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

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

The New York Times [5/27/2025 2:11 PM, Stephanie Saul, 153395K] reports the Trump administration is set to cancel the federal government’s remaining federal contracts with Harvard University — worth an estimated $100 million, according to a letter sent to federal agencies on Tuesday. The letter also instructs agencies to “find alternative vendors” for future services. The additional planned cuts, outlined in a draft of the letter obtained by The New York Times, represented what an administration official called a complete severance of the government’s longstanding business relationship with Harvard. The letter is the latest example of the Trump administration’s determination to bring Harvard — arguably the country’s most elite and culturally dominant university — to its knees, by undermining its financial health and global influence. Since last month, the administration has frozen about $3.2 billion in grants and contracts with Harvard. And it has tried to halt the university’s ability to enroll international students. The latest letter, dated May 27 from the U.S. General Services Administration, was delivered Tuesday morning to federal agencies, according to an administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official had not been authorized to discuss internal communications. The letter instructs agencies to respond by June 6 with a list of contract cancellations. Any contracts for services deemed critical would not be immediately canceled but would be transitioned to other vendors, according to the letter, signed by Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the G.S.A.’s federal acquisition service, which is responsible for procuring government goods and services. Contracts with about nine agencies would be affected, according to the administration official. FOX News [5/27/2025 10:32 AM, Danielle Wallace, 46878K] reports that the remaining federal contracts include a $527,000 agreement for Harvard ManageMentor Licenses, which was awarded in September 2021, a $523,000 contract for Harvard to conduct research on energy drinks and the health outcomes of other dietary intakes overtime, which was awarded in August 2023, and a $39,000 contract for gradate student research services, which was award in April 2025, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. In the letter, GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said Harvard "continues to engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life.” He said Harvard has shown "no indication" of reforming its admissions process, despite the Supreme Court ruling that university’s long-standing policy discriminates on the basis of race. For applicants in the top academic decile, admissions rates were 56% for African-Americans, 31% for Hispanics, 15% for Whites and 13% for Asians, according to the lawsuit. Gruenbaum said Harvard "now has to offer a remedial math course, which has been described as ‘middle school math’ for incoming freshmen." He said that was a direct result "of employing discriminatory factors, instead of merit, in admission decisions.” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said last week that she revoked Harvard’s certification after the university refused to comply with multiple requests for information on foreign students while "perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ policies.” The requested records include any and all audio or video footage in Harvard’s possession regarding threats to other students or university personnel, "deprivation of rights" of other classmates or university personnel, and "dangerous or violent activity, whether on or off campus" by a nonimmigrant student enrolled at Harvard in the last five years. Noem is also asking for any and all disciplinary records and audio or video footage of any protest activity involving nonimmigrant students. DHS said that Harvard’s responses so far have been insufficient. The Hill [5/27/2025 9:06 AM, Filip Timotija, 5801K] reports that the federal government has terminated nearly $3 billion in grants to Harvard, saying the school has not done enough to combat antisemitism on campus and "race discrimination.” It also comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the school’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification to be revoked last week, therefore preventing the school from being able to enroll international students. Harvard sued the Trump administration in response. The AP [5/27/2025 2:02 PM, Darlene Superville and Collin Binkley, 3987K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to "dangerous or violent activity.” Harvard says it complied, but the agency said its response fell short and moved to revoke the university’s ability to enroll foreign students. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the move after Harvard sued. Breitbart [5/27/2025 10:42 AM, Staff, 3077K] reports that last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign nationals, throwing the future of thousands of students and the lucrative income stream they provide into doubt. She had threatened last month to block international students at the school unless it turned over records on visa holders’ "illegal and violent activities.”

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Politico [5/27/2025 3:50 PM, Nahal Toosi] reports the Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting — a significant expansion of previous such efforts, according to a cable obtained by POLITICO. In preparation for such required vetting, the administration is ordering U.S. Embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such student visa applicants, according to the cable, dated Tuesday and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If the administration carries out the plan, it could severely slow down student visa processing. It also could hurt many universities who rely heavily on foreign students to boost their financial coffers. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days,” the cable states. (“Septel” is State Department shorthand for “separate telegram.”) The administration had earlier imposed some social media screening requirements, but those were largely aimed at returning students who may have participated in protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The cable doesn’t directly spell out what the future social media vetting would screen for, but it alludes to executive orders that are aimed at keeping out terrorists and battling antisemitism. Many State Department officials have complained privately for months that past guidance — for, say, vetting students who may have participated in campus protests — has been vague. It’s unclear, for example, whether posting photos of a Palestinian flag on an X account could force a student to undergo additional scrutiny. The administration has used a variety of rules to target universities, especially elite ones such as Harvard, that it sees as too liberal and accuses of allowing antisemitism to flourish on their campuses. At the same time, it is carrying out immigration crackdowns that have swept up a number of students. CNN [5/27/2025 7:37 PM, Jennifer Hansler, 21433K] reports that the cable, issued on Tuesday morning and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, comes as the Trump administration has revoked scores of student visas and has attempted to stop foreign students from studying at Harvard University – a move that has been halted by a judge for the time being. The cable states that the State Department "is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants, and based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants.” The State Department has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms since 2019, a spokesperson said. In addition, it had already called for extra social media vetting of some applicants, largely related to alleged antisemitism. It is unclear what the expanded social media vetting would entail. However, an expansion of the efforts could severely slow down the overall student visa issuance process. In addition, the pause on new appointments, if it lasts, could create a significant backlog. Former consular officers say that appointments for student visas are typically prioritized at this time of year. Lawyers who have focused on the issue of student visas are concerned about the implications that this review could have on student enrollment in the fall. "Now is exactly when students would be applying for visas to start school in August. The timing is no accident. This is designed to significantly damage foreign student enrollment in the fall, and hurt the many universities that rely on these students," said Charles Kuck, a lawyer working with students whose visas were revoked earlier this year, who is a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. While students can technically apply for visas up to a year in advance, the enrollment process at universities means that they cannot typically start that process until the late spring or early summer. The students have to be admitted, put down a deposit and then wait to receive the necessary forms from their schools before they can apply, the former consular officers said. Bloomberg [5/27/2025 4:39 PM, Akayla Gardner, Nick Wadhams, and Hadriana Lowenkron, 19320K] reports that halting or even slowing visa applications would have ramifications for hundreds of thousands of students globally, and scores of educational institutions across the US, which have increasingly bolstered their ranks by attracting overseas talent. International students accounted for 5.9% of the total US higher education population of almost 19 million. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 1.1 million foreign students came to the US, with India sending the most, followed by China. Most international enrollees who come to the US study science, technology, engineering or mathematics. About 25% studied math and computer science, while nearly one in five opted for engineering. Foreign students also typically pay full tuition, offsetting costs that allow universities to provide more financial aid to US citizens. US schools with the most overseas students are New York University with more than 21,000 international students, Northeastern University and Columbia, according to the Open Doors Report, which is sponsored by the State Department. Vetting foreign students for visas is already a rigorous process, requiring applicants to prove strong academic credentials, financial means, ties to their own country and the intent to return home after graduation, according to Leopold. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” Rubio wrote. He said that guidance is expected in the coming days. The State Department cable says interviews that have already been scheduled can go ahead.

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DailySignal [5/27/2025 5:40 PM, Virginia Allen, 558K] reports an internal Department of Homeland Security memo details why the Trump administration is taking its forceful actions against Harvard University. Harvard is "failing its students and America," according to the memo, which was shared with The Daily Signal on Tuesday. "Harvard University’s leadership failed to address antisemitic riots and anti-American extremism on its campus. They even rewarded the most violent offenders," the memo states before listing a number of examples of antisemitism on the Massachusetts college’s campus. Incidents such as these are why the Trump administration "is holding Harvard accountable," according to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The Ivy League school is also being investigated over possible ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Breitbart [5/27/2025 8:12 AM, Joel B. Pollak, 3077K] reports Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government could lose nearly 60% of its student body if the Trump administration’s attempted ban on international enrollment, temporarily blocked by a judge, takes effect. As at many Harvard schools, campus life at the Kennedy School has been hijacked by anti-Israel activists. Last week, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from denying Harvard the ability to enroll students on foreign visas. But the administration made clear it intends to stop Harvard from being able to enroll foreigners if it continues to defy the president’s demands that it fight antisemitism and reform its "woke" curriculum and administrative practices. The Harvard Crimson reported on the potential impact: At the Harvard Kennedy School, the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard’s eligibility to enroll international students — temporarily blocked in court — could eliminate nearly 60 percent of the student body. After Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Thursday that the administration had revoked Harvard’s Student Exchange and Visitor Program certification, which allows it to enroll international students, Harvard swiftly sued to block the order. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order within hours.

New York Times [5/27/2025 10:44 AM, Michael C. Bender, 153395K] reports Presidential threats. Onerous investigations. Extensive funding cuts. The Trump administration has wielded all three against Harvard University in what began as the work of a task force the president commissioned to address antisemitism on campus — but has sprawled into a multifaceted pressure campaign that leverages the scope and power of the federal government. The effort involves at least eight investigations spanning at least six agencies, including the Departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services. Some of those agencies, and others, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, have pulled or frozen grants from the school and its research partners, totaling nearly $4 billion. In a major escalation, the Department of Homeland Security said it would halt Harvard’s ability to enroll international students. The administration targeted Harvard — and other elite schools, such as Columbia University — as part of a broader political and legal strategy to reshape academia’s race-based admissions policies and perceived liberal bias. While not being officially framed as a personal vendetta for President Trump, the government’s increasingly punitive actions have come after Harvard resisted many of the changes his administration demanded to admissions, curriculum and hiring practices. So far, the moves have not convinced the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university to come back to the negotiating table, even if school officials have privately expressed concerns about the lasting damage that feuding with the administration could cause. The university sued after the administration threatened to take away billions in federal funding and has pushed back strongly against the various investigations, denying allegations of wrongdoing and maintaining that it is committed to following the law. “The administration’s prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government,” Harvard’s president, Dr. Alan Garber, wrote last month. “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

CBS News [5/27/2025 5:21 PM, Melissa Quinn, 51860K] reports the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to lift a lower court order that blocked immigration authorities from removing migrants to third countries without first providing them certain due process rights while a legal battle over President Trump’s deportation efforts continues. The request for emergency relief from Solicitor General D. John Sauer stems from a preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy last month in a challenge brought by four migrants who are subject to final orders of removal. The district judge’s order prevented the administration from deporting any migrant detainee unless it first provides written notice of the third country — one other than their home country — to which they may be removed, and gives them a "meaningful opportunity" to raise a fear of torture, persecution or death in that third country, among other conditions. In his ruling, Murphy found it is likely that federal immigration officials "have applied and will continue to apply the alleged policy of removing aliens to third countries without notice and an opportunity to be heard on fear-based claims — in other words, without due process.” "Defendants argue that the United States may send a deportable alien to a country not of their origin, not where an immigration judge has ordered, where they may be immediately tortured and killed, without providing that person any opportunity to tell the deporting authorities that they face grave danger or death because of such a deportation," Murphy wrote. "All nine sitting justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, the assistant solicitor general of the United States, Congress, common sense, basic decency, and this court all disagree.” But in seeking relief from the Supreme Court, Sauer accused the district court of stalling the administration’s efforts to remove what he described as "some of the worst of the worst illegal aliens.” "Those judicially created procedures are currently wreaking havoc on the third-country removal process," Sauer wrote. "In addition to usurping the Executive’s authority over immigration policy, the injunction disrupts sensitive diplomatic, foreign-policy, and national-security efforts.” The emergency appeal is the latest in which the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to step into the slew of legal battles targeting many aspects of President Trump’s second-term agenda. But the president’s policies on immigration, in particular, have created escalating showdowns with the federal judiciary. Politico [5/27/2025 6:56 PM, Josh Gerstein, 16523K] reports that the appeal follows a bid by the Trump administration to hurriedly deport seven men — all previously convicted of serious crimes — to war-torn South Sudan with only hours notice and no opportunity for those men to raise fear of torture or persecution. Murphy halted those deportations and ordered the federal government to maintain custody of them abroad or return them to the United States. Sauer asked the high court to pause Murphy’s April 18 ruling requiring certain steps prior to so-called third-country deportations. It’s not clear if the pause that Sauer is seeking would resolve the dispute over the men previously destined for South Sudan. Those men are being held at a U.S. military base in Djibouti. Murphy’s ruling “disrupts sensitive diplomatic, foreign-policy, and national-security efforts,” Sauer wrote, adding that the requirements the judge ordered had created “a diplomatic and logistical morass” and usurp executive branch authority. “Those judicially created procedures are currently wreaking havoc on the third-country removal process,” the solicitor general wrote. The Justice Department argues that it has no obligation to affirmatively ask deportees if they have fears of being sent to a third country, regardless of whether they are criminals. Indeed, just last week in a proceeding in the very same case, Murphy ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return to the U.S. of a Guatemalan man with no criminal record who was deported to Mexico in February even though in earlier immigration proceedings he had made clear he feared being sent there because he’d been raped and harassed for being gay when he passed through there on the way to the U.S. “The Court finds that the public benefits from living in a country where rules are followed and where promises are kept,” Murphy wrote, noting that a ratified treaty and a federal law promise the U.S. will not to send people to countries where there is reason to believe they will be tortured. The Guatemalan man’s “return … poses a vanishingly small cost to make sure we can still claim to live up to that ideal,” the judge added. FOX News [5/27/2025 5:59 PM, Alec Schemmel, Shannon Bream, Bill Mears, 46878K] reports that in a Monday evening ruling, Murphy denied the government’s request to postpone enforcement of his injunction, and, as a result, the Trump administration is now seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court while the case continues to work its way through the legal system. It was unclear where the plane carrying the migrants may be as of last week, but a source with knowledge of the situation confirms to Fox News that the flight was in the nearby African country of Djibouti, with U-S military personnel on the scene assisting. No word on when or if the flight would travel on to South Sudan. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman had indicated South Sudan would not be the final destination for that particular flight..

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CNN [5/27/2025 4:36 PM, Katelyn Polantz, Priscilla Alvarez, and Lauren Chadwick, 21433K] reports a federal judge, in his latest finding that immigrant detainees the US intended to send to South Sudan aren’t being given due process, told the Trump administration he believes it is manufacturing chaos and trying to evade court orders. The latest written order from Judge Brian Murphy of the District Court in Massachusetts comes after the Trump administration asked the judge to revisit an earlier ruling he made that would have allowed the detainees more proceedings to object to their deportation. Fewer than 10 migrants are being held in US custody at a military base in Djibouti, according to the Trump administration. The judge on Monday said he wouldn’t reconsider or delay an earlier ruling, which he noted Justice Department lawyers had helped him shape, on giving the detainees some due process proceedings while they are held there. “It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than Defendants anticipated. However, the Court never said that Defendants had to convert their foreign military base into an immigration facility; it only left that as an option, again, at Defendants’ request,” Murphy wrote in a 17-page order issued Monday night. “From this course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite lack of clarity as a means of evasion.” Murphy, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden, is considering potentially holding administration officials in contempt of court for violation of his orders, in one of the latest major clashes between a judge and the Trump administration over immigration and due process. “The previous administration brought chaos to America in the form of a four-year border crisis that the Trump administration is still trying to clean up,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter as he seeks to make it easier for his administration to deport people to South Sudan and other countries that are not their homeland.

