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 Wall Street Journal [1/23/2025 4:29 PM, Jan Wolfe and Michelle Hackman, Negative] reports a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive order that aimed to end birthright citizenship, an early setback for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. In a written ruling issued on Thursday, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour entered a temporary restraining order that prohibits the Trump administration from implementing the executive order until he can more fully hear arguments over its legality. The federal government has long recognized birthright citizenship—the automatic granting of citizenship to children born on U.S. soil. Trump issued an executive order hours after taking office to end recognition for birthright citizenship for babies born to immigrants in the U.S. illegally as well as to visa holders. The court ruling is one of the first legal hurdles Trump faces as he seeks to deliver on his campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration. Trump and his allies believe that the promise of citizenship for their children is a core draw for immigrants coming to the U.S. illegally—and ending it is a key step in deterring illegal immigration. Though the president’s advisers know reinterpreting the U.S. Constitution via executive order will be a tough battle, it is one of Trump’s top priorities, and one he has told associates he feels he was wrongly talked out of taking on during his first term. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general who argue the executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The judge agreed with the state attorneys general that they were likely to prevail on the merits of their case. He said his temporary restraining order would be in effect for 14 days, so that he can next consider a request by the states for a more permanent injunction. Coughenour wrote in his ruling that the states backing the lawsuit would face irreparable injury from Trump’s executive order. “These harms are immediate, ongoing, and significant,” the judge wrote. The New York Times [1/24/2025 3:20 AM, Mike Baker and Mattathias Schwartz, 740K, Negative] reports Federal District Court judge, John C. Coughenour, sided at least for the moment with four states that sued. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” he said. “Frankly,” he continued, challenging Trump administration lawyers, “I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar would state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It just boggles my mind.” 22 states, along with activist groups and expectant mothers, filed six lawsuits to halt the so-called order, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment. Legal precedent has long interpreted the amendment — that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States” — applies to every baby born in the United States, with few exceptions. The Washington Post [1/23/2025 4:55 PM, David Nakamura, 40736K, Negative] reports “There is a strong likelihood that the Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of their case,” the judge wrote in his four-page decision. Coughenour, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, scheduled the next hearing in the case for Feb. 6. “Trump’s birthright citizenship EO is halted for now,” the Washington state attorney general, Nick Brown (D), said in a social media post on X. “Today a judge granted our temporary restraining order nationwide, saying he had not seen an order this blatantly unconstitutional in 40 years on the bench.” Trump said his administration will challenge the restraining order.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [1/23/2025 1:30 PM, Zoe Tillman and Anna Edgerton, 21617K, Negative]
The Hill [1/23/2025 1:54 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 16346K, Neutral]
NPR [1/23/2025 5:00 PM, Gabriel Sanchez, Juana Summers, Sarah Handel, 35747K, Negative] Audio: HERE
Reuters [1/23/2025 6:07 PM, Dan Catchpole and Nate Raymond, 89965K, Neutral]
AP [1/23/2025 1:53 PM, Mike Catalini and Gene Johnson, 12036K, Neutral]
CNN [1/23/2025 3:55 PM, Tierney Sneed, 987K, Negative]
USA Today [1/23/2025 5:54 PM, Sudiksha Kochi, 89965K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 11:04 AM, Kaelan Deese, 2365K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 1:41 PM, Kaelan Deese, 2365K, Negative]

ABC News [1/23/2025 10:24 AM, Luke Barr, 57114K, Neutral] reports that the Department of Homeland Security is allowing certain law enforcement components from the Department of Justice to carry out the "functions" of an immigration officer, according to a new memo sent by the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffeman. Huffeman’s memo, obtained by ABC News, said the order grants the agencies the "same authority already granted to the FBI." It said that agents can enforce immigration law. The agencies listed in the memo are the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the US Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The DEA and ATF have had little experience historically in carrying out immigration enforcement. Historically, the US Marshals only get involved when there has been a migrant who has become a fugitive. Earlier this week, it was announced federal immigration authorities will be permitted to target schools and churches after President Donald Trump revoked a directive barring arrests in "sensitive" areas. DHS announced Tuesday it would roll back the policy to "thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas." CBS New York [1/23/2025 7:43 PM, Nicole Sganga and Robert Legare, 52225K, Negative] reports the Department of Homeland Security has authorized law enforcement agents from across the federal government to partake in "investigating, determining the location of, and apprehending" undocumented migrants, issuing a directive aimed at operationalizing the president’s signature campaign promise on immigration, according to a memo obtained by CBS News. The directive allows federal law enforcement agents to conduct immigration-related enforcement actions that are usually reserved for officials under the Department of Homeland Security. The memo, authored by acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman, says DHS will grant "the functions of an immigration officer" to several Justice Department law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Despite a burst of policy changes since Trump took office, no large-scale immigration operations have been carried out yet. The memo, addressed to the acting attorney general, also underscores that agents within the FBI already have immigration-arresting powers, known as Title 8 authority, and while infrequently used previously, such authorities have now been conferred onto the other agencies. The ATF and DEA are conventionally not involved with immigration enforcement, with exceptions related to drug trafficking or firearm violations. According to the new memo, that could soon change. The U.S. Marshals Service routinely assists in immigration-related cases involving federal fugitives, and some work alongside Homeland Security Investigations at the border to thwart transnational criminal organizations, part of DHS’ Border Enforcement Security Task Force. USA Today [1/23/2025 7:59 PM, Lauren Villagran, 89965K, Negative] reports "Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trump’s promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations," Huffman said in a statement. "For decades, efforts to find and apprehend illegal aliens have not been given proper resources. This is a major step in fixing that problem."

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 9:24 AM, Brady Knox, 2365K, Negative]

Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 11:18 AM, Mike Brest, 2365K, Negative] reports that the Defense Department plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport thousands of migrants, one aspect of the military’s plan to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Those aircraft, along with their aircrew and a handful of other personnel, will deploy to El Paso, Texas, and San Diego. These crews are in addition to, not included in, the roughly 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines who were deployed Wednesday to the southern border, acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement. The 1,500 troops heading to the border will join roughly 2,500 troops already there, bringing the number of military personnel to roughly 4,000, and there is an expectation that more will be deployed there in the coming weeks and months. "Right now, we also anticipate that there could be some additional airborne intelligence surveillance support assets that would move down to the border to increase situational awareness," a senior military official told reporters. Salesses also said in a statement that it was "just the beginning." Salesses and acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman are leading the effort for now until the Senate confirms Trump’s nominees, Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem, respectively. The State Department is also involved in the process, specifically in figuring out which countries will accept the planes of migrants.

NBC News [1/23/2025 2:26 PM, Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V, 50804K, Neutral] reports that the Senate voted Thursday to confirm John Ratcliffe as the next CIA director under President Donald Trump, approving the second high-level appointment for the new administration. The vote was 74-25 in favor of Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas who served as Trump’s director of national intelligence for the last eight months of his first term. Twenty-one Democrats joined their Republican colleagues in supporting Ratcliffe’s nomination. Republican leaders failed to achieve unanimous support to fast-track Ratcliffe’s nomination to the floor earlier this week and had to jump through some procedural hoops. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he opposed Ratcliffe "not because of our political difference, which of course exists — but because I am deeply worried that Mr. Ratcliffe will be unable to stand up to people like Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard, who are known to falsify intelligence. As CIA Director, Mr. Ratcliffe will have to make decisions based on intelligence and fact.". During his confirmation hearing, Ratcliffe promised to keep politics out of decisions involving intelligence and said he wouldn’t use loyalty tests as a basis for hiring or firing CIA personnel. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has teed up votes next on Trump’s nominees for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem. Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent, is expected to come up next. MeriTalk [1/23/2025 1:56 PM, Lisbeth Perez, 31K, Positive] reports that on Jan. 20, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced Noem’s nomination to lead DHS with a vote of 13-2. Similarly, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted 14-3 in favor of Ratcliffe’s nomination.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/23/2025 3:28 PM, Julian E. Barnes, 161405K, Neutral]
The Hill [1/23/2025 2:26 PM, Al Weaver, 16346K, Neutral]

New York Times [1/23/2025 11:14 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, 161405K, Negative] reports the Trump administration is giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to quickly deport migrants who were allowed into the country temporarily under Biden-era programs, according to an internal government memo obtained by New York Times. The memo, signed Thursday night by the acting head of the Homeland Security Department, offers ICE officials a road map on how to use expansive powers that were long reserved only for encounters at the southern border to quickly remove migrants. It also appears to give the officials the ability to expel migrants in two major Biden-era programs that have allowed more than a million people to enter the country temporarily. Those programs — an app called CBP One that migrants could use to try to schedule appointments to enter the United States, and an initiative that let in certain migrants fleeing Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti — were key pillars of the Biden administration’s efforts to discourage illegal entries by allowing certain legal pathways. Immigrant advocates also worried that the memo could apply to Afghan and Ukrainian immigrants brought to the United States under separate programs. The decision indicates that President Trump will try to use every facet of the immigration enforcement apparatus to crack down on a system he has long said has been abused, and that he intends to target not just those who sneaked across the border but even those who followed previously authorized pathways to enter.

FOX News [1/23/2025 9:32 PM, Louis Casiano, 49889K, Negative] reports that, Benjamine Huffman, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, on Thursday issued a finding calling for an immediate federal response to combat an "actual or imminent mass influx" of illegal immigrants arriving at the southern border. In his finding, Huffman requested help from all 50 states to assist the federal government in immigration enforcement. The secretary determined that "there exist circumstances involving the administration of the immigration laws of the United States that endanger the lives, property, safety, or welfare of the residents" in all 50 states. "I further find that an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens is arriving at the southern border of the United States and presents urgent circumstances requiring an immediate federal response," he said. "I therefore request the assistance of State and local governments in all 50 States." The finding is effective immediately and expires in 60 days, unless extended. The 60 days will give officials time to deputize local and state law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement. Some states like California will likely push back on efforts to assist federal immigration authorities. On Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said local and state enforcement cannot be ordered to perform federal immigration duties. "It is well-established — through longstanding Supreme Court precedent — that the U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from commandeering states to enforce federal laws," Bonta said in a statement. "While the federal government may use its own resources for federal immigration enforcement, the court ruled in Printz v. United States that the federal government cannot ‘impress into its service — and at no cost to itself — the police officers of the 50 States’."

FOX News [1/23/2025 6:19 PM, Louis Casiano, 49889K, Negative] reports eleven Democratic states on Thursday issued a statement criticizing the "vague" threats from the Trump administration related to possible prosecutions for not complying with immigration enforcement. The statement was signed by state attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It addressed a recent Justice Department memo directing federal prosecutors to investigate state and local officials who refuse to enforce President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, including his mass deportation plans. "Right now, these vague threats are just that: empty words on paper," the statement said. "But rest assured, our states will not hesitate to respond if these words become illegal actions.". In the memo, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Trump’s former defense attorney, said that "federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests, pursuant to, for example, the President’s extensive Article II authority with respect to foreign affairs and national security, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Alien Enemies Act.". Bove said U.S. attorneys offices "and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions in violation of federal statutes.". The attorneys general cited Printz v. United States, saying the federal government can’t force local or state authorities to carry out immigration actions. "Despite what he may say to the contrary, the President cannot unilaterally re-write the Constitution," they wrote.

FOX News [1/23/2025 6:46 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports a bill to strictly limit programs used by the Biden administration to allow migrants into the U.S. and protect them from deportation is being re-introduced in both chambers of Congress amid a flurry of immigration moves in Congress and the White House. The End Unaccountable Amnesty Act, was introduced in the House last year but is now being re-introduced in both chambers by Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, which would limit the use of humanitarian parole to allow migrants into the U.S. and limit the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to protect them from deportation. The Biden administration, as part of its efforts to expand lawful pathways for migration to curb the ongoing migrant crisis at the border, used parole to admit 1,450 migrants a day using the CBP One app at the border. It has also allowed more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) to fly into the U.S. using a separate program. Combined, nearly 1.5 million migrants were let in via CBP One and CHNV. President Trump ordered an end to both this week. Separately, the Biden administration has used (TPS) to allow migrants from countries facing conflict and hardship to remain protected from deportation, including countries like Venezuela and Haiti. It extended a slew of designations in the final days of the administration. The bill would restrict TPS designations by requiring Congress to approve them for 12-month terms (currently 18 months) and requiring additional moves by Congress to extend them. The bill would also limit parole to a hard cap of 1,000 a year, significantly reduced from the hundreds of thousands allowed currently. Parole would also only be allowed for limited circumstances like emergency medical cases. The bill would also impose stricter eligibility and placement criteria for unaccompanied children amid reports of such children being lost track of by authorities. Meanwhile, the use of DHS documents like Notices to Appear and also the now-limited CBP One app would be barred from being used for airport security checks.

FOX News [1/23/2025 7:24 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports a Senate Republican is re-introducing legislation to make assaulting law enforcement a deportable offense for immigrants, amid a fresh immigration push in Congress. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., is re-introducing the Protect Our Law enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act. The bill would explicitly make assaulting a law enforcement officer a deportable offense. The legislation struggled to advance in a Democratic-run Senate, and is expected to have a better chance at success now Republicans have a majority. There is a version in the House as well. The bill says that any "alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts constituting the essential elements of, and offense involving the assault of a law enforcement officer is deportable.". "One of the best ways we can support law enforcement officers, and protect the public, is by deporting dangerous people who do them harm. If a migrant commits the crime of assaulting an officer or other first responder, they should be subject to immediate deportation," Budd said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Our lawmakers must always back the men and women who protect and serve our communities. We must act on this vital proposal.".

