POLITIFACT THIS WEEK: Trump officials say ICE has higher detention standards than prisons, jails. Is that true?, Catch wind of this, DeSantis brushes off natural impact, The new size of ICE., You asked about Trump’s megabill. We answered., The MAGA-Meter: How Trump’s campaign promises fare at 6 months, Why does Grok post false, offensive things on X?, On Facebook, posts about celebrity donations for Texas relief efforts went viral. They were baseless., Do you smell smoke? Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week: There’s no evidence ICE deportation flights are dropping people in the ocean. An immigration activist who has tracked ICE flights for over five years said the claim is baseless.17JUL25

 

This week:  Answering reader questions about Trump’s megabill … Trump’s Pants on Fire underestimation of Chinese wind energy … How new law boosts ICE staffing … Grok keeps giving offensive responses. Why? … A look at Trump’s campaign promises, almost 6 months in office … The government can’t take citizenship from US-born citizens

(AP)

Trump officials say ICE has higher detention standards than prisons, jails. Is that true? Democratic members of Congress who saw Florida's Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center said they witnessed dozens of people in metal enclosures, bugs and mosquitos in bunk areas, indoor temperatures above 80 degrees and people screaming for help. Republicans who also toured the facility tell a different story, describing the space as safe, clean and well-run. The federal Homeland Security Department, which oversees immigration detention, has called characterizations of inadequate conditions at the state-run Alligator Alcatraz "false." Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem was asked about Democrats’ accounts during a July 13 interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press." She said the Florida-run facility is "held to the highest levels of what the federal government requires for detention facilities." "Our detention centers at the federal level are held to a higher standard than most local or state centers and even federal prisons," Noem said. "The standards are extremely high." White House border czar Tom Homan also touted the nation’s immigration detention standards as being a cut above those for prisons and jails. When a reporter asked Homan about a 75-year-old Cuban man who had been living in the U.S. for 60 years before he died in detention in Miami in June, Homan defended federal facilities.  "People die in ICE custody," he said, before saying ICE has "the highest detention standards in the industry. I’ll compare an ICE detention facility against any state prison against any federal facility. I’ll go head-to-head with any of them. … People say, ‘The detention centers are horrendous.’ Go look for yourself then come back and talk to me." Isidro Perez was the 11th person to die in ICE custody almost six months into President Donald Trump’s second term. Twelve people died during former President Joe Biden’s last fiscal year in office.  ICE detention centers have standards akin to prisons. But it’s difficult to assess blanket statements about the standards of immigration detention compared with state, local or other federal facilities for a few reasons: ICE detention standards aren’t codified into law, so it’s difficult to enforce them. Different ICE detention centers are upheld to different standards based on the terms of their individual contracts. There isn’t one set of standards for local, state and federal prisons and jails. Some standards are mandatory or codified into law, others aren’t. Several government watchdog agencies, advocacy organizations and news reports have long documented inadequate conditions at immigration detention centers.  In May, human rights group Amnesty International reported "physical abuse by guards, use of solitary confinement, unsanitary and overcrowded living spaces including dysfunctional toilets, inadequate medical care and poor-quality, expired food," at an El Paso detention center. Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, a Duke University associate professor who studies the health impacts of the criminal legal system, called Homan’s statement "very misleading." "In most respects, ICE facilities operate with less consistent oversight and legal accountability than state or federal prisons or local jails," Brinkley-Rubinstein said. "ICE detention facilities and people that run them tend to be much less transparent about their operations." Here’s the full story. — Maria Ramirez Uribe Share Tweet Forward Fact-checks of the week The new size of ICE. Former Obama speechwriter and “Pod Save America” cohost Jon Favreau said under Trump’s megabill, “ICE will now become the country’s largest federal federal law enforcement agency, bigger than the FBI, bigger than the DEA.” Favreau referenced the new law’s budgetary allocations to hire 10,000 ICE employees and build immigration detention beds. He’s right about the DEA comparison, but things are trickier with the FBI. Trump’s law makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency compared with the FBI’s existing budget. However, base budgets for all three agencies could change. In terms of staffing, the FBI now is larger than ICE, but with 10,000 potential hirings, ICE could eclipse the FBI for staffers with arrest authority. The statement is accurate but needs additional information, so we rated the claim Mostly True. DeSantis brushes off natural impact. Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., said Alligator Alcatraz has “zero impact” on the surrounding Everglades at a press conference. The migration detention center was built atop a pre-existing 10,500-foot runway from an abandoned airport project. Environmental experts pointed to increased human activity, habitat degradation for endangered species, waste management concerns, noise pollution and light pollution among reasons to doubt Alligator Alcatraz having “zero” environmental impact. DeSantis’ office did not conduct an environmental review prior to construction. We rated the governor's implausible claim False. Catch wind of this. Trump said China has “very, very few” wind farms following the July 4 signing of his major tax and spending bill. Among other things, the megabill reduced policies intended to increase U.S. renewable energy, including wind power. Except, China accounts for more than 44% of the world’s wind energy capacity, which is more than any other nation and nearly triple the U.S. capacity. China also ranks first for its number of wind farms in the works. We rated the statement Pants on Fire! You're a current PolitiFact donor. Thank you so much for supporting our work!  Here’s the secret to great writing: There isn’t one. It’s teachable, says longtime Poynter writing coach Roy Peter Clark. Watch him on The Poynter Report Podcast. You asked about Trump’s megabill. We answered. Since Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, some PolitiFact readers have asked us what the new law will or won’t do.  Reader: "I’ve heard that although overtime received will not be taxed on people’s wage checks, it will appear on their annual W-2s and incur taxes at that point. Is that true?" Tax experts say not to worry: The deduction of overtime pay from a taxpayer’s income tax is real. The new law allows workers to deduct up to $12,500 in overtime compensation (for single filers) or $25,000 (for joint filers). This deduction phases out for income levels between $150,000 and $275,000 (for single filers) and $300,000 and $550,000 (for joint filers). It doesn’t make all overtime compensation free, but rather the portion above the worker’s regular pay. "The deduction is certainty included during tax time," said Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis for the Tax Foundation, a center-right think tank. "It’s a real deduction." The confusion may stem from the fact that all kinds of untaxed income are listed on a taxpayer’s W-2 — the year-end form that employers give their employees to summarize the year’s compensation. For instance, there’s a box on the W-2 that lists 401(k) contributions made by the employee, but being listed on the form doesn’t mean those contributions are subject to income tax. Reader: "I am 65 but I do not collect Social Security yet. My husband is 71 and does collect Social Security. Will we get the $6,000 deduction or the $12,000 because we file a joint return? And how long will this provision be in place?" The new law includes a tax break for older Americans. The law gives an additional $6,000 tax deduction to people aged 65 and older. These deductions come on top of existing tax deductions for Americans over 65 years old — $2,000 if married or $1,600 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse. The new deductions are temporary, lasting through 2028. This reader and her spouse should get the higher rate, Watson said, because they are both 65 or over, regardless of who receives Social Security benefits. So this couple should get the $12,000 deduction, although the tax break would diminish if their income exceeds the limitation set in the law — $175,000 for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers. Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson answered two additional questions about tariffs and Social Security in this story. Readers can submit questions and suggestions for fact-checks to truthometer@politifact.com.  The MAGA-Meter: How Trump’s campaign promises fare at 6 months The six-month anniversary of Trump’s inauguration is approaching July 20, so our journalists have been busy updating the status of his campaign promises on PolitiFact’s MAGA-Meter. We launched Trump’s second-term promise tracker to keep an eye on 75 of the administration’s campaign promises. We issue ratings on verifiable outcomes or measurable actions — not intentions. You can see all 75 of Trump’s promises here. For now, here are six MAGA-Meter ratings we’ve updated ahead of the six month-iversary.  End taxation on tips: Promise Kept. Trump’s tax bill includes broad exclusion for tip income. It expires in 2028.  