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

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

The New York Times [1/23/2025 3:55 AM, Eric Schmitt, 740K, Neutral] reports the Pentagon will send 1,500 active-duty troops to the southwestern border by the end of the month, a Defense Department official said on Wednesday, helping to fulfill one of President Trump’s main goals to stem the flow of migrants into the United States. The new troops will join 2,500 Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers called to active duty in recent months to support federal law enforcement officials. Their missions include detection and monitoring, data entry, training, transportation and maintenance. It is unclear what roles the 4,000 troops will now have under the Trump administration. Mr. Trump on Monday signed an executive order that gave the military an explicit role in immigration enforcement. It also directed the Defense Department to come up with a plan “to seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion.” The directive is likely to clash with an 1870s law called the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally limits the use of regular federal troops for domestic policing purposes. The move, which was reported earlier by Fox News, comes even as the current state of the border is fairly calm, with crossings having fallen sharply after the Biden administration took major steps to limit migration. Politico [1/22/2025 5:36 PM, Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch, Neutral] reports that the deployment, announced by the Defense Department, is the first step in officials’ plans to act on President Donald Trump’s executive order, which uses the military to stem the flow of people illegally crossing the U.S. border. The Pentagon’s Transportation Command will use military aircraft to send more than 5,000 undocumented immigrants from San Diego and El Paso, Texas, who are detained by Customs and Border Protection, Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement. The troops also will assist in building new border fences and barriers. The number of active-duty troops at the border will increase from 2,200 to about 4,000, according to a senior U.S. military official granted anonymity to discuss plans. The Hill [1/22/2025 1:22 PM, Brad Dress, 16346K, Negative] reports that the expected deployment comes just two days after Trump signed multiple executive orders relating to troop presence at the border. One declares a national emergency at the border to allow for increased military presence. Another authorized U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) to draft a plan for sending troops to the border — writing that the military must be present to respond to an "invasion." The executive order demanded detailed operational plans that are now expected in the coming days, but it did not say how many troops would deploy. Northcom already has a border mission based out of Fort Bliss, Texas, called Joint Task Force-North. The task force has up to 4,000 U.S. troops authorized for the border mission, primarily from the National Guard, though the number fluctuates and active-duty troops have been sent before. Their mission is primarily to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel. U.S. troops are generally assisting CBP with logistical, transportation, detection and monitoring work.

Reported similarly:
AP [1/22/2025 2:00 PM, Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp, 2717K, Negative]
Axios [1/22/2025 6:17 PM, Sareen Habeshian, 16349K, Neutral]
CNN [1/22/2025 6:28 OM, Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez, Haley Britzky, Oren Liebermann, and Katie Bo Lillis, 987K, Neutral]
FOX News [1/22/2025 1:39 PM, Liz Friden and Stephen Sorace, 49889K, Neutral]
USA Today [1/22/2025 2:29 PM, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Tom Vanden Brook, Davis Winkie, and Joey Garrison, 89965K, Neutral]
Miami Herald [1/22/2025 2:14 PM, Julia Marnin, 6595K, Negative]

CBS News [1/22/2025 8:17 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Neutral] reports Trump administration officials are considering deploying as many as 10,000 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border and using Department of Defense bases to hold migrants awaiting deportation as they plan their dramatic crackdown on illegal immigration, according to an internal government memo obtained by CBS News. In an executive action Mr. Trump signed upon taking office on Monday, he declared a national emergency along the southern border and ordered the Defense Department to provide troops and resources "to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control" of the border. He also instructed the military to help build border barriers to repel migrants. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president had signed another executive order to deploy 1,500 troops to the southern border, where 2,500 soldiers are already stationed under federal orders. Texas and other states have also deployed National Guard soldiers to the border in recent years, including to fortify it with razor wire. But the internal Customs and Border Protection memo dated Jan. 21 indicates there’s a plan to dispatch "~10,000 soldiers" to help the agency’s mission at the southern border. The Trump administration, according to the document, has submitted an "[u]nrestrained request" for the Pentagon to surge resources and personnel to assist CBP with technology and infrastructure. The memo also says the Defense Department "may" convert its bases into "holding facilities," presumably to help CBP detain migrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/22/2025 3:08 PM, Nick Miroff, Dan Lamothe, Maria Sacchetti and Marianne LeVine, 40736K, Neutral]

Wall Street Journal [1/22/2025 9:46 AM, Michelle Hackman and Sadie Gurman, Neutral] reports the Trump administration is attempting to amass a larger force of law-enforcement officials to help carry out deportations by granting agents across the federal government the same powers as an immigration officer, according to an internal memo seen by The Wall Street Journal. The memo, sent by acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman, says DHS is granting immigration-enforcement authority to several agencies at the Justice Department, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service. The directive is the latest in a flurry of moves the Trump administration has taken this week to marshal the vast resources of the federal government to carry out the president’s signature campaign promise on immigration. Despite those steps, no large-scale immigration operations have yet materialized. The memo also emphasizes that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents already possess immigration-arresting powers, known as Title 8 authority. Still, FBI agents traditionally steer clear of such work except where it intersects with their main mission of national security and other investigations. Though the memo doesn’t directly deputize those agents to assist with President Trump’s promised deportation campaign, administration officials are planning for the Justice Department to cooperate by lending some agents, a person familiar with the matter said.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/22/2025 10:03 PM, Bipasha Dey, 48128K, Neutral]

CBS News [1/22/2025 5:38 PM, Nicole Sganga, 52225K, Negative] reports the Department of Homeland Security has terminated its advisory committees, wiping out decades of institutional experience and abruptly ending a sweeping investigation into the Chinese-linked hack of U.S. telecom companies, sources familiar with the move confirmed to CBS News. According to a memo signed by Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman, and obtained by CBS News, the decision to disband multiple advisory committees 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 panels that offer advice to department personnel on issues including natural disaster and emergency preparedness, critical infrastructure, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Also among the committees eliminated was the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Members of the committee included former secretaries of Homeland Security, DEA administrators, police union presidents and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

Roll Call [1/22/2025 1:00 PM, Chris Johnson, 440K, Negative] reports the House cleared legislation Wednesday that would impose stricter penalties on undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in the United States, sending the first bill of this Congress to President Donald Trump in his second administration. Lawmakers voted 263-156 on the Senate-passed version of the bill, named the Laken Riley Act after a 22-year-old woman murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant who had been released after an arrest. There were 46 Democrats who joined Republicans in support of the bill. That bipartisan support Wednesday is consistent with a House vote weeks ago to approve the House version of the legislation. In the Senate, 12 Democrats joined Republicans in a 64-35 vote to pass that chamber’s own amended version of the bill Monday, after more than a week of debate, amendments and procedural votes on the measure. The Trump administration did not officially signal whether the president would sign the bill into law, but it fits with his tough-on-immigration campaign promises. The legislation would require the secretary of Homeland Security to issue a detainer for undocumented immigrants arrested for or convicted of burglary, theft or shoplifting. The AP [1/22/2025 7:05 PM, Staff, Negative] reports that "For decades, it has been almost impossible for our government to agree on solutions for the problems at our border and within our country," said Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican. She called the legislation "perhaps the most significant immigration enforcement bill" to be passed by Congress in nearly three decades. Still, the bill would require a massive ramp up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s capabilities, but does not include any new funding. The New York Times [1/22/2025 6:27 PM, Karoun Demirjian, 161405K, Negative] reports the first piece of legislation the new Republican-led Congress is sending to President Trump’s desk zeros in on a major priority of his second term: immigration. The Laken Riley Act, as the bill is known, directs the authorities to deport immigrants who are accused — not yet convicted — of specific crimes, if they are in the country illegally. The bill’s passage came as Mr. Trump began his promised crackdown on the border with executive orders, presidential memorandums and policy directives to limit the flow of migrants into the country. Republicans have promised that more measures to accelerate and expand immigration enforcement will follow. Democrats raised many concerns about the bill, saying it would unfairly target immigrants whose only crime had been entering the country without authorization. But a number of them backed it anyway — a sign of how Democrats are eager to regain ground with voters concerned about illegal immigration. The measure lists specific crimes that could cause a person without authorization to be in the United States to be detained and deported. They include burglary, larceny, theft, shoplifting, assaulting a police officer and any crime that results in death or bodily injury. The bill mandates detention for people who are arrested, charged or admit to committing such a crime, without requiring that they first be convicted. It also gives state attorneys general the right to sue the U.S. attorney general or the secretary of homeland security if an immigrant with uncertain or contested legal status who is paroled into the country commits a crime that harms either the state or one of its residents physically or financially, if the value of the harm is more than $100. Because the measure only requires that a person be accused or charged in order to be deported, it is possible, critics have argued, that bystanders to a crime could be hurt by it. During congressional floor debates, Democrats argued that if a group of people were in a store and one chose to shoplift, the police might easily arrest all of them before being able to sort out the facts of what transpired. Anyone in that group unauthorized to be in the country could then be subject to deportation, even if the authorities ultimately determined they had committed no crime.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/22/2025 6:40 PM, Maya C. Miller, 161405K, Negative]
ABC News [1/22/2025 4:38 PM, Lauren Peller, Allison Pecorin, Armando Garcia, and John Parkinson, 33392K, Negative]
CBS News [1/22/2025 5:11 PM, Caitlin Yilek, Kaia Hubbard, 52225K, Neutral]
FOX News [1/22/2025 5:14 PM, Elizabeth Elkind, 49889K, Negative]
Dallas Morning News [1/22/2025 9:48 PM, Joseph Morton, 3419K, Negative]
USA Today [1/22/2025 7:32 PM, Riley Beggin and Lauren Villagran, 89965K, Negative]
EFE [1/22/2025 6:11 PM, Staff, 1532K, Neutral]

NBC News [1/22/2025 6:27 PM, Julia Ainsley, 50804K, Neutral] reports in his third day in office, President Donald Trump signed more executive orders aimed at shutting down the U.S. southern border to immigration and ramping up deportations — though large scale deportation raids had yet to materialize as of Wednesday afternoon. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, Trump signed an executive order that "suspends the physical entry of aliens engaged in an invasion of the United States through the southern border.” The order directs the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State to "take all necessary action to immediately repel, repatriate and remove illegal aliens across the southern border of the United States.” But the details of how Trump will block migrants attempting to cross remain unclear. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News that Trump is "using every lever of his executive power to secure our nation’s borders.” She added that "ports of entry are the places to be processed and to apply to come into this country," and indicated Trump would allow ports of entry to remain open to asylum-seekers. However, the CBP One app, which was previously used by migrants to submit their information and schedule appointments at southwest border ports of entry, stopped working for that purpose in the immediate hours after Trump took office. Existing appointments scheduled through the app were canceled, according to a statement posted on the Customs and Border Protection website Monday. As of Wednesday evening, deportations did not appear to have drastically increased. Border czar Tom Homan said on Fox News on Wednesday morning that ICE agents had arrested 308 migrants over the past 24 hours. In September, the latest month for which ICE data is available, 282 migrants were arrested by the agency on average per day. A source familiar with the recent arrests said they were part of "routine operations" across the United States.

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/22/2025 3:10 PM, Priscilla Alvarez, Neutral]
Telemundo [1/22/2025 4:15 PM, Staff, 2623K, Neutral]

Federal News Network [1/22/2025 3:51 PM, Michele Sandiford, 470K, Neutral] reports South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s nomination for homeland security secretary is moving forward in the Senate. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 13 to 2 on Monday night to advance Noem’s nomination to the Senate floor. Noem will play a key role in overseeing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and border security policies. She has also pledged to rein in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s work on mis- and dis-information. The director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers Benjamine Huffman is currently leading DHS as acting secretary.

The New York Times [1/22/2025 5:59 PM, Glenn Thrush, 161405K, Negative] reports the Justice Department is threatening to prosecute state and city officials who refuse to help the Trump administration carry out its immigration agenda, a provocative move that will reignite President Trump’s first-term fight with liberals over “sanctuary” policies. In a three-page memo, dated Tuesday and intended as guidance to all department employees for carrying out executive orders seeking to limit immigration and foreign gangs, interim leaders have told U.S. attorneys around the country to investigate law enforcement officials who decline to enforce such policies. The memo commands state and local officials to cooperate with the department under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, or face criminal prosecution or civil penalties if they fail to comply. It came as the Homeland Security Department prepared to make targeted raids in cities, including Chicago, with high numbers of undocumented immigrants. The document underscored the central role the Justice Department will play in enforcing Mr. Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda. It also kick-started the pitched fight between the White House and states and cities that decline to comply with government directives that erupted in the first term. The Trump administration has long battled Democrats in sanctuary cities and counties — localities that refuse to hand over detained immigrants to federal authorities. “Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands,” wrote Emil Bove III, the department’s acting deputy attorney general and a former member of the president’s criminal defense team. U.S. attorneys’ offices and officials from various branches of the department’s Washington headquarters “shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution,” Mr. Bove wrote, pointing to the same federal obstruction law used in the federal indictment against Mr. Trump that accused him of inciting the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The memo does not specify what actions local officials might take — or not take — that would justify such a prosecution. Local officials said the new policy was a political provocation that was unnecessary from a law enforcement perspective. New York Times [1/22/2025 5:57 PM, Matthew Cullen, 161405K, Neutral] reports that the document asserts that state and local officials are bound to cooperate with the Trump administration under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and could face criminal prosecution or civil penalties if they failed to comply. The move came as the Department of Homeland Security prepared to make targeted raids in cities, including Chicago, with high numbers of undocumented immigrants. It was one of a blitz of actions the Trump administration has taken on immigration, including an executive order declaring border crossings an “invasion.” The Pentagon also said today that it would send 1,500 troops to the southwestern border by the end of the month. Several more border deployments are likely to follow, a Defense Department official said. USA Today [1/22/2025 10:26 AM, Bart Jansen, 89965K, Negative] reports that the memo, dated Tuesday from acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, suggests state and local officials who stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement under the Immigration and National Act and the Alien Enemies Act could be investigated. "Laws and actions that threaten to impede Executive Branch immigration initiatives, including by prohibiting disclosures of information to federal authorities engaged in immigration-enforcement activities, threaten public safety and national security," Bove wrote. Resistance and obstruction should be reported to the department urgently, he added. "The Justice Department must, and will, work to eradicate these threats," Bove wrote of cartels and transnational crime gangs. The memo outlined enforcement of immigration-related measures for the FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Bureau of Prisons.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [1/22/2025 7:58 AM, Bob Van Voris, 21617K, Negative]
NPR [1/22/2025 5:20 PM, Joel Rose, 35747K, Negative]
CBS Austin [1/22/2025 11:05 AM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Negative]
Newsweek [1/22/2025 4:07 PM, Shannon McDonagh, 56005K, Neutral]

New York Times [1/22/2025 7:08 PM, Michael D. Shear, Hamed Aleaziz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, 161405K, Neutral] reports it has been less than three days since President Trump took office, but the immigration transformation he ordered has already begun. The Pentagon deployed 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border on Wednesday. The head of the nation’s immigration courts was fired, along with three other senior officials. In Mexico, about 30,000 immigrants with asylum appointments arrived to find them canceled. More than 10,400 refugees around the globe who had been approved for travel to the United States suddenly found their entry denied, their airplane tickets worthless. “All previously scheduled travel of refugees to the United States is being canceled, and no new travel bookings will be made,” Kathryn Anderson, a top State Department official, wrote in an email late Tuesday night. The scope of the immigration changes laid out in scores of executive orders, presidential memorandums and policy directives is extraordinary, even when compared with the expansive agenda that Mr. Trump pursued in the first four years he occupied the White House. But many directives will take time to be implemented, or will face political, legal or practical obstacles. Some will be put on hold by skeptical judges. Others will require research or development by the alphabet soup of agencies involved in crafting immigration policy. Still more will require enormous amounts of money from Congress, triggering yet another fight over resources and priorities. At least three lawsuits have already been filed in federal court to stop Mr. Trump’s plan to reinterpret the 14th Amendment guarantee to birthright citizenship. The revival of Mr. Trump’s travel ban requires a 60-day review of which countries should be affected. Mr. Trump will still need billions of dollars for detention space and additional agents for his promised “mass deportations.” A directive by the Justice Department to investigate officials in so-called sanctuary cities who obstruct the administration’s immigration agenda will unfold over weeks and months as conflicts emerge. As a result, the exact shape of a system that helps define America’s place in a world grappling with issues of mass migration, inequality and national identity will not be known for weeks, months or even years.

