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.

New York Times [6/19/2025 4:53 PM, Michael Gold, 138952K] reports the Department of Homeland Security has imposed new limits on visits by members of Congress and their staff to immigration enforcement facilities, intensifying a conflict between federal immigration officials and Democratic lawmakers over the separation of powers. Under federal law, members of Congress can make unannounced oversight visits to immigration facilities that “detain or otherwise house aliens.” Lawmakers are not required to provide “prior notice of the intent to enter a facility” to conduct oversight, though members of their staff must request a visit at least 24 hours in advance. But in guidance released this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement asks members of Congress to give at least 72 hours notice for a visit to its facilities. Asked about the policy, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, went even further, suggesting that federal officials would not be allowed entry unless they provided a week’s notice. “A week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the president’s constitutional authority,” the spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement. She added that “any request to shorten that time must be approved” by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem. As Democratic lawmakers criticize the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and accuse officials of abusing executive power, ICE facilities have become the battlegrounds of a political showdown. Members of Congress have repeatedly been denied access to ICE facilities this month as they try to conduct oversight visits, and some of them have been involved in high-profile clashes with immigration officials. In its new guidance, ICE asserts that it has broad power to “deny a request or otherwise cancel, reschedule or terminate a tour or visit” by lawmakers or their staff under a number of circumstances that include “operational concerns” or if “facility management or other ICE officials deem it appropriate to do so.” Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, criticized the new ICE policy as an attempt to skirt congressional oversight. In a statement, he said the new guidance was “an affront to the Constitution and federal law.” Ms. McLaughlin, the Homeland Security spokeswoman, said in her statement that requests to tour ICE field offices and processing facilities must be approved by Ms. Noem, a policy made in response to “a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves.”

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Washington Post [6/19/2025 8:41 AM, Vivian Ho, 32099K]
Roll Call [6/18/2025 5:46 PM, Chris Johnson, 692K]
The Hill [6/19/2025 4:36 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 5801K]
Reuters [6/19/2025 3:03 PM, Jonathan Allen, 51390K]
CNN [6/19/2025 10:16 AM, Shania Shelton, 875K]
FOX News [6/19/2025 3:54 PM, Alec Schemmel, 46878K]
Washington Examiner [6/19/2025 4:15 PM, David Zimmermann, 1934K]
Washington Times [6/18/2025 5:08 PM, Stephen Dinan, 2106K]

Los Angeles Times [6/19/2025 5:41 PM, Andrea Castillo, 14672K] reports the day after immigration raids began in Los Angeles, Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) and three other members of Congress were denied entry to the immigrant detention facility inside the Roybal Federal Building. The lawmakers were attempting an unannounced inspection, a common and long-standing practice under congressional oversight powers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said too many protesters were present on June 7 and officers deployed chemical agents multiple times. In a letter later to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Torres said she ended up in the emergency room for respiratory treatment. She also said the protest had been small and peaceful. Torres is one of many Democratic members of Congress, from states including California, New York and Illinois, who have been denied entry to immigrant detention facilities in recent weeks. James Townsend, director of the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University in Michigan, said the denials mark a profound — and illegal — shift from past practice. "Denying members of Congress access to facilities is a direct assault on our system of checks and balances," he said. "What members of Congress are trying to do now is to be part of a proud bipartisan tradition of what we like to call oversight by showing up.” Subsequent attempts by lawmakers to inspect the facility inside the Roybal Building have also been unsuccessful. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), who was with Torres the day she was hospitalized, went back twice more — on June 9 and on Tuesday — and was rebuffed. Torres and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) tried at separate times Wednesday and were both denied. Gomez and other Democrats have pointed to a federal statute, detailed in yearly appropriations packages since 2020, which states that funds may not be used to prevent a member of Congress "from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens ...” The statute also states that nothing in that section "may be construed to require a Member of Congress to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility" for the purpose of conducting oversight. Under the statute, federal officials may require at least 24 hours notice for a visit by congressional staff — but not members themselves. Under ICE guidelines published this month for members of Congress and their staff, the agency requests at least 72 hours notice from lawmakers and requires at least 24 hours notice from staff. The agency says it has discretion to deny or reschedule a visit if an emergency arises or the safety of the facility is jeopardized, though such contingencies are not mentioned in the law. Gomez said an ICE official called him Tuesday to say that oversight law doesn’t apply to the downtown L.A. facility because it is a field office, not a detention facility. "Well it does say Metropolitan Detention Center right here in big, bold letters," he says in a video posted afterward on social media, gesturing toward a sign outside the building. "But they say this is a processing center. So I smell bull—.” If no one is technically being detained, Gomez said he rhetorically asked the official during their call, are they free to leave? Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Homeland Security, said in a statement to The Times that requests for visits are needed because "ICE law enforcement have seen a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves.” She added that requests for visits should be made with enough time — "a week is sufficient" — to not interfere with the president’s authority under Article II of the Constitution to oversee executive branch functions.

The Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 12:54 PM, David Zimmermann, 1934K] reports Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Wednesday that they were denied access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office inside a New York immigration court building, where New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested the day before. Goldman and Nadler spoke of their denied oversight visit, for which they gave "advance notice.” "Even though we are allowed to show up unannounced by statute, and we must be allowed in, we gave advance notice that we would be coming this morning, and they still denied our access," Goldman said Wednesday morning after visiting the 26 Federal Plaza building. "They said this is not a ‘detention facility,’ even though the statute very clearly says that we are allowed into any facility that is being used ‘to detain or otherwise house aliens.’". The New York congressmen planned to observe immigration court proceedings and inspect holding cells used to detain immigrants on the building’s 10th floor. The two voiced concern about reports of detained immigrants sleeping on benches or the floor at the ICE office. "The question is: Why can’t we go in? What are they hiding?" Goldman said. Nadler challenged ICE’s "ridiculous" definition of a "detention center," which he believes the holding cells on the 10th floor constitute. He also took issue with the masked ICE and FBI agents, who restrained Lander inside the federal court building. Lander, who is running in the Democratic mayoral primary in New York, was released about four hours after he was detained. He was accused of assaulting an officer, but the charges were subsequently dropped. Lander maintained no wrongdoing. Last week, authorities forcibly removed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles after he interrupted the briefing. Padilla wanted to get answers about President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to quell the recent Los Angeles riots. Like Goldman and Nadler, other Democrats have been denied access to ICE locations. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) said Tuesday that they failed to enter the South Loop ICE facility in Chicago, where they wanted to perform congressional oversight of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. The New York Post [6/18/2025 6:17 PM, Matt Troutman and Craig McCarthy, 49956K] reports Reps. Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Jerry Nadler (NY-12) tried to make a visit on Wednesday to inspect the federal building after getting reports of immigrants having to stay for days and sleep on benches at 26 Federal Plaza. "We just went in to conduct our constitutional oversight authority of ICE and ICE detention facilities," Goldman said a day after Lander was manhandled by ICE agents in a chaotic but highly publicized arrest, then released hours later with no charges. "We were denied access, even though we are allowed to show up unannounced by statute, and we must be allowed in," Goldman added. "It is unacceptable that they denied our access.” He argued the "police state"-like arrest of Lander in the same building raised the question of how ICE treats immigrants being held inside. "We will not stop until we get to go in and observe what is going on in these detention centers with these non-criminal, non-violent immigrants going through the process the correct way," he said. Instead, the pair was met by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Field Director Bill Joyce, who confirmed that immigrants had been forced to sleep on the floor. The Democratic duo avoided getting cuffed like Lander, a mayoral candidate who tried to escort an immigrant from a court hearing — where ICE agents have been awaiting to detain them for potential deportation, but were panned for the stunt.

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AP [6/18/2025 1:43 PM, Staff, 56000K] Video: HERE

The Chicago Tribune [6/18/2025 8:06 PM, Laura Rodríguez Presa, 3987K] reports four Illinois Democratic members of Congress joined immigration and human rights advocates Wednesday morning at a suburban federal immigration processing center, demanding entry into the facility to check on the conditions of the detainees held there. Illinois Reps. Danny Davis, Jesús “Chuy” García, Delia Ramirez and Jonathan Jackson were denied entry into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview. They were told they needed to make a request with ICE first. “There is no regulation that requires us to give a prior announcement or to schedule an appointment,” García told a masked agent who came out to greet them through the gate. “We are here by our authority (as members of Congress) and we seek a meeting and an inspection of this facility.” “I respect your request, but these are the instructions that we have,” the agent responded. The agent, who was wearing a White Sox hat, black sunglasses and a black facemask, walked away after García asked him to identify himself. With news reporters watching, the group’s visit is just the latest effort by Democrats across the country to push back against President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration tactics and demand greater transparency over ICE’s escalated detainments. Democratic elected officials in recent days have publicly pressed for greater access to federal immigration facilities and used the fact they were denied entry to demonstrate the federal arrests are undermining constitutional rights. Neither ICE nor DHS immediately responded to a request for comment. But in a post on the social platform X, in an apparent message to García, DHS wrote: “Congressman, all members, and staff need to comply with facility rules, procedures, and instructions from ICE personnel on site.” The New York Times [6/18/2025 1:31 PM, Julie Bosman, 138952K] reports that four neatly dressed people stood expectantly outside the front door of a brick Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in a Chicago suburb on Wednesday morning, shiny identification pins attached to their lapels. “Good morning, four members of Congress here, seeking to have a word with the field office director,” said Representative Jesús G. “Chuy” García, looking into a security camera pointed at the door. There was no response. For nearly two hours, the members of Congress from Illinois — Representatives Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Mr. García, all Democrats — tried to enter the ICE processing building in Broadview, about 10 miles west of downtown Chicago, to inspect the facility and speak to constituents in detention. They began with polite requests, moved on to pounding the glass door in unison, then departed in frustration and anger, their efforts thwarted by the officials inside. “They’re stonewalling,” Mr. Jackson said as the group waited for someone to answer the door. “It’s a standoff,” Mr. Davis said. “What are they hiding?” Ms. Ramirez said. “They know that we’re here.” Members of Congress are allowed to enter ICE facilities under federal policy and do not have to provide advance notice, the representatives said, blaming the Trump administration for refusing to let them in. A spokesman for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FOX News [6/18/2025 8:00 PM, Rachel del Guidice, 46878K] reports House Speaker Mike Johnson called out Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for opposing federal immigration enforcement, saying he was "on the wrong side of the law.” "I tell you what, they have a very difficult job in this deep blue territory with a mayor on the wrong side of the law," the Speaker said Wednesday on Fox News’ "America’s Newsroom" with Bill Hemmer and guest co-host Gillian Turner. "They are doing everything they can, a patriotic duty," Speaker Johnson said, referring to his visit to a Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. "They are understaffed, overwhelmed with the workload trying to go after the dangerous criminal illegal aliens in the country, harming American citizens. The mayor of Chicago thinks it’s an ill-conceived mission, that’s madness.” Both Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson have spoken out against Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. "We do know ICE is coming once again in force to cities across the country, so we expect to see them in Chicago," Pritzker said Thursday. "I don’t know exactly how big the force will be, but I do know he has used other law enforcement along with ICE to carry out his ill-conceived mission to go after people who frankly are paying taxes, and they’re law-abiding, and they’ve been here for many, many years.” Mayor Johnson said Monday that Trump should not deploy federal troops to enforce federal immigration priorities. "We will continue to resist," he said. "Whether it’s in the courts, in the streets, or through public policy, we’re going to stand up for working people.”

CBS Chicago [6/18/2025 6:01 PM, Sabrina Franza, 51860K] Video: HERE reports the head of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement Chicago field office sat down with CBS News Chicago to defend his agency’s deportation mission in the city. Sam Olson said he understands some of the frustration and fear that families are feeling in this moment and said that extends to his agents as well. "For sure, right, and I mean the officers do too. They’re all human. Like, I’m human, you know," he said. "It’s a hard thing. Law enforcement can be a hard job, because we’re dealing with people, we’re not dealing with things, and they realize it’s going to be tough. There are times when you have to arrest a dad and then, you know, the mom and family is there, like, don’t think that doesn’t have an effect on the officers because it does.” Olson is in charge of the immigration enforcement operation that was previously staffed five days a week. He said they are now sending out 10 to 12 teams a day to make arrests seven days a week. "We’ll look at a chunk of cases and try to find the worst of the worst, and those are the ones we try to target first," Olson said. "In addition to those, right, we have just cases that have final orders of removal already, where an immigration judge has ordered them removed.” CBS News Chicago has heard from people who said a loved one has been arrested without committing any serious crime or being convicted of any serious crime. Our news cameras have also captured people being detained after showing up for an immigration check-in appointment. Olson said these types of arrests can happen a few different ways. He said the agency prefers to arrest undocumented immigrants upon their release from Cook County Jail, should they be charged with a crime. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to federal, state or local law enforcement agencies to notify them as early as possible before releasing an undocumented immigrant from custody, and to hold that undocumented immigrant for up to 48 hours beyond when they’d normally be released so they can be detained by the Department of Homeland Security. "We’ll work up a case like that and then we’re going out into the field to look for them," he continued. "And so, when we’re out in the field doing that, if we encounter our target and we encounter other people that might just be here illegally, we’ll have to arrest those as well.” Olson said there’s also a reason his agents are wearing masks, though they should identify themselves.

The Hill [6/19/2025 6:00 AM, Jared Gans, 18649K] reports Democrats and Republicans are having very different reactions when it comes to the arrest of a New York City mayoral candidate, with the former calling it out as an injustice and the latter arguing it’s all political theater. Brad Lander’s arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, which came while he was trying to usher an immigrant out of court, came shortly after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed from a press conference, and a number of lawmakers in New Jersey got into a skirmish outside of an ICE jail in Newark. The confrontations with law enforcement have drawn outrage from Democrats, who say it’s a sign of the Trump administration’s authoritarian bent, while Republicans have accused the lawmakers of showmanship. "Polarization has progressed to the point that it’s almost like Democrats and Republicans see two different realities, and those realities are so different that they are either unwilling or, maybe even more concerning, unable to talk to each other about the current state of affairs because they just see things so different," said Mark Brewer, a professor of political science at the University of Maine. "And if that’s true, then that’s a real problem.” The incident surrounding Lander has thrust the issue of the Trump administration’s handling of immigration and Democrats’ response back into the national spotlight, but it’s just the latest in a string of other similar clashes. The first happened just more than a month ago in Newark, when Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was detained as he and three New Jersey Democratic House lawmakers sought to visit the Delaney Hall detention center. While the lawmakers have the congressional authority to inspect ICE facilities, Baraka doesn’t and complied when told to leave. But he was handcuffed and charged with a misdemeanor count of trespassing. Tensions continued to rise after Baraka’s arrest, as a scuffle occurred when the three lawmakers — Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez — attempted to tour the facility. What exactly occurred isn’t fully clear on the video of the clash that’s been made public, but McIver could be heard telling officers not to touch her or Watson Coleman and seemed to push back against an officer. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused the lawmakers of trespassing and engaging in a "political stunt," but she was skewered by Democrats in a subsequent House Homeland Security Committee hearing, facing accusations she was ignoring their rights as members of Congress. Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba later announced she was dropping the charge against Baraka for the sake of "moving forward" but charged McIver with three counts of forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers.

New York Times [6/20/2025 3:19 AM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 330K] reports that, when Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, was arrested on Tuesday by federal agents at an immigration courthouse in Manhattan, Mr. Lander said he had simply been trying to escort an immigrant whom agents wanted to detain. His arrest underscored a trend that has emerged in New York City’s immigration courts: A growing number of volunteers and activists have begun showing up to escort immigrants out of courthouses amid President Trump’s month-old campaign to arrest people showing up for routine hearings. During the past few weeks, a loose network of immigration activists and advocates has sprung up in the city’s three main immigration courts. Their goal, they say, is to help immigrants who show up without lawyers to navigate a labyrinthine and daunting system, and to accompany migrants past federal officers, who are often masked and not wearing uniforms. Before, volunteers might have accompanied immigrants to hearings, but only in recent weeks have they had to consider what happens when they leave “because ICE wasn’t waiting on the other side of the door before,” said Camille J. Mackler, the founder and executive director of Immigrant ARC, a collaborative of immigration legal services providers. “We really are just there to bear witness in a nonviolent way.” Mr. Lander, who is running for mayor, maintained that is what he was trying to do on Tuesday when federal officers approached an immigrant named Edgardo to arrest him. Video shows Mr. Lander appearing to hold on to Edgardo and refusing to let go as officers were trying to arrest the man over Mr. Lander’s protestations. The Department of Homeland Security saw it differently. The agency accused Mr. Lander of assaulting and obstructing federal officers as they were performing their duties, all to boost his mayoral campaign. The altercation thrust the work of the volunteer escorts into the national debate about Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown, due process rights and the behavior of federal immigration agents. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency initiated a national operation last month to begin arresting certain immigrants as they leave court hearings.

Breitbart [6/19/2025 3:44 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are now facing a 500 percent increase in assaults as they attempt to locate and arrest illegal aliens living in the United States, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data exclusively obtained by Breitbart News revealed. "Today, the Department of Homeland Security released new data revealing that ICE law enforcement is now facing a 500% increase in assaults while carrying out enforcement operations," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Breitbart News. McLaughlin pointed to the recent arrest of Roberto Carlos Munoz, an illegal alien and convicted child sex offender, who dragged an ICE agent 50 yards with his car as he attempted to evade arrest in Bloomington, Minnesota. "Just this week, an ICE officer was dragged 50 yards by a car while arresting an illegal alien sex offender. Every day the men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens," McLaughlin said. Likewise, McLaughlin called out the Democrats such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Boston, Massachusetts, Mayor Michelle Wu; Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; and Los Angeles, California, Mayor Karen Bass for their seemingly threatening statements against ICE agents. While Wu and Walz have compared ICE agents to Nazis, Jeffries made threats against agents by stating he will work to expose their identities. "Every single ICE agent who is engaged in this aggressive overreach and are trying to hide their identities from the American people will be unsuccessful in doing that … every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes will of course be identified," Jeffries said weeks ago. "Make no mistake, Democrat politicians like Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Wu of Boston, Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor Bass of Los Angeles are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE," McLaughlin said. "From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is despicable. This violence against ICE must end.” Most recently, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that she forcibly impeded and interfered with ICE agents as they were trying to arrest an illegal alien at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey. Similarly, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has not ruled out charging New York City Comptroller and Democrat mayoral candidate Brad Lander for allegedly assaulting an ICE agent and interfering with the arrest of an illegal alien.

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Daily Wire [6/19/2025 1:20 PM, Catherine Maxwell, 3816K]

Reuters [6/20/2025 3:08 AM, Rory Carroll and Daniel Trotta, 51390K] reports the Los Angeles Dodgers said they had denied U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents access to the parking lot at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, in the team’s first sign of opposition to immigration raids that have rattled California’s largest city. The Dodgers, whose baseball fan base includes a significant Latino contingent, have come under criticism from fans and local media commentators in recent days for not speaking out publicly against raids by immigration agents across Los Angeles. The raids sparked street protests, which in turn prompted President Donald Trump to send in the National Guard and U.S. Marines to protect federal personnel and property, fueling more protests and tension. "This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots," the team said in a post on X. "They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization. Tonight’s game will be played as scheduled." The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said CBP vehicles used the parking lot briefly. "This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. OutKick [6/19/2025 5:46 PM, Alejandro Avila] reports that while the Dodgers addressed the visitors as ICE agents, an ICE spokesman told Fox News Digital that "ICE was never at (Dodger) stadium, and thus never tried to gain access." Then, ICE itself (via X) pounced on the Dodgers’ false claim that they were present and blocked at Dodger Stadium. "False. We were never there," the official government account posted. Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), released a statement saying California Border Patrol agents were present at Dodger Stadium on Thursday but were not part of the ICE sweeps looking for criminal migrants across the Southland. CNN [6/19/2025 5:21 PM, Natasha Chen and Priscilla Alvarez, 875K] reports US Customs and Border Protection vehicles were in a nearby parking lot on or near the grounds, and one of them had a car malfunction that caused them to stay longer, according to a CBP official who maintained there were no operations related to the MLB club. There has been an influx of CBP agents in the Los Angeles area on the heels of the protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. The Department of Homeland Security surged agency personnel to the region, including border agents, to respond to those protests and many have remained in the area. Dodger Stadium is in a relatively isolated area located within a major metropolitan population. The stadium is in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and is set back from main roads by winding access drives to the acres of parking lots that surround the stadium. It’s unknown exactly what parking lot the federal agents were in when the vehicle had its malfunction – there are huge swaths of parking lots within stadium property and some parking lots outside that are used for overflow and stadium employees when the grounds are filled. Video shown by affiliate KABC showed federal agents stationed on one of the streets leading up to the stadium. CNN has reached out to ICE for comment. The intense reaction from the Dodgers, public, and federal government exemplifies the tension gripping the Los Angeles area right now as the administration’s immigration crackdown has led to protests against ICE and pressure on the Dodgers to do more to support their fans, of which a large proportion is Latino. The Dodgers are expected later Thursday to announce a plan to assist the immigrant community impacted by the recent round of immigration operations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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New York Times [6/20/2025 3:15 AM, Fabian Ardaya and Rebecca Tauber, 153395K]
Los Angeles Times [6/20/2025 1:16 AM, Terry Castleman and Jack Harris, 14672K]
AP [6/19/2025 8:31 PM, Doug Padilla and Olga R. Rodriguez, 56000K]
FOX News [6/19/2025 4:04 PM, Ryan Morik, 46878K]

OutKick [6/19/2025 7:58 PM, Ian Miller] reports the Los Angeles Dodgers have a serious public relations and communications problem, and it manifested itself yet again on Thursday. Early in the afternoon, Pacific Time, the Dodgers official account on X posted that agents from ICE had come to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots around the facility. The Dodgers, doing their absolute best virtue signaling, said they "denied entry" to ICE agents. Except that’s not what happened. But by the time multiple government agencies debunked the organization’s misinformation, the post had been seen by tens of millions of people and garnered hundreds of thousands of "likes’ on X. Not to mention being repeated, uncritically and inaccurately, by other sports media outlets. One of the most prominent being ESPN. How do they keep getting things so spectacularly wrong? The official account of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement account posted a simple response: "False. We were never there." And the Department of Homeland Security clarified that there were no ICE agents at Dodger Stadium. Instead, several cars from the Customs and Border Protection agency were very briefly in the facility’s parking lot. "This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. "CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement." ESPN initially posted a report about the Dodgers’ actions that did not include information that ICE and DHS had debunked the team’s misinformation. Finally, the story was updated to inform readers that there were no ICE agents at Dodger Stadium today. Yet the post remains up.

Just The News [6/19/2025 3:00 PM, Staff] reports DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin provides an update on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s condition after being hospitalized due to an allergic reaction. Tricia shares insights on the current state of misinformation in the media regarding immigration and law enforcement, the ongoing protests across the country, and the potential federal response to cities that fail to maintain order with John Solomon on this podcast episode. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Federal News Network [6/18/2025 3:31 PM, Jason Miller, 2346K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued new guidance requiring contracting officers to give her office five days to approval contract and grants awards. Just ahead of the busiest time of the year for most agency acquisition shops, the Homeland Security Department is throwing in an extra layer of review for its procurement efforts. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is requiring her office to review and sign off on all contracts and awards over $100,000. Based on the last three fiscal years’ data, Noem’s office will have to approve more than 5,100 contract actions worth over 100,000. Federal News Network asked DHS for more details about the decision, including how the Noem plans to ensure the approval process for contract and grant awards doesn’t create a backlog at a critical time of the year. A DHS spokesperson said: "Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is rooting out waste, fraud [and] abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars. Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens." Noem said in her memo that this new guidance supersedes a previous directive calling for her approval for all spending over $25 million.

CBS News [6/19/2025 8:23 PM, Jacob Rosen, Joe Walsh, 51860K] reports a federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from requiring almost two dozen mostly Democratic states to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in order to receive billions in transportation funding. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned in April his department may cut off grants to any recipients that fail to "cooperate generally with Federal authorities in the enforcement of Federal law" — part of a wider gambit to push back against "sanctuary" jurisdictions. A group of 20 states sued, arguing the administration doesn’t have the legal authority to tie transportation dollars — which states rely on for upkeep of roads, airports and other infrastructure — to immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge John McConnell sided with the 20 plaintiff states on Thursday, issuing a preliminary injunction that barred the government from enforcing the new immigration rules for "the States and their governmental subdivisions" while the lawsuit works its way through court. The policy, McConnell wrote, "is arbitrary and capricious in its scope and lacks specificity in how the States are to cooperate on immigration enforcement in exchange for Congressionally appropriated transportation dollars — grant money that the States rely on to keep their residents safely and efficiently on the road, in the sky, and on the rails." The Rhode Island judge added that "Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes." California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state was one of the 20 plaintiffs, lauded the decision in a statement, saying President Trump has tried to "coerce state and local governments into doing his bidding." "President Trump is threatening to withhold critical transportation funds unless states agree to carry out his inhumane and illogical immigration agenda for him. He is treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip," Bonta wrote. CBS News has reached out to the White House and Department of Transportation for comment.

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NPR [6/19/2025 10:23 PM, Vanessa Romo, 37958K]
Reuters [6/19/2025 8:11 PM, Nate Raymond, 44540K]
NewsMax [6/19/2025 6:27 PM, Staff, 4622K]

FOX News [6/19/2025 7:10 PM, Greg Wehner , Bill Mears, 46878K] reports a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, blocking the Trump administration from denying federal transportation funds to states that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities. Twenty Democratic-led states brought a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, challenging a new Department of Transportation (DOT) policy of withholding or terminating federal funding to any state or local government that does not comply with immigration-enforcement policies. During Trump’s first day in office, he issued a sweeping executive order that would deny federal funds to "so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.” U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued the preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s efforts on Thursday, saying it is "unconstitutional and/or unlawful" because it violates the Administrative Procedure Act. McConnell also said the Trump administration’s action is ultra vires – or done beyond one’s legal authority – and exceeds Congress’s powers under the Spending Clause. Under the preliminary injunction, the Trump administration is "prohibited from implementing or enforcing the Immigration Enforcement Condition as set forth in the Duffy Directive," McConnell wrote. He also said the defendants are "prohibited from withholding or terminating federal funding based on the Immigration Enforcement Condition as set forth in the Duffy Directive absent specific statutory authorization.” "Defendants are prohibited from taking adverse action against any state entity or local jurisdiction, including barring it from receiving or making it ineligible for federal funding, based on the Immigration Enforcement Condition, absent specific statutory authorization," the ruling continued. "The Court forbids and enjoins any attempt to implement the Immigration Enforcement Condition, and any actions by the Defendants to implement or enforce the Immigration Enforcement Condition.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on the matter. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, even this week, has warned "rogue state actors" who do not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal immigration enforcement that they may be on the hook to clean up their own mess. Most recently, Duffy directed his comments toward California officials who have distanced themselves from immigration enforcement while riots and protests continue to break out in places like Los Angeles. Duffy has suggested political leaders work better with the Trump administration. "The USDOT will not fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement," Duffy said Monday. "And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either.” Duffy said in April that federal grants come with the obligation to adhere to federal law. "It shouldn’t be controversial – enforce our immigration rules, end anti-American DEI policies, and protect free speech. These values reflect the priorities of the American people, and I will take action to ensure compliance," he said.

Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 12:10 PM, Elaine Mallon, 1934K] reports five Democratic cities are suing the Department of Homeland Security for failing to reimburse them for purchases made to support counterterrorism measures and curbing nuclear attacks. Chicago, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle have filed suit after 11 requests for reimbursements for expenditures, previously approved by the department, have been ignored since February. The plaintiffs call the DHS’s refusal to immediately reimburse cities unconstitutional. The program, which grants cities funding to prepare against nuclear and terrorist attacks, is known as Securing the Cities. It was first established in New York in 2006, and by 2018, the program was authorized by Congress. Estimated annual funding for the program is approximately $29 million. "Congress enacted Securing the Cities and required DHS to provide resources to local governments to implement the program," according to the lawsuit. "DHS cannot override Congress’s judgment by freezing congressionally appropriated funding.” The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit that the DHS’s freezing of already-approved funding is "already impairing" the ability of cities to "protect public safety.” Boston forwent "buying crucial nuclear and radiological detection equipment for its Fire Department." Chicago delayed the renewal of a software license used to operate radiation detection devices and directed a vendor to halt work on a camera system designed to identify radiation sources. Denver is awaiting $300,000 in reimbursement from the DHS. Seattle was forced to pause its purchase of 1,000 radiation detectors at a cost of $1.1 million. Seattle officials said the purchase was intended in preparation for the 2026 World Cup matches. "There’s a pretty big irony between the rhetoric we’re hearing from D.C. on the need to have safe and secure cities, and what’s happening here — where the actual dollars that go to support that at the city level are being held up," Seattle Deputy Mayor Greg Wong told Politico.

DailySignal [6/18/2025 11:30 AM, Lorenzo Prieto, 558K] reports Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., delivered remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor, defending his confrontation last week with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem while accusing President Donald Trump of using the LA riots as a pretext to deploy the National Guard and violate First Amendment rights. On June 12, during a press briefing held by Noem in California, Padilla burst into the room, began shouting at Noem, ignored security officers’ directions and pushed toward the secretary. The senator was then restrained, handcuffed, and forced out of the press briefing. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at DHS, called Padilla’s actions "disrespectful political theater," noting on X, "@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.” Padilla’s speech addressed the incident, describing himself not as an unidentified individual yelling and moving aggressively toward a federal official, but "one senator with a question.” While recalling his experience, Padilla started to cry, stating he was "physically and aggressively forced out of the room." "You’ve seen the video," Padilla said. "I was pushed and pulled, struggled to maintain my balance. I was forced to the ground first on my knees and then flat on my chest." He concluded his story by wishing all his colleagues, "I pray you never have a moment like this.” The senator continued his speech by calling his experience as a breach of his First Amendment rights, claiming, "If that is what the administration is willing to do to a United States senator for having the authority to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up.” Padilla claimed that law and immigration enforcement are not arresting criminals but innocents, with "no prior criminal conviction," and added that "10% of immigrants taken into ICE custody since October have no serious criminal convictions.”

The Hill [6/18/2025 12:43 PM, Tara Suter, 18649K] reports Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that Republicans cannot deny the numbers of the recent "No Kings" protests. "One of the best things that has happened over the last several days is that millions of people who came out across the country on Saturday, by and large, very, very peaceful, but you can’t deny the numbers," Padilla said on MSNBC’s "The Weeknight". "My colleagues on the other side of the aisle cannot deny the numbers," he added. The No Kings organization’s "national day of action" against the Trump administration turned out an estimated 5 million protesters in more than 2,000 cities and towns across the U.S. The marches happened as a parade celebrating the Army took place in the nation’s capital on President Trump’s birthday. In the days leading up to the parade and protests, Trump was asked to respond to the planned No Kings demonstrations, to which he replied that he doesn’t "feel like a king." "I have to go through hell to get stuff approved," he said. Padilla’s comments follow his forcible removal and handcuffing at a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week, which flared tempers among Democrats.

New York Times [6/19/2025 5:33 AM, Alex Padilla, 138952K] reports growing up in the northeastern San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the 1980s and ‘90s, I knew what could happen if you didn’t completely cooperate with law enforcement. Even so, it was jarring last week when, despite clearly identifying myself as a U.S. senator, I was forcibly removed from a news conference at which Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, promised to “liberate” Los Angeles from our democratically elected mayor and governor. As I was thrown to the ground, handcuffed and walked down a hall while officers refused to tell me why I was being detained, my mind raced with questions. Where are they taking me? Am I being arrested? What will residents of a city already on edge from being militarized think when they see their senator has just been handcuffed? I imagined similar questions were running through the mind of Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate, this week when he, too, was handcuffed by federal agents for asking them whether they had a warrant to arrest a migrant he had locked arms with. Like me, Mr. Lander had the audacity to question the legitimacy of federal actions, only to find himself pushed against a wall and detained. If you watched what happened to me or Mr. Lander these past few days and thought this was about any one politician or altercation, you are missing the point.

NewsMax [6/18/2025 6:40 PM, Jim Mishler, 4622K] reports Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he wants answers about the June 12 incident in which Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. was handcuffed during a media briefing conducted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Axios reported. "I am Sen. Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary," Padilla said during the press conference at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, where Noem was answering questions about protests in the city related to immigration enforcement actions. Video showed a Secret Service agent on Noem’s security detail grabbing the California senator by his jacket and shoving him from the room as he tried to speak up during the DHS secretary’s event. Padilla interrupted the news conference after Noem said federal authorities were not going away but planned to stay and increase operations to "liberate" the city from its "socialist" leadership. Scuffling with officers outside the room, he can be heard bellowing, "Hands off!" He is later seen on his knees and then pushed to the ground and handcuffed in a hallway, with several officers atop him. In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Raskin asked, "Can you explain why asking government officials to answer basic questions is such a threat to this Administration that it would resort to such tactics against a United States Senator? "This Administration has much to answer for. It has sent masked agents in unmarked vans to disappear people from American streets," he wrote. Raskin demanded Patel "immediately provide answers and conduct an investigation into the FBI’s role in this disgraceful and indefensible assault of a Member of Congress.” Trump adviser Dick Morris told Newsmax that he believed Padilla was attempting to pull off a political stunt.

Washington Post [6/19/2025 12:05 PM, Jesús Rodríguez, 32099K] reports “Never did I imagine hands on me, and let alone being put on the ground,” Padilla, California’s first Latino senator, said in an interview at an office inside the Capitol this week. It happened in his native Los Angeles, a city that had been engulfed in protests since federal agents arrived to crack down on undocumented immigrants. In response to the unrest, which has been largely peaceful but at times turned violent, President Donald Trump had ordered thousands of military personnel deployed to the city. Padilla says he was at the Wilshire Federal Building waiting to start a briefing with top military officials when he heard that Kristi L. Noem, the homeland security secretary, was holding a news conference on the federal presence there. He asked the people escorting him if he could attend it. Noem was in the middle of criticizing local leaders as "socialists" and "burdensome" for not coordinating more closely with the federal government when Padilla stepped to the front of the room and began to ask why she was using a relatively small number of immigrant criminals targeted for deportation to justify what he saw as an outsize federal response. In hindsight, Padilla says he realized he was interrupting but thought officials might ask him to wait until the news conference was done. Instead, federal agents started clutching and pushing him. "Sir! Sir! Hands off! Hands off!" Padilla told one of the agents. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) on June 12 was pushed out of a room as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem held a news conference on the L.A. protests. (Video: Handout Sen. Alex Padilla’s staff). "I am Senator Alex Padilla," he said next, haltingly and with jagged breath. "I have questions for the secretary.” Padilla tried to steady himself and push forward as he kept asking his question, but was eventually shoved out of the room without finishing. What followed was an eerie silence. Inside, the TV cameras swiveled back to Noem, who continued her remarks after a brief pause. Meanwhile, federal agents marched Padilla away from the double doors, then muscled him to his knees, and then flat on the gray-carpeted floor. He uttered some words in the struggle, but then there was only the quiet click of the handcuffs. Padilla said nothing. "I knew that as uncomfortable as it was, as wrong as I felt as it was, that if I responded to what was happening the wrong way, it would give those agents a license to escalate their physical actions against me even more so, which is a —". Since the incident, Padilla has emphasized one point: that if this is how the administration treats a senator, they could be treating ordinary people in detention much worse. On Tuesday, in the Senate subway on the way to give a speech on the floor, he said he hoped his colleagues would realize the incident wasn’t just about him or just about immigrants but also about the right of U.S. citizens to question their government. He said he might be able to tell if he was changing minds based on his colleagues’ body language and what they said to him. Was it really worth it? Padilla says he didn’t get the answers he was looking for. While he was being escorted away from the news conference, he said a voice behind him told agents to let him go. It was Corey Lewandowski, Padilla said, the former Trump campaign adviser and now an aide to Noem, offering a meeting with the secretary. Padilla said that at the meeting, Noem offered "the same old company line that they’re targeting the dangerous criminals, and you should see some of these violent felons." (A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.).

Daily Signal [6/18/2025 11:30 AM, Lorenzo Prieto, 558K] reports that Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., delivered remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor, defending his confrontation last week with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem while accusing President Donald Trump of using the LA riots as a pretext to deploy the National Guard and violate First Amendment rights. On June 12, during a press briefing held by Noem in California, Padilla burst into the room, began shouting at Noem, ignored security officers’ directions and pushed toward the secretary. The senator was then restrained, handcuffed, and forced out of the press briefing. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at DHS, called Padilla’s actions "disrespectful political theater," noting on X, "@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately." Padilla’s speech addressed the incident, describing himself not as an unidentified individual yelling and moving aggressively toward a federal official, but "one senator with a question." Here are five key moments from Tuesday’s floor speech: While recalling his experience, Padilla started to cry, stating he was "physically and aggressively forced out of the room." "You’ve seen the video," Padilla said. The senator continued his speech by calling his experience as a breach of his First Amendment rights, claiming, "If that is what the administration is willing to do to a United States senator for having the authority to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up."

The Hill [6/18/2025 2:25 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports that North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis (R) on Wednesday criticized the forceful removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference last week, while also critiquing his "inappropriate" behavior. Tillis said the incident, which followed a handful of escalations with Democratic lawmakers, was "disgusting" during a speech on the floor. "There were clearly people in that building that knew he was a U.S. senator. So the minute he was removed from that situation in that briefing room, then they should have treated him with respect and allowed him to disperse," Tillis said Wednesday. "It was disgusting to me to see somebody wrestle to the floor, anybody, but particularly a U.S. senator that’s in a federal building," he added. Padilla was escorted to the news conference by federal agents and was handcuffed after trying to ask a question during DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s remarks. "We have daily, weekly press conference out here with leadership. We’ve got a press room on the third floor. I wonder if we’re actually saying it’s OK for me to run out here and interrupt Sen. Schumer while he’s giving his opening statements to a presser to ask him a question," Tillis said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "I think that that’s inappropriate… Sen. Padilla should have found a better way to elevate his concerns to the secretary of Homeland Security rather than going in there and having that dust-up," he added.

The Hill [6/18/2025 11:26 AM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports several Democrats have either been arrested, detained or charged under the Trump administration due to the White House’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin has condemned their treatment, arguing lawmakers are being assaulted without reason. "Elected officials are being arrested for doing their jobs," Martin wrote in a Wednesday statement on social platform X. "Once again, the Trump administration is silencing people who disagree with them in broad daylight.” Several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents handcuffed New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a candidate for mayor, outside an immigration court Tuesday for impeding law enforcement officers. Sen. Alex Padilla (Calif.) was forcibly removed from a June 12 press conference by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He attended the event with federal escorts and attempted to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question. Trump administration officials allege he lunged at Noem and, despite verbally identifying himself as a lawmaker, agents were unaware of his official capacity without the presence of a physical pin typically worn by members of Congress. "Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social platform X. Padilla later spoke out about the incident, declaring it as a threat to constitutional rights and the rule of law. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was briefly arrested following his visit to the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey. Habba originally threatened to press charges but withdrew the statement after further review of the incident. Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (N.Y.) staffer was briefly detained in May after DHS agents entered the congressman’s Manhattan office searching for "protesters." One agent accused Nadler aides of "harboring rioters.” "They barged in. And in barging in one of the offices, a very big, heavyset fellow pushed my aide — a very petite young woman — and they then said that she pushed back and they shackled her and took her downstairs," Nadler told CNN. "And she was obviously traumatized," he added.

CNN [6/18/2025 6:04 AM, Karina Tsui, 21433K] reports New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested at Manhattan’s immigration court Tuesday, becoming the latest elected official to be detained or forcibly removed from immigration-related proceedings amid the Trump administration’s sweeping deportation efforts. At least four other elected officials have recently faced similar confrontations with law enforcement. Here’s what we know. Brad Lander had been monitoring immigration court activity over the past few weeks and escorting asylum seekers as they exited their court appointments in Manhattan. Tuesday’s occurrence was no exception, he told CNN. Multiple videos showed the New York politician standing next to a man and locking arms with him as federal officers approached. The officers asked Lander to step aside to arrest the man, and when he and other bystanders tried to block the arrest, a scuffle broke out between them. Several directives the Department of Homeland Security issued since January allow ICE officers or agents to conduct immigration enforcement actions in or near courthouses when they have "credible information" targeted aliens will be at certain locations, including public and non-public areas in court buildings. Court hallways are considered public spaces where authorities would not need a warrant to make arrests. Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, accused Lander on Fox News of "assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer," while he tried to escort the man. US Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was forcefully removed from a news conference in Los Angeles last week and coerced to the ground after attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question. Padilla, California’s first Latino elected to the US Senate, interrupted Noem as she was giving remarks at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles on the administration’s response to the anti-ICE protests in the city. He was quickly removed from the room, brought to the ground by law enforcement, and placed in handcuffs during the rapidly unfolding incident. "I was there peacefully," Padilla said in his first public remarks after the incident. "At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained." Noem said the US Secret Service "thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately," despite videos showing the senator identifying himself as officers grabbed him and pushed him toward a door. "I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was." The pair, Noem said, later met and had a "great conversation" and exchanged phone numbers. "Sat down, talked for 10, 15 minutes about operations in LA, some activities of the Department of Homeland Security, and so I thought it was very productive," she told reporters. Padilla later urged people protesting to do so peacefully.

CBS News [6/19/2025 7:58 AM, Scott MacFarlane, 51860K] reports Rep. Eric Swalwell is no stranger to fighting legal battles. Swalwell, in his seventh term as a Democrat representing the Bay Area of California, served as an impeachment manager in President Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020. Swalwell is also the plaintiff in a four-year civil lawsuit seeking damages from Mr. Trump for the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. But Swalwell, an attorney and former local prosecutor in Alameda County, is so concerned about legal peril during the second Trump term, he has taken out a liability insurance policy to protect himself. Swalwell confirmed he had done so in a text message to CBS News. In a social media post last month, Swalwell accused the Trump administration of targeting Democratic legislators like his colleague, New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was charged with assaulting law enforcement officers at an immigration detention center. Swalwell — who has not been charged with a crime — wrote on X, "A RED LINE has been crossed. Trump is prosecuting his political enemies in Congress. This is just the beginning. We must take whatever we’ve done before to show dissent and go one rung higher.” Last week’s handcuffing of Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who was forcibly removed from a news conference and briefly cuffed by federal agents after publicly questioning Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has raised criticisms that the Trump administration has broken norms — and escalated tensions — by allowing federal law enforcement to arrest or detain elected officials who dissent. The Padilla incident occurred weeks after the arrests of McIver and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, also a Democrat, after a May 9 confrontation with federal agents outside the Delaney Hall immigration facility in Newark. Prosecutors dropped the case against Baraka, but McIver faces felony charges and the prospect of a multi-year prison sentence if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege McIver struck agents with her arms during the incident. The Department of Homeland Security accused the elected officials of "breaking into" the detention center. McIver responded to her indictment in a statement that said, "The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation.” In the latest incident, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Democrat running for mayor, was detained by immigration agents Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse. In a sequence of events captured on video, Lander was seen holding onto a man, whom he identified as Edgardo, following the man’s immigration hearing. Video then showed masked immigration agents trying to take the man into custody, and then taking Lander into custody as he asked to see a warrant. Federal law enforcement officials said Lander was arrested "for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.” He was released four hours later, with his wife and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul by his side. No charges were filed against him. In a statement to CBS News, a White House spokeswoman said, "Here’s the real story: why do so many Democrat officials feel emboldened to brazenly break the law and then complain when they are held accountable?". "It’s alarming Democrats think they can obstruct federal law enforcement, assault ICE agents, or physically push law enforcement officers while charging a cabinet secretary, without consequence — it’s even more alarming that the media is encouraging and defending this lawless behavior," the spokesperson said.

Breitbart.com [6/18/2025 3:26 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is considering charges against New York City Comptroller and Democrat mayoral candidate Brad Lander for allegedly assaulting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and impeding the arrest of an illegal alien. On Tuesday, Lander showed up at a Manhattan courthouse to observe immigration hearings involving illegal aliens facing deportation and proceeded to allegedly prevent an ICE agent from taking custody of one such illegal alien. As a result, ICE agents arrested Lander. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman released a subsequent statement, noting that "no one is above the law" and suggesting that Lander had assaulted an ICE agent. As Lander was released from ICE custody late on Tuesday and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) claimed there are no charges against him, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said Lander may face charges.

FOX News [6/18/2025 10:00 AM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 46878K] reports New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander said on Tuesday that it was "remarkable" to him that some of the officers who arrested him outside an immigration court were themselves immigrants. Video footage of Lander’s arrest appeared to show him hanging onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, repeatedly asking 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?". Lander described how "angry" and "sad" he was at the experience on MSNBC’s "All In with Chris Hayes," pointing out what he seemed to consider an irony that some of the arresting officers were immigrant New Yorkers. "I got to say about who two of the agents were, because this was kind of remarkable in itself," Lander said. "The arresting officer is a Pakistani Muslim who lives in Brighton Beach, and the second officer is an Indo-Guyanese immigrant who lives in South Ozone Park in Queens. Both immigrants.” He added, "Immigrant New Yorkers, whoever they are, have a lot of the same issues. And some of that is affordable housing. And some of that is knowing that Donald Trump is coming for New York City. And we need elected officials who will stand up.” Hayes asked what it said to him that the arresting officers were both immigrants defending an ICE operation. In response to the incident, a DHS spokesperson said, "Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment.” "No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences," the spokesperson said.

San Francisco Chronicle [6/18/2025 5:52 PM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 4120K] reports an increase in recent immigration enforcement in California’s Central Valley appears to have caused a drop in school attendance, a Stanford University researcher has found. After a January immigration raid that targeted Kern County farmworkers, local school districts saw a 22% increase in daily student absences compared to the monthly pattern within the past two years, Stanford education professor Thomas Dee wrote in a newly published paper. The Jan. 7 to 9 raid, called "Operation Return to Sender," was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s El Centro sector days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The first major workplace immigration raid in California since Trump’s presidential election victory, it resulted in at least 78 arrests, according to the El Centro sector of the U.S. Border Patrol. Border patrol agents claimed they were carrying out "a "targeted enforcement" action focused on those with criminal histories but United Farm Workers, a California-based union, said many people arrested had no criminal records, including a lawful permanent resident who was only released when she showed the agent a picture of her green card. A U.S. district judge later barred U.S. Border Patrol agents from using practices deployed in that raid. The raid almost immediately fueled widespread fear among undocumented immigrant families, who said they were afraid to send their kids to school or leave home in case they were arrested.

The Wall Street Journal [6/20/2025 1:14 AM, Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall, 646K] reports federal appeals court on Thursday night allowed President Trump to maintain command of the California National Guard in response to the Los Angeles protests, blocking a lower court that ordered him to return those forces to the state’s control. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Trump’s decision to federalize the Guard was entitled to a high degree of deference. Under that standard, “we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,” the panel wrote. Earlier this month, after protests broke out in Los Angeles against immigration raids, Trump signed an order federalizing some 4,000 members of the Guard. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, sued, arguing that the situation fell far short of invasion, rebellion or breakdown in civil order, the conditions set out under federal law for the president to deploy those forces. Thursday’s ruling blocked the effect of a decision last week in favor of California. In that earlier ruling, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, an appointee in San Francisco of President Bill Clinton, concluded that the situation in Los Angeles didn’t justify federalizing the Guard and that Trump ignored a provision requiring mobilization orders to be sent “through the governor.” He ordered control of the troops returned to Newsom. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department had argued that Breyer’s decision effectively gave state governors veto power over the president’s military decisions. The AP [6/20/2025 12:30 AM, Staff, 31733K] reports that the decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor’s permission since 1965. In its decision, a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded it was likely Trump lawfully exercised his authority in federalizing control of the guard. It said that while presidents don’t have unfettered power to seize control of a state’s guard, the Trump administration had presented enough evidence to show it had a defensible rationale for doing so, citing violent acts by protesters. “The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid, and other objects’ at the officers. Protesters also damaged federal buildings and caused the closure of at least one federal building. And a federal van was attacked by protesters who smashed in the van’s windows,” the court wrote. “The federal government’s interest in preventing incidents like these is significant.” It also found that even if the federal government failed to notify the governor of California before federalizing the National Guard as required by law, Newsom had no power to veto the president’s order. Trump celebrated the decision on his Truth Social platform, calling it a “BIG WIN.” He wrote that “all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done.” Newsom issued a statement that expressed disappointment that the court is allowing Trump to retain control of the Guard. But he also welcomed one aspect of the decision. “The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court,” Newsom said. “The President is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”

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Washington Post [6/20/2025 12:48 AM, Perry Stein, 32099K]
San Francisco Chronicle [6/20/2025 12:34 PM, Bob Egelko, 4120K]

Breitbart [6/20/2025 12:44 AM, Joel B. Pollak, 3077K] reports a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously Thursday that President Donald Trump can federalize the California National Guard, rejecting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claims. Trump federalized the Guard earlier this month to mobilize them against riots in Los Angeles. Newsom and fellow Democrats, who had failed to contain the violence, claimed the president was acting "illegally.” In a 38-page opinion, the judges — two appointees of President Trump, and one of President Joe Biden — held that the president is likely to prevail on the merits of the case, and extended a stay of the district court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) against the administration. While the judges concluded that Trump’s power over the National Guard was not unreviewable by the courts, they also concluded, based on precedent, that they had to defer to his judgment. They also noted that the main objection raised by Newsom — namely, that Trump had not consulted with the governor’s office — was invalid, because Trump fulfilled his duty simply by informing the governor. Even if Newsom were right, they ruled, that would not invalidate Trump’s authority. “Defendants have made the required strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their appeal. We disagree with Defendants’ primary argument that the President’s decision to federalize members of the California National Guard under 10 U.S.C. § 12406 is completely insulated from judicial review. Nonetheless, we are persuaded that, under longstanding precedent interpreting the statutory predecessor to § 12406, our review of that decision must be highly deferential. Affording the President that deference, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority under § 12406(3), which authorizes federalization of the National Guard when "the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States." Additionally, the Secretary of Defense’s transmittal of the order to the Adjutant General of the California National Guard—who is authorized under California law to "issue all orders in the name of the Governor," CAL. MIL. & VET. CODE § 163—likely satisfied the statute’s procedural requirement that federalization orders be issued "through" the Governor. And even if there were a procedural violation, that would not justify the scope of relief provided by the district court’s TRO. Our conclusion that it is likely that the President’s order federalizing members of the California National Guard was authorized under § 12406(3) also resolves the Tenth Amendment claim because the parties agree that the Tenth Amendment claim turns on the statutory claim.” Newsom has continued to claim that Trump’s federalization of the National Guard was "illegal." Pending appeal to the full bench of the Ninth Circuit, or to the U.S. Supreme Court, he may have to revise that claim.

Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 11:37 AM, Brady Knox, 1934K] reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deployed an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. In a Tuesday night press release, U.S. Northern Command announced the deployment of the California National Guard troops under a Title 10 status to protect federal property in the city. Task Force 51, as the force in Los Angeles is designated, previously consisted of roughly 4,100 National Guard troops and 700 Marines, deployed last week in response to anti-ICE riots in the city. "As with other units identified to support this mission, the brigade will not directly participate in civilian law enforcement activities," the NORTHCOM statement said regarding the new deployment. "The activation of the 49th is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency." "The soldiers are completing training on de-escalation, crowd control, and use of the standing rules for the use of force in advance of joining the federal protection mission," it continued, adding that the troops wouldn’t conduct law enforcement activities such as arrests. "Their focus is the safety and continuity of federal functions.” The announcement came as a surprise to many, given the growing impression that the protests and riots were simmering down. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently eased parts of the nighttime curfew.

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FOX News [6/18/2025 10:21 AM, Peter D’Abrosca, 46878K]
Univision [6/18/2025 5:05 PM, Staff, 4992K]

Axios [6/18/2025 12:55 PM, April Rubin, 13599K] reports that Senate Democrats on Wednesday demanded the Trump administration to share its plans to deploy active duty military in cities across the U.S. Why it matters: President Trump’s decision to send active duty Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles following pro-immigrants’ rights protests sparked more demonstrations nationwide. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sparked additional backlash after she said the goal is to "liberate" Los Angeles from its elected Democratic leaders during a press conference where Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that the Trump administration would not respect district court orders to disband troops, but that it would abide by a Supreme Court ruling. What they’re saying: "I have been deeply disturbed and alarmed by the use of active-duty troops, Marines in Los Angeles," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. "And President Trump has made clear his intentions to continue to use the military to suppress dissent and likely inflame tensions there and elsewhere all under the guise of enforcing the law. What he’s doing may well be illegal." Hegseth pushed back on the claim that the deployments have been illegal, but he did not confirm whether contingency plans were in place for using military in other cities. Driving the news: "I take it from your answer that you do have contingency plans for the use of military in other cities," Blumenthal said. Hegseth did not address Blumenthal’s request.

