This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In the battle over President Donald Trump's Sept. 19 H-1B visa proclamation, a new lawsuit seeks to block Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, intended to defend U.S. workers, restore integrity to the immigration system and stop corporate abuse of cheap foreign labor.
The coalition behind the lawsuit, composed of unions, universities and religious institutions, claims the surcharge is unlawful. But their challenge underscores a deeper problem: Too many American organizations have grown comfortable exploiting the visa system while benefiting from tax breaks, public funding and American freedoms.
The case, filed in California federal court, argues that Trump overstepped his authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Yet the law grants the president explicit power under 8 U.S.C. §1182(f) to restrict or condition the entry of any non-citizens when their admission is "detrimental to the interests of the United States." The proclamation cites precisely that concern: that the H-1B program has been "deliberately exploited" to replace Americans, suppress wages and create dependency on foreign labor.
Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.
Why the administration says the fee is necessary
For years, law-abiding Americans have watched as tech firms, staffing agencies and academic institutions bypassed domestic workers through complex visa loopholes. Investigations by federal agencies have documented fraud, kickbacks and racketeering tied to outsourcing companies that dominate H-1B hiring. The new $100,000 surcharge functions as both deterrent and filter, discouraging frivolous petitions and forcing employers to justify their hiring decisions.
Under previous rules, companies paid only a few thousand dollars in filing fees, an amount small enough to treat the visa as disposable. Trump's order changes that calculation, ensuring that H-1Bs are used only when no qualified Americans are available – the actual purpose Congress originally intended. It also exempts current visa holders and petitions already in process, focusing solely on new overseas applications.
A system long abused
The proclamation's preamble cites evidence that the program has become a tool for wage suppression and labor displacement. In some industries, "specialty occupation" designations have been stretched so broadly that mid-level coding, accounting or analyst jobs are routinely outsourced to foreign nationals at lower pay. Law enforcement has prosecuted multiple H-1B-reliant firms for visa fraud and money-laundering conspiracies, confirming that such misuse is not rare. Indeed, it is routine.
These practices don't just undercut U.S. workers. They weaken America's national security. The transfer of sensitive data and intellectual property through offshored labor pipelines has already drawn scrutiny from defense and intelligence agencies. Trump's team frames the $100,000 surcharge as a national-interest safeguard, balancing economic policy with security oversight, both legitimate functions of executive power.
The lawsuit's real implication
Opponents argue that the surcharge violates administrative procedure, but their lawsuit exposes another truth: Many U.S. institutions have built their models around low-cost foreign labor instead of training Americans. Universities advertise international recruiting programs while cutting domestic admissions.
Hospitals contract foreign nurses through visa agencies instead of funding local pipeline programs. Tech firms lobby for more visas, even as they conduct mass layoffs of American staff.
Trump's proclamation forces accountability. By raising the cost barrier, it challenges employers to prove necessity, not merely convenience or cost savings. If companies truly face shortages, they can still file. If not, they'll have incentive to invest in apprenticeships, retraining and education in the United States of America. It's a measure meant to rebalance the labor market in favor of American citizens, not global labor brokers.
Can Americans harmed by past abuse seek justice?
Workers who lost jobs to unlawful visa practices may already have recourse under existing law. Claims of discrimination or displacement can fall under 8 U.S.C. §1324b, Title VII, or RICO statutes if fraud or collusion can be proven. Thus, even if Trump's proclamation were to be somehow struck down, which would predictably embolden further abuse, civil or class-action lawsuits would be the only path for Americans to challenge the system that replaced them.
A defining test of sovereignty
Whether courts uphold or block the policy, the stakes go beyond one visa category. The H-1B debate now represents a broader question: Who governs America's labor market – elected leaders accountable to citizens, or corporations accountable to shareholders? President Trump's move asserts that immigration should serve the national interest, not undermine it.
The current lawsuit will proceed through the courts in the coming months. For millions of American workers sidelined by years of outsourcing and offshoring, the outcome will decide whether immigration law protects them … or the companies profiting from their replacement.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A church in Florida is being sued … for holding church!
In its own property.
The fight involving Coastal Family Church in Flagler Beach is being handled by Liberty Counsel, which reported on the dispute that involves state law, religious rights, property rights, civil rights, and the odd attack on the faith organization by a condominium association that apparently opposes Christian meetings.
