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.

Washington Post [5/20/2025 6:00 AM, Adam Taylor and Martine Powers, 32099K] reports the Trump administration has devised plans to spend up to $250 million earmarked for foreign assistance to fund instead the removal and return of people from active conflict zones, including 700,000 Ukrainian and Haitian migrants who fled to the United States amid extreme, ongoing violence back home, according to draft internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The proposal, which has not been previously reported, was in development before a related May 5 announcement from the Department of Homeland Security declaring that immigrants who volunteer to “self-deport” to their home countries would be eligible for $1,000 stipends from the U.S. government. While prior administrations have supported using taxpayer funds for the voluntary repatriation of migrants, the proposal developed under President Donald Trump is unusual because it includes people who escaped from some of the most dangerous parts of the world and appears intended to bypass the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a U.N.-affiliated body that typically aids in returning migrants to their homes. It coincides also with the administration’s polarizing bid to drastically slash foreign aid, most notably by dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and terminating 80 percent of its programs, including those that served Ukraine, Haiti and other troubled countries. In addition to Ukrainians and Haitians, the draft documents also mention Afghans, Palestinians, Libyans, Sudanese, Syrians and Yemenis, saying they, too, could be targeted as part of the voluntary deportation program. The U.N.-affiliated migration office does not support the return of people to any of those places, the draft documents say. The IOM did not respond to a request for comment. Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, verified the authenticity of the documents, which were produced between late April and early May, but she characterized them as “outdated.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, McLaughlin said, has not made a “final” decision on temporary protected status for Haiti or Ukraine. “DHS and the State Department are working together to further implement the President’s agenda by using foreign aid money to assist those illegally in our country to voluntarily self-deport,” McLaughlin said in a statement, an apparent reference to migrants who have had their temporary protected status revoked.

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NewsMax [5/20/2025 8:28 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4622K]

The Los Angeles Times [5/20/2025 7:44 PM, Rachel Uranga, 14672K] reports the Trump administration deported two Asian immigrants held in detention in Texas to the conflict-ridden country of South Sudan, defying court orders, according to their attorneys. The men, one from Mynamar and the other from Vietnam, were given notice on Monday by officers at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas, they would be removed to South Africa. The men refused to sign the order, according to court records. The officers quickly rescinded, only to come back with another order saying they would be removed to South Sudan. Again, the men didn’t sign. The next morning their lawyers and family members couldn’t locate them, according to court documents. The accounts came from court filings in an emergency motion to U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts asking immigration authorities to return the men. Murphy had already ordered the administration to halt any removal to any third country after it attempted to deport a group of 13 men to Libya earlier this month. At the time, Murphy warned that the administration would violate a previous court order that officials must provide detainees with due process, including receiving notice of the removals in their own language and getting the opportunity to argue that sending them outside their home country could threaten their safety. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jacqueline Brown, who represents the Burmese man, identified in court documents as N.M., wrote that her client had been part of the group that was to be deported to Libya, before it was stopped. She had an appointment with N.M. at 9 a.m. Tuesday, but when she checked the detainee locator service to find him, he was gone. She wrote an immigration officer asking for N.M.’s whereabouts and was told he had been removed this morning to South Sudan. The east-central African country is engulfed in armed conflict and the world’s third largest refugee crisis, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. As of 2023, 2.3 million people had fled to neighboring countries and 2.2 million were displaced internally. The Burmese man, who spoke the regional language of Karen, had final orders to be removed from Nebraska, home to about 8,000 refugees from Myanmar, which is ruled by a military dictatorship. Many of the refugees are from the Karen ethnic minority who escaped the long-running civil war. The Vietnamese man had signed orders to be deported back to Vietnam, according to his spouse. He was held with 10 other immigrants — from Laos, Thailand, Pakistan, Korea and Mexico — who were removed with him, the spouse told lawyers at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. NBC News [5/20/2025 7:14 PM, Laura Strickler and Didi Martinez, 44540K] reports that immigration attorneys told the court that at least two of their clients, from Myanmar and Vietnam, were deported Tuesday morning to South Sudan in violation of a court order, and they demanded their return. "The Court should further restrain all flights carrying class members to South Sudan or any other third country," the attorneys said. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and NBC News was not able to independently verify that a deportation flight to South Sudan had occurred. A State Department travel advisory warns Americans not to go to South Sudan "due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict" and notes that in March, because of the situation there, the department "ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees from South Sudan.” Both of the immigrants alleged to have been sent to South Sudan on Tuesday were the subjects of final removal orders allowing the government to deport them to their countries of origin, according to court filings. In their filing, the attorneys included an email from the wife of a Vietnamese immigrant who said she believed her husband and at least 10 other people were deported to South Sudan on Tuesday morning. She said the immigrants had refused to sign forms facilitating their deportations to a country not their own. The AP [5/20/2025 6:49 PM, Lindsay Whitehurst, 56000K] reports that the apparent removal of one man from Myanmar was confirmed in an email from an immigration official in Texas, according to court documents. He was informed only in English, a language he does not speak well, and his attorneys learned of the plan hours before his deportation flight, they said. A woman also reported that her husband from Vietnam and up to 10 other people were flown to Africa Tuesday morning, attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote. They asked Judge Brian E. Murphy for an emergency court order to prevent the deportations. The Hill [5/20/2025 4:39 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 18649K] reports U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, an appointee of former President Biden who serves in Boston, previously ordered the administration to provide certain notice to migrants before removing them to a third country where they have no ties. Tuesday’s filing accuses the administration of violating that injunction when a group of migrants left the country on a plane to South Sudan in recent hours, asking Murphy to order their return to the United States. Murphy’s injunction, issued last month, requires the administration to provide a noncitizen and their attorney with written notice in a language they can understand before removing them to a third country. The migrant must also be afforded a "meaningful opportunity" to raise claims that they would face persecution or torture if deported there, Murphy ruled.

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CNN [5/20/2025 7:35 PM, Priscilla Alvarez and Angélica Franganillo Díaz, 21433K]

The Wall Street Journal [5/20/2025 10:28 PM, Mariah Timms and Michelle Hackman, 646K] reports a federal judge told the Trump administration to be prepared to return migrants who lawyers believe were deported to South Sudan and signaled concern the administration had violated a prior court order. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston held an emergency hearing Tuesday on the whereabouts of a Burmese national, and possibly others, who lawyers say received notice they were being sent to South Sudan—and were removed soon after. Lawyers for the migrants argued their removals violated an earlier court order precluding them from being deported to third-party countries. Murphy told the government to maintain custody of the deportees covered by his previous order and ensure they are “treated humanely.” He ordered an additional hearing on Wednesday and directed the administration to provide information on the migrants’ locations and the notice they received before removal. As part of its mass deportation efforts, the administration has been looking for third-party countries to accept migrants in the U.S. whose countries have been resistant to taking them back. Murphy previously blocked immigration officials from removing migrants to third-party countries without adequate written notice and an opportunity to challenge the removals. Lawyers for the migrants have also argued that their deportation to South Sudan—”a country that is now returning to full-blown and catastrophic civil war”—could violate international laws against torture. Neither the Justice Department nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to a request for comment. The New York Times [5/21/2025 3:20 AM, Hamed Aleaziz, Alan Feuer and Mattathias Schwartz, 330K] reports “I am not going to order that the plane turn around,” said the judge, Brian E. Murphy of the Federal District Court in Boston. Instead, he said, any migrants in Department of Homeland Security custody must not leave U.S. control once the plane landed, at least until a hearing Wednesday to determine whether they had received adequate due process. The order capped a tumultuous hearing hastily called by the judge, during which Trump officials said they could not say where the flight was or where it was going. Judge Murphy repeatedly expressed concerns that the administration had violated his order not to deport immigrants to countries where they are not from and may face danger without giving them enough time to challenge their removal. And he warned that officials involved in the deportations who were aware of his order, including potentially the pilots of the plane, could face criminal sanctions. “Based on what I have been told,” he said, “this seems like it may be contempt.” The question of whether the Trump administration defied his previous order added to the remarkable series of faceoffs it has had with the judicial system as President Trump has aggressively pursued his promises of mass deportations. In case after case, judges have rebuked the administration for not allowing adequate due process, and Trump officials in turn have questioned the authority of courts to hear such disputes and even called for the impeachment of judges who rule against it. Immigration lawyers at the hearing on Tuesday said at least two migrants had been told they were going to be deported to South Sudan, a violence-plagued country in Africa that the State Department advises Americans not to travel to. After a break in the proceedings to gather information, a lawyer for the Justice Department, Elianis N. Perez, said that one of the migrants, who is Burmese, was returned home to Myanmar, not South Sudan. But she declined to say where the second migrant, a Vietnamese man, was deported, saying it was classified information. It was unclear how many other migrants might be on that deportation flight. “Where is the plane?” Judge Murphy asked. “I’m told that that information is classified, and I am told that the final destination is also classified,” Ms. Perez said. She said the government had not violated any court orders because the man had not claimed to be fearful of removal. Judge Murphy asked what authority the government was using to classify the location of the deportation flight. “I don’t have the answer to that,” she responded. The Washington Post [5/20/2025 11:14 PM, Maegan Vazquez and Maria Sacchetti, 32099K] reports U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston wrote that the Trump administration must not let the migrants being transported to South Sudan out of their custody to ensure that the migrants will be able to be returned to the United States if the court finds that their attempted deportations are unlawful. The order also applies to other migrants being deported “to any third country” — meaning nations where deported migrants are not citizens. The court, Murphy wrote, would leave “the practicalities of compliance” to the discretion of the defendants, which include the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Murphy wrote that the defendants must answer several questions during an upcoming hearing scheduled for Wednesday, including the amount of notice each migrant received ahead of their attempted removal to South Sudan and any details about their current whereabouts. The order came in response to an emergency request from the lawyers for a group of migrants who asked Murphy to intervene after indications that federal immigration authorities may have deported up to a dozen immigrants from Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries to South Sudan. A federal immigration officer confirmed that at least one immigrant from Myanmar had been deported Tuesday morning to the African nation, according to court records. The spouse of a man from Vietnam said he told her that he and at least 10 others had also been flagged for deportation to that country. Lawyers for the immigrants argued in court records that the hasty removals would violate Murphy’s orders barring the government from deporting people to countries where they are not citizens without giving them a chance to challenge that decision. They asked the judge, based in Massachusetts, to order their immediate return. The allegations come weeks after DHS acknowledged that South Sudan has been engaged in an “ongoing armed conflict” and after a United Nations official warned that the country was at risk of slipping back into civil war.

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The Hill [5/20/2025 9:01 AM, Staff, 18649K] reports that Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem testified Tuesday morning before the Senate on the department’s fiscal 2026 budget request. Noem’s remarks before the Senate Homeland Security Committee came as the Trump administration works to implement President Trump’s robust immigration and border agenda. From vowing to significantly limit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to advocating for charges and censures against Democrats who attended a protest earlier this month in New Jersey — the secretary has become a force behind Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. In the budget request, the department seeks to finish construction of the border wall, advance border security technology, modernize the Coast Guard fleet, enhance Secret Service protection and bolster state and local capacity to secure areas around key events — such as 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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Breitbart [5/20/2025 10:00 AM, Neil Munro, 3077K] Video: HERE

DailySignal [5/20/2025 11:55 AM, Virginia Allen, 558K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before a Senate panel Tuesday on her department’s budget request for fiscal year 2026, touting the work the Department of Homeland Security has already accomplished under President Donald Trump while responding to questions on the budget and legal matters related to the detention and deportation of illegal aliens. "Now, at the Department of Homeland Security, under President Trump, we’ve already delivered a drastic turnaround in homeland security, from the southern border to our Coast Guard to cyberspace, Noem said during her opening statement, adding, "and we’re just getting started.” DHS is a $100 billion-plus government agency, and under the previous administration, according to Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., the DHS budget was weaponized to surveil American citizens and conduct questionable experiments with dangerous viruses. "Secretary Noem, I appreciate your demonstrating commitment to reversing the obstruction of your predecessor and pushing back on efforts by entrenched bureaucrats within the department to delay, redact, and resist oversight. You’ve inherited a difficult task, restoring accountability to a department that has strayed from its founding mission," Paul said. Under the leadership of Trump and Noem, DHS is prioritizing the mission of securing the southern border and removing individuals who entered the country illegally. Senate Republicans praised the administration’s border security efforts, but Noem also faced questions on the size of the DHS budget proposal. Noem is requesting $46.5 billion for border wall security and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asked the secretary why was "the request so high when we were able to build so many miles in the first term for a lot less?". Noem explained that the budget request includes funding not only for wall panels, but also additional surveillance technology, such as for cameras and Customs and Border Protection towers. "We’re $37 trillion in debt," Johnson responded. "I’m just going to ask you and the department to sharpen your pencil on that wall request. I think it’s more than you need.” Noem faced numerous questions from Senate Democrats on the detention and removal of illegal aliens, and specially on habeas corpus.

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CBS Austin [5/20/2025 5:09 PM, Staff, 558K] reports President Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan says, "We’ve got to finish the job" when it comes to getting more funding to follow through on the administration’s border crackdown. The National News Desk’s Kristine Frazao spoke to Homan on Tuesday about the administration’s success and what comes next. This can be the first administration in the history of the nation to have operational, total operational control of our southern border. What a meaningful thing for national security. No one’s getting in this country without being apprehended and talked to. We need to know everybody coming in this country," Homan said. Homan also spoke about Tren De Aragua, comparing the criminal gang to a Fortune 500 company. "They’re really very well coordinated. They’re, they’re all over the country and these groups are coordinated. They’re like a Fortune 500 company. They, you know, they got a business concept of how to come to this country and try to unsettle this country through, you know, whether it’s, you know, forced sex trafficking, armed robberies, murder for hire," Homan said. He also commented on Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver being charged with assault after a skirmish with federal officers who arrested the Newark mayor outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey. Homan said, "God bless Alina Habba. I think she’s doing the right thing. Staying strong on this.” "We’re down 88%. I’m not happy with that. We got, we gotta do more up there. But Canada is. Canada, they wanna put more technology on their southern border. They want, they already put more resources on their southern border. We need to do the same. And that’s this big beautiful bill that’s sitting up on hill right now, will give us some money to add more boots on the ground, the northern border, more technology to stop these few of them coming in," Homan said.

CBS News [5/20/2025 11:03 AM, Staff, 51860K] Video: HERE reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the department’s 2026 fiscal budget. Noem touted President Trump’s efforts to rein in illegal immigration and noted efforts to secure the U.S. against China and other foreign adversaries.

Bloomberg [5/20/2025 1:43 PM, Ellen M. Gilmer, 111K] reports that Congress must expand federal powers to ensure the Department of Homeland Security can combat dangerous drones, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, providing a key endorsement in a policy battle that has spanned years. "The expansion of those authorities needs to be looked at to make sure it’s appropriate but also gives us the tools we need to keep people safe," Noem testified Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. [Editorial note: consult extended commentary at source link]

Politico [5/20/2025 1:20 PM, Amanda Friedman, 16523K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration potentially suspending habeas corpus, engaging in a public scuffle Tuesday with a Democratic senator over her flubbing the definition of the legal principle that serves as a check on the government’s ability to detain people. The Trump administration has floated suspending the legal right amid its crackdown on illegal immigration. Noem defending the proposal to Congress marks a notable escalation of the idea. When asked at a Senate hearing Tuesday by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) to define habeas corpus — the right of due process to challenge a person’s detention by the government — Noem described the term as “a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.” Hassan, a staunch critic of President Donald Trump, quickly fired back at Noem, calling her definition “incorrect.” “Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people,” Hassan said. “If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason.” Hassan then pressed Noem on whether she supports the legal principle, but the secretary didn’t back down. “I support habeas corpus — I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not,” Noem said. Stephen Miller, a senior aide to Trump, told reporters that the administration was considering doing as much earlier this month. “The Constitution is clear … the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus could be suspended in time of invasion,” he said earlier this month. “So that’s an option we’re actively looking at. A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.” NBC News [5/20/2025 2:51 PM, Dareh Gregorian and Didi Martinez, 44540K] reports "Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason," Hassan said, calling it a "foundational right." "So Secretary Noem, do you support the core protection that habeas corpus provides, that the government must provide a public reason in order to detain and imprison someone?" she asked. Noem responded, "I support habeas corpus. I also recognize that the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not." DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Noem’s appearance. The New York Post [5/20/2025 2:10 PM, Ryan King, 49956K] reports Secretary Noem was right," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Post Tuesday. "Presidents have suspended habeas corpus in practice—Lincoln, Grant, FDR, and Bush—all during moments of crisis. Technically, Congress holds that power under the Constitution, but in reality, presidents have acted first, and legal authority followed. The precedent is real."

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ABC News [5/20/2025 8:06 PM, Staff, 31733K] reports the Homeland Security secretary defended the Trump administration’s migrant deportations – without due process – and incorrectly responded to a lawmaker’s question on the definition of habeas corpus. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [5/20/2025 12:03 PM, Lauren Villagran, 75552K] reports the Trump administration is not considering a reality show in which immigrants compete for citizenship, according to the Homeland Security chief, despite statements to the contrary by a department spokeswoman. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a Senate committee May 20 that she and her leadership team "have no knowledge" of a reality show, which was first reported by The Daily Mail. "There may have been something submitted somewhere along the line, because there are proposals pitched to the department, but me and my executive team had no knowledge of the reality show," Noem told the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee. "There are no plans whatsoever to do a reality show," she added. On May 16, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin waffled on whether there had been conversations about the idea. “This is completely false. Daily Mail’s ‘reporting’ is an affront to journalism. Secretary Noem has not ‘backed’ nor is even aware of the pitch of any scripted or reality show,” McLaughlin said in a statement emailed to USA TODAY. However, McLaughlin told the Wall Street Journal the department was considering collaborating on a TV show that would pit immigrants against one another to get their U.S. citizenship applications fast-tracked. The pitch reportedly came from the people who made "Duck Dynasty." The Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 1:02 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports "Sir, we have no knowledge of a reality show. There may have been something submitted to the department, but I did not know anything about this until the reporter reached out. We told him we have no knowledge of it. We don’t know what he’s talking about. They still printed wrong information," Noem said. "There may have been something submitted somewhere along the line because there are proposals pitched to the department, but me and my executive team had no knowledge of a reality show," Noem added. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Mail that she viewed it as a "good idea" and acknowledged that the department was reviewing the pitch and had a call with the producer in early May. However, Noem said on Tuesday before the Senate that "that spokesperson was completely misquoted."

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Bloomberg Law News [5/20/2025 3:26 PM, Chris Marr, 88K] reports pitting immigrants against each other to compete for citizenship is the premise of a television series pitched to the US Department of Homeland Security by TV producer Rob Worsoff, whose prior work includes “Duck Dynasty” and “The Biggest Loser.” The pitch for the show, tentatively titled “The American,” would have immigrants who are seeking naturalization compete in a variety of challenges across the country, with the winner receiving citizenship. The proposal, first reported by The Daily Mail, comes as the Trump administration overhauls immigration policy and ramps up deportations, sowing uncertainty for immigrants and the employers that rely on foreign-born labor. DHS would run into a raft of legal questions if it greenlit a show like this. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said during a Tuesday congressional hearing that though there “may have been something submitted” to the department, she and her executive team have no knowledge of the pitch and “no plans whatsoever to do a reality show.” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement May 16 the department frequently receives and vets TV show pitches.

Daily Wire [5/20/2025 1:59 PM, Kassy Akiva, 3816K] reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to revoke more student visas from campus disruptors during a heated Senate hearing on Tuesday. "A visa is not a right, it is a privilege," Rubio said while testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. "People apply for student visas to come into the United States and study, and if you tell me that you are coming into the United States to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries and try to burn down buildings and acts of violence, we’re not going to give you a visa." "The bottom line is if you come here to stir up trouble on our campuses, we will deny you a visa," Rubio said. "These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas." Rubio added that the State Department will continue to revoke visas and stated, "I hope we can find more of these people." The secretary’s comments followed a fiery exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen, in which the Maryland Democrat told his former Senate colleague that he regretted voting to confirm him. "I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State," Van Hollen said. "Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job," Rubio shot back. Rubio also defended the Trump State Department’s attempts to cut government waste and illegal immigration. "I don’t regret cutting $10 million for male circumcisions in Mozambique," Rubio said. "I don’t know how that makes us stronger or more prosperous as a nation."

