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.

Reuters [10/24/2025 6:04 PM, Nathan Frandino, 36480K] reports that a planned immigration enforcement push by U.S. Border Patrol has been called off throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Oakland, local officials said on Friday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not go forward with a deployment of additional federal officers to San Francisco. As part of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, he has increased federal immigration officers in several U.S. cities and dispatched National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. He had planned to send agents into San Francisco but agreed to hold off after speaking with Mayor Daniel Lurie and tech leaders, who said the city was making progress. It was unclear at first whether other Bay Area cities like Oakland would still be affected. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said on Thursday the city was preparing for peaceful protests in response. On Friday, Alameda County Sheriff’s department spokesman Roberto Morales said Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez was informed by federal authorities that the enforcement plan was canceled for the entire Bay Area. Lee said she had been told the same thing by Sanchez. The SFGate [10/24/2025 9:53 AM, Staff, 13945K] reports Lee made the announcement one day after federal agents arrived on Coast Guard Island in the Oakland Estuary, a move widely seen as the first step in a "surge" of enforcement sweeps involving immigration agents and the National Guard. "I spoke with Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, who confirmed through her communications with ICE that Border Patrol operations are cancelled for the greater Bay Area -- which includes Oakland -- at this time," Lee said. President Donald Trump said Thursday he was canceling plans for such activity in San Francisco after hearing from a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires and speaking with Mayor Daniel Lurie. Still, it remained unclear until Lee made her announcement Friday if those plans were also canceled for other cities in the region. The New York Times [10/24/2025 3:50 PM, Hamed Aleaziz and Soumya Karlamangla, 135475K] reports the Department of Homeland Security officials also called off plans to bring staff members from Los Angeles to the Bay Area to help with the operation, one of the federal officials said. Mayor Barbara Lee of Oakland confirmed later on Friday that federal agents had canceled their operation in Oakland and the rest of the Bay Area. She said that she was told that by Yesenia Sanchez, the Alameda County sheriff, who was in communication with federal officials. Axios [10/24/2025 5:07 PM, Shawna Chen, 12972K] reports that concerns remained that the agents — who clashed with protesters after arriving in Alameda early Thursday morning — would conduct enforcement activities in other parts of the Bay Area, community leaders told Axios. The FBI is investigating a shooting that took place near the entrance of Coast Guard Island in Alameda Thursday night, she added. Tensions flared Thursday as federal agents reached the Coast Guard Island in Alameda ahead of an anticipated immigration crackdown in the Bay Area. Protesters attempted to block U.S. Border Patrol agents from entering the base. The confrontation grew heated as agents used apparent flash-bang grenades and pepper rounds to disperse the crowd. A San Mateo pastor was wounded after an apparent pepper round from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent hit him in the face, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The shooting occurred later in the evening when a truck driver tried to back into the base, leading law enforcement officers to open fire, per footage obtained by CBS News Bay Area. The driver and a bystander were both injured. San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood is working on legislation to create "ICE-free" zones on city-owned property, following in the footsteps of Santa Clara County and San José.

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Los Angeles Times [10/24/2025 5:16 PM, Kevin Rector, 14862K]
San Francisco Chronicle [10/24/2025 4:17 PM, Dominic Fracassa, Kate Talerico, 4722K]

Wall Street Journal [10/24/2025 8:52 PM, Keach Hagey, Sebastian Herrera, and Robbie Whelan, 646K] reports President Trump was ready to send troops into San Francisco. The city’s business leaders needed a way to talk him out of it. A frenzy of phone calls and text messages between Trump and members of his administration, Mayor Daniel Lurie and chief executive officers of major Bay Area technology companies culminated in Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he had decided not to do a law-enforcement “surge” in San Francisco using federal forces. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff were among those who played a role in the discussions, as was OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose involvement hasn’t been previously reported. The executives helped broker a 25-minute phone call Wednesday night between Lurie and Trump and coordinated with him on a message that would prove persuasive: that a deployment of federal troops could cause civic unrest to a degree that would hurt the local economy and have ripple effects on the national economy, given the city’s centrality to the artificial-intelligence boom. Trump had occasionally mused in public about ordering the National Guard to San Francisco for quasipolice operations, as he has done in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Memphis, Tenn. But the idea quickly came into focus after Benioff, in an Oct. 10 article in the New York Times, said he thought the National Guard was needed to combat crime in the city. Benioff apologized for his comments a week later and told Trump on an Oct. 19 phone call that he had changed his mind after his company’s annual Dreamforce conference concluded with no major safety incidents, according to people familiar with the contents of the call. But in a Fox News appearance that day, Trump said, “We’re going to go to San Francisco.” Three days later, the Department of Homeland Security sent a force of Customs and Border Protection agents to a Coast Guard base on San Francisco Bay. In the days in between, Lurie’s office fielded a barrage of calls from local business and political leaders anxious to avoid a confrontation that could cause mass protests and bring work and commerce to a standstill.

AP [10/24/2025 9:15 PM, Kathy McCormack, 31753K] reports a truck driver who backed into a U.S. Coast Guard base in the San Francisco Bay Area — the site of earlier protests against federal immigration agents — was shot by law enforcement officers and wounded, authorities said Friday. The driver was held for a mental health evaluation after “attempting to weaponize the vehicle to ram into Coast Guard Base Alameda “ on Thursday night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted on X. The FBI later said the driver was in custody. A bystander was struck by a “fragment,” treated at a hospital and released, the Department of Homeland Security statement said. It did not elaborate. No Coast Guard personnel were hurt, it said. Officers issued “multiple verbal commands” to stop, but the driver failed to comply, “suddenly accelerating backwards at a high rate of speed directly toward them,” the statement said. “When the vehicle’s actions posed a direct threat to the safety of Coast Guard and security personnel, law enforcement officers discharged several rounds of defensive live fire,” it said. The driver was wounded in the stomach and was expected to survive, the statement said. The FBI was investigating. It sent evidence, crisis management and bomb technician teams to the scene. “At this time, the incident appears to be isolated, and there is no known current threat to the public,” FBI spokesperson Cameron Polan in San Francisco said in a statement. No other details were immediately released. Video from the scene showed what appeared to be a U-Haul truck trying to back into the base. “U-Haul is assisting law enforcement to meet any investigative needs they have,” company spokesperson Jeff Lockridge said in a statement. Coast Guard Island is a 67-acre (27-hectare) human-made island formed in 1913 in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda. It is federally owned, does not allow visits from the general public without an escort or specific government identification, and it has been home to the current base, Base Alameda, since 2012, according to a Coast Guard document from 2016. Base Alameda provides a variety of services for Coast Guard activities throughout the West Coast. Earlier Thursday, protesters had assembled at the island, with many singing hymns and carrying signs saying, “Protect our neighbors” and “No ICE or troops in the Bay,” a reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the National Guard. The Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 10:48 PM, Brady Knox, 1394K] reports that two civilians were injured and are expected to survive. The truck driver was wounded in the stomach and is being held for mental health evaluation. A bystander was struck by a fragment, treated at a local hospital, and released," the statement said. The DHS X account attached a video of the incident, showing the vehicle backing up at high speed toward a line of officers who riddled it with fire, causing the driver to stop and speed off in the opposite direction. The FBI is leading the investigation into the incident, sending evidence, crisis management, and bomb technician teams to the site of the crime. "At this time, the incident appears to be isolated, and there is no known current threat to the public," FBI spokesperson Cameron Polan in San Francisco said in a statement. U-Haul spokesman Jeff Lockridge said the company cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation. The Daily Wire [10/24/2025 7:21 AM, Zach Jewell, 2494K] reports that the shooting happened as anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters gathered near the entrance of the military installation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents recently arrived at the Coast Guard base as part of the federal government’s illegal immigration crackdown. Earlier on Thursday, federal agents and California Highway Patrol officers clashed with protesters outside of the Coast Guard base, as civilian employees left the base located on a small island on San Francisco Bay. The base has only one entrance, reached by a bridge. The Coast Guard security personnel were positioned on the bridge as the protests continued late into the night.

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(B) CBS Mornings [10/24/2025 10:08 AM, Staff]
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AP [10/24/2025 7:57 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Friday that her department won’t tolerate violence like the truck that rammed into a Coast Guard station in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday night. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [10/24/2025 9:00 AM, Peter Pinedo, 40621K] reports the Trump administration is urging sanctuary Democrats to "stop siding with illegal aliens" after a Los Angeles immigrant activist and social media personality rammed ICE agents in attempts to escape arrest, prompting agents to open fire. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that during a targeted enforcement stop on Tuesday, 44-year-old Mexican illegal immigrant Carlitos Ricardo Parias "weaponized his vehicle and began ramming the law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee." "Fearing for the safety of the public and law enforcement," McLaughlin said, "Our officers followed their training and fired defensive shots." Now, DHS is pursuing criminal charges against Parias for assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal law enforcement. McLaughlin said that "these are the consequences of conduct and rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest.” "We are once again calling on sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement," said McLaughlin.

ABC 5 Minneapolis [10/24/2025 11:30 PM, Staff, 31733K] Video: HERE reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem talked Friday afternoon about immigration operations nationwide and highlighted a few people here, including a man from Mexico and one from El Salvador, who she said were serious criminals and were arrested and taken off the street in the Twin Cities area. “Under the leadership of Mayor Frey, under the leadership of Gov. Walz, more violent crimes are being perpetuated in these communities because of their refusal to defend American citizens,” Noem said during the press conference. “Regardless, our federal officers, our ICE officers, ERO, HSI and partnership with our Department of Justice, agencies and other individuals throughout the federal government, we will continue to do the work to make sure these criminals are removed from our communities.” However, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s annual crime report, which was recently released for 2024, showed that murders have decreased in Minnesota for the third year in a row. Overall, violent crime was steady throughout the state, with a 1% rise reported in the seven-county Twin Cities metro and a 3% dip in the rest of the state, the report showed. A spokesperson for Gov. Walz said in response, “It appears that this visit was perhaps more about pulling a political stunt than about solving a problem. The Governor wishes the Trump Administration would stay focused on the real issues facing Americans: skyrocketing health care costs, a crisis for farmers, and the ongoing federal government shutdown.” 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked Noem if she plans to deploy the National Guard or increase the presence of other federal agents in Minneapolis, St. Paul or the surrounding metro area. “It’s up to the president on if he believes the National Guard should be deployed to any situation in any city across our country, but we do have an increase in federal officers that will be coming,” said Noem. “We had a bill pass through Congress that allocated 10,000 new ICE officers to us across the country, we have received over 175,00 applicants for those jobs.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link] KTTC 10 Rochester [10/24/2025 9:48 PM, Ryan Paris] reports Friday’s visit came on the heels of ICE operations across the country, including ones in Chicago and Portland. Noem highlighted work done by the Trump administration within the first 10 months of his second presidency as well. Since January, more than 4,300 undocumented immigrants have been either detained or deported. Noem said, of that number, 3,316 had a previous criminal history, and asked for public support of ICE agents and law enforcement. “I’m here today to ask all of the people in Minnesota, all of the people in the Midwest and across the country, to support your law enforcement officers,” Noem said. “Support them and protect them as they go out there and do their jobs. Each and every one of them took an oath to support and defend this country, defend their communities and to protect people. That’s what they are doing every day when they go out and enforce the law.” In response to Noem’s visit, protestors gathered earlier on Friday at Fort Snelling to voice their frustrations with the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement policies. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsNation [10/24/2025 6:39 PM, Damita Menezes, 8017K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that more than 4,300 illegal immigrants have been removed from the Minneapolis area since January, including 3,316 with criminal histories, 98 gang members, 11 known or suspected terrorists and two foreign fugitives. Speaking at a press conference with ICE officials, Noem said the administration has arrested and deported 515,000 illegal immigrants nationwide since January, with 70% facing pending criminal charges. Noem said it’s up to the president to deploy the National Guard to any city. She said dozens of federal agents and officers will arrive in Minneapolis as part of a congressional funding bill and are "trained, qualified and equipped" for enforcement operations.

The Hill [10/24/2025 11:35 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 12595K] reports a group of Senate Democrats sent a letter Friday to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding the Trump administration make efforts to ensure Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers don’t conduct operations close to schools. The letter, led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and signed by seven colleagues, says ICE has increased its presence around Chicago Public Schools and other educational institutions, which "disrupt[s] learning and school operations.” The letter describes an incident of ICE throwing canisters of tear gas 700 feet away from an elementary school during lunch and recess time. Another incident cited in the letter involved two women getting dragged out of their car by ICE in front of a Chicago school building with students around. "Why was the tear gas deployed? Because of violent rioters," Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News. "This is not that hard.” For the second incident, McLaughlin previously said the women "were driving recklessly, including weaving between lanes and putting other motorists at risk. Following the driver abruptly stopping in the middle of traffic near a school, law enforcement approached the vehicle. The occupants refused to exit the vehicle and follow law enforcement commands.” The Democrats in their letter Friday are demanding ICE operations be at least 1,000 feet away from school property. "Federal agents continue to use unwarranted, excessive levels of force around Chicago, demonstrating an alarming lack of care or regard for the health and wellbeing of children, particularly by conducting unfocused, inflammatory operations within close proximity of school grounds," the letter states. The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates. The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for comment. The Democrats called on McMahon to "pressure" Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees ICE, to restore restrictions around conducting enforcement operations near schools. At the beginning of the Trump administration, restrictions were lifted on ICE operations inside schools or places of worship, although no known incident has occurred of ICE entering classrooms. "Considering DHS’ failure to protect American students, we demand you pressure your colleague, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, to reinstate restrictions on Federal immigration enforcement operations in and around places of education," the Democrats wrote.

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Reuters [10/24/2025 3:20 PM, Dietrich Knauth, 36480K] reports federal judges in Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C. held hearings on Friday in legal battles over the deployment of National Guard troops to the U.S. cities, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand his rare use of the U.S. military for domestic purposes. In Portland, Justice Department lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut to lift the second of her two orders restricting Trump’s attempts to send troops to the city. This week, an appeals court ruled the president likely has the authority to do so. Immergut did not immediately issue a ruling on the Trump administration’s request. The judge said she would decide by Monday. In Washington, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb was considering a challenge to Trump’s deployment of about 2,500 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. The local government argues the Guard has improperly been serving as a "federally run police force." Trump has sought to deploy National Guard troops to cities run by Democratic officials, saying they are needed to protect immigration enforcement operations, suppress protests, and fight crime over the objections of local elected leaders. Troops are on the ground in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and Trump has announced plans to send them to other cities, including Portland and Chicago. States and cities have filed lawsuits to block the deployments, arguing they are based on exaggerated descriptions of crime and chaos. Courts have yet to issue final rulings on whether the actions are lawful.