NPR [6/19/2025 12:10 PM, Martin Kaste, 37958K] reports the dispute over President Trump’s decision to federalize thousands of National Guard troops and deploy them to Los Angeles has moved to a San Francisco federal appeals court. On Tuesday, it heard a request from the Trump Administration to extend the block on a lower court’s ruling that required Trump to return control of the Guard to California Governor Gavin Newsom. The president sent more than 4,000 Guard members to the city to protect federal property and employees during tumultuous protests against immigration enforcement; Newsom says the deployment of the Guard and an additional 700 Marines was an overreaction and counter-productive. But while the status of the military units in Los Angeles remains undecided, the immigration raids that touched off the protests in early June have intensified. "Operations are getting a little bit more faster, and they’re in and out," says Vlad Carrasco, with the immigrant advocacy group CHIRLA, where he’s part of a "rapid response" effort that rushes to the sites of reported raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Carrasco says he used to be able to get there in time to document ICE actions, but that changed in early June. Now when he gets to the scene, ICE is leaving or already gone. "They know it’ll likely cause a mobilization by the local community if they do stay there a long time," Carrasco says. Advocacy groups have been sharing videos of ICE and other immigration enforcement officers being confronted by angry civilians. In some cases, National Guard soldiers will emerge from a van to establish a protective line between agents and members of the public, but observers say the more common defensive tactic is speed. Combine that with the fact that agents are sometimes in plainclothes, masked, or wear insignia from other federal agencies, and the result is widespread fear, says Guillermo Torres of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. "It makes you think of a totalitarian regime," Torres says. "It makes you think of a country where people are kidnapped. Not only kidnapped, they disappear.” The Trump administration lays the blame for the stepped-up raids in L.A. on the city itself, and its policies limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. Administration officials such as "border czar" Tom Homan have repeatedly said "sanctuary" jurisdictions force federal agents to perform risky arrests in neighborhoods, because they’re not able to take custody of their targets from local jails, when local law enforcement arrests them on non-immigration charges. "These operations have been much more difficult because of Los Angeles’ and California’s sanctuary policies," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said last week. As to agents wearing masks, the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, says it’s a necessary response to what he describes as efforts to post the photos and names of agents online, which he says has led to threats to them and their families. "Is anyone upset with the fact that ICE officers’ families were labeled ‘terrorists’?" Lyons said, earlier this month. But Oscar Zarate, also with CHIRLA, says the federal government’s deployment of personnel from multiple federal agencies to immigration enforcement in the city has created what he calls a "peak level of anxiety." Immigration enforcement in L.A. has involved personnel from Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration. "I think because we’ve seen some of the agents in plain clothing with unmarked vehicles, it’s hard to decipher who they are and what they’re there for," he says, adding that CHIRLA’s rapid response team is also receiving more mistaken reports from people who see local law enforcement activity and think it’s ICE. "But I think that’s because [ICE is] kind of in disguise now, and people now can never really decipher who it is," Zarate says.

USA Today [6/19/2025 8:27 PM, Davis Winkie, 75552K] reports the possibility of the Trump administration sending National Guard troops on immigration raids outside their own state could cause a legal clash between states — and with the federal government. The Pentagon is weighing a request from the Department of Homeland Security to call up 20,000 members of the National Guard under state authority for interior immigration enforcement, which would cost about $3.6 billion per year. These troops, if approved, would be distinct from the 4,000 Guardsmen currently deployed to Los Angeles under presidential orders. Guard troops under state authority are not subject to laws barring the military from directly participating in civilian law enforcement activities. The Trump administration, according to CNN, is assessing whether DHS can send requested National Guard troops sourced from red states — such as from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Texas — into blue states like California, where Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is unlikely to authorize his troops to support DHS/ICE under state orders. Stephen Miller, the White House’s deputy chief of staff for domestic policy, has previously floated the idea of such deployments. "You go to the red state governors and you say, ‘Give us your National Guard.’ We will deputize them as immigration enforcement officers," Miller said in a 2023 podcast interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk. "If you’re going to go into an unfriendly state like Maryland, when then it will just be Virginia doing the arrest in Maryland.” Legal experts and former DHS officials who spoke with USA TODAY emphasized the unprecedented nature of such a proposal. John Sandweg, an attorney who served as ICE’s acting director and as acting general counsel for DHS, said using the Guard for interior enforcement in unwilling states would "push the envelope of the idea of the state militia and National Guard.”

Axios [6/18/2025 11:27 AM, April Rubin, 13599K] reports Senate Democrats on Wednesday demanded the Trump administration to share its plans to deploy active duty military in cities across the U.S. President Trump’s decision to send active duty Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles following pro-immigrants’ rights protests sparked more demonstrations nationwide. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sparked additional backlash after she said the goal is to "liberate" Los Angeles from its elected Democratic leaders during a press conference where Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that the Trump administration would not respect district court orders to disband troops, but that it would abide by a Supreme Court ruling. "I have been deeply disturbed and alarmed by the use of active-duty troops, Marines in Los Angeles," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. "And President Trump has made clear his intentions to continue to use the military to suppress dissent and likely inflame tensions there and elsewhere all under the guise of enforcing the law. What he’s doing may well be illegal." Hegseth pushed back on the claim that the deployments have been illegal, but he did not confirm whether contingency plans were in place for using military in other cities. "I take it from your answer that you do have contingency plans for the use of military in other cities," Blumenthal said. Hegseth did not address Blumenthal’s request.

NPR [6/18/2025 11:05 AM, Jude Joffe-Block, 37958K] reports Democratic lawmakers expressed "deep concern" about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s intent to collect the personal data of tens of millions of federal food assistance recipients and sent Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins detailed questions about the effort in a letter Wednesday. NPR reported last month that the USDA was taking the unprecedented step of demanding states turn over sensitive data on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients – including their citizenship status, in the case of at least one state. The Trump administration, led by the Department of Government Efficiency team, has been amassing sensitive data on Americans and residents as a way to bolster immigration enforcement efforts and find potential instances of fraud in federal programs. In a May 6 letter, a USDA adviser told states the department would be collecting the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of SNAP recipients and applicants from the past five years from states’ third-party electronic benefits transfer (EBT) payment processors. The guidance cited President Trump’s March 20 executive order, which calls for the federal government to have "unfettered access" to data from state programs receiving federal funds as part of an effort to root out waste, fraud and abuse. In their letter, the members of Congress said there are already quality control and anti-fraud measures in place to detect SNAP overpayments that do not require the department collecting such data. "There is simply no reasonable justification for authorizing such a sweeping collection of information, particularly given the cybersecurity and privacy risks," reads the letter signed by 35 Democratic members of Congress, led by Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass. and Rep. Angie Craig D-Minn., who is the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee. "In addition, USDA’s effort risks irreparably damaging SNAP’s reputation by eroding Americans’ trust in state agencies and EBT processors as good-faith stewards of their personal data, thereby imperiling effective program administration," the letter reads. The letter said the Trump administration has been on an "unprecedented quest to collect and consolidate as much personal data from the American people as possible" and has endangered Americans’ privacy and violated "the letter and spirit" of laws like the Privacy Act. The lawmakers urged the USDA to "immediately cease any data collection" related to the May 6 letter and "disgorge any data" already collected until more information is sent to Congress about the effort, though it is unclear if USDA has collected data yet.

AP [6/18/2025 1:21 PM, Staff, 56000K] reports the Trump administration on Wednesday imposed economic sanctions on five high-ranking members of Mexico’s powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel for their drug trafficking, while also citing their involvement in killings. Previous administrations have also sanctioned the cartel – one of Mexico’s most powerful — as the Trump administration also did in May, when it targeted the cartel’s fuel theft operations. The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals or companies have in the U.S. and prohibit U.S. citizens from doing business with them. "CJNG’s reign of terror across Mexico and its trafficking of fentanyl into the United States has destroyed countless innocent lives," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "The United States remains strongly committed to leveraging all available tools to degrade the capacity of CJNG and other cartels to flood our streets with dangerous drugs and perpetrate heinous acts of violence against civilians.” In February, the U.S. administration designated Jalisco New Generation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The cartel is led by Nemesio Rubén "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes and he was among the five leaders named Wednesday. Washington has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture. Two of those sanctioned have been recently connected to high-profile investigations in Mexico.

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Daily Wire [6/18/2025 7:54 AM, Spencer Lindquist, 3816K]
Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 4:27 PM, David Zimmermann, 1934K]

NewsNation [6/18/2025 3:33 PM, Rob Taub, 18649K] reports an alleged leader of a violent drug trafficking organization in Tijuana, Mexico, was captured and arrested, a report said. Pablo Edwin Huerta, known as "El Flaquito," was apprehended when federal forces surrounded him after a search. Omar Hamid García Harfuch, secretary of security and citizen protection of Mexico, confirmed the arrest. "In a coordinated action between @Defensamx1 and @FGRMexico in Tijuana, BC, elements of the Mexican Army arrested Pablo Edwin "N", alias "Flaquito" and three other people in two different actions," Harfuch posted on X. "Pablo Edwin "N" is identified as one of the main generators of violence in the region, due to his control of drug trafficking routes to the United States.” During Huerta’s arrest, drugs, weapons exclusively for the Mexican Army, magazines, ammunition, tactical equipment, vehicles and two properties were seized. For years, Huerta managed to elude multiple assassination attempts, including one at a hospital where he even appeared dressed as a police officer. Huerta, considered the main leader of the Arellano Félix cartel, had an extradition warrant out for his arrest.

Houston Chronicle [6/18/2025 11:53 AM, James Osborne, 1982K] reports seven years after Mexico declared a cease fire in their war against the drug cartels, Congress is weighing spending billions of dollars to help a new administration in Mexico renew the fight against organized crime. At the center is Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, who is heading a new House cartel task force and pushing a counter-insurgency strategy that would not only send U.S. military equipment and training to Mexico but also use the expertise of agencies like the FBI and CIA to help strengthen the country’s law enforcement and intelligence networks. With new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signaling she plans to abandon the laissez-faire approach of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and with President Donald Trump trying to halt the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States, now is the time to go after the cartels, Crenshaw said in an interview this week. "We are fighting a counterinsurgency war alongside our Mexican partners, and we need to resource it and strategize," he said. "There’s a lot of opportunities now that did not exist a year ago.” The push by Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal who says he’s been studying Mexico’s drug trade for the past two years, comes at a time the cartels have amassed incredible power within Mexico. Their reach extends beyond the trafficking routes they use to move drugs and people, to business, law enforcement and the government itself, said Tony Payan, executive director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University. Last year a U.S. judge sentenced Genaro Garcia Luna, the former secretary of public security in Mexico, to more than 38 years in prison after he was found guilty of helping the Sinaloa Cartel smuggle cocaine into the U.S. for decades. And Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha, a member of Sheinbaum’s Morena party, has come under scrutiny over alleged ties to the cartel there, which he has denied. And with many other Mexican politicians suspected of coordinating with the cartels, giving them more military resources and sharing intelligence could backfire, Payan said.

Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 2:02 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was released from the hospital late Tuesday after being transported by ambulance for emergency care due to an allergic reaction, the Washington Examiner has learned. "Secretary Noem was discharged last night," the DHS wrote in an email Wednesday. Noem was taken to a Washington, D.C.-area hospital Tuesday after suffering an allergic reaction. "Secretary Noem had an allergic reaction today. She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. She is alert and recovering," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Tuesday. The DHS has not disclosed what caused the allergic reaction. Noem is the Trump administration’s point person on carrying out President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. As the head of the DHS, she oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Noem frequently meets with federal law enforcement personnel in the field, but was in Washington at the time of the allergic reaction.

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Wall Street Journal [6/18/2025 12:48 PM, Robert Barba and Tarini Parti, 646K]
Yahoo News [6/19/2025 8:17 PM, Anastasia Van Batenburg, 59943K]

NewsMax [6/18/2025 10:36 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4622K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited a biological hazard lab the day before she was rushed to hospital for an allergic reaction. Noem, 53, was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, her spokeswoman said. "She is alert and recovering," said a statement from department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who added the hospital treatment was out of an "abundance of caution.” On Monday, Noem and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., apparently joined Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. in a visit to Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is located. "With @Sec_Noem and @SenRandPaul inspecting the biological hazard labs at Fort Detrick," RFK Jr. posted on X. Newsmax reached out to DHS to confirm Noem’s visit to Fort Detrick on Monday. There was nothing to suggest Noem’s allergic reaction and hospital trip was linked to the lab visit, Newsweek reported. The NBACC, created and built by DHS as a federal response to anthrax letter attacks in 2001, is dedicated to defending the nation against biological threats. It was a key site for investigations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York Post [6/19/2025 9:17 AM, Staff, 49956K] reports that, when it comes to illegal-migrant deportations, President Trump stressed last week, "We’re going to have to use a lot of common sense.” That principle must keep guiding his team’s drive to expel the millions of "asylum seekers" the last guy waved in. In particular, deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller’s demand that ICE now aim for 3,000 arrests a day is asking for trouble. Which illegal immigrants should be deported first? First, that’s impossible if Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem’s people focus mainly on the resource-intensive work of going after the worst of the worst — even though those are the deportations with the most overwhelming public support. Second, hitting the quota almost requires the kind of mass roundups that are the highest-risk, public opinion-wise. And which are also likely to capture pre-Biden (and even pre-Obama) illegal immigrants who’ve managed to put down some roots — and so prompt the kind of economic troubles that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned of, such as "severe disruptions to our food supply.” But the president can’t, and won’t, simply abandon one of his central campaign promises — nor should he. So far, that’s meant a zig-zag: "Changes are coming," Trump vowed, and a top ICE official then ordered a "hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture," restaurants and hotels — only for top Homeland Security brass to order a resumption of such raids. Even it out, people: Common sense, remember. First, keep pushing self-deportation, which is cheaper than arresting and removing people. Nearly 1 million have already voluntarily left under Trump, per some estimates. The president is wise to offer migrants an incentive to self-deport: $1,000, a one-way flight out of the country and no black mark on your record if you seek to immigrate legally. Second, balance goals and resources. The Big Beautiful Bill will fund 10,000 new ICE officers and 3,000 border agents (as well as more self-deport grants ) — but until that passes, Miller’s quotas are going to force ICE to focus on lower-priority targets. Third, make it clear — to both migrants and employers — that widespread reliance on illegal labor can’t continue. Since 1986, the law has required businesses to verify workers’ eligibility, but enforcement’s been a joke. That must change — but a gradual transition is key to minimizing economic disruptions. Bottom line: Trump won election vowing to secure the border and to deport illegal migrants; he’s done the first and will keep working on the second. But as he himself acknowledged, implementation sometimes requires a scalpel, not a hammer, to avoid needless harm — and major political pain.

The Hill [6/18/2025 12:00 PM, Staff, 18649K] reports it is a bad time for thousands of Afghans who risked their lives helping the U.S. over the past two decades. On June 2, it was announced that the office that helps with relocation of Afghans who helped America will close on July 1. Last month, the Department of Homeland Security formally ended Temporary Protected Status for roughly 10,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Under the new directive, Afghan nationals currently residing in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status have just under six weeks to leave, setting a deadline of July 14. Most of these Afghans are waiting for the backlog to clear to get the Special Immigrant Visa that was promised to them because of the help they provided the U.S. since its 2001 invasion. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that "Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country." Yet, only days later, the State Department included Afghan citizens on a new "travel ban" list due to deteriorating security situation and threat of terrorism from that country, contradicting what Noem and her department had claimed. Anyone paying attention to Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return knows that it is not safe. The country has collapsed into an economic and humanitarian crisis. Al Qaeda has reestablished its position, operating training camps and safe houses across the country. According to a recent U.N. report, Afghanistan is now a "permissive environment" for al Qaeda consolidation. Meanwhile, the Afghan branch of the so-called Islamic State has never been stronger. Girls cannot attend school beyond grade six. Women cannot work or even leave their homes without permission from a male relative. Ethnic and religious minorities continue to face persecution. The Taliban are hunting down Afghans who worked with the U.S. and its allies — often with deadly consequences. The claim that Afghanistan is now "safe" is false. This issue is tricky for the Trump administration. In February 2020, President Trump reached a deal with the Taliban that planted the seed for the withdrawal of U.S. forces by May 2021. That agreement set in motion the Taliban’s return to power. In the chaotic withdrawal, the U.S. left behind an estimated $7 billion in military equipment — most of which is now in Taliban hands or circulating on the regional black market. But the greater cost has been moral: the abandonment of tens of thousands of Afghans who served alongside American forces. Many of these men and women risked their lives for U.S. forces as interpreters, engineers, medics and contractors. For them, the Taliban’s return is not just a change of government — it’s a death sentence.

Washington Post [6/19/2025 7:30 AM, Philip Bump, 32099K] reports last month, I wrote a column questioning why Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were increasingly disguising their identities as they conducted sweeps and arrests. One obvious answer was that they hoped to avoid accountability for their actions, making it harder to say precisely who had plucked up a college student or local mother and sent them to jail in another state pending deportation. The acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, took the time to respond to my column in a letter to this newspaper. He lamented my allegedly having disparaged his officers during National Police Week, insisting that officers were covering their faces for their own safety. He noted that a man in Texas faced criminal charges for threatening ICE officers and claimed that "ICE officers have seen a staggering 413 percent increase in assaults against them.” Given that it is no longer National Police Week, I assume Mr. Lyons will have no objection to my digging into his claims a bit more robustly. The trigger for doing so is the arrest of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday. Lander, as you have likely heard, was detained outside a New York courtroom as he pressed immigration officers to present an arrest warrant for a man they were taking into custody. Video from the scene shows Lander attempting to stay in physical contact with the immigrant being detained until the officers forcibly took him into custody. Lander’s effort to prevent the immigrant from being detained opened him up to criminal charges centered on obstruction. In a social media post, though, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Lander would also be charged with "assaulting law enforcement.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) later announced that the charges had been dropped. But a review of the video of the incident makes it hard to imagine why assault charges were even on the table. Lander — literally and aesthetically the city’s accountant — assaulted the officers in the sense that a bully might accuse you of having gotten in the way of his fist. If similar charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) were dubious, the ones against Lander are simply silly.

The Hill [6/18/2025 1:30 PM, Jake Parker, 18649K] reports that despite being penned by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Friday’s opinion piece urging "an alternative" to facial recognition technology offers a bizarre string of statements that do not make the case. Each biometric modality (fingerprint, iris, face, etc.) offers advantages that could make it the most effective for a specific purpose. But there are data-backed reasons facial recognition technology is widely adopted — including the ability to use existing hardware (cameras) and photos, rather than requiring specialized equipment and data collection processes. With rapid improvement through machine learning and neural networks, the leading technologies are now over 99 percent accurate across demographics according to National Institute of Standards and Technology data. Customs and Border Protection selected face recognition for its programs and has since verified more than 697 million travelers of all nationalities and ethnicities. More than 2 million U.S. air travelers use facial recognition technology every day to verify IDs at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. Much is made about the risk of fraudsters getting the software to falsely match, but the figures cited are from research limited to unlocking personal phones, and conducted before Face ID was introduced on iPhones in 2017. Since then, presentation attack detection capabilities have been integrated into iPhones as well as higher security biometric applications.

Wall Street Journal [6/19/2025 4:43 PM, Heather Mac Donald, 646K] reports “We don’t have s— under control,” a Los Angeles Police Department commander told me on Sunday. “It’s a godsend that the National Guard and the Marines are here.” Officers on the street felt the same way, though the LAPD forbids them to express that view in public, the commander said. There are two different pictures of what happened in Los Angeles—the official one from California’s elected leaders and the media, and the ground-level view from law enforcement. On Saturday—a week after President Trump activated the National Guard and six days after Gov. Gavin Newsom told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that local law enforcement officers were “sufficient to maintain order”—a crowd broke into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center downtown to liberate the detainees. The vandals overpowered the skeletal crew of National Guard soldiers, using improvised bombs made from M-80 firecrackers, nails and broken glass. Eventually about 100 law-enforcement officers arrived to put down the attempted jailbreak, but not before damage to the facility.

Axios [6/19/2025 1:22 PM, Sareen Habeshian, 13599K] reports that, following a week of immigration whiplash, President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan confirmed Thursday that immigration raids will continue in the agriculture and hospitality industries. The Trump administration last week said it was pausing some ICE raids that would hurt those industries, but Homan’s comments reaffirm that it is reversing course. While workers at places like farms, restaurants and hotels will be targeted, people with criminal backgrounds will be a priority for immigration enforcement officials, Homan said. "We’re going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first," Homan told reporters. Asked what he would say to farmers concerned the raids will hurt their jobs and the U.S. economy, Homan said, "Well, first of all, there’s a right way and wrong way to hire workers. There are legal programs that bring farm workers in." He continued, "Second of all, I’ve been saying for years, Congress needs to address this. But because Congress failed, it just doesn’t mean we ignore it. It’s illegal to knowingly hire an illegal alien." Trump surprised immigration hardliners last week when his administration announced it would pause some immigration raids following concerns from advisers and Cabinet members that they were hurting the agriculture and hospitality industries. He acknowledged in a Truth Social post that his "very aggressive" policies were ripping longtime workers from jobs that are "almost impossible to replace." But on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security indicated it was reversing course and that farms, hotels and restaurants would again be subject to raids. The Hill [6/19/2025 3:42 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would resume "worksite enforcement" operations to ensure employees at farms and hotels are legally residing in the United States. "I mean, we will concentrate on worksites on a prioritized basis just like we do at large operations," Homan told reporters at the White House. "We’ll prioritize those who have a criminal nexus.” The border czar added that companies with a history of trafficking, forced labor, tax fraud and tax evasion would also be targeted in future ICE operations. His comments come days after the Trump administration reversed course on workplace raids at hotels, restaurants and farms. The White House previously issued a brief pause on sector-specific raids, citing concerns from business owners across the country. "It’s a matter of messaging, proper messaging. The message is clear now: that we’re going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels," Homan said Thursday. "But based on prioritized basis, criminals come first," he added. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) echoed similar sentiments earlier this week. "There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts," Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a Tuesday statement. "Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safe guard public safety, national security and economic stability. These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation," she added. However, President Trump noted that ICE may attempt to adjust immigration policies for service workers last week. "Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," the president wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post. "This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!" he added. DHS officials said they would follow the White House’s lead in regards to removals and detainment procedures. "We will follow the president’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets," McLaughlin said. Groups across the country have been organizing protests in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants without legal status. The president sent National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles to quell sometimes violent demonstrations regarding the detainment of dozens. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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Telemundo [6/19/2025 4:24 PM, Sarah Dean, Megan Shannon, Rebecca Shabad, 3352K]

NBC News [6/19/2025 3:25 PM, Sarah Dean, Nora McKee, and Rebecca Shabad, 44540K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that the Trump administration will continue to conduct immigration raids at worksites, including farms and hotels, but that criminals will be prioritized. Speaking to reporters, he clarified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s policy at worksites after the Department of Homeland Security said this week it was reversing recent guidance that called for a pause on operations at those places. "The message is clear now that we’re going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first," Homan said. The Trump administration is focusing resources on so-called sanctuary cities, he said, because "they knowingly release public safety threats, illegal aliens to the community every day." When asked why ICE directed its agents last week to hold off on investigations of farms and hotels, Homan dodged the question saying, "Worksite enforcement operations is an important part of the work we do." Homan said in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday that a lot of worksite enforcement operations are "based on criminal information, criminal investigations such as forced labor, such as trafficking and such as ... tax fraud and money laundering." DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations team paused immigration enforcement actions last week at worksites tied to the agriculture industry including meatpacking plants and fisheries, as well as restaurants and hotels, according to an internal policy memo that was sent by a senior ICE official and obtained by NBC News. But Tuesday, DHS reversed this guidance, with spokesperson Tricia Mclaughlin saying "there will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts.” Asked for comment about Homan’s latest remarks, DHS pointed to Mclaughlin’s previous statement.

AP [6/19/2025 1:59 PM, Paul Wiseman, 31733K] reports that, farmers, cattle ranchers and hotel and restaurant managers breathed a sigh of relief last week when President Donald Trump ordered a pause to immigration raids that were disrupting those industries and scaring foreign-born workers off the job. “There was finally a sense of calm,’’ said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition. That respite didn’t last long. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin declared, “There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine (immigration enforcement) efforts. Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.’’ The flipflop baffled businesses trying to figure out the government’s actual policy, and Shi says now “there’s fear and worry once more.” “That’s not a way to run business when your employees are at this level of stress and trauma,” she said. Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the United States illegally — an issue that has long fired up his GOP base. The crackdown intensified a few weeks ago when Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, gave the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a quota of 3,000 arrests a day, up from 650 a day in the first five months of Trump’s second term. Suddenly, ICE seemed to be everywhere. “We saw ICE agents on farms, pointing assault rifles at cows, and removing half the workforce,’’ said Shi, whose coalition represents 1,700 employers and supports increased legal immigration. One ICE raid left a New Mexico dairy with just 20 workers, down from 55. “You can’t turn off cows,’’ said Beverly Idsinga, the executive director of the Dairy Producers of New Mexico. “They need to be milked twice a day, fed twice a day.’’ Claudio Gonzalez, a chef at Izakaya Gazen in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district, said many of his Hispanic workers — whether they’re in the country legally or not — have been calling out of work recently due to fears that they will be targeted by ICE. His restaurant is a few blocks away from a collection of federal buildings, including an ICE detention center. “They sometimes are too scared to work their shift,” Gonzalez said. “They kind of feel like it’s based on skin color.”

