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 Hill [5/6/2025 12:30 PM, Staff, 12829K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified Tuesday before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, as the administration leans into President Trump’s sweeping immigration agenda. The hearing came as the White House faces backlash over the case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, deportation flights using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and Trump’s recent offer to pay migrants $1,000 to self-deport. It also followed the administration’s fight with higher education institutions, such as Harvard University, and perceived targeting of international students — including funding cuts. The National Desk [5/6/2025 1:25 PM, Cory Smith, 416K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem answered lawmakers’ questions Tuesday on border security, disaster relief, cybersecurity, REAL ID requirements and more. Noem appeared before a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee, telling lawmakers that President Donald Trump’s administration has "delivered the most secure border in American history." Daily encounters at the southern border between immigration officials and migrants are down 93% since Trump took office, Noem said. At times over the previous few years, Customs and Border Protection encountered over 15,000 migrants a day. “Which mean efforts were diverted into processing and facilitating an invasion of our country instead of doing their jobs,” Noem said at the hearing. “This astonishing turnaround is a testament to the resolve and to the leadership of President Trump to make America safe again. And it is accomplished by the incredible work of the people of the department." There have been days when border officials encountered fewer than 200 migrants a day in recent months, she said. The Trump administration designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. And Noem said fentanyl traffic at the border fell by 54% compared to the previous year in March. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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CBS News [5/6/2025 11:38 AM, Staff, 51661K] Video: HERE
Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 9:39 AM, Elaine Mallon, 2296K] Video: HERE

Federal News Network [5/6/2025 5:55 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1089K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was pressed for details on why the Trump administration wants to make deep cuts at several DHS components. House lawmakers left with lingering questions about proposed budget cuts at the Department of Homeland Security after a Tuesday oversight hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The hearing, before the House Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subcommittee, was held days after the Trump administration released its proposed fiscal 2026 "skinny budget.” The request would increase overall DHS funding — largely at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol — it would also cut budgets at several component agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. The request would cut CISA funding by $491 million, roughly 20% of the agency’s current budget. During Tuesday’s hearing, subcommittee Ranking Member Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) pressed Noem on the Trump administration’s "cyber plan" given the proposed CISA cuts. "It will be coming out shortly, and that is the president’s prerogative," Noem said. "I have been advising him on what that will look like.” The skinny budget document provides brief descriptions of proposed spending changes. The section on CISA says the Trump administration would eliminate "duplicative" programs and "so-called misinformation and propaganda as well as external engagement offices, such as international affairs.” House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee Chairman Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) said lawmakers will need more details on the proposed cuts. Noem attributed the proposed TSA reductions to eliminating unfilled positions. "All we’re doing there in the reductions is reducing empty [full-time equivalents] that were never filled or don’t have TSOs in them now and asking for TSA officials to do work that that they were intended to do, not to do unskilled technical work by monitoring exit lanes," Noem said. The administration’s skinny budget proposes slashing non-discretionary FEMA grants by $646 million. Last month, DHS ended the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and canceled all BRIC applications. A FEMA spokesperson called the program "wasteful and ineffective.” The debate around FEMA grant funding comes as the Trump administration considers broader changes to the emergency management agency. President Donald Trump has established a FEMA Review Council, c0-led by Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to recommend reforms.

FOX News [5/6/2025 10:11 PM, Peter Pinedo, 46189K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristin Noem called for the death penalty in the wake of a disastrous maritime human smuggling operation that left one child, and at least two others, dead. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced charges Tuesday against five illegals in an alleged human smuggling attempt gone wrong that resulted in at least three deaths, including a 14-year-old boy from India. According to the attorney’s office, witnesses observed an overturned panga boat at a beach in Del Mar, California, on Monday. The statement said bystanders and San Diego lifeguards attempted rescue efforts, and law enforcement officials recovered three bodies, including a 14-year-old boy identified in court records as "P.P.B.” The boy’s mother and father and two others were rescued and are hospitalized. The father is in a coma. The deceased child’s 10-year-old sister is still "missing at sea" and presumed dead. Two Mexican nationals, Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva, 36, were arrested at the beach and were charged with bringing in aliens resulting in death and bringing in aliens for financial gain. They face possible death sentences or life in prison and a $250,000 fine for the first charge and penalties of ten years in prison with a three-year mandatory minimum and a $250,000 fine for the second. Earlier in the evening Noem posted on X: "This tragic loss of life underscores the deadly reality of maritime human smuggling and why Congress authorized the death penalty when human smuggling results in a death. I am urging the Attorney General to prosecute the suspects to the fullest extent under the law.” U.S. Border Patrol agents later identified two vehicles involved, apprehended the drivers and recovered eight of the remaining nine migrants missing from the boat, leaving only the 10-year-old child unaccounted for. UPI [5/6/2025 11:38 PM, Darryl Coote, 1546K] reports federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged five people in connection to the human smuggling operation, including Mexican nationals Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva, 36, and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, 30. The pair, who were seemingly among those on the vessel, were arrested Monday night. Noem announced her request to the Justice Department for the accused to face the death penalty if convicted in a statement, saying she will also formally ask Attorney General Pam Bondi for the pair to be swiftly prosecuted. "The Department of Homeland Security will not tolerate this level of criminal depravity or reckless disregard for human life," she said. "We will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure justice is served and our laws upheld." Coast Guard authorities said in a statement that they received word of the overturned panga skiff around 6:30 a.m. EDT Monday off Del Mar Beach. Three people were found deceased and four others were located in need of medical attention. A search was launched for seven others sill missing that was called off that night.

The Hill [5/6/2025 5:09 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended President Trump’s immigration policies and plans for deep cuts at her agency in her first appearance before lawmakers since being confirmed. Noem, appearing before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, was grilled by House Democrats over planned cuts for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Trump’s skinny budget proposes $646 million in cuts to FEMA it argues fund "equity" in disaster response and also proposes shuttering the disinformation offices and programs at CISA. Noem said the agency still has unpaid claims from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters stretching back eight years or more. She also nodded to the case of a FEMA supervisor who told employees not to go to houses with Trump signs who was later fired, saying the agency was picking "winners and losers." But DeLauro shot back that the instance was limited to one employee and was not FEMA policy. Immigration policy will largely be handled through the House Judiciary Committee’s reconciliation bill, but under questioning from Republicans, Noem defended some $45 billion in the budget for border wall construction. Noem said the wall won’t just be steel structures but will also be buoys across rivers and concertina wire as well as additional cameras in places where fencing and other structures are not possible. Noem also said that even with the change in leadership, the department has had some issues deporting people as swiftly as she would like to. Noem also came under fire from Democrats for an ad campaign thanking Trump for closing the border, with the contracts for producing the ads swiftly awarded to GOP firms associated with former Trump staffers. Noem said the contracts were awarded following guidelines and defended the need for the messaging.

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NewsMax [5/6/2025 7:33 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4998K]

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 4:20 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pushed House lawmakers to pass a $175 billion funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security during her appearance before appropriators, saying the money would be used to "empower" the government to carry out President Donald Trump’s extensive immigration agenda. Noem went before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security on Tuesday to defend the White House’s massive budget request: $175 billion for the 270,000-person federal department. DHS’s responsibilities largely overlap with Trump’s immigration and border policies, making it the primary department to carry out those objectives. "The president’s FY 2026 Budget request for DHS will establish a firm foundation upon which to surge resources in support of the Administration’s border security and immigration enforcement objectives," Noem’s prepared statement stated. "Reconciliation would empower the DHS to implement the President’s mass removal campaign and secure the border." Funding plans released by the House Judiciary Committee and House Homeland Security Committee last week included $47 billion for more border wall, as well as the first-ever hundreds of miles of maritime barrier. Another $10 billion would go toward upgrading U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities where illegal immigrants are temporarily detained, hiring and retaining CBP employees, more nonintrusive machines to screen vehicles and cargo at ports of entry, the drone program, and border surveillance technology. Republicans pitched enough funding in the reconciliation bill to carry out at least one million deportations of illegal immigrants, hire 10,000 new ICE employees, and enough detention space to house 100,000 people at a time, doubling the current amount. Noem said she would provide a written response but that there were "thousands and thousands" of areas within FEMA that required addressing.

FOX News [5/6/2025 7:55 PM, Staff, 46189K] Video: HERE reports Fox News senior national correspondent Aishah Hasnie has the latest on the border security debate on ‘Special Report.’

Bloomberg [5/6/2025 3:08 PM, Ellen M Gilmer and Alicia A. Caldwell, 16228K] reports the Trump administration wants to more than double the number of immigration jail beds as part of its ongoing push to carry out the largest deportation effort in US history, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told lawmakers Tuesday. “We need upwards of an additional 50,000 to 60,000 beds in order to make sure that we have the ability to not slow down enforcement operations,” Noem said during a hearing before a House Appropriations homeland security panel. Noem did not offer a cost estimate for doubling jail space, but said the new beds would be used to help bring those with final removal orders into custody. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a roughly $3.4 billion detention budget for about 41,500 jail beds for the current fiscal year, which runs until September. Noem said Tuesday that about 50,000 migrants are currently in immigration detention, most waiting to be deported. Noem spent much of her first congressional appearance since being confirmed by the Senate defending the Trump administration’s near singular focus on border security and immigration enforcement, including spending that outpaces their current budget. While border security and a mass deportation effort have been Noem’s focus at DHS, the agency is also trimming spending for other core missions, including cybersecurity, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Agency.

DailySignal [5/6/2025 2:39 PM, Jacob Adams, 495K] reports Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem appeared on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to outline her budget priorities and the department’s accomplishments thus far in the second Trump term. Sitting before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Noem answered members’ questions regarding securing the border and keeping American citizens safe and secure. The secretary touted the administration’s record-breaking success at ending the illegal immigrant border crisis. “At the southern border, we have obtained a near-total control of daily encounters now, down over 93% since President [Donald] Trump took office,” Noem said. “March saw the lowest number of border encounters in recorded history, in the history of the United States of America, at just under 7,200,” she continued. The secretary also emphasized that the administration was prioritizing removing illegal aliens who have committed crimes in the U.S.

FOX News [5/6/2025 11:57 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 46189K] reports Americans who don’t have their REAL IDs will still be allowed to fly after the May 7 deadline, but they will face extra screening and delays at the airport. Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem made the announcement during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday. Noem said 81% of travelers already have IDs that comply with the REAL ID requirements and added that security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification when the deadline hits Wednesday. "People will be allowed to fly," Noem told lawmakers. "We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.” Those who still lack identification that complies with the REAL ID law "may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step," Noem said. REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification. It was a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005, but implementation has been repeatedly delayed. Obtaining a REAL ID includes more stringent requirements for verifying a person’s identity than has been used in the past with non-REAL ID driver’s licenses. The switch to this new form of identification has caused a lot of chaos and confusion, with many travelers expressing fear they won’t be able to get a REAL ID before the Wednesday deadline. Passengers will be required to fill out a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Form 415, also known as a Certification of Identity form, and if the TSA officials are able to confirm the details given to them, passengers will be allowed to go through the security checkpoint and board their flight. Passengers who go this route may be subject to additional pat-downs, questioning or other extra security screening. Even if you get denied, you may still be able to take advantage of airline policies that allow passengers to re-book their flight the following day, providing those without the proper identification time to get it.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [5/6/2025 6:18 PM, Michael Levenson, 145325K]
The Hill [5/6/2025 1:19 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12829K] Video HERE
AP [5/5/2025 2:47 PM, Rebecca Santana, 24727K]
Reuters [5/6/2025 1:50 PM, David Shepardson, 41523K]
Axios [5/6/2025 2:49 PM, Kelly Tyko, 13163K]
(B) CNN News Central [5/6/2025 3:42 PM, Staff]

Bloomberg [5/6/2025 12:59 PM, Alicia A. Caldwell, 16228K] reports travelers who don’t yet have a new federally approved identification card should expect delays at the nation’s airports but will still be able to board domestic flights, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. The US government on Wednesday will begin enforcing the requirement that domestic travelers use a REAL ID card or other form of approved identification as required by a law passed by Congress 20 years ago. Anyone without a compliant identification “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step, but people will be able to fly,” Noem told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday. Noem said Tuesday that as many as 81% of airline travelers are thought to already have the proper ID. Transportation Security Administration officers manning airport security checkpoints will also honor passports and tribal identification cards, she said. “We recognize that this is a security issue,” Noem said of the law’s implementation. “Congress has had many, many years to re-evaluate it and decide if they wanted to change the law or stop it, and the Biden administration chose it would go into place May 7. And we intend to follow the law, so we will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”

ABC 28 Tampa [5/6/2025 3:58 PM, Liz Landers] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security oversight hearing on Tuesday, answering a variety of questions about the way the administration is handling immigration and other issues. The Department of Homeland Security is one of the largest federal branches that oversees over 270,000 employees across multiple agencies — one of those being the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Noem said she has refocused CISA from targeting misinformation and instead has redirected the agency to secure critical infrastructure. Last year, CISA partnered with local agencies ahead of the 2024 presidential election to ensure security and combat false information. Noem fielded some questions regarding an update on the investigation into a hack the government has named "Salt Typhoon." That was when at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations were impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign last fall. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [5/6/2025 10:19 AM, Neil Munro, 2900K] Video HERE reports Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem will face down angry Democrats at a hearing on the agency’s budget for the 12 months after October 2025. The hearing is at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security where seven Republicans and four Democrats will spar over U.S. immigration policy. Noem will describe spending plans, and Democrats will argue that President Donald Trump’s pro-American policies are not supported by prior years’ budgets. Some Republicans, however, including Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (DR-WA), also favor an increased inflow of cheap workers, room-sharing renters, and taxpayer-aided consumers. The top Republican on the overall appropriations committee, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), also favors cheap-labor migration, including foreign migrants for nursing jobs that otherwise would go to young Americans. The result is that the committee will likely downplay the pocketbook impact of mass migration on ordinary American families. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [5/7/2025 12:58 AM, Neil Munro, 2923K] reports border security chief Kristi Noem casually batted away numerous Democrat complaints and barbs during her first hearing at the House appropriations committee on Tuesday. She repeatedly shut down Democratic Party narratives and also shot down pleas from Republican legislators to import more low-wage migrant workers for employers who do not want to invest in high-tech, labor-saving machines. Yet demoralized Democrats insisted they won a victory in a much-shared post from "Occupy Democrats’s [sic]" saying: BREAKING: MAGA Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem brutally faceplants during a Congressional hearing when asked if she has the "authority" to deport American citizens — and gets torn to shreds by a Democratic Congresswoman. They really need to keep "Fascist Barbie" away from the cameras at this point… The truth is that Americans are getting swept up in Trump’s mass deportation crackdown. NBC News reported recently that American children — including a 4-year old with cancer — were deported to Honduras. The conversation went differently. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) read her staffers’ script when she asked Noem: "Do you believe that the US government has the authority to deport American citizens?". "No, and we are not deporting citizens," Noem calmly responded without reading notes. By subscribing, you agree to our terms of use & privacy policy. You will receive email marketing messages from Breitbart News Network to the email you provide. You may unsubscribe at any time. Underwood continued reading: I’m so happy to hear that you do not believe that the law gives you that authority because the federal government has no authority under U.S. laws to deport any American citizen. And as I know everyone viewing this hearing today knows that several American citizens have been deported to date. "They have not, that is not true," Noem said as Underwood tried to block her response, saying, "Secretary Noem, that was not a question.” In reality, no U.S. citizen children have been pushed through the lengthy deportation legal process. But some deported illegal migrants have decided to take their U.S.-born children back to their home countries.

CNN [5/6/2025 7:00 AM, Katelyn Polantz, 22131K] reports the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s hardline attempts to deport undocumented immigrants using a wartime power has been met with resistance by federal courts, including among judges Trump himself has appointed. The latest, on Monday, was district Judge Stephanie Haines, presiding over a federal court in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The administration argued to Haines that it should be able to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport migrants from the US with little advance notice. Haines had already temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending suspected Tren de Aragua gang members from Venezuela to El Salvador if they were held in a facility in her district, in Central Pennsylvania, where there is a hub for immigration detainees for the northeastern US. On Monday, she didn’t rule on whether he prohibition should last longer, or say if she would allow the administration to use the wartime law for detainees being moved through Pennsylvania. Yet she asked the Justice Department several questions about why they thought it was sufficient for detainees to have a fewer-than-two-day window to challenge the Alien Enemies Act once they’re told they may be sent to El Salvador. In addition to Haines, another Trump-appointed trial-level judge, in South Texas, ruled last week that removals under the Alien Enemies Act weren’t lawful. Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., who joined the bench in Texas in 2018, decided the president alone couldn’t deem the US was being threatened or invaded by Venezuelans and declare undocumented immigrants from the country alien enemies. The ruling was the first to block the administration’s use of the law after weighing the case in full. Though Rodriguez’s decision only applies to migrants held in the judge’s district in south Texas, it became a crucial early sign that a centerpiece of the administration’s hardline immigration policy may be struck down across the country. Each ruling, especially if they come from Trump-appointed judges, may chip away at the administration’s arguments for using the controversial law. "All these decisions are pointing in the same direction, which is that the Alien Enemies Act should only be used in time of war or invasion," Christopher Slobogin, a criminal justice professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, told CNN this week. "The fact that Trump appointees are saying that makes the point especially strongly.”

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 12:17 PM, Kaelan Deese, 2296K] reports a federal judge on Monday grilled the Justice Department over whether the Trump administration’s one-day notice for Venezuelan detainees is enough time for them to challenge their rapid removal under the Alien Enemies Act. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines, a Trump-appointed judge in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was weighing the case of a Venezuelan man accused by the Trump administration of having ties to the Tren de Aragua gang on Monday. The case centers on whether the wartime provision can be cited to send the migrant to the Terrorism Confinement Center, a megaprison in El Salvador, on as little as 24 hours’ notice. DOJ lawyer Michael Velchik argued that the detainee’s current status shields him from Alien Enemies Act removal for now. However, he repeatedly declined to say whether the administration would designate the detainee as subject to the Alien Enemies Act in the future. "I’m not aware of any intent to do so," Velchik said, according to CNN. "I wouldn’t want to concrete that.” The hearing, one of eight similar cases nationwide, reflects the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to bypass ordinary immigration proceedings when targeting alleged gang members. Critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union suggest these deportations are being rushed, without the Trump administration giving detainees proper notice or meaningful time to respond.

Reuters [5/6/2025 5:34 PM, Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward, 41523K] reports U.S. law enforcement officials said on Tuesday that they had taken down one of the largest fentanyl trafficking operations in the country’s history, making 16 arrests and seizing millions of fentanyl pills. In addition to the fentanyl pills, authorities seized 11.5 kg of fentanyl powder and large amounts of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine in last month’s operation, according to U.S. officials and court filings. Forty-one weapons were seized. The drug trafficking network allegedly operated across six western states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. Fourteen of the 16 defendants were charged together in federal court in New Mexico on a range of offenses including conspiracy and illegal drug distribution, according to court documents. Bondi and other U.S. officials alleged the leader of the network was Heriberto Salazar Amaya. He was one of six defendants arrested that Bondi alleged were living in the United States illegally. Bondi said all six would face charges in U.S. courts, unlike in other cases in which the Justice Department under President Donald Trump opted to deport rather than prosecute undocumented immigrants who were accused of crimes. She and other officials alleged Salazar Amaya had ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. But court documents, including a motion by prosecutors to detain Salazar Amaya before trial, do not allege a connection to the cartel, which Trump has designated a foreign terrorist organization. It was also unclear how many fentanyl pills were seized as part of the operation. A court filing cataloged the figure at more than 4 million while Bondi and other U.S. officials said during a press conference it was about 2.7 million.

FOX News [5/6/2025 2:30 PM, Michael Dorgan, 46189K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that authorities have made one of the biggest fentanyl busts in U.S. history with the seizure of 11.5 kilos of the drug, including 3 million pills. Bondi said that around 35 kilos of methamphetamine, 35 kilos of meth, 7.5 kilos of cocaine and 4.5 kilos of heroin were also seized along with $5 million in cash and 49 rifles and pistols. Sixteen people including three women, were arrested in the operation. Six of the males are in the U.S. illegally, Bondi said. The leader of the group, Alberto Salazar Amaya, is a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was living in Salem, Oregon, and drugs were being distributed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Phoenix, Arizona, and in Utah, Bondi said. "We’re very proud to announce today a historic Sinaloa Cartel arrest and it marks the most significant victory in our nation’s fight against fentanyl and drug trafficking to date," Bondi said at a press briefing in Washington D.C. "This multi-agency operation, led by DEA, with our local, state, tribal and federal partners targeted one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking and foreign terrorist organizations in our country." "The DEA seized 11.5 kilos of fentanyl, including an astounding approximately 3 million fentanyl pills. The largest seizure in our nation’s history." Bondi said that all of the fentanyl pills were stamped as oxycodone and came in various strengths.

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The Hill [5/6/2025 3:44 PM, Elizabeth Crisp, 12829K]
UPI [5/6/2025 7:12 PM, Chris Benson, 1546K]

Daily Wire [5/6/2025 3:46 PM, Spencer Lindquist and Mary Margaret Olohan, 4700K] reports federal authorities carried out a raid on a massive fentanyl peddling ring in New Mexico that was tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, resulting in the arrest of 16 individuals and the largest fentanyl seizure in American history, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday. The raid was carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement partners and resulted in the seizure of 11.5 kilograms of concentrated fentanyl powder, 49 firearms, millions of dollars in cash, luxury vehicles, meth, heroin, cocaine, and nearly “three million pills … laced with fentanyl, labeled as oxycodone,” Attorney General Pam Bondi noted. The shocking amount of fentanyl is enough to kill millions of Americans, with just 2 milligrams being a lethal dose for adults. Sixteen people were arrested in the operation, including the leader of the drug smuggling ring, an illegal alien with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, which was designated as a foreign terror organization earlier this year. Six of those arrested in the operation were in the country illegally, Bondi noted.

The Washington Post [5/6/2025 8:19 PM, Shayna Jacobs and Maria Sacchetti, 31735K] reports a federal judge on Tuesday barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan immigrants without a hearing, saying the White House has failed to prove the existence of an “invasion” or another conflict that would justify invoking the centuries-old law. U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s ruling halts the removal of immigrants being detained in his court’s jurisdiction in New York. The judge said such rulings are all that stops the administration from sending more Venezuelan immigrants to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador “where they would endure abuse and inhumane treatment with no recourse to bring them back.” Hellerstein is among several judges who have determined that the administration’s use of the act for the expulsion of migrants is based on an illegal interpretation of the law and that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority. Officials have sent more than 200 immigrants to the prison since mid-March, including more than 100 Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act because the government alleged they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. "The destination, El Salvador, a country paid to take our aliens, is neither the country from which the aliens came, nor to which they wish to be removed," Hellerstein wrote in his 22-page ruling. "But they are taken there, and there to remain, indefinitely, in a notoriously evil jail, unable to communicate with counsel, family or friends.” Several courts have since criticized the removals, and investigations by Washington Post and others have since shown that many of those who disappeared into the prison had no criminal records, and that some were in the United States legally and were actively complying with immigration rules. The Hill [5/6/2025 5:33 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports that evidence "that TdA [Tren de Aragua] has engaged in either a ‘war,’ ‘invasion’ or a ‘predatory incursion’ of the United States, do not exist," Hellerstein wrote, citing the predicates for igniting the law. He noted both the act and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court requires immigrants be given sufficient notice before any deportation under the AEA. Hellerstein also reviewed conditions at CECOT, the notorious prison facility in El Salvador known by its acronym in Spanish where immigrants are being sent from the U.S.

Washington Post [5/6/2025 5:35 PM, Jeremy Roebuck, 31735K] reports a federal judge in Maryland refused Tuesday to lift her order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Venezuelan man who officials deported to El Salvador nearly two months ago in violation of a legal settlement. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher rejected government arguments that retrieving the man — a 20-year-old identified in court papers only as “Cristian” — was pointless because a Department of Homeland Security agency determined last week that he would not qualify for asylum anyway. The Trump administration has also argued that it no longer has the power to bring the man back because he is in the custody of a foreign nation — the same stance they have taken in the case of Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran national who also was deported in violation of a court order. The judge ordered the government to take immediate steps to facilitate Cristian’s return, including making “a good faith request … to the government of El Salvador to release [him] to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States.” The Justice Department has not indicated whether officials have made any effort to comply with that order. In the run-up to a Tuesday hearing in Baltimore, government lawyers urged Gallagher to withdraw her ruling. Gallagher, in refusing to change her mind, noted that due to his premature deportation, the man had not had the opportunity to present his case for asylum before USCIS reached its decision. The judge agreed to stay her order for Cristian’s return for 48 hours to allow the government a chance to appeal. Should they decline to do so or should their appeal fail, she added, she would impose deadlines for the government to show it was taking steps to comply with her ruling.

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New York Times [5/6/2025 3:20 PM, Alan Feuer and Aishvarya Kavi, 145325K]
FOX News [5/6/2025 3:49 PM, Breanne Deppisch, 46189K]

AP [5/6/2025 7:15 PM, Nicholas Riccardi, 48304K] reports two separate federal judges 2,000 miles apart ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump improperly used an 18th century wartime law to try to speed the deportations of people his administration labels members of a Venezuelan gang, adding to mounting judicial skepticism over the president’s attempt to avoid deportation hearings by invoking a measure last used in World War II. First, District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in New York found the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 cannot be used against the Tren de Aragua gang because it is not attacking the United States. “TdA may well be engaged in narcotics trafficking, but that is a criminal matter, not an invasion or predatory incursion,” Hellerstein wrote barring deportations from most of New York City and surrounding areas. Hours later, District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney reached a similar conclusion, expanding on an earlier order that barred the removals of Venezuelans accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua from Colorado. She was aghast at administration arguments that no one can second-guess the president’s designation of the gang as a foreign invader. That contention “staggers. It is wrong as a matter of law and attempts to read an entire provision out of the Constitution,” Sweeney wrote.

Washington Post [5/6/2025 5:26 PM, Steve Thompson, 31735K] reports since the Trump administration deported Abrego García to El Salvador — later admitting that it was in violation of an immigration judge’s 2019 order barring his removal to that country — the legal case surrounding his family’s efforts to have him brought back has become a high-profile example of the administration’s willingness to skirt or flout judicial directives. It is also a test of how federal judges, appeals courts and the Supreme Court can nudge the executive branch into doing what the law requires. Four administration officials are scheduled to be deposed in the case by Friday. Filings over the pause and resumption of discovery were made under seal "seemingly without requesting or receiving permission from the Court to do so," the news organizations’ motion said.

