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

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

CBS News [3/20/2025 12:35 PM, Staff, 52225K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard offloaded nearly 46,000 pounds of seized illegal drugs Thursday morning at Port Everglades. The drugs, worth more than $517.5 million, were seized in 14 interdictions in the eastern Pacific Ocean by the crews of U.S. Coast Guard cutters Stone and Mohawk. The cutters had embedded helicopter interdiction tactical squadron aircrews as well as a Tactical Law Enforcement Team-Pacific law enforcement detachment. Thirty four suspected smugglers were taken into custody. Speaking at the port, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the interdictions and seizures were another milestone in President Donald Trump’s mission to protect our borders, our communities and to stop the flow of illicit drugs and trafficking into the U.S. "Today is a historic day. Here at Port Everglades, over 22.5 tons, or 45,000 pounds, of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana, valued at over half a billion dollars, are going to be offloaded and taken out of circulation. This is an unprecedented seizure of illicit drugs that is the result of 14 different interdictions of drug smuggling vessels," said Noem. Noem praised the Coast Crews who took part in the operation and thanked the partner agencies. "The brave men and women of the Coast Guard do work every single day, 24/7, and they do it with excellence. Their dedication, their resilience and their patriotism is something that we all can admire and it does not go unnoticed," she said. The homeland security director said thanks to the Coast Guard relentless maritime security and interdictions, our communities are safer. The Miami Herald [3/20/2025 3:28 PM, Milena Malaver, 400K] reports that the cocaine amounts to roughly 20 metric tons, or equivalent to about 17 million doses, said Joint Interagency Task Force Deputy Director Rear Adm. Joshua Lasky. “Fewer families are going to be torn apart by addiction, that fewer lives are going to be lost to overdoses and that communities will be safer.” Secretary Noem declined to answer any questions related to immigration issues under the Trump administration. Acting Commandant of the U.S Coast Guard Adm. Kevin Lunday said the Coast Guard’s work starts at the southern border with Mexico. "We are ensuring 100% operational control of the border," Lunday said. "Our message to these cartels is this: We own the sea, not you." [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The Washington Examiner [3/20/2025 1:49 PM, Mike Brest, 2296K] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard announced this week that it has interdicted over 80,000 pounds of illegal drugs since the start of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump, since his inauguration, has prioritized stopping illegal immigration and smuggling into the United States, which primarily happens through the southern border, deeming it a mission for the military. In pursuit of that goal, the Pentagon has deployed thousands of troops to the southern border and designated several South American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. As part of the military’s efforts, the U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for protecting the homeland and waterways off the coasts, deployed the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely last weekend. The USS Gravely will be in "the Gulf of America and surrounding areas and be involved in the interdiction mission for any of the drugs and whatnot that are heading in," Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the Joint Staff Director for Operations, told reporters earlier this week. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell noted that "there’s a sea component" to stopping illicit smuggling and immigration, "and that’s part of the mission of the USS Gravely." Spectrum News [3/20/2025 1:09 PM, Susan Carpenter, 589K] reports “The U.S. southern border is a system, and it’s interconnected, which is why a team approach across that system is so critical,” [U.S. Coast Guard acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday] said. “As we see greater control on illegal crossings and attempted smuggling across the U.S. Southwest land border, we can expect that those cartels will try and get their drugs or move people a different way.” Many of the drug cartels the Coast Guard encountered in its recent cocaine seizures were among the eight groups Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated as foreign terrorist organizations last month, Lunday said, adding that drug cartels are constantly adjusting to U.S. law enforcement tactics.

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The New York Times [3/21/2025 3:20 AM, Alan Feuer, 330K] reports a federal judge in Washington edged closer on Thursday to holding the Trump administration in contempt for possibly having violated his ruling pausing the deportation of scores of Venezuelans under a rarely invoked wartime statute. In a sternly written order, the judge, James E. Boasberg, told the administration to explain to him by Tuesday why officials had not violated his instructions when they allowed two flights of immigrants to continue on to El Salvador even after he directed the planes to return to the United States. Judge Boasberg also called out efforts by the Justice Department to repeatedly stonewall his attempts to get information about the timing of the flights over the weekend. “The government again evaded its obligations,” he wrote, adding that the Justice Department’s most recent filing about the flights was “woefully insufficient.” Judge Boasberg’s three-page order was a remarkable display of frustration with an administration that has sought not only to use the extraordinary powers of the wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to pursue its immigration agenda, but has also stubbornly refused to provide even the most basic information about the deportation flights. In the past few days alone, Justice Department lawyers made a last-minute effort to cancel a hearing before Judge Boasberg in which they were expected to discuss the flights in court. They then took the highly unusual step of asking the federal appeals court sitting over him to remove him from the case altogether. All of this has unfolded as leading officials, like Attorney General Pam Bondi, and legions of President Trump’s supporters have assailed Judge Boasberg as a hack, a Marxist and a terrorist sympathizer. Mr. Trump himself has also entered the fray, demanding this week that Judge Boasberg be impeached. ABC News [3/20/2025 4:42 PM, Alexander Mallin, 34586K] reports Boasberg ordered more information about the deportation flights, which the administration carried out under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime authority. Boasberg ordered that they turn around two flights the administration said were deporting the alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador. Officials failed to turn those flights around. The Trump administration has not yet released the names of the alleged gang members who were deported. Boasberg said Thursday that he is requiring the government to show cause by March 25 on why its responses thus far and the failure to return the undocumented migrants to the U.S. did not violate his temporary restraining orders. Additionally, he asked the government to file a sworn declaration by 10 a.m. Friday by an individual involved in Trump’s Cabinet discussions over the state secrets privilege -- and to say by March 25 whether they plan to invoke the privilege. NBC News [3/20/2025 6:43 PM, Gary Grumbach, Ken Dilanian and Dareh Gregorian, 44742K] reports that the DOJ response was submitted under seal, but Boasberg said the department told him he could disclose the contents. It comprised "a six-paragraph declaration from the Acting Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Harlingen, Texas, Field Office" that did not include any new information about the flights, the judge wrote. He said he wanted a sworn declaration by a "person with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions regarding invocation of the state-secrets privilege" by Friday morning, and to be notified of any decision on the issue by Tuesday. He also directed the Justice Department to submit a filing explaining how it "did not violate the Court’s Temporary Restraining Orders by failing to return class members removed from the United States on the two earliest planes that departed on March 15, 2025." The government’s appeal is proceeding in the meantime, with oral arguments scheduled for Monday afternoon.

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NPR [3/20/2025 4:53 PM, Ximena Bustillo]
AP [3/20/2025 5:31 PM, Alanna Durkin Richer]
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New York Times [3/20/2025 2:24 PM, Devlin Barrett, 145325K] reports that Trump administration lawyers have determined that an 18th-century wartime law the president has invoked to deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang allows federal agents to enter homes without a warrant, according to people familiar with internal discussions. The disclosure reflects the Trump administration’s aggressive view of presidential power, including setting aside a key provision of the Fourth Amendment that requires a court order to search someone’s home. It remains unclear whether the administration will apply the law in this way, but experts say such an interpretation would infringe on basic civil liberties and raise the potential for misuse. Warrantless entries have some precedent in America’s wartime history, but invoking the law in peacetime to pursue undocumented immigrants in such a way would be an entirely new application, they added. “It undermines fundamental protections that are recognized in the Fourth Amendment, and in the due process clause,” said Christopher Slobogin, a law professor at Vanderbilt University. A department spokesman declined to comment.

NPR [3/20/2025 5:54 PM, Carrie Johnson, 29983K] Audio: HERE reports the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, D.C., is facing calls for impeachment after blocking one of President Trump’s immigration plans. CBS News [3/20/2025 2:58 PM, Kaia Hubbard and Melissa Quinn, 51661K] reports that President Trump this week joined the growing chorus of calls to punish federal judges who rule against his administration. But impeachment and removal are unlikely under the current makeup of Congress. The recent calls to impeach federal judges increased earlier this week when Mr. Trump posted on social media that a U.S. district judge overseeing his administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelan migrants suspected of being gang members should be impeached. While the attack by Mr. Trump marked the first time he called for a judge to be impeached, his Republican allies and Elon Musk, a senior White House adviser, have for weeks been denouncing members of the judiciary who have been overseeing the myriad legal challenges to the president’s policies and ruled against the administration. In the House, a small group of hard-right Republican lawmakers have introduced or signed onto resolutions to impeach four of those judges. While it’s unlikely the efforts will gain enough traction to result in their removals, they have reignited the debate over impeachment and the high bar for removal for high crimes and misdemeanors. The president called for U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s impeachment in a post on social media Tuesday, saying without naming him that "This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!" White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt continued the attacks on Boasberg and other judges who have issued preliminary rulings against the administration. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Los Angeles Times [3/20/2025 3:31 PM, Olivia Diaz and Ben Finley, 13342K] reports that a Georgetown University researcher who is married to a Palestinian American was detained by immigration agents who told him his visa had been revoked, prompting another high-profile legal fight over deportation proceedings against foreign-born visa holders authorized to live in the U.S. Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University and citizen of India, was arrested Monday night outside of his Virginia home by officers who identified themselves as Department of Homeland Security agents, according to a legal filing by Suri’s lawyer. Hassan Ahmad, Suri’s Virginia-based attorney, wrote in a court filing that Suri was targeted because of his wife’s "identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech." Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, "have long been doxxed and smeared," the court filing stated. Critics have published Saleh’s photograph online along with information that includes her former employment with Al Jazeera and her birthplace in Gaza City "as support for her alleged ties with Hamas." Suri was later taken to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to a government website. His lawyers are seeking his immediate release and to halt deportation proceedings through their habeas motion filed Tuesday against the Trump administration. The Washington Examiner [3/20/2025 9:43 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K] reports "Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media. Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas," Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement on X. In a subsequent post, McLaughlin confirmed that Suri’s "father-in-law is a Hamas political advisor." "The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025, that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i)," McLaughlin explained. This code refers to "an alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable." FOX News [3/20/2025 8:38 AM, Bill Melugin, Stephen Sorace, 46189K] reports Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and doctoral student in the U.S. on a student visa, was accused of "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said in a statement. "Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas," the DHS statement continued. DHS did not name the suspected terrorist or Hamas advisor. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined on March 15 that Suri’s activities and presence in the U.S. "rendered him deportable" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the senior official said. The act is a rarely-used legal statute that gives Rubio sweeping power to deport those who pose "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States." Rubio has cited the same statute as grounds for the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by federal immigration authorities earlier this month. A judge has said Khalil can challenge his detention. Suri was duly granted a visa to enter the U.S. to perform doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan, a Georgetown University spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. "We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention," the university spokesperson said.The AP [3/20/2025 8:38 AM, Olivia Diaz and Ben Finley, 34586K] reports that the university said in a statement Thursday that Suri is an Indian national who was “duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.” “We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention,” the school said. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”

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CNN [3/20/2025 5:24 PM, Kaanita Iyer, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Aishwarya S Iyer and Chris Boyette] reports a federal judge on Thursday ruled the Trump administration could not deport Georgetown fellow Badar Khan Suri, who the university said was detained by the Department of Homeland Security as the Trump administration continues its immigration clampdown. US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said that while she reviews Khan Suri’s petition in court challenging his detention, the administration is not to remove him from the country unless she issues another ruling to the contrary, according to the order. Khan Suri’s detention comes as President Donald Trump continues to crack down on students who engage in pro-Palestinian protests. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a Wednesday post on X that Khan Suri was "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media. Khan Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas." The State Department and DHS declined CNN’s requests for additional comment, and at an event in Florida Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem did not answer questions asked by reporters about Khan Suri. The AP [3/20/2025 5:45 PM, Olivia Diaz and Ben Finley, 1682K] reports Suri’s attorney wrote in an earlier court filing that Suri was targeted because of his wife’s “identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech.” The filing said that federal authorities have provided no evidence that he’s committed any crimes and that his detention violates his free speech and due process rights. Suri, who has no criminal record, holds a visa authorizing him to be in the U.S. as a visiting scholar, and his wife is a U.S. citizen, according to the motion. “The Trump Administration has openly expressed its intention to weaponize immigration law to punish noncitizens whose views are deemed critical of U.S. policy as it relates to Israel,” wrote Hassan Ahmad, Suri’s Virginia-based attorney.

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Yahoo! News [3/20/2025 4:50 PM, Gabby Allen, 52868K] reports the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Thursday that it filed an emergency motion on behalf of Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University scholar and professor who was detained by immigration agents and faces deportation. The motion was filed against Donald Trump, et. al. and calls for Suri’s return to Virginia. On Monday evening, he was taken into custody by masked federal agents who identified themselves as being part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). During the arrest, the ACLU said the agents refused to tell Suri the basis for the arrest, handcuffed him and forced him into an unmarked black SUV. All the DHS agents would tell Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, was that they were from Homeland Security, the government was revoking his visa and he would be detained in Chantilly, Va. The ACLU affirmed that Suri is an Indian national who is legally in the U.S. on a research scholar and professor (J-1 Exchange Visitor) visa. He lives with his wife, and three children in Rosslyn, Va.

New York Times [3/21/2025 3:20 AM, Aurelien Breeden, 330K] reports a French scientist was prevented from entering the United States this month because of an opinion he expressed about the Trump administration’s policies on academic research, according to the French government. Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister for higher education and research, described the move as worrying. “Freedom of opinion, free research and academic freedom are values we will continue to proudly uphold,” Mr. Baptiste said in a statement. “I will defend the possibility for all French researchers to be faithful to them, in compliance with the law, wherever they may be in the world.” Mr. Baptiste did not identify the scientist who was turned away but said that the academic was working for France’s publicly funded National Center for Scientific Research and had been traveling to a conference near Houston when border officials stopped him. The U.S. authorities denied entry to the scientist and then deported him because his phone contained message exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed his “personal opinion” on the Trump administration’s science policies, Mr. Baptiste said. It was not immediately clear what led the border authorities to stop the scientist, why they examined the contents of his phone or what they found objectionable about the conversations. Customs officers are allowed to search the cellphone, computer, camera or any other electronic device of any travelers crossing the border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, although the agency says that such instances are rare. In 2024, less than 0.01 percent of arriving international travelers had their electronic devices searched, according to the agency. Mr. Baptiste’s office declined to provide further details about the case. A spokesman for the American Embassy in Paris also declined to comment.

