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 Washington Post [4/17/2025 4:33 PM, Ann E. Marimow, 31735K] reports that the Supreme Court said Thursday that it will review President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban automatic U.S. citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors, scheduling a special court session for next month. The administration had asked the justices to lift or narrow nationwide orders blocking Trump’s birthright citizenship executive action, which Democratic-led states and immigrant advocacy organizations say is at odds with the nation’s history, past court rulings and the Constitution. In a brief order, the justices put off a decision about the lower court rulings and instead scheduled oral argument for May 15. Trump’s order would deny citizenship for new babies if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, a population that some studies have estimated at more than 150,000 newborns per year. Judges in lawsuits joined by 22 states and D.C. have blocked the citizenship ban nationwide while litigation continues. The Justice Department had urged the Supreme Court to limit those lower-court orders to the individuals or states behind the lawsuits while the cases make their way through the court system, or to at least allow the relevant federal agencies to begin developing plans and issuing public guidance for banning birthright citizenship if Trump’s effort eventually passes legal muster. Presidents from both parties — and several Supreme Court justices — have raised concerns about the power of a single judge to block an administration’s initiative nationwide. NPR [4/17/2025 2:20 PM, Nina Totenberg and Christina Gatti, 29983K] reports that the court said it would hear arguments in the case on May 15, with a decision likely by late June or early July. The court gave no indication that it plans to consider other related question raised by the Trump administration, which complained to the court that about the ability of single district court judges to issue rulings that cover the entire country in cases like this one. To date, every court to have considered Trump’s executive order banning birth right citizenship, issued on day one of his administration, has blocked it. But he has doggedly persisted in his contention that birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, an idea widely considered a fringe view because the Supreme Court ruled to the contrary 127 years ago, and that decision has never been disturbed. A group of states challenged Trump’s order, contending that the right to birthright citizenship is not, even remotely, an open question. As they put it in their Supreme Court brief: "For over a century, it has been the settled view of this court, Congress, the Executive Branch, and legal scholars that the Fourteenth Amendment Citizenship clause guarantees citizenship to babies born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ citizenship, allegiance, domicile, immigration status or nationality." The Hill [4/17/2025 2:14 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 12829K] reports that the administration appealed nationwide injunctions issued by federal judges in Greenbelt, Md., Seattle and Boston, all of which were upheld by appeals courts. Trump’s order has come under nearly a dozen lawsuits in total, including some challenges that have not yet reached the justices. The Los Angeles Times [4/17/2025 3:30 PM, David G. Savage, 13342K] reports that the proposal was challenged as unconstitutional based on the words and history of the 14th Amendment, and three judges have struck it down nationwide. Those judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state ruled based on lawsuits filed by individuals, groups and 22 states. Those judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state ruled based on lawsuits filed by individuals, groups and 22 states. Trump’s lawyers said those rulings went too far. They appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds and made what they described as "a modest request." They said the justices should rein in federal district judges and limit their power to make nationwide rulings. If the justices were to agree, however, it could clear the way to enforce Trump’s new citizenship rules in many parts of the nation, even while the constitutionality of his plan remained in doubt. The AP [4/17/2025 5:46 PM, Mark Sherman, 1682K] reports that Trump and his supporters have argued that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen, which he called "a priceless and profound gift" in the executive order he signed soon after becoming president again in January. The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States, a phrase used in the amendment, and therefore are not entitled to citizenship. Axios [4/17/2025 5:01 PM, Jason Lalljee, 13163K] reports that birthright citizenship, as outlined by the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, automatically confers citizenship to people born on U.S. soil – regardless of their parents’ citizenship status. There are two types in the U.S.: jus sanguinis, ancestry-based citizenship, and jus soli, birthplace-based citizenship. In the former, which means "right of blood," children born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent may be entitled to U.S. citizenship, if they meet certain requirements. Jus soli, on the other hand, is "the right of the soil" guaranteeing citizenship to almost everyone born in the U.S. Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office this year, which seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents and undocumented immigrants. In 2018, there were 4.4 million U.S.-born children with at least one parent who is an "unauthorized immigrant," per a Migration Policy Institute analysis.

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The AP [4/17/2025 9:43 PM, Michael Kunzelman, Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer, 48304K] reports the Trump administration’s claim that it can’t do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. “should be shocking,” a federal appeals court said Thursday in a blistering order that ratchets up the escalating conflict between the government’s executive and judicial branches. A three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously refused to suspend a judge’s decision to order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her instruction to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, wrote that he and his two colleagues “cling to the hope that it is not naïve to believe our good brethren in the Executive Branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos.” “This case presents their unique chance to vindicate that value and to summon the best that is within us while there is still time,” Wilkinson wrote. The seven-page order amounts to an extraordinary condemnation of the administration’s position in Abrego Garcia’s case and also an ominous warning of the dangers of an escalating conflict between the judiciary and executive branches the court said threatens to “diminish both.” It says the judiciary will be hurt by the “constant intimations of its illegitimacy” while the executive branch “will lose much from a public perception of its lawlessness.” When asked by reporters Thursday afternoon if he believed Abrego Garcia was entitled to due process, President Donald Trump ducked the question. “I have to refer, again, to the lawyers,” he said in the Oval Office. “I have to do what they ask me to do.” The president added: “I had heard that there were a lot of things about a certain gentleman — perhaps it was that gentleman — that would make that case be a case that’s easily winnable on appeal. So we’ll just have to see. I’m gonna have to respond to the lawyers.” The Justice Department didn’t immediately comment on the decision. In a brief accompanying their appeal, government lawyers argued that courts do not have the authority to “press-gang the President or his agents into taking any particular act of diplomacy.” “Yet here, a single district court has inserted itself into the foreign policy of the United States and has tried to dictate it from the bench,” they wrote. Politico [4/17/2025 8:20 PM, Erica Orden, 11599K] reports that Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee who has been on the bench for 41 years, is one of the nation’s most prominent conservative appellate judges. His seven-page opinion is the latest — and most scorching — judicial rebuke of the Trump administration’s aggressive moves to sidestep court orders in high-profile immigration cases. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found probable cause to hold administration officials in contempt for defying an order to halt deportations of people deemed “alien enemies.” And U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis scolded the administration for having done “nothing” to comply with her order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from El Salvador. Wilkinson and the two other judges on the 4th Circuit panel rejected the administration’s appeal of an April 10 order from Xinis directing the administration to “take all available steps” to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. “as soon as possible.” Wilkinson zeroed in on the Justice Department’s admission that it had “mistakenly” deported Abrego Garcia. “Why then should it not make what was wrong, right?” Wilkinson wrote. Abrego Garcia was detained and quickly flown to El Salvador last month despite a 2019 court order that barred the government from deporting him there because of the risk that he could be targeted by a local gang. The Supreme Court said his deportation was “illegal” in a decision upholding Xinis’ directive requiring the U.S. to facilitate his release.

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USA Today [4/17/2025 5:10 PM, Francesca Chambers, 75858K] reports President Donald Trump sidestepped a question in the Oval Office about whether he would take steps to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States and put him in front of a judge if a court holds him in contempt. The president went on to defend his immigration policies, saying he was elected to expel migrants who have committed violent offenses. U.S. officials contend Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 criminal gang, recently deemed a foreign terrorist organization. But their evidence relies on a confidential informant and clothing Garcia was wearing in 2019 police encounter. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland, who is handling the case, has questioned the strength of the government’s evidence. In the Oval Office later on April 17, as he signed two executive orders, Trump again referred reporters to DOJ lawyers after he was asked whether Abrego Garcia deserves due process in the United States and if he’d press El Salvador’s president to release him so the U.S. government can facilitate his return.

New York Post [4/17/2025 12:39 PM, Priscilla DeGregory, 54903K] reports that the Trump administration gave notice late Wednesday that it would appeal a Maryland federal judge’s order that it take "all available steps to facilitate" the return of an alleged MS-13 gang member to the US following his deportation to El Salvador. In addition to confirming that it would appeal Greenbelt District Judge Paula Xinis’ order, the Justice Department asked the Richmond, Va.-based Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to immediately stay the lower court’s demand while the appeal is heard. Abrego Garcia sued the Trump administration on March 24, days after he was arrested in Maryland and sent to the Central American county alongside 260 other accused gang members. The suit argued that his deportation violated a 2019 order barring him from being sent home over concerns he’d be targeted by a rival gang, like Barrio 18. The ruling, however, didn’t block him from being sent to another country. Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia’s return to the US by April 7. Three days after the deadline, the US Supreme Court stepped in and ordered the feds to "facilitate" his return before sending the case back to Xinis to clarify her initial ruling.

Politico [4/17/2025 9:59 PM, Myah Ward, 11599K] reports the White House is aggressively building a case against the native Salvadoran the U.S. illegally deported last month as part of a messaging effort designed to combat an onslaught of criticism from Democrats and intensifying scrutiny from the courts. Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation has quickly become a symbol of the administration’s aggressive immigration agenda, as President Donald Trump looks to fulfill his vow to swiftly deport massive numbers of people who entered the country illegally. The crux of Trump’s political argument is that the high-profile deportees are hardened criminals. But Abrego Garcia has never been charged with any crime, and federal judges have slammed the Trump administration’s conduct as “shocking” as well as described its claims about him as extraordinarily flimsy. “We were inundated by millions of people, many millions during the Biden administration,” Trump said Thursday, when asked about the Abrego Garcia case. “A big percentage of those are criminals, serious criminals … Many of those people murdered more than one person, and they’re on the loose. I was elected to get rid of those criminals.” A federal judge has ordered the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States after it admitted that his deportation to a Salvadoran prison was an “administrative error.” The Supreme Court upheld that order last week and noted that the deportation was “illegal” because a judge found he had a credible fear of persecution by a local gang there. Trump’s aides have argued this week that they are in no position to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States, calling him an MS-13 gang member and “terrorist.” They placed the onus on El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to remove him from the country’s notorious high-security prison.

Federalist [4/17/2025 7:21 AM, John Daniel Davidson, 1033K] reports that, on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi released police records showing Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the "Maryland man" who was deported to his native El Salvador by the Trump administration, was in fact a member of MS-13 and was in the United States illegally. Contrary to the assertions of Garcia’s lawyers (and many in the corporate press) that there’s no evidence he’s a member of MS-13 and that the cops just made it all up, the police affidavit from Garcia’s arrest in March 2019 shows that Garcia was arrested with multiple other confirmed MS-13 gang members, was wearing clothing associated with the gang, and was identified by a confidential police informant as a confirmed MS-13 gang member with a rank and a moniker. Here’s what the police record said. Garcia and three other men were arrested outside a Home Depot by Hyattsville City Police in Maryland, and as police approached them, "two of the individuals reached into their waistbands and discarded several unknown items under a parked vehicle," according to the affidavit. One of the men, Christhyan Hernandez-Romero, was immediately recognized by police as a member of the MS-13 Sailors Clique. Hernandez-Romero, police said, "has an extensive criminal history for multiple assault, concealing dangerous weapon, burglary and many other offenses." They even knew his rank and moniker, which was "Bimbo.” Another of the men, Jose Guillermo Dominguez, was covered in MS-13 gang tattoos and was identified by "a past proven and reliable source" as an active MS-13 gang member with the rank of "Chequeo" and the moniker "Maniaco.” As for Garcia, police recognized his clothing as "indicative of Hispanic gang culture," and that he was a "member in good standing with the MS-13." The same confidential informant told police that Garcia had the rank of "Chequeo" and the moniker "Chele." In addition, the arrest record shows that Garcia was by his own admission an illegal alien from El Salvador who had entered the U.S. by walking across the border near McAllen, Texas, in March 2012. At the time of his arrest in Maryland while loitering outside a Home Depot, he had $1,178 in cash on him. Several plastic bottles containing marijuana were also found near the men after their arrest. The fourth man was released after police were unable to determine his gang affiliation, which calls into serious question the claim by Garcia’s lawyers that the cops were just making up his affiliation with MS-13. If so, why didn’t they do so with this fourth man?

NewsMax [4/17/2025 8:43 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4998K] reports the illegal migrant at the center of a deportation controversy held a rank and street name with the notorious MS-13 gang, court documents showed. The Trump administration has alleged that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was arrested in Maryland and deported from the U.S., was an MS-13 member. He was sent to El Salvador despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation. According to newly released documents, Abrego Garcia held the rank "Chequeo" and the street name "Chele" within the vicious criminal organization. MS-13, which has the full name Mara Salvatrucha, began in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs. The Justice Department has said the gang "is well-organized and is heavily involved in lucrative illegal enterprises, being notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives." Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday released evidence on social media stemming from police finding Abrego Garcia socializing with confirmed MS-13 gangbangers in a Maryland Home Depot parking lot in March 2019. In the document, a reliable source told a Hyattsville City Police Department detective that Abrego Garcia is an active member of MS-13 with the Western cliques with the rank of "Chequeo" and the moniker "Chele." The document also said that officers noted Abrego Garcia’s clothing, a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears, and mouth of the presidents on the different denominations, was "indicative of the Hispanic gang culture." "The meaning of the clothing is to represent ‘ver, oir y callar’ or ‘see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil,’" the report stated. "Wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents that they are a member in good standing with the MS-13." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Times [4/17/2025 6:21 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1814K] reports police gang experts pegged Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a member of MS-13 based on his clothing, tattoos and information from a confidential source, the Prince George’s County Police Department said Thursday, shedding some light on a key issue in the fight over his deportation. The department said Mr. Abrego Garcia was flagged by Hyattsville City Police, who found him as part of a group of four men, one of whom the officers recognized as an MS-13 member. The county police gang unit then interviewed the four and found “reasonable suspicion” that three, including Mr. Abrego Garcia, “displayed traits associated with MS-13 gang culture.” Police documented the interaction, but neither made arrests nor brought any charges. The new details seem to back up at least some of the Trump administration’s claims about Mr. Abrego Garcia, whom it deported last month as a member of MS-13. The government has declared the gang to be a foreign terrorist organization.

Daily Caller [4/17/2025 10:13 AM, Jason Hopkins, 1082K] reports that an alleged MS-13 gangbanger whom Democrats are fighting to bring back into the United States was previously accused of domestic abuse by his wife. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of deported illegal migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, once sought a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2021, according to court documents released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The revelations come as Sura has publicly advocated for his return and a Maryland senator traveled to El Salvador in an effort to visit him in prison. "Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as," DHS stated Wednesday. "According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm.". "This MS-13 gang member is not a sympathetic figure," DHS continued. The District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County ordered Abrego Garcia in 2021 to not abuse, threaten or try to contact Sura, according to the documents. The court also awarded Sura custody of their child until a final protective order hearing was held.

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(B) NBC News Daily [4/17/2025 3:14 PM, Staff] reports that the legal standoff is intensifying between the federal government and Kilmar Abrego Garcia. His legal team is responding to the government’s release of records from a 2019 arrest. The Department of Homeland Security posted a document on X showing a restraining order that they say Abrego Garcia’s wife requested against him in 2021.

The Hill [4/17/2025 7:37 PM, Filip Timotija, 12829K] reports the wife of a Maryland man who the United States government mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador stood in defense of her husband while acknowledging that she filed for a civil protective order four years ago. “After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution following a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order, in case things escalated. Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through the situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura said in a statement to multiple outlets on Wednesday. Sura rebuked President Trump’s administration after the U.S. government recently shared filings from 2021 that showed she was looking for a protective order, accusing her husband of punching, scratching her and ripping her shift off. The order prevented Abrego Garcia from getting in touch, and the Salvadorian national was directed not to abuse her. “Our marriage only grew stronger in the years that followed. No one is perfect, and no marriage is perfect,” Sura said. “But that is not a justification for ICE’s action of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from removal.”

Axios [4/17/2025 2:02 PM, Russell Contreras, 13163K] reports that the wife of a Maryland man erroneously deported to El Salvador is defending him after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted on X a temporary protective order she filed against him in 2021. Why it matters: The Trump administration and its allies are doubling down on rhetoric disparaging Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, portraying him as dangerous despite court orders to get him out of a notorious Salvadoran prison. The latest: Jennifer Vasquez Sura said in a statement that she "acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order" after "surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship." "Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process." She said the pair went to counseling afterward and worked on their marriage privately. "That is not a justification for ICE’s action of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from deportation." Homeland Security posted on X on Wednesday, the protective order Vasquez Sura filed in 2021. "According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm," officials wrote in the post. The order alleged that Ábrego García slapped her, hit her with an object and detained her against her will. The document also alleged Abrego Garcia "punched and scratched her eye," causing her to bleed.

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New York Post [4/17/2025 7:47 AM, Emily Crane, 54903K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi has insisted the family of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia is "safer" now that he has been deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s notorious megaprison. The 29-year-old father, who was mistakenly booted from the US last month due to an administrative error, was previously accused of physically abusing his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, back in 2021, the Department of Homeland Security revealed Wednesday. Even though Abrego Garcia’s wife has still been pushing for him to be brought back to the United States, Bondi suggested his family were better off without him. "America is safer because he is gone," Bondi told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Wednesday night. "Maryland is safer because he is gone. And that woman that he is married to and that child he had with her, they are safer tonight because he is out of our country and sitting in El Salvador where he belongs.” Her remarks came soon after the Trump admin released details of a protective restraining order that Abrego Garcia’s wife had applied for following a domestic incident at their home in front of their then-infant on May 4, 2021. In the petition for the order, Vasquez Sura alleged her husband had punched, scratched and grabbed her during the ordeal. "I was watching on my laptop, and he yelled at me to turn it off, I told him I wasn’t sleepy, he got angry, reached over shut and threw my laptop on the floor, and the baby started to cry because he was putting pressure on him, my [immediate] reaction was to push him off of us, and he then punched, [scratched] me on my left eye, leaning me bleeding," she detailed in her own handwriting, according to the petition. The Department of Homeland Security posted screenshots of the order on X, saying it was proof that Abrego Garcia "had a history of violence and was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as.” Bondi, too, released evidence of Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to MS-13 — including that he held the rank "Chequeo" and the street name "Chele" within the vicious criminal organization. It comes after the US Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return from his native El Salvador after Washington acknowledged he was deported due to an administrative error.

AP [4/17/2025 9:22 PM, Stephen Groves and Adriana Gomez Licon, 48304K] reports for Democrats, the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case is about fundamental American ideals — due process, following court orders, preventing government overreach. For the Trump administration and Republicans, it’s about foreigners and gang threats and danger in American towns and cities. And that argument is precisely the one that Donald Trump wants to have. This dichotomy is playing out as Democrats double down on their defense of Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported and imprisoned without communication. They’re framing his case as a threat to individual rights to challenge President Trump’s immigration policies. The effort comes as the Trump administration pushes back harder, turning this deportation into a test case for his crusade against illegal immigration despite a Supreme Court order saying Abrego Garcia must be returned to the United States. In trying to shape public discourse against Democrats, White House officials are accusing them of defending a foreigner who they’ve claimed is a gang member based on testimony of an informant — and whose wife admitted she once filed a protective order against him despite now advocating for his return. “Due process and separation of powers are matters of principle,” Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said Thursday. “Without due process for all, we are all in danger.”

NBC News [4/18/2025 5:00 AM, Sahil Kapur, 44742K] reports a controversial deportation case has opened up a rift within the Democratic Party over how aggressively to go after President Donald Trump on an issue that has been one of his biggest political strengths. Some members of the party are leaning heavily into Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador without due process, accusing Trump of defying a court order. But others, while still objecting to Trump’s actions, have sought to shift the focus to economic concerns amid the whiplash of the president’s tariff policies and persistently high prices. Trump officials initially conceded that Abrego Garcia, who was subject to a withholding order preventing his expulsion to El Salvador and wasn’t convicted of a crime, was removed to his home country due to an "administrative error." The administration has alleged he was a gang member and deserved deportation. The Supreme Court didn’t accept that rationale, and last week it ordered the administration to "facilitate" his return to the U.S., which led a judge to demand daily updates on any progress. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., has been among the outspoken Democrats on Abrego Garcia’s case, visiting El Salvador this week to push for his release. In addition, other congressional Democrats like Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Delia Ramirez of Illinois have offered to help Van Hollen or even travel to El Salvador themselves. "The Trump administration is clearly in violation of American court orders," Van Hollen said. But other Democrats have avoided weighing in on the issue — or offered muted responses when asked about it. As California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, rolled out a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Trump’s sweeping tariffs, he had little to say about the Abrego Garcia case when asked to weigh in. "This is the distraction of the day. The art of distraction," said Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender. "And here, we zig and zag. This is the debate they want. This is their 80-20 issue, as they’ve described it.”

