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.

NPR [7/1/2025 1:05 PM, Rachel Treisman, 37958K] reports President Trump visited Florida on Tuesday to tour what’s been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," a controversial migrant detention center in the Everglades that officials say is poised to start filling its bed in a matter of hours. The president was joined by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state emergency management officials as he toured the makeshift facility, which the state put together within days of receiving federal approval last week. "I thought this was so professional, so well done," Trump said after touring the center, which features rows of fenced-in bunk beds and a razor-wire perimeter. "It’s really government working together." DeSantis said the first arrivals are expected sometime on Wednesday, after a security sweep. Noem said that could be within 24 hours. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is overseeing the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, including by ramping up deportations and arrests and setting a daily quota of 3,000 arrests. During Tuesday’s tour, Trump, DeSantis and Noem urged the leaders of other states to come up with their own models for detention centers. "Florida was unique in what they presented to us, and I would ask every other governor to do the exact same thing," Noem told reporters on the tarmac. The Everglades facility will cost Florida some $450 million to run for one year, according to DHS, though much of that will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While the airstrip is owned by Miami-Dade County, where officials have viewed the plan with skepticism, DeSantis is using his emergency authority to proceed on a tight schedule. CBS News [7/1/2025 7:43 PM, Kathryn Watson, 51860K] reports that the controversial detention facility is at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades, which has its own runway in an environment known for its treacherous terrain and wildlife. Mr. Trump joked in his remarks that "we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison." Mr. Trump invited the press to join his tour of the makeshift facility, which he called "so professional and so well done." Rows of bunk beds were lined up behind chain fences. The president was asked if it could be a model going forward for other detention sites. "It can be," he responded, adding that such a location is rare. Mr. Trump said he’d like to see similar temporary facilities in "many states." DeSantis said they expect the first occupants of the detention center to arrive Wednesday. DeSantis said the site has been modified in just eight days to accommodate detainees, and he called the center an "effective way" to increase the numbers of removals and deportations of unauthorized immigrants as the state seeks to help the federal government’s deportation efforts. Noem announced last week that the detention facilities in Florida will be funded "in large part" by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of FEMA’s shelter and services program, an initiative created by Congress to support groups and cities receiving migrants and asylum-seekers released from federal custody along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Hill [7/1/2025 1:07 PM, Elizabeth Crisp, 18649K] reports that the soft-sided units outfitted with chain-link cells have been built to house hundreds of detainees. In a video first coining the site "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R), who joined Trump for Tuesday’s tour, highlighted its remote location as a bonus. "People get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons — nowhere to go, nowhere to hide," he said in a video shared on social platform X last month. Trump similarly remarked about the far-flung location during a public event during his trip there. "It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate, because I looked outside and it’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon," he said. "We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation." [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The AP [7/1/2025 5:27 PM, Adriana Gomez and Will Weissert, 1611K] reports hundreds of protesters converged outside the site — a remote airstrip with tents and trailers. They waved signs calling for the humane treatment of migrants as well as the protection of the expansive preserve that is home to a few Native American tribes and many endangered animal species. The administration sees the location as a plus Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was also on the tour, said immigrants arriving to the site could still opt to “self-deport” and board flights to their home countries rather than being held in it. She said she hoped “my phone rings off the hook” with other states looking to follow Florida’s lead and open similar sites. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The AP [7/1/2025 5:50 PM, Staff, 56000K] reports that, originally expected to hold 5,000 people, the center will house around 3,000. It was rapidly constructed by the DeSantis administration in eight days over 10 miles of swampland and is equipped with extensive security, including barbed wire, cameras and 400 personnel. Immigrant advocates, environmental activists and Native Americans defending their ancestral homelands have thronged to the airstrip to protest. The Hill [7/1/2025 1:29 PM, Julia Manchester, 18649K] reports that President Trump praised his former primary rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) during his visit to the state’s new migrant detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" on Tuesday. "Ron, I’d like to thank you personally," Trump told DeSantis at a roundtable event. "You’re my friend, you’ll always be my friend, and we may have some skirmishes even in the future, I doubt it, but we’ll always come back because we have blood that seems to match pretty well," the president continued. "We have a relationship that has been a strong one for a very long time and I appreciate it." Trump also hailed Florida for its role in working with his administration to enforce the president’s robust immigration policy. "I want to express my tremendous thanks to the state of Florida for embracing this opportunity and being a true partner," he said. "They’ve worked so well with the federal government. It’s been just a beautiful, beautiful partnership." The New York Post [7/1/2025 2:30 PM, Steven Nelson, 49956K] reports that President Trump said Tuesday that "son of a bitch" former President Joe Biden "wanted me in here" during a tour of the newly built Alligator Alcatraz migrant camp in the Everglades. "Biden wanted me in here, OK?" the 45th and 47th president told reporters inside a large white tent lined with dog kennel-style chain-link-fence pens for prisoners. "It didn’t work out that way, but he wanted me in here, that son of a bitch," Trump exclaimed alongside Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

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Breitbart [7/1/2025 12:49 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports illegal aliens residing in the U.S. do not have to go through detainment at areas like "Alligator Alcatraz" if they self-deport, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made clear on Tuesday while touring the facility. Officials quickly transformed the existing Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility in the Florida Everglades into a detention center designed to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens. According to a chart provided by officials, the facility will hold up to 3,000 illegal migrants and will be staffed by 1,000 individuals. It has 24/7 air conditioning, clergy, legal, a recreational yard, and laundry on site as well. It is also equipped with over 200 security cameras and over 28,000 feet of barbed wire. Ten miles of the Everglades surrounds the facility on each side, as well. However, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made it clear that illegal immigrants do not have to end up there if they make the wise choice to self-deport. "If they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally. We will let them come back," she told reporters Tuesday. "And there is a lot of self-deportation," Trump added. "If you wait and we bring you to this facility, you don’t ever get to come back to America. You don’t get the chance to come back and be an American again," Noem warned. FOX News [7/1/2025 12:53 PM, Michael Dorgan Fox, 46878K] reports that the 3,000-bed facility is set to become the largest migrant detention center in the U.S., built as part of the Trump administration’s effort to deport the millions who flooded the country under the Biden administration. Florida National Guard members will be deputized as immigration judges, allowing migrants to have hearings within 48 hours, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned illegal migrants to self-deport or else risk ending up at the facility. "Worst of the worst always first and I think it’s great government what we’ve done," Trump said on the airport ramp shortly after disembarking Air Force One. Trump praised the facility as "beautiful, so secure," with alligators and law enforcement portraying a hardline image. DeSantis, who flanked Trump with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, said the facility was built using the airport’s existing concrete infrastructure, with temporary structures providing essential services like the beds, medical care and food preparation. The governor said the center will be used to fast-track immigration cases.

Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 2:42 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports that President Donald Trump celebrated the speedy construction of “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new immigrant detention facility in the heart of the Florida Everglades, and warned that the only way for detainees to get out of this “treacherous” region is through deportation. “It’s known as Alligator Alcatraz, which is very appropriate, because I look outside and it’s not a place I want to go,” Trump said during a visit to the site in Ochopee, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swamp land, and the only way out is really deportation.” Trump arrived in south Florida late Tuesday morning and led a roundtable discussion in the facility’s air-conditioned dining hall, a space large enough to hold 1,000 illegal immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The facility will receive its first detainees later on Tuesday. Before sitting down with local, state, and federal officials, Trump toured the expansive site and had a friendly meeting with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), his former foe in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Trump told DeSantis the state had done a "fantastic job" constructing the buildings in just over a week. "We got the call from [the Department of Homeland Security] a little bit more than a week ago, and here we are eight days later, with this facility open," DeSantis said. "As soon as Air Force One departs, it’ll be swept and it’ll be open for business… But our goal here is to process them and be able to effectuate their return to their home country." Trump touted that "very soon, this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet." "This facility here is a fantastic representation of what can happen when all of government works together and when it’s accountable to the taxpayers, and to the citizens who live here," Noem said. ICE Director Todd Lyons and Border Patrol Miami Sector Chief Samuel Briggs II were also in attendance.

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FOX News [7/1/2025 2:45 PM, Staff, 46878K] reports Spokesperson for Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin discusses President Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ illegal immigration in the U.S. and sanctuary cities on ‘America Reports’. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [7/1/2025 1:25 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports that "Alligator Alcatraz," which is having its grand opening on Tuesday, boasts 400+ security personnel, 1,000 staffers, and 24/7 air conditioning, according to a chart visible at a roundtable event at the facility with President Donald Trump. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quickly approved the use of the existing Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility in the Florida Everglades, and it was transformed into a facility to house, process, and deport criminal illegal aliens. Trump is visiting the facility on Tuesday, which according to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will begin to accept illegal immigrants upon the commander-in-chief’s departure. But first, there is a roundtable discussion featuring Trump and other leaders discussing the facility and plans. A chart in the background of the roundtable setting showcases a range of facts on the facility, which was transformed in just eight days. According to the chart, the facility boasts 400+ security personnel, 1,000 staffers, and over 200 security cameras. There are ten miles of Everglades on every side of the facility, which authorities say can hold 3,000 illegal migrants. And for the naysayers, the chart notes that there is 24/7 air conditioning. Additionally, on-site resources include legal, clergy, a recreational yard, and laundry. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lauded the facility, reminding illegal immigrants that they do not have to go there if they self-deport."If they self-deport and go home, they can come back legally. We will let them come back," she said. "And there is a lot of self-deportation," Trump added.

Breitbart.com [7/1/2025 3:12 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports the government used FEMA money allocated by the Biden administration to house illegal migrants in luxury hotels in New York City to construct "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades, President Donald Trump said Tuesday during a roundtable discussion after touring the facility. Trump toured the existing Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility, which has — in eight days — been transformed into a detention center designed to process, detain, and deport illegal migrants with approval and cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Alligator Alcatraz is ready to roll and expected to begin the intake of migrants as early as today.

FOX News [7/1/2025 12:57 PM, Emma Colton Fox, 46878K] reports that President Donald Trump during his visit to "Alligator Alcatraz," located in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom should take a visit to the Sunshine State and "learn something" about curbing illegal immigration. "Mr. President. Mr. Governor, what’s your message to Governor Gavin Newsom inside of this facility?" a reporter asked Trump Tuesday as he toured the detention facility for illegal aliens while accompanied by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. "Well, the first thing he should do is come here and learn something because they don’t do this," he said. "They wouldn’t know where to begin. And if they did, it would cost them a 100 times more. So I would say he should call the governor, Kristi… his state is a disaster.". DeSantis added that California is home to the original Alcatraz penitentiary that could be outfitted as a migrant detention center. "They have the original Alcatraz, so you guys could approve him being able to set one of these up over there. I’m sure the secretary would be happy to do that," DeSantis said, adding he doubts Newsom would "bite on that.". "Trump would rather talk about alligators than his major, signature ‘big beautiful bill’ for a reason," Newsom posted to X. Trump visited "Alligator Alcatraz" Tuesday ahead of its official Wednesday grand opening, when it is expected to begin receiving violent illegal immigrants for deportation. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsNation [7/1/2025 5:13 PM, Jordan Perkins, 5801K] reports an organizer with a Florida conservationist group is alleging a lack of transparency from government officials over the immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." Friends of the Everglades, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a lawsuit Friday against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Miami-Dade County. The lawsuit seeks to halt further construction at the site. President Donald Trump visited the controversial facility Tuesday along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. It will have heavy-duty tents and trailers to house detained immigrants. The state of Florida said it will soon have 5,000 beds in operation there. On potential environmental damage to the Everglades, Trump said, "We’ll be gone a million years, and this land will still be here … I think it was a brilliant choice, and I think almost anybody in his or her right mind would say this was a brilliant choice." DHS responded to the lawsuit, calling it "lazy," and added that the group is ignoring that the land in question has been developed for years.

Politico [7/1/2025 4:08 PM, Gregory Svirnovskiy, 16523K] reports the House Homeland Security Committee’s Democratic members made allusions to Nazi Germany as they assailed “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that President Donald Trump toured Tuesday. “Historically, never a bad sign when fascists start building camps,” the committee posted on X on Tuesday alongside a video of Trump advocating for similar facilities in other states. Trump visited the site alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor, Trump’s onetime opponent in the 2024 Republican primary, has pledged his state’s support as the White House works to enact its sweeping mass deportation agenda. Photos of the facility from Trump’s tour showed dozens of bunk beds arranged in cages inside a large tent. “They want a bunch of people… interned…in a camp of some sorts…I wonder what we should call this?” the committee wrote in another post. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that these “unhinged comments by deranged leftists are despicable and warrant an immediate apology.” The facility, she added, “is a state-of-the-art facility with adequate beds, air-conditioning, on-site medical, and more,” comparing it favorably to conditions in the Biden administration.

Yahoo News [7/1/2025 6:54 PM, Geovany Dias, 47007K] reports the undocumented immigrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" began taking in migrants on Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said. Channel 9’s cameras went inside, along with President Donald Trump, for a first look at the detention center. The president arrived at the new detention center just before 11 a.m. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and DeSantis joined him on a tour around the facility. "It’s really government working together," Trump said. The structure, built in a matter of weeks, will be able to house thousands of undocumented immigrants, according to the governor. The remote site sits in the middle of the Florida swamp, and it’s surrounded by native lands and wildlife, and that’s why the facility was nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz.". "It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate because I looked outside and it’s not a place I want to go hiking any time soon," Trump said during a roundtable with DeSantis and Noem. "Very soon, this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet. We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swamp land, and the only way out is really deportation, and a lot of these people are self-deporting back to their country.". The tents and caged beds were built at the Dade-Collier Training Transition Airport, a site originally operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. The location is just a few miles away from the Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity are now suing the state in hopes of putting a stop to the facility. "You are literally doing this on concrete that’s already here, so I don’t think those are valid and even good faith criticisms because it’s not going to impact the Everglades at all," DeSantis said during the roundtable. "The president’s been a champion. We’ve been a champion, really changed the game in Florida on it.". The structure is air conditioned and is made to withstand severe weather, according to the governor. Noem said it is qualified to operate as a detention facility. "Alligator Alcatraz" was built with funds from the Division of Emergency Management, but Homeland Security is expected to reimburse the state.

ABC News [7/1/2025 7:51 PM, Doc Louallen, 31733K] reports a Florida Native American leader spoke out against a new migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz," raising environmental and safety concerns for local tribal communities. President Trump, visiting the site Tuesday, said the facility will hold "some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.". The detention center, built on a remote airstrip in the Everglades, can hold up to 5,000 migrants in tents and trailers. Talbert Cypress, chairman of the Miccosukee Business Council, said some tribal villages are located within 900 feet of the facility’s entrance. "This proposed facility is surrounded on all sides by the Big Cypress National Preserve, and the tribe has been at home in the Big Cypress for centuries," Cypress told ABC News. Cypress pointed to the lack of environmental studies on what creating the detention center could mean for the local ecosystem. "There’s been no environmental impact study done. The environmental impact study that was done back in 1974 pretty much suggested that putting any kind of airship in the area was going to have significant impacts on the Everglades," he said. The facility’s closeness to traditional Native camps, where Miccosukee and Seminole members live and teach both American and Native education, has raised more concerns. "We’re concerned about safety... CBP, also just in general, all the traffic that’s going to be coming through there, and flights coming in and out," Cypress said. During the tour with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump highlighted the facility’s remote location. "It’s very appropriate, because I looked outside and it’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon," Trump said. "We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swamp land, and the only way out is really deportation.".

US News & World Report [7/1/2025 4:30 PM, Olivier Knox, 24051K] reports in his first term, President Donald Trump reportedly fantasized about securing America’s southern border against immigrants with a moat stocked with snakes or alligators and an electrified wall topped with spikes. Today, he saw what might be described as the next best thing: "Alligator Alcatraz," a hastily built Florida prison for people set to be deported, a tent city in the unforgiving summer sun, surrounded by swamps infested with mosquitos and patrolled by alligators and pythons. The visit highlighted one of the contradictions of his immigration politics. Trump and his aides have consistently played up the supposedly dangerous nature of detained and deported foreigners when data show a majority have no criminal record. Does the administration think seizing people at their workplace and parking them in facilities like this will be popular, Fox Business host Stuart Varney recently asked Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. "We are focused on getting the worst of the worst out of this country," she replied.

Politico [7/1/2025 6:27 PM, Hassan Ali Kanu, 2100K] reports a federal judge in New York has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to strip immigration protections from Haitians fleeing instability in their country. The ruling Friday from U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan preserves, for now, the Biden administration’s 2024 extension of the protections, known as “temporary protected status,” for up to 500,000 Haitians living in the United States. Cogan’s 23-page decision is the latest legal development in the administration’s efforts to roll back TPS designations and other immigration programs that allow immigrants from countries facing humanitarian crises to live and work here legally. In a separate case, the Supreme Court in May lifted a lower-court ruling and allowed the administration to revoke a Biden-era TPS designation for about 350,000 Venezuelans. Cogan’s decision came just four days after Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the TPS designation for Haitians would expire effective on Sept. 2. Under the Biden administration’s extension, the designation was scheduled to expire on Feb. 3, 2026. Cogan, an appointee of President George W. Bush, held that Noem’s termination was unlawful because the government ignored provisions in the TPS statute that seek to provide early notice to recipients, including barring termination until a previous extension expires. The judge noted that Haitian TPS recipients have enrolled in schools, taken jobs and began medical treatment in reliance on the U.S. government’s previous representations about the duration of the protections. “When the Government confers a benefit over a fixed period of time, a beneficiary can reasonably expect to receive that benefit at least until the end of that fixed period,” Cogan wrote. “Secretary Noem cannot reconsider Haiti’s TPS designation in a way that takes effect before February 3, 2026,” the judge added. FOX News [7/1/2025 10:04 PM, Greg Wehner, 46878K] reports U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn rejected those plans on Tuesday, saying Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem did not follow a timeline and instructions mandated by Congress to reconsider TPS designations for Haitians. In his decision, Cogan wrote, "Secretary Noem does not have statutory or inherent authority to partially vacate a country’s TPS designation." Doing so, he added, made her actions "unlawful.". "Plaintiffs are likely to (and, indeed, do) succeed on the merits," Cogan added. He went on to say Haitians’ interests in living and working in the U.S. "far outweigh" potential harm to the U.S. government. That being said, the government is still able to freely enforce immigration laws and terminate TPS status as established by Congress. Noem originally made the decision to revoke TPS status from Haitians after reviewing a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report showing the island nation no longer met the statutory requirements that grant foreign residents the ability to obtain TPS. Sources at DHS have told Fox News that they are encouraging Haitians living in the U.S. with TPS to use the CBP Home application to secure a safe departure home by offering a complimentary plane ticket and a $1,000 exit bonus. Congress created TPS as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, with the intention of allowing residents of countries who have faced war, disasters or other unsafe and extraordinary conditions, to find refuge in the U.S. The program has the ability to be extended in increments of 18-month periods. The Trump administration has been pressing to roll back TPS designations to fulfill a campaign promise to strengthen the border and deport many illegal immigrants who crossed the border under former President Joe Biden’s administration. Biden gave Venezuelans TPS status in 2021, then renewed that designation before the end of his term in January 2025. The newest designation will run from April 3, 2025, to Oct. 2, 2026. It is estimated the protection would have applied to about 300,000 Venezuelan nationals, before the Trump administration rolled back the decision. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The AP [7/2/2025 12:00 AM, Staff, 31733K] reports that the Biden administration had extended Haiti’s TPS status through at least Feb. 3, 2026, due to gang violence, political unrest, a major earthquake in 2021 and several other factors, according to court documents. But last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was terminating those legal protections as soon as Sept. 2, setting Haitians up for potential deportation. The department said the conditions in the country had improved and Haitians no longer met the conditions for the temporary legal protections. The ruling comes as President Donald Trump works to end protections and programs for immigrants as part of his mass deportations promises. The judge’s 23-page opinion states that the Department of Homeland Security ‘s move to terminate the legal protections early violates the TPS statute that requires a certain amount of notice before reconsidering a designation. “When the Government confers a benefit over a fixed period of time, a beneficiary can reasonably expect to receive that benefit at least until the end of that fixed period,” according to the ruling. The judge also referenced the fact that the plaintiffs have started jobs, enrolled in schools and begun receiving medical treatment with the expectations that the country’s TPS designation would run through the end of the year. Manny Pastreich, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which filed the lawsuit, described the ruling as an “important step” but said the fight is not over. “We will keep fighting to make sure this decision is upheld,” Pastreich said in a statement. “We will keep fighting for the rights of our members and all immigrants against the Trump Administration – in the streets, in the workplace, and in the courts as well. And when we fight, we win.”