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CNN [3/20/2025 7:00 PM, Andy Rose, 908K] reports the Trump administration’s attempt this month to deport a Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian campus activist due to his alleged "activities aligned to Hamas" was the first case of its kind to grab headlines. Since then, two foreign-born academics with visas to work at other prominent US universities – Georgetown and Brown – have been detained or deported over homeland security concerns. Another Columbia student and Fulbright scholar left the country after she was told she faced immigration action as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on international students who participated in protests against the Israel-Hamas war, which flared again this week as a ceasefire that Trump’s envoy had been working to extend fell apart. At least two of the recent high-profile cases involve an obscure federal statute that gives the secretary of state authority to act upon the belief a non-citizen "would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States," the Department of Homeland Security has said. The Trump administration also is using the agency’s intelligence to identify international students at dozens of US campuses who participated in last year’s war demonstrations. "This is the first arrest of many to come," Trump posted March 10 about Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil’s case. "We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it.” Trump’s Department of Education also is investigating 60 universities – including six of eight in the Ivy League – for "antisemitic harassment and discrimination.” The administration’s effort to delegitimize the role of universities is not a new idea. It follows decades of private and public talk among conservatives about weakening the institutions.

AP [3/20/2025 7:04 AM, Christopher Bodeen, 12335K] reports Beijing on Thursday demanded protections for Chinese students in the U.S. after a Congressional panel asked six American universities to hand over a large amount of detailed information on their Chinese students, citing national security concerns. A letter sent to the universities, including Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, alleged that the Chinese government was embedding researchers in top American institutions to gain direct access to sensitive technologies. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Chinese students account for about one-quarter of all international students in the U.S. and that their activities have promoted “the economic prosperity and technological development of the U.S.” “This is in the interest of both parties,” Mao told reporters at a daily briefing. “We urge the U.S. to stop overstretching the concept of national security, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students, and not impose discriminatory restrictive measures on Chinese students.” Her remarks came a day after John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to six colleges requesting information on Chinese students enrolled in advanced science and technology programs. He accused the institutions of putting American research at risk in exchange for financial incentives. Most Chinese students pay full tuition, making them an important source of funding for many universities. Many students do not remain in the U.S. after graduation and return home to China, often to work with institutions that funded their studies. The colleges named were Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Stanford University, the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, and the University of Southern California. “The Chinese Communist Party has established a well-documented, systematic pipeline to embed researchers in leading U.S. institutions, providing them direct exposure to sensitive technologies with dual-use military applications,” Moolenaar wrote in a letter to Farnam Jahanian, president of Carnegie Mellon University.

MeriTalk [3/20/2025 1:42 PM, Weslan Hansen, 45K] reports that Senate Democrats are asking officials at the IRS for details after the agency denied access to private taxpayer information following requests from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Trump administration and DOGE’s latest attempts to gain access to agency data resulted in a letter led by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., after reports stated that DHS had requested that the IRS provide information on potentially undocumented immigrants, which the IRS later rejected. Meanwhile, DOGE asked for tax data to cross-verify information held by benefit-providing agencies to search for fraud. "We applaud the IRS’s rightful rejection of these broad requests for taxpayer return information… but are deeply concerned about recent comments and actions that left the door open for future requests," wrote the seventeen Democratic lawmakers. The lawmakers noted that ensuring the protections are upheld is "an essential foundation for our tax system, which requires the voluntary submission of information to the government." "In addition to violating tax privacy laws, the wholesale sharing of tax return information with DHS or DOGE, as described in the press, would also penalize individuals for complying with federal tax law and undermine the IRS’s core mission of tax collection by reducing voluntary tax compliance," the lawmakers stated.

New York Times [3/20/2025 9:09 PM, Charlie Savage and Julian E. Barnes, 145325K] reports President Trump’s assertion that a gang is committing crimes in the United States at the direction of Venezuela’s government was critical to his invocation of a wartime law last week to summarily deport people whom officials suspected of belonging to that group. But American intelligence agencies circulated findings last month that stand starkly at odds with Mr. Trump’s claims, according to officials familiar with the matter. The document, dated Feb. 26, summarized the shared judgment of the nation’s spy agencies that the gang was not controlled by the Venezuelan government. The disclosure calls into question the credibility of Mr. Trump’s basis for invoking a rarely used wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, to transfer a group of Venezuelans to a high-security prison in El Salvador last weekend, with no due process. The intelligence community assessment concluded that the gang, Tren de Aragua, was not directed by Venezuela’s government or committing crimes in the United States on its orders, according to the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Analysts put that conclusion at a “moderate” confidence level, the officials said, because of a limited volume of available reporting about the gang. Most of the intelligence community, including the C.I.A. and the National Security Agency, agreed with that assessment. Only one agency, the F.B.I., partly dissented. It maintained the gang has a connection to the administration of Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, based on information the other agencies did not find credible. “Multiple intelligence assessments are prepared on issues for a variety of reasons,” the White House said in a statement. “The president was well within his legal and constitutional authority to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to expel illegal foreign terrorists from our country.”

AP [3/20/2025 4:53 PM, Patrick Whittle, Holly Ramer, 48304K] reports the leader and two members of a cultlike group that has been connected to six killings in three states face new gun charges in Maryland. Authorities have described Jack LaSota, who is also known as Ziz, as the apparent "leader of an extremist group" called the Zizians who follow her online writings on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence. The group has been linked to killings in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. A cross-country investigation into LaSota and the Zizians broke open in January when one member of the group died and another was arrested after the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont. LaSota, Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank were charged with trespassing, obstructing law enforcement and illegal gun possession last month after a Frostburg, Maryland, man told police that three "suspicious" people parked box trucks on his property and asked to camp there. Their trials had been scheduled to begin in Allegany County District Court on Monday, but their cases were transferred Wednesday to the county’s higher-level circuit court after new indictments were handed up. LaSota now faces nine charges, Zajko faces 14 and Blank faces 12. The new charges, which include carrying concealed and loaded handguns, are misdemeanors. The possible maximum penalties for each charge range from three months of incarceration for trespassing and up to five years for some of the gun charges. Initial court appearances are scheduled for April 8.

Miami Herald [3/20/2025 6:00 PM, Ana Ceballos and Syra Ortiz Blanes, 3973K] reports days after the federal government invoked extraordinary wartime powers to quickly deport Venezuelans accused of being dangerous gang members, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the president’s border czar met in Florida — the heart of the country’s Venezuelan-American community — to underscore that the Trump administration remains undeterred in its efforts. Homan doubled down on the decision to fly hundreds of Venezuelans to a mega prison in El Salavor despite a judge’s order to turn the planes around — a move that is currently being litigated. While DeSantis did not delve into the specifics of the case, he said he believes the Trump administration "will put forward all the right arguments." The governor also said Republicans in Congress should strip the courts of jurisdiction over certain issues, such as immigration, to ensure Trump’s agenda isn’t stopped. The governor’s remarks give insight into how he wants Republicans at the national and state levels to act to ensure the Trump administration keeps its promise to carry out the largest deportation effort in American history.

FOX News [3/20/2025 9:46 AM, Michael Lee Fox, 46189K] reports that the Trump administration is moving to drop a Biden-era legal challenge to a Texas immigration law that allows state and local police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S. border into Texas. The Justice Department filed a voluntary dismissal of the federal government’s challenge to the Texas law, known as SB 4, on Tuesday, though legal challenges by two immigrants’ rights groups, American Gateways and Las America Immigrant Advocate Center, are set to continue with a July trial, according to a report from Fox 7. At issue is Texas’ controversial 2023 bill making it a state crime to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas, with the state granting local law enforcement officers the power to arrest individuals they observe illegally crossing the border as well as providing for criminal penalties for those who admitted to illegally crossing the border. The law also allows for a judge to step in and drop the charges against a migrant who agrees to return to Mexico. While state lawmakers reasoned that the law was made necessary by former President Joe Biden’s lax policies on border security, the Biden administration pushed back against the state with legal challenges. Most notably, the Biden administration argued that the Texas law violated the constitution, which grants only the federal government the power to regulate immigration.

Miami Herald [3/20/2025 5:35 PM, Nora Gámez Torres, 3973K] reports Cuban American U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez asked the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday to investigate and deport over a hundred Cubans accused of repressive activities on the island who are believed to have settled in the United States in recent years. In his letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Giménez, a Republican from Miami who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, told her the people he identified with the names and past affiliations in the document "had direct ties with the Cuban Communist Party and the repressive state security apparatus" and "pose a direct threat to our national security. According to Giménez’s letter, the list of 108 names is from a database created by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba. In February 2023, the group said it had identified 20 alleged human rights violators who had moved to the United States from the island. The organization´s researchers have said they vet the accusations against the people included in the database by talking to victims and conducting independent research. FOX News [3/20/2025 12:57 PM, Charles Creitz, 46189K] reports Gimenez, who also represents the congressional district closest to Cuba – in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties – will tell Noem of the "presence of agents of the murderous Castro regime and the Communist Party of Cuba currently residing in the United States." In the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, Gimenez continues that "it is imperative that the Department of Homeland Security enforce existing U.S. laws to identify, deport, and repatriate these individuals who pose a direct threat to our national security, the integrity of our immigration system, and the safety of Cuban exiles and American citizens alike."

New York Times [3/20/2025 3:23 PM, Carol Rosenberg, Charlie Savage and Hamed Aleaziz, 145325K] reports the Trump administration sent a new group of migrants to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday to await deportation, claiming that they may have ties to a Venezuelan gang, according to officials with knowledge of the operation. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter flight from El Paso transported about 20 people, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. The transfer put migrants on the base for the first time since March 11, when the administration brought 40 men it had temporarily held there back to the United States. That transfer occurred a few days before a court hearing in a pair of lawsuits challenging the legality of President Trump’s policy of holding immigration detainees there. At the hearing, Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia declined to issue an order barring further transfers to the base and expressed doubt that the plaintiffs would succeed in the cases because at the time no migrants remained at Guantánamo.

AP [3/21/2025 2:28 AM, Matías Delacroix and Megan Janetsky, 48304K] reports migrants from Afghanistan, Russia, Iran and China deported from the United States and dropped into limbo in Panama hopped door-to-door at embassies and consulates this week in a desperate attempt to seek asylum in any country that would accept them. The focus of international humanitarian concern just weeks before, the deportees now say they’re increasingly worried that with little legal and humanitarian assistance and no clear pathway forward offered by authorities, they may be forgotten. “After this, we don’t know what we’ll do,” said 29-year-old Hayatullah Omagh, who fled Afghanistan in 2022 after the Taliban takeover. In February, the United States deported nearly 300 people from mostly Asian nations to Panama. The Central American ally was supposed to be a stopover for migrants from countries that were more challenging for the U.S. to deport to as the Trump administration tried to accelerate deportations. Some agreed to voluntarily return to their countries from Panama, but others refused out of fear of persecution and were sent to a remote camp in the Darien jungle for weeks. Earlier this month, Panama released those remaining migrants from the camp, giving them one month to leave Panama. The government said they had declined assistance from international organizations, instead choosing to make their own arrangements. But with limited money, no familiarity with Panama and little to no Spanish, the migrants have struggled. On Tuesday, about a dozen migrants began visiting foreign missions in Panama’s capital, including the Canadian and British embassies, and the Swiss and Australian consulates with the hope of starting the process to seek refuge in those countries. They were either turned away or told that they would need to call or reach out to embassies by email. Messages were met with no response or a generic response saying embassies couldn’t help. In one email, Omagh detailed why he had to flee his country, writing “please don’t let me be sent back to Afghanistan, a place where there is no way for me to survive.” “The Embassy of Canada in Panama does not offer visa or immigration services, not either services for refugee. Nor are we allowed to answer any questions in regards to visa or immigration,” the response read.

AP [3/20/2025 1:53 PM, Staff, 48304K] reports that the man in charge of President Trump’s border policies claimed on Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made about 40,000 immigration-related arrests since Trump took office. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NPR [3/21/2025 5:06 AM, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, 29983K] reports NPR talked to the families of four men believed to be in El Salvador. None of them had a serious criminal record in the U.S. Only one had been charged with illegal entry. Three of the four are believed to have signed their voluntary departure orders, a move that would in theory allow them to come to the U.S. at a later time if approved. Some of the families have been able to either identify their loved ones through official photos or videos released by El Salvador’s government. But the U.S. government has not provided a list of names, evidence of crimes or affiliation to Tren de Aragua. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this this week. She said the White House was "not going to reveal operational details about a counterterrorism operation.” Leavitt said that immigration enforcement agents who investigated the migrants sent to El Salvador "have great evidence and indication, they have the highest degree of professionalism and they were 100% confident in the individuals that were sent home on these flights.” But the White House has not provided any details or evidence to sustain their claims. A source in the State Department says even within the department the administration is not sharing any evidence that supports the claims that these men are members of Tren de Aragua. The source fears the men will never go to trial and could die in prison, given the harsh conditions and El Salvador’s track record. The source requested anonymity fearing retribution and because they are not authorized to speak publicly. But in an interview on Wednesday with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he has "confidence that El Salvador runs an excellent prison system. That’s why we engaged them on this process.”

CBS News [3/20/2025 5:32 PM, Lilia Luciano, 51661K] reports the families of some of the men deported by the Trump administration to an El Salvador prison Saturday say not all of them are gang members. The wife of a barber from Venezuela fears he was on one of the deportation flights. Documents show he has no criminal record. Franco José Caraballo Tiapa, 26, is from Venezuela and entered the U.S. in 2023, requesting asylum from persecution back home. In February, at a routine check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas, he was unexpectedly detained, and on Saturday, his wife, Johanny Sánchez, says she lost contact with him. An attorney for Caraballo believes he’s been deported. A document from the Department of Homeland Security shows Caraballo is accused of being a member of the criminal gang Tren de Aragua but also specifies that he has no criminal history in the U.S. Venezuelan officials said he has no record there either. The DHS document lists Caraballo’s tattoos but doesn’t explicitly say they’re connected to gang activity.

ABC News [3/20/2025 4:57 PM, Laura Romero, 34586K] reports in several sworn declarations, attorneys, relatives and a former official for the Department of Homeland Security have pushed back on the Trump administration’s deportation last weekend of Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The declarations, which were filed overnight Wednesday, detail how some of the migrants were detained and how they were transferred to detention facilities in Texas before being sent to El Salvador. The declarations also allege that many of the migrants do not have ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua or have any criminal records. An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged in a sworn declaration earlier this week that "many" of the noncitizens deported under the Alien Enemies Act did not have criminal records in the United States. When asked by ABC News about how authorities are determining if migrants are gang members, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the Trump administration is "not going to reveal operational details about a counterterrorism operation."