NewsMax [5/6/2025 7:43 AM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4998K] reports Republican senators are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s idea of sending U.S. citizens who commit serious crimes to prisons in foreign countries, including the massive Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, saying that would violate the Constitution. Sen Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told The Hill that the Supreme Court would likely block the plan, the outlet reported Tuesday. "You’re talking about American citizens?" he said. "I doubt that would hold up as something constitutional.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, agreed that "it sounds to me like you can’t deport citizens," but he added that "either he’s got the authority to do it, or it isn’t going to happen.” During Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s visit to the Oval Office in April, Trump commented that the "homegrowns are next" and told him that he has to "build about five more places.” The Terrorism Confinement Center, which is known as CECOT, houses 40,000 inmates. Bukele suggested his country could hold convicted U.S. citizens, telling the president, "Yeah, we got space.” Bukele said in February that El Salvador is willing to take in convicted criminals, presumably including those from the United States, into CECOT "in exchange for a fee.” "The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable," he commented. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told The Hill that there would be a "real problem" with sending U.S. citizens to prison in other countries. "I can’t imagine you can deport a citizen. I don’t think you can incarcerate a citizen in another country, either," he said. Paul further said that he could not tell if Trump is serious about his proposal. "There are a lot of things that are said, over-the-top, for effect, that aren’t serious proposals," he said. "But I don’t know in this case. I can’t imagine you can deport a citizen and/or incarcerate a citizen outside the U.S.” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, when asked about sending prisoners to foreign countries, referred to Trump’s call to reopen the long-shuttered Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary located off the coast of San Francisco as a potential option. "I thought that’s what Alcatraz was going to be for," he said, but he did not immediately embrace the call to reopen the notorious prison. "It’s the first I’ve heard of the suggestion, but I certainly want to have that conversation," Cornyn said. Trump repeated the idea of sending U.S. criminals to foreign prisons during his recent interview with Time magazine, stating that he would "love to do that if it were permissible by law. We’re looking into that.” He said his plan calls for sending away repeat offenders or convicts with long prison sentences. "We’re talking about career criminals that are horrible people that we house and we have to take care of for 50 years while they suffer because they killed people," Trump said. "We have crime rates under Biden that went through the roof, and we have to bring those rates down.”

The Hill [5/6/2025 6:00 AM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K] reports critics say President Trump’s aggressive deportations and tightening of immigration law are a precursor to a wider attack on civil rights that could go beyond the targeting of migrants to U.S. citizens. Trump in recent weeks has used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to send Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador, denying them a chance to challenge assertions they have gang ties. The administration also has stripped student visas from those involved in protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza — something attorneys for the students say is designed to quash their First Amendment rights. Democratic lawmakers argue the actions represent a chipping away of fundamental rights and a stepping stone toward authoritarianism. "I think it is really important that we understand what’s going on — the most vulnerable — they target a population that they think that maybe they can win the sympathy of the American people, or of any people, in targeting that particular population," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said during a hearing last week to review a reconciliation package to back Trump’s immigration priorities. "And the idea here is to show that if you can do it to that group of people — and nobody says anything — then you can go further and do it to anybody else," she said. "And I think it is very important to recognize that in this moment, they are trying to say that due process does not apply to you if you’re an immigrant," she added before going on to cite Fifth Amendment protections for any action depriving any person of their liberty. The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called it part of the "authoritarian playbook.” "Every day, the administration uses immigration enforcement as a template to violate and erode our rights and liberties. They round up people in the street and disappear them to the torture prison of a foreign dictator without one iota of due process, sweeping up completely innocent people who have no criminal record and no criminal charges. They strip college and graduate students at American universities of their student visas for writing op-eds the administration disagrees with," he said during the same hearing. "If Donald Trump can sweep noncitizens off the street and fly them to a torturer’s prison in El Salvador with no due process, he can do it to citizens too, because if there is no due process, no fair hearing, you have no opportunity to object.” Republicans have brushed off those concerns, accusing Democrats of caring more about migrants than citizens. "Over 77 million Americans delivered a resounding Election Day mandate to enforce our immigration laws and mass deport criminal illegal aliens," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Hill in a statement.

NPR [5/6/2025 11:16 AM, Ximena Bustillo, 29983K] reports the Trump administration announced it is offering a $1,000 incentive to migrants who "self-deport" using the CBP Home App that was once used to seek asylum. The Homeland Security Department pitched the monetary incentive as a more cost-effective (for the government) and "dignified" way to leave the country. The department has been working to ramp up the speed and number of arrests, detentions and removal of immigrants without legal status over the last few months — a costly and resource-intensive endeavor. The department estimates the average cost of arresting, detaining and removing someone without legal status amounts to around $17,121. Immigration enforcement officials have noted that detention capacity is maxed out and the administration is seeking to streamline removals. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Monday that more than 7,000 people have used the app since it was rebranded from facilitating asylum requests to promoting removals.

US News & World Report [5/6/2025 5:15 PM, Elliott Davis Jr., 24727K] reports described by the Department of Homeland Security as a "dignified way to leave" the United States, a new program announced Monday by the administration will provide migrants with a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance if they choose to return to their home country. Assistance would come in the form of free airline tickets, CBS News reported. Migrants must submit their intent to depart the country through a "self-deportation" feature on the CBP Home app – the recently repurposed version of an app that the Biden administration favored to allow migrants to schedule humanitarian parole appointments at ports of entry with the option to subsequently request asylum. Once a migrant has confirmed a return to their home country through CBP Home, they will receive a $1,000 payment, according to the department’s news release. "If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. DHS claims the program will provide U.S. taxpayers with a 70% savings, using a $17,121 figure as the average cost to arrest, detain and remove someone in the country illegally. Migrants who use the incentive also can "avoid being encountered" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and participating "may help preserve the option" to return to the country legally in the future. But one analyst notes there are other nuances at play that offer a "mixed picture" regarding the scheme.

Blaze [5/6/2025 2:03 PM, Julio Rosas, 1668K] reports Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) suggested that instead of providing $1,000 to illegal aliens who decide to self-deport through the CBP Home app, they can pay a fine and be given work visas while their cases are handled in immigration courts. Gallego said there would be background checks and that the work visas would be renewable with good behavior. When faced with criticism of his idea, Gallego insisted this would not be a pathway to citizenship because work visas do not mean someone is able to become a citizen. Gallego made the offer in response to the Department of Homeland Security announcing the new stipend on Monday. The DHS says the incentive to have illegal aliens leave before being arrested by agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will save taxpayers money in the long run because "the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove an illegal alien is $17,121." "If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home app,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “This is the safest option for our law enforcement [and] aliens and is a 70% savings for U.S. taxpayers. Download the CBP Home app TODAY and self-deport.”

Breitbart [5/6/2025 12:26 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 2923K] reports Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is fuming over President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security offering $1,000 for illegal immigrants to self-deport, asserting that it is a "scam" and suggesting that it is not enough for many who she says left their country due to political violence and for the opportunity to work. The Department of Homeland Security announced the offering on Monday, which includes potential travel assistance as well as a one-time stipend for illegals who register to self-deport on the CBP Home App. Doing this would not only deprioritize them from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation, but potentially open the door for them to reenter the United States legally in the future. Once their exit has been confirmed, they would be given $1,000. DHS contends that this is far more cost-effective for American taxpayers, decreasing the cost of deportation by an estimated 70 percent. "Currently the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove an illegal alien is $17,121," according to DHS. Crockett — who has been mired in controversy due to her off-hand remarks — believes this is a "scam.” "Bribing immigrants with $1000 to leave the country and garnishing wages while ruining the economy is not leadership — it’s a damn scam," she wrote on X, sharing a clip of her reaction to this news on social media. "I wouldn’t trust this administration for anything. First of all, they are terrible about paying their bills," she said during an appearance on CNN. Crockett argued that "most" of the people who have entered the country illegally were fleeing "political violence" or seeking an opportunity to work. Therefore, she does not believe that the incentives are enough. "And so what is $1,000 if you’re going back to a place where you may lose your life," she said, making no mention of illegal immigrant crime and the hordes of able-bodied men who have crossed the border. "They risk their lives, many of them, coming over here in the first place.”

Federalist [5/6/2025 2:32 PM, Brianna Lyman, 1033K] reports on Monday President Donald Trump floated the idea that illegal aliens who voluntarily self-deport could be given a chance to come back legally, as though the only issue is mass illegal immigration. But this position represents a dangerous misdiagnosis of the real problem. It’s not that illegal immigration is a problem simply because it’s, well, illegal. Mass migration — whether legal or illegal — is national suicide. The sheer volume of foreign arrivals reshapes the country in ways no election can reverse and no bureaucratic process can fix. A nation isn’t just laws — a nation is its people, its culture, and its identity. And no matter how “legal” the process may be, importing millions of newcomers “legally” at breakneck speed poses the same existential challenge to American unity and cohesion that illegal migration does. “We’re going to work with [illegal aliens who self-deport] so that maybe someday, with a little work, they can come back in if they’re good people,” Trump told reporters on Monday. It’s similar to comments he made in April: “We’re going to work with people so that if they go out in a nice way and back to their country, we’re gonna work with them right from the beginning on trying to get them back in legally. … So it gives a real incentive, otherwise, they’ll never come back.” While the proposal — intended to help Trump carry out his mass deportation pledge — seems pragmatic on the surface, it overlooks the profound cultural and social implications of mass migration, whether illegal or not.

ABC News [5/6/2025 6:10 AM, Mike Levine, Pierre Thomas, and Lucien Bruggeman, 34586K] reports FBI officials say they are growing increasingly concerned about a loose network of violent predators who befriend teenagers through popular online platforms and then coerce them into escalating sexual and violent behavior -- pushing victims to create graphic pornography, harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or even die by suicide. The online predators, part of the network known as "764," demand victims send them photos and videos of it all, so the shocking content can be shared with fellow 764 followers or used to extort victims for more. Some of the predators even host "watch parties" for others to watch them torment victims live online, according to authorities. "We see a lot of bad things, but this is one of the most disturbing things we’re seeing," said FBI Assistant Director David Scott, the head of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, which is now leading many of the U.S. government’s investigations tied to 764. The FBI has more than 250 such investigations currently underway, with every single one of its 55 field offices across the country handling a 764-related case, Scott told ABC News in an exclusive interview. He said the FBI has seen some victims as young as nine, and federal authorities have indicated there could be thousands of victims around the world. "[It’s] very scary and frightening," the Connecticut mother of a teen girl caught up in 764 told ABC News. "It was very difficult to process, because we didn’t raise her to engage in that kind of activity," said the mother, speaking on the condition that ABC News not name her or her daughter. Last year, in classic New England town of Vernon, Connecticut, local police arrested the girl -- a former honor roll student -- for conspiring with a 764 devotee overseas to direct bomb threats at her own community. When police searched her devices, they found pornographic photos of her, photos depicting self-mutilation, and photos of her paying homage to 764. As Scott described it, one of the main goals of 764 and similar networks is to "sow chaos" and "bring down society.” That’s why the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and the Justice Department’s National Security Division are now looking at 764 and its offshoots as a potential form of domestic terrorism, even coining a new term to characterize the most heinous actors: "nihilistic violent extremists.” "The more gore, the more violence ... that raises their stature within the groups," Scott said. "So it’s sort of a badge of honor within some of these groups to actually do the most harm to victims.”

Blaze [5/6/2025 10:05 AM, Rebeka Zeljko, 1668K] reports the nonprofit organization Safe House Project launched an innovative anti-trafficking app Simply Report on Tuesday, empowering users to safely, anonymously, and effectively report instances of suspected human trafficking, Blaze News learned. Lawmakers and law enforcement alike have backed Simply Report, pointing to features that help streamline the reporting process and bridge the gap between "community awareness" and "actionable intervention," according to a press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News. The app combines AI filters and human oversight to properly vet and direct tips to appropriate authorities as well as connect trafficking survivors to the organization’s expansive national network of safe houses. "We are at a turning point in America’s fight against human trafficking," Kristi Wells, co-founder and CEO of Safe House Project, said in a statement. "While the current hotline was a valid solution at the turn of the century, trafficking criminals have evolved, leveraging modern-day tools and technology — and so must we." "This app is about removing barriers," Brittany Dunn, co-founder and COO of Safe House Project, said. "For too long, human trafficking has been shrouded in darkness. Simply Report will increase reporting, which will drive clarity, accountability, and care. It’s not just a tool — it’s a lifeline." Both legislators and law enforcement agencies have praised the app as a "game-changer" that has modernized the long-standing but outdated human trafficking hotline. With innovations like Simply Report, Safe House Project is hopeful that human trafficking will be eradicated altogether.

Daily Caller [5/6/2025 5:58 PM, Andi Shae Napier, 1082K] reports Republican North Carolina Rep. Pat Harrigan partnered with Safe House Project to announce on Tuesday the launch of Simply Report — a free, first of its kind mobile app designed to modernize the fight against human trafficking. Simply Report’s release comes just weeks after 41 State Attorney Generals wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. claiming the National Human Trafficking Hotline service was not adequately delivering hotline tips to local law enforcement. Safe House Project, a non-profit organization that fights against child sex trafficking, has for years been working on developing the app to supplement the hotline in the modern digital age. Simply Report allows users to anonymously report suspected human trafficking in real time. The app uses filters to vet tips and ensure credible leads are given to authorities. It also connects survivors and witnesses to Safe House Project’s nationwide network of safe houses and certified care providers.

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 6:25 PM, Elaine Mallon, 2296K] reports oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced on Tuesday that three Democratic governors of states with policies that protect illegal immigrants from immigration enforcement will testify before his committee. Govs. Tim Walz (D-MN), Kathy Hochul (D-NY), and JB Pritzker (D-IL) will appear before Congress on June 12 after Comer requested in April they appear and provide all documents and communications regarding their respective states’ sanctuary policies. "The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement," Comer said in a statement. "The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a member of the Oversight Committee, took to X to applaud Comer’s announcement. "Sanctuary Governors are being dragged to Congress to explain why they protect criminal illegal aliens instead of law-abiding Americans," Mace wrote. "Your sanctuary policies are over. Your excuses won’t save you. See you June 12th.” "See you soon, @GovTimWalz," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) wrote on the same platform, tagging his state’s governor. Under the Biden administration, border crossings reached an all-time high in illegal border crossings, causing a financial strain on many sanctuary states and cities such as New York City, Chicago, and Minneapolis. New York City spent approximately $5 billion between mid-2022 to August 2024 to house, feed, and care for upward of 212,000 migrants who arrived in the city. Mayor Eric Adams had repeatedly called on the Biden administration for financial assistance in dealing with the crisis, airing concerns that it would cause financial ruin for the city. In the state of New York’s fiscal 2025 budget, Hochul allocated $2.4 billion in assistance for New York City to manage the migrant crisis, falling short of what Adams asked for. Chicago spent $400 million between 2022 and 2024 providing assistance to migrants.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/6/2025 4:09 PM, Julia Manchester, 12829K]

NewsMax [5/6/2025 9:41 PM, Jim Thomas, 4998K] reports House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Tuesday that it’s time for governors of sanctuary states to explain how they plan to follow federal immigration law as the committee prepares to question them at a high-profile hearing next week. Comer said the panel is ready to hear from governors of sanctuary states about how they intend to comply with President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Appearing on "Finnerty," Comer emphasized the importance of the upcoming May 15 hearing, where New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are expected to testify. "Yeah, this is a very important hearing. We’ve heard from the sanctuary city mayors. Now we need to hear from the sanctuary city governors," Comer said. "We want to hear their plan on how they’re going to work with the Trump administration to deport the criminal illegals.” Comer made clear that governors will be asked under oath whether they intend to follow federal immigration law or continue resisting federal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records. "If they want to say under oath that they’re not going to work with the current administration, they’re going to obstruct, they’re going to break the law and try to protect criminals who are over here in this country illegally, then they’re going to suffer the consequences," Comer said. The hearing comes as the Trump administration escalates its immigration enforcement agenda. Last week, Trump signed an executive order directing the Office of Management and Budget to "identify appropriate Federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, including grants and contracts, for suspension or termination, as appropriate.” Comer said the Oversight Committee is working to give state leaders a chance to come into compliance — but warned there will be consequences for continued defiance. "We’re building a case, first of all, to give them an opportunity to do the right thing," Comer said. "If they’re not going to do the right thing, if they’re going to continue to obstruct [border czar] Tom Homan and the Trump administration, then the next step is for Congress to cut their budgets, cut their federal funding.” Comer argued that states that refuse to follow immigration law should not receive federal dollars. "We don’t believe any entity should receive federal funding that’s out of compliance with federal law," he said. "And the federal law is if you’re here illegally, you’re going to be deported. That is the Trump administration policy, and that is the real law of the land.”

Daily Wire [5/6/2025 6:42 AM, Spencer Lindquist, 4672K] reports the mother of a man who was killed by an illegal alien praised the Trump administration for reopening a government office that supports families of Americans killed by illegals in a Department of Homeland Security first obtained by The Daily Wire. Maureen Maloney’s son, Matthew Denice, was killed in 2011 by a drunk driving illegal alien who blew through a stop sign and dragged Denice for a quarter mile. In the video, Maloney remembers her son and praises President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for reopening the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office, which offers resources and legal aid to families affected by illegal alien crime. "I’m just thrilled that VOICE has been relaunched and that the people who need the services will be able to get them," Maloney said. "I, over the years, have known many victim families that’ve utilized the resources of the VOICE office and have felt that it was very beneficial to them.” Trump established the VOICE Office in 2017. In June 2021, President Joe Biden shuttered the office and replaced it with the Victims Engagement and Services Line, which also allowed illegal immigrants to report crimes to ICE. At the time, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised the change, saying, "All people, regardless of their immigration status, should be able to access victim services without fear.” Maloney says in the video that her son’s death was particularly tragic because it could have been prevented by stronger immigration enforcement. "To find out that the person who took your child’s life was in the country illegally, and this could have been prevented, it makes you angry," Maloney said while recounting the several run-ins with the law that the illegal alien had prior to taking the life of her son. "Matthew’s death was totally preventable.” "Far too many American lives have been lost because of illegal aliens driving drunk," Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire. "These Americans killed by drunk-driving illegal aliens should still be with us today, and we feel their absence in our schools and offices, at our dinner tables, and throughout our communities.” Alex Wise Jr., a 10-year-old boy, was struck and killed by an illegal alien in Texas earlier this year. The driver was captured by police and charged with drunk driving. Two 19-year-olds, Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin, were killed by another drunk-driving illegal alien in California in 2021. A mother and her 16-year-old son lost their lives when a drunk illegal alien who had been deported four different times caused a crash in Colorado. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have reopened the VOICE Office to serve all victims of illegal alien crime and their families," McLaughlin noted.

DailySignal [5/6/2025 11:13 AM, Hailey Gomez, 495K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday on "Hannity" that it’s "entirely appropriate" for the Department of Justice to investigate Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her comments to illegal migrants. During a Friday town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, Ocasio-Cortez taunted border czar Tom Homan to "come" for her, escalating public tensions that began in February. Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Noem whether the congresswoman’s prior remarks could be considered "aiding and abetting" and whether the DOJ should "look into this situation.” "I think the Department of Justice absolutely should look into this situation," Noem said. "We’ve seen not just those that serve in public office be willing to break the law to facilitate the invasion that has happened and allow criminals to stay here. We’ve also seen judges take radical action to help protect these criminals. It’s time that we stand for what’s right.” On Feb. 12, Ocasio-Cortez hosted a virtual event on her Facebook page titled "Know Your Rights With ICE," where she advised illegal migrants how to respond to encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at home or in the workplace. Days after the event, Homan issued a warning to Ocasio-Cortez, telling Fox News he had begun working with the DOJ to determine whether her webinar obstructed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. Since the initial exchange in February, the two have called out one another publicly, with Ocasio-Cortez eventually asking the DOJ if she was under investigation. "The American people are sick of these people abusing our system to try to promote an agenda. Remember, the Democrats are using fear to control people. They’re out there motivating people by fear, and they’re standing alongside known terrorists in order to endanger our future," Noem said. "So I think it’s entirely appropriate that the Department of Justice look into these situations.”

Federalist [5/6/2025 5:02 PM, Brianna Lyman, 1033K] reports on Friday CNN aired an interview between a Sinaloa cartel member and reporter Isobel Yeung, who asked the masked cartel member what he "make[s]" of the Trump administration labeling him a "terrorist." The cartel member called the situation "ugly" before Yeung followed up by asking what message he had for Trump. "My respect," the cartel member said, according to the translation provided by CNN. "According to [Trump], he’s looking out for his people, but the problem is that the consumers are [in the United States]. If there weren’t any consumers, we would stop.” Put aside the business aspect of his comment. What’s truly remarkable is that a cartel member — someone who has admitted financial interest in America’s deadly drug addiction — can still plainly admit what the American corporate press refuses to acknowledge: Trump’s border and immigration policies are intended to protect Americans. When Trump announced the designation of cartels and other criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations upon taking office, the reaction from legacy media was swift and predictably backward. Maria Abi-Habib and Simon Romero wrote a piece headlined "How Labeling Cartels ‘Terrorists’ Could Hurt the U.S. Economy." Their main concern? How the designation of "Mexican cartels and other criminal organizations as foreign terrorists could force some American companies to forgo doing business in Mexico rather than risk U.S. sanctions." The duo cited "former government officials and analysts.” MSNBC’s Zeeshan Aleem called the order a "terrible idea," warning it could "destroy" "U.S.-Mexico relations" — because apparently protecting American lives is too high a price to pay for upsetting a country overrun by drug lords. Aleem’s entire argument hinged on the hypothetical that labeling cartels could someday justify U.S. military action. Such an article reveals the left’s habit of hand-wringing over hypotheticals while ignoring the real and serious issue.

CNN [5/6/2025 5:56 PM, Kyle Feldscher] reports President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there’s "no tension" between the United States, Mexico and Canada that could hamper preparations for next year’s FIFA World Cup that will be jointly hosted by the three nations. Trump, who hosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House earlier on Tuesday, denied that there are any issues between his administration and the US’ northern and southern neighbors. Despite the frequent public spats and panicked negotiations over trade, Trump said there should be no issues when preparing for the World Cup. The East Room event marked the first meeting of the White House task force on the World Cup, something that had been called for by travel experts who had previously been concerned about the United States’ preparation for the massive tournament. That includes providing federal funding for security in World Cup host cities, as Trump argued that the economic benefits of the tournament would far outweigh any federal investment. The other message that was made loud and clear: The administration wants the world to come to America and then go home. "I know we’ll have visitors, probably from close to 100 countries," said Vance. "We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home. Otherwise, they’ll have to talk to (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem." Noem’s department includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is responsible for deportations out of the US.

CBS News [5/6/2025 8:49 AM, Lilia Luciano and Joe Walsh, 52225K] Video HERE reports a Columbia student activist and green card holder who was detained when he went for a citizenship interview last month said President Trump "will not silence me," in an interview with CBS News from Vermont on Monday. Mohsen Mahdawi’s comments marked his first network interview since a judge ordered his release last week — a move Mahdawi called a "light of hope" to other student activists who have been detained, like Columbia’s Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University’s Rumeysa Ozturk. Shortly after Mahdawi’s release, he addressed a group of supporters, saying of Mr. Trump and his Cabinet, "I am not afraid of you." Mahdawi told CBS News he addressed Mr. Trump directly because "there is this philosophy of intimidation, of punitive justice … so I wanted to share to them that you can do whatever you want. You will not silence me." "I am a peacemaker. And when they arrested me, that is a red flag to everybody," Mahdawi said. "What I know is this is a betrayal to the Constitution of this country and to the process," Mahdawi said. "I’ve done everything the right way. I’ve gone through the process. … I’ve applied the right way. I showed up for my interview. I shared and answered all of the questions honestly. And I said I am willing to defend and protect the Constitution of this country." A letter calling for Mahdawi’s deportation and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio reads, "Mahdawi has been identified at those protests as having engaged in threatening rhetoric and intimidation of pro-Israeli bystanders." But in a video from November 2023 obtained by CBS News, Mahdawi is seen leading a crowd chanting "shame on you" to denounce a protester who made an antisemitic comment. He also told CBS News in an interview last month, "We made it very clear that our movement is about justice, and antisemitism has no place in our movement." The Trump administration has defended the practice of taking away visas. In a statement last month, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said green cards and visas are a "privilege." "When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country," McLaughlin added. Mahdawi has denied allegations of antisemitism and has said he took a step back from the protests before demonstrators formed encampments on Columbia’s campus and occupied a school building, drawing nationwide attention and criticism. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [5/6/2025 1:08 PM, Armando Garcia and Laura Romero, 34586K] Video HERE reports the Columbia University student and green card holder who was detained in Vermont by Immigration and Customs Enforcement told ABC News that he was about to sign a document saying he was willing to take the Pledge of Allegiance, one of the final steps in the process to become a U.S. citizen, when masked agents suddenly arrested him. In an interview nearly a week after a federal judge ordered him released from detention while his case proceeds, Mohsen Mahdawi recounted his arrest and detainment, saying that he feared his citizenship interview was a "trap" and that he’s concerned that democracy in the U.S. is under attack. "It was a moment of like, should I be happy or should I be cautious when I received the notice?" Mahdawi told ABC News about receiving the notice for his citizenship interview. "And I sense that this might be a trap. And for sure, indeed, it was an alarm bell where I directly reached out to my legal team in order to navigate, you know, the pros and cons and this risk that I think that I may lose my freedom." Mahdawi said that, as he was completing his interview, "at that moment, [I had] very strong feelings of, ‘Oh my god, things are working out. And then they came into the office ... and you can imagine the feeling between, I am being excited to receive the citizenship, and then feeling of betraying disappointment." A Department of Homeland Security official pushed back on concerns that the interview may have been a trap staged to detain Mahdawi. "The Department does not ‘stage’ interviews or any other type of adjudication," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "If an alien is seeking a benefit, they will almost assuredly be interviewed. If the alien is subject to detention, that alien will almost assuredly be detained. One has no bearing on the other." "Illegal aliens do not have a right to roam freely in our country, nor do they have a right to elude federal authorities," McLaughlin said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [5/6/2025 11:09 AM, Lauren Irwin, 12829K] reports a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request to revoke the temporary legal status of nearly a million migrants living in the country. In an order Monday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put a hold on a judge’s order that stopped the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from terminating parole protections for people who entered the country through the CBP One app. The DHS’s move would have revoked legal status for nearly a million people who came to the U.S. under the Biden administration. Of the roughly 985,000 migrants who used the app, many were often permitted to seek asylum and given a temporary work authorization. The three-judge panel in Boston, comprising appointees of Democratic presidents, said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has not made a "strong showing" that the termination of the parole for the migrants is "likely to be sustained on appeal.” Noem has not shown the "balance of harms and the public interest weigh so heavily in her favor to warrant a stay of the district court order pending the outcome of this appeal in the absence of a strong showing that the Secretary will prevail," the panel wrote. District Judge Indira Talwani halted the DHS’s action on April 25, which she said revoked protections without the necessary case-by-case review process. The Hill has reached out to the DHS for comment, but a spokesperson told Reuters the administration is "committed to restoring the rule of law to our immigration system.” "No lawsuit, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that," spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

