The Trump administration is preparing to expand passport revocations for parents who owe significant child support, limiting their ability to travel internationally until their arrears are addressed.

The State Department plans to increase enforcement of a 30-year-old federal law that allows the government to revoke U.S. passports for individuals with substantial unpaid child support, according to The Associated Press, which cited three U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

It is unclear how many people could ultimately be affected, though officials indicated the number could reach into the thousands. The State Department is expected to implement the changes in phases due to the potentially large number of passport holders who owe back child support, the officials said.

HUNTER BIDEN ACCUSED OF GHOSTING DAUGHTER WITH LUNDEN ROBERTS AND VIOLATING CHILD SUPPORT AGREEMENT

The first group to be targeted will be passport holders who owe more than $100,000 in past-due child support, the officials told the outlet. One official said fewer than 500 people meet that threshold. Those individuals could retain their passports if they enter into a payment plan with the Department of Health and Human Services after being notified of a pending revocation.

The official added that lowering the past-due threshold in the future would significantly increase the number of parents subject to enforcement.

It remains unclear when any further changes would take effect or how many people might have their passports revoked as a result.

STATE DEPARTMENT LISTS MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS IN ADDITION TO WORLD CUP, OLYMPICS EXEMPT FROM TRUMP'S VISA BAN

Passport revocations for unpaid child support exceeding $2,500 have been permitted under a 1996 law known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. In recent years, however, the State Department typically acted only when an individual applied to renew a passport or sought other consular services.

Under the updated approach, the department would begin revoking passports based on data shared by the Department of Health and Human Services, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press.

The State Department said in a statement to The Associated Press that it "is reviewing options to enforce long-standing law to prevent those owing substantial amounts of child support from neglecting their legal and moral obligations to their children."

"It is simple: deadbeat parents need to pay their child support arrears," the statement added.

Since the Passport Denial Program began with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, nearly $621 million in past-due child support payments have been made, including nine payments of more than $300,000, according to the Office of Child Support Enforcement at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Joe Biden will be feted by South Carolina Democrats later this month, to mark the sixth anniversary of his Palmetto State primary landslide, a comeback victory that rocketed Biden to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and later the White House.

But with many Democrats still smarting from their party's major 2024 election setbacks, fueled in part by a very unpopular Biden presidency and the then-president's dropping his re-election bid amid serious questions about his physical and mental abilities following a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump, the South Carolina celebration appears to be an outlier.

As they seek office in gubernatorial and congressional races in this year's elections, nine candidates who served in the Biden administration appear to be keeping their distance from the former president, according to a new report from Axios.

POTENTIAL 2028 CONTENDER SHAPIRO KNOCKS BIDEN'S RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

Biden ended his presidency with approval and favorable ratings well underwater, and the 13 months since he left office have not apparently healed the damage done to his standing among those in his own party.

"Biden remains a liability," a veteran Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital. "Being associated with the Biden administration is doing some candidates no favors as they run this year."

HOUSE DEMOCRATS ON OFFENSE: EXPAND THE 2026 MAP

That's a switch from the 2018 elections, the previous midterm cycle where Trump was in office and the Democrats were out of power, when former President Barack Obama as well as then-former Vice President Biden were in demand on the campaign trail.

Among those not highlighting Biden this cycle is Deb Haaland, a former House member from New Mexico who served as Department of the Interior secretary in the Biden administration and is now running for governor in the blue-leaning state. The former president isn't mentioned in Haaland's campaign website.

Another example is Xavier Becerra, who served as secretary of Health and Human Services under Biden and is now running for California governor. The former president isn't mentioned in Becerra's campaign launch video.

IT'S EARLY IN 2026, BUT THE 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE IS WELL UNDERWAY

But some Biden alumni running in solidly blue areas are mentioning their service during his administration. That includes Democratic congressional candidate Sanjyot Dunung, who is seeking office in Illinois 8th District. She mentions in her launch video that she served on Biden's foreign policy working group.

