New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished, blasting the federal agency as “rogue” and “reckless” as questions mount over the city’s handling of illegal immigration following the fatal subway killing of an elderly veteran.

During a news conference announcing new street safety efforts, the mayor said he has spoken to President Donald Trump about immigration enforcement operations in the city, claiming ICE a “rogue agency.”

“We’re making clear that no one is above the law in this city, that everyone has to follow the rule of law,” Mamdani said. “I have made clear to the president, both in our private conversations and our public conversations, about the fact that I believe that ICE is a rogue agency.”

Mamdani added that he believes ICE is “reckless” and “delivers nothing toward the furthering of the cause of public safety.”

SHANGHAI SABOTAGE: INSIDE SINGHAM’S SECRET STRATEGY TO DEMONIZE AMERICA

“I’ve also been public about my belief that ICE is an entity that should be abolished, and that is critically important in our city, where we’ve seen too many New Yorkers living in fear of even going to what would otherwise be routine immigration check ins,” he said. “… What we’ve had in the interim is a federal entity that has been operating with a level of impunity, and that has to come to an end.”

The mayor went on to support protests against the Trump administration, endorsing the “No Kings NYC” protest planned for Saturday in Manhattan.

“I think that rallies are an incredibly effective way for New Yorkers to both organize together and make it clear what their vision is for the city, for the state, for this country,” Mamdani said. “I think that what we’ve seen is that there’s an attempt to make many in our city feel as if they are alone, when they believe that ICE has no place in our city, when they believe that every single New Yorker who lives in this city belongs in this city, and should be made to feel as if such.

DHS EXPOSES BACKGROUND OF NYC CITY COUNCIL EMPLOYEE AFTER MAMDANI FUMED OVER ARREST

“What these rallies are — are also an opportunity to realize that you are not in the minority when you have those beliefs. You are, in fact, one of a growing coalition of people who want to see a shred of decency, dignity and humanity come back to our city and our country’s politics.”

Reporters did not question Mamdani about the recent murder of 83-year-old Air Force veteran Richard Williams, who died after he was allegedly shoved onto New York City subway tracks by an illegal immigrant from Honduras. Mamdani has yet to publicly comment on the killing.

When asked if Honduran national Bairon Posada-Hernandez, 34, would be turned over to ICE, the mayor’s office referred Fox News to the Department of Corrections (DOC).

HOMAN SAYS NYC MAYOR MAMDANI ‘MADE IT CLEAR HE’S NOT GOING TO WORK WITH ICE’ ON IMMIGRATION

A DOC spokesperson said the agency processes ICE detainers “consistent with local law,” which limits cooperation.

Under city law, ICE is only notified if there is a detainer backed by a judicial warrant (I-200 or I-205), and the person has a qualifying recent conviction for a violent or serious crime.

It is unclear if ICE will be notified or take custody of Posada-Hernandez, who has been deported from the U.S. four times, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS officials have asked New York City to cooperate, saying, “Posada-Hernandez is a serial criminal and four-time deported illegal alien who NEVER should have been able to walk our streets and harm innocent Americans. He is now facing murder charges. We are calling on New York sanctuary politicians to not release this murderer. Please join us in praying for Mr. Williams’ family, friends, and loved ones.”

A Senate hearing got tense and quiet after Illinois father Joe Abraham confronted retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for not acknowledging his daughter, Katie, who was killed by an illegal immigrant drunk driver.

After Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, expressed his condolences to Abraham, the grieving father thanked him and then proceeded to drill into Durbin.

“I appreciate it. I also appreciate Ranking Member Welch and Mr. Padilla for recognizing that. What I don’t understand is why my senator of Illinois, Mr. Durbin, [I] haven’t heard two words from him toward me,” he said, pointing in Durbin’s direction.

“It’s kind of amazing,” Abraham added.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF KILLING CHICAGO COLLEGE STUDENT TO FACE COURT AFTER TUBERCULOSIS DELAY

In the suddenly quiet hearing chamber, Cruz said, “I think it is a fair question to ask.” Abraham answered, “Kind of happy he’s calling it quits.”

