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.

Reuters [4/1/2025 7:15 PM, Ryan Patrick Jones, 41523K] reports the number of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in March fell to the lowest level ever recorded, according to initial figures released by the U.S. government on Tuesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release that its data currently shows around 7,180 migrants were arrested at the border in March, which would be the lowest monthly total on record. The number of migrant arrests in March is down from a monthly average of 155,000 over the past four years, the border patrol agency said. Final numbers for March will be released in the coming days, CBP said. "Border Patrol agents are empowered like never before to shut down unlawful entry and protect American lives," Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores said in the release. President Donald Trump, a Republican, took an array of actions to deter illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border after returning to the White House on January 20, saying a crackdown was needed after high levels of migration under his Democratic predecessor former President Joe Biden. Trump’s moves included surging military troops and implementing a sweeping ban on asylum at the border. FOX News [4/1/2025 10:26 PM, Greg Wehner, Bill Melugin, 46189K] reports "Under the leadership of President [Donald] Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, the administration has taken bold, decisive action to restore control at the border. Border Patrol agents are empowered like never before to shut down unlawful entry and protect American lives," Pete Flores, acting CBP commissioner, said. "The message is clear: the border is closed to illegal crossings, and for those still willing to test our resolve, know this — you will be prosecuted, and you will be deported." March’s numbers — with 1,146 fewer crossings than in February — represent a dramatic drop compared to the monthly average of 155,000 during the Biden administration. Under former President Joe Biden, border agents frequently recorded over 7,000 border crossings per day. The daily apprehensions along the southwest border have also fallen to about 230 per day, CBP said, which is a number the U.S. has never seen. CBP said that under the Biden administration, there were an average of 5,100 encounters per day. The final monthly numbers are expected to come out in the coming days. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday praised the news about the number of southwest border crossings in March. "Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, border patrol agents are now back to doing the jobs they signed up for: securing the border, rather than serving as travel agents for illegal aliens," she said. "The Los Angeles Times captured the Trump effect on the border with a recent article. Their headline read ‘California, Mexico border, once overwhelmed, is now nearly empty with so few migrants coming into the U.S.’ They wrote, ‘shelters that once served migrants have completely closed.’

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Wall Street Journal [4/1/2025 10:53 PM, Alexander Ward, Michelle Hackman, and Vera Bergengruen, 646K] reports the Trump administration is pursuing agreements with several more countries to take migrants deported from the U.S., according to officials familiar with the matter. Immigration officials are seeking more destinations where they can send immigrants the U.S. wants to deport, but whose countries are slow to take them back or refuse to. Their desired model builds on a one-time deal the administration struck with Panama in February, under which they sent a planeload of over 100 migrants, mostly from the Middle East, to the Central American nation. Panama then detained the migrants and worked to send them to their home countries. The officials are in conversations with countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, but aren’t necessarily looking to sign formal agreements, the people said. What happens next to the deported migrants would depend on the specific host nation. The U.S. is agnostic, for example, whether the person would be permitted to ask for asylum or be deported to their own country, the people said. Among the countries the U.S. has asked to take the deportees are Libya, Rwanda, Benin, Eswatini, Moldova, Mongolia and Kosovo. The U.S. is hoping these nations will agree to the administration’s requests, perhaps in exchange for financial arrangements or the political benefit of helping President Trump accomplish one of his top domestic priorities. The administration is looking to certain Latin American countries to sign longer-term agreements designating them as safe places for migrants to ask for asylum instead of the U.S. Officials are close to finalizing such a deal with Honduras and are in negotiations with Costa Rica, according to a person familiar with the matter. None of the embassies for these countries immediately returned requests for comment. In a statement, a State Department spokesperson didn’t address private diplomatic conversations but said “enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States including ensuring the successful enforcement of final orders of removal.” State is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security “to enforce the Trump Administration’s immigration policies.” The White House and Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to requests for comment.

FOX News [4/2/2025 5:17 AM, Bradford Betz, Bill Melugin, 46189K] reports a federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from terminating funding for legal counsel for unaccompanied migrant minors. Appointed by former President Joe Biden, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday that will stop the Trump administration from ending the funding while the merits of the underlying case play out. The Trump administration on March 21 terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provides legal services for unaccompanied migrant children under 18 through a network of legal aid groups that subcontract with the center. Eleven subcontractor groups sued, saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys; Acacia is not a plaintiff. Those groups argued that the government has an obligation under a 2008 anti-trafficking law to provide vulnerable children with legal counsel. In her Tuesday order, Martínez-Olguín said that advocates had raised legitimate questions about whether the administration violated the 2008 law, warranting a return to the status quo while the case continues. "The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system," she wrote. It is the third legal setback in less than a week for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, though all may prove temporary as the lawsuits advance. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 created special protections for migrant children who cannot navigate a complex immigration system on their own. Plaintiffs said some of their clients are too young to speak and others are too traumatized and do not know English. Defendants, which include the Department of Health and Human Services and its Office of Refugee Resettlement, said that taxpayers have no obligation to pay the cost of direct legal aid to migrant children at a time when the government is trying to save money.

The Washington Post [4/1/2025 11:43 AM, Maria Sacchetti and Maria Luisa Paul, 31735K] reports that the Trump administration acknowledged in a court filing that it had wrongly deported an immigrant living in Maryland to a mega-prison in El Salvador despite a judge’s ruling prohibiting it, but said U.S. officials are unable to return the man to his family in the United States. Officials deported Kilmar Abrego García, who is Salvadoran, on March 15 as part of a surprise airlift of purported gang members to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, where they were surrounded by armed soldiers and hooded police who shaved their heads and locked them inside high-walled cells. His removal came six years after an immigration judge found that Abrego García had testified credibly that he could be harmed or killed by gang members in that country. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers acknowledged in court records that they were aware of internal forms forbidding them from sending Abrego García to El Salvador and called his removal an “oversight.” “On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego García was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” the government wrote in court records. USA Today [4/1/2025 2:07 PM, Bart Jansen, 75858K] reports Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia, a resident of Beltsville, Maryland, was among the hundreds of alleged members of crime gangs MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua the government expelled from the U.S. to El Salvador on March 15. But he had won a court order from an immigration judge in 2019 that was supposed to prevent his removal. His wife, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura, and his 5-year-old disabled child, who are both U.S. citizens, filed a lawsuit March 24 calling for his return. In filings Monday, government officials acknowledged the administrative mistake that sent Garcia to a notorious prison in El Salvador. "This removal was an error," Robert Cerna, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting field office director for enforcement and removal operations, said in a sworn statement. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that despite the clerical error, Abrego-Garcia was considered an alleged ringleader of MS-13 and a suspected human trafficker. She said immigration judges work for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has committed to eradicating MS-13. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] Bloomberg [4/1/2025 11:57 AM, David Voreacos, 16228K] reports that, while admitting immigration officials made an error, Justice Department lawyers argued that Kilmer Armado Abrego Garcia should not be returned to the US because he’s a member of MS-13 and a danger to the community. While aliens shouldn’t be “wrongfully removed,” the US has a “strong public interest in not importing members of violent transnational gangs into the country,” the lawyers wrote in a court filing Monday in Maryland federal court. Abrego Garcia, whose wife and 5-year-old child are US citizens, sued the US after he was flown March 15 with more than 200 migrants on one of three planes to El Salvador. Two planes carried alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, sparking an intense legal fight that the US Supreme Court agreed to review. Abrego-Garcia was on a third plane not affected by the Alien Enemies Act, the US said. “After conceding that they wrongly deported him, the glaring omission in their filing is what they are planning on doing to rectify that mistake,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, a lawyer for Abrego Garcia, said in an interview. “There’s nothing. They’re just washing their hands of this man.” Sandoval-Moshenberg denied that his client is an MS-13 member and said he’s a sheet metal worker. The Hill [4/1/2025 12:14 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports that the filing came in a case brought by the family of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after his wife recognized him in footage released of a group of migrants the Trump administration sent to a Salvadoran prison. The filing went on to state that they do not believe they can secure Abrego Garcia’s return from El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, also known as CECOT. "The United States does not have custody over Abrego Garcia. They acknowledge that there may be ‘difficult questions of redressability’ in this case, reflecting their recognition that Defendants do not have ‘the power to produce’ Abrego Garcia from CECOT in El Salvador," DOJ wrote. "The most they ask for is a court order that the United States entreat—or even cajole—a close ally in its fight against transnational cartels." Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have denied he has any affiliation with the gang. "Although he has been accused of general ‘gang affiliation, the U.S. government has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation," they wrote in an initial filing, noting that he left El Salvador to flee gang violence. They argue that he was sent "to El Salvador knowing that he would be immediately incarcerated and tortured in that country’s most notorious prison.” Abrego Garcia is married to a U.S. citizen and is the father of a "disabled U.S.-citizen child." The Washington Examiner [4/1/2025 5:41 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports the Trump administration has come under fire for allegedly arresting and deporting immigrants who were not criminals, as the White House has claimed was the intent of its mass round-up operation. In the wake of a judge’s determination that federal immigration officers wrongly deported Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia, Democrats and immigration lawyers have called for investigations into other instances where people who do not fit the bill have been taken into custody. Those calls for audits on whom the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested and deported are not without good reason, according to new information obtained by Reuters that shows dozens deported without due process appeared to have been wrongly arrested.

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CBS News [4/1/2025 7:20 PM, Staff, 51661K] Video: HERE reports immigration and Customs Enforcement admitted to an "administrative error" that resulted in the deportation of an undocumented man to El Salvador. CBS News immigration and politics reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez has the details.

Reuters [4/1/2025 12:26 PM, Sarah Kinosian, Kristina Cooke, and Ted Hesson, 41523K] reports that on a Thursday morning last month, immigration agents knocked on the door of Leonel Echavez’ Dallas home looking for someone else. Despite an upcoming immigration hearing, the 19-year-old Venezuelan was taken into custody for questioning about his tattoos. Two days later, he was on a plane heading to El Salvador’s most notorious prison. The Trump administration deported Echavez and 237 countrymen labeled as Venezuelan gang members - with no chance to contest the allegations in court. The U.S. government has provided scant information about the deportees, beyond alleging that they are members of Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal group from Venezuela that the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Through interviews with family members of 50 of the deportees - found via advocates and family members in the U.S. and Venezuela, and checked against a leaked list of deportees published by CBS News - Reuters has captured the most comprehensive picture to date of how the men on those flights became caught up in a rapid-fire deportation process. Twenty-seven of the Venezuelans whose cases Reuters reviewed were never ordered deported. They have upcoming immigration court hearings to make their asylum and other claims to stay in the United States, according to immigration court records, even though they are now in El Salvador. Judges in several cases appeared shocked to find migrants who failed to attend scheduled immigration court dates because they had been deported, according to immigration lawyers who attended the hearings.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 9:16 AM, Kate Plummer, 3973K] reports Vice President JD Vance has reacted defiantly to news that a government department deported a man in "error," commenting that it was "gross to get fired up" about the case. Since assuming office for a second time, President Donald Trump has made the deportation of migrants with criminal records a central pillar of his policy offering. In March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that just over 28,000 deportations were carried out in the first seven weeks of the Trump administration. Newsweek contacted ICE by email outside of normal business hours for comment. On Monday, an ICE official admitted in a sworn declaration to an "administrative error" which resulted in the deportation of a Maryland man to a prison in El Salvador. Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia, who has a U.S. citizen wife and a 5-year-old child, was stopped by ICE officers and sent to the prison CECOT in El Salvador, according to legal filings. Abrego-Garcia, who came to the U.S. aged 16 in 2011 after fleeing gang threats in El Salvador, according to filings, had been detained by ICE in March over his affiliation with the gang MS-13. This suspected affiliation came from a 2019 incident, according to his attorneys, when an informant made the claim he was linked to gangs, but Abrego-Garcia had already filed for asylum and a judge had withheld his removal to the country, a protected status. The judge ruled he could be targeted by gangs if deported. His lawyers also said Abrego-Garcia was not affiliated with any gangs and that the government had not produced evidence to prove otherwise. After Jon Favreau, Barack Obama’s former director of speechwriting turned podcast host, called on Vance and other Trump administration figures to comment on X, formerly Twitter, the vice president said that it was "gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported.” "My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here," he wrote. "My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.”

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 9:18 PM, Carson Swick, 3973K] reports Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris is not happy with how some media outlets have reported on the "administrative error" that caused a Beltsville, Maryland, man to be mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. "Well it turns out that that person was probably an MS-13 gang member. And look, MS-13 gang members, Tren de Aragua gang members, some of them are fathers," Harris said Tuesday during a telephone town hall. "And to classify them not as an illegal alien gang member but as a ‘Maryland father’ is just an attempt to whitewash the need to deport criminal illegal aliens.” Harris was referring to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national who was arrested March 12 in Baltimore and deported to his home country three days later despite having been granted "Withholding of Removal" status and legal working papers from the Department of Homeland Security. A judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia could not be deported because it was "more likely than not that he would be persecuted by gangs," according to a complaint filed by his attorney. While Abrego Garcia has not been convicted of any violent crimes in the U.S. or El Salvador, the extent of his involvement with gangs remains unclear. According to a court filing, a "confidential informant" advised U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that Abrego Garcia was an "active member" of MS-13. Acting on this information, a judge ruled he was a danger to the community - a ruling Abrego Garcia never legally challenged and the Trump administration used as grounds for his deportation. Harris cheered President Donald Trump’s broader efforts to address illegal immigration without congressional action, claiming Trump’s executive orders have directly caused a 99% reduction in the number of illegal border crossings.

ABC News [4/1/2025 5:06 PM, Laura Romero, 34586K] reports Maiker Espinoza Escalona, his partner Yorely Bernal Inciarte and their one-year old baby entered the United States last year and requested asylum, hoping that after turning themselves in to authorities they would be released and allowed to begin their new life as a family. The three have been separated since they turned themselves in, their family told ABC News. Inciarte has been detained at a detention center in El Paso, Texas, the baby has been in government custody and Escalona is at the notorious prison CECOT in El Salvador. Escalona, according to his family and the American Civil Liberties Union, had been detained in Texas since May 2024 and was transferred last week to Guantanamo. He was among 17 individuals who were sent to El Salvador on Sunday by the Trump administration under Title 8 authorities, according to a White House official. The Trump administration accused Escalona of being a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, an accusation his family denies. Last week, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem went to CECOT and said in a video posted to X that the facility in El Salvador is "one of the tools in our toolkit" the administration uses against those who "commit crimes against Americans." Noem praised the U.S government and El Salvador’s "partnership" and called the individuals sent to CECOT "terrorists." Escalona filed a sworn declaration in early March in which he stated that he was not a gang member and asked the government not to send him to Guantanamo.

FOX News [4/1/2025 5:37 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46189K] reports the Trump administration is remaining firm in its stance to arrest Kilmer Armado Abrego Garcia following a report from The Atlantic that the federal attorneys said that there was an "administrative error" in bringing him to CECOT men’s prison in El Salvador. However, there was strong disagreement between the administration and The Atlantic’s angle, saying that Abrego Garcia needs to be behind bars regardless of where that is because of the criminal allegations against him, including allegedly being a member of the MS-13 gang. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted to X on Tuesday to further detail the allegations against him. The court document referenced in The Atlantic piece is from the lawsuit by Abrego Garcia against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The attorneys for Abrego Garcia argue that he was deported without due process and there is no solid proof that he is a member of the gang, according to NBC News.

NBC News [4/1/2025 6:07 PM, Nicole Acevedo and Carmen Sesin, 44742K] reports weeks after the migrants were deported, court documents show immigration officials relied on a scorecard-like system using evidence such as everyday tattoos to accuse those and other Venezuelan men and justify their deportations. The government’s reliance on tattoos and social media posts as sufficient reason for deportation to a third country is what families and legal representatives have been fighting in the courts as relatives worry over the men’s fate. The guide has instructions about how to determine whether a person is removable under the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which President Donald Trump invoked last month to quickly deport over 200 Venezuelan nationals. It includes a type of scorecard of up to 81 points across 20 items and six categories.

NPR [4/1/2025 5:00 AM, Joel Rose, 29983K] reports that, when Madonna Cristobal landed at the airport near Seattle in February, she and her aunt waited in the same line for customs. Cristobal, a U.S. citizen, sailed through. Then she waited for her aunt. And waited. "One hour, two, three hours," Cristobal said. "I started to worry, and then I’m like, ‘Oh, what the heck is going on?’". Cristobal’s aunt, Lewelyn Dixon, had been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Dixon is a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. for 50 years, since the family immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines. She has traveled internationally many times with her green card and never had any trouble coming back to the U.S. — until now. "We had a great time visiting our homeland, visiting family," Cristobal said. "My aunt don’t deserve this.” It was only after Cristobal and her sister hired a lawyer that they found out why Dixon, who is 64 years old, was detained. A felony conviction for embezzling nearly $6,500 from the bank where she worked more than 20 years ago is still on her record. At the time, Dixon pleaded guilty and paid a fine, according to her lawyer. She never served any jail time, though she did spend a month in a halfway house. But now, any past infraction can loom large as immigration authorities ramp up enforcement at airports and borders crossings. "It’s maximum enforcement these days," said Benjamin Osorio, an immigration lawyer who is representing Dixon. Traveling to the U.S. from abroad has gotten riskier under the Trump administration’s crackdown — even for people with valid visas and green cards, immigration lawyers say. "There isn’t a lot of explanation," said Ben Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "There isn’t a lot of consistency on what they’re doing except trying to find any and every reason to prevent people from coming back into the United States and any and every reason to try to kick people out of the United States," Johnson said. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

CNN [4/1/2025 5:31 PM, Michael Williams, 22131K] reports the Trump administration’s escalating efforts to suppress and retaliate against public dissent present a difficult question for noncitizens living in the United States who want to protest the president’s policies. Activists and protest organizers say that’s a calculation that millions of people legally living and working in the United States will have to make as public outrage against the administration grows. For people living in the US illegally, participating in a public protest has long carried the risk of being identified, detained and processed for deportation. Risk is extended to visa holders, lawful permanent residents and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in the country legally — any interaction with law enforcement could lead to a revocation of their status or other immigration-related consequences. But new, sweeping immigration orders from President Donald Trump’s administration, along with the detention of nearly a dozen known students and faculty members in the country legally who were involved in pro-Palestinian protests, have exacerbated concerns about any expression of public discontent toward the administration or its policies.

The Hill [4/1/2025 10:39 AM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports that a federal judge has paused the Trump administration’s plans to lift protections from deportation for more than 600,000 Venezuelans, writing that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to do so "smacks of racism." The swift effort to rescind protections for Venezuelans, as well as the Trump administration’s rhetoric on the issue, featured heavily in the Monday decision from California-based U.S. District Judge Edward Chen. Chen determined the government did not follow proper procedure for stripping Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from those being deported, and that the administration was "motivated at least in part by animus." "As discussed in other parts of this order, the Secretary’s rationale is entirely lacking in evidentiary support. For example, there is no evidence that Venezuelan TPS holders are members of the [Tren de Aragua] gang, have connections to the gang, and/or commit crimes," Chen wrote, noting that "Venezuelan TPS holders have lower rates of criminality than the general population and have higher education rates than the broader U.S. population. "Generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes."

New York Times [4/1/2025 2:12 PM, Abbie VanSickle, 145325K] reports that lawyers for Venezuelan migrants accused of being members of a violent street gang asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to continue a temporary block on President Trump’s use of a wartime powers law to send hundreds of people to a prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration has asked the justices to intervene and lift a block on the deportations imposed by a lower court. But a brief filed on behalf of the immigrants by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward said that block is now “the only thing” preventing the Trump administration from sending immigrants “to a prison in El Salvador, perhaps never to be seen again, without any kind of procedural protection, much less judicial review.” The government has already sent more than 130 Venezuelan men from the United States to El Salvador, according to the court filing, where the migrants “have been confined, incommunicado, in one of most brutal prisons in the world, where torture and other human rights abuses are rampant.” The legal battle over the deportations of the Venezuelan migrants is one of the first major tests of Mr. Trump’s flurry of executive orders to reach the high court. It is perhaps the most high-profile of the eight emergency applications filed by the administration, focusing squarely on a collision between the judicial and executive branches. There are typically no hearings or oral arguments for cases on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket, and there is no public schedule for a decision.

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ABC News [4/1/2025 11:00 AM, Staff, 34586K] reports that ABC News’ Devin Dwyer discuss the multiple cases related to immigration that are coming before the high court. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [4/1/2025 7:30 PM, James Hill, 34586K] reports in a court filing Monday in the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) case before D.C. Judge James Boasberg, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) contended that in another case in D.C. District Court the Trump administration has taken a position at odds with its arguments in the AEA case; specifically over the issue of when the process of "removal" of a detainee is considered complete. In the AEA case, the government has argued -- among other things -- that it did not violate the court’s orders to turn deportation flights around because the removals had "already occurred" once the two planes heading to El Salvador were out of United States airspace. "The Government did not ‘remove’ any class members after that time under the AEA," DOJ lawyers wrote in a court filing on March 25, "To be sure, the Government had already removed some before the injunction. But nothing in the minute order suggested that the Government had to return already-removed class members to the United States," the filing states. "Indeed, the Government could not possibly have ‘removed’ them from a place they had already departed," the government lawyers wrote. In its response filed Monday, the ACLU contended that the government’s position is wrong, arguing that the DOJ’s theory runs counter to the court’s orders and to "common sense and the government’s own position in other cases" in the same U.S. District Court. The ACLU cited a March 10 government filing in a separate case pertaining to the potential transfer of immigration detainees to Guantanamo Bay. In that filing, the DOJ argued that "[to] effectuate a departure or removal, the alien must lawfully enter another country" and that "the removal process is not complete until the individual reaches the final destination.” "Indeed, it would lead to an impossible situation if the government’s broad removal and detention powers under the [Immigration and Naturalization Act] were held to instantly terminate as soon as the detainee’s flight left U.S airspace. Detainees placed on ICE-operated removal missions must remain subject to [Enforcement and Removal Operations] custody and adhere to ICE transfer and transportation policies until they have arrived at the country of removal, only at which point custody can be relinquished," the March 10 filing stated.

FOX News [4/1/2025 4:28 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46189K] reports Freshman Congressman Brandon Gill, R-Texas, is teaming with pro-MAGA law firm America First Legal to file an amicus brief to the Supreme Court backing President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrant gang members. Gill, an outspoken conservative, was behind the effort to impeach the activist judge who halted the Trump administration’s deportation of members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – a violent criminal group known by its acronym TdA. The brief was filed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, just days after acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris petitioned the court to lift a temporary restraining order inhibiting the administration from carrying out its deportation agenda. In their brief, America First and Gill argue the president has "absolute authority" under the Alien Enemies Act to determine when an invasion has occurred, and that this decision is "not judicially reviewable.” The brief argues that "the evidence is that TdA has invaded the United States at the direction of the Venezuelan government and continues to invade, attempt to invade, and threaten to invade the country; perpetrated irregular warfare within the country; and used drug trafficking as a weapon against American citizens.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, America First senior counsel James Rogers said, "The notion that a single unelected judge may take it upon himself to micromanage the defense of our nation is an unprecedented and complete corruption of the separation of powers, which is a bedrock feature of our Republic.” "AFL is proud to join with Rep. Brandon Gill to stand up for the rule of law and to protect our American citizens," said Rogers.

