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.

CNN [1/21/2025 3:46 PM, Priscilla Alvarez, Negative] reports Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman announced the end of two directives in a statement, giving agents more authority over whether they carry out enforcement and eliminating a legal pathway for migrants seeking to come to the United States. The second directive includes the phaseout of parole programs that allowed certain migrants to temporarily live and work in the United States. The statement doesn’t clarify which programs will be phased out, but says the program will be returned to a "case-by-case basis." CBS News [1/21/2025 4:49 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Negative] reports that just hours after President Trump’s inauguration, his administration revoked a Biden-era policy that prohibited arrests by U.S. immigration agents at or near schools, places of worship and other places deemed to be "sensitive locations." Benjamine Huffman, whom the Trump administration installed as acting homeland security secretary pending the confirmation of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, issued a memo on Monday reversing the Biden administration’s immigration arrest guidelines on "sensitive locations." In a statement defending the termination of the Biden administration rule, the Department of Homeland Security said the Trump administration "will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense." But the Trump administration said Monday’s decision was designed to target unauthorized immigrants with serious criminal histories. Monday’s action is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to eliminate limits other administrations have placed on ICE operations as it lays the groundwork for what the president has pledged will be the largest deportation operation in American history. The administration is expected to ramp up immigration arrests in cities and communities with "sanctuary" policies that restrict cooperation between local enforcement and ICE. The administration is also expected to rescind other Biden administration memos that discontinued mass immigration sweeps at worksites like factories and that limited ICE arrests to serious criminals, national security threats and recent border arrivals. Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s "border czar," has repeatedly said the new administration, like every administration, will prioritize the arrest of immigrants who are in the country illegally and who have committed crimes. But he has stressed that no one will be exempt from immigration enforcement if they are in the U.S. illegally, warning that arrests of non-criminal unauthorized immigrants are likely. NPR [1/21/2025 4:38 PM, Ximena Bustillo, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Neutral] reports that a second directive DHS announced on Tuesday also followed through on one of President Trump’s executive orders signed Monday night to "terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my Executive Orders," including the humanitarian parole program for people from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told CNN on Tuesday that "ICE is back doing their job, effective today," and that agents are focused on migrants considered a public safety threat. Homan said arrests of migrants without a criminal record could also be swept up by ICE, especially those living in sanctuary jurisdictions: cities where local law enforcement is prohibited from assisting federal immigration officials. The AP [1/21/2025 6:14 PM, Rebecca Santana, Neutral] reports that the move announced Tuesday reverses guidance that for over a decade has restricted two key federal immigration agencies - Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection - from carrying out immigration enforcement in sensitive locations. FOX News [1/21/2025 8:30 AM, Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin, 57114K, Negative] that the first memo, a draft of which was reviewed by Fox News, rescinds a 2021 memo by Mayorkas, which provided an expanded list of areas that are "protected areas" where ICE could not engage in immigration enforcement. It said the policy was designed to make sure enforcement did not limit "people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities." Those areas include schools, universities, healthcare facilities, places of worship, "places where children gather," social service establishments, food banks, religious or civil ceremonies and disaster or emergency response and relief centers. NBC News [1/21/2025 6:23 PM, Julia Ainsley and Didi Martinez, 50804K, Negative] reported last month that the Trump administration would roll back the restriction, which had been in place since the Obama administration. It was continued during the first Trump administration and expanded by the Biden administration to include areas like domestic violence and disaster relief shelters. The restriction discouraged immigration actions from those areas without approval from supervisors in the interest of public safety. "Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense," DHS said in a statement announcing the decision Tuesday. Whether and how that will play out in major sanctuary cities like Chicago is yet to be seen.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/21/2025 6:04 PM, Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward, 48128K, Neutral]
ABC News [1/21/2025 4:48 PM, Luke Barr and Julia Reinstein, 33392K, Negative]
USA Today [1/21/2025 6:40 PM, Zachary Schermele, 89965K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/21/2025 5:47 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2365K, Neutral]

CBS News [1/21/2025 7:03 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Negative] reports the Trump administration on Tuesday dramatically broadened the scope of expedited deportations, enacting a nationwide expansion of an immigration policy known as "expedited removal" that was previously limited to areas close to U.S. borders. Expedited removal allows U.S. immigration officials to deport migrants who lack proper documents through a streamlined process that bypasses the lengthy and massively backlogged immigration court system. If those identified for expedited removal do not request asylum or fail to establish they may have a legitimate asylum case, they can be expeditiously deported, without an opportunity to see an immigration judge. Before Tuesday’s change, federal immigration officials were only allowed to use expedited removal on unauthorized immigrants detained within 100 miles of an international border and who had been in the U.S. for less than two weeks. Now, these expedited deportations will apply to unauthorized immigrants anywhere in the U.S. who can’t prove they have been in the country for more than two years. The move by the Department of Homeland Security revived a first Trump administration policy that the Biden administration had discontinued. It took effect at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. In less than 48 hours since returning to the Oval Office, President Trump has already taken a flurry of actions, some of them unprecedented in nature, to launch a multi-faced crackdown on immigration. Mr. Trump shut down access to the U.S. asylum system using extraordinary presidential powers; declared a national emergency to dispatch more troops to the southern border; froze the refugee admissions programs; and directed federal agencies to deny birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally or on temporary visas. The latter action has already triggered lawsuits from Democratic-led states and pro-immigrant groups.

Reuters [1/21/2025 6:35 PM, Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward, 48128K, Negative] reports the Trump administration said on Tuesday it was reinstating the "remain in Mexico" program, resuming an initiative that forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their U.S. cases. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it would restart the program immediately, years after it was ended by former President Joe Biden. Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency on Monday vowing to move ahead with aggressive border security measures, including the reinstatement of "remain in Mexico," formerly known as the Migrant Protection Protocols. When asked earlier in the day about the possibility of a "remain in Mexico" restart, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government would attend to the needs of migrants in a humanitarian way, even as she also pledged to repatriate foreign migrants to their home nations. Telemundo [1/21/2025 4:18 PM, Staff, 2623K, Negative] reports acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Benjamine Huffman reinstated the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the "Remain in Mexico" program, effective immediately. For her part, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the idea that Mexico will become a “safe third country” following Trump’s new decree reactivating the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which forces American asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory. The head of state offered “humanitarian assistance” to migrants affected by this measure, but warned that she will seek to repatriate them to their countries of origin.

Reported similarly:
Univision [1/21/2025 6:05 PM, Staff, 7281K, Neutral]

Telemundo [1/21/2025 4:35 PM, Staff, 2623K, Neutral] reports the new acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Benjamine Huffman, signed a directive on Monday that initially appears to restrict and even lead to the elimination of the humanitarian parole program that provided a legal route to enter the United States for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan immigrants. Trump signed an executive order on Monday ending all parole programs that are contrary to U.S. policies outlined in his executive orders, including CHNV. The directive announced by the Department of Homeland Security does not specify which program he is referring to when he talks about returning to a case-by-case system, but adds that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection will "terminate any program that does not comply with the law." On Monday, Trump also ended the CBP One app, created by Biden and which had allowed nearly a million people to enter the country legally across the border with the right to reside and work.

Reuters [1/21/2025 12:49 PM, Staff, 48128K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration is carrying out targeted immigration enforcement actions, the White House border czar told CNN on Tuesday, adding that a now-suspended program for refugees needs examination before it can continue. Tom Homan gave no details about what operations were underway, saying only that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was enforcing the law. Asked about the suspension of a program for refugees from Afghanistan and elsewhere, Homan told CNN there was "a massive vetting problem" that needed to be addressed. FOX News [1/21/2025 4:42 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Neutral] reports border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday said that the mass deportation operation has already started, as the Trump administration looks to make good on promises to tackle the border crisis and crack down against illegal immigration. The administration has promised to launch a "historic" mass deportation operation, and sources told Fox News Digital that arrests were being planned on "day one." Some media outlets reported on Friday about an operation in Chicago, but Homan said that was re-evaluated due to the leak of information. As for who will be targeted in the operation, Homan said that the priority are public safety threats, but he has said repeatedly that no-one is "off the table" when it comes to arrests if they’re in the U.S. illegally. Homan spoke hours after Fox News reported on two DHS memos, including one that rescinded a 2021 memo by then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas -- which provided an expanded list of areas that are "protected areas" where ICE could not engage in immigration enforcement. It said the policy was designed to make sure enforcement did not limit "people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities." Those areas include schools, universities, healthcare facilities, places of worship, "places where children gather," social service establishments, food banks, religious or civil ceremonies and disaster or emergency response and relief centers. The memo issued Monday rescinded that guidance and said that common sense should be used instead.

New York Times [1/22/2025 3:19 AM, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz and Eileen Sullivan, 740K, Neutral] reports President Trump’s flurry of executive actions on immigration in the hours after taking office was the leading edge of an effort to roll back four years of policies put in place by the Biden administration and reimpose an agenda that would fundamentally upend the United States’ global role as a sanctuary for refugees and immigrants. In a series of orders he signed on Monday evening, Mr. Trump moved to seal the nation’s borders against migrants and systematically crack down on undocumented immigrants already in the United States, part of a policy barrage that included a national emergency declaration to deploy the military to the border and a bid to cut off birthright citizenship for the children of noncitizens. While some of the orders were likely to face steep legal challenges and might be difficult or impossible to enforce, the directives sent an unmistakable message that Mr. Trump was serious about fulfilling his frequent campaign promises of clamping down on the border, and escalating an anti-immigration agenda that he has made the centerpiece of his political identity. “With these actions we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense,” Mr. Trump said from the Capitol Rotunda after taking his oath of office. “All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”

The Houston Chronicle [1/21/2025 11:57 AM, James Osborne, 2315K, Neutral] reports that a bill requiring federal officials to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally and who are caught committing certain crimes appears on track to become law after it passed the U.S. Senate Monday night and headed back to the House for a vote. The House is scheduled to take up the legislation as early as Wednesday, and President Donald Trump said he expected it to arrive on his desk to sign "within a week or so." The bill, named the Laken Riley Act for a Georgia woman who was murdered by a person living in the country illegally, passed in the Senate with a dozen Democrats in support, including swing state U.S. Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. The House has already approved a different version of the bill requiring the detention of undocumented migrants arrested for burglary and theft. It now must consider the senate bill, which includes amendments by Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Joni Ernst of Iowa that add to the list of eligible offenses assaulting law enforcement officers and other acts of violence. The legislation would also give state attorneys general like Ken Paxton the ability to challenge federal immigration officials. Critics have warned that could empower Texas and other states to sue over even routine decisions by immigration judges and other federal officials, holding up both illegal and legal immigration. CBS Austin [1/21/2025 1:55 PM, Austin Denean, 581K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders just hours after taking office cracking down on border crossings and illegal immigration with more expected to come as he seeks to completely overhaul the United States’ immigration framework. It will be significantly more difficult for people to gain entry to the U.S. after Trump made moves to lock down the southern border, close the country off to refugee resettlements, limit asylum and deploying the military to "seal" the border. The orders also included a national emergency declaration that expand his powers over border security and an attempt to end birthright citizenship for children born to people in the country without legal status. Some of the orders are already facing legal challenges and others may be difficult to implement but they are a show of force from the new administration that it is set on cracking down on border crossings and removing migrants without legal status from the country. "All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," Trump said in a speech at the Capitol Rotunda after being sworn into office. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The New York Times [1/22/2025 3:19 AM, Mattathias Schwartz and Mike Baker, 740K, Neutral] reports attorneys general from 22 states sued President Trump in two federal district courts on Tuesday to block an executive order that refuses to recognize the U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants as citizens, the opening salvo in what promises to be a long legal battle over the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Eighteen states and two cities, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., challenged the order in Federal District Court in Massachusetts, arguing that birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment is “automatic” and that neither the president nor Congress has the constitutional authority to revise it. Four other states filed a second lawsuit in the Western District of Washington. Mr. Trump’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship was “extraordinary and extreme,” said New Jersey’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, who led one of the legal efforts along with the attorneys general from California and Massachusetts. “Presidents are powerful,” he said, “but he is not a king. He cannot rewrite the Constitution with a stroke of the pen.” Nick Brown, the attorney general in Washington, said Mr. Trump’s order would deny citizenship to 150,000 newborn children each year. “It would render them undocumented at birth. It could even render them citizens to no country at all,” said Mr. Brown, whose state was joined by Oregon, Arizona and Illinois. On Monday, in the opening hours of his second term as president, Mr. Trump signed an order declaring that future children born to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens. The order would extend even to the children of some mothers in the country legally but temporarily, such as foreign students or tourists. The AP [1/21/2025 4:02 PM, Mike Catalini, 30936K, Neutral] reports Trump’s roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he’s talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain amid what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle over the president’s immigration policies and a constitutional right to citizenship. The Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights advocates say the question of birthright citizenship is settled law and that while presidents have broad authority, they are not kings. “The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period,” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said. In addition to New Jersey and the two cities, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin joined the lawsuit to stop the order. Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington filed a separate suit in federal court challenging Trump’s order as well.