After the tense exchange, Abraham again called out Durbin, writing, “You had the chance to show basic humanity, to acknowledge Katie’s life and death, as other senators in your own party did. Instead, silence. Not a call, not a statement, not even basic human acknowledgment.”

Abraham stated that “silence in the face of tragedy isn’t neutrality. It’s indifference.”

“You’re retiring, but for many of us, that comes 30 years too late. And whoever you choose to endorse should be rejected just as quickly, because Illinois cannot afford more of the same,” he added, writing, “Illinois families deserve better than leaders who look away when the consequences don’t fit their narrative.”

He also criticized Durbin for supporting sanctuary policies, saying, “My daughter died in a system shaped by policies you continue to defend.”

“You chose sanctuary policies that give special privileges to those here illegally, while law-abiding Illinois citizens like my family are left unprotected,” wrote Abraham. “That’s not compassion. That’s a failure of leadership.”

COLLEGE STUDENT’S ALLEGED MURDER BY ILLEGAL WENT EXACTLY AS DEMS ‘INTENDED,’ HOUSE SPEAKER SAYS

Abraham’s 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed by an illegal immigrant in a drunk-driving incident while standing at a stoplight in the college town of Urbana, Illinois. The federal government’s immigration crackdown in the Chicago area was launched in Katie’s honor. Dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” the effort resulted in more than 4,500 illegal immigrant arrests, according to DHS.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Abraham, a lifelong Illinois resident, described his family as navigating a “dark wilderness” in the wake of Katie’s death.

“We have been in a dark wilderness, wandering, trying to find our new purpose … without Katie, who we thought would be with us the rest of our lives,” he said.

ANGEL PARENTS SLAM ILLINOIS SANCTUARY LAWS AFTER ‘PREVENTABLE’ TRAGEDY IN STUDENT’S DEATH

“She was a beautiful soul,” he added, lamenting, “We thought we’d have our children the rest of our lives.”

Addressing other Illinoisans, Abraham warned, “If anything, God forbid, happens to you, your state under this regime will turn its back on you, 100%.”

“That’s what they’ve done with us and Katie,” he said. 

U.S. officials and analysts are weighing whether seizing Iran’s main oil export hub could deal a crippling financial blow — but experts warn the high-risk move may not shut off Tehran’s revenue as quickly or completely as expected.

Analysts say U.S. planners face a high-stakes decision: whether seizing Kharg Island would actually disrupt Iran’s oil revenue or leave key export flows intact while exposing American forces to sustained attack. Options under discussion range from interdicting tankers at sea to striking export infrastructure from the air, approaches some argue could pressure Tehran’s finances without putting troops on the ground.

“There’s a big debate going on right now,” R.P. Newman, Marine veteran and counterterrorism analyst, told Fox News Digital. 

Kharg Island handles the vast majority of Iran’s crude oil exports, making it one of the most strategically significant energy nodes in the region and a central pressure point for any effort to economically squeeze Tehran.

US TROOPS BRACE FOR ‘HIT-AND-RUN’ GUERILLA ATTACKS AS 82ND AIRBORNE DEPLOYS TO IRAN, MILITARY ANALYST WARNS

“We certainly have the ability, military wise, to take it,” said R.P. Newman, a Marine veteran and counter-terrorism analyst. 

Some analysts argue that taking Kharg could deliver an immediate economic shock, cutting off the regime’s primary source of oil revenue and potentially giving Washington leverage in broader negotiations. 

But such an operation would not be simple.

“It would take thousands to do that,” he said.

U.S. forces already have struck the island hitting more than 90 Iranian military targets, including missile and naval mine facilities, earlier in March while deliberately avoiding oil infrastructure, leaving export operations largely intact.

Retired Adm. Kevin Donegan, former commander of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the same objective could be achieved without putting U.S. forces on the island.

“You could achieve that desired outcome just by constraining the flow that comes out of Kharg after it gets outside the Gulf,” Donegan said.

“You could stop every ship that comes out,” he added.

Robbins said the U.S. could also disable Kharg’s export capability with air power rather than seizing it outright.

An influx of thousands of troops from Marine expeditionary units and the Army’s 82nd airborne division has raised speculation that a ground operation could be on the way. 