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The New York Post [7/1/2025 1:26 PM, Jennie Taer, 49956K] reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed a bizarre and sickening account Tuesday of how federal agents nabbed a cannibal illegal migrant who started to eat his own arms during a deportation flight. Noem shared the disturbing anecdote while visiting the "Alligator Alcatraz" deportation camp in the Everglades alongside President Trump. She used the anecdote to argue that federal agents are targeting the worst of the worst illegal migrants in the US. "The other day I was talking to some Marshals that had been partnering with ICE," Noem said. "They said that they had detained a cannibal and put him on a plane to take him home and while they had him in his seat, he started to eat himself, and they had to get him off and get him medical attention." "These are the kind of deranged individuals that are on our streets in America that we’re trying to target and get out of our country because they are so deranged, they don’t belong here," she added. Florida built the detention center, surrounded by alligator- and python-infested swampland, in just eight days after the Trump administration accepted the state’s offer to use the 39-square-mile plot of land for its mass deportation effort. FOX News [7/1/2025 5:23 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports that the purpose of the roundtable was to discuss the new "Alligator Alcatraz" illegal immigrant detainment facility in Florida. While commenting on the need for increased deportations of dangerous illegals, Noem claimed that an alleged cannibal attempted to eat himself while detained, inflicting wounds on him that necessitated immediate medical attention. Noem said the incident illustrates how former President Joe Biden "let the worst of the worst come in here." Noem thanked law enforcement and military personnel for helping remove dangerous criminals from the U.S., and urged more governors to follow DeSantis’ lead in partnering with the federal government on immigration enforcement.

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FOX News [7/1/2025 10:32 PM, Staff, 46878K] reports DHS Secretary Kristi Noem talks I.C.E. raids of ‘deranged’ criminals, ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and more on ‘Hannity.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX Business [7/1/2025 7:49 PM, Staff, 9940K] reports DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin applauds ‘remarkable’ ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and condemns ‘despicable’ assaults on I.C.E. agents on ‘The Bottom Line.’.

New York Post [7/1/2025 6:36 PM, Jared Downing, 49956K] reports the Department of Homeland Security denied claims that a Los Angeles mother was abducted at gunpoint by bounty hunters and held hostage in a warehouse. Attorneys and family members of Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon told reporters Monday that the woman had been stalked and ambushed by armed men in two unmarked trucks while driving to work. The family believed the men to have been bounty hunters, Attorney Stephano Medina said in comments relayed by KTLA. Calderon managed to make two calls to family members, they said, and described being driven to a border station and turned over to ICE officials, who demanded she sign self-deportation paperwork and leave the country. When she refused, they locked her in a warehouse "holding men and women together, without a law enforcement employee or official present," Medina said. Calderon allegedly said some people had spent months in the warehouse, refusing to self-deport. DHS called the whole story a hoax. "This bizarre tale about being picked up by bounty hunters, taken to an unmarked warehouse without access to food, water, or an attorney were clearly fabricated," the department wrote on X Tuesday. When asked about DHS’s denial, Calderon’s attorneys told KTLA her name does not appear on the detainee locator, but they said they had lost contact with her, have no idea where she is, and still believe her to be in ICE custody. Rumors have swirled for months that the agency hires private bounty hunters to help meet DHS Secretary Kristie Noem’s arrest quota, which she upped to 3,000 per day last month. FOX News [7/1/2025 5:36 PM, Louis Casiano, 46878K] reports that in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed media reports that Calderon was kidnapped. "This woman was never arrested or ‘kidnapped’ by ICE," McLaughlin said. "If the media would have bothered to ask, ICE does not employ bounty hunters to make arrests. This bizarre tale about being picked up by bounty hunters, taken to an unmarked warehouse without access to food, water or an attorney were clearly fabricated."

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [7/2/2025 4:45 AM, Paul Bois, 3077K]

Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports police and military officers within the Department of Homeland Security are ramping up recruiting to implement President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities, and new legislation could provide more staffing. Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, the Border Patrol, Secret Service, and Coast Guard agencies have been flooded with applications. In addition, the pending One Big Beautiful Bill Act would boost DHS funding to hire and train more Border Patrol agents, Air and Marine agents, and field support personnel. DHS encompasses seven agencies, but the department has highlighted three that are seeing a significant uptick in recruitment. Other agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations, have not been included in the public comments about a recruitment boom. DHS did not explain why. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said ICE, particularly, will see a manpower boost if Congress passes the legislation that would help fund Trump’s deportation operations. "The Big Beautiful Bill will allow ICE to hire 10,000 new officers," Noem said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "ICE currently has 20,000 law-enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices. A larger force will provide ICE agents with the necessary protection so they can continue to carry out removals." DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the Trump administration had empowered the police and military in a way that the previous administration had not. "Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, our men and women in uniform are respected again and empowered to do their jobs," McLaughlin said in a statement. "These numbers are a stunning reversal over the past four years, where, under the Biden administration’s all-out assault on law enforcement officers, all three agencies routinely struggled to meet recruiting targets. Now, they are exceeding them.".

Reuters [7/1/2025 6:37 PM, Courtney Rozen and Jason Lange, 51390K] reports President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday reported having 2.3 million people on federal payrolls in March, almost unchanged from prior months despite the Republican’s efforts to shrink the size of government. The Office of Personnel Management, which functions as the HR department for the federal government, published figures on Tuesday on hiring and firing across thousands of government offices, with growth in some areas of government largely canceling out cuts elsewhere. Overall, the number of federal jobs – excluding postal workers and the military – was down about 23,000 from September, the last published report on overall staffing levels. To be sure, the numbers are only through March and Trump, who took office in January, has continued efforts to shrink the federal workforce. The administration has signed deals, for example, with at least 75,000 federal workers, agreeing to pay them for several months before they resign. A spokesperson at the Office of Personnel Management said hundreds of thousands of such workers will drop off federal payrolls in October. "This data marks the first measurable step toward President Trump’s vision of a disciplined, accountable federal workforce and it’s only the beginning," Acting OPM Director Chuck Ezell said in a statement. The new figures show a nosedive in hiring, which dropped by half in February from January. OPM ordered, opens new tab federal agencies to pause hiring on Inauguration Day, with exceptions for positions related to immigration, national security or public safety. The federal government hired fewer than 5,000 people in January, compared to about 20,000 in December before Trump returned to the White House. The figures released on Tuesday showed payrolls at the Social Security Administration, which administers pensions and other payments for millions of elderly Americans, had fallen to about 56,000 in March, down from about 58,000 in September. Payrolls at the Department of Homeland Security, which leads the president’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, rose to about 232,000 in March from 228,000 in September.

The AP [7/1/2025 8:31 PM, Amanda Seitz and Kimberly Kindy, 56000K] reports the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged on Tuesday, saying he and 19 other states’ attorneys general have sued over the move. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advisers ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C., to the Department of Homeland Security last month, The Associated Press first reported last month. All of those states allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. The unusual data sharing of private health information, including addresses, names, social security numbers, immigration status, and claims data for enrollees in those states, was released to deportation officials as they accelerated enforcement efforts across the country. The data could be used to help the Department of Homeland Security locate migrants in its mass deportation campaign, experts said. Bonta said the Trump administration’s data release violates federal health privacy protection laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). “This is about flouting seven decades of federal law policy and practice that have made it clear that personal healthcare data is confidential and can only be shared in certain narrow circumstances that benefit the public’s health or the Medicaid program,” Bonta said during a news conference on Tuesday. The Trump administration has sought to arm deportation officials with more data on immigrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S. The move to shore up the federal government’s data on immigrant Medicaid enrollees appears to have been set in motion in May, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would be reviewing some states rolls to ensure federal funds have not been used to pay for coverage for people with “unsatisfactory immigration status.” Four days after the memo was sent, on June 10, HHS officials directed the transfer of “the data to DHS by 5:30 ET today,” according to email exchanges obtained by AP. HHS is “aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds,” agency spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement. The agency has not provided details on DHS’ role in the effort. Nixon also defended the legality of releasing the data to DHS. “HHS acted entirely within its legal authority – and in full compliance with all applicable laws – to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,” he said in the statement. NPR [7/1/2025 8:43 PM, Jude Joffe-Block, 37958K] reports that top Health and Human Services officials directed the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) to share data with DHS from California, Illinois, Washington and Washington, DC, about millions of their Medicaid recipients, according to the AP’s report. Those jurisdictions allow some low-income immigrants, including some without legal status, who do not qualify for Medicaid to access state-funded health programs. States routinely must share extensive data about Medicaid enrollees with CMS, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, immigration status and healthcare information — but say that data is supposed to stay confidential. The suit, which was filed in federal court in San Francisco, asks the court to stop HHS from sharing Medicaid data with any other federal agency and to stop DHS, any other federal agency, or the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from using the data for immigration enforcement or "population surveillance.". It also asks the court to order the "impoundment, disgorgement, and destruction of all copies of any Medicaid data containing personally identifiable, protected health information that has already been unlawfully disclosed to DHS and DOGE.". DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin sent NPR a statement that said, in part: "CMS and DHS are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.".

Reported similarly:
Politico [7/1/2025 3:08 PM, Tyler Katzenberger, 2100K]
Bloomberg [7/1/2025 1:44 PM, Cassandre Coyer, 88K]
ABC News [7/2/2025 7:24 PM, Michael O’Keefe, 31733K]

Axios [7/1/2025 1:49 PM, Avery Lotz, 13599K] reports that President Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday endorsed the idea of prosecuting CNN for its critical coverage of U.S. strikes in Iran and reporting on an app that warns of immigration raids. The big picture: Trump’s years-long disdain for the media spiked after multiple outlets covered a leaked preliminary report on the strikes, with the president calling for reporters to be fired and threatening to sue The New York Times and CNN. The Defense Intelligence Agency’s initial assessment estimated that Iran’s nuclear program had only been set back by months, rather than Trump’s repeated claim that it was "obliterated." CNN’s recent report on an app that alerts users about ICE sightings sparked further outrage. Driving the news: Asked Tuesday about border czar Tom Homan’s comment that the DOJ "needs to look" at CNN’s reporting about the app, Noem said she’s coordinating the Justice Department to "see if we can prosecute them." "We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them with the partnership of Pam [Bondi] if we can," she said. Trump suggested CNN could be "prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack on Iran." CNN defended its reporting on the leaked assessment, which officials have emphasized was low confidence but have not denied exists. "What they did there we think is totally illegal," Trump said. Trump, Noem say CNN may be prosecuted. The New York Post [7/1/2025 1:23 PM, Steven Nelson, 49956K] reports "We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that. Because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities, operations," Noem said during a tour of the "Alligator Alcatraz" deportation camp in the Everglades. "And we’re going to ask them to go after them, to prosecute them … because what they’re doing is illegal," she said. Trump interjected: "They may be prosecuted also for false reports on the attacks on Iran … They may be very well prosecuted for that.". It’s unclear what crimes CNN journalists allegedly committed with the reporting. The outlet’s Monday article on the app ICEBlock describes how users can relay sightings of immigration officials — akin to better-known apps that allow users to report locations of speed traps and other police tactics. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] Reuters [7/1/2025 3:33 PM, Staff, 51390K] reports "It’s OK with me," Trump said, referring to prosecuting CNN. A spokesperson for CNN, which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery said in a statement: "This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it. There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN." Representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Noem accused CNN of interfering with law enforcement operations.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 1:32 PM, Emily Hallas, 1934K]
USA Today [7/1/2025 3:17 PM, Joey Garrison, 75552K]
NewsMax [7/1/2025 12:53 PM, Charlie McCarthy, 4622K]

The Hill [7/1/2025 10:21 AM, Dominick Mastrangelo, 18649K] reports Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, criticized CNN for its reporting on a new app that allows users to track and try to avoid immigrations officials in response to heightened Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the country. "It’s disgusting," Homan said during an appearance on right-wing commentator Benny Johnson’s internet show. "I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys. It’s already a dangerous job." Homan had been asked about a new app, ICEBlock, which was created so people could report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their area, CNN reported. The move comes after ICE arrests in the Los Angeles area sparked protests across the country early last month, leading to the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to the area by the Trump administration to quell the unrest. ICEBlock’s creator, Joshua Aaron, told the network, "When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back.". Homan has taken issue with CNN’s reporting on the app. He also seemed to suggest CNN was complicit in what he described as putting federal law enforcement in danger. "This is horrendous that a national media outlet would be out there trying to forecast law enforcement operations," he said. "I think DOJ needs to look at this. They’re crossing that line." "We need to send a strong message that we need to protect the law enforcement officers," the border czar added. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her department was "actively working with the Justice Department to see if we can prosecute them for that," referring to CNN’s reporting on the app.

FOX News [7/1/2025 5:21 AM, Ashley Carnahan, 46878K] reports U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized a CNN report highlighting an app that alerts users to nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sightings and warned the developer to "watch out.". The app, ICEBlock, was created by Joshua Aaron, who said he wanted to "do something to fight back" against the Trump administration’s deportations of illegal immigrants, which he likens to being reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Aaron told CNN that the app allows anonymous users to share where they’ve seen ICE agents. Users can also include additional details, such as the clothes agents are wearing or the cars they are driving. "Our ICE agents, all of our federal agents who are working hand in hand on these task force[s] — our federal agents from the Justice Department could be injured," Bondi said Monday on "Hannity." "He’s giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are. And he cannot do that. And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that’s not a protected speech. That is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country." ICEBlock comes with a disclaimer, telling users not to interfere with the federal agency’s operations or to incite violence. News of the app and CNN’s coverage drew strong condemnation from the White House and top Trump administration officials, who say the app endangers federal officers by broadcasting their locations. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said ICE agents and officers are already facing a 500% increase in assaults as the administration’s deportation efforts ramp up. Border czar Tom Homan told "The Will Cain Show" that the app only makes law enforcement’s job more dangerous. "It’s simply disgusting and any network that covers that is disgusting as well," said Homan. Bondi also criticized CNN for "promoting" the app, doubling down on her argument that it could endanger law enforcement officers. "Shame on them," she told Fox News host Sean Hannity. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [7/1/2025 1:42 PM, Jason Hopkins, 1010K] reports that a self-described nerd who created an app that tracks Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity identifies as “proud Antifa” and once encouraged everyone to be like the violent group, past social media postings show. ICEBlock is a crowdsourced app that alerts users when federal immigration authorities are spotted within a five-mile radius, according to CNN. Anyone on the app can ping others nearby if they see ICE agents and list other identifying details, such as what the officers are wearing and what car they’re driving, ostensibly allowing illegal migrants nearby to avoid apprehension. “We’re literally watching history repeat itself,” Joshua Aaron, the creator of the app, said to CNN as he compared federal immigration enforcement to Nazi Germany. “And so I thought, ‘what if there’s an early warning system?’ And that’s what became ICEBlock.” Most of ICEBlock’s 20,000 users are primarily based in Los Angeles, according to CNN, which was rocked by anti-ICE riots in June. Aaron shared a post Monday claiming it’s now the number one app in social networking on the Apple App Store. In a public statement issued Monday, ICE acting director Todd Lyons condemned CNN for promoting ICEBlock, claiming the app “basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs” at a time when his agents are already facing a 500% increase in assaults. “This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it. There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN,” a CNN spokesperson stated Tuesday to the Daily Caller News Foundation. ICEBlock did not respond to a request for comment. The DCNF was unable to locate a personal contact for Aaron. Aaron identifies himself as a supporter of BLM, also known as Black Lives Matter — a movement long plagued with allegations of financial mismanagement — and “Proud #Antifa” on his Bluesky account, a social media website modeled after X that American liberals populate. He also identifies as a “tech nerd.”

