Quick Takes from the Past 24-48 Hours

The following is an installment of Trump-Vance team accomplishments (each article is linked for further info):

1. Trump Reportedly Directs Military to Draw Up Plans Increasing Panama Canal Troop Presence

The U.S. Southern Command will allegedly consider several options, from further partnership with the Panamanian government all the way to a potential seizure of the canal, two officials with knowledge of the planning told NBC News.

Trump reiterated his pledge to reclaim the canal in his joint address to congress Mar. 6, saying his administration would regain control of the vital shipping lane to “further enhance our national security.”

Further:

The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others, but others could use it. But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure.

It was given away by the Carter administration for $1, but that agreement has been violated very severely. We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.

The use of military force to take the canal would be unlikely, however, Panamanian President Mulino responded to President Trump’s threats, saying the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama,” denying that it was a “concession or a gift from the United States.”

During Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Panama Feb. 2, he made clear to Panama’s leaders “the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal” was not acceptable.

2. Trump Admin Reveals Biden-Era ICE Data Was Faked to Hide Scale of Border Crisis from Public

According to a comprehensive internal ICE review, many instances classified as arrests during the Obiden years were, in reality, cases where individuals were processed and subsequently released—“cooking the books” to manipulate public perception.

In the fiscal year 2024, ICE recorded 113,431 arrests, though a majority were classified as “pass-through” arrests.

Such arrests often involved minimal enforcement actions, contrasting significantly with current measures.

Officials have clarified that recent operations are focused strictly on enforcement rather than brief or symbolic actions.

The Trump administration has reversed several policies from Biden’s tenure, increasing military presence at borders, limiting asylum, and conducting raids in predetermined sanctuary cities.

These strategies aim to enhance both the frequency and depth of enforcement actions by federal authorities and have been linked to reduced encounters at U.S. southern borders.

3. Trump Has Questions About Biden’s Autopen Use

The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project investigated and found auto signatures for a number of Biden pardons, executive orders, and other actions.

The Oversight Project explained:

We gathered every document we could find with Biden’s signature over the course of [the four-year period]. All used the same autopen signature except for the announcement that [he] was dropping out of the race last year.

Further:

WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOPEN

CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY.

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation and has some questions.

4. Trump Has ‘Productive’ Conversation with Putin, Demands Ukraine Soldiers Surrounded by Russia Be Spared

President Trump said he has had a “productive” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring peace to the war between Russia and Ukraine and demanded that some Ukrainian soldiers that have been surrounded by the Russian military forces be spared.

This comes after Putin had said that he liked the “idea” of a ceasefire with Ukraine when he was asked about a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine on Thursday.

Putin said at the time:

So the idea is good, and we absolutely support it, but there are issues we need to discuss and I think we need to negotiate with our American colleagues and partners, but the very idea of ending this conflict by peaceful means—we support that.

Putin also indicated he would need to speak to Trump before an agreement would be made.

He said the Ukrainian troops that are surrounded by the Russian army “will have to surrender or die” in order for a peace agreement to be met. Ukraine has agreed to terms for a ceasefire, so long as Russia also accepts the agreement.

5. USPS Working with DOGE to Trim Fat, Expected Cuts of 10K Employees

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy plans to cut 10,000 workers and billions of dollars from the U.S. Postal Service budget and he will do that working with Elon Musk ‘s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a letter sent to members of Congress on Thursday.

DOGE will assist USPS with addressing “big problems” at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has sometimes struggled in recent years to stay afloat. The agreement also includes the General Services Administration in an effort to help the Postal Service identify and achieve “further efficiencies.”

USPS listed such issues as mismanagement of the agency’s retirement assets and Workers’ Compensation Program, as well as an array of regulatory requirements that the letter described as “restricting normal business practice.”

The agency previously announced plans to cut its operating costs by more than $3.5 billion annually. And this isn’t the first time thousands of employees have been cut. In 2021, the agency cut 30,000 workers.

6. Vice President J.D. Vance Vows to Eradicate the Illegal Alien Crisis by Ramping Up Deportations

The propaganda media insisted Trump’s immigration plans were “impossible” and “unrealistic.” Well, not only was securing the border possible, the Trump-Vance team will have sleighed that dragon in well less than 100 days.

With border crossings slashed by over 95% and operational control largely achieved, the next “impossible task” will be mass deportations. Is that same cabal of colluding news fabricators laughing now?

From Fox News:

Vice President JD Vance said he expects deportation numbers to rise as the Trump administration shifts from gaining operational control of the southern border to ramping up efforts to remove [illegals] from the country…

‘…detention facilities were underfunded,’ he said. ‘…ICE, which does most of the actual deportations, was radically underfunded, really sort of in some ways destroyed by Biden. We’re building that capacity up.’

The results speak for themselves. According to data released by ICE officials, agents made 32,809 arrests between January 20 and March 10—that’s approximately 656 arrests per day. For comparison, under Biden, ICE was averaging just 255 arrests daily.

The Trump administration repurposed the Obiden CBP One app. Under Biden, it was used to facilitate entry for asylum seekers. Now, it’s being used to help illegals self-deport.

Vance explained:

We’re going to encourage a lot of people to do [that].

It’s an all-of-the-above approach that combines enforcement with incentives for voluntary compliance.

Success, however, brings its own challenges. With detention facilities already at capacity—currently holding 47,600 detainees according to Newsweek—the administration is working with other federal agencies to expand capacity.

Of the migrants arrested so far, Newsweek reported 14,111 have prior criminal convictions and 9,980 face pending criminal charges—1,555 of those arrested were suspected gang members and 39 were known or suspected terrorists—exactly the “bad hombres” Trump promised to target during his campaign.

But administration officials maintain that entering the country illegally is itself a violation of law—a point White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized when she stated all undocumented are considered criminals “because they illegally broke our nation’s laws.”