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.

FOX News [11/29/2025 12:51 PM, Brooke Taylor and Greg Norman, 40621K] reports an Afghan national was arrested this week after posting a video of himself on TikTok indicating he was building a bomb with an intended target of the Fort Worth area in Texas, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News. Court records show that Mohammad Dawood Alokozay was charged at the state level with making a terroristic threat. Alokozay came to the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome under the Biden administration, DHS said. The effort resettled Afghans following the U.S. military withdrawal from the country in the summer of 2021. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the alleged gunman in the shooting of two National Guard members this week in Washington, D.C., also arrived in the U.S. under the same program. "The magnitude of the national security crisis Joe Biden unleashed on our country over the span of four years cannot be overstated. President Trump has directed his entire team to continue rooting out this evil within our borders," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X on Saturday in reaction to Alokozay’s arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since lodged a detainer on Alokozay following his arrest. NewsMax [11/29/2025 1:33 PM, Solange Reyner, 4109K] reports "Just one day before the terrorist attack against our @NationalGuard, another Afghan national who was paroled into the United States under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome was arrested for threatening to blow up a building in Fort Worth," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. "Mohammad Dawood Alokozay posted a video of himself on TikTok indicating he was building a bomb with an intended target of the Fort Worth area. He was arrested on Tuesday by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task Force] and charged with making terroristic threats. @ICEgov has lodged a detainer." Alokozay was arrested in Tarrant County, Texas, on Nov. 25, and remains in custody. The Washington Examiner [11/29/2025 4:28 PM, Brady Knox, 1394K] reports "The magnitude of the national security crisis Joe Biden unleashed on our country over the span of four years cannot be overstated. President Trump has directed his entire team to continue rooting out this evil within our borders," [McLaughlin] posted on X. Breitbart [11/29/2025 3:49 PM, Bob Price, 2416K] reports that the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task force teamed up to make the arrest on charges of making terroristic threats. Alokozay is an Afghan national who was pardoned into the U.S. by the Biden administration. His arrest came one day prior to the vicious attack on two West Virginia National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. by another Afghan national. WFAA ABC6 in Dallas reported that Alokozy was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on November 25.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [11/29/2025 2:04 PM, Shane Galvin, 42219K]
ABC News [11/29/2025 6:02 PM, Luke Barr and Ivan Pereira, 30493K]
Daily Caller [11/29/2025 2:44 PM, Harold Hutchison, 835K]

The New York Times [11/29/2025 4:27 PM, Maia Coleman, Wesley Parnell, and Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 135475K] reports several protesters were arrested on Saturday amid scuffles with police officers outside the entrance of a parking garage in Lower Manhattan where dozens of federal agents had appeared to be gathering for an immigration raid nearby, according to the police and witnesses. The confrontation, which appeared to foil the raid, underscored the numerous challenges the federal government faces in trying to stage raids in a dense city like New York, where pushback from protesters in a largely liberal city appears inevitable. The standoff began just after 11 a.m., when a handful of protesters gathered outside a garage on the edge of Chinatown, on Centre and Hester Streets, where agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security had been arriving. As the agents’ vehicles moved to leave, protesters blocked them, forming a barricade at the mouth of the garage with their bodies and piling mounds of garbage bags beside them. The standoff continued for the better part of an hour as more and more protesters arrived. By the early afternoon, nearly 200 people had gathered on the street outside, chanting and yelling at the agents, who peered out from inside the garage. Police officers soon arrived on the scene, arresting a handful of protesters and placing metal barricades between the agents and the group outside. But the presence of local law enforcement did little to ease tensions. CNN [11/29/2025 6:37 PM, Emma Tucker, Mark Morales, 606K] reports that the group of protesters chanted "ICE out of New York" in footage that showed them locking arms to form a barrier blocking federal agents from exiting the garage in their car. Some grabbed planters from the roadway and hurled them at federal vehicles, the official said. The confrontations prompted some officers to deploy what appeared to be pepper spray to subdue demonstrators, the official added. The incident is the latest in an array of protests that have taken place across the country between federal agents and demonstrators who are fighting against the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. Saturday’s protest took place just down the street from Foley Square, where there was a larger demonstration last month. October’s protest came the day after a chaotic ICE raid on Chinatown’s Canal Street – a popular and highly trafficked area well-known for its street vendors who sell counterfeit designer goods. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said individuals "dressed in black clothing with backpacks, face masks, and goggles showed up and began to obstruct federal law enforcement officers" after social media posts called "agitators to ICE’s location" in the city. Publicizing details about the location of ICE agents, DHS said, puts "a target" on their backs, citing an increase in assaults against officers. "We won’t let violent rioters slow us down and anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted," the spokesperson said. Ricky Patel, special agent in charge of New York’s Homeland Security Investigations office, apologized in a call with New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Saturday for how the enforcement action unfolded, two law enforcement officials briefed on the call said. Tisch criticized the action for putting the public, federal agents and officers at risk, the officials said. Tisch warned Patel that the displays of force by federal agents intending to cause chaos and disorder on city streets need to stop because they will lead to someone getting hurt, one of the officials familiar with the conversation. CNN has reached out to HSI for further information. The incident unfolded just before noon when NYPD officers responded to a 911 call for a "disorderly group" near Chinatown and observed multiple people blocking the street and exits at different locations and "throwing debris," the agency said. "They were instructed multiple times to disperse, and they did not comply. As a result, multiple individuals were taken into custody," the NYPD said in a statement. The situation remained peaceful at first as the crowd of protesters gathered in front of a closed garage before moving to the corner of the street, chanting "ICE out of New York" and shouting at police officers who did not engage. Federal officers at the scene were armed and many of them wore face coverings. At one point, the garage opened and a barrier of protesters continued chanting while blocking a vehicle from exiting. The group also created a blockade with piles of wood and cardboard from a construction dumpster and trash bins, according to videos from the scene. As the car moved out of the garage, protesters chased and shouted at it while police officers tried to stop them and tackled at least one protester who was later released. City Council member Julie Menin called federal immigration agents’ actions "utterly irresponsible" after the incident in a statement on X. "Today, ICE threatened the public’s safety yet again — and this time, their actions created a dangerous situation for both the public and our NYPD officers," she said. The New York Immigration Coalition, which represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups statewide, criticized law enforcement’s response to protesters in a statement and called for the immediate release of those arrested at the demonstration. The Wall Street Journal [11/29/2025 10:42 PM, Jack Morphet and Jennifer Calfas, 646K] reports that protesters chanted “ICE out of New York” outside the garage in Manhattan’s Little Italy and blocked officers wearing Homeland Security insignia. New York City Councilman Christopher Marte, who witnessed the event, said protesters hoped to foil what they believed was a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Chinatown, where ICE officers arrested nine immigrants last month in relation to the selling of counterfeit goods. “There was supposed to be a big ICE raid today,” Marte said, adding: “Protesters disrupted ICE from going out to look for undocumented individuals, which would have led to deportations.” Federal agents called the New York City Police Department when hundreds of protesters blocked their exit from the parking lot, according to ICE Office of Public Affairs Assistant Director Emily Covington. “We won’t let violent rioters slow us down and anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Covington said. Bloomberg [11/29/2025 10:38 PM, Myles Miller and María Paula Mijares Torres, 18207K] reports that “Following social media posts calling agitators to ICE’s location in New York City, individuals dressed in black clothing with backpacks, face masks, and goggles showed up and began to obstruct federal law enforcement officers including by blocking the parking garage,” US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Emily Covington said in a statement viewed by Bloomberg. “NYPD was called and responded to hundreds of violent rioters, which resulted in the arrest of multiple agitators.” The clash stopped the operation before it began. A person briefed on the matter said federal agents eventually returned to New Jersey after determining they could not safely continue. Later in the afternoon, a conference call was held between Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the New York office Chris Raia, and Ricky Patel, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York, according to a person with knowledge of the call. Patel apologized for the attempted operation, the person said. Tisch told the federal officials the situation was unacceptable and that similar shows of force had twice created disorder on city streets. She warned that if it happened again, someone would get hurt and responsibility would fall on the federal agencies involved. The standoff unfolded as New York continues to enforce its sanctuary city policies, which limit how the NYPD interacts with federal civil immigration enforcement. Officers are barred from asking about immigration status during routine encounters and can’t hold individuals on ICE detainers except in narrow circumstances involving serious crimes.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [11/29/2025 6:27 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K]
ABC News [11/29/2025 3:45 PM, Victoria Arancio and Ivan Pereira, 30493K]
NBC News [11/29/2025 8:52 PM, Marlene Lenthang and Samantha Cookinham, 34509K]
NewsMax [11/29/2025 1:19 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K]
Daily Caller [11/29/2025 8:52 PM, Harold Hutchison, 835K]
Telemundo [11/29/2025 8:27 PM, Staff, 2218K]

