En una medida que desató una fuerte polémica, el gobierno de Donald Trump comenzó amenazar a niños inmigrantes para que abandonen el país. Decenas de ellos recibieron cartas con amenazas de deportación.

“Es hora de que salgas de Estados Unidos”, señala la primera línea de una de las cartas que recibieron a su nombre los menores de edad. Y agrega: “No intentes permanecer ilegalmente en Estados Unidos; el Gobierno federal te encontrará”.

Leé también: Lejos de su objetivo, Trump deportó a 239.000 migrantes en seis meses y tiene en la mira a otros 13 millones

Los destinatarios de las advertencias entraron al país legalmente. En las misivas, se los amenaza con deportaciones, multas y procesos penales.

En abril pasado, los tribunales de inmigración ordenaron la deportación de más de 8300 niños de 11 años o menos. Y en los casi ocho meses que lleva la gestión de Trump, los jueces ordenaron la deportación de más de 53.000 niños inmigrantes, según Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, una organización de la Universidad de Syracuse.

La mayoría de estos niños están en edad de escuela primaria. Aproximadamente 15 mil tenían menos de cuatro años, y otros 20 mil, entre cuatro y 11. Unos 17.000 adolescentes también fueron deportados.

Qué dicen las cartas enviadas a menores inmigrantes

Las cartas desataron una ola de nerviosismo y temor en numerosas familias migrantes. “Actualmente te encuentras aquí porque el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) te otorgó un permiso de entrada condicional a Estados Unidos por un período limitado. El DHS está ejerciendo su discreción para cancelar tu permiso de entrada condicional, o ya lo ha hecho”, afirma una de las cartas citadas por EFE.

En otro de los párrafos, se lee: “Si no sales de Estados Unidos de inmediato, estarás sujeto a posibles medidas policiales que resultarán en tu deportación”.

“Esto es algo nunca visto”

Las cartas causaron enorme malestar y temor en las comunidades de inmigrantes. “Esto es una barbaridad, algo nunca visto o imaginado por todos lo que nos dedicamos a la defensa de los (migrantes) indocumentados”, dijo la pastora Julie Contreras, del santuario United Giving Hope, que tiene sede en la ciudad de Waukegan, Illinois, 74 kilómetros al norte de Chicago.

Y agregó: “Imaginen qué pasa por la cabeza de un niño al recibir una carta de este tipo de parte del Gobierno del país más poderoso del mundo, que les niega el permiso humanitario. Esto es muy grave y fuerte”.

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Decenas de niños del área de Waukegan, que cruzaron la frontera sin sus padres, en su mayoría desde México, recibieron cartas de deportación. Todos ellos ingresaron legalmente al país en 2014 bajo un programa humanitario como “menores no acompañados” para, posteriormente, reunirse con sus padres indocumentados u otros familiares que ya vivían en Estados Unidos.

A pesar de la reunificación, los menores no pueden ser representados legalmente por sus padres en un tribunal de inmigración por la forma en que ingresaron al país, y dependen de abogados defensores que vieron su trabajo reducido por falta de recursos.

“Estos niños no son criminales”

Según Contreras, las cartas pueden ser un cambio “preocupante y alarmante” porque ahora se buscaría despojar a los niños de las protecciones de asilo, incluso a aquellos con solicitudes pendientes, y acelerar la deportación de menores sin el debido proceso.

“Estos niños no son los criminales que Trump afirmó que el ICE perseguiría. Son víctimas de violaciones de derechos humanos y están siendo aterrorizados. Incluso si el ICE no los busca de inmediato, la sola amenaza les causa un grave trauma psicológico”, dijo.

Tres de esos niños, acompañados de madres o tías, buscaron la protección de “santuario” en la iglesia de Contreras. Un cuarto fue dejado solo al cuidado de la iglesia porque sus padres tienen miedo. “Estados Unidos está perdiendo su humanidad, las iglesias y otros santuarios ya no ofrecen garantías”, afirmó la pastora.

