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.

CBS News [6/25/2025 7:55 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports that, in an unusual move, the Trump administration on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against all 15 federal judges in Maryland over an order blocking the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. At issue is a May order signed by Chief Judge George L. Russell III blocking the administration from immediately removing from the U.S. any immigrants who file paperwork with the Maryland district court seeking a review of their detention. The order blocks the removal until 4 p.m. on the second business day after the habeas corpus petition is filed. The administration says the automatic pause on removals violates a Supreme Court ruling and impedes the president’s authority to enforce immigration laws. It’s rare for anyone — especially the federal government — to sue the entire federal bench in a state. The action ratchets up a fight with the federal judiciary over President Trump’s immigration policies, and underscores the administration’s growing exasperation with federal judges who have turned aside executive branch actions. The AP [6/25/2025 6:44 PM, Sudhin Thanawala, 31733K] reports that the remarkable action lays bare the administration’s determination to exert its will over immigration enforcement as well as a growing exasperation with federal judges who have time and again turned aside executive branch actions they see as lawless and without legal merit. "It’s extraordinary," Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School, said of the Justice Department’s lawsuit. "And it’s escalating DOJ’s effort to challenge federal judges.” At issue is an order signed by Chief Judge George L. Russell III and filed in May blocking the administration from immediately removing from the U.S. any immigrants who file paperwork with the Maryland district court seeking a review of their detention. The order blocks the removal until 4 p.m. on the second business day after the habeas corpus petition is filed. The administration says the automatic pause on removals violates a Supreme Court ruling and impedes the president’s authority to enforce immigration laws. The Republican administration has been locked for weeks in a growing showdown with the federal judiciary amid a barrage of legal challenges to the president’s efforts to carry out key priorities around immigration and other matters. The Justice Department has grown increasingly frustrated by rulings blocking the president’s agenda, accusing judges of improperly impeding the president’s powers. "President Trump’s executive authority has been undermined since the first hours of his presidency by an endless barrage of injunctions designed to halt his agenda," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement Wednesday. "The American people elected President Trump to carry out his policy agenda: this pattern of judicial overreach undermines the democratic process and cannot be allowed to stand.” A spokesman for the Maryland district court declined to comment. The New York Times [6/26/2025 3:25 AM, Alan Feuer, 330K] reports that in a 22-page complaint, lawyers for the Justice Department noted — as many administration officials have in recent weeks — that courts across the country have issued an avalanche of injunctions against various parts of President Trump’s agenda almost from the moment that he returned to office. The lawyers sought to set their suit against Judge Russell and his colleagues in that context, saying that the new standing rule intruded on the White House’s inherent powers to “enforce the nation’s immigration laws.” “This lawsuit involves yet another regrettable example of the unlawful use of equitable powers to restrain the executive,” the lawyers wrote. “Specifically, defendants have instituted an avowedly automatic injunction against the federal government, issued outside the context of any particular case or controversy.” On its face, the spectacle of the Trump administration suing an entire district court made clear just how ugly and bizarre the relationship between the executive and judicial branches has become. Mr. Trump and his top aides have repeatedly — and personally — attacked federal judges in case after case, blaming them for ruling against him with little acknowledgment that the rulings have often come in response to policies that have probed, if not overstepped, the boundaries of the law. Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown Law, said the suit was in keeping with the Trump administration’s efforts to delegitimize the federal bench. “I think we are seeing an unprecedented attempt by the federal government to portray district judges not as a coordinate branch of government,” he said, “but as nothing more than political opposition.”

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [6/25/2025 4:24 PM, Salvador Rizzo and Katie Mettler, 32099K]
FOX News [6/25/2025 1:05 PM, Ashley Oliver, 46878K]

AP [6/25/2025 10:33 PM, Rebecca Santana and Marlon González, 31733K] reports Honduras President Xiomara Castro and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem discussed immigration and border security in their first meeting Wednesday, after Castro had previously rejected President Donald Trump’s calls for ramped up deportations. Noem was the first Trump Cabinet member to visit Honduras. The two leaders did not make comments to the press after their meeting. But Honduras Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Bú Soto later said that Honduras signed a letter of intent toward reaching an agreement on sharing biometric data from people transiting the country with the U.S. government. The U.S. has signed similar agreements with other governments across the region. The two governments also signed an agreement related to migrants seeking protection in Honduras, he said, though he did not explain what it entailed. "We are going to continue mutually collaborating on issues of migration security, border security and the fight against drug trafficking," Bú Soto said. Noem was headed next to Guatemala where she was scheduled to meet with President Bernardo Arévalo on Thursday. Relations between the U.S. and Castro’s administration had been tense since she ordered the end of the longstanding extradition treaty last year. It was under that treaty that Castro sent her predecessor ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández to the United States to be tried on drug trafficking charges. The U.S. ambassador at the time had angered Castro by criticizing the visit of Honduran officials to Venezuela to meet with that country’s longtime defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, who has been indicted on drug trafficking charges by the U.S. Then in January, Castro raised the possibility of ending Honduras’ cooperation with the U.S. military if Trump followed through on his promised mass deportations. The main U.S. military presence in Honduras is at Soto Cano Air Base outside the capital. While it is a Honduran base, the U.S. has maintained a significant presence there since 1983 and it has become a key U.S. launching point for humanitarian and anti-drug missions in Central America. Castro eventually reversed course earlier this year on the extradition treaty and restored the agreement after negotiations with the Trump administration. But Honduras was notably left off U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip through the region in February. Earlier Wednesday, Noem met with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves in San Jose. They signed a letter reaffirming the U.S. support for Costa Rica’s bid to join the Global Entry program. That is a program run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which allows certain passengers who applied to the program and are prescreened to get expedited entry into the U.S.

FOX News [6/25/2025 3:00 PM, Staff, 10702K] reports Acting ICE director Todd Lyons joins ‘America Reports’ to discuss the arrests of 17 Iranian nationals in the U.S. illegally as law enforcement agencies warn of a heightened national security threat. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsNation [6/25/2025 4:29 PM, Joe Khalil, 5801K] reports U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testified Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, where she discussed the DOJ’s budget and the possible threat of Iranian sleeper cells. Bondi told lawmakers during the hearing that all federal agencies would be taking the threats of sleeper cells attacking the U.S. "very seriously." As attorney general, Bondi looks over several different law enforcement agencies, like the FBI, which is one of the agencies on the frontline defense of counterterrorism. Senators grew concerned about the threat of sleeper cells following the U.S. strike on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend. Hundreds of FBI personnel were shifted from their work on counterterrorism to help with immigration and border control, leaving senators to wonder if the agency was prepared to take on the threat if anything happens. "We have, thus far, arrested 1,500 illegal Iranians in our country," Bondi said when asked by Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham about the threat. "Have they invaded our country? Absolutely."

ABC News [6/25/2025 1:28 PM, Bill Hutchinson, 31733K] reports that with the Fourth of July just days away, law enforcement and federal officials are on guard about Iranian retaliation in the United States, despite officials saying there are no specific, credible threats at this time. During a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science on Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked by Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, how many Iranian sleeper cells currently exist in the United States. "Congressman, I can’t talk about that in this setting. But what I can tell you is I know Homeland Security, I know the FBI, and they are focusing on doing everything we can to keep our nation safe. And they will continue to do that," Bondi said. Asked by Gonzales how many active cases of threats to the homeland the DOJ currently has open, Bondi answered, "Countless" without elaborating. And just flagging DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s comments on the threat from Monday: Reporters asked DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday about the possibility that people who have crossed the border illegally could be Iranian-affiliated, radicalized actors. "We’re aware that some of these folks that may have come into our country could’ve been radicalized and so that is why we go out every day to identify individuals that could be a threat to our homeland," Noem said. "We recognize that as tensions escalate, there could be more of a potential for threats here at home. That’s why we’re at an elevated threat right now and we will continue to stay diligent." Nome said that in the past, there have been people who have been radicalized both in the United States and abroad. Asked about concerns over the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, Noem said, "There’s been concern since I took this job."

New York Post [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Josh Christenson, 49956K] reports Border czar Tom Homan revealed in an exclusive sit-down with Post columnist Miranda Devine that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were originally sent to Los Angeles as part of a crackdown on sources of drug cartel funding — before the city descended into riots and looting. In a new episode of "Pod Force One," Homan disclosed that this month’s Los Angeles clashes over ICE enforcement came after officers had served criminal arrest warrants for "money laundering, tax evasion" and other cartel-linked crimes — and rounded up "child sexual predators, rapists, [and] murderers." "There is [a] strong suspicion that some of that funding is sent to Mexico and Colombia to fund cartel activity," Homan told Devine of the underlying criminal probe. "It was a criminal operation, a criminal investigation and criminal search warrant," the border czar said, referencing "millions of dollars" in potential cartel revenue. "But right away, the left went nuts.”

New York Post [6/25/2025 10:02 AM, Miranda Devine, 49956K] reports "Thousands" of migrant children who disappeared after being smuggled across the US-Mexico border under the Biden administration have been rescued from grim fates such as being sex-trafficked to pedophiles, according to border czar Tom Homan — who revealed that a 14-year-old pregnant girl was found living with adult men just two weeks ago. In the latest episode of Miranda Devine’s "Pod Force One" podcast, Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have also located minors who were forced into servitude on ranches and chicken farms, as the agency searches for hundreds of thousands of migrant children unaccounted for during President Joe Biden’s four-year illegal alien invasion. "There were 300,000 missing children under the last administration," said Homan. "We’ve found thousands of them … We rescued victims of sex trafficking [and] two weeks ago, we rescued a 14-year-old that was already pregnant, living with adult men …"We rescued some victims of forced labor. We found children working on ranches and chicken farms, not going to school, but enslaved labor in the United States of America …"Some of the children we found [were] perfectly fine with their families … They just didn’t respond to call-ins [because they] didn’t want to face the consequences of immigration court.”

New York Post [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Jennie Taer, 49956K] reports President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has accused the Biden administration and Democrats of having "sold" out the US "for future political power" by allowing millions of illegal migrants to stream into the country. "They wanted to overwhelm the system … because they knew it’d be millions of people that they thought would be in their corner in the future," Homan told Post columnist Miranda Devine on the latest episode of "Pod Force One," out Wednesday. "They sold this country out for future political power," Homan added. "There is no other reason why you would open a border. There’s no downside on a secured border. There’s only one reason you would do this: Because you saw a future political benefit in doing it."

New York Post [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Kendall White and Josh Christenson, 49956K] reports California Sen. Alex Padilla (D) barging unannounced into a Department of Homeland Security press conference to oppose President Trump’s migrant deportations earlier this month was "disgusting," border czar Tom Homan erupted on a new episode of the "Pod Force One" podcast, out Wednesday. "He knew exactly [what] he was doing. Yeah, let’s make a scene. Let me get on TV," Homan fumed to Post columnist and podcast host Miranda Devine. "Now they’re up in arms. It’s disgusting." During a June 12 briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the Los Angeles riots, Padilla burst into the room and began shouting at Noem, forcing law enforcement officers to restrain him. Homan, in the latest "Pod Force One" episode, said that the Democrats’ response to Padilla butting heads with federal immigration officers, which was repeated days later by New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander, has been vastly overblown and hypocritical.

New York Post [6/26/2025 3:49 AM, Nicholas McEntyre, 49956K] reports President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan ripped into Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign promise to "kick the fascist ICE out of New York City," telling the Democratic socialist that it’s "game on.” Homan, who Trump tabbed to serve as the top immigration enforcer in the administration, called out Mamdani on Wednesday — one day after the 33-year-old Queens assemblyman declared victory in the NYC Democratic primary. Mamdani has vowed to "Trump-Proof" the Big Apple if he were to be elected mayor, claiming the president has "deployed ICE agents to pluck New Yorkers from their families," according to his campaign website. Homan had a short, sweet response to the Mamdani’s promise. "Good luck with that," Homan told Larry Kudlow during his appearance on Fox Business’s "Kudlow.” "Federal law trumps him every day, every hour of every minute," Homan added. "We’re going to be in New York City, matter of fact, because it’s a sanctuary city and President Trump made it clear a week and a half ago, we’re going to double down and triple down on sanctuary cities. "We’re going to concentrate in sanctuary cities because we know they’re releasing public safety threats and national security threats back to the street, so we know we’ve got a problem there.” Homan warned the dark horse politician, who upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo during Tuesday night’s primary, that ICE would have plenty of agents to round up the illegal immigrants in the metropolis. "We don’t have that problem in Florida, where the sheriffs work with us, so we’re going to double up and triple up on New York," Homan said. "Not only are we going to send more agents to the neighborhood, we are going to increase worksite enforcement tenfold.” Homan lauded current Mayor Eric Adams for helping ICE operations in New York. "He wants to do the right thing, he wants to be a law and order mayor," Homan said. The White House official said Hizzoner wants the NYPD to work with federal agents on the "significant public safety threats" and help find the 300,000 missing children trafficked in the US. "He’s in the right mindset, it’s just that his hands are tied in many ways," Homan said about the 64-year-old mayor, who will run as an independent.

The New York Post [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Jennie Taer, 49956K] reports Border czar Tom Homan has revealed that he’s living away from his wife because of death threats he’s receiving. "I spent a lot of time with my boys growing up, but as I got more and more — climbed the ladder of what I’ve done with ICE director and now back — I don’t see my family very much," Homan told Post columnist Miranda Devine during an interview airing Wednesday on her new podcast "Pod Force One." "My wife’s living separately from me right now, mainly because I worked for many hours, but mostly because of the death threats against me," the top Trump aide said. "She’s someplace else. I see her as much as I can, but the death threats against me and my family are outrageous." FOX News [6/25/2025 11:43 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports that the top Trump aide also offered insight into the impact his new job has had on the amount of time he gets to spend with his family. "I spent a lot of time with my boys growing up, but as I got more and more — climbed the ladder of what I’ve done with ICE director and now back — I don’t see my family very much," he revealed. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
The Hill [6/25/2025 1:51 PM, Elizabeth Crisp, 18649K]

Bloomberg News [6/25/2025 2:22 PM, Staff, 88K] reports the Trump administration sued all of the judges on the Maryland federal trial court over a standing order that prevented the government from deporting a person for two business days after a habeas challenge is filed. The Justice Department alleged in a Tuesday complaint that the order, signed by Chief Judge George L. Russell III in May, is a "particularly egregious example of judicial overreach interfering with Executive Branch prerogatives." "Every unlawful order entered by the district courts robs the Executive Branch of its most scarce resource: time to put its policies into effect," the complaint says. The lawsuit against the entire bench is unusual and marks the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s battle with the federal judiciary. President Donald Trump and his allies have criticized judges by name who’ve ruled against the administration, while congressional Republicans eye ways to curb judicial power legislatively. It also comes as a Maryland federal judge has presided over a challenge to the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, which the administration acknowledged was a wrongful deportation. The court’s standing order, first issued May 21 and amended a week later, states that once a detained immigrant in Maryland files a habeas petition, or a request to be released from custody, the federal government may not remove them from the US until 4 p.m. of the second business day. The move responds to an increase in habeas petitions filed outside of normal business hours from immigrants facing imminent deportation, which has "created scheduling difficulties and resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings," the order says.

NewsMax [6/25/2025 8:24 AM, Staff, 4622K] reports a court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants locked up in a shelter after being deported by the United States, according to a resolution issued on the eve of a visit by the US secretary of homeland security. Some 200 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia as well as from Africa and some other Asian countries, including 80 children, were brought to the Central American nation in February under an agreement with the US administration of President Donald Trump, a move criticized by human rights organizations. By partially accepting an appeal filed in March on behalf of the migrants, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice gave immigration 15 days to process the "determination of the immigration status of the deportees" and their release, according to the resolution seen by AFP. The resolution was published one day before a visit by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who will meet with President Rodrigo Chaves and tour the Los Lagos temporary immigration detention center.

CBS Miami [6/25/2025 9:59 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports Florida officials are pursuing plans to build a second detention center to house immigrants, as part of the state’s aggressive push to support the federal government’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he’s considering standing up a facility at a Florida National Guard training center known as Camp Blanding, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Jacksonville in northeast Florida, in addition to the site under construction at a remote airstrip in the Everglades that state officials have dubbed " Alligator Alcatraz.” The construction of that facility in the remote and ecologically sensitive wetland about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami is alarming environmentalists, as well as human rights advocates who have slammed the plan as cruel and inhumane. Speaking to reporters at an event in Tampa, DeSantis touted the state’s muscular approach to immigration enforcement and its willingness to help President Donald Trump’s administration meet its goal of more than doubling its existing 41,000 beds for detaining migrants to at least 100,000 beds nationwide. State officials have said the detention facility, which they’ve described as temporary, will rely on heavy-duty tents, trailers, and other impermanent buildings, allowing the state to operationalize 5,000 immigration detention beds by early July and free up space in local jails. "I think the capacity that will be added there will help the overall national mission. It will also relieve some burdens of our state and local (law enforcement)," DeSantis said. Managing the facility "via a team of vendors" will cost $245 a bed per day, or approximately $450 million a year, a U.S. official said. The expenses are to be incurred by Florida and reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In the eyes of DeSantis and other state officials, the remoteness of the Everglades airfield, surrounded by mosquito- and alligator-filled wetlands that are seen as sacred to Native American tribes, makes it an ideal place to detain migrants. "Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there’s a lot of alligators," he said. "No one’s going anywhere.” Democrats and activists have condemned the plan as a callous, politically motivated spectacle. "What’s happening is very concerning, the level of dehumanization," said Maria Asuncion Bilbao, Florida campaign coordinator at the immigration advocacy group American Friends Service Committee.