ABC News [1/23/2025 12:28 PM, Staff, 33392K, Positive] reports that the Department of Justice, under new leadership following the inauguration of Donald Trump, has told legal service providers who receive federal funding to stop providing legal orientation and other work intended to support immigrants at immigration courts. In a memo obtained by ABC News, the DOJ ordered all such legal providers on Wednesday to "stop work immediately" in those areas. "This email is to send you notification to stop work immediately pursuant to the Executive Order on the following task orders," the memo said. The programs listed in the memo include the Legal Orientation Program; the Immigration Court Helpdesk; the Family Group Legal Orientation Program; and the Counsel for Children Initiative. Legal service providers are usually present at immigration courts across the country to help individuals navigate immigration court proceedings and handle legal paperwork. "The suspension of these longstanding programs could leave hundreds of thousands of vulnerable immigrants -- including children and families -- without access to basic legal information and representation," a spokesperson for Acacia Center for Justice told ABC News in a statement. The directive from the DOJ comes a day after ABC News reported that four top officials within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review -- the DOJ’s office that oversees immigration courts -- were removed from their positions. Experts and advocates told ABC News that, without a lawyer, migrants are left to navigate the different avenues of relief alone, filling out documents in a foreign language and arguing their case before a judge. As ABC News previously reported, DOJ data from 2023 showed that only 56% of unaccompanied minors in immigration courts were represented by counsel, forcing thousands of unaccompanied young migrants to represent themselves before federal immigration judges. One of the programs listed in the DOJ memo --The Counsel for Children Initiative -- provides legal representation to children in immigration court proceedings. The total immigration court backlog of children and adults has surged to a record high of 3.5 million cases.

The Hill [1/23/2025 2:01 PM, Cheyanne M. Daniels, 16346K, Negative] reports that in response to President Trump’s latest immigration executive orders, including one rescinding birthright citizenship, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is demanding their members be allowed input on legislation around the issue, citing the outsized impact such laws have on their communities. "In the past, the issue of immigration has been discussed without our presence at the table. We intend to change that. We demand that we are at the table when it’s being discussed because it impacts our communities disproportionately," Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), chair of the CHC, said from the Capitol on Thursday. "We cannot receive an item of which we have not been part of the discussion," he continued. "We demand to be at the table in any and all discussions that involve immigration." Members of the caucus blasted Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship as unconstitutional. Later on Thursday, a Washington judge temporarily blocked the order. "I think some people need to just sit down and read the damn Constitution," Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), the CHC whip, said. "Because, frankly, if you read it, there is just no question. The founders were crystal clear after debates about who can vote and who can be a citizen … and they simply said, ‘All persons.’ It’s pretty simple, right? It’s easier than any civics exam or government exam or, hell, it’s probably easier than the citizenship exam that is administered to thousands of immigrants." The Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 7:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 2365K, Neutral] reports that, shortly after Trump took office on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union, Democratic attorneys general, immigration activists, and members of the progressive "Squad" mobilized to challenge Trump legally or in the court of public opinion. At a progressive Democratic press conference Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and others vowed to "fight" Trump over a number of his policy changes, including the citizenship issue. "Our communities are precious, and our coalition is ready to organize, to be in the streets, informing our community about their constitutional rights, and we’re also ready to fight like hell for the people we love," Ramirez said. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said Trump’s executive action to rescind birthright citizenship was not only unsound but was being met by valid blowback. "I do believe his executive order to end birthright citizenship is illegal and unconstitutional, that it should be challenged. I am really proud of folks around this country who responded so, so readily," Omar said, while introducing legislation to repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 used as justification for Trump’s immigration orders. The sudden surge of lawsuits against the Trump administration, including from 18 Democratic state attorneys general and the ACLU earlier this week, is reminiscent of 2017, when Trump was hit hard by left-leaning groups infuriated by what they viewed as anti-immigrant and discriminatory executive actions that focused on enhancing border security and maintaining the legitimacy of the immigration system. Cecillia Wang, national legal director at the ACLU, said they chose to sue first over the birthright citizenship executive order because it was a constitutional matter. "We are working hard on bringing other lawsuits," Wang said during an interview Tuesday with CNN’s Kate Bolduan. "We moved with this lawsuit first because this is one of President Trump’s first salvos, not only against American communities, including immigrant members of our communities, but also he’s fundamentally striking at one of the promises of the American Constitution after the Civil War.”

Michigan Public Radio [1/23/2025 7:50 AM, Sarah Cwiek, 117K, Negative] reports that the ACLU of Michigan is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over what it calls a "legal loophole" that lets those agencies keep immigration detention records "completely secret.". The lawsuit focuses on people who are detained for immigration violations in county jails. ICE pays local governments to hold such people in many situations. The ACLU says the problem arises when they try to get detention records from those jails. ICE has ordered the jails to deny those records requests, and redirect them to ICE. But when ICE is asked for the records, the agency says it doesn’t have them in their possession, according to the federal lawsuit the ACLU filed Wednesday. "What’s happening is that records related to ICE detainees, when they’re housed in county jails, are effectively being placed in a black box," said Michigan ACLU staff attorney Ramis Wadood. "This is impeding our ability to investigate civil rights abuses. This is impeding immigrant legal service providers’ ability to effectively represent clients. And it’s impeding the public’s ability to truly understand how detention centers are being run." Wadood said this has been an ongoing problem through multiple presidential administrations, but that with President Donald Trump pledging to ramp up immigration enforcement, resolving it has become a more urgent matter.

The Hill [1/23/2025 1:23 PM, Mike Lillis, 16346K, Negative] reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Thursday rejected the idea of combining California wildfire aid with a debt ceiling hike, saying Democrats would oppose such a package if Republicans bring it to the floor. “It’s a nonstarter,” Jeffries said during a press briefing in the Capitol. The pushback could complicate the plans of Republican leaders in both chambers, who are reportedly weighing a strategy to craft a massive legislative package combining an extension of government spending — which is scheduled to expire March 14 — with an increase in the debt limit, aid for wildfire victims and border security funding. GOP leaders had initially wanted to include the debt ceiling hike in an even larger package of tax cuts, immigration reforms and changes to energy policy — priorities of the new Trump administration that they’re hoping to enact through a procedural gambit, known as reconciliation, that doesn’t require Democratic buy-in. But a number of House conservatives have been resistant to the debt ceiling increase, threatening the nascent reconciliation package and forcing Republican leaders to search for alternative ways of preventing a federal default.

Newsweek [1/23/2025 10:23 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports that a Republican congressman has tabled a federal bill to strip away Medicaid from undocumented immigrants. Kevin Kiley, who represents California’s 3rd congressional district, wants to prohibit states from using both federal and state Medicaid funds to provide services for illegal immigrants. His bill includes an exception for emergency services. The California Republican said the legislation would save state taxpayers "billions of dollars each year.". Newsweek has left a voicemail at the office of Congressman Kiley asking for further comment. The bill could prevent states such as California from using either federal or state Medicaid funds to provide medical services to people who are undocumented. The GOP is looking for ways to slash government funding as they pave the way to fund President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans. Border czar Tom Homan said the administration will need $86 billion from Congress to begin mass removals. The No Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants Act introduced by Kiley would likely face an uphill battle to pass. Although the GOP controls Congress and the White House, their majorities in both the House and Senate are razor-thin. This bill would need 60 votes in the Senate to proceed. Republicans control 53 of the 100 seats. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued new directives that rescind restrictions on targeting sensitive locations such as schools, universities, health care facilities, and places of worship, placed on ICE agents under the Biden administration.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 10:43 AM, Mark Keierleber, 57114K, Neutral] reports that when a broad group of parents, educators and activists met in late October at a government office building in Arlington, Virginia, they gathered around a shared goal: Make America’s schools safer. There, three parents whose children were killed in mass school shootings sought to bolster student mental health and crisis intervention services. Some advocates favored increased school policing and physical security while others sought to limit how those hardening measures can harm children’s civil rights. Each was there as a check on recommendations being made by the federal government. But membership on the 26-person committee, which was created through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 — passed in the wake of mass shootings at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket — was short-lived. On Monday, the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, all members were terminated. A letter signed by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman and obtained by The 74 said the decision was part of a wider effort to ensure the agency’s "activities prioritize our national security.". "Future committee activities will be focused on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS’s strategic priorities," Huffman wrote in the letter. "To outgoing advisory board members, you are welcome to reapply, thank you for your service."

New York Times [1/24/2025 3:20 AM, Linda Qiu, 740K, Neutral] reports that, Brooke Rollins, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Agriculture Department, vowed on Thursday to provide relief to food producers and to be an advocate for farmers and ranchers, regardless of the administration’s agenda on trade and immigration. In a largely amicable hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Ms. Rollins, a former White House official, pledged to support food producers who could be caught up in a trade war should Mr. Trump impose tariffs. The president “understands the potential devastating impact to our farmers and our ranchers,” Ms. Rollins said, adding that the needs of rural communities would be a priority. The department will work “to ensure that we can close those holes for our farmers and ranchers moving forward under any sort of tariff execution in the next coming days, in the next few years,” she said. Asked how Mr. Trump’s plans for mass deportations would affect the labor supply for farmers and ranchers, Ms. Rollins said that if confirmed she would work with Congress to address worker shortages through existing labor programs. She added that the department would “do everything we can to make sure that none of these farms or dairy producers are put out of business.” Over more than three hours, Ms. Rollins also fielded questions about food assistance and disaster relief programs and the bird flu outbreak that has led to the deaths of more than 141 million birds and infected more than 900 dairy herds across the country. While Ms. Rollins does not have the traditional résumé of an agriculture secretary, she and several senators argued that her experience as Mr. Trump’s domestic policy adviser would be an asset for the agency. “She has the relationships across this new administration, and an understanding of the processes in which decisions are made in the executive branch, to best position our producers for success,” Senator John Boozman, Republican of Arkansas and the chairman of the committee, said in his opening statement.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 9:45 AM, Caitlyn Kelleher, 57114K, Positive] reports that slain U.S. Border Patrol agent David "Chris" Maland will be moved from the morgue at the University of Vermont Medical Center to a funeral home on Shelburne Street this morning. The procession is expected to include hundreds of law enforcement agents and vehicles. Maland was killed on duty last week in Coventry on Interstate 91 southbound near mile marker 168 during a traffic stop. Arrests have been made as the investigation continues, and it is being led by the FBI Albany Office. Police expected to have considerable traffic delays in that area due to a law enforcement procession during Thursday’s procession and warn that "motorists should expect delays and are encouraged to seek alternative routes. Please drive carefully." Maland was 44. He was assigned to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Swanton Sector, which covers parts of Vermont, New York and New Hampshire, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure," Benjamine Huffman,acting secretary of DHS, said in a statement. "My prayers and deepest condolences are with our department, the agent’s family, loved ones, and colleagues."

FOX News [1/24/2025 3:17 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 49889K, Negative] reports Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is requesting that the federal government reimburse his state more than $11.1 billion for taxpayer money spent on securing the southern border during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Abbott, who sent letters to U.S. Congressional members on Thursday, said the Biden administration’s "refusal to do its job the last four years" resulted in the crisis at the southern border that has spilled into the rest of the country. "President Biden’s policies left Texas and the rest of America defenseless against an unprecedented infiltration of violent criminals, known terrorists, and other hostile foreign actors, like the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua," the governor wrote. In response to the federal government’s lack of action at the border, Abbott took matters into his own hands and launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, which deployed the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to the US-Mexico border. Operation Lone Star has reduced illegal immigration into Texas by 87% over the past four years, proving the "effectiveness of President Donald Trump’s border measures," according to Abbott, who added that his efforts have shone a national spotlight on the crisis. The governor outlined that the operation has also resulted in the apprehension of more than half a million illegal immigrants, stopped more than 140,000 illegal attempts to enter the US, made more than 50,000 criminal arrests, seized more than half a billion lethal doses of fentanyl, built more than 240 miles of border barriers and established the only National Guard base along the Texas-Mexico border.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [1/23/2025 6:48 PM, S.E. Jenkins, 52225K, Neutral]
The Texas Tribune [1/23/2025 3:55 PM, Ayden Runnels, Negative]

Border Report [1/23/2025 7:36 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 153K, Neutral] reports for over 30 years, Father Roy Snipes has been a priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and at La Lomita Chapel in Mission, Texas. He says many parishioners are undocumented but faithful churchgoers who he fears will stop coming to services if federal agents raid churches and other places of worship, as well as schools, looking for undocumented migrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a directive allowing its agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to enter these once safe spaces in search of migrants they deem a criminal threat. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said, "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.". "It’s scary. It bothers me a lot," Snipes said. "They’re couching it in that setting that what we’re going on is drug dealers and cartel and everyone agrees with all of that. But what about Grandma and Grandpa who lived here all their lives and don’t have papers. What about them?" he said. "It’s all kind of a potential horror.". Sitting inside a backroom Thursday at his sprawling parish, surrounded by the dozens of stray dogs that he takes in, Snipes said sanctuaries need to remain sacred places of space where people can worship freely without fear. "Church is a place you want people to come and feel at home and even if they’re sinners you want them to come and ask forgiveness. It’s not a place to be accused or hunted down or despised. It should not be," he said.

AP [1/23/2025 1:04 PM, Joshua Goodman, Jim Mustian, 57114K, Negative] reports that on a face-numbingly frigid afternoon last week, Gov. Kristi Noem used a farewell address to South Dakotans to warn of an “invasion” far away from the state’s windswept prairies and freedom-loving farmers. The “illegal aliens” and “got-aways” crossing the southern border, the governor said, pose an existential threat to the U.S. economy and national security, spreading cartel violence and deadly drugs. “We see the consequences of Washington’s inaction here,” said Noem, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a job that would put her at the forefront of the administration’s promised immigration crackdown. “Even known terrorists have crossed the border amongst the illegals – and they could be anywhere.” But Noem’s heated rhetoric belies a stark reality: With unemployment at 1.9% — the lowest in the country — her state faces an acute labor shortage and has grown increasingly dependent on the same migrants she may be tasked with deporting. It’s those migrants, many in the U.S. illegally, who provide the low-paid labor powering the booming slaughterhouses, dairy farms and construction sites in South Dakota. And any immigration actions spearheaded by Noem, who is expected to be confirmed by the Senate in coming days, could have crippling consequences for businesses in her own backyard. That disconnect reflects a broader clash with fellow Republicans here who say she’s put her own ambition for higher office ahead of local needs. The tension is most apparent in her embrace of Trump’s hardline stance on immigration. Whether it’s expressing support for a “Muslim ban” during Trump’s first administration, or dispatching South Dakota’s national guard to the southern border “war zone” more than 1,000 miles away, Noem has left little doubt she will follow Trump’s orders. And that is what is terrifying migrants, business owners and advocates alike. “If strict enforcement comes into play, we’re going to drown in our own red meat,” said Ray Epp, a hog farmer and former Yankton County commissioner, who noted the unparalleled work ethic — and growing presence — of migrant laborers in the state’s pork industry. “There’d be a crash.” Nitza Rubenstein, a community activist who works closely with migrants, was even more blunt: “Who’s going to milk the cows? If the Latinos don’t, nobody will.”