The Hill [1/22/2025 10:19 AM, Ashleigh Fields, 16346K, Negative] reports that Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 308 migrants illegally living in the country Tuesday following President Trump’s first full day in office. "Today, ICE made 308 arrests of illegal aliens in our nation’s interior—even with the frigid temperatures," Britt wrote in a post on the social platform X. "These arrests were nationwide in every area of interest and included several murderers, rapists, sex offenders and kidnappers," she added. After returning to the White House on Monday, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders that would restrict immigration and tighten security at the border. Britt lauded the detainments as a sign of Trump’s dedication to carrying out the largest deportation in the country’s history, which he regularly promised on the campaign trail. The lawmaker also said ICE officials ordered immigrants in the country illegally and serving time in jail to be released into ICE’s custody. "ICE also went to jails and ordered almost 300 additional aliens to be released to ICE custody rather than our nation’s streets," she wrote in the post. "Common sense is back." The Hill has reached out to ICE for comment on the arrests. Newsweek [1/22/2025 12:27 PM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Negative] reports Border Czar Tom Homan told Fox News Wednesday: "In the last 24 hours, ICE arrested over 308 serious criminals. Some of them were murderers. Some of them were rapists. Some of them raped a child." Senator Katie Boyd Britt of Alabama said that ICE agents arrested 308 unlawful immigrants across the United States in a post on X, but did not provide further details. It was not immediately clear where the arrests were being carried out. Newsweek has contacted the White House and ICE for further comment via email. The mass arrests reflect the Trump administration’s priority to begin deportation proceedings against millions of migrants in the U.S. illegally. Still, as of midday Wednesday there were still no signs of large-scale ICE raids that had been reported to take place in cities like Chicago. According to Senator Britt, the arrests targeted individuals who had committed serious crimes, including murder, rape, sex offenses, and kidnapping. ICE reportedly ordered nearly 300 undocumented migrants to be released from local jails and into ICE custody, per Britt’s post on social media. Homan also said that apprehensions at the southern border had fallen to 766 in the last 24 hours. Those numbers could not be immediately confirmed.

FOX News [1/22/2025 10:57 AM, Bailee Hill, 49889K, Neutral] reports that Border czar Tom Homan issued a stark warning to blue cities and states resisting the Trump administration’s mass deportations, telling far-left officials who want to stifle the efforts, "game on.” "We’re just trying to help public safety in your community," Homan told Lawrence Jones during "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday. "Help, work with us because you’ve forced us in the community. Here’s what’s going to happen. We’ll find the bad guy, but when we find him, he’s going to be with others, others that may not be a criminal priority. But guess what? If they’re in the United States illegally, they’re going to be arrested, too.” "Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in the communities, more people arrested, more collaterals arrested. So that’s a game they want to play? Game on," he continued. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is just one of the attorneys general among the batch of far-left officials that have pushed back against the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the surge of illegal immigrants. "I also will not have any part of and will fight the attempt to set up what I believe are essentially concentration camps and family separation camps in the state of Arizona," she said Tuesday. Homan called her remarks "insulting" and a misrepresentation of the truth.

The Washington Examiner [1/22/2025 11:35 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Border czar Tom Homan said even though President Donald Trump has only been back in office since Monday afternoon, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border has changed dramatically. Within hours of entering office, Trump signed several executive orders regarding immigration, including declaring a national emergency over the matter. Additionally, Trump ended the catch-and-release practice, birthright citizenship, and the CBP One app. In the meantime, he suspended foreign aid and refugee resettlements. "The greatest president in my lifetime, he’s back. Because in two days, the last 24 hours, total apprehensions on the southwest border, 766. Compare that to the 10 to 12,000 Biden had at one time," Homan said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends on Wednesday. "Just yesterday, in the last 24 hours, ICE arrested over 308 — 308 — serious criminals. Some of them were murderers. Some of them were rapists. Some raped a child. Some were sexual assault of a child. So ICE is doing their job and prioritizing just as the president said they would.” This came as a preview to the weekly briefings Homan promised to hold in an effort "to be transparent." He reiterated his commitment to "save lives" with these policies. The New York Times [1/22/2025 1:40 PM, Eileen Sullivan, 161405K, Neutral] reports that President Trump kicked off his second tour of the White House on Monday with a spate of executive orders that aimed to seal off the nation from immigrants by closing off legal channels for migrants to enter, especially access to asylum. In one of his first executive orders, called “Securing Our Borders,” Mr. Trump directed his administration to end programs former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. put in place that gave migrants opportunities to apply for asylum once they were in the United States. He also reprised restrictive orders from his first administration that Mr. Biden had reversed or ended while in office. “Millions of illegal aliens from nations and regions all around the world successfully entered the United States where they are now residing, including potential terrorists, foreign spies, members of cartels, gangs and violent transnational criminal organizations and other hostile actors with malicious intent,” Mr. Trump wrote in the order. Minutes after Mr. Trump took the oath of office, his team disabled CBP One, a government program that allowed migrants to secure appointments to enter the country. Deactivating the program on Monday sent some 30,000 migrants with existing appointments into limbo, and left them and future migrants without an orderly way to come into the country.

Federal News Network [1/22/2025 7:24 PM, Anastasia Obis, 470K, Negative] reports that a new executive order from President Donald Trump tasks the U.S. Northern Command to secure America’s borders as part of his major political promise to crack down on immigration. The order first directs the defense secretary to assign NORTHCOM the mission to "seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.” Robert Salesses, who is currently serving as acting defense secretary until Trump’s nominee for the role, Pete Hegseth, is confirmed by Congress, has 10 days to provide a revised unified command plan to the president. The directive also orders NORTHCOM to develop a level 3 contingency plan — such documents address emergencies that require significant coordination and resource allocation. Gen. Gregory Guillot, who leads NORTHCOM, has 30 days to prepare a plan that lays out just how the command will go about "sealing" the border. In addition to the level 3 contingency plan, the executive order also directs NORTHCOM to devise a campaign plan, which, unlike contingency plans, focuses on long-term strategy. It also directs the DoD to provide "continuous assessments of all available options to protect the sovereign territory of the United States from mass unlawful entry.” NORTHCOM is primarily responsible for homeland defense and civil support within the North American continent. It assists civilian agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, during natural disasters. Its mission also includes counter-drug operations.

Federal News Network [1/22/2025 7:23 PM, Justin Doubleday, 470K, Neutral] reports while the Department of Homeland Security’s return-to-office order is lightning fast and light on details, it gives DHS components some flexibility to explain why employees may need to continue working remotely. In a Jan. 20 memo, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman ordered DHS components to "immediately" recall their employees to work "in-person." It followed shortly on the heels of President Donald Trump’s return-to-office executive order. "Remote work can be an important tool under the right circumstances," Huffman wrote. "It also is subject to significant abuse. The current telework practices of this agency would surprise most Americans.” Huffman’s memo specifically points to the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. In 2024, Huffman cites data showing 24.4% of hours worked by Coast Guard personnel were "done remotely," while 28.9% of FEMA hours and 39.7% hours worked at CISA were done so remotely last year. "These numbers are unacceptable," Huffman wrote. "It is the policy of this agency for employees to work at their duty station — whether in an office or in the field — to the maximum extent.” Huffman ordered components to report back to him within 30 days "regarding all officials who have not returned to work, the reasons for it, and the documentation supporting the reason for each official’s continuing remote work.” A spokesman for the American Federation for Government Employees, which represents staff at several DHS components, said Huffman’s directive itself does not violate any agreements with the union. "The return to worksite directive, as written, does not violate any of collective bargaining agreements, so hybrid telework schedules detailed in CBAs remain legally binding," the AFGE spokesman said. "Should agencies implement policies contrary to CBAs, employees should comply but we as a union will be prepared to file grievances.”

Washington Examiner [1/22/2025 12:09 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Border state Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and a dozen other primarily Democratic senators are pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to include them in their work addressing the border and immigration matters. Kelly led 12 of his colleagues in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Wednesday morning that pleaded with the GOP to work on a bipartisan basis rather than ramming through the party’s plans on its own. "Democrats and Republicans can work together on real bipartisan solutions," the senators wrote in the letter. "We can solve big challenges when we work together, and there is much work to do to improve border security, protect Dreamers and farm workers, and fix our immigration system to better reflect the needs of our country and our modern economy." Republicans in the House and Senate recently worked on a bipartisan basis to pass the Laken Riley Act, which would allow federal law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants who have been charged with theft. Members who signed onto Kelly’s letter included Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Warner (D-VA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Chris Coons (D-DE).

CBS Austin [1/22/2025 10:50 AM, Erika Esquivel and Julia Spencer, 581K, Negative] reports that the Department of Homeland Security issued new guidance on Tuesday about where officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can apprehend illegal immigrants. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued two directives on Monday. The first directive rescinds the Biden Administration’s guidelines for ICE and CBP enforcement actions that thwart law enforcement in or near so-called "sensitive" areas that included schools, churches and other non-profit shelters. The second directive ends the broad abuse of humanitarian parole and returns the program to a case-by-case basis. The following was the statement given by DHS: This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. 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. The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.

Reported similarly:
CBS Miami [1/22/2025 6:42 PM, Staff, 52225K, Neutral] Video: HERE

FOX News [1/22/2025 10:26 AM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration is significantly expanding its powers to quickly deport illegal immigrants, one of a number of rapid-fire moves made by the administration to fulfill its promise to launch a mass deportation operation. A Department of Homeland Security notice, issued Tuesday, removes limits put on the power of expedited removal put in place in March 2022 during the Biden administration. Until the new memo, officials were limited in their use of the power to 100 miles of the border or recent arrivals. Expedited removal allows for the rapid removal of illegal immigrants who have failed to meet the standard for asylum or have not requested asylum. The new power takes off the 2022 limits, allowing agents to remove those who are unable to prove they have lived in the U.S. for at least two years. "Presently, immigration officers may apply expedited removal to aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States for up to two years after the alien arrived in the United States, provided that the alien arrived by sea and the other conditions for expedited removal were satisfied," the notice, signed by acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman, said. "In particular, the full application of expedited removal authority will enable DHS to address more effectively and efficiently the large volume of aliens who are present in the United States unlawfully, without having been admitted or paroled into the United States, and ensure the prompt removal from the United States of those not entitled to enter, remain, or be provided relief or protection from removal," it says.

The Hill [1/22/2025 6:16 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 16346K, Neutral] reports the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Wednesday over President Trump’s expansion of a program that allows immigration officials to carry out swift deportations. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday issued a rule enabling expedited removals to take place nationwide for migrants who cannot prove they have been in the country for two years. It’s a massive expansion, as under the Biden administration the program was limited to within 100 miles of international borders. Filed in Washington’s federal district court, the ACLU’s lawsuit claims Trump’s expansion runs afoul of federal immigration law and violates the constitutional due process rights of those subjected to the expedited proceedings.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [1/22/2025 4:51 PM, Zoe Tillman, 21617K, Neutral]

Reuters [1/22/2025 6:27 PM, Tom Hals, 48128K, Negative] reports an immigration group sued on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump’s move to expand fast-track deportations under his pledge to remove millions of people who are in the country illegally. People facing fast-track deportations do not have access to an attorney and are unable to present evidence against their removal from the U.S., according to a complaint by Make the Road New York, an immigrant advocacy group. The lawsuit said the policy known as expedited removal violated the constitutional right to due process, immigration law and administrative law. The group asked a District of Columbia federal judge to restrict expedited removal to conditions applied by the Biden administration, which only allowed people apprehended within 14 days of entering the country and within 100 miles (160 km) of the border to be subject to the procedure. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security expanded use of expedited removal to anyone who entered the country illegally, lacked legal status and failed to prove he or she had been in the U.S. for at least two years. The policy denies legal protections that exist in regular removal proceedings, which can take years. Expedited removal can be done in a matter of days or even hours, according to a report by the Migration Policy Institute.

FOX News [1/22/2025 1:31 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports that nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants – claiming that it is unconstitutional and "unprecedented." "The President has no authority to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment or duly enacted statute. Nor is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth," the lawsuit by 18 Democratic-led states said. "If this unprecedented executive action is allowed to stand, both Plaintiffs and their residents will suffer immediate and irreparable harm," it argues. Trump signed the order, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," which ends birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants. The order seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” It clarifies that those born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright. The states argued that thousands of children are born to parents on temporary or illegal status. Signed onto the lawsuit are attorneys general of New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. The city and county of San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., are also signed on. Yahoo! News [1/22/2025 11:52 PM, Connor Sarles, 57114K, Neutral] reports a federal judge was scheduled Thursday to hear a lawsuit led by Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown, filed against the Trump administration for its day-one ban on birthright citizenship. The multi-state federal lawsuit was filed by Brown on Tuesday, and was quickly joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The suit seeks to block federal agencies from acting on the executive order. The Attorney General’s Office also filed a temporary restraining order against the President’s executive order. The case was scheduled to be heard by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in Seattle’s federal courthouse.