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [3/20/2025 4:21 PM, David Voreacos]

Reuters [3/20/2025 6:38 PM, Carlos Ramirez, 41523K] reports a Colombian-Venezuelan migrant deported from the U.S. over the weekend and being held in a high-security prison in El Salvador has no criminal record or ties to a Venezuelan gang and his rights are being violated, his wife said on Thursday. President Donald Trump’s administration is facing a March 25 deadline to respond to a judicial request for more details on the deportations of hundreds of migrants to El Salvador, as Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg considers whether officials violated his order temporarily blocking the expulsions. Trump had invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which he said allowed him to deport alleged members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The migrants are being held in El Salvador under an agreement with President Nayib Bukele’s government. Deicy Aldana, 26, said her husband, 26-year-old Colombian-Venezuelan dual citizen Andres Guillermo Morales, had a legal work permit in the United States as part of his U.S. asylum application when he was arrested by ICE in early February. His work authorization was verified independently by Reuters. Aldana, a Colombian citizen, spoke to Reuters in the Venezuelan city of San Antonio del Tachira, just across the border from Colombia, where she is staying with her mother after returning from the U.S. following her husband’s detention in an early morning raid in Denver. Aldana shared paperwork showing her husband, who has a Colombian mother and was raised along the two countries’ border, has no criminal convictions in Colombia. Reuters confirmed the authenticity of the document with its own records search. "I’m so worried because he’s a human being and they are violating his rights," Aldana said. "It’s not fair what they are doing to him and the other Venezuelans for being Venezuelans.” Families of some of the deported men have reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told them their loved ones have tattoos linked to the violent gang.

WIVT [3/20/2025 5:18 PM, Jim Ehmke, Spencer Gustafson] reports Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar has signed a memorandum of understanding to assist ICE. Akshar tells News 34 that he reached out to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement about participating in the 287 (g) program which offers a variety of ways in which local law enforcement agencies can cooperate with ICE. He says the Broome County Sheriff’s Office opted for the Warrant Service Officer program which would have ICE provide training to staff inside the Broome County Jail on how to serve immigration arrest warrants on inmates without legal status. Akshar says he hopes the arrangement will also help build a better relationship with ICE so that the federal agency shares information with local police agencies about dangerous criminals thought to be in our area. The Sheriff says he also anticipates renting out beds in the jail to ICE to hold their detainees if necessary. The Sheriff’s Office entered into the agreement on March 10th, but Akshar says they won’t start serving warrants until several of his officers in intake and the jail investigations unit have undergone the training.

Telemundo [3/20/2025 7:05 PM, Albinson Linares, 2454K] reports Mario Rene Lopez says being locked up in an ICE detention center is a very tough experience because he can’t be with his family, he doesn’t like food, he doesn’t sleep well but, above all, because he claims he’s not a migrant but a U.S. citizen. I came to the United States when I was 12, with a permanent residence because my mother was a resident and put the papers in and she went to pick me up El Salvador. "I’ve been here all my life," Lopez, 44, said on a call from the Caroline Detention Facility (CDF) facility in Bowling Green, Virginia. When my mom became a citizen, I was a minor. Then I automatically obtained the citizenship derived from my mother, but for no reason they have me now detained. According to the official website of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the derived citizenship refers to the automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship by children under 18 years of age, through the status of citizenship of their parents and, under certain circumstances, the adoptive children of U.S. citizens born abroad. On January 12, 2023, Lopez was arrested by officials of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE). She has since been at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green. Angelica Reyes, 40, Lopez’s wife, says she remembers very well on the day of the arrest. She got up in the morning and realized that her husband’s van was still parked, as if she hadn’t gone to work at her electrical work company. I got worried and started calling some friends and the boys who worked with him, but nobody knew anything. When I was able to get a call from him telling me that he had been arrested by ICE, he explains in an interview with Noticias Telemundo. Has it been very traumatic because, overnight, I was left alone with my children. It’s a nightmare, and economically it’s not easy either, Reyes says. Although Lopez’s case and his detention occurred before the current administration of the president, Donald Trump, experts believe it illustrates the challenges faced by many people who benefit from the derived citizenship.

AP [3/20/2025 2:13 PM, Mike Schneider, 48304K] reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday his office has tools including suspending officials from office to compel local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in assisting in detentions and deportations. The governor’s remarks came just two days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned city officials in Fort Myers that their failure to approve an immigration agreement with federal authorities could have serious consequences. "If these local governments are not being part of the solution, we’ve got a lot of tools, including suspension from office, that we can do now," DeSantis said at a forum on immigration at New College in Sarasota with the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan. "We’ve been doing a lot in Florida, but you’re going to see a lot more that’s going to happen over the weeks and months." The Fort Myers City Council on Monday failed to approve an agreement that would have allowed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. Several council members expressed concern that it would lead to racial profiling and harm the community. Advocates for immigrants say the agreements put local law officers on immigration enforcement.

KOLR [3/20/2025 5:27 PM, Lauren Inman] reports records from Greene County show the jail made an agreement with the federal government weeks before President Donald Trump won the election and unveiled official plans to carry out mass deportations. Sheriff Jim Arnott has vocally supported the president’s deportation plans. In January, Arnott told Ozarks First his office had been anticipating Trump’s executive order and was fully prepared to back the directive. Ozarks First Investigates obtained a copy of the contract between the Greene County Jail and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It shows the jail’s existing Intergovernmental Agreement was modified under the Biden administration. The contract shows Greene County makes $100 per ICE detainee per day and can earn an additional hourly rate for guard/transportation assistance. The maximum number of federal prisoners able to be housed in the jail is 375. However, Feb. 19, 2025 was the first day since signing the agreement that the jail began housing ICE holds for immigration hearings and deportation. By Feb. 24 2025, 173 people were being held in the Greene County Jail as ICE detainees.

Telemundo Amarillo [3/20/2025 7:32 AM, AnaClare Barras, 2K] reports at least 11 people were arrested in Port of Lake Charles, in southwest Louisiana, in what federal immigration authorities called a "large-scale, consensual worksite enforcement operation." According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the arrests were made on March 13 after an investigation uncovered the hiring of employees not authorized to work legally in the country by contractors currently operating at a construction site at the port. The 11 detainees were undocumented migrants from Mexico, Nicaragua and Ecuador, ICE said in a statement. Port police were not involved in the raid, said Richert Self, executive director of the Port of Lake Charles. The 11 arrested were hired by agencies outside the port.

Reuters [3/20/2025 12:30 PM, Makini Brice and Ted Hesson, 41523K] reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and private prison operator GEO Group (GEO.N) have brokered an agreement to open a federal immigrationdetention center immediately in central Michigan, the company said on Thursday. The facility owned by GEO contains 1,800 beds and the company expects to generate more than $70 million in annualized revenue in its first full year of operation, it said. GEO expects to finalize a long-term contract with ICE within a few months. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The agreement comes as Republican President Donald Trump seeks to ramp up a wide-ranging immigration crackdown in a bid to reduce illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border and deport millions of immigrants. A senior ICE official told reporters earlier this month that detention capacity was maxed out at 47,600 detainees, well beyond the agency’s funded level of 41,500. ICE was working to expand its bed count, including by partnering with other federal agencies, the official said. Legal experts, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers have pushed back on the administration’s use of rarely invoked laws to justify some of its efforts including deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador and trying to deport a lawful permanent resident.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [3/20/2025 3:26 PM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2296K]

Miami Herald [3/20/2025 12:48 PM, Jennifer Rodriguez, 3973K] reports that six Guatemalan nationals are suing an Iowa egg farm after they say they faced human trafficking, harassment and discrimination while working there. A federal lawsuit was filed March 14 against Centrum Valley Farms in Clarion, about a 90-mile drive north of Des Moines. McClatchy News reached out to Centrum Valley Farms March 20 for comment but did not immediately hear back. According to court documents, all six former workers had "varying immigration status in the United States, but they were all given work authorization to perform agricultural work." The six plaintiffs were hired between 2016 and 2022. During their employment, they reported racial and sexual harassment, as well as being forced to work beyond 40 hours without overtime pay. One manager, in particular, repeatedly degraded the workers, calling them racial slurs and making comments about their work ethic, the lawsuit said. The manager told an employee he believed Guatemalans were "lower than him" and made comments about wanting to fire all the Guatemalan workers, the lawsuit said. All six of the former employees reported their concerns about the manager to upper management, but were threatened with termination if they kept complaining, according to the lawsuit, and were told the manager had the company’s "full support" and "they trusted" him.

NBC News [3/20/2025 10:40 AM, David K. Li, 44742K] reports that two men held in custody by immigration authorities fled from detention near Denver after a jail’s electrical power gave out and inadvertently their doors to freedom, officials said Wednesday. Geilond Vido-Romero, 24, and Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, "are still at large and the search is ongoing," the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement. ICE jailers in Aurora, about 10 miles east of downtown Denver, noticed the men were gone at about 12:35 a.m. MDT on Wednesday and connected their disappearance to a power outage that happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, authorities said. The Aurora Police Department report states that "when the power went out, the back doors of the facility opened up to the soccer field" and ICE officials believe "that both inmates escaped through the back door when the power went out.” Police phone records showed that ICE first called local police for help at 2:32 a.m., meaning the men could have had as much as a five-hour head start. Police said the last time the men were accounted for while in custody was at 2 p.m. "during a facility-wide count. " Both men were last seen wearing "an orange long sleeve top, beige colored pants and black colored Crocs," police added.

Colorado Public Radio [3/20/2025 4:21 PM, Allison Sherry and Ben Markus, 574K] reports Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain wants everyone to know that his agency didn’t "decline" to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers late Tuesday when the power went out at a privately-run detention facility allowing two people in custody to escape out a back door. It’s just that ICE took more than four hours to call them about the escape from the facility, run by a company called GEO. Police say at around 10 p.m. Tuesday two detainees escaped the immigration detention facility by walking out a door unlocked due to a power outage caused by high winds. Federal officials named Geilond Vido-Romero and Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez as the men who walked out that back door. At around 2:30 a.m., approximately five hours after the facility lost power, APD says they received a 911 call from ICE alerting them of a possible escape and a request for APD’s help. APD determined the timeline didn’t meet the definition of a "hot" escape and it was placed in a queue. At 5:15 a.m., APD officers arrived at the GEO detention center to help and to take a report. The AP [3/20/2025 6:07 PM, Colleen Slevin, 48304K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the men, who had previously been held in Colorado jails on unspecified charges, were still at large and a search was ongoing. It also said law enforcement authorities were notified immediately about the escape but declined to help in the search.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 2:06 PM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports that a twice-deported man who impersonated federal immigration authorities has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Utah. Immigration is at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, as the Republican leader has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history. ICE agents have been granted additional authority to conduct arrests under the administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. There are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, according to Pew Research Center. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on January 29 that the new Trump administration recognized all undocumented migrants as criminals "because they illegally broke our nation’s laws." ICE agents arrested Rony Hernandez-Morales in Sandy, Utah, on charges of impersonating a peace officer and identity fraud. ICE Salt Lake City said in a post on X: "ICE arrested Rony Hernandez-Morales, 36, in Sandy, UT. An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and agents are highly trained and dedicated professionals who are sworn to uphold the law, protect the American people and support U.S. national security interests. ICE strongly condemns the impersonation of its officers or agents. This action is not only dangerous, but illegal. Imposters can be arrested for and charged with a criminal offense both at the state and federal level (under 18 USC 912)." Hernandez-Morales is expected to be removed from the country under Trump’s deportation operations.

USA Today [3/20/2025 2:06 PM, Nathan Diller, 75858K] reports that a British tourist has returned home after being detained for weeks in the U.S. Becky Burke, 28, was repatriated to the U.K. on March 18, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Burke was previously detained by ICE at the Northwest ICE Processing Center related to the violation of the terms and conditions of her admission," an ICE spokesperson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. "All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and if found removable by final order, removal from the United States regardless of nationality." Burke was allegedly denied entry into Canada "due to an incorrect visa" on Feb. 26 and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, after trying to re-enter the U.S., her father Paul Burke wrote in a Facebook post earlier this month. The traveler, who is from Monmouthshire in Wales, was backpacking through North America at the time. Burke had stayed with a host family in Portland, Oregon, performing chores for lodging, and had plans to stay with another family in Vancouver, the BBC reported. Burke was told she violated her visa despite not being paid, she told the outlet. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency could not comment on specific cases due to privacy concerns but noted that everyone arriving at a U.S. port of entry is "subject to inspection." "In the event a foreign national is found inadmissible to the United States, CBP will provide the foreign national an opportunity to procure travel to his or her home country," they said in an emailed statement. "If the foreign national is unable to do so, he or she will be turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) for repatriation."

Wall Street Journal [3/20/2025 11:00 PM, Juan Forero and Vera Bergengruen] reports the proclamation hit the White House website just before 4 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday: President Trump was invoking wartime powers to immediately deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. In less than four hours, three planes with more than 250 migrants were in the air. At an immigration detention facility in Texas that morning, many of the men knew they were about to be deported but thought they were headed home to Venezuela. Some told family members they were even happy that their ordeal in America appeared to be over. “He was relieved because he was ready to leave the hole where he had been,” Eirisneb Rodríguez said, recounting a call last Friday from her husband, Obed Navas, a barber who lived in Sherman, Texas. The next night, the Venezuelans stepped off planes to learn they had landed in El Salvador. There, President Nayib Bukele’s government met them with hundreds of soldiers and police officers in riot gear to film their handover and lock them up in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or Cecot, known as the world’s largest prison and home to the country’s most violent gang members. On Sunday morning, family members began recognizing the Venezuelans in a cinematic video posted on social media and shared by the White House. The video shows the deportees—now prisoners—being marched into the maximum-security prison, stripped of their clothes and made to kneel while their hair was sheared. One young Venezuelan man began weeping and begging to see his mother, said a person who was present. The White House signaled that the use of wartime powers to send deportees to a Salvadoran prison and broadcasting their treatment was meant to serve as a deterrent. The Trump administration is “encouraging illegal immigrants to actively self-deport, to maybe save themselves from being in one of these fun videos,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. She described the deportees as “heinous monsters” and gang members who had invaded the U.S. from Venezuela intent on committing violent crimes.