Washington Post [4/17/2025 7:19 PM, Staff, 31735K] reports the case of a Maryland man who was illegally deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador is confronting conservatives with a clash of two long-held principles: fighting illegal immigration and defending personal liberties. Most Republicans — and virtually all GOP lawmakers — have responded by stressing Kilmar Abrego García’s status as an undocumented immigrant and disputed claims that he is a gang member. But a small if growing number of conservatives are criticizing the Trump administration for what they call a trampling of basic rights, especially in challenging a recent Supreme Court ruling backing Abrego García’s return. “Above all what strikes me is the utter contempt, the gratuitous contempt, they have shown for the rule of law,” said Ed Whelan, a conservative legal scholar with the Ethics and Public Policy Center. “Once you make the concession that he was deported in error, you can’t just say, ‘Oh, well, it doesn’t matter.’” The result is an is an unusually stark divide between President Donald Trump and some traditional conservatives. Radio host Erick Erickson warned on his show recently that the Trump administration is making a mistake in declining to try to bring Abrego García back to the United States.

Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 2:01 PM, Kaelan Deese, 2296K] reports that the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court late Wednesday to intervene after a lower court threatened to hold officials in criminal contempt over a controversial round of deportation flights to El Salvador in March. The Justice Department’s emergency request to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals follows a blistering order from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who said President Donald Trump’s administration appeared to have "willfully disregarded" his March 15 injunction halting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law written to remove suspected national security threats during wartime. The Trump administration has invoked it to remove suspected members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Boasberg said there was probable cause to hold administration officials in contempt and gave the DOJ until April 23 to explain why criminal proceedings shouldn’t move forward. If officials fail to comply, the court may hold additional hearings or refer the matter for prosecution. "The Court ultimately determines that the Government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order," Boasberg wrote, "sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt.". The administration’s filing to the appeals court did not include new facts, as the D.C. Circuit had already reviewed the case once before, ruling 2-1 to uphold Boasberg’s temporary restraining order. That order blocked flights deporting Salvadoran nationals identified by DHS as possible public safety threats.

Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 1:24 PM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K] reports that Border czar Tom Homan dismissed criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration actions in recent weeks, saying he and the administration "stand by our guns." Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Trump administration officials in criminal contempt Wednesday, almost a month after he issued a ruling prohibiting deportation flights while overseeing a case involving five immigrants with active deportation orders. The Trump administration went through with the deportations, as planes were already airborne when Boasberg’s ruling came out. Flights were paused in the weeks that followed, but have now continued. "I think we did the right thing," Homan said on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle. "There is a different level of due process for terrorists. So I think we stand by our guns. I think we did the right thing. And I think the attorney general of the United States agrees that we did the right thing. So, we’ll stand by that." Homan addressed the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which Democratic lawmakers have said was carried out mistakenly. While Abrego Garcia had a "withholding of removal" status, Homan said his ties to the MS-13 gang trumped any status he was granted.

CBS News [4/17/2025 7:07 PM, Staff, 51661K] reports an immigration judge on Wednesday denied bond for Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey who was detained last month after her visa was revoked, her lawyers said. Öztürk, 30, is in custody at a federal detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, where she was eventually transferred after being detained last month by immigration authorities outside her apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts. Her attorneys — who allege she was detained after co-writing an op-ed in the campus newspaper — argue her detention violated her First and Fifth Amendment rights, and are seeking to have her either released on bail or transferred to Vermont from Louisiana. Öztürk’s attorney Marty Rosenbluth said in a statement Thursday her detention is a "complete violation of due process and the rule of law.". Lawyers for Öztürk had asked an immigration judge that she be released on bond as her immigration case proceeds. That judge denied her request Wednesday, the same day Öztürk had a hearing, her attorneys said in a statement released Thursday morning. Her lawyers said the Department of Homeland Security presented one document to support their opposition to Öztürk’s bond request: a one-paragraph State Department memo revoking her student visa. The memo says her visa was revoked following an assessment that she had been involved in associations "‘that may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization’ including co-authoring an op-ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus.".

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AP [4/17/2025 9:57 AM, Kathy McCormack, 24727K]
NBC News [4/17/2025 4:24 PM, Chloe Atkins, 44742K]

Breitbart.com [4/17/2025 4:56 PM, Neil Munro, 2923K] reports President Donald Trump wants to help illegal migrants self-deport from the United States as some of his supporters complain about the slower-than-hoped pace of deportations and Democrats launch a massive resistance. Already, a growing number of illegals are sneaking out of the United States to avoid legal penalties. The majority of people in his base, and some of the groups that support his political promises, want many more deportations. Yet Trump and his deputies are also taking unprecedented steps to recognize and remove illegal migrants. Trump seems to be aware that his deport-and-return plan may not be welcomed by his base.

Blaze [4/17/2025 11:10 AM, Joseph Mackinnon, 1668K] reports that President Donald Trump signed a memo Tuesday directing his administration to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving taxpayer funds from Social Security Act programs, including Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The initiative appears to be aimed both at eliminating the monetary incentive for foreign nationals to steal into the homeland and at pressuring the noncitizen net-takers already here to either wean off the dole or hit the road. The memo directs the Social Security Administration to: expand its fraud prosecutor programs to at least 50 U.S. attorney offices; establish a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. attorney offices; investigate earning reports of individuals supposedly 100 years or older with mismatched records; consider reinstating its civil monetary penalty program; and reinforce program integrity measures so only those foreign nationals who satisfy all eligibility requirements can receive benefits. In a fact sheet detailing the memo, the White House echoed Elon Musk’s recent revelation that over two million illegal aliens were apparently assigned Social Security numbers in fiscal year 2024 alone. Venture capitalist Antonio Gracias, who has been working with the Department of Government Efficiency in scrutinizing the SSA, noted at the Wisconsin town hall where Musk highlighted the provision of Social Security numbers to illegal aliens, "This literally blew us away," reported NewsNation. "We went there to find fraud, and we found this by accident," said Gracias.

Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 12:04 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports that the Trump administration is pressuring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to hand over immigrants’ personal information as the Department of Government Efficiency steps up President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. Officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and DOGE, led unofficially by X CEO Elon Musk, asked CMS in the past month to provide access to data systems that include home addresses and the health information of those enrolled in Medicare, the Washington Post reported Wednesday evening. CMS had not yet granted the request of the two federal entities as of early April. Medicare, a federal health insurance program for adults over 65, is not available to illegal immigrants, but DOGE has spent the early months of Trump’s second term trying to identify illegal immigrants, some of whom live in mixed-status households, for deportation. DOGE is seeking to check recipients’ Social Security numbers against the CMS database to see if they attempted to file claims and provided a home address. Trump has maintained since taking office that illegal immigrants are using Medicare and Social Security, though they are not eligible for either benefit.

Reuters [4/18/2025 12:48 AM, Nathan Layne, 41523K] reports a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday that extends a ban on billionaire Elon Musk’s aides from accessing private information on millions of Americans held in the Social Security Administration’s computer systems. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander of Maryland said Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had failed to show the need for the "unprecedented, unfettered access" it had sought to the SSA’s data to achieve their stated goal of rooting out fraud. Hollander had issued a temporary restraining order last month restricting DOGE access to SSA data, but it was due to expire on Thursday. The preliminary injunction cements the restrictions for a longer time while the case plays out. The injunction is a win for the two labor unions and an advocacy group that sued SSA, Musk, DOGE and others in February, seeking to stop DOGE members from accessing some of the agency’s most sensitive data systems. Hollander said the plaintiffs would likely succeed on their claim that DOGE staff members had violated privacy laws in their various efforts so far to access data and that an injunction was needed to protect Americans from "irreparable harm." "For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation," Hollander wrote in her 145-page ruling. Hollander was nominated to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. President Donald Trump is a Republican. While the injunction prohibits DOGE staffers and anyone working with them from accessing data containing personal information, it does allow them to access data that has been stripped of private information, as long as they have gone through the proper training and passed background checks. The advocacy group Democracy Forward said the injunction marked an important step in their case. "This is a significant relief for the millions of people who depend on the Social Security Administration to safeguard their most personal and sensitive information," Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, said in a statement.

Telemundo20 [4/17/2025 4:08 PM, Tania Luviano Hurwitz, 41K] reports a U.S. citizen says he received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security warning him he must leave the country or face deportation. Aldo Martinez says that, although he was born in this country, due to the tense environment in which we live, he is still afraid, since for years he has provided assistance to the undocumented community. Aldo says he hasn’t done anything wrong, but adds that it’s not just the lawyers or legal representatives who should be concerned. Aldo doesn’t know why he received this email in his name from DHS, but he can’t help but think that President Trump’s memo might have something to do with it.

Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 3:11 PM, Elaine Mallon, 2296K] reports the Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that unintended recipients, including American citizens, "may have" received emails notifying them that their parole had been terminated. This comes after a doctor born in Pennsylvania received a notification telling her to leave the country immediately. Lisa Anderson, a U.S. citizen who lives in Connecticut, received a letter via email instructing her to self-deport, according to NBC News. Boston immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni, who is also a U.S. citizen, received the same email from DHS.

The Dispatch [4/18/2025 2:44 AM, John McCormack, 430301K] reports the first time a young Christian from Afghanistan heard music at a church service where he understood at least some of the language, it was Christmas at Apostles Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It was amazing. I was telling myself, ‘Wow, it was beautiful,’” he recalled in an interview with The Dispatch earlier this week. The man, whom we’ll call Ahmad to protect his family remaining in Afghanistan, recounted how before that Christmas service in 2023, he was only able to quietly worship in Afghanistan with a small number of other believers. Ahmad’s conversion to Christianity after attending a university in Afghanistan led to his imprisonment by the Taliban—where he said he was beaten and tortured via electric shock—before fellow Christians were able to ransom him from Taliban captivity. The same Christians who got Ahmad out of prison then got him out of Afghanistan by helping him travel to Brazil. Ahmad traversed on foot the Darién Gap that connects Central and South America for three days and ultimately—after presenting himself at the southern U.S. border seeking asylum—made a home for himself in Raleigh. In North Carolina, Ahmad found a job at a restaurant (as parole granted to him legally allowed him to do), improved his English, and has become an integral member of his congregation. But his days of worshipping freely and without fear at Apostles Church may have come to an end after Holy Thursday services last night, when Christians around the world commemorated the Last Supper before Jesus was betrayed and then crucified the next day. Ahmad, like some other Afghans legally living in the United States, received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) telling him he must leave the country by Good Friday. “Your parole will terminate 7 days from the date of this notice,” reads the April 11 DHS letter to Ahmad. “If you do not depart from the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States — unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here. … You will be subject to potential criminal prosecution, civil fines, and penalties, and any other lawful options available to the federal government.” The letter was “shocking news” to him and roughly two dozen fellow Afghan Christians who attend Apostles Church and are now also at risk of deportation, he said. It’s not clear precisely how many Afghans legally in the United States received the letter telling them that they must self-deport. “The Afghans receiving the ‘leave immediately’/7-day notifications in the past week seem to be those who entered with [humanitarian] parole at the port of entry from Mexico,” Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at the evangelical charity World Relief, told The Dispatch. Soerens said he was “anecdotally aware of a number of cases of Christians who were not prioritized for evacuation in 2021 who made their way, often through networks of missionary connections, to the Western Hemisphere and then made their way up to the U.S.-Mexico border, where after waiting for a [Customs and Border Protection] One app appointment they were generally paroled into the U.S.” Contacted by The Dispatch, the Department of Homeland Security did not provide precise figures on how many Afghan parolees were told to leave the country but confirmed that at least 9,000 Afghans in the United States will lose their legal status, known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The executive branch may grant that classification to categories of migrants from countries that are “subject to armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary temporary conditions.” On March 21, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “determined that Afghanistan no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements for its TPS designation and so she terminated TPS for Afghanistan,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Dispatch in an email. Those Afghans who worked for the U.S. government and were granted Special Immigrant Visas have not had their legal status revoked.

FOX News Radio [4/17/2025 5:39 PM, Bret Baier] Audio HERE reports with President Trump approaching the 100-day mark of his second term, his Cabinet has been busy ensuring that his agenda is carried out. Bret is joined by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to discuss how the department is ensuring that American citizens are safe from domestic and foreign terrorism. Secretary Noem also sheds light on her tour of an El Salvador prison where deported Venezuelans and others are being held. Later, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner joins Bret to share the role of HUD and the department’s plan to assist with disaster relief and homelessness. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Bloomberg [4/17/2025 6:16 PM, Erik Larson and Hadriana Lowenkron, 16228K] reports President Donald Trump has been testing the boundaries of his authority over US immigration policy since he began his second term of office, but he hinted at taking things to a new level when he said he’d support deporting US citizens to a prison in El Salvador. “I’m all for it,” the president said during an April 14 Oval Office meeting with his counterpart from El Salvador Nayib Bukele, who calls himself the “coolest dictator” in the world and is known for a harsh crackdown on crime. The tiny Central American nation has already accepted hundreds of undocumented immigrants who Trump unilaterally deported in March under a 227-year-old wartime law after accusing them of being Venezuelan gang members. They’re being held in a maximum security prison that has a capacity for 40,000. “You gotta build about five more places,” Trump said. “It’s not big enough.” El Salvador needs the new facilities, he said, to make room for American “homegrowns,” an apparent reference to criminals who are US citizens. Trump said he’d like “to get them out of the country.” Trump, whose administration is paying millions of dollars to El Salvador to house the accused Venezuelan gang members, suggested at the Oval Office gathering that the US could work more broadly with Bukele to deal with America’s large prison population and do it “for less money.” Trump indicated he would want to send to El Salvador only the “really bad people” such as “homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters.” The president acknowledged that he wasn’t sure of the legality of his idea. Trump said at the Oval Office meeting that administration officials, in particular Attorney General Pam Bondi, were “studying the laws right now.” Many legal experts already have an answer: No.

New York Times [4/17/2025 7:23 PM, Alan Feuer and Abbie VanSickle, 153395K] reports a number of major cases challenging President Trump’s initial moves on immigration are making their way through the legal system. Mr. Trump has moved aggressively to detain and deport migrants, but a series of his moves have been challenged in court. In a number of those cases, federal judges have responded by ordering the Trump administration to give due process to people being deported. The administration has dragged its feet to avoid some of those rulings, setting up a potential constitutional clash between the executive and judiciary branches.

The Wall Street Journal [4/17/2025 12:06 PM, Douglas Belkin and Michelle Hackman, 646K] reports the Trump administration has threatened to stop international students from attending Harvard University as part of a growing pressure campaign against the nation’s most prominent university. The threat arrived Wednesday in the form of a letter from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after Harvard on Monday refused to comply with demands made by the administration, including that the university—under federal oversight—”audit” the viewpoints of faculty, students and staff. Harvard President Alan Garber called the demands an illegal attack on the school’s independence. Harvard enrolls about 10,000 international students, and like many U.S. universities it relies on their tuition payments—often full-freight. The threat follows another move by the administration to begin proceedings to revoke the school’s tax-exempt status, which could be a devastating blow to the university’s finances, according to experts in higher-education finance. The Homeland Security Department letter said hosting international students was a privilege not a guarantee and because Harvard had “created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students” the administration was requesting information about visa holders by April 30. “Failure to comply with this Student Records Request will be treated as a voluntary withdrawal” of the certification system that allows international students to enroll at Harvard. “The withdrawal will not be subject to appeal,” Noem wrote. Harvard said it was aware of the DHS letter, which it said “follows on the heels of our statement that Harvard will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. We continue to stand by that statement. We will continue to comply with the law and expect the Administration to do the same.” In the letter, Noem called for the school to provide information regarding each student visa holder’s known illegal, dangerous or violent activity, and whether the activity occurred on campus. DHS also asked for known threats to classmates by visa holders or obstruction of the school’s learning environment. Politico [4/17/2025 9:43 AM, Amanda Friedman, 430301K] reports Noem also announced the canceling of two department grants worth over $2.7 million to the university, "declaring it unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars." "Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism — driven by its spineless leadership — fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security," Noem said in the press release. The New York Times [4/17/2025 5:12 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, Luke Broadwater, and Stephanie Saul, 153395K] reports that in a letter sent on Wednesday, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, asked for “relevant information” on each student visa holder at Harvard who had been involved in “known illegal” or “dangerous” activity. She also requested information on the coursework of student visa holders, to verify that they had taken enough classes to “maintain nonimmigrant student status.” “The United States government understands that Harvard University relies heavily on foreign student funding from over 10,000 foreign students to build and maintain their substantial endowment.” The letter was sent after Harvard refused President Trump’s demands to make sweeping changes to its admissions and hiring policies. The White House hit back with financial threats and penalties, including freezing $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to the university, along with a $60 million contract.

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ABC News [4/17/2025 10:47 AM, Luke Barr, 34586K]
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CBS News [4/17/2025 10:31 AM, Staff, 51661K]
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Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 1:16 PM, Jack Birle, 2296K]
NewsMax [4/17/2025 8:01 AM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 5000K]
(B) WDRB News at 4 [4/17/2025 4:06 PM, Staff]

New York Times [4/17/2025 12:57 PM, Staff, 153395K] reports in a letter sent to the university on Wednesday, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, demanded “relevant information” regarding each student visa holder at Harvard who has been involved with “known illegal” or “dangerous” activity. [Editorial note: consult document at source link]

ABC News [4/17/2025 5:57 PM, Staff, 34586K] reports the Internal Revenue Service is considering revoking Harvard University’s tax-exempt status and a decision could be made in the coming days, sources told ABC News on Thursday. The White House has already put a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value after the school refused to comply with a series of demands from President Donald Trump’s administration. The Department of Homeland Security is also threatening to revoke Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program status, which allows for noncitizen students to study there under a specific visa, unless it turns over student visa holders’ records, specifically those pertaining to "illegal and violent activities," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Harvard in a letter sent by the department. Attempts to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status would likely face legal challenges. In a statement, Harvard said revoking its tax-exempt status would be unlawful and endanger "our ability to carry out our educational mission.". "Such an unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission," a university spokesperson said. "It would result in diminished financial aid for students, abandonment of critical medical research programs, and lost opportunities for innovation. The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.". The White House said in a statement to ABC News that any investigation by the IRS into Harvard began before President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform that the school should lose its tax-exempt status. "Any forthcoming actions by the IRS will be conducted independently of the President, and investigations into any institution’s violations of its tax status were initiated prior to the President’s TRUTH," principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said.

NBC News [4/17/2025 9:45 AM, Matt Lavietes, 44742K] reports that a doctor born in the United States says she received an email from federal immigration authorities demanding that she leave the country immediately. Lisa Anderson, a physician from Cromwell, Connecticut, told NBC Connecticut on Wednesday that she recently received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security telling her, "It is time for you to leave the United States." Immigration authorities have been pushing noncitizens to leave of their own volition, or "self-deport," as the number of deportations remains at similar levels to last year. But Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and is a U.S. citizen. "The language seemed pretty threatening to whomever it might actually apply to," she said. A senior DHS official told NBC News that the department has been issuing the notices to individuals who do not have lawful status to remain in the country. "If a non-personal email — such as an American citizen contact — was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients," the officials said. "CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis." "To be clear: If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege — not a right," the officials added. "We are acting in the best interest of the country and enforcing the law accordingly." [Editorial note: consult video at source link for video]

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(B) NBC News Daily [4/17/2025 12:26 PM, Staff] reports that a woman from Cromwell is sending out a warning after she received an email from the federal government telling her to leave the country. Lisa Anderson was born in Pennsylvania and is a US citizen. Earlier this week, two Boston immigration attorneys who are each US citizens got the same email. CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.

Federalist [4/17/2025 8:41 AM, Beth Brelje, 1033K] reports that two prominent senators sent a letter this week to Inspector General Michael Horowitz, pressing him to fully cooperate with their investigation of undercover "confidential human sources" in the crowd at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Horowitz, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2012, has failed to respond to requests for information about confidential human sources on Jan. 6, according to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. They sent Horowitz a letter on Dec. 16, seeking more information about his Dec. 12 report on how the FBI handled its confidential human sources in advance of J6. That report showed the FBI sent 26 confidential human sources to Washington, D.C. that day, and of those, four entered the Capitol and 13 went into a restricted area. Three sources were "tasked by their respective FBI handlers to report on individuals traveling to Washington, D.C. for the J6 event," the senators wrote in their most recent letter. "While the report stated that ‘[n]one of these three [confidential human sources] were authorized by the FBI to engage in illegal activity, including to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6’ two of the FBI sources entered the restricted area around the Capitol and one entered the Capitol.". None of the FBI sources were prosecuted for their activities on J6.