CBS Austin [1/22/2025 8:48 AM, Stephanie Esquivel, 581K, Negative] reports that 18 states and several organizations have already sued the Trump Administration over the Executive Order to limit birthright citizenship. The Executive Order would stop babies born to undocumented migrants from automatically becoming citizens even if they were born in the United States. Birthright citizenship was guaranteed under the 14th Amendment that passed in 1864. "I live in a border town, so we deal with it a lot. But again, the children are not the ones that are making those choices, and they shouldn’t have to face consequences for their parents," said Araceli Castro who lives in Del Rio. Cruel and unconstitutional is what Castro called President Donald Trump’s executive order to limit birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment is what Castro said allowed her to go to college and achieve her goals since she was born while her mother was undocumented. That’s why Gabriel Y. Rosales, Texas State Director for the League of United Latin American Citizens said the organization is joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the order. "We plan to stand with our undocumented communities and our children that are out there that are right now unconsciously having to live in fear and that’s not ok," said Rosales. Newsweek [1/22/2025 5:35 PM, Andrew Stanton, 56005K, Neutral] reports that Supreme Court justices have generally been reluctant to weigh in on birthright citizenship, but they have offered a smattering of comments on the issue over the years. The challenges are likely to make their way to the Supreme Court, which would be tasked with determining whether the Constitution requires birthright citizenship. Supreme Court justices have offered few public comments about birthright citizenship, as the Court hasn’t issued a major ruling on the matter in over a century. This means there’s little indication about how the current justices may end up voting, though many legal experts believe Trump’s arguments will likely fail, even with the Court’s conservative supermajority.

CNN [1/22/2025 7:19 PM, Maureen Chowdhury, Shania Shelton, Michelle Shen, Elise Hammond, and Aditi Sangal, 22417K, Negative] reports that the Justice Department has told legal service providers to stop work intended to help support immigrants, according to a memo obtained by CNN, stripping away critical access for people in detention trying to navigate the tangled US immigration system. On Wednesday, legal service providers who receive federal funding and work in immigration detention were told by the Justice Department to cease work as it relates to legal orientation, help at immigration courts, and counsel for children, citing one of President Donald Trump’s immigration executive orders. The move had immediate repercussions. Staff manning help desks at certain immigration courts had to be pulled off to avoid falling out of compliance, according to a source familiar with the decision. The help desk, available at some immigration courts, assists people navigate some of the most basic details about their cases. Lawyers who had scheduled to participate in legal orientation programs for immigrants were told those couldn’t proceed, the source said. Legal service providers who are subcontracted may be able to continue their work with immigrants if it’s not done through the federal funds, though many are limited in what they can do without that money. [Editorial note: consult extended commentary at source link]

New York Times [1/23/2025 3:55 AM, Erica L. Green and Hamed Aleaziz, 740K, Negative] reports the Trump administration on Wednesday threatened federal employees with “adverse consequences” if they fail to report on colleagues who defy orders to purge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from their agencies. Tens of thousands of workers were put on notice that officials would not tolerate any efforts to “disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.” Emails sent out, which were based on a template from the Office of Personnel Management, gave employees 10 days to report their observations to a special email account without risking disciplinary action. “There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information,” the template sent to agency heads said. “However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.” The message also said: “These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars and resulted in shameful discrimination.” Some agencies, such as the Education Department and the State Department, sent the template to their employees on Wednesday. Other agencies made slight modifications when they sent emails to their workers. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, said failure to report D.E.I. efforts “will result” in adverse consequences. The warnings were a dramatic escalation of President Trump’s war on diversity programs that seek to reverse decades of systemic inequities. They were also part of a broader assault on the federal work force, which the president has long viewed as a bloated bureaucracy. He has pledged to eliminate departments and has ordered remote workers back to the office. In his Inaugural Address, Mr. Trump said he would stop efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.” “We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based,” Mr. Trump declared.

New York Times [1/22/2025 3:38 PM, Charlie Savage, 161405K, Neutral] reports that the Trump White House is moving to paralyze a bipartisan and independent watchdog agency that investigates national security activities that can intrude upon individual rights. The move comes as the new administration is vowing to put its own stamp on federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. It also comes ahead of a new conflict over whether or how Congress should renew a warrantless surveillance law that is set to expire in 2026. Congress established the agency, called the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, as an independent unit in the executive branch after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has security clearances and subpoena power, and is set up to have five members, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who serve six-year terms. Some members are picked by the president, and some are selected by congressional leaders of the other party. It needs at least three members in order to take official actions like starting a new investigative project or issuing a board report with a policy recommendation. Its work has included scrutiny of surveillance and bulk data collection activities, terrorism watch lists and the use of facial recognition and other biometrics at airports. On Tuesday evening, each of the three members who were picked by Democrats — Sharon Bradford Franklin, Edward W. Felten and Travis LeBlanc — received an email from the White House telling them to submit resignation letters by the close of business on Jan. 23, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

CBS News [1/22/2025 10:38 AM, Kaia Hubbard, 52225K, Neutral] reports that Senate Republicans are trudging through the process to confirm President Trump’s picks for his Cabinet and top administration posts, facing delays by Democrats who are pushing back on their speedy approval. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on John Ratcliffe’s nomination for CIA director, Kristi Noem’s nomination for Homeland Security Secretary and Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary on Tuesday. But Democrats forced procedural maneuvers to stall the nominations’ consideration, prompting a tense scene on the Senate floor late Tuesday. "Now we’re not going to have a vote today, and apparently we’re not going to have a vote tomorrow," Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said after Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy objected to a time agreement that would have allowed the Senate to vote on Ratcliffe’s nomination Tuesday night. "Which means I hope nobody’s making any plans for the weekend.” Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said there are "serious concerns" about Ratcliffe’s ability to distance himself from Mr. Trump’s political interests during his first term, urging that it’s not too much to ask for senators to have time to debate the nomination on the floor. "If he’s got the votes, he can be on the job this weekend," Murphy added. Cotton, the new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he didn’t understand the objection to Ratcliffe’s nomination, noting that he was previously confirmed by the Senate as the director of national intelligence and was voted out of committee on a 14-3 vote earlier this week. He added that the Senate would get Ratcliffe, Hegseth and Noem confirmed "the easy way or the hard way," saying the GOP tried to cooperate with the Democrats, but the cooperation "has not been forthcoming."

FOX News [1/22/2025 9:49 AM, Charles Creitz, 49889K, Negative] reports that Congressional Republican leaders met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, and the president gave some public remarks after the White House summit. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana are expected to address the press as to what was discussed in their first meeting with the new president since he began his second term. Trump clashed with some congressional Republicans late last year as the federal government was facing a potential shutdown that was ultimately narrowly averted. Other Republican leaders present at Tuesday’s meeting include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan. On the Senate side, Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming and Conference chairs Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia were also part of the discussion. While Trump had signed a slew of executive orders on his first day in office, he also signaled eagerness to work with congressional Republicans to pass key parts of his agenda through the legislature. During a press availability following his meeting with Republicans, Trump mentioned the get-together as well as his new executive orders renaming Mt. Denali and the Gulf of Mexico.

FOX News [1/22/2025 10:22 AM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Neutral] reports that the U.S. Border Patrol agent allegedly killed by a German national during a traffic stop near the Vermont-Canada border on Monday was a military veteran who worked security at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to his family. "He was a devoted agent who served with honor and bravery," David "Chris" Maland’s family said in a statement to The Associated Press late Tuesday. "He had a tremendous respect and pride for the work he did; he truly embodied service over self." Maland, 44, was struck by gunfire during a traffic stop on Interstate 91 between Newport and Orleans, Vermont. An FBI Albany spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the suspect who was killed is "a German national in the U.S. on a current Visa.” A second person, who has not been named, was taken into federal custody and is being treated at a hospital. Maland, a Minnesota native and U.S. Air Force veteran, worked as a Border Patrol agent at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station. He spent nine years in the military and 15 working for the federal government. "While working in Washington, D.C., he was active security in the Pentagon during 9/11," his family’s statement said. He was also a K-9 handler and previously served as a Border Patrol agent in Texas near the southern border, Maland’s family told AP.

Reported similarly:
Newsweek [1/22/2025 3:23 PM, Gabe Whisnant, 56005K, Neutral]

Los Angeles Times [1/22/2025 7:33 PM, Jessica Garrison and Rachel Uranga, 17996K, Neutral] reports a day after the Trump administration moved to vastly expand its powers to carry out fast-track deportations as part of a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the American Civil Liberties Union has sued to try to stop it. The new policy, known as "expedited removal," empowers immigration officials to swiftly deport those who have entered the country illegally without going before a judge — even if they have been here for up to two years and are far from the border. The policy could pave the way for mass deportations. In posting the policy earlier this week, officials wrote that it would "enhance national security and public safety" and reduce government costs. But lawyers for the ACLU, working on behalf of a New York immigrant services organization called Make The Road New York, argued that the policy violates the due process clause of the 5th Amendment, as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. "President Trump’s draconian decision to fast track mass deportations violates hundreds of thousands’ fundamental right to a fair day in court," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union in a statement. She called the effort "cruel" and "extremist" and said it would "leave children without parents, families without their breadwinners, businesses without workers, and immigrant communities in shambles.”

Telemundo 51 [1/22/2025 1:48 PM, Brian Hamacher, 283K, Negative] reports that three Cubans face charges for allegedly belonging to a human trafficking ring that was dismantled last week after more than two dozen undocumented immigrants arriving by boat were discovered in Coral Gables, authorities said. Lucas Sedeno Rodriguez, 52, Jose Luis Villares, 55, and Keiner Cicilia Rodriguez, 39, face charges of transporting, moving or attempting to transport or move an alien within the United States, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The three men were detained along with 25 immigrants after they were found in Coral Gables on Friday morning. The discovery prompted a massive law enforcement response involving Coral Gables Police, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security. Villares said Sedeño Rodriguez recruited him to help and that he would be paid $500. Villares also said Cicilia Rodriguez rented the U-Haul van and the plan was to drop off the migrants near a hardware store in Miami-Dade, according to the complaint. Cicilia Rodriguez said the Toyota is hers and Sedeño Rodriguez told her to rent the U-Haul, according to the complaint. The complaint said all three men are Cuban citizens.

AP [1/22/2025 9:49 PM, Kristin M. Hall, Travis Loller and Jonathan Mattise, 47097K, Neutral] reports a shooting in a Nashville high school cafeteria Wednesday left a female student dead and another student wounded, nearly two years after another deadly school shooting in the city that ignited an emotional debate about gun control in Tennessee. The 17-year-old shooter, who was also a student at Antioch High School, later shot and killed himself with a handgun, Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron said during a news conference. Police identified him as Solomon Henderson. Police Chief John Drake said the shooter “confronted” student Josselin Corea Escalante, 16, in the cafeteria and opened fire, killing her. The wounded student was grazed by a bullet. He was treated and released from the hospital, Drake said. Another student was taken to a hospital for treatment of a facial injury that happened during a fall, Aaron said. Metro Nashville Police, federal and state agencies are examining “very concerning online writings and social media posts connected to 17-year-old Solomon Henderson” as they work to establish a motive, police said in a statement Wednesday evening. Investigators at this point have not established a connection between Henderson and the victims, and police said the gunfire may have been random, according to the statement. Two school resource officers were in the building when the shooting happened around 11 a.m., Aaron said. They were not in the immediate vicinity of the cafeteria and by the time they got down there the shooting was over and the gunman had killed himself, Aaron said.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/22/2025 5:22 PM, Remy Tumin and Emily Cochrane, 161405K, Negative]
CNN [1/22/2025 7:36 PM, Chris Boyette and Caroll Alvarado, 238K, Neutral]

Reuters [1/22/2025 1:41 PM, Staff, 48128K, Negative] reports that Mexico’s president said on Wednesday she has not agreed to accept non-Mexican migrants seeking asylum in the United States, a day after her new U.S. counterpart announced the return of a program to do so. On Tuesday, the administration of new U.S. President Donald Trump announced it would bring back its "Remain in Mexico" program, formerly known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, that forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their often prolonged cases in the United States were resolved. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters that such a move would require the country receiving the asylum-seekers to agree, and that Mexico had not done so. She said her government was offering humanitarian assistance to deported migrants of other nationalities along with "mechanisms to be repatriated" if they voluntarily want to return to their home countries.

AP [1/22/2025 6:29 PM, Martín Silva Rey and Félix Márquez, 47097K, Neutral] reports Mexico raised sprawling tents on the U.S. border Wednesday as it braced for President Donald Trump to fulfill his pledge to reverse mass migration. The number of people deported Tuesday was lower than the daily average of about 500 last year, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum noted at her daily press briefing. Quickly ramping up deportations — as Trump pledges — faces logistical and financial challenges. Beyond the tents, the Mexican government is building nine shelters in border cities to receive deportees. It has said that it would also use existing facilities in Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros, to take in migrants whose appointments to request asylum in the U.S. were canceled on Inauguration Day. Sheinbaum has said that Mexico will give humanitarian aid to migrants from other countries whose asylum appointments were cancelled, as well as those sent to wait in her nation under the revived policy known as Remain in Mexico. Mexico wants to eventually and voluntarily return them to their nations, she has said.

Yahoo! News [1/22/2025 7:26 PM, Staff, 57114K, Negative] reports Mexico erected sprawling tents on the US border as it braced for the effects of Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive. In an empty lot in Ciudad Juárez, which neighbours Texas, cranes lifted metal frames for tent shelters. Nogales, Mexico, which neighbours Arizona, announced it would build shelters on football fields and in a gymnasium. The border cities of Matamoros and Piedras Negras have launched similar efforts. At a border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, on Tuesday night, one man shouted to journalists that he was being deported in a group that was arrested that morning in farm fields near Denver. Another man said he was in a group that had been brought from Oregon. Everyone carried their belongings in a small orange bag. Neither man’s account could be independently confirmed. Beyond the tents, the Mexican government is building nine shelters in border cities to receive deportees. It has said that it would also use existing facilities in Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros, to take in migrants whose appointments to request asylum in the US were cancelled on inauguration day.