San Diego Union Tribune [1/23/2025 9:45 PM, Alex Riggins, 2212K, Neutral] reports an alleged high-level cartel leader who was arrested by Mexican authorities following a 2020 shootout on the streets of downtown Tijuana has been extradited to San Diego, where he is facing a federal drug conspiracy indictment. Octavio Leal Hernandez, known as “Chapito Leal,” pleaded not guilty to two drug distribution conspiracy charges during an initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Diego. The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury in May 2020, alleges the 44-year-old Leal trafficked large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Mexico into the U.S. Mexican authorities captured Leal and seven others in February 2020 following a shootout between police and alleged cartel members. In the tense days following his arrest, heavily armed Tijuana police officers and members of Mexico’s Army and National Guard were sent to protect the location where he was detained. Leal ultimately remained in Mexican custody for nearly five years awaiting extradition. He arrived Wednesday in San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In a memorandum of detention arguing that he should remain in custody here, prosecutors alleged that a wiretap investigation revealed that Leal “is a violent individual and has committed acts of violence to facilitate his drug trafficking activities.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major granted the government’s request to hold Leal without bond pending trial. “This appearance in an American court is the result of our unwavering pursuit of those who perpetuate violence and push narcotics into our communities,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement. “We will hold traffickers accountable, no matter how long it takes.”

FOX News [1/23/2025 1:21 PM, Chris Pandolfo, 49889K, Negative] reports that the Mexican government is building large encampments in Ciudad Juárez to receive an expected influx of Mexicans returned to their native country by President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations. Tent shelters in Ciudad Juárez are made to temporarily house thousands of people and will be prepared in just a few days, city official Enrique Licon told Reuters. "It’s unprecedented," Licon said Tuesday of Mexico’s plan to build shelter and reception centers in nine cities south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Authorities at the site will reportedly provide deported Mexicans with food, temporary housing, medical care and assistance in obtaining identity documents, Reuters reported. The government will also provide transportation for Mexican nationals to return to their hometowns. Trump campaigned on launching the largest mass deportations of illegal immigrants in U.S. history and began that effort after assuming office on Monday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already made more than 460 arrests, targeting illegal immigrants with criminal records, including for violent crimes. Arrests took place across the U.S. including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland.

Border Report [1/23/2025 7:48 PM, Salvador Rivera, 153K, Neutral] reports most migrants who had their CBP One appointments canceled by President Donald Trump have remained in Tijuana and are now seeking temporary housing. Judith Cabrera, director of the Border Line Center, a shelter in Tijuana, said many of the people who lost their appointments are fearful of returning home or simply don’t have the money for the journey back. That includes many families who are now "in limbo" she said. "We’ve had many single men arrive looking for help, but since we tend to family units, we just advise them where they can go. We’re already at capacity with 50 migrants, that’s 20 more than we usually accommodate," she said. Cabrera said many of the people still arriving in the city also had CBP One appointments. She believes many had already invested in travel costs to get to the border, and are now hoping for "a miracle.". "We’re just taking in women and small children that were left stranded in Tijuana, but little by little more and more are knocking," she said. Cabrera said her shelter, as well as others, have posted information at the San Ysidro Port of Entry to help guide deported migrants. The giant shelter promised by the Mexican government in Tijuana has yet to open.

Wall Street Journal [1/23/2025 5:35 PM, Laurence Norman and Benoit Faucon, Negative] reports well, that was fast. A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Trump’s first-day order that sought to deny “birthright citizenship” to children of illegal immigrants and other non-permanent residents. Will his Justice Department waste important time and resources on an appeal with slim-to-no odds of success? Mr. Trump’s order purports to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to guarantee citizenship for former slaves. It states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Half a dozen lawsuits were immediately filed against the Trump order. The President’s lawyers say the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” has been wrongly interpreted by federal courts and Presidents. Illegal immigrants and non-permanent residents (e.g., student, tourist and temporary work visas) aren’t subject to the U.S. government jurisdiction, they say, therefore their children aren’t entitled to citizenship. Federal Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, gave this argument short shrift. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” he ruled from the bench, adding “where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?. . . I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar would state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order.” Good point. The Supreme Court declared in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)—a case involving a man born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants—that the history and text of the Fourteenth Amendment demonstrate the “ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory.” Mr. Trump can’t change the Constitution or the High Court’s interpretation of it by decree. Perhaps he is testing the constitutional limits of his authority to gratify supporters, the way Joe Biden did when he extended his nationwide eviction moratorium while acknowledging that “the bulk of the constitutional scholars say it’s not likely to pass constitutional muster.” Liberals now howling about Mr. Trump’s chutzpah cheered Mr. Biden at the time.

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 11:31 AM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Negative] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials announced Wednesday the agency arrested nearly 500 illegal immigrants nationwide during the first hours of President Donald Trump’s term. The agency reported more than 460 arrests over a 33-hour period spanning Tuesday to Wednesday. Those arrested had criminal histories including sexual assault, robbery, drug and weapons offenses and domestic violence, among other offenses, according to ICE. ICE also said it issued over 420 detainer requests, which ask local jails to hold an individual past their release date while the agency weighs deportation proceedings against them. The detainers impacted individuals hailing from Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela, the agency said in a press release. Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said on Fox News Tuesday the president’s executive orders on immigration, such as one targeting birthright citizenship, would lead to heightened security for citizens across the U.S. "This is going to give us the most secure border of my lifetime," he said. "Birthright citizenship is a major driver of illegal immigration. I’ve done this for over three decades. One of the first things an illegal alien does when they get here is get birthright U.S. citizenship for their child. That makes them immune from our laws.". Homan also guessed the Supreme Court may weigh in on whether Trump’s order violates the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the country.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 11:30 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 2365K, Negative]

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 6:08 PM, Kristine Frazao, 581K, Negative] reports a nationwide crackdown on sanctuary cities has resulted in nearly 500 arrests, including alleged MS-13 gang members and suspects of rape and murder, according to authorities. The operations, captured by Fox News, are part of President Trump’s mass deportation plan, which has granted new powers to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service to assist with immigration enforcement. In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump spoke about what he views as dangerous criminals who came into the country while President Joe Biden was in the White House. Jails and mental institutions from other countries and gang members right off the streets from the toughest cities in the world are being brought to the United States of America and emptied out into our country. ". He added, "People are coming in with tattoos all over their face, their entire face is covered with tattoos. Typically, you know, he’s not going to be head of the local bank," Trump said. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security just granted new authority to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Services to assist with immigration enforcement. As his executive orders have declared schools, hospitals and churches are no longer off limits with mixed messages coming from community leaders. Jennifer Piper, program director of the American Friends Service Committee in Denver, emphasized the need for warrants in sensitive locations. "So whether it’s a school, a church, a hospital, they need a warrant. And if they don’t have it, they don’t get in," Piper said.

Washington Post [1/23/2025 2:41 PM, Laura Meckler, Kim Bellware, and Hannah Natanson, 40736K, Neutral] reports that School leaders across the country are working to reassure immigrant families that it is safe to send their children to school amid growing fears that the Trump administration will target undocumented immigrants on school grounds. Anxiety in many cities was already thick over President Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally. Then this week, the Trump administration reversed more than a decade of policy, saying it will no longer direct immigration agents to avoid “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and churches. Fearful that some parents will keep their children at home, many districts are pushing out information about local rules that aim to counter or at least mitigate federal policies. Some are stressing, for instance, that their district will insist that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show a judicial warrant before being given access to school property or information. ICE routinely obtains judicial warrants when it is also investigating a crime, experts say, but agents are unlikely to have them during routine immigration enforcement operations.

FOX News [1/23/2025 9:55 AM, Bailee Hill, 49889K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration warned that any local leaders, including mayors, who try to stifle mass deportation efforts could face arrest as the president and his team work to mitigate the surge of illegal immigration. Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller warned that any officials trying to shield migrants from deportation will face "criminal jeopardy" for violating the law during "Jesse Watters Primetime." "The law is clear that harboring an illegal alien, smuggling an illegal alien, obstructing law enforcement, obstructing an official proceeding and a conspiracy to violate the rights of Americans, all of these and many more are criminal statutes," the Homeland Security advisor told Jesse Watters on Wednesday. "So if there [are] incidences that occur where a public official or an elected individual engages in violations of those criminal statutes, then I fully expect the Department of Justice will follow the letter of the law." Miller emphasized that "no one is above the law, not illegal aliens, and not anyone who may choose to illegally harbor those aliens." Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the first days of the Trump administration, has made more than 460 arrests of illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories that include sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs and weapons crimes. Border czar Tom Homan confirmed to Fox News that deportation efforts began Tuesday, with officials prioritizing the "worst first" in order to restore public safety.

The Hill [1/23/2025 2:56 PM, Lauren Irwin, 16346K, Neutral] reports that eleven Democratic-led states released a statement criticizing the "vague" threats from the Trump administration about prosecution related to noncompliance with immigration enforcement. The statement, released Thursday, was signed by 11 state attorneys general in blue states and addressed the recent memo sent out by the Department of Justice (DOJ) instructing prosecutors to investigate state and local governments that don’t comply with President Trump’s mass deportation plans. "Right now, these vague threats are just that: empty words on paper," the statement said. "But rest assured, our states will not hesitate to respond if these words become illegal actions." The statement was signed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), along with the attorneys general of New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont. On Wednesday, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove reportedly sent a memo to the DOJ workforce instructing them to investigate local officials that "threaten to impede" Trump’s immigration plans. It noted the DOJ could challenge those officials in court for noncompliance.

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 4:12 PM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Neutral] reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday scrubbed the term "undocumented noncitizen" from its vocabulary in favor of the word "alien," according to a memo verified by a department spokesperson. The word was deemed to be politically incorrect under the Biden administration, according to Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman, who wrote in a memo the term "undocumented noncitizen" will no longer be used. Huffman says he has revoked "all memos, guidance, and any other directives that direct personnel to avoid using language included in immigration law."

AP [1/23/2025 2:26 PM, Giovanna Dell’Orto, Luis Andres Henao, Deepa Bharath, 47097K, Neutral] reports that numerous faith leaders across the U.S. say the immigration crackdown launched by President Donald Trump’s new administration has sown fear within their migrant-friendly congregations. They are pondering ways to resist even in the face of warnings that houses of worship are not off-limits for arrests. In Portland, Oregon, the Rev. W.J. Mark Knutson, said he plans to offer undocumented migrants sanctuary at Augustana Lutheran Church anyway — just as he did in 2014. A man from El Salvador, wanted for re-entering the United States illegally, took shelter in the church for nearly three months, sleeping under the altar the first few nights. “Theologically, we’ll stand our ground against the government — an unjust law is no law at all,” Knutson told The Associated Press. “These are sacred spaces.” In Philadelphia, the Rev. Robin Hynicka, pastor of Arch Street United Methodist Church, said his church is committed to being a “justice seeking, reconciling, sanctuary congregation.” “Our work now is bigger than simply opening the door of the church for one or two people to stay,” Hynicka said. “Sanctuary has to be a value that we extend to one another through our policies, through the laws we enact.” Other clergy ministering to undocumented migrants were less specific, though they vowed to continue — and even expand — their support following this week’s announcement that federal immigration agencies could make arrests at churches, schools and hospitals, ending existing policies that protected sensitive spaces from enforcement. The Rev. Joseph Dutan, pastor of St. Paul the Apostle church in the New York City borough of Queens, said some of his congregation members were so frightened by the Trump-ordered moves that they worried attending Mass would be risky. Another pastor in Queens, the Rev. Manuel Rodriguez of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic church, said many of his 17,000 parishioners are undocumented and have children who attend the parish’s school.

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 1:17 PM, Ray Lewis, 581K, Negative] reports that a Haitian man who was in the U.S. illegally yelled "Biden forever" as he was arrested by federal immigration agents this week, according to a Fox News report published Thursday. The man, whom Fox News reports is a gang member with 17 recent criminal convictions, made the remarks while he was loaded into the back of a police vehicle in Boston. "F**k Trump! You feel me? Yo, Biden forever, bro!" the man said. "Thank Obama for everything that he did for me, bro!" Vice President JD Vance confirmed on social media that U.S. immigration officials are deporting the man. The arrest was one of eight that ICE’s Boston field office made that same day. Multiple members of MS-13, people suspected of murder and rape and people the International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, requested to be arrested were reportedly among those taken into custody. Patricia Hyde, the acting field office director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Boston, said the team took several significant public safety threats out of Massachusetts communities, according to Fox News. "Unfortunately, a lot were released by sanctuary policies. But we’re here to tell the Commonwealth and the rest of the country that we’re going to find them, whether they’re released or not," she said.

Univision [1/23/2025 6:11 PM, Staff, 7281K, Negative] reports ICE agents arrested three undocumented immigrants on criminal charges in New York as part of a national operation that resulted in 500 arrests in several sanctuary cities. Among those arrested in New York are an alleged member of the MS-13 gang originally from El Salvador, a Jamaican citizen on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and a Honduran citizen previously convicted of driving in a drunk state. The operation extended to other sanctuary cities including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami and Washington DC, where a total of 500 arrests were reported. A recent similar operation was recorded in Newark, New Jersey, where ICE ERO arrested 33 noncitizens considered a threat to public safety between December 9 and 13, 2024. Among those arrested in Newark were individuals on serious charges, including a Dominican citizen convicted of aggravated homicide, a Mexican national convicted of sexual assault on a minor, and several others on violent charges.

New York Daily News [1/23/2025 5:17 PM, Cayla Bamberger, Neutral] reports a New York City education panel issued a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s recent order allowing federal immigration officials to make arrests at "sensitive" locations, passing a resolution Wednesday night that affirmed the longstanding practice of barring the authorities from school grounds. The Trump administration’s Tuesday announcement that federal immigration agents would not face limits on arrests at or near sensitive locations — which alongside schools, also covers hospitals and houses of worship — undid over a decade of precedent, including Trump’s first four years in office. Local guidelines block Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, from accessing schools without a warrant, and even then, administrators must consult with senior field counsel first. While Mayor Adams has promised to "stand up for all New Yorkers, documented, and undocumented" and encouraged immigrant families to continue sending their children to school, it remains to be seen how City Hall responds to the federal government’s order. During a Tuesday press conference, Adams, asked about sensitive locations, refrained from weighing in publicly.