Yahoo! News [4/2/2025 2:00 AM, Sophie O’Sullivan, 52868K] reports US dairy workers at risk of catching bird flu are avoiding tests because of worries they will be deported amid Donald Trump’s migration crackdown, public health officials believe. Seventy human cases of H5N1 bird flu have been reported in the United States since April 2024, 41 of them associated with exposure to sick dairy cows, according to the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC). But as the virus sweeps the country, so have federal crackdowns on farms where undocumented workers often find casual employment, leaving the individuals most vulnerable to the disease fearful to get tested. "For symptomatic employees, we worry about some of them coming forward because of the current political milieu and fear of whatever their immigration status is," San Joaquin County Public Health Officer Dr Maggie Park told local news outlet, The Merced Focus. "We really want to reassure people who work on farms that public health agencies are here to help them. We are not here to check on their immigration status," Dr Park added. More than 79 per cent of the milk produced in the US comes from farms that employ migrant workers, including many who are undocumented. Reports suggest that the threat of immigration raids has struck fear into farm workers, with some immigrants reluctant to engage with government agencies out of fear of harassment, and epidemiologists concerned that cases may be being missed. "The fear among undocumented workers – especially in the current climate – is real and can significantly impact public health efforts" said Dr Krutika Kuppalli, associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern. "If people don’t feel safe coming forward for testing or care, we risk missing early signs of spread, especially in high-risk populations like dairy farm workers," she added.

New York Times [4/1/2025 3:28 PM, Tony Romm, Ana Swanson and Jeanna Smialek, 145325K] reports President Trump has settled on a final plan for sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, which are expected to take effect on Wednesday after he announces the details at an afternoon Rose Garden ceremony. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed the timeline in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, adding that Mr. Trump had been huddling with his trade team to hash out the finer points of an approach meant to end “decades of unfair trade practices.” When pressed on whether the administration was worried the tariffs could prove to be the wrong approach, Ms. Leavitt struck a confident note: “They’re not going to be wrong,” she said. “It is going to work.” The administration has been weighing several different tariff strategies in recent weeks. One option examined by the White House is a 20 percent flat tariff on all imports, which advisers have said could help raise more than $6 trillion in revenue for the U.S. government. But advisers have also discussed the idea of assigning different tariff levels to countries depending on the trade barriers those countries impose against American products. They have also said that some nations might avoid tariffs entirely by striking trade deals with the United States. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr. Trump said the United States would be “very nice, relatively speaking,” in imposing tariffs on a vast number of countries — including U.S. allies — that he believes are unfairly inhibiting the flow of American exports.

The Hill [4/1/2025 12:30 PM, Alexander Bolton, 12829K] reports that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is urging Republicans to defeat a Democratic-sponsored resolution to undo President Trump’s 25-percent tariff on Canadian imports, arguing the tariff is necessary to address the nation’s fentanyl crisis. Thune is warning Senate GOP colleagues that ending the emergency order Trump has invoked to place tariffs on Canadian imports would open the way for drug cartels to shift their smuggling operations to the northern border. Thune will lay out the case for defeating the anti-tariff resolution, which is expected to pick up support from a few Republican senators, when he speaks on the Senate floor Tuesday. "If we’re serious about ending the fentanyl crisis in America, we need to address the entirety of the crisis. We’re not going to solve the problem by going after just part of it," Thune will say on the floor, in prepared remarks first reported by The Daily Caller. "Ending this emergency declaration would tell the cartels that they should shift their focus to the northern border," Thune will say, according to his prepared remarks. "I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution and ensure that President Trump has the tools he needs to combat the flow of fentanyl from all directions.” The resolution, which is sponsored by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Mark Warner (Va.) would call for undoing Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. It does not have the force of law but it would be embarrassing to Trump if a significant number of Senate Republicans vote for the measure.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 7:36 AM, Ray Villeda, 52868K] reports a walkout in support of a Tufts University doctoral student who was detained last week by masked immigration officials is slated to take place on Tuesday. Workers Strike Back have organized a rally calling for the release of 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national who was surrounded and arrested Tuesday by six undercover federal agents as she walked along a street in Somerville. In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. "The brutal abduction of Tufts student and SEIU member Rumeysa Ozturk in Somerville by undercover federal agents has sparked alarm and outrage," walkout organizers said. "We need to fight back.” Tufts students and the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation plan to walk out during a noon rally at Ballou Hall at 1 The Green in Medford. Ozturk was quickly moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in remote Basile, Louisiana, before her attorneys could secure a judge’s order blocking the transfer. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper gave the government until Tuesday evening to respond to an updated complaint filed by Ozturk’s attorneys. "To allow the Court’s resolution of its jurisdiction to decide the petition, Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further order of this court," the judge wrote. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson has confirmed Ozturk’s detention and the termination of her visa, saying investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 8:23 AM, Ian Stark, 52868K] reports the U.S. Department of Education announced the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism has launched an investigation into potential anti-Semitism on Harvard’s campus. The Education Department announced Monday that will review the $255.6 million in federal contracts and over $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments awarded to Harvard and its affiliates. The action follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January that called for schools to take action to combat anti-Semitism, including he removal of "aliens" who engage in anti-Semitic activity. The Education Department said it is working in conjunction with Health and Human Services and the U.S. General Services Administration to conduct a review of Harvard’s compliance. If it’s determined that Harvard is not in compliance, it could lose its grants. "Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination has put its reputation in serious jeopardy," Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon said. Columbia University has already lost $400 million in grants and contracts earmarked for the school on March 7 since the Education Department determined due to the school’s alleged "continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” Columbia has since has agreed to the Task Force’s nine preconditions required to receive the canceled funds, which include the adherence to "all student visa and immigration laws in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security," an assessment of its "portfolio of regional studies programs, starting immediately with those that teach about the Middle East and Israel," and the clarification of what "time, place, and manner restrictions" are in place in regard to when "protests in academic buildings, and other places necessary for the conduct of university activities, are unacceptable.” "Columbia’s early steps are a positive sign," Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said last week, "but they must continue to show that they are serious in their resolve to end anti-Semitism and protect all students and faculty on their campus through permanent and structural reform.” Harvard President Alan Garber said Monday that the university still has "much work to do," and that it "will engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat antis-Semitism to ensure that they have a full account of the work we have done and the actions we will take up going forward to combat anti-Semitism.”

Newsweek [4/2/2025 4:52 AM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports a Cornell University has voluntarily left the United States following the revocation of his student visa and the dismissal of his lawsuit against the Trump administration. Momodou Taal, an Ivy League student with dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and Gambia, announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he had chosen to leave the U.S. "free and with my head held high," saying that while he initially intended to pursue his lawsuit, he ultimately decided to leave due to concerns for his safety. The Trump administration has reintroduced the U.S. Border Patrol’s app, now called CBP Home, allowing undocumented immigrants to notify the government of their self-deportation. Previously known as CBP One under former President Joe Biden, the app is being promoted by the administration as the safest way for those without legal status to exit the country. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to carry out what he describes as the largest mass deportation operation in American history. "Given what we have seen across the United States, I have lost faith that a favorable ruling from the courts would guarantee my personal safety and ability to express my beliefs," Taal wrote. "I have lost faith I could walk the streets without being abducted. Weighing up these options, I took the decision to leave on my own terms." Taal, 31, said that this was not the outcome he had hoped for after suing the Trump administration last month alongside two U.S. citizens—a Cornell professor and a Ph.D. student—challenging its executive orders aimed at "combat[ting] antisemitism" on college campuses and expelling foreign nationals deemed national security threats by the administration. The lawsuit filed by Taal and the other plaintiffs claimed that the administration’s broad orders violated their constitutional rights by restricting their speech and suppressing dissent. Plaintiffs argued that Trump’s policies "unconstitutionally silenced Plaintiffs and chilled protected expression, prohibiting them from speaking, hearing, or engaging with viewpoints critical of the U.S. government or the government of Israel, under threat of criminal prosecution or deportation." Taal said he chose to sue the Trump administration in hopes of securing protections for himself and others facing similar circumstances. However, shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Justice Department ordered him to surrender to immigration authorities.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [4/1/2025 5:56 PM, Nicole Sganga, 51661K]

The Hill [4/1/2025 6:00 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 12829K] reports universities could soon face two tough options: bow to the Trump administration or fight back. The federal government has yet to restore $400 million in frozen funding to Columbia even after the Ivy League school agreed to change its disciplinary policies and put some departments under academic receivership, as the administration demanded. The concessions are only a "first step" to restore the funding, Trump officials have said, though they have yet to lay out any others. Developments in the saga surrounding Columbia, which is accused by White House of failing to protect its students from antisemitism, will be closely watched by other colleges that could find themselves under President Trump’s eye. The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maine have both already seen some of their federal funding paused over policies related to transgender athletes, and Trump’s Education Department announced Monday it is initiating a review of Harvard University similar to that at Columbia, potentially threatening billions of dollars in federal grants. "I hope [other universities] will look at it and see a kind of roadmap for their own institutions, and that they will pursue reforms on their own, whether that be led by the university presidents, the faculty senates, and ultimately, as well, members of the Boards of Trustees," said Steve McGuire, the Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. "I think it’s critical that trustees are especially engaged at this moment and paying attention to what’s going on and asking about where do their institutions stand relative to the kinds of concerns that the administration has expressed about Columbia," McGuire added. But advocates are appalled at what Columbia is giving up without any guarantee of getting the money back, including banning masks, updating its official definition of antisemitism and appointing a new senior vice provost to oversee the departments of Middle East, South Asian and African studies. A lawsuit has been filed against the Trump administration by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors over the funding pause and demands its made of Columbia. The suit alleges the federal government is using "coercive tactics" and is in violation of statutory requirements.

ABC News [4/1/2025 6:09 PM, Armando Garcia and Aaron Katersky, 34586K] reports a federal judge in New Jersey has retained the case of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, rejecting the government’s request to move the case to Louisiana, where the Palestinian activist is being held following his arrest last month. "The Petitioner was in New Jersey on March 9 at 4:40am. And Congress has required that the Petition must be taken as having been filed in New Jersey at that same moment. That vested this Court with jurisdiction. The Court’s jurisdiction is not defeated by the Petitioner having been moved to Louisiana," Judge Michael Fabiarz wrote in a 67-page opinion on Tuesday. The opinion, unless appealed by the government, would clear the way for Fabiarz to decide the more substantive issues of Khalil’s continued confinement. Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia last spring, was detained on March 8 at his student apartment building in New York. He was taken to 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan, then to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before ending up in a Louisiana detention center, his attorneys said. After his lawyers filed a petition for Khalil’s immediate release, a federal judge in New York last month moved the case to New Jersey. Lawyers for Khalil urged a federal judge to keep his habeas case in New Jersey to prevent the government from a "Kafka-esque" moving of Khalil from one detention facility to another. "We are grateful the court wisely understood that the government cannot try to manipulate the jurisdiction of the United States courts in a transparent attempt to shield their unconstitutional -- and frankly chilling -- behavior," Baher Azmy, an attorney for Khalil, said in a statement on Tuesday. "We look forward to the next phase of this case, which is to get Mahmoud out of detention and into the arms of his family, and then to prove the Trump administration’s attempted deportation of Mahmoud and others is nothing but unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech.” NBC News [4/1/2025 7:59 PM, Tim Stelloh and Chloe Atkins, 44742K] reports that Fabiarz said he has jurisdiction over the matter because Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident and prominent pro-Palestinian activist who is facing a deportation order due to his activism at Columbia University, was in New Jersey when the petition was filed on his behalf in New York. The petition claims that Khalil’s detention violates his due process and First Amendment rights. "The Petitioner was in custody in New Jersey as of March 9 at 4:40am," Fabiarz’s order states. "And under a federal statute, the Petition, though filed in New York, must be treated as having been filed in New Jersey on March 9 at 4:40am. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction.” Khalil’s attorneys celebrated the decision, saying in a statement Tuesday that it "sends a strong message to other courts around the country facing government attempts to shop for favorable jurisdictions by moving people detained on unconstitutional immigration charges around and making it difficult or impossible for their lawyers to know where to seek their immediate release.”

Reported similarly:
The Hill [4/1/2025 5:42 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 12829K]
Reuters [4/1/2025 5:58 PM, Luc Cohen, 41523K]
ABC News [4/1/2025 6:09 PM, Armando Garcia and Aaron Katersky]
Axios [4/1/2025 7:35 PM, Sareen Habeshian, 13163K]
CBS News [4/1/2025 6:05 PM, Staff, 51661K]
CNN [4/1/2025 5:56 PM, Gloria Pazmino and Amanda Musa, 22131K]
USA Today [4/1/2025 10:00 PM, Hannan Adely, 75858K]

FOX News [4/1/2025 4:10 PM, Haley Chi-Sing, Jake Gibson, 46189K] reports an accused MS-13 leader will remain in federal custody after a judge found probable cause to support the government’s case against him. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter of the Eastern District of Virginia made the ruling Tuesday during a detention hearing for Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, a 24-year-old Salvadoran national arrested last week in suburban Virginia. The FBI announced Santos’s arrest on March 27 in Woodbridge, just south of Washington, D.C. He has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. The government did not announce any new charges against Santos on Tuesday, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel calling him the top MS-13 leader on the East Coast upon his arrest. Government lawyer Alexander Blanchard called ICE agent Jason Klepec to the stand to testify about Santos’ arrest, and establish probable cause that Santos committed the offenses he had been charged with. It is unclear when Santos will appear in court again. However, Porter said the matter will go before a grand jury in the following days.

Reuters [4/1/2025 6:26 PM, Karen Sloan, 41523K] reports a U.S. House of Representatives committee is investigating a Northwestern University’s legal clinic over its decision to represent protesters it alleges engaged in "illegal, antisemitic conduct," in what appears to be the first U.S. school to be subjected to a Congressional inquiry over legal representation. The Committee on Education and the Workforce on Thursday sent a letter, to Northwestern University requesting clinic budgets, policies and other information — citing its Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic’s representation of the organizers of a pro-Palestine protest that blocked traffic to Chicago’s O’Hare airport in April 2024 and resulted in 40 arrests. The letter is posted on the committee’s website. The House committee has requested information on all of Northwestern law’s clinics but is seeking more detailed payment and personnel data for the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic. That clinic’s director, Sheila Bedi, declined to comment on the investigation on Tuesday. Legal clinics, which are housed and funded by law schools, give law students the opportunity to work on actual cases under the supervision of an experienced attorney. “The fact that Northwestern, a university supported by billions in federal funds, would dedicate its resources to support this illegal, antisemitic conduct raises serious questions,” reads the letter from committee chair Tim Walberg, a Republican representing Michigan’s 5th district.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:06 PM, Robin Opsahl, 52868K] reports immigrant rights and religious advocates at a Senate subcommittee meeting Tuesday said legislation establishing a new crime for the act of human smuggling could penalize people working with undocumented communities. The measure, House File 572, would establish human smuggling as a criminal offense, including acts of transporting a person in violation of federal immigration laws with the intent to conceal them from law enforcement, encouraging or coercing a person to enter or stay in the U.S. against the law by concealing or harboring them, and directing multiple individuals to be on agricultural lands without the landowner’s consent. The crime would be charged as a Class C felony. A higher charge of a Class B felony would be brought in some cases, such as when the crime is committed for monetary gain, if the victim is put in danger of serious bodily injury or death, or if the case involves minors. A Class A felony charge would apply for situations where the victim is sexually abused and in cases where the crime results in the victim suffering serious bodily injury or death. While advocates said no one is in support of smuggling, they said the bill could lead to people who work with immigrant communities being charged with "smuggling" crimes — and that Latino Iowans engaged in this work could be targeted by law enforcement. Elizabeth Balcarcel, a member of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, an immigrant rights organization, said that there are already federal laws in place to address human trafficking, and that creating this new offense would not help victims in Iowa. "These new state-level criminal offenses would just lead to increased targeting of immigrants and their allies in our state, increased fear in immigrant communities, and additional cost to the taxpayers," Balcarcel said. "If we want to protect victims of human trafficking, we should direct those resources to centers that provide direct services to victims and to fix the immigration system.”

Dallas Morning News [4/1/2025 6:40 PM, Staff, 2778K] reports sheriffs in some of the largest Texas counties will be required to enlist some of their deputies as federal immigration agents under a bill passed by the Senate Tuesday afternoon. Senate Bill 8, filed by Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, was approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on a party-line 20–11 vote. The measure will now head to the Texas House before it can reach Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick deemed SB 8 one of his 40 legislative priorities in this year’s legislative session – and the bill is one of at least 60 bills filed by Republicans that touch on immigration enforcement or citizenship identification. Under the bill, sheriffs in counties with at least 100,000 residents will be required to sign cooperation agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency known as ICE that arrests and removes undocumented migrants. The agreements, known as 287(g) contracts, allow local law enforcement officers to inquire about an individual’s immigration status — authority typically reserved for federal agents. "Instead of releasing illegal immigrants, many of whom are dangerous criminals and military-aged men, back onto our streets, our counties should enter 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement," Patrick said in a statement after the bill passed. The bill is meant to help identify undocumented migrants who are accused of having committed crimes and who may be eligible to be detained by ICE and placed in removal proceedings. Schwertner said that voters across the state want stricter immigration enforcement and border security and affirmed that position during November’s general election when President Donald Trump was elected to a second term.

Reported similarly:
Texas Tribune [4/1/2025 6:14 PM, Uriel J. García, 52868K]

Dallas Morning News [4/1/2025 1:14 PM, Aaron Torres, 2778K] reports that a North Texas Lawmaker asked Gov. Greg Abbott to look into sending undocumented migrants incarcerated in the state to a massive prison in El Salvador, similar to the Trump administration’s decision to send hundreds of people they suspect of being gang members to the mega prison. Freshman Rep. David Lowe, R-North Richland Hills, wrote in a Monday letter that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials identified 5,780 people in Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities as being in the country illegally. Keeping those people jailed in Texas is a burden on the state’s correctional system and costs taxpayers money, Lowe wrote in the letter, which he posted on social media. "This overwhelming imbalance compels us to explore innovative and cost-saving alternatives," Lowe said. One solution is following President Donald Trump’s lead. His administration sent 261 people officials suspected were Venezuelan gang members to the megaprison last month. Texas could save money by mirroring that effort by sending its undocumented inmates to serve out the remainder of their sentences in El Salvador, Lowe wrote. Contracting with that government would alleviate the strain on the state’s prison system, Lowe added. Spokespeople for Abbott did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.

Axios [4/1/2025 8:20 AM, Esteban L. Hernandez, 13163K] reports local universities are on high alert as President Trump’s immigration crackdown expands its enforcement to target pro-Palestinian student activists. The Trump administration has cast pro-Palestinian protesters as Hamas supporters and used anti-terror and immigration laws to quiet campus demonstrations, Axios’ Russell Contreras writes. Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk’s recent arrest alarmed civil libertarians after she was apprehended by masked federal agents. The Trump administration appears to be zeroing in on foreign students who express pro-Palestinian views, contending their arrests are meant to combat antisemitism on college campuses. These efforts are running concurrent with a spike in deportations carried out by an administration sending suspected gang members to a Central American megaprison. There are no reports of college students at Colorado universities who have been arrested or detained by federal law enforcement since the start of Trump’s second term. Recent arrests are prompting some students to avoid public demonstrations or overtly political speech. At the Auraria Campus, 23-year-old Khalid Hamu, a senior at the University of Colorado Denver, told us last month his Palestinian classmates said they’ve avoided protests because of their immigration status. Hamu led a protest on campus in mid-March demanding immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra’s release from ICE detention. He also participated in last year’s pro-Palestinian Tivoli Quad occupation. "We’re here to say that you will not be able to cut up the student body and attack us one by one," Hamu said last week. Multiple local universities contacted by Axios Denver say they will continue backing their students’ right to free speech. A spokesperson for the University of Colorado Denver said the school is encouraging students with immigration-related questions to reach out to the International Student and Scholar Services team. Metropolitan State University is advising students who have safety concerns to consult with MSU Denver’s Immigrant Services Program for specific guidance, a spokesperson tells us.

Washington Examiner [4/1/2025 4:31 PM, Jack Birle, 2296K] reports the House Judiciary Committee is seeking answers on Washington state’s "sanctuary" status for illegal immigrants and how the state interacts with federal immigration officials. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), along with Reps. Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) sent a letter to Washington Attorney General Nick Brown demanding answers on the state’s immigration policies. The trio of lawmakers said the state "actively thwarts federal immigration enforcement" and "targets local law enforcement officials for complying with federal law." The three GOP congressmen requested Brown give them all documents and communications of state and local law enforcement agencies’ interactions with federal immigration officers from 2023 to the present, along with any materials related to investigations into local law enforcement for cooperating with federal immigration officials during that time. The letter also demands the "number of ICE detainers that Washington state and local law enforcement officials declined to honor" since 2023 and the amount of funds being used in a lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff’s Department for cooperating with federal law enforcement officials. The three lawmakers gave Brown a deadline of April 14 at 5 p.m. to provide responses to the questions.

AP [4/2/2025 12:28 AM, Janie Har, 34586K] reports a federal judge in California on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal aid to tens of thousands of migrant children who are in the United States without a parent or guardian. The Republican administration on March 21 terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provides legal services for unaccompanied migrant children under 18 through a network of legal aid groups that subcontract with the center. Eleven subcontractor groups sued, saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys; Acacia is not a plaintiff. Those groups argued that the government has an obligation under a 2008 anti-trafficking law to provide vulnerable children with legal counsel. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco granted a temporary restraining order late Tuesday. She wrote that advocates raised legitimate questions about whether the administration violated the 2008 law, warranting a return to the status quo while the case continues. The order will take effect Wednesday and runs through April 16. “The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” she wrote. It is the third legal setback in less than a week for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, though all may prove temporary as the lawsuits advance. On Friday, a federal judge in Boston said people with final deportation orders must have a “ meaningful opportunity “ to argue against being sent to a country other than their own. On Monday, another federal judge in San Francisco put on hold plans to end protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, including 350,000 whose legal status was scheduled to expire April 7. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which created special protections for migrant children who cannot navigate a complex immigration system on their own. Plaintiffs said some of their clients are too young to speak and others are too traumatized and do not know English.

Telemundo [4/1/2025 8:16 PM, Hilda Gutierrez, 34K] reports every day, children sit with their legs hanging on chairs in front of immigration judges, reading the front lines of the lawsuit filed last week by several immigration legal aid groups across the country, including two from the Bay Area. This comes after last month, the Trump administration canceled the contracts of these groups that funded the representation of about 26,000 immigrant children, some children of months of age, who were separated from their families near the border, victims of trafficking or who fled their home countries. At the centre of the legal struggle is the "Law on the Reauthorization of the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Persons." Legal aid groups argue that the law requires the Office of Refugee Resettlement to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that all unaccompanied foreign children have advice to represent them in legal proceedings or matters and protect them from abuse, exploitation and trafficking in persons. Our main concern is that children do not represent themselves in any court. U.S. laws, especially immigration, are extremely complex, said Laura Nally, director of the Central American Children’s Program. In their response, government lawyers argued that they will continue to provide some legal advice, but do not agree that the law requires them to fund the representation of lawyers directly.

