Author name: Victor Skinner

Border Brief: Crossings Down 94%, While March Arrests Nearly Match Total for All of FY2024
Illegal Immigration

Border Brief: Crossings Down 94%, While March Arrests Nearly Match Total for All of FY2024

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Border crossings plummeted 94% from a year ago, while arrests of illegal immigrants in March nearly matched the total for all of Fiscal Year 2024, according to new federal data. A Boarder Brief factsheet released by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security on Tuesday highlights U.S. Customs and Border Protection data for March that illustrates the drastic turnaround in the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term.

The data shows apprehensions along the southern border have declined by 95%, from 137,473 in March 2024 to 7,181 last month, while border encounters nationwide are down 88%, from 189,359 to 11,017 over the same time frame.

“It sure is a breath of fresh air to have a president do what he said he would do,” committee chair Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement. “With Southwest border apprehensions hitting yet another record-low, law and order is at an all-time high.

Read the full article at The Midwesterner

Power Outages Are So Bad in Whitmer’s Michigan, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens Wants to Create Government Loan Program for Sufferers
National Affairs

Power Outages Are So Bad in Whitmer’s Michigan, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens Wants to Create Government Loan Program for Sufferers

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Michigan U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Waterford Township, wants the federal government to step in when the state’s monopoly utilities struggle to restore power following severe weather. Stevens recently introduced the Prolonged Power Outage Relief Act to expand federal disaster assistance to include outages impacting more than 25 businesses or homes for more than 48 hours.

The amendment to the Small Business Act would allow those impacted to apply for low-interest loans to repair or replace appliances, machinery, or equipment or to purchase generators and other power sources to mitigate future outages.

“After ice storms and tornadoes swept our state earlier this month, it is more important than ever to make sure Michiganders have the support they need to continue to care for their families,” Stevens said in a statement.

“That’s why I introduced the Prolonged Power Outage Relief Act, because at a time where prices are on the rise, families and small businesses shouldn’t have to shoulder the cost of power outages alone,” she said. “Keeping businesses open and families fed is key to ensuring that storms don’t cause long-term financial hardship for Michiganders, and I’m proud to reintroduce this legislation to get the job done.”

Read the Full Article at The Midwesterner.

Jocelyn Benson Contradicts Testimony to Congress, Admits at Least 15 Noncitizens Voted in 2024
Illegal Immigration

Jocelyn Benson Contradicts Testimony to Congress, Admits at Least 15 Noncitizens Voted in 2024

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“There is no evidence that noncitizens are voting,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told Congress in September.

On Thursday, Benson announced that a total of at least 15 incidents of illegal voting occurred in Michigan during the 2024 General Election, based on a cross reference between Michigan motor vehicle records and the state’s Qualified Voter File. That review covered the vast majority of voters who cast ballots using their driver’s license or state ID, but omitted plenty of others who used a different form of identification, such as tribal or student IDs.

“This is a serious issue, one we must address with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,” Benson said in a statement. “Only U.S. citizens can legally register and vote in our elections. Our careful review confirms what we already knew – that this illegal activity is very rare.

“While we take all violations of election law very seriously, this tiny fraction of potential cases in Michigan and at the national level do not justify recent efforts to pass laws we know would block tens of thousands of Michigan citizens from voting in future elections,” she said.

Read the full article at The Midwesterner.

University of Michigan Ditches DEI — Cites Trump EOs, Potential Loss of Federal Funding
News

University of Michigan Ditches DEI — Cites Trump EOs, Potential Loss of Federal Funding

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The massive diversity, equity, inclusion complex is out at the University of Michigan, thanks to President Donald Trump.

“Conversations about (DEI at UM) have been ongoing since at least 2023 and, with recent federal executive orders, guidance and funding cuts bringing urgency to the issue, we are moving forward with changes that will impact our community at the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine,” UM President Santa Ono and other officials wrote in a statement to students, faculty and staff on Thursday.

The announcement cited Trump executive orders on DEI, a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding enforcement of those orders, and a Dear Colleague Letter from the Department of Education last month that highlighted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down race-based affirmative action.

Read the full article at The Midwesterner

Whitmer’s Michigan Spent 0 Million on Corporate Welfare — Zero Jobs Created After Three Years!
Democrats, Economics

Whitmer’s Michigan Spent $670 Million on Corporate Welfare — Zero Jobs Created After Three Years!

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Three years after lawmakers created the Strategic Outreach Attraction Reserve Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said would “create tens of thousands of good paying jobs,” not a single one has materialized.

Michigan taxpayers have shelled out more than $670 million to five multibillion companies to prop up the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries in Michigan with a promise to create a total of 8,812 jobs, but a report from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that oversees the spending shows zero “actual qualified jobs created.”

“The program was poorly designed from the start,” said James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “It allows companies to cash in on taxpayer subsidies without having to create jobs. Lawmakers must wait years to ask for taxpayer money back if deals fail to deliver. It’s good that House lawmakers are working to redirect this money to roads.”

Read the full article at The Midwesterner

Whitmer’s Michigan Remains In Bottom 10 Of ‘Best States’ — Falls To 42nd
Economics

Whitmer’s Michigan Remains In Bottom 10 Of ‘Best States’ — Falls To 42nd

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Ranked in bottom half of states for education, crime, and infrastructure

U.S. News & World Report recently released its annual Best States analysis, and not much has changed for the Great Lakes State. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Michigan remains among the bottom 10 in the nation, well behind all states in the Midwest.

