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

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

The AP [6/22/2025 5:54 AM, David Rising, Jon Gambrell and Aamer Madhani, 56000K] reports the United States attacked three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel’s war aimed at destroying the Iranian nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe that prompted fears of a wider regional conflict as Tehran accused Washington of launching “a dangerous war.” U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that Iran’s key nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated” in an address to the nation from the White House. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the time for diplomacy had passed and that his country had the right to defend itself. “The warmongering, a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far reaching implications of its act of aggression,” he said at a news briefing at a conference in Turkey in the first comments by a high-ranking Iranian official since the strikes. Araghchi also said that “there is no red line” that the U.S. has not crossed — and that “the most dangerous one was what happened only last night when they crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities only.” He added that he will be traveling to Moscow later on Sunday to meet with President Vladimir Putin as the U.S. enters its regional war with Israel. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed that attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz sites, but it insisted that its nuclear program will not be stopped. Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination at the three locations following the strikes. Satellite images taken after the American attack, analyzed by The Associated Press, show damage to the entryways to the Fordo facility, which is dug deep into a mountain, while light gray smoke lingered in the air. The images by Planet Labs PBC also appeared to show damage to the mountain itself, apparently blocking its entry tunnels, which means Iran would have to dig out the facility to reach anything inside. It was not clear whether the U.S. would continue attacking Iran alongside its ally Israel, which has been engaged in a war with Iran for nine days. Countries around the globe are calling for diplomacy and no further escalation. Trump acted without congressional authorization, and he also warned there would be additional strikes if Tehran retaliated against U.S. forces. “There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,” he said. The Washington Examiner [6/21/2025 10:21 PM, Marisa Schultz, 1934K] reports "Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," said Trump from the White House, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated," Trump added. During the roughly 3-minute and 46-second address, Trump claimed that the goal of the bombing was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, which was accomplished, according to the president. But Trump also signaled an unwillingness to drag the nation through another years-long entanglement in the Middle East, although he warned more attacks could happen if Iran doesn’t make peace. "With all of that being said, this cannot continue," said Trump. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.” Trump telegraphed days ago that he was weighing joining Israel’s war on Iran, leaving the G7 Summit in Canada early to meet with his national security team at the White House and telling Iranian civilians to "immediately evacuate Tehran.” Still, the timing of the bombings was a surprise, as the White House said Thursday the president would decide within "two weeks" on whether to strike. Earlier at the White House, Trump’s team called a "lid" around 6:45 p.m., a signal to the White House press corps to go home because no more news is coming. NBC News [6/21/2025 11:03 PM, Dan De Luce, Alex Koppelman, Courtney Kube, Gordon Lubold, Tom Winter and Jonathan Allen, 44540K] reports that the airstrikes, which targeted the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites, are the first time the United States has conducted a direct military attack on Iran, and they further escalated a military conflict between Iran and Israel that began on June 13. U.S. Navy submarines also launched 30 Tomahawk missiles into Iran. Trump’s claim about the result of the strikes could not be independently confirmed. "Remember, there are many targets left. ... [I]f peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.” Trump first announced the strikes on Truth Social at 7:50 p.m. ET. At the White House, Trump thanked God, the military and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying U.S. officials "worked as a team" with their counterparts in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu, in his first public comments on the U.S. strikes, congratulated Trump for his "bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might" of the American military. The decision will "change history," Netanyahu said in an English-language video statement. In a brief phone interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, Trump called the strikes a "great success" and a "complete and total success.” Trump’s decision to bomb Iran represents a gamble that U.S. military action against Tehran’s nuclear program can remain limited in scope and that the United States will not be drawn into another open-ended war in the Middle East. Trump and his aides appear to have calculated that the U.S. action did not mean opening the door to a long-term military assault on Iran and that a one-off strike could deal a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. U.S. military commanders have not yet outlined the possible damage to Iran’s nuclear sites, including a deeply buried facility in Fordo believed to hold enriched uranium and sophisticated centrifuges. If the bombing was less than precise or if Iran moved key nuclear-related hardware, U.S. aircraft could still be ordered back to finish the job. Even if the bombing raids hit their targets, the decision to attack Iran carries risks and uncertainties. If Trump’s gamble pays off, Iran’s nuclear capabilities will be set back years and possibly decades. Iran could find itself severely weakened, having suffered a series of devastating blows over the past year from Israel’s military and intelligence operations. But Iran has a history of striking at more powerful adversaries by using asymmetric tactics, including terrorist attacks. In 1983, Washington accused Iran of using Lebanese Hezbollah militants to carry out lethal bombings of a Marine Corps barracks and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

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FOX News [6/21/2025 11:07 PM, Staff, 46878K] reports authorities in New York and Washington are on high alert after U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday night. "We’re tracking the situation unfolding in Iran," NYPD said in a post on X. "Out of an abundance of caution, we’re deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC and coordinating with our federal partners. We’ll continue to monitor for any potential impact to NYC.” Shortly thereafter, the Metropolitan Police Department released a similar statement on the social media platform. "The Metropolitan Police Department is closely monitoring the events in Iran," the statement said. "We are actively coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to share information and monitor intelligence in order to help safeguard residents, businesses, and visitors in the District of Columbia.” MPD said there are no known threats to the District, but that it will increase its presence at religious institutions across the city. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass posted on X, noting that following the bombings in Iran, the city is "closely monitoring any threats to public safety.” "There are no known credible threats at this time and out of an abundance of caution, LAPD is stepping up patrols near places of worship, community gathering spaces and other sensitive sites," Bass wrote in the post. "We will remain vigilant in protecting our communities.” Paul Mauro is a Fox News contributor and former NYPD Inspector who monitored terror cells in the city. "[NYPD] will put out special attention patrol cars at locations that could track to the conflict in places that have an Israeli connection, and there’s a couple of Shia mosques - Iran, is Shia - and there are a couple of Shia mosques," Mauro told Fox News Digital. "You never know what’s going to develop. So [they’ll] liaise with those communities. They’ll talk to them, they’ll put special patrol, special attention patrol.” "In some instances, they’ll even put out what they call a ‘HOW’ car, which is called a ‘house of worship car,’ which is, they’ll park a marked car right in front of the location.” More than anything, Mauro said, the authorities are monitoring online chatter from potentially dangerous bad actors. "You’re going to look very closely online," he said. "You’re going to be monitoring a lot of the online stuff. NYPD has a very robust cyber counterterrorism program, and you’re going to do that very heavily.” Mauro said that local authorities in Washington will do the same, and also that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be keeping a close eye on who is entering the country. "You’re also going to be looking closely at things coming into the country, to the extent that you can, like at the border, at the airports … CBP is going to be on high alert.”

ABC News [6/22/2025 1:34 AM, Pierre Thomas and Josh Margolin, 31733K] reports that, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s "massive precision strikes" on Iran, concerns have been raised both for Americans in the region and at home. A principal area of worry is cyberattacks by Iranian state actors, including targeting the banking system or energy grid. A recent Department of Homeland Security bulletin warned: "Iranian government-affiliated cyber actors will probably prioritize retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets in the short term but may target U.S. networks due to their perception of U.S. support for Israeli strikes.” The bulletin urged domestic critical infrastructure entities to "immediately" assess and shore up their security. Such attacks have already infiltrated U.S. water and wastewater systems, according to the non-profit think tank Center for Internet Security, which briefed law enforcement on Friday. The Center was also concerned that Iran, in the wake of Israeli military strikes, might use "crude or escalatory tactics" or informal networks if its capabilities were degraded. "The likelihood of such attacks will increase if the U.S. strikes Iran or overtly provides military support to the Israeli air campaign," the group said. And the Center assessed that Iran’s considerable network of proxy groups might be able to strike U.S. interests in the Middle East, though their capacity to strike the U.S. homeland was more limited. The groups, they assessed, while less sophisticated, could still disrupt public infrastructure and the private sector. On top of that was the fear of attacks by foreign nationals or American citizens inspired to strike the U.S. In 2018, the National Counterterrorism Center issued a report saying Iran-sponsored or Shia-inspired -- referring to one of the two major branches of Islam which is dominant in Iran -- terror on the U.S. homeland is unlikely, except if the U.S. were to attack Iran. "Given sustained bilateral U.S.-Iran tensions, the occurrence of such a catalyst could prompt Shia HVE [homegrown violent extremist] activity relatively quickly, underscoring the benefits of early engagement with Shia communities about indicators of HVE radicalization. Potential triggering events for such Shia HVE violence include U.S. military action against Iran.”

NewsNation [6/22/2025 6:31 AM, Bobby Oler, 5801K] reports Iran’s foreign minister said it was not ruling anything out after the United States attacked three nuclear facilities. "Iran reserves all options to defend its security, interests and people," Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference in Turkey on Sunday. "Humanity has come too far as a species to allow a lawless bully to take us back to the law of the jungle," he added. Araghchi reiterated his country’s nuclear program was not working toward a weapon, and called the United States’ attack "outrageous, grave and unprecedented.". "Iran has done nothing wrong," he said. "We don’t understand why we should be attacked." The U.S. and Israel maintain that Iran’s programs were enriching uranium beyond what would be necessary for electricity, though the U.S. intelligence community is split on how close Iran is to a weapon. Araghchi said Trump’s attack also amounted to a campaign promise broken, since Trump has pushed for peace. But Trump says any attempt by Iran to retaliate would be met with "force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.".

Blaze [6/21/2025 11:33 PM, Rebeka Zeljko and Carlos Garcia, 1805K] reports that, on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had conducted attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. As the news reverberates around the world, political leaders and pundits are weighing in, both in support of and in opposition to the president’s escalation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first to commend the president. ‘Who gives a flip what AOC says?’. "President Trump and I often say: ‘Peace through strength.’ First comes strength, then comes peace," Netanyahu said in a post on X. "And tonight, President Donald Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also came out in support of the president, arguing that the attack will prevent the "world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism" from obtaining nuclear weapons. "The military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says," Johnson said in a post on X. "The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement.” "President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated," Johnson added. "That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.” Johnson’s counterpart in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), echoed the speaker’s support for the president. "The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing ‘death to America’ and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace," Thune said in a post on X. "I stand with President Trump and pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.” Although the president has secured support from top congressional Republicans, other lawmakers have been more critical. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a longtime critic of continued American involvement in foreign wars, said the president’s attack was "not Constitutional" in a post on X. Notably, Massie is leading a bipartisan effort in the House to prohibit America’s involvement in Iran. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia expressed a similar sentiment in an X post, saying, "The American public is overwhelmingly opposed to the U.S. waging war on Iran.” "And the Israeli Foreign Minister admitted yesterday that Israeli bombing had set the Iranian nuclear program back ‘at least 2 or 3 years.’ So what made Trump recklessly decide to rush and bomb today? Horrible judgment," Kaine said. "I will push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) took it a step farther and called for Trump to be impeached altogether. "The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers," Ocasio-Cortez said in a post on X. "He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations," she added. "It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”

The Hill [6/21/2025 11:59 PM, Jesse Byrnes, 18649K] reports Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are slated to hit the Sunday show circuit following President Trump’s decision to strike Iran. Vance is scheduled for an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" while Rubio is set to appear on CBS’s "Face the Nation" and Fox News’s "Sunday Morning Futures," the networks said. The appearances were announced Saturday night after the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, including the Fordow facility buried inside a mountain. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that "A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow" and American aircraft had successfully exited Iranian airspace. Vance and Rubio, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, flanked Trump as the president announced the strikes at the White House on Saturday night. "Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror," Trump said. "Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.” Trump declared the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear facilities "completely and totally obliterated" and warned of more attacks if Tehran does not agree to a satisfactory peace agreement. The president did not detail specific asks or outline how negotiations could proceed following the U.S. strikes. The White House released photos of Trump, Vance, Rubio, Hegseth and others in the Situation Room during Saturday’s operation. Trump has long pushed for Iran to reach a deal over its nuclear program but signaled earlier this week U.S. strikes were on the table, saying Tehran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. The president said Thursday he would decide on whether to take direct action against Iran within two weeks. Saturday’s strikes came a little over a week after Israel launched a broad attack on Iran, prompting the two Middle East rivals to fire a barrage of missiles at each other. Soon after Israel initially struck Iran last week, Rubio — who also serves as Trump’s national security adviser — issued a statement distancing Washington from the attack, making it clear Israel had made a unilateral decision to hit the country. But within days the Trump administration more explicitly embraced the attacks on Iran as Israel bombarded Tehran and killed a series of top military officials, hollowing out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s inner circle. "We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran," Trump posted online Tuesday, while calling for "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" from Iran. Vance in a lengthy social media post earlier this week detailed the thinking inside the White House as Trump gathered with his national security aides to weigh getting directly involved in the Middle East conflict. The vice president acknowledged that "people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy" but argued Trump "has earned some trust on this issue.” "And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish American people’s goals," he said.

