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

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

The AP [3/11/2025 5:48 PM, Christina A. Cassidy, 48304K] reports President Donald Trump has nominated a cybersecurity executive to lead the agency that works to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure, one that has faced Republican criticism in recent years over its involvement in elections. Sean Plankey, who retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2023, was nominated Tuesday to lead the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA. Though it’s under the Department of Homeland Security, CISA is a separate agency with its own Senate-confirmed director. Trump’s new homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said during her January Senate confirmation hearing that CISA had strayed "far off mission" and she pledged to work with senators "should you wish to rein them in." Under the new Trump administration, CISA officials have launched a review of the agency’s work related to elections and placed more than a dozen agency employees who had worked on elections on administrative leave. Recently, the agency announced plans to cut about $10 million in annual funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials. In a letter released Tuesday by the National Association of Secretaries of State, Noem told state election officials that existing programs will allow them to access help CISA has traditionally provided. That includes security assessments of potential cyber threats and physical attacks, and how to plan for specific scenarios their offices might encounter. The group’s bipartisan executive board had urged Noem to continue the agency’s services to state and local election officials. The Federal News Network [3/11/2025 3:07 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1089K] reports Plankey’s name was included among a slew of nominations sent to the Senate. His nomination comes as CISA’s workforce grapples with recent cuts after years of steady growth at the cyber agency. DHS laid off more than 130 probationary employees at CISA last month. Many of those workers had recently been hired or transitioned into DHS’s new Cybersecurity Talent Management System. The Trump administration has also hired former DHS CIO Karen Evans to serve as executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA. Trump today nominated Joseph Edlow to serve as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Edlow is an attorney who previously served as deputy director and acting director at USCIS during the tail end of Trump’s first term. The White House also announced Matthew Kozma as Trump’s pick to lead DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. And Trump has additionally nominated James Percival to serve as DHS general counsel.

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Reuters [3/11/2025 4:06 PM, Raphael Satter, 41523K]
MeriTalk [3/11/2025 3:10 PM, John Curran, 45K]

CNN [3/11/2025 6:06 PM, Sabrina Souza and Gloria Pazmino] reports the Trump administration said it is using intelligence collected by the Department of Homeland Security to identify international students who participated in protests against the Israel-Hamas war across dozens of college campuses last year, days after a Palestinian activist was detained by federal agents over protests at Columbia University. According to Leavitt, DHS has also shared a list of student names with Columbia University and accused the school of not cooperating with White House efforts to identify them. Neither Leavitt, DHS nor ICE has provided evidence to support their accusations against Khalil or other students. It is not clear if Khalil, who was transferred to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana over the weekend, has been charged with any crime. Khalil’s attorneys have said he plans to fight the deportation order. A federal judge in New York temporarily halted the deportation until Khalil’s attorneys and the government appear in court. Attorneys for Khalil filed a motion to bring him back to New York on Monday. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. During Tuesday’s briefing, Leavitt said the administration is leaning on the Immigration and Nationality Act to detain Khalil and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interest of the United States of America." NPR [3/11/2025 5:31 PM, Elena Moore, 29983K] reports that on Tuesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to arrest Khalil, a green card holder who is of Palestinian descent, fell in line with President Trump’s recent executive order aimed at cracking down on antisemitism on U.S. campuses. The order allows the administration to revoke visas and deport international students if they’re determined to be "pro-jihadist" or "Hamas sympathizers." While Leavitt did not offer an estimate of how many additional arrests could be coming, she said she knew that "DHS is actively working on it." Leavitt noted that Columbia had been given names of other individuals on campus "who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity," but said the school has refused to help DHS.

Miami Herald [3/11/2025 8:21 PM, Nora Gámez Torres and Jacqueline Charles, 3973K] reports the Trump administration is weighing including Cuba and Haiti on a list of countries whose nationals will face restrictions to enter the country, sources with knowledge of the ongoing discussions told the Miami Herald. Cuba, which is on a State Department list of countries that sponsor terrorism, might end up on a "red list" of countries facing a total travel ban, while Haiti might end up on a less restrictive version of the list, the sources said. Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump directed officials in the administration to come up with a list of nations that could be part of an expanded travel ban similar to the one he introduced during his first term for countries with Muslim majorities, based on the idea that they have a weak security apparatus to do background checks. Since last week, universities have been warning professors and students of the countries that might be targeted to quickly return to the United States. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee also issued a similar warning while providing a list of countries. The earlier version of the travel ban during the first Trump administration was later expanded to include North Korea and members of the Venezuelan government and their relatives. At the time, the U.S. government cited Venezuela’s lack of cooperation in providing information to verify whether its migrants posed a national security or public safety threat to the U.S. When asked about the travel ban Tuesday, a State Department spokesperson told the Herald the agency "does not comment on internal deliberations or communications.” "As laid out in President Trump’s Executive Order 14161 ‘Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,’ the visa adjudication process must ensure that U.S.-bound foreign travelers do not pose a threat to the national security and public safety of the United States," the spokesperson said referring to the Jan. 30 executive order.

Politico [3/11/2025 5:05 PM, Ali Bianco] reports a phone app intended to facilitate communication between migrants and the U.S. government has been repurposed for the Trump era. The latest version of the Customs and Border Protection app has a new name — and a new feature that allows people to announce their "intent to depart" from the U.S. Users can check border crossing times and request an inspection of cargo entering the country in addition to signaling their intention to leave the U.S. or "self-deport" amid increased efforts to remove people without legal status. The administration sought to portray the relaunch as part of its broader campaign to reduce illegal immigration and remove people who are in the U.S. without legal status. With CBP Home, "we are restoring integrity to our immigration system," Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement announcing the new version of the app.

Bloomberg [3/11/2025 7:11 PM, Michael O’Boyle, 16228K] reports US financial authorities on Tuesday said they will require money services businesses operating near the Mexican border to report much smaller transactions as part of efforts to target money laundering by drug cartels. US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued the so-called geographic targeting order for money transmitters in 30 ZIP codes across California and Texas. The order lowers the threshold for businesses to file transaction reports to FinCEN from $10,000 to $200. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the order was part of the administration’s efforts to combat risks that drug cartels present to the US financial system. “As part of a whole-of-government approach to combatting the threat, Treasury remains focused on leveraging all our available tools and authorities to better identify and counter these criminal activities,” Bessent said in a statement. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has threatened Mexico with tariffs in a bid to extract greater efforts to fight fentanyl trafficking. He designated Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and his Attorney General Pam Bondi reorganized the Justice Department in order to pursue Trump’s goal of the “total elimination” of the groups. The new order from the Treasury, which will take effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, did not specify what type of transactions are under particular scrutiny by authorities. Such money service businesses change currencies, cash checks, sell pre-paid services and send international money wires or remittances.

Newsweek [3/11/2025 1:23 PM, Gabe Whisnant and Dan Gooding, 52220K] reports that on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the Trump administration’s request to stay a district court’s nationwide preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of an executive order limiting birthright citizenship. The court concluded that the executive order, which sought to alter birthright citizenship provisions, likely violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Consequently, the court enjoined the federal government from implementing or enforcing the executive order. The administration argued that the 18 states suing lacked standing and sought to stay the injunction. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email Tuesday afternoon. Trump made ending birthright citizenship a core part of his immigration policy in the months between November’s presidential election and his inauguration, but the move has faced multiple legal challenges. Other immigration plans, including the detention of deportees at Guantanamo Bay and stopping the country’s refugee resettlement program, have also been challenged in court. Immigration and civil rights advocates, along with several state attorneys general, moved to block the move, including in the case dealt with Tuesday filed by the attorneys general of New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, Delaware, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Vermont and the City of San Francisco. USA Today [3/11/2025 1:08 PM, Bart Jansen, 75858K] reports that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals covering New England became the nation’s second federal appeals court to refuse Trump’s request to allow his order to take effect while the case is litigated, after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals along the West Coast. Trump has said he expects to eventually win the legal dispute at the Supreme Court. A three-judge appeals panel refused to overturn the lower-court’s injunction, which found the states were likely to succeed in proving the order violated the Constitution and that the children at stake would be irreparably harmed. Chief Judge David Barron wrote for Judges Julie Rikelman and Seth Aframe that the government hadn’t made a "strong showing" that the state attorneys general were likely to lose their case nor that the government was "likely to succeed in showing that the Executive Order is lawful." New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who led the case, said every court that has reviewed Trump’s order found it "flagrantly unconstitutional" and appeals courts have refused to put it back in place. "We are thrilled with the First Circuit’s decision, and we look forward to standing up for our birthright citizens no matter how far the Trump Administration takes this case," Platkin said in a statement. Trump’s order limiting birthright citizenship sparked at least 10 lawsuits.

FOX News [3/11/2025 2:15 PM, Staff, 10702K] reports that Lawmakers will grill top federal government investigators on President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security, from its handling of illegal immigration to disaster responses. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federal News Network [3/11/2025 12:10 PM, Michele Sandiford, 1089K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security is bringing back at least one of its federal advisory committees. In a public notice this week, DHS announced it is renewing the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. The reconstituted panel will have 35 members. They will serve three-year terms and provide strategic advice to the secretary of homeland security. DHS terminated several advisory panels in the early days of the Trump administration, including the Cyber Safety Review Board that was investigating a major U.S. telecom hack.

Washington Examiner [3/11/2025 1:05 PM, Ashley Oliver, 2296K] reports that a judge found that President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency is "likely" subject to public records laws and ordered DOGE to respond quickly to a watchdog group’s information requests. Judge Christopher Cooper said in an order Monday night that DOGE’s "unprecedented" authority meant it easily fit the definition of an agency under the Freedom of Information Act. The judge based his finding in part on DOGE spearheading mass resignations and firings, cutting hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of government contracts, and dismantling an entire agency. Cooper said DOGE also operated in "unusual secrecy," leading the judge to conclude that complying expeditiously with the FOIA request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the watchdog group that sued DOGE, was critical. Cooper, an Obama appointee, asked for a status update on DOGE’s compliance with his order by March 20. His order comes after CREW sent DOGE wide-ranging FOIA requests seeking its organizational information, conflicts of interest and ethics waivers, and communications between DOGE and other agencies. The judge’s order was an early-stage injunction. While Justice Department attorneys have argued DOGE is not subject to FOIA, they have not explained why, saying they will reserve their arguments for the phase of the lawsuit that examines the merits of the case.

ABC News [3/11/2025 12:06 PM, Megan Forrester, 34586K] reports that a Texas man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant and a passenger while on board an American Airlines flight earlier this month, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At approximately 9:00 p.m. on March 5, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department contacted the FBI regarding a disturbance on American Airlines Flight 5574 traveling from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C. — the same flight path as the plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. Rulamka was asked why he wanted to meet with Trump, and he replied that he was "mad," the affidavit said. The FBI said Rulamka had a Texas driver’s license, but a criminal history check revealed that the Department of Homeland Security "encountered the defendant in 2014 as a non-immigrant overstay, and immigration proceedings are pending," the affidavit said. "On March 5, law enforcement responded to American Eagle Flight 5574 after its arrival in Washington, D.C. (DCA) due to a disruptive customer. We do not tolerate violence, and thank our team members for their professionalism," American Airlines said in a statement to ABC News. Rulamka has been charged with "assault by beating, striking and wounding, in violation of the Title 18 United States Code, Section 113(a)(4)," according to the affidavit. A hearing for Rulamka has been scheduled for March 13. Attorney information was not immediately listed for Rulamka.

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CNN [3/11/2025 11:25 AM, Lex Harvey, 908K]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 6:42 PM, Josephine Stratman and Chris Sommerfeldt, 52868K] reports more than two dozen elected officials, including mayoral candidates Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani, are sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student detained by ICE, be released. The letter, being sent Tuesday, also called on Columbia to stop "any and all" cooperation with immigration officials and for President Trump’s administration to remove ICE and DHS from campuses. "The treatment of Mahmoud Khalil by the Department of Homeland Security is not only inhumane, it is a blatant violation of his legal rights," the letter reads. "He has been separated illegally from his pregnant wife, who is a United States citizen, and detained without due process thousands of miles from home. We see these actions by the Trump administration for what they are—a flagrantly unconstitutional attempt to suppress free speech and incite fear.” Several other 2025 mayoral candidates, including Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Brooklyn State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, Queens State Sen. Jessica Ramos and ex-Comptroller Scott Stringer, have separately spoken out against Khalil’s detention. They are not among those signing the letter. "ICE has no right to detain a green card holder who has not been convicted of, or even charged with, any crime. This is profoundly un-American, and Khalil must be released," Myrie wrote on social media on Monday.