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Breitbart [5/27/2025 3:21 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports a group funded by Alexander and George Soros’s network of left-wing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is behind a lawsuit that is now preventing President Donald Trump from deporting violent criminal illegal aliens to South Sudan. In March, Human Rights First joined two other organizations in suing the Trump administration on behalf of illegal aliens with final deportation orders. The lawsuit claims that a directive from Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) permitting illegal aliens to be deported to countries that are not their home countries is unlawful. In April, Judge Brian Murphy, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by former President Joe Biden, issued a preliminary injunction blocking DHS from deporting illegal aliens to so-called third countries without giving them adequate notice beforehand. Since then, the Trump administration has deported eight illegal aliens to South Sudan — all of whom had final deportation orders and whose violent crimes include murder, rape, child sex crimes, and burglary. Murphy has ruled that DHS violated his prior preliminary injunction by deporting the illegal aliens to South Sudan and has ordered the administration to provide them with "credible fear interviews." As Breitbart News exclusively reported, the eight illegal aliens have extensive rap sheets that include crimes against children, premeditated murder, kidnapping, and violent sexual assault.

FOX News [5/27/2025 7:34 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46878K] reports the White House ripped Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., for making a "shameful" Memorial Day trip to El Salvador in an attempt to visit deported illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The White House’s rapid response account said of Ivey’s trip, "This moron spent his Memorial Day trying (and failing) to visit a criminal illegal immigrant gangbanger in a foreign country. For Democrats, criminal illegals > American citizens every time.” Ivey posted about the attempted visit on his X account, saying that he represents Abrego Garcia, and that the Salvadoran government stonewalled his efforts to conduct a welfare check. "Today, I was denied access to seeing my constituent, Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him," he said. "I’m the congressman who represents Kilmar and I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made formal requests through our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came here to visit him today.” "We need to bring him home. I won’t stop until we do," Ivey added in an X post. Abrego Garcia’s deportation to his home country, El Salvador, has caused significant controversy. The Trump administration has pointed to evidence suggesting that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking to justify his deportation. The administration has also cited court documents detailing Abrego Garcia’s alleged physical abuse of his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Democrats, meanwhile, say he is a "Maryland man" who was not given his due process in court before being deported. Since Abrego Garcia’s deportation, several Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., have made trips to El Salvador to conduct similar wellness checks and to advocate for his release. The trips have stirred significant controversy as well, with many asking why Democrats are spending so much time advocating for a suspected gang member who was unlawfully present in the U.S. The video also caught the attention of White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson. Jackson told Fox News Digital that "it’s shameful, and an insult to the American people, that a Democrat Congressman spent his Memorial Day trying to visit a deported illegal alien, MS-13 terrorist, human-trafficker, and wife beater.” "This pathetic stunt tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the modern Democrat party – they’re putting criminal illegals over American citizens all the time," said Jackson. Breitbart [5/27/2025 3:04 PM, Sean Moran, 3077K] reports that many outlets have noted that Abrego Garcia is not a U.S. citizen nor a legal resident of the United States. “I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made a formal request to our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came down here to visit him today, and now they’re telling us we’ve got to go all the way back to San Salvador [the country’s capital] to get a permit,” he said in the video. “That’s ridiculous. We ought to have a chance to come in and visit,” he added. “The facts are clear: Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a violent illegal alien who abuses women and children,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a prior public statement. “He had no business being in our country and we are proud to have deported this violent thug,” she added. A plurality of swing voters agree with the Trump administration’s decision to deport Abrego Garcia.

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NBC News [5/27/2025 5:16 PM, Nicole Acevedo, 44540K] reports a federal judge doubled down on his decision ordering the return of a Guatemalan migrant to the United States after his deportation was found to have lacked due process. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts denied a motion from the Department of Justice asking the court to reconsider an order issued Friday, instructing the administration of President Donald Trump "to take all immediate steps to facilitate" the migrant’s return to the U.S. Identified only as O.C.G., the migrant said in a court declaration that last year he fled his country, where he endured persecution and torture. Friday’s order marks the third time courts have instructed the Trump administration to bring back deportees found to have been improperly or illegally deported. The U.S. Department of Homeland also weighed in on the case in another X post Saturday, saying, O.C.G. "was an illegally present alien who was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala. He was instead removed to Mexico, a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim. Yet, this federal activist judge is ordering us to bring him back, so he can have an opportunity to prove why he should be granted asylum to a country that he has had no past connection to."

The AP [5/27/2025 9:08 PM, Vanessa Gera, 2106K] reports the Conservative Political Action Conference, the United States’ premier conservative gathering, held its first meeting in Poland on Tuesday, just five days before a tightly contested presidential election between a liberal mayor and a conservative backed by U.S. President Trump. The two candidates vying to replace Polish President Andrzej Duda offer starkly different visions for Poland: Rafał Trzaskowski, the pro-European Union liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the Law and Justice party who is skeptical of the EU. "We need you to elect the right leader," Kristi Noem, the U.S. Homeland Security secretary and a prominent Trump ally, said in a speech at the event. "You will be the leaders that will turn Europe back to conservative values.” Ms. Noem described Mr. Trzaskowski as "an absolute trainwreck of a leader" and Mr. Nawrocki as someone who would lead Poland in a style similar to Mr. Trump. She opened her speech saying: "I just had the opportunity to meet with Karol and listen: he needs to be the next president of Poland. Do you understand me?". She also implied that electing Mr. Nawrocki would strengthen the U.S.-Poland relationship. "If you (elect) a leader that will work with President Donald J. Trump, the Polish people will have an ally strong that will ensure that you will be able to fight off enemies that do not share your values," she said. "You will have strong borders and protect your communities and keep them safe, and ensure that your citizens are respected every single day," she said. "You will continue to have a U.S. presence here, a military presence. And you will have equipment that is American-made, that is high quality.” The United States currently has some 10,000 troops stationed in Poland, a mission aimed at reassuring the frontline NATO nation worried about Russian aggression. "Donald Trump is a strong leader for us, but you have an opportunity that you have just as strong of a leader in Karol if you make him the leader of this country," Ms. Noem said. ABC News [5/27/2025 5:02 PM, Staff, 31733K] reports Noem spoke for more than 20 minutes at CPAC, an American group that seeks to spread conservative ideas and held its first conference in Poland on Tuesday. She claimed there is no time for "nice words," saying, "We do not have time to dance around the dangers that threaten our societies.” "It matters who’s in charge," Noem told the crowd. "I have watched over the years as socialists and people that are just like this mayor out of Warsaw that is an absolute train wreck of a leader have destroyed our countries because they have led by fear. "They have used fear to control people, and they’ve used fear to promote an agenda that is not what liberty is about, that is not what freedom is about," she said. The Polish runoff election for president is on Sunday, June 1, with Nawrocki as the conservative choice and Rafal Trzaskowski for the Civic Platform party. Noem then took aim at "weak" European leaders who have allowed in migrants and "destroyed their civilizations.” "You have enforced your borders. You have protected who comes into your country, enforced your visa programs. You’ve done good work to make sure that this country has a different story," she told the crowd. "But you have much more to do, and you are threatened with a leader who is on the ballot who would take all of that protection away from you, who would open you up to much of the experiences that America had to live through under our last president, Joe Biden," she added. Noem also said that if the Polish elect the right person, the country will continue to have the backing of the U.S.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [5/27/2025 1:51 PM, Piotr Skolimowski, 19320K]

New York Post [5/27/2025 8:14 PM, Diana Glebova, 49956K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had a "candid" conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend about Iran’s nuclear capabilities — delivering a message "directly" from President Trump, The Post learned. Noem travelled to Israel and met with Netanyahu on Trump’s behalf, where the two spoke about Israel’s security and visited the border with Gaza. She also offered the US’s condolences for Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, the two Israeli embassy workers who were shot in a terrorist attack in DC last week. The meeting was part of Noem’s larger jaunt to Italy, Bahrain and Poland, where she also spoke to world leaders about advancing US security interests. While in Israel, "the Secretary and Prime Minister had a candid conversation where the Secretary reiterated POTUS’s desire to bring peace to the region and for Iran to never have a nuclear weapon," a readout of the meeting read. Trump has been adamant on Iran not acquiring a nuclear weapon and has made it his foreign policy mission to enforce the message that the US will not stop until Tehran abandons the idea. While the contents of the conversation weren’t entirely clear, Israel has reportedly been considering striking Iran’s nuclear facilities if the US-Iran talks don’t work out. However, Trump has warned Netanyahu that he would rather achieve the goal diplomatically, instead of the "more severe and negative option," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week. "President Trump specifically sent me here to have a conversation with the prime minister about how those negotiations are going and how important it is that we stay united and let this process play out," Noem told "Fox & Friends" Monday about her conversation with Netanyahu. Trump pulled out of the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, but has made clear that he will ensure Iran doesn’t achieve nuclear capability under his watch. The president has directed his administration to hold talks with Tehran about stopping their nuclear program — and has threatened to bomb their atomic sites. "Well, we could actually blow ‘em up. Blow ‘em up, or just de-nuke ‘em," Trump told Hugh Hewitt on May 7 about Iran’s nuclear sites. "But there are only two alternatives, blow ‘em up nicely or blow ‘em up viciously.”

Reported similarly:
Axios [5/27/2025 2:29 PM, Barak Ravid, 13599K]

(B) Local News Live [5/27/2025 2:08 PM, Staff] reports that family and friends are gathering for the funeral of Sarah Milgrim today. She is one of two Israeli embassy staffers shot and killed last week outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. The murders are being investigated as a possible hate crime. Milgrim was killed alongside her coworker and boyfriend Yaron Leszczynski. Leszczynski was laid to rest Sunday in Israel. Israel’s foreign minister attended the funeral on Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attended a memorial in Jerusalem for Milgrim and Leszczynski. The alleged gunman had no apparent criminal record prior to last week’s shooting. Police say his online posts had become fixated on the war in Gaza and called for retaliation against Israel.

The Hill [5/27/2025 10:40 AM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) slammed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem for her recent trip to Israel, declaring it just another "photo op.” Crockett said she didn’t think anything substantive would come from the foreign trip scheduled days after two Israeli Embassy staffers were fatally shot outside of a museum in Washington. "You just had a good photo op. And I think that that’s probably all Kristi Noem is good for, is a photo op," Crockett said Sunday during an appearance on MSNBC’s "Weekends with Alex Witt.” Noem has faced heavy criticism in recent months from lawmakers and others for wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gear, including a bulletproof vest, in photos and videos and when speaking to reporters along the southern border. During a trip to El Salvador, the secretary also received pushback for giving remarks in front of prisoners at the notorious megaprison known as CECOT. However, she said her Sunday trip to Israel was not arranged for the media but requested by President Trump after a shooting killed the couple, identified as 26-year-old Sarah Lynn Milgrim and 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky. The two staffers were killed after a gunman opened fire outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington last week. The shooter also shouted "free Palestine" during the incident, according to police — likely in protest over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. "Following the horrific terrorist attack in Washington DC killing two Israeli diplomats, @POTUS Trump asked me to visit Israel and meet with Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu]," Noem wrote in a Monday post on the social platform X, showcasing MSNBC footage of her at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. "Hate will not have the last word.”

Axios [5/27/2025 11:08 AM, Sara Fischer, 13599K] reports Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday penned joint letters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urging them to protect and prioritize the safety of journalists affiliated with U.S. government-funded international broadcasters, according to copies of the letters obtained by Axios. The Trump administration is currently entangled in several messy legal battles over its efforts to dismantle broadcasters under the U.S. Agency for Global Media. USAGM outlets fighting back include Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Lawmakers are concerned that journalists affiliated with those outlets facing safety issues in their home countries will languish amid the legal drama. "If U.S.-based USAGM affiliated personnel’s employment were to be terminated, the basis for their presence in the United States would be jeopardized — in many cases forcing them to return to authoritarian countries where they are at risk of being interrogated, jailed, or persecuted," Shaheen and Van Hollen wrote in their letter to Noem.

Federal News Network [5/27/2025 12:11 PM, Michele Sandiford, 2346K] reports probationary employees who were fired from the Department of Homeland Security have been granted class certification on an appeal case with the Merit Systems Protection Board. The DHS employees allege that the agency violated the law when it terminated them earlier this year. They argue that the mass firings at DHS were really an unlawfully conducted reduction in force (RIF). Gilbert Employment Law, which is representing the DHS employees in the MSPB case, called the class certification “heartening news.”

FOX News [5/27/2025 1:21 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46878K] reports the Republican minority leaders in California are responding to potential next steps for the highly scrutinized Medi-Cal program, which is insolvent, as some believe the ability for people to enroll "regardless of their immigration status" is a leading cause. The state faces a $12 billion budget shortfall as budget talks continue in Sacramento. The Medi-Cal program went insolvent earlier this year after it went billions over budget, resulting in $3.44 billion in loan requests to salvage the program, which covers low-income Golden State residents. Republicans said it was in large part due to illegal immigrants being allowed to enroll in the program, and Newsom also said that it was part of the spending issue, but not the whole picture, according to KCRA. "That’s going to continue to be a big debate here in California as we’re wrestling with a $12 billion dollar deficit and the cost of providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants is $11.4 billion dollars, so if we just didn’t do that, that would eliminate our budget deficit," California State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said. "Now, there’s lots of other ways we can find $12 billion dollars to eliminate the deficit as well.” Newsom’s May budget revision proposes a pause for adults 19 and older from enrolling in "full-scope coverage" and to start charging a $100 premium each month "for individuals with certain statuses," Fox News Digital reported earlier this month. "To be very clear, these proposals are the results of a $16 billion Trump Slump and higher-than-expected health care utilization. Because of these outside factors, the state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians," Elana Ross, deputy communications director for Newsom’s office, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Governor Newsom refuses to turn his back on hardworking Californians, especially when it comes to their basic health care needs," she added. The proposal from the Newsom administration sparked criticism among some in the legislature, as the Democratic California Legislative Latino Caucus is suggesting a tax hike to pay for the program’s coverage for illegal immigrants, according to KCRA. The question remains whether a $100 premium would be enough to get people to leave the program.

AP [5/27/2025 4:16 PM, Staff, 24051K] reports federal prosecutors won’t seek the death penalty for the son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin "El Chapo" if he’s convicted of multiple charges in Chicago. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros filed a one-sentence notice Friday saying he would not seek the death penalty against Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The notice did not offer any explanation. Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s attorney, listed in online court records as Jeffrey Lichtman, said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was pleased with the decision "as it’s the correct one.” "Joaquin and I are looking forward to resolving the charges against him," Lichtman said. Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s father is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, former leader of the Sinaloa cartel. According to federal prosecutors, El Chapo smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. He was convicted in 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in a U.S. prison later that year. Prosecutors allege Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel known as the "Chapitos," or little Chapos, that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. Prosecutors unsealed sweeping indictments in 2023 against dozens of members of the Sinaloa cartel, including the brothers. Federal authorities arrested Joaquin Guzman Lopez and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, in July in Texas after they landed in the U.S. on a private plane. Joaquin Guzman Lopez has been indicted on eight counts, including money laundering, drug dealing and conspiracy to distribute drugs.