FOX News [4/1/2025 6:41 PM, Louis Casiano, 46189K] reports Lee Zeldin, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on Tuesday said she plans to visit the California-Mexico border to address issues pertaining to the "disgusting Mexican sewage" flowing into the United States. Zeldin will assess the toxic waste and sewage runoff from the Tijuana River, which has resulted in beach closures in San Diego County. ‘I’ll be visiting the California-Mexico border in the coming weeks where disgusting Mexican sewage is harming our precious environment in the United States," Zeldin wrote on X. "Permanent solutions must be urgently implemented by Mexico to end decades of their filthy sewage flowing into the U.S. Fox News Digital has reached out to the EPA. The issue of untreated sewage flowing from Tijuana, Mexico, into San Diego’s beaches was exacerbated earlier this year, when, in January, the Hollister Wastewater Pump Station, which transfers sewage from Tijuana to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, malfunctioned and spilled approximately 30,000 gallons of sewage into the river. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has raised the issue in the past, said he looks forward to Zeldin’s visit. In an X post last month, Desmond called it "one of the biggest environmental and public health crises.” "This isn’t just a nuisance — it’s a danger. Our Navy SEALs train just north of this toxic mess," Desmond wrote. "Local families are exposed to contaminated water. Tourism suffers. And, yet, the State of California continues to look the other way. Many politicians have made promises — but delivered nothing. That ends now.”

FOX News [4/1/2025 1:33 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 46189K] reports that the Trump administration announced a barrage of sanctions against the behemoth Sinaloa cartel, as the White House grapples with controlling the deadly threat posed by Mexican drug cartels. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday designated six individuals and seven entities involved in a money-laundering network supporting the Sinaloa cartel, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said last year that the U.S. is facing the "most dangerous and deadly drug crisis" in its history with fentanyl and methamphetamine flowing across the border — and that the "Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of this crisis." The sweeping move by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent came as the Trump administration continues to crack down on Mexican drug cartels. "Laundered drug money is the lifeblood of the Sinaloa cartel’s narco-terrorist enterprise, only made possible through trusted financial facilitators like those we have designated today," Bessent said. The rollout of the sanctions against Sinaloa cartel members comes just weeks after President Donald Trump designated the Sinaloa cartel and seven other criminal groups across Latin America as FTOs. FBI Director Kash Patel also announced in March that the federal law enforcement agency had extradited a leader of the violent criminal gang MS-13 from Mexico. The administration has also invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the removal of suspected Tren de Aragua members. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [4/1/2025 2:48 PM, María Verza, 12335K] reports that six years ago Mexico’s president disbanded the country’s Federal Police and handed security responsibilities fully to the military. Now, his successor has quietly begun to build an elite civilian investigative and special operations force to fight the drug cartels. President Claudia Sheinbaum had already shown a willingness early in her presidency to move away from former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s oft-criticized "hugs, not bullets" strategy. It focused on addressing the social roots of crime rather than directly confronting Mexico’s powerful cartels. Sheinbaum’s security chief, Omar García Harfuch, is drawing on his law enforcement contacts — mostly from the former ranks of the Federal Police — to claw back security capabilities from the armed forces with a civilian force under his direct command. The government has yet to formally announce the new National Operations Unit, known by its Spanish initials UNO, but its existence is an open secret among former members of the Federal Police, where García Harfuch started his career. Three Mexican officials, all of whom requested anonymity to speak about the still unannounced force, confirmed its existence to The Associated Press. Security analyst David Saucedo, who has spoken with people who have joined the force, said he believes García Harfuch’s main objective is to have an armed force that allows him to meet demands from Washington.

CBS News [4/1/2025 11:03 AM, Staff, 51661K] reports that the renewed investigation of a ranch in western Mexico, where authorities say the Jalisco New Generation Cartel trained recruits, has revealed some details about how one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels operates. Human remains and clothing were recently discovered at the ranch. The cartel, which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says has some 19,000 in its ranks, developed rapidly into an extremely violent and capable force after it split from the Sinaloa cartel following the 2010 killing of Sinaloa cartel capo Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal by the military. The Jalisco cartel is led by Nemesio Rubén "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, for whom the U.S. government has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture. Oseguera drew renewed attention this week after his image was projected as a band played at a music festival in Jalisco over the weekend. Just weeks ago, his wife, Rosalinda Gonzalez, was released from prison in Mexico after receiving a five-year sentence following her arrest in 2021 for the illicit financial operation of an organized criminal group. Her release came on the same day that 29 drug traffickers being held in Mexican prisons were sent to the United States. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 10:32 AM, Antonio Maria Delgado, 3973K] reports that Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro has announced that his regime will send a plane to Mexico on Thursday to retrieve 300 Venezuelan migrants, most of them women and children, who he claims fled the United States fearing persecution. Maduro’s move comes in response to the Trump administration’s intensified deportation policies, which have seen Venezuelan migrants deported to a mega prison in El Salvador under accusations of criminal ties. Washington claims many of the deportees are connected to the infamous Tren de Aragua gang, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. "Next Thursday, a plane will be sent to Mexico to rescue migrants who escaped persecution and crossed the border into Mexico," Maduro declared on national television Wednesday. "We are going to rescue about 300 migrants, most of them women and children." Maduro’s critics, however, see the move as a political maneuver, pointing out the Venezuelan government’s own notorious human rights violations. Still, the move may resonate with many Venezuelans who feel abandoned by the U.S. and the international community.

Yahoo! News [4/2/2025 3:39 AM, Staff, 52868K] reports El Salvador’s pugilistic president has become a key partner for US President Donald Trump’s in-your-face campaign to deport migrants, with both men hoping to reap the political benefits. Through a rollout of slickly produced videos featuring chained and tattooed men roughly escorted off planes, Nayib Bukele has won the US president’s attention and admiration. "Thank you President Bukele, of El Salvador, for taking the criminals that were so stupidly allowed, by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, to enter our country, and giving them such a wonderful place to live!" Trump posted on Monday on his TruthSocial platform. His comments were accompanied by the latest video posted by Bukele featuring heavily staged, militaristic and confrontational clips of migrants arriving in the Central American nation. Trump’s appreciation was quickly reciprocated: "Grateful for your words, President Trump. Onward together!" Bukele posted. To cement the relationship, the pair will meet at the White House this month, with Bukele promising to bring "several cans of Diet Coke" for his famously soda-thirsty host. But behind the hardman camaraderie lies raw politics. For Bukele, accepting hundreds of deportees from the United States "consolidates his image as the leader who transformed security in El Salvador" said Migration Policy Institute analyst Diego Chaves-Gonzalez.

AZ Central [4/1/2025 12:44 PM, Elvia Diaz, 4457K] reports that what’s worse than admitting a potentially deadly deportation mistake? Laughing it off. You already know that Trump and his folks never own up mistakes. That ought to tell you the magnitude of admitting in court that the administration erroneously sent a man to El Salvador prison hell. "This removal was an error," an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official wrote in a statement to a federal judge about deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia under the Alien Enemies Act invoked by Trump. Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland under protective immigration status, was on one of three flights to El Salvador in mid-March, using rarely invoked war powers. Federal Judge James Boasberg stopped further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act pending review, which unleashed Trump’s fury. The president called for the impeachment of judges that rule against him, prompting a rare rebuke from U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. But back to Trump’s human trafficking. Yes, let’s call it that because it is. Nobody denies that the president has the power to deport those living in the U.S. illegally. Does he need war powers to do it, though? Certainly not. And, even worse, should Trump and his folks make up things or ignore court orders to put them behind bars here or send them to notorious prisons abroad and get away with it?

The Hill [4/1/2025 7:00 AM, Staff, 12829K] reports that, in a world increasingly shaped by miscalculation and momentary advantage, the leak of a private Signal chat among senior U.S. officials detailing an upcoming airstrike in the Middle East was more than a security lapse. It was a strategic blunder, yes, but more concerning still, it was an unfiltered glimpse into how American power now communicates, coordinates and sometimes confuses itself. Much has been said about the optics: that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared too many operational details; that Jeffrey Goldberg, a left-leaning journalist, was mistakenly included; that the Trump administration’s response wavered between bluster and dismissal. But few have stopped to consider what our allies and adversaries learned from watching the fallout unfold. And fewer still have explored how this kind of breach doesn’t just undermine an operation — it reshapes the intelligence calculus of capitals around the world. From Tel Aviv to Tehran, from Kyiv to the Kremlin, national security teams now analyze that Signal thread and its aftermath for something more valuable than launch windows: personality profiles, fault lines, leadership gaps, crisis management and real-time insight into how power is exercised inside the Trump administration. We have shared too much. There is an intelligence term for this: personality mapping. And our adversaries just got an upgrade for free. The problem began with enthusiasm, not betrayal. Secretary Hegseth’s tone in the chat conveyed a youthful exuberance, a "watch-this" energy that belongs in a war movie, not a war room. His mistake wasn’t malice; it was misalignment. His job is strategic, not operational. The right move would have been a general alert and a reference to the classified network. Instead, specifics flowed — timelines, objectives, strike packages — all shared on a platform better suited for activists and journalists than architects of war. But this isn’t about a single slip. It’s about a culture that hasn’t fully adapted to the modern rhythm of power. In an administration fueled by urgency, with senior officials juggling crises, media obligations and direct lines to the president, secure communication can fall victim to convenience. That’s not a tech failure. It’s a leadership failure.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 6:00 AM, Dan Perry, 52220K] reports the Trump administration threatens to upend the world’s most successful alliance—that was the clear message coming out of the leaked "Signalgate" chat. If Americans still want their country to lead the free world, as opposed to being just another big bully on the world stage, they will have to get a clear message across to the Republicans. At the center of this tempest is the Trumpian disdain toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and especially the European nations that are America’s main partners in that great endeavor. If examined objectively, without pettiness, NATO is a strategic bargain for the U.S. and a bulwark for the free world. It’s good for America and anyone who values democratic order over autocratic aggression. It’s bad for humanity that America, or at least its leadership, no longer does. But Trumpworld somehow believes that America is getting a raw deal. The disdain of top officials like Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for America’s closest allies came through loud and clear in the Signal exchange published in The Atlantic, whose editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was an unintended invitee. Vance actually argued against punishing the Houthis, who have impeded about a quarter of global maritime trade at devastating cost to Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues, because the Europeans use that route more than the U.S. "I just hate bailing Europe out again," Vance wrote. Hegseth argued for the attacks, but added: "I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.” There are many things wrong here, of course. The chat was unsecured—which is far worse than Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Inviting Goldberg to the chat was an act of boneheadedness that boggles the mind. The entire discussion seemed amateurish and infantile. Perhaps more damning still were the absurd lies that followed—with Hegseth denying war plans were discussed and dismissing the editor of a respected publication as a "discredited" hack. You’d think a former media personality like Hegseth would know that a lie is one thing—but a lie that could (and would) be easily exposed is especially, well, pathetic. Luckily, these incompetents mistakenly let in a responsible senior journalist and American intellectual—not, say, a spokesman of the Houthis. Mistakes will happen. What is a little more difficult to forgive is the chat participants’ outrageous disdain toward America’s European partners in championing freedom. So the way I see it, someone should stand up for truth.

CBS Austin [4/1/2025 10:07 AM, Ryan Minnaugh, 602K] reports that there have been 113,000 arrests and 100,000 deportations since President Trump took office. A source inside the Department of Homeland Security said, "He’s doing what he was voted in to do. Point blank!" It wasn’t clear how many were convicted criminals, and their national origins, but sources believe the majority are being removed to Mexico, according to an exclusive report from The Post. Cracking down on illegal immigration was a major campaign promise from the president. He wasted no time on declaring an emergency at the border on day one, sending thousands of additional troops, shutting down the asylum system to illegal crossers and launched a mass deportation effort across the country. Trump also took aim at transnational criminal organizations, invoking the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gang members to a notorious El Salvadoran mega prison without a trial. On Sunday, seventeen alleged MS-13 gang members were sent to El Salvador, despite the usage of that rarely used wartime act being blocked by a federal judge earlier this month.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 5:47 PM, Dan Gooding, 52220K] reports the Trump administration told Newsweek Tuesday that over 100,000 illegal immigrants had been deported from the United States since January 20. While official data sets have not been updated since mid-January, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) update suggested a significant uptick in removals in recent weeks. On March 19, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Newsweek that 28,319 individuals had been deported between Inauguration Day and March 11. A spokesperson for the DHS told Newsweek that over 113,000 illegal immigrants had been detained by ICE and other federal agencies since January 20, while "north of" 100,000 deportations had taken place. The latest number would mean over 70,000 removals would need to have occurred since ICE’s update to Newsweek on March 19. With some removals temporarily restricted and resources stretched it is unclear how such a number would have been achieved.

AP [4/1/2025 5:48 PM, Peter Smith, 48304K] reports as many as four in five immigrants at risk of deportation from the United States are Christian, according to a new report that calls on their fellow believers to consider the impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies. The report says about 10 million Christians are vulnerable to deportation and 7 million U.S. citizens who are Christian live in households where someone is at risk of deportation. The report’s methodology included calculating the percentages of Catholics, evangelicals and other Christian groups in the countries from which immigrants originated, based on self-reported affiliations. The report then applied those percentages to immigrant populations within various categories of immigrants.

New York Times [4/1/2025 8:13 PM, Luke Broadwater, 145325K] reports influential figures on the right have largely cheered on the opening months of the Trump presidency. But as the administration has rushed to carry out deportations as quickly as possible, making mistakes and raising concerns about due process along the way, the unified front in favor of President Trump’s immigration purge is beginning to crack. When the administration deported a professional makeup artist and accused him of being part of a criminal gang, the enormously popular podcaster Joe Rogan balked. “You’ve got to get scared that people who are not criminals are getting lassoed up and deported and sent to El Salvador prisons,” Mr. Rogan, who endorsed Mr. Trump, said on his show “The Joe Rogan Experience.” He added that the case was “horrific.” When the administration arrested a former Columbia University graduate student who had been involved in campus protests, the far-right commentator Ann Coulter questioned the move. “There’s almost no one I don’t want to deport, but unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the First Amendment?” Ms. Coulter wrote on social media. The dissenting voices, which have been limited mostly to commentators rather than elected Republicans, are remarkable because conservatives don’t often openly break with the president. And while the objections have largely been contained to tactics — not the overarching goal of ramping up deportations — the cracks show how seriously some conservatives are taking the administration’s aggressive and at times slapdash methods. The administration has acknowledged it deported a Maryland man with protected legal status to a prison in El Salvador because of an “administrative error,” but said it now lacked the ability to have him released. It also has granted itself the authority to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members on the basis of little more than whether they have tattoos or have worn clothing associated with the criminal organization.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 7:45 AM, Mandy Carr, 52868K] reports that one animal welfare agency is more like a spy agency. A team goes undercover and meets with exotic wildlife smugglers to send information back to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. According to The Washington Post, Andrea Crosta founded the Los Angeles-based Earth League International nonprofit. One of its recent missions was in Suriname, South America. Crosta and Mark Davis, a former FBI and intelligence chief, were sitting at a table in a restaurant in Suriname while their top undercover agent, Alpha, was meeting with a target, "a Chinese currency trader with ties to a wildlife-trafficking network," per the Post. He was inquiring about Jaguars — how much is it for fangs and a large male carcass? The DHS only authorized wildlife trafficking investigations in 2023 through the Homeland Security Investigations unit, the Post detailed. It has limited capabilities for running missions in places like Suriname. That’s where Earth League International comes in. It gathers the intelligence and passes it on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t know if the agency will act on its information. According to the Post, HSI "ranks wildlife trafficking as the fourth-largest source of illicit revenue globally after drugs, human smuggling and counterfeit goods.” It added, "The wildlife trade generates $23 billion a year for transnational criminal organizations."

CBS Austin [4/1/2025 12:56 PM, Jamel Valencia, 602K] reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement and law enforcement officers arrested 370 individuals dubbed "illegal aliens" in Massachusetts during a six-day targeted operation aimed at taking down transnational organized crime and violent gangs, including MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and the 18th Street Gang. ICE officials said the operation, which took place from March 18 to March 23, focused on offenders with criminal backgrounds and resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs, firearms and the arrest of fugitives facing serious charges like murder and money laundering. The operation also resulted in a haul of illicit drugs and firearms. Officials stated that approximately 44 kilograms of methamphetamines, 5 kilograms of fentanyl, and 1.2 kilograms of cocaine. Patricia H. Hyde, acting Field Office Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston, highlighted the success of the operation, emphasizing its positive impact on public safety. "The Commonwealth is a safer place for our residents to live and work because ICE and our federal law enforcement partners arrested hundreds of alien offenders and removed them from the streets of Massachusetts," Hyde said in a statement. "Throughout this enhanced enforcement operation, we targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighborhoods in and around Boston. Our efforts resulted in 370 arrests throughout the commonwealth. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the homeland through the eradication of transnational criminal organizations, dismantling dangerous criminal gangs preying on the American public, locating and arresting criminal alien offenders, and making our communities a safer place to live."

Newsweek [4/1/2025 10:04 AM, Dan Gooding, 3973K] reports that federal immigration agents arrested an immigrant as he was leaving court on the first day of his trial in Massachusetts on Thursday, with a judge now holding one agent in contempt for disrupting due process. Plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up at the court in Boston and took Wilson Martell-Lebron without prior notice, according to The Boston Globe. ICE told Newsweek that Martell-Lebron was, in fact, Juan Carlos Baez, 49, a Dominican national in the U.S. illegally since 2000. He had prior drug trafficking convictions, the agency said. Newsweek reached out to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and Martell-Lebron’s attorney on Monday for comment via email and contact form, respectively. Allowing immigrants due process, whether in their removal proceedings or local court cases, has become a focus of debate in recent weeks as the Trump administration seeks to detain and deport as many illegal immigrants as it can. Massachusetts, in particular, has seen local and federal law enforcement spar over the detention of known migrant criminals. Martell-Lebron was on trial over allegations that he provided false information on a license application. He appeared at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse for the first day of his jury trial on Thursday, and ICE agents showed up as he left the building. ICE reportedly said it wanted to detain Martell-Lebron, as it often places immigration detainers on those it wishes to take custody of. However, this usually happens after proceedings are complete and sentences are served.

AP [4/1/2025 6:35 PM, Michael Casey, 48304K] reports an angry judge in Boston is holding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt after he detained a suspect while the man was on trial. ICE agent Brian Sullivan detained Wilson Martell-Lebron last week as he was leaving court. But a Boston Municipal Court judge issued a ruling Monday against Sullivan, arguing that he had deprived Martell-Lebron of his rights to due process and a fair trial by taking him into custody. Summerville dismissed the charge against Martell-Lebron of making false statements on his driver’s license application -- namely that he wasn’t Martell-Lebron. After that, Summerville filed the contempt charge against Sullivan, which could lead Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden review the case to determine if any charges should be filed. Sullivan described a tense scene, in which ICE agents pounced on Martell-Lebron without identifying themselves, put him into a pickup truck and sped away. The trial Thursday had just begun with opening statements and the first witnesses. Sullivan said Martell-Lebron, who is from the Dominican Republic and living with family in Massachusetts, is now at the Plymouth detention facility for allegedly being an undocumented immigrant, he said.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [4/1/2025 11:37 AM, Stephen Sorace, 46189K]

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 10:16 PM, Litsa Pappas, 52868K] reports a new 30-page filing by the Government Tuesday in Federal Court details the timeline following the arrest of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk last week. The documents show ICE agents took the Tufts Ph.D. student out of state within an hour of her arrest. ICE agents arrested Ozturk one week ago in Somerville. According to this new filing, the Department of State revoked her student visa on March 21, which was allowed by the "Secretary of State’s discretion.” In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo). Ozturk is still being held in a Louisiana jail while her attorneys petition to bring her back to Massachusetts. But in the government’s response Tuesday: "federal immigration laws strip district courts of jurisdiction over the sorts of governmental decisions challenged in the Petition, including revocation of Petitioner’s student visa and ICE’s decision to initiate removal proceedings.” The government says ICE transferred Ozturk out of state because there was no bedspace for her in a detention facility in New England close to an immigration court. Their filing details a timeline of what went down last week following Ozturk’s arrest in Somerville on March 25 at 5:25 p.m. From there, ICE took her to Methuen at 6:22 p.m., and then Lebanon, New Hampshire at around 6:36 p.m. that night. Then by 10:28 p.m., Ozturk was taken to Vermont where she spent the night in an ICE Field Office before flying out of Burlington at 5:31 a.m. By 2:30 p.m. on March 26, Ozturk landed in Louisiana, where she remains in custody. The government says when she tried to petition to stay in Massachusetts, she was already in Vermont that night, so the courts in Massachusetts have no jurisdiction over this case. The government argues she should file any complaints with the courts in Louisiana, where she’s being held. Meanwhile students at Tufts University continue to rally support for the Turkish national. They say she has a right to free speech and worry she’s being deported for an op-ed she co-authored, supporting Palestine. Federal authorities say she engaged in activities supporting the terrorist group, Hamas.

CBS Boston [4/1/2025 7:17 PM, Louisa Moller, 51661K] Video: HERE reports some Massachusetts families are experiencing a reprieve from the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration while others are left in limbo. A federal judge in California is leaving in place deportation protections for people from Venezuela, but the uncertainty is taking a toll. "Venezuela was going through a very bad situation. There was no money. There was no food. There was no work," said Venezuelan immigrant Ana through a translator. Ana fled an unstable Venezuela two years ago to start a new life in the United States with her 19-year-old daughter, who goes to college in Massachusetts. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced the end of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians. This status protects those from countries plagued by war or crisis to work in the U.S. and temporarily avoid deportation. The removal of this special status has caused many immigrants protected under this order to lose their employment, including Ana. "I got extremely stressed and depressed. I didn’t want to leave my house," said Ana of life after losing her job. On Monday, some relief came for Venezuelans like Ana. A California judge ordered the Trump administration to pause its efforts to revoke special status. The judge did not address Haitians who are scheduled to lose their protected status in August. "We are gratified that the Northern District of California court entered the nationwide injunction," said Oren Sellstrom, the litigation director of Lawyers for Civil Rights. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Boston declined to rule on the matter, stating that the ruling from the California judge can stand on its own. Attorneys for local Venezuelan and Haitian advocacy groups say they’re ready if the circumstances change.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:31 PM, Maria Papadopoulos, 52868K] reports an Ecuadoran national accused of raping a child in Massachusetts has been arrested in Brockton, federal immigration authorities said this week. Jose Oswaldo Castro-Castro, 31, is charged with aggravated rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in a statement on Monday. He was indicted on the charges in Plymouth County Superior Court on April 20, 2023. Officers with ICE Boston arrested Castro-Castro in Brockton on Feb. 25, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said in a statement. He remains in federal custody. "Jose Oswaldo Castro-Castro illegally crossed our borders and appallingly victimized a child in Massachusetts," Hyde said. "Castro has done unspeakable damage to our community that we cannot tolerate. Arrests like this only fortify our commitment to our mission of prioritizing the safety of our public by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our New England neighborhoods.”