Reported similarly:
Roll Call [1/21/2025 1:04 PM, Michael Macagnone and Chris Johnson, 440K, Neutral]
Bloomberg [1/21/2025 6:14 PM, Jordan Erb, 21617K, Neutral]
The Hill [1/21/2025 1:49 PM, Zach Schonfeld and Rebecca Beitsch, 16346K, Neutral]
AP [1/21/2025 12:40 PM, Staff, 14282K, Neutral]
NBC News [1/21/2025 2:17 PM, Lawrence Hurley, 50804K, Neutral]
Newsweek [1/21/2025 3:33 PM, Gabe Whisnant and Andrew Stanton, 56005K, Negative]
Washington Examiner [1/21/2025 11:17 AM, Annabella Rosciglione, 2365K, Neutral]

Los Angeles Times [1/21/2025 7:42 PM, Andrea Castillo, 6595K, Neutral] reports a day after President Donald Trump issued a dozen executive orders cracking down on illegal immigration, advocates and a coalition of states led by California are preparing for court battles against an administration that appears to have learned from previous legal missteps made during Trump’s first term. Among the many sweeping changes in Trump’s orders were the declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, the revocation of birthright citizenship and the designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Immigrants and those who hoped to immigrate to the U.S. are reeling from the news. Thousands of migrants are indefinitely stranded in Mexico after Trump ended use of a phone app and canceled long-standing appointments by asylum seekers for legal entry. Afghan refugees who had been cleared for travel to the United States are now in limbo after Trump paused refugee resettlement. Undocumented immigrants in Chicago and other cities across the country stayed home out of fear of planned immigration raids. Legal experts said subtle modifications to some of the orders reflected attempts by the Trump administration to beat back legal challenges preemptively. "Some of this stuff they have done is to try and preempt a lot of the issues that they bumped into last time," said Amy Fischer, director of the refugee and migrant rights program at Amnesty International USA.

USA Today [1/21/2025 9:18 AM, Bart Jansen, 89965K, Neutral] reports a collection of advocacy groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit late Monday challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt the automatic granting of citizenship to children born in the United States. Trump signed his order to deny citizenship to children whose mothers were unlawfully present in the United States when they were born and the father wasn’t a citizen or legal permanent resident, or when the mother’s presence was lawful but temporary and the father wasn’t a citizen or lawful permanent resident. The order was part of a series that sought to bolster security along the southern border. But legal experts said the order is in conflict with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” The ACLU lawsuit in New Hampshire seeks to block Trump from denying citizenship to those children. “Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional − it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values,” Anthony Romero, ACLU executive director, said in a statement. “This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans.” Trump and other Republicans have sought to end birthright citizenship because of a concern immigrants sometimes deliver children in the United States to gain a toehold to remain. Trump’s order, to take effect in the next 30 days, directed the Social Security Administration to no longer recognize the children as citizens and the State Department to stop issuing them passports.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/21/2025 6:46 PM, Rafael Bernal and Rebecca Beitsch, 16346K, Neutral]
CBS Austin [1/21/2025 11:39 AM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Negative]

NBC News [1/21/2025 4:51 PM, Julia Ainsley, 50804K, Negative] reports the Trump administration fired four top officials at the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review, which oversees U.S. immigration courts, late Monday. The officials were the chief immigration judge, Sheila McNulty; the acting director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review, Mary Cheng; the office’s general counsel, Jill Anderson; and its head of policy, Lauren Alder Reid. The four fired officials had decades of experience leading the nation’s overburdened immigration courts. The Justice Department employs more than 700 immigration judges, who decide whether migrants seeking asylum in the United States can remain in the country legally. The court system faces a record backlog of more than 3 million cases.

USA Today [1/21/2025 8:32 PM, Aysha Bagchi, 89965K, Neutral] reports Justice Department officials were swiftly reassigned in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Monday inauguration in order to help align the department with the new administration’s priorities – particularly on immigration, a department official familiar with the matter told USA TODAY. In a speech to supporters Monday, Trump described immigration as his "number one issue." The swift moves at the Justice Department, which were in place by Tuesday, show the administration moving to enact his immigration agenda at the department level. A Justice Department spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. At least 15 senior-level officials at the Justice Department had been reassigned by Tuesday, according to reports from the Washington Post and CNN, which cited people familiar with the changes. Both outlets described reshuffling in the criminal and national security divisions of the department. The criminal division is responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws, often partnering with the 93 U.S. attorney’s offices across the country. The national security division guards against national security threats by promoting coordination between prosecutors, law enforcement, and intelligence authorities. CNN and the New York Times also reported new leadership in U.S. attorney’s offices in D.C. and New York by Tuesday. The Justice Department will be a key player as Trump’s immigration agenda unfolds. Different portions of the Justice Department are responsible for prosecuting immigration cases and conducting immigration court proceedings. The department also defends administration policies in court. Even before his election, Trump described legal avenues he might pursue to achieve his campaign promise of mass deportation, such as invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to hasten deportations. If Trump pursued that pathway and was sued, his Justice Department would be responsible for defending it in court.

Reuters [1/21/2025 4:20 PM, Raphael Satter, 48128K, Neutral] reports the Department of Homeland Security is firing all the members of its various advisory committees, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The January 20 message, signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman, says the move is being made "in alignment with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security." DHS has several advisory committees, including bodies that provide advice to government officials on issues including emergency preparedness, telecommunications, science and technology, as well as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. It was not immediately clear how many committees would be preserved by the incoming administration of President Donald Trump. In the letter, Huffman said that committee members were "welcome to reapply."

AP [1/21/2025 6:27 PM, Josh Funk, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up and eliminated all the members of a key aviation security advisory group. Trump’s immigration policy changes drew the most attention at Homeland Security, but he is also making changes at the rest of the massive agency. Members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee received a memo Tuesday saying that the department is eliminating the membership of all advisory committees as part of a "commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security." It wasn’t immediately clear how many other committees were effectively eliminated Tuesday or whether other departments will take similar actions. Adding to Bernstein’s concern is the fact that TSA Administrator David Pekoske was fired even though he was originally appointed by Trump during his first term and was in the middle of what was supposed to be Pekoske’s second five-year term in the job. The firing of Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan eliminated the armed forces’ first female service chief who had served since 2022. In addition to those firings, Trump will also appoint a new administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency who he has criticized harshly for the way it responded to disasters like Hurricane Helene last fall and the California wildfires.

AP [1/21/2025 8:20 PM, Michelle L. Price and Zeke Miller, 30936K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump on his first full day in office Tuesday defended his decision to grant clemency to people convicted of assaulting police officers during the 2021 attack on the Capitol and suggested there could be a place in U.S. politics for the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, extremist groups whose leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy against the U.S. Trump used his opening hours in his second term to erase the records of more than 200 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting officers at the Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021, and free from prison those convicted of trying to overthrow the government, as he granted reprieve to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection that was sparked after he refused to accept his loss in the 2020 presidential election. At least 140 officers were injured — many beaten, bloodied and crushed by the crowd — when Trump’s supporters tried to overturn Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat to former President Joe Biden. When pressed by a reporter about the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and whether there was a place for them in politics, Trump said, “Well, we have to see. They’ve been given a pardon. I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive.”

FOX News [1/21/2025 2:17 PM, Danielle Wallace, 49889K, Negative] reports that the attorneys general of Louisiana, Kansas, Ohio and West Virginia are suing to block the U.S. Census Bureau from including illegal immigrants in the count used to apportion congressional seats and electoral votes. The lawsuit filed in Louisiana federal court on Sunday – the day before President Donald Trump took office – alleges that the Biden administration decided to include illegal immigrants counted in the 2020 census as part of the population tally to apportion congressional seats and electoral votes. That allegedly resulted in Ohio and West Virginia each losing a congressional seat and an electoral vote to other states with larger populations of illegal immigrants and temporary visa holders living there. The lawsuit says Texas gained one congressional seat and one electoral vote, and California kept a congressional seat and an electoral vote "that it would have otherwise lost." The attorneys general argue Louisiana and Kansas are each likely to lose a congressional seat and an electoral vote in the 2030 reapportionment if the practice continues. "We shouldn’t lose representation in Congress due to the presence of illegal aliens harbored by other states," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. "Counting Illegal Aliens in the census to determine Congressional seats and electoral votes is unlawful. We have sued to stop it."

CBS Austin [1/21/2025 2:40 PM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Neutral] reports that Doug Collins, President Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, promised Tuesday that the agency would not assist with migrant healthcare under his leadership. The former Georgia congressman appeared before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee for a confirmation hearing Tuesday after being nominated to lead the agency by President Donald Trump. While the VA is charged with providing healthcare to former members of the military, a 2023 report by the Department of Homeland Security found the VA also cares for illegal migrants detained at the southern border. "Joe Biden’s failed border policies have created a humanitarian and national security crisis. Now it appears he’s taking resources away from our veterans to facilitate healthcare for illegal migrants," Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., wrote in 2023. "As a Marine, I believe any dollar taken away from a veteran is a promise broken to those who served." While responding to a question from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Collins said he would immediately investigate the situation.

New York Times [1/22/2025 3:19 AM, Annie Correal and Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, 740K, Neutral] reports that, in the weeks before he took office, Donald J. Trump repeatedly vowed to carry out the largest deportations in U.S. history and to militarize the border, all while his transition team rebuffed requests from regional leaders to meet over the effects of his promised moves. He made countries such as Mexico targets of his attacks, claiming migrants were flooding the United States with fentanyl and threatening to enforce devastating tariffs. He also zeroed in on Panama, repeatedly asserting that the country had permitted China to take control, compelling the United States to intervene and reclaim the Panama Canal. So as Mr. Trump was inaugurated in Washington on Monday, the typical congratulatory messages were also accompanied by some from Latin American leaders that deviated sharply from the usual diplomatic norms. “There is no reason why Mexico should keep its head down or feel lesser than. We are a great country, a cultural power,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum during her daily morning news conference. “Our relationship with the United States will be one of equals.” She also tried to reassure unauthorized Mexicans living in the United States who might face removal. “Mexicans are very important to the U.S. economy, and the Trump administration knows it,” Ms. Sheinbaum said. “To our countrymen and women: You are not alone, and you must remain calm.” Mexico is the country with the highest number of undocumented immigrants in the United States, with around four million Mexicans living there without authorization as of 2022, according to the Pew Research Center.

Reuters [1/21/2025 2:14 PM, Steve Holland, 48128K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump began his first full day in office attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday and got a sermon he may not have been expecting: an appeal to protect immigrants and respect gay rights. A day after declaring in his inauguration speech that there were only two genders in America and signing executive orders to crack down on immigrants, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde pleaded with Trump, from the pulpit, to show mercy on people who were "scared" of what is to come. "There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives," Budde said. On Monday Trump launched a sweeping immigration crackdown, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on U.S. soil. Budde made an impassioned case for immigrants. "The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they ... may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals," she said.

AP [1/21/2025 6:31 PM, Josh Boak and Zeke Miller, 14282K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump on Tuesday talked up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. “It’s big money and high quality people,” said Trump, adding that it’s “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential” under his new administration. Joining Trump fresh off his inauguration at the White House were Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle. All three credited Trump for helping to make the project possible, even though building has already started and the project goes back to 2024. “This will be the most important project of this era,” said Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Ellison noted that the data centers are already under construction with 10 being built so far. The chairman of Oracle suggested that the project was also tied to digital health records and would make it easier to treat diseases such as cancer by possibly developing a customized vaccine.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 11:48 AM, Britney Nguyen, 57114K, Neutral] reports that some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders from his first day in office are being applauded by tech industry leaders. NetChoice, a trade organization representing tech companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), and Meta (META), said Trump’s rollback of Biden administration regulations on U.S. energy production and "artificial intelligence (AI) red tape" are "critical" for the U.S. to lead in technological development. Trump issued a slate of executive orders on Monday, including one declaring a national energy emergency and approving executive department and agency heads to use "any lawful emergency authorities available to them" to start leasing, siting, producing, and generating U.S. energy resources — including on federal land. The president also rescinded the Biden administration’s 2023 executive order on AI safety and security as part of a sweeping revocation of the previous administration’s executive orders and actions. "Upon returning to office, President Trump showed that America is ready to lead in tech and innovation again," Steve DelBianco, chief executive of NetChoice, said in a statement. "By repealing Biden’s restrictive rules on energy production and AI development, the president is steering America to remain dominant in creating the best technology in the world."

