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 [2/7/2025 3:21 AM, Jacey Fortin, 740K, Neutral] reports that, for the second time this week, a federal judge has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction to block President Trump’s effort to end automatic citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants. The decision, handed down on Thursday morning in Seattle, came a day after a judge in Maryland issued a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship. The executive order is facing several legal challenges, and the injunction on Thursday, by Judge John C. Coughenour of the Western District of Washington, came in a case brought by four state attorneys general. “The constitution is not something with which the government may play policy games,” Judge Coughenour said on Thursday. “If the government wants to change the exceptional American grant of birthright citizenship, it needs to amend the Constitution itself.” On Jan. 23, Judge Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order, which was to expire after 14 days. He had scheduled the Thursday hearing to consider a preliminary injunction to replace the temporary one. In most instances, a preliminary injunction remains in force until a case is resolved or a higher court overturns it. In a court filing on Thursday evening, the Justice Department said it was appealing Judge Coughenour’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A hearing in another lawsuit challenging the birthright citizenship order is scheduled for Friday in Massachusetts. The president’s order, one of several issued in the first few hours of his administration to curtail immigration, declared that children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants after Feb. 19 would no longer be treated as citizens. The AP [2/6/2025 8:26 PM, Gene Johnson and Mike Catalini, 12036K, Negative] reports that in total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action. The matter before the Seattle judge involves four states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. It has been consolidated with a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Eighteen states, led by Iowa, filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief supporting the Trump administration’s position in the case. Another hearing is set for Friday in a Massachusetts court. That case involves a different group of 18 states challenging the order, including New Jersey, which is the lead plaintiff. Yet another challenge, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, goes before a federal judge in New Hampshire on Monday. The Washington Post [2/6/2025 2:49 PM, David Nakamura, 40736K, Negative] reports that a federal judge in Seattle on Thursday blasted President Donald Trump’s commitment to the rule of law, saying he is trampling the Constitution to pursue “political or personal gain.” U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour offered his commentary while becoming the second federal judge in two days to issue a nationwide injunction that blocks the Trump administration from moving forward on an executive order aimed at curbing birthright citizenship. Coughenour had eviscerated the executive order as “blatantly unconstitutional” during a hearing two weeks ago in the lawsuit brought by a coalition of four Democratic-led states. In Thursday’s court session, Coughenour, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, criticized Trump in direct and unsparing terms moments after Justice Department lawyers had finished arguing that the order was constitutional. “It has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain,” Coughenour said. “Nevertheless, in this courtroom, and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [2/6/2025 5:53 PM, Jacey Fortin, 161405K, Neutral]
The Hill [2/6/2025 1:34 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 16346K, Negative]
Reuters [2/6/2025 3:49 PM, Nate Raymond, 48128K, Negative]
FOX News [2/6/2025 3:53 PM, Louis Casiano, 49889K, Neutral]

Reuters [2/6/2025 10:02 PM, Ted Hesson and Idrees Ali, 57114K, Negative] reports U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem plans to visit a migrant detention site in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the Trump administration ramps up enforcement efforts, a department spokesperson said on Thursday. The first group of about 10 migrants was sent to Guantanamo Bay on a military aircraft on Tuesday. A second flight departed the U.S. on Thursday, a U.S. official said. The administration of President Donald Trump said the initial flight carried alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua but did not provide details about charges or convictions. Critics say the deportations to Guantanamo are illegal and that detainees may not have adequate access to attorneys. Trump, a Republican, recaptured the White House promising a broad immigration crackdown and record deportations. He has taken steps to make it easier for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to arrest non-criminals and tapped the military to provide resources for deportations and border security. ABC News reported late on Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Prisons will hold detainees arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least two federal facilities - in Los Angeles and Miami - have begun to hold ICE detainees, the report said, citing sources. Jim Mattis, Trump’s first defense secretary, made a rare visit to the Guantanamo Bay naval base in 2017, the first at the time by a defense secretary since 2002. No other defense secretary has visited the base since then. The Trump administration has sought to expand immigration detention beyond the 41,500-bed capacity funded by the U.S. Congress, including plans to house up to 30,000 migrants at Guantanamo Bay and to ease federal detention standards to encourage more sheriffs to provide jail space. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told reporters at the White House on Thursday that some migrants arrested in recent ICE operations have been released but did not provide figures. "I’ve been told that some were released because of some health concerns that we could not handle within ICE detention," Homan said, according to a pool report. "I have a meeting with ICE leadership today to find out exactly who was released and why." The U.S. detention facility known as Guantanamo Bay on the coast of Cuba was set up in 2002 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush to detain foreign militant suspects following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Human rights experts, including at the United Nations, have previously condemned torture at Guantanamo Bay during the so-called U.S. "war on terror." The facility for migrants is separate from the detention center on the base.

CNN [2/7/2025 5:00 AM, Priscilla Alvarez, 987K, Neutral] reports that, in the first weeks of the new Trump administration, the White House has boasted about the arrests of thousands of undocumented immigrants. But behind the scenes, senior officials have expressed frustration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in tense calls for not meeting its marks, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. "They’re treading water. They’re way behind," a Trump administration official told CNN, referring to ICE. The calls have included White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, border czar Tom Homan, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, along with various federal agencies involved in the enforcement effort. "It’s not pretty," the official said of the calls. President Donald Trump kicked off his second term in office with an ambitious immigration agenda, promising to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and seal off the US southern border. Since then, Trump administration officials have swiftly moved to strip temporary protections for migrants and delegate more authority to federal and state partners. More than 8,000 people have been arrested by federal immigration authorities since Trump’s inauguration. Administration officials haven’t shared exactly how many undocumented immigrants they’re aiming to arrest this year, but daily apprehensions have already surpassed last year’s daily average under President Joe Biden. Trump administration officials are weighing a slate of new immigration measures, including borrowing ideas from Texas like adding buoys in the Rio Grande and assessing more military bases to hold migrants. They are also discussing plans to send migrants from Africa to another country, akin to El Salvador’s agreement to take migrants from other countries, according to two sources familiar with the planning.

FOX News [2/6/2025 5:54 PM, Greg Wehner, Alexis McAdams, 49889K, Negative] reports more than a dozen Venezuelan criminal illegal migrants are on their way to the U.S.’ most secure prison — the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp (GITMO) in Cuba — some of whom are members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources. Fox News learned that along with TdA gang members, the 13 Venezuelans being flown to GITMO include a murder suspect and a man who claims to have escaped from a Venezuelan prison. Along with a murder suspect and a prison escapee, the others in the group being taken to GITMO include those accused of robbery, intent to commit homicide, weapons trafficking, robbery and assault. Earlier on Thursday, 10 high-threat migrants arrived at Guantánamo Bay, the Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed. The DOD said migrant criminals are being housed in vacant detention facilities. The DOD said that is only a temporary arrangement being made to "ensure the safe and secure detention of these individuals until they can be transported to their country of origin or other appropriate destination." The DHS has clarified that the Guantánamo Bay prison will only be used to house "the worst of the worst" criminals."

CBS News [2/6/2025 5:15 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Eleanor Watson, 52225K, Negative] reports U.S. government officials are moving rapidly to fulfill President Trump’s orders to turn the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay into a massive immigration detention complex, making plans to send daily flights there with migrant detainees, two U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations told CBS News Thursday. So far, two U.S. military flights have been sent to Guantanamo Bay this week with fewer than two dozen migrant detainees who officials said have alleged ties to the notorious Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, which is expected to be labeled a foreign terrorist group at Mr. Trump’s direction. But the administration’s objective is to send groups of unauthorized migrants from the U.S. mainland to Guantanamo each day, using military aircraft to airlift and relocate the detainees, the U.S. officials said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal plans that have not been formally announced. More migrant detainee flights to Guantanamo are planned for Friday and the weekend, one of the officials said. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is planning to visit Guantanamo on Friday to assess officials’ efforts to set up and prepare enough detention space to hold as many as 30,000 migrants, as the president called for in an executive order last week, sources familiar with the plans said.

FOX News [2/6/2025 3:39 PM, Charles Creitz, 49889K, Neutral] reports with Attorney General Pam Bondi ordering a pause on federal funds for so-called "sanctuary cities," Fox News Digital asked leaders of both parties in states likely to be affected their thoughts, and whether they believe their cities can handle the dearth of funding. Bondi also directed the DOJ probe instances of jurisdictions that are impeding law enforcement, and that they be prosecuted when necessary. In Pennsylvania, at least two major cities have enacted sanctuary policies, while leaders in a third have signaled opposition to working with federal immigration authorities. Across the state line, New York leaders were bracing for potential action against the sanctuary state and cities like Albany and New York City. Boston is another city likely to be hit with a Bondi withholding order. Mayor Michelle Wu has accepted an invitation to testify on the immigration matter before Congress. In California, where several major municipalities enacted sanctuary policies, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested Bondi may have trouble moving forward with her order. Chicago is also likely to be a focus of Bondi’s order. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker – a likely 2028 presidential hopeful – did not respond to a request for comment.

FOX News [2/6/2025 5:55 PM, Brooke Singman, 49889K, Negative] reports Democratic mayors of so-called sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in March after Attorney General Pam Bondi signed a directive cutting those jurisdictions off from federal funding on her first day at the Justice Department (DOJ). Bondi, who was sworn in as attorney general Wednesday, issued a number of Day 1 directives, including ordering the DOJ to pause all federal funding for sanctuary cities. Bondi also directed litigating components of the Justice Department to investigate instances of jurisdictions that are impeding law enforcement and directing that they be prosecuted when necessary. In late January, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., invited mayors of sanctuary cities to testify before the panel after launching an investigation into sanctuary city policies and their affect on public safety and federal immigration enforcement. Now, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams will testify at a public hearing March 5.

NBC News [2/6/2025 6:51 PM, Ken Dilanian, 50804K, Negative] reports in a little-noticed directive on her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered a halt to a years-old federal law enforcement effort to combat secret influence campaigns by China, Russia and other adversaries that try to curry favor and sow chaos in American politics. Buried on the fourth page of one of 14 policy memos Bondi issued Wednesday, the order disbands the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and pares back enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, despite years of warnings by U.S. intelligence agencies that foreign malign influence operations involving disinformation were a growing and dangerous threat. "To free resources to address more pressing priorities, and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion, the Foreign Influence Task Force shall be disbanded," the order states. It also states that criminal charges for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to register when lobbying on behalf of a foreign nation, "shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors." The order adds that DOJ prosecutors instead "shall focus on civil enforcement, regulatory initiatives, and public guidance.". A separate Bondi directive also disbanded efforts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs, including Task Force Klepto Capture and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. The order said the personnel working on those projects will be reassigned to target drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations. Forfeiture cases already underway will continue to be pursued, officials said. Three squads of around 50 FBI agents and support personnel for the foreign influence task force are now looking for other assignments, an FBI official with knowledge of the matter told NBC News. A Justice Department spokesperson said Bondi was traveling Thursday and that the order speaks for itself.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [2/6/2025 4:13 PM, Jeremy Roebuck, 40736K, Negative]

Newsweek [2/6/2025 7:42 PM, Peter Aitken, 56005K, Negative] reports U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has disbanded a task force established to target Russian oligarchs following the invasion of Ukraine, arguing that resources need to be shifted to focus on the administration’s anti-cartel efforts. Newsweek reached out to the White House by email on Thursday evening for comment. President Joe Biden established Task Force KleptoCapture and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to punish Russian oligarchs in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This empowered the U.S. to seize valuable assets, such as yachts worth $120 million, personal airplanes and funds based in the West. However, President Donald Trump made it a top priority to hit Mexican cartels and criminal activity along and involving the southern border of the U.S. To that end, Trump signed an executive order designating the cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), equating the criminal organizations to groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda and broadening the legal tools available to undermine them. Bondi issued a flurry of memos on various orders for the Department of Justice, including one with the subject on February 5, "Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations." The memo aimed to pursue "total elimination" of cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations—but doing so by shifting priorities and resources from other operations, including Task Force KleptoCapture. "The Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section shall prioritize investigations, prosecutions, and asset forfeiture actions that target activities of cartels and TCOs," the memo stated. "Task Force KleptoCapture, the Department’s Kleptocracy Team, and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, shall be disbanded. Attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of cartels and TCOs," the memo added. The memo also announced the suspension of many processes that might slow down the punishment of the cartels, such as the suspension of mandatory pre-indictment review for capital-eligible offenses and approval requirements for filings involving defendants alleged to be members or associates of cartels.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 11:15 PM, Ashley Carnahan, 57114K, Negative] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to end the "weaponization" of government, the "two-tiered" system of justice and crack down on states and officials who attempt to interfere with the enforcement of immigration law. "We’re going to get back to the core function of what our government, our law enforcement, was intended to do: prosecute violent criminals and get them off our streets," she said Thursday on "Hannity" in her first interview since being sworn in as the 87th United States attorney general. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, and their respective leaders, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, for allegedly obstructing the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. "Upon information and belief, the conduct of officials in Chicago and Illinois minimally enforcing — and oftentimes affirmatively thwarting — federal immigration laws over a period of years has resulted in countless criminals being released into Chicago who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States," the lawsuit read in part. Bondi said officials were "choosing illegal aliens over the safety and security of their own citizens and the men and women of law enforcement who are out there trying to protect their citizens.” "If you don’t comply with federal law, you’re going to be next," she said. The lawsuit comes one day after Bondi signed a memorandum pausing all federal funding to sanctuary cities until a review has been completed. She told Fox News host Sean Hannity the DOJ will work with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to make sure gang members and drug dealers who break the law are prosecuted. The former Florida attorney general said the DOJ under President Donald Trump will be fair and integrity will be restored. "You know, you have to follow the ethical standards of being a prosecutor and you have to follow the law," Bondi explained. "Weaponization ends, and it ended the day that Donald Trump took office, and the American people saw that crystal clear because they elected him by a landslide.”

Newsweek [2/6/2025 7:30 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee has raised alarm over the escalating use of drones by cartels at the southern border, urging the Department of Homeland Security to take immediate action against the growing threat. When Newsweek asked whether the U.S. could deploy drones to combat cartels, Representative Mark Green issued a statement stressing the importance of DHS being able to respond quickly and effectively. "It is absolutely critical that DHS is able to respond swiftly and effectively to threats that emerge from new technologies. Cartel use of drones to smuggle contraband and surveil law enforcement at our Southwest border has long been a concern," Green told Newsweek. Cartels and gangs have become a central focus of the GOP’s push for stricter immigration enforcement and border security as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up large-scale deportation efforts. Trump made immigration a core component of his successful presidential campaign, with Americans largely supporting immigration reform overall but disagreeing about how policies such as deportations should be carried out. Green, who represents Tennessee’s 7th congressional district, has been pushing for stronger measures to combat drone-related threats. It comes after a report on a leaked memo, obtained by NewsNation, indicated that cartels have authorized the use of weaponized drones equipped with explosives to target Customs and Border Protection personnel and other U.S. law enforcement officers along the southern border. The increasing use of drones by cartels adds a new layer of complexity to border security. Cartels are known to employ drones to transport drugs and weapons and even conduct reconnaissance missions to monitor law enforcement activities. Their growing technological capabilities are fueling concerns among policymakers and security officials. The issue has become a focal point for Republicans, who are implementing tougher border security policies. The Trump administration, which has prioritized immigration, has said cartel activity is a national security threat. Trump signed an executive order on Day 1 designating Mexican drug cartels and other Latin American criminal groups as terrorist organizations. Trump’s order states that these groups "threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.”

FOX News [2/6/2025 7:00 AM, Michael Lee, 49889K, Negative] reports a Navy SEAL veteran-turned-congressman is fighting to pull back the curtain on the growing threat of Mexican drug cartels and other organized crime groups, introducing legislation Thursday aimed at providing Americans with transparency about the dangers they pose. "Thanks to the Biden administration’s open-border policies, dangerous cartels have been running our borders and profiting from human and drug trafficking," Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. Luttrell introduced the CARTEL Act, which mandates that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report whether individuals listed in the Terrorist Screening Database were released into the United States. The legislation also mandates the transparent tracking of individuals associated with cartels who have attempted illegal crossings. The bill comes just a few weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that moved the U.S. toward designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The order says the organizations "threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere." "The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs," the order adds. The order highlighted both Mexican cartels and other gangs throughout Latin America, such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and El Salvador’s MS-13, which have raised alarms in recent years after reports of gang activity spreading to the United States. Luttrell, who served seven years as a Navy SEAL, believes the legislation will offer Americans transparency on just who is trying to enter the country, while also mandating that CBP provide a comprehensive report to Congress showing which terrorist organizations and cartels are working to enter the country.

New York Times [2/6/2025 12:23 PM, J. David Goodman and Edgar Sandoval, 161405K, Neutral] reports that the banks of the Rio Grande bristle with concertina wire. At intervals, Texas National Guardsmen and other troops sent by President Trump stand guard over the border. And several times a week, the sheriff of Maverick County, Texas, drives back and forth over an international bridge — to do his dry cleaning. “I get my hair cut in Mexico too,” the sheriff, Tom Schmerber, said during a recent trip as he hauled a garbage bag filled with his dirty uniforms. Those chores are the kinds of routine, international economic transactions that people on the border have long taken for granted — and that people far from the border, especially those making policy in Washington, D.C., rarely consider. And they are threatened by tightening controls that are already hampering crossings for many would-be consumers, investors and business interests in Mexico and the United States. Formerly bustling downtowns near border crossings have been transformed by successive clampdowns. Fewer shoppers mean many vacant storefronts. And now, President Trump has injected still more uncertainty into border communities. Rounds of deportations, military deployments and especially the looming worry of punishing tariffs on Mexican goods threaten to upend the economic life of already fragile border cities.