Reuters [1/23/2025 10:04 PM, Kanishka Singh, 48128K, Negative] reports U.S. immigration agents rounded up undocumented migrants as well as American citizens in a raid of a Newark, New Jersey, worksite on Thursday that the city’s mayor said involved detaining a military veteran and violations of the people’s rights. The raid in New Jersey’s most populous city, hailed in the past by mayor Ras Baraka for its "sanctuary" policies protecting migrants, follows President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Trump issued a raft of executive orders after taking office on Monday that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration. He has taken steps to punish officials who resist enforcement of his sweeping crackdown. In a raid of a business establishment in Newark, outside New York City, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents failed to produce a warrant as they detained "undocumented residents as well as citizens," Baraka said in a statement. "One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned," Baraka said. In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said that agents "may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark." The spokesperson said that ICE was investigating the incident. CBS New York [1/24/2025 12:00 AM, Ali Bauman, 52225K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained multiple people, including United States citizens, a U.S. military veteran and undocumented individuals. According to Baraka, the agents did not produce a warrant. "This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution," Baraka said in part in a statement. "Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized." Newark is considered a so-called "sanctuary city." A spokesperson for ICE told CBS News New York in a statement late Thursday that it conducted a "targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey." "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey," the statement read. "This is an active investigation and, per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations." The owner of Ocean Seafood Depot, located at Adams and Delancey streets, told CBS News New York that about one dozen ICE agents came in unannounced at around 11 a.m. Eastern Time, asking to see documentation of his employees. In a joint statement late Thursday night, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey said they were "deeply concerned about the news of an ICE raid in Newark today." They said their offices have reached out to the Department of Homeland Security. "Actions like this one sow fear in all of our communities — and our broken immigration system requires solutions, not fear tactics," the statement read. Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 11:36 PM, Nick Visser, 57114K, Negative] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested more than 500 people on Thursday, including during a raid on a worksite in New Jersey that a local official called an “egregious act” that violated the Fourth Amendment. Bloomberg [1/23/2025 10:31 PM, Alicia A. Caldwell, 21617K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration has arrested 538 undocumented people involved in criminal activities, including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several convicted of sex crimes against minors, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X on Thursday evening. Trump has vowed to target an estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally. While he and Homan have repeatedly said they’ll start by focusing on violent criminals, anxiety has increased in some migrant communities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles over the prospect of massive raids sweeping up those without criminal records.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/23/2025 9:14 PM, Filip Timotija, 16346K, Negative]

USA Today [1/24/2025 12:24 AM, Katie Sobko, 89965K, Negative] reports Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said U.S. immigration agents rounded up undocumented migrants as well as American citizens in a raid Thursday, just days after President Donald Trump issued a raft of executive orders that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration. In a raid of a business establishment in Newark, New Jersey, outside New York City, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents failed to produce a warrant as they detained "undocumented residents as well as citizens," Baraka said in a statement. "One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned," Baraka said. "This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ‘the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." The mayor went on to say Newark will not “stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized.” This raid comes just days after President Donald Trump returned to office. He has since signed a slew of executive orders to do everything from allowing ICE raids in houses of worship to eliminating birthright citizenship. During his campaign, Trump threatened the deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants when he got back into the White House. More than 470,000 New Jersey residents are undocumented. In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said that agents "may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting fieldwork and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark."

CBS Pittsburgh [1/23/2025 7:16 PM, Madeline Bartos and Ricky Sayer, 52225K, Negative] Video: HERE reports five people were arrested after Homeland Security and police raided two spas in North Strabane Township on Thursday. North Strabane Township police said after a lengthy investigation, they confirmed reports of criminal activity at Jin Spa on McClelland Road and Yan Spa on Houston Hill Church Road, which are owned and operated by the same owner. On Thursday, North Strabane Township police said the department along with state police and Homeland Security Investigations carried out search warrants and arrest warrants at both spas and connected residences. Five employees and principals of the business were arrested, police said. North Strabane Township police also noted that the spas had been operating "in close proximity to public schools and medical facilities.".

Axios [1/23/2025 7:20 AM, Ivana Saric, Torey Van Oot, 16349K, Negative] reports top law enforcement officials in the Twin Cities are already pushing back against President Trump’s new hardline immigration policies. Just days into the new administration, Trump’s campaign pledge to oversee mass deportations of immigrants is taking shape, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids expected. Trump has threatened to withhold millions in federal funding from cities that do not cooperate. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Trump’s Department of Justice has instructed federal prosecutors to investigate local officials who "threaten to impede" the efforts. Minneapolis and St. Paul have for years had "sanctuary" policies that seek to protect undocumented immigrants and limit what officials can share with federal immigration authorities. A dozen Minnesota counties, including Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey, have policies limiting cooperation, per the Center for Immigration Studies. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reiterated last week that city policy prohibits officers from asking about immigration status, unless they are investigating related crimes such as human trafficking or smuggling. He told MPR News that a reversal would have a "very chilling effect on our ability to provide public safety" if people without legal status are afraid to talk to police. Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt struck a similar tone on Wednesday, telling WCCO radio that assisting ICE on immigration-related matters is "not our job." "I will assure you we are not looking for people based off of their immigration status," Witt said. "We are looking for people who commit heinous acts." St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told Axios that the city’s workers — including police — "never had a role in enforcing federal immigration laws, nor asked for papers as a condition to receive city services, and we never will." "Our city workers fight fires, investigate crimes, fill potholes, and provide safe spaces for youth with no regard to citizenship status," he said in a statement. The comments come as a growing number of police departments across the nation announce that they don’t intend to assist with immigration enforcement in cases where no crime has been reported. Chicago, Omaha and Las Vegas are among those that have announced or reaffirmed their policies in recent days.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 1:21 PM, Seth Tupper, 57114K, Positive] reports that Sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants will be banned in South Dakota if legislators adopt a bill that advanced out of a committee Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre. The name "sanctuary" is often applied to policies that limit state or local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The bill, from state Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, would prohibit such policies at the state and local levels. The legislation is based on a law passed in North Dakota. Other states have adopted similar measures, Crabtree said, including Montana, Wyoming and Iowa. Crabtree said the bill is necessary to ward off policies being adopted in Democratic-leaning states as a backlash against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. "I believe it is time for the Legislature here in South Dakota to make clear that in our state, we will assist federal law enforcement to keep our communities safe," Crabtree said. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has no Democratic members, voted unanimously to send the bill to the full Senate. There are nine Democrats in South Dakota’s 105-member Legislature, which means the party doesn’t have enough members to fill seats on all committees. Nobody testified against the legislation during the committee hearing.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 6:58 PM, Wil Day, 57114K, Negative] reports a Wichita man has pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing child pornography. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Sebastian Grattan, 28, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography. Court records show Grattan admitted to using a messaging app to distribute materials showing child sex abuse in November 2023. He is currently in the U.S. Marshals’ custody while awaiting sentencing on April 10. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The case was investigated by the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), Wichita Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations under “Project Safe Childhood,” which was launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. The program coordinates and cooperates with federal, tribal, state, local, and international organizations and agencies to better locate, capture and prosecute those who use the internet to exploit children and identify and rescue victims.

Newsweek [1/23/2025 9:26 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports that California is gearing up for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which includes mass deportations and sweeping raids targeting undocumented immigrants. Tougher policies to address illegal immigration and strengthen border security were central to Trump’s 2024 campaign, with the Republican candidate promising to implement the largest mass deportation program in U.S. history. Upon returning to office on January 20, the president signed a series of executive orders to "seal the border," and Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have begun nationwide, resulting in hundreds of arrests. As the administration moves forward with its hard-line immigration agenda, advocates in California are mobilizing to protect immigrant communities from potential raids and deportations. Immigrant rights advocates have been hosting workshops and sharing legal advice on social media with communities about knowing their rights and how to plan in the event that immigration enforcement officers turn up at their front doors, schools or places of employment. Gina Amato Lough, the directing attorney at Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, told Newsweek: "We are mobilizing to defend immigrant communities against Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda and are more prepared than we were for his first administration.

NBC News [1/23/2025 7:46 PM, Carmen Sesin, 50804K, Negative] reports a lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump by five pregnant women and several immigrant groups warns that Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship could render babies born to some asylum-seekers "stateless.". The executive order Trump signed Monday, titled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, attempts to limit birthright citizenship to people who have at least one parent who is a United States citizen or permanent resident. It also states that those born to parents who are in the country legally, but temporarily, will no longer be automatically guaranteed citizenship. A federal district court in Seattle on Thursday temporarily blocked the order limiting birthright citizenship, preventing it from going into effect for 14 days. The case is ongoing. The situation could be particularly complicated for asylum-seekers from Venezuela, which no longer has an embassy or consulates in the U.S. If birthright citizenship is revoked and a child were born in the U.S. to Venezuelan asylum-seekers, the parents would have trouble registering their child as a Venezuelan citizen due to the lack of diplomatic offices here, thus making the child "stateless," at least temporarily, plaintiffs’ attorneys said.

Bloomberg [1/23/2025 8:38 PM, Andrew Kreighbaum, 21617K, Neutral] reports US President Donald Trump’s plans to curb immigration by reducing the inflow of undocumented foreigners and deporting those already in the country have broad public support, particularly within his Republican Party. When it comes to restricting work visas for highly-skilled foreigners, a goal Trump pursued in his first presidency from 2017 to 2021, those in his inner circle are sharply divided. And Trump himself has indicated he’s changed his view on the H-1B visa program designed to allow US companies to hire highly educated foreign workers with knowledge in specialized fields. Introduced in 1990, the H-1B visa program is one of a series of US immigration initiatives created during the 20th century to address specific labor shortages. Others facilitated the employment of temporary farm workers from Mexico during World War II, sheepherders mainly from Spain in the 1950s and nurses, many of whom came from the Philippines, in the 1990s. Today, employers can apply to bring in foreigners to fill temporary agricultural jobs under the H-2A program and workers for other kinds of temporary jobs, including seasonal work, under the H-2B program. H-1B visas are used primarily by the tech industry, whose leaders say there is a dearth of professionals with science, math, and computer skills. “Computer-related” occupations accounted for about 65% of H-1B approvals in fiscal 2023. Applicants must have at least a bachelor’s degree. The visas are temporary, lasting as long as six years, but can be extended indefinitely if a company has sponsored a worker’s employment-based green card application for permanent residency in the US. Business groups support the program but say it needs to be expanded because the quotas on H-1B visas as well as on green cards limit their ability to fill critical labor shortages. Supporters of the program cite research showing that the professionals admitted under the program — mostly workers who moved to the US for college or graduate programs — deliver benefits to the country. They’ve been shown to make more patent applications than their peers and to increase a startup’s chances of obtaining funding and of winning patents. Their innovation and productivity has been shown to lead to lower costs for consumers. The program’s critics, on both the right and left, have attacked it for undermining employment of skilled US workers.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 6:58 AM, Michael Reiner, 57114K, Neutral] reports that according to a press release, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is asking for the federal government’s review of countries granted temporary protected status (TPS), including some that have held the designation for decades. Yost and other AGs said that TPS designations have been repeatedly extended far longer than Congress intended. Yost released a statement: "This program has been applied too loosely, allowing noncitizens to live here indefinitely, even after it’s safe for them to return home. Congress made these designations temporary for a reason – they were never supposed to last 20-plus years.". According to the press release, Congress authorizes the department to grant the designation for six to 18 months when countries – during times of crisis, such as war or natural disaster – are temporarily unable to accept returning citizens. In a letter from Yost and a coalition of 17 other states to the nominee for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, it states that the current approach has allowed thousands of noncitizens to remain eligible to live in the United States and receive benefits for more than 20 years. "Converting TPS into a license for long-term residency frustrates congressional aims and only increases the financial and governmental strain on States," the attorneys general said. Yost is joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 7:08 PM, Sartaj Singh, 57114K, Positive] reports the journey to become a U.S. Citizen is a long one, but local residents who earned their citizenship Thursday say it’s worth every second. With the naturalization ceremony held at Oakwood High School, students also had a chance to see the Constitution in action right before their eyes. 2 NEWS attended the ceremony, where applause and cheers welcomed dozens of people into their new home. From 22 countries to one country, America now has 38 new citizens in the Miami Valley. Thursday’s ceremony finalized the journey of those individuals to officially become citizens. “All my time since getting here has been like building toward this moment,” said Akhil Mudgil, from India. For Akhil Mudgil, he waited eight years to finally say he is a U.S. citizen. Mudgil was previously living here on a student visa. He says the moment was special, especially since his family was there to share it with him. ““That’s like a special honor, and it’s a day that I probably won’t ever forget,” said Mudgil. “I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.” Several students were also able to witness the momentous occasion. As they watched from their seats, students recognized this is no ordinary ceremony, but an important step towards opportunity. “The faces showed it all, I mean, the faces, so, so much happiness,” said Mannie Williams, OHS junior. “We’ve read about so much, but I as a citizen, rarely ever get to see it in action, never get to see this in person. So it’s really great.” “It’s just really cool to be able to watch people become citizens and just be able to embrace everything that we have,” said Brigid Newman, OHS senior.

Miami Herald [1/23/2025 10:41 AM, Clyde Hughes, 6595K, Negative] reports that the Trump administration is considering sending thousands of active-duty troops to the southern border to address illegal immigration, according to an internal memo viewed by multiple news outlets on Thursday. The memo viewed by CBS News and The Washington Post said the administration had requested to send roughly 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, while a person familiar with the matter also told CNN of the same request. The requested total would include 1,500 the Pentagon announced it was sending as part of its initial wave of military members on Wednesday. The Defense Department already has 2,500 soldiers at the border based in El Paso in support of work being done by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, from logistics, monitoring, and vehicle maintenance. "In short order, [the Department of Defense] will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHS, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the [president] at our nation’s borders," said active Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement earlier this week. The Defense Department said on Wednesday that it will provide support in the deportation of 5,000 individuals already detained by Border Patrol sectors in San Diego and El Paso.