It's still too early to tell if the former president could end up being a drag on potential 2028 presidential contenders that served in his administration. Both former Vice President Kamala Harris and Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are seen as possible White House contenders.

For Democrats hoping Biden stays out of the limelight, the former president has mostly obliged. Biden has only made a handful of high-profile public appearances and sat for just a couple of major interviews since the end of his presidency.

Fox News reached out to Biden's post-presidency team for comment, but didn't receive a response at the time this story was published.

As House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith dropped the gavel at 10:05 a.m. on Tuesday opening a hearing on "malign foreign influence," the groups under scrutiny did not retreat, apologize or go silent.

They escalated.

Inside Room 1100 of the Longworth House Office Building, Smith warned that the U.S. nonprofit sector had become a vulnerability exploited by foreign adversaries. Outside the hearing room — across social media — far-left organizations tied to Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, born in the U.S. and living in Shanghai, pressed forward with rhetoric vilifying the United States for its alleged "colonial policies" and "imperialism" and amplifying narratives aligned with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, and communist allies like Cuba.

"This is not politics. It’s about national security," Smith said, as he opened the hearing titled "Foreign Influence in American Nonprofits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing." He said the committee was investigating "money trails" behind tax-exempt groups accused of "sowing chaos, fueling antisemitism," and interfering in elections.

HOUSE COMMITTEE INVESTIGATES LEFT-WING ORGANIZATIONS ‘SOWING CHAOS’ ACROSS US

During the hearing, Smith sharpened the warning.

"The CCP is taking advantage of our tax-exempt sector," he said.

For any organization allegedly breaking nonprofit tax laws, he said: "We’re coming for you!"

Breaking the fourth wall, Fox News Digital examined how the Singham network positioned itself outside the hearing room. A flurry of social media posts reveal that, even as Smith's words echoed in the hearing room, the ecosystem he described was aggressively putting forward their own rhetoric of defiance.

On Tuesday, during the hearing, CodePink, co-founded by Singham’s wife Jodie Evans, was circulating a narrative accusing the United States of enabling atrocities abroad. On its X social media account, CodePink shared an article claiming Israel had "evaporated" Palestinians in Gaza, concluding: "Horrors beyond comprehension — made possible by the United States."

The message mirrored language long pushed by U.S. adversaries, including the terrorist group Hamas. 

While CodePink activists often crash hearings, screaming interruptions and heckling Republicans, they didn't show up for this hearing, where their name was invoked several times for scrutiny.

In his opening remarks, Smith waved letters he had sent the night before to BreakThrough BT Media, a multimedia nonprofit, and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a think tank – both media entities funded by Singham – demanding records on their ties to Singham and alleging they promoted propaganda aligned with the Chinese Communist Party.

Online, the groups gave no indication they were retreating. BreakThrough News posted protest footage from San Francisco, even with drone video of teachers picketing, one of them carrying a bold yellow-and-black sign from the Party for Socialism and Liberation that read, "MAKE THE BILLIONAIRES PAY."

BreakThrough News showcased anti-U.S. narratives, one demonstrator shouting, "Enough is enough!"

The far-left groups persisted as Network Contagion Research Institute co-founder Adam Sohn testified, "This is engineered subversion," describing how foreign-aligned narratives move through U.S. nonprofits and activist networks.

The response from those networks was more performative "agitprop," a Soviet-era tactic for agitation propaganda. 

As lawmakers questioned witnesses about fiscal sponsorships and donor-advised funds, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which is also part of the Singham’s network, promoted street protests and posted videos declaring victory. 

One post from the Party for Socialism and Liberation from San Francisco racked up likes during the hearing, emblazoned with the words: "WE WILL WIN!"

That posture — aggressive, unapologetic and public — is exactly what experts warned about regarding the influence operation that U.S. adversaries are able to wage against the nation.

"They don’t need spies anymore," Sohn told lawmakers. "They can use nonprofits," like a Trojan horse, to "launder" their propaganda.

