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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that the Trump administration is imposing sweeping financial sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), a body the president has sought to dismantle throughout his second term.

To date, the administration has sanctioned 17 individuals with ties to the ICC, including judges and prosecutors. The latest move marks the first time the U.S. has gone after the institution itself.

«Our message is clear: The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC,» Rubio said in a pre-recorded video message released Friday morning. «Both parties agree on this, but only President Trump has the resolve to take the action needed to end this threat once and for all.»

This comes hours after this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Navanethem «Navi» Pillay, a former ICC judge.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SANCTIONS SITTING PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR ‘ABUSES OF POWER’

In a statement Friday, the Netherlands-based court strongly condemned the U.S. sanctions as «an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order.»

«This measure targets an independent judicial institution, created by treaty and entrusted by 125 States Parties with investigating and prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression,» the ICC added.

«It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do.»

ICC President Tomoko Akane, who was personally sanctioned by the Trump administration in August, said the court will continue to operate despite the new penalties.

In announcing the sanctions, Rubio argued the ICC believes it has the authority to prosecute American service members operating overseas and even U.S. Border Patrol agents. There is no evidence the court has sought to investigate or prosecute Border Patrol agents, though Rubio previously raised that possibility in July.

WORLD COURT PROSECUTOR WHO WENT AFTER NETANYAHU FOR WAR CRIMES SUSPENDED OVER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

The administration’s concerns about U.S. personnel are not entirely hypothetical. In 2017, an ICC prosecutor sought authorization to investigate alleged war crimes committed by U.S. military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan.

ICC judges initially rejected the request, but that decision was overturned on appeal in 2020, allowing the investigation to proceed. The court’s prosecutor later de-prioritized alleged crimes involving U.S. personnel to focus on alleged crimes committed by the Taliban and ISIS-K.

Under the new sanctions, any ICC assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen, while Americans, U.S. businesses and banks are generally barred from conducting transactions with the court.

The sanctions will not go into effect immediately. The Treasury Department has given the ICC a 180-day general license to maintain its operations, giving the court time to address U.S. concerns.

ICC TURNS ‘BLIND EYE’ TO TOP WORLD THREATS WHILE TARGETING AMERICANS, TRUMP ADMIN SAYS

«Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC. And we expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American service members for their defense, to rein in this rogue court,» Rubio said.

«If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC piece by piece until Americans are threatened no longer.»

One of the other major grievances the administration has with the ICC is its decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024.

The ICC argued both officials were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s military response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in 2023. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

In a February 2025 executive order authorizing sanctions against ICC officials, President Donald Trump called the arrest warrants «baseless» and said the court overstepped its authority since Israel was not an ICC member.

The ICC maintains that it can exercise jurisdiction over nationals of non-member states when they are accused of qualifying crimes committed on the territory of a state that has accepted the court’s jurisdiction.

sanctions, world, foreign policy, international law, politics

FIRST ON FOX: A blue state’s law enforcement officials are keeping illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes out of the reach of federal authorities, a new report claims.

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, released new findings Friday in its investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on law enforcement across the country.

The latest is a 25-page report that accuses top prosecutors in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while also revealing for the first time the names and graphic charges against some of those whom House GOP investigators say are being shielded from President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown.

Both the district attorneys for Denver and Boulder pushed back against Republicans’ accusations.

JIM JORDAN SUBPOENAS BLUE STATE DAS ACCUSED OF ‘PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS

Among the list is «Fernando Barrios-Ramirez, a Venezuelan national arrested for sexual assault on a child,» the report said. 

Denver District Attorney John Walsh told Digital, «Unfortunately, in Barrios-Ramirez’s case, we were prevented from pursuing a decades-long sentence by ICE,  who deported Barrios-Ramirez to Mexico over our objection, effectively setting him free.»

Walsh said his office prosecuted other cases listed in the report as well.

Another alleged criminal Denver is accused of ignoring an ICE detainer for is Juan Andres Holguin-Mendez, a Mexican national whose «criminal history also includes arrests for willful cruelty to a child, DUI, malicious mischief, possession of a controlled substance, trespassing, disturbing the peace, and evading a peace officer.»

Holguin-Mendez was arrested for damage to property, the report said.

A Venezuelan national named Diego Cano-Diaz with multiple alleged protective order violations was «arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon, resisting arrest, and assault,» the report said.

At least four illegal immigrants were arrested due to alleged domestic violence in Denver but also had their ICE detainers ignored, the report said.