SFGate [2/6/2025 6:12 PM, Keith Griffith, 14282K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump has temporarily suspended stiff new tariffs on Canada and Mexico, easing the fears of homebuilders who had warned the measures could raise the cost of key building materials used in home construction. On Saturday, Trump announced a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China, describing the duties as punitive measures designed to stem illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Hours before the tariffs were due to take effect at midnight on Monday, Trump suspended them for 30 days for Mexico and Canada, after extracting promises from those countries to step up border enforcement. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 national guard members to patrol Mexico’s side of the Southern U.S. border, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new measures to crack down on fentanyl, cartels, and organized crime at the northern border. The suspension of the extraordinary tariffs came as a relief to homebuilders, who had expressed fears that they could raise the cost of building homes, exacerbating an ongoing housing shortage and affordability crisis. About 70% of the softwood lumber used in residential construction is imported from Canada, while the same share of gypsum used in drywall originates in Mexico, according to the National Association of Home Builders. "Tariffs on lumber and other building materials increase the cost of construction and discourage new development, and consumers end up paying for the tariffs in the form of higher home prices," said NAHB Chair Carl Harris.

Bloomberg [2/6/2025 7:52 PM, Riley Griffin, 21617K, Neutral] reports the Trump administration has chosen Gerald Parker, a veterinarian and former top US health and security official, to lead the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. Parker’s career includes more than three decades in the federal government focusing on global health, national security and pandemic preparedness. He will serve as director of the office, which was established by Congress in 2022 as the Covid-19 pandemic began to abate, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the details aren’t yet public. Parker’s tenure at the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Defense spanned both Democratic and Republican administrations. Among various posts, he served as a commander at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, and as HHS’s principal deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response.

Border Report [2/6/2025 6:18 PM, Staff, 153K, Neutral] reports some federal and locally elected officials who represent border communities say President Donald Trump’s war on illegal immigration could have dire effects on Americans. From the U.S.-born child who could see her parents deported to customers of stores forced to raise the price of appliances with parts assembled in Mexico, citizens will bear the cost, the politicos said. The latest source of concern is looming regulations — and a Republican bill — to strip so-called "sanctuary" cities of federal funding used to provide services to undocumented residents. The threat of a 25% tariff on all Mexican exports to the U.S. is still very much alive despite a 30-day reprieve ending March 1, they said in separate online forums on Thursday. "I am concerned about the (Department of Justice) memo. I’m even more concerned about the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act," said Las Cruces (New Mexico) Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo. "That is a reckless bill that will strip federal funding from our community. […] It’s not just an attack on immigrant communities but on all of our residents.". The GOP-backed bill introduced in the House on Jan. 3 proposes to make sanctuary jurisdictions (cities, counties, states) ineligible for federal funds that will benefit unauthorized migrants. Bencomo said the bill becoming law could cost Las Cruces transportation, school and public housing money. It could also strip immigrant women victims of crime and violence of needed services, she said.

Telemundo [2/6/2025 8:08 PM, Alexis Rivas and Mike Dorfman, 34K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump promised the biggest deportation in U.S. history. But there could be a hurdle in the president’s plans: our long-deer immigration system. According to data journalists from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearing House, there were more than 3.7 million cases being processed nationwide by the end of October. Kathleen Bush-Joseph of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute says the backlog means people who deserve asylum protection wait years to get it, while others who are not eligible are allowed to stay in the country for longer. The states of California, New York, Florida and Texas accounted for about half of all cases. Although the two San Diego County immigration courts are close to one of the country’s busiest borders, they deal with only a fraction of the cases being processed in other major cities. February data show the number of cases in downtown San Diego’s immigration court is 5,173. Cases in which immigrants are in custody are moving even faster, such as those of the court in Otay Mesa, where there were 920 cases behind. Those numbers are nowhere near the 282,341 cases being processed in the Chicago courts, the 232,009 cases in Dallas or the 113,213 cases that are being processed in the three Los Angeles County courts. San Diego immigration attorney Sergio Perez says our numbers are a surprise to many.

Reuters [2/6/2025 8:27 PM, Brendan Pierson, 36472K, Neutral] reports the largest U.S. government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday in an effort to reverse its aggressive dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. federal court by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, seeks an order blocking what it says are "unconstitutional and illegal actions" that have created a "global humanitarian crisis." Those actions include President Donald Trump’s order on January 20, the day he was inaugurated, pausing all U.S. foreign aid. That was followed by orders from the State Department halting USAID projects around the world, agency computer systems going offline and staff abruptly laid off or placed on leave. The lawsuit names Trump and the State and Treasury Departments as defendants. The White House and the departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The gutting of the agency has largely been overseen by businessman Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close Trump ally spearheading the president’s effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy. On Monday, Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns, that he and his employees "spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper." "Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization," the lawsuit said. "And pursuant to federal statute, Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency." The agency’s website now states that as of midnight on Friday "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs." The Trump administration plans to keep fewer than 300 employees, out of more than 10,000, sources told Reuters earlier on Thursday.

NBC News [2/6/2025 12:00 PM, Sahil Kapur, Frank Thorp V, and Kyle Stewart, 50804K, Neutral] reports that as the GOP-led House struggles to begin work on "one big, beautiful bill" to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda, the Senate Republican budget chief says the upper chamber will move forward on a distinct two-bill path. The conflict over strategy comes as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and a group of House Republicans meet Thursday at the White House with Trump, who has indicated a preference for a one-bill approach to pass his policy priorities on taxes, immigration and energy, but largely steered clear of the dispute between the two chambers. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Wednesday the panel will move forward next week with a budget resolution to kick-start a two-bill process after conferring with Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and other colleagues at a lunch meeting. "It’s time for the Senate to move," Graham told reporters, adding that while he appreciates the House’s views, it’s "very important" to get Trump’s "border czar" Tom Homan more funding immediately to carry out his immigration crackdown. "That means more ICE agents, build the wall, finish technology, you know, technology to secure the border, and increase bed space so you don’t have to let people go," Graham said. "That can only happen with new money."

USA Today [2/6/2025 5:46 PM, Trevor Hughes, 89965K, Negative] reports a Vermont grand jury has indicted a woman accused of sparking a gunfight with Border Patrol agents last month, causing the death of an agent and the German woman she was traveling with. The indictment handed down Thursday charges Teresa Youngblut with using a deadly weapon "knowingly and forcibly" during the fatal Jan. 20 incident near the Canadian border that killed agent David "Chris" Maland. Also killed in the shootout was Ophelia Bauckholt, a German national who Border Patrol agents mistakenly thought was in the country illegally. Bauckholt was transfeminine, and federal authorities have been using Bauckholt’s male birth name in court documents. Federal officials in a court filing also acknowledged that Bauckholt used the name Ophelia. Investigators have not yet said who they believe fired the shots that killed Maland and Bauckholt, who was carrying a gun but did not fire. Youngblut has been detained since the shooting. She is due in court Friday morning to answer the charges.

AP [2/6/2025 2:12 PM, Staff, 14282K, Negative] reports that a man extradited from Canada was arraigned on human smuggling charges Thursday in the case of a 33-year-old pregnant woman found dead in a frigid northern New York river after she illegally crossed the border, according to federal authorities. The body of Ana Vasquez-Flores of Mexico was found in the Great Chazy River just south of the Canadian border on Dec. 14, 2023, two days after her husband told U.S. border agents she had crossed illegally and was lost. Searchers found footprints in the snow leading to the river, where she drowned, according to federal authorities. Vasquez-Flores’ death came amid a surge of people crossing into New York and New England from Canada. The incident became an example of the perils migrants face trekking through the wooded and often snowy landscape along the U.S.-Canada border. Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, is accused by federal prosecutors of smuggling Vasquez-Flores into the United States for $2,500 and instructing her to wade through the river in the dark. Uribe-Tobar pleaded not guilty to federal charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. He was detained pending a trial. Prosecutors say he is a citizen of Colombia and lives in Quebec, Canada. "This tragedy highlights the dangers of illegal migration and how, as alleged, smugglers deliberately put people in harm’s way for profit," U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman said in a prepared statement. Uribe-Tobar’s federal public defender declined comment in an email.

CNN [2/6/2025 8:36 PM, Alexandra Skores, et al., 987K, Neutral] reports investigators trying to determine what caused last week’s deadly midair collision between a US military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane near Washington, DC, briefed lawmakers Thursday on what they’ve learned after combing through data from both aircraft and air traffic control. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration spoke to the bipartisan Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Less than 5 miles away, crews kept searching the frigid waters of the Potomac River to remove pieces of wreckage from the January 29 disaster that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. After the briefing, some senators discussed questions they posed to the NTSB, but did not reveal any new significant details from the investigation. “There’s still evidence that has yet to be pulled from the water,” Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, told reporters after the briefing. “There’s a lot more yet to be learned. But it’s clearly a thorough investigation by NTSB.” On Thursday afternoon, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the Black Hawk helicopter has been recovered from the water. Homendy said the NTSB does not currently know whether the helicopter’s ADS-B advanced surveillance technology was installed, as questions mount after Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth gave conflicting comments after the briefing. “We believe there are avionics on that helicopter that we need to evaluate in order to determine what they did have and what was on at the time. More to come,” Homendy told reporters. The ADS–B broadcasts information about an aircraft’s location, altitude, ground speed and other data to aircraft and air traffic control, according to the FAA. Cruz said earlier after the briefing: “This was a training mission, so there was no compelling national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off.” Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, said it’s not clear whether the technology was turned on but noted the “Army was clear it was installed in the aircraft.” Search teams are continuing to look for additional parts of the Black Hawk in the Potomac River, including the right engine and tail rotor, the NTSB said in an investigative update Thursday evening.

New York Times [2/7/2025 3:21 AM, Mark Walker, 740K, Neutral] reports technology that would have allowed air traffic controllers to better track the movement of an Army helicopter before it collided with a passenger jet over the Potomac River last week was turned off at the time of the crash, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, said in an interview on Thursday. Members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, of which Mr. Cruz is chairman, received a closed-door briefing with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board on the midair collision between an American Airlines commercial jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people last week. Senators, including Mr. Cruz, were updated on the investigation and told that the N.T.S.B. needed to collect valuable evidence from the helicopter still resting in the Potomac. The wreckage of the helicopter is expected to be recovered on Thursday. Senators shared few details after the briefing, saying that many more questions needed to be answered before they could make a determination about what went wrong that night. What is known is that the Army was performing a training mission in the Black Hawk in an effort to allow one of the pilots to receive her annual certification. But Mr. Cruz expressed concern that tracking technology for the Black Hawk was turned off during the training mission. When in use, the technology, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, broadcasts an aircraft’s position, altitude and speed. It allows air traffic controllers to not rely solely on radar tracking, which can have a delay of a few seconds. It thus provides an extra safety layer to help prevent crashes. Military helicopters can turn off the technology during what are called “continuity of government” missions so that no one can track where government officials are being flown. But Mr. Cruz said that was not the case on Jan. 29, the night of the crash. “In this instance, this was a training mission, so there was no compelling national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off,” Mr. Cruz said.

Washington Post [2/6/2025 1:37 PM, Lori Aratani, Rachel Weiner, and Teo Armus, 40736K, Neutral] reports that the Federal Aviation Administration is slowing flights into Reagan National Airport, a safety measure taken as members of Congress demand answers about last week’s deadly crash and President Donald Trump and Elon Musk promise a rapid overhaul of aviation technology. Officials are still piecing together what went wrong last Wednesday when a commercial plane and Black Hawk helicopter collided, killing 67 people. On Thursday, authorities announced they had removed all major components of both aircrafts from the Potomac River and would shift their focus to smaller debris. “Mistakes were made, at this point the investigation has not reach a conclusion as to who specifically made those mistakes,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Senate transportation committee, said after a briefing for lawmakers by the National Transportation Safety Board. But, he said, it was clear the helicopter was flying outside its 200-foot limit. He said the collision happened at 345 feet. And he questioned why the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), which enables the position of an aircraft to be tracked, was turned off. FAA rules allow military aircraft to turn off ADS-B, but Cruz said since this was a training mission, there did not seem to be a compelling reason for it.

AP [2/6/2025 8:46 PM, Josh Funk, 4917K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the deadly collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter last week on what he called an “obsolete” computer system used by U.S. air traffic controllers. He vowed to replace it after NTSB officials told members of Congress that advanced surveillance technology available on the helicopter was turned off. Trump said during an event that “a lot of mistakes happened” on Jan. 29 when an American Airlines flight out of Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, killing all 67 people on board the two aircraft. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that NTSB officials in a briefing told senators that the helicopter’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) — an aviation surveillance technology that transmits aircraft location and other data to air traffic control and other aircraft — was off. “The reason for turning it off does not seem justified,” Cruz said. “And in this instance, this was a training mission, so there was no compelling national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off.” NTSB officials also told media outlets that the helicopter crew was likely wearing night vision goggles.

Axios [2/6/2025 7:28 AM, Erin Alberty, Kim Bojórquez, 16349K, Negative] reports Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joined 17 other Republican AGs in supporting President Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship. Griffin signed an amicus brief Monday against a multistate lawsuit to stop Trump’s order, Axios’ Erin Alberty and Kim Bojórquez write. A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s order last week, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional," agreeing with 22 Democratic AGs who sought an injunction. The latest: Griffin and the other AGs repeat Trump’s arguments that children whose parents aren’t citizens are "not subject to" American jurisdiction as envisioned in the 14th Amendment. The amicus brief was also signed by AGs in Iowa, Alabama, Utah, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming. Several Republican AGs did not sign onto Monday’s brief, including those from Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky and Alaska. Texas AG Ken Paxton has spoken out against birthright citizenship. By the numbers: Immigrants make up about 5% of Arkansas’ population, according to the American Immigration Council. Immigrants and their children are not the only ones wary of Trump’s order. His lawyers and the AGs’ brief invoke arguments from an 1884 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that denied citizenship to Native Americans. Some tribal leaders see that as a threat against their members’ U.S. citizenship. Congress granted citizenship to all Indigenous Americans in 1924, decades after the 1898 Supreme Court decision that codified citizenship for virtually everyone else born here.

FOX News [2/7/2025 4:02 AM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Neutral] reports that, in the aftermath of the Jan. 1 terrorist attack on Bourbon Street and between major tourist-heavy events in New Orleans, officials with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are preparing to combat any potential threats during Super Bowl LIX. HSI was the lead agency initially assigned to coordinate security for the Super Bowl, and preparations began about a year ago, Eric DeLaune, special agent in charge for HSI in New Orleans, told Fox News Digital. "New Orleans has some unique challenges. The area here is a little more spread out for a Super Bowl," DeLaune, lead federal coordinator for Super Bowl LIX, said. "The elephant in the room is the attack that occurred on Jan. 1. We would be foolish if we didn’t use what we’ve learned from that to inform how we go forward and how we adapt plans … to make sure we can account for gaps and alternative locations that may be of concern now in that post-attack timeline.". Just over a month before the Super Bowl, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed a pickup truck through crowds of people celebrating the holiday on Bourbon Street, killing 14 civilians and injuring 57 others. New Orleans police officers fatally shot Jabbar when he exchanged gunfire with officers. DeLaune has doubled his request for "tactical resources and assets" from the Department of Homeland Security since the attack. "We’re going to have a significantly larger presence here in New Orleans in the way of tactical teams and also just special agents working in the area. People who are going to the game or going to the special events associated with the Super Bowl will see a much larger presence of HSI special agents and of HSI tactical assets, as well, walking around downtown, the French Quarter," he said. President Donald Trump is expected to be in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. DeLaune said the president’s visit doesn’t fundamentally change the agency’s security plans, but Secret Service will be working with state and local counterparts. Trump’s anticipated attendance will actually enhance security in the city because of the inclusion of more federal law enforcement personnel, he explained. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited New Orleans Monday and told reporters there have been "no credible threats" targeting Super Bowl LIX.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 9:21 AM, Austin Kellerman, 57114K, Neutral] reports that following a terror attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans’ French Quarter, city officials assure that security measures for Sunday’s Super Bowl are robust and comprehensive. I’ve visited Bourbon Street numerous times in the last couple decades and never seen a security presence like this one. You’ll see law enforcement and military personnel every 10-20 feet in the city’s most popular areas. Some 2,000 law enforcement officers will be working in the area to ensure safety during the Super Bowl events. No vehicle traffic will be allowed on Bourbon Street, and the city will block intersections leading to the most popular areas. The National Guard has been actively involved, with 350 guardsmen deployed to the city. On Wednesday evening, guardsmen were checking bags of everyone entering Bourbon Street. Federal air marshals are stationed at transportation hubs to monitor for suspicious activity and guard against drones. Federal agencies, including the FBI and Secret Service, have also positioned snipers and SWAT vehicles around key areas. A security perimeter with blast barriers has been established around the Superdome, and access is restricted to those with proper credentials. Additionally, bomb-sniffing dogs and technicians are conducting thorough sweeps of the stadium.

Wall Street Journal [2/6/2025 3:20 PM, Mariah Timms and Michelle Hackman, Negative] reports the Justice Department sued Illinois and Chicago over their efforts to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, in the Trump administration’s first legal salvo against Democratic-run states and sanctuary cities. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Chicago, asks the court to immediately end a number of laws and ordinances it says thwart federal immigration authorities. The lawsuit cites those that the Justice Department says block local police and sheriff’s offices from sharing information or working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in many cases, and from housing immigration detainees in local jails. The Justice Department argues federal law overrides the city and state when it comes to immigration. “These provisions are an obstacle to the Federal Government’s enforcement of the immigration laws and discriminate against federal immigration enforcement,” the lawsuit said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can enforce federal immigration law without cooperation from local authorities, but policies at the local level can make that more challenging. Chicago has become a chief foil for the administration as officials work to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to carry out a mass deportation of up to 15 million to 20 million people. Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive who has been critical of Trump, has pledged to block cooperation with ICE. He opposed a proposal that would have watered down Chicago’s sanctuary policies and allowed police to work with the federal government on deportation cases for those accused or convicted of gang activity, drug crimes, sex trafficking or sex crimes with minors. The vote failed at the Chicago city council last month. Administration officials had planned to stage a large-scale raid in the city on Trump’s second day in office, but scaled back their plans after The Wall Street Journal reported on the planned operation.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [2/6/2025 4:56 PM, Julie Bosman, 161405K, Neutral]
Bloomberg [2/6/2025 5:20 PM, Madlin Mekelburg, Neutral]
Northern Public Radio [2/6/2025 6:12 PM, Peter Hancock, 33K, Negative]
AP [2/6/2025 12:47 PM, Sophia Tareen, 30936K, Negative]
CBS News [2/6/2025 5:09 PM, Robert Legare, 52225K, Negative]
NBC News [2/6/2025 5:01 PM, Adam Edelman, Shaquille Brewster and Michael Kosnar, 50804K, Negative]
CNN [2/6/2025 3:32 PM, Devan Cole and Priscilla Alvarez, 987K, Negative]
USA Today [2/6/2025 5:20 PM, Trevor Hughes, 89965K, Negative]

Chicago Tribune [2/6/2025 2:16 PM, Gloria Casas, 4917K, Neutral] reports that Mollie "Mo" Geron was a young girl during President Donald Trump’s first term. She remembers being scared at the time that her parents might be deported. The family had an emergency plan if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents knocked on their door, a frightening situation she can’t believe she’s living through again four years later as Trump seeks to remove illegal immigrants at the start of his second term. "My biggest fear is back," Geron said. This time, though, "I’m not a little girl anymore," she said as she made signs at Elgin Community College in advance of a peaceful protest she and several others are planning for noon Sunday at 270 N. Grove Ave., in front of the Gail Borden Public Library. The grassroots group she is part of held their first protest event in late January, which drew about 15 people. She has found that many are in the same spot as she is as they straddle two worlds - one in which they are a U.S.-born citizen and the other in which family members are facing possible deportation, Geron said. Anya Alfante, Zayra Zavala and Gabriela Morales went to the first protest and have been helping Geron plan Sunday’s event. They also hosted Art That Speaks for Our Rights Wednesday at Elgin Community College, where people came together to create signs, talk, and share stories in a safe space.