Reuters [1/21/2025 11:26 PM, Nate Raymond, 48128K, Negative] reports U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison for running an underground online marketplace where drug dealers and others conducted over $200 million in illicit trade using bitcoin. The Republican president made good on a campaign pledge to free Ulbricht, 40, who was arrested in 2013 and sentenced in 2015 in what became a landmark U.S. prosecution launched only a few years after the emergence of the popular cryptocurrency. "The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. Trump said the pardon was "full and unconditional.", adding he called Ulbricht’s mother to break the news to her on Tuesday. Ulbricht has been imprisoned at a federal prison in Arizona, and his attorney said he was hopeful Ulbricht would be released shortly. "After enduring over a decade of incarceration, this decision offers Ross the opportunity to begin anew, to rebuild his life, and to contribute positively to society," Brandon Sample, Ulbricht’s clemency attorney, said in a statement. Trump’s administration is expected to significantly reverse course on what had been a crackdown by regulators on the cryptocurrency sector during former Democratic President Joe Biden’s tenure. Trump had announced plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence in May during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention. The Libertarian Party, which has advocated for drug legalization, had pushed for Ulbricht’s release, calling the case an example of government overreach. His arrest brought to an end what prosecutors described as a global, black market bazaar that for two years starting in 2011 was used by more than 100,000 people to buy and sell $214 million worth of illegal drugs and other illicit services. Prosecutors said some people died due to drugs bought on Silk Road.

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/21/2025 9:49 PM, Alejandra Jaramillo, Aaron Pellish and Donald Judd, 22417K, Neutral] Video: HERE

The AP [1/21/2025 8:25 PM, Kathy McCormack and Patrick Whittle, 14282K, Negative] reports that authorities on Tuesday were investigating a fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent that also left a suspect dead and another injured on a Vermont highway near Canada, authorities said. Agent David Maland was killed Monday afternoon following a traffic stop, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in a statement. A German national in the country on what the FBI called a current visa was killed and an injured suspect was taken into custody and is being treated at a local hospital. The violence temporarily closed part of Interstate 91 about 20 miles (32 km) from Canada in Coventry, part of the small, 27,000-resident community of Orleans County in the Northeast Kingdom section of Vermont that straddles the international border. Maland, whom the FBI confirmed was a U.S. Air Force veteran, was killed close to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station, part of the Swanton Sector that he was assigned to. The sector encompasses Vermont, parts of New York and New Hampshire, and includes 295 miles (475 kilometers) of international boundary with Canada. The Derby Line–Rock Island Border Crossing is located about 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) by highway north of Coventry. It’s a major link to the Canadian province of Quebec, giving northern Vermont more French speakers than most of New England. Vincent Illuzzi, the state’s attorney in neighboring Essex County, drove past what appeared to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent traffic stop on I-91 past the Newport exit Monday afternoon, he said, shortly before authorities reported the shots were fired. The Hill [1/21/2025 9:40 AM, Sarah Fortinsky, 16346K, Neutral] reports that the FBI said it was working with Border Patrol officials and Vermont State Police to investigate the case. Benjamine Huffman, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, confirmed the agent’s death in a statement, the AP reported. "Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure," Huffman said in a statement, describing the death as occurring "in the line of duty." The Vermont Congressional delegation — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), Sen. Peter Welch (D) and at-large Rep. Becca Balint (D) — issued a statement offering condolences to the agent’s family and to the Border Patrol. They thanked the first responders and emergency medical service providers who responded to the scene.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [1/21/2025 9:44 AM, Marlene Lenthang and Brittany Kubicko, 50804K, Neutral]
FOX News [1/21/2025 6:57 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 49889K, Negative]

FOX News [1/21/2025 2:58 PM, Staff, 49889K, Negative] reports that National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez discusses the death of a Vermont border agent during a shootout with suspects on ‘America Reports.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NPR [1/21/2025 5:00 PM, Carrie Johnson, et al., 35747K, Negative] Audio: HERE reports throughout his 2024 campaign for president, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to give pardons to his supporters who had been criminally charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But up until the moment he reentered the Oval Office on Monday night, his exact plans remained vague. Even his Vice President, JD Vance, appeared to be unaware of the new president’s plan as recently as Jan. 12. In the end, Trump granted clemency to every defendant accused of committing crimes that day, including those convicted of brutal assaults on police officers. More than 1,500 people who had been charged in connection with the attack, received a "full, complete and unconditional pardon.". 14 people — all of whom were linked to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, extremist groups that planned elements of the attack — received commutations. While those defendants’ felony convictions will stand, Trump cleared the path for their imminent release from prison. Meanwhile, in federal court in Washington, D.C., Trump’s new appointee at the Justice Department began filing motions to dismiss ongoing cases related to Jan. 6. Trump’s written proclamation announcing his decision stated that he was ending a "grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.".

Texas Tribune [1/21/2025 2:18 PM, Robert Downen, 1609K, Negative] reports that a far-right militia leader convicted of seditious conspiracy. A U.S. Marine who pepper-sprayed law enforcement. Three men who attacked police with flag poles. A QAnon adherent who graffitied "Murder the Media" on a U.S. Capitol door. They are among the some-120 Texans charged or convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection who are included in a sweeping pardon issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in his office. Announced Monday evening, Trump’s directive all but ends a four-year effort by the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute those involved in the riot, which ultimately resulted in five deaths, injuries to 140 police officers, at least $2.8 million in damage and roughly 1,575 federal criminal cases. Of those defendants, two-thirds pleaded guilty and roughly 250 were convicted by a judge or jury. Only four defendants were acquitted of all charges, and fourteen had their cases dismissed. Trump promised on the campaign to support the rioters — "hostages," as he began to refer to them — and on Monday said his mass pardon "ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people."

EFE [1/21/2025 1:55 PM, Staff, 1532K, Neutral] reports Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that her government would return to their countries of origin the migrants stranded in Mexico by the new immigration restrictions imposed by United States President Donald Trump. "We would look for migration and foreign policy mechanisms to return them to their countries of origin," she explained during her daily morning conference, adding that agreements already exist with most Central American countries and Cuba. "Of course, the returns will be voluntary," the president noted. Sheinbaum promised to provide "humanitarian attention" to migrants in Mexico who can no longer cross into the United States after their asylum appointments were canceled and the CBP One mobile app that managed such appointments stopped working on Monday afternoon, shortly after Trump was sworn in as president. The new US president then reinstated the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the "Stay in Mexico" policy, which forces US asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory while their claims are processed. But Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that the new US administration should deport undocumented immigrants directly to their countries of origin, rather than to Mexican territory. "So the issue is: if they’re on Mexican territory, we’re taking care of these people for humanitarian reasons. But under our migration policy, because they’re foreign nationals, we’re trying to return them to their country of origin," Sheinbaum argued.

New York Times [1/21/2025 2:28 PM, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, 161405K, Neutral] reports that after President Trump signed a blizzard of executive orders, many directed at her country, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico put on a show of her own on Tuesday morning. “It’s important to always keep a cool head,” she told reporters during a news conference. Ms. Sheinbaum said that Mexico would support its nationals in the United States, calling them “heroes and heroines of the nation.” She said the country would act within the Mexican Constitution and laws. And she sent a message to those watching: “May they know that the president of the republic will always defend Mexico, above all else.” Ms. Sheinbaum then displayed the five executive orders that Mr. Trump announced on Monday that directly involved Mexico, addressing each one. Despite illegal crossings being near a four-year low and the U.S.-Mexico border being relatively quiet, Mr. Trump on Monday declared the situation a national emergency. “This already happened — it’s not something new,” Ms. Sheinbaum said, referring to Mr. Trump’s 2019 declaration of a national emergency to unlock federal funding to construct a border wall. As to whether Mexico would pay for those deportation flights, Ms. Sheinbaum said her team would talk to the Trump administration about that.

Bloomberg [1/21/2025 8:46 PM, Staff, 6595K, Neutral] reports India’s government is prepared to work with Donald Trump’s administration to identify and take back all its citizens residing illegally in the U.S., an early signal from New Delhi that it’s willing to comply with the incoming American president and avoid a trade war. The U.S. has identified some 18,000 illegal Indian migrants to be sent back home, for which India will verify and start the process of deportation, according to people familiar with the matter. The figure could be much higher than that, though, given that it’s unclear how many illegal Indian migrants live in the U.S., the people added, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Youth from western India, in particular the states of Punjab and Gujarat, are believed to constitute a majority of the illegal immigrants in the U.S., the people said. Like several other nations, India is working behind the scenes to appease the Trump administration and avoid the brunt of its trade threats. The crackdown on illegal migration has been a signature campaign pledge for Trump. Within hours of his inauguration Monday, the new president moved to fulfill that promise as he pushed to end birthright citizenship and mobilize troops on the U.S.-Mexico border. In return for its cooperation, India hopes that the Trump administration would protect legal immigration channels used by its citizens to enter the U.S. such as student visas and the H-1B program for skilled workers. Indian citizens accounted for almost three-fourths of the 386,000 H-1B visas granted in 2023, according to official data. Any slack in taking back illegal U.S. migrants could also adversely affect India’s labor and mobility agreements with other countries, the people said. With a jobs shortage back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has signed migration agreements with an array of countries in recent years, including Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Israel and others. "As part of India-U.S. cooperation on migration and mobility, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration. This is being done to create more avenues for legal migration from India to the U.S.," said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. "The latest deportation of Indian nationals from the U.S. by a chartered flight is a result of this cooperation," he added, referring to an October repatriation action.

The Hill [1/21/2025 12:00 PM, Nolan Rappaport, 16346K, Negative] reports that Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) introduced the Laken Riley Act to "give local law enforcement and ICE more tools to fight illegal immigrants who commit crime in the United States." It was named after a 22-year-old nursing student murdered by an undocumented immigrant. The act passed in the House with 251 yeas and 170 nays. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced an identical version in the Senate, where it also passed, 64 to 35. The bill would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to issue detainers and take custody of undocumented immigrants who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of or admit committing acts "which constitute the essential elements of a burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting offense." The bill would also give states standing to sue the secretary of Homeland Security "for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.". States might be able to stop presidents from abusing the parole provision, but the other objectives are problematic. When Collins asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to determine what additional resources it would need to enforce the mandatory detention provisions in the act, ICE responded that it would need at least 64,000 more beds. This would require a $3.2 billion increase in detention funding. ICE subsequently issued a new estimate stating that the cost of implementing the mandatory detention provisions would be around $26 billion in the first year, or 174 percent more than current funding for detention facilities. This is based on the assumption that detention facilities would be needed for 800,000 more immigrants.

USA Today [1/21/2025 1:28 PM, Ingrid Jacques, 89965K, Negative] reports that before Monday’s inauguration of President Donald Trump, Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming promised an incoming "shock and awe with executive orders." "A blizzard of executive orders on the economy as well as on the border," Barrasso said on CBS News’ "Face the Nation" earlier this month. On his first day, the president issued about 200 executive actions. While this may seem extreme and perhaps an abuse of his office, what Trump did isn’t shocking at all given prior precedent. Our modern-day presidents are increasingly leaning on their executive authority to enact their agenda. And former President Joe Biden really upped the ante. In his first 100 days, Biden issued a slew of orders and actions that pushed (and exceeded) the limits of his power. Much of what he did, especially in his first days, was overturning Trump’s orders from his first term – many of them centered on the border and immigration. So it’s no surprise that Trump returned the favor, rescinding nearly 80 of Biden’s edicts as his first matter of business. "This country is so split on so many issues, and that includes representation in Congress, that it is extremely difficult to get anything through Congress these days," said Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. "The second reason is because the executive branch has gotten so big and not only has it gotten so big, but it has vastly expanded its reach into so many aspects of Americans’ personal lives, their businesses, their professions."

Dallas Morning News [1/22/2025 3:00 AM, Staff, 3419K, Negative] reports that, in one of several executive orders issued shortly after taking oath, President Donald Trump suspended appointments through the CBP One app that allowed asylum-seekers to get vetted at a border port of entry. This was a misguided move, part of a series of measures declaring an emergency at the southern border. While imperfect, CBP One was instrumental in helping the Biden administration regain control of the border. Migrants mostly waited in Mexican cities until the day of their appointment with federal officers instead of gathering at the border in unsafe conditions. The app shutdown will likely encourage even more migrants to attempt crossing the border undetected. CBP One processed 1,450 people per day and helped reduce the number of migrants trying to cross the border illegally. There were only 47,330 encounters with migrants between ports of entry in December, the lowest level since August 2020, according to immigration authorities. Many migrants emerged from their CBP appointments with immigration court dates. Those court dates were often far into the future, essentially allowing people to settle in the U.S. without legal status. But the app didn’t break the asylum system. It was already broken, and elected officials should focus on the system itself, not the app. The U.S. asylum process broadly merits scrutiny. A significant number of asylum-seekers are really economic migrants fleeing poverty and general violence in their homelands. Asylum relief was designed for people who show a credible threat of persecution in their country for their race, religion, political beliefs or social group. Trump announced that his administration will be resuming its "Remain in Mexico" policy that requires migrants to wait in border cities to request asylum. In the previous Trump administration, this program led to a funnel of thousands of migrants at Mexican border cities. The Mexican government has already said it disagrees with this approach.