CNN [3/12/2025 12:02 AM, Michelle Watson, 908K] reports that, when attorneys for Mahmoud Khalil enter the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York on Wednesday, they will have one mission in mind: to get their client, a Palestinian activist, released from an ICE facility in Louisiana and back to New York to be closer to legal counsel and family. Khalil was arrested and detained on Saturday by federal agents over his role in protests against the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia University last spring. His green card was revoked by the Trump administration, his lawyer said, but a federal judge in New York blocked any immediate effort to deport Khalil until his attorneys and the federal government appear in court. The case, seemingly the first of its kind, sets the stage for what could come as the Trump administration ramps up its targeting of foreign students and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses. President Donald Trump had touted Khalil’s arrest and vowed to find and deport others like him. "If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here," Trump said on Truth Social on Monday. The White House has not provided evidence to support accusations against Khalil and it is not clear if he has been charged with any crime. Khalil’s lawyers argued in court documents his removal from New York City to a detention facility in Louisiana in retaliation for his "protected speech and advocacy" is unconstitutional. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition "challenging the validity of his arrest and detention," one of his lawyers said Sunday. Trump administration lawyers will not agree to bring Khalil back to New York without a court order. Attorneys for both parties filed a joint letter in federal court Tuesday, telling a judge they were unable to reach an agreement to return Khalil to New York, setting up Wednesday’s showdown in court. Trump administration lawyers told the court they will submit a motion to transfer or dismiss Khalil’s habeas corpus petition, arguing that the Southern District of New York is "an improper venue" and has no jurisdiction over Khalil’s case. They are not expected to file their motion until midnight on Wednesday and Khalil’s attorneys will have until midnight on Friday to respond. It is not clear whether the judge will address any issues beyond the scheduling during Wednesday’s hearing.

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New York Times [3/11/2025 4:03 PM, Jonah E. Bromwich, 145325K]
Reuters [3/11/2025 7:02 PM, Tom Hals, Luc Cohen, and Maria Tsvetkova, 41523K]

New York Times [3/11/2025 8:36 PM, Alyce McFadden, 145325K] reports that, as hundreds of demonstrators made their way through Lower Manhattan on Tuesday to protest the detention of a prominent pro-Palestinian activist at Columbia University, the White House defended the arrest and rebuked the school for what it called lack of cooperation. The activist, Mahmoud Khalil, was a leader of student protests on Columbia’s campus and often served as a negotiator and spokesman. Mr. Khalil, 30, who is Palestinian and was born and raised in Syria, is a legal permanent resident of the United States and is married to an American citizen. He was arrested on Saturday and transferred to detention in Louisiana. A spokeswoman for President Trump, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters on Tuesday that the government had the authority to revoke Mr. Khalil’s green card under the Immigration and Nationality Act. “This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas,” she said. Her remarks came a day after Mr. Trump vowed that the apprehension of Mr. Khalil was “the first arrest of many to come.” Some free speech groups and civil rights activists have questioned the legality of Mr. Khalil’s detention, which his lawyers have challenged in court. On Tuesday, some New York Democrats expressed concern about the arrest. But Mayor Eric Adams shrugged off questions about it at a City Hall news conference, saying that the federal government, not the city, had authority over the matter.

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CBS New York [3/11/2025 6:12 PM, Lisa Rozner, 51661K] Video: HERE
FOX News [3/10/2025 8:00 PM, Jeffrey Petz, 46189K]
Chicago Tribune [3/11/2025 8:20 PM, Caroline Kubzansky, 5269K]

VOA News [3/11/2025 8:00 PM, Anita Powell, 2913K] reports the White House on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump’s deportation policy after the weekend arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and U.S. legal permanent resident, who played a prominent role in last year’s university protests over the Gaza war. White House officials echoed Trump’s vow on Monday to "find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.” Trump doubled down on his language on Tuesday. "We ought to get them all out of the country," he said. "They’re troublemakers. They’re agitators. They don’t love our country. We ought to get them the hell out.” Khalil, who remained in detention Tuesday, has not been charged with any criminal offense. It is not a criminal offense to disagree, even openly, with the U.S. government’s policy or actions, and the Bill of Rights protects free speech and the right to assemble. "This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. "That is the behavior and activity that this individual engaged in.” According to the U.S. government database that tracks immigration arrests, a man by the name of Mahmoud Khalil, who is listed as being born in Syria, is being held in an ICE facility in rural Louisiana. Khalil was a student at Columbia University in New York City and a prominent figure during last year’s protests at the university.

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CBS Austin [3/11/2025 3:00 PM, Jessica A. Botelho, 602K]

NBC News [3/11/2025 8:10 PM, Tim Stelloh and Daniella Silva, 44742K] reports ahead of a Wednesday hearing where lawyers for a Palestinian activist who is a legal permanent U.S. resident will challenge his planned deportation, the State Department and White House pointed to a provision that allows green card holders to be removed from the country if they present "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” "In such cases, the Secretary of State notifies the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who has the authority to initiate removal charges," a State Department spokesperson said in response to questions about the circumstances of Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest. Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal immigration authorities at university housing Saturday, has not been criminally charged. President Donald Trump has said the apprehension of Khalil, who organized and led pro-Palestinian rallies at Columbia last year, would be the "first arrest of many" as his administration cracks down on campus opposition to the war in Gaza. The Department of Homeland Security has accused Khalil of leading "activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” The White House on Tuesday said that pro-Hamas propaganda was distributed at the campus protests Khalil organized. "This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

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Washington Post [3/11/2025 12:14 PM, Aaron Blake, 31735K]

FOX News [3/11/2025 2:42 PM, Danielle Wallace and Bill Melugin, 46189K] reports that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reserves the right to revoke former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil’s green card or visa. Leavitt said that under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who are "adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America." "And Mahmoud Khalil was an individual who was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation’s finest universities and colleges, and he took advantage of that opportunity, of that privilege, by siding with terrorists, Hamas terrorists, who have killed innocent men, women and children," Leavitt said at the White House press briefing. "This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas. That is the behavior and activity that this individual engaged in." Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security provided her with those fliers, which she says were distributed with the help of Khalil on the Columbia University campus and are now on her desk. She said she considered bringing them to the briefing but decided against it because she "didn’t think it was worth the dignity of this room to bring that pro-Hamas propaganda."

AP [3/11/2025 6:07 PM, Philip Marcelo] reports a Palestinian activist who helped lead student protests at Columbia University faces deportation after being arrested over the weekend by federal immigration officials. President Donald Trump has warned that the apprehension of Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident, represents the "first arrest of many" as his administration cracks down on campus opposition to the war in Gaza. But a federal judge temporarily blocked the 30 year old’s expulsion from the country. The agents told the couple that Khalil was being detained because his student visa had been revoked. When his wife provided documents proving he was a green card holder, the agents said that was also being revoked and took him away in handcuffs, according to a lawsuit Khalil’s attorneys filed challenging his detention. The Department of Homeland Security, confirming his arrest Saturday, accused Khalil of leading "activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization." The White House, elaborating more on its position Tuesday, claimed Khalil organized protests where pro-Hamas propaganda was distributed. Khalil is being held at a federal immigration detention facility in a central Louisiana town roughly 170 miles (275 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans. A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered the government to not deport Khalil until the court has a chance to review the case. A hearing on his legal challenge is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday. Khalil also has an initial hearing in immigration court in Louisiana on March 21.

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Washington Post [3/11/2025 1:31 PM, Niha Masih and Maria Sacchetti, 31735K]
FOX News [3/11/2025 4:48 PM, Diana Stancy, 46189K]

ABC News [3/11/2025 11:20 PM, Armando Garcia, James Hill, Ely Brown, and Laura Romero, 34586K] reports one day ahead of a court hearing for Mahmoud Khalil -- the Palestinian activist who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campus of Columbia University, despite possessing a green card -- his wife and attorney both released statements shedding more light on Khalil’s detainment and the days leading up to it. Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, issued a statement speaking of the outpouring of love she has received and the urgent need for him to be home in time for their baby’s birth. In it, she said that Khalil "begged" Columbia University for legal support one day before his arrest, explaining that he was fearful that ICE might target him. Khalil allegedly sent an email to the university urging them to intervene, his wife said. "I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support and I urge you to intervene," he reportedly said in his email. His wife claimed that the university never responded. ABC News reached out to Columbia for comment and has not independently reviewed the reported emails. Khalil’s wife also said in her statement that a "doxxing" campaign began targeting her husband about six days ago and anti-Palestinian groups were also spreading "false claims" about him. She recalled the moment she was also threatened with arrest when she refused to leave her husband with the agents, claiming that the couple was never shown a warrant. "I was born and raised in the Midwest. My parents came here from Syria, carrying their stories of the oppressive regime there that made life unlivable. They believed living in the US would bring a sense of safety and stability. But here I am, 40 years after my parents immigrated here, and just weeks before I’m due to give birth to our first child, and I feel more unsafe and unstable than I have in my entire life," her statement said. The Trump administration said it detained Khalil, who was a leader of the encampment protests on Columbia’s campus, alleging he was a supporter of Hamas.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 1:47 PM, Sanjana Karanth, 52868K] reports that the wife of a recent Columbia University graduate who was unlawfully arrested by federal agents has made a dire public plea to government officials to release him from detention. Immigration enforcement officers abducted Mahmoud Khalil over the weekend and threatened to revoke his green card for helping to lead the anti-war student protests on campus last spring. Khalil’s wife, who through her attorney said she prefers her name not be used, was walking with her husband to their university-owned apartment Saturday night when several Department of Homeland Security agents took the Palestinian activist without a judicial warrant, despite Khalil being a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Khalil is "my rock, he is my home and he is my happy place," his wife said Monday in a statement. The two married in November 2023, and he received his green card last year. "For everyone who has met Mahmoud they can attest to his incredible character, humbleness, selflessness and his love for helping others. He is always willing to stand up for the oppressed," she said. "It is clear the love that people have for him from the outpour of love I have been receiving from everyone he has crossed paths with." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Border Report [3/11/2025 7:02 PM, Dave Hendricks, 117K] Video: HERE reports former Progreso Mayor Arturo Aleman, who provided a drug trafficking organization with tractor-trailers, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Tuesday. During a hearing on Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. sentenced Arturo Aleman, 43, of Progreso to 33 months in federal prison and fined him $10,000. "I am sorry. I am not asking you to forgive me," Aleman said, adding that he simply wanted a fair sentence. "Even though I did this to myself.” Aleman graduated from Santa Maria High School in 2000, in Santa Maria, Texas. Less than a year later, he started working for a company that made window blinds and shutters. The company had financial problems in 2004, according to documents filed in a federal bankruptcy case, and Aleman lost his job. Progreso ISD hired Aleman on March 31, 2005, the day he applied. The job, an auxiliary position in the bus barn, paid just $5.15 per hour. Mayor Omar L. Vela and his brother, City Councilman Orlando Vela, pleaded guilty to public corruption charges. Days after they pleaded guilty, the City Council appointed Aleman to a vacant position — and the Vela brothers resigned. The scandal created a power vacuum in Progreso. Aleman and his friend, Frank Alanis, filled the void. Aleman and Frank Alanis provided the drug trafficking organization with financial support, which allowed smugglers to acquire tractor-trailers. The investigation started in 2020, when Border Patrol agents seized two cocaine shipments near Sarita, Texas. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, linked the cocaine to drug smugglers in Progreso. "This case underscores ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unwavering commitment to ensure any segments of our community who participate in criminal activity are held accountable," said Mark Lippa, the deputy special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in the Rio Grande Valley. "When individuals in positions of public trust use their authority for criminal gain, we will ensure they are held accountable. ICE HSI remains steadfast in its mission to investigate and dismantle criminal enterprises that threaten the safety, security, and trust of our communities.”