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 7:53 PM, Sarah Guernelli, 52868K] reports federal authorities are investigating an Irish national who they say may be linked to a multistate fraud operation that duped customers through his masonry and construction company, according to the Warwick Police Department. After a joint investigation between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Warwick Police, investigators arrested 27-year-old John O’Brien last Friday, police said. A database shows O’Brien is currently being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility on an ICE detainer. Warwick Police Chief Bradford Connor said O’Brien owns Traditional Masonry and Construction and that police had received reports that the company would damage the foundation of people’s homes, only to offer expensive services to fix the problem. U.S. Air Force veteran Don Fife told Target 12 that early last week O’Brien first approached him while his company was working on a neighbor’s home. His neighbors told Target 12 they gave O’Brien a $7,000 deposit to work on the front and back of their home. He said O’Brien offered to fix the cracking foundation of his home with no money down, until a few days later when he asked for thousands of dollars. "I wrote a check for $995, and then the next day there was more damage. And now he said … this is a $95,000 project," said Fife. They eventually settled on an $80,000 job, but Fife said he still felt uneasy. Warwick Police and Homeland Security soon descended on the neighborhood to arrest O’Brien. Fife said he watched as some of his employees walked to the back of his yard, took off their sweatshirts, left their tools and jumped his back fence to escape from police. "They went on the tree stump and jumped over the fence and they got away," he said. Fife says he is frustrated that someone would take advantage of senior citizens, who now fear they are out thousands of dollars and left with a mess in their yard. Fife’s front and back yard has a trench dug around his home. "I’m 83 and all the stress is ridiculous," he said. Connor said police are not looking for the workers who fled, but are looking into if anyone else is connected with the fraud-operation.

Telemundo [4/1/2025 7:06 PM, Staff, 2454K] reports three students from northern New York State were detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), according to the school district’s superintendent. On Thursday, ICE agents searched a farm in Sackets Harbor, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Watertown. Officers were searching for a person named Marcell Meyer, who was charged with possession of child pornography. In addition to his arrest, seven other people were taken to a nearby Border Patrol station and identified as "illegal aliens." Jennifer Gaffney, superintendent of the Sackets Harbor Central School District, said three of the people arrested were students from her district. He described the incident as "anxyrene." "They’re kids," Gaffney said. "They are classmates, good friends, wonderful students and they are part of the fabric of our school community." Gaffney told NBC5 that the school district has had no direct contact with the family since Thursday, but has learned that the students were taken to a Texas detention center. The district has tried to work with local authorities to find out for their well-being and advocate for their return to school. "It’s not about politics for us, it’s about kids," Gaffney said. "You have to go back to your classrooms". In a statement, Gaffney said: "In the Central School District of Sackets Harbor, we see ourselves as a family and, at the moment, some of our members are suffering. We suffered because three students were taken out of our school community. The safety and wellbeing of our students will always be our top priority, and we will spare no effort to ensure their return home, to our school and to our community. We want them to return to our classrooms as soon as possible, to meet with their teachers and friends and to have the opportunity to continue their learning."

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:17 PM, Jeremy Skiba, 52868K]

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 5:01 PM, George Stockburger, 52868K] reports a Bhutanese refugee who was living in Dauphin County and subsequently deported earlier this year has been arrested in Nepal, according to County Commissioner Justin Douglas. Ten Bhutanese refugees, including several Dauphin County residents, were deported from the region and flown to Bhutan via New Delhi, India. According to Douglas, 10 refugees who resettled in the U.S. were deported, and Douglas has "reason to believe" that eight additional refugees were deported. Among them were two individuals from Dauphin County, bringing the total to three county residents deported. Douglas says the deported individuals were taken to a town in India and crossed into Nepal to visit family in refugee camps. At least four of the deported individuals, including a man who lived in Dauphin County, were arrested while traveling into Nepal. Fourteen deported refugees are unaccounted for, and at least nine from Pennsylvania’s Bhutanese Nepali community are being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Douglas.

Washington Post [4/1/2025 6:34 PM, Katie Mettler, 31735K] reports with only days left to get their legislative agenda passed by the Maryland General Assembly, immigrants and advocates Tuesday morning staged a stakeout at the statehouse in Annapolis, searching for lawmakers. “Yes we can!” they chanted in Spanish and French, holding signs that declared “Immigrants Make America Great” and “MARYLAND NOT MAGA.” Then, one of their targets — Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery County) — walked by, and together they yelled, “Pass the bill!” The bill in question, the Maryland Values Act, would ban counties in the state from entering into collaborative agreements with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement that make it easier for the agency to arrest and deport people it says are in the country illegally. Those programs, known as 287(g) partnerships, have more than doubled in popularity since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, according to an ICE database. Four of those partnerships were recently signed in Maryland, bringing the state’s total number of participating counties to seven. While the House of Delegates passed the bill last month, the legislation has stalled in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Senate lawmakers heard arguments on the bill for the first time last week. The committee’s chairman, Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery) said he was in favor of ending 287(g) agreements, but he has yet to schedule a vote on the proposal. At the rally Tuesday morning, one woman called directly on Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) to support the Maryland Values Act. A resident of his legislative district in Baltimore City, the woman said she worries that her husband won’t come home one day. He works construction in counties that have 287(g) partnerships with ICE, she said. “History will judge us for how we respond to this moment,” said Glenda, whom The Washington Post is identifying only by her first name. “I hope that I can look back and say that my senator and the leaders of this General Assembly stood on the right side of history.” While CASA has called for the General Assembly “clean” bill that does not include any mandated cooperation with ICE, the House of Delegates took a more moderate approach..

Telemundo Amarillo [4/1/2025 5:32 PM, Staff, 2K] reports the Acting U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee released details of last Sunday’s operation at two Hispanic bars in the Antioch area, just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Officials said it’s part of Operation Take Back America, a national initiative that mobilizes all the resources of the Department of Justice to repel what they call the "illegal immigration invasion," achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from perpetrators of violent crimes. According to the press release, more than five hours after the Miami Bar was surrounded, three men were arrested: Rimon Salim, 37, a naturalized U.S. citizen; Antuan Rhodes, 44, of Nashville, Tennessee; and Jorge Luis, 35, a Mexican citizen without legal residence in the United States. All three are charged with drug-related offenses. Between 2020 and 2024, the Metro Nashville Police Department said it received more than 400 calls regarding complaints from these clubs and nearby businesses. These calls involved fights, weapons, gunshots, people with gunshot wounds, theft, disorderly conduct, and other offenses. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TNB), and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

Wall Street Journal [4/1/2025 9:00 AM, Victoria Albert, 646K] reports Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is being held in an immigration detention facility in Louisiana more than a thousand miles away from where the 30-year-old was arrested in New York in early March. Here’s what to know about the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where he’s being detained while he fights to stay in the U.S. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said the agency sent him to the facility in Jena, La., a small town of about 4,000 people, because of a lack of bedspace in northeast centers and a bedbug infestation at a facility in New Jersey. Immigration detention centers aren’t intended as a punishment for breaking the law. The government hasn’t charged Khalil, a green-card holder, with a crime. Legal observers say the relocation could give the government an advantage if the case is appealed out of the immigration court system. The appellate court for the Fifth Circuit, which includes Louisiana, has legal precedent that is less friendly to immigrants. Detainees are typically housed in large rooms with 50 to 80 people in rows of metal bunk beds, according to lawyers and rights advocates. Currently, only men live at the 1,160-bed facility, which has a field for detainees to play soccer, they said. The residents are woken around 3:30 a.m. for breakfast at 4 a.m., followed by lunch at 10 a.m. and dinner at 4 p.m., advocates say.

NBC News [4/1/2025 6:05 PM, Daniella Silva, 44742K] reports at least three students recently detained by the Trump administration and put in deportation proceedings have been taken to highly remote detention centers in rural Louisiana that human rights groups have called "a black hole." Students Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk and Alireza Doroudi were arrested near their homes, then taken hundreds of miles away to desolate, rural detention centers in a state that, since President Donald Trump’s first administration, has become an increasingly critical part of the country’s immigrant detention apparatus. The federal government has broad authority to transfer immigrants facing deportation to different facilities. But advocates and experts said that there have been major human rights abuses in facilities in this region and that the Trump administration has sent the students to a very conservative jurisdiction that is highly favorable to its immigration policy goals. There are currently more than 7,000 immigrants detained by ICE in Louisiana, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse based at Syracuse University. There are nearly 48,000 people in ICE custody nationwide, the highest number since 2019.

WCIA [4/1/2025 6:26 PM, Danny Connolly, Gabriella Morando] reports ICE arrested two immigrants at the Champaign County Courthouse on Tuesday. Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman confirmed the arrests with WCIA Tuesday afternoon.

The Hill [4/1/2025 3:46 PM, Courtney Spinelli and Eli Ong, 12829K] reports activists, community members and elected officials are calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release a detainee who was preparing to make an organ donation to save his brother’s life. Gregorio was preparing to donate a kidney to his brother, José Alfredo Pacheco, 37, who has end-stage renal disease. Pacheco said his brother is his lifeline to surviving and the only family member he has here to help him. According to Meinecke, Pacheco came to the United States in 2022 and applied for asylum, an application that is still pending. In 2023, he was given the news that his kidney had stopped functioning. He currently receives dialysis treatment three days a week, four hours at a time to stay alive. If he were to leave the country, Pacheco’s application for asylum would be void, his attorney said. Gregorio came to the country in 2023, not long after his brother learned of his diagnosis, attorneys said. He came with the goal of helping his brother and was initially denied entry at the southern border, reportedly failing to prove to immigration authorities he had a reasonable fear of returning to Venezuela. He tried again and was eventually released due to there being no deportation flights at the time. he was allowed to come to the Chicago area under immigration supervision, his attorney said. He has no criminal record, and ICE has been aware of his movements since. Earlier this month, ICE agents reportedly detained Gregorio at the home in Cicero, Ill., where he had been living with Pacheco.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 12:28 PM, Chris Benson, 52868K] reports that a Trump administration official said Monday the Minnesota college student detained recently by ICE had his visa revoked over alleged drunken driving, and not related to pro-Palestinian protests. On Monday, an official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the arrest was "not related to student protests." The individual in question was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Department related to a prior criminal history for a DUI," The Hill and CNN reported. The international graduate student at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management was detained last Thursday in Minneapolis by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in a situation the university’s president called "deeply concerning." On Sunday, the student later identified as Dogukan Gunaydin filed a federal lawsuit contesting the lawfulness of the arrest, according to The New York Times. The University stated it had no prior knowledge of the incident and did not share any information with federal authorities before it occurred. "We learned that, on March 27 at an off-campus residence, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained a graduate student enrolled on our Twin Cities campus," adding that university officials were "actively working" to gather more details. "It is important to note that our campus departments of public safety, including UMPD, do not enforce federal immigration laws, and our officers do not inquire about an individual’s immigration status," the University of Minnesota previously said in a statement.

The Hill [4/1/2025 10:08 AM, Filip Timotija, 12829K] reports that the University of Minnesota international graduate student detained last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had his visa revoked over a drunk driving case, not due to participation in pro-Palestinian protests on campus, according to a senior Trump administration official. "This is not related to student protests," an official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told The Hill on Monday. "The individual in question was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Dept. related to a prior criminal history for a DUI." University officials confirmed that the international student, who was not named, was detained by ICE agents last Thursday. The school called the arrest a "deeply concerning situation." The student, who was enrolled at the Carlson School of Management on the Twin Cities campus located in Minneapolis, was arrested off-campus. "We are actively working to gather more details about this incident," University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham said in a Friday update that was also co-signed by Vice President for Student Affairs Calvin Phillips and Vice President for Equity and Diversity Mercedes Ramírez Fernández. "The University had no prior knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities before it occurred," the trio wrote in the release. ICE arrested another student in Minnesota last week.

AP [4/1/2025 5:17 PM, Steve Karnowski] reports a University of Minnesota graduate business student who’s being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is suing for his immediate release, saying his arrest violated his rights and he’s been given little explanation for why he’s being held. The lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Doğukan Günaydın, 28, a Turkish citizen, says two plainclothes federal officers arrested him on the street outside his St. Paul home while he was on his way to class Thursday. The lawsuit partially comports with a statement issued Monday by the Department of Homeland Security that he was arrested because he had a conviction for drunken driving on his record. The federal agency said he was not detained for any political activity. His petition says Günaydın has attended no protests and has written no politically driven publications. Elected officials in Minnesota — including Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith — have been demanding an explanation from Homeland Security officials. Günaydın was in the U.S. on a student visa until the Department of Homeland Security canceled it Thursday. The petition alleges that action was illegal. It says he was held for several hours after his arrest without being told why, except that his F-1 student visa was "retroactively revoked." But the petition cites online records showing that his student visa wasn’t terminated until roughly seven hours after his arrest, with the only reason listed as "otherwise failing to maintain status," citing laws that say an alien is deportable if they fail to maintain the immigration status under which they were admitted to the U.S. or whose presence in the U.S. "would have potentially adverse foreign policy consequences."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram [4/1/2025 10:56 PM, Cesar Rodriguez, 759K] reports a Mexican citizen has been indicted for transporting child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on April 1. A grand jury charged Raul Velasco-Leon, 39, for transportation and possession of child pornography. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos in the near future. On March 12 , Velasco-Leon arrived at the outbound lane of the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. During an inspection, authorities discovered what appeared to be fraudulent documents and a piece of youth-sized clothing with the words "Girl Power" tucked inside a jean pocket, authorities said. CBP officers noticed that Velasco-Leon also had numerous USB drives, two cellphones and a laptop with him, according to an arrest affidavit. "The charges allege law enforcement also found multiple electronic devices, including 10 USB flash drives. On one of those, were five files containing child sexual abuse material," the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Homeland Security Investigations special agents took over the case. As per the affidavit, special agents discovered photos of a prepubescent female exposing her genitalia in a lewd manner.

NBC 9 Denver [4/1/2025 11:21 PM, Zvi Gutierrez, 270K] reports the last of two detainees who escaped from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Aurora in March during a power outage was arrested Tuesday, Denver’s U.S. Marshals Service announced. Denver’s U.S. Marshals Service said they arrested Vido Romero Gueilond-Jose on a bus at Colfax Avenue and Cherry Street in Denver. ICE, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Englewood Police Department assisted with the arrest. According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service, Gueilond-Jose is a suspected Tren de Aragua associate. They couldn’t share details on how he is associated with the gang. ICE identified him as Geilond Vido-Romero, but the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said his actual name is Vido Romero Gueilond-Jose. Gueilond-Jose has an active federal criminal arrest warrant for the escape along with a criminal warrant from DCSO for failure to appear on charges of resisting arrest and theft, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The other man who escaped with Gueilond-Jose, Joel Gonzalez-Gonzalez was located and arrested in Adams County last month. At a court hearing on Friday, a public defender said Gonzalez-Gonzalez called authorities to turn himself in and agreed to share information on the other escapee in exchange for having his case dismissed. He will remain in ICE custody pending criminal and immigration proceedings.

Telemundo52 [4/1/2025 11:48 PM, Mekahlo Medina, 101K] reports Jonathan Tejeda-Perez’s first court hearing before an immigration judge lasted less than five minutes, but it was another example of the backlog of immigration cases paralyzing the immigration system as President Donald Trump’s new policies add thousands of new cases to the backlog. "There is a backlog of 4 million cases," said Alma Rosa Nieto, a Los Angeles immigration attorney. "These cases can take anywhere from one to two years, and even up to five." Tejada-Perez was arrested by immigration agents in front of his El Monte home on Feb. 24. Agents had him in their sights because of his convictions for drug paraphernalia and mail theft between 2012 and 2017. He had no deportation orders. Yolanda, Tejada-Perez’s undocumented mother, was arrested simultaneously with a collateral arrest. She had a shoplifting charge from 20 years ago. In her case, a judge granted her bail within days of her arrest, in part because she was the primary caregiver for her ailing daughter, who is battling bone cancer. Tejada-Perez had long been the main breadwinner for his family and hoped this would give him an argument for early release. Nieto said detained undocumented immigrants could expect to be behind bars in detention centers for months if they do not have deportation orders. It could be longer because all ICE detention centers are overcrowded. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC 7 San Diego [4/1/2025 7:07 PM, Shelby Bremer] reports a group of activists rallied in El Cajon on Tuesday, both in response to a federal immigration enforcement operation in East San Diego County days before and to push local officials following the passage of a controversial resolution affirming the city’s intent to cooperate with immigration officials. “What has happened is just an attack on our community, and it makes me realize that we still have a far ways to go,” said Mairene Branham, the president of Latinos en Acción. Branham came to El Cajon undocumented at 8 months old and is now a U.S. citizen and small business owner. Latinos en Acción organized Tuesday’s demonstration outside city hall, following the immigration enforcement operation at San Diego Powder and Protective Coatings in unincorporated El Cajon on Thursday. Federal law enforcement from multiple agencies descended on the business, executing a search warrant that stemmed from a 2022 drug trafficking investigation that evolved into a probe of employees who were not authorized to work in the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego said 11 people were arrested on criminal charges and five on immigration violations. “These types of actions cause tremendous trauma to members of our communities,” Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee said. “If El Cajon is not safe, nor is the rest of San Diego County, nor is North County, East County, South Bay, central. No one is safe until El Cajon and all of our Latinx brothers and sisters are safe,” Yusef Miller of Activist San Diego said.

Washington Examiner [4/1/2025 10:37 AM, Luke Gentile, 2296K] reports that border czar Tom Homan said on Tuesday that temporary protected status for migrants is not meant to last forever. "The law says temporary status. Once the conditions in that country there … change then people should be removed from the United States," Homan told Fox News’s Fox & Friends. "TPS isn’t meant to be decades long." Homan’s comments come after U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating deportation protections for over 600,000 Venezuelans. Chen’s preliminary injunction stymies Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s efforts to end TPS for at least 350,000 Venezuelan nationals and the accelerated expiration of TPS for an additional 250,000. "It’s another activist judge making a stupid ruling," Homan said. "It just doesn’t make sense." "You know, I’ve been around since 1984," he continued. "Temporary protected status is never temporary, and President Trump is gonna do his job by rule of law.” Homan used the example of a natural disaster to bolster his point. "If there’s a hurricane, and it devastates a part of the country, we’ll give them TPS until that country gets back on their feet," Homan said. "So, President Trump, who’s promised American people we’re gonna enforce the laws enacted by Congress and signed by the president, we’re gonna use the laws of this country to secure the border and enforce our immigration law." "If you look at that decision, it’s based on opinion, not the rule of law, and that’s what we need to get back to," Homan said. "So, look, we’ll litigate it, and we’ll appeal it, and we’ll win."

New York Times [4/2/2025 2:15 AM, Yan Zhuang, 330K] reports Óscar Arias Sánchez, the Nobel laureate and former Costa Rican president, said on Tuesday that the United States had revoked his visa to enter the country, with no reason given. A vocal critic of President Trump, Mr. Arias appears to be the most high profile in a string of individuals who have had their visas canceled or been denied entry as the Trump administration bars people who it says have “hostile attitudes” toward the United States. Mr. Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for brokering a plan to end the civil wars in Central America, said he had received a short email from the U.S. government informing him that his visa had been revoked. At a news conference in San José, the capital of Costa Rica, he said that the email, which he received Tuesday morning, cited Section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the secretary of state and consular officials to revoke visas at their discretion. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did the Costa Rican government. “I don’t know why they have revoked my visa,” Mr. Arias said at the news conference. “I don’t know if the revoking of my visa is some sort of punishment, because I say what I think.” Mr. Arias has been critical of the Trump administration on social media. In February, he wrote on Facebook that Mr. Trump behaved like “a Roman emperor, telling the rest of the world what to do." “If someone wants to punish me in the hopes of silencing me, that isn’t going to work,” Mr. Arias said on Tuesday. He said that he did not have plans to travel to the United States, and did not provide information about what kind of visa he had and when it was set to expire. Mr. Arias, who was president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010, is one of the country’s senior statesmen and runs a foundation that promotes peace and democracy.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:11 PM, Laerke Christensen, 52868K] reports during an event in Wisconsin on March 30, 2025, tech mogul and government adviser Elon Musk said that the Biden administration had been attempting "to import as many illegals as possible" under the Enumeration Beyond Entry program. EBE is a joint program between U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration. Under the program, USCIS shares information with the SSA to generate Social Security numbers — enumerate — successful applicants for work permits, green cards and citizenship through naturalization. The program started in 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first administration. Though SSNs issued under EBE did rise significantly during the Biden administration, the administration also extended the program to include large groups of applicants. The Department of Government Efficiency’s SSA operative Antonio Gracias alleged on March 30 that people who were granted Social Security numbers under the EBE program were receiving "max" benefits and voting. It was unclear what evidence, if any, Gracias had for these claims. Standing in front of large chart showing the number of SSNs issued under the Enumeration Beyond Entry program in fiscal years 2018 to 2025, Musk told the crowd: People sometimes think that under the Biden administration, that he was simply asleep at the switch. They weren’t asleep at the switch — it was a massive, large-scale program to import as many illegals as possible, ultimately to change the entire voting map of the United States and disenfranchise the American people and make it a permanent deep-blue, one-party state from which there would be no escape. However, Enumeration Beyond Entry, a joint Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services program from which Musk and Gracias took their numbers, issues SSNs only to migrants who have successfully applied for employment authorization, lawful permanent residency or naturalization — also known as the right to work, a green card or citizenship. These groups are, by definition, not "illegal.”

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 11:44 PM, Gustaf Kilander, 52868K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued an order to U.S. diplomats stationed abroad to search through the social media accounts of those applying for student and other kinds of visas to come to the U.S. The effort to stop anyone suspected of criticizing the U.S. or Israel comes as the Trump administration is stepping up its efforts to detain and deport students already in the U.S. who have been found to have taken part in protests against the war in Gaza. Rubio outlined the instructions to diplomats in a lengthy cable sent to diplomatic missions on March 25, according to New York Times. The edict comes just over two months after President Donald Trump signed executive orders to begin a widespread effort to deport some people in the U.S., such as those who may have "hostile attitudes" toward American "citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles.” Trump also put forward an executive order to start cracking down on what he referred to as antisemitism, including deporting students who took part in campus protests against Israel’s war on Gaza. Rubio’s instructions stated that starting immediately, consular officers have to refer some student and exchange visitor visa applications to the "fraud prevention unit" for a "mandatory social media check," two U.S. officials told The Times. The fraud prevention unit in an embassy or consulate screens visa applicants. The instructions outlined the parameters that consular officers should follow when deciding whether to reject an applicant. It pointed to comments Rubio made to CBS News on March 16. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the International Women of Courage Award ceremony in the Ben Franklin Room at the State Department’s Harry S. Truman headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. He has revoked hundreds of visas, mostly those obtained by students (Getty Images). "We don’t want people in our country that are going to be committing crimes and undermining our national security or the public safety," said Rubio. "It’s that simple, especially people that are here as guests. That is what a visa is.” The cable states that someone who is suspected of having terrorist connections or sympathies should have their social media accounts scrutinized. The same goes for anyone who had a student or exchange visa between October 7, 2023, and August 31, 2024, or someone who had a visa terminated since October 7, 2023.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [4/1/2025 3:31 PM, Edward Wong, 145325K]

Univision [4/1/2025 1:31 PM, Patricia Velez Santiago, 5325K] reports that in their growing annoyance with the courts, the White House and Republicans in Congress have targeted a controversial judicial remedy that has halted key aspects of President Donald Trump’s aggressive agenda. Known as a universal injunction, it was used, for example, by the judges who temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. It was also the judicial remedy used by the judge currently attracting Republican ire for preventing further expulsions of undocumented immigrants under the obscure wartime Alien Enemies Act. While there has been a debate surrounding these universal injunctions for years, the spotlight placed on them is even more relevant now because the judiciary is seen as the branch preventing Trump from overstepping his authority. These injunctions, or judicial remedies, have been controversial because, when used, they cover all people who may be affected by a government action, not just those who filed a petition with the court. In a case of enormous magnitude, such as the one related to the birthright citizenship decree, for example, this remedy acts as a "quick remedy" and temporary remedy to prevent the potential violation of people’s rights. This allows judges to examine the matter in depth and issue a decision, explained jurist Ángel Oquendo, professor of Civil Procedure and expert in Constitutional Law at the University of Connecticut, to Univision News.