Reported similarly:
AP [6/25/2025 4:06 PM, Kate Payne, 21433K]

CBS Miami [6/25/2025 7:13 PM, Joan Murray, 51860K] Video: HERE reports a migrant holding facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," rising in the heart of the Florida Everglades, is drawing swift backlash from environmental advocates who say it threatens fragile ecosystems and endangered wildlife. The makeshift site, located off U.S. 41 on a little-used airstrip, is being developed to house undocumented migrants in custody. Chopper 4 aerials taken Wednesday show rapid progress: numerous tents, portable toilets, recreational vehicles, and generators are already in place. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier unveiled the plan last week. Since then, public criticism has mounted, particularly from conservation groups concerned about environmental damage. Governor Ron DeSantis pushed back against those concerns Wednesday, insisting the facility will have no long-term impact. "There is zero environmental impact. I’m the governor who’s poured more money into Everglades restoration than anyone," DeSantis said. "It isn’t permanent. This is temporary. There’s no sewer being constructed. Environmental impact is zero.” Environmental leaders strongly disagree. Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said the temporary designation doesn’t eliminate potential harm. "There will be impact because sewage will be generated, water will be used, and it will create light pollution affecting the habitat," Samples said.

USA Today [6/25/2025 6:10 PM, Michael Collins, Kelly Puente, Ruben Montoya, 75552K] reports a federal judge in Tennessee has ordered the release of a Salvadoran migrant at the center of President Donald Trump’s border security policies while he awaits trial on criminal charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes rejected federal prosecutors’ request that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, remain incarcerated but imposed conditions on his release. Abrego Garcia will be released on his own recognizance but must undergo anger management counseling, home detention, location monitoring, drug testing and have no contact with MS-13 gang members, Holmes ruled during a hearing in Nashville on June 25. Holmes acknowledged that, once released, Abrego Garcia would likely land in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and could face deportation for a second time. Although outside the jurisdiction of her court, Holmes urged the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security to work together to ensure he faces criminal charges in Tennessee. Holmes said she can’t order ICE to take any particular actions in the case, and the conditions of his release are only enforceable if he is not in ICE custody. "The most I can do is request the U.S. Attorney’s Office to encourage cooperation from Homeland Security," she said.

AP [6/25/2025 9:51 PM, Travis Loller, Jonathan Mattise and Kristin M. Hall, 4622K] reports Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain in jail for at least a few more days while attorneys in the federal smuggling case against him spar over whether prosecutors have the ability to prevent his deportation if he is released to await trial. The Salvadoran national’s deportation became a flash point in the fight over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies has been in jail since he was returned to the U.S. on June 7 to face two counts of human smuggling. A federal judge has ruled that Abrego Garcia has a right to be released and in a hearing on Wednesday even set specific conditions for him to live with his brother. But Abrego Garcia’s attorneys expressed concern that it would lead to his immediate detention and possible deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes also expressed doubts in the hearing about her own power to require anything more than prosecutors using their best efforts to secure the cooperation of ICE. "I have no reservations about my ability to direct the local U.S. attorney’s office," the judge said. "I don’t think I have any authority over ICE.” Holmes did not say when she would file the release order for Abrego Garcia, but it will not happen before Friday afternoon. Abrego Garcia, who was shackled and wearing a red jumpsuit, was expected to be released Wednesday, if only into ICE custody. But the court hearing revealed instead the competing interests between two federal agencies in the Trump administration. Acting U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire has said in court and in filings that one of the reasons he wants Abrego Garcia to stay in jail is to ensure that he remains in the country and isn’t deported by ICE. McGuire told the judge in Wednesday’s hearing that he would do "the best I can" to secure the cooperation of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE. But the prosecutor noted, "That’s a separate agency with separate leadership and separate directions. I will coordinate, but I can’t tell them what to do.” But Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Sean Hecker, countered that the departments of Justice and Homeland Security are both within the executive branch and seem to cooperate on other things. For example, ICE has agreed not to deport cooperating witnesses who agreed to testify against Abrego Garcia. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors had tried to stay Holmes’ release order. But it was denied by another federal judge on Wednesday afternoon, who wrote that the government was asking the court to "save it from itself" in a situation that was "completely of its own making.”

Reported similarly:
New York Post [6/25/2025 6:37 PM, Victor Nava, 49956K]
NPR [6/25/2025 5:23 PM, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, 37958K]
Reuters [6/25/2025 5:40 PM, Luc Cohen, 51390K]
ABC News [6/25/2025 6:17 PM, Laura Romero, 31733K]
CBS News [6/25/2025 6:32 PM, Melissa Quinn, Jacob Rosen, 51860K]
CNN [6/25/2025 6:12 PM, Isabel Rosales, 21433K]

FOX News [6/25/2025 5:18 PM, Greg Wehner, Breanne Deppisch, 46878K] reports Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian migrant who was erroneously deported to El Salvador before being returned to the U.S. earlier this month to face prosecution, was ordered to be placed into the custody of his brother should he be released from custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Abrego Garcia appeared in federal court on Wednesday after the Trump administration challenged a federal judge’s orders to release him pending criminal trial. Regardless of the court’s order, Judge Holmes acknowledged her decision was likely little more than an "academic exercise," as it is almost certain that Abrego Garcia will not be released. She noted that the Trump administration previously vowed that he would be taken into ICE custody "subject to anticipated removal proceedings that are outside the jurisdiction of this Court." Abrego Garcia will likely be transferred from the U.S. Marshals to ICE custody, which the court will have no control over. If he is arrested by ICE, Abrego Garcia’s legal team requests he be detained near the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building in Nashville, Tennessee. Federal authorities have agreed not to deport key witnesses in the trial, and want the same for Abrego Garcia.

Washington Examiner [6/25/2025 6:21 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1934K] reports a federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador whose case has become a political flashpoint for deportation efforts by the Trump administration. However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could soon make efforts to detain him and may move to deport him for a second time, even as federal prosecutors are still seeking to bring him to criminal trial for human smuggling. "Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Washington Examiner. "We have said it for months, and it remains true to this day: He will never go free on American soil." U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw affirmed the findings of a magistrate who, days before, decided that Abrego Garcia should not need to remain behind bars while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges. Crenshaw ordered him released on his own recognizance with strict conditions, including home detention, location monitoring, drug testing, and anger management classes. But Crenshaw acknowledged that Abrego Garcia would likely be taken into ICE custody immediately upon release. Abrego Garcia’s ultimate fate now lies with ICE and DHS — whether they choose to seek immediate removal or coordinate with prosecutors to prioritize the smuggling charges first.

The Hill [6/25/2025 1:57 PM, Alexander Bolton, 18649K] reports that Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has unveiled a plan to override Homeland Security Committee Chair Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) proposal to fund border security and immigration enforcement activities at roughly half the amount favored by Senate and House Republican leaders. Paul created an uproar two weeks ago when he unveiled his portion of the Trump agenda megabill that would spend $6.5 billion on completing President Trump’s border wall and $22.5 billion on expanding detention facilities for migrants. Now Graham has answered with a move of his own, unveiling a proposal to restore funding for the border wall and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the full amount envisioned by GOP leaders when they passed a blueprint for the bill earlier this year. "As Budget Chairman, I will do my best to ensure that the President’s border security plan is fully funded because I believe it has been fully justified," Graham said in a statement accompanying the release of his legislative text. "The president promised to secure our border. His plan fulfills that promise. The Senate must do our part and past his bill," he said. Graham would provide Customs and Border Patrol $46.5 billion to build the border wall and related infrastructure such as access roads, cameras, lights and sensors.

AP [6/25/2025 4:23 PM, Staff, 56000K] reports the vice mayor of a tiny Southern California city is under fire after appearing to call on street gangs to organize in the face of immigration sweeps by federal agents in and around Los Angeles. In a video post on social media that’s since been deleted, Cynthia Gonzalez, vice mayor of Cudahy, said, "I want to know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles.” "You guys are always tagging everything up, claiming hood, and now that your hood’s being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain’t a peep out of you," Gonzalez said. She further referenced "18th Street" and "Florence," two infamous street gangs, and questioned why gang members were not protesting or speaking up about the immigration raids. "We’re out there fighting our turf, protecting our turf, protecting our people and, like, where you at?" she said. The video seemed to suggest Gonzalez was calling on gang leaders to "help out and organize" as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies participate in the Trump administration’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. The Department of Homeland Security called Gonzalez’s comments "despicable." "She calls for criminal gangs — including the vicious 18th street gang — to commit violence against our brave U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement law enforcement," the department said in a post on X that included Gonzalez’s video. "This kind of garbage has led to a more than 500% increase in assaults against our U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement law enforcement officers. Secretary Noem has been clear: If you assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Washington Examiner [6/25/2025 3:48 PM, Brady Knox, 1934K] reports Cudahy, California, Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez faced widespread outcry after she encouraged deadly Latino gangs to confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. A video posted by Gonzalez, whose suburb’s population exceeds 22,000, located 10 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, showed her calling on the 18th Street and Florencia gangs to help confront ICE. She then said the gangs had no right to claim territory as their own if they didn’t come out and "organize" and "help out." The Department of Homeland Security’s X account posted her video along with a caption condemning her remarks, describing them as "despicable." "She calls for criminal gangs — including the vicious 18th street gang — to commit violence against our brave ICE law enforcement," the post reads. "This kind of garbage has led to a more than 500 percent increase in assaults against our ICE law enforcement officers." The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents roughly 9,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers, called on Gonzalez to resign, reminding viewers that 18th Street and Florencia gang members have both been convicted of murdering police officers. Several Florencia gang members were recently convicted of the murder of Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos in 2022.

FOX News [6/25/2025 7:17 PM, Sophia Compton, 46878K] reports the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) — a police union that represents more than 8,900 members of the LAPD — is calling for the resignation and prosecution of a local official after she seemingly encouraged gangs to defend their territory from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Cynthia Gonzalez, the vice mayor of Cudahy in southeast Los Angeles County, allegedly shared a video on social media late last week in which she appeared to urge 18th Street and Florencia 13 gang members to protect their turf from ICE agents. The LAPPL said Gonzalez’s video put law enforcement officers at greater risk of harm. "It’s dangerous," Richard Mendoza, a director with the LAPPL, told Fox News Digital. "… She should definitely resign from her position, and the district attorney or U.S. Attorney should bring charges against her if she crossed any legal lines.” The 18th Street and Florencia 13 gangs are based out of LA and rule different areas, or turfs, through violence, intimidation and murder. Both gangs also have a known history of murdering police officers, according to a news release from the LAPPL. "These gang members are known to be violent," Mendoza said. "They’ve killed law enforcement officers in the past, and it’s completely irresponsible and reprehensible for [Gonzalez] to even engage in that kind of talk or behavior.” In the now-deleted video that Gonzalez allegedly posted online, she appeared to tell LA gang members they need to organize and help out with local resistance efforts against ICE. Toward the end of the video, the LA County official even seemingly calls on the leaders of the LA street gangs to "get your f***ing members in order.” "Not for nothing, but I want to know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles," Gonzalez said in the video. "18th Street, Florencia — Where’s the leadership at? Because you guys are all about territory … You guys tag everything up — claiming hood. And now that your hood’s being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain’t a peep out of you.” When Mendoza first saw the video the Cudahy vice mayor allegedly posted on social media, he said he thought it must have been generated by artificial intelligence because he could not believe "an elected official of a city would speak like that. "She calls for criminal gangs — including the vicious 18th street gang — to commit violence against our brave ICE law enforcement," the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote. "This kind of garbage has led to a more than 500 percent increase in assaults against our ICE law enforcement officers. Secretary Noem has been clear: If you assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Reuters [6/25/2025 4:17 PM, Andrew Goudsward and Nate Raymond, 51390K] reports
U.S. Justice Department official Emil Bove denied advising President Donald Trump’s administration to defy court orders as he faced Democratic criticism on Wednesday over his nomination by Trump to serve on a federal appeals court. Bove at a Senate committee hearing disputed claims by a former Justice Department lawyer that he suggested to subordinates the government may flout court rulings against Trump’s immigration crackdown. "I am not anybody’s henchman," Bove told the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee. "I’m not an enforcer. I’m a lawyer from a small town who never expected to be in an arena like this."

FOX News [6/25/2025 5:04 PM, Cameron Arcand, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports it’s unknown if Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., will face federal charges from the Department of Justice after he interrupted a press conference that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was holding in Los Angeles on June 12. "Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands," Homeland Security tweeted after the incident. [Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately."

AP [6/25/2025 6:01 PM, John Hanna, 56000K] reports Minnesota became the latest state Wednesday to face a lawsuit from the Trump administration seeking to force it to give its high school graduates who entered the U.S. illegally as immigrants the same lower tuition rates reserved for in-state citizens. The U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit also seeks to strike down a law that allows the same immigrant students to receive scholarships covering part or all of their tuition under the state’s North Star Promise program. The department filed its case in federal district court in Minnesota, naming Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic state Attorney General Keith Ellison as defendants, along with the state’s Office of Higher Education. The Justice Department has filed similar lawsuits this month against policies in Kentucky and Texas. Last week, a federal judge in Texas blocked that state’s law giving a tuition break to students living in the U.S. illegally after the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, said he supported the legal challenge. Walz’s office said it is reviewing the lawsuit "to better understand what this means for the state.” Justice Department says state discriminates against US citizens. The lawsuit argued that Minnesota is "flagrantly violating" a federal law that prevents states from providing a benefit in higher education to resident students living in the U.S. illegally if U.S. citizens cannot receive the same benefits. States generally set higher tuition rates for out-of-state students. Also, President Donald Trump issued executive orders in February directing federal agencies to see that public benefits do not go to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and to challenge state and local policies seen as favoring those immigrants over some citizens. The lawsuit argues that the Republican president’s orders enforce federal immigration laws. The lawsuit also argues that Minnesota’s policies discriminate against U.S. citizens. "No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens," U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. The Justice Department’s lawsuit in Minnesota noted the cases filed earlier this month in Kentucky and Texas but did not mention any other states as potential targets of litigation. However, in discussing the Texas case, Bondi has suggested more lawsuits might be coming. Last year, Florida ended its tuition break for students living there illegally, but at least 21 states have laws or policies granting them, in addition to the University of Michigan system, according to the National Immigration Law Center, which favors them. Those states include Democratic-leaning ones such as California and New York, but also GOP-leaning ones like Kansas and Nebraska.

Washington Examiner [6/25/2025 6:28 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1934K] reports the Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Orange County, California, registrar of voters, accusing the local election office of concealing voter information about noncitizen residents who were unlawfully registered to vote. In a 10-page complaint filed in Santa Ana, DOJ attorneys alleged that Registrar Robert Page failed to turn over unredacted voter registration records as required under federal law. The lawsuit says the DOJ had requested information about voters removed from the rolls due to noncitizenship, but Page redacted key identifying data from the materials he provided. "Voting by non-citizens is a federal crime, and states and counties that refuse to disclose all requested voter information are in violation of well-established federal elections laws," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. "Removal of non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls is critical to ensuring that the State’s voter rolls are accurate and that elections in California are conducted without fraudulent voting.” The legal action follows President Donald Trump’s March 25 executive order, "Preserving and protecting the integrity of American elections," which requires proof of citizenship to register and compels federal agencies to monitor states’ compliance with voter list maintenance. The directive has intensified efforts to identify illegal registrations across the country. Liberal-leaning voting rights proponents have denounced the move as a form of voter suppression and argue that documented cases of noncitizen voting are exceedingly rare. Still, the Trump administration contends that state-level resistance is obstructing legitimate election security efforts. According to the DOJ, the lawsuit was prompted in part by a recent case in which an undocumented immigrant in Orange County received an unsolicited mail-in ballot despite not being a U.S. citizen. The department subsequently asked for voter registration records dating back to Jan. 1, 2020, for people removed due to ineligibility.

Washington Post [6/25/2025 5:45 AM, Marc Fisher, 32099K] reports the Trumpian vision of the U.S. immigration system is dramatic and nightmarish: clots of agents showing up at schools, government offices, courthouses, workplaces and homes, dressed in the jackets of an alphabet soup of agencies, sometimes masked, often armed. They scoop up undocumented immigrants and ship them off to wherever they came from — or to whatever godforsaken place will take them, if for a price. But the federal government is a hulking iceberg of bureaucracy, and deep inside its wounded guts, a quieter force persists: Even with the layoffs, buyouts, cutbacks and frequent storms of executive commands, the machine grinds on, dispensing something closer to justice. In Hyattsville, Maryland, about 12 miles from Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in D.C., on the sixth floor of a largely unmarked federal office building in the middle of a struggling suburban retail development, the U.S. immigration apparatus is still accepting and protecting newcomers from the chaos created by the president and his SWAT-team-wannabe acolytes. Across the Potomac River in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) ordered state law enforcement to cooperate with the feds, leading to raids on hundreds of immigrants. In the District, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who often spoke of Washington as a "proud sanctuary city," has done a 180 and is cooperating with the president’s enforcement efforts because there’s little she can do to stop ICE, and, as she put it last month, "this is Donald Trump’s America." But here in Hyattsville, 16 immigration judges churn through their endless dockets — hundreds of people, handing over reams of paperwork, speaking through tears to emotionless translators and empathetic judges, searching for some way to get legal status, some way to stay in the country that, even now, offers them their best shot. These immigrants, the great majority of whom arrived illegally, have hit the lottery: They’ve landed in a courthouse where judges actually seem inclined to help them find a way to stay.

New York Times [6/25/2025 5:00 AM, Jamelle Bouie, 153395K] reports for President Trump, the United States is little more than his personal playground, Mar-a-Lago gone national. In his mind, the nation has become his private property and he is entitled to do with it what he pleases. Accordingly, Trump seems to lack any sense of obligation or responsibility to the public. His chaotic and haphazard policymaking — if you can even call it that — is as disrespectful to the American people as any imaginable insult. Just consider the disregard one must have for the lives of those in your care — for the lives of those who have cloaked you in the power of the world’s highest office — to carelessly destroy their livelihoods with ruinous tariffs and send their children to attack another country because you thought it would look good on cable television. Ask not what you can do for your country, Trump might say. Ask what you can do for me. In practice, as we have seen, the president’s disdain for responsibility (as well as any semblance of republican virtue) cashes out to a total rejection of democratic accountability and a sweeping assertion of absolute impunity (backed, in some cases, by the Supreme Court). The president’s sense of his total impunity extends beyond him to his allies and agents. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the roving bands of immigration agents tasked with seizing anyone deemed “illegal.” In cities across the country, masked men and women are snatching people off the streets, forcing them into unmarked cars to be detained, without offering them the chance to contact family members or a lawyer. Just last week, bystanders captured footage of Narciso Barranco, a landscaper, being pinned down and battered by a group of masked agents. His son reported that Barranco was working when several masked men approached him. When he quite understandably ran away, his son said, he was pepper sprayed and beaten. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told The Los Angeles Times that “the agents took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers. He is now in ICE custody.” As for the masks? According to Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, “officers wear masks for personal protection and to prevent doxxing.” Lyons also wrote, in a letter to The Washington Post, that ICE officers “have seen a staggering 413 percent increase in assaults against them,” but no one has been able to substantiate that number with actual evidence.

