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.

Politico [6/28/2025 11:18 AM, Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing, 2100K] reports the Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced that it would terminate temporary protected status for Haiti, setting the groundwork for hundreds of thousands of Haitians to potentially be deported from the United States once the designation expires later this summer. The termination of temporary protected status — a designation that shields from deportation people who have traveled to the U.S. from countries that are deemed unsafe because of natural disasters, armed conflict or other extraordinary conditions — would put up to 500,000 Haitians at risk of deportation, as gang violence continues to roil the country. According to a DHS release, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “determined that conditions in Haiti no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements,” after concluding that conditions in the country have improved sufficiently for Haitians in the U.S. to return. The DHS plans to terminate the designation effective on Sept. 2. “This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in the release. “Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible.” But while DHS said Haiti is “safe for Haitian citizens to return home,” the country still remains at a “level four” designation by the State Department, which has advised Americans not to travel there due to risk of “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.” Haiti was also included in President Donald Trump’s new travel ban. The Blaze [6/28/2025 12:25 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1805K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 500,000 foreign nationals as part of the Trump administration’s effort to clamp down on the immigration crisis. President Donald Trump vowed to roll back the former administration’s overuse of the program, but faced legal challenges for attempting to end these deportation shields. The Supreme Court, however, delivered a monumental win in May, allowing the DHS to revoke the TPS program. On Friday, Noem announced the termination of TPS for Haiti, which is now slated to end for approximately 500,000 Haitian nationals currently in the United State on Sept. 2. Noem’s DHS contended that "Haiti no longer continues to meet the conditions for designation for TPS." "For several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Haitians arriving in the United States irregularly, particularly via land," the DHS statement reads. "This pattern of large-scale irregular migration as a result of ‘pull factors’ has continued for years." The DHS acknowledged that gang activity in Haiti remains an ongoing issue. However, it argued that Haiti’s "lack of government control" has had "direct consequences for U.S. public safety." "Haitian gang members have already been identified among those who have entered the United States and, in some cases, have been apprehended by law enforcement for committing serious and violent crimes," the statement reads. "This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protect[ed] Status is actually temporary," a representative for DHS said in a press release. "The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home," the representative continued. "We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the department’s resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the [Customs and Border Protection] Home app. Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible." The Washington Post [6/28/2025 8:58 PM, Victoria Bisset, 32099K] reports that the statement did not elaborate on why it considered Haiti safe for citizens. Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to advise Americans against all travel to Haiti, which has been under a state of emergency since March 2024 because of “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.” The State Department’s travel advisory adds that “mob killings and assaults by the public have increased” and that crimes including “robbery, carjackings, sexual assault and kidnappings for ransom” are common. The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince this week noted that some domestic air travel had resumed, and urged Americans to leave the country “as soon as possible.” In a federal register notice of the decision, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi L. Noem said she decided to terminate the TPS designation for Haiti “because it is contrary to the national interest to permit Haitian nationals … to remain temporarily in the United States.” “Widespread gang violence in Haiti is sustained by the country’s lack of functional government authority. This breakdown in governance directly impacts U.S. national security interests, particularly in the context of uncontrolled migration,” she said in the notice. While the situation in Haiti was “concerning,” she wrote, “the United States must prioritize its national interests.”

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Breitbart [6/28/2025 7:40 PM, Staff, 3077K]

Washington Examiner [6/28/2025 3:26 PM, Bethany Blankley, 1934K] reports federal agents have so far arrested more than 2,700 members of transnational criminal organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. Among them are members of the violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration designated as an FTO in February. A handful of district judges have tried to restrict the Trump administration from removing TdA members, as well as violent criminals, as part of a widespread effort to target crime, The Center Square has reported. The injunctions played a key role in attempts to block immigration enforcement, including high profile deportations of TdA members. After Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning district judges from imposing nationwide injunctions, Bondi said, "No longer will we have rogue judges striking down President Trump’s policies across the entire nation." The 6-3 Supreme Court ruling "correctly holds that the district court lacks authority to enter nationwide or universal injunctions. These lawless injunctions gave relief to everyone in the world instead of the parties before the court," she said, effectively turning "district courts into the imperial judiciary.".

NewsMax [6/28/2025 1:13 PM, Jim Mishler, 4622K] reports the Trump administration has streamlined the process involved in fining illegal aliens as part of its border enforcement efforts. The new rules have been entered into the Federal Registry, which opens a 30-day public comment period. The changes are necessary, according to the government filing, to overcome the current detailed and burdensome process required for notifying people of fines and then recovering the money. "Without this IFR (interim final rule), the current procedures under 8 CFR part 280 have the potential to become unnecessarily burdensome and cause unnecessary delay as DHS expands its use of the failure to depart and unlawful entry civil monetary penalties." The new rules from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Justice Department (DOJ) make it easier to impose fines on illegal aliens who continue to ignore the administration’s warning to self-deport or face the consequences, including hefty fines. DHS announced in late March that it would impose fines as high as $998 per day on those who had received an order to leave but stayed. Fines of up to $5,000 were threatened for those who said they would self-deport, but did not. The financial fines are in addition to potential imprisonment for failing to self-deport and a strong likelihood of being refused legal status if later submitting a proper immigration request through the government.

NBC News [6/28/2025 2:43 PM, Sahil Kapur, Scott Wong, Madyson Diaz and Brennan Leach, 44540K] reports moments before midnight, Senate Republican leaders released text of their 940-page bill on Friday, with the goal of holding a key test vote on Saturday afternoon. GOP senators met behind closed doors Saturday afternoon as they raced to pass the sweeping package for President Donald Trump’s agenda by a self-imposed deadline of July 4, but it continues to face hurdles along the way. It remains unclear if the Republican-controlled Senate has the simple-majority needed to move forward, but party leaders told senators they are eying a vote at 4 p.m. ET, according to Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. The legislation would extend the tax cuts Trump signed into law in 2017 and slash taxes on tips and overtime pay. It includes a $150 billion boost to military spending this year, along with a surge of federal money to carry out Trump’s mass deportations and immigration enforcement agenda. It partially pays for that with cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and clean energy funding.

AP [6/28/2025 9:43 PM, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking, 56000K] reports at some 940-pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. Now it’s up to Congress to decide whether President Donald Trump’s signature’s domestic policy package will become law. Trump told Republicans, who hold majority power in the House and Senate, to skip their holiday vacations and deliver the bill by the Fourth of July. Senators were working through the weekend to pass the bill and send it back to the House for a final vote. Democrats are united against it. The bill would provide some $350 billion for Trump’s border and national security agenda, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, as he aims to fulfill his promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. Money would go for hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with $10,000 signing bonuses and a surge of Border Patrol officers, as well. The goal is to deport some 1 million people per year. The homeland security secretary would have a new $10 billion fund for grants for states that help with federal immigration enforcement and deportation actions. The attorney general would have $3.5 billion for a similar fund, known as Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide, or BIDEN, referring to former Democratic President Joe Biden. To help pay for it all, immigrants would face various new fees, including when seeking asylum protections. For the Pentagon, the bill would provide billions for ship building, munitions systems, and quality of life measures for servicemen and women, as well as $25 billion for the development of the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Defense Department would have $1 billion for border security. To help partly offset the lost tax revenue and new spending, Republicans aim to cut back some long-running government programs: Medicaid, food stamps, green energy incentives and others. It’s essentially unraveling the accomplishments of the past two Democratic presidents, Biden and Barack Obama.

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Washington Post [6/28/2025 3:36 PM, Jacob Bogage, 32099K]

Washington Post [6/28/2025 10:29 AM, Justin Jouvenal, Cat Zakrzewski and Jeremy Roebuck, 32099K] reports an emboldened Trump administration plans to aggressively challenge blocks on the president’s top priorities, a White House official said, following a major Supreme Court ruling that limits the power of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions. Government attorneys will press judges to pare back the dozens of sweeping rulings thwarting the president’s agenda “as soon as possible,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. Priorities for the administration include injunctions related to the Education Department and the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as an order halting the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the official said. Trump on Friday cast the narrowing of judicial power as a consequential, needed correction in his battle with a court system that has restrained his authority. Scholars and plaintiffs in the lawsuits over Trump’s orders agreed that the high court ruling could profoundly reshape legal battles over executive power that have defined Trump’s second term — even as other legal experts said the effects would be more muted. Some predicted it would embolden Trump to push his expansive view of presidential power.