Bloomberg [1/21/2025 8:27 PM, Alicia A. Caldwell, 21617K, Negative] reports migrant communities in cities from New York to Chicago and Los Angeles remain on edge after President Donald Trump vowed to start mass deportations and issued orders including handing immigration agents power to enter churches and schools, sites that previously were protected. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.” Trump promised that he would crack down on immigration on Day One of his new presidency, but despite his rhetoric and executive orders there was little sign of additional enforcement for most of Tuesday. Still, his border czar Tom Homan told CNN that raids were already happening across the US. In places such as Chicago’s Little Village, shelters in New York and restaurants in Washington, DC, there was largely anxiety among migrants over what may be coming. “I’m afraid, but I have to go outside. I have to work,” Diana Medrica, who fled Venezuela with her husband and son a year ago, said outside a shelter in Brooklyn. “If immigration shows up I don’t know what I’ll do.” Trump has pledged to enact the largest mass deportation operation in US history, targeting an estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally. He’s declared a national emergency at the southern border and announced plans to restrict birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, a move that sparked legal challenges from Democratic-led states.

NPR [1/21/2025 4:43 PM, Eyder Peralta, Ari Shapiro, 35747K, Negative] Audio: HERE reports President Trump’s executive actions have remade the immigration landscape, leaving many migrants in despair.

The Hill [1/21/2025 3:41 PM, Lauren Irwin, 16346K, Negative] reports White House border czar Tom Homan said sanctuary cities will see more "collateral arrests" as he works to implement President Trump’s immigration plan. Homan slammed sanctuary cities, places that attempt to be safe for migrants, and said law enforcement needs to go into the communities to find the migrant who has a criminal conviction. Homan added that there is "nothing" in the Immigration and Nationality Act that says a person has to be convicted of a serious crime to be removed from the country. Homan said he wouldn’t call the operations "raids" or targeted enforcement. The process has been well planned and investigated, he said.

AP [1/22/2025 1:32 AM, Olga R. Rodriguez, Moriah Balingit, Bianca Vázquez Toness and Jocelyn Gecker, 14282K, Negative] reports that, as President Donald Trump cracks down on immigrants in the U.S. illegally, some families are wondering if it is safe to send their children to school. In many districts, educators have sought to reassure immigrant parents that schools are safe places for their kids, despite the president’s campaign pledge to carry out mass deportations. But fears intensified for some when the Trump administration announced Tuesday it would allow federal immigration agencies to make arrests at schools, churches and hospitals, ending a decades-old policy. “Oh, dear God! I can’t imagine why they would do that,” said Carmen, an immigrant from Mexico, after hearing that the Trump administration had rescinded the policy against arrests in “sensitive locations.” She plans to take her two grandchildren, ages 6 and 4, to their school Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area unless she hears from school officials it is not safe. “What has helped calm my nerves is knowing that the school stands with us and promised to inform us if it’s not safe at school,” said Carmen, who spoke on condition that only her first name be used, out of fear she could be targeted by immigration officials. Immigrants across the country have been anxious about Trump’s pledge to deport millions of people. While fears of raids did not come to pass on the administration’s first day, rapid changes on immigration policy have left many confused and uncertain about their future. At a time when many migrant families — even those in the country legally — are assessing whether and how to go about in public, many school systems are watching for effects on student attendance. Several schools said they were fielding calls from worried parents about rumors that immigration agents would try to enter schools, but it was too early to tell whether large numbers of families are keeping their children home.

CBS Austin [1/21/2025 4:08 PM, Kristina Watrobski, 581K, Neutral] reports a Vermont school board is considering a "sanctuary" policy which would restrict federal immigration authorities’ access to district property. The "sanctuary schools policy" was introduced to the Winooski School Board of Trustees earlier this month. A summary of the measure states the Winooski School District would "establish itself as a safe place for its students and their families if faced with fear and anxiety about immigration enforcement efforts." The policy notes the Winooski School District is not required by any written state or local mandates to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with federal immigration enforcement. It also says the presence of ICE in the district would be a "severe disruption" to learning environments.

CBS New York [1/21/2025 6:34 PM, Marcia Kramer, 52225K, Negative] Video: HERE reports the Trump administration’s new immigration policies have immigrants in New York City scared and worried, but when it comes to deportation, city laws prohibit the New York City Police Department and other city agencies from cooperating with federal agents. Mayor Eric Adams wants the city’s immigrant community to know that New York is a sanctuary city. "We want to bring down the anxiety. We want our immigrants to know that this is a city of immigrants, this is a country of immigrants. It’s imperative that you go to school, use the hospital services, use the police services," he said. He said when it comes to dealing with criminal behavior, the city will cooperate with federal partners. "Those who commit violent crimes in our city have violated their right to be in our city and in our country, and we are going to continue to collaborate with ICE around criminality," Adams said. The city’s sanctuary laws are complicated. The police do cooperate with federal agents to apprehend people who commit certain crimes, including murder and rape, but there is absolutely no cooperating with deportation, which is a civil procedure. City agencies have been told that, and on Saturday, the NYPD sent out an operations order saying cooperating with the feds for deportation is a no-go. It states "...members of service are not permitted to engage in civil immigration enforcement, assist in any manner with civil immigration enforcement, or allow any Department resources to be used in connection with civil immigration enforcement.". As of now, there’s no indication of imminent raids in New York City. Sources tell CBS News New York political reporter Marcia Kramer the hope is that city officials would get advanced notice of any action because of the relationship Adams has forged with the president and Homan.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 11:05 PM, Cayla Bamberger, 57114K, Neutral] reports the Trump administration on Tuesday announced that federal immigation enforcement agents could make arrests at or near "sensitive" locations, sparking fears about the impact on New York City public schools. The policy change undid over a decade of precedent that restricted two federal immigration agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — from enforcement activity in settings including schools or houses of worship. "This is the topic of discussion," said Naveed Hasan, an advocate for immigrant students on a citywide education panel. "Are our schools and our hospitals and I think courts and houses of worships no longer considered sanctuaries for people to feel like they are safe, like they have found a place that can protect them?". "Everybody who I’m working with, who’s an advocate for immigrants, is deeply concerned specifically for schools. We’re worried about attendance. We’re worried about parents not telling anyone where they’ve gone. Schools will be held accountable for absenteeism and test scores, and none of that will be helped when families are living in fear.". Trump has put migrant communities in NYC and across the nation on edge as he threatens swift action to remove some undocumented immigrants, including mass deportations. A series of executive orders issued late Monday included an effort to revoke birthright citizenship, sparking a legal challenge from more than 20 attorneys general. During a weekly press conference Tuesday, Adams said his team had spoken with ICE about sensitive locations, such as schools, but did not go into detail about those conversations. The New York City mayor revealed Tuesday he agreed to refrain from publicly criticizing President Trump in exchange for a direct line to the president. "Listen, we’ve been having good conversations with ICE," the mayor said at City Hall. "We’re going to continue to do so. Our team knows how important it is to coordinate. And if you’re not at the table, you’re not able to give real good input. And that is our goal. That’s what we want to [focus] on doing.".

Axios [1/21/2025 4:19 PM, Monica Eng, Russell Contreras, Brittany Gibson, 16349K, Neutral] reports fears of deportations in the wake of President Trump’s executive orders on immigration hadn’t materialize by Tuesday afternoon, but local leaders are remaining vigilant and encouraging the city’s undocumented population to learn their rights. Trump officials have designated Chicago as ground zero for deportations. While some press reports suggested that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would first focus on noncitizens convicted of crimes, the plan remains unclear, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois unsure whether it was safe to go to school and work. Gov. JB Pritzker said on Tuesday he’d heard ICE was targeting up to 2,000 people in Chicago. Illinois is home to about 425,000 undocumented people, 70% of whom have lived here for at least a decade, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The new Trump administration seeks to upend the deportation process, and the GOP-controlled Congress seems poised to pass legislation that would allow agents to bypass current laws. Officials at CPS and the Chicago Police Department have issued statements about what they will and won’t do to assist ICE agents under current rules.

Reported similarly:
NPR [1/21/2025 4:50 PM, Jasmine Garsd, 35747K, Negative] Audio: HERE
Newsweek [1/21/2025 12:31 PM, Staff, 56005K, Neutral]

Newsweek [1/21/2025 3:50 PM, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Neutral] reports Chicago sat frozen in more ways than one on Tuesday, as its migrant community huddled in fear waiting for immigration raids that had yet to materialize by lunchtime, when temperatures in the Windy City dipped below zero. Groups working with Illinois’ approximately two million immigrants, both legal and illegal, told Newsweek that despite warnings of imminent, large-scale ICE enforcements, the cold weather and the reporting of the raids in the media had, so far at least, resulted in no action. Before President Donald Trump returned to the White House, reports circulated Friday night that the city would be one of the first targets for his promised mass deportations.

Chicago Tribune [1/21/2025 1:30 PM, Gloria Casas, 4917K, Neutral] reports that Elgin-area agencies say they are working with undocumented immigrants as fears of mass deportations escalate with this week’s inauguration of President Donald Trump. Among the efforts underway have been workshops outlining immigrants’ rights and instructing people what to do if stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE), both being offered by the Elgin YWCA and Centro de Informacion, based in Elgin. "There are so many fears. It’s a very stressful time," YWCA Immigration Services Director Rose Diaz said. "We are all just waiting. All we can do is prepare for the worst and do our best and try to support each other." On his first day back in office, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders tightening immigration laws and some anticipate ICE raids in Chicago could begin as soon as this week. The YWCA has been working with Centro de Informacion to present "Know your Rights" workshops at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin and at locations in Batavia. Beyond that, they have a team with two immigration attorneys, a paralegal and a legal assistant to help people individually, she said.

Axios [1/21/2025 5:25 PM, Esteban L. Hernandez, 16349K, Neutral] reports three Republicans in Colorado’s congressional delegation want Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to take action after his comments backing the deportation of some immigrants, according to a letter shared exclusively with Axios Denver. U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans sent a letter last week to the governor after he endorsed parts of President Trump’s deportation plan in his State of the State on Jan. 9. The members of Congress asked Polis whether he would consider repealing three state immigration laws. It’s unlikely the Democratic majority in the Colorado Legislature would consider reversing course on those laws, since many lawmakers have vowed to fight Trump’s immigration policies.

FOX News [1/21/2025 1:18 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Neutral] reports that Arizona’s legislature is considering significant legislation to ensure the key border state cooperates with the mass deportation push by the new Trump administration amid questions about the extent to which states will aid the government. Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican, is introducing the "AZ ICE Act," which would require sheriff’s departments and the Arizona Department of Corrections to enter into co-operative agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agreements are based on 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers certain immigration functions, including identifying and detaining suspected illegal immigrants. "The 287(g) program allows ICE — through the delegation of specified immigration officer duties — to enhance collaboration with state and local law enforcement partners to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of noncitizens who undermine the safety of our nation’s communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws," ICE’s website says. Petersen’s bill would also require law enforcement to comply with ICE detainers -- which are requests that ICE be notified when an illegal immigrant is being released from state or local custody. "Sanctuary" jurisdictions do not comply with detainers. The bill would also direct additional funding to local law enforcement.

New York Times [1/21/2025 7:20 PM, Michael D. Shear, 161405K, Neutral] reports President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship declares that babies born to many temporary residents of the United States — not just those in the country illegally — must be denied automatic citizenship, a dramatic rejection of rights that have been part of the Constitution for more than 150 years. If the courts do not block the order, babies born to women living legally, but temporarily, in the United States — such as people studying on a student visa or workers hired by high-tech companies — will not automatically be recognized by the federal government as U.S. citizens if the father is also not a permanent resident. Aides to Mr. Trump had told reporters on Monday morning that the order would apply to “children of illegal aliens born in the United States.” In fact, the language in the order Mr. Trump signed, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” goes much further. “It’s a shocking attack on people in this country who are here lawfully, played by the rules and are benefiting the country,” said David Leopold, the chair of the immigration practice at the law firm UB Greensfelder. “We’re talking about people who are doing cutting-edge research in the United States, researchers, people who are here to help us.” The order was part of a barrage of actions that Mr. Trump authorized on Monday to carry out his vision of a country with far less immigration. Despite claims he repeated on Monday that “I’m fine with legal immigration; I like it,” the president’s new orders would also severely curtail the options of those looking to enter the United States legally. Many of the president’s closest advisers, including Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff and the architect of his immigration policy, have urged a tough line on birthright citizenship. During Mr. Trump’s first term, Mr. Miller and other aides pushed to make sure that immigrants could no longer establish what they call an “anchor” in the United States by having a baby who automatically becomes an American citizen. In addition to targeting birthright citizenship, Mr. Trump on Monday barred asylum for immigrants seeking to cross the southern border, imposed an indefinite suspension of the legal refugee system, terminated several legal pathways for immigrants put in place by the Biden administration and declared the existence of an “invasion” from immigrants aimed at giving the federal government broad powers to stop all kinds of people from entering.