The Hill [6/25/2025 9:00 AM, Matt K. Lewis, 18649K] reports “Who was that masked man?” If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember that line from "The Lone Ranger" — a weekly morality play, first broadcast on the radio in the 1930s, in which the hero wore a mask to hide not from accountability, but from accolades (and from the outlaw gang that ambushed him and left him for dead). In that depiction, justice rode in on a white horse and rode off into the sunset. It was dispensed honorably — if anonymously — and always in defense of the vulnerable. Fast-forward to 2025, and we’re contending with a different kind of masked man. These cowboys don’t ride stallions or fire warning shots into the air. They roll up in unmarked SUVs, dressed in tactical vests and with their faces covered. In one viral video, such men appear to pummel a landscaper outside an IHOP in Santa Ana, Calif., where he worked. The man’s three sons, as it happens, are all U.S. Marines. This isn’t just excessive force or profiling. It’s the perversion of the very idea of public safety — one that creates deeper, more insidious problems. The first is psychological and moral. The old proverb warns: The mask becomes the face. Anyone who’s spent time online knows that anonymity often brings out the worst in us. But this isn’t just about a loss of civility. The hyper-militarized look of these Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents isn’t merely a "mask" in the Lone Ranger sense. His was a modest black domino mask — the kind that concealed just enough to hide his identity, but not enough to make him look menacing. The masks being worn by ICE agents are, by contrast, a posture. A weapon.

NewsMax [6/25/2025 8:51 AM, Daniel McCarthy, 4622K] reports the Iran crisis of the past two weeks isn’t just about nuclear weapons — it’s also an urgent reminder that border security is national security. Tehran’s terrorist agents are a weapon with a much longer reach than any of the mullahs’ missiles. They’ve been a threat to Salman Rushdie’s life in the United States and Europe for more than 35 years, and in 2022 an attacker sympathetic to the Iranian government cost the author of The Satanic Verses one of his eyes and very nearly his life. President Donald Trump has been the target of other Iranian plots. According to court documents, Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man arrested in Texas last year, "indicated an affinity for Iran" when he attempted to hire hitmen to help murder a "political person" believed to be Trump — a scheme thwarted because the associates he sought to recruit were in fact FBI agents. A second plot involved Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national now on the lam in Iran. Incidents like these don’t receive much media attention not only because they’re unsuccessful but also because they’re not very unusual — it’s not news that Iran is a sponsor of terrorist mayhem and murder. After American forces bombed three Iranian nuclear-program sites on Saturday, NBC News reported Iran had earlier warned Trump it could activate "sleeper cells" within the United States to retaliate against an attack on its facilities. Rodney Scott, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, alerted CBP agents to the danger the country now faces because of the porous border policies of the Joe Biden administration: "Over the past four years, thousands of Iranian (nationals) have been documented entering the United States illegally and countless more were likely in the known and unknown got-a-ways," he wrote in an agency memo.

NBC News [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Julia Ainsley and Laura Strickler, 44540K] reports after six months of aggressive immigration enforcement and promises to focus on deporting violent criminals, the Trump administration has arrested and detained a small fraction of the undocumented immigrants already known to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as having been convicted of sexual assault and homicide, internal ICE data obtained by NBC News shows. The data is a tally of every person booked by ICE from Oct. 1 through May 31, part of which was during the Biden administration. It shows a total of 185,042 people arrested and booked into ICE facilities during that time; 65,041 of them have been convicted of crimes. The most common categories of crimes they committed were immigration and traffic offenses. Almost half of the people currently in ICE custody have neither been convicted of nor charged with any crime, other ICE data shows. Last fall, ICE told Congress that 13,099 people convicted of homicide and 15,811 people convicted of sexual assault were on its non-detained docket, meaning it knew who they were but did not have them in custody. A spokesperson said at the time that ICE had some information about but did not know the exact whereabouts of all the immigrants on the non-detained docket and that some could have left the United States or could be in prison. The new data obtained by NBC News shows that from Oct. 1 to May 31, ICE arrested 752 people convicted of homicide and 1,693 people convicted of sexual assault, meaning that at the absolute most, the Trump administration has detained only 6% of the undocumented immigrants known to ICE to have been convicted of homicide and 11% of those known to ICE to have been convicted of sexual assault. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called the data inaccurate but did not provide raw numbers of arrests by criminal category. "The premise of your question relies on inaccurate data. Secretary [Kristi] Noem has unleashed the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to target the worst of the worst — including gang members, murderers, and rapists. In President Trump’s first 100 days, 75% of ICE arrests were criminal illegal aliens with convictions or pending charges," McLaughlin said in response to NBC News.

FOX News [6/25/2025 8:51 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports that, in response to accusations from Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the Trump Department of Homeland Security is pushing back against an "absolutely false" media report about a pregnant immigrant who was allegedly denied prenatal care while she was detained by ICE. The Nashville Banner reported in May that Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus, a Guatemalan illegal immigrant in her thirties, gave birth to a stillborn baby boy mid-term "after pleading for medical help for days.” According to the outlet, Monterroso-Lemus had a September due date but was arrested by ICE in Lenoir City, Tennessee, in April. After being arrested, Monterroso-Lemus was transferred several times to facilities in Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama and finally to the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana, according to the Banner. The outlet claims that the Richwood center has a "long history of documented abuse" and that Monterroso-Lemus’ account of her treatment while there "echoed many of those issues." In the article, Monterroso-Lemus claims that she was malnourished while incarcerated and that rather than helping her when she voiced concerns about her pregnancy, she was mocked by the guards who gave only minimal medical intervention. The outlet reported that Monterroso-Lemus was eventually given a regimen of 12 pills to take daily. A few days later, she began experiencing contractions, and days after that, she delivered a stillborn baby while at the Ochsner LSU Health – Monroe Medical Center. Monterroso-Lemus is now residing in Guatemala, according to the outlet. Commenting on the story, Jayapal said, "This is absolutely disgusting and we should all be outraged.” "A pregnant woman lost her baby after ICE refused to give her prenatal care," said Jayapal. "She begged for help and was denied. She was fed food full of cockroaches. She was forced to sleep on the floor.” However, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, responded to Jayapal’s post by saying her claims were "absolutely FALSE.” According to McLaughlin, Monterroso-Lemus "had FULL medical, prenatal care.” McLaughlin said that DHS has documentation proving her claims. The DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request to see the documentation. McLaughlin further stated that Monterroso-Lemus has been arrested multiple times for child abuse and is wanted on an active warrant for homicide. Abigail Jackson, a spokeswoman for the White House, also chimed in, telling Fox News Digital that "we’ll call out their bogus narratives every time.” "President Trump’s immigration policies are popular - it’s why the American people elected him. Democrats know the facts aren’t on their side, so they resort to lying," said Jackson. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [6/25/2025 11:38 AM, Mackenzie Thomas, 1934K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday denied allegations of "racial profiling" over its policy to enlist local law enforcement to help with immigration enforcement. "Allegations that 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement encourage ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting and categorically FALSE," DHS said in a post on X. "Our 287(g) partners work with us to enforce federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice, and they should be commended for doing so. 287(g) is critical to having the enforcement we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country." The lawsuit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union against the Nassau County Police Department and the county itself, according to the New York Times. "It’s a recipe for racial and ethnic profiling," said Donna Lieberman, the union’s executive director, according to the outlet. "It’s a devastating attack on fundamental rights for the Police Department in Nassau County to be behaving like ICE." The lawsuit argues the partnership between the local police department and DHS is "unlawful" for allowing local police to detain or deport illegal immigrants. The agreement between the agencies, which falls under the 287(g) program, was first signed in February and ultimately aims to reduce the burden on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expedite immigration enforcement efforts.

Breitbart [6/25/2025 8:01 PM, Neil Munro, 3077K] reports President Donald Trump’s deputies have persuaded more than 7,000 migrants to self-deport, at a savings of roughly $16,000 per person, according to The Atlantic. 3,000 self-deporting migrants have left the country, and more are expected, the article noted: I checked with half a dozen or so immigration attorneys to see if they have clients considering the administration’s offer. No takers yet, they said. "I have a feeling that it will start happening soon," Jonathan Ryan, an attorney in Texas who represents asylum seekers and refugees, told me. "People are in shock right now, but I suspect the next step will be to start looking at their options.” The self-deportation number is likely far higher than 3,000 because many other migrants are quietly moving back into Mexico as they try to hide their history as illegal migrants. Additional data suggests that a million or more migrants have self-deported to their U.S. homes as they try to avoid ICE actions. Their mass withdrawal from work and consumerism also increases the economic pressure on many other working migrants to quietly go home before they are suddenly deported without their savings and possessions. Administration officials are trying to deport 1 million migrants a year. But that ambitious goal will dramatically spike additional self-deportations by millions of migrants who dare not work, drive, or use government resources without the risk of being suddenly detained and deported without their hard-won possessions. Democrats are trying to prevent a sudden flood of self-deportations by obstructing ICE operations and by providing aid to poor migrants. In turn, the Department of Homeland Security is boosting the self-deportation numbers with a $200 million advertising campaign — and the very visible pressure ICE checks and arrests, the Atlantic article noted: The Department of Homeland Security recently published a promotional video showing happy-looking families boarding a self-deportation flight to Honduras and Colombia after accepting the cash stipends. DHS called it "Project Homecoming"; staffers handed out free toys on the tarmac. One young family got a stuffed elephant and a handful of Colombian flags before climbing the stairs to the plane. A staffer handed a pink teddy bear to a shy little girl who looked no older than 3. No one in the video explains why they chose to leave or even speaks at all.

FOX 4 Beaumont [6/25/2025 3:22 PM, Jessica A. Botelho] reports an illegal immigrant who allegedly beat a Mexican law enforcement official to death was arrested in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday. DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracked down Orlando Diaz-Cebada, who is from Mexico, in Connecticut earlier this month. "Thanks to our brave ICE law enforcement and federal partners, this criminal illegal alien fugitive wanted for murdering a law enforcement official in Mexico is off America’s streets," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an online statement. This heinous murderer attempted to evade justice by hiding out in Connecticut,” McLaughlin added. "These are the types of barbaric criminal illegal aliens our brave ICE law enforcement risks their lives every day to arrest." The statement noted Diaz-Cebada was arrested June 12 for aggravated homicide after he illegally entered the U.S. three times, DHS said. According to DHS, Mexican authorities said Diaz-Cebada is known by the nickname "El Leches" and is a member of the Los Pochos gang. The gang is known to traffic drugs for the Sinaloa Cartel.

New York Times [6/25/2025 5:08 PM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 138952K] reports the 50 students filed into a Bronx auditorium, chatting excitedly and snapping selfies while fixing the colorful sashes adorned with flags from 17 countries, forming a mosaic of nationalities: Dominican Republic, Honduras, Gambia, Senegal, Mali. The high school was thrust into the spotlight last month when one of its students, Dylan Lopez Contreras, was detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, making him the first public school student in the city to be arrested during President Trump’s second term. Federal agents arrested him when he showed up for a routine hearing at an immigration court in Manhattan on May 21, drawing outrage from school and city officials, with Mayor Eric Adams joining a legal effort seeking to get him released. They cast Mr. Lopez Contreras as one of many immigrants without criminal records who entered the country under Biden-era legal programs but were getting swept up in Mr. Trump’s immigration dragnet. His lawyers have said he came to the United States using a mobile app that allowed millions of immigrants to lawfully enter the country to claim asylum, but the Department of Homeland Security has claimed that he “illegally entered” the country. The agency moved to place him in an expedited deportation process without hearings.

New York Times [6/26/2025 3:25 AM, Tracey Tully and Mark Bonamo, 330K] reports Representative LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat accused of assaulting federal agents at a troubled migrant detention center in Newark, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday during a brief court appearance. The Justice Department charged Ms. McIver after a clash between lawmakers and immigration officers during the arrest of the city’s mayor outside the privately run detention center, which has become a flashpoint in President Trump’s deportation crackdown. Ms. McIver is one of a handful of politicians across the United States who have publicly opposed Mr. Trump’s immigration policies to be charged in clashes with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in recent weeks. “I’m not guilty, and we will fight this,” Ms. McIver told dozens of supporters gathered outside the federal courthouse. “We’re going to take this all the way through,” she added. “They know they’re wrong, and we’re going to prove them wrong because the facts are on our side.” Ms. McIver and two House colleagues were at the Newark facility, Delaney Hall, on May 9 for a congressional oversight visit. The city’s mayor, Ras J. Baraka, had argued that the 1,000-bed jailhouse had opened prematurely, without the required permits. (Mr. Baraka’s concerns took on new urgency several weeks later, after four detainees used bedsheets to escape through a hole in the wall after tension over food rations and crowding boiled over.) During Ms. McIver’s visit, masked agents, dressed in camouflage, came out from behind the facility’s gated perimeter to surround Mr. Baraka in an area swarming with protesters, according to video taken by immigrant rights activists, congressional aides and news reporters. That unleashed a chaotic onrush, during which Ms. McIver could be seen pushing toward Mr. Baraka, who was charged with trespassing, and being pushed from behind. After the clash, Ms. McIver, 39, was permitted back onto the private property and then given a tour of Delaney Hall. The facility is operated by one of the country’s largest private prison companies, GEO Group, which has a lucrative, 15-year contract with the Trump administration to house migrants facing deportation.

Reported similarly:
AP [6/25/2025 4:18 PM, Mike Catalini, 56000K]
Reuters [6/25/2025 6:11 PM, Andrew Goudsward, 51390K]
ABC News [6/25/2025 12:51 PM, Meredith Deliso, 31733K]
USA Today [6/25/2025 3:14 PM, Ricardo Kaulessar, 75552K]

CBS Pittsburgh [6/26/2025 12:06 AM, Jennifer Borrasso, 51860K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 14 people during an operation at a Mexican restaurant in Allegheny County on Wednesday, ICE officials said. A spokesperson for ICE told KDKA that 14 undocumented migrants were arrested for "immigration violations" during the operation at Tepache Mexican Kitchen and Bar in Marshall Township. Pictures obtained by KDKA show men and women with shackled hands and feet being walked out of the restaurant and placed into police vehicles. Jamie Martinez and other immigration advocates came to show support for those arrested on Wednesday. Martinez is the community defense organizer for Casa San José, a non-profit community resource center that advocates for Latinos. It provides social services, youth programming, health services and more to the Latino community in the Pittsburgh area. "As they were walked out, they would wave at us and tell us thank you for being there with tears streaming down their face in fear," Martinez said. "If it’s true that these people today are undocumented ... why does Casa San José feel they should be allowed to stay without documentation?" KDKA’s Jennifer Borrasso asked Martinez. "Every human being should be afforded dignity," he said. "Every human being has inherent dignity tied to them. What we are seeing right now, above all else, is violations of that dignity.” The ICE spokesperson said officers "conducted an [Homeland Security Investigation]-led worksite enforcement investigation where they executed a federal search warrant" at the restaurant. The spokesperson did not say what the agents were specifically searching for. The 14 people are now in ICE custody, the spokesperson said, but they did not say where the 14 people were taken. The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration assisted on Wednesday, the ICE spokesperson said.

NPR [6/25/2025 7:31 PM, Chamian Cruz, 37958K] Audio: HERE reports a Salvadoran journalist was arrested in Georgia while covering a protest. He ended up in ICE detention and is awaiting a deportation hearing.

NBC News [6/25/2025 5:02 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 44540K] reports freedom of the press and civil rights groups are rallying around a journalist who was put in immigration custody after being arrested while covering a protest in Atlanta, warning that his detention could chill press freedoms and put noncitizen journalists at risk. Mario Guevara, an independent digital journalist who reports in Spanish, has been held for a week after law enforcement officials turned him over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement. Guevara has authorization to live and work in the U.S., his attorney, Giovanni Diaz, told The Associated Press. Guevara also has an application pending with the Department of Homeland Security for legal permanent residency, sponsored by an adult son who is a U.S. citizen, the attorney said. Guevara was arrested June 14 while livestreaming a "No Kings" protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in the Embry Hills neighborhood near Atlanta. He was arrested and charged with three misdemeanors: improperly entering a roadway; obstruction of law enforcement officers; and unlawful assembly. But his bail proceedings were halted, and on June 18, he was turned over to ICE, which placed a detainer on him and put him in a detention center. Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary, said that Guevara was placed in removal proceedings because he entered the country illegally in 2004, not because he’s a journalist. She said DHS was urging people who came to the U.S. or have stayed without legal permission to "self-deport."

Univision [6/25/2025 5:32 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports for little Yomari Arreaga, nothing seems impossible: Born in Guatemala, suffering from autism, blindness, and an orphan, she crossed into the United States at just 7 years old, where she knew her only family was. There were people who cared for her along the way until federal authorities, through a phone number that the little girl had written down, contacted her relatives in the state of Georgia, achieving the reunion. Nearly three years later, her family is facing a reality they never imagined: ICE agents came looking for the girl, right at her front door. Yomari Arreaga is at risk of deportation. The officers reportedly said the girl’s petition had been revoked. They added that they were also seeking to arrest Floridalma Arreaga, Yomari’s aunt and guardian. Now, this little girl’s family is seeking help to pay for a lawyer who can represent her.