CBS News [5/20/2025 10:52 PM, Caitlin Yilek, 51661K] Video HERE reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, engaged in a heated exchange Tuesday as the nation’s top diplomat defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy while testifying to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. For seven minutes, Van Hollen criticized Rubio on his handling of issues ranging from the freezing of humanitarian assistance in Sudan during a genocide, deportations to El Salvador without due process and revoking student visas. "You and I served together in Congress for 15 years," Van Hollen said. "We didn’t always agree, but I believe we shared some common values — a belief in defending democracy and human rights abroad and honoring the Constitution at home. That’s why I voted to confirm you. I believed you would stand up for those principles. You haven’t. You’ve done the opposite." Van Hollen continued, "You used to speak with conviction about the importance of foreign aid as a tool to advance American values and interests. Then you stood by while Elon Musk took a chainsaw to USAID and other assistance programs." The senator said people have died as a result of the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. Earlier this year, Rubio said 83% of programs funded by the federal agency were being canceled after it became a target for the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. Van Hollen also said that Rubio has "made a mockery of our country’s refugee process, turning it into a system of global apartheid where political ideology and race more than truth or need matter." The criticism was in reference to the Trump administration granting refugee status to White South Africans over claims that they have faced discrimination by the country’s post-apartheid government. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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New York Post [5/20/2025 9:07 PM, Victor Nava, 54903K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s crackdown on criminal migrants Tuesday during a heated back-and-forth with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Van Hollen, a vocal critic of the deportation of alleged MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, informed Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that he wished he hadn’t voted to confirm him for the Cabinet post, sparking the tense exchange. “Your campaign of fear and repression is eating away at the foundational values of our democracy,” the Maryland Democrat said, comparing the Trump administration’s efforts to deport anti-Israel student visa holders and illegal immigrants to the “Red Scare” of the 1950s. “And I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for secretary of state,” Van Hollen added. Rubio shot back: “Your regret for voting for me confirms I’m doing a good job, based on what I know about your record and what you stand for.” “I’m actually very proud of the work we’ve done with USAID,” Rubio continued. “For example, I don’t regret cutting $10 million for male circumcisions in Mozambique. I don’t know how that makes us stronger and more prosperous as a nation.”

Breitbart [5/20/2025 11:26 PM, Olivia Rondeau, 3077K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with Democrats over the Trump administration’s recent acceptance of South African refugees, telling Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that he does not "like the fact that they’re white" in a Tuesday exchange. The heated conversation took place during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, with Kaine calling the State Department’s claims of "government-sponsored racial discrimination" against the minority Afrikaner population "specious.” Implying that the U.S. government has given Afrikaners preferential treatment to become legal refugees due to their race, Kaine asked, "Can you have a different standard based upon the color of somebody’s skin? Would that be acceptable?". "I’m not the one arguing that, apparently you are because you don’t like the fact that they’re white and that’s why they’re coming," Rubio shot back: "The United States has a right to pick and choose who they allow into the United States," the secretary continued, before being interrupted by the senator. "Based on the color of somebody’s skin?" Kaine again pressed. Rubio replied, "You’re the one that’s talking about the color of their skin, not me. These are people whose farms were burned down and they were killed because of the color of their skin.” The spat stemmed from less than 60 white South African refugees touching down in the United States on May 12, with President Donald Trump condemning the "genocide that’s taking place" against them. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the group, which included families with young children, at Dulles International Airport, decrying the "unjust racial discrimination" and "violence" they faced in their home country. "They were really subject to very serious, egregious, and targeted threats, and we wish them well in their journey in the United States," Landau told Breitbart News at the time. "We underscored for them that the American people are a welcoming and generous people, and we underscore the importance of assimilation into the United States, which is one of the very important factors that we look to in refugee admissions and through this resettlement program for these folks who were vetted in South Africa.”

Breitbart [5/20/2025 10:33 AM, Bob Price, 3077K] reports Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials announced the first charter flight of migrants choosing to self-deport by utilizing the CBP Home app. Officials said 64 migrants from Honduras and Colombia departed from Houston as part of Project Homecoming. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the first flight of Project Homecoming with a post on social media showing migrants boarding an aircraft in Houston. The flight carried 64 migrants from Colombia and Honduras back to their home countries after they previously entered the United States illegally. The migrants used the rebuilt CBP Home app to sign up for the flight and receive a travel stipend of $1,000 to voluntarily return home. "If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home," Noem wrote. "If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return.” "If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way," the secretary added. DHS officials posted a video on X showing the migrants boarding a bus in Houston and being taken to their charter flight. "All participants were offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the CBP Home App," officials stated. "They received travel assistance, a $1,000 stipend, and preserved the possibility they could one day return to the United States legally.” The flight included 38 Honduran nationals and 28 Colombians, DHS officials stated. The Honduran migrants received a warm welcome home when they arrived in their home country. In addition to the $1,000 travel stipend from the United States government, Honduran migrants received a $100 bonus per adult, food vouchers, and employment assistance. The 26 Colombian migrants were welcomed by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migration Colombia, and their families. Officials with the Colombian Family Welfare Institute and the Department of Social Prosperity provided social services to the returnees. Officials stressed that these migrants voluntarily chose self-deportation and this was not part of an ICE removal operation. "This charter flight is one of the first actions the Department has taken to fulfill President Trump’s recent proclamation to create Project Homecoming," DHS stated. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [5/20/2025 11:00 AM, Jason Hopkins, 1010K] reports the Trump administration on Monday conducted a first-of-its-kind voluntary deportation flight, transporting dozens of migrants who sought to self-deport rather than face forced removal. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assisted with transporting 68 participants back to their home counties of Honduras and Colombia under Project Homecoming, according to a press release from the administration. The illegal migrants were offered generous incentives for participating: a free flight, a $1,000 stipend and a chance to, someday in future, return to the U.S. legally. Departing from Houston, Texas, the voluntary deportation flight dropped 38 participants off in Honduras who were “warmly welcomed” by their home government, according to DHS. The chartered flight dispatched an additional 26 participants to their home country of Colombia. DHS stated that both groups received social service benefits from their home countries in addition to the incentives provided by the Trump administration. “Today, DHS conducted its first Project Homecoming charter flight of 64 individuals who voluntarily chose to self-deport to their home counties of Honduras and Colombia,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a prepared statement. “If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home,” Noem continued. “If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return.” The Project Homecoming charter flight is the latest strategy by DHS to remove illegal migrants from the U.S., a top priority of the White House. Earlier in May, President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing Project Homecoming — an initiative to provide government-funded flights and a “exit bonus” to participating illegal migrants. DHS also announced it would begin offering a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to illegal migrants who choose to leave willingly. “As President, it is my legal obligation to exercise all tools at my disposal to end this invasion, remove the illegal-alien invaders from the United States, and protect the American people,” Trump said in a prepared statement about the initiative. “This proclamation establishes Project Homecoming, which will present illegal aliens with a choice: either leave the United States voluntarily, with the support and financial assistance of the Federal Government, or remain and face the consequences.” “If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way,” Noem said Monday.

Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 3:44 PM, Naomi Lim, 1934K] reports White House officials are promising that the next chartered flight of self-deporting illegal immigrants will depart soon. “I think it’s great, and you’ll see a lot more of them,” Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. Homan remained adamant that there is “a lot of self-deportation” and reiterated that fewer people are trying to cross the border illegally. “We’re planning it right now,” the White House executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations added when asked whether the next flight would be in weeks or months. Homan defended the cost of the program, increased by the chartered flights, contending “the cost-savings are going nuts for American taxpayers.” Homan similarly dismissed the argument that paying migrants to self-deport incentivizes them to recross the border illegally. During the press conference with reporters outside the West Wing, Homan also expressed surprise when asked for his response to a report that the Department of Homeland Security was considering a proposal to produce a reality show on which migrants compete for citizenship.

Reuters [5/20/2025 5:55 PM, Staff, 24051K] reports a top adviser to Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence, acknowledged in a March 24 email that the Venezuelan government may not have specifically directed the activities of a gang that the Trump administration has used to justify fast-tracking deportation of immigrants, but argued that a link between Venezuela and the gang was "common sense.” U.S. President Donald Trump has used a claim that Tren de Aragua is coordinating its U.S. activities with the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to justify deportations of alleged gang members to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Some legal scholars have argued invoking the act requires a connection to a foreign government. In the email, read to Reuters by a person familiar with the matter and confirmed by a second source, Gabbard’s acting chief of staff Joe Kent asked for a "rethink" of an intelligence assessment contradicting the administration’s argument that Venezuela is responsible for the U.S. activities of Tren de Aragua gang members. "I would like to understand how any IC (intelligence community) element arrived at the conclusion that the Venezuelan government doesn’t support and did not orchestrate TDA operating in the U.S.," Kent said in the email, referring to Tren de Aragua. "Flooding our nation with migrants and especially migrants who are part of a violent criminal gang is the action of a hostile nation even if the government of Venezuela isn’t specifically tasking or enabling TDA operations.” He added that analysts needed to produce a new assessment on the gang that "reflects basic common sense.”

New York Times [5/20/2025 10:56 PM, Charlie Savage, Julian E. Barnes and Maggie Haberman, 138952K] reports new emails document how a top aide to Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, ordered analysts to edit an assessment with the hope of insulating President Trump and Ms. Gabbard from being attacked for the administration’s claim that Venezuela’s government controls a criminal gang. “We need to do some rewriting” and more analytic work “so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS,” Joe Kent, the chief of staff to Ms. Gabbard, wrote in an email to a group of intelligence officials on April 3, using shorthand for Ms. Gabbard’s position and for the president of the United States. New York Times reported last week that Mr. Kent had pushed analysts to redo their assessment, dated Feb. 26, of the relationship between Venezuela’s government and the gang, Tren de Aragua, after it came to light that the assessment contradicted a subsequent claim by Mr. Trump. The disclosure of the precise language of Mr. Kent’s emails has added to the emerging picture of a politicized intervention. The final memo, which is dated April 7 and has since become public, still contradicts a key claim that Mr. Trump made to justify sending people accused of being members of the gang to a notorious Salvadoran prison without due process. Emails on the topic from Mr. Kent, who is also Mr. Trump’s pending nominee to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, have circulated within the intelligence community and were described by people briefed on them. Mr. Kent’s interventions have raised internal alarms about politicizing intelligence analysis. Defenders of Mr. Kent have disputed that his attempted intervention was part of a pressure campaign, arguing he was trying to show more of what the intelligence community knew about the gang. But the disclosure of his emails supports the accounts of critics who said he was applying political pressure to generate a torqued narrative that would support, rather than undermine, the administration’s policy agenda. The issue centers on Mr. Trump’s invocation in March of a rarely used wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to summarily deport people accused of being members of the gang. After several planeloads of such transfers, courts have blocked any further use of the law for now.

NewsMax [5/20/2025 8:19 AM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4622K] reports a federal judge in California has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act, echoing last week’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting the government’s appeal to quickly resume the deportations under the use of the 18th-century wartime legislation. Monday’s ruling, by Judge John Holcomb, a U.S. district judge for the Central District of California who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020, covers all noncitizens being held in the district who are or will be subject to Trump’s proclamation the law would be used to deport members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang as invaders. The temporary order, in place until May 30, comes in connection with a complaint filed by Darwin Antonio Arevalo Millan, a Venezuelan citizen who is being held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement annex at the Desert View Modified Community Correctional facility in Adelanto, California. The lawsuit names Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, ICE Processing Center and Desert View Annex Warden Fereti Semaia, and David Marin, the director of the Los Angeles ICE field office. Arevalo’s complaint, filed on behalf of himself and other Venezuelan citizens subjected to Trump’s proclamation, calls on the court to prevent the government from removing him or others in the class, to be transferred out of their current district; to require the government to provide at least 30 days notice before any removal or transfer; and to provide his counsel with notice of a transfer and to preserve all property and evidence in the case.

New York Times [5/20/2025 12:01 PM, Abbie VanSickle and Adam Liptak, 153395K] reports the Supreme Court on Monday let the Trump administration, for now, remove protections from nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been allowed to remain in the United States without risk of deportation under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices rule on emergency applications. No vote count was listed, although Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted that she would have denied the administration’s request. The justices announced they would allow the Trump administration to end the protections pending appeal of the case, potentially allowing the administration to move ahead with deportations. The justices also appeared to suggest that some of the Venezuelans who had been able to receive documentation of their legal status before the Trump administration terminated the program could sue to challenge their deportations. In a separate case, the justices on Friday criticized the Trump administration for seeking to provide only a day’s warning to a different group of Venezuelan immigrants in Texas it had been trying to deport under the expansive powers of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law. The Trump administration has accused that group of migrants of being members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua. Monday’s order affects a much broader swath of Venezuelans currently living in the United States legally under the terms of a Biden-era program. The court has been inundated with applications arising from President Trump’s blitz of executive orders, many of them seeking to pause or limit trial court rulings blocking the administration’s aggressive agenda, notably in immigration.

Miami Herald [5/20/2025 4:03 PM, Jay Weaver, 3805K] reports since launching a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration in January, the Trump administration has lost one legal dispute after another in California, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and even Texas. But on Monday, the administration’s losing streak paused, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices lifted a federal judge’s stay that had blocked the government’s plan to cancel deportation protections and work permits for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants living in Florida and other states. But while their decision was stunning for its impact, the unsigned, two-paragraph order lacked clarity and guidance, raising as many questions as answers. To be sure, the high court’s order will allow the Department of Homeland Security to revoke the Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelan immigrants, even as they challenge the government’s revocation policy in federal court in San Francisco. The order will remain in effect until a lower appeals court reviews the judge’s injunction ruling. But the justices’ order also indicated that certain individuals with pending application for immigration benefits such as political asylum could challenge the government if authorities try to cancel their work permits or remove them from the country in the meantime. That ambiguity has left Venezuelan immigrants with TPS not only fearful but also confused.

NPR [5/20/2025 11:13 AM, Ryan Lucas, 37958K] reports the Justice Department has charged Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers outside an immigration detention facility last week. The charges were announced on social media by the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, who previously served as a personal attorney for President Trump. According to court papers filed on Tuesday, McIver faces two counts of assaulting, resisting and impeding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and a Homeland Security Investigations special agent during a confrontation outside the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark. Democrats have denounced the charges as politically motivated and an effort by the Trump administration and the Justice Department to intimidate members of Congress and chill oversight. Habba said she tried to address the matter with McIver and resolve it without bringing charges, but that the congresswoman declined. "No one is above the law — politicians or otherwise," Habba said. "It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are. Now we will let the justice system work.” McIver denounced the charges against her, calling the case "purely political.” "They mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight," she said in a statement. "I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

AP [5/20/2025 3:45 PM, Mike Catalini, Alanna Durkin Richer, and Eric Tucker, 1611K] reports that federal prosecutors alleged Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey pushed and grabbed officers while attempting to block the arrest of the Newark mayor outside an immigration detention facility, according to charges in court papers unsealed on Tuesday. In an eight-page complaint, interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s office said McIver was protesting the removal of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from a congressional tour of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark on May 9. The complaint says she attempted to stop the arrest of the mayor and pushed into agents for Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She faces two counts of assaulting, resisting and impeding an officer. McIver has denied any wrongdoing and has accused federal agents of escalating the situation by arresting the mayor. She denounced the charge as "purely political" and said prosecutors are distorting her actions in an effort to deter legislative oversight. Habba had charged Baraka with trespassing after his arrest but dismissed the allegation on Monday when she said in a social media post she instead was charging the congresswoman. Prosecuting McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. The case instantly taps into a broader and more consequential struggle between a Trump administration engaged in overhauling immigration policy and a Democratic party scrambling to respond.

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New York Times [5/20/2025 5:56 PM, Tracey Tully, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, and Hamed Aleaziz, 153395K] reports a criminal complaint made public on Tuesday laid out the U.S. government’s claims against Representative LaMonica McIver, depicting her as a ringleader who assaulted two federal agents as she tried to block the arrest of Newark’s mayor, Ras J. Baraka, outside a federal migrant detention facility. Ms. McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, was charged with two counts of “assaulting, resisting and impeding certain officers or employees.” She has flatly rejected the government’s description of the events of May 9, when she and two other members of Congress went to the new detention center in Newark for an oversight visit, which they have the right to conduct under federal law. “It’s political intimidation and I’m looking forward to my day in court,” Ms. McIver told reporters Tuesday in Washington. She likened the charges she faced to an indictment of a Wisconsin judge accused of helping an undocumented immigrant elude federal agents. The fallout has already led the Homeland Security Department, which houses the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, to draft changes to strengthen its rules on congressional visits to detention centers, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, did not address the changes being considered, but said that ICE “respects Congress’s oversight authority.” “However, they are not above the law,” she said. “All members and staff need to comply with facility rules, procedures and instructions from ICE personnel on site for their own safety, the safety of the detainees and the safety of ICE employees.” Last week, after Ms. McLaughlin said that charges against the three lawmakers were possible, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic leader, said that criminal charges represented a “red line.” “There are clear lines that they just dare not cross,” he warned. On Monday, he and other top House Democrats called the charges “a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch.” Homeland Security officials, however, said they welcomed the charges after days of arguing that the clash was emblematic of the broader threat its ICE agents faced as they ramped up immigration arrests and deportations. “No one is above the law,” Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said in a statement.

The Hill [5/20/2025 10:45 AM, Rebecca Beitsch and Zach Schonfeld, 18649K] reports the Justice Department accused Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) of having "slammed her forearms" into immigration officers during a scuffle outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center as officers attempted to arrest Newark’s mayor. The criminal complaint, made public Tuesday, provides the most detailed picture yet of why federal prosecutors believe McIver’s actions amount to the federal crime of assaulting federal law enforcement, a felony charge. The document repeatedly accuses McIver of attacking agents with her forearms. The filing includes a number of still images showing the New Jersey lawmaker’s arms pushed against the back of a masked officer. However, video footage of the incident paints a more complex picture, one in which McIver is seen being jostled between agents in a chaotic scene where lawmakers and New Jersey elected officials clashed with immigration officers. McIver is charged with two counts of assaulting federal employees engaged in their official duties, one corresponding to an ICE officer and the other a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent. If convicted, the charge can carry up to eight years in prison. Roll Call [5/20/2025 2:38 PM, Michael Macagnone, 692K] reports that the eight-page complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey included still images from body cams as McIver and other members of Congress visited for an inspection and federal immigration officers attempted to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespass. The document lists two felony charges against McIver for "Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding" law enforcement officers, and the affidavit from a Homeland Security Investigations special agent describes what he says happened May 9 after they ordered Baraka to leave the facility’s secure area because he was not a member of Congress. The charges come amid high-profile tensions between the Trump administration and other branches of government over Trump’s attempted mass deportation efforts and assertions of broad executive power. In an appearance Tuesday on CNN, McIver said she rejected a plea deal offered by Alina Habba, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump who is interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey. McIver, who has called the charges "purely political," said that Habba "wanted me to admit to doing something that I did not do" and that she was there to conduct an oversight visit of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

FOX News [5/20/2025 11:44 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 46878K] reports the Department of Justice has accused Rep. LaMonica McIver of assaulting two federal agents at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey last month, according to a new charging document. The document cites bodycam footage from law enforcement officers who recorded events as McIver and two other New Jersey lawmakers stormed the ICE facility. Prosecutors say the first officer McIver allegedly assaulted was a Homeland Security Investigations agent and the second was an ICE agent. The DOJ accuses McIver of having "slammed her forearm into the body of a uniformed HSI agent and reached out and tried to restrain the agent by forcibly grabbing him.” The charging document also states that McIver "pushed an ICE officer & used her forearms to forcibly strike the agent.” McIver rejected the charges in a public statement, arguing they are "purely political.” "Earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district," she wrote. "We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short. Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka.” "The charges against me are purely political – they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight," she continued. "This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid our clearly in court.” Prosecutors say McIver helped create a "human shield" and blocked agents from handcuffing Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after he ignored numerous warnings to leave the property and was told he would be arrested. When the HSI agent told the mayor he was going to arrest him, McIver interjected and yelled "Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!" according to the charging document. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem weighed in on the charges against McIver on Monday, saying, "no one is above the law.” "If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," the secretary wrote. "We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation.”

FOX News [5/20/2025 10:46 AM, Taylor Penley, 46878K] reports "She broke the law." That’s the message Trump border czar Tom Homan made clear on Tuesday’s "Fox & Friends," as he slammed Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, who now faces federal charges in connection to a physical altercation outside a Newark, New Jersey ICE facility. "I said from day one, you cross that line, we’re going to ask for prosecution," Homan told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade. "[If] you cannot support ICE, shame on you. You can push back against President Trump’s immigration agenda, you can protest, but you cannot cross that line. You can’t knowingly impede a law enforcement officer, [an] ICE officer. It’s a crime. You can not knowingly conceal and harbor an illegal alien from ICE. You cannot commit criminal trespass to our facilities and endanger our employees, and you certainly can’t put hands on an ICE agent, so she’s going to have to pay the consequences for doing what she did.” "She broke the law, and we’re going to hold her accountable.” Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba is charging McIver for her alleged misconduct towards law enforcement in front of Delaney Hall in the Garden State earlier this month, but is dismissing the trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. In a letter shared on X, Monday, Habba said McIver "assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111 (a)(1).” "That conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law enforcement official in the State of New Jersey, and it is my Constitutional obligation to ensure that our federal law enforcement is protected when executing their duties," she added. Democratic lawmakers made headlines during their visit to conduct an "oversight" inspection into the treatment of ICE detainees at the location. McIver alleged that ICE agents caused an "unnecessary and unsafe confrontation" when they "chose to arrest Mayor Baraka," adding that the charges she faces are "purely political" and "are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight.” Homan criticized the lawmakers for failing to make an appointment to conduct an oversight visit so they could tour the facility in the same manner as "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy did last week. "This is politics. This is politics over public safety, politics over common sense," he said. Homan said the Newark facility is one of the "finest" in the country and ICE will allow any member of Congress in for a visit.