WATCH: HARDCORE SOCIALIST GROUPS STAGE-MANAGE ANTI-ICE PROTEST IN WASHINGTON

By late morning, Democratic Socialists of America, which has 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations, added their own signal of defiance. As lawmakers debated foreign narrative laundering, Democratic Socialists of America widely shared a post where it praised the Super Bowl halftime performance by the Puerto Rican sensation "Bad Bunny," as "a damning critique of the harms of U.S. colonial policies."

"As socialists in the U.S.," Democratic Socialists of America declared. "It is our duty to support the struggles of peoples across the world suffering from the full weight of U.S. imperialism."

The rhetoric landed as Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, testified that "foreigners abuse this sector in order to hide their influence ops."

"This committee is investigating money trails," Smith warned. "This is about national security."

Still, the messaging outside the room intensified.

The People’s Forum shared content praising communist Cuba and circulated a "Call to Conscience demanding an end to Trump’s assault on Cuba," even as Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick called the groups out for "digital laundering operations," the process of repackaging the narratives and rhetoric of foreign adversaries to make them appear organic from inside the U.S.

Inside the hearing, Smith warned, "If you are an American, you should be extremely concerned." He asked witnesses to walk through Singham’s "web" of nonprofits.

Outside, that web responded in kind.

Students for Justice in Palestine, a nonprofit ally of the groups in the Singham network, urged Americans to "END ALL OCCUPATIONS," whatever that meant, "from Palestine to Minneapolis."

By 1:45 p.m., Smith dropped the gavel again.

"The committee stands adjourned," he said.

Online, the campaign never paused. Democratic Socialists of America pushed a "Call to Conscience" to end the Trump administration’s "cruel blockade on Cuba." The People’s Forum, an "incubator" hub for Marxist groups in the Singham network, based in New York City, moved ahead with its Tuesday night event for "comrades."

It hosted an evening discussing the "Hidden Histories of Rebellion in the US."

FIRST ON FOX: Hours before banging the gavel to commence a hearing Tuesday to investigate the dynamic of "malign foreign influence," House Committee on Ways and Means chair Jason Smith escalated his investigation into the China-based, American-born Marxist tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, who has allegedly been "sowing chaos and spreading Chinese propaganda, possibly in coordination with a foreign government."

Fox News Digital has obtained copies of letters that Smith sent on Monday night to two U.S. nonprofits – BreakThrough BT Media Inc. and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research – demanding records of their ties to Singham and alleging they are promoting propaganda aligned with the Chinese Communist Party.

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Smith will chair a hearing called, "Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond." The hearing will be broadcast online at the committee’s website. Singham, Tricontinental and BreakThrough BT Media, which publishes articles as "BreakThrough News," didn't respond to requests for comment.

Congressional investigators say the Singham network sits at the center of a malign foreign influence operation that allegedly exploits U.S. nonprofit laws to inject anti-American propaganda into domestic protest movements and sow discord from within the United States.

In separate letters, Smith demanded records from BreakThrough and Tricontinental, warning that both tax-exempt organizations may be operating outside their lawful purpose as possible unregistered foreign agents, while helping to fuel domestic unrest under the guise of journalism and academic research.

ANTI-ICE 'DIGITAL MINUTEMEN' USE MILITARY-GRADE SURVEILLANCE TACTICS AGAINST FEDS

The letters describe a full-spectrum operation, with funding aligned with foreign interests flowing into tax-exempt nonprofits that produce ideological research, media narratives and social media messaging, which are then deployed onto U.S. streets through tightly choreographed protests.

Over the past year, Fox News Digital has documented a pattern of coordinated protests by socialist, communist and Marxist groups, revealing a synchronized ecosystem of funding, media amplification, ideological framing and street-level mobilization that aligns with the strategic interests of hostile foreign governments, including the People’s Republic of China.

"Tax-exempt status is a privilege not a right," Smith told Fox News Digital. "Nonprofits must remain accountable and refuse to act as instruments of hostile foreign governments."