Boise State Public Radio [3/11/2025 5:09 PM, James Dawson, 78K] reports Idaho state senators gave an OK Tuesday to the latest version of a bill creating a new state crime cracking down on illegal immigration. Law enforcement in Idaho could check a person’s immigration status if they’re being detained or suspected of a separate crime. If found to be in the country illegally, a person’s first offense would be considered a misdemeanor and felonies for subsequent offenses under House Bill 83. Anyone who transports into Idaho someone who’s in the country illegally and has previously committed a crime could face a felony charge with a minimum one-year sentence in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. The latest version no longer requires a person convicted of illegal immigration to be deported at the end of their sentence. The bill cleared the Senate along party lines. House lawmakers must agree to the amendments before it could reach Gov. Brad Little’s desk.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 1:16 PM, Helen Rummel, 52868K] reports that the U.S. Department of Education on Monday warned Arizona State University that it will face consequences if it does not protect Jewish students on campus. In a letter sent to ASU and 59 other schools across the country, the federal department said universities must abide by Title VI protections and ensure Jewish students have uninterrupted access to campus and their classes. All schools that received the letter are currently under investigation for allegations of Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment or discrimination. Title VI prohibits discrimination against people on the basis of race, color or national origin among institutions receiving federal funds. An ASU spokesperson said the investigations are based on complaints filed in 2023 by the editor of Campus Reform against several schools. The conservative publication focuses on higher education across the country, supported by reporting from students. "Arizona State University has a long history of opposing antisemitic rhetoric and acts of intimidation whether they occur on our campuses or in the community," the spokesperson said. "The university has been very clear about this position." Secretary of Education Linda McMahon argued that Jewish students still feel threatened on American campuses.

CBS Los Angeles [3/11/2025 8:43 PM, Michele Gile, 51661K] reports that, with the deportation of undocumented immigrants underway, Orange County leaders have passed a resolution to keep families together. "There is so much fear and trauma in the community that these separations may occur," Orange County Supervisor Vince Sarmiento said. The fear Sarmineto mentioned is evident in Carmen’s family. The Costa Mesa mother, who is undocumented, said her son fears that his parents will be deported and he comes home to find them gone. Carmen said she has met with a lawyer to craft a plan if she is separated from her kids, who are U.S. citizens. An estimated 25,000 children in Orange County are in households with mixed-immigrant status. The Board of Supervisors oversees the social services agencies that are responsible for the children if their parents are deported. "We’re speculating, but everything we hear from the federal government is that the numbers are going to start escalating and spiking," Sarmiento said. "So, we just want to make sure that we are prepared.” The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution supporting children born in the U.S. who are at risk of being separated from their parents. The county would assume custody of the kids unless the families have a legal arrangement for a caregiver. "Make sure we are clear in our messaging out as to what is a formal document that is required for families to avoid getting the kids in the system and we’re talking about American citizen children. Carmen signed a document to be sure her son would be placed with family if immigration officials took her away. "A lot of families, they don’t know they need to do these things," she said. "They’re scared to ask.”

San Diego Union Tribune [3/11/2025 9:33 PM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1682K] reports a bid to repeal a policy adopted by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors late last year forbidding the use of local resources to assist immigration enforcement agents failed Tuesday. The proposal introduced by Supervisor Jim Desmond sought to overturn what he has referred to as the "super sanctuary" policy, since it stemmed from state law that already strictly limits local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration officials. The motion fell short, with Republicans Desmond and Joel Anderson voting in favor, Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe in opposition, and Terra Lawson-Remer, a Democrat, present but abstaining. "This is deeply disappointing," Desmond said in a statement after the vote. "This was not about politics. This was about ensuring that criminals — rapists, child abusers, burglars, and violent offenders — are removed from our communities. Instead, fear and misinformation won the day, leaving law-abiding residents at greater risk.” The California Values Act, or Senate Bill 54, signed into law in 2017, still allows some cooperation, namely allowing sheriff’s officials to coordinate with immigration officials the custody transfer of people convicted of certain serious felonies, including assault, sexual abuse, rape, kidnapping and arson. The law sought to increase trust within immigrant communities so that they would feel safe to report crimes.

Telemundo [3/11/2025 7:32 PM, Christina Bravo, 41K] reports UC San Diego was among 60 universities that were warned Monday by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The U.S. on "possible coercive measures" if they did not comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in relation to Jewish students. Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s letters told universities about their need to meet their obligations under the Civil Rights Act, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities. Title VI prohibits discrimination "on the basis of race, colour and national origin" in any activity that receives federal funds. The national origin includes shared Jewish ancestry. U C San Diego is among 55 universities "under research or monitoring in response to complaints filed with the OCR," the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights reported in a statement. There was no immediate response to an email sent by City News Service to UC San Diego after the regular working hours were closed seeking comment. The Department for Education also warned that funding could be affected if higher education institutions fail to comply with anti-discrimination laws. The department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite American campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the incessant anti-Semitic outbreaks that have severely disrupted college life for more than a year. University leaders need to improve," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

Washington Examiner [3/11/2025 1:25 PM, Emily Hallas, 2296K] reports that the University of California, Los Angeles launched a new initiative Monday designed to combat antisemitism as the Trump administration scrutinizes anti-Israel activity at major U.S. academic institutions. UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced an "Initiative to Combat Antisemitism," which aims to improve the school’s complaint system, enhance relevant training and education, enforce existing discrimination and harassment policies, and implement new rules to protect Jewish students. UCLA Anderson School of Management Professor Stuart Gabriel is leading the "action group" tasked with implementing recommendations to combat antisemitism. The group will report directly to Frenk. The Trump administration has intensified pressure on colleges and universities to safeguard Jewish students and their right to access an equal education. It is also investigating the University of California system to assess possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Justice Department intends to determine "whether UC has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an Antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses."

CBS Austin [3/11/2025 7:49 AM, Tom Roussey, 602K] reports that, four days after she disappeared early Thursday morning on a Dominican Republic beach, what happened to a missing college student from the Chantilly area remained a mystery Monday. Although there were reports on Sunday that some law enforcement authorities in the Dominican think 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki may have drowned, Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said Monday afternoon that nothing has been ruled out. The Chief of the Civil Defense in the Dominican Republic told ABC News that they are expanding the perimeter of the area that they are searching. As of Monday night, they are treating the disappearance as an accident, according to the Chief. The Cheif also confirmed that the man Konanki was with before she disappeared is not considered a suspect by authorities. Chapman said Konanki traveled to the Dominican Republic with a friend from Loudoun County and several other friends from the University of Pittsburgh, where a family friend said she was studying medicine. Chapman said when she disappeared early Thursday morning, she was with one of the friends she traveled with as well as several other people who were not part of her group. “They were not people that traveled with her. They were not people from the University of Pittsburgh. They were people that they met down there, and that’s all I can tell you at this point,” Chapman said Monday afternoon. “It’s an ongoing investigation, so there are things that I know that I can’t tell you, but what I can tell you is that that person is being interviewed,” Chapman said, adding that the others who were there that morning have also been interviewed. Chapman said friends who had traveled with Konanki had been expected to travel back to the U.S. on Monday, but they are remaining in the Dominican Republic for now. From the Dominican Republic, Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu Konanki, said he had last spoken with his daughter the night before she disappeared. “[She was on] spring break, and everything was going okay. And she was really happy,” he said in an interview shared by ABC.

USA Today [3/11/2025 8:30 AM, John Bacon, 75858K] reports the father of a 20-year-old college student missing in the Dominican Republic since Thursday has asked authorities to expand their search after failing to find her body in the waters off the resort town of Punta Cana. Subbarayudu Konanki told WTOP-FM he wants authorites to pivot from the assumption that Sudiksha Konanki drowned and consider "multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction.” The elder Konanki and his wife traveled to the Dominican after being notified that their daughter was missing. The University of Pittsburgh student had traveled to the island with five girlfriends a week ago on a spring break trip. Authorities say she was last seen early Thursday on the beach with friends. Surveillance cameras captured five women and one man leaving the beach at about 6 a.m. Thursday, police said in a statement. Konanki apparently stayed behind with a man, and surveillance video shows him leaving the beach area hours later without her. The statement says the man was cooperating with authorities who were attempting to "corroborate the version" of events, but no details are provided. Man reportedly tells authorities student missing after swim. The Dominican news outlet El Nacional, citing authorities close to the investigation, said the man told authorities they went into the water and that he returned to the beach and passed out − and that she had disappeared when he woke up. The outlet also reported that Konanki’s clothes were found on a beach chair with no signs of violence. Konanki is a native of India whose family lives in Loudoun County, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying Konanki was a permanent resident of the United States and that the office said it was "actively assisting" in the investigation. The statement said the office was working closely with authorities from the State Department, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and the University of Pittsburgh police "in support of the ongoing investigation by the Dominican National Police.”

Chicago Tribune [3/11/2025 6:00 AM, Staff, 5269K] reports immigrants to the United States holding green cards never expect to encounter agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE. Green-card holders (there are some 13 million of them) are formally known as lawful permanent residents, or LPRs. Some hold them for decades. They can live, do business and find gainful employment wherever they like and, of course, they pay taxes and receive benefits. A majority of them are eligible for U.S. citizenship but haven’t taken that step, either because of ties to another country or mere lethargy. In the normal order of things, aside from voting in federal elections or holding federal and some state and local offices, a green card has generally been seen as affording all of the benefits of citizenship. This weekend, though, green-card holders got a reminder that’s not true. They are far more vulnerable to government actions than U.S. citizens and their status can be revoked. Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card holder and a supporter of Hamas, got a visit from ICE agents who reportedly first told him they were revoking his student visa but, once informed he was a permanent resident, then said that made no difference, since they could and would revoke that too. Thereafter, Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down, writing on X: “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.” Much troubles us here. We are no fans of Hamas, which we believe to be a terrorist organization that murdered innocent Israelis and continues to fail the Palestinian people. We consider supporters of Hamas on campuses or anywhere else to be misguided. But this is not a country that arrests and detains people for thought crimes or their political views. It should not be a crime to support Hamas in your head, anymore than it should be to support neo-Nazis or the Communist Party. It should not be a crime to discuss their operations or even to tell someone of your sympathies; it’s only a crime when an action is taken, such as funding or otherwise aiding terrorists, destroying private property, trespassing, assaulting a police officer, disrupting public order or harassing the group’s perceived enemies, which in the case of the campus of Columbia and elsewhere usually has meant Jewish students. If Kahlil has done those things, there are laws that can be applied and we support their prosecution as long as it comes with the required presumption of innocence. Jewish students have rights, too, and deserve to be free of harassment. But yanking away the green card of a permanent U.S. resident, and/or yanking away the person himself, without any kind of trial is not the American way. Green-card holders of Palestinian origin should not be living in fear. They are in this country with legal authorization and with the implicit promise that they can live here, work here and support their families.

Politico [3/11/2025 4:30 PM, Myah Ward] reports behind the bleary eyes of workers streaming in and out of a dairy farm dormitory here in Kristi Noem’s state is a story of a booming industry, a broken immigration system and the tension facing the Trump administration as it attempts to forcibly remove 12 million undocumented immigrants. Noem is now playing a major role in orchestrating President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans as Homeland Security secretary — putting her and her state squarely at the center of the long-simmering question that has now reached a boil. To deport all 12 million people, the Trump administration will have to conduct raids throughout the entire country, upending communities and disrupting economies in red states, where more than 40 percent of undocumented immigrants reside.