NewsMax [10/24/2025 9:24 PM, Dietrich Knauth, 4109K] reports federal judges in Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., will hold hearings on Friday in legal battles over the deployment of National Guard troops to the U.S. cities, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand his rare use of the U.S. military for domestic purposes. In Portland, Justice Department lawyers will ask U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut to lift the second of her two orders restricting Trump’s attempts to send troops to the city. This week, an appeals court ruled the president likely has the authority to do so. In Washington, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb will consider a challenge to Trump’s deployment of about 2,500 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. The local government argues the Guard has improperly been serving as a "federally run police force." Trump has sought to deploy National Guard troops to cities run by Democratic officials, saying they are needed to protect immigration enforcement operations, suppress protests, and fight crime over the objections of local elected leaders. Troops are on the ground in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and Trump has announced plans to send them to other cities, including Portland and Chicago. States and cities have filed lawsuits to block the deployments, arguing they are based on exaggerated descriptions of crime and chaos. Courts have yet to issue final rulings on whether the actions are lawful. In Portland, Immergut on Oct. 4 blocked Trump from taking control of Oregon’s National Guard and sending troops to Portland. The next day, after Trump attempted to circumvent that order by sending troops from California and Texas to Portland, the judge barred deployment of troops from any state, including Oregon. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week paused Immergut’s Oct. 5 order while the court battle plays out. But troops have not yet deployed to Portland because the Oct. 5 order remains in effect. The Justice Department is asking Immergut to lift her Oct. 5 order in light of the 9th Circuit’s ruling. If Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, agrees, the administration could move forward with the deployment. Oregon has argued the three-judge 9th Circuit panel, which included two Trump-appointed judges, got it wrong. The state has asked Immergut to maintain the status quo while it appeals and has asked the 9th Circuit to reconsider the case with a larger panel of 11 judges. State and local officials say Trump’s action violates several federal laws that govern the use of military forces as well as the states’ rights under the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment.

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Los Angeles Times [10/24/2025 3:30 PM, David G. Savage, 14862K]

Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 7:00 AM, Jack Birle, 1394K] reports the Trump administration is preparing to deploy the National Guard to Portland while waiting for three different federal courts to make decisions over the previous deployment of troops to three Democrat-run cities. In the Democrat-run states to which President Donald Trump has deployed troops, state governments have filed lawsuits alleging that the federalization and deployment of the National Guard is unlawful. Trump has used the National Guard to protect federal officials and property amid unruly protests over federal immigration operations, which the administration claims have put federal officers in danger.
After a victory in a federal appeals court earlier this week, which allowed Trump to federalize and deploy members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland, the administration is still awaiting rulings from the Supreme Court, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit, in three separate cases over his use of the National Guard.

Daily Wire [10/24/2025 10:14 AM, Zach Jewell, 2494K] reports the Department of Justice warned multiple top Democratic California politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of potential charges on Thursday, after Pelosi suggested that federal immigration agents could be arrested by state and local police. Earlier this week, Pelosi, along with Democratic Rep. Kevin Mullin, threatened that ICE agents could be detained as President Donald Trump considered a major immigration operation in San Francisco. In response, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent a letter to Newsom, Pelosi, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, urging them to "abandon this apparent criminal conspiracy.” "The Department of Justice views any arrests of federal agents and officers in the performance of their official duties as both illegal and futile," Blanche wrote. The deputy attorney general then cited multiple federal laws that prohibit interfering with federal law enforcement operations. The California Democrats addressed in the letter were told to "preserve all written and electronic communications and records related to any attempts to or efforts to impede or obstruct federal law enforcement officials.” "We urge you and other California officials to publicly abandon this apparent criminal conspiracy, to stop threatening law enforcement, and to prioritize the safety of your citizens," Blanche added. "In the meantime, federal agents and officers will continue to enforce federal law and will not be deterred by the threat of arrest by California authorities who have abdicated their duty to protect their constituents.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Monday that the Trump administration would soon target San Francisco as part of its crackdown on crime and illegal immigrants. However, after Trump said some of his friends in San Francisco urged him to hold off on the federal law enforcement "surge," the president had a phone call with Democratic San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and decided to hold off on the operation. "The Federal Government was preparing to ‘surge’ San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress," Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. "I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around. I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove.”

New York Times [10/24/2025 5:30 AM, Heather Knight and Kellen Browning, 153395K] reports Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco did what he does best after the Trump administration prepared to send border agents to the Bay Area for a major crackdown on immigration this week. He stayed calm. He worked the phones. He “power mapped.” In doing so, Mr. Lurie and his team visualized concentric circles of prominent business leaders who could persuade President Trump and determined who might lobby the executives to make those important calls. They wanted to deliver the message, in the most diplomatic way possible, that San Francisco was not the apocalyptic landscape that the president sees on Fox News. Soon, a host of billionaires with strong ties to the city were on the phone with Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a former venture capitalist in San Francisco. Four people familiar with the situation described the City Hall discussions to The New York Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

NPR [10/24/2025 7:03 PM, Ximena Bustillo, 28013K] reports the Justice Department has hired 36 immigration judges, including 25 temporary ones, for its Executive Office for Immigration Review, marking the first class to join the immigration courts after months of cuts to the workforce. Judges will soon take the bench across 16 states, according to a Justice Department announcement. These include courts that saw the biggest losses of judges this year such as Chelmsford, Mass., and Chicago. "EOIR is restoring its integrity as a preeminent administrative adjudicatory agency," the announcement states. "These new immigration judges are joining an immigration judge corps that is committed to upholding the rule of law.” The incoming class of permanent judges comprises mostly those with a background in federal government work, including EOIR itself and the Department of Homeland Security. Previously, they trained Immigration and Customs enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents, were asylum officers and worked for ICE’s legal arm. One judge was originally going to take the bench at the start of the year but was among the initial class of judges fired before they could start. The temporary immigration judges include military lawyers from the Marines, Navy, Army and Air Force. Earlier this summer, the Pentagon authorized about 600 military lawyers to work for the DOJ. The DOJ changed who could qualify as a temporary immigration judge — effectively lowering the requirements and removing the need to have prior immigration law experience.

Bloomberg Law [10/24/2025 5:20 PM, Megan Crepeau, 803K] reports US Border Patrol chief patrol agent Gregory Bovino, the face of the intensive “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration crackdown in Chicago, must appear in federal court next week after facing allegations he threw tear gas into a crowd of people without warning or justification. In a brief docket entry Friday, Judge Sara L. Ellis of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois required Bovino’s appearance at a hearing in her courtroom on Oct. 28. Her order comes on the heels of allegations that Bovino, who was spotted with federal agents this week in a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood, violated Ellis’ order prohibiting agents from using tear gas or pepper spray without issuing proper warnings. But unlike a deposition, if Ellis questions Bovino in her courtroom on Oct. 28, his answers will be public and subject to scrutiny of attorneys, journalists and citizens closely following his agency’s actions. Ellis’s order hit the docket Friday almost simultaneously with news reports that federal agents used tear gas on people in a wealthy part of the Lakeview neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side.

CBS News [10/24/2025 3:23 PM, Nicole Sganga, 39474K] reports Border Patrol Chief of Patrol Gregory Bovino, the architect of the Department of Homeland Security’s "Operation Midway Blitz," defended the sweeping campaign to arrest undocumented migrants and quell demonstrations in the Chicago area, calling federal agents’ use of force "exemplary." The Border Patrol Chief of Patrol defended forceful tactics used by federal agents during the Chicago immigration crackdown, even as new videos and court filings raise questions about whether agents and even Bovino himself violated a judge’s order barring tear gas and pepper balls at protests. Asked whether agents had defied that order, Bovino replied, "I do not. All uses of force were well within CBP policy."

CBS News [10/24/2025 11:03 AM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE reports shots were fired by U.S. Coast Guard security personnel at a protest near Oakland, California, against President Trump’s immigration policies. It comes amid widespread controversy over federal agents’ tactics against protesters nationwide. CBS News’ Nicole Sganga spoke to U.S. Customs Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

CNN [10/24/2025 8:19 AM, Augusta Anthony, 606K] reports a notice of violation has been filed by community members filing citing a video showing US Border Patrol chief, Gregory Bovino, appearing to throw at least one tear gas canister at protesters in Chicago. The filing accuses Bovino of being in potential violation of a federal judge’s temporary restraining order restricting federal agents from using aggressive crowd control tactics at Chicago anti-ICE protests. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

(B) The Situation Room [10/24/2025 10:47 AM, Staff] reports that a top Border Patrol official is accused of potentially violating a judge’s restraining order in Chicago. In a video, Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino appeared to throw a tear gas canister toward anti-ICE protesters on Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security says protesters threw rocks, prompting Bovino to throw the canister of tear gas.

Washington Times [10/24/2025 11:14 AM, Stephen Dinan, 852K] reports anti-ICE protesters are escalating their confrontations with federal immigration authorities in Illinois, forcing officers to use riot responses to suppress what the Department of Homeland Security called “one of the most violent days.” The department said it had to grapple with at least five dangerous incidents on Wednesday alone, including a death threat to Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino and four attempts to ram Border Patrol vehicles. A day later, Chief Bovino was mobbed by a large group of protesters who began to box in Border Patrol agents, then attacked a government vehicle and fired mortar-style fireworks at the agents, Homeland Security said. Chief Bovino was struck in the head by a thrown object, then he deployed what the department called “riot control measures,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Agents properly used their training. The use of chemical munitions was conducted in full accordance with CBP policy and was necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public,” she said. The department’s legal adversaries didn’t agree. The Chicago Headline Club, a journalism group, rushed to U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis to accuse Chief Bovino of violating her restraining order placing limits on the riot control tactics federal agents can use in the Chicago area. They filed a video with Judge Ellis showing Chief Bovino tossing a canister at a small crowd of unruly demonstrators. CHC told Judge Ellis that there did not appear to be proper warnings, in violation of her orders. But Ms. McLaughlin said “multiple warnings” were given and ignored. The clashes come as President Trump tries to deploy National Guard troops to the area to protect the federal officers and agents carrying out his mass deportation plans. Another federal judge in Chicago, April Berry, has issued a restraining order blocking the troops from being deployed, saying she didn’t see enough violence on the streets to justify the call-up. The Supreme Court is deciding whether to let her blockade stand. Homeland Security’s description of the events this week suggests confrontations are getting more heated as emboldened protesters accuse U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the main deportation agency, of “kidnapping” migrants. In Thursday’s clash involving Chief Bovino, the video submitted to the judge shows demonstrators aggressively approaching a line of Border Patrol agents, screaming vulgar insults and at times bumping into the federal officers. Agents are seen pushing people away. Wednesday’s events, meanwhile, included one man the government identified as a member of the Latin Kings street gang who was accused of trying to ram a Border Patrol vehicle head-on. The agent’s car swerved away, but the man, a U.S. citizen, then drove his vehicle into a bystander’s car, Homeland Security said. In another incident, three U.S. citizens are accused of tailing Border Patrol vehicles and trying to ram one of them. And in the threat incident, authorities identified the suspect as Isabel Mata, who they say said she would “put a hit out” on Chief Bovino. “While conducting immigration enforcement operations in Cicero and Glendale Heights, agitators stalked law enforcement, rammed vehicles, fled scenes, injured agents and caused multiple accidents across town,” Ms. McLaughlin said. All told, she said, six U.S. citizens and three illegal immigrants were arrested in the incidents.

Chicago Tribune [10/24/2025 6:41 PM, Gregory Royal Pratt and Rebecca Johnson, 4829K] reports for most of the fall, President Donald Trump’s immigration agents have set out every day to scour Chicago neighborhoods where immigrants live. On Friday, Operation Midway Blitz fanned out across the wealthier white communities on the North Side where they work. Throughout the day, caravans of federal agents hit neighborhoods that had so far avoided serious confrontations. In Lakeview, agents threw tear gas into the street, even as their use of chemical agents has drawn intense scrutiny from a federal judge. Masked officials arrested a man at the Laugh Factory comedy club. They detained a man at a gas station near the tony Latin School where the city’s elite send their children.

Daily Caller [10/24/2025 4:05 PM, Hudson Crozier, 835K] reports the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other left-wing legal groups claimed in court Thursday that using crowd control gas was not justified to disperse a crowd allegedly throwing rocks and fireworks at law enforcement. Protesters blocked immigration agents’ path on a road in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday morning and began throwing hard objects until "chemical munitions" were used to repel them, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Friday X post. Lawyers argued law enforcement acted "without justification" in a court filing from their ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration’s handling of anti-deportation protests. The court motion referenced an image purportedly from the incident that appeared to show a Border Patrol official throwing a silver canister but did not mention any alleged violence against federal agents. The document also linked to 12 minutes of shaky video footage of a crowd confronting agents and calling them "terrorists" and "kidnappers." Lawyers claimed the gas’ use violated an Oct. 17 court order from the protest case that prohibited law enforcement from using such methods against demonstrators in the Northern District of Illinois, with exceptions for when agents’ safety is in jeopardy. Protesters boxed in agents with a truck and then "shot at agents with commercial artillery shell fireworks," the DHS alleged. Throughout the incident, people continued advancing toward agents despite warnings that they would use crowd control munitions if they did not stop, according to the DHS. A Border Patrol official was hit in the head when they began throwing "rocks and other objects," the agency said.

Chicago Tribune [10/24/2025 6:20 PM, Jason Meisner, 4829K] reports a Chicago federal judge appeared poised Friday to order at least a portion of the thousands of people detained in “Operation Midway Blitz” released on electronic monitoring while litigation continues over whether immigration officials have violated a consent decree restricting so-called warrantless arrests. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings asked for simultaneous briefs next week that will lay out how many of the some 3,000 people arrested since early September would qualify for automatic detention under federal law, as well as others that federal law enforcement argues should stay in custody as a safety threat. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have accused federal officials of repeatedly breaking the terms of the consent decree and asked that Cummings issue a blanket order releasing most of the detainees on ankle monitoring. The government, meanwhile, said plaintiffs were trying to “paint with a broad brush” and that the validity of detaining someone should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. During Friday’s 90-minute hearing, Cummings ruled that the consent decree, which was originally hashed out in 2022 with only the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, now covers all agents participating in Chicago immigration operations, including Customs and Border patrol. It also applies to other immigration enforcement going on in cities nationwide. Cummings also had tough questions for government lawyers about the treatment of people swept up in the Chicago area, asking at one point whether they could certify that detainees were being held in “safe and sanitary conditions” and had access to an attorney. Cummings said he’d rule on the detention issue after receiving the updated briefs, which are due Oct. 31.

NewsMax [10/24/2025 6:40 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports the Department of Homeland Security issued a release describing crime and immigration enforcement issues in the metropolitan Chicago area Wednesday. The document is called “Cicero or Sicario: A Day of Crashes.” The title focuses on the contrast between the suburban community of Cicero and “sicario,” Spanish for hitman, and highlights the violent criminal attacks that have targeted federal agents. A violent day of coordinated interference with federal agents in the Chicago area on Wednesday led to the arrest of more people for attacking or obstructing officers than for immigration offenses, according to DHS. Federal authorities said six people were taken into custody Wednesday for threatening or obstructing law enforcement, compared with three illegal aliens arrested for immigration violations. The incidents unfolded across multiple sites as immigration enforcement agents carried out Operation Midway Blitz. Federal officers reported repeated vehicle rammings, threats, and assaults, as agitators tried to block or follow Border Patrol units. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “While conducting immigration enforcement operations in Cicero and Glendale Heights, agitators stalked law enforcement, rammed vehicles, fled scenes, injured agents, and caused multiple accidents across town, putting law enforcement and the public in danger.” “Our officers,” she said, “are facing a surge in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members.”