Los Angeles Times [6/19/2025 6:00 AM, Queenie Wong, Suhauna Hussain, Michael Wilner, and Piper Heath, 14672K] reports farms, hotels and restaurants that rely on immigrant workers are urging the Trump administration to spare their vital industries from immigration raids. The pressure comes as confusion swirls around whether President Trump will exempt some businesses from efforts to arrest and deport immigrants living illegally in the United States. Last week, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would focus his immigration crackdown on criminals, not farmers. Those workers, along with people employed in hotel and leisure businesses, raised concerns that his administration’s "aggressive policy on immigration" is taking away jobs that are "almost impossible to replace," the post said. Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed to The Times on Saturday that immigration enforcement would primarily focus on people accused of violent crimes, a move that signaled the agency would back away from workplace raids at hotels, restaurants and farms. But, this week, further guidance from DHS leadership seemed to reverse that directive, causing confusion even among its internal ranks on what the policy is. "Criminal aliens in this country should know there’s no safe haven for them. There’s no safe harbor, whether it be a church, or a courthouse, or a worksite, we will come for you. We will arrest you. And you will be deported," Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a Tuesday interview with Newsmax, a right-wing news channel. The conflicting messaging shows how the Trump administration is trying to thread a needle, between appeasing the farming and hospitality industries and meeting the White House’s aggressive deportation goals.

NewsMax [6/19/2025 7:37 AM, Staff, 4622K] reports farmers, ranchers, and hospitality industry leaders welcomed President Donald Trump’s pause on immigration raids, which had led to workforce disruptions and concerns among foreign-born employees. "There was finally a sense of calm,’’ said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition. That respite didn’t last long. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin declared, "There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine [immigration enforcement] efforts. Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.’’. The change in enforcement policy left businesses uncertain about the government’s approach, and Shi says there is renewed concern among workers. Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the United States without legal authorization—an issue that gained strong support among many Republican voters. The crackdown intensified a few weeks ago when Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, gave the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a quota of 3,000 arrests a day, up from 650 a day in the first five months of Trump’s second term. Claudio Gonzalez, a chef at Izakaya Gazen in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district, said many of his Hispanic workers — whether they’re in the country legally or not — have been calling out of work recently because of fears that they will be targeted by ICE. His restaurant is a few blocks away from a collection of federal buildings, including an ICE detention center. In some places, the problem isn’t ICE but rumors of ICE. At cherry-harvesting time in Washington state, many foreign-born workers are staying away from the orchards after hearing reports of impending immigration raids. One operation that usually employs 150 pickers is down to 20. "We’ve not heard of any real raids,’’ said Jon Folden, orchard manager for the farm cooperative Blue Bird in Washington’s Wenatchee River Valley. "We’ve heard a lot of rumors.’’. Jennie Murray, CEO of the advocacy group National Immigration Forum, said some immigrant parents worry that their workplaces will be raided and they’ll be hauled off by ICE while their kids are in school. Business advocacy and immigration reform groups, including Shi’s coalition, shared reports of challenges with Trump, his administration, and members of Congress. Last Thursday, the president posted on his Truth Social platform that "Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.” This situation highlighted the tension between political goals and economic needs. With U.S. unemployment at a low 4.2%, many businesses rely on immigration to fill labor shortages.

CBS News [6/19/2025 11:30 AM, Laura Doan and Julia Ingram, 51860K] reports the Trump administration resumed more aggressive workplace immigration enforcement earlier this week after briefly pausing arrests at farms, hotels and restaurants last week. "The message is clear now that we’re going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis," President Trump’s "border czar," Tom Homan, said Thursday, adding, "Criminals come first.” The White House argues that undocumented workers drive down wages and take jobs from American-born workers. But some farming and hospitality industry leaders have warned the administration that large-scale deportations could disrupt operations, as many of these workers fill essential jobs that are difficult to replace with domestic labor. Undocumented immigrants make up a sizable slice of the workforce in not only hospitality and farming but also construction and manufacturing. Additionally, undocumented workers are spread across the U.S., including in blue states like California and New Jersey, and in states that supported Mr. Trump in the 2024 election, like Texas, Florida, and Nevada, which have some of the biggest shares of unauthorized workers. Here’s a closer look at the industries most dependent on undocumented workers and the states where these workers are concentrated. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated in 2024 that there are about 14 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. The most recent detailed breakdown by sector and state comes from the Pew Research Center’s analysis of Census data from 2022. According to that study, there were an estimated 8.3 million undocumented immigrants who were part of the workforce, out of 11 million total in the country at that time. These workers made up 4.8% of the overall U.S. workforce, according to Pew, but they were a much larger share of the workforce in several essential industries. Nearly 1 in 5 household workers and landscapers, 16% of crop workers and meat processors, 14% of apparel manufacturing workers and 13% of construction workers were undocumented immigrants, Pew estimated. Industry leaders have said the renewed deportation push is making it harder to operate. American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall expressed disappointment on Tuesday in the administration’s decision to restart immigration arrests on farms, forecasting that it could lead to inflated food prices for American consumers. "Unfortunately, domestic workers do not apply for farm jobs, despite aggressive hiring efforts. Without farm workers, vegetables will be left in the fields, fruit will remain unpicked, and cows will go unmilked. The end result is a reduced food supply and higher grocery prices for all of America’s families," Duvall said in a statement. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, "While the President remains focused on immediately removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the country, including those given safe harbor in Democrat-run sanctuary cities, anyone who is here illegally is liable to be deported.” Jackson added, "Any suggestion that enforcing immigration law will hurt the workforce misses the forest for the trees — there is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [6/19/2025 2:09 PM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 5801K] reports President Trump’s immigration crackdown is exacerbating the already precarious problem of absenteeism in America’s schools. Experts say schools will have to come up with action plans for their student bodies ahead of the fall semester after a recent study showed that an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids leads to undocumented students missing more class. "What we’ve really seen and been told is that communication is really key, and so a district can be really explicit with families to understand the fear that they have and then explain all of the protections and protocols that the district have in place to prevent students from being detained at school or for their data to be protected," said Tara Thomas, government affairs manager for the Schools Superintendents Association. New research recently released from Stanford University found a 22 percent jump in absences from five California school districts during January and February, compared to the same months in the previous years. The difference, analysts say, was ICE raids carried out under former President Biden and Trump during the first two months of the year. The study found absences increased in the majority Latino student populations by 30 percent for those in pre-K, 27 percent for students in kindergarten through 5th grade, 17 percent for middle schoolers and 8 percent for high school students. And that was before the sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles this month that led to widespread protests, which themselves led to Trump calling in the military. The issue for educators isn’t so much fear of ICE agents at schools as it is the disruptions that the raids can cause among immigrant communities. "It is something that many of the schools that we’re partnering with across Texas, New Jersey, New York, something that they have already started seeing and they are having conversations around expecting a decline of enrollment, even in summer school […] all because of all that is happening with immigration and parents being afraid to bring their kids to school," said Viridiana Carrizales, co-founder and CEO of ImmSchools, a group that focuses on the intersection between immigration and education. Experts’ biggest recommendation is open communication with parents about how schools can protect student information and what would happen if ICE shows up.

Washington Post [6/18/2025 4:06 PM, Tobi Raji, Marie Rose Sheinerman and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 32099K] reports soon after, ICE agents stopped Dias Goncalves, arrested her and took her to the Denver Contract Detention Facility, an immigrant detention center in Colorado. Dias Goncalves, a nursing student at the University of Utah who is from Brazil, is expected to be released on bond after being held there since her arrest, Jonathan M. Hyman, Dias Goncalves’s lawyer, said in an email Wednesday. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that their investigation found that Alexander Zwinck, the sheriff’s deputy who initially pulled Dias Goncalves over, belonged to a group chat on Signal, an encrypted messaging app. The chat involved federal, state, and local authorities "for the purpose of reducing illegal drug trafficking in Colorado." Details about the June 5 traffic stop were shared in the group chat, leading to Dias Goncalves’s arrest by federal immigration authorities, the statement said. The sheriff’s office stressed that it was "unaware that the communication group was used for anything other than drug interdiction efforts." The sheriff’s office said it could not provide the text of the Signal messages. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Dias Goncalves, whose family overstayed their 6-month tourist visa over a decade ago, is not authorized to be in the country. The family applied for asylum three years ago and received work authorization and Social Security numbers, according to Dias Goncalves’ mother, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she fears attracting attention from ICE. Their case is still pending.

NBC News [6/18/2025 10:31 AM, Chloe Atkins, 44540K] reports attorneys of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil and the Trump administration clashed in court over Khalil’s renewed request to be released on bail or, at least, transferred to a detention center in New Jersey to be closer to family. Both parties submitted new filings after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz declined to release Khalil last week. While Farbiarz had blocked Khalil’s detention and deportation based on allegations that his presence in the country threatened U.S. foreign policy, the administration argued that it would continue to detain Khalil for allegedly lying on his permanent residency application. Judge Farbiarz previously said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that Khalil wouldn’t be detained solely over allegations related to his residency application. The judge, however, ultimately sided with the government, finding that Khalil’s legal team hadn’t successfully argued why detention on those grounds would be unlawful. Khalil, a lawful permanent resident and former Columbia University student, was arrested in March by immigration agents and has been held since then at a facility in rural Jena, Louisiana. He played an active role in the protests over the war in Gaza on the New York City campus last year, negotiating between the student protesters and the university administration. His attorneys urged the court this week to immediately release him from a Louisiana detention center on bail, adding that the administration’s efforts to keep him detained based on alleged omissions in an immigration application were "rare and extremely unusual.” If not released, Khalil’s attorneys asked for him to be transferred to a detention center in New Jersey, pointing to a policy that requires noncitizen parents or legal guardians, who are primary caretakers or have custody of minor children, to be placed in facilities close to their children. According to emails reviewed by NBC News, Khalil’s legal team asked ICE to transfer him to New Jersey earlier this month so that he could be closer to his newborn son. However, the New Orleans ICE Field Office said Khalil did not meet the policy’s criteria and denied the request without explanation. On Tuesday, the Trump administration pushed back in court filings, arguing that green card application allegations "independently" justified Khalil’s detention. In court documents, the Justice Department said the federal judge "should not order Khalil’s outright release, because doing so would impede the Government’s discretionary decision to detain him on lawful independent grounds. Congress barred judicial intervention over those decisions.” The Trump administration said the Department of Homeland Security, not the courts, also has the authority to determine where individuals in deportation proceedings are held.

FOX News [6/19/2025 10:49 AM, Bill Melugin and Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports a Biden-era decision could potentially keep a convicted murderer from being deported from the United States, at least while a key legal battle plays out in court. Fox News rode along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles, the center of recent anti-ICE civil unrest, and the agency arrested Salvadoran national Alexander Alfredo Palacios Guevara, who not only has the murder conviction, but also two counts of attempted murder dating back to 1994, an HSI source said. The man told Fox News, "I have CAT, I have CAT," which turned out to be a Convention against Torture he was granted by the Biden-era Board of Immigration Appeals on Dec. 18, according to DHS sources. Specifically, he was given DCAT – Deferral of Removal under the Convention Against Torture, meaning that he believes there’s a risk of him getting tortured if he is sent back to El Salvador. "This criminal alien should never have been roaming the streets of Los Angeles. Not only is he a member of the ruthless Surenos gang, but he also has multiple convictions for murder, assault and rape or sexual abuse of a minor," an ICE spokesperson told Fox News. "A highly unusual Biden-era legal decision from December allowed this dangerous criminal to live in American communities. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are removing public safety threats as it always should have been," the statement continued. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [6/18/2025 11:32 AM, Michael Dorgan Fox, 46878K] reports that Massachusetts taxpayers are on course to spend $1 billion on the state’s emergency shelter program for FY25 with migrant families making up a significant share of those receiving assistance, according to a new report. Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has already spent $830 million so far in FY25 – which started on July 1 – accommodating more than 4,000 families who have been receiving taxpayer-funded shelter, food, education, legal aid and case management. The costs work out at about $3,496 per week per family, or around $1,000 per person per week for the program, known as the Emergency Assistance (EA) system. The report, a June 16 biweekly update from the Massachusetts Executive Office for Housing and Livable Communities, notes that $679.6 million was spent on direct shelter costs and another $149.7 million on wraparound services, including education aid, work programs, National Guard payroll for security and rental assistance to help individuals exit the system. Around 1,600 of the total 4,088 families currently in the system are migrants, per the report, although that figure is likely much higher as many migrant families are counted as "Massachusetts residents" for the purpose of eligibility. The state was overwhelmed by an influx of migrants under the Biden administration and struggled to accommodate them. Many migrants ended up sleeping at Logan Airport as the Healey administration worked to set up temporary shelters, many of which are at hotels. There are currently 599 hotel rooms being used under the program and the report states that all hotels being used under the program will be shuttered this year.

New York Post [6/18/2025 11:18 PM, Shane Galvin, 49956K] reports a US attorney for New York was allegedly chased by a knife-wielding illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who threatened to slit his throat on the streets of Albany Tuesday night, prosecutors said. John Sarcone, the President Trump-appointed US attorney for the Northern District of New York, was allegedly chased and threatened outside the Hilton Hotel in Albany by Saul Morales-Garcia — an illegal migrant from El Salvador who was previously deported, WNYT reported, citing Albany County prosecutors. Morales-Garcia, 40, allegedly aggressively advanced toward Sarcone with his weapon in hand — gesturing that he would slit the attorney’s throat as he lunged at him before chasing the US attorney down the street outside the hotel just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, that report stated, citing local police. Sarcone was uninjured, and nearby Albany County sheriff’s deputies picked up Morales-Garcia just moments after the alleged attack, according to local cops. The alleged attempted slasher was previously convicted of a felony in El Salvador and has been deported from the United States at least once in the past, WNYT reported, citing investigators. Albany County prosecutors said the incident appeared to be a "random" street encounter. Morales-Garcia is in the country illegally and has a criminal record in at least three other states outside New York, prosecutors said. It is not known when Morales-Garcia entered the US or where he allegedly crossed into the country. He is charged with attempted second-degree murder and is being held without bail, the Albany Times Union reported. "It’s important that everybody understands that we take these things seriously — whether you’re the US attorney for the Northern District or your name’s John Smith and you live on Morton Avenue," Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon said after the court hearings, the outlet reported. Sarcone was appointed to the Northern District of New York in March by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Pace University graduate is a native New Yorker, growing up in a "humble, blue-collar background" in Croton-on-Hudson, Sarcone said in a statement at the time. US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul after the incident. "In Kathy Hochul’s New York, nobody is safe, not even President Trump’s U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of NY John A. Sarcone III, who was ‘confronted and chased’ by an illegal alien armed with a knife in Albany last night, the Times Union reported," she wrote on X. "Three separate times, Hochul signed executive orders to protect violent illegal aliens from deportation. Kathy Hochul puts illegals first and New Yorkers last. We desperately need a governor who puts New Yorkers first and restores law and order to our streets.” The Northern District of New York declined to provide a comment to The Post. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Federalist [6/19/2025 9:51 AM, Beth Brelje, 1142K]
Blaze [6/19/2025 11:10 AM, Cortney Weil, 1805K]

New York Times [6/18/2025 8:07 PM, William K. Rashbaum, Dana Rubinstein, and Jonah E. Bromwich, 138952K] reports that if President Trump’s border czar was going to meet the goals of his boss’s ambitious deportation program in New York City, he would need an ally on the ground. So the border czar, Tom Homan, asked that a top police official with a close relationship to the mayor be named as his liaison to City Hall. In the weeks that followed, Mayor Eric Adams elevated that official, Kaz Daughtry, to the post of deputy mayor for public safety, one of the most powerful roles in city government. From that perch, Mr. Daughtry, 46, has continued to act as Mr. Homan’s main point of contact in City Hall. He has laid the groundwork for Mr. Homan’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to operate in the Rikers Island jail complex and played an important role in planning massive raids on city-funded hotels housing thousands of migrants in Midtown Manhattan, only to see them aborted at the last minute. And he is slated to play a starring role in a new, city-approved reality show focused in part on the Police Department. The Trump administration has already been accused of abandoning a federal corruption case against Mr. Adams in exchange for his cooperation with the White House’s immigration crackdown, something both the administration and the mayor have denied. Still Mr. Adams has appeared eager to please the president. Now, with Mr. Trump vowing on social media to “expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens” in New York and other major cities, Mr. Daughtry is positioned to play a central role in any such effort. Mr. Daughtry did not respond to multiple requests for comment. After this article was published, he issued a statement through a City Hall spokeswoman.

Telemundo47 [6/18/2025 12:28 PM, Yolanda Vasquez and Greg Cergol, 145K] reports that Federal immigration officials have detained a Hispanic mother of five living on Long Island, according to her family and attorney. Efforts are underway to secure the release of Nuvia Martinez, who lives with her family in Ventura, Brentwood. "She’s a good person. Just give her a chance," pleaded her older brother, who asked not to be named. Immigration officials arrested Martinez Ventura, 30, on June 11 during a scheduled check-in at federal offices in Manhattan. She has since been transferred to Houston, Texas, and is at risk of deportation, according to her East Islip attorney, Ala Amoachi. Martinez Ventura is a homemaker and has no criminal record, according to Amoachi. Her children range in age from 3 to 11 and face challenges such as autism, learning disabilities, and juvenile diabetes. Her 11-year-old son was hospitalized for complications from diabetes shortly after his arrest, according to his brother. The children don’t understand what’s happening to their mother. Immigration officials have denied Martínez Ventura’s asylum applications twice, according to her attorney. She has continued to seek legal status to remain in the United States. ICE did not respond to a request for comment on this case.

New York Times [6/20/2025 3:00 AM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 138952K] reports that, on the 10th floor of a federal building in Lower Manhattan, there is a holding area where immigration authorities have typically held a few dozen immigrants at a time for a few hours before transferring them to detention centers. But as the Trump administration expands its immigration crackdown, the space has become overcrowded and people sleep sprawled on the floor, sometimes for days, according to those who have spent time there. Descriptions of the conditions at the center, the New York City field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have prompted several congressional Democrats to demand that they be allowed inside for oversight purposes. Those demands have been denied. On Friday, seven New York City Democrats plan to escalate their efforts to get onto the 10th floor by sending a letter to Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the immigration agency, known as ICE. In the letter, they accuse the immigration authorities of violating federal laws that allow members of Congress to tour facilities where migrants are being held. From New Jersey to California, ICE premises have turned into political battlegrounds over President Trump’s immigration agenda, leading to the arrests of several Democratic officials. “Congressional oversight is essential to bring transparency to the conduct of the Department of Homeland Security,” the lawmakers say in the letter. “Given the overaggressive and excessive force used to handcuff and detain elected officials in public, DHS’s refusal to allow members of Congress to observe the conditions for immigrants behind closed doors begs the obvious question: what are you hiding?” The letter is signed by Representatives Dan Goldman, Jerrold Nadler, Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, Ritchie Torres, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gregory Meeks. The lawmakers also said that immigration authorities were playing word games by arguing that the 10th floor was not technically a detention facility despite migrants being held there temporarily. The 41-floor office building at 26 Federal Plaza, which also houses one of the city’s immigration courts, has become a flashpoint as federal agents arrest migrants showing up for routine immigration court hearings and appointments in recent weeks. Many of the migrants are taken to the 10th floor, where there are four holding cells, along with desks staffed by ICE officers responsible for processing the detainees’ transfers to detention facilities outside the city, according to those who have been held there and their lawyers. Detainees are typically divided by gender in the cells, which have bathrooms and long benches built into the walls but no beds, according to one former ICE official who worked at the center and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The cells are not meant for overnight stays, and they have filled up as ICE makes more arrests, leading to reports of unsanitary conditions and people sleeping on floors.

CNN [6/18/2025 4:42 PM, Danny Freeman, 21433K] reports a 31-year-old Pennsylvania man initially arrested on suspicion of illegally carrying a gun near a "No Kings" protest outside Philadelphia over the weekend was rearrested this week after investigators found a pipe bomb and several other explosive devices at his home, authorities said. Kevin Krebs, of Malvern in suburban Chester County, is facing charges including felony possession or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, according to the county district attorney’s office and court documents. Affidavits of probable cause obtained by CNN did not allege what Krebs may have been planning or say why he was near Saturday’s protest. The Chester County district attorney’s office declined to comment further on the case Wednesday, except to say that the investigation is active and ongoing. The investigation began early Saturday afternoon as a "No Kings" rally – one of numerous protests nationwide against President Donald Trump’s policies – was getting underway in the Pennsylvania borough of West Chester, some 25 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. A bystander alerted a police officer they saw a man near the protest strapping on "something akin to a tactical vest," putting a handgun in his waistband, and hiding it under a neon yellow raincoat, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CNN. Police radioed the description to other officers in the area, and a West Chester police officer spotted Krebs in a yellow raincoat a block from rally-goers, according to the complaint. The officer stopped and searched Krebs and found a loaded Sig Sauer P320 handgun, a "bayonet knife," pepper spray and several magazines of ammunition concealed under his raincoat and clothes, the complaint says. Police then found his vehicle near the area, with an AR-15-style rifle "on the floor of the rear seat," according to the criminal complaint. Investigators determined Krebs didn’t have a concealed carry permit, and he was arrested and charged Saturday with carrying a firearm without a license before being released on bond on Sunday, authorities said. According to court documents, part of the bail agreement was Krebs had to surrender any weapons and stay at his parents’ home in West Chester. While officers spoke with Krebs and his father in the first location, officers made an alarming discovery at the second location, according to the complaint. Chester County detectives found what appeared to be a pipe bomb in a desk drawer in the garage of the suburban Krebs’ home, and "detailed drawings of three grenades," according to the complaint. They called in a neighboring county’s bomb squad. In addition to the pipe bomb containing nails and screws, officials found "improvised detonators" in a box labeled "no touch pls" in the garage, the complaint says. Also in the garage were more pipes with timers attached to them, shell casings with unidentified powders in them, several ignition fuses, and explosive mixtures, according to the complaint.

The AP [6/18/2025 5:22 PM, Russ Bynum] reports U.S. immigration authorities said Wednesday they have detained a Spanish-language journalist, who will face deportation proceedings following his arrest on charges of obstructing police and unlawful assembly while covering a weekend protest outside Atlanta. Mario Guevara was turned over by police to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody three days after he was jailed in DeKalb County, agency spokesman Lindsay Williams said in an emailed statement. His case now goes to immigration court to determine whether Guevara, a native of El Salvador, can remain in the U.S. His attorney, Giovanni Diaz, has said that Guevara was doing his job and committed no crime when police arrested him. He also says Guevara has legal authorization to live and work in the U.S., and has a pending application for permanent residency. Breitbart [6/18/2025 7:48 PM, Staff, 3077K] reports Mario Guevara, who has a significant following for his online videos of immigration raids, was detained for obstructing officers and "improperly entering a roadway" by local police during a weekend "No Kings" rally. He was ordered released without bail by a judge Monday until Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers flagged him for detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said. Such a request often precedes deportation proceedings. "We are alarmed to learn that reporter Mario Guevara — who has work authorization in the United States — was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention after being arrested… while covering a protest," the CPJ said in a statement. "Guevara must be released without delay. His ongoing detention signals a frightening erosion of press freedom in the US.” The organization said in a letter to the DeKalb County chief executive that "it is chilling to think that the misdemeanor charges against Guevara could trigger his deportation" — despite him having US work authorization and a path to residency through his son. The New York Times [6/18/2025 2:07 PM, Amanda Holpuch, 138952K] reports that the journalist, Mario Guevara, is originally from El Salvador and has been in the United States for more than 20 years, one of his lawyers, Zach Gaeta, said. Mr. Guevara was not a legal permanent resident or citizen, but he had a work permit and a Social Security number, Mr. Gaeta said. It was not clear where Mr. Guevara was on Wednesday morning after he was released from the DeKalb County Jail, Mr. Gaeta said. Mr. Guevara had been jailed since he was arrested on Saturday at a protest about 15 miles northeast of Atlanta. Mr. Gaeta said that Mr. Guevara’s legal team planned to challenge his detention and to try to find him a path to legal status. “We do think that he has a defendable case and we’re still remaining optimistic about his release,” Mr. Gaeta said. Mr. Guevara, who built a large following covering immigration issues in Georgia, was best known for documenting immigration arrests. He was the subject of an Op-Doc mini documentary produced by The New York Times’s Opinion department in 2019. He said in the documentary that he was attacked and threatened while working as a reporter in El Salvador, so he sought asylum in the United States. He has been living in Georgia since 2004, Mr. Gaeta said. Mr. Guevara worked at Mundo Hispánico, a Spanish-language news organization, for several years before starting his own news organization, MGNews. He has a large following on social media, including more than 405,000 followers on TikTok and more than 782,000 on Facebook as of Tuesday morning. On Saturday, he was livestreaming a “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies when he was arrested. The footage shows Mr. Guevara standing in a group of people when police officers start moving toward him. Suddenly, his camera is covered and Mr. Guevara can be heard saying, “Officer, officer, I’m a member of the media, officer.” The recording continues for about 20 more minutes. The footage is obscured most of that time and it is not clear from the sound what was happening or why Mr. Guevara was arrested. “If law enforcement was coming and walking toward him, in my opinion, it wasn’t anything that anybody was doing wrong,” Mr. Gaeta said. “All of a sudden, the officer just decided, ‘If you’re still here, I’m going to arrest you.’” Mr. Guevara was arrested on charges of a pedestrian improperly entering roadway and obstruction of law enforcement officers, according to jail records. A third charge, unlawful assembly, was added on Monday, Mr. Gaeta said.

Breitbart [6/19/2025 4:19 PM, Amy Furr, 3077K] reports fifty-five illegal aliens were arrested during an operation targeting illegal cockfighting in Blount County, Alabama, on Saturday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday. The agency said the Gulf of America Homeland Security Task Force partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency for the joint operation: “The multiagency team executed search warrants related to the prohibition of animal fighting ventures, presence of illegal aliens, and the prohibition of illegal gambling. The Homeland Security Task Force is comprised of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, IRS, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and supported by the United States Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and the United States Attorney’s Office.” ICE said 60 people were arrested, 55 of whom are illegal aliens, and the remaining five are American citizens. Four of the illegal aliens were charged for illegally re-entering the country after they had been deported. Authorities seized over $100,000 in bulk currency and recovered two firearms. There are "five pending federal indictments for the U.S. citizen criminal organization organizers," the agency said, noting the case will be prosecuted in the Northern District of Alabama. In his statement, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and Alabama Steven N. Schrank said, "This illegal cockfighting operation wasn’t just about animal cruelty — it was tied to a broader network of serious crimes, including illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and violent offenses. These criminal enterprises endanger our communities, and HSI remains steadfast in its mission to disrupt and dismantle them. This operation underscores our commitment to public safety and the strength of our law enforcement partnerships.” It is important to note that President Donald Trump recently directed ICE officers to expand deportations from cities, per Breitbart News. The outlet then reported on Monday the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "has initiated deportation proceedings against more than 26,000 migrants, many of whom arrived in the United States under former President Joe Biden, in fewer than four months.”

