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.

NewsMax [10/1/2025 2:19 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4779K] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents have arrested more than 800 illegal aliens in Illinois during Operation Midway Blitz, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The operation — which targets criminal illegal aliens living in Chicago or other areas of Illinois — began Sept. 8, DHS said, in honor of 20-year-old Katie Abraham who was killed in January in a drunken driving hit-and-run crash that was allegedly caused by an illegal alien. "During Operation Midway Blitz, DHS law enforcement has made more than 800 arrests across Illinois," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "The Trump administration will not allow violent criminals or repeat offenders to terrorize our neighborhoods or victimize our children and innocent Americans." "We will not allow sanctuary politicians or violent rioters to stop us from enforcing the law and arresting pedophiles, murderers, gang members, rapists, and domestic abusers from American communities," she added. DHS said that anti-immigration enforcement protesters threatened to "shoot ICE" outside the Broadview ICE processing center recently as law enforcement officers continued the Illinois operation by apprehending illegal aliens with a range of criminal convictions. The Daily Wire [10/1/2025 1:54 PM, Jennie Taer, 3184K] reports that during Operation Midway Blitz, Border Patrol Marine Units in Chicago apprehended an illegal alien from Honduras who had been previously removed 5 times, making this arrest his 6th time. The Trump administration’s immigration raids in Chicago and the nearby suburbs started in September, with the deployment of additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents to the Windy City. In response, protestors have taken to the streets in an attempt to block the agents from arresting illegal immigrants. Rioters have also targeted an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, laying their hands on agents, hurling tear gas at them and slashing the tires of their cars.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 3:34 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1563K]

Breitbart [10/1/2025 12:05 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 2608K] reports a massive illegal immigration raid in Chicago — targeting members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang — resulted in over two dozen arrests as the Trump administration makes good on its promise to keep American communities safe, despite sanctuary city policies making it difficult to do so. The raid involved several agencies and 300 federal officers, which took place on Tuesday in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. Authorities have reason to believe that the apartment complex has been used as a hub of sorts for the violent gang members. According to Fox 32 Chicago: The FBI confirmed in a statement to FOX 32 Chicago that their agency assisted U.S. Border Patrol in conducting a "targeted immigration enforcement operation." Border Patrol officials said they arrested more than a dozen people, who were then taken to the Broadview ICE facility to be processed. The outlet also cited a Border Patrol official, who said they were "seeking six high priority targets, including suspected members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization," per the report. "DHS is launching Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham who was killed in Illinois by a criminal illegal alien who should have never been in our country," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "This operation will target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago. For years, Governor Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets—putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals," she continued. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens," she added. "If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return." Univision Chicago WGBO [10/1/2025 11:54 AM, Staff, 4932K] reports that according to a statement sent to Univision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the operation resulted in the arrest of at least 37 undocumented immigrants. DHS stated that it was a "targeted immigration operation" aimed at arresting members of the Tren de Aragua criminal group. The statement details: “In the early morning of September 30, 2025, federal law enforcement agencies, along with CBP, the FBI, and the ATF, conducted an operation in the south side of Chicago, a location frequented by members of the Tren de Aragua gang and their accomplices. Some of the individuals targeted are believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons offenses, and immigration violations. Preliminary information from the operations indicates that at least 37 undocumented immigrants were arrested.” News Nation released images of the operation and confirmed the participation of 300 federal agents and officers. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino stated that the objective was to strengthen security in the area and that the operation took days of preparation.

Reported similarly:
Blaze [10/1/2025 9:45 AM, Cooper Williamson, 1559K]

New York Times [10/1/2025 7:03 PM, Julie Bosman, Hamed Aleaziz and Robert Chiarito, 143795K] reports the Trump administration has vowed for more than a month to bring a show of federal force to Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, to crack down on illegal immigration. This week, the administration has visibly followed through. On Sunday, federal officers in camouflage patrolled tourist-heavy areas of downtown Chicago in a conspicuous pack, attracting stares and taunts, including from a bicyclist the agents tried to chase. On Monday, U.S. military officials said that 100 National Guard troops would be deployed to Illinois to protect federal facilities, a mobilization that is expected in the coming days. And early on Tuesday, federal agents, using drones, helicopters, trucks and dozens of vehicles, conducted a middle-of-the-night raid on a rundown apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, leaving the building mostly empty of residents by morning and neighbors stunned. “It felt like we were under siege,” said one bystander, Darrell Ballard, 63, showing videos on his cellphone of officers entering the apartment building in the dark. A U.S. Border Patrol official involved with the operation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that the effort involved nearly 300 federal agents from various agencies. The agents came from various directions around the building. The operation that night targeted an apartment complex that federal officials said was frequented by members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The Border Patrol official said that snipers rappelled down from helicopters on top of the apartment complex, as a precaution from potential violence. Federal authorities said that at least 37 people without legal immigration status were arrested. Since early September, when the Trump administration announced the immigration crackdown in the Chicago area, calling it Operation Midway Blitz, agents have arrested more than 800 people, the Department of Homeland Security said. “The Trump administration will not allow violent criminals or repeat offenders to terrorize our neighborhoods or victimize our children and innocent Americans,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs for the department. The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a legal challenge last week against the arrests of 35 people, including three U.S. citizens, that they argue had violated a prior consent decree limiting ICE from conducting warrantless arrests and traffic stops. In one predawn operation, which Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, personally oversaw and later posted to her social media account, a helicopter and tens of federal officers wearing military-style tactical gear with high-powered rifles and flash-bang grenades descended on a home in Elgin, Ill. Inside, a man was getting ready for work when he “saw red lasers all over the kitchen and the front door,” and suddenly heard an explosion, according to the filing contesting the 35 arrests. The government has not responded to the filing yet. Ms. McLaughlin has said the agency does not “arrest or deport citizens” and described its operations as “highly targeted.”

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 6:16 PM, Staff, 1563K] reports a Republican state lawmaker and a Democratic Chicago alderman agree that sanctuary policies are the reason federal agencies have ramped up their presence in Illinois. State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Murrayville) said he is introducing House Bill 1317 to repeal the law that prohibits local law enforcement from working with federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants. "This law, the TRUST Act, is the reason why federal authorities have come to Illinois. It’s because Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker has made it illegal for our local law enforcement to enforce federal laws," Davidsmeyer said. "The reality is that Gov. Pritzker is more concerned about building his progressive national image than he is about protecting Illinois families from murderers and rapists.” Last January, Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez and former state Rep. and current Alderman Silvana Tabares, D-Chicago, proposed an amendment to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance. The measure would have allowed cooperation with federal immigration officers when people were arrested or convicted for gang crimes, drug crimes, prostitution-related activities such as human trafficking, or sex crimes involving minors. The city council voted against the proposal. Lopez said Mayor Brandon Johnson and his supporters essentially told the federal government to work without cooperation. "You challenged them to go do that, and yet you cry here and say we’re under attack, that we’re going to stand in solidarity. You should have thought about that eight months ago," Lopez said. Davidsmeyer said the Chicago mayor has shown nothing but contempt for law enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security said federal agencies would continue to liberate Chicago from violent criminal illegal aliens.

NewsNation [10/1/2025 5:45 PM, Jeff Arnold, Ali Bradley, 6811K] reports federal immigration enforcement operations across the country, including Chicago and Portland, are not expected to be significantly affected by the government shutdown as Department of Homeland officials continue to prioritize security, albeit with 200,000 officers working for free. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a social media post Tuesday night that federal law enforcement officers will continue to work throughout the government shutdown. She blamed Democrats for forcing more than 150,000 federal officers and nearly 50,000 military members, whom she referred to as the nation’s front line of defense, to "continue protecting our nation without pay." The agency reported 11,671 encounters during the month, nearly 8,400 of which were handled by the U.S. Border Patrol. The illegal crossings were the second highest for any single month since President Donald Trump took office in January and the most since May. In the short term, Clem said that day-to-day operations for federal agencies should not be affected. Some higher-level operations could be impacted, but those working in various federal operations at the border and across the nation’s interior will remain largely unfazed. DHS recruitment of new agents, hiring bonuses likely not affected by shutdown.

(B) NBC News Daily [10/1/2025 1:26 PM, Staff] reports federal investigators have new insight into a massive cyberattack from over the summer after a hacker stole sensitive data from FEMA and Customs and Border Protection. Investigators say the weekslong hacking event forced an urgent cleanup operation by IT officials from Homeland Security. A memo from Secretary Noem says the hackers got access to FEMA’s network that oversees the operations in the south and southwest. As a result, Noem fired about two dozen FEMA IT employees.

The AP [10/1/2025 5:30 PM, Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister, 27036K] reports that, citing the 9/11 attacks and other threats, a U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked the federal government from diverting or withdrawing $34 million in funding to protect New York’s transportation system from terrorist attacks. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said the state of New York will "quite likely" be able to prove its claims that the money would be improperly diverted because the Trump administration wanted to punish New York for not cooperating with its massive deportation program. The state sued the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday, noting that the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks let to the creation of the Rail and Transit Security Grant Program to protect transit systems from chemical, biological, radiological and explosives threats. The city’s transit system isn’t the only agency facing cuts. The Trump administration slashed federal counterterrorism funding for the New York Police Department from $90 million to nearly $10 million, a move that Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday called "profoundly bad news.” The Justice Department declined to comment. In granting a temporary restraining order, Kaplan noted that the grant program was created with instructions that it be allocated solely on the basis of terrorism risk. "Obviously, New York is no stranger to risks of terrorist attacks and it’s not just 9/11 that tells us that," the judge said before recounting numerous attacks in the city since the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others. He also noted that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, described as the architect of the Sept. 11 attacks, was to be tried in New York until "enough pressure from Congress and the city’s administration" got the decision overturned. "And he’s still in Guantanamo years later with no end to a trial in sight. Why did that happen? It happened because of an acute fear of terrorism attacks," Kaplan said. The judge said it was "reasonably likely, quite likely" that the city of New York will prove the Trump administration withdrew the money because it decided "New York should be punished for exercising its responsibilities in a way that does not satisfy the administration in what it calls the largest deportation mission in history.” At an afternoon news conference before the ruling, Tisch warned that it was a "profound mistake" to take anti-terrorism funding away from "the No. 1 terrorist target in the world.” "Cutting these resources now, in a time of global conflict and surging threats, puts lives at risk and will make our city meaningfully less safe. To be blunt, this is the difference between a city that prevents the next attack and a city left exposed to it," she added. NewsMax [10/1/2025 5:20 PM, Staff, 4779K] reports New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her department, filing an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and accusing them of unlawfully withholding nearly $34 million in funding sought by the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Further, the judge rejected the government’s claim that funds hadn’t yet been allocated, stressing that national security interests are at stake. The New York Post [10/1/2025 7:03 PM, Vaughn Golden, et al., 43962K] reports that a Trump-appointed judge in Rhode Island, Judge Mary McElroy, signed a similar court order on Tuesday temporarily blocking the White House from nixing $187 million from the counterterrorism budgets of the Big Apple, plus funds from 11 other Democrat-leaning cities. In New York, the federal funds support bomb squads, patrols around sensitive targets like houses of worship, intelligence analysts and tech like radiation detectors to monitor for explosives. "I want to be very direct about this. If these cuts go through as planned, it will represent a devastating blow to our counterterrorism and intelligence programs in New York City," said NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who helms the country’s largest municipal police force, said Wednesday.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [10/1/2025 9:01 PM, Staff, 45245K]

New York Times [10/1/2025 3:35 PM, Grace Ashford and Stefanos Chen, 330K] reports that, for months, the Trump administration has vowed to claw back federal funding to states and cities that it views as hostile to its immigration and anti-diversity priorities. In New York, that pledge has apparently been carried out with gusto. State officials recently learned that New York would lose $100 million from the Department of Homeland Security for counterterrorism programs. The cut comes on top of an earlier funding reduction, announced in August, of $87 million. New York, along with 10 other states and the District of Columbia, sued on Monday to block the Homeland Security cuts. And on Tuesday, a federal judge in Rhode Island granted the states a temporary reprieve, essentially freezing the funds while the case plays out in court. If the cuts are carried out in New York, they would reduce the federal contribution to the counterterrorism programs to just $30 million — an 86 percent reduction from what the state received under the Biden administration. “A Republican administration literally defunding the police is the height of hypocrisy — and walking away from the fight against terrorism in the No. 1 terrorist target in America is utterly shocking,” Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said in a statement on Tuesday. In a letter sent on Monday to Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, Ms. Hochul demanded that the decision be reversed and accused the secretary of making “all of America more vulnerable to terrorist attacks." “Do not play games with this critical security funding,” she warned. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. Ms. Noem has not responded to Ms. Hochul’s letter, according to the governor’s office. The New York City police said in a statement that the loss of funding was a “devastating blow to our capabilities and our efforts to protect all Americans from terrorist attacks,” calling the decision “incredibly dangerous.” The cuts are part of a nationwide reshaping of counterterrorism support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which distributed roughly $1 billion through its Homeland Security Grant Program to states for such efforts last year. New York’s share of that was roughly $220 million, which funded a broad array of programs for the New York City police and fire departments, as well as state police, and regional threat response units on Long Island and in Westchester. The grants helped fund bomb squads, canine teams and chemical weapon detection. They helped train officers to respond to an active shooter situation or a collapsed building, and paid for intelligence analysts and for members of the National Guard standing watch at Grand Central Terminal. “I don’t understand how you justify this,” said Jackie Bray, New York’s commissioner of homeland security and emergency services, adding, “There will be public safety professionals who lose their jobs over the next two years because of these cuts, unequivocally.” The cuts come just a week after the Secret Service found a huge network of illicit, sophisticated equipment in the New York region that was capable of interfering with the cellular network, just as foreign leaders prepared to gather nearby for the U.N. General Assembly’s annual session. The network, now dismantled, underscored the city’s unique status as an international target.

The Hill [10/1/2025 11:10 AM, Brett Samuels, 12414K] reports the Trump administration announced Wednesday it was pausing federal funding for infrastructure projects in New York City, citing concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought posted on social platform X that roughly $18 billion in funding for the city has been "put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.” Vought later specified that the affected funding was for the Hudson Tunnel project, which helps connect New Jersey and New York, and the Second Avenue subway. The Department of Transportation said it was reviewing whether any "unconstitutional practices are occurring" with those two projects in connection to a rule barring "race- and sex-based contracting requirements from federal grants.” "The Department is focusing on these projects because they are arguably the largest infrastructure initiatives in the Western Hemisphere, and the American people want to see them completed quickly and efficiently," the department said in a statement. The agency cautioned that the review could take longer than expected because some staff have been furloughed during the government shutdown. A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 2:10 PM, Staff, 1563K] reports that Illinois statehouse Republicans are pushing for a measure to give police conducting official business some distance from protesters as immigration enforcement ramps up. Speaking with members of the military at Quantico on Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump talked about how close protesters are getting to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, as has been seen in the village of Broadview, Illinois. "People are standing, their mouth is this far away from their mouth, and they’re spitting at them, screaming at them," Trump said. Trump said "if they spit, we hit." He also said Illinois "desperately" needs the military to address public safety. The village of Broadview told the community of 8,000, that local police and first responders "did not attack demonstrators." "Actions taken during protests were by federal ICE agents, not by our local officers," wrote Mayor Katrina Thompson. "I want to emphasize that while Broadview will always respect and uphold the Illinois Trust Act and protect your constitutional First Amendment rights, we ask that demonstrations remain peaceful and that confrontations with federal agents be avoided.” The Illinois TRUST Act prohibits local and state law enforcement in Illinois from cooperating with federal immigration officials enforcing civil detention orders. Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said protesters in Broadview were chanting "arrest ICE, shoot ICE." Two individuals were later arrested and charged this week with illegally possessing firearms. "These rioters are laying siege and interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations," wrote ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons. "Failure to help provide relief makes you a party to the obstruction of justice." Pritzker said he’s been in talks with law enforcement in Broadview.

