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

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

The New York Times [8/1/2025 2:35 PM, Zach Montague, 138952K] reports a federal judge in Washington barred the Trump administration on Friday from summarily removing hundreds of thousands of migrants who had been paroled into the United States after fleeing instability or violence in their home countries, blocking an aggressive push by the Department of Homeland Security to deport noncitizens. The move came in a ruling by Judge Jia M. Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that blocked the administration’s termination of a Biden-era program that allowed migrants fleeing Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti to stay in the United States for up to two years. The ruling halted, for now, the rapid removal of individuals paroled into the United States “at any time.” In her ruling, Judge Cobb said the case presented “a question of fair play,” expressing dismay at what she described as an already tenuous legal landscape shifting under migrants’ feet at the whim of the Trump administration. She noted recent efforts to step up detention and deportation quotas, leaving migrants subject to rapid deportation at the hands of immigration agents, often with little recourse to challenge their arrest or removal through normal channels. Judge Cobb, a Biden appointee, also noted a marked rise in expedited removals after pressure from Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, and Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, who in May demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement step up immigration arrests to 3,000 per day. Judge Cobb took particular exception to the government’s use of expedited removal more generally, noting that it left people who might be seeking other avenues to stay in the country legally deprived of access to their families or lawyers. The Washington Post [8/1/2025 2:02 PM, Marianne LeVine, 32099K] reports U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb of D.C. said in her ruling Friday that DHS had exceeded its authority by summarily deporting those immigrants under a process known as “expedited removal,” which allows officers to remove certain individuals without granting them a full court hearing. Cobb said the “underlying question” is “whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules.” “Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that — as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers without explanation or charges — may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape,” she wrote. Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a statement that “Judge Cobb is flagrantly ignoring the United States Supreme Court, which upheld expedited removals of illegal aliens by a 7-2 majority.” She added that the “ruling is lawless and won’t stand.” The case brought forward by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, the UndocuBlack Network and CASA challenged three new policies DHS has implemented since Trump’s inauguration. CBS News [8/1/2025 5:11 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 51860K] reports Parole is an immigration authority that allows federal officials to admit foreigners on humanitarian grounds, and lets them live and work in the U.S. legally on a temporary basis. If left in place, Cobb’s ruling could significantly hinder the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to ramp up its mass deportation campaign by targeting migrants allowed into the U.S. under the Biden administration through the parole authority. The Justice Department is expected to appeal her order.

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AP [8/1/2025 4:52 PM, Michael Kunzelman and Elliot Spagat]
Reuters [8/1/2025 5:17 PM, Jonathan Stempel, 51390K]
ABC News [8/1/2025 6:13 PM, Staff, 31733K]
CNN [8/1/2025 1:16 PM, Angélica Franganillo Díaz, 21433K]
Telemundo 20 [8/1/2025 2:38 PM, Staff, 37K]
Univision [8/1/2025 2:38 PM, Staff, 4992K]
Washington Examiner [8/1/2025 6:21 PM, David Zimmermann, 1934K]

The Hill [8/1/2025 10:32 AM, Rebecca Beitsch, 18649K] reports that a federal judge ruled against Trump administration plans to end protections from deportation for citizens of Nepal, Nicaragua and Honduras, barring their removal while the case continues. San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson agreed the plaintiffs had shown there was sufficient racial animus behind the decision and that the Trump administration had failed to undertake an "objective review of the country conditions" before ending protections. "The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood," Thompson wrote. "The Court disagrees." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepal in June and for Nicaragua and Honduras in July. Each country was initially designated after natural disasters, but the protections can also be offered to people unable to be deported to their home country due to civil unrest. The moves would require 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans who have been in the country for roughly 25 years to leave the county by September. Some 7,000 Nepalese citizens were also set to lose protections in just days. Thompson reviewed a number of prior comments from President Trump as well as Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, including comments from the secretary referring to migrants as criminals and gang members, and the president stating that migrants were "poisoning the blood of our country." The New York Times [8/1/2025 4:20 PM, Zach Montague, 153395K] reports that the administration is trying to end protections for Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Nepalis through a program known as Temporary Protected Status, which is intended to shield migrants from deportation if their home countries are facing natural disasters or conflict. The changes were set to go into effect in the coming weeks, but Judge Thompson blocked them at least until a hearing set for Nov. 18. “By stereotyping the T.P.S. program and immigrants as invaders that are criminal, and by highlighting the need for migration management, Secretary Noem’s statements perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population,” she wrote. “Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” she added. Among other comments, Judge Thompson cited Ms. Noem’s reference to immigrants in a news interview as “some of the most dangerous people in the world” and her remarks that other countries were emptying “their prisons, their mental institutions” and sending those people to the United States. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Judge Thompson was editorializing while ignoring the meaning of federal law. “T.P.S. was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a department spokeswoman. “This is yet another example of how out-of-control judges are race baiting to distract from the facts,” she said, and the president’s “constitutionally vested powers under Article II.” “We will appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us,” she added. Breitbart [8/1/2025 2:36 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for tens of thousands of migrants in the United States from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. Though meant to be temporary, since the Clinton administration, TPS has been transformed into a de facto amnesty program as nearly every president has routinely extended it and designated new countries for TPS status. In response, TPS migrants, represented by Soros-linked organizations, sued the Trump administration to stop their deportations. The lawsuit accuses Trump and Noem of racism for ending TPS, claiming the migrants are being targeted because they are non-European and non-white. In a ruling this week, Judge Trina Thompson — appointed by former President Joe Biden to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California — blocked the Trump administration from ending TPS for the migrants while the case makes its way through federal courts. Thompson seemed to agree with the migrants’ accusations of racism, writing that Trump and Noem have invoked a "discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population" and that "color is neither a poison nor a crime," citing "racial animus" as the motivation behind the administration’s decision to end TPS. "The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek," Thompson wrote in her ruling. "Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood."

Reported similarly:
New York Post [8/1/2025 1:49 PM, Josh Christenson, 49956K]
FOX News [8/1/2025 5:19 PM, Louis Casiano, 46878K]
FOX News [8/1/2025 2:44 PM, Ashley Oliver, 46878K] Video: HERE

CNN [8/1/2025 6:47 PM, Devan Cole, 21433K] reports that a federal appeals court appeared ready on Friday to become the second such court in the country to rule that President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unlawful. A three-judge panel of the Boston-based First US Circuit Court of Appeals spent two hours looking skeptically at Trump’s Day One order in a series of cases in which lower courts said the policy violated the Constitution, decades-old Supreme Court precedent and federal law. "We have an opinion of the Supreme Court that we aren’t free to disregard," Chief Judge David Barron said at one point, referring to an 1898 Supreme Court case known as United States v. Wong Kim Ark that affirmed the idea that most people born on American soil are entitled to citizenship. Other members of the panel similarly said they were required to stick with the holding in that case, including Judge Julie Rikelman, who said the Trump administration was essentially asking the court to adopt the dissenting opinion issued in the 19th century case. "We have to apply the majority decision, not the dissenting opinion," she told DOJ attorney Eric McArthur. A ruling against the administration would represent the second time this summer that an appeals court, after reviewing the merits of Trump’s order, concluded that it was unlawful. Last month, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided against Trump in a separate case. The rulings could ultimately be appealed up to the Supreme Court. The First Circuit judges did not indicate on Friday when they would issue a decision. FOX News [8/1/2025 2:56 PM, Breanne Deppisch, 46878K] reports that the hearing comes roughly five weeks after the Supreme Court partially sided with the Trump administration in a case centered on the birthright citizenship order. Justices narrowed when lower courts can issue so-called "universal injunctions" blocking the president’s orders from taking effect nationwide. Trump signed his birthright citizenship executive order on his first day in office. It seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Instead, the language put forth by the Trump administration, and subsequently blocked, would have clarified that individuals born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright

Reported similarly:
Reuters [8/1/2025 4:44 PM, Nate Raymond, 51390K]

Blaze [8/1/2025 2:30 PM, Julio Rosas] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Blaze Media on the last day of her South American tour that Ecuador’s president said he would consider accepting Venezuelans who are in the United States illegally. Noem visited and signed deals with her counterparts this week in Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador to continue ensuring cooperation in the region to prevent illegal immigrants and hardened criminals from reaching North America. The idea of sending Venezuelans to a third country was presented to President Daniel Noboa by Noem during her hours-long meeting with him and other ministers at the Carondelet Palace. "We are very close to signing a safe third country agreement with [Noboa]. ... He has a program here where he is letting law-abiding Venezuelans come in, and he’s training them, giving them jobs, giving them visas for two years. And so I said, ‘Would you take some of ours because we have up to a million Venezuelans in the United States that are there illegally,’ and so he said he would consider it," Noem explained. "Those are discussions that happen when you are here that make it possible to speed up our efforts" for mass deportations, she added. Should a third-country agreement be solidified with Noboa, it would be a big win for the Trump administration domestically as well as regionally since it would then put pressure on other Latin American countries, like Brazil and Colombia, to play ball. "The more we’re building these relationships with other countries surrounding them and on their borders, the more pressure it puts on them. So those conversations are still ongoing," Noem said, noting that Colombian President Gustavo Petro "has not been helpful" on cracking down on drug trafficking in his country. Since much of the cocaine made in Colombia is then trafficked through Ecuador in order to reach the United States, Noem said the United States will help Ecuador fortify its border: "We were thinking out of the box in ways that we can help them harden their northern border and help fight these cartels so that it never reaches the United States." During the South American tour, the Department of Homeland Security launched its renewed recruitment drive for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement now that it has been given a large budget to support more personnel and higher pay. Noem revealed DHS has made job offers to 1,000 applicants to join ICE, with some of those offers being sent to former officers who left ICE during the Biden-Harris administration out of frustration. While in Ecuador, Noem signed an agreement to station an Ecuadorian police liaison at the Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center to streamline data-sharing between the two countries.

(B) WJLA 24/7 News ON YOUR SIDE at 8AM [8/1/2025 8:34 AM, Staff] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is in Ecuador aiming to boost border security. Yesterday, she signed a bilateral agreement to combat transnational crime by agreeing to share fingerprints, iris scans, and other biometric information on criminals, terrorists, and gang members, as well as enhanced extradition efforts. Earlier this week, Secretary Noem also met with leaders in Chile where they signed a similar agreement.

AP [8/1/2025 3:30 PM, Nokukhanya Musi] reports five immigrants deported by the United States to Eswatini in a secret deal last month had served their criminal sentences before they were sent to be held in a prison in the African country, a lawyer working on their cases said Friday. The Eswatini lawyer also said the men from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Vietnam sent to southern Africa under President Donald Trump’s third-country deportation program have been denied access to legal representation while being held in Eswatini’s main maximum-security prison. The lawyer, Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, said he hasn’t been allowed to see the men and that he filed court papers Thursday against the head of Eswatini’s correctional services department and the country’s attorney general, demanding access to them. He said he is representing them on behalf of lawyers in the U.S. and was prevented from seeing them by Eswatini prison officials on July 25. It’s unlawful for the men, who have been in Eswatini for around two weeks, to be denied access to a lawyer, he added. The Eswatini government has said the men will be held in solitary confinement until they can be deported to their home countries, which could take up to a year. The five sent to Eswatini were also described by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as serious criminals. Their convictions included murder and child rape, the department said in social media posts, calling them "uniquely barbaric."

The New York Times [8/2/2025 2:01 AM, Miriam Jordan and Tim Arango, 138952K] reports the Trump administration’s agenda suffered another setback late Friday when an appeals court upheld a decision that temporarily halts federal agents from making immigration-related arrests in the Los Angeles area without probable cause. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s finding that the raids appeared to exclusively rely on a person’s race and other factors, like speaking Spanish. The administration’s immigration raids have stirred protests and fear for many Latinos across the city, its suburbs and agricultural regions. The panel’s decision merely allows a temporary restraining order that had been imposed by the lower court to remain in place. It curtails, for now, the far-reaching operations that began in June as the case proceeds through the courts. Judge Maame E. Frimpong of Federal District Court in Los Angeles has scheduled a hearing in late September as she weighs a longer-lasting order known as a preliminary injunction. In their ruling on Friday night, the appellate judges wrote that the plaintiffs “are likely to succeed” in showing that federal agents made arrests based on how people looked, how they spoke and where they lived or worked. Civil-rights groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and Public Counsel filed suit on July 2 accusing the Trump administration of unconstitutional sweeps since early June. Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested. American citizens and immigrants who are legally in the United States have been caught in the dragnet, which fueled protests in Los Angeles and across the country. President Trump had said that other Democratic-led cities would also be targeted, suggesting that the aggressive enforcement tactics deployed in Los Angeles might be replicated elsewhere. In their 61-page ruling, the appellate judges, all of whom were appointed by Democratic presidents, said it was likely that the arrests were made without “reasonable suspicion.” The judges added that because the arrests were “part of a pattern of officially sanctioned behavior,” they were “likely to recur” without court intervention. Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the A.C.L.U. representing the plaintiffs, said the decision was “further confirmation that this administration’s paramilitary invasion of Los Angeles violated the Constitution and caused irreparable injury across the region.” The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, who has repeatedly called on the White House to end the aggressive enforcement actions, called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and for the city of Los Angeles” and called on residents to “stand together against this administration’s efforts to break up families who contribute every single day to the life, the culture and the economy of our great city.” The City and County of Los Angeles and seven other municipalities joined the lawsuit after heavily armed federal agents, escorted by National Guard troops, marched through MacArthur Park, in the heart of a bustling Latino enclave near downtown Los Angeles, on July 7 in a show of force. Reuters [8/2/2025 3:43 AM, Chandni Shah, 51390K] reports that the city of Los Angeles and other Southern California municipalities joined a lawsuit filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union accusing federal agents of using unlawful police tactics such as racial profiling to meet immigration arrest quotas set by the administration. A California judge last month blocked the Trump administration from racially profiling immigrants as it seeks deportation targets and from denying immigrants’ right to access to lawyers during their detention. In Friday’s unsigned decision, the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit largely rejected the administration’s appeal of the temporary restraining order. The judges agreed with the lower court in blocking federal officials from detaining people based solely on "apparent race or ethnicity," speaking Spanish or accented English, or being at locations such as a "bus stop, car wash, tow yard, day laborer pick up site, agricultural site, etc.” The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the order a victory for the city. "The Temporary Restraining Order that has been protecting our communities from immigration agents using racial profiling and other illegal tactics when conducting their cruel and aggressive enforcement raids and sweeps will remain in place for now," she said in a statement. Mohammad Tajsar, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, welcomed the ruling in statement: "This decision is further confirmation that the administration’s paramilitary invasion of Los Angeles violated the Constitution and caused irreparable injury across the region.”