Daily Caller [5/20/2025 10:32 PM, Harold Hutchinson, 1082K] reports Republican strategist Scott Jennings sent CNN host Abby Phillip and two Democratic guests into a tizzy Monday while discussing the charges against Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey. McIver was charged with assaulting and impeding federal agents for her involvement in a May 9 fracas outside the ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, during which Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark was arrested, that also involved Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez Jr. of New Jersey. Jennings stepped in after Baraka claimed McIver would be “vindicated.” “I mean, the videos are pretty clear, are they not? I mean, she’s shoving elbows, some punches. I mean, this is — this is —” Jennings said before Baraka interrupted by saying, “There’s a lot of pushing and shoving.” Phillip then played video of CNN host Victor Blackwell clashing with Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin about the arrest, after which Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky claimed that interim United States Attorney Alina Habba of the District of New Jersey and Attorney General Pam Bondi filed the charges against McIver for Trump’s benefit.

New York Post [5/20/2025 5:46 PM, Josh Christenson, 49956K] reports Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who evaded federal charges following his arrest May 9 at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in the city, compared federal immigration authorities to slave catchers during a campaign rally last month, video exclusively obtained by The Post shows. In a statement Tuesday, Baraka told The Post that he "didn’t draw the connection to slavery," but the "Trump administration did when it attacked birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment." Baraka was one of several Democratic politicians — including Newark City Councilmember Kenyatta Stewart as well as Garden State Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver — who protested the reopening of the Delaney Hall ICE facility. While the congresspeople said they were invited inside, the feds said Baraka trespassed and was later "taken into custody." Acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba chose not to press charges against the mayor — but slapped McIver with criminal charges for allegedly "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement" during the fracas. Video of the encounter at the ICE center, which Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin described as a "bizarre political stunt," showed McIver shouting and trying to elbow her way past agents at the security checkpoint.

FOX News [5/20/2025 12:55 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports that Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka is no longer facing a federal trespassing charge over an incident earlier this month at Delaney Hall, a privately operated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in his city. "After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka’s misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward," acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba said in a statement on Monday evening. "In the spirit of public interest, I have invited the mayor to tour Delaney Hall. The government has nothing to hide at this facility, and I will personally accompany the mayor so he can see that firsthand," she continued. However, Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged for allegedly "assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement." Fox News has learned that McIver must turn herself in as soon as possible, though it is up to the magistrate on the specifics of when she must turn herself in and how. "I am glad that the U.S. Attorney has agreed that this case should be dismissed," he said. "If it was a typical U.S. citizen, and they tried to storm into a detention facility that’s housing dangerous criminals or any person at all, they would be arrested," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told "Fox News Live" host Kevin Corke earlier this month. "Just because you are a member of Congress or just because you’re a public official, does not mean you are above the law."

The Hill [5/20/2025 4:59 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 18649K] reports Democrats see pending federal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) over a scuffle with immigration agents as a politically motivated prosecution by the Trump administration designed to chill opposition from lawmakers. Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, announced Monday she would pursue charges against McIver for assaulting a law enforcement officer, accusing her of having "slammed her forearms" into officers outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center. The charges are the first brought against a sitting lawmaker under the Trump administration. McIver’s colleagues expressed horror at charges they argue represent a warning sign of a slide into authoritarianism. However, video footage paints a more complex picture, one in which McIver is seen being jostled between agents in a messy scene. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took a different tone Tuesday, defending the pushback against the trio of lawmakers, as well as Baraka.

CNN [5/20/2025 12:17 PM, Shania Shelton and Holmes Lybrand, 875K] reports Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver said Tuesday that the federal assault charges filed against her a day earlier related to a chaotic melee outside an Immigration Customs and Enforcement detention facility are "absurd.” "I think the charges are absurd. You know, it’s ridiculous. I was there to do my job, along with my other colleagues. We have done this before. This is our obligation to do. It’s in our job description to have oversight over facility, and the entire situation was escalated by ICE," the New Jersey lawmaker said on CNN’s "News Central" in her first interview since being charged with assaulting federal law enforcement. Lawmakers faced off with Homeland Security Department officers earlier this month as they tried to visit a Newark, New Jersey, ICE facility, despite Congress’ oversight authority of federal facilities. The incident started as officers attempted to arrest the Democratic mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, after he tried to join the lawmakers inside the facility. As tensions grew, so did the physicality of the situation, with officers and lawmakers pushing and shouting at one another before Baraka was ultimately detained for several hours. Video taken during the scrum appears to show McIver using her body to push past federal agents and get to Baraka as he was being taken away in handcuffs. It also shows McIver using her arms to push agents. McIver previously rejected allegations that she assaulted the federal officers. Prosecutors said Monday that they will drop the federal trespassing charge against Baraka, but acting US Attorney Alina Habba accused McIver of assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [5/20/2025 6:00 PM, Kristine Parks, 46878K]

Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 10:45 PM, Lauren Green, 1934K] reports House Democrats have run to defend Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) after the Justice Department charged her with assaulting federal law enforcement while protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. A federal prosecutor on Monday charged McIver with assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in New Jersey while also dropping the trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from the same protest. The charges were brought by interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for the District of New Jersey, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and counselor to the president. McIver’s Democratic colleagues have backed her and labeled the felony charge as a "scare tactic" from the Trump administration. The attorney claimed that she tried to resolve the matter with the congresswoman without charges, but she declined. "They’re trying to scare people to not ask questions, not do oversight," Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) told the Washington Examiner. "They’ve clearly got the majority because there’s no oversight going on, and that’s why there’s so much chaos and corruption and cruelty from this White House, which the American people hate.” "They’re not gonna scare any of us — bring it on," the Ohio Democrat continued. "I mean it’s a terrible thing to do to the country, but we’re not scared at all.” Democrats are expressing their support for McIver everywhere they can — traditional media, social media, and hearings. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) called attention to roughly 35 people in the audience who came out in support of McIver, who is not a member of that committee. "Let the record reflect, Mr. Chairman, the vast number of people who came in support of Rep. McIver," said Johnson, who spoke at a hearing meant to discuss challenges to ICE’s deportation operation. "MAGA Republicans are using this hearing to justify the charges against her, and in support of the charges, they publish more video that demonizes people being held in private for-profit ICE detention facilities.” McIver expressed her thanks for the support in a statement following the announcement, saying she is looking "forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

The Hill [5/20/2025 10:51 AM, Cheyanne M. Daniels, 18649K] reports the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) decried the assault charges filed against member Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), announced Monday by New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor following an altercation between the congresswoman and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at a detention center in Newark. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), chair of the caucus, said the charges are "shameful and entirely without merit.” "These bogus charges are nothing short of a cowardly attempt to intimidate members of Congress from holding this administration accountable," Clarke said in a statement. "Ultimately, these efforts will fail, because House Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus will never bend the knee to the Trump administration.” Clarke vowed that the CBC will hold President Trump and his administration accountable, including "standing up against these attempts at congressional intimidation, bullying, and extreme abuses of power.” McIver faces two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding certain officers or employees. The charges stem from McIver’s visit to Delaney Hall federal detention center earlier this month with fellow New Jersey Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez and Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka (D).

Axios [5/21/2025 5:00 AM, Andrew Solender, 13599K] reports that, in their fury over the Trump administration’s charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), House Democrats are planning to ramp up oversight visits to ICE facilities, Axios has learned. The prosecution effort has, to a shocking degree, galvanized Democrats on an issue that perennially divides them — with even the party’s centrist border hawks railing against it. "Members are getting increasingly angry and frustrated at the overreach, and now one of our members has been singled out for intimidation," said House Administration Committee ranking member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.). Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a moderate, told Axios: "Democrats should be all over oversight. ... We have to double down. We have to do more." Several House Democratic groups have discussed organizing oversight visits to ICE facilities during the next week’s recess, multiple lawmakers familiar with the conversations told Axios. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told Axios that "many of us were going to go visit anyway, and we’re going to move those visits as soon as we can." "We actually discussed at our Progressive Caucus meeting ... doing more of those visits," said Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas), who said members want to show they "will not be cowed" by Trump. McIver was charged with two counts of assaulting law enforcement officers in connection with a scuffle she and other House Democrats had with ICE officials in New Jersey earlier this month. The confrontation occurred outside the Delany Hall detention center, a migrant holding facility that the Democrats alleged is being operated by a private prison company without the proper permitting. The lawmakers — along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested at the scene — made an unannounced visit to conduct oversight of the facility. The Trump administration has accused McIver of elbowing officers as they arrested Baraka, but she has said she was the one who was assaulted. What they’re saying: Democrats from across the political spectrum have condemned the charges as baseless, accusing the Trump administration of trying to intimidate them into not conducting oversight. "My hope is that we don’t let what the administration is doing — trying to stifle our voices — shut us down," said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition.

ABC News [5/20/2025 4:05 PM, James Hill, 31733K] reports the 20-year-old, identified as "Cristian," was deported to El Salvador in March. A day after a federal appeals court affirmed a court order directing the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a deported 20-year-old Venezuelan man to the United States, the judge overseeing the case has ordered the administration to report "the steps they have taken" to do so. The man, identified in court records by the pseudonym "Cristian," challenged his removal after he was sent in mid-March on a flight to El Salvador after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, found in April that Cristian’s removal violated a class action settlement on behalf of individuals who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors then later sought asylum, and she directed the government to take steps toward "aiding, assisting or making easier" Cristian’s release and return -- similar to the remedy ordered by the judge in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Judge Gallagher on Tuesday said she wants the government to provide, by May 27, a status report that includes Cristian’s current physical location and custodial status; what steps, if any, defendants have taken to facilitate Cristian’s return to the United States; and what additional steps defendants will take, and when, to facilitate Cristian’s return. This is the second time that Gallagher, a 2019 Trump appointee, has asked the government to provide this information; the previous time the government filed a motion asking Gallagher to vacate her order, which she denied. The government then appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay of the order, which was denied on Monday. Responding to Monday’s ruling by the 4th Circuit, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, "We strongly disagree with the Court’s ruling. No error was made in this individual’s return. This alien is a self-admitted Tren de Aragua gang member and illegal alien from Venezuela. Along with millions of other illegal aliens, he crossed our border illegally under the previous administration."

Washington Post [5/20/2025 6:29 PM, Katie Mettler, 32099K] reports a federal appeals court will allow a U.S. district judge’s order for the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a wrongfully deported Venezuelan man from El Salvador to move forward, part of the mounting pressure from the court system to get the executive branch to follow due process in its immigration enforcement efforts. On Tuesday, Judge Stephanie Gallagher cited the 4th Circuit’s ruling and ordered the administration to provide her a status report by May 27 on the "steps they have taken to facilitate" the man’s return to the United States. The case, which began in U.S. District Court in Maryland, involves a man who came to the U.S. from Venezuela as an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum. Despite the disposition of that asylum case still pending in immigration court, the man — given the pseudonym Cristian in court documents — was sent to El Salvador on March 15 by the Trump administration, a day after the president invoked the Alien Enemies Act against alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. In late April, Gallagher ruled that Cristian’s removal was improper because he was part of a class settlement granting him and other unaccompanied minors the right to remain in the U.S. while their asylum claims were processed. The Trump administration, she ruled, had removed Cristian to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, without due process — and ordered federal officials to facilitate the man’s return. Justice Department attorneys appealed Gallagher’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and asked for a pause pending the outcome of that appeal. In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court denied that request and wrote that the bench has a duty to prevent a "degradation of effective judicial review" by the executive branch. The forceful opinions from Appeals Court Judges DeAndrea Gist Benjamin and Roger L. Gregory on Monday repeatedly referred to the case of Kilmar Abrego García, the Salvadoran migrant whose illegal deportation to El Salvador has become a high-profile example of the Trump administration’s willingness to skirt due process protections and other legal constraints on its power to remove people from the country. Abrego García was wrongly sent to CECOT despite an immigration judge’s 2019 order barring his removal to El Salvador, where he said he fled gang violence as a teen. In that case, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return from El Salvador, a ruling upheld by both the 4th Circuit and the Supreme Court. The Trump administration has resisted the court rulings in both men’s cases, alleging that Abrego García is an MS-13 gang member and that Cristian, who was twice charged with cocaine possession before he was sent to El Salvador, is a terrorist unworthy of asylum. In both cases, the 4th Circuit ruled that those allegations must be heard in court and given proper due process. The Trump administration has argued that its labeling of Cristian as an "alien enemy" supersedes any rights he may have to due process regarding his asylum claim — despite a settlement agreement with the government that ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to refrain from deporting him without a final determination from an immigration court.

The Hill [5/20/2025 6:00 AM, Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee, 18649K] reports the Supreme Court is signaling fading confidence that the Trump administration will act in good faith in response to judicial decisions limiting its immigration agenda, a sign that the courts are growing as frustrated with President Trump as he is with them. The dynamic came into focus as the Supreme Court mulled Trump’s birthright citizenship restrictions and swift deportation efforts, while lower courts have also expressed a creeping doubt that the government can be trusted to abide by their decisions. The divide could become a test on whether judges will maintain their long-standing deference to the government’s representations in court. However, it’s not always clear-cut, as the justices proved Monday when they sided with Trump by allowing him to strip nearly 350,000 Venezuelans’ temporary legal protections. Trump has charted an ambitious course to carry out his promised immigration agenda — from attempting to redefine birthright citizenship to employing rarely used legal authorities for mass deportations — that has fueled a barrage of litigation. Perhaps most notably, he has looked to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which permits swift deportations in certain circumstances.

Politico [5/20/2025 9:31 PM, Irie Sentner and Josh Gerstein, 16523K] reports that, cross the Trump administration on immigration, and you will pay. That’s the apparent message behind two prosecutions that Trump’s Justice Department has launched against officials in the other co-equal branches of government. Last month, prosecutors arrested a Wisconsin judge for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant leave a courthouse. Then, this week, prosecutors charged a New Jersey lawmaker with assault after a scuffle outside an immigration detention center. It’s no coincidence that both cases target perceived opponents of Trump’s signature issue. The president has pushed all manner of boundaries in his second term, facing off against courts and Congress at every turn. But in seeking to enact his mass deportation plan, he has tested constitutional limits most brazenly. The criminal charges against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan and Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver are the latest examples of Trump’s provocative constitutional warfare. Judges and lawmakers have broad immunity from criminal charges connected to their official duties, and prosecutors historically have been reluctant to challenge that immunity. “There’s nothing really to parallel this sort of full-on attack on the coordinate branches,” said Stanley Brand, a former general counsel to the House of Representatives. “They’ve opened another new chapter in interbranch relations.” Trump’s allies say he has an electoral mandate to implement his immigration crackdown, a personal conviction about the issue and broad legal authority to act. Judges and lawmakers who are impeding that effort are trampling on a core presidential power, they say. “This is a defensive response by the administration to an assault on the law, on immigration law in particular,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies. He added that he believed the left has coalesced against Trump’s immigration agenda because it is the president’s “marquee issue.”

Reuters [5/20/2025 5:25 PM, Andrew Goudsward, 51390K] reports the move by the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey to charge a Democratic U.S. congresswoman over a scuffle at an immigration detention center illustrated the Justice Department’s readiness to move against President Donald Trump’s political rivals. Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced in a statement on Monday that her office was charging U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver for her actions during the May 9 confrontation with federal agents, and was dropping a charge against Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested in the incident. In a criminal complaint made public in federal court in New Jersey on Tuesday, the Justice Department accused McIver of slamming her forearm into and forcibly grabbing a Homeland Security Investigations agent, as well as pushing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in an attempt to prevent Baraka’s arrest. McIver has labeled the charges of assault and impeding law enforcement absurd and called herself the victim of a politically motivated prosecution. The charges reveal how the Justice Department under Trump, who has painted past legal cases against him as an improper political use of law enforcement, is unafraid of using its power against the political opposition.

New York Times [5/20/2025 3:27 PM, Zach Montague and Camille Baker, 153395K] reports President Trump has moved to roll back the government programs that protect certain immigrants in the United States from deportation, prompting several court challenges amid his administration’s broader immigration crackdown. Over the past several months, Mr. Trump has revoked the legal status afforded to some Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s invasion and Afghan citizens who helped the American war effort in their country. He has also canceled the protected status of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who fled instability and political violence back home — potentially leaving them vulnerable to deportation. Perhaps most prominent has been Mr. Trump’s targeting of nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been allowed to stay under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. In response to the administration’s emergency application, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the government to move forward with plans to lift those protections — at least for now. But other cases involving immigrants with protected status are moving forward, as well, with thousands of people in limbo. Here’s what to know about the major challenges to Mr. Trump’s actions, and where things stand. The Supreme Court has not yet released a decision on another emergency application that could affect Venezuelan immigrants. In that case, the Trump administration has asked the court to allow it to revoke deportation protections for migrants from four troubled countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. A lower court judge issued an emergency order in April blocking the termination of legal status of many of the more than 500,000 migrants who entered the country under the program.

New York Times [5/20/2025 2:39 PM, Farnaz Fassihi and Hamed Aleaziz, 153395K] reports four months after the Trump administration deported Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old Iranian Christian convert, to Panama before she could seek asylum for fear of religious persecution, she is still living in limbo. A 90-day humanitarian visa granted by the Panamanian government will run out in two weeks. Every day, she says, she wonders which country will provide her permanent refuge. Iran considers converting from Islam to any other religion a crime punishable by death. On Tuesday, new U.S. legislation inspired by Ms. Ghasemzadeh will be introduced in Congress by Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian-American Democratic lawmaker from Arizona. Called the Artemis Act, the bill seeks to prohibit the expedited removal of individuals fleeing countries that the State Department says persecute religious minorities — and ensure they have the chance to claim asylum in a U.S. immigration court. Though Ms. Ansari says she expects widespread support from Democrats and has reached out to Republican in hopes of generating bipartisan support, experts acknowledge that the bill has little chance of passing given that Republicans hold the majority of votes in the chamber. Mr. Trump campaigned on the promise to reverse the flow of migrants crossing the southern border and to carry out widespread deportations. Republican lawmakers would not be inclined to endorse any move to restrict Mr. Trump’s immigration policy. Still, the symbolism is significant for Ms. Ghasemzadeh and 10 other Iranian Christians deported to Panama in February and eventually released from a detention camp on the outskirts of the Darién jungle. They said in interviews on Monday that they feel “seen and heard” at the highest level of American politics, though still trapped in Panama. Christian advocacy groups have taken up their cause.

Axios [5/20/2025 3:44 PM, Mike Deehan, 13599K] reports Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to close all 32 remaining hotel shelters used to house migrant families by this summer — just as a new audit reveals serious issues in the state’s emergency shelter system. Healey’s announcement that she’ll close the hotel shelters six months ahead of her original end-of-year deadline came less than a day before a state audit showed "improper and unlawful no-bid emergency procurements" and "excessive costs" in the shelter system. The number of hotel shelters has dropped from 100 in the summer of 2023 to 32. The shelter population has dipped below 5,000 families for the first time since July 2023 and is expected to go lower. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s report flagged mismanaged contract issues, no-bid contracts for food and transportation services, overpayments on nearly 10% of food deliveries, missing documentation and poor oversight of subcontractors. The shelter system’s contraction follows Healey’s implementation of stricter requirements for families seeking housing, including proof of lawful immigration status and six-month state residency.

Wall Street Journal [5/20/2025 9:00 PM, Michelle Hackman and Tarini Parti, 646K] reports in a small interrogation room in Virginia with a one-way mirror, employees from across the Department of Homeland Security are being summoned and hooked up to a polygraph machine. They are asked to sit still on a seat designed to measure uncomfortable body shifting, and to wear a blood pressure cuff, an oxygen monitor, and a tube around their chests. The set up is standard for government polygraphs, but the line of questioning is more unusual: Have they been sharing information with the media? Polygraph exams have long been a routine tool used inside intelligence agencies, including DHS, as part of security clearances, job applications and certain investigations. But under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s direction, they have been used to search for leaks of information that Noem and her top deputies consider disloyal or embarrassing, according to current and former officials familiar with the practice. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security,” said Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for DHS. “We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant—we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.” McLaughlin declined to say how many DHS employees have been polygraphed since Trump took office this year. The polygraphs are the centerpiece of Noem’s efforts to root out disloyalty among the 250,000-person agency she oversees, and which she has grown to distrust, according to people familiar with her thinking. McLaughlin said: “None of this is about disloyalty,” adding, “Information doesn’t have to be classified to be confidential or not for public consumption.”