Chicago Tribune [2/6/2025 1:49 PM, Jeremy Gorner, 4917K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump’s administration went to court Thursday to challenge sanctuary policies in the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago that limit the powers of state and local police to assist federal law enforcement on immigration-related matters. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois dismissed the lawsuit as "little more than the continuation of the name-calling and threats" from White House "Border Czar" Tom Homan’s tough talk about its immigration enforcement missions in Chicago. "The Trump Administration cannot bully local communities into participating in their misguided immigration policies," the ACLU of Illinois said in a statement. In an interview Thursday morning with Fox News, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said ICE has already arrested thousands of people across the U.S. since the new administration took over more than two weeks ago. "The vast majority are criminals, public safety threats. And that’s what we’re trying to do," said Homan. "And for any mayor or governor who doesn’t want public safety threats removed from the communities, I find it hard to believe that. But we’re going to do it, with or without them. If they’re not going to help, get out of the way. But don’t cross that line. Do not impede our operations. Do not - knowingly conceal or harbor illegal immigrants."

Chicago Tribune [2/6/2025 2:49 PM, Kori Rumore, 4917K, Neutral] reports that Chicago’s path to being a sanctuary city began more than 40 years ago. Here’s a look back at the leaders and laws that have shaped Chicago’s involvement with the sanctuary movement. May 9, 2023: Mayor Lightfoot declares state of emergency: ‘We’ve reached a breaking point’ The executive order is in response to the thousands of migrants settling in the city, often under harsh living conditions, after crossing the U.S.’ southern border to seek asylum. Jan. 24, 2025: CPS security video shows Secret Service trying to enter Chicago’s Hamline School Chicago Public Schools officials had a calm, seemingly friendly conversation with two U.S. Secret Service agents outside Hamline School hours before the district sparked a nationwide panic when it falsely proclaimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had tried to enter the building, according to recently released security footage. Feb. 6, 2025: Trump administration sues Illinois, Cook County and Chicago over sanctuary immigration laws The lawsuit argues that the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause "prohibits Illinois, Chicago, Cook County, and their officials from obstructing the Federal Government’s ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution."

Washington Examiner [2/6/2025 7:53 AM, Derek Draplin, 2365K, Neutral] reports Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has agreed to testify before Congress over the city’s immigration policies, his office said Wednesday. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee last month sent a letter to Democratic mayors of so-called sanctuary cities, including Johnston, requesting that they testify at a hearing scheduled for Feb. 11. Johnston’s office said he and the committee agreed he would instead testify at a hearing on March 5. "Denver has shown you can be compassionate and welcoming without sacrificing public safety or core services," a tweet from the mayor’s office said. "We look forward to discussing with the committee.” The Trump administration has frequently pointed to Colorado as a case study for its efforts to deport violent illegal immigrants, citing Tren de Aragua gang activity in Aurora, which borders Denver. Federal agencies conducted raids in the Denver metro area on Wednesday, The Center Square reported. The letter from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, requested all documents and communications from Denver employees and contractors relating to the city’s sanctuary status dating back to Jan. 1, 2024. "Sanctuary jurisdictions and their misguided and obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities, making Americans less safe," the letter said. "Denver is a sanctuary jurisdiction that refuses to fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.” Johnston said in an interview in November that Denver police would be "stationed at the county line to keep [federal immigration agencies] out," but walked the comments back in a subsequent interview. The mayor also said he would join protests if the federal government violated immigrants’ rights. In 2019, Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law that prohibits local law enforcement in the state from using civil immigration detainer requests to detain individuals, instead requiring a federal warrant. Polis told KRDO last month that Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state in "any way, shape or form.” A proposed ballot measure filed by a conservative advocacy group would require local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration detainer requests.

The New York Times [2/7/2025 2:54 AM, John Yoon, 740K, Neutral] reports a plane carrying 10 people went missing in a remote region along the western coast of Alaska on Thursday, setting off a search amid poor weather conditions, officials said. The Cessna 208 Caravan, on Bering Air Flight 445, left Unalakleet, Alaska, about 2:40 p.m. local time, said David Olson, the airline’s director of operations. The plane went off the radar and lost radio contact with air traffic control and the airline around 3:20 p.m., roughly 10 minutes before it was scheduled to arrive in Nome, he said. A pilot and nine passengers were onboard, Mr. Olson said, adding that their names would not be immediately released. Bering Air’s Caravans can carry as many as nine passengers, according to the airline. When its position was lost, the aircraft was 12 miles offshore, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. The plane was later reported overdue, the Alaska State Troopers said, meaning that it had not reached the airport 30 minutes past its estimated arrival time. Search crews and aircraft from the Coast Guard, the National Guard and the U.S. Air Force were working to locate the plane, the Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement. The Nome Police Department had earlier asked members of the community with boats to assist with the search. It said later that it had received sufficient offers of help. The fire department said that the weather conditions made visibility in the area poor, warning residents not to form their own search parties. Before the plane disappeared, its pilot told air traffic control in Anchorage that he had intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway in Nome to be cleared, according to the fire department. Alaska’s Transportation Department said the runway at Nome Airport that the plane had been approaching had remained open throughout Thursday. Maintenance crews had de-iced the runway when no aircraft was near it, said Danielle Tessen, a spokeswoman for the department, which operates the runway. Weather conditions in the region between Unalakleet and Nome included snow, fog and low temperatures, she added. The AP [2/7/2025 5:07 AM, Staff, 30936K, Negative] reports that the disappearance marks the third major incident in U.S. aviation in eight days. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. The aircraft was 12 miles (about 19 kilometers) offshore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. “Staff at Bering Air is working hard to gather details, get emergency assistance, search and rescue going,” Olson said. Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights Monday through Saturday. Airplanes are often the only option for travel of any distance in rural Alaska, particularly in winter. The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a statement on social media that ground crews were searching across the coast, from Nome to Topkok. “Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time,” it said. People were told not to form their own search parties because the weather was too dangerous.

ABC News [2/6/2025 4:29 PM, Kyra Phillips and Meredith Deliso, 33392K, Negative] reports "border czar" Tom Homan said President Donald Trump won’t hesitate to use the U.S. military if Mexican cartels target American troops on the southern border. Homan said the troops "need to protect themselves" and that he would send a warning to the cartels if any U.S. soldiers are harmed: "The wrath of President Trump’s going to come down." On his first day in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, allowing the Department of Defense to deploy armed forces to the region. He also signed an executive order to designate drug cartels and other criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations or specifically designated global terrorists.

NPR [2/6/2025 4:37 PM, Sacha Pfeiffer, 35747K, Negative] Audio: HERE reports Venezuelan migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay are being held in a military prison that has housed al-Qaeda members.

Bloomberg [2/6/2025 7:14 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 21617K, Neutral] reports India vowed on Thursday to curb illegal immigration to the US, as President Donald Trump and his administration carry out an unprecedented drive to deport undocumented migrants. Over 100 Indian citizens were sent back home on a US military aircraft on Wednesday. Their deportation comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington next week. Thousands of other undocumented Indians in the US are expected to be sent back in the coming months. “Our focus should be on a strong crackdown,” Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in parliament on Thursday. In an effort to avoid a trade war with the US, the Modi government has delivered a series of concessions to the White House on issues core to Trump’s agenda, including illegal migration. Opposition lawmakers on Thursday criticized the treatment of Indian citizens on the plane after local media reported that the deportees were handcuffed for 40 hours. “We are engaging the US government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight,” Jaishankar said. “It is in our collective interest to encourage legal mobility and discourage illegal movement,” Jaishankar added, noting that Indian enforcement agencies would take “preventive and exemplary actions” against a network of “agents” facilitating illegal migration from the South Asian country.

EFE [2/6/2025 7:33 AM, Staff, 1532K, Neutral] reports India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Thursday called on the United States to guarantee the humane treatment of undocumented Indian migrants deported from its territory after a US military aircraft returned 104 Indian nationals. However, he noted that the process for deporting undocumented migrants from the US had remained unchanged under President Donald Trump. “We are engaging the US government to ensure that the deportees not be mistreated in any manner.,” Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of parliament, a day after a US military plane carrying 104 deported Indian nationals landed in the northern city of Amritsar. Jaishankar also called for a shift in focus toward tackling the “migrant industry” and the illegal trafficking of people. “Our focus should be on the strong crackdown against the illegal immigration industry. On the basis of information provided by the deportees, law enforcement agencies will take necessary, preventive, and exemplary action against the agents and such agencies,” he said. On the issue of using a military aircraft to carry the illegal immigrants, the minister said the process of deportation from the US was “not a new one and has been ongoing for several years.” The 2012 ICE standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft allows the use of restraints, he said, citing an old document outlining this procedure. He said that the ICE had informed the Indian government that women and children were not restrained, and deportees’ needs, including food, medical emergencies, and toilet breaks, were accommodated. “This is applicable to chartered civilian aircraft as well as the military aircraft. There has been no change from past procedure, I repeat, no change, from past procedure for the flight undertaken by the US on 5 February 2025.” His remarks came in response to opposition lawmakers from the Indian National Congress, who pressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, considered close to the Trump administration, to clarify its position on US-ordered deportation flights. Criticism from India’s opposition has centered on the conditions in which deportees are returned, allegedly handcuffed and flown on military aircraft, rather than on the act of deportation itself, which is widely accepted in the country. While Trump’s immigration policies have drawn sharp criticism from Latin American governments, including those of Colombia and Mexico, Modi’s administration has been more receptive, expressing “openness” to the return of undocumented Indian nationals. US authorities estimate that at least 18,000 undocumented Indians are currently in the country. However, a Pew Research Center study for the period 2019-2022 found that Indians were the third-largest group of unauthorized immigrants in the US, with more than 700,000 people, behind only Mexico and El Salvador.

The AP [2/6/2025 9:36 PM, Aijaz Hussain and Chonchui Ngashangva, 50804K, Neutral] reports India’s Parliament was disrupted Thursday as opposition lawmakers protested the alleged mistreatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the United States. A U.S. military plane carrying Indian migrants arrived Wednesday in a northern Indian city, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration. Renuka Chowdhury, a lawmaker in the Congress party, said the deportees were “handcuffed, had their legs chained and even struggled to use the washroom.” Her colleague, Gaurav Gogoi, called it “degrading.” Parliament adjourned as the opposition chanted slogans and demanded a discussion about flights. The protests mirrored concerns after a contentious deportation flight to Brazil on Jan. 25 prompted that country’s government to seek an explanation for the “degrading treatment” of 88 passengers. U.S. civilian authorities also shackle migrants by their ankles and wrists, but deportation flights to India are rare. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had three flights to the city of Amritsar last year, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. The Trump administration’s use of military aircraft for deportations to countries including Guatemala and Ecuador is a departure from previous practice, which relied on ICE’s use of chartered and commercial planes. Parliament Speaker Om Birla tried to calm the lawmakers, saying the transportation of the deportees was a matter of U.S. foreign policy and that the U.S. “also has its own rules and regulations.” One deportee, Jaspal Singh, said the immigrants’ handcuffs and leg chains were taken off only at the Amritsar airport in India. Singh, 36, said they initially thought they were being taken to another camp in the U.S. and only found out about their deportation once on the plane. “The flight was into 8-9 hours and an officer informed (us) that we are being deported” to India, he said. The New York Times [2/7/2025 3:21 AM, Hari Kumar, Suhasini Raj and Mujib Mashal, 740K, Negative] reports that the use of a military aircraft, along with the claims of mistreatment, appears to have hit a nerve, creating a political headache for Prime Minister Narendra Modi days before he is expected to visit President Trump in Washington. Mr. Modi has described the president as a “dear friend.” Officials in India had hoped their declared willingness to work with the United States on taking back migrants would avoid the embarrassment and back-and-forths seen in countries like Brazil and Colombia. In India, much of the outrage on Thursday was in response to reports in local media, citing accounts of deportees, that they were shackled for over 40 hours and that their access to toilets was restricted. A video put out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the deportees boarding the plane in shackles. A spokesman for the United States Embassy in New Delhi declined to comment on reports that women and children were shackled. Sukhpal Singh, a 35-year-old chef from the Indian state of Punjab, who had been arrested upon entering the United States through Mexico in January, was among the deportees, according to his father. “He told me that he was handcuffed, as were the other adults,” his father, Prempal Singh, said in a telephone interview. “His feet were also shackled.” “Everyone around him was tied — adults, both male and female were chained,” Mr. Singh said. On Thursday, opposition lawmakers staged a protest in Parliament, some wearing handcuffs and carrying signs that read “humans, not prisoners.” They demanded to know how many Indians in the United States were facing imminent deportation.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [2/6/2025 12:44 PM, Arshad R. Zargar, 52225K, Negative]

New York Times [2/6/2025 9:24 AM, Hari Kumar, Suhasini Raj and Mujib Mashal, 161405K, Negative] reports the Indian Parliament erupted into an uproar on Thursday over reports that illegal migrants being deported to the country on an American military plane had faced mistreatment, including being shackled during the long intercontinental journey. More than 100 illegal immigrants were returned to India on Wednesday. While deportations are nothing new — India is a big source of unauthorized migration to the United States — most have relied on commercial flights. The use of a military aircraft, along with the claims of mistreatment, appears to have hit a nerve, creating a political headache for Prime Minister Narendra Modi days before he is expected to visit President Trump in Washington. Mr. Modi’s has described the president as a “dear friend.” Officials in India had hoped their declared willingness to work with the United States on taking back migrants would avoid the embarrassment and back-and-forths seen in countries like Brazil and Colombia. In India, much of the outrage on Thursday was in response to reports in local media, citing accounts of deportees, that they were shackled for over 40 hours and that their access to toilets was restricted. A video put out by the U.S. Border Patrol showed the deportees boarding the plane in shackles. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi declined to comment on reports that women and children were shackled. Sukhpal Singh, a 35-year-old chef from the Indian state of Punjab, who had been arrested upon entering the United States through Mexico in January, was among them, according to his father. “He told me that he was handcuffed, as were the other adults. His feet were also shackled,” his father, Prempal Singh, said in a telephone interview. “Everyone around him was tied — adults, both male and female were chained.” On Thursday, opposition lawmakers staged a protest in Parliament, some wearing handcuffs and carrying signs that read “humans, not prisoners.” They demanded to know how many Indians in the United States were facing imminent deportation.

The Hill [2/6/2025 2:00 PM, Ron Maccammon, 16346K, Neutral] reports that despite decades of U.S. aid and development programs, poverty, corruption and violence remain entrenched across El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The U.S. has invested billions to promote economic growth, improve governance and strengthen security. Yet for millions of people, fleeing north seemed to be the only viable path. While the Trump administration has disrupted this path, the underlying conditions persist. At the heart of this crisis is elite capture, where political and economic elites dominate institutions and resources for personal gain. Latin America’s elites have long controlled land, wealth and political institutions, obstructing much-needed reforms. Over time, these elites have developed entangled alliances with highly organized criminal networks — drug cartels, human traffickers and extortion groups — to sustain their dominance. Criminal groups have adapted by building political alliances, using bribery, threats and enforcement capacity to ensure mutual protection and influence within state institutions. This criminal-political nexus destabilizes governance, exacerbates violence and erodes essential services. Together, these forces have created a criminal-political ecosystem in which exploitation, corruption and violence are mutually reinforcing, leaving ordinary citizens trapped in a cycle of instability. This collaboration transforms public institutions into dysfunctional tools of exploitation.

Bloomberg [2/6/2025 8:51 AM, James Stavridis, 21617K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that the US would pursue an Iron Dome-like national missile defense system has taken a page from Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative of decades ago. Like Reagan’s never-fulfilled plan for a system to “intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies,” Trump’s vision for “The Iron Dome for America” is both sweeping and challenging. It will face the same kinds of obstacles that confronted Reagan, who speculated in 1983 that it “may not be accomplished before the end of this century.” Nonetheless, given the threats and opportunities created by revolutionary advances in technology and a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, the US has no alternative but to embrace what is rapidly becoming an existential challenge. How can that be done? The idea of an “Iron Dome” is designed to echo the highly effective Israeli-US missile defense system that has defended the Israeli population for years. But Trump’s executive order tasks the Department of Defense with creating something vastly more complex than the current Israeli Iron Dome. The new system will use a system-of-systems approach to stymie enemy ballistic missiles alongside defeating both hypersonic and cruise missiles. As with the Reagan system 40 years ago, it would emphasize a space-based system both for sensors (which already exist) and actual interceptors. From a threat perspective, the timing is certainly right. Both China and Russia are building highly dangerous, destabilizing and deadly hypersonic cruise missiles for either conventional or nuclear strikes, traveling at many times the speed of sound, far faster than systems today. They also have the ability to maneuver at speed, making them almost impossible to hit with current systems. The technical challenges are breathtaking. What are the chances of success? And what new systems might contribute to a successful Iron Dome that can truly protect America?