New York Times [3/12/2025 3:34 AM,Alexandra Berzon, Allison McCann and Hamed Aleaziz, 330K] reports Damon Hininger, the chief executive of CoreCivic, which operates private prisons and immigrant detention centers, opened an investor call last month on a buoyant note. “I’ve worked at CoreCivic for 32 years, and this is truly one of the most exciting periods in my career,” he said, adding that the company was anticipating in the next several years “perhaps the most significant growth in our company’s history.” CoreCivic, GEO Group and some smaller private prison companies are becoming a key cog in the Trump administration’s plan to hold and then deport vast numbers of undocumented immigrants. Already in the past week, CoreCivic and GEO have announced new contracts and executives say they are expecting more. Predictions for such a stratospheric trajectory in revenue for these companies did not look to be in the cards just four years ago. Public sentiment had turned against its industry, amid accusations of safety and health violations and the stigma of profiting from the incarceration of immigrants. Big banks, responding to pressure campaigns from activists, had announced they were going to stop issuing new loans to the companies. The newly elected president, Joseph R. Biden Jr., had vowed on the campaign trail to end contracts with the companies. The industry’s time in the wilderness turned out to be short lived. Despite Mr. Biden’s pronouncements, most federal contracts with private detention companies remained untouched. The banking giants Bank of America and Wells Fargo over the past two years have softened their policy statements to allow financing again for detention companies in some circumstances, after some Republican-led states passed laws aimed at forbidding the blacklisting of certain industries. And that was before President Trump took office, having promised repeatedly during the campaign that he would swiftly rid the country of millions of undocumented immigrants. The process will necessitate detaining immigrants for weeks or months as they await a ruling from an immigration judge or transportation out of the country — with private companies standing to gain.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 5:39 PM, Elizabeth Pittman, 52868K] reports an employee at the NC Department of Transportation pled guilty to selling counterfeit car airbags. Over the past two years, Mateen Mohammad Alinaghian, 31, imported thousands of counterfeit car steering wheel airbags into the Raleigh area through Facebook Marketplace. Information presented in court showed Alinaghian imported around 2,500 counterfeit airbags between May of 2022 and April of 2024 in the Raleigh area. The steering wheels imported from a supplier in the United Kingdom had the makings of: In testing done by Honda, General Motors, and Toyota of the steering wheel airbags sold by Alinaghian, they were often malfunctioned, or not fully inflating. This could pose a serious risk of injury to the driver. "Airbags are critical life-saving devices that are designed and produced to protect motorists," Special Agent in charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte that covers North and South Carolina, Cardell T. Morant said. "Counterfeit airbags pose a serious threat to the safety of consumers. HSI actively collaborates with its law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations that seek to exploit global commerce and threaten legitimate supply chains.”

WSOC [3/11/2025 6:05 PM, Staff] reports five undocumented immigrants were arrested during a multi-agency operation in the Charlotte area on Feb. 6, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated in a news release. The operation, involving ICE, Norfolk Southern Railroad Federal Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, aimed to enhance the safety of freight trains and their crews, officials said. The operation was conducted in response to increased reports of gang-affiliated people on rail tracks, posing threats to citizens and railway employees while doing illegal activities, such as selling drugs and trespassing. Everyone arrested during the operation was taken into ICE custody on administrative charges. They are pending removal.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 6:10 PM, Jameson Moyer, 52868K] reports deputies in Charleston County will soon be able to serve and execute civil immigration warrants at the Al Cannon Detention Center, according to an announcement from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. The law enforcement agency said Tuesday that it has rejoined the Section 287 (G) program in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This program is a voluntary partnership between ICE and the county, allowing deputies to perform limited immigration actions within their jurisdiction. CCSO said they have signed a memorandum to participate in the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) program, which is one of three models offered under 287 (g). The warrant service model allows ICE to train deputies to serve and executive civil immigration warrants in jails, in this case, Al Cannon. "It enables our agency to assist in the removal of individuals in custody who have committed serious crimes and are in the U.S. unlawfully," the sheriff’s office said in a statement. "The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office remains dedicated to public safety, law, and order, and serving the community while cooperating with state and federal agencies in accordance with the law," the agency added. "Our approach remains unchanged: "We prioritize public safety and collaborate across all levels of government to serve Charleston County.” Former Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano dissolved the 287(g) agreement between the sheriff’s office and ICE as one of her first official acts after taking office in 2021.

Miami Herald [3/11/2025 5:30 AM, Syra Ortiz Blanes, Verónica Egui Brito and Tess Riski, 3973K] reports Hialeah, one of the the cities with the largest proportions of Hispanic residents in the United States, could soon become one of the first Miami-Dade municipalities to officially collaborate with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement. On Tuesday, the city council will present a resolution authorizing Mayor Esteban "Steve" Bovo to sign an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would deputize officers of the Hialeah Police Department to perform limited immigration-agent duties. That includes the power to interrogate and arrest an immigrant they believe is violating immigration law, as well as the authority to serve immigration warrants and immigration detainers. The Hialeah Police Department’s request to join ICE’s 287(g) program — under which state and local police assist the federal government in immigration enforcement — underscores the changing role of local public safety agencies under the Trump administration. Enforcing immigration law is the federal government’s job, but President Donald Trump has made clear that state, local and county police agencies should play a role in plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Since taking office, Trump has moved to strip hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Cubans, and Venezuelans of their legal status, leaving large swaths of Miami’s immigrant communities vulnerable to deportation — including some newer residents of Hialeah, raising questions about how a partnership with ICE could play out in the mostly foreign-born, nearly all Hispanic city. In a request to Bovo and the Hialeah City Council, Deputy City Attorney Barbara T. Govea said the police department wants to enter the agreement with ICE to "provide operational assistance in the form of law enforcement services and resources to adequately respond to illegal immigration.”

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 9:38 PM, Heather Willard, 52868K] reports that, What could have been a simple traffic stop ultimately led to a multi-jurisdictional drug task force finding two five-gallon containers of "angel dust" and the arrest of two Kansas City residents. The arrests happened on March 7 when a Vail Police Department officer, who is assigned to the multi-jurisdictional GRANITE drug task force, stopped a vehicle on eastbound Interstate 70 in Eagle County because they were tailgating another vehicle. During the stop, the occupants "made statements that raised the officer’s suspicions of further criminal activity," according to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office. The officer deployed K-9 Mojo, a narcotics detection dog, who sniffed around the car and had multiple positive alerts, according to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office. Because of this, officers had probable cause to search the vehicle, which they did. Inside the trunk of the car were two five-gallon containers, the sheriff’s office reported, and a field test on the liquid inside tested presumptively positive for narcotics. Additional testing done in collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations showed the substance was liquid PCP, or prevented liquid phencyclidine, a potent hallucinogen that’s also called angel dust, black dust, Crystal T or Goon Dust, according to the Eagle County sheriff. A Vail Police Department officer who is part of the GRANITE drug task force conducted a traffic stop that ultimately led to them finding 40 pounds of PCP in the trunk of a car on I-70. (Courtesy the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office). Police arrested both people inside the vehicle and identified them as Brian Kirk Lockett, 46, and Shanella Lanae Jones, 43. They were taken to the Eagle County Detention Facility where each had bond set at $100,000. They are each facing: Lockett and Jones are scheduled to appear in court next on April 22.

Border Report [3/11/2025 5:39 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 117K] reports federal, state and local law enforcement arrested over 600 undocumented immigrants during a week-long targeted enforcement operation in the Houston area, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. A total of 646 non-citizens were arrested during the operation from Feb. 23-March 2, ICE says. This includes 543 people with criminal charges and seven purported gang members. The 543 were living in the United States without citizenship documents and "have been charged or convicted or a criminal offense while they were illegally present" in the United States, ICE says. The operation included the execution of 71 criminal arrest warrants. Agencies involved in the arrests include: ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and several other state and local law enforcement.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 11:17 PM, Amber Kite, 52868K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a Mexican national in Dallas after he was convicted of a 2022 manslaughter. ICE Dallas prioritized the arrest of Manuel Tellez, 48, after identifying him as removable from the country. Court records from the 265th District Court in Dallas County, Texas, revealed police arrested Tellez after he stabbed 52-year-old Anthony Moreno seven times, killing him. Tellez left the crime scene to change clothes, returned with gasoline, then doused Moreno’s body with the gasoline and set it on fire, according to ICE officials and Dallas Police. Tellez was initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of manslaughter. Court documents show he was not sentenced to prison, but was sentenced to eight years of community supervision and was released back into the community. Tellez remains in ICE custody pending immigration removal proceedings. "This is an egregious offender," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas acting Field Office Director Josh Johnson, "We are grateful for our federal partners within the Justice Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for helping us remove this high-priority target from our communities.” ICE and federal law enforcement partners from the FBI and CBP assisted in the arrest of Tellez in Dallas.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 4:24 PM, Michael Doorn, 52868K] reports a Beresford man has been sentenced to more than 33 years in federal prison for child pornography. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier sentenced Theodore Jungbauer, 61, of Beresford, to 33 years and four months of federal prison for a guilty plea to receiving and distributing child pornography over the dark web from December 13, 2021, through August 24, 2023. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota, Jungbauer’s illegal online activity, while living in South Dakota, came to the attention of law enforcement in Australia. Australian officials contacted Homeland Security Investigations when they discovered Jungbauer was trying to share his library of child pornography over the dark web. His library included 3,695 files (images and videos) of child sexual abuse materials. Jungbauer was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2023. He pleaded guilty on November12, 2024.

KXRM [3/11/2025 3:16 PM, Norishka Pachot] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Denver arrested an alleged Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang member with the assistance of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO). On Wednesday, March 5, ICE arrested 30-year-old Pedro Rafael Cartaya-Rojas in Colorado Springs. According to ICE, Cartaya-Rojas is a Venezuelan national who illegally entered the U.S. in November 2023 and is also a TdA gang member. According to ICE, Cartaya-Rojas escaped from the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, which allows immigrants to remain in their communities as they move through immigration proceedings or prepare for departure. In May 2024, an immigration judge ordered him removed.

Miami Herald [3/11/2025 9:55 PM, Staff, 3973K] reports the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Denver field office is looking to add capacity to hold nearly 1,000 more detainees in Colorado or Wyoming. ICE wants to add 850 to 950 beds within a two-hour drive of its Denver field office or its 10 sub-offices in Colorado or Wyoming, according to a "request for information" the agency published online on Feb. 14. The federal immigration agency is seeking "available detention facilities for single adult populations (male and female)" with segregation units, infirmaries and local access to hospital care. The facility or facilities should be able to house low-, medium- and high-security "adult noncitizens," according to the document. "Dedicated facilities solely for ICE use are preferred; however, ICE will consider detention facilities housing other detained populations if separation from ICE detainees is maintained," the request for information states. Denver ICE spokesman Steve Kotecki said in a statement Tuesday that the agency is "exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements.” "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enhanced enforcement operations and routine daily operations have resulted in a significant number of arrests of criminal aliens that require greater detention capacity," he said. The request for information is meant to "obtain market information for planning purposes and to determine appropriate strategies to meet the agency’s requirements," and is not a solicitation for bids or proposals, according to the document. The deadline to submit information was Feb. 15. ICE currently uses a processing center that can hold 1,532 people in Aurora that is run by The GEO Group, a private contractor. President Donald Trump’s administration has been making moves to expand ICE’s detention capacity across the country. On Feb. 26, the agency said it would reopen a facility in New Jersey. "This detention center is the first to open under the new administration," former acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello said in a statement. "The location near an international airport streamlines logistics, and helps facilitate the timely processing of individuals in our custody as we pursue President Trump’s mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from our communities.” The next day, CoreCivic Inc. - a detention management company contracted by federal and state departments - announced additional capacity for up to 784 ICE detainees across three of its existing correctional and detention facilities in Ohio, Nevada and Oklahoma. It also permitted the use of up to 252 beds by ICE at its facility in Mississippi. "We are entering a period where our government partners, particularly our federal government partners, are expected to have increased demand," CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger said in a statement. "We anticipate additional contracting activity that will help satisfy their growing needs.”

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 2:04 PM, Austin Fisher, 52868K] reports that the United States last month deported three Venezuelan men who had been held in immigration detention in New Mexico back to their home country after they successfully convinced a federal judge to block their transfer to the notorious military prison at Guantánamo Bay. Each of the three men fled Venezuela, sought asylum from the U.S. and passed an initial Credible Fear Interview with federal asylum officers by establishing a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home countries. However, they were held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention because of a political dispute between the two countries. The case began in September 2024 when the men first challenged the legality of their detention at the Otero County Processing center in Chaparral, N.M. with help from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico. President Donald Trump on Jan. 29 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Defense to expand the Migrant Operations Center in the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay "to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.” Following Trump’s orders, the U.S. diverted hundreds of troops to Guantánamo to start setting up a tent city for detained migrants, according to the New York Times.