FOX News [1/24/2025 12:51 AM, Christina Shaw, 57114K, Neutral] reports military troops began arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, on Thursday evening following President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency at the southern border. The additional support of 1,500 active-duty troops consists of 1,000 U.S. Army personnel and 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California who will get their assignments along the border upon arrival. "This represents a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces since President Trump was sworn-in Monday," Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement late Wednesday. There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. The troops were ordered there in May 2023 during the Biden administration under Title 10 authorities approved by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and are planned to be there until the end of Fiscal Year 2025, according to a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson. The National Guard is also increasing its support and coordinating emergent requirements with USNORTHCOM and U.S. Transportation Command for additional personnel, military airlift, barrier construction and other capabilities to meet presidential and Secretary of Defense directives, according to a statement from the National Guard Bureau of Public Affairs. "The National Guard currently has over 1,600 Guardsmen supporting the federal border security mission," said Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau. "In conjunction with our Joint Service partners, we are developing additional support options to meet USNORTHCOM, USTRANSCOM and Department of Homeland Security force requirements as this critical mission evolves." Additionally, more than 4,100 Texas National Guard personnel remain on duty at the border supporting ongoing Operation Lone Star efforts. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
AP [1/23/2025 5:42 PM, Lolita C. Baldor, 47097K, Neutral]

Newsweek [1/23/2025 6:48 PM, Gabe Whisnant, 56005K, Positive] reports active-duty military troops are set to begin arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, on Thursday evening, marking the initial phase of deploying new forces to secure the southern border, according to defense officials. The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that approximately 1,500 troops would be sent to the border this week. Officials indicated on Thursday that they anticipate most of these troops will arrive in El Paso, including Fort Bliss, or San Diego by Friday. Upon arrival, they will receive their mission assignments and prepare to disperse along the border.

Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 7:20 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 2365K, Neutral] reports that, after a Monday meeting with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commanders of the U.S. Northern Command, Transportation Command, and National Guard, Salesses established a task force to carry out "expedited implementation" of Trump’s orders to obtain "complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.” "DOD will begin augmenting its forces at the southwest border with an additional [approximately] 1,500 ground personnel, as well as helicopters with associated crews, and intelligence analysts to support increased detection and monitoring efforts," Salesses said in a statement from the Pentagon. The initial tranche of 1,500 additional troops will bring the total at the border to 4,000, a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces, according to the Pentagon. "President Trump directed action from the Department of Defense on securing our nation’s borders and made clear he expects immediate results," Salesses said. "That is exactly what our military is doing under his leadership.” Salesses promised that "in short order" the Pentagon will announce additional military deployments in support of DHS, federal agencies, and state partners "to address the full range of threats" outlined by President Trump. According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection briefing document obtained by Washington Post, Trump is planning to send around 10,000 troops to the border with Mexico, where they will support Border Patrol agents under new orders to shut off all access to asylum. U.S. law permits anyone who presents themselves at border checkpoints to request an asylum hearing, but according to the briefing document, border agents will be authorized to refuse entry to asylum-seekers on the grounds that they have passed through countries where communicable diseases are present. In an Oval Office interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump defended the total shutdown of the border. "Why would somebody say that open borders are good, where jails and mental institutions from other countries and gang members right off the streets of the toughest cities in the world are being brought to the United States of America and emptied out into our country?" Trump said. "There are people coming in with tattoos all over their face. Their entire face is covered with tattoos. Typically, you know he’s not going to be the head of the local bank.”

FOX News [1/23/2025 2:09 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports that the U.S. southern border has seen a sharp drop in illegal immigrant encounters in the first days of the Trump administration, compared to the final few days of the Biden administration, multiple Department of Homeland Security sources tell Fox News Digital. The number of Border Patrol encounters at the southern border in the first three days of the Trump administration is 35% lower than the final three days of the Biden administration, the sources said. The numbers do not include encounters at the northern border, or encounters at ports of entry by Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations. On Jan. 17, there were 1,288 encounters nationwide, then 1,266 on Jan. 18 and 1,354 on Jan. 19. That is 3,908 encounters in total. President Donald Trump implemented took office on the 20th, when there were 1,073 encounters. It then declined further to 736 encounters on the 21st and again to 714 on the 22nd — making up 2,523 encounters. The Department of Homeland Security has also issued memos rescinding limits placed on ICE by the Biden administration, ordering a review of parole and expanding the use of expedited removal for recently-arrived illegal immigrants.

Newsweek [1/23/2025 1:4w PM, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Neutral] reports that among President Donald Trump’s executive orders Monday was a declaration of a national emergency at the United States’ border with Mexico, allowing him to send troops to the region. But data shows a downward trend in illegal crossings compared to the situation Trump left former President Joe Biden. The data, from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, indicates that in the last two months of 2024, illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border were at their lowest since mid-2020, before they began to climb to record levels. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Department of Homeland Security for comment via email Thursday morning. The White House said in a press release Wednesday: "Through the exercise of his authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Constitution of the United States, President Trump is authorizing and directing the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State to take all necessary action to immediately repel, repatriate, and remove illegal aliens across the southern border of the United States."

Border Report [1/23/2025 7:39 PM, Salvador Rivera, 153K, Neutral] reports Manuel Rodríguez and a friend attempted to illegally cross the border by climbing over the two barriers in Otay Mesa just north of Tijuana’s international airport. They paid smugglers $10,000 a piece for help in getting into the U.S. and for transportation to Long Beach, California. After getting over the first wall and attempting to scale the second one, Rodríguez and his buddy fell about 30 feet. Rodríguez said he injured both of his heels and ankles badly, but his friend suffered compound fractures in one leg and required hospitalization. Rodríguez ended up at a Border Patrol station for processing where he says he got some painkillers, but not much else. Within 24 hours, the 27-year-old Acapulco native was on a bus about to be deported into Tijuana. Once south of the border, he recalled his ordeal, saying he felt cheated by the smugglers. "I paid them so much money, which I had borrowed," he said. "The idea was to get across and walk to a point where we would be picked up and taken to Long Beach where my sister lives, but the smugglers left us there and ran back into Tijuana.".

FOX News [1/23/2025 4:33 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 49889K, Negative] reports a Texas man will spend years in federal prison after he was found guilty of organizing a human smuggling scheme involving thousands of illegal immigrants. Isai Orona, 35, who also goes by "Panda," was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison for conspiracy to transport aliens and transporting aliens, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas on Wednesday. Court documents showed that Orona was identified in WhatsApp communications as the organizer of the smuggling scheme. He admitted to smuggling more than 2,500 illegal immigrants into the US within a six-month span in 2023, many of whom were taken to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also said he had a network of drivers that helped him smuggle the illegal immigrants in at least 12 vehicles. When U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a co-conspirator for transporting nine illegal immigrants in El Paso, they discovered the car being used was registered to Orona. He was arrested on Nov. 20, 2023, and pleaded guilty to the aforementioned crimes on July 12, 2024. In addition to the four and a half years he’ll spend behind bars, the court also entered a money judgment against Orona for $250,000. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Miami Herald [1/23/2025 9:09 PM, Erika I. Ritchie, 6595K, Neutral] reports troops from California’s Camp Pendleton have been ordered to immediately deploy to the nation’s southern border, Marine Corps officials announced Thursday. The 500 Marines and sailors from the I Marine Expeditionary Force will be tasked "to carry out directed missions called for by the president to secure the border and protect and defend the territorial integrity of the United States," IMEF officials said. The deployment is through the U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force North. President Donald Trump took office Monday and quickly declared a national emergency at the southern border, directing the Department of Defense to help address the situation. The troops are part of a deployment of 1,500 service members announced Wednesday by Department of Defense officials to "augment troops already conducting enforcement operations in that region," acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said in a statement. The Camp Pendleton Marines and sailors being sent had previously been prepared to assist with wildfires in California, but were never called upon, a DOD official said in a Thursday call with media. The deployment also includes 1,000 Army personnel. The troops will initially work to physically reinforce the border in San Diego and El Paso, Texas, and aerial support is being added to assist with the movements of troops, he said. In 2023, about 200 Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors were also ordered to the border to work with Customs and Border Protection as pandemic restrictions expired and a surge of migrants arrived. In 2018, about 1,100 Camp Pendleton Marines deployed to the border as caravans of migrants from Central America approached.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 4:03 PM, Danielle Dawson, 57114K, Neutral] reports a hiker was shot and robbed by "suspected cartel members" Wednesday while exploring an area along the edge of San Diego and Imperial counties near the U.S.-Mexico border with a group, U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector officials said on social media. The post, which had an accompanying video, appears to show the hiker being airlifted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection from where the shooting occurred in the Jacumba Mountains Wilderness, a federally-maintained desert area in inland Southern California. Border Patrol said agents were dispatched to "rescue the hikers, evaluate them, and neutralize any threats" after CBP received a call of assistance from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office. The hiker, who is a U.S. citizen, sustained two gunshot wounds to his leg and was carried to the helicopter by Border Patrol agents, according to CBP. He was then transported to a nearby medical aircraft, which flew him to a local hospital for treatment. No further details were immediately available about the events of the shooting, including whether any suspects were taken into custody. It is also unclear whether the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism, although Border Patrol in the post described the suspects as "terrorists" — likely in reference to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. "These cartels think they can bring their war to American soil," the post from the U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector read. "The American people will not retreat from this kind of terror.".

AP [1/23/2025 10:13 PM, Staff, 47097K, Neutral] reports that, San Diego, the busiest corridor for illegal border crossings over much of last year, has seen traffic slow dramatically. Agents were making 1,500 arrests a day in April. Last week, they made less than 250 arrests a day. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Victorville Daily Press [1/23/2025 3:14 PM, Brian Day, Neutral] reports border agents arrested a man and woman at the Calexico East Port of Entry after discovering the gas tank of their car was filled with liquid methamphetamine, officials said. The bust took place shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday when a 52-year-old woman drove an SUV to the entry point seeking admission to the U.S., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. She was accompanied by a 46-year-old man who was riding as a passenger. The driver and passenger were detained and turned over to the custody of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, officials said.

CBS Pittsburgh [1/23/2025 5:56 PM, Ross Guidotti, 52225K, Neutral] reports last year, more guns were confiscated from Pittsburgh International Airport than at any other airport across the state, and that’s something the new federal security director wants to correct. Jerry Spero has been appointed the Transportation Security Administration’s new federal security director for Pennsylvania and Delaware. He says the Pittsburgh International Airport is in good hands but they got to get one thing under control, and that’s getting the message out to passengers that you can’t put a gun in your carry-on. According to Pittsburgh International Airport, 9.95 million people flew in and out of the airport in 2024. Passengers bringing guns in their carry-on bags is a point of concern for Spero. Last year, the TSA confiscated 42 firearms from passengers’ bags. He says 88 percent of those were loaded. And while 42 guns were confiscated at Pittsburgh International in 2024, that’s nothing compared to Atlanta International, where the TSA discovered 440 firearms in passenger carry-ons.

AP [1/24/2025 12:05 AM, Will Weissert, Chris Megerian, 47097K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump is heading to hurricane-battered western North Carolina and wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles on Friday, using the first trip of his second administration to tour areas where politics has clouded the response to deadly disasters. The Republican president has criticized former President Joe Biden for his administration’s response in North Carolina, and he’s showered disdain on California leaders for water policies that he falsely claimed worsened the recent blazes. Trump is also considering overhauling the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some of his conservative allies have proposed reducing how much the agency reimburses states for handling floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other calamities. The White House has asked California congressional members, including Democrats, to hold a roundtable at an airplane hanger in Santa Monica during Trump’s visit, according to a person briefed on the plans who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them. Any meeting could be contentious. Trump has suggested using federal disaster assistance as a bargaining chip during unrelated legislative negotiations over government borrowing, or as leverage to persuade California to change its water policies. “Southern California and California has always been there for other regions of the country in their time of crisis, and we expect our country to be there for us,” Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from the state, said this week. Trump has a history of injecting politics and falsehoods into disaster response. During his first term, he talked about limiting help for Democratic states that didn’t support him, according to former administration officials. While running for president last year, he claimed without evidence that Democrats were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” of the battleground state of North Carolina.

AP [1/23/2025 4:22 PM, Chris Megerian, 47097K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump is preparing to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been on the frontlines of responding to recent wildfires in California and last year’s hurricane in North Carolina. He spoke at length about the issue with congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday, discussing whether the agency known as FEMA should continue providing assistance to states in the same way, according to a person familiar with the conversation and granted anonymity to discuss it. Trump was critical of the agency this week in an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, saying "FEMA has not done their job for the last four years" and "FEMA is getting in the way of everything." The Republican president plans to visit North Carolina, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September, and California, which is reeling from some of the most destructive fires in its history, on Friday for his first trip since taking office on Monday. North Carolina has been a focal point for Republican criticism of FEMA, some of it rooted in misinformation.

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 6:22 PM, Matt Galka, 581K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump is set to visit North Carolina and California on Friday, two states that have faced significant natural disasters over the past year. The President’s visit comes amid discussions about potential changes to disaster relief funding. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump suggested that disaster relief aid could come with conditions, particularly for California, which has been battling devastating wildfires. I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down," Trump said, referring to his belief that water management policies are exacerbating the state’s fire issues. Trump has repeatedly criticized California’s water management and preparedness for the deadly fires that have wiped out homes and businesses. "How is it possible you’re not allowing this water - they divert it out into the Pacific Ocean where it drops into the Pacific Ocean," the President said. California officials have disputed Trump’s claims about water diversion, but the state remains in need of disaster relief. Congress is currently debating whether to attach conditions to aid money. Multiple Republicans in California won tight Congressional races and the issue could be a politically vulnerable one. It could also complicate vote counts for other issues. Trump’s Friday trip also includes a stop in North Carolina, which is still recovering from Hurricane Helene that struck four months ago. The President has criticized the previous administration’s response to the hurricane and has hinted at potential reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "It gets in the way, and FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems," Trump said.

Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 12:06 PM, Emily Hallas, 2365K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump signaled he is considering sweeping changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the country’s lead federal agency responsible for disaster relief, during his second term in the White House. During his first one-on-one interview since assuming office, Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he wanted states to have the power to manage their own disaster relief efforts rather than be overseen by the federal government, accusing FEMA of "complicating everything.". "FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems," the president said on Wednesday. "I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it … then the federal government can help them out with the money. FEMA is getting in the way of everything, and the Democrats actually used FEMA not to help North Carolina.". FEMA has experienced close scrutiny in recent months for its response to Hurricane Helene, which most prominently hit western North Carolina, leaving the region a shell of its former self. Trump led critics in arguing FEMA had led an ineffective, bureaucratic response to the crisis that had, in some cases, stonewalled relief efforts spearheaded by the private sector. He also denounced FEMA for spending roughly $1 billion of its resources to shelter illegal immigrants when agency officials signaled last fall it was running out of money in its disaster relief fund. FEMA officials denounced all allegations as misinformation. Trump’s statement on his vision for the agency’s future came during a discussion about what might be included in legislation pushing his priorities through Congress. He announced during his interview that he wanted to ensure ample funds earmarked for the Los Angeles fires are contained in the bill, noting that the measure would gain bipartisan support.