The Ways and Means Committee "continues to investigate how foreign money and foreign-linked networks are funneled through tax-exempt entities to sow discord and unrest in our society," he said. "That’s why we’re demanding answers from Tricontinental and BreakThrough about their funding streams, activities and communications with CCP-linked individuals, including Neville Roy Singham."

"If the evidence shows these groups are acting as conduits for CCP-aligned propaganda or functioning like foreign agents while enjoying U.S. tax benefits, their tax-exempt status should be revoked immediately," Smith said. "We’re going to follow the money and demand accountability to put a stop to Beijing’s exploitation of our tax-exempt sector."

In his letter to Karla Reyes, chair and director of BreakThrough, Smith wrote that he was "disturbed by the connections between BreakThrough and Chinese Communist Party linked organizations" and launched an inquiry into whether the outlet deserves its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Smith emphasized that the investigation is not about suppressing speech but about whether nonprofit protections are being abused. He wrote that, under federal law, "if more than an insubstantial part of an organization’s activities is not in furtherance of a tax-exempt purpose…the organization is not operated exclusively for such exempt purpose." He cited Supreme Court precedent stating that "the presence of a single nonexempt purpose, if substantial in nature, will destroy the exemption regardless of the number or importance of truly exempt purposes."

In the letter, Smith warned that receiving funding from "an individual who lives in Shanghai, maintains business ties with companies and individuals linked to the CCP, works with and physically alongside a foreign propaganda company, and attends CCP forums on how to promote the party abroad" raises "serious questions" about whether BreakThrough qualifies as an "agent of a foreign principal" under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

THE FAR-LEFT NETWORK THAT HELPED PUT ALEX PRETTI IN HARM'S WAY, THEN MADE HIM A MARTYR

Since its inception, he noted that BreakThrough has produced and distributed content that "aligns with pro-CCP rhetoric across both the United States and the globe." Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Smith wrote that BreakThrough News "dramatically shifted their coverage in a way that suggests its intent on sowing division within the United States," while portraying China in an "overwhelmingly positive light."

As reported, BreakThrough was one of the first social media accounts to publish the video of the killing of anti-ICE demonstrator Alex Pretti.

The investigation places BreakThrough within a broader network that includes Tricontinental, the People’s Forum, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER Coalition, groups that Fox News Digital has documented working alongside organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America to mobilize protests, train "rapid responders" and flood social media with coordinated narratives during flashpoint events, from immigration enforcement actions to the arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

BreakThrough was also one of the first social media accounts to publish video of the U.S. strike over Caracas when Maduro was arrested.

SECOND FRONT: HOW A SOCIALIST CELL IN THE US MOBILIZED PRO-MADURO FOOT SOLDIERS WITHIN 12 HOURS

In his letter to Vijay Prashad, executive director of Tricontinental, Smith said that he was "disturbed by the connections between yourself, Tricontinental and organizations linked to the CCP." He described Tricontinental as an organization that has been "responsible for spreading Marxist and anti-American rhetoric across both the United States and the globe," and possibly "sowing chaos and spreading Chinese propaganda, possibly in coordination with a foreign government."

Committee investigators tied Prashad directly to Chinese state-linked institutions, noting his role as a senior fellow at a think tank connected to China’s Ministry of Education and his participation in conferences hosted by universities funded by the Chinese Communist Party. He also detailed Tricontinental’s financial relationship with Maku Group, a Chinese media company whose stated mission is to "tell China’s story well," and disclosed that Tricontinental paid the firm more than $2.1 million for "research, analysis, and translation services."

The committee also documented Tricontinental’s deep financial and structural ties to Singham, noting that the organization received millions of dollars from entities linked to him, employs his son as a researcher and lists Singham as chair of its international advisory board. Multiple reports, Smith wrote, have found that Tricontinental is "part of Mr. Singham’s network of non-profit organizations that serve as his conduits to spread pro-CCP narratives," including media outlets where Prashad appears regularly.