Washington Post [1/22/2025 7:15 AM, John Spencer, 40736K, Neutral] reports that, on Jan. 10, a tunnel was discovered beneath the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso. Two weeks before that, a tunnel was uncovered near Arizona, the third such tunnel found in the Yuma area within the past year. These latest discoveries reinforce a crucial lesson for the United States from conflicts worldwide: No matter how advanced, aboveground defenses often drive adversaries to seek alternate routes underground. Across the globe — in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, North Korea and other conflict zones — tunnels have served as vital conduits for cross-border operations. As he took office on Monday, President Donald Trump repeated his pledge to resume and complete construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall — a project halted by President Joe Biden in 2021 — along the 1,954-mile boundary and signed an executive order allowing the deployment of troops to the region. This renewed push at fortification with additional physical barriers and heightened security measures will almost certainly drive an increase in tunneling attempts. Israel provides a blueprint for dealing with such underground threats. After suffering years of cross-border attacks by Hamas through tunnels, Israel undertook a massive project to create an underground wall along its Gaza border, using advanced detection technologies and engineering solutions. Aboveground, it reinforced the 40-mile Israel-Gaza border with a barrier that extends several feet underground and has proved effective at neutralizing Hamas’s cross-border tunnel operations. Similarly, Hezbollah has built and used tunnels in Lebanon and Syria, forcing Israel to constantly adapt its countermeasures. The United States and Israel have partnered for almost a decade on tunnel detection and anti-tunneling capabilities, but Washington is still playing catch-up in applying these lessons to its southern border. This needs to change.

Newsweek [1/22/2025 12:50 PM, David Barker and John L. Evans Jr., 56005K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump will soon sign the Laken Riley Act, which requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take custody of illegal immigrants who are charged with crimes. This will prevent so-called sanctuary cities and states with weak criminal law enforcement from shielding illegals from federal authorities and releasing dangerous people into American neighborhoods. It also allows states to sue the federal government if damages result from their failure to take custody of criminal illegal aliens. The bill passed the Senate with 64 votes, signaling a major change in immigration politics. The bill represents basic common sense. Billions of people want to come to the United States, so if we accept any immigrants at all, it makes sense for them to be the best the world has to offer, not shoplifters and murderers. The Laken Riley Act allows ICE to correct mistakes that permitted criminal aliens who were allowed to cross the border to prey on Americans. The next step for ICE is to deport aliens that they have detained because of criminal charges. Unless Congress is able to streamline the deportation process, there will be legal challenges. Immigration lawyers, many hired by large advocacy groups, will do what they can to delay and defeat the legal process of deportation. We all accept legal bottlenecks as excuses for delays.

Bloomberg [1/22/2025 10:15 AM, Patricia Lopez, 21617K, Positive] reports that on Tuesday, his first full day as president, Donald Trump attended an inaugural service at Washington National Cathedral. Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde pleaded with the new president. “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said. The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals, Budde said, but pay taxes and are good neighbors. Trump scarcely looked at her. Trump is eager for a fight over immigration and has been for years. He has made no secret of his desire to restrict entry to this country and he won both the Electoral College and the popular vote. A flurry of executive orders signed shortly after his inauguration on Monday aim to do just that. Among the most chilling: an attempt to override the 14th Amendment, limit birthright citizenship, and create a subclass of children who were born here, but who, through a cruel trick of timing, are not Americans. The executive order takes effect in less than a month. Babies born in the US after that to undocumented parents would, Trump said, no longer be recognized by the federal government as US citizens.

Wall Street Journal [1/22/2025 1:11 AM, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz, Neutral] reports that, according to the Justice Department, the cleric’s minions tried to assassinate Mr. Trump during the campaign. But given the Islamic Republic’s precarious standing in the Middle East, its ever-worsening economy tied to a collapsing currency and shortages of energy and gas, and a foreboding among many regime loyalists about their grip on Iranian society, Mr. Khamenei might be willing to make compromises in his nuclear aspirations in return for softened U.S. sanctions. After all, he has already made Iran a nuclear-threshold state. The more important question: If Mr. Trump agrees to nuclear negotiations with Iran, how will he approach them? Will he firmly deny Iran the capacity to enrich uranium and retain deeply buried centrifuge facilities and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles? Will he demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency inspect all suspected nuclear sites in Iran and have access to all nuclear-related paperwork and personnel? Will he insist on all the things Barack Obama should have demanded but didn’t when he approved the Iran nuclear agreement in 2015? Or will Mr. Trump take a more conciliatory approach? Will he agree to billions in sanctions relief in return for a temporary halt in Iran’s production of 60%-enriched uranium and the transfer of its existing stockpile to Moscow for “safekeeping”? Will he soften sanctions in exchange for an extension of Obama-era prohibitions on Iranian nuclear production, which would again leave in place atomic-weapons infrastructure? Whichever path Mr. Trump takes, unless he connects nuclear talks to Iran’s regional behavior, he will find himself in Mr. Obama’s predicament: Any sanctions relief will fund Tehran’s nefarious actions, including the supply of arms to regional terror proxies that have killed Americans and Israelis. This would fundamentally compromise the Jewish state. Among all the painful things the Oct. 7, 2023, attack revealed, the worst was that Mr. Obama’s decision to address Tehran’s nuclear intentions while ignoring its other regional activities gave the regime carte blanche to arm and fund Israel’s enemies.

Axios [1/22/2025 9:10 AM, Stef W. Kight, 16349K, Neutral] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership has directed employees to refer to foreign nationals as "aliens" in all "internal and external communications," according to an internal memo obtained by Axios. Why it matters: The early Trump move is both in line with anti-DEI and hardline immigration rhetoric. The new memo is another sign of how the administration came in ready to make clear their aggressive stance on combatting illegal immigration, right away. Immigration advocates criticize the term for being offensive, while immigration restrictionists defend using "alien" because it’s what’s used in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Shortly after taking office, former President Biden’s team moved away from the statutory language, pushing for more "more inclusive" words instead. Driving the news: Acting ICE director Caleb Vitello is reverting the language guidance back, according to a memo dated Tuesday and addressed to agency leadership. The directive rescinds the memo from 2021, which had changed the official terminology from "alien" to "noncitizen." The new directive from Vitello specifies that instead of "noncitizen," employees are to use the term "alien." It also replaces "noncitizenship" with "alienage." Zoom out: Trump has made clear for years that he intends an explosive and sweeping crackdown on immigration to the U.S. in his second term. He has already signed orders to resume his Remain in Mexico policy, end birthright citizenship, declare a national emergency at the border, halt refugee admissions, among other actions.

AP [1/23/2025 1:05 AM, Morgan Lee and Stephen Groves, 30936K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump’s inauguration-day executive orders and promises of mass deportations of “millions and millions” of people will hinge on securing money for detention centers. The Trump administration has not publicly said how many immigration detention beds it needs to achieve its goals, or what the cost will be. However, an estimated 11.7 million people are living in the U.S. illegally, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently has the budget to detain only about 41,000 people. The government would need additional space to hold people while they are processed and arrangements are made to remove them, sometimes by plane. The Department of Homeland Security estimates the daily cost for a bed for one adult is about $165. Just one piece of Trump’s plan, a bill known as the Laken Riley Act that Congress has passed, would require at least $26.9 billion to ramp up capacity at immigrant detention facilities to add 110,000 beds, according to a recent memo from DHS. That bill — named after a Georgia nursing student whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trump’s White House campaign — expands requirements for immigration authorities to detain anyone in the country illegally who is accused of theft and violent crimes. Trump also is deploying troops to try and stop all illegal entry at the southern U.S. border. He triggered the Alien Enemies Act to combat cartels. The rarely used 1798 law allows the president to deport anyone who is not a U.S. citizen and is from a country with which there is a “declared war” or a threatened or attempted “invasion or predatory incursion.” Detention infrastructure also will be stretched by Trump’s ban of a practice known as “catch and release” that allows some migrants to live in the U.S. while awaiting immigration court proceedings, in favor of detention and deportation.

CBS Boston [1/22/2025 6:19 PM, Kristina Rex, 52225K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports on Wednesday, CBS News obtained a Department of Justice memo directing employees across the country to step up enforcement of immigration law and investigate any future instances in which state or local officials might impede the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement policies. "Officials here follow the law. We are not a sanctuary state," Governor Maura Healey told reporters when she was asked about new immigration policy from President Trump at a news conference Wednesday. Healey emphasized that Massachusetts officials are willing and ready to help "when it comes to investigating, prosecuting, and holding accountable those who commit crimes in Massachusetts.”
However, that doesn’t apply to undocumented immigrants who are not accused of any crimes. The law that guides immigration enforcement in Massachusetts is a 2017 Supreme Judicial Court case called Lunn v. Commonwealth. In it, the SJC decided that "Massachusetts law provides no authority for court officers to arrest and hold an individual because of a federal immigration detainer.” The way this works in practice is that ICE will typically contact a local agency, asking them to either arrest or hold someone in jail for extra time after a criminal case has concluded, at which point they have served their sentence. "ICE is effectively asking local law enforcement to take on the role of holding someone for an unconstitutional period of time," explained Immigration Law Expert and Yale Law School Professor Dina Haynes. The extra time is to give ICE officials time to get to the location and take the person to begin the deportation process. However, as explained above, Massachusetts law prohibits local law enforcement from doing that job of federal agents. "States and cities do under the law, have the ability to resist federal law enforcement," Haynes explained. "They are not federal law enforcement, [immigration] is federal law enforcement’s job, and that has been supported by the Supreme Court.”

FOX News [1/22/2025 7:26 AM, Michael Dorgan, 49889K, Neutral] reports New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said his administration has been coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with regard to deporting illegal criminal migrants. Adams, a Democrat, said that migrants who commit violent crimes in the Big Apple would be dealt with by federal agencies despite the city’s sanctuary city laws. "There is a lot of room, we already have task forces with federal partners," Adams said when asked if his administration can work ICE and at the same time comply with its sanctuary city law, which limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities. "The law is clear, the law is clear of criminality. I’ve made that clear," Adams said. "Even before the elections, I made that clear with the focus that people who commit these violent crimes must be addressed.” New York City experienced an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants under the Biden administration, with more than 225,000 migrants arriving since 2022. The surge also coincides with a sharp rise in migrant-related crime, while the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has also gained a foothold in the city. Adams attended Monday’s inauguration where President Trump vowed to end illegal immigration and promised to deport "millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.” The mayor said that the NYPD would also not be prevented from working with ICE in its deportation efforts. "There’s no restriction with the NYPD to coordinate with the various task forces around criminality," Adams said. "There’s no restrictions. Nothing has changed there. We’re going to continue to collaborate with all of our federal partners when it comes down to illegal behaviors," he continued. "I was very clear for almost a year and a half now, those who commit violent crimes in our city have violated their right to be in our city and in our country and we’re going to continue to collaborate with those around criminality.” Border "czar" Tom Homan said on "America Reports" on Tuesday that ICE has begun the process of deporting some migrants. "ICE teams are out there as of today. We gave them direction to prioritize public safety threats that we’re looking for. So we were working up the target list," Homan said.

CBS New York [1/22/2025 11:32 PM, Dick Brennan, Ali Bauman, 52225K, Negative] reports a new Justice Department memo is threatening criminal charges against state and local officials who don’t cooperate with federal immigration agents, which has some New Yorkers fearing what could come next. While New York is a sanctuary city, the edict from the DOJ is leaving many migrants uncertain about what the mayor and governor will do. "It’s a challenge for us right now because there’s a lot of hostile threats coming out of Washington, but we have to get prepared to do what’s right," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday. At a town hall meeting in Corona, Queens on Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams said he understands the anxiety in the immigrant community. "We are very clear – children should go to school. Those who need health care should go to hospitals. Those who are involved in any kind of interaction where they are victims of crime, they should speak to the law enforcement agency. We maintained that over and over again, and we are gonna stand up for all New Yorkers documented and undocumented," he said. The mayor’s office says that federal immigration enforcement should be focused on the small number of people who are coming to the city and committing violent crimes. Sanctuary city laws have been repeatedly upheld by courts. "The 10th Amendment protects states’ rights to govern, and what Trump is trying to do is interfere with a state’s right to govern, and that I don’t think will pass muster with this Supreme Court," NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said.

FOX News [1/23/2025 2:24 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 49889K, Neutral] reports a Guatemalan man illegally in the United States was taken into custody on Sunday after police in north Alabama said he was caught sexually abusing a child. Luis Lopez-Martinez, 38, was arrested by Limestone County sheriff’s deputies after a 911 caller reported that he was "caught in the act of abusing a child less than 12 years old," the sheriff’s office said on Tuesday. The victim’s family allegedly witnessed the act and detained Lopez-Martinez until law enforcement arrived, according to LCSO. He was then arrested by Limestone County Deputy Bradley Fontenot. Lopez-Martinez was initially identified by another name, but authorities later confirmed his real identity. The victim, who was only identified as younger than 12, was immediately taken to an area hospital for medical evaluation and care. Lopez-Martinez was arrested after he allegedly confessed to sexually abusing the child during an interview with an investigator and said "it is what it is," according to the sheriff’s office. He remains in jail with bond set at $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed an immigration detainer on him, which should keep him from returning to the community even if he posts bail. "When a law enforcement agency honors a detainer, they notify ICE before releasing a potentially dangerous noncitizen. ICE’s federal law enforcement officers then take the noncitizen into custody in the facility’s safe setting," ICE said on its website when explaining detainers. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Miami Herald [1/22/2025 3:42 PM, Milena Malaver, 6595K, Neutral] reports a Cuban man agreed to transport over 20 migrants for $5000 — a decision that landed him and two others in federal custody after they were caught in Coral Gables with migrants packed into a U-Haul van, according to a federal complaint. Homeland Security Investigations, the lead federal agency in this incident, say officers stopped the U-Haul van and Toyota Corolla shortly thereafter. Inside the van, they found 23 people, including the driver, Jose Luis Villares, a Cuban citizen. The passengers, who were migrants from China and Ecuador, were crammed into the cargo area with no seats or ventilation, concealed by cardboard taped over the windows. The Toyota Corolla had five people, including the driver, Lucas Sedeno Rodriguez, and a passenger, Keiner Cicilia Rodriguez, both Cuban citizens. Among the other passengers were migrants from Ecuador and Brazil, including the woman seen in earlier being shoved into the car, according to the federal complaint. Investigators later learned the migrants had arrived in South Florida by boat from the Bahamas. None had proper documentation to enter the United States, and their lack of luggage or personal items further indicated they were being transported illegally rather than traveling as tourists, according to the federal complaint. The migrants were taken to Dania Beach Border Patrol Station.

Yahoo! News [1/22/2025 4:34 PM, Dave Boucher, 57114K, Negative] reports that Michigan free speech advocates filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday arguing some county jails and federal immigration officials are playing a shell game with records in an effort to shield public scrutiny of how people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally are treated while detained. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit comes as advocates prepare for President Donald Trump to carry out his campaign promise to create the largest deportation effort in the country’s history. Representatives from ICE and DHS have not responded to questions about the lawsuit. In the lawsuit, the ACLU argues an "obscure federal regulation" lets Michigan county jails refuse to provide documents under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, arguing ICE does not want them disclosed. At the same time, ICE officials often decline to provide those records under FOIA since in many cases they simply do not posses them, the lawsuit states. "Public scrutiny of government conduct is a hallmark of our democracy. This is especially true for jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers, where government officials have almost total control over the daily lives of incarcerated people—and where they exercise that control behind closed, locked, and guarded doors," said Ramis Wadood, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, in a statement. "ICE has wrongly been misusing an obscure federal regulation to thwart scrutiny by keeping what should be public information secret."

