Major Federal Appeals Court Ruling Permits ICE to Detain Illegal Aliens During Deportation Proceedings – This Will Fast Track Removals


Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has made a massive ruling in favor of President Trump and the ICE removal process [pdf Ruling Here].  In short, throughout the nation 360 immigration judges had previously ruled that illegal aliens (applicants for admission) should be granted bond and released during the removal proceedings.

The Fifth CCA has now ruled the aliens can be detained as they go through the removal process.  This means ICE captures the illegal, holds them in detention and then rapidly deports them.  The ruling, which will likely be appealed to the supreme court, fast-tracks the removal.

[SOURCE]

(VIA POLITICO) – […] At the heart of the issue is a 30-year-old immigration statute that requires the detention — without bond — of all “applicants for admission” to the United States while they are “seeking admission” to the country. For decades, administrations of both parties applied this to people who had newly arrived in the country, perhaps by crossing the southern border.

Those residing in the country’s interior, often for years, were categorized under a different statute that allowed them to seek a bond hearing before an immigration judge before ICE could lock them up.

But in July, ICE Director Todd Lyons adopted a new interpretation of the law, declaring that anyone targeted for deportation by ICE would be treated as an “applicant for admission,” subjecting them to mandatory detention. That decision was backed up in October by the Board of Immigration Appeals, a panel of immigration judges who set national policy for executive branch-run immigration courts that handle deportation proceedings. (more)

This issue was a big deal during the 2012 “Unauthorized Alien Children” influx, when President Obama and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson began releasing all the captured illegal aliens with a bond hearing.  Thousands of temporary judges were assigned and NGO’s provided tens of thousands of lawyers for everyone so the illegal entrants could quickly exit ICE custody.

Later, as an expanded part of the Obama and Biden directive, the border patrol just started issuing citations on the spot for court appearances and letting the illegal aliens go into the country.  Now, all illegal aliens will be subject to continued detention as soon as they are captured, pending removal.

President Trump Holds a Press Availability Aboard Airforce One – Video


Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance

Flying to Palm Beach for the weekend, President Trump held a press availability and answered multiple questions aboard Airforce One.  One of the reporters from the Washington Post claims to know the thinking of the MAGA base more than President Trump.  WATCH:

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President Trump Holds Impromptu Presser Departing the White House


Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance 

President Trump holds a brief impromptu chopper presser as he departs the White House for Palm Beach this weekend. President Trump began with remarks of the strong stock market, with the DOW closing over 50,000 much sooner than expected, highlighting the strength of the overall economy.

President Trump also noted positive crime statistics and then took questions.  The first question was about the SAVE act and the need to eliminate the filibuster to get voter ID passed into law.  The conversation then shifted to “affordability” with President Trump noting that prices are stable and declining due to his economic policies.  WATCH:

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Deporting Illegal Aliens and the Impact on Inflation, Consumer Prices and Wages


Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance

CTH reader “Charles” asked a great question yesterday that deserves some expansion:

CHARLES: “I’m having some trouble parsing how exfiltrating [deporting] illegal alien workers thereby pushing American wages upward can cause a decrease in inflation. Conventional wisdom for my whole life (73 years) has held that increasing labor costs drive inflation upwards.”

It’s a great question because Charles is essentially correct from a historical reference.  However, we are in uncharted territory due to the scale of illegal aliens within the U.S. economy in this modern era. The answer is a commonsense theory currently playing out in real time.

ANSWER: A much larger percentage of illegal aliens live on various subsidies and govt spending programs than our native American population. As a result, it’s like govt spending, except we have ten million people spending excessive govt money instead of one big spending bill.

The underlying economy is inorganic and detached from traditional cause and effect. In this dynamic when you deport the illegals, we are reducing the govt spending.  Less govt spending actually tames inflation and lowers housing costs at a greater rate than the upward pressure on wages.

Removing the ‘free govt money” from the economy, creates less upward price pressure. Additionally, deporting the govt spender reinstalls a more authentic supply and demand economy, because the current demand is skewed by all the ‘free money’ subsidy spending.