Breitbart [6/21/2025 9:44 PM, Katherine Hamilton, 3077K] reports House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the U.S. strikes on Iran nuclear sites on Saturday sent a message to "the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.” "The military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says," Johnson said in a statement to X. "The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement." he continued. "President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.” Johnson went on to call the move "American First Policy in action.” "The President’s decisive action prevents the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, which chants "Death to America," from obtaining the most lethal weapon on the planet. This is America First policy in action," he said. "God bless our brave men and women in uniform – the most lethal fighting force on the planet – as we pray for their safe return home. May God bless America.” President Trump revealed on Saturday evening that the United States had just completed a "very successful attack on" three nuclear sites in Iran, such as Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. He called on Iran to seek peace. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114724035571020048. As Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak reported, the White House said on Thursday that Trump had decided to give Iran another two weeks to negotiate, in which he expected Iran to agree to give up its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for an end to the war. He wrote: The U.S. had not been directly involved in Israel’s war effort until Saturday, but had sold arms to Israel, had likely shared intelligence with Israel, and had moved strategic naval and air assets closer to the Middle East. Iran’s response had been defiant, refusing to discuss the future of its nuclear program while under attack.

Breitbart [6/22/2025 12:24 AM, Joshua Klein, 3077K] reports Democrat Rep. Jim Himes claimed President Donald Trump violated the Constitution by ordering military action against Iran without Congressional approval. On Saturday, President Trump authorized a targeted strike against Iranian nuclear assets, prompting swift criticism from Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, despite long-standing executive authority to respond to threats under the War Powers Resolution. In a statement released in response to the operation, Himes claimed that "Trump’s decision to launch direct military action against Iran without Congressional approval is a clear violation of the Constitution.” "It is impossible to know at this stage whether this operation accomplished its objectives," Himes added, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the mission. His skepticism underscored broader Democratic unease with U.S. engagement in the region, even when aimed at deterring future threats. "We also don’t know if this will lead to further escalation in the region and attacks against our forces," he claimed. Legally, presidents can order limited military action without Congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which allows use of force for up to 60 days to address imminent threats or protect U.S. forces. Himes’ remarks come despite Iran’s well-documented nuclear ambitions, its continued enrichment activities in defiance of international agreements, and its role in funding proxy militias and orchestrating attacks on American personnel throughout the region. The strike, which targeted key nuclear infrastructure — including Iran’s underground enrichment facility at Fordow, its primary uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, and missile-linked nuclear assets near Esfahan `— was hailed by President Trump as a "very successful attack" as he declared that "now is the time for peace.” Himes’ statement also reflects a broader pattern among left-wing lawmakers who have routinely challenged President Trump’s efforts to reassert American strength abroad. Meanwhile, Republican leaders largely praised the Trump administration’s actions, pointing to the strike as a measured show of strength, aimed at deterring further aggression and protecting U.S. interests abroad. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) applauded President Trump’s decision, noting that it also sent a message to both adversaries and allies that the United States will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran.

NewsMax [6/21/2025 10:32 AM, Jim Thomas, 4622K] reports Vice President JD Vance issued a pointed warning on Friday to Democrat governors across the country, stating that if they fail to stop rioters from destroying American cities, the Trump administration will deploy federal law enforcement to restore order, Breitbart reported. "If you let violent rioters burn great American cities to the ground, then of course we’re going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect," Vance said during remarks in Los Angeles. Vance emphasized that the Trump administration prefers local leaders to handle law enforcement but will act if necessary to preserve safety and order. "The President has a very simple proposal to everybody and every city, every community, every town — whether big or small," Vance said. "If you enforce your own laws, and if you protect federal law enforcement, we’re not going to send in the National Guard because it’s unnecessary." The warning comes in response to recent riots in Los Angeles and other major cities, where local officials have struggled to contain violence and destruction. Vance said the situation in Los Angeles has "gotten a lot better," but added that the presence of U.S. troops remains critical. He said he’d heard from everybody that the soldiers and U.S. Marines who had been deployed to quell the violence of the Los Angeles riots were "still very much a necessary part" of what was happening. Vance sharply criticized Democrats California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for what he described as failures in leadership. He accused both officials of encouraging illegal migration, saying it has "strained" law enforcement agencies and essential public services.

DailySignal [6/21/2025 5:55 PM, Lorenzo Prieto, 558K] reports Vice President JD Vance visited Los Angeles on Friday, castigating California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for policies that enabled the rioters. The vice president held a press briefing at the Federal Building Command Center in Los Angeles, delivering remarks amid the ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and protests. He stated that reports showed that the National Guard remained necessary to contain the riots as law enforcement feared that these protests could "flare back up.". Vance claimed both Newsom and Bass have "actively encouraged illegal migration into this community, have strained public services, have strained law enforcement, and really have offered generous benefits not to American citizens, but to illegal immigrants, to break the law, to come into our country and to receive generous public assistance for having done so.". He added that their policies have created an illegal immigration crisis, with Los Angeles being the most affected. "All of these law enforcement officials were necessary because what happened is in response to the basic federal action of enforcing immigration law," the vice president continued. "You had people who were doing the simple job of enforcing the law, and they had rioters egged on by the governor and the mayor making it harder for them to do their job. That is disgraceful. And it is why the president has responded so forcefully."

The Hill [6/21/2025 3:54 PM, Amalia Huot-Marchand, 18649K] reports Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) called Vice President Vance’s remarks 100 percent lies after Vance traveled to Los Angeles on Friday to show support for the Marines deployed during the anti-ICE protests. "He comes in, he makes all of these statements about what is not happening in LA at all, then insults the senator that he serves with now, as president of the Senate, so it was just disrespectful and it was tough listening to him saying what is going on in our city and it be 100 percent lies," said Bass. Vance, in front of federal, state and local officials in Los Angeles, justified President Trump’s decision to send in the National Guard and Marines to squash anti-immigration protests last week. During his remarks, Vance insinuated that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Bass were encouraging the protestors and preventing law enforcement from doing their jobs. He referred to the protests as "riots" and said it was necessary to send the National Guard as the violence was uncontrollable by local law enforcement. During Vance’s remarks he also misnamed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), calling him Jose Padilla. "I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question," Vance said. "I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t a theater." Padilla was forcibly removed from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press briefing last week after trying to ask a question. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem claimed the senator did not identify himself. "He knows my name," Padilla told MSNBC on Saturday. "Look, sadly, it’s just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is. But he’s the vice president of the United States. You think he’d take the situation in Los Angeles more seriously."

NewsMax [6/21/2025 10:54 AM, Jim Mishler, 4622K] reports Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests as he used his appearance in Los Angeles to rebut criticism from state and local officials that the Trump administration fueled the unrest by sending in federal officers. Vance also referred to Sen. Alex Padilla, the state’s first Latino U.S. senator, as "Jose Padilla," a week after the Democrat was forcibly taken to the ground by officers and handcuffed after speaking out during a Los Angeles news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on immigration raids. Vance visited Los Angeles on Friday to meet with Marines and National Guard troops deployed to bring peace to the city amid immigration protests. "I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question," Vance said, in an apparent reference to the altercation at Noem’s event. "I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t a theater. And that’s all it is. "They want to be able to go back to their far-left groups and to say, ‘Look, me, I stood up against border enforcement. I stood up against Donald Trump,’" Vance added. The Hill [6/21/2025 8:04 AM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports Democrats railed against Vance for misnaming the state’s first Latino senator, who the vice president served alongside before his successful White House bid. "Calling him ‘Jose Padilla’ is not an accident," California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a Friday post on the social media platform X. Newsom also urged Vance, who spoke about the governor’s response to unrest sparked by mass Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the region, to make remarks to his face during a debate, instead of online or during public events in a later post. While Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) echoed the governor’s concerns, she cited potential racial undertones in Vance’s remarks.

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Breitbart [6/21/2025 1:53 PM, Staff, 3077K]

The Hill [6/21/2025 11:08 AM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) on Saturday criticized Vice President Vance for referring to him by the wrong name at a presser in Los Angeles the night before. The vice president called California’s senior senator "Jose" and alleged his forcible removal from last week’s Department of Homeland Security press conference was due to a desire to create "theater" amid unrest in the city sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. "He knows my name. He knows my name," Padilla said during a Saturday appearance on MSNBC. "Look, sadly, it’s just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is," he continued. "He’s the vice president of the United States. You think he’d take the situation in Los Angeles more seriously. Several Democrats came to Padilla defense after Vance’s Friday remarks. Many of them slammed the leader for misnaming Padilla, whom he served alongside in the senate prior to becoming vice president. The Los Angeles Times [6/21/2025 7:07 PM, Lila Seidman, 14672K] reports Vance visited Los Angeles on Friday for less than five hours after several weeks of federal immigration raids in the city and surrounding areas, sparking protests and backlash from state and local officials. Padilla was thrown into the heated nationwide immigration debate when he was dragged to the ground by federal law enforcement officers and briefly detained when he attempted to ask U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a news conference earlier this month. Vance characterized the move by California’s first Latino senator as "political theater" in his remarks. "I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t a theater, and that’s all it is," Vance said.

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USA Today [6/21/2025 2:03 PM, Zachary Schermele, 75552K]
Washington Examiner [6/21/2025 1:58 PM, Gabrielle M. Etzel, 1934K]

New York Post [6/21/2025 2:56 PM, Steven Nelson, 49956K] reports California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla insisted Saturday that he didn’t pre-plan his heckling of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles — claiming that the stunt that got him handcuffed was a spur of the moment attempt at congressional oversight. Padilla argued in an interview with MSNBC hosts Eugene Daniels and Jonathan Capehart that Noem’s "rhetoric compelled" him to approach her lectern at a press conference and interrupt. Padilla was removed from the June 12 event after he pushed against law enforcement officers who blocked him and shouted, "I’m Senator Alex Padilla! I have questions for the secretary!". He appeared on MSNBC to respond to Vice President JD Vance, who last week referred to him as "Jose" Padilla and accused him of "pure political theater" in his protest of Trump administration immigration enforcement policies. The VP’s office explained the first-name error by saying Vance "must have mixed up two people who have broken the law." "He knows my name," Padilla griped to MSNBC. "Sadly, it’s just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is." Padilla claimed that he was merely attempting to exercise his congressional duties during his confrontation with Noem.