End taxation on overtime: Compromise. Megabill includes tax break on overtime pay. It makes tax-free the incremental increase in pay from working overtime — the "and a half" portion, not the "time" portion. Sign an order to construct the National Garden of American Heroes: In the Works. Trump’s spending package has $40 million for Garden of Heroes  Ban trans women from participating in women’s sports: In the Works. The Trump administration’s efforts to enforce trans athletes ban gets mixed results so far. Overturn Biden policies for gun owners and manufacturers: In the Works. Trump’s Justice Department repeals one Biden-era gun policy and is reviewing others.  Stop China from buying land in the U.S.: In the Works. A new USDA plan seeks to crack down on Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland.  We tracked the promises of past presidents Barack Obama, Trump during his first term and Joe Biden.  — Gabrielle Lazor Why does Grok post false, offensive things on X?  What do you get when you combine artificial intelligence trained partly on X posts with a CEO’s desire to avoid anything "woke"? A chatbot that sometimes praises Adolf Hitler, it seems.  X and xAI owner Elon Musk envisions the AI-powered chatbot Grok as an alternative to other chatbots he views as left-leaning. But as programmers under Musk’s direction work to eliminate "woke ideology" and "cancel culture" from Grok’s replies, xAI, X’s artificial intelligence-focused parent company, has been forced to address a series of offensive blunders.  X users can ask Grok questions by writing queries like "is this accurate?" or "is this real?" and tagging @grok. The bot often responds in an X post under 450 characters.  Last week, Grok’s responses praised Hitler and espoused antisemetic views, prompting xAI to temporarily take it offline. Two months ago, Grok offered unprompted mentions of "white genocide" in South Africa and Holocaust denialism. In February, X users discovered that Grok’s responses about purveyors of misinformation had been manipulated so the chatbot wouldn’t name Musk. Why does this keep happening? It has to do with Grok’s training material and instructions. — Madison Czopek On Facebook, posts about celebrity donations for Texas relief efforts went viral. They were baseless. As communities in Texas continued their search for the missing after a flood, dozens of Facebook posts trumpeted news that sports and music icons were on their side. Some of the posts showed celebrities alongside photos of mourners and flood damage. Rapper Eminem. Football stars Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. According to these posts, they each "broke down" or "couldn’t hold back his tears" after hearing about the tragedy and pledged their help. By the captions’ telling, these well-known figures already raised tens of millions of dollars for relief efforts. The posts gained thousands of shares. But many of them aren’t true. When PolitiFact looked for evidence, we found no public announcements and no news reports supporting these individual stories of celebrity outpouring Although deceptive posts like these are often created to drive viewers to click on links that take people to ad-filled websites, they can also have an impact on peoples’ attitudes about disaster relief response, said Yotam Ophir, University at Buffalo associate professor of communication who studies misinformation. "If people are convinced that celebrities have already poured millions of dollars into aid, then one can dismiss the need for federal funding of crisis solutions," Ophir said. "The long run impact could be less trust in the government, as it may seem as if officials are not doing enough, and that the safety of citizens depends on the good intentions of celebs and rich people." Here’s the story. — Loreben Tuquero Quick links to more fact-checks & reports  No, the Kerr County sheriff did not say he would apply for green cards for Mexican rescue team after Texas floods. Can the U.S. government revoke your U.S. citizenship? What to know about denaturalization. Learn how to uncover information others overlook in The 5 Ws of Research, a new PolitiFact webinar. Here’s how to enroll. From The 19th: The child tax credit is changing. Here’s what it means for your family. Can Trump fire Fed chair Jerome Powell? Do you smell smoke?  Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week:  There’s no evidence ICE deportation flights are dropping people in the ocean. An immigration activist who has tracked ICE flights for over five years said the claim is baseless. See what else we've rated Pants on Fire this week.  Have questions or ideas for our coverage? Send me an email. Thanks to Gabrielle Lazor for helping compile this week's newsletter, and thank you for reading! Katie Sanders PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief Send this link to your friends so they can sign up for this email!

Copyright © 2025 PolitiFact, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, attended one of our events, or communicated with us. Our mailing address is: PolitiFact 801 3rd St S 33701 St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Add us to your address book