Beltway Insider: Trump/ICE Roundups, Gitmo, DC Plane Crash, Menendez Sentenced, Eaton Fire

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Sunday, 02 February 2025 09:44

Written by Janet Walker

President Trump continued his whole of government overhaul enacting more than 300 Executive Orders, maximizing control on the southern border, forcing the repatriation of illegal immigrants, and actions against those governments who refuse to accept their citizens.  

The President's job approval rating, according to the website Fivethirtyeight.com for the period ending February 2, 2025, increased by 2.4% to 49.1% of those polled who those polled approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 3.2% to 43.9% of those polled. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

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Trump Immigration Hardline

Immigration is a top priority for the Trump Administration, as it was during his first term, in which he initiated the building of the border Wall, which was proven momentarily effective in stemming the free-flowing stream of illegal immigrants' crossings.

In the four years, since he left office, those who participate in illegal human trafficking have also upgraded their efforts to find veins to make crossing into the United States easier for their teams that earn up to $2000 per person, for the treacherous journey. On any given day, a Cartel stands to lose for every 100 immigrants up to $200,000, multiplied by seven days, and Cartels will lose $1.4 million.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is tasked with maintaining the security of all borders, both north and south, has been historically underfunded, and this lack of staffing, which is not simply a Biden Administration problem, but goes back to the Reagan presidency, when human trafficking and drug smuggling began to ramp up. Illegal immigration has been a problem for every president, and it will remain a problem in future presidencies.

Trump has taken decisive actions including placing 1500 active-duty military to assist the current Border Control agents, re-starting the building of the southern border wall, and inspecting and repairing the sections which have been damaged, as smugglers have adapted their methods, and has indicated he is willing to assign 10,000 active-duty military to the Southern border.

Guantanamo Bay Deportation Center

President Trump has outlined a plan that will add 30,000 beds to Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a U.S. Navel Base in Cuba, which will be used as a deportation center, housing the worst known illegal aliens captured by the Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agents, and deemed high priority captures by the Trump Administration.   

To address the exponential increase in Southern Border activity, the president has also reenacted building the wall across the most heavily trafficked areas, which will curb usage by the parade of illegal immigrants that daily cross the border. This will also force Cartels, who have utilized the border crossings for more than fifty years to smuggle illegal drugs and have expanded their empire to now include human trafficking and modifying their drug smuggling enterprises to fit the needs of the American people, to include Fentanyl.

The Cartels run a multi-billion-dollar global network, while it often appears that the U.S. is fighting small time drug runners, low level Latin American's, the facts are that with each attempt to dismantle the Cartel's infrastructure they are working to find new methods of smuggling drugs, humans, counterfeit products, and any other machinations that creates profit. This war, between two titans, is a never-ending battle, and with the rise of advanced technologies each will be increasing their methods to maintain their current objectives.

Repatriation and Imposed Tariffs

"Trump has pledged to try to deport "millions" of migrants, but one obstacle ICE faces is the reluctance or refusal of some countries to accept U.S. deportation flights and large numbers of their citizens. Trump said he would overcome their opposition. "They're going to all take them back, and they're going to like it, too," he said to laughter from administration officials, lawmakers and others gathered for Wednesday's bill signing ceremony," The Washington Post reported.

As the president continues his hardline stance against illegal immigration, his effort to repatriate citizens to their home counties has been spurned by several leaders in Latin America. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has refused to allow those Mexicans who entered the United States illegal to be readmitted to Mexico.

In response to Mexico's refusal to accept deported nationals, Trump imposed tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, claiming the three nations are directly responsible, a triad of sorts, for the continual flow of illegal drugs into the United States.  The tariffs imposed by the president on both Canada and Mexico have resulted in a trade war as both nations have imposed retaliatory tariffs on American goods.

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DC Crash Devastation and Serious Questions

An American Airlines passenger jet, flight 5342, headed to Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C, carrying the U.S. Ice Skating team, and their parents and coaches, collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopter minutes before landing, killing all 64 passengers and crew aboard the airline and the three servicemen on the Black Hawk.

In the days since the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board has received both black boxes, and while not offering any preliminary findings, early visuals recorded at multiple angles across the D.C. area show the Black Hawk flying in commercial air space and without using any evasive maneuvers flies directly into the passenger jet.  

Until the facts can be clearly ascertained, baseless blame by any government official is useless and only serves to hype public hysteria. At this point, what is known is the Black Hawk was notified minutes before the collision of the American Airlines presence and failed to adequately attempt to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The Black Hawk was also flying above the permitted 200 feet clearance, putting it directly in line with incoming air traffic.