Federalist [6/25/2025 2:05 PM, Beth Brelje, 1142K] reports that first there was the "Maryland Dad," and now the "journalist." The propaganda press refuses to say "illegal alien" when describing people like Mario Guevara, detained for being in the U.S. without permission. Guevara — a Spanish-speaking activist-journalist who illegally entered the U.S. 21 years ago, according to the Department of Homeland Security — was arrested by the Doraville Police Department while livestreaming video of the June 14 "No Kings" rally near Atlanta, Georgia. Police body camera video shows he stood in the street briefly, shooting video while police were trying to clear the area of protesters. He attended the event wearing a helmet, a black vest printed with the word "Press," and a press pass lanyard hanging off his neck. Because of his immigration status, after local police finished with Guevara, they handed him over to ICE. While Guevara is a journalist, his work is unrelated to why he was detained, according to DHS. "Accusations that Mario Guevara was arrested by ICE because he is a journalist are completely FALSE. Mario Guevera was arrested by Dekalb County, Georgia police for willful obstruction after he refused to comply with local police orders to move out of the middle of the street," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Federalist in an emailed statement. "Following his arrest by local authorities, ICE placed a detainer on him. Following his release, he was turned over to ICE custody and has been placed in removal proceedings. This El Salvador national is in ICE custody because he entered the country illegally in 2004."

Blaze [6/25/2025 3:35 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1805K] reports on Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service Middle District of Florida stated that its two-week initiative, Operation Dragon Eye, had three key objectives: saving missing children, providing them with services, and deterring bad actors. The USMS announced that along with 20 federal, state, and local government agencies, the Tampa Bay area mission recovered 60 "critically missing" children, or "those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence." The operation also resulted in the arrest of eight individuals who are facing charges including human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference. Their bonds ranged from no bond to $250 million.

Univision [6/25/2025 2:51 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian citizen who was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), died on June 23, authorities said in a statement. The cause of his death is still under investigation. Noviello was being held at the Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Detention Center awaiting deportation proceedings when he was found unresponsive at 12:54 p.m. on June 23, according to an ICE statement. Noviello entered the United States on January 2, 1988, with a visa. He became a permanent resident on October 24, 1991. On October 12, 2023, he was convicted in Volusia County of racketeering, trafficking in oxycodone 7 to 14 grams, trafficking in illegal drugs 4 to 14 grams, trafficking in hydrocodone, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate the commission of a crime and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. On May 15, 2025, he was arrested by ICE, issued a summons to appear, and charged with deportation.

CBS Chicago [6/25/2025 10:36 AM, Todd Feurer, 51860K] Video: HERE reports federal workers are holding a rally on Wednesday to demand the end of ICE raids in federal workplaces in Chicago and across the U.S. At noon, unions representing federal government employees plan to fill Federal Plaza, accusing ICE agents of abusing their power and terrorizing workers. They said are bringing violence to federal property, both with arrests and as they respond to observers and protesters. Organizers said similar rallies are planned for Wednesday in New York and Seattle.

NewsNation [6/25/2025 5:59 AM, Julian Resendiz, 5801K] reports a federal official on Tuesday told a U.S. Senate committee the investigation into a cross-border tunnel found in El Paso on Jan. 9 has led to indictments. "That tunnel is under investigation. We’ve indicted two individuals on that tunnel so far," said Jason T. Stevens, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso. Stevens’ statement came in response to questioning about transnational criminal organizations activity by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Stevens did not volunteer details on the indictment or the ongoing investigation. Border Report reached out to his office in West Texas and to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further information on the indictments and is awaiting a response.

Univision [6/25/2025 9:32 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports a man was accused of impersonating an ICE agent and stopping a driver to steal money, police said. The incident occurred during the early morning hours of June 23, when police responded to a report of a vehicle theft in southwest Houston. A day later, on Tuesday the 24th, he was arrested during a traffic stop. His name is Guliano Christopher Thomson. The defendant faces criminal charges of impersonating a public servant and robbery by menacing, according to Harris County data. In addition, he has a $50,000 bond on each. Univision 45 requested reaction from ICE on the incident and the agency reported consequences that may even be at the federal level. "ICE strongly condemns impersonation of its officers or agents. This action is not only dangerous, but also illegal. Impostors can be charged with a variety of criminal offenses, both at the state, local and federal levels," the agency said. In the country, it is common to see ICE agents with their faces covered and in civilian clothes, but there might be a way to identify them. "Politely ask for the HSBD-12 ID, it is the official identification of the employees of the Department of Homeland Security. Some have the badge on their uniform, although it’s not required, it’s a metal badge with the DHS badge number stamp," said immigration attorney Raed Gonzalez. "If they don’t want to show you an ID after you ask for it, and if they immediately ask you for money or a gift card, you know the government is not going to do that.

Axios [6/25/2025 8:34 PM, Alayna Alvarez, 13599K] reports a Denver judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction blocking Colorado Gov. Jared Polis from ordering certain state employees to comply with an ICE subpoena for personal information about undocumented children and their sponsors. The ruling delivers a legal setback to Polis and a win for whistleblower Scott Moss, a top labor official in the governor’s administration, who sued to block the disclosures. The preliminary injunction applies only to Moss and the staff he oversees. It doesn’t stop Polis from ordering compliance from other state employees with access to the same records. Denver District Judge A. Bruce Jones called the ICE subpoena "overly broad," noted that it wasn’t issued by a court, and suggested it may serve purposes beyond what’s stated, including to help with deportation efforts. But the judge kept his ruling narrow: "I don’t have the information about what other division chiefs think" about complying with the subpoena, he said Wednesday. "Therefore I’m not comfortable going beyond what I’ve done here." Wednesday’s ruling reignites scrutiny over the Democratic governor’s decision to override state legislation he signed into law — which limits state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement in non-criminal matters. ICE’s administrative subpoena, issued in April, sought names, home addresses, wages and more for 35 Colorado-based sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant children. The purpose, it claimed, was ensuring minors released to sponsors were safe. Polis initially resisted complying but reversed course weeks later, ordering staff to turn over documents or risk "immediate discipline or termination," court records allege. Moss, along with the two labor unions and nonprofit that joined the lawsuit, argued Polis’ order violated Colorado law prohibiting state employees from sharing noncitizens’ personally identifiable information to federal immigration authorities. Polis’ lawyers argued the subpoena related to a criminal investigation into possible child trafficking and whether the children were properly cared for, not to immigration enforcement. They also maintain there has been no threat to Moss’ employment.

Breitbart.com [6/25/2025 5:16 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 3077K] reports the left-wing Denver city council voted unanimously to shutter its anti-theft aut0 license plate tracking system because ICE could use the data to deport illegals. In May, the council voted against renewing the $666,000 contract with Flock that was launched about a year ago. The camera system monitors the area around 70 Denver intersections and was set up to screen for car theft. The system, which reportedly scans 2 million cars per month, has already resulted in the recovery of 170 stolen cars and 300 arrests. The camera data has also helped the Denver Police Department (DPD) to investigate hit-and-runs and murder cases, according to the Denver Post. Despite the relative success of the system, the city council is worried that the data is available for use by a large number of law enforcement agencies — not just the DPD. They fear that the data will be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track illegals and to apprehend and deport them.

Los Angeles Times [6/25/2025 3:49 PM, Andrea Castillo, 14672K] reports between June 6 and June 22, immigration enforcement teams arrested 1,618 immigrants for deportation in Los Angeles and surrounding regions of Southern California, according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS did not respond to requests for information on how many of those arrested had criminal histories and a breakdown of those convictions. As immigration arrests have occurred across Southern California, demonstrators have protested the federal government’s actions and bystanders have sometimes confronted immigration officers or videotaped their actions. Between June 6 and June 22, 787 people have been arrested for assault, obstruction and unlawful assembly, a DHS spokesperson said. Figures about the Los Angeles operation released by the White House on June 11 indicated that about one third of those arrested up until that point had prior criminal convictions. Data from the first days of the Los Angeles enforcement operation show that a majority of those arrested had never been charged with or convicted of a crime. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Monday that 75% of nationwide arrests under the Trump administration have been of immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges. But data published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement show that figure is lower in recent weeks.

Los Angeles Times [6/25/2025 8:10 PM, James Queally, 14672K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested two women on Tuesday outside a West L.A. courthouse after a hearing in a local criminal case, marking the first instance in recent weeks of the Trump administration using a tactic that has drawn condemnation from the legal community. Adriana Bernal, 37, was detained by ICE agents after appearing in the Airport Courthouse on La Cienega Boulevard late Tuesday morning, according to Jennifer Cheng, public information officer for the L.A. County Alternate Public Defender’s Office. Video from the scene shows law enforcement agents, most in all-black clothing, leading a woman toward a black truck outside the courthouse with tinted windows as one onlooker screams, "Oh my god, oh my god," repeatedly. The agents had previously been waiting in the third floor courtroom where Bernal and two other defendants were scheduled to appear, according to Cheng. "Our client walked out of the courtroom and was followed by these individuals. Once our client was outside the building, these individuals (who were not in any uniform), handcuffed her, put her into dark a colored SUV and drove away," Cheng said in an email to The Times. "We were absolutely blindsided by what happened. These purported ICE agents detained our client without notice or explanation. We received no advance communication, no opportunity to advise our client, and no information.” Advocates, defense attorneys and even some prosecutors have long sounded the alarm about the problems that could arise from ICE using state criminal courts as staging grounds for federal immigration enforcement. When ICE engaged in similar behavior across California, Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado in 2017, during Trump’s first term in office, prosecutors in some states reported having to drop cases because undocumented immigrants would no longer serve as witnesses. L.A. County’s Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II said the courts did not receive advance notice of the arrest operation and confirmed ICE had not taken enforcement actions inside county courthouses yet this year. "Federal immigration enforcement activities inside courthouses disrupt court operations, breach public trust, and compromise the Court’s constitutional role as a neutral venue for the peaceful resolution of disputes," Tapia said in a statement. "These actions create a chilling effect, silencing victims, deterring witnesses, discouraging community members from seeking protection and deterring parties from being held accountable for their crimes or participating in legal proceedings critical to the rule of law.”

ABC News [6/25/2025 3:48 PM, Alex Stone, 31733K] reports when Los Angeles Police Department officers went racing toward a potential kidnapping call downtown this week, callers indicated a true kidnapping was underway, according to police. Police say the caller stated that several individuals were involved, but did not identify anyone. Officers and an LAPD supervisor say they arrived on scene to find an agitated crowd as federal agents were taking part in an immigration enforcement arrest, which have been increasingly common in Los Angeles as the Trump administration has surged resources to the city in recent weeks. LAPD traffic officers who responded and investigated the case as a hit and run, did not at first know it had been a federal immigration arrest. In Tuesday’s potential kidnapping call, the LAPD says they found a woman partially handcuffed who moved toward officers and stood next to an LAPD patrol SUV. Police say that is when a federal agent approached and apprehended her. The LAPD says it was not involved in her detention or arrest. But officers moved onlookers out of the roadway and, like this month’s protests, were tasked with clearing the street and maintaining order and public safety. But community activists allege local police enabled the detention. The LAPD said it did not take part in the federal operation and will "not participate in or assist with civil immigration enforcement," according to a police statement. Rather, the LAPD said its officers remained on scene to "de-escalate tensions, move pedestrians out of the roadway, and allow emergency vehicles safe passage."

Los Angeles Times [6/25/2025 6:13 PM, Summer Lin, 14672K] reports immigrant rights activists are denouncing the Los Angeles Police Department after officers were videotaped separating an angry crowd from a group of masked federal agents as they loaded a woman into the back of an SUV. The video, which was shared with ABC7, has inflamed tensions between L.A.’s Latino community and the LAPD and comes amid increasingly aggressive federal immigration sweeps across Southern California. The department has issued a statement insisting that it was not cooperating with federal authorities. Instead, the officers were responding to reports of a kidnapping in downtown Tuesday, when they stumbled upon federal immigration agents conducting a raid before an "agitated" crowd. The officers took a position between spectators and immigration agents in attempt to "de-escalate tensions," the release said. But immigrant rights groups, including Unión del Barrio and the Community Self-Defense Coalition, have pushed back on the notion that the city and the LAPD are not helping federal authorities. They say police were there to hold the crowd back as ICE agents detained people.

Univision [6/25/2025 2:42 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports where is Andrea Vélez? is the question her family is asking after the young American woman was detained during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation downtown. According to testimonies collected by the Unión del Barrio organization, Andrea, a 32-year-old shoe designer, was detained by hooded, unidentified men seconds after her mother dropped her off in front of her workplace. In a statement, the LAPD confirmed that it responded to an emergency call for a possible kidnapping and responded to the scene to contain the chaos, but it distanced itself from the arrest and denied any knowledge of Andrea’s whereabouts. However, the family has not yet received a formal explanation nor does it know exactly what Andrea is accused of. The only thing they have been told, through lawyers, is that she could face criminal charges, although what charges have not been specified. Andrea’s family is asking for help finding her, as she remains incommunicado. So far, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE have not issued official statements regarding the incident.

NBC News [6/25/2025 9:44 PM, Alicia Victoria Lozano, 44540K] reports Iranian asylum-seekers who fled the Islamic Republic in hopes of resettling in Los Angeles have been arrested recently by immigration officials despite having what lawyers and advocates consider credible-fear cases pending in court. The detentions follow a pattern developing throughout the country of targeting Iranians as tensions continue between the Trump administration and Iran. Many of the asylum-seekers are Christians who fled Iran and its intolerant views toward non-Muslim religions. There are 4 million Iranian exiles worldwide, just under a third of them in the United States, according to Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry statistics from 2021. The sudden detentions have prompted some Iranians to go on hunger strikes in custody and triggered at least one medical emergency during an attempted arrest. On Tuesday, an Iranian woman experienced a severe panic attack after she witnessed her husband’s arrest near an area known as "Tehrangeles" because of its large Iranian population. The woman called her pastor, Ara Torosian, to help intervene, but he could do little as he watched her panic attack escalate into convulsions. The couple’s lawyer asked that the woman and her husband remain anonymous for privacy reasons. In a video recorded by Torosian and shared widely on social media, the woman lay on the ground spasming while masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hovered over her. Torosian can be heard pleading with them to administer medical aid. He can also be heard asking whether they know about the situation in Iran and why Christian Iranians fear returning to their native country. According to Torosian, the woman and her husband are members of his church and entered the United States last year under CBP One, the mobile app the Biden administration launched to streamline the asylum-seeking process. President Donald Trump ended the program shortly after he returned to office. The woman was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where ICE agents were met by immigrant advocates and detention protesters. Torosian said that he was not allowed into her hospital room and that immigration officials gruffly brushed away a nurse who tried to intercede on his behalf.

CBS Los Angeles [6/26/2025 12:55 AM, Nicole Comstock, 51860K] reports the 20-year-old Walmart employee accused of conspiracy to impede a federal investigation in Pico Rivera last week shared his side of the violent encounter with immigration agents that was caught on video and sparked protests. Now wearing a brace on his leg, Adrian Andrew Martinez said he’s still bruised and in pain nine days after federal agents threw him to the ground and arrested him. "They didn’t read me my Miranda rights," Martinez said. "They did nothing. They just basically kidnapped me, is what it seemed.” A cell phone video of the encounter shows Martinez, wearing a blue Walmart vest, appearing to talk to the Customs and Border Patrol agents before authorities wrestled the 20-year-old to the ground. Martinez said he approached the agents after he saw them use what he called unnecessary force to apprehend an elderly Latino janitor in the Walmart parking lot. "I was just speaking, like telling them that’s wrong, what you’re doing is not right," Martinez said. "They took it the wrong way and threw me to the floor, and from then a man grabs me by my neck and throws me into a trash can thing.” Martinez was arrested and held in downtown L.A. for three days. "They didn’t treat him like a human being," his mom Mayra Villarreal said. "When they took him, they didn’t give him clothes. The inmates were being nicer to him than the people working there.” Before being released last Friday, Martinez said authorities tried to get him to admit to hitting an agent. "They were just trying to get me to admit the whole time," Martinez said. "In reality, no, I didn’t. I was just speaking up for a man. They’re the ones that came at me with violence.”

CBS News [6/25/2025 9:08 PM, Nidia Cavazos, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 51860K] reports that, outside the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, a 26-year-old man stood waiting, hoping to deliver blood pressure medicine to his father, who was detained last Thursday by federal immigration officials. The man, who asked that CBS News not use his name, said his father, Rafael Hurtado, needs to take the medication daily to control his blood pressure. The staff turned Hurtado’s son away, but asked him to leave the pills behind. "My dad told me it’s horrible inside and they’ve kept him standing," he said, adding his father managed to make his first phone call on Sunday. "They’re not feeding him and there are no blankets inside.” Hurtado was taken into custody while he was working — picking up trash. His son says he doesn’t have a criminal record or a removal order. Hurtado is a Mexican national and a father of three children, all U.S. citizens, including one with special medical needs. "My dad suffers from high blood pressure and we haven’t heard from him since Sunday," Hurtado’s son said. "I only had a few seconds to speak with him on the phone before the call was cut off so I’ve been coming every day to see if I can get any news of him.” Longtime food vendor and community activist Emma De Paz, 58, is also being held here. She was detained last week when federal officers conducted an operation at a Home Depot in Hollywood where De Paz was selling carne asada. According to her family, De Paz was recently diagnosed with Hepatitis B and needs daily medication to treat her high blood pressure. She was transferred to White Memorial Hospital during her detention to undergo care. Immigration lawyers in L.A. tell CBS News, they’ve been receiving more and more calls about medical needs that aren’t being addressed at the Metropolitan Detention Center. One lawyer, who chose not to identify herself because she has clients inside the detention center, said there are reports of "inhumane" conditions — food shortages, cramped confinement, freezing temperatures and environments that are a "ticking-time bomb.” "There is limited and very erratic access to food," Kristen Hunsberger, an attorney with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told CBS News during a phone interview. "I spoke with one individual detained in downtown Los Angeles who reported being woken up at 2 a.m. or 4 a.m., was given food, and they wouldn’t have their next meal until 14 hours later.” Hunsberger described similar conditions at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Adelanto, California, where some migrants detained in the latest rounds of raids have been transferred. Government data obtained by CBS News reveals ICE is holding around 59,000 detainees in facilities across the country. On Monday, ICE detention levels reached over 140% capacity, since Congress last allocated 41,500 detainee beds for the agency. In a statement earlier this week, ICE said its effort to target a "massive backlog of illegal criminal aliens and public safety threats from the United States" has led to "a significant number of arrests, requiring greater detention capacity.” "ICE is implementing various options to meet its current and future detention needs, but more space for apprehended illegal aliens is needed as they await deportation," ICE added, noting the "One Big Beautiful Bill" backed by the president would fund 100,000 more detention beds.

