Prepared for the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Editorial Note: The DHS Daily Briefing is a collection of news articles related to Department’s mission. The inclusion of particular stories is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse the political viewpoints or affiliations included in news coverage.

The AP [4/15/2025 6:05 PM, Michael Kunzelman and Ben Finley] reports a federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia, saying they defied a "clear" Supreme Court order. She also disregarded Monday’s comments by White House officials and El Salvador’s president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia, describing their statements as "two very misguided ships passing in the night." Xinis said she will call for the testimony of government officials, including Robert Cerna, the acting field office director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She expects the process to last about two weeks. The hearing came a day after White House advisers repeated the claim that they lack the authority to bring back the Salvadoran national from his native country. The president of El Salvador also said Monday that he would not return Abrego Garcia, likening it to smuggling "a terrorist into the United States." The Washington Post [4/15/2025 5:43 PM, Steve Thompson and Katie Mettler, 31735K] reports that the decision from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to require documents and written explanations marks another escalation in the legal showdown with the White House. The case has widespread implications, with Justice Department lawyers arguing that the judge lacks the authority to force them to coordinate with the Salvadoran government to bring Kilmar Abrego García back to the United States. In a status report filed Tuesday, the Justice Department said the Department of Homeland Security has established processes to remove domestic obstacles that would otherwise prevent a foreign national from lawfully entering the United States. Bloomberg [4/15/2025 4:52 PM, Chris Strohm and David Voreacos, 16228K] reports [Garcia] was deported March 15 despite a 2019 court order saying he couldn’t be sent to his native country. During a contentious hearing, Xinis said there was no evidence that any steps have been taken to return Abrego Garcia. She expressed frustration and said she would not rule out holding the government in contempt of court, but would hold off for now on those proceedings. Instead, she said, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers should to be able to collect evidence from the government on an expedited basis. The hearing on Tuesday showed the heightened tensions between Trump and the federal judiciary and suggested the case may return to the Supreme Court. FOX News [4/15/2025 7:10 PM, Breanne Deppisch and Jake Gibson, 46189K] reports U.S. Judge Paula Xinis told Trump administration lawyers Tuesday that they will have two weeks to comply with discovery requests in the case of Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident deported to El Salvador last month in what Trump officials have acknowledged was an "administrative error," demanding the government spend time detailing with what, if any, steps it is taking to facilitate his release and return to the U.S. "Cancel vacations, cancel other appointments," Xinis told lawyers at the Tuesday evening hearing. She also said she would issue an order in writing directing the government to show her how they have complied with her order to facilitate the release of Abrego-Garcia from El Salvador. After the two-week period, she will weigh the discovery submissions and determine whether or not the government acted in good faith — or whether there is evidence that could preempt potential contempt proceedings. Xinis stressed at the outset of the hearing that, in her view, the Supreme Court had "already spoken" in ordering the U.S. to facilitate the release of Abrego Garcia and resume his immigration proceedings as if he were never removed. "We’re going to do it in a targeted way, but we’re not going to spend a lot of time doing it," Xinis said of the discovery process, which she stressed will move fast. The hearing comes after government lawyers failed to comply with multiple directives updating the court on his location and custodial status, as well as efforts taken to facilitate his return — a lack of compliance Xinis previously described as "extremely troubling.” Xinis planned to weigh these developments as the court considers next steps in the case, including whether to pursue civil contempt proceedings against the administration. USA Today [4/15/2025 8:59 PM, Michael Collins, et al., 4124K] reports Xinis said Abrego Garcia’s attorneys would be allowed to take the sworn testimony of government officials in the case and that the process could take two weeks. "There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship and grandstanding," she said. Xinis’ warning follows a ruling last week by the U.S. Supreme Court, which said the administration must begin the process of releasing Abrego Garcia, who has lived in the U.S. for more than a decade. Abrego Garcia was sent to a violent prison in El Salvador despite a previous court order protecting him from deportation to that country. U.S. officials contend Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 criminal gang and say they have no authority to free him because he is imprisoned in a foreign country. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said during a visit to the White House on Monday that he would not release Abrego Garcia and called the suggestion “preposterous.” Representing the Trump administration, attorney Drew Ensign said Bukele’s comments in the Oval Office showed that Abrego Garcia’s case "was raised with the highest authority in El Salvador." Xinis, however, said Bukele’s response, including his comments that he could not "smuggle a terrorist" back into the U.S., would be considered "a non-responsive answer if that were in a court of law." Rina Gandhi, an attorney for Abrego Garcia’s family, called the judge’s order a "win," even though she did not hold the administration in contempt. At a minimum, the four government officials who have provided updates to the courts will be asked to provide sworn testimony, she said. NBC News [4/15/2025 7:48 PM, Gary Grumbach and Dareh Gregorian, 430301K] reports that in a written order after the hearing, Xinis said that if the administration does not comply with that part of her order, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers "are free to seek separate sanctions on an expedited basis.” Speaking for the administration, Drew Ensign of the Justice Department said during the hearing that the government had complied with the judge’s previous directives. He also said that if Abrego Garcia were to show up at a port of entry, we "would facilitate his return" into the U.S. before taking him into custody. In her written order, the judge questioned why Abrego Garcia was still "inexplicably detained" in prison. While the government has said he’s being detained "pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador," the "record thus far demonstrates that the United States had paid six-million dollars to house those detainees in custody ‘pending the United States’ decision on their long-term disposition.’". She went on to say that his lawyers could seek answers as to "who authorized his initial placement there and who presently authorizes his continued confinement.”

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Daily Caller [4/15/2025 11:01 PM, Harold Hutchison, 1082K] reports Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin appeared on ABC News Live Tuesday and said to anchor Jay O’Brien that a man deported to El Salvador was an adjudicated member of MS-13. At an April 4 hearing, United States District Judge Paula Xinis of the District of Maryland ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member, to the United States. The Supreme Court, however, ruled she exceeded her authority to require his return. The Supreme Court also said the United States should “facilitate” his return if he is released by El Salvador. O’Brien asked McLaughlin what evidence the administration had that Garcia was a member of the group. “I think what really matters to Americans is that this MS-13 gang member who, unfortunately, Jay, you and a lot of your colleagues have called ‘a Maryland man,’ when, in reality, he is a MS-13 gang member,” McLaughlin said before O’Brien interrupted her, demanding proof that he’s MS-13. “There’s actually two separate immigration judges, Jay, who have confirmed and ruled that he is a member of MS-13,” McLaughlin told O’Brien. President Donald Trump issued several executive orders to address illegal immigration and border security, including designating Mexican drug cartels, the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations upon taking office Jan. 20. He invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up the deportation of gang members on March 15. “I can do this all day, Jay,” McLaughlin said after additional back-and-forth with O’Brien. “He is a member of MS-13. I don’t think you’d want to be his neighbor. I sure wouldn’t, and I don’t think many Americans watching would want to be this individual’s neighbor. He has been involved in human trafficking. He’s been involved in labor trafficking, and he should not be in this country.” “So whether he’s in an El Salvador jail or a U.S. detention facility, I am so very glad, as are millions of Americans, that he is off of U.S. streets because, remember, Jay, who is MS-13? They maim. They rape. They kill Americans for sport, and the American people are done with it. They said so on November 5, 2024.”

ABC News [4/15/2025 2:40 PM, Staff, 34586K] reports that Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, answers questions on recent Trump administration actions. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [4/15/2025 8:36 AM, Staff, 10702K] reports that Department of Homeland Security public affairs assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin on border encounters, the El Salvadorian-Maryland migrant, a judge ruling against Trump administration immigration policy and anti-Israel protesters. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 7:09 PM, Alex Woodward, 430301K] reports to hear officials in Donald Trump’s administration tell it, a Salvadoran father in Maryland they admitted was wrongfully deported to a brutal prison in his home country is "involved in human trafficking.” But government lawyers have not raised any such claims in court, and the allegations appears to have first introduced publicly during a White House press conference. Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura speaks to reporters and protesters outside a federal court hearing on April 15 over her husband’s potential return to the United States (EPA). Administration officials claim they have reviewed intelligence linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia with human and labor trafficking, which his attorneys and family have flatly denied. Officials also have refused to share any of those reports or any other evidence supporting their claims. "We’re not going to give out our national security documents every time a terrorist denies they are a terrorist," Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told ABC News on April 15. "That would be insane.” Asked for a snapshot of any such evidence, a Homeland Security spokesperson directed The Independent to McLaughlin’s comments to Fox News on April 4. "The individual in question is a member of the brutal MS-13 gang," she said. "We have intelligence reports that he is involved in human trafficking. Whether he is in El Salvador or a detention facility in the U.S., he will be locked up and off America’s streets. MS-13 gang members murder, rape, and maim for sport. It’s shameful that the mainstream media chooses to do the bidding of these vicious gangs while ignoring their victims.” The only mention of trafficking allegations against Abrego Garcia in court documents comes from his own attorney, who notes that "although the White House has accused Plaintiff of involvement in human trafficking, [the government’s] court filing omits any such scandalous accusation.”

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 4:05 PM, Christian Papillon, 2296K] reports President Donald Trump held a meeting with Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele on Monday in which he discussed the status of the deportations of illegal immigrants. Midway through the meeting, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked about the status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador who was deported from Maryland amid allegations of his connection to MS-13. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and Bukele all confirmed that the Trump administration can’t force El Salvador to return one of its own citizens back to the United States. Bondi cited two 2019 court rulings that designated Garcia as a member of MS-13 and led to the initial deportation. She also emphasized that the Supreme Court decision only requires the U.S. to facilitate Garcia’s return if El Salvador decides to send him back. Miller also mentioned the complications involved with an attempt to return Garcia to the U.S. Bukele also put down any thought that Garcia would return to the U.S. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio weighed in on the justification of the deportations. Even if Garcia is not an MS-13 member, he is still an illegal immigrant. The Trump administration may have deported him in error, but the decision to return him belongs to El Salvador.

The Hill [4/15/2025 1:01 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports that attorneys for a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a Salvadoran prison said the Trump administration has run afoul of a Supreme Court order by failing to even attempt to secure his return. The Supreme Court last week determined the Trump administration must "facilitate" the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national now held in the country’s most notorious prison. But attorneys for Abrego Garcia contend the Trump administration has not even tried to do so. "The Government contends that the term ‘facilitate’ is limited to ‘remov[ing] any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien’s ability to return here.’ Not so. The Supreme Court ordered the Government ‘to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,’" lawyers wrote in a Tuesday brief. "To give any meaning to the Supreme Court’s order, the Government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia. To date, the Government has not done so.” Attorneys for the Justice Department and Abrego Garcia are set to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis later Tuesday. On Monday, attorneys for the Justice Department flouted an order from Xinis to provide an update on Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts and efforts to secure his return, instead submitting an affidavit from a Department of Homeland Security official suggesting they were not obligated to do so.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:44 PM, Nikki McCann Ramirez, 430301K] reports lawyers from the Department of Justice clashed with a Maryland district court judge as they once again resisted compliance with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States from El Salvador. Ahead of the hearing, Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura — who is an American citizen — spoke to reporters and a gathered crowd of protesters, delivering an emotional plea for the return of her husband. "Today is 34 days after his disappearance, and I stand before you filled with a spirit that refuses to bring down," she said. "I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn’t forgotten about you. Our children are asking, ‘When will you come home?’ And I pray for the day I tell them the time and date that you will return.” "As we continue through holy week, my heart aches for my husband," she added. "Who should have been here leading our Easter prayers — instead, I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar.” "Enough is enough," she concluded. "My family can’t be robbed of another day without seeing Kilmar. This administration has already taken so much from my children, from Kilmar’s mother, brother, sisters, and me.” The Trump administration has openly flouted a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States, despite an admission from the Department of Homeland Security that the Maryland man was wrongfully deported. On Tuesday, lawyers for Abrego Garcia told Maryland District Court Judge Paula Xinis that the Trump administration had made no effort to secure his release from El Salvador’s custody and return him to the United States. Judge Xinis agreed. "To date, what the record shows is that nothing has been done — nothing.” "You made your jurisdictional arguments, you made your venue arguments. You made your arguments on the merits. You lost. This is now about the scope of the remedy," Judge Xinis said of the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Department of Homeland Security.

The Hill [4/15/2025 2:03 PM, Mike Lillis, 6866K] reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the Supreme Court should hold members of the Trump administration in contempt of court if they don’t move to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported last month to El Salvador. The Supreme Court ruled last week that the United States is bound to "facilitate" the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant living in Maryland with his family before the administration deported him to a notorious prison in his native country. The administration acknowledged in court that Abrego Garcia was wrongly targeted, and the move was an "administrative error." Still, top Trump administration officials have said they lack the authority to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. while doubling down on their contention that Abrego Garcia is dangerous. That defiance, Jeffries said, should be met with an aggressive rebuke from the Supreme Court. "The Supreme Court has made clear that Mr. Abrego Garcia should not have been deported. In fact, the Trump administration has acknowledged that fact," Jeffries told reporters Tuesday during a press briefing in his Brooklyn district. "And so they need to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive, or the Supreme Court needs to enforce its order aggressively — which should include contempt." The Hill [4/15/2025 11:19 AM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12829K] reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is calling on a federal judge to set a deadline at a Tuesday hearing for the Trump administration to comply with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. In an interview Monday on MSNBC’s "Inside with Jen Psaki," the Democratic leader stressed the importance of enforcing the Supreme Court ruling and said setting a new deadline is the first step. "I think what the court needs to do is to set a deadline as it relates to compliance with the quasi-directive that came down from the Supreme Court related to returning Mr. Garcia," Jeffries said in the interview. "Specify that, and then make sure that it happens," he continued. Jeffries said the court could then take steps to hold members of the Trump administration in contempt if they do not comply with the deadline.

Bloomberg [4/15/2025 5:09 AM, Andrew Kreighbaum, 1085K] reports the Trump administration lacks regulatory authority to terminate foreign students’ lawful status in the US, immigration attorneys said about litigation over the government’s unprecedented crackdown. A slew of lawsuits have been filed in the past two weeks arguing that the Department of Homeland Security unilaterally removed dozens of students from a database tracking compliance with student visa programs, effectively canceling their legal status. The terminations follow similar actions by the US State Department revoking student visas. At stake is whether targeted students can complete their degrees, work on campus, or start careers in the US. The students have clear grounds for relief under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act, immigration attorneys said, pointing to the cancellation of their F-1 status without clear basis and without notice and a chance to respond. One Dartmouth College doctoral student already won an emergency order restoring his F-1 student status—one of multiple granted so far. More litigation is being filed almost daily seeking similar relief based on APA and due process claims. "The fact that DHS has gone in and terminated the records without any notice was completely in violation of all norms and due process," said Cyrus Mehta, managing partner at Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC. More than 4,700 students may have already had their records terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database maintained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. At least a dozen lawsuits have been filed so far in federal courts in New York, California, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington state contesting the termination of student records. The plaintiffs notably don’t seek to restore terminated visas, which aren’t subject to court review. Students would have to apply for them again at consulates outside the US. Instead they’re asking the courts to block DHS from terminating records in the SEVIS database and targeting them for removal proceedings. DHS didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. In the past, records in the ICE database have only been altered after a visa holder is placed in removal proceedings—typically for something that could be classified as a crime or moral turpitude. "That’s when the student can get judicial review," Mehta said. "If it was done on some flimsy grounds like a traffic violation or misdemeanor charge, you could potentially win in immigration court.”

AP [4/15/2025 5:34 PM, Rebecca Boone and Cedar Attanasio, 48304K] reports a federal judge has allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily stop funding legal education programs for people facing deportation or immigration court while a lawsuit brought by the organizations that provide the service moves forward in court. The decision from U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss in Washington, D.C., means a coalition of nonprofit groups that offer the education programs will lose their federal funding on Wednesday – and possibly, some access to potential clients inside detention centers. Congress allocates $29 million a year for four programs — the Legal Orientation Program, the Immigration Court Helpdesk, the Family Group Legal Orientation and the Counsel for Children Initiative — and those groups spread the funding to subcontractors nationwide. The Justice Department first instructed the nonprofit groups to "stop work immediately" on the programs on Jan. 22, citing an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting illegal immigration. The nonprofit groups about a week later, and the Justice Department then rescinded the stop-work order. But on April 11, the agency said it was terminating its contracts with the groups nationwide, effective at 12:01 a.m. on April 16. During a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Moss told attorneys on both sides that he wanted more information about exactly how the Department of Justice came to its decision to end the contracts, any plans for spending the earmarked money in the future, as well as any problems the nonprofit groups run into as they try to provide legal information to detained non-citizens in the coming weeks. The judge also said he wanted to issue a final decision in the case quickly, and set a hearing for a preliminary injunction and possible final decision for May 14.

Axios [4/15/2025 4:54 PM, Sareen Habeshian, 13163K] reports the White House is "looking into" the legality of sending U.S. citizens to prisons in El Salvador, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing Tuesday. President Trump has recently threatened to send Americans to a notorious El Salvador prison where several deported Venezuelans, who are alleged to be members of the MS-13 gang, and one erroneously deported Maryland man are being held. Asked by a reporter if the White House believes it has the power to deport American citizens to Central America prisons or if it has to change the law to do so, Leavitt said: "It’s another question that the president has raised." Trump "would only consider this, if legal, for Americans who are the most violent, egregious, repeat offenders of crime who nobody in this room wants living in their communities," Leavitt said. Asked to explain the legal basis for sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador prisons, Leavitt said: "We’re looking at it." During a Monday meeting at the Oval Office, Trump told Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele that he would need more prisons in El Salvador to house the "criminals" the U.S. would send. The president also asserted that Attorney General Pam Bondi is "studying" sending U.S. citizens to foreign prisons.

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US News & World Report [4/15/2025 4:30 PM, Olivier Knox, 24727K]

ABC News [4/15/2025 5:04 PM, Alexandra Hutzler, 34586K] reports the Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants it alleges are MS-13 gang members -- calling them "terrorists" -- to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison. Before reporters entered the room, Trump even suggested to Bukele he should build more prisons because the mega-prison isn’t "big enough" to hold "the homegrowns" he wants to send from the U.S. Several legal experts told ABC News any such scenario would be unconstitutional. Several administration officials have been pressed to elaborate on what legal grounds they believe would allow them to do this. So far, they’ve sidestepped. Trump and other officials said they’d deport American criminals who commit "egregious" crimes. One potential loophole could be for the Trump administration to try to target naturalized U.S. citizens, who can lose their immigration status if they’ve committed treason or falsified information during their naturalization process. But those instances are rare.

NBC News [4/15/2025 10:27 PM, Tim Stelloh, 44742K] reports on Friday, federal authorities ordered Nicole Micheroni to leave the country within seven days. Micheroni — a 40-year-old U.S. citizen, immigration attorney and Massachusetts resident — told MSNBC that as of Tuesday, she has heard nothing from the Department of Homeland Security, which she believes mistakenly sent the notice that told her “it is time for you to leave the United States.” “The process is a mess right now,” she said. “DHS is not being careful.” The email came from a no-reply address, Micheroni said, and it informed her that her “parole” — which in immigration law allows noncitizens to enter or remain in the United States for limited periods of time — had been terminated, according to a screenshot of the email shared with NBC Boston. "If you do not deport the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States," the email says. The notice was sent to her work email, Micheroni said, but it was different from the emails she typically gets from immigration authorities about clients. No name was included in the message, she said, nor was there a case number. Initially, Micheroni wasn’t sure whether it was real. "I kind of laughed at first, and then I was like, wait a minute," she said. "This is very concerning." In a statement, a senior official with the Department of Homeland Security said a separate agency — Customs and Border Protection — is issuing parole termination notices to people who do not have lawful status to remain in the United States.

Univision [4/15/2025 11:44 AM, Jorge Cancino, 5325K] reports the new rule empowers immigration judges to review asylum requests and anticipate a decision to reject whether petitions lack sufficient evidence or do not show that they comply with one of the five asylum cases: persecution on the basis of race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership of a particular social group. Millions of foreign nationals awaiting the resolution of their asylum cases received troubling news. The acting director of the Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), Sirce Owen, sent an internal memo to judges announcing "new legal standards" that empower them to review and reject "legally insufficient" asylum cases. The decision is similar to those adopted during President Donald Trump’s first administration (between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021), when quotas were established and immigration courts were ordered not to allow anything that would hinder the ultimate purpose of deportation proceedings, which gives immigrants the opportunity to seek asylum, thereby facilitating and expediting expulsions. In the document, Sirce Owen wrote that judges (EOIR adjudicators) "have a duty to efficiently manage their dockets" and added that, from the nearly 4 million cases in the Court’s docket, "it is clear that this has not happened," referring to the lack of expeditious handling. "Accordingly, this Policy Memorandum (PM) makes clear that adjudicators are not prohibited from taking—and, in fact, should take—all appropriate steps to promptly resolve cases on their dockets that lack viable legal avenues for relief or protection from removal," he details.

FOX News [4/15/2025 4:41 PM, Rachel Wolf, 46189K] reports White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed "rogue" judges during a press briefing Tuesday after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking the legal status and work permits of more than 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. On Tuesday, Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked Leavitt why President Joe Biden was allowed to establish the program "with the stroke of a pen" but Trump was being stopped from ending CHNV the way it started. "I spoke to White House counsel’s office about this this morning because, obviously, another rogue district court judge is trying to block the administration’s mass deportation efforts with this latest injunction," Leavitt said. She also slammed the Biden administration, accusing former officials of abusing the U.S. parole system "to fast-track legal status" for illegal immigrants. "We will continue to focus on deporting as many individuals as we can," Leavitt added. Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote in her order blocking the Trump administration that each of the more than 530,000 migrants needed to have an individualized case-by-case review. Venezuelan migrants arrive in Caracas, Venezuela, on a flight after being deported from the United States March 24, 2025. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration said Talwani’s ruling essentially prohibits Trump from using his own executive authority to revoke parole that Biden granted when he was in office. "It is pure lawless tyranny," a Trump administration official told Fox News.

NBC News [4/15/2025 7:27 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 44742K] reports the Trump administration is waging a concerted pressure campaign against undocumented immigrants — as well as hundreds of thousands here legally whose status it is trying to revoke. The measures threaten to make daily life more untenable for millions as President Donald Trump aims to carry out the immigrant purging he promised during his campaign. Trump has escalated his clampdown on immigrants beyond what was done during his first presidential term, which included separating children from their parents at the border, working to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico and curbing legal immigration through fewer visas and refugee admissions. This time around, on top of immigration raids and arrests, the administration is inflicting hardship on immigrants by pulling multiple levers of government to undercut their day-to-day lives. The administration is threatening criminal charges against immigrants without legal status who do not register with the government. It has given Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to previously confidential taxpayer information to locate immigrants and canceled Social Security numbers of thousands of immigrants by marking "illegal immigrants" as being dead. Officials have canceled parole that the Biden administration granted to some groups. A federal judge has blocked the revocations temporarily. "What we are seeing now is this full-court press by the government on immigration," said Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, a nonprofit immigrant rights advocacy organization whose funding to provide legal help to unaccompanied immigrant children Trump cut. The many actions are all parts of the administration’s strategy to subtract as many immigrants from the United States as possible without having to go through more cumbersome deportation processes. The Trump actions build on an "attrition through enforcement" strategy tried in 2010 with state anti-immigration laws, a strategy pushed by Kris Kobach, a former attorney general of Kansas who has championed conservative causes. Data obtained by NBC News shows that the Trump administration’s deportations are running slightly behind deportations under President Joe Biden at the same time last year, even though Trump has made mass deportations one of his main priorities since he assumed office.

CNN [4/15/2025 8:46 PM, Evan Perez, Alayna Treene and Marshall Cohen, 430301K] reports President Donald Trump is set to name Gary Shapley, the former IRS criminal investigator who alleged that the Justice Department slow-walked the investigation of Hunter Biden, as acting commissioner of the IRS, three people briefed on the matter told CNN. Shapley provided whistleblower testimony to Congress, as Republicans claimed partisan bias by Justice officials had hindered the investigation of the son of President Joe Biden. In recent weeks, Republicans celebrated Shapley’s return as deputy chief of IRS criminal investigation. Now, Trump is poised to name Shapley to run the entire agency, after the resignation of the former commissioner who opposed a data sharing agreement with the Homeland Security Department. The IRS did not provide an immediate comment about Shapley’s expected elevation. A spokesperson for the Treasury, which oversees the IRS, praised Shapley in a statement. “Gary has proven his honesty and devotion to enforcing the law without fear or favor, even at great cost to his own career,” they said. “He’ll be a great asset to the IRS as we rethink and reform this crucial organization. When reached for comment, the White House pointed to the Treasury statement. This is an extraordinary rise for Shapley, who was a career supervisory IRS agent when he went public in 2023 with allegations that the Justice Department stonewalled their efforts to investigate Hunter Biden’s tax crimes and even tried to block charges from being filed. But other top officials, including at the IRS and the DOJ special counsel who led the Hunter Biden probe, have refuted some of Shapley’s claims.

FOX News [4/15/2025 8:00 AM, Michael Lee Fox, 46189K] reports the Social Security Administration (SSA) has become the latest government agency to join President Donald Trump’s deportation push, showing the president’s whole-of-government approach to keeping a key campaign promise. "This is the Trump administration using every tool it has in its toolbox to crack down on illegal immigration," Tom Jones, the executive director of the American Accountability Foundation, told Fox News Digital. The comments come as the SSA sifts through the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are in the country under "temporary parole" status that was granted during the Biden administration and allowed those migrants to have Social Security numbers in order to work. Trump administration officials claim that more than 6,300 of those people are on the FBI terrorist watch list or have FBI criminal records, according to a report from Axios. The SSA began moving the names of those migrants on the terrorist watch list to its "Death Master File," its current database of dead people, the report notes, adding that the agency has since moved those names to the "Ineligible Master File.” The move to tap the SSA comes as Trump has used every resource at his disposal to continue his deportation push, coming after the president used military forces to help secure the border and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to begin cross-checking information for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). But not everyone has been fully on board with Trump’s aggressive push, with the IRS and ICE partnerships leading to the resignation of IRS Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause last week. Similar scenarios could play out at the SSA, with some of the agency’s staff expressing concern over the data-sharing agreement. "Some agency staff have since checked the names and Social Security numbers of some of the youngest immigrants against data the agency typically uses to search for criminal history and found no evidence of crimes or law enforcement interactions," some staffers told Washington Post.

CNN [4/15/2025 5:30 AM, Catherine E. Shoichet and Marshall Cohen, 22131K] reports undocumented immigrants who’ve been paying taxes in the US are facing an unsettling possibility: This year, that may be used against them. A recent data-sharing deal between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security is sparking widespread concern in immigrant communities – though some details about how the deal could work haven’t been disclosed. The agreement has left many undocumented immigrants feeling hesitant to pay taxes this year and uncertain about what to do, according to advocates. "A lot of people are feeling betrayed," says Adriana Rivera of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Here’s a look at what’s happening and why it matters: Some who’ve paid taxes for years now are scared to file and ‘freaking out’. For decades undocumented immigrants were told if they came forward, registered with the IRS and paid their taxes, their private information would stay secret. This year, many undocumented families that previously paid their taxes in good faith now are reconsidering, Rivera says. "It’s scary to think that you are going to be hunted through a method that you have used for years in order to give back to your communities," she says. "And it also begs the question, ‘Why would they be using this tactic, which is based on my honesty…against me?’". Confusion is widespread, Rivera says, especially given how dire the consequences could be for some who face deportation. The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to share taxpayer data with immigration officials. "People are really asking themselves, ‘What do I do? Do I continue paying taxes?’ Because they understand the importance of paying taxes. They understand the legality of paying taxes and they understand this duty of paying taxes," she says. "But it’s a very confusing thing to navigate where this duty that I have, that I’m about to do, it’s something that can cost me, you know, family separation and sometimes even my life.” Attorney Neil Weinrib says he’s received an "avalanche" of concerned emails unlike anything he’s seen in decades practicing immigration law. "Our clients are freaking out," he says. "It’s having a tremendous chilling effect on foreign nationals who are in the United States," he added. Weinrib showed CNN snippets of frantic emails he received from clients. One message from an Indian national said, "What is this news with the IRS? … IRS head will share all informations (sic) with DHS? … If my wife gets caught with my son, what should she do?". We don’t know some key details about how the data-sharing agreement would work. Parts of the 15-page "memorandum of understanding" between the IRS and DHS are redacted, making it difficult to discern exactly what the IRS will provide. The terms of the deal say ICE will come to the IRS with the names and address of taxpayers that they believe have violated federal immigration laws. CNN previously reported that the IRS would then cross-reference that information with existing taxpayer data and confirm its accuracy. Justice Department lawyers said in a recent court filing that the newly inked arrangement is lawful, that information will only be shared in ways permitted by the federal tax code and that the deal "includes clear guardrails to ensure compliance.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters the agreement would help her department go after criminals. "I think the American people need to be confident in the fact that their personal privacy will be protected, and that this will be a targeted agreement that will go specifically after individuals who do perpetuate violence and enact crimes in this country," she said, even though data-sharing in the agreement isn’t restricted to targeting violent criminals.