Federal News Network [5/27/2025 2:29 PM, Michele Sandiford, 2346K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate recently completed what it calls its "Remote Identity Validation Technology Demonstration." This event consisted of the testing of products that attempt to verify documents submitted via mobile technology. With government and industry making the shift to virtual operation, the average person can now discard the time-honored practice of walking into a government office, bank or organization to present documents proving their identity. Using any smartphone, a selfie, driver’s license or any copy of any official document can be transferred digitally without hours of waiting. With the convenience of digital transmissions comes the exploitation of bad actors and professional fraudsters who can potentially rake in millions of dollars pretending to be someone else. This ongoing threat creates a need, not just for identity security in the most primitive manner, but unprecedented sophisticated measures to prove the legitimacy of those documents and photos. "We’ve seen a lot of technologies come into the marketplace where we can help verify who people are online," Arun Vermury, senior advisor for biometrics and identity at the DHS S&T Directorate, told Federal News Network’s Federal Monthly Insights — Identity Security. "We’re trying to figure out a few things, like is the document real? Is the person the real person? And does the person match the identity document?" [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

The Hill [5/27/2025 10:00 AM, Nolan Rappaport, 18649K] reports "We don’t have to choose between border security and immigration reform," Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) recently said. "We can and should do both." And he has unveiled a five-pillar plan for doing so. I am encouraged by the fact that a Democratic senator is making a genuine effort to put together an immigration reform bill that would appeal to both parties, but I think he needs to go a little further if he wants his proposal to have real appeal for Republicans. The first pillar calls for more resources at the border; building more barriers; improving port infrastructure; and other changes that would make it easier to apprehend illegal border crossers. It also would prioritize Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s "finite resources on identifying, arresting, and deporting convicted criminals, known gang members, and other violent individuals who jeopardize Americans’ safety.” The border resources Gallego is offering would certainly make it easier to apprehend illegal border crossers, but he also needs to do something about the magnets that attract illegal immigration. The main one is the job magnet. Forty years ago, Congress established employer sanctions for knowingly hiring unauthorized foreign employees; yet even today, the sanctions still haven’t been fully implemented. Former Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Prakash Khatri and I have proposed a different approach: Require the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to fine employers who are violating labor laws in industries known to hire unauthorized foreign workers. This division enforces federal labor laws that were enacted to curb such abuses, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage, overtime pay and more. This should discourage employers who currently hire unauthorized foreign workers because they tend to work for lower wages and under less desirable conditions than American workers. I would expect President Trump to veto a bill that has the increases Gallego’s plan proposes. Trump reduced legal immigration during his first term, and he is doing it again now. Gallego should probably consider less ambitious increases. This pillar would provide DREAMers — immigrants who were brought here by their parents when they were young children — with a pathway to citizenship. Democrats already have introduced 20 versions of a DREAM Act, but none has gotten the support needed from Republicans to get through the legislative process. Gallego should consider substituting a modified version of the bill Trump offered in his first term to help DREAMers who are participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which, among other things, includes legal status for DREAMers who are DACA participants and limiting family-based visas to spouses and children. I would expect Trump to be receptive to such an approach; he said in a recent "Meet the Press" interview that he still wants to help the participants in that program. The plight of the DREAMers is sympathetic because they didn’t intentionally violate our immigration laws. Their parents brought them here illegally. It wouldn’t make sense to let parents profit from the legalization of the children they brought here in violation of our laws. But chain migration doesn’t have to be eliminated to prevent this from happening — just include DREAMers in the Special Immigrant Juvenile program instead of establishing a new legalization program for them. The provisions of the program already prohibit participants from conferring immigration benefits on their parents.

The Hill [5/27/2025 11:00 AM, Steven Lubet, 18649K] reports although it sounds like the premise for an absurdist sitcom or a dystopian novel, it seems that the Department of Homeland Security has actually considered participating in a reality show where "legal immigrants" would compete for a fast track to U.S. citizenship. It took Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem nearly a week to deny the reports. Contradicting agency spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, who told Fox News that it "may be a good idea" for reviving "patriotism and civic duty," Noem told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security that "there are no plans whatsoever to do a reality show." That is probably just as well, because it isn’t clear that Noem herself could pass a civics test, given her bizarre assertion in Senate testimony that President Donald Trump has the right to suspend Habeas Corpus "to remove people from this country." According to the Wall Street Journal, the reality show pitch came from Rob Worsoff, a producer of "Duck Dynasty." He explained that the show would be a "celebration" of what it means to be an American citizen, in which contestants "compete in various contests, including potentially on American history and science." The winners would have their citizenship applications expedited — ideally sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol — but the losers would not be deported or otherwise penalized a la "The Hunger Games.” The various challenges in Worsoff’s pitch, as outlined in a 36-slide deck, include such quintessentially American activities as gold mining and automobile assembly, while the contestants travel cross-country. The competition would have kicked off at Ellis Island, where no immigrants have entered the U.S. since 1943.

Los Angeles Times [5/27/2025 9:00 AM, Staff, 14672K] reports the human cruelty displayed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, under orders from the Trump administration, in arresting immigrants as they leave a courtroom with their family after having a case against them dismissed is beyond the pale of what should occur in any law-abiding nation ("Father ripped from family as agents target immigration courts, arresting people after cases dismissed," May 24). Has our current government sunk so low that due process is ignored, court orders repeatedly violated, while the will of one man’s executive orders become the law of the land? It seems apparent that the executive branch itself is the one acting lawlessly, creating its own orders in disregard of due process. Its arrogance is exceeded only by the human suffering that it is willfully imposing on others. To the editor: Another day, another sob story from the Los Angeles Times about illegal immigrants being deported. Instead of blaming ICE for causing family members to be "traumatized," put the blame where it rightly belongs: on the family members who consciously chose to break our laws and sneak into our country illegally.

NewsMax [5/27/2025 10:29 AM, Michael Reagan, 4622K] reports is Uncle Sam Surveilling More Than Airports and Innocent Passengers? We have additions for President Trump’s must fire immediately list. Tulsi Gabbard, the current Director of National Intelligence (DNI), was formerly a Democratic Member of Congress from Hawaii. She made an abortive run for the Democratic Party nomination for president in 2020. In time she became disillusioned with the left wingers running the party and she moved right. That’s when she learned the Democratic Party is as tough on apostates as the strictest religious orders are. Gabbard began getting singled out for enhanced security screening when she tried to fly. She drew the obvious conclusion that she’s been placed on a watch list by angry left-adherents populating the Biden administration. Naturally, the spin doctors comprising the Biden regime weren’t forthcoming about that in the least. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., received documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proving Gabbard was placed squarely on the TSA Quiet Skies watch list. Fox News has the story, "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," Paul added.

NewsMax [5/27/2025 3:49 PM, Susan Estrich, 4622K] reports she did not even know what habeas corpus is. It should come as no surprise, judging from her actions. At a hearing, she was asked by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., "Secretary Noem, what is habeas corpus?". Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, "Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their right to . . . ". Hassan, "No. Let me stop you, ma’am. Excuse me, that’s incorrect.” It’s not just incorrect. It’s completely backward. Habeas corpus is not the president’s right to be able to remove people from this country at will. He doesn’t have that right. Habeas corpus ensures that. Without it, people could be detained at will because the king or the Fuhrer or the president doesn’t like them. Habeas corpus developed in the English courts in the 1600s in opposition to the divine right of the king to incarcerate. A petition for habeas corpus was the way you enforced the rule of law. It reflects a principle enshrined in the Magna Carta that "No man shall be arrested or imprisoned ... except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.”

The Hill [5/27/2025 9:30 AM, Kimberly Wehle, 18649K] reports both Congress and the Supreme Court seem poised to kneecap what may be the only meaningful remaining constitutional check on the presidency: lower federal court judges. Last week, the House of Representatives passed the absurdly named "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a hodgepodge of controversial tax breaks for the wealthy, spending reductions and increased work requirements for food aid and Medicaid programs and huge funding increases for President Trump’s mass migrant removal program, among other provisions. Buried in its 1,000 pages is also this poison pill: "No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued.” As law professor Erwin Chemerinsky explained for Just Security, the bill effectively requires payment of a bond before a federal judge can issue an injunction against the government or a private party. Yet "those seeking such court orders generally do not have the resources to post a bond, and insisting on it would immunize unconstitutional government conduct from judicial review. It always has been understood that courts can choose to set the bond at zero.” Injunctions have been used to force the government’s compliance with federal law since at least 1913. By mandating the pre-payment of a bond as a prerequisite to injunctions, Chemerinsky writes, "the House bill would make the court orders in these cases completely unenforceable.” This is a shameless gift to the Trump administration, which is facing down hundreds of lawsuits in the lower federal courts that seek to vindicate constitutional rights as basic as due process and free speech. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s far-right majority is also taking steps to undermine the lower courts’ authority.

Wall Street Journal [5/27/2025 5:01 PM, Jason L. Riley, 646K] reports Donald Trump has made the Harvard man his whipping boy, and academia certainly had it coming. Still, what is the president’s objective? The administration announced Tuesday that it is seeking to cancel all remaining federal contracts with the school, which are worth an estimated $100 million. That’s on top of the billions of dollars in grants to Harvard that Mr. Trump has already frozen. He’s also threatened to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status and wants to increase the levy on its $53 billion endowment. In a social-media post on Memorial Day, the president mused about rescinding $3 billion in grant money awarded to Harvard for scientific and engineering research and redirecting it to trade schools. But to what end? Does Mr. Trump think trade schools have the infrastructure and resources to do the research done at Harvard? The president is upset that Harvard and other elite institutions didn’t do enough to protect Jewish students on their campuses who were being harassed and intimidated by anti-Israel demonstrators. He’s likewise annoyed by the leftward political tilt of academia, where social-justice advocacy is dominant and competing perspectives are discouraged and seldom engaged. Those are fair criticisms, but they don’t give Mr. Trump license to trample over academic freedom and First Amendment rights, or to tell private universities whom they can hire and what they can teach. Mr. Trump’s recent move to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students is as shortsighted and counterproductive as his effort to disrupt research projects. Citing a need to protect Jewish students, the Department of Homeland Security announced last week that Harvard is losing its certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows international students to attend U.S. colleges. “Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release. A federal judge has issued a restraining order that temporarily halts the administration’s foreign-student ban, and anyone who cares about higher education should hope the White House drops the issue. Mr. Trump accuses Harvard of withholding the names of its international students. “They refuse to tell us who the people are,” he told reporters. But the federal government already has that information. As the Harvard Crimson explained, schools that accept students on foreign visas “report extensive records to the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System database, including names, places of birth, and countries of origin.” The administration wants additional information on foreign students, including protest activities, but Harvard says that goes beyond what the law requires and raises privacy concerns.

Axios [5/28/2025 5:00 AM, Brittany Gibson and Stef W. Kight, 13600K] reports in a tense meeting last week, top Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that immigration agents seek to arrest 3,000 people a day, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. The new target is triple the number of daily arrests that agents were making in the early days of Trump’s term — and suggests the president’s top immigration officials are full-steam ahead in pushing for mass deportations. The increased pressure on agents comes as border-crossing numbers have plummeted in Trump’s first four months. It signals an increasingly aggressive approach to making arrests in non-border communities nationwide. It also comes as the Trump administration’s heavy-handed tactics in rounding up unauthorized immigrants — and in some cases, legal residents and even U.S. citizens — appear to have contributed to President Trump’s slipping poll numbers on immigration. Miller demanded that field office directors and special agents in charge get arrest and deportation numbers up as much as possible, pointing to the waves of unauthorized immigrants who were able to enter the U.S. during the Biden Administration. Noem took a milder approach in pushing for more arrests, soliciting feedback from ICE leaders. Special government employee Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign aide, also spoke.

Breitbart [5/27/2025 4:53 PM, Lowell Cauffiel, 3077K] reports ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers made the arrests in Boston, Denver, Houston, Newark, New York City, Salt Lake City and San Francisco, Fox News is reporting. A number of those nabbed had records for violence or sex crimes against children. Those already behind bars apparently were taken into custody under ICE’s Criminal Alien Program (CAP).

Blaze [5/27/2025 2:30 PM, Staff, 1805K] reports that the Biden administration was behind not only the record amounts of illegal aliens flooding across our border, but over 300,000 unaccompanied children who are now unaccounted for. "Nobody knows where they are. Nobody can find them," BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales of "Sara Gonzales Unfiltered" tells Ali Hopper and Dr. Jarrod Sadulski, founders of GUARD Against Trafficking. "This shows the crisis that the Biden-Harris administration created," Sadulski says. "Since the inauguration, Homeland Security Investigations has conducted an investigation — a well-being check — on 100,000 of the 324,000 that were reported as unaccounted for. Out of that, they could only locate 5,000, which means 95,000 children are completely unaccounted for." "And there’s nowhere else to look. The information the Biden-Harris regime accepted from sponsors — it’s been discovered that 70% of it was fraudulent," he adds. "So, clearly nobody in this administration was going back and double-checking anything, vetting any of these people, any of the information, to make sure that it was actually accurate. They were just like, ‘Here, sign this paper. I don’t really care what you put on it. I’m not going to check it,’" Gonzales responds, shocked. In one rare case, an actual Office of Refugee Resettlement caseworker went to the recorded address and discovered that the person portraying themselves as the child’s sponsor had visible MS-13 tattoos. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [5/27/2025 7:00 AM, Douglas MacMillan and Aaron Schaffer, 32099K] reports a leader of the Trump administration’s effort to detain and deport millions of immigrants recently earned consulting fees from a detention center company that is expected to benefit financially from the crackdown, according to a federal ethics filing. Before he joined the administration, border czar Tom Homan earned an undisclosed amount in fees consulting for a division of the Geo Group, one of two companies that operates the vast majority of the nation’s immigrant detention facilities, according to the disclosure, which was released last week. The filing, which has not been previously reported, did not specify what work Homan performed. The document said Geo paid him more than $5,000 during the two years preceding his government appointment in January. Ethics rules do not require any more specific disclosure, and the amount Homan received could be far higher. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement that Homan abides by “the highest ethical standards” and that he gave up a “successful private career” to work as a high-ranking government official. She cited a statement Homan issued in December in response to reports about his consulting work, in which he said he would recuse himself “from any involvement, discussion, input, or decision of any future government contracts that may be awarded.” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initially declined to comment. After this article was posted online, the agency issued a statement, saying, “Tom Homan has never been involved in any contract discussions or decisions at ICE since being named border czar.”

Washington Examiner [5/27/2025 11:18 PM, Ross O’Keefe, 1934K] reports the Trump administration’s border czar taunted liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in an interview Tuesday night over the arrest of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest. Tom Homan has sparred with progressives over immigration policy since he took a leading role on the initiative. "AOC went on social media saying if we put a finger on any of her co-workers that were at the Newark facility, there would be consequences. Well, guess what? We did it. I’m waiting on the consequences," he told Fox News. Homan: AOC said if you put a finger on any congress people that were at the Newark facility, there would be consequences. Well, guess what? We did it. I’m waiting on the consequences pic.twitter.com/SpsUduE9Rl. Homan appears to be referring to Ocasio-Cortez’s comments during a livestream earlier this month. "If anyone is breaking the law in this situation, it’s not members of Congress, it’s the Department of Homeland Security. It’s people like Tom Homan and [DHS] Secretary Kristi Noem," Ocasio-Cortez said. "You lay a finger on someone, on … any of the representatives that were there. You lay a finger on them, we’re going to have a problem.” McIver was charged with felony assault, resisting, and impeding law enforcement last week. The same prosecutor dropped the trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from the same protest. McIver was joined by Reps. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) for the May 9 protest at the ICE-run Delaney Hall detention facility. DHS officials said the lawmakers and Newark mayor disrupted the entry of a detainee transport bus and forced their way through the gate, placing officers in harm’s way. House Democratic leadership condemned the charges against her. "Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch wherever and whenever it is needed," they wrote in a joint statement. "We are lawfully permitted to show up at any federal facility unannounced to conduct an inspection on behalf of the American people. By visiting the detention center in Newark, Rep. McIver and two other Members of Congress were upholding their oath of office. They didn’t assault anyone, but were themselves aggressively mistreated by illegally masked individuals.” Homan also sparred with Ocasio-Cortez in the media earlier this month: "I take pleasure [that] I can live with her mind rent-free every day, but we all know exactly what she’s doing," Homan said. Ocasio-Cortez had said she wasn’t afraid of Homan at a Queens, New York, town hall: "Tom Homan said he was going to refer me to [the] DOJ because I’m using my free speech rights in order to advise people of their constitutional protections. To that I say: Come for me. Do I look like I care?".