Charles is correct in that within his 73-years this was not evident.  That’s because we have an unprecedented number of illegal aliens spending govt money without any economic productivity.  Those subsidies, extra non-productive money in the economy, creates upward price pressure.  Take the money away and prices drop.

It’s the same issue we have always had with supplemental food assistance programs, and entirely the reason why Barack Obama exploded the number of people eligible for food stamps and SNAP benefits.

This is also why Big Ag and big corporate food conglomerates always lobby for increases in food subsidy programs. It enables them to charge more money and make bigger profits.

Think of it like shopping in a grocery store. Perhaps 50% of the customers pay for their purchases with wages, 50% of the customers pay with govt subsidy.  Everyone from the field to the store can charge more money.  The retailer can charge more for the products because half of the customers are essentially disconnected from feeling any impact.

Take away or lower the ‘free money’ subsidy, and food prices start to return to a more traditional supply/demand scenario.

Take the “free money” illegal aliens out of the spending economy and you increase the percentage of authentic, actually productive money earned from wages being spent.

Now, to be fair, there is a point at which the price pressure from the rate of spending drops below the upward pressure from the rate of wage growth.  Once that apex is crossed, the wage growth can naturally drive inflation; Charle’s traditional frame of reference.  However, due to the scale of spending by illegal aliens, we are a long way from the point at which that happens.

Right now, my best guess is we can likely remove 10 to 15 million subsidized illegal alien spenders, before we reach the point where upward worker wage pressure starts to exceed the downward price pressure created by removing ‘free money’ spending.

And yes, we are in uncharted territory. Traditional economic references don’t work.  This is one reason why America-First MAGAnomics is defying all the traditional economic analysis.  Tariffs do not increase consumer prices; at scale they decrease producer margins.  Deportation doesn’t drive inflation; at scale removal actually lowers prices.

Hope that helps.

~ Sundance

SSCI Vice Chair Mark Warner Finds Out DNI Tulsi Gabbard Has Puerto Rico Voting Machines


Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance | 93 

This is funny, not because the narrative is so obvious, but because the well-used script is so transparent.

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), a misnomer if there is one, Vice Chairman Mark Warner, finds out that Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had previously (May ’25) retrieved voting machines from Puerto Rico for analytical review.  Of course, he needs immediate camera time to clutch his pearls, but it gets better.

For those who walk the deep weeds, you will remember when the Warner operation in 2017 needed to promote the intel script about the first discussion of the Christopher Steele “dossier”, they enlisted CNN’s Manu Raju, Jim Scuitto, Jake Tapper and Carl Bernstein.  That ‘breaking news’ was the original trigger for the Daily Beast to then publish the “dossier.”  Senator Mark Warner then came in for the close with the leak of the Carter Page FISA.  That was the script in 2017.  We watched it in real time.

So, now Mark Warner finds out Tulsi Gabbard is on the trail of the intelligence manipulation of election machines.  In this video below, Mark Warner appears for an entirely scripted segment with… wait for it… Manu Raju.  How do you know this was pre-scripted for TV? Because: (a) that’s what they do, and (b) Raju is the only one who asks questions – while Warner doesn’t even look at him because he knows the narrative in advance.  Seriously, watch it. It’s funny:

[A completely unrelated side note: Notice how the U.K, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have refused to join the Board of Peace? You know what they all have in common…. 5-eyes.]

(REUTERS) – WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – A team working for President Donald Trump’s spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico’s voting machines, said Gabbard’s office and three sources familiar with the previously unreported events.

The sources said the goal was to work with the FBI to investigate claims that Venezuela had hacked voting machines in Puerto Rico, but added the probe did not produce any clear evidence of Venezuelan interference in the U.S. territory’s elections. Reuters first reported the investigation.

Gabbard’s office, in a statement to Reuters, confirmed the May investigation but denied a link to Venezuela, saying its focus was on vulnerabilities in the island’s electronic voting systems. Her team took an unspecified number of Puerto Rico’s voting machines and additional copies of data from the machines as part of its investigation, a spokesperson for Gabbard’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence said.

Her office said the taking of voting machines and data was “standard practice in forensics analysis.”