AP [4/17/2025 11:22 AM, Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, 24727K] reports that Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is pushing forward with her efforts to force Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to drop a longtime policy that generally prohibits deputies from directly engaging in federal immigration enforcement within the city’s jail. In legal filings, Murrill claims that the policy — which the state characterizes as a so-called "sanctuary city" policy — is in direct conflict with a newly passed state law that requires state and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration agencies. "The consent decree now sits fundamentally at odds with state law as applicable to immigration detainers," Murrill said in court documents filed Friday. A federal court will now determine whether to allow the state of Louisiana to join a 2011 federal suit that resulted in the policy and whether to throw out the policy altogether. A hearing has been set for April 30. The state’s campaign against "sanctuary" policies comes as President Donald Trump is pushing local law enforcement agencies to join the federal government in his promised immigration crackdown. Since his inauguration, Trump has ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to push for more partnerships between local law enforcement units and federal immigration agencies. A few have already signed up. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a longtime immigration hardliner and Trump ally, has worked with Republican lawmakers in the state to enact laws that encourage those collaborations.

Bloomberg Law [4/17/2025 1:34 PM, Bernie Pazanowski, 1085K] reports that the Trump administration’s plans to restart a program that requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico pending their appeals experienced a setback after a federal court put the program on hold nationwide. The US District Court for the Central District of California on Wednesday granted a stay to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a group that provides legal counsel to immigrants and one of the plaintiffs in the case. Reimplementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols—originally adopted during the first Trump administration—violates federal law, Judge Jesus G. Bernal said. The plaintiffs, a group of individual asylum seekers as well as ImmDef and Jewish Family Services of San Diego, sued in 2020 over the first implementation of the MPP, arguing that the policy deprives individuals who remain outside the US of legal representation. Doing so violates the Administrative Procedure Act, and it violates the groups’ First Amendment right to advise clients, frustrates their missions, and requires them to expend resources they would otherwise use elsewhere, they said. The case was put on hold after the Biden administration revoked the MPP, and resumed when the second Trump administration announced an intention to reinstate them. The Immigration and Nationality Act says asylum seekers who arrive by land "from a foreign territory contiguous to the United States" may be returned to that territory pending their removal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security argued that the INA overrode the APA’s provision that allows courts to postpone agency actions when necessary. The case is Immigrant Defs. Law Ctr. v. Noem, 2025 BL 129583, C.D. Cal., No. 2:20-cv-09893, 4/16/25.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 7:30 PM, Benedict Garman & Matt Murphy, 2500K] reports the US has dismantled large parts of a camp built to house migrants at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show. President Donald Trump ordered the existing facility in Cuba be expanded to hold 30,000 migrants shortly after taking office in January. However, only a small number were ever actually held at the base. The Pentagon spent around $38m (£28.7m) on deportation and detention operations at Guantanamo Bay in the first month of operations this year alone, a Department of Defense official said. But new images now show that around two-thirds of the roughly 260 tents installed as part of the operation had been removed as of 16 April. When asked about the removal of the tents, a US defense official said: "This force adjustment represents a deliberate and efficient use of resources - not a reduction in readiness."

CNN [4/17/2025 5:56 PM, Morgan Rimmer and David Culver] reports Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Thursday he was denied entry to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador when he tried to check on the "health and wellbeing" of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. The Maryland Democrat told reporters in San Salvador that he had been "stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint about three kilometers" from the notorious CECOT prison, where he had driven with Chris Newman, a lawyer for Abrego Garcia’s wife and mother. Van Hollen’s attempt to enter CECOT came a day after El Salvador’s vice president denied him access following an in-person meeting. The Salvadoran government was "unfazed" by the Maryland senator’s attempt to visit Abrego Garcia, according to a high-level source close to the country’s president. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele – who is out of the country – has no intention to return early or to meet with Van Hollen, the source said. Other Democratic delegations, he said, are "in the works now," and while a Republican congressional delegation had recently been allowed to visit CECOT, Van Hollen said: "They did not ask to meet with Kilmar. That was not part of their mission." Van Hollen said he also met with the US Embassy team during his visit, as well as representatives from DHS, FBI, and DEA to discuss joint efforts between the United States and El Salvador to "crack down on transnational gangs like MS-13."

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Politico [4/17/2025 3:58 PM, Ali Bianco]
Blaze [4/17/2025 9:39 AM, Joseph Mackinnon, 1668K]

The AP [4/17/2025 9:06 PM, Mary Clare Jalonick and Yolanda Magaña, 48304K] reports Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Thursday evening in El Salvador, coming face to face with the wrongly deported man after two days in the country pushing for his release. The Democratic senator posted a photo of the meeting on X but did not provide an update on the status of Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys are fighting to force the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S. A Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland, Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation. U.S. President Donald Trump and Bukele said this week that they have no basis to return him to the United States, even as the Trump administration has called his deportation a mistake and the U.S. Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return. “I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Van Hollen wrote on X, with a photo of the two men talking in what appeared to be a restaurant. “Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.” It’s not clear how the meeting was arranged, where they met or what will happen to Abrego Garcia. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted images of the meeting minutes before Van Hollen shared his post, saying, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.” The tweet ended with emojis of the U.S. and El Salvador flags, with a handshake emoji between them. Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said in a statement released by an advocacy group that “we still have so many questions, hopes, and fears.” Van Hollen’s trip has become a partisan flashpoint in the U.S. as Democrats have seized on Abrego Garcia’s deportation as what they say is a cruel consequence of Trump’s disregard for the courts. A federal appeals court said Thursday in a blistering order that the Trump administration’s claim that it can’t do anything to free Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. “should be shocking." Politico [4/17/2025 10:07 PM, Gregory Svirnovskiy, 2100K] reports Bukele posted a message that mocked the widespread concern about Abrego Garcia in a prison known for harsh conditions. It was the second day of Van Hollen’s trip, which he said was to check in on Abrego Garcia’s health. In previous attempts to see the man he’d been blocked from the prison even though Republican members of Congress had been allowed to enter the facility. The Washington Post [4/17/2025 9:33 PM, Theodoric Meyer, María Luisa Paúl, and Maria Sacchetti, 31735K] reports Democrats have taken up Abrego García’s case with increasing urgency since the Supreme Court ruled last week that the administration must “facilitate” his return to the United States because a court order had forbidden the administration from deporting him to El Salvador. But U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said Tuesday that the administration appeared to “have done nothing at all” to return him. A panel of three appeals court judges also excoriated the White House’s handling of Abrego García’s case Thursday. Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, suggested Thursday evening that his government was in no rush to send him back, writing on X that, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.” CBS News [4/17/2025 11:12 PM, Adam Thompson and Joe Walsh, 51661K] Video: HERE White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai called Van Hollen’s visit "truly disgusting," writing, "Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist." Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have strongly denied any connections to MS-13. The surprise meeting with Van Hollen marks Abrego Garcia’s first known appearance since last month, when his deportation to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center drew national attention and sparked a legal standoff with the Trump administration. Van Hollen’s meeting with Abrego Garcia came after the senator was turned away Thursday at a military checkpoint near CECOT. He said he was about three kilometers from the notorious supermax prison, when he was stopped by soldiers, who he said were ordered to prevent him from going toward the prison. Van Hollen left for El Salvador on Wednesday, intending to check on Abrego Garcia’s well-being. He provided updates on his journey. "My overall purpose here is to send a signal that we are not going to stop fighting for his return until he is actually released," Van Hollen said before his flight.

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FOX News [4/17/2025 10:01 PM, Greg Wehner, 46189K]
Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 9:36 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 2296K]

DailySignal [4/17/2025 10:38 PM, Virginia Allen, 495K] reports Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., met with deported illegal alien Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, in El Salvador Thursday evening. “Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture,’ now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele wrote on X Thursday night in a post with several photos of the two met talking with Abrego Garcia’s lawyer. “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody,” Bukele wrote on X with a handshake emoji between a U.S. and Salvadoran flag. “I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” Van Hollen wrote on X, adding, “I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love.” Van Hollen had suggested just before departing for El Salvador that his main goal was to free Abrego Garcia. “The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration, to let the government of El Salvador, know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home until he returns to his family,” the Democrat Senator said in a video shared to social media on Wednesday as he prepared to depart the United States. Van Hollen met with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa and human rights advocates. He claims that Abrego Garcia was “illegally abducted” from the U.S. and sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.

NPR [4/17/2025 4:32 PM, Mary Louise Kelly, Alejandra Marquez Janse and Tinbete Ermyas, 29983K] Audio: HERE reports NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., about his campaign to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Maryland man was illegally deported to a prison in El Salvador.

Axios [4/17/2025 4:05 PM, April Rubin, 13163K] reports at least two Republican House members and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have toured the same Salvadoran prison that turned away a Senate Democrat seeking to speak with a mistakenly deported constituent. CECOT in Tecoluca, El Salvador, has become the symbol of President Trump’s immigration crackdown after he sent hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants there with little or no due process. Democrats in both chambers of Congress are working to organize delegations to El Salvador, including Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Sen Cory Booker (D-N.J.). House Republican committee chairs have refused to authorize Democrats’ requests to lead official congressional delegations to El Salvador. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on Wednesday and Thursday his requests to see or speak to Kilmar Ábrego García, his mistakenly deported constituent, were denied. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the prison in March. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) on Tuesday shared photos of himself at the prison. Rep. Riley Moore (R-W. Va.) similarly shared photos on Tuesday, including one of him standing in front of a cell posing with thumbs up. Five other GOP members visited El Salvador, per a photo shared by the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador. However, it doesn’t say whether they visited the prison. Those lawmakers are Reps. Claudia Tenney (NY), Mike Kennedy (Utah), Carol Miller (W. Va.), Ron of Estes (Kansas) and Kevin Hern (Okla.), per journalist Marisa Kabas.

Axios [4/17/2025 3:15 PM, Andrew Solender, 13163K] reports House Republican committee chairs are refusing to authorize Democrats’ requests to lead official congressional delegations to El Salvador, Axios has learned. Democrats want to go to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an erroneously deported Maryland man who the Supreme Court has ordered returned to the U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who was able to go on an official CODEL to the country, said he was denied access to CECOT by El Salvadorian officials. House Homeland Security Committee chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said in a statement he will not grant Rep. Delia Ramirez’s (D-Ill.) request to lead an official CODEL. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), who made the same request of Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.), have not received a response, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.

Breitbart [4/17/2025 2:24 PM, John Binder, 2923K] reports that Harford County, Maryland, Sheriff Jeff Gahler says 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien who was deported to his native El Salvador by the Trump administration, is "1000%" a member of the violent MS-13 gang and a documented domestic abuser. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) traveled to El Salvador this week to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador’s mega-prison after he was deported there last month by President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Van Hollen, with the backing of other Democrats, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, is demanding Abrego Garcia be flown back to the United States. Gahler told Fox News on Thursday that Van Hollen’s efforts are "horrible" and said that Abrego Garcia is "1000%" a member of MS-13 and a documented domestic abuser. "Are you convinced by the White House that he’s an MS-13 gang member?" Fox New’s Bill Hemmer asked Gahler. "Oh, 1000%. Yes, indeed. 1000%. No doubt," Gahler said of Abrego Garcia’s gang membership. "Not only that, he’s a domestic violence abuser. In our community, we would screen him working with ICE, and hopefully, they would decide to take removal proceedings for just that reason," Gahler said: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem released documentation purporting to prove Abrego Garcia’s membership in the MS-13 gang.

FOX News [4/18/2025 4:00 AM, Bailee Hill, 46189K] reports a Maryland sheriff slammed Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., for traveling to El Salvador to visit an alleged MS-13 gang member who was deported last month as other Democrats push for his release and argue that his removal was a mistake. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler called out Van Hollen for traveling out of the country to "bring a terrorist home," while noting his silence on the brutal murders of local victims Rachel Morin and Kayla Hamilton. "Good for my state, good for my community, good for this country," Gahler told Bill Hemmer on Thursday. "President Trump designated MS-13 [a terrorist organization]. I don’t think any police chief or sheriff in the country who’s being honest is… going to say it’s not a terrorist organization.” "That individual has been removed from our country, who should have been removed earlier," he continued. "We have the left, we have Senator Van Hollen, who couldn’t even reach out to Patty or Tammy, Kayla’s mom, at the tragic taking of the daughter’s lives, but he can fly down there on taxpayer dollars to bring a terrorist home to Maryland. We don’t want that. We don’t want him in the country.” Van Hollen flew to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia in prison and work to secure his release. His trip has been criticized by many, including the mother of Morin, a 39-year-old Maryland mother who was raped and murdered by a Salvadoran illegal immigrant in 2023. "To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge, or barely acknowledge, my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother and now a grandbaby without a grandmother, so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen. Why does that person have more rights than I do, or my daughter, or my grandchildren? I don’t understand this," she said.

Breitbart.com [4/17/2025 3:20 PM, Olivia Rondeau, 2923K] reports Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has endorsed Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) trip to El Salvador to ensure that an accused MS-13 gang member illegal alien is "brought back home to Maryland" after he was deported in March.

ABC News [4/17/2025 2:21 PM, Laura Romero, 34586K] reports that attorneys for a Venezuelan detainee who is currently imprisoned in a notorious Salvadoran prison filed a habeas petition on Wednesday, asking a federal judge to order the immediate release of their client. Instead of deporting Edicson David Quintero Chacon to Venezuela, the government is "paying" for his "torture in El Salvador with U.S. taxpayer dollars in flagrant violation of the United States Constitution," his attorneys said in the filing. According to the habeas petition, on June 13, 2024, Quintero Chacon went to his routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in North Carolina where he was detained and taken into custody and transferred to a detention center in Georgia. Then, in September 2024, an immigration judge ordered him removed from the U.S. to Venezuela. On February 10, 2025, he filed a habeas petition challenging his detention in Georgia, saying he "was not fighting [his] case anymore" and that he "just wanted to go home.". A month later, after being transferred to a detention center in Texas, Quintero Chacon was put on one of the first flights to El Salvador with more than a hundred other Venezuelan migrants. "Mr. Quintero’s continuing detention—now approaching a year—is lawless," his attorneys said in the petition. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on the habeas petition and questions about Quintero Chacon.

NewsMax [4/17/2025 11:10 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 5000K] reports El Salvador plans to double the size of the maximum-security prison where U.S. deportees are being held, it was reported. Sources told The Wall Street Journal that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele informed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, during her visit to the Central American country last month, that he plans to expand the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). CECOT already is the world’s largest prison, with room to house up to 40,000 inmates. Doubling capacity would create space for a total of 80,000 inmates. The prison currently holds roughly 15,000 people, including hundreds of alleged gang members the Trump administration has recently deported from the U.S. Upon her return to the States, Noem indicated the Trump administration will continue to send illegal migrant criminals to El Salvador. "We have no plans to bring them back, this is a long-term solution," Noem told the Journal. "He has plans to double the size. He has 80-plus acres there that he’s going to continue to build on."

AP [4/17/2025 4:32 AM, Alex Brandon, 48304K] reports President Donald Trump’ s administration has acknowledged mistakenly deporting a Maryland man with protected legal status to a notorious El Salvador prison, but is arguing against returning him to the United States because of his alleged gang ties and the U.S. government’s lack of power over the Central American nation. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation. Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants — whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes — and placed them inside the country’s maximum-security gang prison just outside of San Salvador. Garcia is one of them. This photo gallery curated by AP photo editors highlights a recent tour of the prison by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

New York Times [4/17/2025 7:11 PM, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and James Wagner, 153395K] reports a group of lawyers on Thursday filed suit against Costa Rica, claiming it has violated the rights of dozens of minors deported from the United States by detaining them for nearly two months and by holding them in conditions “that could cause irreparable harm.” This is the second high-profile legal challenge against a Central American nation that has agreed to take in hundreds of deportees expelled by the U.S. authorities — the result of the Trump administration’s effort to get other countries to help with mass deportations. The latest lawsuit was filed by migrant rights lawyers before the U.N. committee that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ian Kysel, a professor at Cornell Law School and a founding member of the Global Strategic Litigation Council, one of the organizations filing the lawsuit, said that because Costa Rica had agreed to additional measures under the U.N. treaty, complaints against it could be brought to the panel of experts. That panel can issue a directive, he said, but, “ultimately, it’s going to be up to Costa Rica to follow it, and for other states who have signed on to this, to kind of shame them if they don’t.”

AP [4/17/2025 11:04 PM, Michelle L. Price and Mary Clare Jalonick, 34586K] reports a new U.S. intelligence assessment found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government, contradicting statements that Trump administration officials have made to justify their invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deporting Venezuelan migrants, according to U.S. officials. The classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council, released this month, is more comprehensive and authoritative than an earlier intelligence product released Feb. 26 and reported last month by New York Times, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the assessment. They were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The new assessment draws input from the 18 agencies that comprise the intelligence community. It repeatedly stated that Tren de Aragua, a gang that originated in a prison in Venezuela, is not coordinated with or supported by the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, or senior officials in the Venezuelan government. While the assessment found minimal contact between some members of the gang and low-level members of the Venezuelan government, there was a consensus that there was no coordination or directive role between gang and government. The assessment provided support and extensive sourcing for those assertions, according to the officials. Of the 18 organizations that make up the U.S. government’s intelligence community, only one — the FBI — did not agree with the findings. It is not uncommon for intelligence agencies to differ in their assessments on matters of great public interest. But the latest assessment was significant for its near unanimity. Several years ago, under former Director Christopher Wray, the FBI assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a lab leak, though that was hardly the uniform consensus. The position got recent support from a CIA assessment declassified in January. The White House and the office of Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday night.

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Washington Post [4/17/2025 7:24 PM, John Hudson and Warren P. Strobel, 31735K]

Washington Post [4/17/2025 3:45 PM, Mahmoud Khalil, 31735K] reports on Friday, I sat in a courtroom as an immigration judge determined that the government could deport me despite my status as a legal permanent resident and despite that the government’s claims against me were baseless — much of their “evidence” lifted directly from sensationalized tabloids. The decision won’t result in immediate deportation — aspects of my case are pending in other courts. During Friday’s hearing, the government asserted on behalf of Secretary of State Marco Rubio that my beliefs, statements and associations compromise its “compelling” foreign policy interests. Why should protesting Israel’s indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocent Palestinians result in the erosion of my constitutional rights?

The Hill [4/17/2025 7:30 AM, Raul Reyes, 12829K] reports the Trump administration is considering deporting a new class of people, and their identity might surprise you: American citizens. In a White House appearance with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Monday, President Trump mused about sending Americans to El Salvador’s prisons. "If it’s a homegrown criminal, I have no problem, no," Trump said. "I’m talking about violent people. I’m talking about really bad people." The president encouraged Bukele to build more prisons for the people he described as "homegrowns.” "These would be heinous, violent criminals who have broken our nation’s laws repeatedly," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained at a recent press briefing, saying that the administration was "not sure" if it was legal. The president said he loves the idea of sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador. "I would only do according to the law," Trump said. "But I have suggested that, you know, ‘Why should it stop just at people who cross the border illegally?’ We have some horrible criminals, American-grown and born.” To be clear, there is no legal pathway for any president to deport native-born U.S. citizens. Sending Americans to El Salvador would be illegal under existing U.S. and international law. Such a move would not only be unconstitutional, it could amount to an improper overreach by the executive branch into the judicial system. When the president said last week that he would "love" to send imprisoned Americans to El Salvador, he added, "I don’t know what the law says on that, but I can’t imagine the law would say anything different.” In fact, U.S. law does say something different. One statute says that any person in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons must be able to be transported to court. This would probably not be possible if a person were in El Salvador, where the government is currently maintaining that it cannot bring back a migrant wrongfully deported there. Another law states that incarcerated people can only be transferred out of the U.S. to the country where they are a citizen, which would rule out Americans being sent to El Salvador. The U.S. is also a signatory to the Convention Against Torture, which forbids sending people to a country where they could be at risk for torture. Then there’s the matter of the Constitution. Sending Americans to El Salvador would likely run afoul of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishments.”

Washington Post [4/17/2025 1:10 PM, Staff, 31735K] reports that four men accused of murder were executed by gunfire last Friday in crowded sports stadiums across Afghanistan. The Taliban leader defended these public killings as necessary under sharia law. That night, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced that the Trump administration would revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for Afghans who evacuated to the United States after their country fell to the Taliban in 2021. This sets the stage for more than 9,000 people to be deported, beginning May 20. A DHS spokeswoman says Noem made this decision based on a “review of the conditions in Afghanistan.”