USA Today [10/24/2025 3:27 PM, Kinsey Crowley, Michael Loria, 67103K] reports President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown pushes forward in Chicago despite continued pushback on the ground and in court. Operation Midway Blitz started Sept. 8, with the Department of Homeland Security saying it would target "the worst of the worst," among people who are in the country illegally. They say they have arrested more than 1,500 people, though USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify their count. Federal immigration officials have followed people in their cars, rappelled from helicopters in an apartment building raid and clashed with protesters at a facility in the suburbs. Trump had deployed the National Guard to assist immigration agents, but it was challenged in court along with other DHS efforts.

USA Today [10/24/2025 3:02 PM, Kinsey Crowley, Michael Loria, 67103K] reports large-scale immigration raids have continued in Chicago, even as the legality of deploying the National Guard awaits a decision from the Supreme Court. On Oct. 22, federal immigration officers descended on Little Village, a South Side neighborhood at the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community. Alderperson Mike Rodriguez told USA TODAY at least eight people were arrested, four of whom were U.S. citizens. It was the latest in President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz, his Chicago-area immigration enforcement crackdown. Trump launched the blitz on Sept. 8, saying it was needed to catch "the worst of the worst" criminal immigrants. Many local critics say instead innocent people are being left terrorized. As of Oct. 8, the Department of Homeland Security said it had arrested more than 1,500 people. But USA TODAY has been unable to confirm that number or track down exactly where all of the incidents are occurring. At an Oct. 20 federal court hearing, a top Homeland Security official said around 75 people had been arrested in connection with protesting immigration enforcement.

The AP [10/24/2025 4:56 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports the U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, and could do so as early as Oct. 31, according to a Friday court filing. Since he cannot be re-deported to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Maryland has previously barred his immediate deportation. Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit there claims the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for the embarrassment of his earlier mistaken deportation. Additionally, Abrego Garcia is facing criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive. CBS News [10/24/2025 11:59 AM, Melissa Quinn, 39474K] reports that in a filing with a federal judge in Maryland, Justice Department lawyers said that immigration officials expect to formally notify Abrego Garcia later Friday that Liberia has been designated as the new country of removal. They said the Trump administration expects to be able to deport Abrego Garcia as soon as Oct. 31. The administration has "received diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third-country individuals removed to Liberia from the United States and are making the final necessary arrangements for [Abrego Garcia’s] removal," they wrote. In the court filing, the Justice Department said that Abrego Garcia had identified more than 20 countries that he fears would persecute or torture him if he were removed there, and Liberia is not on the list. "Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’s closest partners on the African continent," they wrote. Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia’s attorney, said the administration "has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship.” "Their actions are punitive, cruel and unconstitutional," Sandoval-Moshenberg said. "Unless Liberia guarantees that it will not re-deport Mr. Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, then sending him to Liberia is no less unlawful than sending him directly to El Salvador a second time.” The Trump administration’s plan to remove Abrego Garcia to Liberia comes as the Maryland judge, Paula Xinis, is weighing whether to release the Salvadoran man from immigration custody while a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing efforts to deport him for a second time moves forward. Abrego Garcia was removed to his home country of El Salvador in March and imprisoned there despite having been granted a legal status in 2019 that prohibited the Department of Homeland Security from removing him there because of possible persecution by local gangs. An immigration official with the Trump administration admitted that Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador was an error, and Xinis ordered the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate his return to the U.S. But immigration officials resisted doing so for months. Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. in June, but only after a federal grand jury in Tennessee indicted him on two charges of human smuggling stemming from a November 2022 traffic stop.

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Reuters [10/24/2025 4:11 PM, Andrew Goudsward, Alphonso Toweh and Ted Hesson, 36480K] reports Donald Trump’s administration said on Friday it has reached an agreement with Liberia to accept Kilmar Abrego, the migrant whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador in March became a flashpoint in the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. The Justice Department said in a court filing that Abrego could be deported to the African country as soon as October 31. Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has temporarily blocked the U.S. government from deporting Abrego while she considers his bid to be released from immigration detention. It is unclear how the administration’s agreement with Liberia will influence the judge’s decision. Abrego also could seek to challenge his removal by claiming fear of torture or persecution. Liberia said it agreed to take Abrego "on a strictly humanitarian and temporary basis" following a request from the United States. Liberia’s information ministry said in a statement that it would ensure that Abrego is not removed to "any country where he may face substantial risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm."

AP [10/24/2025 5:43 PM, Kate Payne and Freida Frisaro, 31753K] reports a commercial truck driver who is charged with killing three people in a deadly crash in Florida in August had failed a commercial driver’s license test 10 times in the span of two months in 2023 in Washington state, before he was ultimately issued a license, according to a senior official in the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Florida is using the case of Harjinder Singh, who is accused of being in the country illegally, to urge the nation’s highest court to permanently bar some states from issuing commercial driver’s licenses or CDLs to people who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Florida’s investigation of Harjinder Singh has revealed that the trucker failed a written test to receive a CDL in Washington state 10 times between March 10, 2023, and April 5, 2023, a senior official for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier who was briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press. Florida is now petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its case against the states of California and Washington, and urging the high court to bar states from issuing CDLs to people who are in the country illegally. If the court accepts the case, Florida officials hope it could lead to a new legal precedent for states’ abilities to issue CDLs to people who are not citizens or legal permanent residents. A ruling could also have a downstream effect on how or if conventional driver’s licenses are issued to immigrants, the senior Florida official said.

ABC News [10/24/2025 4:56 PM, Meredith Deliso, 30493K] reports a semi-truck driver arrested in connection with an alleged DUI crash on a California highway that killed three people pleaded not guilty on Friday, amid scrutiny over the licensing of the 21-year-old suspect, who federal authorities say is in the United States illegally. Prosecutors charge that the driver, identified by authorities as Jashanpreet Singh, was driving at a high rate of speed and under the influence of drugs when he rammed into stopped traffic, causing a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario on Tuesday. Three people were killed and at least three others injured in the multi-vehicle crash, according to the criminal complaint. Singh pleaded not guilty to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the influence of a drug causing injury during his initial court appearance in a Rancho Cucamonga court on Friday. His next court appearance has been scheduled for Nov. 4. A Punjabi interpreter will be required at his next hearing, according to court filings. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an arrest detainer for Singh, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said he is in the U.S. illegally from India, entering through the southern border in 2022. He was issued a commercial driver’s license, or CDL, by California, according to the Department of Transportation, which said Singh is an asylum-seeker. On Friday, the agency said Singh should have been ineligible to keep his CDL days before the deadly crash under new emergency actions targeting noncitizens, including asylum-seekers. In September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced stricter eligibility requirements for noncitizens seeking CDLs. The new federal actions, which went into effect on Sept. 26, prevent all asylum-seekers from obtaining non-domiciled CDLs, according to the DOT. NBC 4 Los Angeles [10/25/2025 4:02 AM, Helen Jeong, 43603K] reports “This criminal illegal alien from India entered the country illegally at the southern border in 2022 and was RELEASED by the Biden Administration,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “There is no national CDL. The state of California issued this illegal alien Commercial Drivers License, which is beyond dumb — dangerous and deadly.” But Governor Newsom’s office accused the Trump administration of twisting facts and exploiting the “tragic situation.”

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FOX News [10/24/2025 1:51 PM, Michael Ruiz, 40019K] reports dashcam video from a deadly California freeway crash involving a suspected illegal immigrant truck driver in a tractor-trailer shows the vehicle plowing through bumper-to-bumper traffic in a wreck that killed three. Jashanpreet Singh, 21, received a California commercial driver’s license in June, according to the federal Department of Transportation. The video shows the truck he is accused of driving rear-ending a row of cars caught in traffic before flames burst out from under the hood, and it veers to the right, crashing into more vehicles and what appear to be utility trucks before coming to a stop near the shoulder. "My prayers are with the families of the victims of this tragedy," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement Thursday night. "It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules," he continued. "California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences." A spokesperson for Newsom’s office pointed the finger back at the feds. "This is a tragic situation. And as with every tragedy over the last ten months, Secretary Noem has ordered Secretary Duffy to look for every opportunity to manipulate the facts to score cheap political points, but the FEDERAL government needs to look within before they cast blame outside," the governor’s office told Fox News Digital in an email. "The FEDERAL government approved and renewed this individual’s FEDERAL employment authorization multiple times – which allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license in accordance with FEDERAL law." U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer request for Singh on Oct. 22. He remains jailed in San Bernardino County. ICE described him as "a criminal illegal alien." He is originally from India. "It is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways," Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18 wheelers and semi-trucks on America’s roads. Earlier this week, DHS highlighted another fatal accident in Indiana caused by an illegal alien driving a semi-truck. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is working day-in and day-out to make America’s roads safe again." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [10/24/2025 9:31 PM, Anna Young, 42219K] reports California Gov. Gavin Newsom violated federal law by upgrading the driver’s license of the illegal migrant trucker accused of causing a horrific, drug-fueled pile-up that killed three people and wounded several others, a bombshell new report claims. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Newsom for Tuesday’s deadly crash, alleging state officials unlawfully upgraded Jashanpreet Singh’s commercial license weeks after a new federal rule went into effect barring illegal immigrants from holding such privileges, according to a DOT report released Friday. The restrictions, which require states to verify an applicant’s legal status, took effect on Sept. 26 — while the 21-year-old Indian national’s driving rights were expanded on Oct. 15, the report states. “My prayers are with the families of the victims of this tragedy,” Duffy said in a statement. “It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules. California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences.” Singh was initially issued a restricted CDL in the Golden State on June 27, confining him to intrastate travel, according to the DOT’s report. When the new regulations took effect, the federal agency informed California officials of “significant compliance failures” related to the issuance of truckers’ licenses and gave them 30 days to audit its practices and void or rescind all unexpired CDLs, the report states. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles lifted Singh’s driving restrictions on Oct. 15 — his birthday — without enforcing the stricter standards mandated by the DOT’s new emergency rule, officials said. “Gavin Newsom was explicitly warned California’s CDL program was dangerously broken,” the report charged. “The USDOT’s emergency rule was issued to explicitly prevent drivers like Singh from getting behind the wheel of commercial motor vehicles.” Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. Singh was allegedly under the influence of drugs when he plowed his semi-truck into slow-moving traffic on the 10 Freeway in San Bernardino County Tuesday afternoon, cops said. he wreck, which was caught on dashcam, killed three people and left at least four others injured. Harrowing footage showed the moment Singh allegedly slammed his red big rig into the back of an SUV — before crashing into several other vehicles and erupting into flames. Singh is believed to have entered the US in 2022 via the southern border before he was released into the country by the Biden administration, Department of Homeland officials said. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has since lodged an arrest detainer — a former request for local cops to notify the feds before he is freed. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence.

FOX News [10/24/2025 5:45 PM, Madison Colombo, 40621K] reports Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of violating new federal commercial licensing rules by purportedly allowing an immigrant in the country illegally to maintain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). That truck driver is accused of causing a freeway crash that resulted in three fatalities on Tuesday in California. Newsom is blaming the federal government for the crash, arguing its policies ultimately allowed the suspect to receive a license. Duffy rejected that claim. The dispute comes as the transportation secretary threatens to withhold millions in federal highway funds from California and expands a federal review into how non-citizens acquire state-issued licenses. The deadly crash occurred Tuesday on a Southern California freeway. Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian national, allegedly drove a semitruck while under the influence, causing a multi-car pileup with three fatalities. According to the Department of Transportation, California violated new federal rules by upgrading Singh’s non-domiciled CDL despite an emergency rule and compliance notice issued Sept. 26.

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San Francisco Chronicle [10/24/2025 10:16 AM, Sophia Bollag, 4722K] reports the Trump administration will monitor polling sites in California during the Nov. 4 election, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday. The unusual announcement comes amid sky-high tensions between state leaders and federal officials and as voting is underway in California on Proposition 50, a measure to enact new congressional maps designed to help Democrats flip five U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterms. Spokespeople for the campaigns against Prop 50 did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment Friday morning. A spokesperson for the Yes on 50 campaign, which is led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, deferred to the governor’s office, which did not immediately respond. The U.S. Department of Justice also did not immediately respond to questions about what prompted the decision. The DOJ news release announcing the decision listed five California counties where the Trump administration will monitor polling places: Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles. It did not give any reasons about what prompted the move. The department also said it will monitor polling places in Passaic County, New Jersey. In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon characterized the decision as one to promote security. Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney and former California Republican Party leader, now leads the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will do everything necessary to protect the votes of eligible American citizens, ensuring our elections are safe and secure," she wrote in a statement. "Transparent election processes and election monitoring are critical tools for safeguarding our elections and ensuring public trust in the integrity of our elections.” Gov. Gavin Newsom, Prop 50’s lead backer, has repeatedly warned that he believes President Donald Trump will try to interfere in California’s November special election. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board earlier this month, Newsom pointed to Trump’s federalization of National Guard troops, the government shutdown and past criticisms of mail voting. Newsom also said he’s worried about federal immigration officers being used to intimidate voters. He noted that Border Patrol officers showed up at a rally he held in Los Angeles to launch his campaign to redraw California’s congressional districts, a move he has characterized as an intimidation tactic unrelated to immigration enforcement. "That was chilling to send masked men to intimidate the kickoff of this campaign," Newsom said. "As those ranks grow, they’ll continue to be deployed for political reasons.”

San Francisco Chronicle [10/24/2025 6:58 PM, St. John Barned-Smith, 4722K] reports even when the Border Patrol agent raised his weapon, Rev. Jorge Bautista didn’t think anything would happen. There was no way the agent would shoot. Then something crashed into his face, just above his chin. Fumes from a pepper ball round filled the air, making him cough as his eyes burned and his vision blurred. Bautista, pastor at the College Heights United Church of Christ in San Mateo, rose Thursday before sunrise, donned his typical black slacks, shirt and blazer and drove to Coast Guard Island to join a prayer vigil in opposition to the immigration crackdown in San Francisco that President Donald Trump had announced the day before. "Our role was to bear witness and to give a message about why we’re unhappy that ICE is here," he said. "We were hoping to just have a press conference and show solidarity." "Our immigration system has been broken for way too long," he said. "And in my role as a pastor has always felt that I’ve been summoned" to advocate for migrant justice.

