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 Washington Post [1/28/2025 8:20 AM, Nick Miroff and Kim Bellware, 40736K, Negative] reports that under the cover of darkness, 20 teams of federal agents and officers in unmarked cars fanned out across the city Tuesday in one of the largest immigration operations in years. Hours later, they returned to the New York headquarters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with many of their targets in handcuffs, including a man wanted for homicide in a foreign country and another with possible terrorist links. The Trump administration labeled it a success. The result? About 20 arrests. On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem arrived in New York to join the ICE teams, along with newly detailed FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents and U.S. Marshals, who began knocking on doors and making arrests at 6 a.m. Noem wore body armor and cheered an arrest in a social media post. Such operations are usually not publicized by ICE officials until they conclude, out of concern for officer safety. “Just now. Enforcement operation in NYC. Criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges now in custody,” Noem posted on X at 6:13 a.m. with a video. “Dirtbags like this will continue to be removed from our streets.” Four hours later, she reiterated the message in a three-second video: “We are in New York City this morning. We are getting the dirtbags off these streets.” DHS and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. ICE’s New York field office typically has five teams available for street-level operations, officials said, so Tuesday’s “targeted enforcement” campaign quadrupled that number. Multiple federal agencies participated, but the New York Police Department did not. ICE officials said they prioritize migrants with criminal records but may also arrest people they encounter along the way who do not have legal residency status. Similar operations started over the weekend in Chicago, according to ICE. The 20 arrests included a Yemeni suspect who officials say appeared on the FBI’s list of suspected terrorists, a suspected human rights violator from Myanmar and a Dominican man wanted by Interpol for an alleged homicide outside the United States. Eight of the 20 do not have criminal records. ICE invited The Washington Post and other media organizations to observe the New York arrests on the condition that they not disclose the operation ahead of time. ICE officials say they have always prioritized criminals who pose a threat to public safety. Trump’s election has freed them from limitations on their day-to-day operations put in place by the Biden administration, they say, which took a hands-off approach to immigrants who lacked criminal convictions. ICE officials say they have rarely, if ever, had the support of so many other federal law enforcement agencies. At one location in the Bronx on Tuesday morning, ICE officers and federal agents arrested a 34-year-old Ecuadorian man with a pending sexual assault charge and a conviction for illegally reentering the United States. ICE officers tapped the man’s door at 6 a.m., then walked him out in handcuffs and drove him to downtown Manhattan for booking. William Joyce, the acting field office director for New York, said the relatively modest number of arrests across the city Tuesday morning was an indication of the challenge ICE faces when it has to pick up criminal suspects in neighborhoods, rather than the city jails. The New York Times [1/29/2025 3:19 AM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Chelsia Rose Marcius, 740K, Neutral] reports that Ms. Noem, who oversees the federal agency that runs the nation’s immigration system, traveled to the city and posted a video on X that she said showed the arrest of an unauthorized immigrant with kidnapping, assault and burglary charges. The video, which seemed to have been taken before dawn, shows two federal officers outside an apartment building in the Bronx guiding a man in handcuffs to an S.U.V. with flashing lights. The man was arrested in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx by Homeland Security Investigations, or H.S.I., and was wanted for suspected involvement in a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, in Aurora, Colo. A spokesman for the Aurora Police Department identified the man as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco. He was wanted on charges of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm, both felonies. In her first predawn post on the social media platform, she said she was “live this AM from NYC. I’m on it,” and also posted photos of her sporting a bulletproof vest. FOX News [1/28/2025 10:24 PM, Louis Casiano, 57114K, Negative] reports that the targeted raid against criminal illegal immigrants was "very specific," Noem said. In an effort to combat crime, sanctuary city laws should be lifted, so authorities can better target and prosecute illegal immigrants who commit crimes, she added. "We need mayors and governors partnering with us, but we will do our job regardless of that," she said. "We will continue to go forward and identify those folks and get them out. "Talking about the difference in some of these sanctuary cities, how they’re just released as soon as they come into our custody, not necessarily our custody, but the local governments’.” She added that immigration agents were happy "they finally get to do their job" and "finally get to get these dirtbags out of our country.” Noem said she plans to accompany authorities to see what authorities need to better perform their jobs. Noem said three times the number of criminal illegal immigrants were being arrested than under the Biden administration, and she said there were fewer encounters at the southern border. "We’ve sent a message clearly to the world: ‘Don’t come here. If you’re an illegal and if you’re dangerous, we have a target on you, and you will not be welcome and we will remove you’," said Noem. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The Hill [1/28/2025 10:28 AM, Filip Timotija, 16346K, Neutral] reports that the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) New York field office said it started carrying out “enhanced targeted operations,” alongside New York’s FBI office and other federal agencies to “enforce US immigration law & preserve public safety & national security by removing criminal aliens from our communities.” The DEA shared a photo on social media of the operation and said the agency’s work resulted in the arrest of an individual on “kidnapping, assault & burglary charges.” Law enforcement agencies have been carrying out raids across the country. ICE has been sharing daily updates on the number of people the agency has arrested. On Monday, ICE made 1,179 arrests, according to the update. Noem’s presence in New York City came just days after formally becoming head of the agency, which will be at the center of President Trump’s plan to crack down on immigration and carry out mass deportations. Since taking office last week, Trump has signed myriad executive orders on immigration, including halting refugee admission programs, ending birthright citizenship and designating some cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [1/28/2025 9:33 AM, Katia Porzecanski, 21617K, Neutral]
The Hill [1/28/2025 2:00 PM, Staff, 16346K, Negative]
Reuters [1/28/2025 12:23 PM, Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke, 48128K, Negative]
ABC News [1/28/2025 8:43 AM, Luke Barr and Aaron Katersky, 33392K, Negative]
ABC News [1/28/2025 11:38 AM, Staff, 33392K, Neutral]
CBS New York [1/28/2025 8:55 AM, Christina Fan, 52225K, Neutral]
CBS Austin [1/28/2025 12:57 PM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Negative]
Newsweek [1/28/2025 5:55 PM, Gabe Whisnant, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Negative]
Newsweek [1/28/2025 8:58 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Negative
FOX News [1/28/2025 8:27 AM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative]
FOX News [1/28/2025 10:29 AM, Staff, 49889K, Negative]

CBS News [1/28/2025 8:15 PM, Major Garrett, 52225K, Negative] Video: HERE reports as Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps have gotten underway at the start of the Trump administration, multiple raids in cities across the U.S. have been filmed and highly publicized. Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the purpose of recording the raids is to create an "accountability measure.” "It’s not a spectacle," she told CBS News. "This is our nation’s law enforcement — judicial process. The scales of justice are equally applied to everybody. We want transparency on this. I believe that this is an accountability measure.” Inside the ICE field office in Manhattan on Tuesday, the agency’s ranks were enlarged by other agencies, including Noem, now ordered by the Trump administration. The plan was to carry out multiple predawn raids targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, with charges ranging from murder to theft to kidnapping. The short-term goal is 500 arrests over a weeklong operation in New York. One of the targets of Tuesday’s raids was a Venezuelan national and suspected gang member wanted out of Colorado on multiple felony warrants for kidnapping, burglary and a gun crime, according to authorities. Around 5:30 a.m., heavily armed agents raided an apartment building in the Bronx and found the suspect and three other male associates. They were all handcuffed without incident. Three children were also found in the apartment, but their immigration status was not immediately known. Authorities will now check to see if they have a caregiver or if Child Protective Services needs to be brought in. The next stop was a residence less than two miles away. After some negotiation, the officers made their way inside, but came up empty because their targets weren’t home. Federal law enforcement is working with limited help from the New York City Police Department because of the city’s laws protecting undocumented immigrants. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, however, has been cooperative with ICE and DHS. "I talked to him on the phone probably four or five times last night, and how one of these individuals was so dangerous, and that we needed the backup of the NYPD to be there in case things went south," Noem said. Tuesday’s Bronx operation required around three dozen law enforcement agents that yielded a handful of arrests. Noem said it’s a ratio she’s comfortable with.

AP [1/29/2025 12:17 AM, Will Weissert, 33392K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump on Wednesday will sign the Laken Riley Act into law as his administration’s first piece of legislation. It mandates the detention and potential deportation of people in the U.S. illegally who are accused of theft and violent crimes before they’ve actually been convicted. The measure swiftly passed the Republican-controlled Congress with some Democratic support, despite immigrants rights advocates decrying it as extreme enough to possibly trigger mass roundups of people for offenses as minor as shoplifting. Trump has made a promised crackdown on illegal immigration unprecedented in the nation’s history a centerpiece of his political career, however, and is now suggesting the law might only be the beginning. “This shows the potential for additional enforcement bills that will help us crack down on criminal aliens and totally restore the rule of law in our country,” the president said at a conference of House Republicans held at his Doral golf club in Florida. The law is named for Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who went out for a run in February 2024 and was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally. Ibarra was found guilty in November and sentenced to life without parole. “To have a bill of such importance named after her is a great, a great tribute,” Trump said. “This new form of crime, criminal, illegal aliens, it’s — it’s massive, the numbers are massive and you add that to the crime we already had.” The speed at which the act cleared Congress — and the fact that Trump is preparing to triumphantly sign it at the White House surrounded by lawmakers and other supportive, invited guests just nine days after taking office — adds to its potent political symbolism for conservatives. Critics say the measure is using a tragedy to effectively unleash chaos and cruelty while doing little to fight crime or fix an antiquated federal immigration system that hasn’t been overhauled in decades.

NBC News [1/28/2025 8:06 PM, Julia Ainsley, 50804K, Negative] reports Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the principal agency tasked with carrying out President Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations, faces a budget shortfall, and Trump administration officials are considering pulling funding from the Transportation Security Administration to make up for it, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The administration is also looking at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Coast Guard as possible areas from which to take money to give ICE. The executive branch is allowed to move money appropriated by Congress from one agency to another within a department, and the Trump administration would not be the first to do so to make up for an ICE budget shortfall. Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ICE was facing a $230 million budget shortfall even before Trump took office and ramped up deportations, when it averaged around 282 arrests per day. On Sunday, ICE arrested more than 1,200 people, according to a senior DHS official, and senior leaders at ICE have been told the agency must continue to arrest 1,200 to 1,500 people per day. A Government Accountability Office report in May found that from 2014 to 2023, DHS — under which ICE, the TSA, CISA and the Coast Guard all fall — had notified Congress that it planned to move a total of $1.8 billion to help parts of ICE that needed more money. Some of that came from other parts of ICE, but most came from other agencies, including the TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. Cuts to TSA could be met with backlash if they led to longer lines at airports and impact travelers. Trump has publicly criticized the other agencies apparently contemplated as funding sources. He has gone after CISA for weighing in on what it deemed to be misinformation surrounding the 2020 presidential election. He also abruptly fired the commandant of the Coast Guard upon taking office.

FOX News [1/28/2025 7:12 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 49889K, Negative] reports the Trump administration rolled out a social media thread on Tuesday highlighting the latest apprehensions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as the president’s immigration crackdown comes to fruition. "969 TOTAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ARRESTS by ICE were recorded yesterday, January 27, 2025," the White House shared on X. "HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORST.” The post shows nine different illegal immigrants who have already been convicted of crimes, such as child rape, or have alleged links to gangs and terrorist organizations and other serious crimes. The nine criminal migrants highlighted in the thread include their photos, as well as short biographies explaining their crimes. "MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: Oscar Villatoro-Lazo, a Salvadoran national, was arrested by ICE Buffalo on Jan. 27, 2025. Conviction: Murder, sentenced to 19 years to life," one post reads. Another explains: "MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: Edgar Julca-Tangoa, a Peruvian national, was arrested by ICE Newark on Jan. 27, 2025. Subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice: Aggravated sexual assault and abuse of multiple minors in Argentina.” "MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: Fernando Hernandez-Martinez, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE Atlanta on Jan. 27, 2025. Conviction: Two counts of child molestation, sentenced to five years confinement," another post reads. Other arrests included a Peruvian national wanted by INTERPOL for aggravated sexual assault on a minor, a Mexican national accused of child molestation and an Afghanistan national suspected of being a suspected terrorist.

NBC News [1/28/2025 11:49 AM, Julia Ainsley, 50804K, Neutral] reports that federal enforcement agencies are targeting three U.S. cities per week for large-scale immigration arrests, with Aurora, Colorado, to come next, three sources familiar with the planning told NBC News. So far this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, have focused arrests in Chicago, in an operation that began Sunday, and New York City, where arrests began Tuesday. Those efforts will next shift to Aurora for an operation beginning Thursday morning, the sources said. Aurora, about 40 minutes outside of Denver, was a focus for President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign as he said the city had been "infected by Venezuela," referring to reports of criminal activity by a Venezuelan gang. City officials pushed back on Trump’s rhetoric, and police Chief Todd Chamberlain told NBC News that Aurora is "very safe." Sources familiar with plans to carry out Trump’s promise of mass deportation operations said ICE field offices across the country have been told to increase their routine operations to pick up more migrants. Those operations may include some federal law enforcement agents from other agencies, they said. In addition, agents across federal agencies will fly into three cities per week for larger operations, for what one source described as an "all hands on deck" approach to boost the number of arrests.

Newsweek [1/28/2025 7:40 PM, Jordan King, 56005K, Positive] reports that two U.S. Air National Guard F-16C Vipers and one U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter were scrambled to intercept a possible drone near one of President Donald Trump’s backup planes, according to flight tracking data and Air Traffic Control (ATC) audio. The maneuvers were spotted, using ADS-B Exchange data and ATC recording, by conspiracy theory debunking website Metabunk, reported on by The Warzone and posts from the flight tracking X account Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51). When Newsweek put these reports to Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base for comment, it did not deny them. Newsweek has also contacted the White House and the U.S. Air Force, via email, for comment. The SAM47 USAF Boeing C-32A/757 was reportedly supposed to land at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base, in Washington D.C., when a "potential drone" sighting delayed it. The "potential drone" was seen over Freeway Airport, around 10 miles north of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, according to the audio. A spokesperson from the 89th Airlift Wing, which is responsible for the presidential airlift unit and its mission, at Joint Base Andrews told Newsweek: "There was no operational impact to any 89th Airlift Wing aircraft landing at Joint Base Andrews, Md. on January 26, 2025. Aircrew followed Air Traffic Control instructions and landed uneventfully." In the audio, the ATC operator can be heard telling the pilots of SAM47: "You can expect some delay, I have a scramble in progress" before he tells the Coast Guard helicopter, callsign ‘BLACKJACK01’, and the F-16s, callsign ‘BRAVE01’, that the target of interest was a "potential drone." Later in the clip, the operator addresses a second F-16, BRAVE02. Eventually, the F-16s returned to Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base and the MH-65 returned to Reagan International Airport—none of which intercepted the "target of interest." The C-32A landed without incident.

CBS Austin [1/28/2025 4:39 PM, Kayla Gaskins, 581K, Neutral] reports President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan figures the plan for mass deportations of illegal migrants will cost around $86 billion to execute. However, it will ultimately end up saving American taxpayers even more. Homan has said the success of Trump’s deportation plan will depend on what resources Congress gives them.

Louisville Courier Journal [1/28/2025 3:54 PM, Hannah Pinski, Neutral] reports U.S. Rep. James Comer is launching an investigation into sanctuary cities as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration. The Kentucky Republican, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced Monday he sent letters to the mayors of Boston, Denver, Chicago and New York City requesting documents and communications related to their cities’ sanctuary policies. Comer asked the Democratic mayors to testify in front of the committee on Feb. 11. Newsweek [1/28/2025 9:12 AM, Khaleda Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports that Representative James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced an investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions on Monday. Sanctuary jurisdictions decline to voluntarily assist federal immigration enforcement authorities, making it harder for undocumented migrants to be arrested and deported. The investigation comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has begun cracking down on illegal immigration.

FOX News [1/28/2025 3:27 PM, Louis Casiano, 49889K, Negative] reports the White House on Tuesday clarified that all the illegal immigrants arrested by federal immigration authorities in recent days "are criminals," as far as the Trump administration is concerned. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was taking questions during her first press briefing since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last week when she was asked about the mass arrests. Federal immigration authorities have arrested thousands of illegal immigrants, mainly targeting those with criminal records, since Trump took office. On Sunday alone, ICE arrested 1,000 people and lodged 554 detainers. Border Czar Tom Homan warned that daily deportation numbers will rise in coming weeks as the administration expands its operations.

Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 11:55 AM, Annabella Rosciglione, 2365K, Negative] reports that a lawsuit filed on behalf of two federal government employees alleges that President Donald Trump’s administration set up an email distribution system for the entire federal workforce but that the email system raises security concerns related to workers’ private data. The lawsuit accuses the Office of Personnel Management of not doing an assessment required by federal law to mitigate any privacy risks in how the new email system could collect the data of federal employees. The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration begins overhauling many elements of the federal workforce, including ordering workers to return to the office and eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Federal employees recently began receiving emails from the email address [email protected] that appeared to be running tests for a new "distribution and response list," according to the lawsuit. In one of the lawsuit’s examples of the emails, the acting secretary of homeland security sent the following message to all Department of Homeland Security employees: "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is testing a new capability allowing it to send important communications to ALL Federal employees from a single email address, [email protected]. If you ever receive communications from this address, it can be considered trusted."

FOX News [1/28/2025 11:29 AM, Diana Stancy, 49889K, Positive] reports that the Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Transportation Department, Sean Duffy. The Senate voted on Monday to advance Duffy’s nomination by a margin of 97-0, and his confirmation is expected Tuesday. Duffy, who previously represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, appeared before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in January and outlined his priorities for the Transportation Department, including aviation and highway safety, addressing the air traffic controller shortage and restoring trust in Boeing following several major scandals. "No federal agency impacts Americans’ daily lives and loved ones like the Department of Transportation," Duffy told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing on Jan. 15. "We want the best and the brightest air traffic controllers. We must modernize our systems with cutting edge technologies. I’ll work with Congress and the FAA to restore global confidence in Boeing, and to ensure that our skies are safe," he said. Duffy also vowed to initiate work on rebuilding a portion of Interstate 40 near the North Carolina-Tennessee line shut down by extensive Hurricane Helene damage in September 2024.

USA Today [1/28/2025 6:45 PM, Bart Jansen, Riley Beggin, and Erin Mansfield, 89965K, Neutral] reports that President Donald Trump’s priorities tops the political agenda from New York to Florida on Tuesday, from immigration raids to lawmakers meeting about how to pass his legislative goals. Kristi Noem, who was confirmed Saturday as secretary of Homeland Security, was in New York City on Tuesday as members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested immigrants in the country without legal authorization who have been convicted of crimes. House Republicans continue to meet Tuesday in Florida to iron out differences over Trump’s goals for cutting taxes and spending. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was scheduled to give a speech at 8 a.m., but it was postponed. Vice President J.D. Vance is scheduled to speak at 12:30 p.m. Back in Washington, the Senate will hold a hearing on the Panama Canal and is set to vote on the confirmation of former GOP Rep. Sean Duffy to lead the Transportation Department. Days after senators narrowly confirmed Trump’s embattled Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, a marathon of confirmation hearings featuring other high-profile – and some equally controversial – Cabinet picks begins Wednesday. Among the headliners is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is up for secretary of Health and Human Services.

CBS Boston [1/28/2025 1:54 PM, Staff, 52225K, Negative] reports a Washington state woman charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a U.S. border patrol agent in Vermont had been in frequent contact with someone whom authorities have linked to homicides in Pennsylvania and California, a federal prosecutor said in court documents Monday. Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who died Jan. 20 during the shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border. She had been traveling with Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen who also was killed, and the pair had been under surveillance for several days. In a motion filed Monday, U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher said Youngblut should be detained as the case proceeds due to the nature of the crime, the weight of evidence against her, her lack of ties to Vermont, and the danger she poses to the community. According to the motion, the gun used by Youngblut and one that Bauckholt was carrying were purchased by a third person in Vermont last February. The buyer is a person of interest in a double homicide investigation in Pennsylvania, Drescher said. And both Youngblut and the buyer "are acquainted with and have been in frequent contact with" someone who was detained during that investigation and who also is a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Vallejo, California, the motion said. Youngblut made an initial appearance in a federal court in Burlington on Monday and was scheduled for a detention hearing on Thursday. The public defender assigned to represent Youngblut in U.S. District Court in Burlington did not return emails seeking comment. A spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont declined to comment. According to an FBI affidavit, a border agent pulled over Youngblut and Bauckholt on Interstate 91 to conduct an immigration inspection. At the time, Bauckholt appeared to have an expired visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security database, but investigators later confirmed that his visa was current, the FBI said.

Reported similarly:
AP [1/28/2025 3:29 PM, Kathy McCormack, Holly Ramer, 47097K, Negative]

CBS Boston [1/28/2025 8:20 AM, Penny Kmitt, 52225K, Neutral] reports Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has been asked to testify at a Congressional hearing as part of a federal investigation into sanctuary cities. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, launched a probe Monday into "the policies of sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on public safety and federal immigration enforcement." Comer sent letters to the mayors of Boston, New York, Chicago and Denver asking them to testify at a hearing on February 11 in Washington. Sanctuary cities have policies against turning over undocumented immigrants who could deported by federal agents. In the letter to Wu, Comer said, "Boston is a sanctuary jurisdiction that refuses to fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement" and that all four cities "stand out in their abject failure to comply with federal law." "Boston is a sanctuary jurisdiction under the Boston Trust Act, which the Boston City Council recently voted unanimously to reaffirm. Further, Boston is also subject to Massachusetts’s judicial precedent finding ICE detainers an unlawful exercise of state power. Mayor Michelle Wu ‘reiterated Boston’s status as a sanctuary city’ shortly after the 2024 presidential election," Comer wrote. The panel is looking for city documents and information related to "sanctuary policies" in Boston from January 1, 2024 to the present. There has been no direct comment yet from Mayor Wu. When asked about the request, a spokesperson for her office told WBZ-TV, "We are proud that Boston is the safest major city in the United States. We have received the letter and are reviewing it." Tuesday is the mayor’s first day back at City Hall, working in person, since giving birth to her daughter two weeks ago. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Politico [1/28/2025 4:00 PM, Emily Ngo, 57114K, Negative] reports that President Donald Trump expanded his show of force on illegal immigration to the country’s largest sanctuary city early Tuesday, with the backing of embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul. Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem descended on New York City for the heavily publicized arrest of an undocumented immigrant wanted for violent crimes. "7 AM in NYC. Getting the dirt bags off the streets," Noem posted on X. The action sparked swift responses from the state’s leaders, and Attorney General Letitia James said she is monitoring "the increased presence of ICE across New York City." The Democrat separately promised "imminent legal action" against the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal funding. The Democratic mayor said he "directed the NYPD to coordinate with DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations and other federal law enforcement agencies — as allowed by law — to conduct a targeted operation." NYPD officers were present for the operation as part of a Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, task force conducting criminal investigations, a police spokesperson said. Sanctuary laws in New York City limit broader local police cooperation with federal immigration officials.

AP [1/28/2025 11:10 PM, Kate Payne, 33392K, Negative] reports Florida lawmakers passed a sweeping immigration bill Tuesday, setting aside half a billion dollars in public funds to help carry out President Donald Trump ‘s crackdown on those in the country illegally. In a state where roughly one in every five residents is an immigrant, the legislation would require every level of government — as well as government contractors — to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement “to the fullest extent possible.” Following more than four hours of deliberations on Tuesday, Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature passed the measure largely along party lines. The passage sets up a showdown between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislative leaders, who have sparred over whose proposals would better carry out Trump’s immigration crackdown. DeSantis has called the bill “weak.” “The whole goal of this bill is to help President Trump do his job,” said Republican Sen. Gruters, one of the bill sponsors and a Trump ally who said he spoke with the president while shepherding the measure. “He wants maximum coordination with local government.” Lawmakers pushed the 80-plus page bill — titled the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy, or TRUMP Act — through in a special session, when it’s harder for the public to engage in the legislative process. Republican lawmakers filed the bill after rejecting immigration proposals by DeSantis, a rebuke to the lame duck governor who was once floated as Trump’s successor. Notably, one Republican in the House and six in the Senate voted against the measure, leaving the bill short of a veto-proof majority. “I appreciate the attempt,” said Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, an ally of the governor. “I cannot vote for this because it is nowhere near strong enough for my taste.” Ahead of the floor debate on Tuesday, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez announced additional provisions, after they “requested and received technical assistance from the Trump Administration”, the leaders said. The amendments included enhancing penalties for all crimes committed in the state by people in the country illegally, and requires that those convicted of capital offenses receive the death penalty. But the Republican sponsors declined to include some of DeSantis’ provisions, like restrictions on sending money overseas by people in the country illegally and a measure that would have created a legal presumption that people in the country illegally are a flight risk. Now DeSantis must weigh whether to sign a proposal he’s bashed in public as “toothless” and “watered-down” or veto it. He could also decline to sign the bill, allowing it to become law. The measure passed by lawmakers Tuesday would create a new state immigration enforcement office with more than 140 employees under the direction of a newly minted chief immigration officer, a post to be taken by the state’s commissioner of agriculture, and would cede emergency immigration enforcement powers from the governor to the state immigration officer.

Axios [1/28/2025 1:30 PM, Justin Kaufmann, 16349K, Neutral] reports that Mayor Brandon Johnson says he has not decided whether to testify before Congress over the city’s sanctuary city policies. Why it matters: If the mayor testifies, he will attempt to fend off federal pressure while supporting the city’s immigration policy that has stood for 40 years. The latest: The U.S. House has called mayors from four cities (Boston, Denver, New York City and Chicago) to testify as part of an investigation into whether the sanctuary city policies are impacting or disrupting the federal government’s immigration policies. Chicago’s ordinance prohibits city employees and law enforcement from assisting in enforcing federal immigration laws. What they’re saying: "We’re not going to surrender our humanity," Johnson said at a Tuesday press conference. Between the lines: The call to testify was an invitation, not a subpoena. The mayor’s legal team is reviewing it. While Congress prepares to hold these mayors’ feet to the fire, right-wing media is suggesting Republicans go further, arresting both Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker for obstruction. Border czar Tom Homan has suggested Denver Mayor Mike Johnston should be jailed if he stands in the federal government’s way. Johnston has already said he won’t testify in front of Congress.

FOX News [1/28/2025 2:17 PM, Greg Norman, 49889K, Negative] reports that Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson accused President Donald Trump of "attempting to get us to surrender our humanity" as he ripped the White House Tuesday for the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement operations that are unfolding in his city. More than 100 people in the region have been detained since ICE and federal authorities began their raids on Sunday, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said. "What this administration is attempting to do, he is attempting to get us to surrender our humanity. We’re not going to do that in Chicago," Johnson told reporters Tuesday. "You know, look, every administration, by the way, has deported individuals from our country, every administration," the Democrat added, but he claimed "there’s a real goal here to stoke fear into the American people." Johnson did not answer when he was asked about an invitation from House Republicans calling on him to testify next month about sanctuary city policies and their impact on public safety. Instead, he deflected to the city’s top lawyer, who said they are reviewing the invitation. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Border Report [1/28/2025 11:49 AM, Abigail Jones, 153K, Negative] reports that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday morning asked the Texas Department of Public Safety, or DPS, to deploy tactical strike teams to "support the Trump Administration’s homeland security operations to locate and arrest criminal illegal immigrants in the state.” Abbott said in a press release issued Tuesday that Texas is expanding operations to assist President Trump’s hard and fast efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. "Today, I directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to deploy tactical strike teams to work alongside our federal partners to enforce immigration laws throughout the state," Abbott said in the release. "These teams will coordinate with Homeland Security agencies to track down the thousands of illegal immigrants with active warrants across Texas and deport them from our country." Abbott added in the release that the teams will "leverage personnel and resources" to identify and arrest nearly 5,400 illegal immigrants with active warrants from local jurisdictions across Texas. According to the release, the strike teams include DPS troopers, Special Agents and Texas Rangers, and they will coordinate with federal partners with support from the DPS Aircraft Operations Division and the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Dallas Morning News [1/28/2025 1:13 PM, Aaron Torres, 3419K, Negative]

NBC News [1/28/2025 7:12 PM, Tyler Kingkade, 50804K, Neutral] reports families enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools will have to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship under new rules approved Tuesday by the state’s education board. The proposed regulation, which must be approved by the governor and the Legislature, would require school districts to track the number of students who cannot verify their immigration status and report those figures to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. "Our rule around illegal immigration accounting is simply that; it is to account for how many students of illegal immigrants are in our schools," Ryan Walters, the state superintendent, said at the Tuesday meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education. Outside the building in Oklahoma City, dozens of students protested Walters’ immigration policies and called to keep deportation agents off school campuses. Walters — who gained a reputation in office for focusing on culture war issues and inviting right-wing influencers into state government — met resistance last year when he said he intended to ask school districts to help his office calculate the cost of illegal immigration on the public education system. A dozen districts told NBC News in August that they would not check the immigration status of their students, with many citing a desire not to violate Supreme Court precedent, nor discourage foreign-born families from enrolling children in school. Walters said Tuesday that Oklahoma spent $474 million to educate children of undocumented immigrants under the Biden administration. That figure came from an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform — a right-wing nonprofit founded by the late activist John Tanton, who promoted eugenics and opposed nonwhite migration to the U.S. — and was based on an estimate the group did using census data from 2020. "You have to have the data around where your kids are coming from," Walters said at the state board meeting. "We will make sure that President Trump and his administration have this information.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/28/2025 4:59 PM, Troy Closson, 161405K, Neutral]
The Hill [1/28/2025 1:27 PM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 16346K, Neutral]
CBS Austin [1/28/2025 1:58 PM, Alexx Altman-Devilbiss, 581K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 3:52 PM, Brady Knox, 2365K, Negative]

Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 7:43 AM, TJ Martinell, 2365K, Negative] reports that, in anticipation of mass deportations of illegal aliens by newly-elected President Donald Trump, Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed an executive order intended to provide services for children of those deported. While Attorney General Nick Brown has filed a multistate lawsuit in response to Trump’s executive order overturning birthright citizenship, Ferguson said at a Monday press conference that "we also need to prepare … to minimize the impacts of Washingtonians when a president does something that may be lawful, but goes against our values.” "I want to be clear about the impacts that that were to happen," he added. "It means ripping families apart. It means kids losing their parents. It means businesses losing their workers. It means communities being significantly altered. We need to prepare if this were to come to pass.” The executive order tasks the state Department of Children, Youth & Families to form a rapid response team that will explore possible recommended policies for "mitigating" the impacts of deportations on children who are separated from their families. "The entire mission of the Department of Children, Youth & Families are to keep children safe, to reduce unnecessary separation from family, and ultimately reduce any trauma," Tana Senn said, the newly appointed director of DCYF. Speaking at the press conference, Executive Director of OneAmerica Roxana Norouzi said "we will continue to serve and defend our immigrant and refugee communities to our utmost ability, continuing to help in providing services to providing emergency planning, to uniting with our partners so that we are coming together to educate and organize our communities.” She added that "we will build a blueprint for the rest of the nation of what’s possible when we value support and invest in immigrant communities," in part by "using every tool at our disposal at the local and state level to ensure immigrant communities are protected.”

AZCentral [1/28/2025 4:49 PM, Paula Soria, 6018K, Neutral] reports the Mexican government has launched a mobile application that provides support to Mexican nationals living in the United States, offering an array of services, among them the ability to document any encounters they may have with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The function and content of the application "is not something that does not exist, but rather it facilitates the scope of what already exists in terms of our consular services," Jorge Mendoza Yescas, Consul General of Mexico in Phoenix, said to The Arizona Republic. "Very focused on the issues of protection and consular assistance due to the political immigration climate that we are experiencing." Still, and considering that the Trump administration plans massive immigration enforcement, Mexico launched ConsulApp Contigo — which translates to "consulate app with you" — an application available for Android and IOS to counteract the uncertainty that falls on many Mexican citizens and as an act of solidarity with them.

Los Angeles Times [1/28/2025 5:40 PM, Patrick J. McDonnell, 17996K, Neutral] reports Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hedged Tuesday on whether Mexico would accept U.S. military flights carrying deportees under the Trump administration’s mass-expulsion plans. The use of the military — including the deployment of active-duty troops to the United States’ southwest border — is a cornerstone of Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda. But it bumps up against Mexican sensitivities — heightened by a long history of U.S invasions and incursions — against military encroachment by its northern neighbor. It is not clear whether Pentagon air assets would be deployed to transport deportees to Mexico. Media reports last week that Mexico refused a U.S. military flight that would have brought deportees have not been publicly confirmed by either country. Sheinbaum has already agreed to accept Trump’s reinstatement of the controversial Remain in Mexico policy, which forces asylum-seekers arriving at the border — including Central Americans and other non-Mexicans — to wait in Mexico for adjudication of their cases in U.S. immigration courts. She has said Mexico would seek financial aid from Washington to reimburse the costs of repatriating third-country nationals to their homelands. Mexico received four deportation flights last week— on nonmilitary aircraft — but has yet to see a significant uptick in returned deportees, officials say.