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday U.S. operations could wrap in “weeks, not months” and without ground troops. 

“We are ahead of schedule on most of (the objectives), and we can achieve them without any ground troops, without any,” Rubio told reporters during a trip to Paris for a meeting of G-7 foreign ministers.

Even if U.S. forces were able to seize the island, some analysts warn the economic impact would not be immediate.

“The desired full economic effect of taking Kharg Island is going to be a delayed effect if you don’t also seize underway tankers,” said Gregory Brew, analyst at the Eurasia Group, said. 

Any operation targeting Kharg would strike at one of Iran’s most critical economic assets.

“Sales of petroleum products have generally covered between 30 and 40% of the official state budget,” Brew said. “There’s no question the state budget will take a significant hit.”

But a loss of oil revenue would not necessarily cripple the regime’s core power structure.

“The IRGC has what is in effect a shadow budget,” Brew said. “If anything, its relative position may improve.”

That means that while the government’s official budget would shrink, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could retain a larger share of the country’s remaining resources through its independent revenue streams.

Even if Kharg were taken offline, Iran would retain other ways to keep exports flowing.

“Iran does have four other export facilities,” Brew said.

Its terminal at Jask, Iran, located outside the Strait of Hormuz, “can handle around one-fifth of the volume of oil that can be exported from Kharg.”

“Stopping completely would require interdicting that traffic as well,” Brew added. 

That means any effort to fully choke off Iran’s oil exports would likely extend beyond Kharg, requiring action against multiple export routes and facilities.

US MOVES AIRBORNE TROOPS, MARINES AS IRAN REJECTS CEASEFIRE, RAISING GROUND WAR POTENTIAL

Sustaining the island would prove difficult as well, putting U.S. forces on a sea-locked target within range of Iranian drones, rockets and missiles from the mainland.

“Any deployment to the island will be vulnerable to Iranian counterattack,” Brew said.

“They would be a very small force, very exposed,” said James Robbins, dean of the Institute of World Politics and a former adviser to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Beyond the initial assault, sustaining forces on the island would present additional challenges.

“Once the guys are on the ground, then you have to support them and that would be extremely hard,” Robbins said.

Some analysts also question what a successful seizure would ultimately achieve.

“To what end would be the question,” Robbins said. “I don’t see an endgame to that, to seizing Kharg.”

President Donald Trump has publicly announced a reprieve on strikes on energy infrastructure until April 6, citing “progress” in negotiations with Iran. 

But Iranian officials have accused the president of “psychological warfare” and expressed skepticism. 

Iran already has begun preparing for a potential Kharg invasion, moving additional forces, bolstering air defenses and laying mines and other traps around the island, including along potential landing areas, sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

The Pentagon and the Iranian mission to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Top White House aide Stephen Miller joined Vice President JD Vance to launch the White House anti-fraud task force Friday, pledging to “demolish” the kind of corruption that unfairly burdens taxpayers and gives a free ride to bad actors.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump launched the task force via executive order, saying the administration will “use all available resources and authorities to fight fraud, close loopholes, enforce eligibility rules, and protect benefits for eligible Americans, while ensuring States administering Federal benefits programs do the same.”

Vance serves as its chairman and kicked off the White House event Friday, while FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson serves as vice chair.

Miller said the panel could not come at a better time, with Medicaid and other fraud rings making national headlines in Minnesota and beyond.

MINNESOTA HUMAN SERVICES OFFICIALS SKIP FRAUD HEARING AS WALZ PROMISES REFORM

“I think what’s important for Americans to understand about how pervasive and widespread the fraud is, [and] that all of our systems were set up and established for a high-trust society. I think that most citizens probably assume that there’s some verification process that takes place for the receipt of most federal benefits. The reality is, is that there is not,” Miller said.

The outspoken aide added that the high-trust framework in place for decades is woefully inadequate for Democrat-run states, where verification processes are “willfully” lacking and often run on the honor system.

“Imagine in a community, a working-class community in the Twin Cities, say a native Minnesotan who works as a lineman or works as a construction worker; works in any job that requires hard work, dedication, focus; who’s worried about his ability to support for or provide his family,” Miller said.

