• • Illegal Alien Convicted of Killing Sacramento Deputies Smirks as He Receives Death Sentence
• • 2020 Census: Counting Citizens Likely to Shift Power from Illegal Alien-Flooded Coasts to Middle America
• • Spending bill forces DHS to cut detention beds for illegal immigrants

An illegal alien convicted of killing two Sacramento-area deputies smirked as a California jury sentenced him to death Tuesday-and the deputies' families grinned back at him.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury ruled that Luis Bracamontes, 37, will receive the death penalty for his role in the the murder of two sheriff's deputies.

As the verdict was read aloud in court, Bracamontes clapped silently and flashed a grin at his victim's families

"I was smiling back at him purposely," Jeri Oliver, mother of the late Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Danny Oliver, told the Sacramento Bee after the court hearing.

Debbie McMahon, the mother of fallen Placer County Sheriff Detective Michael Davis Jr., said that she also felt it was appropriate "to smile at him for a change."

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Counting American citizens on the 2020 Census, as President Donald Trump's administration has announced they will do, is likely to shift power away from coastal states harboring large illegal alien populations and towards middle America.

The addition of the citizenship question to the Census does not come with the mandate that congressional apportionments for each state will be based on the number of citizens, rather than entire populations, including citizens, noncitizens, and illegal aliens.

Down the road, though, should Congress choose to apportion congressional districts based on the number of citizens rather than the entire districts' population, states with large illegal alien populations would likely lose a few congressional districts, while states with few illegal aliens could gain districts.

For example, California has an estimated three million illegal aliens, a total of about 5.3 million noncitizens, and a total population of about 39.5 million residents. Currently, California has 53 congressional seats, the most in the country.
 

If California's congressional districts were set by the number of citizens in the state, it would potentially lose three to five congressional seats, leaving the state with about 48 to 50 seats.

Likewise, Florida - which has a noncitizen population of about 2.2 million people - would not gain any congressional seats if only citizens were counted. Under the current standards, they are expected to gain two seats.

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The massive new spending bill released Wednesday will force Homeland Security to cut the number of detention beds it has available to hold illegal immigrants for the rest of this year.

The bill also rejects President Trump's requests for 1,000 new deportation officers and 500 new Border Patrol agents - though it does add 328 officers to man the ports of entry.

Lawmakers did agree to $1.3 billion for border fencing, delivering a small downpayment on Mr. Trump's demand for a border wall. But there, too, the numbers are not what the White House had sought, with just 33 miles of the border gaining new fencing. Another 14 miles that currently have a barriers will get a second layer of fencing, and 48 miles of existing barriers will be replaced.

Mr. Trump is also specifically banned from using any of the designs from his just-completed border wall competition, and must instead use existing versions he's criticized.

Democrats, despite defeating most of Mr. Trump's big funding requests, said they still felt like they'd given up too much.

"While the bill rejects the administration's request for tens of billions for a border wall, does not fund the president's deportation force, and requires Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to reduce the number of detention beds currently in use, the amount provided is nonetheless a waste of money and contrary to our national character," said Rep. Nita Lowey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

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An illegal alien, who previously made a fake bomb threat in Pratt County, Kansas, has been indicted for illegally possessing a gun.

Claudia Rodriguez-Oviedo, a 33-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, was indicted for illegal possession of a firearm. Prosecutors say the illegal alien was caught in possession of the Remington handgun on Nov. 8, 2017, along with 35 rounds of bullets.

Rodriguez-Oviedo previously worked in the Pratt County school system as a secretary but was convicted for making a fake bomb threat to a high school in the school district.

Federal officers took 89 illegal immigrants into custody during a three-day sweep in Oklahoma and north Texas.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations team executed the operation targeted at those with prior criminal histories.

Officers arrested 18 of the 89 in Oklahoma with 10 coming in Oklahoma City, three in Tulsa, two in Stillwater and the final three arrests coming in Norman, El Reno and Woodward.

Of the 89 arrested, 67 had criminal convictions. All but one were men and they ranged in age from 19 to 60. Twenty-three of those arrested have illegally re-entered the United States after being deported.