Longtime Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn accused Democrats of jeopardizing American lives amid heightened threats by supporting sanctuary policies and allowing the Department of Homeland Security to remain unfunded.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Cornyn decried the Democrats, saying, «This is just another manifestation of the sort of defund police mentality on the left.»

The comments come amid heightened national concern over public safety threats following what appeared to be another attempted assassination targeting President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday. 

There is also widespread concern over violent crimes involving illegal immigrants in communities across the country. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is experiencing the longest funding lapse in its history, further straining its ability to respond to threats.

RO KHANNA SAYS DHS MUST BE FUNDED AFTER PRESSED ON WHCD SHOOTING FALLOUT

«We know there are dangerous people here,» he said. «People with criminal records and others who are a threat to public safety. And if there’s one job that is No. 1, non-negotiable, when it comes to our citizens, it’s public safety.»

Cornyn, one of the most senior members of the Senate who chairs the Border Security and Immigration Subcommittee, introduced the Sanctuary City Elimination Act last week to ensure local police comply with ICE detainers by barring sanctuary cities from accessing federal funding.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Cornyn also accused Democrats of holding DHS «hostage» to «avoid funding immigration enforcement.» He added that «this is just another manifestation of the sort of defund police mentality on the left, specifically now in the context of illegal immigration.»

Cornyn ripped into Democrats, pointing to deaths such as that of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, a U.S. citizen living in Houston who was killed by two illegal immigrants during the Biden administration in 2024.

«Folks in Texas remember names like Jocelyn Nungaray and others who have been victims of the unlimited open borders immigration that the Biden administration allowed during his four years in office,» he said. «Now that we have safe, secure borders under President Trump, [Democrats] are saying they don’t want to support the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE].»

Cornyn is locked in a bitter primary runoff with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The attorney general is challenging Cornyn for the Senate seat he has held since 2002. While Paxton has received endorsements from the likes of Turning Point USA, Cornyn has been endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council. President Donald Trump has not issued an endorsement in the race, which will be decided by voters in late May.

WHCD SHOOTING SHOWS DEMS ARE ‘PLAYING’ WITH AMERICANS’ SAFETY BY WITHHOLDING DHS FUNDING, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS

Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, is holds a musical instrument. Her mother said she loved music and animals. (The American Border Story)

Cornyn’s Sanctuary City Elimination Act is cosponsored by Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

If passed, the measure would bar sanctuary cities and states from receiving certain federal funds and grants, including arts, education, environmental and community development block grants, according to Cornyn’s office. The bill would also seek to shield state and local law enforcement officers who comply with ICE detainers from prosecution by treating them as federal officers. 

Additionally, the bill allows state governments «harmed by criminal aliens released by sanctuary jurisdictions» to sue those jurisdictions and the federal government to enforce the prohibition on funding to that sanctuary jurisdiction.

The same week Cornyn introduced the bill, the Houston City Council backed off a sanctuary-type policy amid threats of legal action from state officials.

Cornyn believes his bill can accomplish a similar result across the country. He noted that even if Democrats stymie progress on his bill, «We can certainly try to pass this using the same reconciliation process that we’ll use to fund ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.»

«This is a battleground that we should not shy away from,» he said.

SECURITY UNDER SCRUTINY AS WHCD ATTENDEES CITE INCONSISTENT SCREENING BEFORE SHOOTING

The Department of Homeland Security logo (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Alluding to the upcoming midterm elections, Cornyn expressed confidence the issue will continue to resonate with voters in November.

«They don’t care about public safety. … We do care about public safety,» he said, adding that «is a pretty good contrast and one that we may need to just take to the voters.»

Addressing the weekend shooting, Cornyn told Fox News Digital, «Democrats cannot feign concern for President Trump’s life while also refusing to fund the very Department that houses Secret Service and other agencies sworn to protect him.

«I hope that, finally, the events of this past weekend will serve as a wake-up call for Democrats to fund DHS.»

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for former President Joe Biden and to Paxton for comment. Fox News Digital also reached out to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for comment.

En Panamá se han colocado hasta el momento 131,774 dosis de vacunas del esquema nacional de vacunación, lo que según las autoridades es una prueba de la preocupación de los panameños ante el resurgimiento de enfermedades que se creían superadas.

Bajo el lema “Tu decisión marca la diferencia. Inmunización para todos. Métele un gol al sarampión por la SELE del futuro”, el Ministerio de Salud (Minsa) y la Caja de Seguro Social (CSS) han desplegado una jornada intensiva de vacunación a nivel nacional.

El programa incluye la movilización de equipos de enfermería, promoción y comunicación social por aire, mar y tierra, con el objetivo de alcanzar a la población residente a lo largo y ancho del país, para de esta manera garantizar el acceso equitativo a las vacunas.

El objetivo es aumentar la cobertura de vacunación, fortaleciendo el Programa Ampliado de Inmunizaciones y el primer nivel de atención, manifestó el ministro de Salud Fernando Boyd Galindo.

Durante esta semana se ha priorizado la aplicación de las 25 vacunas del esquema nacional, especialmente en grupos de riesgo, y se ha llegado a áreas comarcales, de difícil acceso y poblaciones migrantes.

Igualmente, se han habilitado centros de vacunación para los aficionados que acompañarán a la selección nacional de fútbol en su participación en la próxima Copa Mundial de Fútbol, a celebrarse en México, Estados Unidos y Canadá.