NewsNation [5/27/2025 1:58 PM, Jorge Ventura, 5801K] reports that a 2013 Harvard graduate living in Texas made the tough decision to self-deport to Mexico with his husband, who is a U.S. citizen. NewsNation’s Jorge Ventura joined "NewsNation Live" to discuss Francisco Hernandez-Corona’s turbulent situation. Hernandez-Corona says he feared being apprehended by ICE, which prompted him and his husband, Irving Hernandez-Corona, to make the decision. He even stopped driving just out of caution. "I have no criminal record," said Hernandez-Corona. "I have a work permit. I wasn’t in a situation where I felt like I’m going to be deported tomorrow." At age 11, Hernandez-Corona’s father paid smugglers to bring him across the border illegally. "Somewhere on the border, a random group of people that I never met, again, I’m a child, and they told us we’re going to cross the desert," he added. "And it’s going to be long, and it’s going to take a lot of time. Second to my mom passing away, it’s the most traumatizing thing I’ve ever been through." Hernandez-Corona acknowledged that when he decided to self-deport, he bought a plane ticket back to Mexico and left out of fear that he would be sent to a different country other than his own. This announcement follows the Department of Homeland Security’s declaration that migrants using the CBP One App to self-deport will receive a $1,000 travel stipend upon returning to their home country. There is no exact number on how many migrants are self-deporting this way, outside of official programs. The DHS confirmed to NewsNation that thousands of migrants have now used the CBP Home App. [Editorial note: consult video at source link for video]

Politico [5/27/2025 8:34 PM, Kelly Garrity, 2100K] reports the Department of Homeland Security shared reports Tuesday that several people were deported from Nantucket, Massachusetts as part of an operation that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were carrying out on the island. “ICE is removing illegal aliens from ALL states, communities, and worksites across this country,” DHS posted on X, above a video from the Nantucket Current that showed several people in life vests sitting on a U.S. Coast Guard boat along with officers wearing what appeared to be bulletproof vests. “If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home app to self-deport. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” the post read. Neither ICE nor Nantucket police immediately responded to requests for comment. According to the Current, at least 12 people were detained by ICE and removed from the island Tuesday afternoon. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also reposted the video on X.

Politico [5/27/2025 7:29 AM, Kelly Garrity, 2100K] reports ON THIN ICE — As federal immigration enforcement actions ramp up in Massachusetts, so is the debate over what level of coordination there should be between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local police. A deportation operation in Worcester earlier this month threw the discourse into sharp relief. ICYMI: Two people were arrested by Worcester police after a crowd gathered as ICE officers were attempting to take into custody a woman they said was in the country illegally. The kerfuffle spurred outrage from immigration advocates and hardliners alike. Protesters r allied outside Worcester City Hall, calling on police to do more to shield residents from ICE, while Worcester’s police union and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin took aim at Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, who stood in front of the woman in an effort to keep officials from taking her. Days later, Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump’s top deputies, was weighing in on X. The uproar prompted Worcester City Manager Eric Batista to sign an executive order “reaffirming how the Worcester police interacts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” The order prevents city employees from participating in a federal operation “solely for the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws, except in response to a request to assist with support services deemed necessary to ensure officer safety.” But not everyone is satisfied. The measure, critics pointed out, doesn’t require local police to verify that federal officials have the authority to carry out an arrest — by determining they have a warrant, for example.

New York Post [5/27/2025 1:51 PM, Steven Vago, Craig McCarthy, and Carl Campanile, 49956K] reports that about 500 Big Apple students staged a walkout Tuesday after federal immigration agents detained a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant who had been attending a Bronx high school. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an Ellis Prep Academy student identified only as Dylan on May 21 when he showed up for a mandatory immigration court hearing, chalkbeat.com reported. “It seems like a dirty game on their part,” Raiza, Dylan’s mother, told Chalkbeat. “When someone appears in front of a judge, it’s because they don’t have any criminal record, they want to do the right thing,” she told the outlet. “The only thing he wants is to study.” Dylan had graduated high school in Venezuela but was looking to improve his English and prepare for college at the academy, which is a school for English language learners and older students, the outlet said. He had been living with his mother and two younger siblings, who also fled Venezuela, the report said. More than 500 students skipped school at around noon Thursday to attend an anti-Trump protest in Union Square park, blasting the president for his hard-line immigration and border policies. The courts have blocked or ruled against some deportations that are enforced without adequate notice or due process but the repeal of temporary protected status remains in effect. Chancellor Aviles-Ramos has also called out the detention.

New York Times [5/28/2025 3:44 AM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Dana Rubinstein, 330K] reports that, when a 20-year-old from Venezuela was arrested last week at an immigration courthouse in New York, it was the first reported instance of a public school student in the city being apprehended by federal officials since the start of President Trump’s second term. It also signaled a shift in strategy by immigration authorities who are intent on expediting deportations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers last week began standing inside and outside of immigration courts across the United States in an effort to detain certain migrants who are appearing for scheduled hearings. Immigration lawyers said ICE officers — from San Diego and Los Angeles to Boston and Miami — were targeting migrants shortly after their cases were dismissed by judges. Government lawyers are requesting that the cases be dismissed in order to place the migrants in expedited deportation proceedings. Dylan, the New York student, was arrested on Wednesday in the lobby of a courthouse in Lower Manhattan by ICE officers who showed up at the city’s immigration courts in large numbers. Dylan’s last name was withheld at the request of his family, which fears retaliation from the government. On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams fended off a barrage of questions about the student’s arrest. Mr. Adams, who oversees a school system serving thousands of immigrant students, sought to distance himself from Dylan’s apprehension, saying that the arrest was a federal issue beyond his purview because it did not happen on school grounds. “I’m interested that you all are using all this time to talk about something without my span of control,” Mr. Adams told reporters during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday. “I don’t handle federal enforcement policies, let’s be clear on that.” “My opinion,” he continued, “doesn’t matter.” ICE appears to be using the new strategy to place the apprehended migrants in deportation proceedings that can be fast-tracked and don’t require court hearings, an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to meet the president’s deportation goals.

Reported similarly:
CBS New York [5/27/2025 12:57 PM, Staff, 51860K] Video: HERE
CBS New York [5/27/2025 7:11 PM, Marcia Kramer, 51860K] Video: HERE

Breitbart [5/27/2025 2:09 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports that an illegal alien, convicted of rape, smirked as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested him in the sanctuary state of Maryland, which had previously protected him from federal immigration enforcement, exclusive footage shared with Breitbart News shows. On May 22, ICE agents arrested 20-year-old illegal alien Alex Yonatan Flores-Arce in Howard County, Maryland. Footage shows Flores-Arce crack a smile at an agent as he is taken into federal custody where he will await deportation from the United States. Flores-Arce first crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on March 12, 2019, near El Paso, Texas as part of a family unit. Border Patrol agents served him a Notice to Appear (NTA) before a federal immigration judge at a later date. On Oct. 17, 2o24, Flores-Arce was arrested by the Howard County Police Department and charged with second-degree rape. He was convicted on April 29 and sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised probation. Months before Flores-Arce was convicted, in January, ICE agents lodged a detainer against him, asking for Howard County officials to swiftly turn him over if he was scheduled for release at any time. ICE agents, standing by, arrested Flores-Arce as he exited the Howard County Detention Center. The illegal alien has an administrative deportation order and will remain in ICE custody pending deportation.

Daily Signal [5/27/2025 6:30 PM, Jacob Adams, 558K] reports Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is spearheading an effort to ensure the Nashville city government in his state is cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Nashville is the state capital as well as the most populous city of Tennessee with a population of more than 700,000 people. The city is also the capital of country music in a deep red state, but like most other urban areas around the country, has a Democrat as mayor, Freddie O’Connell. During a press conference on Monday, Ogles said he would be launching an investigation into the conduct of the mayor of Nashville regarding his cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I choose my community, my state, and my family over this type of nonsense, which is why, due to the remarks of Freddie O’Connell and the potential for aiding and abetting illegal immigration, the Homeland Security and the Judiciary committees will be conducting an investigation into the mayor of Nashville, his conduct and whether or not federal dollars have been used in criminal enterprise," Ogles explained. In early May, ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol arrested 196 illegal aliens, many of whom have criminal histories extending far beyond just entering the country illegally. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 95 of the individuals had pending criminal charges or had already been criminally convicted, and 31 had previously been removed from the country. According to the federal agency, one of the illegal aliens arrested, Jassim Jafaf Al-Raash, had been previously convicted of rape, had previously been arrested for failing to register as a sex offender, and had a final order of removal dated Sept. 1, 2021. O’Connell had publicly derided the ICE raid at a press conference, saying, "What’s clear today is that people who do not share our values of safety and community have the authority to cause deep community harm." The mayor said the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department had not been involved in the raid.

Reported similarly:
CNN [5/27/2025 11:24 AM, Staff, 21433K]
Blaze [5/27/2025 3:34 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1805K]

Chicago Tribune [5/27/2025 2:06 PM, Madeline Buckley, 3987K] reports that a judge on Tuesday ordered a British woman to remain jailed after she was accused of trying to get herself deported to evade trial, finding too much risk that her release would result in her fleeing home or being sent there by immigration authorities. Kimberly Hall, 29, is facing felony charges of drug trafficking and possession with intent to deliver after she was arrested Aug. 19 at O’Hare International Airport with nearly 100 pounds of cocaine. She was initially released on electronic monitoring while her case was pending. But in a novel move, prosecutors alleged, Hall, tried to use the Trump administration’s attempts to increase deportations to secure a free flight home to the United Kingdom in order avoid standing trial on serious charges. In response, her attorney argued that Hall only went to a federal immigration facility to ask for information about how to obtain authorization to work when she was arrested by overeager immigration agents. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Michael Vojta told the judge that the federal employee who spoke with Hall would testify that she "indicated desire to self deport" and asked if she could return home. McHale previously rescinded her electronic monitoring order and ordered her jailed when Cook County prosecutors said she sought out Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an attempt to be deported and evade trial. Hall was very nearly successful, according to court documents.

Chicago Tribune [5/27/2025 2:59 PM, Staff, 3987K] reports a judge ordered a British woman to remain jailed today after she was accused of trying to get herself deported to evade trial, finding too much risk that her release would result in her fleeing home or being sent there by immigration authorities. Kimberly Hall, 29, is facing felony charges of drug trafficking and possession with intent to deliver after she was arrested Aug. 19 at O’Hare International Airport with nearly 100 pounds of cocaine. She was initially released on electronic monitoring while her case was pending.

San Francisco Chronicle [5/27/2025 8:49 PM, Molly Burke, 4120K] reports immigrants who showed up to immigration court appointments in San Francisco and Concord on Tuesday were arrested by federal immigration officers, advocates said, criticizing the actions as "illegal and immoral.” ICE arrested four immigrants following their appearances before the San Francisco Immigration Court, as they exited the courtroom and began to leave, said Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program with the San Francisco Bar Association’s Justice and Diversity Center. Atkinson said that last week, ICE agents started regularly showing up at the courthouse, which was not previously the norm. Today’s arrests marked a first in taking immigrants into custody who were actively — and legally taking part in — in asylum cases, Atkinson said. Atkinson, who was representing other immigrants as part of a pro bono program affording people legal representation in immigration court, said lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security asked judges to dismiss immigrants’ asylum cases. After judges rejected the motions to dismiss the cases of two immigrants in the morning, the immigrants were arrested by ICE agents just outside the courtroom, Atkinson said. In the afternoon, two more immigrants were similarly arrested. "ICE is certainly weaponizing the courts and that’s their intention," said Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, deputy defender with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office’s immigration unit. "Now the strategy by the department is clear. They want immigrants to be afraid to show up to the court so that the government can more easily fast-track deportations against them.” Reyes Savalza said that immigrants are facing an impossible choice between skipping hearings — and risking deportation in absentia — or potentially being arrested by ICE while attending court. The lawyer said that judges have rejected government attorney’s requests to dismiss asylum cases, prompting the change in strategy to have ICE agents take the immigrants into custody. Atkinson said that these arrests circumvent asylum claims and push to subject immigrants to expedited removals, which are typically only done when immigrants are taken into custody at the border. Advocates and community organizations are gathering Wednesday morning outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Montgomery Street to remind immigrants in the Bay Area of their rights, and to inform them of resources — including having someone go with them to court — to feel safer when attending hearings on their cases. Atkinson said that after being taken into custody by ICE agents, the four immigrants were taken out to waiting vehicles. The lawyer said they will likely be transferred to a detention facility in California — the closest to San Francisco is in Bakersfield — but could be sent elsewhere in the country, separated from their families and attorneys. Immigrant Advocates from the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice said that ICE has "escalated its fear mongering campaign" with the arrests. Advocates said that immigrants at the Concord Immigration Court were also arrested Tuesday. The California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice also criticized "misleading posters encouraging people to ‘self-deport’" that have been hung inside immigration courts, "promoting misleading information that can put people’s legal situation at risk.” Richard Beam, a spokesperson for ICE, said the agency did not "have specifics on the arrests today, but ICE is doing targeted enforcement at immigration courts.” A statement from the Department of Homeland Security said the agency was "reversing Biden’s catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets.” "This Administration is once again implementing the rule of law," the agency said. "Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge.” Atkinson said that the tactics being employed by ICE to arrest immigrants who are in the middle of their asylum cases — and scheduled to continue appearing before immigration judges — are unconstitutional and impede on due process of law. The claim that the tactics are legal, Atkinson said, are "disheartening and disingenuous.” The Department of Homeland Security said that if an immigrant has a "valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.” Atkinson said that the arrests at immigration courts disrupt the whole process and punish immigrants who are trying to do what is right and to follow the law. By instilling fear at the courthouse, immigrants are likely to show up to their scheduled court dates less frequently, despite it being an important part in the lawful asylum process, Atkinson said.

(B) NBC News Daily [5/27/2025 3:53 PM, Staff] reports US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly taking action at immigration court in San Francisco. A witness spotted a white van with a Department of Homeland Security license plate and said ICE had detained a person on the fourth floor of the courthouse. A group of plainclothes agents put a man in handcuffs as he exited the courtroom. He was placed in the DHS van. The Department of Homeland Security said Secretary Noem is reversing Biden’s catch and release policy by implementing the rule of law.

Univision [5/27/2025 8:36 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports a federal raid conducted Sunday at a clandestine chicken coop in San Juan resulted in the arrest of 31 people with irregular immigration status, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The raid was carried out by ICE in coordination with other federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. "We will continue to enforce U.S. immigration laws and execute President Trump’s executive order to provide protection for the American people," ICE said in a statement following the raid. This action is part of a series of raids that have increased in frequency and intensity since the beginning of the current federal administration. In early May, federal authorities had already carried out an operation in the Condado area, where 53 people with undefined immigration status were detained. According to official data, before May 8 of this year, 364 immigrants without authorization to remain in U.S. territory had already been arrested in Puerto Rico alone. Most of those arrested were citizens of the Dominican Republic (245), followed by people from Haiti (31), Venezuela (16), Mexico (12), Brazil (9) and China (6). The recent operations reflect a stricter immigration policy that seeks to strengthen national security and exercise greater control over unauthorized immigration on the island, in line with White House guidelines.

FOX News [5/27/2025 4:47 PM, Diana Stancy, 46878K] reports the State Department is planning to bolster its efforts to vet and screen the social media of those applying for international student and exchange visitor visas to ensure applicants don’t pose a national security threat to the U.S., Fox News Digital has learned. To do this, the State Department is temporarily suspending new student and exchange visitor visa interviews as it evaluates enhanced social media screenings for the application process. The State Department is currently examining existing operations that go into screening and vetting student and exchange visa applications, and "based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants," according to a Tuesday email obtained by Fox News Digital. As a result, the State Department is instructing consular sections to pause adding any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued, "in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting," the email said. The email does not specify what additional steps would be involved in the more stringent social media screening process, but says that consular offices have been instructed to refer certain student and exchange visitor visa applicants to the Fraud Prevention Unit for a "mandatory social media check."