Yahoo! News [1/22/2025 10:07 PM, Nic Flosi, 57114K, Negative] reports that, in its first major enforcement action under the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a nationwide operation resulting in over 460 arrests, including in Illinois. The crackdown targeted undocumented immigrants with criminal records. Between January 21 and January 22, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested individuals with charges or convictions including sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and drug offenses. Arrests occurred in multiple states, including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland. ICE also issued more than 420 detainers—requests to notify ICE when undocumented individuals are released from custody. These requests targeted individuals charged with severe crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, and robbery. Illinois was one of several states where arrests were carried out during the operation. While specific details on arrests in Illinois were not disclosed, the state’s inclusion reflects its role as a focal point for immigration enforcement. The arrests come as the Trump administration is moving rapidly to fulfill its promise to launch a historic mass deportation operation, which it has said will focus primarily – but not exclusively – on public safety threats. According to President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, ICE is prioritizing public safety threats but will also target individuals in sanctuary cities. "Right out of the gate it’s public safety threats, those who are in the country illegally that have been convicted, arrested for serious crime," Homan said. "But let me be clear. There’s not only public safety threats that will be arrested, because in sanctuary cities, we’re not allowed to get that public safety threat in the jail, which means we got to go to the neighborhood and find him."

Nevada Public Radio [1/22/2025 11:15 AM, Kristen DeSilva, 54K, Negative] reports that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers will not enforce immigration violations, the department emphasized on Tuesday night by posting a department policy on social media. The policy, 4.166, was revised in 2019 and again in 2023. The department posted it on X, formerly Twitter, in response to media inquiries. On day one of his second term, President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders and policies on immigration, including "realigning" the Refugee Admission Program, designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, declaring a national emergency at the southern border, and ending automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who don’t have legal status. The LVMPD policy reads in full: "It is the policy of this department to recognize the dignity of all persons, regardless of their national origin or immigration status. LVMPD strives to serve and protect the community with the highest regard for public safety and professionalism. Although Nevada peace officers have the authority to assist in enforcing federal laws, LVMPD officers will not enforce immigration violations. Officers will not stop and question, detain, arrest, or place an immigration hold on any individuals on the grounds they are an undocumented immigrant.” It wasn’t immediately known if the Henderson and North Las Vegas police departments have similar policies.

CBS Austin [1/22/2025 1:36 PM, Staff, 581K, Neutral] reports that the city council for Huntington Beach, California passed a resolutionTuesday declaring itself a "non-sanctuary" city. All six Huntington Beach councilmembers approved Resolution 2025-01, which directs the city to follow federal immigration laws. Huntington Beach is required to use every resource to combat crime and protect its citizens, including coordinating with federal law enforcement agencies and approving requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain incarcerated people. "The City of Huntington Beach, its Police Department, other Departments, and City officials, shall cooperate with the new Trump Administration, Border Czar Tom Homan, and any federal agencies to increase local law enforcement efforts, combat all crimes, and increase public safety, by complying with all federal laws," the resolution reads. Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates is also required under the measure to take legal action to "protect" and "defend" city officials performing their duties. That legal action includes going against any opposition to the resolution by the state of California. Notably, California Senate Bill 54 bars the state from collaborating with U.S. immigration authorities to enforce federal immigration law.

Reported similarly:
Newsweek [1/22/2025 6:19 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral]

The New York Times [1/22/2025 6:57 PM, Miriam Jordan and Hamed Aleaziz, 161405K, Negative] reports the State Department abruptly canceled travel for thousands of refugees already approved to fly to the United States, days before a deadline that President Trump had set for suspending the resettlement program that provides safe haven for people fleeing persecution. The cancellation of the flights comes on the heels of an executive order signed by Mr. Trump on Monday that indefinitely paused the refugee resettlement. The order effectively grinds to a halt the process of bringing refugees into the country, which involves multiple federal agencies, as well as nonprofits that receive the newcomers. More than 10,000 refugees were currently in the pipeline to travel to the United States, according to government data. They include Afghans who faced danger because of their association with the United States before the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Among other refugees who had been approved for travel were people from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The sudden halt to the flights was an agonizing blow to refugees who had been following a complicated and lengthy process to enter the country legally, resettlement group workers said. Angela Plummer, the executive director of Community Refugee & Immigration Services, which resettles refugees in Columbus, Ohio, said that the organization had been expecting dozens of arrivals on flights that had been suspended. “These are people who followed all the rules and who are now left in danger,” said Ms. Plummer. “It’s heartbreaking.” The decision to pause the refugee program is in line with Mr. Trump’s promise to crack down broadly on immigration. Under the decades-old refugee program, people who have fled their home countries as a result of persecution, war or other life-threatening causes can legally immigrate to the United States. Mr. Trump said that continuing to receive them would burden communities that were not equipped to handle them, according to the order that he signed on Monday. The State Department followed his order with a memo Tuesday that said “all previously scheduled travel of refugees to the United States is being canceled, and no new travel bookings will be made.” Organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee and others that assist refugees, it noted, “should not request travel for any additional refugee cases at this time.” On Wednesday, U.S. refugee officers in Homeland Security agencies, such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, were told to stop making decisions on refugee cases, according to an internal memo obtained by The New York Times. The Hill [1/22/2025 10:55 AM, Rebecca Beitsch and Laura Kelly, 16346K, Negative] reports that an email reviewed Wednesday by The Associated Press, the U.S. agency overseeing refugee processing and arrival told staff and stakeholders that "refugee arrival to the United States have been suspended until further notice." Another email reviewed by The Hill that was sent to staffers who process refugee cases at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also directed them not to "make any final decisions (approval, denial closure) on any refugee application." The suspension of flights indicates early action on an order that didn’t direct movement from agencies until Jan. 27. The State Department did not return a request for comment, but a page on refugee admissions was already unavailable. A Day 1 order from Trump pauses the refugee program for a minimum of three months, calling for the departments of State and of Homeland Security to issue a report within 90 days detailing whether it’s in the nation’s interests to resume the admission of refugees. The agency heads are directed to do so every 90 days until it is found that it is appropriate to resume refugee admissions, the order states. Until then, such admissions will remain suspended.

Reported similarly:
PBS [1/22/2025 6:35 PM, Staff, 12036K, Negative] Video: HERE

Axios [1/22/2025 7:42 PM, Stef W. Kight, 16349K, Neutral] reports Freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) will introduce his first piece of legislation on Thursday — a bill that would significantly restrict access to asylum. Moreno, a Colombian immigrant, won the most expensive Senate campaign in history with a big focus on cracking down on the border. Some of the policies Moreno proposes in his bill mirror executive actions President Trump has already put in place, such as Remain in Mexico. The bill will be titled Refugees Using Legal Entry Safely — or "RULES" — Act. It would: Require asylum seekers to file their application at legal ports of entry, refusing access to those who illegally cross the border. Stops the release of asylum seekers into the U.S. before their cases are decided. Prevents someone from applying for asylum again if they have already been denied once. Restrict anyone who is caught by law enforcement out of legal immigration status from claiming asylum. "If you want to live in this country, you have to respect our laws, and that starts at our borders," Moreno said in a statement.

Newsweek [1/22/2025 11:38 AM, Shannon McDonagh, 56005K, Neutral] reports that Afghans who fled the Taliban’s rise to power are urging President Donald Trump to exempt them from his administration’s recent suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). When U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 after two decades, the Taliban quickly regained control, prompting tens of thousands of Afghans to flee. Their governance so far has included strict interpretations of Sharia law, including dress codes and bans on education for women, bans on un-Islamic music and certain forms of art, and restrictions on intervention from NGOs. An estimated 15,000 refugees are waiting to be relocated to the United States. Many of these individuals were eligible for resettlement under USRAP, a program designed to assist those at risk due to their ties to the U.S. government, media, and humanitarian organizations. However, an executive order issued by Trump, suspending the program for at least 90 days, has halted relocation efforts. Trump’s executive order claims the suspension is necessary to evaluate the program’s alignment with U.S. interests and protect resources for American citizens. Flights for resettlement, scheduled for January through April, are being canceled, leaving approximately 2,000 individuals in immediate limbo—potentially stranded in neighboring countries like Pakistan—and many more uncertain about their future.

Reuters [1/22/2025 10:24 AM, Jonathan Landay, 48128K, Negative] reports that an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend refugee admissions has magnified the fears of one Afghan American soldier who has long been worried about the fate of his sister in Kabul. The soldier is afraid his sister could be forced to marry a Taliban fighter or targeted by a for-ransom kidnapping before she and her husband could fly out of Afghanistan and resettle as refugees in the United States. Almost 200 Afghan family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel approved for refugee resettlement in the United States are being pulled off flights between now and April under Trump’s order signed on Monday, according to Shawn VanDiver, head of the #AfghanEvac coalition of veterans and advocacy groups, and a U.S. official familiar with the issue. The State Department on Wednesday implemented the order, announcing that all refugee arrivals were indefinitely suspended, all previously scheduled travel cancelled and new refugee applications, as well those in process, were suspended. The family members of active-duty U.S. service personnel are among nearly 1,560 Afghan refugees being removed from flight manifests, according to VanDiver and the official. They said the group includes unaccompanied children and Afghans at risk of Taliban retaliation because they fought for the U.S.-backed government that fled as the last American troops withdrew from the country in August 2021 after two decades of war.

AP [1/22/2025 12:10 PM, Munir Ahmed, 12036K, Negative] reports that Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.S. troops. An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting in Pakistan to be approved for resettlement in the U.S. via an American government program. It was set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the U.S. government, media, aid agencies and rights groups, after U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, when the Taliban took power. But in his first days in office, Trump’s administration announced the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program would be suspended from Jan. 27 for at least three months. During that period, the White House said the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president on whether the resumption of the program is in the U.S. interest. Refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States before Jan. 27 have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration. Among those affected are the more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to resettle in the U.S.

VOA News [1/22/2025 2:47 PM, Salome Ramirez Vargas and Aline Barros, 2717K, Neutral] reports that U.S. President Donald Trump ended on Monday a humanitarian parole program that benefited Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Haitians. Under the executive order called "Securing Our Borders," which outlines various immigration-related actions, President Trump aimed to take "all appropriate action" to build the border wall, deploying defense personnel to the southern border, and detain irregular migrants. It also asks for elimination of certain parole programs. One such program, the CHNV program (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela) allowed up to 30,000 individuals per month from those countries to enter the United States legally and stay for a period of up to two years, provided they had a U.S.-based supporter. As of December 2024, about 531,690 people had entered the country under that program, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Beneficiaries were required to have a valid passport, arrange their own travel, and pass national security and public safety vetting, among other criteria. The executive order took effect immediately. That means that no new applications will be accepted from individuals seeking to sponsor those migrants.

CBS News [1/22/2025 12:12 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Negative] reports that citing President Trump’s extraordinary move to close the American asylum system, U.S. border agents have been instructed to summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally without allowing them to request legal protection, according to internal government documents and agency officials. Just hours after being sworn in, Mr. Trump invoked sweeping presidential authorities to bar the entry of migrants deemed to be participating in an "invasion" of the U.S., as well as those who may pose a public health or national security risk. He cited a provision of immigration law known as 212(f) that allows presidents to suspend the entry of foreigners whose entry is deemed to be "detrimental" to the U.S. In that same proclamation, Mr. Trump cited his constitutional powers over foreign affairs to empower U.S. immigration officials to "repel, repatriate, or remove any alien engaged in the invasion across the southern border of the United States." Internal government documents indicate that, as of Tuesday night, the president’s "full" 212(f) authority was being implemented across Texas’ border with Mexico, making nearly all migrants who arrive there subject to quick expulsion. The documents cite the public health-related 212(f) authority that applies to "aliens that traveled through a country with a communicable disease."

BorderReport [1/23/2025 12:55 AM, Salvador Rivera, 153K, Negative] reports large groups of migrants have been deported to Tijuana, Mexico, in the past 24 hours, including two bus loads that arrived Tuesday night and more on Wednesday morning at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego. Just south of the border, migrants can be seen walking along a pedestrian bridge that leads to a Mexican Customs facility in Tijuana. Once outside, the migrants are ushered into waiting vans and driven to an undisclosed location. One deported migrant told reporters they had been detained while working, though it’s unclear where and when the apprehensions took place. “If they have families here, most will want to return to be with their families and they will cross again,” said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego. Rios predicts many of the people being deported will eventually attempt to cross the border illegally once again. He also believes most of the people who held CBP One appointments that were canceled on Monday, will now turn to smugglers to get them into the U.S.

ABC News [1/22/2025 2:53 PM, Aaron Katersky and Megan Forrester, 33392K, Neutral] reports that a New York aesthetician was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly buying counterfeit Botox from China and injecting it into patients, without the required license, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. Joey Grant Luther, 54, was charged with wire fraud, smuggling, and other crimes related to the purchase and import of misbranded and counterfeit drugs at his medical spa, JGL Aesthetics, located in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen. None of the Botox was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, prosecutors said. "As alleged, Joey Grant Luther, who does not possess the licensing required by New York State to perform injections of Botox, knowingly purchased counterfeit Botox from China, injected it into his clients, and represented that the counterfeit Botox that he was peddling was genuine," U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said in a statement. Luther allegedly continued to purchase and inject the counterfeit Botox despite knowing clients had fallen ill or experienced strange symptoms, Sassoon said. He allegedly reassured his patients that any side effects were temporary and that the Botox was from Allergan, the veritable maker, according to prosecutors. Customs and Border Protection intercepted parcels intended for JGL Aesthetics, finding one that contained "significant quantities of counterfeit drugs, including counterfeit Botox," according to prosecutors. Luther was scheduled to be presented late Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Miami [1/22/2025 5:02 PM, Mauricio Maldonado, 52225K, Negative] reports the U.S. Coast Guard has announced an immediate surge in operations near Haiti and Cuba in response to executive orders issued by the Trump administration on Tuesday. The effort is part of a broader initiative to bolster maritime border security across several regions. Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard’s acting commandant, said the agency will deploy additional cutters, aircraft, boats, and specialized forces to key maritime areas, including waters off the southeast U.S. coast and approaches to Florida. A top priority of the surge is to deter and prevent potential mass maritime migration from Haiti and Cuba. Other areas of focus include the maritime borders surrounding Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories in the Pacific, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and the southwest maritime border near Mexico. In addition to deterring migration, the operations will target drug smuggling, human trafficking and other hostile activity. The Coast Guard said it will work closely with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to coordinate the effort.