Reported similarly:
AP [8/2/2025 3:20 AM, Jaimie Ding, 3077K]

NBC News [8/2/2025 2:00 AM, Phil Helsel and Bill Feather, 44540K] reports an appeals court on Friday kept in place a Los Angeles federal judge’s ruling that bars immigration agents from using a person’s spoken language or job, like day laborer, as the sole pretext to detain them. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its ruling said that there seemed to be one issue with U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong’s temporary restraining order, but it did not put it on hold as the government sought. The appeals court said that a part of the July 11 temporary restraining order referring to "except as permitted by law" was too vague. "Defendants, however, are not likely to succeed on their remaining arguments," the court ruled, referring to the U.S. government. Frimpong, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, issued the temporary restraining order after a lawsuit was filed by people who claimed they were detained by immigration officers without good reason. Three people were waiting at a bus stop for jobs when they were detained by immigration officials, and two others are U.S. citizens who claim they were stopped and aggressively questioned despite telling agents they were citizens. Other organizations, including the United Farm Workers, also sued. Frimpong wrote in the temporary restraining order ruling that the people suing were "likely to succeed in proving that the federal government is indeed conducting roving patrols without reasonable suspicion and denying access to lawyers.” The lawsuit that led to the temporary restraining order was filed against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and others. Kyle Harvick, the deputy incident commander for the government’s immigration action in Los Angeles, said that "certain types of businesses, including carwashes" were chosen by immigration agents "because past experiences have demonstrated that illegal aliens utilize and seek work at these locations," according to the appeals court ruling.

Reuters [8/2/2025 6:33 AM, Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson, 51390K] reports the Trump administration says that some serious criminals need to be deported to third countries because even their home countries won’t accept them. But a review of recent cases shows that at least five men threatened with such a fate were sent to their native countries within weeks. President Donald Trump aims to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally and his administration has sought to ramp up removals to third countries, including sending convicted criminals to South Sudan and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, two sub-Saharan African nations. Immigrants convicted of crimes typically first serve their U.S. sentences before being deported. This appeared to be the case with the eight men deported to South Sudan and five to Eswatini, although some had been released years earlier. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in June that third-country deportations allow them to deport people "so uniquely barbaric that their own countries won’t take them back." Critics have countered that it’s not clear the U.S. tried to return the men deported to South Sudan and Eswatini to their home countries and that the deportations were unnecessarily cruel. Reuters found that at least five men threatened with deportation to Libya in May were sent to their home countries weeks later, according to interviews with two of the men, a family member and attorneys. After a U.S. judge blocked the Trump administration from sending them to Libya, two men from Vietnam, two men from Laos and a man from Mexico were all deported to their home nations. The deportations have not previously been reported. DHS did not comment on the removals. Reuters could not determine if their home countries initially refused to take them or why the U.S. tried to send them to Libya. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin contested that the home countries of criminals deported to third countries were willing to take them back, but did not provide details on any attempts to return the five men home before they were threatened with deportation to Libya. "If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, you could end up in CECOT, Alligator Alcatraz, Guantanamo Bay, or South Sudan or another third country," McLaughlin said in a statement, referencing El Salvador’s maximum-security prison and a detention center in the subtropical Florida Everglades. DHS did not respond to a request for the number of third-country deportations since Trump took office on January 20, although there have been thousands to Mexico and hundreds to other countries.

FOX News [8/1/2025 2:45 PM, Alexandra Koch, 46878K] reports that an illegal immigrant from Honduras with a criminal history was recently arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a person three times during a public soccer game in Alabama. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer against 20-year-old Javier Lopez Tinoco, who is charged with attempted murder following a brutal stabbing attack in Baldwin County, Alabama. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tinoco on July 19 after he allegedly stabbed a victim three times during a public soccer game in Summerdale, according to DHS. After the attack, he allegedly fled the scene. The victim’s current condition is unknown. Police were able to track Tinoco down on July 29, and when he was arrested, authorities said he had four small bags of cocaine with him. Following the arrest, ICE immediately filed an arrest detainer to prevent Tinoco’s release and ensure he remains in custody pending criminal and removal proceedings. The stabbing incident was not Tinoco’s first run in with the law. He was arrested by police in 2024 for public intoxication, DHS confirmed. "A man was nearly KILLED because this Honduran illegal alien decided to go on a stabbing spree. These are the type of criminal illegal aliens ICE is working to get off our streets and out of our country," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "ICE lodged a detainer to ensure this criminal will never be loose in American neighborhoods again," McLaughlin added. "President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem will continue to put the safety of Americans FIRST."

Breitbart [8/1/2025 4:04 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports illegal aliens sent to Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades already have an order of removal, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said during a speech at the Florida Sheriffs Association Summer Conference this week. DeSantis spoke about how Florida is leading the way, going "so far above and beyond any other state in the country" and serving as a model for what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to see across the country.

NewsMax [8/1/2025 7:06 PM, Solange Reyner, 4622K] reports illegal labor "drives wages down for American workers," which is one of the reasons "we have vastly increased worksite enforcement operations," border czar Tom Homan told Newsmax on Friday. "True story: I hired a roofing company, and I had to call five different companies before I got one that guaranteed legal workforce. And I talked to a U.S. citizen father and son who used to have 20 U.S. citizen employees that they had to lay off because they couldn’t win a bid," Homan said on "Carl Higbie: FRONTLINE.” "They couldn’t win a job because other companies were paying illegal aliens a fraction of what a U.S. citizen made getting on that roof. And this happens a thousand times in this country. And this is why one of the reasons we have vastly increased worksite enforcement operations, protecting the American worker, protecting the job wage growth. And that’s one of the reasons we’re doing it," he added. Homan said President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts are making a "big difference, and not only on the job market.” "Let’s talk about the crime rate. Crime rate in many sanctuary cities where we’re focusing most of our resources has also dropped. Fentanyl seizures have dropped in half.” He said sex trafficking was way down too. "I mean, sex trafficking women and children are almost nonexistent on the southern border right now. The most secure border in our lifetime right now, along with interior enforcement, is sending the message to the whole world that you can’t cross this border illegally," he added.

FOX News [8/2/2025 6:30 AM, Bonny Chu, 46878K] reports Panama’s notorious Darien Gap, once a treacherous corridor for tens of thousands of U.S.-bound migrants, including dangerous criminals, is now virtually deserted amid President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino’s vow to shutter the deadly route. Migrant crossings in the remote 2,600-mile jungle trek connecting Colombia to Panama – which officials described as "notorious for exposing migrants, including children and the most vulnerable, to sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation" – have plummeted to just 10 in June, according to figures released by both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Panama’s National Migration Service. The new figures mark a staggering 99.98% drop from the route’s peak under the Biden administration in August 2023, when more than 82,000 migrants surged through the gap in a single month, according to the DHS. The sharp decline follows months of coordinated enforcement measures, including Trump’s mass deportation campaign and Mulino’s push to seal off the passage with increased immigration patrols. Officials say the joint effort is deterring migrants before they even begin the perilous journey. "In Panama’s Darien Gap, migrants are now turning BACK before they even reach our border— only 10 migrants crossed in June," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Thursday. "This is more than a 99.98% drop from the Biden high when 82,000 illegal aliens crossed in a single month. The world is hearing our message that America’s borders are closed to lawbreakers. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, we have the most secure border in American history.” The White House emphasized that under Trump’s immigration policies, the U.S. Border Patrol has not released a single illegal migrant into the country in recent months. "While immigration ‘experts’ and the mainstream media speculate over why fewer migrants are trying to illegally enter the United States, the real reason is evident to anyone paying attention, including the migrants themselves: President Trump," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement Friday to Fox News Digital. "Word of the United States’ secure border has spread so far around the world, that migrants aren’t even willing to make the dangerous journey to get here because they know they’ll be turned away. In recent months, Border Patrol has released zero illegal aliens into the United States. That’s a stat known all the way from here to the Darien Gap.” McLaughlin added that the administration remains focused on removing those already in the country unlawfully. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have been clear: If you come to our country illegally, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you. That’s a promise," McLaughlin said in a statement Friday to Fox News Digital. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [8/1/2025 4:19 PM, John Binder, 3077K]

Reuters [8/1/2025 8:21 AM, Gram Slattery, Ted Hesson, 4622K] reports the U.S. State Department is planning to spend up to $7.85 million to help Costa Rica deport immigrants, according to a document seen by Reuters, under an arrangement similar to a Biden-era program that drew criticism from migrant advocates. According to the document, the State Department will transfer money from its "economic support fund" - which is typically used to boost economic development in allied countries - to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement. DHS will then work with Costa Rican authorities to facilitate deportations from the Central American nation. Earlier in the year, Costa Rica agreed to a Trump administration request that it accept 200 immigrants originating from Africa, Asia and Europe who were in the U.S. illegally. While the plan was for Costa Rica to send those immigrants back to their countries of origin, dozens remain in the Central American country. Asked for comment, the State Department suggested that the new funds were mainly intended to help Costa Rica deport migrants passing through the country on the way to the U.S., rather than repatriate those immigrants deported from the United States. "The program will build capacity of the Costa Rican immigration authorities to stop the flow of illegal migration through its borders, while also providing training and resources on asylum screening," a spokesperson said. It was not clear if the Trump administration plans to set up similar programs to fund deportations from other Latin American nations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has traveled to several Latin American countries in recent months to discuss immigration issues, including Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Chile.

Reuters [8/1/2025 5:58 PM, Anna Mehler Paperny, 51390K] reports Canada is working with the United States to "deal with" countries reluctant to accept deportees as both nations increase efforts to ship migrants back to their home countries, according to a government document seen by Reuters. Since President Donald Trump began his second term in January, the United States has cracked down on migrants in the country illegally. But the U.S. has at times struggled to remove people as quickly as it would like in part because of countries’ unwillingness to accept them. The spokesperson added the CBSA has committed to deporting more people, from 18,000 in the last fiscal year to 20,000 in each of the next two years. The rise in Canada’s deportations largely reflects an increased focus on deporting failed refugee claimants. Refugee lawyers say that could mean some people are sent back to countries where they face danger while they try to contest their deportation.

Washington Post [8/1/2025 6:00 AM, Theodoric Meyer, 32099K] reports Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) will force votes in the coming weeks meant to compel the Trump administration to answer questions about human rights conditions in six countries to which it deported migrants who are not citizens of those countries. Kaine filed the resolutions Thursday under the Foreign Assistance Act, a 1961 law that allows a single senator to force votes to require the State Department to produce reports on human rights, even though Republicans control the Senate. It’s the latest effort by Democrats to pull the limited levers available to them to push back on President Donald Trump’s policies and actions. The Supreme Court ruled in June that the Trump administration could, for now, deport migrants to countries of which they are not citizens. Those deportations are part of the administration’s ramped-up efforts to remove undocumented immigrants from the United States — a central campaign promise from Trump. Kaine’s resolutions ask the State Department to report on human rights abuses, violations of due process and human trafficking in six countries that have agreed to accept such migrants: Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Rwanda, South Sudan and Eswatini. They also request assessments of the conditions in detention centers and prisons in those countries where migrants are detained and information about any agreements the administration struck with the countries or payments it made to them, among other details. “This is all about congressional oversight,” Kaine said. “Trump is using taxpayer dollars in an unusual way to send people to random countries that are not their home countries from which they came.”