New York Post [11/29/2025 10:57 AM, Geoff Earle, 42219K] reports more than 5,000 Afghans brought to the US after American forces withdrew from the country got flagged for "national security" issues, Department of Homeland Security data obtained by The Post reveals. In all, the feds uncovered "potential derogatory information" on a total of 6,868 people who came from Afghanistan as part of President Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome in 2021. Of that number, 5,005 came up with a national security concern, while 956 people had "public safety" concerns and 876 were flagged for fraud, according to the data. While various US agencies were able to resolve many of the red flags, as of September there were still 885 people with potentially negative national security information – posing a possible threat. Following Wednesday’s shocking ambush of two National Guards members in Washington DC, President Trump ordered a review of security and vetting protocols for migrants from 19 "high-risk" countries, along with all asylum cases approved by the prior administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem provided the information in a Sept. 9 letter to the lawmaker, three days after the agency’s Inspector General reported it found DHS "encountered obstacles to screen, vet and inspect all evacuees."

Daily Caller [11/29/2025 10:06 AM, Jason Hopkins, 835K] reports the Trump administration announced dramatically restricted immigration processing after an Afghan national allegedly killed one National Guard member and left another in critical condition. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services (USCIS) is completely halting all asylum decisions until it can "ensure" every foreign national is properly vetted to the fullest extent possible, the agency’s director, Joe Edlow, announced Friday. The decision is the latest move by the Trump administration after Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan man seeking asylum who entered the U.S. in 2021, allegedly shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. As of August 2025, there were more than 2,271,000 immigrants who filed formal asylum applications and were waiting for their hearings or decisions, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Just hours after the Wednesday shooting, USCIS declared the processing of all immigration requests pertaining to Afghan nationals would be "stopped indefinitely." Edlow then said Thursday he’d been directed by President Donald Trump to initiate a "full scale" re-examination of every single green card for foreign nationals hailing from countries of concern. At the same time, USCIS listed 19 "high-risk" countries identified by the White House, including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Trump vowed Thursday to implement even tougher measures, declaring his administration would "permanently pause" immigration from Third World countries.

Reuters [11/29/2025 3:34 PM, Humeyra Pamuk, 36480K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered its diplomats worldwide to stop processing visas for Afghan nationals, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters, effectively suspending the special immigration program for Afghans who helped the United States during its 20-year-long occupation of their home country. The cable, sent to all U.S. diplomatic posts on Friday, says that effective immediately, consular officers are instructed to reject any immigrant or non-immigrant visa applications from Afghan nationals including applicants for Special Immigrant Visas. On Wednesday, a former member of one of Afghanistan’s CIA-backed units was accused of shooting two U.S. National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. One of them later died. The State Department on Saturday referred Reuters to a statement on platform X by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday in which he said that "ALL individuals" traveling on Afghan passports would have their visa issuance "paused.” The cable on Friday, which was earlier reported by New York Times, said the move to stop processing visas for Afghan nationals was aimed at "ensuring the applicant’s identity and eligibility for a visa under U.S. law." A volunteer group helping support the United States’ Afghan allies said the cable was part of an effort by the Trump administration to bar all Afghans from making it to the United States. Breitbart [11/29/2025 12:52 PM, Amy Furr, 2416K] reports "The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety." The suspect in the shooting has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is an Afghan national, per Breitbart News. On Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro identified the two West Virginia National Guardsmen who were targeted as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Beckstrom had died. Lakanwal worked with the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the agency’s director John Ratcliffe said late Wednesday, per Breitbart News. The outlet also noted, "Following the shooting, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency announced an immediate and indefinite halt to the ‘processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals’ pending a review of security and vetting protocols."

Wall Street Journal [11/29/2025 5:00 AM, Michael R. Gordon and Vera Bergengruen, 646K] reports soon after a gunman shot two National Guard members in downtown Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, President Trump vowed to send 500 more troops to the capital. “We will not be deterred from the mission these servicemembers were so nobly fulfilling,” Trump said. The attack left 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom dead, and another in critical condition. It also exposed the growing security risks for the more than 2,200 troops deployed to the nation’s capital since mid-August under what the president has described as a “crime emergency.” The ambush has also raised fresh questions about the need for the open-ended mission the National Guard has been asked to perform: placing highly visible troops on the streets to carry out “presence patrols,” discourage crime and even undertake routine beautification tasks. The Pentagon says crime across the district decreased 40% compared with the same period last year, including carjackings, robberies and violent crime. Trump has called the operation “the most successful public safety and national security mission in the history of our nation’s capital,” and earlier this week he said, “We haven’t had a murder in six months.” Data from the local police shows at least two dozen homicides since the Guard was deployed to the city. While administration officials say the National Guard is helping to deter crime, others say that sending hundreds of additional Guard members, who have no authority to carry out law enforcement, will merely expand the number of personnel that could be exposed to future attacks. Wednesday’s shooting has already punctured the normalcy of seeing groups of Guard members moving along the city streets. The troops are now patrolling the capital in larger groups and will be accompanied by police from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, according to a person familiar with the security arrangement. Trump officials say that by maintaining a presence at Metro stations and public areas like Farragut Square, Guard members make it easier for Washington’s police to concentrate on more crime-prone areas. But the new arrangements mean that Guard patrols themselves would require police protection, soaking up resources. Even so, the Guard insists it isn’t changing its mission.

FOX News [11/29/2025 9:43 PM, Sophia Compton, 40621K] reports President Trump on Saturday pointed to a federal law that grants the president broad authority to restrict immigration just days after unveiling a sweeping new immigration agenda. In a Truth Social post, Trump highlighted Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to "suspend the entry" of non-U.S. citizens whenever it is deemed "detrimental" to National Interest. "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate," Trump wrote, quoting the law. The president posted amid intensifying immigration actions by his administration after the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. On Thursday, Trump vowed to halt immigration from "Third World countries," reverse Biden-era admissions and remove foreign nationals he considers public threats, security risks or "non-compatible with Western Civilization.” He argued that the U.S. immigration system has been overwhelmed and said his approach would allow it to "fully recover.” Trump also vowed to end federal benefits for noncitizens, denaturalize migrants accused of undermining "domestic tranquility" and expand deportations. On Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it had halted all asylum decisions. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, has been accused in the shooting of the two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died after the shooting. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.