AP [10/1/2025 7:06 PM, Adrian Sainz and Travis Loller, 27036K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Wednesday rallied members of a federal law enforcement task force that has begun operating in Memphis as part of President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting plan for the city. The officials met with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican who has supported the project, before touring a staging area for the Memphis Safe Task Force and then speaking to a group of federal, state and local law enforcement officers and Tennessee National Guard members. Miller called the task force an “all of government, unlimited support operation” that would make the city “safer than any of you could ever possibly imagine.” He predicted that “businesses and investment are going to pour in, and Memphis will be richer than ever before.” “We’re not here to second guess you,” Hegseth told them. “We’re here to have your back — to unleash you to do your jobs so you come home safely.” Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents Memphis in Congress, said he was disappointed to learn about the visit in the media. In a letter to Hegseth and Bondi, he urged them to be more collaborative and expressed concern about the “wartime rhetoric” coming from the Trump administration. “Memphians are not enemies; they are Americans,” Cohen said. “They are entitled to constitutional rights, not their government working to ‘intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill’ them. We are not a training ground or target practice.” The task force is part of a larger effort by Trump to use National Guard troops and surge federal law enforcement in cities, particularly ones controlled by Democrats. Following troop deployments in the District of Columbia and Los Angeles, he referred to Portland, Oregon, as “war-ravaged” and threatened apocalyptic force in Chicago. Speaking Tuesday to U.S. military leaders in Virginia, Trump proposed using cities as training grounds for the armed forces. Bondi said in a social media post earlier in the day that the task force has made more than 50 arrests over a two-day period. More than 200 officers have been deputized, including personnel from immigration and drug enforcement. They are serving criminal arrest warrants and teaming with state agencies on traffic stops. Memphis should expect to see an increase in warrant enforcement, especially for violent criminals, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Ryan Guay said in an email. The Marshals Service will release periodic updates that include arrest numbers, types of charges and participating agencies, he said. Tennessee National Guard troops will help Memphis Police, Lee has said, but it is unclear how soon that will begin. Lee does not expect more than 150 National Guard members to be sent to Memphis. The city has said there will be no tanks, and the governor said troops will not make arrests or be armed unless local authorities request it. Memphis has experienced high numbers of violent crimes such as carjackings and homicides in recent years, but both Democratic and Republican officials have noted decreases this year in some crime categories.

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 3:36 PM, Brady Knox, 1563K] reports President Donald Trump decried attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon, after he deployed the National Guard to the city to quell left-wing violence. Portland is home to Rose City Antifa, the nation’s oldest and most prominent antifa group. The group has helped lead protests and attacks against ICE agents and local facilities, further enraging Trump and pushing him to claim vindication in a Wednesday Truth Social post. Federal law enforcement has been recorded as being more aggressive against antifa and other protesters, arresting and using crowd dispersal methods against groups. ICE agents and the National Guard troops have fired pepper balls at crowds, made scattered arrests, and even aimed sniper rifle lasers at people threatening journalists. Local authorities have denounced the deployment of 200 troops from the Oregon National Guard to protect federal facilities and the ICE center, arguing it is unnecessary. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson led a group of over a dozen Oregon mayors at a Monday press conference in denouncing the deployment for reasons ranging from alleged ineffectiveness to the possibility of stoking tensions and improving metrics in the city.

ABC News [10/1/2025 4:31 PM, Anne Flaherty, 27036K] reports some 200 to 250 National Guard troops in Portland, Oregon, began reporting to duty on Wednesday and undergoing initial military training on how to respond to civil disturbances in the Democratic-run city, several officials told ABC News. The training includes legal briefings and reviewing "special rules for the use of force" in domestic situations, one official said. The troops were told their job would be to defend federal buildings and federal employees. While mobilization was under way, the National Guard personnel were not expected to be deployed on Portland streets until possibly next week. The operation comes as President Donald Trump has called on the military to use U.S. cities as "training grounds" while warning of an "invasion from within." The White House on Tuesday issued an order to "crush radical left terrorism" in Portland.

CNN [10/1/2025 2:38 PM, Chris Boyette, Devon M. Sayers, Karina Tsui, 23245K] reports as federal authorities rack up arrests in Tennessee’s second-most populous city, local leaders in Oregon are pushing back on a White House effort to federalize 200 members of that state’s National Guard over the president’s claims of rampant crime in Portland. The National Guard “is now in place” after President Donald Trump last week activated members of Oregon’s National Guard, he posted Wednesday afternoon on his social media platform. The Portland mayor’s press office couldn’t immediately confirm whether troops are in the city; CNN has reached out to the Portland Police Bureau, the governor’s office and the Oregon Military Department. The moves across the two states mark the latest bid by Trump to surge federal officers or troops to Democratic-run cities, which he suggested this week could be used as a “training ground” for the nation’s military. The list already includes Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Chicago. In Memphis, “219 officers were special deputized and our Joint Operations Center is up and running,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday. By the next morning, the “Memphis Safe Task Force ha(d) made 53 arrests and seized 20 illegal firearms,” said Bondi, who with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit the city this week, she told Fox News. Outside a county jail east of central Memphis, federal and state law enforcement – some in FBI vests – organized around sunrise Wednesday. About 100 vehicles, including RVs and command trucks with US Marshals Service and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation logos, were parked in nearby lots and fields. In Oregon, meanwhile, local leaders are resisting, arguing this week in a federal lawsuit and a text exchange between the Democratic governor and a Trump aide that the GOP president’s urge to quell “anarchy” in Portland is based on old and faulty intel – and boots are on the ground simply are not needed.

New York Post [10/1/2025 6:02 PM, Joseph Treviño, 43962K] reports violent Antifa criminals have laid siege to the ICE detention center in Portland, Oregon, for over 100 days. Every night the encampment of wackos – some dressed as a unicorn or a chicken – blast loud music, engage in anti-government chants over loudspeakers and megaphones, and when they violently clash with law enforcement officers it reverberates around the neighborhood. Since the protest started on June 2, neighbor Cloud Elvengrail has barely slept. Assaulted and bullied by the Antifa goons, she describes the area as a "war zone" and "terrifying.” On paper she’s exactly the type of person the mob claim to stand up for: a disabled African-American woman living in a low-income, subsidized apartment complex next to the ICE facility. "If you’re wealthy and connected, the city is safe for you. If you’re poor, Black, and disabled, or a domestic violence victim, the City’s message to us is clear, ‘You’re on your own,’" Elvengrail said, via a statement from her lawyer. She has welcomed President Trump’s intervention into the "war ravaged" city, which has included making all Antifa supporters domestic terrorists and sending in 200 National Guard troops. "The President has heard our cry for help … I, and many of my neighbors, appreciate it," Elvengrail said. The announcement also sent members of the group scattering and rushing to delete online evidence as federal troops bore down on the city. Sources screenshotted social media posts by local activist Alissa Azar advising her alleged cohorts to delete all references to Antifa on their accounts, and advising them to: "Lawyer up. I can’t stress this enough … Arm yourself while you still can. And train.” Azar’s social media accounts were briefly taken down after the messages were posted. Defining Antifa isn’t easy. While there is an established faction in Portland, Rose City Antifa, the protesters are mainly from different groups and remain intentionally decentralized, with members of many different sub-groups, sources told The Post. Most have no traceable online presence and carry burner phones to avoid detection, the sources added. Currently they occupy one city block, and are reported to have set up a "safe house" on the city’s Lowell Street.

CNN [10/1/2025 6:41 PM, Alayna Treene, 662K] reports when President Donald Trump announced he was sending troops to "protect war-ravaged" Portland, his administration cited the need to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities from persistent demonstrations. But behind the scenes, White House officials say, Trump also had another goal in mind: he wanted to use the military to advance his federal crime crackdown, and he saw protecting ICE facilities as a good pretext. "You can kill two birds with one stone," a person familiar with the talks said. That strategy is notable given the president shelved his plans to target crime in Chicago last month, at least for the time being, after advisers warned him that sending in troops to help with local law enforcement without buy-in from the state’s Democratic governor could create legal headaches that they want to avoid, CNN previously reported. However, Portland, another blue city in a blue state, is different, Trump administration officials said, from a legal and political standpoint. They argue the months-long protests outside the city’s ICE building – which they’ve framed as "violent riots" tied to "Antifa domestic terrorists" — justify the president’s latest deployment of troops to a major American city. That insistence comes despite Oregon’s state and local leaders suing the administration for alleged unlawful overreach in federalizing the Oregon National Guard to respond to unrest — legal pushback that Illinois’ leaders have also threatened. Trump said Wednesday the National Guard "is now in place" and invoked "antifa and radical left anarchists" who he claimed are "viciously attacking our Federal Law Enforcement Officers." (The White House has continually pointed to Portland – home to one of the oldest coalitions in the United States to carry the Antifa moniker – as it has sought to target left-wing groups.). "We’re only going in because, as American Patriots, we have no choice," Trump added in a subsequent Truth Social post on Wednesday, the day after suggesting at a military event in Quantico, Virginia, that US cities could be used as a "training ground" for the nation’s military. The list of places he’s sending or has plans to send troops already includes Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Chicago and Memphis. Though Trump has so far abstained from using troops in Chicago to target crime (they’ve so far sent federal agents to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrations), that could change, as protesters clashed with law enforcement at an ICE facility in a suburb about 10 miles to its west over the weekend. "We don’t need an excuse to go into any city. The president has the legal authority to do it," one White House official said of Portland. "But if he did need one, these dangerous riots are a prime example.”

NewsMax [10/1/2025 3:17 PM, Michael Katz, 4779K] reports citing deteriorating conditions in Oregon, President Donald Trump said Wednesday the National Guard is in place to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts. Trump announced Saturday he would send troops to Portland, the state’s largest city, to handle what he called "domestic terrorists." He said protests were interfering with enforcement of immigration law. Trump didn’t mention Portland in his post, and Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment. Demonstrators had reportedly gathered in front of an ICE building in Portland since June to protest the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. On Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum to nationalize 200 Oregon National Guard members for 60 days. The order cited "credible threats of violence" at the ICE building in Portland. Elected leaders and officials in Portland and Oregon have urged Trump to reconsider sending troops, saying it isn’t necessary. On Monday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to block the deployment in Portland. A hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [10/1/2025 4:18 PM, Hudson Crozier, 985K]

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 2:47 PM, Brady Knox, 1563K] reports that a Metropolitan Police Department officer was suspended and arrested after allegedly ramming a federal police vehicle and fleeing the scene in Washington, D.C. Officer Montez Clark, 27, was charged with assault on a federal police officer, fleeing from law enforcement, and leaving after colliding, according to a statement from the MPD. The charges stem from an incident on Monday night in which the D.C. police sergeant allegedly rammed his Camaro into a federal police vehicle with three federal agents in it, while fleeing a traffic stop. The MPD told the Washington Examiner that Clark is being charged, as well as Sakou Yates, 25, and Russell Campbell, 23, with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, violation of the National Firearms Act, and possession of a machine gun. Campbell was also charged with felon in possession. "Clark is on administrative leave pending the outcome of this case and an investigation by MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau. MPD cannot comment further on active internal investigations and personnel matters," the MPD concluded. Clark has been serving with the MPD since July 2019 and was assigned to the 5th District. The Department of Homeland Security referred the Washington Examiner to the MPD when contacted for comment.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [10/1/2025 5:00 AM, Emma Uber, 29079K]

Axios [10/1/2025 6:18 PM, Shawna Chen, 14595K] reports San Francisco and Santa Clara County are leading a new lawsuit that accuses the Trump administration of holding hostage over $350 million in disaster preparedness funding. Those funds protect more than 8 million people in the Bay Area and over 30 million across the nation, bolstering fire department staffing, port and transit security, counterterrorism efforts and wildfire and flood prevention, according to local officials. San Francisco is one of 29 local jurisdictions involved in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday. It alleges that the Trump administration illegally made federal emergency and disaster preparedness grant funds to local governments contingent on adherence to immigration enforcement and anti-DEI policies. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers the grants with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), issued a standards and conditions memo in April requiring recipients to comply with immigration operations and federal laws against DEI "ideology." "Local governments shouldn’t have to pass a political litmus test to be able to care for their communities," Santa Clara County’s attorney, Tony LoPresti, said at a press conference Wednesday.

Reported similarly:
AP [10/1/2025 6:20 PM, Staff, 37974K] Video: HERE

ABC News [10/1/2025 4:57 PM, Laura Romero, 27036K] reports the Department of Justice on Wednesday moved to postpone all the deadlines in the Maryland deportation case of wrongly deported Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia, due to the government shutdown. An evidentiary hearing in the case had been scheduled for Monday. In the filing, the DOJ requested that if the motion for to stay the deadlines is granted, all current deadlines for the parties be extended "by the total number of days of the lapse in appropriations." The DOJ noted that Abrego Garcia "does not consent to the stay."

Washington Post [10/1/2025 8:33 PM, Maria Sacchetti, 29079K] reports a U.S. immigration judge rejected Kilmar Abrego García’s request to reopen his deportation case on Wednesday, dismissing the Maryland man’s argument that he faced “imminent removal to Uganda” despite the Trump administration’s repeated threats to send him to the African nation. Immigration Judge Philip P. Taylor found “insufficient evidence” to show that the Trump administration would send Abrego to Uganda, according to a copy of the decision reviewed by Washington Post. The administrative immigration courts fall under the Justice Department and are not part of the traditional federal courts. Lawyers for Abrego had filed an emergency motion in August asking the immigration court in Baltimore to reconsider his deportation in part because government attorneys and federal officials said he faced removal to Uganda within days. On Aug. 25, the Department of Homeland Security said of Abrego in a social media post: “He will be processed for removal to Uganda.” In his ruling, Taylor wrote that Abrego “has not submitted evidence to show that the Department has presented him with a formal notice of removal or any other document showing its intent to remove him to Uganda.” He said a government lawyer said it “may remove him to Uganda,” and not necessarily that it would. Officials have also said they could remove him to Eswatini or Costa Rica. The judge’s decision is a major step in the complex legal battle that followed Abrego’s illegal deportation to his native El Salvador in March, and it forecloses his ability — for now — to apply for permanent legal residency via the immigration courts. However, he is still seeking release in federal court in Maryland, and a hearing in that case has been scheduled for Monday. The 30-year-old sheet metal worker is married to a U.S. citizen in Maryland and lived there for years with their three children. Abrego has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals or the ruling will become final. It could later be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Abrego’s lawyers also did not respond to requests for comment. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin emphasized in an email that Abrego remains eligible for deportation and that he will “never be loose on American streets.” “His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S., but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country,” she said in a statement. The Supreme Court ruled in April that the Trump administration had illegally deported Abrego to a Salvadoran megaprison, with hundreds of others, in violation of a 2019 immigration court order barring his removal to that country because gangs had threatened his life. The high court ordered officials to facilitate his return, but the Trump administration stonewalled and brought him back in June, only after securing an indictment against him in Tennessee for human smuggling. Abrego has pleaded not guilty and was ordered released on bond; however, immigration officers rearrested him soon afterward for deportation proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security and prosecutors in Abrego’s criminal case allege he is an MS-13 gang member and human smuggler who illegally transported thousands of undocumented workers across the United States. Abrego’s lawyers, however, say his criminal prosecution is “vindictive and selective,” and have accused officials of pursuing the case to punish him for challenging his illegal deportation.

Reported similarly:
Univision [10/2/2025 3:55 AM, Staff, 4932K]

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 5:00 PM, Maydeen Merino, 1563K] reports Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) plans to introduce legislation to address environmental damage to federal public lands caused by illegal immigration. Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, plans to introduce the Border Lands Conservation Act on Thursday. The legislation is aimed at tackling illegal immigration-related problems on public lands, such as trash buildup, abandoned vehicles, unauthorized roads, human waste, cattle trespassing, and wildfires. Lee’s bill, obtained by the Washington Examiner, would require collaboration between the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to inventory existing roads and create navigable road infrastructure aimed at deterring illegal entry across the southern and northern borders. It proposes to amend the Wilderness Act to allow DHS access to conduct operations within wilderness areas. DOI and the Department of Agriculture will not be allowed to impede or prohibit DHS search-and-rescue operations that take place within 100 miles of the southern or northern borders. The bill would require, within one year of signing, the DOI and the Forest Service to identify all roads and trails affected by illegal immigration and to coordinate with DHS to prevent unlawful entry into the U.S. Furthermore, it would establish the Border Fuels Management Initiative to reduce wildfire risks along the southern and northern borders. The DOI, the Forest Service, and the Government Accountability Office will be tasked with reporting on safety issues and the loss of access to federal land due to illegal immigration. Finally, the bill would prohibit using federal funds to house illegal immigrants on federal land.

