Category: Daily Caller
Exclusive: GOP Senate candidate Wesley Hunt pushes bill barring education benefits for illegal aliens
Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas is moving legislation on Capitol Hill to ensure taxpayers are actually prioritized over illegal aliens.
Hunt, who is running for U.S. Senate in Texas, introduced the American Dream Protection Act on Thursday to disincentivize states and educational institutions from providing educational benefits to illegal aliens. Hunt’s legislation would require federal financial assistance to be withheld if states are found to provide taxpayer-funded education to illegal aliens.
‘Too many American resources have been used to benefit illegals.’
“For years, the left and a select few Republican senators have pushed for mass amnesty and benefits for illegal aliens,” Hunt told Blaze News. “In 2003, the Dream Act, which was voted favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, created an incentive to provide illegals with in-state tuition rates intended only for legal residents.”
“The American Dream Protection Act of 2025 will eliminate federal and state funding to universities that continue to support illegals.”
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Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Educational institutions across the country offer in-state tuition and other higher education benefits to illegal aliens, leaving American taxpayers to foot the bill. To counteract these inequities, Hunt’s bill withholds federal funds for schools that charge illegal immigrants lower tuition as well as states that provide them financial aid.
“Too many American resources have been used to benefit illegals while American citizens suffer,” Hunt told Blaze News.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Hunt is currently running in the Texas Senate primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Republican primary winner will face off with one of two Democratic candidates, Rep. Jasmine Crockett or state Rep. James Talarico.
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Jack Smith, Fani Willis Forced To Defend Trump Prosecutions In Simultaneous Testimonies
Two prosecutors who pursued cases against President Donald Trump doubled down on defending their efforts before lawmakers on Wednesday.
101-year-old WWII vet cheers on Trump in fiery patriotic speech: ‘Godd**mit, put a uniform on me — I’ll go tomorrow’
A 101-year-old World War II veteran delivered a passionate speech about his love for America and President Donald Trump’s leadership during an event at Mar-a-Lago this week.
On Tuesday, America’s Future hosted the Second Annual Champions for America Celebration Gala to honor and recognize individuals “whose lives reflect courage, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to faith, freedom, and service.”
‘This was a reminder of who we are.’
Navy veteran and Bronze Star of Valor recipient William “Bill” Dillon, who served from 1942 to 1947, shared powerful remarks with the audience.
“There’s nobody in the godd**n world who cares more for this nation than this guy that you’re looking at,” Dillon stated. “And I think Trump is not only the president of the United States; he is the president of the world.”
Dillon complimented Trump for his “fantastic job” negotiating on behalf of the country.
“I’m 101, going on 102. Godd**mit, put a uniform on me — I’ll go tomorrow!” Dillon declared.
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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Matt Van Swol, a former nuclear scientist at the Department of Energy, stated that he had the honor of meeting Dillon at the event.
“Bill said that he has lived under 22 American presidents and that President Trump is his favorite. … Truly a special person,” Van Swol said.
“A World War II veteran, Bronze Star of Valor recipient, submariner, and aerospace pioneer, Bill delivered an energetic, passionate speech that reminded everyone what real courage looks like. From serving aboard the USS Sailfish to helping build America’s early space program, his life reflects sacrifice, resolve, and love of country,” America’s Future said, referring to Dillon. “This was a reminder of who we are.”
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Bill Dillon. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Associated Television International
America’s Future highlighted remarks from actor Isaiah Washington, human biologist Gary Brecka, author Angela Stanton-King, and General Charlie Flynn.
The organization referred to the event as an “unforgettable evening.”
“Tonight, America’s Future gathered to honor courage, faith, and conviction. Bringing together voices and leaders who refuse to stay silent when the stakes are high. From powerful remarks to heartfelt moments of recognition, this was a night that reminded us what America stands for and why the fight for her future matters,” the organization wrote.
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‘Beachhead of criminality’: Trump admin urges Walz to resign in light of ‘ghost students’ fraud scheme
Minnesota appears to be a magnet for fraudsters, particularly from Somalia.
While the problem has hardly been a secret — scores of bad actors have been charged and/or convicted in connection with various fraud schemes in the state — the Trump administration has recently taken a special interest, exploring just how bad the graft has gotten on Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Tim Walz’s watch.
Much of the focus has so far been on the alleged fraud committed by members of the Somali community in relation to coronavirus pandemic relief funding. However, Education Secretary Linda McMahon hammered Walz in a letter on Monday over student aid fraud in the Gopher State, calling on him to resign.
‘Minnesota’s political elite has turned a blind eye and even helped facilitate the laundering of money.’
“At the beginning of this year, the U.S. Department of Education became aware that fraudulent college applicants, especially concentrated in Minnesota, were gaming the federal postsecondary education system to collect money that was intended for young Americans to help them afford college,” wrote McMahon.
The education secretary referred to these fraudsters as “ghost students” because “they were not ID-verified and often did not live in the United States, or they simply did not exist.”
According to McMahon, 1,834 so-called ghost students were found to have received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans in Walz’s state.
In June, the Education Department flagged Riverland Community College and Century College in White Bear Lake as two of the institutions in Minnesota that were impacted by the fraud scheme.
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Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Rochester Post Bulletin reported in April that Riverland had apparently averaged more than 100 potentially fraudulent applications per year for the previous two financial aid periods.
A history instructor at Century College reportedly told state lawmakers earlier this year that he discovered in 2023 that 15% of his students were “basically an organized crime ring.”
Minnesota State College Southeast was similarly impacted, having discovered that the spike in its 2025 spring enrollment numbers was driven by 84 ghost students. While some of the apparent fraudsters at these and other institutions were locals, most were reportedly from other countries.