Breitbart [11/29/2025 10:02 AM, Bob Price, 2416K] reports federal and state authorities arrested nearly 250 foreign commercial truck drivers in November alone, warning that cartel operatives and foreign nationals are exploiting America’s commercial driver licensing system to infiltrate freight corridors and endanger national security. A nationwide crackdown on foreign drivers with Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) led to the apprehension of nearly 250 drivers in Arizona, Indiana, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and even New York and California. The federally led operation followed orders from President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to remove these often-dangerous drivers from American highways. Many of the drivers were found to be illegally present in the United States. The crackdown is part of President Trump’s broader deportation agenda, which aims to purge up to 200,000 foreign CDL holders from the trucking industry. Homeland Security leaders argue that cartel networks and hostile actors could weaponize heavy trucks or use them to smuggle contraband across critical freight corridors. Critics warn the raids could disrupt supply chains and overwhelm immigration courts already flooded with detainee lawsuits. Supporters counter that the risk of cartel infiltration and terrorism outweighs economic concerns. Despite federal judges blocking parts of Trump’s emergency rule, enforcement raids are expanding nationwide. DHS officials say the message is clear: foreign CDL drivers are now viewed as a frontline national security threat.

ABC News [11/29/2025 12:55 PM, Luke Barr, 30493K] reports the federal government will be targeting New Orleans soon as its next city to ramp up immigration enforcement, sources with knowledge of the plans told ABC News. At least 200 border patrol agents are expected in the city in the coming weeks, according to the source, who noted that plans are preliminary and could change. The pending buildup of agents comes two weeks after the Border Patrol and other federal agencies increased their presence in Charlotte, North Carolina, and made over 250 arrests. Greg Bovino, the commander-at-large of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), personally oversaw that effort and is expected to lead the New Orleans surge, sources said. Bovino teased "next level" immigration enforcement in an X post Saturday, but didn’t say where. Although Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has supported proposals for a federal surge and asked for the National Guard to be deployed in his state, schools and businesses have been bracing for the increased federal presence.

CBS News [11/29/2025 4:10 PM, Kris Van Cleave, 39474K] reports Venezuela said the U.S. has unilaterally suspended its migrant repatriation flights and seeks to "undermine the sovereignty of its airspace," after President Donald Trump posted on social media that the country’s airspace should be considered as "closed in its entirety.” In a statement released Saturday — in response to the message posted earlier by Mr. Trump — Venezuela’s government demanded "unrestricted respect" for its airspace. "Such statements constitute a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act, incompatible with the most basic principles of international law, and are part of a permanent policy of aggression against our country," the Venezuelan government release read in part. Mr. Trump had said in a Truth Social post that all airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers should consider the airspace "above and surrounding" the South American nation as "closed in its entirety" — an assertion that appeared to signal further U.S. pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The White House did not respond to questions about Mr. Trump’s post, and it was unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing the messaging around his campaign against Maduro, which has involved multiple strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on small boats accused of ferrying drugs as well as a buildup of naval forces in the region.

Univision [11/29/2025 6:10 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports President Donald Trump’s statement on Saturday that Venezuelan airspace should be considered closed provoked a response of rejection from the government of Nicolás Maduro, which also implied that repatriation flights for undocumented Venezuelan immigrants in the United States were paralyzed. Maduro’s foreign minister, Yván Gil, stated on social media this Saturday that Trump’s words are an "illegal colonialist threat," as they attempt to impose US orders and jurisdiction over Venezuelan airspace. This further escalates tensions amid Washington’s ongoing military and political pressure campaign against Caracas. And in the lengthy statement, Gil said that "through this action, the US government has unilaterally suspended the flights of Venezuelan migrants that were being carried out regularly and weekly." The US government has not specified whether they remain suspended following Trump’s post this morning. These flights, coordinated between the two governments, were one of the few forms of diplomatic relations in the face of the US military campaign known as "Operation Southern Spear," which has destroyed at least 20 small boats and killed more than 80 of their crew members. The White House maintains, without providing any evidence so far, that they were "narco-terrorists" transporting drugs to US territory through the waters of the Caribbean Sea after departing from Venezuela. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry stated that, to date, 75 flights have been carried out to repatriate 13,956 Venezuelans. Deportation flights have been a key item on President Trump’s agenda with Venezuela. Last January, at the start of his second term, he made it clear through his diplomacy that he would demand Maduro repatriate "Venezuelan criminals and gang members" and "do so unequivocally and without conditions," in the words of U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone. And at that time the special envoy made clear the terms in which the Trump administration expected to handle the repatriations with the Maduro regime: he threatened "consequences" if they did not receive the deported Venezuelans and clarified that "it is not a negotiation in exchange for something." A few days later, on February 10, Venezuela announced that two planes from its state airline had departed from the United States carrying a group of Venezuelan nationals with deportation orders. There were 190 people on the flight, and Maduro stated at the time that "we have taken a favorable, positive step." Throughout February, additional flights arrived, transporting deportees to Venezuela. These deportees traveled from locations such as Guantanamo, via Honduras, where they were picked up by Venezuelan aircraft. The Maduro government stated that they "were unjustly taken to the Guantanamo naval base." In early March, the US suspended the operating license that allowed the American oil company to operate in Venezuela, arguing that the decision was due to the lack of fair electoral conditions in the Venezuelan presidential elections of July 2024. In those elections, Maduro was proclaimed the winner without showing the electoral records that supported the result, amid widespread criticism and the recognition of the victory of the Venezuelan opposition by the US and the European Parliament. Venezuela responded to Chevron’s halt in operations by ceasing to accept deportation flights for several days. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [11/29/2025 6:55 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., offered words of encouragement to President Donald Trump in a Saturday post aimed at Trump’s threats against Venezuela. "I very much appreciate and respect the determination by President Trump to deal with the drug caliphate countries that inhabit our backyard — chief among them Venezuela," Graham posted. Graham said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is a bad actor on the world stage. "For over a decade, Maduro has controlled a narcoterrorist state that is poisoning America and he has created alliances with international terrorist organizations like Hezbollah," he wrote. The senator echoed Trump in his assessment of Maduro’s standing. "He is an illegitimate leader who has been indicted for drug trafficking in U.S. courts and maintains control of Venezuela by a reign of terror," Graham said. Americans, and the people of Venezuela, according to Graham, will be better off without Maduro. "President Trump’s strong commitment to end this madness in Venezuela will save countless American lives and will give the beautiful people of Venezuela a new lease on life," he added. Graham closed his post with, "I hear Turkey and Iran are lovely this time of year…". Trump has been critical of Maduro and ramped up his pressure with a post Saturday aimed directly at Maduro’s enterprises, writing "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” Maduro reportedly asked Trump for amnesty in a previously undisclosed phone call sometime last week. Trump is said to have told Maduro his reign was over and to leave Venezuela and take his top aides with him. At the same time, the U.S. military has been striking at alleged narcoterrorist drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean. U.S. Southern Command has bolstered its forces surrounding Venezuela and in the Caribbean. Combined air and naval forces have been visibly conducting missions throughout the region. Military commanders said in a statement that the increased forces would "detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities.” War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Friday that "We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists.”