"We will not allow churches and places of worship to be evicted from their property. We will not only stop this eviction; we will demand that the offending party be held financially responsible for its unlawful actions," warned Liberty Counsel in a statement about the war.
The odd circumstances developed when Coastal Family bought a space in a strip mall to serve as a church home.
The report said, "Flagler Square is a strip mall in Flagler Beach, FL. The corporate entity that oversees the mall is organized into a 'condominium' association, which governs the allowable actions and uses of each of the units (storefronts) in the mall. There are four 'units' in the strip center: a discount national brand retail store, a resale consignment store, and the Fraternal Order of Police."
Coastal Family Church owns the fourth.
But after the congregation bought the facility, paid for renovations, and moved in, holding Sunday services, the "condominium association" purported to order a halt.
The association's officials objected to any and all "public assemblies" by the church.
The report noted Flagler Square-JAX Inc., one of the original organizers of the condominium, sued Pastor Roderick James Palmer and the church for meeting in the property owned by the church.
"The plaintiff alleges that the church services violate the Condominium Declaration, which includes an attachment titled 'Prohibited Uses,' which prohibits several things, including competing discount stores as well as 'a banquet hall, auditorium, or other place of public assembly,'" Liberty Counsel charged.
But, the legal team noted, one tenant is a discount consignment store and another a police organization, where regularly public speaking events and other meetings are held.
"But ONLY Coastal Family Church is being prohibited from holding public assemblies. That's clear-cut religious discrimination," Liberty Counsel charged.
A legal response is being filed, the team said.
"By the way, Florida law clearly states that deed restrictions that violate civil rights and religious free exercise are not enforceable," it explained.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A school board does have the authority, and can, remove from its school library shelves a book intended for children that promotes same-sex "marriage," according to a judge's ruling.
"By definition, libraries must have discretion to keep certain ideas—certain viewpoints—off the shelves," explained Chief U.S. District Juge Allen Winsor of the fight involving the Escambia County School Board in Florida.
In exercising that discretion, this library did what "libraries have been doing for two centuries," and that is "decide which books" are of "requisite and appropriate quality" to be on shelves, the judge wrote.
At issue was a "penguin-themed children's book depicting 'same-sex marriage.'"
"And Tango Makes Three" is a story about two male penguins who adopt, hatch, and raise Tango, a penguin chick at New York's Central Park Zoo, Liberty Counsel explained.
The fight moved into the courts in 2023 on a lawsuit by the book's authors and a young female student.
Winsor's conclusion was that "the government does not create a forum for others' speech by purchasing books for a public library."
The result of the ruling is that the book's authors have no First Amendment right to a spot on a government library shelf and the student has no First Amendment right to receive the authors' specific message through the library.
"Judge Winsor explained the library's decision to remove the book does not keep the book or its viewpoint from the student since the book is available elsewhere. Furthermore, Judge Winsor noted, the authors also do not have a First Amendment right to demand that the library 'ignore the book's viewpoint' when deciding whether to include it in its collection," Liberty Counsel explained.
Winsor cited Shurtleff v. City of Boston, a U.S. Supreme Court case where Liberty Counsel won a unanimous victory in 2022.
In that case, Boston illegally censored Christian viewpoints by denying flying the Christian flag in a public forum open to "all applicants," and so the high court held when a city opens a public forum to private expression, it cannot discriminate based on viewpoint without violating the First Amendment, the legal team explained.
Winsor's ruling found a library collection "does not constitute a public forum" for private expression, so libraries can make its own determinations on "what constitutes worthwhile literature."
Winsor said libraries send messages about their own protected messaging in selecting some books and not others.
"Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver said, "School boards have the discretion to keep inappropriate material off the bookshelves and away from children. Gender ideology has no place in public education and school officials should protect children from indoctrination."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Violence is surging across American politics, including the horrific tragedy of the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk just weeks ago, not to mention riots against federal ICE agents enforcing American border laws.
So is the rhetoric about violence, highlighted by the comments from Jay Jones, a candidate for Virginia attorney general, that have been found in which he says it would be a "good thing" for a former colleague, and the former colleague's children, to die.