FOX News [5/6/2025 2:46 PM, Peter D’Abrosca , Alexis McAdams, and Louis Casiano, 46189K] reports eleven teen members of the ultra-violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were allegedly involved in an attack against two NYPD officers on Friday night in Times Square, police sources told Fox News. Five of the suspects, all illegal aliens from Venezuela, have been arrested in connection with the alleged attack, which involved the migrant crew throwing glass bottles, basketballs and rocks at NYPD officers who were responding to a robbery. The youngest suspect in the attack is 12 years old, and the police sources said that two of the children were picked up by their migrant parents, and one is being charged as an adult with riot and assault, according to police. "It’s horrific enough to be a victim of a crime," said Mayor Eric Adams in a Tuesday media briefing. "But when someone openly assaults a police officer, you are attacking our symbol of safety, and it cannot be tolerated." Adams said he’s heard from people in the city who have said the suspects are too young for serious punishment, but he said that’s not the case. "People who prey on innocent people must be held accountable. They must be brought to justice," he said. Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said authorities will find the remaining suspects. "@DHSgov and our law enforcement partners will hunt down these cowards and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," she wrote on X. "Secretary Noem will not stand idly by as our brave law enforcement is attacked." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [5/6/2025 8:31 AM, Kathy McCormack, 48304K] reports a federal appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday in the cases of a Turkish Tufts University student who has been detained by immigration authorities for six weeks and a Palestinian student at Columbia University who was recently released from detention. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New York, is expected to hear motions filed by the U.S. Justice Department regarding Rumeysa Ozturk and Mohsen Mahdawi. The department is appealing decisions made by two federal judges in Vermont. It also wants to consolidate the students’ cases, saying they present similar legal questions. Immigration court proceedings for Ozturk and Mahdawi are being conducted separately. A district court judge in Vermont had ordered that Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student, be brought to the state from a Louisiana immigration detention center by May 1 for hearings to determine whether she was illegally detained. Ozturk’s lawyers say her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. The appeals court paused that order last week in order to consider the government’s motion. Congress limited federal-court jurisdiction over immigration matters, the Justice Department said. It said an immigration court in Louisiana has jurisdiction over Ozturk’s case. Immigration officials surrounded Ozturk as she walked along a street in a Boston suburb March 25 and drove her to New Hampshire and Vermont before putting her on a plane to the detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Ozturk was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily, last year criticizing the university’s response to student activists demanding that Tufts "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide," disclose its investments and divest from companies with ties to Israel. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in March, without providing evidence, that investigations found that Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The government is also challenging another judge’s decision to release Mahdawi from detention in Vermont on April 30. Mahdawi led protests at Columbia University against Israel’s war in Gaza. He was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship. Mahdawi, 34, has been a legal permanent resident for 10 years. He was in a Vermont state prison since April 14. In his release order, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said Mahdawi has raised a "substantial claim that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.” Mahdawi’s release allows him to travel outside his home state of Vermont and attend graduation next month in New York. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and planned to begin a master’s degree program there in the fall.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [5/6/2025 6:00 AM, Melissa Quinn, Jacob Rosen, 51661K]

Reuters [5/6/2025 1:22 PM, Nate Raymond, 41523K] reports the Trump administration urged a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday to allow immigration authorities to continue to detain students at Tufts University and Columbia University who were arrested after engaging in pro-Palestinian advocacy on campus. A lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice asked the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause lower-court orders requiring Tuft’s Rumeysa Ozturk to be transferred to Vermont for a bail hearing on Friday and allowing Columbia’s Mohsen Mahdawi to be released last week. Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said those orders by two judges in Vermont should never have been issued, as Congress has made clear that any challenges to the government’s decisions to deport someone must proceed in immigration court. "The result is precisely what Congress took particular care to avoid: simultaneous proceedings in both immigration courts and district courts considering the same issues regarding the removal of aliens from the United States," he said. He urged the court to allow the administration to avoid moving Ozturk from the Louisiana detention facility she is being held in and to allow immigration authorities to swiftly take Mahdawi back into custody.

DailySignal [5/6/2025 10:24 AM, Virginia Allen, 495K] reports court documents claim that a leader of pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University once told a gun shop owner he had built guns to "kill Jews.” Immigration officials arrested Mohsen Mahdawi in April as the Trump administration continues to crack down on antisemitism and terrorist sympathizers who can be seen as a threat to U.S. national security. On Tuesday, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, shared a photo of court filings that claim in 2015, Mahdawi spoke with a gun shop owner in Vermont and offered to work at the shop without monetary compensation. "According to the report," the court filing reads, "petitioner ‘supposedly told’ the gun shop owner ‘that he had considerable firearm experience and used to build modified 9mm submachine guns to kill Jews while he was in Palestine.’". The document also claims that Mahdawi has "admitted to being involved in and supporting antisemitic acts of violence.”

New York Post [5/6/2025 4:05 PM, Josh Christenson, 54903K] reports New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are being called to DC next month to face a congressional grilling over their states’ pro-migrant policies. The three Democratic "sanctuary" state leaders will have to answer questions June 12 about how their administrations reduced or banned cooperation with federal immigration authorities under former President Joe Biden.

New York Times [5/6/2025 3:19 PM, Tracey Tully and Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 145325K] reports the mayor of Newark led a predawn protest outside an immigrant detention facility on Tuesday, trying to keep the jailhouse from becoming a critical part of the Trump administration’s ability to enact mass deportations. The mayor, Ras J. Baraka, has been trying to stop the facility, which is expected to hold up to 1,000 migrants a day, from operating. For weeks, Newark officials had been arguing in federal court that the detention center’s owner, GEO Group, was in violation of city laws because it had failed to obtain required permits or a valid certificate of occupancy. Then, Mr. Baraka said, city officials learned that GEO Group, one of America’s largest private prison companies, had begun housing detainees — a development that set off a tense, hourslong standoff on Tuesday. As immigrant rights activists held signs and chanted and the mayor waited in a misty rain, a GEO Group worker used a chain to lock the facility’s front gate. At around 9 a.m., Newark fire officials issued the prison company three citations for code violations. Mr. Baraka, a Democrat running for governor of New Jersey, vowed to return each day until city officials were allowed inside to reinspect the facility. “We want them to follow our rules, follow our laws,” he said, noting that city officials had also been barred from entering the property on Monday to conduct fire and health inspections. “They’re keeping us out through the gates and the fences and all this other kind of stuff,” he said. “But we’re going to come down here every day and we’re going to get in one way or the other.” In February, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency awarded GEO Group a 15-year, $1 billion contract to hold migrants facing deportation. Known as Delaney Hall, the two-story facility is ringed with fences topped with barbed wire, and has been used on and off for years as a jail, halfway house and migrant detention center. Its location is considered ideal for the Trump administration’s deportation efforts: It is near Newark Liberty International Airport, where the federal government stages many deportation flights, and just across the river from immigrant-rich New York City. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that the detention center had “valid permits” and that there were “no safety issues.”

New York Post [5/6/2025 6:55 PM, Ronny Reyes, 54903K] reports Newark Mayor Ras Baraka showed up to at an ICE detention center that reopened in his city on Tuesday morning, claiming the facility does not have the valid permits to operate. The Democrat and his supporters were outside Delaney Hall, where he accused the facility of turning away local fire inspectors following a judge’s order to allow city officials to examine the site. "We want them to follow our rules, follow our laws," said Baraka, who vowed to shut down the facility, according to New York Times. The mayor — who is a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for this year’s New Jersey governor’s race, said he would return to Delaney Hall to protest its use every day after Newark fire inspectors issued three code violations against the facility. Baraka is demanding full fire, safety and health inspections at the site following a previous inspection that found "violations that put first responders at risk, violations that put detainees and workers that are there at risk.” In February, ICE awarded the GEO Group with a 15-year, $1 billion contract to hold migrants facing deportation at Delaney Hall, which can house around 1,000 people. The city is currently suing the facility for more inspections while accusing ICE of failing to indicate exactly how many detainees are being held in the building. GEO Group spokesperson Christopher Ferreira, however, said the company does have a valid certificate and that the facility is complying with "all the contracted health and safety requirements.” Ferreira slammed Baraka’s office of launching a "politicized campaign" against the company, accusing the mayor of trying to "interfere with the federal government’s efforts to arrest, detain, and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens in accordance with established federal law," Gothamist reported.

ABC News [5/6/2025 6:12 AM, James Hill, Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin, and Luke Barr, 34586K] reports the U.S. Department of Justice has been quietly investigating a Tennessee traffic stop in 2022 involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man at the center of a high-profile court battle over his mistaken deportation from Maryland to El Salvador by the Trump administration, ABC News has learned. Federal investigators involved in the inquiry recently spoke with a convicted felon in an Alabama prison and questioned him about potential connections to Abrego Garcia, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The inmate, Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, 38, was the registered owner of a vehicle driven by Abrego Garcia when he was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in late 2022, according to the sources. Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding in a vehicle with eight passengers and told police they’d been working construction in Missouri. Federal agents investigating the Tennessee incident appeared late last month at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama, to question Hernandez-Reyes, who had an attorney present and was granted limited immunity, sources familiar with the interview said. Hernandez-Reyes told investigators that he previously operated a "taxi service" based in Baltimore. He claimed to have met Abrego Garcia around 2015 and claimed to have hired him on multiple occasions to transport undocumented migrants from Texas to various locations in the United States, the sources told ABC News. The frequency and time frame of the alleged trips was not immediately clear. It’s unclear whether prosecutors will ultimately gather enough evidence to bring charges against Abrego Garcia. The interview of Hernandez-Reyes, however, appears to be a new and aggressive step in the government’s efforts to gather potentially incriminating information about Abrego Garcia’s background -- even as it resists calls for him to be provided typical protections to respond to such accusations through the American legal system. According to body camera footage of the 2022 traffic stop, the Tennessee troopers -- after questioning Abrego Garcia -- discussed among themselves their suspicions of human trafficking because nine people were traveling without luggage, but Abrego Garcia was not ticketed or charged. When asked to provide proof of insurance, Abrego Garcia told officers he would have to call his boss because he didn’t know where the insurance card was in the car. Audio from the police footage cuts out briefly after an officer asks Abrego Garcia who owned the vehicle. The officers ultimately issued no speeding ticket and allowed Abrego Garcia to drive on with just a warning about an expired driver’s license, according to a report about the stop released last month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Tennessee Highway Patrol, in a statement last month, said troopers had contacted federal authorities before making that decision.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [5/6/2025 8:14 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4998K]

New York Post [5/7/2025 2:58 AM, Greg Wehner, 54903K] reports US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted operations in Nashville this week, resulting in the arrests of a convicted child sex predator and an alleged gang member, but the mayor of the city said the arrests were not focused on making the city safer. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared Democratic Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s letter to the city about the ICE arrests. "Our top priority is keeping people safe, and we’re deeply concerned that what appear to be federal actions are making that harder," O’Connell wrote. "Overnight, we understand that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents detained people during enforcement actions in Middle Tennessee. As we learn more, I want to be clear: No [Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD)] personnel were involved in last night’s enforcement action.” He added that the city’s police department does not have federal immigration authority, nor are its members trained to conduct immigration enforcement. O’Connell also said the police department lacks access to federal immigration databases. "This type of federal enforcement action is not focused on making us safer and leaves people in our community fearing any interaction with law enforcement when there is a crime occurring," he added. "We will be seeking the names of those detained.” DHS said the Nashville operation resulted in the arrests of a convicted child sex predator, an alleged member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, an individual convicted of aggravated assault and multiple illegal aliens on drug charges. "The Nashville Mayor should want these criminal illegal aliens off American streets," DHS posted on X. "Attacks and demonization of our brave law enforcement is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. President Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and DHS is delivering.” O’Connell’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. ICE recently announced that during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term, the agency arrested over 66,000 illegal immigrants and removed more than 65,000. ICE arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants and removed 65,682, including those accused of threatening public safety and national security, according to a news release from ICE. Three in four arrests of illegal immigrants involved someone accused of committing a crime, ICE claimed. The total number of ICE illegal immigrant arrests includes 2,288 alleged gang members from Tren de Aragua, MS-13, 18th Street and other gangs. Tren de Aragua and MS-13 are now listed as foreign terrorist organizations.

NBC 5 Chicago [5/6/2025 11:59 PM, Staff] reports Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem will visit Springfield this week, drawing a sarcastic response from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. Noem is expected to hold a press conference during her visit Wednesday, with her office saying the availability will highlight Illinois’ “sanctuary” policies. Noem and other officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have argued such laws “shield illegal aliens responsible (for crimes) from facing consequences.” Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office released its own itinerary of Noem’s visit to Springfield, mixing in critical comments about several controversies involving the secretary. In 2024, Noem wrote about her decision to kill a dog that she called “untrainable and dangerous” in her memoir “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward.” “It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done,” she wrote as she described taking the dog to a gravel pit and shooting it, according to the BBC. Pritzker’s office mentioned the controversy in a sarcastic note at the end of a press release. “We would urge all pet owners in the region to make sure all of your beloved animals are under watchful protection while the secretary is in the region,” the note said. Pritzker’s office also said Noem is “not expected to address the parts of the Constitution that guarantee the right to due process,” and also emphasized that the Illinois TRUST Act empowers law enforcement to detain and turn over “violent criminals without documentation” while protecting the rights of the state’s residents.

CBS News [5/6/2025 11:08 PM, Staff, 52225K] reports Noem is expected to talk about what she calls the failures of sanctuary city policies. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS 2 Chicago [5/6/2025 11:16 PM, Adam Harrington] reports U.S. Homeland Security Kristi Noem will be in Springfield Wednesday, where she will hold a news conference in front of the Governor’s Mansion, and Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced her impending arrival with scathing mockery the night before. Noem is expected to talk about what she calls the failures of sanctuary city policies. In an announcement to the news media, Pritzker’s office announced Noem would be coming to Springfield, and launched right into a slam on her office and the Trump administration. "Despite the Trump Administration being in office for more than 100 days and falsely accusing Illinois of not following federal and state law, Secretary Noem and her team does not communicate with the State of Illinois and has not asked for support or coordination to enforce immigration laws," Pritzker’s office said. For Noem’s arrival in Springfield Wednesday morning, Pritzker’s office advised reporters, "Secretary Noem has often been spotted on television cosplaying law enforcement officers, so media are invited to capture her latest costume upon arrival."

CBS Chicago [5/6/2025 7:18 PM, Todd Feurer, 51661K] Video: HERE reports Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and two other Democratic governors will testify before Congress next month about their states’ sanctuary laws protecting undocumented immigrants. The hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on June 12 comes after Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), the panel’s chairman, last month called on Pritzker, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and New York Mayor Kathy Hochul to come before the committee. Comer’s office announced Tuesday that Pritzker, Walz, and Hochul would testify at the hearing. Comer is also demanding the governors provide documents and communications related to their state’s sanctuary policies. Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough confirmed Pritzker will attend the hearing on June 12 "to discuss his track record on public safety and the implementation of bipartisan state laws.” "The Illinois Trust Act – which was bipartisan and signed into law by a Republican – is fully compliant with federal law. Despite the rhetoric of Republicans in Congress, this public safety law ensures law enforcement can focus on doing their jobs well while empowering all members of the public, regardless of immigration status, to feel comfortable calling police officers and emergency services if they are in need of help," Gough said. The Illinois Trust Act largely prohibits state, county, and local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in cases of civil immigration enforcement activities; but not in cases involving a criminal warrant or other court order. In cases where an undocumented immigrant has been arrested, ICE officials might issue a detainer asking police to hold them for 48 hours until ICE agents can take them into federal custody, but the Illinois TRUST Act prohibits such cooperation, except in cases where the person faces a federal criminal arrest warrant. Comer has claimed such laws "only provide sanctuaries for criminal illegal aliens.” "The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement. The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable," Comer said in a statement. Pritzker, Walz, and Hochul also are among Trump’s most vocal critics. The Chicago Tribune [5/6/2025 7:04 PM, Dan Petrella, 5269K] reports last month, Comer sent a letter inviting the governors to appear before the committee May 15 to discuss their states’ "sanctuary policies." The request came about a month after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with the mayors of New York, Boston and Denver, testified before the same committee about similar policies in their cities. Johnson touted Chicago’s downward trend in crime in his opening statement. He went on to argue throughout the six-hour session that the city’s long-standing policy blocking local police from assisting in federal immigration enforcement in fact makes communities safer. In his initial letter to the governors, Comer labeled Illinois "a sanctuary jurisdiction that refuses to fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement," and wrote: "Sanctuary jurisdictions and their obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities. This threatens Americans’ safety.” In support of his claims, Comer pointed to state laws that prohibit local police from participating in immigration enforcement activities and contracting with federal authorities to detain immigrants on their behalf. On Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to hold a news conference in Springfield to "highlight how sanctuary policies in Illinois have unleashed violence on American citizens — including rape, sexual assault, murder, shoplifting, and more — while shielding illegal aliens responsible from facing consequence," according to Noem’s office.

FOX News [5/6/2025 9:30 AM, Peter Pinedo, 46189K] reports Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., is calling on sheriffs in her state to defy Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state’s sanctuary laws and instead uphold federal immigration law. Miller said the state’s sanctuary policies have transformed the Land of Lincoln into a "cesspool of crime and drugs." She is calling on sheriffs in the state to "act now" and ignore Pritzker’s attempts to circumvent President Donald Trump on immigration law and instead work directly with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) on deportations. This comes as Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, have emerged as some of the nation’s leading resistance voices against the Trump administration, especially when it comes to his crackdown on illegal immigration. The Democratic-majority Illinois legislature passed the TRUST Act in 2017, which limits local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with ICE and bars them from enforcing immigration law. Pritzker, who is seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has continued to fight the administration, even denouncing Trump as an "authoritarian" and calling for mass protests to disrupt the president’s agenda, saying Republicans "cannot know a moment of peace.” The Democratic governor has also vowed to resist the administration’s immigration agenda and has said that Trump and border czar Tom Homan are "the ones who are threatening people.” ICE has said that state and local policies inhibiting law enforcement from cooperating with ICE endangers federal agents and communities by allowing public safety threats to walk free. The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed legal charges against Pritzker, Johnson and several other Chicago officials for refusing to honor ICE detainers, which the department said, "obstructs ICE from assuming custody of an alien in a safe and controlled manner.” In its filing, the DOJ said that "when a detainer is not honored or an alien is released from a non-federal facility without notification or transfer to ICE, ICE must conduct investigations and perform targeted enforcement actions to re-apprehend the alien. And while ICE is undertaking re-apprehension efforts, the alien remains at-large in the community and free to commit further crimes or otherwise threaten public safety.” Though police departments are typically under the direct control of city officials, sheriffs are elected by the people they serve and often have more leeway to enforce the law unimpeded by political pressure.

New York Times [5/6/2025 8:55 PM, Alan Feuer, 145325K] reports that, Ovidio Guzmán López, one of four sons of the infamous Mexican crime lord known as El Chapo, plans to plead guilty this summer to sprawling federal drug charges, according to court papers filed on Tuesday. If the plea goes through as planned on July 9 in Chicago, Mr. Guzmán López would become the first of El Chapo’s sons, who are known collectively as Los Chapitos, to acknowledge guilt in a U.S. federal courthouse. Jeffrey Lichtman, Mr. Guzmán López’s lawyer, said that his client had not yet reached a final plea deal with the government, but hoped to have one in place in the next few months. Mr. Guzmán López is perhaps best known for causing a bloody battle between gunmen for the Sinaloa drug cartel and the Mexican military in October 2019 in the city of Culiacán, which has long served as the cartel’s urban stronghold. In a display of brute aggression, cartel operatives humiliated Mexican officials by forcing the government to release Mr. Guzmán López shortly after he was captured. He was arrested again in Mexico in January 2023 and extradited to the United States that September to face drug charges in federal court in Chicago. He was named in a sprawling indictment along with his full brother, Joaquín Guzmán López; his two half brothers, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar; and his father’s former business partner, Ismael Zambada García. In a story that appeared to have been ripped from a narco thriller, Joaquín Guzmán López abducted Mr. Zambada García in Culiacán last summer and flew him over the border into the custody of U.S. federal agents. Joaquín Guzmán López has also been in negotiations with federal authorities in Chicago to reach his own plea deal. After El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquín Guzmán Loera, was convicted in a landmark trial in Brooklyn in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison, F.B.I., Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Department investigators turned their attention to his sons, who inherited portions of their father’s fractured empire.

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 2:16 PM, Dave Mason, 2296K] reports Republicans Monday blasted Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ vetoes of bills designed to protect communities from criminal illegal immigrants. The vetoes were two of 23 that Hobbs announced late Friday. While Republicans hold majorities in both houses of the Legislature, they don’t have enough seats to override the Democratic governor’s vetoes. One vetoed piece of legislation was Senate Bill 1610. It would have required county jails to, on the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide identifying information and access to illegal immigrants arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer or any other offense that results in death or serious injury to another person. "I expect state and local governments to uphold the law and work with the federal government to secure the border," Hobbs wrote in her veto letter Friday to Senate President Warren Petersen. "However, this places extreme burdens on local law enforcement." Republicans are countering that Hobbs needs to prioritize public safety.

(B) NBC News Daily [5/6/2025 3:53 PM, Staff] reports that just days after facing deportation, a Guatemala woman and her newborn American daughter are on their way from Arizona to Tennessee. It comes after the woman gave birth in Tucson with Border Patrol in the maternity ward. The woman was arrested by Border Patrol after crossing the desert for two days while eight months pregnant. She was slated for expedited removal. CBP dropped the deportation plan. She was instead handed off to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings and will allow her to make a regular asylum case.

Reuters [5/6/2025 10:37 PM, Kanishka Singh, 41523K] reports the U.S. government said on Tuesday it will review an incident at the University of Washington in which pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a university building while demanding the school cut ties with Boeing (BA.N) over its contracts with the Israeli military. The administration of President Donald Trump labeled the incident as antisemitic activity. While it praised the university and law enforcement officials for their response, it urged the school to take enforcement actions and make policy changes. The university said on Tuesday thirty pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied the building late on Monday were arrested, and charges of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct would be referred to prosecutors. Boeing gave the school a $10 million donation for an engineering building in 2022. "The Task Force’s review is in response to the eruption of antisemitic harassment and violence that occurred Monday, May 5 at UW’s campus in Seattle," the U.S. Education Department, Health Department and General Services Administration said in a statement. The university had no immediate comment after the Trump administration statement late on Tuesday. The protest group, called Super UW, said police had removed the students who occupied the building. It also said 30 people were taken into custody but some were released. The Trump administration has threatened universities with federal funding cuts over pro-Palestinian campus protests against Israel’s military assault on Gaza following Palestinian Hamas militants’ October 2023 attack in Israel. The administration has attempted to deport some protesters, and rights advocates have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns. Trump casts the protests as antisemitic and as sympathetic to Hamas. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

CBS News [5/6/2025 1:40 AM, Kathryn Watson, 51661K] Video: HERE reports Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said emphatically Tuesday that Canada is "not for sale" and "won’t be for sale, ever" in an Oval Office meeting with President Trump, moments after Mr. Trump called the border between the U.S. and Canada "artificial" and romanticized the idea of Canada joining the U.S. Mr. Trump said he and Carney wouldn’t be discussing the U.S. acquiring Canada unless "somebody wants to discuss it," but said there would be "tremendous" benefits to Canada in the event of a "wonderful marriage" between the two countries. The president has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Canada, despite Canada’s repeated rejection of the concept. "As a real estate developer, you know, I’m a real estate developer at heart," Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "When you get rid of that artificially drawn line ... when you look at that beautiful formation when it’s together, I’m a very artistic person.” Carney interjected, adopting language he believed Mr. Trump would understand. "As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale," Carney said. "We’re sitting in one right now, Buckingham Palace that you visited, as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.” Asked if Carney’s rejection of the idea makes trade and other negotiations more difficult, Mr. Trump insisted, "no, not at all." But the U.S. president isn’t giving up on the idea, despite a lack of buy-in from Canada’s leadership and people. "But I say, ‘never say never,’" Mr. Trump said. Tuesday’s meeting at the White House is the first time since Carney took office. Carney has pledged to stand firm against the U.S. president, despite tensions on trade and borders. Mr. Trump began their meeting in the Oval Office by congratulating Carney on his victory, saying, "I think I was probably the greatest thing that happened to him.” "We’re gonna be friends with Canada," the president told reporters in the Oval Office. "Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada.” On trade, Mr. Trump insisted there is nothing Carney could say Tuesday to lift U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. Carney called that a "bigger discussion.”

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Wall Street Journal [5/6/2025 5:13 PM, Vipal Monga and Alex Leary, 646K]

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 6:14 PM, Naomi Lim, 2296K] reports new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked President Donald Trump not to call Canada the 51st state of the United States as he did under Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau. During a press conference on the roof of the Canadian Embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and Congress, Carney said he made the ask of Trump earlier Tuesday during what he described as "wide-ranging" and "very constructive" discussions in the Oval Office and a working lunch, with more conversations planned for the "future" before the pair meet again during the G-7 leaders summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Trump himself addressed the question later Tuesday during a FIFA Task Force Meeting in the White House’s East Room. "As far as calling him Gov. Carney — no, I haven’t done that yet, and maybe I won’t. I did have a lot of fun with Trudeau, but I think this is a big step up," Trump said. "It’s a good step up for Canada.” Carney also quipped during his press conference that he appreciated that reporters "couldn’t tell what was going through my mind" as Trump tried to tell Canadians they would be tax and security advantages to becoming part of the U.S., in addition to remaining adamant that the U.S. did minimal business with Canada. "The president has made known his wish about that issue for some time," he said. "I’ve been careful always to distinguish between wish and reality. I was clear there in the Oval Office, as I’ve been clear throughout on behalf of Canadians, that this is never going to happen. Canada is not for sale. It never will be for sale. Some things, as I said in the room, some things are never for sale. And he agreed with that.” Carney told reporters he had underscored to Trump that Canada and the U.S. "are stronger when we work together," expressing optimism that the president appeared "willing to have that negotiation.” "We can get a better deal for our workers, we can create more opportunities for our businesses, we can build stronger economies across North America when we work together, and really today marked… the beginning of a process of the United States and Canada redefining that relationship of working together," he said.