CBS News [8/1/2025 8:54 AM, Scott MacFarlane, 51860K] Video HERE reports Carolyn Feinstein said she initially thought the message sent to her private email address on a late Friday afternoon was a scheme or a prank. It turned out that she was being fired from her federal job. Once Feinstein read the email, she discovered her work cellphone was no longer operating. Feinstein’s decade of work as a forensic auditor for the Justice Department’s Office of Trustee — which helps oversee bankruptcies — ended on July 18, when her employment was terminated in a three-paragraph message sent by an agency administrator. "This is a big loss to me," Feinstein told CBS News. Feinstein joins dozens of other Justice Department employees who have been ousted this year. Her firing was conducted in a similar fashion to other Justice Department terminations, via an email from the agency that cited the administration’s "Article II" power to fire employees. "I felt like I was just kind of left in the dark, because that termination letter really didn’t explain anything to me," Feinstein said. But Feinstein’s background and her case are different from the others. Feinstein’s husband, who operates a private business, developed a controversial phone app that helped users track the location of federal immigration agents. The ICEBlock app, which carries the moniker, "see something; tap something", bills itself as an "innovative, completely anonymous crowdsourced platform that allows users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity with just two taps on their phone." In the days after the ICEBlock app was publicized in reporting by CNN and later by Trump ally and social media figure Laura Loomer, Feinstein said she notified her employers about threats she and her husband had been receiving from critics. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [8/1/2025 6:01 AM, Landon Mion, 46878K] reports two Colorado deputies have been disciplined for sharing information with federal immigration agents, which is a violation of state law enacted a few months ago. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued Mesa County Sheriff’s Deputy Alexander Zwinck last week after his cooperation with federal immigration agents on a drug task force was exposed during a Brazilian college student’s arrest for an expired visa, according to The Associated Press. While addressing the incident on Thursday, Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell said Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a 19-year-old nursing student, was pulled over by Zwinck for a traffic stop on June 5 after she was allegedly driving too close to a semi-truck. While Dias-Goncalves was released with a warning after about 20 minutes, federal immigration agents stopped her and arrested her shortly after. Zwinck had shared her location and a description of her vehicle in a group chat that included ICE agents, Rowell said. She was arrested by ICE and taken to a detention facility, where she was held for 15 days before being released on bond. An internal investigation revealed a second Mesa County deputy and task force member, Erik Olson, also shared immigration information with federal agents. Zwinck was placed on three weeks of unpaid leave and Olson was placed on two weeks of unpaid leave, Rowell said in a statement. Both were removed from the task force. Two supervisors were also disciplined, with one suspended without pay for two days and another receiving a letter of reprimand. A third supervisor received counseling.

New York Times [8/1/2025 10:10 AM, Emily Badger, 138952K] reports that as the Trump administration has sought to amass personally sensitive data on millions of individuals in America, it has run into one roadblock. The states, and not the federal government, hold many of the details Washington officials would now like to see. The states administer many safety-net programs funded with federal dollars. They run elections and register voters. They track employers and individual workers. That means they hold a clearer, more recent portrait of where to find people, what needs they have and who lives with them. The Trump administration is now expanding its data push to this trove, reaching into domains long controlled by the states — and further into their residents’ lives. This week, 20 states with Democratic attorneys general, along with the District of Columbia and Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its demand for data on anyone who has applied for or received food stamps in the last five years. Democratic states are also suing the Department of Health and Human Services for taking data the states have shared to administer Medicaid and giving it to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement. The Department of Justice has also sought nonpublic voter files from states. The federal government has been more explicit about how it plans to use Medicaid information. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (C.M.S.) and the Department of Homeland Security reached an agreement in July giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to Medicaid data to identify and locate immigrants.

Federalist [8/1/2025 7:24 AM, Jonathan L. Fahey and Karyann Parkinson, 1142K] reports an off-duty Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was sitting with a woman in a New York City park last Saturday evening when he was shot in the face during a robbery attempt. Fortunately, he is expected to survive the attack — an attack would never have happened if not for politics. Both suspects, Miguel-Francisco Mora Nunez and Christhian Aybar-Berroa, are illegal aliens admitted under the Biden administration’s lax immigration policy. It gets even worse. Both men were arrested repeatedly in New York City on new crimes but shielded from immigration enforcement under Sanctuary City policies. The good news is that the Trump administration is reversing Biden era "Catch-and-Release" policies, taking on sanctuary cities, and putting the safety of American citizens at the forefront, where it should have been all along. On July 8, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security issued an internal memorandum requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to detain and hold illegal aliens without the opportunity to argue for release at a bond hearing. In addition to aliens caught at the border, this policy interprets INA § 235 to apply to aliens apprehended internally, regardless of the amount of time they had spent in the country. This policy shift has been criticized by the usual suspects, who complain it denies due process, is inhumane, and provides for detaining individuals who have not been convicted. While the new policy will likely be challenged in court, the Trump administration stands on solid legal footing.

New York Post [8/1/2025 7:03 AM, Emily Crane, 49956K] reports a terrorist who bragged about helping Osama bin Laden mastermind the 9/11 attacks could be freed from a UK prison within days — despite officials declaring him a "risk to national security." Haroon Aswat — who previously set up an al-Qaeda training camp in the US — is set to be released from a secure psychiatric hospital unit where he’s currently locked up in the UK after he completes mental health treatment, The Sun reported. The twisted terrorist will be cut loose without a full risk assessment because of a legal loophole under the country’s Mental Health Act — a decision that’s sparked widespread fury. "This despicable man was behind one of the most deadly attacks in modern history. He should never experience freedom again," the country’s shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, said.

Los Angeles Times [8/1/2025 12:00 PM, Fidel Martinez, 14672K] reports that in the weeks since the U.S. government released hundreds of Venezuelan nationals incarcerated at El Salvador’s infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) and sent them back to their home country, several detainees have spoken out about the abuses they endured. Times staff writer Kate Linthicum and special correspondent Mery Mogollón spoke to Jerce Reyes Barrios, a 36-year-old former professional soccer player, who left Venezuela last year and tried to apply for asylum at the Otay Mesa border crossing in California. He was among the more than 250 men accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua street gang and sent to CECOT by the Trump administration in March. Reyes Barrios denies ever belonging to the criminal organization. His attorney, Linette Tobin, said in a court statement that her client was accused of being a gang member because of an arm tattoo that featured a soccer ball decorated with a crown — a nod to Spanish club Real Madrid CF. He says the maltreatment began the moment they were removed from the plane. "Welcome to El Salvador, you sons of bitches," Reyes Barrios claims the prison guards told them. "You’ve arrived at the Terrorist Confinement Center. Hell on earth.". Inside, Reyes Barrios said the men were constantly beaten. They were kept in overcrowded cells and slept on metal beds. They were hardly fed, were given contaminated water and were supervised by a sadistic staff. "There was blood, vomit and people passed out on the floor," he said. "Once again, the media is falling all over themselves to defend criminal illegal gang members," Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told the Washington Post. "We hear far too much about gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims."

Daily Caller [8/1/2025 12:28 PM, Staff, 1010K] reports the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday referred Harvard to the Department of Justice (DOJ), alleging the school will not tackle antisemitism "voluntarily.". HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) warned Harvard on June 30 that it violated the Civil Rights Act "based on its deliberate indifference towards antisemitic student-on-student harassment." HHS has now concluded that Harvard’s compliance "cannot be obtained voluntarily" due to its continued litigation against the Trump administration, and a referral to the DOJ is necessary, according to the memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. "Indeed, rather than voluntarily comply with its obligations under Title VI, Harvard has chosen scorched-earth litigation against the Federal government," the memo reads. "The parties’ several months’ engagement has been fruitless." Harvard did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. The two parties are currently wrapped up in several legal battles, one of which is currently being argued in court after Harvard sued the administration over its billions in funding cuts. The university has already been successful in some of its fights, including earning injunctions against two of the administration’s attempts to bar foreign students from Harvard. Harvard originally vowed not to "surrender" to the administration but later attempted to negotiate, though it maintained it would not relinquish any control to the federal government. The university has since taken steps to comply, recently announcing it would turn over documents to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for nearly all of its employees proving their citizenship and work eligibility. However, the school’s hesitation has cost it more than $2 billion in federal funding, and the Trump administration has also targeted Harvard’s accreditation and ability to host foreign students.

The Hill [8/1/2025 1:12 PM, Michael Bartiromo, 18649K] reports that a spokesperson for U.K. travel brands Jet2 and Jet2holidays said the company finds it "very disappointing" that the Trump administration promoted the Department of Homeland Security’s deportation efforts using a meme referencing Jet2. The meme had previously become popular on platforms including TikTok and Instagram, where users would share videos of themselves or others in compromising and sometimes harrowing situations, overlaid with the audio from a specific 2024 Jet2holidays commercial advertising flight and hotel packages. "Nothing beats a Jet2holiday!" a voiceover artist for the commercial states. In recent weeks, that audio clip has been overlaid over viral videos of people having mishaps on waterslides or frightening encounters with wildlife. Jet2 has even gotten in on the fun, launching a contest for a Jet2holidays voucher in response to the funny videos. The company does not, however, approve of the Trump administration’s use of the meme earlier this week. In a post shared by both the White House and the DHS, the audio from the 2024 Jet2holidays commercial is playing over video of people in shackles being escorted by ICE officials onto planes. "When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation," reads a caption under the video. "Nothing beats it!" Viewers on social media called the White House and DHS posts "disgraceful," "abhorrent" and "embarrassing." Jet2, in a statement shared to Nexstar, also called the video "disappointing."

Univision [8/1/2025 3:41 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports Miami-Dade police, in what they called Operation Stolen Dream, reported the arrest of Nelson David Ochoa Vasquez, 46, pastor of a church in the southwest of the county, and Ismier Gonzalez, 44, accused of organized fraud. According to authorities, a preliminary investigation revealed that Ochoa Vasquez, pastor of the Jireh Church of God, used his position to introduce victims seeking legal assistance to Gonzalez, who is accused of posing as an immigration attorney. As a result of the fraud, the victims paid the subjects approximately $21,000 for immigration services. According to the arrest report, between April 18, 2024, and January 18, 2025, the defendants orchestrated a scheme to defraud at least sixteen victims, using their church, Jireh Church of God, to introduce several victims to Mr. Ismer Gonzalez. Detectives believe there are more victims and are asking them to come forward to report or provide additional information about this case.

CNN [8/1/2025 6:50 PM, Gonzalo Zegarra, 21433K] reports that six watches that had been stolen from actor Keanu Reeves in Los Angeles were handed over to the FBI this week at the US Embassy in Santiago, Chile, nearly 9,000 kilometers away, to be returned to their owner. The discovery of the luxury watches "was circumstantial," the embassy said, as it occurred during a broader police investigation into home burglaries in the eastern part of the Chilean capital. Authorities were targeting a criminal group, not imagining its ramifications would extend to Hollywood. "In 2023, this gang was committing robbery offenses. Once they were fenced in and (the case) became widely reported due to the violence they used, some of these individuals migrated and began committing crimes abroad using the same modus operandi," Deputy Prefect Marcelo Varas, head of the Robbery and Criminal Intervention Investigation Brigade of the Chilean Investigative Police, told CNN. Varas explained that the gang sought to break into empty homes, but if they encountered someone, they would act violently. During the operations and raids, investigators located one of the suspects in a house in the commune of Peñalolén, where they found valuable items, including watches, one of which bore an inscription. Prosecutor Claudia Barraza said at the embassy handover ceremony there was no evidence that the criminal group that broke into Reeves’ home was the same one that brought the watches to Chile.

The Hill [8/1/2025 2:00 PM, Jonathan Zimmerman, 18649K] reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said all the right things last week after Hong Kong issued arrest warrants for 19 pro-democracy activists in other countries, including in the U.S. "The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational oppression," Rubio declared in a statement. "We will not tolerate the Hong Kong government’s attempts to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate Americans or anyone on U.S. soil." But we already tolerate the transnational oppression of one large group on our soil: Chinese students. And for the most part, our universities have kept silent about that. That’s because of the billions of dollars that Chinese students bring to American colleges, of course. We’re already facing an expected decline in Chinese enrollment because of the Trump administration’s threats against international students, which higher-education leaders have rightly condemned. But if we really cared about those students — and not just their tuition fees — we would also speak out against the Chinese government’s extraterritorial targeting of their fundamental freedoms. Anything less makes us look petty, scared and small.