USA Today [11/29/2025 10:07 PM, Eduardo Cuevas, 67103K] reports the United States appears to be inching closer to directly attacking Venezuela. President Donald Trump on Nov. 29 issued a warning to avoid airspace around the South American country. Trump has already signaled imminent land attacks in Venezuela, a country larger than the size of Texas and a population of over 31 million people. The Trump administration has escalated its threats against Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro, accusing his government of drug trafficking and terrorism. American military have launched several strikes on vessels near Venezuela that officials accused of smuggling drugs, often without evidence, killing dozens of people. Now, after months of provocation, the administration may be readying to topple Maduro’s government. In a brief social media post, Trump warned that the airspace of Venezuela should be considered closed. The president of the United States has no authority over Venezuelan airspace, however several major international airlines suspended flights following an earlier warning due to "heightened military activity in or around" the country from the Federal Aviation Administration. "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump said on his app, Truth Social, and his more rarely used X account. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!". In a statement Saturday afternoon, Venezuela’s government condemned Trump’s comments, describing them as a "colonialist threat" against the South American country’s sovereignty and incompatible with international law. Trump’s post "represents a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act, incompatible with the principles of international law," the statement said. The United States has already positioned its largest aircraft carrier, two guided missile destroyers, and a special operations ship near Venezuela. Around 12,000 troops are stationed in the area. Trump told military service members earlier this week that the U.S. would "very soon" begin land operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers. Trump has accused Maduro of being a drug trafficker sending fentanyl that’s contributed to the American opioid crisis. On Nov. 24, the State Department designated Maduro and other high-ranking government officials as part of a foreign terrorist organization. American officials labeled Cartel de los Soles, "cartel of the suns" in English, as the government-run terrorist group. Experts have told USA TODAY the name, considered a slang term, stems from Venezuelan military commanders’ epaulettes and leaders alleged ties to drug trafficking. The actual group does not exist in the same way as established drug trafficking networks, though experts have said the Venezuelan military does have drug corruption. While some other drugs such as cocaine have been tied to Venezuela, fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid, is not a source or stopping point for the drug’s route to the United States. The precursors for fentanyl come mainly from China, and the drug is produced in Mexico before being sent across the border, mostly through legal ports of entry.

Daily Wire [11/29/2025 4:30 AM, Virginia Kruta, 2494K] reports even as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to deal with the fallout from former President Joe Biden’s refusal to enforce federal immigration law, officials at the Department of Homeland Security also find themselves taking on the near herculean task of debunking the fake sob stories pushed by Democrats and media outlets to make them look bad. Kilmar Abrego-Garcia — the gang member who quickly became a Democrat darling when the Trump administration accidentally deported him to the one country it shouldn’t have — was just the tip of the iceberg. Since the large-scale deportations began, Democrats and media personalities have glommed onto the stories of any illegal aliens that tug at the heartstrings — whether or not the story is true does not appear to figure into their calculus. On Sunday, for example, CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan went ahead with a claim that nearly half — 48% — of the illegal aliens currently being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were being held without any charges or deportation orders. DHS swooped in with the fact-check: "WRONG. ~ 70% of illegal aliens arrested have pending criminal charges or criminal convictions. Does CBS really want us to release accused murderers and rapists back on the streets? But @FacetheNation is right about one thing: our deportation operations are at a RECORD HIGH." A Saturday post from Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) referred to federal agents as kidnappers and parroted a story about a teen taken into custody at school. "Absolutely horrific. ICE detained and abducted a minor—a high school student—who the family identified as a US citizen. ICE is terrorizing our communities—I’m fighting for answers and accountability. This is just wrong," he complained. But a quick response from DHS suggested that Merkley either had not bothered to check the facts or did not care to do so.

Newsweek [11/29/2025 9:41 PM, Brendan Cole, 52220K] reports Trump administration officials have been given a deadline of next week to submit declarations explaining the decision not to turn around deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants, despite a legal order to do so. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is investigating whether the Republican administration deliberately ignored his instruction to turn around two planes carrying Venezuelan migrants out of the U.S. in March. As part of a contempt inquiry, Judge Boasberg has ordered Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Kristi Noem and other officials, to submit declarations by December 5 explaining their actions. The Trump administration has denied any violation and Newsweek has contacted the DHS for comment by email outside of office hours.

Univision [11/29/2025 3:01 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports the Trump administration announced a new executive order Friday that completely halts immigration from what it called “third world countries ,” following the shooting in Washington that left one National Guard soldier dead and another seriously wounded. The alleged attacker is a 29-year-old Afghan former soldier who previously worked with the CIA and had entered the United States legally. The president’s response has sparked intense political and legal debate. Raúl Hinojosa, a professor at UCLA, warned in an interview with Univision 34 Los Angeles that it was a hasty reaction. “It’s worrying because it’s reactionary politics, not a decision based on measured implications,” he noted. He added that the president’s impulses “ are racist and counterproductive for the future of the country.” The federal government’s classification of "third world countries" excludes Europe, the United States, and Russia, placing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America —representing approximately 80% of the world’s population—under this category. The breadth of this definition would mean that most immigration applications would be held up.

Breitbart [11/29/2025 11:25 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 2416K] reports Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) threatened to investigate and prosecute federal agents who enforce the United States’ immigration laws in the state of Oregon. In a video on Instagram, Kotek accused the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of carrying out "violent actions" and "stoking fear in the name of immigration enforcement." Kotek also said the state would "investigate misconduct" and hold federal officers accountable. "I believe as you do, in the rule of law and keeping our community safe," Kotek said. "We also believe in being a welcoming place, where our immigrant and refugee community help our state thrive. The ongoing violent actions of the federal Department of Homeland Security are unacceptable — going after Oregonians, and stoking fear in the name of ‘immigration enforcement.’". Kotek continued to explain that the use of "excessive force, reckless tactics" and putting bystanders and law enforcement in danger was "not how public safety works.” "Oregon is monitoring all ICE actions closely," Kotek added. "We will investigate misconduct, and if a federal officer breaks Oregon law, they will be held accountable — just like anyone else. I will not tolerate reckless, or unconstitutional behavior in our state.” During an interview with CBS News in October, Kotek accused federal agents of escalating situations with protesters in Portland, and called for them to "stand back and focus on de-escalating" situations. "[T]his set of demonstrations that are happening are managed by local law enforcement, as they should be," Kotek said at the time. "People have the right to lawfully protest, but if they cross the line, they are being held accountable. If criminal activity occurs, they are being held accountable. This is what free speech looks like, and I believe the federal government can continue to do the work right here." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [11/30/2025 5:01 AM, Arelis R. Hernández, Marianne LeVine and Maria Sacchetti, 32099K] reports Juan Manuel Armenta was at a bus stop en route to pick up his paycheck when he was approached by several armed men. The Department of Homeland Security had just started “Operation Midway Blitz” and was surging immigration officers into the city. On that September afternoon, Armenta became one of their first arrests. Three days later, DHS included Armenta’s mug shot in a press release titled “Pedophiles, Abusers, Rapists, and Other Violent Thugs Arrested.” It described Armenta, who concedes he crossed the border illegally more than three decades ago, as a “criminal illegal alien” with arrests for armed robbery and drunken driving. The release did not mention that the 2013 DUI allegation had been reduced to reckless driving and that police had declined to charge him in the 2006 armed robbery. “I’ve never touched a gun in my life,” Armenta said in a telephone interview from Mexico, where he was quickly deported. Two months ago, DHS sent immigration officers to Chicago to detain and deport “violent offenders” that the agency said were released from state and local jails because of “sanctuary” policies. So far, the agency says it has arrested more than 4,000 people. Officials have publicly identified only about 120 of those as having a criminal arrest or conviction, some for major crimes such as murder, and others for nonviolent offenses such as illegally crossing the border. When the operation began, the agency highlighted 11 serious criminals it said had been released and remained at large. DHS did not answer questions from The Washington Post about whether it had found them. One of the men on the list, Pedro Colmenares Gonzalez, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March. DHS did not respond to questions about why he was on the list if the agency previously detained him. “Nearly every day DHS is arresting pedophiles, known or suspected terrorists, kidnappers, child smugglers and sex traffickers, including those who entered our country illegally,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said. “The Washington Post would know this if you bothered to cover our worst of the worst arrests that DHS puts out every single day.”