Los Angeles Times [10/1/2025 8:42 PM, Brittny Mejia, 12715K] reports a man admitted Wednesday that he lit a Molotov cocktail and threw it toward Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies during protests against immigration crackdowns over the summer. Emiliano Garduno Galvez, 23, who authorities said is a citizen of Mexico in the country illegally, pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing an unregistered destructive device and civil disorder tied to his actions the evening of June 7 in Paramount. Galvez is set to be sentenced Jan. 30, and he faces up to 15 years in prison. On the morning of June 7, Border Patrol agents were spotted gathering in Paramount, across the street from the Home Depot. Word quickly spread on social media. Passersby honked their horns. Soon, protesters arrived. Already tensions were high, with federal officials raiding a retail and distribution warehouse in downtown L.A. the day before, arresting dozens of workers and a top union official. According to the plea agreement, several people gathered near Hunsaker Avenue and Alondra Boulevard in Paramount and began amassing around personnel of federal agencies and later local law enforcement. People threw rocks or chunks of cinder blocks, lit objects on fire and set off fireworks in the direction of law enforcement, Galvez’s agreement states. Authorities said the protest interfered with "the coordination of federal agencies’ personnel and preparation for immigration enforcement activities," and also "obstructed, delayed, and adversely affected commerce.” Specifically, according to the plea agreement, the Home Depot at the location had to close temporarily "and had products stolen during the civil disorder, including cinder blocks that were thrown at law enforcement.” Galvez admitted he was in Paramount that evening and that he saw the sheriff’s deputies engaged in crowd control. As the deputies tried to disperse and move the crowd back, Galvez admitted in the plea agreement to going behind a stone wall, lighting the wick inside the Molotov cocktail and then throwing it over the wall toward where he had seen the deputies. The Molotov cocktail landed in a grassy area near the foot of a protester and around 15 feet from the deputies, according to the plea agreement. Galvez admitted that he then ran from the area. Galvez threw the Molotov cocktail "intending to obstruct, interfere with, and impede the LASD deputies who were lawfully engaged in performance of official duties," according to the agreement.

The AP [10/1/2025 3:57, Mike Schneider, 37974K] reports detainees arriving at the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “ Alligator Alcatraz “ are given color-coded uniforms and wrist-bands, then segregated based on their criminal history and whether they’re considered a flight risk, according to a handbook given to detainees. The handbook presents strict rules on hygiene and dress, portraying an environment inside the remote detention center that starkly contrasts with the deplorable conditions detainees described shortly after it opened in July. The handbook was made public as part of a lawsuit over whether detainees have proper access to attorneys. The court case is one of three lawsuits filed by environmental and civil rights groups over conditions at the detention center, which was built this summer by the state of Florida and operated by private contractors and state agencies. Univision [10/1/2025 5:54 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports an internal manual released in court documents revealed for the first time how everyday life works inside the controversial immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, known as Alcatraz de los Caimanes (Alligator Alcatraz). The document, handed over to the detainees themselves upon entry, describes a strict control regime based on colour-coded uniforms, mandatory hygiene standards and a rigid discipline that contrasts with allegations of unhealthy conditions made just weeks after opening. The center, built by the state of Florida this summer and operated by private contractors along with state agencies, has been the subject of at least three lawsuits filed by civil rights groups and environmental organizations. While a federal judge in Miami ordered its closure in August for not having passed a proper environmental review before its conversion, the move was put on hold following the intervention of an appeals court in September. The compound remains open in the midst of a judicial process that combines legal, environmental and humanitarian questions. According to the manual presented in court in litigation over detainees’ access to lawyers, newcomers are immediately classified in uniforms and bracelets of different colors, according to their criminal history or the risk of escape. Since their arrival they must watch a video of orientation and are reminded that the breach of the rules can result in collective sanctions, such as lockdowns in the housing areas. The strictest provisions include a ban on removing the uniform shirt in common spaces and the obligation to keep your hands off the waist of your pants in any circumstances. Detainees should get up early for breakfast at 5:30 in the morning and are not allowed to take food out of the dining room. They can only keep limited items, such as prayer books, glasses, a marriage ring or small religious objects. Detainees receive soap, shampoo, deodorant and toothbrush, as well as bed linen and towels. A barbershop service and an investigator specializing in sexual abuse cases are part of the structure of the center. “Personal hygiene is essential,” the document states. However, these guidelines contrast with testimonies from inmates gathered in July, who denounced unfunctioning toilets, flooding with fecal waste and entire days without access to showers. For the plaintiffs, this contradiction reflects that the centre was improvised outside the legal frameworks and without the minimum safeguards. Civil groups argue that immigration detention is the exclusive competence of the Department of Homeland Security and that neither Florida nor private contractors have the authority to administer it. In their most recent motion, filed this week before a judge in Fort Myers, they warned that the center maintains people without deportation charges and outside of normal immigration tracking systems.

Daily Caller [10/1/2025 11:42 AM, Staff, 985K] reports a federal judge on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration’s targeting of foreign nationals protesting in the United States for deportation is unconstitutional. The administration has been working to end the often violent anti-Israel protests that overtook cities and college campuses across the nation for months following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Reagan-appointed Judge William Young argued in his decision that lawfully present noncitizens residing in the U.S. have the same free speech rights as American citizens. "This case -– perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court –- squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us," the decision reads. "The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally ‘yes, they do.’" Administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is named as a defendant in the case, previously argued that foreign nationals in the country on student visas can face deportation over some types of speech, especially if they are openly supporting a foreign terrorist organization or have been arrested for breaking laws during their involvement in protests. The lawsuit was brought by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the Middle East Studies Association. "Having carefully considered the entirety of the record, this Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with the subordinate officials and agents of each of them, deliberately and with purposeful aforethought, did so concert their actions and those of their two departments intentionally to chill the rights to freedom of speech and peacefully to assemble of the non-citizen plaintiff members of the plaintiff associations," the judge said. "What remains after issuing this opinion is to consider what, if anything, may be done to remedy these constitutional violations."

CNN [10/1/2025 11:36 AM, Katelyn Polantz, 662K] reports not since the years before the Civil War had a trial-level federal judge signed off on an opinion simply as "Judge of the United States.” But Senior Judge William Young, a nearly 50-year veteran trial-level judge in Massachusetts, decided the time is now, and then some. In a book-length opinion on Tuesday, Young ruled that the Trump administration can’t deny First Amendment protections to non-citizens, such as pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses, or retaliate against them because of their positions. The opinion rules against the Trump administration’s immigration policy, and executive orders, and harshly critiques President Donald Trump’s approach to using his power. Yet Young chose to include in his legal writing an unusual set of rhetorical flourishes. "I don’t think I’ve seen an opinion like this from a district court in a very long time," Jeremy Fogel, a former federal district judge, told CNN on Tuesday. In a statement to CNN, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the judge had stoked "the embers of hatred" by his ruling. "Less than a week after a terrorist attack at an ICE facility in Dallas, a craven Judge is smearing and demonizing federal law enforcement," McLaughlin said. "Our federal law enforcement officers face a 1000% increase in assaults against them, unprecedented online doxing of our agents and their families, and they’re being stalked and pummeled by rocks and Molotov cocktails." Even Young himself seems to acknowledge, within the opinion, how abnormal times call for the abnormal measures he’s decided to take. "In the golden age of our democracy, this opinion might end here," he wrote, only halfway through his broadside of the Trump administration. "After all, the facts prove that the President himself approves truly scandalous and unconstitutional suppression of free speech." Yet following his opinion, Young adds, "nothing will happen. The Department of Justice represents the President, and Congress is occupied with other weighty matters. Nor will there be any meaningful public outcry," before turning to make his case that the exercise of free speech must continue, protected from a government that wants to chill it.

FOX News [10/1/2025 11:00 AM, Breanne Deppisch, 40019K] Video: HERE reports lawyers for President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court last week to review the legality of his executive order ending birthright citizenship — a high-profile and controversial order that, if enacted, would have profound impacts on the lives of millions of Americans and lawful U.S. residents. It would also mark the second time in less than a year that the Supreme Court would review the order, at least technically. Trump administration officials view the order as a key component of his hard-line immigration agenda, which has become a defining feature of Trump’s second White House term. Opponents have argued that the effort is unconstitutional and "unprecedented," and would impact some 150,000 children in the U.S. who are born annually to parents of non-citizens. As the court prepares to kick off its fall term, here’s what to know about the order — and possible next steps — in the high-profile case. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court last week to review the merits of Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order. His request focused largely on two court orders handed down in July by a federal judge in New Hampshire, and by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In his petition to the high court, Sauer argued that the lower court’s decisions were overly broad, and "invalidated a policy of prime importance to the president and his administration in a manner that undermines our border security." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Free Beacon [10/1/2025 2:26 PM, Alana Goodman, 500K] reports that a federal judge’s ruling against the Trump administration’s deportation policies veered off into a rambling personal attack against President Donald Trump, who the judge claimed "simply ignores" the Constitution, has a "fixation with ‘retribution,’" and goes around "wrecking institutions and careers simply because [he finds] them irksome." The unusual ruling—which also included long tangents involving the judge’s family members and his political philosophy—was framed as a response to a pro-Trump postcard Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts claimed to have received from an anonymous critic. The handwritten, all-caps postcard, dated June 19, read: "TRUMP HAS PARDONS AND TANKS….WHAT DO YOU HAVE?" Young included a copy in the ruling. "Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty," Young wrote in the introduction to his ruling. "Together, We the People of the United States –- you and me -- have our magnificent Constitution. Here’s how that works out in a specific case –-". Young in his ruling said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio targeted "noncitizen pro-Palestinians for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech." He wrote the administration has done so "in order to strike fear into similarly situated non-citizen pro-Palestinian individuals, pro-actively (and effectively) curbing lawful pro-Palestinian speech and intentionally denying such individuals (including the plaintiffs here) the freedom of speech that is their right.” He concluded the ruling with another note to the anonymous postcard writer. "I hope you found this helpful," Young wrote. "Thanks for writing. It shows you care. You should. Sincerely & respectfully, Bill Young."

Houston Chronicle [10/1/2025 6:05 PM, Evan MacDonald, 2356K] reports the failed negotiations in Congress that triggered the government shutdown Wednesday hinged on federal subsidies that have helped millions of Americans afford health insurance – and on Republicans’ false claims about whether immigrants are eligible for those benefits. The subsidies, known as enhanced premium tax credits, have helped to lower or offset premiums for Affordable Care Act plans but are set to expire at the end of the year. President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have falsely claimed that Democrats want to offer the subsidies to immigrants living in the country without legal permission. Vice President JD Vance said on social media that Democrats were demanding health care for "illegal aliens.” Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission have never been eligible for federally-funded health insurance, including ACA plans or the enhanced premium tax credits, health policy experts told the Houston Chronicle. And Democrats’ proposal to extend the subsidies does not include any health care for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. "People who lack legal status in the U.S. have never been eligible for marketplace coverage or tax credits, and there’s nothing different about that now," said Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Democrats have pushed back on Republicans’ claims, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling them "a lie." Democratic lawmakers want to undo some provisions, including Medicaid cuts, in the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" that Congress passed this summer. The new law restricts certain lawfully present immigrants, such as refugees and people who have been granted asylum, from enrolling in federally-funded health insurance or receiving subsidies for ACA plans.

Breitbart [10/1/2025 4:17 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2608K] reports state and Federal investigators are finding that hundreds of commercial truck driver’s licenses have been given to illegal migrants with a lack of legality so blatant that many of the licenses actually say "No Name Given" where the driver’s name should be. Officials in Oklahoma, for instance, recently nabbed 125 illegal migrants driving trucks under state-issued licenses that were improperly awarded to them, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt announced. In Oklahoma’s "Operation Guardian" traffic sweep, 44 of the CDLs were issued by California, 14 were from New York, 12 were from Pennsylvania, and 11 were from Illinois, KWTV reported. Operation Guardian is ongoing and other stops have resulted in similar finds and arrests.

AP [10/1/2025 4:18 PM, Staff, 37974K] reports the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Puerto Rico sued the island’s justice secretary and its transportation and public works department on Wednesday over confidential information of immigrants lacking legal status shared with federal agents. Since 2013, the U.S. territory has allowed these immigrants to obtain a driver’s license, with nearly 6,000 having received one. The ACLU is asking that a judge order the transportation department and Puerto Rico’s government to turn over all documents associated with the sharing of that personal information. The ACLU accused the transportation agency of not providing copies of information requests issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as legal assessments and information submitted to comply with those requests. The ACLU said in the lawsuit that the confidential information was shared with federal agents between February and March.

Breitbart [10/1/2025 7:24 AM, Frances Martel, 2608K] reports the Foreign Ministry of Iran confirmed on Tuesday it is expecting to receive 120 Iranian nationals deported from the United States, many of them identified as illegal immigrants who crossed into America through the southern border with Mexico. The Iranian state propaganda outlet PressTV cited Parliamentary Director General of the Foreign Ministry Hossein Noushabadi as the official responsible for confirming the acceptance of the deported individuals. PressTV, which often published outlandishly vitriolic content against the United States, announced the return of the Iranians in a notably neutral article stating only that President Donald Trump has increased the number of "aggressive deportations" due to "years of insufficient enforcement, including under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden." Tehran’s decision to receive its returned nationals seemingly without incident is an outlier in the acrimonious relationship between the repressive Islamist regime and the United States. Its timing is especially remarkable given that, with the support of the United States, the other Western members of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, restored pre-agreement sanctions on Iran this week. "US Immigration Service is planning to expel about 400 Iranians currently living in the United States, most of whom entered illegally, in light of the new approach of the US government, which has an anti-immigrant approach," Noushabadi reportedly said. He did not clarify if the 120 en route to Iran are separate from the 400 total expected to return. The official stated that those returning are flying out of the United States to Qatar and will then be processed and returned to Iran. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on September 23 that, as of that date, 2 million illegal immigrants have either been deported or voluntarily left America during President Trump’s second term in office. Should the current pace of deportations hold, ICE is on track to deport 600,000 illegal immigrants by the end of the first year of Trump’s second term in office. "Ramped-up immigration enforcement targeting the worst of the worst is removing more and more criminal illegal aliens off our streets every day and is sending a clear message to anyone else in this country illegally: Self-deport or we will arrest and deport you," DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Daily Signal [10/1/2025 8:00 AM, Simon Hankinson, 668K] reports President Donald Trump’s executive order just put a $100,000 fee on new petitions for H-1B temporary workers. The rollout suffered from muddled communication, and the order does not stop the H-1B from being used to replace American workers—but it’s a sorely needed first step. Created more than 30 years ago to fill a temporary labor shortage, the H-1B has ballooned beyond its intended scope. It needs to be reformed to put American workers first. Explaining how the H-1B went so far off the rails would take a whole report—which is why I’ve written one, coming out soon. Meanwhile, here are some of the problems. H-1Bs allow companies to replace American workers with cheap foreign labor and suppress wages for Americans. Exceptions to the original H-1B annual cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year have expanded the number far beyond statutory limits. First, 20,000 more were set aside for applicants with a master’s degree or a higher degree. Then, H-1Bs for universities and government research organizations were made cap-exempt. Then, the Department of Homeland Security allowed the spouses of H-1B holders to work. Fraud, nepotism, and corruption have long compromised the H-1B process. Outsourcing firms and "body shops" rig the labor market to hire foreign workers over Americans.

The Hill [10/1/2025 7:00 AM, Artem Kolisnichenko, 12414K] reports in September, a federal judge condemned the deportation of a group of migrants from West Africa to Ghana, saying the government had acted outside established procedures. The group had been placed on a list for "fast-track deportation" without full hearings in immigration courts. The judge noted that such practice may violate non-refoulement — the ban on deporting people to places of persecution and danger. This criticism was a rare judicial challenge, questioning the legality of the administration’s fast-track procedures and highlighting the conflict between political demands for speed and the duty to follow legal rules. According to TRAC, the backlog last month was at a record 3.5 million cases, with an average wait time of four years for a hearing. This backlog is often used to justify fast deportations. But in the West African case, the judge pointed out that the decision came at the cost of denying basic rights. The special feature of this case is that migrants were excluded from the normal process without any explanation. According to reporting and court papers, some of them had open appeals and motions that should have stopped removal. This led the judge to say the practice created a risk of a "systemic bypass of rules."