WATCH: DEM DEMANDS ‘ONE CASE’ WHERE SANCTUARY CITIES DIDN’T TURN OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS; DHS PROVIDES LIST

In Boulder, «Mario Hernandez-Quiroz, a Mexican national arrested for child abuse and failure to appear,» was among those whose ICE detainer was ignored.

Ignoring an ICE detainer does not necessarily mean law enforcement released the accused back onto public streets. It does, however, delay potential federal deportation proceedings to ensure the accused does not stay in the U.S.

DHS BOSS REVEALS OVAL OFFICE PLAN TO ‘WITHHOLD FUNDING’ FROM SANCTUARY CITIES AFTER AGGRESSIVE NEW YORK BUST

But the report did accuse district attorneys in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants suspected of criminal acts to evade ICE, including being more lenient with their treatment in order to avoid federal immigration proceedings — in effect, accusing them of letting more undocumented criminals back onto the streets.

For instance, House GOP investigators said they obtained internal documents that show the Denver Sheriff’s Department provided written explanations in a suspected illegal immigrant criminal’s preferred language that said they have «the right to refuse to speak to federal immigration authorities.»

DENVER MAN’S ESCAPE EXPOSES CHILLING TREN DE ARAGUA KIDNAPPING PLOT THAT LANDS TRIO IN PRISON

The report also accused Denver officials of providing insufficient notice when they do notify ICE about suspected illegal immigrant criminals.

An example highlighted in the report involved a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, about whom ICE was given «between one and two hours’ notice to take him into custody.»

The suspected gang member, Abraham Smith Gonzalez, was subsequently released, the report said, and «as a result, when ICE officers attempted to arrest Gonzalez outside a Denver jail in 2025, he assaulted one officer.»

The report also accused both Boulder and Denver prosecutors of weighing immigration consequences when pursuing charges against an individual.

DOJ ACCUSES MARYLAND OF ‘ACTIVE AND DELIBERATE EFFORT’ TO PREVENT DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: LAWSUIT

«In Boulder, District Attorney Dougherty prohibits information sharing with ICE,» the report said. «Before President Trump even took office in January 2025, Dougherty emailed Boulder defense attorneys to remind them of his office’s pro-illegal alien policies, including his office’s consideration of collateral immigration consequences.»

An excerpt that the report noted is part of Boulder County District Attorney’s Office guidance stating that attorneys «consider the immigration and other collateral consequences to a defendant in recommending dispositions.»

Both Denver and Boulder encourage suspected illegal immigrants to not cooperate with ICE unless a judicial warrant is presented, the report said.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING CHILDREN AFTER FAIRFAX COUNTY RELEASE: DHS

Dougherty in Boulder has already been targeted by Jordan’s probe, with the Ohio Republican subpoenaing Dougherty and accusing him of failing to sufficiently cooperate.

He told Digital in response to the report, «This report is a political stunt to sway voters before the midterm elections. My responsibility is to do justice, enhance public safety, and fight for victims. I’m not going to be distracted by political theatre or intimidated into abandoning my responsibility to protect the community and uphold the law. I am proud of our amazing and dedicated staff. They work incredibly hard to uphold the best interests of Boulder County and Colorado. It is my privilege to work alongside the outstanding women and men in the District Attorney’s Office.»

Dougherty’s office also accused committee Republicans of «intentionally» misrepresenting one individual’s case in its report that was not mentioned in this article.

«Under the Republicans’ approach, Contreras would have been released to ICE and immediately deported. That would have been a violation of state law. Also, Contreras would be free in another country with no consequences for his criminal conduct, the harm to the victim, and the risk he poses to the community,» the office said. «Under Boulder County’s approach, the Sheriff complied with state law and, ultimately, Contreras was held fully accountable by the prosecutors in our office and sent to state prison for eight (8) years. When he completes that sentence, he will then face deportation.»

Walsh told Digital, «The men and women of the Denver District Attorney’s Office work tirelessly every day and every night to protect community safety and have helped achieve historic reductions in crime in Denver.  Our immigration collateral consequences policy closely tracks the guidance of the United States Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky, and not only complies with the law, but advances community safety by ensuring that convictions are not subsequently overturned.»

«The Denver Sheriff’s Department is responsible for addressing ICE detainers and does so in full compliance with Colorado law and the requirements of the United States Constitution,» Walsh said.

politics, sanctuary cities, migrant crime, illegal immigrants, tren de aragua, denver