FOX News [1/28/2025 10:33 AM, Rachel Wolf, 49889K, Negative] reports that American officials in Mexico have issued the highest-level travel warning amid increased gun battles, kidnappings and IEDs in a town that sits on the Texas border. The State Department has put the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, which sits across the border from McAllen, Texas, under a "Level 4: Do not travel" advisory. "As a precaution, U.S. government employees have been ordered to avoid all travel in and around Reynosa and Rio Bravo outside of daylight hours and to avoid dirt roads throughout Tamaulipas," the consulate wrote in a statement. Authorities are urging Americans to avoid dirt roads, not to touch unknown objects near or on roads and to plan travel during daylight hours. Additionally, Americans are advised to notify family and friends of their whereabouts "for your safety.” The State Department’s Level 4 warning indicates that there is a "greater likelihood of life-threatening risks." Additionally, the department warns that the U.S. government "may have very limited ability to provide assistance, including during an emergency" to Americans in areas under its highest-level advisory. "The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. We advise that you write a will prior to traveling and leave DNA samples in case of worst-case scenarios," the State Department’s website reads.

AP [1/29/2025 12:23 AM, Sonia Pérez D., 33392K, Negative] reports Margarita Raymundo walked down the ramp of the U.S. Air Force cargo jet and onto the tarmac of Guatemala City’s airport, barely three days after a U.S. Border Patrol agent had apprehended her, along with three other migrants. The swift deportation Monday was disorienting for her and the 63 other migrants aboard and only possible because the Trump administration has enlisted the military to quickly scale up its deportation capacity, which usually relies on chartered flights. In the first week of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, the Department of Homeland Security reported deporting some 7,300 people of various nationalities. The agent who apprehended Raymundo just a five-minute walk from the highway where a vehicle awaited to take her further into the U.S. told her that her deportation would be quick and warned that if she were to be caught again she’d spend five years in prison, she said. The presence of U.S. military planes landing in Latin America raises concerns in a region with a history of U.S. military intervention, more so when they’re carrying citizens of those countries in shackles. Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to let two U.S. military planes carrying deportees land in his country over the weekend. Instead, two Colombian air force planes were sent to the U.S. to pick up the Colombians and bring them home Tuesday, but only after a Trump tariff threat and a furious bout of diplomacy. Earlier this week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum made a point of saying that four flights that had landed at a Mexico City airport in the past few days carrying deportees were all civilian. Guatemala has not publicly objected, and at least three U.S. military flights carrying deportees have landed there in the past week. “We cannot refuse them and it is our obligation (to receive the migrants),” said Danilo Rivera, the director of Guatemala’s Immigration Institute.

Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 4:56 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2365K, Positive] reports the Trump administration is in talks with the government of El Salvador to accept citizens from other countries, including Venezuelan gang members of Tren de Aragua, CBS News reported earlier this week. Border security and immigration experts, each with decades of government experience working on the issue, said El Salvador may be stepping up to help in good faith but was likely eyeing the moment as an opportunity that would also benefit itself. Since the election of Bukele in 2019, the country has pounced on its own gang, MS-13, putting tens of thousands of the clique’s members in prison.

Washington Post [1/28/2025 6:25 PM, Samantha Schmidt, 40736K, Neutral] reports among the more than 200 deportees were two pregnant women and more than 20 children, Colombian officials said after the flights landed. "They are not criminals," Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s foreign minister, said in a video statement posted on X. "Being a migrant is not a crime.” The social media standoff between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Trump erupted over the weekend as the new U.S. administration attempted to launch the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. In the end, Trump dropped his trade threats after Colombia agreed to the flights. After taking office, Trump said he would remove violent criminals quickly, and he has enlisted the military, the FBI and other agencies to aid his deportation effort. "These are murderers. These are people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody you’ve seen," he told reporters Friday. "We’re taking them out first.” Immigration officials have made thousands of arrests since Trump took office, including of immigrants convicted of sex offenses and other serious crimes. But officials have not said how many violent offenders have been removed from the country. The Department of Homeland Security and its immigration and border agencies did not respond to questions about the criminal backgrounds of the deportees to Colombia. The department said Monday that it had removed 7,300 immigrants who were in the United States illegally in the past week.

Reported similarly:
Newsweek [1/28/2025 11:21 AM, Jesus Mesa, 56005K, Negative]

Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 1:25 PM, Timothy Nerozzi, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Colombian President Gustavo Petro portrayed himself as a humanitarian champion as he welcomed back illegal immigrants deported by President Donald Trump’s administration. Petro, who on Sunday briefly threatened to ignite a trade war with the United States and turned away U.S. planes over the treatment of their deportees, is accepting the deported Colombian nationals with open arms. "Our compatriots come from the United States free, dignified, without being handcuffed," Petro wrote Tuesday morning on social media. "We structure a productive, associative and cheap credit plan for migrants. The migrant is not a criminal, he is a free human being." The Colombian president included photos of deportees arriving in the country via U.S.-sanctioned flights, defending them as simply human beings who sought a better life abroad. "They are Colombians, they are free and dignified and they are in their homeland where they are loved," the Colombian president continued in a separate post with pictures of arriving deportees. "The migrant is not a criminal, he is a human being who wants to work and progress, to live life."

Wall Street Journal [1/28/2025 7:15 PM, Juan Forero, Negative] reports Exhausted and grimy after days of detention in the U.S., migrants began arriving Tuesday at their homeland’s capital aboard Colombian government jets—part of what the Trump administration calls America’s largest-ever mass deportation. Many of them said they were arrested shortly after crossing the border in recent days, following journeys of hundreds of miles. They were bitter about being expelled so quickly. “The treatment was despotic, humiliating,” said Juan Sebastian Alonso, 23 years old, as he walked in Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport and tried to decide what he was going to do next. The Trump administration has made it a priority to follow through on deporting migrants who entered the U.S. illegally and who might be criminals as quickly as possible. As arrests and deportations have begun stepping up in recent days, migrants have been landing in their home countries, sometimes complaining of mistreatment from U.S. authorities. Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala and other countries have received deported migrants on U.S. military flights in recent days. U.S. officials have said they are focusing their early efforts on migrants with criminal records. On Friday, President Trump said the deportations were “going very well.” “We’re getting the bad, hard criminals out,” Trump said. “These are murderers. These are people that have been as bad as you can get, as bad as anybody you’ve seen. We’re taking them out first.”

Newsweek [1/28/2025 2:26 PM, Jesus Mesa, 56005K, Neutral] reports that a recently deported woman who arrived in Bogotá on Tuesday with her young son urged her fellow Colombians to reconsider pursuing migration to the United States. Speaking in the Colombian capital after being repatriated with her son, she described the toll that the U.S.’s immigration crackdown under the administration of President Donald Trump has taken on migrants like her. "Don’t go, don’t go, because they’re deporting everyone," she said. Two Colombian Air Force planes carrying deportees from the U.S. landed at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá on Tuesday, following a weekend standoff between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the flights carried 201 Colombian nationals, including men, women and children. The first flight, from El Paso, had 91 passengers—46 men and 45 women. The second flight, from San Diego, transported 110 people, including 62 men, 32 women, and 16 minors. The mother’s plea to her fellow Colombians was urgent. "Don’t go, don’t go," she warned, highlighting the emotional hardships many deportees endure upon their return.

AP [1/28/2025 7:33 PM, Eléonore Hughes and David Biller, 14282K, Neutral] reports the Brazilian government Tuesday said it will create a reception center for deported migrants from the United States following controversy over conditions on a recent deportation flight. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave the green light to establish a humanitarian reception post at Confins, a municipality in Minas Gerais state, Brazil’s Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship Macaé Evaristo told journalists in the capital Brasilia. That decision was made because of the possibility that more flights will follow the arrival of an initial flight to Brazil under the new Trump administration with 88 deportees on board this weekend. That followed dozens of flights during the Joe Biden administration. Local media reported that government officials were disturbed by the fact that Brazilians were kept handcuffed after an unscheduled stop in the Amazon’s biggest city, Manaus, prompted by technical problems with the plane. A Brazilian military plane brought them to their destination, the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, on Saturday afternoon. The next day, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was seeking answers from Washington regarding the "degrading treatment" of nationals during the recent flight. It cited "the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a broken air conditioning system, among other problems.”

New York Times [1/28/2025 8:39 PM, Jack Nicas, 161405K, Negative] reports temperatures were rising inside the plane. Eighty-eight Brazilian deportees, most of them handcuffed and shackled, were getting restless on Friday under the watch of U.S. immigration agents. The passenger jet, dealing with repeated technical problems, was stuck on the tarmac in a sweltering city in the Amazon rainforest. Then the air conditioning broke — again. There were demands to stay seated, shoving, shouting, children crying, passengers fainting and agents blocking exits, according to interviews with six of the deportees aboard the flight. Finally, passengers pulled the levers to release two emergency exits, and shackled men poured out onto the plane’s wing, shouting for help. Brazil’s federal police quickly arrived and, after a brief standoff, told the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to release the deportees, though they had not yet reached their scheduled destination. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ordered a Brazilian Air Force aircraft to pick up the deportees and take them the rest of the way. His government’s ministers then publicly slammed the Trump administration’s handling of the deportees as “unacceptable” and “degrading.” It was those complaints about the Brazilian flight that President Gustavo Petro of Colombia was replying to on social media when he announced Sunday that his government had turned away two deportation flights from the United States. That set off dueling threats of tariffs between the United States and Colombia that ultimately ended in Mr. Petro backing down. The diplomatic dust-up over the deportation flights to Brazil and Colombia marked a turbulent first weekend for President Trump’s hard-line policy to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The pushback from two leftist Latin American governments revealed the simmering discontent across the region over President Trump’s vilification of its migrants as hardened criminals threatening the fabric of the United States.

Wall Street Journal [1/28/2025 4:30 PM, Kejal Vyas, Santiago Pérez and Vera Bergengruen, Neutral] reports Panama’s conservative government is preparing a charm offensive to defuse tensions with the Trump administration over the vital Panama Canal, offering closer alignment to curb the flow of migrants and drugs to the U.S. while working to draw American investment to offset that of China. Top Panamanian diplomats met Tuesday with counterparts from the U.S. State Department in preparation for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s tour of Central America that begins with a stopover in Panama on Saturday. The State Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment. Panama, which uses the U.S. dollar as its currency and has no central bank or armed forces, is an example of how countries in the Americas are scrambling to address President Trump’s concerns over U.S. trade terms and China’s presence in the region. Trump’s plans to impose tariffs and shore up immigration enforcement have led to testy exchanges with leaders from partner nations in recent days. Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro engaged in a public spat with Trump on social media on Sunday after Colombia refused to accept deportation flights from the U.S. That led the White House to threaten tariffs and sanctions until Petro late in the day agreed to receive the deportees. In Canada, former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is running to replace Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party, proposed banning American companies from participating in federal projects in a tit-for-tat response to Trump’s promises to levy 25% tariffs on neighbors of the U.S. Like Mexico, Panama is taking a more subtle approach and avoiding direct confrontation while opening up negotiation channels. Both countries are among the few in the region that have the U.S. and not China as their top trading and investment partner.

Wall Street Journal [1/28/2025 6:11 PM, Juan Forero, Negative] reports One benefit of President Trump’s return to power is that fresh thinking is sweeping through a stultified federal government. A welcome example is his desire to make the U.S. homeland safer from missile and nuclear attacks. This has received little press attention, but on Monday Mr. Trump issued an executive order titled “The Iron Dome for America.” The order instructs new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to submit to the White House within 60 days a “reference architecture, capabilities-based requirements, and an implementation plan for the next-generation missile defense shield.” The order goes on to list the elements that should be part of this architecture, including plans “against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries.” Mr. Trump wants plans for deploying new sensors for tracking missiles, including in space, as well for the “development and deployment of proliferated space-based interceptors,” and more. This has the potential to be a great leap forward on defense. Most Americans don’t realize how vulnerable the U.S. homeland is these days, as missile and other technologies improve and proliferate. Gone are the days, going back to the early 2000s, when the U.S. had to worry mainly about a rogue North Korea firing an ICBM at California. Hypersonic weapons that China and Russia have today could strike the U.S. with a warning of only a few minutes. This is far more worrisome than climate change. Apart from 40 ground-based interceptors in Alaska and four in California, the U.S. relies for deterrence on its second-strike nuclear capability. Mr. Trump’s order wants a plan to buttress that too. But, as in the Cold War, a second strike doesn’t protect the Americans who would have already died in a missile attack. Deterrence is enhanced if an adversary contemplating a first strike can’t be confident its attack will get past U.S. anti-missile defenses. That’s why Ronald Reagan proposed his famous Strategic Defense Initiative that was never implemented but helped to convince the Soviets that they couldn’t win a technology race.

The Hill [1/28/2025 8:30 AM, Merrill Matthews, 16346K, Neutral] reports President Trump ignited a flurry of activity with his executive order attempting to stop "birthright citizenship" — the constitutional provision that all children born on U.S. soil (including the territories) automatically become U.S. citizens. Based on the first judge to rule on Trump’s EO, it appears the administration faces an uphill battle in the courts. But whatever the courts decide on birthright citizenship, Americans should at least be able to agree that the practice of "birth tourism" is an abuse of the system and should be stopped. Birth tourism is when pregnant women from other countries enter the United States for the purpose of having their child, who under the 14th Amendment automatically becomes a U.S. citizen, usually returning home thereafter. For example, the health policy news site Fierce Healthcare wrote in 2009, "Of late, a growing number of well-to-do Mexican mothers have been coming to the U.S. to have their babies, who automatically get American citizenship since they were born on U.S. soil." One Arizona medical facility marketed "a ‘birth package’ offering cutting edge technology, cozy settings and the chance for mothers to grant their babies American citizenship." The facility even posted its (2009) prices: $2,300 for a vaginal birth and $4,600 for a c-section. While Mexican women may have been the primary offenders in the past, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reported in 2020 that the list of countries has expanded to China, Taiwan, Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, Russia and Brazil. It adds that birth tourism has grown dramatically in some of the U.S. territories, where Chinese citizens can easily obtain visas to visit. A senior policy director at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute wrote in 2018, "Women from foreign countries, mainly China and Russia, are paying tens of thousands of dollars to temporarily relocate to the U.S. during their pregnancy in order to give birth in the U.S. and thereby guarantee U.S. citizenship for their child.” The Wall Street Journal adds, "Companies in China have attracted attention in recent years for advertising such services, and airlines in Asia even started turning away some pregnant passengers they suspected of traveling to give birth.” The federal government tried to limit birth tourism during the first Trump administration. The U.S. Department of State announced in January of 2020, "[T]he Department is amending its B nonimmigrant visa regulation to address birth tourism. Under this amended regulation, U.S. consular officers overseas will deny any B visa application from an applicant whom the consular officer has reason to believe is traveling for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child.”

Wall Street Journal [1/28/2025 2:00 PM, William A. Galston, Neutral] reports President James C. Ho, the son of immigrants from Taiwan and a naturalized U.S. citizen, received a juris doctor with high honors in 1999 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he joined the Federalist Society. He went on to work in the private sector, in the Justice Department and as a legal adviser to subcommittees of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Between 2005-06, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. In 2008 he became solicitor general of Texas, succeeding Ted Cruz, who became one of his strongest supporters in the U.S. Senate. In October 2017, President Trump nominated Mr. Ho to fill a seat on the Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans. The Senate confirmed Mr. Ho two months later. In late 2020, Mr. Trump included Judge Ho on a list of potential Supreme Court nominees, where he reportedly remains today. Judge Ho is a staunch cultural conservative. He supports an expansive understanding of religious liberty and in 2022 publicly pledged not to hire law clerks from Yale Law School, charging that the school not only tolerates but actively practices cancel culture. He vigorously opposes illegal immigration, arguing that a country that can’t control its borders isn’t fully sovereign. But Judge Ho is also the author of a 2006 legal article that strongly argued in favor of birthright citizenship, including for the children of illegal immigrants. In support of his conclusion, he cited the text and history of the 14th Amendment as well as the key cases—U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) and Plyler v. Doe (1982)—in which the Supreme Court has interpreted its application. In Plyler, he noted, all nine justices endorsed the proposition that illegal immigrants are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. This matters because the 14th Amendment establishes being “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. as the threshold qualification for children born in the U.S. to be citizens at birth. Mr. Ho ended his legal paper by dubbing efforts to eliminate birthright citizenship “Dred Scott II.”