Miami Herald [3/11/2025 7:34 PM, Paige Cornwell, 3973K] reports a British tourist who had been traveling through the U.S. has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Tacoma, Washington, for about two weeks after she was denied entry into Canada, according to ICE and social media posts from the woman’s family. Rebecca Burke, 28, is detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center "related to the violation of the terms and conditions of her admission," an ICE spokesperson said in a statement. ICE did not detail what terms and conditions she allegedly violated. According to a Facebook post from her father, Paul Burke, Rebecca Burke tried to cross the U.S.-Canada border on Feb. 26 for the next leg of her backpacking trip. She was denied entry to Canada because of incorrect visa paperwork and when she tried to return to the U.S., she was instead handcuffed and taken to the Tacoma detention center, Paul Burke wrote. "What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare," Paul Burke wrote on Facebook. Paul Burke called Rebecca’s living condition "deeply concerning," saying she, a vegan, is "surviving on a diet of cold rice, potatoes, and beans." ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Paul Burke’s Facebook post. "Becky is a kind, adventurous young woman who simply wants to return home to her family," Paul Burke wrote, using Rebecca’s nickname.

NBC News [3/11/2025 5:06 PM, Corky Siemaszko, 44742K] reports the Washington attorney general claims in a new lawsuit that the sheriff in rural Adams County has been breaking state law for at least three years by helping federal immigration officers round up and collect information on suspected undocumented residents. And since the election of President Donald Trump, Sheriff Dale J. Wagner has taken the position that the Keep Washington Working Act, a state law passed in 2019, is "illegal," the lawsuit states. The law, passed with bipartisan support, restricts the ability of local authorities to participate in the enforcement of federal immigration law. According to the state in the lawsuit, the law allows law enforcement agencies to focus on their core duties of public safety by protecting all residents fairly and building trust with the community. The lawsuit sets the stage for another legal showdown as the Trump administration takes aim at "sanctuary" cities and states that decline to cooperate with large-scale deportation of migrants. But the Washington case differs from ongoing cases in Louisiana and Indiana where the state attorneys general have gone after sheriff’s departments that have refused to cooperate with ICE operations.

Telemundo Amarillo [3/11/2025 7:40 PM, Lynn Kawano, 2K] reports a school officer took a child from the school where he was studying in Kona, Hawaii, as part of an operation carried out by immigration authorities, according to the investigative journalism team at our sister station Hawaii News Now in Honolulu. The incident occurred two weeks ago at Konawaena Elementary School. Kona is located in the west of the Big Island of the archipelago state. Hawaii Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz said the department he leads assisted in the reunification of the child with his father, who was already detained by federal agents for violating immigration law. "There was no one who was going to go for the child to school," Moszkowicz added. "(The school employees) probably weren’t aware of what was going on with their parents, so we, in that particular situation, worked with the school. We approached the school resource officer. We work with the Child Protection Services. Lucia Cabral DeArmas, acting special agent in charge of the National Security Investigations division in Honolulu, said the boy and his father were never separated beyond school hours. DeArmas reported that agency contractors placed them in a hotel room and agents bought them food, water and clothes to travel back to their country. The two immigrants are from Central America and both had deportation orders. DeArmas added that the retention of these two immigrants is part of several operations they have carried out in Kona recently.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 9:50 PM, Verónica Egui Brito and Syra Ortiz Blanes, 52868K] reports Hialeah became Tuesday night the second city in Miami-Dade County to enter a partnership with the Trump administration to deputize local police officers to perform duties typically handled by federal immigration agents. The city council unanimously gave Mayor Esteban "Steve" Bovo the green light to authorize a partnership agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with six members voting in favor and one absent. With the approval of Tuesday’s resolution, the mostly Hispanic city, where a majority of residents were born outside the U.S., is now among the first jurisdictions in South Florida to localize the crackdown by President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis on illegal immigration. It’s also a development in the city’s evolving response to newly arrived immigrants that officials say have strained city resources. Bovo told the council the decision is a "fine line in a city like this one that has been built by legal immigrants, a very fine line as opposed to illegal immigrants.... The person that comes into the country illegally, illegally has already violated our laws, the laws of this country.” Under the federal 287(g) agreement, which allows state and local police to assist ICE in immigration enforcement, Hialeah police officers will gain the authority to stop, interrogate and arrest individuals suspected of violating immigration laws. The decision comes days after the Coral Gables Police Department signed a similar agreement. "The agreement does not weaponize our Hialeah Police officers against our city of Hialeah residents," said Police Chief George Fuentes. It remains to be seen how the policy will play out in predominantly immigrant Hialeah, where five of the council members who approved the agreement are the children of immigrants, and the sixth was born in Cuba. Several residents denounced the agreement amid worries that recent arrivals to the United States, many of whom have made a home in Hialeah, will be targets.

Washington Post [3/11/2025 11:47 AM, David Nakamura, 31735K] reports that the Trump administration said early Tuesday that it could take months to fully comply with a court order to resume admitting refugees to the United States, citing a “significant deterioration of functions” in the program since President Donald Trump ordered it shut down in January. In an overnight filing in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, the Justice Department said the prospective delays are due, in part, to the need for the federal government’s nonprofit partners to rehire furloughed staff and new security vetting procedures the State Department will use to screen refugees. Furthermore, Justice Department lawyers said, the administration is seeking to hire a new aid group to provide refugee resettlement services in the place of 10 longtime partners whose service contracts the State Department terminated last week — a process that is expected to take at least three months, according to the court filing. "The Department of State is working to ascertain how long it will take to restore the USRAP to operational status," the department’s filing read, referring to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. "As USRAP functions restart, additional areas that require remediation will likely be identified."

NPR [3/11/2025 12:54 PM, Bill Chappell and Ximena Bustillo, 29983K] reports that a New York federal judge is set to hear pivotal questions in the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of large Gaza solidarity protests at Columbia University who now faces deportation after his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Khalil, who holds a green card as a legal permanent U.S. resident, isn’t charged with a crime. But the Trump administration says he should be deported because of his protest activity, which it equates with anti-Semitism and support for terrorism. ICE agents arrested the pro-Palestinian activist at his university-owned apartment building in New York City on Saturday. Khalil recently finished his master’s degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He’s now being held in the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, La. — more than 1,000 miles from the home he shares with his wife, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant. Khalil’s lawyers have filed a habeas corpus challenge to his detention; District Judge Jesse Furman set a hearing for Wednesday, ordering that Khalil "shall not be removed from the United States unless and until" the court rules otherwise. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin says the agency alleges that the former graduate student "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization."

Reported similarly:
USA Today [3/11/2025 1:20 PM, Phaedra Trethan, 75858K]

Washington Examiner [3/11/2025 6:03 PM, Asher Notheis, 2296K] reports Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued the United States has no obligation to keep VISA students within the country, specifically those who engage in antisemitism on college campuses. Cruz’s comment comes after the Trump administration sought to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student on a green card from Syria, who is being detained as legal fights over his deportation continue. In assessing the Trump administration’s actions against Khalil, who was a part of Columbia University’s encampments in April 2024, Cruz sternly warned that anyone who hates the U.S. or is "an antisemitic bigot" should not come to the country, adding that those on student VISAs are not protected under the nation’s First Amendment. "Coming to this country on a VISA is a permissive matter," Cruz argued on Fox News’s The Story with Martha MacCallum. "It is a matter of grace, and we’re not going to bring in people who hate America. We’re not going to bring in people who terrorize their fellow students, who attack Jewish students, who threaten Jewish students, who burn American flags. We have no obligation to let people in who hate this country.” Cruz then expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for canceling grants to Columbia University, arguing that school administrators "embraced" the pro-Hamas protests taking place on campus grounds last year. He was also enthusiastic that "this will not be the only person deported," contending that those protesting Kahlil’s imprisonment are partaking in "self-reporting" since many are also on student VISAs. The Texas senator reiterated that the U.S.’s First Amendment protects citizens of the U.S., not foreign nationals in the country, "on grace." He added that those who abuse the grace given them should get "a one-way ticket home.” Khalil’s deportation has been temporarily blocked by New York Judge Jesse Furman, who ruled that Khalil cannot be deported until a court rules on a petition challenging the move.

New York Times [3/11/2025 2:22 PM, Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Karoun Demirjian, 145325K] reports that the United States will begin enforcing a law requiring Canadians visiting the country for 30 days or more to register with the authorities, according to two Canadian officials who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the record. The new requirement is rooted in existing immigration law, which states that foreign nationals 14 or older and not already registered with American authorities have to register and be fingerprinted if they plan to be in the United States for 30 days or longer. But in practice, the rule has not been applied consistently to Canadian nationals crossing into the United States via land borders. On the first day of his current term, President Trump signaled that practice would change, with an executive order requiring all previously unregistered foreign nationals comply with the law. The order also warned that failure to comply would be “treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority.” The Canadian officials said the notice had been received by the Canadian authorities. The notice was reported earlier by ABC News. Representatives of the Homeland Security Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A subsequent publication from U.S.C.I.S. stated that the Department of Homeland Security would explain how foreign nationals who had not already fulfilled the registration requirement would be able to go about doing so.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [3/11/2025 12:32 PM, Josh Wingrove and Hadriana Lowenkron, 16228K]

Border Report [3/11/2025 4:31 PM, Julian Resendiz, 117K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials tell Border Report that additional soft-sided processing facilities are being shut down elsewhere in South Texas and Arizona. The facilities being closed are located in Laredo, and Tucson, CBP officials said Tuesday. Only two of eight soft-sided tent facilities will remain open on the Southwest border. That includes facilities built in El Paso and San Diego, Border Report has learned. The reason is an overwhelming drop in border encounters of migrants since President Donald Trump took office in January. That includes a 78% drop in migrants encountered in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, and an 80% drop in migrants encountered in the Del Rio Sector in January from January 2024, CBP reports.

NBC News [3/11/2025 3:15 PM, Sophia Pargas, 44742K] reports a former border patrol agent pleaded guilty to two civil rights violations on Friday for demanding women expose their breasts to be admitted into the U.S., according to officials. Shane Millan, 53, was a United States Border Patrol agent at Wellesley Island in Jefferson County, New York, tasked with remotely processing immigrants crossing the southern border when he began making the demands. Millan’s role was to sign paperwork allowing immigrants to stay in the U.S. pending court hearings. Millan was charged with 4 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law in August, according to a release. He pleaded guilty to two counts Friday for "willfully (depriving) multiple victims of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches," according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A sentencing is scheduled for July 7, where Millan faces up to 2 years in prison and a fine of $200,000, according to officials.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [3/11/2025 3:49 PM, Jonathan Edwards, 31735K]

FOX News [3/11/2025 6:46 PM, Louis Casiano, 52868K] reports an illegal immigrant from Lebanon who admitted to being a member of the Hezbollah terror group network is slated to be deported a year after being caught and released into the country under former President Joe Biden’s watch. Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, was captured by border agents in El Paso, Texas, on March 9, 2024 and immediately held in federal custody. He reportedly told investigators he was going to travel to New York and make a bomb and that his training with the Iran-backed terror network was focused on "jihad" and "killing people that was not Muslim.” Ebbadi apparently told investigators he had an interest in leaving the group because he "didn’t want to kill people," though he added that "once you’re in, you can never get out.” Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, allegedly admitted to being a member of Hezbollah when he was caught entering the United States illegally. Nevertheless, Ebbadi was placed in isolation and referred to the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) after allegedly making "terroristic threats to personnel.” "If an individual poses a potential threat to national security or public safety, we deny admission, detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting, investigation and/or prosecution as appropriate," a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told Fox News Digital at the time. After illegally entering the United States, Ebbadi was convicted of entering the country illegally and sentenced to five months in federal prison on April 26, the New York Post reported. Under the Biden administration, border authorities released 400 suspected terrorists crossing into the U.S. illegally through the southern border. He was finally ordered deported by an immigration judge on Jan. 13 after serving his sentence. Upon entering the U.S., he claimed his documents were stolen somewhere in Costa Rica. Under the Biden administration, border authorities released 400 suspected terrorists crossing into the U.S. illegally through the southern border, according to the Post. In January 2024, ICE arrested a member of the Somali al-Shabaab terrorist group. The unidentified suspect entered the U.S. illegally before being caught and released by border authorities in California. The person lived free for nearly a year before being caught in Minnesota.