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Breitbart [6/19/2025 12:44 PM, Randy Clark, 3077K]

Telemundo [6/18/2025 7:17 PM, Ana Cuervo, 177K] reports Miami police clarified Wednesday what their role will be after the City commission passed a motion to enter into a collaboration agreement with federal immigration authorities. Commissioners Damián Pardo and Christine King voted against the deal, while Joe Carollo, Miguel Gabela and Rafael Rosado voted in favour. The agreement was approved despite hours of testimony about the mistrust that an agreement like this can cause in a city where almost 60% of its inhabitants were born abroad and 70% is of Hispanic origin. But police chief Manny Morales explained that only three officers from the 1,400-strong police force will receive 40-hour training to collaborate with federal agents under this agreement. "Officers who would be determined to handle in that task force would have the same authority as any immigration and U.S. official after they are working under their supervision. When you’re doing your other operations they’re a regular police office," Morales said. Immigrant advocacy groups say sectors of these communities are going through very difficult times. "Florida benefits from the diversity and resilience of immigrant communities in Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua Colombia, the Caribbean, Latin America and beyond," said Paul Namphy of Family Action Network Movement.

Newsweek [6/19/2025 5:31 PM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports federal immigration authorities deported the wife of a Florida pastor who has been living in the United States for nearly 30 years. Daniella Isidro said in a Facebook post that her mother, Maria Isidro, had been removed back to Mexico from their home in Live Oak, Florida. "Maria Isidro, an illegal alien from Mexico, was issued a final order of removal from an immigration judge on Oct. 21, 2004, after she failed to show up for her court date. She has exhausted all due process and has no legal remedies left to pursue After failing to self-deport and leave the U.S. for more than two decades, ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] arrested her on June 3, 2025, and deported her on June 11, 2025," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.

AP [6/18/2025 4:58 PM, Jack Brook, 1982K] reports that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 84 people unlawfully in the country during a raid at a southwest Louisiana racetrack, the agency announced Tuesday. ICE said it raided the Delta Downs Racetrack, Hotel and Casino in Calcasieu Parish on Monday alongside other state and federal agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol. The raid occurred despite a recent Trump administration directive for immigration officers to pause arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels due to concerns over the economic impact of aggressive enforcement. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and the main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, has pushed ICE to aim for at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term. ICE said authorities had "received intelligence" that businesses operating at the racetrack’s stables employed "unauthorized workers" who were then targeted in the raid. Of the dozens of workers detained during the raid, "at least two" had prior criminal records, according to the agency. "These enforcement operations aim to disrupt illegal employment networks that threaten the integrity of our labor systems, put American jobs at risk and create pathways for exploitation within critical sectors of our economy," said Steven Stavinoha, U.S. Customs and Border Protection director of field operations in New Orleans, in a written statement. "Our Company complies fully with federal labor laws, and to our knowledge, no Delta Downs team members were involved in this matter," said David Strow, a spokesperson for Boyd Gaming Corporation which owns the racetrack, in an emailed statement. "We will cooperate with law enforcement as requested."

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Breitbart [6/18/2025 5:23 PM, Alana Mastrangelo, 3077K]
Univision [6/18/2025 7:09 PM, Staff, 4992K]

New York Post [6/19/2025 3:40 PM, Jennie Taer, 49956K] reports illegal migrants could soon be held in a massive new immigration detention center in Florida, which has been dubbed the "Alligator Alcatraz.” The 39-square-mile plot of land — which is surrounded by alligators and pythons — was offered to the Trump administration by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. The "virtually abandoned airport facility" would have the capacity to "house as many as 1,000 criminal aliens," Uthmeier said in a video sharing his offer with the White House. He added that it could be up and running within as little as 30 to 60 days. "Florida’s been leading on immigration enforcement, supporting the Trump administration and ICE’s efforts to detain and deport criminal aliens," the AG said. "The government tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities.” "I think this is the best one. As I call it, alligator Alcatraz," he added. The massive plot of land offers an "efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter," which has alligators and pythons "waiting" for anyone who escapes, said Uthmeier. "Alligator alcatraz, we’re ready to go," he declared. ICE migrant detention centers are currently filled to the brim, holding roughly 53,000 illegal migrants under the Trump administration’s latest push, which is beyond what is funded by Congress. As a result, the agency is burning through its budget at a breakneck pace — with ICE already $1 billion over budget, Axios reported Monday. Congress funded roughly 41,500 ICE detention beds at a cost of roughly $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2024, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. If Republicans’ "Big Beautiful Bill" passes the Senate, ICE will have $45 billion to expand its capacity to detain illegal migrants, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The White House has also upped ICE’s daily arrest quota from 1,800 to 3,000, which ICE insiders told the Post is shifting the focus away from criminal migrants and tanking agency morale.

NBC News [6/19/2025 10:42 AM, Daniella Silva and Corky Siemaszko, 44540K] reports for 19-year-old Emerson Colindres, it was supposed to be a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It turned out to be a trap. He never returned home. Colindres, who came to the United States with his family more than a decade ago to escape the violence in their native Honduras, was detained by ICE on June 4, just days after the talented student and soccer player graduated from high school in Cincinnati. Colindres, whose teammates said was one of the greatest players they met on the field, dreamed of continuing his sports career and hoped to attend a university. He did not have a criminal record, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. In the span of two weeks, Colindres went from celebrating his graduation to being detained by ICE to then being deported to a country where he has not lived since he was 8 years old. He is not the only law-abiding high school student who has been targeted by ICE. Immigration enforcement around the country has also swept up students in New York City, as well as in Milford, Massachusetts. "Sadly, he’s not the only one. I think there are a lot of Emersons in the same situation right now," Bryan Williams, Colindres’ coach at the Cincy Galaxy soccer club, said ahead of the young man’s deportation. "They’re all the same story, someone who was here doing everything they were asked, trying to make a better life for themselves and their family, and now they’re being detained somewhere." Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told NBC News "we are delivering on President Trump’s and the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens to make America safe." McLaughlin said that during the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, 75% of immigrants arrested had convictions or pending charges. According to reporting from Reuters, the top charges making up 39% of that total were traffic offenses or immigration-related crimes. A senior spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News that immigrants arrested during routine check-ins, "had executable final orders of removal by an immigration judge and had not complied with that order. If you are in the country illegally and a judge has ordered you to be removed, that is precisely what will happen."

FOX News [6/18/2025 3:31 PM, Brooke Taylor, 46878K] reports a convicted child sex offender and an illegal migrant from Guatemala was arrested after dragging an ICE officer 50 yards with his car in Bloomington, Minnesota, while trying to evade arrest, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS). During a traffic stop, Roberto Carlos Munoz, refused to exit his vehicle. He tried to flee law enforcement and put his car in drive while the ICE officer still had his arm inside the vehicle, dragging the officer approximately 50 yards. This criminal illegal alien has been arrested and is in federal custody. The ICE officer was hospitalized and is expected to make a full recovery. This illegal alien from Guatemala entered the U.S. on an unknown date, according to DHS. His lengthy criminal rap sheet in the U.S. dates back to 2010. He has previously been arrested for domestic assault and convicted of sex crimes against an underage teenager. Additionally, he’s been convicted for driving without a valid license, and multiple charges for driving illegally. ICE first lodged a detainer on him in 2013. Breitbart [6/18/2025 3:05 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports "Robert Carlos Munoz is a child sex offender and illegal alien from Guatemala who attempted to evade law enforcement and dragged an ICE officer 50 yards down the street with his car," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “Thankfully, the officer is expected to make a full recovery. This illegal alien has been committing violent crimes in the U.S. for nearly 15 years. He is a convicted child sex offender who has a rap sheet that includes an arrest for domestic assault and multiple driving offenses. [Emphasis added]. Under Governor Tim Walz, this sicko was living in Minnesota without consequence. Instead of comparing ICE law enforcement to the Gestapo, Governor Walz should be thanking our brave law enforcement for arresting these violent criminals.”

New York Post [6/18/2025 5:56 PM, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, 49956K] reports a 25-year-old illegal immigrant was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for trafficking guns to Mexico’s vicious Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Texas prosecutors said Wednesday. Jorge Alberto Morales-Calvo pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges that he and a cohort used a cartel broker to buy heavy-duty arms for the narcotraffickers — including a Barrett .50-caliber rifle and a FN Herstal Belgium 5.7X28 caliber pistol, the feds said. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 and was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison this week — and will be turned over to immigration agents for deportation when he gets released. Arteaga pleaded guilty on Nov. 21 and was sentenced earlier to nearly five years in prison.

FOX News [6/18/2025 3:48 PM, Alexandra Koch, et al., 46878K] reports the wife of accused Boulder, Colorado attacker and illegal Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman released her first public statement pleading for the American people’s help after a Texas U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday ruled the family will be allowed to remain in the country pending deportation efforts. Soliman, 45, is accused of injuring more than a dozen people after throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd of peaceful pro-Israel demonstrators, while yelling, "Free Palestine." Following the attack, federal authorities detained Soliman’s wife, Hayem El Gamal, and five children, who lived about two hours away in Colorado Springs. A Colorado judge ruled last week that since El Gamal and the children were removed by federal officials and sent to Texas, any judicial relief had to come from a judge with jurisdiction. U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia, in San Antonio, issued a 14-day extension of the previously issued order prohibiting the family’s deportation. Following Garcia’s decision, El Gamal, through an attorney, released her first public statement regarding the case. "My five children and I are in total shock over what they sa[w] my husband d[o] in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month," El Gamal wrote. "So many lives were ruined on that day. There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people. We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack.” She explained the aftermath of the attack from her perspective, detailing a late-night flight and stay at an immigration jail in Texas. "This includes my two four-year-old children, my seven-year-old, my fifteen-year-old, and my oldest daughter, who just turned eighteen in jail," she wrote. "We are grieving, and we are suffering. We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing. But why punish me? Why punish my four-year-old children? Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong?". Since coming to America three years ago, El Gamal claimed the family "tried to do everything right," obtaining work permits, learning English and teaching the U.S.’s official language to other immigrants. "We have always tried to be good neighbors, cooking food for those around us regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish," she wrote. "I do not judge anyone based on his religion. If your heart is good, that’s enough.” The reference to neighbors practicing other religions comes weeks after Fox News Digital interviewed an observant Jewish family who recently moved into the same neighborhood as the suspect’s family. In the days following the attack, David and Rivkah Costello described the horror of finding out that their neighbor had been charged in connection to the alleged hate crime.

NBC News [6/18/2025 5:19 PM, Nicole Acevedo, 44540K] reports a college student who was detained by immigration authorities following a brief traffic stop earlier this month was granted bond on Wednesday, her attorney, Jon Hyman, confirmed to NBC News. Caroline Dias Goncalves, 19, a student at the University of Utah, was driving on Interstate 70 outside Loma, Colorado, on June 5 when a Mesa County sheriff’s deputy pulled her over because she was driving too close to a semitruck. The deputy released Dias Goncalves with a warning, but shortly after she exited the highway, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped her, arrested her and took her to an immigration detention center. Her detention raised questions over how ICE became aware of her location and immigration status so quickly after the traffic stop in Colorado, which has state laws restricting coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. An administrative investigation from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the deputy who stopped Dias Goncalves was part of a communication group that included local, state and federal law enforcement partners participating in "a multi-agency drug interdiction effort focusing on the highways throughout Western Colorado." Federal authorities began using the information collected in that communication group for immigration enforcement purposes, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday evening outlining their administrative investigation. "Unfortunately, it resulted in the later contact between ICE and Miss Dias Goncalves." The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has said it was "unaware that the communication group was used for anything other than drug interdiction efforts" and have since removed all members of their office from the group. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told NBC News in an email Wednesday that the visa Dias Goncalves had come in with had expired over a decade ago. McLaughlin added that President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi 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."

Daily Wire [6/19/2025 7:03 AM, Catherine Maxwell, 3816K] reports federal agents used flash bangs, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse masked rioters attacking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, Wednesday night. The rioters had ignored multiple orders to disperse before Border Patrol Tactical Unit agents forcibly cleared them out, according to video from Turning Point USA’s Frontlines. The Department for Homeland Security said five people were arrested for charges including assault on federal law enforcement. "We won’t sit idly by and watch these cowards," the department said on social media. "Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law." Hundreds of rioters marched to the building before sunset carrying signs with phrases such as "No borders" and "Nobody is illegal on stolen land," video shows. They brought helmets and respirators to the planned protest. The situation escalated after dark, when rioters launched fireworks, shined lasers in the eyes of federal agents, and tried to block the building entrance with a dumpster.

Newsweek [6/19/2025 12:18 PM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that 250 anti-ICE activists stormed an ICE field office in Portland after protesters squared off against federal agents. "Last night, Portland rioters violently targeted federal law enforcement—250 rioters launched fireworks, shined lasers in officers’ eyes to temporarily blind them, and stormed an ICE field office," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek. Protesters have maintained a steady presence outside the ICE facility since last week. More than 20 arrests have been made, local media reports. DHS said that five people were arrested on multiple charges, including assault on a federal law officer. "We won’t sit idly by and watch these cowards," McLaughlin said. McLaughlin told Newsweek: Our officers are facing a 413 percent increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members. Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Washington Examiner [6/19/2025 12:44 PM, Elaine Mallon, 1934K] reports tensions escalated Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon, as federal agents deployed nonlethal crowd control measures to disperse rioters who attempted to obstruct access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Video captured on the scene showed federal officers responding with rubber bullets, tear gas, and flash-bang devices after protesters gathered outside the ICE facility in downtown Portland and began blocking entrances and exits. Some in the crowd reportedly rolled a dumpster in front of the compound, triggering a tactical response from officers stationed on the rooftop. The incident marked a continuation of nearly two weeks of protests centered on immigration enforcement in the city. Five people were arrested and charged with assaulting police officers. "We won’t sit idly by and watch these cowards," the Department of Homeland Security posted on X, sharing that its officers have faced a 413% increase in assaults on federal agents. "ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The protests began peacefully earlier in the evening, with hundreds of demonstrators marching through city streets. Many participants wore masks and carried signs advocating immigrant rights, including messages such as "Nobody is illegal on stolen land" and "Protect immigrants and refugees," but the demonstration intensified in the evening. Despite repeated warnings to disperse, many protesters remained in place. Federal officers in riot gear advanced on the group, deploying nonlethal munitions as tear gas spread through the area. Homeland Security officials later said the area had to be cleared to allow the secure movement of government vehicles.

Blaze [6/19/2025 5:50 PM, Julio Rosas, 1805K] reports the City of Roses is no stranger to seeing large portions of its local population rioting in the streets for any reason, big or small. In the aftermath of the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots in Los Angeles, Antifa militants in the Pacific Northwest have mobilized to show solidarity. Keeping true to tradition, the participants in these events are not simply content with giving speeches and marching around before calling it a day. The crowds are encouraged, in person and on social media, to take part in "direct action" to take the fight to the second Trump administration. In Portland, that "direct action" has resulted in besieging the ICE facility located on the south side by the Willamette River. The ICE facility has been targeted many times before this recent round of unrest. The building and the officers defending it were targeted during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, in addition to the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse and various Portland Police Bureau precincts. The entire public entrance for the ICE location is now boarded up to prevent further damage. Graffiti calling for the death of federal agents and President Donald Trump covers the walls. On Thursday, Antifa activists gathered at Elizabeth Caruthers Park before marching a few blocks to their target. The crowd gathered on the driveway, blocking federal vehicles from entering or leaving. The Federal Protective Service announced multiple times that if the crowd did not move, they would be subject to arrest and crowd control munitions. The rioters booed and jeered at each announcement. Portland police officers on bicycles and squad cars passed by the scene a few times but did not intervene. RELATED: Antifa mobilizes in the Pacific Northwest to attack DHS locations and agents. When someone threw a large firework into the perimeter, federal agents moved outside to clear the crowd from the driveway. While some of the Antifa agitators fought back, most scattered in the face of tear gas, flash-bangs, and pepper-balls being shot at them. After holding the driveway for a few hours, the Antifa crowd was easily repelled within a few minutes. RELATED: Kids ‘cosplaying as ICE agents’ and performing raids on ‘illegals’ in Roblox game. The Department of Homeland Security stated on Thursday that at least five Antifa rioters "were arrested on various charges including assault on federal law enforcement. ... Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” While the initial wave of riots has died down in Los Angeles, the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has finally given the far left an excuse to create chaos in some of the nation’s most progressive cities.

Los Angeles Times [6/19/2025 1:03 PM, Vanessa Martínez and Sandhya Kambhampati, 14672K] reports flights out of Los Angeles area airports related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations more than doubled in the month before Sunday. ICE increased its activity in the region this month, conducting multiple raids, including one on June 6 in the Fashion District. As a result of the raids, 330 people have been arrested as of June 11, according to the White House, some of whom were flown out of the area. ICE hasn’t released many details regarding detainees. An ICE spokesperson told The Times that the agency does not provide details about future flights for security reasons. "ICE field offices coordinate with ICE Air Operations, headquartered in Mesa, Ariz., to arrange removal travel and domestic transfers, which are conducted using both commercial airlines and ICE Air charter aircraft," the spokesperson said in an email. The Times reviewed and analyzed public flight data compiled by Tom Cartwright, a volunteer immigration advocate at Witness at the Border who tracks ICE flights. Cartwright has tracked about 36,000 ICE flights over five years by using publicly available plane details and flight patterns. Since the June raids began, nearly 70% of deportation-related flights out of the L.A. region have originated out of the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, near the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The airport in Victorville is a public-use airport where charter airlines can operate nonscheduled private flights. Sue Jones, a spokesperson for Victorville, told The Times that because flight details are not tracked, the city cannot confirm ICE-related activity.

Los Angeles Times [6/19/2025 6:00 AM, Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee, 14672K] reports private prison and detention contractor CoreCivic has reached an agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to convert its 2,560-bed California City facility into the state’s newest and largest migrant detention center. The company received initial funding of $10 million with maximum funding of up to $31.2 million for a six-month period starting in April, during which the two parties will continue to negotiate a long-term agreement. CoreCivic did not respond to questions about when they would begin housing detainees. When asked about efforts to increase detention space in California, Tom Homan, President Trump’s chief advisor on border policy, says that they are considering their options among several possible detention facilities. He emphasized that state efforts will not hinder their work. "The less detention space we have in California, the more action they take in not helping us with detention beds, then we’ll just simply move them out of state.”

Los Angeles Times [6/19/2025 6:00 AM, Connor Sheets, 14672K] reports at Pasadena’s AC Hotel earlier this month, dozens of protesters gathered in an effort to confront federal agents who had arrived in town amid demonstrations against the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort. Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo was among those present on June 7 as demonstrators holding signs with "ICE out of Pasadena" and other messages chased federal vehicles out of the luxury hotel’s parking garage, cheering and recording it all on their cellphones. The mayor said the protest forced the agents to leave the place they were using for local accommodations during their L.A. operations, which involved protecting federal buildings downtown. "Word got out that there were Homeland Security vehicles parked at the hotel," Gordo told The Times. "People wanted to express their 1st Amendment rights and they did so in a lawful, nonviolent and respectful manner." After hours of noisy rallying, the hotel staff asked the feds to pack up their things and go, according to Gordo. By sunset, uniformed agents from the Federal Protective Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security, were seen walking out of the hotel with their bags stacked on a luggage cart in a video of the incident that went viral online. Their vehicles were escorted out of the garage by local police as protesters trailed behind. Protesters have been arrested this month for allegedly interfering with federal officers, and federal agencies have expressed concerns about the repercussions of people "doxxing" agents by sharing their locations and other personal information online. "People are out there taking photos of the names, their faces and posting them online with death threats to their family and themselves," Reuters reported acting ICE chief Todd Lyons said last week. The crowd-sourced effort to spread information about where federal agents are holed up plays out mostly online.

CBS San Francisco [6/18/2025 1:17 PM, Tim Fang, 51860K] reports a man facing deportation has been indicted on federal charges after he allegedly assaulted three Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at a Bay Area facility last month. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced Tuesday that 25-year-old Francisco De-Jesus Morales has been charged with assault on a federal officer inflicting bodily injury, assault on a federal officer with physical contact and misdemeanor assault on a federal officer. Morales, a Nicaraguan national, was charged in connection with a May 2 incident at the agency’s facility in San Jose. "Those who use violence against federal officers should know that they will be met with the full force of the law," U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said in a statement. According to the indictment, three ICE deportation officers were attempting to take Morales into custody on a warrant for his removal and deportation from the U.S. The complaint alleges that Morales physically resisted arrest and attempted to flee, resulting in a struggle and injuries to Morales and the officers. Officials said the officers sustained bruising, scrapes, an ankle stress fracture or strain, a chest contusion and a groin injury. Morales and the officers received medical treatment following the incident. Prosecutors said Morales made an initial appearance in federal court on June 4 and is scheduled to appear in district court on June 24 for arraignment. He is currently in custody.

Reported similarly:
San Francisco Chronicle [6/18/2025 2:34 PM, Jessica Flores, 4120K]

Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 4:34 PM, Emily Hallas, 1934K] reports "I tell you this story because we don’t know if they were ICE agents or not," Barger, a Republican, told her colleagues, suggesting that some of the masked men detaining residents across the area are not actually ICE officers. Barger added that she "does believe there may be people out there impersonating ICE, taking advantage of this population." The Washington Examiner reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to find out whether the incident involved ICE impersonators.

UPI [6/18/2025 4:57 PM, Chris Benson, 3077K] reports a Texas man is facing years in jail and federal charges after he allegedly bought powerful explosives in New Mexico then relayed plans to utilize them during demonstrations in Los Angeles in order to fatally harm police and political leaders. "Targeting law enforcement with violence is not protest — it’s a crime," U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison for the District of New Mexico said Wednesday. According to court documents, 48-year-old Grzegorz Vandenberg on Thursday visited a travel center in Lordsburg, N.M., where he requested assistance to buy fireworks that "could be thrown directly at people.” He was charged with transporting explosives in interstate commerce with a knowledge and intent to use it "to kill, injure or intimidate individuals.” He purchased six mortars containing 60 grams of gunpowder each, plus 36 large firework items before exiting the store. According to authorities, Vandenberg was seen in a vehicle displaying a Montana license plate driving west on Interstate 10. Vandenberg, who had informed a store employee that he once was special forces military and claimed to have knowledge in creating pipe bombs, further admitted his destination was southern California, where he allegedly wanted to take part in Los Angeles demonstrations against hard-right immigration enforcement "with the intent to kill law enforcement officers or government officials," officials say.

Telemundo [6/18/2025 7:06 PM, Staff, 3352K] reports after federal agents arrested undocumented workers at three workplaces in downtown Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, many Southern California families are very worried and distressed that they haven’t heard from their loved ones. According to Southern California lawmakers, many of the detainees are in advance, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, without access to phones to call their families and lawyers, NBC Los Angeles reported. When five members of the House of Representatives were finally able to visit the Advance Processing Center on Tuesday, after being turned down nearly two weeks ago, officials representing Southern California districts said they were able to meet with some of their constituents, who were arrested during the raids. In a video recorded by NBC Los Angeles, Congresswoman Judy Chu, of the 28th District, appears showing a lock that was installed on one of the access door to the facility and explained that she had been denied access to the detention center a week ago with a group of legislators. On Tuesday he had the opportunity to visit the facility for two hours and talk to some of the detainees. Chu, whose district includes parts of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, said she and her colleagues saw the kitchen, medical facilities and detention cells inside the detention center. "We were able to talk to several of the detainees [...] They told us they hadn’t changed their clothes in 10 days, not even their underwear," he said. "They had the same towel to wash over and over again". Chu said he was able to hear the statements of a man, who claimed that he had been arrested in his store, after being approached by federal agents and then transferred to different detention centers. The visit of the congressmen took place on the same day that the Trump administration reactivated the immigration raids on workplaces in agriculture and in hotels and restaurants, reversing the brief respite from days - that undocumented immigrants who are the vast majority of workers in these places, after President Donald Trump said last week that changes were coming and that they were necessary workers, good and experience of many years - whose jobs were almost impossible to replace. The president has been incredibly clear: there will be no safe spaces for industries that will shelter violent criminals or deliberately try to undermine the efforts of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), DHS spokeswoman Tricia Mclaughlin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Telemundo52 [6/18/2025 11:02 PM, Kimberly Kindy and Amanda Seitz, 103K] reports California’s two U.S. senators demanded Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration stop using the personal data of millions of Medicaid enrollees, including their immigration status, as part of its broad deportation campaign. In a letter to top government officials, Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla expressed alarm over a report by The Associated Press (AP) last week detailing how deportation officials had obtained the sensitive data despite objections from career health officials. They wrote that health officials should stop sharing the information and that the Department of Homeland Security should "destroy any and all such data" obtained. The data transfer, the senators wrote, raised serious ethical issues and "significant concerns about possible violations of federal laws" on privacy. Department of Health and Human Services officials declined to comment on the letter. In a statement last week, a spokesman for that agency said the department "acted entirely within its legal authority" and that the effort was "focused on identifying waste, fraud and systemic abuse." AP reported that the health department’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) transferred the data last week to homeland security officials. Internal CMS records obtained by AP showed the Medicaid agency resisted at first, arguing it would violate federal rules and laws. Trump appointees insisted, giving CMS a 54-minute deadline to share the information with homeland security, according to emails obtained by AP. The transfer comes "as the Trump administration continues to target non-citizens," the senators wrote in their letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. "We are deeply concerned that this administration intends to use individuals’ private health information for the unrelated purpose of possible enforcement actions targeting lawful noncitizens and mixed-status families," the senators wrote.

Reported similarly:
AP [6/18/2025 3:17 PM, Kimberly Kindy and Amanda Seitz, 4120K]

NPR [6/19/2025 5:04 AM, Joshua Yeager, 37958K] Audio: HERE reports central California is home to the nation’s biggest agricultural economy. And farmers there worry that the fear of immigration raids could lead to labor shortages.