New York Times [2/6/2025 4:43 PM, Hank Sanders, 161405K, Negative] reports at least three people in three states have been arrested recently on charges that they had impersonated immigration agents or police officers to threaten others amid mounting efforts by the Trump administration to increase deportations. On Saturday night, two students at Temple University in North Philadelphia identified themselves as “Police and Ice agents” to security at a residence hall and disrupted a nearby dessert shop, according to university officials and the Philadelphia Police Department. One of the two students, Aidan Steigelmann, 22, was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer, the police said. A third person, who was described as a “former student who is no longer affiliated with the university,” also joined the two students. The episode was recorded by one of the three people involved, the university said. It was not clear what had happened inside the dessert shop. The continuing investigation into the students’ behavior in the cookie store was among the latest examples of Americans threatening others based on their perceived immigration status. In another case, Sean Michael-Emmrich Johnson, 33, of Huger, S.C., was arrested Monday on Sullivan’s Island in connection with a traffic encounter on Jan. 29. Warrants for Mr. Johnson’s arrest were prepared and Mr. Johnson turned himself in. He was charged with kidnapping, a felony, and impersonating a law enforcement officer, along with other misdemeanor crimes, the Sullivan’s Island Police Department said in an email. In Raleigh, N.C., last month, a man was charged with multiple crimes including sexual violence crimes and for impersonating a law-enforcement agent, including I.C.E., according to W.B.T.V., a local television network. In a separate incident in Durham, N.C., a fake I.C.E. van parked outside a shopping center that caters to the Hispanic community, the network reported.

Border Report [2/6/2025 1:42 PM, Ali Bradley, 153K, Neutral] reports that data from the Department of Homeland Security indicates that nearly 30% of those in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have criminal convictions. In addition, just over 33% have a final order of removal. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s actions to make good on campaign promises of mass deportations, there are currently more than 41,000 people in ICE custody. Most are housed in an area under the purview of the New Orleans field office, which has the most beds in the system, where roughly 9,400 are in custody. While the average length of custody is 90 days, some have been in custody for longer. The administration has started releasing deportation flights to other countries, including Colombia, Mexico and India. Newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the administration has been in talks with El Salvador about the country accepting deportees of different nationalities. ICE Acting Director Tom Homan, whom the administration has placed in charge of the effort, says congressional funding is needed for more beds but that the agency is doing what it can with the resources available. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [2/6/2025 2:38 PM, Staff, 49889K, Negative] reports that ‘Outnumbered’ discusses DOJ suing Illinois Gov. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Johnson for interfering with immigration enforcement as newly-elected Attorney General Pam Bondi cuts federal funding to sanctuary cities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [2/6/2025 5:06 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is taking dramatic steps to limit the number of illegal immigrants released from custody, as it moves at speed to shake off what one official described as the "hangover" from the Biden administration. Fox News Digital is told that, as of this week, officials are being instructed that any release of an illegal immigrant in ICE custody must be personally signed off on by acting ICE director Caleb Vitello. ICE currently has just under 42,000 beds available to it, and has been exceeding capacity under the current administration. The administration has been pushing hard to get more beds and detention space, but sources tell Fox it typically takes around 30 days for contractors to deliver given the time taken to identify buildings, hire people, conduct background checks and related requirements. That help is expected soon, but it is still in the process of coming online. The White House confirmed on Wednesday that around 460 illegal immigrants have been released from custody of the more than 8,000 arrested. While that’s a small percentage, it’s expected to get even smaller with the additional restrictions. The official stressed that any releases do not include public safety or national security threats. Anyone released is only done so with monitoring like ankle bracelets. While there are now additional limits on releases, ICE is also moving quickly to ramp up detention space. ICE has requested an apportionment of around $575 million from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as an advance of its funding for the year in order to be able to work quicker and get another step closer to a reported target of 100,000 beds and one million removals a year. It’s also working with the Bureau of Prisons to identify space to house illegal immigrants as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) -- where there may be plenty of open space in soft-sided facilities due to a dramatic plunge in encounters at the border. This week, the administration began flying illegal immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, where there are expected to be around 30,000 spaces. Family detention is one of the biggest challenges facing the agency. ICE has been talking with other agencies, including the State Department to expedite travel documents for deportable illegal immigrants.

New York Times [2/6/2025 6:41 PM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 161405K, Negative] reports if federal immigration officers show up on New York City property, a one-page memo distributed by City Hall lawyers last month has instructions for how city employees should respond: Take their information, ask if they have a warrant and call a city lawyer to deal with the matter. But the memo also says that workers should comply with the officers’ requests or let them in if the workers feel “threatened” or fear for their safety. And it warns that actively harboring an undocumented immigrant is a federal crime. The wording seems to give leeway to city workers — including at migrant shelters, schools and hospitals — to allow federal immigration agents to enter city property under certain conditions, even without a warrant. The memo reflects how New York City officials are grappling with how to balance their status as the country’s largest sanctuary city with Mayor Eric Adams’s stated desire to work with President Trump as he carries out his crackdown on undocumented immigrants. City Hall officials stressed that the memo was crafted to provide uniform guidance for employees across city agencies, and with the safety of frontline workers in mind, especially if a visit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escalated and turned violent. “We do not want city workers getting into physical altercations in any way with any nonlocal law enforcement officer,” Camille Joseph Varlack, a deputy mayor and the mayor’s chief of staff, said in an interview on Thursday. But some unions, immigration activists and legal service providers criticized the guidance, arguing that it was too permissive and could pave the way for ICE to easily access migrant shelters without proper authorization. Henry Garrido, the executive director of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal employees’ union, said that many workers had been confused about what to do if federal agents showed up at their workplaces. “It has been really difficult when you don’t have clear and transparent guidance as to how to handle ICE coming into the city and the agencies,” Mr. Garrido said in an interview.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 10:05 PM, Chris Sommerfeldt and Josephine Stratman, 57114K, Negative] reports all New York City agencies, including public schools and the shelter system, can let federal authorities searching for undocumented immigrants onto their property without warrants if city personnel "reasonably feel threatened" by their presence, according to a new policy rolled out by Mayor Adams. The new policy, which comes as President Trump’s administration is threatening mass deportation raids in the city and across the country, was contained in a Jan. 13 memo disseminated by Adams’ office to the general counsels of all municipal agencies. Under New York’s longstanding sanctuary policies, city workers aren’t supposed to give agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies access to city property like shelters, schools, jails and hospitals unless they’re armed with judicial warrants signed by a federal judge authorizing a specific individual’s arrest. But the memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News, says city workers can forgo the warrant requirement if the federal agents threaten their safety or the safety of others. "If, at any time, you reasonably feel threatened or fear for your safety or the safety of others around you, you should give the officer the information they have asked for [if available to you] or let them enter the site," the memo addressed to all city agencies says. The memo doesn’t define what a reasonable fear would be in such a setting. But a source familiar with the matter told The News the new policy was influenced by threats Trump and his team have lobbed since his November election, saying they will seek to criminally prosecute any local and state officials in the country who seek to interfere with federal immigration enforcement.

FOX News [2/6/2025 12:47 PM, Peter Pinedo, 49889K, Negative] reports that a Massachusetts migrant shelter resident has been arrested and is being charged with raping and impregnating his own teenage daughter while staying at a government-funded shelter. The MetroWest Daily News reported that the man, who has not been identified by police to protect the identity of his daughter and victim, raped his daughter repeatedly, both during their journey to the U.S. and while in the country. The immigrant was staying at a shelter run by Eliot Community Human Services, which operates two government-funded shelters at Holiday Inn and Extended Stay hotels in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in the Boston area. According to The MetroWest Daily News, Marlborough Police arrested the immigrant last week, following reports of his crimes being filed by shelter staff in May 2024. The outlet reported that the teen had sent text messages indicating she was pregnant "in the past by her father," and that "her father had sex with her multiple times, both on the journey to the U.S. and in the U.S.". The Marlborough District Court arraigned the immigrant on Monday, charging him with one count of aggravated rape of a child. District Judge Meghan Spring ordered him held without bail pending another hearing on Friday, which will determine if he is a danger to the public.

Newsweek [2/6/2025 11:55 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Negative] reports that police at Philadelphia’s Temple University are investigating after two students were accused of impersonating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a campus business over the weekend. As a result, the university has placed the students on interim suspension while authorities look into the incident. Newsweek has contacted Temple University for further comment via email. The case comes amid heightened national discourse surrounding immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump, who has overseen the implementation of stricter policies regarding the issue. A key aspect of his administration’s approach has been the rescinding of restrictions that prevented ICE from conducting arrests in sensitive places, such as educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and places of worship. These changes have led to increased anxiety within immigrant communities, particularly among those living in the U.S. without legal status. According to Pew Research Center data, an estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants were living in the U.S. as of 2020.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 1:28 PM, Sophie Nieto-Munoz, 57114K, Negative] reports that federal immigration authorities violated the constitutional rights of people held in a Pennsylvania detention center who were facing criminal charges in New Jersey by blocking their requests to attend court hearings virtually, a federal judge recently ruled. Preventing some detainees at the Moshannon Valley Detention Center from participating in remote hearings prolonged their criminal proceedings and kept some defendants from being released sooner, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie L. Haines ruled. The decision is a win for the American Friends Service Committee and five detainees who sued federal officials in an effort to halt their practice of barring remote court access. The detention center is located in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, nearly 300 miles from Newark. A plaintiff identified in court papers as Josefina Doe said in a statement from her attorneys that she is only home today because of the lawsuit. An asylum seeker first detained in 2022, she said the court action allowed her to access New Jersey courts for the first time, and her criminal charges got dismissed at her initial appearance. The lawsuit, filed in September 2024, accuses the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — which oversees ICE — of refusing to allow some detainees remote access to their criminal proceedings, leaving them trapped in legal limbo or potentially worsening their legal situation.

Newsweek [2/6/2025 2:21 PM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Negative] reports that Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx in Iowa declared that his office will not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if their actions are unconstitutional. In a statement shared on Facebook, Marx said that if ICE attempts to detain someone in his county based on a detainer rather than a judicially approved warrant, his office will take steps to block or interfere with the operation. "We will make every effort to block, interfere, and interrupt their actions from moving forward," Marx wrote in a Facebook post. This issue of constitutional authority has become a dividing line in local law enforcement’s stance on immigration enforcement, with some counties resisting ICE’s actions based on legal principles." The United States remains deeply divided over immigration policy, with local law enforcement agencies taking different stances on cooperation with federal authorities. Some counties have embraced partnerships with ICE, while others, such as Winneshiek County in Iowa, are pushing back. Marx said his office operates strictly within constitutional boundaries, not political agendas or personal opinions. He acknowledged criticism from both sides, being labeled a "Sanctuary Sheriff" and a "Constitutional Sheriff," but stated he remains committed to fairness, impartiality, and upholding the law.

Newsweek [2/6/2025 6:13 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports the Alice Independent School District in South Texas warned parents on Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol agents may board school buses to conduct immigration checks on students traveling for extracurricular activities, potentially resulting in detention or deportation. Newsweek contacted Customs and Border Protection and the school district for further comment via email outside normal office hours. Under President Donald Trump’s newly inaugurated administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has gained the authority to conduct raids in "sensitive locations," such as places of worship, schools and hospitals. Critics say immigration raids sow fear in vulnerable communities and that they violate protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Issues including warrantless arrests, data collection without consent and detentions without probable cause could be deemed unconstitutional and may prompt legal battles. Immigration was a key component of Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign. While Americans largely support the president’s mass deportation plans, they disagree about how the policies should be carried out. A poll by New York Times and Ipsos from January 2 to 10 found that 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records.” Superintendent Anysia Trevino wrote in the letter: "We want to bring to your attention an important matter regarding student travel for extracurricular activities, including sports, band, and other co-curricular events. We have received information that U.S. Border Patrol agents may be boarding school buses at highway checkpoints in and out of the Valley to question students about their citizenship status.” Trevino added that if a student lacks identification or documents proving legal status, "they may be removed from the bus, detained, and possibly deported.” The letter also cautioned that lying about immigration status could jeopardize a student’s chances of obtaining U.S. citizenship in the future. Under federal immigration law, falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen can result in disqualification from obtaining a green card or U.S. citizenship. The letter said the school district was considering assigning a chaperone to travel in a separate vehicle to stay with any detained student while the rest of the group continued the trip. The district has six schools and about 4,500 students, 92 percent of whom are Hispanic, according to the Texas Education Agency. In his first week in office, Trump overturned a policy restricting ICE operations near schools and other sensitive locations. Two former ICE officials told Newsweek that they didn’t anticipate raids to be conducted at sensitive locations unless they involved serious criminals. John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director in Colorado, previously told Newsweek that the policy change did not specifically seek to increase operations in schools but rather to remove restrictions on ICE’s ability to operate in neighborhoods around sensitive locations. "They didn’t get rid of it so they could go into schools and churches. They got rid of it so they could actually go into just a regular neighborhood," he said. On January 21, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said regarding the change, "Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”

Washington Examiner [2/6/2025 11:58 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 2365K, Negative] reports that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) offered the Trump administration access to 4,000 vacant prison beds across Texas for the federal government’s detention of illegal immigrants in custody. Abbott’s pitch during a White House appearance Wednesday and again on cable news that night comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have had to release 461 illegal immigrants into the United States due to a shortfall in ICE detention space. "There have been a total of 461 illegal aliens … that have been released from custody of the more than 8,000 that have been arrested since President Trump was inaugurated," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a White House press conference Wednesday afternoon. "It’s less than 6%." The figure pales in comparison to the several million illegal immigrants admitted into the country from the southern border during former President Joe Biden’s administration. While visiting Washington on Wednesday, Abbott made a personal appeal to President Donald Trump with the offering of thousands of prison beds in his southern border state.

Colorado Public Radio [2/6/2025 7:07 PM, Allison Sherry and Ben Markus, 688K, Negative] reports the pre-dawn raids on Aurora and Denver apartment buildings had all the hallmarks of a major law enforcement operation. Burly men dressed for combat and carrying a battering ram and a federal warrant. Some sort of smoke or flash grenade thrown to distract the alleged bad guys, though no one was really around. A film crew in tow to record it all, along with social media posts likely directed at a national audience. But as the effort expanded across the metro area throughout the day, it became apparent that while the operation had the veneer of a criminal investigation, it was really an immigration operation designed to let ICE capture and take into custody as many people as possible. "Of course Homeland Security and ICE have always conducted immigration enforcement operations," said John Walsh, the Denver District attorney, and the former US Attorney for Colorado under President Barack Obama. "I think we’re seeing certainly rhetoric surrounding these operations that is of a different character than anything I’ve seen before.". In the end, no official tally of those taken into custody was given. A FOX News report said only 30 people were detained. Though authorities had said they wanted to capture 100 members of a Venezuelan gang in Wednesday’s action, the same report said only one person who was detained had gang ties. No evidence of that tie was offered. But while the number of people detained was small, the effort nonetheless blurred the lines between civil immigration enforcement and criminal law enforcement in uncomfortable ways for local prosecutors, former prosecutors and immigration attorneys who spoke with CPR News. The Denver Police Department said it was too early to know whether there were any public safety ramifications from the immigration enforcement actions, but they continually tell residents that their officers don’t ask about immigration status and don’t enforce any civil immigration laws, as per state law. "DPD continues to encourage victims and witnesses to report crimes and share information," a spokesperson said in a statement. "DPD offers interpretation services to help overcome any language barriers to reporting crime.". On Wednesday, the operations were awash in official secrecy — while still relying on social media hype and videos to get a message out. A local ICE spokesman didn’t comment on the operations on Thursday, but Lunn said the majority of those she had seen who were swept up on Wednesday had existing immigration cases.

FOX News [2/6/2025 1:13 PM, Bailee Hill, 49889K, Neutral] reports that Border czar Tom Homan issued a warning after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid was leaked this week, greatly reducing the number of violent Venezuelan gang members authorities were able to arrest. Homan said he will be addressing the leak stemming from Wednesday’s operation in Aurora, Colorado, "immediately" during "The Faulkner Focus," making it clear anyone who stifles the agency’s ability to get dangerous criminals off the streets will be held accountable. "We’re not going to tolerate it anymore. This is not a game," Homan told Harris Faulkner on Thursday. "When we show up at these sites, this is a dangerous job for the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol and all the DOJ agencies. To have this type of interference puts our officers at great risk, not only the officers, it puts the aliens at great risk because anything can happen when we take our eyes off the goal here, so we’re addressing it immediately today." "This is not a joke. This is serious business, and they need to stop, or we’re going to prosecute them through [the] Department of Justice," he continued. Homan confirmed a raid in Aurora on Wednesday was leaked to the community beforehand, which greatly reduced the arrests of Tren de Aragua gang members and other dangerous criminals. The Washington Examiner [2/6/2025 5:34 PM, Emily Hallas, 2365K, Negative] reports border czar Tom Homan warned that media may no longer be allowed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations targeting illegal immigrants after a major raid was leaked. On Wednesday morning, federal agencies conducted an operation in Aurora, Colorado, that ICE hoped would result in the arrests of over 100 suspected members of the notorious Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. However, when authorities showed up at multiple apartment complexes known to be frequented by gang members in the country illegally, they were nowhere to be seen, with ICE only detaining one suspect and making 30 arrests total, according to a Fox News report. Homan, who oversees President Donald Trump’s immigration plan, said the following day that the operation was leaked. Consequently, members of the media may no longer be allowed to embed with ICE operations, he warned. Acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello similarly told the outlet that he got "the impression that there were some intel leaks" and that he believed TdA "probably" knew ICE was coming. The AP [2/6/2025 7:04 PM, Colleen Slevin, et al., 14282K, Negative] reports that more than 100 members of the Tren de Aragua gang were targeted Wednesday at apartment buildings and other sites in Denver and neighboring Aurora, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was unclear how many people were arrested. Fox News, which was embedded with the operation, said 30 people were arrested, including at least one member of the Venezuelan gang. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said more than 100 members of Tren de Aragua were deported from Colorado on Wednesday. It was not clear where they would have been sent since Venezuela has refused to accept its citizens back. The Defense Department said Wednesday that 10 people sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were Tren de Aragua members. ICE, which promoted the operation on social media shortly after it got underway, referred questions about the raids, including arrest totals, to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Dozens of heavily armed officials from several federal agencies, many wearing masks and arriving in armored vehicles, swarmed locations across the Denver area in the daylong operation that had been anticipated since Trump took office. They knocked down doors in at least one apartment building and provoked outrage among activists, who were on scene at some of the operations and taunted agents as they worked. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters Thursday that details on the operation had been leaked, putting officers at risk. Media reports leading up to the raids said they were imminent. “This isn’t a game,” Homan said.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 8:51 PM, Josh Marcus, 57114K, Negative]

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 2:09 AM, Gina Silva, 57114K, Negative] reports what seemed like a routine request quickly unraveled into a calculated trap. "I just need you to sign... and I go, and that’s it," Natalie Marinero was told. Those were the words a California parole agent used to lure Marinero, a transgender woman from El Salvador, out of her home on January 26. But waiting outside were ICE agents, ready to take her into custody. Susan Burton, founder of A New Way of Life, expressed outrage at the deception. "It’s hard to find the words to say how the government called here, tricked Natalie, and lured her outside where ICE was waiting for her," Burton said. Marinero had been living at A New Way of Life, a facility supporting formerly incarcerated women. She was rebuilding her life after serving 17 and a half years in California state prison for a second-degree murder conviction in 2005. Burton lamented the abrupt end to Marinero’s fresh start. "Natalie got caught in a bad situation where she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. She paid her debt to society, and now she was trying to start anew.” Susan Hefner, the housing supervisor, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing Marinero’s efforts to turn her life around. "Natalie paid her debt, yeah, and she’s been making great choices, really working on herself, internally, externally, like the whole package.” Marinero, known for her dedication and kindness, had even built a community garden at A New Way of Life. Hefner described her as a compassionate and integral part of their community. "We love her. We’re family," she said. Now detained in Otay Mesa, Marinero faces deportation back to El Salvador, a country where she fears for her life. "They told me I was getting deported," Marinero recounted in a phone call. "I said, ‘You can’t deport me. I’m going to get tortured in my country.’". Burton voiced deep concern over Marinero’s fate. She said, "I am so saddened by ICE coming and taking Natalie away. It’s just horrifying to think of what will happen to her if they return her to El Salvador.” As Marinero fights for asylum, advocates say her case highlights ongoing concerns over ICE tactics and the treatment of transgender detainees facing persecution abroad. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Los Angeles [2/6/2025 5:40 PM, Chelsea Hylton, 52225K, Negative] reports the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent warns of reports that individuals are falsely impersonating immigration agents in local communities. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho released a statement Wednesday that the district is aware of claims that people are alleging to be law enforcement or ICE agents. Carvalho said that impersonators have approached members of the community. On Thursday, the school district clarified there have been no reports of people impersonating agents at LAUSD but there have been such reports in the local community.