El silencioso desmantelamiento legal

La ley de inmigración establece que los menores no acompañados que llegan a la frontera sin un padre o tutor legal deben recibir protección especial: son puestos bajo el cuidado de la Oficina de Reubicación de Refugiados (ORR, por sus siglas en inglés) y se les otorga un permiso humanitario mientras se procesan sus casos.

Pero en los últimos meses, defensores de los migrantes y abogados afirman que el sistema se está desmantelando silenciosamente.

Leé también: En medio de la tensión por el caso Epstein, Trump acusó a Obama de traición e intento de golpe de Estado

Cada vez más menores no acompañados ven revocado su permiso humanitario y son encarcelados en procesos migratorios donde no tienen ninguna capacidad para defenderse, dijo a medios locales Davina Casas, pastora y líder de la Organización Monarquía, de Chicago.

Casas explicó que en marzo la Administración Trump recortó los fondos para abogados de menores no acompañados, y solo tras una demanda de 11 grupos defensores se restablecieron temporalmente por orden judicial, aunque el caso sigue abierto.

Los grupos sostienen que, según una ley contra la trata de 2008, el Gobierno debe ofrecer asistencia legal y garantizar la repatriación segura de los niños. Pero Casas duda que, incluso con fondos restablecidos, la demanda pueda ser cubierta.

(Con información de EFE)

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are now digging into Hunter Biden’s implication that an Ambien sleeping pill was responsible for his father’s consequential debate performance one year ago, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

The revelation comes as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is leading an investigation into the alleged cover-up of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and his administration’s potentially unauthorized autopen use for pardons and executive actions.

«He’s 81 years old. He’s tired as s–t,» Hunter Biden told Andrew Callaghan on his «Channel 5» podcast last weekend. «They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on the stage, and he looks like he’s a deer in the headlights.» 

But the former president’s son later clarified to ABC News that he did not mean Biden was taking Ambien directly before the debate, and he had intended to make a greater point about his father’s rigorous travel schedule in the weeks leading up to that disastrous debate night. 

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«Hunter Biden’s claim that ‘they gave him Ambien to be able to sleep’ raises serious questions,» a House Oversight Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital. «The House Oversight Committee is looking into this as part of its investigation into the cover-up of President Biden’s cognitive decline and unauthorized executive actions by White House staff.»

Ambien, or zolpidem, is a prescription medication for insomnia. It is intended only for short-term use, according to GoodRx. Common side effects include dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle and joint pain, and double or blurry vision.

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The medication can also cause memory problems and grogginess during the day, and more serious and rare side effects can include hallucinations, «abnormal thinking and behavior» and «possible increased risk of dementia in older adults,» according to GoodRx.

Biden’s former chief of staff and a fixture of his re-election campaign, Ron Klain, is expected to participate in a transcribed interview on Thursday before the House Oversight Committee. 

In a letter requesting his appearance, Comer quoted Klain as cutting Biden’s debate prep short last year «due to the president’s fatigue and lack of familiarity with the subject matter,» adding that Biden «didn’t really understand what his argument was on inflation,» citing a POLITICO report from earlier this year. 

«If White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition—or to perform his duties—Congress may need to consider a legislative response,» Comer said, arguing that the scope of Klain’s responsibilities in his personal and professional capacities «cannot go without investigation.»

Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of The New York Times, and Isaac Arnsdor of The Washington Post describe in their new book, «2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,» how during the June 2024 debate «Biden’s aides winced as the president started answering the first question.»

Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini follow President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Feb. 16, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

And backstage, as Biden stumbled over an answer that questionably ended with, «We finally beat Medicare,» Klain stood up and announced, «We’re f—ed,» according to the authors. 

When reached for comment to confirm the book’s allegation, Klain told Fox News Digital, «I have nothing to add.»

A top former Biden administration aide invoked the Fifth Amendment during her closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, Fox News Digital was told.

Annie Tomasini became the third Democratic ex-official to stonewall investigators looking into whether signs of Biden’s alleged mental decline were covered up by his inner circle.

The former White House deputy chief of staff was seen entering and exiting the committee room in under an hour, saying nothing to reporters either time.