Noting similar voting infrastructure elsewhere in the United States, it added: “ODNI found extremely concerning cyber security and operational deployment practices that pose a significant risk to U.S. elections.”

Jorge Rivera Rueda, head of Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission, said he could not comment on any ongoing investigations. He added in a statement, “the Commission will fully cooperate with any investigative process conducted by the appropriate authorities, whether at the state or federal level.”

Venezuela’s government did not respond to a request for comment.

ODNI said some security gaps in voting machines used in Puerto Rico stemmed from their use of vulnerable cellular technology and that software flaws existed that could give hackers access deep into vital electoral systems. (more)

Warner is super nervous.

DNI Tulsi Gabbard is off the range of control.

The next play is obvious.  Warner et al will attempt to put DNI Gabbard into a position where an answer to a Senate question will need some kind of classified response.  The weaponized IC elements, of which Warner is a key participant, need to get Tulsi Gabbard removed from her position.

Senator Elizabeth Warren Complains that Half of Something She Tripled is Not Less


Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance

Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent appeared on Capitol Hill today to give testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. The leftists were well prepared with narrative scripts to advance their opposition agenda. Bessent was unfazed.

In this highlight, Senator Elizabeth ‘Liawatha” Warren complains to Secretary Bessent about the price of things she tripled and quadrupled. Bessent responded by pointing out the Trump administration is reversing the catastrophic damage from the Biden-Warren economy. “I’m-a-git-me-a-beer” was not pleased at the retort. WATCH:

No senator, half of something you quadrupled is not less.

Thankfully, the grocery prices that Biden-Warren exploded, are finally starting to come down thanks to the economic policies of President Trump.  Warren’s “affordability” narrative collapses each month the real wages of the American worker rise faster than the trailing inflationary impact of prior policy.

As noted by several economic indicators, inflation on the stuff that matters is in retreat. We are now entering the phase of lower gasoline prices, lower transportation costs, lower overall energy costs and stable domestic market prices.  Additionally, exfiltrating illegal alien workers, both underground and above ground, is starting to put upward pressure on American wages and lower overall housing costs.

President Trump Extended Interview with NBC – Full Interview Video


Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance

President Donald Trump gave an extended interview to NBC News’ Tom Llamas. President Trump addresses immigration enforcement, the American economy, U.S. tensions with Iran, Joe Rogan, AI and other topics during his interview in the Oval Office.

The interview begins with a discussion of what is going on in Minneapolis, Minnesota. WATCH:

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Peter Navarro Warns Congress Seeking to Reinstall de Minimis Tarriff Loophole


Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance 

White House Manufacturing Policy Advisor, Peter Navarro, has written an op-ed warning about a new bill under construction in congress [BILL HERE] that seeks to stop President Trump from blocking the ‘de minimis loophole’ on imported goods.

Previously, various shippers and transport companies like UPS and Fed-X had lobbied congress to retain a loophole on customs and duties allowing items valued less than $800 to enter the USA without tariffs.  They were joined by ecommerce outlets like Amazon, Alibaba, Temu and Shein to keep cheap foreign goods flowing into the U.S. without passing through customs declarations.

President Trump stopped the de minimis loophole on China and Hong Kong and then globally.

As noted by Navarro, “the threshold for the exemption hit a staggering $800 per package — by far the highest in the world. Europe’s is closer to $150. Japan’s is under $70. China’s general threshold is in the single digits. The U.S. wasn’t “aligned with global norms.” We were the outlier, and a very expensive one.”

Now, Navarro is warning that congress is seeking to subvert the Trump position on imports and go back to allowing cheap foreign goods flood the U.S. market at a level that creates chaos in customs enforcement and facilitates the flow of illegal drugs and narcotics back through the system.

(The Hill) – […]   Their bill is simultaneously a poster child for big money politics and a breathtaking insult to the public’s intelligence. It assumes voters won’t read past the title, won’t remember why de minimis was killed in the first place, and won’t connect the dots between lobbying disclosures, campaign checks, and a legislative resurrection of a loophole that nearly destroyed U.S. trade enforcement. 