Newsweek [2/6/2025 5:41 AM, Jack Royston, 56005K, Neutral] reports Prince Harry’s visa records will be subject to "maximum disclosure as long as it doesn’t violate privacy," a judge in D.C. indicated. Judge Carl Nichols asked the Department of Homeland Security to request redactions to Harry’s documents or "continued withholdings" in preparation for the potential release of some paperwork, the Daily Mirror reported. It comes as part of a high stakes lawsuit in which right wing think tank the Heritage Foundation has argued Harry should not have been allowed to move to America due to his past use of drugs. Heritage want to know whether the Duke of Sussex lied on his visa forms about taking cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and ayahuasca, as he described in his book Spare. The think tank argue if he was honest he should not have been let into America and believe the public has a right to know if he was given favorable treatment by immigration officials. The case was thrown out in September, but the judge kept much of his reasons for rejecting the think tank’s argument private. However, Heritage have been trying to overturn, or vacate, the ruling and at a hearing on Wednesday, Nichols suggested it might have at least some success. The Sun quoted him calling for the maximum amount of publication possible without violating Harry’s privacy and adding: "In my view that has to happen.” Nichols has already reviewed Harry’s files in secret so will have some sense of what they contain. His indication that some documents could be redacted and then released suggests Heritage may get at least part of the answer it is seeking, namely, was Harry asked about past drugs use and what answer did he give? The case had been abruptly terminated in September, with much of the court’s reason for siding with the Department of Homeland Security kept secret to preserve Harry’s privacy. Heritage lawyers said that denied them the chance to challenge the interpretation of key documents in court. As Newsweek revealed in January, Wednesday’s hearing at federal court in D.C. was the first since the re-election of President Donald Trump. Heritage had argued Joe Biden’s previous administration had been protecting Harry and Trump himself said in March 2024: "We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.” There is no sign yet that the Department of Homeland Security will change stance under Trump and stop fighting the case but Heritage appear to have come away happier than it was in September. Judge Carl Nichols said: "Maximum disclosure as long as it doesn’t violate privacy.”

Washington Post [2/6/2025 6:18 PM, Samantha Schmidt, 40736K, Negative] reports but the Trump administration has made applying for asylum increasingly difficult, cutting off appointments with CBP One, the mobile app that offered migrants a legal pathway to apply. Without that option, they decided to turn themselves in at the border. They were deported days later. President Donald Trump said some of his first deportation flights were "getting the bad, hard criminals out." But Colombian officials said none had criminal charges against them. Few of them said they would be willing to make the journey again. Asylum in the United States, some migrants said, no longer seemed to be an option for them.

Politico [2/6/2025 5:53 PM, Bruce Ritchie, Neutral] reports Florida’s agriculture industry is quietly dismissing claims it depends on undocumented foreign workers in an attempt to steer clear of an intraparty battle among the state’s Republicans over immigration. It’s not working. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said farmers have an "affinity for cheap, illegal foreign labor" and he’s promised to veto an immigration policy bill from the GOP-led Legislature that would establish the state’s agriculture commissioner, Wilton Simpson, as Florida’s chief immigration officer, rather than having that role sit under the governor’s authority. Representatives of Florida’s politically powerful agriculture industry, which has a $270 billion economic impact, privately say they hire foreign workers with temporary visas rather than those who remain in the country illegally.

NBC News [2/6/2025 6:28 PM, Staff, 50804K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports in the days leading up to President Trump’s inauguration, a group of DACA recipients crossed the border into Mexico for the first time since arriving in the U.S. decades earlier. If they crossed safely back into the U.S., it could change their lives forever.

USA Today [2/6/2025 1:19 PM, Staff, 89965K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration has rescinded a decision that extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 600,000 Venezuelans, putting them at risk of deportation. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Francisco Chronicle [2/6/2025 7:00 AM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 4368K, Neutral] reports Abdul, a 30-year-old Afghan journalist, opened his laptop to see that President Donald Trump had indefinitely suspended refugee admissions. Trump’s executive order, made on the grounds of national interests, has upended the lives of more than 10,000 people approved to leave war and disaster for the U.S., and ended a decades-old commitment to international law. For the second time in his life, Abdul said he felt “the door of hope” slammed in his face. The first time was when the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, leaving people like him — journalists, ethnic minorities and allies of the U.S. government — vulnerable to the resurgent Taliban. Abdul and his family had been undergoing their final medical screenings, the last stage in what had been a three-and-a-half-year vetting process. “We feel betrayal,” said Abdul, whom the Chronicle is identifying by his first name because he has been targeted by the Taliban. A U.S. Department of State spokesperson declined to share how many approved and pending refugee cases were affected by the suspension. Just two of the 10 organizations designated by the U.S. to work with refugees told the Chronicle they had been expecting 7,170 approved refugees now barred from entry. “Decimating the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is not putting America first. It is weakening us as a country,” said Naomi Steinberg, vice president for U.S. policy and advocacy at resettlement organization HIAS, originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. “What refugee resettlement does is serve as a significant tool in our foreign policy. It helps our allies. … It makes us more secure.” From its inception in 1980, the U.S. refugee admissions program has generally seen bipartisan support, with President George H.W. Bush admitting more than 100,000 people annually during his one term in office and even his son, President George W. Bush, underscoring the importance of helping Afghan women even as he significantly reduced admissions. In his first term, Trump sent refugee admissions crashing to historic lows. Resettlement agencies saw their funding plunge as a result. It took four years to rebuild and meet the higher admission caps set by President Joe Biden, which resulted in just over 100,000 admissions in his final year.

New York Times [2/6/2025 5:03 AM, Paulina Villegas, 161405K, Negative] reports that, when President Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, he blamed these three countries for enabling the flow of fentanyl into the United States and fueling what officials have called a national emergency. President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico swiftly pushed back on Mr. Trump’s suggestions that her government colluded with drug traffickers, calling it “slander.” And she also put the blame on the United States, arguing that the fentanyl crisis stemmed from immense domestic demand for drugs, including fentanyl, and the illegal sale of U.S. guns to cartels. Ms. Sheinbaum announced Monday that she had reached an agreement with Mr. Trump, who agreed to pause the tariffs as she promised to send 10,000 members of the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to stop the trafficking of fentanyl. But thwarting the transport of the deadly synthetic opioid into the United States poses significant challenges for both the United States and Mexico given the cartels’ immense resources, the ease with which fentanyl is produced and moved and the insatiable demand for narcotics among U.S. consumers, analysts and experts say. Given these factors, it may be extremely difficult for Mexico to demonstrate that it is meeting Mr. Trump’s terms — particularly within the 30-day window he allotted to delay the imposition of tariffs. For over a decade, most of Mexico’s efforts to tackle organized crime focused on targeting powerful leaders to weaken their grip on large swaths of territory. But the strategy backfired. Engaging in direct confrontations and going after senior cartel members led to these groups splintering into smaller, disorganized and violent cells that caused even more bloodshed. While those actions were symbolic and put pressure on the criminal groups, analysts say, the strategy never focused on or intended to thwart the cartels’ production capabilities. Instead, its goal was to stem the violence disrupting communities. Mexico’s previous president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, came to office in 2018 promising a new approach: avoiding direct confrontation with the cartels in favor of addressing the root causes of criminality like corruption and poverty. But his strategy, which he branded with the slogan “hugs, not bullets,” did little to tame the extraordinary levels of violence or diminish the ever-expanding power of cartels that traffic drugs across the U.S. border.

CBS Austin [2/6/2025 9:06 AM, Staff, 581K, Negative] reports Border Patrol agents arrested eight migrants living in the country illegally Wednesday in Rochester, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Officials said the immigrants come from Mexico and Nicaragua. Five of them have final orders of removal after they reportedly failed to turn themselves in following a deportation order issued by an immigration court judge. All five are being held at a federal detention facility in Batavia, according to CBP. According to the White House, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have apprehended nearly 200 members of the transnational criminal gang Tren de Aragua. From January 21 to February 3, ICE arrested 194 members of the gang who were in the country illegally. The arrests begin to fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to Americans that his administration will root out dangerous illegal migrants living in the country.

Miami Herald [2/6/2025 5:40 PM, David Goodhue and Milena Malaver, 6595K, Neutral] reports a federal judge ordered two of the four men charged with smuggling 26 people from China to a pricey waterfront Coral Gables neighborhood held until trial because they are deemed flight risks due to their ties to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The man accused of piloting the vessel that dropped the migrants off in the mangroves near Old Cutler Road on Jan. 28 only arrived in the United States six months ago from Cuba, has significant family ties to the island nation and has extensive experience operating boats, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eduardo Sanchez wrote in his Wednesday order. And, one of the men caught by Coral Gables police driving one of the two vans that picked up the migrants was already facing deportation back to his home country of the Dominican Republic and had previously been deported after an aggravated sexual battery conviction, according to the order. Both men, along with their two alleged accomplices, face up to 10 years in prison if they’re convicted on the smuggling charges, the judge wrote. The incident was the second large arrival of Chinese migrants in the same area — near the Snapper Creek neighborhood, just south of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden — in January. And, that same day, a boat carrying Ecuadorans and Chinese people was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at sea in Biscayne Bay about 15 miles from Coral Gables, off Key Largo.

UPI [2/6/2025 7:03 PM, Mark Moran, 1890K, Negative] reports Customs and Border Protection agents seized $27 million worth of counterfeit jewelry in Louisville, Ky., during the month of January, the agency announced Thursday. Agents seized 28 shipments of counterfeit designer jewelry during the month that would be worth more than $975,000 if it were real, the agency said in a press release. The items -- counterfeit designer watches, bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings -- were mostly from Hong Kong and China, the agency said, and were headed to different parts of the United States. "Counterfeit goods are poor quality products that cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues," LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, the agency’s director, field operations for the Chicago Field Office, said. The Louisville seizure is the latest in a series of similar busts CBP has made recently.

FOX News [2/6/2025 4:30 PM, Adam Shaw, 57114K, Neutral] reports a Texas lawmaker is relaunching efforts to make sure his state can build a border buoy barrier without interference from the federal government after the state tackled a lawsuit by the Biden administration. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, is reintroducing the Prevent Aliens Through Rivers of Lands (PATROL) Act that would bar the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using the Rivers and Harbor Act to sue states. Texas set up buoys on the Rio Grande in 2023 due to the surging migrant crisis at the southern border at the time. Texas claimed the barrier would protect sovereignty and save lives by preventing people from entering the water. Humanitarian groups and the DOJ argued the barriers were a safety risk and sued. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference after a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 27, 2023. The DOJ lawsuit argued the buoy barrier violates the Rivers and Harbors Act, which protects navigable waters from obstructions and outlines authorities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The buoys were allowed to stay by an appeals court as the case moved forward, and it is not expected to be pursued by the Trump administration. The bill would remove the ability to sue under that act, meaning the barrier and similar barriers could go ahead unimpeded both during this administration and future administrations. "For the last four years, the White House had refused to secure our border and instead fought against the states that were stepping up to do it themselves," Cloud said in a statement. "The PATROL Act makes it clear: Texas doesn’t need permission from the federal government to defend its communities. The DOJ should never again be used as a weapon against border security. The bill has the backing of conservative groups, including NumbersUSA and Heritage Action, which said Congress should "build on [Trump’s] momentum to strengthen our immigration system and enforce the rule of law.". "States should have the right to secure the border and protect American citizens when the federal government fails to do so," the group said.

Miami Herald [2/6/2025 4:53 PM, Kate Linderman, 6595K, Negative] reports a random inspection at the U.S.-Mexico border led to the discovery of over 120 pounds of cocaine as it entered the United States, border officials said. While crossing Roma International Bridge into Texas on Jan. 31, a shipment of soft drinks was selected for an inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said in a Feb. 4 news release. Officers searched further into the tractor trailer and found 50 packages of cocaine weighing 120.15 pounds concealed within the commercial shipment, border patrol said. The driver was arrested by the Roma police department, and the truck and drugs were turned over for a criminal investigation, officials said. As of Jan. 7, approximately 9,400 pounds of cocaine had been seized at the southern border since the start of the fiscal year in October 2024, according to CBP data.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 1:36 PM, Uriel J. García, 57114K, Negative] reports that the Alice Independent School District in South Texas warned parents in a letter Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol agents may be checking the immigration status of students on school buses traveling for extracurricular activities — then pulled the letter down. The Border Patrol’s chief on Thursday said agents would not board school buses to check papers. "We want to bring to your attention an important matter regarding student travel for extracurricular activities, including sports, band, and other co-curricular events," Superintendent Anysia Trevino wrote in the letter. "We have received information that U.S. Border Patrol agents may be boarding school buses at highway checkpoints in and out of the Valley to question students about their citizenship status." Trevino added that if a student does not have identification or other documents that show a pupil is in the country legally, "they may be removed from the bus, detained, and possibly deported." It also warns that if students lie about their immigration status, they may not get U.S. citizenship in the future. The school district later removed the letter from its Facebook page and its website. A spokesperson for the school district didn’t immediately answer emailed questions from the Tribune Thursday morning.

Border Report [2/6/2025 7:53 PM, Julian Resendiz, 153K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports the newly installed vehicle barrier on the south side of Mount Cristo Rey will eventually be replaced by a permanent border wall, Border Report has learned. The quarter-mile-long row of steel Xs on the western slope of the mountain abutting Mexico will serve their purpose for now of preventing smugglers on all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes from coming in where the border wall ends, and the mountain begins. But a long-term solution not only to motorized smuggling but also for people on foot to come over unimpeded from the Anapra neighborhood of Juarez, Mexico, is a permanent barrier, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. "The vehicle barrier we have installed is a quarter of a mile with plans to expand it further east of Cristo Rey, with a vision of completing a border wall, a more permanent structure in the area," Border Patrol spokesman Orlando Marrero-Rubio said. A private contractor began installing the temporary barrier on Jan. 30. Immediate plans call for extending such barrier to the other side of the mountain – up to where a privately built border wall is already in place.

Washington Examiner [2/6/2025 6:42 AM, Staff, 2365K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump has made border security and illegal immigration an integral part of his actions during his first weeks in office. Multiple executive orders have focused on these issues, and numerous actions have taken place to remove illegal immigrants from the country, particularly those with violent criminal records. Now, barriers are being erected to deter criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal officials put up World War II-style metal barriers on Wednesday along the border in New Mexico, according to reports. The structures resemble the metal "X-like" anti-tank obstacles known as Panzersperre or Czech hedgehogs that were positioned along the beaches of Normandy during D-Day. A modern-day version of these barriers was placed "on the western slope" of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico. The area is considered one of the most active corridors for illegal smuggling and human trafficking in the country, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "The limited infrastructure and natural concealment in the Mt. Cristo Rey area provide a prime location for Transnational Criminal Organization to exploit and smuggle groups," CBP said in a release. "The hazardous terrain of Mt. Cristo Rey and its surrounding area continues to be exploited by Transnational Criminal Organizations," Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez previously said. "The limited visibility during the hours of darkness and the steep terrain increases the risk of injuries for migrants exploited by smugglers that have complete disregard for human safety.” In October 2024, Border Patrol said it encountered approximately 1,000 illegal migrants trying to enter the country near the U.S. border in New Mexico and western Texas during the last 12 months. This was a significant increase from the previous year. There were also multiple reports of Border Patrol agents being attacked in this area. CBP spokesman Landon Hutchens told Border Report that the World War II-type barriers are a "temporary" structure. Its primary purpose is to stop vehicles from entering the country from Mexico. It is unknown how long the metal barriers will remain. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [2/6/2025 7:02 PM, Adeel Hassan, 161405K, Neutral] reports the chocolates, potato chips and other colorful snacks that arrived as cargo at Los Angeles International Airport from Japan last month looked tempting. The shipment, though, wasn’t destined to hit store shelves. Agriculture specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered 37 giant live beetles hidden inside snack bags and containers, and agency officials said this week that the insects had most likely been intended for exotic insect collections. They said that the beetles were worth about $1,500. The illegally smuggled insects included scarab beetles, stag beetles and darkling beetles, the agency said. These bugs are four to six inches long, and some collectors enjoy seeing them fight against each other with their hornlike appendages during mating season, according to Jaime Ruiz, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s illegal to import most live insects — including spiders and scorpions — into the United States without a permit from the Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also requires permission to bring in some live invertebrates, like worms and snails. In addition, there are great risks to the environment and agriculture when an insect is introduced to a place where it doesn’t naturally belong, experts said, pointing to the accidental introduction five years ago of “murder hornets” from East Asia to Washington State. “You might be moving more than you think,” said Lynn Kimsey, an entomologist and former director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis. “These beetles aren’t going to be a problem, but there might be other things with them that would cause problems.” At Los Angeles International Airport last month, the agriculture specialists noticed in X-rays that there appeared to be a second package inside a few of the snack bags and containers in a shipment from Japan, he said. “Once you pull it out, you pick it up, and it doesn’t feel like a crunchy bag of chips or cookies, then you’re going to have to do a more thorough exam to see,” Mr. Ramirez said. That’s when they found the live beetles inside. They removed the insects and kept them for the Department of Agriculture to pick up.