“And then imagine that he has a neighbor who’s a Somali refugee who arrived two years ago and has a Mercedes, and no financial stress and no worries at all in the entire world that never seems to ever go to work at all because he just went to an office in the state, lied on a piece of paper and got unlimited free money forever for life.”

“That situation repeats itself innumerable times across the country,” he said, “and is exactly what the task force aims to take on.”

DEPUTY AG TODD BLANCHE SHEDS LIGHT ON NEW DOJ FRAUD DIVISION TO ADDRESS ‘INSANE’ PROBLEM

“That is the corruption that this task force under the leadership of the vice president is going to demolish.”

Vance agreed with Miller in earlier comments, saying that Somali-born fraudsters have operated at “an industrial scale” to steal Americans’ tax dollars.

“We think fraud has been a problem for a long time,” he said. “We’re going to do a number of things. First of all, we’re going to turn back on those anti-fraud protections so that all of these cabinet officials are looking at what’s going on and focusing on it.”

He said the key to the task force will be communications between cabinet offices, so that, in his example, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins can communicate on shared concerns with a colleague like HUD Secretary Scott Turner.

“This is not just theft of the American people’s money. This is also theft of critical services that the American people rely on,” Vance said.

“Some of you have heard me tell the story before, but I think that the autism scam that we’ve seen in the Somalian parts of Minnesota really illustrates well what’s been going on across whole layers of our government.”

President Donald Trump announced a series of actions Friday aimed at assisting farmers and food suppliers to help cut costs amid rising energy prices, promising a new “golden age” for the agricultural industry. 

Trump shared guidance on farm equipment regulations in an effort to cut costs and increase government loan guarantees for agricultural products, including tractors, among other reforms. 

He said much farm equipment has become unaffordable for many farmers.

“Every day we’re looking for new ways to support our farmers, reduce your costs, and to help lower the price of food for the American family,” Trump said on the South Lawn of the White House. “We’re going to prove that the golden age of American agriculture is right here and right now.”

I’M AN AMERICAN FARMER — EMPTY USDA OFFICES MEANS FEWER FAMILY FARMS

The Biden administration crippled the farming industry, Trump said, with harsh restrictions and a lack of trade deals. 

To help them, Trump said his administration recently used tariff money to give farmers $12 billion in relief. 

“I’m also asking Congress to quickly pass the new farm bill,” he said. “And today, I’m promising to request additional farm relief for our great patriots in the next funding bill.”

AMERICA’S QUIETEST CROP IS SET TO TAKE CENTER STAGE IN TRUMP–XI TALKS

In addition, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) will alter guidelines around a system designed to limit diesel emissions that will save farmers billions of dollars, Trump said. 

He also announced new guidelines to limit Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) rules, which mandate that modern diesel engines use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

“It was a basic disaster,” Trump said. 

Trump also highlighted the EPA’s efforts to boost renewable fuels from agricultural products, while criticizing environmental activists. 

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“What they’ve done to you, and the country – what they’ve done to the country – is just incredible,” he said. “They are terrorists.”

Trump also announced new loan guarantees from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for small business in the agricultural industry, including food suppliers, farmers – including vegetable farmers, grain farmers and seed farmers – cattle, pig and poultry producers and grocery wholesalers.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order directing federal officials to ensure Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees receive back pay during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.

Trump described the situation as an “emergency,” citing severe strain on airport security operations. 

“Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a),” Trump said.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

A federal judge’s decision to block the Trump administration from banning AI firm Anthropic from Department of War use is igniting a debate over whether the ruling pushes courts into national security decision-making.

The ruling, issued late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, a Biden appointee to the Northern District of California, pauses the administration’s broader effort to bar the company while the case proceeds, though it does not explicitly require the Pentagon to use Anthropic. The judge also gave the government one week to appeal.

Under Secretary of War Emil Michael wrote on X that the ruling contained “dozens of factual errors” and was issued “during a time of conflict,” arguing it “seeks to upend the (president’s) role as Commander in Chief” and disrupt the department’s ability to conduct military operations.