FOX News [7/1/2025 1:50 PM, Staff, 46878K] reports that President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they are working with the Department of Justice to hold the network accountable for ‘illegal’ and ‘false’ reports. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [7/1/2025 8:25 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports tech expert Kurt ‘CyberGuy’ Knutsson discusses the legality of the ‘ICEBlock’ app that notifies users of nearby immigration enforcement agents and the Senate voting to cut an AI regulation ban in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Washington Times [7/1/2025 12:48 PM, Stephen Dinan, 2106K] reports that President Trump on Tuesday directed his people to take a look at investigating former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border chaos of the past four years. "I’ll take a look at that one," the president said in response to a question while opening the "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention facility in Florida. "If he wasn’t given a pardon, I can see looking at that." He was then told Mr. Mayorkas wasn’t pardoned. Mr. Trump said Mr. Mayorkas "took orders from other people," but added that wouldn’t exonerate him. Mr. Mayorkas led Homeland Security for nearly the entirety of the Biden administration, overseeing a relaxation of immigration enforcement that ushered in millions of migrants and cut deportation rates of those already here. He was impeached by the GOP-led House on charges of misleading Congress and failing to enforce the laws. The Senate acquitted him last year. The Blaze [7/1/2025 1:50 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1805K] reports that President Donald Trump responded at length to a challenge from Blaze News national correspondent Julio Rosas asking why former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden officials have not yet been arrested. The president made the comments on Tuesday at a media briefing from Ochopee, Florida. Rosas said that the question was the number one inquiry made by many of the people responding to his video of Mayorkas. In a confrontation in April, Rosas tried to make Mayorkas answer accusations that he had failed to shut down the border and intentionally allowed millions of illegal aliens into the country. Mayorkas refused to respond to the barrage of questions. "A couple months ago, I ran into former DHS Secretary Mayorkas, and I asked him a couple questions about his disastrous handling of the border," Rosas explained to Trump. "He didn’t like my questions. But the number one question that I heard from people in responding to my video is why was — why hasn’t he been arrested yet?" "You know, obviously, you guys are clearing up the mess, obviously, that was deliberately made for the past four years, and so people want accountability," Rosas continued.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [7/1/2025 2:06 PM, Staff, 4622K]

NewsMax [7/1/2025 7:45 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4622K] reports amid reports that President Donald Trump is considering arresting former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, border czar Tom Homan told Newsmax on Tuesday that Mayorkas "needs to be held accountable" for his failure to secure the border under former President Joe Biden. Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he would "take a look" at potentially arresting Mayorkas over the nearly 10 million migrants that entered the United States illegally on his watch during the Biden administration. "I wake up every day angry at what they did to our border," Homan said on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "Alejandro Mayorkas knew exactly what he was doing. I don’t care if he’s taking orders from whoever. He’s the secretary of Homeland Security. "His No. 1 responsibility is protection of the homeland. He knew public safety threats were coming across that border every day. He knew national security threats came across that border every day. "He would sit on TV and say, ‘The border is secure.’ He says all these people are properly vetted. No, they weren’t," he said. "We don’t have access to criminal data from El Salvador and most of these countries. And the thousands of Chinese coming across — do you think the Chinese government is giving us any national security information on the people that smuggled into the United States? Of course they didn’t. "He knew this was a national security vulnerability. So let’s say, ‘Hey, the president ordered him to do it.’ As the secretary of Homeland Security, if he had a single ounce of integrity, he would have said, ‘I’m not doing this; I’m quitting in protest,’ instead of just playing the game," Homan continued.

CBS News [7/1/2025 12:26 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 51860K] Video HERE reports the Trump administration recently transferred immigration detainees from countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean to detention facilities at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, dramatically expanding the nationalities of those held there, internal U.S. government records obtained by CBS News show. As of earlier this week, Guantanamo Bay’s immigration detainees — who are detained separately from the terrorism suspects also held at the U.S. military base — included nationals of China, Jamaica, Liberia and the United Kingdom, according to the federal documents. Two U.S. officials said most of those detained at the base are considered to be "high-risk" detainees, who are defined by immigration authorities as individuals with violent or otherwise serious criminal records, histories of disruptive behavior or alleged gang ties. The transfers, which had not been previously reported, signal a significant expansion in the Trump administration’s efforts to turn parts of Guantanamo Bay into immigration detention facilities to hold foreigners facing deportation. Since President Trump ordered his administration to detain "high-priority" foreigners with criminal records at the base earlier this year, the facilities there have mainly housed Spanish-speaking Latin American detainees from countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela before their formal deportation. But the decision to use Guantanamo Bay to hold immigration detainees from more far-flung nations in Africa, Asia and Europe underscores the broad scope of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. A defense official told CBS News there were 54 immigration detainees at Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday. While top Trump administration officials like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have repeatedly highlighted the detention efforts at Guantanamo Bay, they have provided scant public information on operations at the base and who is being sent there.

FOX Business [7/1/2025 6:00 AM, Eric Revell, 9940K] reports a new report warns that a side effect of the Trump administration’s push to crack down on illegal immigration could further weaken Social Security’s finances and speed up its insolvency. Social Security’s main trust funds, when considered together, are on pace to be depleted in 2034, according to a recent analysis by Social Security’s trustees. Once the trust funds are tapped out, an automatic benefit cut of 19% would occur once the program’s ability to augment payroll tax collections with trust funds is no longer viable. The Penn-Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) estimates that unauthorized immigrants paid about $24 billion in Social Security taxes in 2024 — though they’re unable to receive benefits unless they obtain legal resident status. PWBM analyzed the impact of three deportation scenarios, taking into account levels of deportations and timelines for historical baseline levels of immigration and deportations to return, or not, and found that each would move up the depletion date for Social Security’s trust fund by about half a year. The first scenario would have 10% of unauthorized immigrants deported in each of the four years of Trump’s term without new illegal immigration, then reverting to baseline projections for immigration and deportation rates. PWBM found the net loss of funds would be $73 billion over the next 10 years and $218 billion over the next 30 years. In the second, the government would deport 10% of unauthorized immigrants each year for 10 years before net illegal immigration levels return to the baseline. It would result in the loss of $133 billion over the next decade and $656 billion over 30 years. The third scenario would see illegal immigration halted after all unauthorized immigrants are deported over 10 years, with future illegal immigration halted. That would also lead to the loss of $133 billion in the first decade and $884 billion over the next 30 years. "Replacing the lost revenue from permanent deportation would require increasing payroll taxes, or some other equivalent, to collect an additional $180 per year from the median U.S. household in 2025, growing at around 3.5% each year in the future," PWBM noted.

Breitbart [7/1/2025 11:43 PM, Staff, 3077K] reports the Trump administration has approved California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for disaster relief following last month’s riots in downtown Los Angeles, the Small Business Administration announced Tuesday. President Donald Trump and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler approved the state’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration that will allow small businesses to apply for up to $2 million in low-interest EIDL loans. "Gavin Newsom let the migrant mob torch Los Angeles," Loeffler wrote Tuesday in a post on X. "Now he’s asking SBA for disaster relief to fix an estimated $1 billion in damage. It’s another Newsom crisis that POTUS is cleaning up for law-abiding citizens and small businesses.". Gavin Newsom let the migrant mob torch Los Angeles. Now he’s asking SBA for disaster relief to fix an est. $1 BILLION in damage. SBA disaster assistance teams are also providing on-the-ground support to those impacted, according to Loeffler. Hundreds were arrested last month for looting and vandalism at dozens of businesses after days of protests directed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. During the riots, the Trump administration deployed thousands of National Guard troops to help law enforcement officers, who called the "unlawful and dangerous behavior" a "concerning escalation" after demonstrators flooded LA streets and freeways. Newsom blamed Trump’s decision to call up the National Guard for creating the escalation, calling it a "breach of state sovereignty.". "We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved," Newsom said on June 8. "This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.". Days later, Trump accused Newsom of failing to protect communities and said without the intervention, Los Angeles "would be burning to the ground right now.". Newsom has not commented on California’s disaster relief approval. "Gov. Newsom allowed a mob to rampage Los Angeles — standing with violent rioters, paid protesters and criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens. Despite an estimated $1 billion in damage, he refused federal relief for weeks, insisting that the riots were peaceful even as small business owners stood in the rubble," said Loeffler. "Although the SBA has approved California’s disaster relief request and will begin delivering immediate aid to the innocent victims, Gov. Newsom must take accountability for his state-sanctioned crisis.".

FOX News [7/1/2025 6:53 PM, Emma Colton Fox, 46878K] reports the Trump administration approved millions in disaster relief loans for small businesses that were rocked by the anti-ICE riots that plagued Los Angeles in June after Gov. Gavin Newsom downplayed the riots and blamed the violence on the Trump administration, Fox News Digital exclusively learned on Tuesday. Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler announced in a press release first shared with Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Newsom’s government had applied for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) declaration, which the administration quickly approved. Small businesses are now able to apply for up to $2 million in low-interest EIDL loans "to support working capital and normal operating expenses such as payroll, rent, and utilities that could not be met due to the destruction enabled by Newsom’s failed governance," according to the SBA. "Governor Newsom allowed a mob to rampage Los Angeles – standing with violent rioters, paid protestors, and criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens. Despite an estimated $1 billion in damage, he refused federal relief for weeks, insisting that the riots were peaceful even as small business owners stood in the rubble," Loeffler said in the press release. "Although the SBA has approved California’s disaster relief request and will begin delivering immediate aid to the innocent victims, Governor Newsom must take accountability for his state-sanctioned crisis – and stop playing politics with Americans’ livelihoods.". The press release noted that the request followed "weeks of no real solutions and inflammatory social media statements" until the governor "finally requested federal disaster relief to bail him out – again.". The relief follows SBA previously approving an additional 11,583 loans that totaled $2.99 billion in relief earlier this year following the California wildfire disasters in January, Fox News Digital learned, and marked the largest sum of disaster dollars ever approved by SBA for non-hurricane or flooding events. "We’re giving Gavin Newsom the opportunity to stop siding with criminal illegal aliens and start siding with law-abiding Americans – many of whom have lost everything to the violent and destructive riots across Los Angeles," Loeffler said in a statement on June 12. "The migrant mob has looted stores, destroyed storefronts, and committed criminal acts of vandalism against our small businesses. Although local leaders are allowing Los Angeles to burn, federal partners are ready to help American citizens rebuild – and we will do so, as soon as the Governor answers their call for help.". "The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement in June as the violence continued. "The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens … From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end.".

Los Angeles Times [7/1/2025 6:43 PM, David Zahniser, Brittny Mejia and Noah Goldberg, 14672K] reports Mayor Karen Bass fired back at the Department of Justice on Tuesday, calling its lawsuit against her city part of an "all-out assault on Los Angeles" by President Trump. Bass said she and other city leaders would not be intimidated by the lawsuit, which seeks to invalidate sanctuary policies that prohibit city resources from being used in federal immigration enforcement in most cases. The mayor, appearing before reporters at City Hall, assailed federal agents for "randomly grabbing people" off the street, "chasing Angelenos through parking lots" and arresting immigrants who showed up at court for annual check-ins. She also took a swipe at Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a Santa Monica native widely viewed as the architect of the sweeping immigration crackdown. "We know that U.S. citizens have been detained, so it’s basically indiscriminate," Bass said. "It’s a wide net they have cast in order to meet Stephen Miller’s quota of 3,000 people a day being detained around the nation.". L.A.’s mayor has been at odds with the Trump administration since early June, when federal immigration agents began a series of raids across Southern California, spurring protests in downtown Los Angeles, Paramount and other communities. Her latest remarks came one day after Trump’s Department of Justice sued the city over its sanctuary law, alleging it has hindered the federal government’s ability to combat "a crisis of illegal immigration.". In the lawsuit, federal prosecutors accused the City Council of seeking to "thwart the will of the American people," arguing that Trump won his election on a platform of deporting "millions of illegal immigrants." They also alleged that L.A.’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities had triggered "lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism" during the anti-ICE demonstrations. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson pushed back against Bass’ assertions, saying in an email that Bass should "thank President Trump for helping get dangerous criminals off L.A.’s streets.". Elected officials in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Huntington Park and other communities have decried the raids, saying they are tearing families apart, disrupting public life and choking off economic activity. In some communities, July 4 fireworks shows have been canceled for fear of ICE raids destroying the events.

Univision [7/1/2025 4:38 PM, Patricia Clarembaux, 4992K] reports Kilmar Ábrego García will remain in a Tennessee jail at least until his next hearing on July 16, 2025. The judge overseeing his criminal case announced in an order that his release order and the conditions under which it could be released will be re-evaluated on that date. The decision by Judge Barbara Holmes of the Middle District of Tennessee was announced after a request from the Salvadoran’s lawyers. They fear that if he is released by the court—while awaiting criminal trial—he could be placed in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that Ábrego could be deported to a third country. The government did not oppose the defense lawyers’ request. Under it, the Salvadoran will remain in the custody of the US Marshals until the court decides otherwise, in cells separate from the prison population already serving sentences or awaiting them.

Telemundo [7/1/2025 10:14 PM, Christine Fernando and Sophia Tareen, 3352K] reports the son of notorious Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin El Chapo Guzman intends to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in the United States, according to court documents filed Tuesday. As part of the agreement, the charges Guzman Lopez was facing in the Southern District of New York court will be dropped: "I wish to plead guilty to the charge, consent to the disposition of the case in the Northern District of Illinois in which I am detained and waive trial in the above district," reads the document addressed to the New York court and signed by the defendant dated June 30. Prosecutors allege that Ovidio Guzmán López, along with his brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, ran a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Los Chapitos, which exported fentanyl to the United States. El Chapo was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, which brought mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States for more than 25 years. Ovidio Guzmán López was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He was charged in a Chicago federal court with money laundering, drug and firearms offenses. He previously pleaded not guilty, but online court records indicate he is scheduled to appear in court on July 9 to change his plea as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Court documents filed Tuesday indicate he intends to plead guilty after the possibility of a deal was disclosed during a hearing in October. Ovidio Guzmán López would be the first of the brothers to reach a plea agreement. Joaquín Guzmán López is also in US custody. He and another longtime leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael El Mayo Zambada, were arrested in July in Texas after landing in the United States on a private plane. Joaquin Guzman Lopez has pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering, drug trafficking and criminal association to distribute drugs. Zambada also pleaded not guilty. The men’s capture sparked a spike in violence in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa, as two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel clashed. Federal prosecutors and the lawyer for Ovidio Guzman Lopez, listed in online court records as Jeffrey Lichtman, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Reported similarly:
AP [7/1/2025 5:26 PM, Christine Fernando and Sophia Tareen, 56000K]

Federal News Network [7/1/2025 12:02 PM, Jason Miller, 2346K] reports the Department of Homeland Security pulled the plug on two major acquisition programs, and to several observers, it may be just the beginning. DHS on Friday announced the cancellation of the Program Management, Administrative, Clerical, and Technical Services III (PACTS III) departmentwide contract vehicle solicitation. At the same time, the agency decided not to go forward with its FirstSource III contract vehicle, which has a $10 billion ceiling. It is canceling awards under the IT value added resellers (ITVAR) functional category and not making new awards under its software category. DHS said it’s terminating both for convenience. DHS has been pursuing FirstSource III since 2021 and had made initial awards in September to 30 small businesses in the ITVAR category. "In alignment with recent executive orders, the department conducted a thorough analysis of active contract awards and solicitations to assess mission-criticality and continued needs. As a result of the analysis and findings, FirstSource III was determined to be a non-mission critical contract that would provide redundant offerings available through existing General Services Administration (GSA) and other governmentwide solutions," DHS wrote in its announcement to industry on SAM.gov. "The department will continue to leverage existing GSA and governmentwide contract solutions, such as NASA SEWP, for future IT requirements." The decision comes after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem decided last month that her office would approve all new contracts and awards worth more than $100,000. This latest decision to terminate contracts continues DHS efforts to revamp its approach to acquisition. FOX News [7/1/2025 12:35 PM, Danielle Wallace and Bill Melugin, 46878K] reports last month, DHS identified the "serial criminal" who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport where 15 ICE agents and 12 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were staying. Eric Anthony Rodriguez was arrested in connection to the June 21 attack, which "was unsuccessful, and no one was injured," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said last week. Describing Rodriguez as a "coward," McLaughlin said, "Dangerous rhetoric by sanctuary politicians has fanned the flames of violence against federal law enforcement.".

The Washington Post [7/1/2025 1:54 PM, Jacob Bogage, Theodoric Meyer, and Liz Goodwin32099K] reports that the Senate on Tuesday narrowly approved massive tax and immigration legislation that Republicans hope will become the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s second term, dramatically reorienting the role of the federal government and unwinding many of the Biden administration’s accomplishments. Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote for the measure, which extends trillions of dollars in tax cuts from Trump’s first term and implements new campaign promises — such as eliminating income taxes on tips and overtime wages — while spending hundreds of billions of dollars on immigration enforcement and defense. To offset the cost, the legislation cuts about $1 trillion from Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for low-income individuals and people with disabilities, and other health care programs. It would also make cuts to SNAP, the anti-hunger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Nearly 12 million people will lose health care coverage if the bill becomes law, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The bruising battle to pass the bill split Senate Republicans, as some pressed for deeper spending reductions and others balked at the bill’s cuts to Medicaid and other programs. Three Republicans voted against the measure: Sens. Rand Paul (Kentucky), Thom Tillis (North Carolina) and Susan Collins (Maine). Vance arrived just after 6:30 a.m. and cast the deciding vote more than five hours later. Lawmakers spent nearly 48 consecutive hours, reading, debating and amending the legislation on the Senate floor. “There will be a day that conservatives will rue the fact that some of them actually voted for this,” Paul said after the vote. To reach the Oval Office, the bill must clear one more hurdle: the House, where many members have balked at the Senate’s changes to the measure. Trump has ordered lawmakers to have the bill on his desk by a self-imposed Independence Day deadline. The Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 12:05 PM, Ramsey Touchberry and Zach Halaschak, 1934K] reports that the bill cleared the Senate in a 51-50 vote. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME) were the three Republican defectors who forced Vance to intercede and break the logjam after hours of arduous debate on and off the Senate floor that threatened to derail Trump’s signature legislation at the eleventh hour. On border security, the legislation includes nearly $200 billion over the next decade to beef up illegal immigration enforcement, which has been a major focus of the Trump administration. There is funding for the construction of additional southern border wall, immigration detention centers, state and local grants, surveillance technology, and broader enforcement and removal operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Justice Department. "The Big Beautiful Bill will allow ICE to hire 10,000 new officers," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "ICE currently has 20,000 law-enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices. A larger force will provide ICE agents with the necessary protection so they can continue to carry out removals.".

Reported similarly:
Roll Call [7/1/2025 8:13 AM, David Lerman and Caitlin Reilly, 692K]
Bloomberg [7/1/2025 12:13 PM, Erik Wasson, Steven T. Dennis, and Emily Birnbaum 88K]
The Hill [7/1/2025 12:04 PM, Alexander Bolton, 18649K]
NPR [7/1/2025 12:08 PM, Jason Breslow and Elena Moore, 37958K]
FOX News [7/1/2025 12:03 PM, Alex Miller, 46878K]
Daily Caller [7/1/2025 12:03 PM, Adam Pack, 1010K]

USA Today [7/1/2025 1:28 PM, Sarah D. Wire, 75552K] reports that in a series of social media posts, Vice President JD Vance said the cost of the GOP spending bill, including the effect of the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, are "immaterial" compared to the money he says it will save through expanded funding for immigration enforcement. "The thing that will bankrupt this country more than any other policy is flooding the country with illegal immigration and then giving those migrants generous benefits. The (bill) fixes this problem. And therefore it must pass," Vance said in a June 30 post on the social media site X, a few hours before he cast the tie-breaking vote to move the spending bill back to the House. "Everything else ‒ the (Congressional Budget Office) score, the proper baseline, the minutiae of the Medicaid policy ‒ is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions," he said in a second post. Immigrants who are in the United States without legal authorization pay sales and often income taxes. They are entitled only to taxpayer-funded emergency medical care at hospitals and public education for their children. Republicans struggled to get the bill out of the Senate and back to the House. President Donald Trump has said he wants the bill to his desk by July 4. The bill increases immigration enforcement spending on a scale never seen before in the United States. It authorizes $168 billion, an almost a fivefold increase from current spending on enforcement. To pay for the increased immigration enforcement, as well as the continuation of tax rates based in Trump’s first administration that largely benefit the rich worth $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years, the bill cuts several public safety net programs. The largest cut is $1.1 trillion to Medicaid over the next decade.

