U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently apprehended an illegal immigrant in Texas, who was wanted for murder in Guatemala.

Dennis Alexander Valenzuela, 37, was arrested on Jan. 31 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, according to a statement from ICE.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILD IN THE US AFTER BEING REMOVED FROM THE COUNTRY FIVE TIMES 

"Our officers pursue criminal aliens who attempt to hide in the shadows of our communities daily," said acting ICE Dallas field office director Joshua Johnson. "The apprehension and pending removal of this individual underscores our dedication to upholding the laws of our country and safeguarding our communities."

Valenzuela, who is from Guatemala, entered the United States at or near Hidalgo, Texas on June 16, 2021, without an immigration inspection, admission, or parole by an immigration officer, according to ICE.

US MILITARY FLYING SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT FOR RECONNAISSANCE MISSIONS ALONG SOUTHERN BORDER WITH MEXICO 

U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered Valenzuela on the same day and served him a Notice to Appear, pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, officials noted.

Valenzuela will be housed at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, pending removal proceedings, according to the statement.

The Senate on Saturday voted to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, making her the fourth of President Donald Trump’s nominees to win approval from the chamber.

The vote was 59–34, with all Republicans present voting yes and seven Democrats voting yes. Noem had been expected to be confirmed comfortably, having faced no significant issues during her confirmation hearing. Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by a vote of 13–2. Only two Democrats voted against her there. 

Noem becomes the fourth of President Donald Trump's picks to be confirmed, behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. 

KRISTI NOEM BEATS SENATE CONFIRMATION HURDLE, ADVANCING TO FINAL VOTE FOR DHS ROLE

Noem will lead the department at a time when securing the border and tackling illegal immigration are top priorities for the new administration. The administration has taken a number of actions to secure the border, including deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era parole programs. 

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been launching deportation operations throughout the country to fulfill Trump’s promise of a "historic" operation.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a slew of memos since Trump's inauguration, ordering reviews of parole and expanding the ability of officials to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. who have recently arrived. Those memos have been signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman. 

TRUMP DHS PICK NOEM PLEDGES TO END CONTROVERSIAL APP USED BY MIGRANTS ON ‘DAY ONE’ 

At her confirmation hearing, Noem pointed to other parts of the Homeland Security mission, including cybersecurity, disaster relief and counterterrorism. 

"We must be vigilant and proactive and innovative to protect the homeland," she said. "The challenges in front of us are extremely significant, and we must secure our borders against illegal trafficking and immigration. We must safeguard our critical infrastructure to make sure that we're protected against cyber attacks, respond to natural disasters and also terrorism."

However, she emphasized that border security is a "top priority."

"As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm. And we must create a fair and lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective, and that reflects our values," she said. 

As governor, she pledged in 2021 not to take any more migrants from the Biden administration and also deployed the National Guard to the border in Texas. She also had experience with disaster response, working with federal officials to tackle floods that hit the state in June.

At her hearing, Noem was also asked about how she would work with border czar Tom Homan, who has been tapped to lead the deportation effort and secure the border.

Noem responded by saying that she and Homan "work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we'll be working together on a daily basis when we're in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there's no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I'm in the role."

Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is requesting that the federal government reimburse his state more than $11.1 billion for taxpayer money spent on securing the southern border during former President Joe Biden's administration.

Abbott, who sent letters to U.S. Congressional members on Thursday, said the Biden administration's "refusal to do its job the last four years" resulted in the crisis at the southern border that has spilled into the rest of the country.

"President Biden’s policies left Texas and the rest of America defenseless against an unprecedented infiltration of violent criminals, known terrorists, and other hostile foreign actors, like the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua," the governor wrote.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN INTRODUCES BILL TO REIMBURSE TEXAS FOR BILLIONS SPENT TO SECURE BORDER

In response to the federal government's lack of action at the border, Abbott took matters into his own hands and launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, which deployed the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to the US-Mexico border.