Los Angeles Times [5/20/2025 6:00 AM, James Thomas Snyder, 14672K] reports the Trump administration’s executive order to limit birthright citizenship is a serious challenge to the 14th Amendment, which enshrined a radical principle of our democratic experiment: that anyone born here is an American. But the order will most affect average Americans — whose own citizenship, until this point, has been presumed and assured — rather than the intended target, illegal immigrants. The irony is hiding in plain sight. Contrary to conventional wisdom, birthright citizenship is not entirely settled U.S. law. The executive order states, "the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States" and it is very narrowly drafted to exploit this uncertainty by rejecting citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens or legal permanent residents. Federal law and practice has recognized American citizenship to anyone born here since the Supreme Court’s landmark 1898 decision in U.S. vs. Wong Kim Ark. But that case did not specifically protect the birthright of children born in the United States to noncitizen, nonresident aliens. This is a massive blind spot that states are sleep-walking into. They are depending on weak legal precedent, federal code, policy and hair-splitting over the meaning of "subject of the jurisdiction thereto." In a brief, the states argue that the "understanding of birthright citizenship has permeated executive agency guidance for decades — and no prior administration has deviated from it." But that won’t matter to this Supreme Court, which has demonstrated a certain glee in dismantling precedent. There is a clear risk that the justices could fundamentally restrict the definition of birthright citizenship and overturn the 1898 ruling.

NewsMax [5/19/2025 5:01 PM, Deroy Murdock, 4622K] reports what’s the greatest love of all? As Whitney Houston sang, it’s "Learning to love yourself." To poet Eman Awad, the greatest love is "The feeling i feel but i don’t understand." "No greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," according to John 15:13. None of these comes close to the love that cannot be measured, even with the finest instruments at NASA or Cal Tech: Democrats’ love for illegal-alien criminals. Break into this country and keep breaking the law, especially violently, and there will be no limit to the love that today’s Democrats will show you. Consider Milwaukee Judge Hannah C. Dugan. She faces federal obstruction and concealment charges for helping Mexican illegal immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz escape her courtroom, just as ICE officers closed in. Who is Flores-Ruiz, to whom Judge Dugan expressed so much love? "This criminal illegal alien has a laundry list of violent criminal charges including strangulation and suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse," said Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. "Ruiz illegally entered the U.S. twice." McLaughlin added, "Since President Trump was inaugurated, activist judges have tried to obstruct President Trump and the American people’s mandate to make America safe and secure our homeland — but this judge’s actions to shield an accused violent criminal illegalalien from justice is shocking and shameful." Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. House Democrats Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and LaMonica McIver tried to breach ICE’s Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey. They wanted to conduct loving "oversight" of the incarceration of multiple MS-13 members and such fine gentlemen as: Mr. Lopez-Reyes (charged in Mexico with child rape), Dominican Maximo Nunez (arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, with intent to kill), and Brazilian fugitive Ramos Marin (wanted there for homicide). This love reached honeymoon levels for Kilmar Abrego-Garcia the so-called "Maryland dad" who actually is a Salvadoran illegal alien, gang member, wife beater, human smuggler, and terrorist. Each of us should be fortunate enough to savor love even one tenth as pure, intense, and burning as the Democratic Party’s infinite love for the smugglers, robbers, rapists, and murderers breaking into this country continuing their criminal careers.

USA Today [5/20/2025 3:58 PM, Rex Huppke, 75552K] reports during a May 20 Senate hearing, Noem was asked a remarkably simple question by Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan: "What is habeas corpus?" Noem responded: "Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country." Noem’s inexcusable cluelessness was on full, vivid display.

AP [5/20/2025 5:02 PM, Gisela Salomon and Rebecca Santana, 24051K] reports as part of the Trump administration’s push to carry out mass deportations, the agency responsible for immigration enforcement has aggressively revived and expanded a decades-old program that delegates immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement agencies. Under the 287(g) program led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, police officers can interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, ICE has rapidly expanded the number of signed agreements it has with law enforcement agencies across the country. The reason is clear. Those agreements vastly beef up the number of immigration enforcement staff available to ICE, which has about 6,000 deportation officers, as they aim to meet Trump’s goal of deporting as many of the roughly 11 million people in the country illegally as they can. These agreements are signed between a law enforcement agency and ICE and allow the law enforcement agency to perform certain types of immigration enforcement actions. In December of last year, ICE had 135 agreements with law enforcement agencies across 21 states. By May 19, ICE had signed 588 agreements with local and state agencies across 40 states, with an additional 83 agencies pending approval. Roughly half of the pacts are in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced the arrest of more than 1,100 immigrants in an orchestrated sweep between local and federal officials. Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also allied himself with Trump on immigration, comes in second. Other states topping the list are Georgia and North Carolina. A majority of the agreements are with sheriff’s departments, a reflection of the fact that they are largely responsible for running jails in America. But other agencies have also signed the agreements including the Florida and Texas National Guard, the Florida Department of Lottery Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Breitbart [5/20/2025 9:25 AM, John Binder, 3077K] reports an expert witness will tell Congress Tuesday that nearly a million and a half illegal aliens, who have been ordered deported, are "roaming free" in the United States due to a lack of detention space. Scott Mechkowski, who served at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than 20 years and is now on the board of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), will appear before Congress on Tuesday to warn lawmakers that more funding more detention space is crucial to carrying out President Donald Trump’s popular immigration agenda. "ICE Detention Centers and Enforcement and Removal Operations are not optional — they are essential to the rule of law. Without them, our immigration system collapses into chaos," Mechkowski will tell Congress in remarks shared exclusively with Breitbart News: Detention is not punitive. It is a lawful tool to ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and final removal orders. Yet 1.4 million of those ordered removed still are roaming free, a population that drives the need for more bed space. [Emphasis added]. Over 60% of ICE’s detained population is held under mandatory detention laws—individuals with criminal records, flight risks, or national security concerns. These cases are not about politics; they are about public safety and the rule of law. [Emphasis added]. Perhaps most pertinent, Mechkowski is expected to undercut Democrats’ recent talking points where they accused the Trump administration of not giving illegal aliens eligible for deportation their "due process.” "Let’s be clear: detention safeguards due process. It guarantees the alien appears in court, that their rights are respected, that they can access attorneys and families, and that removal orders — once lawful and final — can be carried out safely and responsibly," Mechkowski’s testimony reads. Data from NICE shows that even if Congress funded four times as much detention space, 98 percent of illegal aliens in the U.S. would be non-detained, suggesting that vastly more detention space is necessary to make a significant difference.

Reuters [5/20/2025 6:24 AM, Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke, 51390K] reports Wendy Ortiz was surprised to find out she was being fined by U.S. immigration authorities for being in the country illegally - but it was the amount that truly shocked her: $1.8 million. Ortiz, 32, who earns $13 an hour in her job at a meatpacking plant in Pennsylvania, has lived in the United States for a decade, after fleeing El Salvador to escape a violent ex-partner and gang threats, she said in an interview and in immigration paperwork. Her salary barely covers rent and expenses for her autistic 6-year-old U.S.-citizen son. "It’s not fair," she said. "Where is someone going to find that much money?" In the last few weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump has started to operationalize a plan to fine migrants who fail to leave the U.S. after a final deportation order, issuing notices to 4,500 migrants with penalties totaling more than $500 million, a senior Trump official said, requesting anonymity to share internal figures. Reuters spoke with eight immigration lawyers around the country who said their clients had been fined from several thousand dollars to just over $1.8 million. The recipients of the notices were informed that they had 30 days to contest, in writing, under oath, and with evidence as to why the penalty should not be imposed. The fines reviewed by Reuters were issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but a separate agency - Customs and Border Protection - has been asked to process them and handle potential forfeitures, Reuters reported in April. CBP is still working out the complicated logistics to conduct seizures, a CBP official said, requesting anonymity. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in April that immigrants in the U.S. illegally should "self deport and leave the country now.”

The Hill [5/20/2025 3:52 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18649K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sharply criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) for comparing immigration enforcement officers under President Trump to the secret police force of Nazi Germany in a commencement speech over the weekend. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said likening the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to the Gestapo is "sickening" in a statement Tuesday. "Governor Walz’s comments comparing ICE agents to the Gestapo is sickening," McLaughlin said. "This type of rhetoric and demonization of ICE officers has led to our officers facing a 413% increase in assaults.” "While politicians like Walz fight to protect criminal illegal aliens, our ICE officers will continue putting their lives and safety on the line to arrest murderers, kidnappers, and pedophiles that were let into our country by the previous administration’s open border policies," McLaughlin continued. Walz on Saturday criticized the Trump administration’s fast-tracked deportations of migrants and pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses, including the way some ICE agents have carried out the arrests at night or by plainclothes officers. "Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets," Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said during the University of Minnesota Law School graduation Saturday. "They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons, no chance to mount a defense, not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye, just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared," he added. Numerous arrest videos posted online have shown officers making ambush arrests since Trump took office. "This is what the crumbling of rule of law looks like in real time. And it’s exactly what the founders of this nation feared: a tyrant, abusing power to persecute scapegoats and enemies," Walz said.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [5/20/2025 5:11 PM, Kathryn Palmer, 75552K]

FOX News [5/20/2025 3:12 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is demanding that former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz apologize after he called agents "[President] Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo.” Lyons said that "if the governor doesn’t like the laws, he’s free to advocate that Congress change them, but he should refrain from putting ICE officers in danger by likening them to one of the most appalling groups in history.” During a commencement speech at the University of Minnesota law school over the weekend, Walz, a Democrat and the governor of Minnesota, described Trump as a "tyrant" and told students they "are graduating into a genuine emergency.” "Some would say, ‘Boy, this is getting way too political for a commencement address,’" Walz told students during his commencement address on Saturday. "But I would argue, I wouldn’t be honoring my oath if I didn’t address this head on.” He then proceeded to compare the Trump administration’s ongoing deportations of criminal illegal immigrants to the Nazi secret police force of the 1930s and 1940s. "I’m gonna start with the flashing red light — Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets. They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans and disappeared.” Walz’s comments drew strong condemnation from Lyons, who released a statement on Tuesday in which he pointed out that the commencement fell during National Police Week. "On the final day of National Police Week — when those brave enough to put on a badge and a uniform mourn their fallen brothers and sisters — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz referred to my professional, hard-working ICE agents and officers as ‘modern-day Gestapo,’" said Lyons. The acting ICE director said that Walz’s "abhorrent, dehumanizing and ignorant comment should not be tolerated.” Lyons said that assaults against ICE officers have risen by over 400% from the same time last year. He placed part of the blame for the rise in assaults against ICE agents on "politicians like Gov. Walz are careless with their politically motivated rhetoric.”

Bloomberg Law [5/20/2025 9:05 AM, Andrew Satter, 1707K] Video: HERE reports the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration isn’t just targeting those living in the country illegally, but also legal residents who do not have citizenship, like visa holders and lawful permanent residents. Under US immigration law, the government has broad authority to deport noncitizens for things like threats to national security or crimes of moral turpitude. This video explores high-profile deportation cases against legal residents like Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and leader of Columbia University’s 2024 campus protests. It also covers Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case. He was legally living in the US, but was deported to El Salvador without due process. Can noncitizens legally be deported over free speech? What due process rights do they have to appeal in court? We look at the legal circumstances around these cases and whether US citizens could ever face similar treatment.

New York Post [5/20/2025 6:27 AM, Emily Crane, 49956K] reports from perp walk to grad walk. Freed Columbia University protester Mohsen Mahdawi was allowed to stride across the graduation stage Monday — just three weeks after being cut loose from an immigration jail. The 34-year-old, who was draped in a keffiyeh, paused in the middle of the stage as he listened to some of his fellow grads cheer him on. Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was nabbed by the feds in Vermont on April 14 during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship. "The Trump administration wanted to rob me of this opportunity. They wanted me to be in a prison, in prison clothes, to not have education and to not have joy or celebration," a defiant Mahdawi said. While the feds haven’t accused Mahdawi of committing a crime, they’ve argued that he and other rabble-rousing students should be deported for beliefs that may undermine US foreign policy.

New York Post [5/20/2025 3:56 PM, Josh Christenson, 49956K] reports a pair of Long Island lawmakers are demanding that Congress boost federal funding for states and localities seeking to lock up illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, noting that hundreds of millions of dollars from the Justice Department-approved program have dried up in the last two decades. Reps. Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) wrote a letter Friday to House appropriators highlighting how the DOJ’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program had fallen from $565 million in fiscal year 2002 to just $234 million as of last year. Gillen and Garbarino in their letter told Reps. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) and Grace Meng (D-NY), who serve on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, that the reimbursements would go a long way toward reimbursing "counties, and local governments for the costs of incarcerating undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of crimes." The program, which is authorized to spend as much as $950 million, provides US taxpayer money to local authorities to cover salaries for correctional officers and other costs incurred by having to incarcerate non-citizens charged with a felony or at least two misdemeanors under state or local laws. More than 5,000 criminal aliens have been arrested in the US so far this fiscal year, US Customs and Border Protection statistics show.

Telemundo Amarillo [5/20/2025 3:56 PM, Staff, 4K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a well-known Hispanic influencer in metro Atlanta, Georgia, who is allegedly wanted for murder. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) posted two photographs of the suspect’s arrest on social media. Telemundo Atlanta was able to confirm that it is the Venezuelan-born influencer Alexander David Edwards Contreras, who has more than 40,000 followers on TiKTok (laboly_official1). Contreras is currently being held at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Telemundo Atlanta has confirmed. According to reports, agents captured the Venezuelan citizen as he returned to his apartment in Lawrenceville. The FBI also arrested a suspected Venezuelan assassin linked to the Tren de Aragua gang this morning.

CNN [5/20/2025 2:40 PM, Staff, 21433K] reports the jury was shown a picture of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Miami Beach home’s front gate, which was broken. Agents used their vehicle to break through the gate to enter the property, Gerard Gannon, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified. He said it was standard practice when conducting a search warrant as the “quickest and safest option to be able to get onto the property.”

NPR [5/20/2025 5:20 PM, Jasmine Garsd, 37958K] Video: HERE reports if you live out by the Little Manatee River, in the swamplands south of Tampa, Florida you probably know the name Maurilio Ambrocio. He’s an Evangelical Pastor at a local church, he’s lived here for 20 years. He also owns a landscaping business, tending the lawns and yards in the neighboring city of Fort Myers. And a few weeks ago, he was detained in President Trump’s massive immigration crackdown, which Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has promised to fully partner with - in fact he’s pledged to make the state the lead on the government’s deportation campaign. The Trump administration says the Florida deportations are a preview of what is to come across the U.S: large scale operations in close partnership with local law enforcement. News about Pastor Maurilio’s detention spread fast. "We were helping a neighbor and he said: ‘did you hear?’ " says Ambrocio’s next door neighbor, Greg Johns. "Maurilio got deported.” Johns says he was beside himself. His eyes water as he recalls when Hurricane Milton hit last year. Ambrocio checked in on him immediately. "Do you need propane?" he asked. "Do you need water? What do you need? That’s the type of neighbor [he is]. This man is a part of the neighborhood." Like many in this small rural community, Johns voted for President Trump last November. In fact, he did so at Ambrocio’s church, which doubles as a polling station. "I did." He hesitates. "Because I was not happy with the direction the country was going." He says he was hoping migrants in the country without papers and with criminal records would be targeted. But he says he never expected a pillar of the community like Maurilio Ambrocio would be taken away. "You’re gonna take you know a community leader, a Pastor, a hard working man… What, did you need a number that day?". Ambrocio had gone in for one of his mandatory check-ins with immigration agents: he has a form of legal protection called a stay of removal. That means although he entered the U.S. unlawfully he is allowed to remain, as long as he meets with immigration officials at least once a year. They ask him if he’s still employed and check that he hasn’t committed any crimes. Every year for the last ten years or so, Ambrocio has attended these interviews and been approved. But on April 18th, he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. NPR reached out to ICE to ask why Ambrocio was detained this time around. In an email a spokesperson responded that he was in the U.S. illegally, but did not answer questions or clarify: why now? So far, the increase in arrests has been notable. In one weekend alone this month, ICE says over 1100 immigrants were detained throughout Florida, touted as the "largest joint immigration operation in Florida history." Sixty-three percent of those detained that weekend had existing criminal convictions or arrests. There is, however, another way to read that number: 415 people were arrested that weekend who had no existing criminal conviction or arrest. For the Ambrocio family, the Pastor’s detention has been catastrophic.

FOX News [5/20/2025 4:46 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46189K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement captured an Ecuadorian illegal immigrant who is facing vehicular homicide charges in Minnesota on Friday. The August crash, in which German Adriano Llangari Inga allegedly had a blood alcohol content "twice the legal limit," killed mother Victoria Eileen Harwell, and hurt her teenage daughter and sister, according to DHS and local media outlets. "Despite a lack of cooperation from local Minnesota authorities, ICE arrested criminal illegal alien German Llangari Inga. This criminal illegal alien has been evading prosecution for vehicular homicide that resulted in the death of Minnesota mom, Victoria Eileen Harwell," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Tuesday. "Despite Hennepin County refusing to honor this criminal illegal alien’s detainer TWICE, ICE officers tracked him down and removed this criminal from Minnesota’s streets. Tim Walz should be thanking ICE not using despicable rhetoric. Remember sanctuary politicians are fighting for criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem are fighting for the victims of illegal alien crime, like Eileen Harwell," McLaughlin continued.

Breitbart [5/20/2025 3:04 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports several convicted criminal illegal aliens have been arrested across Minnesota in the last few months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed. The cases were released after Gov. Tim Walz (D) compared federal immigration enforcement to the Gestapo, the secret police created by Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist regime. During his commencement speech at the University of Minnesota Law School this week, Walz compared ICE agents to Hitler’s Gestapo. “Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets — they’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons, no chance to mount a defense, not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye, just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared,” Walz said. In response, DHS officials revealed several recent cases where criminal illegal aliens were arrested by ICE agents in Walz’s Minnesota. “Governor Walz’s comments comparing ICE agents to the Gestapo are sickening,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: This type of rhetoric and demonization of ICE officers has led to our officers facing a 413% increase in assaults. While politicians like Walz fight to protect criminal illegal aliens, our ICE officers will continue putting their lives and safety on the line to arrest murderers, kidnappers, and pedophiles that were let into our country by the previous administration’s open border policies.

AP [5/20/2025 11:58 PM, Hannah Fingerhut, 3077K] reports an Iowa sheriff is warning that his county may be publicly shamed by the Trump administration for insufficiently backing the president’s immigration agenda, though he says he is "more than happy" to help. He said he just wants to ensure he doesn’t end up with too few officers, jail beds and dollars to respond to the county’s needs. Dubuque County Sheriff Joe Kennedy, who serves nearly 100,000 people in the area bordering Wisconsin and Illinois, seemed to try not to alienate the federal government when he declined to participate in a program that would commit county revenue and jail space to immigration enforcement. He explained his decision before a packed county chamber this week, drawing mixed reactions. President Donald Trump directed his administration in an executive order last month to "publish a list of States and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws (sanctuary jurisdictions)." Sanctuaries are generally understood to mean state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, but Trump didn’t elaborate on the criteria. Jonathan Thompson, executive director and chief executive officer of the National Sheriffs’ Association, addressed the order in a May 2 note to his members, including Kennedy, according to documents released for the county meeting. Thompson said the list may be published before Trump’s May 28 deadline and he encouraged those interested in training and empowering their officers to enforce immigration laws to "act quickly.” The number of state and local agencies that have deputized staff to enforce federal immigration laws has soared since Trump took office to 588 in 40 states, with 83 applications pending, as of May 19. Immigration laws are federal, and enforcing them is largely a federal responsibility. Kennedy replied to an invitation from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official in March, saying it wasn’t "a good fit" to enter a 287(g) agreement, which refers to the section of a 1996 law that allows for state and local police to make immigration arrests. He made clear it was about money and jail space, not politics. "It has generally been my experience that when we partner with larger entities (Federal, state), those agencies usually ‘take’ more than they ‘give.’ Essentially, we usually end up with the short end of the stick in some way," he wrote. Kennedy said he would be "more than happy to assist your agents in our area" but asked ICE not to rely on his 181-bed jail because he doesn’t have room. David Bindert, an official in ICE’s Cedar Rapids, Iowa, office, was sympathetic in his brief response: "No worries Sir, I completely understand, and I thank you for your time in this matter.” Some residents at a county board of supervisors meeting Monday supported Kennedy, a Democrat. Others wanted him to do more with immigration authorities. A Republican supervisor suggested a 287(g) agreement might cost the county or taxpayers but would be essential for public safety.

Univision [5/20/2025 5:06 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports two undocumented immigrants were caught while traveling inside bales of hay being transported on a trailer in Fayette County, Texas. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed the discovery of altered hay bales inside and the arrest of two Houston residents on human trafficking charges. The Sergeant stopped a white Ford F-250 pulling a hay trailer loaded with round bales on IH-10 at mile marker 658 near Flatonia. An inspection revealed that the round bales of hay had been altered and hollowed out to create hidden compartments. Inside these compartments, agents discovered two undocumented immigrants being trafficked in these confined spaces. The individuals were hidden behind metal frames and layers of hay designed to evade detection. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Delbert Flanders, 44, of Kansas, was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. The alleged coordinators of the operation, Adanaylo Lambert, 22, and Lency Delgado Fernandez, 25, both of Houston, were also arrested and face federal and state charges related to human trafficking. The undocumented immigrants were handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for processing. This case remains under investigation by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office in coordination with federal authorities.