Researchers say the nonprofits under scrutiny engage in a dynamic known as "narrative convergence," echoing the propaganda of foreign adversaries. In a new report, the Network Contagion Research Institute, based in Princeton, N.J., documented how the Democratic Socialists of America sent delegations to China, Cuba and Venezuela and then, upon returning to the United States, deployed slogans at protests that mirror the anti-U.S. rhetoric of those governments.

The institute concluded that the Democratic Socialists of America "exhibits multiple indicators" warranting scrutiny as a foreign lobbyist. Democratic Socialists of America didn't return a request for comment.

Smith echoed those concerns in his Tricontinental letter, warning that the People’s Forum and allied groups "continued to organize protests aligned with Chinese talking points," including demonstrations that "turned violent in Minnesota."

National security analysts say the hearing represents a critical moment in what they describe as a new cognitive war, in which foreign adversaries seek to weaponize outrage, protest and information to weaken the United States from within.

The first time I spoke to Jeff Bezos, he had founded Amazon as an online bookstore and made himself available to all kinds of journalists — a "political genius," said the New York Times Magazine, a "brilliant, charming, hyper, and misleadingly goofy mastermind." In 1999, having blown past the naysayers who scoffed at the strange notion of online retailing, the 35-year-old businessman was named Time’s Person of the Year.

Nearly a decade-and-a-half later, as one of the world’s richest men, Bezos spent $250 million of his personal fortune to buy the Washington Post from Katharine Graham’s family.

And now he should fold his cards and sell it.

It’s a different era for the industry and a very different Bezos, one who is comfortable slashing a third of the paper’s staff.

EX-WASHINGTON POST FACT CHECKER HITS ‘ABSENTEE OWNER’ BEZOS, TELLS HIM TO COMMIT TO SAVING PAPER OR SELL IT

Having initially declared that "the duty of the paper is to the readers, not the owners," Bezos, whose Blue Origin company has federal contracts, is actively trying to repair his once-strained relationship with President Donald Trump. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.

While management has made more than its share of mistakes, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Bezos has destroyed what was once one of America’s great newspapers.

I bring my personal history to the table. I spent 29 years at the Post, working for Bob Woodward’s investigative SWAT team, as Justice Department reporter, as New York bureau chief, and eventually as media reporter and columnist.

In the 1980s and ’90s, when newspapers really mattered, the Post, while lacking the resources of the New York Times, delivered scoops with an all-star team, from politics (David Broder and Dan Balz) to sports (Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon and Tom Boswell) to the metro desk (Woodward and Bernstein). And there was the freewheeling Style section of Sally Quinn and many other narrative writers.

This was the paper of Watergate, helping to drive Richard Nixon from office, after defying his administration in running the Pentagon Papers, documenting the lies of the Vietnam War. It was the newspaper of the legendary Ben Bradlee, whose retirement I covered after being secretly briefed. Despite occasional blunders (such as Janet Cooke’s fraud), it was glamorized in two movies (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in "All the President’s Men," Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in "The Post"), inspiring legions of young graduates to go into journalism.

When Bezos fired 300 journalists the other day, he completed the wave of destruction that had already left the Post a shell of its former self. Those dismissed included such remaining stars as Lizzie Johnson, who said she was "devastated" as she reported from the Ukraine war zone without heat or running water. And Marty Weil, a sardonic night-shift guy who has been at the paper for 60 years. And Sarah Ellison, an elegant writer who came from Vanity Fair. And this wrecking ball followed several earlier rounds of layoffs. 

Bezos doesn’t care. I just think he’s bored with the property he once believed would bring him instant credibility. He’s more interested in his rocket company. The Post is a blip on his global radar.

PROMINENT PITTSBURGH NEWSPAPER THAT PREVIOUSLY ENDORSED TRUMP TO SHUTTER THIS YEAR

I’m not in the camp that says Bezos should subsidize the paper forever just because he’s uber-rich. With the paper losing $100 million last year, he’s entitled to look for a path to profitability. But Bezos is getting absolutely hammered by the media. 