The Hill [10/1/2025 1:00 PM, Nolan Rappaport, 12414K] reports that in 2012, when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was campaigning for president, he was asked during a Republican primary debate how millions of immigrants who were living in the United States unlawfully could be removed. He responded that, "the answer is self-deportation.” Romney was mocked widely for that idea at the time, but times have since changed. Self-deportation wasn’t needed to remove large numbers of deportable aliens then, but it certainly is now. The immigration court backlog in 2012 was only 325,044 cases, so it was still possible to support large-scale deportation campaigns with judge-issued orders. Now, the backlog is 3,432,519 cases, more than 10 times larger. The only way to put deportable aliens into removal proceedings now is to put them at the head of a line more than 3 million people long. And unless feasible new methods are found, the backlog will never be reduced to a manageable level. The immigration court closed 879,868 cases in the first 11 months of fiscal 2025, which is approximately 80,000 cases per month. At that rate, it would take 3.6 years to eliminate the backlog, but only if the immigration court doesn’t receive any new cases. The reality is that the court did receive new cases during that period — 505,599 more, in fact. And the number of new cases will increase exponentially when border czar Tom Homan shifts the focus of his enforcement efforts from criminals and national security threats to immigrants who merely have unlawful status. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been telling deportable aliens that self-deportation would permit them to leave on their own volition. "If they don’t," she said, "we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return."

Daily Wire [10/1/2025 6:50 AM, Abe Hamadeh, 3184K] reports one of the primary reasons my campaign for Congress was successful was that I embraced President Trump’s Peace through Strength agenda and promised to hold Iran’s terror proxy, the Houthis, accountable. I meant it; it was not a throwaway line. It is a moral and strategic imperative, which is why one of my first legislative acts was introducing H.R. 1250. This bill requires the designation of Ansarallah, the Houthi movement, as a foreign terrorist organization and mandates sanctions on its leaders and affiliates. The Houthis are not some faraway nuisance. Their campaign of terror, their alliance with Iran, and their direct threat to global shipping and stability make them a clear and present danger. To hesitate would only embolden them. During my deployment to Saudi Arabia as a U.S. Army Reserve Intelligence Officer, I had a front-row seat to the Houthi threat. Under constant risk of Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia, I worked to develop measures to prevent insider threats like the Pensacola base shooting. Let me be clear: the Houthis are not a political faction looking for a seat at the table. They are violent extremists who seized territory in Yemen, trapping millions in misery. They threaten Red Sea shipping lanes, target civilian infrastructure, and fire rockets across borders into sovereign nations, and they operate with Iran’s full financial and military backing.

Chicago Tribune [10/1/2025 4:41 PM, Heidi Stevens, 5352K] reports on Sunday afternoon in downtown Chicago, as couples strolled along sidewalks and kids ran around Maggie Daley Park and diners filled outdoor cafes and the Joffrey Ballet wrapped its final performance of "Carmen" at the Lyric Opera House, U.S. Border Patrol agents wearing tactical gear and carrying long guns patrolled the city’s streets. It was a surreal scene, but one we may grow accustomed to as Washington directs more and more Department of Homeland Security and military personnel to cities run by Democrats. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump told 800 of the country’s senior military leaders, gathered at a Virginia base, that American cities should be used as "training grounds for our military." Sunday’s show of force targeted Chicago’s immigrant population, with a top U.S. Border Patrol official telling reporters that agents were arresting people based on "how they look." "Gregory Bovino, commander at large of the border force, contrasted the people being arrested with a white WBEZ reporter, saying agents consider a person’s appearance before taking them into custody," the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday. "You know, there’s many different factors that go into something like that. It would be agent experience, intelligence that indicates there’s illegal aliens in a particular place or location," Bovino said. "Then, obviously, the particular characteristics of an individual, how they look. How do they look compared to, say, you?’" He was talking to a white reporter.

FOX News [10/1/2025 10:59 AM, Rachel Wolf, 40019K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is shutting down rumors about changes to the country’s immigration and border policies amid the government shutdown. The shutdown has left many Americans wondering what government services would be suspended. ICE worked to quash speculation that the funding dispute would prevent its agents from carrying out their duties. "Rumors that a U.S. government shutdown will allow illegal immigrants to enter the United States are FALSE," ICE wrote in a post on X. "U.S. immigration laws and enforcement efforts remain unchanged. Border security and enforcement efforts remain strict, and crossing the border without authorization remains a crime.” The post also included a graphic that reads, "During a government shutdown, the U.S. will defend its borders." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also wrote on social media confirming that law enforcement officers in her department would continue to work during the shutdown. "Our [Department of Homeland Security] law enforcement officers will continue to work throughout the Democrats’ Shutdown to make sure our homeland is safe and secure. More than 200,000 of these patriots will go without pay," Noem said on Tuesday. "The Democrats will be forcing over 150,000 officers and nearly 50,000 members of the military—our frontline of defense—to continue protecting our nation without pay," she added. While law enforcement officials will go without pay during the shutdown, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 requires all essential and furloughed employees to receive retroactive pay once it ends. After lawmakers failed to reach an agreement by the midnight funding deadline, the government entered a shutdown on Wednesday. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [10/1/2025 3:25 PM, Jason Hopkins, 985K]

The Hill [10/1/2025 5:55 PM, Filip Timotija, 12414K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will attend the 2026 Super Bowl, where Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny is set to headline the halftime show, according to Corey Lewandowski, an adviser at the Department of Homeland Security. "There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else," Lewandowski said Wednesday on "The Benny Show.” "We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you. So know that that is a very real situation under this administration, which is completely contrary to what how it used to be," he said. The NFL confirmed Sunday that Bad Bunny, a three-time Grammy winner, will headline the halftime show at the 2026 Super Bowl, set to be in Santa Clara, Calif. "What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture and our history," Bad Bunny said in a statement Sunday. Last month, Bad Bunny told i-D Magazine that he is not performing in the U.S. during his forthcoming world tour due to, in part, concerns over ICE raids at his concerts. "But there was the issue of — like, f‑‑‑ing ICE could be outside [my concerts]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about," the artist told the magazine.

CBS News [10/1/2025 12:44 PM, Jared Ochacher and Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 45245K] Video: HERE reports since President Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration has mounted an aggressive effort to crack down on cities, counties and states that aren’t participating in its mass deportation campaign, threatening these so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions with lawsuits, funding cuts and other penalties. The Trump administration has also directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to surge deportation agents to sanctuary jurisdictions like Chicago and Los Angeles, where highly visible federal immigration raids have triggered massive protests and confrontations. But eight months into Mr. Trump’s second administration, the effort to exert pressure on these jurisdictions has yielded few tangible results, with most lawsuits still unresolved and local Democratic leaders doubling down on policies that limit or bar cooperation with federal immigration officials. The Justice Department has cited only one case in which a jurisdiction — Louisville, Kentucky — has abandoned its sanctuary policies in the face of legal actions or threats. Nevada’s Republican governor also recently vowed to cooperate with federal immigration officials after his state was identified as a sanctuary jurisdiction. The administration’s attempts to halt federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, meanwhile, have been blocked by federal courts.

Washington Times [10/1/2025 8:25 PM, Stephen Dinan, 261K] reports the Department of Homeland Security’s name-and-shame list for sanctuary jurisdictions appears to have landed on the scrap heap. In May, the department released its nearly 600-name list — then pulled it down just days later with indications it would return. Four months later, that reboot has been benched. Instead, the department now links to the Justice Department, which released its own slimmed-down sanctuary list of fewer than three dozen jurisdictions in August. One person involved with that effort said it has supplanted Homeland Security as the Trump administration’s lead on sanctuary cities. “DOJ’s is the list,” the person said. “I’m pretty proud of where we got. I think most of the jurisdictions are OK with their status on it.” The two departments took decidedly different approaches. Homeland Security was opaque in its criteria, presenting the names without saying how they earned their way onto the list. All the usual suspects were on there, but so were jurisdictions that vehemently protested. The Justice Department list, released two months later, was explicit in listing nine criteria used to judge sanctuaries. That included public pronouncements, policies limiting cooperation on deportation “detainer” requests, blocks on access to prisons and jails, and offering benefits to illegal immigrants. The initial list was also much smaller, with just a dozen states, four counties and 19 cities.

Blaze [10/1/2025 8:00 AM, Ian Smith, 1559K] reports conservatives have long noticed a disturbing pattern: Hispanic illegal aliens appear again and again in drunk-driving cases. Recent news searches bring up multiple examples, some involving the deaths of children. This summer’s tragedy in Wisconsin made the problem impossible to ignore — yet the corporate left-wing press tried to do just that. Two high school sweethearts, Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling, died when a drunk driver going the wrong way slammed into their car. Just weeks earlier they had gone to prom together. The driver was Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, a Honduran illegal alien who had racked up multiple drunk-driving charges. She lived in a sanctuary jurisdiction that shielded her from deportation. Only under the Trump administration’s renewed immigration enforcement did local authorities finally hand her over to ICE. The Wisconsin case was heartbreaking, but it was not unique. In 2007, the Raleigh News & Observer published a rare report on the problem. A Mexican man admitted he thought he "drove better after a few beers" and that drunk driving was normal in Mexico. At the time, alcohol-related crashes caused by Hispanic drivers in North Carolina were three times higher than for non-Hispanics. The national data confirms the trend. Hispanic drunk-driving rates are roughly double those of whites. Alcohol-use disorder is three times as common. More than a third of Hispanic alcohol-dependent users relapse, compared with 23% of whites.

New York Times [10/1/2025 4:37 PM, Wesley Parnell, 143795K] reports asylum seekers showed up to scheduled appointments only to find their hearings had been canceled. Courtrooms sat mostly empty. Judges complained that translation services were not being coordinated well. At the federal government building in Lower Manhattan that has emerged as a national flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, operations and court functions had significantly slowed as the government shut down. Still, federal agents detained at least three individuals who had shown up for a hearing that had been canceled. In other instances, asylum seekers were told that their court dates had been rescheduled or postponed because their judge was not present. Courtrooms appeared to be about a third as busy as usual.

New York Times [10/1/2025 6:20 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, Brent McDonald, and Amogh Vaz, 153395K] reports a man from El Salvador was stopped for allegedly driving a landscaping truck through federal parkland. A Honduran man was pulled over when the police said he ran a stop sign as his family left a local park. A Jordanian man was detained while working in a food truck on the National Mall during a crackdown on unlicensed vendors. President Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement officers in August across Washington — intended, officials said, to lower crime — transformed what was one of the largest sanctuary cities in the country into a test case for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it expands its efforts in major urban centers. The agency sharply increased its arrests in the city by working alongside the local police and other federal agencies to identify immigrants during stops for minor traffic violations, according to law enforcement officials, lawyers for detained migrants, internal immigration records and witness accounts. ICE had made only 85 arrests in Washington from Jan. 20 through the end of July, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project. But from early August until mid-September, ICE made around 1,200 arrests, according to officials with knowledge of the data. One key to the strategy: ICE’s close partnership with both the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police, according to a New York Times review of dozens of videos filmed by witnesses in Washington. At other times, the agency operated alone, with masked officers detaining people in sometimes aggressive encounters that drew angry protests from neighbors. As the administration works to deepen police cooperation on immigrant enforcement throughout the country, the effort in Washington shows how migrants stopped by local law enforcement for low-level infractions can swiftly be detained by ICE — a boost for an agency struggling to meet the White House’s demands for higher arrest numbers.

NPR [10/2/2025 4:45 AM, Leila Fadel, 34837K] reports Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara says he was arrested in Georgia while covering an anti-Trump protest. Detained for over 100 days, he now faces "imminent deportation," his lawyer says. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

ABC News [10/1/2025 5:18 PM, Laura Romero, 27036K] reports a U.S.-born citizen who was arrested and detained by immigration authorities twice in recent months has filed a lawsuit against the federal government claiming he was improperly detained. Leonardo Garcia Venegas, an American citizen and construction worker who lives and works in Baldwin, Alabama, claims the arrests were "unreasonable" and violated the Fourth Amendment that protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The lawsuit is a proposed class action complaint filed on behalf of U.S. citizens and lawful residents who, while working a construction job, "have been or will be subject to the Warrantless Entry Policy," the suit said, amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The complaint alleges that immigration officers have enforced policies adopted by the Department of Homeland Security that "grant federal immigration officers sweeping search and seizure powers." "ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement responding to accusations that immigration authorities have detained American citizens. "Any U.S. citizens arrested are because of obstructing or assaulting law enforcement." According to the lawsuit, Venegas, who was born in the United States, was first detained in May at a construction site by armed men in camouflage. Two weeks later, Venegas was allegedly arrested again on another private construction site "when another immigration patrol saw him working and assumed, without reasonable suspicion, that Leo was undocumented." Both times, Venegas claims he told the officers he was a citizen and showed them his REAL ID, an identification card issued only to citizens and lawful residents, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit included 19 examples of citizens and lawful residents who have been allegedly detained "in circumstances" like Venegas.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [10/1/2025 8:22 AM, Randy Clark, 2608K]
AP [10/1/2025 1:18 PM, Tim Sullivan, 3790K]

Axios [10/1/2025 5:10 PM, Arika Herron, 14595K] reports over a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees arrived at Miami Correctional Facility Wednesday — the first to arrive since the northern Indiana prison was designated a detention center — and that number could grow to 100 by the end of the week. The state is spending about $16 million to update the facility and will make up to 1,000 beds available for male detainees. ICE will pay Indiana $291.94 for each detainee per day, per a contract between ICE and the state. Braun added that the state will continue to be accommodating to the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security said that immigration enforcement efforts remain unchanged during the government shutdown.

Federalist [10/1/2025 7:34 AM, M.D. Kittle, 982K] reports the former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent facing deportation after being taken into custody on charges of being in the county illegally has turned out to be a poster child for cleaning up dirty state voter rolls. The case of Ian Andre Roberts, a "criminal illegal alien from Guyana," raises yet another red flag about noncitizens on voter lists nationwide — and reinforces the urgent need for citizen-only voter safeguards, an election watchdog tells The Federalist. As columnist Dustin Grage first reported earlier this week, Roberts has been registered as a Democrat since 2012 in Maryland, where he appears to have worked in education from July 2001 to 2014, according to WHO 13 in Des Moines. While his LinkedIn page shows he took education administration positions over the past decade in Missouri, California, Pennsylvania and finally in Des Moines in 2023, Roberts remains on active voter status in Maryland, according to state officials. He is listed as a Democrat. The Maryland Freedom Caucus confirmed Roberts’ active status on the state’s voter rolls Tuesday in a press release cleverly headlined, "Revelations of Another ‘Maryland Man’ Leave More Questions Than Answers." Roberts’ status and the Maryland driver’s license issued to him would allow the foreign national to vote in Maryland elections — local, state and federal — even though he’s not a U.S. citizen and hasn’t resided in Maryland for years, the caucus said. "Once again, our citizens’ votes are diluted and the democratic process is undermined as another illegal alien is found on Maryland’s voter rolls," State Delegate and Freedom Caucus Chairman Matt Morgan said in the statement.

FOX News [10/1/2025 4:09 PM, Peter Pinedo, 40019K] reports after illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts was discovered to be registered to vote in Maryland, Republican state Delegate Lauren Arikan, a member of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, outlined how she believes it happened. Arikan explained that Maryland allows illegal aliens to obtain drivers’ licenses, making the state a "hot spot" for people looking to "legitimize their presence" in the U.S. Maryland grants illegal aliens living in the state what are called "non-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards" that, despite being valid in the state, are not federally compliant. In obtaining these licenses through the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), Arikan said that any individual, even illegal aliens, can check a box to register to vote. Instead of having established processes to verify U.S. citizenship and voting eligibility, Arikan said the state relies on registrants to attest that they are eligible. Roberts was arrested by ICE last week on a fugitive warrant. He was working as the superintendent of public schools in Des Moines, Iowa, despite having illegal weapons possession charges and a final order of removal filed against him. After his arrest, the Maryland Freedom Caucus blew the whistle on Roberts having an active voter registration in Maryland and being registered as a Democrat.