It is also clear that the air traffic controllers were understaffed, according to The Washington Post, "two people were handling the jobs of four among other colleagues inside National's control tower at the time of the collision. The control tower staffing levels, the report concludes, were "not normal" for the time of day or the amount of air traffic over D.C., where an average of more than 100 helicopters a day zip around and underneath arriving and departing airline flights."

The heartbreak over the loss of the nation's elite figure skating athletes and future Olympians is only part of the story of the lives lost in this tragedy. As the flight was returning to the nation's capital, others on board included dedicated leaders and professionals, and husbands, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, the circle of family now irreparably broken.

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Coronavirus Total

At the order of the President of the United States, the U.S. no longer recognizes the value of The World Health Organization. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually.  The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants. A recent outbreak of the virus across the European continent has caused the World Health Organization to issue a warning.

For the seven days ending February 2, 2025, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by the World Health Organization increased by 19,489 confirmed cases totaling 777,335,228. The total worldwide death toll increased by 187 to 7,084, 023 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated January 19, 2025, from the World Health Organization).

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Former Senator Bob Menendez Sentenced

Former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, 71, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after his conviction last year for participating in a bribery scheme that including using his position as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee to steer lucrative deals with official in two Egypt and Qatar. Those deals also included more sensitive information including reveling the nationalities and names of the employees at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, putting their lives in grave danger and squashing investigations into criminal cases the businessmen were facing.

In return, Menendez was given many gifts, gold bars, gifts for his wife, a no-show job, luxury automobile, house payments, and envelopes of cash, which were discovered during the initial search of the former senator's home, in 2023.

In sentencing the former Senator, who spent more than fifty years in public service, and 18 years in the senate, U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein, said, "You stood at the apex of our political system, [. . . ] Somewhere along the way, I don't know where it was, you lost your way. Somewhere along the way, I'm sorry to say, you became a corrupt politician," The Washington Post reported.

Menendez is scheduled to report to prison June 6, 2025. He is appealing each of the convictions.

Eaton Fire Investigation Points to SoCal Edison

The Eaton Fire, which destroyed entire neighborhoods in Altadena, California, has become the target of an investigation pointing to the possibility that the two electrical power surges experienced by Southern California Edison minutes before the inferno raged through this community, coupled with an intense wind event, is the cause behind the complete destruction suffered by this foothill community.

The January 7 power surges have been captured on video, taken from a local Arco gas station, "The faults at 6:10 p.m. and again at 6:11 p.m. coincided with two flashes in the vicinity of the transmission lines seen in a video captured by a camera at an Arco gas station in the moments before the Eaton fire began, followed by flames near the base of high-voltage transmission towers," The New York Times reported.

If the evidence proves conclusively that the Southern California Edison sparked the blaze, that destroyed 9,418 structures, including homes, apartment buildings, and commercial businesses and damaged another 1,073 structures, it would not be the first time that downed electrical wires triggered devastating wildfires. The Camp Fire, in 2018, was also ignited by a downed wire and destroyed the entire town of Paradise, California, killing 81.

While a cursory examination has recorded the surges in the electrical towers on the edge of the community, the 100 mph winds also played an active role in creating the perfect firestorm.

An agency on the East Coast, Whisker Labs, located in Maryland, registers power surges in homes in the Altadena community, and around the nation, to aid in the prevention of home fires.

 On January 7, 2025, "A major fault on the electrical grid in the area of Altadena and Eaton Canyon caused a voltage drop one second before 6:11 p.m. and then another, in the area around Edison's Gould and Goodrich substations. Voltage drops registered prominently in the Altadena area and with a lesser magnitude in other places across Southern California," The New York Times reported.

What is significant about this surge is that once it happens in one location, anywhere, it affects the entire network and subsequent surges in areas far removed from Altadena and southern California were affected in the ecosystem of electrical grids.

Los Angeles Fire Investigators have stated the Pacific Palisades fire was caused by an unusual high wind event, drought conditions, and possibly human activity, and have not conclusively determined the cause of either the Pacific Palisades Fire or the Eaton Fire.

Breaking: Los Angeles Wildfire Resource List

LA Fires Relief

For those needing immediate assistance FEMA has activated it Critical Needs Assistance program which provides a one-time payment of $750 to survivors so they can quickly purchase critical items, like water, formula, gasoline, and prescription drugs.  All survivors should go to DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. 

The LA County Department of Mental Health (DMH) is providing 24/7 support and resources through its help line at (800) 854-7771 or via the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Resources on the LA County website include a variety of wildfire disaster mental health resources and downloadable tip sheets for the City of Los Angeles and Ready LA County.

The California Lawyers for the Arts have posted an extensive resource list. It can be found here.

For more information on President Donald Trump: Whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is completing the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," which is expected to be released in early 2025. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.