DailySignal [5/6/2025 2:05 PM, Virginia Allen, 495K] reports the president of Mexico has turned down an offer from President Donald Trump to send U.S. troops to Mexico to aid in combating the criminal cartels, a move that border czar Tom Homan says “shocked” him. “Taking out these cartels would make Mexico much safer for their citizens and tourists,” Homan told The Daily Signal. “I would think Mexico would support that, and I am shocked that they would not consider U.S. help.” Speaking aboard Air Force One over the weekend, Trump confirmed that he offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to combat the cartels, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum declined the offer. Speaking aboard Air Force One over the weekend, Trump confirmed that he offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to combat the cartels, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum declined the offer.

Breitbart.com [5/6/2025 4:11 PM, Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby, 2923K] reports Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, refused to answer questions about her fear of cartels in order not to go against previous comments made by U.S. President Donald J. Trump. During her morning news conference, Sheinbaum fielded a question from a reporter who asked about Trump’s comment that she was afraid of cartels. Trump’s comment came after he discussed a phone call with Sheinbaum, during which he offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help fight drug cartels, but she refused. Trump complimented Sheinbaum but claimed that she is so afraid of cartels that she can’t think straight. Sheinbaum avoided the question when asked about Trump’s remarks, claiming that the U.S. and Mexican governments had great communication. Sheinbaum said she would not be having conversations through media statements that could lead to misunderstandings, but would talk directly with the U.S government. Sheinbaum claimed that when Trump offered to send troops, she declined because she had tried to keep Mexico’s sovereignty intact.

Daily Caller [5/6/2025 2:01 PM, Philip Lenczycki, 1082K] reports two House committees called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday to provide a classified briefing addressing the threat of multiple suspected Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy installations throughout Cuba, according to a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The letter, sent by the House Homeland Security Committee and House Select Committee on the CCP to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, requests a formal threat assessment from the department regarding at least four signals intelligence (SIGINT) installations in Cuba the Chinese government “is establishing, or has already established.” The suspected Chinese spy installations are as close as 90 miles off the U.S. coast, the letter warns, positioning them to intercept sensitive intelligence from Kennedy Space Center, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, which sits just 70 miles from one of the sites in question. The letter was signed by five Republican representatives including House Homeland Security Committee chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, Select Committee on the CCP chairman John Moolenaar of Michigan, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Sheri Biggs of South Carolina and Eli Crane of Arizona.

Reported similarly:
Daily Wire [5/6/2025 8:15 AM, Hank Berrien, 4672K]

Telemundo [5/6/2025 10:38 PM, Staff, 2454K] reports Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, will lead a small bipartisan delegation of House members on a visit to El Salvador that will extend from Thursday to Sunday, her office announced Tuesday. Luna, who represents the Tampa Bay area in the western part of the state, is the chairwoman of El Salvador’s congressional caucus in the House of Representatives, and released a letter from the office of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele indicating that she had accepted a request to meet with him on Thursday. Caucus co-chairman Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Andy Ogles, R-Tennessee, will accompany Luna on the trip, according to his spokesman. Gonzalez and Ogles did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador last month to speak with government officials and meet with Kilmar Abrego García, the Maryland man who the Trump administration says was mistakenly deported to a maximum-security prison in that country on charges of belonging to the MS-13 criminal gang. President Donald Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to send suspected members of gangs like the Aragua Train to that prison in El Salvador. The travel announcement comes on the same day that two federal judges declared as "invalid" the use of the Alien Enemies Act for the Donald Trump administration’s ongoing deportations of migrants accused of belonging to the Aragua Train gang. A judge in Colorado ordered that the Administration be prevented from detaining, removing or expelling from the District of Colorado plaintiffs and Venezuelan members of the transnational gang who are at risk of removal under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act that Trump has invoked. "The president is ‘entitled to examine the available evidence’ and make a final determination as to whether an organization or entity constitutes a ‘foreign nation or government’ that has invaded or conducted a predatory incursion against the United States," wrote Judge Charlotte Sweeney. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/6/2025 1:14 PM, Breanne Deppisch, 46189K] reports the identity of a second migrant in Maryland who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March was revealed this week while the Trump administration continues to resist a federal judge’s orders to return him to the U.S. The individual, previously referred to only as "Cristian" in earlier documents, was identified Monday as Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan man who had been living in Houston prior to January, when he was arrested for cocaine possession and subsequently deported to El Salvador in March. News of his identity was first reported by Politico. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled late last month that the Trump administration violated a settlement agreement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) struck last year with a group of young asylum seekers, including Lozano-Camargo, by deporting him before his asylum request was heard in full. The 20-year-old was part of a group of migrants who had entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied children and who later filed asylum claims to remain in the U.S. In her April ruling, Gallagher emphasized that unlike other legal challenges to Trump-era deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, this case hinges on an alleged "breach of contract," as DHS had agreed not to deport the individuals until their asylum claims were fully adjudicated in U.S. court. Lozano-Camargo’s December 2022 asylum request was still pending when he was deported along with hundreds of other migrants on March 15 to El Salvador. As a result, Gallagher specifically ordered the Trump administration to make a "good faith request to the government of El Salvador" to "release Cristian, [or Lozano-Camargo], to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.” She also alluded to the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland who was also deported to El Salvador last month in what administration officials have acknowledged was an administrative error. To date, U.S. officials have resisted court orders to "facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia – arguments they doubled down on Monday in a court filing to Gallagher.

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Univision [5/6/2025 7:01 PM, Staff, 5325K]

NBC News [5/6/2025 5:44 PM, Dan De Luce, 44742K] reports a declassified memo drafted by U.S. intelligence agencies contradicts President Donald Trump’s claims that Venezuela’s government controls the Tren de Aragua gang, an argument he has used to deport immigrants to an El Salvador prison. The National Intelligence Council memo states that the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro allows criminal gangs to operate in its territory but that it is not orchestrating Tren de Aragua’s operations in the United States. “While Venezuela’s permissive environment enables TDA to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States,” according to the April 7 memo. The National Intelligence Director’s Office released the memo in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The foundation provided a copy to NBC News. Titled "Venezuela: Examining regime ties to Tren de Aragua," the declassified version of the five-page memo included some blacked out-words and passages. The New York Times first reported on the memo Monday. FOX News [5/6/2025 6:48 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 46189K] reports "While Venezuela’s permissive environment enables TDA to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States," the report states. "The IC bases this judgment on Venezuelan law enforcement actions demonstrating the regime treats TDA as a threat; an uneasy mix of cooperation and confrontation rather than top-down directives [that] characterize the regime’s ties to other armed groups; and the decentralized makeup of TDA that would make such a relationship logistically challenging," the memo continues. While the memo cuts against the claim that support for TdA is a direct policy from Maduro’s regime, it does note that FBI analysts agree that "some Venezuelan government officials facilitate TDA members’ migration from Venezuela to the United States and use members as proxies … to advance what they see as the Maduro regime’s goal of destabilizing governments and undermining public safety in these countries.” The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing, has been invoked three times, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. Trump’s administration declared in March that all Venezuelan citizens 14 years or older who are members of TdA, are within the U.S. and are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. may be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed as "alien enemies.” Key to the White House’s argument is its claim that TdA operates in conjunction with Cártel de los Soles, the Nicolás Maduro regime-sponsored narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela. In 2020, Maduro and other regime members were charged with narco-terrorism and other crimes in an alleged plot against America.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [5/6/2025 3:28 PM, Rebecca Beitsch, 12829K]
NPR [5/6/2025 1:22 PM, Jasmine Garsd and Greg Myre, 29983K]
AP [5/6/2025 3:39 PM, David Klepper]

NewsMax [5/6/2025 9:20 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4998K] reports U.S. intelligence agencies reported that Tren de Aragua gang members in the states do not appear to be controlled by the Venezuelan government and President Nicolas Maduro, though the FBI believes Venezuelan officials "use members as proxies" in the U.S., according to a partially declassified report. A secret April 7 National Intelligence Council assessment concluded Maduro’s regime is probably not directing the Venezuelan gang’s activities in the U.S., The New York Times reported. "While Venezuela’s permissive environment enables TDA to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States," the memo said, according to the Times. Overall, the memo, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, failed to strengthen President Donald Trump’s rationale for using the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal migrants associated with Tren de Aragua. The six-page assessment, which represents the views of all 18 U.S. spy agencies, said most analysts deem "not credible" intelligence suggesting that Venezuelan regime leaders are directing or enabling gang migration to the U.S., The Washington Post reported. However, the Post said the FBI does believe some Venezuelan government officials help facilitate Tren de Aragua members’ entry into the U.S.

CBS News [5/6/2025 7:31 AM, Staff, 51661K] reports Colombian authorities said Monday they had captured more than 200 members of the country’s biggest drug cartel, which is accused of murdering two dozen security force members in the past month. The Gulf Clan was born out of the right-wing paramilitary groups that fought leftist guerrillas in the 1990s before turning their attention to the cocaine trade. President Gustavo Petro has accused the group, with which he suspended peace talks in early 2023, of devising a strategy to "systematically murder" members of the security forces. Armed forces chief Franciso Cubides told a news conference on Monday the security forces had responded by arresting 217 members of the clan since April 15. He added that 15 other suspected drug traffickers had been shot dead in raids that had netted 6.8 tons of drugs, 123 firearms and more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition. Sixteen police officers and five soldiers have been killed in attacks blamed on what Petro has called the Gulf Clan’s "pistol plan.” Cubides said the attacks were part of a "desperate response" by armed groups to the "overwhelming" setbacks they were suffering at the hands of the police and military in the north and west of the country. The cartel paid its members "between 10 and 15 million (Colombian pesos, between $2,300 and 3,500) for some dead police officers," Interior Minister Armando Benedetti told a weekly government cabinet meeting. The Gulf Clan, which engages in illegal gold mining, racketeering and migrant smuggling, is believed to number about 7,500 members, according to government estimates. The group’s "primary source of income is from cocaine trafficking, which it uses to fund its paramilitary activities," according to the U.S. State Department. Last month, the police and the DEA killed a man dubbed "Chirimoya," one of the cartel’s five commanders, as well as eight other members of the group. The Gulf Clan is one of several cartels recently designated as foreign terrorist groups by the United States. In 2022, the Gulf Clan shut down dozens of towns in northern Colombia for four days in reaction to its leader being extradited to the U.S. for trial.

Washington Post [5/6/2025 3:56 PM, Adam Taylor, Sarah Blaskey and Siobhán O’Grady, 31735K] reports the documents do not indicate how officials in Kyiv responded to the late-January proposal, relayed by a senior U.S. diplomat, that called for sending third-country nationals to Ukraine amid Russia’s deadly, devastating invasion — and despite the absence of a functioning airport there b continual air attacks. A Ukrainian diplomat informed the U.S. Embassy only that her government would offer a response once it formulated a position, according to the documents, which show that similar proposals were issued to a number of other countries around the same date. Ukraine has not accepted any third-party nationals from the United States, and there is no indication that Kyiv seriously considered the American proposal. Two Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss interactions with the Trump administration, said the topic never reached the government’s highest level. One of the officials said he was unaware of any "political demands" made by the United States regarding its desire for Ukraine to take in deportees. The State Department said in a statement that "ongoing engagement with foreign governments" was "vital to deterring illegal and mass migration and securing our borders."

Reuters [5/7/2025 5:14 AM, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Humeyra Pamuk, 41523K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration may deport migrants to Libya for the first time this week, three U.S. officials said on Tuesday, as part of his immigration crackdown and despite Washington’s past condemnation of Libya’s harsh treatment of detainees. Two of the officials said the U.S. military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as Wednesday, but stressed that plans could still change. The Pentagon referred queries to the White House. The White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not determine how many migrants would be sent to Libya or the nationalities of the individuals that the administration is eyeing for deportation. The Republican president, who made immigration a major issue during his election campaign, has launched aggressive enforcement action since taking office, surging troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of immigrants in the United States illegally. As of Monday, the Trump administration has deported 152,000 people, according to DHS. Trump’s administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and deporting migrants to notorious prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador. In its annual human rights report released last year, the U.S. State Department criticized Libya’s "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions" and "arbitrary arrest or detention.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week said the United States was not satisfied only with sending migrants to El Salvador, and hinted that Washington was looking to expand the number of countries that it may deport people to. "We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favor to us," Rubio said at a cabinet meeting at the White House last Wednesday. "And the further away from America, the better.” A fourth U.S. official said the administration has for several weeks been looking at a number of countries to send migrants to, including Libya. It wasn’t immediately clear if the administration had struck an agreement with the Libyan authorities to accept deportees of other nationalities.

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New York Times [5/6/2025 9:58 PM, Eric Schmitt, Hamed Aleaziz, Maggie Haberman and Michael Crowley, 145325K]
CBS News [5/6/2025 11:24 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Eleanor Watson, 51661K]

Bloomberg [5/6/2025 7:00 AM, Patricia Lopez, 16228K] reports that, nearly four months into his second term, it’s becoming clear that President Donald Trump’s xenophobic views on immigration are reshaping what it means to become a US citizen. His vision tilts heavily toward the wealthy and well-to-do, with special shortcuts for them and barriers to entry for the rest — particularly the world’s refugees and asylum seekers. There’s Trump’s proposal for $5 million “gold visa” cards, the prototype of which is literally Trump’s visage and Lady Liberty emblazoned on a golden rectangle. The cards would allow, in Trump’s words, “very high-level people” a “route to citizenship.” One goal of the gold card is to cut years off the typical vetting process, producing residency in as little as two weeks. Then there are the hefty deterrents for everyone else. New and escalating fees, proposed in the GOP’s House budget bill, would quickly diminish the chances of entry for lower-income immigrants or refugees. A $3,500 fee would be slapped on unaccompanied minors. Anyone seeking a work permit would have to pay $550. And asylum applications, previously free, would cost $1,000 each. Most refugees and asylum seekers arrive in the US with few possessions and even less cash. Until now, those with valid claims have depended heavily on modest federal resettlement stipends to ease their transition. And while it remains a long shot, Trump’s challenge to the Constitution’s promise of birthright citizenship is an important declaration by this administration that it wants to determine who can become a citizen. Trump would deny citizenship to children born to parents who are undocumented or who are here lawfully but on a temporary student or work visa. Some 2 million foreign nationals are here on such visas. Trump’s case goes to the Supreme Court later this month, and depending on the outcome, a new subclass of Americans could be created — born here, but never fully belonging. Finally, there was this little-noticed move amid a flurry of other executive orders: Trump in February had the Justice Department create a Denaturalization Section dedicated to stripping immigrants of their US citizenship. Such cases, the department has said, would have no statute of limitations. There are more than 24 million naturalized citizens in the US, all of whom have traveled a long path through the immigration bureaucracy to get where they are. This project follows up on some of Trump’s first-term efforts, when his Justice Department ordered investigations of 700,000 naturalized citizens for possible infractions (few of which were ever completed). Later in his term, Trump created an Office of Denaturalization. In 2023, Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff to the president, said that under a second term, denaturalization efforts would be “turbocharged.”

Wall Street Journal [5/6/2025 5:04 PM, William A. Galston, 646K] reports An introduction is in order. After graduating from the University of Texas Law School, Fernando Rodriguez Jr. clerked for Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan L. Hecht, who has been described as “the godfather of the conservative judicial movement in Texas.” Mr. Rodriguez then practiced law for more than a decade with Baker Botts, a conservative-leaning Texas firm whose partners and employees have included Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Ted Cruz, and the staunchly antiabortion Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas. Mr. Rodriguez then joined the International Justice Mission, a faith-based nonprofit whose employees are required to be practicing Christians. He was a field office director, first in Bolivia and then in the Dominican Republic, helping these countries’ local and national governments investigate and prosecute perpetrators of child sexual assault and human trafficking. Last Thursday, Judge Rodriguez ruled that Mr. Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelans he deems criminals was illegal. The judge’s background may explain why the president didn’t denounce him as a “radical left-wing lunatic,” his go-to epithet for officials who obstruct his will. Instead, the White House issued a statement calling Judge Rodriguez’s decision “undoubtedly shocking to the over 77 million Americans who gave President Trump a decisive Election Day mandate to enforce our immigration laws and deport terrorist illegal aliens—and yet time and time again we see federal courts try to stop the President from exercising his lawful authorities to protect the American people.” This statement merely asserts that Judge Rodriguez blocked Mr. Trump from exercising his lawful authority. But the White House can’t completely ignore the compelling arguments that the judge employed in explaining how the president had exceeded his authority.

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 9:00 AM, Ian Haworth, 2296K] reports I graduated from Oxford University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in computer science, and I first came to the United States in 2013. My first job in America was as a software engineer, and I traveled on an H-1B visa: the non-immigrant visa that allows American employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that has recently become the center of widespread debate and controversy. Established in 1990, the H-1B program was meant to allow U.S. companies to temporarily employ highly skilled and academically accredited foreign workers in specialty occupations — think engineers, software developers, and scientists. In theory, this program fills gaps in America’s workforce, boosts innovation, and helps companies compete in the global market. Sounds good so far, right? But the problem isn’t the H-1B program in theory, but the H-1B program in practice, with the visa becoming something else entirely: a government-sanctioned pipeline for outsourcing, wage suppression, and worker exploitation. In its current form, the H-1B program doesn’t serve American workers, and it doesn’t even serve many of the foreign workers it was meant to help. All it does is serve corporations looking for cheap labor. It’s less about the "best and brightest" and more about keeping things cheap.

New York Post [5/6/2025 7:48 PM, Todd Bensman, 54903K] reports nearly seven months have elapsed since an illegal immigrant from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania shot and wounded a visibly Orthodox Jewish man in the Chicago terror attack on October 26, then engaged police in a furious firefight while screaming the terrorist war cry "Allahu Akbar.” It was the first known – and formally charged – terror attack on US soil by a foreign national who illegally crossed the southern border. In a highly unusual move, the FBI under President Joe Biden didn’t seem to much care about the Chicago attack, ceding the public facing investigation to local police and the prosecution to Illinois officials, who used the state’s never-used 9/11-era state anti-terrorism statute to charge Mauritanian national Sidi Abdallahi, 22, with terrorism. The extraordinary stand-down by the nation’s chief counterterrorism law enforcement agency, just days before a national presidential election, veered sharply from norms, especially since Abdallahi’s recovered cell phone revealed an intense interest in jihadist ideology, extreme antisemitism, and resentment against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. But before any FBI investigative role might have publicly emerged, Abdallahi hanged himself in Cook County jail, also ending chances for public understanding about what government border security agencies knew of his movements prior to the attack and what the FBI may have learned about him afterward. But now, in response to a Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) Freedom of Information Act request, the FBI acknowledged that it did indeed open an investigation into the nation’s inaugural border-crossing terror attack and, more pertinently, that the investigation is still ongoing seven months after its sole defendant hanged himself. "The records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings," the FBI wrote in a response declining to fulfill the CIS information request and saying it would close the request.

Los Angeles Times [5/6/2025 6:00 AM, Jody Agius Vallejo and Manuel Pastor, 13342K] reports that, as immigration scholars, we’ve long studied the policies and politics that shape how people cross borders, build communities and seek opportunity. We’ve interviewed families, analyzed survey data, collaborated with immigrant organizations, informed local governments and documented the complex ways in which immigration law shapes everyday life. But recently, our inboxes have fewer queries for dispassionate data and more desperate questions about travel, safety and rights. There are nearly a million undocumented immigrants living in Los Angeles County, and more than 200,000 in next-door Orange County. They are not newcomers: In Los Angeles, according to our most recent estimates at the USC Equity Research Institute, more than 70% have been in the U.S. for at least a decade. And these Californians who may have crossed the border without authorization or overstayed a visa are outnumbered by their immediate family members who are American citizens and lawful permanent residents. These immigrants are not on the margins of society. They are our society. They are our neighbors, co-workers, community leaders and family members. They are raising their children in our school districts, running needed small businesses and helping to rebuild our region after fires ravaged our communities. Now they are being detained or deported. Or they’re simply slipping into the shadows, afraid to drive, afraid to go to work, afraid to drop their kids off at school. It is happening in Highland Park. In Lynwood. In Fullerton, where the daughter of one of us worries every morning what will happen to her friends and their families. She seems to know what others need to recognize: The lives and fate of these mixed-status families are bound to ours by daily interactions and by the broader reality of what is at stake. For this moment is a moral crisis — and a democratic one. Immigration enforcement has become the front line for testing how far our government can go in punishing, surveilling and silencing people. The federal government is amalgamating a multitude of big data sources from individual agencies , including the U.S. Postal Service, Social Security, the IRS and the Office of Refugee Resettlement, to target adults and children of various legal statuses. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also quietly building the infrastructure for mass detentions by resuscitating agreements with local police and state agencies across the nation to help in finding and removing immigrants. Legal permanent residents and citizens are being swept up as well. Just last week, ICE deported three U.S. citizen children — one of whom has a rare Stage 4 cancer — with their mothers. In another case, 20 armed ICE agents raided the home of a mother and her three daughters in Oklahoma City — all U.S. citizens — making them stand outside in the rain in their undergarments while ICE confiscated their electronics and life savings.

Washington Post [5/6/2025 6:45 AM, Eduardo Porter, 31735K] reports that, days before “Liberation Day,” when President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of tariffs against everybody, something unusual happened in Asia. For the first time in five years, Chinese officials met with counterparts from South Korea and Japan to talk about trade. A few days later, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain considers China “a partner of the E.U.” There is a risk of overstating the relevance of such overtures. Japanese and Korean officials clarified they were not coordinating with Beijing on how to respond to Trump’s tariffs. And, as Sánchez was enjoying Beijing, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Chinese Premier Li Qiang against redirecting exports blocked from the United States into Europe. Still, the budding diplomatic maneuvers underscore how Washington’s wanton behavior — cutting aid, coercing longtime allies, ignoring international rules and undermining multinational institutions — has opened an unprecedented opportunity for China to reconfigure international alliances and shift the balance of power in its favor. Whether Beijing plays its hand well is another matter. Containing Beijing has been one of Washington’s top priorities ever since China became an exporting powerhouse deeply entwined in the global market economy — but did not transform into a liberal democracy willing to play by rules of the "liberal international order.” The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), negotiated by the George W. Bush and Obama administrations with 11 nations around the Pacific Rim, was an attempt at a strategic response: to knit together China’s neighboring economies with that of the U.S. — and either isolate China or get it to play by the rules. Such strategic reasoning has now been replaced by nearsighted thuggery. Discarded by Trump during his first term in office, sacrificed to the protectionism that swept American politics over the past decade, the TPP has been superseded by a "plan" to somehow overpower China with tariffs even as the U.S. also picks fights with every other country in the world. The best news for the national security types in the White House is that China has not yet taken full advantage of Washington’s muddled thinking. But will their luck hold? Today, the question is whether Beijing will look beyond its narrow understanding of its own self-interest and make the concessions needed to take advantage of the strategic opportunities offered by the U.S. going rogue.

New York Post [5/6/2025 8:42 PM, Alex Oliveira, 54903K] reports more than 130 illegal immigrants were deported to central Asian countries by US Immigration officials, including 90 who were shipped back to Uzbekistan — some with alarming rap sheets. The repatriation flight departed from New York on April 29, with the illegal immigrants having been arrested in New York City and Ohio, according to ICE. Among the Uzbek deportees was Kobiljon Nomoz Ugli Makhmudov, who was found guilty of attempted abduction in January after being arrested in Blue Ash, Ohio, on kidnapping and robbery charges in 2022. Another was Oleg Korsuntsev, who was first arrested in 2008 for attempted assault, then again in 2009 for criminal mischief and finally in 2019 for first degree attempted assault in Brooklyn. And Burkhon Achilov was convicted in January of breaking and entering in Warren County, Ohio, along with resisting arrest. He was sentenced to nearly 300 days in jail over those convictions before being marked for deportation. Uzbekistan paid in full for the deportation of its nationals, DHS said. Migrants from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were also on the deportation flights. "The Department of Homeland Security’s coordination with the government of Uzbekistan was instrumental in the successful removal of these individuals," said DHS Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane. "It is precisely this kind of leadership that enables ICE to continue to fulfill its mission of protecting the American public by ensuring that our immigration enforcement efforts uphold safety and security for communities across the country.” The deportations were just the latest round in the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to crack down on illegal immigration – with much of the effort so far being focused on people with criminal backgrounds. As of April, more than 100,000 people had been deported since Trump took office on Jan. 20.

CNN [5/6/2025 6:30 AM, Taylor Galgano and Maria Aguilar Prieto, 22131K] reports that, as the first day of his trial wrapped up and an eight-person jury was sworn in, the defendant stepped outside a Boston courthouse only to be immediately arrested by one of the prosecution’s witnesses — an ICE agent, his attorney tells CNN. Wilson Martell-Lebron, who the government alleges is an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was on trial in late March for using a fake name to apply for a driver’s license, according to his lead attorney, Murat Erkan. Erkan described the shock as he watched his client get "abducted" by agents outside the courthouse, with his law firm eventually recognizing one of the agents as the witness from Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wilson’s case. "The people… in the street clothes start sprinting around the corner of the building. Nothing about their appearance suggests that they are law enforcement," Erkan said. They weren’t wearing uniforms and were dressed "like the people that you would ride a bus with.” As he watched his handcuffed client get put into a black SUV, Erkan was quickly piecing together what happened: his client had been arrested by ICE in the middle of his jury trial. A senior Department of Homeland Security official said Wilson is a "criminal illegal alien" who had previous convictions for drug trafficking cocaine and heroin. Wilson’s situation is not an isolated incident. Across the country, CNN has confirmed at least 12 ICE arrests on or near courthouse grounds since January. This was verified after reviewing statements and conducting interviews with local courthouses, attorneys, police, law enforcement, ICE and DHS. Legal experts and immigration advocates CNN spoke to say these surprise arrests at courthouses disrupt judicial processes and make communities less safe, with some saying these actions may intimidate people from going to court hearings. And some immigration advocates told CNN they worry undocumented immigrants are changing their behaviors and could be avoiding houses of worship, their children’s schools and locations where they normally find work. In several responses to CNN about specific instances of arrests at or near courthouses, the DHS defends ICE’s actions as tactical approaches to catching criminals and keeping the community safe. ICE also notes it asked local authorities to detain some undocumented people in certain cases before making a courthouse arrest. In one case in Philadelphia, ICE claimed its request was declined because the city considers itself a "sanctuary" city for immigrants. CNN has confirmed at least a dozen cases of people being arrested by ICE on or near courthouse grounds in Virginia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Wisconsin.

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 2:00 PM, John Schindler, 2296K] reports the discussion about U.S. border security focuses on mass migration and foreigners who circumvent our legal immigration system, but those aren’t the only valid concerns. What are the espionage risks to U.S. national security posed by legal immigration? First, it must be understood that the vetting scheme employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is broadly inadequate from a counterintelligence viewpoint. ICE looks more for criminals and immigration fraudsters than foreign spies. The espionage threat from legal immigrants can be broken into two categories. First, there are spies coming to America on a secret espionage mission, which they don’t declare to ICE. Second are immigrants who, after their arrival in the United States, decide to commit espionage, usually on behalf of their homeland. Both groups are difficult for our counterintelligence to detect — the latter is especially so.