Make sense of the latest news and debates with our daily newsletter To claim the situation has improved enough for Afghans to safely return is to turn a blind eye to the Taliban’s draconian rule, which is especially barbaric for women and girls. The government does not allow girls to receive education beyond sixth grade. In December, seeking to close what it saw as a loophole, the Taliban banned women from studying to become midwives or nurses. Some provinces bar male doctors from treating female patients, which means denying women any medical care. No wonder Afghanistan has the world’s highest rate of maternal mortality outside Africa. In 2023, Alejandro Mayorkas, Noem’s predecessor as DHS secretary, extended TPS for Afghans for 18 months. The people needed protection, he said, because there was a “serious threat posed by ongoing armed conflict; lack of access to food, clean water and healthcare; and destroyed infrastructure, internal displacement and economic instability.” These conditions still exist.

AP [4/18/2025 12:02 AM, Sara Cline and Kate Brumback, 2923K] reports that, amid rural Louisiana’s crawfish farms, towering pine trees and cafes serving po’boys, nearly 7,000 people are waiting at immigration detention centers to learn whether they will be expelled from the United States. If President Donald Trump’s administration has its way, the capacity to hold tens of thousands more migrants will soon be added around the country as the U.S. seeks an explosive expansion of what is already the world’s largest immigration detention system. Trump’s effort to conduct mass deportations as promised in the 2024 campaign represents a potential bonanza for private prison companies and a challenge to the government agencies responsible for the orderly expulsion of immigrants. Some critics say the administration’s plans also include a deliberate attempt to isolate detainees by locking them up and holding court proceedings far from their attorneys and support systems. The acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Todd Lyons, said at a border security conference in Phoenix last week that the agency needs “to get better at treating this like a business” and suggested the nation’s deportation system could function “like Amazon, trying to get your product delivered in 24 hours.” “So trying to figure out how to do that with human beings and trying to get them pretty much all over the globe is really something for us,” Lyons said. This month, ICE invited companies to bid on contracts to operate detention centers at sites around the country for up to $45 billion as the agency begins to scale up from its current budget for about 41,000 beds to 100,000 beds. The money isn’t yet there, but contracts are already being awarded. The House narrowly approved a broad spending bill that includes $175 billion for immigration enforcement, about 22 times ICE’s annual budget. The agency’s 100-plus detention centers nationwide currently hold about 46,000 people, causing overcrowding in locations including Miami. ICE last week awarded a contract worth up to $3.85 billion to Deployed Resources LLC to operate a detention camp at the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas. The little-known company is shifting its business from Border Patrol tent encampments for people arriving in the United States — most of which are now closed — to ICE facilities for people being deported. The Geo Group Inc. got a contract for 1,000 beds in Newark, New Jersey, valued at $1 billion over 15 years and another for 1,800 beds in Baldwin, Michigan. CoreCivic Inc., won a contract to house 2,400 people in families with young children in Dilley, Texas, for five years.

Daily Wire [4/17/2025 10:55 AM, Spencer Lindquist, 4672K] reports the Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 1,000 illegal alien workers and is proposing fines against businesses that have used illegal labor. ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced Wednesday that they have taken historic actions against illegal alien workers, and against the businesses profiting from illegal alien labor. "This is the highest rate of arrest in HSI’s history," HSI acting Executive Associate Director Robert Hammer explained. "We’ve subpoenaed the business records of about 1,200 businesses, and as part of our review, we’ve proposed close to $1 million in fines." He also railed against businesses that use illegal labor. The agency says it has increased its workplace enforcement efforts in the past two months.

Business Insider [4/17/2025 5:24 PM, Rosemarie Ho] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement has signed a $30 million deal with Palantir for software add-ons to track self-deportations and immigrants who have overstayed their visas, government records show. A contract reviewed by Business Insider said the Immigration Lifecycle Operating System — or ImmigrationOS — will minimize "time and resource expenditure" for selecting and apprehending immigrants based on ICE enforcement priorities. Along with "violent criminals" and "affiliates of known transnational criminal organizations," the contract also cited visa overstays as a deportation priority. ImmigrationOS will expand ICE’s case management system to include "near real-time visibility into instances of self-deportation." The contract said the new ImmigrationOS will streamline "end to end immigration lifecycle from identification to removal." The agency is awarding Palantir $29.8 million for a prototype to be delivered by September 25. According to the contract, the new software is necessary for ICE to carry out President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders naming illegal immigration and transnational organized crime as significant national security threats.

FOX News [4/17/2025 12:52 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46189K] reports that the White House blasted Democrats and the mainstream media for defending "sick" criminal illegal immigrants against ICE arrest, saying on Tuesday that if it were up to them, some of the worst criminals in the country would still be on the streets. The White House released a statement on Tuesday highlighting some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE just in the "past several days." Amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and criminal aliens, the White House defended ICE for ramping up arrests of illegals, saying that "if Democrats and the legacy media had their way, these sick criminals would still be roaming free." "Brutal killers and rapists— all taken off our streets in just the past week thanks to the tireless work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)," the White House statement said. This comes as Democrats across the country have attempted to resist the administration’s immigration crackdown, often impeding immigration authorities’ investigations into criminal illegal aliens. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston predicted a "Tiananmen Square moment" of city officials and local citizens blocking federal immigration officials from deporting illegals. "More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there," Johnston said "It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them."

Maine Morning Star [4/17/2025 4:41 PM, Emma Davis] reports after federal immigration authorities accepted Maine’s first police department into an official partnership earlier this month, some community members are now requesting police terminate the contract. The crux of the rift between the community and police: uncertainty and disagreement over how they expect the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program will operate in practice. Revived under President Donald Trump’s administration to bolster ICE’s capacity by deputizing local police officers to detain immigrants, those pushing back on Wells’ participation in the program argue it entangles their local police with a federal agency that has been accused of disregarding due process. Four community members asked the Wells Select Board on Tuesday night to direct the police department to dissolve the agreement, arguing the department should have first consulted the public and raising concern about the program’s history of abuse. Before Trump reinstated the program, it was discontinued in 2012 after the discovery of But Wells police leadership argue the agreement doesn’t mean their local agency will adopt ICE’s recent approach to arrests. Rather, Wells Police Chief Jo-Ann Putnam told Maine Morning Star she entered into the agreement to take advantage of a training opportunity and streamline work flow. Wells’ agreement is specifically for 287(g)’s "task force model," which ICE describes as a "force multiplier" to allow law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties. 287(g)’s other two models are focused on investigating people who have already been arrested and booked in local jails.

(B) CBS Mornings [4/17/2025 8:55 AM, Staff] reports that the attorney for a Guatemalan man detained by ICE in New Bedford says the government has agreed to his client getting a bail hearing. Juan Francisco Mendez was taken into custody after ICE agents broke his car window Monday. The agents meant to detain another man. Francisco Mendez is now in New Hampshire. Yesterday, a judge ruled he cannot be moved again without 72 hours’ notice from the government. ICE stood by its actions and said Francisco Mendez is in the US illegally. His family says he is waiting on final documentation of asylum status. His attorney says they are hoping the bail hearing will happen early next month.

Yahoo.com [4/17/2025 6:11 PM, Staff, 430301K] reports a Massachusetts congressman is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice after the recent arrest of a Guatemalan man in New Bedford, raising concerns about the federal agents’ use of force. U.S. Rep. Bill Keating sent a letter Thursday questioning the circumstances surrounding 29-year-old Juan Francisco Méndez’s detention on April 14. A now-viral cell phone video, recorded by Francisco Méndez’s wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, shows ICE agents using a large tool to break through the couple’s rear car window. In the video, the couple can be heard telling agents in Spanish they were waiting for their attorney to arrive. Some of the questions included in Keating’s letter ask why ICE and FBI officers were in New Bedford that day, what probable cause led to Francisco Méndez’s detention, and whether the “violent destruction” of the car window complied with federal use-of-force policies. “There is no excuse for how the Méndez family is being treated – they deserve answers, they deserve to be reunited, and they certainly should not live under the threat of their husband and father facing deportation to a country that the United States has already recognized as unsafe for them to return to,” Keating said. An ICE spokesperson said Francisco Méndez “refused to comply with officers’ instructions,” defending the agents’ actions. However, immigration attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin argued that the wrong person was detained, saying both Francisco Méndez and his wife are lawfully in the U.S. and have no criminal record.

CBS New York [4/17/2025 11:32 PM, Lisa Rozner, Derick Waller and Jesse Zanger, 51661K] Video: HERE reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it has detained more than 200 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally during an operation in the New York City area. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said last week’s operation "targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighborhoods.". In all, 206 people were arrested, including a 22-year-old member of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang found at a building on Dekalb Avenue in the Bronx, according to law enforcement sources. "New York is much safer today because of the hard work of ICE and our law enforcement partners," Lyons said. According to ICE, "121 of the 206 people apprehended had significant criminal convictions or are currently facing charges for crimes such as murder, assault, arson, sex crimes, drug crimes and firearms crimes.". "The majority of the aliens arrested have egregious criminal histories to include manslaughter, rape, assault, drug trafficking and sex assault against minors," ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City Acting Field Office Director Judith Almodovar said. Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday the city is not allowed to collaborate with ICE for civil enforcement, but he made clear his support for arresting dangerous gang members. "I don’t know why we want to romanticize what dangerous gangs are. They’re dangerous gangs and we’re going to do everything possible to collaborate with federal officials to remove these dangerous gangs off our streets," he said. "We had an undocumented person that raped a 14-year-old child. I’m not on his side. I’m on the side of justice to go after him.". Word of the arrests came as protesters got set to gather in New York City and around the U.S. for a national "Communities Not Cages" day of action against the Trump administration’s uptick in detentions and deportations. News of the operation comes as the Department of Homeland Security sends Notices of Termination Parole to lawyers and their clients who are in the U.S. illegally, but do not have criminal histories. The notices read, in part, "Your parole will terminate seven days from the date of this notice ... If you do not depart the United States immediately, you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions ... Do not attempt to remain in the U.S. -- the federal government will find you.".

Blaze [4/17/2025 12:35 PM, Julio Rosas, 1668K] reports that the White House released a list of illegal aliens who have committed serious crimes and have been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Maryland while Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has been advocating for the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 gang member, was deported back to El Salvador, causing backlash from Democrats and the mainstream media. Van Hollen is in El Salvador to pressure the government to release him back to the United States. "Where was his concern when an accused killer was allowed to roam free due to the so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies of his state’s second-most populous county? Van Hollen didn’t say a word about the radical policies that put his constituents at risk," the White House said on Wednesday. On Wednesday, while Van Hollen traveled to the Central American country, ICE in Maryland arrested Jose Sebastian Morales-Gutierrez, a 40-year-old citizen of El Salvador. His criminal history includes convictions for assault in the second degree and sex offense fourth-degree sex contact in Anne Arundel County, according to a senior administration official.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 6:04 AM, Kelly Puente, 430301K] reports the Giles County Sheriff’s Department is the latest Tennessee law enforcement agency to apply to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an effort to ramp up deportations. The small, rural county on the Alabama border will join four other Tennessee counties - Knox, Greene, Hamilton and Putnam - under what is known as the federal 287g program, which allows local authorities to take on some ICE agent duties. The Knox, Greene, Hamilton and Putnam sheriff’s departments are all part of the program’s jail enforcement model, where local officials work to identify undocumented residents in custody and begin the immigration proceedings on behalf of ICE. Giles, however, would take the enforcement a step further. The agency has applied to participate in the program’s warrant service officer model, which allows local officials to serve civil immigration warrants on undocumented residents in their agency’s jail. The application for Giles County was listed as pending on the federal website as of April 16. If approved, Giles would be the first county in the state to participate in the warrant program. ICE has said the program helps to streamline warrants for people with criminal charges in a secure environment, while reducing the number of criminal offenders released back into the community. Giles County Sheriff Joe Purvis in an interview said he applied for the program to help reduce the time people might sit in his jail. Under the program, one of his staff can serve a warrant and begin the transportation process without having to wait for an ICE agent to come to the jail to serve a warrant. "I don’t need my 126-bed jail full of people that could be somewhere else," he said. While the jail currently doesn’t have a space problem, Purvis said he’s concerned that a growing number of people could flee into Giles County as law enforcement agencies just over the border in Alabama are aggressively targeting supects with task forces. Purvis, who grew up in the Southwest, said he has great respect for his county’s Hispanic and immigrant communities and does not want to spark any fear. But he also wants to send a strong message to people who commit violent crimes. "I’m not looking for farmers and grandmas and children, but if you’re already here (in the jail) because you got arrested with some crime, we’ll go forward," he said.

NBC News [4/17/2025 9:54 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 164K] reports a U.S.-born American citizen was being detained at the request of immigration authorities Thursday despite an advocate showing his U.S. birth certificate in court and a county judge finding no reason for him to be considered an “illegal alien” who illegally entered Florida. Juan Carlos Gomez-Lopez, 20, was arrested Thursday evening by Florida Highway Patrol and charged under a state immigration law that has been temporarily blocked since early this month. Details of Gomez-Lopez’s arrest and detention were first reported by the Florida Phoenix news site. After inspecting his birth certificate, Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans said during the hearing that “this is indeed an authentic document,” but that she did not have jurisdiction beyond finding no probable cause for the charge. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s role is to enforce immigration laws that generally apply to noncitizens. American citizens are protected under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution from unreasonable search and seizure, arrest and detention. Nonetheless, he remains detained locally at ICE’s request, said Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson at the Florida Immigrant Coalition who attended Thursday’s hearing. “Everything tracks for him being sent to an ICE detention center,” he told NBC News in a phone interview. Gomez-Lopez was born in Georgia but lived much of his life in Mexico. His first language is Tzotzil, a Mayan language, the Florida Phoenix reported. His mother burst into tears when she saw her son virtually at his hearing, the news site reported. “I felt immense helplessness because I couldn’t do anything, and I am desperate to get my son out of there,” she told the Florida Phoenix. Kennedy compared the situation to Franz Kafka’s novel “The Trial” in which man must defend himself against a charge but has no information about it. “It’s like this bureaucratic, dystopian nightmare of poorly written laws,” Kennedy said. “We are living in a time when this man could get sent to El Salvador because, what, is he going to be treated like a stateless person?” Kennedy was referring to the hundreds of immigrants who have been sent by the Trump administration to an El Salvador megaprison after they were accused of being gang members under the wartime Alien Enemies Act. Families, attorneys and some U.S. legislators have not been able to have any contact with them. The Hill [4/17/2025 9:42 PM, Filip Timotija, 12829K] reports Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans said Thursday that despite the charge against Lopez-Gomez being dropped, she did not have the authority to release the 20-year-old because ICE asked Leon County Jail to hold Lopez-Gomez. The judge inspected Lopez-Gomez’s birth certificate, which had been waived earlier in court by a supporter, saying "In looking at it, and feeling it, and holding it up to the light, the court can clearly see the watermark to show that this is indeed an authentic document," according to Florida Phoenix. Lopez-Gomez was heading from Georgia and was pulled over in Florida by a Highway Patrol trooper. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a sweeping immigration law that made it a state crime for undocumented immigrants over the age of 18 to "knowingly enter or attempt to enter" Florida by "eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers."

CNN [4/18/2025 12:19 AM, Carma Hassan, 22131K] reports a US-born man initially charged with being an “unauthorized alien” in Florida has been released after spending the night in jail on a 48-hour hold requested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, 20, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol Wednesday when the car he was riding in was pulled over for a traffic stop, according to his attorney Mutaqee Akbar. Lopez-Gomez is an American citizen born in Grady County, Georgia, where he currently lives in the city of Cairo. He was crossing the Florida state line for his work in construction in Tallahassee, about 45 minutes away from home. Lopez-Gomez was released Thursday evening, Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson for an immigrant rights coalition that was working with Lopez-Gomez’s family, told CNN. “He is free!! Thank you to everyone who shared, call(ed) and did anything to help secure his release,” the Florida Immigrant Coalition spokesperson said in a post to X, alongside a photo of an emotional Lopez-Gomez surrounded by supporters. Earlier Thursday, Lopez-Gomez appeared in court virtually before Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans. The judge was handed a copy of his birth certificate brought by Lopez-Gomez’s mother, Sebastiana Perez. “In looking at it, and feeling it, and holding it up to the light, the court can clearly see the watermark to show that this is indeed an authentic document,” Riggans said, according to the non-profit news outlet Florida Phoenix, which had a reporter in court for the hearing. The Florida Phoenix first reported the story. According to court records, Riggans found no probable cause for the charge of crossing into Florida illegally, but said she didn’t have jurisdiction to release Lopez-Gomez because of the ICE hold. An ICE hold, or immigration detainer, is when ICE asks law enforcement agencies to notify it “before releasing a removable alien” and to “hold the alien for up to 48 hours” to give DHS time take the migrant into custody. CNN contacted ICE, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office but did not immediately hear back. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency is looking into the incident. Akbar said family members were told by ICE detention officers that Lopez-Gomez was going to be released Thursday evening.

Reported similarly:
Telemundo [4/17/2025 9:48 PM, Staff, 2454K]

Telemundo51.com [4/17/2025 7:30 PM, Arly Alfaro, 171K] reports more and more localities are deciding to work with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) as part of the 287 program that allows local police officers to verify the immigration status of individuals. Homestead is the latest city in Miami-Dade County, where part of the immigrant population lives in fear after a measure that authorizes training so that local police can collaborate with ICE. Most of the city councilors in Homestead voted in favor of the 287 program, a deal that allows police officers to work with ICE. After the commissioner asked how the move would affect Homestead police procedures. The police chief said there will be training from ICE and that no one will be able to exercise authority without being trained. Another commissioner asked what was the difference between the work of the police and that of an ICE officer, to which they replied that they are in charge of public safety and community protection with the intention of ensuring that no one is afraid of the police, but that ICE has a different responsibility and did not know the details as they have not received the training. But community activists say the measure will increase fears that already exist among Homestead’s immigrant community. While in the city center, merchants assure fear is generating losses.

Yahoo.com [4/17/2025 8:16 PM, Josh Marcus, 430301K] reports Wendy Brito, an asylum-seeker from El Salvador and New Orleans-area mother of three, never returned from a regular check-in last month with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Her family didn’t know what happened, until Brito appeared in an ICE database, showing she was detained in Brasile, Louisiana, nearly 200 miles away. “She calls me crying, hysterically, saying they arrested me, they took me,” Brito’s partner, Kremly Marrero, told WWLTV on Wednesday. Marrero added that Brito has been in the U.S. for 15 years, and came to America “to get away from vicious people.” “I just want her home,” he said of Brito, who volunteers at McDonogh 26 Elementary School. “I need her home. If not for me, then for the kids. I can hold on, but my kids need her.” “Because of our operational tempo with routine, daily law enforcement operations, and increased interest in all our mission sets, we aren’t able to research and confirm or deny many specific cases,” ICE told the outlet in response to their reporting. Marrero said officials told his family Brito was taken because of “new regulations under the new administration.”

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 10:45 AM, Quinlan Bentley, 430301K] reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a local federal employee on Tuesday in connection with the sexual exploitation of children. Jonathan Mackey, 46, of Loveland, is facing charges in federal court in Cincinnati of receiving child sexual abuse material and sexually exploiting children. Mackey is accused of exploiting the victims both online and in person, ICE said in a news release on Wednesday announcing the arrest. There’s no indication that Mackey’s arrest is related to an immigration action or case. The investigation into Mackey began in January when U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigators received a tip from Ohio’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about a suspect in Cincinnati, a federal agent wrote in a partially redacted affidavit filed as part of a criminal complaint. Mackey communicated on the Discord messaging app in September 2022 with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl, but who is actually a man facing pending criminal charges, the affidavit states. Jonathan Mackey, 46, an employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on charges related to the sexual exploitation of children. Mackey exchanged sexually explicit messages, asked to meet the girl in person and asked for child sexual abuse images of what authorities believe to be an underage girl, according to investigators. In an emailed statement to The Enquirer, Mackey’s attorney, Chelsea Panzeca, said that her client "is presumed innocent and we will handle the case accordingly."