New York Times [1/21/2025 6:37 PM, Miriam Jordan, 161405K, Neutral] reports Andrea Chavez, who arrived in the United States illegally almost two decades ago, gave birth to a baby girl last year in Maryland. Within days, the child had a Social Security number. Ms. Chavez’s cousin Maria Calderas, who is undocumented and just a few months into her own pregnancy, faces the prospect that her child will not be able to secure the same citizenship rights that her niece now has. On his first day in office, President Trump issued an order that seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants. That right has been enshrined in the Constitution for more than 160 years, and experts say that stripping it away would require a constitutional amendment. The incoming administration had made no secret of its intention to attack birthright citizenship, and hours after the order was issued lawsuits were filed by two coalitions of states and the American Civil Liberties Union, saying the directive violated the 14th Amendment’s citizenship provisions. Many lawyers have said the same thing. But for a president who has made immigration a pillar of his agenda, the legal hurdles seem to be besides the point. Indeed, the Constitution seems little comfort to undocumented women like Ms. Calderas who are expecting to give birth to their children after the order goes into effect, 30 days from Jan. 20. Ms. Calderas, who is from Guatemala, said Mr. Trump’s move stirred anxiety and uncertainty about the future of her family and especially her son. “It worries me that the new president doesn’t want to give citizenship to our baby,” she said. “This is where he will go to school and grow up. He will speak English like an American.” In interviews, many of the women said that citizenship would guarantee their children access to health care and other vital benefits during their childhood, and provide a foundation for them to build successful lives as fully integrated Americans. The executive order directs federal agencies not to issue documents recognizing U.S. citizenship of children born to mothers unlawfully in the United States or on a temporary legal status, such as work or student visas, unless the father is a green-card holder or citizen.

Wall Street Journal [1/21/2025 10:32 PM, Domenick Candelieri, Negative] Video: HERE reports President Trump promised voters that he would conduct large-scale deportations of illegal immigrants. Millions of them are a key source of labor in U.S. agriculture. WSJ explores how his plans will upend the industry.

Newsweek [1/21/2025 7:12 AM, Maya Mehrara, 56005K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump has cancelled flights for 1,660 refugees from Afghanistan who were previously cleared by the government to come to the U.S., according to Reuters. The 1,660 Afghan refugees who have been taken off flights include family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, unaccompanied minors flying to the U.S. to reunite with family, and those who fought for the former U.S.-backed Afghan government. Trump’s suspension of U.S. refugee programs and subsequent cancelling of flights is detailed in a report from Shawn VanDiver, the head of the #AfghanEvac, a coalition of U.S. veterans and advocacy groups, and an anonymous U.S. official. Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team for comment via email outside of business hours. Newsweek also reached out to the U.S. Department of State for comment via a form on their website outside of working hours. Trump’s suspension of U.S. refugee programs is significant because he is following through with the immigration crackdowns he mentioned during his presidential campaign. Further, by cancelling the flights of Afghan refugees, the president is mirroring actions from his first term, as he signed an executive order barring people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days in 2017. In the list of the president’s "first priorities" per the new White House website, Trump is "suspending refugee resettlement, after communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources." Reuters’ two sources said the Afghan refugees previously approved to resettle in the U.S. were being removed from flights they were scheduled to take from Kabul between now and April. The decision not only affects the 1,660 pre-approved Afghan refugees, but others who were awaiting assignments for flights and had been approved for resettlement in the U.S. VanDiver said that "Afghans and advocates are panicking" and that "we warned them [Trump transition team contacts] that this was going to happen, but they did it anyway. We hope they will reconsider."

Wall Street Journal [1/21/2025 7:57 PM, Nancy A. Youssef, Vera Bergengruen and Gordon Lubold, Neutral] reports Pentagon officials are planning options for using federal troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border against drug traffickers, human smugglers and migrants, a potentially major shift in military priorities ordered by President Trump, officials said Tuesday. Use of the armed forces in a domestic role is restricted by laws prohibiting troops from engaging in law enforcement functions except in narrow circumstances. But an executive order Trump signed Monday described border threats normally left to law enforcement agencies as an “invasion” justifying a military response. A push to expand the military’s domestic responsibilities faces multiple obstacles, including legal restrictions and the Pentagon’s reluctance to involve itself in what it has long viewed as law enforcement tasks. Officials at the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency in charge of securing the border and enforcing immigration law, scrambled to understand what the new mandate means for their agencies. U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for military operations in North America, was given a month to craft a plan to combat “unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, gang trafficking, and other criminal activities.” Trump specified that it should “seal” the U.S.-Mexico border and repel “forms of invasion.” Military planners will need to determine how many troops are required, rules of engagement, as well as the equipment, vehicles and weapons required for a mission that active duty forces don’t usually train for, said Peter Feaver, a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University. Trump also signed an executive order designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, which could allow the use of military force against these groups. “We have started crafting courses of actions…what we think the mission is and what viable military operations could be used to do that mission,” said Marine Col. Kelly Frushour, a spokeswoman for Northern Command.

FedScoop [1/21/2025 9:20 AM, Rebecca Heilweil, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump on Monday officially shut down the Customs and Border Protection-run app designed to help schedule appointments for people seeking eligibility for asylum, closing off a pathway for migrants at the Southern border hoping to enter the United States. Supporters of the CBP One app had said that the system made the jobs of border agents easier, despite technical difficulties and data privacy questions raised by critics of the platform. It’s estimated that around a million people used the app to enter the country. The app shutdown came amid a series of other executive orders focused on immigration. Before the election, Trump frequently criticized the app, saying that it was being used for “smuggling” migrants. A notice on the CBP One website states that the functionalities of the app “that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available.” Any remaining appointments\ have been cancelled. People with scheduled appointments were shown Monday waiting in limbo at the border in Mexico. A notification of the app’s shutdown and the cancellation of appointments was shared Monday on Facebook, a spokesperson said. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who chairs the House’s progressive caucus, said in a statement that the app was designed in response to Trump’s first term, when “he decimated legal pathways and created even more chaos at the border.” “To address this,” Jayapal continued, “the Biden administration worked to do as much as possible administratively to rebuild the refugee program, initiate parole programs, and implement the CBP One app, all to decrease pressure on the border and reverse the negative actions of Trump.” From a technical perspective, CBP One had faced a series of challenges, many of which were documented in an inspector general report released last summer. The system had limited functionality, cybersecurity concerns and couldn’t keep up at times with demand. Similar problems had also been raised by groups focused on humanitarian and immigration rights issues.

Reported similarly:
Axios [1/21/2025 5:09 PM, Kate Murphy, 16349K, Negative]
CNN [1/21/2025 1:30 PM, Priscilla Alvarez, 22417K, Negative]
Texas Tribune [1/21/2025 7:59 PM, Uriel J. García and Alejandro Serrano, 1609K, Neutral]

Washington Examiner [1/21/2025 11:21 AM, Mike Brest, 2365K, Negative] reports that President Donald Trump was sworn into office Monday and swiftly made several changes and discussed his plans to do so to the U.S. armed forces and intelligence community.Within the first 24 hours of his second term, he promised to reinstate the thousands of troops separated over their refusal to get the coronavirus vaccine, vowed to send U.S. troops to the southern border, and directed the Defense Department to come up with a plan "to seal the borders." "The Department of Defense is fully committed to carrying out the orders from our commander in chief, and is doing so immediately under his leadership," a defense official said in a statement Monday evening. A major component of Trump’s early actions and that of his inaugural addresses were focused on the southern border. "I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country," Trump said. "Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations." He did not specify how many troops he intended to deploy to the southern border.

New York Times [1/22/2025 3:19 AM, Paulina Villegas, Rocío Gallegos and James Wagner, 740K, Negative] reports that, as panic sank in, two men strung ladders together with rope and placed them over the steel border wall that separated Tijuana from Southern California. “Hurry up, hurry keep moving!” shouted the smugglers at the bottom of the ladder. A young girl from Zimbabwe stood on top and looked down with wide eyes, hesitating before taking her next step. On Monday, people waiting to enter the United States learned that President Trump had canceled all asylum appointments moments after taking office and planned to sign several executive orders sealing the border. Yet at least one group still made a desperate and perilous last-ditch effort to cross into the United States. One by one, they ascended the wobbling structure, then slid down the other side. Those who made it over helped catch the women and children. But one woman fell to the ground on her way down and lay wailing in pain, grabbing her leg. “We do this out of need, not because we want to, and that is it,” said Carlos Porras, 39, from Peru, speaking through the wall slats. He also hurt his ankle while jumping and was limping. Moments later, the group was approached by U.S. Border Patrol officers and taken away. The scene revealed the desperation of migrants who on Monday learned that the border was now effectively closed. All were left to process the emotions, from bewilderment to despair. “I feel rage, I feel sadness, I feel everything,” said Katherine Romero, 36, a Venezuelan who had waited a year in Mexico City for her Monday asylum appointment, working different jobs to save up for the plane ticket to Tijuana. “I just can’t believe it.”

FOX News [1/21/2025 8:30 PM, Staff, 49889K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on President Trump’s executive orders and the firing of a Coast Guard commandant on ‘Special Report.’

Washington Examiner [1/21/2025 9:09 AM, Bethany Blankley, 2365K, Negative] reports that Florida sheriffs are advocating for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ border security plan, arguing it’s necessary to support President Donald Trump, protect Americans, and give them the tools they need to better do their jobs. DeSantis’ extensive plan includes making illegal entry a state crime, expanding state cooperation with federal detention efforts, and enhancing criminal penalties. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey are leading the effort among Florida sheriffs supporting Trump and DeSantis. The Biden administration "opened the floodgates of illegals coming into our country," Ivey said at a news conference with Judd and DeSantis. "Nowhere else has America ever turned a blind eye to crime. Nowhere." But the Biden administration turned a blind eye, endorsed and funded it, he said. "We have gone through four years of illegals impacting our country," he said, citing examples of how "illegal immigration doesn’t stop at the [southwest or northern] border. It filters into every community in this country. It filters into every resource we have. It targets our citizens. It impacts our highways. We see traffic fatalities increase. Our health and medical resources are impacted, our insurance. All across the board, we see crime rising up because of illegals that are coming into our country.”

FOX News [1/21/2025 10:53 AM, Christina Coulter, 49889K, Negative] reports that three ex-convicts – including the self-professed coordinator of a migrant smuggling operation – were arrested in a sting targeting transnational gang members, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Arturo "Tadeo" Ramirez Manzano, 27, Mario Ivan Ramirez, 21, and Corina Hernandez, 30, all of El Paso and all convicted felons under federal probation, were all charged with the felonies of unlawful possession of a firearm by felon and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance on Friday, the agency told KFOX 14. Two rifles and nearly one kilogram of cocaine were seized by Texas DPS agents carrying out two search and arrest warrants at an apartment complex in El Paso’s Lower Valley, the outlet reported. Ramirez was identified in a recent shooting incident and additionally charged with the felony of deadly conduct discharge firearm, according to KFOX. Authorities said Ramirez admitted to being a member of the Paisa prison gang and serving as a key coordinator in a human smuggling operation led by La Empresa that operates between Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. All three are currently behind bars at El Paso County Jail awaiting trial, according to KFOX. The U.S. Border Patrol alien smuggling unit and Texas Highway Patrol Troopers assisted in the DPS investigation. Texas DPS could not immediately be reached.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 8:10 PM, Jonathan Mejia, 57114K, Neutral] reports that, in a bid to deter migrants from crossing into the United States, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas. The park, which lies across from Piedras Negras, Mexico, is now under state control and fortified with anti-climb barriers, including fences and concertina wire. Since the launch of Operation Lone Star in 2021, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers and National Guard members have increased their presence along the southern border. This initiative aims to bolster federal law enforcement efforts, but it has sparked mixed reactions among Texans. The park is now lined with shipping containers, fences, and razor wire, serving as a deterrent for illegal crossings. Under Governor Abbott’s orders, the National Guard controls the area, which includes a tactical action center for military operations. The Texas Department of Emergency Management and DPS oversee border buoys on the Rio Grande. If migrants manage to cross into U.S. territory, they face state charges rather than being handed over to Border Patrol. This policy is part of the state’s emergency measures, allowing Texas DPS to apprehend and charge individuals. For residents of Eagle Pass, the state’s involvement has been particularly contentious. Shelby Park, once a community hub for events and family gatherings, is now closed to the public. Local resident Wendy Garcia expressed her frustration, saying, "Shelby Park being taken by soldiers... we used to have our public events there, and we certainly miss it." Garcia is conflicted, acknowledging the need for stricter policies while empathizing with migrants seeking better opportunities. "It is a concern for safety and the community," she said. "But I do fear for the lives of the people that have to go back to their countries."