Those thoughts came out in a message from Jones, who wrote, "Three people, two bullets. [Republican House Speaker Todd] Gilbert, [H]itler, and [P]ol [P]ot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time."
Delegate Carrie Coyner had pushed back on Jones' agenda, to which Jones confirmed that he was advocating for the Gilbert children to die.
"Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy," Jones continued. Jones also called the Gilberts' young children "little fascists."
A RealClearWire report confirmed leading Virginia Democrats have condemned the "hypothetical scenario" created by Jones, "but none have called for Jones to step aside."
Jones subsequently issued a statement that he was "embarrassed" by the texts.
Now the Federalist has a report pointing out that the actual statements are not what legacy media are saying is the problem.
That's actually that GOP members are "pouncing."
"The Associated Press's (AP) Steve Peoples and Olivia Diaz want readers to know that the Democrat candidate for Virginia attorney general fantasizing about murdering Republicans pales in comparison to the real story: Republicans 'pouncing," the report said.
"Instead, Peoples and Diaz think the real story is that 'Republicans are seizing on recently unearthed violent rhetoric from Virginia's Democratic candidate for attorney general in a push to re-shape the state's governor's race — and tarnish the Democratic Party nationally — less than a month before Election Day."
That report calls out how, "President Donald Trump, like Republicans across Virginia, called for Democratic state attorney general candidate Jay Jones to quit the race over the weekend. The Republican president described Jones as a 'radical left lunatic' and sought to link him to former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Virginia's Democratic candidate for governor."
"For AP and the rest of the corporate media, the problem isn't that a Democrat fantasized about political assassination — it's that Trump might notice such rhetoric and point out that Democrats have a violence problem. It's not that Republicans are responding to a Democrat's bloodlust, but rather, according to the AP, that they are exploiting the moment," the Federalist said.
"That, ultimately, is the entire point of this piece of propaganda. The AP's framing isn't about condemning a Democrat candidate's violent rhetoric — it's about trying to portray Republicans' outrage as opportunistic. The scandal itself is an afterthought to the AP. Instead of asking why a major-party nominee fantasized about murdering Republicans and children, the AP tries to cast Republicans as simply milking the story for political gain," it explained.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is pushing for punishment for officials in one nation, Nigeria, for allowing, perhaps even facilitating, the persecution of Christians.
"Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists," he said on social media.
"Since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 18,000 churches and 2,000 Christian schools have been destroyed."
He warned the death and destruction "is the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times…"
He cited the 7,000 Christians "murdered by Boko Haram," an Islamic terror organization, just his year.
According to a report in the Washington Stand, Cruz wants those responsible to be held "accountable."
He said his proposed "Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act" would provide punishment, requiring the secretary of State of identify Nigerian officials who have "promoted, enacted, or maintained Nigerian blasphemy laws, including through public advocacy, legislative action, or executive enforcement directives" or "tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justifications to commit acts of violence."
The plan would make Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" for its anti-Christian agenda and under the International Religious Freedom Act deliver sanctions to not just the nation, but its officials individually.
"Nigeria's federal government and a dozen state governments enforce blasphemy laws in their criminal and Sharia codes, and they ignore or facilitate mob violence targeting Christians," Cruz said.
The nation's "atrocities," he said, "are directly linked to the policies of Nigerian federal and state officials. They are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times — and it says a great deal about who is lashing out now that a light is being shone on these issues," he continued. "The United States knows who those people are, and I intend to hold them accountable."
Nigerian officials pushed back, claiming Cruz's charges were "absurd."
"No Nigerian officials will willingly, deliberately indulge in the act of siding with violent extremists to target any particular religion in this country. This is absolutely false," a government statement said.
It was a report from a non-governmental group called Intersociety that charged the state with more than 50,000 Christians being murdered by Islamists since 2009.
"In March, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins petitioned Congress to designate Nigeria as a CPC due to the ongoing violent persecution of Christians there," the Stand report said.
"In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, vicious attacks and bloodshed continue to surge, week after week, month after month. Christians are the primary targets of this terrorism, facing murders, rapes, kidnappings, and constant threats," Perkins said.