AP [5/27/2025 8:30 AM, Staff, 56000K] reports Global Immigration Partners, a leading international immigration law firm, announces its readiness to assist high-net-worth individuals interested in the newly introduced U.S. “Gold Card” visa program. This initiative, unveiled by President Donald Trump, provides a pathway to U.S. permanent residency and eventual citizenship for foreign nationals who invest $5 million in the United States. The official registration portal, TrumpCard, is set to launch within the next week, allowing prospective applicants to express their interest in the program. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has indicated that the administration aims to attract up to one million investors through this program, potentially generating significant revenue to address the national debt.

New York Times [5/28/2025 3:44 AM, Madeleine Ngo and Lydia DePillis, 330K] reports President Trump has vowed to end what he calls the “waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources” by cutting off federal benefits for undocumented immigrants and ensuring that funding goes to American citizens in need. Administration officials have said they would root out “illegal aliens” who are living in federally subsidized housing. The Agriculture Department has ordered states to enhance immigration verification practices used to determine eligibility for food stamps. And House Republicans just passed a tax bill that would limit certain immigrants’ access to Medicaid and Medicare, a popular tax credit for parents, and federal financial aid, among other benefits. The actions amount to an aggressive attempt to curb immigrant families’ use of safety net programs. Although Republicans say they want to remove incentives for people to enter the country illegally, unauthorized immigrants generally do not receive federal benefits given efforts to chip away at their eligibility. Immigration experts and advocates for immigrant rights say the changes would instead largely be felt by children who are U.S. citizens but whose parents are undocumented or immigrants who are authorized to live in the United States, such as refugees and people granted asylum. Twelve percent of American children, or about nine million people, are citizens with at least one noncitizen parent. Children with at least one immigrant parent are twice as likely to live in poverty as those with native-born parents, according to a 2022 report by researchers at the Boston University School of Social Work. “In the name of wanting to take a harsh policy stance against immigrants, in many different ways the reality is that they’re going to be punishing citizens and other immigrants that have been eligible in the past,” said Shelby Gonzales, the vice president for immigration policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank. Some of the most substantial changes would come with the tax bill, a centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s economic agenda that House Republicans narrowly passed on Thursday. If approved by the Senate, the package would boost the child tax credit to as much as $2,500 but limit its availability to parents with Social Security numbers. Current law allows children who have Social Security numbers to receive the benefit, even if their parents have only individual taxpayer identification numbers, which are issued to noncitizens for the purpose of paying taxes. The change would make roughly two million children with Social Security numbers no longer eligible for the benefit, according to an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Bloomberg Law News [5/27/2025 11:09 AM, Eun Hee Han, 88K] reports Harvard University won a temporary restraining order May 23 against the Department of Homeland Security’s revocation of the school’s ability to host foreign students, but in important ways the Trump administration won a victory of its own. The Trump administration has succeeded in sowing fear among international students and capitalizing on educational institutions’ tendency, including law schools, to treat international students as revenue streams. The nation’s educational institutions and law schools should stand up and affirm international students’ real value as members of educational communities. Harvard’s complaint challenging the removal of its ability to host students with F-1 visas or J-1 immigrant status does, commendably, assert that international students are "publishing pioneering scholarship, supporting scientific research, inventing groundbreaking technologies, and starting thriving businesses here in America." But Harvard’s complaint also acknowledges that "countless academic programs, research laboratories, clinics, and courses supported by Harvard’s international students have been thrown into disarray," obliquely referencing the fact that international students fund many such programs. Similarly, in law schools, international students pay tuition toward one-year LL.M. programs, three-year J.D. programs, and other short-term programs. Protecting international students’ place in educational institutions is important, but is only the first step. US institutions of higher education must do better to affirm international students’ belonging. International students in law schools, particularly international LL.M. students, enrich discussions of the rule of law, expose flaws in the assumptions on which the US legal system is based, and drive debates about the meaning of words that contribute to more precise understanding of the law.

Univision [5/27/2025 3:35 PM, Staff, 4992K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed charges Tuesday against 15 alleged drug trafficking gang members in the Houston area. On May 22, a 29-count indictment was unsealed, resulting in the arrests of nine individuals allegedly involved in a drug trafficking scheme that distributed illicit narcotics using a taco truck and the United States Postal Service. The investigation leading to the charges was completed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Houston Homeland Security, and the Houston Police Department, with assistance from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. Matthew R. Galeotti, Chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said the drug trafficking organization imported methamphetamine directly from Mexico and used the United States Postal Service, a taco truck, and addresses in various Houston neighborhoods to distribute and sell methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs. In addition, Galeotti revealed that several of the accused had also used firearms to promote drug trafficking. With the exception of Simaj-Guch, who faces up to 40 years in prison, the rest could receive up to life imprisonment upon conviction.

AP [5/28/2025 12:02 AM, Steve Karnowski, 56000K] reports that, more than three years after a family of four from India froze to death while trying to cross into the U.S. along a remote stretch of the Canadian border in a blizzard, two men face sentencing in Minnesota on Wednesday on human smuggling charges for their roles what prosecutors call an international conspiracy. Federal prosecutors have recommended nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged ringleader, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, and nearly 11 years for the driver who was supposed to pick the family up, Steve Anthony Shand. The prison terms are up to U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, who declined last month to set aside the guilty verdicts, writing, “This was not a close case.” Tunheim will hand down the sentences at the federal courthouse in the northwestern Minnesota city of Fergus Falls, where the two men were tried and convicted on four counts apiece last November. Prosecutors said during the trial that Patel, an Indian national who they say went by the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Shand, a U.S. citizen from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that brought dozens of people from India to Canada on student visas and then smuggled them across the U.S. border. They said the victims, Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, froze to death. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their bodies just north of the border between Manitoba and Minnesota on Jan. 19, 2022. The family was from Dingucha, a village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, as was Harshkumar Patel. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to the defendant. The couple were schoolteachers, local news reports said. So many villagers have gone overseas in hopes of better lives — legally and otherwise — that many homes there stand vacant. The father died while trying to shield Dharmik’s face from a “blistering wind” with a frozen glove, prosecutor Michael McBride wrote. Vihangi was wearing “ill-fitting boots and gloves.” Their mother “died slumped against a chain-link fence she must have thought salvation lay behind,” McBride wrote. A nearby weather station recorded the wind chill that morning at -36 Fahrenheit (-38 Celsius). Seven other members of their group survived the foot crossing, but only two made it to Shand’s van, which was stuck in the snow on the Minnesota side. One woman who survived had to be flown to a hospital with severe frostbite and hypothermia. Another survivor testified he had never seen snow before arriving in Canada. Their inadequate winter clothes were only what the smugglers provided, the survivor told the jury.

CBS Los Angeles [5/28/2025 1:50 AM, Tom Wait, 51860K] reports the family of a four-year-girl currently fighting for her life at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is now facing a deportation order as they hope to stay in the country and continue receiving treatment. Sofia has a rare condition called sho`rt bowel syndrome, which requires 14 hours worth of intravenous nutrition per day. She was diagnosed as a baby in her home country of Mexico, where doctors told her she had to come to the United States for life-saving care. The family received an emergency visa in 2023, allowing them to travel to Los Angeles where she’s been getting treatment since. That status is now in limbo, however, after they received a letter saying that their legal status had changed. Attorneys representing Sofia Vargas and her family say that if they do leave the hospital, she’ll only have days to live. "The doctors have said unequivocally that if this child’s treatment is interrupted, that she will die within a matter of days," said Gina Amato, one of a group of attorneys working for the family without pay. "So yes. They must remain in the United States.” As they face the uncertain future, they’re hoping to figure out why their status was suddenly revoked. "They were not given any reason as to why. There’s no allegations that they have violated the rules or anything like that," Amato said. "They were supposed to have parole through the end of July.” Vargas’ mother, Deysi, is working with attorneys to do anything they can to remain in the country. She’s trying to remain strong for her daughter, but knows that the stakes couldn’t be higher. "If we go back to Mexico, Sofia will be back in the hospital getting the treatment that will not be good for her," Vargas said in Spanish. "Her life will be at risk.” Attorneys are holding out hope that the letter sent to Vargas was a mistake, similar to the one that one of the others representing Vargas wrongfully received back in April. "These are being sent out indiscriminately across the country, but to see it sent to a family whose four-year-old child depends on this life-saving treatment is really shocking," Amato said. Children’s Hospital officials say that they cannot comment on the matter. A press conference on the next steps for the family is expected to be held on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The Los Angeles Times [5/27/2025 6:00 AM, Andrea Castillo, 14672K] reports that the letter warned them: "It is in your best interest to avoid deportation and leave the United States of your own accord." But doing so would put S.G.V., now a bubbly 4-year-old, at immediate risk of death. "This is a textbook example of medical need," said the family’s attorney, Rebecca Brown, of the pro bono legal firm Public Counsel. "This child will die and there’s no sense for that to happen. It would just be a cruel sacrifice." A spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services declined to comment. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where the girl regularly receives treatment, declined to comment. But in a letter requested by the family, Dr. John Arsenault of CHLA wrote that he sees the girl every six weeks. If there is an interruption in her daily nutrition system, called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), the doctor wrote, "this could be fatal within a matter of days."

The Hill [5/27/2025 4:50 PM, Elizabeth Crisp, 18649K] reports Americans are seeking to move to the United Kingdom in record numbers, according to new data from the British Home Office. More than 6,600 U.S. citizens applied for citizenship in the U.K. over the year ending in March — a 30 percent increase over the previous 12 months. Significant spikes were reported around the time of President Trump’s election in November and his return to the White House in January. The 1,931 American applicants who sought British citizenship in the first three months of 2025 marked the most in any quarter over the country’s two decades of record-keeping; the final quarter of 2024 was the second highest at 1,723. American applications for U.K. citizenship similarly jumped after Trump’s first election in 2016. The U.K. Home Office didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment, but the news comes as British officials have stressed their desire to lower their country’s net migration numbers. Countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa had the most natives seeking U.K. citizenship in the 12 months through March, the new data shows. "Throughout our history, Britain has been strengthened by people coming here to start new businesses, study at universities, contribute to our cultural and sporting excellence and do some of the toughest jobs in our country," British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, a member of the Labour Party, told Parliament in an address earlier this month. "However, to be successful, effective and fair, our immigration must be properly controlled and managed.”

Washington Times [5/27/2025 10:23 AM, Mike Glenn, 2106K] reports the Defense Department is shipping more than 1,000 troops to support 10,000 military personnel who are part of Joint Task Force-Southern Border. The 1,115 military personnel who will deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border come from half a dozen units in the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, officials said. About 65 military personnel will be assigned to the headquarters of the task force. Others will provide logistical support and carry out civil engineering missions along the border. About 75 soldiers will provide medical care for the deployed troops, U.S. officials said Thursday. "Every movement forward is a reflection of our commitment to mission readiness and joint partnership," Army Maj. Gen. Scott M. Naumann, commander of the 10th Mountain Division and Joint Task Force-Southern Border, said in a statement. "We are aligning capabilities and optimizing our posture to better support [the Department of Homeland Security] and Border Patrol efforts.”

Washington Times [5/27/2025 2:54 PM, Jeff Mordock, 2106K] reports President Trump signed a proclamation Tuesday honoring the 101st anniversary of the U.S. Border Patrol and blamed former President Joseph R. Biden for the abrupt cancellation of the agency’s anniversary gala last year. "I have just signed a Proclamation for the United States Border Patrol, celebrating their 101st Anniversary," Mr. Trump said on Truth Social. "Shockingly, President Biden and the democrats refused to celebrate and honor them, and therefore would not sign a Proclamation celebrating this great achievement and all they have done for this country!". The proclamation honors Border Patrol agents as "patriots who dedicate their careers to defending our borders and upholding the rule of law.” "We pay tribute to every brave soul that perished in the line of duty while proudly serving our nation," the proclamation says. "In their memory and in honor of their beloved family members we pledge to empower the USBP to safeguard the American homeland today, tomorrow and beyond.” Mr. Biden did not sign a proclamation honoring the Border Patrol for the 100th anniversary last year. His administration also took heat for a gala that was suddenly canceled. The gala to celebrate "100 years of Service" was set to take place in El Paso, Texas, in May 2024. El Paso is where the Border Patrol opened "Station One" in 1924. More than 800 current and retired Border Patrol agents had purchased tickets to attend the gala, according to a report last year by an NBC News affiliate in San Antonio. Then-Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens confirmed the cancellation on X at the time but did not give a reason for the abrupt cancellation. Critics of the Biden administration had questioned whether then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas put pressure on USBP to cancel the gala. Some pointed to the fact that Jose Ibarra, the man who killed college student Laken Riley, crossed the border through El Paso and suggested that the Biden administration didn’t want to draw attention to that.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [5/27/2025 2:46 PM, Jim Mishler, 4622K]

New York Times [5/27/2025 6:35 PM, Ana Swanson and Lazaro Gamio, 138952K] reports that as President Trump’s tariffs have ratcheted up in recent months, so have the mysterious solicitations some U.S. companies have received, offering them ways to avoid the taxes. Shipping companies, many of them based in China, have reached out to U.S. firms that import apparel, auto parts and jewelry, offering solutions that they say can make the tariffs go away. “We can avoid high duties from China, which we have already done many in the past,” read one email to a U.S. importer. “Beat U.S. Tariffs,” a second read, promising to cap the tariffs “at a flat 10%.” It added: “You ship worry free.” “Good News! The tariffs has been dropped finally!” another proclaimed. The Chinese firms advertising these services describe their methods as valid solutions. For a fee, they find ways to bring products to the United States with much lower tariffs. But experts say these practices are methods of customs fraud. Trish Driscoll, a spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement that the department used enforcement tools, intelligence and partnerships to combat tariff evasion, and, as a result of recent presidential actions, was now imposing the most severe penalties permitted by law. She said that during the week of May 5 through May 9, Customs and Border Protection took in more than $630 million by reviewing more than 2,000 shipments detected for duty evasion.

NewsMax [5/27/2025 12:17 PM, Eric Mack, 4622K] reports the Trump administration is hailing a 96%-plus decline in illegal border crossings in the San Diego sector, allowing it to shut down a former President Joe Biden "migrant processing facility." The data comes from the Customs and Border Protection data comparing President Donald Trump’s illegal border crossings to Biden’s, which Trump has noted never required massive government spending bills as Biden had urged, but merely a "new president." "As illegal border crossings plummet, U.S. Border Patrol announced a soft-sided ‘migrant processing facility’ in the San Diego Sector constructed under the Biden administration has been dismantled after a 96%+ decline in illegal crossings along the sector," the White House wrote in a one-page fact sheet Tuesday. "The increased border enforcement is accompanied by the Trump Administration’s efforts to arrest criminal illegal immigrants throughout the nation."