Los Angeles Times [7/1/2025 3:43 PM, Andrea Castillo, 14672K] reports the budget bill narrowly approved by the Senate on Tuesday includes massive funding infusions — roughly $150 billion — toward immigration and border enforcement. If passed, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will cement President Trump’s hard-line legacy on immigration. The budget bill would make Immigration and Customs Enforcement the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government, exceeding its current yearly $3.4-billion detention budget many times over. It also would impose fees on immigration services that were once free or less expensive and make it easier for local law enforcement to work with federal authorities on immigration. The 940-page Senate bill will now head back to the House, which passed its version in May, also by one vote, 215 to 214. The two chambers must now reconcile the two versions of the bill. Though the legislation is still evolving, the immigration provisions in the House and Senate versions are similar and not subject to the intense debates on other issues, such as Medicaid or taxes. Many of the funds would be available for four years, though some have longer or shorter timelines.

Los Angeles Times [7/1/2025 6:00 AM, Marsha Griffin, Alan Shapiro, and Julie M. Linton, 14672K] reports as pediatricians, we are watching in horror as immigration raids in Los Angeles and across the country are tearing families apart. The current administration’s deportation policy arrests people regardless of immigration status or criminal record and places them in detention. Make no mistake, this is family separation 2.0. We are also seeing entire families, parents with their children, apprehended in our communities and being sent to newly reopened family detention centers. These immigration policies are placing the health and well-being of children at risk. New budgeting priorities being debated in Congress would intensify this crisis. The budget reconciliation bill that Congress is considering is seeking $45 billion for adult and family detention — an 800% increase compared with fiscal year 2024. This would drastically expand the use of family detention and lead to indefinite detention of children. As the authors of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy on the detention of immigrant children, we insist that our federal government stop these dangerous practices. Our policy emphasizes that detention is not in the best interest of the child and that family separation should never occur unless the child’s well-being is at risk. Disturbingly, this administration’s policies are resulting in both. We are also concerned about prolonged lengths of stay for unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Unaccompanied children can be released from custody only to a vetted sponsor — usually a family member living in the United States. The administration’s new policy places onerous requirements on sponsors, drastically prolonging the average length of stay from one month to more than seven. Potential sponsors must now pay a steep fee, be fingerprinted, share their immigration status with law enforcement agencies, submit to background checks and agree to "home visits" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who are untrained in child welfare standards. We support evidence-based measures to ensure that children are safely released to sponsors. However, the administration’s vetting policies are punitive against sponsors rather than protective of children — leaving children to languish for months in institutional settings and leading to further psychological harm.

The Hill [7/1/2025 8:30 AM, James D. Zirin, 18649K] reports President Trump last week offered praise for the judiciary, touting his "GIANT WIN" before the Supreme Court. The conservative supermajority of six justices (three of whom he appointed) sharply limited the well-established practice of universal nationwide injunctions. The high court was okay with lower court rulings temporarily freezing flagrantly unconstitutional executive actions that stripped the natural-born citizen plaintiffs who brought the case of their birthright. It refused, however, to extend the freeze to people similarly situated who were not parties to the litigation. The "giant win" notwithstanding, Trump does not like judges — at least those judges who dare to get in his way. He has attacked judges’ integrity, sought their impeachment and cast aspersions on the ethnicity of individual jurists — all because they refused to rule in his favor. Now, Trump has taken his derision of the courts to new depths. He is suing them, ignoring the venerable principle that judges are immune from suit for their official acts.

USA Today [7/1/2025 5:05 AM, Staff, 75552K] reports the images emerging from California – raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement spiraling into chaos, immigrant families fleeing their homes and National Guard troops confronting peaceful protesters – are chilling reminders of how far we’ve strayed from the democratic values we claim to uphold. This is not the America I know. This is not the America we aspire to be. We are a nation built on justice, compassion and the unwavering belief that every person deserves dignity and respect. What’s happening in Los Angeles betrays those principles. Deploying more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines – without a formal request from state and Los Angeles officials – is a dangerous overreach. It risks escalating tensions and suppressing the constitutional right to protest. What we need is leadership that listens – not one that responds to fear with force. In South Florida, immigration isn’t some abstract debate. It’s personal. Our region is home to vibrant Haitian, Jamaican, Venezuelan, Cuban and Central American communities. These are our nurses, pastors, teachers, small business owners and caregivers. They keep our economy strong and our neighborhoods thriving. That’s why the renewed Trump-era travel restriction targeting countries like Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba feels like more than bad policy – it feels like a direct attack on the people who make South Florida strong.

The Hill [7/1/2025 10:00 AM, Robert C. O’Brien, 18649K] reports the U.S. and China are locked in a strategic rivalry across multiple domains. While much attention has been paid to semiconductors, artificial intelligence and military capabilities, an overlooked component of geopolitical competition is China’s pollution. China intentionally bypasses or ignores environmental regulations to gain economic and strategic advantages that threaten American power. Meanwhile, the U.S. plays by the rules with industries that are among the cleanest in the world, only to be undermined by dirty Chinese industries. By targeting pollution as a domain of competition, the U.S. can hold China accountable, leveling the playing field and safeguarding our industrial and geopolitical edge. China’s environmental footprint is abysmal. As the world’s largest polluter, China’s coal-heavy energy grid, which operates with virtually non-existent industrial standards, produces pollution that transcends borders and pollutes our air and water. This environmental recklessness is a strategic weapon for the state-driven Chinese economy. By prioritizing short-term economic gains over responsible business practices, China floods global markets with low-cost products to gain a competitive edge. Beijing’s relentless expansion of its industrial base in core sectors like steel and aluminum has been fueled by a deliberate strategy of unabated pollution and lax environmental enforcement, coupled with heavy state subsidies. This approach allows Chinese firms to undercut American manufacturers, eroding the U.S. industrial base that is critical to our economic strength and national security.

New York Post [7/1/2025 6:30 PM, Jennie Taer, 49956K] reports ICE will “turbocharge” its arrests and deportations of illegal migrants roaming the country when President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is passed, administration officials said Tuesday. The nearly 900-page megabill — which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday — will allow ICE to hire 10,000 new officers and double its capacity to detain illegal immigrants. It also offers a $10,000 a year bonus for immigration agents, according to the White House. The extra resources are welcome news to ICE sources who told The Post that the administration’s ambitious 3,000-per-day arrest quota has filled detention centers to the brim. The Trump administration gave ICE a quota of 1,800 arrests a day in January and increased the expectation in May. It’s been “harder and harder … to make room at the detention centers” with the agency’s current budget, a source said. ICE currently has 20,000 employees, according to DHS. The agency has been scrambling to open new detention centers to keep up with the massive number of arrests, shelling out more cash than the amount Congress previously budgeted. On Tuesday, ICE opened “Alligator Alcatraz” to much fanfare — getting a personal visit from President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the funding provided by the new bill will “turbocharge” the agency’s deportation operation. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said it will not only allow ICE to ramp up its mass deportation effort but also provide “safety in numbers” by adding more personnel facing a 700% uptick in assaults. “These rioters are cowards who’ll keep challenging us as long as they think they can get away with it,” Noem said. “DHS needs to boost its manpower and resources to both remove illegal aliens and keep things peaceful in the process. “A larger force will provide ICE agents with the necessary protection so they can continue to carry out removals,” she added. The bill is headed to the House for final approval before it goes to the desk of President Trump for signing, possibly by July 4.

Federal News Network [7/1/2025 5:22 PM, Justin Doubleday, 2346K] reports House GOP lawmakers that oversee federal spending are trying to clamp down on the Department of Homeland Security’s practice of moving money from other DHS accounts to fund immigration enforcement operations. The new restrictions in the House Appropriations Committee’s fiscal 2026 homeland security spending bill brings bipartisan weight to concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is blowing well past its annual budget to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. The spending bill passed the GOP-led committee along party lines last week. The bill would limit DHS’s ability to move money between accounts – known as “transfer authority” – by stipulating that transfers cannot reduce annual appropriations accounts by 2.5% or augment any account by more than 5%. It would also set a new 30-day notification requirement for any reprogramming action that increases a program by more than $5 million or 10% of its original budget, whichever is greater.

ABC News [7/1/2025 5:15 AM, Laura Romero, Armando Garcia, and Frank Esposito, 31733K] reports President Donald Trump campaigned for president on the promise of mass deportations that targeted criminals -- and while ICE agents have arrested over 38,000 migrants with criminal convictions, new data shows a recent shift toward also arresting those who have not been accused of crimes. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has arrested an increasing number of migrants with no criminal convictions, according to an ABC News analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data. The numbers, which were obtained through a public records lawsuit and released by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California Berkeley, give the first real glimpse of how Trump’s immigration enforcement policy is playing out in the streets. Over the first five months of the Trump administration, ICE has arrested over 95,000 individuals, according to data analyzed by ABC’s owned television stations’ data team. At the start of the administration, ICE tended to target migrants with pending or criminal convictions. From Inauguration Day to May 4, 2025, 44% of those arrested had a criminal conviction, while 34% of those arrested had pending charges and 23% had no criminal history, according to the data. But beginning May 25, the data appears to show there was a shift in enforcement -- with individuals with criminal convictions making up only 30% of those arrested. Those arrested with pending criminal charges accounted for 26% of the individuals arrested and 44% had no criminal history. Asked about the shift, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told ABC News, "We are not going to disclose law enforcement sensitive intelligence and methods. 70% of the arrests ICE made were of criminal illegal aliens." "We are continuing to go after the worst of the worst -- including gang members, pedophiles, and rapists," McLaughlin said. "Under Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we are delivering on President Trump’s and the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens and make America safe."

Los Angeles Times [7/1/2025 7:54 PM, Laura J. Nelson, 14672K] reports following a surge in arrests by armed, masked federal immigration agents in unmarked cars, some California Democrats are backing a new bill in Congress that would bar officials from covering their faces while conducting raids. The No Masks for ICE Act, introduced by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-New York) and co-sponsored by more than a dozen Democrats, would make it illegal for federal agents to cover their faces while conducting immigration enforcement unless the masks were required for their safety or health. The bill would also require agents to clearly display their name and agency affiliation on their clothes during arrests and enforcement operations. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), who is co-sponsoring the bill, said Tuesday that the legislation would create the same level of accountability for federal agents as for uniformed police in California, who have been required by law for more than three decades to have their name or badge number visible. "When agents are masked and anonymous, you cannot have accountability," Friedman said. "That’s not how democracy works. That’s not how our country works.". The bill would direct the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to set up discipline procedures for officers who did not comply and report annually on those numbers to Congress. Homeland Security official Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that immigration agents "clearly identify themselves as law enforcement" but wear masks to protect themselves from attacks by gangs, "criminal rings, murderers, and rapists.". McLaughlin said "demonization of our brave law enforcement" has led to an increase in assaults. Fox News said Tuesday that there were 10 assaults reported against agents from the end of January to the end of June of 2024, compared to 79 during the same period this year, a year-over-year increase of 690%. The mask bill has no Republican co-sponsors, meaning its chances of getting a hearing in the GOP-controlled House are slim. Friedman said she hoped that Republicans concerned about governmental overreach and the so-called "deep state" — the idea that there is a secretive, coordinated network inside the government — would support the bill too.

Washington Post [7/2/2025 5:00 AM, Arelis R. Hernández, 32099K] reports undocumented immigrants are being swept off the streets by masked officers in plainclothes who refuse to give their names. Parents are being handcuffed in front of young children and escorted together onto buses and into detention centers. Officers are tackling people and smashing car windows as they make arrests. Videos of arrests like these have gone viral on social media and sparked protests and outrage as the United States reckons with the ramifications of the Trump administration’s push to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants. So what is and isn’t illegal when ICE makes an arrest? U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as part of a major overhaul of the federal national security apparatus. Congress gave the agency substantial authority over how immigrants who do not have a legal status in the United States are detained and deported. And while the Trump administration has upended norms, much of what the public is seeing is permitted under U.S. law. If President Donald Trump’s massive spending bill is approved, undocumented immigrant arrests and deportations are expected to dramatically ramp up. Here’s what to know about how officers conduct an arrest. Can federal officers make immigration arrests without a warrant? Yes, under certain circumstances. While the Immigration and Nationality Act grants officers broad powers, they must have “probable cause” to believe that person is in the U.S. illegally and likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained to arrest them without one. Officers cannot use race, ethnicity or someone’s profession as the sole basis of their belief that an individual has violated federal immigration law. They must have factual findings such as a criminal record. And officers should consider a broad array of factors in determining if someone is a flight risk. If the individual, for example, owns a property and has children in the U.S., that would indicate deep ties to a community. The requirements for a warrantless arrest are different from a detention. In the event someone is being briefly detained, but not formally arrested or charged, officers only need what’s known as “reasonable cause.” Reasonable cause is different from “probable cause” in that it requires less evidence and can be based off an officer’s subjective determination that there are sufficient grounds to believe a crime may have been committed.

Breitbart [7/1/2025 9:15 AM, Randy Clark, 3077K] reports protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Trump are scheduled to take place on Tuesday in most major cities across the country. The well-organized campaign at "SICKOFICE.ORG" urges people to call out sick in solidarity with illegal aliens facing deportation. Much like the "No Kings" protests held in June to denounce the Trump administration’s efforts to conduct mass deportations of illegal aliens, Tuesday’s protests are being supported by the same activist organizations. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is actively promoting the "Sick of ICE" events nationwide on social media. The website associated with the July 1 protests, however, does not include a page identifying sponsors that may be funding the events. As reported by Breitbart Texas, supporting organizations, including federal labor unions, were prominently featured on the "No Kings" website. In the latest nationwide protest effort, that is not the case. The omission of sponsors may be a deliberate attempt to conceal the funders of the "Sick of ICE" events, following Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) announcement in June that he would launch an investigation into the financing of anti-ICE protests.

USA Today [7/1/2025 7:19 PM, Tom Schad, 75552K] reports more than 80 civil rights and labor groups sent a letter to FIFA on July 1 expressing "deep concern" over the U.S. government’s immigration policies ahead of the 2026 World Cup in men’s soccer. In the letter, which was first reported by The Athletic, the groups cited President Donald Trump’s executive order banning visitors from 12 countries as well as the ongoing raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in communities across the country, some of which are slated to host World Cup matches next summer. They called on FIFA to "use its influence to encourage the U.S. government to guarantee the fundamental rights of the millions of foreign visitors and fans.". "If FIFA continues to stay silent, not only will millions be placed at risk, but the FIFA brand will also be used as a public relations tool to whitewash the reputation of an increasingly authoritarian government," the civil rights and labor groups wrote. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP were among the most prominent national organizations to sign the letter, which was also endorsed by eight fan clubs of soccer teams. The Trump administration has echoed that sentiment, albeit with the caveat that fans will not be allowed to overstay their visas or otherwise remain in the country following the tournament. "I know we’ll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries," Vice President J.D. Vance said in May. "We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the game(s). But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to (U.S. Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem.".

ABC News [7/1/2025 4:48 PM, Ivan Pereira, 31733K] reports expert says constitution bars deporting U.S. citizens to serve out sentences. President Donald Trump continued on Tuesday to float his idea, which some legal experts say is unconstitutional, to deport U.S. citizens who commit crimes. Speaking to the press during a tour of a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, the president repeated claims that there are many immigrants who are now citizens and have been committing serious crimes. The proposal came weeks after the Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate -- a Trump appointee -- released a memo giving U.S. attorneys wide discretion to decide when to pursue the denaturalization process to "advance the Administration’s policy objectives." Some of the cases U.S. attorneys should pursue are those against individuals who have engaged in torture, war crimes, human trafficking and human rights violations, the memo says. Legal experts have warned that Trump’s proposals are unconstitutional claiming they violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The issue has not come before the courts yet. Trump acknowledged that he didn’t know if deporting U.S. citizens who are convicted of crimes is legal.

Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 5:00 AM, Mia Cathell, 1934K] reports in partnership with more than a dozen left-wing activist groups, the “sanctuary city” of Providence, Rhode Island, is sending illegal immigrants instructions by mail on how to navigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounters and effectively evade capture. According to a press release announcing the citywide direct-mail campaign, the all-Democrat Providence City Council created the postcard advisories in response to “the brutal and unconstitutional enforcement tactics currently being undertaken by the far-right federal administration.” "By taking this unprecedented action to protect our immigrant communities, councilors are sending a clear message: every Providence resident has a right to lead a dignified life free from state-sponsored intimidation and terrorization," the announcement said. Once processed, the informational "Know Your Rights" flyers will be directly distributed via postal service to every household in Providence. Printing and postage reportedly cost $17,000 for the over 62,500 residences expected to receive the postcards. In a statement, City Council President Rachel Miller said they worked collaboratively on the mailers with the listed local immigration advocacy organizations "in the face of fear and uncertainty that pervades our city’s immigrant communities due to the reckless cruelty of the Trump administration.". DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said such rhetoric vilifying federal immigration officers is inciting violence against ICE agents. "Council President Miller’s comments calling immigration enforcement ‘state-sponsored intimidation and terrorization’ are despicable," McLaughlin told the Washington Examiner. "This kind of garbage has led to a more than 500% increase in assaults against our ICE law enforcement officers. Providence City Council is putting violent criminal aliens above the safety of their own constituents—it is shameful and embarrassing. President Trump and Secretary Noem are restoring the rule of law and putting the safety of Americans first.".