CNN [6/25/2025 12:50 PM, Priscilla Alvarez, 21433K] reports the Trump administration is planning to dismiss asylum claims for potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants in the United States and then make them immediately deportable as part of the president’s sweeping immigration crackdown, according to two sources familiar with the matter. It marks the latest in a series of moves by the administration to bar migrants from receiving protections in the US. As federal authorities come under pressure to deliver historic immigration arrest numbers, administration officials have quietly been working on efforts to make more people eligible for removal. The people being targeted in this case are those who entered the US unlawfully and later applied for asylum, the sources said. Their cases are expected to be closed, therefore leaving them at risk of deportation. It could affect hundreds of thousands of asylum applicants. USCIS — which falls under the Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for managing federal immigration benefits — has also been delegated the authority by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to place those individuals in fast-track deportation proceedings as well as "take additional actions to enforce civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws," according to a memo obtained by CNN. That marks an unprecedented departure from decades-long protocol for USCIS. In a statement to CNN, USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said the agency had "nothing to announce at this time." "USCIS’ top priority remains the screening and vetting of all aliens seeking to come, live, or work in the United States. President Trump and Secretary Noem have given USCIS the ability to use all tools in our toolbox to ensure that the integrity of the immigration system is upheld, fraud is uncovered and expeditiously addressed, and illegal aliens are removed from the country," he added.

(B) CNN News Central [6/25/2025 2:35 PM, Staff] reports that the Department of Homeland Security is planning to dismiss potentially hundreds of thousands of asylum claims, making the migrants who filed them immediately deportable. The move is part of a new immigration plan aimed at speeding up deportations. This is specifically targeting people who cross the US-Mexico border unlawfully. About 25% asylum seekers have reported that they did cross the border unlawfully. Of those who applied for asylum over the last several years would be about a quarter of a million people. There are about 1.4 million pending asylum applications. Another move that the administration has done as part of this broader plan is to delegate authority to US Citizenship and Immigration Services to order expedited removal.

Breitbart [6/25/2025 4:49 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports President Donald Trump is overseeing a record percentage of rejected migrant asylum claims, data published by Austin Kocher of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University reveals. Kocher, who published the data via his Substack, found that in April of this year, federal immigration judges adjudicated a record 11,535 asylum cases for migrants and denied asylum in a record almost 80 percent of such cases. Trump, in addition to what Kocher describes as an "Asylum Denial Machine," is winding down Biden’s mass migration programs — including a parole pipeline that imported more than 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Similarly, the Supreme Court recently gave Trump the green light to end Biden’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Venezuelan nationals in the United States who would otherwise be considered deportable aliens.

The Hill [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Brett Samuels, 18649K] reports mixed messaging and the risk of overreach is threatening to undercut President Trump on what has so far been arguably his strongest political issue: immigration. Trump has delighted his supporters in the first five months of his second term, aggressively following through on his pledge to ramp up deportations, crack down on border crossings and empower federal agents working in immigration enforcement. "I think there’s more of a sense of urgency," Ira Mehlman, media director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told The Hill. "Ironically, they’ve benefited from four years of the Biden administration," Mehlman said. "The American public got a taste of what open borders is like and didn’t like it very much. This time, [Trump] came in with public sentiment being ‘hey, this is crazy and we need to do something about it.’". But Trump has in recent weeks hit some hiccups in messaging. The president and the administration have offered conflicting messages about whether farmers and those in the hospitality industry will receive some kind of special treatment or exemption from broader deportation efforts. Trump earlier in the month acknowledged concerns among the agriculture and hospitality industries that aggressive immigration enforcement was taking away workers key to those businesses, leading to a pause in enforcement at farms, hotels and other locations. But within days, it appeared the administration seemed to reverse course. Border czar Tom Homan told reporters the administration would "continue to do worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis." Trump last Friday further muddied the picture when he again suggested he was looking into a way to help farmers.

The Hill [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Amalia Huot-Marchand, 18649K] reports the Trump administration is shattering norms around the handling of Americans’ personal, and sometimes private, information — dismantling barriers around data in the name of government efficiency and rooting out fraud. Privacy experts say the moves bring the country closer to a surveillance state, increase the government’s vulnerability to cyber-attacks and risk pushing people away from public services. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sought — and almost always received — access to social security numbers, addresses, medical histories, tax histories, welfare benefits, bank accounts, immigration statuses and federal employee databases. These moves have shattered walls that have long kept data within the agencies that collect it. John Ackerly, a former technology policy adviser under former President George W. Bush and founder of data security firm Virtru, said government agencies need to strike a balance in handling data. "Foundationally, more information being shared more widely can provide greater insight," he said. "Bureaucracy shuts down access to information," he added. "But that does not mean that there should be unfettered access."

Reuters [6/25/2025 6:00 PM, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, 51390K] reports the Pentagon will create two new military zones along the border with Mexico, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a move that allows troops to temporarily detain migrants or trespassers. A new "National Defense Area" will be created covering about 250 miles (402 km) of the Rio Grande river in Texas and administered as a part of Joint Base San Antonio, according to the Air Force. The U.S. officials said the other military zone would be administered as a part of Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events such as civil disorder. As legal deterrents to border crossers, the zones have had mixed results. Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in the areas on grounds they did not know they were in a restricted military zone. However, some 120 migrants pleaded guilty to trespassing in the first Texas zone in May and federal prosecutors obtained their first two trespassing convictions for the New Mexico zone on June 18, according to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the two states. CNN [6/25/2025 1:28 PM, Haley Britzky, 21433K] reports that the zones, which are known as National Defense Areas, will be attached to Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, and Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, the officials said. The NDA around Joint Base San Antonio will include roughly 250 miles of the Rio Grande River, two of the officials added. The NDA near MCAS Yuma will extend over 100 miles along the border, the third official said. The new zones will bring the total count up to four, after the establishment of the Texas National Defense Area attached to Fort Bliss, Texas, in May, and the New Mexico National Defense Area attached to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in April. "The establishment of a second National Defense Area increases our operational reach and effectiveness in denying illegal activity along the southern border," US Northern Command commander Gen. Gregory Guillot said after the establishment of the Texas National Defense Area. "This is the second area in which Joint Task Force – Southern Border service members who are already detecting and monitoring through stationary positions and mobile patrols nearby can now temporarily detain trespassers until they are transferred to an appropriate law enforcement entity.” US troops are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activities by the Posse Comitatus Act. But the defense areas are treated as extensions of military installations, allowing service members to temporarily detain migrants who are trespassing before handing them off to law enforcement, conduct cursory searches of trespassers, and conduct crowd-control measures. Democratic lawmakers have criticized the defense areas as a way to side-step the act. Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senates Armed Services Committee, said last month that the NDAs "evade the long-standing protections of the Posse Comitatus Act by allowing military forces to act as de facto border police, detaining migrants until they can be transferred to Customs and Border Protection.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [6/25/2025 3:31 PM, Eric Schmitt, 138952K]

NewsNation [6/25/2025 9:33 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 5801K] reports June isn’t yet over, but the Department of Homeland Security is already predicting a huge decrease in migrants this month over last of those trying to illegally cross the Southwest border. Usually DHS releases encounter numbers mid-month for the previous month, but in a sign that the Trump administration is very excited over this month’s numbers, they have released them before the month is even finished. DHS officials said that from June 1 through Sunday there have been 5,414 apprehensions on the Southwest border – that’s down 43% from 9,577 arrests by border agents in May. The number of migrants who crossed illegally and evaded arrest also has dropped by half DHS says, to 986 so far this month, down from 2,123 in May. Total apprehensions since Feb. 1 through June 22 by border agents has been 37,518, down 93% from almost 600,000 during that same time frame in 2024 under the Biden administration, DHS says. DHS says the number of so-called gotaways has plummeted since February, reporting there were 11,867 between Feb. 1 and June 22 compared to over 94,007 during the same time in 2024. "Secretary Noem is delivering on President Trump’s promise to secure the border by removing murders, pedophiles, and drug traffickers from Los Angeles," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Tuesday. "The world is hearing our message: If you come here illegally, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you. We will not be deterred by the rioters and politicians in our mission to secure America and its border. Migrants are turning back because they know the reality is they will ultimately leave in handcuffs," she said. "President Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and this administration have done critical work to secure our southern border," Cornyn said in an email to constituents. "But there is still more to do on our end in Congress.”

Reported similarly:
Border Report [6/25/2025 9:32 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 25K] Video: HERE

USA Today [6/25/2025 6:01 AM, Lauren Villagran, 75552K] reports the federal agency tasked with intercepting illegal drugs at the border botched the rollout of technology designed to do just that, according to a federal watchdog. Investigators say U.S. Customs and Border Protection potentially wasted millions in taxpayer funds, missed drugs smuggled into the country and lost an important tool to fight the fentanyl epidemic, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General said in a new report. The mishandling of the program between 2020 and 2024 spanned both the first Trump and Biden administrations. Faced at the time with a national crisis of fentanyl overdoses, Congress appropriated $570 million in fiscal 2019 for CBP to purchase and install "non-intrusive inspection technology" at land ports of entry. Known as "NII" for short, the technology uses X rays or gamma rays to spot suspicious items hidden in passenger vehicles at the U.S.-Mexico border; in railcars or cargo containers; and in luggage and packages.

FOX News [6/25/2025 6:06 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego is introducing legislation on Wednesday that would end the polygraph test requirement for some applicants to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The exception would apply to those who are veterans and currently serve in the military, as well as current and former law enforcement officials, as they often already take polygraph tests before being hired. Similar legislation was introduced in the House before, including by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, during the border crisis in 2023 and in 2019. Gallego’s decision to bring back the idea, which amends the Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010, comes amid concerns that a high number of retirements could hinder the agency, as well as the current CBP hiring process being 11 steps. Specifically, the bill would make sure that a law enforcement officer or servicemember is or was not under an investigation or has a background with criminal offenses or professional misconduct.

FOX News [6/25/2025 7:14 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports National Border Patrol Council VP Art Del Cueto joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss his reaction to the surge in arrests of illegal Iranians inside the U.S. since airstrikes on three nuclear sites. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [6/25/2025 5:56 PM, Zach Montague, 138952K] reports a federal judge in Texas granted a temporary reprieve to two small money services operations that had argued that a new Trump administration policy intended to ensnare drug traffickers was instead driving them out of business. The ruling, handed down late Tuesday, marked the third time a court had rejected a new Treasury Department rule that calls for increased scrutiny of financial service businesses along the southern border, which are already highly regulated. The government in March required businesses in certain ZIP codes in Texas and California to report any transaction larger than $200, along with personal identifying information about the customer. For decades, the government’s reporting threshold for transactions had been set at $10,000. In a brief order, Judge Leon Schydlower of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas wrote that drug traffickers could simply go outside the targeted areas to make the policy “completely toothless.” “Innocent businesses can be profoundly disadvantaged if they are located on the ‘wrong’ side of an El Paso street, and thus within a covered ZIP code, vis-à-vis their competitors across the street in an uncovered ZIP code,” he wrote. Businesses in both states caught up in the policy change were quick to sue. And so far, federal judges have expressed strong skepticism that the lower reporting threshold would achieve the goal of gathering evidence of money laundering by Mexican cartels, or indeed that Mexican cartels are using small businesses to move illicit profits at all. They have sided with the small business owners who said that new reporting requirements were driving away customers and drowning their tiny staffs in paperwork. In California, the judge barred the government from enforcing the policy throughout the state’s southern district, exempting all the affected businesses in San Diego and Imperial County. But judges in Texas have been reluctant to extend relief to all businesses in the nearly 20 ZIP codes targeted by the Trump administration. That forced the owners of the two businesses involved in the case on Tuesday to file a new lawsuit in June, even though both had testified as witnesses in support of the companies that challenged the policy months earlier.

USA Today [6/26/2025 1:09 AM, Thao Nguyen, 75552K] reports a federal grand jury in Boston indicted Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born Harvard scientist, in connection with attempting to smuggle clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples into the United States. Petrova, 31, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 25 on one count of concealment of a material fact, one count of false statement, and one count of smuggling goods into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. She was previously only charged with smuggling in May. U.S. Customs and Border Protection canceled Petrova’s visa in February after she failed to declare scientific samples when she returned to Boston from France. CBP agents then turned her over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the intent of deporting her back to Russia, where she had fled after protesting Russia’s war in Ukraine. The researcher’s attorneys argue that CBP’s actions were "arbitrary and capricious" and her detention illegal. Petrova, who was held in custody for nearly four months before her release earlier this month, pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charge and has sued the Trump administration for wrongfully detaining her. The two new charges come after Petrova’s lawyers urged a federal judge last week to dismiss the initial criminal complaint, Reuters reported. Prosecutors secured the indictment after Magistrate Judge Judith Dein ordered Petrova’s pre-trial release at a June 12 hearing in Boston. If convicted of the smuggling charge, Petrova faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. She also faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the charges of concealment of material fact and false statements. On February 16, Petrova arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston on a flight from Paris, according to charging documents. She was then stopped by CBP agents after a law enforcement canine allegedly alerted its handler to her checked duffle bag, which was flagged for inspection. "Per protocol, the bag was removed from the carousel and brought to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening," the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. "There, an officer inspected the contents of the bag and allegedly discovered undeclared biological items, including a foam box containing clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, as well as embryonic samples in paraffin well stages and on mounted dyed slides.”

USA Today [6/25/2025 6:25 PM, Eve Chen, 75552K] reports a Norwegian tourist claims he was denied entry to the U.S. after authorities searched his phone at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport and spotted a meme of Vice President JD Vance and photo of a pipe. The accusation drew global attention after being first reported by Norwegian news outlet Nordlys. However, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and its umbrella Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are refuting it. “FACT CHECK. Claims that Mads Mikkelsen was denied entry because of a meme are unequivocally FALSE,” Homeland Security posted on Facebook. “TRUTH: Mikkelsen was refused entry into the U.S. for his admitted drug use. Only those who respect our laws and follow our rules will be welcomed into our country.” “Political reasons” were not to blame either, CBP said on X, formerly Twitter. "Claims that Mads Mikkelsen was denied entry because of a JD Vance meme are FALSE,” Department of Home Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Mikkelsen was refused entry into the U.S. for his admitted drug use.”

CBS News [6/25/2025 5:19 PM, Scott MacFarlane, 51860K] reports an international traveler was arrested after allegedly "maliciously" assaulting a police K9 at Dulles International Airport, kicking it so hard it went airborne, according to a federal air marshal. According to an affidavit, Hamed Aly Marie allegedly attacked the Customs and Border Protection K9, named Freddy, as it was helping screen luggage Tuesday at a baggage claim area where EgyptAir flight 981 luggage was being deposited after arriving at the Washington, D.C., area airport. Freddy, a beagle "trained to find illicit agricultural contraband," was helping with screening in the baggage claim area when he "alerted to a piece of luggage" and tried to inspect it further, the affidavit said. Marie, the owner of the luggage, came over to the dog and an agent and started talking to the agent, according to the affidavit. Marie was arrested Wednesday and is charged in a U.S. District Court in Virginia with willfully and maliciously harming a police animal. No plea had been entered in the case as of Wednesday evening, nor is there a listed defense attorney.

Washington Examiner [6/25/2025 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) legislation to force the federal government to make public the number of illegal immigrants from "special interest" countries arrested at U.S. borders will be voted on Wednesday evening in the House. The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to release statistics monthly on the number of illegal immigrants from certain countries that pose national security threats to the United States, as well as the area of the border where they were apprehended. Greene introduced the bill in January as the yearslong border crisis that erupted during the Biden administration was coming to an end. Under former President Joe Biden, more than 10 million illegal immigrants were arrested by Border Patrol agents after attempting to enter the U.S., the majority of whom were released into the country without adequate vetting.

DailySignal.com [6/25/2025 3:50 PM, Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, 558K] reports when Martin Wall and his wife bought a ranch in Eagle Pass, Texas, in 2021, they had no idea they’d spend the next four years defending their property from the Biden administration’s illegal immigration crisis. Wall achieved his dream of purchasing a ranch and raising his children there. But the day now-former President Joe Biden came into office, it was like he "turned on" the flow of illegal immigrants, Wall said in a video produced by American Border Story, a conservative nonprofit highlighting the human impact of the border crisis. The video comes as Biden’s successor, Donald Trump, continues to push for passage of the big, beautiful bill, which would provide full funding for the president’s border security agenda. American Border Story released the Wall family’s story to show the impact of policies employed by the Biden administration between January 2021 and January 2025, and the difference a secure border can make.

San Francisco Chronicle [6/25/2025 7:00 AM, Sophia Bollag, 4120K] reports nearly a third of the California National Guard troops who had been doing drug enforcement work have been pulled away as part of President Donald Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles, according to data from CalGuard. Of the 447 National Guard members on the Counterdrug Task Force, 142 have been pulled off of the assignment as part of the Los Angeles deployment, according to CalGuard. "This is a huge hit to the invaluable work they do on drug interdiction at ports of entry along the border and statewide," said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom has argued that the deployment was unnecessary and diverted National Guard troops from important firefighting and drug enforcement work. Newsom has been fighting in court to regain control of the National Guard troops, who are normally under his command. That litigation is ongoing, and federal appeals court judges have so far allowed Trump to retain control of the troops while the case proceeds. The president’s deployment has drawn widespread criticism from Democrats. Less than 20% of the nearly 5,000 National Guard and Marine troops deployed to Los Angeles were actually on the ground in the city last week, the Chronicle previously reported. A former National Guard commander said that rate was very low and made him skeptical that pulling more than 4,000 troops from their other jobs was necessary.

NewsNation [6/25/2025 4:54 PM, Steph Whiteside, 5801K] reports the U.S. Border Patrol said on X that it was not turning over a person who had an active warrant in California because of the state’s sanctuary policies. Border Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino indicated in the post that the unidentified man had overstayed a visa. According to the post, the man is being deported back to his home country.