New York Times [11/30/2025 5:00 AM, Jill Cowan, 153395K] reports from the passenger seat of a sky blue Prius, Amy Oba craned her neck to get a look at the federal detention center, a hulking tower surrounded by a black chain-link fence and laced with barbed wire. On a recent evening, she was on patrol, part of a group of Japanese Americans who are keeping a watchful eye on the actions of immigration agents in Los Angeles. “I definitely think about my family when we organize, when we go out on patrols, because that could have been my family in prison,” said Ms. Oba, 33. “It’s just a difference of what, like, 80 years?” During World War II, Ms. Oba’s grandparents were among the more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forced by the federal government to live for years in remote, hastily constructed internment camps across the West. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, backed by the Supreme Court, treated the Japanese Americans as national security threats because of their ethnicity. Families left behind communities, businesses, homes and even pets. Some of them never returned. It wasn’t until the Reagan administration that the government apologized and said it would pay compensation to families who were affected. Now, as the Trump administration carries out its immigration crackdown, Japanese Americans see chilling similarities to what their families experienced. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, did not respond to a request for comment. But in a statement to other news outlets in August, she said the agency was targeting the worst criminals for immigration enforcement. “Comparisons of illegal alien detention centers to internment camps used during World War II are deranged and lazy,” she told them.

Chicago Tribune [11/30/2025 6:00 AM, Jason Meisner, 4829K] reports in the four months since U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros was appointed to an open-ended term as Chicago’s top federal prosecutor, his office has seen a large turnover in leadership, been buffeted by the government shutdown and thrown headlong into the controversial Operation Midway Blitz immigration enforcement mission. Unusual times to be sure. But then last week, things got even weirder. After dismissing several criminal cases against protesters of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies, the U.S. attorney’s office was called to the woodshed in an extraordinary opinion by a federal magistrate judge that lit up the water cooler talk in legal circles. In granting the prosecution’s motion to dismiss assault charges against Dana Briggs, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes took the opportunity to opine more generally on the U.S. attorney’s office’s role in prosecuting a number of other immigration-related cases that have since fallen apart. In his nine-page opinion, Fuentes wrote he could not “help but note just how unusual and possibly unprecedented it is” for Chicago’s venerable U.S. attorney’s office to bring charges “so hastily” that, once more facts came out, they were unable to obtain an indictment in the grand jury or were forced to dismiss the case as not provable. “Being charged with a federal felony, even if it is later reduced to a misdemeanor, is no walk in the park,” Fuentes wrote. “…And any responsible federal prosecutor knows this. Any responsible federal prosecutor knows that federal charges, or any actions by the United States Attorney directed at the citizenry, must be undertaken with the utmost care.” Fuentes, a former assistant U.S. attorney and journalist, closed by saying “doing the right thing has been a mantra of the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office for generations.” “Let it remain so,” he said.

Wall Street Journal [11/30/2025 4:15 AM, Alex Leary and Vera Bergengruen, 646K] reports in this Miami suburb, support for President Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is causing anxiety over the administration’s immigration crackdown. Residents of Doral, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., are bursting with hope that the administration’s unprecedented military buildup in the Caribbean will lead to Maduro’s ouster. Thousands of immigrants settled in this South Florida city—dubbed “Little Venezuela”—after fleeing hunger, repression and economic collapse under Maduro’s rule. “We don’t care how Trump does it,” said Liliana Rodriguez Morillo, 58, an entertainer who moved to Florida from Venezuela decades ago. “No mercy. The time for talking is over.” Some of Trump’s own allies oppose a military incursion in Venezuela, and lawmakers of both parties have questioned the legality of U.S. strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels that have killed more than 80 people. But Humberto Blanco, a 60-year-old Venezuelan banker, has no such reservations. He even volunteered to join any operation to bring Maduro down. “Give me a chance,” Blanco said. “I’ll go with them.” Yet despite widespread support for Trump’s posture toward Venezuela, many here are grappling with the prospect that the president’s immigration policies could force them or their loved ones to return to the country from which they fled. The Trump administration has moved to end legal protections for more than 600,000 Venezuelans, meaning that many of those who settled in “Doralzuela,” as this city is sometimes known, could face deportation. Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has stepped up removals, deporting more than 13,200 Venezuelans back to the country, according to an analysis by ICE Flight Monitor, a group that tracks deportation flights. Flights to Caracas have continued despite Trump administration threats of military strikes and its designation of Venezuela as a narco-terrorist state too dangerous for American travel.

Los Angels Times [11/30/2025 6:00 AM, Brittny Mejia, 14672K] reports the American squatted in the dirt, struggling to free the cantaloupe from its prickly stem, almost toppling over. On either side, men bent at the waist, clearing fruit with one quick sweep of the knife and moving on to the next. The American fell further behind. The men laughed as she stumbled about, ever more sunburned. But there was no mocking in their laughter. They knew what it was like to be American, if only because their children are. Many of the workers had emigrated from the same agricultural town in Sinaloa. They had worked on their parents’ farms, before crossing illegally into the U.S. They teased one another, complained about overbearing mothers-in-law and celebrated milestones, like a daughter’s quinceañera. In the three months of harvest that brought them together, they endured six-day workweeks, picking mini watermelons and cantaloupes in summer temperatures that sometimes topped 100 degrees. One day’s work at the peak of the season could yield 12,000 watermelons for just one crew. As Trump has directed ICE and Border Patrol to nab more undocumented immigrants, dramatic images have mostly focused on raids in cities. America’s agricultural fields have, perhaps surprisingly given prior immigration enforcement there, taken a back seat. There have been agricultural raids, including in Oxnard, where video captured immigration authorities chasing a farmworker across a strawberry field, and at a cannabis farm in Camarillo where a fieldworker plunged from a roof to his death trying to evade capture. But President Trump has also acknowledged pressure from farmers, who say his aggressive immigration crackdown is taking away longtime workers. Besides, the president told CNBC in August: “These people do it naturally.” He signaled that he was open to finding a way for agricultural workers to do the jobs legally. That did not blot out the fear in many fields that raids could happen at any moment. But a far stronger feeling pervaded fields such as this one: That for now, as in the past, one simply had to work because everything counted on it.

FOX News [11/29/2025 8:00 AM, Julia Bonavita, 40621K] reports an epidemic sweeping the country’s roadways and causing human trafficking victims to vanish without a trace is being highlighted on the heels of one of the largest child-smuggling busts in United States history. Individuals being trafficked along interstate highways has become increasingly common throughout the U.S. However, data regarding just how many victims are transported along interstate highways remains unavailable, largely due to the secretive nature of such crimes. In November, a multi-regional operation involving several federal, state and local agencies resulted in the rescue of 122 missing or endangered children from ten states, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. The mission, referred to as "Operation Home for the Holidays," marked one of the largest child-recovery efforts in the country’s history and included children ranging in age from 23 months to 17 years old. Of the victims rescued, 109 children were found in various cities throughout Florida, according to Uthmeier. Thirteen children were also rescued from other states and internationally.

Axios [11/29/2025 8:43 AM, Brittany Gibson, 12972K] reports the Trump administration doesn’t have the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to meet its deportation goals. But it’s placed a huge bet that thousands of local cops can help. ICE has signed 1,100+ agreements this year for local law enforcement to cooperate on immigration arrests and detentions. The agency is dangling financial incentives from President Trump’s "big, beautiful bill." Almost 650 counties across the country are now covered by some form of the 287(g) agreement, a formal partnership between ICE and non-federal law enforcement, including sheriff’s offices and state police, according to the latest data. The surge in agreements is fueled by red states and new state laws mandating cooperation. The Homeland Security Department recently announced that these local partners will also start aiding with vetting sponsors of migrant children with whom the Biden administration lost contact.