Washington Examiner [4/1/2025 11:36 AM, Kaelan Deese, 2296K] reports that the Trump administration faces two federal lawsuits from leftwing groups over President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and directing states to reject mail ballots received after Election Day. Filed on Monday in Washington, D.C., one suit comes from nonpartisan advocacy groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, Secure Families Initiative, and the Arizona Students’ Association. The other was brought by top Democratic organizations and party leaders, who argue the directive unlawfully overrides state and congressional authority over election rules. "Under our Constitution, the President does not dictate election rules. States and Congress do," the complaint from the three groups said. It called the order "an attack on the constitutionally mandated checks and balances that keep American elections free and fair." Trump’s order, signed last week, instructs the Election Assistance Commission to require proof of citizenship on the national voter registration form and orders the Defense Department to add similar requirements for military and overseas voters. It also tells the attorney general to challenge states that count ballots arriving after Election Day — a practice allowed in roughly 20 states so long as the ballots are postmarked on time.

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 2:49 PM, Jennifer Rodriguez, 3973K] reports that a Texas woman is suing her former employer after she says she was sexually abused and assaulted with threats of her green card sponsorship being revoked. Chu Yu Kim is the owner of Kim’s Galbi, a Korean cuisine restaurant in San Antonio, according to a lawsuit filed in Bexar County. McClatchy News reached out to Kim’s Galbi for comment but did not immediately hear back. Kim sponsored a green card for one of his employees, who used the green card to maintain legal status in the United States for herself and her two sons, the lawsuit said. However, the woman said Kim used the sponsorship as a way of forcing her into a "sexual relationship," according to the civil complaint filed March 19 in District Court. Kim sexually assaulted the woman on at least five occasions, the last time in August 2023, the lawsuit said. "The sexual assault and sexual abuse by Kim was despicable, and the threat of revoking (the woman’s) green card sponsorship destroyed any consent that Kim and Galbi could possibly claim," the complaint said. The lawsuit said Kim also failed to pay the woman her proper wages and threatened to revoke her green card sponsorship to keep her quiet about it. "Kim is a sexual and psychological predator who targeted (the woman) and took advantage of her vulnerability to victimization," the lawsuit said.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 7:51 PM, Heather Willard, 52868K] reports that, just days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that at least 300 international visas to the U.S. had been canceled, reports are surfacing that at least nine student visas in Colorado were among those revoked. It’s unclear why the visas were revoked. The University of Colorado confirmed that four of its international students who were attending on F-1 visas had their visas revoked. The students were at the Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses. Later, Colorado State University confirmed five of its international students had been “impacted by visa revocations.” “At CU we are focused on supporting the success of all of our students, including international students. Each one of our students are seeking to advance their careers and the lives of their families, and we understand the anxieties that visa revocations cause to impacted students,” CU Boulder said. “We urge any international student with questions or concerns to reach out to their campus’ international student office.” The university said it would not be releasing information about specific students and their circumstances because federal laws protect students’ privacy rights, but could provide the information if it is court-ordered. In December, the university said it would “continue to support” its foreign student enrollment despite concerns regarding President Trump’s immigration policies. On March 29, Colorado State University posted a message about its international student community. “We are aware that some CSU international students have been impacted by visa revocations and SEVIS terminations issued by the U.S. Department of State,” the university said, adding that impacted students should immediately contact their embassy and the CSU Office of International Programs.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 8:10 AM, Jeniffer Solis, 52868K] reports that hundreds of lawful permanent residents in Nevada will lose access to critical services that help immigrants become U.S. citizens after $300,000 in federal funding was pulled from the state last week. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the agency has cut all grants awarded through its Citizenship and Integration Grant Program in response to a March 21 agency-wide directive by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "restrict grant funding to sanctuary cities." "It’s no secret that many organizations funded by USCIS grants over the years actively undermined the rule of law and integrity of our nation’s immigration system by supporting sanctuary cities and open borders," said a spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in an email Monday. The Asian Community Development Council — based in Las Vegas and Reno — was notified on March 27 that the USCIS decided to permanently terminate a $300,000 grant awarded to the nonprofit in November. The funding would have provided citizenship education classes and services to more than 200 individuals during the 24-month grant period. The Asian Community Development Council was one of 43 organizations across 23 states to receive a Citizenship and Integration Grant from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2024, for a total of about $12.6 million in federal funding nationally. However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary characterized the grant program as a "gravy train" that could potentially support unauthorized immigration.

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 5:28 PM, Devoun Cetoute, 3973K] reports a disgraced New York politician once convicted on federal corruption and bribery charges could be facing more prison time as South Florida authorities allege he was found hoarding hundreds of child sexual abuse videos on his phone after being stopped on a layover flight in Miami. Coming from Camaguey, Cuba, Dan Halloran, 54, landed Saturday at Miami International Airport on his way home to New York, according to a federal criminal complaint. After stepping off his American Airlines flight, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer flagged Halloran for "secondary inspection." Agents searched his devices, an iPhone and iPad, where they made a jarring discovery — hundreds of videos of child pornography, authorities said. At least 35 of the videos showed child sexual abuse involving "prepubescent" children. Also on his phone was a text chat revealing Halloran bought some of the child pornography, which came in regular, premium, VIP or special packages that ranged in price from $50 to $500, the complaint read. As of Tuesday afternoon, Halloran was held at Miami’s Federal Detention Center on charges of possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography.

Border Report [4/1/2025 3:22 PM, Luisa Barrios, 117K] reports one-third of a pound of methamphetamine hidden on the body of a 26-year-old man was seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Ysleta international crossing on Sunday, March 30, CBP said in a news release. CBP said the seizure was made just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, when the man, identified as a U.S. citizen, arrived as a pedestrian from Mexico. The primary officer selected the man for a secondary exam following a short interview. A CBP drug-sniffing dog searched the man and provided a positive alert to the scent of narcotics, according to the news release. A CBP officer performed a partial pat-down exam and discovered two packages concealed between the man’s buttocks, according to the news release. CBP said the contents of the packages tested positive for methamphetamine. The total weight was 0.32 pounds. CBP officers arrested the man. He was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations special agents to face charges of importation of a controlled substance, according to the news release.

Reported similarly:
CBS 7 [4/1/2025 3:48 PM, Staff, 4K]

ABC News [4/1/2025 7:12 PM, Meredith Deliso, 34586K] reports a woman and a teenager drowned during an alleged smuggling attempt after the driver of their vehicle drove into a canal while fleeing authorities following major flooding in Texas, authorities said. Now, two men face federal charges in connection with their deaths, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. The DOJ said the incident occurred Friday morning in McAllen, which saw record rain bring severe flooding last week. U.S. Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance spotted a white Ford F-150 that had "previously identified as being involved in alien smuggling," according to the federal complaint. The agents surveilled the vehicle and saw a "body swap of suspected illegal aliens" with a black Ford Explorer, according to the complaint. Agents followed the Ford Explorer and approached the vehicle after it stopped at a low spot in a flooded road, according to the complaint. The driver of the Ford Explorer -- identified by the DOJ as Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national -- then fled and drove through the flooded area, according to the complaint. The agents found the vehicle approximately half a mile away in a nearby canal, according to the complaint. The agents jumped into the canal and were able to rescue Baeza-Combaluzier and four migrants, including an undocumented Guatemalan and her 13-year-old son, according to the complaint.

Amarillo Globe-News [4/1/2025 3:35 PM, Michael Cuviello] reports two Texas Panhandle residents have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy for attempting to smuggle more than $2 million worth of fentanyl into the United States from Mexico, federal authorities announced Monday. Taneka Desha Felder, 27, of Amarillo, and Gustavo Morales Aguilar, 40, of Dumas, admitted that on Dec. 17, 2024, they crossed into Mexico where they allowed drug smugglers to load 10 bundles of fentanyl powder, or about 11.65 kilograms (more than 25 pounds) of the drug, into a hidden compartment under the center console of their car. The pair attempted to re-enter the U.S. at the Lincoln Juarez International Bridge in Laredo, where Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the drugs during a secondary inspection, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Both Felder and Morales Aguilar admitted that they purchased the vehicle just days prior to the trip for the specific purpose of smuggling drugs into the U.S. They also acknowledged that they were expecting to be paid after successfully delivering the fentanyl-laden vehicle to individuals in Dallas. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei stated that the investigation was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), with assistance from Customs and Border Protection.

Telemundo Amarillo [4/1/2025 3:29 PM, Miguel Amante, 2K] reports a former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was sentenced to more than 100 months in prison for contributing to human trafficking and accepting bribes. Emanuel Isac Celedón, 37, of Laredo, was sentenced to 117 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for allowing undocumented migrants and cocaine to cross the border. Celedón pleaded guilty in March 2024 to his involvement in smuggling undocumented migrants into the United States at the Juárez-Lincoln International Bridge in the city. He also admitted to accepting money from the Northeast Cartel in exchange for allowing cocaine and undocumented migrants from Mexico to enter the country through the inspection line he was in charge of. The Miami Herald [4/1/2025 2:03 PM, Kate Linderman, 3973K] reports that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was caught working with a cartel to smuggle drugs and unauthorized people across the U.S. Mexico Border through a Texas port, federal officials said. Emanuel Isac Celedon, 37, was sentenced to 117 months, or 9.7 years in federal prison, prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas said in a March 28 news release. He was also ordered to pay $17,980. He pleaded guilty to four counts of bringing an undocumented alien to the United States for financial gain, bribery and attempted importation of cocaine in two separate cases, federal officials said. Celedon’s scheme was exposed through an undercover operation, federal officials said. The operation made Celedon believe he was allowing several kilograms of cocaine to cross the border into Texas in exchange for $6,000. Celedon had $1,980 on him at the time of his arrest, according to prosecutors. He, in addition to three co-defendants, were indicted in December 2023, according to court documents. Zapata-Vasquez, Romero-Hernandez and Martinez were previously sentenced to 46, 36 and 42 months in prison, respectively, officials said. Over 27,000 pounds of cocaine were seized at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2023 fiscal year, according to Customs and Border Protection data. Just over 6,100 pounds of cocaine was seized in the first two months of 2025, according to the most recent data. Celedon is currently in custody and is awaiting transfer to a federal prison.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram [4/1/2025 10:56 PM, Cesar Rodriguez, 759K] reports U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 11 migrants who attempted to enter the country through a drainpipe, authorities said. Laredo South agents heard voices coming from a tunnel near the Rio Grande. Agents then positioned themselves along the tunnel’s route and eventually apprehended the migrants. "A prime example of the collaborative efforts agents use to protect America’s borders," Border Patrol said in a statement. Border Patrol encourages the community to reports suspicious activity at 1-800-343-1994.

FOX News [4/1/2025 7:00 AM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 46189K] reports the dramatic change in the number of people crossing the border cannot be understated, according to a San Diego border patrol chief. The Los Angeles Times spoke to Jeffrey Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego sector of the border, on Sunday about the substantial decrease in illegal migrant encounters and arrests over the last few months. According to the LA Times, arrests have gone from more than 1,200 per day during their peak last April to only 30 to 40 per day. "To say there has been a dramatic change would be an understatement," Stalnaker said. He pointed to federal actions taken at the border since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, such as additional barbed wire and increased U.S. and Mexican National Guard troops stationed on both sides. "What we see behind us here today is the result of a true whole-of-government effort, from the Marines laying down miles of concertina wire along the border infrastructure, to the soldiers manning our scope trucks and remote video surveillance cameras," Stalnaker added. Outside the military, humanitarian groups also described seeing dramatic shifts at the border. One organization, the American Friends Service Committee, reported going over a month without seeing any illegal migrants, leading them to eventually tear down three canopies of aid supplies. Other groups such as Immigrant Defenders Law Center and Al Otro Lado told the LA Times that they plan to refocus their efforts on providing legal services for detained illegal immigrants over providing humanitarian aid. Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that it was shutting down a migrant processing facility near San Diego after an unprecedented drop in apprehensions. This facility was originally opened in January 2023 with a capacity of about 500 people.

Border Report [4/1/2025 8:09 PM, Salvador Rivera, 117K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Marines deployed to the San Diego region since late January have been installing razor wire along the border barrier as a deterrent to keep migrants from hopping over the wall. This week, they worked in an area known as Friendship Park, which lies on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, this was a popular gathering spot for families and friends from both countries to interact with the border wall between them. Public access has yet to return, and now with the razor wire on the barrier, it’s unlikely it will happen while President Donald Trump is in office, said Dan Watman, who is part of a binational group known as Friends of Friendship Park. "It’s just sending that message of division and separation," Watman said. "We strongly believe this can’t last, it’s based on such a false narrative.” The installation of the razor wire, added Watman, "represents an abandonment of prior commitments made by U.S. federal officials.” He says back in December, acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller pledged, in writing, to resume regular public access to the federal land at Friendship Park — and allow the cross-border Friendship Garden to be replanted. In July 2023, the San Diego-Union Tribune reported that Border Patrol officials had said the agency "remains committed to restoring the Bi-national Garden located within Friendship Park following the completion of construction activities," referring to replacement of border wall along the park. The Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol have said the new walls are needed to replace existing barriers that were falling apart and becoming a danger to the public, migrants and the agents who patrol the area. The Border Patrol had also indicated that it would allow public access to the area once the construction work was done. "We had plans and they were approved, but they put the wire right in the middle of where the garden was supposed to go.”

Univision [4/1/2025 5:42 PM, Staff, 5325K] reports the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) reported that it has seized more than 1,000 replicas of firearms so far in fiscal year 2025, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The aftershocks were from China and arrived by airmail mistakenly declared "Alection Minitoes" toys, in an attempt to deceive CBP officials; they were destined for several locations in the United States. Of the total seizures, CBP has already destroyed 953 replicas of firearms, 111 aftershocks of silencers and 92 silencers abandoned at the air terminal Replicas of firearms, although not always working, can be confused with genuine weapons by the public and law enforcement, so if they hit the streets, could have tragic consequences, the authorities warned. According to CBP, incidents related to these items can cause confusion at crime scenes, make it difficult to clear evidence and ultimately hinder the work of the police where they are involved. Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:52 PM, Chris Benson, 52868K] reports "Replica firearms -- even though not always functional -- can be easily mistaken for genuine weapons by the public and law enforcement. Such misidentification can lead to tragic outcomes," Cheryl M. Davies, LA’s CBP director of field operations, said in a release. Cohen said that, if the counterfeit items did reach the streets, they could have "significant" consequences. Federal officials say nearly 3,000 replica guns or other firearms were seized from fiscal year 2022 to date at all U.S. ports of entry. Border officials added that some 953 replica firearms, 111 replica suppressors and 92 abandoned suppressors have since been destroyed in the process.

Reported similarly:
CBS Los Angeles [4/1/2025 4:06 PM, Julie Sharp, 51661K]

FOX News [4/1/2025 4:15 PM, Stepheny Price, 46189K] reports a large migrant shelter in San Diego is closing its doors as the county continues to see a drastic drop in asylum seekers since President Donald Trump took office. As of Monday, CBS8 News San Diego reported, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mission Valley is returning to its original purpose and no longer serves as a migrant shelter. This latest migrant shelter closure comes after the Jewish Family Service of San Diego announced in February it would close its center and lay off 115 employees due to "changes in federal funding and policy." The shelter had operated in San Diego County as a regional migrant shelter for over six years prior to its closure. The non-governmental organization (NGO) said it has not received new asylum-seeking families or individuals since the CBP One phone app went down Jan. 20. U.S. Border Patrol reports that year-over-year migrant encounters with its agents in February declined by nearly 95%. According to the Los Angeles Times, arrests have gone from more than 1,200 per day during their peak last April to 30 to 40 per day.

San Diego Union Tribune [4/1/2025 7:05 PM, Christian Martinez, 1682K] reports two female migrants, one of whom was pregnant, were rescued last week by Border Patrol agents and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office after they became stranded in the Otay Mountain Wilderness area after crossing illegally into the United States. The two women, both Mexican, were located sometime after midnight Friday in the wilderness area after Mexican authorities reported a rescue call to Border Patrol agents, Border Patrol said in a release. The women had become stranded due to "inclement weather" and reported injuries and a lack of food and water. Border Patrol agents located the women in a remote canyon approximately 6 miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, but dense fog and low clouds did not allow immediate rescue, the agency said. Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue Team agents stayed with the women in an improvised shelter until they were airlifted to safety by a sheriff’s helicopter. The women were taken to a fire station for medical examination and then transported to a Border Patrol station where they were processed for removal from the U.S.

Reported similarly:
CBS 8 San Diego [4/1/2025 8:54 PM, Katy Stegall, 110K]

San Diego Union Tribune [4/1/2025 4:08 PM, Christian Martinez, 1682K] reports one person died and another was injured Monday night after falling from a border barrier in San Diego, Border Patrol officials said. Border Patrol agents found two people "who appeared to have fallen from the border barrier" attempting to enter the United States around 11 p.m., the agency said in a statement. The San Diego Police Department said the two were found near Clearwater Way and Dairy Mart Road, west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was transported to a hospital, Border Patrol said. Both were Vietnamese nationals, officials said. The name of the deceased person was not released. The incident is under investigation by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

Reported similarly:
Telemundo20 [4/1/2025 3:37 PM, Staff, 41K]

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 5:44 PM, Anna Ashcraft, 52868K] reports U.S. Border Patrol agents from San Diego stayed with two stranded and injured Mexican women in the Otay Mountain wilderness and built a makeshift shelter until they could be airlifted to safety, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports. U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a rescue call from Mexican authorities just after midnight on Friday for two Mexican women that had crossed the border into the United States illegally and were in distress with injuries and depleting food and water supplies. One of the women was reportedly pregnant as well. CBP reports Border Patrol agents found the women six miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in a remote canyon in the Otay Mountain wilderness. When agents reached the women, they found both were unable to walk because of ankle injuries. However, because of the cold weather and dense fog that night, the medical evacuation helicopter was unable to fly. Agents from the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue Team (BORSTAR) stayed with the women overnight and built a makeshift shelter to keep them out of the cold until they could be airlifted out of the canyon. The weather that night on the mountain had dropped to near-freezing levels during a cold front, according to CBP. Once weather conditions improved, a San Diego Sheriff’s Department helicopter extracted the women the next morning and took them to a nearby fire station for medical examination.

Washington Post [4/1/2025 7:00 AM, Amanda Coletta, 31735K] reports that, for Sylvie Boudreau, it was only a matter of time. The retired Canadian border agent, watching from this quaint town on the border with Vermont, had grown increasingly alarmed as President Donald Trump upended U.S.-Canada ties. Trump has been threatening to make Canada the “51st state” — a taunt a Cabinet secretary repeated in front of her — and imposing tariffs on its goods over unsubstantiated claims of a northern “invasion” of fentanyl and migrants. With the frontier a flash point, Boudreau wondered what it might mean for the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, where she is president of the board of trustees. For 120 years, it has straddled the Quebec-Vermont border, with tattered black tape marking the line as it cuts across a children’s reading room. Its location was no accident. Its founders wanted the tiny library to be enjoyed by both Canadians and Americans, as a physical embodiment of the friendly coexistence of the two countries. Now, the bilateral relationship is more frayed than the tape on the Haskell’s creaky wooden floor. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada’s traditional relationship with the United States is “over.” So when U.S. authorities met Boudreau last month and said that they had decided unilaterally to restrict the access Canadians have long enjoyed to the building, which has its entrance on the U.S. side, she wasn’t surprised. “I was pissed,” Boudreau said. “Like, is this really, really necessary?” The Department of Homeland Security maintains that it is. It says drug traffickers and smugglers have been exploiting the fact that Canadians could walk across the border on a path adjacent to the library and enter on the U.S. side without having to clear customs. It said there were 147 apprehensions, one vehicle incursion and four vehicle seizures tied to illicit activity surrounding the library in the 2024 fiscal year.

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 6:19 PM, Sara Schilling, 3973K] reports a construction contractor was caught with a loaded gun at a busy New York airport, federal officials said. The man was headed to work at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens on March 26 when Transportation Security Administration officers "detected the firearm among (his) belongings as he was entering" a security checkpoint, TSA said in an April 1 news release. The gun — a 9mm — had 15 bullets, officials said. The man, whose name wasn’t released, was arrested by airport police, officials said. Officers took the gun, along with his airport identification badge that’s required to work at the airport, per the release. The man, from Broad Channel, also faces a possible federal citation, "which could cost thousands of dollars," officials said. "This was a good catch on the part of our TSA officers as it addressed a possible insider threat situation," John Essig, TSA’s federal security director for the airport, said in the news release.

WPXI [4/1/2025 5:07 PM, Sierra Rehm] reports an Ohio man without a concealed carry permit is accused of trying to bring a gun through the Pittsburgh International Airport. The Allegheny County police Department says TSA officers spotted the handgun within a passenger’s backpack at the main security checkpoint around 2 p.m. Monday. Since the passenger, identified as Christopher Wells Jr., 30, didn’t have a valid concealed carry permit, he’s facing a felony charge on top of a possible federal fine for bringing the gun to a checkpoint.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 6:30 AM, Joe Edwards, 52220K] reports a potent spring storm system is prompting flood watches across 11 states, with forecasts calling for potentially "generational" levels of rainfall in parts of the Midwest and South. The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that totals of up to 12 inches are possible in some areas through Sunday, putting millions of residents in the path of flash flooding and swollen rivers. As of Tuesday morning, flood watches were in effect across parts of Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, according to regional NWS bulletins. The warnings stretch from the Ozarks to the lower Ohio Valley, impacting both rural counties and larger metropolitan areas such as Little Rock and Memphis. The watches, many of which span from Wednesday, April 2 through Sunday, April 6, come as a stalled frontal system is expected to trigger multiple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms. In Arkansas, alerts were issued for nearly 60 counties, warning that "significant rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches with locally higher amounts are expected.” Further east, the NWS Memphis office warned of "generational rainfall amounts" across eastern Arkansas, north Mississippi, west Tennessee, and southeast Missouri. "Areas along and north of I-40 will receive upwards of 10 inches of rain," read the bulletin. In southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and southwest Indiana, a flood watch from the NWS Paducah office said that up to a foot of rain was "not out of the question," with the risk of river flooding growing "markedly" as the system develops. NWS Indianapolis said on X, formerly Twitter: "Severe weather and heavy rain are likely on Wed. The most significant threat for severe weather is expected to begin early Wed evening and continue into the overnight. Flash flooding is also likely so please have multiple ways to receive warnings before going to sleep.” NWS Wilmington, Ohio said on X: "A very active weather pattern will ramp up beginning Wednesday and continuing through this weekend. The initial focus is going to be the severe potential late Wed into early Wed night. Heavy rain is also expected into early Thu AM. Multiple rounds of heavy rain likely.” The NWS said multiple rounds of heavy rain are expected to begin Wednesday night and continue through the upcoming weekend. At the time of writing, flood watches were set remain active through to Sunday in most areas. The NWS said details, such as areas facing the greatest impacts and the event’s timings may change. "Thus watch for future updates over the coming days," it added.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:12 AM, Staff, 52868K] reports it’s been just over six months since Hurricane Helene struck Georgia. Anniversaries of disasters can bring up painful memories and feelings of anxiety, fear, and hopelessness for survivors. Survivors may also have nightmares or experience flashbacks or depression. The Federal Emergency Management Agency encourages survivors to use one of the available crisis hotlines to get the support you need. You can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress Hotline at 800-985-5990 24 hours a day to speak with a trained counselor. They are also available online at samhsa.gov. You can also speak to someone at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24 hours a day, by calling or texting 988 or by visiting 988lifeline.org. The Crisis Text Line is available 24 hours a day. You can connect with a counselor by texting HOME to 741741. The service can be accessed by text, chat or on WhatsApp. Visit crisistextline.org for more information. The NAMI HelpLine is a free service providing information, resource referrals, and support to people living with a mental health condition, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers, and anyone else. You can connect with a specialist by calling 800-950-NAMI (6264). You can also text "HelpLine" to 62640. The Georgia Crisis & Access Line is staffed 24 hours a day by counselors who can connect callers with outpatient services, mobile crisis help, detoxification services, stabilization, and more. You can call them at 800-715-5225.