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 10:32 PM, Domenick Candelieri, 57114K, Negative] reports thousands of dollars in unreported currency was found within a vehicle earlier this month at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The incident occurred on the afternoon of Jan. 8 when Customs and Border Protection officers inspected a 2024 sedan traveling southbound into Mexico from the U.S., border officials said in a news release. The vehicle, driven by a 27-year-old woman, was found to have a white plastic bag containing food items. Officers found a brown package inside that plastic bag, which had a total of $44,148 in unreported currency. “It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in temporary or permanent seizure of the currency and/or arrest,” CBP said in the release. CBP added that “an individual may petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers, but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.” The currency seizure is under investigation.

Bloomberg [1/21/2025 5:12 PM, Randy Thanthong-Knight, 21617K, Neutral] reports Canada’s prime minister said it’s “in the interest of Canadians as well as Americans” to strengthen border security and raised concern about the rising volume of illegal guns and drugs flowing north from the US. Data from the Canada Border Services Agency show that some 2,000 of 7,700 prohibited weapons and firearms — seized at ports of entry between January and October last year — came from the US. In fact, guns used in the country’s worst mass shooting were smuggled into Canada from Maine. During the same period, Canada’s border agents also seized more than 25,600 kilograms of illegal drugs both inbound and outbound, and fentanyl made up less than 1% of that volume. Some 84% of the 4.9 kilograms that were seized were headed for the Netherlands, and Canada was a negligible source of illicit opioids to the US. US border officials encountered 169,474 people attempting to cross the border from the northern nation into the US who were inadmissible or expelled in the first 10 months of last year. Most of those were people who went through a regular border crossing but were denied entry. The number trying to sneak into the US was 21,155. At the same time, Canada’s border agency identified some 34,000 foreign nationals seeking to enter Canada from the US through a port of entry whom officers believed to be inadmissible. The agency said that’s an increase of about 30% from last year.

FOX News [1/21/2025 1:24 PM, Michael Dorgan, 49889K, Negative] reports that just hours before President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Monday, a migrant caravan of more than 2,000 people set off from deep in southern Mexico with the aim of crossing into the U.S. The caravan, consisting of men, women, and children from various countries, was seen marching through the southern Mexican city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border in darkness early Monday. The migrants were carrying bags and rucksacks while migrant parents could be seen pushing children in strollers or carrying youngsters on their shoulders. It’s at least the tenth-largest caravan to walk out of Tapachula since the U.S. election, according to Border Report. It would take an adult migrant about 16 days of non-stop walking to get to the southern border. The caravan is on the march despite Trump signing a flurry of executive orders on Monday clamping down on illegal immigration. He also declared a national border emergency. In one order, Trump directed the federal government to resume construction of the border wall, which was largely dormant under the Biden administration. That order also ended Biden-era parole policies, including the use of the CBP One app to parole migrants into the U.S.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 11:06 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports that starting May 7, 2025, REAL ID-compliant identification will be mandatory for air travel and other federal purposes. This new rule from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ensures stricter security standards for state-issued IDs. By May 7, 2025, you’ll need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID card to board commercial airplanes and access certain federal facilities. All states are issuing REAL ID-compliant IDs. The TSA recommends obtaining one before the deadline to avoid delays at security checkpoints. The REAL ID Act was passed after 9/11 to improve security standards for identification documents. REAL ID-compliant IDs have stricter security features to help prevent fraud and identity theft.

CBS Pittsburgh [1/21/2025 5:01 PM, Patrick Damp, 52225K, Negative] reports for the first time in 2025, two guns were intercepted at Pittsburgh International Airport. According to TSA, officers confiscated two handguns at two separate checkpoints on Tuesday morning. In the first incident, a man was stopped with a .32 caliber handgun which was loaded with six bullets. In the second, a Baden, Pennsylvania man was stopped with a loaded .40 caliber handgun. After TSA officers detected the guns, they closed the checkpoint lanes, waited for police to respond, and removed the carry-on bags. From there, police determine if the offender is arrested or issued a criminal citation. In 2024, TSA officers intercepted 42 guns at checkpoints after intercepting a record 44 in 2023.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 7:03 PM, Dashel Pierson, 57114K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports residents of the Gulf Coast states woke up on Tuesday morning to something very rare – snow, and lots of it. An unprecedented blizzard hit the region, befuddling both denizens and meteorologists. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for a lot of these folks down there. For kids that have never had snowball fights … they’re going to have one," said Tom Kines, a meteorologist for AccuWeather. While typically, the United States Gulf Coast is better known for its hurricanes. Like, for example, Hurricane Helene from last September. That one brought devastation to the region from Florida to Georgia to North Carolina to Tennessee. Or Hurricane Idalia from the year before, which, with the destruction, also brought unnaturally pumping surf to a small stretch of Alabama coastline. It’s a much different scene, however, with this storm.

Wall Street Journal [1/21/2025 3:30 PM, Joseph Pisani and Alison Sider, Negative] Video: HERE reports thousands of flights were canceled Tuesday and airports in Houston suspended operations as a winter storm hit Texas, Louisiana and other states along the Gulf Coast where snow is rarely seen. “They’re looking at snowfall amounts on the order of 3 to 6 inches, and they typically don’t see that,” said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Snow in the region is so rare that national forecasters issued the first blizzard warning ever for Lake Charles, La., a city about 140 miles from Houston. New Orleans is expecting snowfall of as much as 5 inches, levels it hasn’t seen since reporting began in 1948, according to Pereira. In Pensacola, Fla., known for its white sand beaches, forecasters expected up to 6 inches of snow. The state’s highway patrol warned people to stay off the roads, “especially if you are not used to the conditions, as many in Florida are not.” More than 2,000 flights into, within or departing from the U.S. had been canceled as of Tuesday afternoon, according to FlightAware, with additional cancellations into Wednesday. Most were departing or arriving at airports in Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight disruptions. In Houston, icy roads led to school closures as well as flight cancellations. The city’s two main airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport, suspended operations at midnight Tuesday in anticipation of the hazardous conditions. The city said it had deicing pellets and liquid on hand, along with a contractor to operate and maintain snowplows to clear runways and taxiways. Cleanup and snow removal began early Tuesday morning, and the airports are monitoring to determine when it will be safe to reopen, an official said. United Airlines, which has a hub in Houston, canceled almost 21% of its flights scheduled Tuesday, according to Anuvu, an airline-data provider. Southwest, which has a big presence at William P. Hobby Airport, canceled about 12% of its Tuesday flights.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/21/2025 6:49 PM, Christine Chung, 161405K, Negative]

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 12:10 PM, Greg Childress, 57114K, Positive] reports that over the weekend. Gov. Josh Stein applauded the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) decision to extend its Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program for two months, through May 26. The program that allows disaster survivors to be housed in temporary, short-term accommodations when other housing options are not available was scheduled to end in March. State officials said the extension will help more than 2,700 households impacted by Hurricane Helene to remain housed in hotels, so long as they have a need. "Today’s decision will help eligible disaster survivors stay safe and sheltered as we continue the hard work of rebuilding in western North Carolina," Stein said in a statement. "FEMA’s decision to extend the Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program for two months is a positive step forward and frees eligible disaster survivors from worrying about being kicked out of the program in March.". Last week, Stein asked FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to extend the agency’s TSA program for eligible North Carolinians for an additional six months. Stein said his administration will "continue to pursue solutions to cut red tape and get people into housing faster, including our temporary travel trailer program."

Bloomberg [1/21/2025 4:18 PM, Josh Wingrove and Hadriana Lowenkron, 21617K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump’s first trip since returning to the White House will take him to Asheville, North Carolina and the Los Angeles area in California, communities where he has loudly criticized the federal response to recent natural disasters. The president will travel to those communities on Friday, according to a person familiar with his plans who shared them on condition of anonymity. Asheville is still recovering from September’s historic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, while in Los Angeles devastating wildfires made worse by strong winds have burned entire neighborhoods.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 7:17 PM, Christine Zhu, 57114K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump will head to western North Carolina on Friday for his first trip after returning to the White House, according to the New York Post. During his inaugural address on Monday, Trump spoke about how Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc upon rural areas of the Tar Heel State in late September. "Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, who’ve been treated so badly, and other states that are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago, or more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense," Trump said during his speech. The storm killed more than 100 people in North Carolina and left thousands without shelter, resulting in more than $50 billion in damages. Trump won North Carolina for the third time in 2024, campaigning heavily in the state. He held 19 separate events in the state that year, according to NC Newsline’s analysis, including a rally in Raleigh on the day before the election. He last visited the western portion of the state in late October. The then-presidential hopeful make a campaign stop in storm-damaged Swannanoa.

New York Times [1/22/2025 4:19 AM, Yan Zhuang, 161405K, Negative] reports the authorities in Louisiana on Wednesday closed a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 10 that spans nearly half the state, as a powerful winter storm brought record snowfall to the Gulf Coast and triggered the state’s first-ever blizzard warning. The announcement shortly after midnight meant that 200 miles of the highway in Louisiana were closed because of deteriorating conditions. The authorities had previously closed a 50-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and another 50 miles in and around New Orleans since early Tuesday. The eight inches of snow that fell at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Tuesday beat a record of 2.7 inches set in 1963, according to the National Weather Service. Interstate 10 is one of three highways that run coast-to-coast in the United States and a crucial east-west link for the southern Louisiana cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Its span in Louisiana is just under 275 miles, and connects the state with Mississippi and Texas. Most of the stills posted by the Louisiana traffic department from cameras along Interstate 10 at around 2 a.m. local time showed deserted, snow-covered stretches of the highway.

ABC News [1/21/2025 8:01 PM, Staff, 33392K, Negative] Video: HERE reports wildfires broke out in San Diego County early Tuesday, resulting in evacuations, school closures and power shutoffs. Officials in Los Angeles stayed alert due to strong winds and dry conditions.

Miami Herald [1/21/2025 7:14 AM, Clyde Hughes, 6595K, Negative] reports southern California is expected to be slammed with up to hurricane-strength gusts that could spark a growth in various wildfires through Tuesday morning, officials said. The National Weather Service said the Santa Ana windstorm, blamed for much of the havoc that has created devastating fires throughout the Los Angeles area, will generate winds from 50 to 70 mph with gusts reaching 100mph. Authorities said at least three new wildfires, benefiting from the windstorm, started on Monday in Griffith Park, Riverside County, and Granada Hills. Winds in the western Gabriel Mountains reached 74 mph, 61 mph in the Santa Susana Mountains, 60 mph in the Los Angeles County portion of the San Gabriel Mountains, and 54 mph in the Santa Clarita Valley. Forecasters said that more than three million residents face an "extremely critical" fire threat on Tuesday while another 10 million face a "critical fire" threat warning. While winds are expected to lessen slightly later Tuesday, dangerous conditions are anticipated to last through Thursday. While chances of rain on Saturday may help firefighters, most of Southern California remains in severe drought conditions, heightening the concerns over the return of strong offshore winds through the week. Local fire officials and the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office said the current rash of wildfires has been blamed for 27 deaths in Southern California. Two of the largest fires appear to be mostly contained, according to the latest data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,713 acres as of Tuesday morning, is 61% contained, Cal Fire said.

Yahoo! News [1/21/2025 3:06 PM, Dylan Stableford, 57114K, Negative] reports that firefighters in Southern California are battling two new wildfires that erupted early Tuesday morning, prompting fresh evacuations as dangerous fire weather conditions continue to grip the region. The Lilac Fire was first reported around 1:20 a.m. near Old Highway 395 in Bonsall, Calif., 46 miles north of San Diego, according to the San Diego County Fire Department. The fire threatened numerous structures, and mandatory evacuation orders were issued for some nearby areas. "Firefighters are making good progress on the fire. The fire activity has decreased significantly," San Diego County Fire said in an update posted on X Tuesday morning. According to fire officials, the fire has burned approximately 80 acres and is now 30% contained. A second blaze, the Pala Fire, broke out along the same highway in Pala Mesa, Calif., and burned 17 acres before firefighters were able to stop its forward progress. The causes of both fires are under investigation. Red flag warning were issued by the National Weather Service through Tuesday. (NOAA).

Reuters [1/21/2025 5:56 PM, Steve Holland, 48128K, Negative] reports U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will issue an executive order to increase the availability of water in California, following disastrous wildfires that recently tore through several Los Angeles neighborhoods.