A estos aficionados se les ofrece no solo la vacuna contra el sarampión, sino todas las pendientes, según el esquema de vacunación.

Itzel de Hewitt, coordinadora del Programa Ampliado de Inmunización (PAI), manifestó por su parte que desde el 23 de abril hasta la fecha se han aplicado 131, 774 dosis de vacuna del esquema nacional de vacunación, lo que demuestra una gran acogida por parte de la población.

Explicó que esta estrategia tiene como propósito principal aumentar la cobertura de vacunación, especialmente en poblaciones no vacunadas o con esquemas incompletos, priorizando la vacunación contra la influenza, el Virus del Papiloma Humano (VPH) en adolescentes, y la protección de grupos vulnerables como niños, embrazadas, adultos mayores, personas con enfermedades crónicas, población indígena y migrantes.

Los funcionarios del Ministerio de Salud reiteraron que la vacunación es una decisión que salva vidas, además de ser una responsabilidad compartida.

Del 23 al 30 de abril, Panamá se une a la celebración de la 24.ª edición de la Semana de Vacunación en las Américas (SVA) y la 15ª Semana Mundial de Inmunización, lideradas por la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS).

Por otra parte, se informó que tan solo en 21 días de su apertura, el Centro de Citopatología Diagnóstica ha procesado 2,577 citologías, de las cuales aproximadamente 2,300 correspondían a pruebas acumuladas con retrasos de hasta seis meses.

Este avance ha permitido iniciar la reducción de la mora nacional, estimada entre 15,000 y 20,000 citologías pendientes, las cuales se proyecta procesar en los próximos 90 días.

Destacó el ministro que se desplegarán equipos de salud en comunidades, incluyendo áreas de difícil acceso, para educar sobre la prevención del cáncer cervicouterino y ampliar la cobertura de atención.

Actualmente, las citologías que se realizan en el país están siendo procesadas el mismo día, marcando un cambio significativo en la eficiencia del sistema diagnóstico.

Como resultado del análisis realizado, se han identificado casos con lesiones de bajo y alto grado, incluyendo nueve diagnósticos positivos por Virus del Papiloma Humano, lo que evidencia la importancia de fortalecer la detección temprana para garantizar tratamientos oportunos y reducir la mortalidad asociada a esta enfermedad.

Legal questions are emerging over whether charges against former FBI Director James Comey would withstand a First Amendment challenge as he is indicted for a social media post allegedly tied to threats against President Donald Trump.

Comey faced charges Tuesday under 18 U.S.C. § 871, which criminalizes threats against the president, and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which covers interstate communications containing threats to harm others. 

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital just before the indictment was released that, if the case is based solely on the widely circulated image posted by Comey, it could face steep constitutional hurdles.  

«If Comey is charged for the shell picture, it would face a monumental challenge under the First Amendment,» Turley said. «In my view, the image itself is clearly protected speech. Absent some other unknown facts or elements, it would be unlikely to survive a threshold constitutional challenge.»

JAMES COMEY INDICTED AGAIN IN NEW JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROBE

Both statutes require prosecutors to prove not only that a statement constituted a «true threat,» but that it was made knowingly and with intent, standards that legal analysts say could prove difficult to meet based on publicly available information. 

The indictment was filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey allegedly posted the image of seashells forming the numbers «86 47» during a beach walk. 

Others pushed back on the idea that the case raises significant First Amendment concerns, arguing that threats against a sitting president fall squarely outside protected speech.

«The third assassination attempt against President Trump on Saturday made this crystal clear: The Justice Department must prosecute those who threaten to assassinate the president,» said Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project. 

«No one has a First Amendment right to do this. No one is above the law, especially not a former director of the FBI who should know better. A jury of James Comey’s peers will decide his fate.»

That argument comes amid heightened concerns about threats against Trump after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. A suspect has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

Prosecutors allege that the post would be interpreted by a «reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances» as a serious expression of intent to harm the president, signaling they intend to rely heavily on context surrounding the message rather than explicit language alone.

The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, W. Ellis Boyle, will oversee the case. Boyle was appointed in 2025 and sworn in by his father, a longtime federal judge in the district, after being selected for the role by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The indictment marks the second time Comey has been charged during the second Trump administration. 

In 2025, he was indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding tied to his testimony in the FBI’s Russia probe. That case was later dismissed after a federal judge ruled the prosecutor in the case had been unlawfully appointed.

Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, has long been a polarizing figure in U.S. politics, drawing criticism from both parties over his handling of the Clinton email investigation and the FBI’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential links between Trump’s campaign and Moscow. 

He was fired by Trump in 2017 amid escalating tensions tied in part to the Russia investigation.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AS RESURFACED AG JAMES POSTS COME BACK TO HAUNT HER: ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’

The expected charges stem from a social media post in which Comey shared an image of seashells arranged to form the numbers «86 47,» which some critics interpreted as a coded threat against Trump. The post drew swift backlash and prompted an investigation.

James Comey posted a photo on Instagram showing him standing on a beach. (Fox News)

Former FBI Director James Comey appears in a courtroom sketch during his arraignment in Virginia Oct. 8, 2025. (Dana Verkouteren/Unknown)

Comey later said he did not intend the image to be interpreted as a call for violence.

«I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.»

His explanation could complicate prosecutors’ efforts to establish intent, a key element required under both statutes.

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Comey’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.