FOX News [5/6/2025 4:42 PM, Audrey Conklin, 46189K] reports a home daycare in Cape Cod has shuttered its doors after local news revealed a fugitive illegal immigrant from Brazil, who was wanted for child rape in his home country, was living there. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO) Boston arrested Andre Tiago Lucas, wanted for the rape of a 13-year-old child in Brazil, in Bourne in October of last year. A Brazilian court convicted Tiago Lucas of rape of a vulnerable person in 2016 and sentenced him to serve nine years and four months incarceration, according to ICE. He then fled Brazil and made his way to Massachusetts. Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) records reviewed by Boston 25 revealed that the agency inspected the home daycare five separate times but did not find any evidence of Tiago Lucas staying in the residence during any of those visits. Nunes had been a licensed daycare provider for three years, EEC records obtained by Boston 25 show.

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [5/6/2025 5:13 PM, Jackson Walker, 602K]

CBS New York [5/6/2025 10:42 PM, Marcia Kramer and Ali Bauman, 51661K] Video: HERE reports two New York City Police officers were attacked by teenage gang members in Times Square last week, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch say. According to Adams and Tisch, the gang is an offshoot of a violent Venezuelan street gang, with some members as young as 12 years old. The officers were attacked while trying to break up what Tisch called "what appeared to be a wolfpack-style robbery" while a boxing match was going on in Times Square last Friday. "Instead, they were ambushed, pelted with scooters, basketballs and other makeshift weapons. This was a targeted attack," Tisch said. Officials say five individuals have been arrested, and six more are being sought. Police are examining video of the attack. "When someone openly assaults a police officer, you are attacking our symbol of safety, and it cannot be tolerated," Adams said. All are said to be members of the gang "Los Diablos de 42," or "the Little Devils of 42nd Street." Officials describe them as a "farm team" of the Tren de Aragua gang. "This country is a place for opportunities. You shouldn’t be preying on other migrants and asylum seekers. You shouldn’t be preying on innocent New Yorkers. Once you do that, you have lost your right to be here in what I believe is the greatest country on the globe," Adams said when asked if the gang members should be deported.

AP [5/6/2025 6:24 PM, Jake Offenhartz, 24727K] reports police in New York City are investigating whether the department violated policy by sharing a report with federal immigration authorities that included internal records of a Palestinian woman’s arrest at a protest. The probe follows reporting by The Associated Press on the cooperation between the NYPD and President Donald Trump’s administration, which is seeking to deport Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian resident of New Jersey, as part of its widening crackdown on noncitizens who participated in protests against the war in Gaza. The report shared by police with the federal government included Kordia’s name, address and birthday, as well as an NYPD officer’s two-sentence summary of her arrest for protesting outside Columbia University last spring. That charge — a summons for disorderly conduct — was dismissed and the case sealed, meaning it should not have been accessible for law enforcement purposes, according to legal experts. "How it is that summons information was provided that is associated with a sealed arrest is what we are looking into now," the city’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said Tuesday in response to the AP’s questions. "This is under internal investigation and review.” Kordia, a 32-year-old waitress living in Paterson, New Jersey, was detained during a March 13 check-in with immigration officials, then sent to an immigration jail in Texas, where she remains. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced her arrest the following day, citing an expired visa and her role in "pro-Hamas protests.” The four-page NYPD report on Kordia was generated the same day and is now being used as evidence by the federal government in its bid to deport her. "We still don’t know how she became the focus of the Department of Homeland Security," said Arthur Ago, an attorney for Kordia. "If they did get information from the NYPD about a sealed citation that was dismissed in the interest of justice, that would be highly disturbing.” Under city law, police are generally prohibited from assisting federal authorities in civil immigration enforcement, though there are exceptions for criminal investigation. Tisch said the department received a request from Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as part of a criminal investigation into Kordia. "The member said they were seeking information on this person related to a money laundering investigation, and that is fairly standard for us, so the information was provided," Tisch said. "That was all done according to procedure.” Kordia’s attorney said he was not aware of any investigation related to money laundering. He said she was born in Jerusalem, grew up in the West Bank and arrived in New Jersey in 2016 to live with her mother, a U.S. citizen. A DHS spokesperson said Kordia was taken into custody for immigration violations but would not say if she was facing criminal investigation. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the New York City Council called the police commissioner’s lack of explanation "troubling.” "The people of our city should be able to trust that the mayoral administration will comply with local laws and not hand over their information without legal justification for its use by ICE," the statement continued.

New York Times [5/6/2025 8:22 PM, Maria Cramer and Chelsia Rose Marcius, 145325K] reports the New York Police Department is investigating why officers gave U.S. authorities the sealed arrest record of a New Jersey woman who was detained at a protest last year — information that immigration officials are now using to seek her deportation. Under New York State law and department policy, sealed records of arrests or summons cannot be released. But the police gave the documents to Department of Homeland Security investigators who had requested them as part of what the investigators said was a criminal investigation, Commissioner Jessica Tisch and the woman’s lawyer said on Tuesday. The documents, the lawyer said, then became part of the government’s case for deporting the woman, Leqaa Kordia, 32, who is Palestinian. The case, first reported by The Associated Press, emerged as the Trump administration pressured Mayor Eric Adams to cooperate with its deportation campaign. Commissioner Tisch has repeatedly said that New York’s sanctuary laws bar police officers from cooperating with federal officials on immigration cases, which are considered civil violations. Ms. Kordia, who does not have a valid visa, was arrested during a protest in April 2024, when scores of demonstrators gathered at Columbia University to protest the war in Gaza. On Tuesday, Commissioner Tisch said at a City Hall news conference that an official from Homeland Security Investigations in New Jersey had asked for information about Ms. Kordia, saying that she was being investigated in connection with money laundering. Ms. Kordia’s lawyer said later that the commissioner’s statement was the first that he or his client had heard of such an investigation. Commissioner Tisch said that while the city’s sanctuary laws bar it from helping immigration authorities in civil deportation cases, criminal investigations are a different matter. The Police Department handed over information, “which was all done according to procedure,” she said, without specifying precisely what was transmitted to federal investigators. “That is definitely an instance where we would share information,” she said, adding that department officials would look into how the summons record that was part of a sealed case was also provided.

FOX News [5/6/2025 3:47 PM, Cameron Arcand, 46189K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made a high-profile arrest on Monday in Maryland. DHS told Fox News Digital that Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, 38, is a "validated MS-13 gang member" from El Salvador who had no visas "approved or pending" at the moment of his arrest. "ICE Baltimore arrested Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez an MS-13 gang member with an Interpol Red Notice. He first entered the country illegally in 2005 and was deported. He then reentered our country at an unknown date before he was arrested by HSI Baltimore in 2014. He was issued a notice to appear and released back into Silver Spring, MD," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. An Interpol Red Notice is put out by the international legal group asking to "locate and provisionally arrest" somebody. It’s not considered an "international arrest warrant," but it’s meant to make sure a person is taken into custody for further legal action, according to Interpol’s website. The Red Notice database has over 6,500 individuals. The arrest comes as the Department of Homeland Security marks 100 days with Secretary Kristi Noem at the helm as of Monday. "This criminal illegal gang member and suspected terrorist should have never been released into our country. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, he is off our streets and will soon be out of our country," McLaughlin continued.

ABC News [5/6/2025 11:32 PM, Beatrice Peterson, 34586K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement allegedly conducted raids targeting businesses in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. A coalition of activists had warned delivery drivers and restaurants of the planned enforcement one day prior. "I have heard those reports, I’ve been getting them all morning. I am disturbed by them," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Tuesday. "It appears that ICE is at restaurants or even in neighborhoods, and it doesn’t look like they’re targeting criminals. It is disrupting.” She also emphasized that the Metropolitan Police Department was not involved. George Escobar, chief of programs and services at CASA, an organization geared toward improving quality of life for working-class Americans, told ABC News by phone on Tuesday that the organization regularly receives tips about planned raids -- but this one was different. "This one, to be honest, alarmed us a little bit, because it was really specific," Escobar told ABC News. The organization has run a 24-hour tip hotline since the first Trump administration. "We’re experienced. We don’t get alarmed by, like, you know, any old threat, because, you know, they’re frequent, right? And they come in all different, all different types of forms," he said. However, in this instance, CASA was warned that ICE would be using President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at the "beautification" of the U.S. capital to justify the raids, Escobar said. "We received notice about a specific kind of operation on how they were going to be conducted: what the pretense of maybe entering some of these small businesses were going to be, the fact that they were looking specifically at food businesses and possibly delivery workers," he explained. ABC News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment but has not yet received a response. "If ICE wants to snatch up every single immigrant working in food service and delivery, then the entire industry will collapse," Amy Fischer, a core organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, which supports migrants arriving in the capital, said in a statement.

Axios [5/6/2025 6:32 PM, Anna Spiegel, 13163K] reports D.C. restaurants are on edge amid escalating reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are targeting businesses across the city, demanding to see employment eligibility papers. President Trump has threatened D.C. immigration raids since before he took office, and they’re coming to fruition in a high-profile way. ICE activity was confirmed Tuesday at several restaurants, including local pizza chain Pupatella in Dupont Circle, Chef Geoff’s near AU Park, Ghostburger in Shaw, and Millie’s in Spring Valley, per Washingtonian and FOX5. Other unconfirmed reports flew around social media. At Millie’s, Washingtonian reports that several officers, some armed, swarmed the upscale Nantucket-style restaurant around lunchtime, demanding I-9 papers. When ICE agents asked to question employees, a manager said they couldn’t and wasn’t met with resistance. Owner Bo Blair told Washingtonian that he wasn’t worried about his business, and he thinks the raids are misdirected. "We were under the impression that they were focusing on trying to find criminals," Blair, who once ran Georgetown’s Republican hotspot Smith Point, told Washingtonian. "And this is just a whole new level of harassment to our hard-working, law-abiding employees."

Reported similarly:
Free Beacon [5/6/2025 4:45 PM, Matthew Xiao, 475K]

(B) Today [5/6/2025 7:56 AM, Staff] reports that local immigration advocates are telling restaurant industry workers to know their rights following rumors of a potential mass immigration enforcement operation in DC. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security were asked to address the rumors. They have not yet responded.

New York Post [5/6/2025 4:08 PM, Emily Crane, 54903K] reports a criminal migrant who illegally crossed into the US from Honduras was nabbed by ICE agents last week when Virginian authorities abruptly dropped attempted-child-abduction charges against him. Hyrum Baquedano-Rodriguez, 26, was taken into federal custody Friday — soon after a Fairfax County judge refused to sign off on his guilty-plea deal tied to the June 2023 kiddie-abduction ordeal, with the jurist citing evidence issues. The doomed deal forced prosecutors to ultimately dismiss the charges against the previously accused flasher and convicted violent thief. Baquedano-Rodriguez, who already has a lengthy rap sheet in the US, had been accused of trying to snatch a 4-year-old girl from her bed in a violent home invasion. He was hit with charges of abduction of a person with intent to defile and burglary: entering a house to murder, rape, after prints found of the little girl’s window matched his. Baquedano-Rodriguez was first nabbed by Border Patrol agents in August 2018 when he illegally crossed into the US near Yuma, Ariz., ICE said. A federal judge in Arizona eventually released him on an immigration bond in January 2019, which kickstarted his crime spree in the US. After the migrant’s arrest over the alleged attempted abduction, an immigration judge ordered he be booted back to his native Honduras. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal, the feds said.

Washington Post [5/6/2025 8:24 PM, Salvador Rizzo and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, 31735K] reports a Georgetown University researcher who says he has been illegally targeted for deportation amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus activism must have his case heard in Virginia as he fights to stay in the United States, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles is likely to order immigration officials to return Badar Khan Suri from Texas as she continues to consider the legal merits of his case. The researcher was arrested March 17 as he arrived at his Arlington County home and was sent to an immigration facility southwest of Dallas, where he has been held for more than a month. The ruling is a victory for Suri, a father of three who arrived from India in late 2022 for a fellowship at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, though it could also end up being temporary. He made an initial appearance Tuesday morning before an immigration judge in Texas, where his legal team denied the charge that he posed a threat. Suri, who had been granted a visa for visiting scholars and professionals, argued that the Trump administration sent him to Texas as payback after he filed his lawsuit in Virginia. A 2004 Supreme Court ruling says lawsuits alleging wrongful detention generally must be heard within the detainee’s "district of confinement.” But Giles voiced concerns at a court hearing last week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials may have quickly shuffled Suri around facilities in Virginia before sending him to Louisiana and then Texas in the hours after his arrest to prevent his lawyers from filing a lawsuit in the proper district. The judge indicated Suri’s case was "extraordinary" and could be heard in Virginia under an exception to the 2004 Supreme Court ruling. "The last time [Suri] was permitted to speak to his wife, the only information he had was that he would be detained in this District," Giles said in a written ruling Tuesday, adding that one of his attorneys "worked diligently in less than twenty hours and filed the petition in this District based on the only information that was available to him — that his client was detained in this District.” She added: "The facts before the Court today demand an exception to the district of confinement rule.” A Justice Department attorney, David Byerley, said at Thursday’s hearing that the court would have to "create a fiction" that Suri’s location was unknown at the time his lawsuit was filed to assume jurisdiction in Virginia. He added that ICE has "no plan to remove him ... before removal proceedings run their course.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio authorized Suri’s deportation March 15, and the Department of Homeland Security accused the researcher on X of spreading "Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media" while having ties to a Hamas adviser — an apparent reference to his wife, a U.S. citizen who once worked with the Gaza foreign ministry and whose father, Ahmed Yousef, is a former political adviser to the now-deceased Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. "Badar has said many times that he does not support Hamas," his wife, Mapheze Saleh, said in an email. "I do not support the use of violence against civilians perpetrated by any group or government. Neither does Badar. He is deeply committed to peace and to the human dignity of each and every person in this world.”

FOX 17 Nashville [5/6/2025 12:15 PM, Jerry Craft, 334K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested multiple individuals with serious criminal histories during a recent operation in Tennessee, authorities said. According to a statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, among those arrested was a member of the violent international gang Tren de Aragua, an individual convicted of aggravated assault and several undocumented immigrants with prior drug charges. “No one should want these criminal illegal aliens to be loose on American streets,” McLaughlin stated. The operation is part of a broader enforcement initiative by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which McLaughlin says is focused on removing individuals who pose the greatest threats to public safety. She noted that ICE officers have seen a 413% increase in assaults against them in recent years, underscoring the risks agents face. McLaughlin added that during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s current term, 75% of ICE arrests involved individuals who had been charged with or convicted of a crime. “President Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and DHS is delivering,” McLaughlin said. Officials have not yet released specific arrest numbers for the Tennessee operation or the counties involved. NBC 4 Nashville [5/6/2025 2:52 PM, Caleb Wethington, 815K] reports “During the operation in Tennessee, ICE agents arrested a convicted child sex predator, a member of Tren de Aragua, an individual convicted of aggravated assault, and multiple aliens with drug charges. No one should want these criminal illegal aliens to be loose on American streets,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. McLaughlin added that attacks and demonization of law enforcement are wrong. “ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. DHS is targeting the worst of the worst, including members of gangs, rapists, pedophiles, and murderers. During the President’s first 100 days, 75% of ICE arrests were criminals who had been charged or convicted of a crime,” she said. “President Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and DHS is delivering.”

Breitbart [5/6/2025 4:34 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2923K] reports Tennessee State Troopers along with members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted coordinated actions on motorists in South Nashville over the weekend, taking around 100 people into custody on violations of federal immigration laws and other charges. During the approximately 150 traffic stops, officers reportedly found drivers without a valid license, some with illegal drugs in their vehicles, some with illegal firearms, and others reported as gang members. Many of the drivers reportedly were in the country illegally. The sweeps continued into the week as more stops were conducted Monday night and Tuesday morning, according to WSMV-TV. Telemundo Amarillo [5/6/2025 5:57 PM, Staff, 2K] reports Lidsay Williams, a spokeswoman for the federal immigration agency, said in an email obtained by Telemundo Nashville that authorities involved in the 150 traffic checkpoints "focused on apprehending removable criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety." ICE said all 84 remain in custody and have open deportation proceedings. Federal immigration authorities confirmed to us that at least 150 traffic stops have been carried out in Nashville since Saturday night. “During the operation in Tennessee, ICE agents arrested a convicted child sex offender, a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, an individual convicted of aggravated assault, and several foreign nationals charged with drug offenses. No one should want these criminal illegal aliens running loose on the streets of the United States,” said Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. In the statement, McLaughlin added that the attacks and demonization of law enforcement are misguided. “ICE agents are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. DHS is targeting the worst of the worst, including gang members, rapists, pedophiles, and murderers,” she added.

Daily Caller [5/6/2025 10:47 AM, Jason Hopkins] reports that an illegal migrant released into the United States by the Biden administration pleaded not guilty Monday to the brutal murder of a Georgia grandmother. David Hector Rivas-Sagastume, a 21-year-old Honduran national who unlawfully entered the country several years ago, pleaded not guilty to killing Camillia Williams, a 52-year-old grandmother and mother of five, according to Cobb County Superior Court documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Rivas is accused of murder, rape, necrophilia and other gruesome charges involving the incident. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously confirmed that the Biden White House allowed Rivas to enter the U.S. in the early months of their administration. “David Hector Rivas-Sagastume, a 21-year-old Honduran national, entered the United States illegally on March 17, 2021, and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol,” a DHS spokesperson told the DCNF in March. “He was issued a notice to appear and paroled into the country by the previous administration.” “A judge ordered him removed on July 11, 2023,” the spokesperson continued. “On March 18, 2025, he was being arrested by the Cobb County Police Department for capital murder and other crimes. ICE has lodged an immigration detainer with the Cobb County Jail.” The investigation into Williams’ death began on March 13 when her body was found in the bushes off Pat Mell Road, a suburban area north of Atlanta, according to a press release by the Cobb County Police Department at the time. Several days later, police identified and arrested Rivas.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [5/6/2025 1:43 PM, Amy Furr, 2923K]

(B) Good Morning America [5/6/2025 7:24 AM, Staff] reports that a detained Georgetown University professor faces an immigration judge in Texas today. ICE officials detained Dr. Badar Khan Suri outside his home in Roslyn back in March. The Department of Homeland Security accuses him of spreading Hamas propaganda. It also alleges his father-in-law was a political advisor to Hamas.

Breitbart.com [5/6/2025 4:00 PM, John Binder, 2923K] reports an illegal alien, released into the United States by former President Joe Biden’s administration, is accused of killing a 58-year-old man in the sanctuary state of Illinois while he was crossing a street in his wheelchair. Fernando Lorenzo-Raymundo, a 36-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, was arrested by the Champaign, Illinois Police Department and charged with the fatal hit-and-run of 58-year-old James McCammon in early March. According to police, Lorenzo-Raymundo hit and killed McCammon as he was crossing the street in his wheelchair. Lorenzo-Raymundo has pleaded guilty to battery. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials released new details on Lorenzo-Raymundo this week, revealing that he first crossed the southern border in 2013. In March of last year, Lorenzo-Raymundo crossed the U.S.-Mexico border again and was apprehended by Border Patrol agents but then released into the nation’s interior along with millions of other illegal aliens under the Biden administration.

NewsNation [5/6/2025 5:52 PM, Lily Dallow, 6866K] reports a missing girl was found during the arrest of a human trafficking suspect in Los Angeles, police announced Monday. The Anaheim Police Department said the investigation into this case began on April 28, when the 17-year-old victim was reported missing from her Irvine home. Orange County investigators learned that the teen, whose identity was not released, was possibly being exploited for purposes of commercialized sex. Officials launched a human trafficking investigation and began searching for the missing girl. The next day, April 29, the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force found the missing girl and her trafficker together in Los Angeles. Details on the arrest are limited, but police identified the suspect as Alex Polidore, 23, of Hawthorne, and noted that he is a convicted felon. Investigators recovered the girl, whose health status was not immediately provided, and booked Polidore at the Anaheim Police Department Detention Facility for a parole violation and multiple human trafficking offenses. On May 1, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Polidore with human trafficking of a minor. Police said he remains in custody on $1 million bail.

Daily Breeze [5/6/2025 3:53 PM, Staff, 212K] reports the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday pledged its support to ensuring education access for immigrant students, calling for increased Know Your Rights presentations and alternative learning options. In January, the federal government rescinded a “sensitive locations” policy that restricted immigration enforcement actions in certain places including schools, houses of worship and essential service providers. “Since this decision, educators across the country have been grappling with fear among students and parents that immigration enforcement will show up at the school site to execute deportation raids,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said. Solis also cited data that she said indicated that immediately after the announcement, some K-12 schools reported a decline in attendance. All supervisors supported Mitchell’s statement, with Supervisor Lindsey Horvath adding, “What we saw last month at Russell Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary was one of the worst fears we have realized right here in Los Angeles County.” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told the Los Angeles Times last month that the agents were with the department’s Homeland Security Investigations unit. “These … officers were at these schools conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border,” she said. “DHS is leading efforts to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused and sex trafficked.”

Telemundo52 [5/6/2025 7:02 PM, Christian Cazares and Elizabeth Chavolla, 101K] reports three of the 10 day laborers who were arrested by immigration agents two weeks ago outside a Home Depot in Pomona appeared in court Tuesday for a bond hearing. The detained immigrants are being held at a detention center in Calexico, about 200 miles south of Los Angeles. "It’s a sadness for all the families that are being left separated like this," said Bernardo Garcia, father of Yoni Garcia, who was detained at the Home Depot. Garcia said the past two weeks have been a nightmare, as he himself witnessed when his son Yoni was arrested by immigration agents. "I was there, but minutes before I was in the car. I watched when they ran and I watched when immigration was following them and they grabbed several of our classmates," Garcia said. Garcia said she didn’t get out of her car when she saw the raid on the morning of April 22, but the blow was hard when she saw her son in custody. "It’s difficult and it’s a sadness for all the families. A lot of children are being left without parents," Garcia said. This morning several immigrant activists gathered outside the Pomona courthouse, where they say Jesus Domingo, Yoni Garcia and Edwin Juarez, all from Guatemala, were scheduled for their bond hearing, but that date was rescheduled on the judge’s orders. "They don’t have a criminal record. They were just looking for work which is a right in this country protected by the constitution of this country," said Alexis Theodore, of the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center. Theadore says only five undocumented immigrants have been identified. Last week, Telemundo 52 spoke with Ramon Domingo, Jesus’ brother. "He [Jesus] has no criminal record and we are just looking for work," said Ramon, who also assured that he has no criminal record and was just looking for work. The background of the other detainees is still unknown. Several witnesses captured part of the operation with their cell phones that day. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security reported that nine undocumented immigrants were arrested during an operation focused on the search for another undocumented immigrant with a search warrant. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [5/6/2025 6:35 AM, Alex Nitzberg, 46189K] reports the Department of Homeland Security is offering $1,000 to illegal aliens who opt to self-deport via the CBP Home App, but Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., floated the idea of charging fines and granting work visas instead. "Why don’t we make them pay a $5k fine, go through a background check and give them a work visa for a few years, renewable with good behavior," he asked in a Monday post on X. Gallego suggested in another post that immigrants would pay for the cost of their background check. "Make them pay. That is what we do now for other immigrants. Part of the filing fee," noted Gallego, who defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona’s 2024 U.S. Senate contest. The $1,000 offer comes as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration and seeks to conduct a mass deportation effort. "Any illegal alien who uses the CBP Home App to self-deport will also receive a stipend of $1,000 dollars, paid after their return to their home country has been confirmed through the app," a DHS release noted. "Even with the cost of the stipend, it is projected that the use of CBP Home will decrease the costs of a deportation by around 70 percent. Currently, the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove an illegal alien is $17,121.” DHS also indicates that illegal aliens will receive travel assistance to return to their home country. "The first use of travel assistance has already proven successful. An illegal alien that the Biden Administration allowed into our country recently utilized the program to receive a ticket for a flight from Chicago to Honduras. Additional tickets have already been booked for this week and the following week," DHS noted.

Bloomberg [5/5/2025 10:30 PM, Swati Gupta, Saijel Kishan, and Kelsey Butler, 16228K] reports Mokhasan doesn’t fit the mold of an average village in rural India. There’s a new local council building, opulent Hindu temples and paved roads. The primary school recently received a donation of $90,000. But despite these modern amenities, the streets are largely silent. Most houses are padlocked, their yards unkempt. Neighboring villages in the western state of Gujarat, one of India’s wealthiest, are also ghost towns, emptied of residents who migrated to countries such as the US. “Everyone goes to the US to make money, and most of that money comes back to India,” says Jayesh Patel, whose entire family left the country. Patel, who runs a water bottling plant in Gujarat’s capital, Ahmedabad, frequently visits his native village to watch over the family’s land. “Everything here—the roads, temples, schools—it all comes from dollars.” For years, money from diasporas globally has powered developing countries like India, where many villages are almost entirely dependent on remittances from abroad. The South Asian nation is the largest recipient of such funds, collecting nearly $120 billion last fiscal year, or the equivalent of the government’s annual spending on infrastructure. But as US President Donald Trump and leaders in other wealthy nations crack down on immigration, this crucial pipeline of cash is now at risk of dwindling. Remittances total more than $800 billion globally. They are the second-biggest source of external funding to the developing world, be they from South Asian construction workers in Dubai, Mexican farm laborers in the US or Filipino nannies in Hong Kong. They account for close to a 10th of gross domestic product in the Philippines and Pakistan. The US is the largest source of remittances worldwide. It’s common for Indian migrants to send roughly a fifth of their income back home, depending on their family situation, according to estimates from Devesh Kapur, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who focuses on the diaspora. Losing access to remittances carries serious consequences. When Pakistan’s annual tally fell 15% from 2021 to 2023—partly the result of unfavorable exchange rates—the economy went into a tailspin. The International Monetary Fund stepped in with a bailout, and Pakistan nearly defaulted, with concurrent political crises making its problems worse. Although the inflow of remittances has since rebounded, fear persists of more disruptions. Trump’s administration recently added Pakistan to a list of countries that may face significantly tougher visa restrictions.

Bloomberg Law News [5/6/2025 7:00 AM, Patricia Lopez, 120K] reports nearly four months into his second term, it’s becoming clear that President Donald Trump’s xenophobic views on immigration are reshaping what it means to become a US citizen. His vision tilts heavily toward the wealthy and well-to-do, with special shortcuts for them and barriers to entry for the rest — particularly the world’s refugees and asylum seekers. There’s Trump’s proposal for $5 million "gold visa" cards, the prototype of which is literally Trump’s visage and Lady Liberty emblazoned on a golden rectangle. The cards would allow, in Trump’s words, "very high-level people" a "route to citizenship."