Border Report [1/23/2025 12:15 AM, Staff, 153K, Negative] Video: HERE reports a Horizon City man was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison for his involvement in a human smuggling conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced on Wednesday, Jan. 22, in a news release. According to court documents, Isai Orona, aka Panda, 35, was the organizer of a human smuggling scheme. Orona had been identified in WhatsApp communications, which the organization used for coordinating criminal activity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that when U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended a co-conspirator who had been transporting nine undocumented migrants in El Paso, the vehicle used was registered to Orona. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Orona was arrested on Nov. 20, 2023, and pleaded guilty the following year on July 12 to one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants and one count of transporting undocumented migrants. Orona admitted to smuggling over 2,500 undocumented migrants within approximately six months in 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Many carloads of undocumented migrants were transported to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and on to other locations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office added.

Washington Post [1/22/2025 10:42 AM, Amanda Coletta, 40736K, Neutral] reports that the U.S.-Canada border, once hailed as the “longest border of peace on Earth,” has become a flash point in bilateral relations. Like much of the 5,525-mile frontier, the line dividing this rural town from North Dakota and Minnesota is marked by few fences or imposing barriers, a testament to the close ties between the two nations. But now, President Donald Trump is threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, citing an “invasion” of fentanyl and migrants through the northern and southern U.S. borders as one justification. Canadian officials bristle at comparisons to Mexico’s border, where migrant and drug trafficking issues far outweigh those on the northern U.S. border. But in an attempt to stave off tariffs, Canada announced a $900 million border security plan last month. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agents apprehended a record number of people at the northern border in the most recent fiscal year, but those apprehensions are minuscule compared with those at the southern border — and are falling. Canadians worry that Trump’s immigration crackdown could push migrants north, as during his first term.

Washington Post [1/22/2025 1:52 PM, Arelis R. Hernández, 40736K, Neutral] reports that the news had barely registered by the time lunch rolled around Monday for a dozen families at the church-run migrant shelter that had been waiting for their chance to legally enter America. The fideos, or noodles, were ready. The aguas frescas were served. It was time to say grace. "Lord, you know our situation," began Gloria Lobos, a Guatemalan woman who said she fled her home in the Mexican state of Chiapas after three neighbors were murdered and her family was told they were next. They had managed to get an appointment with U.S. immigration officers to request they be allowed in to pursue asylum claims, but now it had been canceled. "We may not be able to understand this, we may be disappointed, and we may be frustrated," the 54-year-old said, her words interrupted by a growing chorus of sobs from throughout the room. "But with time, maybe we will understand. Our destiny is in your hands, Lord." All of them had applied through the U.S. government’s CBP One app to be granted parole and enter immigration proceedings. They were patient for three, six and 11 months for that coveted appointment. The mobile application process was unpopular with a wide spectrum of political opinions on immigration policy. President Donald Trump argued in an executive order signed hours after his Monday swearing-in that the program violated federal law.

Axios [1/22/2025 6:18 AM, Karri Peifer, 16349K, Neutral] reports Richmond International Airport set a record last year for the most guns caught at TSA checkpoints. Carrying a gun through TSA and/or onto an airplane isn’t just frowned upon, it’s actually illegal in Virginia. And TSA and the airport spent some time last year trying to get Richmond passengers to quit doing it. They didn’t. 32 handguns were intercepted at RIC’s TSA in 2024 and 145 handguns were caught trying to get through security statewide, per TSA. Both are records for Richmond and the state. Records were also set at Virginia’s other large airports: 41 guns were caught at Reagan; 34 at Norfolk and 29 at Dulles. Neither Virginia nor Richmond came close to touching the number of guns caught at airports in Atlanta, Dallas or Houston, where 440, 390 and 272 guns were caught, respectively. Nationwide, TSA officers detected 6,678 firearms last year, fewer than they caught in 2023. In mid-June, when Richmond seemed on track to break its guns-in-the-airport record, TSA officials held an event at RIC to urge the public to stop doing it. 18 guns had been confiscated when they held the event, which means passengers would go on to attempt to bring another 14 through TSA before the year was out. It’s a new year, so let’s try to do better in this one. Leave the gun at home, not in your carry-on.

WSB-TV [1/22/2025 5:51 PM, Tyisha Fernandes, Neutral] reports the TSA at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had some of the worst couple of days on Tuesday and Wednesday with weather being the common denominator. On Wednesday morning, only half of TSA’s staff showed up to work at the world’s busiest airport. Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes learned it was a combination of icy road conditions and several school districts canceling school. Things got back to normal when the Wednesday afternoon shift of TSA workers came in - which brought security lines back to about a 15-minute wait. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens wants TSA to do better at adequately staffing checkpoint operations – he wants them to make technological advancements and train better. He also wants TSA to relocate their training facility to Atlanta to help the world’s busiest airport function more efficiently.

New York Times [1/22/2025 3:14 PM, Christopher Flavelle, 161405K, Neutral] reports that the Trump administration has made a former member of the Navy SEALs who has spoken about the importance of securing the southern border temporary administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to two people familiar with the decision. Cameron Hamilton was named the “senior official performing the duties of the administrator,” according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. He was named associate administrator for the Office of Response and Recovery on Monday and has since been appointed temporary administrator. Mr. Hamilton is an unusual choice to lead the agency, even in a temporary capacity. Since Hurricane Katrina, when the federal response was severely criticized, FEMA has been led by disaster management professionals who have run state or local emergency management agencies, or were regional administrators at FEMA. Mr. Hamilton does not appear to have experience coordinating responses to large scale disasters like the wildfires that are raging in Los Angeles or the hurricanes, floods and earthquakes that FEMA typically manages. FEMA did not respond to requests for comment.

Newsweek [1/23/2025 12:11 AM, Sonam Sheth, 56005K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump questioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s future in an interview on Wednesday, saying he’d prefer "the states take care of their own problems." He made the comments in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. Trump has enacted sweeping changes across the federal government since taking office on Monday, including enabling law enforcement to crack down on migrants’ arrests, reportedly freezing the Justice Department’s civil rights division and seeking to end birthright citizenship. His comments about FEMA come as California battles a series of raging wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles and Ventura counties, killing dozens of people and destroying thousands of homes and buildings. "FEMA is a whole another discussion, because all it does is complicate everything," Trump said after saying that the California wildfires have "changed everything." "I will say that Los Angeles has changed everything because a lot of money is going to be necessary for Los Angeles and a lot of people on the other side want that to happen," Trump began. "North Carolina, too," Hannity said, referring to the hurricane and catastrophic flooding that ravaged the state last year, which North Carolina is still recovering from. "Well, they don’t care about North Carolina," Trump countered. "The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad." "FEMA has not done their job for the last four years," the president continued. "You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama, tornadoes, we had—but unless you have certain types of leadership, it’s really, it gets in the way." Trump went on to reiterate that FEMA "is going to be a whole big discussion" because he would "rather see the states take care of their own problems."

Yahoo! News [1/22/2025 6:21 PM, Becky Johnson, 57114K, Negative] reports the clock ran out on hundreds of WNC families who lost their homes during Helene last week, as FEMA pulled the plug on hotel vouchers for those who allegedly no longer met the criteria for housing assistance. The timing couldn’t have been worse — coinciding with both an arctic blast and snow that still hadn’t melted. "When you are talking about the dead of winter, with unusually cold temperatures, there was great concern for where people were going to go and what they would do," said Renee Rickman of Bethel, a volunteer who’s made it her mission to help unhoused flood victims. "The weather made it so much worse than it would have been.” Many who lost their hotel housing had little warning and no time to find somewhere else to go with all their belongings. "It was insanity. It was just a hot mess," Rickman said. Massive confusion surrounding ever-shifting deadlines also exacerbated the problem, Rickman said. There was only a week’s notice of the initial move-out deadline of Jan. 11. At the 11th hour, the deadline was extended to Jan. 15. As Jan. 15 drew near, there was rumor of another extension. But it didn’t come to pass, at least not in time. "We were inundated with this additional wave of homelessness," Rickman said. "When there is such an influx at one time, we don’t have enough time to help them all. They are so stressed out. They are losing hope.” FEMA was no doubt motivated by wanting to clear the books of those who didn’t need hotels anymore — and those who didn’t need them in the first place. FEMA announced Monday it will now provide a 21-day notice before ending someone’s hotel housing voucher. Out of the 2,700 households in WNC currently housed in hotels, 740 are deemed no longer eligible and could be facing move-out notices.

CBS News [1/22/2025 7:03 PM, Staff, 52225K, Negative] Video: HERE reports President Trump is set to visit communities hit by wildfires in Southern California on Friday. The president continues to blame local and state officials for the devastation. Alene Tchekmedyian, investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times, joins "America Decides" to discuss the current status of the firefight and unpack Trump’s critical comments.

Washington Examiner [1/22/2025 11:26 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 2365K, Positive] reports another major wildfire has broken out near Los Angeles, sending first responders scrambling to manage it. The wildfire, named the Hughes fire, has spread across 9,300 acres as of 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday local time. The brush fire began off Castaic Lake in an area north of Santa Clarita. The fire first broke out around 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, rapidly spreading from 500 acres within its first hour to 3,400 acres less than 2 hours after. The rapid spread was attributed to fast gusts of wind, which also exacerbated the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection chief praised the work of first responders but said they still have a long way to go. "The first responders are doing great work to contain this fire. Certainly, we are not out of the woods yet," Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said state resources were deployed to the Hughes Fire in the Angeles National Forest to "assist in the federal response," promising to "provide the federal government with whatever it needs to extinguish this fire.” The fire is 15 miles northwest of the Santa Clarita Valley, which is home to popular theme park Six Flags Magic Mountain. The fire has caused mandatory evacuation warnings for 31,000, and 23,000 more are under warnings. About 4,500 inmates from Pitchess Detention Center were evacuated during the fire. Authorities said the situation remains "chaotic," but first responders are trying to get people who need to leave out safely. "We’re just asking people to, I know it’s hard to say, but stay calm and just listen to first responders," California Highway Patrol Officer Isabel Diaz said Wednesday afternoon. "It’s a very active and chaotic scene at the moment, and we’re just all trying our best to get everyone out safely.”

NBC News [1/22/2025 6:51 PM, Tim Stelloh, 50804K, Neutral] reports evacuation orders were issued and part of a major interstate was closed after a fast-moving wildfire ignited Wednesday in Southern California. The Hughes Fire erupted after two nearby blazes left at least 27 people dead and engulfed thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area earlier this month. The latest fire was reported Wednesday at 10:53 a.m. near Castaic, a community in northern Los Angeles County, and had scorched more than 5,000 acres hours later, according to fire officials. As of 1:33 p.m., the blaze had no containment, according to a statement from the Angeles National Forest. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The National Weather Service warned Tuesday of a return of critical fire conditions, with powerful winds and severely dry conditions expected through Thursday. Experts have pointed to the link between climate change and the conditions that make fires like those that have roared across Los Angeles in recent weeks more likely.

AP [1/22/2025 11:07 PM, Lisa Mascaro and Chris Megerian, 47097K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles unless California leaders change the state’s approach on its management of water. In a Fox News interview, Trump repeated false claims that the state’s fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas. He says the blame for Los Angeles’ struggles to tame some of the deadly fires lies with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a political foe who has called for partnership and mutual respect as the state fights the blazes. “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,” Trump said. The president leveled the threat as he prepares for the first presidential trip of his second term. On Friday, he will visit Southern California in addition to western North Carolina, which is recovering after Hurricane Helene pummeled the area more than three months ago. Trump in the interview also called for reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, claiming it is “getting in the way of everything.” “I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he said. He did not elaborate on his proposed reforms, only saying that the agency is “going to be a whole big discussion very shortly.” In other developments for the new administration, Trump met Wednesday with a small contingent of the most politically endangered House Republicans as the party struggles to agree on a strategy for implementing the tax cuts and other priorities that it promised voters. The meeting happened as Trump tried to advance other priorities during the first week of his second term. Roughly 160 aides at the National Security Council were sent home while it is determined whether they align with Trump’s agenda. The Pentagon has begun deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to support border security efforts.

Reuters [1/22/2025 9:54 AM, Staff, 48128K, Negative] reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has billions of dollars in disaster funds, which are used to reimburse states for eligible recovery efforts after major disasters, contrary to posts online saying FEMA has “no money” to respond to the wildfires in southern California.

The Los Angeles County wildfires have destroyed some 15,000 structures and killed at least 27 people as of Jan. 21. Governor Gavin Newsom has called for an investigation into shortages of water supplies to hydrants during the initial fight against the Palisades Fire. Posts online since the wildfires began on Jan. 7 said, “No water in fire hydrants and no money in FEMA,” with one comment adding, “gave it all to illegals.” However, a FEMA spokesperson told Reuters in January that the agency has the funding and resources to respond to the wildfires, adding that its Disaster Relief Fund stood at about $27 billion.

President Biden on Jan. 8 approved a major disaster declaration to make federal funding available for those affected by the wildfires, which cleared the way for FEMA to provide support. As yet, there is no projection for what the covered costs will be over those six months. FEMA’s reimbursement model means the state and individual Californians will have to lay out the funds initially and FEMA will pay later.

Wall Street Journal [1/23/2025 1:44 am, Ben Fritz, Victoria Albert and Alexa Corse, Neutral] reports firefighters worked into the night to contain a blaze that sparked and quickly spread in northern Los Angeles County, prompting renewed fears of death and destruction in a region already decimated by historic wildfires this month. The Hughes fire, which broke out north of Santa Clarita in the Castaic, Calif., area earlier Wednesday, scorched more than 10,100 acres and is 14% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Evacuation orders have been issued for some 31,000 people, and an additional 23,000 were told to prepare to evacuate. No lives have been lost or structures reported damaged in the blaze, which was being fought by some 4,000 firefighters Wednesday night. Castaic is a remote, unincorporated part of northern Los Angeles County with a lake that draws many visitors in the summer. It has a population of about 19,000, but is close to the city of Santa Clarita, home to about 224,000 people and the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. At a press conference Wednesday evening, local officials speaking in front of large plumes of gray smoke said winds weren’t as strong as during the infernos two weeks ago, allowing them to drop tens of thousands of gallons of retardant from the sky. In addition, firefighters from across the U.S. and overseas have surged to L.A. this month and were able to deploy quickly. “The situation remains dynamic and the fire remains a difficult one to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. Still, officials said that a red-flag warning for dangerous fire conditions is in effect through Friday morning and drought conditions have left the area vulnerable. “Although we’re not under a particularly dangerous situation in terms of the wind, our wildfire vegetation situation is critical,” said Robert Garcia, fire chief for the Angeles National Forest, which is affected by the blaze.