Washington Post [10/24/2025 10:38 AM, Tara Copp, 24149K] reports the U.S. military killed six people overnight in the 10th reported strike on a boat alleged to be involved in drug smuggling, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on social media Friday. Hegseth said the operation targeted a vessel in the Caribbean carrying members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal group based in Venezuela that the Trump administration claims to be a “Designated Terrorist Organization.” As he has alleged after other recent attacks, Hegseth said the boat was “known by our intelligence” to be involved drug running along a “known narco-trafficking route.” He disclosed no evidence verifying that assertion. A black-and-white overhead video accompanying his social media post shows a boat appearing to idle in the water in the moments before it is hit with a projectile and engulfed in flames. Law of war experts maintain that the strikes — responsible for the reported deaths of at least 43 people since the campaign began in September — are illegal because those slain by U.S. forces aren’t combatants engaged in a armed conflict with the United States but suspected criminals. The strike follows two others this week that took place in the Pacific Ocean, off South America, and marked an expansion of the Trump administration’s lethal campaign against Latin American groups who Hegseth and other officials equate to militant extremists. “If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth said in the post Friday. The overnight strike appeared to indicate the U.S. had adjusted its tactics after a strike last week left two survivors who had to be pulled from the water by a Navy rescue helicopter and held temporarily in custody aboard a warship before being repatriated to their home countries. The return of those two survivors, instead of detaining them as the military would have done against al-Qaeda or other known terrorist organizations in previous armed conflicts, has raised further questions about the already murky legal justification the Trump administration is using to conduct the strikes In virtually all other drug interdictions before last month, the suspects were stopped by U.S. authorities — primarily the Coast Guard — and detained by U.S. law enforcement and charged. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested that the military’s counter-drug operations may expand to include striking targets on land as well. He has asserted he has the authority to direct the deadly attacks because the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with the cartels. Trump has yet to seek approval from Congress for the military operations. On Wednesday he said he “probably” would consult with Congress to explain “exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land.” He added, though, “We don’t have to do that.” A day later, Trump appeared to rule out seeking lawmakers’ approval for whatever could happen next. “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” he told reporters. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country.”

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USA Today [10/24/2025 3:04 PM, Zac Anderson, 67103K] r

NBC News [10/24/2025 2:03 PM, Alexandra Marquez, Dan De Luce and Courtney Kube, 34509K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed an aircraft carrier strike group to move to the Caribbean to support President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle "Transnational Criminal Organizations" and to "counter narco-terrorism," according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing are moving to the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility, Parnell said in a post on X. Parnell said the enhanced military presence will "bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere." The Gerald R. Ford is the U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier and is currently stationed in the Mediterranean with three destroyers, according to two U.S. officials. They have not left that region, but once they do, the transit will take about one week to get on station in the Caribbean, the officials said. The military’s deployment of the carrier strike group is a notable escalation of U.S. policy in the region as Trump has promised to target more cartel members and has firmly said these actions don’t require congressional approval. It will nearly double the number of U.S. forces afloat in the area as part of the counter-drug mission. The U.S. has eight surface ships there now, plus a nuclear-powered submarine, which adds up to about 6,000 sailors and marines in the region. The Ford Carrier Strike Group will add between 4,500 and 5,000 more sailors and marines to the mission. The carrier is more than just people, aircraft and firepower — carriers are often sent as a show of presence or force. The officials said this deployment is also about sending a message to cartels that the U.S. military can move a huge presence to the area quickly. The announcement came after Hegseth said earlier in the day that the U.S. struck a boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, marking at least the third time this week that the U.S. has attacked a vessel it says was involved in drug trafficking.

Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 9:22 AM, Pedro Rodriguez, 1394K] reports the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control held a hearing this week on the Iran-financed Islamic terrorist network Hezbollah, and its oil smuggling, money laundering, counterfeiting, and illegal weapons procurement operations. All of these efforts are tied to drug cartels and communist regimes in Latin America. It comes as no surprise that after the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah’s ally, the terrorist network has had to seek funding and shelter elsewhere. "In this critical time, Hezbollah may seek to further expand its Latin America drug trafficking and money laundering networks, and that’s why we are holding this hearing today," Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the caucus, stated in Global Gangsters: Hezbollah’s Latin American Drug Trafficking Operations. "As noted by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Hezbollah established a presence in the lawless tri-border region of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, infiltrating the largest shiite muslim diaspora," Cornyn added. FINCEN also reported that Hezbollah’s expanding partnerships with South American drug cartels and the Chavez-Maduro regime in Venezuela are helping to advance the Islamic terrorist network’s money-laundering operations. "I’m concerned about reports that indicate that the former Venezuelan Vice President was responsible for issuing the Venezuelan passports to Hezbollah members, facilitated their coming into Latin America, and helped Hezbollah to channel funds to the Middle East," Cornyn said. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) called Venezuela a "safe haven" for one of the world’s most lethal terrorist networks, adding that Maduro’s are "counted. In 2020, the Justice Department charged a former member of the Venezuelan General Assembly with narcotrafficking, terrorism, weapons offenses, and acting as a liaison between Cartel of the Suns and Hezbollah and Hamas. As stated by Cornyn, Hezbollah’s ties to the communist regime have facilitated the terrorist network’s illicit activities in the region. The group’s operations in Latin America first drew U.S. government attention during President Barack Obama’s administration, as Hezbollah began shifting its focus away from the Middle East. With the collapse of its chief financial patron, the Iranian regime, and the weakening of Syria’s Assad, the organization sought new funding sources abroad. Now, under President Donald Trump’s second administration, Hezbollah is accelerating its activities across Latin America, filling the financial void left by its declining power base in the Middle East. "President Trump’s brave decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites in Operation Midnight Hammer could dry up a key source of funding for Hezbollah," Cornyn said. Hezbollah’s other ally, Hamas, has been almost completely eradicated in Gaza thanks to Trump’s military alliance with Israel, which aimed to eliminate the terrorist organization after its brutal attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, giving Hezbollah an even stronger reason to expand its operations in the Western Hemisphere.

New York Times [10/25/2025 12:37 AM, Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt, 330K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the deployment of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford as well as its accompanying warships and attack planes to waters off Latin America, the Pentagon said on Friday, in a dramatic escalation of military might in the region. The enhanced American presence “will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said on social media. Mr. Parnell did not say when the Ford, the Navy’s most modern and technologically advanced carrier, would be moving to the region or where it would be positioned. Navy officials said on Friday that the Ford is currently steaming off the coast of Croatia on a monthslong European deployment and would take seven to 10 days, depending on speed and weather conditions, to reach its new assigned mission with U.S. Southern Command. Since late August, the U.S. military has deployed about 10,000 troops to the Caribbean, about half of them on eight warships and half in Puerto Rico, for what the administration says is a counterterrorism and counternarcotics mission. The Ford carries about 5,000 sailors and has more than 75 attack, surveillance and support aircraft, including F/A-18 fighters. Aircraft carriers have toured the waters in the Caribbean and off Latin America before on what the Navy calls “good will” tours. But cutting short the Ford’s scheduled deployment by several months and redirecting it to Latin America for a possible combat mission amid the intensifying U.S. strikes on boats the administration says are carrying drugs is highly unusual, current and former Navy officials said. “By adding the Ford to the already existing forces, this is a uniquely powerful naval combat group in the Caribbean in my memory,” said Adm. James Stavridis, a former head of U.S. Southern Command, now retired. For decades, Republican and Democratic presidents have dispatched one or more aircraft carriers to the Middle East as a sign of U.S. military power and of American geopolitical resolve. President Trump’s second administration has focused more intently on securing the U.S. homeland and the Western Hemisphere. The deployment of the Ford to the region, which officials said had been under consideration for weeks, underscores that shift in national security priorities. The new Pentagon orders came hours after Mr. Hegseth announced that the U.S. military had killed six people on a boat suspected of smuggling drugs from South America, as the Trump administration’s lethal and legally disputed campaign continued to escalate. The latest attack raised the death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign on suspected drug boats to 43 in 10 known strikes — eight in the Caribbean and two more this week in the eastern Pacific.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 5:09 AM, Staff, 1394K]

Breitbart [10/24/2025 12:51 PM, Christian K. Caruzo, 2416K] reports that socialist dictator of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro on Thursday attempted to send a message to President Donald Trump in English saying "no crazy war, please.". "Not war, not war, not war, yes peace, yes peace, yes peace forever, forever, forever, peace forever. No crazy war, no crazy war no crazy war," Maduro repeated in front of an audience. "Please please please, yes please peace forever, peace forever. Victory forever the pits, victory forever the pits [sic]." Maduro issued his latest attempt at speaking the English language in remarks during an official "patriotic working class" regime event in Caracas in the company of some regime officials. Upon delivering his words in "English," Maduro joked to his audience that he had spoken in "Tarzanian language," referencing the Tarzan book series by late American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, which have been adapted in several forms of media through the ages. Maduro clarified that, if his English words were translated to Spanish in a "Tarzan style" they would mean "No war, no war, no want war. No to the war of the crazy, no to the insanity of war [sic throughout].". "That’d be the correct translation, right?" Maduro asked. "Yes to peace, yes to peace, yes to peace forever. Victory forever for peace."

NewsMax [10/24/2025 4:32 PM, Staff, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump is considering plans to target cocaine production facilities and trafficking routes in Venezuela, according to reporting by CNN and cited by Reuters. Three senior U.S. officials who are familiar with the discussions said this option is still under review but has not been approved yet. The potential strikes would represent another escalation in Trump’s campaign against Latin American drug networks. The president has stated that he sees drug cartels not as criminal groups but as "enemy combatants" waging war against the United States. This week, Trump told reporters that his administration is "no longer tolerating the poison flooding our communities" and promised that traffickers "will be wiped from the face of the Earth." His language shows a growing use of military terms to deal with the drug trade. Strategy meetings now often include Pentagon and intelligence officials rather than just law enforcement leaders. Trump said he will brief Congress next week but insisted that he does not need a declaration of war. Trump said Thursday he plans to keep Congress briefed, and that land targets in Venezuela are next. At the same time, he said he didn’t think he’d be asking for a war declaration to target drug traffickers who are killing Americans.

Reuters [10/24/2025 7:46 PM, Daphne Psaledakis, Julia Symmes Cobb, Brendan O’Boyle, 36480K] reports that the U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, as President Donald Trump sharply escalated a feud with Washington’s longtime Latin American ally over accusations that Petro has refused to stop the flow of cocaine into the United States. Tensions between Washington and many countries in the region have been mounting for weeks. The U.S. military has ratcheted up activity in the southern Caribbean, striking vessels in international waters that it has alleged without evidence are carrying drugs. Trump this week called Petro an "illegal drug leader" after the leftist president accused the U.S. of committing "murder" with the strikes. Petro, whose term will end in 10 months, has always opposed the strikes. He has attempted to end Colombia’s six-decade conflict through peace and surrender deals with rebels and crime gangs, but those efforts have borne little fruit. "Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation." Petro disputes the basis for the U.S. allegations, saying his government has seized cocaine at unprecedented rates and that expansion of coca crops - the base ingredient for cocaine - has slowed every year since 2021. "What the U.S. Treasury says is a lie," Petro said on X on Friday afternoon. "My government did not increase cocaine, it did the opposite, my government has seized more cocaine than in the whole history of the world." Petro, who first rose to prominence as a senator by exposing links between some of his fellow lawmakers and paramilitary groups involved in cocaine trafficking, earlier called the sanction "a complete paradox". He said he had hired a U.S. lawyer to defend him and spoke to thousands of supporters in central Bogota on Friday evening, saying he has no money in the United States. While rare, the imposition of sanctions on a head of state is not unprecedented. The move adds Petro to a short list that includes the leaders of Russia, Venezuela and North Korea.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [10/24/2025 4:18 PM, Tobi Raji, 24149K]
FOX News [10/24/2025 5:28 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40621K] r
Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 10:42 PM, Brady Knox, 1394K]
Univision [10/24/2025 4:04 PM, Staff, 5004K]

CBS News [10/24/2025 11:17 AM, Lilia Luciano and Tucker Reals, 39474K] reports Colombia’s left-wing President Gustavo Petro has been outspoken in his condemnation of the U.S. military strikes on what the Trump administration says are drug smuggling boats in international waters. Petro calls the strikes easy, but ineffective in tackling the mammoth problem of drug smuggling — and illegal to boot. The Trump administration has announced at least 10 such strikes on boats during the past two months, including two off Colombia’s Pacific coast this week. The most recent came overnight, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. carried out "a lethal kinetic strike" on a vessel he said was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, "trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.” Hegseth said "six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters — and was the first strike at night. All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike.” Aside from announcing the strikes, the U.S. military and the Trump administration have provided virtually no information about how they are carried out, based on what intelligence, or who, specifically, has been killed. In an exclusive conversation with CBS News, Petro said some of those killed in the U.S. strikes have been innocent civilians, and he reiterated his accusation that the attacks violate international law. The White House denies those accusations, and President Trump has defended the strikes as a legitimate part of his fight against drug trafficking gangs. Asked if he was ready to lower the rhetorical tone in his war of words with Mr. Trump, to seek a diplomatic way of stopping the U.S. attacks on boats, Petro insisted that he was merely replying to the American leader in kind. The Drug Enforcement Administration says about 90% of the cocaine that reaches the U.S. comes from Colombia, and President Trump has blamed Petro, saying he’s failed to rein in drug cartels that operate in his country. "They have insulted me," he told CBS News. "And a lot, but all I can do is be frank.”

The Hill [10/24/2025 6:10 PM, Rebecca Beitsch and Filip Timotija, 12595K] reports leading Intelligence Committee Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of leaving them in the dark on strikes in the Caribbean that have killed more than 40 people, demanding information about the intelligence community’s role. The letter requests the legal justifications for the strikes, which has targeted a series of boats the Trump administration has claimed without evidence are ferrying drugs off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. "Despite our repeated requests, the intelligence committees have received virtually no information about the Intelligence Community’s support for these operations," Rep. Jim Himes (D-Md.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on each chamber’s Intelligence Committee, wrote to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. "We have not been told which agencies are providing intelligence support, the nature of that assistance, or the amount of IC resources and personnel dedicated to this effort," they continued. "Nor have we been advised about the IC’s role in collecting and analyzing intelligence after the strikes to assess the identities of those targeted, the type and quantity of drugs that may have been onboard, and the impact of the strikes.”

Washington Examiner [10/25/2025 7:00 AM, Mike Brest, 1563K] reports the U.S. military has conducted at least 10 strikes, killing more than 30 people, in an effort to target drug smuggling, while President Donald Trump has said he doesn’t believe he needs a formal declaration of war from Congress. During an event on Thursday focused on his Homeland Security Taskforce, Trump said his administration would brief Congress, but stopped short of saying they would seek a declaration of war from lawmakers. “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like dead,” the president said on Thursday. The U.S. military has announced ten strikes targeting alleged drug smuggling vessels in the western hemisphere since this campaign began last month. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that six people were killed in the most recent strike, and the secretary said it was the first of these operations to occur at night.

CBS News [10/24/2025 5:22 PM, Kathryn Watson, Eleanor Watson, 39474K] reports the U.S. has been carrying out intermittent strikes on vessels alleged to be carrying drug smugglers and illegal narcotics in international waters off South American coastlines since early September. President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say the boats were known to be involved in drug smuggling, and insist they have the authority to carry out the strikes without authorization from Congress. Mr. Trump has long decried the influence of drug cartels in the United States, although the lethal strikes represent the biggest escalation in his war on drugs. As of Friday, Oct. 24, the Trump administration has publicly disclosed strikes on 10 vessels since the president revealed the first operation on Sept. 2. Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday it’s possible that the U.S. may begin carrying out strikes on land. So far, the administration says it has only targeted vessels in international waters. At least 43 people have been killed in the strikes as of Friday, Oct. 24, according to the numbers released by the Trump administration. Congress has not authorized the use of military force to target drug cartels.

Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 6:00 AM, Mike Brest, 1394K] reports the U.S. military and relevant law enforcement agencies have reported an initial dip in illegal fishing activities in the Gulf of America in recent months after the Justice Department began arresting and prosecuting people instead of releasing them back to Mexico. The Coast Guard is among several agencies that work to ensure non-American fishermen don’t operate within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Mexican fishermen will illegally fish in U.S. waters and try to make it back to Mexican waters before getting caught. If they pull that off, they will sell the fish — sometimes into U.S. markets — and the Gulf Cartel gets a cut of the proceeds, according to the Treasury Department. The Gulf Cartel relies "on a variety of illicit schemes like [illegal, unreported, and unregulated] (IUU) fishing to fund their operations, along with narcotics trafficking and human smuggling," former acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said last year, when the Treasury Department announced it was sanctioning five individuals with ties to the cartel.

CBS News [10/24/2025 11:36 AM, Staff, 39474K] reports a Chinese citizen accused of trafficking fentanyl has been extradited from Cuba to the United States, according to the Mexican government, which helped facilitate the transfer. Zhi Dong Zhang, known as "Brother Wang," escaped house arrest in Mexico in July, and has now been transferred into U.S. custody, according to Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch. Zhi is accused of being "responsible for international drug trafficking, money laundering, and alliances with criminal groups with a presence in the Americas, Europe, and Asia," Harfuch said, according to BBC Mundo. He is alleged to have worked closely with Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation drug cartels, designated "foreign terrorist organizations" by Washington. The Cuban government said that "after a formal request for extradition," the alleged trafficker was handed over to Mexican authorities. Neither Mexico nor Havana has specified whether Zhang was transferred to the United States via Mexican soil, or if he was transported directly from Cuba. A wanted poster released by Mexican prosecutors in July said that in addition to "Brother Wang," Zhi has multiple other aliases, including "BW," "Pancho," "HeHe" and "Mr. T.” Zhi is considered "a major international money laundering operator," Garcia said last year. He is accused of laundering at least $20 million in the U.S. between 2020 and 2021 by using more than 100 shell companies and bank accounts, El Pais reported.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [10/24/2025 8:44 AM, Lizabeth Diaz, 36480K]

CNN [10/24/2025 11:36 AM, Margaret Dawson, 18595K] reports CNN’s Omar Jimenez breaks down what the Department of Homeland Security puts out publicly via social media or press releases, versus what the agency is arguing through court documents over recent cases in Chicago and Newark. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [10/24/2025 11:19 AM, Megan Cerullo, 39474K] reports Jill Hornick, a 59-year-old service representative at a Social Security Administration field office in Illinois, would normally have received her latest paycheck on Friday. Instead, she was last paid on Oct. 10 — for three days less than she had worked. Hornick is defined as an essential worker and continues to report to the office on a daily basis during the government shutdown. She said she doesn’t have time to search for a second job and isn’t eligible for unemployment benefits. Because of the stalemate in Congress, now in its 24th day, Hornick also has no clue on when the next paycheck will arrive. "It’s very annoying that employees who are furloughed can collect unemployment, but employees who are essential and have to work without pay cannot collect unemployment," Hornick told CBS News. "And yet I am showing up on my own dime because we still have to pay money to put gas in the car, pay the daycare center, because they are not going to take kids for free.” While roughly 670,000 federal employees are furloughed, approximately 730,000 other government employees deemed essential — such as air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers — continue to work without pay during the shutdown, according to estimates from the Bipartisan Policy Center. Hornick, whose annual income is about $75,000 a year, is now scrambling to stay afloat. That means paring her spending and contacting her mortgage lender and other creditors to ask for lenience.

San Diego Union Tribune [10/24/2025 11:00 AM, Mike Levin, 1538K] reports public service is supposed to be about duty, not luxury. Yet Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem just signed off on the purchase of two Gulfstream G700s, luxury aircraft worth a combined $170 million. The Coast Guard had requested one replacement plane for an aging jet used for official travel. Somewhere along the way, that single, practical request turned into a pair of top-of-the-line aircraft awarded through a no-bid contract, without a clear explanation or a shred of humility. Secretary Noem says the planes are necessary for the mission of the Coast Guard, but that is not what the record shows. The Department of Homeland Security originally requested one $50 million aircraft. Now, it is buying two "used" Gulfstreams that the manufacturer markets for billionaires, not public servants. And it is happening during a government shutdown, when some of the very workers Secretary Noem leads are missing their paychecks. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I find this entirely unacceptable. Taxpayer dollars must be spent in a way that is justified, transparent, and defensible. A $170 million luxury purchase at a time when federal employees are going unpaid fails every one of those tests. Secretary Noem has implemented a policy that requires her personal sign-off on any department expense over $100,000. That means this decision, one of the larger discretionary purchases in the Department of Homeland Security’s history, went directly across her desk. Accountability begins and ends with her. Every federal employee knows that taxpayer money is a public trust. In my district, I see that respect every day. Coast Guard members work long hours under tough conditions with aging equipment. They are motivated by service, not status. The same goes for the TSA officers at John Wayne Airport or the CBP personnel at our ports of entry. These men and women keep our country safe. They deserve leaders who share their sense of duty, not one who seems to view public office as an opportunity for personal luxury. The Coast Guard’s mission is vital, from rescuing families at sea to interdicting drug traffickers to protecting our coastlines from environmental threats. But no one needs a Gulfstream G700 to do that job. It is impossible to explain how two luxury jets take priority over the paychecks, boats, or aircraft that actually keep Americans safe. Even in normal times, this purchase would raise eyebrows. During a shutdown, it is a symbol of Washington’s worst instincts — entitlement, self-importance, and a growing distance from the people government is supposed to serve. When a leader’s first instinct is to take care of herself instead of her workforce, something fundamental has gone wrong. Secretary Noem has tried to deflect criticism by saying Congress already appropriated the money. But that excuse only makes things worse. Leadership means making responsible choices with the funds entrusted to you, not grabbing what you can because you think you are above the rules. The fact that the money was available does not make the decision wise. Every appropriator knows that funds are allocated broadly, but discretion matters. How leaders choose to use those dollars defines their priorities.

NewsMax [10/24/2025 11:03 AM, Ken Buck, 4109K] reports on the campaign trail last year, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to stop the flow of illegal immigrants flooding across America’s borders and "carry out the largest domestic deportation operation" in U.S. history. Since winning reelection, the Trump administration has delivered on its promises. Within the first 250 days of the president’s second term, the Department of Homeland Security has deported more than 400,000 illegal aliens. Another 1.6 million voluntarily self-deported. In August, arrests on the southern border were down nearly 90% from a year earlier, and September marked the U.S. Border Patrol’s fifth consecutive month with zero releases. President Trump’s decisive action stands in stark contrast to former President Joe Biden, who refused to act and sought to deflect blame for his administration’s porous borders. "I’ve done all I can do," Biden whined — even as Republicans and Democrats alike urged him to take executive action to address the crisis. Congress should "show some spine," Sleepy Joe puffed in February 2024 — the same month that border crossings exceeded 9 million, not including over 1.8 million "got-aways.” "It has become clear that the current situation remains untenable," 15 House Democrats pleaded in May 2024. "All of our constituents, no matter our congressional district, have felt the impacts of the current border situation.” Trump has given those leaders (and most Americans) what they asked for: secure borders, safer streets, and a plan to rid our country of violent criminals here illegally. But you wouldn’t know it listening to Democrats and the liberal media.

The Hill [10/24/2025 12:00 PM, Rep. Donald Norcross, 12595K] reports that, when the federal government shuts down, the civil servants who keep it running should not pay the price. Yet today, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including air traffic controllers, firefighters and nurses, are being forced to work without pay. Instead of working to end this shutdown or pass legislation to pay all these hardworking individuals, the Trump administration has chosen to pay only select groups, leaving the rest behind. On Oct. 15, President Trump signed a memo to pay members of the military during the shutdown by repurposing unspent federal funds. The following day, the Trump administration announced it would extend pay to thousands of law enforcement officers, including those working for the Transportation Security Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Secret Service. Although paying these individuals is the right thing to do, the problem lies in deciding who deserves a paycheck and who doesn’t. The federal government doesn’t function without its full workforce. Right now, federal employees across the nation are working without pay to keep America running. Air traffic controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day shifts to manage the safe travel of millions of passengers and tons of cargo every day. Nurses at the Department of Veterans Affairs are providing care to our nation’s veterans. First responders are keeping our families safe. Every one of these public servants has a family to support, bills to pay, and obligations that don’t disappear simply because Congress and the White House have reached an impasse. The president’s decision to selectively pay certain employees based on political optics is a slap in the face to every federal worker who wakes up in the morning ready to serve their country. This also comes during a time when our federal workforce has faced relentless attacks from Trump and his administration. Over the past year, the Trump administration has eliminated the roles of more than 200,000 federal workers at more than a dozen agencies, including firing an estimated 6,000 veterans. This has resulted in complete and utter chaos, with many of the services Americans rely on under threat and ultimately resulting in the rehiring of many of these purged employees. It’s time for Trump and congressional Republicans to come back to the negotiating table, reopen the federal government and lower health care costs. The American people deserve a functioning government, and every federal employee deserves the pay they’ve earned. Until then, the message from the Trump administration is painfully clear: some public servants matter more than others.

Washington Post [10/24/2025 7:00 AM, George F. Will, 24149K] reports one Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s knee was on his neck, another’s was grinding his back. Drenched with tear gas and pepper spray, George Retes might have wished that his 137 pounds were back in Kirkuk, Iraq, one of his Army deployments. Herewith a glimpse of your tax dollars at work.. Born 26 years ago in Ventura, California, where his mother was born, he enlisted after high school and calls the Army “the best job ever,” adding, “I love the infantry.” He married a woman he deployed with, thereby acquiring a stepson, soon a daughter, and a reason to leave the Army: to avoid long absences from his children. He loves Ventura (“The beach is my life”), where he landed a job with a security firm protecting an agriculture plant, which he approached by car mid-afternoon on July 10. ICE agents wearing gas masks — indicators of their dispositions — were blocking entry, he recounts, saying the plant was not operating. This was not the last ICE lie. The ICEmen were presumably looking for undocumented immigrants. Retes’s driver’s license, which he says the ICEmen never asked to see, identifies him as “Veteran Army.” His license plate includes “DV”: disabled veteran. While ICE’s warriors were trying and ultimately succeeding in smashing his driver’s-side window (the better to pepper spray him), they apparently did not notice his rear window’s “Iraq Combat Veteran” sticker. Amid a torrent of shouted and contradictory ICEmen commands, and after he asked for an agent’s badge number, he says, Retes was dragged from his car, his wrists were zip-tied behind his back, and he was seated on the roadside ground for four hours. He was taken to a Navy base, where he was strip searched, then on to incarceration in Los Angeles, he says, handcuffs having replaced the zip ties. No charges had been made against him, but a mouth swab collected his DNA without his consent. He says his requests for a lawyer, and for a shower to ease the discomforts of tear gas and pepper spray residues, were ignored. After three days, during which he missed his daughter’s third birthday, an agent told him the charges against him had been dropped. “What charges?” he recalls asking. Silence. When, two months later, Retes published a newspaper op-ed about his experience, ICE suddenly claimed Retes had been resisting its agents. Video from a Los Angeles television station’s helicopter monitoring ICE’s operation seems to refute the agency’s fabrication. An anonymous spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, dismissed Retes’s account as “garbage.” Not much of an argument, but evidence of the milieu and mentality that produces ICEmen like those Retes met.

San Francisco Chronicle [10/24/2025 7:00 AM, Erwin Chemerinsky, 4722K] reports tensions between the federal government and state and local governments are nothing new, but we are in a moment unlike anything we have seen for decades, if ever. President Donald Trump is sending troops to cities over the objections of governors and mayors, and his encouraging aggressive actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are understandably provoking the desire for resistance. Even with the announcement that Trump is backing away, at least for now, from sending troops to San Francisco, the underlying issue remains: What can state and local governments do? The simple answer is that state and local governments cannot obstruct the federal government. But they can apply their general laws against federal agents so long as they do not unreasonably interfere with the federal government carrying out its policies. So, for example, Portland, Ore., and Chicago cannot prohibit Trump from sending troops there, but they can — and have — sued in court to have the deployments declared illegal as violating federal law. Federal law is restrictive about when the president can federalize a state’s National Guard, and it flatly prohibits troops from being used for domestic law enforcement. These challenges are pending in courts now, and I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will conclude that the federalization of the state national guards and the use of troops to assist ICE agents violates federal law.

San Diego Union Tribune [10/24/2025 9:00 AM, Tania Navarro, 1538K] reports on Oct. 15 in Tijuana, three drones carrying explosives dropped their payload onto a state government legal facility. No officials were killed or injured, but the attack sent shockwaves through one of Mexico’s busiest border cities. It wasn’t a random act of violence. It was a message — and a warning. The use of drones by criminal organizations marks a new phase in the evolution of Mexico’s cartels. What once were tools for surveillance and smuggling are now weapons of intimidation and terror. The kind of technology used in the Ukraine-Russia war to strike armored vehicles has made its way into the hands of traffickers who operate just a few miles from the U.S. border. This should concern both Mexico and the United States. Organized crime is entering a technological era, and our governments aren’t ready. In recent years, drone attacks have been documented in Michoacán, Jalisco and Guanajuato, often linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. However, those incidents were mostly confined to rural areas, targeting rival groups or small towns. What happened in Tijuana is different — it’s a major urban hub, home to more than 2 million people and the busiest land border crossing in America. A drone strike here isn’t just another cartel tactic; it’s a signal that this technology has reached the doorstep of the United States. Drones give organized crime a new kind of power. They are cheap, easy to buy and hard to trace. A single operator can fly one from miles away, avoiding the street battles that once drew police attention. A few hundred dollars’ worth of equipment can now carry explosives capable of damaging buildings or killing targets. In a city like Tijuana, where law enforcement is already under-resourced and outgunned, this new aerial threat tilts the balance even further toward the cartels. The United States understands that this isn’t just Mexico’s problem. On the night of the attack, the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana issued a security warning, acknowledging the broader threat. The same networks using drones to target government offices can also deploy them to smuggle drugs, track Border Patrol movements or deliver fentanyl across the border. And while the U.S. has invested billions in walls and sensors to stop people and vehicles, far less has been spent on aerial or cyber surveillance systems capable of detecting small, low-flying drones.