NewsNation [5/7/2025 3:26 AM, Salvador Rivera, 6866K] reports a couple from Salt Lake City, on vacation through Southern California this week, decided to stop by the border barrier between San Diego and Tijuana. They were taken aback by the height of the fence and the surprisingly easy access to the area. Before leaving, they took a selfie in front of the barrier, a moment they wanted to capture to remember their unique experience. More border wall spots could pop up should Congress give President Donald Trump the money to build 700 additions miles, 900 miles of river barriers, and 630 miles of secondary walls — part of a bigger bill that includes the White House’s proposed tax breaks and spending cuts. The House committee in charge of drafting Trump’s border security bill is asking for about $69 billion, a substantial part of which ($46.5 billion), would go to border barriers. The rest of the funds would pay for additional projects, including: $4.1 billion for 8,000 additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, officers, and support staff. $2 billion for CBP workforce annual retention bonuses and signing incentives. $1.07 billion for non-intrusive inspection technology. $450 million for Operation Stonegarden, a federal grant program administered by FEMA. "Considering the amount of people that are in the country illegally, many of them perpetuating crimes, we need the resources to continue doing what President Trump has promised the American people to get these individuals out of our country," said Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing Tuesday morning. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he wants to have a vote on the issue by Memorial Day. According to the Associated Press, Democrats say they will fight what House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries calls the "extreme Republican agenda.” If passed, a vote in the Senate would be expected in July.

NewsNation [5/6/2025 4:31 PM, Ali Bradley, 6866K] reports Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks exclusively told NewsNation his agency is ready for a possible onslaught from the cartel despite record-low crossings and decreased fentanyl seizures. Banks explained to NewsNation that the more the U.S. puts security along the southern border, the more traffic is being pushed to the coast. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has Coast Guard and destroyers monitoring and patrolling those areas. Per U.S. Customs and Border Protection, total fentanyl seizures across March and April totaled 1,371 pounds. During the last fiscal year, 21,900 pounds were seized. It is the first time in nearly 3 years that any month has had less than 1,000 pounds of fentanyl seizures. Due to the United States’ improved border security, Banks says the cartels are looking to traffic fentanyl and other hard narcotics into other areas more frequently, specifically Canada, Central and South America and Europe. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday afternoon the largest fentanyl bust in U.S. history, with 11.5 kilos (25.4 pounds) seized, approximately 3 million fentanyl pills. It was a multiagency operation headed by the DEA, which saw 16 people arrested, including high-ranking Sinaloa cartel member Alberto Salazar Amaya, who was living illegally in Salem, Oregon. The drugs were found in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as Phoenix, Arizona, and Utah.

NPR [5/6/2025 5:00 AM, Juliana Kim, 29983K] reports as President Trump expands the use of the military in immigration enforcement, this nearly 150-year-old law has come into sharp focus. The Posse Comitatus Act was designed to limit the use of federal troops in law enforcement activities on American soil. The rule has its exceptions and loopholes, but Trump’s second term and his crackdown on immigration are shaping up to be a major test of the law. Today, thousands of active-duty troops are deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border. What the military is allowed to do there has also dramatically shifted — going beyond the typical roles of supporting the Border Patrol. Among the most significant developments came last month, when Trump designated a 170-mile stretch of federal land along the southern border — which spans through California, Arizona, and New Mexico — as a military installation, or a national defense area. On Thursday, the Department of Defense announced that a second section in Texas will be marked as a military installation. At least 82 people have been federally charged for "unauthorized entry" into the newly created National Defense Area in New Mexico as a result.

Washington Times [5/6/2025 4:14 PM, Brad Matthews, 1814K] reports an airline employee at Dulles International Airport in Virginia has been charged with trying to move more than 4 pounds of cocaine and thousands of dollars through customs. Jose Luis Castillo Rojas, a permanent U.S. resident and Peruvian national, arrived back in Dulles from Peru via way of Panama City, Panama, on April 24. Mr. Rojas was selected for a secondary inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, who subsequently found bricks of cocaine, one of which was hidden inside a cake, weighing about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds.) They also found $54,900 in cash in the lining of his bag, according to court documents cited by WTOP-FM. Mr. Rojas protested his innocence at the scene, saying "Wow, that’s not me! I was bringing it in for a lady waiting outside the airport in the car," according to court documents cited by WTTG-TV, adding that he had received the bag from another woman in Peru. He also told investigators that he previously made a similar delivery in March. On his phone, investigators found messages indicating that Mr. Rojas would be paid $200 for a successful delivery.

CBS Chicago [5/6/2025 6:19 PM, Sara Tenenbaum, 51661K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment of counterfeit designer watches at O’Hare Airport this week that would have been worth millions of dollars if real. CBP officials said the shipment arrived from China on May 4, and contained nearly 250 counterfeit watches that mimicked the designer brands Audermas Piguet, Rolex, Breitling, Bulgari, Cartier, Omega, Paneria, Richard Mille, Tag Heuer, Patek Phillipe and Vacheron. The shipment was meant for Bensenville, Illinois, officials said. If real, the fakes would have been worth more than $6.5 million.

Telemundo 48 El Paso [5/6/2025 2:46 PM, Staff, 11K] reports with an investment of approximately $600 million, the modernization project for the Cordova Americas International Bridge, one of the four border crossings separating El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, is moving forward. The project will contribute to improving traffic flow on both the US and Mexico borders. This improvement will increase border security and reduce wait times for travelers. As the only toll-free port of entry in El Paso, increased truck and vehicle traffic in recent years has created significant congestion, making it difficult to handle this surge. Much of the port facility has reached the end of its useful life, as most buildings and infrastructure are operating at or above capacity, failing to meet current U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) design standards. GSA will completely modernize the port with a new administration building, new pedestrian processing lanes, a new main building, and new passenger vehicle lanes. The project will contribute to improved traffic flow and border security, while reducing wait times for travelers.

Washington Examiner [5/6/2025 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 2296K] reports Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said he saw a transformed border in the San Diego region during a visit over the weekend, compared to his experience under the Biden administration. Lankford described to the Washington Examiner a "remarkable" shift in the morale of federal law enforcement tasked with guarding the nation’s borders since the Biden administration, during which the United States experienced the greatest number of immigrants arrested on charges of illegally entering the country than any other administration. "It’s pretty, pretty remarkable to see the morale and the attitude of federal law enforcement," Lankford said during a phone call Monday afternoon. "It was striking, the difference talking to the folks at [Customs and Border Protection] and the folks at Border Patrol about what they’re doing.” "I just can’t begin to explain how much of a better place that they are in — the morale, how different it really is," said Lankford, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "They are in such a better spirit.” Morale had tanked as federal police assigned to the southern border were pulled from the international boundary between 2021 and 2024 to transport and watch over illegal immigrants in custody. Lankford pointed to three additional changes that he saw during his solo trip to Southern California. The San Diego region of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border had the "greatest number" of what the federal government describes as "special interest aliens," or people deemed suspicious because of their country of origin or terrorism associations. Former San Diego Border Patrol Chief Aaron Heitke testified in September 2024 that his agents were intercepting immigrants from unusual countries not normally encountered trying to enter the country illegally. During the first Trump administration, San Diego agents apprehended 10 to 15 special interest aliens per year. That figure exploded to more than 100 in 2022 and higher in 2023, Heitke testified. Since then, illegal immigrant arrests have declined from more than 33,000 in March 2024 to less than 1,200 in March this year. Facilities that were set up to hold the tens of thousands crossing monthly have since been disbanded, according to Lankford. Because Border Patrol agents who work between the ports of entry are not focused on the influx of illegal immigrants, they have pivoted to focus increasingly on stopping drugs from entering the U.S. "They’re going after drugs moving across the ports of entry," Lankford said. "They’ve set up checkpoints again, which had been pulled down. It was just a stark difference. Their focus is really on interdicting drugs because the number of people coming across has dropped so fast. … They’re able to get the time to be able to detect it, find and chase down the leads, and to be able to go get after the narcotics.” Border Patrol agents told Lankford that they have seen an uptick in maritime human smuggling, given that agents on land are on duty and ready to respond to attempted crossings. "They’re receiving more attempts for smuggling coming in through the ocean, people trying to swim around the barrier, which they’ve got that well-placed," Lankford said. "They just turn people around immediately. It’s folks that are jumping on jet skis and then taking jet skis up as fast as they can around the barrier to be able to come in.”

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [5/6/2025 11:39 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4998K]

NewsNation [5/6/2025 10:18 AM, Salvador Rivera] reports that about two years ago, a significant milestone was achieved with the construction of Highway 11, a crucial link connecting a planned port of entry to San Diego’s extensive roadway network. However, the Otay Mesa II border crossing has yet to be built and is now more than two years behind schedule, causing significant delays and inconvenience. Money issues, agreements with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and design flaws have been blamed for delays. An updated configuration has made a portion of Highway 11 obsolete, and crews have been tearing up a quarter mile of the 225-foot-wide roadway. Trucks can be seen zigzagging their way, hauling and dumping the rubble. Border highway expected to cost at least $10M Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, is grappling with the complexity of determining the original cost of that stretch of roadway when it was built. According to a contractor interviewed by Border Report, the cost of the project, depending on the thickness of the concrete and the amount of rebar used, is estimated to be at least $10 million. The work to tear up the roadway is roughly $4 million, part of a $13 million contract awarded by Caltrans to a contractor doing groundwork at the site. Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, has not provided details on the extent of the work, but has stated that the demolition is a necessary step “to facilitate the construction of the facility when it starts.” Border highway project to be finished by end of 2027: SANDAG According to the San Diego Association of Governments, SANDAG, which oversees the port of entry’s construction, the work is supposed to break ground in the fall of this year. The new crossing, which will be a toll facility in both directions, will be ready by the end of 2027, according to the plan. However, it was supposed to be finished in 2024. The Mexican government finished its side on time and has been waiting for the U.S. to finish the project. At this point, the exact cost of the remaining work, particularly the new concrete for the roadway, is uncertain. A worker with RJ Willert, the subcontractor doing the demolition, said money is being saved by bringing in a grinder that will reduce the rubble to a sandy material. This material will be used to raise the ground or fill in holes, providing a level surface to build on.

CBS News [5/6/2025 6:44 PM, J.D. Miles, 51661K] reports a long-awaited upgrade to airport security finally goes into effect Wednesday across the country. Airlines and security checkpoints will require travelers to have an updated driver’s license or identification card with a special symbol. Otherwise, you could face greater scrutiny before being allowed to board. Carrollton resident Donna Barron made sure she before she boarded a flight at Love Field that her driver’s license would be acceptable for the return trip. "I’m prepared," said Barron. "It’s my first time going through, so I’m very interested to see how it’s going to go.” Barron and others traveling on domestic commercial flights will be required beginning Thursday to have a yellow star on their state-issued ID or driver’s license. That means it’s been entered and screened through a national database called Real ID. "These requirements establish consistent government-wide identity verification standards to strengthen international security and prevent fraud," said Patrick Clarke, the Dallas Love Field Spokesperson.

AP [5/7/2025 12:03 AM, Olga R. Rodriguez, 24727K] reports REAL ID requirements for those flying within the United States begin Wednesday after nearly 20 years of delays. The day ahead of the deadline, people lined up at government offices across the country to secure their compliant IDs. In Chicago, officials established a Real ID Supercenter for walk-in appointments, while officials in California and elsewhere planned to continue offering extended hours for the crush of appointments. “I’m here today so I won’t be right on the deadline, which is tomorrow,” said Marion Henderson, who applied for her REAL ID on Tuesday in Jackson, Mississippi. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday assured people who don’t yet have a REAL ID but need to take a domestic flight Wednesday that they will be able to fly after clearing additional identity checks. Some complained about the need to secure the ID after waiting in line for hours. Michael Aceto waited in line at a DMV in King of Prussia, Philadelphia, for about two and a half hours Tuesday before getting his REAL ID. “It’s a pain in the butt. It’s really a lot of time. Everybody’s got to take off from work to be here,” he said. “It’s a big waste of time as far as I’m concerned.” The Transportation Security Administration warned people who don’t have identification that complies with REAL ID requirements to arrive early at the airport and be prepared for advanced screening to avoid causing delays. The new requirements have been the subject of many Reddit threads and Facebook group discussions in recent weeks, with numerous people expressing confusion about whether they can travel without a REAL ID, sharing details about wait times and seeking advice on how to meet the requirements. Noem told a congressional panel that 81% of travelers already have REAL IDs. She said security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification, like they have already been doing.

New York Post [5/6/2025 4:13 PM, Emily Crane, 54903K] reports travelers are bracing for chaos when the new REAL ID restrictions are finally enforced Wednesday — with major airports prepping for widespread confusion and Americans scrambling to get their hands on compliant identification before jetting off. Starting from May 7, the Transportation Security Administration will no longer accept state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards that aren’t "REAL ID" compliant when boarding domestic flights in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acknowledged Tuesday, though, that air travelers who still lack appropriate IDs will still be able to fly — for now — but they should prep for enhanced security procedures at airports across the country. Noem noted that security checkpoints would also be accepting passports and tribal identification when the deadline hits Wednesday — and that 81% of travelers already have IDs that comply with the REAL ID requirements. She vowed, too, that they would be working to ensure the rollout is as "seamless as possible" just as the summer travel season starts to take off. TSA insisted there were plans in place to offset any potential confusion with the new rules. "TSA is planning accordingly to ensure no impact to wait times or TSA screening operations," Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokesperson in the New York City region, told The Post.

NPR [5/6/2025 2:30 PM, A Martínez, 29983K] Audio HERE enforcement of the federal REAL ID law starts May 7, nearly 20 years after its passage. That means travelers will need an identification card that complies with the REAL ID law in order to board a domestic flight and enter certain federal facilities. Standard driver’s licenses and state IDs will no longer be accepted at airport security, according to the Department of Homeland Security. REAL IDs resemble regular driver’s licenses but require more documentation, like a valid Social Security number, more security screening and feature a golden star. Rules vary by state. "It’s a way for the government to have unified standards for every state ID," said Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, a travel magazine. States differ in how they’ve implemented the law. Some, like Washington, offer enhanced driver’s licenses, but only to U.S. citizens. Noncitizens with legal status can often obtain a REAL ID with extra documentation, but those living in the U.S. without legal status cannot. "It will make it more difficult for people to come up with an acceptable ID," said Tanya Broder of the National Immigration Law Center. While the deadline is almost here, the national system remains a work in progress. As NPR’s Martin Kaste reports, the TSA has begun auditing compliance, starting with the most prepared states and giving others more time to meet federal standards. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

San Francisco Chronicle [5/6/2025 4:40 PM, Rachel Swan, 5046K] reports airline travelers who miss Wednesday’s deadline to get a Real ID may still be allowed to fly — albeit with extra steps, according to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. What those extra steps involve remains unclear. Noem did not articulate them when she addressed a Congressional panel on Tuesday, suggesting that people who show up with a non-compliant ID card would be "diverted to a different line," but still allowed to fly. Her opaque remarks created widespread confusion. Now, it seems, Real ID is strongly recommended, though not absolutely required. Noem and other officials still encouraged travelers to brandish their Real IDs, saying those who abide will face no additional wait times. Those who don’t provide a valid ID card will still be allowed to enter airport checkpoints, though they "may be directed to a separate area, and may receive additional screening," spokespeople for the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.

CBS News [5/6/2025 4:45 PM, Alex Sundby, 51661K] reports the Transportation Security Administration said that starting Wednesday, it will no longer accept IDs that don’t comply with Real ID requirements. "TSA will implement REAL ID effectively and efficiently, continuing to ensure the safety and security of passengers while also working to minimize operational disruptions at airports," Adam Stahl, a TSA senior official who’s performing the duties of the agency’s administrator, said in a statement last month. The agency said people who are in the U.S. illegally and are voluntarily self-deporting on international flights will still be allowed to board planes. According to the TSA, 81% of travelers provide an acceptable ID at security checkpoints. But a CBS News data analysis in April found that at least 17 states were less than 50% compliant with Real ID requirements, and 30 states were less than 70% compliant, setting the stage for potential disruptions at checkpoints across the country. "If it’s not compliant, they may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step, but people will be allowed to fly," Noem told a House Appropriations subcommittee. "We will make sure that it is as seamless as possible and that travelers will get to stay on their intended itinerary, but we are telling people that this law will be enforced." The TSA said people without an acceptable ID may have to have their identity verified by providing information such as their name and current address. Passengers with confirmed identities may then be subjected to additional screening. People without confirmed identities won’t be allowed to go through security.

CNN [5/7/2025 12:30 AM, Cindy Von Quednow, Danny Freeman, 22131K] reports the time has come. Starting Wednesday, passengers nationwide must use a state-issued ID or license that is "REAL ID" compliant to travel within the US. Aside from being used to board domestic flights, the identity cards are also federally complaint and are used to enter secure federal facilities. REAL IDs are marked with a star in the upper right-hand corner, no matter what state you live in. "State-issued driver’s licenses and IDs that are not REAL ID compliant are no longer accepted as valid forms of identification at airports," the Transportation Security Administration explained. However, if passengers show up Wednesday without a REAL ID, they will still be able to fly but "may" face additional screening, officials said this week. And there are other forms of identification travelers can show ahead of flying. Wednesday is not the deadline for obtaining a REAL ID — it’s just the date the new requirement for air travel goes into effect. People can still get a REAL ID after May 7. Additionally, passengers without one will not be turned away at airports, Steve Lorincz, TSA’s deputy executive assistant administrator for security operations, told CNN. "We will process you (and you) will not be turned away," Lorincz said. "It might take some additional time, but we’re going to do it efficiently. We are fully staffed at all locations across the country.” Wednesday’s deadline to enforce the 2005 REAL ID act, which enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government enhance security standards for identification, was pushed back several times. The 20-year-old law requires state drivers’ licenses to meet certain federal requirements to be used for boarding a plane or accessing federal facilities requiring identification, but about 19 percent of people flying nationwide do not have them yet, the TSA says. The deadline left many confused travelers scrambling to comply ahead of holidays and the summer months. The enforcement is now happening amid delays and cancellations at Newark Airport. The TSA on Tuesday reminded travelers that enforcement of REAL ID starts Wednesday. Those without one may be subject to additional screening, and that includes TSA Pre-Check passengers. "Plan ahead, arrive early, and arrive prepared," the agency said in a post on X. Travelers can find if they are "REAL ID ready" by using the TSA’s interactive tool. "We’ll have staff in front of all our checkpoints to help and direct our customers as they transit through the security process," Lorincz said. Some airports will also have separate lines for people who do not have Real IDs, or other documentation. The agency will work with states, airlines and airports toward an eventual time where enough people are showing up at airports with the correct ID, a TSA spokesperson told CNN. "The bottom line is, if you don’t have an acceptable form of ID such as a passport or a REAL ID, give yourself plenty of time when you arrive to ensure you can get through everything from the curb to the gate," the spokesperson said. "We’re definitely implementing REAL ID … but nobody’s going to be turned away (Wednesday).”

Los Angeles Times [5/6/2025 4:35 PM, Karen Garcia, 13342K] reports after nearly two decades of delays and warnings, implementation of the federal government’s Real ID program is set to begin Wednesday at airports around the nation amid questions about how the change will affect air travel. The requirement that travelers present a Real ID card as well as regular identifications is one of the biggest changes to airport security, but officials said Tuesday that the rollout will be gradual. Travelers without a Real ID generally will be able to board fights but should expect additional questioning. Travelers without a Real ID or a Transportation Security Administration-acceptable form of identification "may be diverted to a different line" at TSA checkpoints, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday. It remains unclear what impact the implementation of Real ID will have on airport operations — and traveler headaches — beginning Wednesday. Currently, 81% of travelers have the Real ID, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Washington Times [5/6/2025 5:21 PM, Sean Salai, 1814K] reports cybersecurity experts say digital REAL ID scams are targeting immigrants, seniors and Johnny-come-latelies as the federal government tightens identification requirements for domestic air travel. As of Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration no longer accepts state-issued driver’s licenses, nondriver identifications and learner’s permits lacking the distinctive REAL ID star in the upper right corner. Passengers 18 and older must present a valid passport or REAL ID-compliant document, reflecting a 2005 federal law that strengthened identity verification standards after the 9/11 terror attacks. The Better Business Bureau has reported a surge of text messages, phone calls and social media ads from phony government officials offering a "REAL ID" without requiring an in-person application. Most of the fraudsters seek to hack the personal accounts of victims, stealing their financial information. "You can only obtain a REAL ID in person at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office," said Melanie McGovern, a spokesperson for the International Association of Better Business Bureaus. "Some states may allow you to start the process online, but you have to finish it in person.” A variety of digital scams have flourished nationwide since the pandemic. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the amount of money that Americans lost to government impostor scams surged from $171 million in 2023 to $789 million in 2024. Angelica Gianchandani, a finance instructor at New York University, said scammers have also created a black market of "fake IDs" for illegal immigrants and criminals seeking to subvert the law. "While some fake REAL IDs can look convincing to untrained eyes, they rarely pass official inspection due to embedded security features like UV markers and machine-readable zones," Ms. Gianchandani said. "Still, there’s a black-market demand, particularly among those trying to sidestep legal or documentation barriers.”

CBS Boston [5/6/2025 10:04 PM, Logan Hall and Brandon Truitt, 51661K] Video: HERE reports as the May 7 deadline approaches for new federal travel identification requirements, Massachusetts RMVs are seeing a surge of last-minute visitors hoping to secure their Real ID credentials. But for many, the process isn’t as straightforward as expected. Owen Gallagher, a Watertown resident, arrived at the RMV after receiving multiple notifications and seeing media coverage about the looming cutoff. "I knew I had to come down here and I’m just in time," he said. But after a 30-minute wait, he was turned away. Real ID applications, he learned, are by appointment only. "They were saying we can only help you on, I think it’s two weeks from now," he said. For those still without a Real ID, Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie has a message: Don’t panic. If you already have another form of federally accepted ID, like a valid U.S. passport, military ID, or DHS Trusted Traveler card, you don’t need to rush to the RMV this week. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told Congress that 81% of Americans are already Real ID compliant, and she expects the May 7 rollout to have minimal impact on most travelers. "We will make sure that it is as seamless as possible," said Noem.

Axios [5/6/2025 12:16 PM, Ashley Mahoney, 13163K] reports Wednesday, May 7, is the first day a Real ID compliant license — or another acceptable document — is needed to board a commercial aircraft in the U.S. If you aren’t Real ID compliant, you may experience longer wait times at the airport, Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Daniel Velez tells Axios. If you show up at a TSA checkpoint without a Real ID, you may have to undergo additional screening. This can range from answering questions to confirm your identity to a personal search, Velez says. "The good news is that 81% of passengers already use their Real ID or another acceptable form, so we do not expect there to be any inconveniences or wait times at all," Velez says. You don’t need a Real ID to drive, vote, or for federal benefits, like Social Security, participate in a federal jury, testify in federal court, or access a hospital. Rather, a Real ID is helpful if you frequently fly commercial, visit nuclear sites, military bases and certain federal facilities, North Carolina DMV spokesperson Marty Homan tells Axios. Roughly 300,000 Real IDs were issued to North Carolinians between January and April of this year by the NCDMV, per Homan. 4.5 million people, or about 52% of residents, have Real IDs in North Carolina and 4.1 million don’t. North Carolina DMVs are slammed as people scramble to renew their licenses ahead of the deadline.

Houston Chronicle [5/6/2025 12:11 PM, Ralph Green, 1769K] reports airport travelers in Houston and across the United States who don’t have a Real ID will likely face security delays starting Wednesday and may be delayed beyond their flight boarding times, a Transportation Security Administration official said this week. The Real ID Act takes effect May 7, requiring travelers’ IDs to have a mark showing that it’s compliant with the law before they can board domestic flights. "We’ve been working with reporters on a regular basis leading up to this trying to get the word out," said Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Patricia Mancha. "We’ve been posting information, there’s only so much that we can do. It’s every traveler’s responsibility to have the proper credential when they get to the airport.” Passengers without a Real ID should arrive to the airport early, Mancha said. She said passengers who have a real ID shouldn’t worry about longer wait times and should come at their usual recommended arrival times. She said TSA officials hope the process doesn’t affect other passengers, but they are gearing up to see how it goes May 7. Mancha said that TSA will work with travelers who don’t have a Real ID or identification, but the wait time to verify their identity could vary. "We will continue to follow the same process as of May 7 and beyond," Mancha said. "The difference is if we have a large number of travelers without Real ID. Say we have 100 travelers who don’t have a Real ID and you’re number 99 on that list. We can’t guarantee that we will be able to verify your identity in time for you to make your flight.”

Axios [5/6/2025 6:41 PM, Jessica Boehm, 13163K] reports after more than a decade of delays, Wednesday is the enforcement deadline to have a Real ID to board a commercial aircraft in the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is now saying passengers without proper credentials will still be allowed to fly, but with extra screening. Noem told a congressional panel Tuesday that those who still lack an identification that complies with the Real ID law "may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step," the Associated Press reported. "But people will be allowed to fly," she said. "We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible." Arizona’s version of Real ID is called the Arizona Travel ID. It’s available as either a driver’s license or state ID card. They’re distinguishable as Real IDs by a black or gold star in the upper-right-hand corner. The Arizona Department of Transportation has issued about 2.77 million Travel IDs since they first became available in 2016, up from 2.5 million in February. Arizonans can still secure a Travel ID by visiting an ADOT office (appointments are recommended and can be secured online). The department recommends doing so at least two weeks before scheduled air travel.

USA Today [5/6/2025 3:00 PM, Bart Jansen and Zac Anderson, 75858K] reports President Donald Trump’s administration continues to suggest the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be coming to an end, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reiterating to lawmakers that the president would like to abolish FEMA. Trump discussed eliminating FEMA in the wake of recent natural disasters in California and North Carolina. “I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away," Trump said while touring flood damage in North Carolina in January, before continuing on to Los Angeles, which was devested by wildfires, where he said "I say you don’t need FEMA, you need a good state government." Noem told lawmakers during a May 6 hearing that the president believes the federal disaster relief agency has "failed." The top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, questioned Trump’s plan for the embattled agency after his budget proposed to cut $644 million in FEMA grants. “Federal disaster relief should be readily available across the United States, regardless of where you live,” DeLauro said. “Natural disasters happen everywhere.”