Reuters [5/20/2025 8:55 PM, Dietrich Knauth, 51390K] reports a federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked enforcement of an Oklahoma law that imposes criminal penalties on non-citizens who enter Oklahoma illegally, saying the law likely intrudes on the federal government’s authority over immigration. U.S. District Judge Bernard Jones ruled the law, HB 4156, may not be enforced for at least 14 days while a court challenge proceeds. Jones said he will consider a longer-term injunction of the law after a court hearing in early June. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Oklahoma-based organization Padres Unidos de Tulsa and several individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the ruling was a "victory for Oklahoma’s immigrant community" and a step towards permanently blocking the law. Oklahoma’s attorney general Gentner Drummond criticized the decision as "outrageous," saying it would imperil Oklahoma’s efforts to stop drug trafficking and other criminal activity in the state. The law empowers state and local law enforcement officers to arrest immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. A first offense under the law is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $500, and a second offense is a felony that could result in up to two years in prison. The law also requires a person to leave the state within 72 hours of conviction or release from custody. The Department of Justice, under ex-President Joe Biden, had sued Oklahoma over the law, saying it was an unconstitutional violation of the federal government’s immigration authority. But after Republican President Donald Trump was elected, the DOJ dropped its lawsuit. Jones said the change in administration did not impact his finding that Congress intended "to make immigration regulation exclusively federal," rather than subject to state-level criminal penalties.

SFGate [5/20/2025 7:00 AM, Susana Canales Barrón, 11859K] reports federal immigration agents were reported at a major strawberry packing facility in Ventura County late Thursday morning, sparking fear among workers and prompting at least one to leave early. That fear, however, never culminated in a full-scale raid thanks to informed staff who knew their legal ground and asserted their right to deny entry without a warrant. According to Ezequiel Ochoa, a gatekeeper at the site, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived at the entrance but left shortly afterward when they were asked to present a warrant and failed to do so. "We know not to open the gate unless a valid warrant is presented," Ochoa said. The 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network, a local immigrant rights organization, received an alert at approximately 11:30 a.m. from a woman whose sister works at the West Coast Berry Farms facility. A manager at the Ventura site who wishes to remain anonymous (and was granted anonymity in accordance with Hearst’s ethics policy) confirmed the presence of ICE and noted that workers at the facility have been given Know Your Rights materials that inform individuals about their legal protections during encounters with immigration officials. West Coast Berry Farms is an agricultural producer headquartered in Oxnard. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Although ICE has not confirmed the visit, the agents’ appearance alone was enough to unsettle workers. At least one employee left work early, fearing a potential return by immigration authorities.

CBS Los Angeles [5/21/2025 2:00 AM, Lesley Marin, 51860K] reports Santa Ana City Council members on Tuesday voted to move forward with a program that would create an alert system to notify residents before federal immigration sweeps. After an hours-long meeting, which included a lengthy public comment section, members will now learn more about the system and any possible implications that may stem from it. Santa Ana is Orange County’s only sanctuary city, meaning that they will not offer resources to federal immigration efforts, which is why council members Johnathan Hernandez and Benjamin Vazquez proposed directing the city’s police department to notify residents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, activity happening in the city within 48 hours of their receipt of federal notification. "Our police department received 42 notifications of ICE contacts in our community," Hernandez said. "Those communications come well in advance. This is an opportunity for us to build trust with our community.” They proposed that notifications be posted on social media and the city’s website, similar to how they alert residents about other incidents. The exact details that they would be sharing, however, remain unclear. "The city has to be transparent. We have to make sure we give all the information that we do have so people feel safe knowing that they can work with us," said Vazquez. Their proposal comes after immigration activists say that there were raids earlier in the year. They allege that city leaders knew of the raids, but didn’t disclose them to the public. "The reason why we’re all here today is because of the lack of leadership in this city," said Ray Diaz, an advocate with the Francisco Torres Center for Racial Justice. Congressman Lou Correa, who represents the area, says that he supports notifications, but that he’s worried about the potential repercussions. "The last thing you wanna do is have the city of Santa Ana get caught up in some legal wrangling and that President Trump or Homeland Security come in and say we’re yanking your federal dollars because you’re in violation," he said while speaking with CBS News Los Angeles. Santa Ana Police Department officials say that while the department does not cooperate with ICE, they’re not allowed to use resources to impede with federal law enforcement activity. The council will have to vote on the ordinance twice before it becomes official.

Telemundo52 [5/20/2025 11:26 PM, Mekahlo Medina, 103K] reports that, despite their undocumented immigration status, Francisco Hernandez-Corona, 34, and her U.S. citizen husband, Irving Hernandez-Corona, never thought they would leave the U.S., but the new administration took office and changed everything this January. "We started seeing ICE everywhere and people sent to El Salvador," Francisco said. "They would knock on the door and he (Francisco) would get scared and terrified," Irving said. "It was never our intention to leave under these circumstances. We left, basically, on the run." They fled to Mexico’s west coast, arriving in Puerto Vallarta three weeks ago, where they say they finally felt safe and loved. "Everyone (the Mexicans) were saying, ‘Welcome back home, you belong here,’" Francisco said. They were very grateful for the warm welcome, but still felt sadness at leaving their family behind in the United States. "Sometimes we still sit here in silence, hug each other and cry about what we left behind," Irving said. "We feel like outcasts." The couple had just celebrated a milestone: they married last fall after three years of dating. Francisco graduated from Harvard, where he studied clinical psychology and graduated in 2013. It hadn’t been an easy road to get there. "The three worst days of my life; I remember every moment walking through the desert," said Francisco, whose father sent him across the desert with a "coyote," a migrant smuggler, when he was just 10 years old. "No one asked me if this was what I wanted to do. I had no other choice." His family settled in Lennox, a small town near LAX airport, where Francisco excelled in school and was accepted to Harvard in 2009. Around that time, he faced another challenge. "My mom died during my senior year of high school," Francisco said. His mother lost her battle with a rare disease just months before he graduated. His younger sister moved to Texas with his older sister, now an adult, but Francisco stayed and was taken in by his teachers, who accompanied him to graduation and led him to an Ivy League college education.

Reuters [5/20/2025 6:59 PM, Ted Hesson, 41523K] reports President Donald Trump’s use of the Guantanamo Bay naval base to house migrants appears to cost $100,000 per day for each detainee, U.S. Senator Gary Peters said during a hearing on Tuesday, decrying what he described as a prime example of wasteful government spending. Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the high cost, far more than the $165 per day in U.S. immigration detention facilities. Peters also asked why detainees have been sent to the American naval base in Cuba but then shuttled back to the United States at taxpayer expense. "We’re spending $100,000 a day to keep someone at Guantanamo," Peters said. "We keep them there awhile, then we fly them back to the United States, or we could keep them here for $165 a day. I think that’s kind of outrageous." The White House has requested a huge increase in funding for immigration enforcement as it tries to achieve Trump’s goal of mass deportations. The administration asked Congress, opens new tab this month for an additional $44 billion for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1. Noem, appearing before the committee to defend the budget request, said she did not know the daily cost to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay. "President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were roughly 70 migrants currently detained there.

USA Today [5/20/2025 5:11 PM, Eduardo Cuevas, 75552K] reports Trump administration says they’re gang members in the US illegally. Available information finds they entered legally, had no criminal charges. At least 50 of the Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to a prison in El Salvador entered the United States legally, according to a libertarian think tank. The analysis by the Cato Institute, which favors limited government, contradicts the federal government’s assertion that all 240 men they sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, were gang members living in the United States illegally. Cato found that 50 of the men entered legally into the United States out of about 90 who had known routes of entry into the country. They include construction workers, cooks, delivery drivers, a soccer coach, a veterinarian and a makeup artist. Among the 50 people who entered legally, one had a tourist visa and four were refugees. Meanwhile, 45 people were permitted entry through the CBP One App, a Biden-era app that allowed migrants to seek asylum outside of the country and schedule an appointment with American immigration officials. There is no publicly available information on about one-third of the men sent to CECOT, Cato said. Some information was available for about 85 of the men, but it wasn’t clear how they had crossed.

Daily Caller [5/20/2025 8:43 AM, Jason Hopkins And Philip Lenczycki, 1010K] reports numerous Chinese government-linked entities have bankrolled a nonprofit accused of offering tips on how to evade federal immigration authorities, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found. House Republicans recently launched an investigation into the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) — a New York-based nonprofit that’s been awarded over $1.4 million in tax-payer dollars since 2022 — after an undercover video surfaced purportedly showing CPC staff coaching illegal immigrants on how to avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehension. A review of CPC’s financial records discovered Chinese government-linked sources have been pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the nonprofit in recent years, raising concerns of potential foreign obstruction of U.S. immigration enforcement. “I’m deeply concerned that Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars were potentially used by an NGO [non-governmental organization] to help illegal aliens subvert our nation’s laws,” Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, told the DCNF.

Axios [5/20/2025 6:20 AM, Andrew King, 13599K] reports some immigrants living here legally are struggling to get Real IDs as the federal government slows the processing of green cards and removes some refugee statuses. As of May 7, Real IDs (or passports) are required to board commercial flights. Those in the U.S. without those documents are now stuck. Refugees and asylum seekers aren’t required to have a passport, and many don’t have travel documents because of the way they fled their countries. Real ID concerns come as many immigrants — and some of their attorneys — are being told to leave the country even if they are here legally.

New York Times [5/20/2025 3:27 PM, Zach Montague and Camille Baker, 138952K] reports President Trump has moved to roll back the government programs that protect certain immigrants in the United States from deportation, prompting several court challenges amid his administration’s broader immigration crackdown. Over the past several months, Mr. Trump has revoked the legal status afforded to some Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s invasion and Afghan citizens who helped the American war effort in their country. He has also canceled the protected status of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who fled instability and political violence back home — potentially leaving them vulnerable to deportation. Perhaps most prominent has been Mr. Trump’s targeting of nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been allowed to stay under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. In response to the administration’s emergency application, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the government to move forward with plans to lift those protections — at least for now. But other cases involving immigrants with protected status are moving forward, as well, with thousands of people in limbo.

AP [5/20/2025 9:08 PM, Gisela Salomon, 48304K] reports as a business owner in the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, Wilmer Escaray is stressed and in shock. He is unsure what steps he should take after the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants. Escaray owns 15 restaurants and three markets, most of them in Doral, a city of 80,000 in the Miami area people known as “Little Venezuela” or “Doralzuela.” At least 70% of Escaray’s 150 employees and many of his customers are Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS. The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s plans to end TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation. The Department of Homeland Security welcomed the ruling but has given no details on when TPS is ending and what employers and beneficiaries should do. “The Trump Administration does not rest on its laurels. We will act in an expeditious manner,” Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary, said Tuesday in a written response to questions about any expiration date for TPS after the court ruling and whether work permits were still valid. Like many U.S. business owners with Venezuelan employees, Escaray does not know how long his employees will have legal authorization to work or whether he will be able to help them. “The impact for the business will be really hard,” said Escaray, a 37-year-old Venezuelan American who came to the U.S. to study in 2007 and opened his first restaurant six years later. “I don’t know yet what I am going to do. I have to discuss with my team, with my family to see what will be the plan.”

Telemundo51 [5/20/2025 5:41 PM, Maylin Legañoa, 177K] reports the news came as a shock to thousands of Venezuelans protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS): the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in its attempt to revoke this benefit, which could trigger immediate consequences for those who rely on this legal protection to remain in the country. Fear, in fact, has been a constant in the lives of many TPS beneficiaries, who now face a legal scenario in which they could lose their work permits and face deportation orders. Beyond the immediate impact, the fear of being returned without legal protection has sown a climate of anxiety among thousands of Venezuelans, many of whom have openly criticized Nicolás Maduro’s regime from abroad.

NBC News [5/20/2025 4:58 PM, Daniella Silva, 44540K] reports a two-paragraph Supreme Court order is upending the lives of some 350,000 Venezuelan migrants who have been allowed to live and work in the U.S. with special legal protection from deportation. The court’s order Monday allows the Trump administration to strip Temporary Protected Status from the group of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans as a legal case on the matter continues. Attorneys representing the TPS holders said the Supreme Court’s brief order raises questions, including exactly when the 350,000 Venezuelans will lose their legal protections.

AP [5/20/2025 1:50 PM, Tim Sullivan, 56000K] reports millions of people, many from troubled nations, live legally in the United States under various forms of temporary legal protection. Many have been targeted in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to end protections that had allowed some 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants to remain in the United States. That group of Venezuelans could face deportation. The Venezuelans had a form of protection known as Temporary Protected Status. Administration officials had ordered TPS to expire for those Venezuelans in April. The Supreme Court lifted a federal judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s plans. Temporary Protected Status allows people already living in the United States to stay and work legally for up to 18 months if their homelands are unsafe because of civil unrest or natural disasters. The Biden administration dramatically expanded the designation. It covers people from more than a dozen countries, though the largest numbers come from Venezuela and Haiti. The status doesn’t put immigrants on a long-term path to citizenship and can be repeatedly renewed. Critics say renewal had become effectively automatic for many immigrants, no matter what was happening in their home country. Temporary Protected Status covered the 350,000 Venezuelans affected by Monday’s Supreme Court decision. An additional 250,000 Venezuelans covered by an earlier TPS designation are set to lose those protections in September. The administration also is ending the designation for roughly half a million Haitians in August. More than 500,000 people from what are sometimes called the CHNV countries — Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — live in the U.S. under the legal tool known as humanitarian parole. To qualify, they had to fly to the U.S. at their own expense and have a financial sponsor. They could not enter the U.S. through the border with Mexico. For most people, the designation lasts for two years. Last week, the administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to end parole for immigrants from those four countries. The emergency appeal said a lower-court order had wrongly encroached on the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.

Washington Post [5/20/2025 10:22 AM, Christine Armario, 32099K] reports entrepreneurs Elias Wardini and Pedro Boj built their small restaurant franchise on the idea that the diaspora of Venezuelans here in South Florida want a taste of both the land they fled and the new one they now call home. They named it Central Park Food Station in hopes of bridging two worlds in the way New York City has done for countless other cultures. They put together a menu that features both Venezuelan staples such as arepas and American burgers. And as more and more Venezuelans arrived in the region in recent years, their business boomed. Then President Donald Trump took office and began a crackdown on illegal migration — with Venezuelans a prime target. First, the border was shuttered, halting most new arrivals. Then came a diplomatic accord to resume deportation flights to Venezuela. Not long after, the president invoked the Alien Enemies Act and used the wartime provision to send more than 100 alleged Venezuelan gang members to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador without due process. On Monday came news that will probably have an immediate impact for far more Venezuelans than any of those measures have yet. The Supreme Court overruled a lower court and granted the Trump administration permission to move forward on a decision to cancel temporary immigration protections for nearly 350,000 Venezuelans, even as lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the administration’s actions are litigated.

FOX News [5/21/2025 4:00 AM, Paul Tilsley, 46878K] reports President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday for a make-or-break session, despite new accusations from the president this past Friday that South Africa is "out of control" and committing genocide. Speaking on Air Force One as it returned from the Persian Gulf region, Trump repeated his claim that white Afrikaner South African farmers are being slaughtered and forced off their land. The Afrikaners are descendants of mostly Dutch settlers who first arrived in South Africa in 1652. Secretary of State Marco Rubio elaborated on these claims Sunday on CBS, saying "all evidence [indicates] the farmers in South Africa are being treated brutally." Some 50 Afrikaners were flown to the U.S. as refugees last week. Rubio said there’s "more to come". South Africa, and its president, denies claims of genocide and harassment. Could the Oval Office and the Wednesday meeting be the setting for a Zelenskyy-style dressing down of the South African president? In February, Ukraine’s president was involved in a shouting match with Trump and others, which reportedly led to him being ejected from the White House. "The meeting is set to occur at a time when the relationship between the two countries has soured to unprecedented lows," analyst Frans Cronje, Yorktown Foundation for Freedom advisory board member, told Fox News Digital. Contentious issues: South Africa’s ambassador to Washington was thrown out of the U.S. for calling Trump a "white supremacist." South Africa took legal action against U.S. ally Israel, accusing it of genocide in its war in Gaza, at the International Court of Justice. Ramaphosa’s ruling party, the ANC, has shown support for the terror group Hamas. Trade and military links with Iran and allegedly nuclear co-operation. Shown support for the designated terrorist group Hezbollah. Military links with Russia. The creation of the controversial Land Expropriation Act, which is aimed at seizing land the government wants in certain circumstances without compensation and which reportedly led to Trump’s focus on white Afrikaner families and claims they are being killed. South Africa is "hosting Hamas and Hezbollah, doing business with Iran’s IRGC, prosecuting Israel at the ICJ and cozying up to Beijing and Moscow. These choices have consequences," Max Meizlish, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

Washington Post [5/20/2025 9:34 PM, Martine Powers and Cat Zakrzewski, 32099K] reports President Donald Trump plans to press the president of South Africa on Wednesday over the country’s treatment of its White ethnic minority, said a White House official, potentially escalating tension between the governments during a meeting expected to focus on trade. Trump has for years focused on the plight of Afrikaners descended from the colonists who built and led the nation’s brutal apartheid regime. On Wednesday, he is likely to ask that South Africa exempt American companies from laws intended to boost diversity and “loudly condemn politicians who promote genocidal rhetoric,” the official said in an email, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely to discuss Trump’s agenda. The drumbeat of criticism from the Trump administration comes as South Africa is working to reset its relationship with the United States after Trump slashed aid to the country, expelled its ambassador and, earlier this month, welcomed about 50 Afrikaners to the United States as refugees under a humanitarian designation meant for people fleeing war or persecution that the administration has suspended for other groups worldwide. It also comes as the country, like many others, is feeling the economic whiplash of Trump’s tariff policies. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in public comments outside his embassy Tuesday said he was feeling “positive” about the meeting with Trump, and he suggested that he was trying to avoid getting distracted by the ongoing controversy over the Afrikaner refugees. America is a leading trading partner for South Africa. “The trade relations are what’s most important — that’s what has brought us here. We want to come out of the United States with a really good trade deal,” Ramaphosa told reporters, adding, “We want to strengthen those relations and we want to consolidate good relations between our two countries.” His office did not return a request for comment about the administration’s plans to discuss Afrikaners on Wednesday, but Ramaphosa has publicly challenged Trump’s characterization of the group as victims of a campaign of persecution, targeted with violence. Included among Trump’s likely discussion items was a request that South Africa treat crimes against Afrikaner farmers with more urgency.

Roll Call [5/20/2025 5:44 PM, Chris Johnson, 692K] reports Sen. Rand Paul renewed his skepticism Tuesday of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, asserting that the Trump administration has not justified the $46 billion for construction included in the pending House budget reconciliation package. The Kentucky Republican, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made the comments at the tail end of an oversight hearing intended to evaluate President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request on homeland security and immigration. Paul also openly considered whether construction of the border wall would even be necessary given that the Trump administration is claiming success over a 95 percent reduction of illegal encounters at the border, which the president’s allies have credited to his handling of immigration. Paul was unsatisfied with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s answers to his questions about costs, at one point asserting the numbers she provided were "way off." Paul, in lieu of a wall, envisioned a plan that would secure the U.S.-Mexico border by using helicopters as a deterrent, which he said would be more cost-effective.

Bloomberg [5/20/2025 12:44 PM, Ellen M. Gilmer, 111K] reports that the Trump administration is facing pushback on one area of reconciliation thought to be the least contentious among Republicans: border security. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and former chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Tuesday slammed the Department of Homeland Security for seeking $46.5 billion for border wall construction through reconciliation, a total the House Homeland Security Committee approved last month. The details of the reconciliation package have been in limbo this week as House Republicans spar over thornier issues, including Medicaid spending and state and local tax deductions. The border funding concerns from fiscal hawks.

Daily Caller [5/20/2025 7:08 PM, Jason Hopkins, 1010K] reports House Republicans are pushing for one of the biggest investments in border security in U.S. history, bolstering the enforcement apparatus achieved by the Trump administration. GOP members of the House Homeland Security Committee are aiming to devote $46 billion in spending on new border wall systems, a package that would not only support wall construction, but also cameras, sensors, lights, access roads and other technology that would upgrade the country’s border enforcement capabilities. Over $5 billion of that would go towards shoring up technological capabilities at and between America’s ports of entry. "As cartel tactics evolve, Congress must provide [Customs and Border Protection] CBP personnel with the cutting-edge technology they need to carry out President Trump’s proven border security agenda while safely staying one step ahead of threats," Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said to the Daily Caller News Foundation. "From drones and ground sensors to surveillance towers, technology is a force multiplier for our boots on the ground, allowing CBP to respond faster, smarter, and more strategically," Green continued. "House Republicans’ ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’ invests over $5 billion in modernizing and enhancing technology at and between ports of entry, which will allow CBP to efficiently detect human smuggling operations, decrease the number of gotaways, and interdict dangerous drugs before they enter our country.” Immediately upon entering office, President Donald Trump got to work on unwinding lax policies implemented under the Biden administration, issuing a slate of executive orders and other administrative actions to limit unlawful crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Hill [5/20/2025 9:53 AM, Alex Gangitano, 18649K] reports President Trump on Tuesday blasted former President Biden, vowing to look into the use of the autopen during his presidency days after his predecessor announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. "Biden — look, It’s a very sad thing what happened, but we’re going to start looking into this whole thing with who signed this legislation. Who signed legislation opening our border? I don’t think he knew. I said, ‘There’s nobody that can want an open border. Nobody,’" Trump told reporters when he arrived to the Capitol to help break the GOP impasse on the reconciliation bill. "And now I find out, that it wasn’t him. He autopenned it." "Who was operating the autopen? This is a very serious thing," he continued. "We had a president that didn’t sign anything. He autopenned almost anything. He opened the borders of the United States of America.” The president previously questioned if Biden’s last-minute pardons in January are "void" because they were signed with an autopen. He doubled down on that argument over the weekend also, after audio from the former president’s interview with a special counsel was unveiled. Trump did not specify what legislation, order or action on immigration he was referring to Tuesday that may have been signed with an autopen.