Operation Lone Star has reduced illegal immigration into Texas by 87% over the past four years, proving the "effectiveness of President Donald Trump's border measures," according to Abbott, who added that his efforts have shone a national spotlight on the crisis.

The governor outlined that the operation has also resulted in the apprehension of more than half a million illegal immigrants, stopped more than 140,000 illegal attempts to enter the US, made more than 50,000 criminal arrests, seized more than half a billion lethal doses of fentanyl, built more than 240 miles of border barriers and established the only National Guard base along the Texas-Mexico border.

"In short, Texas stepped up where the federal government refused and in doing so, protected all Americans from President Biden’s dangerous policies," Abbott wrote.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS RENEW PUSH TO REIMBURSE TEXAS FOR 'OPERATION LONE STAR' BORDER SECURITY PUSH

Though he is proud of the operation, Abbott noted that its success came with a high price tag of more than $11.1 billion, which has been, and continues to be, paid by Texas taxpayers when it "should have been the federal government's responsibility."

In a document breaking down the costs, Abbott said that prior to the Biden administration, the state of Texas spent approximately $800 million every two years to supplement federal efforts at the border.

"The burden that our State has borne is a direct result of a refusal by the federal government to do its job," Abbott wrote. "The work that Texas has done through Operation Lone Star has protected and will continue to benefit the entire country."

House Republicans have introduced bills in the past requesting Texas be reimbursed for the billions spent on border security, but legislation has never been passed.

President Trump on Monday made a number of ambitious announcements on border security and immigration, eyeing a sweeping overhaul of U.S. policy and likely fueling pushback from Democrats and immigration activists in the weeks and months ahead.

Trump used his inaugural address to outline his plans to fulfill his campaign promises to seal the southern border and launch a historic mass deportation campaign.

"First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted," Trump said moments after being inaugurated. "And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."

TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,' SAYS AMERICA'S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Fox News had previewed Trump’s immigration moves, which include deploying the military to the border, ending Biden-era parole policies, restoring border wall construction and designating international cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. 

Trump also will be ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants, suspending refugee resettlement and creating a rapid removal process that does not allow for an asylum claim, officials told reporters.

Officials told reporters in a press call that Trump would sign an order clarifying language in the 14th Amendment and stating that the federal government "will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States."

Trump reiterated many of these promises in his address.

TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

"We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch-and-release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations," he said. 

"And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities."

TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY 1

"As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions," he said. "And that is exactly what I am going to do. We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before." 

Trump made tackling illegal immigration, including a mass deportation operation, a central theme of his 2024 campaign.

Polls showed Americans saw illegal immigration as a top issue during the 2024 election, and some Democrats in Congress recently have supported legislation to require the detention of certain illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Police in the Mexican state of Chihuahua believe that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua may be behind the murder of a Mexican immigration official just south of the U.S. border.

The Mexican immigration agent, Luis Alberto Olivas, was pushed down a hill and stoned to death by two Venezuelan migrants identified as David J.V. and Carlos Arichuna S.M. on Dec. 30. The murder took place by a military checkpoint close to Ciudad Juárez, just south of El Paso, Texas.

According to Border Report, Mexican authorities believe that at least one of the Venezuelans is suspected of being a member of Tren de Aragua (TdA), which is a transnational criminal organization that facilitates much of the drug and human trafficking in the area.

TREN DE ARAGUA ARE IDEOLOGICAL TERRORISTS DISGUISED AS A STREET GANG WARNS FORMER MILITARY OFFICER

Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya told Border Report that one of the alleged killers "has the tattoos that we have identified as probably linked to Tren de Aragua" and that police have shared this information with other agencies and are "waiting for the next binational meeting to have it checked in [American] databases."

The tattoo in question depicts an owl, a symbol that according to Mexican investigative journalist Luis Chaparro is "often found on Tren de Aragua members" and often indicates a human smuggler "guide."

According to local news source "El Diario MX," the two possible Tren de Aragua members threw stones at Olivas’ chest, pushed him, causing him to fall six meters down a hill, and then smashed his head with a large stone, killing him.