[…] So when Congress suddenly produces a bill that effectively recreates de minimis under a new name, nobody should pretend it came out of nowhere. This is what sustained pressure looks like. 

Which brings us to the bill itself. The deception starts with the title. To call this the “Secure Revenue Clearance Channel Act” is like calling a casino a “retirement plan.”

The title promises security and revenue, but the text does the opposite. It creates a $600 express-lane carveout that lets express carriers move low-value shipments through a special channel using only manifest data. Instead of paying the tariffs required by law, importers can elect a substitute fee imposed in lieu of normal duties — including tariffs Congress enacted to protect national security.

That’s not enforcement. That’s Deep Swamp chicanery designed to look technical, sound boring, and slide through committee before anyone notices the damage.

Americans are noticing. So, stop it. (more)

Trump Attempted Assassin, Ryan Routh, Sentenced to Life in Prison Plus 84 Months


Posted originally on CTH on February 4, 2026 | Sundance

In September 2025, after a two-week trial in Fort Pierce, Florida, a jury found Ryan Wesley Routh (59) guilty of attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, assault of a federal law enforcement officer and multiple firearms offenses. Today Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced Routh to life in prison plus 84 months.

DOJ PRESS RELEASE – Today, Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, was sentenced to life plus 84 months in federal prison for the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and related violent and firearms offenses. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon for the Southern District of Florida imposed the sentence following Routh’s conviction by a federal jury on all five counts charged in the indictment.

“Ryan Routh’s heinous attempted assassination of President Trump was not only an attack on our President — it was a direct assault against our entire democratic system,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Thanks to our prosecutors in the National Security Division and the Southern District of Florida, Routh will never walk free again.”

“Routh’s plan to kill a major presidential candidate, President Donald Trump, was a despicable attack on our democratic system,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Thanks to the work of the FBI and our Justice Department partners, he will pay a high price for his actions. Today’s sentencing demonstrates the justice system will not tolerate such heinous attacks.”

“Routh attempted to assassinate President Trump and thereby cast our Nation into what would have been one of its darkest periods,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Today’s sentence is a resounding rejection of political violence and a clear reminder that we resolve our differences through civil discourse, democratic elections, and lawful protest, not by force.”

“This life sentence reflects a fundamental truth: political violence is un-American and will never be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “An attempted assassination of a presidential candidate is an attack on our democratic process and the rule of law itself. This assassination attempt was stopped by the courage and professionalism of U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano, whose decisive actions protected lives and prevented a national tragedy. Today’s life sentence ensures the defendant will never again threaten public safety and sends a clear message that those who choose violence to advance their beliefs will face swift, certain, and decisive justice.” (read more)

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio Lead ‘Critical Minerals’ Strategic Ministerial Gathering


Posted originally on CTH on February 4, 2026 | Sundance

In the past few years people have heard the term “rare earth minerals” or “critical minerals” as they relate to the manufacture of component goods that are vitally important in the lives of everyone.  However, the term “rare” is somewhat of a misnomer.  The minerals themselves are not rare; indeed, they have been around for hundreds of millions of years in abundant supply.  It is the processing of those minerals into stable second stage commodities that has become rare.

As a result of western environmental rules and regulations, U.S, EU and developed nations have outsourced critical mineral processing (the dirty stuff) to China and Asia. We then import the finished commodity after processing.  This becomes a problem when you realize the processor can weaponize western dependency, as we have recently seen with China controlling the export of processed minerals needed for manufacturing.

President Trump has made a strategic decision to bring back the manufacturing of critical minerals to the United States and has made a policy decision to create a critical mineral reserve. Just last Monday President Trump announced a $12 billion strategic mineral reserve to combat China’s domination of critical mineral supply chains, a major step toward tackling China’s advantage in a crucial sector of the U.S. economy.  The initiative is called “Project Vault.”

“For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions,” President Trump said. “Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we are now creating this reserve for American industry,” Trump said during the Oval Office announcement.

Today in Washington DC, Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio led a critical minerals discussion at the State Dept., where they are organizing an effort to get all nations to invest and create their own critical minerals strategic reserves.  WATCH:

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