AP [5/21/2025 12:00 AM, Bianca Vázquez Toness, 56000K] reports that, for the last two months of their life in the United States, José Alberto González and his family spent nearly all their time in their one-bedroom Denver apartment. They didn’t speak to anyone except their roommates, another family from Venezuela. They consulted WhatsApp messages for warnings of immigration agents in the area before leaving for the rare landscaping job or to buy groceries. But most days at 7:20 a.m., González’s wife took their children to school. The appeal of their children learning English in American schools, and the desire to make money, had compelled González and his wife to bring their 6- and 3-year-old on the monthslong journey to the United States. They arrived two years ago, planning to stay for a decade. But on Feb. 28, González and his family boarded a bus from Denver to El Paso, where they would walk across the border and start the long trip back to Venezuela. Even as immigrants in the U.S. avoid going out in public, terrified of encountering immigration authorities, families across the country are mostly sending their children to school. That’s not to say they feel safe. In some cases, families are telling their children’s schools that they’re leaving. Already, thousands of immigrants have notified federal authorities they plan to “self-deport,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump has encouraged more families to leave by stoking fears of imprisonment, ramping up government surveillance, and offering people $1,000 and transportation out of the country. And on Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants, potentially exposing them to deportation. Without Temporary Protective Status, even more families will weigh whether to leave the U.S., advocates say. Departures in significant numbers could spell trouble for schools, which receive funding based on how many students they enroll. “The amount of fear and uncertainty that is going through parents’ heads, who could blame somebody for making a choice to leave?” said Andrea Rentería, principal of a Denver elementary school serving immigrant students. “I can tell them as a principal that I won’t let anybody in this school. Nobody is taking your kid. But I can’t say the same for them out in the workforce or driving somewhere.”

New York Post [5/20/2025 1:04 PM, Ronny Reyes, 49956K] reports the US Border Patrol in Maine arrested 113 undocumented immigrants in April, the highest number in a single month in nearly 24 years, officials said. The surge of arrests in Maine, which has two so-called sanctuary counties in Cumberland and Hancock, forced officials to move 29 migrants to other parts of the country for processing, according to US Customs and Border Protection. “Here in Maine, Border Patrol Agents are working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep our border secure. If you attempt to cross the border illegally, you will be apprehended,” said acting Chief Patrol Agent Craig Shepley. The increase in arrests, however, are not a result of more people illegally crossing the border into Maine, but instead from an increase in enforcement throughout the state, CBP noted. The number of people crossing the border from Canada to Maine has plummeted in April, according to CBP, with 157,000 fewer crossings so far compared to last year. Last month alone saw 78,000 fewer crossings when compared to the previous April.

FOX News [5/20/2025 9:49 AM, Charles Creitz, 46878K] reports two U.S. Texas senators and a prominent conservative congressman are pushing the federal government to reimburse the state for billions spent securing the southern border under the Biden administration. The State Border Security Assistance Act would create Justice Department and Homeland Security Department funding sources to reimburse states for actions taken on the border security front after Jan. 20, 2021 – the day of former President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Those funds would then reimburse costs for border wall construction, state law enforcement surveillance, apprehension, detention and prosecution of illegal immigrants. Texas would be ensured to be fully reimbursed if the law passes, and any funds left over by the time the Trump administration leaves office would be returned to the Treasury and applied to the national debt. The bill was drafted by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, with companion legislation being crafted by Rep. Chip Roy. Operation Lone Star, Texas’ border security endeavor during the Biden years, had to be launched and self-funded from Austin due to the "dereliction of duty" by the feds at the time, according to the Texans. "Texas was on the front lines of the Biden administration’s open border crisis, and Texans were on their own dealing with the consequences," Cruz said in a statement. "I am proud to stand with Governor Abbott and Senator Cornyn to ensure the Lone Star State is reimbursed, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill expeditiously." Cornyn echoed Cruz, saying they and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – along with state taxpayers – were forced to do what the previous administration would not. "Thanks to the strong leadership of President [Donald] Trump, Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Czar Tom Homan, and Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, our country is finally back to enforcing the immigration laws that have been on the books for years, and I will continue to work with the Trump administration to ensure Texas never again has to endure an open-border disaster like we saw under Joe Biden."

Univision [5/20/2025 9:31 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports more than a dozen undocumented immigrants were caught as they traveled inside haystacks that were transported in a trailer in Fayette County, Texas. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed the finding inside altered haystacks and the arrest of two Houston residents on human trafficking charges. Sheriff Keith Korenek reported that at about 12:50pm on Tuesday, a traffic stop led by an officer led to a major human trafficking discovery. The sergeant stopped a white Ford F-250 carrying a hay trailer loaded with round straps on IH-10 at mile 658 near Flatonia. An inspection revealed that the round hay bales had been altered and hollowed out to create hidden compartments. Within these compartments, the agents discovered several undocumented immigrants who were trafficked in these confined spaces. Although the authorities did not give an exact number, several local media such as KSAT pointed out that 12 immigrants were found. Individuals were hidden behind metal frames and hay layers designed to evade detection. This method of concealment is not only misleading, but incredibly dangerous to human life. Smugglers continue to use increasingly creative and dangerous techniques to transport individuals across Texas roads.

NBC News [5/20/2025 10:14 AM, Minyvonne Burke, 44540K] reports a Washington state man, who came to the United States from the Philippines as a young child and is a green card holder, was detained by immigration agents as he returned from vacation with his family. Maximo Londonio, 42, was detained Thursday at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, organizers with the community group Tanggol Migrante Network WA said at a news conference on Monday. The group is assisting Londonio’s wife, Crystal Londonio, as she fights his case. "Four days is too long," Crystal said through tears. "The lack of accountability by the United States Customs and Border Protection is failing him right now. ... I’m a U.S. citizen, you failed me." CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Maximo, his wife, and their 12-year-old daughter landed at the airport on Thursday when he was pulled aside by CBP agents and then detained. The group believes his detainment may be connected to nonviolent convictions from when he was a young adult. "He’s not violent," Crystal said at the news conference. "He’s always been willing to go the extra mile. ... I just want somebody to go the extra mile for him."

NewsNation [5/20/2025 8:37 PM, Ali Bradley and Jeff Arnold, 5801K] reports Department of Homeland Security officials believe there are more than 600,000 migrants with criminal convictions and charges living in the United States while remaining on the list of those Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are searching for. As ICE continues to seek to arrest and detain these immigrants who entered the country illegally, a nearly 20-year U.S. Border Patrol agent is making it his mission to find them on his own. Shane Fernandez works along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Centro, California, which is located just west of the Arizona state line and 113 miles east of San Diego. Fernandez wants to do more than apprehend those who are attempting to cross into the United States illegally. He wants to track down those who have entered the country illegally over the past four years and who have managed to remain out of federal custody. Over the past 3 1/2 years, Fernandez has either captured or been responsible for the capture of 91 people. Each of his captures is displayed on a poster board with photos of those who have landed in federal custody thanks to Fernandez’s efforts. His work has garnered its own hashtag, "#Shane’d.” For Fernandez, the hashtag is a unique honor, but it represents so much more. "Shane’d means that we did our job, we found them, we did our investigation, we worked in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, and we all worked together," Fernandez told NewsNation. "That’s really important to remember — we all worked together to accomplish a great thing, which is to get this arrest and get this criminal off the street.” Not everyone that Fernandez seeks to capture has direct ties to the El Centro Sector. However, he sees his jurisdiction as the microcosm of what is happening with ICE’s efforts to take migrant criminals into federal custody across the United States.

San Diego Union Tribune [5/20/2025 1:27 PM, Gary Robbins, 1611K] reports that San Diego County’s two largest Marine bases on Monday kicked off Semper Duris, an annual joint exercise that’s meant to sharpen their ability to deal with a variety of emergencies, including attacks against their installations. The drills, which will last through Thursday, are based at Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine base on the West Coast. Participants also include Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, the home of fighter jets, transport planes and helicopters. The Marines said the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services are also involved in the drills. In the past, the emergency exercises have varied from dealing with chemical explosions to cyber attacks to bomb threats and the need to rapidly deploy forces.

Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 7:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1934K] reports drug smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border is a top concern for federal law enforcement during the Trump administration, and police officials have said their partnership with Canadian officials is reaping benefits. President Donald Trump has spotlighted securing the northern border since he returned to office in January. The Trump administration went as far as imposing tariffs on Canada until the country took greater action to address the southbound flow of fentanyl. Canada has worked hand-in-hand with the United States to address the flow of drugs, which the recent decline in the amount of narcotics seized at the border supports, the Washington Examiner learned from conversations with a northern border congresswoman, the Canadian border agency, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials during a ride-along in upstate New York in mid-May. "Fentanyl across the border is coming down," said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), whose district neighbors Canada. "I’ve been speaking recently with [White House border czar] Tom Homan and the Canadian government. The police up there, the Mounties, they’re interested in working on and bolstering the border, and they’ve been investing money into making sure that we have more cooperation and it’s a more secure border between the U.S. and Canada." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federal News Network [5/20/2025 6:19 PM, Justin Doubleday, 2346K] reports the Transportation Security Administration’s acting head says "nothing is off the table" regarding potential plans to privatize any TSA airport screening functions. Ha McNeill, acting TSA administrator, was asked about potentially privatizing TSA during a House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee hearing today. She pointed out that TSA already facilitates some level of private airport screening through its Screening Partnership Program. "As we look to modernize TSA, I would say stakeholders have a word in this, this committee and this Congress, and we look forward to working with them," McNeill said. "Nothing is off the table. Again, the north star for us at TSA is making sure that we are driving the highest level of security, the best passenger experience in the most efficient way possible.” McNeill added, "if a new privatization scheme makes sense, then we’re happy to have that discussion.” "It’s not an all or nothing game," she continued. "There could be airports that choose to privatize and others that do not. I think that airport choice is really important as part of this as well.” Reacting to McNeill’s comments, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) pushed back against any plans to privatize TSA. "I definitely would call it a scheme as well," Escobar said. "I hope that privatization is not a part of the administration’s efforts. Our very loyal, hard working TSA officers are really concerned about this. I hear about it all the time.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year also terminated a collective bargaining agreement between TSA and the American Federation of Government Employees, which represented most TSO’s. AFGE is now suing the Trump administration in federal court over the termination. Asked about the union agreement at today’s hearing, McNeill said the "rescission of the CBA was made with security in mind in terms of returning hours to the security checkpoint and not union work." She claimed the termination "returned" more than 200 full-time equivalent hours to staffing airport checkpoints.

FOX News [5/20/2025 12:11 PM, Greg Norman, 46878K] reports Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he received records confirming that federal air marshals surveilled now-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard during domestic flights last year, "reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using.” The Republican from Kentucky made the revelation Tuesday on Capitol Hill as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Krisi Noem was testifying about her department’s budget request for fiscal year 2026. "I commend you and the Trump administration for ending all government-sponsored censorship using DHS personnel. Just last night, I received the first set of records from the department regarding Tulsi Gabbard’s placement on the TSA Quiet Skies watch list," Paul said. "These documents confirm our suspicions. Federal air marshals surveilled the now-director of national intelligence during domestic flights in 2024, reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case," he added. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) watchlist allows federal air marshals to follow U.S. citizens and collect information on their behavior in an effort to stop threats from potential terrorists. "As I was traveling, I ended up in 30 to 45 minutes of going through screening every time I would go to the airport to fly," Gabbard previously told Fox’s "One Nation." "I noticed air marshals, I noticed K-9 teams. There were things that I saw and noticed that were highly unusual. "But the deepest pain and harm and stress that’s been caused by this is that, forever going forward, I will always be looking over my shoulder, wondering if and how my government is surveilling me," she said. The TSA is part of the DHS. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment, but they did not immediately respond. Paul also asked Noem on Tuesday if she has ever "uncovered any internal communications or activities" relating to the government under the Biden administration "being involved in censorship.” The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is also part of DHS. "And some of the discussion I think we’ll have here today is about getting CISA back on mission and some of the reductions in staff that have been over there," Noem added. "And that’s reflective in the fact that many of them were doing work that they shouldn’t have been doing.”

FOX News [5/20/2025 10:19 PM, Ashley Carnahan, 46878K] reports Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said her placement on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) "Quiet Skies" watchlist was "politically motivated" after revelations about her surveillance under the Biden administration came to light during a Senate hearing. Gabbard told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday that she believes she was placed on the list after a July 22 interview with "The Ingraham Angle" where she criticized then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ leadership capabilities. Gabbard’s remarks came soon after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee. "I think they were trying to intimidate me, but also, they were trying to really create this chilling effect, probably knowing that I wouldn’t stay silent about it and send a message out to people that if you go and criticize then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now going to be the Democratic nominee for president, you too, would face the consequences," the former Democratic congresswoman explained. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing that he received a set of records from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding Gabbard’s placement on "Quiet Skies" that confirmed federal air marshals surveilled her on domestic flights in 2024. Paul noted that the air marshals reported back information related to the intelligence chief’s appearance and how many electronics she was observed using. The TSA’s "Quiet Skies" program was established in 2010 to identify passengers for enhanced screening on some domestic and outbound international flights. DHS said in an April 2019 report that individuals are flagged for enhanced screening based on aggregated travel data, intelligence, a trend analysis of the intelligence and suspicious activity. The program has come under scrutiny over a lack of transparency and concerns about civil liberties violations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [5/20/2025 4:38 PM, David Shepardson, 51390K] reports the acting head of Transportation Security Administration said on Tuesday the agency did not rule out considering a plan to privatize the government agency while defending a proposed cut for screening officers. Some Republican senators want to privatize the agency that was created by Congress after the September 11, 2001 attacks. "Nothing is off the table," Acting TSA Administrator Ha McNeill said at U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. "If new privatization schemes make sense, then we’re happy to have that discussion... There could be airports that choose to privatize and others that do not." She also said nearly 7% of U.S. travelers are not complying with new enhanced ID requirements to enter airport security checkpoints since rules took effect about two weeks ago. Earlier this month, the White House said it wants to cut funding for the TSA by $247 million, saying "TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans’ privacy and dignity." McNeill said that the budget cut represented about a 3-4% cut to TSA staffing levels -- with half for staff at exit lanes and the remaining cut of 2% of transportation security officers spread across 435 airports. The Biden administration increased the size of the TSA, which has nearly 60,000 employees as air travel has increased in recent years. The TSA screened 904 million passengers in 2024, which was a record high and a 5% increase over 2023. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said earlier this month air travelers without "REAL ID" cards could face enhanced security procedures but would not be denied access to flights under the rules that took effect May 7.

Los Angeles Times [5/20/2025 9:30 AM, Hailey Branson-Potts, 14672K] reports Michelle Rosenblum of Ventura is planning a family vacation to Hawaii. She is excited — but worried. Rosenblum is transgender. After President Trump’s election in November to a second term, she said, she rushed to get her identity documents in order as a matter of safety. Rosenblum updated her California birth certificate to show she had transitioned. And she renewed her passport. She applied as a female but was stunned to receive a letter from the U.S. Department of State saying her application had to be changed "to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.” As she prepares to fly, Rosenblum fears the discrepancy between her California Real ID — which says female — and her passport will create problems with the Transportation Security Administration. In an email to The Times, Lorie Dankers, a TSA spokesperson, said the agency "accepts documents for identity verification with an ‘X’ marker. There is no change to this policy." In California, residents have had the option to choose "X" for nonbinary since 2019. But not all states allow this. And for transgender people who have transitioned from one gender to the other and do not fall under the "X" category, discrepancies can remain. Rosenblum is debating bringing a stack of documents to the airport that she would rather keep safe at home, such as her birth certificate, Social Security card, and a court order showing her change in gender.

USA Today [5/20/2025 4:07 PM, Kathleen Wong, 75552K] reports during the screening process at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints across 84 airports nationwide, air passengers will encounter the second-generation Credential Authentication Technology (CAT), according to the agency’s website. The technology is expected to roll out to over 400 federalized airports. This biometric technology, in which a traveler’s photo is taken while the officer scans their ID, is meant to streamline the process of verifying that you match your documents, flight status and vetting status. It also assesses digital IDs, if a traveler has one. "This latest technology helps ensure that we know who is boarding flights," said TSA’s Federal Security Director for Pennsylvania and Delaware Gerardo Spero in a news release last month. "Credential authentication plays an important role in passenger identity verification. It improves a TSA officer’s ability to validate a traveler’s photo identification while also identifying any inconsistencies associated with fraudulent travel documents." However, there are rising concerns around the safety of biometric information storage, stemming from the lack of transparency around the database where the information is being stored. There’s the risk of misidentification, security breaches, plus human or technological error. The screening process also varies at different airports and even terminals, putting the burden on the traveler.

AP [5/20/2025 12:42 PM, Josh Funk, 4120K] reports that passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt. Southwest announced the new policy that will go into effect May 28 and said passengers may already have seen notifications about the industry-leading rule when using the airline’s app. There is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on planes because the number of incidents continues to grow yearly, and devices powered by those batteries are ubiquitous. There have already been 19 incidents involving these batteries this year, following last year’s record high of 89, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics. The incidents have more than doubled since the pandemic-era low of 39 in 2020, and have climbed annually. Compared to the roughly 180,000 flights U.S. airlines operate each week, the number of incidents is still relatively small and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere. However, this is a growing concern for the airlines. The Transportation Security Administration has long prohibited e-cigarettes and chargers and power banks with lithium-ion batteries in checked bags, but allows them in carry-on bags. The rule exists precisely because fires in the cargo hold might be harder to detect and extinguish.

NBC News [5/20/2025 9:40 PM, Andrew Arenge, et al., 44540K] reports for some travelers, Newark Liberty International Airport has become a no-fly zone. With passengers spooked by reports of harried air traffic controllers’ losing radio and radar contact with planes and dismayed by the resulting massive flight delays, the average daily number of travelers flying out of Newark, New Jersey, has dropped by as much as 20% compared with this time last year, from around 72,983 during the second week of May 2024 to 58,496 last week, according to Transportation Security Administration data reviewed by NBC News. Meanwhile, New York’s LaGuardia Airport experienced a 16% increase in the average daily number of travelers during the same period, from 36,367 in 2024 to 42,037 this year, the data shows. And New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport has had a slight increase in the average number of daily travelers, from 96,392 in 2024 to 97,061 this year in the second week of May, according to the data. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts higher-than-usual volume of flights for the Memorial Day weekend, with a peak of about 54,000 flights Thursday. "We’re expecting flight numbers to grow week by week throughout the summer, with the peak at the end of July and six more 54,000+ flight days before the end of August," the FAA said in a statement. "Thursdays will be the busiest day of the week.” But at Newark, the FAA has proposed reducing the number of arrivals and departures after air traffic communication issues caused controllers to lose radio and radar contact with the planes they were guiding for 90 seconds on April 28. There is "a structure of how many flights can leave per hour. We have a delayed flight schedule of takeoffs," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, Reuters reported Tuesday. "You are going to see a reduction.” That reduction came by way of an interim order that takes effect Tuesday: Until construction of Runway 4-Left/22-Right is complete, the maximum hourly rate will be 28 arrivals and 28 departures, the FAA said. Daily construction will end June 15 but will continue on Saturdays through the end of the year.