NBC News [4/15/2025 6:00 AM, Daniella Silva, 44742K] reports that, like millions of American citizens and immigrants, Ivan filed his taxes last year. But Ivan, 54, a Massachusetts resident who hails from Colombia, is worried a recent agreement between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement means he is in danger of being deported for doing what he believed was the right thing. And if taxpayers like Ivan decide not to file taxes because the IRS has said it will share certain tax information filed by undocumented immigrants with ICE, it could cumulatively eliminate billions in tax revenue and create "a massive problem" for citizens and immigrants alike, experts said. Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan tax policy organization. About $59.4 billion of that went to the federal government and $37.3 billion to state and local governments, according to the group’s analysis. It found that even a 10% decrease in the number of undocumented immigrants filing their taxes would mean a decrease of $9.5 billion a year in tax revenue. "The biggest issue from a revenue standpoint is that opening up tax records for immigration enforcement is going to reduce tax compliance of immigrants, whether undocumented or not, and that will have a significant impact on tax revenue," said Tom Bowman, a policy counsel with the Center for Democracy and Technology’s security and surveillance project. The agreement between the IRS and ICE is a break with the longtime precedent of the federal government’s telling people that tax information would not be used against undocumented people to seek their deportation. Lawyers, advocates and other immigrants have also spread the same message — only to have that sense of safety come crashing down for undocumented immigrants like Ivan under the new Trump administration policy. "It’s like a broken promise. It’s like a betrayal," Ivan said in Spanish. He asked that his full name not be used out of fear of deportation. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that President Donald Trump is doing what should have been done all along, sharing information across the government "to solve problems.” McLaughlin has previously said, "Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at the American taxpayer expense.” ICE did not immediately respond to request for comment about the policy. Neither did the Treasury Department, which the IRS is part of.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:21 PM, Fiona Harrigan, 430301K] reports that earlier this month, the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) forged an agreement to share taxpayer data with federal immigration officials. According to a partially redacted memorandum of understanding, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "will come to the IRS with the names and address[es] of taxpayers that they believe have violated federal immigration laws," reported CNN. The government has long encouraged undocumented immigrants who work in the United States to file their taxes. But the new agreement means that someone who pays his taxes in good faith could attract unwanted scrutiny and be at greater risk of deportation. Between 50 percent and 75 percent of undocumented immigrants pay taxes via federal income and/or payroll taxes, the Congressional Budget Office found in 2007. Undocumented immigrants are required to pay taxes, and doing so can help in their immigration cases down the line. The IRS has long "sought to keep information submitted by undocumented immigrants confidential," so the IRS-ICE agreement marks "a fundamental departure from decades of practice at the tax collector," reported New York Times. If the agreement between ICE and the IRS discourages undocumented immigrants from paying their taxes, the U.S. could lose billions in tax revenue. In 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a left-leaning economic think tank. Over one-third of those tax dollars "go toward payroll taxes dedicated to funding programs that these workers are barred from accessing," including Social Security and Medicare, reported ITEP. Undocumented immigrants now have to weigh the risks of filing their taxes against the risks of not filing them. "This will be a targeted agreement that will go specifically after individuals who do perpetuate violence and enact crimes in this country," said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem last week. (That undersells how broadly the agreement may be applied.) Noem also stressed that "the American people need to be confident in the fact that their personal privacy will be protected.”

CNN [4/15/2025 6:00 AM, Marshall Cohen and Rene Marsh, 22131K] reports they said no, over and over again. Career officials at the Internal Revenue Service were pressed by Trump officials and DOGE staffers to hand over access to sensitive taxpayer data to immigration agencies, but repeatedly refused, telling their new overseers that doing so would be illegal. The chief privacy officer told the agency’s acting commissioner in late February that "there is no clear legal authority right now for this," according to a source with knowledge of the conversation. Another senior IRS career official told colleagues, "This doesn’t sound quite kosher to me," according to the source. But President Donald Trump’s political appointees and staff from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency barreled ahead. Their initial effort to collect home addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants was blocked by career officials in February, but they tried again in March, and closed the deal during a frenetic final push this month. Along the way, they demoted IRS legal advisers who raised concerns, sidelined senior IT staffers who could’ve stood in the way, and worked in a silo to finalize the agency’s unprecedented data-sharing agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that was announced last week, according to interviews with more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of situation, as well as emails and documents reviewed by CNN. "It felt like a hostile takeover," said one former IRS employee who recently left the agency. "If we would have imagined some foreign government sending in adversaries to take us over, this is what it would have felt like.” Two months after the first DOGE envoy arrived with little warning at IRS headquarters, the federal tax collection agency has effectively been conquered by Trump and his political appointees. Its sensitive taxpayer information – among the government’s most highly protected databases – is on track to be used to locate undocumented immigrants for possible deportation. Its workforce is bracing for sweeping layoffs and some of its most senior career officials have left, having either been fired, quit in protest, or taken buyouts as part of the administration’s deferred resignation program. Even as tax season progresses without major hiccups for most taxpayers and businesses, the internal tumult inside IRS couldn’t come at a worse time in the calendar, right around Tax Day. "It’s like going into your final practice before the Super Bowl and then telling the players and staff that they’ll get texts during the practice about whether they’re fired or not," a senior IRS official said. "And whether you win or lose the big game, more people will then be fired.” The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to share taxpayer data with immigration officials. Asked about the decision of several high-ranking IRS officials to leave in the wake of the data-sharing deal with ICE, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said, "Those that are not willing to support the president’s agenda and common-sense reform to government, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Asked about the potential that this new policy could cost the government billions in lost revenue from undocumented taxpayers, Fields suggested it was a worthy tradeoff. "You cannot compare the loss of tax revenue to the yearly cost endured by keeping them here," Fields said.

Washington Post [4/15/2025 6:00 AM, Rachel Siegel, Hannah Natanson and Laura Meckler, 31735K] reports the Trump administration is using personal data normally protected from dissemination to find undocumented immigrants where they work, study and live, often with the goal of removing them from their housing and the workforce. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example, officials are working on a rule that would ban mixed-status households — in which some family members have legal status and others don’t — from public housing, according to multiple staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. Affiliates from the U.S. DOGE Service are also looking to kick out existing mixed-status households, vowing to ensure that undocumented immigrants do not benefit from public programs, even if they live with citizens or other eligible family members. The push extends across agencies: Last week, the Social Security Administration entered the names and Social Security numbers of more than 6,000 mostly Latino immigrants into a database it uses to track dead people, effectively slashing their ability to receive benefits or work legally in the United States. Federal tax and immigration enforcement officials recently reached a deal to share confidential tax data for people suspected of being in the United States illegally. The result is an unprecedented effort to use government data to support the administration’s immigration policies. That includes information people have reported about themselves for years while paying taxes or applying for housing — believing that information would not be used against them for immigration purposes. Legal experts say the data sharing is a breach of privacy rules that help ensure trust in government programs and services. “It’s not only about one subgroup of people, it’s really about all of us,” said Tanya Broder, senior counsel for health and economic justice policy at the left-leaning National Immigration Law Center. “Everyone cares about their privacy. Nobody wants their health-care information or tax information broadcast and used to go after us.”

NPR [4/15/2025 6:01 AM, Maravi Post, 29983K] reports Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele says he has no plans to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, an NPR report details unusual data events at the National Labor Relations Board, and Harvard University says that it won’t comply with a list of demands from the Trump administration. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Washington Times [4/15/2025 4:34 PM, Kerry Picket, 1814K] reports President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, suggested another destination for Democratic lawmakers planning to check on an illegal migrant deported to an El Salvador mega-prison. He said they should visit the sanctuary cities in the states and districts they represent and take a stand against illegal aliens committing violent crimes in their communities. Democrats have been up in arms about an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who was living in Maryland before he was deported to his home country. The man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was labeled a member of the MS-13 gang by an immigration judge and approved for deportation, though he was not supposed to be sent to his home country. Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, said they would travel to El Salvador if Mr. Garcia was not back in the U.S. by midweek. While there, they would check on his condition and discuss his release.

NewsMax [4/15/2025 7:13 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4998K] reports the White House said Tuesday that "sanctuary" policies endanger the lives of Americans in communities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration pointed to an incident in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in which an illegal immigrant was arrested and charged with murder and assault before being released, despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request that he be detained. According to administration officials, ICE eventually apprehended the illegal immigrant, who is set to return to Guatemala. "The negligence of leftist politicians is putting lives at risk," the White House said in a release. In 2019, then-Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks joined with the county police department to announce a sweeping policy change in how her jurisdiction would respond to ICE detainer requests. "We are not participating in immigration enforcement," Alsobrooks said at the time. "That is the job of the federal government, but we wanted to give advice and counsel to the police department and the department of corrections on occasions where we would notify ICE.” Alsobrooks, a Democrat, now represents Maryland in the U.S. Senate. Shortly after President Donald Trump began his second term, acting Prince George’s County Executive Tara Jackson told The Baltimore Banner that the policy remained essentially unchanged since Alsobrooks’ tenure. "The Prince George’s County Police Department does not engage in federal immigration enforcement actions, such as deportation operations or raids, as this is the responsibility of federal agencies," Jackson said. "Our focus is on ensuring public safety and building trust with all members of our community, regardless of their immigration status.” Prince George’s County’s apparent commitment to sanctuary policies seems to extend to its representation at the state level.

Federalist [4/15/2025 9:33 AM, Beth Brelje, 1033K] reports that in more than 200 sanctuary city, county, and state jurisdictions across the United States, illegal aliens gather where they know they will be protected by local government authorities from deportation, no matter what crime they may commit. They hide in plain sight in any neighborhood: in pockets of ethnic communities among legal, law-abiding immigrants, and in upscale areas if they are working in the lucrative trafficking industrial complex. A 40-year-old citizen of El Salvador was arrested after he sexually abused a child in Washington, D.C. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned of the crime while he was in custody and launched a detainer, which tells city officials to notify ICE when he is released and transfer custody to ICE. The detainer was ignored. The Salvadoran was released back into the D.C. community without telling ICE, and he reoffended, ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott told The Federalist. "The D.C. government has, based on that law, prohibited city employees from sharing information on somebody who is arrested," Hott said. "They do not honor detainers, so they would ultimately release those individuals without notification to the agency, and they certainly have restrictions from city employees participating or helping facilitate in any way, and ultimately this just results in terrible conditions for public safety.” The sanctuary laws in D.C. restrict every city government entity from working with or sharing information with ICE.

Federal News Network [4/15/2025 7:19 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1089K] reports that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has cancelled a contract project aimed at filling talent gaps by improving the recruitment and retention of people with autism and other neurodivergent conditions. The contract’s termination upends a years-long effort, started under the first Trump administration, to recognize neurodiversity across the federal government. Data from CISA’s pilot project would have helped inform broader efforts to fill talent gaps at the Department of Homeland Security and across agencies. DHS terminated the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s "neurodiverse federal workforce" contract with MITRE on Jan. 23. In the public notice, DHS and CISA gave little explanation for the contract’s termination. The contract was sponsored by CISA’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility. Shortly after taking power, the Trump administration began broadly targeting all diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts across government, closing DEIA offices and terminating related programs. DHS has listed CISA’s neurodiversity contract on a website of projects cancelled as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce "wasteful spending." Those contract reviews are being led by officials with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. But the neurodiversity contract’s cancellation came after the contract’s maximum value $1.4 million was already obligated, public contract records show. A DHS spreadsheet shows the contract cancellation saved zero dollars.

Rolling Stone [4/15/2025 10:42 AM, Nikki McCann Ramirez and Andrew Perez, 430301K] reports that President Donald Trump’s administration used his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to shutter the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigated allegations of abuse against migrants in the department’s custody. Now, Trump’s administration is raiding the DHS civil rights office’s coffers to fund the president’s $200 million propaganda campaign. The ads feature Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem repeatedly thanking Trump and warning immigrants to leave now or avoid coming to America. According to a report from ProPublica last week, DHS’ Civil Rights and Civil Liberties office was shuttered last month and most of its staff was fired as part of Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts. The office closure resulted in the effective suspension of over 600 complaints against DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. "All the oversight in DHS was eliminated today," one worker wrote in a text, ProPublica reported. The civil rights and civil liberties office was formally shuttered just days after the Trump administration shipped hundreds of migrants, without due process, to a notorious torture prison in El Salvador, as part of a financial arrangement with the Central American nation’s president, who calls himself the "world’s coolest dictator."

New York Times [4/15/2025 5:00 PM, Hamed Aleaziz and Jonah E. Bromwich, 153395K] reports the Trump administration is seeking to deport a Columbia student because his activities could “potentially undermine” the Middle East peace process, according to a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that was reviewed by The New York Times. The student, Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, is a legal permanent resident who has spent a decade in the United States. Until this week, he had been in hiding, for fear that the administration would seek to deport him after he led pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the school. But on Monday he showed up at an immigration services center in Vermont, expecting to take the test that would allow him to become a naturalized citizen. Instead, he was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents, who relied on Mr. Rubio’s memo as the justification for the arrest. Mr. Rubio cited the same law that has been used to justify the detention of Mr. Mahdawi’s fellow Columbia protester, Mahmoud Khalil. The law, which Mr. Khalil’s lawyers have challenged in federal court, allows Mr. Rubio to initiate deportation proceedings against anyone whose presence in the United States can reasonably be considered to hurt American foreign policy goals.

New York Times [4/15/2025 8:17 PM, Julie Turkewitz, Jazmine Ulloa, Isayen Herrera, Hamed Aleaziz, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, 153395K] reports Nathali Sánchez last heard from her husband on March 14, when he called from a Texas detention center to say he was being deported back to Venezuela. Later that night, he texted her through a government messaging app for detainees. “I love you,” he wrote, “soon we will be together forever.” Her husband, Arturo Suárez Trejo, 33, a musician, had been in American custody for a month, calling every few days to assure his family that he was OK, his relatives said. Now, the couple believed they would reunite and he would finally meet his daughter, Nahiara, who had been born during his brief stint as a migrant in the United States. But less than a day later, Mr. Suárez was shackled, loaded onto a plane and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, according to an internal government list of detainees obtained by The New York Times. Around the time Mr. Suárez was texting his wife, the Trump administration was quietly invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a sweeping wartime power that allows the government to swiftly deport citizens of an invading nation. Mr. Suárez and 237 others, the Trump administration argued after the order became public, were all members of a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua, which was “aligned with” the Venezuelan government and was “perpetrating” an invasion of the United States. It was an extraordinary move: The act has only been invoked three times in American history, experts say — most recently in World War II, when it was used to detain German, Italian and Japanese people. And in this case, the Venezuelan men were declared “alien enemies” and shipped to a prison with little or no opportunity to contest the allegations against them, according to migrants, their lawyers, court testimony, judges and interviews with dozens of prisoners’ families conducted by The New York Times.

New York Times [4/15/2025 6:19 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, 145325K] reports in August 2018, during President Trump’s first term, an Iraqi immigrant named Muneer Subaihani went missing. A refugee who had been living in the United States for nearly 25 years, Mr. Subaihani was among hundreds of Iraqis who had been protected from deportation under a federal court order. His lawyers figured he was still in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he had been placed after he was swept up in an ICE raid. A search of the federal ICE database turned up nothing, so the attorneys went to the Justice Department, looking for an answer. Within a day, they got one. The government said it had made a mistake, according to Margo Schlanger, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School who was one of Mr. Subaihani’s lawyers. Mr. Subaihani had been deported to Iraq, in violation of the court order. The case has striking similarities to one that is playing out now in Mr. Trump’s second term, after the United States deported a Salvadoran man because of what the government has acknowledged was an “administrative error.” In Mr. Subaihani’s case, the government recognized its error to the federal court, setting off a monthslong odyssey to track down and retrieve a man who never should have been deported in the first place. Locating Mr. Subaihani was complicated because nobody knew where he had gone, or even if he had made it to Iraq. By September 2018, several weeks after Mr. Subaihani had been deported, a federal judge demanded ICE go to great lengths to find him.

Breitbart [4/15/2025 10:19 AM, Neil Munro, 2923K] reports that
President Donald Trump’s immigration polices are saving thousands of lives and protecting many child-migrants from abuse, immigration czar Stephen Miller told reporters on Monday. "The amount of lives that we’ve saved… by shutting down the border, since President Trump issued his executive orders, have begun deporting criminals, is already in the thousands," Miller told reporters during an April 14 casual press conference on the White House driveway. The ‘thousands" of saved lives likely include both Americans threatened by migrant killers and also migrants who would have died while trekking to the Democrats’ welcome at the U.S. border. Migrants have killed hundreds of Americans, often in drunk-driving accidents. Breitbart News has carefully tracked the massive spike in migrant deaths caused by the welcome policy created by Biden’s pro-migration border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas. Migrants died in the Darien Gap jungle, in rivers, and on roads. They died in the seas, snow, and scrub at record numbers — and hundreds more were killed in workplace accidents throughout the United States. Miller also said the administration is rescuing many young illegal migrants from abusive employers and prostitution. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Mail [4/15/2025 2:39 PM, Nikki Schwab, 62500K] reports Donald Trump’s border chief Kristi Noem’s photo-ops are reportedly irritating some of her staffers who are complaining that they’re getting in the way of operations. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday night on some of the complaints made about Noem, who has been nicknamed ‘ICE Barbie’ for wearing a full face of makeup and hair extensions while on the job. Just days after Noem was sworn-in as Homeland Security Secretary she accompanied Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on a pre-dawn New York City raid. ‘Live this AM from NYC. I’m on it,’ she posted on X on January 28 at 4:43 a.m. Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, sported an ICE baseball cap while getting in a car. People familiar with the operation told The Journal that ICE’s operation was ongoing when Noem posted about it on social media, which undercut the element of surprise. While the New York raid went ahead, fewer arrests were made than officials hoped, sources told The Journal. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pushed back and said the raid was nearly complete when Noem’s social media post went live.

CBS News [4/15/2025 3:48 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K] reports the Trump administration can’t immediately revoke the deportation protections and work permits of hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally under a Biden-era program, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with its plan to terminate the legal status of those migrants on April 24. The administration had warned those affected by its announcement that they would need to self deport by that date or face arrest and deportation by federal immigration agents. But Talwani suspended the deportation warnings the government had sent and prohibited officials from revoking the legal protection, known as immigration parole, that the Biden administration granted to more than half a million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Talwani said those mass parole terminations could not happen without each case being reviewed. The "early termination, without any case-by-case justification, of legal status for noncitizens who have complied with DHS programs and entered the country lawfully undermines the rule of law," wrote Talwani, who sits on the federal district court in Boston. Monday’s ruling is a significant reprieve for those who arrived under a policy the Biden administration argued promoted legal immigration and dissuaded migrants from crossing the southern border unlawfully. In a statement Tuesday, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin denounced the CHNV policy, claiming it "unleashed over 530,000 poorly vetted aliens into America, fueling crime and stealing jobs — forcing our agents in the field to ignore rampant fraud." "While this ruling delays justice and undermines the integrity of our immigration system, Secretary (Kristi) Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos, prioritizing the safety of Americans," McLaughlin added. Roll Call [4/15/2025 1:28 PM, Chris Johnson, 503K] reports Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled Monday that the Trump administration must do a case-by-case review to revoke the status of migrants who entered the country under the terms of the so-called CHNV parole programs. The Trump administration announced last month that it would terminate those programs and end parole status on April 24 regardless of the originally stated parole end date for migrants, in part because the initiative is inconsistent with foreign policy goals. Talwani, an Obama appointee, in the order recognized the law gives the executive branch authority to make decisions on parole for migrants in the United States. But she wrote "there is a separate question" as to whether Congress has granted the Department of Homeland Security the authority — after parole has been granted and individuals have entered the country on lawful basis — to "categorically truncate these grants of parole en masse and without individual review." The Daily Signal [4/15/2025 10:57 AM, Virginia Allen, 495K] reports that the program was intended to provide "safe and orderly pathways to the United States" for nationals from the four nations under the category of humanitarian parole. On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to "Terminate all categorical parole programs," including the "Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans." In March, DHS issued a notice announcing the official termination of the program on April 24. The Trump administration has encouraged illegal aliens who entered the U.S. under the parole program to self-deport before the program expires, but the judge’s ruling suspends the program’s end until further court rulings are made. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has warned that if illegal immigrants don’t self-deport, "we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return." Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:43 AM, Joe Sommerlad, 430301K] reports "If plaintiffs leave the country on their own, they will face dangers in their native countries, as set forth in their affidavits. "For some plaintiffs, leaving will also cause family separation. Leaving may also mean plaintiffs will have forfeited any opportunity to obtain a remedy based on their APA [Administrative Procedure Act] claims, as leaving may moot those claims.” Under the policy, migrants from the four nations are permitted to stay in America for up to two years while they apply for residency, provided they pass a health and background check and name a financial sponsor. Half a million people have taken advantage of its protections since its introduction. Talwani’s intervention prevents Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has already ended protections from deportation for immigrants from Afghanistan and Cameroon, from closing the CHNV program by April 24 as she had intended. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani graduated cum laude from Harvard’s Radford College in 1982 and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law in 1988 (Getty). The judge at the center of the case is herself, the daughter of immigrants to the United States from India and Germany. Born in Englewood, New Jersey, on October 6, 1960, Talwani graduated cum laude from Harvard’s Radford College in 1982 and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law in 1988. She began her legal career as a clerk to U.S. District Judge Stanley Weigel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California between 1988 and 1989 and then worked as an associate and then partner at San Francisco law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP, specializing in labor and employment cases. In 1999, she moved east to take up a position at Boston’s Segal Roitman LLP. Again, she worked in employment litigation and made a name for herself in workplace rights, also overseeing union negotiations and arbitrations. She was nominated to the bench by Barack Obama in September 2013 to fill the seat vacated by Judge Mark L Wolf and confirmed by the Senate in May 2014. Her most high-profile case prior to her run-in with the Trump administration was the college admissions scandal of 2019, which saw her sentence Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman to 14 days behind bars after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

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AP [4/15/2025 12:38 PM, Alanna Durkin Richer, 48304K] reports that a federal judge on Tuesday granted the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the criminal case against the alleged MS-13 gang East Coast leader whom prosecutors say they now intend to deport just weeks after top government officials celebrated his arrest outside of Washington. Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos ‘ lawyer in an usual request urged the judge not to immediately dismiss the case, saying he feared his client would be deported to an El Salvador prison without a chance to challenge his removal. "This was clearly a political decision," defense attorney Muhammad Elsayed told the judge of the choice to deport Villatoro Santos. The motion to dismiss was filed shortly after the Justice Department made a " high profile spectacle out of him," Elsayed added. But Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said during a hearing in Virginia that judge cannot second-guess prosecutors’ decision not to pursue a case, and that the criminal court isn’t the proper place to seek relief from deportation. Villatoro Santos will not be handed over to immigration authorities until Friday morning, however, as the judge decided his ruling won’t go into effect until later this week to give the defense a chance to potentially explore other challenges. The Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 3:16 PM, Brady Knox, 2296K] reports Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos was arrested in Woodbridge, Virginia, in a neighborhood just south of Washington, D.C., on March 27. FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi said he was a key leader of MS-13 on the East Coast. He was charged with illegal firearm possession. His deportation would send him to his native country, El Salvador, where he would likely be sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. The Trump administration secured a deal to send alleged gang members and other violent criminals to CECOT for $6 million per year. According to Fox News, Muhammad Elsayed, counsel for Villatoro Santos, said at an April 15 hearing that the government hadn’t clarified what would happen to his client. In an earlier court motion, he said he objected to his client’s case dismissal and instead argued that he should be afforded due process. Bondi said she planned to seek his deportation in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.

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Breitbart [4/15/2025 2:46 PM, Elizabeth Weibel and John Binder, 2923K] reports that an illegal alien MS-13 gang member has been convicted of raping and bludgeoning to death 37-year-old Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, in August 2023. Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal alien from El Salvador where he is also a member of the violent MS-13 gang, was found guilty this week by a Maryland jury of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual offense, and kidnapping. Martinez-Hernandez now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the trial, Martinez-Hernandez refused to testify regarding the rape and murder charges against him. The jury in the case deliberated for less than an hour. Morin family attorney Randolph Rice spoke to NewsNation, saying they are relieved the verdict came back guilty so quickly. "Patty [Rachel’s mom] was tearing up," Rice said. "Obviously, I think that this was somewhat of a relief. I think this had been a long 19 months, and while certainly this doesn’t change the fact that Rachel is still dead and obviously never going to see her again, it is maybe a hurdle they’ve sort of overcome, getting this conviction now, knowing that this man can never hurt another woman like Rachel Morin again." Rice noted that Martinez-Hernandez showed no emotion when the verdict came back guilty. Similarly, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Rachel would still be alive today if not for the border policies of former President Joe Biden. "She was a victim of open border policies that prioritized illegal aliens over the safety of American citizens," Noem said. "We hear far too much in the mainstream media about sob stories of gang members and criminal illegals and not enough about their victims."

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ABC News [4/15/2025 9:44 PM, Janice McDonald and Lauren Peller, 34586K] reports Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in the House, faced several protesters who were removed by police for disrupting her town hall on Tuesday. Police said at least six attendees were escorted out without incident, while three others were arrested -- two of whom were stunned with a Taser during their removal. The event was held at the Acworth Community Center in Greene’s home state of Georgia on Tuesday, with disruptions breaking out almost immediately after the congresswoman took the stage. "Well, welcome everyone," Greene said, kicking off the meeting as police removed at least three protesters. "Thank you, Thank you to our great police officers… This is not a political rally. This is not a protest. If you stand up and want to protest, if you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed, just like that man was thrown out.” At one point, a man was tased for not cooperating with police as they tried to escort him out for interrupting the meeting. "This is a peaceful town hall. Now this is a peaceful town hall, ladies and gentlemen, this should not have to happen," the Greene said in response. While speaking at the town hall, Greene accused the media of "trying to defend an illegal alien that is a member of MS-13 that was deported to his home country, El Salvador. That is shameful and that should never happen," she said, referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who ICE officials have said was sent to El Salvador by error in March.

FOX News [4/15/2025 2:24 PM, Bonny Chu and Stephen Sorace, 46189K] reports that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a suit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, claiming that the lawful status of seven international students in Indiana were reportedly terminated without explanation. The suit claims that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not offer the students any opportunity to challenge the decisions and therefore violated due process rights. The suit names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Trump administration has targeted hundreds of international students in recent weeks for their engagement in anti-Israel protests, which the administration argued was support for U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas. The administration has also revoked visas for international students over past infractions such as traffic violations. "There is no rhyme or reason for DHS’s action," ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said. "To terminate an international student’s status, the U.S. government must adhere to regulatory standards and provide basic due process, which it has failed to do." Plaintiffs claimed international students are allowed to continue their studies and maintain their legal residency status even after their visas get revoked. The lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court to allow the seven international students to continue their studies by reinstating their status. A temporary restraining order has also been requested to provide immediate protection to the students, according to the ACLU of Indiana. Among the students named in the lawsuit, six are Chinese citizens attending Purdue University or Indiana University Indianapolis. Another student is a Nigerian citizen attending the University of Notre Dame. Two of the seven students named were expected to graduate next month. "The impact on these students’ lives is profound, and now they live in fear of being deported at any moment," Falk continued. "We’re calling on the court to take immediate steps to stop these unlawful actions.” Fox News Digital reached out to the DHS for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

The Denver Post [4/15/2025 12:05 PM, Lauren Penington, 2656K] reports that a federal judge on Monday night temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan immigrants in Colorado. The American Civil Liberties Union sued President Donald Trump and members of his administration in U.S. District Court in Denver on behalf of two Venezuelan men, referred to only by their initials, "and others similarly situated" who have been accused of being part of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to court records. The organization said it was seeking "emergency relief on behalf of a class of all noncitizens in custody in the District of Colorado who were, are or will be subject to" Trump’s March proclamation titled Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua. In addition to Trump, the Colorado lawsuit names U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the Denver Field Office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Robert Gaudian and Denver Contract Detention Facility warden Dawn Ceja. A hearing is scheduled in Denver on Monday to discuss the Colorado temporary restraining order and lawsuit. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning. The AP [4/15/2025 12:38 PM, Nicholas Riccardi, 48304K] reports that Trump has contended the gang is invading the United States, but his critics have said he’s using the gang as the pretext for an overhyped anti-migrant narrative. Sweeney’s order temporarily bars removal of all noncitizens who are currently in custody in the District of Colorado and who may be subject to removal under the Alien Enemies Act, which Trump invoked last month. The act has been used only three other times in American history, most recently to intern Japanese-American citizens during World War II. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that anyone being deported under the declaration deserved a hearing in federal court first. That led federal judges in New York and Texas to place temporary holds on deportations in those areas until Trump’s Republican administration presents a procedure for allowing such appeals. Sweeney’s order follows in their footsteps. Sweeney’s order is in effect for 14 days, and she has scheduled an April 21 hearing in the case.