NewsMax [8/1/2025 9:43 AM, Chad Wolf, 4622K] reports that President Donald J. Trump is once again proving he’s the only leader globally willing to hold Mexico accountable for their role in perpetuating the deadly fentanyl crisis. With his latest announcement threatening up to a 30% tariff on Mexican imports, President Trump is sending a clear message to Mexican leadership that their decades-long negligence on critical border issues must end. The fentanyl crisis — one of the primary reasons for the tariff response — is devastating our communities and killing tens of thousands of Americans each year. Since 2018, fentanyl alone has killed over a quarter of a million Americans. This number represents nearly 70% of all overdose deaths each year. The scale and human toll of this crisis is difficult to exaggerate. Our nation’s 47th commander in chief’s strategy wisely addresses the root source of nearly all fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. — our shared border with Mexico. While Mexican officials like to parade their "efforts" to curb the flow of illegal drugs, the truth is they’ve been failing for decades. Every gram of fentanyl entering our country represents a failure of Mexico to meet its most basic responsibility as our neighbor and trading partner. President Trump uniquely understands the power of leverage, and economic tariffs are often the only language that foreign governments understand. The grim toll of this epidemic rests partly on Mexico’s lax enforcement and weak policies. President Trump’s decisive tariff threat is exactly the kind of tough love Mexico needs to finally take this crisis seriously.

Breitbart [8/1/2025 4:24 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports Americans can expect to see more workplace raids, but American business owners will be held accountable too, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily. Lyons said they are going after those companies too, using the recent California marijuana grow operation as an example. Illegals arrested as part of that operation included those convicted of rape, child molestation, kidnapping, and more.

Breitbart [8/1/2025 3:10 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is hiring at an "extreme high rate," ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily, explaining that they are — under President Donald Trump’s leadership — going to fill their ranks with the "best and brightest former law enforcement, prior military, some veterans, [and] anyone that wants to come out and be in federal law enforcement." Lyons explained that the enforcement removal program — "which handles the deportation side and the fugitive side" — was just "decimated" in the last administration. Lyons also outlined incentives, looking at things such as a $50,000 signing bonus and student loan repayment forgiveness options.

NPR [8/1/2025 2:37 PM, Ximena Bustillo, 37958K] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is recruiting retired federal workers to join its enforcement, legal and investigative units as a part of a broader campaign to beef up hiring. The requests came in an email, which was shared with NPR and posted on LinkedIn and elsewhere online, and asked them to "serve once more." "This is a pivotal moment in our country’s history, and your experience and expertise are vitally needed," the email states, which includes a message on a new webpage. "On behalf of a grateful nation, we proudly call upon you to RETURN TO MISSION and claim your vital role among the courageous men and women of ICE." The push to rehire retired workers comes as the administration has also sought to downsize large swaths of the federal government through mass layoffs and other changes to long-standing norms. Immigration enforcement agencies have been among the few to be exempt from the efforts to encourage employees to voluntarily resign and hiring freezes. The Trump administration wants to recruit 10,000 people for immigration enforcement using new congressional funds approved last month, helping it meet a target of deporting 1 million people a year. The government has already deported more than 185,000 people during Trump’s second term, a senior DHS official said in an email, but deportations are still unlikely to reach 1 million at the current pace.

The Hill [8/1/2025 2:44 PM, Jeff Arnold, 18649K] reports that a recruiting email sent this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) deputy director is part of a federal hiring blitz of officers, but the promise of a $50,000 signing bonus directed at local sheriff’s deputies isn’t sitting well with some officials, who feel their departments are being poached. More than $46 billion of President Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" has been allocated to hiring an additional 10,000 ICE officers and employees. But to add manpower, ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan is actively targeting local departments with existing 287 (g) contracts with the federal government that allow local officers to cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts. In the email, which was obtained by NewsNation, Sheahan asks local law enforcement officers to consider joining ICE "during a critical time for our nation." Sheahan writes, "This is more than a job; it’s a continuation of your service to our country and an opportunity to work alongside dedicated professionals on the front lines of national security." The email, which is sent from an ICE email address with the name "Join the Mission," also promises a $10,000 for a new hire reaching their fifth anniversary. A minimum of five years is required to receive the incentives, the email said. The email also directs potential applicants to a hiring website, which, in addition to the signing bonus, offers the possibility of receiving up to $60,000 in student loan repayment and premium payment. ICE recruitment could hurt short-staffed sheriff departments. Despite the immigration enforcement cooperation between local and federal agencies that accompanies the 287 (g) agreement, some sheriffs take issue with ICE zeroing in on some local departments, which in some cases, already face staffing challenges.

NewsMax [8/1/2025 10:12 PM, Michael Katz, 4622K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Thursday arrested illegal immigrants across the United States, many of whom were convicted of offenses involving minors. "These aren’t just low-level offenders – they are sickening sexual predators and smugglers who pose real public safety threats to Americans," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a news release. "These are grisly criminals who exploited children, smuggled illegal aliens, and stalked Americans.” The news came two days after the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that ICE agents arrested more than 200 illegal immigrants in Houston in the past six months who have been charged or convicted of a sex offense involving a minor. The total of 214 arrests made through ICE’s Houston field office in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term are three more than the total arrested in fiscal 2024, the last of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, DHS said in a news release. Of the 214 arrests, 179 individuals had final orders of removal from an immigration judge and 141 have been deported. "Thanks to ICE Houston, there are 214 less pedophiles on our streets. These are the type of perverted predators ICE is targeting and removing from our country," McLaughlin said. "President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem will not allow these sickos to prey on children in the U.S. "Our message to these depraved criminals is clear: LEAVE NOW. If you don’t, we will hunt you down and deport you.” DHS included a list of some of the most notorious illegal immigrants apprehended Thursday: Taide Garcia-Penaloza, 45, a Mexican national who was convicted of indecency with a child — sexual contact in Bexar County, Texas. Antonio Nava-Capilla, 48, a Mexican national convicted of child abuse inflicting serious injury in Park City, Utah. Angel Ivan Ramirez-Escobedo, 20, a Mexican national convicted of human smuggling in El Paso, Texas. Jose Hernan Lucero-Lucero, 35, an Ecuadorian national convicted of unlawful surveillance and acting in a manner to injure a child under 17 in Suffolk County, New York. Leuam Vannavong, 50, a Laotian national convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a family member in Grand Haven, Michigan. DHS released a similar list of those apprehended by the House field office: Alvin Manuel Alvarez-Garcia, who was arrested Feb. 28 on charges of sexual assault of a child against their will. Wilmer Eduardo Banegas-Mejar, 24, a Honduran national who was arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14. Tayson Bautista Ramos, 27, a Guatemalan national who was last arrested on charges of lewd molestation of a minor. Juan Francisco Larios Cantarero, a Salvadoran national who was last sentenced to eight years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child in Dallas County. Jorge Humberto Carballeria, a Cuban national who had a prior removal order and a 2005 conviction for sexual assault of a child. He was arrested again in June on charges of sexual assault of a child under 14.

Washington Examiner [8/1/2025 7:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports federal immigration authorities have arrested nearly 150,000 illegal immigrants across the United States since the beginning of January, shortly before President Donald Trump took office and launched a mass deportation operation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Washington Examiner. As of late July, ICE had taken into custody 149,084 people, including nearly 50,000 over the past eight weeks. Between January and April, ICE made 68,714 arrests, an average of roughly 17,000 per month. The numbers went up in the following months to 25,645 in May, 34,962 in June, and 19,763 as of mid-July. Arrests have ramped up since a White House official blasted ICE officials in late May and commanded the federal police to go after all illegal immigrants, including those found in places that historically have not been targeted, according to David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank in Washington. "The increase in ICE arrests in recent weeks is a direct result of Stephen Miller’s demand that ICE stop focusing on public safety threats and profile people going to work or attending their hearings," Bier wrote in an email. "These arrests are creating chaos in the streets and explain President Trump’s falling approval rating on immigration." Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge who is now resident fellow in law and policy for the Center of Immigration Studies in Washington, said the number should come as no surprise given that Trump is following through on what he has long promised to do, if elected. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in late July that the government has "opened up the whole aperture of the immigration portfolio," allowing federal police to focus on all illegal immigrants.

Reuters [8/1/2025 2:12 PM, Jonathan Stempel, 51390K] reports that a U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit seeking to hold firearms maker Sig Sauer liable to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was injured when his P320 gun went off accidentally during a training drill. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said a trial judge erred by dismissing Keith Slatowski’s lawsuit after excluding testimony from two experts about whether the gun’s design could cause injury. Sig Sauer and its lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company has faced several lawsuits over alleged unintentional P320 firings. Slatowski’s gun discharged from within its holster after his hand hit the grip in September 2020 at a New Castle, Delaware firing range. A bullet went through his upper right hip and out his thigh. While unsure whether debris or the holster itself caused the trigger to depress, the former Marine said the lack of an external safety to prevent unexpected firings made his gun unsafe. Slatowski sought $10 million in damages. Writing for a three-judge appeals court panel, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas said the trial judge properly excluded testimony from the two experts about whether Slatowski’s gun caused his injury, because they hadn’t done testing.

But the appeals court said testimony about possible design flaws should have been admitted. It returned the case to U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick in Philadelphia for a possible trial.

Washington Post [8/1/2025 6:00 AM, Douglas MacMillan and Aaron Schaffer, 32099K] reports shortly after the election, newly named “border czar” Tom Homan approached an old friend and former colleague about helping him lead President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. But there was a problem: The friend, David Venturella, was just finishing a 12-year stint at private prison firm Geo Group, where securities filings show he was paid more than $6 million to run immigrant detention centers for the federal government. A federal ethics rule generally bars government employees from working on contracts awarded to their former employers for one year. Homan and Venturella discussed how the hiring could also invite public criticism of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s close ties to Geo, its largest contractor, according to a person Venturella later briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. So rather than appoint Venturella to a high-profile post at ICE, the Department of Homeland Security hired him as a full-time adviser and granted him a waiver from the ethics rule, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Post. The maneuver allowed him to avoid a potentially contentious Senate confirmation hearing and keep his name off public websites. Venturella, 59, is now the No. 2 official overseeing the ICE division that manages contracts for immigrant detention centers, according to an organizational chart and a person briefed on his role, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency matters.

FOX News [8/2/2025 6:00 AM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports that, after Democratic lawmakers filed a lawsuit over being denied access to a Maryland ICE facility, DHS is clarifying its simple procedures for members of Congress to request a visit to its facilities. According to ICE’s Office of Congressional Relations website, members of Congress need only submit a request via email at least seven days in advance of their desired visit. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson explained to Fox News Digital that the seven-day requirement is to "prevent interference with the President’s Article II authority to oversee executive department functions.” "A week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority," the spokesperson said, adding, "To protect the President’s Article II authority, any request to shorten that time must be approved by the Secretary.” The spokesperson also noted that "ICE law enforcement has seen a surge in assaults of 830%, as well as disruptions and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves.” A dozen Democrats are suing the Trump administration for "unlawful obstruction of congressional oversight" after Democratic members of the Maryland congressional delegation were denied entry to a Baltimore ICE facility on Monday. Maryland Democratic Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, along with Reps. Glenn Ivey, Johnny Olszewski, Sarah Elfreth and Kweisi Mfume, showed up in Baltimore at the Fallon Federal Building on Monday but were denied entry into an ICE detainment facility in the building. After being denied access to the facility, the group held a press conference outside the building in which Mfume said, "We had to stand outside, bang on the door and ultimately sit in front of the door.” The Democrats filed their lawsuit against the administration on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., said in a statement announcing the suit that "blocking Members of Congress from oversight visits to ICE facilities that house or otherwise detain immigrants clearly violates Federal law — and the Trump administration knows it.” In response, DHS Assistant Secretary for Communications Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that "these Members of Congress could have just scheduled a tour; instead, they’re running to court to drive clicks and fundraising emails.” After the incident, Ivey’s office shared a letter with Fox News Digital dated July 21 in which the delegation informed Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons of their intent to visit the Baltimore facility. The letter did not appear to be making any request. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., were also included in the letter.

Breitbart [8/1/2025 4:26 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a female member of the Romanian Theft Group accused of targeting Americans with coordinated retail thefts and fraudulent scams purporting to help sick children, Breitbart News has exclusively learned. Clara Badanac, a 55-year-old illegal alien from Romania, was arrested by ICE agents in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Sources told Breitbart News that Badanac is a member of the Romanian Theft Group, an organized crime syndicate known for scamming Americans out of money. Badanac remains in ICE custody pending deportation from the United States. In addition to Badanac’s arrest, ICE officials also announced a string of arrests across the sanctuary state of Massachusetts of illegal alien Romanian women — all involved in organized burglaries and thefts targeting Americans. The six Romanian illegal aliens are facing charges that include breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, conspiracy, possession of burglarious instruments, and resisting arrest. Some of the women had warrants out for their arrests in other states. "This burglary ring will no longer be able to victimize American citizens," the Department of Homeland Security’s Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "These criminal illegal aliens should never have been allowed to walk free on Massachusetts streets to steal from Americans — and under President Trump and Secretary Noem, they won’t."