FOX News [5/27/2025 8:56 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports
‘Fox & Friends’ co-hosts tout President Donald Trump’s immigration policy after the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector reported a 186% drop in illegal border crossings compared to March of 2024. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [5/27/2025 4:43 PM, Kiki Intarasuwan, 51860K] reports a tropical storm is expected to form Tuesday night or Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean, far off the southern coast of Mexico, forecasters say. Once confirmed, the storm would be named Alvin. Satellite imagery shows showers and thunderstorms starting to organize several hundred miles south of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center’s weather outlook on Tuesday. Tropical Storm Alvin has nearly a 100% chance of forming over the next 48 hours, according to the agency. "While the system still lacks a well-defined circulation, environmental conditions are favorable for further development," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NHC said earlier Tuesday. Last week, NOAA officials predicted a 60% chance of an "above-normal" hurricane season, with between 13 to 19 named storms. Six to 10 of those are expected to strengthen into hurricanes, and three to five could become major hurricanes, forecasters said. The Pacific hurricane season began on May 15, while the Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 until Nov. 30, with peak activity typically occurring between mid-August and mid-October.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [5/27/2025 2:52 PM, Doyle Rice, 75552K]

CBS Austin [5/27/2025 10:06 PM, Justin Berger, 558K] reports FEMA denied North Carolina Governor Josh Stein’s appeal to extend complete federal reimbursement for eligible Helene recovery expenses, calling the request "unwarranted.” Cost share at 100% expired 180 days after September 25, and the state’s request to extend that period was denied on April 11. Stein appealed and was recently denied. He said it will cost up to $2 billion to fully clean roads and waterways in Western North Carolina, which is why he hoped to have 100% federal reimbursement to clear debris extended past 180 days. An extension would not be unprecedented; Hurricanes Ike, Maria, and Katrina all moved past 180 days at 100% reimbursement for clean-up costs. Following the appeal denial, the state will be responsible for 10% of the cost, while the federal government will foot 90% of the bill. Stein said this could cost North Carolina taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and limit their ability to fund projects like small business grants. Madison County Manager Rod Honeycutt said he is not disappointed about the appeal denial; rather, he’s frustrated that work done after the 100% reimbursement period will require new documentation. A statement from Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents most of Western North Carolina in the House of Representatives, partially reads: "I’m pleased that President Trump has provided North Carolina with a 90 percent cost share, 15 percent above the typical federal contribution.” "Chuck Edwards is right – 90% is more than typically comes," News 13’s political analyst Chris Cooper said. "At the same time, 90% is not 100%, and this is a region that’s been hit and hit hard, and so I think this is a tough one, and it really does depend on your vantage point.” Just a few weeks ago, FEMA’s acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was replaced by David Richardson, the assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. "I think losing top administration is not generally what I would call more effective, more nimble," Cooper said.

Los Angeles Times [5/27/2025 8:54 PM, Liam Dillon, 14672K] reports federal agencies must do more to house struggling victims from January’s Eaton fire, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) and advocacy groups argued Tuesday. Chu hosted a roundtable at the Altadena Library with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and other agencies, where a dozen organizations assisting fire survivors pleaded for more assistance. Even with the availability of federal vouchers and other housing aid, thousands of people remain bouncing between hotel rooms, living out of their cars or in other unstable housing situations, advocates said. "Survivors of the Eaton fire are slipping through the cracks," Chu said at a news conference following the event. Chu is urging FEMA to authorize a housing program called Direct Lease in which FEMA directly rents apartments for disaster survivors who cannot find somewhere to live on their own. The Times reported this month that FEMA hasn’t implemented Direct Lease in Los Angeles even though it’s commonly made available after natural disasters nationwide, including the 2023 wildfires in Maui. Nearly 13,000 homes were destroyed in January’s wildfires with more than half the losses in Altadena and surrounding areas. FEMA and CalOES officials have said that their data show thousands of rental units available across L.A. County, making the program unnecessary. "We know from anecdotal evidence that that cannot be true," Chu said. "It is far from the truth.” Fire survivors have faced numerous barriers to finding permanent housing while they decide on rebuilding their homes, advocates said. Landlords’ income requirements are too high. Potential tenants’ credit scores are too low. Some landlords aren’t accepting the vouchers FEMA is providing survivors. And the agency is including apartments in the Antelope Valley and other areas far from Altadena in its assessment of L.A.’s rental market. By not taking these factors into account, FEMA officials are ignoring needs on the ground, advocates said.

The Hill [5/27/2025 12:09 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 18649K] reports California Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D) on Monday blasted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over a delay in multilingual disaster alerts. At the beginning of the year, the FCC pledged to implement an order requiring wireless providers to distribute emergency alters in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. in addition to English and American Sign Language. However, four months later, citizens are still not receiving translations for critical alerts highlighting natural disasters. "This delay is not only indefensible but dangerous," Barragán, former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, co-wrote in a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr alongside Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), according to the LA Times. "It directly jeopardizes the ability of our communities to receive life-saving emergency information in the language they understand best," the duo added. Two dozen members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus signed on to the correspondence. The standstill comes after Trump issued an executive order in March declaring English as the country’s official language. Weeks later, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the federal agency that responds to natural disasters nationwide. "President Trump and many members of his administration have made clear they plan to go on the attack against immigrants," Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance, a Los Angeles based advocacy organization, told the LA Times. "If this makes the lives of immigrants easier, then they will stand in its way," Kulkarni added.

CBS News [5/28/2025 12:00 AM, Scott MacFarlane, 51860K] reports U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, who took charge of the department in the difficult months after the U.S. Capitol siege, is retiring from his position Friday. After the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, he helped rebuild the department’s shrunken staff, beefed up recruitment efforts and bolstered the agency’s intelligence operations and communications to fix weaknesses revealed by the breach of the Capitol. Manger told CBS News he faced stiff challenges when he arrived on the job in 2021. "The department as a whole had lost confidence in the (prior) leadership as a result of what happened," he said. "And there were big things that were identified as things that needed to be fixed as quickly as we could fix them: Things like the intelligence failures, the communication failures, the equipment failures, the training failures, the leadership failures — all of those things needed to be addressed immediately.” Manger, a former local police chief in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland, successfully advocated for increases in funding to improve hiring, equipment and operations. The department was blasted by critics for intelligence failures that contributed to the violation of the complex on Jan. 6, 2021. "We now have a world class intelligence operation. We are significant players in the intelligence community in the Washington, D.C., region and, frankly, all over the country," Manger said. "Whereas before, we were basically just —... we were consumers of information. The FBI would give us intelligence, other agencies would give us intelligence. Now we are gathering our own.” The U.S. Capitol Police Board will select a new police chief, which Manger predicts will happen soon. Manger has requested nearly $1 billion in funding for 2026, which would represent the latest in a series of recent budget boosts for the department. In testimony before a congressional committee on justifying his budget request, Manger cited an elevated number of investigations into threats against members of Congress. "The current climate of threats has reached alarming levels," he told the committee in April. Capitol Police records show the number of threats launched against congressional members in 2024 exceeded 9,400. He added, "Social media and the internet provide a breeding ground for threats that — regardless of their nature — the department must investigate.”

New York Post [5/27/2025 4:19 PM, Caitlin Doornbos, 49956K] reports the Secret Service rejected a request to bring an American detainee freed from Venezuelan custody to the White House last week — because they would have had to arrest him on the spot due to outstanding warrants, The Post has learned. Joseph St. Clair, 32, an Afghanistan war veteran who had been held in the South American country since this past November, has a record in his home state of Texas, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tuesday. St. Clair, of Austin, was arrested in June 2023 on three counts of drug possession, resisting arrest, and driving while intoxicated. A little more than a year later, in July 2024, St. Clair was booked again on a DWI charge. The request to bring St. Clair to the White House was put in by special envoy Ric Grenell, who flew to the Caribbean island of Antigua on a private jet to pick up the freed American May 20, as The Post reported Friday. Upon his return to Washington, Grenell asked Trump if he could bring St. Clair by the executive mansion for a celebration, as has been done with other freed US detainees. The request was initially approved, but was then shut down after the Secret Service learned of St. Clair’s criminal history, according to multiple sources.

Washington Times [5/27/2025 11:07 AM, Jeff Mordock, 2106K] reports the FBI will revisit three high-profile unsolved political mysteries, including who brought cocaine into the White House during the Biden administration. The bureau will reopen or invest more resources into the cases that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said point to "potential public corruption." In addition to the White House cocaine case, the FBI will take another look into who left a pair of undetonated pipe bombs at the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, and the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade in early 2022. "Shortly after swearing in, [FBI Director Kash Patel] and I evaluated a number of cases of potential public corruption that understandably have garnered public interest. We made the decision to either re-open or push additional resources and investigative attention to these cases," Mr. Bongino posted Monday on X. "I receive requested briefings on these cases weekly and we are making progress. If you have any investigative tips on these matters that may assist us, then please contact the FBI," he said. Roughly 22 months after the cocaine was discovered in a storage box near an entrance to the West Wing, the culprit remains a head-scratcher. The Secret Service closed the investigation in July 2023 after 11 days without interviewing a single suspect, leaving some to wonder if a suspect would ever be identified. On July 2, 2023, a bag of cocaine was found inside a cubby near an entrance to the West Wing that is commonly used to give tours and where visitors are instructed to place their phones and other belongings. The cubby is located by the basement entrance to the West Wing, one floor below the Oval Office and just steps from the Situation Room. President Biden and his family had left the White House for Camp David when the cocaine was discovered but they had been on campus earlier that day. Lab testing later revealed the substance was cocaine, prompting the Secret Service to declare it would do "everything possible" to identify the culprit. But the probe ended with the agency saying there was no physical evidence such as fingerprints or DNA, and no cameras were in position to capture footage of the culprit. The pipe bomb case has remained open since the devices were discovered just hours before the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In January 2025, the FBI released new details and a video showing a potential suspect leaving the pipe bombs outside the building. Authorities said they conducted 1,0000 interviews, reviewed 39,000 video files and probed 600 tips but could not identify the culprit. Although the devices did not explode, the FBI concluded they were "viable." A passerby identified the pipe bombs, prompting an evacuation of both committee headquarters.

Reported similarly:
CNN [5/27/2025 11:04 AM, Shania Shelton, 21433K]

Breitbart [5/27/2025 10:59 AM, AWR Hawkins, 3077K] reports a report from CBS News indicates alleged would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was “designing a bomb” for purposes unknown. Breitbart News reported that Crooks allegedly attempted to kill Trump on July 13, 2024, after telling his father he needed to borrow a rifle to go the range. Trump’s right ear was hit by one of Crooks’ bullets and audience member Corey Comperatore was killed by another round. Crooks was killed by the Secret Service less than 30 seconds after he allegedly fired his first shot. According to CBS News, Crooks had been “designing a bomb” for months prior to the assassination attempt and had become frustrated that the components had not shipped to him in a timely fashion. In August 2024, FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek indicated, “Crooks had researched ‘nitromethane, and other materials consistent with the manufacturing of explosive devices.’” The Western Journal researched the effectiveness of “a backpack-sized bomb” made with the material Crooks purportedly ordered and found “it would have a lethal radius of up to roughly 30 feet.”

The Hill [5/27/2025 9:24 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18649K] reports two Secret Service agents were suspended after getting into a physical altercation last week that was captured on video and circulated online. A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the video, which depicted two female officers getting into a physical fight while on duty. NBC News reported that the incident occurred outside of former President Obama’s home in Washington, D.C. The spokesperson said the incident — which occurred early last Wednesday — is under internal investigation. "The U.S. Secret Service is aware of an on-duty altercation that occurred between two Uniformed Division officers at approximately 2:30 a.m. on May 21," the statement read. "The individuals involved were suspended from duty and this matter is the subject of an internal investigation.” "The Secret Service has a very strict code of conduct for all employees and any behavior that violates that code is unacceptable," the statement continued. "Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further," the spokesperson said. The New York Post [5/27/2025 3:58 PM, Steven Nelson, 49956K] reports that during the brawl, one federal officer allegedly grabbed her radio and threatened to "whoop this girl’s ass." Video published Tuesday shows the female agents punching and shoving each other. RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree, who published both the video and audio files to X, wrote that the fisticuffs happened outside Obama’s Washington, DC, home about 2 miles northwest of the White House. A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed the fight to The Post. "The U.S. Secret Service is aware of an on-duty altercation that occurred between two Uniformed Division officers at approximately 2:30 a.m. on May 21," the spokesman said. "The individuals involved were suspended from duty and this matter is the subject of an internal investigation. The Secret Service has a very strict code of conduct for all employees and any behavior that violates that code is unacceptable. Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further."

Reported similarly:
FOX News [5/27/2025 6:52 PM, Louis Casiano, 46878K]
Daily Caller [5/27/2025 3:44 PM, Ashley Brasfield, 1010K]

Blaze [5/27/2025 12:15 PM, Joseph MacKinnon, 1805K] reports FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced Monday that the bureau will revisit a number of "cases of potential public corruption" that apparently went nowhere under previous management. Bongino indicated that he and FBI Director Kash Patel have decided to re-open or assign "additional resources and investigative attention" to the following cases: "the DC pipe bombing investigation, the cocaine discovery at the prior administration’s White House, and the leak of the Supreme Court Dobbs case." This renewed interest in improprieties swept aside during the Biden era signals the FBI’s new leadership might actually be serious about restoring trust in the agency, which was badly damaged in recent years by its politicization and apparent engagement in "election interference"; its difficulty holding leftist extremists accountable; and its zealous targeting of conservatives and Democrats’ political opponents. Blaze Media contributor and investigative reporter Steve Baker — who with Joseph Hanneman has dug extensively into the planting of pipe bombs near the Washington, D.C., offices of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee on Jan. 5, 2021 — welcomed the news. Baker noted, however, that there was something "curious" about Bongino framing the cases as instances of "potential public corruption," particularly with regard to the case of the pipe bombs.

FOX News [5/27/2025 9:36 AM, Greg Norman, 46878K] reports the FBI is taking another look at the cocaine found inside the Biden administration White House in 2023, according to Deputy Director Dan Bongino. "Shortly after swearing in, the Director and I evaluated a number of cases of potential public corruption that, understandably, have garnered public interest. We made the decision to either re-open, or push additional resources and investigative attention, to these cases," Bongino said in a post on X. "These cases are the DC pipe bombing investigation, the cocaine discovery at the prior administration’s White House, and the leak of the Supreme Court Dobbs case. I receive requested briefings on these cases weekly and we are making progress. If you have any investigative tips on these matters that may assist us, then please contact the FBI," he added. The FBI did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for further comment from Fox News Digital. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump said in an interview he believes former President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter Biden, left behind the infamous bag of cocaine at the White House. "So … who actually left the cocaine in the White House?" The Spectator’s Ben Domenech asked Trump. "Well, either Joe or Hunter," Trump responded. "Could be Joe, too.” The bag of cocaine was discovered on July 2, 2023, in a storage locker near the entrance to the White House’s West Wing. The Secret Service discovered the cocaine and launched an investigation, which turned up inconclusive for a suspect. "On July 12, the Secret Service received the FBI’s laboratory results, which did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons," it said in 2023. "Therefore, the Secret Service is not able to compare evidence against the known pool of individuals. The FBl’s evaluation of the substance also confirmed that it was cocaine.”

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [5/27/2025 1:38 PM, Ryan Minnaugh, 558K]

AP [5/27/2025 1:21 PM, Holly Ramer, 48304K] reports U.S. Coast Guard officials investigating the disappearance of an experimental submersible on its way to the Titanic wreckage in 2023 have released video recorded aboard its support ship from the moment the sound of its implosion reached the ocean’s surface. The Titan vanished June 18, 2023, on its way to the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean, setting off a five-day search that ended with authorities saying all five passengers had died when the vessel imploded. On board were Stockton Rush, CEO of the company that built the Titan, along with British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. The implosion sparked international debate about the future of private deep-sea travel and an ongoing Coast Guard investigation. After holding public hearings in September, the Coast Guard last week released a two-and-a-half minute video showing Rush’s wife, Wendy Rush, and an OceanGate employee monitoring the submersible’s descent from the Polar Prince support ship.