San Francisco Chronicle [4/15/2025 7:00 AM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 5046K] reports that, every Sunday, D.N., an asylum seeker from Uganda, drives her two children an hour from their East Bay city home to the San Francisco church where they worship. Even after she’s worked nearly all night driving for Uber, she never misses church the next morning. Her faith has kept her hopeful, she said, as she fears deportation. The woman is one of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., a number that includes people with pending asylum applications and no other legal status, that the Trump administration has said it would like to deport. She fled Uganda for the U.S. in 2018, she said, to escape a ransom death threat against her and her family. Since arriving in the Bay Area in 2021, she has leaned on her fellow church members to help her pay rent and babysit her kids, ages 5 and 7, but the spiritual connection has been just as important. "I’m raising these kids by myself and no relatives around, apart from church, because church is my family," said D.N., whom the Chronicle agreed to identify her by her initials because she is concerned about being targeted for deportation. "Throughout this whole situation, I’ve seen God’s love through people in my church.” D.N.’s church is one of more than 100 places of worship in the Bay Area that have declared themselves as sanctuary congregations since 2017, providing aid to immigrants — and prompting backlash from critics. By seeking to provide spiritual fellowship and financial support to people at risk of deportation, regardless of their immigration status, the churches have illuminated how Donald Trump’s presidency has reignited debate among the faithful, particularly Christians, on what their God calls them to do. Immigration was a major driver of Trump’s victory, as he slammed the surge in immigration under former President Joe Biden — the largest in U.S. history — as a strain on many cities and communities. In addition to winning voters frustrated over immigration, Trump drew significant support from white evangelical Christians, with about eight in 10 voting for him, according to AP Vote Cast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. Christian nationalists, including Trump’s appointed budget director Russell Vought, have backed him. And prominent evangelists have claimed Trump was chosen by God to be president — rhetoric that Trump has embraced. That Trump’s supporters have justified his deportation policies on the grounds of faith has been painful for Rev. Deborah Lee, the executive director of the California-based Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, who coordinates efforts among churches that have decided to be sanctuary congregations. "We’re trying to not let our faith be taken hostage like that, being exploited and used for harm," she said.

AP [4/15/2025 5:23 PM, Staff, 48304K] reports federal authorities said Tuesday that they have indicted the top two leaders of a Mexican drug trafficking organization and are offering substantial rewards for information leading to their capture. Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga are accused of participating in a conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl and importing and distributing the drugs in the United States, authorities said during a news conference in Atlanta. The newly unsealed three-count indictment was returned by a grand jury in September. The two brothers are the leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana, a Mexican organized crime group that was formally designated by the U.S. government in February as a "foreign terrorist organization," authorities said. The State Department is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and up to $3 million for information about Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. Both men are believed to be in Mexico, officials said.

Breitbart [4/15/2025 3:09 PM, Sean Moran, 2923K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday announced that the Trump administration placed sanctions on four individuals tied to La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), a Mexican cartel linked to fentanyl and human trafficking. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia is also unsealing the indictments of the cartel’s co-leaders, and the State Department will offer rewards for information leading to their arrest and/or conviction. LNFM has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Reuters [4/15/2025 3:59 PM, Kanishka Singh, 41523K] reports the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned leaders of Mexican cartel La Nueva Familia Michoacana on Tuesday while the State Department announced reward offers of up to $8 million for information that could lead to their arrests. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four people affiliated with the drug cartel, which the U.S. designates as a "foreign terrorist organization," the department said in a statement. Those sanctioned on Tuesday, all of whom were siblings, included the group’s co-leaders: Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, the Treasury Department said. The U.S. government says the cartel has trafficked fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine to the United States, and has laundered the proceeds of these illicit drugs through the U.S. financial system. The cartel has also engaged in extortions, kidnappings and murders, according to Washington.

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Breitbart [4/14/2025 1:23 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 2923K] reports El Salvador is "very eager to help" with the crime and terrorism problem connected to the southern border, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday. "But I want to thank you for the great job you’re doing. I appreciate it," Trump said. Bukele, in turn, said it was an honor to be there with the President and leader of the free world, continuing, "We’re very happy, and we’re very eager to help.” "We know that you have a crime problem and a terrorism problem that you need help with, and we’re a small country, but if we can help, we will do it," he said. At one point during the exchange, Bukele lauded Trump for his work on the southern border. "What you’re doing with the border is remarkable – dropped, what, 95 percent? It’s incredible," he remarked. "This morning, 99 percent — 99.1 percent, to be exact," Trump responded. Bukele asked why those figures are not shared far and wide by the mainstream media. "Well, they get ‘em, but the fake news – you know, like CNN over here, doesn’t want to put them out. They don’t like putting out good numbers, because I think they hate our country, actually," Trump said, adding, "It’s a shame. You’re right. Isn’t that a great question? Why don’t they put out the numbers.” The meeting took place after President Donald Trump extended an invitation, praising Bukele as an ally, supporting his efforts to curb illegal immigration. As Breitbart News reported, Trump’s administration "has deported … gang members, including child rapists and convicted killers, to El Salvador.” "Also of great importance to our partnership is your willingness to use El Salvador’s new supermax prison for Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members," Trump wrote in the letter inviting Bukele to the White House. "You have shown real leadership and are a model for others seeking to work with the United States.”

Breitbart [4/14/2025 12:25 PM, Amy Furr, 2923K] reports eleven violent illegal aliens were reportedly deported over the weekend as President Donald Trump works to remove foreign gangs from American communities. The group included seven alleged Tren de Aragua members and one MS-13 member, the New York Post reported on Monday, noting they were deported to El Salvador. The outlet cited a senior Trump administration official who stated others in the group had been previously busted for crimes including rape, making terrorist threats, assaults, and robberies. The news comes after deportations reportedly reached over 100,000 since Trump took office for a second time in January, according to Breitbart News. The outlet noted that Americans had been suffering in the aftermath of former President Joe Biden’s disastrous border policies. The Post article cited more details about individuals in the group who were kicked out of the United States: Among them was Daniel Alexander Fernandez-Rodriguez — a suspected TdA member who was nabbed in the Big Apple last year for grand larceny and a robbery, the official said. He was later arrested in Illinois, too, for burglary and obstructing justice. Another migrant, Jose Santos Robles had been convicted of raping a 15-year-old in New York in 2016. Robles, who had no apparent gang ties, was sentenced to 10 years’ probation for third-degree rape, according to the official. It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier declared that 10 criminals with ties to the two gangs had been deported to El Salvador. The White House later clarified that 11 had been booted. The news comes after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration to enforce deportations of gang members per the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, Breitbart News reported on April 7. In doing so, the court lifted a block imposed by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg. The report noted, "In March, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to allow for the expedited removal of illegal Venezuelan migrants who were suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.” During a recent cabinet meeting, Trump outlined plans to recall illegals for deportation from jobs in the farming and hospitality sectors, saying, "We’re going to work with people so that if they go out in a nice [legal] way and go back to their country, we’re going to work with them right from the beginning on trying to get them back in legally.” "So it gives a real incentive [to leave]. Otherwise, they could never come back," he said.

Breitbart [4/14/2025 2:14 PM, Nick Gilbertson, 2923K] reports White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Monday that the Trump administration will continue sending Tren de Aragua aliens in the United States to El Salvador. Miller’s comments came in response to a reporter who asked if the administration planned "on ramping up deportations to El Salvador?". "As an example, there are thousands of either Tren de Aragua members left in this country or their affiliates and associates, so obviously some portion of those will be going to El Salvador as part of our effort to eradicate this foreign terrorist organization from the United States," Miller responded during the gaggle outside the West Wing. "But there’s no upper limit to the agreement. We’re going to continue to send foreign terrorist aliens to El Salvador, as well as to many other countries," he added. His statement came ahead of President Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele later in the morning. Reporters also asked Miller about deported El Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose pro-migration lawyers argue was illegally deported. "Is the president asking President Bukele today to send Mr. Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.?" one reporter asked Miller. He emphasized that Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen, and it is up to the Salvadoran government to decide his fate: To be very clear about this, the Supreme Court ruled that the district court cannot, obviously, compel us to conduct diplomacy or foreign policy with another nation. So they overturnedthe district court order, and they said very clearly that the district court–it was actually a unanimous ruling–overreached in that ruling. I’m not going to reveal any head of state conversations or conversations at the State Department or the lower level. But the important point that we all agree on is that he’s an El Salvadorian. That is his country of nativity and citizenship. He’s an illegal alien in the United States. He has no lawful right to be here. He was issued a final order of removal from this country, and so it’s up to El Salvador, and to the government and the people of El Salvador, what the fate of their own citizens is. We can’t extradite citizens of foreign countries to our country over the objection of those countries. Obviously, to do that would be a monstrous violation of international law. Miller’s comments regarding Abrego Garcia echo the sentiments Department of Justice officials laid out in a filing on Sunday to a federal court in Maryland in response to a lawsuit brought by Abrego Garcia.

Daily Wire [4/14/2025 9:27 AM, Spencer Lindquist, 4672K] reports President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele and Trump administration officials tore into CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins after she asked if there are plans to return to the United States an illegal alien and suspected MS-13 gang member who was recently deported. The exchange came as Trump hosted Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday, with the two discussing immigration and the ongoing agreement between the two nations, which allows the United States to deport criminal illegal aliens to an El Salvadoran prison facility. Collins questioned President Donald Trump on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien and suspected MS-13 member who was deported to El Salvador and is now being held in the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a massive prison holding tens of thousands of cartel and gang members. Garcia’s case was considered by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the United States must facilitate Garcia’s return if El Salvador wished to send him back to the United States. Collins asked if there were any plans to return Garcia to the United States, with the president directing the question to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi explained that Garcia was not only an illegal alien, but that multiple courts concluded that he was a member of MS-13. "He was illegally in our country … and in 2019, two courts, an immigration court and an appellate immigration court, ruled that he was a member of MS-13," Bondi charged in response to the question. "That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him, that’s not up to us," Bondi said before going on to explain that the Supreme Court ruling doesn’t require the United States to return Garcia, but only to facilitate his return if it was requested by El Salvador. United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller also shot back at Collins, reprimanding her for suggesting how a foreign nation should address issues concerning their own citizens. "It is very arrogant, even for American media, to suggest that we would tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens," Miller charged. He went on to explain that, since Trump designated MS-13 as a foreign terror organization, the illegal alien "was no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief in the United States.” "No version of this legally ends up with him ever living here because he is a citizen of El Salvador," Miller added.

NewsMax [4/15/2025 6:29 AM, Nelson Renteria, Sarah Kinosian, 4998K] reports lawyers challenging the incarceration in El Salvador of more than 200 Venezuelans deported by the U.S. said the Salvadoran government is denying the prisoners access to attorneys and contact with the outside world. Under an agreement with the Salvadoran government, President Donald Trump’s administration in March sent 238 Venezuelans to its Terrorism Confinement Center, the largest prison in Latin America, as part of a crackdown on immigration. The lawyers said they have not been able to visit, speak to, or learn about the whereabouts and conditions of their clients, whose identities they have gleaned through leaked information. El Salvador’s presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. President Nayib Bukele visited the White House on Monday. Private attorneys, some recruited by the Venezuelan government and all paid for by families, have filed writs of habeus corpus at El Salvador’s supreme court, seeking to compel the government to justify the deported Venezuelans’ detention or release them. Law firm Grupo Ortega, which represents at least 30 of the Venezuelan deportees, has received no response to any of those petitions, said general director Jaime Ortega. "None of these people have committed a crime in El Salvador," Ortega told Reuters. "If they are foreigners and people who have lived in other countries, why have they come here directly to a penitentiary center?". Rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States, have for years said El Salvador lacks an independent judiciary, and the supreme court has not taken any steps to consider the habeus corpus petitions to date. Human Rights Watch on Friday said there is no official list of the detained Venezuelans, and relatives have not received responses to requests for information on their location from Salvadoran and U.S. authorities. The rights group called on the Salvadoran government to confirm who is being held and where, reveal any legal basis for their detention, and allow them contact with the outside world. Salvadoran human rights group Cristosal is preparing habeas corpus claims for more than 100 Venezuelans, but Director Noah Bullock is not optimistic about the outcome. The group has filed over 7,200 unanswered habeas corpus claims for Salvadorans arrested under Bukele. Bukele came to power in 2019 on promises he would combat the country’s notorious gangs and crime rate. Since then, his party has acted in congress to remove the attorney general and all five supreme court judges, replacing them with loyalists. The president declared a state of emergency about two years ago that he said was needed to implement the crackdown. Salvadoran authorities have since detained around 2% of the adult population and the homicide rate has dropped significantly. The moves have drawn widespread criticism, including by the United states, over the suspension of constitutional rights like due process and the right to a lawyer, as well as over reports of arbitrary detention, torture and death.

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CBS News [4/15/2025 11:42 PM, Adam Thompson, 51661K] reports Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is traveling to El Salvador on Wednesday, as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who officials admitted was mistakenly deported, remains detained in a prison there. On Monday, Van Hollen requested to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele while he visited Washington, D.C. this week. The senator also said he was prepared to go to El Salvador if Abrego Garcia is not returned to the United States. Van Hollen said he hopes to visit Abrego Garcia and "check on his well-being.” "Following his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States," Van Hollen said in a statement. "It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador. My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his well-being and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland.” In a letter, Van Hollen wrote that he "urgently" wants to meet with Bukele this week. He also said Abrego Garcia should never have been deported, and he should not spend another day at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. According to Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, the only evidence of his alleged gang ties stems from a confidential witness and the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie at the time of his arrest. "Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia should never have been abducted and illegally deported, and the courts have made clear: the Administration must bring him home, now. However, since the Trump administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action," Van Hollen said. "That’s why I’ve requested to meet with President Bukele during his trip to the United States, and – if Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release.”

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Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 6:58 PM, Lauren Green, 2296K]
Daily Wire [4/15/2025 3:22 PM, Daniel Chaitin, 4672K]

Breitbart [4/16/2025 3:34 AM, Neil Munro, 2923K] reports Democrats and their media allies are portraying a deported illegal migrant from El Salvador as a martyr of U.S. migration policy, so helping President Donald Trump’s deputies spotlight the Democrats’ sympathy for criminal illegals. The deported migrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, "shouldn’t have to spend another second away from his family [in Maryland]," Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen announced on Tuesday evening, adding: I’m flying to El Salvador tomorrow morning to check on his condition and discuss his return. "Senator Van Hollen seems to be under the very confused impression that this MS-13 terrorist is his constituent," responded Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s chief migration advisor, adding: He is [El Salvador] President Nayib Bukele’s constituent … He is not a "Maryland man." He is not a Maryland anything. He is an illegal alien from El Salvador with a deportation order from the United States. He is even not allowed to legally be in our country. Under the Due Process that these Democrats so venerate for illegal invaders, it is legally impermissable for him to have one more minute in this country. So we honor the law and obey the law by getting him out of this country. And if the entire Democrat Party was to work itself into a state of emotional hysteria to demand the return of illegal gang members and terrorists to our shores, then that 21 percent [polling support] will soon be 15 [percent] and then will be 11 [percent] and then all they will have left will be actual, confirmed Ms-13 members. Many polls show that the public strongly supports Trump’s policy of deporting migrants. For example, Breitbart News reported on April 15 that "By a margin of 74 percent support to 26 percent, voters support deporting illegal aliens who have committed crimes. A full 70 percent support closing the border with only 30 percent opposing.” But Democrats are hoping to wear down public opposition to migration by a relentness elite-funded "surround sound" PR campaign that subordinates Americans’ concerns under the Democrats’ preferred wave of migrants. Homeland security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin trolled ABC News for describing the deported migrant as a "Maryland Man": Other Democrats are pledging to join Van Hollen on the trip to visit the deported illegal, including Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Ca.), a former illegal migrant. The Democrat-affiliated establishment is also spotlighting the man’s crying wife to claim the "Maryland Man" can be returned to the United States- even though a judge ordered him deported in 2019. The migrant was not deported that year because a judge said he would be threatened by gangs in El Salvador.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 10:54 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K] reports that Attorney General Pam Bondi scoffed at Democratic lawmakers who say they will visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. While a district judge ruled in favor of facilitating Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, the Department of Justice pointed out that the ruling did not dictate that it would have to effectuate his return, signaling he would stay in the prison. Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), and Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) pledged a visit to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, referred to as the CECOT, which Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele built after entering office. "These people are so detached from reality that they do not care about the victims of crimes in this country. There is a reason Donald Trump declared MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization," Bondi said on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime. "They are organized crime at its worst. They are spread rampant throughout our country. We are going to rid our country of MS-13 and TDA. We’re just thankful that President Nayib Bukele will take him in a prison in El Salvador.” All CECOT prisoners, which include members of the gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13, will stay there for a minimum of one year. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed that these immigrants were deported under Code Title 8, which allows federal authorities to remove quickly certain migrants who cross into the country illegally. They were also deported under the Alien Enemies Act, which allows the president to remove migrants immediately if they come from invading countries in times of war.

Bloomberg [4/15/2025 5:19 PM, John Harney, 16228K] reports El Salvador has been admitted into a Customs and Border Protection program that allows its citizens to apply for swifter entry when traveling to the US — a day after President Donald Trump welcomed the Central American nation’s leader to the White House. CBP “is announcing a Global Entry partnership with El Salvador, making El Salvador one of our 20 partner countries whose citizens can apply for Global Entry membership,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday in a post on X. President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has bolstered Trump’s campaign to escalate deportations of migrants by accepting alleged gang members and housing them in a huge prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, where human-rights advocates say guards brutalize inmates. At the White House on Monday, Bukele told reporters that a Maryland man deported to his country by the Trump administration would not be returned, even as the Supreme Court has called for the US to facilitate his release. At the same Oval Office session, Trump said he had asked Bukele, who has one of the highest domestic approval ratings among world leaders thanks to his aggressive policing and mass incarceration efforts, if El Salvador could build more prisons to jail as many American criminals as possible — US citizens included.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 10:17 AM, Paul Bedard, 2296K] reports that returning an illegal immigrant and alleged past MS-13 member seized in Baltimore last month and sent to a Salvadoran prison is likely a wasted effort since the administration could easily change his immigration status and deport him again, according to legal experts. "Any such return might be nothing more than an exercise in futility," George Washington University Law School professor John Banzhaf said. "There might be little purpose in flying him back if, upon his return to the U.S., his ‘withholding of removal’ status would very likely be immediately revoked," he said on Tuesday. At issue is the arrest and deportation last month of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is described in the media as a "Maryland man," entered the United States illegally in 2011, and was described in courts as a past member of the violent gang MS-13, which President Donald Trump has declared a global terrorist group. Supporters claim he was wrongfully detained and deported, and the Supreme Court has ordered that the Trump administration help in returning him to the U.S., which the administration said it is unable and unwilling to do. Immigration law experts weighing in on the case, while not picking sides, described it as legally complicated due in part to Garcia’s long delay in asking for asylum and the less protective status of "withholding of removal" he was granted in 2019.

AP [4/16/2025 4:14 AM, Megan Janetsky and Matías Delacroix, 48304K] reports the face of U.S. President Donald Trump flashes on the flat-screen TV that Luis Olea bought with the money he earned ferrying migrants through the remote Panamanian jungle during an unprecedented crush of migration. The Darien Gap, a stretch of nearly impenetrable rain forest along the border with Colombia, was transformed into a migratory highway in recent years as more than 1.2 million people from around the world traveled north toward the United States. They brought an economic boom to areas that are hours, even days, from towns or mobile phone signal. Migrants paid for boat rides, clothing, meals and water after grueling and often deadly treks. With that burst of wealth, many in towns like Olea’s Villa Caleta, in the Comarca Indigenous lands, abandoned their plantain and rice crops to carry migrants down the winding rivers. Olea installed electricity in his one-room wooden home in the heart of the jungle. Families invested in children’s education. People built homes and more hopeful lives. Then the money vanished. After Trump took office in January and slashed access to asylum in the U.S., migration through the Darien Gap virtually disappeared. The new economy bottomed out, and residents newly dependent on it scrambled for options. “Before, we lived off of the migration,” 63-year-old Olea said. “But now that’s all gone.” Migration through the Darien Gap soared around 2021 as people fleeing economic crises, war and repressive governments increasingly braved the days-long journey. While criminal groups raked in money controlling migratory routes and extorting vulnerable people, the mass movement also injected cash into historically underdeveloped regions, said Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances and development program at the Inter-American Dialogue. “It became a business opportunity for a lot of people,” Orozco said. “It’s like you’ve discovered a gold mine, but once it dries up … you either leave the area and go to the city or stay living in poverty.”

CNN [4/15/2025 7:08 PM, Michael Rios, 430301K] reports Ecuador has talked to the United States about receiving support in its battle against criminal gangs, President Daniel Noboa said in an exclusive interview with CNN, his first since winning Sunday’s presidential election. "There are plans … we had conversations, we had a plan, we had options that we would like to follow. And now we just need another meeting, post-election, now as an elected president, to consolidate it," Noboa told CNN’s Fernando del Rincon on Tuesday. Ecuador has been requesting foreign military support for months, saying that its fight against gangs is a "transnational war" that requires the contribution of multiple countries. Noboa said that while his administration "would love to have" US forces in Ecuador, he insisted that they would not be out patrolling the streets. Instead, they would play a supportive role in Ecuador’s security operations. "We would like to cooperate with US forces, and I think there are many ways that we can do that, especially in monitoring illegal operations that move out of Ecuador, but the control of the operations will be in the hands of our military and our police," he said. Ecuador has been laying the groundwork for US forces to arrive, according to plans obtained by CNN. A high-level Ecuadorian official familiar with the planning told CNN last month that the country is constructing a new naval facility in the coastal city of Manta, with the expectation that it "will be eventually occupied by US troops.” The US has previously carried out operations in that area. From 1999 to 2009, it ran surveillance flights targeting drug routes in the eastern Pacific at the now-defunct Manta Air Base. Noboa told CNN on Tuesday he is seeking to reform the constitution to allow foreign military presence in the country again, and is open to having military bases to help control illegal operations such as drug trafficking, illegal fishing and mining. "That would help to keep peace … like we had in the past with the Manta base," he said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Times [4/15/2025 5:12 PM, Seth Oranburg, 1814K] reports immigration Judge Jamee Comans has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who organized pro-Hamas rallies immediately after that terrorist organization killed more than 1,000 Israelis, can be deported. If you are surprised, you are not paying attention. This case was a slam dunk for the feds, and it doesn’t mean every foreign student needs to panic. The facts against Mr. Khalil are especially damning. Other cases could raise sharper questions about free speech, but it would be foolish to die on this hill. As a law professor, sometimes I require my students to read the law. Sometimes, interpreting statutes is hard. Some rules are long and boring. However, the law regarding deportable aliens is straightforward. Let’s read the Code of Federal Regulations together: "An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.” Let’s review the facts. Mr. Khalil is a lawful permanent resident (LPR), which makes him an alien. Macro Rubio, the secretary of state, declared that he personally determined Mr. Khalil is bad for foreign policy. An immigration judge ruled that Mr. Rubio had reasonable grounds for this belief. ABC News called it a "stunning move," but you would be stunned only if you can’t read. The Hill took pains to quote Mr. Khalil’s pregnant wife. About half the news stories covering the deportation focused on how she will give birth this month. Legally, that is entirely irrelevant. What’s relevant is that Mr. Khalil organized rallies to hand out Hamas-branded propaganda. Also relevant is that Hamas is a U.S.-designed foreign terrorist organization. Also, there seem to be misconceptions about what lawful permanent resident (what we call "green card" holder") means. An LPR is not a citizen but is legally allowed to live and work in the United States. Permanent, meaning indefinite, contrasts with temporary, meaning for a specific fixed period, such as a student visa that expires one year after graduation. It does not mean forever, regardless of anything. That would be the definition of "citizen.” An LPR can lose his green card for a lot of reasons. Because LPRs are in the U.S. as a courtesy, based on what law calls American "hospitality," they can lose that status when their presence conflicts with other American interests, just like you can ask a houseguest to leave if they are upsetting your children by cussing too much.

Washington Post [4/15/2025 6:15 AM, Monica Hesse, 31735K] reports where it stands right now is that Kilmar Abrego García appears to be out of options. The United States government says it is not legally obligated to save him; the Salvadoran president says his country couldn’t help even if it wanted to. At every turn, this seems to have been a miscarriage of every definition of justice, and it’s worth reminding ourselves just how in God’s name we got here and what it means. On March 12, Abrego García had just picked up his 5-year-old, special-needs son when he was stopped by immigration agents and secreted away to the Terrorism Confinement Center prison in El Salvador. Many of the hundreds of people sent to CECOT remain nameless and story-less. There is little information about who they are or what they have been accused of doing, which has made it difficult to hold them up as poster children for the Trump administration’s questionable actions. But Abrego García, it became pretty clear, was neither who the government said he was, nor likely guilty of what he had been accused of. The Trump administration first claimed Abrego García was a dangerous criminal in the country illegally. But later, the administration admitted that the man had no criminal record and was actually a legal resident deported as the result of an administrative error. Whoopsie. According to previous court filings, the man had fled El Salvador not because he was in a gang but because he was being targeted by a gang, which he and his brother refused to join. Whoopsie! And so he, along with Andry Hernandez Romero, a theater-loving, gay makeup artist whose tattoos celebrating a flamboyant Three Kings Day festival were apparently confused with gang ink — truly, you cannot make this up — became focal points around which the country could organize its attention.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 5:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli and Mabinty Quarshie, 2296K] reports the White House is attempting to deport at least 1 million illegal immigrants in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, a lofty figure larger than the number of removals undertaken during any of his first four years in office. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security have discussed with the White House how to deport the 1.4 million immigrants who have already been ordered removed but not actually left the country because their home countries, such as Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua, will not allow them to return, according to Washington Post. The Trump administration is also in talks with roughly 30 countries about their willingness to accept immigrants who are not originally from that country. The conversations reflect the harder line the White House is taking on immigration in Trump’s second term. Federal data show that fiscal 2012, during the Obama administration, had the most annual deportations in recent memory, just over 409,000, with Trump’s first-term numbers falling below 300,000. But Trump will face obstacles, both logistical and legal, to undertaking such a large operation, making the goal more aspirational than a firm target for border officials. In fact, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who is credited with steering Trump’s border policy, told reporters that he is aiming even higher than the 1 million figure. "Much more than that, much more," Miller said on Monday ahead of Trump’s bilateral meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. On the campaign trail, Trump and Vice President JD Vance touted plans to start arresting and deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records to commence what the Republican Party’s platform referred to as the "largest-ever" mass deportation. The Trump administration also signaled in its early weeks that many illegal immigrants without convictions would be swept up in those operations. Border czar Tom Homan told the Washington Examiner in December that "collateral" arrests were certain to occur, which could leave any of the more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the country vulnerable to arrest and deportation. The Trump administration has restarted some of the practices that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials halted under President Joe Biden, including worksite enforcement operations, or going into job sites that had failed to respond to audits with suspected illegal employees. The White House has also worked out arrangements with third countries like El Salvador, which has begun accepting alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and housing them in its mega-prison. Venezuela had refused to accept migrants, though it began accepting repatriation flights again in March. The steps have invited legal scrutiny, with Trump employing the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants without due process, but immigration experts are skeptical the president can attain a goal of 1 million deportations even with its efforts to stretch the limits of the law. In most cases, arrested migrants must still go before an immigration judge who ultimately decides whether he or she will be removed, creating a drawn-out process in a backlogged court system. ICE does not always have the cooperation of local jurisdictions, some of which have explicit "sanctuary" policies that prevent cooperation with federal officials, either. The agency’s budget constraints are another limitation. David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the biggest factor in whether Trump will achieve his goal is whether he has the money to do it. "Whether the administration achieves its goals of record deportations will depend primarily on Congress and, to a lesser extent, the courts," Bier wrote in an email. "If Congress appropriates the roughly $300 billion that the GOP budget reconciliation bill calls for, ICE will have literally decades of funding to carry the largest deportation campaign in US history. The courts may slow deportations to some extent, but ‘much more’ than a million is certainly achievable when money is no obstacle.” Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, noted that the last deportation operation of a similar scale occurred in 1954. The since-remade Immigration and Naturalization Service office deported somewhere between 300,000 and 1.3 million illegal workers. Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has contributed to a precipitous drop in illegal crossings at the southern border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection detailing the figures each month on its website. The agency recorded just 11,000 encounters at the southwest border in March, compared to 189,000 in the same month last year. But its efforts at interior enforcement are not similarly posted, making the administration’s success difficult to analyze. Trump’s deportation operation started on Jan. 20, with arrests of illegal immigrants topping 5,500 in 10 days. However, the government has shied away from posting daily, weekly, or even monthly figures since early February. The Office of Homeland Security Statistics recently ceased publishing monthly statistics of immigration enforcement actions, including deportations. Nayna Gupta, director of policy at the American Immigration Council in Washington, said predicting whether Trump will hit 1 million removals this year is challenging, primarily because the administration is not being forthcoming with the data. "We don’t have enough information on numbers of deportations because the administration is purposely withholding those numbers. They continue to face significant operational, resource, and diplomatic barriers to achieving their deportation goals," Gupta wrote in a statement. "That is why the Trump administration is requesting billions of dollars from Congress this month to fund this indiscriminate, cruel, and expensive agenda.” Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin claimed in late March that ICE had removed more than 100,000 people, which would be a dramatic uptick since January. ICE did not respond to a Washington Examiner request for figures on the number of deportations to date. Vaughan said deportation figures could theoretically include people who depart as a result of Trump-era initiatives. The administration is requiring illegal immigrants to register with the government and also has provided a tool to self-deport. "The Trump administration is on track to accomplish what could be the largest deportation operation in our history if it is sustained, based on the pace of removals and returns together with other measures, such as the CBP-1 ‘self-deportation’ app and the new registration program, which encourage illegal migrants to return home on their own," Vaughan, whose employer supports limits on immigration, wrote in an email. Regardless of whether Trump is able to reach his goal, Gupta said his efforts are having a "chilling effect" on immigrant communities across the country. "Threatening to deport one million non-citizens in a single year has a significant chilling effect regardless of how many people the administration actually deports — it makes people scared to go to work and school — and local economies and communities are already suffering as a result," Gupta said.