FOX News [6/25/2025 10:00 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports with summer travel in full swing and July 4th just up ahead, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced another record-breaking day of flying already achieved. Agents screened nearly 3.1 million travelers this past Sunday, marking the busiest day nationwide in TSA’s history, according to a press release. Sunday, June 22, also set a record at Chicago O’Hare International Airport for the most people screened on a single day. The TSA screened some 114,000 individuals that day, it said. "On our busiest days, our officers remain laser-focused on delivering a safe and efficient screening experience to all passengers traveling through our airports," said Jim Spriggs, federal security director for TSA Illinois. Spriggs added, "We appreciate those who arrive at the checkpoint prepared with REAL ID or another acceptable form of ID, and with no prohibited items in their carry-on bags." The announcement comes as TSA has released its prediction for Fourth of July travel, expecting over 18.5 million Americans to take to the skies on Independence Day. TSA’s prediction includes the Tuesday leading up to the holiday and the Monday following it. It is expected that the highest travel volume will be on Sunday with 2.9 flyers.

Houston Chronicle [6/25/2025 7:00 AM, Ralph Green, 1982K] reports roads and airports in Houston and across the U.S. will see record-breaking traffic for Fourth of July week, with 72.2 million people expected to travel domestically, according to a recent AAA report. This projection represents an increase of 1.7 million travelers compared to the same week, June 28 to July 6, last year, and 7 million more than in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, AAA reported. Cruises are becoming even more popular, and AAA says Texans are lucky to live near 4th busiest port. The Transportation Security Administration also reported that Juneteenth weekend brought the single busiest day in TSA history, with around 3.1 million people traveling on Sunday, June 22. During the Independence Day holiday, AAA projects 61.6 million people will travel by car, a 2.2% increase over last year. AAA projects record-setting air travel numbers with 5.84 million people, 1.4% more than last year, traveling by plane. TSA projects 18.5 million travelers are expected to come through TSA security checkpoints from Tuesday, July 1, through Monday, July 7. The highest passenger volume, with around 2.9 million travelers, is projected on Sunday, July 6.

(B) NBC News Daily [6/25/2025 3:15 PM, Staff] reports that a busy summer travel season kicked off. TSA announced they saw their busiest day ever this past Sunday with nearly 3.1 million travelers passing through America’s airports. The agency is bracing for a staggering holiday surge. It expects roughly 18.5 million passengers to fly around the Fourth of July. The busiest day is predicted to be July 6. The vast majority of those traveling for the holiday will be hitting the roads, whether leaving for the airport or another destination.

FOX News [6/25/2025 4:35 PM, Ashley J. DiMella, 46878K] reports the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) entered a socia media debate this week by clarifying that the Waffle House IDs possessed by some customers of the popular restaurant will "not suffice" as personal identification for travel. A flight passenger posted a photo on X of his yellow Waffle House ID with the caption, "TSA might want REAL ID, but I have the realest ID." The post garnered some 2.1 million views, with thousands of reposts and likes. TSA responded to the social post by saying the ID does not comply with federal rules and will not be accepted at security check points. "Respectfully, no … Waffle House IDs will not suffice as a REAL ID alternative (sorry)," TSA responded on X.

CBS Chicago [6/25/2025 6:37 PM, Suzanne Le Mignot, 51860K] Video: HERE reports two security breaches at O’Hare International Airport have raised serious questions about runway safety. In May, a DoorDash driver entered the restricted area at O’Hare and ended up just a few feet away from a United Airlines plane on the tarmac. Now, the Chicago Department of Aviation has confirmed that another incident took place within 10 days of the first — and a second investigation is now under way. On May 27, sources said a Chicago Department of Aviation security officer was assigned to a perimeter checkpoint at O’Hare with direct airfield access — and allowed dozens of drivers to enter without swiping their ID to make sure they had a valid credential. "If you’re coming through a secure checkpoint that’s leading to a secure area, each vehicle needs to be inspected, drivers need to be identified — and they have to be allowed through based on their secure access," said Thomas Herion. Herion, now the chief of police in west suburban Lyons, was an assistant commissioner at the Chicago Department of Aviation Security Division for nearly a decade — from 2009 to 2019. "If you’re not stopping those vehicles, and those vehicles are allowed to access without any type of screening, you have no idea who is in the vehicle, and you have no idea what’s in the vehicle," Herion said. Herion emphasized the potential dangers of a security breach. "Well, we’re, you know, we’re in a situation of heightened — and O’Hare Airport is always a concern, because it’s always target like any large airport is," Herion said. The Chicago Department of Aviation issued a statement saying: "The CDA is aware of the May 27 incident involving a CDA security officer and has referred the matter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for investigation.”

CBS News [6/25/2025 10:47 PM, Joe Walsh, 51860K] reports Rep. Kat Cammack said late Wednesday her offices were evacuated due to "imminent death threats" against her and her family. The Florida Republican said on X the threats began after a recent Wall Street Journal story about her experience with an ectopic pregnancy last year. She told the paper that emergency room doctors were hesitant to treat the life-threatening complication because they were worried about running afoul of Florida’s strict six-week abortion ban — an incident she blamed on "fearmongering" by opponents of the state law. "Since then, we’ve [received] thousands of hate-filled messages and dozens of credible threats from pro-abortion activists, which law enforcement is actively investigating," Cammack wrote in her post, which also included screenshots of several social media comments. Cammack added on X, "To those spreading misinformation: I did not vote for Florida’s heartbeat law; I serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, not the Florida Legislature.” Cammack’s post did not specify which congressional offices were evacuated. CBS News has reached out to her office and the U.S. Capitol Police for more details. Concerns about medical treatment for pregnancy complications — including ectopic pregnancies — have spiked since 2022, when the reversal of Roe v. Wade led dozens of states to ban or heavily restrict abortion. State-level abortion bans generally allow for exceptions when a mother’s life is at risk. And officials in Florida and other states say terminating an ectopic pregnancy — a condition in which an embryo implants outside the uterus — is not considered an abortion. But critics argue confusion about those exceptions has put patients at risk, as medical providers may be wary of taking action that could later be found to violate their state’s abortion ban. Florida state regulators issued a notice last year that said "abortion is permissible at any stage of pregnancy in Florida to save the life and health of the mother," including for women with ectopic pregnancies. Meanwhile, threats against members of Congress, judges, prosecutors and other public officials have grown in recent years, federal law enforcement agencies say. The Capitol Police said it investigated 9,474 "concerning statements and direct threats" last year against lawmakers, their families and their staff.

CBS News [6/25/2025 7:26 AM, Staff, 51860K] reports a cargo ship that had been delivering new vehicles to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean, weeks after crew members abandoned ship when they couldn’t extinguish an onboard fire that left the carrier dead in the water. The Morning Midas sank Monday in international water off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain, the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement. "There is no visible pollution," said Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson. "Right now we also have vessels on scene to respond to any pollution." The Coast Guard said that the vessel reportedly had 350 metric tons of marine gas oil and 1,530 metric tons of very low sulfur fuel oil onboard. Fire damage compounded by bad weather and water seepage caused the carrier to sink in waters about 16,400 feet deep and about 415 miles from land, the statement said. The ship was loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles intended for a major Pacific port in Mexico. It was not immediately clear if any of the cars were removed before it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [6/25/2025 5:19 AM, Francesca Regalado, 153395K]
Detroit Free Press [6/25/2025 2:59 PM, Taylor Ardrey, 4241K]

New York Times [6/25/2025 5:49 PM, Sharon Otterman, 138952K] reports a potential cyberattack continued for a second day to cause widespread computer system outages at Columbia University on Wednesday as the school’s engineers worked to investigate the problem and restore service. The attack, which began in the early morning hours on Tuesday, initially shut down all systems on the school’s Morningside campus that required a university ID, including Zoom, internal emails and coursework, according to a Columbia official. By Wednesday, many of those services had been restored, but there were still others, including the main course catalog and library catalogs, that remained unavailable. The official also said that the school was not aware of any claim of responsibility for the potential attack and that posts by an online group asserting responsibility on Tuesday had been discredited. Columbia said it had notified local and federal law enforcement agencies about the attack. As of Wednesday, the university official said, there was no evidence that data had been compromised, no indication of ransomware and no sign of a deep incursion into Columbia’s information systems. The clinical systems at the school’s medical center were not affected, the official said.

FOX News [6/25/2025 2:00 PM, Kurt Knutsson, 46878K] reports that your personal data is collected by almost every site or app you visit. The world is more data hungry than ever because it’s now the most important asset, even more valuable than oil. Your shopping history is logged, your search history is captured and your phone number, email address and IDs are all stored. But that doesn’t mean all this data is safe. If you’ve ever received a spam call, phishing email or a fake support call, your personal data is out there. And if you want proof of how poorly your data is treated, a newly uncovered database offers a stark reminder. More than 16 billion login credentials, collected from years of past data breaches, have been compiled into one of the largest aggregated archives of cybersecurity incidents ever seen, according to a report. Cybernews describes the exposed database as a "blueprint for mass exploitation." The records include login credentials from popular platforms like Google, Facebook and Apple. Security researchers emphasize that this isn’t the result of a new, single breach. Instead, it’s a massive collection of previously stolen credentials from various past leaks, phishing scams and third-party data exposures, some of which were forgotten, underreported or reshared. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

DefenseScoop [6/25/2025 4:25 PM, Mikayla Easley, 150K] reports the Defense Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has officially kicked off its effort to improve how the Pentagon manages cybersecurity risks with advanced automation and continuous monitoring capabilities. The DOD CIO published a request for information Wednesday on Sam.gov calling for industry’s input on emerging technologies, solutions and business practices that can support the department’s attempt to revamp the Risk Management Framework (RMF). The initiative largely seeks to replace the legacy framework with a multi-phased construct that will be demanding for cyber and acquisition professionals. Officials are hoping to speed up capability delivery to warfighters. “Although RMF enhances security through continuous monitoring and risk-based decision-making, it’s often seen as slow and cumbersome,” the RFI stated. “To meet the urgent demands of modern cyber threats and accelerate innovation, the DoD is working to streamline the RMF process — aiming for greater efficiency without compromising on security.” While the framework has guided the Defense Department’s acquisition process for its military networks, weapon systems and other critical IT infrastructure for decades, the RMF has come under scrutiny in recent months by senior leadership. Since returning to the department in March to perform the duties of Pentagon CIO, Katie Arrington has repeatedly stated in public forums that she is “blowing up the RMF” and other bureaucratic processes known to stifle innovation.

CyberScoop [6/25/2025 10:20 AM, Matt Kapko] reports a recently discovered operational relay box (ORB) network controlled by a China-linked threat group already exceeds 1,000 devices and is growing across the United States and East Asia, SecurityScorecard said in a threat report released Monday. The ORB network, which SecurityScorecard dubbed “LapDogs,” is primarily composed of routers designed for small or home offices but also includes infected IoT devices, virtual servers and IP cameras. Earliest nodes detected by researchers date back to September 2023 and the network has gradually grown since, infecting no more than 60 devices at a time, indicating a highly targeted operation focused on specific locations. Researchers have identified 162 distinct intrusion sets, and more devices are added to the ORB with each intrusion campaign. “The expansion rate of LapDogs is going up,” Gilad Maizles, security researcher at SecurityScorecard, said in an email. “Campaigns become more frequent, and with greater yield in numbers, which ultimately leads to more devices added than removed from the network.” More than one-third of the infections are located in the United States, followed by Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Active infections span devices and services from Ruckus Wireless, Asus, Buffalo Technology, Cisco-Linksys, D-Link, Microsoft, Panasonic and Synology. More than half of the compromised devices are Ruckus Wireless access points, according to SecurityScorecard. “Post-infection activity from this network is still unclear,” Maizles said. “Some ORBs used by China-Nexus actors are shared infrastructure and can host and facilitate more than one intrusion set at once. This makes questions regarding APT motivations, TTPs and post-infection activities much harder to answer. This also ultimately demonstrates how harmful and dangerous ORBs are as an emerging threat within the China-Nexus APT landscape.” ORB networks are more complicated than botnets, allowing threat groups who control them more stealth capabilities typically used for espionage.

CNN [6/25/2025 4:32 PM, Ray Sanchez, 21433K] reports Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, an alleged senior leader of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua has been added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ten Most Wanted list. Known as "El Viejo," the old man, Mosquera Serrano is the first member from the gang on the FBI’s top fugitives list, according to the agency. The FBI is offering a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mosquera Serrano, 37, who faces federal charges that include conspiring to provide and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, as well as conspiracy and distribution of cocaine in Colombia intended for distribution in the US, the agency announced on Tuesday. Tren de Aragua, also known as TdA, allegedly sends gang members to the US to engage in drug, human and weapons trafficking, as well as violent crime, the FBI said. TdA was designated as a foreign terrorist organization after an executive order was signed by President Donald Trump on January 20. The criminal organization originated in a Venezuela prison and has slowly spread both north and south in recent years. It now operates in the United States. Investigators believe Mosquera Serrano may be in Venezuela or Colombia, the agency said. Tren de Aragua has not only terrorized Venezuela for years but also countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Peru, CNN has reported. In Colombia, Tren de Aragua and a guerrilla group known as the National Liberation Army "operate sex trafficking networks in the border town of Villa del Rosario" and Norte de Santander, according to a US State Department 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report about Colombia. The criminal groups exploit Venezuelan migrants and displaced Colombians in sex trafficking, taking advantage of economic vulnerabilities and subjecting them to "debt bondage," the report stated. Police in the region reported the organization has victimized thousands through extortion, drug and human trafficking, kidnapping and murder. Insight Crime, a think tank dedicated to organized crime, said in October that Tren de Aragua’s "reputation appears to have grown more quickly than its actual presence in the United States.” "Additionally, there is no evidence, thus far, of cells in the United States cooperating with one another or with other criminal groups," according to Insight Crime.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [6/25/2025 6:57 PM, Jared Downing, 49956K]

AP [6/25/2025 7:40 PM, Joshua Goodman, 56000K] reports a former Venezuelan spymaster who was close to the country’s late President Hugo Chávez pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug trafficking charges a week before his trial was set to begin in a Manhattan federal court. Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal was extradited from Spain in 2023 after more than a decade on the run from U.S. law enforcement, including included a botched arrest in Aruba while he was serving as a diplomat representing current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Carvajal pleaded guilty in court to all four criminal counts, including narco-terrorism, in an indictment accusing him of leading a cartel made up of senior Venezuelan military officers that attempted to "flood" the U.S. with cocaine in cahoots with leftist guerrillas from neighboring Colombia. In a letter this week to defense counsel, prosecutors said they believe federal sentencing guidelines call for Carvajal to serve a mandatory minimum of 50 years in prison to a maximum of life. Nicknamed "El Pollo," Spanish for "the chicken," Carvajal advised Chávez for more than a decade. He later broke with Marudo, Chávez’s handpicked successor, and threw his support behind the U.S.-backed political opposition — in dramatic fashion. In a recording made from an undisclosed location, Carvajal called on his former military cohorts to rebel against a month into mass protests seeking to replace Maduro with lawmaker Juan Guaidó, whom the first Trump administration recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader as head of the democratically elected National Assembly. The hoped-for barracks revolt never materialized, and Carvajal fled to Spain. In 2021 he was captured hiding out in a Madrid apartment after he defied a Spanish extradition order and disappeared. Carvajal’s straight-up guilty plea, without any promise of leniency, could be part of a gamble to win credit down the line for cooperating with U.S. efforts against a top foreign adversary that sits atop the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [6/25/2025 6:18 PM, Andrew Goudsward, 51390K]

New York Post [6/25/2025 7:12 PM, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, 49956K] reports five members of the vicious MS-13 street gang snuffed out two of their own on Long Island for being too chummy with a rival gang and for ratting to the feds, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The migrant gangbangers strangled and beat gang member Yoneli Ramos-Moreno to death in Kings Park in 2023 for buddying up with the rival Latin Kings gang, the US Attorney’s Office said in a release. In a cruel twist, the crew then ganged up on one of Ramos-Moreno’s killers, Carlos Lopez-Lopez, who was drowned and stabbed to death in Blue Point in March because the other gang members suspected that he was cooperating with the feds, prosecutors said. "The legal terms in the indictment cannot adequately describe the sheer savagery with which the defendants, in service to the MS-13 gang, beat, strangled and murdered Ramos-Moreno and plotted to murder Lopez-Lopes," Joseph Nocella, US Attorney for New York’s Eastern District, said in a statement. "The charges in the indictment demonstrate my office and our law enforcement partners’ resolve to hold vicious transnational organized crime groups like MS-13 accountable for their crimes and continue the mission to eradicate them from Long Island," Nocello said. The five alleged gang members — David "Tenebroso" Orellana-Aleman, 27; Noel "Discreto" Portillo-Romero, 27; Cruz Eduardo "Poison" Sanchez-Gutierrez, 29; Ernesto "Perverso" Torres-Hernandez, 26; and Omar "Little Ejecutor" Zavala-Ventura, 27 — are all now in federal custody without bail. Prosecutors said Ramos-Moreno was lured to a Hauppauge parking lot on Oct. 28, 2023, then taken to Sunken Meadow Bluff, where he was strangled and beaten to death. Lopez-Lopez, who was part of the crew suspected of killing Ramos-Moreno, was killed by the other gang members on March 3 of this year because of his suspected cooperation with law enforcement.

Univision [6/25/2025 3:18 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports the federal prosecutor’s office in New York has stated that it is still considering the death penalty for Rafael Caro Quintero, former leader of the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel and considered one of the most historic figures in Mexican drug trafficking. According to reports, federal prosecutors declared during a hearing before a judge in New York on Wednesday that the possibility of seeking the death penalty for the former drug lord remains on the table. This Wednesday, the 90-day deadline set by the judge to determine whether to seek the death penalty for Caro Quintero expired. Reports indicate that the defense said the death penalty request was not admissible. Prosecutors said they will present more evidence, such as audio recordings of Caro Quintero’s torture of Camarena, to support their case against the former drug trafficker. The next hearing is scheduled for September 18.