Telemundo52 [6/20/2025 2:13 AM, Luis Treto and Elizabeth Chavolla, 103K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Thursday the arrest of at least 30 immigrants outside a Home Depot store in Hollywood. According to the ICE spokeswoman’s statement, during this morning’s operation, an individual crashed the patrol car of two officers and several federal agents were assaulted and verbally harassed. Cell phone footage showed activists and residents confronting the uniformed officers, who witnesses said detained day laborers, street vendors and customers. Several federal agents are shown in some images on top of a man on the ground, detaining him, while another immigrant is forcibly removed from a vehicle by uniformed officers who, according to the son of one of the detainees, broke the window to get him out. "Sadness, I am angry at how they treated him.  He has been living here for more than 40 years and works in construction," said Benicio Barrios, son of the detained immigrant. In another video, four more immigrants are detained after 7:00 a.m. between St. Andrew Street and Sunset Boulevard. Carlos Barrera said that his sister, who was selling food in front of the Home Depot store, was detained. "I was selling in the morning and suddenly some vans and cars arrived and locked them all up. Some managed to escape, but my sister did not manage to escape," said Barrera. Barrera said he is worried about his sister, as she suffers from diabetes and needs her medicine. "She needs her medicine for diabetes, heart and depression, [I have] a frustration and a feeling that I don’t know what to do, I feel like my hands are tied and that’s why I’m here asking friends to help me where to go, how to go about finding her," Barrera said. The operation provoked activists and residents to confront the ICE agents and demand that they leave, and at times there was pushing and shoving and insults until the heavily armed uniformed and some with their faces covered forced the protesters to retreat. In the midst of the confusion, a U.S. citizen was reportedly detained according to his brother who went to the scene to look for him. "It could be that he just wanted to help an undocumented person or it could be that they just started asking him questions, I don’t know," said Elias Garcia, brother of the detained citizen. Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez said his office has reports that day laborers, street vendors and Home Depot store customers have been detained. "We are trying to get all the information on who they grabbed so we can give them a legal defense and bring resources to the families," Martinez said. ICE claims that assaults on its agents have increased by 500% and warns that anyone who attacks its officers will face the full force of the law. The agency also assures that 75% of the arrests are two people with prior or pending criminal records. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [6/19/2025 9:57 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 18649K] reports the State Department announced Wednesday the U.S. will restart interviews and process foreign student visas, but it now will ask applicants to make their social media public for vetting, with potential denial if they refuse. The State Department added it would look for those "who pose a threat to U.S. national security," the same phrase it has applied to pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses. "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission," the announcement stated. A person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press said consulates were told to prioritize students going to colleges where foreign students make up less than 15 percent of the student body. An analysis from the outlet found 200 U.S. colleges and universities — mostly private schools and all eight of the Ivy Leagues — have more than 15 percent foreign students. The announcement comes as a sigh of relief to students who have been accepted to U.S. schools and need to pay their tuition and register for housing. But it also escalates the battle begun under President Trump, with foreign students arrested, visas pulled and Harvard University told it could no longer admit international students. The Washington Post [6/18/2025 4:42 PM, Hannah Natanson and Adam Taylor, 32099K] that the new vetting procedures will apply to all foreign nationals who apply for F visas, which are primarily for academic students, as well as M visas for vocational students and J visas that are designed for educational and cultural exchanges. It will apply to all student visas, regardless of the institution of study. The cable, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said the vetting will require reviews of applicants’ "online presence," and that the new procedures will take effect in five business days. As staff examine students’ profiles, the cable instructed, they must look to "identify applicants who bear hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles; who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security; or who perpetrate unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence."

Reported similarly:
New York Times [6/18/2025 7:13 PM, Edward Wong, 138952K]
New York Post [6/18/2025 11:20 PM, Victor Nava, 49956K]
Bloomberg [6/18/2025 5:18 PM, Ryan Chua, 19320K]
CBS News [6/18/2025 6:43 PM, Olivia Victoria Gazis, 51860K]
NewsMax [6/18/2025 4:22 PM, James Morley III, 4622K]
DailySignal [6/19/2025 1:21 PM, Jaryn Crouson, 558K]
Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 6:14 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 1934K]

AP [6/18/2025 4:25 PM, Matthew Lee and Albee Zhang, 56000K] reports the U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity. The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. while preparing to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said. Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year. On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the U.S. for a research internship that would start in late July. “I’m really relieved,” said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. “I’ve been refreshing the website couple of times every day.” Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment scheduling might resume. In reopening the visa process, the State Department also told consulates to prioritize students hoping to enroll at colleges where foreigners make up less than 15% of the student body, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail information that has not been made public.Foreign students make up more than 15% of the total student body at almost 200 U.S. universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023. Most are private universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. But that criteria also includes 26 public universities, including the University of Illinois and Pennsylvania State University. Looking only at undergraduate students, foreign students make up more than 15% of the population at about 100 universities, almost all of them private.

CNN [6/18/2025 5:01 PM, Jennifer Hansler, 21433K] reports the US State Department told embassies and consulates they must vet student visa applicants for "hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles" but said they should resume appointments that were paused in late May. The new guidance was sent to US diplomatic posts worldwide in a cable seen by CNN Wednesday. It says the vetting will look at student and exchange visa applicants’ "entire online presence." Applicants will be asked to set their social media profiles to public as part of the new vetting, and the cable notes that "limited access to, or visibility of, online presence could be construed as an effort to evade or hide certain activity." The guidance, which applies to both new and returning applicants for student and exchange visas, formally known as F, M, and J visas, calls for "a review of the applicant’s entire online presence – not just social media activity – using any appropriate search engines or other online resources," including "a check of any databases to which the consular section has access."

NewsMax [6/18/2025 10:35 AM, Staff, 4622K] reports President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Apple would buy a lot of his $5 million "gold cards" that allow immigrants with money to pay for a pathway to obtain U.S. citizenship.

FOX News [6/19/2025 6:00 AM, Alexander Hall, 46878K] reports Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., was blasted for arguing Wednesday that the best way to solve the illegal immigration crisis is by providing everyone with a path to citizenship. Frost hosted a press conference alongside multiple immigrant advocacy groups to announce his "Stop Unlawful Detention and End Mistreatment" or "SUDEM" Act. This legislation pushes for transparency in immigration detention by requiring all ICE-operated or ICE-affiliated facilities to be held accountable for their actions. Frost declared that he and his allied groups are "fighting to hold Donald Trump, his administration and this state accountable for a taxpayer-funded kidnapping program trafficking our people across the entire world that they’re running under the disguise of an immigration system.” After declaring that "being undocumented in this country is not a crime," the lawmaker proposed that the best way to lower the number of illegal immigrants is simply to legalize them. "We are an immigrant-filled community. We are a community filled with people. And yes, people are going to have different statuses, and to my Republican colleagues that say, "I don’t want any undocumented people in this country,’ I actually agree with you. So, let’s document every single one of them with a speedy path to citizenship. That’s how we fix this problem," Frost said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 8:00 AM, Robert Schmad, 1934K] reports Virginia’s two Democratic senators have requested federal funding totaling $3 million for CASA Inc., a nonprofit organization that specializes in helping illegal migrants find work and advocating for looser immigration laws. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner each disclosed requests for $1.5 million in public funds to support CASA in disclosures filed on May 15. CASA maintains a program that connects employers with prospective employees in the D.C. metropolitan area regardless of their immigration status, according to press reports and the organization’s website. Kaine and Warner’s funding requests indicate that they are seeking to help CASA expand its "capacity for workforce development," indicating that the funds could go toward the nonprofit’s migrant work placement programs. CASA work isn’t limited to helping illegal immigrants find work. Pro-migration activism constitutes another pillar of its operations. The organization’s 2025-2029 strategic plan claims that "White Christian Nationalism poses a grave threat to all of us" and that the ideology has "insinuated itself into the very fabric of the Republican Party’s leadership and permeates political discourse in the United States." To remedy this, CASA has committed itself to "organize" and "resist" in response to Trump administration policies it views as undermining migrant rights. Indeed, CASA’s website contains myriad photos of its activists staging protests. On its "community organizing" page, CASA cites securing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and "challenging unjust immigration enforcement policies" as its priorities. CASA was also listed as a co-plaintiff on a recent lawsuit against the Trump administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship. "Senator Warner requested funding for at least 17 separate workforce development projects this year, reflecting his long-standing support for programs that help Virginians who want to work, regardless of their backgrounds, gain the skills needed to contribute to the economy and support their families," a spokeswoman for Warner told the Washington Examiner. Tax records show that CASA has long relied on millions of dollars in federal grants to keep its operations running — funding that could dry up, given the Trump administration’s more ideological approach to grantmaking. "By law, the people who are in the country illegally are barred from holding jobs in the United States," Federation for American Immigration Reform media director Ira Mehlman told the Washington Examiner. "You have two senators who are trying to help people who are legally barred from working in this country to work in this country.”

New York Post [6/19/2025 12:01 AM, Jennie Taer, 49956K] reports the population of illegal immigrants in the US has dropped by an estimated 1 million since President Trump returned to the White House in January, according to a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies. The decline occurred between January and May as Trump ushered in a new mass deportation campaign and border lockdown, according to the report, which analyzed a household survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And it’s "perhaps due to their leaving in response to President Trump’s election and stepped-up enforcement effort," the report noted. There were an estimated 14.8 million illegal immigrants roaming the US in May, according to CIS’ estimate. In January, CIS estimated that there were 15.4 million illegal immigrants in the United States, which jumped 50% as the Biden administration released record numbers of border jumpers into the country. Many of the illegal immigrants left on their own as Trump pushed them to "self-deport," CIS fellow Andrew Arthur noted in a recent op-ed for The Post. The Trump administration launched the CBP Home app in March to allow illegal immigrants to volunteer to leave the country on their own without facing any consequences. The White House also began paying for illegal immigrants’ commercial flights home with an additional $1,000 payment for going back to their native countries. The massive drop is largely attributed to a 1.07 million "falloff" in the population of non-citizens from Latin America who arrived in 1980 or later, which "overlaps significantly with illegal immigrants," Steven Camarota, who co-authored the report, told The Post. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post’s signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! The number of foreign-born workers also dropped by 601,000 from January to May, according to the study. The total foreign-born population dropped 957,000 from January to May, which is "one of the largest declines over a four-month period in the foreign-born in the last three decades, but it is not unprecedented," according to the report. It also noted that it’s possible that some undocumented immigrants didn’t participate in the survey, fearing that they could be swept up in Trump’s immigration raids as a result of sharing their status with the federal government. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [6/18/2025 3:53 PM, Bruce Schreiner, 56000K] reports President Donald Trump’s administration has asked a federal judge to strike down a Kentucky regulation that it says unlawfully gives undocumented immigrants access to in-state college tuition. The U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit says the regulation violates federal immigration law by enabling undocumented students to qualify for the lower tuition rate at Kentucky’s public colleges and universities, while American citizens from other states pay higher tuition to attend the same schools. "Federal law prohibits aliens not lawfully present in the United States from getting in-state tuition benefits that are denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens. There are no exceptions," the suit said. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Kentucky, follows a similar action by Trump’s administration in another red state as part of its efforts to crack down on immigration. A federal judge blocked a Texas law that had given college students without legal residency access to reduced in-state tuition. That order only applied to Texas but was seen as an opening for conservatives to challenge similar laws in two dozen states. Such laws were intended to help "Dreamers," or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. "The Department of Justice just won on this exact issue in Texas, and we look forward to fighting in Kentucky to protect the rights of American citizens," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. The lawsuits in both states follow recent executive orders signed by Trump designed to stop any state or local laws or regulations the administration feels discriminate against legal residents.

FOX News [6/18/2025 5:25 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into 33 potential noncitizens allegedly illegally voting in the 2024 general election. Paxton, a Republican who is running a Senate primary challenge against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced the investigation on Tuesday. In a press statement, Paxton’s office said it was made aware of the potential illegal votes by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson. The statement said Nelson was only able to access the information because of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump this March. Trump’s executive order, titled "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," directed the Departments of State and Homeland Security to give all states "access to appropriate systems for verifying the citizenship or immigration status of individuals registering to vote or who are already registered." The order also directed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to provide U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi with "complete information on all foreign nationals who have indicated on any immigration form that they have registered or voted in a Federal, State, or local election, and shall also take all appropriate action to submit to relevant State or local election officials such information." Part of this order involved the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s SAVE database being opened up to the states at no cost, through which Nelson was able to access the information about the alleged illegal voting, according to Paxton’s statement.

USA Today [6/18/2025 2:46 PM, Nathan Diller, 75552K] reports a Philippine national legally residing in the U.S. allegedly used a stolen identity to board a Princess Cruises ship in Alaska. Enrico Ronquillo is accused of using counterfeit documents and a fraudulent IRS form with a victim’s personal information. He faces charges of false impersonation, making and using a false document, and aggravated identity theft. A man allegedly used a stolen identity to board a Princess Cruises ship in Alaska. Enrico Ronquillo, 37, was indicted for using a counterfeit driver’s license and a birth certificate – both from California – to impersonate a U.S. citizen from May 11 to 14, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska said in a June 16 news release. He is a Philippine national residing legally in the U.S. Ronquillo was onboard the Discovery Princess ship at the time, according to the indictment. He also allegedly "made and used a fraudulent IRS Form W-9 that contained the victim’s name, signature, address and social security number" during the cruise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Ronquillo is charged with one count each of false impersonation of a U.S. citizen and making and using a false document, as well as two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Breitbart [6/19/2025 7:35 AM, Randy Clark, 3077K] reports the Senate confirmed Rodney S. Scott to serve as President Donald Trump’s Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). On Wednesday, 51 Republican Senators voted Scott into the position. Not a single Democrat voted to support the former Chief of the Border Patrol to head up CBP. Scott previously served as the 24th Chief of the United States Border Patrol before retiring in 2021. His career in the border security agency spanned more than 29 years, beginning in 1992 in Imperial Beach, California, within the San Diego Border Patrol Sector. Scott rose through the ranks, serving in multiple Border Patrol Sectors, and served as the Chief Patrol Agent for the El Centro Sector. Scott was named Chief of the Border Patrol in 2020 and served in that capacity until his retirement. Commissioner Scott becomes the first Border Patrol agent to enter the agency at the lowest rank (GS-5) and eventually rise through the ranks to lead the parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As reported by Breitbart Texas, then-President-Elect Trump announced Scott as his nominee to the post of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner in December. In a posting on the future President’s social media platform, Truth Social, Trump cited Scott’s vast experience in immigration policy and his previous service as the agency head for the United States Border Patrol under the previous Trump administration. Trump announced his selection of Scott, saying, "Rodney served nearly three decades in the Border Patrol, building vast experience and knowledge in Law Enforcement and Border Security. Rodney served as the 24th Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, where he implemented Remain-in-Mexico, Title 42, Safe Third Agreements, and achieved record low levels of illegal immigration.” Scott, an extremely popular leader with rank-and-file Border Patrol agents, was instrumental in the development of immigration enforcement policies that drastically led to some of the lowest migrant crossing levels in the agency’s history. Chief Scott’s work was critical to the implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as "Remain in Mexico," which allowed CBP and ICE officers to return migrants from a host of different nations to Mexico as their asylum claims moved through the court system. The program was revolutionary and had never been tried before. In addition, Scott worked to create and implement several novel agreements with the Central American Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras on Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACAs) that allowed for the return of migrants who feared returning to their home country to other nearby participating nations.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [6/18/2025 3:10 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K]

FOX News [6/18/2025 3:56 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports Arizona and Texas are expected to have more of the border wall constructed following recent actions from the federal government. In the Grand Canyon State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. over $300 million to build 27 miles of the wall in the Tucson Sector, which was a hotbed of illegal crossings during the Biden administration. The contractor was used throughout Trump’s first term in office. Specifically, the development will be in Santa Cruz County – a largely rural county that includes Nogales, and the funds were already allocated in the CBP’s 2021 budget, according to CBP. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has taken multiple steps to speed up border wall construction in areas where there are gaps in Arizona, California, and Texas, mostly through granting environmental waivers to avoid "administrative delays." The Wednesday announcement noted that a fifth waiver was signed off by the secretary, which will be used for 17 miles of wall in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley Sector. Earlier this month, DHS cleared the way for 36 miles in wall development in Arizona and New Mexico, including in the Tucson, El Paso, and Yuma Sectors. In addition, the Golden State is also expected to have further wall construction with environmental waivers being cleared earlier this year.

The Hill [6/18/2025 3:44 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Tuesday the administration saw a historic number of low encounters at the border. “In the last 24 hours the Border Patrol encountered a total of 95 illegal aliens across the entire southern border. That is the lowest number EVER recorded,” Homan wrote in a statement on X. He said none of the immigrants were released after being apprehended while lauding the Trump administration for working to create the “most secure border” in the nation’s history. “To continue this great work and make it more permanent, we need the Big Beautiful Bill passed so we can finish the job, to include the biggest deportation operation the American people voted for,” Homan wrote on Tuesday. The House-approved spending package is expected to add $4 trillion to the national debt, but will also provide the border with additional manpower from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Currently, the bill is awaiting a final vote in the Senate but remains battle-tested with concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers regarding Medicaid work requirements outlined in the legislation.

Federalist [6/18/2025 12:33 PM, Brianna Lyman, 1142K] reports in May of 2024, more than 62,000 illegal aliens were released into the country under the leadership of then President Joe Biden. But under President Donald Trump’s leadership, not a single illegal alien was released into the United States in the entire month of May, according to newly released data. Data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that Border Patrol agents encountered 8,725 illegal aliens attempting to cross the southwest border between ports of entry in the month of May, but not a single one was released into the interior. In contrast, border agents encountered 117,905 illegal aliens during the same time last year under Biden’s watch. According to CBP, the "total number of encounters nationwide, including at ports of entry, averaged approximately 952 per day in May 2025 — a 2% decrease from April 2025. This was the second lowest average daily number of CBP encounters in history.” "Under the leadership of this administration, CBP has received historic support resulting in another 93% decrease in illegal crossings along the southwest border this month when compared with last year," said Pete Flores, Acting Commissioner of CBP. "Border numbers continue to trend at historic lows, reinforcing the sustained success of our enforcement efforts in securing the homeland and protecting American communities.” The stark contrast between Biden and Trump’s leadership comes after Biden spent years being derelict in his duty to protect the homeland, instead falsely telling Americans in February of 2024 that: "Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.” But as it would turn out, the only reason the border wasn’t secure was because of Biden and the Democrats. When Biden entered office he halted construction of the border relay, expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, reversed Trump-era immigration law enforcement, issued a deportation moratorium and resurrected an Obama-era parole program for illegals among other things. Biden would later go on to blame Trump and Republicans for the insecure border, even peddling the claim that he lacked authority to secure the southern border, telling a reporter last January that he had "done all I can do.” But it’s not that Biden lacked the power — it’s that he didn’t want to use the power he had to secure the southern border.

FOX News [6/18/2025 10:38 AM, Taylor Penley, 46878K] reports new Border Patrol data shows not a single illegal migrant was released into the United States last month, signaling an overwhelming turnaround since 62,000 were released into the country under the Biden administration at the same time last year. "It’s phenomenal," U.S. Border Patrol chief Michael Banks told Fox News Wednesday. "Anybody that cares about national security knows that, under the last administration, we were breaking record numbers of people that were coming into the country illegally and that were being released into the country… And to go from over 62,000 down to zero, we’re breaking record numbers in the right direction now.” Banks told "Fox & Friends" co-host Ainsley Earhardt that, while the Border Patrol is refraining from declaring victory on the issue, "we are fast approaching it.” "We are closer to operational security of the border than we’ve ever had," he shared. "We’ve said all along that the United States Border Patrol knows how to secure the border. We just need leadership, and with the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are proving exactly what we’ve been saying for years: Let us enforce the laws, and we’ll get the job done.”

ABC News [6/18/2025 7:45 PM, Nadine El-Bawab, 31733K] reports Harvard University researcher Kseniia Petrova appeared in Massachusetts federal court on Wednesday for a probable cause hearing after being charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States. Petrova is accused of failing to declare clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples while passing through customs at Boston Logan International Airport in February. During the hearing, the government and defense argued over whether the Harvard researcher brought "biological materials" into the U.S., following the testimony of the lone witness. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Brian Goldsworthy, who wrote the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Petrova, was called to the stand by the federal government. Goldsworthy testified that Petrova’s luggage was identified by a canine while it was on the luggage belt. Her bag contained pork, beef and fruits, in addition to the biological materials, he said. He testified that Petrova would not have been permitted to leave the airport with the biological materials she had if she had declared them to Customs and Border Patrol. During cross-examination by Petrova’s attorney, Goldsworthy struggled to define what a biological material is. "I was told that embryos are biological materials," Goldsworthy said. "What’s often encountered is plasmids, living things, plants.” After reading a government definition of what biological material is, defense attorney William Fick asked Goldsworthy if he believed frog embryos met that definition. Holcomb objected, saying it hasn’t been established that that definition is applicable to this case. "I don’t know what definition you are going off of," Judge Judith Dein told prosecutors who had objected to relevance on another question -- whether the embryos were "alive.” Goldsworthy testified that CBP agriculture experts and the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center laboratory that reviewed the material found it to be biological material. "I’m not sure that it is defined in the law," Goldsworthy said. Asked if he would agree the material was not alive, Goldsworthy said, "I don’t know.” Asked by the judge where he got that phrase from in his affidavit, Goldsworthy responded that it was from CBP officers and the lab.

AP [6/18/2025 9:41 PM, Staff, 3077K] reports attorneys argued over whether a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought "biological materials" into the U.S. in a court hearing Wednesday. Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for Harvard Medical School, appeared in Massachusetts federal court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing, where government and defense attorneys argued over whether she brought "biological materials" into the U.S., ABC News reported. She was returning from a vacation from France in February when she was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Boston Logan International Airport. Petrova, 30, had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. Federal officials on the social media website X accused her of lying about "carrying substances" into the country and alleged that she planned to smuggle the embryos through customs without declaring them. She told The Associated Press in an interview in April that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. Petrova was told her visa was being canceled and detained by immigration officials in Vermont after her initial arrest. She filed a petition seeking her release and was briefly sent to an ICE facility in Louisiana, after which a judge ruled the immigration officers’ actions were unlawful. In May, she was charged with one count of smuggling. The Homeland Security Investigations agent who wrote the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Brian Goldsworthy, testified Wednesday that Petrova would not have been able to leave the airport had she declared the frog embryos in her luggage, ABC News reported. He said that Customs and Border Protection agriculture experts and a federal laboratory that reviewed the samples deemed them to be biological material, ABC News reported. Petrova’s attorney argued it was unclear what definition the government was operating under and the requirement to declare items entering the country doesn’t hinge on whether something is a biological material, ABC News reported. After Wednesday’s hearing, both sides will now have the opportunity to submit briefs to the judge. If convicted of the smuggling charge, Petrova faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Breitbart [6/19/2025 1:31 PM, Bob Price, 3077K] reports Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents and CBP officers arrested two U.S. citizens who were allegedly attempting to smuggle more than $800,000 in cash from Texas into Mexico. The arrest took place at a border crossing point near Hidalgo, Texas. Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez posted a report on social media stating that agents and Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers arrested two U.S. citizens who were attempting to move undeclared U.S. currency from Texas into Mexico. Chavez said the duo was traveling from Hidalgo, Texas, to Mexico when they were stopped and inspected by agents and officers. During a secondary inspection law enforcement officials found 56 bundles of cash. The smuggled currency totaled $815,745 in value, Chavez stated. In April, Laredo OFO Director Donald Kusser posted a report of another cash smuggling attempt where the alleged actors attempted to move undeclared cash from Texas into Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Kusser said the vehicle approached the port of entry crossing heading southbound to Mexico. Officers found nine bundles of cash valued at $270,730. Breitbart Texas reported that the officers arrested a Texas woman, Ana Paulina Araujo Gonzalez, after finding more than $270,000 in undeclared currency as she attempted to cross the Hidalgo Port of Entry bridge. The woman appeared before a U.S. Magistrate judge who set her bond at $30,000 with a $2,000 deposit. "The smuggling of cash is a common tactic used by drug cartels to move their proceeds back to Mexico," Breitbart reported. "The city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, has been controlled historically by the Gulf Cartel, one of the six drug cartels labeled by the U.S. Department of State as foreign terrorist organizations.”