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [2/6/2025 12:57 PM, Hannah Fry, 17996K, Neutral]

Border Report [2/6/2025 7:34 PM, Amber Coakley, 153K, Negative] Video: HERE reports another suspected smuggling boat was intercepted in Mission Bay Thursday morning, officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed. Agents with CBP’s San Diego Air and Marine Branch encountered the vessel around 5:30 a.m. as it docked near Ski Beach. According to CBP, 16 people were found onboard, including 13 men, one woman and two children. The individuals all claimed to be Mexican nationals. They were all taken into custody for processing and the boat was seized by CBP. An investigation into the suspected smuggling event remains ongoing.

New York Times [2/6/2025 5:02 AM, Vjosa Isai, 161405K, Negative] reports Canada’s last-minute reprieve from crushing U.S. tariffs came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a series of measures aimed at controlling the trafficking of fentanyl, a key reason President Trump has cited for wanting to impose levies. Fentanyl has flooded North America’s drug supply over the last decade, killing tens of thousands in Canada and the United States, and generating enormous profits for criminal organizations using basic chemistry skills, improvised equipment and home laboratories to produce millions of doses. Mr. Trump has repeatedly talked about fentanyl as a major public health threat to Americans and holds Mexico and Canada responsible for allowing the drug to enter the United States. But last year, less than 1 percent of the fentanyl arriving in the United States came from Canada. In fact, fentanyl is just as big a public health threat in Canada, where on some days more Canadians than Americans die of opioid overdoses, officials say. The number of organized crime groups making fentanyl in Canada keeps growing, and Canadian officials have uncovered links between Mexican drug cartels and some domestic crime groups involved in the drug’s production. In the last six years, Canadian police have dismantled 47 fentanyl labs, including the largest ever last year in British Columbia, government officials said. That lab had enough material to produce 96 million opioid doses. Last year, about 19 kilograms of fentanyl was intercepted at the Canada-U. S. border, compared with almost 9,600 kilograms at the border with Mexico, where cartels mass-produce the drug, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “There is limited to no evidence or data from law enforcement agencies in the U.S. or Canada to support the claim that Canadian produced fentanyl is an increasing threat to the U.S.,” said Marie-Eve Breton, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Mr. Trump has said fentanyl seized at the northern border could kill 9.5 million Americans, but health experts have stayed away from defining a lethal dose of any opioid because it can depend on many conditions, including a drug user’s tolerance level or the way fentanyl is administered. Canadian fentanyl that arrives in the United States tends to be sold on the dark web and shipped through the mail, Ms. Breton said.

Miami Herald [2/6/2025 12:29 PM, Kate Linderman, 6595K, Neutral] reports that though President Donald Trump pushed Canada to appoint a "fentanyl czar" to avoid steep tariffs, data of drug seizures at the northern border shows that fentanyl makes up less than 1% of drug seizures in the last three years. Tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine and marijuana have been seized at the U.S.-Canada border, while about 70 pounds of fentanyl have been seized since October 2021, the start of the 2022 fiscal year, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows. In the last three years, fentanyl seizures made up just 0.05% of all drug seizures at the northern border, according to data. There has been bipartisan support for a crackdown on fentanyl as drug overdose deaths skyrocket, reaching 105,007 deaths in 2023, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Marijuana, cocaine and Khat are the top three drugs most seized at the U.S.-Canada border in the last three years, data shows. Those three drugs alone have made up over 93% of seizures in recent years, while ecstasy, fentanyl, heroin, ketamine, LSD and methamphetamine make up the majority of the remaining 7%.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 8:02 AM, Alex Gault, 57114K, Neutral] reports more details on the Canadian plan to boost security at the northern border have been released, as the country tries to navigate the Trump administration’s demand to crack down on human and drug trafficking. On Wednesday, the Canadian Public Safety Ministry put out a plan formalizing the agreement that Canadian Prime Minister Justin P. Trudeau struck with President Donald J. Trump on Monday, narrowly avoiding the imposition of a 25% tax on Canadian imports to the U.S. and the start of a trade war with one of the country’s closest trading partners. The Trudeau government has already announced some steps that they reaffirmed as a part of Monday’s agreement — a $1.3 billion CAD plan to beef up border security with 10,000 more security personnel patrolling between and at ports of entry, plus a significant investment in surveillance technology. Those new technologies include Black Hawk military helicopters, drones, mobile surveillance towers, as well as new canine teams and more border agents in general. Canada purchases a significant amount of its military technology from U.S. based companies, so U.S. manufacturers are likely to see at least some of the money the Trudeau government has committed to spending. The Black Hawk helicopter is made by Lockheed-Martin. Additionally, Trudeau on Monday agreed to appoint a fentanyl czar within the government, dedicated to enhancing collaborative efforts with the U.S. to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and production. The Canadians will also put organized criminal groups that operate in Canada on their terrorism watchlist — strengthening crackdown efforts and dedicating more federal resources to stopping their operations and apprehending their members. A new Canada-U.S. "Joint Strike Force" is being established to combat cross-border criminal activity, and the government will spend $200 million CAD to boost operations at the public safety ministry and the Communication Security Establishment, the Canadian equivalent of the NSA. The Prime Minister has also issued a directive to those agencies directing them to spend more time cracking down on illegal drugs trafficking.

FOX News [2/6/2025 5:18 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 49889K, Neutral] reports Mexico has started to deploy the 10,000 troops it promised it would send to its border with the United States in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats as his administration cracks down on border security. Troops with the Mexican National Guard and Army were seen arriving at the border separating Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. The two largest deployment sites are Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana, where at least 1,650 troops and 1,949 troops, respectively, are expected to be sent, according to the Mexican government via The AP. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to deploy troops to its northern border hours before Trump-approved tariffs on imports were set to go into effect in response to the drugs and illegal aliens flowing into the U.S. from Mexico. "We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as President to ensure the safety of all," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday. "I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favor of it." Part of the deal Trump struck with Sheinbaum included his promise to combat the trafficking of American guns into Mexico that are fueling cartel violence. Mexican patrols were already working along the border near Tijuana on Wednesday, The AP said, and service members along the bushy outskirts of Ciudad Juárez could also be seen removing makeshift ladders and ropes tucked into trenches. Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 6:22 PM, Salvador Rivera, 57114K, Neutral] reports that some reporters who have witness the arrival of the troops say the actual figure is about 500 soldiers, far less than 1,000. There’s also questions about whether the new arrivals are in addition to the 2,500 troops already in Northern Baja, or are they replacing guard members who are rotating out. The Mexican federal government has not released details about the newly-arrived soldiers’ mission or assignments. Burgueño Ruiz has said the National Guard will coordinate with state and local agencies to develop a plan to "better protect citizenry.” He did admit some of the soldiers will be deployed to the immediate border area in the Tijuana region. "Our citizens can feel more at ease, there’s going to be a large presence of law enforcement and we’re all going to work as a team," said Burgueño Ruiz. The city of Tecate, about 60 miles east of Tijuana, has been sent 200 National Guard troops. Tecate Mayor Eduardo Macías Flores says the troops will be stationed at the border barrier to prevent migrants and drugs from getting north of the border.

Border Report [2/6/2025 8:03 PM, Salvador Rivera, 153K, Neutral] reports the shelter set up to house deported Mexican nationals in Tijuana remains "relative slow and empty.". Mónica Vega Aguirre, the facility’s coordinator with the state of Baja California, says since the shelter opened its doors nearly two weeks ago, only 605 migrants have been brought in after being deported from the U.S. It has a capacity for 2,600 people and provides meals, medical and psychological services, and governmental help such as birth certificate recovery. Vega Aguirre says about 95 percent of people who have stayed at the shelter have been single men who were recently caught trying to unlawfully cross the border or had their asylum claims rejected. "The announced mass deportations have not taken place," she said. "We have noticed that some were likely in detention centers based on their clothing, but it’s important to remind people these men are not criminals here.". She also stated the deported migrants who have arrived at the facility are from all over Mexico.

Reuters [2/6/2025 5:37 PM, David Shepardson, 48128K, Neutral] reports the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said its 65,000-member workforce is exempt from a Trump administration offer to quit jobs in exchange for pay and benefits through September 30. The TSA screened 904 million passengers in 2024, which was a record high and a 5% increase over 2023. The White House said on Sunday federal employees involved in public safety positions, such as air traffic controllers and employees at the National Transportation Safety Board are exempt. The Office of Personnel Management said previously said the offer was unavailable to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers and positions related to immigration enforcement and national security.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [2/6/2025 3:04 PM, Mary Schlangenstein, 21617K, Negative]

ABC News [2/6/2025 1:04 PM, Megan Forrester, Alex Stone, and Ayesha Ali, 33392K, Neutral] reports that a man aboard a Frontier Airlines flight en route to Houston had to be restrained by fellow passengers on Wednesday after he began kicking seats and hitting a window, eventually breaking the Plexiglas, police said. The flight, F9 4856, departed from Denver and was in the air for about 20 to 30 minutes, when a woman asked the man behind her to switch seats, according to passenger Victoria Clark. This man quickly became enraged, profusely kicking the woman’s seat and trying to break the window, Clark said. "I started having a panic attack," Clark told ABC News. "[I thought] it could be a terrorist attack." The man continued to hit the window and was eventually able to break the Plexiglas, passengers said. Without an air marshal on board, flight attendants asked if there was any law enforcement to help, passengers recounted. That’s when Tanner Phillips, a former member of the military, said he stepped in. Phillips said he and several others grabbed hold of the man, using zip ties and boot laces to restrain him and put him back in his seat. The Houston Police Department said they received a report that there had been a "combative passenger on board," and were already on the scene by the time the plane had landed. Frontier Airlines declined to press charges at the scene, and police are reaching out to airport officials to see what happened to the man. Since the man is not currently facing charges, his name was not released, according to police.

The Hill [2/6/2025 7:31 PM, Filip Timotija, 16346K, Neutral] reports Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, President Trump’s envoy for special missions Richard Grenell and other federal and state officials joined Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) in their visit to the Palisades to evaluate fire recovery and debris removal efforts. The EPA, as part of the debris removal process, has been removing hazardous materials in the area. The trio were joined during the Thursday visit by California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Yana Garcia, Major Gen. Jason E. Kelly and Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton, according to Bass’s office. "I’m grateful to have the support of our federal partners as we work urgently to rebuild the Palisades," Bass said in a statement. "The EPA is working to complete Phase 1 of the debris removal process while the City is working to expedite permitting processes and cutting red tape so Angelenos can rebuild as quickly as possible. We will get through this together.". The deadly and destructive fires ravaged the Los Angeles area last month, burning tens of thousands of acres and displacing thousands of residents. Two of the largest fires in the region, the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, were fully contained last Friday, according to local officials. The Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres and killed at least 12 people, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office. The total death toll, as of now, is 29.

CNN [2/6/2025 9:06 AM, Mary Gilbert, 22417K, Negative] reports a wide-reaching storm is forcing water rescues, knocking out power and creating dangerous travel conditions as it hits the Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and Northeast Thursday. It’s a preview of the frenetic winter storm activity to come this month with at least two others expected into next week. Very heavy rain on the southern, warmer side of Thursday’s storm prompted the first flash flood emergencies of the year in parts of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. Flash flood emergencies are the most severe level of flash flood warning and indicate that life-threatening flooding is occurring. “Numerous water rescues” took place in parts of West Virginia’s Kanawha and Cabell counties, where Charleston and Huntington are located, according to National Weather Service warnings. “We can’t stress enough to not drive through high water for any reason at all,” first responders in Kanawha County urged on social media Thursday morning after reporting crews had been out on “multiple water rescue calls.” There were also multiple tornado warnings as a line of severe thunderstorms tracked across Kentucky and into West Virginia Thursday morning. At least one confirmed tornado spawned from these storms near Booneville, in eastern Kentucky’s Owsley County. Power outages from the storm’s ice and severe thunderstorms were ticking upward Thursday morning. More than 85,000 homes and businesses were without power in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland as of 8 a.m. ET. An icy mix stretched from central Virginia into Upstate New York and parts of New England Thursday morning — including in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City. Dangerous amounts of ice will build up in parts of Pennsylvania, western Maryland and West Virginia. This amount can weigh down trees and power lines — causing power outages — and make travel dangerous to borderline impossible. The ongoing storm created hazardous travel conditions Wednesday night into Thursday morning as it spread a sloppy mess of icy precipitation over much of the Midwest and parts of the Northeast. Traffic crashes were reported in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain will expand farther north and reach much of New England by Thursday afternoon, but southern parts of the Northeast will gradually change over from an icy mix to rain as warmer air arrives. Precipitation will come to an end by the evening for much of the Northeast but linger into the earliest hours of Friday morning in northern New England. It will remain slick where air temperatures remain near or below freezing.

The Hill [2/6/2025 2:16 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 16346K, Neutral] reports that a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Thursday that would create a new Wildfire Intelligence Agency, seeking to streamline the federal response to fires. The bill, led by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.), came in the wake of recent blazes that decimated parts of Southern California, primarily in the Los Angeles region. "The scale of the wildfire crisis demands a singular, whole-of-government wildfire intelligence center to foster cross-agency collaboration and save lives," Padilla wrote in a statement. The joint office would share information with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior, according to the legislation. "Wildfires don’t care about state lines or forest service boundaries," Hickenlooper said. "A centralized wildfire intelligence center will speed our response to fires and promote cross-agency collaboration to tackle them.". The proposed center will aim to increase monitoring and imaging capabilities that land management agencies currently cannot achieve, Padilla’s release states. It would also coordinate a federal response for state departments and agencies, tribal entities, academia and the private sector on wildland fires.

Politico [2/6/2025 10:00 AM, Thomas Frank, 57114K, Neutral] reports that the person President Donald Trump picked to run federal disaster operations has spread misinformation about the agency he now leads. Cameron Hamilton, who took over Jan. 22 as acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has embraced false Republican narratives that FEMA "depleted" its disaster aid by helping migrants and blocked supplies to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, according to a review by POLITICO’s E&E News of his past comments. E&E News examined more than 1,000 posts by Hamilton on X and reviewed hours of his interviews with conservative news outlets. They reveal that Trump, who has threatened to disband FEMA, has placed the crucial agency in the hands of someone who echoes the president’s own often-misleading attacks. Besides promoting inaccurate criticisms of the agency he’s now in charge of, Hamilton’s many posts about politics, international affairs and national security included slams on diversity, equity and inclusion; his dismissal of Trump’s hush-money conviction as a "sham"; and an unflattering photograph of former U.S. health official Rachel Levine, who is transgender. One post repeated misinformation that FEMA had diverted $1 billion in disaster aid to help "illegals" entering the U.S. from Mexico. As FEMA itself notes, Congress gave the agency $1 billion specifically to help detained migrants.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 7:51 PM, Marshall Mitchell, 57114K, Neutral] reports the Mitchell City Council has approved an agreement with the state of South Dakota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove homes in the 500 block of West Ash Avenue over flood concerns. Residents on West Ash Avenue have requested the city’s aid in relocating from the flood-prone Dry Run Creek area after the recent flood events in 2019 and 2024. The city is also taking proactive steps to identify other areas of the city prone to flooding and offer homeowners a way forward. "Flooding isn’t a bad thing if it’s controlled. Flooding is a bad thing when it affects homeowners," said Joe Schroeder, Mitchell public works director. Two homes with detached garages on West Ash Avenue will be purchased and then demolished. The city of Mitchell will be paying for 15% of the estimated project, or about $43,942. The cost to Mitchell for 504 W. Ash Ave. is $18,690, and the cost to the city for the lots of 512 and 514 W Ash Ave. is $25,252. The total project is an estimated $292,950, with FEMA paying 75% and the state of South Dakota responsible for 10%. The probability of a 500-year flood is based on the chance of it happening today, not over the course of 500 years. In other words, each new day wipes the slate clean and a flood could happen each day of the calendar year. "FEMA is really trying to get away from the 500-year flood (vocabulary) because it creates the misconception that we’ve got time here," City Planner Mark Jenniges told the Mitchell Republic. "You think, ‘Well, we just had a 100-year flood,’ but no. Every day or every hour, you have a 0.2% chance of that event happening and every day, you have a 1% chance of it. So you could have the 1% (rain event) four days in a row, right? But then you might go the next 150 years without having it.".