CBS News [3/20/2025 4:32 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Annabelle Hanflig, 51661K] reports CBS News has obtained an internal government list of the names of the Venezuelan men the Trump administration deported to El Salvador as part of a secretive operation last week that has triggered a legal standoff in the U.S. and a debate around the world. On March 15, the U.S. government deported 238 male Venezuelan citizens on three flights to El Salvador, accusing them of being part of a transnational gang known as Tren de Aragua, which President Trump has labeled a foreign terrorist group and wartime enemy. Upon landing, the deported men were forcefully led off planes by heavily armed Salvadoran authorities. They were marched into armored vehicles, had their heads shaved and were transferred into cells inside El Salvador’s notorious maximum security prison, known as CECOT. The high-profile deportations quickly set off a legal battle in the U.S. The court fight initially centered on the legality of Mr. Trump’s move to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel many of the Venezuelan deportees. It has since expanded into a showdown over whether the Trump administration knowingly defied a federal judge’s order to halt deportations under the wartime law and turn the flights around. U.S. officials have said 137 of the Venezuelan men were treated as "enemy aliens" and removed from the country under the 18th century law. The other 101 were deported under regular immigration procedures, the officials have said. Beyond that, the U.S. government has provided scant details about the deportations and has not publicly released the names of those sent to El Salvador.

NBC News [3/20/2025 7:30 PM, Daniella Silva, 44742K] reports hundreds of Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador from the United States in recent days could face long or indefinite detention in a prison system rife with human rights abuses, according to attorneys and experts on the region. Their families and lawyers fear there will be no recourse for them to return to the United States for scheduled immigration hearings or even return to their native Venezuela — all while those who spoke to NBC News continue to insist their loved ones and clients have no criminal histories or gang ties. The Trump administration has said those who were sent to El Salvador had ties to the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua. "We have no idea if there is any legal process by which we can challenge this, either in El Salvador or the United States," said Lindsay Toczylowski, an attorney who represents a Venezuelan man in his early 30s who was seeking asylum from persecution for being gay and for his political activism against Nicolás Maduro’s government. "This is the grossest human rights violation I have seen.” She and other attorneys said they have been completely unable to reach their clients and fear they have disappeared into a prison system notorious for mass detentions, abuse and a lack of due process. Toczylowski said that her client is not a gang member and that he was deported without her knowledge, adding that days later, she was told he had been sent to El Salvador. She now fears he faces indefinite detention in "a potentially extremely dangerous situation.” Toczylowski, who is the CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a law firm that works with immigrants, asked that her client not be named out of concern for his safety. He is scheduled to have a hearing next month in his ongoing immigration case to remain in the United States and has no criminal history, she said. According to the Salvadoran government, the immigrants were sent to a megaprison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, for a one-year term that is "renewable." The Trump administration has said it would pay El Salvador $6 million to imprison about 300 people it alleged were members of the Tren de Aragua gang for one year. The White House said in a statement Tuesday that it was "confident in DHS intelligence assessments on these gang affiliations and criminality," referring to the Department of Homeland Security, adding that the Venezuelan immigrants who were removed had final orders of deportation. The Trump administration has not released evidence that those sent to El Salvador have criminal histories or gang ties. Toczylowski said she has been unable to reach her client. She said Immigration and Customs Enforcement told her this week it would not facilitate communication between her and her client, nor would it facilitate his return to the United States for his ongoing asylum case.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 4:08 PM, Nick Mordowanec, 52220K] reports that the United States is not properly following national laws already on the books as it pertains to green card holders, international students and those with H-1B visas, according to multiple immigration attorneys who spoke with Newsweek. The Trump administration, following the directive of a president who made immigration arguably his biggest issue on the campaign trail, is overhauling border protocols and has heightened security to prevent an overflow of illegal migrants that became customary throughout most of President Joe Biden’s term. Trump’s concerns during his campaign cycle were mostly relegated to preventing illegal immigrants with criminal histories or backgrounds from coming and staying in the U.S. and potentially committing or contributing towards crime or violence. But recent cases have shone a light on how the administration is approaching traditional access for immigrants, notably green cards and their holders (also known as lawful permanent residents, or LPRs), who generally secure a legal immigration status barring histories of fraud, criminality or other illegal acts. Some have alleged to have been targeted by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). New measures have reportedly led to more disorder for some at security checks and points of entry, as well as for lawful permanent residents returning to the U.S. from abroad.

CBS 7 [3/20/2025 8:53 PM, Staff, 4K] reports the brother of a man convicted of murdering a nursing student in Georgia was sentenced for providing a fraudulent document to law enforcement during the investigation. Officials said Diego Ibarra, 29, was found with the fraudulent document while law enforcement began investigating 22-year-old Laken Riley’s death last year. He was arrested after a police officer approached him “because he matched the description of a suspect in the homicide investigation” and showed a fake green card, the U.S. Department of Justice said at the time. Ibarra pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document in July 2024. He was sentenced to four years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. He is the older brother of Jose Ibarra, who was convicted of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus. He was sentenced to life in prison. The U.S. attorney’s office said Diego, who is from Venezuela like his brother, will be placed in ICE custody when his federal prison sentence is over and deported. Diego illegally entered the United States in April 2023, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Riley’s death sparked national outrage and the issue of immigration was at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House.

Iowa Capital Dispatch [3/20/2025 4:16 PM, Robin Opsahl] reports Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday 277 of the 2,176 individuals identified by his office to have their ballots challenged in the 2024 general election — or not quite 13% — have been confirmed to be noncitizens. In a news release Friday, Pate said his office gained access to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and was able to confirm the citizenship status of the individuals listed by the office as "potential noncitizens." Pate said this directive was necessary because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would not share access to the SAVE database and allow the state to confirm these individuals’ status. He and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a federal lawsuit in December accusing USCIS of unlawfully withholding information from the state as it worked to confirm the list voters’ citizenship status. The legislation, Senate File 550, has received committee approval in the Senate but has not yet been debated on the floor. More than 87% of these individuals listed as potential noncitizens were U.S. citizens who were legally able to vote, but Pate said the new data confirms 12.7% were not citizens. Registering to vote and participating in Iowa elections is illegal for people without U.S. citizenship. Additionally, Pate said his office found that 35 non-U.S. citizens cast ballots that were counted in the 2024 general election — 18 by normal ballots on Election Day, 15 by absentee ballots and two by provisional ballots. Five noncitizens’ ballots were rejected by Absentee and Special Voters Precinct boards. Another 22 noncitizens registered to vote in 2024 but did not participate in the 2024 general election. Information on these individuals will be turned over to the state Attorney General’s office and the Iowa Department of Public Safety for investigation and next steps, according to the news release.

Los Angeles Times [3/20/2025 11:20 AM, Gerald Imray, 13342K] reports that the United States Embassy in South Africa said Thursday it received a list of nearly 70,000 people interested in refugee status in the U.S. under President Trump’s plan to relocate members of a white minority group he claims are victims of racial discrimination by their Black-led government. The list was given to the embassy by the South African Chamber of Commerce in the U.S., which said it became a point of contact for white South Africans asking about the program announced by the Trump administration last month. The chamber said the list does not constitute official applications. Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 7 cutting U.S. funding to South Africa and citing "government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners." Trump’s executive order specifically referred to Afrikaners, a white minority group who are descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. The order directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to prioritize humanitarian relief to Afrikaners who are victims of "unjust racial discrimination" and resettle them in the U.S. under the refugee program. There are approximately 2.7 million Afrikaners in South Africa, which has a population of 62 million. Trump’s decision to offer some white South Africans refugee status went against his larger policy to halt the U.S. refugee resettlement program.

Washington Examiner [3/20/2025 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports the United States is enjoying "unprecedented" cooperation from Canada and Mexico, according to a top homeland security official, as President Donald Trump threatens tariffs to crack down on the flow of fentanyl into the country. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks praised the decision by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to surge thousands of troops south of the border in a Wednesday interview with the Washington Examiner. He said that action, coupled with commitments by Canada to step up its border enforcement, have formed the basis of an early partnership in Trump’s second term. "We’ve seen unprecedented assistance and cooperation from both Mexico and Canada," Banks said during a Zoom interview from the Border Patrol’s Washington headquarters. Under the Biden administration, Mexico took similar steps in 2021 as illegal border crossings soared to record levels, but the Trump White House has touted the actions as a sign its tariff threats have been effective. In February, Canada announced a new fentanyl czar and plans for a "joint strike force" to combat criminal activity along the northern border. In a Feb. 1 executive order, Trump named Canada, China, and Mexico as three countries fueling a U.S. fentanyl epidemic that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. Trump threatened to impose double-digit tariffs against each nation "until the crisis is alleviated.” "Over 10,000 Mexican National Guard soldiers have been deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border, along with additional federal law enforcement from Mexico," Banks continued. "We are working hand in hand with them. We’re doing what’s called mirrored operations, where we’re patrolling the same locations on both sides of the border.” Banks said that Mexico was invested in assisting the U.S. out of its own self-interest as criminal organizations known as cartels import the precursor ingredients from China and then produce the final product so it can be smuggled over the border. "In my conversations with the Mexican government, they want — they want the fentanyl to stop. They want the narcotics to stop. And they want the guns going south to stop," Banks said. "So we’re working together to combat that for the safety and security of both countries. And so long as Mexico is willing to cooperate and work with us for national security purposes, we’ll continue to do the same thing for Mexico’s national security.” The U.S. initially delayed the tariffs but then hit Canada and Mexico with a 25% levy in early March. Trump has also suggested that he could drop the flat 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, in addition to a 20% tariff on all Chinese imports, if those countries yield substantive progress on stemming the flow of fentanyl and precursor components to the U.S. by April. Sergio Aguirre, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in the U.S., told the Washington Examiner that the Mexican government has also stepped up to stop the flow of firearms southbound from the U.S. "This is not just about cooperation for cooperation’s sake. It’s about achieving concrete, verifiable results. Thanks to joint operations and intelligence sharing, we’ve seen measurable progress, including major seizures of precursor chemicals, dismantled labs and increased disruption of criminal networks," Aguirre wrote in an email Wednesday. "Mexico will continue working with the U.S., as a sovereign and equal partner, addressing every aspect of this challenge to deliver real and lasting results.”

Border Report [3/20/2025 5:39 PM, Julian Resendiz, 117K] reports cocaine again is making headlines 40 years after Pablo Escobar and his Medellin cartel flooded America with "blow." Customs and Border Protection officers at the Hidalgo (Texas) International Bridge on Feb. 24 stopped a passenger bus coming from Mexico with $2.7 million in cocaine hidden inside the vehicle. Less than two weeks later, CBP officers at the Pharr (Texas) port of entry cargo facility seized $6.2 million in cocaine concealed in a shipment of plastic roll. A Lockheed P-3 Orion surveillance airplane crewed by a CBP Air and Marine Operations crew last week tracked a boat off the coast of El Salvador on suspicions it was hauling drugs. Joint Interagency Task Force South relayed the information to the Salvadoran navy. Three men were arrested and 1.5 tons of cocaine worth $37.5 million on the streets of the United States was seized. Fentanyl seizures along the Southwest border decreased last year in comparison with 2023 and have continued to decline in the first few months of 2025. CBP data shows cocaine and methamphetamine seizures are now going up.

AP [3/21/2025 12:01 AM, Julie Watson, 48304K] reports Lennon Tyler and her German fiancé often took road trips to Mexico when he vacationed in the United States since it was only a day’s drive from her home in Las Vegas, one of the perks of their long-distance relationship. But things went terribly wrong when they drove back from Tijuana last month. U.S. border agents handcuffed Tyler, a U.S. citizen, and chained her to a bench, while her fiancé, Lucas Sielaff, was accused of violating the rules of his 90-day U.S. tourist permit, the couple said. Authorities later handcuffed and shackled Sielaff and sent him to a crowded U.S. immigration detention center. He spent 16 days locked up before being allowed to fly home to Germany. Since President Donald Trump took office, there have been other high-profile incidents of tourists like Sielaff being stopped at U.S. border crossings and held for weeks at U.S. immigration detention facilities before being allowed to fly home at their own expense. They include another German tourist who was stopped at the Tijuana crossing on Jan. 25. Jessica Brösche spent over six weeks locked up, including over a week in solitary confinement, a friend said. On the Canadian border, a backpacker from Wales spent nearly three weeks at a detention center before flying home this week. And a Canadian woman on a work visa detained at the Tijuana border spent 12 days in detention before returning home last weekend. Sielaff, 25, and the others say it was never made clear why they were taken into custody even after they offered to go home voluntarily. Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee, a nonprofit that aids migrants, said in the 22 years he has worked on the border he has never seen travelers from Western Europe and Canada, longtime U.S. allies, locked up like this. “It’s definitely unusual with these cases so close together, and the rationale for detaining these people doesn’t make sense,” he said. “It doesn’t justify the abhorrent treatment and conditions” they endured. “The only reason I see is there is a much more fervent anti-immigrant atmosphere,” Rios said. U.S. authorities did not respond to a request from The Associated Press for figures on how many tourists have been held at detention facilities or explain why they weren’t simply denied entry.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 3:58 PM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports that the United Kingdom has updated its travel advice for British citizens planning to visit the United States, warning of potential arrest or detention if travelers fail to comply with entry requirements. It comes amid President Donald Trump’s large-scale crackdown on illegal immigration. "You should comply with all entry, visa and other conditions of entry. The authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly. You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules," the guidance reads. Trump pledged to carry out mass deportations of individuals living in the U.S. without legal status. His term started with large-scale immigration raids, a suspension of asylum processing for undocumented migrants, and executive orders expanding ICE’s authority to arrest and detain those in the country unlawfully. The administration has prioritized increasing deportation efforts, aiming to remove millions of undocumented immigrants. This marks a notable change from the guidance issued earlier this year. Archived versions of the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website from early February only briefly reference U.S. entry rules being strictly enforced without an explicit warning about potential legal consequences. The Miami Herald [3/20/2025 12:12 PM, Veronika Bondarenko, 3973K] reports on March 19, the German Ministry sent out a warning saying that "false information regarding the purpose of stay or even a slight overstay of the visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation upon entry or exit" while Global Affairs Canada had earlier reminded Canadians that the "decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the traveller."