The Hill [6/21/2025 5:00 PM, Amalia Huot-Marchand, 18649K] reports the Los Angeles Press Club and other journalists are suing Kristi Noem, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, for using "Unnecessary and excessive violence to prevent them from exercising their First Amendment rights." The lawsuit also accuses DHS of violating the Fourth Amendment prohibiting arbitrary arrests, and the Fifth amendment, which demands due process of law. "Since June 6, at least seven members of our organization have been subject to use of force or suffered a serious press rights violation by DHS officers," Adam Rose, press rights chair of the Los Angeles Press Club, said in a statement. "Democracy depends on an informed public. An informed public depends on a press free to do its job without fearing violence by federal agents." In a statement to The Hill, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, "The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties will face consequences, which could include arrest. ICE officers are facing a 500% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members. She added, "We remind members of the media and journalists to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots. President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring law and order in Los Angeles and around the country. No lawsuit, this or any other, is going to change that." The plaintiffs are arguing that the excessive use of force led to many journalists being unable or fearful of covering the protests, essentially limiting the amount of press coverage.

Los Angeles Times [6/22/2025 6:00 AM, David Zahniser, 14672K] reports faced with a wave of immigration arrests, the Los Angeles City Council is looking to sue the Trump administration to secure a court order prohibiting federal agents from carrying out any unconstitutional stops or arrests of city residents. Seven council members signed a proposal asking City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto to prioritize "immediate legal action" to protect the civil rights of Angelenos, arguing that such a step is needed to keep their constituents from being racially profiled or unlawfully detained. A lawsuit would almost certainly intensify the tensions between the city’s elected officials and the federal government over the ongoing raids, which have been carried out in Hollywood, Pacoima, Cypress Park and many other locations. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who co-authored the proposal, said she and her colleagues have received reports of residents who were stopped, questioned and detained by individuals claiming to be federal immigration agents but did not display an official badge or government identification. Asked about the city’s efforts, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers act "with the utmost integrity and professionalism." She also pushed back on the assertions made by Yaroslavsky and her council colleagues — and chided The Times for reporting on their claims. "Attacks against ICE officers have increased 500% because of this unhinged, extremist rhetoric from Democrat politicians — that the LA Times is apparently happy to amplify," Jackson said. "The LA Times should do some real reporting, instead of just regurgitating Democrat propaganda." The city’s preparations for legal action represent the latest in a series of confrontations between the Trump administration and the city of Los Angeles. In an 88-page order, U.S. Dist. Judge Jennifer Thurston said the evidence presented so far by the American Civil Liberties Union, whose lawyers represent the farm workers, showed that Border Patrol agents had engaged in a "pattern and practice" of detaining people without reasonable suspicion and executing warrantless arrests without determining flight risk. Lawyers for the federal government said the allegations cited by the plaintiff were "disparate examples" and did not constitute systemic behavior. They also argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to take up the case, which was filed as a class action lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and officials with U.S. Border Patrol.

FOX News [6/21/2025 4:40 PM, Alexandra Koch, 46878K] reports FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced on Saturday that during his and Director Kash Patel’s first three months in office, the agency conducted large-scale sex predator operations, made multiple foreign intelligence and FBI "most wanted" arrests, and aided partners in immigration enforcement. In an X post, Bongino said two child sex predator stings resulted in the rescues of hundreds of children. Operation "Restoring Justice" apprehended 205 child sex predators and 764 purveyors, while rescuing 115 children, he said. A separate venture, Operation "Soteria Shield," resulted in the apprehension of 244 child predators, and 109 children were rescued. "This is just the beginning," Bongino wrote in the post. "If you’re preying on children, we are coming for you.". He added the FBI was making process on a number of high-profile cases, including the COVID-19 cover-up, the Dobbs leak, and the DNC pipe bomb investigation, and located and apprehended three of the FBI’s top ten "most wanted.". Bongino said "multiple" foreign intelligence targets engaged in illegal activities were also arrested.

AP [6/21/2025 11:04 AM, Sophie Bates and Philip Marcelo, 56000K] reports Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released Friday from federal immigration detention, freed after 104 days by a judge’s ruling after becoming a symbol of President Donald Trump ‘s clampdown on campus protests. The former Columbia University graduate student left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday. He is expected to head to New York to reunite with his U.S. citizen wife and infant son, born while Khalil was detained. "Justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue," he said outside the facility in a remote part of Louisiana. "This shouldn’t have taken three months.". The Trump administration is seeking to deport Khalil over his role in pro-Palestinian protests. He was detained on March 8 at his apartment building in Manhattan. Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be "highly, highly unusual" for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn’t been accused of any violence. The government filed notice Friday evening that it’s appealing Khalil’s release. The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on the social platform X that the same day Farbiarz ordered Khalil’s release, an immigration judge in Louisiana denied him bond and "ordered him removed." The decision was made by Judge Jamee Comans, who is in a court located in the same detention facility from which Khalil was released. "An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained," the post said.

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AP [6/21/2025 10:26 AM, Bruce Shipkowski, 56000K]

CBS News [6/21/2025 8:36 PM, Jesse Zanger and Elle McLogan, 51860K] Video: HERE reports Mahmoud Khalil is back in New Jersey after a federal judge ordered his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Louisiana. The Columbia University graduate and activist arrived on a flight to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday after spending months in ICE custody as the Trump administration fights to deport him. A crowd of friends was waiting to greet Khalil when he arrived, pushing his baby in a stroller and walking alongside his wife and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Your words of support, your messages have kept me going," Khalil said. "The fact that I’m here, it sends a message. The fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now. So this is the message. My existence is a message. The Palestinian existence is a message to this administration," he said during a press conference after landing. Khalil accused the Trump administration of trying to dehumanize him, and dehumanize immigrants as a whole. The Wall Street Journal [6/21/2025 2:08 PM, Victoria Albert and Joseph De Avila, 646K] reports Khalil was released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La., on Friday night. His freedom came hours after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz granted his request to be released while his case proceeds. The green-card holder, who was arrested March 8, was greeted at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey by a cheering group of friends, and his wife and newborn son. The family lives in New York City. Khalil thanked his supporters in a brief statement after arriving in New Jersey, and said their messages had helped him during his time in custody. “I just want to go back and continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights,” he said. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Farbiarz was overstepping his authority in ordering Khalil’s release, calling his decision “yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security.” The government said later Friday that it is appealing the decision. The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment

ABC News [6/21/2025 3:41 PM, Armando Garcia and Nadine El-Bawab, 31733K] reports Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil landed at Newark Airport on Saturday, one day after a federal judge ordered his release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. Despite being held in detention for over three months, Khalil vowed to continue advocating for Palestinian rights. "Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine," he said. Khalil also thanked those who have supported him during his months-long detention. "Thank you so much for everything, not only for today, just for every day. Your words of support, your messages, have kept me going," Khalil said. The decision to release Khalil was sharply criticized by the administration. "An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement posted online. "On the same day an immigration judge denied Khalil bond and ordered him removed, one rogue district judge ordered him released." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [6/21/2025 4:53 PM PM, Matt Lavietes and Chloe Atkins, 44540K] reports after more than three months in ICE detention, Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil returned to the New York area where his harrowing ordeal first began. Immigration authorities had arrested Khalil, 30, in March at the university housing complex where he lived in New York City. He was quickly transported thousands of miles away to a detention center in Louisiana, where he spent the last few months. Khalil remained defiant as he spoke to reporters and supporters on Saturday afternoon upon his arrival at Newark International Airport. "Your messages have kept me going. Still the fight is far from over, the genocide is still happening in Gaza, Israel is still waging a full war against Palestine," said Khalil, who was flanked by his wife Dr. Noor Abdalla and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "The U.S. government is funding this genocide and Columbia University is investing in this genocide. This is why I was protesting, this is why I will continue protesting with every one of you, not only if they threaten me with detention. Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Gaza." When asked what his message would be to the Trump administration, Khalil said, "Just the fact that I’m here sends a message." Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on Friday denounced the judicial order freeing Khalil and the judge who issued it. “This is yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts.”

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Washington Post [6/21/2025 3:08 PM, Tobi Raji, 32099K] reports facing growing pressure to speak out against federal immigration raids in the area, the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday unveiled a $1 million commitment toward assisting families affected by the enforcement action. “What’s happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,” Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement announcing the pledge. “We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.” The pledge comes one day after protesters arrived at Dodger Stadium to challenge federal agents who had staged in unmarked SUVs outside the facility. The team said it blocked federal authorities from accessing the stadium’s parking lots. The Department of Homeland Security said the incident “had nothing to do with the Dodgers” and the vehicles “were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement.” The incident proved to be a flash point for immigrant community leaders and advocacy groups who’ve been urging the Dodgers and team owner Mark Walter to publicly denounce recent raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the greater Los Angeles area. Federal agents carrying out workplace sweeps have in recent weeks targeted car washes, Home Depot and a clothing wholesaler, sparking protests. But as demonstrators poured into the streets protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and local officials clashed with the federal government, the L.A. Dodgers, which enjoys broad support from the city’s Latino community, remained silent. A petition started by local unions and civic leaders on Friday called on the Dodgers to support community organizations defending immigrant families and ensure team property isn’t used for immigration enforcement.

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Yahoo! News [6/21/2025 8:02 AM, Mike Florio, 47007K] reports the recent incident involving federal agents attempting to enter the parking lots at Dodgers Stadium has a bright-line connection to other L.A.-area sporting events that will begin in fewer than two months. SoFi Stadium will be hosting 19 total NFL games featuring the Chargers and the Rams. Unlike Dodger Stadium, where the gates can be accessed only through a parking-lot area not open to the public, the gates at SoFi Stadium are fully open to the public and not within an area to which access can be denied. Which means that federal agents can, if they choose, gather at the gates to SoFi in search of those who are or who may be authorized to be present in the United States. It’s still not entirely clear what happened at Dodgers Stadium on Thursday. The team said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were denied entry to the parking lot. ICE called that claim "false." Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News that Customs and Border Protection vehicles "were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement." That wasn’t the end of the matter. On Friday, the Dodgers donated $1 million to "toward direct financial assistance for families of immigrants impacted by recent events in the region." That wrinkle raises an obvious question. Will the other Los Angeles teams follow suit?

Breitbart [6/21/2025 6:00 PM, Bradley Jaye, 3077K] reports Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) praised President Donald Trump’s big, beautiful bill and predicted Congress will send it to his desk soon in an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM. The Iowa lawmaker discussed the merits of the bill with host Matt Boyle and described the tactics Democrats and their allies are using in opposing the historic legislation. "I just call it the bill that’s going to save America, right?," Hinson said, telling Boyle the bill "is going to transform our country in the right way. It invests in border security, as we’ve discussed many times. It makes sure we’re protecting taxpayers.". Democrats have attacked the legislation as a giveaway to the rich. Don’t buy it, Hinson insisted. "This is targeted at the middle class," Hinson said. "That’s where we want people to be able to keep more of their own money. And my goal as a lawmaker has always been to return as many dollars as we can to the taxpayers." Hinson praised the bill’s "historic provisions" to provide tax relief for working families, including the popular no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and enhanced child tax credit. The bill also extends the bulk of the 2017 Trump tax cuts to prevent the largest tax increase in history.