Politico [6/25/2025 4:22 PM, Cheyanne M. Daniels, 2100K] reports the Department of Justice charged a man accused of attacking pro-Israel demonstrators with Molotov cocktails in Boulder, Colorado, earlier this month with 12 hate crimes. The Justice Department announced its indictment against 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman in Denver on Wednesday. The indictment alleges Soliman willfully caused bodily injury to at least eight demonstrators because of their actual and perceived national origin. If convicted, Soliman could be sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors must prove he targeted the victims based on their race, color, religion or national origin. Soliman also faces 118 state charges, including 28 counts of first-degree attempted murder, according to court documents filed in the federal District Court. In total, 15 people, including a Holocaust survivor, were injured in the attack. Police reports said four of the injured were taken to Boulder Community Hospital while two victims were airlifted to the Aurora, Colorado, hospital burn unit. FBI officials announced at the time they were investigating the attack as an act of terrorism even as President Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration’s immigration policies for the attack.

Breitbart [6/25/2025 8:28 PM, Staff, 3077K] reports the 45-year-old man accused of using a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to burn people demonstrating in support of Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colo., has been charged with 12 counts of hate crime, according to the Justice Department on Wednesday. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, earlier was charged with a single hate crime count for the June 1 attack on Run for Their Lives during a pro-Israel demonstration at Port Street Mall, DOJ said. He also faces 118 charges in state court, including attempted murder. If convicted in federal court, Soliman could face the maximum sentence of life in prison. In the indictment, which was unsealed one day later on Wednesday and obtained by Axios, he has been charged with nine federal counts of violence against individuals because of actual or perceived race, color, religion or national origin, and three counts involving fire or explosives to commit a felony. The Colorado Springs resident was booked into the Boulder County jail after the attack near the county courthouse. On June 2, state bond was set at $10 million and the same day he was charged with a federal crime. According to the federal indictment, Soliman told FBI investigators that he viewed “anyone supporting the exist [sic] of Israel on our land” to be “Zionist.” The defendant said that he decided to take “revenge from these people.” Soliman said that he learned of Run for Their Lives through internet searches for “Zionist” events and that he identified the “Zionist” group when he saw the flags and signs they carried at the courthouse. At least 15 people were injured. Two were airlifted to a hospital in Aurora near Denver, an FBI official said. Boulder is 30 miles north of Denver. Soliman, an Egyptian national, entered California in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023 and his asylum claim was pending, said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “The Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,” she said in a post on X. “He filed for asylum in September 2022.” He reportedly lived in Kuwait for 17 years before moving to Colorado. Soliman entered the park carrying a backpack weed sprayer that contained a flammable liquid and a black plastic container that held at least 18 glass bottles and jars. They all contained a flammable liquid and several had red rags stuffed through the top to act as wicks, commonly referred to as Molotov cocktails. At approximately 1:30 p.m., Soliman approached the Run for Their Lives group and threw two Molotov cocktails that he had ignited, according to the indictment. When throwing one of the Molotov cocktails, he shouted, “Free Palestine!”

Reported similarly:
Detroit Free Press [6/25/2025 10:20 PM, Thao Nguyen, 4241K]

SFGate [6/25/2025 8:00 AM, Staff, 11859K] reports a Stockton man was arrested on Tuesday and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, federal prosecutors said. Ammaad Akhtar, 33, was taken into custody following a months-long investigation in which he allegedly expressed support for ISIS, sent money and weapons to an individual he believed was affiliated with the group, and discussed plans to carry out attacks, according to court documents, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Prosecutors said that beginning in February, Akhtar communicated online with a person he believed was a member of ISIS, but who was actually working with law enforcement. In those conversations, Akhtar allegedly voiced support for jihad and expressed a desire to travel overseas to join the terrorist group. Akhtar reportedly sent money on multiple occasions, which he believed would be used to purchase firearms for ISIS. After being told the group had obtained weapons using his funds, he responded, "may Allah destroy our enemies," and promised to send more money, the U.S. Department of Justice said. On Monday, Akhtar met with an undercover employee posing as an ISIS member and handed over clothing, binoculars, $400 in cash, two loaded firearms, and extra ammunition. He then pledged allegiance to ISIS, federal agents alleged.

The AP [6/25/2025 5:55 PM, Megan Janetsky] reports the U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions Wednesday on three Mexico-based financial institutions it said were used to launder millions of dollars for cartels, in a move officials say would block certain money transfers between the sanctioned banks and U.S. banks. The orders issued on the banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco, as well as brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, are part of an ongoing push by U.S. and Mexican authorities under pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on Mexican cartels that traffic fentanyl. The banks "have collectively played a long-standing and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl," Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender told reporters on Wednesday. Faulkender said the measures would "effectively cut off" the bank branches from doing business with U.S. financial institutions. It was not immediately clear, however, how far-reaching the effects would actually be. Reuters [6/25/2025 6:46 PM, David Lawder and Kylie Madry, 51390K] reports that the actions by the Treasury-run Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to declare the three institutions "as primary money laundering concerns" mark the first actions under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, the Treasury said in a statement. Experts said the move, although targeting relatively small institutions, could have significant impact on Mexico’s financial system given the interconnectedness between banks and the close business relationship with the United States. Mexico’s Finance Ministry said in a statement that it was notified of the FinCEN investigation and asked the Treasury for evidence of illicit activity links to CIBanco, Intercam and Vector, but received no "conclusive information."

CNN [6/25/2025 7:48 PM, Ana María Cañizares and Abel Alvarado, 21433K] reports Ecuador’s most wanted man and leader of the Los Choneros gang, Jose Adolfo Macias, was captured on Wednesday, according to the country’s President Daniel Noboa. Macias, known as "Fito," escaped from a prison in Guayaquil in January 2024 while serving a 34-year sentence for homicide and narcotics trafficking. His escape unleashed a wave of violence in Ecuador, prompting Noboa to declare an internal armed conflict and designate Los Choneros and 21 other criminal groups operating in the country as terror organizations. In February 2024, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Los Choneros and Macias over their drug trafficking and violent activities in Ecuador and across the continent. Noboa said Ecuador is working to extradite him to the US and is awaiting a response from American officials. Reuters [6/25/2025 7:20 PM, Staff, 24051K] reports Jose Adolfo Macias, known as "Fito," disappeared from the Guayaquil prison where he was being held in January 2024, amid an explosion of violence including the on-air invasion of a television station by armed men and the hostage-taking of more than 200 prison officials. "My recognition to our police and military who participated in this operation. More will fall, we will reclaim the country. No truce," said Noboa, whose government had offered a reward of $1 million for information leading to Macias’ capture, on X. Noboa said Ecuador had requested Macias be extradited to the U.S., where he is set to face international drug and gun charges in a federal court in New York. Macias was sentenced in 2011 to 34 years in prison for various crimes including drug trafficking and murder. The Washington Post [6/25/2025 10:42 PM, Arturo Torres and Samantha Schmidt, 32099K] reports that specialized Ecuadorian police and military intelligence officers, with support from the United States, tracked him Wednesday evening to a basement where he had been hiding in the coastal Ecuadorian city of Manta, according to a senior police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation. Videos show officers crawling into a hole in a tile floor to reach the hidden basement below. Others show the officers holding Macías to the ground, face down, with his hands tied behind his back. "We have done our part to proceed with Fito’s extradition to the United States," President Daniel Noboa said on social media, adding that authorities are awaiting a U.S. response. The U.S. Embassy in Quito, in a post on X, congratulated Ecuador on his capture. Macías is a top leader of Los Choneros, a gang that at one point claimed 5,000 members inside the prison system and 7,000 outside, and together with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel dominated this South American nation’s booming cocaine trade. Ecuadorian security forces and their U.S. partners have been searching for him since his escape from a prison in Guayaquil in early 2024. They ultimately found him in the basement of a property that belongs to Macías’s romantic partner, Verónica Narcisa Briones Zambrano, who is being held in a Guayaquil prison, according to an intelligence official who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the operation. Macías was indicted in federal court in Brooklyn on charges that he distributed vast amounts of cocaine into the U.S. Prosecutors allege he led Los Choneros from at least as far back as 2020 to 2025, controlling cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador and running a distribution network through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. and beyond. They accuse the organization of using hit men, corruption and bribery to ensure loyalty and smuggling firearms from the U.S. to support its operations. "As alleged, the defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization," said John J. Durham, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "By leading the Los Choneros’ network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers and importing potentially lethal quantities of cocaine into the United States, the defendant has caused great harm to his own country and the United States, which was the destination for the vast majority of Los Choneros’ cocaine shipments.”

Reported similarly:
AP [6/25/2025 12:40 AM, Gonzalo Solano and Gabriela Molina, 56000K]

Breitbart [6/25/2025 11:28 AM, Staff, 3077K] reports that U.S. President Donald Trump reassured NATO allies Wednesday that the United States was fully committed to the defense alliance’s so-called Article 5 under which members pledge to come to the military defense of any NATO country that is attacked. "We’re with them all the way," Trump told a joint briefing with Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO summit in The Hague, responding to a question on his commitment to NATO and the mutual defense pact at its heart. Trump added that he was happy to commit because other members of the 32-country alliance had heeded his long-standing call to ramp up their defense budgets and would now meet his demand that they spend 5% of GDP on defense. "If you look at the numbers, I’ve been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years and they’re going up to 5%. That’s a big jump from 2% and a lot of people didn’t even pay the 2%, so I think it’s going to be very big news. NATO is going to become very strong with us and I appreciate doing it," he said. Earlier, Trump sparked consternation after comments made mid-Atlantic aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that his commitment to Article 5 "depends on your definition.” The situation in the Middle East dominated most of the rest of the briefing, setting the tone for a gathering that alternated between shows of NATO unity and discussion of the U.S. strikes on Iran and how the situation would play out, despite not being on the agenda. That left little room for the issue of Ukraine, which was relegated well down the agenda.

The Hill [6/25/2025 9:00 AM, Brett Samuels, 18649K] reports President Trump on Wednesday signaled his support for NATO’s mutual defense pact after previously casting doubt on whether he would abide by it. "I stand with it. That’s why I’m here," Trump said at the NATO summit in the Netherlands when asked to clarify his stance on Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty. "If I didn’t stand with it I wouldn’t be here," Trump added. Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty states that an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all members. The only time Article 5 has been invoked was in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. soil. The defense pact has been back in the spotlight after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with NATO members arguing Article 5 could serve as a deterrent against further Russian aggression. But Trump has at various points cast doubt on whether he would support Article 5 as has complained that other alliance members are not spending enough on defense. "Depends on your definition. There’s numerous definitions of Article 5," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. "But I’m committed to being their friends. You know, I’ve become friends with many of those leaders, and I’m committed to helping them."

Federal News Network [6/25/2025 9:26 AM, Jory Heckman, 2346K] reports President Donald Trump’s rollback of collective bargaining rights for much of the federal workforce is on hold for now, following a federal judge’s preliminary injunction. A federal judge in San Francisco is temporarily blocking 21 agencies from enforcing an executive order that barred collective bargaining for about a million federal employees, citing "national security" reasons. The executive order President Donald Trump signed in March barred unions from representing employees at agencies that primarily focused on national defense, foreign relations, cybersecurity, border security and public safety. Judge James Donato ruled Tuesday night that Trump "applied the national security label to an unprecedented swath of federal agencies, including whole cabinet departments for the first time in history," and "greatly exceeded" the scope of any other similar executive order. Donato also determined Justice Department attorneys representing the Trump administration "had a hard time" justifying how some agencies, like the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, should primarily be considered as having a national security mission. The American Federation of Government Employees, the lead plaintiff in the case, argued the Trump administration’s selective enforcement of the executive order — allowing agencies to recognize some unions while barring others — amounted to unconstitutional retaliation, targeting unions that speak out against the administration’s federal workforce polices and challenge them in court.

FOX News [6/25/2025 1:39 PM, Alec Schemmel, 46878K] reports that Texas has become the latest state to cement a ban on land and property purchases by individuals or entities from adversarial nations. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17 into law over the weekend, prohibiting countries identified as security threats in the intelligence community’s 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, from acquiring "real property" in the state. The countries include China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the bill identified "real property" as agricultural land, commercial or industrial properties, residential properties and land used for mining or water use. Amid heightened global tensions, there has been an increased appetite for protecting foreign asset acquisitions in the United States. However, these efforts have been criticized by some for being overly broad, arbitrary and potentially discriminatory. In response to Abbott’s signing of S.B. 17, the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice said it was "outraged" at the legislation that the group said "creates an overly broad net that places innocent foreign nationals at risk of racial profiling." A similar defense was made by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs after she vetoed a bill seeking to stop Chinese land and property purchases in the state, noting the bill lacked "clear implementation criteria," which opened the door for "arbitrary enforcement." State-level bills aimed at increasing scrutiny of foreign land and asset acquisitions from adversaries appear imminent in New Hampshire and North Carolina, if their governors grant them approval.

Bloomberg [6/25/2025 9:16 AM, Daryna Krasnolutska, 19320K] reports President Trump is going to extraordinary lengths to defend his claim that U.S. airstrikes "obliterated" Iran’s nuclear program, determined to cement the operation as a defining victory of his presidency. Trump has staked his credibility — and major parts of his foreign policy legacy — on the success of Saturday’s military intervention, which punctuated decades of U.S. debate over the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. He has treated the leak of an initial Pentagon battle damage assessment as an act of sabotage, launching an aggressive campaign to discredit the report as preliminary, inaccurate and already outdated. Critics have accused Trump of politicizing intelligence and pressuring officials to make an assessment that may be premature — or at least more nuanced than the president claims. Trump announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top Pentagon officials will hold a "major news conference" at 8 a.m. ET Thursday to defend the "Great American Pilots" who carried out "a perfect mission." The administration has accused the media of unpatriotic behavior for reporting skeptically on the Iran strike, even while acknowledging the initial assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency was real. The FBI has launched an investigation into the breach, and the administration plans to limit sharing classified information with Congress to crack down on leakers, as Axios first reported. At Trump’s NATO press conference in the Netherlands, he publicly reprimanded the analysts who prepared the report — claiming it "wasn’t finished" and should have been withheld until they actually "knew the answer."

Wall Street Journal [6/25/2025 1:15 PM, Summer Said, Anat Peled, and Alexander Ward, 646K] reports the U.S. is making a fresh push in negotiations to end the fighting and free the hostages in Gaza, as President Trump hopes to build on the momentum of a deal that paused hostilities between Israel and Iran and bring an end to the conflict that sparked nearly two years of war in the Middle East. While significant gaps remain between Israel and Hamas, Arab officials mediating the talks say both sides have shown an interest in getting a deal done. The mediators said they are in talks with both sides by telephone, adding they could soon meet in Egypt, which along with Qatar has helped the U.S. broker the Gaza talks. On Wednesday, Trump said that the cease-fire between Israel and Iran has improved the atmosphere of talks around the fighting in Gaza. “I think great progress is being made on Gaza,” Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague. “I think we’re going to have some very good news.” Trump said he was recently briefed about developments in the talks by special envoy Steve Witkoff. “He did tell me that Gaza is very close,” Trump said. U.S. officials have frequently expressed hopes that talks to end the conflict, sparked by Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, were close to bearing fruit, only to be proven wrong as one side or the other undermined progress. The fresh push for a Gaza deal comes after several previous efforts failed. Israel and Hamas agreed to two temporary cease-fire deals over the course of the fighting, but they have found it impossible to get past a fundamental disagreement: Israel’s unwillingness to accept the militant group’s demand for a permanent end to the conflict. While Israel is willing to talk, there is no sign it has changed its position on ending the war or some of its other demands, including Hamas’s giving up its arms.

Axios [6/25/2025 11:56 AM, Barak Ravid, 13599K] reports that the U.S. and Iran will meet next week to discuss a potential nuclear deal, President Trump claimed at a press conference at the end of the NATO summit on Wednesday. Why it matters: Iran has not publicly confirmed any planned meeting with U.S. officials, which would come just a week after Trump ordered an unprecedented military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated by launching missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday, but signaled it was ready to de-escalate and later agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. Trump, whose NATO appearance doubled as a victory lap for the B-2 bombing operation that dealt heavy damage to Iran’s nuclear program, has called for Iran to return to the negotiating table. Driving the news: The last meeting between White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi took place more than a month ago. U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios that Witkoff and Araghchi were supposed to meet on June 15 in Oman, where Iran was expected to give its official response to the latest U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal. An Israeli official said Israel was ready to hold off on attacking Iran until after the results of that meeting became clear. But on June 12, Israel and the U.S. received intelligence that made clear the Iranians were not going to attend the meeting, U.S. and Israeli officials say.

Reported similarly:
CNN [6/25/2025 10:59 PM, Jessie Yeung, Angus Watson, et al., 21433K]

Roll Call [6/25/2025 6:13 AM, Rachel Oswald, 692K] reports Democrats and a few Republicans let out their frustrations Tuesday with the last-minute postponement of classified briefings for lawmakers about the weekend military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities amid media reports that leaked intelligence findings indicate the U.S. assault delayed, but did not destroy, Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon. Top administration officials from the intelligence community, State Department and the Pentagon, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, were supposed to deliver briefings to the full House and Senate about the justification and ramifications of President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. Senate Democrats are working to build consensus among their ranks in support of a war powers joint resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would prohibit any offensive U.S. military attacks against Iran if Congress has not issued a declaration of war or a new authorization for use of military force. The resolution is expected to come up for a vote as soon as Thursday while a similar war powers measure in the House could be stymied by GOP leaders when it ripens for a floor vote in July. After Tuesday’s intelligence briefings were postponed, New York Times and CNN reported that a preliminary classified report from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that the U.S. airstrikes, which dropped multiple "bunker buster" bombs on Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment facility, did not completely destroy the structures inside, which were built deep inside a mountain.

The Hill [6/25/2025 6:29 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 18649K] reports as the dust settles on Iranian sites hit by U.S. bombs and missiles over the weekend, there’s growing tension over how much the military operation set back Tehran’s nuclear program. The Trump administration is blasting assessments from U.S. intelligence agencies about the damage inflicted by strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, while apparently endorsing an Israeli assessment. And Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday that "new intelligence" confirms "Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.” At the center of the discourse are Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) findings, widely reported Tuesday, that called into question statements made by top Trump administration officials describing Iran’s nuclear facilities as "obliterated.” The preliminary classified report assessed the attacks had set Iran’s nuclear program back several months, rather than the years or even decades Trump has claimed. The DIA found the bombing did not destroy the main components of Iran’s nuclear program, failing to collapse the underground buildings of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant and the Natanz Enrichment Complex. What’s more, the assessment found the strikes likely did not destroy much of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, as it was moved before the bombing. Instead, the 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs dropped on Fordow and Natanz — as well as armaments that struck at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site — significantly damaged aboveground structures while leaving the sites’ centrifuges still "intact," the assessment said.