Washington Post [1/28/2025 6:15 AM, Ruth Marcus, 40736K, Negative] reports “Blatantly unconstitutional.” That was the verdict of the judge — and he’ll be the first of many — on President Donald Trump’s effort to eliminate birthright citizenship, the long-standing practice of conferring U.S. citizenship on anyone born in the United States. “I’ve been on the bench for over four decades,” U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said in temporarily blocking Trump’s order in a lawsuit brought by four states, “and I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this.” The judge, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, was just getting started. “Frankly, I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar would state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order,” he told lawyer Brett Shumate, who has been tapped to head the Justice Department’s civil division, with the unenviable task of defending Trump’s actions in court. “It just boggles my mind.” Hours after Trump swore an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” the president tried to rewrite the Constitution by executive fiat. His order purporting to eliminate birthright citizenship violated the clear language of the 14th Amendment and a statute writing that protection into law. It also ignored a 127-year-old Supreme Court precedent enforcing the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship and subsequent rulings reaffirming that understanding. Further complicating Shumate’s task, Trump’s order reached beyond the children of people in the country without authorization; it also applied to people whose parents are here legally, under temporary visas. Going forward, if Trump’s order isn’t overturned, only the children of legal permanent residents would be granted automatic citizenship.

CNN [1/28/2025 12:51 PM, Brian Stelter, 987K, Neutral] reports that every president oversees deportations of undocumented migrants. But President Donald Trump is producing "deportation TV" - making sure people around the world can see his immigration policy in action. The administration’s immigration sweeps have a made-for-TV feel, as Trump-aligned media outlets have been allowed to ride along with law enforcement agents in recent days. The actions have a made-for-the-internet feel, too, as officials share photos on social media of deportation flights and border deployments. On Tuesday morning, for example, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted videos and photos on X from an enforcement operation in the Bronx. Speaking like a newscaster, Noem said that she was "live this AM from NYC." In a matter of minutes, Noem’s videos were the top story on Fox News, the main pro-Trump network in the country. "President Trump is, of course, a television producer," CNN’s Abby Phillip said on Monday’s "NewsNight," and this is "a story he wants the entire American public to watch: ICE agents in cities near you, outfitted with military-style equipment, detaining migrants that the Trump administration labels as dangerous."

Newsweek [1/28/2025 7:46 PM, Sean Spicer, 56005K, Neutral] reports that when President Trump stepped into office, he wasted no time taking action on immigration. On day one, he kept his campaign promises. He signed a series of executive orders that addressed the border crisis head-on. He also declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, put an end to the disastrous "catch and release" policy, and committed to finishing the border wall—a promise he made and kept to the American people. These moves sent a clear message: This administration is serious about securing the border. But while executive orders make headlines, it is also time for my fellow Republicans to deliver the long-term solutions Americans deserve that future presidents can’t unravel with a stroke of a pen. The truth is, our immigration system is outdated, inefficient, and overburdened. It demands a comprehensive legislative overhaul, and Congress needs to step up to the plate. The reality is that we need smart immigration to support President Trump’s plans to bring back long-lasting economic growth to American soil. But we have to earn the trust back of Americans when it comes to national security One of the biggest hurdles we face is staffing. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been under-resourced and overworked for years. Despite the growing number of encounters with noncitizens at the border, CBP has struggled to meet its staffing goals.

The Hill [1/28/2025 11:00 AM, Kelly McKinney, 16346K, Negative] reports that President Trump has recently announced big plans for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The president called FEMA "a disaster," and told reporters "I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away," during a visit to hurricane-ravaged Asheville, North Carolina. If the elimination of the nation’s crisis management team during a period of never-ending, mind-bogglingly complex crises seems counterintuitive, that’s because it is. We need FEMA now more than ever, and that need will only continue to grow. Rather than dismantling FEMA, we need to reimagine it as an elite federal agency capable of managing the increasingly complex and severe disasters of a polycrisis age. The president is right that the massive flow of federal disaster funds to states can be counterproductive and even corrosive. This is because the promise of FEMA money causes the states to under prepare for disasters, creating a cycle of dependency. Another, even more destructive effect is the process itself. It is a huge administrative burden, for the state and for FEMA. To meet the urgent demands of its individual and public assistance programs, FEMA has abandoned its core mission of emergency management and instead devotes its time and talent to bureaucratic paperwork.

CBS 7 [1/28/2025 9:00 PM, Stetson Miller, 11K, Neutral] reports Immigration enforcement operations continued in major cities across the U.S. on Tuesday as the Trump administration to tout a crackdown on illegal immigration. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has said it has arrested several hundred people during its raids in recent days, with recent numbers showing 956 arrested as of midnight on Jan. 28. The raids have been promoted extensively on social media by several federal agencies and the Trump. The new secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem joined in on one of the immigration enforcement operations that happened in New York on Tuesday morning. On Capitol Hill, some Republicans lawmakers praised President Trump for the stepped up immigration enforcement actions, that happened just a week after took office and signed several immigration executive orders. “The people of Texas, we want our border secure and we want these violent criminals removed from our communities,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). “Too many Americans are losing their lives. Too many children are being victimized. And I think the president has really hitting the ground running.” “We don’t want any more fentanyl in our country. We don’t want more crime, and we don’t know any terrorists. So I think that’s what’s going on. People are appreciative that somebody is finally worried about American security and that’s what Donald Trump’s doing,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). Some Democrats in Washington have expressed concerns about the administration’s immigration actions like Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). “We can all agree that the border of the United States should be secure,” he said. “And, of course, we must deport any dangerous individuals who are here unlawfully. But the executive orders that President Trump signed this past week don’t target criminals. In fact, President Trump terminated a Biden administration policy that required immigration officials to prioritize for arrest and deportation individuals who threaten public safety or national security,” The White House’s new press secretary, Karoline Leavitt made it clear Tuesday that the president sees all undocumented immigrants as criminals. “He is focused on launching the largest mass deportation operation in American history of illegal criminals. And if you are an individual, a foreign national who illegally enters the United States of America, you are by definition, a criminal,” she said.

ABC News [1/28/2025 5:26 PM, Luke Barr, 33392K, Neutral] reports twenty-five members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were arrested by ICE on Monday, according to a senior administration official. In total, there were 969 arrests on just that day, including a convicted member of MS-13 whom ICE arrested in Dallas. "Border czar" Tom Homan has said it’s all part of the Trump administration’s effort to send a "clear" message. While the Trump administration said it would focus on deporting immigrants without legal status who have committed violent offenses first, as raids and mass deportations have continued, administration officials have said those without criminal records have also been deported. The arrests occurred as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined an immigration enforcement operation in New York City on Tuesday, in which she witnessed both criminal and civil enforcement operations. Of the operations Noem witnessed, a criminal case involved a member of Tren de Aragua, according to sources familiar with the actions in New York.

NBC News [1/28/2025 3:26 PM, Suzanne Gamboa and Nicole Acevedo, 50804K, Negative] reports American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations ordered by President Donald Trump in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day 1. Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses. The Navajo Nation Office was flooded with calls from tribal members living off-reservation, with many reporting being questioned about their identity by ICE officers, Native News Online reported.

Axios [1/28/2025 8:20 AM, Erin Alberty, 16349K, Neutral] reports tribal nations in Utah and throughout the U.S. are telling their citizens to hold tight to their IDs amid reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been targeting Indigenous Americans. Heirs to a devastating legacy of forced removal from ancestral homelands, Native Americans now are being given reason to worry they may get caught up in deportation roundups. Navajo Nation officials told CNN on Monday that at least 15 Indigenous people in the southwest U.S. have reported being questioned or detained by immigration officers since Wednesday. "Our people are reaching out to us directly, and their needs are urgent," Navajo Nation Council speaker Crystalyne Curley said in a statement last week. "Despite possessing Certificates of Indian Blood (CIBs) and state-issued IDs, several individuals have been detained or questioned by ICE agents who do not recognize these documents as valid proof of citizenship," the statement read. ICE offices in Utah and Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to Axios’ requests for comment. Warnings and advice fanned out in recent days from tribal governments wary of potential intrusion on their sovereignty or harm against their citizens. The Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico announced that a member was confronted by ICE agents last week and was asked for ID — first in Spanish, although the member spoke English. Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee — the tribe’s governing body — promised in a statement Saturday to "aggressively defend our rights and interests." The tribe offered legal counsel to members who are "improperly detained or questioned," as did the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, whose land crosses the Utah-Arizona border, advised its citizens to record encounters with ICE, ask for agents’ badges and keep the door closed and ask for a warrant if approached at home. Many tribal governments are urging their residents to report any encounters with ICE. The Ute Indian Tribe urged citizens to make an immediate report if they spot ICE agents on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Congress did not grant citizenship to Native Americans until 1924 — a development President Trump’s lawyers cited in their attempt to justify his temporarily-blocked executive order to overturn birthright citizenship. His attorneys last week invoked an 1884 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that denied citizenship to members of tribes to argue that "birth in the United States does not by itself entitle a person to citizenship." Some tribal leaders saw the argument as a threat against members’ citizenship.

CBS 7 [1/28/2025 10:29 AM, David Baker and Amanda Alvarado, 11K, Neutral] reports that the military has helped fly dozens of immigrants without legal status out of the United States. On Friday, the White House confirmed that deportation flights had started. Photos posted by the Department of Defense show U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents loading dozens of people with their belongings and water bottles onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Tucson International Airport on Thursday night. The C-17 was flown to Guatemala. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared photos on X of military flights being used for deportations. "Deportation flights have begun. President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences," she said. Immigration attorney Darius Almiri said this is not a new thing. "Deportations have happened as far back as I’ve been practicing law. It happened when Obama was president, President Biden, and they’ll happen under Trump," Almiri said. Although, he said he’s never seen military planes used before. "Under previous administrations what happens is ICE transports the deportees back to their country of origin through commercial flights," Almiri said. "I think the use of military Air Force jets, that’s something different. That might be again, marketing." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Newsweek [1/28/2025 4:06 PM, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Neutral] reports the Trump administration has hit the ground running on its pledge to begin mass deportations of migrants in the country illegally, conducting high-profile raids in cities from New York to Denver over its first full week. Even still, if deportations continue at their current rate, it would take around 28 years to deliver on the president’s promise to repatriate upwards of 11 million people. Public data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flight tracking, analyzed by a third-party expert and shared with Newsweek, showed there had been three deportation flights on military planes since President Trump took office last Monday, with fewer regular ICE aircraft making those trips.

Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 12:14 PM, Asher Notheis, 2365K, Neutral] reports that "Border czar" Tom Homan was unfazed over actress Selena Gomez’s video complaining about the deportations of illegal immigrants, underscoring how "public safety threats" are being targeted. Gomez’s video, which she briefly posted to Instagram before deleting, featured the Hispanic singer and former Disney Channel star crying as she claimed that "my people are getting attacked" and wished there was something she could do about it. Homan was asked about claims of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting families in the deportation efforts, to which he responded that he does not believe ICE has arrested "any families." "We’ve arrested public safety threats and national security threats, bottom line," Homan said on Fox News’s America Reports. "And look, President Trump won the election on this one issue: securing our border and saving lives." Homan added that ICE would fully carry out its deportations and enforce the law "without apology" and that anyone who dislikes this can "go to Congress and change the law.” After Gomez deleted her video, she posted an Instagram story, claiming that "apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people."

NBC News [1/28/2025 5:43 PM, Nicole Acevedo and Gabe Gutierrez, 50804K, Negative] reports New York was among the latest cities where Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted raids, grabbing the attention of residents and business owners who were surprised by the early morning activity. The raids in several parts of New York City are part of the Trump administration’s heightened push to boost deportations and make them very visible, targeting major cities and publicizing the actions. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on social media that she was present when officers from ICE and other law enforcement agencies arrested at least one undocumented person in the apartment building in the Highbridge section of the Bronx. Mayor Eric Adams said the immigration enforcement operation was led by the Department of Homeland Security and supported by other federal agencies, as well as the NYPD.

FOX News [1/28/2025 2:00 PM, Alexis McAdams and Stephen Sorace, 49889K, Negative] reports that a Venezuelan migrant arrested Tuesday morning during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in New York City is a member of the violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, Fox News has learned. Sources in the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that the suspect, who they identified as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, was arrested inside a Bronx apartment and charged with kidnapping, assault and burglary. Investigators said the 25-year-old Zambrano-Pacheco is the same man who was caught on camera in a video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. Zambrano-Pacheco has since been hiding out in New York City, according to authorities. Others who were involved in the Colorado apartment takeover were also recently arrested in New York City, according to authorities. ICE posted an update later Tuesday that the agency made 969 arrests in a single day and issued 869 detainers. The arrests came as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined an immigration enforcement raid in New York City on Tuesday. Noem was confirmed Saturday by the Senate to lead the DHS under President Donald Trump. She made it clear during her confirmation hearing that tackling illegal immigration and border security were two of her top priorities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 6:02 PM, Sarah Minkewicz, 57114K, Negative] reports Federal Republican leaders are praising President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after hundreds of arrests were made across the country, including three in Western New York. The arrests are raising concerns among residents who want to know who’s at risk of being arrested and deported. During a news conference Tuesday, Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy was adamant that ICE agents are only going after criminals and suspected terrorists. He said they pose a national security risk and need to be removed from the country. "It has been just one week to the day since President Trump was sworn into office, and he is following through on his commitment to secure our borders and to conduct deportations, starting with the most dangerous criminal illegals who pose a threat to our safety and to national security," Langworthy said. The congressman met with ICE agents on Tuesday in Buffalo. After the meeting, Langworthy told reporters that, "Buffalo ICE is getting the job done and I support them wholeheartedly.” Questions were raised at a news conference asking if migrant farmers should be concerned. Langworthy said ICE is not targeting them because they are part of a federal visa program and are vetted. Langworthy also denied rumors of ICE agents raiding local schools. "They are not going into schools," he said. "This is a mission to apprehend convicted criminals and those people that are thought to be creating a national security risk to the country.”

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 5:45 PM, Matthew Euzarraga, 57114K, Neutral] reports the tri-state area is home to over a million undocumented people, according to statistics obtained by PIX11 News. The Trump administration is pushing to increase the arrests of undocumented people, issuing daily quotas for the tri-state area, according to Washington Post. New York City accounts for more than half of the undocumented population in the tri-state area, with an estimated 470,100 undocumented people living in the Big Apple, according to a report from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. However, New York City is considered a sanctuary city, which means it limits or declines to cooperate with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. "New York values the lives of all New Yorkers. Regardless of your immigration status, we want you to feel safe living here," read a presentation on the New York City immigrant affairs office website.

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 6:42 PM, Henry Rosoff, 57114K, Negative] reports New York City’s "Sanctuary" status has been called into question with ICE conducting immigration raids in the Bronx. A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said the Mayor was fully plugged in ahead of these raids in the Bronx. He also confirmed there was limited and legal coordination with federal authorities as it relates to one person—described as wanted for violent crimes like kidnapping and possession of a firearm. "We will not hesitate to partner with federal authorities to bring violent criminals to justice — just as we have done for years," Adams said in a statement. "Our commitment to protecting our city’s law-abiding residents, both citizens and immigrants, remains unwavering.” However, the coordination comes despite New York City’s sanctuary status— designed to protect law-abiding immigrants and due process rights regardless. Comptroller Brad Lander says he will be looking at the role the city played and continues to plan for any arrests made by ICE. "Those laws are clear, if someone has been convicted of a range of serious offenses, cooperation is appropriate, but in many cases, when they haven’t," Lander said. "The many things that are being reported with ICE agents showing up at homeless shelters or schools in cases where people who have not been convicted of serious violent defense is more than likely to violate the city’s laws.”

FOX News [1/28/2025 6:50 AM, Lindsay Kornick, 49889K, Neutral] reports Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey emphasized Monday that his administration would not be working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants. Speaking to the Pennsylvania Press Club Monday, Gainey said, "I am not going to be working with ICE. My administration will not work with ICE. We will do whatever is necessary to make our city more welcoming." When asked, Gainey attacked ICE, claiming that it would not solve the ongoing immigration crisis. "ICE is not going to end the situation of a failed immigration policy. It’s not going to do it," Gainey said. "What it is going to do is create more situations where people feel scared. Where people don’t feel safe. Where people do things they normally wouldn’t do." Instead, he encouraged pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants. "Change it through the legislation," Gainey said. "We know what needs to happen. Where’s the appetite to do it right?" Gainey made similar comments to CBS News Pittsburgh on Wednesday where he discussed working with local nonprofit organizations to assist people after President Donald Trump enacted several executive orders on immigration. "We want to make sure that when immigrants are here they feel welcome. We want to make sure that they know we want to provide services for them," Gainey said. He also added that he did not believe that Pittsburgh police officers would be working with ICE officials in the near future. "We don’t want no hate, we don’t want no division, we don’t want no evil, we want to make sure we’re creating a city where everybody feels welcome," Gainey said. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Gainey’s office added, "Currently, the City of Pittsburgh has no evidence of ICE activity occurring within city limits and has not been asked to assist the agency in any way. ICE is a federal law enforcement agency that works outside of City control. Public Safety and the Bureau of Police will adhere to Bureau policies." Gainey follows several sanctuary city mayors pushing back on Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have all said they would either refuse to work with ICE on deportations or outright resist ICE efforts in their cities.