FOX News [6/28/2025 8:44 PM, Alexandra Koch, 46878K] reports multiple environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday alleging officials did not evaluate ecologic impacts when constructing "Alligator Alcatraz," an illegal immigrant detention center near the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve. The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity in the Southern District of Florida, aims to pause construction at the federal site, which is being built at the reportedly unoccupied Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. "It’s a lazy lawsuit, and it ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. The 30-square-mile property will be home to 5,000 ICE detainees and is guarded by alligators and pythons. The Trump administration announced Tuesday it had approved the project, and crews started working on the transformation Monday. Attorneys allege the installation of housing units; the construction of sanitation and food services systems, lighting infrastructure, diesel power generators; and the use of the runway to transport detainees, pose "clear" environmental harms, according to a FOX 13 Tampa Bay report. Funded by the state, the center will cost about $450 million to operate annually with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursements. As the lawsuit seeking an injunction moves its way through the courts, work is continuing at the site, FOX 13 reported. The suit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie and Miami-Dade County. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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DailySignal [6/28/2025 5:45 PM, Lorenzo Prieto, 558K]

Los Angeles Times [6/28/2025 8:22 PM, Libor Jany, 14672K] reports citing a recent arrest by immigration agents that bloodied a man in the unincorporated area of Valinda, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she wants the county to explore a legal counterattack against what she described as the federal government’s "unconstitutional immigration enforcement practices." In a statement Saturday, Solis said that she plans to co-sponsor a motion at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting asking the county’s attorney to explore "all legal remedies available to the County to protect the civil rights of our residents and prevent federal law enforcement personnel from engaging in any unconstitutional or unlawful immigration enforcement." Such conduct, the motion says, includes the "unlawfully stopping, questioning or detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion, or arresting individuals without probable cause or a valid warrant." The L.A. City Council introduced a similar motion earlier this month seeking to prohibit federal agents from carrying out unconstitutional stops, searches or arrests of city residents. Federal officials have said their agents are defending themselves against increasingly hostile crowds, which in some cases are interfering with arrests. Top officials, such as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have argued that the government’s raids are targeting "criminals that have been out on our street far too long." A recent Times analysis suggested that the majority of those who were arrested in early June were not convicted criminals, however.

Newsweek [6/28/2025 11:48 AM, James Bickerton] reports two environmental charities on Friday filed a lawsuit at a Miami federal court attempting to block the opening of a new migrant processing facility at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" by some Republicans. The suit was launched by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity who argued the proposal violates the National Environmental Policy and Endangered Species acts. Friday’s lawsuit was filed in the federal Southern District of Florida with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE director Todd Lyons listed among the defendants. The new detention center is under construction at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a training 39-square-mile site near Big Cypress National Preserve which has a 10,000 foot asphalt runway. During an interview with Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy, that aired on Friday, DeSantis said the center should be ready to take its first detainees by Tuesday. Footage from the site showed portable restrooms and air conditioning systems underneath tent-like canopies. Florida authorities say the facility will take $450 million to build, with the cost to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Friday’s lawsuit argues the facility violates the Environmental Policy and Endangered Species acts and is calling for an expedited hearing to stop construction until an environmental hearing is complete.

Breitbart.com [6/28/2025 11:13 AM, Hannah Knudsen, 3077K] reports Florida is stepping it up to "help increase deportations," Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said this week, showcasing the most notable move by the Sunshine State in prepping "Alligator Alcatraz." DeSantis said the facility — the Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility, which has been approved for use by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — helps answer the mounting capacity issue due to the high rate of incarceration. "There needs to be more ability to intake process and then deport. So this answers that," the governor said. "This is going to be able to have — more than 3,000 illegals can be processed through here. "We’ve got a massive runway right behind us where any of the federal assets… they want to fly these people back to the country," he said, describing it as a "one stop shop." DeSantis said most of the illegal migrants will "likely be ones that are apprehended in Florida." Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also described this detention facility as the "perfect location" for Florida’s needs assisting Trump in implementing his deportation agenda. DeSantis said during his interview that the facility would be able to intake illegal migrants by Tuesday.

NBC News [6/28/2025 12:30 PM, Matt Dixon, 44540K] reports at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida is quickly constructing a $450 million-a-year immigration detention center in the heart of the Everglades as part of the state’s push to coordinate with President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda. The facility, which has been informally dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," has received heavy pushback and a legal challenge, but it has also been a boon for the national profile of both DeSantis and his appointed attorney general, James Uthmeier. Both have received waves of national attention — and a resulting boost to their political stock. But the effort has had the ancillary effect of amplifying his political profile after a failed 2024 presidential bid, and the fortunes of Uthmeier, who will be on the ballot for the first time during the 2026 midterms. The move to further boost Florida’s status as the state working hardest to enact policies that align with Trump’s immigration agenda is nothing new, but the creation of Alligator Alcatraz is without question the highest-profile effort to date, and it has come with the benefit of being popular with the Republican base. Trump has yet to chime in on the idea, but his Department of Homeland Security offered the needed federal sign-off for Florida to operate the facility, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the effort in a statement this week. "Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens," she said. "We will expand facilities and bed spaces in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida."

The Hill [6/28/2025 8:41 PM, Miriam Waldvogel, 18649K] reports hundreds of people lined a Florida Everglades highway Saturday to protest the construction of an immigrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" as a steady stream of trucks carrying materials rolled by. The facility is projected to cost about $450 million annually and was fast-tracked under emergency powers from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Part of the funding will come from a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that was used to house asylum seekers during the Biden administration. The proposal from the Florida government also urged the Trump administration to waive some existing standards for detention centers. The state has estimated that as many as 5,000 immigration detention beds could be operational in the facility by July, mostly through temporary structures like heavy-duty tents and trailers. Protesters on Saturday expressed a wide variety of reasons for opposing the detention center, from environmental degradation to concerns about immigration raids. Native American leaders have also expressed concern over the construction for its proximity to traditional villages as well as ceremonial and burial grounds.

(B) Good Morning America [6/28/2025 9:57 AM, Staff] reports that protests are getting started at 10:00 against a massive detention and deportation center set to open up next week. It is called Alligator Alcatraz and is set to open at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport Monday. Environmental groups are suing the agencies behind it. FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Miami-Dade County are being sued. The lawsuit claims the government broke the law by skipping an environmental review.