Wall Street Journal [3/20/2025 9:43 PM, Tarini Parti and Michelle Hackman] reports immigration officers are employing more aggressive questioning tactics with immigrants and tourists trying to enter the country, scrutinizing their visas and more frequently detaining them in a sharp break from past practice, lawyers and former immigration officials said. In a string of recent cases, border authorities have detained U.S. tourist and work visa holders for lengthy periods after seemingly minor issues with their cases. Among them: a German national with a U.S. green card, who needed to be transported to the hospital after his mother said he was strip-searched during questioning. Another, a tourist who was shackled and chained, was detained after a routine stop driving into the U.S. from Mexico. Immigrants with visa issues more often had been required to come back with additional paperwork to resolve their cases, or else put into deportation proceedings. Generally, it is rare that border authorities detain people with visa issues long-term, especially those with relatively minor violations, the lawyers and former immigration officials said. “I can’t remember anything quite that extreme,” said Gil Kerlikowske, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection under former President Barack Obama. The moves come after an executive order, which President Trump issued on his first day in office, called on immigration officials to apply “extreme vetting” measures to visa and green card applicants, including immigrants re-entering the country. Lawyers say the directive appears to have put pressure on them to find more violators, with the goal of tightening restrictions on who is allowed into the country. Trump has cited national security reasons for his administration’s efforts to enhance screening of those entering the country. “The Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws—something the previous administration failed to do,” said Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “Those who violate these laws will be processed, detained, and removed as required.”

Miami Herald [3/20/2025 3:31 PM, Daniel Shoer Roth, 3973K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced a pilot program that will allow certain non-citizens to self-report their departure from the country using facial recognition and geolocation technology. The Voluntary Self-Reported Exit Pilot, announced Wednesday in the Federal Register, is part of the U.S. government’s broader efforts to modernize entry and exit records for non-citizen travelers and visitors by automating Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, authorities said. The new system will allow certain foreign visitors who entered the U.S. under Form I-94 to report their departure through a mobile app. The pilot program began on March 19, 2025, and will run for two years. During this time, Customs and Border Protection will assess the results to determine whether the system is suitable for large-scale implementation.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 4:28 PM, Dan Gooding, 52220K] reports more visitors to the United States are having their electronic devices and social media accounts checked when arriving at the border, raising questions about the legality of such a move. On Wednesday, it was reported a French scientist was denied entry to Houston after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found messages criticizing President Donald Trump’s cuts to science funding. Photos on another visa holder’s phone allegedly showing support for Hezbollah saw her denied reentry into the U.S. Immigration attorneys have also reported increased scrutiny of visa holders’ messages and social media accounts at official ports of entry, including airports.

Telemundo 48 El Paso [3/20/2025 1:14 PM, Megan Jenetsky, 11K] reports that the videos scroll across TikTok in 30-second bursts. Migrants advance camouflaged across dry desert terrain. Off-road vehicles roar toward the US-Mexico border barrier. Families with young children squeeze through gaps in the wall. Helicopters, planes, yachts, tunnels, and jet skis are ready for potential clients. With emojis, the videos posted by smugglers offer a simple promise: If you don’t have a visa in the United States, trust us. We’ll get you there safely. At a time when legal avenues to the United States have narrowed and criminal groups are making money from migrant smuggling, social media apps like TikTok have become an essential tool for both smugglers and migrants. The videos—taken to cartoonish extremes—offer a rare look at a long-elusive industry and the messages used by trafficking networks to fuel northward migration. "With God’s help, we continue working to fulfill the dreams of foreigners. Safe travel without stealing from our people," wrote one enterprising smuggler. As President Donald Trump begins to intensify border repression and migration levels to the United States decline, smugglers say new technologies allow networks to be more agile in the face of challenges and expand their reach to new clients—a big change from the old days, when every town had its trusted smuggler.

Yahoo! News [3/20/2025 6:24 PM, Matt Curatolo, 52868K] reports a Bronx man has pleaded guilty in federal court, to blowing through the Ogdensburg Port of Entry and leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended with him driving into an Ogdensburg home on Jan. 20. Miguel Rodriguez, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Utica, to the high-speed flight from an immigration checkpoint and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, according to press release announced by U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Ogdensburg Port of Entry Director Thomas Trimboli. According to the press release, Rodriguez admitted to driving through the U.S. Customs Port of Entry at Ogdensburg on the morning of Jan. 20 while driving a red Infinity sedan without stopping and reporting for inspection. Just hours before, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed that Rodriguez did not stop at the Lansdowne Port of Entry at approximately 8:30 a.m. The Lansdowne port of entry is at the very end of Interstate 81 on Wellesley Island in Ontario, Canada. A deputy from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop Rodriguez a short time later but the driver refused to stop leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase, up to 65 mph on city streets, that ended with him striking a pick-up truck occupied by three people and then crashing into 115 New York Avenue. No one was injured in the crash.

CBS Austin [3/20/2025 6:47 PM, Staff, 602K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized more than $3.6 million in cocaine at the Roma Port of Entry on Wednesday. According to a CBP press release Thursday, the seizure occurred the day before when officers stopped a tractor trailer hauling a mixed commodity shipment for inspection. Officers discovered 110 packages containing a total of 124.86 kilograms (275.22 pounds) of alleged cocaine concealed within the shipment, with an estimated street value of $3,675,379. CBP turned over the narcotics, tractor trailer, and driver to the Roma Police Department who initiated a criminal investigation.

San Diego Union Tribune [3/20/2025 7:20 PM, Caleb Lunetta, 1682K] reports three migrants suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area died last week during a storm that brought heavy rains and near-freezing temperatures to the region, Border Patrol officials said. A woman and two men died in separate incidents on March 14 in the East County mountains just north of the border, officials said. The next night, another man also suspected of being an undocumented immigrant was stranded due to an ankle injury, and an Army helicopter helped find him. Border Patrol officials said the incidents last week highlight the risks associated with crossing the border illegally in extreme conditions and harsh terrains — whether it be from the dangers of dehydration and starvation to heat stroke and hypothermia. "Our message for anyone who might attempt an illegal crossing into the U.S. is simple: Don’t do it," said San Diego’s Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Stalnaker. "The Otay Mountain wilderness is unpredictable and unforgiving.” The first incident was reported around 6:30 p.m. when border agents received a rescue call from a woman near the Cuchama Truck Trail, south of state Route 94. When agents arrived, they found the caller, who was with a woman who had died. "Subsequent interviews indicated both women illegally crossed into the U.S. approximately five miles west of the Tecate Port of Entry," Border Patrol officials said in a news release Thursday. Once the caller was medically cleared, she was taken to the Border Patrol station for processing. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office took control of investigating the other woman’s death. The second incident about an hour later was reported as a distress call in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area when a group of three told Chula Vista dispatchers they were lost, suffering from hypothermia, lacked food and water, had labored breathing and low cellphone battery, officials said. When agents arrived, they found a 16-year-old girl alive, but the two men with her had died. One of the men was later identified as her father, officials said. The girl was taken to a hospital before being transported to a Border Patrol station for processing. Sheriff’s officials were also assigned to manage the investigation into the two men’s death.

Reported similarly:
Telemundo20 [3/20/2025 4:05 PM, Staff, 41K]
Univision [3/20/2025 9:34 PM, Staff, 5325K]
KUSI [3/20/2025 4:02 PM, Sergio Robles]

FOX News [3/20/2025 1:53 PM, Greg Norman and Bill Melugin, 46189K] reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down a migrant processing facility near San Diego, Calif., following an "unprecedented drop in apprehensions." The temporary facility in Otay Mesa, which opened in January 2023, had a capacity of around 500 with a primary purpose to "safely and expeditiously process individuals in U.S. Border Patrol custody," according to CBP. "Due to the unprecedented drop in apprehensions of illegal aliens as a result of the President’s recent executive actions, CBP is reducing the number of temporary, soft-sided processing facilities where illegal aliens have been held in specific locations along the southwest border," Hilton Beckham, the CBP’s Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs, told Fox News on Thursday. "CBP recently closed soft-sided processing facilities in Texas and Arizona, and CBP has now closed yet another soft-sided processing facility in San Diego," he added. "The U.S. Border Patrol has full capability to manage the detention of apprehended aliens in USBP’s permanent facilities. "Manpower and other resources dedicated to temporary processing facilities will be redirected toward other priorities and will speed CBP’s progress in gaining operational control over the southwest border," Beckham also said. At the time of its opening, the CBP said the Otay Mesa facility was "weatherproof" and "climate-controlled" and was "expected to provide ample areas for eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene.” "The temporary 130,786-square-foot facility will provide additional processing capacity for Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector," it added. However, on Wednesday, images showed workers dismantling the site. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Diego Union Tribune [3/20/2025 8:03 AM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1682K] reports the border wall system running through San Diego County has been one of the most fortified stretches in the southwest for decades, beginning with a border security push in the 1990s and continuing with miles of replacement fencing constructed during President Donald Trump’s first administration. But some spots remain where there is no fence at all, and an effort to close those gaps has been tied up in court over funding and further complicated by the specialized environmental design necessary for those areas. Projects to close those gaps — in the works since the Biden administration — could now be completed by the second Trump administration, with panel installation at one San Diego border canyon spot expected to begin next month. Efforts are also underway to build new fence in Texas, the Department of Homeland Security announced over the weekend. In the past two months, Trump’s push for border security has already altered the landscape at the San Diego-Tijuana border, with U.S. troops installing multiple layers of concertina wire along the fence and Mexican National Guard troops patrolling popular crossing routes, including at the gaps. Partly as a result, Border Patrol apprehensions in the San Diego sector — already low before Trump took office in late January — have sharply fallen in recent weeks. Data released last week by Customs and Border Protection shows that 1,650 migrant encounters were recorded within the San Diego sector last month, a 74% decrease from January and a 95% decrease from February last year. By comparison, at the start of 2025, the sector recorded about 1,700 migrant encounters in a week, according to data shared by Border Patrol on the social media app X. "There is a sense of more tranquility on the border," said Gen. Laureano Carrillo, head of the Baja California Civil Security Secretariat, who recently praised the collaboration with both the Mexican National Guard and U.S. officials.

FOX News [3/20/2025 4:38 PM, Stepheny Price, 46189K] reports a woman who was accused of drowning her dog in a bathroom toilet at the Orlando International Airport after she was told it was unable to board, has been arrested months after the gruesome discovery. The Orlando Police Department told Fox News Digital that the incident took place on Dec. 16, 2024, when officers were dispatched to the airport after receiving reports from airport staff who had come across a dead dog in a women’s restroom. Based on the investigation, police said a warrant was issued for the arrest of the dog’s owner, Alison Agatha Lawrence, for aggravated animal cruelty, which is a third-degree felony. New details in the probable cause statement, obtained by FOX 35 Orlando, allege that Lawrence did not have the proper documents that would allow her dog to board the plane, causing her to become agitated. Police said after the dog’s death, Lawrence proceeded through security and eventually boarded her flight to Colombia. Lawrence was taken into custody earlier this week in Lake County, police said, where she is being held on a $5,000 bond and will eventually be extradited to Orange County. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) shared a statement with FOX 35 News, stating that they "fully cooperate with law enforcement" and urged anyone traveling with pets to review the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website for guidelines and information prior to traveling.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [3/20/2025 5:41 PM, Kinsey Crowley]

AP [3/20/2025 4:32 PM, Staff, 12335K] reports that wildfires fueled by dry conditions and gusting winds burned in a few Southern states Thursday, forcing evacuations in Texas and prompting Florida officials to close part of a major highway with spring break in high gear. A wildfire in Sam Houston National Forest near Houston prompted the evacuation of about 900 homes and closed schools. The National Weather Service issued elevated fire warnings around the nation’s fourth-largest city. The fire, which started Wednesday, had burned about 3.1 square miles (8 square kilometers) and was only about 10% contained Thursday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage, but the Cleveland Independent School District, which has about 12,000 students, canceled classes as a precaution. Texas has seen fire hazards range from the far northern Panhandle, where ground vegetation froze and dried out, and push hundreds of miles east to the coast. South Florida has seen every little rainfall over the past few weeks. The weather service issued Red Flag warnings for fire conditions in east Texas and South Florida and could extend them for several days.

Yahoo! News [3/20/2025 11:40 AM, Robert Cox, 52868K] reports that two separate wildfires have burned a combined 250 acres in Polk County as of Thursday morning. According to Polk County Emergency Management, the Black Cove Fire has burned 200 acres and is 0% contained. That fire began in the area of Green River Cove Road. Officials said dry weather, steep terrain, and overnight winds are making efforts to control the fire challenging. The fire was started by a downed powerline around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to emergency management. The Deepwoods Fire is burning in an area near Deep Woods Drive and Piney Gate Road. That fire has burned 50 acres and is 0% contained as of Thursday morning. There’s no word yet on what caused that fire. No evacuation orders are in place at this time for either fire and no evacuation orders are in place.

Axios [3/20/2025 6:20 AM, Alex Fitzpatrick, Lucille Sherman, 13163K] reports North Carolina’s reputation as one of the most disaster-prone states means it could face an outsized impact if the federal government transforms how it provides disaster relief assistance. In a visit to western North Carolina this year, President Trump floated "fundamentally overhauling or reforming" FEMA, or "maybe getting rid" of it — fueling concerns that U.S. disaster relief could be thrown into chaos just a few months before another hurricane season spins up. Changes to the program could burden a state already plagued by a painfully slow response to hurricanes that have ravaged it in recent years. Hurricane Helene is estimated to have left close to $60 billion in damages in its wake, per North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management. The state failed to appoint a "disaster recovery coordinator" to work with the federal government, Washington Post reported, and six months after the disaster, the state and federal government have funneled just a fraction of the cost of the damages into the region. It’s unclear how the elimination or overhaul of FEMA could impact the speed or amount of federal dollars dispersed to disaster-ridden states, but with a long road to Helene recovery ahead, the state is still struggling to rebuild homes after hurricanes Matthew and Florence, which ripped through the state years ago. FEMA and other federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), already funnel billions of dollars to individuals and communities. It’s unclear how or whether Trump’s vision might change that, or if it would result in fewer federal dollars for disaster-wracked states. Some FEMA reform advocates call for giving states "block grants" of relief money to spend as they see fit, rather than to meet specific needs — but others worry that would lead to fraud and abuse, or that many states lack the resources and expertise to rebuild without help. North Carolina is one of the states that would be hit especially hard if the feds change the state’s federal relief funding infrastructure, per a new analysis from the Carnegie Disaster Dollar Database. The state received an average of $451.3 million per year in FEMA and HUD relief funding from 2015 to 2024 for 10 disasters—just 1.1% of the state’s fiscal year 2023 spending. Louisiana, meanwhile, received an average of about $1.4 billion from 2015 to 2024, covering 14 disasters. That’s equal to 6.3% of the state’s spending in 2023. Florida got $2.1 billion a year on average during that time, equal to 2.8% of the state’s 2023 spending. And Texas got $1.4 billion, equal to 1.8% of its 2023 spending.