CBS Pittsburgh [1/28/2025 6:46 AM, Mike Darnay, 52225K, Negative] reports an inmate from Washington County who was being held on assault charges has been released to ICE agents amid a nationwide sweeping crackdown on immigration. Washington County Public Affairs Director Patrick Geho said in a statement that Jose Turcios Salmeron, a foreign-born national from El Salvador was released to ICE from the county’s correctional facility last week. Prior to his release into ICE custody, he was being held on aggravated and simple assault charges stemming from an arrest earlier this month. Geho says less than five individuals were released into ICE custody last year of the nearly 2,200 people who were arrested and released into the county. "Last week, we booked five incarcerated individuals who face deportation once criminal due process has been completed," Geho said. "We want it crystal clear that Washington County is not a sanctuary county," said Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman. "I applaud the Trump Administration for their due diligence in helping clear criminal illegal aliens from our jail. The days of the catch and release policy are over." Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew said in a statement that the county cooperates with all law enforcement agencies, including ICE. "We notify the local ICE agent when an inmate in Westmoreland County is not a U.S. citizen, and we cooperate with ICE. Like Washington County, very few inmates are not U.S. citizens. This has been our policy for years, and we clarified that at a spring 2024 special prison board meeting." Fayette County Commissioner Scott Dunn tells KDKA that as of Monday evening, the county has not released any inmates into the custody of ICE. He says if that situation arises, the county will fully cooperate with federal authorities.

CBS Philadelphia [1/28/2025 7:34 PM, Dan Snyder and Tom Gardiner, 52225K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports new surveillance video appearing to show immigration officials raiding a Philadelphia car wash and detaining several workers Tuesday morning was obtained by CBS News Philadelphia. The apparent raid at the car wash – located at Hunting Park Avenue and H Street in Juniata Park – comes amid ICE raids playing out in cities across the United States with the Trump administration taking aim at illegal immigrants. Neighbors said it all started just after 9 a.m. when several groups of law enforcement officers pulled up and hauled several people out from the business in a reported ICE raid. In the surveillance video, obtained from a neighboring business, you can see officers pull up to the car wash, sending several people running away. The business owner who provided the footage didn’t say whether the people who were detained on Tuesday were in the country illegally but said many of them had been working at the car wash for years. CBS News Philadelphia reached out to ICE, who said this is an ongoing matter and didn’t have any comment at this time. Hours after the reported raid, an immigrant rights group, the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, rallied outside of the ICE headquarters in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. "ICE came into our neighborhood and arrested seven fathers. They took away people from their families. And so, one of our members, her husband was arrested," Peter Pedemonti said. "So for us, coming here today is a strong, a strong message to ICE that you cannot come into our neighborhoods without a response. You are not going to be able to come in and terrorize our families without a response.”

FOX News [1/28/2025 8:04 PM, Charles Creitz, 49889K, Neutral] reports West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Tuesday that about five dozen people had been detained within a day of ordering cooperation between Charleston and federal immigration authorities. By midday on Tuesday, 58 people in the Mountain State were detained within the Regional Jail system pending verification of their immigration status. More detentions are likely imminent, Morrisey said as he repeatedly pledged his full support for President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown. Morrisey, a Republican, and only two weeks into his term, promised a further update on his administration’s operations on Thursday, saying West Virginia has good reason to take every step possible to quash the crisis besides the fact these people are allegedly in the country illegally. West Virginia leads the nation in drug overdose deaths-per-capita, and Morrisey said illegal immigration and cartel smuggling play a key role in that crisis. "To be clear, our numbers may be lower than others in terms of illegal immigrants… but I’ve repeatedly talked about the impact of having illegal immigrants [who] bring deadly fentanyl into the state — that’s flooding in from Mexico [with] raw ingredients coming from China.” The West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources recorded 1,389 drug overdose deaths statewide in 2023, down slightly from their peak at 1,537 in 2021. In 2001, there were only 212 such drug-related deaths among its estimated 1.75 million people. "You’re going to find a Morrisey administration very cooperative with the Trump administration… It’s important for West Virginia because we have to stop this senseless death," the governor said. Morrisey praised Trump and said what the White House is doing is "absolutely correct.”

CBS 7 [1/29/2025 3:30 AM, Staff, 11K, Negative] reports a man is behind bars for allegedly impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Raleigh, North Carolina. The 37-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a motel over the weekend. The Motel 6 located on Appliance Court in Raleigh is the site of the reported rape on Sunday. Arrest warrants say Carl Bennett went to the location and committed a number of crimes, including multiple sex offenses. Bennett, according to the arrest documents, threatened to deport the victim if she did not have sex with him. He allegedly displayed a business card with a badge on it. “This is kind of a perfect storm, what’s happening right now, and it’s opening up opportunities for people who are not doing any kind of law enforcement to take advantage of people in terrible ways,” Nikki Baena, of Siembra NC, said. Siembra NC is a grassroots organization focused on defending the rights of immigrants. Baena said people are preying on the sense of fear that some immigrants have with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She’s not surprised by allegations of intimidation through impersonation, given the current political climate. “People wouldn’t be surprised that an ICE agent acted in an inappropriate way because they often do act in an inappropriate ways to get information out of people,” Baena alleged. Raleigh police didn’t share the race or immigration status of the victim who was involved. Bennett is charged with multiple sex crimes.

FOX News [1/29/2025 4:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Neutral] reports an illegal immigrant from Guatemala is accused of firing at a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper multiple times after a traffic stop turned into a dangerous pursuit, according to court documents. Tennessee authorities initially pulled Eugenio Abraham Solis Klarks over Jan. 12 around 6:30 p.m. in Lenoir City for speeding and asked if he had any ID. An source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital the suspect was living illegally in the United States from Guatemala. Upon being pulled over, Klarks allegedly presented a Guatemalan consular ID card. And when authorities began to issue a citation, he apparently fled, "leading officers on a high-speed pursuit into Knox County," court records state. "The Defendant eventually lost control of his vehicle on Watt Road. When the first trooper approached his vehicle, the Defendant exited the vehicle holding an assault rifle, raised the weapon, and aimed at the trooper," court documents state. "The defendant was struck during the exchange of gunfire. Multiple firearms were recovered from the Defendant’s vehicle.” Klarks’ vehicle was apparently spotted in Macon, Georgia, and Indianapolis before the shooting. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since filed an immigration detainer against the suspect, who is in custody at the Knox County Jail. He is charged with evading arrest but may be facing more charges in the future. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and other Republican state politicians are considering a bill that would establish a "centralized immigration enforcement division" within the state’s Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security to crack down on illegal immigration and crimes like the Jan. 12 shooting. The bill is part of the governor’s immigration agenda that the Tennessee legislature will consider during a special session this week. "Last year, Gov. Lee directed key state agencies to begin preparing for federal immigration policy implementation," Elizabeth Johnson, a spokesperson for the governor, told Fox News Digital in a statement Tuesday. "In this special session, we will ensure the state is best positioned to coordinate with federal, state and local law enforcement to implement the Trump Administration’s plan to enforce the federal immigration laws on the books.”

CBS Miami [1/28/2025 7:24 PM, Mauricio Maldonado and Joan Murray, 52225K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports with 969 arrests made nationwide since the federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants began, the ripple effects are being felt in South Florida schools. Some students worry about returning home to find their parents gone, prompting school districts to issue guidance on how to address the growing fears. "They are worried they are gonna come home and won’t have their parents," said Leyanna Head, 14, a student at Sunrise Middle School in Fort Lauderdale. Speaking with her mother’s permission, she described how classmates with undocumented parents are grappling with anxiety. "They would rather be deported with their family than without them," she said. The emotional toll on students was a key topic at a Broward School Board workshop Tuesday, where officials emphasized the importance of support systems. "It’s causing angst in our community and schools," said Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn. He assured families that the district has partnerships in place to support students, including those who may enter the foster care system if a parent is deported. Broward County school officials are reinforcing the protection of student privacy amid heightened immigration enforcement. In a memo sent to principals, Deputy Superintendent Angela Fulton reminded them that student records are private under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). "Unless there is a court order, we do not release records," she said.

Newsweek [1/28/2025 6:07 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Negative] reports a group of Quaker congregations has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over a policy change by Donald Trump designed to make it easier for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to locate and remove illegal immigrants. The new U.S. president changed the law to allow ICE agents to conduct operations in "sensitive locations," including houses of worship, playgrounds, schools and hospitals, without prior approval from their supervisors, which was previously required. The Trump administration is seeking to crack down on illegal immigration. The president made immigration a central theme of his successful campaign for office, and Americans largely support his mass deportation plans. A New York Times/Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records." Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Maryland on Monday, claims that: "The very threat of that [immigration] enforcement deters congregants from attending services, especially members of immigrant communities," and asserts that going to religious services is fundamental to the "guarantee of religious liberty.” Faith leaders, lawmakers and state educators have opposed the policy change, but the lawsuit appears to be the first from a faith-based organization challenging it in court. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said: "Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.” The policy that is being overturned, initially established in 2011 by then-Director John Morton, required ICE agents to obtain prior approval before making arrests in sensitive locations. It remained in effect during Trump’s previous administration and continued under Joe Biden’s leadership. Under the guidelines, ICE agents were allowed to operate in sensitive locations only in specific circumstances. These included addressing national security or terrorism threats, apprehending dangerous felons, preventing imminent risks of death or injury, or preserving evidence critical to a criminal investigation.

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 6:55 AM, Rudi Keller, 57114K, Negative] reports state Sen. David Gregory reviews his notes before presenting a bill Monday that would criminalize undocumented immigrants to a Senate committee (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). A confrontational legislative hearing Monday — with a witness calling a state senator a fascist and lawmakers battling over whether the state should put a bounty on undocumented immigrants — set the tone for this year’s debate on immigration and the state’s role in border security. The most aggressive approach, in a bill filed by state Sen. David Gregory, would award a $1,000 bounty for tips that result in the arrest of a person present in the United States without authorization. Gregory, a Republican from Chesterfield, wants to authorize bounty hunters, usually employed by bail bond businesses to catch absconders, to track down people identified in tips. And if the tip proves accurate, the person arrested would be charged with “trespass by an illegal alien,” and subject to life in prison without parole if federal immigration authorities declined to take custody. “This bill seeks to create an ICE program at the state level,” Gregory told the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee. “That’s essentially all it does. This is an ICE program inside the state of Missouri.” State Sen. Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat, said it encourages people to make reports based on skin color or English proficiency. “Don’t tell me it is not going to happen because it is happening now,” Washington said. Gregory’s bill — and another heard Monday from state Sen. Jill Carter, a Joplin Republican — are among several introduced by Republicans this session seeking to make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to remain in the state. Carter’s bill would also create new crimes based on immigration status. For simply being undocumented, a person could be charged with “improper entry” and could be punished by a fine of up to $10,000 and removal to a U.S. port of entry for deportation.

Bloomberg [1/28/2025 8:37 AM, Isis Almeida, 21617K, Neutral] reports that, shortly after Donald Trump’s electoral victory, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker pledged to defend his state’s residents from the president’s agenda, throwing down the challenge: “You come for my people, you come through me!” For the billionaire Democratic leader that means protecting women’s and worker’s rights while ensuring his state is a safe place for LGBTQ and immigrant communities. But as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a series of raids in Chicago that started on Sunday, he’s having to weigh how far to take his opposition. “If you’re a convicted violent criminal, you’ve got to go — I don’t want you in my state, I don’t want you in my prison, I don’t want you wandering around the streets,” Pritzker said in a recent interview at Bloomberg’s office in Washington. The challenge, he added, “is that we also have people who are law-abiding residents of my state who have been adding to the economy.” Opposition to Trump is a risky strategy for Pritzker, 60. Trump has promised to cut federal funds to states that don’t cooperate with his priorities and Illinois is already in a challenging spot. Preliminary estimates peg the state’s deficit for its next fiscal year at about $3 billion. While Pritzker has helped secure nine credit rating upgrades, the state remains the lowest rated in the nation. Chicago, meanwhile, just had its credit rating cut by Standard & Poor’s and faces financial threats to fund its education and pension fund systems. Trump’s acting budget director issued a memo Monday instructing federal agencies to halt federal financial assistance, which includes grants and loans, to review if the spending complies with Trump’s executive orders. Prtizker immediately objected on social media questioning whether the president had the power to do this — but if enacted it would have broad consequences for the state.

New York Daily News [1/28/2025 5:04 PM, David Matthews, Negative] reports a woman was arrested over the weekend after federal agents found 14 kilos of cocaine hidden in the cushions of a wheelchair at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The suspect, Elaine Perez-Pena, 35, was traveling from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to Newark, but had a layover in Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. She was previously arrested at JFK airport in New York in 2021 with 3 kgs of cocaine in her suitcase while traveling from the Dominican Republic. She pleaded guilty the following year and was sentenced to time served. Because of her previous conviction, Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted a "secondary inspection" of Perez-Pena when she got off her plane in a wheelchair on Saturday. She told investigators her legs hurt. Nothing suspicious was found in her luggage, but an x-ray of the wheelchair found unexpected density in the cushions and a drug-sniffing dog confirmed the presence of narcotics. An investigator then drilled into the cushion and a white, powdery substance was left on the drillbit. Inside, investigators found a total of 14 one-kilogram packages of cocaine worth $238,000.

FOX News [1/28/2025 10:19 AM, Taylor Penley, 49889K, Neutral] reports that a Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official praised the Trump administration for taking the "handcuffs off" the agency as officers continue to search for those with violent criminal histories. "We’re not targeting people in schools. We’re not targeting people in churches. We’re targeting people who are the worst," Chicago ICE field office director Sam Olson told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday. "There’s a chance they’re going to go some of those places, and this administration has kind of taken some of the handcuffs off of us in a way. We’re leaving the discretion to our officers and our officers are trained to make good decisions out there, and we support them." Olson has been on the ground directly working with Trump border czar Tom Homan, who visited the Windy City over the weekend with acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to address the "national emergency" allegedly created by the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Homan told Fox News that targeted enforcements took "national security threats" off the streets of Chicago, including aggravated sex offenders, convicted murderers and Tren de Aragua gang members.

Miami Herald [1/28/2025 12:10 PM, Christopher Magan, 6595K, Neutral] reports that Minnesota county sheriffs are caught between growing demands from the Trump administration to help with deportation efforts and state court rulings that emphasize their limited role in federal immigration enforcement. Richard Hodsdon, attorney for the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association, said county sheriffs may want to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but they only have jurisdiction to enforce state and local laws. Federal immigration statutes, which are typically civil matters, are outside their legal authority. Sheriffs can share information with federal officials, but, without a warrant, local jails legally cannot comply with "ICE detainers," to hold people suspected of being in the country illegally. "They are not the same as a court order; they are a request issued by an administrative agency," Hodsdon said. He noted that sheriffs in Anoka and Nobles counties were successfully sued for holding people beyond their judicial authority. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota brought those court cases after local law enforcement agencies violated residents’ rights because they were suspected of being in the U.S. without proper authorization, said Julio Zelaya, advocacy director for the Minnesota ACLU. "Our state constitution doesn’t allow for the enforcement of federal immigration laws," Zelaya said. "We don’t want our state law enforcement holding people beyond what they otherwise have the power to do."

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 5:07 PM, Erica Miller, 57114K, Negative] reports two people arrested earlier this month in Odessa on child sexual assault and child pornography charges have now been placed under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. Cleyret Pacheco-Peraza and Leiwin Lara-Hernandez have both been charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, Possession of Child Pornography, and Possession with Intent to Promote Child Pornography. According to a Texas Department of Public Safety affidavit, on December 30, 2024, a DPS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent responded to a request for assistance from Homeland Security Investigations related to a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children cyber-tip. After investigating the tip, officials confirmed the media file in question contained sexually explicit material involving a one-year-old girl. Investigators later learned that, while living in an apartment on Harless Avenue in Odessa, Pacheco-Peraza and Lara-Hernandez allegedly recorded the sexual abuse of their child and sent it to a relative living in Russia. During questioning, Lara-Hernandez reportedly admitted to sexually assaulting the baby about 50 times. She also admitted to sending a video of the assault to Pacheco-Peraza’s relative outside of the county. Both suspects were taken into custody by DPS on January 3. Both remained in the Ector County Law Enforcement Center as of January 28 on a combined $180,000 bond and an ICE detainer.