"We’re witnessing a murder," wrote Ashley Parker, now with the Atlantic.

Liberal commentator Charlie Sykes offered this headline: "Gutless Billionaire Guts the Post."

Former executive editor Marty Baron, who previously ran the prize-winning Boston Globe, declared: "Bezos’ sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left an especially ugly stain of their own. This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction."

Onetime Metro editor David Maraniss, a a mentor to so many at the paper, said: "He bought the Post thinking that it would give him some gravitas and grace that he couldn’t get from just billions of dollars, and then the world changed. Now I don’t think he gives a flying f***."

In fairness, many newspapers have struggled with the collapse of their business model, as classifieds and advertising migrated online, and people could get breaking news from their phones or watches. Some converted to websites; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is closing in May. 

More than a quarter of American newspapers have folded in the past two decades. Back in 1981, the Washington Star, where I worked, was shuttered as afternoon papers became obsolete.

But the Post is a classic case study of failure to adapt to the digital age. Katharine Graham was skeptical when she summoned me to explain this emerging universe.

EX-WASHINGTON POST CHIEF BLASTS 'GUTLESS' BEZOS AS PAPER ROCKED BY MAJOR LAYOFFS

In the Bezos era, the crashing waves of cutbacks meant asking readers to keep paying for a product that grew increasingly diminished over time, with its star players defecting to other major outlets. 

At first, Bezos took a hands-off approach, seemingly in sync with the newsroom culture. During Trump’s first term, he coined the slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness." But there was a drastic shift in 2024.

When the editorial board drafted an endorsement of Kamala Harris, Bezos killed it, which as the owner he has every right to do. Had he decided on a non-endorsement earlier, few would have cared. But Bezos wielded the ax a week before the election, and the furor was deafening. As the Post itself reported, more than 250,000 people canceled their subscriptions.

Four months later, Bezos decreed that the editorial pages would focus every day on promoting "personal liberties" and "free markets," banning any attempt to offer opposing views. Opinion Editor David Shipley, whose section had won two Pulitzers, resigned, and other editors and columnists cut ties with the Post.  

Meanwhile, the mogul socialized with the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago, and sat behind the president at his second inauguration.

Bezos himself, as everyone knows, is now quite the jet-setter. He found himself in the middle of a tabloid scandal when the National Enquirer published lewd texts between Bezos and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, as news of his divorce was breaking. The Enquirer also published pictures of his genitals, which he slammed as an attempt at blackmail. Bezos proposed to Sanchez on his 417-foot yacht, and they were married last spring in Venice, an extravaganza attended by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gayle King, Tom Brady and Kim Kardashian. The price tag for the multi-day celebrations was somewhere between $20 million and $50 million.

For Bezos, this was basically spare change. Peter Baker, a Post alumnus who is now chief White House correspondent at the Times and an MS NOW analyst, reports that Bezos’ net worth is up $224 billion since buying the Washington paper.

So why does Bezos need the headache? He should unload this distressed asset to someone who would have a fresh shot at resuscitating the Washington Post from its near-death experience–though in all candor, it’s probably too late.

A day after abolishing the Post’s sports section, CEO Will Lewis – who blew off the staff call explaining the layoffs – was walking the red carpet at the NFL Honors in San Francisco, an event leading up to the Super Bowl. Those who had lost their jobs, and their colleagues, were furious.

Even worse, he wouldn’t allow the Post to write about the sweeping layoffs. Seriously. His terse farewell note thanked only Bezos.

Back in the day, there would have been a half-dozen stories in the Post about the journalistic earthquake in its midst. But that was a long time ago.

A relatively brief, but lucrative ICE surge into West Virginia netted roughly 650 illegal immigrant arrests earlier this month — a two-week, statewide operation officials say unfolded with little disruption and now stands as a counterpoint to the turmoil surrounding similar enforcement efforts in Minnesota.