FOX News [2/6/2025 7:33 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 49889K, Neutral] reports California Gov. Gavin Newsom hailed President Donald Trump following a "very productive" meeting at the White House on Wednesday. Newsom traveled to Washington to push for increased federal funding for recovery efforts after wildfires devastated tens of thousands of acres in the Los Angeles area. The governor held two meetings on Capitol Hill before traveling to the White House and petitioning Trump for "unconditional disaster aid," his office said. "As we approach one month since the devastating wildfires across Southern California, we continue to cut red tape to speed up recovery and clean up efforts as well as ensure rebuilding efforts are swift," Newsom said in a statement. "We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need." "Thank you President Trump for coming to our communities to see this first hand, and meeting with me today to continue our joint efforts to support people impacted," he added. "The Governor expressed his appreciation for the Trump Administration’s early collaboration and specifically thanked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for his agency’s swift action, including over 1,000 personnel on the ground focused on debris removal," Newsom’s office added in a statement. Trump met with Newsom as he arrived in Los Angeles late last month — just four days after his inauguration as president — to survey the fire damage. Newsom approved some $2.5 billion in recovery work, which he hopes will be reimbursed by the federal government. After the outbreak of the fires early last month, Trump repeatedly criticized Newsom’s handling of the immense crisis. He has accused the governor of mismanaging forestry and water policy and, pointing to intense backlash over a perceived lack of preparation, called on Newsom to step down. "Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!" Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, as he repeated a derogatory name he often labels the governor.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [2/6/2025 7:56 AM, Kenneth Schrupp, 2365K, Negative]

CBS Austin [2/6/2025 2:08 PM, Austin Denean, 581K, Negative] reports that a House subcommittee held a hearing on Thursday examining whether a series of state-level regulations in California have helped contribute to its growing issues with destructive wildfires that have caused billions in damage as Congress continues to debate a disaster relief bill to help the city rebuild. The wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles earlier this year killed 29 people, burned thousands of acres of land and destroyed numerous homes, buildings and other structures. All have been extinguished or contained after wreaking havoc on the region but the area is trying to prepare for the difficult and costly endeavor of rebuilding after a natural disaster. President Donald Trump and other Republicans in Congress have blamed California’s Democratic leadership, particularly targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom, for mismanaging its water supply and failing to take enough preventative measures to keep fires from breaking out and spreading. Newsom has disputed criticisms of his administration’s handling of forest and water management, highlighting billions in state investments into increase the number of firefighters, increasing its aerial firefighting fleet and conducting more controlled burns and clearing of brush and other plants that can serve as fuel to raging wildfires.

New York Times [2/6/2025 9:04 AM, Ivan Penn, 161405K, Negative] reports that, on Jan. 19, almost two weeks after the Eaton fire broke out near Altadena, Calif., technicians for Southern California Edison began testing electrical equipment near the origin of the blaze. They soon noticed small white flashes appearing on high-voltage transmission lines when power was being restored — signs that the system was functioning abnormally. The incident is one of several irregularities that Edison has been reviewing as it examines its electrical system in the wake of the deadly fire, Pedro J. Pizarro, president and chief executive of Edison International, Southern California Edison’s parent company, said in an interview Wednesday. He cautioned that the findings were part of the utility’s ongoing investigation and did not provide any conclusive evidence about whether faulty electrical equipment had ignited the blaze. But the flashes, which could be similar to ones captured on video near electrical equipment just moments before the fire broke out on Jan. 7, add to a growing pool of evidence linking the utility to the possible origin of the fire, which killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and businesses. It may take months for an official cause to be determined, but if Edison is found to be at fault, it could have sweeping consequences for how victims will be compensated — as well as how the utility, the state’s second largest investor-owned utility, continues to operate. “While we do not yet know what caused the Eaton wildfire, SCE is exploring every possibility in its investigation, including the possibility that SCE’s equipment was involved,” Mr. Pizarro said. Edison is submitting the details of its latest findings in a report to state regulators on Thursday, the company said. Utility equipment has been the source of some of California’s most deadly and devastating wildfires. After a series of blazes in the northern part of the state, including the Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise in 2018, Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, filed for bankruptcy. For much of the last decade, California has worked to reduce wildfires set off by electrical equipment by requiring the state’s investor-owned utilities to develop prevention plans that have included moving wires underground, installation of weather stations to track storms and even deliberately cutting power to customers during dangerous conditions.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [2/6/2025 5:03 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 16346K, Neutral]

Los Angeles Times [2/6/2025 6:00 AM, James Queally, Clara Harter and Richard Winton, 57114K, Negative] reports that, in the days after the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted, authorities throughout L.A. County announced a series of arson arrests. But those charged were not accused of sparking the devastating wildfires. Their blazes were much smaller — the sort that might have passed unnoticed if huge swaths of land hadn’t already gone up in flames. From Irwindale to Brentwood, police said they found people burning dried-out Christmas trees and trash or setting dumpsters ablaze. One man was caught using a blowtorch to incinerate debris in West Hills as the Kenneth fire raged above him, police said. California’s fire seasons often bring out a pair of misconceptions. First is an assumption that homeless people are responsible for sparking the biggest infernos. A related and recurring concern is that media attention on the massive wildfires inspires copycats to commit arson. The causes of the Palisades and Eaton fires are still under investigation, with sparking power lines being scrutinized as one possible ignition point. Last week, sources told The Times the Palisades fire may have been “human-caused,” but did not offer specifics. Authorities say the recent uptick in arson arrests was probably the result of increased public attention to common smaller fires, which are dangerous during extreme weather conditions. The city is constantly burning to some degree — it’s just that people aren’t always calling 911 to report it, said Ed Nordskog, a veteran arson investigator with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. “L.A. has dozens of fires every single day and quite a few of them are purposely set,” Nordskog said. Prosecutors and arson investigators say many of those everyday fires are set intentionally or accidentally by people experiencing homelessness or suffering from mental illness. At least nine of the suspects in a series of publicized arson arrests that followed the eruption of the wildfires on Jan. 7 were unhoused, according to police agencies.

Miami Herald [2/6/2025 1:40 PM, Nathan Solis, 6595K, Neutral] reports that the city of Los Angeles has launched an online tool to help people affected by recent wildfires by simplifying the task of applying for assistance. The LA Disaster Relief Navigator is intended to highlight resources available to those whose lives were impacted by this year’s wildfires. After filling out a simple questionnaire, residents are directed to local, state and federal programs for essential goods, disaster relief, insurance assistance, home damage repair and other services. "Angelenos are continuing to navigate grief and shock. My commitment is to do everything we can to get people the help they need as conveniently as possible," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement announcing the website. Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened disaster recovery centers in Los Angeles County to provide in-person assistance to wildfire victims who had questions about their next steps. The online tool will provide some of that same information, which can can be difficult to find for anyone unable to visit a disaster recovery center in person.

Hawaii Public Radio [2/6/2025 2:50 PM, Staff, 91K, Negative] reports that the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Thursday over insurance issues tying up a potential $4 billion settlement for Maui’s catastrophic 2023 wildfire. The massive inferno decimated the historic town of Lahaina, killing more than 100 people, destroying thousands of properties and causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damages. The defendants blamed for causing the deadly tragedy, including Hawaiian Electric Company, Kamehameha Schools and the State of Hawaiʻi, agreed to pay a total of $4.037 billion to resolve claims by thousands of affected people. But a key settlement term says insurance companies can’t separately go after the defendants to recoup money paid to policyholders — a legal process called subrogation. Insurers have so far paid more than $2.3 billion to people and businesses devastated by the fires and expect to pay $1 billion more. Insurance companies want to pursue separate legal action against the defendants to recover damages.

Chicago Tribune [2/6/2025 1:21 PM, Caroline Kubzansky, 4917K, Neutral] reports that Chicago Public Schools officials had a calm, seemingly friendly conversation with two U.S. Secret Service agents outside Hamline School hours before the district sparked a nationwide panic when it falsely proclaimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had tried to enter the building, according to recently released security footage. The roughly 7-minute conversation raises questions about how the misunderstanding occurred and why incorrect information was shared with an already frightened community. Neither CPS nor the U.S. Secret Service would comment on the video, which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. CPS safety and security chief Jadine Chou is leaving the district this week, though district officials said it was a planned departure and unrelated to the ICE snafu. About 17 minutes after the agents arrived, Hamline Elementary Principal Natasha Ortega comes out from a side door to speak to them and one of the agents shows her his credential. Throughout their conversation, the same agent holds the file folder with the Secret Service logo. CPS would not say whether the two people who joined Ortega and the agents were district employees. However, the recording shows them standing next to the principal and conferring with her.

ABC News [2/6/2025 6:34 PM, Staff, 33392K, Negative] Video: HERE reports ABC News’ Mireya Villarreal reports from the southern border as the Coast Guard patrols key areas in the Rio Grande as part of President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

CBS News [2/6/2025 10:22 AM, Emily Mae Czachor, 52225K, Negative] reports that a U.S. Coast Guard crew completed a two-month anti-drug trafficking operation this week that resulted in huge narcotics seizures and the arrests of dozens of suspected smugglers at sea, the agency said. The Coast Guard cutter Campbell returned to its port on Monday in Newport, Rhode Island, after a patrol mission through the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean that lasted 63 days. The crew’s primary goal was to intercept illegal drug activities in known trafficking zones, a mission that ultimately led them to seize roughly 8,061 pounds of cocaine, the Coast Guard said. Those drugs have an estimated street value of about $91 million, according to the agency. Images released by the Coast Guard show packages of seized cocaine stacked on board the cutter in a large pile. Crew members also arrested and detained 49 suspected drug smugglers allegedly involved in illegal trafficking on the high seas. The Coast Guard said 26 suspects were eventually turned over to U.S. authorities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the end of January, when the Campbell cutter offloaded the seized drug hauls at Port Everglades. The suspects will now be prosecuted federally by the Department of Justice, according to the Coast Guard.

FOX News [2/6/2025 7:42 AM, Michael Dorgan, Landon Mion, 49889K, Negative] reports Adm. Linda Lee Fagan, the former commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, who was terminated from her role last month over concerns about issues including the border, recruitment and DEI issues, was evicted from her admiral quarters home with three hours of notice on Tuesday, according to an NBC report citing two people familiar with the incident. Fagan was fired by the Trump administration on the president’s second day in office. She had been given a 60-day waiver to find new housing but was informed at 2 p.m. Tuesday that she had three hours to leave her home at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling in Washington, D.C., per the report. The short time frame meant that she did not have enough time to remove "many — maybe all — of her personal items and household goods still there," a former U.S. military official told the outlet. She spent the night with friends, the report states. NBC reports that Homeland Security officials told the acting commandant, Kevin Lunday, that Fagan needed to leave the home. The outlet’s DHS source could not immediately ascertain whether the directive had come from President Donald Trump. Homeland Security oversees the U.S. Coast Guard. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Coast Guard to confirm the report but did not immediately receive a response for publication. Shortly after being told to leave, her team received a call from aides to Sean Plankey, a DHS senior adviser and retired Coast Guard officer, instructing her to leave the house unlocked so that the interior could be photographed, according to one of the sources. Fagan, a four-star admiral and the first woman to lead a branch of the military, was terminated for a variety of reasons including an "erosion of trust," leadership deficiencies, operational failures and an inability to advance the strategic objectives of the Coast Guard, a senior DHS official previously confirmed to Fox News. These include the failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an "erosion of trust" over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the Coast Guard’s internal investigation into sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Diego Union Tribune [2/6/2025 6:06 PM, Karen Kucher, 2212K, Negative] reports two suspected smuggling vessels were discovered by federal officials off the coast of San Diego late Wednesday and early Thursday, resulting in 19 people being detained, authorities said. In the first incident, a personal watercraft carrying three people was detected around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday in U.S. waters near the border and heading north. "They were tracking them up the coast," a Coast Guard spokesperson said. By time a Coast Guard crew made contact, one of the people needed to be rescued after falling into the water, the spokesperson said. Two men and a woman had been traveling on the personal watercraft, which was first located about 11 miles off of Point Loma. After they were brought to shore, the woman was transported to a hospital. It was unknown what kind of medical issue she was having. In a second incident, federal agents detained 16 people early Thursday after a suspected smuggling boat was found near Mission Bay. Members of the Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine branch were notified of a suspicious vessel in waters off Mission Bay around 5 a.m., and a half hour later, agents intercepted the vessel as it docked, a spokesperson said. Thirteen men, one woman and two children were discovered onboard. All claimed to be Mexican nationals and were taken into custody for processing. The boat was seized.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 8:10 AM, Jack Perry, 57114K, Negative] reports a Newport-based Coast Guard cutter seized more than $91 million worth of cocaine during a 63-day patrol in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the Coast Guard. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Campbell on Jan. 27 also transferred 26 suspected drug smugglers to authorities at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the Coast Guard said. The suspects face federal prosecution by the Department of Justice, according to the Coast Guard. The cutter and its crew returned to their home port of Newport on Monday. "I am incredibly proud of Campbell’s crew," Cmdr. Jonathan Harris, commanding officer of Campbell, said in a Coast Guard press release. "We overcame many obstacles to stand vigilant watches away from our loved ones during the holiday season and worked tirelessly to prevent transnational criminal organizations from harming our communities by seizing tons of narcotics that will no longer cross our maritime borders.” Campbell deployed in support of Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S) to seize illegal narcotics in known drug trafficking zones, according to the Coast Guard. While on the patrol, Campbell stopped a suspected drug-smuggling operation involving six panga boats, according to the Coast Guard. Panga boats are small, open fishing boats with outboard engines. In pursuing the panga boats, Campbell’s crew seized some 8,061 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $91 million, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard also detained two suspected drug traffickers as part of that case. Between January 2024 and February 2025, the crew of Campbell transferred a total of 87 suspected smugglers to federal law enforcement authorities, resulting from 24 interdictions by U. S. Coast Guard cutters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard said. During the recent patrol, the Campbell’s crew worked with other crews from other cutters, and international partners, the Coast Guard said.

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 6:26 PM, Beth Sullivan, 57114K, Neutral] reports the U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a crew member reported missing from the cutter Waesche while operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the service said. The cutter, its attached helicopter and unmanned aircraft systems are conducting search efforts for the crew member, the service said in a brief statement Thursday. "Additional Coast Guard and interagency search assets are being employed in this effort as well," the service said. The Coast Guard statement did not disclose the missing crew member’s identity or when they were discovered missing. The service, citing operational security, also did not provide additional details about the specific location of the search efforts. Homeported in Alameda, California, the Waesche is the second legend-class national security cutter, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area.

Federal News Network [2/6/2025 7:35 AM, Justin Doubleday, 470K, Neutral] reports lawmakers and other officials are raising concerns that President Donald Trump’s efforts to cut the federal workforce are kneecapping recent initiatives to recruit more cyber and technology personnel into government. In a Feb. 5 letter to acting Office of Personnel Management Director Charlez Ezell, Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee wrote that “reckless attacks on federal workers risk reversing recent progress in addressing the federal government’s cyber workforce shortage.” OPM’s recent 90-day hiring freeze includes broad exemptions for national security positions, but the lawmakers say it’s unclear whether that includes cybersecurity jobs. While all civilian Defense Department positions are exempt, they point to how other key agencies, like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, haven’t posted any new cyber jobs since the freeze was announced. “A hiring freeze that precludes federal agencies from filling cybersecurity positions risks the security of federal networks and may prevent sector risk management agencies from fulfilling their obligations to help defend critical infrastructure,” the lawmakers wrote. An OPM spokeswoman pointed to OPM’s Jan. 20 hiring freeze guidance and referred Federal News Network to agencies for any additional, agency-specific carve outs. During a homeland security committee hearing Wednesday, Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier flagged the hiring freeze, the push to get federal employees to resign and the collection of information on probationary employees. “There is truly real damage being done to the federal workforce, specifically the cyber workforce” Stier said. He cited an email he received from a CyberCorps Scholarship-for-Service program participant, who said she had job offers rescinded until the hiring freeze is over. Stier said while a hiring freeze at the start of an administration is not uncommon, it’s “enormously disruptive” to the government’s efforts to improve cyber hiring. “When you do a hiring freeze, you layer on top of what is already not working well a whole other set of problems, not only with those people who are already in the pipeline, but frankly, in your ability to attract people from the outside who are looking at the hiring freeze and saying, ‘How can I go there?’” Stier said.

CBS Austin [2/6/2025 9:29 PM, Staff, 581K, Neutral] reports that, according to a new bulletin released by the Department of Homeland Security, cameras made in China may be able to spy on U.S. infrastructure. Officials say the internet-connected cameras allow the Chinese government to conduct espionage or disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure. David Reid, a cybersecurity expert at Cedarville University tells us, that right now the Department of Homeland Security is taking inventory. Looking at which products from overseas pose a threat. "Where is it coming from? What does that look like and most important, can we trust what is going on?" Reid said. What the department uncovered, is that thousands of internet-connected cameras made in China are giving the Chinese government the ability to spy on the U.S. or disrupt critical infrastructure. "These things are used in water treatment plants. They’re used in traffic systems," said Reid. Reid says the cameras typically lack data encryption and security settings, making it easier to communicate with its manufacturer. "I may not be concerned with what the camera is looking at, I may just simply need a pathway into the network," Reid said. Michael Nowatkowski, who specializes in cybersecurity at Augusta University says, tens of thousands of these Chinese-made cameras are connected to the networks of U.S. infrastructure. "They may be designed with backdoors that allow remote connectivity into those cameras even without the knowledge of the owner," Nowatkowski said. But he believes this isn’t just limited to cameras. There are likely other types of devices just like this, which is why you need to be careful what you buy. "Just be aware that some of those may be priced lower because they do have backdoors or additional access built into them," said Nowatkowski.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [2/6/2025 11:52 AM, Josh Margolin, Aaron Katersky, and Meredith Deliso, 33392K, Neutral]

NPR [2/6/2025 12:30 PM, Jenna McLaughlin, 35747K, Neutral] reports that employees at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, were initially excluded from broader government offers to take deferred resignation offers, in part due to their role in national security and defending critical infrastructure. However, on Wednesday, some CISA staffers were given the offer and just hours to decide whether to accept it, according to three sources who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity. It’s the latest move in the Trump administration’s broader efforts to shrink the federal government. "Team CISA, I am writing to provide an update that CISA employees may participate in the Deferred Resignation program (‘Fork in the Road’)," wrote Bridget Bean, who was identified in an email shown to NPR as the "senior official performing the duties of director" at CISA. "This is a deeply personal decision, and whichever decision you make, we support you." Bean also wrote that the offer expires on Thursday, February 6, 2025 before midnight. It’s unclear whether the offer is legally binding or whether Congress will appropriate funds to pay for it after March.