"The Nigerian government is not off the hook simply because non-state actors are the primary drivers of religious persecution. The government has a duty to protect all its citizens and their basic right to religious freedom, regardless of their faith," Perkins said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
James Comey, the ex-FBI chief who recently went to social media with a message suggesting a threat against President Donald Trump, posting, then pulling, an image of seashells placed to carry the message "86 47," has pleaded not guilty to charges of obstruction and lying.
He was indicted for his actions during the Democrats' weaponization of the federal government against Trump, which included fabrications about Trump 2016 campaign links to Russia and more.
The Washington Examiner noted he was indicted last month by U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, making him the "first former FBI director to be criminally charged after leaving office."
He's accused of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. The evidence released so far comes from the government's own documentation about what he knew and when, and video of his own claims about those events.
Comey already has begun trying to build public support, claiming in statements that he's released that he's innocent and "eager" to go to trial.
The charges say he "willfully and knowingly" made a false statement during a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing when he denied he authorized any FBI official at "act as an anonymous source in media reports" on the FBI's investigation that widely was understood to refer to Trump.
Prosecutors charge Comey actually approved a subordinate to serve as a source for that material.
He could be in prison for five years if convicted.
He reportedly was allowed the special privilege of entering the courthouse where he entered his pleas through a little-used entrance, avoiding video cameras stationed at the front door.
"Comey's indictment represents a stunning turn for a man who once led the nation's premier law enforcement agency and has long been both vilified and praised for his handling of politically charged investigations. As FBI director, he angered Democrats by reopening the probe into Hillary Clinton's emails shortly before the 2016 election, and infuriated Republicans by pursuing the Trump-Russia investigation months later," the report said.
After he was fired, he called Trump a "mob boss."
"Earlier this year, he sustained criticism and was even visited by the Secret Service after posting an image of seashells in the sand that stated '86 47,' a message that was interpreted by Trump and allies as a veiled threat or wish for harm to come to the president. Comey subsequently deleted the post and issued an apology after the backlash," the Examiner reported.
Following the indictment, Comey's son-in-law quit his post as a federal prosecutor in New York. His daughter, Maureen, is suing over her removal from her post as a federal prosecutor in New York.
FBI Director Kash Patel has said that "previous corrupt leadership" "weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust."
"Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on," Patel said. "Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose. Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch."
Comey posted a video after the indictment claiming that the case is part of the cost "of standing up to Donald Trump."
"My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent," he said.
The FBI, in fact, opened its lie-based "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation into Trump and his campaign days after Comey was fired during Trump's first term. Then Robert Mueller spent two years and millions of tax dollars as special counsel investigating, and found no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
A later special counsel, John Durham, concluded the FBI had a "clear warning sign" that it was the target of a Hillary Clinton scheme to "manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes," but refused to act.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One day after the two year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against Israel, President Donald Trump announced a peace deal to free the remaining hostages has finally been accepted.
"I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan," Trump said on Truth Social.
"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!
"This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
The measure is reportedly set for signing at noon Thursday in Israel.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "With God's help we will bring them all home."
"If Donald Trump doesn't get the Nobel Peace Prize, the committee should disband," said Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham on the development.
"This is a historic achievement," Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of Breitbart News told Ingraham. "He has taken away all of Hamas' leverage over Israel. It's gone now. The hostages were the leverage.
"If they're coming home now, we're gonna have a celebration, but it also could be the end of Hamas as a military power in the region. This could be the beginning of lasting peace in the region, God willing."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Kamala Harris, the failed Democrat nominee in the 2024 presidential race whose support plunged even as she spent over a billion dollars campaigning for a few weeks, now insists that the vote was the "closest" and "tightest" result in years.
Further, she claims the decision by American voters, described by many as a landslide, did not give President Donald Trump a "mandate" for the country.
Harris recently has been making a series of appearances where she promotes her own book, which could, if successful, generate income for her.
"It was the tightest, closest presidential election in the 21st century. He does not have a mandate, it is not a mandate, it was not a mandate," she claimed.
Online commenters cited the 2000 race between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, which ended up before the Supreme Court and depended on a handful of hanging chads in Florida before a decision.
Further, a report at LifeZette reminded her that her opinion doesn't align with official results.
"President Trump won all major swing states and became the first Republican since 2004 to carry the national popular vote. His winning margins in key battleground states were significantly larger than those of Joe Biden's in 2020. For example, Biden carried Arizona by 10,457 votes in 2020, while Trump won the same state by more than 187,000 votes in November 2024," the report said.