AP [6/28/2025 6:22 PM, Makiya Seminera, 56000K] reports a coalition of groups including environmental activists and Native Americans advocating for their ancestral homelands converged outside an airstrip in the Florida Everglades on Saturday to protest the imminent construction of an immigrant detention center. Hundreds of protesters lined part of U.S. Highway 41 that slices through the marshy Everglades — also known as Tamiami Trail — as dump trucks hauling materials lumbered into the airfield. Cars passing by honked in support as protesters waved signs calling for the protection of the expansive preserve that is home to a few Native tribes and several endangered animal species. Christopher McVoy, an ecologist, said he saw a steady stream of trucks entering the site while he protested for hours. Environmental degradation was a big reason why he came out Saturday. But as a south Florida city commissioner, he said concerns over immigration raids in his city also fueled his opposition. "People I know are in tears, and I wasn’t far from it," he said. Florida officials have forged ahead over the last week in constructing the compound dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" within the Everglades’ humid swamplands. The government fast-tracked the project under emergency powers from an executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis that addresses what he casts as a crisis of illegal immigration. That order lets the state sidestep certain purchasing laws and is why construction has continued despite objections from Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and local activists. The facility will have temporary structures such as heavy-duty tents and trailers to house detained immigrants. The state estimates that by early July, it will have 5,000 immigration detention beds in operation. The compound’s proponents have said its location in the Florida wetlands — teeming with alligators, invasive Burmese pythons and other reptiles — makes it an ideal spot for immigration detention. "Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there’s a lot of alligators," DeSantis said Wednesday. "No one’s going anywhere.” Under DeSantis, Florida has made an aggressive push for immigration enforcement and has been supportive of the federal government’s broader crackdown on illegal immigration. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has backed Alligator Alcatraz, which Secretary Kristi Noem said will be partly funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FOX News [6/28/2025 8:44 PM, Alexandra Koch, 32092K] reports multiple environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday alleging officials did not evaluate ecologic impacts when constructing "Alligator Alcatraz," an illegal immigrant detention center near the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve. The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity in the Southern District of Florida, aims to pause construction at the federal site, which is being built at the reportedly unoccupied Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. "It’s a lazy lawsuit, and it ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. The 30-square-mile property will be home to 5,000 ICE detainees and is guarded by alligators and pythons. The Trump administration announced Tuesday it had approved the project, and crews started working on the transformation Monday. Attorneys allege the installation of housing units; the construction of sanitation and food services systems, lighting infrastructure, diesel power generators; and the use of the runway to transport detainees, pose "clear" environmental harms, according to a FOX 13 Tampa Bay report. Environmental groups and Native Americans who live in the reserve protested outside the airport Saturday, calling on officials to protect their homeland from additional pollution. "The defendants, in their rush to build the center, have unlawfully bypassed the required environmental reviews," according to court documents. "The direct and indirect harm to nearby wetlands, wildlife and air and water quality, and feasible alternatives to the action, must be considered under NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] before acting.” Lawyers also accused officials of violating Miami-Dade County code and noted Emergency Management’s lack of authority to construct and manage a correctional center, according to the report. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News’ "Fox & Friends" Friday that illegal immigrants could begin arriving by Tuesday, clarifying no permanent changes would be made. "It’s all temporary," DeSantis said. "We’ll set it up, and we’ll break it down. This isn’t our first rodeo. The impact will be zero.” He added the center will be a "force multiplier," aiding in the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s mandate. Funded by the state, the center will cost about $450 million to operate annually with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursements. As the lawsuit seeking an injunction moves its way through the courts, work is continuing at the site, FOX 13 reported. The suit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie and Miami-Dade County. Florida Emergency Management and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Miami-Dade County could not immediately be reached for comment. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [6/28/2025 7:08 PM, Maria Sacchetti, 32099K] reports the Trump administration has agreed to release from prison a three-time felon who drunkenly fired shots in a Texas community and spare him from deportation in exchange for his cooperation in the federal prosecution of Kilmar Abrego García, according to a review of court records and official testimony. Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, 38, has been convicted of smuggling migrants and illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. He also pleaded guilty to “deadly conduct” in the Texas incident, and is now the government’s star witness in its case against Abrego. In court, prosecutors have identified their main witness as the "first cooperator." But a federal agent also testified this month that the main cooperator owned the vehicle that Abrego was allegedly using to smuggle migrants when the Tennessee Highway Patrol stopped him in 2022. The Department of Homeland Security has identified Hernandez as the registered owner of the SUV Abrego was driving in that incident. That traffic stop is the centerpiece of the criminal investigation. Hernandez is among a handful of cooperating witnesses who could help the Trump administration achieve its goal of never letting Abrego walk free in the United States again. In exchange, he has already been released early from federal prison to a halfway house and has been given permission to stay in the U.S. for at least a year. "Otherwise he would be deported," Peter Joseph, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent, testified at Abrego’s criminal hearing June 13. The government is also likely to give him a work permit, the agent told the court.

FOX News [6/29/2025 6:00 AM, Audrey Conklin, 46878K] reports a South Carolina congressman is warning of threats that face Americans "anywhere" after four years of an open border following the random murder of a Lancaster mom of two last month. The comments come after Lancaster authorities charged six illegal immigrants, between the ages of 13 and 21, in connection with Larisha Thompson’s May 2 murder. She was shot to death while driving to meet friends in Rock Hill. "Two children will not have a mother to come home to," Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. "It can happen anywhere, at any time. That’s the sad part. We’ve seen it all over the country.” He added that while Laken Riley, the Augusta University student killed by illegal Venezuelan migrant Jose Ibarra in February 2024, has become "the face" of crimes committed by those living illegally in the United States, there are similar victims in states across the country, including Thompson and others, such as Lizbeth Medina, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin and Kayla Hamilton. "The positive thing is: the border’s secure now, but you’ve got to realize: four years of leaving the doors open to over 160 countries to put criminals and anybody else that wanted to come into the country," Norman said. "You wouldn’t open your house up like that. Yet the Democrats are still not condemning what Joe Biden intentionally did. But it’s a new day, and hopefully, [it is] going to be straightened out in time.” Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office deputies located Thompson, 40, deceased with a gunshot wound behind the wheel of her vehicle on Riverside Road in Lancaster, which is located about an hour south of Charlotte, North Carolina. On May 12, authorities announced the arrests of three adults – Asael Aminadas Torres-Chirinos, 21, Jarby Ardon Ramos-Odari, 18, and Jeyson Sobied Pineda-Salgado, 17 – and three juveniles, ages 13, 14 and 15, in connection with Thompson’s death and a separate burglary that occurred on April 30. "The unknown is what we fear," Norman said when asked about people with criminal intentions who may have crossed illegally into the United States during the Biden administration. "When you hear [FBI Director] Kash Patel talk about threats… the fact is that they’re doing their best, but… we don’t know who’s here. And we’re getting a lot of them out, but there’s still the unknown of who’s left here. And that’s the problem. How many more deaths do we have to have that are just so senseless?". The Department of Homeland Security has placed detainers on all six individuals charged, Faile said during a press conference, adding that the community is a "much safer place today because these six individuals are off the streets.”

Washington Examiner [6/29/2025 12:01 AM, Staff, 1934K] reports the Supreme Court finally slapped down this week one of the many Biden-appointed judges who have hampered President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. The court blocked Judge Brian Murphy’s order creating new burdensome administrative hurdles and making it harder to deport illegal immigrants to countries they are not originally from. One of the biggest barriers to swift and just immigration enforcement is that many countries either limit how many of their citizens they will take back from the United States each year or forbid the U.S. from sending back any of their citizens. Countries with such limits or bans include China, Cuba, India, Venezuela, and Vietnam. When these countries refuse to take back their citizens, the Department of Homeland Security is forced to house them, sometimes indefinitely, making it harder to hold and process other illegal immigrants. Trump has sought to alleviate this bottleneck by entering into diplomatic agreements with third countries that will take deportees who are not citizens of those countries. These agreements are complex and sensitive foreign policy matters that the federal judges have no business interfering with. More importantly, however, there is nothing in the Constitution, federal statute, or federal regulation that empowers an illegal immigrant to choose which country they are deported to. If an illegal immigrant is captured and determined to have no right to be in the U.S., then the federal government has every right to send them to whatever country is willing to take them. Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by Senate Democrats just this past December, disagrees. He believes that illegal immigrants destined for deportation to countries other than their home country are due extra rights. Specifically, he believes they are due notice of which country the U.S. plans to deport them to, and 15 days to challenge their deportation to that country. Mind you, this is on top of the process the migrants are already due to determine if they have credible fear of torture if they are returned to their home country. Murphy entered a nationwide injunction of all such third-country deportations this March. One Guatemalan illegal immigrant argued in Murphy’s court that he should not be deported to Mexico because he was raped in the country. He wanted a hearing so that he could argue that Mexico was too unsafe for him. Murphy agreed. The Trump administration then appealed Murphy’s order, with U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer telling the Supreme Court in May that Murphy "invented" an "onerous set of procedures" that made perfectly legal third-country deportations all but impossible. The Supreme Court did not issue a decision explaining why it agreed to hold Murphy’s order, but the fact that it suspended its enforcement indicates that Murphy will most likely lose when the full case reaches the court.