The Hill [10/24/2025 9:30 AM, Dov Zakheim, 12595K] reports that, nearly 36 years ago, the U.S. invaded Panama to dislodge its strongman, General Manuel Noriega. A force of 27,000 overcame Panamanian resistance in a matter of just two weeks. Noriega, transported to the U.S., was tried and convicted for drug trafficking and money laundering. He spent 18 years in a Miami prison until he was extradited to France in 2010 to face additional money laundering charges. Like President George H.W. Bush, who called Noriega a "drug kingpin," President Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of drug trafficking and linked him to criminal gangs. Trump has made no secret of wanting to remove Maduro from power. He has ramped up the pressure on Maduro by authorizing the sinking of seven Venezuelan ships in Caribbean international waters and an eighth in the Pacific, accusing the crews of drug smuggling. With the exception of two Colombians citizens who were repatriated, all aboard the ships perished in the attacks. Trump has authorized the largest deployment of U.S. forces in the Caribbean since the 1989 operation — 10,000 troops, four surface warships, drones, surveillance aircraft, and a Marine Amphibious Ready Group, plus 2,200 Marines accompanied by tactical aviation. On Oct. 15, Trump announced that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela. He even said he was considering air strikes on Venezuelan territory — a threat backed up by U.S. fighters and bombers flown off Venezuela’s coast. Maduro, who has no desire to share Noriega’s fate, had already announced in August that he was mobilizing 4.5 million militia members to defend the country against a "gringo" invasion. Many observers have discounted his announcement as mere rhetoric. Others have pointed out that the Venezuelan military is both ill-equipped and poorly trained. Nevertheless, just as Maduro is not planning to give up the presidency, an attack on Venezuela is not going to be a reprise of America’s fortnight war against Panama. For starters, Venezuela has twelve times the land area of Panama, and its population is about eight times greater. Indeed, Maduro’s militia alone is larger than Panama’s entire population. Nor is it clear that the Venezuelan opposition will work alongside the U.S. to dethrone the Venezuelan dictator. Venezuelans may instead put their politics aside and defend their homeland, much like Russians, despite their recent suffering under Stalin’s Great Purge, united in 1941 to fight the German invasion. America’s twenty-year experience in Afghanistan, like that of the Soviets in the late twentieth century, demonstrates how a determined force can still hold out against a far more technically capable foreign invader and ultimately prevail. And Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invaders at the very outset of what is now approaching four years of war also demonstrates that the strategy of decapitation that succeeded in 1989 did not yield similar results in February 2022. Finally, the possibility that other countries will come to Venezuela’s aid cannot be ruled out. Colombian President Gustavo Petro suggested last month that any U.S. attack on Venezuela would be considered an attack on all Latin America. The leftist Petro, whose term of office does not end for another seven months, has had several verbal clashes with Trump and may be prepared to send his far more capable and mostly U.S.-trained troops to assist Maduro.

New York Times [10/24/2025 9:59 PM, Hamed Aleaziz and Tyler Pager, 135475K] reports the Trump administration is drawing up plans for a shake-up at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with officials looking to replace several senior leaders in field offices across the country, according to three people familiar with the plans. The proposal stems from frustration in the White House and the Department of Homeland Security over the pace of deportations, which are lagging behind President Trump’s goal of more than a million by the end of the first year of his second term. The people cautioned that the plans, which involve reassigning about a half dozen field office leaders, had not been finalized. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ideas still under consideration. The proposed shake-up illustrates how the administration is still scrambling to satisfy Mr. Trump’s demand to crack down on immigration, an issue at the heart of his political agenda, even as the president and his top aides have promoted their efforts to secure the border and deport hundreds of thousands of people. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, would not comment on the plans for a shake-up. But she said in a statement that “the president’s entire team is working in lock step to implement the president’s policy agenda, and the tremendous results from securing the border to deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves.” There are more than two dozen field office directors overseeing deportation efforts across the country. Each officer’s region can be expansive, encompassing multiple states or large territories such as Northern California. The regional directors have been under pressure to help ICE boost arrests. The agency has already removed its acting director and top deportation officials — twice. “They are under constant threat; people are ground down; it’s a culture of fear,” said Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former senior ICE official in the Biden administration. “There has been so much shuffling of deck chairs — I can’t imagine anyone even having the ability to take on real challenges.” The Department of Homeland Security says that it has deported more than 400,000 people since Mr. Trump took office, and that it expects to deport 600,000 in total by the end of Mr. Trump’s first year in office. Still, those numbers are slightly misleading. The Trump administration counts people who are turned back at the border and other ports of entry as “deportations,” even though they have never lived inside the United States. Earlier this year, Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff, met with senior ICE leaders in Washington and discussed ways to pick up the pace of enforcement. Soon after, he appeared on Fox News and said the agency would try to hit a goal of 3,000 arrests a day. The number of arrests shot up after the comments, to more than 2,000 a day. But the arrest numbers have since declined, and ICE has not been able to hit the 3,000 daily arrest figure floated by Mr. Miller. Since the summer, the agency has typically arrested more than 1,000 people a day. “The Trump administration continues to be focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman. “As for personnel, there have been no changes, and we have nothing to announce.”

Breitbart [10/24/2025 5:16 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is continuing to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the United States, even in sanctuary jurisdictions that have attempted to thwart such enforcement of federal immigration law. "Every day, and despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, our ICE officers are arresting pedophiles, sexual assailants, murderers, and violent criminals," the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

New York Times [10/24/2025 5:00 AM, Jazmine Ulloa, 153395K] reports again and again in Chicago and elsewhere in recent weeks, masked federal agents have accosted people who appear to be Latino, and have confronted them with questions about their immigration status. Targeting people for immigration enforcement based on race or ethnicity alone was forbidden by the U.S. Supreme Court in a unanimous decision 50 years ago. After all, it’s impossible to determine the immigration statuses of people simply by looking at them. So for decades, agents seeking to question people about their citizenship were supposed to rely on more than just appearance. But as President Trump has intensified his mass deportation campaign, roving patrols that have targeted predominantly Latino communities have become a key part of the administration’s playbook. And whether the tactics are legal appears to be an open question, one likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. Lawsuits challenging the administration’s sweeps in Los Angeles and elsewhere are making their way through the courts. The outcomes could redefine the limits on the discretion officers have to stop, question and detain people over their immigration statuses and how much race and ethnicity can play into those decisions. “We are in nebulous land,” said Mark Fleming, a lawyer at the National Immigrant Justice Center, which is representing plaintiffs in Chicago. “We have never seen this type of enforcement on the streets ever.”

Univision [10/24/2025 6:11 AM, Patricia Clarembaux, 5004K] reports when Alicia was admitted to the ICE Processing Center in South Louisiana in April, she learned she was pregnant. She was detained when she showed up for a routine appointment in New Orleans, and shortly afterward, the federal facility’s medical staff broke the news. The separation from her two minor children (ages 5 and 15) caused her significant stress. She wasn’t eating well, only receiving minimal portions of food "of poor quality, which left her hungry and malnourished." Her pregnancy wasn’t easy. In May, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain, vaginal discharge, contractions, and bleeding. Her story is part of a letter sent by various organizations to the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd Lyons, with more testimonies from pregnant women who were detained—or who are still detained—and reported that they did not receive adequate prenatal care, were denied essential supplies, and suffered medical neglect by staff at two detention centers: the one in South Louisiana, known as Basile, and the one in Stewart, Georgia.

NPR [10/24/2025 5:35 PM, Staff, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports U.S. citizens have been arrested in the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. According to ProPublica, at least 170 have been arrested or detained by immigration agents since President Trump took office for his second term. In response, Texas Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — both Democrats — have announced an investigation into these detentions. It is incredibly concerning that now anyone can be targeted,” Rep. Garcia tells NPR. “It’s important that we begin documenting all of this.” [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Daily Mail [10/24/2025 7:53 PM, Natasha Anderson] reports a 13-year-old suspected Brazilian gang member has apologized ‘for everything’ and is begging for his freedom after being taken into ICE custody, his attorney has claimed. Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto, 13, was arrested at his Massachusetts school on October 9 for allegedly threatening to ‘shoot and kill’ a fellow classmate. Berto, a seventh-grader from Brazil, was transferred to ICE custody after being held at the local police station. Officers did not detain the boy for immigration authorities, but claim federal agents showed up at the station after his fingerprints were put into a national database. Homeland Security officials alleged that Berto had a gun on him, but he was carrying a 5-inch Milwaukee knife when he was detained by Everett police, city officials said. DHS also alleged that Berto is a suspected ‘33’ gang member and had 11 prior police complaints, including breaking and entering, vandalism, theft, fighting and ‘flash mob’ style shoplifting. Berto appeared before a judge via Zoom for a bond hearing Thursday where he pled for forgiveness and shared how he misses his mother, The Boston Globe reported. The judge denied bond, citing how he ‘dangerous’ and a ‘flight risk,’ his lawyer Andrew Lattarulo said. Berto reportedly apologized after the ruling was issued. He remains in federal custody at a juvenile detention facility in Virginia pending his asylum hearing. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 5.

Bloomberg [10/24/2025 10:20 PM, Mike Vilensky, 803K] reports Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he’s looking at whether his office can prosecute ICE agents if they break local laws, saying the immigration agency’s tactics in New York are "anathema to public safety." Bragg was asked at a NY1 debate on Friday, alongside two opponents challenging him for the Manhattan DA role, if his office would take action against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers if they were found in violation of local statutes. "It is something we are looking at," he said, noting Manhattan Rep. Dan Goldman wrote a recent letter to New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

NBC News [10/24/2025 3:28 PM, David K. Li and Daniella Silva, 34509K] reports the nine men arrested were all in the United States illegally, DHS said. Five were from Senegal and one each was from Mali, Mauritania and Guinea. DHS didn’t identify the country of origin of one of the men. The agency said it also took five protesters into custody, accusing four of assaulting law enforcement and one of obstruction. DHS told NBC News on Thursday that the protesters had been released pending further investigation with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Makonnen, of the group African Communities Together, said they’ve been working closely with street vendors and other local organizations to ensure they know their rights and the resources available to them.

Daily Caller [10/24/2025 11:18 AM, Jason Cohen, 835K] reports President Donald Trump criticized Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York on Thursday over his push for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to arrest federal agents. Goldman sent a letter making the request to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Oct. 16, alleging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have engaged in "outrageous and unlawful conduct … including violently and improperly arresting United States citizens." When a reporter asked Trump for his response to Goldman’s request on Thursday, the president insulted him and his party. "Dan is a loser, you understand. He’s a guy that doesn’t have what it takes. He’s been trying so hard. And they are exhausted," Trump said. "It’s so ridiculous, right? A suggestion like that. They are trying so hard and it’s not working.” "Even now, they started imitating me — of all people. They want to imitate me, and they start using foul language, but they use too much of it," he continued. "You can’t use the F-word seven times in one sentence. It doesn’t work. It might work every seven news conferences, but you can’t do it … seven times in one sentence. … They’re in big trouble, that party.” Democratic members of Congress increased their use of profanity to become more relatable to Americans, Politico reported in March. Moreover, Goldman also dismissed violence against federal immigration enforcement officers on "CNN NewsNight" Oct. 8.

New York Times [10/25/2025 3:21 AM, Ana Ley, 330K] reports a 16-year-old undocumented immigrant living without a parent in New York City was detained Thursday morning during a routine check-in with federal officials, as President Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to target more minors who entered the United States illegally. The immigrant, Joel Camas, had been without his mother for about four weeks after she voluntarily returned to Ecuador in hopes that her son could avoid being deported. On Thursday morning Joel arrived for a routine appearance at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, the New York City headquarters for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. With him was an entourage of eight adults that included Beth Baltimore, his lawyer, and Brad Lander, the city comptroller. Because Joel has no legal guardian in the United States, he was turned away from that building, which has become the epicenter of adult migrant detentions in New York, and directed to a different federal building. There, employees said they were confused by his arrival, and asked the group to wait; hours later, Joel was abruptly escorted behind closed doors with Ms. Baltimore, then taken from her. From a room that is inaccessible to the public, Ms. Baltimore texted Mr. Lander: “Detaining him” Mr. Lander gasped and doubled over, distraught by the news. “Oh, no, no,” he said as his voice weakened. Ms. Baltimore then emerged, tears welling in her eyes. “I had no idea this was going to happen,” she said. “I was too hopeful.” The government had issued a deportation order against Joel, but he had applied for and received a designation known as special immigrant juvenile status, which opens a pathway to lawful permanent residency. Ms. Baltimore said that, historically, the classification has protected minors from deportation, but the rules seemed to be shifting rapidly during Mr. Trump’s administration. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said that Joel and his mother had been issued final orders of removal by a federal judge on Feb. 28, 2024, under the Biden administration. “His mother self-deported to Ecuador and Camas remained in the U.S.A. alone as a minor,” Ms. McLaughlin wrote in an email. “Fortunately, now Mr. Camas will be reunited with family.” From Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January through the end of July, ICE has detained about 50 children younger than 18 in the New York City area, according to federal data obtained by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley. Like Joel, many have been from Ecuador. At least 38 children and teenagers from the metropolitan region have been deported, the data shows. Joel had been staying in the Bronx with relatives and attending Gotham Collaborative High School. He met Ms. Baltimore, his lawyer, through a youth social services center called the Door, which offers essential services such as health care, mental counseling and legal assistance to 12- to 24-year-olds. As he arrived for his check-in on Thursday morning, he was carrying a black Nike backpack and hoped to get back to school before the first bell at 8 a.m. He was looking forward to his favorite subject, English, and to having a warm meal after standing in the cold for much of the morning. On Halloween, he said, he had planned to hang out with his friends. The immigration officials who detained Joel did not tell Ms. Baltimore where he would be taken, and on Thursday afternoon she rushed to find him, and to file legal paperwork to prevent his transfer to another jurisdiction, where he would be removed from his lawyer and his relatives. She also notified the city’s Department of Education as well as the office of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes Joel’s home in the Bronx. Lawyers with the New York Civil Liberties Union were also working with Ms. Baltimore to free him, and on Friday morning, they filed an emergency petition to challenge his detention, deeming it illegal because of Joel’s special immigrant juvenile status.

CBS New York [10/25/2025 12:06 AM, Alecia Reid, 39474K] reports a teenage boy was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after showing up for a scheduled immigration appointment this week. His mother self-deported but believed her son’s status would have kept him safe. Joel Camas, 16, showed up to a scheduled immigration check-in at 26 Federal Plaza bright and early Thursday morning. "We were gonna do this ICE check-in. It was gonna be quick, maybe he wouldn’t even be late for school that starts at 8," said Beth Baltimore, director of legal services for The Door. Instead, he was detained and sent to a facility where minors are being held. He and his mother, Elvia Chafla, are undocumented. In September, Chafla flew back to their Ecuadorian hometown instead of facing arrest. She thought Joel would be fine because of his special immigrant juvenile status. "It is a status available to young people who are under 21, unmarried, have been found to have been abused, abandoned or neglected by ... a parent or parents," Baltimore said. The family’s lawyer says a family court judge found that it was in Joel’s best interests to remain in the U.S. He is a junior at Gotham Collaborative High School and lives with family in the Bronx. Joel’s mother says he had a very difficult life in Ecuador and she brought him to New York seeking asylum. "What is going to happen to him? What is going to happen to my son? Right now, there’s a lot of violence here and I don’t want him to come back to that ... Right now, I have no work," she said in Spanish. The Department of Homeland Security says in February 2024, during the Biden administration, the teen and his mother were given final orders to leave. "His mother self-deported to Ecuador and Camas remained in the USA alone as a minor. Fortunately, now Mr. Camas will be reunited with family," DHS said in a statement, in part. The family’s lawyer says the rules for migrants are in constant flux with the current Trump administration, and if the teen is deported, his pathway to lawful permanent residence will be terminated. "Every day is just, there’s another terrifying thing that’s happening," Baltimore said. "Also just the changes in law every few minutes, every few seconds. Different cases coming out." The Civil Liberties Union and the organization representing Joel filed a Habeas petition on his behalf. They are seeking his release and a stop on the removal order so he can stay in school and continue on his path. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [10/24/2025 4:04 PM, Daniella Silva, 34509K] reports a man fleeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ran out onto a busy highway and was struck and killed Thursday in Virginia, authorities said. The incident appeared to be the second time since August that a person was killed by oncoming traffic while attempting to flee ICE agents, according to local officials. Jose Castro-Rivera died Thursday after ICE officers made a car stop in what a senior Department of Homeland Security official said was a "targeted, intelligence-based immigration enforcement operation." The DHS official told NBC News that after determining that the occupants were allegedly in the United States illegally, the immigration agents began detaining the people in the car; that’s when Castro-Rivera resisted and ran onto a busy highway. The official did not provide additional details about the other people in the car.