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 11:42 PM, Andy Morgan, 57114K, Negative] reports deportation flights between the U.S. and Colombia resumed on Tuesday, Jan. 28 after the diplomatic drama over the weekend between President Donald Trump and Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro. A deal between both countries was reportedly made on Sunday night to resume the removal flights, with the White House saying in a statement that Colombia had “agreed to all of President Trump’s terms,” including the arrival of deportees on military flights. According to Colombia’s Foreign Ministry, 91 Colombian nationals boarded a Colombian military aircraft sent from Bogota to El Paso, Texas on Monday, taking off from Biggs Army Airfield just before midnight. Using a flight tracker website, KTSM tracked the deportation flight as it approached Fort Bliss, touching down just before 10 p.m. and departing approximately two hours later. The flight arrived back in Bogota early Tuesday morning. “Texas 23, the district I represent, has been ground zero for this border crisis, and it’ll be ground zero for deportation operations that are ongoing,” said U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas. District 23 stretches from San Antonio to East El Paso and includes Fort Bliss. Gonzales’ district also includes about 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. It comes after Petro objected to the use of U.S. military aircrafts deporting Colombians, saying his country’s citizens were being treated like criminals. Colombia denied entry to two U.S. military deportation flights on Sunday, only to have Trump respond with a threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Colombian goods. Trump also threatened visa restrictions, among other sanctions, before the two presidents came to an agreement.

The Hill [1/28/2025 11:58 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 16346K, Neutral] reports that the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas says it is investigating a substitute teacher who allegedly said on social media that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs to come to North Side High School because it has "many students who don’t even speak English." The school said the teacher will not be allowed on campus until the probe is complete. "We are aware of a recent social media post referencing North Side High School, which was allegedly made by a substitute teacher and has caused concern among our Fort Worth ISD community," the statement reads. The alleged post was made on X in a response to ICE’s account on the platform on Jan. 23, NBC 5 reported. "Y’all should come to Fort Worth, TX to Northside High School. I have many students who don’t even speak English, and they are in 10th-11th grade. They have to communicate through their iPhone translator with me. The @USEDGOV should totally overhaul our school system in Texas," the post reportedly said. The name of the substitute teacher has not been released.

Axios [1/28/2025 8:20 AM, John Frank, 16349K, Neutral] reports Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and state Republican lawmakers are asking local authorities to more closely cooperate with federal immigration authorities to deport certain people living in the country illegally. The push from the unlikely tandem comes amid a debate about whether Colorado’s protections for immigrants make it a sanctuary ripe for the Trump administration to target. The latest: GOP lawmakers introduced a bill to recreate Colorado’s tough immigration stance dating back to 2006 and to require local governments to cooperate with immigration agents or face the loss of state grants. The measure would also mandate police officers report individuals suspected of living in the country illegally. "I want to give law enforcement the authority to do what is natural for law enforcement, which is to have every tool available to them," Sen. Mark Baisley (R-Woodland Park) said in an interview. Polis is not embracing the bill, but he wants the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to increase its presence in Colorado to deport more immigrants convicted of crimes. "We certainly are supportive of local law enforcement having constructive relationships with our federal law enforcement workers," Polis told Axios in a recent interview. Polis draws a line when enforcing civil infractions. We "remain committed to enforcing … criminal laws, rather than just being an extension of the government and focused on federal immigration laws," he recently told reporters. A handful of Colorado’s policies protect immigrants and offer state benefits to those living in the state illegally. Colorado law forbids state entities and law enforcement from providing immigration information to federal authorities in most cases, prohibits local jails from holding people at ICE’s request and blocks arrests solely on resident status. In addition, the state offers driver’s licenses, health care and financial aid to some immigrants lacking permanent legal status. Polis is adamant the policies don’t amount to a "sanctuary state," a term without a clear definition. But Republicans disagree.

The New York Times [1/28/2025 7:33 PM, Eric Schmitt, 161405K, Neutral] reports the Pentagon is allowing the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to use a military base in Colorado to detain undocumented migrants arrested by federal deportation officers, the United States Northern Command said on Tuesday. Law enforcement officers began using facilities at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colo., on Monday, plunging the military deeper into President Trump’s order to secure the southwestern border. No military personnel are to be involved in processing and detaining “criminal aliens within the U.S.,” the Northern Command said in a statement. But deportation officers will benefit from the sprawling base’s infrastructure and overall security. The immigration service requested and received “a temporary operations center, staging area, and a temporary holding location for the receiving, holding, and processing of illegal aliens,” according to the Northern Command. It was not immediately clear how many migrants the immigration service plans to process or hold at the military base. Responsibility for operating the detention facility at the base falls to senior immigration service leaders, special agents and analysts, as well as personnel from other parts of the Department of Homeland as well as other federal law enforcement agencies, the Northern Command said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday, his first full official day on the job, that “whatever is needed at the border will be provided.” CBS News [1/28/2025 8:17 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Nicole Sganga and Eleanor Watson, 52225K, Negative] reports that the Department of Defense said it approved a request from ICE for facilities inside the Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, to be converted into temporary staging and detention sites for migrants in the U.S. illegally who are facing deportation. In a statement to CBS News, a Department of Defense spokesperson said the base is expected to house migrants with criminal records arrested during "an operation taking place in Colorado." ICE officials and other law enforcement authorities — and not military personnel — will administer the migrant detainee facilities, the spokesperson added. "ICE requirements for the facility include a temporary operations center, staging area, and a temporary holding location for the receiving, holding, and processing of illegal aliens," the spokesperson said. The decision to use a Space Force base in Aurora to hold unauthorized migrants is also noteworthy given the expected ramp-up in ICE activity in and near that Denver suburb. Colorado Public Radio [1/28/2025 6:22 PM, Allison Sherry, 688K, Negative] reports that officials with the U.S. Northern Command said that they started work Monday to prepare Buckley for use by Homeland Security as a temporary detention center. ICE has asked for the facilities to hold a temporary operations center, a staging area and a temporary holding location for the holding and processing of what Northern Command said were "illegal aliens." The facility will be manned by ICE senior leaders and other federal law enforcement, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Northern Command. But while the official beginning of the crackdown is said to be set for Thursday, there is also considerable evidence that a more informal version may have started Sunday morning in an Adams County warehouse. More than 48 hours after federal law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on a makeshift Federal Boulevard nightclub and took 49 people into custody, no criminal charges have been filed against anyone. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on what, if anything, is happening to those who were said to have been found with guns and drugs in the large building at 6600 Federal, in unincorporated Adams County. The local sheriff said he didn’t know where the people went, he just provided security on the federal search warrant. The local district attorney hasn’t received any investigative materials from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for prosecution. He doesn’t even have a list of names of people who were taken into custody. None of those people are in the Adams County or Denver jails. CPR News could find no evidence that any have made federal court appearances, which would have occurred within 24 hours in most cases for criminal defendants. “I learned about that raid on the news just like everyone else,” said Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason. “If in fact there was illegal activity taking place that led to those arrests and that illegal activity is potentially involving state crimes, then I would assume the DEA would eventually contact the district attorney’s office. The DEA has not contacted us.”

Reported similarly:
VOA News [1/29/2025 12:03 AM, Staff, 2717K, Neutral]

Washington Examiner [1/28/2025 11:45 AM, Emily Hallas, 2365K, Negative] reports that forty illegal immigrants are in federal custody after law enforcement officials raided a Colorado property frequented by members of the notorious Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. A coalition of federal and local law enforcement agencies initially detained 49 people, 41 of whom were confirmed to be illegal immigrants, during a Sunday morning operation in Adams County. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials said the vacant lot where the suspects were detained had been converted into a "makeshift nightclub" that was "invitation-only to members of TdA and their associates." The DEA has been tracking the gang’s partying for months in Adams County, which is located in the Denver metropolitan area. The DEA, along with other federal agencies and over 100 local partners, seized drugs, weapons, and cash during the raid Sunday. "They ran all of the information while they were on scene and they determined, ICE determined, that they were here illegally or they had some other violation in the immigration system, and they detained and arrested them," Jonathan Pullen, the special agent in charge for DEA Denver, told the Associated Press. The raid came after DEA officials said TdA gang members sent invitations over social media to attend a party at the "nightclub" venue Saturday evening.

The Hill [1/28/2025 7:17 PM, Tara Suter, 16346K, Neutral] reports Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Tuesday decried immigration raids in schools and hospitals. "We don’t want people targeting schools or churches or hospitals," Johnston told CNN’s Jake Tapper on "The Lead." "We think it fundamentally infringes on the public safety of a city if you can’t go to the hospital and feel secure there or take your kids to school.” President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan defended plans from the Trump administration to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into schools in an interview that aired Sunday. On "This Week," ABC News’s Martha Raddatz noted the Trump administration saying that it will no longer tell ICE agents they have to avoid sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals, churches. "What criminals are hiding in schools? Middle schools, elementary schools — you gonna go into those?" Raddatz asked Homan. "How many MS-13 members are the age 14 to 17? Many of them," Homan said. "So look, if it’s a national security threat, public safety threat and what, what you need to understand is that it’s case by case, name another agency, another law enforcement agency, that has those type of requirements, that they can’t walk into a school or doctor’s office or a medical campus," he added. "No other agency is held to those standards. These are well-trained officers with a lot of discretion, and when it comes to a sensitive location, there’s still gonna be supervisory review.”

CBS News [1/28/2025 6:15 PM, Jennifer McRae, Negative] reports CBS News has learned that the Denver metro area is among the next targets for the stepped-up immigration arrest operations that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been conducting under the Trump administration. The agency said it arrested nearly 1,200 people on Monday alone, up from previous days and from the Biden administration, which averaged 312 arrests per day last year. ICE confirmed that the suspects "will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings or hearings before an immigration judge" and that all of those detained are Venezuelan nationals in the U.S. without authorization.

CBS San Francisco [1/28/2025 3:57 PM, Dave Pehling, 52225K, Neutral] reports San Francisco leaders reaffirmed its status as a sanctuary city on Tuesday as the Trump administration vows to make good on campaign promises for increased immigration enforcement. The GOP-led House Oversight Committee is currently taking aim at sanctuary cities. The mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City have been invited to testify at a committee hearing in two weeks. The letter from committee chair and Kentucky Rep. James Comer issued Monday said that misguided and obstructionist policies prevent federal law enforcement from making safe arrests and getting criminals out of communities.

San Diego Union Tribune [1/28/2025 11:49 PM, Gary Warth, 2212K, Neutral] reports a divided El Cajon City Council on Tuesday declined to pass dueling resolutions concerning whether local police should assist federal officials in apprehending undocumented immigrants. The council members voted on the original resolution brought by Mayor Bill Wells that called for such police assistance, as well as a reworded version that tried to balance concerns of fear within the immigrant community and public safety. After many unsuccessful attempts to tweak the wording, both resolutions were voted on. Both failed. The meeting, which lasted more than five hours, drew roughly 80 speakers during the public comment period who fiercely debated the issue of immigration from all sides. At the heart of the discussion was to what extent city police are legally able to assist immigration officials under Senate Bill 54, a California law that restricts the role local law enforcement can play in immigration enforcement but also has allowances for working with federal officers to address violent criminals. “The intention of this is to state that El Cajon will represent the people that live here by telling the federal government our intent to comply with you,” said Wells, who brought the original resolution a few weeks ago. Councilmember Michelle Metschel gave a passionate address in opposition to the original resolution after saying it was weighing heavy on her and she had received more than 100 emails for and against it. “I will not be a part of it,” she said. “This makes us look like racists, and I want no part of it.” But she also said local police should work with federal enforcement officers when there is a violent criminal involved, although she also said the city faces a greater threat from crimes committed by homeless people.

New York Times [1/28/2025 11:05 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, 161405K, Negative] reports the Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States, according to a copy of the decision obtained by New York Times. On Tuesday, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, decided to revoke the 18-month extension of what is known as Temporary Protected Status, which is intended to help people in the United States who cannot return safely and immediately to their country because of a natural disaster or an armed conflict. The move is a blow to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who believed they would not only be protected from deportation but also provided work permits until at least the fall of 2026. Undoing the extension could add to Mr. Trump’s crackdown on not only illegal immigration but also on immigrants whom the Biden administration had authorized to remain in the country. In the past, Mr. Trump has targeted immigrants under Temporary Protected Status, which aids migrants from some of the most unstable countries in the world. Republicans have argued, however, that the measure has strayed far from its original mission of providing temporary shelter from conflict or disaster. During his first administration, Mr. Trump aimed to stop the protections for migrants from several countries, including Haiti, El Salvador and Sudan. Federal courts stymied some of those efforts. Ms. Noem’s decision finds fault with the move by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary under Mr. Biden, to extend the protections for Venezuelans in the final month of Mr. Biden’s term. The agency generally must decide at regular intervals whether the protections should be extended before they expire. The notice argued that Mr. Mayorkas made his move too early and said the extension should not remain in effect “given the exceedingly brief period” since it was issued on Jan. 17. A Homeland Security Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, argued that the last-minute extension by the Biden administration appeared to be a way to tie the hands of Trump officials.

Newsweek [1/28/2025 7:45 PM, Jack Royston, 56005K, Negative] reports that a lawsuit over Prince Harry’s visa records will have its first court hearing since Donald Trump’s inauguration, following allegations the Biden Administration protected the duke, Newsweek can reveal. The Heritage Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to force the release of Prince Harry’s immigration papers. The right-wing think tank argues Harry shouldn’t have been admitted to the U.S. given he has a past history of taking drugs including cannabis, magic mushrooms, cocaine and ayahuasca, as detailed in his memoir, Spare. It says he must have either lied on his forms or been given special treatment and argues that the public has a right to know which. Government lawyers have so far said that releasing the documents would violate Harry’s right to privacy. Donald Trump’s second term as president has, however, cast a long shadow over the proceedings after he said last year that he "wouldn’t protect" Harry if he were to return to the White House. The first test of whether America’s new president will force through a change of stance at the DHS looks set to come within days after Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered lawyers for the two sides to meet in person at a federal court in D.C. The DHS said Heritage’s "purported evidence of government wrongdoing amounted merely to a ‘bare suspicion’ of government misconduct, which is insufficient to override the Duke’s privacy interests."

CBS 7 [1/28/2025 6:10 PM, Jon Decker and Priscilla Huff, 11K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports domestic and foreign policy were all part of the first official on-camera press briefing for the Trump-Vance administration. At her first White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt took questions for about 47 minutes. Gray Television’s White House correspondent Jon Decker asked Leavitt about President Donald Trump’s executive order eliminating birthright citizenship. "What’s the administration’s argument for doing away with birthright citizenship?". Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, defended the Trump administration’s legal position, a position which has already been described as blatantly unconsitutional by a federal judge. "The folks that you mentioned have a right to have that legal opinion. But it is in disagreement with the legal opinion of this administration. This administration believes that birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. And that is why President Trump signed that executive order. Illegal immigrants who come to this country and have a child are not subject to the laws of this jurisdiction. That’s the opinion of this administration. We have already appealed, the rule, the lawsuit that was filed against this administration. And we are prepared to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to, because President Trump believes that this is a necessary step to secure our nation’s borders and protect our homeland.”

FOX News [1/28/2025 1:50 PM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Negative] reports that the number of migrants arriving at the southern border has dropped by over 60% since President Donald Trump took office last week, new data obtained by Fox News Digital shows. There were 7,287 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first seven days (Jan 20-26) after Trump’s inauguration by both Border Patrol between ports of entry and by the Office of Field Operations (OFO) at ports of entry, with a daily average of 1,041 encounters a day. That compares to 20,086 encounters in the seven days in the final days of the Biden administration (Jan 13-19) prior to Trump’s inauguration, averaging 2,869 encounters a day. That equals more than a 63% decrease in the number of encounters at the southern border. President Trump entered office last week and immediately declared a national emergency at the southern border, and ordered the expulsion of migrants without the possibility of asylum. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem oversaw one of the raids on Tuesday in New York City, saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement caught "dirtbags" -- including an illegal immigrant with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges.

CBS Austin [1/28/2025 6:31 AM, Staff, 581K, Negative] reports there’s a new barrier along Maine’s northern border with Canada. U.S. Border Patrol is beefing up security in Houlton to curb illegal entries from Canada. According to the U.S. Border Patrol Houlton Sector, they have seen a 250% increase in illegal border crossings by vehicles from 2023 to 2024. In response, they’ve installed small concrete barriers to prevent vehicle entries at vulnerable locations at the U.S.-Canadian border. They say since implementing them, illegal crossings are down 92%.