The Hill [6/28/2025 8:00 AM, Artem Kolisnichenko, 18649K] reports by March 2025 — in just the second full month of President Trump’s second term — the number of criminal immigration prosecutions jumped by 36 percent over the month prior, reaching 4,550 charges per month. According to TRAC, this marks the sharpest monthly increase in recent years. From Texas to Florida, sheriffs are bracing for full jails, and everyone knows this is just the beginning. Unlike Biden’s slow-moving policy, Trump’s forces are moving fast — 70 percent of all cases are now initiated by Customs and Border Protection. The return of priority enforcement and pressure on ICE to deliver faster results with less bureaucracy has pushed the system into high gear — 36 percent growth in just one month. The Trump administration is building up a new pressure system. Beyond simply reviving its old rhetoric on illegal immigration enforcement, it is building a more aggressive structure, handing real power to field-level actors. The fact that 70 percent of cases are being opened by CBP, not ICE, shows how federal power is being pushed down to those counties with the most hardline politics. The new rule is already clear: less paper, please, and pass the handcuffs. At the same time, border crossings fell to just 7,181 in March — a 95 percent drop compared to the same month last year. While some say it’s seasonal, the sharp rise in prosecutions seems to be acting as a strong warning. Meanwhile, ICE is quietly speeding up deportations, processing hundreds of thousands of migrants through faster removals in recent months, showing how the system is working behind the scenes to reduce border crossings.

San Diego Union Tribune [6/28/2025 11:20 PM, John Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead, 1611K] reports that, while the U.S. wages war abroad—bombing Iran, escalating conflict, and staging a spectacle of power for political gain—a different kind of war is being waged here at home. This war at home is quieter but no less destructive. The casualties are not in distant deserts or foreign cities. They are our freedoms, our communities, and the Constitution itself. And the agents of this domestic war? Masked thugs. Unmarked vans. Raids. Roundups. Detentions without due process. Retaliation against those who dare to question or challenge government authority. People made to disappear into bureaucratic black holes. Fear campaigns targeting immigrant communities and political dissenters alike. Surveillance weaponized to monitor and suppress lawful activity. Packaged under the guise of national security—as all power grabs tend to be—this government-sanctioned thuggery masquerading as law-and-order is the face of the Trump Administration’s so-called war on illegal immigration. Don’t fall for the propaganda that claims we’re being overrun by criminals or driven into the poorhouse by undocumented immigrants living off welfare. The real threat to our way of life comes not from outside invaders, but from within: an unelected, unaccountable enforcement agency operating above the law. President Trump insists that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is focused on violent criminals, but the facts tell a different story (non-criminal ICE arrests have surged 800% in six months)—and that myth is precisely what enables the erosion of rights for everyone. By painting enforcement as narrowly targeted, the administration obscures a far broader dragnet that sweeps up legal residents, naturalized citizens, and native-born Americans alike. What begins with immigrants rarely ends there. According to the Cato Institute, 65 percent of people taken by ICE had no convictions, and 93 percent had no violent convictions at all. This isn’t targeted enforcement—it’s indiscriminate purging. What ICE—an agency that increasingly resembles a modern-day Gestapo—is doing to immigrants today, it can and will do to citizens tomorrow: these are the early warning signs of a system already in motion. The machinery is in place. The abuses are ongoing. And the constitutional safeguards we rely on are being ignored, dismantled, or bypassed entirely. When legal residents, naturalized citizens, and native-born Americans are swept up in ICE’s raids, detained without cause, and subjected to treatment that defies every constitutional protection against government overreach, this isn’t about immigration. It’s not about danger. It’s about power—unchecked and absolute. This is authoritarianism by design. It reflects a deliberate strategy of fear and domination by ICE agents acting like an occupying army, intent on intimidating the population into submission while the Trump Administration redraws the boundaries of the Constitution for all within America’s borders, citizen and immigrant alike.

NewsMax [6/28/2025 1:23 PM, Jim Thomas, 4622K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests have more than doubled across 38 states since President Donald Trump took office, with the agency averaging 666 administrative detentions per day through June 10, up from fewer than 300 daily arrests in 2024, The New York Times reported. ICE has arrested more than 20,000 people in Texas and over 11,000 in Florida and Puerto Rico since Jan. 20, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley. This Freedom of Information Act-sourced report shows ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division immediately ramped up activity to fulfill the administration’s goal of deporting millions of unauthorized immigrants. "We intend to enforce the law fully and rigorously," said Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and the driving force behind the administration’s immigration policy who in May set a daily target of 3,000 arrests. Following Miller’s directive, ICE arrests climbed to an average of more than 1,100 per day in early June, prompting agents to detain migrants at routine check-ins and immigration court hearings. The Deportation Data Project’s figures cover administrative arrests by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division through June 10 and exclude criminal arrests, Homeland Security Investigations detentions, and Customs and Border Protection apprehensions. Data were filtered to remove duplicates and invalid entries; approximately 11% of arrests lacking state-level location information are omitted from state totals.

AP [6/28/2025 11:59 PM, Kim Chandler, Claire Rush, and Elliot Spagat, 56000K] reports Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian lived in the United States for 47 years, married a U.S. citizen and raised their daughter. She was gardening in the yard of her New Orleans home when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handcuffed and took her away, her family said. Kashanian arrived in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum, fearing retaliation for her father’s support of the U.S.-backed shah. She lost her bid, but she was allowed to remain with her husband and child if she checked in regularly with immigration officials, her husband and daughter said. She complied, once checking in from South Carolina during Hurricane Katrina. She is now being held at an immigration detention center in Basile, Louisiana, while her family tries to get information. Other Iranians are also getting arrested by immigration authorities after decades in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security won’t say how many people they’ve arrested, but U.S. military strikes on Iran have fueled fears that there is more to come. “Some level of vigilance, of course, makes sense, but what it seems like ICE has done is basically give out an order to round up as many Iranians as you can, whether or not they’re linked to any threat and then arrest them and deport them, which is very concerning,” said Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group. Homeland Security did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Kashanian’s case but have been touting arrests of Iranians. The department announced the arrests of at least 11 Iranians on immigration violations during the weekend of the U.S. missile strikes. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, without elaborating, that it arrested seven Iranians at a Los Angeles-area address that “has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism.” The department “has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said of the 11 arrests. She didn’t offer any evidence of terrorist or extremist ties. Her comment on parole programs referred to President Joe Biden’s expanded legal pathways to entry, which his successor, Donald Trump, shut down.

Newsweek [6/28/2025 6:51 PM, Mandy Taheri, 52220K] reports Mandana Kashanian, a 64-year-old Iranian woman who came to the United States at 17 years old just ahead of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, was arrested by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday and is being in detention in Louisiana. Newsweek has confirmed her detention in the ICE detainee database. Newsweek has reached out to ICE for comment via email on Saturday. Kashanian’s detention comes amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration and inflamed U.S. relations with Iran. The U.S. struck three of Iran’s nuclear sites, Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz, last Saturday. Iran later struck a U.S. base in Qatar. Also last weekend, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrested 11 Iranian citizens who were in the U.S. illegally. Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran and the U.S. have severed main diplomatic ties and maintained a tense relationship, with occasional high-profile nuclear talks. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security said in a June 24 press release about the arrest of 11 Iranian nationals: "Under Secretary [Kristi] Noem, DHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise. "We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are. We don’t wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland."

Breitbart [6/28/2025 3:22 PM, Randy Clark, 3077K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records show thousands of Iranian nationals may be eligible to be arrested nationwide on immigration-related issues. These are in addition to the approximately 1,500 Iranian nationals whom the Border Patrol detained after entering the country illegally during President Joe Biden’s term. ICE Data shows nearly 6,000 Iranians who may have entered legally but have since violated their legal status may soon be the focus of the ongoing ICE dragnet. The number of Iranians arrested by ICE since the U.S. military action on Iran’s nuclear sites may soon pale in comparison to the arrest of those who may have entered the United States legally but are currently at some stage in the removal process. According to a recent social media post by reporter Ali Bradley, there are nearly 6,000 Iranian nationals who are inside the United States and are identified as removable or will soon become removable, who ICE is not currently detaining. According to Bradley, the data she exclusively obtained from DHS sources shows nearly 1,300 of the almost 6,000 Iranian nationals on the ICE non-detained docket have criminal convictions. The information reveals that 2,970 Iranian nationals have final orders of removal, and approximately half of the overall number are in the removal process, pending final orders of removal.