Former President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that she invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times. Tomasini herself did not answer when Fox News Digital asked if she did so, and her lawyers did not respond to a request for comment. 

«Today, the third witness in our investigation into the cover-up of President Biden’s cognitive decline and unauthorized executive actions pleaded the Fifth Amendment. There is now a pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability for this potential conspiracy,» Comer told Fox News Digital. 

Tomasini is the third former Biden administration official to come before committee investigators under subpoena, and the fifth to appear overall.

She was meant to appear Friday for a voluntary transcribed interview, but a committee aide previously told Fox News Digital that Tomasini’s lawyers had asked Comer to issue a subpoena specifically.

Both prior officials who appeared under subpoena—former White House physician Kevin O’Connor and Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to former First Lady Jill Biden—also invoked the Fifth Amendment.

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Biden’s office declined to comment to Fox News Digital about the House GOP probe into his alleged Ambien use. 

But a source familiar with the Biden team’s thinking regarding the ongoing House Oversight investigation had previously told Fox News Digital that Trump and congressional Republicans are simply seeking «retribution» through a «partisan, coordinated effort.»

«It’s an attempt to smear and embarrass,» the source said. «And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump’s DOJ [can] prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge.»

Fox News’ Melissa Ruddy, Aishah Hasnie, Tyler Olson and Kelly Phares contributed to this report. 

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday doubled down on Tehran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear program and said Iran is «fully prepared» for a renewed fight with Israel. 

The Iranian president’s comments came just two days after Tehran’s foreign minister confirmed to Fox News that Iran will not give up its enrichment program, but continues to claim Tehran is not interested in developing a nuclear weapon. 

«[US President Donald] Trump says that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and we accept this because we reject nuclear weapons and this is our political, religious, humanitarian and strategic position,» Pezeshkian said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

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«We believe in diplomacy, so any future negotiations must be according to a win-win logic, and we will not accept threats and dictates,» he added. 

Pezeshkian also said Trump’s repeated claims that the U.S. «obliterated» Iran’s nuclear program is «just an illusion.»

«Our nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists and not in the facilities,» he said.

The U.S. strikes – which came just days after Israel targeted top military figures and nuclear scientists – are believed to have set back Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years. 

But security experts have told Fox News Digital that Iran continues to possess significant military strike capabilities, and questions remain over whether Iran was able to successfully move any enriched uranium off site prior to Washington’s strikes.

Pezeshkian acknowledged the blow that Israel levied against its top officials, but said it «completely failed» to «eliminate» the hierarchy of Iran’s nuclear program.

He further warned that Iran is ready to take on Jerusalem should another conflict break out. 

«We are fully prepared for any new Israeli military move, and our armed forces are ready to strike deep inside Israel again,» Pezeshkian said.

Fire and smoke rise into the sky after an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot on June 15, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Stringer/Getty Images)

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Iran and Israel are still operating under a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Qatar following last month’s 12-Day War, but the Iranian president said he is not confident this truce will hold. 

«We are not very optimistic about it,» Pezeshkian said.

«That is why we have prepared ourselves for any possible scenario and any potential response. Israel has harmed us, and we have also harmed it,» he added. «It has dealt us powerful blows, and we have struck it hard in its depths, but it is concealing its losses.»

Delegations from France, Germany and the U.K. (E3) are set to travel to Tehran on Friday to discuss nuclear negotiations.

The E3 visit will come just three days after officials from Russia and China, who are also signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPAO), visited on Tuesday to discuss negotiations and how Iran can avoid sanctions, though details of the talks remain unknown.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stands with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, before a meeting on March 14, 2025, in Beijing. (Pool via Reuters)

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Iran began initiating international talks after the E3 last week threatened to employ snapback sanctions – which would see the entire 15-member U.N. Security Council enforce strict economic ramifications – should Iran not enter into a nuclear agreement by the end of August. 

The timeframe is consistent with the time needed for the JCPOA signatories to recall snapback sanctions prior to the Oct. 18 expiration date when the economic tool can no longer be employed en masse per the 2015 terms of the agreement.