FOX News [1/28/2025 4:45 PM, Michael Dorgan, 49889K, Neutral] reports police in Florida say that two vans packed with 26 Chinese migrants were stopped on Tuesday morning while two alleged smugglers were detained, Fox News Digital has learned. The incident took place in Coral Gables, a city near Miami, and comes more than a week after a group of more than 30 migrants in vans were also apprehended there. Taha said that the occupants of the vans are a mix of both males and females. The two alleged smugglers are males. Several people could be seen sitting on the side of the road as police conducted the stop, WSVN reports. They were later loaded onto county trolleys and transported to an undisclosed location, per the outlet. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Patrol responded to the scene and have taken over the investigation, Tahah said. NBC News [1/28/2025 4:47 PM, Amanda Plasencia, 50804K, Neutral] reports that between the two vans, there were 26 Chinese migrants including 17 men and 9 women who were in the process of being transported to an unknown location, police said. The two smugglers, a Cuban and a Puerto Rican, were detained by police, and a firearm was recovered, Hudak said. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Customs and Border Patrol and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. U.S. Homeland Security Investigations was taking over the investigation, police said.

Newsweek [1/28/2025 6:57 AM, Billal Rahman, 56005K, Neutral] reports dramatic footage has emerged of suspected Mexican cartel members fleeing to Fronton Island after a gunfight with U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday. A video released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which deployed a drone to assist Border Patrol, shows a group of men taking refuge in dense foliage which is often used as cover by cartels, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Newsweek has contacted the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for further comment via email outside of normal office hours. Since taking office last week, Trump has launched a promised crackdown on illegal immigration, signing a series of executive orders to enable mass deportations. One of these orders classifies Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump made immigration a central theme of his successful presidential campaign, and Americans largely support his mass deportation plans, but differ on implementation. A New York Times/Ipsos poll from January 2 to 10 found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "Deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records." Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken. U.S. Border Patrol agents engaged in a shootout with suspected cartel members near the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday, as the U.S. government ramps up its efforts to combat cartel activity. The shootout in Texas took place precisely one week after President Donald Trump intensified border security on his first day in office. No injuries were reported in the incident near Fronton Island, an uninhabited area in the Rio Grande located in Starr County, according to reports. The island is a disputed area situated in the Rio Grande along the southern border, with both Texas and Mexico making conflicting claims to ownership. It has been a hotbed of cartel activity, according to Texas authorities. Dawn Buckingham, the land commissioner of Texas, told Fox News Digital in 2023: "The land just hadn’t been accurately declared as it was forming in the river. That’s why we had to step in and officially declare it Texas territory.” NewsNation reported on Monday that Mexican cartel operatives were trying to smuggle a group of migrants across the Rio Grande when the confrontation took place. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Border Report [1/28/2025 6:17 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 153K, Negative] reports a 19-year-old man from Houston has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for stealing a car that was used for smuggling migrants, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery said Tuesday. Jesus Jonathan Rodriguez pleaded guilty on Sept. 23 to a carjacking. Officials say he stole a car outside a convenience store in Edinburg on May 19, 2024, and used it a day later in a human smuggling attempt. Officials say Rodriguez brandished a gun at the driver and was accompanied by an accomplice, Christian Hardy, 18, of Richmond, Texas. Authorities say Hardy climbed into the stolen Ford fiesta and they drove away. A day later, the car was stopped and searched as the pair tried to cross the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, about 65 miles north of Edinburg. Agents referred the car to secondary inspection because it had been reported stolen. There, officials say they found two migrants inside the car’s trunk.

Border Report [1/28/2025 3:45 PM, Julian Resendiz, 153K, Negative] reports an American citizen pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired with two Mexican "foot guides" to transport migrants in the U.S. The charges against Francisco Rivera, Alexis Luna Ramirez and Juan Zuniga Chavarria stem from a Dec. 19 arrest west of the Tornillo, Texas, port of entry. Rivera allegedly drove a 2012 Nissan Altima that picked up five men who came out barefoot from a pecan orchard. Federal officials say the orchards and cotton fields in Clint and Tornillo farms are often used without consent of the owners by transnational criminal organizations in Juarez, Mexico, in an attempt to conceal illegal entries into the United States. U.S. Border Patrol agents who responded to an electronic sensors alerting them to an illegal crossing along the Rio Grande allegedly witnessed four of the men get into the Altima and one being stuffed into the trunk. A federal grand jury in El Paso indicted the three suspects on Jan. 15 on charges of conspiracy and transportation of illegal aliens for profit.

CBS News [1/28/2025 7:11 AM, Staff, 52225K, Negative] Video: HERE
Gov. Abbott deployed 400 troops to the Rio Grande Valley, where he said they’ll work side-by-side with U.S. Border Patrol agents to keep migrants from illegally entering the country.

Colorado Public Radio [1/28/2025 6:27 PM, Dan Boyce, 688K, Positive] reports two Army units from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs have deployed to the U.S. southern border as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to stop immigrants from coming over the border. About 150 soldiers from the 569th Combat Engineer Company-Armored and the 759th Military Police Battalion are providing "an immediate augmentation of military active-duty forces" at the border, according to a statement from Fort Carson. The Colorado soldiers are part of a deployment of 1,500 active duty troops sent out following border plans laid out in a list of executive orders President Donald Trump signed shortly after taking office. The troops come from 13 Army units in total as well as from two California-based Marine Corps battalions. They all join the approximately 2,500 U.S. National Guard and Reserve forces already working at the border to support Customs and Border Protection. A press release from U.S. Northern Command says the number of deployed troops "will fluctuate as units rotate personnel and as additional forces are tasked to deploy once planning efforts are finalized.” "These military forces will support enhanced detection and monitoring efforts and repair and emplace physical barriers (at the border)," the release said.

CBS 7 [1/28/2025 6:36 PM, Laura Acevedo, 11K, Neutral] Video: HERE reports troops are on the ground in San Diego as part of President Donald Trump’s promise to crack down on the situation at the southern border. The troops were seen on Friday at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station. Cameras caught tents, concertina wire and trucks all lined up. Armed Marines were on the ground in what appeared to be a staging area. Video shared by the White House shows U.S. Marines along the border wall. The deployments are all part of Trump’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration in the region. A total of 1,500 troops are part of this initial mission, including 500 from Camp Pendleton. The troop’s arrival comes at the same time that Attorney General Bob Bonta visited San Diego as part of a "Know Your Rights" tour for immigrants in the state. He said he hoped to calm fears for those already in the country. "I know there’s a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety and confusion," he said.

MeriTalk [1/28/2025 1:56 PM, Andrew Rice, 31K, Neutral] reports that Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., on Jan. 23 reintroduced his Strategic Homeland Intelligence and Enforcement Legislation to Defend (SHIELD) against the CCP Act, which would create a working group within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to monitor and respond to threats from China. "China is one of the biggest threats to our country, and they have taken every effort over the last four years to exploit Biden’s open borders," Rep. Strong said in a statement posted to his website. "After four long years, it’s time to make America safer," the congressman said. The bill was first introduced in the House in 2024 where it passed with bipartisan support. A Senate version of the bill did not make it out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The working group proposed by the legislation would focus on countering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation security threats posed to the United States by China, according to the bill. Specific threats outlined in the bill to which the working group would be dedicated include identity theft, human trafficking, smuggling, and support of transnational criminal organizations. The task force would report all its findings to DHS and make recommendations to address threats.

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 4:58 PM, Slater Teague, 57114K, Negative] reports Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers found seven firearms in travelers’ carry-on luggage at Tri-Cities Airport in 2024, a slight decrease from 2023. In 2023, TSA officers at the airport found nine guns, a record amount. According to the TSA, 319 guns were discovered by officers at airports across Tennessee, including 188 at Nashville International Airport. The TSA said it screened around 16.8 million travelers at Tennessee airports in 2024, up 5.9% from 2023. Tennessee’s firearm discovery rate was twice the national average, according to the agency. Nationwide, TSA officers detected a firearm for every 135,384 passengers screened but in Tennessee, a gun was found for every 52,766 passengers. Travelers who bring a gun to a security checkpoint could face criminal charges and civil penalties up to nearly $15,000 per violation. According to the TSA, firearms can be transported on commercial aircraft if they are unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case, and placed in checked baggage. Passengers must declare the firearm, ammunition, and any firearm parts at the airline ticket counter.

FOX News [1/28/2025 6:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Neutral] reports Vice President JD Vance on Monday traveled to Damascus, Virginia, a town on the southwestern edge of the state that was hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. The visit was Vance’s second time to Damascus and his first official trip as vice president, coming just days after President Donald Trump traveled to western North Carolina on Jan. 24 to tour areas still struggling to recover after the hurricane. "The local government’s working, the state government is working as hard as it can, the local communities and the nonprofits and the churches are working at breakneck speed, and yet you have the federal government out there — the biggest institution with the most money — that’s not doing its job. It just drives home how much better we can do," Vance told Fox News Digital when asked about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) response to hurricane-damaged areas across the Southeast. Vance met Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, State Sen. Todd Pillion, Damascus Mayor Katie Lamb, as well as local law enforcement officers and firefighters for a private round table discussion upon arrival at the Damascus Fire Department just before 1 p.m. Youngkin and Lamb described blown-up photos showing streets in downtown Damascus that were flooded over after Helene swept through the area on Sept. 27, causing a creek that runs through town to overflow. While speaking to the press afterward, the vice president noted stories about locals who came together to help those in need after the disaster, saying he is grateful to live in a country that prides itself on charitable work. Trump and Vance have been vocal in their criticism of FEMA’s handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene before and soon after taking office. The White House announced plans last week to create a council to assess the agency and how it manages assistance for Americans during disasters.

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 7:52 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports that if you live in South Carolina, Tuesday is the last day to apply for Helene assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA said anyone who suffered losses or damage from the storm can register for help, even if you have insurance. You can apply online, in person at a disaster recovery center or through the FEMA app. In North Carolina, FEMA extended the deadline for applications until Feb. 6. Homeowners and renters in impacted counties are eligible for financial help.

Chicago Tribune [1/28/2025 4:53 PM, Samantha Moilanen, 4917K, Neutral] reports a wildfire at Bobolink Meadow, part of the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s Bartel Grasslands complex near Tinley Park, Monday night burned more than 34 acres, officials said. Fifteen fire departments, coordinated by the Tinley Park Fire Department, responded to the blaze at 6 p.m., according to Carl Vogel, director of communications for the Cook County Forest Preserve District. Although the fire was outside Tinley Park’s jurisdiction, it was elevated to a second alarm brush box, prompting assistance from fire trucks across the area, according to a news release from the Tinley Park Public Safety Department on Facebook. There were no injuries or issues with water resources, but smoke from the fire caused traffic congestion on Interstate 57, the release states. The fire spread over 34 acres south of the Bobolink Family Picnic Area and west of the tree line before it was fully contained by 8 p.m., he said.

Newsweek [1/28/2025 6:46 PM, Anna Skinner, 56005K, Neutral] reports federal funding for California wildfire relief could face roadblocks or delays after President Donald Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop issuing grants and loans beginning Tuesday evening, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday. A judge blocked the freeze minutes before it was set to go into effect Tuesday, temporarily delaying it at least until next Monday. Newsweek reached out to the White House by email for comment. The new order may affect billions of dollars in funding allocated to state and local governments. The federal government funds thousands of programs, including research projects, housing subsidies and educational grants. It comes amid an ongoing federal disaster declaration in California as numerous wildfires this month have killed at least 29 people in the Los Angeles area and destroyed thousands of homes. The administration emphasized that the freeze was temporary and was being put in place for the Trump administration to review federal spending to ensure it follows Trump’s executive orders. The president has signed a slew of orders since he took office on January 20. The memo was authored by Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and specifically called out the "use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies" as being a "waste of taxpayer dollars.” It was not immediately clear who would be affected by the freeze, although there is an exception for funding and grants paid directly to American citizens. Concerns arose that the freeze could affect California wildfire relief, particularly that from federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump has often criticized FEMA and has hinted at overhauling the agency.

AP [1/29/2025 12:55 AM, Christopher L. Keller, Claudia Lauer, Amy Taxin and Rebecca Boone, 33392K, Neutral] reports that, when disaster strikes, government emergency alert systems offer a simple promise: Residents will get information about nearby dangers and instructions to help them stay safe. As the deadly LA wildfires and other major emergencies have shown, alerts rely on a complicated chain of communication between first responders, government administrators, third-party companies and the public. Sometimes, the chain breaks. After the wind-driven wildfires broke out in Southern California on Jan. 7, evacuation orders for some neighborhoods — including the part of Altadena where the majority of deaths occurred — came long after houses were reported on fire. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County officials approved an outside review of how alerts functioned in the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire in response to residents’ demands. City officials declined to answer AP’s questions about a lag in some Palisades Fire alerts, though Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said responding to a fire and determining evacuation needs can take some time. It’s an increasingly common issue: After-action reports and investigations revealed issues with alert systems in other California blazes: in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, which killed 22 people in Santa Rosa; the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in Paradise; the Woolsey fire, which started the same day and killed three in Malibu; as well as in Colorado’s 2021 Marshall Fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes outside Denver; and in Hawaii’s 2023 Lahaina Fire, which decimated that historic town and killed 102. It could take months to know why some evacuation orders lagged in the Los Angeles fires. Several residents who lost homes in the Eaton Fire told The Associated Press they received no notifications about their neighborhoods. For others, the first warning was an urgent text message in the middle of the night.

AP [1/29/2025 12:08 AM, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, 50804K, Negative] reports that, when Hawaii Gov. Josh Green announced a $4 billion settlement about a year after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century devastated Lahaina in 2023, he touted the speed of the deal to “avoid protracted and painful lawsuits.” Five months later, however, an unusual trial starting Wednesday will delve into difficult questions about survivors’ losses as a judge decides how to divide the settlement. Some victims will take the witness stand, while others have submitted pre-recorded testimony, describing pain made all the more fresh by the recent destruction in Los Angeles. The trial won’t determine fault. Defendants blamed for the blaze including the state, power utility Hawaiian Electric and large landowners have already agreed to the settlement amount. At issue is how much money various groups of plaintiffs might receive, including some who filed individual lawsuits after losing their family members, homes or businesses, and other victims covered by class-action lawsuits, including tourists who simply had to cancel trips to Maui following the inferno. Lawyers for the two groups failed to come to an agreement, leaving it up to Judge Peter Cahill to determine how the $4 billion should be shared. “A class action is everybody suffering the same loss,” said Damon Valverde, whose Lahaina sunglasses company burned. “And I suffered quite a bit more than others, and others suffered quite a bit more than me.” Valverde isn’t expected to testify; the focus should be on victims who lost family members, he said.

Federal News Network [1/28/2025 5:33 PM, Anastasia Obis, 470K, Negative] reports the Coast Guard is temporarily suspending its policy against harassing behavior to conduct a 90-day policy review. It is unclear why the policy was halted, and the Coast Guard emphasizes that harassment remains prohibited even amid the suspension of the policy that serves as the foundation for how the Coast Guard addresses harassment. In a message sent to all Coast Guard units on Monday, Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said while the policy is suspended pending a review, Coast Guard leaders should still "act promptly in response to any allegation of misconduct, including violations of our core values, and hold offenders accountable."

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 5:11 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports the U.S. and Canadian coast guards collaborated to free a large freighter that had been trapped in ice in the midst of Lake Erie for days. It took several icebreaking ships two days to Free the Manitoulin, a 663-foot Canadian ship with 17 people on board. The vessel was finally freed on Saturday after becoming stuck on Wednesday after dropping off a load of wheat in Buffalo, New York. The Mantiloulin has a long journey ahead of it. According to U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Kyle Riviera, the freighter will need to travel the rest of Lake Erie and then traverse the Detroit and St. Clair rivers to Sarnia, Ontario, where it will spend the rest of the winter. “There is ice through other portions of the lake and the rivers, but we have another cutter that will take it through there,” Riviera told the Associated Press on Sunday. Lake Erie ice coverage has increased dramatically in just a week, due to the “Siberian Express” cold blast. In fact, Erie is now 85% covered by ice, which is close to the average for this time of year but a surprise after what had been a fairly warm winter. In fact, the Great Lakes currently have more ice coverage than they have in the past two years.

Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 5:46 AM, Ashley Suter, 57114K, Negative] reports approximately 8,000 pounds of cocaine was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast on Monday. The USCG Cutter Campbell’s crew offloaded the cocaine that was worth more than $91.3M at Port Everglades. This was a result of two interceptions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to USCG Southeast.