CBS Baltimore [8/1/2025 11:46 AM, JT Moodee Lockman, 51860K] reports that six Maryland women were arrested in Massachusetts last week after breaking into a home and leading officers on a pursuit, according to police. After being released on bail, three of the women were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) officials, Norwood, Massachusetts police said. They allege that the women are part of an organized crime group, which they said was operating in multiple states. "This burglary ring will no longer be able to victimize American citizens," said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. On July 25, officers responded to a reported break-in at a home near Neponset Street in Norwood, Massachusetts. The women were identified as 42-year-old Mirabela Caldarau, 41-year-old Jajela Chiciu, 22-year-old Flavia Caldararu, 36-year-old Emilia Sardaru, 33-year-old Mihaela Ion, and 21-year-old Elizabeth Sardaru, according to police. They were charged with breaking and entering and resisting arrest. Several of the women also had warrants in other states for similar crimes, police said. After being arraigned, three of the women were released on bail and taken into custody by ICE. Two men arrived at the courthouse to post bail and were also arrested by ICE, according to Norwood police. The three other women remain in police custody. Officers said their preliminary investigation revealed that all the women are allegedly "part of an organized group engaged in similar criminal activity across multiple states.". Officers said the women and the two men are all related. "These criminal illegal aliens should have never should have been allowed to walk free on Massachusetts streets to steal from Americans—And under President Trump and Secretary Noem, they won’t," McLaughlin said in a statement. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [8/1/2025 10:34 AM, Greg Norman, 46878K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal officials arrested an illegal immigrant who was recently released from a county jail despite facing multiple charges of sex crimes against children. Oscar Adalberto Penate, a 56-year-old from El Salvador, was taken back into custody on July 27 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the IRS’ Philadelphia offices. The Department of Homeland Security said Penate – who had an ICE detainer placed on him – was allowed to walk out of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania "due to the county’s sanctuary policies.". "If the elected officials in Montgomery County are not going to protect the citizens of the county, we will," said ICE ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane said in a statement. "An illegal alien who committed a crime by unlawfully entering the United States, who is then charged with heinous crimes like this, should never be released to prey on the citizens of Montgomery County. "The sanctuary policies recently enacted by the Montgomery County Commissioners forced prison officials to release this individual to the streets rather than turn him over to ICE officials on the detainer filed against him," McShane added. "I am just glad we got him before he could harm another."

Washington Examiner [8/1/2025 9:56 PM, Amy DeLaura, 1934K] reports Arlington County Board members expressed disappointment this week when county legal officials confirmed they have no authority over whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wear masks while conducting local operations. The newest board member, JD Spain Sr., expressed concern during a board meeting, questioning whether there are any repercussions for federal agents who wear masks or don’t wear uniforms while working in the county, which is located in Northern Virginia. "The county is not able to regulate what federal officers are doing," Ryan Samuel, the Deputy County Attorney, said. "Each individual agency can set their own standards for whether officers are plainclothes or masked. And so it’s up to each federal agency. There isn’t a general federal statute that governs it.” Samuel said the regulation applies to public safety officers working on the Metro train system or the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. "Generally, the county can’t regulate what State Police or WMATA are doing," Samuel said. The deputy county attorney went on to say that at the state level, the 19.2-78 code of Virginia requires officers to wear a uniform identifiable to a reasonable person while making arrests on the streets of the Commonwealth. However, WMATA has explicit authority to require its officers to wear plain clothes. At the same meeting, board member Susan Cunningham asked Deputy Police Chief LaTasha Chamberlain if law enforcement agencies notify Arlington ahead of time when they plan to conduct operations in the county. "Generally, agencies outside of Arlington will notify our communication center that they are here," Chamberlain said. "Can ACPD verify the credentials of other law enforcement members when they are in the county?" Cunningham asked. "Law enforcement is really good about identifying themselves prior to us asking a question," Chamberlain confirmed. The questions come as the Arlington County Board voted in May to no longer allow the Arlington County Police Department to work with ICE and amid local outcry over ICE officers wearing masks while detaining people in the area. At another recent meeting, things got heated when County Board Chairman Takis P. Karantonis, who is up for reelection, claimed to be "offended" by his opponent Audrey Clement, the independent candidate for county board, for her take on the ACPD’s inability to work with ICE to arrest illegal immigrants who have been deemed terrorists, found human trafficking, or have committed a felony. Clement used her time to highlight comments made by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to Fox News on the arrest of David Cabrera. Cabrera is illegally in the country and was arrested back in June for a probation violation and released on July 11 despite having an active ICE detainer. "You have an individual that is the worst of the worst, someone convicted of rape, and we had the opportunity to deport him. We did deport him… and they don’t want to turn that individual over the right way," Lyons said.

Federalist [8/1/2025 1:30 PM, Joy Pullmann, 1142K] reports Republican Gov. Mike Braun announced on Friday Indiana will assist on multiple levels with federal efforts to enforce U.S. immigration laws after years of exponentially worsening illegal migration affecting Americans nationwide. "Indiana is not a safe haven for illegal immigration. Indiana will fully partner with federal immigration authorities as they enforce the most fundamental laws of our country," the governor said in a statement released minutes ago. Under cooperative agreements with the Trump administration announced on Friday, four Indiana agencies will increase their assistance to federal immigration enforcement: the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Correction, and Indiana National Guard. A new U.S. law passed in July funds thousands more Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The governor’s moves, the results of months of work with the Trump administration, come as several top Indiana Republicans have publicly opposed their voters’ strong desire for immigration enforcement. U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Third District, recently cosponsored a bill to end the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws against illegal entrants. State Sen. Liz Brown may soon face a primary challenger backed by U.S. Sen. Jim Banks for blocking an immigration enforcement bill this spring on behalf of state legislative leadership. Both houses of the Indiana legislature are controlled by Republicans. The cooperation agreements also clarify the governor’s position on illegal immigration for voters. Last week, in-state media suggested the governor may only support deporting foreign citizens who have committed crimes beyond illegal entry.

NewsMax [8/1/2025 1:57 PM, Charlie McCarthy, 4622K] reports that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday supported state law enforcement officials who are encouraging Immigration and Customs Enforcement to seek new employees from among people who aren’t already assisting in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort. ICE recently sent recruitment letters to "a lot" of Floridians working in state agencies and "dangling like a lot of bonus money and all this other stuff," DeSantis said during a press conference at Florida Highway Patrol Headquarters in Orlando, Florida. "I know some sheriffs have had concerns that that’s happening," the governor said. "It’s like, ‘Hey, we’ve been doing all this stuff to help you guys, and now you’re trying to poach our people who are already in the fight. Why not recruit additional people to be supplementing that instead of just kind of displacing.’" Local agencies in Florida are among those who have partnered with the federal government via the 287(g) program, which allows ICE to authorize state and local law enforcement officers to perform specific immigration enforcement duties under ICE’s supervision. "We’ve gone above and beyond as a state," DeSantis said. "All these sheriffs’ departments and many police departments have done these agreements [with ICE]. They have folks that have now been certified or are in the process still of doing that. That’s been a huge help to ICE." "Sheriffs losing deputies who are in this [immigration] fight to just wear a different jersey, basically, but still be in the fight, that doesn’t necessarily add to what we’re doing. It’s just moving someone over," added DeSantis.

CBS News [8/1/2025 9:09 AM, Kati Weis, 51860K] Video HERE reports a wife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of two was released from ICE custody on Monday after being detained in May during what she says she thought was a routine immigration office visit, she and her husband tell CBS News. "I feel like a mom again, because well, I was, at some points, I was feeling guilty, like I failed my kids, because I was, you know, without them," Paola Clouatre, 25, said in a phone interview Thursday. She had just given birth to their second child and was still breastfeeding when she was detained on May 27. She was taken to an ICE detention facility in northern Louisiana, about four hours away from their Baton Rouge home. Her husband, Adrian Clouatre, would drive eight hours round-trip each week to visit with their infant daughter and 2-year-old son. "It was very difficult," Paola said. "They gave me a pump so I could pump milk and continue producing milk for when the baby came to be able to give it to her." Adrian Clouatre, 26, served in the Marine Corps for five years as an intelligence analyst. He said his wife was put in handcuffs in the lobby of an immigration enforcement field office in New Orleans after wrapping up a meeting with a staffer from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about her green card application. "I was furious," he said in an interview with CBS News in June about the arrest. "I felt betrayed. They told us we passed the interview. ... They knew I was a veteran, they knew that my wife was breastfeeding our 9-week-old daughter, they knew we had two kids. ... I cried the whole way to my car after I left the building." But this week, Adrian said he finally got the call he’d been hoping for — his wife said she was going to be released, and he needed to make the drive one last time to pick her up.

(B) WLBT 12:30PM News [8/1/2025 1:49 PM, Staff] reports that weeks after the controversial immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz opened, the federal government is building another new and even larger facility. The US Army and ICE have teamed up to build what has been described as the nation’s largest immigration detention center near the Mexican border. According to the Department of Defense, the 5,000-bed facility is being built over the next two years in El Paso. Senator Cornyn said the sites are necessary and will be overseen by Congress.

FOX News [8/1/2025 2:04 PM, Staff, 46878K] Video HERE reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer on a previously deported illegal migrant charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in his apartment complex in Pasadena, Texas. In arrest records from July 2, investigators said Jose Maldonado-Zavala, a 60-year-old from Honduras, pretended the victim’s air conditioner was leaking into his apartment, then grabbed and dragged her into his apartment and sexually assaulted her. The victim then fought off the suspect and managed to escape, according to records. "This depraved criminal illegal alien should have never been in our country," said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "Local police charged Maldonado-Zavala with kidnapping and sexually assaulting his neighbor. "We will not allow criminal illegal aliens to prey on American citizens. This monster was already deported once in 2011. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, we now have the most secure border in history and have stopped criminals like this from invading our country," McLaughlin added. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Univision [8/1/2025 5:47 PM, Staff, 4992K]

FOX News [8/1/2025 6:31 PM, Louis Casiano and Bill Melugin, 46878K] reports that an illegal immigrant from Mexico accused of attempting to run over federal agents in Colorado was previously deported six times and has prior convictions for child abuse and domestic violence. Jose Mendez-Chavez, 31, was the driver of a vehicle used to attack U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they were conducting an operation in Colorado Springs. He remains on the loose. Francisco Zapata-Pacheco, a passenger in the car, was arrested Thursday. "As a result of their violent actions and to protect the officers and agents onsite, an officer fired three shots into the vehicle. The aliens fled and later abandoned the vehicle," an ICE spokesperson said. No one was injured, ICE said. The agency also criticized the Colorado Rapid Response Network (CRRN), an anti-ICE group that responds to immigration raids to disrupt the operations. "It is despicable that Colorado Rapid Response network would show up in defense of an alien who has abused children and attempted to injure our officers," the ICE spokesperson said. "Our brave ICE law enforcement officers are facing an 830% increase in assaults against them as they carry out operations due to the misinformation activist groups spread.". "Mendez was not an ‘innocent victim’ he is an abuser who plays the system and is now wanted for assault on a federal officer," the statement continued.

FOX News [8/1/2025 11:32 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports that Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin discusses an incident in Colorado where ICE agents were attacked by two criminal migrants during a targeted operation on ‘America’s Newsroom.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [8/1/2025 9:26 PM, Lowell Cauffiel, 3077K] reports three Colorado sheriff’s department employees — two deputies and a sergeant — were suspended without pay for violating a new sanctuary state law that prohibits them from sharing information with federal immigration agents. Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell took the action after an internal review of events leading up to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention of Utah college student Caroline Dias-Goncalves last month. The 19-year-old nursing student from Brazil was pulled over by Deputy Alexander Zwinck in a traffic stop on June 5 after she was allegedly tailgating a semi-truck. The deputy released Dias-Goncalves with a warning. But 20 minutes later, ICE agents stopped her and arrested her for an expired visa. According to the sheriff, Zwinck had shared her location and a description of her vehicle in a group chat that included ICE agents. The deputy belonged to a drug task force made up of law enforcement from the city of Grand Junction and various state and federal agencies. ICE then took the student to a detention facility. Immigration services detained her for 15 days before she was released on bond. In a lengthy statement on the matter, Rowell apologized for the agency’s involvement and said three sheriff’s office employees "acted outside of agency policy.” The sheriff conducted the review after Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued Deputy Zwinck last week. The review revealed that task force member Erik Olson also shared immigration information with federal agents. Zwinck was placed on three weeks of unpaid leave, Olson was on two weeks of unpaid leave, and both were removed from the task force and assigned to patrol. A third officer, Sgt. Joe LeMoine, was suspended for two days. Zwinck and Olson reportedly told officials that they believed they were following standard procedures and were not aware of the new law.

Blaze [8/1/2025 5:40 PM, Paul Sacca, 1805K] reports the ex-girlfriend of a Delta Air Lines pilot — who was recently arrested on child sex abuse charges after touching down in California on a commercial airliner — has also been charged in the disturbing case that allegedly involves her young daughter, according to officials. As Blaze News reported on Tuesday, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations reportedly stormed the cockpit of a Delta Air Lines plane and dragged the co-pilot off the commercial airliner that landed at San Francisco International Airport on July 26. The pilot — 34-year-old Rustom Bhagwagar of Florida — was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. Bhagwagar was initially charged with five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age. However, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office levied a total of 24 felony counts against Bhagwagar on Wednesday. The charges include engaging in a sexual act with a child 10 years old or younger, oral copulation with a child, forceable lewd acts upon a child, and aggravated sexual assault of a child. A judge raised Bhagwagar’s bail from $5 million to $15 million. Law enforcement recently revealed that Bhagwagar’s ex-girlfriend is also accused of being involved with the sickening allegations of child sex abuse. The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that 45-year-old Jennifer Powell was arrested on Wednesday. Detectives from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office arrested Powell in "connection with an ongoing investigation into sex crimes against a child." Police said Powell is the mother of the alleged child sex abuse victim. The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said Powell was "charged in a related felony complaint and has been booked into the Martinez Detention Facility." The DA noted that both Powell and Bhagwagar face sentences of 15 years to life in state prison.