NBC News [4/17/2025 11:54 AM, Matt Lavietes, 44742K] reports that family and friends of a Venezuelan migrant living in Texas say officials sent him to an El Salvador mega-prison because he had an autism awareness tattoo. Neri Jose Alvarado Borges was one of the hundreds of men deported by immigration authorities on March 15 to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, his friends and family told NBC Dallas Fort Worth on Monday. Borges has a tattoo that features a rainbow-colored ribbon composed of puzzle pieces, a symbol for autism awareness, along with the name of Borges’s autistic brother, according to the local outlet. Borge’s friends and family said he was told by immigration authorities that the tattoo was proof he belonged to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. "And he said, ‘But I have my asylum, I have the asylum [papers] here with me,’" Juan Enrique Hernandez, a friend of Borges, told NBC Dallas Fort Worth. "And the people said no, you’re going to jail because you have a tattoo." The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return NBC News’ request for comment. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Borges’ apprehension with NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. NBC News reached out to ICE for additional comment.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 12:00 PM, Tatyana Tandanpolie, 430301K] reports that as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown rears its head, filling federal courts across the country with cases of immigrants caught up in his effort to carry out mass deportations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been at the center, carrying out in high numbers the arrests, detentions and removals the administration has sought. But a February investigative report uncovered that among the agency’s ranks is a Dallas-area prosecutor alleged to operate a racist social media account. Months later, a lack of information about the prosecutor’s standing has pushed federal lawmakers to press the agency for a definitive response. "We’re going to get answers from ICE on this situation," U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, told Salon. "It’s not ‘if’ we’re going to get answers. We’re going to get answers from ICE on this, and we expect for the answers to be timely, and we’re going to continue to push if they don’t." In February, a Texas Observer investigation found that an ICE prosecutor working in the state’s immigration courts has likely been operating X account GlomarResponder, which has made a number of openly racist, xenophobic and pro-fascist posts on the platform since the account went live in 2012. Following the report, Rep. Veasey wrote to ICE Acting Deputy Director Kenneth Genalo on Feb. 24 requesting a "full and transparent account" of the actions the agency is taking to investigate the claims within 30 days. Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., joined Veasey in demanding a response from the Trump administration in a separate Feb. 24 letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. "ICE prosecutors play a crucial role in enforcing our nation’s immigration laws," Veasey wrote. "Any association with white supremacist ideology by an ICE official not only undermines public trust but also raises legitimate concerns about bias in prosecutorial decision-making." ICE did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Houston Chronicle [4/17/2025 11:43 PM, John Lomax V, 1769K] reports FBI agents shot a woman near a south Houston convenience store Thursday evening after she allegedly approached them wielding a machete, police said. No one else was injured in the shooting, and the woman was transported to a hospital. Details regarding her identity and condition were not immediately available Thursday evening. An FBI spokesperson said the agency will share more information as it becomes available. A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department said agents from the FBI, DEA and Homeland Security Investigations were conducting an investigation at about 5:40 p.m. at 13799 Milan Drive near the Del Papa Store when the shooting occurred.

CBS Colorado [4/17/2025 6:27 PM, Jesse Sarles, 51661K] Video: HERE reports the truck driver convicted of reckless driving resulting in death for a crash on Highway 285 in Colorado’s foothills last year has been deported to Mexico. Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March after he was released by local corrections officials once he had completed his time behind bars. He wound up spending seven months in jail after getting a one year sentence. On Thursday ICE’s Denver office posted a photo on social media to announce that Cruz-Mendoza had been removed from the country. The crash happened last June near Conifer. The semi truck Cruz-Mendoza was driving was carrying large steep pipes, which spilled out when the truck went off the roadway and rolled over. The pipes collided with several vehicles and killed 64-year-old Scott Miller. Cruz-Mendoza is a Mexican citizen and has been removed from the U.S. several other times.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 8:42 AM, Staff, 430301K] reports that the U.S. Interior this week announced the transfer of close to 110,000 acres along New Mexico’s southern border to the U.S. Army. According to a news release, the transfer is intended to "safeguard sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region while enabling the Department of the Army to support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration." The transfer follows a memorandum President Donald Trump signed last week directing several agencies to start militarizing a stretch of the southern border, an escalation of the administration’s use of the U.S. military amid its immigration crackdown. "Securing our border and protecting our nation’s resources go hand in hand," Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. "The American people gave President Trump a mandate to make America safe and strong again. This transfer reflects Interior’s commitment to public safety, national security and responsible stewardship of our public lands." According to the Interior, the transfer came at the Army’s request "to allow for the increase in regular patrols by federal personnel, construction of infrastructure to prevent unlawful entry, disrupt foreign terrorist threats to the U.S., and to curb illegal cross-border activities, such as unlawful migration, narcotics trafficking, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking."

NPR [4/17/2025 3:00 PM, Ailsa Chang, Gurjit Kaur, Patrick Jarenwattananon, 29983K] reports federal officials with the Department of Homeland Security visited two elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District on April 7. The officials claimed they were conducting a wellness check on children they claim had arrived unaccompanied at the border. But Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told NPR such actions are not typical. In both cases the officials were denied entry by the school’s principals. NPR reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and received a response from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin asserting that officers identified themselves and made clear they were conducting a welfare check and not an immigration enforcement action. "DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on children who came across the border unaccompanied to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked," McLaughlin wrote. "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." Carvalho spoke with All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang to share his view of what happened.

Telemundo52 [4/18/2025 12:30 AM, Luis Zaragoza and Elizabeth Chavolla, 101K] reports images from a security camera showed how an undocumented man was arrested in front of his daughter by alleged immigration agents Thursday morning in Azusa. The family is emotionally affected, as the arrest occurred in broad daylight and in front of their home. The wife of the alleged detainee, who spoke with Telemundo 52 exclusively, asked not to be identified out of fear. She recounted how alleged immigration agents arrested her husband while he was taking their 14-year-old daughter to school in a neighborhood in Azusa: "When the girl came downstairs, she saw that her father was being held by some men, she didn’t know how to explain it to me. She ran upstairs and said to me, ‘Mom, my dad is being held by someone, and I came out quickly. They had his dad in front of his car, they were handcuffing him and they took him away, and what my husband could tell me was that he was immigration," said the wife of the detained man. A video captured by a security camera shows the 44-year-old man walking towards his vehicle when he is intercepted by alleged federal agents. Another video taken with the wife’s cell phone shows four unmarked vehicles and the agents at the moment of arrest, "What is happening with the deportations and that they are only taking people who have crimes, I think it is a lie because he did not have any deportation order, so I don’t understand how they took him," said the wife of the detained man.

New York Times [4/18/2025 3:48 AM, Miriam Jordan, 330K] reports a new Trump administration policy urges immigration judges to swiftly deny asylum to migrants whose applications they deem unlikely to succeed. The expedited dismissals would circumvent the normal hearing process, which typically takes years to wind through the backlogged courts. The guidance from the Justice Department, which took effect April 11, states that judges should consider dropping “legally deficient” asylum cases without holding a hearing. Doing that would keep some people who claim to be fleeing persecution in their home countries from having any opportunity to present their case to a judge. “Adjudicators have the duty to efficiently manage their dockets,” Sirce Owen, acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the immigration courts, wrote in the policy memo. “It is clear from the almost four million pending cases on E.O.I.R.’s docket that has not been happening.” The memo, sent to staff members, says that immigration judges should take “all appropriate action to immediately resolve cases on their dockets that do not have viable legal paths for relief or protection from removal.” The new policy would inevitably result in judges issuing deportation orders before fully holding what are known as merits hearings, in which asylum applicants can present their claims in detail. Immigration judges have the authority to decide whether an immigrant can remain in the United States or should be removed. The judges are employees of the Justice Department, not the federal courts, so they are expected to follow policies set by the agency.

Reuters [4/17/2025 10:45 PM, Humeyra Pamuk, 41523K] reports the Trump administration on Thursday ordered a social media vetting for all U.S. visa applicants who have been to the Gaza Strip on or after January 1, 2007, an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters showed, in the latest push to tighten screening of foreign travelers. The order to conduct a social media vetting for all immigrant and non-immigrant visas should include non-governmental organization workers as well as individuals who have been in the Palestinian enclave for any length of time in an official or diplomatic capacity, the cable said. "If the review of social media results uncovers potential derogatory information relating to security issues, then a SAO must be submitted," the cable said, referring to a security advisory opinion, which is an interagency investigation to determine if a visa applicant poses a national security risk to the United States. The cable was sent to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts. The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has revoked hundreds of visas across the country, including the status of some lawful permanent residents under a 1952 law allowing the deportation of any immigrant whose presence in the country the secretary of state deems harmful to U.S. foreign policy. The cable dated April 17 was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said in late March that he may have revoked more than 300 visas already. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on internal communications when asked about the cable, but said every prospective traveler to the U.S. undergoes extensive interagency security vetting. "The Trump Administration is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process," the spokesperson said, adding that all visa applicants are continuously vetted. "Security vetting runs from the time of each application, through adjudication of the visa, and afterwards during the validity period of every issued visa, to ensure the individual remains eligible to travel to the United States," the spokesperson added.

Tampa Bay Times [4/17/2025 8:13 PM, Juan Carlos Chavez, 1900K] reports a new federal policy will allow U.S. immigration officials to scrutinize social media for signs of antisemitic activity when processing applications for green cards, visas or citizenship. The order targets lawful permanent residents, foreign students and people affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity, read the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announcement from last week. "There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.

CNN [4/17/2025 1:56 PM, Caroll Alvarado, Javon Huynh, and Amanda Musa, 908K] reports that the Trump administration has revoked hundreds of student visas in nearly every corner of the country as part of a vast immigration crackdown – and few universities know why. More than 1,000 international students and recent graduates at more than 130 schools in the US have had their visas or statuses revoked in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System this year, according to university statements and spokespeople. Colleges and universities in 40 states have confirmed the visa and status termination of their students to CNN. At Middle Tennessee State University, six students from countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East had their visas revoked, according to university spokesperson Jimmy Hart. "The University does not know the specific reason(s) for the visa status changes, only that they were changed within the federal database that monitors them," Hart said. Several university statements said the government did not provide a reason for its actions. In most cases, universities discovered the visa revocations by checking the system. Only a handful of universities said they knew why their students’ visas or SEVIS accounts were terminated. "In the last few weeks, the US Department of Homeland Security has revoked the visa status of four international students at the UO based on unspecified criminal charges," said Eric Howald, a spokesperson for the University of Oregon. "The university was not informed in advance and has not been given details about the nature of the criminal charges." It is unclear if all the students whose visas have been terminated have to immediately leave the country or can stay to continue their education.

Los Angeles Times [4/17/2025 4:24 PM, Annie Ma, Makiya Seminera, Christopher L. Keller and Jaweed Kaleem, 13342K] reports at first, the bar association for immigration attorneys began receiving inquiries from a couple of students a day. These were foreigners studying in the U.S., and they’d discovered in early April that 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. Nationally, at least 1,024 students at 160 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school officials and court records. Advocacy groups collecting reports from colleges say hundreds more students could be caught up in the crackdown.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 6:03 AM, Lily Kepner, 430301K] reports that, after the Trump administration’s push to deport international students who have participated in pro-Palestinian activism, the Texas Senate Education K-16 Committee faced resistance Wednesday over a proposal to encourage and require public universities to punish visa holders who engage in expression that appears to support terrorist organizations. The pro-Palestinian protests held at the University of Texas and at other college campuses across the state in April 2024 were repeatedly highlighted by those who testified in favor of Senate Bill 2233, though the proposal doesn’t specifically mention those demonstrations. Trump administration officials have vowed to deport foreign-born students who were involved in the protests, and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, issued interim legislative charges in 2024 to investigate free speech and antisemitism on college campuses. More than 260 international students in Texas have had their visas revoked or legal status changed by the federal government since Trump returned to the White House, the American-Statesman previously reported. Nationally, more than 1,000 students have had their visas revoked or legal statuses changed, not just for activism, but also with little to no reason given or for minor violations such as a parking ticket, according to media reports. SB 2233 would help enforce the Homeland Security Department’s efforts, the bill’s author, freshman Sen. Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, said at the hearing Wednesday. The proposal would give universities a clear mechanism and charge to remove students and employees whom, after an investigation, are found to have supported a terrorist organization. "It’s requiring the institutions to develop that policy, a clear policy, and it would be incumbent upon those institutions to let their students know and understand those policies clearly," Hinojosa said. In response to criticism casting the bill as too vague, Hinojosa said there are terrorism "definitions that are already established and well established" by the U.S. government. The federal government designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997, according to the U.S. State Department.

Yahoo.com [4/17/2025 6:08 PM, Aimee Plante, 430301K] reports when an Oregon State University doctoral student had his visa suddenly revoked by the Trump Administration on April 4, he was told he must depart the U.S. “immediately.” But according to the ACLU of Oregon, Aaron Ortega Gonzalez’s immigration status was terminated for no legal reason — effectively violating his student F-1 status and halting his research in rangeland ecology and management at the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Now the ACLU is suing the Trump Administration on Gonzalez’s behalf for allegedly violating his due process rights. According to the lawsuit, the government is required to have a reason to terminate someone’s immigration status as well as give advance notice of — and an opportunity to respond to — his status revocation. The lawsuit, joint-filed with the Innovation Law Lab, claims the terminations were “covertly entered” into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database by the Department of Homeland Security.

SFGate [4/17/2025 8:27 PM, Olivia Hebert, 12335K] reports a UC Berkeley graduate student is suing the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid widespread visa revocations for international students at universities across California. Zhuoer Chen, who is set to graduate from UC Berkeley in May with a master’s degree in architecture, is one of four plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit alleging that ICE’s sweeping effort to terminate the federal records of hundreds — possibly thousands — of international students occurred without notice, justification or legal basis. "The terminations have occurred without any consistent rationale or legal justification and are entirely arbitrary," the complaint states, describing the wave of record terminations in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System as "sweeping and unprecedented" with "nationwide impact." SEVIS records are digital files maintained by the Department of Homeland Security that track international students’ visa status, academic enrollment and legal standing. Chen, a Chinese national, has lived in the U.S. since 2017. She says she’s maintained full academic and immigration compliance and had been interning with a Bay Area housing firm while focusing her thesis on wildlife-conscious urban design. But on April 8, she was notified that her SEVIS record had been terminated. The complaint states that "the only known incident in her record is an arrest for an alleged physical altercation with her friend that resulted in no charges.". The legal challenge — filed April 11 in the Northern District of California — seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to halt what the plaintiffs call "a pattern of SEVIS record terminations" that violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment and Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs, including a Carnegie Mellon University student, a University of Cincinnati student and a Columbia University graduate, also argue that ICE’s actions are inconsistent with its own guidance and regulations: Under federal law, SEVIS terminations are only permitted in limited circumstances involving national security or congressional action. "Without notice, explanation, or any form of due process, ICE terminated the student status of individuals who have done nothing more than maintaining academic standing and complying with their visa requirements," the suit alleges. Chen’s case comes as UC Berkeley confirmed that the number of affected community members has grown. As of 3 p.m. on April 10, a total of 23 individuals affiliated with the campus have had their visas or nonimmigrant status revoked by the federal government, according to Janet Gilmore, senior director of strategic communications at Berkeley. That includes five undergraduates, 10 graduate students, three recent graduates on optional practical training, and five on STEM OPT, according to Gilmore. Two of those cases were newly confirmed Wednesday: one undergraduate and one recent graduate in the standard 12-month OPT program.

Breitbart [4/17/2025 7:31 AM, Ian Hanchett, 2923K] reports that, on Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks said that while drug seizures have increased, “This isn’t because more narcotics are being smuggled into the country. This is what was getting away when the Border Patrol had their hands tied and couldn’t get out there and do their job.” Co-host Dana Perino asked, [relevant exchange begins around 2:20] “[W]e’ve talked a lot about fentanyl. But now meth is on the rise. Look at this seizure here, it was 1,600 pounds of methamphetamine seized by CBP officers. March drug seizures, we have fentanyl up 24%, cocaine up 32%, but meth up 72%. Why is that?” Banks responded, “I’m glad you brought that up. I really want to paint this picture. This isn’t because more narcotics are being smuggled into the country. This is what was getting away when the Border Patrol had their hands tied and couldn’t get out there and do their job. What you’re seeing now is that, because Border Patrol agents are actually out there doing law enforcement functions, we’re now interdicting these narcotics. This is what was flowing into this country daily under the Biden administration. Now that we’ve been able to reduce the numbers of illegal immigration through the great work of…President Trump removing some of these absurd policies that prevented us from doing our job and…Secretary Noem empowering us to go out and do our jobs, we’re actually doing the enforcement and we’re interdicting these drugs that we weren’t out there interdicting in the previous administration.”

Breitbart [4/17/2025 10:55 AM, Bob Price, 2923K] reports that aggressive enforcement actions along the U.S.-Mexico border led to a nearly 94 percent drop in the apprehension of illegal aliens attempting to enter the United States. The apprehension of migrants by Border Patrol agents fell to approximately 263 per day during the first two months of the Trump administration from more than 4,600 per day during the same period last year. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Southwest Land Border Encounters Report for March, Border Patrol agents arrested 15,527 migrants who illegally crossed the border from Mexico into the United States during the first two full months of the Trump administration. This compares to the apprehension of 278,114 during the same period under the Biden administration last year. Encounters fell from 4,635 per day in February and March 2024 to 263 per day this year. "U.S. Border Patrol’s apprehensions along the southwest border for the entire month of March 2025 were lower than the first two days of March 2024," Acting Commissioner of CBP Pete Flores said in a written statement this week. "This is a testament to the tireless dedication and vigilant service of the men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who work every day to keep our country safe. Their commitment on the front lines plays a vital role in securing our borders and protecting American communities."

New York Post [4/17/2025 5:20 PM, Taylor Herzlich, 54903K] reports President Trump’s tariffs have brought in $250 million a day since he took office — a fraction of the daily $3 billion that he bragged his sweeping levies have generated. The massive disparity comes from figures provided by the Customs and Border Protection — the agency charged with collecting all tariffs, including the controversial "reciprocal" levies, at the point of entry. "Since April 5, CBP has collected over $500 million under the new reciprocal tariffs, contributing to more than $21 billion in total tariff revenue from 15 presidential trade actions implemented since Jan 20, 2025," the agency said. The Treasury Department also provided figures that fell short of the president’s estimate. According to its daily statement of total deposits, the department recorded $250 million under "Customs and Certain Excise Taxes" on Tuesday, after netting $305 million the previous day. The discrepancy between what Trump has claimed has been brought in and what the bottom line shows could be due, in large part, to a decrease in imports.

HSToday [4/17/2025 6:03 AM, Staff, 38K] reports the following is a statement from Acting Commissioner Pete R. Flores of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the agency’s continued support for Operation FREE 3.0—Fentanyl Awareness, Reduction, Enforcement, and Eradication. This multi-agency initiative is entering its third phase, building on years of collaborative success in dismantling fentanyl trafficking networks and protecting communities from the threat of synthetic drugs. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection is committed to supporting its partners in the launch of Operation FREE 3.0 (Fentanyl Awareness, Reduction, Enforcement, and Eradication), marking the third iteration of this groundbreaking multiagency initiative that has already resulted in thousands of arrests, seizures of hundreds of firearms, and tens of thousands of pounds of fentanyl.” “CBP remains steadfast in our mission to protect the American people from the threat posed by fentanyl and other synthetic narcotics. Operation FREE 3.0 exemplifies CBP’s holistic, intelligence-driven, and community-focused strategy to confront the synthetic drug epidemic head-on.”