Breitbart [6/21/2025 3:00 PM, Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC), 3077K] reports as rioters have been tearing apart the once-great city of Los Angeles, Democrats had a golden opportunity to disavow the dangerous radicalism that doomed them in November. As far-left thugs set cars on fire, assaulted police, and vandalized public and private property, Democrats had a chance to do the right thing. They could have condemned the violence, reaffirmed support for law enforcement, and chosen the side of the American people. Instead, they chose to double down and tried to deceive. And they’re doing it because it’s the only card they have left to play. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) dismissed the riots in L.A. as "pretty small," and even called for more protests, saying "we have to be on the streets." Isra Hirsi, daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), publicly called for "death to the colonial empire…from LA to Rafah." Rep. Maxine Watters (D-CA) made a show out of being refused entry to an ICE facility in the besieged city, then tried to make the whole thing about race. These are the actions and rhetoric of a movement that is desperate, leaderless, and lacks a clear message after being resoundingly rejected in November. The only firm supporters that the Democratic Party has left are the masked criminals assaulting police and destroying cities. The party as it exists today has no choice but to call on these low-rent criminals of opportunity to assault police over hardened criminals from other countries. That is precisely why President Trump’s mass deportation agenda is so devastating to the Left. Hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have been arrested or removed, and one million more have self-deported as enforcement tightens. ICE continues to break records with the numbers of daily arrests. And to make matters more embarrassing for the open borders crowd, the deportation agenda is still popular — even with legal immigrants.

Washington Post [6/22/2025 7:01 AM, Ramesh Ponnuru, 32099K] reports on illegal immigration, President Donald Trump just rapidly executed a rare maneuver: the flip-flop-flip. His administration has spent months talking, and acting, tough on “mass deportation.” But on June 12, he said that to avoid economic pain he would exempt farms, hotels and restaurants from worksite raids to enforce the immigration laws. In response, the Department of Homeland Security suspended such raids. Then, on June 15, Trump signaled that he was going to take back the exemptions: Mass deportation was back on, especially in places where Democratic officials refuse to participate in enforcing the law. The next day, the department confirmed that raids were back on. We’re used to slapdash inconstancy from Trump. But his ambivalence is understandable and widely shared. On the one hand, the presence of millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. makes a mockery of our laws and outrages much of the public. On the other, many industries have come to rely on them and their sudden departure would disrupt the economy, just as Trump said. Those dueling impulses are why the past few decades have seen tough laws and lax enforcement. Trump’s most recent idea for splitting the difference — cracking down in blue areas of the country but not red ones — would not improve matters if seriously pursued. What would it mean, to start with, for the rural parts of liberal states with sanctuary laws? California has a lot of farms. Besides, it doesn’t make sense: Trump’s position would be that illegal immigrants are both a scourge and must be kept living among his supporters — the very people most exercised about their presence in our country. But going full speed ahead on raids everywhere will continue to cause the difficulties that led Trump to consider backing off. The economic costs will fall on his supporters and opponents alike. The administration’s methods of enforcing immigration law also seem to be generating public opposition (although Trump has the great advantage of facing a Democratic Party that voters do not believe is committed to fighting illegal immigration). It is suffering defeats in court based on its dubious interpretation of such laws as the Alien Enemies Act. Meanwhile, Trump isn’t coming close, by his own administration’s count, to deporting the millions of illegal immigrants that he has led many MAGA voters to expect. There is no way for Trump to meet those expectations or avoid difficult trade-offs. What’s peculiar is how uninterested he has been in a policy that could ease those trade-offs: preventing illegal hiring in the first place rather than addressing it only after the fact.

Washington Examiner [6/22/2025 12:01 AM, Staff, 1934K] reports that, one month after his administration arrested more than 300,000 illegal immigrants trying to cross the southern border, and released most of them into the United States to go wherever they wanted, former President Joe Biden made his case to reporters for legislation written by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). "I’ve done all I can do," Biden said before boarding Marine One on the White House South Lawn. "Just give me the power … Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the people, the judges. Give me the people who can stop this and make it work right.” President Donald Trump saw the matter differently, responding in a social media post, "A Border Bill is not necessary to stop the millions of people, many from jails and mental institutions located all over the World, that are POURING INTO OUR COUNTRY …. I had the safest and most secure Border in U.S. History. I didn’t need a ‘Bill!’". Five months into Trump’s second term, we can now definitively say Trump was right and Biden was wrong. According to the latest Customs and Border Protection numbers released this week, just 8,725 illegal immigrants were arrested trying to cross the southern border in May, and none, that’s right, zero, were released into the country. Trump did not need legislation to accomplish this truly historic task. It turns out that the key to securing the border was not more immigration judges, asylum officers, and ankle bracelets to track migrants released into the country. What was needed was the political will to detain and deport migrants quickly at the border and from within the country, so the message was delivered around the globe that economic migrants should not come. Biden was not the only one falsely saying legislation was needed to secure the border. Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas repeated the falsehood in almost every media appearance he made, as did Lankford as he tried to pass his legislation (which would have made the crisis worse by legalizing Biden’s catch and release policies). Even the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board insisted that Lankford’s legislation was "crucial to reducing the current incentives for migrants to come to the U.S. border.” Trump and the Republicans in Congress now want to build on what Trump has accomplished by giving him the resources to undo the historical mass migration Biden orchestrated during his four years in office.

New York Post [6/21/2025 8:15 AM, Daniel Di Martino, 49956K] reports the violent anti-ICE riots that erupted in Los Angeles last week were the inevitable result of years of Washington’s failure to enforce immigration law. As masked mobs torched government property and assaulted officers tasked with upholding the rule of law, one thing became clear: the border crisis isn’t just at the border. President Trump vowed to restore order through mass deportations — and he can, but only if Congress does its part. That means recognizing the core problem that’s too often ignored: without a functioning immigration court system, no one can actually be deported. Right now, more than 4 million migrant cases are languishing in limbo, inviting new waves of illegal immigration. The message this sends is to cross the border and work freely for up to 10 years while waiting for a hearing until it is inhumane to be deported. Congress is starting to notice. Buried in the House’s "One Big Beautiful Bill" is $1.25 billion in funding to hire 250 immigration judges and their staff. Extra judges is welcome news, but the appropriation is insufficient. According to my estimates, we need 1,000 more immigration judges to eliminate the court backlog by the end of President Trump’s term. Although the bill allocates over $100 billion for border security, it almost entirely ignores the greatest obstacle to deportations: the underfunded immigration court system. What would it really cost to get the immigration court system back on track? Hiring 250 judges annually carries a price tag of $4.7 billion over five years, about three dollars per American. This would give every immigrant due process and help send home the millions who are legally deportable. That is scarcely a rounding error in the federal budget, yet it is the difference between enforcing the law and surrendering to chaos. The OBBB as it stands offers only a quarter of what is required. Critics scoff that nearly $5 billion is too much and argue for scrapping the deportation court process in favor of broader executive authority. Yet one court ruling after another proves that any rewrite of asylum law still needs 60 votes in the Senate. The quickest and most practical solution is to hire more immigration judges and deport those ordered to leave. The president and the Department of Homeland Security also wisely help migrants self-deport by paying for their flight home and giving them $1,000, saving the much larger cost of deportation.

NewsMax [6/21/2025 5:47 PM, Jim Thomas, 4622K] reports under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security is working on removing illegal aliens with criminal records. A DHS press release provided to Newsmax announced a series of high-profile arrests nationwide on Saturday, contributing to the over 100,000 total arrests thus far. In a continued push to protect public safety and enforce immigration law, the Department of Homeland Security detailed multiple arrests of illegal aliens with violent criminal histories. The operations, carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across several states, resulted in the capture of individuals convicted of crimes ranging from child molestation to homicide. "Child molesters. Murderers. Sex offenders. Our ICE officers put their lives on the line every day to arrest and remove these types of barbaric criminal illegal aliens from American communities," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens. We will continue to use every tool available to get these thugs out of our country."

Breitbart [6/21/2025 10:12 AM, Jeff Poor, 3077K] reports Friday on FNC’s "Jesse Watters Primetime," Trump border czar Tom Homan criticized Democrats for their overheated rhetoric about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Homan said the job was "much more dangerous" because of it. He said, "The agents wear masks to protect themselves and their families. Not only are they being doxed, their spouses are being doxed. Their children are being doxed. And you said it, assaults are up over 400%. They’re doing the job that Congress told them to do, and they appropriate them funding to do and they’re executing orders that a federal judge said, arrest that person, deport that person. They’re not making this up. They’re trying to protect themselves. The job is already dangerous, but it’s much more dangerous now because of the rhetoric you’re hearing from the Democrats." "Well, Swalwell wants to arrest ICE agents, and the other Democrats said it’s kidnapping what they’re doing," host Jesse Watters interjected.

CNN [6/21/2025 1:57 PM, Ray Sanchez and Alisha Ebrahimji, 21433K] reports when New York City Comptroller Brad Lander returned to a Manhattan immigration courthouse on Friday, days after being arrested while escorting an immigrant whom federal agents detained, he said he again witnessed "a deeply dehumanizing process." "We saw three people removed by the same non-uniformed, masked ICE agents who gave no reason for their removal, ripped them out of the arms of escorts in a proceeding that bears no resemblance to justice," said Lander, who is running for mayor, according to CNN affiliate WCBS-TV. It has become the new calling card of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown: Federal officers, often masked and not wearing uniforms or displaying badges, arresting people outside courtroom hearings, during traffic stops and in workplace sweeps. "I never saw anyone wearing a mask," John Sandweg, an acting director of Immigration Customs and Enforcement under President Barack Obama and a former acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, said of the dozens of ride-alongs he attended during his tenure. "When you’re at ICE and you’re at DHS, the first and highest priority is the safety of the workforce, and you have to do what’s necessary to protect them, but I think there’s no doubt it’s gone past what any reasonable policy would allow, and it really has to be a situation where it’s the exception, not the rule.". Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has said federal officers are covering up to protect their families after some have been publicly identified and then harassed online, along with relatives. "I am sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, and their family on the line, because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is," Lyons said.

Los Angeles Times [6/22/2025 6:00 AM, Karen Garcia, 14672K] reports immigration arrests in Los Angeles have been headline news and the subject of legal disputes for the past few weeks, but Angelenos watching the drama play out on television and in their communities may be confused about who exactly is putting people in handcuffs and hauling them off. After all, some of the federal agents involved in the raids are in unmarked vehicles, without visible badges, wearing street clothes and covering their faces. Are they U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or Homeland Security Investigations officials? What is the difference? All these federal agencies are branches of the Department of Homeland Security, which was created to combat terrorism in the United States in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Its duties include responding to natural disasters, terrorism and homeland security threats, enforcing trade laws (by checking goods coming into and out of the U.S.), as well as managing the flow of people and products at U.S. borders. Three branches of Homeland Security carry out the enforcement of these missions: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Federal agents were most recently sighted without identifying clothing or badges, sporting face coverings and armed with pistols at Dodger Stadium’s entry gates on Thursday. "When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of Homeland Security.