Yahoo! News [10/1/2025 6:49 AM, Li Zhou, 47380K] reports the partner of Norlan Guzman Fuentes, one of the two people killed in a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas, Texas, claims no one from the U.S. government reached out to notify her of his death. "It’s like nothing has happened," Berenice Prieto, Fuentes’s partner, told CBS News Texas on Tuesday. Prieto said that she learned of the news after contacting the El Salvadoran consulate herself two days after the attack, when Fuentes, 37, was fatally shot. Fuentes and Miguel Ángel García-Hernández, 32, both died from wounds sustained during a shooting at a Dallas ICE location last Wednesday, while a third person, Jose Andres Bordones-Molina, was critically wounded. Prieto said that she learned Fuentes had died in handcuffs and was disappointed with the way that authorities had treated his death. They made it seem like his life was "worthless," like it had "no value," she said. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson contended that authorities didn’t have Prieto listed as a member of Fuentes’s immediate family, and put the onus on her to contact the agency. "ICE takes its responsibility to notify the next of kin very seriously. This loss of life resulting from a terrible attack on ICE law enforcement should never have occurred and is a direct result of the vile rhetoric and misinformation spreading about ICE’s mission," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "Under the agency’s protocols, ICE contacted the Salvadoran Consulate, who provided ICE with a list of the decedent’s immediate family, that did not include a common law wife. Now that it has been brought to our attention, ICE is certainly willing to assist her with gaining information, as appropriate and would encourage her to reach out.” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, during a CNN interview the evening after the attack, struggled to answer questions about the victims of the shooting and whether their families had been contacted, noting only that the FBI was taking the lead on the investigation.

FOX News [10/1/2025 1:38 PM, Brooke Taylor, 40019K] reports that Fox News got an exclusive tour inside the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility that was the center of a deadly attack last week. The aftermath is evident in almost every corner — blood-stained floors from agents dragging detainees to safety and performing CPR, first-aid kits left scattered in the chaos and dozens of bullet holes throughout the building. "This is where another gentleman over here was receiving first aid," acting Field Office Director Joshua Johnson pointed out. "They had to go under fire to get him off the van so that they can provide CPR." Last Wednesday, a sniper fired dozens of rounds at the Dallas ICE Field Office from a nearby rooftop. The shooter targeted ICE agents, firing indiscriminately. The FBI released a photo of ammunition with "anti-ICE" written on it, and stated phone records and writings found during a search warrant expressed a hatred for ICE. Officials said the shooter had been planning the attack for months and used an app on his phone to track agents. No agents were hurt in the attack. Instead, two detainees were killed and another was injured. Many of the ICE offices are located on the second floor where there are supervisor offices, cubicles and an employee break room. At least nine of the office windows were boarded up where bullets flew through. "This bullet went through the window and then through the wall, which is high enough to hit my head," Johnson said. "I think the FBI indicated more than 25 shots were fired." The Dallas ICE Field Office reopened on Tuesday with enhanced security, according to ICE.

New York Post [10/2/2025 2:59 AM, Alexandra Koch, 43962K] reports federal agents peeled back the curtain at a Dallas strip club, arresting dozens of suspected illegal immigrants and seizing tens of thousands of dollars in US cash. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas, with assistance from federal, state and local law enforcement, executed a criminal search warrant at Chicas Bonitas Cabaret Friday for suspected human trafficking and unlawful employment, according to a news release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Officials said 41 illegal immigrants, including 29 people suspected of illegally working at the club, were taken into custody by the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office for administrative immigration violations. While ICE is continuing to process those arrested during the operation, authorities said at least five suspects have been convicted of criminal offenses after illegally entering the US. They include Julios Cesar Martinez, 47, of Mexico, who has been convicted three times of assault causing bodily injury and driving under the influence; Victor Manuel Manzano-Ramirez, 47, of Mexico, who illegally entered the US twice and has been convicted of driving under the influence; Gustavo Rojas-Garda, 44, of Mexico, who has been convicted of driving under the influence; and Genaro Diaz-Perez, 44, of Mexico, who has been convicted of prostitution. One suspect, Juan Carlos Salas Medina, 30, of Mexico, is accused of illegally entering the US 10 times. Medina has been convicted of aggravated assault of a family member, possession of a controlled substance and DUI, according to officials. In addition to the arrests, about $30,000 in US currency and various business records were seized by HSI Dallas as part of its ongoing criminal investigation into the business. Travis Pickard, HSI Dallas special agent in charge, said the agency is committed to "eradicating the vile scourge of sex trafficking from our local communities.” "Working in conjunction with our federal and local partners and leveraging HSI’s unique investigative authorities, we were able to disrupt the suspected trafficking operation at this cabaret and are working to identify potential victims," Pickard wrote in the release. FOX 4 Dallas reported neighboring business owners did not see anything unusual at the location prior to the raid but noted business has slowed since the arrests.

FOX News [10/1/2025 2:40 PM, Staff, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt joins ‘America Reports’ to discuss a sting operation that uncovered more than 120 illegal immigrants driving 18-wheelers, some linked to fatal crashes.

Univision [10/1/2025 6:22 AM, Staff, 4932K] reports a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement citing California’s sanctuary city policies as responsible for the accident that left six farmworkers dead. This happened after Norberto Celerino, 53, was identified as having been driving the truck in which the farm workers were traveling while intoxicated at the time of the accident that caused their deaths. “(He) is a criminal alien from Mexico who first entered the United States in 1995. Since his initial illegal entry, he has been arrested multiple times for cocaine possession, multiple DUIs, and removed from the United States multiple times,” the report says. “Unfortunately, their continued disregard for the laws of the United States and California’s sanctuary laws has led to this tragic incident,” the statement said. Following these strong statements, immigration experts believe this accusation is incorrect and warn that blaming these laws for tragedies like these is a misleading conclusion.

FOX News [10/1/2025 5:51 PM, Emma Bussey, 40019K] reports an illegal immigrant accused of serial rape and tied to as many as 17 victims in Nevada has withdrawn a plea deal, forcing prosecutors to reinstate multiple charges. Mexican national, Carlos Nava, 49, is now facing trial in Las Vegas on accusations of violent sexual assaults spanning nearly two decades. He also repeatedly re-entered the U.S. illegally despite being deported at least eight times since 2002. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) previously confirmed to 8 News Now this was despite prior removals and arrests for battery and domestic violence. He was last deported in 2020. On July 30, Nava had entered what is known as an Alford plea to one felony count of sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon, according to court records, per 8 News Now. This plea allows a defendant to acknowledge prosecutors likely have enough evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt. In Nava’s case, the plea agreement resulted in eight other charges being dropped. Nava’s decision to then withdraw the plea deal on Sept. 25, and on the day that was supposed to be his sentencing, meant prosecutors reinstated those charges. Per the Nevada Globe, Clark County Deputy District Attorney Julia Barker told the court Nava may be connected to as many as 17 assaults. Six victims have been identified, while 11 others remain unknown, including two who were minors at the time. "It’s really hard for someone to maintain ‘I didn’t do this’ when his sperm is in places that indicate he probably did," Barker said, citing DNA evidence.

AP [10/1/2025 7:45 PM, Martha Bellisle, 20690K] reports some migrants being held in the immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington, have the right to request to be released on bond, under a federal judge’s order that says a new Trump administration policy denying bond hearings for jailed migrants is unlawful. U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright’s order, granting summary judgment for a class action case impacting people detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, said certain immigrants "are not subject to mandatory detention" and holding them without the possibility of a bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. The immigration judges at the Tacoma detention center have long denied bond requests by migrants. In July, Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adopted that policy for immigration judges across the country, meaning that most migrants arrested cannot be released unless the Department of Homeland Security makes an exception. The new rule has impacted people who have lived in the county for years, even decades, their lawyers say, including a man who was detained in Iowa when he sought police help after being shot during a robbery. Messages seeking comment from ICE, DHS and the Executive Office for Immigration Review were not immediately returned. An EOIR spokesperson sent an automatic response saying "the appropriation that funds my salary has lapsed and as a result I have been furloughed.” Matt Adams, attorney for Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said the Tacoma ruling only applies to people held in that city and is not precedent for ICE detention centers across the country. But a similar lawsuit filed in California by NWIRP and the American Civil Liberties Union seeks to change the rule for all immigrants, he said. The ACLU also filed a complaint against DHS in Massachusetts, saying denying bond hearings denies the immigrants their due process rights. "When the government arrests any person inside the United States, it must be required to prove to a judge that there is an actual reason for the person’s detention," Daniel McFadden, managing attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement. "Our client and others like him have a constitutional and statutory right to receive a bond hearing for exactly that purpose.”

CBS News Los Angeles [10/1/2025 8:06 PM, Laurie Perez and Dean Fioresi] Video: HERE reports a man from Pasadena is speaking out and asking for help after his wife was detained by federal agents at the end of a scheduled green card hearing in downtown Los Angeles in early September. Tucker May says that his wife, Barbara Gomes Marques, 38, was on her way to becoming a U.S. citizen when they headed to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building almost two weeks ago. He says that at the end of her meeting for her green card, someone asked his wife to accompany them down a hallway to make a copy of her passport, which they thought was the next step in her gaining citizenship after they were married last year. Now, he believes it was a trick to get the two separated before she was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. "Going home without her that night was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do," May said. "She put so much effort into looking nice, because she was excited to take a step toward becoming an American, and I had to go home, and I had to put away the shoes that they took off her feet and gave to me in a plastic bag." Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have refuted those claims that Marques was tricked. "Stop with the smears. ICE did not ‘trick’ a woman into getting arrested," McLaughlin said. McLaughlin claims that Marques "overstayed her B2 tourist visa" and asserts that an immigration judge issued her final order of removal on Nov. 21, 2019.

Bloomberg [10/1/2025 5:15 PM, Naomi Ng, Yang Yang, and K Oanh Ha, 19085K] Audio: HERE reports President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa fee has sent shockwaves through India’s workforce, which makes up roughly 70% of recipients. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Sankalp Phartiyal unpack how the policy could disrupt careers, reshape global talent flows and shatter the American dream for tens of thousands of workers.

AP [10/1/2025 12:41 PM, Anselm Gibbs, 37974K] reports that four Caribbean nations are making it easier for their citizens to pack up and move to neighboring countries to start a new life without the need for visas or work permits. Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines signed a free movement agreement that went into effect on Wednesday. Officials said that when citizens from any of the four participating countries travel to another participating country, their passports will be stamped or a digital record will be made, indicating indefinite stay is allowed. Measures for incoming travelers to officially register for education, health care and other services also are in place, according to Caricom, a regional 15-member trade bloc spearheading the initiative. With crime a major problem in several Caribbean countries, authorities in Barbados said proper guardrails and vetting systems are in place to keep criminals out. “Any government may refuse entry to a person who poses a genuine threat to national security,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a national address on Tuesday night.

AP [10/1/2025 9:26 PM, Valerie Gonzalez, 2608K] reports the federal government is expected to again accept new applications for a program that grants some people without legal immigration status the ability to live and work in the United States. Lawyers for the federal government and immigrant advocates have presented plans before a federal judge that would open the door again to accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA. One state — Texas, where the case is being heard — however, would be exempted from providing work permits. It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of people could be eligible to be enrolled in DACA, once a federal judge issues an order to formalize plans laid out by the Department of Justice in a legal filing made on Monday. The program, created under the Obama administration, grants people without legal immigration status who were brought into the country by their parents two-year, renewable permits to live and work in the U.S. legally. The program has allowed people who were brought to the United States as children to temporarily remain in the country and obtain work permits. It does not confer legal status but provides protection from deportation. Eligibility requirements include people who entered the country as children before their 16th birthday, were under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012, and have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three misdemeanors. There would be restrictions related to work permits for those who reside in Texas, which filed a lawsuit against the DACA program in 2018. DOJ attorneys laid out the proposal before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Monday as part of the ongoing Texas lawsuit. It would allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to take new and renewal applications for DACA across the country, which it has not done for four years. In Texas, USCIS would take new and renewal applications for the DACA program but recipients residing in the state will not receive a work permit. Attorneys representing DACA recipients proposed adding a wind-down period that would allow Texas residents to keep their work authorization for one more renewal period. These proposals follow an earlier decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the program to continue with the work permit carveout in Texas. The federal government and attorneys for DACA recipients have two more opportunities in October to file responses to the proposals submitted this week. Hanen, based in Houston, will then decide what proposal or combination of proposals to implement in his order.

Telemundo [10/1/2025 12:49 AM, Staff, 2782K] reports according to the Los Angeles Times, the Department of Justice filed a motion on Monday, which must be approved by a federal judge, to include new Dreamers in immigration protection. Since 2021, only renewals have been accepted under this program. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Los Angeles Times [10/1/2025 6:07 AM, Hemant Bhargava and D. Daniel Sokol, 12715K] reports President Trump signed a proclamation that imposes a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, the immigration allocation set aside for highly skilled workers the U.S. economy needs. The new rules threaten the availability and deployment of human capital in the United States. This is misguided and will hurt U.S. growth and innovation, at a time when the global arms race for AI creates a vital need for the sharpest human talent and innovators. We are professors who study and teach innovation-related topics at U.S. research universities. As immigrants to the United States from India and Panama respectively, we understand firsthand the sometimes painful discussions around H-1B immigration. Tensions around immigration routinely affect our academic institutions, our current students and former students now in industry. But there should be a lot of common ground on this polarizing topic. STEM immigrants are creating substantial value in the United States. Immigrants play a significant role in entrepreneurial ventures in the United States and particularly startup innovation. Further, such immigrants are responsible for 23% of innovation output in the United States. This effect is in part based on policies that allow for foreign students to study and stay in the United States to work in startups.

NBC News [10/1/2025 6:40 PM, Daniella Silva, 43603K] reports the Trump administration said Tuesday it had launched a "first-of-its-kind" operation looking into 1,000 cases to identify immigration fraud in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Officials warned that immigration authorities would continue such operations around the country. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that in investigating those cases, it found 275 cases of "suspected fraud." Of those, 42 cases were referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or people were given notices to appear in court for immigration proceedings, USCIS said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. Four people were apprehended, the agency said. No one has been charged. "We will continue to launch operations like this across the country," USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said at a news conference Tuesday in Minneapolis. "We will be bringing many more efforts like this to cities across the country.” USCIS assesses applications and interviews immigrants seeking to legally remain in the country by getting green cards, becoming naturalized citizens or being approved for humanitarian programs. Edlow said officers "encountered blatant marriage fraud, visa overstays, people claiming to work at businesses that can’t be found, forged documents" and other allegations of immigration fraud. Some of the troubling cases the agency said it found included that of an immigrant who was alleged to have taken advantage of an elderly U.S. citizen in a case that involved threats and "severe neglect" and that of an immigrant who was alleged to have admitted to officers she committed marriage fraud only a few hours after having sworn in in immigration interview that her marriage was legitimate, Edlow said. He said "troubling patterns" were also found with the federal Uniting for Ukraine program, which granted temporary humanitarian parole for Ukrainians fleeing the ongoing war with Russia during the Biden administration. Edlow said one person had filed to sponsor more than 100 Ukrainians. He did not provide further details about the case or its outcome. "I want the American people to know that we are declaring war on immigration fraud," Edlow said. "We will continue to pursue those who seek to abuse our immigration system using every tool at our disposal.” While 1,000 cases were investigated for possible fraud, the fact that only 42 were either referred to ICE or issued notices for appearance in immigration court represents "less than 5%," said Claire Trickler-McNulty, who was a senior USCIS official during the Biden administration. She was also an official with the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration and the first Trump administration.

Reported similarly:
Blaze [10/1/2025 5:55 PM, Sebastian Pestritto, 1559K] r

New York Post [10/1/2025 6:04 PM, Scott W. Johnson, 43962K] reports this week, federal officials made an astounding announcement: Nearly half of all immigrants in greater Minneapolis were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud. The fraud, uncovered in a September sweep, came in all kinds — sham marriages, fake death certificates and "other bizarre schemes," as US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edley put it. But the revelation was no great surprise to those of us who have followed the settlement of some 100,000 Somali immigrants in Minnesota over the past three decades. As far back as 2008, the State Department temporarily suspended one of the family reunification programs used by Somali immigrants when DNA testing of applicants found that 80% of all its claimed family relationships were fake. Immigration fraud in this community has been the norm. And when it comes to "bizarre schemes," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) serves as Exhibit A. Omar is accused, and has never credibly denied, that she married her brother to get him legal papers. In 2016, following up on a tip posted on a local Somali discussion board, I found that Omar — then a first-time candidate for the Minnesota state legislature — had "religiously married," but not legally married, Ahmed Hirsi, the father of her children. However, records showed that in 2009 she had legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi — a man identified as her brother by Somalis on the discussion board. Omar was still married to Elmi as she campaigned for state office in 2016, although her website made no mention of him and touted Hirsi as her husband. It appeared that Omar had married her brother for some fraudulent purpose. As if to put an exclamation point on the scam, the Omar-Elmi marriage license was executed by Wilecia Harris, a Christian minister, despite the couple’s Muslim faith. When I asked the Omar campaign about her marriages, a criminal defense attorney responded with a message accusing me of bigotry — and failing to respond to my questions.