The Hill [1/23/2025 6:39 PM, Zack Budryk, 16346K, Neutral] reports President Trump was sharply critical of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Wednesday, suggesting at one point to natural disasters but still have the federal government provide money states should handle their own response. "FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. … But unless you have certain types of leadership, it’s really — it gets in the way," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview Wednesday. "And FEMA is gonna be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems.". "I love Oklahoma," Trump continued. "But you know what, if they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. And then the federal government can help them out with the money.". Trump repeatedly attacked the Biden administration and FEMA in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. A FEMA worker was fired last year after they told aid workers not to go to homes with Trump yard signs, further inflaming GOP criticism of the response. The president has yet to name a nominee to lead FEMA in his administration, though multiple outlets have reported a leading contender is Kevin Guthrie, who is the current executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Newsweek [1/23/2025 2:24 PM, Andrew Stanton, 56005K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump has questioned the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but potential cuts to FEMA may hit residents of three red states the hardest. "FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems," Trump said during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Wednesday evening. Newsweek reached out via email to the White House for comment. FEMA delivers crucial aid to Americans affected by natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires, flooding and earthquakes. Trump’s comments come as Los Angeles continues to grapple with several wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres, killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. The agency has come under scrutiny from some Republicans in recent months over its response to the devastation in parts of North Carolina from Hurricane Helene last year. Recovery efforts are still underway. The agency has established a fact-checking page to combat the misinformation about its response that spread online. Trump criticized FEMA during his Fox News interview, saying that "all it does is complicate everything" and that the California wildfires, estimated to have caused up to $250 billion in damage, have "changed everything.". He didn’t say whether he would propose an alternative to FEMA or support other ways for the federal government to deliver aid to states hit by a natural disaster.

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 1:17 PM, Kelly Doty, 581K, Neutral] reports North Carolina’s governor says President Donald Trump’s planned visit to the mountains on Friday is "very good news" for a region still recovering from catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene. During a winter weather-related press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 22, Gov. Josh Stein told reporters that his office had just learned about the presidential visit. "I think that’s very good news for the people of western North Carolina, that this issue is front-of-mind of the new administration," Stein said. The governor said he wasn’t sure of his schedule on Friday but hoped to see President Trump. As of noon Thursday, details about the president’s visit, including venue or arrival time, were not made available by the White House or local officials. A Buncombe County spokesperson announced Wednesday that travelers in the area should expect traffic delays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

NBC News [1/23/2025 9:20 PM, Phil Helsel, 50804K, Neutral] reports firefighters gained more ground Thursday on a fast-moving brush fire that erupted north of Los Angeles on Wednesday and within hours exploded to thousands of acres amid high winds, officials said. The Hughes Fire, which started near Castaic Lake, was 36% contained and had burned more than 10,000 acres by Thursday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. No structures have been destroyed, officials said. The fire had prompted mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday for more than 31,000 people. They had been lifted by Thursday afternoon, but around 54,900 people remained under an evacuation warning, meaning they should be prepared to leave if ordered, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. “This fire was one of those tough, fast-moving Santa Ana wind-driven fires,” Brent Pascua, a battalion chief with Cal Fire, said Thursday. The fire, which occurred as the region was under a warning for high winds and critical fire weather, erupted little more than two weeks after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires started in the Los Angeles area, killing at least 28 people and destroying thousands of homes. It was reported at 10:24 a.m. Wednesday near Lake Hughes Road, close to Castaic Lake, in northern Los Angeles County, fire officials said. Dry, dead and dying brush gave it plenty of fuel, Pascua said. The cause was under investigation.

New York Times [1/23/2025 6:28 PM, Amy Graff, Jesus Jiménez and Austyn Gaffney, 161405K, Neutral] reports rain and cooler temperatures will bring relief to Southern California this weekend, after a prolonged stretch of dry, breezy weather that allowed wildfires to thrive. The parched landscape between Los Angeles and San Diego hasn’t seen any significant precipitation so far this winter, providing plenty of dry vegetation to fuel the fires. A storm system forecast to move across the region Saturday through Monday will change that. But there’s also a slight chance that the rain could be on the heavier side — up to half an inch per hour, said Brian Hurley, a National Weather Service meteorologist. That could trigger flash floods and mudslides in places scarred by the Palisades, Eaton and Hughes fires, and in areas burned by smaller blazes over the past two weeks. Winds remained fairly strong on Thursday, requiring yet another round of red-flag warnings. But the warm, dry pattern and Santa Ana winds will begin to shift on Friday, with a coastal sea breeze pushing moist cool air off the ocean. Light showers could fall as early as Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, where fires are still burning. The greatest chance for rain will come on Sunday, with light showers lingering into Monday. Parts of Los Angeles, including downtown, could receive as much as an inch of rain, said Brian Lewis, a Weather Service forecaster in Oxnard, Calif. “We’re not expecting high rainfall rates unless a thunderstorm goes right over that area,” he said, adding that there was a 10 to 20 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms.

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/23/2025 12:20 AM, Holly Yan, Amanda Musa and Hanna Park, 987K, Neutral]

Miami Herald [1/23/2025 7:21 PM, Teri Figueroa and Christian Martinez, 6595K, Neutral] reports evacuations have been lifted after a fire sparked south of the University of California, San Diego on Thursday afternoon. and a second fast-moving fire in the Otay Mountain area is fast growing. Evacuations were initially ordered for neighborhoods between North Torrey Pines Road and La Jolla Parkway off La Jolla Scenic Drive North. Areas to the west were warned to be ready to evacuate. The fire broke out around 2 p.m. near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante and within 30 minutes had charred an acre, said Jose Ysea, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Camera footage from Alert San Diego - a camera system UC San Diego set up in remote areas to track wildfires - showed a plume of smoke rising among dense trees and near structures in La Jolla. UC San Diego told the campus community in an email that forward spread had been stopped. "There is no immediate threat to campus," its alert said. The wind in the area is blowing 10 to 15 miles per hour and the humidity is about 6%. High winds suspended play during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open, the annual PGA golf tournament at Torrey Pines, shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday. Fire crews also responded to a fire in Otay Mountain Wilderness area just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said.

Wall Street Journal [1/24/2025 1:36 AM, Gareth Vipers, Sara Randazzo and Alyssa Lukpat, Negative] reports thousands of firefighters worked to contain new blazes Thursday, including one near the affluent Bel-Air neighborhood, while persistent winds left weary Angelenos on edge following weeks of historic fires. The Hughes fire in northern Los Angeles County, near the city of Santa Clarita, started Wednesday and exploded to more than 10,100 acres. It was 36% contained by Thursday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 16,000 people remained under evacuation orders Thursday evening, down from 31,000 previously, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. An additional 38,700 were under an evacuation warning. Overnight, a new blaze called the Sepulveda fire broke out near Bel-Air—roughly 2 miles from the perimeter of the Palisades fire that has already ravaged more than 23,000 acres and destroyed thousands of structures this month. Officials lifted evacuation warnings for the Sepulveda fire after firefighters said they stopped “all forward progress” of the blaze. The fire wasn’t immediately threatening any homes, fire officials said. As of Thursday, the fire had reached 45 acres and was 60% contained. Another blaze, called the Laguna fire, started Thursday morning around the city of Camarillo in Ventura County. The county’s fire department said Thursday afternoon that forward progress on the fire had been stopped and it had been held to 50 acres, and no structures were damaged. Two others erupted Thursday, both in San Diego County. The Border fire had burned 228 acres and the Gilman fire had burned 2. Both were 0% contained. The new fires hit a region already reeling from weeks of historic flames and bracing for further damage from strong winds and potential mudslides from rain that is forecast this weekend. Red-flag warnings for dangerous fire weather were in effect through Friday morning, and drought conditions have left the area vulnerable. Wind gusts up to 70 miles an hour were expected throughout Thursday, said David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “With the low humidity and those strong Santa Ana winds coming down from the mountains, that will spread whatever fires are there,” Roth said. “You don’t need much of an ignition source in these conditions.”

Newsweek [1/23/2025 1:35 PM, Anna Skinner, 56005K, Negative] reports that wind gusts as strong as 80 mph, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, could tear through Los Angeles and San Diego in southern California on Thursday, as wildfires continue to rage in the Golden State. Earlier this month, two significant wildfires ignited in Los Angeles and quickly grew to encompass thousands of acres. Firefighters are still battling those two blazes, named the Palisades and Eaton fires. At least 27 people have died in the Los Angeles area because of the fires, and thousands of people have fled their homes. Meanwhile, the Hughes Fire ignited in Los Angeles County on Wednesday and quickly exploded to more than 10,000 acres. Multiple other wildfires are burning in San Diego County. As of Thursday morning, red flag warnings and high wind warnings had been issued across Los Angeles and San Diego counties. The warnings come as firefighters try to contain the blazes, which are spurred by the strong winds. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Los Angeles issued a high wind warning in the early morning hours on Thursday. It will remain in effect until 2 p.m. local time for the Eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Interstate 5 Corridor, Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Susana Mountains, Southern Ventura County Mountains, Western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 Corridor, and Western Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area.

New York Times [1/23/2025 11:26 PM, Orlando Mayorquín, 161405K, Neutral] reports a fire spreading through the wilderness of San Diego County near the U.S.-Mexico border exploded to more than 500 acres within several hours on Thursday night. But the blaze, known as the Border 2 fire, was miles from any structures or homes, and firefighters said they were making progress controlling it. Firefighters were dispatched to the area just before 2 p.m. local time and were trying to slow its spread with the help of air tankers and helicopters, said Capt. Robert Johnson of Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. Roughly 200 firefighters were going to work through the night, he added. The fire was burning through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, a remote area with steep and rocky terrain, Captain Johnson said. That makes it harder to access on the ground, he said, but also provides a much-needed buffer between the flames and populated areas. Still, officials in Chula Vista, a city roughly five miles west of the blaze, said their Fire and Police Departments were monitoring the fire as some residents anxiously watched the orange glow and smoke billowing in the distance. “The Police Department has positioned extra officers in specific locations of the city to monitor the situation and be available for immediate assistance should evacuations become necessary,” the city said in a statement, adding that it was “not meant to be cause for alarm.” Officials estimated that the nearest structures to the fire were in an industrial neighborhood abutting the border called Otay Mesa, roughly two miles southwest — still a safe distance, Captain Johnson said. Crews were facing roughly 25-mile-per-hour winds blowing to the southwest, according to Cal Fire.

Reported similarly:
AP [1/24/2025 1:46 AM, Staff, 47097K, Negative]

AP [1/23/2025 8:08 PM, Sophie Austin, 4368K, Neutral] reports that California will spend $2.5 billion to help the Los Angeles area recover from recent deadly wildfires under a relief package signed Thursday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom signed the laws after the state Legislature approved them with bipartisan support earlier in the day. The measures include $2.5 billion for the state’s disaster response efforts such as evacuations, sheltering survivors and removing household hazardous waste. Lawmakers also approved $4 million for local governments to streamline approvals for rebuilding homes, and $1 million to support school districts and help them rebuild facilities. “This is about distilling a sense of hopefulness,” Newsom said at a news conference in Pasadena, a city recovering from one of the destructive fires that ignited earlier this month. The aid won approval a day before President Donald Trump is set to visit California for a look at damage from the blazes. He’s suggested any federal wildfire relief should come with conditions, though congressional Republicans who represent the state have pushed back on that idea. Former President Joe Biden already approved some disaster aid for the region earlier this month.

CBS News [1/23/2025 1:27 PM, Kathryn Watson, 52225K, Negative] reports that President Trump is threatening to withhold federal disaster aid for the Los Angeles area if California doesn’t change the way it manages water in the state. Mr. Trump said he plans to head to Southern California on Friday to visit the communities affected by the fires. In an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox News, Mr. Trump threatened to potentially withhold federal funding, blasting California’s water management and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The president told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he doesn’t think the federal government should give California "anything" until it sends more water down to the southern part of the state. "I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down," the president told Fox News on Wednesday. Some experts have suggested that desalination is the reason California has to allow some water to flow out to the Pacific Ocean, and the matter is more complicated than the president says. Fires across the L.A. area have killed at least 28 people, destroyed more than 15,000 structures and charred some 63 square miles. The Palisades and Eaton wildfires continue to burn, and the Hughes Fire in Castaic, which broke out Wednesday, has put more than 50,000 people under evacuation orders and warnings in the northern Los Angeles County community, authorities say.

FOX News [1/23/2025 5:31 PM, Alexandra Koch, 49889K, Negative] reports the Los Angeles wildfires have caused tens of billions of dollars in property damage and lost wages, as infernos continue to scorch the Golden State. The L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday announced it received preliminary estimates from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) on the assessment of the devastation caused by the wildfires. The flames caused approximately $53.8 billion in property damage based on market value, and approximately $28 billion in property damage based on recorded value, according to the LAEDC. Further assessments are in progress, as new fires continue to char the area. The State Assembly on Thursday passed a $2.5 billion emergency fire aid package, with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 78-0. The Laguna and Sepulveda fires broke out in Ventura and Los Angeles counties on Thursday, quickly burning nearly 100 acres. Cal Fire reported the Laguna Fire remains at 0% containment, while the Sepulveda Fire is 60% contained, as of 1 p.m. PT. The fast-moving Hughes Fire, which broke out in Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Wednesday, is only 14% contained and has scorched more than 10,000 acres.