New York Daily News [4/17/2025 3:02 PM, Joseph Wilkinson] reports four women have been arrested and charged in connection with seven burglaries across Nassau County on Long Island, authorities said Wednesday. Cornella Chiciu, 34; Cristina Tanasie, 25; Ioana Miclescu, 21, and Alina Antonescu, 36, were nabbed Tuesday without incident, Nassau County police said in a statement. All four women are Romanian citizens, according to authorities. The suspects were tied to three separate burglary sprees in Nassau County. The first two break-ins occurred on March 14 in Elmont, the next three on March 17 in Bethpage and East Meadow and the final two on Tuesday in Levittown and Plainview, police said. In addition to Nassau County and New York police, the investigation also included the Chicago Police Department and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Axios [4/17/2025 6:21 AM, Joe Guillen, Annalise Frank, Alex Fitzpatrick, 13163K] reports Trump-era tariffs and political rhetoric are dampening travel — and costing Michigan. About 10% of Detroit’s tourism comes from Canada. Rising political tensions and new tariffs are driving a noticeable drop in visitors — and threatening the region’s tourism economy just as the busy summer season approaches. President Trump’s recent rhetoric — including talk of making Canada the "51st state" — has triggered a rally-around-the-flag effect across the border. Travel warnings, economic uncertainty and a push to "buy Canadian" are weakening interest in U.S. destinations. Detroit border crossings are already down about 13% in February and March compared to last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows. Typically, more than 40,000 people — commuters, truck drivers and tourists — cross the Detroit-Windsor border daily. Meanwhile, bookings for Canada-U.S. flights in April-September are down over 70%, per aviation data firm OAG. A mere 10% drop in Canadian visitors could cost U.S. businesses as much as $2.1 billion in revenue, according to The Points Guy. From Mackinac Island to Detroit, officials are monitoring the tariff situation and hoping for clarity by summer. Canadian travelers represent a small fraction of the state’s approximately 128 million tourists annually. But Detroit, Port Huron and other border destinations face heightened impacts, Bridge Michigan reports. Earlier this month, a Canadian travel advisory warned residents to "expect scrutiny" when entering the U.S. U.S. border agents don’t need to give a reason for requesting a password to open your phone or electronic device. "If you refuse, they may seize your device," the advisory says. Axios Detroit reporters faced some scrutiny last week when crossing the border into Windsor. After driving through the tunnel, we were asked to pull over and get out of our car to answer some questions from the authorities about the nature of our work. We were allowed in after about a 15-minute stop. Visit Detroit president and CEO Claude Molinari said the organization prioritizes "seamless cross-border travel," adding that long-term tariffs create unnecessary barriers to tourism and trade. "Maintaining a strong, cooperative relationship with Canada is essential to the economic and cultural vitality of our region," Molinari said in a statement to Axios.

NewsNation [4/17/2025 5:38 AM, Sandra Sanchez, 6866K] reports nearly $9 million worth of methamphetamine was found hidden in a shipment of squash from Mexico at a South Texas port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. The drugs weighed more than 1,000 pounds and were found Sunday in 3,770 packages that were concealed in a shipment of chayote, also known as vegetable pear, at the Pharr International Bridge, CBP said Wednesday. The drugs were in a tractor-trailer coming from Reynosa, Mexico, that was referred for secondary inspection. A canine team and nonintrusive inspection equipment led to the discovery of the illegal drugs, CBP said. “Our CBP officers continue to take down load after load of harmful narcotics, illustrating the tireless work of securing our border and safeguarding our communities,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said.

Telemundo52 [4/18/2025 12:57 AM, Missael Soto, 101K] reports California Marines identified as two killed in crash during military operation in New Mexico Both Aguilera and Gamino had been promoted to lance corporal in 2024, officials said.Two Marines who died in a car crash during a military exercise in New Mexico were identified Thursday by authorities.Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera, 22, originally from Riverside, enlisted in March 2023. Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino, 28, originally from Fresno, enlisted in May 2022. The California Marines were two of three involved in a car accident April 15 in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, while supporting Joint Task Force South Border operations, authorities said. They were flown to a hospital in Texas, where they were pronounced dead. A third Marine remains in critical condition. "The loss of Lance Cpl. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Gamino is deeply felt by all of us," said Lt. Col. Tyrone A. Barrion, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Task Force Sapper Task Force. "I extend my sincere condolences and prayers to the families of our fallen brothers. Our top priority right now is to ensure that their families and the Marines affected by their passing receive as much support as possible during this difficult time." Both Aguilera and Gamino had been promoted to lance corporal in 2024, officials said.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 8:02 AM, Wren Smetana, 430301K] reports that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was arrested in Gilbert and booked on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Gilbert police confirmed that 40-year-old Jason Michael Drown was arrested about 10:50 a.m. April 8 in connection with a joint investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations. Court records showed the date of the incident in question was Nov. 2, 2024. John Mennell, public affairs specialist for CBP, provided a statement to The Arizona Republic saying the incident was under investigation by the Gilbert Police Department and was supported by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility was also reviewing the incident, the statement said. "CBP stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of our mission, and the overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe," the statement added. "An arrest is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.". Court records showed that Drown’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 17.

CBS Los Angeles [4/18/2025 11:49 AM, Tom Wait, 51661K] reports UCLA said that Customs and Border Protection agents detained one of their international graduate students at the U.S.-Mexico border this week. "Last night, around 9 p.m., a UCLA graduate student was attempting to cross the border from Mexico into the United States and they were stopped by Customs and Border Patrol, who have now decided to detain them," political science professor Graeme Blair said. Customs and Border Protection could not confirm the detention and said that, in most cases, privacy regulations restrict agents from commenting on individuals’ cases. Thursday night, UCLA Vice Chancellor Mary Osako confirmed that the student was detained at the border. "UCLA has learned that an international graduate student was detained by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while attempting to enter the United States from Mexico," she said. "The student remains in the custody of CBP and we are actively working to learn more information." Blair, other faculty members and students rallied outside the chancellor’s office on Thursday afternoon. "I have to talk to my students who are non-citizens every day, and they are terrified," Blair said. "I’m terrified for them because of the capricious nature of U.S. immigration policy right now. They don’t know when they’re going to be picked up in the middle of the night. They don’t know when they’re going to be forced from their classroom." In the past month, the Trump administration has cracked down on foreign student visas, with the State Department canceling more than 300 visas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes the nation’s top diplomat to revoke the visas of foreign national students on the grounds that their presence or activities have "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences" for the U.S. Colleges in Orange County said several international students have had their visas revoked. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [4/18/2025 1:44 AM, Jaweed Kaleem, 13342K]

FOX News [4/17/2025 6:50 AM, Ashley J. DiMella, 46189K] reports Americans coast to coast are rushing to obtain REAL IDs while many motor vehicle bureaus are grappling to accommodate appointments. With the deadline of May 7 approaching, air travelers at domestic airports and people entering some federal buildings must have a REAL ID. Some Americans are considering alternatives if they’re struggling to get DMV appointments to obtain the new identification. On Monday in New Jersey, the Department of Motor Vehicles (NJDMV) website showed "0 appointments available" for REAL ID services on its site; it has now added additional time slots. Virginia DMVs have launched Saturday events for people to get their REAL IDs, while some offices in California have extended their hours. Other identification forms that will be accepted in lieu of a REAL ID are a valid U.S. passport or passport card; DHS trusted traveler cards such as Global Entry; Department of Defense IDs; permanent resident cards; and border crossing cards. For those who do not have those IDs on hand, some AAA branches in six states are offering services to get a REAL ID. "In Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York, DMV/RMV services at AAA branches are free for all AAA members," the AAA site notes. "In Connecticut, AAA members from outside AAA Northeast territory pay $6 for DMV services and non-members pay $8," the site adds. The site says there is no additional cost for the REAL ID itself. "If not at renewal, only the standard duplicate license fees would apply," states the site. "AAA offers DMV services in 22 states, ranging from vehicle registrations, titling, tags, license renewals, issuing new licenses, and/or REAL ID," an AAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. "Got the passport card in addition to my book and I just carry that.” "Of those 22 states, 6 states offer REAL ID services: FL, KS, MA, MN, OH, and RI. Regulations regarding private organizations offering DMV services (and what type of services offered) vary by state," the spokesperson added. AAA does not have plans to roll out DMV services in additional states, the organization said. The processing time for an expedited passport is two to three weeks with additional fees, according to the State Department’s website.

FOX News [4/18/2025 4:00 AM, Ashley J. DiMella, 46189K] reports the fast-approaching deadline for REAL IDs has many Americans rushing to obtain the important new identification even as travel issues may lie ahead. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a press release reminding Americans of the May 7 deadline while also warning of delays. "Passengers who present a state-issued identification that is not REAL ID compliant and who do not have another acceptable alternative (e.g., passport) can expect to face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint," the release said. Air travelers at domestic airports will be required to present a REAL ID in order to fly. TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers told Fox News Digital the agency estimates that "81% of the public is ready for REAL ID enforcement."

FOX News [4/17/2025 1:31 PM, Elizabeth Elkind and Deirdre Heavey, 46189K] reports that Conservatives are speaking out against the Trump administration’s plans to finally enact long-expected REAL ID laws in a bid to crack down on illegal immigration. "If you think REAL ID is about election integrity, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Someone has lied to you, or you’re engaged in wishful thinking. Please don’t shoot the messenger," Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X earlier this week. Responding to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s video announcing the May 7 REAL ID deadline, the former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin questioned in a lengthy post: "Or what?? Evidently, existing ID requirements for American citizens just aren’t adequate now, so Big Brother is forcing us through more hoops for the ‘right’ to travel within our own country." Palin continued: "Other administrations delayed this newfangled, burdensome REAL ID requirement. Are you curious why its implementation is imperative now?? And who came up with this?" The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced last week that REAL ID would go into effect May 7, and that no other state-issued ID cards would be accepted for air travel. TSA senior official Adam Stahl said in the announcement that REAL ID "bolsters safety by making fraudulent IDs harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists." Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and TSA for further comment. Massie’s spokesman said he was not available for an interview when reached by Fox News Digital.

NBC News [4/17/2025 12:11 PM, Marlene Lenthang and Kathryn Prociv, 44742K] reports that five million people are at risk of storms Thursday across eastern Nebraska, northern Missouri, most of Iowa and southern Minnesota, with hazards including very large hail up to 2 inches in diameter, damaging winds and possible tornadoes. The severe weather will continue into the Easter weekend for large sections of the country, as a cold front pushing south through the West and central U.S. brings heavy snow and rain, according to the National Weather Service. In the West, the front will produce heavy snow and strong winds over portions of the Rockies, starting in south-central Montana and much of Wyoming on Thursday and moving to the Colorado Rockies on Friday. One to 2 feet of snow or more is forecast over Wyoming. Meanwhile, Colorado could see 6-12 inches, the weather service warned. Up to 2 feet of snow is possible at the highest elevations of the Rockies, and the snow will last through Sunday night. The National Weather Service office in Boulder, Colorado, said winter weather advisories are in place and warned that road conditions will be wet and slushy through the weekend. By Friday, 40 million people will be at risk of severe weather from northern Texas to northern Michigan, with the potential for very large hail, damaging winds and possible isolated tornadoes. The weather will affect cities including Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma, plus St. Louis, Indianapolis, Chicago and Detroit. On Saturday, 12 million people will be at risk from southern Texas to southern Missouri including the cities of Abilene, Waco and Dallas in Texas. By Sunday, 11 million people will be at risk from eastern Texas through central Missouri. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 12:37 PM, Alex Sosnowski, 430301K] reports that a dangerous flooding setup is taking shape across the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma over the extended Easter weekend-just two weeks after deadly floods inundated parts of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. This new round of storms could deliver a similar torrent of rain, raising the risk for life-threatening flash flooding in a region with steep terrain and vulnerable waterways, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. While the upcoming rain may not be quite as extreme or as long-lasting as early April, downpours are projected from north-central Texas to central Illinois and southwestern Indiana. Within this zone, a general 1-4 inches of rain will fall from Friday to Sunday, which would be well short of what can trigger a life-threatening flash flood or a widespread flooding disaster. A band of much heavier rain, on the order of 4-8 inches, is forecast over a three-day period, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 11 inches. Runoff from this weekend’s rain will eventually flow into the Mississippi River but likely not until after water levels have receded. As of Thursday morning, no flooding was forecast on gauges from north-central Texas to central Illinois, but forecasters warn that could give a false sense of security. Meanwhile, the surge of water from the rain early in April continues to work downstream on the Mississippi River. Crests have occurred or will occur this weekend along the shores of the Mississippi that border Tennessee, southern Missouri, western Kentucky, northern Arkansas and northern Mississippi. Waters in these areas will be at moderate to major flood stage. Farther south, from southern Arkansas and central Mississippi through much of Louisiana and southern Mississippi, it may take until nearly the end of the month for the Mississippi River to crest at moderate to major flood stage.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 6:16 AM, Emma McCorkindale, 430301K] reports the Trump Administration is freezing more than $90 million worth of disaster relief funding in Massachusetts. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, also known as BRIC, has been canceled, which provides disaster prevention aid to municipalities across Massachusetts. The cancelation revokes $90 million for 18 communities, a regional planning commission, as well as two state agencies. BRIC is an annual FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant that’s funded by FEMA and administered through a partnership with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). The following municipalities and agencies are expected to be impacted by the cancellation: Acton: $67,500 for Jenks Conservation Land Culvert Improvements. Chelsea and Everett: $49,999,999 for Island End River Coastal Flood Resilience Project. Hull: $49,500 to enhance Hull’s Existing Adopted Codes. Hinsdale: $81,720 for Powering the Hinsdale Public Safety Complex. Wilbraham: $150,000 for Glenn Drive Pump Station Generator. Lynnfield: $80,302.50 for Implementation of Permitting System. Grafton: $37,500 for Merriam Road Culvert Improvement Project Scoping. Rockport: $320,000 for Thatcher Road Corridor Resilient Design. Newburyport: $50,250 for Drinking Water and Watershed Regulations Assessment & Update. Northbridge: $37,500 for Permitting Process Upgrade. Whately: $63,750 for Christian Lane Stormwater Flooding. Brockton: $124,050 for Keith Field Culvert Project Scoping. North Adams: $144,000 for Galvin Road Culvert Improvements Project Scoping. Taunton: $195,000 for Cobb Brook Culvert Study Project Scoping. Gosnold: $75,000 for Protection of Cuttyhunk Island’s Water Supply Project Scoping. Rockport: $8,437.50 for Building Code Capabilities Enhancement. Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission: $321,021 for Regional Building Code Inspection and Training. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR): $11,969,908 for Tenean Beach/Conley Street Resilient Waterfront Project in Boston and $505,516 for Building Code Higher Flood Standards. Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA): $675,000 for Massachusetts Building Code Access, $300,000 for Statewide Voluntary Buyout Program Feasibility Study & Pilot Program, and $1,873,013 for State Management Costs.

Yahoo.com [4/17/2025 7:30 PM, Nicole Ford, 430301K] reports June 2018 is hard to forget for the area of Bridgeville, but relief was to come with a huge project backed with FEMA money. Now, it’s all in jeopardy. “This project brought hope to Bridgeville. This has been an ongoing problem and our community has faced flooding for generations,” said Joe Kauer, who is Bridgeville’s Borough Manager. That flood damaged 127 homes, 48 businesses and an Upper St. Clair woman even lost her life. That led to research of how best to help this community thrive moving forward and a nearly $7 million answer was created with a levy system project. “We are essentially a shovel-ready project that is aimed to save lives, reduce future losses in FEMA claims and flood insurance claims because the levy is proposed to be 3 feet above the 100-year floodplain,” Kauer said. The project is only possible with a $5.3 million FEMA grant awarded in 2023. But just this month, FEMA announced the program is cancelled and that money is being returned to the US Treasury, citing the program as “wasteful and ineffective.” “It wasn’t wasteful, it wasn’t politicized, this is a project that was a good investment of federal funds that would save federal funds in the future to mitigate future flood loss,” Kauer said.

Yahoo! News [4/17/2025 5:53 PM, Patrick Lohmann, 52868K] reports a public university in Las Vegas, New Mexico is suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, alleging the agency is illegally forcing it to jump through bureaucratic hoops before it can seek compensation for a wildfire in 2022 caused by the United States Forest Service. New Mexico Highlands University, which has about 2,800 students, is seeking compensation from a $5.45 billion fund Congress created to fully compensate victims of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, the biggest fire in New Mexico history, which started due to two botched prescribed burns on federal land in early 2022. The wildfire burned more than 530 square miles and destroyed several hundred homes. It also upended life at the university, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. But rather than applying for compensation made available through the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act, the university’s lawsuit says it is being required to first exhaust another means of covering some of those costs known as the FEMA Public Assistance program.

FOX News [4/17/2025 9:32 AM, Marc Tamasco, 46189K] reports that President Donald Trump said he still "would like to hear the explanation" behind the two assassination attempts against him during an interview at the White House this week with Fox Noticias. The president was shot in the ear while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July. Another assassination attempt against Trump was foiled before the would-be assailant could open fire while Trump was golfing at his club in Palm Beach, Florida last September. As of right now, Trump said he’s being told the attempts on his life were carried out by "a couple of nut jobs," and that he doesn’t know what to believe. The president also mentioned that one of the suspects "had 18 telephones" at the time of his arrest. "It has not been explained to me perfectly by the Secret Service or the FBI," Trump said. "We have somebody, two good people running that, and I would like to hear the explanation." "Even if it’s not released to the public, I should be allowed to hear it," he added. "And I might very well release it to the public." "Amen," Campos-Duffy replied. While the suspect in the Butler assassination attempt was killed at the scene, Trump’s would-be assassin in the Palm Beach shooting is currently facing attempted first-degree murder and terrorism charges. His trial is set to begin in September.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 8:40 AM, Wes Tomlinson, 430301K] reports two suspects were arrested Tuesday in Somerville after a traffic stop led to the discovery of a substantial amount of narcotics, according to the Somerville Police Department. Police said they conducted the stop around 5:40 p.m. on North Drive after observing the vehicle fail to use a turn signal. The driver was identified as 42-year-old Christopher Stanley Walls, of Somerville, who had an active arrest warrant through the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. The passenger, also a Somerville resident, was 44-year-old Sonja Nicole Long, police said. A search of the vehicle yielded 3.88 ounces of crystal methamphetamine, 2.5 grams of methamphetamine mixed with fentanyl, a .223 caliber Bushmaster rifle with a loaded magazine, digital scales believed to be used in narcotics distribution, counterfeit currency labeled "For Motion Picture Use Only," debit cards not belonging to either suspect and brass knuckles, according to police. Walls was charged with trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking fentanyl, felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to signal. Long faces charges of trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking fentanyl, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a forged instrument, illegal possession or fraudulent use of a credit/debit card, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a concealed weapon (brass knuckles), third-degree criminal trespass and a probation violation. As of Wednesday afternoon, both Walls and Long remained in custody at the Morgan County Jail. Walls was being held in lieu of $235,900 bail while Long was being held in lieu of $238,700 bail. "This arrest represents a significant disruption to the trafficking and distribution of dangerous drugs within the Town of Somerville and surrounding areas," Somerville Police Chief Jeff Arnold said in a press release.

Bloomberg Government [4/17/2025 9:56 AM, Ellen M. Gilmer, 75K] reports that the Coast Guard needs clearer guidance for notifying lawmakers about internal investigations, a government watchdog said in the latest fallout over a sexual assault scandal and cover-up that has rocked the service in recent years. The Government Accountability Office on Thursday urged the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees it, to clarify when investigations require congressional notification, even when federal law doesn’t require it. The findings follow "Operation Fouled Anchor," a Coast Guard investigation of mishandled sexual assault allegations within the service. [Editorial note: consult extended commentary at source link]

Stars and Stripes [4/17/2025 2:23 PM, Staff, 803K] reports the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21), in coordination with the Coast Guard and joint partners, stopped two alleged drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean Sea, according to a news release. The two busts resulted in the confiscation of 1,278.9 pounds of cocaine worth $9,463,860, and 2,480 pounds of marijuana worth $2,807,360. “The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul executed their duties seamlessly in the combined effort to protect the homeland from illicit maritime trafficking,” said Rear Adam. Carlos Sardiello, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet. “Working in coordination with the Coast Guard and our joint partners, we look forward to seeing continued measurable impact delivered by the professional and talented crew of the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul across the region.” Within a 72-hour span, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, Detachment Three, made the two busts and took out vessels through a combination of air and surface operations.

CBS 12 West Palm Beach [4/17/2025 7:54 PM, Grace Bellinghausen] reports the Coast Guard teamed up with federal agencies to intercept 245 pounds of cocaine attempting to enter U.S. shores from Colombia. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) law enforcement crew in Miami Beach assisted CBP Air and Marine Operations as well as Homeland Security special agents to carry out the interdiction. According to the USCG, the estimated value of the cocaine was $16,300.