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Michael said the administration views Anthropic as still designated a supply chain risk pending appeal, signaling officials are disputing the scope and effect of the court’s injunction.

Lin said the Pentagon’s move to designate Anthropic as a national security risk was “likely both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious.”

“Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the U.S. for expressing disagreement with the government,” Lin said.

“Can a judge order the Department of War to use a vendor that is a security risk? No, but also yes? Judge Lin (Biden N.D. California) tries to stop President Trump/Secretary Hegseth from banning Anthropic. But acknowledges they can choose not to use it?” one X user Eric Wess wrote on the social media platform. 

Others described the ruling as “pure judicial activism” and accused the judge of interfering in a national security decision.

But supporters of the decision — including a bipartisan group of nearly 150 retired federal and state judges — say the administration overstepped, warning the Pentagon’s use of a “supply chain risk” designation appeared improperly applied and could chill free speech and legitimate business activity.

In a March 3 letter, the Pentagon had notified Anthropic it would be designated a supply chain risk to national security. That designation ordered that no contractor, supplier or partner doing business with the United States military may conduct commercial activity with Anthropic.

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The legal fight follows a broader dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic over how the company’s AI system, Claude, can be used in military operations. Claude is the only commercial AI system approved for classified use. 

War Secretary Pete Hegseth had warned Anthropic it would face termination of its $200 million contract, awarded in July 2025, or be designated a supply chain risk if it did not allow its AI platform to be approved for all lawful uses. 

Anthropic insisted it would not allow Claude to be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass surveillance of Americans. 

Pentagon officials say such uses already are not permitted, emphasizing that humans remain in the loop for lethal decisions and that the military does not conduct domestic surveillance, but maintain that private companies cannot dictate how their systems are used in lawful operations.

Lin pointed to the breadth of the measures — including a government-wide ban and contractor restrictions — saying they did not appear “tailored to the stated national security concern” and instead “look(ed) like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.

Anthropic welcomed the decision, saying in a statement: “We’re grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits.”

Hegseth described CEO Dario Amodei and Anthropic of a “master class in arrogance” and a “textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government” in a Feb. 27 post on X. 

OpenAI has emerged as a key alternative, securing a Pentagon deal to deploy its models on classified systems as tensions with Anthropic escalated. 

Still, Anthropic has not been fully displaced — its Claude system remains deeply embedded in military workflows, and replacing it would take time.

Congressional Democrats consider the Senate-passed plan to end the Homeland Security shutdown a victory, but they’re walking away empty-handed with none of their sought-after reforms to immigration enforcement.

Pushing for sweeping changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of a pair of fatal shootings in Minnesota is why Democrats blocked more than a half-dozen attempts to prevent or end the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.

But the window of opportunity to secure any reforms slammed shut just after 2 a.m. Friday.

DHS SHUTDOWN BREAKTHROUGH COMES AT COST FOR REPUBLICANS AS FUNDING FIGHTS NEARS END

“I mean, I think that ship has sailed, and they kind of kissed that opportunity goodbye by failing to provide funding for those agencies,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

At the onset of the shutdown in early February, Schumer and Democrats presented 10 categories of reforms they wanted to be implemented for ICE and immigration enforcement in order to earn their votes to fund DHS.

The proposals were in response to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good and were designed to drastically rein in the power of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES RAGE AGAINST SENATE DHS SHUTDOWN DEAL

Among them were requiring judicial warrants for agents, forcing agents to unmask, requiring agents to display identification, ending roving patrols, preventing agents from operating in certain areas like schools and hospitals, requiring body-worn cameras, increasing oversight of detention centers tied to funding, and several more.

The warrant requirements and unmasking were hard red lines for Republicans and the White House, but throughout negotiations, the GOP made concessions on several others, including limiting immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, allowing congressional oversight of DHS detention facilities, and enforcing the use of visible identification for DHS agents.

Democrats walked away with none of those offers that were on the table, aside from $20 million to purchase body-worn cameras, which was already in the original Homeland Security funding bill.