Washington Post [10/24/2025 6:36 PM, Kim Bellware and Ben Brasch, 24149K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent arrested in August on suspicion of driving drunk questioned the nationality of a sheriff’s deputy and threatened to check the deputy’s immigration status, according to newly released body-camera footage. Scott Deiseroth, a 42-year-old ICE agent, faces misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence with children in the car and resisting officers without violence following the Aug. 13 traffic stop in the Florida Keys. A spokesperson for ICE confirmed Friday that Deiseroth, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant, is an agent in Miami and has been on administrative leave since his arrest. During the stop, Deiseroth repeatedly asked Monroe County sheriff’s deputies for leniency because of his law enforcement status and several times demanded to know the nationality of one of the deputies, who is Black and speaks with a Caribbean accent, the body-camera footage shows. “Are you Haitian?” Deiseroth asked Deputy Markens Dorestant during a field sobriety test that he eventually failed. “[It has] nothing to do with my race, buddy,” Dorestant replied, prompting Deiseroth to ask again. After Deputy Jonathan Lane said his colleague’s nationality doesn’t matter, Deiseroth retorted, “it does.” Deiseroth grew belligerent at times during the stop and emotional at others, the video shows. At one point, he told the deputies he was going through a divorce and feared losing custody of his sons if he was arrested. On the drive to jail following his arrest, Deiseroth continued to question Lane about Dorestant’s nationality.

Chicago Tribune [10/24/2025 3:33 PM, Maya Wilkins, 4829K] reports Bolaños was one of the speakers at Friday’s "ICE out of NWI" protest at the Gary/Chicago International Airport, where about 50 people gathered to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Authorities, who conduct removal flights from the Gary airport. ICE has been reported in Gary, East Chicago and Hammond multiple times this month, with the Southeast Side Rapid Response Team confirming multiple locations in East Chicago and Hammond on Monday, according to a social media post. ICE officials were not present at Friday’s protest.

Chicago Tribune [10/24/2025 5:07 PM, Meredith Colias-Pete, 4829K] reports federal prosecutors allege that a man hit a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle in Gary while trying to evade an immigration arrest Oct. 13 after dropping his child at school. Charges were unsealed Thursday for Rosario Carrillo Lopez. He was charged in the U.S. District Court in Northern Indiana with forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding or interfering with an officer or employee of the United States while engaged in or on account of performance of official duties. The lengthy charge accuses him of assaulting officers with a "deadly weapon" – his SUV. His lawyer Roxanne Mendez Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Documents state he could face up to 20 years in prison. Gary Police notified ICE on a previous date when he showed officers his Mexican Consulate identification card, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Steven Moran wrote. When U.S. Homeland Security agents ran his information, they discovered he was in the U.S. illegally and had been arrested in the past for a "narcotics offense." Formal charges could not be immediately found in Lake County. ICE agents staked out the listed Gary address on the ID and followed the SUV when Carrillo Lopez appeared to take the child to school. All had body armor labeled "Police." At least one also wore an "ICE badge patch.". They pulled him over on Clark Road, between 5th and 6th avenues, records show. One agent said he was from "Homeland Security." Carrillo Lopez asked in English the reason for the traffic stop. He declined to turn the vehicle off. At least two agents were on each side of the SUV. When one tried to reach into a half-open window to unlock the driver’s door, Carrillo Lopez took off over a curb, leading them on a high-speed chase for two blocks before they cut him off near the Willows apartments entrance. There, Carrillo Lopez forcibly side-swiped one government vehicle to escape, filings show. He cracked and scraped the side passenger bumper while damaging the wheel well, documents state. Immigration agents called Gary Police to report the accident. The Post-Tribune previously reported ICE agents said a man hit their vehicle on the 300 block of Clark Road on Oct. 13. Gary Police Cmdr. Tom Pawlak said ICE agents had targeted the individual and attempted to stop his car about 9 a.m. When agents approached the vehicle, they asked the driver to step out of the car. Pawlak said the man put the car in gear and rammed one of the ICE vehicles, drove over the curb and fled. Pawlak said the incident took place about three blocks south of the Gary Lighthouse Charter High School, 725 Clark Road on the city’s west side. Pawlak said Gary police were not involved in the attempted arrest but did take an accident report filed by ICE agents at the police station.

ABC News [10/24/2025 3:19 PM, Staff, 30493K] reports that some members of the Chicago Board of Education are calling for virtual learning options for students in the face of ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city. The members spoke at a board meeting just hours after a 17-year-old Benito Juarez High School student was detained on his way to school during an anti-ICE protest in Little Village, according to a letter sent to parents, obtained by Chicago ABC station WLS. "We have received reports of federal law enforcement activity in a nearby neighborhood, and I am very sorry to share that a member of our school community was impacted," the letter from Chicago Public Schools reads. The student was later released without charges, according to WLS. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the student’s arrest. The Chicago Tribune [10/24/2025 4:09 PM, Jake Sheridan, 4829K] reports Mayor Brandon Johnson urged Gov. JB Pritzker Friday to weigh allowing Chicago public school students to learn from home because ICE agents are arresting parents and students on their way to and from schools. Pritzker later took a dim view of the idea, saying kids belong in classrooms and pointing to ways schools and residents have already taken steps to protect students and their parents from federal immigration raids. Asked during a news conference if he is considering implementing remote learning at Chicago Public Schools, Johnson said "there are people who are afraid to go to school, are afraid to go to work" before shifting shot-calling responsibilities Pritzker.

FOX News [10/24/2025 8:49 PM, Alexandra Koch Fox, 40621K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a number of arrests made Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, including repeat child sex abusers, murderers, drunk drivers and violent assailants. One of the criminal illegal immigrants, Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz, has been incarcerated on the taxpayer’s dime since 2004 with a 32-year prison sentence for the intentional murder of his 3-month-old son. While incarcerated, Guerrero-Munoz was convicted of assaulting a fellow inmate at Stillwater Prison, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE lodged a detainer and received custody of him Monday. "Sanctuary politicians like [Minneapolis] Mayor Jacob Fray, who are refusing to work with ICE, are allowing criminals like Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz to live in our communities, unchecked," Noem wrote in a statement. "Under the leadership of President [Donald] Trump, ICE is no longer allowing the guise of moral superiority and political correctness to supersede the safety and security of Americans." Noem said 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal immigrants convicted or charged with a crime in the U.S. "This statistic doesn’t even include foreign fugitives, illegal aliens convicted of crimes in other countries, gang members and suspected terrorists," she added. Other criminal illegal immigrants arrested in the area include: Francisco Javier Garcia-Olivar of Mexico has multiple convictions, including sexual assault and sodomy of a child, attempted sexual assault of a child and sexual assault, according to DHS. Jose Ruben Gomez Munoz of Mexico was convicted of sexual assault, according to DHS. He was also charged with incest with a minor. Humberto Us-Juarez of Guatemala was convicted of molestation of a minor and aggravated felony sex assault, according to DHS. Jose Israel Hernandez Rivas of El Salvador was convicted of human slavery or trafficking and commercial sex, according to DHS. Manuel Betancourt-Renteria of Mexico has 10 convictions, including two counts of assault, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, larceny and five traffic offenses, according to DHS. He was also charged with driving under the influence of drugs and possession of methamphetamine. Nicolas Lopez Juarez of Guatemala was convicted of aggravated assault with a weapon, three counts of driving under the influence and obstructing police, according to DHS. Juan Alejo-Alejo of Mexico was convicted of homicide by reckless driving and driving under the influence, according to DHS. He was also charged with driving under the influence in a separate incident. Officials confirmed Alejo-Alejo was previously deported before reentering the U.S. David Antonio Gonzalez Rivas of El Salvador was convicted of drug possession and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle to avoid prosecution on two separate occasions, according to DHS. Rivas was arrested 14 additional times for crimes including felony assault, receiving stolen property and obstructing police, officials said. Pedro Cortez Soriano of Mexico was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, probation violation, illegal reentry and arrested for driving under the influence, according to DHS. He was previously deported twice with a final order of removal from 2004, officials said.

Daily Wire [10/24/2025 1:16 PM, Leif Le Mahieu, 3184K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more illegal alien criminals on Thursday as the Democrat-led shutdown continued into its fourth week. In a “worst-of-the-worst” update provided to The Daily Wire, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) highlighted five illegals convicted of crimes ranging from sexual assault to robbery picked up by ICE. “Every day, and despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, our ICE officers are arresting pedophiles, sexual assailants, murderers and violent criminals,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “It is unimaginable to think sanctuary politicians put these monsters and sickos over their own constituents.” “American citizens deserve better. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are making America safe again one depraved criminal illegal alien removal at a time,” McLaughlin said.

San Francisco Chronicle [10/24/2025 4:32 PM, Laura Waxmann, 4722K] reports a San Francisco supervisor wants to create "ICE-free" zones on city-owned property as part of a larger legislative package that aims to provide a blueprint for how cities across the country can protect themselves from federal immigration enforcement. The proposal comes after San Francisco nearly became the target of a federal immigration surge. Border agents arrived at a Coast Guard facility near Alameda Wednesday but President Donald Trump on Thursday morning said he was calling off a "federal deployment" in the city, convinced by several tech moguls to give Mayor Daniel Lurie more time to deal with crime and drug dealing. But that doesn’t mean the city is in the clear, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who is pushing the legislation, told the Chronicle. As part of Mahmood’s "Safe Cities Blueprint" package — which he plans to introduce to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday — the supervisor is exploring the feasibility of limiting the use or leasing of schools, parks, libraries, vacant lots and other city-owned properties to federal agencies, including ICE, as staging areas and operations bases, unless required by a court order. Mahmood’s representatives said they are not aware of any city properties being leased to ICE currently. Other cities, including Chicago, Santa Clara and San Jose, have created or voted to create such zones already, according to Mahmood. The Department of Homeland Security has pushed back at plans by Santa Clara and San Jose to create "No ICE" zones, telling Newsweek that the agency "will not be deterred from enforcing immigration law."

Univision19 [10/24/2025 4:50 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports an immigrant woman was arrested by immigration authorities after reporting alleged sexual harassment by an ICE contractor, KCRA3 reported. Silvia Reyna Mendoza fled Mexico as a teenager to escape domestic violence and has lived in the United States for 40 years. She also has eight children who are U.S. citizens. However, she is not. Reyna Mendoza has spent years navigating the immigration system in Sacramento, and based on her status, she had to be fitted with an ankle monitor, which is monitored by an ICE contractor called BI Incorporated, KCRA3 reported. Court documents say BI required Silvia to check in periodically with a specialist on her case, but in 2023, her fight for citizenship was derailed after she reported that the specialist handling her case, named Luis Ruiz, was sexually harassing her. Silvia reported Ruiz to another company specialist and to the supervisor, Montserrat Esquivel, in November 2024, however, court documents say that Esquivel deleted the messages and videos that Ruiz had sent to Silvia. The lawsuit alleges that BI Incorporated failed to follow up on Silvia’s sexual harassment complaint, instead toughening its procedures and requiring Silvia to wear an ankle monitor in March 2025. She was finally detained by ICE in September 2025. Her children claim that her arrest was in revenge for the sexual harassment claim.

NPR [10/24/2025 4:07 PM, Adrian Florido, Tyler Bartlam, and Patrick Jarenwattananon, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports NPR’s Adrian Florido speaks with George Retes, a U.S. citizen who was detained by federal immigration officers in July while attempting to enter his workplace. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

CBS News [10/24/2025 8:30 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports the Trump administration has conducted 40 removal flights to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, deporting nearly 8,000 Venezuelan nationals since March, according to senior Department of Homeland Security officials who spoke to CBS News on the condition of anonymity. The flights began after Venezuela agreed in March to resume repatriation flights, and have continued amid heightened U.S.-Venezuelan tensions in recent weeks. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported approximately 140 individuals back to Venezuela in its latest removal flight on October 15. Last Wednesday’s flight included at least seven individuals with criminal histories, including alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang and sexual predators, according to DHS. Among those deported include Jefferson Bracho Haddad, an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member that a DHS spokesperson tells CBS News had six criminal arrests, including for larceny and drug possession. The agency spokesperson added that the flight also returned Angelo Dennis-Jesus Ainaga-Jaspe, convicted of multiple weapons offenses, plus Diego Alejandro Mavarez Arocha, convicted of sexual assault. DHS has repeatedly spotlighted removals of individuals with criminal histories as part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to deport undocumented migrants the government determines pose threats to public safety. "These individuals, including confirmed Tren de Aragua gang members, sexual predators, and violent offenders, should have never been in our country in the first place," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement provided to CBS News, adding that an estimated 2 million undocumented immigrants have left the U.S. since January. McLaughlin did not specify how many of those individuals were believed to have departed the U.S. voluntarily, versus those who have been deported. The vast majority would have needed to leave without making contact with DHS to reach that total. According to internal government figures previously obtained by CBS News, over the first six months of President Trump’s second term, the administration deported nearly 150,000 people and recorded 13,000 who self-deported. According to senior DHS officials, the deportations to Venezuela have occurred alongside the intensified U.S. campaign against drug trafficking and transnational crime in South America. The Trump administration has carried out at least 10 known strikes on suspected narcotics vessels over the past two months, including two this week off Colombia’s Pacific coast. The most recent strike, conducted overnight, targeted a vessel allegedly operated by Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang in the Caribbean Sea.

Bloomberg [10/24/2025 1:34 PM, Robb Mandelbaum, 18207K] reports the first academic quarter at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management had only just begun, but Luca, a first-year MBA student, was already deep into his studies on business strategy, corporate finance and more. Then, at the end of the term’s first week, he had to dive into a very different subject. “I’ve become an expert in immigration law,” he says. Luca is a Mexican citizen, and, like most international students in US MBA programs, he’d like to stay on after graduation and work here, most likely for a real estate investment company in Chicago. All that may now be in jeopardy. (“Luca” is a pseudonym; he requested that Bloomberg Businessweek use it to avoid drawing the government’s attention—especially given the immigrant enforcement campaign now underway in Chicago.) On Sept. 19, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to rein in the H-1B program, which allows nonimmigrant foreigners to work in the US. H-1B status ostensibly lasts for three years, although it can be, and often is, extended. Anti-immigration organizations and liberal economic groups alike have long attacked H-1B visas as a tool for replacing US employees with lower-paid foreign ones. New private-sector H-1B jobs are capped at 85,000 annually, but the program is so popular the government holds a lottery to dole out approvals. And the Department of Homeland Security estimates that, on average in each of the last five years, 83% of the petitions for new employment filed by companies were for jobs that the employer initially identified as paying below the median wage; 28% were deemed entry-level.