Reuters [4/15/2025 7:43 PM, Staff, 41523K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Tuesday that he planned to roll out a new program offering money for immigrants in the country illegally to leave voluntarily. Trump said such a "self-deportation program" would include some financial assistance and the prospect of re-entering the country later legally. "We’re going to give them a stipend," Trump told Fox Noticias’ Rachel Campos-Duffy, according to an official transcript of an interview taped on Monday. "We’re going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we’re going to work with them. If they’re good, if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can.” A White House spokesman said he had nothing to add to Trump’s comments. Trump, a Republican, has vowed to deport record numbers of migrants in the U.S. illegally and has tested the bounds of U.S. law to increase arrests and deportations. His administration has also pushed immigrants to assist in their own expulsion. Immigrants are being asked to signal their "intent to depart" using a U.S. Customs and Border Protection app called CBP Home.

Reported similarly:
AP [4/15/2025 5:53 PM, Michelle L. Price, 48304K]

NBC News [4/15/2025 5:00 AM, Julia Ainsley, 430301K] reports Trump administration officials are ramping up pressure on immigrants to leave the United States of their own volition, or "self deport," as the number of people the government is deporting from the interior of the country remains stagnant, far below the vision for mass deportations promised by President Donald Trump and his top officials. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported just over 12,300 immigrants from March 1 to March 28, slightly under the 12,700 people it deported during the same period last year, according to ICE data obtained by NBC News. ICE deported around 11,000 people in February. A major factor in the deportation numbers’ being lower than they were during the Biden administration is the drastic drop in border crossings since Trump took office and effectively ended any pathway for people crossing the border to claim asylum. Last month, the latest month for which data is publicly available, Customs and Border Protection had just over 11,000 encounters with undocumented migrants at the southern border, compared with nearly 190,000 in March 2024. It is easier and faster for the government to deport people detained near the border than to find them after they disperse across the United States. The Trump administration still faces major funding and logistical obstacles to drastically ramping up deportations in the way Trump promised on the campaign trail, where he talked about the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, and in his inaugural address, when he promised to deport "millions and millions." That pace would most likely be achievable only with a massive cash influx to ICE from Congress, according to the sources familiar with the discussions. The funding bill that recently passed Congress increased ICE’s annual budget only by a little more than 5%, from $9 billion to $9.5 billion. While it waits on more money to be allocated, three sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News that the relatively slow pace of deportations has led the Department of Homeland Security, which ICE is part of, to push self-deportation. "There’s an acknowledgment they can’t get the numbers up if they have to find, arrest, detain and fly all of these people home. So they have to push for self-deportation," said one of the sources familiar with the discussions. Asked for comment, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: "Deportations have already exceeded 117,000 in just the first 70 days. This is just the beginning. We are unleashing DHS law enforcement that has had its hands tied behind its back for four years under [former President Joe] Biden and [former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas. "These deportations don’t even include the number of illegal aliens who have self-deported. Illegal aliens are hearing Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s message loud and clear: leave now or face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order, arrest, detainment and deportation.” The 117,000 number McLaughlin provided included people deported by CBP and the Coast Guard, who would have been encountered at or even before they reached the border. In what DHS called a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, Noem has been encouraging immigrants to self-deport or face consequences. "President Trump has a clear message for those who are in our country illegally: Leave now. If you don’t, we will find you," she says in the ad, which also praises Trump and his policies.

ABC News [4/15/2025 3:46 PM, Laura Romero, 34586K] reports Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested by immigration authorities Monday, was taking the last step in the process for him to become a U.S. citizen, his attorney told ABC News. U.S. District Judge William Sessions subsequently granted Mahdawi’s attorneys a temporary restraining order barring the government from moving Mahdawi out of the District of Vermont "pending further order" from the court. Mahdawi, who founded a university organization called the Palestinian Student Union with Mahmoud Khalil, was an activist in student protests on Columbia’s campus until March 2024, according to a habeas petition obtained by ABC News.

Reported similarly:
NPR [4/15/2025 4:49 PM, Adrian Florido, 29983K] Audio: HERE

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 6:22 PM, Matthew Kassel, 430301K] reports the arrest on Monday of a Palestinian student at Columbia University who helped organize campus anti-Israel demonstrations was the latest front in the Trump administration’s closely scrutinized crackdown on foreign activists who have expressed sympathy for Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups. Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old green card holder born and raised in the West Bank, was arrested and detained by federal immigration officers on Monday after he appeared at a U.S. citizenship interview in Vermont, where he resides. Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, said in an email to Jewish Insider on Tuesday that Mahdawi "was a ringleader in the Columbia protests," sharing a New York Post article citing anonymous State Department sources claiming that he had used "threatening rhetoric and intimidation" against Jewish students. "Due to privacy and other considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases," a State Department spokesperson told JI on Tuesday. Mahdawi’s lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition on Monday calling his detention unlawful. "This case concerns the government’s retaliatory and targeted detention and attempted removal of Mr. Mahdawi for his constitutionally protected speech," the petition said.

CBS News [4/15/2025 7:26 PM, Lilia Luciano and Joe Walsh, 51661K] reports just one day before Mohsen Mahdawi was detained by immigration agents at what he was told was his citizenship interview, the Columbia student and Palestinian activist told CBS News he thought there was a chance the long-awaited appointment could be a trap. "It’s the first feeling of like, I’ve been waiting for this for more than a year," Mahdawi — a native of the Israeli-occupied West Bank who has held a green card for the last decade — told CBS News on the eve of his detention. "And the other feeling is like, wait a minute. Is this a honey trap?". Mahdawi was taken into custody after arriving at his interview in Vermont on Monday. CBS News witnessed federal agents strapping on vests shortly after he walked into the building, emerging about an hour later with Mahdawi in handcuffs. His attorneys say he was detained under a little-used law allowing foreign nationals to be deported if they pose "serious adverse foreign policy consequences" — making him the latest student to face detention, including fellow Columbia activist and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil. Mahdawi’s legal team has petitioned a judge to release him and alleged he is being punished for protected speech, in violation of the First Amendment and his right to due process. Shortly after Mahdawi’s detention, federal Judge William Sessions ordered the Trump administration not to deport him or move him out of the state of Vermont while Sessions reviews the case, granting a request from Mahdawi’s attorneys.

AP [4/14/2025 1:32 PM, Holly Ramer, 48304K] reports Venezuelan man facing misdemeanor charges in New Hampshire was apprehended in a courthouse by federal agents who also knocked over a bystander as they tackled him. Recently released security camera footage from Nashua Circuit Court shows two agents throwing Arnuel Marquez Colmenarez to the floor and handcuffing him on Feb. 20. An older man using a cane to walk also ended up flat on his back. Marquez Colmenarez, 33, had been charged Feb. 9 with drunken driving, driving without a license and failing to provide information after an accident. He was heading to his arraignment on those charges when he was apprehended, Nashua Police say. Jared Neff, the court liaison officer for the Hudson Police Department, said he was in the prosecutor’s office when he heard a loud commotion near the elevators. "There were voices yelling ‘Stop!’ and then a loud ‘bang’ which sounded like people had fallen on the ground and were actively fighting and struggling," he wrote in an incident report. Neff said he helped restrain Marquez Colmenarez, whom he described as actively resisting attempts to handcuff him. The agents were working on orders to detain immigrants in the country illegally, Neff said. They told Neff they had tried to detain Marquez Colmenarez quietly in the elevator, but he had fled. A judge later issued a bench warrant after he failed to appear for his arraignment. The prosecutor handling the case wasn’t contacted by federal agents before the arraignment and didn’t witness the arrest, police said. As of Monday, Colmenaraz was being held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas, according to an online database. The agency did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [4/15/2025 6:34 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 46189K]

AP [4/15/2025 12:01 PM, Michael Casey, 48304K] reports that a federal judge has dismissed a contempt case against an agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement whose arrest of a man during his trial sparked criticism among the law enforcement community in Boston. ICE agent Brian Sullivan took Wilson Martell-Lebron, 49, into custody last month as he was leaving court. Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville found Sullivan in contempt, arguing that he deprived Martell-Lebron of his rights to due process and fair trial. But on Monday, U.S. District Judge William Young dismissed the case after the Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell agreed with U.S. Attorney Leah Foley that the contempt order should be vacated. "While you might disagree with the enforcement of our federal immigration laws, there is simply no legal basis for you to hold federal officers in criminal contempt for carrying out their sworn duties," Foley wrote to the municipal judge on April 2. "Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful functions of federal government agents will not be tolerated.” Ryan Sullivan, one of the attorneys for Martell-Lebron, criticized the decision. "We feel that the U.S. Attorney Foley’s position that a state should not investigate whether a federal agent exceeded the bounds of their authority is a chilling threat to Judges, prosecutors, and justice," Sullivan wrote. "Perhaps Agent Sullivan acted within what is ‘necessary and proper’ in the performance of his duties. Or perhaps, as we contend, he did not. An investigation would have revealed that and answered these questions. Instead, the Federal Government told the State to cease and desist."

NewsNation [4/15/2025 6:32 PM, Jusolyn Flower and Hannah Cotter, 6866K] reports federal immigration agents reportedly shattered a car window in New Bedford while detaining a Guatemalan man on Monday—despite his attorney saying they had the wrong person. According to immigration attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin, she received a call from her clients—29-year-old Juan Francisco Mendez and his wife—saying they had been pulled over by federal agents on Tallman Street. "I said, ‘Tell them you have your attorney. Tell them I’m on my way,’" Sniffin told 12 News. While the couple waited, agents reportedly surrounded their car and warned that they could handle things "the easy way or the hard way," while motioning for them to roll down the windows. Video obtained by 12 News shows Mendez and his wife speaking to the agents in Spanish from inside the vehicle. When they didn’t comply, one of the agents is seen grabbing what appears to be a large pick-axe and smashing the backseat window. Sniffin said her clients were told the agents were looking for someone named "Antonio.” "I said, ‘Well, that’s great, because your name is not Antonio, so you should be fine. Show them the paperwork that you have and you should be fine.’ And the agents didn’t pay attention to that," she said. Sniffin said both Mendez and his wife are lawfully in the U.S. and have no criminal record. His wife was granted asylum after fleeing persecution in her home country, and because the two are legally married, Mendez receives the same protection. "She came to the U.S. with the belief that she would be safe here, that she would not have to endure the impunity of state actors the way she endured in her own country. And this is what she’s facing, and her husband, because they are legally married, has the same benefits that she does," Sniffin explained. Francisco Mendez is currently being held in New Hampshire, and a hearing is expected at a later date. Sniffin said they are now gathering evidence and letters of support in preparation for a bond request.

Boston Globe [4/15/2025 9:13 PM, Tonya Alanez and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, 3500K] reports a federal judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting immigration authorities from detaining a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from China who has had her student visa revoked, according to court filings and a recording of the hearing. The 22-year-old student is identified in court records only as “Jane Doe.” She filed a civil suit in federal court in Boston on Friday against the US Department of Homeland Security, its secretary, Kristi Noem, and Todd Lyons, the acting director for US Immigrations and Custom Enforcement. On Monday, the student was notified by the US Department of State that her visa was revoked and that she needed to leave the United States “immediately,” one of the student’s lawyers said in court. In response, also on Monday, the student filed a motion seeking the temporary restraining order, records show. Separately Monday, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sent a letter to the campus community stating that nine people connected to the Cambridge institution have had their visas revoked.

New York Post [4/15/2025 5:46 PM, Jennie Taer, Reuven Fenton, Chris Nesi and Joe Marino, 54903K] reports immigration agents nabbed 206 illegal migrants in and around New York City during a massive operation last week that took wanton criminals and gangbangers off the streets, The Post has learned. Among those collared by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other feds were 121 illegal migrants with criminal convictions or charges including murder, assault, arson and sex crimes against children, as well as a laundry list of drug and gun offenses. One suspect, Edimar Alejandra Colmenares Mendoza is a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the feds say. She was picked up at a Bronx building that the NYPD previously raided in for gang members in January. In addition to the Tren de Aragua gang-banger, gang members from MS-13, Sureños and the 18th Street crews were among the violent offenders swept up in the "enhanced enforcement operation" undertaken by federal authorities, according to ICE.

New York Times [4/15/2025 3:05 PM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 145325K] reports the City Council sued Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday in an attempt to block an executive order that permitted the Trump administration to open offices at the Rikers Island jail complex as part of its immigration crackdown. The lawsuit argues that the executive order City Hall issued last week, which allows federal immigration agents to re-establish a presence at Rikers after being banned from the jail in 2014, is “part of a corrupt quid pro quo bargain” between the mayor and President Trump. The Democratic-led City Council argued that Mr. Adams, who is also a Democrat, had abused the power of his office, and accused him of helping Mr. Trump enact his mass deportation agenda as payback for the Justice Department’s move to end the federal corruption case against the mayor. The lawsuit, filed in state court, set the stage for an extraordinary intraparty showdown between the City Council and Mr. Adams, who has grappled with blowback for embracing Mr. Trump and recently announced he would seek a second term as an independent in the November general election. The litigation, if protracted or successful, could present a roadblock for the Trump administration in its efforts to regain access to New York City jails, which Thomas Homan, the president’s border czar, has repeatedly said is a priority as it seeks to deport immigrants accused of crimes. The mayor has rejected any notion of a quid pro quo and maintained his innocence. The AP [4/15/2025 2:39 PM, Jake Offenhartz, 24727K] reports that in an emailed statement, mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said the city would review the council’s lawsuit. She added that it “seems baseless and contrary to the public interest in protecting New Yorkers from violent criminals.” Adams has repeatedly denied making any deal with the Trump administration over the criminal case. ICE agents previously had a presence on the Rikers Island facility, which is on a hard-to-reach island in the East River, but they were effectively banned from operating there in 2014 under New York City’s sanctuary laws. In December last year, Adams told Fox News after a meeting with President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan that Homan would like access to Rikers, and his administration was looking into “exceptions” to the sanctuary law.

Reported similarly:
Politico [4/15/2025 3:46 PM, Joe Anuta]
NewsNation [4/15/2025 3:23 PM, Matthew Euzarraga, 6866K]
Univision [4/15/2025 3:42 PM, Staff, 5325K]

FOX News [4/15/2025 3:21 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46189K] reports the Democrat-controlled city council of New York City is suing Mayor Eric Adams for cooperating with the Trump administration by allowing ICE to conduct immigration investigations at Rikers Island Prison. The city council is asking the court to declare an executive order by the mayor’s office allowing ICE into Rikers Island "illegal, null, and void." The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York on Tuesday. In the suit, the city council accuses Adams of engaging in an illegal "quid pro quo" with the Trump administration by allowing ICE into the city prison in exchange for having the federal corruption charges against him dropped. At issue in the suit is an executive order signed by New York City First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro last week that allows federal immigration authorities to operate an office on Rikers Island to help carry out criminal investigations into drug trafficking, organized violence and migrant gang activity plaguing the city. The order allows federal law enforcement agencies to share intelligence with the corrections department and NYPD about criminal gang activity among individuals both inside and outside of custody. It does not give ICE permission to carry out civil immigration enforcement and arrest people simply for being undocumented.

NPR [4/15/2025 6:55 AM, Leila Fadel, 29983K] reports NPR speaks with Ramzi Kassem, a member of the legal team for Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, about her detention and arguments in her immigration hearing. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Breitbart [4/15/2025 9:58 PM, Paul Bois, 2923K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has harshly criticized a Maryland sanctuary city for releasing an illegal migrant charged with murder. "ICE Baltimore says the sanctuary county of Prince George’s County in Maryland ignored their detainer request and released a 2x previously deported Guatemalan illegal alien alleged murderer into the community," reported Bill Melugin of Fox News on Tuesday. "32-year-old Rene Pop-Chub is facing pending murder charges in Prince George’s County, but ICE says he was released from local custody last Tuesday with no cooperation or notification. ICE Baltimore found him and arrested him in Hyattsville, MD, on Saturday.” In a statement, ICE said the Hyattsville put people in the community at risk by ignoring their detainer request. "When jurisdictions refuse to honor our immigration detainers, they put their own communities at risk — as was the case here, where a dangerous illegal alien charged with murder and assault was released back onto the streets," said the statement. "Thanks to the unwavering dedication and tireless efforts of our officers, this individual has been taken back into custody. Their work ensures that he will now face justice and will no longer pose a threat to public safety in Maryland.” According to Fox News, Pop-Chub was deported "back to Guatemala in 2023 and 2017 after he illegally entered the U.S." It remains unknown how or where he illegally entered the U.S. for the third time. "Following his arrest on Saturday, Pop-Chub was transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service," added Fox News.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 7:28 PM, Christopher Wiggins, 430301K] reports a second deportation under President Donald Trump’s draconian immigration crackdown has been tied to a disgraced police officer — exposing a disturbing pattern in how the administration is removing powerless people from the United States, largely without due process. This time, it’s Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a Maryland father of three wrongfully deported to El Salvador by the administration’s admission — whose case has drawn international scrutiny. The New Republic revealed that the local police detective who first labeled him an MS-13 gang member was later indicted for misconduct. The Maryland officer, Ivan Mendez of the Prince George’s County Police Department, was suspended and convicted for leaking confidential police information to a sex worker in 2020. According to The New Republic, in 2019, Mendez filled out the "Gang Field Interview Sheet" that ICE later used to claim Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 — citing, among other things, that he wore a Chicago Bulls hoodie and hat. ICE also claimed a confidential informant tied him to a New York gang clique despite Abrego Garcia never living there bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home press conference wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura speaking. An immigration judge ultimately granted Abrego Garcia "withholding of removal," barring his deportation to El Salvador due to the risk of harm — a ruling the Trump administration knowingly ignored when it deported him in March. The U.S. Supreme Court has since ruled the deportation illegal.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 8:22 AM, Ashleigh Yuhas, 430301K] reports that an immigration judge is asking for more details before making a decision on bond for University of Alabama student, Alrireza Doroudi, who got taken from immigration officials and his visa revoked last month. Doroudi was set to have a bond hearing today at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, but that is now being delayed. ICE agents took Doroudi away from his apartment at the University of Alabama’s campus in Tuscaloosa and claimed he poses a national security risk. The Department of Homeland Security has not given any details why Doroudi, a doctoral student studying mechanical engineering, is a security risk. His lawyer claimed that Doroudi did not support terrorist groups or express anti – American rhetoric. Judge Maithe Gonzalez asked for Doroudi and the U.S government to give more information on the case before making any final decision on a bond. Gonzalez set another bond hearing for Thursday afternoon. Doroudi and his lawyers have not assigned a master hearing yet, which is where they argue why he should not be removed from the U.S. Doroudi is staying in the same ICE facility as Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University in New York City.

NewsNation [4/15/2025 11:01 AM, Melissa Moon, 6866K] reports that aman and a woman from the Memphis area were among nine arrested during a human trafficking sting in East Tennessee over the weekend. Vincent Billingsley, 30, of Memphis, was charged with one count of promoting prostitution and one count of simple drug possession. Morgan Garrett, 38, of Cordova, is facing one count of promoting prostitution. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said special agents with TBI’s Human Trafficking Unit, the Hendersonville Police Department, the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office, members of the 18th Judicial Drug Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Office of 18th Judicial District Attorney General Ray Whitley were all involved in the undercover operation. The TBI said the operation was aimed at addressing human trafficking in the Hendersonville area and identifying individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors. On April 11 and 12, officers placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be associated with prostitution and sex trafficking. As a result, nine people were charged and booked into the Sumner County Jail.

Breitbart [4/15/2025 5:05 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2923K] reports Florida’s top law enforcement officer is warning the mayor of Orlando that he could be removed from office if he implements a pro-migrant law passed by the town’s city council. In 2018, Orlando approved local rules entitled the "Trust Act," which aimed to turn Orlando into a sanctuary city. But state officials are warning Orlando that sanctuary policies are illegal in Florida, according to WJXT-TV. Florida Attorney General Republican James Uthmeier jumped to social media on Monday to warn Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer that sanctuary city policies had become "void" when Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a state-wide law in 2019. Mayor Dyer responded with a letter of his own insisting that he and his administration don’t have any "intention of violating federal or state law" and also noted that he and his city "signed the Memorandum and Agreement 287(g) Task Force Model with ICE."

Blaze [4/15/2025 5:35 PM, Julio Rosas, 1668K] reports Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (D) is walking back statements about half-heartedly enforcing Florida’s immigration laws after a warning from Attorney General James Uthmeier (R). While Dyer had confirmed that Orlando’s police department would participate in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, as mandated by new state law, he added that officers would still follow the Trust Act, a sanctuary city policy that was voided under a law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in 2019. The next day, Uthmeier posted a letter Dyer sent to him, which said that officers will be fully complying with state law and will be fully participating in the 287(g) program. The implementation of the statewide requirement to be part of ICE’s program has been rocky in some parts of Florida. The Fort Myers City Council did not pass an ICE agreement when it was first brought up, but after public backlash and warnings from the DeSantis administration, members passed the measure.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:26 PM, Madison Foglio, 430301K] report action News Jax has learned that the University of North Florida has signed a pending agreement with ICE that would permit certain members of the Campus Police Department to carry out immigration enforcement on campus. ANJ obtained a copy of an MOA from the federal government to the University of North Florida that states ICE, "and the University of North Florida Police Department (UNFPD), pursuant to which ICE delegates to nominated, trained, and certified officers or employees … the authority to perform certain immigration enforcement functions as specified herein.” "It’s a memo of agreement between UNF and ICE so that ICE can come in and train certain designated UNF campus cops to work on ICE’s behalf," said Immigration Attorney Rebecca Black. The move comes after Governor Ron DeSantis announced an additional agreement directing Florida law enforcement to work with ICE to execute functions of immigration enforcement within the state. Other Universities across the state including the University of Florida, have already signed this agreement. Rebecca Black is an Immigration Attorney. We asked her what impact this new policy will have. "If they see or if they think somebody is on campus undocumented...they can detain them," said Black. "They can fingerprint them and run them through whatever the ICE database is and they’re supposed to detain them and then transport them to a designated ICE facility.”

Breitbart [4/15/2025 5:03 PM, John Binder, 2923K] reports a pair of illegal aliens is accused of sexually assaulting a young girl in Montgomery County, Texas, just north of Houston. David Rey Santoyo-Penaranda and Gary Morales-Alarcon, both illegal aliens, have been arrested by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and charged with second-degree felony sexual assault of a child. According to police, Santoyo-Penaranda confessed last month to sexually assaulting the 14-year-old girl amid an investigation by the area’s Special Victims Unit. After physical evidence tied Santoyo-Penaranda to the crime, he was arrested and charged. The victim then told police of another male who had been sexually assaulting her, identifying him as Morales-Alarcon. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Morales-Alarcon and he was similarly charged. Officials with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that both men are illegal aliens in the United States and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has filed detainers against both of them, seeking custody if they are released from jail at any time. Santoyo-Penaranda and Morales-Alarcon, both of whom remain in police custody, are each facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Axios [4/15/2025 5:08 PM, Alayna Alvarez, 13163K] reports some immigrant families with children in Denver Public Schools have been told by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to "self-deport" within seven days — and use a newly launched DHS app to report their departure, according to the district. DHS started sending termination notices electronically last week to thousands of immigrants nationwide — including Venezuelan families with children at DPS schools — who had entered the country using the CBP One app, a Biden-era platform that helped facilitate legal border crossings. In response to the notices, DPS is hosting a bilingual webinar today with local immigration attorneys to help families understand their rights. A recording will be posted online Wednesday. Although DPS does not track immigration status, Pribble said approximately 4,100 students without prior U.S. schooling — a likely sign of recent migration — were enrolled across the district last year.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 8:00 AM, Michael Lyle, 430301K] reports that amid rumblings and fear of a larger presence from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Southern Nevada this week, attorneys and immigration groups are urging people to plan ahead but not to panic. The Nevada Immigration Coalition hosted a virtual press conference Monday to address the concerns they are hearing in the community. Numerous immigration attorneys told coalition members that they’ve heard there are "expanded and ongoing ICE activities this week in Las Vegas," said Laura Martin, the executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "ICE raids have a devastating impact not only on the detained person but their families, businesses and communities as a whole," Martin said. "Immigrants in Nevada are the backbone of Nevada’s community and economy. ICE enforcement actions ripple through the schools, churches and businesses we attend." The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office didn’t respond to questions from Nevada Current about whether their offices have had recent contact with ICE officials regarding potential enforcement efforts happening in the Las Vegas area. ICE also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Blaze [4/15/2025 1:45 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1668K] reports that two Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools prevented Department of Homeland Security officers from entering campus to perform welfare checks on five migrant children who reportedly entered the U.S. by themselves. On April 7, the agents arrived at Lillian Street Elementary and Russell Elementary to check on the children but were turned away by the schools’ principals, who feared the officers were there for immigration enforcement matters. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho applauded the principals for turning away the federal officers. "What interest should a Homeland Security agent have in a first-grader?" Carvalho stated during a press conference. He admitted that the agents confirmed they were not with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but he noted that they arrived in unmarked vehicles and were wearing casual clothing. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and 17 other Democrats sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem demanding the agency "desist from immigration enforcement activity targeting children who pose no threat to public safety." DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin addressed the incident in a Sunday post on X. She wrote, "[Homeland Security Investigations] officers were at these schools conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border. This had *nothing* to do with immigration enforcement.” "DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked," McLaughlin continued. "Unlike the previous administration, President [Donald] Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families."

Los Angeles Times [4/15/2025 2:50 PM, Andrea Castillo, 1330K] reports Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) and other House Democrats are demanding that Department of Homeland Security officials justify their attempts last week to speak with students at two Los Angeles elementary schools. Garcia and 17 other Democrats signed a letter sent Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, requesting a briefing about the operation. "If you falsely claim to be conducting welfare checks while actually targeting children for deportation, you undermine willingness to cooperate with law enforcement, provoke fear, and undermine public trust," the lawmakers wrote, also demanding that the agency "desist from immigration enforcement activity" involving children who do not pose a public safety threat. Federal agents showed up last Monday unannounced and without a judicial warrant at Russell Elementary and at Lillian Street Elementary in the Florence-Graham neighborhood of South Los Angeles. They asked to speak with five students collectively, ranging from first-graders to sixth-graders. But school principals denied access. According to L.A. Unified Supt. Alberto Carvalho, the agents said they were there to perform wellness checks and falsely claimed the students’ families had given permission for the contact. The agents identified themselves as being with Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but were not in uniform and were reluctant to show official identification, Carvalho said. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told The Times that the agents were checking on the well-being of children who arrived unaccompanied at the border. "DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked," she said.

Breitbart [4/15/2025 5:35 AM, Paul Bois, 2923K] reports Democrats have asked why agents with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted wellness checks on alleged unaccompanied minors in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Last Friday, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and other House Democrats signed a letter asking DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for a briefing on why federal agents visited Russell Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary in South Los Angeles to speak with five students. The agents said they were not enforcing an immigration raid and were doing wellness checks on minors who arrived at the border unaccompanied, fearing they could be subject to sex and human trafficking. School officials with the LAUSD claimed that the minors were not unaccompanied and were living with relatives. "If you falsely claim to be conducting welfare checks while actually targeting children for deportation, you undermine willingness to cooperate with law enforcement, provoke fear, and undermine public trust," the lawmakers wrote. "This raises serious questions about the truthfulness of your Department, and the safety of our constituents," the lawmakers added. "The United States Supreme Court has ruled that all students have a right to a public education, no matter their immigration status. If parents and children cannot access schools without fear of deportation or harassment, you deny that right.” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, disputed claims made by Democrats and the LAUSD. "As usual, this is misleading. HSI officers were at these schools conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border. This had *nothing* to do with immigration enforcement," she said in a statement. " DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked. Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families," she added.