"Trump also secured comfortable victories in states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Wisconsin, which had previously been decided by narrow margins."
Additionally, voters gave Trump GOP majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
Following her catastrophe, she chose not to enter the race for the California's governor's seat and instead released plans to travel the country and promote her book.
The report continued, "The book reportedly contains pointed criticism of several prominent Democrats, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who served as her running mate in the 2024 race. Harris wrote that Walz was selected 'as a last resort' after she determined that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, her preferred choice, would not be viable as a presidential running mate due to concerns over his sexual orientation."
Online commenters described her claims as "rantings," and "Kamala must have read the election results through her wine goggles."
Another posted an image of the 2024 election results, with Trump winning all of the counties colored red:
Trump won 312 Electoral College votes, to 226 for Harrs.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Congress opens its sessions with prayer. Many school boards, town and county councils and state legislatures did for many years.
So it shouldn't surprise that an executive in a White House administration that has recognized America's Judeo-Christian foundation and heritage should open a meeting with prayer.
Just as Kristi Noem, chief of President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security, did.
It was at a meeting with ICE officials in Portland, Oregon.
She said, "Lord, I just ask that you would continue to put a hedge of Protection around these officers, keep them safe, Lord, but that also that you would continue to bless each and every one of them and their families…"
Raw Story reported, "Noem asked God to give her agency 'wisdom and discernment to make the best decisions not just for the people that are here enforcing the law but also for the citizens of this country.'"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
There are a lot of people in America who are opposed to, critical of, and even resentful toward, the nation's H-1B visa program, which is a scheme that corporations can use to fire American tech workers and replace them with much cheaper employees, either located overseas or brought to America from their home countries for the work.
Those already critical of the visa manipulations include those hundreds of thousands put out of work by the operations, their families, likely their friends, those business leaders interested in making America's business climate stable and prosperous and many more.
But now the fight has escalated to the point a church in Texas is attacking one of its members, actually an ex-member now that the elders of the reportedly Baptist-affiliated church have tossed him out over those very sentiments.
It is a report at the Blaze that details of the fight involving Daniel Keene, a small-business owner in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
He noted that community members from India, which plays a massive role in the agenda to replace American workers with overseas hires, took over an entire street in his suburb for a block party.
He posted video online, and he commented, "We have to cancel the H-1Bs. I want my kids to grow up in America. Not India."
He later deleted that when he came under attack at his business, at his home, at his health club, and at his church, identified as Trails Church.
He more or less expected some backlash online, but it got "worse" when church officials "decided to interrogate him on his immigration stance," the report said.
"The elders at the Trails Church called him about his initial post, telling him to repent and that the post was 'uncharitable,'" the report said.
Church officials demanded he and his wife come in for a meeting, with "all the elders and staff who could be there."
"They hammered me for … hours," he explained.
The Blaze said, "The elders had apparently gone through the last three years of Keene's X account, looking for problematic posts. Keene said they brought up two posts that they found 'concerning.'"
But Keene said they kept shifting the goalposts, so he was left confused by their demands.
"On one hand, they are saying that the issue is not the position itself; it's how I expressed it. … but then we've had three hours of phone calls, and they're just hammering me on the position itself."
He asked for the elders' position in writing; they refused.
He explained, in the report, the elders "wanted him to apologize for his original post showing the Indian block party on his street and abandon his position on Indian immigration. While he respected their right to disagree with him, Keene told Blaze News he did not think apologizing for the post was appropriate."
Then, he said, elders threatened him with a "path to discipline."
Keene noted his detractors claimed, "We don't think you're a Christian any more because you haven't repented of a sin."
Later, he followed up his deleted post with a podcast talking about immigration, and questioned, "What would get you in more trouble at your church? Significant doctrinal error on the Trinity? Or opposing immigration to the harm of your neighbor?"
The elders, whose online store sells mugs, hats and $50 shirts, then "formally asked Keene to leave the church," he confirmed.
Church officials did not respond to a Blaze request for comment.
But other hits he has taken: Doxxing and threats, his business was review-bombed, someone claiming to have access to millions of Indian-American contacts apparently tried to extort him for $20,000. And his gym membership was canceled.