Ghost students will reportedly engage remotely and do the bare minimum of classwork until financial aid funds are doled out around 10 days into the semester. Once their payday arrives, they usually vanish.
“They collected checks from the federal government, shared a small portion of the money with the college, and pocketed the rest — without attending the college at all,” said McMahon. “Our new fraud prevention system has now blocked more than $1 billion in attempted financial aid theft by fraudsters, including coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending to be students.”
The education secretary stressed that Walz’s “careless lack of oversight and abuse of the welfare system has attracted fraudsters from around the world, especially from Somalia, to establish a beachhead of criminality in our country.”
McMahon further suggested that Walz has done “nothing as governor to stop this criminal behavior” such that scammers have “gotten rich off federal housing, education, food stamp, and small business programs — even defrauding assistance for elder care and autistic children.”
After suggesting that “Minnesota’s political elite has turned a blind eye and even helped facilitate the laundering of money that was meant to help America’s least fortunate,” McMahon accused Walz of benefiting from the sordid state of play and implored him to resign.
Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.) said that McMahon’s assessment of Walz’s “catastrophic failures” was “spot on,” adding that “it’s time for Walz to take accountability and make way for real leadership to clean up this mess.”
Walz plans to seek a third term next year.
Former health care executive and Army veteran Kendall Qualls won the non-binding Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll on Saturday, winning three more votes from delegates than Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth.
While a September poll found that Walz had a significant edge over Qualls, it appears Minnesotans are fast losing faith in their governor and his ability to curb fraud in the state.
A recent KSTP-TV/SurveyUSA poll of 578 registered voters found that 69% believe Walz needs to do more to stop fraud in Minnesota. According to the poll, Walz’s disapproval rating is 48%.
“It’s pretty obvious,” Walz said during a press conference on Friday. “Fraud happened. We need to take accountability — ultimately me.”
“I take responsibility for everything,” added the governor.
Blaze News has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
McMahon’s letter comes just weeks after Small Business Administration Sec. Kelly Loeffler announced an investigation “into the network of Somali organizations and executives implicated” in the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scandal, particularly those who received SBA PPP loans.
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Charlie Sheen changed his politics by changing the channel
About six years ago, I started a simple experiment. Each evening, instead of relying on a single news source, I watched both sides of the political spectrum — MSNBC and CNN on the left, Fox on the right. The goal was not balance for its own sake. It was triangulation: getting closer to the truth than any one outlet seemed capable of providing.
The pattern emerged quickly. The full story almost never lives on a single channel. It lives in the gaps — in what one side omits, what the other exaggerates, and what only becomes visible when competing narratives collide. Stepping outside a single media ecosystem sharpened my understanding of events and exposed how much emotional steering hides behind what passes for “objective” news.
If a Hollywood actor immersed for decades in elite cultural assumptions can break free simply by pressing ‘channel up,’ that should give the rest of us pause.
I was reminded of this after reading Megyn Kelly’s interview with actor Charlie Sheen.
Pick up the remote
For years, Sheen embodied Hollywood’s loud, theatrical hostility toward Donald Trump. He embodied Trump derangement syndrome. Then he startled people by admitting that he had begun to change his views. Not because of a grand ideological awakening, but because of something mundane.
“I’m going to change the channel,” he told Kelly. “I’m gonna do my own research, like I’ve done with everything my entire life. I’m gonna listen to other voices. I’m gonna explore just hearing both sides of the g**d**n story.”
Sheen described realizing that he had been “hypnotized” — his word — by the media he trusted. What once felt authoritative and neutral began to look curated, repetitive, and manipulative.
“What I was so hypnotized by,” he said, “in some ways can be described as state-run media. … Legacy media is very much like that.”
How narrative replaces reporting
That charge matters, because it is not rooted in party loyalty. It is rooted in recognition. More Americans sense that the information they consume does not simply inform them — it conditions them. It trains emotional responses, assigns villains, and narrows acceptable conclusions.
As Sheen flipped channels, he discovered how incomplete his worldview had been. Then came his most striking admission: “I felt really stupid. I don’t have a fancier way to describe it. … Some of the stuff I’d bought into … some of the people I was hating because I was told I was supposed to hate them.”
That kind of honesty is rare. In today’s culture, changing one’s mind is treated as treason rather than growth. Sheen’s shift is not primarily about moving from left to right. It is about reclaiming agency — refusing to let a single narrative dictate who deserves trust or contempt.
For years, Americans have been sorted into hardened political tribes by outlets that no longer report so much as reinforce. Each network offers a prepackaged worldview with designated heroes, enemies, and emotional cues. The longer someone consumes only one of them, the more certain — and less informed — he becomes.
This is how democracies fracture. Not because citizens lack reason, but because they are denied the full range of facts required to reason well.
Regret isn’t the point
Sheen even expressed regret over his 2024 vote for Kamala Harris, a decision he now believes was made inside an echo chamber he did not recognize at the time. The regret itself is not the point. The awakening is.
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Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
If a Hollywood actor immersed for decades in elite cultural assumptions can break free simply by pressing “channel up,” that should give the rest of us pause.
It suggests intellectual independence remains possible. It suggests curiosity can overpower conditioning. And it suggests Americans are far more capable of balanced judgment than our media landscape assumes.
The most patriotic habit left
The lesson is not complicated. If you want to understand what is really happening in this country, do not limit yourself to the channel you already agree with. Change it. Listen to the other side. Sit with the discomfort.
The clarity that follows may surprise you. It may challenge your assumptions. It may even change your mind.
In today’s America, that may be one of the most constructive — and patriotic — acts left to us.
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