NewsNation [5/27/2025 11:36 AM, Michael Bartiromo, 5801K] reports eleven people were injured after a boat exploded in Fort Lauderdale on Memorial Day, the US Coast Guard Southeast announced. The incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. on Monday near the New River Triangle in Fort Lauderdale. Frank Guzman, public information officer for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, said the boat was anchored on a sandbar popular with recreational boaters before the explosion. “It tossed people into the water,” Guzman told Nexstar. “Some voluntarily jumped in, because they were burned.” A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) told Nexstar in an emailed statement that the boat — a 39-foot Sea Ray — was carrying 15 people. After the explosion, nearby boaters were among the first to respond to the victims, bringing some to a dock, Guzman said. Another witness picked up a dog that was on the boat at the time of the explosion. Officials from the Coast Guard and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue arrived to administer aid and help facilitate the transfer 11 of the injured boaters to a local hospital. Two children were among those injured.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [5/27/2025 10:18 AM, Gabe Hauari, 75552K]
Daily Caller [5/27/0285 4:01 PM, John Oyewale, 1010K] Video HERE

NewsMax [5/27/2025 5:22 PM, Jim Mishler, 4622K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard is warning Chicago area residents to be careful what they pick up along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Three dangerous phosphorus pyrotechnic devices used in an offshore training exercise, well to the north near Milwaukee, are unaccounted for. Several did not activate and could wash up on shore. One already has, but was recovered by the Coast Guard. ABC7 TV in Chicago reported that a lifeguard found one of the dangerous flares Monday. It had washed up on the shore at Chicago’s Montrose Beach, a popular waterfront site and dog park about six miles due north of downtown Chicago. Anyone in the entire region of southern Lake Michigan locating anything that looks like a small metallic cylinder-shaped object in the water, or washed up on shore, is advised to move away and call 911.

Yahoo News [5/27/2025 3:43 PM, Eli Ong, 59943K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard issued a warning Tuesday after an armed phosphorus pyrotechnic washed up on Montrose Beach a day prior. According to the Coast Guard, three unaccounted phosphorus pyrotechnics are still unaccounted for after a joint military exercise earlier this month between the Coast Guard and Air Force off the coast of Milwaukee. During the exercise, four phosphorus pyrotechnics did not activate when they were deployed and submerged in water. The first one washed up on Montrose Beach Monday after being discovered by a lifeguard. The Chicago Fire Department’s bomb squad was called to the scene and disposed of the pyrotechnic, which Coast Guard officials described as a “maritime flare.” The Coast Guard was also keen to note that they consider these pyrotechnics still armed when they do not activate. The Coast Guard warned all beachgoers to remain clear and contact 911 should they locate a silver-colored cylinder along the beach. These are phosphorus pyrotechnics that produce a red smoke and flame that can reach temperatures of 2900 degrees Fahrenheit. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

DVIDS [5/28/2025 3:13 AM, Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir, 988K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard suspended active search operations shortly after 4 p.m. May 28, 2025, for the potential occupants of an adrift inflatable dinghy found the morning of May 27, one-quarter nautical mile off the reef near the Westin Hotel in Tumon Bay, Guam. The Coast Guard urges the public to share any information about the raft’s origin or circumstances by contacting JRSC Guam at (671) 355-4826 or RCCGuam@uscg.mil. Despite multiple searches by Station Apra Harbor’s 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) crews, no sightings or new leads emerged. Guam Fire Rescue, Guam Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, assisted in investigating the case. A local charter operator found the engineless grey inflatable raft and towed it to Hagåtña Boat Basin. Items aboard included fuel cans, fresh apples, hardboiled eggs, canned coffee, an unused patch kit, oars, a fishing rod without tackle, and various shoes. “Our searches reflect our deep concern for the safety of anyone who may have been aboard this dinghy, and while we’re suspending active operations, our commitment to saving lives at sea remains,” said Cmdr. Ryan Crose, search and rescue mission coordinator. “We have no reports of missing persons or other maritime distress. We’re grateful for the teamwork with Guam Fire, Guam Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency.”

CyberScoop [5/27/2025 4:40 PM, Derek B. Johnson] reports as the internet fills up with clips from AI-video generators, hacking groups are seeding the online landscape with malware-laced programs and fake websites hoping to cash in on the trend. Tracked by researchers at Mandiant and Google Cloud, the campaign is being carried out by a group identified as “UNC6032.” Since mid-2024, they have spread thousands of advertisements, fake websites and social media posts promising victims access to popular prompt-to-video AI generation tools like Luma AI, Canva Dream Lab and Kling AI. Those promises lead to phishing pages and malware, with the group deploying infostealers and backdoors on victim devices. Compromised parties saw their login credentials, cookies, credit card data and in some cases Facebook information stolen, and the scheme appears to be impacting a wide range of industries and geographic areas. “Mandiant Threat Defense has identified thousands of UNC6032-linked ads that have collectively reached millions of users across various social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn,” wrote researchers Diana Ion, Rommel Joven and Yash Gupta. “We suspect similar campaigns are active on other platforms as well, as cybercriminals consistently evolve tactics to evade detection and target multiple platforms to increase their chances of success.” The emergence of highly realistic AI prompt-to-video generation tools over the past several months has generated curiosity, concerns and a significant amount of interest from the public. According to Google Trends, internet searches for AI video generation tools have surged over the past year, and especially since April.

AP [5/27/2025 10:04 AM, Mike Corder, 3987K] reports a group of previously unknown Russian hackers, with alleged links to the Kremlin, was responsible for a cyberattack last year against Dutch police and has also attacked other Western nations providing military support to Ukraine, intelligence agencies announced Tuesday. The agencies said in a report that the group, which they called Laundry Bear, is actively trying to steal sensitive data from countries of the European Union and NATO and is extremely likely to be backed by the Russian state. Vice Admiral Peter Reesink, director of the military intelligence agency MIVD, said in a statement: "Laundry Bear seeks information on the purchase and production of military equipment by Western governments and the delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine." So far, Moscow has not commented on the report. The Netherlands has been an unconditional supporter of Ukraine’s war effort since Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022 and has provided military equipment to Kiev, including F-16 fighter jets. In September last year, Russian hackers broke into a police account and accessed contact details related to the work of all Dutch officers, in a cyberattack that caused shock in the force. Dutch intelligence agencies published a detailed analysis of the methods used by the cybercriminals group to infiltrate computer networks and cloud services. Erik Akerboom, head of the local intelligence agency AIVD, said describing the group’s work means that not only governments, but also manufacturers, suppliers and other targets can arm themselves against this form of espionage. This limits Laundry Bear’s chances of success and digital networks may be better protected.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [5/27/2025 6:07 AM, Anthony Deutsch, 51390K]

Chicago Tribune [5/27/2025 3:48 PM, Lisa Schencker, 3987K] reports the personal information of about 38,000 patients of a UChicago Medicine medical group may have been exposed in a cybersecurity incident involving one of the group’s vendors. UCM Medical Group said in a news release that one of its vendors — debt collection agency Nationwide Recovery Service — notified the group that in July an unauthorized person accessed the company’s systems. The person obtained information from certain files and folders, according to the news release. The exposed information may have included first and last names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, financial account information and/or medical-related information. Nationwide Recovery Service told the medical group it is not aware, at this point, of any misuse of the information, according to the release. A number of other health care systems have also been affected by the incident, including Northeast Georgia Health System, Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in North Carolina and Harbin Clinic in Georgia.

CyberScoop [5/27/2025 3:40 PM, Matt Kapko] reports a newly discovered Russian state-sponsored threat group has targeted a large swath of industries, especially in NATO member states and Ukraine, part of a global espionage campaign in support of Moscow’s interests, Microsoft Threat Intelligence said in a Tuesday blog post. Laundry Bear, a group Microsoft tracks as Void Blizzard, has attacked multiple governments and critical infrastructure providers since at least 2024. Dutch intelligence and security services agencies on Tuesday said the group infiltrated the Netherlands’ national police force’s systems in September 2024 and stole work-related contact details on police staff. “We have seen this hacker group successfully gain access to sensitive information from a large number of government organizations and companies worldwide,” Peter Reesink, director of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Defense, said in a statement Tuesday, according to a translation. “Laundry Bear is looking for information about the purchase and production of military equipment by Western governments and Western deliveries of weapons to Ukraine.” The group’s initial access methods lack sophistication, yet the group has gained access to and stolen data from multiple organizations in critical sectors. “While Void Blizzard’s tactics, techniques, and procedures are not unique among advanced persistent threat actors or even Russian nation state-sponsored groups, the widespread success of their operations underscores the enduring threat from even unsophisticated TTPs when leveraged by determined actors seeking to collect sensitive information,” Microsoft threat researchers said in the blog post. Void Blizzard has engaged in espionage targeting government agencies, defense suppliers, and organizations in communications, IT, health care, education, media and transportation since mid-2024, according to Microsoft.

ABC News [5/27/2025 2:41 PM, Luke Barr, 31733K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security and FBI are warning that large-scale events are prime targets for violence, highlighting the potential for violence at events this summer. However, the DHS and FBI did not indicate there are any known threats in a joint intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement on May 23. "Violent extremist messaging continues to highlight major sporting and cultural events and venues as potential targets, and threat actors -- including domestic violent extremists (DVEs), homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) inspired by Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), and other mass casualty attackers not motivated by an ideology -- previously have targeted public events with little to no warning," according to the bulletin. Some attacks, such as the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans, could serve as inspiration for future attacks, the bulletin said, noting that calls for violence typically increase in the days leading up to holidays or big events. Domestic and homegrown extremists "not primarily motivated by an ideology, likely will see public events as potential attack targets, given the number of high-profile events this summer that are expected to draw large crowds and recent attacks and plots in the West targeting mass gatherings, which could serve as inspiration," the bulletin said. "We advise government officials and private sector security partners to remain vigilant of potential threats to upcoming public celebrations and large gatherings," it added, highlighting World Pride 2025, Independence Day and the 250th Army anniversary parade as possible targets.

USA Today [5/27/2025 2:18 PM, Eve Chen, 75552K] reports as the summer travel season ramps up, the State Department is warning Americans to "exercise increased caution" when visiting several popular European destinations, including Italy. A travel advisory dated May 23 said, "There is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Italy.” Italy is considered a Level 2 country on the State Department’s advisory scale, which ranges from Level 1, "exercise normal precautions," to Level 4, "Do not travel." It has been at that level since April 2022, according to a State Department spokesperson. Other Level 2 European countries with a risk of potential terrorism include but are not limited to Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Travelers can find the latest safety advisories for every country on the State Department’s website. FOX News [5/27/2025 3:16 PM, Stepheny Price, 46878K] reports that on May 23, the department reissued a level 2 travel advisory for travel to Italy, urging travelers to "exercise increased caution" due to "terrorism.” "There is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Italy," the warning read. The advisory warns that terrorists "may attack with little or no warning" and encourages Americans to be aware of common targets, including tourist spots, transportation centers, shopping malls and markets, local government buildings, hotels, clubs, restaurants, religious sites, parks, sports and cultural events, schools, airports and public areas. The travel advisory also emphasized the importance of "staying alert in tourist spots" and "to check local media for breaking news.” "Be prepared to adjust your plans and prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations," the advisory read. The department is also encouraging travelers to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive messages and alerts from the U.S. Embassy, stating it "makes it easier to locate you in an emergency.” The warning comes as concerns over potential attacks in popular tourist destinations and public areas heighten in Italy, which remains one of the top European destinations for American tourists. In May, the State Department issued travel advisories for 21 countries worldwide, ranging from the lowest level 1, which alerts travelers to "Exercise Normal Precautions," to the highest advisory at level 4, which means "Do Not Travel.”

Reported similarly:
New York Post [5/27/2025 9:32 AM, Brooke Steinberg, 49956K]

FOX News [5/27/2025 9:52 PM, Greg Wehner, 46878K] reports a gunman is still on the loose after a shooting at a Waterbury, Connecticut, mall on Tuesday that resulted in five people being shot, according to police. Waterbury Police Department Chief Fernando Spagnolo told reporters none of the victims were fatally wounded and all of them were transported and treated at area hospitals. Police were called to the Brass Mill Center Mall at about 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday for a report of a disturbance. When officers arrived, they located five victims who were struck by gunfire. "We do not believe this was a random act of violence," Spagnolo said. "We believe this started as a conflict and it escalated. We do know that there was one gunman at this time [whom] we’ve identified. That gunman was armed with a semi-automatic pistol.” The chief also said evidence has been recovered from the scene that is helping to identify the type of weapon used, and "hopefully" the shooter, through various investigative means and forensic technology. State Police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are assisting police with the investigation, which includes the collection of video and digital evidence. "This is going to be a very lengthy and ongoing and active investigation," Spagnolo said. He also said there is currently no danger to the public, though he advised anyone to report anything suspicious to the police. The investigation into the matter is ongoing. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont called the shooting "tragic" in a post on X. "This afternoon there was a tragic mass shooting at the Bass Mill Center in Waterbury, a place where everyone should feel safe. We are grateful to law enforcement, who acted swiftly," the governor wrote. "Details are still forthcoming, but the @CT_STATE_POLICE will be assisting @WaterburyPD with the investigation. Our hearts break for the Waterbury community, the victims, and their families who have been impacted by this incident." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Axios [5/27/2025 1:16 PM, Isaac Avilucea, 13599K] reports that two people were killed and nine others injured in Monday’s shooting in Fairmount Park, a tragedy that Mayor Cherelle Parker decried as a "heinous act of violence." The big picture: The shooting occurred as Memorial Day was winding down. Police believe three people opened fire around 10:15pm on a crowd of hundreds who were gathered at a holiday celebration near Lemon Hill Mansion, police commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference Tuesday. Videos posted on social media captured the "sound of war" — rapid-fire gunfire that suggested at least one of the weapons was automated with a "switch," Bethel said. Driving the news: A 21-year-old man and 23-year old woman were killed, Nine others, ranging from ages 15 to 27, were wounded. The victims are all in stable condition, city officials said during the news conference. No arrests have been made, and police are still searching for the suspects. Zoom out: The shooting — the second-largest in Philly since 2015, per the Inquirer — happened weeks before the official start of summer, historically Philly’s deadliest season. What they’re saying: A fiery Parker, who appeared on the verge of tears, ticked down a list of anti-violence initiatives and programs the city has to help young people. She implored parents to keep tabs on their children, saying there was "no excuse" for the carnage.

CBS News [5/27/2025 1:59 PM, Staff, 51860K] reports that Officials said they believe three shooters were involved in a deadly Memorial Day mass shooting in Philadelphia. At least two people were killed and nine others were injured when gunfire broke out Monday night, police said. CBS News Philadelphia has the latest. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/28/2025 4:00 AM, Adam Sabes, 46878K] reports the man who allegedly killed two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum last Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., was linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which praised the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack in the hours after it happened. Elias Rodriguez, 31, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials, and several firearm-related counts. The Department of Justice is weighing whether it will invoke the death penalty in the case. Rodriguez flew from Chicago, Illinois, where he lives, to allegedly carry out the shooting. The shooting happened during an American Jewish Committee event the night of May 21, which brought Jewish professionals and members of the diplomatic community together. Yaron Lischinsky, 31, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, both died after the shooting. Lischinsky and Milgrim were engaged. Both individuals were employed by the Israeli Embassy. Following the shooting, the Party for Socialism and Liberation said in a post on X that Rodriguez had a "brief" affiliation with the association that ended in 2017. "We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years," the group said. "We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it." The group believes "the only solution to the deepening crisis of capitalism is the socialist transformation of society." In an article in the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s official newspaper that has since been deleted, Elias Rodriguez was identified as a member of the organization when talking about Amazon’s Seattle, Washington, presence. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/27/2025 11:40 AM, Peter D’Abrosca, 46878K] reports Chicago was plagued by violence over Memorial Day weekend when 22 people were shot, including two fatally, ABC7 reported. One fatal shooting reportedly occurred when an argument erupted inside a vehicle on the city’s Northwest Side in the Logan Square neighborhood on Saturday afternoon. The 35-year-old victim was attempting to exit the vehicle when he was shot and killed by someone else inside the vehicle. The shooter then fled the scene and remains at large. The second fatal shooting took place in the same area of the city, also on Saturday afternoon, according to the report. A 46-year-old man on the Northwest Side was shot in the head while inside his vehicle near Humboldt Park. The vehicle then crashed into another car and a pole. The victim was transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead. The suspect in that shooting also remains at large. Two other people were also shot near a Humboldt Park homeless encampment, and one was critically injured. The shooter remains unidentified. On the city’s South Side, two people were sitting inside their home when they were shot. The assailant in that incident also fled the scene and remains at large. According to the Chicago Tribune, which keeps a running tally of the number of homicides in the city each year, 139 people have been slain in the troubled city so far in 2025, based on data through May 17. The same outlet reported that 573 people were killed in Chicago in 2024.