NBC News [4/1/2025 8:20 PM, Mirna Alsharif and Kathryn Prociv, 44742K] reports that a day after parts of the Midwest and the South were bombarded with severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes, another round of storms — and life-threatening flash flooding — has been forecast for the region. At least seven people were killed — four in Michigan, two in Indiana and one in Oklahoma — after a severe winter storm brought heavy rain, strong winds and tornadoes to St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, and Maury County, Tennessee, on Monday. On Tuesday, 11 million people from central Texas to southern Iowa are at risk of receiving very large hail and a couple of strong tornadoes. The risk area includes Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and San Angelo, Texas. The severe weather on Wednesday will include flash flooding, strong tornadoes, and hail 2 inches in diameter, putting 70 million people at risk from central Michigan to northern Texas, including Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Shreveport, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky. This multiday flash flood event is likely to last through Sunday. Around 22 million people are already under flood watches stretching from the Ark-La-Tex (where Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas join together) to central Ohio. According to PowerOutage.us, over 300,000 utility customers were still without power across the Midwest as of Tuesday morning, including almost 198,000 in Michigan, 33,000 in Wisconsin and 21,000 in Indiana. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 1:16 PM, Rosie Manins, 3973K] reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency can’t get out of a lawsuit by the city of Atlanta after approving only $200of the city’s request for $1.2 million in flood repair costs, a federal judge in Atlanta has ruled. The city sued FEMA in May 2024, claiming it didn’t properly respond to or assess the city’s 2009 request for federal disaster relief funds to pay for emergency flood repairs at the Robert M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center near the Chattahoochee River in northwest Atlanta. The city says FEMA denied related appeals for years without ever considering their merits. FEMA asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying in part that Atlanta was too late challenging the agency’s findings. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg denied FEMA’s request, ruling that Atlanta sufficiently alleged it had filed timely appeals with the agency. FEMA has two weeks to formally answer the lawsuit. "Atlanta has adequately pleaded that its appeals were timely under the Stafford Act and the applicable regulation such that FEMA’s refusal to consider their substance improperly denied Atlanta its statutory appeal rights," Grimberg wrote in the order. Representatives of FEMA and the city of Atlanta did not immediately respond Monday to questions about the ruling.

WSB [4/1/2025 5:53 PM, Tom Regan] reports the first full day of storm cleanup efforts is underway after an EF-1 tornado moved through Henry County on Monday. Channel 2′s Tom Regan was in Henry County on Tuesday where leaders say more than 100 trees came down, many of which blocked roads or hit homes. Regan spoke with neighbors living along Brannon Road who said they were panicked as the tornado and came through and left the road blocked. The tornado traveled for over six miles over a period of eight minutes, according to preliminary data.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 7:57 PM, Shajaka Shelton, 52868K] reports Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer deployed the Michigan National Guard (MING) to assist with ice storm recovery efforts in the northern area of the state. Two MING teams have been deployed to help clear roadways and debris. They also responded to a request from an Alpena medical center to man a temporary shelter to support emergency room overflow. Additionally, two additional counties were added to the state of emergency declaration: Alcona and Antrim. The Michigan State Police (MSP) says the declaration of a state of emergency will help with response and recovery efforts in the communities affected by the ice storms that caused thousands of people to lose power and access to basic necessities. A total of 12 counties are now under the declaration: Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, Alpena, Alcona, and Antrim counties. Whitmer also lifted commercial trucking hour and weight restrictions to address the demand for fuel in the storm-impacted area. All state and local seasonal load restrictions have been suspended for commercial vehicles for the delivery of gasoline, distillate, propane, and other necessary equipment. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Chicago Tribune [4/1/2025 11:58 AM, Staff, 5269K] reports that the Porter County Emergency Management Agency has requested the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s assistance in conducting damage assessments of properties throughout Porter County from Sunday’s storm. IDHS teams will be in Porter County on Thursday to survey damage, according to a release. Personnel will be wearing IDHS clothing and also carry government credentials to identify themselves. Collecting assessment data using this process will help IDHS and Porter County determine if thresholds that trigger government assistance have been met. Porter County Emergency Management Director Lance Bella stated, "This is the next step to developing a course of action in the disaster recovery process." Data collected from the 211 Process will be utilized by the Damage Assessment Teams. Agricultural damage should be reported to the Purdue Extension.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 2:15 PM, Jeff Abbott, 52868K] reports that the city of El Paso quietly ended its state of emergency declaration that was put in place at the height of the mass arrival of migrants to the Borderland. The emergency ordinance was last approved on Jan. 7, 2025. It was not included on the February agenda. The decision not to renew the order was made because the city had seen a massive decline in migrants arriving at the border. "We have not had the need to renew it," City Rep. Chris Canales of District 8 said. "There is currently no more emergency ordinance." The decision to end the emergency ordinance came as the two Federal Emergency Management Agency grant and reimbursement programs — the Emergency Food and Shelter Program and the Shelter and Services Program — were ending or faced changes. "Our federal funding expired at the end of December," City Rep. Josh Acevedo of District 2 said. "It got transferred to the Shelter and Services Program." The measure activated the El Paso city-county Office of Emergency Management, allowed them to staff migrant shelters and shift finances to provide humanitarian relief services. It paved the way for the city to "to create and staff a Welcome Center to assist with transportation assistance, providing long-distance charter services and over 39,000 meals."

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 5:13 PM, Barry Owens, 52868K] reports with high winds and dry conditions setting the stage for potentially explosive wildfires, Governor Laura Kelly has declared a verbal state of disaster emergency for parts of Kansas as Red Flag Warnings go into effect through April 2. The move unlocks state resources to support local responders as critical fire weather grips the region. "Kansans should remain vigilant and take extra precautions to eliminate the risk of sparking a fire to keep our firefighters and communities safe," Kelly said in a news release. Her warning comes as the National Weather Service forecasts wind gusts up to 50 mph and dangerously low humidity levels across the northwest and southwest parts of the state — a recipe for fast-moving wildfires. April is traditionally one of the busiest wildfire months in Kansas. Despite early signs of spring growth, much of the vegetation remains dry and flammable, according to Bill Waln, the Kansas Forest Service’s fire management officer. "Strong winds can still drive fires through dormant, dry vegetation. It’s crucial for both responders and the public to stay alert and prepared," he said.

NPR [4/2/2025 5:00 AM, Chris Arnold, 29K] reports Erin McMahon says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) owes her state, Oregon, a lot of money, and it’s starting to cause disruptions. "In total, we’ve got $129 million in federal dollars that are frozen," said McMahon, the director of Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management. She said FEMA owes Oregon that money for disasters and disaster mitigation for events like severe winter storms, flooding, mudslides and wildfires. On top of that, McMahon said money to pay the salaries of local emergency managers across the state comes from FEMA. " We’re not gonna be able to pay them in April unless we get the funding from the federal government," she told NPR. Since January, the Trump administration has held up federal money across many different agencies while it says it’s reviewing the spending. Along with Oregon, Democratic officials from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued, saying the trillions in federal dollars were already allocated by Congress. A federal judge on March 6 ordered that the money start flowing again. But the states are telling the judge that, in particular with the FEMA funding, the administration is not following his order. "The Court’s intervention is necessary," the states wrote in a filing last week, because they "have continued to experience significant obstacles to accessing federal funds.” FEMA did not respond to NPR’s request for an interview or a statement. But in a court filing, the Trump administration said that it is complying with the court’s injunction. It said the funding is not frozen, it’s just being "reviewed" for fraud, waste or abuse, and that FEMA continues to process payments as quickly as possible. Still, officials from states including Oregon, Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona and Illinois say they are still waiting on those FEMA payments. Some individuals have felt the impact of the disruption in funding too. Jason Frey and his wife live in California and own a condo on Maui. Since the wildfires hit the Hawaiian island nearly two years ago, they’ve been able to offer up their unit to an elderly man who lost his home. FEMA pays the rent. But two weeks ago, Frey got an email saying that the FEMA rent money would be delayed because of the Trump administration’s spending pause. "We’ve been really stressed out about it," Frey told NPR. Frey called his bank asking if he could get some kind of pause on making his mortgage payments for the condo. The bank said no. "And so we’re scrambling to figure out, not only that, like, what’s going to happen with the survivor?" Frey said he couldn’t afford to house him for free and worried about having to evict the man living in their condo. "I hate using that word because … this is not his fault.”

USA Today [4/1/2025 4:16 PM, Jeanine Santucci, 75858K] reports that firefighters in central California were working Tuesday to contain a wildfire near the Nevada border threatening a forest home to the oldest trees in the world, after making good progress on Monday, officials said. The Silver Fire broke out Sunday near Bishop, California, in Inyo County and has burned ‎1,589 acres. It was 50% contained as of Tuesday morning. Forward spread of the flames was successfully halted on Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Residents were still under evacuation orders as crews worked for more containment. "The fire still threatens structures, critical infrastructure, watersheds, endangered species, and cultural resources," the Cal Fire San Bernardino Unit said in a post to social media on Tuesday. Less than 15 miles from the fire, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest contains trees that are more than 4,000 years old. The Patriarch Tree is the world’s largest bristlecone pine tree. "The concern comes from the weather. The increased winds that are projected over the next day and today, it leaves concerns because of the fact that flareups can happen. There is still an active threat to the bristlecones," Cal Fire Public Information Officer Chloe Castillo told USA TODAY on Tuesday. The cause of the fire was still under investigation, according to Cal Fire. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Roll Call [4/1/2025 2:18 PM, Justin Papp, 503K] reports a senate staffer was arrested for carrying an unlicensed gun in the Capitol earlier this week, Capitol Police said Tuesday. It was the latest in a string of incidents in which a staffer or member of the public has gotten into the Capitol or an office building with a weapon. "Yesterday afternoon a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building," Capitol Police said in a statement. "Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed.” Kevin A. Batts, 59, of New Jersey, was charged with a felony count of carrying a pistol without a license, according to court records. The documents do not identify Batts’ employing office, but he is listed as a special assistant to Sen. Cory Booker, according to the most recent Senate disbursement records. Booker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The arrest came as the New Jersey Democrat was about to start a marathon floor speech, which was approaching 24 hours as of Tuesday evening, with the purpose of "disrupting the normal business" of the chamber to protest the administration of President Donald Trump. While escorting a senator’s family, Batts approached officers conducting screening outside the Senate chamber on Monday just before 6:30 p.m., according to a police affidavit. He informed the officers he was armed, according to the affidavit. When asked how he got into the Capitol with a weapon, Batts allegedly produced a retired New Jersey police badge and his congressional ID. Batts offered to store the weapon in his car but was arrested by Capitol Police, according to the affidavit. "All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia," police said. Newsweek [4/1/2025 2:17 PM, Hannah Parry, 52220K] reports that firearms are not permitted in the District of Columbia or on U.S. Capitol grounds, according to the Capitol Police, even if that person carries a permit for the area. Only official law enforcement personnel are permitted to carry one if it is necessary for their job duties. Capitol Police told Newsweek that a member of Congress had led "an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building. Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member—who is a retired law enforcement officer—told our officers he was armed." Firearms are among a wide range of items prohibited on Capitol grounds or in buildings, including other weapons, food and drink, aerosols, and some large bags and packages. A spokesperson for Senator Booker’s office confirmed to Notus that they employ a retired Newark police detective as a driver for the senator.

ABC 10 San Diego [4/1/2025 12:47 PM, Perla Shaheen]
reports undocumented immigrants often get smuggled into California by boat, and Coast Guard officers are ready and able to forcibly stop smuggler boats, halting hundreds of undocumented immigrants on their journey into the U.S. But not every incident escalates to that point. I rode along in one of Coast Guard’s search and rescue boats to see what goes into patrolling these waters. “At this point, we’re pretty effective at identifying everything that comes across,” said Peter Nelson, the officer in charge for Coast Guard Station San Diego. Nelson says the federal government has tripled their fleet of boats patrolling the water in the last couple months. “It’s had a pretty positive effect as far as deterrence goes and our ability to detect as well as interdict vessels at sea,” Nelson said.

Florida Voice [4/1/2025 3:57 PM, Eric Daugherty]reports U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced legislation Tuesday to establish a secretary of the Coast Guard, a position that would oversee the branch’s operations and report directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard Improvement Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., aims to provide the U.S. Coast Guard with enhanced strategic oversight to better address evolving national security challenges. “The establishment of a Secretary of the Coast Guard is an important step in ensuring our nation’s maritime security is led with the strength and efficiency it deserves,” Scott said. “It’s critical to have a dedicated leader working closely with President Trump, our military leaders, and the Department of Homeland Security to keep the nation safe.” Capito emphasized the Coast Guard’s broad responsibilities, including those at four facilities in West Virginia. “The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard work incredibly hard and on many different fronts to keep Americans safe,” Capito said. “Creating a Coast Guard Secretary position, just like the other branches of the armed forces, will help streamline the important work that our Coast Guard undertakes every day.”

NewsNation [4/1/2025 1:35 PM, Staff, 690K] reports exclusive look inside exactly how the border crackdown is playing out on the open waters. Navy destroyers are deployed in that region by the Gulf. The other in the Pacific off Southern California. The Coast Guard also ramping up operations aimed at deterring illegal crossings by sea and stopping drug trafficking.

930 AM Buffalo [4/1/2025 3:27 AM, Staff, 340K] reports there is a lake freighter off Buffalo Harbor in ice. The Coast Guard says it is not stuck, but rather waiting to be escorted out to open water. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Maritime Executive [4/1/2025 9:27 PM, Staff, 325K] reports last week, the U.S. Coast Guard worked with local first responders to medevac a seafarer from the deck of a Chinese freighter on the Hudson, carrying the man to safety. At about 1850 hours on March 27, Coast Guard Sector New York received a request for assistance from the freighter Sheng Ping Hai. The vessel had just departed Albany and was downbound on the Hudson, headed for Colombia, and a crewmember had a serious medical problem. The fourth assistant engineer, a 23-year-old man, had suffered spinal injuries and needed an evacuation. The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office had a response boat in reach of the ship, and it dispatched a team to meet up with the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard responded as well, dispatching the small cutter USCGC Wire from Saugerties. The injured man was carefully secured in a Stokes litter, and as the Sheng Ping Hai continued to make way downstream, the police response boat held position alongside. The crew lowered the victim down by rope to the deck of the boat, and the medevac was completed successfully. The Coast Guard is investigating the circumstances of the engineer’s injury. Sheng Ping Hai continued on her commercial voyage, heading southbound down the East Coast and through the Bahamas.

CBS 11 Savannah [4/1/2025 2:52 PM, Dawn Baker, 300K] reports United States Coast Guard Commander Nathaniel Robinson, Officer in Charge of the Marine Safety Unit joined WTOC’s Dawn Baker for ‘Welcome to our Community’. Commander Robinson explained how his unit is responsible for protecting the waterways. They inspect vessels and he serves as the captain of the ports. He explains the Coast Guard’s relevance to the nation and the maritime community which includes duties as Captain of the Port, Officer in Charge of Marine Inspections, Federal Maritime Security and On-Scene operations throughout Coastal Georgia. Commander Robinson is a graduate of the University of West Florida, Southern New Hampshire University, and the U.S. Air Force Command and Staff College. In 2022, he earned a certificate in Executive Leadership from the University of Notre Dame. Before the Coast Guard, Commander Robinson served as the Director of Marketing for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, overseeing the national promotion and advertising for the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Commander Robinson earned his commission from the United States Coast Guard’s Officer Candidate School in 2006. Commander Robinson’s decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal (4), Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Commandants Letter of Commendation Ribbon, and other service and unit awards.

CBS 12 West Palm Beach [4/1/2025 6:24 PM, Grace Bellinghausen] reports Coast Guard crews returned 99 undocumented Haitians Tuesday after intercepting their boat 35 miles off the coast of Haiti. According to a United States Coast Guard’s (USCG) news release, a Customs and Border Patrol agent alerted watchstanders on Thursday that a 35-foot overloaded boat was heading north towards Turks and Caicos. "Attempting illegal migration in overloaded, unsafe vessels with no safety equipment is extremely dangerous and puts you and your loved one’s lives at risk," said Lt. Cmdr. Brent Pearson, Coast Guard liaison officer to U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince. "Don’t take to the sea just to be sent back." Once on board the Coast Guard cutter, officials say the undocumented Haitians are processed, identified, and provided food, water, and basic medical attention before returning to their country of origin.

Reported similarly:
Miami Herald [4/1/2025 6:43 PM, David Goodhue, 3973K]

FOX 7 Miami [4/1/2025 12:12 PM, Staff, 864K] reports an apparent group of migrants was reported to have appeared ashore in South Florida, according to the City of Miami Police Department. Officers and the US Coast Guard were investigating near a boat ramp on Watson Island in Miami where, according to officials, migrants were dropped off Monday night. Officials said the migrants took off on foot. No arrests have been made.

ABC 7 Sarasota [4/1/2025 10:22 AM, Staff] reports the United States Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing boater in Palmetto. Crews began searching for 69-year-old Russell Trudeau after locating his 17-foot boat off Piney Point, Monday. He reportedly left from the Palmetto area. The USCG suspended the search pending new information. Crews searched approximately 180 square miles. Officials did not elaborate on the information they received. Palmetto Police are still searching on land nearby and said their marine units are also searching. He was last seen Sunday and officials used GPS to determine his approximate location.

600 AM San Diego [4/1/2025 10:34 AM, Staff] reports the U.S. Coast Guard along with the Navy were able to pluck 17 migrants and 1 American for a vessel. It happened Sunday morning. That boat, which officials say was taking on water, was 50-miles off the coast of San Diego. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

CBS Austin [4/1/2025 6:24 PM, Grace Bellinghausen, 602K] reports Coast Guard crews returned 99 undocumented Haitians Tuesday after intercepting their boat 35 miles off the coast of Haiti. According to a United States Coast Guard’s (USCG) news release, a Customs and Border Patrol agent alerted watchstanders on Thursday that a 35-foot overloaded boat was heading north towards Turks and Caicos. "Attempting illegal migration in overloaded, unsafe vessels with no safety equipment is extremely dangerous and puts you and your loved one’s lives at risk," said Lt. Cmdr. Brent Pearson, Coast Guard liaison officer to U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince. "Don’t take to the sea just to be sent back." Once on board the Coast Guard cutter, officials say the undocumented Haitians are processed, identified, and provided food, water, and basic medical attention before returning to their country of origin. Since October 1, USCG crews say they have returned a total of 412 undocumented Haitians to Haiti, compared to 857 the previous year.

Stars and Stripes [4/1/2025 5:30 AM, Alex Wilson, 803K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard on Guam is expecting at least two new cutters next year, an addition that would expand its operations as the service reprioritizes border security. The fast response cutters USCGC Vincent Danz and USCGC Jeffrey Palazzo should join U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam’s three existing cutters by the end of 2026, according to sector spokeswoman Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sara Muir. The Coast Guard projects a sixth cutter at Guam, but Congress has yet to allocate funds for it, Muir told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. Congress funded the Vincent Danz and Jeffrey Palazzo in fiscal year 2024. Ahead of the two cutters’ arrival, Sector Guam is readjusting its priorities to focus more on U.S. domestic security and maritime borders, Muir and Cmdr. Ryan Crose, sector deputy commander, said by phone Friday. “Our mission sets have remained the same, but given our limited resources out here in Guam, we can’t always focus on all the missions all the time,” Crose said. “So, we have sort of focused – or transitioned our focus – to border security and the integrity of our territories.”

USA Today [4/2/2025 12:26 AM, Michael Loria, 75858K] reports a Chinese man was sentenced to federal prison for attempting to smuggle undocumented immigrants from his home country to the remote U.S. territory of Guam, federal officials announced on Tuesday. Chinese national Zhongli Pang attempted to take advantage of a loophole that allows visitors from China to visit the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa, unlike Guam. The visa waiver encourages Chinese tourists to visit the Marianas, where a U.S. visa is not required. But Chinese migrants sometimes exploit the waiver and attempt to travel over 100 miles southwest by sea to Guam, where they can earn better wages but a U.S. visa is required. Pang received a 3-month prison sentence for ferrying a dozen Chinese nationals from Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands to Guam. The overloaded vessel, named Helen, ran out of fuel before reaching the island and passengers were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. prosecutors said. The case out of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) represents the latest in efforts to stop illegal immigration into U.S. territories. America’s outposts may lie thousands of miles from the continental United States but for those fleeing the People’s Republic of China (PRC), they serve as a crossing in the middle of the Pacific. “We will continue to target illegal aliens unlawfully traveling between the CNMI and Guam,” said Shawn N. Anderson, the U.S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. “The risk to personal safety is substantial. Those interdicted also face imprisonment and immigration penalties. We urge PRC nationals to fully comply with the CNMI’s parole program and return to China.” The 36-year-old “Captain Pang,” as passengers called him, was sentenced to the brief prison stint after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and conspiracy to defraud the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He was also ordered to do 50 hours of community service.

CyberScoop [4/1/2025 7:52 PM, Derek B. Johnson] reports witnesses at a House hearing on medical device cybersecurity Tuesday called out the need for more proactive tracking of products used across the country, saying the status quo leaves many health system owners and operators in the dark about vulnerabilities, exploitation and patching updates. Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Dr. Christian Dameff at University of California San Diego Health told lawmakers that when a drug creates an adverse reaction in patients or a flaw in a medical device’s clinical functionality is discovered, there’s an established process to notify providers. Currently, there is no comparable system in place to inventory legacy connected medical devices used in practices around the country. The primary reason behind this, he said, is that “it is incredibly difficult to know where these devices actually are.” “In regards to providers, doctors, nurses, other folks who may be using these types of medical devices in clinical practice, to my knowledge the dissemination of information of these vulnerabilities to them is quite limited,” Dameff said.