CBS Los Angeles [1/22/2025 3:10 PM, Chelsea Hylton, 52225K, Negative] reports that the "extensive" debris removal process is underway in Los Angeles County to clear rubble from burn scar areas ahead of potential rain that could create dangerous landslides and runoff, officials say. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is the leading agency in the partnership to remove hazardous materials and fire debris from burn scars caused by the Eaton and Palisades fires. The Los Angeles County health officer issued a local health emergency order prohibiting residents from removing fire debris from damaged and burned properties in critical fire areas until a hazardous materials inspection has been conducted by an approved government agency. LA County Public Works warns that fire debris can contain toxins like lead, asbestos, mercury and other chemicals. Forecasters are predicting rain in parts of Los Angeles which could lead to disastrous mudslides and debris runoff into oceans, beaches and other waterways. Crews are working to remove as much debris as possible ahead of the rain. Debris removal is being conducted in two phases. Officials said completion of the two phases is crucial to ensuring the safety of residents and crews. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [1/22/2025 1:55 PM, Barnini Chakraborty, 2365K, Negative] reports that a Los Angeles judge on Tuesday ordered Southern California Edison to preserve all its data, equipment, and evidence related to the deadly Eaton fire, which has already burned more than 14,100 acres, destroyed 9,416 structures, and claimed 17 lives.
The ruling was issued by L.A. Superior Court Judge Ashfaq Chowdhury following a request from an attorney representing Evangeline Iglesias, an Altadena woman who is suing the company after her home burned down. Altadena is north of Pasadena. Chowdhury also gave the Southern California utility until the end of the week to produce data from the four circuits closest to where the Eaton fire started and said the company needs to produce power grid data for all circuits in Eaton Canyon and Altadena "as soon as it becomes reasonably available," Bloomberg Law reported. Iglesias’s lawyer, Ali Moghaddas, applauded the decision. "Utility companies have a troubling history of exploiting the chaos during and after major fires to destroy or tamper with critical evidence," he said. "Today’s court order sends a clear message: That won’t happen here." Attorneys suing Southern California Edison alleged that the company had purposely destroyed equipment and evidence in past cases that challenged whether they were at fault in sparking fires. According to Chowdhury’s order, Southern California Edison is required to turn over data about the electrical towers to attorneys.

CBS Los Angeles [1/22/2025 9:22 PM, Julie Sharp, 52225K, Negative] reports the I-5 Freeway through the Grapevine has reopened several hours after the fast-growing Hughes Fire forced the major thoroughfare to close in both directions. The southbound side reopened around 5 p.m. and the northbound side reopened an hour later. The California Highway Patrol reopened the freeway after smoke was no longer causing visibility concerns on the roadway. The fast-moving wildfire broke out just before 11:00 a.m. in Castaic. Fueled by strong winds and dry brush, it quickly grew to 500 acres within one hour. All lanes of the I-5 Freeway through the Grapevine were closed this afternoon, from SR-126 for northbound traffic and at Grapevine Road for southbound traffic. During the closure, drivers were urged to use alternate routes, such as Highway 166 towards Highway 101 or Highway 58 through Tehachapi. Two off-ramps along the I-5, at Parker Road and Lake Hughes Road, had been shut down earlier as the fire erupted. Evacuation orders are in place for about 19,000 residents in the area. Ventura County has also issued an evacuation order for affected residents, according to Ventura County Sheriff Emergency Services.

Wall Street Journal [1/22/2025 9:50 AM, C. Ryan Barber, Neutral] reports President Trump on Wednesday named Sean Curran, the head of his security detail, as the next director of the Secret Service, elevating him to lead the agency as it seeks to move past two assassination attempts on Trump last year. In a social-media post, Trump said Curran “protected my family over the past few years, and that is why I trust him to lead the Brave Men and Women of the United States Secret Service.” Curran’s selection came more than six months after Trump was shot in the right ear during a July campaign rally in Butler, Pa., where a 20-year-old gunman was able to climb to a nearby rooftop and open fire on the then-candidate. The near-assassination brought a torrent of investigations onto the Secret Service and led to the resignation of the agency’s director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, following a blistering hearing before House lawmakers. Trump said Curran “proved his fearless courage when he risked his own life to help save mine from an assassin’s bullet in Butler.” The pressure around the agency only grew when, in September, a Secret Service agent encountered a 58-year-old man pointing a semiautomatic rifle through a golf-course fence in Florida while Trump was nearby. The gunman, Ryan Routh, fled the scene after the agent fired at him and was later arrested and charged with attempting to assassinate Trump. Curran is set to succeed Ronald Rowe, who rose from the Secret Service’s deputy director to acting leader after Cheatle’s resignation. For months, Rowe has served as the face of the Secret Service as an independent panel, congressional committees, the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog and the agency itself have examined security failings ahead of the July 13 assassination attempt. Rowe said he was “ashamed” over the shooting and vowed to make reforms.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/22/2025 7:28 PM, Jasper Ward, 48128K, Neutral]
CBS News [1/22/2025 7:42 PM, Nicole Sganga, 52225K, Neutral]

Cannon Falls Beacon [1/22/2025 4:00 PM, Staff, 9K, Positive] reports on Jan. 13, while investigating a fraud/theft complaint of a credit/debit card information, a credit card skimmer was located at the Dollar General in the City of Pine Island. The skimmer was removed and collected as evidence. Dollar General management was contacted and is working with Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office to help identify the person or person(s) responsible for placing the skimmer on the transaction terminal. It is believed that the skimmer has been on the transaction terminal since Dec. 13, 2024, through Jan. 13, 2025, when it was removed. Staff believes the skimmer was configured to collect only swiped card information, not the chip reader.

Channel 8 Eyewitness News [1/22/2025 2:59 PM, Nolan Dorn, 142K, Negative] reports two people were arrested Sunday in an investigation into a counterfeit money scheme, police say. Around 6:15 p.m., officers responded to a fraud at Walgreens near North 27th and Vine streets. Police said 29-year-old Luis Adames of Houston, Texas, had used a counterfeit $100 bill. He was stopped at the cash register when he returned to make another purchase with a counterfeit bill, according to LPD. Adames was arrested on suspicion of first-degree forgery. During an investigation, officers also discovered that 47-year-old Alexander Perez of Miami, Florida, was also part of the counterfeit bill scheme. Officers found Perez at a motel and took him into custody on suspicion of first-degree forgery. Inside the motel, investigators found a printer, copy paper and "other materials" used in making counterfeit money, police said. LPD thinks there might have been other businesses impacted by the counterfeit money scheme.

12News.com [1/22/2025 3:41 PM, Staff, 2627K, Negative] reports a criminal complaint filed in Arizona accuses a man of threatening to kill the newly-elected president of the United States. Records show Rene Ortiz was arrested on Jan. 17, a couple of days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, for allegedly making violent threats against the 47th president. On Nov. 4, 2024, Ortiz allegedly dropped off a document at the federal courthouse in Phoenix that appeared to ask the court to approve of executing the presidential candidate who wins the general election on Nov. 5. A couple of weeks later, Ortiz allegedly dropped off another document at the courthouse in Tucson that contained a similar threat of violence targeting the president. Ortiz allegedly admitted to making the threats to investigators and claimed his grievance was with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, court records show.

CBS 7 [1/22/2025 8:29 PM, Jordan Gartner, 11K, Positive] reports the U.S. Coast Guard says it is deploying assets around maritime borders in support of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. According to the agency, it will work to detect and deter illegal migration among other objectives in support of Trump’s orders issued this week. “I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets to increase Coast Guard presence and focus [in] key areas,” Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said. Some of the key maritime locations mentioned included the southeast U.S. border approaching Florida to prevent mass migration from Haiti or Cuba and the maritime border around Alaska and Hawaii. Lunday continued, saying specialized forces would also increase their presence on the “maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America” while supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection on maritime portions of the southwest U.S. border. “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. The Coast Guard said it would also be targeting the maritime border between the Bahamas and South Florida, and between the U.S. and Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. On Monday, Trump said in his inaugural address that he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” “A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” the president was quoted as saying about the situation. “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth.” The Coast Guard’s announcement of deploying more assets regarding maritime security came a day after Trump dismissed U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Lee Fagan.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/22/2025 12:42 PM, Dan Lamothe, 40736K, Negative]

CyberScoop [1/22/2025 1:11 AM, Tim Starks, Neutral] reports the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee and a number of cyber professionals on Wednesday lamented the Trump administration’s decision to purge a cyber incident investigation board of its membership. But the move had some supporters, including the chairman of that same committee. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued a memorandum Monday that strips all advisory committees of its members, a move that deletes the roster for both the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee. The CSRB has been reviewing the massive breach of telecommunications companies by the Chinese hacking group Salt Typhoon. “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, I am directing the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS, effective immediately,” he wrote, adding that outgoing members could reapply for their positions. “Further committee activities will be focused solely on our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS’s strategic priorities.” Next plans for the CSRB weren’t clear, but the move sparked some fears about the nearly three-year-old board’s future. “It is a national security imperative that the investigation be completed expeditiously,” Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security panel, said at a committee hearing Wednesday. “I’m troubled that the president’s attempt to stack the CSRB with loyalists may cause its important work on the Salt Typhoon campaign to be delayed. The American people deserve better.” Cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont said on the social media platform Bluesky that the move would give Microsoft a “free pass,” referring to the CSRB’s critical report of the tech giant — and Beaumont’s former employer — over its handling of a prior Chinese hacker breach.

The Hill [1/22/2025 5:18 PM, Brad Dress, 16346K, Neutral] reports committee chair Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said it was “alarming that most of our critical infrastructure systems have been violated right under our noses.” The hearing called on four cybersecurity experts to testify about how the U.S. can better defend against foreign cyber threats. Mark Montgomery, a retired rear admiral and now a senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the recent Chinese cyber incursions amount to battlefield preparations. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is the point agency for cyberdefense, but it needs strengthening in several areas, including its global response, said Kemba Walden, president of Paladin Global Institute.

CyberScoop [1/22/2025 1:11 AM, Derek B. Johnson, Neutral] reports a vulnerability in ChatGPT’s API can generate DDoS attacks against targeted websites, but the security researcher who discovered it says the flaw has since been addressed by OpenAI. In a security advisory posted to the developer platform GitHub, German security researcher Benjamin Flesch detailed the bug, which occurs when the API is processing HTTP POST requests to the back-end server. The API is set up to receive hyperlinks in the form of URLs, but in a move Flesch described as “bad programming,” OpenAI did not have a limit on the number of URLs that can be included in a single request. That error allows an attacker to cram thousands of URLs within a single request, something that could overload traffic to a targeted website. “Depending on the number of hyperlinks transmitted to OpenAI via the URLs parameter, the large number of connections from OpenAI’s servers might overwhelm the victim website,” Flesch wrote. “This software defect provides a significant amplification factor for potential DDoS attacks.” Flesch posted proof-of-concept code demonstrating that the flaw could be exploited to overload a local host with connection attempts from OpenAI servers. The vulnerability was assigned a CVSS score of 8.6 because it’s a network-based, low-complexity flaw that doesn’t require elevated privileges or user interaction to exploit. Flesch said the vulnerability was discovered this month, and the GitHub page for the vulnerability was first created Jan. 10. The issue was reported to OpenAI and Microsoft, which owns the servers spawning the requests, under responsible disclosure rules. In an update, Flesch noted that OpenAI has since disabled the vulnerable endpoint and that the proof-of-concept code no longer works. But initially, the post lamented that “unfortunately it was not possible to obtain a reaction from either [Microsoft or OpenAI] in due time, even though many attempts to ensure a mitigation of this software defect were made.” Those efforts included contacting OpenAI’s security team through their account on BugCrowd, emailing OpenAI’s bug-reporting email account, data privacy officer and support teams, and reaching out to OpenAI security researchers through their own GitHub pages. He also claimed to have reported the issue to Microsoft security personnel through email, online forms and even via Cloudflare, Microsoft’s gateway provider. According to Flesch, those entreaties were initially ignored or dismissed until news outlets began reporting on the flaw.

Roll Call [1/22/2025 4:02 PM, Gopal Ratnam, 440K, Neutral] reports Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday spoke out about the need for action against China’s threat to American infrastructure networks, even as some members of the party have soured on a primary agency that fights such cyberattacks. The panel’s top Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., countered that several Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump are seeking to slash funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the country’s main line of defense. At her confirmation hearing last week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, nominated for Homeland Security secretary, questioned CISA’s priorities.

FOX News [1/23/2025 4:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Negative] reports House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said Wednesday the "national security blunders of the past four years" have "emboldened" foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and homegrown violent extremism. The committee on Wednesday morning released an updated version of its Terror Threat Snapshot assessment, highlighting threats posed by homegrown extremists inspired by foreign jihadist networks like ISIS in America and around the world. The updated report comes less than a month after Texas native and U.S. military veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed 14 civilians Jan. 1, when he drove a truck through crowds of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street around 3 a.m. in what federal authorities described as an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack. "The New Orleans terrorist attack was a stark reminder that the terror threat to America is alive and persistent," Green said. "The House Homeland Security Committee highlighted this fact back in October, and, sadly, Americans have witnessed major escalations in these threats just in the past three months." The report details more than 50 jihadist cases across 30 states between April 2021 and January 2025, including "dozens of attempts to provide material support to ISIS," "providing material support to Hizballah and al Qaeda," "receiving military-type training from ISIS and Hizballah" and "vehicle ramming attacks." From the botched Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021 to the New Orleans attack, the report includes a detailed list of all alarming terrorist-inspired attacks and arrests since former President Biden took office four years ago. Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger said Wednesday that "Americans have been the target of terror at public celebrations, and ISIS and al Qaeda are emboldened in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/22/2025 6:20 PM, Andrea Margolis, 49889K, Negative] reports President Trump re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) on Wednesday, four years after his first administration made an identical move. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump said that the terrorist group "threaten[s] the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.” "Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform," the order noted. Trump also documented that "numerous" attacks that the terrorist group has conducted over the years, including "multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, the deadly January 2022 attacks on the United Arab Emirates, and more than 300 projectiles fired at Israel since October 2023.” "The Houthis have also attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation," the order added.