NewsNation [4/17/2025 2:10 PM, Spencer Kristensen, 6866K] reports that a Denver man is in a Florida ICU after getting injured in a waterslide accident, according to a GoFundMe created by Erica Falbo. Ryan Falbo was on a trip to Destin, Florida as part of a bachelor party on Crab Island. During the trip, Ryan went down a waterslide and hit his head on the ocean floor at the bottom of the slide, rendering him unconscious. He was unable to move or feel extremities. He was airlifted by the U.S. Coast Guard to the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital’s L1 Trauma Center in Pensacola. He underwent several CT scans, MRIs and blood tests and was diagnosed with a Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality and sent to the ICU where he has remained, while undergoing more tests and trying to regain mobility as a bit of feeling came back to his arms and legs. The GoFundMe said that Ryan loves to be in the outdoors and owns a small electrical company where he acts as owner and laborer. He loves to be a craftsman for his wife and is a proud "girl dad" to his two daughters. Erica said that most cases involving the same injury have a positive outlook but the road to recovery is a long one, taking at least a year to complete rehabilitation. Ryan will have to learn how to stand up by himself, walk without support and use his arms and hands; feeding himself and tying his own shoes will "become milestones in his recovery." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Caribbean National Weekly [4/17/2025 10:56 PM, Jovani Davis, 161K] reports a Bahamian national has been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to smuggling undocumented migrants into the United States by boat, federal prosecutors announced. Keith Kevin Russell, 46, will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. U.S. District Judge in Miami handed down the sentence after Russell admitted guilt in January to charges stemming from a November 2024 maritime interdiction. According to court documents, on November 8, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted Russell’s vessel roughly six miles off the coast of Miami. Despite initial attempts to evade capture, Russell ultimately stopped his boat after CBP officers deployed warning flares. Authorities discovered 18 undocumented migrants onboard, hailing from China, Haiti, Jamaica, and The Bahamas. The individuals were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge, where officers confirmed they lacked authorization to enter the country. Among the group was Patrick Angelo Percentie, 45, a previously deported Bahamian national with an aggravated felony conviction. He was taken into custody and later sentenced to 16 months in prison after also pleading guilty. The remaining migrants were returned to The Bahamas. Russell and Percentie were brought ashore to face federal charges. The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, with support from CBP and the U.S. Coast Guard’s 7th District. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl.

ABC 2 Portland [4/17/2025 4:01 PM, Bobby Corser] reports the United States Coast Guard is searching for an overdue 15’ boat with three people on board after they didn’t return when expected. Officials say the boat left Neah Bay, Washington, on Wednesday morning and was due to return last night around 8:00 p.m. At 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, the Coast Guard said the boat was found at Koitlah Point, but there was no sign of the three people who were on board. "Coast Guard crews are actively searching the area with assistance from local agencies," USCG Pacific Northwest posted on X. NBC 5 Seattle [4/17/2025 7:46 PM, Helen Smith, 1600K] reports that the body of woman was found not far from a capsized boat that three people were believed to be on before going missing near Neah Bay. The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said they believe the body that washed ashore is one of the three missing people. The boaters, two men and a woman all in their 60s, departed Neah Bay around 8 a.m. Wednesday and were supposed to return at around 8 p.m. However, they never made it back. The Coast Guard said multiple stations, including Neah Point, Port Angeles, Astoria, Sacramento, the Coast Guard Cutter Blue Shark, the Makah Tribal Police, Washington Fish & Wildlife and the Washington State Patrol are assisting with the search.

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CBS 7 Seattle [4/17/2025 4:37 PM, Staff, 1100K]
KIRO [4/17/2025 4:37 PM, Staff]

Big Island Now [4/17/2025 9:05 PM, Staff, 94K] reports family and friends of a missing Kona fisherman are collecting signatures to petition the U.S. Coast Guard to pick up its search for the 42-year-old who has now been missing at sea for a week. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the change.org petition garnered 2,611 signatures. The petition starter, Christian Baker, wrote that it was his personal plea to ask for the continuation of the Coast Guard search for Earl Kekuanaoa “Oa” Hind. The Coast Guard suspended its search for Hind at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after it and partner agency crews had searched 200,048 square nautical miles for more than 242 combined hours since beginning their search the afternoon of April 10. Coast Guard officials said emergency responders were dealing with 10-foot seas, 30-knot winds and choppy waters making it difficult to detect the missing boat. Hind’s daughter, Makalapuaōnalani Alicia Hind, wrote a letter that was published by media outlets statewide saying ending the search now would be a terrible mistake. “Weather conditions over the past week have limited visibility, but that is all the more reason to continue the search, especially with forecasts now predicting clearer skies and calmer seas in the days ahead,” Hind’s daughter stated. “With improved visibility, the chances of locating him increase dramatically.” Makalapuaōnalani Hind said her father is a generational fisherman with more than 20 years of experience navigating the Pacific Ocean.

Daily Caller [4/17/2025 12:14 PM, Eireann Van Natta, 1082K] reports that Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents from the Biden administration Wednesday, revealing how “domestic terrorism” was used as a pretext to attempt to curb gun rights and target “misinformation.” Former President Joe Biden prioritized tackling purported domestic terrorism, and the newly released documents shed additional light on his administration’s strategy. Gabbard announced the release of Biden’s “Strategic Implementation Plan For Countering Domestic Terrorism” on X. “As promised, I have declassified the Biden Administration’s Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism,” Gabbard wrote. Biden’s intelligence community zeroed in on firearms — specifically “ghost guns,” “high-capacity magazines” and “assault weapons,” the documents show. “Rein in the proliferation of ‘ghost guns’; encourage state adoption of extreme risk protection orders; and drive other executive and legislative action, including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the strategy detailed under a section about “long-term contributors to domestic terrorism.” In one section, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was named as coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), State Department (State) and the Department of Education (ED). Those agencies were instructed to fund and develop “digital literacy programming” to counter domestic terrorism recruitment and “online disinformation,” according to the strategy.

NPR [4/17/2025 9:51 PM, Sarah Ventre, 29983K] reports Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was indicted on Thursday by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court. The charges include two counts of stalking, one firearms offense and murder through use of a firearm — which, if Mangione is found guilty, could make him eligible for the death penalty. Earlier this month, Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in Mangione’s case, the first time the federal death penalty has been sought since the Biden administration placed a moratorium on federal executions in 2021. Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, issued a statement shortly after Bondi’s directive, saying, "By seeking to murder Luigi Mangione, the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric. Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent.". In addition to the federal indictment, Mangione is being charged in Pennsylvania and New York, where he faces murder and terrorism charges. Mangione’s case continues to spark national discussion about the state of the healthcare industry.

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USA Today [4/17/2025 7:32 PM, Christopher Cann and Thao Nguyen, 75858K]

CBS News [4/17/2025 1:42 PM, Caitlin Yilek, 51661K] reports that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called on the Justice Department to investigate whether the fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was a possible antisemitic hate crime. Cody Balmer, a 38-year-old Harrisburg man, was arraigned earlier this week on charges that include attempted murder and terrorism. He is accused of breaking into the governor’s residence early Sunday and setting the home ablaze with homemade Molotov cocktails, forcing Shapiro and his family to evacuate. Shapiro, who is Jewish, had hosted a Passover celebration the night before the incident. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Balmer’s statements about the attack "raise serious concerns about antisemitic motivation." "Given the deeply troubling allegations that the suspect targeted Governor Shapiro based in part on his religious identity, the April 13 incident warrants immediate and serious federal scrutiny," Schumer, the top Jewish elected official in the U.S., wrote. "Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter. No person or public official should be targeted because of their faith, and no community should wonder whether such acts will be met with silence." According to a search warrant, Balmer admitted to police that he harbored hated toward Shapiro and would have "beaten him with his hammer" if he had found Shapiro inside the residence. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [4/17/2025 8:35 PM, Meredith Deliso, 31638K] reports days after an arson attack damaged his official residence, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sat down with Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive interview and a tour of the charred rooms. "This is sadly a real part of our society today. And it needs to be universally condemned, George," Shapiro said regarding the rise of politically motivated threats and attacks that the Department of Homeland Security has warned about in recent years. "I don’t care if it’s coming from the left, from the right. I don’t care if it’s coming from someone who you voted for or someone who you didn’t vote for, someone on your team or someone on the other team," Shapiro continued. The governor spoke with Stephanopoulos from one of the fire-damaged rooms at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg on Thursday. For the first time together, the governor and first lady Lori Shapiro also toured the damage, along with Stephanopoulos.

The Washington Post [4/18/2025 3:55 AM, Frances Vinall, 31735K] reports a gunman opened fire at Florida State University just before noon on Thursday. Two people were killed and six were injured, not including the gunman, who was shot and injured by police, authorities said. The gunman opened fire about 11:50 a.m. Thursday outside near the FSU student union building on the university’s main campus in Tallahassee, police said. Students who had been studying and relaxing in the sunshine described suddenly hearing shots and sprinting for cover. Tallahassee police identified the suspect as Phoenix Ikner, 20, who they believe is an FSU student. He was shot by FSU police and taken to a hospital with serious injuries that were not life-threatening. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said the suspect was the son of Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Ikner, who has served with the sheriff’s office for about 18 years. He had participated in sheriff’s office training programs and was part of a youth advisory council to the sheriff’s office, McNeil added. A handgun belonging to the sheriff’s deputy was allegedly found at the scene. It was her personal handgun, which she had bought from the sheriff’s office when transitioning to a new service weapon, authorities said. The suspect is also believed to have had a shotgun with him at FSU on Thursday, but police are still investigating whether it was used. CBS News [4/17/2025 8:19 PM, Cara Tabachnick, 51661K] reports that the deputy sheriff has been at the agency for more than 18 years and her service to the community has been exceptional, the sheriff said. "Unfortunately her son had access to one of her weapons," Sheriff McNeil said. He also said that the alleged shooter was a longstanding member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office citizen advisory or youth advisory council and engaged in a number of their training programs. He had "been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff Office’s family," the sheriff said. Police said the two people killed in the shooting were not students. The victims’ names have not been released. The wounded are being treated at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Hospital, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to CBS News Miami. The hospital said all patients were in fair condition as of around 4:30 p.m. [Editorial note: consult video at source link for video] The AP [4/17/2025 7:46 PM, John Raby, 5046K] reports that ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from several law enforcement agencies rushed toward the campus. Hundreds of students streamed away from the direction of the student union. Students were glued to their phones, some visibly emotional. The university instructed students and faculty to seek shelter and await further instructions. Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the shooter after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell, who said the suspect refused to speak with police afterward. Revell said it’s not believed that the suspect shot at officers. A campus lockdown was lifted shortly after 3 p.m. EDT. Students and faculty were told to avoid the Student Union and several other areas still considered active crime scenes.

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CNN [4/18/2025 3:58 AM, Alaa Elassar, 22131K] reports it was an ordinary afternoon for Jayden D’Onofrio, who was spending time with a friend at their apartment complex when they received a text that made their blood run cold. An active shooter was on campus, and their friend was hiding in the library. Without a second thought, they ran to her. A perfect, sun-drenched Florida spring day had suddenly descended into horror when a gunman began firing at victims near Florida State University’s student union building, marking the next chapter in America’s grim epidemic of gun violence. “That is one of the most gutting feelings possible, to not know if your friends are okay… and if they’re going to make it through that moment,” D’Onofrio told CNN. Another college campus – and thousands of students – are now scarred by the lasting trauma of gun violence, transforming the once-idyllic lawns, where students usually gather with books and coffee, into a dreadful reminder of where innocent lives were taken. Two weeks before the semester’s end, just as seniors were gearing up for graduation, two people were killed and five others injured when the suspect, a student at the university and the son of a local sheriff’s deputy, police said, opened fire. D’Onofrio is no stranger to the reality of how gun violence can tear a community apart. Thursday’s shooting comes seven years after the bloodbath in Parkland, Florida, when a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people and wounded 17 others, ripping the community apart. He was in his 7th grade English class when he got the phone notification that there was a shooting 15 minutes away from his school. Following the massacre, D’Onofrio had school shooting drills every month growing up, he says, “and this is just another chapter of that.” As the university went into lockdown, students and staff received emergency alerts urging them to shelter in place. Inside the buildings, students crouched beneath desks, texting loved ones in fear. In one classroom, they piled desks against the door in an attempt to barricade themselves. Sam Swartz, a senior at the university, was forced to rely on his high school training for responding to school shootings. He hunkered down with other students in the basement of the student union during the attack, hoping to “hide it out.”

FOX News [4/17/2025 9:47 PM, Greg Wehner, 46189K] reports a Mason, Ohio, man was arrested for allegedly possessing a destructive device after an investigation into an improvised explosive device (IED) found at a soccer complex led to the discovery of bomb-making materials. James River Phillips, 20, was arrested Thursday by the FBI Cincinnati Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with possession of an unregistered gun and possession of a destructive device. The arrest comes after the task force conducted a federal court-ordered search in Mason that morning. "The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested James River Phillips after he allegedly possessed a dangerous destructive device," FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola said. "The FBI and our partners worked together to ensure his actions were stopped before there was any risk to public safety.". According to an affidavit filed against Phillips, a Lebanon, Ohio, police officer discovered an IED at a soccer complex at about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 22, 2024. Just before the discovery, the officer saw two men in their early 20s leaving the parking lot of the complex in a silver SUV, which was originally parked in the lot. The driver was described by police as having long curly hair. The officer made a traffic stop and told the two men to leave the parking lot since the complex was closed, the affidavit noted. Once the two men left, the officer continued to drive in the parking lot and located an IED where the SUV had been parked, court documents allege. "The IED had wires running from a pile of white powder to a control switch," the affidavit states. "The control switch had a red light on when the LPD Officer discovered the IED. After encountering the device, the LPD Officer attempted to locate the two males but could not. The officer contacted Butler County Bomb Squad (BCBS) to seize the IED.". BCBS discovered that the residue on the device contained nickel hydrazine nitrate, while the white powder contained erythritol tetranitrate. As they tested the IED detonator, it exploded, breaking the handheld chemical identification device.

USA Today [4/17/2025 9:28 PM, Fernando Cervantes Jr., 75858K] reports a Michigan man has been sentenced to eight months in prison after making a false bomb threat against a cruise his girlfriend was on without him. A federal judge sentenced Joshua Lowe, 19, on Monday for making the threat because he was “upset that the family went on the cruise, while leaving him behind to care for their pets,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said in court records obtained by USA TODAY. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a news release in September that there was “zero tolerance” for bomb threats. “Hoaxes can endanger lives, incur needless costs, and divert public safety resources needed to address real threats,” he said. “We take every threat of mass violence seriously.” Lowe, who is from Bailey, Michigan, pleaded guilty to one count of false information and hoaxes.

USA Today [4/17/2025 10:58 PM, Krystal Nurse, 75858K] reports an Afghan man accepted a plea deal, admitting to his role in acquiring firearms for an ISIS-backed Election Day terrorist attack, the Justice Department announced. Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, pleaded guilty to "receiving" two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, the department said April 17. Federal prosecutors added that Zada worked with Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who was also charged, to carry out a terrorist attack on Election Day in November 2024 for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a designated foreign terrorist group. The two were arrested in October 2024 in Moore, Oklahoma, a town about 10 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. At the time, prosecutors referred to Zada as a "juvenile co-conspirator." According to court papers, Tawhedi is Zada’s brother-in-law. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said in October that the Justice Department foiled the plot as the men bought the rifles from an undercover FBI employee. The department didn’t detail where the two planned to attack, but said in court papers Zada and Tawhedi were "targeting large gatherings of people" and expected to be martyrs. Leading up to the attack, prosecutors wrote in court papers that the two worked to liquidate their family’s assets and resettled their family in Afghanistan. The two sent funds to ISIS after receiving proceeds from the liquidation. Federal prosecutors added that a search warrant for Tawhedi’s Google records returned results about his queries on ISIS and acquiring firearms. "Tawhedi’s Google account also revealed searches on July 25, 2024, for ‘Which US state does not require relations to get a firearm?’; ‘Which US state does not require license to get a firearm?’; and ‘Which U.S. State Have Passed Permitless Carry Gun Laws," prosecutors wrote.

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The Oklahoman [4/17/2025 5:30 PM, Nolan Clay]

AP [4/17/2025 2:19 PM, Jamie Stengle, 48304K] reports that the student who shot four students when he opened fire at a Dallas high school this week was in and out of the building in less than two minutes and is believed to have been targeting a specific student, the school district police chief said Thursday. The 17-year-old suspect was able to enter Wilmer-Hutchins High School, which has metal detectors at its entrance, at 1:01 p.m. Tuesday when another student opened a locked side door, Dallas Independent School District police Chief Albert Martinez said at a news conference. The suspect was taken into custody several hours after the shooting. He was remained in jail on Thursday on a charge of aggravated assault mass shooting. Martinez said that they believe there was "a dispute taking place," but they do not yet know what led to the shooting. "We don’t have that information as to the why, the motivation," Martinez said. Martinez said they are looking into "how deep" the culpability is of the student who opened the door. Four male students were shot and were taken to hospitals, according to officials. Martinez said all of those injured are all expected to make a full recovery. The shooting drew a large number of police and other law enforcement agents to the roughly 1,000-student campus. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 5:24 AM, Staff, 430301K] reports the attorneys for the father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect will argue in court on Thursday to move their client to a new venue. Colin Gray and his attorneys filed the motion last month to move the trial out of Barrow County. The motion claims that "community feeling is strongly set against him" and would violate his right to a fair trial. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Channel 2 Action News will have a reporter at the courthouse for the hearing. Colin Gray is the father of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of killing four people and injuring nine others inside Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, 2024. Colt Gray faces 55 charges, including malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and cruelty to children. Officials charged Colin Gray with 29 crimes, including second-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to children, and involuntary manslaughter. Both have pleaded not guilty. In Feb, a judge granted Colin Gray a $500,000 bond. Barrow County Jail Records show that he has not posted bail.

Yahoo News [4/17/2025 7:53 PM, Tommy Wiita, 430301K] reports a suspect allegedly involved with a string of vandalized Tesla vehicles in downtown and northeast Minneapolis has been arrested. The Minneapolis Police Department held a press conference Thursday with Chief Brian O’Hara and Sgt. Rob Illetschko, confirming the suspect was arrested on Wednesday and is facing pending charges. "In this latest investigation into damaged Tesla vehicles, Sgt. Illetschko helped identify and arrest a suspect, caught on camera keying multiple Teslas, causing thousands of dollars in damages," O’Hara said, later clarifying it’s estimated to be over $21,000 in damages. The MPD chief said all six cases involving the suspect involve "felony-level damage." Illetschko says there are other cases separate from the six that the department is actively investigating. He noted the surveillance video Teslas are equipped with are "extremely helpful in identifying suspects." Police showed four surveillance footage videos showing the suspect in action. The suspect’s strategy was to key the vehicles as he walked past the Teslas with his dog. The man is also seen writing something with his key on some of the Teslas, though police declined to reveal what he keyed into a message because the investigation remains active.

New York Times [4/18/2025 1:42 AM, John Yoon and Alex Travelli, 145325K] reports the F.B.I. said on Thursday that it had arrested a man who it said was wanted in India in connection with terrorist activities. The man, Harpreet Singh, had entered the United States illegally and had been evading capture by using disposable phones and encrypted applications before his arrest in Sacramento on Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Mr. Singh is suspected of collaborating with Pakistan’s intelligence agency and with a terrorist group linked to a Sikh separatist movement, the agency said. India’s National Investigation Agency in January announced a cash reward for the capture of Mr. Singh, saying he was wanted in connection with a grenade attack against a retired police officer in the Indian city of Chandigarh in September. The Indian authorities said that Mr. Singh had provided logistical support, funds and ammunition to operatives in India as part of Babbar Khalsa International, the terrorist group. In recent years, India has issued warrants against at least 10 Indian nationals living in the United States, including Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, whom Indian agents were charged with plotting to assassinate in New York.

FOX News [4/17/2025 7:38 AM, Greg Norman, 46189K] reports Former Trump national security aide and Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot reportedly will resign at the end of the week. His sudden departure comes after Sean Parnell took over the role of the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson in February. "I made clear to Secretary [Pete] Hegseth before the inauguration that I was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs," Ullyot told Politico, reportedly adding that he had offered to help on an acting basis for two months. "Last month, as that time approached, the secretary and I talked and could not come to an agreement on another good fit for me at DOD. So I informed him today that I will be leaving at the end of this week," Ullyot said. The Department of Defense did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. During the first Trump administration, Ullyot served as the spokesperson for the National Security Council and was an assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Marine Corps veteran also served as a senior adviser in President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. Ullyot’s resignation will come as three Pentagon officials have been placed on administrative leave this week as part of a leak investigation. Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was put on leave on Wednesday, according to Politico. The day before, Darin Selnick, the deputy chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell were removed. Reuters reported that Caldwell was placed on leave for an "unauthorized disclosure," as part of an investigation into leaked Pentagon documents.