FOX News [6/19/2025 3:50 PM, Staff, 46878K] Audio HERE reports Arizona Republican Congressman Andy Biggs joins Fox Across America With guest host Rich Zeoli to shed light on how the Trump administration’s clear strategy to curb illegal immigration is already having a significant impact on his state. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Breitbart [6/19/2025 11:41 AM, Bob Price, 3077K] reports border Patrol agents in San Diego found a sophisticated cross-border smuggling tunnel that connects California to Tijuana, Mexico. The tunnel reportedly extended more than 1,000 feet into the United States from Mexico. San Diego Sector Tunnel Team agents discovered a cross-border tunnel in April that appeared to still be under construction, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agents found that the tunnel crossed under the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. "As we continue to strengthen the nation’s air, and maritime border security, it’s not surprising that foreign terrorist organizations would resort to underground routes," said Jeffrey D. Stalnaker, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the San Diego Sector. "Disruption of narcotics smuggling tunnels is critical to protecting American lives.” The sophisticated tunnel contained a rail track to quickly move cargo from Mexico into the United States, CBP photos revealed. Officials carefully mapped the tunnel, which they say extended more than 2,900 feet. The tunnel measured 42 inches in height and 28 inches in width and was about 50 feet underground at its deepest point. Officials say the tunnel appeared to be headed to a nearby commercial warehouse. In addition to the smuggling track, the tunnel had an electrical wiring system, lighting, and ventilation systems. When agents made entry to the tunnel, they found multiple makeshift barriers designed to impede agents ability to move south through the tunnel. Agents eventually identified a possible exit point located in Mexico and contacted Mexican law enforcement officials. Earlier this week, ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the Government of Mexico teamed up to find the exact location in Nueva Tijuana. Mexican police executed a search warrant on the residence and found the tunnel hidden under "freshly laid tile.” Based on the track and dimensions of the tunnel, officials believe the tunnel was designed to move large quantities of drugs into the United States from Mexico. Earlier this year, Breitbart Texas reported that Mexican officials and El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents discovered a cross-border tunnel. It appeared this tunnel was designed to aid in the smuggling of migrants into the U.S., officials stated. It was the second consecutive day that tunnels were found in the area. Other tunnels were found in the area other tunnels were found in January, Breitbart reported.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [6/19/2025 3:00 AM, Sophia Compton, 46878K]
Daily Wire [6/19/2025 8:17 AM, Spencer Lindquist, 3816K]
NewsMax [6/19/2025 12:26 PM, Staff, 4622K]
Washington Examiner [6/19/2025 12:05 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K]

NewsNation [6/19/2025 11:19 AM, Will Conybeare, 5801K] reports a pregnant U.S. citizen who was detained by federal agents about two weeks ago has since given birth to a healthy baby girl, but now, her boyfriend is being held out of state and her problems are far from over. Cary López Alvarado told NewsNation affiliate KTLA that she "tried to remain strong" during the scary ordeal, which took place outside a building where her boyfriend and cousin were doing maintenance work on June 8. She was nine months pregnant at the time. Video taken by López depicts her struggling with a masked agent wearing a Border Patrol uniform asking to see her identification as she was protecting a truck carrying her boyfriend Brayan Nájera and cousin Alberto Sandoval — the latter of whom is also a U.S. citizen. All three of them were eventually detained. Further footage posted on social media shows agents detaining López after they had pinned her truck between a wall. "They had my boyfriend on the ground already, and they had tackled my cousin down … that’s when I was inside the car just banging on the door," López said. "[I was asking] ‘What are you doing? Why are you guys treating us like this? We didn’t do anything wrong.’". According to a statement from a Department of Homeland Security representative, López was arrested because she was obstructing agents from accessing a car containing "two Guatemalan illegal aliens" inside. "During this incident, agents were assaulted, and an additional subject was taken into custody for pushing an officer," the statement read. The then-soon-to-be-mother was taken to a processing facility in San Pedro, where, according to her, the agents automatically assumed she was undocumented. "[They said] ‘But you’re from Mexico, right?’ And I’m like ‘No, I’m from here,’" López said. "[They asked] … ‘Where’s here?’ and I’m like, ‘Here, the U.S., Los Angeles.” "They put us in chains, so I had a chain from my hands under my belly that went all the way to my legs," she added. "Every now and then, I would fix my hands because I felt like I would be putting too much pressure because the chain went under my belly.” López was released after complaining of stomach pain and went straight to a hospital where she started having contractions, which she believes were caused by the stress of what she had gone through. Four days after the incident, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but the stress isn’t over yet, as the baby’s father, Nájera, is said to be detained at a facility in Texas despite López saying he has a spotless record. "He doesn’t have any criminal record or anything," she said. "They took him while he was working, and that hurts because he didn’t do anything wrong. He was just working and taking care of his family. Why are you treating other people this way when they aren’t criminals?". "The color doesn’t matter, the race doesn’t matter … at the end of the day, we are all human," she continued through tears. López’s legal team told NewsNation affiliate KTLA that she has not been charged with any crime. In the meantime, she will remain at home with her new baby girl.

Blaze [6/18/2025 11:18 AM, Julio Rosas, 1805K] reports that the sound of a car horn honking in a strip mall parking lot echoed repeatedly as a driver followed close behind an unmarked U.S. Border Patrol SUV. The agent quickly drove out of the parking lot, with the wannabe lookout following close behind. The civilian driver was so focused on the Border Patrol SUV he discovered that he drove right by two other unmarked Border Patrol vehicles in the lot. Blaze Media was embedded with Border Patrol on Tuesday to see firsthand how the large force of agents who have been deployed to the area are helping arrest illegal aliens. While our vehicle managed to escape detection the first time, a man in a mask started filming our SUV a few minutes later. Assistant Chief Border Patrol Agent for the El Centro Sector David Kim rolled down the window to see what the man wanted. "We don’t welcome you here. We feel you put fear into our community. ... This is not good. You’re scaring working people. You’re not looking for criminals. You’re not; you know that. This is wrong," the masked man told Kim. "Why? Tell me why. Why do you do this?" When Kim explained the law Border Patrol was enforcing was 8 U.S.C. § 1325, the man replied, "That’s an immoral law." A few hours after the encounter with the illegal alien advocate, Border Patrol agents arrested Juan Diego Euan at a Home Depot in Cerritos for being in the United States illegally. After the arrest, it was discovered that he had a serious criminal conviction.

CNN [6/18/2025 9:37 AM, Gabe Cohen, 875K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is tightening her grip on her department’s purse strings, ordering that every contract and grant over $100,000 must now cross her desk for approval, according to a memo exclusively obtained by CNN. The sweeping directive issued last week adds an extra layer of review for billions of dollars in funding across the Department of Homeland Security, which includes agencies such as US Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency. It’s the latest in a string of moves the Trump administration has billed as rooting out waste and fraud but that could have wide-ranging implications for federal agencies, particularly DHS as it is charged with multiple mission sets including emergency response. Officials inside FEMA warn the new approval process could severely disrupt the distribution of emergency funds during natural disasters. With hurricane season already underway, multiple sources told CNN that Noem’s policy threatens to bog down FEMA’s rapid-response efforts – and could choke off critical aid when every second counts. One FEMA official directly involved in disaster response called the policy "a dramatic and unprecedented overreach" and contends that Noem "is effectively preventing the department from functioning.” "This will hurt nonprofits, states, and small towns. Massive delays feel inevitable," said the official who asked not to be named to speak candidly. "It’s bonkers," said a former senior FEMA official who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Noem rolled out the change in an internal memo, demanding that all funding requests for her review include extensive details – mission impact, dollar values, descriptions of the supplies or services, timeliness issues, and a description of the proposed action. She warned that each review would likely take at least five days. In the chaos of a major disaster, FEMA can greenlight hundreds of payments and spend billions of dollars in just days. During Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the agency obligated roughly $7 billion in a single month, a FEMA document shows. Now, those urgent funding requests could be funneled to Noem’s office, raising fears of bureaucratic gridlock. CNN reached out to DHS about these concerns, specifically asking how the department would ensure disaster funds flow swiftly. In response, a DHS spokesperson emphasized Noem’s commitment to accountability. "Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars," a DHS spokesperson wrote. "Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens.” President Donald Trump and Noem have vowed to phase out FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season, which ends on November 30, and plan to shift the burden of disaster relief to the states. Noem is also co-chairing a new FEMA Review Council, which is expected to recommend sweeping reforms to the agency in the coming months.

Bloomberg [6/18/2025 1:36 PM, Rthvika Suvarna, 19320K] reports that a March 2025 memo seen by Bloomberg details how the Trump administration plans to drastically shrink the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s key disaster response functions. The document, titled "Abolishing FEMA" and addressed from then-acting FEMA head Cameron Hamilton, proposes ending federal aid for smaller disasters that aren’t of "national significance," cutting long-term housing assistance for survivors and halting new enrollments in the National Flood Insurance Program, among other things. Such reforms would transfer responsibilities to state and local governments, even as the memo acknowledges that many are currently "unprepared" to expand their roles. The changes could come as early as late 2025, though many of the proposals would require congressional action.

CBS New York [6/18/2025 7:45 PM, Christine Sloan, 51860K] Video: HERE reports President Trump said recently he wants to move toward getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, better known as FEMA, and get states to take on responsibilities. But some disaster survivors in New Jersey and an organization that helps them are not in favor of the idea. Mr. Trump said June 10 the plan is to "wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level, a little bit like education. We’re moving it back to the states.” The president said he wants that to start after hurricane season and for governors to lead the way. "Now, if they can’t handle it, they shouldn’t be governor. But these governors can handle it," Mr. Trump said. "The FEMA thing hasn’t been a very successful experiment. [It’s] very, very expensive and it doesn’t get the job done.” The president said once this all comes together, it will be good for the country. CBS News New York received the following statement from FEMA regarding this hurricane season. "There is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season. FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people. It’s not a secret that Under Secretary Noem and Acting Administrator Richardson, FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, and the efforts of Acting Administrator Richardson, FEMA is fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season," a spokesperson said.

Houston Chronicle [6/18/2025 5:34 PM, Tanya Babbar, 1982K] reports a hurricane anticipated to hit southern Mexico with damaging winds shouldn’t cause much concern in Texas, but anyone with travel plans should probably keep an eye on their flight information. Hurricane Erick was upgraded to a Category 2 storm Wednesday afternoon. It is expected to hit the coast of southern Mexico late Wednesday night and move inland Thursday, according to a Wednesday forecast from the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center. The two centers are part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As of Wednesday afternoon, the wind speed of hurricane Erick was reported to have increased over 100 miles per hour. Forecasters predicted Wednesday Hurricane Erick will "rapidly" strengthen to reach maximum hurricane strength by late Wednesday or early Thursday. A hurricane warning was in effect for Acapulco to Puerto Angel in Mexico, and a hurricane watch was in effect for West of Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana in Mexico, according to the Wednesday forecast. A tropical storm warning was in effect for East of Puerto Angel to Salina Cruz and West of Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana.

The Hill [6/18/2025 7:04 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18649K] reports the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday announced the largest-ever seizure of cryptocurrency funds linked to so-called pig-butchering scams. The U.S. attorney’s office filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the District Court for the District of Columbia to seize more than $225.3 million in cryptocurrency that federal prosecutors say was part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network meant to conceal the source of funds obtained through illegal scams. According to the forfeiture complaint, the FBI and Secret Service used blockchain analysis and "other investigative techniques" to determine that the funds were connected to the illegal activity. "This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service history," Shawn Bradstreet, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s San Francisco office, said in a statement. "These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims. The U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and our private partners worked diligently to trace these illicit transactions, identify victims and seize these funds so that they can eventually be returned to their rightful owners," Bradstreet continued. Much of the illegal funds on the network were obtained through cryptocurrency confidence schemes, commonly known as "pig butchering," which, according to the complaint, "refers to a scam in which the victim is ‘fattened up prior to slaughter.’". These scams work by developing relationships, including those romantic in nature, whereby "perpetrators gain trust or confidence from victims to deceive them into parting with their money.”

Reported similarly:
CNN [6/18/2025 4:08 PM, Sean Lyngaas]
NewsMax [6/18/2025 2:37 PM, Charlie McCarthy, 4622K]

FOX News [6/18/2025 7:45 PM, Greg Wehner and Jake Gibson, 46878K] reports a federal judge ordered former U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant Peter Stinson to home detention with GPS monitoring during a hearing on accusations that he made numerous threats against President Donald Trump on social media over the past five years. The 63-year-old Virginia resident served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1988 to 2021, during which time he became a sharpshooter and served as a FEMA instructor. Judge Ivan Davis on Wednesday said he did not believe, under the conditions he laid out, that Stinson’s release to home detention posed a threat to the community. Stinson, who wore a green prison jumpsuit to the hearing, was seen speaking with his attorneys during the proceeding. Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Stinson made multiple threats against Trump on various social media platforms, including X, Reddit and Bluesky. Stinson’s public defender, however, pointed out that Stinson said things like, "Someone should take the shot…he said I can’t shoot but I can drive. I’d take the shot, but I’m a lousy shot, so it would be a waste.” Prosecutors countered the argument by saying Stinson lied about his skills, noting that he received expert marksman ribbons while in the service. Stinson’s public defender also argued that the statute in question is specific in relation to threatening language, and that political hyperbole is protected speech under the First Amendment. Judge Davis appeared to agree with the public defender as prosecutors were having a tough time meeting the burden of establishing probable cause. He ultimately gave prosecutors until next Wednesday to file additional written briefs on the matter. In an affidavit filed on Friday, a task force officer from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed details about the myriads of online threats that Stinson allegedly made. In one instance, Stinson reportedly wrote that Trump needed to be "[L]uigied," on May 9. The post was a reference to Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year. Stinson allegedly made graphic threats against Trump involving guns, poisoning and even knives on multiple social media platforms.

New York Post [6/19/2025 3:40 PM, Benji Ferraro, 49956K] reports President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign took a deadly turn when an assassin made an attempt on his life during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now, Fox Nation subscribers can uncover new, previously unreleased footage from the shocking event. As shown on Wednesday’s edition of "Fox & Friends," new drone footage featured in Fox Nation’s "Art of the Surge: The Donald Trump Comeback" captures the scene of the Butler rally, as well as close-up footage of the Secret Service protecting Trump after shots rang out. Also shown are shocking videos of the crowd’s reaction as everything unfolded, highlighting the fear of those who were there that day. In the episode, Trump reflects on the immense danger he was in at the rally. "130 yards is like sinking a one-foot putt," the president said, referring to the distance from which the shots traveled toward him. "Fox & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones endorsed the Fox Nation show after seeing the striking new video from the harrowing shooting. "This series is incredible," he said. "You get to see never-before-seen footage of that day.” The final sixth and seventh episodes of "The Art of the Surge" season two are also now available to stream. Episode six, titled "The West Wing," takes viewers behind-the-scenes of multiple Trump Cabinet member meetings. Extended footage of conversations is shown featuring Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and more as the administration seeks to address some of the most pressing issues facing the United States. The seventh episode, titled "Lost Tapes Uncovered," is a compilation of assorted videos from the vault of the show. Viewers can peek at the Trump campaign team’s real-time reactions to then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Elon Musk’s musings on the 2024 presidential election results with his son X are also shown, giving the audience a new angle into how those on Trump’s team were feeling as the contentious campaign came to a close. The full first and second seasons of this dramatic docuseries are now streaming on Fox Nation. Viewers can watch Trump’s historic return to the White House unfold in stunning fashion. Later episodes of the second season reveal Trump’s Cabinet picks and handling of the first 100 days of his second term. Fox Nation subscribers can enjoy a wealth of other Trump-related content in addition to "The Art of the Surge.” Several streaming specials highlight Trump’s initiatives before or during his second term, including "President Trump: Middle East Trip," "President Trump’s Cabinet: Sworn In" and "Trump Border Crackdown.”

Reported similarly:
FOX News [6/19/2025 12:37 PM, Benji Ferraro, 46878K]

NewsMax [6/18/2025 12:33 PM, Charlie McCarthy, 4622K] reports a recent Supreme Court ruling could lead to numerous pay claims for federal employees also serving as military reservists. In April, the high court said federal civilian employees are entitled to their full salaries while on military leave during a national emergency, regardless of whether their duty is directly related to that emergency. The court in a 5-4 ruling penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected the government’s claim that military reservists are only entitled to a bump in pay when their duty is substantially connected to a specific emergency. In Feliciano v. the Department of Transportation, the court revived claims by air traffic controller Nick Feliciano that the Federal Aviation Administration should have given him his full pay during a two-year period more than a decade ago when he was serving as a Coast Guard reservist. Feliciano’s victory came after the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) rejected his claim for differential pay and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also ruled against him. The appeals court said Feliciano "must show not only that he served while a national emergency was ongoing, but also that a substantive connection linked his service to a particular national emergency.” The Supreme Court decision means federal employees who also serve as military reservists may have new claims on differential pay based on their past active duty service. MSPB handles any such claims. "Differential pay is codified and provided for federal employees that are impacted and called to active duty," said Michael Macomber, partner and CEO at law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, Government Executive reported.

Alaska Beacon [6/18/2025 8:00 AM, James Brooks, 116K] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a near-collision between two cruise ships in the Port of Juneau that occurred Monday, when one of the two ships broke loose from its moorings and drifted toward the other. "Our investigations division, they’re running with a standard investigation, just like we would do with any similar such incident, just to investigate if there’s anything that could have gone better or not," said Lt. Matt Naylor, public affairs officer for the Coast Guard sector covering Southeast Alaska. "Thankfully, nobody appeared to be injured. There didn’t appear to be any significant damage, so they’re going to be proceeding forward with that investigation, and we’ve gotten some videos from the public already, which have been super helpful," he said. On Monday, a sudden storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue the first-ever severe thunderstorm warning for Alaska’s capital city. High winds and heavy rain hit Juneau’s port, where the cruise ship Celebrity Edge was moored at the AJ Dock, a privately owned facility. The Edge’s drift stops only when it drops anchor in the middle of the port, halting it short of the Luminosa, which later maneuvers further away and leaves the port. The Edge later returned to shore without incident. After the near-miss, the Coast Guard put out a call on local social media, asking for additional videos. Thanks to local residents, it no longer needs videos, Lt. Naylor said.

Wall Street Journal [6/19/2025 11:00 AM, Robert McMillan, 646K] reports hackers in recent months have disrupted retail sales in the U.K. and U.S. and stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from crypto holders by targeting the outsourced call centers that many American corporations use to save costs. The hacks are often meticulously researched and use a variety of techniques, but they have one thing in common: low-level workers who staff call centers and have access to the kind of sensitive information that criminals need to commit crimes. The focus on outside call centers has allowed attackers to trick workers to get around so-called two-factor account authentication techniques that send codes by text to mobile phones. Those methods are commonly used to protect millions of bank and credit-card accounts, as well as a host of other online portals. In attacks on U.K. retailers including Marks & Spencer and Harrods, the hackers typically impersonated high-level corporate executives and pressured tech-support workers to give them access to corporate networks, according to security researchers. This is the same technique that allowed hackers to gain access to MGM Resorts systems in 2023. At the cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global they simply paid off call-center workers in India, Coinbase said. The attack might cost the company as much as $400 million because it has pledged to reimburse customers who have lost millions in the scam. The hackers stole data belonging to as many as 97,000 Coinbase customers, the company estimates. Josh Cooper-Duckett, director of investigations at Cryptoforensic Investigators, said he began hearing last fall from victims who had typically lost more than a million dollars to hackers. In almost every instance, it was the same scam, said Cooper-Duckett, who helps victims of cryptocurrency theft recover their losses. The criminals would buy information that they could use to call up their victims and masquerade as legitimate Coinbase workers, Cooper-Duckett said. They would know their victim’s personal information, their account balance, the last four digits of their bank accounts, and sometimes would have a list of recent transactions. Armed with this data, they would persuade them to create new cryptocurrency wallets with encryption keys known to the hacker or log into phishing sites and quickly steal their cryptocurrency.

Bloomberg News [6/19/2025 11:01 AM, Jennifer Kay, 88K] reports CrowdStrike Inc. prevailed over a class action brought in US federal court by travelers whose flights got delayed or canceled amid a faulty software update that disrupted travel at airports nationwide last year. The US District Court for the Western District of Texas granted the cybersecurity company’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Wednesday. It denies the travelers damages to compensate for the expenses incurred booking new flights, hailing ride-shares, booking hotel rooms, buying extra toiletries or medication, and missing work due to lengthy flight delays or cancellations during the widespread computer outages in July. Those claims are preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act, as they would be if the travelers had sued the airlines directly, Judge Robert Pitman said in an 11-page order. “The Court concludes that the airlines would experience significant effects from the enforcement of state tort law in this manner on CrowdStrike, akin to federal regulation, because cybersecurity vendors would have an incentive to change their practices and services for airlines specifically,” he said. “The vendors would, if their potential liability in case of errors in the context of airlines extended to disruptions of airline services, also likely have a strong incentive to charge more for their services to offset that risk of liability,” he said. Up to 46,000 flights were delayed and over 5,100 flights were canceled on the first day of the outage, the Aug. 5 complaint said. CrowdStrike in April also sought to dismiss separate investor litigation alleging the company told them its platform had been sufficiently validated, despite not having sufficient procedures in place to test and update the system. Barnow & Associates PC and Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP lead the travelers’ legal team. Crowdstrike is represented by DLA Piper LLP (US). The case is Del Rio v. CrowdStrike Inc., W.D. Tex., No. 24-00881, order 6/18/25.

New York Post [6/18/2025 10:13 AM, Ariel Zilber, 49956K] reports two leading US cybersecurity organizations are urging American businesses to brace for a potential wave of cyberattacks from Iran as the country is engaged in escalating hostilities with Israel. The Information Technology — Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC) and the Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Food and Ag-ISAC) issued a joint statement last week warning that the conflict could trigger a surge in cyber activity from Iranian-linked actors targeting American companies. "Historically, Iranian state-sponsored actors, pro-Iran hacktivist groups, and financially motivated cybercriminals have launched attacks against US organizations during periods of heightened conflict," the statement said. The two ISACs called on businesses across all sectors — especially those in critical infrastructure — to "take immediate steps to proactively assess their cyber preparedness, enhance their defenses, and prepare for a range of cyber activity, some of which could potentially be disruptive.” Iranian-affiliated threat actors are known for their aggressive and adaptive tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) — a cybersecurity term that describes how hackers or cybercriminal groups plan and carry out attacks in the digital world. The two cybersecurity groups emphasized the importance of raising internal awareness, boosting monitoring for suspicious behavior and training employees to report phishing emails and malicious links. "Preparedness is critical to resilience," the organizations wrote. "Now is the time for companies to become familiar with Iranian-affiliated threat actors and their TTPs, assess their own cybersecurity posture, strengthen their defenses, begin heightened monitoring for suspicious activity, and remind employees to report suspicious emails and links.”

The Hill [6/19/2025 4:10 PM, Jeff Arnold, 18649K] reports U.S. companies, global supply chains and other critical infrastructure could be at risk of Iranian cyberattacks if President Trump engages the U.S. in the escalating war between Israel and Iran. Threats of the U.S. being targeted come as cyberattacks launched by Iran on Israeli banks and other targets have reportedly spiked by 700 percent since the conflict began last week. In the wake of the attack, the U.S.-based Food and Agriculture-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) and the Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC) issued a joint statement urging U.S. companies to bolster their defenses against possible cyberattacks. But as Trump considers whether and to what extent the U.S. could become involved in the ongoing war, how the country’s digital landscape will be affected should remain among the White House’s biggest concerns, former CIA officer and FBI special agent Tracy Walder told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network. "I personally feel that this is the No. 1 threat," Walder, a NewsNation national security contributor, said Thursday. Walder says that Iran has already warned against U.S. involvement, pledging "all-out war" were the U.S. to lend support to Israel. She believes a large part of that response would likely involve cyberattacks directed at critical sites such as water treatment plants and other key facilities. "They’ve done it before, and so I don’t have any reason to think they wouldn’t do it again," Walder added of Iran’s history. The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates. In its warning to U.S. companies, the joint statement between the Food and Agriculture ISAC and IT ISAC said that historically, Iranian state-sponsored actors, as well as pro-Iran hacktivists and cybercriminals, have launched attacks against U.S. targets during periods of heightened conflict. The organizations said in the wake of the recent volley of missiles launched between Israel and Iran, U.S. companies should take immediate steps to "proactively assess" their cyber preparedness. The warning also urged companies to prepare for a range of cyberactivities, some of which could be potentially disruptive. "Preparedness is critical to resilience," the guidance said, adding that companies should also make themselves aware of Iranian-affiliated cyberthreats.

CNN [6/18/2025 4:37 PM, Sean Lyngaas, 21433K] reports hackers stole the equivalent of roughly $90 million from Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on Wednesday, according to multiple independent crypto-tracking firms. A skilled pro-Israel hacking group known as "Predatory Sparrow" took credit for the cyberattack, which appeared to be aimed at further weakening Iran amid Israeli’s military strikes on Tehran. In a post in Farsi on X, the hackers said that they had hit Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex, claiming that Iran used the exchange to skirt international sanctions. And in an extraordinary move, the hackers may have effectively thrown the stolen crypto away by transferring it to digital "wallets" that they don’t have control over, according to multiple cybersecurity experts. Nobitex acknowledged the incident in a statement on its website on Wednesday, saying that access to the crypto exchange had been "suspended," as a precaution, until further notice. Crypto-tracking firms Elliptic and TRM Labs confirmed the crypto was stolen and sent to "wallets" or crypto accounts, with an expletive that referenced Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a separate hack on Tuesday, Predatory Sparrow said it had destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah, claiming IRGC members used the bank’s services as a justification for the action. Iran’s state-affiliated Fars news agency warned of potential disruptions to bank services at gas stations. A source in Tehran told CNN they have gone to about 10 ATM machines over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday and found all of them either non-functional or out of cash. The pair of stunning cyberattacks mark an escalation in Israel and Iran’s years-long shadow war in cyberspace, where the arch-enemies — or their supporters — have conducted digital spying and data-destroying attacks for tactical advantage.

Washington Post [6/18/2025 9:15 PM, Ari Schneider and Jeremy Roebuck, 32099K] reports a federal judge on Wednesday ruled there was sufficient evidence for prosecutors to pursue a hate crime charge against the man accused of hurling molotov cocktails at a group of demonstrators calling for the release Israeli hostages in Gaza earlier this month. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella said it would be up to a jury to decide whether the June 1 attack in Boulder was motivated by hostility toward the victims’ political views or their perceived national origin. Mohammed Sabry Soliman — a 45-year-old Egyptian national — told investigators he wanted to "kill all Zionist people" as he confessed to the unprovoked assault that left at least a dozen people injured, including a Holocaust survivor and a child in a wheelchair, according to the criminal complaint filed in his case. But in testimony Wednesday, FBI Special Agent Timothy Chan acknowledged that Soliman also maintained throughout his post-arrest interview that he had no issue with Jewish people in general and said he’d worked well with bosses who were Jewish in his past jobs at a medical center and as an Uber driver. "The big debate is whether Mr. Soliman was motivated by the protesters’ national origin," the judge said as she issued her ruling, according to the Denver Post. "One could construe the evidence and arguments presented by the government today as that Mr. Soliman was motivated by hatred of those who support the creation and maintenance of the Israeli state. So therefore, one could argue that by virtue of having animosity for people who support the existence of the Israeli state, that then brings this matter under the element of national origin.” The federal hate crime statute — which could carry a sentence of up to life in prison should Soliman be convicted — requires prosecutors to prove that the perpetrator targeted victims based on their race, color, religion or national origin. Defense lawyer David Kraut argued Soliman could not be convicted under the law because he allegedly chose victims for their assumed political ideology: support for the Zionist movement, the nation of Israel or the country’s occupation of Gaza. He was not motivated by their Jewish faith or any belief he may have had that his alleged targets were Israeli, Kraut maintained. "He defines Zionism according to political opinion, not national origin or ancestry," Kraut said, according to the Denver Post. "Every time he was asked ... it became very clear his definition hinges on political views.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Hindman stressed that Soliman told FBI agents he chose to target the Boulder group Run for Their Lives because they were carrying Israeli flags. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Soliman entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2022 and applied for political asylum the next month, claiming his family as dependents. His visa expired in 2023. Lawyers for his family members said in a recent court filing that the asylum claim remains pending. A federal judge in Colorado temporarily blocked the removal of Soliman’s wife and children earlier this month — an order he extended Wednesday. The Soliman family has since been moved to an immigration detention center in Central Texas, while he remains in federal custody in Colorado.