Border Report [3/11/2025 10:33 PM, Dave Burge, 117K] reports U.S. Border Patrol agents in the El Paso sector arrested an undocumented immigrant with what they are calling an "extensive criminal history" and the individual is now facing a felony charge of illegal entry after being previously removed, a Border Patrol spokesperson said. The migrant was arrested on Tuesday, March 4, in Southeast El Paso after Border Patrol agents, including its tactical team, executed a federal bench warrant. Agents subsequently apprehended a person who was in the country illegally from Mexico, the spokesperson said. This person had two prior convictions for indecent sexual contact with a child and an "extensive criminal history" that included assault, DWI, theft, selling alcohol to minors, resisting arrest and attempting to take a weapon from a law enforcement officer, the Border Patrol spokesperson said.

Border Report [3/11/2025 6:20 PM, Staff, 117K] Video: HERE reports portions of an illegal border tunnel discovered on Jan. 9 between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, remain unfilled due to engineering challenges posed by the Rio Grande. On Tuesday, employees of the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (CILA, in Spanish) were observed using sonar equipment and other machines on the Rio Grande levee near Gate 28 of the U.S. border wall. The workers mapped the area and dug small holes on the levee in preparation for a concrete pour in the portion of the quarter-mile long tunnel that goes under the Rio Grande, CILA staff members told Border Report news partner ProVideo. U.S. Border Patrol agents and Texas Army National Guard troops could be seen on the north banks of the river observing the work going on in Mexico. A spokesman for the Border Patrol said the tunnel has been sealed with concrete on the American side of the river. The agency was notified that Mexico will be doing remediation work on their side to fill what’s left of the tunnel.

Border Report [3/11/2025 1:23 PM, Mia Morales, 117K] reports that a migrant in U.S. Border Patrol custody was pronounced dead at the hospital, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced. According to a news release from CBP, shortly after 8 a.m. on Monday, a migrant was pronounced dead due to cancer complications. The migrant, who was in Border Patrol custody, died while in the care of a local hospital. The CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the incident.

CBS 7 [3/11/2025 10:39 AM, Staff, 4K] reports that agents at the southern border recently made a massive methamphetamine seizure. It happened Wednesday at the Roma International Bridge in Texas. The methamphetamine was in liquid form in more than 1,600 water bottles. It is worth more than $20 million. The drugs were on a tractor-trailer that was transporting mineral water along with chili peppers, potatoes and onions. The seizure was a joint effort between Customs and Border Protection and several Mexican agencies. One man was arrested. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 10:47 AM, Staff, 52868K] reports that a British tourist has been detained by immigration officials in the US for more than 10 days after trying to enter the country via the Canadian border. Rebecca Burke, 28, a graphic artist from Monmouthshire, was trying to cross into the state of Washington as part of a four-month backpacking trip around North America when she was refused entry into Canada. She was planning to stay with a host family – where she would carry out domestic chores in exchange for accommodation – and was told she should have applied for a working visa, instead of a tourist visa. She had previously been staying with a host family in Portland, Oregon, under a similar arrangement after spending some time sightseeing in New York City, where she first arrived from the UK at the start of the year. Canadian authorities told her to go back to the US and fill in new paperwork before returning to cross into Canada. However, when she tried to re-enter the US, she was handcuffed and put in a cell before being taken to Tacoma Northwest detention facility in Washington state, re-classified as an illegal alien. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: "We are supporting a British national detained in the USA and are in contact with the local authorities."

AP [3/11/2025 5:11 PM, Staff, 44742K] reports a Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration. The turtle was detected Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty International Airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants. When questioned further, the man reached into his pants and pulled out the turtle, which was about 5 inches long and wrapped in a small blue towel. He said it was a red-ear slider turtle, a species that is popular as a pet. The man — whose name was not released — was escorted from the checkpoint area by Port Authority police and ended up missing his flight. The turtle was confiscated, and it’s not clear if it was the man’s pet or why he had it in his pants. "We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, however I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants," said Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey. "As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”

Reported similarly:
Miami Herald [3/11/2025 5:34 PM, Sara Schilling, 3973K]
Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 6:19 PM, Max Augugliaro, 52868K]

New Hampshire Bulletin [3/11/2025 3:47 PM, Claire Sullivan] reports President Donald Trump has tapped a six-term New Hampshire lawmaker who co-chaired two of his campaigns in the state to run New England’s regional federal emergency office. Fred Doucette, who co-chaired Trump’s 2016 and 2020 runs in the first-in-the-nation primary state, before putting his weight behind Republican competitor Vivek Ramaswamy in 2023, was sworn in Monday as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region One branch, a FEMA spokesperson said. The branch is headquartered in Boston and represents New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and 10 federally recognized Tribal Nations in the region. Doucette’s appointment to FEMA comes as the agency faces an uncertain future.

WJZY [3/11/2025 3:27 PM, Arri Woodhouse] reports FEMA has granted an extension for state, tribal and local governments to apply for its Public Assistance program, Gov. Stein announced Tuesday. The extension also includes some non-profit organizations. On March 7, FEMA granted the 30-day extension to Governor Stein’s request for the Individual Assistance Program that provides resources to disaster survivors. The program reimburses cost share funding for the state, local, and tribal governments and non-profits to offset costs associated with the recovery effects from Hurricane Helene. The new deadline is April 7.

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 7:14 AM, Cheryl McCloud, 52868K] reports the National Weather Service Melbourne confirmed an EF2 tornado hit Seminole County Monday morning. Several tornado warnings were issued for portions of Florida as a cold front moved across the state, bringing rain, strong winds and the potential for tornadoes and large hail. No direct injuries or fatalities were reported, according to the National Weather Service after it completed its storm survey. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 tornado hit Seminole County about 9:35 a.m., Monday, March 10. Peak winds were estimated at 120 mph. The tornado downed trees, damaged roofs and blew out windows, and caused the collapse of a home in Longwood.

Reported similarly:
AP [3/11/2025 1:42 PM, Staff, 48304K]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 1:17 PM, Arpan Lobo, 52868K] reports that a state emergency management official said Tuesday around $56 million dollars in federal disaster recovery funding has been placed on hold by the Trump administration in recent weeks, putting a strain on Michigan’s ability to respond to and plan for emergencies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not reimbursed a state grant program for emergency management since Feb. 11, said Michigan State Police Capt. Kevin Sweeney, who is the deputy state director of emergency management. The typical response time to a request for reimbursement to FEMA had been 3-7 business days, he added. FEMA is the federal organization which helps respond to and prepare for different emergency situations in the U.S., including natural disasters. The agency traditionally has provided reimbursements through grant funding to the state of Michigan for disaster relief efforts. The state, in turn, reimburses local agencies responding to emergencies. Without the federal funding, disaster relief services could be disrupted, and agencies may not be able to pay workers, Sweeney said. An inquiry sent to FEMA’s press office by the Detroit Free Press was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon. Current disaster relief efforts in Michigan include responding to 2020 flooding in Midland after the collapse of a pair of dams and heavy rain, more flooding in 2021 in Wayne County, and tornadoes in northern Michigan in 2023. Sweeney said ongoing efforts for disaster relief and recovery in Michigan date back as far as 2018.

CBS Sacramento [3/11/2025 9:02 PM, Kayla Moeller, 51661K] reports a federal funding pause has indefinitely left $130 million on hold for emergency food and shelter programs across the United States. A combined $115,000 between Yuba and Sutter counties is on a freeze, creating problems for roughly 15 organizations that focus on food and shelter, like the Yuba-Sutter Food Bank. "Food banks across the board are struggling financially as a result of the federal pause," said Maria Ball, the food bank’s executive director. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) emergency food and shelter program has put a hold on federal funds across the nation. The Yuba-Sutter-Colusa United Way organization usually distributes the funds locally, but they received an email in late January saying the funds weren’t coming yet, and it’s unclear when they will. "That money for our smaller nonprofits here locally, is a big chunk of their budget," said Rick Millhollin, chair of the Yuba-Sutter-Colusa United Way board. The money was already allocated to local organizations last year and many already budgeted for it. The email cites the emergency food and shelter program is being reviewed within FEMA to ensure it complies with recent executive orders and U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines. "We’re just kind of hoping that the current administration just gets through this so we can get our funding back because there’s not a lot of fraud, waste and abuse when people are trying to put food on people’s tables," Ball said. Millhollin said that after 18 years in the field, he’s never seen the program’s funding on hold. "It has more of a domino effect than most people realize," he said, "and the hardest thing to do is to stop a project and restart it if it’s put on hold for a certain amount of time.” Ball, showing us the empty shelves in the food bank, said, "When funding is where it needs to be, these shelves right here are full of pallets of food. As you can see, it’s looking a little mean and lean out there.” The Yuba-Sutter Food Bank is struggling to keep up with demand to distribute food to its 35,000 visitors per month and its 50 partner agencies. "Our role is the food mover. We’re here to receive those donations and get that funding so we can purchase the food and get it out to the people," Ball said.

Telemundo52 [3/11/2025 7:04 PM, Jonathan Lloyd, 101K] reports an evacuation order was issued for the San Gabriel Valley community in Sierra Madre, in the face of the strong winter storm that will bring rain until Friday. Orders will come into effect on Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. for areas affected by the burnt areas of the Eaton fire, where the slopes devoid of vegetation by the January forest fire are more vulnerable to landslides and debris flows. Other evacuation warnings will come into effect Wednesday for some homes near areas affected by January wildfires in Los Angeles. A storm is expected to bring rain until Friday. The warnings, which indicate a possible threat to life and property, were issued for some residences near the Palisades fire area on the Los Angeles County coast, the Sunset Fire Zone in Hollywood Hills and the Hurst Fire in Sylmar area. The warnings will take effect at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday and will continue until Thursday night. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) provided this map of evacuation warning zones, which could be upgraded to evacuation orders according to the storm. Houses in areas considered to be high-risk will be visited by police with specific evacuation orders. Burnt areas are more likely to slip up land and debris flows after the slopes of the area were devoid of vegetation by January’s deadly fires, including two of the most destructive recorded in California.

CBS News [3/11/2025 5:17 AM, Julia Falcon, 51661K] reports that two Romanians were arrested in North Texas in connection to a major credit card skimming operation, officials announced Tuesday. According to the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center, at least $5.2 million in potential losses was prevented. When law enforcement conducted a search warrant at the suspects’ residence, they found what they said was a fully operational credit card skimmer factory. The suspects allegedly constructed and assembled skimming devices designed to attach to ATMs. Law enforcement officers seized hundreds of altered credit cards that had stolen victim information, about $16,000 in cash as well as tools and equipment used to create the skimming devices. Petruta Camelia Ciuperca, 34, was booked into the Dallas County jail with bonds totaling $120,000. Alexandru Constantin, 34, was also booked into the Dallas County jail with bonds totaling $76,500. They are both also being held on an immigration charge. Officials said they are searching for a third suspect. "This case highlights the critical importance of collaboration among law enforcement agencies in combating financial crimes," said Special Agent Jerry Alvarez of the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center. "Our joint efforts have significantly disrupted an organization that posed a severe threat to individuals and businesses in Texas." The Irving Police Department, Grand Prairie Police Department, Garland Police Department, Euless Police Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection assisted with the investigation. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 8:30 PM, Brian Hallenbeck, 52868K] reports a U.S. Department of Homeland Security order banning "climate change activities and the use of climate change terminology in DHS policies and programs" caused a stir among Coast Guard Academy alumni last month. After receiving "several letters of concern," the academy’s alumni association sought a response from the academy’s provost, a senior academic official, who said the academy was required to heed the order. The Coast Guard falls under the Department of Homeland Security’s jurisdiction. "This is a lawful directive with which we are obligated to comply, and we are doing so," the provost, Amy Donahue, said in a statement posted Feb. 28 on the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association website. "Further, in order to be fully mission capable, the Coast Guard needs officers who understand and are prepared to function effectively in the operating environment of a maritime military service.” Donahue said academy faculty have worked to satisfy the requirements of the directive, which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem put out Feb. 14. The directive stemmed from an executive order President Donald Trump issued Jan. 20 that rescinded a series of executive orders his predecessor had signed. "I directed our faculty to review the Academy’s academic curriculum to identify and revise any instances where our course content does not meet the Secretary’s intent or does not align with the President’s Executive Orders to ensure we come into full alignment," Donahue said in her statement. "My guidance to them was that we will not use ‘climate change’ or related terminology about contemporary human-induced rise in global temperatures in our class assignments and materials. Instead, we focus on particular scientific phenomena and the impacts that are pertinent to Service needs and missions.” Donahue said the academy has revised courses that had been addressing "climate change.” "That said," she added, "we have not and will not abandon science education.”