FOX 56 [3/20/2025 4:00 PM, Dustin Massengill] reports FEMA is providing Kentuckians an update on recovery efforts following last month’s deadly storms. As of Monday, FEMA has approved more than $22 million in assistance to more than 3,800 households. On March 6, FEMA announced it had approved more than $9 million in housing and other types of assistance, helping more than 1,200 Kentucky households. More Kentucky counties are now eligible for individual assistance, with Woodford and Leslie counties qualifying for individual assistance. Right now, there are 12 disaster recovery centers open in 14 of the affected counties.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 2:56 PM, Anna Skinner, 52220K] reports the wildfire burning in the Florida Everglades rapidly expanded to 22,000 acres on Thursday, from 3,600 acres on Wednesday. As of the most recent data from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), 745 fires have ignited across the state from January 1 to March 16 this year, burning more than 15,700 acres of land. As of Thursday afternoon, there are at least 19 active fires burning in Florida, according to a wildfire map from FDACS. Even more blazes have been reported as contained and no longer active. There are also a few newly reported fires that haven’t been confirmed yet. As of the most recent update, the fire burning in the Florida Everglades in Miami-Dade County was 22,000 acres in size on Thursday and only 20 percent contained.

Yahoo! News [3/20/2025 11:41 AM, Natalie McLendon, 52868K] reports that federal immigration authorities arrested 11 workers last week at the Port of Lake Charles who allegedly lacked permanent legal status to be in the United States, the New Orleans office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday. Port leaders have stressed to companies and contractors who operate there that the burden for ensuring any immigrant workers have legal status lies with their employer. While officials said the arrests were part of an investigation into the "illegal hiring of unauthorized workers," information about the companies the arrested people worked for remains unclear. Immigrant advocates argue that such raids create a climate of fear, leaving workers vulnerable to abuse. According to an ICE press release, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Louisiana State Police and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office (CPSO), supported the ICE Homeland Security Investigations operation a week ago. The Port of Lake Charles was aware of the ICE operation on the day it occurred. ICE carried out the arrests independently while the Port Harbor Police were at the scene, according to port director Richert Self and attorney Jonathan Ringo.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 11:24 AM, Joe Edwards, 52220K] reports that emergency officials in Texas have issued both voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders for about 900 homes across San Jacinto and Montgomery counties due to an active wildfire, according to local reports. The Pauline Road fire, which began on Wednesday afternoon, has burned through 2,000 acres and is as of Thursday morning 10 percent contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The Pauline Road Fire is one of several active wildfires burning across Texas, potentially threatening homes and infrastructure. The National Weather Service (NWS) has red flag warnings in place for swathes of northwestern and eastern Texas on Thursday, indicating that weather conditions remain conducive to the spread of fires. The fire has forced evacuations around Peach Creek Estates, Lee Turner Road, Big Buck Drive, Hereford Way and Blue Teal in San Jacinto County, Click2Houston reported. In Montgomery County, evacuations were ordered for the following areas: Holstein Drive, Hereford Way, Cross Cut, Rock Pigeon, Boar’s Run, Grey Goose, Brown Bear, Duroc Court, Big Beaver, Blue Teal, Grant Lake Circle, N. Duck Creek north of Blue Teal. Emergency shelters have been set up at local community centers. As of Thursday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer indicated that there were at least 15 active fires burning across the state.

Houston Chronicle [3/20/2025 7:40 AM, Caroline Wilburn, 1769K] reports a wildfire at Sam Houston National Forest burned roughly 2,000 acres as fire crews worked through Wednesday night into Thursday morning to contain the burn, Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said. The fire, roughly 50 miles north of Houston, was 10% contained as of 5:25 a.m. Thursday with several air tankers, dozers and additional firefighters working to get the blaze under control, Keough wrote in a Facebook post. An evacuation order was issued for residents living west of Cleveland near Grant Lake, including on Holstein Drive, Hereford Way, Cross Cut, Rock Pigeon, Boar’s Run, Grey Goose, Brown Bear, Duroc Court, Big Beaver, Blue Teal, Grant Lake Circle, and N. Duck Creek north of Blue Teal. Significant wind gusts, low humidity and warm temperatures were expected to make firefighting efforts more difficult, he said. A Red Flag warning was issued for much of southeast Texas by the National Weather Service, which warned conditions meant wildfire could rapidly increase in size and intensity. "We are blessed with the best and the men and women of our fire departments and law enforcement agencies proved it yesterday and overnight," Keough wrote in his Facebook post. "They worked tirelessly to assist residents evacuate, protect their homes and wrangle cattle and horses to safety.” The American Red Cross opened a shelter at the East Montogomery County Community Development Center, located at 16401 1st St. in Splendora. Caney Creek Cowboy Church, located at 17703 Nonesuch Road in Conroe, was accepting livestock displaced or threatened by the fires, Montgomery County authorities said.

Houston Chronicle [3/20/2025 10:13 AM, Roberto Villalpando, 1769K] reports that with the 2,000-acre Pauline Road wildfire north of Houston only partially contained Thursday morning, the National Weather Service has placed much of Southeast Texas under a red flag warning because of the increased risk of fast-spreading fires caused by low humidity, dry vegetation and especially breezy winds. The red flag warning, which is in effect from 1 p.m. Thursday to 7 p.m., applies to Harris, Trinity, Madison, Walker, San Jacinto, Polk, Burleson, Brazos, Washington, Grimes, Montgomery, Liberty, Colorado, Austin, Waller, Houston, Chambers, Wharton, Fort Bend, Jackson, Matagorda, Brazoria and Galveston counties. After the passage of the latest cold front, weather service forecasters on Thursday expect the region to face blustery north winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts as strong as 25 mph. The fierce winds, like blowing on kindling to start a small campfire, could hasten the growth of a wildfire or spread its flames and embers. Meanwhile, the dry air and rain-starved vegetation provide ideal conditions for fires to rapidly develop in intensity and get out of control. Relative humidity levels will sink to as low as 18%, the weather service said. More of Southeast Texas is becoming "abnormally dry," a precursor stage for drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor data.

Houston Chronicle [3/20/2025 11:53 AM, Caroline Wilburn, 1769K] reports that Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough declared a local state of disaster as a 2,000-acre wildfire in Sam Houston National Forest prompted over 900 home evacuations and school closures. The disaster declaration comes as fire crews on Thursday continued working to extinguish the Pauline Road fire, roughly 50 miles north of Houston. The fire was 20% contained as of 8:45 a.m., according to Texas A&M Forest Service officials. "I have determined that extraordinary measures must be taken to alleviate the suffering of people and to protect or rehabilitate property both public and private," the disaster declaration reads. The notice is effective immediately through at least the next seven days. Lone Star College campuses in Montgomery County are operating as normal, according to school officials. The wildfire, which started Wednesday evening, prompted evacuations for residents living west of Cleveland near Grant Lake. Several shelters in the area were accepting those forced to evacuate, including animals and livestock. Keough met with first responders early Thursday during their operational briefing. Several air tankers, dozers and additional firefighters working to get the blaze under control, Keough said. "We owe these men and women a huge debt of gratitude," the judge wrote on Facebook. "On behalf of the entire county I conveyed our collective appreciation."

Houston Chronicle [3/20/2025 7:14 PM, John Lomax V, 1769K] reports officials traced the Pauline Road wildfire, a more-than-2,000 acre blaze that broke out Wednesday evening in Sam Houston National Forest, to a controlled burn conducted on a nearby property. Josh Mizrany, an assistant chief with the Texas A&M Forestry Service, said during a 4 p.m. update that criminal charges remain a possibility, but declined to elaborate on where the controlled burn was conducted. "There is an investigation surrounding the circumstances of that prescribed burn," Mizrany said. "If there’s any criminal charges that come out of that investigation, we’ll refer that to the San Jacinto County District Attorney’s office.” Two controlled burns were conducted within miles of the wildfire hours before it was first reported, according to posts made to Facebook by the San Jacinto County Fire Marshal’s Office. The office said in a post made Tuesday that it received "late notice," regarding the first of the two controlled burns. The burns, which were conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, covered a combined 210 acres on a property owned by the Woodlands San Jacinto Ranch LLC, according to public property data. Records stated the company is based in New York, but no contact information could be found. While San Jacinto County was not under a Fire Watch or Red Flag warning the day of the burns, a wind advisory was in effect Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said the property owner submitted the required documentation ahead of the burn, and that it was provided to the forestry service. "He even came up with a plan that he submitted to the forestry service. So we’re concerned about how that all worked," Keough said. "So when we talk about prescribed burns it’s not ‘oh, okay, we’re going to tell a few people around the area that we’re going to have a fire.’ That’s not what this is about at all. It is reported. Weather conditions are reported, wind speeds are reported. We know that ahead of time.”

Hawaiʻi Public Radio [3/20/2025 5:16 PM, Catherine Cluett Pactol, 61K] reports more than half of the 1,355 homes destroyed in the Lahaina wildfires were owner-occupied. Five of those families will get new homes thanks to a multi-organization partnership. The collaboration will significantly cut rebuilding costs for the homeowners, and construction is set to begin in October. Along with Mennonite Disaster Service, Ho’ōla is partnering with Hawai’i Community Lending, Lahaina Community Land Trust, FEMA and Habitat for Humanity Maui. The project is only open to owner-occupied homes. Alexander-Monkres said the first five homes are just a start. She hopes the program can build another five to 10 houses for survivor families next year.

Washington Examiner [3/20/2025 2:17 PM, Sarah Roderick-Fitch, 2296K] reports that legislation has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure Coast Guard members receive the same 20-year retirement benefits as other branches of the military. Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, introduced the Coast Guard Separation Parity Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at establishing "equal protections" for members of the Coast Guard by creating parity with the other armed forces. The legislation would ensure that enlisted Coast Guard members who have served a minimum of 18 years would not be forced to depart the service two years shy of reaching a 20-year retirement. The proposal would provide them with the same protection and benefits as members of other armed forces. Currently, Coast Guardsmen are not entitled to the same protections, which leaves them vulnerable to separation before the 20-year mark. The Coast Guard is unique from other branches as it operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime and is the only branch of the armed forces with both civilian and military responsibilities. It has a workforce of over 57,000, including active duty, reserve and civilian personnel. The lawmakers argue that the legislation would ensure "experienced personnel can complete their 20 years of service strengthens retention, morale, and fairness."

Reported similarly:
ABC 13 Hampton [3/20/2025 11:53 PM, Patriceia Beckford]
The Center Square [3/20/2025 11:07 AM, Sarah Roderick-Fitch, 473K]

HS Today [3/20/2025 4:34 PM, Erin Caine, 38K] reports Coast Guard Infrastructure is Aging Rapidly: Nearly half of the Coast Guard’s shore assets, including piers, boat stations, and training centers, are beyond their expected service life. Backlog of Projects Surpasses $7 Billion: Deferred maintenance and new infrastructure needs have pushed the estimated cost of required projects beyond $7 billion. Budget Requests Fall Short of Needs: The President’s budget proposals from FY 2019 to FY 2025 have consistently failed to meet the Coast Guard’s identified funding targets for infrastructure. GAO Urges Improved Budget Transparency: The GAO calls for more detailed reporting on funding trade-offs and competing priorities to help Congress make informed decisions.

HS Today [3/20/2025 5:36 AM, Staff, 38K] reports the U.S. Department of Defense has announced the deployment of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Gravely to reinforce border security operations, highlighting a growing emphasis on maritime interdiction efforts in the Gulf of America. The USS Gravely departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Virginia, on March 15, 2025, en route to U.S. Northern Command’s (Northcom) area of operations (AOR). The mission aligns with ongoing federal initiatives to secure territorial waters and disrupt illegal activities, including drug trafficking. Pentagon officials emphasized the strategic importance of the deployment. “It’s not only vital for the United States to have control of our border via land,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell. “It’s equally important to control our territorial waters, and this deployment directly supports U.S. Northern Command’s mission to protect our sovereignty.”

90.1 FM Dallas [3/20/2025 11:09 PM, Staff] reports the first dedicated deployment of the U.S. Navy to take arms in what President Trump has described as an invasion of the southern borders. The Ship will have a Coast Guard Law Enforcement team on boards. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

TexasStandard [3/20/2025 11:55 AM, Michael Marks, 102K] reports the USS Gravely, a Navy destroyer, is making its way from Yorktown, Va. toward the waters off the Texas coast. The Gravely is a massive ship, outfitted with sophisticated radar and communication equipment as well as weapons such as guided missiles and torpedoes. Before being assigned to the Gulf, the ship’s mission was to counter drone and missile attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen. The ship will have a Coast Guard law enforcement team onboard, and is expected to be part of a larger coordinated military response to fight what the Defense Department describes as “maritime-related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, and illegal seaborne immigration.” Justin Katz, Navy and Marine Corps reporter for Breaking Defense, spoke to Texas Standard about the Gravely’s capabilities and mission. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

CNN [3/20/2025 5:11 PM, Gabe Cohen, 22131K] reports sixty-eight bridges across the US should be assessed to see if they are at risk of collapse if hit by a ship, transportation safety officials found, while urging the bridges’ owners to undertake immediate vulnerability assessments. The four urgent safety recommendations are part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s ongoing investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last year. The Key Bridge was above the acceptable level of risk based on guidance established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or AASHTO, NTSB officials said. But the owner of the bridge never evaluated that risk. Owners of the bridges that have higher than acceptable risk ratings should create a plan to reduce that risk, Thursday’s findings say. The Golden Gate Bridge in California; Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, George Washington and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges in New York City; the Walt Whitman and Benjamin Franklin bridges in Pennsylvania; the Sunshine Skyway in Florida and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan all made the list. The NTSB is also urging the Federal Highway Administration, the US Coast Guard and the US Army Corps of Engineers to establish a team to offer guidance and assistance to bridge owners on evaluating and reducing the risk of a collapse from a vessel collision.