Houston Chronicle [5/27/2025 12:25 PM, Tanya Babbar, 1982K] reports a Harris County courthouse building was evacuated Tuesday morning as authorities investigated a reported bomb threat. A little after 10:30 Tuesday that there was a heavy police presence, with a bomb squad and constable K9’s, at the Harris County Courthouse Annex 3 building after the reported threat, Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said on X. The building is located in the 7900 block of Will Clayton Parkway. Herman said the building houses multiple agencies, including his own. Herman said an initial sweep done by K9’s did not turn up anything, but a bomb squad arrived to conduct a second sweep a little before noon.

AP [5/27/2025 7:08 AM, Davud Klepper, 48304K] reports drones have harassed airports and bedeviled local police. They have trespassed over nuclear plants and prisons. On the battlefield, they can kill. But aside from shooting down the devices, which may create further danger, there’s often not much anyone can do to stop drones when they pose a threat or wander where they’re not welcome. That’s beginning to change. Cheap and easily modified, unmanned aerial vehicles have become a part of daily life as well as a tool for governments and bad actors alike — used for intelligence gathering, surveillance, sabotage, terrorism and more. Concerns about their misuse have spurred a technological scramble for ways to stop the devices in midair. “An adversary can use an off-the-shelf drone they bought for $500 and find out what’s going on at U.S. nuclear weapons bases,” said Zachary Kallenborn, a London-based national security consultant and expert on drone warfare. “China, Russia, Iran: If they’re not doing it they’re stupid.” Military drones are already potent weapons of war, used to track enemy movements and deliver attacks. But they have become an increasing threat at home, too. And anti-drone systems now hold significant promise for airports, water treatment plants, military installations and public events targeted by drones in recent years. The rise in incidents involving unmanned aircraft — like the wave of sightings reported last year in New Jersey — has led to more research and investment into the most effective ways of countering drones, preferably while preventing injuries to those below. Federal law currently restricts how local and state police can use anti-drone systems. Some lawmakers are pushing to change that. “It is paramount that our state and local law enforcement agencies are able to be granted the proper authority to protect citizens at large events and gatherings,” said Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican and a sponsor of legislation designed to make it easier for local authorities to use technology to counter drones at large public events. The bill, introduced this month, would give local law enforcement the ability to use anti-drone systems that have been approved by the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies.

Politico [5/27/2025 7:39 PM, Michael Stratford, 16523K] reports a federal judge in New York on Tuesday cleared the way for the Treasury Department’s entire DOGE team to access the federal government’s sensitive data systems that manage trillions of dollars in payments each year. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas lifted the final legal restriction barring four Treasury DOGE staffers from accessing Treasury’s payments infrastructure. Vargas relaxed her earlier order, finding the Trump administration had shown it set up a process to appropriately vet and train the employees. The ruling marks a win for the Trump administration, which set off a political and legal firestorm earlier this year for granting access to the payment systems to Elon Musk’s DOGE operation. The payment systems contain sensitive financial data on tens of millions of American citizens and businesses. New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other Democratic attorneys general had sued to block DOGE’s access to the systems. In February, Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, largely sided with the states and prohibited DOGE staffers from accessing the system. At the time, she ruled that Treasury’s process for granting access to the sensitive data was so rushed and haphazard that it likely violated the law. But the latest ruling on Tuesday significantly relaxes those restrictions, allowing Treasury DOGE team leader Tom Krause and DOGE members Linda Whitridge, Samuel Corcos, and Todd Newnam to access the agency’s payment and data systems. Another DOGE staffer, Ryan Wunderly, had already been granted access to the data as part of a separate ruling by Vargas in April. The decision came after the Trump administration submitted dozens of pages of declarations over the past several weeks from top Treasury officials that explained the steps the administration was taking to make sure that Treasury DOGE staffers are vetted, properly trained on data privacy and cybersecurity laws, and subject to guardrails to mitigate the risk that sensitive data will be exposed. Still, Vargas did not go as far as the Trump administration had hoped in relaxing the restrictions. She ordered Treasury to adhere to the protocols it promised for vetting and training DOGE employees. But Vargas said she wouldn’t require the agency to seek permission each time it wants to add new members to the DOGE team. She wrote in her order that “there is little utility in having this Court function as Treasury’s de facto human resources officer each time a new team member is onboarded.”

Reuters [5/27/2025 10:25 AM, Aaron Ross, 51390K] reports the United States is assessing the future of its military command for Africa, its top general for the continent said on Tuesday, and called on African governments to make their views on its possible elimination known in Washington. President Donald Trump’s administration is considering merging AFRICOM, which became a distinct geographical command in 2008, with the U.S. command in Europe to cut bureaucracy, American media outlets reported in March. Speaking to reporters before a conference of African defence chiefs in Kenya, AFRICOM’s commander, General Michael Langley, said he had discussed the issue with officials on the continent. "I’ve talked to a number of ministers of defence and a few presidents and told them we were assessing," Langley said. He said governments should make their views about AFRICOM’s future known through their ambassadors in the U.S. "That’s what I tell them. I said: ‘okay, if we’re that important to (you), you need to communicate that and we’ll see’.” Before 2008, U.S. military activities in Africa were handled by commands from other regions. AFRICOM’s creation reflected rising U.S. national security interests on the continent, including Islamist insurgencies and competition with China and Russia.

Bloomberg [5/27/2025 11:11 AM, Peter Martin, 19320K] reports Islamist militants in West Africa could develop new revenue streams if they succeed in reaching the coast, the head of the US military’s Africa Command warned Tuesday. “They would love to be able to get to the coastline to connect those revenue streams,” General Michael E Langley told reporters in a briefing in Nairobi. Coastal access would allow extremist groups to transition from generating revenue through kidnapping for ransom and taxation to activities such as “smuggling” and “trafficking of persons,” he added. Fighting between governments and militant groups has raged for more than a decade in the West African region known as the Sahel, hitting Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger particularly hard. All three countries have experienced coups in recent years, in part driven by widespread dissatisfaction over the security situation and unpaid soldiers. But the ruling military juntas have been unable to halt attacks from groups linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State, which have killed thousands and displaced millions across the region. Many of the most recent attacks from those groups have centered on Burkina Faso, Langley said. “Extremist organizations are starting to make their way further to the west and really starting to coalesce in Burkina Faso,” he said. Langley added that there has also been a “resurgence” in attacks from al-Qaeda and ISIS splinter groups in the Lake Chad region near the Niger-Nigeria border. Regional governments will likely need to meet these threats with reduced assistance from the US, which has expressed skepticism over foreign troop deployments and slashed foreign aid spending in recent months.

Wall Street Journal [5/27/2025 8:01 AM, Austin Ramzy, Thomas Grove, and Timothy W. Martin, 646K] reports President Trump’s “Golden Dome” plan has riled the three countries whose weapons technology poses the greatest threat to American territory, with China, Russia and North Korea claiming the missile-defense project is driving a dangerous new arms race. Trump wants a Golden Dome shield in place by the end of his term, which would combine ground-based interceptors with satellites to guard U.S. territory against high-tech threats, including hypersonic missiles. The Chinese, North Koreans and Russians are all developing such missiles, as well as new weapons intended to evade U.S. defenses and combat America in outer space. The three are also increasingly helping each other militarily. North Korea slammed the Golden Dome on Tuesday as the “largest arms-buildup plan in history.” China and Russia in a joint statement earlier this month called the project “deeply destabilizing.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a briefing to journalists Tuesday, said the plan “represented a direct disruption to the foundations of strategic stability.” All three countries have also denounced Trump’s call for space-based interceptors, saying they risk turning space into a battlefield. Experts say that a potential risk of the Golden Dome is that a comprehensive defensive system encourages a proliferation of missiles, including nuclear-capable weapons. It comes as the last major nuclear treaty between leading nuclear powers Russia and the U.S. is set to expire next year, potentially leading Moscow to accelerate the deployment of nuclear warheads. The U.S. says increasing threats make it necessary to build a more comprehensive missile-defense system and rejects criticism that the plan will militarize space. “We have more recently observed China’s satellites engaging in what can only be described as dogfighting maneuvers in space,” said Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, the U.S. Space Force commander in the Indo-Pacific, at a space conference in Australia on Tuesday. “These high-speed, combat-oriented operations on orbit serve as further evidence that Beijing is actively preparing to challenge the U.S. and our allies in space.” The Golden Dome plan represents a dramatic transformation in how the U.S. aims to confront such threats.

Washington Examiner [5/27/2025 7:55 PM, Mabinty Quarshie, 1934K] reports President Donald Trump is telling Canada to join the United States as its 51st state to avoid being charged $61 billion to join his plan to create a "Golden Dome" air defense system. Trump’s threat to charge the northern country comes on the same day King Charles III opened the Canadian Parliament as monarch for the first time. Charles’s gesture was meant to reiterate Canada’s independence from the U.S. and subtly remind Trump that the nation remains a member of the British Commonwealth. However, Trump appeared unmoved by the symbolic display. "I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!" Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday evening. It’s unclear if Canada, which has repeatedly thumbed its nose at joining the U.S., is seriously considering Trump’s offer. The Washington Examiner contacted the Canadian Embassy for comment. Trump announced his ambitious plan for the Pentagon to create a Golden Dome air defense system last week. Gen. Michael Guetlein, the second-highest-ranking Space Force officer, will lead the effort. As Trump has floated annexing Canada, its leaders have unequivocally rejected the offer and even retaliated against Trump’s 25% tariff threats on Canadian steel and aluminum products before tamping down on a trade war. Charles’s speech to the Canadian Parliament, however, was another reminder that Trump’s goal of making Canada the 51st is unlikely to happen during his administration. "The crown has for so long been a symbol of unity for Canada. It also represents stability and continuity from the past to the present. As it should, it stands proudly as a symbol of Canada today, in all her richness and dynamism," Charles told the Canadian Parliament. "As the anthem reminds us: The True North is indeed strong and free!".

Wall Street Journal [5/27/2025 6:15 PM, Vipal Monga and Max Colchester, 646K] reports King Charles III delivered a subtle message to President Trump in Canada’s Parliament: The country already has a king. Charles, who is king of Canada, said in the rare address on Tuesday that the country is firmly self-determining, rebuking Trump’s repeated suggestion that it become part of the U.S. Charles didn’t call out Trump directly but played up Canada’s proud sense of national identity. “Today, Canada faces another critical moment,” he said in a speech written for him by the Canadian government. “Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the government is determined to protect.” Trump has mused for months about making Canada the 51st state and placed tariffs on Canadian products that threaten to exacerbate a cost-of-living crisis. “The system of open global trade that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for Canadians for decades, is changing,” Charles said. “Canada’s relationships with partners are also changing.”

Reuters [5/28/2025 5:11 AM, Guy Faulconbridge, 51390K] reports President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia, according to three Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and has shown increasing frustration with Putin in recent days, warning on Tuesday the Russian leader was "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv as his forces made gains on the battlefield. After speaking to Trump for more than two hours last week, Putin said that he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that would establish the contours of a peace accord, including the timing of a ceasefire. Russia says it is currently drafting its version of the memorandum and cannot estimate how long that will take. Kyiv and European governments have accused Moscow of stalling while its troops advance in eastern Ukraine. "Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price," said one senior Russian source with knowledge of top-level Kremlin thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The three Russian sources said Putin wants a "written" pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the U.S.-led NATO alliance eastwards - shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova and other former Soviet republics. Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, some Western sanctions lifted, a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West, and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, the three sources said. The first source said that, if Putin realizes he is unable to reach a peace deal on his own terms, he will seek to show the Ukrainians and the Europeans by military victories that "peace tomorrow will be even more painful". The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment on Reuters’ reporting. Putin and Russian officials have repeatedly said any peace deal must address the "root causes" of the conflict - Russian shorthand for the issue of NATO enlargement and Western support for Ukraine. Kyiv has repeatedly said that Russia should not be granted veto power over its aspirations to join the NATO alliance. Ukraine says it needs the West to give it a strong security guarantee with teeth to deter any future Russian attack.

AP [5/27/2025 1:24 PM, Katie Marie Davies, 5801K] reports Russian forces have taken four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, a local official said Tuesday, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered troops to establish a buffer zone along the border. Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk region, where a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year captured a pocket of land in the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II. The long border is vulnerable to Ukrainian incursions, Putin said, and creating a buffer zone could help Russia prevent further cross-border attacks there. Meanwhile, a Russian bombing campaign that had escalated in recent days slowed overnight, with far fewer Russian drones targeting Ukrainian towns and cities. Moscow’s invasion has shown no signs of stopping despite months of intense U.S.-led efforts to secure a ceasefire and get traction for peace talks. Since Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey on May 16 for their first direct talks in three years, a large prisoner exchange has been the only tangible outcome, but negotiations have brought no significant breakthrough. The U.S. special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Putin has not yet delivered a promised memorandum that the Russian leader told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on May 19 would outline the framework for a possible peace agreement. The Kremlin has also ruled out the Vatican as a venue for negotiations, he said. “We would have liked to have it at the Vatican and we were pretty set to do something like that, but the Russians didn’t want to go there … so I think Geneva may be the next stop,” Kellogg told the Fox News Channel. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country also was ready to host another round of peace talks. Between Friday and Sunday, Russia launched about 900 drones at Ukraine, officials said, amid a spate of large-scale bombardments. On Sunday night, Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the 3-year-old war, firing 355 drones.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/27/2025 8:00 AM, Filip Timotija, 18649K]

AP [5/28/2025 4:09 AM, Christopher Bodeen, 56000K] reports strongly pro-Taiwan U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is visiting the self-governing island democracy to discuss regional security and relations with the U.S. Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, will hold a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations during her visit Wednesday and Thursday, said the American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as the de-facto American embassy in Taiwan in liu of formal diplomatic relations. Trade, investment and “other significant issues of mutual interest” also are on the schedule, the institute said. “The visit underscores the United States’ commitment to its partnership with Taiwan and reaffirms our shared commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” the institute said. China routinely protests such visits, which it views as a violation of U.S. commitments. Duckworth and her staff are the second U.S. congressional delegation to visit Taiwan in as many days, demonstrating concerns in Washington over the island’s security in the face of Chinese threats to invade, as well as its importance as a trade partner, particularly as the producer of 90% of the world’s most advanced computer chips. Taiwan also faces 32% tariffs under the Trump administration, a figure the government in Taiwan is attempting to negotiate to a lower level without angering sectors such as agriculture that fear lower tariffs could open their markets to heightened competition from abroad. Duckworth is visiting at the same time as Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, the governor of Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory that would almost certainly be a key player in any Chinese military moves against Taiwan. Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing still considers the island its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. China refuses all contact with the government of President Lai Ching-te, whom China brands as a separatist, and seeks to maximize diplomatic pressure on Taiwan.

Reuters [5/27/2025 3:05 PM, Kaori Kaneko, Kantaro Komiya, and Alexandra Alper, 51390K] reports the U.S. government will have veto power over key decisions relating to U.S. Steel as part of a deal with Nippon Steel that would approve the Japanese firm’s bid for the well-known American steel company, a U.S. lawmaker said on Tuesday. The details are laid out in what is called a national security agreement the companies will sign with the U.S. government, said Republican Senator David McCormick of Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is headquartered. "It’ll be a U.S. CEO, a U.S. majority board and then there will be a golden share, which will essentially require U.S. government approval of a number of the board members, and that will allow the United States to ensure production levels aren’t cut and things like that," he told CNBC in an interview after Nikkei reported that a golden share was under consideration. It was not immediately clear if McCormick was announcing a new part of the deal beyond prior pledges made by the companies to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews foreign investments for national security risks and has reviewed Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel twice.

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