Telemundo [8/1/2025 6:51 PM, Guillermo Mendez, 37K] reports that immigration enforcement operations have sown fear among the working immigrant community. A new report from the University of California, Merced, shows the impact of this fear on the state’s economy. In California, more than 460,000 people did not report to work in the private sector in June, compared to May. These figures, reported during the week in which the raids in Los Angeles intensified, represent a 3% drop. These figures are similar to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Recession. "They have families, they have money to pay, and they are an important part of our economy," said Edward Flores, a researcher at UC Merced, referring to undocumented workers. Using U.S. Census data, Flores found that the impact was felt not only by the undocumented community; more than 270,000 Californians were also absent from work. "Non-citizen workers also care for children or the elderly so others can work. If they can’t do that work, then citizens who are in the labor market have to return home," Flores added. "It greatly affects the economy because they’re doing jobs like cleaning, construction, and field work," explains Brigette Browning, president of Unite Here Local 30, which represents hospitality workers in San Diego. Browning explains that some of her members have fallen prey to immigration agents, and many others aren’t leaving their homes as they used to.

FOX News [8/1/2025 9:00 AM, Morgan Phillips, 46878K] reports New Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow is wasting no time shaking up the path to American citizenship. Just weeks into the job, he’s calling for a major overhaul of the U.S. naturalization test — blasting the current version as too soft and out of step with what Congress envisioned. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Edlow said the civics and English exam, which forms the backbone of the naturalization process, fails to reflect the knowledge and assimilation he believes should be required to become an American. "The test needs to reflect the letter and the spirit of what Congress intended," Edlow said. "It’s important for people to understand English, our history, our government... and the way the test is written and executed right now doesn’t meet that bar.".

Telemundo52 [8/1/2025 6:36 PM, Staff, 103K] reports the government of President Donald Trump criticized Friday the ruling of a federal judge who reinstated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration benefit was not conceived as a "de facto" asylum system. A federal judge extended this Thursday the protection that was to end on August 5 for some 7,000 immigrants from Nepal, while on September 8 the benefit to live and work in the U.S. would end in the case of about 51,000 Hondurans and almost 3,000 Nicaraguans. The immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleging that it terminated the benefit, which protects them from deportation, due to "racial animus".In that sense, DHS Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the cancellation of the injunction responds to a mandate to "restore the integrity" of the immigration system and return to the original goal of TPS. "TPS was never intended to be a de facto asylum system; however, that is how it has been used by previous administrations for decades," she said. McLaughlin also charged against Judge Trina Thompson, who ordered the extension of TPS for the three countries, saying that the ruling is "another example" of judges inciting racism to divert attention from the facts. He added that DHS will appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts. The Trump administration has canceled TPS for some 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans and at least half a million Haitians, among other migrants.

(B) The National News Desk [8/1/2025 8:34 AM, Staff] reports that the Trump administration is expected to appeal an order from a Biden-appointed federal judge that is slowing down deportation operations. Overnight, the judge blocked the administration from removing temporary protected status for migrants from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal. The migrants from those countries have been protected from deportation for at least a decade.

Telemundo [8/1/2025 8:26 PM, Miryam Villarreal , 57K] reports more than 2,300 DACA recipients in California will lose their health insurance through Covered California as of August 31. "There was a change in federal regulations last June 25 and this change meant that DACA recipients could no longer have access to Covered California coverage," explained Patricia Izquierdo, Covered California spokesperson. This change was announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid which no longer categorizes DACA recipients as "lawfully present" under the Affordable Care Act, preventing them from accessing insurance marketplaces such as Covered California. Izquierdo indicated that they are communicating with those affected, so be alert to receive any notification. "California is sending them as of last week emails, they are also sending them letters through regular mail and we are also calling them," Izquierdo said. So they are urging those affected to take advantage of this time to look for options and continue with medical insurance. "The options are three one they can go and see if they are eligible for medical. Visit the county office, the Medical office of each of these counties or they can also have health insurance through their work," Izquierda said. Telemundo 48 contacted Santa Clara County to find out what options those affected would have.

FOX News [8/1/2025 12:56 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports the southern border has largely gone quiet. United States Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks posted to X on Friday that southwest border apprehensions hit a monthly record low in July, with only 4,399 apprehensions. For the third month in a row, there have been zero releases. This is the new all-time record low, beating the prior record low of 6,070 in June. In July, it averages out to 141 apprehensions per day at the southern border. At the height of the Biden-era crisis, there were 10,000-plus apprehensions on some days in December 2023. The high number of crossings resulted in an intense strain on resources in small border communities for years, as agents struggled to keep up with the demand while also dealing with responsibilities at the legal ports of entry. In addition, many migrants were bused at the request of some Republican leaders to Democratic-run areas like New York City.

Breitbart [8/1/2025 11:21 AM, Bob Price and Randy Clark, 3077K] reports Border Patrol leaders are touting the new record-low rate of migrant arrests along the southwest border as the "most secure border in history." In July, Border Patrol agents arrested approximately 4,600 migrants who illegally crossed the southwest border between ports of entry. Border Patrol agents released zero migrants into the U.S. for the third consecutive month. Officials within U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Breitbart Texas that agents arrested 4,600 illegal aliens along the southwest border in July. The unofficial report reviewed by Breitbart represents a 24 percent decrease compared to the 6,72 arrests in June and a 92 percent drop from July 2024. On Friday, Chief of the Border Patrol Michael Banks briefly posted a report on X stating that agents apprehended 4,399 migrants along the southest border. That post was deleted a short time later. He said there have been "ZERO releases for 3 months in a row!!". Breitbart Texas reported that President Donald Trump delivered the most secure border in U.S. history with the arrest of 6,072 migrants in June. This was a decrease of about 15 percent from the previous low water mark set in March.

Washington Times [8/1/2025 3:17 PM, Stephen Dinan, 2106K] reports that President Trump’s winning streak on illegal immigration continues, with July once again breaking records for the lowest number of arrests at the southern boundary. Homeland Security said agents made just 4,598 arrests at the Mexico border. That’s less than the Biden administration averaged per day. On July 20, agents recorded just 88 arrests along the entire 1,954-mile border. Some days during the Biden administration saw more than 10,000 arrests. “History made, again,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “The numbers don’t lie — this is the most secure the border has ever been.”

CBS Miami [8/1/2025 9:13 AM, Megan Cerullo and Joe Walsh, 51860K] Video HERE reports President Trump on Thursday formally announced higher tariffs against more than 60 U.S. trading partners starting next week — just hours before the administration’s self-imposed midnight deadline. The president signed an executive order listing out tariff rates for imports from dozens of countries, including a handful that have cut trade deals with the administration and dozens that haven’t reached a deal yet. The duties range as high as 41% for Syria and 40% for Laos and Myanmar, while almost no country’s imports will face tariffs below 10%. The new tariffs apply to imports that are "entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption," in seven days, the order said. Mr. Trump had vowed to impose higher tariffs starting just after midnight on Friday, Aug. 1. A White House official told CBS News the extra seven days were intended to give Customs and Border Protection enough time to implement the new tariff rates. "[F]or most economies and most of our trading partners, the cost of doing trade tomorrow will be higher than it is today," Greg Daco, chief economist at management consulting firm EY-Parthenon, said prior to the release of Thursday’s list. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [8/1/2025 5:15 PM, Jacob Bogage, 32099K] reports President Donald Trump’s sweeping new taxes on imports are set to take effect in a week, as the White House aims to use a historic increase in tariffs to overhaul global trading alliances. Stock markets slid Friday, with all three major U.S. indexes closing down by more than 1.2 percent. Markets fell in most of Asia and Europe, as well. The White House announced Thursday night that modified versions of the tariffs Trump initially unveiled in April would kick in on Aug. 7, giving U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials time to prepare to collect the taxes. The president has rolled out frameworks for deals with 11 of the United States’ top 15 trading partners, and he said temporary trade truces with China and Mexico would remain in effect as negotiators continue talks. But Trump raised tariffs on some imports from Canada — the United States’ second-largest trading partner — to 35 percent Thursday, indicating little progress toward a deal with Ottawa. That took effect Friday. So far, there is no agreement with large trading partners India, Switzerland or Taiwan, either. Importers are now paying a 10 percent levy on goods from all countries, but most products from nations that run a trade surplus with the U.S. — meaning Americans buy more goods from those countries than U.S. companies export there — will see 15 percent tariffs. For some countries, the tariffs are higher, ranging to 41 percent; in others, where negotiations have set different rates, they’re lower on specific goods. The new tariff regime brings the tax burden on imports to 18.3 percent, according to the Yale Budget Lab, the highest mark since 1934. Entering Trump’s second term, the national tariff rate hovered between 2 and 3 percent.

New York Times [8/1/2025 1:56 PM, Patricia Mazzei, 138952K] reports that Florida has started to pay for plane tickets for certain unauthorized immigrants to self-deport, officials said this week, in what appears to be the first such program run in part by a state. Unauthorized immigrants who are in custody and have no prior felony convictions may be offered direct commercial flights to return to their home countries as part of the program, which is a collaboration between the Florida Highway Patrol and the U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami sector. The program is underway in law enforcement stations in West Palm Beach and Dania Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale, Madison Kessler, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said in a statement. The Border Patrol also confirmed in that the program is in effect. On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that unauthorized immigrants could avoid being taken to the state-run detention center in the Florida Everglades named “Alligator Alcatraz” if they chose to self-deport. “We do have options for you to short-circuit that whole process if you’re here illegally,” he said. The Florida self-deportation program is distinct from a federal program that offers unauthorized immigrants a $1,000 stipend and a plane ticket home. It is unclear when the Florida program began, how many unauthorized immigrants have self-deported under it or how much the state has paid for their flights. Neither the state nor Border Patrol responded to those questions. The Washington Examiner reported that the flights were taking place out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Univision [8/1/2025 8:36 AM, Staff, 4992K] reports Noticias 23 spoke with the partner of Laritza López Rodríguez, a young Cuban woman who was detained in Texas by Border Patrol after crossing from Mexico into the United States. She had reported that agents mistreated her and fractured her leg. The woman’s boyfriend said she was deported to Cuba, even though she was still recovering from the surgeries she underwent. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

(B) Today in AZ [8/1/2025 9:10 AM, Staff] reports Governor Katie Hobbs is requesting $760 million in reimbursement from the federal government for what she says the state paid in border security. Governor Hobbs sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requesting that money yesterday. Hobbs is asking to be included in a $12 billion appropriation from President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

CBS News [8/1/2025 7:59 PM, Charlie D’Agata, 51860K] reports that, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, Col. Hugh Jones commands a brigade of soldiers guarding the border wall — stretching across 1,044 miles of rugged terrain. It’s part of President Trump’s plan to further increase U.S. military presence at the U.S.-Mexico border. In April, Mr. Trump authorized the military to take control of a strip of public land along the southern border. "Because we can’t brute force the border or just occupy by force, we try to drive that in the smartest way we can, using a lot of the capabilities we would use in warfare," Jones told CBS News. It’s unclear how long soldiers will be deployed to the border, and Mr. Trump has not set a timeframe for the deployment. Along the border, Chinook helicopters lifted in heavy equipment while thousands of deployed active-duty troops were sent to reinforce the border. Maj. Gen. Scott Naumann commands American forces on the border and the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, known for its quick-reaction capabilities. "Basically, I synchronize all different capabilities and resources to overpower an enemy," Naumann told CBS News. "What I’m doing here is really no different. ... We’re not firing lethal weapons, but we’re solving a problem.” These combat units are sealing the border with barbed wire, strategic patrols and surveillance — in the air and on the ground — where Army Sgt. Ana Harker and Specialist Austin Waters keep close and constant watch. Harker said they’re tasked with keeping an eye on the border, and whenever they see somebody cross by, they contact Border Patrol. In the past three months, they’ve seen just four people, Harker said. They see "a lot of animals," Waters said.

The Hill [8/1/2025 9:15 AM, Miriam Waldvogel, 18649K] reports Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said early Friday that he is "disappointed" by President Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on his country to 35 percent but left open the door for a potential trade deal. After weeks of negotiations with America’s northern neighbor, Trump decided to ratchet up levies on the country alongside sweeping new tariffs announced Thursday. The president again cited what he claimed was a "flood" of fentanyl from the northern border, a statement not borne out by data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Carney’s efforts to recognize a Palestinian state also jeopardized talks, Trump said late Wednesday. In his statement, Carney said Canada accounted for only 1 percent of fentanyl coming into the U.S. and that the country "has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.". "Canada’s government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling," he wrote. "These include thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, aerial surveillance, intelligence and security operations, and the strongest border legislation in our history.". Trump’s updated tariff rate does not impact goods that are primarily manufactured in Canada, one of the provisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement negotiated during his first term. Carney said that move would keep the country’s overall tariff rate low, among the lowest of all its foreign trading partners.