SCHUMER, DEMS BLOCK DHS FUNDING AGAIN, TRUMP INTERVENES TO PAY TSA AGENTS

“The Dems wanted reforms. We tried to work with them on reforms. They ended up getting no reforms,” Thune said.

Still, Schumer and congressional Democrats scored a political victory of sorts, with the legislation carving out funding for ICE and the border protection arm of CBP.

Republicans, however, front-loaded immigration enforcement funding last year with $75 billion over the next several years and plan a similar move using the same budget reconciliation process to extend funding for up to a decade.

And with a rebellion against the legislation fomenting among House Republicans — who are widely unhappy with immigration enforcement not being funded right away — all parties could be taken back to square one.

“This is exactly what we wanted,” Schumer said after the Senate advanced the bill. “This is what we asked for, and I’m very proud of my caucus. My caucus held the line.”

An FBI spokesperson told Fox News the agency is aware of “malicious actors” targeting FBI Director Patel’s personal email information and has taken “all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks.”

The FBI noted the information in question is “historical in nature” and does not involve government information.

The Handala Hack Team, an Iran-linked hacking group, has claimed responsibility.

The State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” program is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification of the Handala Hack Team — a group that has frequently targeted U.S. government officials. 

“Consistent with President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America, the FBI will continue to pursue the actors responsible, support victims, and share actionable intelligence in defense of networks,” the FBI spokesperson said. “We encourage anyone who experiences a cyber breach, or has information related to malicious cyber activity, to contact their local FBI field office.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

An Obama-appointed federal judge who once blocked North Carolina’s voter identification law has reversed course and ruled it constitutional, delivering a major win for Republicans and election security advocates after a seven-year court fight.

Judge Loretta Biggs upheld the law on Thursday, finding the liberal voting rights groups that sued North Carolina’s election board failed to prove the voter ID law was discriminatory. The ruling leaves North Carolina’s voter ID law in place ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 

It also comes as President Donald Trump has been advocating stricter voter ID laws nationwide, alleging what he has said is widespread fraud in elections and to prevent illegal immigrants from potentially casting ballots. 

The North Carolina case centered on a bill that the GOP-led Senate crafted in 2018 to govern how the state would enforce an amendment requiring voters to present a photo ID at the polls. The amendment had been approved by about 55% of North Carolina voters and the legislation dictated how the amendment would be put into practice.

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“Finally. After seven years, we can put to rest any doubt that our state’s Voter I.D. law is constitutional,” said Republican state Sen. Phil Berger, who intervened in the case to defend the law.

Biggs emphasized in her 134-page decision that North Carolina had a “history of extensive official discrimination against African Americans” that was undisputed by parties in the case. The judge said she found evidence that the voter ID law served to disenfranchise Black and Latino voters but that precedents set by higher courts meant the evidence was not enough to invalidate the law.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH JOHNSON TO GO TO WAR WITH SENATE OVER SAVE ACT

“This Court … concludes that it is compelled by controlling case law to render Judgment in favor of the Defendants,” Biggs said, tossing out the plaintiffs’ allegations that the law violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the Voting Rights Act.

The judge said the “case law requires this Court to assign less weight to the historical background. It further requires almost impenetrable deference to the presumption of legislative good faith.”

The judge’s findings echo prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have called voter ID laws “Jim Crow 2.0.” Schumer has said the SAVE America Act, which he is currently blocking from Senate passage, is “a dagger to the heart of our democracy.”

Trump has been aggressively urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would impose a nationwide requirement that people provide a physical document proving U.S. citizenship when they register to vote. But tensions have flared on Capitol Hill after the bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate because of Democrats’ opposition to it.

The decision marked a reversal for Biggs after she issued a preliminary injunction in December 2019 that blocked the state from enforcing the voter ID law for the 2020 election cycle. In that opinion, she cited the state’s “sordid history of racial discrimination and voter suppression,” arguing that parts of the law were “impermissibly motivated, at least in part, by discriminatory intent.”

Her injunction was later reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The state Supreme Court also upheld the law in a separate state-level case.

North Carolina Republicans have defended the law has one designed to be accommodating to all voters, saying it offered a wide range of identification options for people showing up to the polls while also boosting election integrity and confidence in elections.