CBS News [1/21/2025 2:57 PM, Scott MacFarlane, Nicole Sganga, and Margaret Brennan, 52225K, Negative] reports that in its first 24 hours in office, the Trump administration removed U.S. Secret Service protection from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who became a critic of the president after Bolton’s ouster from the first Trump administration in 2019. Multiple sources told CBS News the decision was made in the past 24 hours. Bolton, an outspoken critic of President Trump, was granted Secret Service protection by the Biden administration in December 2021 for the first time since he served in the Trump White House. That decision followed a series of threats from Iran linked to retaliation for a drone strike ordered by Mr. Trump during Bolton’s tenure, resulting in the assassination Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. In a statement, Bolton told CBS News that he is "disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision." "Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to once again extend Secret Service protection to me in 2021," Bolton continued.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/21/2025 6:38 PM, Maggie Haberman and Hamed Aleaziz, 161405K, Negative]
Politico [1/21/2025 5:46 PM, John Sakellariadis, Negative]
Reuters [1/21/2025 4:07 PM, Steve Holland, 48128K, Negative]
ABC News [1/21/2025 3:51 PM, Mary Bruce, Molly Nagle, and Mike Levine, 33392K, Negative]
Newsweek [1/21/2025 7:01 PM, Gabe Whisnant and Jesus Mesa, 56005K, Negative]
FOX News [1/21/2025 5:49 PM, Emma Colton, 49889K, Negative]
USA Today [1/21/2025 8:54 PM, Staff, 89965K, Negative]

KOLN/KGIN [1/21/2025 6:06 PM, Staff, 454K, Negative] reports two men are facing forgery charges after police say they passed counterfeit bills in Lincoln on Sunday. Lincoln Police officers responded to a fraud in progress at Walgreens on 27th and Vine streets at 6:15 p.m. Officers spoke with Walmart’s loss prevention who provided video of the transaction and learned that Perez and Adames had each passed $100 counterfeit bills, according to police. Authorities went back and searched the hotel room and found items consistent with manufacturing counterfeit bills, court documents show. Perez was taken into custody and charged with criminal possession of forgery devices and first-degree forgery. Adames, who was already in jail on a related case was given an additional first-degree forgery charge. Both men were arraigned in Lancaster County Court on Tuesday and had their bonds set at 10% of $40,000. They have a hearing set for Feb. 27 at 10 a.m.

The New York Times [1/21/2025 4:05 PM, John Ismay, 161405K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration fired the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Linda L. Fagan, within 24 hours of President Trump’s inauguration. The admiral, who was sworn in as the service chief on June 1, 2022, was the first female officer to lead a branch of the American armed forces. In a message sent to all Coast Guard units on Tuesday morning, the acting secretary of the Homeland Security Department, Benjamine C. Huffman, said he had relieved Admiral Fagan of her duties. “She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” Mr. Huffman said without explaining why her tenure was abruptly cut short. However, a lengthy department statement indicated that Admiral Fagan had been fired for several reasons, many involving Mr. Trump’s key issues. “She was terminated because of leadership deficiencies, operational failures and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard,” the statement said. The statement offered a long list of reasons for Admiral Fagan’s removal from office, including what it called “failure to address border security threats” — specifically saying she had not adequately deployed Coast Guard assets to stop “fentanyl and other illicit substances” from entering the United States. Politico [1/21/2025 10:37 AM, jack Detsch and Paul McLeary, 57114K, Neutral] reports that a senior DHS official said Fagan was removed for failing to address border threats, allowing delays and cost overruns in the Coast Guard’s icebreaker and helicopter programs, and putting an "excessive focus" on diversity and inclusion efforts that diverted "resources and attention from operational imperatives." The official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said a 2020 Coast Guard report into years of sexual harassment and assaults in the service’s ranks — which Fagan’s predecessor withheld from Congress — "underscored a leadership culture unwilling to ensure accountability and transparency in protecting service members." The Defense Department, Coast Guard and National Security Council referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security. The Washington Post [1/21/2025 5:51 PM, Dan Lamothe, 40736K, Neutral] reports Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, who had been the service’s No. 2 officer, was named acting Coast Guard commandant, Huffman’s message to the force said. Lunday became the service’s vice commandant in June after previously leading Coast Guard personnel on the East Coast. The move, first reported by Fox News, was condemned by Trump’s political opponents and some retired senior leaders of the Coast Guard. It could mark the first of several personnel changes affecting the most senior levels of the U.S. military. A spokesman for Fagan did not respond to requests for the admiral’s response to her removal. Other Coast Guard officials referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the service.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/21/2025 5:11 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 16346K, Positive]
Reuters [1/21/2025 1:44 PM, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, and David Shepardson, 48128K, Negative]
Federal News Network [1/21/2025 12:21 PM, Justin Doubleday, 470K, Neutral]
VOA News [1/21/2025 12:22 PM, Staff, 2717K, Negative]

Miami Herald [1/21/2025 7:17 PM, Staff, 6595K, Neutral] reports Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan was fired on the second day of the Trump administration, an action Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen called "politically motivated.". A Department of Homeland Security memo said Tuesday that the agency had "relieved Admiral Linda L. Fagan of her duties as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard" and that Admiral Kevin Lunday would be acting commandant. Fagan helped oversee the rescue operation following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March that killed six construction workers and temporarily choked commerce to the Port of Baltimore. The DHS memo, posted on the Coast Guard website, gave no reason for her dismissal and thanked her for "a long and illustrious career.". However, numerous reports said Fagan, the first female military service chief, was fired for, among other reasons, emphasizing policies of diversity, equity and inclusion that Trump opposes. On Monday, Trump said he wanted a society that is "merit-based" and signed executive orders that ended diversity programs. "Admiral Fagan has served our country with distinction and played a pivotal role in our response to the Key Bridge collapse," Van Hollen, a Democrat, posted on X. "This politically motivated firing is outrageous and sends all the wrong signals to our men and women in uniform.".

FOX News [1/21/2025 9:13 PM, Louis Casiano, 57114K, Negative] reports the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday announced the deployment of personnel and equipment to various maritime borders in the United States, a day after President Donald Trump dismissed the military branch’s leader. In a statement, Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said coast guardsmen would work to detect and deter illegal migration in support of Trump’s executive orders issued this week. "The U.S. Coast Guard is the world’s premiere maritime law enforcement agency, vital to protecting America’s maritime borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty," Lunday said. "Per the President’s Executive Orders, I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets—cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces—to increase Coast Guard presence and focus…"Key areas where authorities will focus their efforts include the waters off Florida to deter and prevent migrants from Haiti and Cuba from entering the U.S., and maritime borders around Alaska, Hawaii, as well as the U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Somoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Lunday also wrote in the release that the agency would target the "maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America." On Monday, Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico. In the federal executive order: "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness," Section 4 rebrands the "area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico… an integral asset to our once burgeoning nation …and an indelible part of America" – as the "Gulf of America." The reference appears to be the first time a federal agency has acknowledged the name change. The Coast Guard said it would also target the Bahamas and South Florida, and between the U.S. and Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the Coast Guard will support U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities on maritime portions of the southwest U.S. border.

CBS 7 [1/21/2025 4:39 PM, Morgan Sturdivant and Andrew McMunn, 11K, Negative] reports authorities are continuing to search for a father and son fisherman duo after they went missing over the weekend off the coast of Maine. The Maine Marine Patrol said it plans to continue searching for Chester "Chet" Barrett and his son Aaron Barrett. The agency said it will search the shore and water between Lubec and South Addison. The two were reported missing on Saturday evening by a family member after they did not return home. Efforts by the fishermen to recover it were halted Sunday by the U.S. Coast Guard due to safety concerns, but those efforts were continued Tuesday.

Miami Herald [1/21/2025 10:02 PM, David Goodhue, 6595K, Neutral] reports the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday night that it will be surging ships, boats and aircraft to South Florida and other areas of the country to bolster anti-maritime migration efforts to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order to use the nation’s military to defend the border. The announcement comes the same day the acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman fired Adm. Linda Fagan as commandant of the Coast Guard, which is responsible for maritime security. Fagan was not only the first woman to lead the Coast Guard, but also the first woman in uniform to head any branch of the country’s armed forces. Although the Coast Guard is a military branch, it falls under the command of Homeland Security since it’s also a federal law enforcement agency. Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant, released a statement Tuesday noting the decision to flood South Florida and other U.S. maritime borders with more Coast Guard members and assets is in adherence with Trump’s executive order on border security. Lunday said he has directed the agency’s operational commanders to surge “cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces” to the Florida Straits “to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from Haiti and/or Cuba.” Other areas of the U.S. and its territories that will see an increased Coast Guard presence, per the announcement, are the maritime border between the Bahamas and Florida, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Somoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Coast Guard will also be sending personnel and assets to the southwest maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, reads the announcement, which refers to the Gulf of Mexico as “the Gulf of America” — renamed by Trump in another executive order Monday. Lunday also directed the Coast Guard to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s anti-migrant efforts in maritime areas of the southwest U.S. border.

SFGate [1/21/2025 6:03 PM, Katie Dowd, 14282K, Neutral] reports the search for two missing Hawaii teens has entered its fourth day on Oahu, prompting fears about what could have happened to the pair. Samantha Chun, 17, and Joseph Fujioka, 18, were last seen buying items at a convenience store in the Mililani area, about 19 miles north of Honolulu, shortly before 10 p.m. Friday. The next morning, family members discovered their things at Ke Iki Beach, approximately 30 minutes away by car. It’s not clear if Chun and Fujioka went into the water, but ocean conditions were rough that night. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency had a high-surf warning in place, and Spectrum News reports that 40-foot waves were anticipated. The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies have been combing the water for the pair since Saturday.

New York Times [1/21/2025 3:02 PM, Eileen Sullivan, 161405K, Negative] reports President Trump’s call for the State Department to start the process of designating certain cartels as global terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations could give his administration more power to impose economic penalties, travel restrictions and potentially even take military action inside foreign nations. In the executive order he issued on Monday, Mr. Trump named two gangs in particular that operate inside the United States: the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and the El Salvadoran MS-13. Using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the government could take additional steps to disrupt the financial networks of the gangs. Mr. Trump’s order gave just 14 days for State to make a recommendation. On Monday, as he signed the executive order in the Oval Office, he said Mexico will probably be unhappy with this step.

Reuters [1/21/2025 5:16 PM, Sarah Kinosian, 48128K, Negative] reports on Monday night, President Donald Trump called for the State Department to label Mexican cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations," a move that increases the reach of U.S. law enforcement over the criminal groups but risks complicating international business, restricting asylum claims, and straining relations with Mexico, analysts say. The move targets two key Trump promises– to tackle migration and drug trafficking–and looks to put cartels like Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation on a par with others on the U.S. list of designated terrorist organizations, like Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State. Analysts interviewed by Reuters said the designation is unlikely to be a game changer in the war on drugs and does not dramatically alter existing powers bestowed on U.S. authorities to go after the cartels. But it does throw a wider net for the prosecution of people or groups suspected of assisting the crime syndicates, analysts said, as well as make it easier to target cartel members operating abroad under U.S. law. The designation does not – from a legal perspective - facilitate military action in Mexico, but some analysts said it could serve as a political stepping stone towards some form of military intervention by helping to build a rationale for it.

Reported similarly:
Roll Call [1/21/2025 1:43 PM, Chris Johnson, 440K, Neutral]

Reuters [1/21/2025 6:03 PM, Nathan Layne, Ned Parker, Peter Eisler and Joseph Tanfani, 48128K, Neutral] reports a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, America’s far-right celebrated. Several experts who study extremism said the extraordinary reversal for rioters who committed both violent and nonviolent crimes on Jan. 6, including assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy, will embolden the Proud Boys and other extremist groups such as white supremacists who have openly called for political violence. Four people died on the day of the attack, including a woman protester shot by police. One Capitol Police officer who fought the rioters died the next day. Another 140 officers were injured. Four officers who responded to the riot later committed suicide. Among the pardoned were more than 300 who pleaded guilty to either assaulting or obstructing law enforcement, including 69 who admitted to assaulting police with a dangerous or deadly weapon. Trump’s order commuted the sentences of 14 convicted of serious crimes, including Stewart Rhodes, former leader of the Oath Keepers. Trump also issued pardons for others, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy. Nearly 300 rioters had links to 46 far-right groups or movements, according to a study, from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a University of Maryland-based network of scholars that tracks and analyzes terrorist incidents.