CBS Los Angeles [1/23/2025 6:04 PM, Marissa Wenzke, 52225K, Neutral] reports Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign legislation Thursday providing $2.5 billion in funding to relief efforts in Los Angeles County, where two massive wildfires killed 28 people and left behind a trail of destruction this month. State lawmakers and local leaders are expected to join Newsom for the signing of the legislation, according to his office, which released a statement saying it will take place at 3:30 p.m. A day earlier, President Donald Trump threatened to potentially withhold federal disaster aid from fire-torn areas of Los Angeles County, where recovery efforts are just beginning as thousands are finally allowed to return to their neighborhoods. Some areas remain without power, with ash polluting the air and the few houses still standing surrounded by burned buildings and piles of debris. Among the communities hardest hit are Altadena, north of Pasadena, and the coastal community of Pacific Palisades. President Joe Biden has said that the federal government will pay for 100% of the disaster response costs for the Los Angeles wildfires. He visited the region after approving a major disaster declaration, which made wildfire survivors eligible for FEMA grants. Meanwhile, federal relief loans are also being offered to LA County tenants, homeowners, businesses and nonprofits through the Small Business Administration (SBA). So far, $52 million in these disaster relief loans have been approved for wildfire survivors, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Thursday, with more than $50 million going toward homeowners and renters.

NBC News [1/23/2025 1:31 PM, Frank V Thorp V and Alexnadra Marquez, 50804K, Negative] reports that U.S. Capitol Police on Thursday said they suspended an officer who let a man with a gun into the Capitol Visitor Center on Thursday. The man, who was arrested Tuesday, was also able to enter the Library of Congress with a firearm. In a statement, USCP said that they had received a lookout for a man on Tuesday "with reported mental health issues and suicidal thoughts who was believed to be armed and in the area." "At approximately 2:15 p.m., the man was found leaving the Library of Congress, after the tour, and walking towards his car. He was stopped, searched, and arrested. A small 9mm handgun was discovered, concealed in his waistband," the statement said. USCP added that security video showed the man entering the Capitol Visitor Center earlier in the day. Capitol Police made clear that no one was harmed in the incident and that there "is no indication that the man was coming to harm the Congress.". The suspect is a 27-year-old man from Massachusetts. His case is in the hands of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

FOX News [1/23/2025 7:25 PM, Louis Casiano, 49889K, Negative] reports a man has been charged with jumping over an outter wall at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida this week. Bijan Arceo, 32, was charged with trespassing with the intent to commit an offense. Palm Beach police officers responded to the club just after 6 p.m. Tuesday to assist Secret Service agents who detained someone on the property, a police affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital states. Police said Arceo got inside the resort from South Ocean Boulevard by the north service gate, police said. Arceo had not entered the sweep area or had been granted permission to enter the protected site, the Secret Service said. "While the incident had no impact on our protective operations, we take these matters extremely seriously," the agency said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This arrest is being handled at the local level and we remain thankful to the Town of Palm Beach Police Department for their quick response and partnership.".

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [1/23/2025 5:40 PM, Skyler Shepard, 581K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 7:07 PM, Staff, 57114K, Negative] reports Wichita police have issued a warning about fake movie money circulating in the area. Unlike counterfeit bills, these bills are designed for movie and television production. They appear to be very similar to real currency, but instead of "The United States of America," the bills say "For Motion Picture Purposes" or "Movie Money.". The department says they have seen an increase in the bills being used for purchases in Wichita. They are asking businesses to educate their employees on how to spot these bills and ask them to contact law enforcement if they receive one.

CBS Miami [1/23/2025 12:35 PM, Kerry Breen, 52225K, Neutral] reports fishermen helped Coast Guard crewmembers rescue four Americans who were stranded on a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic, officials said Wednesday. David Potts, John Potts, Andrew Cullar and Russel Case were sailing the Mariposa from St. Croix to Texas, with plans to make a stop in Key West, the Coast Guard said in a news release, which included dramatic video of the rescue. They had to abandon ship after the boat struck a rock, rolled, struck another rock and began sinking. Early Tuesday morning, Coast Guard watchstanders at the San Juan Command Center received a possible distress alert from an emergency positioning radio beacon. The beacon was about 180 miles northwest of Puerto Rico. The watchstanders directed an aircraft to launch from Air Station Borinquen in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to search for signs of distress. The watchstanders also issued a call asking vessels in the area to be on the lookout for possible distress. The El Coquí, a 720-foot container ship that was traveling from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Jacksonville, Florida, diverted to search the area. The Coast Guard aircrew located the life raft quickly. They also spotted a fishing vessel, the Bonanza, in the area, with several smaller boats. The Coast Guard conducted a series of low passes to get the attention of the Bonanza’s crew. The Bonanza’s crew were then steered to the life raft. The fishermen were able to approach the life raft and rescue the survivors. The Bonanza crew then transported the survivors to the El Coquí. The El Coquí continued on its journey to Jacksonville, with the survivors on board. The ship is expected to arrive in Jacksonville on Thursday. The Coast Guard said there were no reported medical concerns from the four men. The Coast Guard said that the incident shows how having a registered emergency beacon can save lives in an emergency. Beacons can must be registered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s U.S. Beacon Registration.

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/23/2025 9:18 AM, Jocelyn Contreras, 22417K, Neutral]

The Hill [1/23/2025 5:59 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 16346K, Neutral] reports the U.S. Coast Guard started using the term "Gulf of America" to refer to the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, one day after President Trump signed an executive order setting in motion the process to change its U.S. official name. The Coast Guard announced Tuesday it would deploy additional assets to several locations, including to "the maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America." The statement marked one of the first official uses of the term Gulf of America by the U.S. government.

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 6:46 PM, Morgan Womack, 57114K, Neutral] reports a dive team has spotted the sunken fishing boat of a missing father and son from Washington County in Moose Cove. State police and marine patrol also found what they believe is a body onboard, though neither the boat nor the body have been recovered. Chester "Chet" Barrett and his son Aaron, commercial scallop fishermen from South Addison, were reported missing Saturday by a family member when they didn’t return from a trip that began at Cobscook Bay State Park in Edmunds around 5 a.m. A GoFundMe page supporting Melanie Barrett, wife of Chet and mother to Aaron, describes them as adventurous men who loved the water, lobster fishing in South Addison and scallop dragging in Cobscook Bay. The father and son had contagious laughs and always had a story to share around the fire pit at their camp at Schoodic Lake, according to the donation page. The coastal Washington County area where they went missing between the towns of Cutler and Lubec has "strong tidal current activity," according to the Maine Marine Patrol. Captain Mark MacDonald said in a phone interview Thursday night that the marine patrol relied on the expertise of four local fishermen who assisted in the search to navigate the strong currents. The Marine Patrol team took advantage of the slack water — a short window when a body of tidal water is still — to conduct their search near the cove around 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to the latest announcement from the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Rescue boats anchored to the sunken ship below, MacDonald said. With only about 15 minutes to search before the tide picked up again, they drove a remotely operated underwater vehicle toward the object. He said the ROV, equipped with sonar, LED lights and a camera, helped the marine patrol confirm the boat was the sunken "Sudden Impact.". Then, MacDonald said, a family member on the surface helped them navigate the ROV inside the vessel, where it found what appeared to be a body. MacDonald said he couldn’t say for sure who it was because it was so dark, but he believes it is likely either Chet or Aaron.

AP [1/23/2025 5:04 PM, Staff, Positive] reports a Canadian freighter with 17 people on board got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie while departing Buffalo, according to the Coast Guard, which arrived with icebreaking equipment Thursday to begin freeing the vessel. The 663-foot Manitoulin had dropped off a load of wheat and was heading back to Sarnia, Ontario, on Wednesday when it became stuck in ice that was rapidly forming in sub-zero temperatures off the Buffalo shoreline. It remained there through Thursday, creating a striking sight on the lake, surrounded on all sides by ice and snow. The Manitoulin wasn’t damaged and the captain and crew were safe, the Coast Guard said. A Coast Guard cutter started breaking up ice around the ship by Thursday afternoon.

Yahoo! News [1/24/2025 4:04 AM, C. A. Bridges, 57114K, Neutral] reports four boaters were rescued from a raft on the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, Jan. 20, just moments before their sailing vessel, the Mariposa, struck rocks and sank north of the Dominican Republic, according to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard. The boaters were rescued by fishermen from the fishing ship Bonanza, who transferred them to the container ship Coquí on its way to Jacksonville, Florida, under the guidance of Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew from Air Station Miami. The four men — David Potts, 63, John Potts, 62, Andrew Cullar, 26, and Russel Case, 67 — were on a voyage from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, to Portofino, Texas, with an anticipated stop in Key West, the Coast Guard said. Their ship reportedly struck a submerged rock, was rolled by a wave onto its port side and hit another rock, which breached its hull about 180 miles northwest of Puerto Rico. Once the boaters were located from the distress call, Coast Guard aircraft directed the 720-foot, U.S.-flagged Coquí and a nearby fishing vessel, the Bonanza, accompanied with smaller fishing vessels, to the site to rescue the survivors. "No medical concerns were reported from survivors," the Coast Guard said. “This incident underscores the importance of proper emergency equipment for vessels at sea,” said Lt. Hannah M. Boyce, Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft commander for the case. “We are all incredibly thankful those mariners were properly equipped. Helping those four sailors at their worst day at sea is why we fly.” The Coast Guard said the rescue effort was significantly hastened by the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system, which provided vessel profile information and various emergency contacts for Mariposa. “This incident highlights the importance of having an emergency position indicating radio beacon that is fully functioning and registered in the NOAA database,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Borders, Coast Guard Search and Rescue mission coordinator for the case. “Our deepest gratitude goes out to the crews of the fishing vessel Bonanza and of the motor vessel El Coquí for selflessly responding in keeping with the honor and tradition of the AMVER merchant vessels that come to the aid of fellow mariners in distress.”

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 11:22 AM, Aidan Joly, 57114K, Neutral] reports A lake freighter ship has begun to move after it got stuck in ice in the Lake Erie shoreline in the Buffalo River Wednesday morning. It first got stuck around 11:40 a.m. surrounded by a foot of ice. The vessel Manitoulin, which was returning to Michigan after completing a routine delivery of wheat, became immobilized by thick ice, which the U.S. Coast Guard said is commonplace this time of year amidst frigid temperatures. "The situation that we are facing here on Lake Erie is that we have greater ice thickness than usual so local ice breakers and local Coast Guard vessels don’t have the capability to break ice with that level of thickness," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Bridgette Baldwin. Another ship left Detroi, M.I. just before 8 a.m. Thursday to assist. It has an estimated arrival time in Buffalo of 2 p.m. That ship will be tasked to break ice around Manitoulin to make an attempt at freeing it. "It will be kind of rocking itself up and down, and kind of crushing the ice in that way," said Baldwin. "So, when we think about traditional ice breaking, people think that ice breakers just plow through the ice. This one will be lifting itself up and down and kind of crushing the ice to pave the way.". The Coast Guard said Thursday morning that there are no concerns regarding the safety of the crew. The ship still has enough fuel, provisions and electricity to stay in good condition.

Reported similarly:
CBS Detroit [1/23/2025 7:38 AM, Paula Wethington, 52225K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [1/23/2025 8:02 PM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, questioned private sector cybersecurity professionals during a full-committee hearing titled, "Unconstrained Actors: Assessing Global Cyber Threats to the Homeland.". The witnesses included Adam Meyers, Senior Vice President of Counter Adversary Operations at CrowdStrike; retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, U.S. Navy, Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Brandon Wales, Vice President of Cybersecurity Strategy at SentinelOne; and Kemba Walden, president at Paladin Global Institute. Read the witnesses testimonies here. Prior to his line of questioning, Chairman Pfluger highlighted the importance of being prepared for cyber threats, saying in part, "I appreciate this hearing and I will get right into it. When you look back at [cyberthreats such as] Volt Typhoon, Storm-0558, Salt Typhoon, and the list goes on and on, I am obviously worried about critical infrastructure not just in my own district that includes energy production, but also that of which affects every other aspect of our lives.". Chairman Pfluger question the witnesses on the government’s response to Salt Typhoon (a CCP-linked group that spent ample time hacking critical U.S. telecoms), the need for one lead government agency to address cyber threats, and what potential threats keep the witnesses up at night that we need to be prepared for here. During the hearing, Pfluger mentioned his legislation called the Securing Every Vector, Enhancing Networks (SEVEN) Act, to strengthen America’s defenses against cyber threats targeting the Signaling System 7 (SS7) telecommunications protocol, and urged its markup in committee this Congress. The legislation aims to address these vulnerabilities by coordinating efforts across the government and creating a task force of cybersecurity experts to develop solutions.

NPR [1/24/2025 5:00 AM, Michael Copley, 35747K, Negative] reports a yearslong U.S. Justice Department investigation of a global hacking campaign that targeted prominent American climate activists took a turn in a London court this week amid an allegation that the hacking was ordered by a lobbying firm working for ExxonMobil. Both the lobbying firm and ExxonMobil have denied any awareness of or involvement with alleged hacking. The hacking was allegedly commissioned by a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, according to a lawyer representing the U.S. government. The firm, in turn, was allegedly working on behalf of one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, based in Texas, that wanted to discredit groups and individuals involved in climate litigation, according to the lawyer for the U.S. government. In court documents, the Justice Department does not name either company. As part of its probe, the U.S. is trying to extradite an Israeli private investigator named Amit Forlit from the United Kingdom for allegedly orchestrating the hacking campaign. A lawyer for Forlit claimed in a court filing that the hacking operation her client is accused of leading "is alleged to have been commissioned by DCI Group, a lobbying firm representing ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.". Forlit has previously denied ordering or paying for hacking. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to a source familiar with the U.S. probe who was not authorized to speak publicly, the U.S. has investigated DCI’s possible role in the hacking. Reuters and The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the U.S. government has investigated DCI. DCI lobbied for ExxonMobil for about a decade, according to federal lobbying records. NPR has not been able to confirm what, if any, links the Justice Department may have thought DCI had with the hacking campaign. NPR has not found any indications that the Justice Department has investigated ExxonMobil in relation to this case. DCI and ExxonMobil declined to comment on the allegations made in the London hearing. Both companies referred NPR back to statements they had provided earlier in our investigation.

USA Today [1/23/2025 1:13 PM, Staff, 89965K, Negative] reports PayPal will pay a $2 million civil fine over cybersecurity failures that led to the exposure of customers’ Social Security numbers in late 2022, New York state’s Department of Financial Services said on Thursday. Adrienne Harris, New York’s financial services superintendent, said a probe by her office found PayPal failed to use qualified staff to manage key cybersecurity functions or provide adequate training to address cybersecurity risks. This left names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers belonging to customers of the San Jose, California-based digital payments company easily accessible to cybercriminals for about seven weeks, she said. PayPal cooperated with the probe. "Protecting consumers’ personal information and maintaining a secure platform is a top priority for us and we take our regulatory responsibilities seriously," the company said in a statement.