From Jan. 5 through Jan. 19, federal agents fanned out across the Mountain State — at times working with local law enforcement — targeting illegal immigrants with criminal histories or prior deportation orders, DHS officials told Fox News Digital.

Officials involved contrast the West Virginia operation with recent tensions in Minnesota, where ICE-related enforcement actions have sparked sustained protests, surveillance of federal agents and confrontations with law enforcement.

"I think the most important thing to notice here is that West Virginia and similarly situated states … have made it very, very easy for criminal illegal aliens to be picked up and processed by ICE," West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

MANY OF AMERICA’S SAFEST CITIES ARE IN JURISDICTIONS THAT COOPERATE WITH ICE

Some of the operations even reached the state’s bluer-tinged Eastern Panhandle, the fast-growing exurb of Washington, D.C., where officials say cooperation, not confrontation, defined the response.

There, Jefferson County Sheriff Thomas Hansen confirmed a two-week operation with ICE in his jurisdiction, which includes Charles Town, Harpers Ferry and Summit Point.

"The (JCSO) was impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of the agents and how well they interacted with the citizens and local law enforcement officers," Hansen said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

McCuskey said the lack of disruption in West Virginia reflected a cooperative approach that he argued prevented the kind of disorder seen elsewhere.

"When you contrast that with places like Minnesota, where you have Keith Ellison — who's obviously embroiled in a massive fraud scandal involving Somali immigrants, et cetera, what you see is riots and violence," he said.

McCuskey suggested the West Virginia mission shows Minnesota’s leadership can no longer blame federal law for its approach, noting that all states still operate under the same immigration statutes that have remained intact since the Obama administration.

TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION VICTORY IN A MINNESOTA COURT IS A WIN FOR ALL LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS

"All God-fearing Americans believe in immigration. We believe that the promise of this country should be available to those who want to come to America the right way, follow our laws, and become great parts of this incredible quilt that is the American experience," McCuskey said.

"And if your first act as a hopeful new American is to break our laws, that trust has been broken."

McCuskey also accused Minnesota’s leadership of failing on parallel issues, calling Ellison "dalliant" in confronting social services fraud.

"My office [oversees] the same things," he said, noting West Virginia also has a high proportion of residents on entitlements but lacks the level of fraud he says plagues Minnesota.

Just across the Potomac River from ICE’s Martinsburg sting, Maryland Democrats lambasted ICE’s presence in Washington County.

ICE REVEALS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP 'THUGS' CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES

McCuskey called that a "representation of the generalized idiocy of most of the Democrats in Congress, who have sat on their hands for the last 25 years and done nothing about the very immigration laws that they're very angry about being enforced."

Ellison, by contrast, showered protesters with praise at a recent public appearance, calling ICE's operations a "federal invasion" and telling those assembled in the Twin Cities that he "wanted you to know that I was here with you, fighting with you, standing with you. Keep fighting, stand up strong, don’t back down."

Fox News Digital reached out to Ellison and Gov. Tim Walz for comment, but neither office responded. DHS officials, however, said they expect states that cooperate with ICE to see similar success to West Virginia.

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said "work[ing] together can make America safe again."

DHS told Fox News Digital of similarly low-profile ICE operations in Alabama, including activity near Birmingham that netted a violent illegal immigrant accused of stabbing a federal agent, along with enforcement actions in other cities reported by local media.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Sen. Tommy Tuberville told Fox News Digital they will continue to welcome federal agents in the Yellowhammer State, with Tuberville, a candidate for governor, quipping that one mayor who has pledged to protect illegal immigrants "won’t like me very much" if he succeeds Ivey.

Those arrested in the West Virginia sweep included Mexican national Enrique Vergara — convicted of assault with a weapon — Guatemalan national Isaias Santos — convicted of several violent charges — Julian Garza, charged with auto theft; Brayan Canelis-Giron, charged with domestic violence and gun offenses; and Dennis Paz-Vallecillo, convicted of child neglect.