USA Today [3/11/2025 3:53 PM, Fernando Cervantes Jr, 75858K] reports the wrapped body of a woman discovered by fishermen off the coast of Massachusetts is believed to be have been buried at sea, according to investigators. The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office told USA TODAY in a statement on Tuesday that the woman’s death last week is not considered suspicious and that no foul play is suspected. An autopsy determined the woman to be around 60 years old with "numerous cancerous tumors." Prosecutors said they are unlikely to identify the woman due to its state of decomposition and that the investigation into the matter has been closed. Fishermen inadvertently captured the body in nets on Thursday about 40 miles off the Massachusetts coast, the office said on Sunday. At the time of the discovery, the body was found clothed and wrapped and in a "state of decomposition." The office said the United States Coast Guard was also involved in the investigation.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [3/11/2025 12:15 PM, Mirna Alsharif, 44742K]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 9:27 AM, Jane Alvarez-Wertz, 52868K] reports that Coast Guard Cutter Valiant, based in Jacksonville, Florida, helped prevent an estimated $141 million in illicit drugs from being smuggled into the U.S. According to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Valiant’s crew returned to Coast Guard Base Miami Beach Thursday, March 6 to offload more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine seized as the result of six interdictions in the Caribbean Sea. In addition to the drug seizure, 17 suspected smugglers were brought ashore to face prosecution in the U.S. "These seizures are a testament to the Coast Guard’s continued dedication to safeguard America by securing our maritime borders," said Lt. j.g. Jesus Martinez Borges, a Seventh Coast Guard District enforcement officer. "The Coast Guard and our partners work tirelessly to deny drug trafficking organizations access to smuggling routes bound for the United States. Our efforts contribute to federal investigations and prosecutions that further seek to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal activity abroad, which threaten Americans here at home." The following assets and crews were involved in the interdiction operations: U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South. U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team Pacific. Interdictions in the Caribbean Sea are performed by members of the U.S. Coast Guard under the authority and control of the Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 12:26 PM, Andrew Foran, 52868K] reports that an older man was rescued from the waters beneath the New Youngs Bay Bridge near Astoria on Thursday night, authorities said. According to the United States Coast Guard, Astoria police requested assistance after the man was found clinging to piling under the bridge. Within 30 minutes of the call, the USCG said they had a helicopter crew airborne and heading to assist with the rescue. A swimmer was deployed who managed to help the trapped man into a rescue basket where he was hoisted onto the bridge and seen by medical responders. It is unknown how the man ended up in the water. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [3/11/2025 10:01 AM, Danielle Dawson, 52868K] reports that nine migrants were intercepted off the coast of Point Loma late Monday night in a suspected smuggling attempt, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The boat was stopped by the Coast Guard’s Maritime Security and Safety Team from Los Angeles about seven miles southwest of the Point Loma peninsula, authorities said in a release. The Coast Guard Cutter Petrel also aided in the encounter. All of the migrants on board the craft, a 20-foot powerboat, were taken into custody and transferred to U.S. Border Patrol. Authorities did not disclose any additional details about the incident. The encounter comes just over a week after the Coast Guard interdicted more than 20 migrants in an apparent smuggling attempt, also off the coast of Point Loma.

CyberScoop [3/11/2025 12:00 PM, Matt Kapko] reports social media service X was hit by a series of distributed denial-of-service attacks Monday, which rendered the platform formerly known as Twitter inaccessible at times for users with intermittent outages and errors, according to researchers. The cause of those attacks has been much harder to discern. Elon Musk, the site’s owner, described the incident as a “massive cyberattack,” but did not provide any evidence, and threat researchers have yet to back up that claim. DDoS attacks are malicious, overwhelming targeted systems with traffic, but they do not involve unauthorized access, data theft or encryption — the hallmarks of more serious and potentially damaging cyberattacks. “We’re not sure exactly what happened,” Musk told FOX News in a Monday interview. “But there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.” While it is possible for a threat group to initiate DDoS attacks from a specific region or country, it is rare and improbable, according to F5 Labs. “With so many compromised consumer devices all over the internet, attackers could, conceivably, cherry-pick which country they wish all attack traffic to come from,” David Warburton, director at F5 Labs, told CyberScoop. “This seems unlikely, however, since in order to try and circumvent defenses, it’s in their interest to distribute attack traffic from all over the world,” he said. External researchers can’t determine the originating IP addresses for the flood of malicious traffic that hit X’s servers without direct access to X’s systems. “We don’t really know or see what X experienced,” Oded Vanunu, chief technologist and head of product vulnerability at Check Point Research, said in an email. “Only they know what and from where [it] hit them.” Dark Storm Team, a pro-Palestinian threat group specializing in DDoS attacks, claimed responsibility Monday, according to Check Point Research. The group also backed up its claim with screenshots on Telegram and a report on Check-Host.net that captures a site’s availability at specific times, a practice that bolsters the group’s credibility. The attacks are consistent with Dark Storm Team’s “broader goal of destabilizing prominent digital platforms and infrastructure,” Vanunu said. The group primarily targets organizations in the United States, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [3/11/2025 1:23 PM, Ryan Gallagher, 16228K]
AP [3/11/2025 11:26 AM, Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller, 1682K]

Newsweek [3/12/2025 5:22 AM, Dan Cody, 52220K] reports the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning smartphone users in the U.S. to delete fraudulent text messages appearing to come from toll road services, delivery companies and government agencies. The latest so-called smishing scams—phishing attacks via SMS—have exploited more than 10,000 newly registered domains, using fake payment demands to steal personal and financial information. Since early March 2024, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received over 2,000 complaints related to fraudulent toll payment messages. "The texts claim the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contain almost identical language," the FBI stated. "However, the link provided within the text is created to impersonate the state’s toll service name, and phone numbers appear to change between states.” The FBI warns that these scam text messages follow a specific format, typically claiming that the recipient owes a small amount for unpaid tolls and providing a fraudulent payment link. One common example reads: "(State Toll Service Name): We’ve noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record. To avoid a late fee of $50.00, visit [fraudulent website link] to settle your balance.” Authorities emphasize that legitimate toll agencies do not send payment requests via text. Michigan’s Department of Transportation (MDOT) confirmed that "staff from the Mackinac Bridge Authority, Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge Administration, and Blue Water Bridge do not contact customers via text." Toll violations are only sent via mail. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also warned: "Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info and even steal your identity," according to Forbes. The FBI, FTC and cybersecurity experts recommend taking immediate action if you receive a suspicious text: The FBI urges victims to "file a complaint with the IC3, www.ic3.gov, [and include] the phone number from where the text originated [and] the website listed within the text." Suspicious messages can also be forwarded to 7726 (SPAM) to be reported to mobile carriers. Keeping fraudulent messages on your phone increases the risk of accidental interaction.

CyberScoop [3/11/2025 12:00 PM, Greg Otto] reports Apple released emergency software patches Tuesday that address a newly identified zero-day vulnerability in the company’s WebKit web browser engine. Tracked as CVE-2025-24201, an attacker can potentially escape the constraints of Webkit’s Web Content sandbox, potentially leading to unauthorized actions. The sandbox is a security feature that isolates untrusted web content in order to prevent malicious code from accessing critical parts of the system. Apple categorized the attack as “extremely sophisticated,” saying it was used in attacks on “specific targeted individuals” prior to the iOS 17.2 update integral to Apple’s Safari browser and other applications across macOS and iOS. The vulnerability marks the third zero-day Apple has tackled this year, with previous issues being identified and patched in January and February. The patches resolve the issue across various Apple operating systems, including iOS 18.3.2, iPadOS 18.3.2, macOS Sequoia 15.3.2, visionOS 2.3.2, and Safari 18.3.1. Notably, Apple did not disclose if its own researchers or others outside of the company discovered the vulnerability, maintaining its policy of withholding specific exploitation details to prevent aiding malicious actors. The company did the same with the January zero-day, which was linked to its Core Media framework. This earlier flaw reportedly showcased use-after-free vulnerabilities, leading to unauthorized system access and prompting further vigilance. Apple did name the researcher behind February’s zero-day announcement, which was discovered by Bill Marczak of The Citizen Lab. That vulnerability, which disabled USB Restricted Mode on a locked Apple device, drew attention to nation-state surveillance capabilities.

CyberScoop [3/11/2025 12:00 PM, Matt Kapko] reports Microsoft patched 57 vulnerabilities affecting its foundational systems and core products, including six actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities, the company said in its latest security update Tuesday. Four of the six zero-days, which were all added to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s known exploited vulnerabilities catalog, are high-severity on the CVSS scale. The software defects impact fundamental drivers, kernels and dozens of products, including Microsoft Office, Windows components and multiple remote desktop services. More than three-quarters of the vulnerabilities covered in the update are high-severity flaws on the CVSS scale. “This is now the sixth consecutive month where Microsoft has published zero-day vulnerabilities on Patch Tuesday without evaluating any of them as critical severity at time of publication,” Adam Barnett, lead software engineer at Rapid7, said in an email. Four of the zero-day vulnerabilities affect core Windows file system components. This includes CVE-2025-24985, a combination of integer overflow and heap-based buffer overflow defects in the Windows Fast FAT File System Driver, and a trio of zero-days affecting Windows NTFS (new technology file system): a remote code execution vulnerability CVE-2025-24984, heap-based buffer overflow flaw CVE-2025-24993 and out-of-bound read defect CVE-2025-24991. “These vulnerabilities exist in fundamental operating system drivers critical to Windows operations, making them a global security risk,” Mike Walters, president and co-founder of Action1, said in an email. “Since these vulnerabilities allow attackers to bypass application-level security entirely, gaining kernel-level or direct memory access, they pose severe and long-term operational risks,” he said. “Their active exploitation suggests that advanced persistent threat groups and cybercriminal organizations are already leveraging them.”

New York Times [3/11/2025 8:35 PM, Adeel Hassan, 145325K] reports a Canadian man who, in an attempt to raise awareness about climate change, used a high-powered rifle to fire shots at a pipeline in South Dakota in 2022 and a power station in North Dakota in 2023 was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in federal prison. The man, Cameron M. Smith, 50, who pleaded guilty last September in U.S. District Court in Bismarck, N.D., to two counts of destruction of an energy facility for the vandalism, was also ordered to pay $2.1 million in restitution. In July 2022, Mr. Smith used a high-powered Bushmaster rifle to fire rounds into a transformer and pump station that was part of the Keystone Pipeline in Clark County, in eastern South Dakota, according to court records. The act caused about $500,000 in damage and disrupted the pipeline, which carries oil from Canada through the United States, records show. Electrical service to some customers in North Dakota was also disrupted, prosecutors said. Ten months later, in May 2023, Mr. Smith again used a Bushmaster rifle to shoot at the Wheelock electric substation near Ray, in northwest North Dakota, causing about $1.2 million in damage, court records show. All energy facilities are federally protected, and damaging them can be deemed an act of terrorism if an attack is intended to “affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate,” according to the Justice Department. Judge Daniel Traynor of U.S. District Court in Bismarck, N.D., found that Mr. Smith’s actions had met that definition — a finding reflected in the sentence he handed down. Mr. Smith, whose lawyer said he is autistic, was an online marketer who was renting a small home on the Oregon coast at the time of his arrest. He was not working at the time. Doug Passon, Mr. Smith’s lawyer, said in court documents that Mr. Smith was “extremely misguided in his attempt to bring awareness to the climate change crisis by vandalizing the electrical substations of private power companies.” “He is, however, no terrorist,” Mr. Passon said. During the pandemic, Mr. Smith spent “an inordinate time online and focused on the existential threat of climate change,” Mr. Passon said in court filings, though he added that Mr. Smith had been interested in climate change for many years.