AP [2/6/2025 6:15 PM, Ellen Knickmeyer, 11K, Negative] reports newly unsealed documents give one of the most detailed views yet of the evidence gathered on the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, including how prosecutors allege he and others interacted with the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The summaries of evidence released Thursday include Mohammed’s own statements over the years, phone records and other documents alleging coordination between Mohammed and the hijackers, videos included in al-Qaida’s planning for the attacks and prosecutors’ summaries of government simulations of the flights of the four airliners that day. But few other details were given. Also to be presented are the photos and death certificates of 2,976 people killed that day at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field, where the fourth airliner commandeered by the al-Qaida hijackers smashed into the ground after a revolt by passengers. The newly revealed framework of military prosecutors’ potential case against Mohammed, who prosecutors say conceived of and executed much of al-Qaida’s attack, is contained in a plea agreement that the Defense Department is battling in court to roll back. Mohammed and two co-defendants agreed in the plea deal with military prosecutors to plead guilty in the attack in return for life sentences. The Associated Press, New York Times, NPR, Washington Post, Fox News, NBC and Univision are suing to get the plea bargains unsealed. The summaries of the prosecution evidence were released Thursday in a partially redacted version of Mohammed’s agreement. The evidence summaries point to the possibility of additional revelations about the attacks yet to come. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors, defense and the senior Pentagon official overseeing the cases at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, agreed to an unusual step — a hearing that would allow them to make public the evidence compiled against the three. It appears designed to address complaints from families and others that a plea bargain typically would otherwise keep the evidence from fully being revealed.

AZCentral [2/6/2025 7:12 AM, Julia Gomez and Bailey Gallion, 6018K, Negative] reports a second victim from the Ohio warehouse mass shooting died, which has now left two dead and four injured, according to police. On Thursday, at almost 4:30 a.m. local time, the New Albany Police Department announced a second victim from the Ohio mass shooting that happened on Tuesday, succumbed to their injuries. Police have not released the deceased victims’ ages or names. Four more people who were injured during the shooting are still in the hospital, but their conditions remain unknown, according to police. On Tuesday, an employee, Bruce Reginald Foster III, 28, is suspected of opening fire at KDC/ONE, a cosmetics and beauty products warehouse in New Albany, Ohio, which is around 18 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio, at 10:30 p.m. local time. The shooting initially left one person dead and five injured. Foster was arrested the morning after the shooting in an apartment complex. He was charged with aggravated murder and felonious assault, according to the Licking County Jail records. He is awaiting a bond hearing. On Tuesday, Foster is suspected of opening fire on warehouse employees after working for several hours, according to USA TODAY’s previous reporting. He allegedly fled the scene after shots were fired. Around 150 employees were in the warehouse when the shooting began, according to the New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 6:22 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [2/6/2025 7:23 PM, Staff, 57114K, Negative] reports the Justice Department is scaling back policing of foreign interests operating in the United States, ending criminal enforcement of a law used to snare bad actors seeking to influence politics and elections on behalf of foreign governments. In a memo sent to staff Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed she had disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, a unit dedicated to investigating violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), requiring such agents to register with US authorities. She said the decision had been made to "free resources to address more pressing priorities, and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion.". Bondi did not elaborate, but figures on the Republican Party’s conspiratorial far right have accused the government of abusing FARA to unfairly target political operatives, such as Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign manager who was indicted in a probe into Russian influence in that year’s US election. Also on Wednesday, the day of her swearing-in, Bondi disbanded the Task Force KleptoCapture, an initiative started in 2022 to enforce sanctions on Russia. Moscow was widely accused of attempting to influence the 2016 vote in favor of Trump, who went on to win. Russia has denied involvement in the scandal, despite findings from US intelligence agencies.

Newsweek [2/7/2025 3:48 AM, Ryan Chan, 56005K, Negative] reports the Chinese and Russian militaries were spotted operating in the Western Pacific Ocean near Japan and Taiwan, which are United States security allies and partners, on Wednesday. Newsweek has emailed both the Chinese and Russian defense ministries for comment. China, a quasi-ally of Russia, is stepping up its military pressure on Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing has claimed as its territory. The Chinese military continues to operate near Taiwan by sending aircraft and warships for patrols and exercises on a daily basis. Japan, which has signed a security treaty with the U.S., is concerned tensions between China and Taiwan could jeopardize its southwestern islands. The Japanese Defense Ministry on Thursday reported that two unknown types of Chinese drone flew over the waters off Taiwan’s northeast and east coasts the previous day. The drones were operating near Japan’s southwestern islands, including one that transited the 67-mile-wide Yonaguni Gap, between Taiwan’s east coast and Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni, from the Philippine Sea to the East China Sea. The Japanese air force scrambled fighter aircraft to prevent an incursion of the country’s airspace. Both Chinese drones were tracked returning to China at the end of their flights. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry reported that a total of 27 Chinese military aircraft, including drones, were detected flying around the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. local time on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Japanese navy on Wednesday spotted a group of three Russian vessels transiting the waters between Japan’s Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island as they headed southward from the East China Sea to the Philippine Sea, Japan’s defense ministry said. The vessels were two corvettes, the Rezky and the Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, as well as a fleet oiler, the Pechenga, which departed the Far Eastern naval base in the city of Vladivostok for a deployment in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wall Street Journal [2/6/2025 7:09 PM, Natalie Andrews, Negative] reports lawmakers announced Thursday they planned to introduce a bill to ban DeepSeek’s chatbot application from government-owned devices, over new security concerns that the app could provide user information to the Chinese government. The legislation written by Reps. Darin LaHood, an Illinois Republican, and Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, is echoing a strategy that Congress used to ban Chinese-controlled TikTok from government devices, which marked the beginning of the effort to block the company from operating in the U.S. “This should be a no-brainer in terms of actions we should take immediately to prevent our enemy from getting information from our government,” Gottheimer said. DeepSeek, a disruptive new Chinese AI company, emerged seemingly out of nowhere last month. The chatbot for the Chinese startup is now the most downloaded app in the U.S. DeepSeek also gave its models away, as open-source code, which helped make it immediately popular among consumers, businesses and developers. The chatbot app, however, has intentionally hidden code that could send user login information to China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company that has been banned from operating in the U.S., according to an analysis by Ivan Tsarynny, chief executive of Feroot Security, which specializes in data protection and cybersecurity. Tsarynny’s analysis was published earlier by the Associated Press. “Our personal information is being sent to China, there is no denial, and the DeepSeek tool is collecting everything that American users connect to it,” Tsarynny said in an interview. That analysis pushed LaHood and Gottheimer to develop the legislation. The two are the top Republican and Democrat, respectively, on a subcommittee of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. “Under no circumstances can we allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data,” said LaHood, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

Reported similarly:
CNN [2/6/2025 12:46 PM, Clare Duffy, 987K, Neutral]

Newsweek [2/6/2025 6:47 AM, Hugh Cameron, 56005K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump’s demand that a list of all new hires at the Central Intelligence Agency be sent to the White House could compromise the identity of agents and jeopardize America’s overseas missions. Newsweek has contacted the CIA via online contact form outside of business hours and will update this article if a response is received. Both lawmakers and former intelligence officials have warned that, should this list of names fall into the hands of foreign intelligence services, it could be exploited, endanger agents’ cover, and jeopardize overseas espionage missions. The email, first reported by New York Times and confirmed by the CIA, contained the names of all employees hired within the past two years, and was sent to the Office of Personnel Management to comply with Trump’s recent executive orders aimed at trimming down the federal workforce. According to New York Times, the list contained the first names and the initials of the surnames of the CIA’s new hires who are still on probation and thus easy to dismiss. It included a considerable number of intelligence analysts "who were hired specifically to focus on China, and whose identities are usually closely guarded because Chinese hackers are constantly seeking to identify them.” Officials told the outlet that omitting of the employees’ full last names would ensure that their identity remained secret, therefore making these safe to send on an unclassified system. However, former officials said the partial names could be cross-referenced with existing, publicly available data to deduce their full identities. Another unnamed source told CNN that some of the employees had "uncommon" first names, making their identities easier to discover. A CIA spokesperson told CNN: "We are complying with the Executive Orders, and are providing requested information through the appropriate channels.” Senator and Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner (D-VA) reacted to the NYT report on Wednesday, writing on X: "Exposing the identities of officials who do extremely sensitive work would put a direct target on their backs for China. A disastrous national security development.”

VOA News [2/6/2025 7:08 PM, Nike Ching, 2717K, Negative] reports the United States has a treaty obligation to protect the Panama Canal if it comes under attack, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday, amid confusion and what Panama has described as "lies" regarding whether U.S. Navy ships can transit the Panama Canal for free. "I find it absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obligated to protect in a time of conflict. Those are our expectations. … They were clearly understood in those conversations," Rubio said during a press conference in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. He held talks with Panamanian President Jose Rauu Mulino in Panama City on Sunday. Rubio was referring to a treaty signed by the U.S. and Panama in 1977. The top U.S. diplomat told reporters that while he respects Panama’s democratically elected government and acknowledges that it has "a process of laws and procedures that it needs to follow," the treaty obligation "would have to be enforced by the armed forces the United States, particularly the U.S. Navy.". The U.S. intends to pursue an amicable resolution, Rubio said. Mulino posted on X that he planned to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said, via a social media post on X, that U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without incurring fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars annually. But the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous agency overseen by the Panamanian government, disputed the U.S. claim, saying that it has made no adjustments to these fees. It also expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue with relevant U.S. officials. During his weekly press conference on Thursday, the Panamanian president denied his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free, saying he completely rejected the State Department’s statement.

Wall Street Journal [2/6/2025 6:16 PM, Vera Bergengruen, Costas Paris and Santiago Pérez, Negative] reports Panama’s president accused the Trump administration on Thursday of lying about a deal that would give the U.S. Navy free access to the Panama Canal, intensifying tensions around negotiations about the future of the canal following President Trump’s threats to seize it. The diplomatic rupture began Wednesday night when the State Department issued a post on X declaring that Panama had agreed to give U.S. government vessels free passage through the canal, surprising Panama. The statement came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino in Panama City this week to hammer out concessions for Trump. By Thursday morning, Mulino fired back that there was no deal, calling the U.S. statement full of “lies and falsehoods.” Later that day, Rubio said the U.S. had made its expectations “clearly understood” in conversations this week, though he conceded that Panama had a legal process to work through. Now, Trump and Mulino are expected to continue the talks in a phone call Friday afternoon. The extraordinary diplomatic volleys highlight how Panama is trying to address Trump’s demands while contending with knotty political and legal issues at home. Panama is working on several fronts, but officials are sensitive and prefer the cover of secrecy to carry out negotiations in a country where the canal is a source of national pride and generates much of its government revenue. Wednesday’s State Department statement jumped the gun on Panama’s legal deliberations, and was seen by Panamanian officials as a way to back them into a corner, said people familiar with the discussions. Such a deal—which would be a significant concession from Panama—would usually be announced at a bilateral meeting with statements from both sides.

Yahoo! News [2/7/2025 4:30 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports Panama has officially informed Beijing of its decision to withdraw from China’s massive infrastructure and investment project, the Belt and Road Initiative, the country’s leader announced on Thursday. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said he had instructed diplomats at the Central American country’s embassy in Beijing to submit the required 90-day notice of withdrawal from the memorandum of understanding signed in 2017. "I do not know what was the intention of those who signed this agreement with China. What has it brought to Panama all these years? What are the great things that this Belt and Road Initiative has brought to the country?" Mulino said at a press conference. "So, no [we will not participate]," he added. "This is a decision I have made.". Mulino also addressed concerns about Chinese investment in the Panama Canal, the strategic waterway whose management and operations have drawn scrutiny from US President Donald Trump and his new administration. Apart from a tender for a canal bridge, won in 2018 by the state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company, Beijing is not directly involved in the venture. However, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports in 2021 won the right to operate two ports at the canal’s Atlantic and Pacific exits. Mulino assured US officials that the country was conducting a comprehensive audit of Hutchison’s activities and would act if the results revealed any wrongdoing. He ruled out a unilateral cancellation of the concession. "I am the president of a country that respects the law, I am a lawyer. I cannot and do not have any power other than arbitrary to cancel anyone’s contract or concession in this country," he stated. "If there are violations of the concession conditions or if they cause imminent economic harm to the country, we will act accordingly. But the audit is still ongoing and I will await the controller’s findings.". The decision to withdraw from the belt and road scheme came days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama City. Rubio met with Mulino on Tuesday and reiterated Trump’s concern about Chinese involvement in the Panama Canal. Rubio said Washington "cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area".

CNN [2/6/2025 9:07 PM, Jennifer Hansler and Jessica Hasbun, 987K, Negative] reports US Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally seized a second plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government on behalf of the United States on Thursday. The relationship between Caracas and Washington has been marked by tensions for decades and the plane’s seizure follows a similar instance in September when a Venezuelan aircraft was seized while in the Dominican Republic. Both aircraft were used by high-level Venezuelan officials throughout their travels, according to Edwin Lopez, the country attaché for US Homeland Security Investigations in Santo Domingo. The other aircraft was flown to Florida at the time of its seizure in September, under the Biden administration. The plane seized on Thursday, a Dassault Falcon 200EX with the tail number YV-3360, was under US sanction, Lopez said. The aircraft has been held in Santo Domingo since April 2024. Rubio, in the Dominican Republic on his first trip as top US diplomat, watched as a warrant was taped on the door of the aircraft. The aircraft was purchased in 2017 by the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA from the US, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice. Following the imposition of sanctions on PDVSA, the plane was “serviced and maintained on multiple occasions using parts from the United States,” which violates US export control and sanctions laws. Lopez told Rubio that thanks to the leadership at the US Embassy, they were able to get the money to fix the second plane and proceed with the seizure Thursday. It will be taken to Miami in the coming months. “Collectively, the two planes, they give us a treasure trove of intelligence,” including a list of all of Venezuela’s Air Force members “and their personally identifiable information, receipts, and flight manifests,” Lopez explained to Rubio.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [2/6/2025 4:53 PM, Simon Lewis, 57114K, Negative]
FOX News [2/6/2025 10:27 PM, Louis Casiano, 49889K, Neutral]

New York Times [2/6/2025 7:28 AM, Erika Solomon and Ben Hubbard, 161405K, Neutral] reports President Trump’s administration has temporarily exempted from its funding freeze a U.S. contractor supporting the police inside a Syrian desert camp that holds thousands of Islamic State members and their families, the camp’s director has said. The reprieve underscored how securing the camp is seen as critical to helping prevent a resurgence of ISIS, a jihadist group, at a time when the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has thrown the country into flux and added to instability in the Middle East. The contractor, Proximity International, was forced to halt operations after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stop-work order last week for all foreign aid programs. Proximity International runs a program that trains and equips local security forces in northeastern Syria. The police it trains provide security inside Al Hol, a camp that houses some 39,000 ISIS members, their families and refugees. The Trump administration has argued that the funding freeze, set to last 90 days, is needed to examine whether U.S. funds are being wasted. “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions,” Mr. Rubio said in a statement last month. “Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?” Proximity International had requested an exemption from the freeze, arguing that its work does make America safer, according to a person familiar with the program, who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing uncertainty around U.S. funding. Al Hol is seen as a key target for ISIS recruitment and operations, and maintaining security there is viewed as important to keeping the jihadist group at bay. Late on Friday, just hours before the company’s contract for the security training program was due to expire, Proximity International was granted a one-month waiver to continue operating, according to an employee who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, and to Jihan Hanan, the director of Al Hol and an official with the regional Kurdish authorities.

Reuters [2/6/2025 1:32 PM, Staff, 48128K, Neutral] reports that HongKong Post said late on Thursday it would continue to suspend postal goods to the United States, despite the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) having reversed a decision to suspend parcels from China and Hong Kong. The move by USPS on Tuesday to stop accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong had caused chaos and confusion among retailers and express shipping firms over how to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff on imports from China. Trump’s move also included closing the "de minimis" duty exemption for packages valued at under $800, with the stated aim of stopping the flow of fentanyl and precursor chemicals into the United States. USPS later reversed the 12-hour suspension after Trump scrapped an exemption used by retailers including Temu, Shein, and Amazon (AMZN.O) to ship low-value packages duty-free to the United States. China-ruled Hong Kong has also been subjected to the same tariffs as China according to a U.S. government notice that stated: "Articles that are the products of China, which hereinafter will include products of Hong Kong... will be subject to the additional ad valorem rate of duty."

The New York Times [2/7/2025 12:30 AM, Camille Elemia, 161405K, Negative] reports a small plane contracted by the Pentagon crashed in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing all four people aboard, including a member of the U.S. military, officials said. The plane, a Beechcraft King Air 300, crashed in the municipality of Ampatuan in Maguindanao del Sur Province on the southern island of Mindanao, the Philippine authorities said on Friday. It was on its way from Cebu Province to Cotabato City, the capital of a Muslim autonomous region on Mindanao. The incident occurred during a “routine mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement on Friday. “The aircraft was providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” the statement said. The names of those killed were being withheld until family members could be notified. CBS News [2/6/2025 1:30 PM, Staff, 52225K, Neutral] reports that the cause of the crash is under investigation, the command said. Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told The Associated Press that she received reports that residents saw smoke coming from the plane and heard an explosion before the aircraft plummeted to the ground less than a kilometer (about half a mile) from a cluster of farmhouses. Four bodies were recovered from the site. No one on the ground was injured, but a water buffalo was killed in the incident.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [2/6/2025 1:29 PM, Matt Seyler, 33392K, Negative]

Washington Examiner [2/6/2025 11:53 AM, Mike Brest, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will meet with Australia’s minister of defense, Richard Marles, on Friday, marking Hegseth’s first meeting with a foreign counterpart at The Pentagon. Marles, who serves as the deputy prime minister and defense minister, will travel to Washington to meet with officials from the Trump administration for the first time in person. The Australian defense ministry has announced the meeting, but the Pentagon has not yet done so. Hegseth and Marles had an introductory phone call last week during which the former Fox News host conveyed the U.S.’s "enduring commitment," to the "bilateral alliance with Australia," according to a senior U.S. defense official. The Biden-era Pentagon deepened the military’s ties with its allies in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s more aggressive posture in the region. The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom have a trilateral agreement known as AUKUS, which the trio agreed to in 2021 to ensure the Indo-Pacific remains free and open to all. One of the primary parts of the deal is that the U.S. and U.K. help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.

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