“Some states shine in health care. Some soar in education. Some excel in both – or in much more,” according to the news site. “The Best States rankings by U.S. News draw on thousands of data points to measure how well states perform for their citizens.” The rankings include a breakdown by categories: health care, crime, economy, education, fiscal stability, infrastructure, natural environment and opportunity. Michigan did not “shine,” “soar,” or “excel” in any of them.

Overall, the state ranked 42nd in the U.S. for the second consecutive year, making no progress after slipping one spot from 41st in 2023. For the second consecutive year, Michigan ranked in the bottom half of states for all categories, with its top-ranked category of opportunity in 27th place. The news site ranked Michigan 28th for the economy, 29th for health care, 30th for the natural environment, 32nd for fiscal stability, 38th for crime and corrections, and 41st for education and infrastructure.

Read the full article at The Midwesterner

Rashida Tlaib Taunts Trump Over Taxes — 11 Years After Being Caught Not Paying Her Own Taxes!
Democrats

Rashida Tlaib Taunts Trump Over Taxes — 11 Years After Being Caught Not Paying Her Own Taxes!

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Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib created a spectacle at President Donald Trump’s address to Congress this week, taunting the 47th POTUS over taxes just over a decade after her own troubles.

Tlaib, a member of the progressive left-wing congressional coalition known as “The Squad,” brought a white board to Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to respond to the president’s remarks in real time.

Throughout the roughly 100-minute speech Tlaib scribbled messages that included “No King!” and “That’s a lie!” but there was one message in particular that will undoubtedly conjure flashbacks for her constituents at home: “Start by paying your taxes.”

Read the Full Article at The Midwesterner

Liberal Math: Michigan Gov. Whitmer Proposes Spending Million to Save Million
News

Liberal Math: Michigan Gov. Whitmer Proposes Spending $39 Million to Save $4 Million

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration unveiled her proposed budget for 2026 on Wednesday, and already lawmakers are taking issue with the wonky “Democrat math.” Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, who is running to replace the term-limited Whitmer in 2026, took to X on Wednesday to call out at least one line item in Whitmer’s proposed budget that doesn’t seem to add up.

“Democrat math,” Nesbitt wrote. “In her budget recommendation, Gov. Whitmer says she needs to spend $39 million of your money to save $4 million of your money.” The post included a snapshot of Whitmer’s general fund request for “$39 million for Increasing Permitting Efficiency.” The funding would go to “digitizing and indexing the department’s extensive records to create a publicly accessible database, streamlining permitting, improving transparency, and saving taxpayers $4 million annually,” according to the description.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., noted Michigan’s government has increased spending by 43% under Whitmer’s leadership, and Wednesday’s budget proposal “continues that trend.”

Read the Full Story at The Midwesterner

Michigan Rep. Laurie Pohutsky Opts For “Voluntarily Sterilization” To Avoid Pregnancy In “Donald Trump’s America”
Religion, Woke

Michigan Rep. Laurie Pohutsky Opts For “Voluntarily Sterilization” To Avoid Pregnancy In “Donald Trump’s America”

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Michigan state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky sterilized herself, and she’s blaming her decision on President Donald Trump. The 36-year-old Livonia Democrat told the throng of several hundred Trump haters that descended on the Michigan Capitol that she voluntarily and permanently relinquished her fertility to make a statement about the 47th POTUS. “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America,” Pohutsky said. “I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate.

The bisexual former House speaker pro tem insisted lawmakers must do more to counter Trump, urging followers to compel their elected representatives to go on the offensive. “We need to demand that our elected officials at all levels stop pretending that this is politics as usual,” she said. “It is beyond time that all elected officials force the issue instead of preemptively capitulating.”


Like Pohutsky, fellow state Rep. Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, leveraged the protest to encourage followers to “go further,” suggesting it’s the duty of the “guardians of humanity” who attended, The State News reports. “We’ve gone from inauguration to fascism in 60 seconds,” said Dievendorf, “Michigan’s first openly nonbinary representative.” “Today, we are guardians of humanity, guardians of our neighbors’ safety and protectors of a young democracy that is worth fighting for.”

Read the Full Story at The Midwesterner

Gretchen Whitmer Eliminates “Burdensome” Work Requirements For Public Assistance
News

Gretchen Whitmer Eliminates “Burdensome” Work Requirements For Public Assistance

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Michigan is ditching work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid under legislation signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week. The legislation, approved along party lines during Democrats’ lame duck session last year, repeals a requirement for able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid under the Healthy Michigan Plan to complete 20 hours of “workforce engagement” per week, effective April 2.

“The repeal of the burdensome work requirements provision is a win for Michiganders who cannot afford commercial health insurance,” bill sponsor Rep. Julie Rogers, D-Kalamazoo, said in a statement cited by the news outlet. “Medicaid is health care, period, and was never intended to be a jobs program.”

Republicans adopted the work requirement in 2018, but it was halted by a federal court within months. A federal judge ruled the requirement unlawful in 2020, despite exemptions for single parents taking care of children, pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, and others caring for young children or who have a medical condition. Beyond actual work, beneficiaries were able to fulfill the requirement with education, training, unpaid internships, substance use disorder treatment, and community service, as well.

Read the Full Story at The Midwesterner


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