New York Times [6/28/2025 7:45 PM, Miriam Jordan and Jazmine Ulloa, 153395K] reports far from public view, the toll of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is unfolding in overcrowded detention facilities across the country. Some immigrants have gone a week or more without showers. Others sleep pressed tightly together on bare floors. Medications for diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic health problems are often going unprovided. In New York and Los Angeles, people have been held for days in cramped rooms designed for brief processing, not prolonged confinement, and their lawyers and family members have remained in the dark about their whereabouts. The nation’s immigration detention system is buckling under the weight of record numbers as the Trump administration intensifies its enforcement agenda with raids on workplaces and arrests at immigration courts. More than 56,000 immigrants were in government custody on June 15, exceeding the current capacity of 41,000. “These are the worst conditions I have seen in my 20-year career,” said Paul Chavez, litigation and advocacy director at Americans for Immigrant Justice in Florida, which represents detainees. “Conditions were never great, but this is horrendous.” The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, categorically denied all claims of overcrowding and poor conditions at its facilities. A spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that all detainees “are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.” Ms. McLaughlin added that Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, had called on states and local government to help with beds and detention space, and she noted that multiple court rulings have led to delays in deporting immigrants. “Despite a historic number of injunctions, D.H.S. is working rapidly overtime to remove these aliens from detention centers to their final destination — home,” Ms. McLaughlin said.

UPI [6/28/2025 1:04 PM, Simon Corlett] reports friends and family members of people detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are raising concerns over conditions inside detention centers in California. One family member reported not being able to meet with his father who is being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles and instead having to leave blood pressure medication for him, CBS News reported. Other family members report similar conditions faced by detainees. Officials are currently holding around 59,000 immigrants in federal detention centers across the country, CBS News reported this week, citing internal government data. That puts the number of detainees being held at 140% capacity, compared to the 41,500-person figure passed by Congress. Earlier this month, the city of Glendale, Calif., said it was terminating contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to house federal detainees at local police stations, calling the issue too "divisive." Private prison firm CoreCivic confirmed earlier in the month that it reached a deal with DHS and ICE to convert one of its facilities to house federal detainees. The Nashville-based company is converting its existing detention facility located in California City, in Kern County, Calif. The detention center currently has 2,560 beds for inmates.

USA Today [6/29/2025 6:02 AM, Nick Penzenstadler, 75552K] reports the message came over a jail video call between an attorney and her client locked away in immigration detention. In an echoey windowless room she said: "I’m sorry, I can’t be your lawyer anymore." Sophie Woodruff had to tell him twice. Her client could hear the words she was saying, but he didn’t understand them. Grevil Paz Cartagena is mentally ill and legally incompetent. He has been in detention for nearly 600 days. Woodruff was the only person the 31-year-old Honduran immigrant could talk to. That was aside from the voices in his head. She had promised not to abandon him, but the Trump administration quietly canceled a $12 million annual contract on April 25. Since 2013, it had paid private attorneys to represent detainees deemed mentally or cognitively incompetent and unable to represent themselves. Those attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in May challenging the abrupt change. In an April memo reviewed by USA TODAY, DOJ contractors crossed out any reference to “nationwide” protections for detained noncitizens with serious mental disorders. By law, detainees with severe disabilities are still supposed to be given a fair hearing where they can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. But now they’re caught up in the administration’s zest to ramp up removals under the auspices of saving taxpayers. That means 289 immigrants like Paz Cartagena facing removal around the country are suddenly adrift. Any newly detained immigrants deemed incompetent will not be afforded attorneys. In a legal twist, hundreds of other mentally incompetent detainees in three states − Arizona, California, and Washington − are still offered attorneys due to a previous court ruling. The rest are left to fend for themselves. “So, are you still going to be there in court?” a still-confused Paz Cartagena asked Woodruff before hanging up the video call. Now formally withdrawn from the case, Woodruff says she’s struggling to fully detach. “Personally, it’s devastating,” Woodruff said. “I can’t put this any clearer. If they deport him, he will die. And that’s on my spirit.” Immigration attorneys told USA TODAY they face an impossible choice: continue working for free or cut ties with their most vulnerable clients they pledged to defend. Six attorneys enrolled in the program spoke about the sudden end to the funding. They facilitated interviews behind the detention center doors with detainees with a variety of mental health challenges. With the help of intermediaries and advocates, all but one of the detainees decided to remain anonymous for fear of impacting their cases. Only Paz Cartagena is identified by name. The Department of Justice, which administers the program, declined to answer questions about its past or future, citing pending litigation challenging the cut. National and local staff for the immigration court in Paz Cartagena’s case said immigration judges are barred from speaking about it.

Breitbart.com [6/28/2025 11:55 AM, Amy Furr, 3077K] reports the city council in Providence, Rhode Island, has approved mailers telling illegal immigrants what to do if they are confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The mailers will be sent to homes in the area telling residents not to open their doors unless an officer has a valid warrant with a judge’s signature, Fox News reported on Friday. The news comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has been carrying out immigration enforcement which has resulted in ICE agents and police officers being harassed and targeted by violent leftists. In her statement on the mailers, Council President Rachel Miller said, "The Providence City Council is partnering with organizations that represent our diverse community to promote safety and inclusion in the face of fear and uncertainty that pervades our city’s immigrant communities due to the reckless cruelty of the Trump administration." The Fox article said the city shelled out $17,000 for the mailer project.

New York Times [6/28/2025 7:42 PM, Miriam Jordan and Jazmine Ulloa, 153395K] reports far from public view, the toll of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is unfolding in overcrowded detention facilities across the country. Some immigrants have gone a week or more without showers. Others sleep pressed tightly together on bare floors. Medications for diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic health problems are often going unprovided. In New York and Los Angeles, people have been held for days in cramped rooms designed for brief processing, not prolonged confinement, and their lawyers and family members have remained in the dark about their whereabouts. The nation’s immigration detention system is buckling under the weight of record numbers as the Trump administration intensifies its enforcement agenda with raids on workplaces and arrests at immigration courts. More than 56,000 immigrants were in government custody on June 15, exceeding the current capacity of 41,000. "These are the worst conditions I have seen in my 20-year career," said Paul Chavez, litigation and advocacy director at Americans for Immigrant Justice in Florida, which represents detainees. "Conditions were never great, but this is horrendous." At least 10 immigrants have died in ICE custody in the six months since Jan. 1, including two at a facility in Miami, the Krome detention center, where detainees this month formed a human "SOS" sign in the yard. At least two of the deaths were suicides, in Arizona and Georgia. (An average of about seven deaths a year occurred in ICE custody during the four years of the Biden administration.). The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, categorically denied all claims of overcrowding and poor conditions at its facilities. A spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that all detainees "are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.". McLaughlin added that Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, had called on states and local government to help with beds and detention space, and she noted that multiple court rulings have led to delays in deporting immigrants. "Despite a historic number of injunctions, DHS is working rapidly overtime to remove these aliens from detention centers to their final destination -- home," McLaughlin said.

NBC News [6/28/2025 7:00 AM, Kimmy Yam, 44540K] reports for months while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, Badar Khan Suri, the Georgetown University postdoctoral scholar who was targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, said he spun a tale for his 5-year-old sons to help them cope with his absence. It was one of the ways, Khan Suri said, that he attempted to continue to parent his three children "with love, creativity and resilience" from detention. Now, just over a month since his release from an ICE facility in Texas, Khan Suri reflected on his experience with family separation, one that he said took a significant toll on his wife and children. These days, Khan Suri — who was released last month after a judge ruled that his detention violated the First Amendment right to free speech and the Fifth Amendment right to due process — said his children have been enjoying life with both their parents at home. He said he has returned to some quintessential dad duties including bringing his kids to the bus stop, and he’s earned the privilege of being identified as the favorite parent in the household. But three months ago, Khan Suri was pulled away from his family when he was arrested outside his Arlington, Virginia, home and accused by the Department of Homeland Security of "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media." He was never formally charged with a crime. Khan Suri "has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in March on X. His attorney Hassan Ahmad has repeatedly denied that he ever made pro-Hamas or antisemitic statements. Khan Suri’s father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef, was an adviser to a now-deceased Hamas leader. Yousef said he left his position more than a decade ago and he has since become a critic of Hamas. Khan Suri described the first week in ICE custody as a "nightmare."

