count of theft of government property, for allowing a fraudulent food distribution site to operate out of his Minneapolis business center, JigJiga.<\/p>\n
Adan admitted to accepting $1,000 in illicit proceeds and was ordered to pay the same amount in restitution,\u00a0the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.<\/p>\n
Adan was the last of three defendants tied to the Lake Street Kitchen scheme housed within JigJiga to plead guilty.<\/p>\n
The $250 million Feeding Our Future case \u2014 centered on a St. Anthony nonprofit \u2014 is the largest pandemic-era fraud prosecution in the United States. Of the 75 people charged, 50 have entered guilty pleas. Prosecutors say the defendants falsely claimed to have provided millions of meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead diverting federal reimbursements to purchase luxury cars, real estate, and other high-end goods.According to court records, Adan and his co-defendants claimed to have served 70,000 meals between December 2020 and April 2021 through Lake Street Kitchen, receiving \u201csignificant funds\u201d in return. Federal prosecutors said only a small fraction of those meals were actually distributed.<\/p>\n
Co-defendant Liban Yasin Alishire, who co-operated Lake Street Kitchen and another site, Community Enhancement Services, received more than $1.6 million and pleaded guilty in 2023.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a former campaign associate of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pleaded guilty last month to participating in the same scam, adding another chapter to the growing list of controversies surrounding the progressive lawmaker\u2019s political orbit.<\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors announced that 49-year-old Guhaad Hashi Said \u2014\u00a0described\u00a0by Alpha News as an \u201cenforcer\u201d for Omar\u2019s campaign \u2014\u00a0admitted in court\u00a0to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from a wide-ranging fraud targeting a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conviction many in the Feeding Our Future case is yet another reminder of the vast reach of this fraud and the scale of the crisis we face in Minnesota,\u201d Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement. \u201cThese crimes are not isolated events. They are part of a web of schemes targeting programs that are intended to lift up Minnesotans and bleeding them dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where I sit, the scale of the fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and every rock we turn over reveals more. We must be honest and clear-eyed about the scope of this problem, because ending it will take an unyielding, all-hands-on-deck effort from all of us,\u201d Thompson added.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, between December 2020 and January 2022, Said exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program, falsely claiming his nonprofit \u2014 Advance Youth Athletic Development \u2014 was serving thousands of meals daily to underprivileged children. Incorporated in February 2021, the organization was registered to a residential apartment in the Central Avenue Lofts in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Beginning in March 2021, Said submitted meal count sheets claiming to have served 5,000 meals per day. From March through December of that year, he claimed to have served more than 1 million meals \u2014 but in reality provided only a fraction of that number. Prosecutors say he fabricated meal counts, attendance rosters, and invoices to secure reimbursements.<\/p>\n
The scheme brought in roughly $2.9 million in federal funds. Between August and December 2021, Said transferred more than $2.1 million from his organization\u2019s bank accounts to a catering business, ostensibly for food purchases, while using other proceeds to buy real estate, cars, and personal items through a network of shell nonprofits and LLCs, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
Said now faces up to 25 years in federal prison when sentenced. He previously ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has denied Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker\u2019s request to suspend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state over Halloween weekend. Pritzker announced Thursday morning that he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t