Miami Herald [1/28/2025 8:24 AM, Mark Price, 6595K, Neutral] reports a diver who passed out after resurfacing was rescued when fellow divers pulled him to a boat off the Florida Panhandle, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The 36-year-old man was listed in stable condition after being taken to shore by a Coast Guard boat, the USCG said in a Jan. 27 news release. His identity has not been released as of Jan. 28. Coast Guard officials say an SOS message came around 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26, from the captain of the dive boat Knot 2 Deep. The boat was 57 miles southeast of Panama City, and the message was sent via a satellite communicator device, officials said. “The captain reported that one of the divers had become unresponsive after surfacing from a dive,” the USCG said. “Fellow divers were able to get the man back onto the vessel and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until the man became responsive again.” The man was taken ashore and delivered to emergency medical services personnel at the Panama City Marina. Details of what caused the diver to pass out have not been released. Panama City is about a 100-mile drive southeast from Pensacola.

CyberScoop [1/28/2025 2:00 PM, Matt Bracken, Neutral] reports the national security risks posed by routers, modems and similar devices produced by U.S. adversaries would be the subject of a new federal study under a bipartisan Senate bill introduced Monday. The Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act from Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., is aimed at better safeguarding the public’s communications networks from technology controlled by foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korean, Cuba and Venezuela. “Tens of millions of families and small businesses across the country use wireless routers as their primary access point to the internet,” Blackburn said in a statement. “Many of these routers are susceptible to infiltration by foreign actors — including China — exposing our country to serious danger. This bill will better protect U.S. communications networks and our national security.” If signed into law, the ROUTERS Act would charge the Commerce Department’s assistant secretary for communications and information with overseeing a study of the national security risks presented by routers, modems or devices that combine both technologies, and that are “designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the influence of a covered country,” the bill text reads. The study from the assistant secretary — who also serves as administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration — would be reported to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation and House Energy and Commerce committees within a year of the legislation’s enactment. “The ROUTERS Act is a crucial step in ensuring that everyday internet devices like consumer routers and modems don’t pose a risk to our national security or consumer privacy,” Luján said in a statement. “Securing our broadband infrastructure is a top priority, and we must create safeguards at every point across our systems.” The federal government’s cybersecurity-focused offices have long raised concerns that small office/home office (SOHO) routers present risks to the country. Last September, the National Security Agency, in collaboration with the FBI, U.S. Cyber Command, and international allies, issued an advisory highlighting the threat posed by Chinese-linked cyber actors who have compromised SOHO routers globally to create a botnet for malicious activities. A separate bipartisan Senate bill introduced Monday would deliver a different cybersecurity-related assignment to NTIA’s leader: creating a working group on cyber insurance. The Insure Cybersecurity Act from Sens. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., calls for the creation of a “dedicated working group to develop information for issuers, agents, brokers, and customers to improve communication over cybersecurity insurance coverage levels.”

CBS News [1/28/2025 1:51 PM, Melissa Quinn, 52225K, Neutral] reports that Justice Department lawyers and defense attorneys for the three men accused of planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks squared off before a federal appeals court Tuesday in a court fight over whether plea agreements reached with the defendants last summer can go forward. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is considering whether former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin exceeded his authority when he revoked the pretrial agreements that military prosecutors reached with the defendants, including alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The deals with Mohammed and two alleged accomplices, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, were agreed to in late July following more than two years of negotiations. The agreements were approved by a senior Pentagon official who oversees the military court at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Brigadier General Susan Escallier, who Austin designated as convening authority for military commissions in 2023. Under the terms that have been released publicly, the men would plead guilty to eight charges arising from their alleged roles in the 9/11 terror attacks and in exchange, avoid the death penalty. The full parameters of the deals remain under seal. But shortly after the agreement was announced, Austin said he was rescinding them, writing in a memo that "in light of the significance" of the pretrial deals, "responsibility for such a decision should rest with me." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [1/28/2025 5:22 PM, Lea Skene, Negative] reports as the founder of a Florida-based neo-Nazi group goes on trial for conspiring to attack Maryland’s power grid, his abhorrent beliefs aren’t really the point, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. They said it is his willingness to act on those beliefs that jurors must consider during the trial, which is expected to last about two weeks in Baltimore federal court. Brandon Russell, 29, encouraged his then-girlfriend, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, to carry out the power grid attack, hoping to cause chaos in furtherance of their shared white supremacist views, according to prosecutors. The two were arrested in February 2023 — before their plans were executed. Clendaniel, 36, pleaded guilty to plotting the attack and was sentenced in September to 18 years in prison.

New York Times [1/28/2025 12:53 AM, Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger, 161405K, Negative] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told Gen. Mark A. Milley, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that he is removing his security detail, revoking his security clearance, and ordering an inspector general inquiry into his record, the Pentagon said late Tuesday. Mr. Hegseth’s spokesman, John Ullyot, said in a statement that the secretary directed the investigation to determine whether “it is appropriate” to review the rank upon retirement for General Milley, who stood up to President Trump in his first term. Essentially, Mr. Hegseth is asking whether General Milley should be demoted. “We have received the request and we are reviewing it,” Mollie Halpern, a spokeswoman for the acting Defense Department inspector general, said of the referral to examine General Milley’s actions as chairman. The general retired in 2023, and at a ceremony marking the occasion he reminded troops that they took an oath to the Constitution and not to a “a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.” Senior Pentagon officials late Tuesday sought to cast Mr. Milley as an insubordinate political operator while in the chairman’s job. “Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership,” Joe Kasper, Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff, said in a statement late Tuesday. General Milley could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Just days before General Milley’s retirement ceremony, Mr. Trump, then still planning a political comeback, suggested that the general had committed treason and should be put to death. Amid continued threats from Mr. Trump of retribution against his enemies upon returning to office, General Milley received a pre-emptive pardon from President Joseph R. Biden Jr. hours before he left office last week.

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/29/2025 12:04 AM, Oren Liebermann, 987K, Negative]

New York Times [1/28/2025 11:32 AM, Matthew Mpoke Bigg, 161405K, Neutral] reports that President Trump has ordered the development of a next-generation missile defense system he likened to Israel’s Iron Dome in an executive order he signed on Monday that described ballistic missiles and other advanced aerial weapons as “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.” But experts immediately raised questions about whether an Iron Dome-style system was feasible for the United States, which is more than 400 times the size of Israel. The order, titled “Iron Dome for America,” gives the Pentagon 60 days to submit details for the plan, which includes accelerating development of U.S. hypersonic missiles and “space-based interceptors.” Mr. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new system would be a significant expansion of the United States’ air defense capabilities. The order aims to build on efforts by the United States over decades and presents Mr. Trump’s plan as an attempt to finalize a vision of Ronald Reagan. As president in the 1980s, Reagan spent billions to build a defense against potential nuclear attack — a system, known as “Star Wars,” that ultimately failed. Proponents of such a system for the United States point to recent events, including Russia’s use of hypersonic missiles in Ukraine and missile barrages on Israel last year from Iran and the allied Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Israel’s Iron Dome anti-projectile system, made by an Israeli company called Rafael, helped intercept many of the launches.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [1/28/2025 7:59 PM, Staff, 49889K, Positive] Video: HERE

Newsweek [1/28/2025 6:32 AM, Ryan Chan, 56005K, Positive] reports the United States has recently sent two of its nuclear-powered submarines to the Western Pacific Ocean, where they visited an island that can project military power against China. Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force for comment by email. The Chinese military did not immediately respond to Newsweek’s request for comment. The island of Guam, which is the westernmost U.S. territory, is about 1,500 miles east of the Philippines and south of Japan, making it an ideal staging area to deliver U.S. military power to the contested Taiwan Strait, as well as the East and South China Seas. Guam is home to American Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps bases. It also forms a blockade known as the second island chain, one of the layers of a U.S. defense concept that seeks to constrain the Chinese military in wartime with allied or friendly territories. Photos released by the U.S. Navy show USS Columbia, a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, and USS Vermont, a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, visited Guam on January 12 and 20, respectively, during their deployments supporting the Seventh Fleet. This is America’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet and has an operating area that covers the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It works with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. Navy said. Both the Columbia and the Vermont are homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. They are conventionally armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit targets on land from 1,000 miles away, as well as torpedoes to sink hostile ships and submarines. Guam upgraded its fast-attack submarine force last November. The Submarine Squadron 15, which is based on the island, received its first-ever Virginia-class submarine, USS Minnesota, in addition to the four older Los Angeles-class submarines. The U.S. fleet of fast-attack submarines is a major threat to the Chinese navy, which is the world’s largest by hull count, Brian Hart, deputy director and fellow of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Newsweek previously. While China is investing in its submarine fleet and in anti-submarine warfare capabilities, there is still a "considerable capability gap" in this area that favors the U.S., Hart added. The U.S. Navy said: "Fast-attack submarines are multi-mission platforms enabling five of the six Navy maritime strategy core capabilities—sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security and deterrence.” The Submarine Squadron 15 of the U.S. Navy, which is based at Naval Base Guam, said: "Guam’s fast-attack submarines serve as the backbone of the Navy’s submarine force, ensuring readiness and agility in safeguarding maritime interests around the world.” It remains to be seen whether the U.S. Navy will further upgrade Guam’s submarine force by stationing more advanced Virginia-class submarines on the strategic island.

Reuters [1/28/2025 12:39 PM, Thomas Escritt, Poppy McPherson, and Maggie Fick, 48128K, Neutral] reports that field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programs facing the chop as President Donald Trump contemplates massive cuts to U.S. foreign aid. Trump last week paused development assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his "America First" policy, setting alarm bells ringing among aid groups around the world that depend on U.S. largesse. Humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies say they could face drastic curbs on their ability to distribute food, shelter and healthcare if the freeze becomes permanent. The U.S. is by far the biggest contributor to global humanitarian aid, supplying an estimated $13.9 billion in 2024, accounting for 42% of all aid tracked by the United Nations. Clinics at camps in Thailand providing shelter for about 100,000 refugees from Myanmar were ordered to shut after the U.S. froze funding to the International Rescue Committee, according to a senior aid worker. Washington said it would grant waivers to the freeze in some areas including emergency food assistance, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Bangladesh’s government said in a statement that the U.S. had granted a waiver for emergency food aid to more than a million Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh. But the exemption does not apply to other humanitarian programming.

CBS Philadelphia [1/28/2025 1:56 PM, Kathryn Watson, Eleanor Watson, Rhona Tarrant, and Emma Li, 52225K, Neutral] reports that the mystery of the unexplained drone sightings over New Jersey and along the East Coast late last year has been solved, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said she was relaying the update directly from President Trump in the Oval Office. In her first White House press briefing Tuesday, Leavitt said, "After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons." "Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones," she added. "In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.” The FBI and Department of Homeland Security said there was no evidence" the reported drone sightings posed a threat to national security or public safety or had any foreign connection. But state and local leaders were pushed to find more information and come up with a stronger response. As Leavitt said Tuesday, former White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in December that many reports were determined to be "a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones."

Reported similarly:
CNN [1/28/2025 1:58 PM, Pete Muntean, 22417K, Neutral] r
Yahoo! News [1/28/2025 7:53 PM, Kayla Epstein, 57114K, Neutral]

Houston Chronicle [1/28/2025 11:54 AM, Isaac Yu, 2315K, Negative] reports that Republican state lawmakers are doubling down on their failed effort last session to bar certain foreign citizens and companies from owning land in Texas. The proposals this year range from outright bans to creating a database of purchases, all aimed at stemming the influence of China and other countries seen as hostile to the U.S. Civil rights and Asian American groups denounced similar measures in 2023 as racist and xenophobic, saying that even longtime residents would be barred from purchasing homes or businesses. Though those efforts failed, lawmakers are renewing the push, saying national security risks must be addressed. Around two dozen other GOP-led states have passed similar bans, according to the National Agricultural Law Center. "We don’t want hostile adversaries owning land in our state," state Rep. Cole Hefner, who chaired a select committee on foreign influence, said in an interview. "We want to deter them from buying it in the first place."

New York Times [1/28/2025 10:04 PM, Farnaz Fassihi, 161405K, Neutral] reports with only two days before Israel outlaws operations on its soil of the main U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday took up the issue at a meeting where the United States was Israel’s sole defender. The Israeli laws target a 75-year-old agency that has been a backbone of humanitarian aid delivery to two million Palestinians in Gaza, just as a fragile cease-fire is taking hold there. The agency also helps Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem. On Tuesday, senior U.N. officials and every member of the Security Council save the United States called Israel’s actions a violation of its obligations under international law and the U.N. charter. They warned that the restrictions would have a disastrous impact on aid delivery and jeopardize peace in the long-term. “The legislation makes a mockery of international law and imposes massive constraints,” said Philippe Lazzarini the chief of the aid agency, known as UNRWA. “We are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so.” The Trump administration’s interim representative to the U.N., Dorothy Shea, dismissed the agency’s claims as exaggerated, and called warnings that aid will come to a halt “irresponsible and dangerous.” She said the United States supported “Israel’s sovereign decision” to close the aid agency’s offices on its soil. The legislation, passed by the Israeli Parliament in October, also forbids contact between Israel officials and employees of the agency, which is formally known as he United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Israeli officials have accused the agency of being infiltrated by militants from Hamas, the militant group it has been at war with in Gaza since October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. The two sides reached a cease-fire a little over week ago. UNRWA was formed in the wake of the wars surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948. Its mandate includes providing food, essential aid, health care, education, shelter and other services to Palestinians around the Middle East who were displaced by that conflict, as well as their descendants. On Tuesday, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told diplomats that Israel’s decision to essentially outlaw the group was not a political one but instead was rooted in national security. He said Israel would cooperate with other U.N. agencies.

Wall Street Journal [1/28/2025 3:14 PM, Rory Jones and Summer Said, Neutral] reports President Trump repeated his proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt, expanding on a controversial idea that was rejected by the Arab states and would represent a significant shift in U.S. policy. After first raising the idea over the weekend, Trump elaborated on it Monday, telling reporters on Air Force One that he wants to relocate Gaza residents to “an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence.” Moving Palestinians from Gaza, Trump said, would “get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable.” He again pushed Egypt and Jordan, which receive significant financial support from the U.S., to help with the plan. “We helped them a lot, and I’m sure he’d help us. He’s a friend of mine,” Trump said of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. “I think he would do it, and I think the king of Jordan would do it too.” Egypt, Jordan, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, have all rejected the idea of relocating Palestinians. The Arab League, a group of 22 nations, said Monday the proposal would only prolong the conflict. Arab officials from Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are also discussing holding an emergency meeting for Arab states to make public their opposition to Trump’s proposal and put pressure on the U.S. president to change course, according to Arab officials familiar with the talks. Trump said he would soon meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the conflict. Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday that Trump had extended an invitation for a Feb. 4 meeting at the White House.

VOA News [1/28/2025 12:54 PM, William Yang, 2717K, Neutral] reports that a little more than a week after Beijing and Manila reached an agreement aimed at easing tensions in the South China Sea, the Philippines has accused Chinese coast guard vessels of fresh incursions, harassment and "aggressive maneuvers." Analysts say the pressure campaign, which has stepped up in recent days, is part of Beijing’s attempt to test the United States’ commitment to support the Philippines. "They want to see how far they can push the Philippines under the new administration in the U.S.," Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone. In a statement released on social media platform X last Saturday, the Philippine coast guard said two vessels from the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries encountered "aggressive maneuvers" from three Chinese coast guard vessels while heading to Sandy Cay for a marine scientific survey last Friday. Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the Philippine vessels were forced to suspend the scientific survey due to the "continuous harassment and the disregard for safety" shown by the Chinese coast guard. In response to Manila’s accusations, Beijing said Chinese coast guard vessels "thwarted" two Philippine vessels’ attempts to "land on" Sandy Cay, which China calls "Tiexian Reef." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Newsweek [1/28/2025 11:40 AM, Lilith Foster-Collins, 56005K, Negative] reports that an explosion forced the crew of a Hong Kong-flagged container ship to abandon the vessel with its "dangerous" cargo on board on Tuesday near the coast of Yemen, shipping industry officials said. The Red Sea has been repeatedly targeted by attacks from the Houthis, however last week, the Iran-sponsored militant group announced it was scaling back its assaults following a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Further attacks by the Hamas allied group could therefore heighten tensions and even spark wider conflict on the region. The ship was drifting and engulfed in flames approximately 140 miles off the coast of Hodeida, a Yemeni port city controlled by Houthi rebels, according to the Diaplous Group, a maritime firm. The cause of the fire remains unclear and the Houthis did not immediately comment on the incident. The vessel was abandoned, and its crew was later rescued unharmed, another maritime industry official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the incident publicly, described the ship’s cargo as "dangerous" but did not provide further details. The vessel’s name has not been disclosed.

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