CBS Baltimore [3/20/2025 6:22 PM, Adam Thompson, Tara Lynch, Christian Olaniran] reports the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) failed to conduct a critical vulnerability assessment that would have allowed them to identify structural risks with the Key Bridge before it collapsed, the NTSB said during a news conference Thursday. The NTSB told 30 bridge owners of 67 bridges across 19 states to conduct a vulnerability assessment to determine the risk of a bridge collapse from a vessel collision. The NTSB’s investigation to this point has focused on a series of power failures on Dali as it departed the Port of Baltimore. The report revealed the ship experienced four outages in a span of less than 12 which left the ship unable to maneuver and avoid the bridge. In-water construction of the new bridge, which will connect the I-695 Baltimore Beltway, is expected to begin in the fall of 2024, but that will also require similar permit verification from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Washington Post [3/20/2025 6:59 PM, Ian Duncan and Katie Mettler, 31735K] reports Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge was at high risk of collapsing if it was struck by a ship, federal safety investigators said Thursday, but Maryland officials never conducted a review — and even lacked the necessary data to do one. The National Transportation Safety Board carried out its own analysis as part of its investigation into the bridge’s collapse last year after being struck by a container ship. The accident killed six maintenance workers on the bridge. The board’s calculations showed that the Key Bridge’s risk level was almost 30 times higher than a threshold set by national standards. Homendy said that as of October the Maryland Transportation Authority had still not reviewed collision risk associated with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The board issued a recommendation Thursday that states and local bridge operators in 19 states undertake similar reviews of 68 bridges. The safety board issued the recommendations as it continues to investigate the March 26, 2024, collapse.

Reuters [3/20/2025 7:40 PM, David Shepardson, 52868K] reports the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday called for urgent safety assessments of 68 bridges including iconic crossings like the Golden Gate Bridge, Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, George Washington Bridge and the Chicago Skyway Bridge. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the board wants bridge owners in 19 states to perform vulnerability assessments and determine the risk of catastrophic collapse from a vessel collision "and if warranted, implement a comprehensive risk reduction plan." The NTSB is making the recommendation after the March 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a cargo ship, killing six people. The review focuses on bridges built before 1991 and frequented by ocean-going vessels that have not undergone vulnerability assessments. "There is a potential safety risk and you need to take immediate action," Homendy said, noting ocean cargo vessels are much bigger and heavier today. "It doesn’t mean there is a risk there. They just don’t know right now, so they need to determine that." Other bridges that need urgent reviews include the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges across the Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts, Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and Mateo-Hayward Bridge in California, Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida, Memorial Bridge in New Hampshire and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge in New York. Bridge owners need to calculate whether the probability of collapse is above a risk threshold and if so "develop and implement a comprehensive risk reduction plan," the NTSB said. Bridge owners should seek guidance and assistance from the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and explore "short- and long-term strategies to reduce the probability of a potential bridge collapse from a vessel collision," the NTSB said.

1200 AM San Antonio [3/20/2025 12:32 PM, Staff, 114K] reports a massive seizure of illicit drugs by the U.S. Coast Guard. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

720 AM Chicago [3/20/2025 4:35 PM, Staff, 220K] reports the Coast Guard says t offloaded nearly 46 thousand pounds of illegal drugs at Port Everglades today. The drugs are worth over $500M and were seized in over a dozen interdictions. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

610 AM Miami [3/20/2025 6:05 AM, Staff, 56K] reports the Coast Guard this morning is offloading some 45 thousand pounds of illicit narcotics worth over $517M These drugs were seized during 14 interdictions.[Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

ABC 10 Miami [3/20/2025 4:35 PM, Staff, 35K] report part of a four month counter drug operation, more than $500M worth of illegal drugs, mostly cocaine, was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX 7 Miami [3/20/2025 12:13 PM, Staff, 30K] reports tens of thousands of pounds of drugs seized at sea. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC 6 Miami [3/20/2025 5:34 PM, Staff, 28K] reports major drug busts at sea. The U.S. Coast Guard sharing new video of officers at work on the water.[Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Defense Post [3/20/2025 5:45 AM, Rojoef Manuel, 360K] reports the US Coast Guard has taken delivery of its 59th Sentinel-class fast response cutter from Bollinger Shipyards in Florida. The milestone aligns with a 2008 program to replace the service’s aging patrol boats, including the Island-class vessels operational since the 1980s. Designated as the USCGC Earl Cunningham (WPC-1159), the new platform will serve as the second of three Sentinel cutters to be stationed in Kodiak. It will then be transferred to an under-construction center in Seward, where future Sentinels will also be homeported upon the site’s completion. The Cunningham is named after a guardsman recipient of the Gold Life Saving Medal for rescuing stranded fishermen on Lake Michigan in 1936 while off duty.

Yahoo! News [3/20/2025 4:40 PM, Madalyn Buursma, 52868K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a dog stuck in icy waters near the Soo Locks Wednesday. The Sector Northern Great Lakes Command Center received word that a dog was stranded on the ice of Saint Mary’s River near the Soo Locks, the USCG said in a Thursday release. An ice rescue team with the U.S. Coast Guard Station Sault Ste. Marie responded to the scene, a boat basin for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The crew was able to get out onto the ice and rescue the pup, named Cujo. Cujo was brought safely to shore and was later returned to his owner. “Once on scene, the dog readily accepted the help and cuddled right up to our ice rescue team member during the transit back to the station,” Operations Unit Controller Cory Cichoracki said in the release. Cichoracki added that the Michigan State Police and Army Corps of Engineers helped bring Cujo home.

Reported similarly:
CBS Detroit [3/20/2025 2:54 PM, Paula Wethington, 51661K]
NBC 7 Traverse City [3/20/2025 3:37 PM, Daniella Maxwell]
Sault Ste. Marie News [3/20/2025 12:59 PM, Brendan Wiesner]

FOX News [3/20/2025 9:22 AM, Greg Norman, 46189K] reports that the Bering Air flight that recently crashed in sea ice off Alaska, killing 10, was more than 1,000 pounds "over the maximum takeoff gross weight for flight into known or forecast icing conditions," according to a new report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The commuter flight was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome when it disappeared on Feb. 6. The U.S. Coast Guard found the plane’s wreckage days later, on sea ice around 30 miles southeast of Nome. "Post-accident examination of the airplane contents indicated that the baggage and cargo weighed approximately 798 lbs. Based on that information, the airplane’s estimated gross takeoff weight at departure was about 9,865 lbs, which was about 1,058 lbs over the maximum takeoff gross weight for flight into known or forecast icing conditions," the NTSB said in a preliminary report this week. "The final satellite tracking data point corresponded to a time of 1520:17 and an altitude of 200 ft," it added. The NTSB said in the report that the plane, a Textron Aviation 208B, "was equipped with a TKS ice protection system that included porous titanium panels along the leading edges of the wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and wing struts.” "The TKS system was designed to provide ice protection fluid from a tank in the cargo pod to the panels, propeller, and windshield to prevent the accumulation of airframe ice," it continued. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CyberScoop [3/20/2025 12:00 PM, Matt Kapko] reports cybercriminals working on behalf of at least six nation-states are actively exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Windows to commit espionage, steal data and cryptocurrency, according to Trend Micro researchers. The vulnerability, which Trend Micro tracks as ZDI-CAN-25373, allows attackers to execute hidden malicious commands due to the way Windows displays the contents of shortcut .lnk files, also known as shell link files, researchers said in a report released Tuesday. A CVE has not been assigned to the vulnerability and Microsoft hasn’t made any commitments to patch or remediate the issue. State-sponsored groups have been exploiting the zero-day since 2017, largely targeting governments, but also think tanks and organizations in the finance, cryptocurrency, telecom, military and energy sectors, according to researchers. Trend Micro discovered and reported the defect to Microsoft in September. “We know of at least 300 different organizations that have been affected by this,” said Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness at Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative. Thousands of devices, including several within the same targeted organizations, have been infected with malware delivered via ZDI-CAN-25373 exploits, he said. “The exploits are ongoing with most activity coming out of the North Korean groups, APT43 and APT37. We’re getting new and live samples every day,” Childs said. The total number of attacks linked to the zero-day vulnerability are likely two-to-three times the amount observed by Trend Micro. Nearly half of the attacks attributed to nation-state groups are linked to North Korean state-sponsored attackers, according to Trend Micro’s research. “Whenever we see activity out of North Korea, it tends to be financially motivated and crypto,” Childs said. “It’s almost like their gross domestic product is ransomware.” State-backed groups from Iran, Russia and China are each linked to roughly 1 in 5 attacks observed by researchers to date. Trend Micro has also attributed attacks to groups working on behalf of India, Pakistan and financially motivated cybercriminals.

DefenseScoop [3/20/2025 12:00 PM, Mark Pomerleau] reports the status quo will no longer be accepted as the Trump administration moves to combat adversaries in the digital world, the Defense Department’s acting chief information officer said Thursday. “We are at war in a non-kinetic sense … You have a president, what the message has been very clearly is the way we’ve been doing things isn’t working. It’s broken. This is your time. Come out of your shells. The art of the possible is before you now,” Katie Arrington said at the DOD Cyber Workforce Summit. “You have time to say this regulation, this policy, has been handcuffing you from doing what is needed and necessary to protect the United States … Our adversaries are not waiting for us to pass a new policy.” Arrington — who was selected as the Pentagon’s chief information security officer, reprising that role from the first Trump administration, and is now serving as the acting DOD CIO — warned that not only have many Americans become complacent about cybersecurity, but adversaries know U.S. networks and will exploit them. “Is our adversary going to turn the power off before they launch a kinetic attack? Yes. Where have we seen this time and time again? When are we going to learn? This is the time, folks. This is your moment to lean in, to take risks,” she said. “We have to do better. We have to start thinking like they do … Our adversaries know our architecture. Our adversaries know how we do business. Why? Because we’re a fully transparent government.” More offensive capabilities are needed to combat these threats, she said. Several Trump administration officials have articulated the need for more offensive capability in cyberspace to hit back against adversaries and deter undesirable behavior, namely Chinese activity that has targeted critical infrastructure and telecommunications firms. Arrington said her role is to help alleviate policies that are hindering DOD personnel from countering foes. “We’re fighting a war right now one-handed. My job, and the role that I’m in is [to] give you both your hands, because you need them. Policies are in place, and yes, we need to modify some. We need more offensive capability,” she said. “If a regulation or a policy is impeding you doing your job, say something. This is an opportunity to change this … but you need to communicate upward what the challenges are, because otherwise the status quo will remain. That is something that, to me, is simple. We have these things all over airports, ‘see something, say something.’ If there’s a policy or requirement, something that’s impeding you, let’s figure out how to get it out of the way to help you do [your] job, which is to defend the greatest country this planet has ever known.”

NPR [3/20/2025 5:09 PM, Jaclyn Diaz] reports the Department of Justice announced charges Thursday against three people it says are allegedly responsible for violent incidents targeting Elon Musk’s Tesla cars, showrooms and charging stations across the country. The Justice Department says three people — in Charleston, S.C., Loveland, Colo., and Salem, Ore. — are facing criminal charges that carry a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison for a range of violent acts. They include using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations and possessing other "incendiary devices" and a suppressed AR-15 rifle, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Thursday. While no one has been injured or killed by these attacks, three professors and researchers of domestic terrorism and extremism tell NPR that they consider these cases to be acts of domestic terrorism. CBS Austin [3/20/2025 4:11 PM, Jamel Valencia, 602K] reports that three suspects, who were arrested in separate incidents, face serious criminal charges that carry penalties ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors didn’t disclose the names of the defendants facing federal charges. These cases mark an escalation in the series of attacks on Tesla properties in recent months.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [3/20/2025 5:42 PM, Devlin Barrett, 145325K]

CBS Austin [3/20/2025 7:00 PM, Jamel Valencia, 602K] reports authorities in San Jose captured a man they said keyed a Tesla car that was reportedly parked in a Costco parking lot. This latest arrest comes as anti-Tesla vandalism has surged across the country due to the electric car company’s CEO, Elon Musk, effort to get rid of "wasteful federal spending.” Police said they arrested the individual within 24 hours after the "viral vandalism" was reported. San Jose police did not disclose the suspect’s name. "We successfully identified, located, and arrested the individual responsible for this act of felony vandalism," San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph posted on X, the platform owned by Musk. Video of the alleged suspect shows a white-bearded man wearing a jacket with "USA" on the sleeves gliding an object across the side of the car. In recent weeks, a series of vandalism and arson attacks targeting Tesla properties have raised concern at the federal level. U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi labeled some of the violent attacks as acts of "domestic terrorism," and emphasized the severity of the offenses and the government’s commitment to prosecuting those responsible. Bondi stated on Thursday, "The days of committing crimes without consequences have ended.”

The Hill [3/20/2025 12:23 PM, Laura Kelly, 12829K] reports that Trump administration officials are proposing new plans to overhaul how America gives out foreign assistance in the wake of efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In memos circulating on social media, Trump administration officials call for moving USAID’s independent operations under the authority of the State Department and renaming its work the U.S. Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA). USAID’s independent operations were enshrined by Congress, and a federal judge ruled earlier this week that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) likely acted unconstitutionally in its two-month blitz to effectively shutter the agency. Another federal judge ruled earlier this month that President Trump overstepped his constitutional authority with his administration’s initial freeze of foreign aid. Democrats have loudly protested Secretary of State Marco Rubio and DOGE’s shutdown of USAID, which involved closing its facilities, cutting staff off from their emails and terminating the majority of programs. Republicans have publicly backed the moves as in line with reducing government’s cost, while privately pushing to maintain U.S. foreign assistance as a key tool of national security.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 12:17 PM, Amira El-Fekki, 52220K] reports that the United Arab Emirates are becoming an increasingly powerful partner for U.S. interests in the Middle East as President Donald Trump seeks to curb Iran and its "Axis of Resistance" against Israel. Trump emphasized the friendship at a Washington meeting with UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon, underlining that they are "partners in the work to bring peace and security to the Middle East." Sheikh Tahnoon, who met with senior U.S. officials and business leaders, is also hoping to secure a $30 billion AI infrastructure fund. The Trump administration views Gulf allies, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as key partners in the Middle East. Through the Abraham Accords initiative normalizing relations between Israel and several Gulf and Arab states, including the UAE, the U.S. strengthened regional alliances to counter Iran’s influence. Additionally, the U.S. collaborated with these allies in the fight against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying it aims to stabilize the region and curb Tehran’s reach. President Trump hosted UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House and hosted a dinner banquet in his honor on Wednesday, in the presence of senior US officials. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent emphasized to Sheikh Tahnoon the "importance of cooperation to curtail Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile efforts as well as its support for terrorists that destabilize the region," a readout of the Tuesday meeting said.