The Hill [6/21/2025 5:00 PM, Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech, 18649K] reports President Trump’s whittling away of protected places for immigrants has fueled fears among health care workers that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will arrest patients in or around hospitals. In January, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era policy that protected certain areas like churches, schools and hospitals from immigration enforcement. And lawmakers in at least one state have introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for ICE to make arrests in hospitals. As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeks to ramp up ICE raids at hotels, restaurants, farms and other sites, nurses worry their workplace could be next. "We were all worried about what this meant," Michael Kennedy, a nurse at a University of California, San Diego health facility located very near the U.S.-Mexico border, said of the policy changes under Trump. "As we’ve seen these immigration raids ramp up, our first thought is about our patients and what that means for them." ICE agents made a record number of migrant arrests in a single day this month and have appeared outside of courthouses in Seattle and stores in the New York City area. The agency’s workplace raids in Los Angeles spurred days of protests, which in turn prompted a heavy-handed response from the Trump administration.

Washington Post [6/22/2025 5:13 AM, Silvia Foster-Frau, 32099K] reports Chelsea White and her husband were driving home from cleaning office buildings one May evening when they happened upon a Tennessee Highway Patrol checkpoint. It was a situation the couple feared — and had taken precautions to avoid. White rolled down the driver’s side window on the Ford Fusion with their company’s logo. She drove because her husband, Hilario Martínez García, 46, is undocumented and cannot obtain a license in Tennessee. One of the officers looked at Martínez, she recalled, and instructed them to pull into a nearby parking lot and step out of the car. Agents in black vests began patting them down and reaching into their pockets. They let White, 31, go when they saw her driver’s license. But her husband had no proof of U.S. citizenship. “That was the last time I saw him,” she said. As the Trump administration aims to ramp up the number of immigrants arrested across the United States each day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is dramatically expanding its partnerships with police agencies, effectively deputizing local police officers as immigration agents. Some departments have made hundreds of arrests, many of them during routine traffic stops. The partnerships — known as 287(g) agreements — were first authorized in 1996. But ICE had only 135 active agreements with local police departments across 16 states when President Joe Biden left office in January, all of them involving immigration enforcement in jails or in executing search warrants. Today, ICE has more than 700 accords in 40 states — a 419 percent increase in just five months. And half of the partnerships signed under President Donald Trump specifically deputize police officers on patrol to help enforce immigration laws. “There are now legs and arms of ICE in so many places that did not exist before,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Many police departments have avoided involving local officers in immigration enforcement because of concerns that it would encourage racial profiling and undermine community safety by dissuading immigrants from cooperating with police. But the Trump administration says partnering with local agencies is key to its campaign to remove unauthorized immigrants from the country.

ABC News [6/21/2025 5:35 PM, Nadine El-Bawab and Armando Garcia, 31733K] reports Taahir Shaikh needed headshots for his new job, so he set up an appointment with a photographer named Ward Sakeik. One appointment turned into three photo shoots, and the two just kept talking. Three years later, the newlywed couple was elated to go on their honeymoon.But after spending nine days in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the couple’s trip ended with Sakeik, 22, being detained for what has become months in several U.S. immigration detention centers. Sakeik, whose family is from Gaza but is legally stateless, has lived in the U.S. since she was 8, when her family travelled to the U.S. on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, according to her husband. While she was issued a deportation order more than a decade ago, Sakeik was permitted to stay in the U.S. under what’s known as an "order of supervision," in which she regularly checked in with federal immigration authorities and is permitted work authorization, according to her lawyer and husband. At the St. Thomas Airport, as the couple prepared to return home on Feb. 11, Sakeik was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection -- and has been held in custody in the months since. Then, last week, the government attempted to deport Sakeik without informing her where she was being sent, according to Shaikh. Sakeik says an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer told her she was being taken to the Israel border, he said. After she waited in the airport for two hours, she was sent back to Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where she had recently been transferred. She later found out this was just hours before Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, Shaikh said. Now, facing a still uncertain future, his wife’s family is "fearful beyond imagination," Shaikh, a U.S. citizen, told ABC News. DHS initially told ABC News Sakeik "left the U.S." when she traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands -- a U.S. territory. "The arrest of Ward Sakeik was not part of a targeted operation by ICE. She chose to leave the country and was then flagged by [Customs and Border Patrol] trying to reenter the U.S.," Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to ABC News. When ABC News asked if the government’s stance was that travel to the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory, constitutes someone choosing to "leave the country," DHS provided an updated statement. "She chose to fly over international waters and outside the U.S. customs zone and was then flagged by CBP trying to reenter the continental U.S.," McLaughlin said in a second statement. DHS said that Sakeik is in the U.S. illegally.

Breitbart [6/21/2025 10:30 AM, Jeff Poor, 3077K] reports Friday on FNC’s "The Ingraham Angle," Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reminded Democrat critics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that illegal immigrants were here "illegally," which made them subject to deportation. "Senator Blackburn, you know, hearing him say that, the president has such a smart nuanced in line with the American people view of immigration," guest host Kayleigh McEnany said. "You know, the left tries to demonize him as this monster taking people out. But he really has a nuanced view and now it sounds like there’s going to be some program for farmers where they help determine who’s here and who’s not, it sounded like.". Blackburn replied, "Well, and, Kayleigh, I will tell you this since I’ve been out working with ICE today. They are working about 75 hours a week. They are certainly going after the criminal illegal aliens, people that are pedophiles, murderers, rapists, and they are getting them out of communities. I have not talked to one person who wants to have a Tren de Aragua, or an MS-13 in their community. And then I think it’s important too to note that DHS and Border Patrol have the website, and employers can go there, they can help their employees go there, they can report that they’re in the country illegally. They can be given a plane ticket home and an appointment to apply to come back into the country." She added, "The point is this, illegal is illegal. And people need to make certain that criminals are going to be deported — anyone who has crossed that border is here illegally.".

USA Today [6/22/2025 5:04 AM, Victoria Valenzuela, 75552K] reports when immigrant survivors of domestic violence contacted Libby Hasse in a crisis, the attorney had clear advice: Call the police. But when a client called earlier this year to say that her abusive ex-husband was stalking her and sending threatening text messages, Hasse had to think twice. Her client worried that calling the police would mean involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who could detain and deport her. "She’s in this situation where she’s trying to weigh that risk and the benefit," said Hasse, who works for the Tahirih Justice Center, a national nonprofit that serves domestic violence survivors. "If she calls the police today, are they actually going to be able to do anything against this guy that’s stalking her and if not, are they going to be working with ICE?" Hasse and her client aren’t the only ones hesitant to call police, appear in court or even go to a domestic violence shelter as the administration of President Donald Trump ramps up its deportation efforts. The Alliance for Immigrant Survivors, a national network of advocates for those hurt by domestic violence, found that 75% of the 170 advocates they surveyed across the country said the immigrants they serve fear they’ll face arrest or deportation if they contact authorities. Half of the advocates surveyed in the report said the immigrant survivors they worked with ultimately chose not to contact law enforcement due to fear, and even when they did and proceeded to trial, 70% were concerned about going to court. Additionally, advocates say that fewer women are going to domestic violence shelters after the Trump administration removed them from a list of places protected from ICE enforcement.

Wall Street Journal [6/21/2025 2:08 PM, Victoria Albert and Joseph De Avila, 646K] reports Mahmoud Khalil arrived in the New York area on Saturday, following his release from custody more than three months after the former Columbia student was first detained by immigration officials. Khalil was released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La., on Friday night. His freedom came hours after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz granted his request to be released while his case proceeds. The green-card holder, who was arrested March 8, was greeted at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey by a cheering group of friends, and his wife and newborn son. The family lives in New York City. Khalil thanked his supporters in a brief statement after arriving in New Jersey, and said their messages had helped him during his time in custody. “I just want to go back and continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights,” he said. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Farbiarz was overstepping his authority in ordering Khalil’s release, calling his decision “yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security.” The government said later Friday that it is appealing the decision. The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Chicago Tribune [6/22/2025 6:00 AM, Laura Rodríguez Presa, 3987K] reports as Gabriela crossed the stage at her kindergarten graduation in Chicago, she scanned the audience, desperately searching for a familiar face. But her mother was nowhere to be found. Still, wearing a pink dress and ballerina flats, Gabriela, 6, smiled and twirled around holding a bouquet on her way home. An older neighbor who sometimes cares for her walked by her side. Just a week earlier, on June 4, her mother, Wendy Sarai Pineda, 39, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside an office in downtown Chicago during what was supposed to be a routine check-in, while Gabriela was at school. The little girl doesn’t understand why her mother vanished and had hoped her mother would be at her graduation, said Camerino Gomez, Pineda’s fiance. "I told her that she went to get some paperwork ready so that they can be together in Honduras," Gomez, 55, said. "And that I will take her to be with her soon.". But Gomez doesn’t know if that’s even possible. He has no legal guardianship over Gaby, as he calls her. The girl, who is a Honduran citizen, has an asylum case pending. And with Pineda being held at the Kenton County Detention Center in Kentucky before being deported to Honduras, there’s no clear way to secure a power of attorney for Gomez to travel with the girl. ICE, he said, has not been responsive to him or the lawyer for the mother and daughter. When parents are detained or deported by immigration authorities, their children — many of them U.S. citizens, others, like Gaby, in the U.S. without legal permission — are often left behind to navigate the fallout alone. Some are placed in the care of relatives, while others may end up in foster care. All face the emotional trauma of sudden separation, sometimes compounded by economic instability and legal uncertainty. Reunification is often blocked by bureaucratic hurdles, Chicago advocates say. Despite life-altering consequences, there is currently no federal protocol to ensure that children are reunited with their deported parents. Their well-being is left to chance, in a system that wasn’t built to protect them.

AP [6/21/2025 7:03 PM, Valerie Gonzalez, 56000K] reports adults fighting kids for clean water, despondent toddlers and a child with swollen feet denied a medical exam — these first-hand accounts from immigrant families at detention centers included in a motion filed by advocates Friday night are offering a glimpse of conditions at Texas facilities. Families shared their testimonies with immigrant advocates filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement, a ‘90s-era policy that requires immigrant children detained in federal custody be held in safe and sanitary conditions. The agreement could challenge President Donald Trump’s family detention provisions in his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, which also seeks to make the detention time indefinite and comes as the administration ramps up arrests.

Breitbart [6/21/2025 3:56 PM, Lowell Cauffiel, 3077K] reports an illegal alien from El Salvador wanted in Italy for child rape remains on the loose after activists in Denver thwarted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting him, authorities say. Posting on X, ICE Colorado revealed on Friday that their agents were trying to detain Jose Reyes Leon-Deras, a criminal alien who was convicted of child rape in Italy, when members of a local anti-ICE group alerted him to their presence. The group, Colorado Rapid Response, posted on social media that ICE was in the area, enabling the convicted rapist to flee. "During our surveillance of Leon, members of Colorado Rapid Response arrived on scene and alerted him to law enforcement’s presence, which allowed him to escape arrest," ICE stated. "Groups like this interfere with ICE’s ability to keep communities safe." ICE shared a Facebook post from the group, written in English and Spanish, alerting its followers to ICE’s presence in the area and the type of vehicle agents were using. In their own X post, ICE asked the public to report Leon-Deras to federal authorities if they see him but warned people not to approach him. On Friday, Fox News reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that 75% of the illegal aliens arrested under the Trump administration have been charged with or convicted of a crime. The Daily Wire [6/21/2025 12:29 PM, Amanda Prestigiacomo, 3816K] reports Colorado Rapid Response is a far-Left anti-ICE organization that’s been responding to immigration raids. The group’s website says the organization is "committed to responding to raids, deportation, and any Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity happening across the state in our communities." The group has a hotline asking for tips from people who "witness ICE activity or if you want to document an experience with ICE.". ICE Denver condemned the group and others like it, writing, "Groups like this interfere with ICE’s ability to keep communities safe. If you know his whereabouts, do not approach, if seen, instead report all info to ICE at 1-866-347-2423." to law enforcements presence which allowed him to escape arrest. Groups like this interfere with ICE’s ability to keep communities safe. FOX News [6/21/2025 8:01 AM, Michael Dorgan Fox, 46878K] reports Denver Mayor Mike Johnston previously vowed to station police officers to block ICE agents from carrying out deportations, and a report showed that the city has spent over $356 million in taxpayer dollars on services for migrants. A 2017 Denver ordinance limits officials from cooperating with ICE. Anti-ICE protests and activity have grown since President Donald Trump returned to office and vowed to carry out the largest deportation mission in U.S. history. In Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, anti-ICE activists tried to block the entrance of an ICE deportation facility in Portland and then launched fireworks and shined lasers at law enforcement, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that 75% of the illegal aliens arrested under the Trump administration have been charged with or convicted of a crime.