CyberScoop [4/1/2025 3:18 PM, Tim Starks, 150K] reports it’s vital that Congress renew the expiring $1 billion state and local cybersecurity grant program, witnesses testified before a House panel, but they added that it could benefit from some upgrades, too. New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection that held the hearing Tuesday, said the four-year cyber grant program “has undoubtedly improved, and sometimes even established, the cybersecurity posture of our states and localities.” It’s jointly administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and is due to expire in September. But the testimony from the witnesses occurred during a period of completed or contemplated cutbacks and policy changes from the Trump administration that are withdrawing, or are threatening to weaken, federal cyber support to state and local governments. Those governments are facing threats from ransomware and foreign nation-backed attacks. “State and local governments are not prepared to fight this kind of cyber engagement with foreign nations,” said Connecticut Chief Information Officer Mark Raymond, who testified along with two other state and local officials and a cybersecurity vendor. With cuts to FEMA, CISA, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) and more, “additional responsibilities are falling to the states,” Raymond said, and further reductions would “diminish our ability to help municipalities.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was a rare holdout on receiving grants from the joint CISA-FEMA program as governor of South Dakota, and has told Congress she will be reviewing grant programs to make sure they’re doing their job effectively. All four witnesses agreed the program was a big boon, but could stand some improvements. Alan Fuller, CIO for the state of Utah, said it had helped his state block seven major cyberattacks in the past six months. But he and others said inconsistent year-to-year funding makes some governments hesitant to sign up because they’re “afraid to launch programs that might get cut.”

Cyber Security News [4/1/2025 3:57 AM, Guru Baran] reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a critical Cisco vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog following confirmation of active exploitation in the wild. The flaw, identified as CVE-2024-20439, affects the Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU) and allows unauthenticated, remote attackers to gain administrative access to affected systems through an undocumented, static credential. The vulnerability, classified under CWE-912 (Hidden Functionality), carries a Critical severity with a CVSS base score of 9.8. According to Cisco’s security advisory, the flaw “could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system by using a static administrative credential.”

HS Today [4/1/2025 6:47 AM, Staff, 38K] reports Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs Chairman William Timmons (R-S.C.) announced a hearing titled “Salt Typhoon: Securing America’s Telecommunications from State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks.” The subcommittee hearing will examine cyber espionage efforts by state-sponsored groups such as Salt Typhoon and its impacts on U.S. national security. In addition, the hearing will assist legislative efforts to help federal agencies become more proactive in detecting, defending, and holding those accountable for illegal infiltration of U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. “The Chinese state-sponsored hacking group Salt Typhoon successfully targeted critical U.S. telecommunication systems, collecting real-time data on American citizens, and jeopardizing our national security. This is just one example of ongoing cyber espionage efforts by hostile foreign actors who are seeking to exploit, disrupt, and collect information on the United States. We must ensure that the federal agencies responsible for cybersecurity are working seamlessly together with private industry to thwart attacks targeting key U.S. systems and citizens. I look forward to evaluating the impact these cyber attacks have on U.S. infrastructure and will consider legislative opportunities to protect the American people,” said Subcommittee Chairman Timmons.

DefenceScoop [4/1/2025 2:15 PM, Mark Pomerleau, 150K] reports so-called hunt forward operations by U.S. Cyber Command have uncovered Chinese malware implanted in Latin American nations, according to President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hunt-forward operations involve physically sending defensively oriented cyber protection teams from the U.S. military’s Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) to foreign nations at their invitation to look for malicious activity on their networks. These operations are mutually beneficial, officials have said, because they help bolster the security of partner nations and provide Cybercom — and by extension, the United States — advance notice of adversary tactics, allowing the U.S. to harden systems at home against these observed threats. In responses to lawmakers’ advance policy questions ahead of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine stated that Cybercom hunt-forward missions in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility discovered Chinese Communist Party malware on multiple foreign partner networks. Southcom’s area of responsibility includes the landmass of Central and South America and adjacent waters and the Caribbean Sea. It encompasses 31 countries, 12 dependencies and “areas of special sovereignty,” according to the command.

CyberScoop [4/1/2025 4:20 PM, Matt Kapko, 150K] reports Apple released security updates Monday to address software defects in the latest version of the company’s Safari browser and other applications across iOS, iPadOS and macOS. The security issues addressed across the latest versions of Apple’s most popular platforms include 62 vulnerabilities affecting iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, 131 vulnerabilities affecting macOS Sequoia 15.4 and 14 vulnerabilities affecting Safari 18.4. The batch of software defects addressed by Apple includes CVE-2025-24221, which could make sensitive keychain data accessible from an iOS backup, and CVE-2025-24245, which could allow an attacker to use a malicious application to access a user’s saved passwords in macOS. Apple also released security updates in older versions of its operating systems to address two actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities it identified and released emergency software patches for March 11. A zero-day vulnerability in the company’s WebKit web browser engine, tracked as CVE-2025-24201, can allow an attacker to break out of WebKit’s Web Content sandbox and potentially conduct unauthorized actions. The second zero-day, CVE-2025-24200, can allow an attacker with physical access to disable USB Restricted Mode on a locked device.

HS Today [4/1/2025 7:43 AM, Matt Seldon, 38K] reports after concern and widespread social media speculation, the FBI has confirmed that there is no specific or credible threat currently targeting hospitals in any U.S. city. The announcement follows an intelligence review and investigation sparked by an alarming online post alleging a coordinated terrorist plot against medical facilities nationwide. The FBI’s statement, first reported by the American Hospital Association (AHA), comes after the AHA and the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Health-ISAC) received multiple reports on March 18 of a social media post claiming plans were underway for a multi-city terrorist attack aimed at hospitals in the coming weeks. Although the original claim lacked verification, both AHA and Health-ISAC chose to alert the healthcare field out of an abundance of caution. In the FBI update, the agency reassured hospital systems and the public that there is no current intelligence indicating a verified threat.

HS Today [4/1/2025 6:47 AM, Staff, 38K] reports U.S. Senator Steve Daines has announced the introduction of a bill to prevent potential terrorists from entering the United States by making non-U.S. nationals who hold passports issued by the Palestinian Authority ineligible to enter the United States, according to a news release on March 28. The “Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission (GAZA) Act” would make non-U.S. nationals who hold passports issued by the Palestinian Authority ineligible for admission to the United States. It would also make these individuals ineligible to receive admission via parole, visa, or any other documentation, and ineligible to receive any other immigration benefits. “Under Joe Biden, record numbers of individuals from the FBI terror watch list were crossing our border. Thankfully under the leadership of President Trump, real change is happening at the border, and we’re just getting started. In no world should potential terrorists be able to get away with exploiting our immigration system, and my bill will crack down on their entry and keep our communities safe,” said Daines.

New York Times [4/1/2025 12:17 PM, Glenn Thrush and Hurubie Meko, 145325K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Tuesday that she would seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who was charged with murdering a UnitedHealthcare executive in Manhattan last year, part of a push to revive the widespread use of capital punishment in federal cases. Ms. Bondi said her decision came after “careful consideration” and was in line with President Trump’s executive order directing the Justice Department to renew death penalty requests after President Biden declared a moratorium on capital punishment for most federal offenders in 2021. The move, which was widely anticipated, represented the intersection of Mr. Trump’s eagerness to impose the death penalty with a headline-grabbing murder case — the brazen public killing of Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old health care executive targeted because Mr. Mangione saw him as a symbol of callous corporate greed, according to prosecutors. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, coldblooded assassination that shocked America,” Ms. Bondi said in a statement. Ms. Bondi directed Matthew Podolsky, the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, to seek the death penalty. Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the office, which has been prosecuting Mr. Mangione’s federal case, declined to comment on Tuesday. In a statement, one of Mr. Mangione’s defense lawyers, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said that seeking the death penalty in the case amounted to “premeditated, state-sponsored murder” intended to protect the “immoral” health care industry. The decision “to execute Luigi” ran counter to “historical precedent,” she added. It is not clear if the Justice Department, under Ms. Bondi, has requested the use of the death penalty since Mr. Trump took office in January, but the request is among the first.

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 7:17 PM, Jordan Simon, 3973K] reports following Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement that she’s directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the accused killer’s lawyer has spoken out. In official statement, Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo labeled the Attorney General’s move as "barbaric.” "By seeking to murder Luigi Mangione, the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric," said Friedman Agnifilo. Mangione is currently awaiting trial for the suspected killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec 4, 2024 in New York City. Thompson, who was reportedly in New York City for a conference, was shot outside his hotel. "Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent," Agnifilio said. "While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi. By doing this, they are defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorize the American people.” After a five-day nationwide manhunt, Mangione was captured and arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA, and extradited to New York City. Agnifilio went to declare that Mangione’s team is ready to fight federal charges, labelling his case as an example of dysfunction and corruption at the hands of the government. "We are prepared to fight these federal charges, brought by a lawless Justice Department, as well as the New York State charges, and the Pennsylvania charges, and anything else they want to pile on Luigi," Agnifilio concluded.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 8:59 PM, David Matthews, 52868K] reports attorneys for the gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022 have filed for his death penalty-eligible trial to be moved to New York City. Payton Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, claims he cannot receive a fair trial in the upstate city. He’s requesting it be moved to Manhattan in order for an impartial jury to be seated. His lawyers said too many of Buffalo’s Black residents had connections to the shooting. Roughly 85% of the city’s African American population lives in East Buffalo, where the massacre occurred. “If the verdict in this case is to carry any moral authority, it should be delivered by a diverse group of citizens. But, given the history of segregation in Buffalo, that is exceedingly unlikely,” his attorneys wrote in a court filing. Gendron is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty in November 2022 to state charges, including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. His federal charges include hate crimes and weapons offenses. Early last year, federal prosecutors announced they intended to seek the death penalty. According to authorities, Gendron planned the shooting for months, even making multiple “reconnaissance” trips to the store before the massacre on May 14, 2022. Per a criminal complaint, he wanted “to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar acts.”

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:24 PM, Mike Heuer, 52868K]

Chicago Tribune [4/1/2025 7:35 PM, Caroline Kubzansky, 5269K] reports a lawsuit against firearm manufacturer Smith & Wesson and two other gun dealers linked to the July Fourth 2022 mass shooting in Highland Park will be allowed to move forward, a Lake County judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Jorge Ortiz denied Smith & Wesson’s motions to dismiss counts of unfair business practices and negligence but granted a motion to dismiss allegations around deceptive business practices in a 34-page decision. Ortiz also denied a motion to dismiss filed by the other two gun dealers named in the case, Red Dot Arms in Lake Villa and Budsgunshop.com. Lawyers and advocates hailed the decision as a "major victory" for the plaintiffs in the case, who were injured or lost family members in the shooting. Survivors of the shooting and its victims first accused Smith & Wesson of "negligent and unlawful marketing" targeting people such as Robert Crimo III in September 2022. The lawsuits, now consolidated into one case, also alleged that Red Dot Arms and Bud’s Gun Shop in Kentucky both facilitated Crimo’s purchase of M&P 15, an AR-15-style weapon produced by the gunmaker. Crimo pleaded guilty to carrying out the shooting last month with that weapon. "Today’s historic decision sends a clear message that the gun industry does not have carte blanche to engage in irresponsible marketing of assault rifles, without any concern for the obvious dangers of such marketing," a group of attorneys representing the plaintiffs said in a statement.

FOX News [4/1/2025 10:43 AM, Peter D’Abrosca, 46189K] reports that another man is facing criminal charges for allegedly vandalizing a Tesla, this time in North Dakota. Ryan Lyle Williams was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief for keying a Cybertruck Sunday afternoon in a West Fargo, North Dakota, Costco parking lot, according to the West Fargo Police Department. The truck’s owner, Mitch Benson, was inside the store when Williams, dressed in a hooded blue jacket, allegedly keyed his Cybertruck, leaving a mark on the front driver’s side door that resembled the letter "F." The video was caught on the truck’s Sentry mode, a camera system with which all Teslas are equipped. "Upon arrival, officers discovered a Tesla had been keyed, and the suspect had fled the scene," West Fargo Police said. "After further investigation, the suspect’s vehicle was identified utilizing nearby business and Tesla vehicle cameras. The suspect was later located and admitted to the vandalism." Williams admitted to the alleged crime, according to the police. The Cass County State’s Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case. Fox News Digital reached out to Benson and the West Fargo Police Department. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AZCentral.com [4/1/2025 9:17 PM, James Powel, 4457K] reports an Idaho man faces one count of aggravated battery after police alleged that he struck a man with his car at the same time as a protest at a Tesla showroom in Meridian. The Meridian Police Department alleged in a press release that Christopher Talbot, 70, made an obscene gesture at the unnamed victim − who officials characterized as a counter-protestor − and struck him after he exited his vehicle. The department said the victim "had been driving a truck with pro-Trump flags." The victim drove himself to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Court records show that bond for Talbot was set at $50,000 during an arraignment hearing Monday. It is unclear if Talbot has retained legal counsel. The incident took place during a nationwide day of protest labeled "Tesla Takedown" by organizers. Meridian Police said about 30 protestors were met by about 200 counter-protestors. The protests have come as Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has injected himself into politics worldwide, supporting far right parties and candidates − including the reelection bid of President Donald Trump. Musk, a senior White House adviser and the face of the Department of Government Efficiency, has alleged that "terrorism" is behind a wave of vandalism against vehicles made by the company. He has been backed by the Trump Administration, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying that “the days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” in a statement accompanying the charges against three individuals alleged to have used Molotov cocktails to set Tesla cars and charging stations on fire.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:18 PM, David Charns, 52868K] reports a Henderson man faces a terror-related charge for allegedly threatening to kill Jewish people, documents said. Last week, a Clark County grand jury voted to indict Michael Tomasino, 38, on a charge of making threats or conveying false information concerning an act of terrorism, records said. On March 11, an anonymous user on 4chan, later identified as Tomasino, posted about "[killing] Jews and [committing] suicide," documents said. "I’m an antisemite and I’m going to kill as many as you [expletive] [expletives] as I can before I commit suicide," the post said, according to police. The FBI became aware of the post and notified the LVMPD Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Section, documents said. Internet records tied the post to Tomasino’s Henderson address. While speaking with police the following day, Tomasino "quickly admitted to posting antisemitic content" daily, police said. Police arrested Tomasino that day. During Tomasino’s initial court appearance, a pro temp judge set bail at $20,000, records said. During a grand jury return hearing on March 27, Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese raised bail to $50,000. Antisemitic incidents across the United States increased 140% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The 8,873 incidents the nonprofit tracked in 2023 totaled the previous three years combined.

The Hill [4/1/2025 1:48 PM, Ella Lee, 12829K] reports that the Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to uphold a law allowing Americans injured by acts of terror in the Middle East to take Palestinian leadership groups to U.S. courts for damages. In 2019, Congress amended federal terrorism law to let victim lawsuits move forward against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), responding to a series of court decisions that found the victim’s families had no jurisdiction to sue. The high court is now being asked to determine whether the law violates due process protections by forcing the groups to consent to federal courts’ authority. However, the justices also seemed sensitive to the level of deference owed to Congress and the White House since the case could have ramifications for national security and foreign affairs. Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler argued that Congress and the executive branch determined that finding the PLO and PA consented to jurisdiction in federal courts would prevent terrorism – and the courts should not override that assessment. He argued that both branches of U.S. government are owed "virtually absolute deference." Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed that the two branches, in seeking to stop the "recurring problem of terrorism," reached the same conclusion to allow accountability in U.S. courts. The judiciary perhaps should not wade in when it only "strikes us from our perch as unfair," he said. Reuters [4/1/2025 2:04 PM, John Kruzel and Andrew Chung, 24727K] reports that the nine justices heard arguments in appeals by the U.S. government and a group of American victims and their families of a lower court’s ruling that the law at issue violated the rights of the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization to due process under the U.S. Constitution. The ongoing violence involving Israel and the Palestinians served as a backdrop to the arguments. Many of the questions posed by the justices seemed to suggest they would rule in favor of the plaintiffs. Some of the questions explored the authority of Congress and the president to empower U.S. federal courts to hear civil suits over allegedly wrongful conduct experienced by Americans overseas, and what type of connection defendants must have to the United States before they must face such legal proceedings. U.S. courts for years have grappled over whether they have jurisdiction in cases involving the Palestinian Authority and PLO for actions taken abroad. "Congress’ judgment on these issues, as in all issues of national security and foreign policy, are entitled to great deference," Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler, who argued on behalf of the Trump administration, told the justices. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with Kneedler on that point.

Yahoo! News [4/1/2025 6:33 PM, Gustaf Kilander, 52868K] reports National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and other members of the Trump administration’s national security team used personal Gmail accounts for government communications, according to a report from Washington Post. The news follows a major security breach when Waltz accidentally invited the editor in chief of The Atlantic to a Signal group chat in which top administration officials discussed attack plans against Yemen. Gmail is even less secure than Signal, the encrypted messaging app that’s available to the public. The use of the email service is the most recent instance of top national security officials using less-than-secure methods of communication. A top aide to Waltz also used Gmail, a commercial email service, to conduct highly technical conversations with co-workers at other agencies, which included sensitive military positions and weapons systems in connection with an ongoing conflict, according to emails seen by The Post reveal. Headers from the emails show that while the official at the National Security Council used his Gmail account, the colleagues at the other agencies used government-issued accounts. The use of personal email accounts, even if it’s for unclassified information, is perilous, as foreign intelligence services place a high value on the communications and schedules of top officials, experts told the paper. A spokesperson for the National Security Council, Brian Hughes, told The Post that he hadn’t seen any evidence that Waltz had used his personal email in an inappropriate way. He said when materials connected to work are sent to Waltz, he copies his government email to make sure he follows federal records laws requiring officials to archive official messages.

Reported similarly:
Univision [4/1/2025 7:20 PM, Staff, 5325K]

The Hill [4/1/2025 11:13 AM, Filip Timotija, 52868K] reports that more than 30 Senate Democrats have called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the Houthi Signal chat scandal, as the White House insists the case is closed on how a journalist was looped into high-level military discussions. "In addition to the reckless inclusion of a journalist in the chat, we are deeply concerned about this serious breach in the proper handling of such information and deliberations," 31 Senate Democrats wrote in a 6-page Monday letter to Bondi. "Given the extraordinary circumstances of this shocking incident and the significant public interests at stake, it is imperative that you immediately appoint a Special Counsel to thoroughly and impartially investigate whether any of the government officials involved violated federal criminal law." The lawmakers said appointing a special counsel is "appropriate" in cases where the Department of Justice (DOJ) "may have a conflict of interest or extraordinary circumstances are present, a criminal investigation is warranted, and it is in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to investigate the matter." "Such circumstances are clearly present here," they added.

Minnesota Public Radio [4/1/2025 11:13 AM, Franco Ordoñez, 60K] reports that the White House has concluded its review of how Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included on a Signal message group chat of high-ranking officials discussing impending strikes in Yemen. The Atlantic story, published one week ago, stunned Washington because of the sensitive nature of the information disclosed on the app. The White House has said none of the information was classified. "This case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. "There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again, and we’re moving forward," she said. Leavitt did not offer details about what steps the White House is taking after its review. Last week, she had told reporters that the National Security Council, the White House counsel’s office and Trump adviser Elon Musk were all looking into how the mishap happened. MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. Leavitt said Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz — who created the group chat and added Goldberg to it — "continues to be an important part of (Trump’s) national security team." The Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee have asked the Pentagon’s acting inspector general to investigate the use of the app for sharing the information.

New York Times [4/1/2025 9:13 PM, Sapna Maheshwari, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and David McCabe, 145325K] reports President Trump plans to meet with top White House officials on Wednesday to discuss a proposal that could secure TikTok’s future in the United States, two people familiar with the plans said. Mr. Trump will consider a proposal for a new ownership structure for the popular video app, which is owned by the Chinese internet giant ByteDance. Lawmakers and other U.S. officials have argued that the app’s ties to China raise national security concerns, and a federal law that was passed last year requires TikTok to change its ownership or face a ban in the United States. The latest deadline for that ban is Saturday. The meeting is set to include Vice President JD Vance, whom Mr. Trump tapped to find an arrangement to save the popular app early in February, and other top officials, the two people said on the condition of anonymity. The new ownership structure, they said, could include Blackstone, the private equity giant, and Oracle, the technology company. The meeting is another twist in the long national saga of TikTok, which surged in popularity in the United States despite sustained and deep scrutiny in Washington and state capitals. Mr. Trump, who made repeated assurances that he wants to save the app, extended the deadline for a deal in January and suggested that he might do so again if a suitable plan was not reached by early this month. TikTok did not immediately return a request for comment. It is not clear that the kind of deal under discussion would comply with the law, which calls for no more than 20 percent of TikTok or its parent company to be owned by people or companies in so-called foreign adversary countries, a list that includes China. The law also bars a new entity from working with ByteDance to operate its video-recommendation technology or creating a data-sharing agreement. Mr. Trump suggested last week that he might relax upcoming tariffs on China in exchange for the country’s support of a deal. TikTok has maintained that it is not for sale, in part, it says, because the Chinese government would block a deal.

Reported similarly:
AP [4/1/2025 4:57 PM, Sarah Parvini and Josh Boak, 24727K]

The New York Times [4/1/2025 2:56 PM, Zach Montague, 145325K] reports the Taliban’s former ambassador to Spain was detained by U.S. immigration officials while entering the United States on Saturday, and remained in custody after a federal judge declined to order his release on Monday. The former Afghan diplomat, Mohammad Rahim Wahidi, was detained at Washington Dulles International Airport under what his lawyer described as a weaponization of part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under the law, the secretary of state can deport a noncitizen determined to be a national security risk. Mr. Wahidi is a lawful permanent resident and his wife, Mary Shakeri-Wahidi, is a U.S. citizen, according to a court filing from his lawyer, Hassan Ahmad. According to the filing asking for his release, Mr. Wahidi’s brother-in-law is wanted by the United States in connection with a plot to assassinate an Iranian journalist that the Justice Department detailed in a news release in November. Mr. Wahidi was stripped of his title in Spain over accusations of sexual assault during his time there, but criminal charges were never filed against him and he was allowed to leave the country, according to the filing. Upon returning to the United States on a Turkish Airlines flight on Saturday, Mr. Wahidi was detained for more than 30 hours without access to a lawyer, according to the filing. He was then interrogated by “an unclear number of officers” who appeared to be from the F.B.I., Mr. Ahmad wrote in the petition.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 8:12 AM, Micah McCartney and Didi Kirsten Tatlow, 52220K] reports a Chinese conglomerate’s planned sale of dozens of international ports to a U.S.-linked consortium has drawn fury from Beijing over the possible loss of critical infrastructure, including those at either end of the Panama Canal—and the deal could now be in jeopardy. A map created by Newsweek shows the 43 facilities at stake, with some analysts saying China views the sale as a loss of strategic influence and a potentially serious blow to its geo-economic Belt and Road Initiative. In early March, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison agreed to sell most of its global ports business—valued at $22.8 billion—to a consortium including U.S.-based asset management giant BlackRock. Among the assets are terminals on either side of the Panama Canal, a strategic maritime choke point that handles about 5 percent of global seaborne trade. Hutchison Ports says it handles about 10 percent of global containerized marine cargo trade. The move came amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s continued claims that China controls the canal—a charge denied by both Beijing and Panama. He also accused the Latin American nation of levying unfair passage fees on American vessels. The deal’s announcement has triggered a furious backlash from the Chinese government, and state-backed media in Hong Kong blasted the sale as a betrayal. In a series of articles, the pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao called it a "hegemonic act" by the United States aimed at constraining China’s national interests under the guise of trade. Indicating top-level support, the commentaries were also published on the website of Beijing’s government office in Hong Kong. In response, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has launched an anti-trust review of the multibillion-dollar deal. Chinese authorities also reportedly ordered state-owned enterprises to pause any new business dealings linked to CK Hutchison founder Li Ka-shing, 96, and his family. Officials in Panama confirmed an audit of Hutchison’s concessions was in the works. Definitive documentation for the transfer of the two Panama port operations was expected to be signed by April 2, but sources told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper this will no longer happen, citing "obvious reasons" and political sensitivities. However, talks remain ongoing under a 145-day exclusivity period. While Beijing’s regulator cited standard anti-trust grounds for the review, China watchers said the rationale did not hold up. Economist George Magnus, an associate at the University of Oxford’s China Centre, called the explanation "spurious.” "Beijing’s pique about the sale suggests that its concerns have next to nothing to do with business, notwithstanding protestations that the planned sale merits anti-monopoly and anti-competitive investigations," Magnus told Newsweek. "Presumably these same concerns would have applied to CKH’s ownership too, but on this, Beijing had nothing to say.” Magnus said that China’s anti-trust authority had no legal jurisdiction outside of the mainland—and that the real message was geopolitical. "This should certainly be taken on board by all firms doing business in and with China as a warning about the ultimate political and national security interests of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party," he said.