VOA News [1/22/2025 1:55 PM, Jeff Seldin, 2717K, Negative] reports that top Republican lawmakers are calling for U.S. security agencies to quickly change course under President Donald Trump to better confront threats from terror groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida. The House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday issued an update threat assessment, highlighting the New Year’s Day truck ramming attack in New Orleans, which killed 14 people, as well as the June 2024 arrest of eight Tajik nationals with suspected Islamic State ties. "Make no mistake — all of the lights are still blinking red," said committee chair Republican Representative Mark Green in a statement. "The New Orleans terrorist attack was a stark reminder that the terror threat to America is alive and persistent," said Green. "Foreign terrorist organizations and jihadist networks abroad remain committed to recruiting and radicalizing individuals on U.S. soil." The Department of Homeland Security’s 2025 annual threat assessment, issued this past October, warned, "The terrorism threat environment in the United States over the next year will remain high.” And it attributed the biggest danger to individuals who are not necessarily affiliated with established terror groups. "The threat will continue to be characterized primarily by lone offenders or small cells motivated to violence by a combination of racial, religious, gender, or anti-government grievances; conspiracy theories; and personalized factors," it said.

Yahoo! News [1/22/2025 2:15 PM, Andrew Feinberg, 57114K, Neutral] reports that the White House has sent more than 150 civil service experts home from key roles at the National Security Council while Trump administration officials decide whether they are sufficiently loyal to the president and supportive of his agenda. Trump National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, a former Florida congressman who resigned from the House of Representatives to take up his White House post on Monday, ordered the 160 "detainees" — federal workers from agencies such as the State Department, CIA, and Defense Department — to work from home and be available for consultations with political appointees if needed while the new administration decides who, if anyone, will be asked to remain. The career employees who serve at the NSC typically do so for several years at a time and are meant to provide expertise and institutional knowledge at the White House office responsible for foreign policy and national security advice to the president and his top aides. Waltz had previously indicated a desire to purge the NSC of so-called "holdovers" who served during the previous Biden administration, citing a desire to ensure that those working there are loyal to Trump’s agenda.

Washington Examiner [1/22/2025 12:29 PM, Timothy Nerozzi, 2365K, Neutral] reports that the Department of State will be adopting a more focused, slimmed-down set of priorities to serve American interests abroad under President Donald Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a mission statement for his department on Wednesday morning, offering a set of three key questions that will inform his team’s decision-making in foreign affairs over the next four years. "Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?" Rubio wrote. The memo outlines a slew of changes to the department’s internal culture and policy priorities, such as working to "curb mass migration and secure our borders" and "stop censorship and suppression of information.” A particular point of change will be the State Department’s renewed commitment to rewarding "performance and merit" with the immediate end of all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. Rubio further promised that the State Department will no longer promote "political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad," promising to return to the "basics of diplomacy.”

FOX News [1/22/2025 6:00 AM, Julia Johnson, 49889K, Negative] reports newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio is advising his department to cease refugee resettlement operations and begin ramping up vetting of visas from certain regions in response to executive orders from President Donald Trump. After officially becoming its next secretary, Rubio directed the Department of State to halt refugee resettlement programs, a senior department source told Fox News Digital. He also ordered the department to implement enhanced vetting for visa applications from "dangerous regions." The secretary cited new executive orders signed by Trump after his inauguration Monday. Among dozens of executive orders, Trump signed one aimed at "Realigning The United States Refugee Admissions Program" and another to "[Protect] the United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats." The former dictated that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) be suspended due to its detrimental effect on the country’s interests. The latter order calls for increased vetting of all aliens, "to the maximum degree possible," especially those "from regions or nations with identified security risks." Trump’s executive order on refugees further stipulates that "the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security may jointly determine to admit aliens to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion, but only so long as they determine that the entry of such aliens as refugees is in National Interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States." Rubio was the first Trump Cabinet member confirmed, the Senate voting unanimously to do so Monday night. He was sworn in Tuesday morning, becoming the 72nd secretary of state. In remarks at the department Tuesday, Rubio said, "There will be changes, but the changes are not meant to be destructive. They’re not meant to be punitive. "The changes will be because we need to be a 21st century agency that can move by — a cliché that’s used by many — at the speed of relevance. But we need to move faster than we ever have, because the world is changing faster than we ever have. And we have to have a view that some say is called ‘look around the corner.’

Federal News Network [1/22/2025 1:27 PM, Tom Temin, 470K, Positive] reports that a new industry and government consortium has joined the federal scene. This one is devoted to maritime security in Southeast Asia, or MARSEC. Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Laura Updegrove joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss who’s in it and what they plan to do. Tom Temin: And tell us what problem or what issue this MARSEC, this consortium, first of all, is driving it. Laura Updegrove: Sure. Happy to do so. And thank you again for having me on to talk about the Maritime Security Consortium or, as you noted, the MARSEC Consortium, as we call it. It is a really important new initiative we have here at the Pentagon. I’m hoping before jumping into the details on what the consortium actually does, I could take just a step back to paint the broader picture of where this fits in. So over the course of the Biden administration, we have seen a steadfast commitment to working with partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific. And we have made great strides in deepening these relationships in a number of ways by brokering new agreements on information sharing, expanding U.S. force posture in the region, delivering cutting edge technologies to meet our shared security priorities, and working to facilitate new multilateral groupings, including everything from AUKUS to investment in the Quad, which is a partnership between the United States, Australia, India and Japan, and also establishing a series of multilateral maritime cooperative activities in and around the South China Sea. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

BorderReport [1/22/2025 6:42 PM, Julian Resendiz, 153K, Negative] reports authorities in Chihuahua, Mexico, say they have found six clandestine graves with 10 bodies in them in a town 70 miles south of Columbus, New Mexico. Eight of the bodies were dismembered prior to burial in a forested area known as "El Willi" in Casas Grandes, the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Wednesday. The bodies taken out of the ground by state forensic anthropologists were transported to a coroner’s office for autopsies. The Attorney General’s Office said state police officers assigned to a task force for missing persons located the graves and began digging on Tuesday with the help of members of Mexico’s National Guard. The task force investigates anonymous tips in a region known for its agriculture and ranching and for being a drug corridor to the United States disputed by two transnational criminal organizations.

FOX News [1/23/2025 12:53 AM, Bradford Betz , Nicholas Kalman, 49889K, Positive] reports newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned. Though details are still being worked out, the visit could come as early as next week. The planned trip comes after repeated vows by President Donald Trump – who returned to the White House on Monday – to take back the Panama Canal. Trump mentioned the Panama Canal again during his inaugural address on Monday, claiming that it was now in the hands of China and vowing to take it back. "China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back," Trump said. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded forcefully to Trump’s comments on Wednesday saying, "we reject in its entirety everything that Mr. Trump has said. First, because it is false and second, because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama." The U.S. built the canal in the early 1900s under then President Theodore Roosevelt as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by then President Jimmy Carter. News of Rubio’s trip was first reported by Politico and could include other Central American countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, where Rubio is expected to address a top priority of curbing mass migration that he outlined earlier this week. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce tells Fox News that "Secretary Rubio is prioritizing the region because it’s where we live," adding "we won’t continue to ignore the region as other administrations have." She added: "Engaging with our neighbors is a vital element in addressing migration, supply chains, and economic growth, which are key to Secretary Rubio’s pursuit of foreign policy focused on making America strong, prosperous, and safe."

Washington Post [1/23/2025 5:00 AM, Abigail Hauslohner and Karen DeYoung, 40736K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill are working to translate his recent complaints about the Panama Canal into legislative action. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), an early supporter of Trump’s musings about seizing the strategic waterway, intends to introduce on Thursday a resolution “calling on the Government of Panama” to cut its political and economic ties with China and Chinese businesses. The nonbinding resolution, co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and Katie Boyd Britt (R-Alabama), won’t compel any action, but Schmitt said he hopes it sends a signal to Panama, and to Trump, that the Republican-controlled Congress is ready to act on his foreign policy ambitions. "This is an opportunity, I think, for Panama to do the right thing," Schmitt told Washington Post. "They’ve now heard what President Trump has to say, and I hope they hear what the United States Senate has to say.” Follow live updates on the Trump administration, and we’re tracking Trump’s progress on campaign promises and his picks for key administration roles. Trump complained at a December political rally about what he said were unfair tolls charged by Panama for passage of U.S. ships through the canal, remarks that in the weeks since have evolved into a rallying cry to reassert colonial-era control over a foreign partner state as part of Washington’s ongoing global power competition with China. Panama’s embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said in a statement after Trump’s remarks that "every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be.” "The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable," he wrote in the statement, which is posted on the embassy’s website and was submitted to the United Nations. Asked Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, whether he was concerned about a Trump takeover of the canal, Mulino said "be serious.”

Bloomberg [1/22/2025 1:00 PM, Kevin Whitelaw, 21617K, Positive] reports that Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to President Donald Trump as he made it clear that the US military would be an essential component in any effective peacekeeping force. “It can’t be without the United States,” the Ukrainian leader said in an TV interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in Davos. “Even if some European friends think it can be, no it can’t be. Nobody will risk without the United States.” Zelenskiy is also trying to persuade China to use its influence on Moscow to help end the fighting, though he expressed frustration that he hasn’t managed to speak more often to President Xi Jinping. Trump has been pushing for both sides to strike a peace deal, but Ukraine remains worried that Putin could use a ceasefire as an opportunity to rearm unless Kyiv’s allies, and ideally NATO, offer long-term security guarantees. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Wall Street Journal [1/22/2025 2:43 AM, Gavin Bade, Alan Cullison and Georgi Kantchev, Neutral] reports President Trump threatened sanctions and tariffs on Russia if its leader, President Vladimir Putin, doesn’t reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Trump on Wednesday wrote on Truth Social that if the government cannot “make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.” The statement marks Trump’s most forceful and public effort to end the war in Ukraine. But Trump also stressed that he doesn’t want to hurt Russia. “I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin,” he wrote. The Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The threat comes after Trump said during the presidential campaign that he would end the grinding war, which Putin began in 2022, within 24 hours of returning to the White House. Since his election, Trump has conceded that it could take longer. Trump recently said he believes Ukraine “wants to make a deal” and has claimed that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine if he were in office. With trade ties between the U.S. and Russia withering, the efficacy of Trump’s direct threat of tariffs is questionable. Russia exported about $2.9 billion worth of goods to the U.S. in 2024, according to Census Bureau data, down from $29.6 billion in 2021, before the war started. But the U.S. has starved Russia’s economy with broad sanctions, many of which were replicated by other countries, like an effort to cap the price of oil exported by Russia, and the decision to kick Russian banks out of the SWIFT international payments messaging system. In his statement Wednesday, Trump said he is weighing imposing “Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.” “Trump’s post is pretty significant because there’s just been this big question in the diplomatic community and in the markets about whether Trump would keep his foot on the gas on Russia sanctions,” said Edward Fishman, a former State Department sanctions official. “It’s clear that Russia’s economy is reeling, and I think Putin’s hope was that Trump would give him a reprieve.”

Newsweek [1/23/2025 4:49 AM, Maya Mehrara, 56005K, Neutral] reports Russia has responded to President Donald Trump’s warning that he will impose tariffs and sanctions if Moscow does not "make a deal" soon and end the war with Ukraine. Russia’s Deputy United Nations Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said that it depends on what a "deal" means, according to Reuters. Trump’s threat could not only have detrimental effects on Moscow’s struggling economy, but it could also increase tensions between Russia and the U.S. and make peace negotiations with Ukraine more difficult. The imposition of tariffs and sanctions could also have long-standing ramifications on global markets, as tariffs imposed on goods by either country could affect other countries importing the products. Further, the tariffs on Russian goods could also indirectly affect American consumers by impacting U.S. market prices, particularly with materials made with certain metals that the country no longer imports, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In a post on Truth Social on January 22, Trump made threats to Russia’s economy and wrote that it is "ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal.’" He added that he as "no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.” In response, Polyanskiy told Reuters: "It’s not merely the question of ending the war. It’s first and foremost the question of addressing root causes of Ukrainian crisis.” He added that "we have to see what does the ‘deal’ mean in President Trump’s understanding. He is not responsible for what the U.S. has been doing in Ukraine since 2014, making it ‘anti-Russia’ and preparing for the war with us, but it is in his power now to stop this malicious policy," as reported by Sky News. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a similar statement soon after Trump’s inauguration. He met with top officials and said that he was willing to pursue peace negotiations with the new administration if the sides could eliminate "the root causes" of the war.

Wall Street Journal [1/22/2025 6:28 AM, Costas Paris, Neutral] reports Houthi rebels in Yemen have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized the ship in the Red Sea and signaled they would stop attacking vessels after the Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement. The car carrier was among the first vessels to be targeted by the Houthis in the southern Red Sea, a major trade route between Asia and Europe. Overall the Houthis attacked more than 100 ships, sinking two vessels and forcing box ships to diverge around South Africa, according to shipowners and brokers. The Houthis said over the weekend they would stop attacking transiting vessels as long as the cease-fire holds. But big-box ship operators said it would take some time before security guarantees are put in place. The Galaxy Leader was boarded by Houthi rebels in November 2023 and has since been anchored off the coast of Yemen. The crew consists of 25 sailors from the Philippines, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Mexico. The ship is owned by Ray Car Carriers. The company is registered in the Isle of Man and one of its owners is Israeli businessman Abraham “Rami” Ungar. It was being operated by Japan’s Nippon Yusen K.K. when it was hijacked. “The release of the Galaxy Leader crew comes within the framework of our solidarity with Gaza and in support of the cease-fire agreement,” Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a statement. He said the group could resume its attacks if the cease-fire agreement fails. The pause in the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea didn’t appear to have an immediate effect in Washington, where President Trump has vowed to enforce a tough line against Iran and its allies. The White House on Wednesday announced that Trump signed a decision again designating the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designation, which then President Joe Biden revoked in 2021 citing the need to alleviate the suffering of the local population, could complicate humanitarian deliveries to Yemen.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 4:32 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the United States under President Donald Trump remained committed to the Philippines’ defense, as tensions simmer with Beijing in the South China Sea. In a call with his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo, Rubio "underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said. Rubio, a longtime hawk on China, discussed the "dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea" by Beijing, formally known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). "Secretary Rubio conveyed that the PRC’s behavior undermines regional peace and stability and is inconsistent with international law," Bruce said. US leaders have repeatedly stood by the Philippines, a treaty ally and former US colony. But Trump is known for questioning alliances, including NATO, claiming allied nations treat the United States unfairly by not paying more for defense. Trump returned to the White House on Monday. Rubio made the call with his Philippine counterpart a day after a veiled warning to Beijing on the South China Sea during a four-way meeting with his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia. The Philippines have engaged in increasingly tense confrontations with China over disputed South China Sea waters and reefs over the past year. China claims most of the strategic waterway despite an international tribunal ruling that its claim lacked any legal basis. Manila and Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro also met with new US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz at the White House on Wednesday to "discuss critical security matters," Manila’s defense department said in a statement.

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