Wall Street Journal [6/25/2025 11:25 PM, Michael R. Gordon, Dustin Volz, and Lara Seligman, 646K] reports President Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his claims that U.S. military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites crippled Tehran’s ability to pursue a nuclear bomb, rejecting a leaked preliminary intelligence report that assessed the American strike had merely delayed Iran’s efforts for a few months. The dispute points to a larger problem that is likely to bedevil U.S. intelligence analysis and experts for many months, as they attempt to determine the full extent of damage to the nuclear facilities that were struck. While there are ample indications that the Iranian program suffered major damage from the B-2 bomber and cruise-missile strikes that the U.S. carried out last weekend, the status of Iran’s program might not be fully known unless inspectors are allowed to visit the sites that were attacked and the suspected locations where enriched uranium and nuclear-related equipment might be hidden. Iran maintains that its program is for peaceful purposes. “Remote battle-damage assessment is always difficult,” said Charles Duelfer, who oversaw United Nations weapons inspections in Iraq and later directed a Central Intelligence Agency assessment after the 2003 U.S. invasion on what happened to Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction programs. “That’s why people like inspectors on the ground.” Speaking at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit at The Hague, Trump stood by his initial claims that the Iran program had been “totally obliterated” and called the early findings in a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report “inconclusive.” The issue is likely to be addressed Thursday morning at a rare Pentagon news conference, which Trump announced in a social-media post. “We destroyed the nuclear,” Trump said. CIA Director John Ratcliffe issued a statement that lent support to Trump’s broad claims without offering details. “CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates that Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes,” Ratcliffe said. “This includes new intelligence from an historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.”

The Hill [6/25/2025 7:23 AM, Brett Samuels, 18649K] reports President Trump and his top national security brass aggressively pushed back on reporting that Iran’s nuclear program was only set back a matter of months – a determination made by the administration’s own internal assessments. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said an investigation was underway into leaks of a preliminary classified report that determined U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend set the regime’s program back several months despite Trump insisting it was actually a matter of decades. "Of course we’re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now because this information is for internal purposes, battle damage assessments," Hegseth told reporters at the NATO summit in the Netherlands. "And CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success." Trump called media outlets that reported on the internal assessment including CNN, New York Times and NBC, "scum." He insisted the U.S. attack carried out on Saturday by some of the U.S. most powerful ammunition led to "total obliteration" of Iran’s nuclear sites. The internal report found strikes of the three facilities delayed Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, despite initial assertions from Trump administration officials that those sites had been destroyed. The report also said Iran had moved much of its enriched uranium before the strikes, according to multiple outlets. "They really don’t know," Trump said of the report. "I think Israel is gonna be telling us very soon because [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is going to have people Involved in that whole situation.”

Politico [6/25/2025 8:03 PM, Amy Mackinnon and John Sakellariadis, 16523K] reports two of President Donald Trump’s top intelligence chiefs issued statements on Wednesday stating that new intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear facilities were “destroyed” in U.S. airstrikes over the weekend. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued their statements within hours of each other, reinforcing the administration’s daylong blitz to counter media reports of a preliminary government assessment that the strikes had not significantly set back Iran’s nuclear program. Gabbard weighed in with a statement on X around 2 p.m. Wednesday saying that “New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.” Ratcliffe posted an image of his own statement on social media about two hours later. “A body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program has been severely damaged” in the recent strikes, Ratcliffe said in the statement. “This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” he continued. Ratcliffe added that the agency was continuing to collect “reliably sourced information” on the matter. Neither Gabbard nor Ratcliffe provided further details on the intelligence, or specifics on when it had been obtained. But DNI spokesperson Olivia Coleman later said that the intelligence Gabbard cited was U.S. in origin. A former CIA analyst called it “highly unusual” for the agency’s director to put out an analytic assessment in a press release. But the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence processes, said that it was unlikely that any sources or methods would have been exposed by the statement. The earlier assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency was reported Tuesday by CNN and other media outlets, which said it found the strikes didn’t destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. DIA stressed Wednesday that its finding were not conclusive. “This is a preliminary, low confidence assessment — not a final conclusion — and will continue to be refined as additional intelligence becomes available,” DIA said in a statement. “We have still not been able to review the actual physical sites themselves, which will give us the best indication.” The leak of the DIA assessment has infuriated Trump. On Wednesday he posted an angry tirade against one of the CNN reporters who wrote the initial story and reiterated his claims that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “obliterated.”

NewsMax [6/25/2025 6:44 PM, Jim Mishler, 4622K] reports the FBI is investigating leaks of information surrounding Saturday’s military strikes against Iran that ended up being reported by media outlets. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth specifically mentioned CNN while outlining his concerns to reporters at the NATO summit in the Netherlands. Hegseth said, "So this is a political motive here." Hegseth then responded affirmatively when asked if an investigation was underway. "Of course, we’re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now, because this information is for internal purposes, battle damage assessments, and CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success," he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump were also involved in the briefing with reporters. Rubio characterized the effort to downplay the impact of the U.S. strikes against Iran as a game. "That’s the game these people play. They read it, and then they go out and characterize it the way they want it characterized, and they’re leakers, this is the game they play," Rubio said. Hegseth and Rubio did not specify what reporting may have been connected with the purported leak. CNN reported on Wednesday that information it had received about the U.S. military strikes against Iran indicated the strikes may not have been as successful as earlier described by Hegseth and the president. CNN mentioned information related to a "battle damage assessment conducted by U.S. Central Command." But with the FBI involved in tracking down those involved in leaked information, the game, as characterized by Rubio, can turn into something entirely different. On Wednesday, Trump posted, "Secretary of Defense (War!) Pete Hegseth, together with Military Representatives, will be holding a Major News Conference tomorrow morning."

Bloomberg [6/25/2025 10:02 AM, Dana Khraiche, 19320K] reports Iran said its nuclear installations were “badly damaged” by US airstrikes, the first such comments by Tehran as debate grows over how much the bombardment managed to dent the Islamic Republic’s atomic program. “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera TV in an interview on Wednesday. Baghaei did not give further details and said authorities were still assessing the situation on the ground. He added that the US attacks were a “detrimental blow” to international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which Iran is a signatory. The comments are the first time an Iranian official has addressed the scope of damage caused by the June 22 strikes which involved US attacks on three nuclear facilities in Iran using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bombs. The comments came hours after US President Donald Trump disputed a US intelligence report that said the attacks had limited impact on Iran’s nuclear program below ground. An assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency said the bombing likely didn’t cripple the core components stored underground including centrifuges, according to people familiar with its contents. Commenting on the intelligence leak, Trump said the report was “very inconclusive” but that he still believed the sites were demolished.

Reuters [6/25/2025 4:35 PM, Kanishka Singh and Ryan Patrick Jones 51390K] reports Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday said a body of credible intelligence indicated that Iran’s nuclear program was severely damaged by recent U.S. strikes, and that it would take years to be rebuilt. "This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," Ratcliffe said in a statement.

CBS News [6/25/2025 6:58 PM, Olivia Victoria Gazis and Joe Walsh, 51860K] Video: HERE the heads of two key American intelligence agencies issued statements Wednesday on what they said was "new" intelligence on the damage resulting from the recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, each noting the Iranian program was likely to have been set back by "years.” The statements were released after President Trump decried a leaked, preliminary assessment produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency that said Tehran’s nuclear program had only been pushed back by a matter of months. Mr. Trump had ordered airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities late Saturday, adding to a more than weeklong Israeli campaign against targets in Iran. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Wednesday that "a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes.” "This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," Ratcliffe’s statement said. It added the agency would continue to collect "additional reliably sourced information" to share with policy makers, and, when possible, to provide updates to the public. A CIA spokesperson declined to elaborate on the intelligence referenced by Ratcliffe’s statement, including the confidence level associated with it or whether it included Israeli or other foreign intelligence. Earlier on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also wrote on X that "new intelligence confirms what President Trump has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.” "If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do," Gabbard’s statement read. An intelligence official later confirmed to CBS News that the information shared by Gabbard was based on new American intelligence, but declined to specify its confidence level. Neither of the statements directly addressed some of the questions raised by lawmakers and nonproliferation experts in the aftermath of the strikes about what kinds of residual nuclear capabilities Iran may have retained. There are also conflicting views about whether Iranian officials had managed to transport enriched uranium away from the sites before they were bombed. The DIA assessment indicated at least some of the enriched uranium had been moved, according to one source familiar with it. But when asked whether enriched material was successfully moved during a press availability following the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, President Trump said, "We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn’t get to move.” The president also said the U.S. and Iran were expected to hold talks "next week." The format remains unclear, for now, but special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to lead the talks, if they happen, two U.S. officials told CBS News. Witkoff has spoken with the Iranian foreign minister, and recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have also become more involved in the diplomacy, a U.S. and regional diplomat told CBS News. Both Ratcliffe and Gabbard were slated to participate in a classified Senate briefing on Tuesday on the U.S. strikes in Iran, but the session was cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday. The House is expected to be briefed on Friday. It is unclear whether both leaders will still participate in both briefings.

Reuters [6/25/2025 9:48 AM, Staff, 51390K] reports France will finalise its own analysis on damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities in the next few days and will then compare results with allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, after U.S. and Israeli strikes. Speaking to reporters after a NATO summit in The Hague, Macron said he would meet the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog Rafael Grossi in Paris later to discuss his latest assessment. "We are finalising our analysis with everything we have and then it will be confronted with the analysis of other interested countries, obviously the Americans, other Europeans, Israelis," Macron said.

FOX News [6/25/2025 5:05 PM, Gabriel Hays, 46878K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday condemned reports alleging that the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities didn’t do as much damage as the Trump administration has said. In an interview with Politico at the NATO summit, Rubio refuted intelligence leaks that alleged minimal damage from the attacks, and hit media reports spreading those leaks. "I would say that story’s a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported because it doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening," he told Politico White House bureau chief Dasha Burns. The U.S. military on Saturday carried out massive precision strikes on three key nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, in an attempt to eliminate the threat of the country manufacturing a nuclear weapon. Long-range B-2 stealth bomber aircraft dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on the locations in an attack that President Donald Trump called "a spectacular military success.” Burns sparked Rubio’s answer by asking about New York Times and CNN reporting on intelligence leaks that the strikes did not completely destroy Iran’s program but may have only delayed it a few months. Other experts have said the bombings must have done significant damage. The Times report cited, published Tuesday, stated, "A preliminary classified U.S. report says the American bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran set back the country’s nuclear program by only a few months, according to officials familiar with the findings.” "The strikes sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities but did not collapse their underground buildings, the officials said the early findings concluded," the report added. Trump has denied that reporting, calling it a "phony story" while talking to the press at the NATO summit. Rubio weighed in, telling Burns that the leaks featured in the Times’ story don’t necessarily reflect reality, but are "often mischaracterized" and altered by someone’s spin. "I can also tell you that intelligence leaks are one of the most frustrating things anywhere, not just because you have someone who has access to this and is putting stuff out there, but because it’s so often mischaracterized," he said.

The Hill [6/25/2025 3:30 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 18649K] reports Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard asserted that U.S. strikes on Iran were effective in setting back the country’s nuclear capabilities, following reports that the attack set their program back only by a few months. "New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do," Gabbard wrote on the social platform X. CNN, New York Times and other news outlets reported Tuesday that an internal government report found strikes on the three facilities over the weekend delayed Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, despite initial assertions from Trump administration officials that those sites had been destroyed. The report also said Iran had moved much of its enriched uranium before the strikes, according to multiple outlets. CIA Director John Ratcliffe also chimed in with a Wednesday afternoon statement saying that Iran’s nuclear program was "severely damaged" by the strike. "CIA can confirm that a credible body of intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. That includes new intelligence from an historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," he wrote in a statement he posted on social media platform X. It was unclear from Gabbard’s statement what new intelligence she was referring to. Media reports on the initial assessment of the damage in Iran noted that it was a preliminary classified assessment.

Washington Post [6/25/2025 7:42 PM, Emily Davies, Theodoric Meyer and Dan Lamothe, 32099K] reports the White House plans to limit classified intelligence sharing with Congress after leaks to the press of an early assessment undermined President Donald Trump’s claim that U.S. airstrikes obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities, a senior Trump administration official said, setting the stage for a contentious classified briefing before senators Thursday. Amid a political battle over what the intelligence shows, the White House is expected to send four of its top national security officials to brief lawmakers: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, administration officials said. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who testified in March that U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, will be notably absent. "Ratcliffe will represent the intelligence community," the senior Trump administration official said of Gabbard’s absence, speaking on the condition on anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public. "The media is turning this into something it’s not.” Trump has called Gabbard’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program "wrong" and largely sidelined her in navigating the United States’ role in the war between Iran and Israel, current and former U.S. officials and people close to the White House told Washington Post. White House officials have insisted that she is doing critical work. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) on Wednesday called on the White House to "immediately undo" its decision to limit classified information sharing. "The administration has no right to stonewall Congress on matters of national security," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Senators deserve information, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening right now abroad.”

Reported similarly:
Axios [6/25/2025 1:11 PM, Marc Caputo, 13599K]

AP [6/26/2025 12:04 AM, Joey Cappeletti and Mary Clare Jalonick, 3077K] reports senators are set to meet with top national security officials Thursday as many question President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump decides to strike Iran again. Democrats, and some Republicans, have said that the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress and they want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorized the attacks. “Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who said Tuesday that it was “outrageous” that the Senate and House briefings were postponed. A similar briefing for House members was pushed to Friday. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are expected to brief the senators on Thursday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was scheduled to be at the Tuesday briefing, but will not be attending, according to a person familiar with the schedule. The briefing could be contentious as questions have swirled around Trump’s decision to strike Iran and whether the attacks were successful. A preliminary U.S. intelligence report found this week that Iran’s nuclear program had been set back only a few months, contradicting statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to two people familiar with the report. The people were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday, Gabbard and Ratcliffe sent out statements backing Trump’s claims that the facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.” Gabbard posted on social media that “new intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.” She said that if the Iranians choose to rebuild the three facilities, it would “likely take years to do.” Ratcliffe said in a statement from the CIA that Iran’s nuclear program has been “severely damaged” and cited new intelligence “from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.” Most Republicans have staunchly defended Trump and hailed the tentative ceasefire he brokered in the Israel-Iran war. House Speaker Mike Johnson even went as far as to question the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, which is intended to give Congress a say in military action. “The bottom line is the commander in chief is the president, the military reports to the president, and the person empowered to act on the nation’s behalf is the president,” Johnson told reporters.

CNN [6/26/2025 4:47 AM, Simone McCarthy, 875K] reports Iran’s defense minister has traveled to diplomatic and economic ally China on his first reported trip abroad since a 12-day clash with Israel that briefly dragged the US into a new regional conflict. Aziz Nasirzadeh is one of nine defense ministers that Chinese state media say attended a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China- and Russia-led regional security grouping that has grown in prominence as Beijing and Moscow look to build alternative international blocs to those backed by the United States. The two-day gathering began Wednesday in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, a day after a ceasefire between Iran and Israel quelled what had been days of aerial assaults between the two, punctuated by a US strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities. The SCO gathering coincided with a meeting of NATO leaders at The Hague, where US President Donald Trump said the US would meet with Iran “next week” about a potential nuclear agreement. Beijing’s gathering, part of events for its rotating SCO chairmanship, spotlighted China’s role as a key international player, even as it remained largely on the sidelines of the Israel-Iran conflict – and the importance Tehran places on its relationship with Beijing. Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun did not directly address the conflict in remarks to gathering nations Wednesday, as reported by Chinese state media, but aimed to position China as a country with an alternative vision for global security. “Unilateralism and protectionism are surging, while hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts severely undermine the international order, making these practices the biggest sources of chaos and harm,” Dong said, employing language typically used by Beijing to criticize the US. The Chinese defense chief called for SCO countries – which, in addition to China and Russia, include India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus – to enhance coordination and “defend international fairness and justice” and “uphold global strategic stability.” Attending countries “expressed a strong willingness to consolidate and develop military collaboration,” according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.

Reuters [6/26/2025 12:18 AM, Laurie Chen, 51390K] reports China has taken a series of actions in the past week on counter-narcotics, in a sign of cooperation with U.S. demands for stronger action on the synthetic opioid fentanyl, a key irritant in the bilateral relationship. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese imports in February over Beijing’s alleged failure to curb the flow of precursor chemicals for fentanyl, which has caused nearly 450,000 U.S. overdose deaths. Those tariffs have remained in effect despite a fragile trade truce reached in Geneva in May. Beijing has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to "blackmail" China. Both sides were in a stalemate over the issue for months, despite China sending its vice public security minister to the Geneva talks. China has balked at some of Washington’s demands which include publicising the crackdown on precursors on the front page of the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, educating Party members and tightening regulation of specific chemicals, among other actions. On Thursday, China’s State Security Ministry accused a "certain country" of "deliberately launching unwarranted attacks on China over the fentanyl issue", in a veiled swipe at the U.S. But last Friday, Beijing added two precursors to a list of controlled chemicals starting July 20, according to a government statement. The chemicals, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, were "considered fundamental to resolving the fentanyl issue," raising hopes that the 20% tariffs could be eventually lifted, according to a source familiar with U.S. government thinking. The move came after U.S. Ambassador David Perdue had a rare meeting with China’s Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong last Thursday in Beijing, at which Wang expressed willingness to work with Washington on drug control, according to a Chinese statement. China’s Foreign Ministry said the action on precursors was an "independent measure" taken by Beijing in line with the UN Drug Convention and "demonstrates China’s attitude of actively participating in global drug governance.” Working-level conversations on fentanyl remain ongoing and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the topic in a June 5 phone call.

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