Yahoo News [4/16/2025 12:42 AM, Charisma Madarang, 430301K] reports Wilmer Gutiérrez last saw his son the morning of Feb. 24. Later that day, his nephew called to tell him that 19-year-old Merwil Gutiérrez had been arrested just steps from their shared apartment in the Bronx. "The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building," he recalled. "One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.’". Merwil was among the 238 Venezuelans deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, according to Documented, a newsroom reporting on immigrant communities in New York City. He has no criminal record, neither in Venezuela nor the U.S, per the outlet, and does not have any tattoos, which is one of the criteria ICE officers use to claim migrants are members of the Tren de Aragua gang. William Parra, an attorney at Inmigración Al Día, the law firm representing his case, says Merwil’s detention was unjustified as he has an immigration court case pending with his father and was taking the proper steps to formalize their situation. "Merwil was detained for hanging out with friends and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. ICE was not looking for him, nor is there any evidence whatsoever that Merwil was in any gang," said Parra. The father and son arrived in the U.S. in 2023, along with Merwil’s grandfather and cousin. The family had fled Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship and came to America in hopes of economic stability. Before he was arrested, Merwil had received his immigration papers and had a court date scheduled for February 2027. Wilmer has struggled to understand why his teenage son was sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a mega-prison tied to allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights abuses. "I feel like my son was kidnapped," said Wilmer. "I’ve spent countless hours searching for him, going from one precinct to another, speaking with numerous people who kept referring me elsewhere. Yet, after all this, no one has given me any information or provided a single document about his case.” "I could have understood if he’d been sent back to Venezuela," he said before asking: "But why to a foreign country he’s never even been to?". CBS’ 60 Minutes released a report that found 75 percent of the Venezuelans — 179 men — deported by the Trump administration in March had no apparent criminal record. The migrants — who the administration claimed had ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — were sent to El Salvador without any due process. The Department of Homeland Security later admitted it had wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an innocent man with protected status, to CECOT due to an "administrative error." Despite being ordered by the Supreme Court to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., the Trump administration has openly disregarded the ruling.

Axios [4/15/2025 5:42 PM, Brittany Gibson, 13163K] reports President Trump pitched a path to legal status for "great people" who are undocumented immigrants in an interview with Fox Noticias on Tuesday. Trump’s informal proposal would help create a pathway to living in the U.S. legally for people who self-deport and have an employer supporting their return. The approach could also help industries like farming and hospitality, the president said. Employers could be partly responsible for supporting an immigrant’s return. Trump also said that from a "practical standpoint" immigration enforcement should be carried out differently for those who entered during President Joe Biden’s administration because those migrants received inadequate vetting. While the administration says its enforcement efforts prioritize immigrants with criminal records and final removal orders, Border Czar Tom Homan has said that there will be "collateral arrests," meaning some immigrants without criminal backgrounds could also be detained.

New York Post [4/15/2025 7:04 PM, Diana Glebova, 54903K] reports President Trump proposed Tuesday that illegal migrants who self-deport would get priority consideration for legal status if they still want to live in the US — even saying the government would provide them a plane ticket and cash to speed the process along. "We’re going to give them a stipend," Trump, 78, told Fox Noticias host Rachel Campos-Duffy in an interview aired Tuesday. "We’re going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we’re going to work with them," he added. "If they’re good, if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can.” Trump insisted that the administration’s priority is still deporting migrant criminals — not those who merely crossed the border illegally. "We want our great people to stay," he said in response to a question from Campos-Duffy about an illegal migrant who had been in the US for 20 years and built a family. "One of the things I am doing, though, is I’m also making it easier on the farmers and the hotels and everything, because you have a lot of farmers that they’re not going to be able to, you know, do their crops and pick up the corn and do all of the things that they do so incredibly well," Trump said about having migrants come back into the US. If illegal migrants choose to use the administration’s CBP app to self-deport, they have a better shot at coming back to the US legally, Trump vowed. "Ultimately, at some point we want the people to go out [and] come back as, as legal. You know, we’re going to send, as you probably know, we’re doing a self-deportation and we’re going to make it comfortable for people, and we’re going to work with those people to come back into our country legally.” The Department of Homeland Security retooled former President Joe Biden’s CBP One app last month to enable migrants to announce their self-deportations — instead of allowing them to come to the US through a legal pathway on their cellphones.

NPR [4/15/2025 3:12 PM, Ximena Bustillo, 29983K] reports the Trump administration is moving to fast-track cases in immigration court by allowing judges to drop "legally deficient asylum cases without a hearing." The change in policy was laid out in an April 11 memo sent to staff at the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a part of the Justice Department that decides who can be deported from the U.S. The directive could result in immigration judges determining someone is not eligible for asylum without a hearing, based solely on what is filed on a lengthy and complex asylum request form. The memo comes as the Trump administration is seeking to arrest and deport more people without permanent legal status in the U.S. But the immigration court system has faced a growing backlog of cases, and experts argue it has gone underfunded and under-resourced for years. The Executive Office for Immigration Review had more than 4 million pending cases in the last quarter of 2024, including 1.5 pending asylum cases. Fast-tracking asylum cases could hurt those without legal aid.

CBS News [4/15/2025 3:48 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 51661K] reports the Trump administration can’t immediately revoke the deportation protections and work permits of hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally under a Biden-era program, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with its plan to terminate the legal status of those migrants on April 24. The administration had warned those affected by its announcement that they would need to self deport by that date or face arrest and deportation by federal immigration agents. Talwani said those mass parole terminations could not happen without each case being reviewed. In a statement Tuesday, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin denounced the CHNV policy, claiming it "unleashed over 530,000 poorly vetted aliens into America, fueling crime and stealing jobs — forcing our agents in the field to ignore rampant fraud." Blaze [4/15/2025 1:30 PM, Joseph Mackinnon, 1668K] reports that a Massachusetts-based Obama judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending the Biden administration’s CHNV parole programs, which allowed multitudes of otherwise inadmissible migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to flood into the country. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani also certified a class of all those foreign nationals who received a grant of parole affected by the DHS’ termination of the program. Talwani, a daughter of immigrants from India and Germany, claimed that the Trump administration "offered no substantial reason or public interest that justifies forcing individuals who were granted parole in the United States for a specific duration to leave (or move into undocumented status) in advance of the original date their parole was set to expire." "Nor is it in the public interest to summarily declare that hundreds of thousands of individuals are no longer considered lawfully present in the country," continued Talwani. "The early termination, without any case-by-case justification, of legal status for noncitizens who have complied with DHS programs and entered the country lawfully undermines the rule of law." While federal law requires that the DHS secretary use his parole authority on a "case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit," former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas apparently figured it better to permit inadmissible aliens en masse — the consequences of which were felt across the country but especially in Springfield, Ohio, which was overwhelmed by Haitian nationals.

NPR [4/16/2025 4:33 AM, A Martinez, 29983K] reports The Trump administration is ending temporary protection status for Afghan citizens living in the U.S. NPR’s A Martinez speaks to Shawn VanDiver, president and CEO of the nonprofit AfghanEvac. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

AP [4/15/2025 5:34 PM, Annie Ma, Makiya Seminera and Christopher L. Keller, 34586K] reports at first, the bar association for immigration attorneys began receiving inquiries from a couple students a day. These were foreigners studying in the U.S., and they’d discovered in early April their legal status had been terminated with little notice. To their knowledge, none of the students had committed a deportable offense. In recent days, the calls have begun flooding in. Hundreds of students have been calling to say they have lost legal status, seeking advice on what to do next. The speed and scope of the federal government’s efforts to terminate the legal status of international students have stunned colleges across the country. Few corners of higher education have been untouched, as schools ranging from prestigious private universities, large public research institutions and tiny liberal arts colleges discover status terminations one after another among their students. At least 600 students at more than 90 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated in recent weeks, according to an Associated Press review of university statements and correspondence with school officials. Advocacy groups collecting reports from colleges say hundreds more students could be caught up in the crackdown.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:34 AM, Joe Fisher, 430301K] reports the federal government is revoking the visas of hundreds of international college students without notifying universities. Several universities across the country have confirmed to UPI that international students have had their visas revoked without notice or had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records terminated. The universities said they have played no role in the revocations and were not informed why their students’ visas were being revoked. These actions are not believed to be related to students participating in protests or exercising free speech. International faculty members have also been affected. "Right now there are at least reports of 800 visas being revoked or students’ records being terminated," Miriam Feldblum, president and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance, told UPI. "The throughline through all these visa revocations and student record terminations that have been done unilaterally under SEVIS is the lack of due process.” In the case of SEVIS records being terminated, Feldblum said this lays the groundwork for potential removals or deportations. The Presidents’ Alliance filed an amicus brief along with 86 colleges and associations in the lawsuit against the Trump administration to block it from continuing its large-scale arrests, detentions and deportations of international students. The filing argues the Trump administration is creating a "climate of fear" on campuses, violating due process rights, will push international talent away from the United States and also harm students who are U.S. citizens. Initially visa revocations were focused on students who engaged in some kind of political speech, which is constitutionally protected, according to Feldblum. It has since expanded to students who do not appear to have engaged in such speech or participated in protests. "What we see is a vast majority of visa revocations and student record terminations really seem to be coming about because of retroactive sweeping of all kinds of criminal databases that the government has access to," Feldblum said. "Whether it’s a minor infraction or arrest that didn’t amount to anything or a case that was dismissed -- all kinds of ways students’ names are swept up in this.” Harvard, New York University and Rutgers filed the lawsuit, along with the American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association. Nineteen attorneys general have also filed an amicus brief in support of the challenge to the Trump administration. The lack of communication between the federal government and the universities has thrust schools’ international student services departments into closely monitoring SEVIS records for changes so they may notify their students.

The Hill [4/15/2025 2:45 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports that a coalition of Jewish groups is criticizing the Trump administration for actions it has taken at U.S. universities, saying the stripping of student visas and cutting of grant funding creates a "false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy." A number of Jewish groups in recent weeks have argued that combating the real problem of antisemitism cannot come at the expense of civil rights. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would begin to screen the social media accounts of applicants for immigration benefits for antisemitic content. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs has asked DHS for details about how it plans to do so. "Make no mistake: the threat of antisemitism is real and rising in the United States and around the globe," the group’s CEO, Amy Spitalnick, wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. "At the same time, this new policy raises significant questions as to how it will be applied — particularly as many in the Jewish community have already expressed deep concerns about how our legitimate fears of antisemitism are being used as the pretext to advance policies that undermine rights such as due process and our core democratic norms and values, which ultimately threatens the safety of Jews and all communities."

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 4:56 PM, Gabby Allen, 430301K] reports Democratic Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine expressed "extreme concern" regarding the recent revocation of visas among college and university students. In a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators demanded information as to why the visas are being revoked without due process, a means of seeking recourse or even a notification to the students or their schools. Axios reported that federal immigration authorities have revoked the visas of at least 25 international students and three recent graduates attending Virginia universities. At George Mason University alone, Inside Higher Education reported that 15 students have had their visas revoked. Such revocations, the senators noted, are then used to terminate students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), potentially impacting their ability to attend school. "Worse, State and DHS are taking such actions without providing any notice to the affected students or their schools, with only vague, non-individualized reasons given for terminations in SEVIS," Kaine and Warner wrote. They noted that if international students violate criminal or immigration laws, they should be removed. But revoking students’ visas or terminating their records without any notice to the students or their schools undermines confidence in the DHS and State Department – and erodes people’s trust. "The chaos caused by your actions is not acceptable. We believe in the rule of law and that immigration laws should be enforced. That starts with the Constitution and its guarantees of free speech and due process," the senators wrote, in part. "These Constitutional protections apply to noncitizens in the United States, including people in nonimmigrant status.”

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:40 AM, Philipp W. Rosemann, 430301K] reports flags of many nations fly at the University of Kentucky outside Bradley Home, home to offices for international students. (University of Kentucky photo). In the wake of last week’s stock market turmoil, The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled, "Will the Last Investor to Leave America Please Turn Out the Lights?" The author, James Mackintosh, argues that the stock market’s wild gyrations — and, in particular, the instability in the valuation of Treasury notes and the U.S. dollar — indicate nothing less than a loss of faith in America. The previously unthinkable possibility of a default is looming on the horizon. The period of American economic exceptionalism is over. What a sad and pathetic outcome after only three months of an administration that came to power on a promise to "Make America Great Again." But the leader of that movement — I didn’t say its führer — does not understand soft power. The only language he appears to be able to speak is crude and violent. It involves threats, fear and the denigration of opponents both at home and abroad. Did I say "opponents"? Our president and his team take pleasure in insulting allies and friends. But this piece is not devoted to foreign policy or the economy, areas in which I cannot claim greater expertise than any reasonably well-informed citizen. I am writing about conditions at the University of Kentucky, where I teach and conduct my scholarly work. The chaotic and incompetent policies of our current national administration are producing the same effects in academe that James Mackintosh of the Wall Street Journal has diagnosed in the economic sphere: loss of faith in America. The Kentucky Lantern recently reported on the revocation of visas held by international graduate students at the University of Kentucky. We have not learned how many visas were revoked, apart from the fact that the number was said to be "small." Neither have we learned anything about the grounds on which the visas were canceled. Were the affected graduate students guilty of illegal acts: theft, sexual assault, rioting? It would be easy to see why visas would be withdrawn in such circumstances. But perhaps they were just citizens of the "wrong" countries or made comments critical of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza. Perhaps they even criticized our Great Leader! I suspect that there is a system behind the uncertainty: the goal is to instill fear. In this goal, the administration has certainly succeeded. Many of our international graduate students are afraid that they could be arrested — in broad daylight, by masked immigration agents — and whisked away to some deportation center, where they would be on their own, isolated from colleagues and friends. Their transgression could be as trivial as having authored an opinion piece in a student newspaper. What a terrible, terrible betrayal of the young scholars, scientists, and artists who came to America looking forward to a great education.

The Detroit News [4/15/2025 2:28 PM, Charles E. Ramirez, 2100K] reports a Detroit federal judge indicated Tuesday he would try to rule quickly after hearing arguments for placing a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration’s termination of the immigration status of two Wayne State and two University of Michigan students. The hearing came about five days after the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said it was suing the administration to reinstate the students’ immigration status after it was abruptly ended. An ACLU lawyer argued the government violated the due process rights of the students, while the government argued the State Department has the power to decide whose visas to end and why. Detroit U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Murphy III said after the hearing he would issue a written opinion. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons and Field Office Director of ICE’s Detroit Field Office Robert Lynch are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.

ABC News [4/15/2025 6:01 PM, Staff, 34586K] reports international students pursuing degrees at Michigan public universities sought relief from detention and deportation during a federal court hearing on Tuesday, after their student immigration status was terminated this month, jeopardizing their legal status in the U.S. The students -- two citizens of China, one of Nepal and another from India -- filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and immigration officials, claiming that their student immigration status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was illegally terminated "without sufficient notice and explanation.” SEVIS is a database that tracks information about nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the U.S. "According to the government, they no longer have legal status in the U.S., and they have to leave the country immediately," Ramis Wadood, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan who is representing the students, told ABC News. He noted that the students didn’t get any kind of grace period. "You no longer have status, and have to leave the country right away," Wadood said. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court by the ACLU of Michigan on behalf of the students -- Xiangyun Bu, Qiuyi Yang, Yogesh Joshi and Chinmay Deore. According to the complaint, in addition to their student immigration status being terminated, Yang and Joshi were told that their F-1 student visas, which allowed them to enter the country, were also revoked. According to Wadood, the judge indicated that he "recognized the urgency of the situation and said he would rule soon.” Wadood told ABC News on Monday that his clients are at risk of being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are "scared" and have stopped showing up to classes in person. The lawsuit names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and ICE Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch. ABC News reached out to the officials but requests for comment were not immediately returned. "DHS did not provide the students or their schools any meaningful explanation for terminating their F-1 student status," the complaint said. "At most, what seems to connect students targeted by this newfound and unlawful policy is that the students had some encounter with some American law enforcement official at some point in the past, no matter how innocuous -- including receiving a speeding or parking ticket (or even a warning) or lawfully withdrawing an application to enter the United States.” Court records show four separate letters that each of the students received from their prospective universities informing them that their student immigration status has been terminated. The reason cited by DHS in all cases is "individual identified in criminal records check," and for Yang and Joshi it also says "and/or revoked visa.”

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:12 PM, John Clark, 430301K] reports on Tuesday morning, Rockford’s Coronado Performing Arts Center served as the gateway to the American Dream, as 319 people took their oaths of citizenship to the United States. The new citizens represent immigrants from 63 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia. U.S. District Judge Ian Johnston, who has been a part of naturalization ceremonies for over a decade, presided over today’s event. "They have voted with their feet. They’ve left the country of their origin, where they had family, understood the culture, and understood the language, and they’ve decided and made the difficult decision that they were going to uproot themselves, come to the United States, and make their lives here. Which goes to show their courage, their determination, and how great this country is," Johnston said.

The Hill [4/15/2025 6:05 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12829K] reports a federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the removal of a University of Wisconsin-Madison student from India whose visa was terminated from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) database. Judge William Conley ruled to block the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from immediately deporting Krish Lal Isserdasani, 21, who claimed his F-1 student visa was wrongfully terminated. He’s a senior who expects to graduate in May. Officials said he failed to maintain his status as a legal resident due to being identified in "criminal records.” Isserdasani was arrested on November 22, 2024, after a verbal argument took place outside of a bar, according to legal filings. "Although Isserdasani was arrested for disorderly conduct, the District Attorney declined to pursue charges after reviewing the case," his attorneys wrote in court documents. "As a result, Isserdasani never had to appear in court and believed the matter was completely resolved with no possible immigration consequences. Aside from this encounter, Isserdasani has had no other interactions with law enforcement," they added. Isserdani received an April 4 email from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s International Student Services informing him of his visa revocation, which would only authorize him to stay in the U.S. until May 2. His lawyers said an abrupt exit would hinder his ability to graduate on time and opportunities to gain work experience. "Isserdasani and his family have reportedly invested approximately $240,000 in his education in the United States, and he stands to lose $17,500 in tuition for the current semester," they wrote, according to court filings. "He would also be liable for rental payments for the next four months despite being unable to remain in the country.” Conley’s temporary injunction blocking his removal will remain in place until April 28 when a preliminary injunction hearing will be held. "Accordingly, plaintiff Isserdasani has shown a substantial, if not overwhelming, likelihood of success on the merits of his claim in Count 2 that DHS violated the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] when summarily terminated his F-1 student status in SEVIS without cause," Conley wrote.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 2:07 PM, Emily Hallas, 2296K] reports that Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) urged the Trump administration to treat international students "fairly" before revoking visas as the White House targets people in the country on green cards for deportation over concerns they are fomenting antisemitism and supporting terrorism. During a recent interview with KFOR, Lankford revealed the State Department is attempting to deport some foreign students in Oklahoma schools who he suggested didn’t appear to have breached university policies. "There are a couple students — there’s a student, I won’t name the school right now, but there’s a student that we can’t find any discipline problem that was an issue there, and so we’re just asking the State Department to say, ‘Hey help us understand this particular visa,’" the senator said. Twelve students at Oklahoma State University and the University of Central Oklahoma have had visas revoked, according to the Meadville Tribune. Two students at Oklahoma Christian University and two at Oral Roberts University also had their visas rescinded, per News 9. As the Trump administration makes waves for attempting to remove students in the country considered by the White House to be participating in questionable activity on campuses funded by federal dollars, Lankford defended the intention but pushed the State Department to ensure the right to due process is protected in each case.

Axios [4/15/2025 6:06 PM, Kale Williams and Steph Solis, 13163K] reports the feds are expanding their revocation of student visas in Oregon and across the country, igniting concerns about First Amendment and immigration rights. Nearly two dozen students or recent graduates have had their visas canceled in Oregon since President Trump was sworn in for his second term, some after criminal records checks turned up unspecified charges, others with no explanation at all. At Oregon State, 13 students were stripped of their visas, the school tells Axios. The University of Oregon has seen the visas of four students revoked, school officials said. Portland State University has seen one recent graduate and two current students lose their visas, including a Ph.D. student who left the country just months before completing his degree, according to the Oregonian.

Los Angeles Times [4/15/2025 8:45 PM, Gabriel San Román, 13342K] reports the wave of the Trump administration’s visa cancellations sweeping through colleges nationwide has affected several international students at three Orange County universities. As of April 15, four students at Cal State Fullerton have had their visas revoked, along with 44 others systemwide. A spokesperson for the university confirmed the tally. On April 11, Chapman University’s acting provost Glenn Pfeiffer confirmed that three students had their visas canceled during a faculty senate meeting that TimesOC has reviewed. "What the [U.S.] State Department is doing is within the law," Pfeiffer said during the meeting. "They have the authority to revoke a visa for anyone that they feel may be a threat to national security.” Pfeiffer was otherwise unaware why the private university’s students, including a post-doctoral student, had their visas canceled. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a TimesOC request for comment. Nationwide, hundreds of international students have had their visas, which allow them to live and study in the U.S., revoked amid the president’s continued crackdown on immigration. Initially, it appeared as if the move targeted students accused of supporting State Department designated foreign terrorist organizations. "We are not going to be importing activists into the United States," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in remarks to the press. "They’re here to study. They’re here to go to class. They’re not here to lead activist movements that are disruptive and undermine our universities. I think it’s lunacy to continue to allow that.” But as the cancellations continue, students with minor offenses are increasingly finding themselves faced with the dilemma of leaving the U.S. within seven days or face deportation proceedings. An anonymous student at an unnamed Orange County campus sued the Trump administration alleging that their status was illegally revoked with the violations on their record being a "minor speeding ticket and a misdemeanor alcohol related driving conviction," the latter of which the State Department knew about before deciding to renew the visa. About 6% of Cal State Fullerton’s nearly 44,000 student body population is comprised of international students authorized to study under either F-1 or J-1 visas.

San Francisco Chronicle [4/15/2025 11:50 PM, Anna Bauman, 5046K] reports a Bay Area law firm on Tuesday asked a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco to restore legal status to hundreds of international students who have been left in limbo by the Trump administration’s swift and sweeping termination of their visas and legal status in recent weeks, according to court records. DeHeng Law Offices in Pleasanton filed a motion for a nationwide temporary restraining order, which could be heard by Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco as soon as Friday, court records show. The firm is representing four Chinese students, including a woman set to graduate next month from UC Berkeley’s Master of Architecture program, in a complaint against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleging that the recent immigration status terminations were unlawful and unconstitutional. Attorney Clay Zhu said he hopes to obtain a court order that would protect not only his clients, but hundreds more international students and recent graduates across the country whose education and careers are now in jeopardy. The abrupt change in their immigration status leaves the students at risk of detention and deportation, Zhu said. "If they don’t leave the country quickly, ICE could come to their doors," the attorney said in a Tuesday interview with the Chronicle. "We need a court order very quickly. There’s no time to waste.” In early April, the federal government began terminating student records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, a database for tracking information about nonimmigrant students in the U.S. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At a news briefing last week, a spokesperson for the State Department declined to answer questions about why it was revoking student visas, only saying that it does so daily "in order to secure our borders and to keep our community safe.” The Associated Press reported Tuesday that at least 790 students from more than 120 colleges and universities have had their legal status terminated, marking an unprecedented sweep, although advocates say the number could be much higher. More than a hundred of the impacted students attend or recently graduated from California colleges and universities, including nearly two dozen from UC Berkeley.

ABC News [4/15/2025 6:48 PM, Luis Martinez, 34586K] reports U.S. Army soldiers will soon be patrolling a 170-mile buffer zone along the southern border with Mexico in a newly created "National Defense Area" in Arizona and New Mexico. It’s part of the Trump administration’s efforts to use the U.S. military to stop the flow of undocumented migrants into the United States. The large swath of area will stretch 60-feet-deep along federal lands running the length of the border and will be considered a part of Fort Huachuca in Arizona, meaning that, just as at any Army base, trespassers would be apprehended by soldiers and held until turned over to law enforcement. Some analysts see it as a way to militarize the border and skirt a federal law -- the Posse Comitatus Act -- that prohibits U.S. military personnel from carrying out law enforcement duties: by declaring the federal property a military base where migrants crossing into can be detained. "Last week, President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum directing federal agencies administering federal land on the border to make land available to the Defense Department in a new national defense area," Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Tuesday. "This new National Defense Area spans more than 170 miles across our border in New Mexico," said Leavitt. "But in in the coming weeks, this administration will add more than 90 miles in the state of Texas.” "This National Defense Area will enhance our ability to detect, interdict and prosecute the illegal aliens, criminal gangs and terrorists who were able to invade our country without consequence for the past four years under the Biden administration," said Leavitt. "It will also bolster our defenses against fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics that have been poisoning our communities.” U.S. officials told ABC News that the initial phase of the new area will stretch from Fort Huachuca in southeastern Arizona eastward into New Mexico.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 8:02 AM, Brandon Loomis, 430301K] reports that the Trump administration intends to build 24.7 miles of border wall across the southern San Rafael Valley, a remote area south of Sonoita, Arizona, that is a vital migration corridor for jaguars and other wildlife, officials have confirmed. The Sierra Club received word of the move in one of the monthly updates on border construction activities it receives from the government. The updates are part of a settlement from the 2019 lawsuit it filed against the previous Trump administration, which had declared a national emergency allowing it to redirect funds toward wall construction. Officials with the Homeland Security and Justice departments confirmed in writing on April 11 that the valley, which is bounded by a line of vehicle barriers, will now be targeted for construction of a pedestrian-blocking steel wall, said Erick Meza, borderlands coordinator for the Sierra Club. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the San Rafael Valley plan to The Arizona Republic on April 14. "I was hoping that San Rafael Valley was not going to be part of this," Meza said, "that there was not going to be enough money to do it.” Homeland Security officials said they have a $500 million fund left over from the previous emergency declaration, Meza said.

AP [4/15/2025 7:54 PM, Holly Ramer, 5046K] reports the daughter of a Pennsylvania couple whose deaths are among six connected to a cultlike group says she has been falsely accused of killing her parents. Michelle Zajko’s denial was part of a 20-page handwritten “Open Letter to the World” her attorney provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Dated March 9, the letter also attempts to defend Jack LaSota, also known as Ziz, whom authorities have described as the apparent leader of the “extremist group” called the Zizians. “You, the public, are being lied to,” Zajko wrote. “And while I don’t promise to answer all your questions, I think the truth about my friends and I will make a lot more sense than what you’ve been reading about in the papers.” The group has been linked to killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. A cross-country investigation into LaSota and the Zizians broke open in January when one member of the group died and another was arrested after the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont. Authorities say Zajko provided the gun that was used in the Vermont shooting, and in February, she, LaSota and another associate were arrested in Maryland and charged with trespassing, obstructing law enforcement and illegal gun possession after a man told police that three “suspicious” people parked box trucks on his property and asked to camp there. Zajko also was questioned but not charged in connection with the deaths of her parents, Rita and Richard Zajko, who were shot and killed in their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, home on New Year’s Eve 2022. A few weeks later, LaSota was charged with disorderly conduct after refusing to cooperate with officers investigating the deaths, but Zajko said LaSota was just “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” “The police lied to her & told her that I had confessed (to something I didn’t do),” she wrote.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:00 AM, William Skipworth, 430301K] reports protesters gather to demand freedom and due process for Fabian Schmidt — a German-born New Hampshire man being held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Left foreground, Zack Mezera of Working Families Party speaks to the crowd with Fr. Jarrett Kerbel of Saint Luke’s in East Greenwich at bottom right. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current) Fabian Schmidt, a German-American man living in Nashua, was returning home from a visit to Luxembourg on March 7 when he was detained by immigration officials at Boston Logan International Airport in early March and taken to a detention center in Rhode Island, according to his attorney. Schmidt’s family said that, upon his detainment, Schmidt was stripped naked, placed in a cold shower, and violently interrogated, according to a press release from attorney David Keller. He was also reportedly being denied his medications for anxiety and depression, and being given little food and water as officials pressured him to relinquish his green card. His mother, Astrid Senior, told NBC News that she doesn’t know why her son was being held. “I feel helpless, absolutely helpless,” she told the news broadcaster. Schmidt has lived in the U.S. since he was a teenager and has legal permanent resident status, according to the family. Court records in California, where he previously lived, show that he faced misdemeanor charges for possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence in 2015 and 2016, respectively, among other minor charges. However, his family said those issues had been resolved in the courts and are no longer ongoing. Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — have not provided a justification for Schmidt’s detainment. They have, however, denied the allegations that he was violently interrogated. “These claims are blatantly false with respect to CBP,” Hilton Beckham, assistant commissioner of public affairs for Customs and Border Protection said in a statement to the Bulletin. “When an individual is found with drug-related charges and tries to reenter the country, officers will take proper action.”

CubaHeadlines [4/15/2025 7:00 PM, Charlotte Gomez] reports a Cuban citizen has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after being found guilty of human smuggling by a federal district judge in Miami. Rafael Rodríguez Hernández, 35, was apprehended on September 29, 2024, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers caught him transporting 27 individuals on his vessel from the Bahamas to the United States, according to a Friday statement by the Department of Justice. During the operation, CBP agents confirmed that all individuals on board, except Hernández, were foreign nationals lacking authorization to enter the U.S. Among them were five Ecuadorians who had previously been deported. U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) officers brought Hernández and the five Ecuadorians ashore to face criminal charges, while the remaining 22 foreign nationals were returned to the Bahamas. In January of this year, Hernández pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges in court. The investigation into this case was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami, with assistance from the CBP and the USCG’s 7th District. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl is prosecuting the case. Hernández’s sentencing aligns with U.S. authorities’ efforts to curb human trafficking along land and sea borders, an initiative that has intensified since the implementation of stricter immigration policies under the Trump administration. The involvement of Cuban nationals in human trafficking networks to the United States is a recurring issue.