Bloomberg [3/11/2025 6:27 PM, Keith Laing and Kara Carlson, 16228K] reports President Donald Trump said that protesters who are vandalizing Tesla’s showrooms and charging stations should be considered domestic terrorists. The EV maker has been rocked by protests and vandalism in recent weeks as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal government. Trump, speaking at an event outside the White House next to a red Tesla Model S on Tuesday, was asked by a journalist if those who carry out attacks at Tesla dealerships should be labeled as domestic terrorists. “I will do that, I’ll do it,” said Trump. “I’m going to stop them.” He added the attackers are “harming a great American company.” Protests, largely peaceful, have sprouted up at showrooms across the US and Europe in recent weeks. However, a dozen Tesla vehicles were set ablaze at a showroom in France, and police in Lynnwood, Washington are investigating six Tesla vehicles that were vandalized with spray paint last weekend. Tesla shares posted their worst day in more than four years this week after analysts cut their delivery projections for the first quarter and the full year. The company, which traditionally has a slow first quarter, is experiencing slumps in sales and shipments in markets including China and Europe. Trump said that the identities of some of the perpetrators are already known, citing surveillance cameras.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [3/11/2025 5:07 PM, Jeff Mason and Ismail Shakil, 41523K]
Axios [3/11/2025 5:13 PM, Sareen Habeshian, 13163K]

Houston Chronicle [3/11/2025 7:00 AM, John Wayne Ferguson, 1769K] reports an Iraqi refugee last week pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges over an accusation that for years he helped ISIS by making logos for the terrorist organization’s computer hacking group. Abdulrahman Mohammed Hafedh Alqaysi, 28, last week pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. Alqaysi in 2022 was accused of supporting the Kalachnikov E-Security Team, a part of the ISIS "cyber army" that worked to recruit people online, deface websites and hack social media, among other crimes. According to court records, Alqaysi created logos for Kalachnikov, and passed them around to other people to be placed on hacked accounts and websites. He was also accused of providing ISIS supporters with false identification, stolen credit cards and instructional materials, as well as filing false information in complaints to Facebook to get pages shut down "for the benefit of ISIS.” The charges came two years after Alqaysi was indicted on charges he lied on an application for naturalization. Federal prosecutors alleged that in 2016 he answered "no" to questions about being associated with a terrorist organization or to committing crimes. Two other people who were arrested along with Alqaysi had previously pleaded guilty to other crimes. Hami Jamshid and Mohammed Amer Faisal Alqaysi each pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in March 2023 and January, respectively. Both men were accused of using stolen credit card information supplied to them by Alqaysi, according to court records. Neither was accused of providing support to ISIS. In their plea agreements, the men said they knew Alqaysi was able to supply them with credit card numbers. Investigators said they also intercepted texts between Mohammed Alqaysi and Abdulrahman Alqaysi, who are cousins. In one of the texts, Abdulrahman Alqaysi called himself "the hacker of the State" and passed along pictures of the ISIS flag, according to court records.

Houston Chronicle [3/11/2025 7:00 AM, Elizabeth Sander, 1769K] reports that, on a Wednesday in late February, two teenage girls were arrested, accused of plotting a pipe bomb attack and shooting at Memorial High School in Spring Branch ISD. The FBI caught wind of online activity allegedly showing the two girls conspiring against the school and alerted officials in Montgomery and Harris counties. One student, who was in class at the time, was arrested, searched by Spring Branch ISD police, and eventually sent to Harris County’s Juvenile Probation Department, a large building in downtown Houston where about 160 juveniles are currently living under supervision, the vast majority of whom are Black and Latino boys, according to HCJPD data. This fall saw a 1,200% increase in detentions for juveniles who made threats of mass violence — 39 students were detained between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, compared to just three during the same span the previous year. From September to November, the average student was 13 and detained for two weeks. Lawyers, school district officials and law enforcement attribute the skyrocketing number of threats against schools to copycat activity after a mass shooting, like Georgia’s Apalachee High School shooting in September. But some question whether detaining students is the best option when threat assessments determine they may not have intended to harm others. And others are concerned with looming changes to the threat assessment system that would require districts to move away from guides developed specifically for the K-12 setting. Harris County Juvenile Probation psychologist Lyndsey Keyte said the department has seen a rise in students who made transient threats, those that likely would not lead to violence, coming through the detention center this school year. Keyte is responsible for helping explain to the court, probation officers and attorneys about why a kid may be engaging in certain behaviors and what kinds of interventions would be best for them. She began to track "threats of mass violence" data two years ago, when it became evident that these students were a specific subset of the population who, if they did not go onto receive the proper interventions, may have come back to detention for violent crimes years later. "It’s really about violence prevention," Keyte said. "It’s like, ‘Here’s smoke, let’s put it out before there’s fire.’".

VOA News [3/12/2025 3:11 AM, Staff, 2913K] reports the United States enacted new 25% tariffs Wednesday on all steel and aluminum imports, ending previous exemptions that had been in place for a number of U.S. allies. The move affects imports from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the European Union. “In my judgment, these modifications are necessary to address the significantly increasing share of imports of steel articles and derivative steel articles from these sources, which threaten to impair U.S. national security,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a proclamation announcing the tariffs. The European Union responded Wednesday by announcing plans to impose tariffs on $28 billion of U.S. goods beginning in April. “We will always remain open to negotiation. We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the U.S. action “entirely unjustified,” but ruled out imposing retaliatory tariffs. “Tariffs and escalating trade tensions are a form of economic self-harm and a recipe for slower growth and higher inflation. They are paid by the consumers. This is why Australia will not be imposing reciprocal tariffs on the United States,” Albanese said Wednesday. Canada was spared an even higher set of tariffs after Trump backed down from a threat to push duties on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%. Trump ignited an economic war last week with Canada, normally a staunch ally and the second biggest U.S. trading partner after Mexico, by first imposing and then delaying for a month a 25% tariff on all products exported to the United States. Trump said he is pressuring Canada to further curb the flow of migrants and illicit drugs, especially the deadly opioid fentanyl, into the United States. Canada’s response included officials in Ontario province imposing a 25% levy on electricity sold to 1.5 million American customers, drawing Trump’s ire and the threat to increase the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Wall Street Journal [3/11/2025 5:36 PM, Michael R. Gordon and Isabel Coles] reports the Trump administration said it would immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and military support to Ukraine following high-level talks with U.S. officials that led Kyiv to agree to a 30-day cease-fire. The cease-fire plan, which is contingent on Russian acceptance, envisions opening negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow on halting the war, according to a U.S.-Ukraine joint statement issued Tuesday. “Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a cease-fire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that’s enduring and sustainable and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He added: “We will take this offer now to the Russians and we hope that they’ll say ‘yes,’ that they’ll say ‘yes’ to peace. The ball is now in their court.” President Trump reinforced that message at the White House, saying the next step was to secure Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for stopping the fighting. “Now we have to go to Russia and hopefully President Putin will agree to that also and we can get this show on the road,” Trump said, after the Jeddah talks concluded. “We want to get that war over with.” The Tuesday meeting was the first high-level discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials since a combative Oval Office encounter last month in which Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being unwilling to negotiate a peace settlement with Moscow. After that White House session, Trump cut off arms shipments and reduced the flow of intelligence to Kyiv. That move was followed by an accelerated Russian and North Korean campaign to roll back Ukrainian gains in Kursk, a portion of Russian territory seized by Ukrainian forces last year. Zelensky’s top adviser, Andriy Yermak, who led the talks for Ukraine, said in a post on X after the Jeddah talks: “A just peace is key for us. We want a lasting peace.” He called the meeting with the U.S. “constructive.”

ABC News [3/12/2025 4:59 AM, David Brennan, 34586K] Video: HERE reports the prospects for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine are "in Moscow’s hands," a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following successful U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Andriy Yermak -- the head of Zelenskyy’s office -- was part of the Ukrainian delegation that met with American representatives in Jeddah, where both teams agreed to pursue a 30-day ceasefire and use the pause in fighting as a launchpad for full peace negotiations to end Russia’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor. "Ukraine is ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire if Russia agrees," Yermak wrote on Telegram on Wednesday morning. "This is a necessary step to begin work on real security guarantees and preparing the final terms of a peace agreement.” "But now the key is in Moscow’s hands -- the whole world will see who really wants to end the war and who is simply playing for time," he added. President Donald Trump’s return to office has put Ukraine in a strategic bind, no longer able to rely on the "ironclad" -- if at times hesitant, according to many Ukrainians -- American support during former President Joe Biden’s time in office. Trump has aligned with Russian narratives about the conflict, framing Ukraine as the key impediment to peace, falsely blaming Kyiv for starting the war, undermining Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president and seeking to recoup years of American aid via a controversial minerals sharing deal. Last week, the Trump administration announced a freeze on U.S. military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Tuesday’s meeting in Saudi Arabia saw that pause lifted, officials said. Moscow has welcomed the radical U.S. shift in rhetoric and policy, which culminated in an explosive Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting last month. Kyiv has been striving to prove its readiness for peace, while stressing that no deal can succeed without American security guarantees to deter repeat Russian aggression. Ukrainian leaders have also cast doubt on Russia’s apparent readiness to end the fighting and urged their U.S. partners to be wary of the Kremlin. Following Tuesday’s talks, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram of the 30-day ceasefire plan, "Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take this step. The United States of America needs to convince Russia to do so.” "We agree, and if the Russians agree, the silence will take effect at that very moment," he added. "An important element in today’s discussions is America’s readiness to restore defense assistance to Ukraine and intelligence support.” "Ukraine is ready for peace," Zelenskyy wrote. "Russia must also show whether it is ready to end the war -- or continue it. The time has come for the whole truth. I thank everyone who helps Ukraine.”

Reuters [3/11/2025 9:30 PM, Staff, 24727K] reports Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday that he informed a number of European counterparts about the "milestone" talks with the United States where Kyiv said it was ready to support Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. After more than eight hours of meetings between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the United States agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Sybiha, who took part in the Jeddah talks, said that afterwards he talked to several European foreign ministers, including British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, "about the outcomes of the milestone meeting." Sybiha said that the Ukrainian team told the U.S. officials that European partners must participate in any peace negotiations. "We adhere to the position: no decisions on the long-term security of Europe without Europe," Sybiha said in a social media post. On Wednesday, Sybiha will be in Warsaw for talks with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement. Poland, Ukraine’s neighbour and a NATO member, has been a steadfast supporters of Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion three years ago, even as the number of Poles backing continued military assistance to Kyiv drops. The Tuesday U.S.-Ukraine agreement was a sharp turnaround from an acrimonious White House meeting on February 28 between U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long been a Ukraine aid sceptic, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy, who was in Saudi Arabia but did not participate in the talks, said the ceasefire was a "positive proposal," that covers the frontline in the conflict, not just fighting by air and sea. "Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately.

New York Times [3/11/2025 9:05 AM, Euan Ward, Malachy Browne and Sanjana Varghese, 145325K] reports hundreds of civilians have sought refuge at a Russian air base on Syria’s coast, satellite imagery reveals, as thousands have fled violent unrest that the United Nations said on Tuesday appeared to have been driven by sectarianism. Footage and satellite images reviewed and verified by New York Times indicated that civilians were sheltering in a compound shared by the Russian air base in Hmeimim and Latakia International Airport, both of which lie just outside the coastal city of Jableh, where much of the unrest has taken place. Videos filmed over the weekend showed a large crowd of people waving placards outside the base and chanting, “We want international protection.” Images taken on Saturday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite company, appeared to also show hundreds of cars newly parked on roads inside the base. One video showed children and women walking past a line of Russian military vehicles and eating food distributed by men in military fatigues. More than a dozen military tents have also been set up in the airport grounds. Violence erupted last week in Syria’s coastal region between fighters affiliated with Syria’s new government, led by Ahmed al-Shara, and those loyal to the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad. More than 1,300 people have so far been killed amid the unrest, largely in the coastal Latakia and Tartus Provinces, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has monitored the Syrian conflict since 2011. The war monitor said on Monday that about 1,000 civilians were included in that figure, most of whom were killed by armed forces affiliated with or loyal to the new government. That could not be independently verified. The U.N. Human Rights Office said on Tuesday that it had so far documented the killing of 111 civilians, but said that verification continued and the actual number was “believed to be significantly higher.”

VOA News [3/11/2025 5:22 PM, Yihua Lee, 2913K] reports the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed two bills involving China. One will restrict the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing batteries made by Chinese companies. The other will set up a working group in the Department of Homeland Security to monitor and respond to threats from China. The bills will now await consideration by the Senate.

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