Bloomberg [7/1/2025 8:00 AM, Emily Flitter and Leon Yin, 19320K] reports the Trump administration’s tactics to swiftly detain and deport immigrants has businesses and advocates in New York City bracing for a crackdown, even as new data shows fewer arrests than other big cities with large immigrant populations. More than 1,900 people have been arrested in New York City by federal immigration authorities since President Donald Trump took office, a 31% increase from the same period last year, according to figures obtained by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by Bloomberg. That’s far less than the increases in Los Angeles (112%), Chicago (97%) and Miami (238%).But there’s an atmosphere of anxiety in New York, fueled in part by suspicions that city officials would increase cooperation with immigration agents and undermine sanctuary protections. “People have no idea if there are ICE vans driving around the city,” said Dave Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, which has worked to resettle asylum seekers in New York. The most visible location for immigration arrests has been at a Manhattan courthouse. People appearing in federal court for routine immigration check-ins are being arrested on a daily basis. So many detainees are being held on a single floor of a court building at 26 Federal Plaza that Democrats in US Congress have described it as an unreported detention center. Camille J. Mackler, a lawyer who advocates for immigrants’ rights through her group Immigrant ARC, said a woman with a young child had been detained there last week before being deported a few days later. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, denied the building is a detention center. “It is a Federal building with an ICE law enforcement office inside of it,” she said. A representative for Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for comment on arrest numbers. New York’s sanctuary laws do not apply at the courthouse; federal facilities are exempt. There’s been little change in how city officials interact with federal immigration authorities compared to recent years, even as there’s a widespread sense of increased enforcement activity.

Axios [7/1/2025 1:47 PM, Sareen Habeshian, 13599K] reports that President Trump said Tuesday he would arrest Zohran Mamdani if the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee doesn’t allow federal immigration officials to arrest undocumented immigrants in the city. The big picture: Trump has been hurling insults at Mamdani, doubling down on his assertion that the candidate is a communist, and threatening to withhold federal funding from the Democratic primary winner. Zoom in: Mamdani vowed in his recent acceptance speech to use his power to "stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors." Asked during a press briefing Tuesday what his response is to Mamdani’s promise, Trump said, "Well then, we’ll have to arrest him." What he’ saying: "We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation," Trump continued. "We send him money," he added. "We send him all the things that he needs to run a government." Representatives for Mamdani did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment. Reality check: While the federal government is constitutionally charged with enforcing immigration laws, states and local government agencies are generally not required to collaborate in immigration enforcement.

Washington Post [7/1/2025 7:46 PM, Brianna Tucker and Sarah Ellison, 32099K] reports after President Donald Trump threatened to have Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected Democratic nominee for New York mayor, deported if he blocks Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in New York, Mamdani responded forcefully. “The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city,” Mamdani said in a statement. "His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation," Mamdani, 33, added. He also called Trump’s praise for New York Mayor Eric Adams — a Democrat who opted out of the primary to run as an independent — as "unsurprising" and a move that "highlights the urgency of bringing an end to this mayor’s time in City Hall.". "At the very moment when MAGA Republicans are attempting to destroy the social safety net, kick millions of New Yorkers off of health care and enrich their billionaire donors at the expense of working families, it is a scandal that Eric Adams echoes this President’s division, distraction and hate. Voters will resoundingly reject it in November," he said. Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents; he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018 and serves as a New York State Assembly member representing parts of Queens. Earlier Tuesday, while visiting a temporary migrant detention center in Florida, Trump denigrated Mamdani for saying that he would not cooperate with ICE officials who attempt to arrest migrants in New York and again accused the mayoral candidate of being a communist. "Well, then we’ll have to arrest him," Trump said. "Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation.".

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Breitbart [7/1/2025 7:14 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 3077K]
NewsMax [7/1/2025 7:20 PM, Jim Thomas, 4622K]

FOX News [7/1/2025 6:42 PM, Peter Pinedo and Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports as the New York City mayoral results roll in, the Department of Justice is remaining silent on whether it will press charges against city comptroller and former Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who allegedly assaulted a federal immigration officer inside a courthouse. A spokesperson for the DOJ replied to Fox News Digital’s inquiry in an emailed statement, simply saying, "Unfortunately, we are not able to provide any additional information.". Video footage taken of Lander’s arrest, which was on June 17, shows a chaotic scene in which Lander is hanging onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza. He repeatedly asked officials if they had a judicial warrant. "I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant!" Lander said in the video. "Where is it?! Where is the warrant?!". The video shows federal officials eventually separate Lander from the immigrant whom the officials were targeting, and they proceed to handcuff Lander. He can be heard repeatedly insisting they do not have the authority to arrest him. One agent seemed to say that he was obstructing an arrest, to which he replied, "I’m not obstructing. I’m standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant.". Hours later, Lander walked out of the federal courthouse where he was being held alongside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. During a news conference outside the courthouse, Hochul said that charges against Lander had been dropped, though the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said it was "continuing to investigate" Lander’s actions. Speaking with Fox News after the incident, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused Democrat politicians, including Lander, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, of being purposely disruptive to "get their 15 minutes of fame… off the backs of our ICE law enforcement officers.". "We won’t stand for it in this administration," said McLaughlin. "If you lay hands on an officer or impede their enforcement action, you will be arrested as just as we saw here.". The DOJ has similarly declined to comment on whether it will file charges against Padilla, who was temporarily detained after interrupting a press conference held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on June 12.

FOX News [7/1/2025 10:00 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports an ICE Homeland Security Investigations probe in Maryland led to the sentencing of a man who "used his position of authority" to sexually abuse a 2-year-old and who produced and distributed child sex abuse material online. U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander sentenced Maryland man Mark Rice, 38, to 30 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for producing and distributing child sexual abuse material. The sentence was part of a plea deal. A statement by the Department of Justice said Rice pleaded guilty to one count of producing child sexual abuse material, one count of distributing child sexual abuse material, and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material. According to the DOJ, the charges stemmed from Rice "sexually abusing two minors in his care" while using social media platforms such as Reddit, Telegram, and Kik to distribute materials depicting his victims and to solicit and access materials depicting other children. In a Tuesday statement, ICE said the investigation began in April 2023 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip from Reddit regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material. Authorities traced the tip to an IP address associated with Rice’s residence in Elkton, Maryland. Maryland State Police questioned Rice regarding the abuse materials, and though he denied the allegations, he was later "observed deleting photos from his phone.". According to ICE’s statement, when Rice showed officers his phone, investigators were able to spot child sexual abuse material in a thumbnail image. Authorities then uncovered additional material in his recently deleted folder. ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) reportedly discovered more than 600 child sexual abuse images across Rice’s devices. Investigators also found that Rice used Reddit to connect with people with whom he traded abuse materials using encrypted messaging platforms. According to ICE, Rice began abusing his first victim when she "was less than 3 years old." He created photographic evidence of the abuse and also documented his abuse of another minor. In the statement, ICE HSI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy called the sentencing a "powerful reminder that those who exploit and abuse children will be relentlessly pursued and held accountable.". "There is no place in society for predators who create and distribute child sexual abuse material," said McCarthy. "These crimes shatter lives, and HSI will never waver in our mission to bring justice to victims by targeting those who commit these horrific acts.". Kelly Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, called Rice "a dangerous predator.". "This sentence reflects the gravity of exploiting the most vulnerable members of our communities," said Hayes. "We’re committed to working with our law-enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute those who sexually abuse children and participate in networks that perpetuate such exploitation." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [7/1/2025 12:10 PM, Kate Brumback, 56000K] reports an immigration judge in Georgia on Tuesday granted bond for a well-known Spanish-language journalist arrested while covering a protest last month, meaning he will be free as the government seeks to deport him from the United States. Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador, was arrested by local police on June 14 while covering a protest just outside Atlanta and was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement several days later. He has been held at an immigration detention center in Folkston — in southeast Georgia, near the Florida border — since then.MG News, a digital news outlet that Guevara started about a year ago, posted on social media Tuesday that a judge had granted him bond. Guevara, 47, fled El Salvador two decades ago and built a large following as a journalist covering immigration in the Atlanta area. He worked for Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language newspaper, for years before starting MG News. He was livestreaming video on social media from a DeKalb County rally protesting President Donald Trump’s administration when local police arrested him. "I’m a member of the media, officer," Guevara tells a police officer right before he’s arrested. The video shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with "PRESS" printed across his chest. Guevara’s video shows him standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him, right before he’s arrested. DeKalb County officials have said at least eight people were arrested during the demonstration, with police using tear gas to turn away protesters marching toward an interstate onramp. "At the time of his arrest, the video evidence shows Mr. Guevara generally in compliance and does not demonstrate the intent to disregard law enforcement directives," her office said in a news release. But Guevara had already been turned over to ICE by that point. Guevara’s attorney, Giovanni Diaz, has said Guevara isn’t a legal permanent resident but has authorization to work and remain in the United States. He has a pending green card application sponsored by his adult U.S. citizen son. The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with other journalism and press freedom organizations, on June 20 sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to express "alarm" about Guevara’s arrest. They requested that he be released on bond and that the deportation effort against him be dropped.

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AP [7/1/2025 2:05 PM, David Fischer and Freida Frisaro, 56000K] reports that as Florida law enforcement agencies work with federal immigration officials, family members and immigrants’ rights advocates worry that people will disappear into county jail systems despite the state’s expansive public record laws. Miami-Dade officials said during a Thursday commission meeting that they are committed to transparency and will continue to follow state laws regarding the release of information about inmates. But one section of an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement designates all records and information created under the agreement as federal records, and some observers say ICE would have the final say on what information is made public, including whether a person is even in custody. That could be a huge problem, said William Mann, an attorney with the Community Justice Project. “I think the concerns that many folks have would be that they (county officials) would use this language that’s in this basic ordering agreement ... to prevent loved ones, family members, friends, advocates and journalists from accessing information,” Mann said. “Meaning that they would disappear into the Miami-Dade system if they were technically an ICE prisoner.” ICE officials confirmed receipt of emails seeking comment on the issue, but did not offer any comment on the issue.

Detroit Free Press [7/1/2025 6:44 AM, Niraj Warikoo, 4241K] reports three people were arrested Monday, June 30, as federal immigration agents led an operation in Detroit to detain an immigrant from Honduras that drew loud protesters, some of whom tried to block a law enforcement truck, officials said. In addition to the immigrant who was arrested, two protesters were arrested as police used pepper spray at one point, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told the Free Press in a statement. The chaotic scenes Monday morning near the corner of Joy and Livernois on Detroit’s westside were seen in videos by activists posted on Instagram and described by law enforcement officials. Protesters showed up as federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and assisting officers surrounded a house, their rifles drawn, led by an agent with a shield. ICE accused the immigrant, Marcos Fabian Arita Bautista, of fleeing from them earlier. Agents then apprehended Bautista, described by ICE officials in a statement to the Free Press as an illegal alien from Honduras who had been removed twice from the U.S. Other agencies that helped with his arrest were: Border Patrol, which is part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Marshals, an ICE spokesman said. Detroit police and ICE both said in statements they will not tolerate people who try to disrupt immigration enforcement. A spokesman for ICE added that "Arita fled from ICE officers earlier (Monday) morning. Officers observed him enter a residence and received an urgent search warrant signed by a judge to search that residence for Arita. Arita was then taken into ICE custody.".

Chicago Tribune [7/1/2025 5:18 PM, Jake Sheridan and Nell Salzman, 3987K] reports aldermen tried Tuesday to send a clear message to Chicago police: Do not cooperate with President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. And several members of the City Council’s Immigration Committee left the marathon meeting frustrated, unable to get clear answers about the role of responding officers during a June 4 deportation raid where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents clashed with protesters and several aldermen. The committee ordered police, emergency dispatchers and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration to share more information about the incident, though it’s not clear what will come of their attempt to figure out what happened. During a nearly four-hour hearing, aldermen pressed the city to investigate how Chicago Police Department officers interacted with ICE that day, but police brass and other city leaders did not offer clear answers on how an investigation will move forward. Under city and state law, local law enforcement is prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration officers.

Univision [7/1/2025 2:05 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports that Faced with the intensification of actions against Mexican immigrants living in the United States illegally, the Mexican government is maintaining the mobile application "ConsulApp Contigo," which offers consular protection services. According to the Mexican government, the application, called "ConsulApp Contigo," has been downloaded nearly 300,000 times on mobile phones in the United States. According to a report published by Mexican media, the network of 53 Mexican consulates has handled more than 100,000 calls from Mexican immigrants seeking consular assistance through the application. The application was formally launched on the same day Donald Trump took office as president, on January 20. But given the intensification of arrests by immigration authorities, attention has focused on the resources immigrants have to defend themselves. Since its launch, Mexican consulates in the United States have launched an intensive campaign promoting the app. Administration officials have said they are seeking to reach 3,000 arrests per day for deportation purposes. Although the administration has said it seeks to arrest immigrants with criminal records, many of those arrested have no criminal history, according to reports. But the figures are unclear, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not released regularly updated data, as it did under previous administrations.

Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 4:35 PM, Emily Hallas, 1934K] reports California Republicans called on President Donald Trump to scale back Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting illegal immigrants without criminal records who are working in industries heavily reliant on migrant labor. Although Trump has expressed sympathy for industries such as the hospitality and farming sectors that have been hard hit by ICE raids targeting illegal immigrant laborers, immigration enforcement operations have continued in California, which is the country’s largest agricultural base. While the White House appeared to temporarily rescind orders for ICE to target such workers for deportation last month, raids picked up again days later amid the Trump administration’s vow to eliminate "safe spaces for industries who … purposely try to undermine ICE’s effort." Six Republicans in the California legislature have responded to ICE’s activity with a letter to Trump calling for federal agents to scale back raids targeting nonviolent illegal immigrants. Additionally, the GOP lawmakers requested modernizations to the system that allows noncriminal illegal immigrants "with longstanding ties to our communities" a path toward legal status while calling on the White House to prioritize immigration reform that would make it easier for people to enter the country legally under federal guest worker programs. Their letter comes as protests against ICE in California turned into riots in Los Angeles last month, leading Trump to authorize the deployment of thousands of National Guard members and Marines into the city to quell violence.

NBC News [7/1/2025 9:06 AM, Eric Leonard, 44540K] reports new guidelines direct LAPD officers dispatched to reports of federal immigration enforcement incidents to keep the peace, try to verify the identities of people making arrests, and document the events on body-worn video if those claiming to be federal agents refuse to cooperate. The instructions were issued in recent days following numerous citizen reports of "attempted kidnappings," when federal agents, who are often wearing face coverings, dressed in street clothes and driving unmarked vehicles, attempt to detain people on the street or in businesses. "In some cases, agents have reportedly refused to identify themselves, resulting in confusion, calls for service, and tensions between the public and law enforcement," the notice to officers said, according to law enforcement contacts. The new directive said officers should only take actions to safeguard lives and property, and remain separated from immigration actions. It said officers should try to de-escalate tensions at scenes, provide clear information to any community members present and take crime reports for kidnapping or false imprisonment if agents "have failed to identify themselves after a verification attempt." The instructions said field supervisors should be sent to the scenes, command staff should be notified and a report should be made to the Department’s immigration point-person.

Univision [7/1/2025 3:09 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports a viral video shows federal agents repeatedly beating a man with a baton and subduing him during an apparent broad-daylight immigration enforcement operation. The incident occurred after officers detained a suspected immigrant in the middle of the street, and as he was forcefully subdued, witnesses confronted the masked men who were arresting him. The incident occurred on Sunday around 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of Warner Avenue and Main Street, very close to where Narciso Barranco, a landscaper and father, was arrested and beaten several times during another immigration operation.

AP [7/2/2025 12:09 AM, Jaimie Ding, 31733K] reports that, at a federal immigration building in downtown Los Angeles guarded by U.S. Marines, daughters, sons, aunts, nieces and others make their way to an underground garage and line up at a door with a buzzer at the end of a dirty, dark stairwell. It’s here where families, some with lawyers, come to find their loved ones after they’ve been arrested by federal immigration agents. For immigrants without legal status who are detained in this part of Southern California, their first stop is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in the basement of the federal building. Officers verify their identity and obtain their biometrics before transferring them to detention facilities. Upstairs, immigrants line up around the block for other services, including for green cards and asylum applications. On a recent day, dozens of people arrived with medication, clothing and hope of seeing their loved one, if only briefly. After hours of waiting, many were turned away with no news, not even confirmation that their relative was inside. Some relayed reports of horrific conditions inside, including inmates who are so thirsty that they have been drinking from the toilets. ICE did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Just two weeks ago, protesters marched around the federal complex following aggressive raids in Los Angeles that began June 6 and have not stopped. Scrawled expletives about President Donald Trump still mark the complex’s walls. Those arrested are from a variety of countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, India, Iran, China and Laos. About a third of the county’s 10 million residents are foreign-born. Around 8 a.m., when attorney visits begin, a few lawyers buzz the basement door called “B-18" as families wait anxiously outside to hear any inkling of information. Many families learned about the arrests from videos circulating on social media showing masked officers in parking lots at Home Depots, at car washes and in front of taco stands.

The Hill [7/1/2025 1:14 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 18649K] reports that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has laid out new guidelines encouraging its attorneys to seek to strip U.S. citizenship from those who have naturalized if they have committed various crimes. The June 11 memo tells attorneys in the Civil Division to move to strip citizenship from immigrants if they pose a threat to national security or gained the status through fraud by failing to acknowledge past crimes. But the memo lists a number of other qualifying crimes, adding that attorneys can prioritize denaturalization even for those who are facing "pending criminal charges" that have not yet secured a conviction. It recommends denaturalization for those "who pose a potential danger to national security, including those with a nexus to terrorism" or who "committed felonies that were not disclosed during the naturalization process" or otherwise made "material misrepresentations." It also notes the memo is not intended to place any limits on denaturalization efforts, saying its attorneys can also take up "any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue." "The provision is so vague that it would permit the Division to denaturalize for just about anything. It could be something prior to or following naturalization. Given the other priorities discussed in the memo, it could be exercising First Amendment rights or encouraging diversity in hiring, now recast as fraud against the United States. Troublesome journalists who are naturalized citizens? Students? University professors? Infectious disease doctors who try to reveal the truth about epidemics? Lawyers?" Joyce Vance, a law professor and former U.S. attorney appointed by former President Obama, wrote on her blog.

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AP [7/1/2025 5:08 PM, Alanna Durkin Richer, 56000K] reports the Justice Department is ramping up its plans to revoke the citizenship of immigrants who’ve committed crimes or pose a national security risk, according to a recent memo underscoring the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda. Efforts to identity and go after those suspected of cheating to get their citizenship are not new to this administration. But the public push is raising concerns from advocates, who have accused the administration of trying to use immigration enforcement for political purposes.