Federal News Network [5/6/2025 1:52 PM, Jennifer Dorning, 1089K] reports this week marks the 40th celebration of Public Service Recognition Week, which was created to honor the millions of dedicated public servants, including those in the federal sector, whose work benefits the lives of all Americans. As we recognize public employees this year, federal employees are under attack. In the last four months, at least 121,000 federal employees have been laid off or selected for layoffs, over 75,000 additional federal employees have been pressured into taking buyouts, and many of those who continue to stay employed with the federal government have had their workplace rights targeted for elimination. These events demonstrate that we must do more than recognize federal workers. We must also fight for them. Federal employees’ work touches every aspect of our lives: They protect the air we breathe and the water we drink; provide care for our veterans; ensure the fair enforcement of our laws; analyze the research data or findings that we rely on to keep our transportation systems safe, our food supply disease-free, and our economy prosperous. The attacks on federal employees have caused the government to lose nearly a thousand employees who work on disaster relief at the Federal Emergency Management Agency as hurricane season is about to start; scientists, analysts and inspectors at the Agriculture Department who protect the health and welfare of America’s plants, animals and natural resources; biologists, epidemiologists, communications specialists and other Centers for Disease Control staff who are responsible for researching infectious diseases, educating the public on HIV, and conducting health inspections on cruise ships; and many others who perform critical services for the American people. Those who are still with the federal government and doing their best to perform their critical responsibilities are now working under a culture of fear and many are stretched thin with increased workloads due to the vacancies that have been created.

Daily Caller [5/6/2025 11:28 PM, Mariane Angela, 1082K] reports Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds called for a major overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Fox Business Tuesday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda and backed major staffing cuts at her agency during her first hearing before Congress. During an appearance on “The Bottom Line,” Donalds blasted FEMA’s bureaucratic delays and suggested a way to fix the agency. “Well, I think that what needs to happen is you got to get it out of Homeland Security,” Donalds said. “That’s why I filed the bill with Jared Moskowitz out of Florida to do just that. Get it out of Homeland and out of that bureaucracy. Have it be a direct report agency to the White House. So the president working with the governor in that particular state can get real-time decisions occurring so people can get back on their feet.” Donalds didn’t hold back in his critique of FEMA’s track record and cited unresolved claims from hurricanes as far back as Katrina. He said states like North Carolina and Florida still struggle with disaster recovery efforts long after the storms passed. “Look, FEMA’s failures have been reported on for, frankly, over a decade. The secretary said Katrina claims are still outstanding. I can tell you Hurricane Ian claims are still outstanding. And we haven’t even gotten to Helene and Milton from last year,” Donalds said. “North Carolina still has a lot of recovery work to do. Obviously, Florida is still doing recovery work. A lot of this disaster recovery really falls on governors.” The Florida congressman praised Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for leading the recovery in the Sunshine State but warned that FEMA’s inefficiency hampers even the most competent state-level responses. “Governor DeSantis in our state has done a tremendous job with that. Other governors, not so much. But FEMA needs to be an action agency, not the bureaucratic agency it has become. It needs real reforms. So, to quote the secretary, as it exists today, FEMA needs to end,” Donalds said. “This is why the president and his team are going through the process of reforming FEMA, creating a new agency that can be responsive to the American people.” In March, the Trump administration began moving to reform FEMA and shift more disaster response authority to states. Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to prioritize state-level preparedness and abandon the broad “all-hazards” approach. Trump slammed FEMA as “a disaster” and “a very big disappointment” during remarks at Asheville Regional Airport in January before touring Hurricane Helene recovery zones in North Carolina. FEMA faced widespread backlash after Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the Southeast, as reports emerged that some agency staff were instructed to avoid aiding homes with pro-Trump signs. Marn’i Washington, a former FEMA crew leader, was fired in November for allegedly telling employees to “avoid homes advertising Trump” while assisting Florida residents hit by Hurricane Milton. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [5/6/2025 7:28 PM, Sharif Paget, 22131K] reports two hundred and sixteen. That’s how many days passed before crews in East Tennessee found the body of a man who was swept away in raging floodwaters caused by Hurricane Helene, bringing his family much-needed closure after months of searching. Steven Cloyd and his dog went missing on September 27 while trying to escape fast-rising water coming from the Nolichucky River near his home, some 500 miles north of where Helene, a one-time Category 4 monster, made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. Cloyd’s goldendoodle, Orion, was found alive 3 miles down the road, but Cloyd remained missing, a painful wound the family described as "numb confusion.” A crew tasked with debris removal found human remains on May 1 along the Nolichucky River about 4 miles from where Cloyd was last seen. Two days later, Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton announced they received confirmation from the medical examiner that the remains were Cloyd. "With heavy hearts, we the family of Steve Cloyd announce that our husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend was found," his widow Keli said in a Facebook post. "We have the patriarch of our family again…He is in the light, he is at peace and he is free and he is perfect," she added. At least 250 people died from Hurricane Helene across six states, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a March report. In Tennessee, 19 people died, the state emergency management agency spokeswoman said in an update to CNN Tuesday. With Cloyd’s remains having been found, that leaves one person still missing in Washington County, the county sheriff’s office said.

CBS News [5/6/2025 9:33 AM, Scott Padgett, 51661K] reports Storms are on the way to North Texas, prompting a flood watch for most of the region from 7 a.m. Tuesday until 1 a.m. Wednesday. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Dallas, Johnson, Tarrant, Parker, Hood and Somervell counties until 10 a.m. The main threats with Tuesday’s storms include wind damage, large hail and flooding. The greatest tornado threat looks to lie along and south of I-20 for Tuesday afternoon. A severe thunderstorm watch is also in effect for parts of North Texas, including Erath and Palo Pinto counties, until 10 a.m. Tuesday. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is not included in the watch. A First Alert Weather Day is in effect for Tuesday, with all modes of severe weather on the table. As for the morning drive, expect on-and-off showers. Tuesday’s rain only adds to already very soggy soil, so flash flooding is an elevated concern. This activity continues throughout the morning and into the afternoon, but by the afternoon, a warm front lifts northward through North Texas, creating a low-end tornado threat as well. The shower activity then looks to taper by late afternoon and early evening. Midweek will be dry with only isolated shower chances for Wednesday and Thursday. For Friday, a few spotty showers will be possible as an area of low pressure slowly pushes eastward through the plains. A beautiful forecast is ahead by Mother’s Day weekend and into next week. Highs look to stick a couple of degrees shy of normal, with highs in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Enjoy the milder temperatures, summer is right around the corner. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [5/6/2025 8:59 PM, Jack Dura, 1814K] reports crews have been fighting at least 16 wildfires throughout North Dakota in the last several days, including several large fires still burning Tuesday across wooded areas and grasslands on the Turtle Mountain Reservation near the Canadian border. Dry and breezy conditions before the spring green-up haven’t helped the situation. Much of the state is in some level of drought, including a swath of western North Dakota in severe or extreme drought, according to a recent map by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Numerous agencies including the North Dakota Forest Service and fire departments have responded to the fires. National Guard Black Hawk helicopters have dropped water, saving homes. Officials requested fire engines from as far as Montana and South Dakota. Tribal members with buckets and hoses sprang into action to fight the flames. "It’s inspiring that our people can rise up and help each other out like that," Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribal Chair Jamie Azure said Tuesday. Three distinct fires that have been joining and separating have burned about 4,200 acres (1,700 hectares) in the Turtle Mountain area, according to the state Department of Emergency Services. Most of the fires have been north of Belcourt, in the northern part of the Turtle Mountain Reservation, said Jenna Parisien, recruitment and retention coordinator and spokesperson for the Belcourt Rural Fire Department. "We have several locations where areas have burned, so places were lit up all at once, and with the unfavorable weather conditions that we have had, areas keep relighting, embers are causing spread to surrounding areas as well," Parisien said. The fires steadily kicked off on Friday, she said. It wasn’t clear how much of the fires were contained. Three firefighters were treated for exhaustion, dehydration and smoke inhalation, but were doing well, Azure said. One vacant mobile home was believed to be lost, but there were no other injuries or homes lost despite fires in people’s yards, he said.

Boston.com [5/6/2025 10:23 AM, Beth Treffeisen, 2708K] reports three fishermen were pulled from the water late Monday night after their boat capsized a quarter of a mile off the coast of Hyannisport. According to Hyannis Fire Capt. David Webb, a call for a capsized boat off Squaw Island Road came in at about 10 p.m. Webb said that a fire department boat went to meet the fishermen, and a Good Samaritan had spotted them and pulled them out of the water. The fishermen were then transported to the department’s boat and taken to a ramp near Cape Cod Hospital. Despite having signs of minor hypothermia, the three fishermen were OK and refused further medical treatment. The fire department notified the Coast Guard and the Harbor Master of the incident. Due to last night’s stormy weather, the fishermen were calling to get the boat towed by a salvage company later Tuesday.

Webb said it was unclear how the three men capsized.

USA Today [5/6/2025 6:05 PM, Mary Walrath-Holdridge, 75858K] reports after a week of uncontrolled spillage, a leak pouring more than 70,000 gallons of oil into a Louisiana marsh has been contained, according to the Coast Guard. However, cleanup of the area surrounding the 83-year-old oil well at the heart of the spill is still ongoing. The well, operated by Spectrum Opco, was first noted as spilling an oil and gas mixture into the environment in Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, on April 26. The World War II-era well was capped over a decade ago, according to local outlets WWNO and Nola.com. While the Coast Guard announced on May 4 that the leak had been contained, its cause has yet to be determined. The Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (LOSCO), known together in this case as the Unified Command, took over the situation on May 1 and said as of May 4 that it had "successfully secured the discharge of oil and natural gas." The agency also said it was partnering with a litany of organizations on cleanup efforts, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The impact on the ecosystem is not yet known, but the Coast Guard said at least one "oiled bird" had been seen but not captured.

CBS News [5/6/2025 8:05 PM, Emily Mae Czachor, 52225K] Video HERE reports a small boat believed to be carrying migrants capsized early Monday off the coast of San Diego, leaving at least three people dead and four others injured. The U.S. Coast Guard said early Tuesday that crews has suspended a search for at least seven others who were missing. The panga-style boat — a small, open, outboard-powered fishing vessel — overturned near Torrey Pines State Beach with at least 16 people on board, a U.S. Coast Guard official told CBS News. Among them were at least two children, according to San Diego CBS affiliate KFMB, which also reported that four people were hospitalized in the aftermath of the incident. The Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego on Tuesday confirmed that two of the deceased and two of the people hospitalized are Mexican nationals. The Coast Guard official told CBS News that it is treating it as a suspected human smuggling incident. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Sappey told The Associated Press that it was unclear where the boat was coming from before it flipped about 35 miles north of the Mexico border. He said similar vessels were commonly used by smugglers. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] Reuters [5/6/2025 6:04 PM, Steve Gorman, 41523K] reports that the Coast Guard "suspended" its daylong search-and-rescue operation late on Monday, meaning no further effort to find the victims would be made without new information to justify doing so, according to Chief Petty Officer Levi Read, a spokesperson for the agency. Two children were believed to be among the seven people unaccounted for after the boat capsized. Three more victims were found dead immediately after the vessel washed ashore near Torrey Pines State Beach north of San Diego. Of the six individuals who survived the incident, four were rescued and taken to hospitals. One was listed in critical condition. Two others located at a nearby beach were detained as suspects in what Department of Homeland Security officials said was an attempt to smuggle migrants to the U.S. from Mexico by sea. At least some of the boat’s occupants were apparently from India, as a number of Indian passports "were found on the beach near where the panga washed up," about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, Read said. The San Diego Union Tribune [5/6/2025 10:23 AM, Karen Kucher, 1682K] reports that officials on Monday said they didn’t know if anyone unaccounted for made it to shore or was still in the water. The three people who died were male, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office. Two were Mexican nationals, the Mexican Consulate said. No further information, including names or ages, was released. Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla officials said three females and one male were transported to the hospital’s emergency department and were being treated for respiratory failure. Two patients were in their 30s, one was a teenager and the fourth patient’s age was not immediately known. Sheriff’s homicide detectives will be handling the death investigations. According to the Border Patrol, there have been 287 maritime events with 951 apprehensions in the San Diego County area between Oct. 1 and mid-April.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [5/6/2025 7:57 AM, Jeanine Santucci, 75858K]

CBS News [5/6/2025 10:32 PM, Staff, 51661K] reports five Mexican nationals are facing charges after a small boat carrying more than a dozen people capsized off the coast of San Diego, killing three passengers, including a 14-year-old boy from India, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California announced Tuesday. The boy’s parents and two others were hospitalized following the human smuggling event, prosecutors confirmed in a news release. Nine other migrants were missing from the boat and were presumed dead, but authorities later located eight of them in Chula Vista, nearly 30 miles away from Del Mar, where the boat was found. A 10-year-old Indian girl, the boy’s sister, remains missing, prosecutors said. "The drowning deaths of these children are a heartbreaking reminder of how little human traffickers care about the costs of their deadly business," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. U.S. Border Patrol said Tuesday that there were originally 16 individuals on board, some of whom remain missing. Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna were arrested on Monday at the beach where the overturned boat washed ashore, according to prosecutors. They were charged with Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday night announced that she will request the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty. "Their deaths were not only avoidable but were also the direct result of the greed and indifference of smugglers who exploited them," Noem said in a statement, in part. "Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, alien smuggling acts that result in death are capital crimes punishable by death. And under the Federal Death Penalty Act, those who intentionally participate in conduct knowing that it could result in the loss of life may be eligible for capital punishment.” Prosecutors said three other suspects — Melissa Jennelle Cota, Gustavo Lara and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso — were arrested late Monday night after Border Patrol agents in Chula Vista identified a vehicle seen at a beach in Del Mar and investigated. While the driver of said vehicle fled, officers located two other vehicles involved and found the missing migrants, according to prosecutors. Cota, Lara and Rojas-Fregoso were charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens. Prosecutors said Rojas-Fregoso had been previously deported on Dec. 19, 2023. It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspects had attorneys who could speak on their behalf. It was unclear where the boat was coming from before it flipped about 35 miles north of the Mexico border, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Sappey told The Associated Press. He said similar vessels were commonly used by smugglers. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
New York Times [5/7/2025 12:21 AM, Hank Sanders, 145325K]
ABC News [5/7/2025 12:05 AM, Emily Shapiro, 31638K]
CNN [5/7/2025 12:10 AM, Taylor Romine, 908K]
Telemundo [5/6/2025 7:33 PM, Staff, 41K]

CyberScoop [5/6/2025 3:54 PM, Tim Starks] reports House appropriators on Tuesday challenged proposed budget cuts for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, with Democrats saying the Trump administration was disturbingly moving money away from the agency and a key Republican saying he needed to see justifications for the reductions. The Trump administration has proposed cutting CISA funding by $491 million, and some members of a House Appropriations subcommittee raised doubts about that idea during testimony from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Specific details for those budget cuts weren’t released in the so-called “skinny budget” last week. Homeland Security subcommittee chair Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said that at a time when leading Hill voices and others are saying China is getting the better of the United States in cyberspace and as CISA personnel cuts are already underway, appropriators need more information on the budget proposal. “What is the plan?” he asked at the end of the hearing. “When somebody says, ‘Hey, you guys presided over cutting half a billion dollars to do other stuff, what was that based on?’ We don’t want to be in the position of, and won’t be in the position of, ‘That’s what they said we needed.’ We need some building blocks. What’s the plan for us to be kicking China’s butt, and how we’re still OK on that civilian sector stuff?” The top Democrat on Amodei’s panel, Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., decried DHS for “moving money away from CISA,” as she said to Noem.

Washington Post [5/6/2025 1:21 PM, Joseph Menn, 31735K] reports the system adopted by President Donald Trump’s administration to archive messages on the Signal app in the wake of the debacle over the Houthi strikes chat group has serious security vulnerabilities, cyber experts say, and probably already has been exploited by foreign intelligence groups. The use of TeleMessage archiving software emerged after Reuters published a photo of a Cabinet meeting last week showing it on the phone of then-national security adviser Michael Waltz. In the days since, two hackers have contacted the media and demonstrated that they have broken into TeleMessage systems, with one retrieving data about current officials, though not Cabinet members. The hackers provided screenshots accurately listing users of the software at U.S. Customs and Border Protection and at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, but not the contents of messages.

Federal News Network [5/6/2025 1:42 PM, Terry Gerton, 1089K] Audio HERE reports during the first Trump administration, MITRE led a team that proposed a new solution to the shortage of cybersecurity analysts--hiring neurodistinct individuals. The team launched successful pilot projects with NGA and then CISA. The new Trump administration terminated the contract just prior to completion but the lessons learned are still available. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

CyberScoop [5/6/2025 5:55 PM, Tim Starks] reports a federal jury decided Tuesday that NSO Group must pay WhatsApp approximately $168 million in damages after a judge ruled that it violated anti-hacking laws when 1,400 of the messaging application’s users became infected with Pegasus spyware. It’s the latest in a series of wins in court for WhatsApp in its pioneering lawsuit that has produced revelations about the spyware maker’s operations — and captured the Supreme Court’s attention. In December, Northern California District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled in favor of WhatsApp in its civil case. Beyond violations of U.S. and California anti-hacking laws, the judge also found fault with NSO Group over court orders to produce evidence. Now, the jury has settled on nearly $167.3 million in punitive damages and $444,719 in compensatory damages that NSO Group must pay. Hamilton had limited the kinds of evidence NSO Group could use in making its case before the jury. “Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone,” Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said in a forthcoming blog post. “Today, the jury’s decision to force NSO, a notorious foreign spyware merchant, to pay damages is a critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and the privacy and security of the people we serve.” NSO Group spokesman Gil Lanier responded to the ruling by saying that “we firmly believe that our technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorized government agencies.

The Hill [5/6/2025 7:57 PM, Filip Timotija, 12829K] reports a federal jury in California ordered Israeli cyberintelligence firm NSO Group on Tuesday to pay Meta and WhatsApp nearly $170 million for hacking about 1,400 users on the instant messaging platform. The spyware vendor, which created the Pegasus surveillance tool, has to pay $167,256,000 in punitive damages and another $440,000 in compensatory damages. The verdict, which presents a win for privacy advocates and Meta, comes after six years of litigation. WhatsApp sued NSO Group in 2019 after finding out that Pegasus was utilized to hack WhatsApp users’ devices. Reports previously laid out that Pegasus has been used to target human rights activists and reporters. "Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone," WhatsApp said in a statement on Tuesday. "Today, the jury’s decision to force NSO, a notorious foreign spyware merchant, to pay damages is a critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and the privacy and security of the people we serve," the messaging platform, which is owned by Meta, added. NSO Group stated on Tuesday that the decision is "another step in a lengthy judicial process," and the company argued its technology "plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorized government agencies.” "This perspective, validated by extensive real-world evidence and numerous security operations that have saved many lives, including American lives, was excluded from the jury’s consideration in this case," Gil Lainer, NSO Group’s vice president of global communications, said in an emailed statement to The Hill. "We will carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal.” The verdict came after a judge ruled in December of last year that NSO Group was liable for hacks targeting approximately 1,400 devices and mobile phones. "In this specific case, we know we have a long road ahead to collect awarded damages from NSO and we plan to do so," WhatsApp said. "Ultimately, we would like to make a donation to digital rights organizations that are working to defend people against such attacks around the world.”

New York Times [5/6/2025 7:40 PM, Eli Tan and Sheera Frenkel, 145325K] reports the Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group was ordered on Tuesday to pay $167 million in damages to Meta, capping a six-year legal battle after NSO hacked 1,400 WhatsApp accounts belonging to journalists, human-rights activists and government officials. In December, Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that NSO Group had broken cybersecurity laws by using its popular Pegasus spying software to target phones with WhatsApp installed in 20 countries. Meta owns WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging app with over two billion users, as well as Facebook and Instagram. In March, Meta filed a brief seeking damages from NSO Group, and last week a jury heard arguments about potential penalties. The jury awarded the damages on Tuesday after two days of deliberations. “The jury’s verdict today to punish NSO is a critical deterrent to the spyware industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and our users worldwide,” Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said in a statement. “This is an industrywide threat, and it’ll take all of us to defend against it.” WhatsApp said it would donate the damages to digital rights organizations that defend people. “We will carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal,” said Gil Lainer, NSO Group’s vice president for global communication. “We firmly believe that our technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorized government agencies.” WhatsApp sued NSO Group in 2019, accusing it of gaining access to WhatsApp servers without permission. The trial, during which NSO Group executives testified in court for the first time, shed light on the company’s ability to install its Pegasus software on the mobile devices of targets without their knowledge. Its executives argued that Pegasus helped law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security. Apple similarly sued NSO Group for hacking its devices in 2021, but dropped its suit in September. Also in 2021, the Commerce Department blacklisted NSO Group, saying the company acted “contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

FOX News [5/6/2025 6:00 PM, Staff, 46189K] reports Americans in Honduras were being warned about a potential mass shooting on Tuesday and on May 16 at several locations in the Central American nation’s capital, Tegucigalpa. The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert on Tuesday, saying it had received information about a mass shooting threat for Tuesday and next week. "The U.S. Embassy in Honduras has received information of a threat of a mass shooting to take place today, May 6, in Tegucigalpa," the alert states. "The source also threatened such an event on May 16. The three target locations mentioned are the Elliot Dover Christian School in Tegucigalpa, the Centro Civico in Tegucigalpa, and an unnamed mall in Tegucigalpa.” The Elliot Dover Christian School is a bilingual school in the capital and the Centro Civico is a government complex of office towers. U.S. Embassy personnel were warned to avoid the locations. The embassy said the threat didn’t specifically appear to target U.S. citizens. Honduran authorities are investigating.

FOX Business [5/6/2025 7:00 AM, Daniella Genovese, 10702K] reports that, SaferWatch, a security platform designed to enhance emergency response across public and private institutions, has seen a surge in inquiries from Fortune 500 companies looking to boost protection for their C-suite executives and families. The heightened interest started almost immediately after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in New York City in December. These companies are now looking to equip their executives and families with the SaferWatch LTE Panic Button, a mobile-enabled alert system that provides immediate access to emergency assistance. "All of these companies are waking up, saying, ‘How do we protect our executives? How do we protect their families? How do we protect our key people that really run this operation?’" Geno Roefaro, CEO of SaferWatch, told Fox Business. There has also been an increase in requests from affluent customers looking to increase protection for their families. For example, they are looking to equip their children heading off to college, according to Roefaro. Roefaro coined it the "Luigi effect." He is referring to Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate accused of shooting Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Last month, Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the killing of Thompson. The trial is expected to begin in 2026. Executives can be well protected within their offices, so companies are increasingly focusing on protecting them when they travel around the globe, according to Roefaro. "One of the biggest demands that we get is when, how do we protect our executives as they leave the office?" Roefaro said, noting that assigning physical security guards to every executive and their family members is impractical and often expensive. For smaller businesses, it may not even be a feasible option, he added. Roefaro co-founded SaferWatch with the company’s current vice president of product, Shannon Donev, after the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. The incident sparked a mission to develop faster safety solutions for both the public and private sectors. To do that, they created a discrete device to help executives, other employees and their families get help without drawing any attention. "I think we all have that innate feeling of someone following us, someone behind us, right?" Roefaro said, adding that if Thompson had that concern he could have used a panic alarm, which would have alerted the security team and allowed them to "potentially intervene.”

AP [5/6/2025 10:34 AM, Jeff Amy, 48304K] reports a lawyer on Tuesday said the teen accused of killing four people in a shooting at Georgia’s Apalachee High School is moving toward pleading guilty. Defense attorney Alfonso D. Kraft told Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nick Primm in a brief hearing that Colt Gray could be ready for a plea hearing in October. A psychologist is scheduled to meet with Gray soon, Kraft said, adding that his client would likely be ready for a plea hearing after the psychologist’s report is ready. “We should be good to go,” Kraft said. The Sept. 4 shooting killed teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire. Colt Gray, then 14, was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder in the deaths of four people and 25 counts of aggravated assault. Grand jurors formally charged his father, Colin Gray, with 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Both also face multiple counts of cruelty to children.

Reported similarly:
CNN [5/6/2025 11:29 AM, Devon M. Sayers, 22131K

CBS Miami [5/6/2025 6:59 AM, Staff, 51661K] Audio: HERE reports Damien Allen asked to be released on bond during a Monday court hearing in Palm Beach. The judge denied the request after hearing evidence about his threats to commit a mass shooting.

Detroit Free Press [5/6/2025 6:18 PM, Nour Rahal, 4124K] reports the Michigan Court of Appeals has denied Ethan Crumbley’s request to appeal his sentencing, upholding his life sentence without the possibility of parole. The decision was made by a three-judge panel on Tuesday, May 6. The court cited a "lack of merit in the grounds presented" and also rejected Crumbley’s motion to remand the case, which sought to have it sent back to a lower court for further review. Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the November 2021 Oxford school shooting, pleaded guilty to all charges in 2022. In December 2024, an Oakland County judge denied his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea and reconsider his sentence. After the May 6 decision, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald issued a statement supporting the ruling and highlighting the severity of the crimes committed by Crumbley. "This ruling, first and foremost, reaffirms basic truths: On November 30, 2021, the shooter murdered Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling, he wounded seven others, and he terrorized an entire community," McDonald said. "The shooter had his day in court. A judge weighed the severity of his crimes and rendered a fair sentence.”

AP [5/6/2025 11:20 PM, Staff, 1769K] reports the U.S. Embassy in Honduras issued a warning on Tuesday about the threat of a mass shooting at three potential targets in the capital, including a school, a shopping mall and a government complex. The warning posted to the embassy’s account on X said it had received information that the attacks could occur on Tuesday and on May 16. It warned U.S. citizens to avoid the locations. “The three target locations mentioned are the Elliot Dover Christian School in Tegucigalpa, the Centro Civico in Tegucigalpa, and an unnamed mall in Tegucigalpa,” the warning said. “The Embassy is required by U.S. law to disseminate this message for all U.S. citizens.” There was no indication that U.S. citizens would be specifically targeted, the embassy said. The U.S. embassy said it did not have more information. Honduras’ Police Director Juan Manuel Aguilar Godoy downplayed the warning and said it should not cause alarm. “It is only an alert,” he said on local radio, adding that the information had come from the FBI and that Honduran authorities had also been informed. “The FBI is obligated, according to United States guidelines, to advise its citizens,” he said. Honduras Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said on X that the administration had considered the information “responsibly and diligently regardless of its veracity or possibility.” Reina said the warning came in an election year. He said the government would do everything possible to protect the public and the electoral process. National elections are scheduled for Nov. 30.