FOX News [4/15/2025 4:54 PM, Greg Wehner, Brooke Taylor, 46189K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Pharr International Bridge between South Texas and Mexico discovered a shipment of over $14 million worth of methamphetamine, which was concealed in a shipment of vegetables. The discovery of the drugs within shipments of bell peppers and cucumbers was made on April 11, when CBP officers assigned to the international bridge cargo facility encountered a tractor trailer entering the U.S. from Mexico. After inspecting the truck, a CBP officer referred the 18-wheeler for further inspection. The secondary inspection involved physically inspecting the truck using non-intrusive equipment as well as a canine team. During the inspection, the team of officers discovered 300 packages of alleged methamphetamine, weighing about 1,635 pounds, concealed within the trailer. CBP officers seized the narcotics and vehicle, and the investigation was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

News Nation [4/15/2025 6:17 PM, Ali Bradley and Jeff Arnold, 6900K] Video HERE reports illegal border crossings and the apprehension of migrants have reached record lows across the majority of the U.S.-Mexico border, but both have spiked recently in one remote region in south Texas. The Sanderson Border Patrol station has made 72 arrests of migrants already this month, Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland told NewsNation. The uptick in illegal crossings in the Big Bend sector comes less than a month after border agents working the same area made just 16 arrests in all of March. The local uptick in border crossings is being seen by federal and local law enforcement less than a month after U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the lowest number of arrests along the border in at least five decades. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that border crossings have dropped by 95% since the winter of 2023. Cleveland told NewsNation that the area has seen a considerable slowdown in illegal border crossings since President Donald Trump took office in January. However, Cleveland fears that as more areas along the border are given more resources to slow the flow of illegal crossings, densely populated areas like Terrell County could gain traction with migrants. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [4/15/2025 5:52 PM, Jennie Taer, 54903K] reports as President Trump’s border crackdown drives illegal crossings down to historic lows, smugglers are doing anything they can to keep profiting from their terrible trade. In the remote stretch of west Texas border in Terrell County, Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland is seeing migrant crossings pick up because it’s so remote that it’s difficult to patrol. About 60 migrants have been captured in the last ten days trying to traverse the mountainous desert region that is home to just 800 residents, said Cleveland. While there is an uptick in illegal crossings, the situation still pales in comparison to the more than 18,000 migrants who were apprehended and 21,000 "gotaways"— migrants who successfully ran past border authorities— in the region during the Biden administration. Meanwhile, across the entire southern border, Border Patrol recorded just 7,100 illegal crossings last month, the lowest level on record since Trump ended the problematic "catch and release" policy of the Biden administration. That marks a 94% drop from the 137,000 people who poured across the border in March last year. Cleveland anticipates that as other parts of the border receive more resources, smugglers will move more of their operations to his county. He said it’s a warning that even more money for border enforcement is needed.

The Washington Post [4/15/2025 11:34 PM, Dan Lamothe, 31735K] reports two U.S. troops were killed Tuesday in a vehicle rollover in New Mexico and another U.S. service member was hospitalized in serious condition, U.S. defense officials said, marking the first known military fatalities associated with President Donald Trump’s expanded mission at the southern border. The accident occurred at 8:50 a.m. near Santa Teresa, a border town west of El Paso, the military said in a statement. Three defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation, said the incident involved U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton in California. It was not immediately clear what kind of vehicle they were operating. Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, could not immediately be reached for comment. Neither could authorities in Doña Ana County. Joint Task Force Southern Border, which oversees the military’s border mission from Fort Huachuca in Arizona, said in its statement that the identities of the deceased service members were being withheld until their families were notified. The accident occurred as thousands of active-duty U.S. troops fan out from the Pacific Ocean to Texas as Trump seeks to seal the southern border to illegal crossings. While the Marines have primarily been concentrated in California, those involved Tuesday were assigned on a reconnaissance mission, as the Defense Department seeks to improve its understanding of the region, one of the defense officials said. The Trump administration has signaled it intends to give the U.S. military an even larger role at the southern border. On Monday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum traveled to New Mexico to transfer control of about 110,000 acres of federally controlled land to the Defense Department, allowing the U.S. military to take a more active role aiding law enforcement responsible for detaining illegal crossers. The plan to do so was first reported by Washington Post last month and approved by Trump last week, effectively turning a 60-foot-wide strip of land along the border, known as the Roosevelt Reservation, into a satellite military installation. CNN [4/16/2025 12:29 AM, Natasha Bertrand, 22131K] reports that the military is withholding the names of the service members until the next of kin is notified. The Joint Task Force Southern Border – announced last month – was created "to tactically synchronize the Department of Defense efforts to secure and seal the southern border," according to a press release from USNORTHCOM. President Donald Trump mandated that the US military step up its presence along the southern border on his first day in office. Thousands of additional troops have been deployed to the border in recent months as part of his efforts to "seal" the border to migrants. CNN recently reported that Trump sent a memorandum to four federal department heads last week, instructing them to allow the military to use and take jurisdiction of federal land along the US-Mexico border.

Reported similarly:
Axios [4/15/2025 10:57 PM, Rebecca Falconer, 13163K]
Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 10:17 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 2296K]

FOX News [4/15/2025 7:28 PM, Alexandra Koch, 46189K] reports Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited New Mexico on Tuesday to announce the U.S. Army will take control of nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border, the latest attempt to curb illegal immigration and trafficking. The 109,651 acres of federal land will be transferred to the Army for three years, subject to valid existing rights, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The move comes after President Donald Trump last week signed a memorandum, "Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions," directing the secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security to take control of federal lands "reasonably necessary to enable military activities.” The switch in jurisdiction will allow the government to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region, while helping the Army support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration, according to the Department of the Interior. "Securing our border and protecting our nation’s resources go hand in hand," Burgum said in the statement. "The American people gave President Trump a mandate to make America safe and strong again.” Burgum said the change reflects Interior’s commitment to public safety, national security and responsible stewardship of public lands. The Army requested the transfer on "an emergency basis," so they could increase regular patrols by federal personnel. Trump declared a national emergency earlier this year along the southern border. The Army will also be able to build infrastructure to prevent illegal immigrants, human traffickers and narcotics from crossing the border. The department noted the crisis along the border is not limited to national security and law enforcement concerns, but also "presents an environmental crisis.”

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Reuters [4/15/2025 5:41 PM, Nichola Groom, 41523K]

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 7:10 PM, Jake Goldstein-Street, 430301K] reports top aides in Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office debated plans earlier this year to send 200 National Guard troops to the Canadian border to assist with the Trump administration’s attempts to stop drug trafficking. Ferguson ultimately decided not to pursue the plan. But Washington military officials went so far as to draft a letter on the governor’s behalf pitching the idea and commending President Donald Trump for his "continued efforts to combat the flow of illegal narcotics through the northern border.” While the letter was never sent, the episode offers a window into how the new governor’s administration was trying to strike a balance working with a president whom Ferguson himself has sparred with repeatedly and who is deeply unpopular in much of Washington state. The Standard obtained the letter — addressed to Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — through a public records request. Ferguson’s communications director, Brionna Aho, said this week that Ferguson did not request the letter and did not write it himself, even though it was drafted as though it were from him. She said the letter was rooted in discussions between the governor’s office and the Washington Military Department about the potential for Trump to federalize the state’s National Guard. State Adjutant General Gent Welsh raised this possibility based on conversations with federal officials and media reports, Aho said. As adjutant general, Welsh commands the state’s National Guard, directs the Washington Military Department and serves as the governor’s homeland security advisor.

FOX News [4/15/2025 11:00 AM, Michael Lee, 46189K] reports that the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation is set to announce on Tuesday a $150 million federal grant to construct a new road and Port of Entry near the existing Otay Mesa facility in the San Diego-Baja, California region. "These investments will enhance border security by providing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with state-of-the-art inspection facilities," the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a release provided to Fox News Digital. "The new agreement also removed previous Green New Deal requirements, including a zero-emission vehicle charging provision, which was a waste of taxpayer funds and irrelevant to CBP’s national security mission." The new project will aim to build a "21st century border crossing" just east of the existing Otay Mesa facility, with the new facility featuring intelligent technologies to collect tolls, facilitate trade and increase inspection efficiency, the release notes. In addition to being a more secure checkpoint, the new facility is also projected to reduce traffic congestion and lead to economic benefits throughout Southern California, moving freight from thousands of trucks that will pass through the facility to warehouses and distribution centers throughout the region.

FOX News [4/15/2025 1:53 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46189K] reports that although the REAL ID deadline has been pushed numerous times, the Department of Homeland Security says stopping illegal immigration is a major reason why it’s holding firm to the current May 7 deadline. In a memo exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, the department said part of the reason REAL ID will be enforced is to prevent those in the country illegally from flying – unless they are looking to self-deport on an international flight. "Under Biden, illegal aliens used non-compliant IDs from sanctuary cities to board flights, but REAL ID’s higher security standards make it nearly impossible to forge legitimate documents, ensuring only verified travelers can fly," the memo states. "This closes the gaping vulnerabilities Biden’s policies created, preventing criminals and potential terrorists from exploiting our aviation system, as seen during 9/11 when fraudulent IDs enabled attacks," the memo continues. The agency emphasized that the measure prevents people in the country illegally from traveling within the U.S. "DHS and TSA are clear, the only place an illegal alien should be flying is home. Under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, illegal aliens will be barred from domestic flights, with one exception: illegal aliens self-deporting on international flights will be allowed to board without a REAL ID, encouraging their exit from the U.S.," it states. DHS cited Fox News Digital’s reporting from 2022 where the Transportation Security Administration under Biden and former Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allowed civil arrest warrants to be used as acceptable identification.

ABC News [4/16/2025 5:05 AM, Jared Kofsky, Aaron Katersky, and Josh Margolin, 31638K] reports for the first time, newly released security footage shows the moment an alleged stowaway sneaked onto a transatlantic flight just before last Thanksgiving in a stunning breach of security. Svetlana Dali is accused of boarding an overnight Delta flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Nov. 26 and traveling to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France without having a ticket. Dali can be seen in a video obtained by ABC News walking up to gate B38 at Terminal 4 while other passengers have their boarding passes and passports checked. After gate attendants assisted a separate group of customers and ushered them toward the jet bridge, Dali followed immediately behind, the video shows. "This was very unusual and disconcerting," Richard Frankel, a former FBI special agent in charge of investigations at JFK who is now an ABC News contributor, said after reviewing the video. "She just basically gloms onto the back of that group and goes in as if she’s part of a group." "Delta agents, who were busy helping ticketed passengers board, did not stop her or ask her to present a boarding pass before she boarded the plane," an FBI complaint said, adding that Dali later stated "she knew her conduct was illegal." Dali later pleaded not guilty to a federal stowaway charge. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 4:58 PM, Christian Olivier, 430301K] reports the Transportation Security Administration reports that, as of April 15, it has intercepted 46 firearms at airports across Louisiana, 28 of which were found at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. In 2024, TSA officials said 128 were obtained at security checkpoints across the state, and MSY saw 78 guns brought to the airport, down from 93 in 2023. According to the TSA, 2024’s Louisiana statistics stand in comparison to the 6,678 firearms intercepted at airports nationwide in the same year, which was the first decrease since 2020, when COVID-19 led to fewer flight passengers in general. So far this year, other airports in Louisiana have intercepted the remaining totals of firearms as follows: eight at Lafayette Regional Airport, three at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, three at Shreveport Regional Airport and one each at Alexandria International Airport and Monroe Regional Airport.

Axios [4/15/2025 3:46 PM, Sabrina Moreno, 13163K] reports some Virginia lawmakers are slamming the Trump administration’s decision to cancel Richmond’s $12 million grant slated for water plant repairs. If the funding isn’t reinstated, the lawmakers say "the region will be more susceptible to future water contaminations and disruptions in water delivery" — as it was earlier this year. Richmond found out Friday that it wouldn’t receive the grant, which FEMA awarded in fiscal year 2022. The money was part of a program, originally launched during President Trump’s first term, that gave states billions of dollars to reduce extreme weather-related damage. FEMA ended the program this month, calling it "wasteful and ineffective." The funds would have gone toward reinforcing parts of the Richmond plant that help prevent flooding, per RTD. In a letter Monday, four Democrats in Congress — Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Jennifer McClellan and Rep. Bobby Scott — urged the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, to reverse the decision. Richmond isn’t the only area affected by the program cut, per the letter.

Carolina Journal [4/15/2025 10:08 AM, Nick Graig, 85K] reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has rejected North Carolina’s request to maintain a full 100% federal match for the state’s continued Hurricane Helene recovery expenses. In a letter sent Friday to Governor Josh Stein, acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton stated that the agency had concluded the full cost share was “not warranted.” In late September of last year, the Biden administration authorized FEMA to fully reimburse North Carolina for disaster recovery expenses, including debris cleanup and other efforts for a period of 180 days. Hurricane Helene, which tore through the southeastern United States last year, left a massive trail of destruction in its wake, particularly across western North Carolina. According to a December report from the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM), the storm caused an estimated $60 billion in damage across the state, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in North Carolina’s history. Governor Stein responded with frustration to FEMA’s decision, emphasizing the ongoing and urgent needs of the affected communities. “The need in western North Carolina remains immense — people need debris removed, homes rebuilt, and roads restored,” said Stein. “I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days. Six months later, the people of western North Carolina are working hard to get back on their feet; they need FEMA to help them get the job done.” US Rep. Chuck Edwards, R, NC-11, whose district includes many of the hardest-hit areas, called the extension ‘unprecedented’ and noted he is continuing to help residents of Western North Carolina.

NPR [4/15/2025 9:00 AM, Yuki Noguchi, 29983K] reports that in and around Asheville, N.C., there are still visible signs of devastation that remain from the floods of Hurricane Helene six months ago: rusted debris in the yards of water-damaged residences in ruins. But Helene, a federal disaster worker who coincidentally goes by the same name as the storm, also worries about this community’s invisible problems that tend to persist, months later — like mold and financial and mental health aftereffects. "That six-month mark is a really critical time," says Helene, who spoke to NPR on the condition of partial anonymity because she fears retaliation for talking to the media. Until April 1, Helene worked at the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her team parachutes in after storms, wildfires, factory explosions, or toxic spills to help state and local officials assess where to put emergency resources. Helene and her CDC colleagues lost their jobs in Elon Musk’s DOGE-directed layoffs of about 10,000 staff at federal health agencies. On April 1, Helene and about 55 other public health workers from the county and state government, as well as a local university, were set to go door to door, surveying 210 households about any enduring challenges facing residents of Asheville’s Buncombe County.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 4:28 PM, Alyssa Storm, 430301K] reports Governor Laura Kelly is asking for federal help after fires, severe thunderstorms and other violent weather events took place one month ago. Kelly sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on April 15 seeking a major presidential disaster declaration. This declaration is due to areas across Kansas that may have been damaged by fires, severe thunderstorms, straight-line winds, flooding and a winter storm during March 14-19, 2025. Multiple Kansas counties sustained damage to utility infrastructure, roads, bridges and some government-owned buildings during this period, according to a news release from the Adjutant General’s Department. "Given the extent of the damage, it will be important to have federal support available to assist rural electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities rebuild their electric utility infrastructure, and local levels of government repair their buildings and roadways," Kelly said. The request was made to try and get federal assistance through the Public Assistance Program that provides fund on a cost-share basis to repair damaged public infrastructure like roads and bridges.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 4:27 PM, Luke Malik, 430301K] reports Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is asking FEMA for federal funding to help those affected by the severe weather that hit northwest Iowa last month. In a release Tuesday, Reynolds’ office announced that the governor has requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration for four Iowa counties. The counties — Crawford, Harrison, Monona, and Woodbury — are all located in northwest Iowa. On March 19, 2025, a blizzard went through the region, damaging private property and public infrastructure. A number of power poles were downed, leaving some residents without power for several days. The federal funding would come through FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and could be used for the "restoration of damaged utilities, debris removal, and other emergency protective measures." An assessment of the four affected counties estimated that over $8 million in damages could be eligible, per the release.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 9:43 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K] reports that Washington was denied Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for a bomb cyclone that hit in November. Powerful wind and rain toppled trees and electrical power lines. Public highways were damaged, and two people died in the storm. Then-Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, issued disaster declarations across 11 counties at the time, including Seattle. The storm was classified as a bomb cyclone because it rapidly intensified. Gov. Bob Ferguson (D-WA), who was elected weeks before the storms hit, is taking advantage of the 30-day deadline to appeal the decision. "There are very clear criteria to qualify for these funds. Washington’s application met all of them. This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding," Ferguson wrote on X. "Washington communities have been waiting for months for the resources they need to fully recover from November’s bomb cyclones, and this decision will cause further delay." In a letter, FEMA said that supplemental federal assistance was "not warranted." However, the letter also implied that Washington might be eligible for additional resources from other federal agencies and offered help from its regional administrator. The move could spell trouble for California, which also sought FEMA funding for the fires earlier this year. Together, the Palisades and Eaton fires burned over 37,000 acres of land and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings.

San Francisco Chronicle [4/15/2025 6:06 PM, Maliya Ellis, 5046K] reports that for years, San Francisco has been compiling a preliminary list of nearly 4,000 concrete buildings at risk of collapsing in a major earthquake. But the list likely has major errors — and now the city wants a more accurate inventory. On Wednesday, the city’s Building Inspection Commission will vote on legislation that would require owners of concrete buildings to hire an engineer to complete a seismic safety screening form, at an estimated cost of between $300 and $3,200 per building. If the ordinance passes, then in two years’ time, city officials would have a list of which buildings are truly vulnerable — and could prod their owners to actually make the seismic upgrades. Residents would also be able to look up the status of buildings on the list using a new website, according to the draft ordinance. The ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Myrna Melgar last month, is scheduled to be heard by the committee two days before the 119th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake that flattened most of the city’s buildings (and two days after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled San Diego). The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the measure in May. If approved, the city would have six months to notify the owners of buildings considered potentially vulnerable. Those owners would then have 18 months to hire a structural engineer to complete the assessment. The assessments will not involve any disruption to people who live or work in those buildings, which are primarily commercial buildings in the downtown, South of Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods.

AP [4/14/2025 8:20 PM, Staff, 24727K] reports a suspect accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump last September in South Florida can hire an expert to examine the rifle recovered from the scene, but only to determine its operability, a federal judge said Tuesday. Ryan Wesley Routh’ s attorneys had asked that their expert be allowed to inspect, photograph and test the rifle in order to evaluate a government expert’s findings, as well as test it for other information that they thought was relevant. In Tuesday’s order, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon limited the testing to just its operability, with a May 15 deadline. Routh’s trial is scheduled for September. Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. Before Trump came into view, Routh was spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Prosecutors say he left behind a note describing his intentions. He was arrested a short time later driving on a nearby interstate.

FOX News [4/15/2025 4:50 PM, Peter D’Abrosca, Samantha Daigle, 46189K] reports the man arrested in connection with a suspected plot to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump was seen laughing and smiling as he appeared in federal court Tuesday morning for a pre-trial hearing. The hearing, which regarded an AK-47 Routh was allegedly going to use to try to kill Trump at his Florida golf course, ended without a decision. The defense and prosecution argued before U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon. Routh’s defense attorneys are seeking their own independent analysis of whether the gun would have fired if Routh had pulled the trigger, and whether the distance of a bullet fired from the gun would have been sufficient to hit Trump. The defense believes that if the gun would not have fired, or if a bullet could not have hit Trump from the range at which it was fired, Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors cannot prove that Routh intended to kill Trump. He later pleaded not guilty to five federal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. In December, Routh was hit with an attempted felony murder charge stemming from the chaotic aftermath of his apprehension. Interstate 95 in Florida was closed due to the pursuit, which allegedly caused a car crash that injured a young girl. Just last week, Routh was accused by federal prosecutors of attempting to obtain a rocket launcher from a Ukrainian contact as part of the alleged assassination plot.

DVIDS [4/15/2025 2:36 PM, Staff, 777K] reports Coast Guard Sector Detroit announces the end of Operation Coal Shovel, bringing the icebreaking season to a close on the lower Great Lakes, Monday. Operation Coal Shovel began on January 6 and officially concluded on April 14 due to lack of ice coverage and complete waterway availability for commerce. The operation covers an area spanning from the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Detroit / St. Clair River System, and southern Lake Huron. Over the 98 days of the 2024-2025 domestic icebreaking season, U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards joined efforts to conduct wintertime search and rescue, minimize potential for flooding, provide assistance to island residents for critical supplies and services, and ensure the safe movement of cargo on Great Lakes ships. U.S. Coast Guard cutters Bristol Bay (WTGB 102), Neah Bay (WTGB 105), Morro Bay (WTGB 106) and Mackinaw (WLBB-30) participated in this year’s operation, as well as the Canadian Coast Guard ships Samuel Risley, Griffon and Amundsen. U.S. ice breaking assets assigned to Op Coal Shovel combined to deliver over 900 hours of icebreaking assistance and preventative icebreaking support to establish and maintain tracks in ice covered waterways. In total, the operation directly assisted 141 vessel transits, ensuring commercial vessel safety.

Business Insider [4/15/2025 3:50 PM, Lauren Frias, 40834K] reports the US Coast Guard seized over 24 tons of narcotics in the Eastern Pacific in January. About 22 tons of cocaine and 2 tons of marijuana, worth about $510 million, were offloaded. Coast Guard law enforcement officers detained 34 suspected drug traffickers over 11 interdictions. More than 24 tons of illegal narcotics worth about $510 million was seized by the US Coast Guard earlier this year, the maritime law enforcement agency said in a statement last Wednesday. The crew of US Coast Guard Cutter James offloaded more than 44,550 pounds of cocaine and 3,880 pounds of marijuana in Port Everglades, Florida, on April 9, an operation that culminated as the Trump administration focused more military assets on stemming the flow of drugs and migrants across the US’s southern border.

Maritime Executive [4/15/2025 8:06 PM, Staff, 325K] reports following a period of website service outages last month, the U.S. Coast Guard has officially "retired" the Homeport site - its centralized web portal for regional safety alerts, mariner credentialing information, port security announcements and regulatory compliance tools. These functions will now be handled by temporary "workarounds," the service said, until the same functions are transferred to new "secure information systems." “We recognize that Homeport has been a trusted tool for mariners and the broader maritime community,” said Rear Adm. Wayne Arguin, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy. “We are committed to keeping these users informed and providing alternatives to the functions and information Homeport provided as we transition.” The Coast Guard cited "increased costs and system obsolescence" for the shutdown. It plans to replace Homeport with a new version of the site within 12-18 months, and the new tool will "provide users with the information they need in a more focused and secure format." For now, Homeport’s functions will be handled by temporary workarounds, according to USCG 7th District. Merchant mariner credentialing queries will be handled directly by the National Maritime Center (NMC).

Maine Wire [4/15/2025 5:23 PM, Edward Tomic] reports a fugitive investigation by the U.S. Marshal’s Service (USMS) on Friday resulted in the arrests of three people in Biddeford on drug and firearm charges in a coordinated effort with local law enforcement. USMS said in a Saturday press release that they received investigative leads from the Biddeford Police Department indicating that 20-year-old Tyler Langille, who was wanted on a state warrant for possession of a stolen firearm, assault and drug possession, was living at a residence in Biddeford. The U.S. Marshals’ Violent Offender Task Force, comprising members of the USMS, Biddeford Police, Maine Department of Corrections, U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Maine National Guard Counter-drug Task Force and the Coast Guard Investigative Service, made entry into the Biddeford apartment on Friday and located Langille.

News Nation [4/15/2025 11:23 AM, Jeff Arnold, 6900K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for five people who were missing from a “suspected smuggling venture” nearly 30 miles off the St. Lucie Inlet in Southeast Florida. Four people were rescued and were among nine individuals who were reported to be on a boat that left Bimini—a chain of islands in the Bahamas—on Friday. Officials said that the boat capsized Saturday morning and that on Sunday, a person officials described as a Good Samaritan reported seeing an overturned 25-foot boat with four people clinging to it. Coast Guard crews rescued the four people after crews searched by air and sea for almost seven hours, covering more than 1,240 square miles, Coast Guard officials said. The four people were transported to a local emergency medical facility. In a social media post, the Martin County Fire Rescue unit reported that five people were found and that one of those people had died. “The decision to suspend a search is always difficult and never taken lightly,” Chief Warrant Officer Edgardo Insignares, a Coast Guard Sector Miami search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement. “Smugglers routinely exploit vulnerable aliens for profit while putting their lives at risk aboard overloaded and unseaworthy vessels. These dangerous and illegal voyages must not be attempted. Safe, legal and orderly migration saves lives. Don’t take to the sea.” 

DVIDS [4/15/2025 2:07 PM, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jessica Fontenette, 777K] reports Coast Guard Sector Detroit announces the end of Operation Coal Shovel, bringing the icebreaking season to a close on the lower Great Lakes, Monday. Operation Coal Shovel began on January 6 and officially concluded on April 14 due to lack of ice coverage and complete waterway availability for commerce. The operation covers an area spanning from the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Detroit / St. Clair River System, and southern Lake Huron. Over the 98 days of the 2024-2025 domestic icebreaking season, U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards joined efforts to conduct wintertime search and rescue, minimize potential for flooding, provide assistance to island residents for critical supplies and services, and ensure the safe movement of cargo on Great Lakes ships. U.S. Coast Guard cutters Bristol Bay (WTGB 102), Neah Bay (WTGB 105), Morro Bay (WTGB 106) and Mackinaw (WLBB-30) participated in this year’s operation, as well as the Canadian Coast Guard ships Samuel Risley, Griffon and Amundsen. U.S. ice breaking assets assigned to Op Coal Shovel combined to deliver over 900 hours of icebreaking assistance and preventative icebreaking support to establish and maintain tracks in ice covered waterways. In total, the operation directly assisted 141 vessel transits, ensuring commercial vessel safety.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 4:54 PM, Anna Ashcraft, 430301K] reports U.S. Coast Guard crews on Sunday intercepted two boats carrying nearly two dozen illegal immigrants off the coast of Point Loma in San Diego. The Coast Guard reports a Coast Guard Station San Diego crew intercepted a 25-foot cuddy cabin style boat that had 8 people aboard about seven miles south of Point Loma at 6:50 p.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard says the boat was carrying five adult men and three adult women, all claiming Mexican nationality. Then, at 7:27 p.m., Coast Guard crews from the CGC Sea Otter and CGC David Duren intercepted an 18-foot cuddy cabin style boat with 10 people aboard about 10 miles west of Point Loma. The Coast Guard reports that boat was carrying one adult woman claiming South Korean nationality, four men and two adult women claiming Mexican nationality, and three men with no identification. All 18 people aboard the two boats were taken into custody by the Coast Guard and transferred to U.S. Border Patrol personnel.

ABC 4 Honolulu [4/16/2025 1:00 AM, Staff] reports the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for a fisherman who went missing off the Island of Hawai’i Island. The missing fisherman is Earl “Oa” Hind, 42, who was last seen in the vicinity of Kaulana boat ramp. Coast Guard and partner agency crews searched 200,048 square nautical miles for over 242 combined hours. “We are deeply saddened to announce that despite widespread efforts, our search for Mr. Hind is now suspended,” said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Raphael Sadowitz, search and rescue mission coordinator, Sector Honolulu. “We appreciate the tireless work of our partners and the local community and extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Hind’s family and friends during this difficult time.” The Coast Guard led the search with assistance from the Hawaii County Fire Department and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). Crews used HC-130 Hercules airplanes and other resources to locate the missing vessel.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo News [4/16/2025 1:06 AM, Cameron Macedonio, 430301K]
Big Island Now [4/16/2025 3:10 AM, Staff]

DVIDS [4/16/2025 12:01 AM, Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir, 777K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard, in collaboration with Guam Fire Rescue, the U.S. Navy, and local partners, persists in the search on April 16, 2025, for Mr. Jeffery Hattori, who remains missing west of Guam. Lt. Chelsea Garcia, search and rescue mission coordinator, reflected on the exhaustive efforts, “We’re exercising every possibility, asking all the ‘what ifs,’ and leaving no stone unturned in our search for Mr. Hattori. Our dedication to this community and region drives us, but we face the stark reality of the danger in the vast and remote waters we operate in. We’re deeply grateful for the tireless support of Guam Fire Rescue, the U.S. Navy, and local partners as we work to bring answers to Mr. Hattori’s family.” As the search extends into its fifth day, the U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam’s Joint Rescue Sub-Center (JRSC Guam) watch is carefully evaluating all possible scenarios to maximize coverage. USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) and U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25’s Knighthawk crews are searching west of Guam. They will be joined by a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawai’i, in the afternoon.

Stars and Stripes [4/16/2025 3:15 AM, Alex Wilson, 803K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard has shifted from small boats to long-range aircraft in its search for a missing Guam fisherman, as the operation entered its fifth day Wednesday. The search for Jeffrey Hattori, 58, has covered more than 32,000 square miles and involves the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Guam Fire Rescue and local authorities, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sara Muir, spokeswoman for Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam. “The search has covered a vast and dynamic area west and northwest of Guam, extending up to 60 nautical miles offshore, including fishing grounds and coastal zones,” she said in an email Wednesday. As the search has shifted farther offshore, the Coast Guard has recalled its smaller boats and deployed an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, according to a Wednesday news release. The long-range aircraft is equipped with radar and sensors designed for wide-area maritime search operations. “We’re exercising every possibility, asking all the ‘what ifs,’ and leaving no stone unturned in our search for Mr. Hattori,” Lt. Chelsea Garcia, search and rescue mission coordinator, said in the release. “Our dedication to this community and region drives us, but we face the stark reality of the danger in the vast and remote waters we operate in.” Other U.S. military assets participating include a Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft from Task Force 72 in Misawa, Japan; an MH-60S Sea Hawk crew from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 on Guam; and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry, homeported on Guam.