Miami Herald [3/20/2025 9:37 PM, Jacqueline Charles, 3973K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel next week to the Caribbean, where he will meet with several leaders as part of a three-nation tour, three sources said. On Wednesday Rubio will travel to Jamaica, where he will be hosted by Prime Minister Andrew Holness for talks. He will then travel on to Guyana and Suriname, where he will meet with their respective presidents, Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi. The two-oil rich nations on the tip of South America are part of the the 15-member Caribbean Community regional trade group known as CARICOM. Last month, during a regional summit in Barbados, the bloc’s chairwoman, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, extended an invitation to President Donald Trump to visit the Caribbean and added the leaders also hoped to meet with senior administration officials. Soon after, Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump’s special envoy to the Americas, confirmed to the Miami Herald that both he and Rubio were planning to visit sometime this month. Mottley plans to be in Kingston, where she will represent CARICOM. Trinidad and Tobago, which is responsible for matters about security, will be represented by its newly minted prime minister, Stuart Young. The final leader who has been invited to meet with Rubio is the newly installed head of Haiti’s embattled Transitional Presidential Council, Fritz Alphonse Jean. Rubio’s visit comes as leaders grow increasingly concerned about the quickly deteriorating security situation in Haiti, which threatens to spill over into the region, and several worrying U.S. policy shifts that stand to have negative effects on their vulnerable economies. Mottley has called an emergency virtual meeting for Friday to discuss the potential effects of a proposed Trump administration hike in port fees for China-linked ships going to the United States. Trump is reportedly preparing to sign an executive order that would levy fines of up to $1.5 million on Chinese-made ships or vessels from fleets that include ships made in China. The proposal, which is already stoking fears in the U.S. agriculture market, is also causing concerns in the Caribbean, where leaders in recent weeks have been balking at other Trump policy initiatives, including threats to restrict U.S. visas for high-ranking government officials and nationals of six Caribbean countries including Cuba and Haiti under a new travel ban.

NPR [3/20/2025 5:55 PM, Jackie Northam, 7K] Video: HERE reports for more than a year, Houthi rebels have been attacking ships, choking off transit in one of the world’s most critical waterways. The Pentagon says it’ll stay till the Houthis stop the attacks.

AP [3/20/2025 9:09 PM, Larry Neumeister, 10355K] reports two purported mobsters were convicted Thursday of plotting to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her home in New York City in a murder-for-hire scheme that prosecutors said was financed by Iran’s government. The verdict was returned at a federal court in New York, ending a two-week trial that featured dramatic testimony from a hired gunman and Alinejad, an author, activist and contributor to Voice of America. Alinejad, who was not in court, told The Associated Press she cried when she learned of the verdict. “I am relieved that after nearly three years, the men who plotted to kill me have been found guilty. But make no mistake, the real masterminds of this crime are still in power in Iran,” she said. “Right now I am bombarded with emotions. I have cried. I have laughed. I have even danced.” Alinejad called the verdict “a powerful gift from the American government” to the people of Iran because it shows that justice is beginning to be served. Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement that the verdicts sent a message that “if you target U.S. citizens, we will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice.” Leslie R. Backschies, who heads the FBI’s New York office, said the verdicts show that the “Iranian government’s shameless conduct and attempt to violate our laws and assassinate a critic of their human rights atrocities will not be tolerated.” Prosecutors said the convicted men, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, were crime bosses in the Russian mob. Defense lawyers argued at trial that their clients were innocent and evidence was flawed. “We respect the jury’s verdict, but plan on filing an appeal on Mr. Omarov’s behalf,” Elena Fast, an attorney for Omarov, said via email. A lawyer for Amirov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CBS News [3/20/2025 1:07 PM, Scott MacFarlane, 51661K] reports that a longtime FBI agent has been charged with unlawfully taking and disclosing classified FBI files, according to court records reviewed by CBS News. Johnathan Buma, who specialized in national security and terror cases, has been released on $100,000 bond, with orders to appear in court in Los Angeles. Buma was arrested as he boarded an international flight at JFK airport in New York, according to charging documents. The Justice Department’s filings allege Buma printed of caches of FBI records from an internal agency network. Nearly 130 files might have been compromised, according to an FBI investigators. The government argues the records were clearly marked as confidential or secure and were copied by Buma in the hours before he left his job in the bureau in October 2023. The charging documents also allege that days after taking copies of the records, Buma used social media to post excerpts of a book he was writing about his career with the bureau. Federal investigators allege the book included information Buma obtained from the FBI about an investigation of a foreign nation’s weapons of mass destruction program.

Newsweek [3/20/2025 3:09 PM, Andrew Stanton, 52220K] reports that more than 47,000 people have signed a petition calling on President Donald Trump to be prohibited from entering Canada. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email. The relationship between the United States and Canada has taken a hit in recent months, raising questions about the future of the two longtime allies. Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports, alongside a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy imports. Canada has responded by implementing its own retaliatory tariffs, leaving the two countries in a trade war. Meanwhile, Trump has also sparked criticism from many Canadians by repeatedly saying he wants to make Canada the 51st U.S. state. A Change.org petition set up last month by Dr. Sarah Boston, a veterinary surgical oncologist and stand up comedian, asked the Canadian Immigration Services and Canadian Border Services Agency to prohibit Trump’s entry into Canada. As of March 20, some 47,426 people have signed onto the petition.

Yahoo! News [3/20/2025 10:43 PM, Abbey Fenbert, 52868K] reports the United States expects to sign an agreement with Ukraine on access to critical minerals and natural resources "very shortly," U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 20. The two nations had previously planned to sign a minerals deal on Feb. 28, but the plan was derailed after a heated clash between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a comment during a White House event on education on March 20, Trump said the deal was back on track. "We’re doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia," Trump said. "And one of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine." Moments before his remarks, Trump signed an executive order to ramp up U.S. production of critical minerals, invoking emergency powers under the Cold War-era Defense Production Act (DPA). Invoking the DPA suggests that U.S. reliance on mineral imports constitutes a national security threat. Trump’s order calls for dramatically expanding and accelerating efforts to mine and process minerals, which may include coal. "It’s a big thing in this country," Trump said. "And as you know we’re also signing agreements in various locations to unlock rare earths and minerals and lots of other things all over the world. But in particular Ukraine." The day before Trump’s announcement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the U.S. had "moved beyond" the minerals deal with Ukraine and was focusing on achieving "a lasting ceasefire."

New York Times [3/21/2025 3:20 AM, Constant Méheut, 330K] reports that, during a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine this week, President Trump floated a highly unusual idea: The United States could take control of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. “He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” the White House said in a statement after the call on Wednesday. “American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.” The idea surprised officials and energy experts in Kyiv. Mr. Zelensky appeared to reject it on Thursday, saying that nuclear plants were state-owned and could not be privatized, although he welcomed economic cooperation with the U.S. side. He added that the issue of U.S. ownership of the plants had not been directly addressed during the call. Only one of Ukraine’s four nuclear plants — the Zaporizhzhia plant, now under Russian control — had been discussed in the conversation, Mr. Zelensky said. “If the Americans are thinking about how to find a way out of this situation, if they want to take it away from the Russians, invest in its restoration, this is an open question,” he told a news conference during a visit to Norway. Beyond the confusion over what had been discussed, one thing was clear: Mr. Trump wants a big economic stake in Ukraine. Mr. Trump has previously demanded access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, and the White House statement echoed an argument he has already applied to a potential minerals deal, that U.S. economic involvement in Ukraine serves as its best security guarantee, because Russia would be less likely to target a country where America has economic interests.

NBC News [3/20/2025 1:02 PM, Henry Austin, 44742K] reports that Hours after agreeing to a partial ceasefire with Russia in a phone call with President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted 10 images to his Telegram channel of fires and damage in the country’s central Kirovohrad region. “Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, despite its propaganda statements, do not stop,” he wrote alongside the images, some of which showed firefighters standing on ladders and cranes, hosing down flames. Another shows a burning vehicle surrounded by the charred remains of others. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service also posted images of damaged buildings and rubble from the central city of Kropyvnytskyi. One shows thick smoke rising through blown-out windows, as two firefighters attempt to tackle the blaze. Russia launched almost 200 attack drones, including Iranian-made Shahed drones, Zelenskyy said. Among the 10 people wounded, four were children, he added. Ukraine’s air force said in a separate Telegram post that it had shot down 75 drones over 12 regions, including the capital, Kyiv. “The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups,” it added. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 132 drones overnight. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not mention the attacks on Ukraine in his daily briefing. The attacks came hours after Zelenskyy agreed to move forward with the partial ceasefire with Russia that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Tuesday. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Newsweek [3/20/2025 12:26 PM, Isabel van Brugen, 3973K] reports that Russia has declared a state of emergency after a Ukrainian drone strike on a strategic bomber air base in the Saratov region triggered a huge blast and fire which caused serious damage to nearby homes. Ukrainian forces claimed responsibility for the attack on the Engels-2 air base, which houses Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry by email for comment. Russia rarely acknowledges attacks on its military installations during the war. Authorities often attempt to cover up incidents or downplay the extent of the damage. The declaration of a state of emergency underscores the severity of the destruction caused by the attack. The attack on the Engels-2 air base was conducted jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, sources from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told RBC-Ukraine. The airfield houses Russia’s Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, which are capable of carrying out nuclear and conventional long-range strikes. The aircraft have repeatedly been used by Russia’s military to launch missile attacks on Ukraine in the war. "This military facility is used by Russian aviation to launch missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine and terrorist attacks against the civilian population," a statement by the General Staff read.

Axios [3/20/2025 1:50 PM, Barak Ravid, 13163K] reports that a senior Israeli delegation is expected to visit the White House early next week for strategic consultations about Iran, two Israeli officials and one U.S. official tell Axios. Why it matters: President Trump has given Tehran a two-month window to negotiate a new nuclear deal, as Axios reported, and has raised the threat of military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program if no deal is reached. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team think the odds of a deal are low, and want to align on a joint course of action should things escalate to military force, one of the Israeli officials said. This will be the first meeting of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Consultative Group (SCG) since Trump assumed office. It’s the most senior forum for U.S.-Israeli discussion on Iran’s nuclear program. Driving the news: Top Netanyahu advisers strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are expected to lead the Israeli delegation, according to Israeli officials. The delegation will also include senior representatives from the National Security Council, the military, the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission, the officials said. They are expected to meet with a U.S. team led by Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz and representatives from the State Department, Pentagon, and U.S. intelligence community.

New York Times [3/20/2025 9:05 PM, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon and Patrick Kingsley, 145325K] reports the Israeli military expanded its ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Thursday as Hamas fired rockets at central Israel for the first time in months, in what looked increasingly like a slide back toward full-scale war. Israeli soldiers began raiding part of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, the military said, as well as near Beit Lahiya in the north of the enclave. Those moves came a day after Israel announced it had recaptured part of the Netzarim corridor, which bisects central Gaza, after withdrawing from the area as part of the January cease-fire with Hamas. There were no reports of casualties from the Hamas rockets, which were fired at the coastal city of Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said the three rockets were either intercepted or fell in open areas. The escalation in hostilities came after a two-month cease-fire in Gaza collapsed this week with a deadly Israeli aerial bombardment in the territory, which the military said had targeted Hamas. Israel argued that the truce could not continue unless Hamas released more hostages still held in Gaza, while Hamas accused Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement. The potential endgame for this round of fighting, however, remained far from clear. Israel and Hamas have set seemingly incompatible conditions for the next steps in the cease-fire, and the renewed Israeli assault had yet to force Hamas to accept its demands. Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said in an interview on Thursday that the group was unwilling to disarm its military wing — a key Israeli precondition for ending the war. “If you do that, you’re giving the occupation an opportunity to kill without any Palestinian response,” Mr. Badran said from Doha, Qatar. He added that Hamas had delayed firing rockets until Thursday in an attempt to give mediators more time to pressure Israel to halt its attacks. But as Israel continued its assault and the death toll rose in Gaza, he said, “Hamas had to give indications that it can respond.” The renewed Israeli assault has killed more than 500 people in Gaza over the past three days, including scores of children, the Gazan health ministry said on Thursday. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

AP [3/20/2025 4:29 PM, Eric Tucker, 10355K] reports that an American man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist has been released by the Taliban in a deal with the Trump administration that Qatari negotiators helped broker, the State Department said Thursday. George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 and was designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained the following year. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Glezmann was on his way back to the United States to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra, and praised Qatar for "steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts" that he said were "instrumental in securing George’s release." "George’s release is a positive and constructive step," Rubio said. "It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world." Glezmann was being accompanied back to the United States, through Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration. The Taliban disclosed earlier Thursday that Boehler had been meeting on hostage issues with a delegation that included Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [3/20/2025 1:39 PM, Edward Wong, 145325K]

Reuters [3/21/2025 3:42 AM, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo, 41523K] reports China is willing to deepen cooperation with Russia in cyber security, counter-terrorism and combating cross-border crimes, China’s police chief told the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Beijing on Friday. Wang Xiaohong, China’s minister of public security, told FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov that China supports multi-level meetings between the two countries’ law enforcement and security departments, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

CNN [3/21/2025 4:56 AM, Simone McCarthy, 908K] reports China is practicing "dogfighting" satellites as part of its expanding capabilities in space, according to the United States Space Force, which warned that Washington’s key rivals are closing the technology gap as space becomes increasingly critical to security on Earth. The Space Force observed "five different objects in space maneuvering in and out and around each other in synchronicity and in control," its vice chief of space operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein said Tuesday at a defense conference. "That’s what we call dogfighting in space. They are practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another," Guetlein said, using a term that typically refers to close-range aerial combat between fighter jets. Guetlein referred to the US’ "near peers" as practicing these on-orbit maneuvers during remarks at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference in Arlington, Virginia. A US Space Force spokesperson later confirmed to CNN that Guetlein was referring to operations conducted by China, which were observed via commercially available information. While the purpose of such operations was not clear – and some experts question the use of the term – Guetlein’s comments come as analysts say a growing number of countries, including China, have sought to develop counterspace technologies. Such capabilities could enable a country to destroy or disable satellites, potentially allowing them to interrupt a rival military’s communications or operations like launching and detecting missiles. Such interference could also wreak havoc on global navigation systems used for everything from banking and cargo shipping to ambulance dispatch.

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