Daily Caller [7/1/2025 2:20 PM, Katelynn Richardson, 1010K] reports that President Donald Trump has a solid group of constitutional scholars in his corner ready to back his birthright citizenship ban — but how it all shakes out when the Supreme Court finally confronts the question is anybody’s guess. In a 6-3 ruling on Friday, the justices limited the authority of district court judges to issue nationwide injunctions without addressing the birthright citizenship issue. The question will almost certainly return to the high court for a ruling on the merits after making its way through the lower courts. “In essence, if they stick to the law, Trump will win,” Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If they allow politics to influence their decision, he will lose.” Trump’s order ends guaranteed citizenship for children of illegal aliens or migrants on temporary visas. The order says there is a category of people — including illegal migrants — that are born in the United States but not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Between 225,000 and 250,000 children were born in the U.S. to illegal migrant parents in 2023, along with 70,000 born to temporary visitors, according to estimates from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Migrant encounters at the border reached record highs under the Biden administration, hitting 3.2 million in the 2023 fiscal year and 2.9 million in 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Bloomberg [7/1/2025 12:47 PM, Erik Larson, 1707K] reports that the US Justice Department told a skeptical judge that the government won’t apply President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship to affected immigrants before July 27, when the US Supreme Court’s 30-day pause on the directive expires. Government lawyer Brad Rosenberg made the pledge in a filing Tuesday with US District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland. She’d requested written assurances after expressing concern about the potential for child deportations under the executive order during the 30-day window. Trump’s order, part of a broad crackdown on immigration, aims to restrict citizenship to babies with at least one parent who is a US citizen or green card holder, meaning that even the newborn children of people on temporary visas wouldn’t become Americans. Boardman indicated during a Monday hearing that the written assurance may prevent the need for a short-term temporary restraining order against Trump’s directive, requested by immigrant-rights groups. They argued in court filings that newborn babies would be at risk of potential deportation and separation from family members without such an order. The groups are also seeking a longer lasting preliminary injunction that would put Trump’s order on hold during the lawsuit, which the judge is expected to rule on later this month.

AP [7/1/2025 6:24 PM, Mingson Lau, 56000K] Video: HERE reports the Supreme Court ruled that federal judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions, but the decision has left unclear whether President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship could take effect in parts of the country.

Washington Post [7/1/2025 9:54 AM, Andrew Jeong and Victoria Bisset, 32099K] reports the U.S. State Department revoked visas to the United States for the British rap-punk duo Bob Vylan, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Monday, after the group’s lead singer chanted, “Death, death to the IDF,” referring to the Israeli military, at a musical festival over the weekend. “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Landau said in a post on X. The rappers were scheduled to tour the U.S. in October and November, including a stop in D.C. on Nov. 9. Pascal Robinson-Foster, who goes by the stage name Bobby Vylan and performs with his bandmate, Bobbie Vylan, made the remarks Saturday at the Glastonbury music festival in Somerset, England, an event famous for performers engaging in political activism. After telling spectators that the war in Gaza is a tragedy, Bobby Vylan led the audience into chants of "Free, free Palestine." Bobby Vylan then asked, "Have you heard this one, though?" and said, "Death, death to the IDF," which the crowd repeated. The remarks drew criticism from organizers of the music festival, who said they were "appalled" and that the words "crossed a line.".

The Hill [7/1/2025 12:25 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports that the punk rock duo Bob Vylan said Tuesday its members’ U.S. visas were revoked over their comments against the war in Gaza. Over the weekend, the duo chanted "death to IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, at Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. "We are being targeted for speaking up. We are not the first. We will not be the last," lead singer Bobby Vylan wrote in a post on social platform X. "And if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too," he added. "Free Palestine." The Israeli Embassy and others have criticized the band for its remarks and condemned its statements, which were aired on the BBC. "The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves," BBC said in a statement about the duo’s remarks. "In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air," they added. However, the band rejected claims that it is antisemitic or prejudiced toward Jewish people. "We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use ‘unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza," Vylan said in the Tuesday post.

ABC News [7/1/2025 7:32 PM, Nadine El-Bawab, 31733K] reports the federal government attempted to deport a stateless Palestinian woman on Monday for the second time, despite a court order barring her removal from a Texas district, according to court documents. The attempted deportation also came just days after the first stage of her green card application was approved, her husband Taahir Shaikh told ABC News, opening up a potential pathway for her to obtain permanent residency. Ward Sakeik -- a 22-year-old who is married to a U.S. citizen -- was detained by the government in February on her way home from her honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sakeik’s family is from Gaza, but she is legally stateless and has lived in the U.S. since she was 8 years old. Her family had traveled to the U.S. on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, according to Shaikh. Sakeik was issued a deportation order more than a decade ago after her asylum case was denied, but she was permitted to stay in the U.S. under what’s known as an "order of supervision," in which she was given a work permit and regularly checks in with federal immigration authorities, according to her attorney and her husband. After being detained in February, the government attempted to deport her once before. But last month, after that attempt, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in the Northern District of Dallas issued an order on June 22 barring the government from deporting Sakeik or removing her from the Texas district where she is being held as her legal case plays out. However, Sakeik told her attorney that she was awakened early Monday by an officer who told her that "she had to leave" and that she was being removed from Prairieland Detention Facility outside Dallas, Sakeik’s attorney Eric Lee wrote in a court filing on Monday. "Sakeik informed me that when she arrived at intake, her belongings had been placed outside the door" and buses "were waiting outside to take her away," Lee wrote. "She was informed by officers that her departure from the facility was imminent.". Sakeik told Lee that she attempted to tell at least one officer about the judge’s order barring the government from moving her out of the Northern District of Texas but was told "it’s not up to me," according to court documents filed by her attorneys. ICE officers told Sakeik’s attorney that she would be placed on a flight scheduled to depart the facility but Sakeik and her attorneys were not informed where she was being taken, according to court documents. Asked about the attempt to remove Sakeik on Monday, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told ABC News again that she is in the country "illegally," sending ABC News the same statement it provided about her case last month. That statement read, in part, "The arrest of Ward Sakeik was not part of a targeted operation by ICE. She chose to leave the country and was then flagged by [Customs and Border Patrol] trying to reenter the U.S.," Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. When ABC News asked if the government’s stance was that travel to the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory, constitutes someone choosing to "leave the country," DHS provided an updated statement. "She chose to fly over international waters and outside the U.S. customs zone and was then flagged by CBP trying to reenter the continental U.S.," McLaughlin said in a second statement. "She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade," McLaughlin said in the statement. "President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S.". DHS did not acknowledge the judge’s order barring Sakeik’s removal from Texas or that she was previously under an order of supervision.

New York Post [7/1/2025 6:10 PM, Kevin Sheehan and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, 49956K] reports a Big Apple driving school paid off DMV examiners to fraudulently fast-track driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants — even if they had no clue how to drive, Staten Island prosecutors said Tuesday. T&E Driving School in Queens took cash from Chinese immigrants — many of whom didn’t even speak English — and paid off a crew of Department of Motor Vehicles employees on Staten Island to illegally obtain driver’s licenses, District Attorney Michael McMahon said at a press conference. The crackdown, dubbed Operation Road Test, took down the ring in a joint investigation with state investigators and the US Department of Homeland Security, prosecutors said. McMahon said the scam extends beyond the seven named indictments, with two dozen suspects in custody and another indicted DMV employee not identified in the 49-page document. The defendants were arraigned on a slew of fraud, tampering and theft charges and were released — the charges are not eligible for bail under the state’s controversial 2019 criminal justice reforms. However, they were ordered to surrender their passports.

CBS News [7/1/2025 8:30 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 51860K] reports the number of migrants caught crossing the southern border illegally set a new historic monthly low in June, continuing an extraordinary lull in illegal immigration the Trump administration has attributed to its aggressive deportation efforts, preliminary government data obtained by CBS News shows. Last month, Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border recorded just over 6,000 apprehensions of migrants who entered the country without authorization, the lowest monthly tally ever reported by the agency, according to the preliminary Customs and Border Protection data. The previous monthly low reported by Border Patrol was in March, when the agency recorded around 7,200 migrant apprehensions. The numbers stand in stark contrast to the record levels of apprehensions made by Border Patrol under the Biden administration, which faced a humanitarian, political and operational crisis of unprecedented proportions at the southern border until it implemented restrictive asylum measures last year. During many months of former President Joe Biden’s tenure, Border Patrol recorded more than 6,000 apprehensions each day. At their peak in late 2023, daily illegal crossings at the southern border topped 10,000 on some days. Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, confirmed the roughly 6,000 Border Patrol apprehensions recorded in June. He added that Border Patrol did not release a single migrant for a second consecutive month. During some months under the Biden administration, tens of thousands of migrants were released into the U.S. with instructions to show up in immigration court to plead their cases. "We have never seen numbers this low. Never," Homan wrote on X. While Border Patrol has not publicly reported monthly apprehension data before fiscal year 2000, the last time the agency averaged close to 6,000 migrant interdictions per month over a year was in the late 1960s, historical figures indicate.

New York Post [7/1/2025 10:41 PM, Victor Nava, 49956K] reports federal authorities encountered fewer migrants attempting to illegally enter the US last month than what officials faced daily during the Biden administration, border czar Tom Homan revealed Tuesday. “Total Border Patrol encounters for the entire month of June 2025 was 6,070,” according to Homan, who noted in an X post that the figure is “less than a single day under Biden.” “As a matter of fact, the total number of encounters is less than half of a single day under Biden on many days,” the Trump administration official said, adding that “none of the 6,070 were released into the US. ZERO.” The total released by Homan marks a 93.1% drop in nationwide Border Patrol encounters from June 2024, when 87,606 migrants were nabbed trying to enter the country illegally. It’s also a 94% and 97% decline from June 2023 and June 2022, when, respectively, 100,606 and 193,027 migrants were encountered by Border Patrol. In June 2022, the average daily total of migrant encounters was about 6,434 per day. Last month, Border Patrol reported encountering just over 10,000 migrants nationwide. Homan attributed the massive reduction in border-crossings to President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, calling it, “The Trump Effect.” “President Trump has created the most secure border in the history of the nation and the data proves it,” the border czar asserted. “We have never seen numbers this low. Never.” “God bless the men and women of the US Border Patrol and God bless the men and women of ICE,” Homan continued. “The interior arrests and consequences help to drive down illegal immigration.” “The TRUMP EFFECT keeps America winning.”

Just the News [7/1/2025 3:30 PM, Staff] reports Tricia McLaughlin, the Assistant DHS Secretary for Public Affairs, discusses the latest developments in border security with guest host Ben Whedon on this episode of the podcast. Tricia shares insights on the significant drop in ‘gotaways’ and the administration’s plans to further tighten border control through legislation. She explains the importance of physical barriers, the role of technology, and the strategies for deportations and self-deportations. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

FOX Business [7/1/2025 5:58 PM, Staff, 9940K] Video: HERE reports National Border Patrol Council president Paul Perez assesses immigration officials of former President Joe Biden’s administration, assaults on I.C.E. agents and more on ‘The Evening Edit.’

FOX News [7/2/2025 4:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 46878K] reports the Department of Homeland Security is pulling back the curtain on widespread abuse and exploitation of unaccompanied minors who crossed the U.S. border during the last administration and were placed with unvetted sponsors. DHS launched a national child welfare initiative in February to identify and locate at-risk kids who may have been placed with improperly vetted or unvetted sponsors — some of whom had been paid off by smugglers — when they came to the United States. "Children’s safety and security is non-negotiable," ICE spokesperson Laszlo Baksay said in a statement. "The previous administration’s failure to implement meaningful safeguards has allowed vulnerable kids to fall into the hands of criminals. Our special agents are working tirelessly to locate these alien children, ensure their protection, and hold accountable those who have abused the system." DHS added that since the agency launched its child welfare initiative, officials have discovered sponsors in possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), sponsors who forced minors into labor, and sponsors who subjected children to neglectful living conditions. In addition, officials also traced the records of sponsors previously convicted of serious crimes ranging from hit-and-runs and attempted murder to prostitution and drug trafficking. In some of "the most disturbing cases," sponsors falsely claiming to be the family members of unaccompanied minor girls impregnated those girls when they were placed in their sponsors’ care, according to DHS and Chris Clem, former U.S. Border Patrol chief at the Yuma, Arizona, sector. Clem helped advise the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services Department on solutions for unaccompanied minors during the president’s first 100 days in office. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [7/1/2025 4:32 PM, Holly Ramer, 56000K] reports that a woman charged in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont wants to delay the government’s decision on whether to seek the death penalty by at least six months. Teresa Youngblut, of Washington state, is part of a cultlike group known as Zizians that has been connected to six killings in three states. She’s accused of firing at agent David Maland during a traffic stop on Jan. 20, the same day President Donald Trump was inaugurated and signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions. Attorney General Pam Bondi later cited Maland’s death in directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of law enforcement officers unless they find significant mitigating circumstances. But Youngblut’s lawyers argue the government has set a “radically inadequate” and “extraordinarily rushed” timeline for that determination. In a motion filed late Monday, Assistant Federal Public Defenders Steven Barth and Julie Stelzig said the government has set a July 28 deadline for them to explain why the death penalty should not be sought, even though Youngblut has yet to be charged with a crime eligible for such punishment. For now, she’s charged only with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. And even if a new indictment is imminent, she would only have a few weeks to submit evidence to the committee of lawyers that advises the attorney general on capital cases, her lawyers noted.

FOX News [7/1/2025 8:59 PM, Staff, 46878K] Video: HERE reports Nogales residents share insights on Trump’s border policies affecting crime and security, noting reduced drug trafficking and fewer deportations than expected.

Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 11:23 AM, Maydeen Merino, 1934K] reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it will discontinue an essential weather data program used by the military at the end of the month. NOAA officials said last week that they would discontinue the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program by the end of June. The Defense Department has used the program for over five decades to provide weather data for its military operations. However, NOAA announced Monday that it would delay the termination of the program until July 31, after a NASA official requested the postponement. The initial decision to discontinue the program was due to a "cybersecurity risk," according to NOAA. "On June 30th, [Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center] had planned to decommission the [Defense Meteorological Satellite Program] ingest system in Monterey to mitigate a significant cybersecurity risk to the High-Performance Computing environment," the Monday notice reads. "However, late on Friday, June 27th, CNMOC received a request from Dr. Germain with NASA to postpone the removal and to continue processing and distributing DMSP data through July 31st," it adds.

USA Today [7/1/2025 1:03 PM, Dinah Voyles Pulver, 75552K] reports that a new budget document from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spells out in detail what many scientists and researchers both in and out of the federal government have feared since a White House budget proposal in the spring. If approved by Congress, it would reduce NOAA’s expenses by 30%, roughly $2 billion, and the 12,000-member staff by 18%. It would eliminate the agency’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and zero out funding for its climate, weather and ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes, which work to improve forecasting and better understand weather patterns and the ocean. That includes an office that helps support the pioneering carbon monoxide monitoring on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, and another that supports the National Sea Grant program and its aquaculture research. Sea Grant is a 50-year-old federal university partnership that assists coastal communities and local economies with understanding, conserving and using coastal resources. It’s clear the administration intends to have NOAA "completely abandon climate science," Alan Gerard, who retired earlier this year from the National Severe Storms Laboratory, one of the labs proposed for elimination, wrote in a June 30 Substack post.

USA Today [7/1/2025 7:50 AM, Gabe Hauari, 75552K] reports Hurricane Flossie has formed in the Eastern Pacific and continues to strengthen off the coast of southwestern Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane center forecasters said early Tuesday morning, July 1, Flossie is located about 155 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico with maximum sustained winds near 85 mph with higher gusts, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The hurricane center forecasts "steady to rapid strengthening" during the next day or so, with weakening starting by late Wednesday. Flossie is forecast to move farther away from southwestern Mexico Tuesday, the NHC said, however is still expected to produce rainfall totals between 2 to 6 inches across portions of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco through Wednesday, which could lead to life-threatening flooding and mudslides. Additionally, swells generated by Flossie are expected to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions off the coast of southwestern Mexico, the hurricane center said.

FOX News [7/1/2025 6:48 PM, Jasmine Baehr and Liz Friden, 46878K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved the release of 150 California National Guard troops from a federal security mission in Los Angeles, freeing them up for wildfire duty just as the state enters peak fire season. The decision came at the recommendation of Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, who oversees the mission. In a statement provided to Fox News, a USNORTHCOM spokesperson said, "Task Force 51 will release approximately 150 members of the California National Guard from the Federal Protection mission today," adding that the force remains "appropriately sourced.". The move comes days after Guillot reportedly requested the return of 200 troops to help with wildfire containment, The Associated Press reported. The National Guard’s elite Joint Task Force Rattlesnake has been stretched thin since President Donald Trump deployed roughly 4,000 California National Guard troops and 800 Marines to Los Angeles in early June in response to violent protests over immigration enforcement actions. The deployment sparked controversy among state political leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who criticized the move for pulling essential firefighting resources during one of the driest years on record. But the Pentagon held firm, until now. Task Force 51 (TF-51), led by Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman, is tasked with protecting federal personnel and property. The New York Times [7/1/2025 6:27 PM, Shawn Hubler and Laurel Rosenhall, 138952K] reports that after a series of immigration raids in early June drew protests, the Republican president federalized about 4,000 members of the California National Guard without the permission of the Democratic governor, a high-profile critic, and dispatched more than 700 active-duty Marines to the region. Since then, most have been consigned to a large tent city erected near Long Beach, Calif., on a military base in the Los Angeles suburb of Los Alamitos, with troops either accompanying immigration enforcement agents as backup or guarding federal facilities. The governor has called on Mr. Trump to end the entire mission, and the state has taken legal action against the administration, saying that the deployment has misused thousands of emergency personnel, law enforcement officers, teachers and other critical workers who are needed in other capacities, both in the labor force and by the California National Guard. State data shared by Mr. Newsom’s office indicate that the troops now on federal duty in the Los Angeles area include 385 medical workers, 355 law enforcement and corrections officials, 158 civil servants, 170 tech workers, 158 teachers, 370 service workers, 97 agriculture workers and 361 people in the building trades. Federal officials have said the troops are necessary to ensure the safety of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who have been ordered to round up and deport people who are in the United States without authorization. Homeland Security officials said last month that the troops were accompanying federal enforcement officers on raids in Southern California; social media posts by the administration have shown a few troops providing security for immigration agents at any given time.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [7/1/2025 8:36 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 18649K]

Washington Post [7/1/2025 3:00 PM, Meagan Flynn, Erin Cox, Perry Stein, and Laura Vozzella, 32099K] reports that the Trump administration is preparing to announce its strategy for keeping the FBI headquarters in downtown D.C. and thwarting earlier plans to move the nation’s primary law enforcement agency to a Maryland suburb, according to three people briefed on the new move. The FBI would leave its current headquarters in the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building to occupy real estate three blocks west in the sprawling Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, home to the now-shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters, private tenants, a conference center and event space that has hosted weddings. The timing of the relocation, how the building would be secured for sensitive FBI work, and what would be displaced in the move was not immediately clear, according to the people. The pending announcement marks the first details concerning President Donald Trump’s long-standing plans to stop an FBI move to D.C.’s suburbs, which have been jockeying for more than a decade to win the new headquarters and the billions of dollars in economic development such a move would bring.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [7/1/2025 6:17 PM, Adam Goldman, 138952K]
Politico [7/1/2025 5:51 PM, Aaron Pellish, 2100K]

Boston.com [7/1/2025 2:53 PM, Abby Patkin, 2808K] reports a Cape Cod man was indicted on a child pornography charge Friday after authorities allege he posed as a 15-year-old boy to solicit explicit material from a teen girl in Wisconsin. Patrick Doran, 29, of Hyannis, was working as a deputy sheriff in Dukes County when he was initially arrested on similar charges out of Wisconsin in February, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. The Dukes County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for clarification regarding Doran’s employment, but The Cape Cod Times reported Doran parted ways with the office March 1. He pleaded not guilty Monday to possessing child pornography and was released on $5,000 cash bail. Barnstable police and members of the U.S. Secret Service New England Cyber Fraud Task Force executed a search warrant at Doran’s home in Hyannis in February, seizing his electronics and taking him into custody on an arrest warrant out of Wisconsin. Prosecutors allege Doran’s cellphone contained approximately 1,188 files depicting child sexual abuse materials, as well as many of the photographs and materials sent to the Wisconsin teen. Court records in that state indicate Doran is facing charges of soliciting intimate representation from a minor; exposing a child to harmful material; and exposing genitals, pubic area, or intimate parts to a child. He posted $75,000 cash bond in the Wisconsin case, and his next court date there is Aug. 7. Doran is due back in Barnstable Superior Court July 17 for a pretrial hearing.