New York Times [8/1/2025 12:05 PM, Vjosa Isai, 153395K] reports President Trump on Thursday night raised tariffs on Canada to 35 percent from 25 percent, deepening his attack on the United States’ second-largest trading partner. As part of his reasoning, Mr. Trump repeated a claim that he first made in January of a “public health crisis caused by fentanyl and illicit drugs flowing across the northern border into the United States,” and said that Canada had failed to do anything about it. Mr. Trump’s claim of widespread drug smuggling from Canada was refuted almost as soon as he first suggested it. Less than 0.1 percent of the fentanyl arriving in the United States last year came from Canada, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Fentanyl has flooded North America’s drug supply over the past decade, killing tens of thousands of people in the United States and Canada. The fentanyl trade generates enormous profits for Mexican cartels using basic chemistry skills, improvised equipment and home laboratories to produce millions of doses. In fact, fentanyl is just as big a public health threat in Canada, officials say.

HS Today [8/1/2025 6:00 AM, Staff, 38K] reports over the coming weeks, FEMA is marking billions of dollars in federal funding available for state, local, tribal and territorial partners. This includes seven Notices of Funding Opportunity that FEMA published yesterday. These funds help states manage their response to disasters like fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and even terrorist attacks. This announcement comes after a critical evaluation of all grant programs and recipients to root out waste, fraud and abuse and deliver accountability for the American taxpayer. Unlike the previous administration, recipients of grants will no longer be permitted to use federal funds to house illegal immigrants at luxury hotels, fund climate change pet projects or empower radical organizations with unseemly ties that don’t serve the interest of the American people. “President Trump has been clear: States will be empowered and responsible for managing disaster response and protecting their communities,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the FEMA Administrator David Richardson. “That’s why FEMA is focused on equipping states with the resources they need to take charge of their own emergency preparedness, including through federal grant programs. We are making money available to state and local governments, helping them get the equipment, training and personnel they need to face destructive storms and other disasters.”

Washington Examiner [8/2/2025 6:00 AM, Annabella Rosciglione, 1934K] reports millions of dollars in disaster relief are released by the Federal Emergency Management Administration each year. While the Trump administration has floated outright dismantling FEMA, the agency continues to provide needed aid to devastated regions. Though approving or denying federal disaster relief can seem random, or at times political, it appears the agency continues to use a detailed assessment method even with its uncertain future. After natural disasters or severe weather events, states, territories, and tribal lands can request FEMA funds from the federal government. These funds can be used to rebuild, distribute food and supplies, and create temporary shelter, among other things. States begin getting FEMA aid by requesting it from the federal government. The agency and states rely on the Stafford Act of 1988, which lays out the means for federal natural disaster assistance. States, tribal nations, and territories must show the agency "that the disaster exceeds the jurisdiction’s capacity to respond and recover without federal assistance," Thomas Chandler, the managing director at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and professor of climate at Columbia University, told the Washington Examiner in an email. Chandler said FEMA then conducts a joint assessment with state and local officials to estimate "the amount and type of damage, the impact on individuals and infrastructure, and the level of insurance coverage.” Damage assessments can range in technology and methodology. Chandler noted that some communities utilize artificial intelligence and drone technologies, while others "may only have field teams going door to door after a disaster.” After the damage assessment and a state’s request for funding from FEMA, the agency looks at the situation through a monetary lens to determine whether the request will be approved or denied. Approving a request largely depends on the scale of destruction and the amount of uninsured property losses, including public assistance for uninsured damages to public roads, buildings, utilities, and individual assistance. The agency also reviews how long-term recovery for the area will be affected, with or without federal assistance. For a state request to be approved, the damage assessment should be more than the statewide per capita impact, calculated by the monetary ratio of the disaster’s damage to the state’s population. For 2025, disasters with a per capita impact above $1.89, typically the minimum threshold, are considered eligible for a major disaster declaration. The FEMA disaster relief approval process can be sped up for severe weather events, including major hurricanes, wildfires, and intense flooding. The Stafford Act also created a system in which presidential and emergency declarations trigger a FEMA response.

SFGate [8/1/2025 4:19 PM, Sam Hill, 11859K] reports that wildfires are burning through four national parks across the West in what is shaping up to be an intense fire season for an already beleaguered federal agency. Making things even worse, experts say, is that the National Park Service employs fewer firefighters than it now needs, and is using an antiquated fire management strategy. The Dragon Bravo Fire in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park has grown to over 100,000 acres since it was started by a lightning strike on July 4, making it the largest US wildfire of 2025 and the 10th largest in Arizona history, according to KCBD-TV. It burned down the North Rim’s near century-old Grand Canyon Lodge days after sparking. In Washington, crews at the southern edge of Olympic National Park have been battling the human-caused Bear Gulch Fire since July 6 as the fire has grown to over 3,000 acres and continued to spread north. The fire has caused evacuations of the Lake Cushman recreation area and the park’s Staircase Campground area. At Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, wildfire responders have been working to suppress a fire at the park’s South Rim that has been burning since July 10. And in Wyoming, the 10-acre Ash Fire was spotted burning in the southwest corner of Yellowstone National Park Wednesday. While the fact that there are wildfires at four different national parks at the same time isn’t alarming on its own, it’s a sign that regional wildfire seasons are extending and overlapping — a troubling idea heading into the peak wildfire season that responders call "Dirty August."

Bloomberg [8/1/2025 10:20 AM, Lauren Rosenthal, 19320K] reports that a thick haze of smoke from Canadian wildfires has descended on the US Midwest, degrading air quality during a major music festival in Chicago. Environmental agencies have issued safety advisories through Friday across Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. They advised residents — especially people with asthma or breathing problems — to avoid strenuous activities and prolonged time outdoors. Unhealthy air quality was reported Friday morning in downtown Chicago, where the Lollapalooza music festival is underway. Chicago health officials warned concertgoers to “try to take it easy and enjoy the festival without pushing yourself too hard” as smoke blankets the festival grounds. Festival organizers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Images on X showed concertgoers dancing under hazy skies Thursday evening in Grant Park, on the edge of Lake Michigan.

NewsMax [8/1/2025 3:14 PM, Solange Reyner, 4622K] reports that the Secret Service blocked the renewal of former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s top-level security clearance, reports Real Clear Politics. The move came after agency officials were asked about opposition to renewing her clearance from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., following the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year. "Following the security debacle in Butler, the former director of USSS made the right decision to resign," Johnson told RCP. "I see no reason for her security clearance to be reinstated." A Secret Service spokesman told the news outlet current Director Sean Curran, a Trump appointee, "has been building a dynamic team of knowledgeable advisers that will help implement his vision for the agency." "Additionally, Director Curran has been modernizing the intelligence apparatus within the agency." "During that process, he has determined that not all former directors need to have their clearances renewed," the spokesman added. Blaze [8/1/2025 3:25 PM, Cortney Weil, 1805K] reports that on Friday, Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics revealed that the USSS had quietly begun the process of restoring Cheatle’s security clearance. However, when RCP contacted the agency and revealed that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) vehemently opposed the restoration, the agency suddenly decided that Cheatle’s security clearance would not be renewed. Johnson spokeswoman Avery Selby told RCP that the senator’s office learned that her security clearance would not be renewed on the same day that RCP contacted the USSS about Johnson’s concerns. Blaze News has since learned that current Director Curran, one of the Secret Service agents who bravely whisked Trump off the stage to safety that fateful day, most likely knew that a restoration of his predecessor’s security clearance was in the works. Sources told Crabtree that there is no way that Curran did not know about the pending restoration of Cheatle’s security clearance, Crabtree told Blaze News.

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [8/1/2025 12:17 PM, Ashley Brasfield, 1010K]

FOX News [8/1/2025 12:36 PM, Staff, 46878K] reports a Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria medevacs a woman off a cruise ship nearly 120 miles west of Grays Harbor, Washington, on July 29, 2025. The woman was experiencing a health emergency. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [8/1/2025 3:04 PM, Kevin Collier, 44540K] reports when Arizona discovered in June that its website for politicians to file as candidates had been hacked, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes did something that would have been unthinkable in the past two presidential administrations: He kept the feds in the dark. Still, an attack by pro-Iranian hackers is something to note, the kind of thing that secretaries of state and cybersecurity experts share in order to keep colleagues aware of ongoing threats. But in this political climate, Fontes decided it was best to handle on his own. Fontes’ decision highlights a major concern around cybersecurity cooperation and election security in the second Trump administration. Cuts to the federal government’s election security work and the politicization of Homeland Security have left some state election heads unsure of how they would work with the federal government if they are hacked. Experts say that a lack of communication could lead to more and worse hacks surrounding elections. Three state election heads and a former CISA official who spoke to NBC News said it’s clear the agency is no longer as effective in protecting U.S. elections.

CyberScoop [8/1/2025 2:30 PM, Matt Kapko] reports social engineering — an expanding variety of methods that attackers use to trick professionals to gain access to their organizations’ core data and systems — is now the top intrusion point globally, attracting an array of financially motivated and nation-state backed threat groups. More than one-third (36%) of the incident response cases Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 worked on during the past year began with a social engineering tactic, the company said this week in its global incident response report. Threat groups of assorted motivations and origins are fueling the rise of social engineering. Cybercrime collectives such as Scattered Spider and nation-state operatives, including North Korean technical specialists that have infiltrated the employee ranks at top global companies, have adopted social engineering as the primary hook into IT infrastructure and sensitive data. Scattered Spider, a threat group Unit 42 tracks as Muddled Libra, has infiltrated more than 100 businesses since 2022 — including more than a dozen this year — to extort victims for ransom payments. “We’re constantly engaged with them. It’s just been one after another is what it feels like to us,” Michael Sikorski, chief technology officer and VP of engineering at Unit 42, told CyberScoop. Attacks and intrusions linked to Scattered Spider and the vast North Korean tech worker scheme composed a high percentage of the incident response cases Unit 42 worked on last year, accounting for roughly an equal number of attacks, Sikorski said.

ABC News [8/1/2025 2:14 PM, Mark Crudele and Aaron Katersky, 31733K] reports the Midtown Manhattan office shooter fired 47 rounds from his M4-style rifle during the rampage, a number that indicates the suspect, Shane Tamura, reloaded his rifle at least once, the NYPD said. There were 23 shell casings and 13 bullet fragments recovered from the lobby of 345 Park Avenue, police said. Detectives also located 24 spent shell casings and 15 bullet fragments on the 33rd floor of the office building, police said. An additional 800 rounds and a .357 caliber handgun were recovered in Tamura’s BMW, which was double-parked outside the building, the NYPD said. Four people, including off-duty New York City police officer Didarul Islam; Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and security guard Aland Etienne, were killed in Monday’s mass shooting. The fourth victim, Julia Hyman, was killed on the 33rd floor. Office cleaner Sebije Nelovic also said she was shot at on the floor. Police said Hyman was the last person Tamura shot and killed before taking his own life. Investigators say they are continuing to look for a motive, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams said it appears Tamura, a former high school football player, was attempting to target the headquarters of the NFL, located in the 345 Park Avenue building but took the wrong elevator and ended up in the 33rd-floor office of Rudin Management.

CNN [8/1/2025 4:14 PM, Taylor Romine and Josh Campbell, 21433K] reports that four people are dead after a shooting at a bar in Anaconda, Montana, Friday morning, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation said in a news release. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center said in a Facebook post they are searching for suspect Michael Paul Brown, who is believed to be armed and dangerous. The agency advised the public to stay out of the area and to not approach him. Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for the Montana Department of Justice also identified Brown as the suspect to CNN. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, or DCI, is part of the state’s Department of Justice. The shooting took place at 10:30 a.m. local time at The Owl Bar, and the scene is secure, the Montana DCI said. Additional details about what led up to the shooting were not immediately available. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said on X that he is "closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda.". Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke encouraged people in the area to "stay inside and lock their doors.". The FBI, the Denver office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Granite County Sheriff’s Office said they are assisting with the investigation. Friday’s shooting is the 256th mass shooting this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [8/1/2025 6:41 PM, Alex Sundby, 51860K]

AP [8/1/2025 9:30 PM, Matthew Brown and Colleen Slevin, 56000K] reports a shooting at a Montana bar left four people dead Friday, prompting a lockdown in a neighborhood several miles away as authorities searched for the suspect in a wooded, mountainous area. The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the investigation. The agency confirmed four people were pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old military veteran Michael Paul Brown, lived next door, according to public records and bar owner David Gwerder. The bartender and three patrons were killed, said Gwerder, who was not there at the time. He believed the four victims were the only ones present during the shooting, and was not aware of any prior conflicts between them and Brown. “He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,” Gwerder said. “He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.” Brown’s home was cleared by a SWAT team and he was last seen in the Stump Town area, just west of Anaconda, authorities said. More than a dozen officers from local and state police converged on that area, locking it down so no one was allowed in or out. A helicopter also hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees, said Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives there. Brown was believed to be armed, the Montana Highway Patrol said in a statement. Brown served in the U.S. Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, according to Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson. Brown was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said. He left military service in the rank of sergeant. As reports of the shooting spread through town, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers. At Caterpillars to Butterflies Childcare, a nursery a few blocks from the shooting scene, owner Sage Huot said she’d kept the children inside all day after someone called to let her know about the violence. “We’re constantly doing practice drills, fire drills and active shooter drills, so we locked down the facility, locked the doors, and we have a quiet spot where we play activities away from all of our windows and doors,” Huot said. Anaconda is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Missoula in a valley hemmed in by mountains. A town of about 9,000 people, it was founded by copper barons who profited off nearby mines in the late 1800s. A smelter stack that’s no longer operational looms over the valley.