TRUMP DIGS INTO BIDEN ADMIN FOR SELLING OFF BORDER WALL AT ‘FIVE CENTS ON THE DOLLAR’

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

TdA has been active on the U.S. southern border in recent weeks. On Dec. 31, the Texas Department of Public Safety caught four confirmed TdA members trying to sneak into the U.S illegally.

The individuals were identified as Segundo Ocando-Mejia, 39; Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, 27; Antonio Joe Urruttia-Rojas, 18; and Levi Jesus Urrutia-Blanco, 18. Ocando-Mejia had tattoos on his shoulders indicating he may hold rank or leadership within the gang.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has led many efforts to secure the border and clamp down on TdA, responded to the arrests by saying: "Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua."

Mexico is developing an app that will allow migrants in the U.S. facing deportation to alert their family members and local U.S. consulates if they are about to be detained by authorities, a senior official said Friday. He added that his government plans to ensure that each Mexican citizen is given due process in the U.S. before being potentially ejected from the country. 

The app, called "Alert Button," is being designed in anticipation of the mass deportations of illegal migrants expected to occur after President-elect Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20. A cornerstone of Trump’s second term in office is to secure the border and carry out the largest mass deportation program the U.S. has ever seen.

Many Mexican nationals who are in the U.S. illegally will likely be targeted by the new Trump administration. The Mexican government estimates there are 11.5 million migrants with some form of legal residency in the United States and 4.8 million without legal residency or proper documents. 

NEW REPORT REVEALS MASSIVE NUMBER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BENEFITING FROM BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN'S 'QUIET AMNESTY'

The new app, which is expected to be available in January, will allow users to press a tab to send an alert notification to previously chosen relatives and the nearest Mexican consulate, of which there are 53 in the U.S.

"In case you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you push the alert button and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate," Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs Juan Ramón de la Fuente said.

He said it has already been rolled out for small-scale testing and "appears to be working very well." 

De la Fuente described it as a sort of panic button, adding that his office has beefed up its consular staff by hiring "329 legal representatives" to ensure that Mexicans facing deportation will be given due process and are properly informed of their rights before potential removal. 

U.S. authorities are obliged to notify home-country consulates when a foreign citizen is detained and Mexico says its consular staff will offer legal aid to help migrants in the legal process related to deportation. 

The government says it has also set up a call center staffed 24 hours a day to answer migrants’ questions and help educate them on their rights ahead of "possible arrests or other intimidating actions."

De la Fuente said in a statement that the Mexican government will defend the human rights of its citizens in the U.S. in strict compliance with international law.

BIDEN ADMIN FACES SCRUTINY OVER RESPONSE TO ‘SIGNIFICANT RISE’ OF ASSAULTS ON BORDER PATROL AGENTS

"We want to tell our fellow countrymen that they are not alone and they will not be alone," he said, reiterating that there is a consular network that is up to the task.

The foreign minister said that in order to deport someone from the U.S. a court order or removal ruling is needed and that his consular team will be "very vigilant in ensuring that due process is followed."

Trump has already clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over immigration and proposed a 25% tariff on imported goods from Mexico over the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs. Sheinbaum said that such a move could lead to a trade war between the countries and insisted her government has already been clamping down on migrants crossing into the U.S.

The U.S. recorded an unprecedented number of illegal migrants flowing across its borders under the Biden-Harris administration. The number of illegal immigrants on ICE's non-detained docket exploded to nearly 7.7 million, more than double what it was when Trump left office. It was at 3.2 million at the end of FY 2020.

The annual ICE report released in October shows that ICE deported 271,484 illegal immigrants to 192 different countries in fiscal year 2024. Of those, 32.7% had criminal histories and 237 were known or suspected terrorists.

It’s a significant increase from more than 142,000 deported in FY 23, and around 72,000 in FY 2022. In FY 2020, the last year of the Trump administration and which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, there were around 185,000 deportations and in FY 2019 there were 267,000 deportations. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President-elect Trump filed an amicus brief late Thursday in support of a legal effort by Texas and Missouri to "immediately" stop the Biden administration’s sale of border wall materials, saying the action is "possibly criminal." 