Univision Austin [6/28/2025 8:55 AM, Staff, 4992K] reports Narel López faces grief and uncertainty after being left alone with her two daughters after ICE arrested her husband and her other son, 15, after they went to Immigration Court in San Antonio. This Honduran family’s nightmare began last Wednesday, June 25, when they stood helpless and crying as their husband, Marlon Ríos, and their son, Marlon Ríos Jr., were put on a bus and taken to an ICE detention center. The mother also faces a condition that prevents her from working: she recently suffered a work-related accident and had to undergo surgery, during which 12 screws were implanted in her foot. The situation is even more complicated, as their youngest daughter is suffering seizures from an electric shock to her head and requires medical treatment.

NewsNation [6/29/2025 12:08 AM, Vivian Chow, 5801K] Video: HERE reports loved ones are distraught after a father was arrested by immigration agents while he was shopping at a Home Depot in Burbank. Carlos Mejia Osorio, 42, is a father of five children and works as a handyman and contractor. On June 19, Osorio and his adult son, Jonathan Chavez, were picking up materials and supplies for a job when federal immigration agents suddenly appeared. "We were loading up the truck and then right when we’re about to leave, he was about to get into the car, two agents just came out of nowhere and started chasing him," Jonathan told NewsNation affiliate KTLA’s Rick Chambers. Video of the incident was posted to Burbank Mayor Nikki Perez’s Instagram page, where Osorio is seen being chased down the parking lot by an agent. He was eventually detained and taken to a detention center in downtown Los Angeles. The day Osorio was taken, he was fixing a fence in Mia Hopkey’s backyard. Carlos Mejia Osorio and his daughters are seen in a family photo. "There’s an enormous amount of guilt, was the first thing I felt," Hopkey said. "We had a hole in the fence that needed to be patched. He was working here. He went to pick up some lumber from Home Depot and that’s when he was taken.” Osorio came to the U.S. illegally from Guatemala around 20 years ago. He has since raised a family in Southern California, worked to provide for his wife and children and paid his taxes, his family said. Friends and neighbors told NewsNation affiliate KTLA they were distraught to hear of Osorio’s detainment. They described him as a hardworking family man who is loved by his community. "We’re reeling from it," said Alex Meiners, a friend. "He’s the first person I thought about [when the ICE raids began.] Just seeing how they were doing it and just targeting brown people. He’s been here for 20 years. He’s been a community member. He goes to church.” "He is not the person that ICE should be going after," Hopkey said. "He’s an outstanding member of the community. He’s a loving husband, father and friend. He doesn’t deserve this.” Family members said they’ve had little information about his case and what the next steps might be. They’re concerned about his wife and children as he is their primary provider. On Friday night, loved ones were able to contact Osorio and confirmed he was transferred to a facility in Arizona and will likely to be moved to the Houston, Texas area this week.

San Francisco Chronicle [6/28/2025 11:23 PM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 4120K] reports a San Francisco drag performer was detained by immigration enforcement officers after his asylum hearing in immigration court Thursday morning, one of the latest among at least 20 people in San Francisco to be subject to a new Trump administration practice of courthouse arrests. The man, an immigrant from Central America who performs under the drag name Hilary Rivers, is gay and has a pending asylum application based on "traumatic and severe" persecution he experienced in his home country that led him to flee to the U.S., according to Milli Atkinson, legal director at the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative, who heads up the city’s Rapid Response Network that responds to immigration enforcement actions. At Rivers’ immigration hearing, the government attorney moved for the case to be dismissed, but the judge denied it. Rivers was arrested as he was leaving court, Atkinson said. A Rapid Response Network attorney on site was able to advise Rivers on his rights to prevent the government deporting him in error, Atkinson said. His attorney has since located him at an ICE detention facility in Bakersfield, she said. The Chronicle has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment. U.S. law grants asylum seekers like Rivers the right to remain in the United States while their asylum claim is pending, but the government has argued that it has the right to detain such individuals, which has been challenged in court before. Under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment’s right to due process, immigrants also generally have the right to a hearing in front of an immigration judge before they’re deported, with some exceptions. However, since late May, federal immigration authorities under President Donald Trump’s administration have started a new practice where the government attorney in an immigration hearing would file a motion for the judge to dismiss the case so that the person would lose protections from deportation afforded to those with pending immigration proceedings. After the judge dismisses it, ICE agents would arrest the immigrant and detain them for expedited removal, or deportation without a hearing, a federal power that’s under Biden was reserved for those arrested at the border within two weeks of their arrival. Authorities have also been detaining people whose cases were not dismissed by immigration judges, including Rivers, Atkinson said. Of the, at least 20, people who the San Francisco Rapid Response Network confirmed had been subject to "courthouse arrests," she said only two of them had cases dismissed by judges. The rest, she said, are still in active proceedings and the majority have a pending asylum application. Atkinson said she has confirmed that the government then moves a person’s case to appear before an immigration judge who is more willing to grant the motion to dismiss, so they can deport the person. "It’s a complete, flagrant violation of what our asylum system was built on," Atkinson said. "He was doing everything, complying with every rule there could possibly be. Every day he’s been in the U.S. has been lawful.”

Bloomberg [6/28/2025 10:00 AM, Madlin Mekelburg and Alicia A. Caldwell, 19320K] reports a US Supreme Court ruling is stoking fears that the babies of many noncitizen parents could be treated differently depending on the state in which they’re born, as legal challenges unfold against President Donald Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship. The justices didn’t rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s restrictions. But in a divided decision Friday, they paused nationwide injunctions in three cases that had blocked the policy from taking effect. That opens a potential path for Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship to be enforced in the 28 states where no court order to block it is currently in place, many of them Republican strongholds from Texas to Florida and Wyoming to Oklahoma. State officials and legal experts warn the arrangement could lead to a patchwork quilt of outcomes, in which the children of people in the US unlawfully or on temporary visas would be recognized as citizens in some states but not in others. Nothing will change immediately — the justices said Trump’s restrictions can’t take effect for 30 days. Much will be in flux during that period as lower courts revise their rulings to align with the new precedent set by the high court. Justices also left open an avenue for opponents to continue trying to block Trump’s order through a class action lawsuit. And they left key questions unanswered about the scope of relief that certain challengers — particularly individual states — are entitled to receive.

NPR [6/28/2025 11:41 AM, Alana Wise, 37958K] reports a 70-year-old Egyptian man pleaded guilty in federal court this week after he kicked a Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector dog during a bag search at Washington Dulles International Airport. Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie was charged with harming an animal used in law enforcement for kicking a 5-year-old beagle named Freddie hard enough to lift the 25-pound animal off the ground, CBP said in a news release. The dog suffered contusions on the right side of his ribs. Freddie and his handler were inspecting baggage when the dog "alerted to one of Marie’s suitcases," the agency said. "As the CBP canine handler started questioning Marie, he violently kicked Freddie." CBP said Marie was attempting to bring in several items of food, including illicit agriculture products. Among his belongings, CBP said its agents found 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of eggplant, cucumbers, bell peppers, two pounds of corn seeds, and a pound of herbs. Marie was ordered to pay the dog’s veterinarian bill and on Thursday was ordered removed back to Egypt.