NPR [6/21/2025 5:31 PM, Liz Baker, 37958K] reports the videos circulating on social media show a yellow delivery truck, back door open with crates of tortillas and produce neatly stacked on the ground. A green-striped U.S. Border Patrol pickup truck and an unmarked white van box in Francisco Urizar’s delivery truck. Then agents in camouflage and ballistic vests swarm out of the van, bundle the 64-year-old inside and drive away. Since her father was taken on Tuesday, 30-year-old Nancy Urizar has watched this scene play out over and over, through videos sent to her by bystanders and strangers on social media. Now, she’s back at the Food 4 Less where it happened. One of her dad’s friends from the grocery store has unedited video of the entire interaction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and her father, and has offered to show it to her. She’s hopeful this new video will give her more clues about why he was arrested, and whether he could have been targeted because he "just looked like an immigrant," as she puts it. She leaves disappointed. The camera was too far away, and a tree blocked most of the view, but the video did give her a better sense of the timeline: agents spend three and a half minutes talking to her father before taking him away. Previously, she had been under the impression that he was pulled into the van immediately. "Now I have more questions than I did before," Urizar says. "Was this targeted? Was this random? What pinpointed him to them, specifically?" The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for information about Francisco Urizar’s detention, or whether there was a warrant for his arrest because he is in the U.S. without legal status or some other reason.

NBC 4 Los Angeles [6/21/2025 10:52 AM, Karla Rendon, 1400K] reports a U.S. citizen who was one of at least two dozen people detained by federal agents near a Home Depot in Hollywood said the officers assaulted him during the process. Job Garcia was released from custody on Friday after he was detained during an immigration raid in the 5600 block of Sunset Boulevard on Thursday. Video from the operation showed armed agents detaining several people near the store. Garcia said he was filming the raid when he witnessed what was happening. According to him, the agents did not ask about the legal status of those whom they detained. “They were just grabbing him without asking him for any identification,” Garcia said. “They weren’t asking him if he’s a U.S. citizen, they were just assuming because they were this particular skin color, that they were undocumented.” At some point, the agents turned their attention to Garcia and placed him under custody. “The ICE agent lunged at me, put his hands on me and I reactionary just pushed him out of the way and he got behind me, tackled me,” he said. Garcia was released without charges. The man’s brother, Elias Garcia, said he was in the area for a work order. It’s unclear how many people in total were taken into custody during that operation, but Garcia alleged the agents boasted about detaining 31 people. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said those detained are largely day laborers looking for work. Following the raid, the Department of Homeland Security released this statement: “DHS and its components continue to enforce the law every day in greater Los Angeles and throughout the country even in the face of danger. Under the Trump Administration, 75% of illegal aliens arrested by ICE are either convicted criminals or pending charges against them," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "During today’s operations, an individual rammed his vehicle into law enforcement vehicle. CBP Agents were also assaulted during the operation and verbally harassed CBP agents. Despite this, CBP arrested 30 illegal aliens in Hollywood, California, and 9 illegal aliens in San Fernando and Pacoima, California."

Reported similarly:
Telemundo [6/21/2025 3:32 PM, Karla Rendón, 103K]

CNN [6/22/2025 6:00 AM, Jamie Barton, 21433K] reports when the Mexico men’s national soccer team comes to Los Angeles, you tend to know about it. In March, when Javier Aguirre’s team beat Panama 2-1, 68,212 people packed the stands at SoFi Stadium. Before June 14, the average attendance across the three games that El Tri had played in Inglewood in the last year was 63,760. "We fill every single stadium because we want to feel closer to Mexico," says Paco Rubén, founder and coordinator of US-based Mexico national team supporters’ group Cielito Lindo, in an interview with CNN Sports. "It doesn’t matter if you’re documented or not, we just want to feel that we’re in Mexico for a day and live that party.". That all changed on June 14. Amid the backdrop of the Trump administration’s federal immigration sweeps – and the resulting protests in LA and across the US – only 54,309 were at SoFi for Mexico’s 3-2 victory over the Dominican Republic in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, almost 10,000 fewer than Mexico’s average at SoFi over the last 12 months. The attendance was just 4,000 more than the record low at SoFi for El Tri, which came against Canada on a Thursday evening in March when the team had not won back-to-back games for nearly two years. With concerns growing in some circles ahead of Saturday’s Gold Cup game that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents might be present at SoFi, for many the decision not to attend was borne not only out of solidarity, but of genuine fears over their own safety and potential future in the US. Those fears were not allayed when US Customs and Border Protection, in a post to social media which has since been deleted, promised to be "suited and booted" for the first round of the FIFA Club World Cup, which also kicked off in the US on June 14 and features two Mexican teams. The day before the game against the Dominican Republic, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called on US authorities not to carry out immigration enforcement targeting those in attendance.

Los Angeles Times [6/21/2025 5:40 PM, David Zahniser, 14672K] reports the city of Pasadena canceled swimming lessons and other recreation programs at three of its parks on Saturday, citing concerns about possible immigration enforcement by federal agents. Lisa Derderian, a spokesperson for the city, said officials made the decision after seeing posts on social media that showed "what appears to be federal enforcement activity" at Villa Parke, a city park located a block north of the 210 Freeway. Programs were canceled "out of an abundance of caution" at Villa Parke, Robinson Park and Victory Park to avoid "the potential escalation of conflict that unannounced federal enforcement activity causes," the city said in a social media post. Officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Customs Border Protection agencies did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Times.

Univision [6/21/2025 6:20 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports the presence of a group of religious leaders, led by Michael Pham, appointed bishop in May by Pope Leo XIV, changed the course of a regular day of immigration hearings in San Diego. During World Refugee Day last Friday, June 20, at least eight clergy of different faiths, including a local imam, came to the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building to provide spiritual accompaniment to migrants and refugees facing deportation proceedings. What happened after their arrival was, for those who witnessed it, a sign that solidarity can make a difference. Several masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents dispersed when they noticed the presence of the religious group. “Like the Exodus story, the sea opened up,” said Scott Reid of the San Diego Organizing Project. Unlike previous days, no arrests were recorded that Friday outside Judge Catherine Halliday-Roberts’ courthouse, where usually between two and four immigrants are intercepted by ICE and transported in vans without license plates or visible identification. Although two of these vehicles were parked on adjacent streets, they were not used.

FOX News [6/21/2025 8:00 AM, Stepheny Price, 46878K] reports as tensions rise about who is behind the violent anti-ICE riots, a California-based company that specializes in providing on-demand crowds for protests says there are indicators to spot the difference between hired demonstrators and normal crowds. "We receive inquiries regarding practically every major social cause imaginable, and the anti-ICE demonstrations are no exception," Adam Swart, the CEO and founder of Crowds on Demand, told Fox News Digital. "The fact that we receive requests does not mean we take them, in many cases because the budget does not match the ambition." Swart added that they have received "numerous high budget requests" regarding the anti-ICE demonstrations, but declined those offers due to the fact "that they do not want to get close to any form of illegal activity, including violence, vandalism or blocking off roads without a permit." Swart, who started Crowds on Demand in 2012 when he was a student at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) to "change how advocacy is done," shared how they support causes and how to spot if these protests are tied to other companies and organizations. Swart said that some of these groups have informants inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "Activist groups are (likely) receiving tipoffs about ICE raid locations, allowing them to stage protests before law enforcement even arrives," Swart shared. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Los Angeles Times [6/21/2025 11:00 AM, Julia Wick and David Zahniser, 14672K] reports Claudia Aragon was headed home after dropping her puppy off at obedience school when the first text came in early on Friday, June 6. "Ice showed up at the Home Depot in cypress park. Want to make sure we can help people," an immigrant service provider texted her. "this is awful claudia." Aragon, who has directed Mayor Karen Bass’ Office of Immigrant Affairs since March 2023, had been sick and was planning to stay home that day. But she lives only a few miles from the Cypress Park site and decided to drive over. She arrived outside the Home Depot in the aftermath of the raid — an environment she described as akin to "calm after the storm" in the wake of a natural disaster. "Everyone’s kind of trying to find their bearings and looking around like, ‘What happened?’ Some of the food vendors that were there were sort of putting things back," Aragon said. There would be little calm for Aragon over the next days and weeks. Within an hour or so of getting home that Friday morning, Aragon’s phone rang again, with someone telling her that federal authorities were at a sprawling fast-fashion warehouse in the Garment District.

Telemundo [6/21/2025 7:54 PM, Staff, 3352K] reports that, after months of stalemate by the government, the measure benefits hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who already have a parole. They will now be able to receive work permits and adjustments of status, among others. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [6/21/2025 2:22 PM, Jim Thomas, 4622K] reports Texas law enforcement seized over $2.4 million worth of methamphetamine hidden in a tractor-trailer that attempted to cross the U.S. border at the Pharr Port of Entry, Breitbart reported. On June 9, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer approaching from Reynosa, Mexico, for a routine commercial inspection and suspected smuggling. The officers called in the Texas Department of Public Safety as part of Operation Lone Star, a multiagency effort between Texas and the federal government. DPS special agents uncovered nearly 400 bundles of the drug in a hidden compartment and arrested the driver, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The seized narcotics, an image of which Abbott posted on X, have an estimated street value of over $2.4 million. The driver, 28-year-old Luis Fernando Sarinana Matias of Reynosa, faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, with additional charges likely to follow, according to Breitbart.

Telemundo52 [6/22/2025 1:04 AM, Amber Frias and Missael Soto, 103K] reports several federal operations were carried out in Santa Ana on Saturday, sparking outrage after videos surfaced on social media showing the arrests. In one video recorded with a cell phone, a man is seen being chased by federal agents while holding a weeding tool. Witnesses claim the man was a gardener working in the area. Moments later, the man is surrounded by Border Patrol agents. As the authorities attempt to detain him, one of the agents is seen hitting him several times in the head before forcing him into a vehicle without license plates. In the video, witnesses can be heard asking the agents why they were hitting him. A few miles away, another operation involving Border Patrol agents took place at a local car wash. Two employees of the business were detained, according to the company. Dozens of people gathered on Santa Ana’s main street, Bristol Street, to demand an end to the operations. "A lot of anger and frustration because we can’t do anything about it. The best we can do is come out and try to make our voice heard," said Denyse Paredes. "This is not how our city should be. This is not how our city is." Our sister network NBCLA has contacted immigration authorities to inquire about their involvement in the operations and use of force in the video, but has not received a response. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [6/21/2025 8:35 AM, Bob Price, 3077K] reports Texas Department of Public Safety special agents seized approximately $2.4 million worth of methamphetamine after Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the load being smuggled into Texas from Mexico. Troopers arrested the driver for allegedly smuggling the drugs into the United States. Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted photos of the seized drugs and the driver who was arrested by DPS troopers earlier this week. The photos show nearly 400 bundles of the highly addictive drug that CBP Office of Field Operations officers found during an inspection at the Pharr Port of Entry. CBP officers conducted a commercial vehicle inspection on a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer as the driver approached from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, according to an article posted on the governor’s website. The officers referred the driver to a secondary inspection station and contacted Texas DPS special agents after discovering a false compartment in the trailer. A search of the compartment led to the discovery of more than 390 bundles that tested positive for meth. The DPS agents seized the drugs and arrested 28-year-old Luis Fernando Sarinana Matias, a Mexican national from Reynosa. Officials estimated the street value of the meth to be more than $2.4 million. The driver is charged with possession of a controlled substance. Additional or more severe charges will likely be filed.