Texas and Missouri filed a motion earlier this week in a district court in the southern district of Texas to hold a status conference to determine if the government is in breach of the court’s permanent injunction from earlier this year. That injunction barred the Biden administration from using funds obligated for wall construction for anything other than that purpose. 

'PATTERN OF DISREGARD': RED STATES SEEK COURT ACTION AGAINST BIDEN ADMIN'S ‘SHAMEFUL’ BORDER WALL DISPOSAL

"The Court should issue an order directing the Defendants to immediately stop any ongoing sale of border-barrier materials to private parties pending the Court’s review of Defendant’s conduct, and the Court should swiftly conduct a searching examination of the Government’s conduct, by formal discovery if necessary, to examine the Government’s compliance with the law, the Constitution, and the Court’s injunction," Trump’s amicus brief states. 

The Biden administration has been auctioning off border wall parts since at least 2023, with parts listed for sale on auction marketplaces, after it abruptly shut down most border wall construction in 2021.

Those auctions have continued, with border officials telling Fox that auctions now occur weekly and have been for some time. However, the practice made news last week, when The Daily Wire published video showing parts being transported and cited Border Patrol agents who said the goal was to clear them out before Christmas.

Trump’s amicus brief states that if officials in the Biden administration are "deliberately selling off border-wall materials at a major financial loss to the Government to obstruct the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump, such conduct likely constitutes a criminal act, such as a conspiracy to defraud the United States." 

"At the very least, the reported conduct raises troubling concerns of potentially criminal behavior," the filing states. 

GOP SENATOR MOVES TO BLOCK FEDS FROM DISPOSING OF BORDER WALL MATERIALS AMID AUCTION BACKLASH 

A Defense official told Fox News last week that the Pentagon has been disposing of excess wall construction in accordance with the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Defense secretary to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. That plan was submitted in March.

The official said border states, including Texas, were first offered that material for purchase before auction. The official also said the materials no longer belong to the U.S. government, adding the Defense Department has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of it.

"Through our reutilization, transfer and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California," the official said. "The remaining 40% was sold to GovPlanet under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GovPlanet online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DOD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

However, those statements have not stopped the outrage from Republicans, who see the auctions as a move to stop the Trump administration from building the wall. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., introduced legislation this week to put a halt to the auctions.

Trump, meanwhile, said on Monday he had been working with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others to acquire the materials.

"What they're doing is really an act, it's almost a criminal act," he said. "They know we're going to use it, and if we don't have it, we're going to have to rebuild it. And it'll cost double what it cost years ago, and that's hundreds of millions of dollars because you're talking about a lot of, a lot of wall."

Paxton said in a statement that Texas is going to court to "prevent any border security materials from being unlawfully sold and to find out the truth about what the federal government may be doing to subvert border wall construction."

‘STANDING BY TO HELP’: RED STATE REVEALS PLAN TO PURCHASE AUCTIONED BORDER WALL MATERIALS TO STORE FOR TRUMP

"President Trump has an overwhelming mandate from the American people to build the wall and I will do everything in my power to prevent any acts of sabotage by the outgoing administration," he said.

Texas has said it intends to do all it can to help the incoming administration build the wall at the southern border when Trump enters office.

"The Biden Administration's latest attempt to block Texas and President-Elect Donald Trump's efforts to secure the southern border is downright shameful and demonstrates a continued pattern of disregard for the safety of Texas and American families in favor of increasingly disastrous open border policies," Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Officials said this week they intend to purchase the auctioned off materials, and Buckingham said she intends to store it on state land for the new administration.

"I made a promise to use every tool at my disposal from the GLO to secure our border and protect Texans," Buckingham said in the statement to Fox. "That is why I have offered state leaders and President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to store any wall panels his incoming administration may acquire on state land. I will never give up the fight to secure our porous southern border and protect our sons and daughters from violent, criminal illegal immigrants."

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.