FOX News [1/23/2025 3:44 PM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Negative] reports the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday announced an investigation into the New Orleans terrorist attack that left 15 people dead on New Year’s Day, as well as the explosion outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas that left the perpetrator dead on the same day. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., sent letters to the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and the FBI requesting more information about New Orleans attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s background and motive. They are also requesting more information from Meta about Jabbar’s Facebook activity leading up to the deadly, planned attack, noting that the Texas native motivated by ISIS extremism posted five videos to his Facebook page hours before he drove a truck through New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street. Additionally, Grassley and Johnson are requesting information about the background and motive of Matthew Alan Livelsberger, the man behind an explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, which also occurred on Jan. 1. Livelsberger died of a self-inflicted gunshot prior to detonating a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump tower. While the FBI has said there was no connection between the two incidents that occurred on the same day, Grassley and Johnson note that both perpetrators overlapped during their military service at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan, and they both rented vehicles from a company called Turo. The FBI continues to investigate the Bourbon Street attack. While Jabbar apparently acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had any accomplices.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/23/2025 4:10 PM, Ailia Zehra, 16346K, Negative]

AP [1/23/2025 1:35 PM, Ali Swenson and Lindsay Whitehursts, 2212K, Negative] reports that after President Donald Trump pardoned around 1,500 Jan. 6 Capitol rioters on Monday, far-right activists cheered the move and said it strengthened their loyalty to him. Some also borrowed from the president’s own rhetoric, calling for retribution. "We’ll never forget, we’ll never forgive. You can’t get rid of us," a California chapter of the far-right Proud Boys posted on Telegram. "You are on notice. This is not going to end well for you," read an X post from one pardoned rioter addressed to anyone still "attempting to continue to hold my brethren hostage." Enrique Tarrio, the former national Proud Boys leader whose 22-year sentence on seditious conspiracy charges was pardoned by Trump, went on the podcast of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after his release. "The people who did this, they need to feel the heat," Tarrio said. "We need to find and put them behind bars for what they did." The pardons and rhetoric of retribution from some of those released this week is raising deep concern among attorneys, former federal investigators and experts who follow extremism. They worry that the indiscriminate release of everyone charged in the riots could embolden extremists and make political violence more common, including around contentious political issues such as border security and elections.

CBS Austin [1/23/2025 6:22 PM, Sydney Keller and Ashley Griffin, 581K, Neutral] reports authorities in Nashville have released further updates regarding the school shooting tragedy at Antioch High School on Wednesday. An investigation has found that the shooter, 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, fired a total of 10 shots from a nine-millimeter pistol within 17 seconds after he entered the cafeteria. His gun, which was loaded with nine rounds, and a magazine with seven rounds were recovered by officers on the scene. No guns were recovered from Henderson’s home on Carefree Lane after police searched it on Wednesday. Investigators also found that Henderson’s mother took him to school that day and he did not use school bus transportation, as authorities previously stated. Authorities believe that before entering the cafeteria, Henderson went into a school restroom where he posted photos to social media: Along with the social media photos, detectives have confirmed that two documents believed to be written by Henderson, one 51-page document, and the other 288-page document, are being taken in as evidence by the FBI and local detectives. MNPD also confirmed other evidence was taken from Henderson’s home on Wednesday but does not detail if it was physical or other online evidence. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF), the gun Henderson used was purchased in Arizona in 2022. The gun was not reported stolen and no further details have been given as to how Henderson came into possession of this gun.

New York Times [1/24/2025 3:20 AM, Maggie Haberman, 740K, Negative] reports President Trump revoked security protection for his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and a former top aide despite warnings from the Biden administration that both men faced ongoing threats from Iran because of actions they took on Mr. Trump’s behalf, four people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Mr. Pompeo and the aide, Brian Hook, had been part of an aggressive posture against Iran during the first Trump presidency, most notably the drone strike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassim Suleimani in early 2020. Mr. Trump also remains under threat because of General Suleimani’s killing, and his advisers have stressed the seriousness of the situation in the years between his two terms in office. Mr. Trump repeatedly asked for more protection during those years, including seeking military assets for the final months of the campaign because of the threats from Iran. That kind of protection is usually reserved only for a sitting president. Mr. Trump revoked the State Department security details for Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Hook on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter, a move that came two days after he pulled the Secret Service detail for John R. Bolton, his former national security adviser. Asked by a reporter on Thursday about the pulling of security details, Mr. Trump said: “When you have protection, you can’t have it for the rest of your life.” He added, “I mean, there’s risks to everything.” He did not respond to a question about whether presidents should have protection for the rest of their lives.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/23/2025 2:47 PM, Staff, 30936K, Neutral]

Washington Post [1/23/2025 7:18 PM, Staff, 40736K, Neutral] reports for decades, the files have held the fascination of historians, journalists and politicians — including Trump, who had promised in his first term to release the records related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. In 2017, he released 2,800 records, but delayed the release of the most-anticipated documents in the investigation, citing national security concerns. In 2018, Trump authorized the disclosure of about 19,000 documents, and in 2022, President Joe Biden released another trove of them, though many remain redacted. In the executive order regarding the three assassinations, Trump wrote: "Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth.". It’s unclear when exactly the documents will be released publicly, but Trump on Thursday directed the director of national intelligence, attorney general and other officials to present a plan for the "full and complete release of records" related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination within 15 days. He directed officials to review the documents related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and King and present a plan for their release within 45 days. There are more than 3,600 documents related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination that have minor and significant redactions, said Jefferson Morley, editor of the JFK Facts newsletter and a former Washington Post reporter. But that number considers only the records held in the National Archives collection. Officials must determine whether records outside that collection — including those held by the Kennedy family and agencies such as the CIA and FBI — fall under Trump’s executive order, Morley said. Then, they will need to locate and review them. He added that the documents related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and King also will take more time to locate because they are not as consolidated as much of the John F. Kennedy records are.

ABC News [1/23/2025 2:55 PM, Shannon K. Kingston, 33392K, Neutral] reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will depart on his first foreign trip next week to visit countries in Central America and the Caribbean whose cooperation may be vital for carrying out the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, the State Department said on Thursday. Rubio is expected to journey to Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, according to the department. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is expected to be a major part of Rubio’s agenda during the diplomatic mission. In a statement from the Pentagon released on Wednesday announcing that active-duty troops would be deployed to the southern border, acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the State Department will be in charge of obtaining "the requisite diplomatic clearances and provide host-nation notification" for deportation flights. To accomplish that, Rubio is expected to encourage foreign governments to accept more of their deported nationals and, in some cases, take in deportees from other countries. Rubio has already said addressing irregular immigration will be a central focus of the State Department during the second Trump administration. In a statement issued Wednesday, Rubio said, "Our diplomatic relations with other countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, will prioritize securing America’s borders, stopping illegal and destabilizing migration, and negotiating the repatriation of illegal immigrants."

NBC News [1/23/2025 7:08 PM, Abigail Williams and Andrea Mitchell, 50804K, Neutral] reports Panama will be one of the first stops for new Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he heads overseas late next week for the first time as the United States’ top diplomat, meaning he’ll face a unique sort of challenge early in his tenure. Panama is one of the U.S.’ closest allies in Latin America, but, since December, President Donald Trump has said he wants to take the Panama Canal back from it, arguing in social media posts and rallies, and even in his inauguration speech, that the critical waterway is under the control of China. Both China and Panama have denied any interference in the operations of the canal, which is operated as a neutral waterway. Other stops on Rubio’s trip will include Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. "If we’re going to be safe and prosperous and in good shape, we have to have an interest in our neighbors and in today’s world, it’s certainly South and Central America," Bruce told reporters Thursday. "China is operating the Panama Canal," President Trump said in his inauguration speech Monday. "And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.". China does not operate the Panama Canal, but its ownership of nearby ports is one of many examples of China’s investment in critical infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere that has long raised concerns among U.S. officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations. There are at least five Chinese state-owned enterprises operating along the Panama Canal. In 2023, now retired Gen. Laura Richardson, then the commander of United States Southern Command, warned that the companies could be flipped to use for military purposes.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [1/23/2025 1:42 PM, Francesca Chambers, 89965K, Negative]

Newsweek [1/23/2025 7:52 AM, Amir Daftari, 56005K, Negative] reports Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, confirmed that discussions are underway between the two nations regarding Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon as the deadline for the ceasefire with Hezbollah militants approaches. Israeli media have reported that Israel is seeking to delay the completion of its pullout, despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement requiring Israeli forces to vacate southern Lebanon by Sunday. Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli embassy in the U.S. for further comment via email. The negotiations over Israel’s withdrawal reflect the broader tensions between Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah, as well as the intricate diplomatic efforts between Israel and the United States. With the deadline approaching, the issue also highlights the fragile nature of the ceasefire and the challenges of post-conflict peacebuilding in the region. The outcome of these discussions could significantly affect both Israeli military strategy and regional stability, particularly while Hezbollah threatens to resume hostilities if the withdrawal is delayed. The ceasefire that ended more than a year of fighting related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip requires Israeli forces to complete their withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday. This ceasefire was brokered by the United States and designed to ease tensions along the border, where Israeli troops have been stationed in response to Hezbollah’s militant activities. In an interview with Israeli army Radio, Herzog hinted that a new understanding with the Trump administration may delay the pullout. While Herzog did not provide details, Israeli officials have expressed concerns about the pace at which Lebanese troops are deploying in the areas Israel is required to vacate. The agreement calls for the Lebanese army to patrol a buffer zone alongside U.N. peacekeepers.

Washington Examiner [1/23/2025 1:14 PM, Mike Brest, 2365K, Negative] reports Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy that has been prominent in Lebanon for decades, agreed to a 60-day ceasefire deal on Nov. 26, 2024, which halted a yearslong war. As conditions of the agreement, Israel would incrementally withdraw from southern Lebanon and would be replaced by Lebanon’s Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, while Hezbollah would move further north. There are now concerns in Jerusalem about whether the Lebanese forces can uphold their part of the agreement, prompting Israel’s desire to delay its exit, which is currently set for Jan. 26, 2025, the same deadline by which Hezbollah is expected to be north of the Litani River. "We are holding discussions with the Trump administration to extend the Sunday date to withdraw from Lebanon," Michael Herzog, the outgoing Israeli ambassador to the United States, told Israel’s Army Radio. "I believe we will reach an understanding.". Prior to the post-Oct. 7 Hamas attack conflict, Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006, and that ended with the passing of the U.N.’s Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon and for Hezbollah to move north of the Litani River, which runs about 18 miles north of and parallel to the Lebanese-Israel border. Hezbollah never complied with that requirement, and Israel is seeking to rectify that mistake by ensuring it moves farther from its border this time around.

New York Times [1/23/2025 11:04 AM, Ismaeel Naar, 161405K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to redesignate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization,” calling the group a threat to regional security, the White House said. Critics argued the move will worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis in the country. The order restores a designation given to the group, which is backed by Iran and formally known as Ansar Allah, late in the first Trump administration. The Biden administration lifted the designation shortly after taking office, partly to facilitate peace talks in Yemen’s civil war. Last year, however, the Biden team reversed course, labeling the Houthis a “specially designated global terrorist” organization — a less severe category — in response to attacks against U.S. warships in the Red Sea. “The Houthis’ activities threaten 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,” the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reuters [1/23/2025 9:38 AM, Lucy Papachristou, 30936K, Negative] reports that a Russian man was jailed for 17 years after being found guilty of passing classified information to a representative of a U.S. intelligence agency, the TASS state news agency reported on Thursday. "The Moscow City Court found Dmitry Arkadyevich Shatresov... guilty of committing high treason in favour of the United States," TASS cited Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying. "It was established that Shatresov D.A., having obtained by illegal methods information which constituted state secrets, (and) guided by criminal intent, intended to transfer it to a representative of American intelligence." A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shatresov’s lawyer declined to answer questions. TASS reported that 40-year-old Shatresov, who was sentenced on Wednesday, lived in a city just outside the Russian capital and worked in logistics. The press service for Moscow’s courts published photos and video of Shatresov, wearing glasses and a blue hooded sweatshirt, standing inside the defendant’s courtroom cage. In the video, he tried to shield his face from the camera.

Wall Street Journal [1/23/2025 5:48 PM, Laurence Norman and Benoit Faucon, Negative] reports two Iranian ships docked in China have been loaded with a critical ingredient to produce propellant for ballistic missiles, people familiar with the matter said—a demonstration of the challenge the Trump administration will have in pressing China to reduce its cooperation with Iran. The two vessels are loaded with around 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a material that Iran could turn into 960 tons of ammonium perchlorate, one of the main ingredients for producing solid propellant for ballistic missiles, the people said. That could be enough to produce 260 midrange Iranian missiles, one of the people, a Western official, said. Tehran’s growing reliance on Beijing is partly a result of Israel’s battering of Iran’s missile program and network of militants in recent months, but it also points to a larger challenge for Washington. Iran and China have become increasingly aligned with Russia and North Korea, a bloc of authoritarian nations that are united by their interests in undermining the U.S.-led world order. There is no evidence that Chinese authorities knew of the deliveries. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., said he wasn’t familiar with the planned shipments but that China strictly controls dual-use items in accordance with its export-control laws and international obligations. The planned delivery of the missile propellant was reported earlier by the Financial Times.

Bloomberg [1/23/2025 10:29 AM, Jack Sidders, Lisa Abramowicz, and Jonathan Ferro, 1450K, Positive] reports that ByteDance is exploring a deal to keep TikTok running in the US without selling its operations there, according to board member Bill Ford. The Chinese company is looking at options for the social media app that could involve a change of control locally to ensure it complies with US legislation, General Atlantic Chief Executive Officer Ford said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The private equity firm holds a stake in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent firm. "We are optimistic we will find a solution," Ford said, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "There are a number of alternatives we can talk to President Trump and his team about that are short of selling the company that allow the company to continue to operate, maybe with a change of control of some kind, but short of having to sell." TikTok temporarily went offline in the US last weekend after the Supreme Court backed a national security law forcing the company to either sell or shutter the service in the country. Donald Trump then signed an executive order on his first day in office to extend the deadline for a sale. That provides 75 days for ByteDance, which has publicly refused to sell TikTok, to come up with a solution. "I’m optimistic about the dialog that is emerging between President Trump and President Xi," Ford said. "That might help create a much more constructive environment, a much higher level of engagement that could lead to a positive solution."

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