AOL [6/21/2025 10:21 AM, Bethany Blankley, 32100L] reports there’s been an 830% increase in the amount of U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizures of Chinese-manufactured signal jammers since 2021, posing a threat to law enforcement operations, according to a new Department of Homeland Security warning. DHS issued the warning to law enforcement saying the increased amount of signal jammers being smuggled into the U.S. poses "a threat to public safety and civilian aviation.” CBP “has seen a roughly 830% increase in seizures since 2021, despite Chinese companies’ attempts to subvert inspection,” it said. Signal jammers are often used “to disrupt a range of radio frequency channels, and pose a threat to emergency response, law enforcement and critical infrastructure,” the warning states. Signal jammers are being used by a new organized theft ring that emerged under the Biden administration, South American Theft Groups (SATG). “South American illegal aliens jam calls to local police during home invasions or bank robberies in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia,” DHS said.

USA Today [6/21/2025 4:00 PM, Jeanine Santucci, 75552K] reports at least four people are dead after a round of severe weather that included multiple tornado reports, as forecasters warn the storm system is making its way eastward across parts of the Midwest and Northeast. Three people were killed on June 20 in rural Enderlin, North Dakota, in the southeastern part of the state, according the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to reports of tornado damage at a home there at about 11:40 p.m., Sheriff Jesse Jahner said. The three people killed were two men and one woman, Jahner said. A fourth person died in Clinton, New York, on June 20 when a large tree fell on a moving vehicle during gusty winds, said the weather service office in Burlington, Vermont. Deputies in North Dakota found a home with its roof blown off and residents who were "shaken up," he said. The fire department told the deputies that storm chasers had located two victims in the area where another home had been destroyed. A third person was found dead at another location, the sheriff’s office said. There were no other reports of injuries, Jahner said. The severe storms swept through parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota on June 20, with high winds, hail and multiple reported tornadoes. The National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, said a wind gust of 101 mph was recorded at the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network station northwest of Linton. Tornadoes caused damage to homes and hail was measured at over 3.5 inches in diameter, preliminary reports to the Storm Prediction Center said. Wind gusts downed trees and power lines, the reports said. More than 75,000 people were without power across North Dakota and Minnesota the morning of June 21, according to USA TODAY’s power outage tracker. The same complex of storms that originated in North Dakota is expected to move eastward through the Great Lakes region during the day on June 21 and into New York and New England by night, the National Weather Service said. The storms could bring localized flash flooding, strong wind gusts and hail. The storms come as much of the nation is undergoing a "significant and extremely dangerous heat wave" into next week, according to the weather service.

The AP [6/21/2025 10:15 PM, Staff, 56000K] reports powerful winds — including a tornado — that swept across parts of the upper Midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warmed up in much of the U.S. A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with tornadoes, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a news conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed late Friday at two locations around the town of Enderlin, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of Fargo. Thousands of households lost power. Hours earlier the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said on the social platform X that two deaths were attributed to a tornado that hit a home. ABC News [6/21/2025 3:36 PM, Jon Haworth and Patricio Chile, 31733K] reports that the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said it was dispatched to rural Enderlin, North Dakota, for tornado damage at a residence at approximately 11:40 p.m. local time on Friday night. Once deputies arrived on the scene, the Enderlin Fire Department let them know that storm chasers had located two deceased people as a result of the tornado, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. "Shortly after learning of this, the Enderlin Fire Department was dispatched to another location, and a third deceased person was found as a result of the tornado," officials said. "Deputies found extensive damage to the area and began conducting well-being checks on people with several partner agencies.". Law enforcement, the Enderlin Fire Department, and other first responders will continue searching the area and checking on residents, the sheriff’s department said. North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Saturday declared a statewide disaster and activated the State Emergency Operations Plan after multiple tornadoes, strong winds and hail caused widespread damage Friday across North Dakota. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [6/21/2025 10:23 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports a moment of celebration aboard a party yacht ended in a scare on Saturday afternoon when the vessel crashed into a pier on the Hudson River in Manhattan. The incident left at least nine people with minor injuries and forced a rapid mobilization of emergency services. The accident occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m., when the yacht named Timeless, which was carrying about 400 people, struck a pier in the 130th Street area on Manhattan’s west bank. According to reports from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), they received the distress call at 4:15 p.m., at which time rescue personnel and paramedics were deployed to the scene. Authorities confirmed that nine people were injured and were taken to nearby hospitals. All injuries were listed as minor. Witnesses related that some passengers were still sitting in their chairs when they were attended to by emergency crews. "It was a sudden shock, we didn’t know what was happening. We just felt the boat come to a sudden stop," said a passenger who asked not to be identified. The yacht, a luxury vessel used for private parties, was subsequently towed by the FDNY to a dock to the south at 125th St. So far, the vessel’s current condition and whether it suffered structural damage after the impact is unknown. Although the accident did not result in major damage or fatalities, the scene caused alarm among passengers and generated concern on social networks, where some shared videos of the moment of the collision. Despite the commotion caused by the accident, as of 6:05 p.m. Saturday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams had not issued official comments on the incident. The cause of the crash has also not been reported, and authorities continue to investigate what happened. This incident adds to a series of minor mishaps related to the increase in water recreational activities during the summer in New York City. Maritime authorities have reiterated in the past the importance of adhering to boating and safety rules to avoid such accidents. Meanwhile, the organizers of the event aboard the Timeless have not issued public statements. Further details about the circumstances of the impact and the condition of the yacht are expected to be clarified in the coming hours. The case remains under investigation.

CBS Los Angeles [6/22/2025 12:15 AM, Brandon Downs, 51860K] reports six people died and two others are missing after a 27-foot boat capsized on Lake Tahoe on Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard said a gold Chris-Craft boat capsized due to a large swell around 3 p.m. near D.L. Bliss State Park. Six adults died, two people were rescued and taken to the hospital and two others are missing, officials said. ALERTCalifornia cameras captured blue skies for most of the day before a storm system moved through the area around 3 p.m., dropping snow in the area before blue skies returned about an hour later. CBS Sacramento’s First Alert Weather team tracked 40-45 mph winds in the area as a patch of moisture moved south over Lake Tahoe. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, California State Parks, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and others are assisting in the incident. The sheriff’s office said the search operations will resume Sunday morning. D.L. Bliss State Park is about 10 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe and just north of Emerald Bay. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [6/21/2025 5:27 PM, Kathryn Palmer, 75552K] reports insurance company Aflac disclosed this week that cybercriminals breached its U.S. network and may have accessed customers’ personal information, the latest in a string of cyberattacks on insurance companies announced this month. Aflac, which provides home and life insurance and manages data for more than 50 million policyholders, said in a June 20 federal regulatory filing it identified suspicious activity on its U.S. network on June 12. The company said it believes it stopped the intrusion within hours of identifying it, calling the attack part of a "cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry.". The breach potentially impacted files containing customers’ personal information, such as Social Security numbers and health-related details. Aflac said it is investigating the breach with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts and has not yet determined how many customers were affected. An Aflac spokesperson told Reuters that the characteristics of the incident were consistent with the hacking group Scattered Spider, which has a reputation for targeting multiple companies in a single industry in waves.

Houston Chronicle [6/21/2025 7:00 AM, Yvette Orozco, 1982K] reports users of several social media platforms are being urged to reset their passwords following findings of a vast data breach in a recent Cybernews investigation. Approximately 16 billion passwords and other login credentials to Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple were possibly exposed in the leak, prompting companies to urge customers to change their passwords, according to Forbes. The leak also prompted the FBI to warn Americans about opening suspicious links in SMS messages. Several collections of login credentials reveal one of the largest data breaches in history, totaling a humongous 16 billion exposed login credentials. The data most likely originates from various infostealers. The independent cyber security research publication’s report calls the breach the largest in history, with "tens of millions" of records sprawled throughout 30 different databases and possibly "overlapping.".

CBS News [6/21/2025 8:26 PM, Staff, 51860K] Video HERE reports a federal judge has blocked President Trump’s administration from making drastic cuts to research funding provided by the National Science Foundation. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston struck down on Friday a policy change that could have stripped universities of tens of millions of dollars in research funding. The universities argued the move threatened critical work in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductors and other technology fields. Talwani said the change, announced by the NSF in May, was arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law. An email by the Associated Press on Saturday to the NSF was not immediately returned. At issue are "indirect" costs, expenses such as building maintenance and computer systems that aren’t linked directly to a specific project. Currently, the NSF determines each grant recipient’s indirect costs individually and is supposed to cover actual expenses. The Trump administration has dismissed indirect expenses as "overhead" and capped them for future awards by the NSF to universities at 15% of the funding for direct research costs.

FOX News [6/21/2025 10:00 AM, Kurt Knutsson, 46878K] reports Cyberattacks on financial service providers are no longer isolated events. In recent years, tax preparation companies, accounting software vendors and data brokers have all found themselves in the crosshairs of increasingly aggressive ransomware gangs. These attacks don’t just disrupt operations but also expose deeply personal financial information that can fuel identity theft, fraud and long-term reputational damage. Now, Optima Tax Relief, one of the most prominent tax resolution firms in the U.S., has joined that growing list. A ransomware group called Chaos claims to have breached Optima’s systems, stealing 69 GB of data before encrypting internal servers. The data stolen in the attack includes what appears to be corporate documents and sensitive customer case files. Tax documents are especially valuable to cybercriminals. They often contain Social Security numbers, home addresses, phone numbers and other identifiers that can be used to commit financial fraud or impersonation. Sources familiar with the incident told BleepingComputer this was a double-extortion attack. That means Chaos not only stole the data but also encrypted Optima’s systems, presumably demanding a ransom in exchange for access and non-disclosure. The firm has not yet commented publicly on whether it plans to pay the ransom or notify affected individuals. The attackers listed Optima on their leak site earlier this week. While the full dataset has not been published, the leak already raises concerns over regulatory compliance and consumer protection, especially given the sensitive nature of the firm’s work. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [6/21/2025 10:40 AM, Ross O’Keefe, 1934K] reports the Supreme Court upheld a law Friday that allows victims of terrorism to sue Palestinian entities in U.S. courts. The court ruled that the 2019 law, the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, does not violate the due process rights of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. The law reasonably took account of "sensitive foreign policy matters within the prerogative of the political branches," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. As such, the law "comports with the Due Process Clause," Roberts added. Congress usually does not get involved in litigation, but after the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that courts in the U.S. did not have jurisdiction to hear the claims, they acted. The lawsuits were brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which entitles plaintiffs to damages and attorney fees for international terrorism. The lawsuits were filed by victims of terrorism, one of the families being Ari Fuld’s, who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank in 2018. The PLO is representing the Palestinian people internationally and the Palestinian Authority is the partially-in-power government of the West Bank.