Los Angeles Times [10/1/2025 10:26 AM, Maggie Eastland, 12715K] reports semiconductor industry leaders are warning the Trump administration that a proposed tightening of visa rules risks shrinking a vital talent pool and undermining efforts to expand chip manufacturing in the United States. More than two dozen semiconductor executives — including two unnamed CEOs — have objected to a Department of Homeland Security plan to put stricter limits on the F-1 student visas that serve as a critical pipeline to the tech workforce. Their mostly anonymous comments, ahead of a formal rulemaking, joined a total of more than 17,000 submissions from across academia. In commentary filed with the government, chip executives questioned the move. "I am deeply troubled," one unidentified CEO wrote. "The global race for chip supremacy is intensifying, and these restrictions risk ceding ground to nations with more welcoming immigration policies." Changes proposed in August to student visas pose an added challenge to the chip industry as it grapples with a separate Trump administration decision to charge $100,000 for most new H-1B visa applications. While semiconductor makers have stayed largely silent over the new six-figure H-1B payments, several major companies face the prospect of millions in added fees for skilled-worker visas. Taken together, the visa changes highlight growing tension between President Trump’s immigration crackdown and his goal of boosting domestic production of semiconductors and other advanced goods to stay ahead of China. An immigration raid last month on a Hyundai Motor Co.-LG Energy Solution Ltd. battery plant being built in Georgia further illustrated the challenge in relying on foreign-born talent to jump-start new factories.

NBC News [10/2/2025 5:00 AM, Mithil Aggarwal, Jay Ganglani, and Peter Guo, 43603K] reports in India, some of the biggest jobs in tech come to you. Graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT), one of the country’s most prestigious universities, are recruited directly by Indian companies as well as American firms looking to lock down some of the world’s top talent in fields that will dominate the future, such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Many of them also continue their studies in the United States, where India overtook China last year as the biggest source of foreign students. But policy decisions and other moves by the Trump administration, including the recently announced $100,000 fee for the H-1B skilled immigrant work visa, now have those graduates thinking twice about going to America. “About 20 students are graduating from my department, and nearly 10 to 15 have a postdoctoral offer from the U.S.,” said Ajaykumar Udayraj Yadav, a materials science and engineering doctoral candidate working on energy storage systems, who is among the student volunteers at the Office of Career Services at IIT’s New Delhi campus. “But the way they’re seeing the situation develop in the U.S., these students are unwilling to take them up,” he said.

AP [10/1/2025 6:13 AM, Kim Tong-Hyung, 37974K] reports the United States has agreed to allow South Korean workers on short-term visas or a visa waiver program to help build industrial sites in America, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The announcement came weeks after South Korea flew home more than 300 of its nationals who had been detained in a massive immigration raid at a battery factory being built on Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant campus near Savannah, Georgia. The roundup, along with U.S. video footage showing Korean workers shackled at the hands, ankles and waist, fueled public outrage and a sense of betrayal in South Korea — a key U.S. ally that had pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments just weeks earlier in hopes of avoiding the Trump administration’s steepest tariffs. The incident also triggered pent-up frustrations in Seoul over Washington’s failure to act on its long-standing request to improve the visa system for skilled Korean workers, even as the United States presses its ally to expand industrial investments. South Korean companies have been mostly relying on short-term visas or a visa waiver program called the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, to send workers needed to launch manufacturing sites and handle other setup tasks, a practice that had been largely tolerated for years. After bilateral visa talks Tuesday in Washington, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said their American counterparts reaffirmed that South Korean companies can use B-1 short-term business visas or ESTAs to send workers to install, service and repair equipment needed for their projects in the United States. The statement was consistent with earlier remarks by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who, after traveling to Washington to negotiate the workers’ release, said that U.S. officials had agreed to allow them to return later to complete their work.

AP [10/1/2025 10:32 AM, Elliot Spagat, 5352K] reports that Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver; and Fort Myers, Florida, were hot places to settle. California lost some of its appeal. The Associated Press obtained U.S. Customs and Border Protection data by state and metropolitan area on self-reported destinations of nearly 2.5 million people who crossed the border illegally or they came legally through an online appointment app called CBP One from May 12, 2023, to Jan. 18, 2025. U.S. border authorities must collect street addresses of anyone released in the United States with humanitarian protections or with notices to appear in immigration court to pursue asylum. While many immigrants may have moved, the data opens a window into how an unprecedented increase in immigrants played out across the country. The data covered the period when President Joe Biden’s administration ended COVID-19 restrictions on asylum to when President Donald Trump began his second term and declared a national emergency at the border. The data reflects a decades-long trend away from California to other areas that became popular as job openings flourished. It also shows the impact of migrants from more than 100 countries in recent years appearing at the border, a break from the past when they were largely from Mexico and Central America. People from Venezuela and neighboring South American countries became a major presence after COVID-19, making Florida a bigger draw because communities of those nationalities were already well-established. Miami led all U.S. metropolitan areas per capita with 2,191 immigrant arrivals for every 100,000 residents. That was followed by Fort Myers with 1,782; Salt Lake City with 1,685; Denver with 1,673; and New York with 1,542. Other areas with at least 1,000 arrivals for every 100,000 residents were Orlando, Florida (1,499); Austin, Texas (1,453); Dallas-Fort Worth (1,412); Houston (1,338); Louisville, Kentucky (1,250); Indianapolis (1,166); Nashville, Tennessee (1,115); and Chicago (1,077).

AP [10/1/2025 10:37 AM, Gisela Salomon, 37974K] reports after Paola Freites was allowed into the U.S. in 2024, she and her husband settled in Florida, drawn by warm temperatures, a large Latino community and the ease of finding employment and housing. They were among hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the state in recent years as immigration surged under former President Joe Biden. No state has been more affected by the increase in immigrants than Florida, according to internal government data obtained by The Associated Press. Florida had 1,271 migrants who arrived from May 2023 to January 2025 for every 100,000 residents, followed by New York, California, Texas and Illinois. The data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which must verify addresses of everyone who is allowed to enter the U.S. and stay to pursue an immigration case, shows Miami was the most affected metropolitan area in the U.S. with 2,191 new migrants for every 100,000 residents. Orlando ranked 10th with 1,499 new migrants for every 100,000 residents. Tampa ranked 17th, and Fort Myers was 30th. Freites and her husband, who had fled violence in Colombia with their three children, moved to Apopka, an agricultural city near Orlando, where immigrants could find cheaper housing than in Miami as they spread throughout a community that already had large populations of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. Her sister-in-law owned a mobile home that they could rent. "She advised us to come to Orlando because Spanish is spoken here and the weather is good," Freites, 37, said. "We felt good and welcomed.” The CBP data captured the stated U.S. destinations for 2.5 million migrants who crossed the border, including those like Freites who used the now-defunct CBP One app to make an appointment for entry. The data covered the period when the Biden administration ended COVID-19 restrictions on asylum to when President Donald Trump began his second term and declared a national emergency at the border.

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [10/1/2025 1:26 PM, Gisela Salomon, 12715K]

Telemundo 48 El Paso [10/1/2025 2:14 PM, Claudia Moreno, 6K] reports that Border Patrol agents found a man abandoned by smugglers atop the border wall, according to a post on the agency’s official social media platform. Agents quickly contacted the on-duty officers from San Elizario FD and Fabens EMS, who were able to detain him unharmed. According to authorities, the group of detained immigrants will be processed for immediate deportation.

Breitbart [10/1/2025 9:14 AM, Randy Clark, 2608K] reports federal law enforcement authorities in Portland arrested four illegal aliens at a house where officials say a laser strike on two U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopters emanated over the weekend. The search resulted in the arrest of four illegal aliens, including one believed to be responsible for the attacks and the seizure of the laser. The investigation began after images captured by the CBP pilots of the helicopters under attack were used to identify the location where the laser strikes were conducted. Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a federal crime and can result in a potential five-year imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. According to the FBI, the joint search included agents from DHS Homeland Security Investigations and officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office in Portland. The search resulted in the arrest of the suspect believed responsible for the laser attack and three other inhabitants of the residence who were found to be in the United States illegally. In a Tuesday press release, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the arrest and seizure of the laser pointer, saying, "These four illegal aliens endangered the lives of our CBP personnel, the safety of every other aircraft in flight during the time, and put everyone on the ground in immediate danger. DHS law enforcement is facing a 1,000% increase in attacks against them." McLaughlin added, "This strike happened just days after the terrorist attack on an ICE facility in Dallas, and as rioters were arrested with guns outside a Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility with weapons. Secretary Noem has been clear: if you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

New York Post [10/1/2025 8:09 PM, Shane Galvin, 43962K] reports an alleged Sinaloa cartel leader admitted President Trump’s aggressive border policies have made the illegal work of the powerful Mexican drug gang more difficult in an interview with CNN. An anonymous member of El Chapo’s former gang explained that Trump’s immigration and drug policies have put a damper on their black-market tradecraft in a bizarre interview with the news station’s senior national correspondent, David Culver, in the back of an SUV. "From killing to coordinating smuggling operations, he says he’s done it all," Culver said, referring to Trump. "Do you think what President Trump has been doing has been making your job tougher?" He asked the confessed killer and cartel boss. "Oh yeah. Yeah," the gang member — dressed in a black mask, sunglasses, black gloves, and a hat to conceal his identity — admitted flatly. "So it’s becoming more difficult, you think?" Culver prodded. "Yep," the supposed gangbanger said. The CNN report further revealed that cartels are now charging much more to get migrants across the southern US border because of the Trump crackdown on illegal migration. Border-hoppers are now expected to pay $10,000 each instead of about $6,500 per person prior to the Trump-era policies, according to Fox News. The hardened criminal said that though he has killed people, he considers himself a good person. "I did what I had to do," he said. In the interview, the Sinaloa cartel leader expressed that he came forward to speak with CNN hoping to deter others from joining drug gangs. "It’s not a life. It’s not good," the man said in broken English. "Once you get in, you can’t get out," he warned in Spanish. The anonymous man is not the first Sinaloa cartel member to credit the Trump administration for its robust approach to halting the human and drug trafficking operations at the southern border. Margarito "Jay" Flores Jr., who made millions with his twin brother as members of El Chapo’s cartel, praised the president in an interview last month. "I think the aggressive approach is going to send a strong message to every drug trafficker across Latin America and places like Venezuela that’s used as a transport hub from Mexican cartels and Colombian organizations," Flores told Fox News. That "aggressive approach" is continuing with the United States prepping for attacks against drug gangs deep inside Venezuela, according to an NBC News report.

Daily Wire [10/1/2025 6:26 AM, Zach Jewell, 3184K] reports along with Tulsi Gabbard, who now serves as Director of National Intelligence, three Republican members of Congress were surveilled by the now-defunct TSA "Quiet Skies" program, independent journalist Matt Taibbi reported on Tuesday. According to documents handed over to the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, two of the three Republican representatives were placed on a surveillance list before they were elected, but remained there after joining Congress. According to the Senate committee’s notes, "a cursory review would have revealed them to be a member of Congress, or a decorated U.S. veteran or service member," Taibbi reported. The names of the members of Congress and the states they represent were redacted in the government documents. The TSA’s "Quiet Skies" program, which began in 2010, came under intense scrutiny last year after whistleblowers revealed that Gabbard — then a former Democratic congresswoman who was highly critical of the Democratic Party — was followed by Air Marshals and bomb-sniffing dogs under the TSA program. "Quiet Skies" was ended by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in June. Noem said, "It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration — weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends." The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also revealed that TSA approved a watchlist, or "enhanced screening," for people "suspected of traveling to the National Capital Region" in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The watchlist was deemed appropriate for people "believed to pose an elevated risk" but for whom "there is a current lack of specific information relating to unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol.”

The Hill [10/1/2025 3:29 PM, Max Rego, 12414K] reports the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said Wednesday the government shutdown will weaken the country’s airspace system. "When the federal government shuts down it introduces unnecessary distractions and our entire aviation system is weakened," NATCA President Nick Daniels said in a release. "Congress must restore federal funding so that the safety and efficiency of our National Airspace System is not compromised.” NATCA represents nearly 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and other aviation safety employees. In its shutdown contingency plan released Tuesday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said that more than 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees, roughly a quarter of the agency’s workforce, will be furloughed due to the shutdown. The DOT noted more than 13,000 air traffic controllers will keep working without pay, and hiring and training of controllers will continue. However, a group representing U.S. airlines told Congress on Monday flight delays could occur due to air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration employees having to work without pay. Daniels also expressed concern over working conditions for controllers, some of whom are already working six days per week and 10 hours per day, according to NATCA.

AP [10/1/2025 6:10 PM, Rio Yamat, 37974K] reports if a U.S. government shutdown goes on long enough, it could throw a wrench in travel plans, potentially leading to longer airport wait times, flight delays and even cancellations. The shutdown began Wednesday after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to reach a deal to continue funding government services and operations. That means a vast majority of employees who keep U.S. airports and air travel running are working without pay until the government reopens. Travelers can still fly despite the lapse in funding, and early on in the shutdown, they might not even notice any issues at the airport. Control towers and airport security checkpoints will still be staffed, with about 13,200 air traffic controllers and more than 61,000 Transportation Security Administration employees expected to remain on the job. But as more time passes for the workers since their last paycheck, travelers could start to see longer lines at security and flight interruptions, said Jeffrey Price, professor of aviation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. Ports of entry into the country are expected to stay open for international travelers, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s contingency plan. The department estimated that about 63,000 workers at Customs and Border Protection would still report to work. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for overseeing the naturalization process, is primarily funded by application fees, meaning a lapse in funding at the federal government has minimal impacts on most passport and visa processing. Agency spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said in a statement, however, that the shutdown does temporarily shutter the agency’s E-Verify program, a free online system that employers can use to confirm their new employees are authorized to work in the U.S.

DailySignal [10/1/2025 11:53 AM, Sen. Rand Paul, 668K] reports in mid-2024, as she grew increasingly critical of the Biden administration and increasingly involved with the Trump campaign, Tulsi Gabbard noticed changes as she went to the airport. She had more screening. Federal agents with dogs kept showing up for her flights. Other federal agents followed her on the plane and reported back on her activity. When I learned of this, I launched an investigation into the Transportation Security Administration’s Quiet Skies program and the Biden administration’s weaponization of watchlists against everyday Americans. Under public scrutiny, the Biden administration removed now-Director of National Intelligence Gabbard from the program, but it spent the remainder of its time in office stonewalling any investigation. Thankfully, that era is over. President Donald Trump, himself a victim of government weaponization, set out to reverse the previous administration’s targeting of the very citizens it is sworn to protect. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has taken decisive action to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles resisting transparency. We are finally getting answers. And now we know exactly why the previous administration fought so hard to keep us in the dark. If this can happen to a combat veteran, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, and now director of national intelligence, it can happen to anyone. Today, for the first time, you will hear directly from a federal air marshal whose wife was labeled a domestic terrorist simply for engaging in protected First Amendment activity. Records show the FBI labeled her as a domestic terrorist for "unlawful entry into the Capitol" on Jan. 6. But she didn’t—and they knew it.

San Francisco Chronicle [10/1/2025 1:09 PM, Jessica Flores, 3790K] reports that the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay for arriving flights at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday afternoon due to high winds, though flight and airport operations appeared to be otherwise running smoothly despite the government shutdown.

The ground delay was issued around around noon and was expected to last 98 minutes, according to the FAA. By 1:20 p.m., there were a total of 273 flight delays and two cancellations, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. In the morning, most international and domestic flights were on time, and the airport’s check-in and TSA security lines were running seamlessly. Unlike most airports, where the government shutdown was expected to impact security lines and flights, SFO may not see interruptions in service because the Transportation Security Administration staff at the airport are not federal employees, said spokesperson Doug Yakel. The airport is part of TSA’s Screening Partnership Program that allows airports to contract with private companies that provide security screening services. TSA workers at SFO work for Covenant Aviation Security, Yakel said. “Security screeners at SFO are not TSA employees and thus would continue to be paid during the shutdown,” Yakel said in an email Wednesday. However, the airport’s federal employees, like Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and Customs and Border Protection officers, will continue to work without pay during the shutdown, Yakel said.