NewsNation [6/28/2025 10:30 AM, Lily Dallow, 5801K] reports a Los Angeles man is suspected of possibly impersonating a federal agent. On Thursday, police in nearby Huntington Park arrested 24-year-old Fernando Diaz, saying he had a loaded firearm, law enforcement-style documents and other police paraphernalia. Diaz was arrested that night after officers say they responded to a vehicle parked illegally in a handicap spot along an area street. Police initially believed the gray Dodge Durango could be an unmarked law enforcement vehicle due to visible red and blue LED lights, police-style radios and a firearm magazine inside the car. But dispatchers soon confirmed the SUV was registered to a private citizen in Los Angeles, not a law enforcement agency. As officers prepared to impound the vehicle, a man approached and identified himself as the owner, asking to retrieve items that he claimed belonged to a friend. Officers questioned him about the law enforcement-style equipment inside. He reportedly told police he previously worked as a security guard and claimed to have been employed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but was unable to produce valid credentials. Further investigation revealed Diaz had an outstanding warrant for driving under the influence and a prior arrest related to human smuggling. Officers arrested him on the scene. During a search of the vehicle, police say they recovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic firearm, two holsters, extra ammunition, three cellphones, multiple copies of passports not registered under his name, and documents bearing the letterhead of Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection. Officers also say they found a sheet of federal radio codes and other materials they say may indicate criminal intent.

Reported similarly:
Univision [6/28/2025 12:45 PM, Staff, 4992K] r

Telemundo [6/28/2025 4:38 PM, Staff, 3352K] reports the family of Narciso Barranco, an undocumented immigrant who was violently arrested on June 21 by Border Patrol agents in Santa Ana, California, organized a vigil with advocacy groups to protest his detention. "The immigrant community in California and across the United States has been living under extreme stress and intense fear, and this gathering is the first step in the healing process for us," reads the text of the call shared by the Orange County Rapid Response Network, among other organizations. The vigil was held at the corner of Edinger Avenue and Ritchey Street, the location in Santa Ana where Barranco was detained. In a video of the arrest, Barranco is seen being chased by federal agents while holding a lawnmower. As authorities tried to arrest him, one of the agents is seen hitting him several times in the head before forcing him into an unmarked vehicle. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released another angle of the video, describing the man as "attacking a federal agent with a lawnmower." The clip shows the gardener running and one of the masked officers spraying him with something, then the immigrant swinging the tool to the side without touching the person.

NBC News [6/28/2025 6:42 PM, Staff, 44540K] reports with severe weather sweeping across the country over the weekend, storms are also threatening to complicate the Fourth of July holiday travel rush. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [6/28/2025 2:00 PM, Staff] reports hundreds of flights have been canceled at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – the busiest airport in the world – after a severe storm overnight, just as a busy travel period ahead of the Fourth of July gets started. More than 450 flights into and out of Atlanta were canceled as of early Saturday afternoon, according to FlightAware. Hundreds more were delayed. Delta – which uses the Atlanta airport as its hub – is suffering the worst from cancellations, with 14% of the airline’s total flights canceled, according to FlightAware. Powerful winds in Atlanta prompted the evacuation of most air traffic controllers from the control tower Friday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. A small crew stayed to handle inbound planes, the FAA told CNN. Additionally, severe thunderstorms overnight brought quarter-inch hail to the city. More than 100 Delta aircraft require inspection before they’re allowed to fly as a result, a Delta employee familiar with the situation told CNN as of late Friday evening. Delta’s maintenance team was working "quickly through the backlog," the Delta employee said. There was also a ground stop in place Friday evening due to the severe weather, which limits aircraft from taking off. The Atlanta airport expected to nearly 400,000 passengers on Friday alone, and more than 4 million passengers over the holiday period. NBC News [6/28/2025 3:06 PM, Mirna Alsharif and Jay Blackman, 44540K] reports that as of 3 p.m. on Saturday, 468 flights traveling out of and into Atlanta’s airport have been canceled and 540 have been delayed, according to FlightAware.com. Delta also said it expects additional delays and cancelations Saturday as teams work to reset aircraft and crew members get their rest. The airline has more than 900 daily scheduled flights from Atlanta’s airport.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [6/28/2025 11:00 AM, Nadine El-Bawab, Sam Sweeney, and Ayesha Ali, 31733K]

Los Angeles Times [6/28/2025 11:50 PM, Ruben Vives and Gina Ferazzi, 14672K] reports more than 100 people were temporarily stranded off a highway after fleeing 100-foot flames from a brush fire that broke out late Saturday afternoon near a reservoir in San Bernardino County, prompting road closures and evacuations. Dubbed the Lake fire, the blaze broke out shortly before 4 p.m. at the Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area, near Highway 173 and Cedar Springs Dam Trail. By 8:48 p.m., the fire had increased to 478 acres from 60 acres just hours earlier, according to Cal Fire officials. The fire is zero percent contained. More than 100 people were at the reservoir when the fire broke out and were forced to flee the flames. Boaters and jet skiers helped evacuate people out of the beach to another area where they were taken to a roadside turnout on Highway 173, just north of the lake. Many people were wearing beach attire and flip flops. Shaun Kirkman and his girlfriend, Amber King, were among those forced to flee. "I was west of the beach, fishing in vegetation," Kirkman said. "The fire sounded like Velcro so I kept fishing, then it got louder. I saw 100-foot flames. Me and my girlfriend ran out of there.” Gloria Orejel, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, said about 75 to 100 people were camping in the area and were forced to evacuate with whatever they had on. She said park rangers helped transport people to another spot on the highway. As of 8 p.m. the group had been taken back to their vehicles. Evacuation orders have been issued, authorities said. North of Highway 138 is under an evacuation warning, while south of the highway, between Interstate 15 and Highway 173, is under a mandatory evacuation. Cal Fire said it’s in unified command with local authorities including San Bernardino County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service. Fire crews have been battling the blaze both on the ground and in the air. The fire is zero contain. Firefighters are expected to get some much needed relief as humidity will likely increase overnight from 20% to 45% and gusty winds, which have helped drive the fire, will taper off by 10 p.m. "However, conditions will dry out again on Sunday with humidity dropping back to 20% and winds gusting up to 25 mph in the afternoon," Cal Fire said in a written statement. "Monday is forecast to bring stronger wind gusts exceeding 30 mph, which could challenge suppression efforts.” Cal Fire officials said personnel remain vigilant in monitoring the weather to adapt operational strategies accordingly. The cause remains under investigation. On Friday, Southern California fire chiefs warned that a season of devastating wildfires was likely amid low rainfall and dry conditions. 9:54 p.m. June 28, 2025: This post has been updated to include information from Cal Fire about weather impacts, and that the fire had increased to 478 acres and was zero percent contained.

CBS News [6/28/2025 11:09 PM, Dave Warren, 51860K] reports an area of low pressure being monitored in the western Gulf developed into a tropical depression Saturday that forecasters said could strengthen into a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall in Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center, as of late Saturday night the tropical depression was centered about 80 miles east-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, moving west-northwest at 8 mph. It was forecast to becoming a tropical storm before making landfall in Mexico, which was expected to happen Sunday night. It had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. If it does reach tropical storm status, which would be under the name Tropical Storm Barry, it would become the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Andrea. The hurricane center started issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 2 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday. An Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft was able to find a closed circulation with winds of only 30 mph. The storm has shown better organization along with a well-defined circulation. A tropical depression is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph, according to the National Weather Service, and becomes a tropical storm when it reaches 39 mph. The storm will continue to move west-northwest over the rest of the weekend and is forecast to move inland over Mexico on Monday. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Gulf coast of Mexico from Boca de Catan south to Tecolutla. Tropical storm force wind are expected, along with heavy rain, along the coast and over inland Mexico Sunday and Monday. The Mexican states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas could see rainfall totals ranging anywhere from 3 to 10 inches of rain, the hurricane center said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [6/29/2025 12:35 AM, Victoria Arancio and Ivan Pereira, 31733K] reports four people were rescued from a burning boat Saturday off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. A good Samaritan helped to rescue some of the unidentified passengers, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Black smoke was seen billowing into the air as beachgoers and other people watched from afar. There were no reported injuries and the cause of the blaze was still under investigation as of Saturday evening, the Coast Guard said.