Reuters [1/21/2025 8:35 PM, Dave Sherwood and Mario Fuentes, 48128K, Negative] reports Karen Vasquez, 44, walked out of jail in Cuba on Sunday, part of a deal brokered by the Vatican under which the Biden administration would loosen sanctions on the communist-run island, while Havana would release more than 500 people from its jails who are considered political prisoners by Washington. Vasquez was still celebrating on Monday when she heard that U.S. president Donald Trump had reversed the Biden administration’s decision last week to remove Cuba from its terrorism blacklist. Removal from the list appeared aimed as a step in rolling back sanctions. The Trump executive order, issued among a flurry of orders within hours of his inauguration on Monday, has left the broader deal with Cuba in limbo. "I’m not interested in politics, but yes, this scares me. Everything is so uncertain," said Vasquez, who lives in a precarious three-room house in La Guinera, a poor neighborhood outside Havana. She was convicted of sedition and sentenced to seven years in prison for her part in unprecedented island-wide protests in July 2021. The U.S., Europe and human rights watchdogs consider Vasquez and others to be political prisoners, a characterization rejected by the Cuban government. "We’ve been released on ‘conditional’ liberty," Vasquez said in an interview with Reuters following the Trump announcement. "We have no idea what could happen to us." Cuba on Tuesday blasted Trump’s decision, calling it "a demonstration of the aggressiveness of U.S. imperialism." It has not said what measures, if any, it might take in response.

USA Today [1/21/2025 2:56 PM, Francesca Chambers and Josh Meyer, 89965K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday revoking the security clearances of 50 former intelligence officials, most of whom Republicans have accused of coordinating with Joe Biden’s 2020 White House campaign to discredit reporting on Hunter Biden’s emails in the closing weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign. All but one of the former intelligence officials signed a 2020 letter that said the public release of emails that reportedly belonged to Hunter Biden had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation." Trump also revoked the clearance of his former national security adviser, John Bolton, who became a vocal critic of the Republican president after he left the administration. The letter signers Trump targeted include former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, an intelligence official who worked for Republican and Democratic administrations; former CIA Director Michael Hayden, who led the department under former President George W. Bush; his successor in Barack Obama’s administration, Leon Panetta; and John Brennan, who held the role for much of Obama’s second term. Several former Trump administration officials who also signed the letter about Hunter Biden were also stripped of their security clearances in the new president’s executive order.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [1/21/2025 10:56 AM, Melissa Quinn, 52225K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/21/2025 12:35 PM, Jack Birle, 2365K, Negative]

Government Executive [1/21/2025 10:05 AM, Lindy Kyzer, 342K, Neutral] reports that often security clearances are considered an overhead function barely gaining the mention or attention of senior leaders. But the spotlight was back on the security clearance process Monday when President Donald Trump issued two executive orders addressing security clearances – one rescinding the security clearance eligibility of the 50 individuals who signed the Hunter Biden laptop memo, which described the controversy as a "Russian information operation," and another offering immediate interim eligibility to presidential appointees whose background investigations have not yet been completed. The "Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President" decries delays in executive personnel onboarding. The memo states the White House Counsel will provide the White House security office with a list of personnel to be immediately granted interim Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearances with immediate access to facilities and technology necessary to do their jobs. The order notes these interim clearances aren’t to exceed six months, implying the White House intends for these individuals to go ahead and undergo a background investigation process through the FBI, which has historically been tasked with the job of conducting the vetting process for Senate-confirmed presidential employees and transition staff.

AP [1/20/2025 4:24 PM, Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor, 470K, Positive] reports that President Donald Trump has named an acting defense secretary because his choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. Robert Salesses, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Washington Headquarters Service, will fill in as acting secretary of defense, and three other career Defense Department civilians will be filling in as acting heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force. To serve in the post s, the incoming Trump administration needed senior executives at the Pentagon who had already been confirmed by the Senate. Salesses is a retired Marine who served in the Gulf War and earned a Bronze Star. He has been leading the Washington Headquarters Service, which includes all of the capital region support services, including facilities management and the office of general counsel and others that support the military branches and Pentagon leadership. Hegseth could see his nomination advanced by the Senate Armed Services Committee as early as Monday, but because of the number of nominees that need to be approved, the full Senate may not take up his nomination until later this week. In addition, Trump has tapped Mark Averill, who was the administrative assistant to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, to be the acting secretary. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Averill has been a senior career civilian since June 2009.

Newsweek [1/21/2025 12:32 PM, Hugh Cameron, 56005K, Neutral] reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) has responded to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the organization, warning that this move may undermine its core mission. WHO, a specialized agency of the United Nations focused on international public health, on Tuesday said it "regrets" the announcement made by the White House. The United States is WHO’s largest state benefactor, providing 15.6 percent of its overall revenue in the most recent 2022-2023 biennium period, followed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at 12.7 percent. The U.S. withdrawal, which will involve a pause on funds being sent to WHO, will add to the organization’s financial difficulties after just last week it issued an emergency funding appeal seeking an additional $1.5 billion to address global health challenges. When contacted for comment, the WHO directed Newsweek to Tuesday’s press release. Newsweek has also reached out to the White House for comment. "We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe," the organization’s statement read.

FOX News [1/21/2025 1:37 PM, Michael Dorgan, 49889K, Neutral] reports that Russia’s foreign ministry has called on President Donald Trump to reaffirm the current international agreement surrounding the Panama Canal and to leave it in control of the nation of Panama. Alexander Shchetinin, the director of Russia’s foreign ministry’s Latin American department, told Russian news outlet TASS that he expects Trump "will respect the current international legal regime" of the canal as laid out in two 1977 treaties between the U.S. and Panama. The agreement relinquished American control over the canal by the year 2000 and guaranteed its neutrality. Trump has railed against Panama since his sweeping election win in November, accusing the Central American country of letting China dominate the critical maritime trade route and leaving U.S. ships getting "ripped off" in the process. During his inaugural speech on Monday, President Trump doubled down on his grievances and declared that the U.S. would be "taking it back." "We expect that during the expected discussions between the leadership of Panama and President Trump on issues of control over the Panama Canal, which certainly falls within the sphere of their bilateral relations, the parties will respect the current international legal regime of this key waterway," Shchetinin said.

NBC News [1/21/2025 11:20 AM, Chantal Da Silva, 50804K, Negative] reports that hours after President Donald Trump rescinded American sanctions on far-right settler groups and individuals accused of involvement in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s military said it had launched a "significant" operation in the territory. Israeli forces moved into the northern city of Jenin in an offensive that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was launched to "defeat terrorism." Health authorities in the region said at least seven people were killed and dozens injured. It came after his military said "Israeli civilians," some of them masked, had attacked a Palestinian village Monday night before they turned on their own soldiers. Introduced by the Biden administration in February, Executive Order 14115 saw sanctions imposed on "persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank." But in a major policy reversal, the White House website said Monday that Trump had done away with the measures, which barred Americans from dealing with both Israeli settlers and entities associated with them while freezing their U.S. assets. It came after Trump described Gaza as a "phenomenal location" as he signed a series of executive orders in the Oval Office, shortly after his presidential inauguration ceremony.

Washington Examiner [1/21/2025 9:48 PM, Brady Knox, 2365K, Negative] reports Israeli hostages released as part of the recent ceasefire with Hamas have claimed they were held in a U.N. camp in Gaza. Hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, who were released from Hamas custody on Sunday, reported that they had been held in a U.N. refugee camp at some point during their captivity, according to Israel’s Channel 13. Details were not given as to what camps they were held in, when, or for how long. The revelation is the latest blow to the position of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which has faced attacks against its credibility throughout the war in Gaza. The Washington Examiner reached out to the UNRWA for comment. The UNRWA operates eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, established in 1948-1949 after the Israeli War of Independence. Most aren’t recognizable as "camps" in the traditional sense, having developed over time into urban establishments. Several have populations numbering over 100,000 people. The majority of Gazans are registered as refugees. The UNRWA clarifies on its website that it doesn’t administer or police the camps, leaving those matters to governing Hamas authorities. It employs 13,000 staff across over 300 installations to provide education, medical attention, and other humanitarian aid to locals. Israel has accused some UNRWA staff members of being members of Hamas, alleging last year that 19 staffers were members of the militant group. The agency fired nine staffers after finding links with Hamas, though they found insufficient evidence in the 10 other cases. Gonen, Damari, and Steinbrecher were held in captivity for 471 days. The current ceasefire deal aims to release all remaining hostages over many weeks.

CNN [1/21/2025 6:55 AM, Lucas Lilieholm and Mick Krever, 22417K, Neutral] reports US President Donald Trump said Monday he was “not confident” the Gaza ceasefire would last, despite claiming credit for brokering the agreement between Israel and Hamas. “I’m not confident. It’s not our war, it’s their war,” he said from the Oval Office, when asked by a reporter whether the ceasefire would hold and last through three planned phases. “I looked at a picture of Gaza – Gaza is like a massive demolition site. That place is, it’s really, it’s got to be rebuilt in a different way.” The American president’s pessimism is not unique. There is significant pressure to restart the Gaza war from extremist right-wing Israeli politicians, who believe the ceasefire was a capitulation to Hamas. Itamar Ben-Gvir of Israel’s Jewish Power party this week resigned as national security minister, further narrowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s slim parliamentary majority. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to do the same if Netanyahu does not break the ceasefire once an initial 42-day phase is complete. “I demanded – and received – a commitment from Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel will return to the battlefield to eliminate Hamas and eradicate this threat once and for all,” Smotrich said in a statement on Monday. Netanyahu, for his part, said on Sunday night that “both President Trump and President Biden gave full backing to Israel’s right to return to fighting, if Israel comes to the conclusion that negotiations on Phase B are futile. I really appreciate it.” Israeli media has been rife with speculation this week that those commitments to potentially restart the war will doom negotiations on phase two of the deal, which are due to begin on February 4. Phase two, if it goes into effect, would see the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza. Trump’s pessimism about the ceasefire stood in contrast to the pledge made just hours earlier, during his inaugural address, that he would “measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end.” Among the slew of executive orders he signed upon taking office was a decision to rescind sanctions that the Biden administration had against Israeli settlers allegedly responsible for deadly violence in the occupied West Bank.

Wall Street Journal [1/21/2025 9:20 AM, Shan Li and Esmatullah Kohsar, Neutral] reports the Biden administration struck a deal to free two Americans held in Afghanistan in exchange for one Taliban member held in a U.S. prison. The Taliban released Ryan Corbett and William W. McKenty III in exchange for Khan Mohammed, who was serving two life sentences for drug trafficking for the Taliban. The families of both men confirmed their release. A Trump administration official confirmed the deal happened in the waning hours of the Biden era. “While it was not the deal we would have made, we’re always glad to bring Americans home,” the official said. In a statement, the Taliban said it appreciated the U.S. for actions “that contribute to the normalization and expansion of relations between the two countries.” The last-minute deal was the final capstone in Biden’s campaign to release dozens of Americans detained abroad. The Taliban has long wanted Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, an alleged associate of Osama bin Laden now held in Guantanamo, as part of any deal. But talks were in danger of collapsing last week over Biden’s insistence that any trade for Rahim include an American, Mahmoud Habibi, who disappeared in Afghanistan in 2022. The Taliban has denied holding him. Corbett’s detention has gained public attention as his family pushed for the Biden administration to strike a deal. Earlier this month, his wife, Anna Corbett, had a call with Biden and met with then President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Before the Taliban takeover in 2021, Corbett lived for years in Afghanistan supervising projects for several nonprofits. He returned in 2022 to work on his microlending and consulting business when he was detained. His family released a statement on Tuesday saying that Corbett was on his way home and praising both the Trump and Biden administrations, as well as the government of Qatar, for their help in securing his release.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/21/2025 6:31 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral]

Newsweek [1/21/2025 7:15 PM, Micah McCartney, 56005K, Neutral] reports that the Philippines has arrested three people on suspicion of espionage after they were caught with intelligence related to military installations and other sensitive sites, allegedly collected from a vehicle. Newsweek contacted the Chinese foreign ministry and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with emailed requests for comment. The case comes amid heightened China-Philippine tensions over a longstanding territorial dispute. Beijing’s sweeping claims encompass much of the South China Sea, including the Philippines’ internationally recognized maritime zone. Clashes between the neighbors’ coast guards have resulted in several Philippine injuries and raised the specter of Manila’s Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington. Further fueling anti-China sentiment is the case of Alice Guo, a mayor accused of spying for China and having links to illegal online scamming centers, often run by Chinese nationals and tied to criminal activities such as human-trafficking. Guo has pled not guilty. The NBI on Friday arrested a Chinese national with the surname Deng, and two male Philippine associates, called Besa and Fernande.

The Hill [1/21/2025 12:48 PM, Addy Bink, 16346K, Neutral] reports that among the slew of executive orders President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office was one delaying the TikTok ban. The order calls on Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, to not enforce the law banning the video-sharing app while his administration determines "the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans." The ban — which passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into law by former President Joe Biden — was set to take effect on Sunday. TikTok shut down its app for more than 12 hours, starting on Saturday, until it became clear that Trump would delay enforcement of the ban. TikTok then credited his "efforts" when it restored the app on Sunday. Trump previously supported the TikTok ban but told reporters while signing the order Monday night that he has "a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally" after being on the app. Trump’s order says the TikTok ban should not be enforced for "a period of 75 days" from Monday, which would be Sunday, April 5.

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