UPI [7/1/2025 8:38 PM, Sheri Walsh, 3805K] reports just days before the Fourth of July and a long weekend of summer water activities, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Tuesday that there were fewer boating deaths last year than any year in more than five decades. In 2024, there were 556 boating-related fatalities in the United States. That is down 1.4% from 2023, according to the USCG accident statistics report. Most of the fatalities were caused by operator error, or boaters who had not been properly trained on the rules of water safety. The other leading cause of boating deaths was alcohol. "Boating under the influence is not only illegal but it is also dangerous," said Coast Guard Capt. Robert Compher, inspections and compliance director. "The effects of alcohol can be magnified when boating in the sun and on a moving vessel," he said. "Staying sober protects you and those around you.". While there were fewer boating deaths last year, the number of boating incidents was up 1.1% to 3,887 and injuries increased 2.1% to 2,170. Alcohol accounted for 92 deaths, or 20% of the fatalities. Roughly 70% of the deaths occurred on motorboats operated by untrained or inattentive individuals, according to the Coast Guard. Shortly after the Safe Boating Act was enacted in 1971, the number of boating deaths was 20.6 per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. Last year, that number was 4.8 deaths per 100,000, proving that increased safety requirements have paid off. Despite fewer deaths last year on boats, there was an increase in deaths on standup paddle boards. Most of the deaths were due to drowning with 87% of the victims not wearing life jackets, according to the USCG.

AP [7/1/2025 10:13 PM, Matthew Lee, 24051K] reports the United States. Australia, India and Japan have agreed to expand their cooperation on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and further collaborate on supplies of critical minerals and rare earths that are key components of high-tech production. The foreign ministers of the four countries, known as the "Quad," met in Washington on Tuesday as the Trump administration seeks to expand U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific to compete with a rising China amid tensions with partners over trade and defense issues. In a joint meeting with his three colleagues, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Quad must be a "vehicle for action" that goes beyond statements of intent and stressed that commerce and trade will be critical to ensuring the group’s relevance in the future. To that end, the four announced in a statement the creation of a "Quad Critical Minerals Initiative" that aims "to strengthen economic security and collective resilience by collaborating on securing and diversifying critical mineral supply chains." The statement did not provide details of the initiative. "We are deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals," they said. "This includes the use of non-market policies and practices for critical minerals, certain derivative products, and mineral processing technology.". The statement did not mention China by name, but Chinese domination of the critical minerals supply chain has long been a concern of the U.S. and others. The ministers expressed specific concern about rising tensions in the East and South China Seas, where Beijing has become increasingly assertive of maritime and territorial claims that are rejected by its smaller neighbors. "We reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," they said. "We express our serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions, including interference with offshore resource development, the repeated obstruction of the freedoms of navigation and overflight, and the dangerous maneuvers by military aircraft and coast guard and maritime militia vessels, especially the unsafe use of water cannons and ramming or blocking actions in the South China Sea.".

DVIDS [7/1/2025 12:56 PM, Staff, 988K] reports that the Coast Guard has temporarily relieved Chief Warrant Officer Ethan Elam, commanding officer of Station Chicago, Tuesday. Rear Adm. Jon Hickey, commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, relieved Elam due to a loss of confidence in his ability to execute the responsibilities of a commanding officer following the completion of a thorough investigation. "The responsibility of the commanding officer is absolute and they are accountable for the operations, safety, administration, stewardship, efficiency and well-being of the unit and its crew," said Hickey. Chief Warrant Officer Nathaniel Fraze has temporarily assumed command of Station Chicago. The station remains fully operational and there is no degradation to mission success or capabilities. Station Chicago is located in Chicago, and responds to search and rescue situations, conducts maritime law enforcement operations and supports major marine events year-round. Its primary operating area is from Chicago to Gary, Indiana, on Lake Michigan and covers additional portions of the connected river systems. The station is designated the parent command of Forward Operating Location DuSable Harbor, located at the Chicago Maritime Safety Station.

USA Today [7/1/2025 2:24 PM, James Powel, 75552K] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard rescued three people, including an 8-year-old child, from a life raft after their sailing vessel became partially submerged near Plana Cays, Bahamas, the Guard said in a June 30 statement. Video shows the Guardsmen of the Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew reach the family at around 7 a.m. June 30 after a Good Samaritan called the Guard around midnight. The Guard said that no injuries were reported and that the family had been taken to Bahamian authorities in Great Inagua. The owner of the boat is coordinating the vessel’s recovery with commercial salvage, according to the statement. "Our aircrews train very hard for moments like this, and we are thankful to have played a role in the safe rescue of this family," Lt. Andrew Boyle, a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater Jayhawk aircraft commander, said in the statement. Boyle urged mariners to keep a radio and an emergency distress beacon when on the water saying, "it could help save their lives." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [7/1/2025 12:54 PM, David Klepper, 56000K] reports that Pro-Iran hackers have threatened to release emails supposedly stolen from people connected to President Donald Trump, according to a news report, a move that federal authorities call a “calculated smear campaign.” The United States has warned of continued Iranian cyberattacks following American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the threats those could pose to services, economic systems and companies. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said late Monday that the threat to expose emails about Trump is “nothing more than digital propaganda” meant to damage Trump and other federal officials. “A hostile foreign adversary is threatening to illegally exploit purportedly stolen and unverified material in an effort to distract, discredit, and divide,” CISA spokeswoman Marci McCarthy wrote in a social media post, linking to a report from Reuters about the threat. “These criminals will be found, and they will be brought to justice.” Reuters reported that it contacted the alleged hackers online. They told the news organization that it held a large cache of emails from Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles, other top advisers and porn actor Stormy Daniels, to whom a hush money payment led to Trump’s criminal conviction. Federal prosecutors charged three Iranians last year on allegations of hacking into Trump’s presidential campaign. Hackers also targeted the campaign of Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and unsuccessfully tried to leak material supposedly taken from Trump to Democrats and members of the media.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [7/1/2025 12:11 PM, Julia Shapero, 18649K]
FOX News [7/1/2025 11:24 AM, Morgan Phillips, 46878K]
Washington Examiner [7/1/2025 1:28 PM, David Zimmermann, 1934K]

Federal News Network [7/1/2025 12:47 PM, Terry Gerton, 2346K] reports that Guest: Townsend Bourne. Title: Partner in the Governmental Practice in Shepherd Mullin’s Washington, D.C. office. Summary: The latest cybersecurity order sets some new standards and direction, but it also goes back and makes changes to Biden-era executive orders. If you didn’t take a red pen to the previous versions, you might miss some of the important details. Fortunately, my next guest did do the markup. Townsend Bourne: Thank you, yes. So this executive order, as you mentioned, we’ve had some time to digest it. We’ve been through the different sections. As I mentioned in the article that our team wrote, this executive that came out on June 6 by itself doesn’t impose any particular new requirements, but it includes deletions and updates to prior executive orders. So what our team did was basically redline a Biden executive order that came out in January that’s now being amended by this new executive order. By doing that, we’re able to see exactly what’s deleted, what’s updated, what’s been added. Here we’ve got a new policy statement from the Trump administration on an approach to cybersecurity. As you can imagine, it does point out some of the key cybersecurity risks as they see it — some of the countries that are the largest threats to the U.S. right now in terms of cyber. I’d say kind of the new overarching policy statement, some of the cuts are fairly significant. I think we’ll probably go into a little more detail on those, but the one I see as probably most significant for federal government contractors relates to requirements for third-party software security and what that means for contractors in terms of meeting particular security requirements and attesting to compliance with those particular security requirements. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CyberScoop [7/1/2025 3:15 PM, Matt Kapko] reports federal authorities levied sanctions Tuesday on Aeza Group, a bulletproof hosting service provider based in Russia, for allegedly supporting a broad swath of ransomware, malware and infostealer operators. Aeza Group has provided servers and specialized infrastructure to the Meduza, RedLine and Lumma infostealer operators, BianLian ransomware and BlackSprut, a Russian marketplace for illicit drugs, according to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Lumma infected about 10 million systems before it was dismantled through a coordinated global takedown in May. The Treasury Department’s action against Aeza Group follows a wave of cybercrime crackdowns across the globe. Prolific cybercriminals have been arrested, and infostealers, malware loaders, counter antivirus and crypting services, cybercrime marketplaces, ransomware infrastructure and DDoS-for-hire operations have all been seized, taken offline or severely disrupted by global coordinated campaigns since May. Officials accused Aeza Group of helping cybercriminals target U.S. defense companies and technology vendors. “Cybercriminals continue to rely heavily on bulletproof hosting service providers like Aeza Group to facilitate disruptive ransomware attacks, steal U.S. technology and sell black-market drugs,” Bradley T. Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. The Treasury Department sanctioned four people for their involvement in Aeza Group, including two part owners — Asenii Aleksandrovich Penzev and Yurii Meruzhanovich Bozoyan — who were previously arrested by Russian law enforcement for their alleged involvement in BlackSprut, authorities said. Igor Anatolyevich Knyazev, another part owner of Aeza Group, and Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Gast were also sanctioned for their leadership positions in the criminal enterprise.

DefenseScoop [7/1/2025 1:15 PM, Mark Pomerleau, 150K] reports U.S. Cyber Command is requesting a hefty increase of funds compared to previous plans to support Indo-Pacific Command’s network sensing and defense, data feeds and analytic resources, among other capabilities, according to newly released fiscal 2026 budget documents. The command’s research-and-development budget proposal includes $117.2 million under a portfolio called “Data and Sensors.” In last year’s budget release, the command anticipated spending just $20.8 million in FY26 in the future years defense program for that same portfolio. The fiscal 2025 request for the portfolio was $21 million. According to budget justification documents, the increased funding would go toward cyber mission monitoring capabilities for the Department of Defense Information Network and expand operational technology asset installation at other Indo-Pacom defense critical infrastructure networks and systems. Moreover, the budget activity continues whole-of-government collaboration and coordination for sensor deployment, data sharing and lessons learned, and includes an expanded submarine cable landing monitoring capability, sensor placement in key networks and maintenance of automated alert capabilities to operators. The documents also note that beginning in fiscal 2024 the DOD added funds within the portfolio for Indo-Pacom’s regional component of the National Defense Strategy to maintain and restore a comparative military advantage. Cybercom added resources and man power to support the maturation and fielding of monitoring capabilities to hunt and trap adversaries across the DODIN’s priority edge devices and procure new hardware. The portfolio’s enhanced sensing efforts are part of the larger Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a key effort to provide funding carveouts for Indo-Pacom to bolster its posture relative to China, and expand low-level network sensing and defense for key networks in the region, the documents state.

FOX News [7/1/2025 10:00 AM, Kurt Knutsson, 46878K] reports that bad actors constantly seek every bit of personal information they can get, from your phone number to your government ID. Now, a new threat targets both Android and iPhone users: SparkKitty, a powerful mobile malware strain that scans private photos to steal cryptocurrency recovery phrases and other sensitive data. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recently identified SparkKitty. This malware appears to succeed SparkCat, a campaign first reported earlier this year that used optical character recognition (OCR) to extract sensitive data from images, including crypto recovery phrases. SparkKitty goes even further than SparkCat. According to Kaspersky, SparkKitty uploads images from infected phones without discrimination. This tactic exposes not just wallet data but also any personal or sensitive photos stored on the device. While the main target seems to be crypto seed phrases, criminals could use other images for extortion or malicious purposes. Kaspersky researchers report that SparkKitty has operated since at least February 2024. Attackers distributed it through both official and unofficial channels, including Google Play and the Apple App Store. [Editorial note: consout video at source link]

New York Times [7/1/2025 5:43 PM, Sharon Otterman, 138952K] reports the cyberattack that caused a widespread shutdown of Columbia University’s computer systems last week appears to be the work of a “hacktivist” — a hacker who also stole student data with the apparent goal of furthering a political agenda, a Columbia official said on Tuesday. But Bloomberg News, which received messages from the apparent hacker, said that the person described stealing student data in order to see if Columbia was using affirmative action in its admission policies, a practice the Supreme Court effectively barred in 2023. A cyber-forensics firm hired by the university reported that the hack appeared to be highly sophisticated and targeted in its theft of documents, the official said. The official added that Columbia had not yet determined the scope of the data theft and that it could take weeks to months to do so. Columbia’s websites and internal systems, however, which went down during the attack, were up and running again within a week. The person who communicated with Bloomberg News provided it with 1.6 gigabytes of data representing 2.5 million student applications to Columbia dating back decades. The data included students’ and applicants’ university-issued identification numbers, their citizenship status, the decisions made on their applications and the academic programs to which they applied, among other information. Bloomberg reported that it was able to confirm the accuracy of the data for eight Columbia students and alumni who applied to the university between 2019 and 2024. The apparent hacker declined to provide their name to Bloomberg, saying they did not want to go to prison. The New York Times could not independently verify the hacker’s claims. The hacker also told Bloomberg that the records were part of approximately 460 gigabytes of extracted data they had stolen detailing financial aid packages, employee pay and at least 1.8 million Social Security numbers belonging to employees, applicants, students and their family members. The person told Bloomberg News that they had acquired the data after having access to Columbia’s servers for more than two months.

ABC News [7/1/2025 2:08 PM, Luke Barr, 31733K] reports that a lone wolf actor poses the biggest threat to Fourth of July celebrations in New York and San Francisco, according to multiple intelligence bulletins obtained by ABC News. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are concerned about the potential for copycat attacks from the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Day, as well as homegrown extremists. "We are concerned about the potential threat of copycat attacks inspired by the 2025 New Year’s Day vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans and continued [foreign terrorist organizations] messaging calling for attacks against Western targets," both bulletins say. Those who could be inspired by terrorist organizations who are in the U.S., are of concern for law enforcement, according to the bulletins. In New York, officials are concerned about individuals "motivated by a broad range of racial, ethnic, political, religious, anti-government, societal, or personal grievances." "Of these actors, US-based violent extremists supporting FTOs and [Domestic violent extremists] not linked to FTOs represent two of the most persistent threats," the bulletins say. "Lone offenders, in particular, remain a concern due to their ability to often avoid detection until operational and to inflict significant casualties."

AP [7/2/2025 11:47 PM, Philip Marcelo, 31733K] reports the leader of an MS-13 clique in the suburbs of New York City faces sentencing Wednesday in a federal racketeering case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls that focused the nation’s attention on the violent Central American street gang. Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty last year for his role in ordering and approving the killings as well as other crimes during a rash of bloody violence that prompted President Donald Trump to make several visits to Long Island and call for the death penalty for Saenz and other gang members during his first term in the White House. Saenz’s lawyers are seeking a sentence of 45 years behind bars, but prosecutors want the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 70 years. Prosecutors, who previously withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty, say Saenz deserves to live out his days in prison for his “senseless” and “sadistic” crimes. “The eight victims who lost their lives did nothing to deserve what the MS-13 did to them,” they wrote in legal filings ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. “The defendant and the others killed them in service of the gang without remorse or any regard for them as human beings.” But Saenz’s lawyers have argued for leniency, saying in their own legal filings that the now-30-year-old is remorseful and “on a journey of redemption” while incarcerated. “With the passage of time and much reflection, it is hard for Mr. Saenz to reconcile the person he is today with the person he was when he committed the crimes,” their sentencing memo reads. “He is profoundly sorry, and although he knows the families may not accept his apology, it is sincere, and he accepts full responsibility for his participation in these crimes.” Saenz’s lawyers also say he suffers from intellectual disabilities and lasting trauma from an abusive father and difficult upbringing in El Salvador. They say Saenz was recruited and unwittingly “groomed” into MS-13 because he was an “easily influenced” and “gullible” high school student on Long Island.

ABC News [7/1/2025 9:18 PM, Mike Levine, 31733K] reports as the investigation into the deadly firefighter ambush in Idaho over the weekend continues, police are still trying to piece together why suspect Wess Roley allegedly instigated the attack, a source familiar told ABC News. Law enforcement officials identified Roley as the suspected gunman after he was found dead on Canfield Mountain with a shotgun nearby. Two firefighters were killed -- Frank Harwood, 42, a battalion chief with the Kootenai County Fire & Rescue Department and John Morrison, 52, battalion chief of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department -- and another firefighter, Dave Tysdal, of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, was injured while responding to the brush fire, which officials believe Roley purposely started before the ambush. Part of the investigation into Roley’s background is focusing on his childhood in Arizona, where he lived with his mother and stepfather, the sources said. Authorities have spoken with some of Roley’s immediate family, though it’s unclear what they’ve said, the source added. Police in Idaho have publicly stated that they believe Roley acted alone and that they don’t believe the attack on firefighters had any connection to terrorism. The source familiar with the investigation, however, said that authorities learned Roley grew up with a family that had firearms and felt comfortable handling them. The source said Roley’s stepfather lawfully possessed many firearms. In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, a former classmate of Roley’s said that while the alleged sniper was always "really different," he still has "a hard time trying to correlate the same Wess that I grew up with to the Wess that did what he did.". "I don’t know why he did it, and it’s -- it’s shocking to me," said the former classmate Dieter, who didn’t want his last name used publicly. "It’s something that villains do, plain and simple.". Roley’s family’s attorney, Justin P. Whittenton, shared a statement on behalf of the family on Monday, saying they "intend to fully cooperate with authorities in seeking answers.". "At this time, we, the family of Wess Roley would like to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the community of Coeur d’Alene at large," the family said in the statement. "There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how this came about," the family added.