CNN [6/28/2025 1:14 PM, Sean Lyngaas] reports a Mexican drug cartel hired a hacker to surveil the movements of a senior FBI official in Mexico City in 2018 or earlier, gathering information from the city’s camera system that allowed the cartel to kill potential FBI informants, the Justice Department inspector general said in a new report. The hacker also was able to "see calls made and received" by the FBI official and their geolocation data in a major breach of operational security that occurred as the FBI was working on the case of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, the inspector general said. The hacker tracked people coming in and out of the US Embassy in Mexico City before zeroing in on the FBI’s assistant legal attache, a role that works closely with Mexican law enforcement, the report said, citing an FBI case agent at the time. The report did not identify the hacker. The new inspector general report raises broader concerns about the threat of high-tech surveillance to US national security. There have been "longstanding" risks posed by "ubiquitous technical surveillance" — jargon for the widespread availability of data to adversaries — to the FBI’s criminal and national security cases, the report said. But recent advances in commercial technology "have made it easier than ever for less-sophisticated nations and criminal enterprises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities" related to such surveillance, according to the report. The FBI is working on a "strategic plan" to address some of the inspector general’s concerns about the bureau’s approach to the threat, the report said.

Univision [6/28/2025 9:23 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports a ‘hacker’ linked to the Sinaloa Cartel infiltrated Mexico City’s video surveillance system to spy on the activities of an FBI agent in 2018, a Justice Department report revealed. The revelation is part of a declassified report from the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General on “Effects of Ubiquitous Technical Surveillance.” According to the report, the hacker’s espionage occurred while the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was conducting investigations into the Sinaloa Cartel, recently labeled by the government as a terrorist organization. The report claims that an FBI informant revealed this espionage to the agency several years ago.

CNN [6/28/2025 10:10 AM, Sean Lyngaas] reports a notorious cybercriminal group has shifted its attention to the aviation industry, successfully breaching the computer networks of multiple airlines in the United States and Canada this month, according to the FBI and private experts responding to the hacks. The hacking hasn’t affected airline safety, but it has top cyber executives at major airlines across the United States on alert because of the hacking suspects: A network of young cybercriminals called "Scattered Spider" who are known for their aggressive efforts to extort or embarrass their victims. It’s a fresh headache for the travel industry as the busy summer travel season kicks into high gear. This is now the third major US business sector in the last two months, after insurance and retail, to face a flurry of cyberattacks tied to the criminal group. The FBI, the statement continued, "is actively working with aviation and industry partners to address this activity and assist victims." Hawaiian Airlines and Canada’s WestJet confirmed this week that they were still assessing the fallout from recent cyberattacks, though the airlines did not name the perpetrators. More victims in the aviation industry could come forward, sources briefed on the investigation said. WestJet’s issues began two weeks ago, when the airline said it was responding to a "cybersecurity incident" that was affecting access "to some services and software systems," including its app for customers. Both WestJet and Hawaiian Airlines said their operations were unaffected by the hacks. It is not just the airlines themselves, but other "segments of the aviation ecosystem" that are seeing increased cyberattacks, according to Jeffey Troy, the president of the Aviation ISAC, an industry group for sharing cyber threats.

FOX News [6/28/2025 1:00 PM, Kurt Knutsson, 46878K] reports over the past decade, software companies have built solutions for nearly every industry, including healthcare. Several data breaches have been traced back to vulnerabilities at these third-party service providers. The latest incident comes from one such firm, which has now confirmed that hackers stole the health information of over 5 million people in the United States during a cyberattack in January. Episource, a big name in healthcare data analytics and coding services, has confirmed a major cybersecurity incident (via Bleeping Computer). The breach involved sensitive health information belonging to over 5 million people in the United States. The company first noticed suspicious system activity Feb. 6, 2025, but the actual compromise began ten days earlier. An internal investigation revealed that hackers accessed and copied private data between Jan. 27 and Feb. 6. The company insists that no financial information was taken, but the stolen records do include names, contact details, Social Security numbers, Medicaid IDs and full medical histories. Episource claims there’s no evidence the information has been misused, but because they haven’t seen the fallout yet doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

CyberScoop [6/28/2025 3:25 PM, Tim Starks] reports a hacker working on behalf of the Sinaloa drug cartel infiltrated cameras and phones to track an FBI official in Mexico investigating the drug lord El Chapo, then used data from that surveillance to kill and intimidate potential sources and witnesses the agent was meeting with, a Justice Department watchdog report revealed. An FBI case agent learned about the hacker from someone affiliated with the cartel in 2018, according to the inspector general report released Friday. “That individual said the cartel had hired a ‘hacker’ who offered a menu of services related to exploiting mobile phones and other electronic devices,” the report states. “According to the individual, the hacker had observed people going in and out of the United States Embassy in Mexico City and identified ‘people of interest’ for the cartel, including the FBI Assistant Legal Attache (ALA T), and then was able to use the ALA T’s mobile phone number to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data, associated with the ALAT’s phone. “According to the FBI, the hacker also used Mexico City’s camera system to follow the ALAT through the city and identify people the ALAT met with,” the report continues. “According to the case agent, the cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses.”

Reuters [6/28/2025 5:46 PM, Raphael Satter, 51390K] reports a hacker working for the Sinaloa drug cartel was able to obtain an FBI official’s phone records and use Mexico City’s surveillance cameras to help track and kill the agency’s informants in 2018, the U.S. Justice Department said in a report issued on Thursday. The incident was disclosed in a Justice Department Inspector General’s audit of the FBI’s efforts to mitigate the effects of "ubiquitous technical surveillance," a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data. The report said that the hacker worked for a cartel run by "El Chapo," a reference to the Sinaloa drug cartel run by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who was extradited to the United States in 2017. The report said the hacker identified an FBI assistant legal attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and was able to use the attaché’s phone number "to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data." The report said the hacker also "used Mexico City’s camera system to follow the (FBI official) through the city and identify people the (official) met with." The report said, "The cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses.".

AP [6/29/2025 5:17 AM, Volodymyr Yurchuk, 11859K] reports Russia launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine overnight, a Ukrainian official said Sunday, part of an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the 3-year-old war. Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. The onslaught was “the most massive airstrike” on the country since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s air force, told The Associated Press. The attack targeted several regions, including western Ukraine, far from the front line. Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the country’s air force said. One person died in a drone strike in the Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said, while another was killed when a drone hit a car in the Kharkiv region, according to its Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. Six people were wounded in Cherkasy, including a child, according to regional Gov. Ihor Taburets. In the far-western Lviv region, a large fire broke out at an industrial facility in the city of Drohobych following a drone attack that also cut electricity to parts of the city. Ukraine’s air force said one of its F-16 warplanes supplied by its Western partners crashed after sustaining damage while shooting down air targets. The pilot died. The fresh attacks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments Friday that Moscow is ready for a fresh round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. However, the war shows no signs of abating as U.S.-led international peace efforts have so far produced no breakthrough. Two recent rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul were brief and yielded no progress on reaching a settlement. Long-range drone strikes have been a hallmark of the war. The race by both sides to develop increasingly sophisticated and deadlier drones has turned the conflict into a testing ground for new weaponry.

AP [6/29/2025 5:44 AM, Tia Goldenberg, Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa, 56000K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-month-long conflict as Israel and Hamas appeared to be inching closer to an agreement. An Israeli official said plans were being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a new deal. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalized. “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social early Sunday between posts about a Senate vote on his tax and spending cuts bill. Trump raised expectations Friday for a deal, saying there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.” Trump has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed. A top adviser to Netanyahu, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire. The Gaza message wasn’t the only Middle East-related post by Trump. On Saturday evening, he doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, calling it “a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure.” In the post on Truth Social, he said the trial interfered with talks on a Gaza ceasefire. “(Netanyahu) is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING,” Trump wrote. The post echoed similar remarks Trump made last week when he called for the trial to be canceled. It was a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. And it unnerved many in Israel, despite Trump’s popularity in the country.

Reuters [6/29/2025 4:21 AM, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, 51390K] reports the Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe. "The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," the military said. The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army’s bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people. In Khan Younis in the south, five people were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment near Mawasi, medics said. The escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.

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