FOX News [5/20/2025 1:06 PM, Peter Burke, 46878K] reports that a woman has made a name for herself on social media after she used a whole rotisserie chicken as her carry-on luggage to eat as a mid-flight snack. Chloe Gray caught the attention of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners when she casually carried a cooked bird through airport security and onto her flight from Newark, New Jersey, to California earlier this month. The social media influencer said carrying the meal as a "designer bag" was simply a clever way for her to stay nourished during her trip. (See the video at the top of this article.). "Mine just happened to be a bag of rotisserie chicken," Gray told What’s the Jam. Gray shared her experience of traveling with the edible carry-on item in a series of TikTok videos that have been viewed some 500,000 times since May 2. "I just got pulled aside by TSA for having something crazy in my bag," Gray told her followers in one of the videos. "But I told [the security screener], ‘This is how you give yourself a first-class experience without paying for first class.’" Gray, who lives in New York City, said she hates buying airport food and usually tries to pack a salad when she’s flying. Gray said the TSA agent who questioned her about it "was very polite and understanding." "She even gently handed it back to me and affectionately said, ‘Here you go, baby.’" In another video, Gray is seen casually eating a bite of the chicken with a plastic fork while seated on the plane. After sharing her journey on TikTok, Gray received plenty of responses online. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [5/20/2025 7:13 PM, David Propper, 49956K] reports authorities swarmed a Hawaiian Airlines plane just before takeoff at a San Diego airport after a passenger was overheard "making a threat" Tuesday morning, according to the airline and reports. Emergency vehicles surrounded the Honolulu-bound plane, and law enforcement hauled one man off Hawaiian Airlines Flight 15 at San Diego International Airport around 8:30 a.m. local time, a fellow traveler on the flight told KUSI. "One guy stood up, they immediately told him to turn around and put him in handcuffs," said Isai Solorzano, a Navy sailor on the flight. "They took him away.” Footage provided by another flyer to the station showed the person being led off the plane in handcuffs. San Diego Harbor Police confirmed to KUSI that there was a bomb threat against the plane as it detached from the jetway. A flight attendant told the captain after a passenger reported a possible bomb was aboard. "During pushback from the gate, a guest was overheard making a threat to the safety of our aircraft," a Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson told The Post. "As a precaution, the captain immediately taxied the Airbus A330 to a safe location on the airfield, where it was met with local and federal law enforcement and guests were safely deplaned.” The FBI said it can’t disclose more information because the probe is ongoing. "We continue to urge the public to remain vigilant and report all suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately," an FBI spokesperson said in an email.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [5/20/2025 6:39 PM, Kathleen Wong, 75552K]

San Francisco Chronicle [5/20/2025 11:59 AM, Aidin Vaziri, 4120K] reports a woman was arrested at San Francisco International Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle 151 pounds of marijuana aboard a flight to Frankfurt, officials said this week. Diane Bahlawan was detained May 6 at the gate before her United Airlines flight, where airport officials discovered the drugs concealed in four large roller bags. According to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office, Bahlawan was carrying 131 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, totaling 151 pounds. The drugs were allegedly uncovered after security flagged the unusually heavy luggage. In addition to the marijuana, authorities said they seized Bahlawan’s boarding pass, cellphone and $960 in cash at the time of her arrest.

Reuters [5/20/2025 4:43 PM, Nathan Layne, 51390K] reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be renamed as the agency is reformed to increase the burden on states to respond to natural disasters, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a meeting on reforming FEMA on Tuesday. President Donald Trump created the FEMA Review Council on January 24 to propose ways of overhauling the disaster relief agency, which he has said should be downsized or even abolished. Following its first meeting on Tuesday, the council will have 180 days to submit a report detailing its suggested reforms, according to Trump’s executive order. Noem said Trump wanted states to take the primary role in preparing for and responding to disasters, and that the federal government would supplement that effort with funds. "If we do what the president has tasked us to do, I believe this agency needs to be renamed," Noem said. "Our goal is that states should manage their emergencies and we come in and support them."

FOX News [5/20/2025 8:12 AM, Preston Mizell, 46878K] reports Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said Monday that local communities are facing "devastation" and that the state will need Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding "at the least" after violent tornadoes took dozens of lives over the weekend. Hawley, who spoke to Fox News Digital on the phone while walking through Missouri neighborhoods ravaged by the storms, emphasized that "a lot of people are hurting." "These aren’t just pieces of real estate," Hawley explained. "I mean, these are homes that people grew up in. These are neighborhoods where families raise their kids going back two, three, four, generations. I talked to one guy who had been in the neighborhood. His family had been in the neighborhood since his great-grandmother came there at the turn of the last century." "Unless they’re going to need to be rebuilt, the federal government is going to need to play a big role here with FEMA relief, disaster relief, and we want to get all of that as soon as possible," he said. At least 26 people were killed over the weekend across the region. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the death count in Kentucky alone sits at 19, and Hawley’s office said the count in Missouri was at least 7. Hawley’s push for FEMA assistance comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has called for eliminating the agency as it exists today. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [5/20/2025 4:53 PM, Dinah Voyles Pulver, 75552K] reports National Weather Service meteorologists are hustling to keep up with the extra work load during the ongoing bout of severe storms in the Central U.S., some working double shifts to issue warnings and survey the damage from deadly tornadoes. The Jackson, Kentucky weather service office is one of those down a number of employees, including its meteorologist in charge, since the Trump administration began broad scale efforts to shrink the size of the federal government. As a storm system approached Jackson, in Southeastern Kentucky, on May 16, a few individuals agreed to work double shifts to make sure timely warnings continued during the overnight hours, said Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization. The severe weather outbreak is among the first to challenge the weather service amidst growing concerns about staffing shortages as the busiest time of year for storms, hurricanes and wildfires ramps up. Final surveys won’t be complete for days, but preliminary reports show more than three dozen tornadoes in the nation on May 16-17. Of those, 28 struck in Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois, including one EF-4, and three EF-3s. EF-5 is the most violent category. At least 26 people died, including 19 in Kentucky and seven in Missouri, state officials said. Dozens were injured. At least nine tornadoes were reported by the Paducah, Kentucky forecast office, where two of the leadership staff are among the hundreds of weather service employees who have left the agency in recent weeks. Five previous weather service directors wrote in a letter earlier in May that they feared there could be "needless loss of life" because of the staffing shortages.

CBS News [5/20/2025 1:16 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports that Significant cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency have impacted tornado recovery efforts in the Midwest and South. CBS News Homeland Security correspondent Nicole Sganga has the details. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

(B) CNN News Central [5/20/2025 2:39 PM, Staff] reports that communities across Missouri are in recovery mode after an onslaught of deadly storms. State officials are now starting to get frustrated over the slow response in receiving federal disaster assistance. On Friday, and EF-3 tornado tore through St. Louis. It killed at least five people. Two other people were killed in severe weather south of the city. Yesterday morning, the mayor of St. Louis said FEMA still had not arrive, and it could take weeks to get federal resources. The same storm system also pummeled Kentucky, causing extensive damage and killing at least 19 people.

NBC News [5/20/2025 1:26 PM, Patrick Smith and Kathryn Prociv, 44540K] reports stormy weather on Tuesday is expected to bring severe thunderstorms, flash flooding, potentially strong tornadoes, and hurricane-force winds to the southern Plains and several Southeastern states. An enhanced warning covered almost all of Tennessee and Kentucky, affecting 13.6 million people, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Isolated "tennis ball-sized" hail is possible in some places and tornadoes could reach speeds of 95 mph, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center said. Another 23 million people are under a slight risk of severe weather, from Indianapolis to Atlanta. Memphis, Nashville, Lexington, Louisville, Paducah, Birmingham, Indianapolis, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Knoxville are among the cities in the risk zone on Tuesday. The storms come days after 28 people were confirmed dead following extreme weather over the weekend in the Lower Midwest and the South. More than 127,000 energy customers were without power as of Tuesday morning, including 48,000 in Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us.

ABC News [5/20/2025 12:05 PM, Kenton Gewecke and Megan Forrester, 31733K] reports around 30 million Americans may see storms producing tornadoes, strong winds, large hail and flash flooding on Tuesday, including those already dealing with damage from previous tornadoes over the weekend. Overnight, five tornadoes were reported -- three in Nebraska, one in Oklahoma and one in Illinois -- and destructive winds greater than 70 mph were reported in parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, where hail the size of a grapefruit was spotted falling from the sky. More than 80,000 people are without power across five states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. Several of these areas will be impacted again on Tuesday, as storms begin to move east from Texas to Kentucky. About 30 million people are in the storm zone, with an enhanced risk from Greenville, Mississippi, to Louisville, Kentucky. Memphis, Nashville and London, Kentucky -- which was hit by a powerful twister over the weekend -- are also under the threat of these severe storms. These areas could see winds reaching 75 mph, possible strong tornadoes and large hail. Flood watches are also in place for most of Kentucky and western West Virginia. Isolated storms are possible in the afternoon and evening, but these are difficult to predict before they begin as they will form quickly overhead.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [5/20/2025 10:02 AM, Jeanine Santucci, 75552K]

Washington Post [5/20/2025 10:37 AM, Ian Livingston, 32099K] reports a seventh day of significant severe weather is expected Tuesday, including in an area that was hit hard by thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes Friday. Several new rounds of storms are anticipated from the Mid-Mississippi Valley region east to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The Midwest is on the northern end of the threatened zone, and the Deep South on the southern periphery. A strong tornado threat is expected to target parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, as well as Kentucky, where deadly twisters tore through communities late Friday That area is in the heart of where an enhanced (Level 3 of 5) severe weather risk is in place, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Storm Prediction Center. Cities in the enhanced risk area include Memphis, Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, Birmingham and Greenville, Mississippi. In addition to the tornado potential, there’s a risk of hail up to 2.5 or 3 inches in diameter, as well as a risk of damage from heavy winds.

CBS News [5/20/2025 11:06 AM, Nicole Valdes, 51860K] reports as potentially severe storms threaten parts of the Midwest and the South — which comes after a string of tornadoes have already left over two dozen dead — residents will likely have to turn to a weakened Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid recovery. In London, Kentucky, Michael Carnes clung to his family as they heard the walls crumbling around them when a tornado hit on Friday. "We ran into the closet under the stairs, which we thought was the safest place, which it was cuz it’s basically the only place it wasn’t damaged at all," he recalled. Across the state, authorities said 19 people were killed after a tornado damaged hundreds of homes and tossed vehicles in the air. With multiple other residents hospitalized, the death toll was expected to rise. Extreme weather has caused widespread destruction in the Bluegrass State. In April, heavy rainfall led to major flooding in what is now Kentucky’s wettest year on record. And so far in 2025, more than 42 tornadoes have been reported. Carnes and other survivors are picking up the pieces of what’s left, and they’re going to need a lot of help. London Police and Laurel County officials have set up sites for residents to pick up supplies and several shelters have been opened. FEMA is also on the ground, officials tell CBS News, but the agency is facing its own challenges after it lost about a third of its staff. About 1,800 employees took the Trump administration’s buyout offer, a top former FEMA official told CBS News. Another 200 or so probationary workers were also fired. Earlier this month, the head of FEMA was fired after he appeared to publicly break with the Trump administration on whether to eliminate the nation’s disaster relief agency. Cameron Hamilton, FEMA’s acting administrator, departed roughly three weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Last week, CBS News reported on an internal FEMA review that said the disaster relief agency is "not ready" for the hurricane season, which officially begins in June. Meanwhile, Congress is reviewing the Trump administration’s proposal to slash FEMA’s budget, nixing $646 million in non-disaster grants during the 2026 fiscal year.

AP [5/20/2025 11:07 AM, Sophie Bates, 48304K] reports more than two months after a tornado demolished his Mississippi home, Brian Lowery still sifts through the rubble, hoping to find a tie clip his mother gave him, made from the center stone of her wedding band. “I still have hope,” Lowery said. He, his wife and 13-year-old son made it to safety before the tornado ripped apart their trailer home of 15 years during a severe weather outbreak in mid-March. But the recovery since has been slow and painful. Mississippi’s request for federal aid is still pending before the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meaning badly needed assistance has not yet made it to his hard-hit community of Tylertown. “I don’t know what you got to do or what you got to have to be able to be declared for a federal disaster area because this is pretty bad,” Lowery said. “We can’t help you because, whatever, we’re waiting on a letter; we’re waiting on somebody to sign his name. You know, all that. I’m just over it.” It is not unusual for weeks to pass before FEMA approves a declaration. President Donald Trump has pointed to these waits as a reason he is considering dismantling the agency, calling FEMA “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”

USA Today [5/20/2025 5:28 PM, Sarah D. Wire, 75552K] reports St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer says FEMA still has no presence on the ground, several days after a mile-wide tornado cut a nearly 23-mile path through the area and damaged an estimated 5,000 buildings. Five people died in the city. Dozens were injured. Spencer, a Democrat, estimated the damage at approximately $1 billion. At a press conference Sunday, she said her office worked with the St. Louis Community Foundation to create the City of St. Louis Tornado Response Fund, which is collecting donations. Spencer said on social media that the city is actively working with state and federal authorities to get FEMA resources, but it could take weeks. On Monday, Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, asked President Donald Trump to issue a federal Emergency Declaration and requested that FEMA participate in joint Preliminary Damage Assessments. Kehoe visited the city earlier in the day. Altogether, storms on May 16 caused seven deaths across Missouri and widespread damage in St. Louis and other areas of southeast Missouri. According to a news release from the governor’s office, Kehoe has been in direct contact with Trump and other administration officials about getting federal help. On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pushed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to get the request for Friday’s storm and two other unanswered disaster declaration requests before Trump as soon as possible. Missouri is still waiting for a response to requests for federal disaster declarations related to storms, tornadoes or flooding on March 14 and 15, March 30 through April 8 and April 29, according to the governor’s office.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 3:26 PM, Annabella Rosciglione, 1934K]

NBC News [5/20/2025 4:31 PM, Dennis Romero, 44540K] reports a magnitude-4.2 earthquake rumbled just offshore of the Big Island of Hawaii on Tuesday morning, but officials said no tsunamis were expected. The earthquake was about 5 miles southeast of the community of Pāhala, just off the southern shore of the Big Island, at 9:37 a.m. local time (3:37 p.m. ET), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The office of Gov. Josh Green said on X, "A local earthquake has occurred — 4.0 magnitude off the Ka’u coast of the Big Island. Shaking may have been felt in some areas, but No Tsunami was generated.” The USGS said the quake was unlikely to produce damage. "No damage to buildings or infrastructure expected based on earthquake intensity," it said. It received about 40 reports from those who said they felt the earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 4.2. It said the depth was roughly 20 miles below the ocean’s surface.

FOX News [5/20/2025 5:30 AM, Rachel del Guidice, 46878K] reports Former FBI Director James Comey told MSNBC Monday that he had no ill intent with his controversial "86 47" Instagram post and that he is not intimidated by President Donald Trump’s administration. Comey posted a photo of shells on Thursday that were configured to say "86 47." The number "86" generally means to get rid of something or someone and "47" refers to Trump being the 47th president. Some saw this as a threat, but Comey maintained he thought it was a clever political statement against Trump and didn’t have any violent intentions. MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace asked Comey, "Between posting the picture and getting a call from the Secret Service, did you have any sort of gut check of like, ‘Well, they’ve audited me in an extraordinary way. I was under investigation for years after he fired me.’ …Did you have any regret about posting the picture?" [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federalist [5/20/2025 7:33 AM, Adam Johnston, 1142K] reports the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service opened an investigation into former FBI Director James B. Comey after he posted an Instagram photo of seashells on a beach arranged to spell "86 47" — a message many interpreted as a call to assassinate the 47th president, Donald J. Trump. Comey quickly deleted the post after backlash, saying: "I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” Trump was unconvinced and said Comey knew it was "calling for the assassination of the president.”

CNN [5/20/2025 9:25 PM, John Branch, 21433K] reports that, following public criticism of his controversial Instagram post, former FBI Director James Comey discusses his meeting with the Secret Service with CNN’s John Berman. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [5/20/2025 5:39 PM, Michael Kunzelman, 24051K] reports a military veteran whose Capitol riot case was erased by a presidential proclamation was convicted Tuesday of charges that he illegally possessed guns and ammunition in his van when he was arrested near President Barack Obama’s home in the nation’s capital. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also convicted Taylor Taranto of recording himself making a hoax threat to bomb a government building in Maryland. The judge decided the case without a jury after a bench trial that started last week in Washington, D.C. Taranto was arrested in Obama’s neighborhood on the same day in June 2023 that Trump posted on social media what he claimed was the former president’s address. Investigators said they found two guns, roughly 500 rounds of ammunition and a machete in Taranto’s van. Taranto was livestreaming video on YouTube in which he said he was looking for "entrance points" to underground tunnels and wanted to get a "good angle on a shot," according to prosecutors. He reposted Trump’s message about Obama’s home address and wrote: "We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s." He was referring to John Podesta, who chaired Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic presidential campaign. Taranto wasn’t charged with threatening Obama or Podesta. But the judge convicted him of making a hoax bomb threat directed at the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Taranto’s lawyers said he didn’t have any bomb-making material and wasn’t near the institute when he made those statements on a livestreamed video. During the trial’s opening statements, defense attorney Pleasant Brodnax said the video shows Taranto was merely joking in an "avant-garde" manner. "He believes he is a journalist and, to some extent, a comedian," Broadnax said.

Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 11:39 AM, Christopher Tremoglie, 1934K] reports Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has some explaining to do. The Senate minority leader was caught lying on Monday after he tried to exploit the deaths of two people who died on Sunday when a Mexican Navy training ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge. Less than 24 hours after it happened, without any shred of evidence, Schumer accused President Donald Trump, his administration, and the Department of Government Efficiency of being responsible for the accident. It was a despicable act from a dishonest, untrustworthy, and despicable politician. He posted baseless accusations on social media about the tragic event to try to score political points and create a narrative. "With the Brooklyn Bridge strike last night," Schumer posted on Sunday. "I’m fighting for answers about whether Trump and DOGE have impacted water traffic control. We know they’ve been meddling with U.S. Coast Guard staffing. Trump relieved Admiral Linda Fagan as Commandant of the USCG, and that position is still vacant.” If that wasn’t bad enough, Schumer added fuel to his factually incorrect fire by concocting some outlandish scenario in which DOGE cuts caused a shortage of employees for the "vehicle traffic service" that controlled nautical activity on the East River. It was senseless, baseless, and downright dishonest. "And the hiring freeze has limited the ability for the USCG to staff up the Vehicle Traffic Service, that’s their traffic control operation that acts like Air Traffic Control but on water," Schumer wrote. "We need action for our national security, infrastructure protection, and public safety.” Thankfully, the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security exposed Schumer for his treachery. First, he was scolded by the Department of Homeland Security for his deception. "Minority Leader Schumer’s accusations that a hiring freeze led to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Services not being adequately staffed are FALSE," DHS posted on X. "The US Coast Guard has been fully supported and been exempt from hiring freezes. Additionally, this incident had nothing to do with Vessel Traffic Services — when a ship loses propulsion in a high current area, the vessel needs to engage all capabilities to stop and ideally tugs are nearby to support.” They then called Schumer out for his brazen dishonesty.

NewsMax [5/21/2025 10:19 PM, Staff, 4622K] reports Coast Guard vessels of the Philippines and the United States have taken part for the first time in joint maritime exercises with naval and Air Force units in the contested South China Sea, Manila’s armed forces said Wednesday. The exercises, held on Tuesday in waters off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro, involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. The "maritime cooperative activity," which was the second for the year and sixth overall since the allies launched the joint activities in 2023, included communication drills and search-and-rescue scenarios, the military said in a statement. "Joint activities like the MCA reaffirm the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ commitment to modernizing its capabilities and strengthening defense partnerships to secure our national and regional maritime interests," AFP Chief Romeo Brawner said. Relations between the Philippines and China have been strained by disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce. China claims most of the strategic waterway despite a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that found Beijing’s claims have no basis under international law. China does not recognize the decision.

FOX News [5/20/2025 4:07 PM, Kurt Knutsson, 46878K] reports Ascension, a Missouri-based Catholic health system with 142 hospitals and 142,000 employees, recently disclosed that a December 2024 breach exposed the personal and medical information of more than 430,000 patients. According to Ascension’s breach notification letters, the compromise began on Dec. 5, 2024, when the network learned patient data "may have been involved in a potential security incident." By Jan. 21, 2025, its investigators had determined that Ascension had "inadvertently disclosed information to a former business partner," and that attackers likely stole data from that partner via a flaw in its software. In other words, patient records passed from Ascension into a third party’s system and were then siphoned off by cybercriminals. The attackers gained a broad array of information. Impacted patients’ demographic and financial details, names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, race, gender and Social Security numbers were exposed. Even more worryingly, the breach included clinical data from hospital stays, including physician names, admission and discharge dates, diagnosis and procedure codes, medical record numbers and insurance details. This is the very data that criminals can exploit for fraud or identity theft. Ascension reported the breach to regulators via an HHS filing on April 28, 2025, which shows 437,329 patients affected.

NBC News [5/20/2025 5:33 PM, Kevin Collier, 44540K] reports a Massachusetts man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking into one of the top education tech companies in the United States and stealing tens of millions of schoolchildren’s personal information for profit. Matthew Lane, 19, of Worcester County, Massachusetts, signed a plea agreement related to charges connected to a major hack on an educational technology company last year, as well as another company, according to court documents published Tuesday. While the documents refer to the education company only as "Victim-2" and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to name the victim, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News that it is PowerSchool. The hack of PowerSchool last year is believed to be the largest breach of American children’s sensitive data to date. According to his plea agreement, Lane admitted obtaining information from a protected computer and aggravated identity theft and agreed not to challenge a prison sentence shorter than nine years and four months. He got access simply by trying an employee’s stolen username and password combination, the complaint says, echoing a private third-party assessment of the incident previously reported by NBC News.