Reuters [4/15/2025 7:06 PM, A.J. Vicens and Raphael Satter, 41523K] reports the defense and research-focused nonprofit MITRE Corporation says funding from the U.S. government runs out on Wednesday for it to maintain a critical database of cyber vulnerabilities used by security researchers and digital defenders the world over. MITRE manages the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database which aims to identify, define and catalog publicly disclosed cyber weaknesses, enabling IT administrators to quickly flag and triage the myriad different bugs and hacks discovered daily. The common numbering scheme, severity scale, and detailed descriptions allow quick communication of highly technical information across organizations and around the world. MITRE said in an email that the funding "will expire" on Wednesday. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), whose parent agency funds the contract, confirmed the contract was ending and said "we are urgently working to mitigate impact and to maintain CVE services on which global stakeholders rely.” Reuters couldn’t establish the reason for the contract’s lapse, but CISA is, like the rest of the federal government, undergoing a radical downsizing driven in part by tech tycoon Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service. A spokesperson for DOGE didn’t immediately reply to an email. Cyber defenders said they were aghast at the news of the program’s lapse. One compared it to suddenly deleting all dictionaries. "We’d lose the language and lingo we use to address problems in cybersecurity," said John Hammond, the principal security researcher at managed security company Huntress. He said he swore out loud when he heard the news. "I really can’t help but think this is just going to hurt.” Organizations around the world lean on the CVE database to triage which vulnerabilities in their digital products need immediate attention versus which ones can be put off, allowing them to manage when and how to update software or patch security holes.

Reuters [4/15/2025 1:22 PM, Raphael Satter and A.J. Vicens, 41523K] reports that a whistleblower complaint says that billionaire Elon Musk’s team of technologists may have been responsible for a "significant cybersecurity breach," likely of sensitive case files, at America’s federal labor watchdog. The complaint addressed to Republican Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton and his Democratic counterpart Mark Warner and made public Tuesday by the group Whistleblower Aid, draws on the testimony of Daniel Berulis, an information technology staffer at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB, a New Deal-era agency that is tasked with protecting workers’ rights to organize and join unions, has for years been a target of America’s corporate titans - including Musk - some of whom are now seeking to have the agency’s powers declared unconstitutional. In an affidavit, Berulis said he had evidence that DOGE staffers were given extraordinarily sweeping access to the NLRB’s systems, which house sensitive case files. He said that beginning in early March, logging protocols created to audit users appeared to have been tampered with, and that he had detected the removal of about 10 gigabytes worth of data from NLRB’s network sometime thereafter. Berulis told Reuters in an interview Tuesday that the data in question includes proprietary business information from competitors, union organization and unfair labor practice respondents and their claims, including private affidavits. "That kind of spike is extremely unusual because data almost never directly leaves NLRB’s databases," Berulis said in his affidavit.

Breaking Defense [4/15/2025 10:32 AM, Justin Katz, 464K] reports that the US Coast Guard is seeking information from industry — at home and abroad — about its capability and capacity to build medium-sized icebreakers under a 36-month timeline from contract award to launching the ship. "The purpose of this [request for information] is to increase the USCG’s understanding of the current status and capability of both the U.S. and broader international maritime industrial base as it pertains to existing icebreaking capable vessels or vessel designs that are ready for construction or already in production," according to the notice published April 11. "Specifically, the USCG seeks to understand what existing vessels or production ready vessel designs satisfy or closely satisfy the below preliminary capability parameters." The Coast Guard’s ship specifications include a maximum length of 360 feet; beam of 78 feet; draft of 23 feet; a helicopter hangar and the ability to break ice with a thickness of 3 feet at a continuous speed of 3 knots. Further, the ship should have a range of 6,500 nautical miles at 12 knots and an endurance of 60 days. Responses are due April 25. Sixty Degrees North, a substack ran by Peter Rybski, a retired US Navy commander, first reported on the USCG’s new RFI. The USCG currently operates two polar icebreakers, 18 domestic icebreakers and 16 ice-capable buoy tenders, a service spokesperson previously told Breaking Defense. A Coast Guard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request from Breaking Defense for further comment about the RFI.

Blaze [4/15/2025 6:05 PM, Paul Sacca, 1668K] reports the U.S. Department of Justice has brought significant criminal charges against a New Mexico man who is accused of carrying out arson attacks against the New Mexico Republican Party’s headquarters and a Tesla dealership in the state. Jamison Wagner, a 40-year-old resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was arrested and charged with two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives, according to federal authorities. If convicted, Wagner faces between five and 20 years in prison for each count. Federal prosecutors claim the first arson attack took place at a Tesla dealership in Albuquerque on Feb. 9. Wagner is accused of arson of the Tesla dealership and also of vandalizing the building with inflammatory graffiti, including allegedly writing: "Die Elon," "Tesla Nazi Inc," "Die Tesla Nazi," and swastika symbols, according to a report from the Justice Department. There has been outrage — at times violent — by leftists incensed by Elon Musk’s efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency to get rid of excessive or fraudulent federal government spending. On March 30, the headquarters of the Republican Party of New Mexico was allegedly attacked. The office reportedly suffered from shattered glass and extensive fire damage to a door, and the outside walls were spray-painted with graffiti that read: "ICE=KKK.” Surveillance cameras at both locations captured a white 2015 Hyundai Accent near the crime scenes. Evidence collected from both crime scenes led to the home of Wagner. During a search of Wagner’s home, investigators allegedly discovered a stencil with the term "ICE = KKK," an apparent reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorities also found eight suspected incendiary devices. No one was injured in either incident, according to investigators.

Wall Street Journal [4/15/2025 6:42 PM, Brian Spegele, 646K] reports Chinese police issued wanted notices for three people they said engaged in cyberattacks against China on behalf of the U.S. National Security Agency, a rare step by Beijing as hostilities between the superpowers escalate. The accusations that the NSA targeted the Asian Winter Games held in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin in February are part of efforts by Beijing to present China as a victim of U.S. aggression alongside the Trump administration’s hefty tariffs against the country. China’s official Xinhua News Agency, citing Chinese investigators, said the attackers used front organizations to buy IP addresses in different countries and anonymously rented servers in Europe and in Asia to conceal their origins. Before the opening ceremony of the games—which was attended by Chinese leader Xi Jinping—Chinese authorities allege that the NSA targeted systems that contained the personal information of individuals associated with the event. Chinese investigators said the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations office, which collects foreign intelligence through hacking, was behind the attacks. Xinhua didn’t provide details on how the investigators reached that conclusion. It added that investigators also found evidence of involvement by the University of California and Virginia Tech, without providing details.

CyberScoop [4/15/2025 11:59 AM, Derek B. Johnson] reports a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has been observed using recently released open-source offensive security tools and other tactics in an effort to blend in with more common cybercriminal activity. The group, UNC5174, is an espionage-minded hacking group that is believed to have ties to the Chinese government and targets Western governments, technology companies, research institutions and think tanks. In a new campaign observed by researchers at Sysdig, the group was seen using VShell — an open-source Remote Access Trojan made by a Chinese developer and popular among Chinese cybercriminals — to carry out post-exploitation activity. They were also spotted using WebSockets — a set of open-source communication protocols — to communicate with command-and-control infrastructure, masking much of its malicious traffic through encrypted transmissions. This was apparently effective, as Sysdig threat research engineer Alessandra Rizzo noted that “our runtime capture confirms that, except for a few random words, we found nothing of note in the network traffic once the connection was upgraded to a WebSocket.” The observed behavior aligns with a broader trend researchers are seeing, with more advanced and state-sponsored threat actors foregoing bespoke tooling in favor of open source or cheaper tools used by “script kiddies,” or lower technical cybercriminals.

New York Post [4/15/2025 7:02 AM, Emily Crane, 54903K] reports a closed door in a stairwell of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion may have saved him and his family after a perp allegedly broke in while they were sleeping and set the place on fire, officials said. Cody Balmer, 38, is accused of using homemade Molotov cocktails to set Shapiro’s official residence alight early Sunday in the state capital of Harrisburg — torching an entire room and causing millions of dollars in damage. Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said that if the door in question had been left open, there’s no telling what might have unfolded. If the door in question had been left open, Enterline said, "it would have definitely put the governor at even greater risk.” The door’s closure partly helped to contain the flames and prevented them from tearing down a hallway more rapidly — essentially giving the Shapiros time to escape, Enterline told reporters Monday. Shapiro, his wife, their four kids and another family were sleeping when the suspect was caught on surveillance cameras allegedly scaling an iron security fence, smashing a window of the mansion’s piano room with a hammer and tossing a Molotov cocktail inside. He then smashed his way inside and ignited the dining room before fleeing, cops said. As the flames took hold, the governor said, he was awakened by a state trooper banging on his bedroom door around 2 a.m. Shapiro, his family, pets and guests were all rushed to safety. The fire left significant damage to the grand room — charring walls, tables, buffet serving dishes, plates and a piano. Enterline has estimated the damage could be in the millions. Balmer turned himself in to cops in the aftermath, allegedly confessing that he "harbored hatred" against the Democratic governor and would have beaten him with a hammer if he’d encountered him inside. He was slapped with a slew of charges, including attempted murder, arson, burglary and terrorism intended to coerce "the conduct of a government.” The suspect was denied bail during his initial court hearing on Monday.

ABC News [4/15/2025 5:06 AM, Aaron Katersky, Sasha Pezenik, Jared Kofsky, Luis Martinez, and Josh Margolin, 34586K] reports the man accused of firebombing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house over the weekend had struggled in recent years with problems in his home life as well as issues stemming from covering his home mortgage, according to court records reviewed by ABC News. Cody Allen Balmer was arrested on Sunday for allegedly breaking into the governor’s home while he and his family were inside and setting fires with two Molotov cocktails. He was denied bail at his arraignment on Monday. Before he was arrested and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson and terrorism in the attack on the governor’s mansion, Balmer was already due in court this coming Wednesday on charges stemming from the domestic assault allegations. Balmer, 38, had grappled with a protracted back-and-forth over foreclosure proceedings, and allegations that he assaulted his then-wife and children amid what he told police was his failed attempt at suicide. He had worked as an auto mechanic in the Harrisburg area and served eight years as an Army Reservist from his late teen years onward. U.S. Army Spokeswoman Heather J. Hagan said in a statement that Balmer was a construction equipment repairer (62B) in the Army Reserve from April 2004 to June 2012. He had no deployments. He was a sergeant when he left the Army. The Service declined to say whether he had been discharged honorably, citing privacy laws. In 2022, Balmer was sued by a mortgage lender seeking to foreclose on his Harrisburg house. By June 2024, he owed nearly $117,000 plus interest. A sheriff’s sale had been set, but Balmer’s lawyer asked that the sale be postponed, saying Balmer had found it harder to make ends meet because of bad luck and marital strife. Balmer had "fallen behind in his mortgage due to several hardship factors, including injuries from an auto accident leading to his inability to work and maintain an income and a separation from his wife," his lawyer said in court documents. Still, he had just found a buyer despite "numerous issues in and with the property" and needed time to finish the sale. The case was dismissed in Jan. 2025 as the parties had "resolved" the matter. In late Jan. 2023, local police were called to a home in the Harrisburg area for what was characterized in court documents as an "active physical domestic" incident. "A child caller advised his stepfather was beating his mother," the responding officer’s affidavit said. The officer responded and outside the home met Balmer’s then-wife "in an elevated state, yelling and crying about her husband, Cody Balmer, having assaulted her."

USA Today [4/15/2025 7:53 AM, John Bacon and Christopher Cann, 75858K] reports the man accused in the April 13 arson attack on the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family was being held without bail while authorities try to determine what prompted him to ignite the devastating blaze. Cody Balmer, who turned himself in to police after the attack, told Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Dale Klein at a hearing April 14 that he was living at his parents’ home for the past year, had most recently worked as a welder but had no income or savings. Klein ordered Balmer held for his own safety and the safety of the community. Balmer, 38, is due back in court April 23 for a preliminary hearing. Balmer faces charges that include attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary and terrorism. After his arrest, Balmer was being treated at a hospital following "a medical event not connected" to the attack, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The fire severely damaged the dining room of the 29,000 square-foot home. Shapiro and his family were in another part of the residence when the fire was ignited. They escaped unharmed after being awakened by state police. A woman contacted Harrisburg police and said her ex-partner, Balmer, ignited the blaze, according to the probable cause affidavit. Balmer, when asked what he would have done if he encountered Shapiro in the home, told investigators "he would have beaten him with his hammer," according to the affidavit. Balmer told investigators he was "harboring hatred" toward Shapiro, but no details on a possible motivation were included in court documents. Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s third Jewish governor, has been a focal point of criticism from some pro-Palestinian groups for his staunch support of Israeli during its army’s unrelenting assault on Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Shapiro, 51, is one of the most well-known Democratic governors in the country − and has fielded questions about a future run for president − after reports that he was on the short list to run as Kamala Harris’ vice president in the 2024 election. Hours before the arson, Shapiro and his family were celebrating the start of Passover, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jewish Exodus from Egypt. Balmer’s mother told several news outlets that her son struggles with his mental health and that she had recently tried to get him assistance. “He wasn’t taking his medicine, and that’s all I want to say,” Christie Balmer told the Associated Press from the family home in Harrisburg. CBS News quoted Balmer’s mother as saying her son "was mentally ill" and "went off his meds." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [4/15/2025 6:03 AM, Julia Mueller and Jared Gans, 12829K] reports the arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) residence is the latest incident to underscore the threats faced by high-profile politicians amid the country’s political polarization. The man accused of setting fire to the governor’s residence over the weekend allegedly harbored hatred against Shapiro, admitting that he planned to attack the Democratic governor with a hammer if he had seen him at his home. The attack comes after assassination attempts against President Trump last year put a spotlight on political violence and the risks faced by figures on both sides of the aisle. "This is a continuation of the era of violent populism … that has characterized American politics for years now," said Robert Pape, director of the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Threats. "What you are seeing is a continuing historic high of political violence in our country across multiple dimensions, and it’s coming from both the right and the left, and it is targeting people on both the right and the left.” The blaze at the governors’ residence early Sunday morning caused "a significant amount" of damage, though Shapiro and his family were evacuated and uninjured, according to a statement from the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). The suspect, identified as Cody Balmer of Harrisburg, allegedly broke into the residence through a window and launched multiple Molotov cocktails to ignite "substantial fire," according to records from the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office.

NewsNation [4/15/2025 7:29 PM, Damita Menezes, 6866K] reports prosecutors believe religious bias was a factor in the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion while the governor and his family slept inside, Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo told NewsNation. "We do believe that there was a religious bias involved, and we’re going to pursue that in our prosecution," Chardo said Tuesday, citing evidence from search warrants indicating the suspect focused on "Palestine and the governor’s views on Israel.” Chardo said Balmer admitted he "harbored hatred" for Shapiro and told authorities he would have "beaten him with a hammer" if he had encountered the governor during the incident. While Pennsylvania has an ethnic intimidation statute that functions as a hate crime enhancement, Chardo explained that adding such charges would not increase the severity of punishment since Balmer already faces five first-degree felonies. However, prosecutors plan to use bias-based offense provisions in sentencing guidelines if Balmer is convicted. Cody Balmer is being held without bail on charges of attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary and terrorism following the early Sunday attack, which occurred hours after Shapiro and his family celebrated Passover. The district attorney noted that Balmer’s decision to turn himself in to police after the attack could actually strengthen the prosecution’s case by demonstrating competence and undermining potential insanity claims.

CNN [4/15/2025 4:43 PM, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Danny Freeman and Sabrina Souza, 22131K] reports in the days before Cody Balmer allegedly set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, his family repeatedly called police and mental health agencies for help as his condition dramatically worsened, according to interviews with relatives and phone records shared with CNN. But those officials all gave the same answer, Balmer’s ex-girlfriend told CNN – that he didn’t meet the standards for involuntary commitment and that there was nothing they could do. Now Balmer, 38, is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson, terrorism and other crimes after police say his homemade Molotov cocktail attack early Sunday morning forced Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to flee, severely damaged the mansion and left the public wondering about a motive. Balmer did not enter a plea during an arraignment hearing on Monday.

NewsNation [4/15/2025 4:29 PM, Patrick Djordjevic, 6866K] reports a Wisconsin teenager charged with killing his parents as part of a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump is part of a broader rise of domestic terrorism, according to former FBI special agent Stuart Kaplan. Nikita Casap, 17, was charged last month by Waukesha County authorities with first-degree murder, theft and other crimes in the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer. Authorities allege the teenager fatally shot them at their home outside Milwaukee in February and lived with the decomposing bodies for weeks before fleeing with $14,000 cash, passports and the family dog. He was arrested last month in Kansas.

NBC News [4/15/2025 11:41 PM, Staff, 44742K] reports four students were injured, including three with gunshot wounds, after a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Officials with Dallas Fire-Rescue confirmed the injuries and said the patients’ ages were 15 to 18. They had injuries that ranged from serious to non-life-threatening, the agency said. Students were seen evacuating the main school building after the shooting was reported to authorities around 1 p.m. "I turned around, all I heard was seven gunshots. I grabbed a teacher and ran in the room," student Patrick Campos said. "Running, everybody was running.” In a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon, Dallas ISD police and district officials said the gunman had been identified but was at large. Hours later, the suspect was arrested and was being held in the Dallas County Jail. The school is the same one where a student was injured in a shooting in a classroom last year. "Today as we all know, the unthinkable has happened," Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said. "And quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar, and it should not be familiar.” The district said the gun did not enter the school building during the primary intake period when students pass through metal detectors. District officials would not say how the gun made its way into the building or what happened in the moments before shots were fired. "We do have the identity of the suspect, but as I mentioned earlier, this is still a very fresh and fluid investigation, so I don’t have any other information regarding what led up to the shooting," district police Assistant Chief Christina Smith said. District leaders said classes would be canceled at the school through the rest of the week and counselors would be made available to anyone struggling after the shooting.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [4/15/2025 8:08 PM, Neil Vigdor, 145325K]

CBS News [4/15/2025 11:55 PM, Amelia Mugavero, 51661K] reports many questions remain unanswered after a shooting Tuesday afternoon at Wilmer-Hutchins High School. The Dallas Independent School District has not said what led up to the shooting nor how a gun was able to get on campus. The district said Tuesday night that the suspect was in custody; however, did not share an identity. Students said they were pulled from class and led away from the school to a safe area. Shooting sparks chaos as students and parents react. "We heard all the gunshots," Wilmer-Hutchins High School student Sevynn Jones said. "Like seven of them.” "I heard like six shots and the teacher ran to the door and closed it and told us to hide in the corner," 11th grader Detaeja King said. Panicked parents scrambled to reunite with their kids after the incident. "It was chaotic when I got here," said Sherikaye Fagan, whose two daughters attend the school. "Told me there was a shooting at the school and for me to go up there. So, I just jumped on out of bed," mother Peggy Hickson, said. According to police, four male students were hurt in the shooting, and three of the four were hit by gunfire. Dallas Fire-Rescue said injuries range in severity from non-life-threatening to serious. Dallas ISD Superintendent addresses growing concerns. "Quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar, and it should not be familiar," said DISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde during an afternoon news conference. Elizalde and DISD police only answered two questions but did say Tuesday’s incident was not the result of any safety failures. "The gun did not come through during regular intake time so if it was not a failure of our staff of our protocols or of the machinery that we have, it did not come in through regular intake," Assistant Chief of DISD Police, Christina Smith, said. The district said that most middle and high schools do have metal detectors at entrances. Police also said they have identified a suspect and are working on locating that person; however, students and parents are left with questions. "They checked our bags and stuff, so I don’t know how they got it in," King said. "The metal detectors — are they working? Cause I’m sure if they were working, they would know kids would have some type of gun on them," Hickson asked. High School remains closed with counseling support offered. The district said the Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary School was on lockdown due to the proximity of this shooting, but no students there were in any danger. As for the high school, the district said there will be no class for the rest of the week and there will be counselors available for students and staff.

New York Post [4/15/2025 11:28 AM, Diana Glebova, 54903K] reports that the suspect accused of firebombing a Tesla showroom and a Republican Party office in New Mexico was hauled out into the street shirtless following an FBI raid early Saturday, photos obtained by The Post show. Jamison Wagner, 40, was led away by FBI counterterrorism task force agents in a pair of shorts — and little else. The lipstick-wearing Wagner, listed as a member of LGBT group 500 Queer Scientists, is charged with two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property and faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. Wagner is accused of carrying out an arson attack on an Albuquerque Tesla showroom on Feb. 9, lighting up two vehicles and spray-painting other cars and the building with swastikas and graffiti. Then, on March 30, Wagner allegedly attacked the Republican Party New Mexico office, damaging the front entrance and spray-painting the building with the inscription "ICE = KKK." Law enforcement officials tracked down Wagner with the help of surveillance footage after identifying a car linked to the surveillance attacks as a white 2015 Hyundai Accent. During a search of his home, investigators located a stencil with the phrase "ICE = KKK" as well as eight suspected incendiary devices.

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [4/15/2025 11:16 AM, Audrey Streb, 1082K]

NBC News [4/15/2025 6:28 AM, Patrick Smith, 44742K] reports a man has been federally charged with carrying out arson attacks against the Republican Party headquarters in New Mexico and a Tesla dealership, the Department of Justice said Monday. Jamison Wagner, from Albuquerque and born in 1984, faces two counts of causing malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives. He is currently in police custody and faces a detention hearing on Wednesday. If convicted, Wagner faces between five and 20 years in prison on each count. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement that authorities would not tolerate "this ongoing wave of political violence," referring to repeated attacks on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and chargers in recent weeks. Tesla has become the target of peaceful protests and violent attacks after its owner, Elon Musk, became a key figure in President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle and shrink federal agencies. "Hurling firebombs is not political protest," said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in the statement. "The impressive work by law enforcement in New Mexico sends a clear message to perpetrators of all of the shameful attacks on Tesla facilities and political establishments: we are coming for you, you can’t hide, and you will do serious jail time to pay for your crimes.” An April 12 court document filed in the New Mexico District Court shows that Wagner is accused of two separate arson offenses in Albuquerque: one at a Tesla showroom on Feb. 9 and another at the GOP offices on March 30. Two Model Y Teslas were damaged in the first incident, prosecutors say, in an attack at 3:13 a.m. Graffiti was found at the scene, including "Die Elon," "Tesla Nazi Inc," and "Die Tesla Nazi." Some of the letters in these phrases were replaced with swastikas. Investigators said the car fires were set intentionally and an incendiary device was found at the scene. Surveillance camera footage showed a man prosecutors believe is Wagner exiting a light-colored sedan car around the time of the fire, wearing all-black clothing and carrying a white box, the court document said. "A small flickering light, consistent with a transient ignition source, was observed in the subject’s hands before flame rapidly appeared inside one vehicle," the court document said. "The subject left the area rapidly after the fire started inside one vehicle.” Prosecutors say the second attack took place at the Republican Party of New Mexico office at 5:55 a.m., and the front door and lobby were damaged by the fire. The message "ICE=KKK" was sprayed onto a wall. Shards of glass incendiary devices were found at the scene, similar to those found at the Tesla dealership, the document said. On Friday, the FBI obtained and warrant and searched Wagner’s home where they found eight suspected incendiary devices — some with the same handwritten "I" and "H" written on the lids — plus materials for making them and spray paint and a stencil bearing the letters "ICE=KKK," and a black hoodie with red paint on it, the court document said.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 11:50 AM, Staff, 430301K] reports federal charges have been filed against New Mexico man Jamison Wagner, 40, in connection to the arson attacks at the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom and the Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) headquarters. On February 9, two Tesla vehicles were damaged in an arson attack at the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom. The building was also damaged that day with graffiti reading "Telsa Nazi Inc.," as well as swastika symbols spray-painted in red and black paint on the showroom’s exterior walls. Nearly two months later on March 30, Albuquerque’s RPNM office was damaged in an arson attack which damaged the entrance. At both scenes, investigators located matching glass containers of improvised flammable mixtures with distinctive green lids. Wagner was linked to the fires through surveillance footage, along with video of a white Hyundai Accent and matching scene evidence, federal investigators said. Agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) raided Wagner’s house in Albuquerque on April 12. There, investigators reported finding assembled fire-starting devices, ingredients matching the flammable mixtures found at the scene, a jar with a similar green lid, black and red spray paint, and a stencil bearing the phrase "ICE=KKK," which matched the graffiti sprayed at the RPNM headquarters. Jamison Wagner is accused of arson attacks at a Tesla Dealership on Feb. 9, 2025, in Bernalillo and at the Republican Party of New Mexico Office in Albuquerque on March 30, 2025. Wagner now faces two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire, and will stay in custody while he awaits his detention hearing on April 16. If convicted, Wagner faces between five and twenty years behind bars for each count. "All of these cases are a serious threat to public safety, therefore there will be no negotiating. We are seeking 20 years in prison," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi, who had previously labeled vandalism of Tesla dealerships to be "domestic terrorism.” "Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence," Bondi said. "We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences. "Hurling firebombs is not political protest," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche added. "It is a dangerous felony that we will prosecute to the maximum extent.”

National Review [4/15/2025 5:49 PM, Haley Strack, 109K] reports Dan Caldwell, a top adviser to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, was put on leave this week amid an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense. Caldwell was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday and placed on administrative leave for “an unauthorized disclosure,” a department official told Reuters. The announcement comes several weeks after the Pentagon launched a probe into leaks of classified information. “The investigation remains ongoing,” the official said under the condition of anonymity. On March 21, Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, requested an inquiry into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications.” The nature of the information Caldwell allegedly disclosed is unknown. Kasper added that the department would use polygraphs “in the execution of this investigation” and “in accordance with applicable law and policy.” Information “identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure would be referred for criminal prosecution,” he added. Concerns over leaks have plagued the Trump administration so far. Homeland Security head Kristi Noem is seeking to expel leakers from DHS with the help of lie-detector tests, she said in early April. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. “We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment or status as a career civil servant — we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has also said that “we know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable.”

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New York Post [4/15/2025 5:46 PM, Victor Nava, 5100K]

Federalist [4/15/2025 7:31 AM, Cynical Publius, 1033K] reports there is a cancer in America’s military ranks, and it must be expunged before it’s too late. That cancer lies in uniformed service members’ widespread rejection of the uniquely American concept of civilian control of the military and disregard for the absolute necessity that America’s military officers remain apolitical in the face of the constitutional will of the electorate. Recent events reveal this cancer, and they include the relief for cause of Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield after she reportedly refused to hang photos of President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on her headquarters’ customary "Chain of Command" board and reportedly told her subordinates in a town hall that she would "wait [the Trump administration] out" the next four years. They also include the relief for cause of Col. Sussanah Meyers, commander of the U.S. Space Force’s base in Greenland, after she openly questioned (to all of her subordinates via email) Vice President J.D. Vance’s official pronouncements regarding the United States, Greenland, and Denmark. Since Trump’s inauguration, numerous other senior generals and admirals have been relieved by President Trump for various publicly unspecified reasons, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown; Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti; Adm. Linda Lee Fagan, the commandant of the Coast Guard; and Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command. Each of these four-star firings is publicly shrouded in a certain degree of mystery, but rumors abound that so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) played a part in one way or another. Admittedly, a president firing his senior generals is not a new thing. Barack Obama fired his senior general in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stan McChrystal, after a Rolling Stone article revealed derisive comments by McChrystal and his staff regarding Obama’s leadership. Harry S. Truman fired one of America’s most famous and revered military leaders, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur, after MacArthur repeatedly disobeyed Truman’s orders regarding the Korean War. And Abraham Lincoln famously had no problem firing his senior Army generals in the heat of the Civil War. What made these firings so noteworthy, however, is that they were rare exceptions that proved the rule of America’s senior generals and admirals wholly respecting civilian control of the military. What we see now is not Obama and McChrystal, Truman and MacArthur, or Lincoln and his failed generals. The widespread nature of the current problem looks and feels like something completely new in the American experience and appears to be pervasive across the force.