New York Times [5/6/2025 4:10 PM, Luke Broadwater, 145325K] reports ever since President Trump announced he was slapping hefty tariffs on countries across the globe, he has been predicting they would force trading partners to sign major deals beneficial to the United States. But on Tuesday, with the Canadian prime minister sitting beside him in the Oval Office and no new trade deal between the two countries achieved, Mr. Trump had a different message for the public: “We don’t have to sign deals.” “Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’” Mr. Trump said, at one point motioning toward Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary. “We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now, Howard, if we wanted to. We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want our market. We don’t want a piece of their market. We don’t care about their market.” Within days of the April 2 announcement of the widespread tariffs, White House officials said around 70 countries were already calling to strike deals. Mr. Trump’s trade adviser predicted there would be 90 deals in 90 days. But more than a month later, no such deals have materialized. And the clock is ticking. Mr. Trump predicted the first deals could be signed this week. But administration officials also made that prediction the week before that, and the week before that. On Tuesday, the president told the members of the press gathered around him that he would have an important announcement soon, but cautioned that it might not be a trade deal. In the next two weeks, the president said, he would sit down with his top aides and make unilateral “deals” that the administration would announce without the participation of other countries. “One day we’ll come and we’ll give you 100 deals,” the president said.

Wall Street Journal [5/6/2025 10:50 AM, Edith Hancock, 646K] reports the U.S. government could raise more than $100 billion from taxes on imports if new White House investigations into goods like pharmaceutical products result in yet more tariffs, the EU’s top trade negotiator said. U.S. officials are currently looking into potential tariffs for several sectors, citing national security, including on imports of copper and lumber as well as pharmaceuticals. Maros Sefcovic, European commissioner for trade, said around 549 billion euros ($621.28 billion) of EU exports to the U.S. would be subject to tariffs if all potential duties were implemented. “The projection is that the U.S. might now collect as much as 100 billion euros,” he said during a debate in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday. “The situation as such is not acceptable, and we cannot afford to stay idle,” Sefcovic said. The Office of the United States Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. President Trump said in early April he would impose a 20% tariff on all goods from the EU and other trading partners. Trump then paused that tariff’s introduction for 90 days, but a 10% levy remains in effect, along with previously imposed sector-specific duties on cars, steel and aluminum.

Bloomberg [5/6/2025 5:17 PM, Alex Wickham and Joe Mayes, 16228K] reports the UK and US are in intensive discussions about an economic agreement that would reduce the impact of some tariffs, with a team of British officials in Washington to negotiate terms this week, people familiar with the matter said. There is optimism that a deal can be struck, but it was still too early to say whether an agreement could be reached this week, the people said. A senior UK official said Britain would not be bounced into signing a deal that was not in its interests just because the Trump administration was keen to announce deals to soften the impact of its tariffs. Securing a deal with President Donald Trump has become a priority for UK premier Keir Starmer as he seeks to protect British industry from the impact of US tariffs, particularly 25% levies on steel and car imports. The talks come as Britain announced a major new trade deal with India on Tuesday, the largest the UK has signed since it left the European Union, as it seeks to deepen economic ties with other nations amid the Trump tariff fallout. The Financial Times reported earlier that the UK and US were closing in on a deal, which it said could be signed as soon as this week, citing unnamed officials in London and Washington. The deal would grant lower tariffs on UK exports of cars and steel to the US, the FT reported. “Talks on an economic deal between the US and the UK are ongoing, but we are not going to provide a running commentary on the details of live discussions or set any timelines,” the UK’s Department for Business and Trade said in an e-mailed statement. “We will continue to take a calm and steady approach to talks and aim to find a resolution to help ease the pressure on UK businesses and consumers.”

Reuters [5/6/2025 9:59 PM, Natalia Siniawski, 41523K] reports U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday he welcomed the successful rescue of five Venezuelan opposition members holed up for political protect in the Argentine embassy in Caracas. "Following a precise operation, all hostages are now safely on U.S. soil," Rubio said on X. The five people, close allies of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, have been living in the embassy since March 2024, after Venezuela’s attorney general accused them of conspiracy and warrants were issued for their arrests. Venezuela’s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brazil’s government, which had been providing political protection to the embassy, said it had not yet been informed. Rubio did not provide specific details about the operation. Machado, meanwhile, hailed an "impeccable and epic operation" in a post X. "We are going to free every one of our 900 imprisoned heroes," Machado added in reference to different politicians and activists who have been detained in the last year. The Argentine government said on X that it appreciated the successful operation that allowed the safe transfer of the five Venezuelans sheltered at the embassy to the U.S. In December 2024, Fernando Martinez, another opposition advisor who had been living at the embassy handed himself in to the attorney general’s office. He died in February this year. Officials regularly accuse the opposition of conspiring with countries such as the United States to commit terrorism, overthrow Maduro and attack Venezuela’s power grid. The opposition has always denied the accusations. The Argentine residence is currently under Brazilian custody after Buenos Aires cut relations with Caracas over the 2024 election, which the opposition says it won and for which it has published ballot box level vote tallies. Maduro was declared the winner by electoral authorities and the country’s top court, though authorities have not offered ballot box level tallies of the votes.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [5/6/2025 10:43 PM, Staff, 2923K]

Wall Street Journal [5/6/2025 7:00 PM, Katherine Long and Alexander Ward, 646K] reports the U.S. is stepping up its intelligence-gathering efforts regarding Greenland, drawing America’s spying apparatus into President Trump’s campaign to take over the island, according to two people familiar with the effort. Several high-ranking officials under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a “collection emphasis message” to intelligence-agency heads last week. They were directed to learn more about Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes on American resource extraction on the island. The classified message asked agencies, whose tools include surveillance satellites, communications intercepts and spies on the ground, to identify people in Greenland and Denmark who support U.S. objectives for the island. The directive is one of the first concrete steps Trump’s administration has taken toward fulfilling the president’s often-stated desire to acquire Greenland. A collection-emphasis message helps set intelligence-agency priorities, directing resources and attention to high-interest targets. The Greenland order, which went to agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, underscores the administration’s apparent commitment to seeking control of the self-governing island. It forms part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member and a decadeslong ally. James Hewitt, a National Security Council spokesman, said the White House doesn’t comment on intelligence matters, but added: “The president has been very clear that the U.S. is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.” In a statement, Gabbard said: “The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information. They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy.” The Danish Embassy in Washington declined to comment, and the prime minister of Greenland didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters [5/6/2025 5:17 AM, Erin Banco, Phil Stewart, Gram Slattery and Mike Stone, 41523K] reports that, roughly a week after Donald Trump started his second term as president, the U.S. military issued an order to three freight airlines operating out of Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a U.S. base in Qatar: Stop 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weaponry and bound for Ukraine. In a matter of hours, frantic questions reached Washington from Ukrainians in Kyiv and from officials in Poland, where the shipments were coordinated. Who had ordered the U.S. Transportation Command, known as TRANSCOM, to halt the flights? Was it a permanent pause on all aid? Or just some? Top national security officials — in the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department — couldn’t provide answers. Within one week, flights were back in the air. The verbal order originated from the office of Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, according to TRANSCOM records reviewed by Reuters. The cancelations came after Trump wrapped up a January 30 Oval Office meeting about Ukraine that included Hegseth and other top national security officials, according to three sources familiar with the situation. During the meeting, the idea of stopping Ukraine aid came up, said two people with knowledge of the meeting, but the president issued no instruction to stop aid to Ukraine. The president was unaware of Hegseth’s order, as were other top national security officials in the meeting, according to two sources briefed on the private White House discussions and another with direct knowledge of the matter. Asked to comment on this report, the White House told Reuters that Hegseth had followed a directive from Trump to pause aid to Ukraine, which it said was the administration’s position at the time. It did not explain why, according to those who spoke to Reuters, top national security officials in the normal decision making process didn’t know about the order or why it was so swiftly reversed. "Negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War has been a complex and fluid situation. We are not going to detail every conversation among top administration officials throughout the process," said Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman. "The bottom line is the war is much closer to an end today than it was when President Trump took office.” The cancelations cost TRANSCOM $2.2 million, according to the records reviewed by Reuters. In response to a request for comment, TRANSCOM said that the total cost was $1.6 million – 11 flights were canceled but one incurred no charge.

FOX News [5/6/2025 8:35 AM, Anders Hagstrom, 46189K] reports a right-wing Israeli minister says victory for Israel won’t come until Gaza is "entirely destroyed" and Palestinians are forced out into other countries. Israeli Finance Minister Bazalel Smotrich made the statement during a Tuesday appearance at a conference on Jewish settlements in the West Bank. While Smotrich is a senior Israeli official, his statement does not represent the official policy of the Israeli government. "Within a year we will be able to declare victory in Gaza," he told attendees. "Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to... the south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries," Smotrich said, according to the Agence France-Presse. "Israel does not intend to withdraw from territories the IDF captures, not even as part of a deal to release hostages," he added. Smotrich’s comments come just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government approved a plan to take over Gaza and hold it for an undefined period on Monday. Netanyahu said in a video message the operation would be "intensive" and would see more Palestinians moved to southern Gaza "for their own safety.” Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan Monday morning, but it will only take effect if a hostage deal is not reached by the time President Donald Trump visits Israel on May 13. Israel currently controls roughly 50% of Gaza, and the plan would see Israeli forces expand into the south. Officials said the plan is set to be implemented gradually, with Israeli forces rooting out Hamas control over territories. Dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots, the plan would also seek to prevent the militant Hamas group from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza. It also accuses Hamas of keeping the aid for itself to bolster its capabilities. The plan also included powerful strikes against Hamas targets, the officials said. "We want our troops to fight against a tired, hungry, and exhausted enemy, not one that has supplies and aid coming from outside the strip," Smotrich said in a statement on Monday.

AP [5/6/2025 6:11 PM, Will Weissert, 48304K] reports President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s ordering a halt to nearly two months of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have indicated that “they don’t want to fight anymore” and have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route. “We’re going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,” Trump said at the start of his Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. That likely means an abrupt end to a campaign of airstrikes that began in March, when Trump promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip. At the time, they described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea. Trump said the Houthis had indicated to U.S. officials that “they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings.”

Wall Street Journal [5/6/2025 3:25 PM, Alexander Ward and Michael R. Gordon, 646K] reports President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. had reached a truce with the Houthis in Yemen and would suspend its airstrikes there, claiming that the militants would no longer target ships navigating Middle Eastern waters. “I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that.” Oman said it helped the U.S. mediate a truce in which the U.S. and the Houthis agreed not to target each other and the militant group said it would stop firing on U.S. ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Marco Rubio, who is both secretary of state and interim national security adviser, said the goal of the weekslong strikes on Houthi targets was to get the group to stop their assaults on regional shipping. “If it’s going to stop, then we can stop,” Rubio said. The U.S. has struck more than 1,000 targets throughout “Operation Rough Rider,” which has lasted more than 50 days. Both U.S. and Houthi officials suggested that the truce didn’t pertain to Houthi attacks on Israel, which have prompted Israel to retaliate. “This is about the Red Sea, the attacking of ships,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Tuesday. In a statement issued Tuesday, the Houthi Political Bureau didn’t mention a cease-fire with the U.S. and reiterated that its military moves against Israel would continue until the war in Gaza is halted.

Free Beacon [5/6/2025 5:00 AM, Adam Kredo, 475K] reports the Taliban took in $3.4 billion in revenue over the last year, boosting its cash supply by 14 percent amid the return of Afghanistan as a central safe haven for terrorist organizations across the Middle East, according to a U.S. government watchdog group. The repercussions of the Biden administration’s disastrous 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan continue to reverberate across the war-torn country, with multiple al Qaeda affiliates accessing American-supplied "weapons seized from the former Afghan National Army," according to a new oversight report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The United States left 78 aircraft, 40,000 military vehicles, and over 300,000 weapons in Afghanistan in a withdrawal that saw 13 American service members lose their lives. According to the SIGAR report—which the watchdog group delivered to Congress on April 30—the Taliban transferred many of these arms directly to terrorist affiliates, while others made their way to the black market. The Pentagon assesses that of around $18.6 billion worth of U.S. equipment provided to the Afghan Army over decades of support, $7.12 billion in weaponry remains in the Taliban’s possession. As a result, "terrorist groups continued to operate in and from Afghanistan amid ongoing U.S., UN, and regional concerns that the country remains a terrorist haven.” More than two dozen terrorist organizations are currently active in Afghanistan, including the Islamic State-affiliated Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). At least four al Qaeda offshoots are also using the country to organize operations. "Terrorist groups," SIGAR reported, "continued to use Afghan soil to train and plan attacks and a ‘small but steady’ flow of foreign terrorists continued to travel to Afghanistan and join one of over two dozen terror groups based there.” The findings come just months after the Trump administration terminated virtually all U.S.-funded assistance programs in Afghanistan, citing the Taliban’s ability to steal millions annually in American taxpayer cash. The Biden-Harris administration pumped nearly $4 billion into Afghanistan after the Taliban retook control of the country, with several million in previously allocated funds continuing to flow up until March 31 of this year. During much of this time, SIGAR repeatedly exposed instances of fraud, waste, and mismanagement that plagued U.S. aid efforts after the Taliban took power. The White House reversed course earlier this year when it dissolved the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the primary organization pumping taxpayer cash into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. While the Trump administration initially attempted to preserve emergency food assistance programs inside the country, the State Department ultimately froze them in early April, citing "Taliban interference" in the delivery of humanitarian aid. The agency nixed several other "cash-based assistance" programs around the same time "given concerns about misuse and a lack of appropriate accountability," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said. SIGAR discovered last year that American aid partners on the ground in Afghanistan paid the Taliban at least $10.9 million in various fees.

Wall Street Journal [5/7/2025 1:53 AM, Shan Li and Waqar Gillani, 646K] reports India said it conducted military strikes on nine sites in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir, intensifying a confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Pakistan’s army spokesman, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said 26 people were killed and 46 injured. Pakistan’s defense minister told a local news channel that Pakistan shot down five Indian aircraft. The Indian Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Indian Defense Ministry said its forces carried out strikes on camps terrorists have used to stage attacks against India, according to a statement released Wednesday. “We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,” India’s Defense Ministry said. “Justice is served,” India’s army said on social-media platform X. India’s action came despite diplomatic efforts, including phone calls by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Pakistan’s prime minister and India’s foreign minister last week, aimed at persuading both sides to lessen tensions that have reached their highest point in years. “I echo @POTUS’s comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution,” Rubio said Tuesday evening on X. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that India attacked five places. “We will not let the enemy succeed in its condemnable objectives,” Sharif said in a statement Wednesday.

Breitbart [5/6/2025 9:12 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2923K] reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to reports that India had conducted missile strikes on Pakistan, weeks after a terrorist attack was carried out in Kashmir. Rubio explained he is "monitoring the situation" between the two countries closely and expressed hope that the situation "ends quickly.” "I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely," Rubio wrote in a wrote in a post on X. "I echo @POTUS’s comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution.” Rubio’s comments come as India’s government confirmed that early Wednesday, it had "struck nine sites in Pakistan and on Pakistan’s side of the disputed Kashmir region," New York Times reported: The Indian government said its forces had struck nine sites in Pakistan and on Pakistan’s side of the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistani military officials said that five places had been hit, in Punjab Province and its part of Kashmir. The Indian government explained that it "struck Pakistan after gathering evidence" showing "Pakistan-based terrorists" were involved in the terrorist attack on Kashmir, according to the outlet: India said it had struck Pakistan after gathering evidence "pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists" in last month’s attack on civilians in a tourist area in Kashmir. It said that its military actions on Wednesday had been "measured, responsible and designed to be nonescalatory in nature." It added that it had targeted only "known terror camps.” As a result of the attack, eight people were killed and 38 others were left injured, Pakistan’s military spokesperson said, according to the Associated Press (AP). "Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India and a strong response is indeed being given," Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement, according to the outlet. Breitbart News’s John Hayward reported on Monday, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) ordered "several states, including the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region" and other regions close to the Pakistani border to "conduct civilian defense drills.” The order from the MHA came as each country had "imposed a raft of sanctions and penalties on the other" in the aftermath of the April 22 terrorist attack, which "targeted a tourist site in the Himalayas called Phalagram" and left roughly 26 people dead.

Wall Street Journal [5/7/2025 4:16 AM, Brian Schwartz and Lingling Wei, 646K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are traveling to Switzerland on Thursday to meet Beijing’s lead economic representative, potentially paving the way for broader trade talks. China’s Foreign Ministry said He Lifeng, China’s vice premier and leader Xi Jinping’s economic czar, would visit Switzerland from May 9 to 12 and hold discussions with American officials. A ministry spokesman said Wednesday the U.S. requested the talks. The Treasury Department confirmed Bessent’s travel plans to Switzerland to meet with the Chinese official in a Tuesday press release. A separate release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Greer would also be traveling to Switzerland to meet with his Chinese counterpart, without specifying whom he is meeting “I look forward to productive talks as we work towards rebalancing the international economic system towards better serving the interests of the U.S.,” Bessent said in a statement. At an earlier congressional hearing on Tuesday, Bessent said the U.S. hasn’t engaged with China on trade “as of yet.” Bessent said in a later interview on Fox News that the conversations with China in Switzerland will take place on Saturday and Sunday. He also stressed that these are just initial talks and it remains to be seen how the conversations will go. “On Saturday and Sunday, we will agree what we’re going to talk about,” Bessent said. “My sense is that this will be about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal.” Bessent will also meet with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter. China’s Ministry of Commerce said Beijing agreed to trade talks with Bessent because the U.S. had sent signals that it was willing to adjust its tariffs. The ministry said the U.S. “must recognize the serious negative impact of unilateral tariff measures.” It said China was ready for dialogue but “will certainly not sacrifice principled positions.” The developments that both sides are “willing to take a positive step to de-escalate and to map out a strategy to re-engage,” said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

Bloomberg [5/6/2025 8:14 PM, Saleha Mohsin, 16228K] reports US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will travel later this week to Switzerland for trade talks with China led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, seeking to de-escalate a tariff standoff that has threatened to hammer both economies. The travel was announced in statements Tuesday from the Chinese and US governments. It will be the first confirmed trade talks between the countries since President Donald Trump announced punishing levies of as high as 145% on China that were met with retaliatory rates of 125% from Beijing. Bessent, in an interview on Fox News, said the current tariff rates aren’t sustainable and were the equivalent of a trade embargo. The talks on Saturday and Sunday will center on de-escalation rather than a big trade deal, “but we’ve got to de-escalate before we move forward,” he said. “We don’t want to decouple, what we want is fair trade,” Bessent said. The US should “show sincerity” in the talks, correct wrong practices and resolve the concerns of both sides through “equal consultation,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement after the talks were announced. China agreed to engage with the US after evaluation of calls from the American side and China’s own interests, the ministry said. “If you say one thing and do another, or even attempt to continue to coerce and blackmail under the guise of talks, China will never agree, let alone sacrifice its principled position and international fairness and justice to seek any agreement,” the ministry said. Bessent acknowledged that Trump’s strategy of strategic uncertainty can be unsettling for markets, though said it is an advantage for the US in talks. He said he and the president know what Trump would accept in talks, but they weren’t going to openly broadcast those details. Trump has said in recent days that he is willing to lower tariffs on China at some point, but also said this week that the US is “losing nothing” by not trading with Beijing. He claimed Chinese ships are “turning around in the Pacific Ocean.” The president has also said American consumers would be willing to accept higher prices and less selection in order to rebalance the trade relationship with China.

New York Times [5/6/2025 5:34 PM, Karl Russell and Ana Swanson, 145325K] reports the share of U.S. imports from China in the first quarter of the year fell to its lowest point in over 20 years, as the high tariffs President Trump has put on Chinese goods clamped down on trade. U.S. imports from China reached $102.7 billion in the first three months of the year, data released by the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. That puts the share of imported goods from China at just 11 percent in the first quarter, down sharply from over 22 percent seven years ago. While the share of imports from China tends to fluctuate with seasonal swings in purchasing, Mr. Trump’s decision in early April to ratchet up U.S. tariffs on China has clearly begun to cascade through supply chains. Because it takes many weeks for products to move from Chinese factories onto cargo ships across the ocean and into American stores, U.S. consumers are, in many cases, just beginning to see the effect of higher prices from the tariffs. But as the summer goes on, those effects are likely to compound. Both the United States and China have expressed openness to talking about some kind of trade deal that would lower the tariffs, though it remains unclear how quickly any deal could be made. While some companies appear to have slowed or halted their imports because of current tariffs, others are still rushing to import more products ahead of new tariffs taking effect. Data released Tuesday morning showed that the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services rose sharply in March, increasing to $140.5 billion compared with $123.2 billion in February, and continuing a sharp upward trend seen since the November election.

Reuters [5/6/2025 5:58 AM, Staff, 41523K] reports China warned on Tuesday it would take necessary measures to crack down on "infiltration and sabotage activities of foreign anti-China forces", days after the CIA released videos aimed at enticing Chinese officials to leak secrets to the U.S. The U.S. intelligence agency last week posted two short Chinese-language videos to its social media accounts depicting fictional scenes in which a senior Chinese official and a more junior government worker with access to classified information become disillusioned with China’s system and approach the CIA. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson called the videos a "damning confession" of the CIA’s efforts in "stealing" other countries’ secrets. "The U.S. not only maliciously smears and attacks China, but also blatantly deceives and lures Chinese personnel to turn to its side, and even directly targets Chinese government officials," spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing when asked about the videos. "This is a serious violation of China’s national interests and a naked political provocation.” Beijing’s warning came as the two countries vow to step up counterintelligence efforts amid mutual accusations of espionage. Last month, China’s state security ministry publicised the case of a government employee selling state secrets, secretly recording internal meetings and stealing confidential files, after reaching out to a foreign spy agency via email. The employee was caught before she could leave the country, the ministry said in a video posted to its social media account. It did not name the foreign intelligence agency. In October, the CIA launched a drive to recruit new informants in China, Iran and North Korea by posting instructions online on how to securely contact the agency, following what it said was successful efforts to enlist Russians. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are known within the U.S. intelligence community as "hard targets" - countries whose governments are difficult to penetrate.

FOX News [5/6/2025 6:00 AM, Morgan Phillips, 46189K] reports Egypt and China wrapped up their first-ever joint military exercises on Sunday, in a show of force involving the U.S.’ top rival and one of its top recipients of military aid. Running from mid-April until Sunday, the drills consisted of joint aerial exercises, simulated air combat and modern warfare lectures. China deployed its J-10C fighter jets, KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft and Y-20 transport tankers in a display of its military prowess beyond Asia, according to footage posted by Chinese state media outlet CCTV. Egypt has, in recent years, also purchased large amounts of military machinery from Russia, prompting questions about how the U.S. should address a top Middle East ally and aid recipient growing closer to its biggest adversaries. "We’ve never seen a crisis like this," said Joel Rubin, a former senior State Department official who worked on the Egypt desk under former President George W. Bush and pens "The Briefing Book" on Substack. "Egypt is essentially flouting us right now and looking to China, looking for more stable, long-term partners after nearly four and a half decades of stability in terms of the peace deal under Camp David.” Egypt operates a number of U.S.-made aircraft - F-16 fighter aircraft, CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters - and is slated to receive C-130 J transport aircraft. Egypt also possesses 32 American Patriot missile defense systems. The China-Egypt Eagles of Civilization 2025 is expected to bolster Beijing’s ties to Africa’s strongest military and a longtime strategic U.S. ally. Egypt has received roughly $1.3 billion each year in U.S. military aid since the Camp David Accords that normalized relations between Israel and Egypt. That figure puts it behind only Israel, which scores around $3.8 in U.S. military aid. Ukraine receives more aid than Egypt and Israel, but only since Russia’s invasion – prior to 2022, it got between $200 and $350 million each year. It’s not clear whether U.S. aircraft were used in the exercise. "One can assume that Beijing would show the utmost interest to learn more about the kinematic and electromagnetic of NATO combat aircraft," said Can Kasapoglu, senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He added the aircraft would be "degraded export variants," but "Western designs are important to China.” When the Trump administration took office and froze all foreign aid, Egypt and Israel were the only two nations who were exempted from the freeze. Egypt partners with U.S. security forces across the region to fight terrorism in places like Iraq and Syria.

Wall Street Journal [5/6/2025 10:00 AM, Heather Somerville, 646K] reports the U.S. military has completed successful test flights of a reusable hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft, its first such accomplishment in more than a half century. The win is a sign of the Pentagon’s progress in a wartime technology race in which China has a sizable lead. Two startups conducted the test flights of a vessel called the Talon-A: Stratolaunch, the company making the hypersonic test aircraft and based in the Mojave Desert, and Ursa Major, a Colorado-based builder of liquid rocket engines. The fully autonomous flights occurred in December and March, the Defense Department said on Monday, and exceeded five times the speed of sound—the generally accepted designation of hypersonic speed. The test flights provide one of the starkest examples yet of how venture- and private-equity-backed tech firms are providing the Defense Department with a long overdue boost. The U.S. has invested billions of dollars to develop hypersonic capabilities for several decades, but has made progress in fits and starts. Hypersonic weapons reach at least 3,800 mph. The components on board must be able to withstand not only the speed, but also temperatures of many thousands of degrees, and lots of maneuvering designed to trick the enemy and evade air-defense systems. Frequent, cost-effective testing is crucial for the U.S. military, and a reusable vehicle makes that possible.

AP [5/6/2025 7:04 AM, Staff, 1682K] reports an ethnic militia in southeastern Myanmar that has been sanctioned by the United States for alleged involvement in human trafficking and online scams on Tuesday denied the accusations. The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced sanctions against the Karen National Army, or KNA, as well as its leader Col. Saw Chit Thu and his sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. They are accused of "facilitating cyber scams that harm U.S. citizens, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling," according to a Treasury Department statement. "Cyber scam operations, such as those run by the KNA, generate billions in revenue for criminal kingpins and their associates, while depriving victims of their hard-earned savings and sense of security," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. "Treasury is committed to using all available tools to disrupt these networks and hold accountable those who seek to profit from these criminal schemes.” Those who are hired to carry out the scams have often been tricked into taking the jobs under false pretences and find themselves trapped in virtual slavery. The sanctions block the targeted individuals and their companies from accessing money and assets under U.S. control, and prohibit U.S. citizens from providing financial services to them. Saw Chit Thu has already been sanctioned by the European Union and the U.K. for profiting from scam compounds and human trafficking. Lt. Col. Naing Maung Zaw, a spokesperson for the KNA — which operates as the Karen ethnic minority’s official Border Guard Force affiliated with Myanmar’s military government — said the group’s activities are aimed at regional development and not related to cyber scams. He described the U.S. sanctions as a deliberate act of abasement by a powerful country over a weaker one. "They are doing it because they can," he told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Local militias in several border regions have de facto control in areas where their minority groups are dominant. The KNA controls Shwe Kokko and some areas in Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand in the state of Kayin, also known as Karen state. Shwe Kokko and Myawaddy are known havens for criminal syndicates that have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and elsewhere into helping run online scams, including romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. Critics have accused the KNA of being involved in the criminal activities, at least to the extent of providing protection to the scam centers.

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