CNN [8/1/2025 4:14 PM, Taylor Romine, Josh Campbell, Taylor Galgano, 875K] reports investigators searching for a man they say shot and killed four people at a Montana bar Friday morning have located the vehicle he fled in, but the suspect remains on the loose, officials said. A white Ford F-150 that Michael Paul Brown is believed to have been driving was found Friday, but Brown "was not located in or around the vehicle," Montana Division of Criminal Investigation Administrator Lee Johnson said at a news conference late Friday. Authorities are now focusing their search in the mountains near Stumptown Road, west of Anaconda, where the shooting took place, Johnson said. Brown is believed to be armed and dangerous, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center said in a Facebook post, advising the public to stay out of the area and to not approach him. The shooting took place at 10:30 a.m. local time at The Owl Bar, and the scene is secure, the Montana DCI said, without providing additional details about what led up to the shooting. Investigators have identified all four victims of the shooting but aren’t releasing their names until their families have been notified, Johnson said. Friday’s violence is among at least 256 mass shooting in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Cassandra Dutra, a bartender at the Owl Bar for six months, told CNN she feels extremely overwhelmed and sad about the shooting on Friday. "It just isn’t real. It’s totally overwhelming," she said. She believes every person in the bar at the time of the shooting was killed, which included a bartender who was the only staff member working, and three customers. She said Brown lived next door to the bar and would come in frequently, but noted "he wasn’t a part of the camaraderie" existing with the others.

Washington Examiner [8/1/2025 7:47 PM, David Zimmermann, 1934K] reports authorities launched a manhunt on Friday after a shooter killed at least four people at a Montana bar hours earlier. The suspect was identified as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, who remains at large. Police described him as "armed and dangerous," urging the public to stay out of the surrounding area and not approach him. The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. local time Friday at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana. It remains unclear if anyone else was injured in the attack. It’s also uncertain what led to the attack as police search for the suspected gunman. He was last seen driving a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup truck with a Montana license plate in the area west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road. The Granite County Sheriff’s Office said a SWAT team searched Brown’s home but did not locate him. Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) said he is "closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda.” Republican lawmakers from Montana, including Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), added they are monitoring the developments as they come. Also, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) urged people in the Anaconda area to "stay inside and lock their doors" as the manhunt continues. The police investigation is receiving federal assistance from the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and the ATF Denver Field Division. "FBI personnel are responding to the scene in Anaconda, Montana, to provide any requested assistance and/or investigative support," FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement on social media. Friday’s shooting comes days after two separate gunmen killed multiple people in Reno, Nevada, and New York City. The Reno shooter died after officers shot him and took him into custody. The Manhattan shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

FOX News [8/2/2025 1:45 AM, Landon Mion , Matt Finn, 49956K] reports federal agents have arrested a man in California on allegations he sent a dozen payments to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), FBI Los Angeles announced on Friday. Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 28, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars. Villanueva, residing in Long Beach, is a lawful permanent resident of the Philippines, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. "Mr. Villanueva is alleged to have financially supported and pledged his allegiance to a terror group that targets the United States and our interests around the world," Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, Patrick Grandy, said in a statement. "Thanks to the proactive efforts by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI and our partners safely arrested Mr. Villanueva today and prevented further support and spreading of ISIS ideology," he continued. According to an affidavit, Villanueva used social media to speak with two people who self-identified as ISIS fighters. During their conversations, Villanueva discussed his desire to support ISIS and offered to send money to the terrorist group’s fighters to support their activities. Villanueva allegedly told one of the self-identified ISIS fighters that he wanted to fight for ISIS himself. "It’s an honor to fight and die for our faith. It’s the best way to go to heaven," he allegedly said at one point. "Someday soon, I’ll be joining," he also said.

CNN [8/2/2025 3:59 AM, Karina Tsui, 21433K] reports the FBI arrested on Friday a man in Long Beach, California, for allegedly sending money to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the Department of Justice. Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 28, a permanent US resident originally from the Philippines, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, the Justice Department said in a statement. Investigators said Villanueva was in communication with two individuals who identified themselves as ISIS fighters via social media earlier this year. In those messages, Villanueva allegedly expressed his desire to support ISIS and offered to send money to aid the group’s activities. "It’s an honor to fight and die for our faith. It’s the best way to go to heaven." Villanueva allegedly wrote to the ISIS fighters. "Someday soon, I’ll be joining.” Over a five-month period, Villanueva sent 12 payments totaling $1,615 to two intermediaries who accessed the money overseas, according to Western Union records cited by the DOJ. During his arrest, the FBI recovered what appeared to be a bomb from his bedroom, according to photos posted on the FBI’s Facebook and X accounts. "Mr. Villanueva is alleged to have financially supported and pledged his allegiance to a terror group that targets the United States and our interests around the world," said Patrick Grandy, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. Earlier this year, a 19-year-old former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was arrested after he allegedly attempted to carry out a plan to conduct a mass shooting at a US military base in Michigan on behalf of ISIS. Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said was arrested on the scheduled day of the attack, after he visited an area near the military base and launched a drone in support of the attack plan, according to the Justice Department. He allegedly planned to attack the Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, which is located in a Detroit suburb and manages the Army’s supply chain for tanks. Prosecutors say he offered to help undercover law enforcement officers carry out the attack by training them to use firearms and make Molotov cocktails and by providing armor-piercing ammunitions and magazines for the attack. Said was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and with distributing information related to a destructive device.

FOX News [8/1/2025 11:03 AM, Benjamin Weinthal, 46878K] reports that the U.S. State Department issued a devastating report to Congress on the terrorism-plagued U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that provides aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, determining that the agency needs to be abolished and is beyond reform. According to a U.S. State Department public assessment to Congress that was independently obtained by Fox News Digital, "The Administration has determined UNRWA is irredeemably compromised and now seeks its full dismantlement." According to the State Department document, the Trump administration demanded in March 2025 that UNRWA "return all remaining unspent balances of U.S. funding in its accounts." The UNRWA Washington office said it would do so, "but has not yet completed the action." In May, the State Department said it is working "to cease U.S. participation in all working-level UNRWA bodies" at the United Nations. The Washington Free Beacon first reported news of the State Department report. The U.S. government pulled the plug on UNRWA funding in January 2024 and has not resumed aid to the corruption-scarred agency. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s move calling for the wholesale dissolution of UNRWA adds a new layer of pressure on the U.N. and key donor nations to UNRWA (Japan and Germany) to reassess the viability of UNRWA. The Biden administration had given UNRWA $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding since 2021 before the freeze in 2024 went into effect.

Federal News Network [8/1/2025 1:40 PM, Anastasia Obis, 2346K] reports Senate lawmakers are pressing the White House’s pick to lead the Pentagon’s independent weapons testing office about the fallout from the office’s major downsizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed in May. Amy Henninger, who is currently serving as a senior advisor in the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Center, has been nominated to lead the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) office. If confirmed, she would oversee an office that Hegseth has cut by more than half. In May, Hegseth reduced DOT&E’s workforce from 94 employees — including 82 civilians and 12 service members — to 30 civilians, 15 military personnel and one senior leader. He also eliminated all contractor support. "For decades, DOT&E [the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation] has played a vital, legally mandated role in safeguarding the integrity of major defense programs and ensuring military systems are affected before they are put into war fighters’ hands. Unfortunately, in May, the secretary of Defense announced his plan to significantly reduce the DOT&E office, including slashing its workforce, budget and resources. The secretary gave no compelling reason for that action and in my view it is extremely damaging to military accountability and oversight," Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the Senate Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, said during a hearing on Thursday. "With drastically reduced resources, DOT&E may be unable to provide adequate oversight for critical military programs, risking operational awareness and taxpayer dollars," he added.

Daily Wire [8/1/2025 10:53 AM, Leif Le Mahieu, 3816K] reports President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Thursday evening, raising the tariff on Canadian imports to 35% effective at midnight, while granting Mexico another 90 days to negotiate a trade deal with the United States. The actions come as the August 1 deadline arrived for countries with trade deficits with the United States to reach new trade agreements, but Trump said they won’t take effect until August 7 for most nations. In a Truth Social post, Trump praised ongoing talks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, while he ripped Canada for failing to crack down on drug trafficking. Trump also said that he would not raise tariffs on Mexico beyond current levels for 90 days. "I have just concluded a telephone conversation with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, which was very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other. The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other Nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the Border," Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday night. "We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time.". The current deal hits Mexico, America’s top trading partner, with a 25% tariff imposed because of fentanyl trafficking over the southern U.S. border, a 25% tariff on vehicles, and a 50% tariff on steel, aluminum, and copper.

Bloomberg [8/1/2025 3:47 PM, Maya Averbuch, eric Martin, and Michael O’Boyle, 19320K] reports that Mexico and the US are closing in on a deal to combat drug trafficking and violence, a pact that could quell some of President Donald Trump’s chief concerns with his southern neighbor and lead to a wider agreement covering trade. Terms of the deal are still being hammered out, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said they include sharing more intelligence information, reducing the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals into her country and cracking down on the flow of guns from the US. “It generates more coordination right now. Much of this has been going on for a long time,” she said during her Friday morning press conference. “If the United States has information, it coordinates with Mexico, and if there are detentions of an alleged criminal or an illegal act in our country, or when we have information, we do the same.” Trump postponed a plan to raise tariffs on Mexico this week in part because security talks were making progress, people familiar with the matter said. The US president has cited fentanyl trafficking as the reason Mexico is paying a 25% levy on goods that don’t fall under the nations’ free-trade pact. Addressing that issue in the new security deal would make it easier for negotiators to find common ground on other areas of conflict, such as tomatoes and steel. A spokesperson for the State Department declined to comment beyond Trump’s post on Truth Social on Thursday announcing the 90-day extension with Mexico. Representatives from the White House, the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.

CBS News [8/1/2025 9:14 PM, Sam Vinograd, 51860K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee traveled to Gaza on Friday to get a closer look at aid distribution sites as experts warn that famine is playing out in the Palestinian territory.

Bloomberg [8/1/2025 12:58 PM, Eric Martin and Sam Dagher, 19320K] reports that US support for new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is essential to reducing Iran’s influence in the country and prevent Islamic State from reorganizing, according to Washington’s special envoy for the Middle Eastern state. "The US objectives, and his objectives, and all of the allies’ objectives at the moment are aligned, but there’s so many constituencies who would like to interfere with that relationship," Tom Barrack, who is also US ambassador to Turkey, told reporters in Washington on Thursday. "Iran, on the other side, is a much more intense issue and problem for all of us." Cells controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and ISIS, the Islamist group also known as Islamic State, “have a lot of common elements that want to disrupt the situation,” he said. Sharaa, a former commander of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, led an offensive late last year that toppled former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, ending a more than 24-year-rule that had been supported mainly by Iran and Russia. The US and some European allies say backing Sharaa is a way to not only combat Iran and Islamic State but also stabilize and rebuild the country after a brutal civil war that started in 2011. With strong lobbying by the leaders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who are eager to expand their influence in Syria, US President Donald Trump met with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May. Trump announced the suspension of crippling sanctions against Syria in return for multiple pledges including keeping extremists out of the government and expelling foreign fighters from the country.

Daily Wire [8/1/2025 3:25 PM, Virginia Kruta, 3816K] reports President Donald Trump defended his decision to move two nuclear submarines on Friday — in response to "highly provocative" comments made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — telling reporters, "We had to do that.” Speaking to members of the press on the White House lawn, the president explained that Medvedev’s statements had raised enough concern that he felt the move necessary in order to preserve the "safety for our people.” When asked about the submarines, Trump replied, "Oh, yeah, well we had to do that. We just have to be careful. And a threat was made and we didn’t think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful — I do that on the basis of safety for our people.” "A threat was made by a former President of Russia," Trump continued. "And we’re going to protect our people.” Trump announced the move earlier on Friday, sharing the news in a post to his Truth Social platform. "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," he said. "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!". As The Daily Wire reported, Medvedev, who is currently serving as Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said earlier this week that Trump’s ultimatums to Russia — over the war with Ukraine — were "a step towards war.”

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