The Hill [4/15/2025 6:04 AM, Miranda Nazzaro, 12829K] reports the Trump administration’s back-and-forth moves on tariffs for technology products are stirring confusion in a sector heavily reliant on global supply chains. Tech companies breathed a sigh of relief last Friday when the Trump administration revealed electronics would be exempt from the "reciprocal" tariffs, but by the end of the weekend, President Trump signaled many of the same products will still be subject to expected sector-based tariffs. The dizzying tariff changes are driving uncertainty for the technology industry, which is being forced to make manufacturing and supply chain decisions based on evolving goalposts. "It’s creating an awful lot of chaos at the moment. A lot of uncertainty," said Rob Handfield, a professor of supply chain management at North Carolina State University. The state of play of Trump’s trade war changed a number of times over the past month, though the past two weeks saw some of the most drastic changes when it comes to the tech sector. Trump imposed higher tariffs on nearly all of the U.S.’s trading partners last Wednesday. Later that day, he issued a 90-day pause on the higher rates after global market shares plummeted and dropped those tariffs for most countries to a baseline rate of 10 percent. Nonetheless, many tech companies were not entirely in the clear as many rely on manufacturing sites and supply chains in China, which was not included in the pause amid a larger trade war with Trump. The White House slapped China with a 145 percent tariff, prompting China to impose a 125 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods. But then last Friday, guidance posted by Customs and Border Protection, which collects duties on imports, revealed about 20 products would be excluded from the tariffs. Products included smartphones, computers, routers and semiconductor chips. The move was quickly celebrated by those in the tech industry and consumers hoping to avoid paying higher prices for electronics. The White House defended Trump’s approach to tariffs on Monday. "By implementing a historic 125 percent reciprocal tariff on China while pursuing a Section 232 investigation on electronics imports, President Trump is taking a nuanced, strategic approach to combat China’s unfair trade practices and reshore the high-tech manufacturing that is critical to our national and economic security," White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Hill.

The Hill [4/15/2025 7:24 PM, Brett Samuels, 12829K] reports President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing the Commerce Department to open a national security investigation that would lay the groundwork for the administration to impose tariffs on critical minerals, the latest sector to potentially face tariffs as part of Trump’s growing trade war. Trump signed an order initiating the probe, known as a Section 232 investigation, that will determine the impact on national security of imported processed critical minerals. The executive order makes the case that importing critical minerals has led to "significant" dependence on foreign countries for those materials. "The dependence of the United States on imports and the vulnerability of our supply chains raises the potential for risks to national security, defense readiness, price stability, and economic prosperity and resilience," the order states. Critical minerals and rare earth elements are a specific group of materials that are only deposited in relatively small quantities and can be used in a variety of applications, including electronics, health care and batteries. Since they are naturally occurring, it may be more difficult for the U.S. to produce more processed critical minerals on its own. Last month, the president signed an order invoking wartime powers under the Defense Production Act to expand domestic U.S. mining production, according to information shared by a White House official. Trump on Monday launched a similar probe focused on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, a sign that tariffs on those sectors could be coming soon as well.

FOX News [4/15/2025 6:58 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 10702K] reports President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up probes into U.S. semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports this week, the latest sign that Trump plans to hit the sectors with tariffs. Monday filings with the Federal Register announced 21-day public comment periods for probes into both sets of imports. Trump’s administration has argued that tariffs are necessary in order to secure domestic production of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors for national security reasons. "We don’t make our own pharmaceuticals, drugs and other things to get better. They’re made in other countries and you pay a number. I mean, the same package in our country compared to, like, London and other places is sometimes 10 times more, 10 times more. Something that sells for $88 in London, sells for $1,300 here, made in the same factory by the same company. And that’s over," Trump said last week. "We’re going to tariff our pharmaceuticals. And once we do that, they’re going to come rushing back into our country, because we’re a big market. The advantage we have over everybody, is that we’re the big market," he added. Trump also set his sights on semiconductors on Sunday, saying tariff levels would be announced within the week. "We wanted to uncomplicate it from a lot of other companies, because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country," Trump told reporters while aboard Air Force One on Sunday night. In January alone, the U.S. experienced a negative trade balance in the semiconductor sector of $322 million – exporting $521 million and importing $843 million, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. "In case of war, in case of whatever, we’re not relying on China and various other countries to supply us with drugs, which is not a good idea, and it’ll happen very fast," the president said. Trump specifically called out Ireland for "taking" U.S. pharmaceutical companies in March when he hosted Irish premier Micheál Martin. "The Irish are smart, yes, smart people," Trump said. "You took our pharmaceutical companies and other companies … This beautiful island of 5 million people has got the entire U.S. pharmaceutical industry in its grasps.” "When the pharmaceutical companies started to go to Ireland, I would have said that’s OK, if you want to go to Ireland. I think that’s great. But if you want to sell anything into the United States, I’m going to put a 200% tariff on you so you’re never going to be able to sell anything into the United States," Trump added at the time. "You know what they would have done? They would have stayed here.”

Bloomberg [4/15/2025 6:00 AM, Damian Garde, 16228K] reports the Trump administration launched a probe Monday that could open the door to tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. Under this 232 investigation, the Commerce Department has as long as 270 days to determine whether the foreign production of drugs is a threat to national security, though it could release the findings much more quickly. China, India and the EU are major exporters of drugs to the US. But if Americans worry that tariffs will immediately inflate their bills at the pharmacy, they can rest easy — at least for now. “This is not like avocados,” said Mina Tadrous, a professor at the University of Toronto who studies drug policy. A local grocery store can quickly pass the cost of tariffs on by simply reaching for the price tag gun. But the maze of middlemen between patients and the makers of medicines is far more complex. Americans already pay more for drugs than anyone else in the world. These prices are downstream from a series of negotiations between their insurance companies, pharmacy benefits managers and the manufacturers. It’s a maddeningly opaque system, but typically it results in a contract that locks in a price for each medicine. A similar process takes place for drugs administered in hospitals. (You’re on your own for ones like Botox that you pay for directly.) That means drug companies, annoyed as they might be by tariffs, can’t just kick the increased cost down the road to their customers, said Rena Conti, a health policy professor at Boston University. In the years to come, manufacturers might renegotiate their contracts to recoup the cost of tariffs, and there’s nothing to stop them from charging as much as possible for new drugs coming onto the market, Conti said. Over time, the tariffs will work their way through the system, and eventually consumers will feel the pinch. “Most patients are not paying for this directly, but they’re going to pay through their premiums, or their employers will,” Tadrous said.

CNN [4/15/2025 5:28 PM, Jennifer Hansler, 22131K] reports that the Trump administration is looking at closing nearly 30 overseas embassies and consulates as it eyes significant changes to its diplomatic presence abroad, according to an internal State Department document obtained by CNN. The document also recommends reducing the footprint at the US diplomatic missions in Somalia and Iraq — two countries that have been key to US counterterrorism efforts — and "resizing" other diplomatic outposts. The proposed changes come amid a broader expected overhaul of the US’ diplomatic agency as the Trump administration, spurred by the Elon Musk-backed Department of Government Efficiency makes dramatic efforts to shrink the federal government. It is unclear whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed off on the proposed closures. The document recommends closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates. Many of the posts are in Europe and Africa, though they also include ones in Asia and the Caribbean. They include embassies in Malta, Luxembourg, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. The list also includes five consulates in France, two in Germany, two in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one in the United Kingdom, one in South Africa and one in South Korea. The document proposes that the closed embassies’ duties be covered by outposts in neighboring countries. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce would not comment on the internal document or plans to drastically cut the State Department.

CNN [4/15/2025 7:30 PM, Pete Muntean, 908K] reports the Federal Aviation Administration is testing systems to detect drones in New Jersey, after a series of unexplained drone sightings in the state last year raised alarm. The testing, over a two-week period in the community of Cape May, includes about 100 off-the-shelf Unmanned Aerial Systems, commonly called drones, ranging in size from smaller than a pound up to large craft weighing nearly 1,320 pounds, the FAA said in a statement. Equipment being tested by the FAA’s Center of Excellence for UAS Research includes Remote ID, Acoustic Array and X-Band radar. "These tests will help determine the effectiveness of these technologies and whether they might interfere with FAA or aircraft navigation systems," the agency said. "The FAA conducted the first of these off-airport tests in Alaska and will conduct additional testing in New Mexico, North Dakota and Mississippi later this year.” While the FAA did not say why they chose New Jersey for the latest test, the area saw hundreds of reports of unexplained drones in the skies in November and December, prompting pressure on federal and local agencies to investigate. "We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones," then White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in December. Officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings posed a security threat. In a video provided to CNN in advance of its release Tuesday evening, Transportation Secretray Sean Duffy criticized the New Jersey "drone fiasco under the last administration" and vowed to be transparent about what was going on.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 5:17 AM, Darryl Coote, 430301K] reports the United States and a coalition of six other nations dedicated to disrupting terrorist financial networks have imposed sanctions against 15 accused leaders of the Somalia-based al-Shabaab militant group. The sanctions were announced Monday by the U.S. Treasury, which said they target members of the designated terrorist organization involved in a range of activities from fundraising to improvised explosive device proliferation. The 15 alleged terrorists are considered key regional leaders throughout Somalia and have been accused of generating funds for al-Shabaab through illegal fee collection from locals as well as conducting kidnappings, dispatching their own police service to control residents and manufacturing and placing IEDs. "Al-Shabaab continues to terrorize and extort the Somali people, forcing farmers to turn over livestock as ‘donations’ and kidnapping civilians, while it destabilizes the wider region through its campaign of violence," Treasury’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Anna Morris said in a statement. The sanctions are the eighth round from the Terrorist Financing Target Center, consisting of the United States, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 2017, the TFTC aims to counter terrorist financing networks through conducting joint disruption actions, including sanctions and law enforcement operations, as well as sharing information about related concerns and offering capacity-building assistance. "TFTC member states are stronger and more effective when working together to counter these shared threats to the international financial system, and we will maintain intensive pressure on terrorist actors and their financial networks," Morris said. The announcement comes after the Treasury sanctioned 26 people and entities connected with al-Shabaab.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2025 7:27 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 2296K] reports frustrated that his plan to pressure both sides to accept a quick ceasefire that could lead to a broader peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is faltering, President Donald Trump is once again blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war he says never “should have been allowed to happen.” During his Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Trump complained that Zelensky was incompetent and seemed to blow off his offer to buy up to $50 billion in U.S. weaponry, including $15 billion for 10 more Patriot missile batteries. "I don’t know. He’s always looking to purchase missiles, you know," Trump grumbled. "Listen, when you start a war, you’ve got to know that you can win the war, right? You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles.” Trump complained that Zelensky — who accepted the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire 35 days ago — is part of the problem. "I don’t know what he is. We had a rough session with this guy. He just kept asking for more and more," Trump said, while in the next breath, seeming to concede that Russian President Vladimir Putin started the war. "This should not be happening in our time," Trump said. "Biden could have stopped it, and Zelenskyy could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybody’s to blame.” "And all I can do is try and stop it. That’s all I want to do. I want to stop the killing, and I think we are doing well in that regard," he said. "I think you’ll have some very good proposals very soon.” In an outtake from his 60 Minutes interview that was not included in Sunday night’s broadcast, Zelensky, speaking in Ukrainian, expressed consternation that Trump, who rails against the weapons freely given to Ukraine by the Biden administration, won’t sell Ukraine, for cash up front, the Patriot systems that have proven to be the most effective defense against Russian glide bombs and drones. "We are grateful for the United States giving us a lot of things. We are grateful for everything," Zelensky said, prefacing his remarks as he always does with gratitude for American support. "But when children are killed by missiles, and adults are killed by missiles, I feel sorry for everyone. They are people.” "I don’t understand why we can’t agree on additional Patriot systems, especially because there was such an agreement at the NATO summit in Washington, the anniversary summit, and we didn’t receive those additional Patriot systems.”

CNN [4/15/2025 6:18 AM, Abeer Salman and Irene Nasser, 908K] reports Hamas is "studying" an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would see 10 hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, an official with the militant group told CNN. The proposal, received by Hamas on Monday, outlines an initial framework for a 45-day truce in the Palestinian enclave during which the two sides would aim to negotiate a permanent ceasefire, according to the official. The Israeli proposal also calls for the disarmament of Gaza, previously a red line for Hamas. It does not include a guarantee of a permanent end to the war, which Hamas has demanded as part of a comprehensive agreement. The Hamas official said the group will not agree to any Israeli ceasefire proposal that calls for its disarmament or sees Israeli forces return to Gaza after an initial withdrawal, making it unlikely that the group will accept it. The offer marks Israel’s first proposal to bring back hostages from Gaza since it resumed the war in March. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense pressure from hostage families and a growing number of military reservists to reach a deal. CNN has reached out to Israeli officials for comment. Under the proposal, the hostages would be released in stages, starting with Israeli American Edan Alexander on the first day of the truce as a "special gesture" to the United States, the Hamas official said. A further nine Israeli hostages would be released in two stages in exchange for 120 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and more than 1,100 detainees held without charge since October 7, 2023, the official added. Israel’s proposal also demands that Hamas provide information about the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the group, "in exchange for information about the Palestinian detainees," and the release of the bodies of 16 deceased Israeli hostages in exchange for the remains of 160 deceased Palestinians held by Israel. The "temporary ceasefire lasting 45 days" would also include the cessation of military operations and the entry of aid into Gaza as well as "an agreed mechanism to ensure that aid reaches only civilians," the Hamas official said.

Wall Street Journal [4/15/2025 12:19 PM, Michael R. Gordon, Laurence Norman, and Benoit Faucon, 646K] reports U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff appeared to backtrack on comments that Iran could be allowed to enrich uranium at a low level in a new nuclear deal with the Trump administration, saying Tuesday that Tehran would have to abandon its enrichment program. “A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal,” Witkoff wrote in a post on X, adding that “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.” Witkoff’s statement ran counter to the position he outlined a day earlier when he indicated that limited enrichment could be allowed if it was subject to stringent verification and other steps were taken to prevent Tehran from being able to make a nuclear weapon. “They don’t need to enrich past 3.67%,” Witkoff said Monday night on Fox News. “This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program and then ultimately verification on weaponization.” The comments were broadly seen as a sign that the Trump administration was prepared to be flexible in the nuclear talks, which resume Saturday in Oman. But they were at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that Iran’s program be eliminated and its enrichment sites destroyed under American supervision. The White House National Security Council and Witkoff’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on his apparent change of position.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [4/15/2025 1:10 PM, Laura Kelly, 12829K]

FOX News [4/15/2025 8:04 AM, Staff, 10702K] reports Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (ret.) on Trump’s call for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program and the national security implications of China halting critical mineral exports to the U.S. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [4/16/2025 4:32 AM, Christopher Bodeen, 2923K] reports China appointed a new trade negotiator Wednesday in the midst of its tariff fight with the U.S. The government said Li Chenggang replaces Wang Shouwen, who participated in negotiations for the 2020 trade deal between the China and the U.S. The world’s two largest economies have been steadily increasing tariffs on each other’s goods. China faces 145% taxes on exports to the U.S., while dozens of other countries were given a 90-day reprieve for most duties. Earlier on Wednesday, China announced its economy expanded at a 5.4% annual pace in January-March, supported by strong exports. Analysts are forecasting that the world’s second largest economy will slow significantly in coming months, however, as tariffs on U.S. imports from China take effect. Exports were a strong factor in China’s 5% annual growth rate in 2024, and the official target for this year is also about 5%. Beijing has hit back at the U.S. with 125% tariffs on American exports, while also stressing its determination to keep its own markets open to trade and investment. In the near term, the tariffs will put pressure on China’s economy, but they won’t derail long-run growth, Sheng Laiyun, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters earlier. It wasn’t clear why China was changing negotiators but the move comes as Chinese officials say the country has multiple options to respond to U.S. actions, including relying more on its own vast market of 1.4 billion consumers, and on Europe and countries in the global south. But as China’s domestic consumption continues to languish, it will be difficult to replace the U.S. consumer. China also imposed more export controls on rare earths, which include materials used in high-tech products, aerospace manufacturing and the defense sector. Prior to his new appointment, Li spent about 4 1/2 years as China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization, the body that governs global commerce and to which Beijing has appealed in its tariff dispute with the U.S.

Politico [4/15/2025 5:55 AM, Megan Messerly, Jake Traylor, Phelim Kine and Ari Hawkins, 430301K] reports the White House says it has the upper hand in its trade war with China. Its actions suggest otherwise. Top administration officials spent the weekend trying to defend a carve-out of consumer electronics from the astronomical 145 percent tariffs it levied on China last week. The carve-out was neither an exemption nor a policy rollback, the White House argued, because those electronics are still subject to a separate 20 percent tariff on China and some electronic components could face sector-specific tariffs in the future. But to some White House allies, the exceptions are indicative of the relatively weak position the administration is in as it wages a trade war with China, which has spent years making preparations for an escalation with the U.S. on trade. The carve-outs also reveal the conundrum facing the administration: The U.S. is imposing new tariffs on Chinese goods in an attempt to move manufacturing back to the U.S., but those tariffs are particularly painful for U.S. manufacturers because they are currently so dependent on Chinese parts. So far, the U.S. has demonstrated that it is more willing to bend than China is in this burgeoning fight. "Xi Jinping will not back down," said one former Trump administration official, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to share their candid assessment of the U.S.-China relationship, adding that "the CCP will lose confidence in him" if he does, using the acronym for the ruling Chinese Communist Party. "This is going to get really ugly," the former official added. The stalemate reflects China’s careful preparations for this showdown long before Trump announced his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs earlier this month. Beijing’s prompt countermeasures underscore that readiness: a cross-domain mixture of tariffs, export restrictions on critical minerals essential to U.S. industry and targeting of American firms with official probes or sanctions that press multiple economic pain points. White House spokesperson Kush Desai argued Trump is taking his own "nuanced, strategic approach to combat China’s unfair trade practices and reshore the high-tech manufacturing that is critical to our national and economic security" by pursuing both reciprocal and sector-based tariffs. "This approach will build on the hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of electronics and semiconductor investment commitments that the administration has secured without letting China exploit loopholes to keep undermining American industries and workers," Desai said in a statement. He added that anyone who isn’t directly talking to the president or his trade team has "no idea what they’re talking about.”

Axios [4/15/2025 7:49 AM, Joann Muller, 13163K] reports America’s escalating trade war with China could choke off demand for electric cars in the U.S. Simply put, the U.S. can’t build EVs without China. Efforts to seed a domestic supply chain, which began under the Biden administration, need more time to mature. "We do forecasts out to 2040, and China is going to remain dominant in that time frame across all stages of [the] supply chain," said Adam Webb, head of battery raw materials at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. In the meantime, the U.S. remains dependent on China for key inputs and technologies to produce electric vehicles — and those are getting tougher and more expensive to access. China isn’t just hitting back with higher tariffs to match U.S. taxes on Chinese imports. It’s also using its control of critical minerals and refining technology to disrupt American supply chains for everything from cars and electronics to missiles and robots. For example, Beijing this month made it harder to export rare earth minerals and magnets that are essential for electric motors. The move follows earlier restrictions on minerals such as germanium and gallium, which are used in semiconductors and defense, as well as stricter controls on graphite, a critical material for battery anodes. Higher tariffs on imported vehicles and components means the U.S. will likely sell 2 million fewer cars and trucks annually, many forecasters agree. A shortage of batteries or electric motors for EVs could also choke off the transition away from gasoline cars that’s just getting started. U.S. sales of battery-electric vehicles grew 11.4% in the first quarter, accounting for 7.5% of total car sales, according to Cox Automotive. Cox had been forecasting sales of all electrified vehicles — including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-only cars — could reach 25% by the end of 2025, but the latest trade turmoil makes that less likely. China is the world’s top miner and processor of rare earths, a group of 17 elements used to make such things as cars, weapons, smartphones and wind turbines. It has also acquired mines in other countries with large deposits of other key minerals for EV batteries, including lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite. China also produces most of the cathode active materials needed to make lithium-ion batteries and is home to CATL, the world’s leading manufacturer of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a lower-cost alternative.

MSN News [4/15/2025 2:09 PM, Steve Charnock, 126906K] reports that President Donald Trump has intensified his defense of his escalating tariffs by framing them now as a matter of national security. During a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, POTUS Trump emphasized the importance of domestic pharmaceutical production, stating: ‘We’re going to have our drugs made in the United States so that in case of war, in case of whatever, we’re not relying on China and various other countries, which is not a good idea.’ This marks something of a shift from previous justifications of the tariffs (all of which were economic), suggesting a strategic pivot towards safeguarding critical supply chains in anticipation of potential conflicts

FOX News [4/15/2025 1:36 PM, Danielle Wallace, 10702K] reports that a Chinese official lashed out against the Trump administration on Tuesday, reportedly stating that the "peasants in the United States" will suffer from the trade war. Xia Baolong, the director of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, criticized tariff policies levied by the Trump administration as "extremely shameless." Appearing to address past remarks by Vice President JD Vance, Xia said "Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization," according to Reuters. Vance told Fox News last week that the "globalist economy" in the U.S. is based on the principle of "incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us." "To make it a little bit more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture," Vance said in an interview, defending Trump’s plan to revitalize U.S. manufacturing. "That is not a recipe for economic prosperity. It’s not a recipe for low prices, and it’s not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America." Beijing’s top official in Hong Kong made the criticism in a pre-recorded address played before the 10th National Security Education Day, according to the South China Morning Post.

Yahoo News [4/15/2025 9:00 AM, Jasmin Malik Chua, 430301K] reports that on Friday, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee greenlit the latest in a flurry of legislative activity to protect ethnic minorities caught in China’s brutal crackdown on Muslim populations, including what several authorities say are crimes against humanity that amount to genocide, though Beijing itself denies this. The Uyghur Policy Act, originally introduced in the House of Representatives in 2023, has managed to pass with overwhelming bipartisan approval in both of the past two congressional terms without advancing further in the Senate. Young Kim, the Californian Republican who sponsored the bill, said it seeks to create a "comprehensive, multilateral strategy" to raise international awareness of Uyghur persecution at home and abroad, direct the State Department to "effectively respond" to human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and push back efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to "silence Uyghur voices." It comes amid an especially fraught time for U.S.-China relations, which are spectacularly unraveling as a trade spat characterized by escalating mutual tariffs shows no end in sight. The United States has also slapped visa sanctions on several Thai officials over the unexpected deportation of 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China on Beijing’s request in February. Both the United Nations’ refugee agency and Volker Türk, its human rights head, panned the deportations for not only endangering the Uyghurs, who are expected to face torture and long-term imprisonment upon their return, but also for breaching international law.

New York Times [4/15/2025 8:18 PM, Tripp Mickle, 145325K] reports Nvidia said on Tuesday that the U.S. government had blocked the sale of some of its artificial intelligence chips to China without a license and would begin requiring a license for future sales. The restrictions are the first major limits that President Trump’s administration has put on semiconductor sales abroad. It raises the possibility that Nvidia’s sales to China will evaporate in the coming months, bringing an end to a business that has contracted as the United States has curbed chip exports to its geopolitical rival. Nvidia has fought hard to maintain sales to China in the face of rising U.S. government restrictions. In 2022, the Biden administration imposed rules to curb the export of Nvidia’s best A.I. chips to China. Nvidia responded by modifying one of its leading A.I. chips, the H100, so that its abilities fell below U.S. government thresholds. The resulting H20 chip became a China-specific product. Nvidia will take a $5.5 billion charge against its revenue in the current quarter because of H20 inventory, purchase commitments and related reserves, which it won’t be able to sell or fulfill in the wake of the government’s new rule, the company said. The write-down is a bigger strategic blow than a financial one. Nvidia, which dominates the market for semiconductors used in building artificial intelligence systems, considered selling chips to China vital to its future. If it withdrew from the market, it feared that it would surrender sales to China’s leading A.I. chipmaker, Huawei, and that Huawei would begin to challenge it for sales around the world. “This kills Nvidia’s access to a key market, and they will lose traction in the country,” said Patrick Moorhead, a tech analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. “Chinese companies are just going to switch to Huawei.” Nvidia declined to comment. The company’s share price dropped more than 5 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday. A spokesman for the Commerce Department, Benno Kass, said on Tuesday that the administration was issuing new export licensing requirements for the Nvidia H20; a chip from Advanced Micro Devices, the MI308; and their equivalents. “The Commerce Department is committed to acting on the president’s directive to safeguard our national and economic security,” Mr. Kass said.

New York Times [4/16/2025 3:20 AM, Alexandra Stevenson, 330K] reports that, stepping into the trade war, Hong Kong said on Wednesday that its postal service will no longer send packages to the United States. It is the city’s first move in a spiraling conflict between China and the United States that is reordering global shipping routes. President Trump this month ordered the closure of a loophole that allowed retailers to send clothes and goods from China and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, to the United States without having to pay tariffs. After that change takes effect on May 2, United States Customs and Border agents will begin to collect previously exempted tariffs on shipments worth less than $800. Hongkong Post said it would immediately stop accepting surface postal items containing goods to the United States, and would stop taking airmail packages starting April 27. It said the action was in response to Mr. Trump’s tariffs on China, which are now 145 percent. “The U.S. is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively,” the postal service said in a statement posted to the Hong Kong government’s website. The postal service said it would contact senders who posted packages with goods that have not yet been shipped, to return the packages and refund their postage. Documents being shipped to the United States would not be affected. “The public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the U.S.’s unreasonable and bullying acts,” it said. A trade war between the world’s two biggest economies escalated rapidly when President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese products from 54 percent to 145 percent. China, in response, hit back by hiking the levies on American goods to 125 percent and calling the Trump administration’s tariff policy economically meaningless and “a joke.”

Reuters [4/16/2025 4:48 AM, Ben Blanchard, 41523K] reports three U.S. senators are visiting Taiwan this week and will discuss trade and other issues with President Lai Ching-te, a trip that comes as Taipei pushes ahead with tariff talks with Washington. The American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, said in a statement on Wednesday that two Republican senators, Pete Ricketts and Ted Budd, along with a Democrat senator, Chris Coons, were visiting until Saturday as part of a broader visit to the region. While U.S. lawmakers regularly visit the island, this is the first since President Donald Trump took office in January. Taiwan, which had been due to be hit with 32% levies as part of Trump’s now paused tariff regime, held its first round of direct talks with U.S. officials last week to discuss the issue. "The delegation will engage in a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and other significant issues of mutual interest," the institute said. "Their visit underscores the United States’ commitment to its partnership with Taiwan and reaffirms our shared commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific." The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the senators will meet with Lai and other senior leaders to discuss the "close partnership" between Taiwan and the United States, the security situation in the Taiwan Strait and strengthening of security in the Indo-Pacific. Ricketts is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

Reuters [4/15/2025 8:04 AM, Mikhail Flores, 41523K] reports China and the Philippines accused each other on Tuesday of dangerous manoeuvres in a hotly disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in the latest confrontation over the waterway. A Chinese coast guard vessel sped up and manoeuvred on Monday to block the navigation route of a Philippine vessel around 36 nautical miles off the Scarborough shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard said. "This incident highlights the CCG’s non-compliance with the international regulations ... and reflects a blatant disregard for safety at sea," it said. China’s coast guard said the Philippine vessel "dangerously approached" its ship and crossed its route, alleging it attempted to stage a false collision, Xinhua reported on Tuesday. "They illegally approached China’s normal sailing coast guard ship in a dangerous manner, threatening the safety of China’s personnel and ships," Xinhua reported. Tensions between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea have escalated in the last two years, including in the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch claimed by both as their territory. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The Philippine Coast Guard deployed a plane on Tuesday to challenge a Chinese research vessel which it said was operating without authority in its northern waters near Taiwan. Chinese research vessel Zhong Shan Da Xue was spotted around 78 nautical miles off the northern island province of Batanes, and did not respond to attempts by the Philippine Coast Guard’s Islander aircraft to establish radio communication. "PCG aviators underscored on their radio challenge that the said Chinese vessel lacks the authority to conduct marine scientific research within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines," the coast guard said.

AP [4/15/2025 6:59 AM, Jim Gomez, 5046K] reports about 14,000 American and Filipino forces will take part in battle-readiness exercises in the Philippines, including live-fire drills, in a largescale deployment that shows the Trump administration is not scaling back its commitment to help deter aggression in the region, a senior Philippine military official said Tuesday. The annual joint Balikatan — Tagalog for "shoulder-to-shoulder" — exercises between the longtime allies will be held from April 21 to May 9 and involve about 9,000 United States and 5,000 Filipino military personnel. They will involve fighter aircraft, navy ships and an array of weaponry, including a U.S. anti-ship missile system, Philippine Brig. Gen. Michael Logico said. Australia will deploy about 200 military personnel. and Japan and a number of other friendly nations will send smaller military delegations. China has frowned on such war drills in or near the disputed South China Sea and in northern Philippine provinces close to Taiwan, especially those that involve the U.S. and allied forces that Beijing says aim to contain it and consequently threaten regional stability and peace. Logico said the Balikatan exercises were not aimed at any particular country. Taiwan is the island democracy which China considers as its own, to be annexed by force if necessary. China conducted large-scale drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan this month that included an aircraft carrier battle group as it renewed a warning to Taiwan against seeking formal independence. U.S. Marine Col. Doug Krugman, of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told reporters most of the joint exercises would be staged within Philippine territory except for multi-nation sea exercises, which he did not specify. Trump’s " America First " foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in Asia a bout the scale and depth of U.S. commitment to maintain a longstanding security presence in the volatile region. "As you can see, there is no scale back," Logico said during a news briefing. "We’re talking about a full battle test.” The comprehensive drills would generally involve a command post issuing orders to field forces in mock battle scenarios, according to Logico and Krugman. The exercises will include aerial surveillance, the use of a barrage of artillery and missile fire to sink a mock enemy ship, deploying a U.S. anti-ship missile system and countering the landing of enemy forces on an island.

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