Homeland Preparedness News [10/1/2025 8:35 AM, Liz Carey] reports in an effort to move disaster relief from Washington, D.C. to the states, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would return nearly $3.5 billion to local communities. Noem said FEMA is shifting from D.C.-centric bureaucracy to a deployable disaster force empowered at the state level to provide relief for citizens. The funding, administered through FEMA’s non-disaster grant programs, would empower communities to hire and train firefighter and other first responders, as well as plan for potential cyber disruptions, protect infrastructure like ports and transportation systems, enhance the security of churches and other nonprofits, implement public warning systems, protect themselves against terrorist attacks and transnational crime, and other potential disasters. “Secretary Noem is empowering state and local leaders over Washington bureaucrats,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “The Trump administration is draining the swamp, restoring accountability for FEMA, and putting Americans FIRST in disaster response.” Noem’s office said the grant awards come after an evaluation of all grant programs and recipients designed to cut waste, fraud and abuse. DHS and FEMA worked together to vet grant recipients and ensure awards strengthen national resilience.

Federal News Network [10/1/2025 3:46 PM, Terry Gerton, 1147K] reports recent hurricanes, wildfires and floods have overwhelmed federal disaster response systems, with FEMA operating at a fraction of its staffing capacity. The GAO warns that workforce reductions and undertrained surge responders could jeopardize future recovery efforts. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Los Angeles Times [10/1/2025 5:19 PM, Hayley Smith, 12715K] reports the shutdown of the U.S. government has brought nonessential work to a halt across the country as thousands of federal employees have been furloughed. Federal agencies that govern wildfire, weather and disaster response are expected to see some impacts, including the Forest Service, FEMA and the National Weather Service. The shutdown comes on top of existing budget cuts and layoffs at these and other agencies this year. While much of the fallout remains to be seen, federal agencies that deal with wildfires, weather and disaster response — including the U.S. Forest Service, the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency — expect to see some impacts. Other agencies that play key roles in California’s disaster response and preparation — including the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — are largely deemed essential and will face fewer interruptions, according to their contingency plans. Officials with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said FEMA staff have advised them that they will continue to make payments for existing disaster declarations made by President Trump, but there’s no guarantee that new or additional disaster declarations or funding will be made available.

CBS News [10/1/2025 9:40 AM, Staff, 45245K] reports that a CBS News and KFF Health News investigation found at least 170 hospitals nationwide face severe flood risk, with many built in flood zones not reflected on FEMA’s maps. David Schechter reports from Tennessee, where one hospital was destroyed during Hurricane Helene. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Axios [10/1/2025 3:54 PM, Josephine Walker, 14595K] reports at least six houses buckled under the rough waves slamming North Carolina’s Outer Banks from Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto this week, according to the National Park Service. At least 18 privately-owned homes have collapsed along North Carolina’s coast since 2020, aided by soil erosion from rising seas and storms. The erosion is also contributing to the loss of habitats for shorebirds and sea turtles along the Seashore, the National Park Service warns. The six houses washed away from Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Sept. 30, and the park service warned "further collapses are possible due to the ocean conditions." Officials are currently not aware of any injuries from the collapsed houses. Imelda is expected to cause "dangerous marine conditions and rip currents" along the East Coast during the next several days, according to a public advisory from the National Hurricane Center. The storm will bring hurricane-force winds to Bermuda on Wednesday evening, swiping the North Atlantic island just one day after Humberto caused flash flooding and damaging waves. Bermuda is roughly 650 miles east of North Carolina’s coast, but there is a high rip current threat from the tip of Florida all the way up to Maine.

CBS News [10/1/2025 6:37 AM, Staff, 45245K] Video: HERE reports the outer bands of distant Hurricane Humberto lashed Bermuda on Tuesday ahead of a more direct pass from the newer and stronger Hurricane Imelda on the tiny British territory. Humberto was passing well north of the island in the north Atlantic, but wind gusts and some rain were forecast into Wednesday. Imelda had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph early Wednesday and its center was expected to be near the island by evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. A hurricane warning for Bermuda was in effect ahead of Imelda, which was expected to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of at least 96 mph, according to the Bermuda Weather Service. "I cannot overstate the seriousness of this threat," Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, said of Imelda. "This is not, I must stress, a passing squall.” He said Bermuda would endure sustained hurricane-force winds for up to six hours starting late Wednesday.

Blaze [10/1/2025 1:15 PM, Joseph M. Hanneman, 1559K] reports that the FBI called U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund just after 3 p.m. on Jan. 6 to offer help from its SWAT teams, but the number of agents the FBI sent to the Capitol was just 55, Sund told Blaze News. The FBI’s Washington Field Office was receiving calls from frantic members of Congress holed up in their Capitol offices after crowds breached the building at 2:12 p.m. Assistant FBI Director Steven D’Antuono, head of the Washington Field Office, called Sund just after 3 p.m. and offered help, the former Capitol Police chief said. Sund said he does not understand FBI Director Kash Patel’s assertion that 274 special agents were deployed to the Capitol primarily to do "crowd control." He said FBI special agents wearing body armor would not be properly outfitted for crowd control. "They’re not equipped for crowd control. They’re not trained for it — the plainclothes guys," Sund said. "I don’t even know what training their tactical guys have, but at least they’d be a little bit better equipped with possibly tactical helmets and gas masks." Sund said while compiling figures from his call for mutual aid, he tallied the count from the FBI at 55 special agents. "That evening we were calculating what resources had come in," he said. "And the number I’ve been given all along was 55 from FBI. "So the 17 or more law enforcement agencies that ended up coming in — I think it added up to 1,764 officers — included 55 from the Washington Field Office of the FBI. I had to get that number from somewhere. The 55 is a lot different than 274." Sund said he coordinated the effort with FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich.

New York Post [10/1/2025 4:50 PM, Tina Moore and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, 43962K] reports an NYPD detective allegedly showed up at the Ryder Cup golf tournament in full gear and claimed he was working security for President Trump — while out on sick leave, The Post has learned. Det. Melvin Eng, who is now facing administrative charges for theft of services, may have even gotten away with the golf course ruse — had he not dropped his gun magazine in the grass in front of real security personnel, according to law enforcement sources and NYPD documents. Eng, 46, who is president of the NYPD Asian Jade Society, allegedly showed up at the Farmingdale tournament Friday in full tactical gear and claimed he was working security for the visiting president. According to the sources, Eng even claimed he was working for the feds. That was enough to get him into the popular tournament until he dropped his magazine and got booted — and was suspended on Monday for the stunt, the NYPD paperwork shows.

FOX News [10/1/2025 7:04 PM, Ryan Morik, 40019K] reports Eng is now facing administrative charges for theft of services. Eng was in the clear until he dropped his magazine in front of working security. One police source told the Post that Eng "got in there with his gun, past Secret Service, past the state police.” Friday was the first of three days of the tournament, with tee-off at 7:10 a.m. ET. Fans were implored to arrive as early as possible to the event due to TSA-like screening because of Trump’s attendance. Trump walked to his seat ahead of the Friday afternoon session, where he was acknowledged by numerous members of both teams. Team USA captain Keegan Bradley even did the vintage Trump dance.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [10/1/2025 6:39 PM, Dylan Gwinn, 2608K]

AP [10/1/2025 1:00 PM, Staff, 37974K] reports that Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA), the official relief society of the U.S. Coast Guard, is prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to Coast Guard families following the lapse in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations, which may result in a suspension of pay. For more than a century, CGMA has been the lifeline for the Coast Guard community. Since 1924, the nonprofit has provided more than $250 million in direct financial support — including $50 million over just the last five years. During the 2018–2019 government shutdown when the Coast Guard missed a paycheck, CGMA delivered $8.4 million in relief to more than 6,200 Coast Guard members and families. "Thanks to CGMA, my Coast Guard crew was able to get their minds off finances and re-focus their attention on mission during the last shutdown," said retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander Brooke Millard, now Chief Executive Officer of CGMA. "Members of the Coast Guard community can rest assured that CGMA will continue to do all we can to support their financial resilience if pay is disrupted again.” In the event of pay suspension, CGMA is ready to provide interest-free loans to cover essential expenses such as rent, insurance, childcare, and food.

AP [10/1/2025 6:11 PM, Staff, 20690K] reports the three people killed during a mass shooting last weekend at a waterfront bar in a southeastern North Carolina community have been identified as two out-of-state residents and a third who had recently moved to the coastal town. City government released the names of the victims who died from Saturday night’s shootings at the American Fish Company in Southport, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Wilmington. Five others were injured. City spokesperson ChyAnn Ketchum said late Wednesday it was her understanding that the five remained hospitalized. The city identified those killed as Joy Rogers, 64, of Southport; Solomon Banjo, 36, of Charlottesville, Virginia; and Michael Durbin, 56, of Galena, Ohio. The names of those wounded weren’t released. Soon after the shootings, authorities arrested Nigel Edge, a decorated Marine veteran, and charged him with three first-degree murder counts along with five attempted-murder and five weapons-related assault counts. Edge, 40, remained held Wednesday in the Brunswick County jail without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 13. Authorities have said Edge piloted a boat close to shore, stopped briefly and opened fire at a crowd of vacationers and other patrons in what Southport Police Chief Todd Coring previously called a "highly premeditated" targeted attack. An arrest warrant alleged that Edge used an AR-style rifle with a silencer and scope. Edge was arrested about a half an hour later after a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted him pulling a boat from the water at a ramp on Oak Island, where he lives. The investigation remains active, and Southport police said Wednesday they were still seeking information from people who went to the bar Saturday or the day before. Edge has not entered a plea. The county’s top prosecutor described during Edge’s court hearing Monday the defendant as having "significant mental health issues" after experiencing a traumatic brain injury. Edge, who changed his name from Sean DeBevoise in 2023, told police he was injured in combat and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Coring said.

Stars and Stripes [10/1/2025 1:24 PM, Staff, 1110K] reports that the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Seneca offloaded more than 12,750 pounds of cocaine and marijuana in Port Everglades, Fla., Tuesday. The illegal drugs are worth approximately $94.5 million, and were the result of interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean while Seneca was deployed in support of Operation Pacific Viper, according to a service news release. Twenty-nine suspected smugglers were transferred to federal custody. "I’m incredibly proud of the teamwork and adaptability displayed by my crew and our partners during this patrol to stop illicit drug flow from entering the United States," Seneca commander Capt. Lee Jones said. The following assets and crews were involved in the interdictions: Coast Guard Cutter Venturous; Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton; Coast Guard Cutter Midgett; Coast Guard Cutter Stone; Joint Interagency Task Force-South; Coast Guard Southwest District; and Coast Guard Southeast District. Operation Pacific Viper conducts counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where transportation of illegal narcotics continues from Central and South America. "Our crews sacrifice time away from their families, and when necessary, put themselves in harm’s way to secure our borders and protect the American people," Jones said.

The Hill [10/1/2025 6:00 AM, Julia Shapero, 12414K] reports a law allowing private companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with the government expired Wednesday after Congress failed to reauthorize the legislation amid a wider shutdown fight. The Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015, which initially appeared poised to be extended as part of a temporary stopgap measure, lapsed as lawmakers failed to avert a shutdown — a pause that lawmakers and experts warn could restrict a key pipeline of threat intelligence. "If we don’t extend these critical authorities, we will lose one of our most effective defenses against cyberattacks, as our adversaries’ attacks continue to grow more aggressive and more sophisticated," Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) warned Tuesday on the Senate floor. CISA provided companies with various protections for sharing cyber information. It shielded them from legal liability for monitoring information systems and providing cyberthreat indicators to the federal government. It also protected companies from antitrust lawsuits for exchanging information or providing assistance related to countering cyberthreats. "This law has protected our economy, it has protected our infrastructure, and it has protected our government for more than a decade," Peters added. "It allows private companies and federal agencies to share real-time threat information before attacks spread, before systems are compromised and before damage becomes irreversible," he continued.

Federal News Network [10/1/2025 1:50 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1147K] reports that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s program to secure priority access for emergency communications is moving beyond voice calls. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency wants to open the aperture when it comes to providing priority emergency communications services to first responders and other critical operators. CISA’s Next Generation Network Priority Services Program is on the cusp of delivering the third tranche of voice capabilities to priority users within the coming weeks — ahead of schedule and under budget, according to Billy Bob Brown, Jr., CISA’s executive assistant director for emergency communications. "It will be ahead of schedule, and it will be under budget for the programmatic effort of achieving priority for voice in the 4G environment," Brown said on Federal News Network’s Special Bulletin Review. CISA’s Priority Services provides reliable communications to approximately 10 million users across the 16 critical infrastructure programs. The program ensures users have priority access when networks face high network traffic or are otherwise degraded. The successful transition from circuit to packet voice priority service helps lead CISA into the next phase of the next-generation program, according to Brown.

CyberScoop [10/1/2025 10:22 PM, Matt Kapko] reports attackers appearing to be aligned with the Clop ransomware group have sent emails to Oracle customers seeking extortion payments, claiming they stole data from the tech giant’s E-Business Suite, according to researchers who spoke with CyberScoop. Researchers haven’t confirmed the veracity of Clop’s claimed data theft, but multiple investigations into Oracle environments belonging to organizations that received the emails are underway. “We are currently observing a high-volume email campaign being launched from hundreds of compromised accounts,” Mandiant Consulting CTO Charles Carmakal told CyberScoop. “The malicious emails contain contact information, and we’ve verified that the two specific contact addresses provided are also publicly listed on the Clop data leak site,” he added. Clop hasn’t made the claims public through its leak sites. Oracle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AP [10/1/2025 8:02 AM, Staff, 37974K] reports new research from leading cybersecurity provider Hornetsecurity has found that a quarter (24%) of businesses reported being victims of a ransomware attack in 2025, a sharp increase from 18.6% in 2024. The results from Hornetsecurity’s annual Ransomware Impact Report mark the end of a multi-year decline in attacks. The rise comes as cybercriminals continue to diversify their methods and leverage new technologies to bypass defenses. While traditional phishing remains the leading attack vector in nearly half of attacks (46%), the report finds that a growing reliance on compromised endpoints (26%) and stolen credentials (25%) are increasingly common access vectors. While attacks are increasing, the number of organizations investing in ransomware insurance is down year on year, with less than half of all businesses (46%) making sure they are insured against these attacks, compared to 54.6% last year. Commenting on the findings, Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity, said: "Following a multi-year decline in ransomware attacks, 2025 marks a critical turning point for organizations to strengthen their security against faster, smarter, and AI-automated ransomware attacks.

New York Times [10/1/2025 6:11 PM, Santul Nerkar, 143795K] reports at 3:22 a.m. on Aug. 17, as dozens of patrons enjoyed drinks and hookah amid the dull thump of club music, a man rushed to the front of a neon-lit Brooklyn bar to settle a dispute the way he saw fit. The man, Marvin St. Louis, 19, had known he was entering rival territory when he arrived at the bar, Taste of the City Lounge in the Crown Heights neighborhood, with other members of his crew, according to federal prosecutors. After flashing derogatory signs at his adversary, who then confronted him, Mr. St. Louis produced a gun and opened fire. The other man shot back, and others joined in, sending terrified patrons ducking for cover and rushing out of the lounge. Footage of the chaos, captured by security cameras, was released by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn on Wednesday. It offered the first visual depiction of the mass shooting in August, which killed three men and injured 10 other people, according to prosecutors. (The police said at the time that 14 had been injured.) Mr. St. Louis and the man he shot at, Jamel Childs, 35, were both killed in the shooting. They were members of rival gangs, the 5-9 Brims and Folk Nation Gangster Disciples, according to prosecutors. The third man who died, Amadou Diallo, 27, was a patron caught in the crossfire. “It’s almost a miracle that more people did not die,” Dana Rehnquist, a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, said in court on Wednesday. Prosecutors said that the day after the shooting, Mr. Roy changed his phone number, cut his hair and fled to New Jersey and then to North Carolina, where the authorities found him with $7,000 in cash. Mr. Roy was arrested on Sept. 18 and appeared in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon. Mehdi Essmidi, a lawyer for Mr. Roy, said the video was an imperfect record of the terror that night. He claimed that “additional effects” on the video, including arrows added by prosecutors that pointed to the shooters, made it difficult to make out the perpetrators of the violence with certainty.