Federal News Network [5/20/2025 6:38 PM, Anastasia Obis, 2346K] reports as lawmakers continue to explore the idea of creating a cyber-focused military branch, the Pentagon’s analysis suggests that U.S. Cyber Command should instead adopt a Special Operations Command-like model. In his second public appearance since the dismissal of Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, Army Lt. Gen. William Hartman — the acting director of the National Security Agency and acting commander of U.S. Cyber Command — said the Pentagon examined three models for structuring the cyber force: maintaining the status quo, creating an independent cyber service and adopting a SOCOM-style approach. "Our preference was the SOCOM-like model," Hartman told lawmakers during the House Armed Services subcommittee on cyber, information technologies and innovation hearing on May 16. Whether the SOCOM model can be successfully applied to cyberspace has been a big part of the debate over creating a dedicated cyber force. Like SOCOM, Cyber Command relies on the military services to provide digital personnel — a model that has led to readiness issues in the command since the services run their own recruitment and training systems and digital warriors tend to have inconsistent knowledge and experience when they are sent to CYBERCOM. Pentagon officials have largely rejected the idea of creating a separate cyber force, saying the Cyber Command already has service-like authorities to operate effectively without becoming a standalone military branch. Cyber force advocates, however, believe that applying the SOCOM-like model to Cyber Command is not enough to solve command’s longstanding readiness challenges. "America’s cyber force generation system is clearly broken. Fixing it demands nothing less than the establishment of an independent cyber service," the Foundation for Defense of Democracies report reads.

USA Today [5/20/2025 12:14 PM, Rachel Barber, 75552K] reports a data breach affecting Coinbase, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has left some customers’ data vulnerable. The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly launched a probe into the attack. Cyber criminals bribed a group of "rogue" overseas support agents to facilitate the breach, according to the company. The company said it received an email from an unknown actor on May 11 who claimed to have access to some internal documents and information about certain customer accounts. Coinbase refused to pay their ransom demand of $20 million and is instead offering a $20 million reward for information about the hackers. "We have notified and are working with the DOJ and other U.S. and international law enforcement agencies and welcome law enforcement’s pursuit of criminal charges against these bad actors," Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal told Reuters. Coinbase said the hackers did not gain access to login credentials or passwords, but they did steal other customer data. The company said it will install extra safeguards and reimburse customers who were tricked into sending money to the attackers. In addition, it is opening a new support hub in the U.S. The company’s share prices took a dive when Coinbase forecast a hit of $180 million to $400 million after the attack.

CyberScoop [5/20/2025 6:54 AM, Tim Starks] reports the first time some of the largest telecom companies in the world heard of Salt Typhoon was in a Wall Street Journal article. The story, which was published last September, blindsided company executives and industry insiders. As news of the attack on the country’s broadband networks broke, the scope and severity of the breach became clear. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee dubbed it “the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history.” The breach, carried out by a Chinese government-linked hacking group, had resulted in a total of around 80 different firms compromised at last count, with the attackers in the networks for potentially years as it siphoned up data from more than 1 million people. Telecom companies were upset to learn about the breach from the Journal story instead of the federal government. One telecom industry source called it “disconcerting” that large companies hadn’t heard about it first from government agencies, and major providers “felt like information wasn’t handled correctly. “The engagement was not treated with the kind of respect it deserved,” the source told CyberScoop. The perceived lack of attention is a microcosm of what critics told CyberScoop was just one of the government’s many failings in response to the Salt Typhoon breach. Sources told CyberScoop that the issues with the government’s response started long before knowledge of an incident ever occurred.

Washington Post [5/20/2025 12:58 PM, Ellen Nakashima, Elizabeth Dwoskin, and Aaron Schaffer, 32099K] reports that the Trump administration will not seek the removal of Israeli tech firm NSO Group from a Commerce Department trade blacklist that has significantly dented the company’s financial fortunes, U.S. officials said this week. Nor is the White House planning to rescind a Biden-era executive order that effectively bars the company from selling its controversial Pegasus spyware to the U.S. government, said the officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The administration’s plans are a rebuff to NSO Group, which is in Washington this week on a rehabilitation tour, in hopes of being removed from the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which bars it from receiving U.S. technology. The list is sort of a scarlet letter in the business world because of the reputational harm it confers. Since the 2021 listing, NSO Group has faced significant financial hardship. U.S. officials’ statements to The Washington Post come amid speculation that the Trump administration might rescind or modify the executive order. President Donald Trump has revoked dozens of President Joe Biden’s orders and has others under review.

CyberScoop [5/20/2025 6:50 PM, Tim Starks] reports a Massachusetts man will plead guilty to charges related to the hack of PowerSchool, the education software vendor that says it supports more than 60 million students, and that led to ransom demands at school boards and districts across the United States. In court documents filed Tuesday, prosecutors spelled out charges against 19-year-old Assumption University student Matthew Lane and the terms of a plea bargain. While prosecutors didn’t name a victim firm, the description of the company matches that of PowerSchool. A source confirmed to CyberScoop that PowerSchool was one of the victims in Lane’s case. It’s the first big break in a case that has been said to be the largest single breach ever of American schoolchildren’s data. According to documents filed Tuesday, Lane and an unnamed co-conspirator obtained stolen victim data from a U.S. telecommunications company, which is not identified in the filings. When the first victim refused to pay a $75,000 ransom, Lane allegedly messaged the co-conspirator, saying “we need to hack another … company [that’ll] pay.” The documents state that in September, Lane used a PowerSchool contractor’s credentials to gain unauthorized access to PowerSchool’s networks, where he obtained student and teacher data.

CNN [5/20/2025 1:14 PM, Sean Lyngaas, 21433K] reports a ransomware attack has triggered a “system-wide technology outage” at a network of over a dozen medical centers in Ohio, causing the cancellation of elective inpatient and outpatient procedures, according to a statement from the health network and a ransom note viewed by CNN. Kettering Health, which employs more than 1,800 doctors and serves a big chunk of Ohio, said in a statement that a “cyberattack” that hit Tuesday morning had created a “number of challenges” at the network’s 14 medical centers and had disrupted its call center. Emergency rooms and clinics are open and seeing patients, the statement said. “Inpatient and outpatient procedures have been canceled for today,” Kettering Health said. “Scheduled procedures at Kettering Health medical centers will be rescheduled.” The health network said it had backup procedures in place “for these types of situations” to keep providing safe and quality care for patients. Behind the scenes, Kettering Health executives and information technology personnel are scrambling to contain the fallout from the hack. Ransomware, which locks computers so hackers can demand a fee, was deployed on Kettering’s computer network, according to ransom note recovered at the scene and viewed by CNN. “Your network was compromised, and we have secured your most vital files,” the ransom note says. The note threatens to leak data allegedly stolen from Kettering Health online unless the health network begins negotiating an extortion fee. The ransom note leads the victim to an extortion site associated with a ransomware gang known as Interlock, which first emerged last fall. Interlock has since targeted a variety of sectors, including tech and manufacturing firms and government organizations, according to Talos, Cisco’s cyber-intelligence unit. A Kettering Health spokesperson declined to comment when asked for further details about the cyberattack beyond the network’s statement. The FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are the main federal agencies that typically respond to major cyberattacks on American health care providers. CNN has requested comment from all three entities.

USA Today [5/20/2025 8:53 PM, Sam Morgen, 75552K] reports that, several days after the fatal explosion near a Southern California fertility clinic, a clearer picture has begun to emerge of the suspect and the motivation for the attack. Authorities are investigating whether anyone else knew the suspect’s plans beforehand. The FBI has named Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, of Twentynine Palms, California, who died in the Palm Springs blast, as the suspect in the bombing. The FBI confirmed Bartkus’ DNA matched that of the lone casualty of the May 17 blast. Investigators believe Bartkus acted alone, though his online communication is being scrutinized for the possibility that others knew of the attack in advance. Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills told The Desert Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Bartkus discussed explosives online as far back as 2022. "I don’t know that he had any help. I do know that he was discussing this in chat rooms and on YouTube channels, he was experimenting with different explosives," Mills said. "There was a conversation in the dark web, if you will, over this kind of thing.” Mills noted that the FBI continued to investigate Bartkus’ online activity and said determining whether anyone else knew of the plans and should face criminal charges would be up to the federal investigators. "That’s an FBI responsibility. They will get to the bottom of that, I am fully confident," Mills affirmed. "There may be nobody that’s charged, but we will turn over every rock to make sure.” ‘Subject had nihilistic ideations’. Akil Davis, assistant director of the Los Angeles FBI field office, called the incident "one of the largest bombing investigations we’ve had in Southern California." Davis compared the blast to the scale of the Aliso Viejo bombing in Orange County in 2018. Davis said that investigators believe Bartkus targeted the fertility clinic based on his online posts and an apparent "manifesto" they were reviewing. "The subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IVF facility," Davis said. "We are treating this as an intentional act of terrorism.” The FBI has confirmed it is looking into eyewitness reports that a tripod was found at the site of the bombing that appeared to be intended to livestream the incident.

Washington Post [5/20/2025 4:49 PM, Amy B Wang and Dan Lamothe, 32099K] reports President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the government will move forward on construction of a multibillion-dollar “Golden Dome” missile defense system that will use a constellation of satellites and space-based weapons to intercept ballistic attacks on the United States. For months, Trump has pushed for such a system, citing increasingly sophisticated threats from countries such as Russia, China and North Korea. "Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they are launched from space, and we will have the best system ever built," Trump said in the Oval Office alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who later described the project as a "game changer.” Trump said Tuesday that his administration had settled on an architecture for the project and claimed that the system could be operational within three years, before the end of his second term. Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of operations for the U.S. Space Force, will oversee the Golden Dome’s progress, Trump said. Trump has already allocated $25 billion in the federal budget toward the construction of the Golden Dome in the massive budget bill that Republicans in Congress aim to pass in the coming weeks. Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that deploying and operating just the space-based interceptors of the new missile defense system could cost anywhere from $161 billion to $542 billion over the next two decades. On Tuesday, Trump said he estimated the system would cost $175 billion. Trump, who created the U.S. Space Force during his first term, has long spoken of wanting a Golden Dome, akin to the "Iron Dome" over Israel but also with weapons based in space instead of just on land. Shortly after taking office again in January, Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to work on plans for a "next-generation missile defense shield.” "The threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks, remains the most catastrophic threat facing the United States," Trump wrote in the order, noting that official U.S. missile defense policy has not evolved beyond staying ahead of "rogue-nation threats" and "accidental or unauthorized missile launches.” The order noted that the threat of missile attacks on the United States has only become "more intense and complex" over the past 40 years. The Golden Dome concept comes as the Pentagon is increasingly concerned about long-range missiles that adversaries of the U.S. are building. Last week, the Defense Intelligence Agency released an assessment that said China possesses about 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles, Russia has 350 and North Korea has a handful. Those numbers are supposed to climb in the coming years, with Iran also pursuing the weapons, the assessment said. The potential cost and nebulous nature of the defense system have raised concerns about the project having unintended costs. Last week, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, told reporters that money set aside at the moment is "essentially a slush fund at this point," with no detailed plan designed.

FOX News [5/20/2025 6:22 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the U.S. will soon begin construction of a "Golden Dome" missile defense system they say will be a next-generation "game changer" protecting the American homeland from outside adversaries. A similar system, the Iron Dome, has already been developed in Israel with U.S. assistance and has proven effective in repelling missile attacks. Now. Trump says a bigger, more technologically advanced, multi-layered dome system will soon be installed in America. The president announced the "one big beautiful" budget bill being discussed in Congress will include $25 billion in initial funding for the project, which he expects will cost $175 billion overall. He said he expects a major phase of the dome will be complete in under three years and that it will be "fully operational before the end of my term.” He noted there is significant support for the project in Congress, quipping, "It’s amazing how easy this one is to fund.” "In the campaign, I promised the American people that I would build a cutting-edge missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack. And that’s what we’re doing today," he said, adding that the Golden Dome "will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from the other side of the world and even if they are launched from space.” Addressing Trump, Hegseth said, "Mr. President, you said we’re going to secure our southern border and get 100% operational control after the previous administration allowed an invasion of people into our country. President Reagan 40 years ago cast the vision for it. The technology wasn’t there. Now it is, and you’re following through to say we will protect the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they’re conventional or nuclear.” USA Today [5/20/2025 5:19 PM, Davis Winkie, 75552K] reports that the funding is included as part of the Trump-endorsed tax cut megabill currently working its way through Congress, the president said. Trump and Hegseth tapped Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to lead Golden Dome efforts, as POLITICO first reported. In remarks to reporters, Guetlein described the project as a "bold and aggressive" counter to worsening threats from adversaries like Russia and China. Military officials, experts, and intelligence agencies warn the U.S. homeland is vulnerable to strategic attack. Many of the Golden Dome’s projected capabilities remain on the drawing board, though, and its cost will depend on its desired scale. Trump said the system will cost $175 billion, though details about that estimate remain unclear, such as how much of it represents an increase to future-generation tech research as opposed to expanding existing technologies. It’s also unclear how effective a system relying solely on existing tech would be if it were to face down a mass nuclear attack from Russia or China.

Wall Street Journal [5/20/2025 5:01 PM, Shelby Holliday, Drew FitzGerald, and Josh Dawsey, 646K] reports President Trump named Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to oversee development of a ‘Golden Dome’ antimissile shield that officials said would protect the U.S. from high-tech threats before the end of his term. The system would combine existing ground-based missile interceptors and more ambitious proposals involving satellites to better protect against threats including hypersonic glide weapons and low-flying ballistic missiles. Trump outlined the plans in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon with Guetlein and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling it a “super technology” that would shoot missiles out of the air. Trump said he aims to finish the project before the end of his term and estimated it would cost about $175 billion. Guetlein, a four-star general with experience in space operations, acquisitions and missile defense, is vice chief of space operations at the Space Force. He has advocated for greater investment in U.S. space capabilities, and in recent months has raised alarms about an “an enormous amount of threats” emerging from adversaries such as China. Testifying before Congress in March, Guetlein compared the Golden Dome to the Manhattan Project—”a very bold vision that is going to have a lot of complexity to it.” He said the project would need to unite several agencies and organizations, embrace nontraditional contractors and possibly include technology from allies.

Washington Post [5/20/2025 6:07 PM, Abigail Hauslohner and Adam Taylor, 31735K] Video HERE reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday mounted a vociferous defense of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, as he clashed with Senate Democrats who accused him of abandoning his principles, trampling on the Constitution and allowing children in Africa to starve — all in service to President Donald Trump, whom Rubio himself once called “a serious threat” to the nation’s future. It was a bitter reunion for the former senator from Florida and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose members had voted unanimously just four months ago to confirm Rubio to lead the State Department. Now, as Rubio faced the committee for the first time since then, several former colleagues berated him, barely able to contain their rage. “You and I served together in Congress for 15 years,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) told Rubio at a hearing intended to provide the secretary a podium to explain the State Department’s 2026 budget request. “We didn’t always agree, but I believe we shared some common values: a belief in defending democracy and human rights abroad and honoring the Constitution at home. That’s why I voted to confirm you. I believed you would stand up for those principles. You haven’t. You’ve done the opposite.” “I wonder if you’re proud of yourself in this moment, when you go home to your family,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) at another point. “I don’t recognize [you].” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/20/2025 10:11 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports
Secretary Rubio is laying out the administration’s vision for strengthening America’s global position, defending key alliances, and ensuring taxpayer dollars serve national security interests abroad. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [5/20/2025 2:51 PM, Jennifer Hansler, 21433K] reports that an American Air Force veteran has been released from imprisonment in Venezuela, a US official and the man’s family said in a statement Tuesday. Joseph St. Clair was released to US special envoy Richard Grenell, the family statement said. St. Clair had been detained since November and was one of nine Americans declared wrongfully detained in Venezuela. "This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it — but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude," Scott and Patti St. Clair said. The details around Joseph St. Clair’s release were not immediately clear. The families of Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela met virtually with senior national security official Seb Gorka earlier this month, participants and a White House official told CNN. In late April, Patti St. Clair had expressed concern for her son’s well-being, noting that he suffers from "severe PTSD." "Can you imagine his fear? Can you imagine the isolation that he must be feeling battling his unseen scars in a foreign prison, unsure if help is even coming?" she said at a "Bring Our Families Home" event in Washington, DC. She had called on President Donald Trump and Congress to "act now to save Joe and his fellow captives."

Reuters [5/20/2025 7:27 AM, Staff, 51390K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a possible prisoner exchange involving nine people from each side during a phone call on Monday, according to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. A source close to the Kremlin said the U.S. side has previously provided Moscow with a list of nine Americans jailed in Russia that Washington wants to have returned. These are the nine people that the source said were on the list: STEPHEN JAMES HUBBARD, Robert Gilman, Gordon Black, Daniel Joseph Schneider, Joseph Tater, Michael Travis Leake, Robert Romanov Woodland, Eugene Spector, David Barnes, and Andre Khachatoorian.

CNN [5/20/2025 6:01 PM, Jim Sciutto, Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand, 21433K] reports the US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN. Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials said. It could also risk tipping off a broader regional conflict in the Middle East — something the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza inflamed tensions beginning in 2023. Officials caution it’s not clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision, and that in fact, there is deep disagreement within the US government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act. Whether and how Israel strikes will likely depend on what it thinks of the US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program. But "the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months," said another person familiar with US intelligence on the issue. "And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely.” The heightened worries stem not only from public and private messaging from senior Israeli officials that it is considering such a move, but also from intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could suggest an imminent strike, multiple sources familiar with the intelligence said. Among the military preparations the US has observed are the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, two of the sources said. But those same indicators could also simply be Israel trying to pressure Iran to abandon key tenets of its nuclear program by signaling the consequences if it doesn’t — underscoring the ever-shifting complexities the White House is navigating. CNN has asked the National Security Council and the Israeli prime minister’s office for comment. The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not comment. Trump has publicly threatened military action against Iran if his administration’s efforts to negotiate a new nuclear deal to limit or eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program fail. But Trump also set a limit on how long the US would engage in diplomatic efforts. In a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in mid-March, Trump set a 60-day deadline for those efforts to succeed, according to a source familiar with the communication. It has now been more than 60 days since that letter was delivered, and 38 days since the first round of talks began. A senior Western diplomat who met with the president earlier this month said that Trump communicated the US would give those negotiations only weeks to succeed before resorting to military strikes. But for now, the White House policy is one of diplomacy.

Reuters [5/20/2025 6:41 AM, Staff, 41523K] reports Qatar dismissed concerns about its offer to give U.S. President Donald Trump a Boeing saying it was not trying to buy influence, a day after a bill was introduced in the Senate to prevent a foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Tuesday that the offer was "a normal thing that happens between allies." He said he did not know why people considered the gift as bribery, or a way for Qatar to buy influence with the Trump administration. "But I’m hoping that people in the United States and even the politicians over there, they see us as a friend, as a partner, as a reliable partner that we’ve always been there for the U.S. whenever we were needed," he said at the Qatar Economic Forum held in Doha. U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer introduced the "Presidential Airlift Security Act" after news Trump planned to accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar, which legal experts said raised a raft of questions about the scope of laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments and are intended to thwart corruption and improper influence. Trump shrugged off ethical concerns, saying it would be "stupid" to turn down the generous offer.

Wall Street Journal [5/20/2025 6:30 AM, Amrith Ramkumar, 646K] reports two lawmakers are calling for a probe into a Chinese EV-charging startup that does business in the U.S., the latest bid to crack down on China’s access to American consumers and technology. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and Rep. John Moolenaar (R., Mich.) recently wrote to the Secretaries of Commerce and Defense asking them to investigate Autel Energy, according to a copy of the letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The lawmakers want the agencies to consider adding Autel Energy to a blacklist of companies deemed a national-security concern and to a DOD list of companies with links to the Chinese military. In the letter, the lawmakers raise concerns about Autel Energy’s access to consumer data and critical grid infrastructure. The U.S. and China are going back and forth adding more companies to blacklists and cutting off access to strategic commodities like chips and rare-earth materials. The moves are part of a broader, ongoing trade spat and a yearslong tech rivalry. Moolenaar chairs a House committee focused on U.S. competition with China.

Washington Examiner [5/20/2025 1:23 PM, Brady Knox, 1934K] reports that Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te voiced his hope for peace with China, but is boosting the country’s defenses amid Beijing’s frosty approach to peace talks. Speaking with reporters while marking his first year in office, Lai echoed the famous dictum of the Roman writer Vegetius: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” "I, too, am committed to peace. Because peace is priceless and war has no winners. But when it comes to seeking peace, we cannot have dreams or illusions," he said, adding that the country would strengthen its defenses to deter conflict. "I also reiterate here — Taiwan is happy to have exchanges and cooperation with China as long as there is reciprocal dignity," Lai continued. "Using exchanges to replace hemming in, dialogue to replace confrontation." Lai’s address touched on a variety of topics, touting his administration’s accomplishments, primarily in investment and trade. He wove these arguments into the reaffirmation of an independent Taiwanese identity, praising the island’s commitment to democracy and against authoritarian modes of government. "Our past generations, through valiant sacrifice and devotion, bravely resisted authoritarianism and pursued democracy. Today’s younger generations are able to proactively engage in politics, protect the nation, further entrench democracy, and strive for a diverse Taiwan through all manner of constitutional and legal means, without fear of difficulty. This is the democratic Taiwan we take pride in," he said, according to a readout from his office. "I am confident that no one Taiwanese would give up their free and democratic way of life. And no president can abandon the values of freedom and democracy," Lai added.

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