NewsMax [7/1/2025 12:09 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4622K] reports that the family of Wess Roley, the alleged Idaho sniper who fatally shot two firefighters in an ambush, has issued a statement, saying they "do not understand why" the attack happened or how it "came about." Roley reportedly lured firefighters to the woods after starting a brushfire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene, a popular recreation area, on Sunday. "At this time, we, the family of Wess Roley would like to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the community of Coeur d’Alene at large," Roley’s family said in a statement obtained by the New York Post on Monday. "There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. We do not understand why this happened or how this came about," they continued. "Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well," the family said, adding that they intend to fully cooperate with investigators as they "deal with the grief of this heinous tragedy in our own family.". After attacking responding fire crews, Roley, 20, turned the gun on himself. The Post reported that approximately 300 law enforcement officers responded to the scene as Roley fired from the wooded terrain. His body was found after a shootout that reportedly lasted 90 minutes. In addition to the two firefighters who were killed, one was seriously wounded but was reported to be in stable condition. As of Monday, the fire Roley is suspected of having set had grown to 26 acres and was "reasonably contained," authorities said.

Los Angeles Times [7/1/2025 4:31 PM, Meg James, and Richard Winton 14672K] reports that last month’s vandalism of Spectrum fiber-optic lines — which temporarily knocked out internet service for more than 50,000 customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties — should be labeled "domestic terrorism," the company said Tuesday. The June 15 incident in Van Nuys caused widespread disruption. Some Spectrum customers went without internet service for up to 30 hours as crews worked to repair the firm’s communications network. Thirteen Spectrum cables, containing 2,600 individual fibers, were sliced, cutting off internet and phone service to key facilities, including a U.S. military base, 911 and other emergency dispatch centers, fire and police departments and healthcare facilities, according to Spectrum’s parent company, Charter Communications. The company initially speculated that would-be copper thieves were responsible for the damage. Copper is a valuable metal sought by thieves for its resale value. Charter previously attributed the incident to culprits who apparently climbed trees in the early-morning hours to gain access to Spectrum’s overhead fiber lines strung between poles. The Spectrum lines did not contain copper, but the vandals continued to cut the cables in multiple spots, raising questions about their motives and the possibility of sabotage. The Van Nuys incident highlighted the vulnerability of the communications networks. "The rise in deliberate attacks on critical communications infrastructure poses a significant threat to national security," Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee said Tuesday in a statement distributed by Charter. "These disruptions divert crucial resources and have far-reaching consequences."

FOX News [7/1/2025 6:23 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports the State Department has joined the pope in lashing out at the latest massacre of Christians in Nigeria, reportedly by Islamist Fulani "terrorists." Pope Leo XIV declared during a recent address to thousands at the Vatican that "some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty" on June 13 in Yelewata, in Nigeria’s Benue State. Late Monday, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We strongly condemn these increasing attacks, including recent massacres in Benue state which primarily targeted Christian farming villages." The pope told the crowds in Rome that the majority of those "brutally killed" in Yelewata had been sheltering in a Catholic sanctuary. "Most of the victims were internal refugees, who were hosted by a local Catholic mission," the pontiff stated. He added that he would pray for "security, peace and justice," particularly for "rural Christian communities of the Benue state who have been relentless victims of violence.". Talking to Fox News Digital, a State Department spokesperson reinforced reports that the attacks on Christians are being carried out by Islamic militant groups. "The United States remains deeply concerned about the levels of violence in Nigeria, including the threats posed by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa in northern Nigeria, and the impact that violence has on all communities in Nigeria.".

Free Beacon [7/1/2025 8:00 AM, Adam Kredo, 773K] reports the Trump administration has formally requested that the United Nations (U.N.) remove Francesca Albanese from her role as the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, citing her "virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism" as well as her misrepresentation of her legal qualifications, according to private communications between U.S. and U.N. officials obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The U.N. reappointed Albanese—a vocal Israel critic who blamed the Jewish state for Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror spree and compared Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler—to her post earlier this year over the Trump administration’s objections. Since that time, she has penned "threatening letters" to companies across the globe, warning them to cut business ties with Israel or face "potential criminal liability," according to the Trump administration. Albanese wrote threatening letters—which the Trump administration described as "riddled with inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations"—to some of the "most prominent American corporations in varied sectors including technology, financial services, manufacturing, and hospitality" in recent weeks, prompting the State Department to raise its concerns with U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres earlier this month and demand her termination. "In her letters, Ms. Albanese makes extreme allegations, such as that the entities may be contributing to purported offenses including ‘gross human rights violations,’ ‘apartheid,’ and ‘genocide,’" acting U.S. representative to the U.N. Dorothy Shea wrote. "She wrongly asserts that recipients have violated ‘preemptory norms of international law’ and face exposure to ‘potential criminal liability,’ and demands that they cease activities relating to Israel."

New York Post [7/1/2025 7:56 PM, Victor Nava, 49956K] reports the FBI blocked an investigation into an alleged Chinese effort to meddle in the 2020 election to help former President Joe Biden because it would have made then-Director Christopher Wray look bad, documents released by the bureau show. The documents, provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) by the FBI and released on Tuesday, detailed the alleged election interference plot, which was obtained by the bureau’s Albany field office in August of 2020 from a credible confidential source and was subsequently "suppressed" by FBI headquarters. The source relayed that the Chinese government had produced "a large amount" of fraudulent US driver’s licenses – using data collected from millions of TikTok accounts – that would allow "tens of thousands of Chinese students and immigrants sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party to vote for US Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, despite not being eligible to vote in the United States.". Information about the alleged plot was circulated in a Sept. 25, 2020, FBI Intelligence Information Report (IIR) – one day after Wray testified to Congress that the bureau was unaware of any "coordinated national voter fraud effort" – and recalled minutes after it was issued. "Based on conversations with key individuals involved, it was conveyed that the recall of the IIR was abnormal," FBI Assistant Director Marshall Yates wrote in a June 27 letter to Grassley. Yates noted that the IIR was recalled at the direction of FBI headquarters after it prompted "significant attention" within the bureau, and even though it was "coordinated and disseminated in textbook fashion.". The recall was purportedly issued so the Albany field office could "re-interview" the source, but even after the source was "reengaged and provided additional context to support" the existence of an election interference plot, "FBI Headquarters maintained its position not to republish the report," Yates wrote. "One reason cited for not releasing the IIR was because ‘the reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony,’" the assistant director informed Grassley.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [7/1/2025 1:59 PM, Brooke Singman, 46878K]

FOX News [7/1/2025 1:38 PM, Taylor Penley, 46878K] reports that who is Dan "Razin" Caine? The retired fighter pilot and CIA vet-turned chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has brought vision, grit and outsider energy to America’s top military job after President Donald Trump tapped him for the position in an "unprecedented move." Now his military experience and journey to the top are the focus of a Fox Nation original explaining who he is. Hosted by Marine Corps veteran and Fox News contributor Johnny "Joey" Jones, the special installment features perspectives from military analysts and experts familiar with Caine and the gravity of his role, including the likes of former Navy fighter pilot Matthew "Whiz" Buckley, former senior enlisted advisor to the chairman Ramon "CZ" Colon-Lopez and former State Department senior advisor Christian Whiton. "Whenever something goes wrong in the world, the first question that the president asks is, ‘Where is the nearest aircraft carrier?’ And the person he’s going to ask that of is his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Buckley said. As Jones put it, Caine is "the guy in charge of the guys in charge." His role was created decades ago to unify U.S. defense organizations and was first held by legendary World War II general Omar N. Bradley. Fast-forward to February 2025 when, during his second administration, President Donald Trump appointed Caine to the position in a shock to the establishment. Sitting before the Senate during his confirmation hearing this year, Caine acknowledged the fact.

The Hill [7/1/2025 11:20 AM, Elizabeth Crisp, 18649K] reports President Trump’s administration is moving to bolster his hard-line policies on Cuba in the coming weeks, reinforcing the president’s icy attitude toward the leaders of the Caribbean island nation that’s been under a far-reaching U.S. economic embargo for decades. Trump instructed his top Cabinet officials in a memo the White House released Monday to "adjust regulations" in the next 30 days to curb policies that encouraged American tourism and financial transactions with Cuba — rolling back the softened approach taken under former President Biden’s administration. "After Joe Biden gutted President Trump’s tough, first-term Cuba policies, this President is delivering on his campaign promise to stand with the Cuban people and hold the Communist regime accountable," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a Tuesday statement to The Hill. "The Cuban government has long suppressed their citizens’ aspirations for freedom and prosperity, detained dissidents, and held political prisoners in inhumane conditions," she continued. Kelly added, "President Trump will always fight for a better quality of life for people around the world.".

Wall Street Journal [7/1/2025 8:56 PM, Michael R. Gordon and Alexander Ward, 646K] reports the U.S. has stopped the delivery of air-defense interceptors and other weapons intended for Ukraine and is using them instead to beef up Pentagon stocks, a Trump administration official and two congressional aides said Tuesday. The U.S. move to withhold arms deliveries earmarked for Ukraine reflects the Trump administration’s slackening commitment to aiding Kyiv in its defense against Russia. Administration officials have stressed the need to focus more on the longer-term threats from China and, more immediately, military needs in the Middle East. Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said, “This decision was made to put America’s interests first” following a Pentagon review of U.S. military assistance. The shipments were in Poland when they were being halted and included Patriot air-defense interceptors, air-to-air missiles, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and surface-to-surface rockets, artillery rounds, and Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy at the Pentagon, didn’t address the decision to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine, but said the Defense Department would provide President Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine that are “consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end.” “The department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for administration defense priorities,” he said. The White House move puzzled some analysts, who noted that Trump had said at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit last week that he would consider selling Patriot air-defense weapons to Kyiv.

AP [7/1/2025 9:44 AM, Jon Gambrell, 56000K] reports Iran is assessing the damage and lashing out over the American and Israeli airstrikes on its nuclear sites, though Tehran kept open the possibility Tuesday of resuming talks with the Washington over its atomic program. The comments by government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also included another acknowledgment that the American strikes at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz — key sites within Iran’s program — had been "seriously damaged" by the bombing. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Mohajerani as making the remarks at a briefing for journalists. That acknowledgment comes as Iran’s theocracy has slowly begun to admit the scale of the damage wrought by the 12-day war with Israel, which saw Israeli fighter jets decimate the country’s air defenses and conduct strikes at will over the Islamic Republic. And keeping the door open to talks with the United States likely shows Tehran wants to avoid further economic pain as another deadline over U.N. sanctions loom. "No date (for U.S. talks) is announced, and it’s not probably very soon, but a decision hasn’t been made in this field," Mohajerani said.

Washington Post [7/1/2025 8:40 AM, Susannah George, 32099K] reports Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and executed half a dozen in a sweeping security crackdown that analysts say is aimed at exerting control after a brief but punishing war with Israel exposed Iran’s deep infiltration by Israeli intelligence. In the week since a ceasefire was declared, security forces have erected checkpoints in Tehran and other cities and urged citizens to report anything suspicious. The Iranian parliament also announced an emergency bill that includes harsher punishments for espionage, including the death penalty, and the judiciary said it ordered the creation of special courts to swiftly handle the “traitors and mercenaries.” In a news conference Sunday, the spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, said he would soon provide details on how many people have been arrested and on what charges. He said only that “a number of people suspected of spying for the Zionist regime have been identified and cases filed against them.” According to local media reports and human rights groups, more than 700 people were arrested across five provinces during the 12-day conflict. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, which is based in New York, said it received credible reports of hundreds more arrested in Tehran. It reported that at least six people were executed for spying for Israel, including three who were put to death in Oroumieh in western Iran on June 25. Rights groups have condemned the moves, with Amnesty International warning against arbitrary executions and expedited trials. The arrests have also raised fears inside Iran that a new wave of repression is coming, as the government seeks to root out spy networks and clamp down on any dissent among the wider population.

Reuters [7/1/2025 6:37 PM, Gram Slattery and Phil Stewart, 51390K] reports the Iranian military loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Persian Gulf last month, a move that intensified concerns in Washington that Tehran was gearing up to blockade the Strait of Hormuz following Israel’s strikes on sites across Iran, according to two U.S. officials. The previously unreported preparations, which were detected by U.S. intelligence, occurred some time after Israel launched its initial missile attack against Iran on June 13, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. The loading of the mines - which have not been deployed in the strait - suggests that Tehran may have been serious about closing one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, a move that would have escalated an already-spiraling conflict and severely hobbled global commerce. About one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz and a blockage would likely have spiked world energy prices. Global benchmark oil prices have instead fallen more than 10% since the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, driven in part by relief that the conflict did not trigger significant disruptions in the oil trade. On June 22, shortly after the U.S. bombed three of Iran’s key nuclear sites in a bid to cripple Tehran’s nuclear program, Iran’s parliament reportedly backed a measure to block the strait. That decision was not binding, and it was up to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council to make a final decision on the closure, Iran’s Press TV said at the time. Iran has over the years threatened to close the strait but has never followed through on that threat. Reuters was not able to determine precisely when during the Israel-Iran air war Tehran loaded the mines, which - if deployed - would have effectively stopped ships from moving through the key thoroughfare.

Breitbart [7/1/2025 12:43 PM, Frances Martel, 3077K] reports that the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy terrorist organization Hezbollah held multiple events on Monday in solidarity with Tehran, declaring that it would continue in the "just and divinely inspired battle" against Israel and America. "Israel is criminal, and America is tyrannical. We have the right to say ‘No’ to both," Sheikh Naim Qassem, the head of the terrorist organization, declared, according to the Iranian propaganda website PressTV. Hezbollah operates in Lebanon with the veneer of a political party, but in reality serves as a proxy terrorist organization for Iran that threatens Israel and functions as a bridge between Tehran and rogue state allies such as Venezuela and Cuba. At its peak in the last decade, Hezbollah had constructed a formidable drug trafficking operation in Latin America; at home, Hezbollah operatives benefited from a deal offering them authentic, but unwarranted, Venezuelan legal documents such as passports and birth certificates. The jihadist terror group was once the strongest member of Iran’s "Axis of Resistance," a global network of terrorist organizations funded by Tehran’s largess. The State Department estimated in 2020 that Iran was funding Hezbollah to the tune of $700 million a year, compared to $100 million a year for Gaza’s terrorist Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) groups combined. Hezbollah was among the first groups to come to the aid of another Iranian proxy terror group, Hamas, following the latter’s gruesome siege of Israel on October 7, 2023.

FOX News [7/1/2025 9:29 AM, Greg Wehner, 46878K] reports two Chinese nationals face serious charges after they allegedly acted as agents of the People’s Republic of China’s government to collect intelligence about U.S. Navy service members and bases, while also recruiting other military members to carry out tasks for the country’s main foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS). The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Chinese national Yuance Chen, who resides in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who traveled to Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested on Friday. Both individuals face charges of overseeing and carrying out various clandestine intelligence tasks in the U.S. on behalf of the Ministry of State Security. Along with assisting with the recruitment of potential MSS assets and gathering intel about service members and bases, the two men are accused of facilitating a "dead drop" payment of cash on behalf of the MSS. The FBI arrested both men on Friday – Chen was arrested in Happy Valley while Lai was arrested in Houston – with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). "Today’s arrests reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military," FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital. "The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the Chinese Communist Party’s broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions. Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: the United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless.".

AP [7/1/2025 9:05 PM, Eric Tucker, 103K] reports two Chinese nationals have been charged with spying inside the United States on behalf of Beijing, including by taking photographs of a naval base, coordinating a cash dead-drop and participating in efforts to recruit members of the military who they thought might be open to working for Chinese intelligence. The case, filed in federal court in San Francisco and unsealed Monday, is the latest Justice Department prosecution to target what officials say are persistent efforts by the Chinese government to secretly collect intelligence about American military capabilities — a practice laid bare in startling fashion two years ago with China’s launching of a surveillance balloon that U.S. officials ultimately shot down over the coast of South Carolina. “This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the case. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.” Officials identified the defendants as Yuance Chen, 38, who arrived in the U.S. on a visa in 2015 and later became a lawful permanent resident, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, who prosecutors say lives in China but traveled to Texas this past spring and was part of an effort to supervise clandestine espionage operations on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security or MSS. The two were arrested on charges of secretly doing China’s bidding without registering as foreign agents with the Justice Department, as required by law. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers. Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said he had no information about the specific case but asserted that allegations against China “have no facts or evidence” and that “the U.S. has never stopped its espionage activities against China.” According to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the case, investigators believe Lai had been developing Chen to be a Chinese intelligence asset since at least mid-2021.

Daily Wire [7/1/2025 1:13 PM, Leif Le Mahieu, 3816K] reports two Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly working on behalf of a Chinese intelligence agency to recruit members of the United States military to betray America, the Justice Department announced. The Justice Department said Tuesday that the FBI on June 27 had arrested 38-year-old Yuance Chen, a Chinese national who has legal permanent residency in Oregon, and 39-year-old Liren "Ryan" Lai, a Chinese national who entered the country on a tourist visa in April. Both were charged with operating within the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general. The criminal complaint against them says that they were working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security (MSS), Communist China’s primary foreign intelligence service. Specifically, they are accused of attempting to recruit members of the Navy to be assets for the MSS. "This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.". In January 2022, the pair facilitated the leaving of a backpack containing $10,000 from MSS in a locker at a recreational facility in Livermore, California, in a dead-drop payment in exchange for national security information on the United States, according to the Justice Department.

Reuters [7/1/2025 12:47 PM, Jonathan Stempel, 51390K] reports that a U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected Huawei Technologies’ bid to dismiss most of a federal indictment accusing the Chinese telecommunications company of trying to steal technology secrets from U.S. rivals, and misleading banks about its work in Iran. In a 52-page decision, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn found sufficient allegations in the 16-count indictment that Huawei engaged in racketeering to expand its brand, stole trade secrets from six companies, and committed bank fraud. The Iran accusations stemmed from Huawei’s alleged control of Skycom, a Hong Kong company that did business in that country. Donnelly said prosecutors satisfactorily alleged Skycom "operated as Huawei’s Iranian subsidiary and ultimately stood to benefit, in a roundabout way," from more than $100 million of money transfers through the U.S. financial system. Huawei has pleaded not guilty and had sought to dismiss 13 of the 16 counts, calling itself "a prosecutorial target in search of a crime." A trial is scheduled for May 4, 2026, and could last several months. Neither Huawei nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Interim U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella in Brooklyn declined to comment.

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