Breitbart [10/1/2025 9:21 PM, Staff, 2608K] reports a civilian working at a U.S. Navy base in New Jersey is accused of falsely reporting an active shooter to create a "trauma bond" with her co-workers. Federal court documents indicate Malika Brittingham is accused of sending a text to someone in which she claimed to have heard five or six gunshots and was hiding in a closet with some coworkers at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey on Tuesday morning, WPVI-TV reported. "This kind of senseless fear-mongering and disruption will not be tolerated," interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said in a social media post on Tuesday, as reported by Military.com. "After everything this country has gone through, especially in light of current events," she continued, "I will be sure to bring down the hammer of the law for anyone found guilty of creating unnecessary panic and undermining public trust.” The landlocked naval base is located about 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia in New Jersey’s Burlington and Ocean counties. The individual who received the text at about 10:15 a.m. EDT reported it to the naval base and 911. The base initiated an hour-long lockdown at about 11 a.m. until the "all clear" was sounded shortly before noon. Brittingham said she sent the text after receiving an emergency notification that announced the lockdown. Investigators determined her statement was not true based on the timing of the text that she sent versus those of the calls to the base and 911 and the emergency notification being issued, ABC News reported. Brittingham then admitted to the hoax and told investigators that "she carried out the hoax because she had been ostracized by her co-workers and hoped that her shared experience in response to an active shooter would allow them to ‘trauma bond,’" according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey. Brittingham worked for the Naval Air Warfare Center and was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [10/1/2025 5:01 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12414K]

AP [10/1/2025 4:22 PM, Kate Payne, 20690K] reports the trial of the Florida State University student accused of killing two people and wounding six others in a mass shooting on campus in April has been postponed until next October. It is the latest delay in the case of 21-year-old Phoenix Ikner, whose court-appointed public defender recently bowed out of the case, citing a conflict of interest. Ikner has since been assigned a new defense team. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting that terrorized the campus in Florida’s capital city. Ikner’s trial had initially been set to start the week of Nov. 3 and then was rescheduled for late March. On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Lance Neff postponed the proceedings again, scheduling the trial to start Oct. 19, 2026, almost one year after the case was initially slated to go to trial. Ikner is the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy, and investigators say he used his stepmother’s former service weapon to carry out the shooting. Prosecutors in the case said they intend to seek the death penalty.

FOX News [10/1/2025 11:25 AM, Stepheny Price, Alexandra Koch, and Michael Ruiz, 40019K] Video: HERE reports two weeks after the shooting that killed Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Fox News Digital accessed the rooftop where the alleged assassin is believed to have taken the shot — stopped only a few feet short of the exact position by a waist-high barrier and a single mobile security camera. The rooftop of the Losee Center at Utah Valley University is now at the center of growing scrutiny, as investigators examine how Tyler Robinson, 22, was allegedly able to carry out the fatal attack. A security expert told Fox News Digital that the rooftop at UVU represented a significant vulnerability. "If he didn’t scout it out, he got extremely lucky to find a door that was open on the roof that he needed to get onto to effectuate the actions that he took," said Bobby McDonald, a former U.S. Secret Service agent and campus security expert. "For him to be able to get to the position that he was able to…a lot of things had to happen in the right way." Barriers and security cameras have since been installed on the Losee Center rooftop, which had not been there prior to the shooting, law enforcement officials confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 6:06 AM, Staff, 1563K] reports Turning Point USA held its first event in Utah since the assassination of its founder and CEO Charlie Kirk. Tuesday’s event was held at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. The college is located approximately 121 miles north of where Kirk was murdered at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. However, the event did not come without a security scare as a suspicious device was found before the event started. An evacuation at the college was ordered for precautionary measures, said the university. Local law enforcement officials investigated the device and the bomb squad was dispatched to detonate the device. An "all-clear" was given just hours before the event began. "A suspicious device was found near the exterior of Old Main," the university said in a message to students and faculty. "University and Local law enforcement were dispatched to the scene. A device was located and deemed to be a non-explosive device. Out of an abundance of caution, the bomb squad detonated the suspicious device. Old Main building is now clear and safe. All scheduled events may resume as normal.” "The situation is under investigation, and we expect to provide more information in the coming days," Utah State University administrators noted. "At this time, we do not believe it was an intentional threat or related to the TPUSA event." Utah State University had announced it would increase security efforts for the Turning Point USA event before the suspicious device incident.

The Hill [10/1/2025 4:08 PM, Joseph Choi, 12414K] reports the Trump administration is holding off on its threatened 100 percent tariffs on drugmakers that aren’t building facilities in the U.S., with officials saying the new tax is still being prepared. President Trump said on his Truth Social platform last week that, "Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product," unless the drugmaker is in the process of building a manufacturing plant in the U.S. This announcement gave companies less than a week to prepare for a significant added tax on their imported products. Supply chain experts were left scratching their heads over the mechanics of how this policy would be enforced. With the federal government shut down, it’s unclear whether the necessary federal employees are on the job to enforce this rule. The administration also indicated Monday it would offer some grace in terms of enforcement. In the Oval Office on Monday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, "So, while we’re negotiating with these companies, we’re going to let them play out and finish these negotiations. Because they are the most important thing to the American people. So we are standing by helping and working with them.” Officials also confirmed the added tariffs were being enforced under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president authority to restrict imports that may threaten national security. The Commerce Department initiated an investigation into the national security impact of importing pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients earlier this year, and according to experts, this investigation likely strengthens the saliency of the tariffs.

Breitbart [10/1/2025 11:41 AM, Katherine Hamilton, 2608K] reports that Senate Democrats blocked a House-passed spending plan on Tuesday, missing Wednesday morning’s deadline and prompting a government shutdown. The outcome means active-duty service members, as well as deployed National Guard, and Civilian personnel whose work is considered essential by the Department of War, will have to continue working without pay until lawmakers strike a deal, CBS News reported. Civilian personnel whose work is not considered essential will be furloughed for the duration of the shutdown. The Department of War published contingency guidance on Friday in anticipation of a shutdown. The guidance estimates that approximately 406,000 of the department’s more than 741,000 civilian employees will still be required to report for duty during a shutdown because their roles are mission-critical. The guidance also outlines how unused funds passed in the summer’s reconciliation bill could be used to support the department’s priorities, including: operations to secure the U.S. Southern Border, Middle East operations, the U.S. missile defense project Golden Dome for America, depot maintenance, shipbuilding, and critical munitions. According to a report from MilitaryTimes, Oct. 1 paychecks for service members will not be affects, but the first pay period after the shutdown could affect the Oct. 15 paycheck. Haleigh Laverty, spokeswoman for the Defense Credit Union Council, told the outlet many credit unions have already begun outreach to members.

The Hill [10/1/2025 10:30 AM, Jeff Landry and Josh Stein, 12414K] reports that public safety is a fundamental responsibility of government, and there is a new threat on the horizon. Malicious drones pose a growing threat to our safety and well-being, and governors are calling on Congress to grant the resources and authority we need to protect our people and infrastructure. We’ve seen the lethal potential of drones during Russia’s war on Ukraine — as well as the disturbing incursion of their military drones into NATO airspace. But the use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), is not just a distant threat for us in the United States. Operators of unauthorized drones are endangering public safety and critical infrastructure right here, right now. States have witnessed numerous intrusions over energy infrastructure, public events, prisons and military bases — presenting real, potential threats to public safety. In the right hands, a drone is a valuable tool, supporting commerce and priorities like public safety, law enforcement, disaster recovery, and environmental monitoring by extending our reach in areas too difficult or dangerous for humans to access. But that same maneuverability poses serious dangers in the wrong hands. Headlines illustrate the rapidly evolving threats. Law enforcement has uncovered attempts to use drones to damage power stations in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Unauthorized drones have been tracked flying over chemical plants and pipelines in Louisiana and near major airports; they have collided with firefighting aircraft in California and interfered with hurricane rescue and recovery operations in North Carolina. Suspicious drones have been spotted near college football and NFL games, prompting safety concerns and even evacuations from the playing fields. Georgia is one of many states confronting the use of drones to smuggle contraband into correctional facilities.

FOX News [10/1/2025 7:00 PM, Morgan Phillips, 40019K] reports recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace have sharpened divisions inside the alliance over how to respond, exposing both the strength and the limits of collective defense. Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal last week after Estonia invoked NATO’s Article 4 clause, which triggers consultations when a member feels its security is threatened. According to three European officials granted anonymity to speak freely, Rutte argued that repeated invocations risked diluting the treaty’s force. One source said he even raised his voice at Michal, warning that NATO must be cautious about how often it signals alarm. Rutte argued that if Article 4 were invoked every time Russia violated sovereignty — through drone incursions, fighter jets, cyberattacks and more — it would quickly lose impact, according to the officials. A NATO spokesperson confirmed Rutte and Michal spoke Friday and said the secretary general "has supported Estonia throughout the process.” Rasmus Ruuda, director of the Government Communication Office of Estonia, told Fox News Digital Rutte "expressed support for Estonia and the Prime Minister thanked NATO for its actions.” "Article 4 is just a signal that we’re taking note of what happened," said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a Lithuanian member of parliament and former NATO assistant secretary general. "We can be invoking Article 4 every week, and I think that only weakens us, because we’re unable to truly respond to that aggression that Russia is sort of throwing at us.”

Reuters [10/1/2025 8:27 PM, Costas Pitas and Abu Sultan, 45746K] reports the United States will provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing officials, as it weighs whether to send Kyiv weapons that could put more targets within range. U.S. officials are asking NATO allies to provide similar support, the newspaper said. According to U.S. officials cited by the newspaper, approval to provide additional intelligence came shortly before President Donald Trump posted on social media last week suggesting that Ukraine could retake all its land occupied by Russia, in a sudden and striking rhetorical shift in Ukraine’s favor. "After seeing the Economic trouble (the war) is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form," Trump wrote on Truth Social last Tuesday, shortly after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 12:00 PM, Tom Rogan, 1563K] reports that President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have announced a plan to transition the Gaza Strip out from under Hamas control and toward a more peaceful future. The proposal is highly ambitious but also fraught with complexity. What to do with the Palestinian territory has become an increasingly important focus for the Trump administration. Trump faces escalating pressure from Arab and European allies to produce a plan for Gaza’s future once Israel’s military action ends. Israel is engaged in limited combat operations against Hamas in areas of Gaza that it had not entered until recently, out of fear of endangering the hostages. But with Palestinian civilian casualties mounting and Saudi Arabia insisting it will not join Trump’s Abraham Accords peace agreement with Israel until the war ends, Trump is losing patience with the war’s continuation. One key element of the plan entails the disarmament of Hamas and other terrorist groups, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel would suspend major military action and begin pulling back its forces following Hamas’s acceptance of the agreement. The deal states that "within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned." Also, 1,950 Palestinians, including 250 serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, will be released. Aid flows into Gaza will also be bolstered. The agreement encourages Palestinians in Gaza to remain where they are, a departure from Trump’s comments earlier this year that he wanted to see Palestinians relocated.

The New York Post [10/1/2025 6:24 PM, Victor Nava, 43962K] reports President Trump signed an executive order this week providing Qatar with a NATO-style security guarantee against foreign aggression. The order makes it US policy to guarantee the "security and territorial integrity" of Qatar against "external attack" and follows the controversial Sept. 9 Israeli missile strikes targeting Hamas leaders in Doha. "The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States," reads the order, which was published by the White House on Wednesday. "In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability," it continues. The order further directs cabinet officials to "maintain joint contingency planning" with Qatar "to ensure a rapid and coordinated response to any foreign aggression" against the Gulf state. Trump signed the order on Monday, the same day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House and expressed "deep regret" about the strikes during a three-way call with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, set up by the president. Reuters [10/1/2025 3:42 PM, Simon Lewis and Trevor Hunnicutt, 36922K] reports that Qatar on Wednesday welcomed Trump’s order, describing it as a milestone in strengthening defense ties and bilateral cooperation, its foreign ministry said. The executive order - which appears to significantly deepen the U.S. commitment to Qatar - comes after Israel last month attempted to kill leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. That strike, launched with little advance notice to the Trump administration, caused consternation in Washington given the close U.S. relationship with Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the region. The document was dated Monday, the day Trump hosted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and presented a proposal for ending the war in Gaza. Qatar has been a key mediator between the U.S. and Israel and Hamas over the war. "The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States," the order said. "In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.”

Reported similarly:
The Hill [10/1/2025 11:30 AM, Brett Samuels, 12414K]
Washington Examiner [10/1/2025 11:37 AM, Brady Knox, 1563K]
Washington Times [10/1/2025 12:29 PM, Jeff Mordock, 964K]

CNN [10/1/2025 1:16 PM, Aaron Blake, 662K] reports that President Donald Trump has bestowed upon the nation of Qatar a remarkable security guarantee that could include coming to its defense militarily. In an executive order dated earlier this week, Trump declared that the United States will regard any attack on Qatar’s territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure "as a threat to the peace and security of the United States" itself. And perhaps most crucially, the order suggests the US might come to Qatar’s defense militarily. "In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability," the order says. This is an extraordinary development in Trump’s controversial relations with the Middle East, for several reasons. Trump is giving Qatar a NATO-esque security guarantee. Quite notably, the language of the executive order closely resembles the security guarantee that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) gives to member countries. (Qatar is not in NATO, though the Biden administration in 2022 labeled it a major non-NATO ally.). Article 5 of NATO says that member nations like the United States agree that an armed attack against one of them shall "be considered an attack against them all." It also says that members "will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking" necessary actions "including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area."

USA Today [10/1/2025 3:38 PM, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, 64151K] reports the U.S. is downsizing its military presence in Iraq this year and will refocus its fight against ISIS in Syria. The change comes as Pentagon leaders see the political chaos sparked after former al-Qaeda fighter Ahmed Al-Sharaa and his forces overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2024 as a new seeding ground for the terrorist group. The Pentagon announced on Sept. 30 that the U.S. – and other countries it has partnered with to fight ISIS – will decrease the "military mission" in Iraq. "This reduction reflects our combined success in fighting ISIS and marks an effort to transition to a lasting U.S.-Iraq security partnership," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote in a statement. American troops will consolidate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, and refocus their counter-ISIS mission on Syria, where the threat from the terrorist group is active, said a defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The transition kicked into gear weeks ago and will continue throughout the next year, the official said. The shift comes after al-Sharaa led an unanticipated uprising in late 2024 against Assad, sending him packing to Russia, as the rebel leader seized control of the government in Damascus. The U.S. military previously suspected al-Sharaa of running a terrorist cell during the occupation of Iraq. Two years into the Iraq War, al-Sharaa was arrested by U.S. forces and detained on a military base in Iraq for about five years. The chaos created in the wake of Assad’s ouster potentially provides new pathways for ISIS to develop in the region, Lt. Gen. Derek France, the commander of the Air Force Central Command, which is based in the Middle East, told reporters at a conference last week. "We’re concerned about Syria," France said. Shifting "power dynamics" have created "the potential for a resurgence of ISIS in that area," he added. The U.S. launched its fight against ISIS in both Syria and Iraq in 2014 under the name "Operation Inherent Resolve." The Pentagon largely assesses the campaign in Iraq as a success, and says ISIS’ presence in the country has largely diminished. At the beginning of 2025, around 2,500 U.S. troops were stationed in Iraq and more than 900 in Syria.

Reuters [10/1/2025 7:49 PM, Staff, 20690K] reports South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said his country and the United States had reached a rough agreement on security in tandem with ongoing tariff negotiations, Yonhap news agency reported. In an interview published on Thursday, Cho also said the U.S. was reviewing a currency swap deal, which was a key demand from South Korea in tariff talks, but signalled it was not optimistic. Washington had agreed to lower tariffs on imports from South Korea in return for a $350 billion investment package, but follow-up negotiations to hammer out details, including the structure of the investment package, have stalled. Meanwhile, Seoul and its ally Washington have also been looking at a deal in security areas such as an increase in South Korean defence spending, which is part of the broader package aimed to push down U.S. tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump has said South Korea should be paying for its own military protection and suggested it needed to pay more for the U.S. troop presence there. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that the country would boost next year’s defence budget by 8.2%, highlighting the importance of stronger self-defence. "In the security field, an agreement has already been reached in general, which allows us to increase our national defence capabilities in necessary areas," Cho told Yonhap.

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