DailySignal [6/18/2025 11:47 AM, Jacob Adams, 558K] reports Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday testified on the Pentagon’s proposed defense budget for fiscal year 2026, articulating the Trump administration’s vision for a strong United States. Addressing the elephant in the room, Hegseth said the decision about whether or not to strike Iran is at the presidential level, and that he would go into more detail in a classified setting. Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth explained that his department was requesting about $961.6 billion from Congress. That’s a more than $110 billion increase from the request for fiscal year 2025, which was $849.8 billion. The defense secretary emphasized that some of the money was going to improve the quality of life for the military’s warfighters. Hegseth explained that the budget "makes historic investments in living conditions in barracks, in base housing," adding: The best part of my job is meeting and interacting with troops and their families. We hear their concerns. "Each of these initiatives responds to feedback that improve quality of life for our warriors and their families, things that include making historic investments," the defense secretary said. Hegseth noted that his three guiding priorities for his time at the Defense Department are to restore the military’s warrior ethos, rebuild the U.S.’s military, and reestablish deterrence of America’s enemies. "We’re working with the Department of Homeland Security to increase border security, to reduce China’s malign influence in the Western Hemisphere, to defend freedom of navigation in the Red Sea," he explained. Hegseth emphasized that the budget proposal would provide $25 billion to start construction of the Golden Dome, a network of radars, sensors, and other systems to detect a variety of threats to the U.S., including ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The system is estimated to cost approximately $175 billion in total. Hegseth also said the military would be focusing once again on merit. "[Diversity, equity, and inclusion] is dead. We replaced it with a colorblind, gender neutral, merit-based approach, and the force is responding incredibly, because of President [Donald] Trump and his America first priorities. Recruitment and retention are higher than they’ve been in decades," the defense secretary explained.

USA Today [6/19/2025 4:23 PM, Francesca Chambers, 75552K] reports President Donald Trump has again extended the deadline for a TikTok ban to go into effect, allowing the Chinese-owned social platform to continue operating for the 90 days. Trump said earlier in the week that he planned to give TikTok a third extension and signed an executive order on June 19 making it official. It was the third time that Trump authorized a delay. The popular social media app’s parent company, ByteDance, now has until Sept. 17 to secure a deal that satisfies a legal requirement. Lawmakers ordered TikTok to divest from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States over national security concerns. Former President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law. And the Supreme Court held the ban. But since returning to office, Trump has directed the Department of Justice not to enforce it. His executive orders have kept the app from going dark. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration’s lawyers "strongly believe" the president has the legal authority to delay enforcement. "The political reasoning for this, of course, is because the president made a promise to keep TikTok on," she said. "He also wants to protect American’s data and privacy concerns on this app, and he believes we can do both things at the same time. So he’s making an extension so we can get this deal done.” Its embassy spokesman in Washington said in a June 19 statement that Trump has not changed its position on the United States ban. In response to a request, Liu Pengyu reiterated that the nation would "handle relevant matters in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations" and said the United States "should provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment.”

Reported similarly:
The Hill [6/19/2025 11:42 AM, Miranda Nazzaro, 18649K]

The Hill [6/19/2025 2:56 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports U.S. Steel said Wednesday it finalized its merger with Japan’s largest steelmaker, Nippon. President Trump lauded the acquisition as a partnership in which the U.S. would maintain a "golden share" of profits with expanded investments in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Arkansas, Minnesota and Alabama. "U. S. Steel will remain rooted in the United States and continue to call Pittsburgh home. Through our partnership with Nippon Steel, we are poised to grow better and bigger, with transformative investment, cutting-edge technology, and the creation of good-paying jobs across the United States," U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said in a statement. Trump and former President Biden both spoke out against the merger on the 2024 campaign trail, citing concerns for national security and global competition. Months after returning to the Oval, Trump approved the acquisition, ensuring it would spur job growth and boost U.S. manufacturing. The $15 million buyout was solidified under a National Security Agreement drafted by Trump. The provisions ensure a sitting president or a designee of a sitting president will have consent rights over the transfer of production or jobs outside of the U.S., changing the company’s name or headquarters and material acquisitions of competing businesses in the country.

Reuters [6/18/2025 1:25 PM, Emma Farge, 24051K] reports that the U.S. government on Wednesday backed a Biden-era nominee to stay in charge of a U.N. telecoms agency, underlining U.S. interest in global technologies in a relatively rare show of support for a multilateral body under the Trump administration. U.S. President Donald Trump has so far largely retreated from U.N. institutions: he has cut funding to aid agencies, plans to leave the World Health Organization and has not yet installed permanent U.N. ambassadors in New York or Geneva. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorsed U.S. candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin for re-election to the International Telecommunication Union - a 160-year-old Geneva-based agency that sets standards for new technologies. "At a time when global networks and digital technologies are increasingly impacting the global economy, ITU needs the right leadership," Rubio said. The qualified radio operator who grew up in New Jersey and spent most of her career at the ITU, was elected the first woman to lead it in 2022, when she beat the Russian candidate after a campaign publicly endorsed by former President Joe Biden. As with many U.N. elections, nation state endorsement is a condition to run for the ITU election set to take place in 2026. The ITU has so far been spared most of the foreign aid cuts. Trump said in February that the United Nations had "great potential and ... we’ll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together". Trump has said he wants his former national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his next New York U.N. ambassador.

AP [6/18/2025 2:45 PM, Staff, 56000K] reports that Titans Space Industries (TSI), a pioneer in innovative cis-lunar space infrastructure, today announced its strategic entry into the military market, poised to deliver a comprehensive suite of advanced spacecraft and support systems. With key military-specific component development kicking off in Q1 2026, TSI is positioned to be the preeminent force in securing US leadership in the burgeoning new space race. TSI is ready to be a crucial partner in President Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system. This groundbreaking, multi-layered defense shield for the United States aims to detect and destroy ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, as well as other advanced aerial threats, either before or during their flight. Inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, the “Golden Dome” seeks to expand this protection to cover the entire American homeland. TSI’s primary role in the “Golden Dome” initiative would be the deployment of laser system stations developed by other entities. These stations would primarily function as directed energy weapons for intercepting missiles and warheads. TSI’s contribution to the “Golden Dome” would leverage its unparalleled capabilities in space deployment and maintenance.

Reuters [6/18/2025 11:25 AM, Jonathan Saul, 51390K] reports Iran and Israel accused each other of endangering commercial activity in sea lanes around the Gulf and the Red Sea at the UN’s shipping agency on Wednesday, as their military conflict escalated. Iran’s delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization’s security committee that Israel had in recent days extended its "unlawful attacks" to include petrochemical and gas infrastructure in Asalouyeh along Iran’s Gulf coast. "These actions directly endanger international maritime security and the global energy supply chain," Iran said in a statement to IMO delegates, which was livestreamed. "If the international community fails to take urgent and concrete measures to halt this unlawful aggression, the risk of escalation at sea becomes imminent.” Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure. Any closure of the strait could restrict trade and affect global oil prices. Commercial ships are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran’s waters around Hormuz, shipping sources said on Wednesday. Former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has said that tankers and liquified natural gas cargoes should only transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian permission. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Donald Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender on Wednesday, and the U.S. president said his patience had run out, though he gave no clue as to what his next step would be. Israel’s mission told delegates the IMO’s foundational principle of global maritime navigation safety was being "openly and aggressively threatened" by Iran, partly through support of Yemen’s Houthi militia, whose attacks have severely disrupted shipping through the Suez Canal and Red Sea in recent years. "Iran has turned our whole region and the Red Sea specifically into a war zone. Through its political, financial and military backing of the Houthi rebels, Iran has enabled a campaign of maritime terrorism against civilian vessels," Israel said.

FOX News [6/19/2025 3:31 PM, Diana Stancy, 46878K] reports U.S. troops based in the Middle East could face increased attacks in the coming days or weeks, should the U.S. decide to become involved in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that President Donald Trump will make a decision in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will move forward and strike Iranian nuclear facilities. "Yes, I may do it. I may not do it," Trump said Wednesday. "I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate." Meanwhile, Iran has issued a clear message: Doing so will come with consequences. Iran has cautioned that the U.S. will suffer if it chooses to become involved in the conflict, and previously issued retaliatory strikes against bases where U.S. troops were housed after the U.S. killed a top Iranian general in 2020. "The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday, according to state media. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [6/19/2025 1:39 PM, Christian K. Caruzo, 3077K] reports Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío on Wednesday said that the communist regime has not ruled out expelling the head of the U.S. embassy in Havana, Mike Hammer, who they recently accused of being a "subversive agent.” Fernández de Cossío spoke with EFE on the subject of U.S.-Cuba relations following the return of President Donald Trump to the White House, particularly the actions President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have taken against the ruling communists. The Trump administration has, among other actions, reintroduced Cuba to the U.S. list of States Sponsor of Terrorism (SST), cracked down on the Castro regime’s slave doctor program, and imposed specific travel restrictions on Cuban nationals. The Cuban official stressed to EFE that "any alternative" to the current scenario would apparently be "better.” "With regards to the diplomat [Hammer], we are not going to rule out any action insofar as we think that what he is doing is dangerous, if we come to that conclusion — which we have not — and insofar as we pay close attention to what he is doing," Fernández de Cossío said. Hammer, who in the past has served as U.S. ambassador to other countries such as Chile and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is presently leading the U.S. embassy in Havana as its chargé d’affaires since November 2024. The U.S. has not appointed a new ambassador to Cuba in over six decades after the Castro regime forcefully took control of the island. In recent weeks the Castro regime accused Hammer of being a "subversive agent" of the United States and engaging in purported "meddling and unfriendly conduct" after the diplomat, who speaks Spanish fluently, began traveling around Cuba to meet with local communities, dissidents, and families of the regime’s political prisoners. Last week, Hammer published a video of his most recent trip around Cuba, visiting the municipalities of Artemisa and San Antonio de los Baños, where he held "friendly and valuable" exchanges with its local residents and young Cubans, who the U.S. diplomat described as the future of the island-nation. Hammer explained in May that his goal is to allow Cubans to share their stories, concerns, and dreams with him, and emphasized that he has received a warm reception from the locals — some of whom blamed the Castro regime and not the U.S. "embargo" on Cuba as the cause of the nation’s woes. The Cuban Foreign Ministry, without presenting evidence to substantiate its claims, claimed in a protest note in May that Hammer is "inciting" Cubans to "commit serious criminal acts" and act against regime authorities.

The Hill [6/19/2025 10:10 AM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18649K] reports the State Department has begun evacuating nonessential government personnel and their families from Israel, as the conflict with Iran heats up and President Trump weighs greater U.S. involvement. A government plane departed from Israel on Wednesday with diplomats and family members who had asked to leave the country, according to The Associated Press, which cited two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The AP said there was no indication of how many diplomats were on the flight, nor how many evacuated Israel by land routes. "Given the ongoing situation and as part of the embassy’s authorized departure status, mission personnel have begun departing Israel through a variety of means," the State Department said in a statement to multiple media outlets. The government flight came shortly after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the U.S. was working to evacuate U.S. citizens. He noted Americans must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, to receive updates and alerts on travel. The State Department on Saturday authorized family members of U.S. personnel and nonemergency employees to depart Israel "due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region.” The department currently advises against travel to Israel, citing the risk of armed conflict, terrorism and civil unrest. Commercial flights to and from the region have also been canceled because of the conflict.

The Hill [6/18/2025 12:44 PM, Colin Meyn, 18649K] reports that America’s ambassador to Israel said Wednesday the United States is working to evacuate U.S. citizens from the country as an escalating conflict with Iran enters its sixth day. "Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel @usembassyjlm is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures," Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social platform X. He noted Americans must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive updates and alerts on travel. The U.S. State Department on Saturday authorized family members of U.S. personnel and nonemergency employees to depart Israel "due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region." The State Department currently advises against travel to Israel, citing the risk of armed conflict, terrorism and civil unrest. Hundreds of thousands of Americans live in Israel, many with dual citizenship. Other countries have also started evacuating citizens from Israel. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Tuesday that Beijing was starting evacuations. Thailand’s prime minister said Tuesday the air force has planes on standby to evacuate some 40,000 Thai citizens in Israel, who mostly work in agriculture. Some European countries have also moved to pull citizens out of the country, Politico reported Tuesday.

New York Times [6/19/2025 3:30 AM, Matthew Mpoke BiggNatan Odenheimer and Michael Levenson, 330K] reports Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday defiantly rejected President Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender,” and warned against any American military intervention in Israel’s escalating war with Iran, now in its sixth day. “Intelligent people who know Iran, the nation and the history of Iran, will never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation cannot be surrendered,” the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a televised statement, according to state media. “The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.” His remarks came a day after Mr. Trump raised the possibility of killing Mr. Khamenei but said he would not do so, “at least for now.” On Wednesday, Mr. Trump continued to hold out the possibility that the United States might join Israel’s war against Iran. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said. Even as they traded threats, U.S. and Iranian officials sent conflicting signals on Wednesday about their willingness to engage in diplomacy. Mr. Trump said the Iranians had reached out to him and that the two sides might meet, though he did not provide details. While he castigated the Iranians for not agreeing sooner to a deal to limit their nuclear program, he told reporters on the White House lawn that “nothing’s too late.” Iran’s mission to the United Nations appeared to dismiss the possibility of talks with the United States. “No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” it said. “Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance,” the mission said in a statement on social media, calling Mr. Trump’s threat against the country’s supreme leader “cowardly.”

Axios [6/19/2025 2:08 PM, Barak Ravid, 13599K] reports President Trump will make a decision "within two weeks" on whether to join Israel’s war against Iran to eliminate its nuclear program, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. Citing the "chance for substantial negotiations" with Iran, Trump is leaving the door open to a diplomatic solution in the coming days that could avert a major escalation in the Middle East. Trump met with his top national security team in the Situation Room on Thursday — the third such meeting in three days. He’s seriously considering joining the war, but wants to ensure three things are true, U.S. officials say: That a military strike is truly necessary. That the operation wouldn’t drag the U.S. into a prolonged war in the Middle East. And most of all, that it would achieve the goal of destroying Iran’s nuclear program. "I have a message directly from the president: ‘Based on the fact that there is a chance for substantial negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision on whether or not to go within the next two weeks,’" Leavitt said at Thursday’s White House briefing. Leavitt made clear that any diplomatic deal must ensure that Iran cannot enrich uranium or build a nuclear weapon. As Trump has deliberated in recent days over whether to join the war, special envoy Steve Witkoff has maintained direct communication with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as Axios reported Wednesday. Trump said Wednesday that Iran still wants to negotiate with the U.S. and has even proposed sending a delegation to the White House. He cautioned, however, that it was getting "very late" for talks and he may soon authorize strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. officials said no meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials has been set yet.

NewsMax [6/19/2025 8:08 PM, Michael Katz, 4622K] reports FBI Director Kash Patel has increased efforts to monitor possible domestic sleeper cells linked to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization backed by Iran since Israel began targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities last week. While President Donald Trump is considering whether to strike Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, joining Israel’s campaign, law enforcement officials have increased surveillance of Iranian-backed operatives in the U.S., CBS News reported Thursday, citing multiple unnamed sources. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump will decide within the next two weeks, citing "a substantial chance of negotiation that may or may not take place" with Iran. U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials have been concerned about Iran’s ability to direct or inspire attacks within the U.S. since Trump ordered the killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, in January 2020 at an Iraqi airfield. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies have devoted significant resources to countering the threat, according to CBS News. Late last year, federal prosecutors charged an IRGC asset and two U.S.-based individuals with plotting to assassinate Trump before November’s election. Iranian operative Farhad Shakeri, 51; Carlisle "Pop" Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn; and Jonathan Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island were charged in what prosecutors described in the indictment as a network of criminal associates tasked by Iran to further assassination plots on targets, including Trump and journalist Masih Alinejad, a fierce critic of the Islamic regime. The three were each charged with murder-for-hire and other related crimes. Trump reportedly is wary over bombing Iran in part because of concerns about creating "another Libya" if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is toppled. Trump in recent days has specifically mentioned Libya’s decadelong plunge into anarchy in 2011 after the U.S. under Barack Obama joined a NATO bombing campaign to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Iran has threatened to retaliate if the U.S. decides to strike. CBS News [6/19/2025 6:08 PM, Jennifer Jacobs, 51860K] reports FBI Director Kash Patel has increased efforts to monitor possible domestic sleeper cells linked to Hezbollah — a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization backed by Iran — since Israel’s Operation Rising Lion offensive began earlier this month, U.S. officials said. Both the White House and FBI declined to comment. The threat from Iranian operatives has worried current and former administration officials since Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on Mr. Trump’s orders in January 2020. Late last year, federal prosecutors charged an operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two U.S.-based people with plotting to surveil and assassinate critics of the Iranian regime. The IRGC operative allegedly told investigators he was pushed by unnamed IRGC officials to plan an attack against Mr. Trump. For years, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials have been concerned about Iran’s ability to direct or inspire attacks within the United States — a concern that has ramped up since Soleimani’s killing. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and others have devoted significant resources to countering the threat. There are a range of potential targets. In recent years, prosecutors have charged people with plotting to kill Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton and Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad, both of whom are frequent critics of Iran’s government. Bolton was granted Secret Service protection in 2021, but Mr. Trump revoked his protection this year. Mr. Trump is considering whether to strike Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, joining Israel’s weeklong campaign against Iranian nuclear and military targets, CBS News has previously reported. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the president will make a decision within the next two weeks, citing "a substantial chance of negotiation that may or may not take place" with Iran. Iran has threatened to retaliate if the U.S. decides to strike. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [6/19/2025 4:15 PM, Jim Thomas, 4622K] reports CIA Director John Ratcliffe is said to have privately warned that Iran is dangerously close to acquiring nuclear weapons, an assessment that may have fueled President Donald Trump’s consideration of military action against Tehran’s key nuclear site, Fordow, NBC News reported. The director reportedly told officials in closed-door meetings that Iran is now viewed as being very close to possessing nuclear weapons, according to a senior intelligence official, as reported by NBC News. His warning contrasts with the official stance of the broader U.S. intelligence community, which has not changed its position since March. In public testimony earlier this year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Iran had stockpiled a large quantity of enriched uranium but had not made a political decision to build a nuclear weapon. Despite that position, Ratcliffe has reportedly dismissed the idea that Iran is still deliberating. According to one U.S. official familiar with his briefings, Ratcliffe has said that claiming Iran isn’t close to a bomb would be similar to saying football players who have fought their way to the one-yard line don’t want to score a touchdown, according to CBS News. Ratcliffe’s warning echoes views held by President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have framed recent intelligence as proof that immediate action is necessary. Both leaders believe time is running out to prevent Iran from reaching breakout capability. Trump has been briefed on potential military options targeting Fordow, Iran’s heavily fortified underground nuclear facility. Multiple sources told CBS News that Trump approved strike plans Tuesday night but has not made a final decision. "He believes there’s not much choice," one source said. "Finishing the job means destroying Fordow.” The International Atomic Energy Agency and U.S. officials say Iran has enough enriched uranium to produce as many as 10 bombs, though building a functional weapon could take months or longer. Under Ratcliffe’s direction, the CIA has stressed that this timeline is narrowing. Meanwhile, members of Congress are seeking clarification. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday, "So far, at least, the intelligence community has stood by its conclusion that Iran is not moving towards a nuclear weapon." Warner added, "I want to make sure that if it is changed, it’s based upon fact and not political influence.” Trump, for his part, has signaled he is reserving judgment until diplomatic efforts are exhausted. "Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said in a statement read by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X. Still, Ratcliffe’s pointed internal assessments have contributed to a growing perception inside the Trump administration that military action may be necessary. While Congress remains divided, sources say Trump continues to evaluate whether Iran can be pressured into disabling Fordow voluntarily, or whether a U.S. strike is the only option. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [6/19/2025 2:37 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports an Iranian missile slammed into the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, leaving dozens of people with minor injuries, causing significant damage, and drawing a swift vow from Israeli leaders of intensified attacks on Iran’s military and "government targets." Israel’s defense chief accused Iran of war crimes and said its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be held accountable. Israeli media aired video of blown-out windows and heavy black smoke pouring from upper floors of the Soroka Medical Center, but a spokesperson for the facility said there were no serious injuries to patients or staff, as the part of the hospital that was hit directly had already been evacuated. Another missile hit a high-rise building and several other residential buildings in at least two sites near Tel Aviv. Israel’s Ministry of Health said a total of 271 people were wounded by the Iranian missile attacks on Thursday, including four left with serious injuries. The strike on the Soroka hospital left 71 people with minor injuries, the ministry said. CBS News’ senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta said Tel Aviv’s skies were ablaze Thursday morning with one explosion after another as Israel’s air defenses intercepted most of the latest wave of Iranian missiles. One that slipped through the net hit a high-rise building near the city, leaving some people trapped inside apartments as first responders rushed to help. There was relief and joy for one father as he was reunited with his family, including his 10-month-old baby and his wife, who had been missing for over an hour following the attack. Israel’s Home Front Command said in a statement posted online that one of the missiles launched by Iran on Thursday was a "dispersal munition," a missile designed to release about 20 smaller bombs at an altitude of roughly four miles as it nears a target, inflicting potential damage on the ground across a radius of about five miles. It said each of the small bombs released could cause damage similar to that of a short-range rocket. "The threat is wider geographically — but it is much smaller than the warheads of ballistic missiles that weigh on average about 400 kg (882 pounds)," the Home Front Command said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [6/19/2025 3:39 PM, Sam Barron, 4622K] reports Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said in an interview that Iran "almost certainly" has a nuclear weapon. Lawler told Mediaite’s Dan Abrams that he supports the U.S. military using B-52 bombers to target the country’s nuclear sites. "Every U.S. president going back decades has made clear that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon, Republicans and Democrats," Lawler said. "Congress has made clear they cannot have a nuclear weapon. The fact is we’re at a point where they almost undoubtedly have a nuclear weapon. "And so this is the moment, if we are going to take action, to do so. And I believe that the president is within his rights, and I do believe it’s the right decision to use the B-52s to conduct an operation to eliminate the threat.” The lawmaker noted that Iran has increased its enrichment capability to a level that is a "major problem.” "They have shown a willingness, not just to fund terrorism and their proxies, but to actually launch ballistic missiles at civilian populations in Israel with the express intent of killing Jews and eradicating the state of Israel," Lawler said. Lawler said he advocates neither putting U.S. troops on the ground nor regime change, but Iran’s nuclear sites need to be taken out. "Who has taken the steps to most destabilize the free world and to attack our allies and our interests? It’s Iran," Lawler said. Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.

FOX News [6/19/2025 3:39 PM, Andrew Mark Miller and Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports several Boeing 747s have been spotted on radar leaving China for Iran over the last week, according to reports, sparking concerns that the CCP is helping the Middle Eastern nation transport cargo or people out of the country as Israel continues to strike the country’s nuclear facilities. Starting on June 14th, FlightRadar24 shows that at least five flights traveled from China to Iran, and The Telegraph reported that the "mystery transport planes" had flown westward along northern China before crossing into Kazakhstan, south through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and then fell off radar as they approached Iran. Additionally, the report indicated that the flights had a final destination of Luxembourg but don’t appear to have ever crossed into European airspace. Some experts have speculated that these types of planes are typically used for transport and could be evidence of China aiding its longtime ally Iran during the conflict with Israel, although Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed the nature of the flights. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [6/18/2025 2:41 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4622K] reports that in 2022, the Fufeng Group, a Chinese company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, tried to exploit a flaw in the federal government’s review process of foreign land purchases to buy land near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) found that it could not evaluate the transaction – which was ultimately blocked by the City of Grand Forks – for national security risks because the Defense Department had not listed the base as a sensitive site for national security purposes. On Wednesday, Senate Banking Committee Republicans introduced the "Protect Our Bases Act," which is intended to fix the security oversight to ensure the Chinese cannot acquire land near sensitive military, intelligence, and national laboratory sites. "The Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to infiltrate and surveil all parts of the US national security apparatus requires vigilance from our national security agencies," Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., said in a statement. "This legislation will enhance the review of foreign real estate transactions near critical national security installations, helping ensure CFIUS has the information it needs to protect our homeland and keep our nation safe," he added. According to the text, the bill requires that CFIUS member agencies annually update their records on the facilities that should be flagged for national security purposes and submit annual reports to Congress. It’s being co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., John Kennedy, R-La., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.

NewsMax [6/18/2025 12:33 PM, Michael Dorstewitz, 4622K] reports that eighty-one million votes. No one with more than two functioning brain cells actually believed Joe Biden legitimately received 81 million votes on November 3, 2020 to win the election. Donald Trump received 11 million votes more in 2020 than he did when he beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, yet he was still 7 million votes short of Biden’s unfathomable 81 million. But this week the FBI sent Congress an intelligence report raising concerns that China may have tried to interfere in that election, and for the very first time it’s all beginning to make sense. And if true, the Chinese Communist Party may have cut its own throat in the process. "The FBI has located documents which detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 U.S. election, including allegations of interference by the CCP," FBI Director Kash Patel announced Monday. "I have immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to [Senate Judiciary Committee] Chairman [Chuck] Grassley for further review." The intelligence report alleges that the Chinese Communist Party mass-produced counterfeit U.S. driver’s licenses in a scheme to submit fraudulent mail-in ballots and throw the election in Biden’s favor. China has been working furiously to undermine American interests and influence in the world. This time they went "a bridge too far" — and it may be why they’re paying the price.

ABC News [6/19/2025 5:09 AM, Joohee Cho and Victoria Beaule, 31733K] Video: HERE reports North Korea launched "more than a dozen" rockets on Thursday morning, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said. The rockets were launched at about 10 a.m. local time from the Sun’an area of North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, the ministry said, adding that "the details are being analyzed by the Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities." "Our military maintains the ability and posture to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation while paying attention to various trends in North Korea under a strong joint defense posture between Korea and the United States so that North Korea does not misjudge in the current security situation," the ministry said in a statement. South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the rockets were fired into the Yellow Sea, which is known in the south as the West Sea.

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