NBC News [11/30/2025 5:00 AM, Nicole Acevedo, 43603K] reports the shriek of whistles and a cacophony of cars honking have taken on new meaning on the streets of major U.S. cities in recent months — a warning to all those in earshot that immigration enforcement is nearby. The warning tactics from activists have become popular in cities recently targeted by Border Patrol immigration operations. In Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, residents protested immigration enforcement actions and began coordinating street patrols, organizing neighborhood watch groups and recording videos of both immigration officers apprehending people and agents carrying out operations largely while masked and in unmarked vehicles. Community activists have denounced what they say are increasingly aggressive tactics by immigration agents as residents patrol and document immigration enforcement activity. Meanwhile, federal authorities have said community members’ actions have gotten in the way of immigration agents doing their job. Officers “will take legal and necessary steps to ensure their own safety and that of bystanders,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. “Deportation raids are not new, but what we see in terms of scale and severity is very new, and it requires a whole new response from us regular people, as citizens, as neighbors,” Jill Garvey, a co-director of the pro-democracy group States at the Core, said during the first nationwide virtual “ICE WATCH” training session hosted with the help of community organizers from Chicago on Nov. 21. More than 500 people attended the online training session from dozens of cities, including New York; Memphis, Tennessee; Oakland, California; and New Orleans — where some expect immigration operations to begin in December. Different people expressed fear, heartbreak, anxiety and outrage over the current state of immigration enforcement and asked for tips, including how to adjust ICE Watch strategies to fit the needs of rural communities and how to monitor enforcement efforts around sensitive locations such as churches, schools or workplaces.

NewsMax [11/29/2025 6:47 PM, Jim Thomas, 4109K] reports social media posts ignited a rapid backlash Saturday after reports that federal immigration agents in New York were being physically blocked from leaving their facility. According to individuals at the scene, the confrontation unfolded near an ICE garage entrance where protesters reportedly dragged objects into the roadway and used private property as improvised obstacles. The blockages slowed or temporarily trapped federal personnel preparing for routine operations. Saturday’s incident followed previous clashes in Lower Manhattan, including an earlier confrontation that day in which demonstrators attempted to block ICE vehicles after an enforcement sweep on Canal Street. That earlier standoff involved shouting crowds, vandalized barriers, and attempts to prevent agents from departing the area. Posts on X alleged that protesters were using others property to create makeshift barricades that blocked ICE vehicles from advancing in New York on Saturday. One video reposted by independent reporter Nick Sortor gained significant traction online. "Anti-ICE rioters in NYC are now DESTROYING property to create barriers blocking ICE from driving through NYC How is this NOT an insurrection? ICE is having to fight to even leave their facility — let alone DEPORT illegals," Sortor wrote Saturday afternoon, prompting widespread debate over whether local authorities were responding adequately. Commenters weighed in with heated reactions. One wrote, "When [Zohran] Mamdani takes over as Mayor, he will order the NYPD police to stand down against the ‘protestors.’ They will block ICE without any police pushback. What happens then? Does Trump have to call out an insurrection and send in the National Guard?". Another X user posted, "I’m at a point that my candidate of choice in 2028 will be the one who says verbatim ‘I will continue to deport, revoke greencards, cancel visas and denaturalize all illegally present as well as those legally present whose ideology is inconsistent with the west.” Officials in New York have not released a formal statement about the latest blockade, and ICE has not confirmed whether the online videos depict the entire sequence of events. The growing frequency of these confrontations signals increasing tension between federal immigration enforcement and local groups determined to obstruct it.

FOX News [11/29/2025 7:28 PM, Alexandra Koch, CB Cotton, 40621K] reports police confirmed multiple arrests Saturday after hundreds of anti-ICE agitators were caught on video throwing trash cans and debris at officers near a government building in New York City. The incident happened during an ongoing crackdown on illegal immigrants in Chinatown, which has spurred protests in the area for more than a month. Officers responded to Centre and Howard streets, near the U.S. General Service Administration building in Lower Manhattan, just before noon on a report of disorderly protesters, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) told Fox News Digital. When police arrived, they found people blocking the street and exits at different locations, the NYPD said. Video footage showed rioters pushing large potted plants in front of ICE vehicles, throwing trash at officers and screaming obscenities. They were also spotted hurling trash cans and recycling bins and pushing barricades against officers. Police said the protesters were told multiple times to disperse but did not comply. Multiple people were taken into custody, according to the NYPD. The total number of arrests has not yet been released. ICE Public Affairs Assistant Director Emily Covington told Fox News that the protest was coordinated on social media, and organizers called agitators to ICE’s location in New York City. "Individuals dressed in black clothing with backpacks, face masks, and goggles showed up and began to obstruct federal law enforcement officers including by blocking the parking garage," Covington wrote in a statement. "When individuals broadcast the location of ICE, they are putting a target on the backs of officers.” She added ICE officers are facing a 1,150% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats as they make lawful arrests of criminal illegal immigrants. "We are grateful for the NYPD officers that responded to these violent agitators and stopped the lawlessness that ensued," Covington wrote. "We will never apologize for enforcing the law and removing criminal illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists from our communities. We won’t let violent rioters slow us down and anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Federal Newswire [11/29/2025 10:45 AM, Staff] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a detainer for Nina Kristina Jaaskelainen, a Finnish national who has been living in the United States illegally since 1999. The action follows her arrest by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office after an incident in New Smyrna, Florida, where she allegedly threw coffee on a mother, her infant son, and their dog during a confrontation about the dog not being leashed. Jaaskelainen was taken into custody and charged with battery and domestic violence. ICE filed the detainer with the Volusia County Jail on November 15, 2025, aiming to prevent her release back into the community. “For over TWO DECADES, Jaaskelainen has been in our country illegally, skirting the law without consequence. Now, a baby, a mother, and a dog have been assaulted by her,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.”She is now facing charges for battery and domestic violence. ICE lodged an arrest detainer to ensure she can never victimize another American family. President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens.”

FOX News [11/29/2025 10:00 AM, Peter D’Abrosca, 40621K] reports a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) policy allows illegal immigrant students excused absences if they or their family members are afraid of federal immigration enforcement activities in the area. A document called Chicago Public Schools’ Attendance Coding for Safety Concerns Related to Federal Representative Activity, obtained by education watchdog Defending Education, affirms that illegal immigrant students can be marked as "excused" if a parent conveys to the school a fear of federal immigration authorities. No specific details about the absence are required — just that a student’s health and safety might be in jeopardy — and the policy explicitly states that "CPS policy does not provide a time limit" on how long fear of federal immigration enforcement can be used to obtain excused absences. The reason for a student’s absence must be communicated via one of the district’s approved methods to be considered an "excused absence." Further, if a parent is "impacted by federal representative-related procedures," he or she can designate a guardian to inform the school that the child needs an excused absence.

Telemundo Washington DC [11/29/2025 5:47 PM, Holly Ramer, 61K] reports a college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was deported to Honduras, violating a court order, according to her lawyer. Lucía López Belloza, 19, had already gone through security at Boston’s Logan International Airport on November 20 when she was informed there was a problem with her boarding pass, according to attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was detained by immigration officials and, within two days, sent to Texas and then to Honduras, the country she left at age 7. "She’s completely devastated," Pomerleau said. "Her college dream has been shattered." According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an immigration judge had ordered López Belloza’s deportation in 2015. Pomerleau stated that he was unaware of any deportation order, and that the only record he found indicated that his case was closed in 2017. "They are blaming her for something that, they claim, happened a decade ago, something she has no idea about and for which she presents no evidence," the lawyer stated. The day after López Belloza’s arrest, a federal judge issued an emergency order prohibiting the government from removing her from Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours. ICE did not respond Friday to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on the violation of that order. Babson College also did not respond to an email seeking comment. López Belloza, who is with his grandparents in Honduras, told The Boston Globe that he was looking forward to telling his parents and younger sisters about his first semester studying business. "That was my dream," he said. "I’m losing everything."

