Did Trump Back Off Mass Deportations? ICE Confusion Sparks MAGA Backlash (Ep 852)

Just the Truth Podcast with Joey Hudson Did the Trump administration just back away from its mass-deportation policy? That question is creating a major debate among some of President Trump’s strongest immigration supporters after reported guidance instructed some ICE offices to pull back on arrests of illegal immigrants who did not have additional criminal histories. The reaction was immediate. Immigration hawks accused the administration of sending mixed signals and potentially retreating from one of President Trump’s biggest campaign promises. But then came another twist. The guidance was rescinded within hours. President Trump says his policy has NOT changed. The White House says ICE continues to prioritize the “worst of the worst,” but that does not mean other people who are in the country illegally are exempt from arrest. So what happened? Was this an actual change in policy? Was it a miscommunication inside ICE? And why did it produce such a strong reaction from some of Trump’s own supporters? We’ll separate what was actually ordered from the political reaction surrounding it. 💰 FBI SAYS $17 BILLION SEIZED IN GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN Then we have an extraordinary number from FBI Director Kash Patel. $17 BILLION. Patel says that is roughly how much the FBI has seized in assets tied to massive overseas scam operations targeting Americans. The effort is called Operation Blackout. And these aren’t necessarily scammers sitting alone behind a laptop. The FBI describes sprawling scam compounds operating in places including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. Some operate almost like cities. The criminal networks use sophisticated investment scams, cryptocurrency schemes and online relationship scams to convince victims to hand over enormous amounts of money. Older Americans are frequently targeted. And there’s another disturbing side to this story: Some of the people carrying out these scams are themselves victims of human trafficking, forced to work inside compounds controlled by criminal organizations. The FBI says Operation Blackout combines overseas raids, asset seizures, disruption of communications networks, rescue efforts involving trafficked workers and attempts to recover stolen money for victims. If you have parents or grandparents who spend time online, this is a segment you may want to share with them. We’ll explain how these scams work, what warning signs families should recognize and what the FBI is doing to shut them down. 🏊‍♀️ RILEY GAINES’ NCAA LAWSUIT DISMISSED Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines has suffered a major setback in her lawsuit against the NCAA. A federal judge granted summary judgment to the NCAA on the remaining Title IX claims brought by Gaines and more than a dozen other current and former female college athletes. But there’s an important distinction in this ruling. The judge did NOT decide whether the NCAA’s former transgender-athlete policy discriminated against female athletes. Instead, the case turned on a technical but crucial legal question: Does the NCAA itself receive federal financial assistance? That matters because Title IX applies to education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. The athletes argued that the NCAA qualified through its relationship with federally funded institutions and a concussion-research partnership involving the Department of Defense. U.S. District Judge Tiffany Johnson disagreed. She concluded that the evidence did not establish that the NCAA itself received federal funds. Without that connection, she ruled that the plaintiffs’ Title IX claims against the NCAA could not proceed. Gaines says this fight isn’t finished. She and the other plaintiffs plan to appeal the ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, the NCAA policy at the center of the original lawsuit is no longer in effect. The organization changed its participation rules in February 2025 following President Trump’s executive order on women’s sports. We’ll explain what the judge actually decided, what she did NOT decide and where the case could go next. ⚠️ DISTURBING SOUTH CAROLINA CASE INVOLVING TWO CHILDREN And finally, a horrific story out of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Authorities say a mother stabbed her two young children dozens of times during an attack inside their home. The children are just 6 and 3 years old. Investigators say the two suffered roughly 50 stab wounds combined. According to authorities, some of the wounds were so severe they reached bone. The 6-year-old reportedly faces the possibility of losing fingers and possibly an arm because of the extent of his injuries. Police discovered the children after the older child reportedly called his grandmother and told her he was hungry. That prompted a welfare check. Officers arrived to find the children alone, badly injured and covered in blood. Their mother, 35-year-old Taylor Gosnell, returned to the house shortly afterward. Authorities say she was eventually taken into custody. Gosnell is charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. She has been denied bond. These are allegations, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The good news in an otherwise horrific story is that both children were reported in stable condition and are expected to survive. We’ll have the latest details on the investigation. 📩 Join our mailing list at JoeyHudson.com 📱 Firmin Ford Text Line: 864-477-JOEY (5639) Your texts are always welcome, and you can also leave a voice message that could be aired on a future podcast. Subscribe for daily political analysis, breaking national news, South Carolina stories, consumer alerts and conversations about the issues affecting American families. Facebook: facebook.com/joeyhudsononline X: @joeyhudson #DonaldTrump #ICE #Immigration #MassDeportation #BorderSecurity #KashPatel #FBI #OperationBlackout #Scams #Fraud #RileyGaines #NCAA #TitleIX #WomensSports #SouthCarolina #Spartanburg #BreakingNews #JustTheTruth