Not every Mountaineer leader was on board, however, as WVDP Chair Mike Pushkin — a state delegate from Kanawha County — told Fox News Digital people "have to be honest about what’s really going on here."

FROM PROTEST TO FELONY: THE LINES MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE AGITATORS MAY BE CROSSING

"The difference between what you’re seeing in Minnesota and what’s happening in West Virginia isn’t complicated — it’s courage," Pushkin said, crediting Minnesota leaders with standing up to President Donald Trump "trampl[ing] due process and ignor[ing] the Constitution."

"Republican leaders here won’t even clear their throats — and trying to compare the size and scope of the Minnesota operation to what happened here is just silly. That’s like comparing a house fire to a burnt piece of toast and pretending they’re the same emergency," he said.

Pushkin cited a Clinton-appointed judge’s order that some of the detainees be released, including two men picked up on the West Virginia Turnpike.

"In the court’s words, there wasn’t ‘a shred of evidence to justify the government’s position’ — that should be the headline. That should alarm anyone who cares about freedom or the rule of law," Pushkin said.

"Minnesota leaders pushed back. West Virginia’s Republican leadership just clicked their heels, saluted, and fell in line."

HOMAN ANNOUNCES DRAWDOWN OF FEDERAL PRESENCE IN MINNESOTA, HAILS 'UNPRECEDENTED COOPERATION' FROM LOCAL POLICE

Fox News Digital also asked several blue-state leaders about the cooperation contrast but heard back from only one.

A spokeswoman for California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that if the feds truly cared about getting "hardened criminals off our streets, they would pick up every person released from our state prisons that have immigration detainers placed on them."

Diana Crofts-Pelayo said there’s only a one-in-eight rate in that regard, which she said shows the Trump administration just wants to "cause panic and fear to ultimately ensure compliance to a dangerous immigration agenda that threatens Americans’ safety, affordability and freedom."

A California source familiar with the immigration enforcement dynamic there said that immigrants who commit crimes are subject to certain exceptions that do allow local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, particularly those charged with a violent felony.

DHS said that cooperation with federal law enforcement is the safest and most effective option for state officials.

"Sanctuary politicians who refuse to cooperate with DHS law enforcement are wasting law enforcement time, energy, and resources, while putting their own constituents in danger," McLaughlin told Fox News Digital, crediting West Virginia officials with allowing such a quick and effective operation and expressing hope that other states would follow suit.

Decorated Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin wants to represent her own "values" at this year's Milan Cortina Olympic Games.

"I think there's a lot of hardship in the world globally, and there's a lot of heartbreak. There's a lot of violence. It can be tough to reconcile that when you're also competing for medals at an Olympic event," the two-time gold medalist said during her media availability in Italy on Saturday.

During her extended answer, Shiffrin read aloud a quote from Nelson Mandela, which was also recited during the opening ceremonies.

"'Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is the creation of an environment where we can all flourish, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste, or any other social markers of difference,'" Shiffrin said, reading the quote from her phone.

"And for me, as this relates to the Olympics, I'm really hoping to show up and represent my own values. Values of inclusivity, values of diversity, and kindness, and sharing, tenacity, work ethic, showing up with my team every single day, and the values that we bring and put out on the mountain and on the hill every single day. I'm hoping to represent those who have been supporting me this entire time.

"I'm really thankful to be here, and my greatest hope for this Olympic Games, from a broader perspective, is that it is a beautiful show of cooperation and of competition."

The questioning for Shiffrin comes on the brink of numerous American athletes being asked how they felt representing the United States at the Australian Open as it pertains to President Donald Trump's current second term.

Anti-ICE protests occurred in Milan last week after the announcement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed at this year's Games. 

U.S. Embassy officials told The Associated Press last week that ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and would not run any immigration enforcement operations, considering they would be in a foreign country.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in the city, and he cited images of masked agents in Minneapolis. 

"This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt," Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE’s reported security involvement was revealed.

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