New York Post [11/30/2025 4:10 AM, Michael Sinkewicz, 42219K] reports bar patrons are raising a glass to a local Idaho saloon after its viral social media post promised "free beer" to anyone who helps Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) track down and deport an illegal immigrant. The Old State Saloon alerted its followers Saturday, writing on X that "anyone who helps ICE identify and ultimately deport an illegal from Idaho gets FREE BEER FOR ONE MONTH" at its establishment. The watering hole, located in Eagle, Idaho, added that it "may award multiple months to one person if multiple illegals are deported.” Anyone trying to claim their free beer is asked to send evidence, including photos and videos, to deportations@oldstatesaloon.com. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reposted the saloon’s promotion with a GIF highlighting their amazement with the offer. The bar enthusiastically replied, "Let’s go! Deport them all!". One user responded to the announcement, asking if the saloon could create a leaderboard and champion a "Deporter of the Year" at the end of the year who wins even more free beer. At least one person has already been approved by the saloon. The establishment posted that Ryan Spoon, vice chair of the Ada County Republican Central Committee in Idaho, would receive free beer from any of its 20 draft options after he provided evidence that he helped ICE make an arrest. Conservative Gen Z influencer Bo Loudon also responded to the saloon’s announcement, calling it an "incredible idea" on X. "This is why I love the United States," he added. While many people supported the saloon’s initiative, others called for the bar to be canceled or boycotted. The saloon even posted negative Google reviews, asserting that "1 star reviews roll in from the loser LEFT.” The saloon noted in its social media bio that "liberals around the world hate us," while claiming to be the "Birthplace of Heterosexual Awesomeness Month. In 2024, the saloon’s owner Mark Fitzpatrick announced that his establishment would be promoting "Heterosexual Awesomeness Month" featuring discounts and free beer for heterosexual men, women and couples throughout June, in response to Pride Month. The saloon offers a wide array of merchandise on its store website, including shirts that display the slogan, "Make America Straight Again.” DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Federal Newswire [11/29/2025 11:45 AM, Staff] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Abel Kai Gblah, a Liberian national and registered sex offender, following his arrest for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old student at Orangewood Elementary School in Arizona. According to local reports, Gblah allegedly impersonated a doctor to gain access to the child before committing the assault. The victim reported that Gblah told her he needed to perform tests as a doctor and then assaulted her. She managed to escape, after which Gblah fled but was apprehended by police at his home and taken into custody at Maricopa County Jail. Gblah faces charges including sexual assault, abduction, lewd acts with a minor, and kidnapping with intent to sexually assault. ICE officials stated that after his arrest for child sex crimes in 2021, Gblah should have been marked as a removal priority. “This monster sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in her own elementary school. Case in point: if ICE officers were to ever go into an elementary school it would be to arrest a depraved criminal like this,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “The Biden administration failed this innocent little girl. The moment this criminal alien was arrested for child sex crimes in 2021, he should have become a removal priority. The Biden administration should have never allowed this dangerous creep to roam free and terrorize an innocent child.”

Los Angeles Times [11/29/2025 8:00 AM, Howard Blume and Kate Payne, 14862K] reports across the nation, immigration raids and border restrictions have led to a drop in K-12 enrollment that appears to number in at least the tens of thousands, affecting Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami and elsewhere, based on figures provided by school district officials. The drop also reflects the lack of non-U.S.-born students, or "newcomers," entering the nation’s public school systems. For students who had already been attending U.S. schools, the decline is an indicator of disrupted learning — and, in some school districts, financial shortfalls.

Univision [11/29/2025 9:19 AM, Staff, 5004K] reports by order of President Donald Trump, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, will review thousands of permanent residences of immigrants of at least 19 nationalities, including Cubans and Venezuelans, granted during the Biden administration. Joseph B. Edlow, director of USCIS, wrote on his X account: “Under President Trump’s direction, I have directed a rigorous and full-scale new vetting of every Green Card for every alien from every country of interest.” In total there would be 19 countries and among them are Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iran. According to immigration lawyers consulted by News 23, the processes of those who are not yet residents will also be affected.

Univision Chicago WGBO [11/29/2025 12:32 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports President Donald Trump ‘s announcement to halt “third world” immigration and USCIS’s re-evaluation of all green cards issued to people who had immigrated to the United States from 19 countries has alarmed thousands of people with legal residency status. This measure came after the November 26 shooting in Washington DC when an Afghan asylum seeker allegedly shot and killed a National Guard officer and wounded another. Therefore, the government requested a review of all green cards issued to individuals from 19 countries considered high-risk over the past decade. These countries include Venezuela, Haiti, and Cuba. For migration experts, the announcement requires clarity.

Univision [11/29/2025 3:57 PM, Staff, 5004K] Video: HERE reports News 23 spoke with the wife of Daniel Reyes Acosta, a Cuban with I-220A who was stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol, FHP, without, according to them, having committed an infraction , and who ended up in Alcatraz of the Alligators. Reyes Acosta was stopped by a Florida Highway Patrol officer in Palm Beach, who told him that the owner of the car he was driving did not appear in his records as a citizen or a legal resident , so he called ICE and they took him to the Alligator Detention Center. “The officer argues that he is stopping him because when he checks his license plate, it shows that the owner of the vehicle has neither residency nor citizenship,” said René Domínguez, Reyes Acosta’s wife. On February 7, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida Highway Patrol would collaborate with ICE. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [11/29/2025 3:40 PM, Mirna Alsharif and Christine Rapp, 34509K] reports around 53 million people from South Dakota to New York are under winter weather alerts this weekend as travelers head home from Thanksgiving festivities. A winter storm system is expected to intensify Saturday morning, bringing steady snow showers and creating potentially hazardous travel conditions across Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit and Roanoke, Virginia, are a few of the cities at risk through the weekend. Over 4,400 flights traveling into, within and from the U.S. on Saturday afternoon were delayed, and 1,418 were canceled, according to FlightAware. A majority of these cancellations were at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where more than 940 flights have been canceled and almost 800 delayed.

Wall Street Journal [11/29/2025 9:00 PM, Heather Somerville and Vera Bergengruen, 646K] reports the U.S. military has turned its attention southward, and the defense industry is lining up to sell it the tools for a different kind of war. Defense-tech companies and artificial-intelligence startups have found a vital new market in President Trump’s rapidly escalating drug war. Weapons and AI platforms that were designed for a future conflict with China or struggled to prove themselves on the Ukrainian battlefield have found a niche in the administration’s tech-enabled crackdown on drug trafficking. Drone and imaging companies are assisting the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy with interdiction operations in the Caribbean. AI companies from Silicon Valley to Dubai are pitching platforms that promise to map the hidden networks of fentanyl traffickers. On the southern U.S. border, a counterdrone system developed in Ukraine is being repurposed to deflect incursions from Mexico. As Washington has revived the rhetoric and legal tools of the global war on terror, more companies large and small have staked their claims to the emerging market, at times retooling to fit the latest mission. They have rebranded their drones, sensors, AI tools and data platforms as custom tools for Trump’s fight against “narco-terror.” The effort has accelerated since early September, when the U.S. military began an unprecedented campaign against small drug-trafficking vessels, executing strikes that have killed more than 80 people. Some regional allies have accused the U.S. of extrajudicial killings of civilians. The Trump administration maintains that drug cartels pose an imminent threat to America’s national security. The legality of the boat strikes has been contested by U.S. lawmakers, foreign allies, the United Nations and human-rights groups. But the pushback mostly hasn’t deterred companies jockeying for a role in the Trump administration’s broader counternarcotics operations.