CBS News [4/17/2025 10:58 PM, Jennifer Jacobs, 51661K] reports the White House is starting to rebuild the National Security Council with aides top officials believe are staunchly aligned with President Trump’s agenda after six people were ousted earlier this month, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. Derek Harvey, a military intelligence analyst and retired U.S. Army colonel, is expected to be named senior director for intelligence, according to sources. "Always, we’re letting go of people," Mr. Trump told reporters about the firings of aides to National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in the wake of the Signal group chat controversy. "People that we don’t like, or people that we don’t think can do the job, or people that may have loyalties to somebody else." Havey would replace Brian Walsh, who was among four senior directors let go on April 3. In all, six aides were pushed out. Retired Lt. Col. Michael Jensen, an Air Force veteran, is also likely to join the NSC, one of the sources said. Jensen was nominated in February for a top Pentagon job as assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict. Senior officials have recently discussed tapping him as Waltz’s senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs instead. That position has been unoccupied. Harvey was forced out of the NSC during Mr. Trump’s first term by then-National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster over a difference in vision. Harvey oversaw Middle East affairs at the time. Harvey later worked as a congressional aide to former Rep. Devin Nunes, then the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. He previously was a senior official at the Defense Intelligence Agency, and served as an adviser to retired Gen. David Petraeus, then-commander of U.S. Central Command, and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, former Army vice chief of staff. House Democrats released phone messages that involved Harvey during the Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial which focused on the alleged plan to further his political prospects by getting Ukraine to launch investigations into his likely political challenger in 2020, then-former Vice President Joe Biden. Harvey was a vocal Trump defender during the impeachment inquiries.

The Hill [4/17/2025 6:00 AM, Miranda Nazzaro, 12829K] reports President Trump’s potential tariffs on semiconductors are stoking alarm within the technology sector as companies brace for the ripple effects across the industry and its competitive standing on a global stage. The Trump administration launched an investigation this week into the effects on national security of importing semiconductor technology, just one day after the president hinted tariffs on semiconductors could be coming soon in his broader trade war. Semiconductors power most of the technology products of today’s ecosystem and industry observers warned the cost could trickle down to consumers should Trump decide to impose an import tax on the chips or the products that host them. "There’s going to be an immediate, short-term supply shock if the…prices of chips are increased as a direct result of tariffs," said Sean Murphy, the executive vice president of policy for Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a trade association. "That’s going to have a ripple or cascading effect across the industry," he added, "Chips go into everything we take for granted.” It is still unclear how broad the semiconductor tariffs could be. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested earlier this week the tariff could apply to products with chips such as smartphones and computers, not just the chips themselves. "Depending on how those different categories are defined, we’re talking about a very large swath of trade potentially and that could have a really profound effect on the economy," Murphy said.

Washington Examiner [4/17/2025 12:25 PM, Annabella Rosciglione, 2296K] reports that a former New York City police officer was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday after being convicted in 2023 for acting illegally as an agent of China. In 2016, an unknown client hired Michael McMahon as a private investigator to surveil a New Jersey resident named Xu Jin, whom the Chinese government had accused of corruption. The surveillance was part of a global campaign by Chinese law enforcement, known as "Operation Fox Hunt," to repatriate alleged criminals living abroad. A jury in Brooklyn convicted McMahon, 53, in 2023 of interstate stalking and of acting as an agent of China without notifying the U.S. attorney general. He was found not guilty of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. As a part of his work, McMahon and the clients tried to convince Xu and his family to return to China. "This type of crime really does threaten our country’s national security," Federal District Court Judge Pamela Chen said. "McMahon, a former law enforcement officer who swore an oath to protect the public, went rogue and dishonorably engaged in a scheme at the direction of the People’s Republic of China," John Durham, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a statement. McMahon pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Washington Post [4/17/2025 8:20 AM, Adam Taylor, 31735K] reports a delegation headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Paris on Thursday to hold meetings on the conflict in Ukraine in an attempt to bridge a growing transatlantic rift on how to end the war. The meetings, announced just one day ahead of time, came after several comments from Trump administration officials about the war put European leaders on edge. They also coincide with renewed tension between Washington and Europe over a variety of other issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the impact on Europe of U.S. trade policy. The secretary of state was traveling as part of a small delegation, which also included retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the U.S. envoy on the war in Ukraine. Steve Witkoff, another special envoy involved in the talks, traveled separately to Paris. The French presidential palace said French President Emmanuel Macron would meet with Witkoff and Rubio on Thursday for an update on the negotiations to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine. The talks would also explore U.S. tariffs and “the situation in the Middle East, with a view to de-escalating tensions in the region,” and follow up on plans for a European coalition to secure Ukraine after an agreement. Andriy Yermak, who heads the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote Thursday in a post on X that he was visiting Paris and would also meet with U.S. officials. Yermak said he was traveling with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. As part of the visit, Yermak wrote, Ukraine planned a series of meetings with a “coalition of the willing” that could provide a security guarantee for his country — a list he said includes France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

New York Times [4/18/2025 4:58 AM, Roger Cohen, 153395K] reports the United States will abandon efforts to end the war in Ukraine if it proves impossible to broker meaningful progress in the next several days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as he departed Paris after a meeting on Thursday with President Emmanuel Macron of France. “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” Mr. Rubio told reporters, adding that the Trump administration will decide “in a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.” His remarks ratcheted up pressure on Russia and Ukraine to end the war and appeared intended to inject urgency into European efforts to prod Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, toward compromise. While the United States is Russia’s chief interlocutor in the negotiations, Europe has far greater sway over Mr. Zelensky. President Trump said on Thursday that he was “not a big fan” of the Ukrainian leader. Mr. Rubio said Mr. Trump “has spent 87 days at the highest level of this government repeatedly making efforts to bring this war to an end. We are now reaching a point when we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not.” High-level talks on Thursday between American, European and Ukrainian officials were the first of their kind, intended to bring “convergence” between views of the war in Washington and European capitals. Mr. Rubio said the conversations had been constructive, but it appeared clear that Mr. Trump was losing patience. “It is not our war. We didn’t start it,” Mr. Rubio said. “The United States has been helping Ukraine for the past three years and we want it to end, but it’s not our war.” “I think the U.K. and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this and then get this closer to a resolution,” Mr. Rubio told reporters at Le Bourget airport as he prepared to depart. “I thought they were very helpful and constructive with their ideas.”

CBS News [4/17/2025 7:09 AM, Anna Matranga, Tucker Reals, 51661K] reports Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was to meet at the White House on Thursday with President Trump, in what her aides have called a high-stakes "commercial peace mission." European leaders are hoping Italy’s right-wing premier can position herself as a bridge between the Trump administration and the European Union, which Mr. Trump and his top aides have bashed as a deadbeat, if not abusive partner on defense and trade. The hope not only in Rome, but in EU capitals across the 27-nation bloc is likely that Meloni can persuade Mr. Trump not to impose the steep tariff hikes he’s threatened, which could devastate European economies. Meloni has positioned herself as the European leader Mr. Trump is most likely to listen to. The two have developed a relationship based on shared political and ideological affinities on issues including immigration and LGBTQ rights. Meloni was the only European leader to be invited to Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January, and he has praised her multiple times, calling her a "fantastic leader and person," and someone he could potentially work with to "straighten out the world a little bit." After the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last year, which both leaders attended, Mr. Trump was quoted by the New York Post as saying: "I was with her a lot" and "we get along great." But the Italian leader will have to try to balance that budding special relationship with her mandate to protect the interests not only of her own nation’s economy, but the EU’s, with which Italy’s financial future is inextricably linked.

Reuters [4/17/2025 11:46 AM, Staff, 430301K] reports that Russia on Thursday suspended its ban on the Taliban, which it had designated for more than two decades as a terrorist organization, in a move that paves the way for Moscow to normalize ties with the leadership of Afghanistan. No country currently recognizes the Taliban government that seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. But Russia has been gradually building relations with the movement, which President Vladimir Putin said last year was now an ally in fighting terrorism. The Taliban was outlawed by Russia as a terrorist movement in 2003. State media said the Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the ban with immediate effect. Russia sees a need to work with the Taliban as it faces a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in a string of countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East. "Russia aims to build mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan in all areas, including the fight against drugs and terrorism," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It added that Moscow was grateful to Afghanistan for military operations against the local branch of Islamic State.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [4/17/2025 2:07 PM, Staff, 2923K]

AP [4/17/2025 7:15 PM, Tara Copp, 48304K] reports the U.S. will withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the Islamic State group, a U.S. official said Thursday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced publicly. The U.S. troops have been critical not only in the operations against the Islamic State but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Turkey, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The departure of the 600 troops will return force levels to where they had been for years, after the U.S. and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat IS. The U.S. had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the IS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons across southern Syria. The number of U.S. troops was raised to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted U.S. troops and interests in the region in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Three U.S. troops in Jordan were killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.

CNN [4/17/2025 9:02 AM, Nadeen Ebrahim, 908K] reports Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud arrived in Tehran on Thursday, in a rare visit by a senior Saudi royal to the Islamic Republic. Prince Khalid will meet with Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Iranian news outlet ISNA reported, adding that “developing defense relations and regional cooperation to strengthen peace and stability in the region, as well as combating terrorism, are among the topics of discussion between the two senior defense officials.” It has been decades since a senior Saudi royal last visited Iran: King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz did so in 1997, when reformist President Mohammad Khatami was in office. Prince Khalid is the son of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. The Saudi-Iranian meeting comes as Tehran engages in talks with the United States to reach a new nuclear agreement, amid threats by the US and Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if negotiations fail. Iran has warned that any attack on its territory could ignite a broader regional war. The US maintains a military presence in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states neighboring Iran. The two officials “will hold a number of meetings to discuss bilateral relations and issues of common interest,” state-run Saudi Press Agency said. Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital following the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia. They then spent years fighting a proxy war that has embroiled a number of neighboring countries, especially Yemen. In Yemen, the two countries had supported opposite sides of a civil war, which led to Iran-backed Houthi rebels firing missiles at both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, targeting oil infrastructure that is vital to their economies. Ties began to thaw two years ago, and both states eventually signed a landmark normalization deal brokered by China. Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf Arab states, have been wary of getting embroiled in Iran’s conflict with Israel and the United States.

The Hill [4/17/2025 12:23 PM, Tara Suter, 12829K] reports that a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor pleaded guilty Wednesday to working as an agent of Iran and sharing sensitive U.S. airport data with Iranian intelligence officers. Abouzar Rahmati, 42, admitted to conspiring to act and acting as an agent of Iran on U.S. soil "without prior notification to the Attorney General," according to a press release from the Justice Department (DOJ). Court documents show that from "at least" December 2017 to June 2024, Rahmati cooperated with the Iranian government "using a cover story to hide his conduct, obtaining employment with an FAA contractor with access to sensitive non-public information about the U.S. aviation sector, and obtaining open-source and non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry and providing it to Iranian intelligence officers," the DOJ release states. Some of that information — including documents related to solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports and U.S. air traffic control towers — was given by Rahmati to his Iran-based brother in mid-2022, per the department. The files were later handed over to Iranian intelligence officials on his behalf, court documents show. The guilty plea comes as the U.S. and Iran have recently engaged in indirect talks around Tehran’s nuclear program despite a long-standing tense relationship between the two nations.

CBS News [4/17/2025 9:42 AM, Staff, 51661K] reports that the U.S. and Iran are expected to hold a second round of high-stakes talks in Rome this weekend to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program. Matthew Bunn, professor of practice of energy, national security and foreign policy at Harvard University, joins to discuss. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [4/18/2025 3:34 AM, Staff, 51661K] reports U.S. airstrikes targeting the Ras Isa oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 38 people and wounded 102 others, the group said early Friday. The strikes, confirmed by the U.S. military’s Central Command, represent one of the highest reported death tolls so far in the campaign launched under President Trump that’s involved hundreds of strikes since March 15. The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said, causing sirens to sound in Tel Aviv and other areas. The war in Yemen meanwhile further internationalized as the U.S. alleged a Chinese satellite company was "directly supporting" Houthi attacks, something Beijing didn’t immediately acknowledge. The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath of the attack on Ras Isa port, showing corpses strewn across the site. It said paramedic and civilians workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires. In a statement, Central Command said "U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years." "This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully," it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties and declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press regarding civilians reportedly being killed. The Ras Isa port, a collection of three oil tanks and refining equipment, sits in Yemen’s Hodeida governorate along the Red Sea. NASA satellites that track forest fires showed an intense blaze early Friday morning at the site just off Kamaran Island, targeted by intense U.S. airstrikes over the last few days. The Ras Isa port also is the terminus of an oil pipeline stretching to Yemen’s energy-rich Marib governorate that’s still held by allies of Yemen’s exiled government. The Houthis expelled that government from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, back in 2015. However, oil exports have been halted by the decadelong war and the Houthis have used Ras Isa to bring in oil.

Yahoo News [4/18/2025 2:40 AM, Darryl Coote, 430301K] reports the United States is sanctioning the International Bank of Yemen over its support of the Houthi Rebels, according to the Trump administration, which also accused a Chinese satellite company of aiding the designated terrorist organization with its maritime blockade. The sanctions against the bank and three of its executives were announced by the U.S. Treasury and State Department on Thursday on accusations of financially supporting the Houthi rebels. Treasury officials accuse the bank of being controlled by the heavily sanctioned Iran-proxy militia and of providing it access to its Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications network, better known as SWIFT, to make international financial transactions. The bank’s chair of the board of directors, Kamal Hussain Al Jebry, 61; its executive general manager, Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi, 69; and its deputy general manager, Abdulkader Ali Bazara, 72, were also sanctioned. "Financial institutions like IBY are critical to the Houthis’ efforts to access the international financial system and threaten both the region and international commerce," Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement. "Treasury remains committed to working with the internationally recognized government of Yemen to disrupt the Houthis’ ability to secure funds and procure key components for their destabilizing attacks." Since November 2023, the Houthis have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, attacking vessels, including U.S. military ships, that transit the important trade route. They state the blockade is in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, of whom more than 51,000 have been killed amid Israel’s war against Hamas, another Iran-proxy militia, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters during a press conference Thursday that Chang Guang Satellite Technology has been supporting the Houthis’ attacks on "U.S. interests." "Their actions, and Beijing’s support of the company, even after our private engagements with them, is yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace," she said. "We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words."

Bloomberg [4/17/2025 5:54 PM, Josh Wingrove, 16228K] reports President Donald Trump said he was reluctant to continue ratcheting up tariffs on China because it could stall trade between the two countries, and insisted Beijing had repeatedly reached out in a bid to broker a deal. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, said officials he believed represented the Chinese leader Xi Jinping had sought to start talks. But he repeatedly sidestepped direct questions about whether he and Xi had been in direct contact. “I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I think it’s going to continue. And I would say they have reached out a number of times,” Trump said. When pressed on whether Xi himself directly had contacted him or whether it was Chinese officials, Trump responded, “Well, the same. I view it very similar. It would be top levels of China.” “If you knew him,” Trump continued, referring to Xi, “you would know that if they reached out, he knew exactly. He knew everything about it, he runs it very tight, very strong, very smart.” The US and China have escalated import duties in an economic clash between the two superpowers, part of a broader wave of sweeping tariffs Trump has sought to impose on major trading partners. He has hiked new levies to a combined 145% on Chinese goods, while Beijing has retaliated with duties of 125% on the US. Trump on Thursday said he was reluctant to keep raising those duties — and suggested he might be open to lowering them. “At a certain point I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point you make it where people don’t buy. So I may not want to go higher, or I may not want to even go up to that level,” Trump said. “I may want to go to less because, you know, you want people to buy.” Even with the dueling tariffs at stunningly high levels, the two countries have publicly appeared to dig in with the White House saying that China should reach out first and Beijing saying it was not clear about the US demands. Still, Trump on Thursday expressed confidence about a deal that would include trade concessions and a deal for the sale of TikTok’s US assets.

Federalist [4/17/2025 7:21 AM, Shawn Fleetwood, 1033K] reports the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek is allegedly syphoning American user data to China’s communist government, according to a new congressional report. Released on Wednesday by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the 16-page analysis contends that the China-based AI firm "collects detailed user data, which it transmits via backend infrastructure that is connected to China Mobile.” A state-owned telecommunications giant, China Mobile was flagged by the Pentagon earlier this year for having ties to Beijing’s military. In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prohibited the firm from operating within the U.S. over concerns that "unauthorized access to customer … data could create irreparable damage to U.S. national security.” The FCC subsequently added China Mobile to its list of "national security threats" in 2022, according to ABC News. "While the extent of data transmission remains unconfirmed, DeepSeek’s integration with China Mobile infrastructure raises serious concerns about potential foreign access to Americans’ private information," the House analysis reads. "By relying on China Mobile’s infrastructure, DeepSeek ensures that Americans’ data is stored and transmitted through networks controlled by the Chinese government.” Among the data DeepSeek reportedly collects from users who utilize its chatbot function are their "chat history, device details, and even the way a person types," according to the report. The House committee cited DeepSeek’s privacy policy, which discloses that the company stores the information it gathers from users "in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China.” It’s worth noting that the CCP passed a so-called "national intelligence law" in 2017 granting the communist government access to data held by businesses operating in China. As noted by the Department of Homeland Security, this law "compels all PRC firms and entities to support, assist, and cooperate with the PRC intelligence services, creating a legal obligation for those entities to turn over data collected abroad and domestically to the PRC.”

New York Times [4/18/2025 3:48 AM, Meaghan Tobin, 330K] reports a day after the U.S. government opened an investigation into whether Nvidia, America’s leading chipmaker, violated rules with its sales to China, its chief executive, Jensen Huang, met on Thursday with Chinese trade officials in Beijing. Mr. Huang had been invited to meet with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a state-backed trade body, according to state media. He also met with He Lifeng, China’s vice premier for economic policy. The visit was covered by Chinese state media, which reported that Mr. Huang said U.S. controls on Nvidia’s sales to China had a significant impact on the company’s business. Nvidia, the report said, will “continue to spare no effort” to make products that comply with regulations and “unswervingly serve the Chinese market.” Mr. Huang headed to Beijing during a week when his company’s relationship with Washington has fluctuated dramatically. On Monday, Nvidia promised to invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, winning praise from President Trump’s administration, which called the investment “the Trump Effect in action.” The next day, the company disclosed that U.S. officials had said it would need a license for any sales to China. The new requirement would force Nvidia to take a $5.5 billion hit on inventory it had already planned to sell in China. On Wednesday, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which focuses on national security threats from China, said it was investigating Nvidia’s sales of chips across Asia. The committee is trying to determine if the chip maker knowingly violated U.S. rules on chip sales to Chinese companies, especially to the A.I. start-up DeepSeek.

AP [4/18/2025 12:10 AM, Christopher Bodeen, Ellen Knickmeyer and Simina Mistreanu, 34586K] reports Republican and Democratic lawmakers made their first trip to Taiwan under the new Trump administration a bipartisan one, aiming to show both Taiwan and China that U.S. support for Taiwan’s defense remains broad, despite the harsh words and harsh tariffs President Donald Trump has had for the Taiwanese. Taiwan’s leaders so far in this week’s trip by two Republican and one Democratic senators are messaging back just as hard, assuring the Republican U.S. administration that they have taken in Trump’s complaints and are acting on them. Many Asia-Pacific nations are eschewing the retaliatory criticism and tariffs of some of the U.S.’s European allies after Trump earlier this month slapped broad tariffs on many countries around the world, including a 32% one for Taiwan. Despite that hit, conversations in Taiwan this week were “optimistic and forward-looking,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said in Taipei. “And I’m optimistic that we’re going to see a strong next chapter in U.S.-Taiwan relations.” That includes assurances from the Taiwanese that they are working fast to strike new trade and investment deals that suit the Trump administration, on top of the advanced-semiconductor giant’s $100 billion investment this year alone in chip production in the U.S. Taking all the lessons from Ukraine in its defense against Russia and criticism from Trump, Taiwan also says it is investing fast to make their military stronger, nimbler and less dependent on the U.S., as the island’s strongest deterrent against China, the U.S. lawmakers said. That includes seeking investment with Americans on drone warfare. Sens. Pete Ricketts and Coons, the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s East Asia subcommittee, spoke ahead of scheduled talks Friday with President Lai Ching-te, Defense Minister Wellington Koo and national security adviser Joseph Wu. Republican Sen. Ted Budd also is on the trip. The mission comes at a time that an economy-shaking trade war between the U.S. and China has some warning that China could strike out at Taiwan, a self-governed island with a vibrant democracy and the world’s top production of the most advanced semiconductors. China claims Taiwan as its territory, to be retaken by force if necessary.

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