HS Today [4/1/25 6:456 AM, Staff, 38K] reports in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted an airstrike against multiple ISIS-Somalia targets on March 29, 2025. The airstrike occurred Southeast of Bosasso, Puntland, in Northeastern Somalia. AFRICOM’s initial assessment is that multiple ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed and no civilians were harmed. ISIS-Somalia has proved both its will and capability to attack U.S. and partner forces. This group’s malicious efforts threaten U.S. security interests.

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 7:01 PM, Staff, 3973K] reports the U.S. military on Tuesday identified three of the four soldiers from Georgia’s Fort Stewart who were found dead this week after they were reported missing during a training mission in Lithuania. They are Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois; Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam. All three were M1 Abrams tank system maintainers and were part of the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Fort Stewart near Georgia’s coast. The military has not yet identified the fourth soldier, who was found deceased Tuesday. They were reported missing on March 25. The four were operating an M88A2 Hercules armored vehicle and were on their way to bring back another military vehicle near Pabradė, a city in eastern Lithuania. The M88A2 was discovered later submerged in a bog and encased in mud. It was pulled out Monday. "This loss is simply devastating," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, the 3rd Infantry Division commanding general. "These men were honored soldiers of the Marne Division. We are wrapping our arms around the families and loved ones of our soldiers during (this) incredibly difficult time.”

Axios [4/1/2025 8:05 PM, Barak Ravid, 13163K] reports Russian President Vladimir Putin’s close adviser Kirill Dmitriev is expected to visit Washington this week for talks on Ukraine with President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, two U.S. officials tell Axios. He’ll be the most senior Russian visitor to Washington since the 2022 invasion. Trump said Saturday that he was "pissed off" at Putin for his recent comments on Ukraine and warned of economic penalties if Russia blocks his ceasefire push. The visit from Dmitriev is a chance to break the stalemate in negotiations. Dmitriev is the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a senior member of Putin’s negotiating team in the indirect ceasefire talks with Ukraine, which the Trump administration is mediating.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 5:25 AM, Brendan Cole, 52220K] reports the U.S. has criticized a Russian proposal for an interim administration in Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelensky, dealing a blow to Vladimir Putin’s quest to dictate his terms in any ceasefire deal. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Monday that President Donald Trump did not appreciate a push by Moscow for it to do business with a temporary government in Kyiv because it does not recognize Zelensky’s legitimacy. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment by email. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that Zelensky is no longer the legitimate leader of Ukraine because his presidential term expired in May 2024. Under the Ukrainian constitution, martial law imposed because of Putin’s invasion means there is no obligation to hold another ballot. There is also little appetite among Ukrainians for a wartime election which would face huge logistic issues given that one fifth of the country is under Russian occupation, millions have left and hundreds of thousands are fighting on the front line. Putin might be banking on the possibility of amplifying calls from some U.S. Republicans for an election as being necessary to show it is a democracy worthy of American military support. Trump’s anger at Putin for this stance rejects the idea floated by Republicans, perhaps due in part to not wanting to throw away the leg work he has already put in with Zelensky for a peace deal. March was a month of negotiations over Ukraine involving delegations from Washington, Moscow and Kyiv meeting in Saudi Arabia which resulted in proposals for a temporary deal and a Black Sea ceasefire. But on March 28, Putin again questioned whether his officials should be speaking with Kyiv’s current administration at all, suggesting a transitional administration, overseen by the U.N. and several countries to organize elections. A White House National Security Council spokesperson dismissed the proposal and that Ukraine’s governance is determined by its constitution and its people.

Miami Herald [4/1/2025 1:45 PM, David Catanese, 3973K] reports that President Donald Trump said the U.S. government has seen "virtually no sign" of Austin Tice, the former U.S. Marine and freelance journalist for McClatchy who went missing 13 years ago while covering Syria’s descent into war. "There’s no sign of Austin, incredible young guy," the president said in the Oval Office Monday evening. "We will never — until we find out something definitive one way or the other — we will never stop looking for him. But we have been, and the response? Just a lot of dead ends." Following December’s upheaval in Syria, which prompted then-President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia, there had been some glimmer of hope that rebel forces could be helpful in finding answers about Tice’s whereabouts. Images of Assad’s prisoners being freed and reunited with their families filled U.S. officials and the Tice family with optimism. That month, the Tice family said during a Washington press conference that they had been told by a trustworthy source that Austin was still alive. Shortly after Damascus fell, an NBC reporter followed a tip from a former inmate in the Syrian prison system who said he had seen Tice while in captivity in 2022. The report captured images inside of a prison cell that showed clear markings on the walls of an American. But while the president on Monday praised the commitment of Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, he dampened expectations that the new administration had made any progress in locating her son.

HS Today [4/1/2025 6:41 AM, Staff, 38K] reports the U.S. State Department said on Friday that Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks that came from Lebanon and that it was incumbent upon the Lebanese government to disarm terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. The comment from a State Department spokesperson came in a press briefing when asked about Israel conducting its first strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since a shaky ceasefire deal was struck in November. The strike targeted a building in a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh that Israel said was a drone storage facility belonging to the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terrorist group.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 7:22 AM, Ryan Chan, 52220K] reports satellite imagery spots a French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Djibouti as United States forces continue to strike Yemen-based Houthi rebels from the nearby Red Sea. Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Central Command for comment by email. France, a key European member of NATO, deployed its only aircraft carrier, FS Charles de Gaulle, for a planned five-month Indo-Pacific mission last November. The warship took part in at least two naval exercises that involved foreign aircraft carriers during the deployment. The U.S. military has carried out what President Donald Trump described as "decisive and powerful" strikes on the Houthis since last month. The Pentagon also ordered the second aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, to transit to the Middle East from the Pacific Ocean. The French Embassy in Djibouti announced on Saturday that the Charles de Gaulle and its escorting ships made a stopover in the former French territory in the Horn of Africa. The small nation hosts France’s last military base in Africa, which has deployed 1,500 troops. A satellite photograph captured on Sunday shows the French aircraft carrier was pierside at the port of Djibouti. The Djiboutian coast guard also released photos on X, formerly Twitter, showing it escorted the aircraft carrier to ensure its safety in the country’s waters. France and Djibouti are working together to promote "international and regional peace and security" in accordance with their Defense Cooperation Treaty, the French Embassy said. It was not clear when the Charles de Gaulle would leave Djibouti and whether it would take part in any joint operation with USS Harry S. Truman, a U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea as its fighter aircraft launched attacks on the Houthi targets across Yemen. Latest footage released by the U.S. Central Command on X shows missiles were fired from a warship and fighter jets were launched from the Harry S. Truman to strike the Houthis.

Axios [4/2/2025 4:45 AM, Barak Ravid, 13163K] reports the White House is seriously considering an Iranian proposal for indirect nuclear talks, while at the same time significantly boosting U.S. forces in the Middle East in case President Trump opts for military strikes, two U.S. officials tell Axios. Trump has repeatedly said he’d prefer a deal, but warned that without one "there will be bombing." His timeline is tight: Trump gave Iran a two-month deadline to reach a deal, but it’s not clear if and when that clock started ticking. The White House is still engaged in an internal debate between those who think a deal is achievable and those who see talks as a waste of time and back strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. In the meantime, the Pentagon is engaged in a massive buildup of forces in the Middle East. If Trump decides the time is up, he will have a loaded gun at the ready. Over the weekend, Trump received Iran’s formal response to the letter he sent Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei three weeks ago, a U.S. official said. While Trump proposed direct nuclear negotiations, the Iranians would agree only to indirect talks mediated by Oman. The U.S. official said the Trump administration thinks direct talks would have a higher chance of success, but isn’t ruling out the format the Iranians proposed and doesn’t object to the Omanis serving as mediators between the countries, as the Gulf state has in the past. Both U.S. officials said no decision has been made and internal discussions are ongoing. "After the exchange of letters we are now exploring next steps in order to begin conversations and trust building with the Iranians," one said. The rhetoric between Tehran and Washington was already ratcheting up before Trump’s threat Sunday to bomb Iran if a deal isn’t reached. On Monday, Khamenei fired back and said that while he doesn’t believe the U.S. would attack Iran "they will certainly receive a heavy blow in return" if they do so. Iran also lodged a formal diplomatic protest — channeled via the Swiss embassy, as the U.S. and Iran lack diplomatic relations — and warned it would "respond decisively and immediately to any threat." "The U.S. has 10 bases and 50,000 soldiers in the region. ... If you live in a glass house you shouldn’t throw stones," the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps told Iranian TV earlier this week. Khamenei adviser and former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani stressed that if the U.S. bombs Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iranian public opinion will press the government to change its policy and develop a nuke.

USA Today [4/1/2025 9:44 PM, Krystal Nurse, 75858K] reports two men and an Iran-based company were charged for their roles in an illicit weapons procurement network that benefited Iran, the Justice Department announced. Hossein Akbari and Rexa Amidi concealed Rah Roshd’s identity to evade U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran and buy American parts for Iran’s drones since 2020, the Justice Department said in a Tuesday release. Rah Roshd is an Iranian company that manufactures ground support systems for attack drones and provides security systems to the government of Iran, the Justice Department said. Some of the parts Akbari and Amidi acquired were found on an Iranian-made attack drone the Russian military used in Ukraine, prosecutors said. The Ukrainian Air Force shot the device down in September 2022. Akbari is the CEO of Rah Roshd and Amidi works as a commercial manager. Rah Roshd’s clients included Iranian state-owned aerospace company Qods Aviation Industries and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, prosecutors said. According to the National Counter Terrorism Center, the IRGC is a branch of the Iranian armed forces and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. “The allegations in this case demonstrate the lengths Iranian companies take to evade U.S. sanctions, victimize U.S. businesses, and support the IRGC’s production of drones,” Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in the release. Akbari and Amidi were also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Justice Department said Akbari and Amidi are both citizens of Iran and remain at large.

Newsweek [4/1/2025 9:25 AM, Amir Daftari, 52220K] reports Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, accusing them of smuggling diesel fuel, according to state media. The latest seizure comes amid ongoing tensions with the United States over maritime security in the region. Newsweek has reached out to Iran’s foreign ministry and the U.S. State Department for comment. The United States has made no public comment on the seizures so far. The incident highlights Iran’s continued efforts to assert control over Persian Gulf waters, a crucial route for global energy supplies. With past tanker seizures straining relations between Tehran and Washington, the move could escalate tensions further. Iran has long cited fuel smuggling and maritime violations as justification for its actions, but critics argue these seizures are part of a broader geopolitical strategy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Second Naval District intercepted the vessels in a maritime operation and is transferring them to the port of Bushehr. Iranian officials say the two tankers, carrying a combined 25 crew members, were systematically involved in smuggling over three million liters of diesel fuel. "These two tankers were systematically engaged in fuel smuggling and were identified through intelligence monitoring by IRGC naval forces," the unit said in a statement. "They are now being moved to the Bushehr oil pier under judicial order for fuel confiscation.” Iran frequently carries out such operations, arguing they are necessary to combat fuel trafficking. The country enforces strict controls over oil exports due to U.S. sanctions, making smuggling a politically sensitive issue. The Persian Gulf, where most of these operations take place, is a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies. Nearly a third of the world’s oil passes through these waters, making it a key artery for international trade.

Newsweek [4/2/2025 4:45 AM, Amira El-Fekki, 52220K] reports the United States is deploying more forces to the Middle East after President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran if it does not reach a new deal on its nuclear program. Newsweek contacted Iran’s foreign ministry for comment. The announcement by the U.S. Department of Defense that it is deploying additional forces in the Middle East is an indication both of the growing tensions and the possibility of preparations for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear program. While Trump has said that he would prefer negotiations, Iran has ruled out direct talks while it is under his "maximum pressure" campaign. The military buildup could be in part posturing, but could also be preparations for a strike. Meanwhile, it also supports continued U.S. air strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have not stopped their own attacks despite more than two weeks of assaults by U.S. forces. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced that the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group would be joined in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility by the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group on the orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "To complement the CENTCOM maritime posture, the Secretary also ordered the deployment of additional squadrons and other air assets that will further reinforce our defensive air-support capabilities," he said. "Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people.” Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen since Trump exited the 2015 international nuclear agreement, intensifying a longstanding standoff. His renewed military threats and the reinstatement of "maximum pressure" sanctions have prompted stronger rhetoric from Tehran. While the U.S. has said it seeks to forge a new deal, Iran has resisted direct negotiations, saying it will not talk under Trump’s pressure, though it remains open to indirect talks. U.S. ally Israel has also said it cannot accept Iran getting nuclear weapons – something it says it is not pursuing – and has also said military action against Iran is possible.

Wall Street Journal [4/1/2025 10:53 PM, Nancy A. Youssef, Michael R. Gordon, and Benoit Faucon, 646K] reports the Pentagon is rapidly expanding its forces in the Middle East as the U.S. military continues airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen and steps up its pressure on Iran, the Defense Department said Tuesday. President Trump has threatened in recent days to bomb Iran if Tehran doesn’t make a deal to roll back its nuclear program. But two officials said that the aim of the additional forces is to bolster the U.S. campaign in Yemen and deter Iran. The deployments aren’t preparation for an imminent Iran attack, the officials said. The buildup includes F-35 combat jets, which are joining B-2 bombers and Predator drones in the region, according to U.S. officials familiar with the planning. The U.S. will soon have two carrier strike groups in the region—the USS Harry S. Truman, which has been operating in the Middle East since last fall, and USS Carl Vinson, which is usually assigned to Asia and is expected to arrive within two weeks. Along with the carriers, the strike groups include cruise missile-carrying destroyers and other warships. The U.S. also has sent Patriot antimissile batteries to defend U.S. air bases and nearby allies, the officials said. The Trump administration launched an air campaign against the Houthis on March 15 and has continued daily strikes around the Yemeni capital of San’a and other locations, targeting the group’s leaders and military assets. In addition to threatening Iran with bombing if it doesn’t negotiate a nuclear agreement, the White House has warned it will hold Tehran accountable if the Houthis fire at U.S. forces.

CNN [4/2/2025 1:18 AM, Brad Lendon, Haley Britzky and Avery Schmitz, 52868K] reports the Pentagon has sent at least six B-2 bombers – 30% of the US Air Force’s stealth bomber fleet – to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, in what analysts have called a message to Iran as tensions once again flare in the Middle East. The deployment comes as US President Donald Trump and his defense chief Pete Hegseth warn of further action against Iran and its proxies, while US jets continue to attack the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Images taken by private satellite imaging company Planet Labs on Tuesday show the six US bombers on the tarmac on the island, as well as shelters that could possibly conceal others. Tankers and cargo aircraft are also at the island airbase, a joint US-British base which is 3,900 kilometers (2,400 miles) from Iran’s southern coast. Planet Labs images from Sunday show four B-2s and six support aircraft on the Diego Garcia tarmac. Satellite image shows the Diego Garcia Air Base with four B2s and six support aircraft on the tarmac on March 29, 2025. - Planet Labs. Without mentioning the B-2s directly, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that the US military is sending additional aircraft and "other air assets" to the region to improve America’s defensive posture in the region. "The United States and its partners remain committed to regional security … and are prepared to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the region," Parnell said. CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton said the placement of the highly sophisticated, $2 billion warplanes was a signal to US adversaries. "The deployment of these B-2s is clearly designed to send a message – perhaps several messages – to Iran," said the former US Air Force colonel. "One of them could be a warning to cease supporting the Houthis in Yemen. Another message the Trump administration might be sending to Iran is that it wants a new nuclear deal (to replace the ‘bad’ deal Trump withdrew the US from in his first term) and if Iran doesn’t start to negotiate with the US the consequences could be the destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons program," Leighton said.

Reuters [4/2/2025 2:40 AM, Joe Cash, Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard, 41523K] reports China’s military held long-range live-fire drills in the East China Sea on Wednesday in an escalation of ongoing drills around Taiwan, saying it was practicing precision strikes on port and energy facilities but with no details on the exact location. The exercises follow a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China called a "parasite" on Tuesday, and come on the heels of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticised Beijing. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly denounced Lai as a "separatist". Lai, who won election and took office last year, rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. China’s Eastern Theatre Command said that on Wednesday as part of the Strait Thunder-2025A exercise its ground forces had conducted long-range live-fire drills into the waters of the East China Sea, though it did not give an exact location. "The drills involve precision strikes on simulated targets of key ports and energy facilities, and have achieved desired effects," it said, without elaborating. Taiwan’s benchmark stock index (.TWII), opens new tab briefly slipped into the red after the announcement, but closed up 0.1%. China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced late Tuesday a closed zone for shipping due to military drills until Thursday night in an area off the north part of the eastern province of Zhejiang, more than 500 km (310 miles) from Taiwan. A senior Taiwan defence official told Reuters that was outside Taiwan’s "response zone". FOX News [4/1/2025 7:51 AM, Greg Norman, 46189K] reports "China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the South China Sea," Taiwan’s Presidential Office wrote on X. "We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior.” Taiwan defense officials added that they had been tracking the movement of China’s Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that its carrier group had entered into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday. In response, Taiwan dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems, according to Reuters. "I want to say these actions amply reflect (China’s) destruction of regional peace and stability," Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said. China’s Xinhua News Agency said the Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday conducted "multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island.” CBS News [4/1/2025 5:47 AM, Tucker Reals, 51661K] reports Taiwan’s Presidential Office said in a message on the social media platform X that "China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the #Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines & the SCS. We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior." The SCS refers to the South China Sea, the strategic waterway that China claims almost in its entirety. China’s navy also recently held drills near Australia and New Zealand for which it gave no warning, forcing the last-minute rerouting of commercial flights. China’s latest exercises around Taiwan come days after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Japan, where he announced a boost to America’s close military partnership with the Asian nation aimed directly at countering Chinese "aggression" in the region. Hegseth, in Tokyo on Sunday, called Japan an "indispensable partner" in deterring Chinese assertiveness and announced an upgrade of the U.S. military command in Japan to a new "war-fighting headquarters." He stressed the need for the U.S. and Japan to do more to strengthen their military capability as the region faces China’s rising assertiveness in its myriad territorial disputes in the region. "Japan is our indispensable partner in deterring Communist Chinese military aggression," Hegseth said at the beginning of his talks with Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in Tokyo. "The U.S. is moving fast, as you know, to reestablish deterrence in this region and around the world." Hegseth’s visit came amid concern in Japan about how U.S. engagement in the region could change under President Trump’s "America First" policy, Japanese defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. Mr. Trump has threatened to impose trade tariffs on Japan, a key U.S. ally, sparking more concern.

The Hill [4/1/2025 7:46 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 12829K] reports the Trump administration on Tuesday issued a warning to China after Beijing announced large-scale war games in the waters and airspace around Taiwan. The joint military drills, which were launched with no prior notice and included China’s army, navy and air and rocket forces, were meant as a "severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence," according to a spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the National Security Council had briefed her on the exercises and that President Trump "is emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, encouraging the peaceful resolution of these cross-strait issues, [and] reiterating our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.” China views Taiwan as its own sovereign territory and has frequently threatened to take the independently-governed island by force. The U.S., however, views the island as a strategic partner, selling it billions of dollars in weapons and equipment. Washington also must treat threats to Taipei with "grave concern," according to U.S. law. So far under the Trump administration, U.S. officials have maintained diplomatic support for Taiwan, with the president and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in February issuing a joint statement opposing any attempt to alter the current situation in the Taiwan Strait through force or coercion. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also traveled to the region last week to meet with counterparts in Japan and the Philippines. While there, he vowed to enhance U.S. military alliance with the two countries to counter "China’s aggression.”

CNBC [4/2/2025 12:33 AM, Anniek Bao, 35355K] reports the U.S. on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Taiwan as China extended to a second day its large-scale military exercises off the coast of the democratically governed island. “In the face of China’s intimidation tactics and destabilizing behavior, the United States’ enduring commitment to our allies and partner, including Taiwan, continues,” Tammy Bruce, U.S. Department of State spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday evening stateside. China’s army, navy and rocket forces on Tuesday launched a joint exercise, with the military describing it as a “stern warning” against forces looking to undermine peace in the Taiwan Strait. “China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk,” the State Department said, adding that the U.S. “opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including through force or coercion.” Chinese military said it has been practicing assaults on maritime and ground targets and blockade exercises to test the joint operation capabilities of its troops. On Wednesday, it carried out precision strikes on simulated targets such as ports and energy facilities in the latest exercise code named “Strait Thunder-2025 A,” according to PLA’s Senior Colonel Shi Yi. The Defense Ministry in Taipei said it detected 76 aircraft, 15 navy vessels and 4 official ships operating around the island as of 6 a.m. That marked the largest scale of aircraft deployment by PLA since the “Joint Sword-2024B” war exercises last October when Taiwan said China used a record number of military aircrafts. The armed forces in Taiwan have employed aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems in response.

CNN [4/2/2025 4:55 AM, Brad Lendon, 908K] reports the United States has approved the potential sale of 20 F-16 fighter jets to Manila, giving the key US ally in the Indo-Pacific a major upgrade to its air force just days after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to counter "China’s aggression.” The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the proposed sale of the F-16s and related equipment, worth an estimated $5.58 billion, in a statement on Tuesday. "This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in Southeast Asia," DSCA said. The announcement comes less than a week after Hegseth visited the Philippines, his first trip to Asia as defense chief, and said Washington will enhance its military alliance with Manila as it aims to "reestablish deterrence" to counter "China’s aggression" in the Indo-Pacific region. On Wednesday, China cautioned Manila on the deal. "Any defense and security cooperation that the Philippines engages in with other countries should not target or harm the interests of any third party, nor should it threaten regional peace and security or escalate tensions in the region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said. "As for who is fueling the flames, who is provoking military confrontation, and who is turning Asia into a powder keg, we believe that regional countries can see the situation clearly.” The Philippines has been on the front lines of China’s increasingly aggressive posture in Asia. Beijing seeks to assert its claim over the bulk of the South China Sea, despite an international ruling denying its sovereignty over the waterway. Hegseth said Friday the US would deploy additional advanced military capabilities to the US ally for joint training, enhance interoperability for "high end operations" and prioritize defense industrial cooperation. In its statement, DSCA said Manila had requested to buy 16 F-16Cs – single-seat, single-engine fighter jets – and four F-16Ds, dual-seat jets that are usually used for training purposes.

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