SFGate [11/29/2025 6:29 AM, Staff, 13945K] reports police heard shots fired Saturday morning at the U.S. Coast Guard Housing area in Novato as they were searching the area following reports of shots heard overnight. The Novato Police Department announced at 10:15 a.m. that tactical officers heard shots fired in the U.S. Coast Guard Housing area located at the former Hamilton Army Airfield. At the time, officers were investigating reports of shots heard in the area overnight. Police, with the help of Marin Regional Crisis Response Unit and Coast Guard officials, are investigating the source of the shots. Residents in the area are advised to stay indoors and 911 if they see any suspicious activity. It is unclear if the shots heard Saturday morning are related to a shooting that occurred in the same area Thursday, where there was an altercation between a U.S Coast Guard Security officer and an unknown suspect. Officers did not find the suspect Thursday after searching the area, who was described as a white male wearing tattered black clothing. As of Saturday morning, investigators have not made any arrests related to the Thursday shooting.

FOX News [11/29/2025 2:00 PM, Kurt Knutsson, 40621K] reports cybersecurity has been reshaped by the rapid rise of advanced artificial intelligence tools, and recent incidents show just how quickly the threat landscape is shifting. Over the past year, we’ve seen a surge in attacks powered by AI models that can write code, scan networks and automate complex tasks. This capability has helped defenders, but it has also enabled attackers to move faster than before. The latest example is a major cyberespionage campaign conducted by a Chinese state-linked group that used Anthropic’s Claude to carry out large parts of an attack with very little human involvement.

New York Post [11/30/2025 12:08 AM, Nicholas McEntyre, 42219K] reports at least four people — including children — were killed and ten others were wounded during a mass shooting at a family gathering in California on Saturday night, as the gunman remains at large, officials said. The shooting broke out just before 6 p.m. inside the banquet hall on the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue near Thornton Rd in Stockton, San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent told reporters, according to KCRA. "This is a very active and ongoing investigation, and information remains limited. Early indications suggest this may be a targeted incident, and investigators are exploring all possibilities," Brent said. "Detectives are actively working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.” The victims were not identified but ranged in age from 8 to 22 years old, according to Stockton Councilwoman Michele Padilla. Those who were shot were transported to area hospitals and their conditions are unknown. The alleged gunman fled the scene and remains at large. "Our number one priority is identifying the suspect in this incident," Brent said. "We’re very grateful for our local law enforcement agencies; we have called out several agencies to come out and assist," she added. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the shooting. Brent could not confirm the type of celebration taking place inside the banquet hall. However, Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee said the shooting happened at a child’s birthday party, calling it a tragedy for the community 90 miles east of San Francisco. "Tonight, my heart is heavy in a way that’s hard to put into words. As Vice Mayor of Stockton — and as someone who grew up in this community — I am devastated and angry to learn about the mass shooting at a child’s birthday party," Lee wrote on Facebook. "Violence touched my life as a young person, and seeing our own children, parents, and neighbors go through this shakes me deeply. Stockton is my home. These are our families. This is our community," he said. "Tonight, I’m sending my thoughts, prayers, and love to the families who are hurting, to the children who witnessed this trauma, and to everyone across our city who feels this pain," Lee added. "Please God, uplift our community. We don’t deserve this. And we will not accept this as our norm.” The tragedy happened approximately 24 hours after a shooting wounded three people inside the Westfield Valley Fair Mall on Black Friday in Santa Clara — 80 miles away from Saturday’s incident. A verbal argument turned violent when the armed suspect pulled out a gun and allegedly shot the man he was arguing with, San Jose police said. An adult female and 16-year-old girl were struck by stray bullets, officials revealed. All three victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Reported similarly:
AP [11/30/2025 4:56 AM, Staff, 31753K]
CNN [11/30/2025 12:35 AM, Hanna Park, 606K]
FOX News [11/30/2025 12:25 AM, Landon Mion, 40621K]
USA Today [11/30/2025 12:45 PM, Elizabeth Roberts, James Ward, Victoria Franco, 67103K]
San Francisco Chronicle [11/29/2025 10:46 PM, Brooke Park, 4722K]
Univision [11/30/2025 1:28 AM, Staff, 5004K]

Washington Post [11/30/2025 6:00 AM, Noah Robertson, Tara Copp, and Sarah Ellison, 32099K] reports after Donald Trump’s reelection last year, a retired Army general who’d been critical of the president in the past made a list of the ways that the incoming administration could come after him, should he speak out again. He identified three scenarios: a civil suit, an IRS audit, or a recall to active duty where, conceivably, he could face criminal charges in the military’s justice system. The retired general, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, recalled that exercise after Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said Monday that the Pentagon will investigate Mark Kelly, a Democratic senator from Arizona and retired Navy officer, for his role in making a controversial video reminding service members of their duty to disobey unlawful orders. Trump’s “retribution campaign,” the retired general said, has had a significant “chilling effect.” In targeting Kelly and another prominent Democratic critic of the administration, Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virginia, the Defense Department under Hegseth has been co-opted into the president’s norm-shattering bid to exploit what are supposed to be the nonpartisan tools of government to crush political foes. The Trump administration has sought to punish its enemies through mortgage fraud investigations overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and through criminal probes that Trump personally demanded the attorney general pursue. Enlisting the Pentagon in this effort poses a unique threat to American democracy, according to historians, retired military officers and legal experts. Long-standing taboos against using the armed forces to further a president’s political machinations have helped ensure that service members obey their civilian leaders — and prevent this powerful institution from being used to suppress Americans’ constitutional rights. Discarding that standard, experts say, risks setting a harmful precedent. “The best way to stop a politicization death spiral,” said Peter Feaver, who studies civil-military relations at Duke University, “is to never start it.”

FOX News [11/29/2025 12:50 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman joins ‘Fox News Live’ to break down President Donald Trump’s warning that Venezuelan airspace is now closed as his cartel crackdown intensifies. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [11/29/2025 5:45 PM, Selina Wang and Lalee Ibssa, 30493K] Video: HERE reports President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered "closed in its entirety." "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump posted, giving no further details about potential action from the U.S. against Venezuela as the Trump administration ramps up the pressure against alleged drug cartels. ABC News has reached out to the White House for more information. Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines about a "potentially hazardous" situation in the skies over Venezuela, citing "worsening security" and "heightened military activity" that could threaten aircraft at all altitudes. Following that announcement, six international carriers suspended flights to Venezuela’s capital Caracas. In response to Trump’s post, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry released a statement, calling it "a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act, incompatible with the most basic principles of International Law." The statement called on the UN and international community to "firmly reject this immoral act of aggression," which it said "amounts to a threat against the sovereignty and security of our Homeland, the Caribbean, and northern South America." Venezuelan officials said the announcement will halt deportation flights carrying Venezuelans from the U.S. back to Venezuela, saying Trump’s announcement "unilaterally suspended the Venezuelan migrant flights that were regularly and weekly being carried out." Trump’s announcement came two days after a call with service members on Thanksgiving, during which he said land action against alleged drug traffickers in Venezuela would be starting "very soon." "You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land. Also the land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon," Trump said, adding "We warned them: stop sending poison to our country." Trump has been ramping up military pressure on Venezuela with a massive show of force in the Caribbean Sea, including deploying the USS Gerald Ford, the largest and most lethal carrier in the world. Since September, the U.S. has launched at least 20 strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing more than 80 people. But the administration has offered no public evidence to prove they were actually smuggling drugs. The Trump administration claims Maduro is responsible for trafficking drugs into the U.S. Maduro has denied any ties to the drug trade. The Trump administration has formally added Maduro and his government to the State Department’s list of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations. Trump claims that gives him the authority to strike inside Venezuela, though many legal experts dispute that.

Reported similarly:
AP [11/29/2025 2:44 PM, Josh Boak and Gabriela Molina, 31753K]

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