New York Post [6/22/2025 2:00 AM, Shane Galvin, 49956K] reports one person was killed and multiple others were injured in a mass shooting during a Juneteenth celebration at a VFW in South Carolina Saturday night, according to officials. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office led a massive police response at the Veterans of Foreign Wars facility, outside of Greenville, where bullets flew Saturday before 11 p.m., WSPA reported. The VFW 1790 was hosting a Juneteenth celebration at the time of the shooting, Anderson County Sheriff’s deputies told the outlet. The sole victim was pronounced dead at Greenville Memorial, according to the sheriff’s office. Eight other victims were taken to nearby hospitals Anderson and Greenville. An investigation is ongoing, the report stated. There is currently no available information on the victims or the motive of the shooter.

Washington Post [6/21/2025 5:32 PM, Gaya Gupta, 32099K] reports hours after a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot in their home, Vance Boelter, the man charged by authorities with the killing, texted his wife instructions to prepare for the worst, according to an affidavit unsealed on Friday. Boelter had sent a message in their family group chat stating “something to the effect of they should prepare for war, they needed to get out of the house and people with guns may be showing up to the house,” FBI agent Terry Getsch wrote in the affidavit. Getsch added that Boelter and his family were “preppers” — people who go to extreme lengths to prepare for catastrophic events that could require survival skills and stockpiles of supplies. Boelter’s wife, Jenny, shared this information with authorities on the morning of June 14 after she was stopped by police in Onamia, a small town about 90 miles north of Minneapolis, according to the affidavit. Jenny Boelter, driving with her four children, was pulled over as authorities were carrying out the largest manhunt in Minnesota’s history for her husband. She allegedly told authorities that her husband had given her a “bailout plan” to follow in an emergency, which involved driving to her mother’s residence in Spring Brook, Wisconsin. In her vehicle, police said, they found a safe, the family’s passports, around $10,000 in cash and two weapons — a revolver in the glove box and a semiautomatic pistol in a cooler.

Washington Examiner [6/21/2025 3:11 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 1934K] reports Judge James Boasberg ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the acting archivist, to collect any Signal messages belonging to top Trump administration officials and refer them to the Justice Department. Boasberg said he could not do anything about the Signal messages that have already been deleted, but the execution of his order would preserve the messages that have not yet been deleted. The order comes as a watchdog group sued several Trump administration Cabinet members, including Rubio, after Signalgate. Signalgate, which occurred back in March, involved a story published in The Atlantic concerning a leaked Signal group chat in which officials spoke about military operations against the Houthis in Yemen. Boasberg said the court record shows that the five Trump administration officials "have thus far neglected to fulfill their duties" under the Federal Records Act. He believes American Oversight, the group that brought the case, has made a strong argument that top government officials used Signal for work purposes and set messages to auto-delete. The Federal Records Act requires the government to maintain records that document its activities, among other things. The judge said he had limited options other than to demand Rubio ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure compliance with the FRA by making sure the remaining messages were not deleted.

FOX News [6/21/2025 2:52 PM, Michael Dorgan Fox, 46878K] reports President Donald Trump has called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate the 2020 presidential election, which he has long maintained was rigged against him and in favor of Joe Biden. In a fiery Truth Social post Friday, Trump praised his administration for cutting border crossings to zero in May compared to the Biden administration, which oversaw the release of 62,000 migrants into the country during the same time last year. Trump said it was incomprehensible a president could oversee such an influx of illegal immigration and then took aim at the 2020 election. "Zero Border crossings for the month for TRUMP, verses 60,000 for Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden, a man who lost the 2020 Presidential Election by a "LANDSLIDE!" Trump wrote. "Biden was grossly incompetent and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [6/21/2025 6:33 PM, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, 75552K] reports the State Department has begun evacuating American citizens and permanent residents from Israel and the West Bank, U.S Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on social media as the Israel-Iran war enters a second week. "The Department of State has begun assisted departure flights from Israel," Huckabee wrote in a post on X on June 21 asking people seeking government assistance to fill out a form. Huckabee also posted actions people can take to remain safe including learning the location of the nearest bomb shelters, avoiding large gatherings and monitoring local media. The State Department did not immediately respond to questions asking about the number of Americans it expects to retrieve from Israel.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [6/21/2025 7:33 PM, Cara Tabachnick, 51860K]

Breitbart [6/21/2025 10:58 PM, Amy Furr, 3077K] reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump on Saturday for the successful strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, saying it was a "bold decision" that showed the power of the United States. "Congratulations President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history," Netanyahu said in a video posted on X. "In Operation Rising Lion, Israel has done truly amazing things. But in tonight’s action against Iran’s nuclear facilities America has been truly unsurpassed. It has done what no other country on Earth could do," he continued: “History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime the world’s most dangerous weapons. His leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace. President Trump and I often say ‘Peace through strength.’ First comes strength, then comes peace. And tonight President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength. President Trump, I thank you, the people of Israel thank you, the forces of civilization thank you. God bless America, God bless Israel, and may God bless our unshakable alliance, our unbreakable faith.” In a post on his Truth Social, Trump revealed the United States had just completed attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran, per Breitbart News. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump wrote. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" the president stated. The news comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched huge airstrikes on the Iranian regime’s leaders, its military, nuclear sites, and refineries last week. Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) commended the airmen serving the United States, intelligence staff, Trump, and national security staff regarding Saturday’s strikes, according to Breitbart News. He added that "As long as Iran was able to access and conduct activities at Fordow, they could still rush to build a nuclear arsenal. Tonight’s actions have gone far in foreclosing that possibility, and countering the apocalyptic threat posed by an Iranian nuclear arsenal.”

The Hill [6/21/2025 10:39 PM, Colin Meyn and Ellen Mitchell, 18649K] reports President Trump announced Saturday night that the United States has bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, engaging U.S. forces in a war that Israel launched two weeks ago. In a brief address on Saturday night, Trump warned of continued U.S. attacks on Iran if "peace does not come quickly.” "This cannot continue," he said, flanked by Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days," Trump said. The White House had said on Thursday that Trump would make a decision on bombing Iran within two weeks, but B-2 bombers started crossing the Pacific on Saturday afternoon. Trump announced the "very successful" strikes in a Truth Social post around 8 p.m. EDT Saturday. In his remarks on Saturday night, the president said those facilities "have been completely and totally obliterated.” In his Truth Social post, Trump said "a full payload of BOMBS" was dropped on Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment plant, Fordow — a deep underground facility viewed as key to Tehran’s nuclear program — as well as on Natanz and Isfahan. Multiple outlets reported that six "bunker buster" bombs were dropped on the Fordow facility, and that 30 tomahawk missiles were fired at Natanz and Isfahan. Trump, in his address, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine would give a press conference on the strikes at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday. Experts say the 30,000-pound bunker busters, officially known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, could penetrate the mountain where Fordow is located, had reportedly been requested by Israel. In the hours before the U.S. unleashed airstrikes, the Defense Department reportedly moved B-2 bombers, the only aircraft capable of dropping the GBU-57, from their holding base in Missouri to across the Pacific to Guam. Iranian officials and state media have confirmed the bombings, but said the three nuclear facilities had previously been evacuated. Lawmakers divided, some raise constitutionality concerns. The immediate response from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pointed to the deep divisions over whether the U.S. should enter a new war in the Middle East. "This is not Constitutional," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) posted on X. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) struck a similar note, referencing Trump’s post announcing the attacks, which said, "Thank you for your attention to this matter.” "According to the Constitution we are both sworn to defend, my attention to this matter comes BEFORE bombs fall. Full stop," Himes wrote. Massie had sponsored legislation that would have required congressional approval for any strikes on Iran. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reacted to the news during a rally in Tulsa, Okla., calling it "grossly unconstitutional" after the crowd chanted "no more war.”

Wall Street Journal [6/22/2025 12:56 AM, Michael R. Goron, Josh Dawsey, and Alexander Ward, 646K] reports President Trump had been saying he would give Tehran up to two weeks to yield to U.S. demands before ordering an attack. Then Saturday afternoon at his private club in New Jersey, he gave the final go-ahead to strike in a few hours. “The goal was to create a situation when everyone wasn’t expecting it,” said a senior administration official. His order to the military to proceed unleashed an operation that has been the focus of top-secret planning. Within hours U.S. B-2 bombers penetrated Iranian airspace and dropped at least half a dozen bunker bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordow. U.S. attack submarines launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against sites in Isfahan and Natanz. In a White House address Saturday night, Trump called the attack “a spectacular military success” that left Iran’s nuclear sites “completely and totally obliterated.” But key questions remain unknown, including whether the Iranian program was fully destroyed and whether Iran will respond with its own attacks on the U.S. or its allies—or possibly try to shut down oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran vowed Saturday not to give up its efforts. The organization “won’t allow the progress of this national industry—built on the blood of nuclear martyrs—to be halted,” it said in a statement. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has been authorized to talk with the Iranians, as Trump tried to keep open the long-shot possibility of some sort of diplomatic understanding that could quiet the region. A U.S. official said the Trump administration had reached out to Iran to make clear the attack was a one-off assault, not the start of a regime-change war.

Wall Street Journal [6/21/2025 11:06 PM, Tarini Parti, 646K] reports President Trump hailed U.S. strikes in Iran a “spectacular military success” in an address Saturday night, while warning that more could follow if “peace does not come quickly.” The U.S. attacked three of Iran’s nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which represent the core of the Iranian nuclear infrastructure. In his address, Trump said the sites had been “completely and totally obliterated.” “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” he said from the White House. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.” Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites was a stunning shift in the president’s longtime reluctance to get involved in foreign conflicts—and from the White House’s rhetoric just two days ago. Seemingly delaying military action, the White House said on Thursday the president would make the call on strikes “within two weeks.” On Friday, Trump explained his rationale for the two-week timeline, saying he was waiting to see “whether or not people come to their senses.” The president, however, has publicly and privately also been laying the groundwork for explaining U.S. strikes on Iran to his supporters for weeks. As he traveled Friday to his golf club in New Jersey, Trump made the distinction between his opposition to the U.S.’s war in Iraq and possible action in Iran. “I think within a matter of weeks, or certainly within a matter of months, they’re going to be able to have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters. “We can’t let that happen.” Trump’s advisers have insisted that although the president doesn’t want the U.S. involved in another conflict, he has been consistent in saying Iran couldn’t have nuclear capabilities.

AP [6/21/2025 9:25 PM, Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro, 56000K] reports President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran quickly sparked debate in Congress over his authority to launch the strikes, with Republicans praising Trump for decisive action even as many Democrats warned he should have sought congressional approval. “Well done, President Trump,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina posted on X. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt called the bombings “strong and surgical.” The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, said Trump “has made a deliberate — and correct — decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime.” The instant divisions in the U.S. Congress reflected an already swirling debate over the president’s ability to conduct such a consequential action without authorization from the House and Senate on the use of military force. While Trump is hardly the first U.S. president to go it alone, his expansive use of presidential power raised immediate questions about what comes next, and whether he is exceeding the limits of his authority. “This was a massive gamble by President Trump, and nobody knows yet whether it will pay off,” said Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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