Los Angeles Times [10/24/2025 6:00 AM, Andrea Castillo, 14862K] reports late last month, an immigrant seeking asylum in the U.S. came across social media posts urging her to pay a new fee imposed by the Trump administration before Oct. 1, or else risk her case being dismissed. Paula, a 40-year-old Los Angeles-area immigrant from Mexico, whose full name The Times is withholding because she fears retribution, applied for asylum in 2021 and her case is now on appeal. But when Paula tried to pay the $100 annual fee, she couldn’t find an option on the immigration court’s website that accepted fees for pending asylum cases. Afraid of deportation — and with just five hours before the payment deadline — she selected the closest approximation she could find, $110 for an appeal filed before July 7. She knew it was likely incorrect. Still, she felt it was better to pay for something, rather than nothing at all, as a show of good faith. Unable to come up with the money on such short notice, Paula, who works in a warehouse repairing purses, paid the fee with a credit card. "I hope that money isn’t wasted," she said. That remains unclear because of confusion and misinformation surrounding the rollout of a host of new fees or fee increases for a variety of immigration services. The fees are part of the sweeping budget bill President Trump signed into law in July. Paula was one of thousands of asylum seekers across the country who panicked after seeing messages on social media urging them to pay the new fee before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.

Reuters [10/24/2025 11:26 AM, Ted Hesson, 36480K] reports the U.S. will expand the use of facial recognition technology to track non-citizens entering and leaving the country in order to combat visa overstays and passport fraud, according to a government document published on Friday. A new regulation will allow U.S. border authorities to require non-citizens to be photographed at airports, seaports, land crossings and any other point of departure, expanding on an earlier pilot program. Under the regulation, set to take effect on December 26, U.S. authorities could require the submission of other biometrics, such as fingerprints or DNA, it said. It also allows border authorities to use facial recognition for children under age 14 and elderly people over age 79, groups that are currently exempted. The tighter border rules reflect a broader effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigration. While the Republican president has surged resources to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, he has also taken steps to reduce the number of people overstaying their visas. The growing use of facial recognition in U.S. airports has raised privacy concerns from watchdog groups worried about overreach and mistakes. A 2024 reportby the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said tests had shown facial recognition was more likely to misidentify Black people and other minority groups. The Congressional Research Service estimated in 2023 that some 42% of the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally at the time had overstayed a visa. The U.S. Congress in 1996 passed a law mandating the creation of an automated entry-exit system, but it has never been fully implemented. U.S. Customs and Border Protection already uses facial recognition for all commercial air entries but only employs it to record exits at certain locations, the regulation said. CBP estimates that a biometric entry-exit system can be fully implemented at all commercial airports and seaports for both entry and exit within the next three to five years.

Reported similarly:
NewsNation [10/24/2025 12:03 PM, Ted Hesson, 8017K]

Bloomberg [10/24/2025 1:15 PM, Andrew Kreighbaum, 18207K] reports the Department of Homeland Security will require all immigrants and non-citizens to be photographed when entering and leaving the US under new regulations released Friday. Photographs and fingerprints were already required for certain immigrants and foreign visitors at designated locations. The regulation from US Customs and Border Protection allows for a comprehensive data collection system for non-citizens regardless of where they enter or leave the country. The rule comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to expand collection of data on immigrants and foreign nationals in the US. That’s included a new immigrant registry rule as well as use of taxpayer data for enforcement purposes. Comprehensive data gathering for entry and exit of non-citizens will help address national security concerns, fraudulent use of travel documentation, and visa overstays, DHS said. CBP has collected biometric data from certain non-citizens upon arrival in the US since 2004, but the rule marks a significant expansion of that data collection. New advances in facial comparison technology allow the agency to roll out broader inspections for entry and departure, CBP said. Those tools will use passenger information along with photographs provided in passports or visa applications to verify a traveler’s identity. The agency has already fully adopted that facial recognition system for commercial air travel upon entry through a program known as “Simplified Arrival.” It estimates that it can fully adopt entry and exit screening at airports and sea ports in three to five years. The regulation follows through on efforts to expand photo and data collection from the Trump administration. Most public comments submitted in response to a 2021 proposed rule opposed the plan, with many groups citing privacy concerns, including the American Civil Liberties Union. The final rule released by DHS doesn’t make substantive changes to that proposal.

Washington Examiner [10/24/2025 5:30 AM, Jeremy Lott, 1394K] reports Customs and Border Protection is the government agency charged with overseeing all ports of entry in the United States. On a typical day, the last full fiscal year available (2024), CBP processed: 3.8 million de minimis (e.g., low dollar) shipments, 1,150,387 passengers and pedestrians, 88,582 truck, rail, and sea containers, 270,800 incoming privately owned vehicles, $9.2 billion worth of imported products, 105,103 entries of merchandise, $241 million in duties, taxes, and other fees, Underlying those numbers are countless stories. When the CBP held a media availability at Blaine, Washington’s commercial truck crossing in June, it was hard to know exactly what to expect. A taxidermied bald eagle certainly was not on the list.
The eagle had been hunted and killed in one province of Canada, legally, agents said, and duly declared at the border as the owner tried to import it into America. There was no violation of law involved, and thus no fines or other penalties were assessed. However, it is next to impossible for a private individual to import a bald eagle into the country, due to the Endangered Species Act and other legislation. The owner had been given the option of sending it back, but had elected to abandon it at the border instead. Thus, the dead, preserved adult eagle, mounted on a wild wooden base, was brought out to pose for the cameras and flashbulbs. The official moral of the story was that people who want to bring something over the border that is legally questionable should call first, to save themselves a great deal of hassle if it is not allowed in the country. Agents for both CBP and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — though not the Border Patrol — also had many other stories about animals coming through the border, legally and illegally.

ABC News [10/24/2025 7:33 PM, James Hill, 30493K] reports a judge has ordered Greg Bovino, a top U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, to appear in court next week for proceedings in a lawsuit against the federal government over immigration enforcement tactics in Chicago. Bovino, who is commanding CBP field operations in the city for "Operation Midway Blitz," has been ordered to appear in person for a status hearing on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago, according to a court filing on Friday. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit -- journalists and demonstrators -- have alleged violations of a temporary restraining order issued by Ellis earlier this month that restricts ICE and CBP agents from using non-lethal munitions without warning and justification. On Thursday, the plaintiffs submitted a notice of alleged violation that included a video that they contend shows Bovino tossing a canister of tear gas "without justification" toward a crowd of protesters this week in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Bovino deployed "riot control measures" after "rioters" threw rocks and other objects at agents while Border Patrol agents were conducting immigration enforcement operations. Bovino was struck in the head but was not seriously injured, DHS said. "Border Patrol agents repeated multiple warnings to back up and that chemical agents would be deployed if warnings were ignored," McLaughlin said in a statement on Friday. "Riot control measures were deployed, including by Chief Bovino, and arrests were made. Agents properly used their training. The use of chemical munitions was conducted in full accordance with CBP policy and was necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public." U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis had previously issued an order allowing the plaintiffs to depose Bovino for two hours; on Thursday, she expanded the time allotted for the deposition to five hours.

Los Angeles Times [10/24/2025 12:40 PM, James Queally, 14862K] reports Los Angeles County prosecutors unsealed an indictment Friday against a former LAPD officer responsible for the 2015 on-duty shooting of an unarmed man in Venice. The ex-cop, Clifford Proctor, pleaded not guilty to the charges during a brief hearing in a downtown courtroom. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Proctor, 60, leaned over several times to whisper to his attorney but otherwise said little during the hearing, a portion of which was held behind closed doors. He waived a reading of the indictment. He will remain in custody with no bail, and is expected to return to court for a hearing early next month. Proctor’s lawyer, Anthony "Tony" Garcia, said he would reserve comment until he’d had a chance to review the case. But he questioned the timing of the charges, which came more than a decade after the incident in question. The L.A. County District Attorney’s office reviewed the case when it was fresh and "determined there was nothing to proceed," Garcia said. Proctor was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport last week when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents noticed he had an active warrant. Proctor has been living abroad for several years, according to sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about the pending case.

AP [10/25/2025 12:07 AM, Staff, 13945K] reports Tropical Storm Melissa was expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Saturday as forecasters warned of massive rainfall and life-threatening flooding and landslides in the northern Caribbean, with an astounding 35 inches (89 centimeters) of rain anticipated in southwest Haiti. The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. Up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain was forecast for Jamaica and the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Monday, with up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) of rain possible across Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. “If those rains were to occur, you’re talking about catastrophic flooding potential,” said Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director. Melissa was located about 180 miles (290 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 245 miles (390 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving northwest at 3 mph (6 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning was in effect for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti. The center of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica early next week, forecasters said. Melissa was expected to become a major hurricane by Sunday and possibly reach Category 4 status by early Monday, U.S. forecasters said. The storm is then forecast to hit eastern Cuba early Wednesday, where up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) could fall in some areas. The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the Southeast and Central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by early next week. Authorities in Jamaica warned that all airports would close within 24 hours if a hurricane warning is issued. More than 650 shelters were activated. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages prepositioned for quick distribution if needed. “I urge Jamaicans to take this weather threat seriously,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “Take all measures to protect yourself.” The storm has damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, unleashed a couple of small landslides and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters. Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.

CNN [10/25/2025 6:50 AM, Chris Dolce, 18595K] reports Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane this weekend as it lashes Jamaica and parts of the northern Caribbean, bringing days of life-threatening, potentially catastrophic impact. Jamaica looks to be the epicenter for the worst of Melissa’s triple threat of extreme rainfall flooding, wind damage and storm surge. Melissa could make landfall on Jamaica late Monday or early Tuesday. Haiti also continues to be in thick of Melissa’s destructive flood and landslide threats. A hurricane warning is effect for Jamaica, where strong winds are expected to begin tonight. Southern Haiti is under a hurricane watch. Melissa has been moving at a snail’s pace for days and it won’t pick up speed anytime soon as it tracks generally westward through Sunday night. The storm is centered 165 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and is packing winds up to 70 mph as of Saturday morning. That slow movement has already caused problems. Torrential rain bands have swamped Haiti and the Dominican Republic for much of the week, causing flooding and triggering landslides. At least three deaths have been reported in Haiti due to the storm, two of which were the result of a landslide, the Haitian Civil Protection Agency said in a statement. In the Dominican Republic, at least one person has died and more than 1,000 people have evacuated or been displaced, officials said Friday.

NPR [10/24/2025 4:25 PM, Eric Stone, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports over a week after ex-typhoon Halong swept through western Alaska, people in the affected villages are taking stock. In Kipnuk, state officials estimate that over 90% of structures have been destroyed. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

AP [10/24/2025 5:54 PM, Michael Casey, 31753K] reports asleep on their boat anchored off Cape Cod, the Sullivan family was awaken to their dogs barking, the sound of fireworks and smoke. Their boat was on fire. Tyler Sullivan and his parents jumped from the boat Monday night and, in the darkness, began swimming to a privately-owned island. Tyler and his father, Patrick Sullivan, survived, but Cynthia "Cici" Sullivan was badly injured during the ordeal and died Thursday at a hospital, a spokesperson for the Cape & Islands district attorney’s office said. She was 73. Patrick Sullivan, who was also injured in the fire, is awake and breathing without help, his family posted on Facebook. By Tuesday night, relatives began to worry when the family hadn’t returned and the Coast Guard joined local authorities in a search. Other boaters were alerted to the search efforts Tuesday night, according to audio provided by Broadcastify. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the family and flew them to a hospital. Authorities say the matter remains under investigation.

FOX News [10/24/2025 1:00 PM, Kurt Knutsson, 40621K] reports that more than 1 million patients have been affected by a data breach involving SimonMed Imaging, one of the country’s largest outpatient radiology and medical imaging providers. The breach came to light after a cyberattack compromised sensitive patient data, with reports indicating that ransomware operators may have been behind the incident. What makes this case particularly concerning is the scale of the attack and the type of information stolen, which could easily be misused for financial or identity fraud. In January 2025, SimonMed Imaging was alerted by one of its vendors about a potential security incident. The following day, the company noticed suspicious activity on its own network. The company says in response, it reset passwords, enforced two-factor authentication and tightened endpoint security while cutting off third-party vendor access. Unfortunately, the attackers had already gained access. Between Jan. 21 and Feb. 5, 2025, cybercriminals exfiltrated sensitive data belonging to around 1.2 million individuals. The Medusa ransomware group later claimed responsibility, alleging they had stolen more than 200 GB of data, including patient IDs, financial records and medical scans. The attackers reportedly demanded 1 million dollars to delete the stolen files, or 10,000 dollars per day to delay publishing. SimonMed was later removed from the Medusa leak site, which could suggest a ransom payment, although the company has not confirmed this. In the aftermath, SimonMed brought in cybersecurity experts to investigate and has offered complimentary credit monitoring services to affected individuals.

CyberScoop [10/24/2025 12:30 PM, Tim Starks] reports the United States needs to counter China’s “attempt to export a surveillance state across planet Earth,” and instead push a “clean American tech stack” globally, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said Friday. “It’s important that we send that message and engage with not only partners that we have now, but potential partners who are looking for assistance and open to help in that regard,” Cairncross said in remarks at the 2025 Meridian Summit in Washington, D.C. The Chinese threat promises to be a big focus for Cairncross, a message he’s been sending in his short tenure thus far. “To date, I don’t think the United States has done a terrific job of sending the signal, in particular to China, that their behavior in this space is unacceptable,” he said. “It’s meant to do us harm. It sits on our critical infrastructure systems and threatens chaos. “It tries to put us in strategic dilemmas that impact our decisionmaking,” Cairncross continued about Beijing. “And that is something that is scaling. It is something that is seen as cost-free, I think, across the ocean, and that is something that needs to be reset so that there is strategic stability in this domain.”

CyberScoop [10/24/2025 7:30 AM, Nick Carroll] reports in recent years, the cybersecurity industry has made significant strides in securing endpoints with advanced Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions, and we have been successful in making life more difficult for our adversaries. While this progress is a victory, it has also produced a predictable and dangerous consequence where threat actors are shifting their focus to the network perimeter, a domain often plagued by technical debt and forgotten hardware. The recent cyber espionage campaign by the China-linked group Salt Typhoon demonstrates this shift. It is the latest in a series of attacks that highlight a dangerous and common thread connecting them to other major adversaries, including Russia’s Static Tundra and various ransomware groups. These groups are all exploiting the ghosts in our networks. Old, unpatched, and forgotten routers, VPNs, and firewalls that make up our network perimeter are making very attractive targets.

New York Times [10/24/2025 11:26 AM, Paulina Villegas and Adriana Zehbrauskas, 135475K] reports by the time Ramón Soto reached the crime scene, the wounded man was twitching, bloody and barely alive. A woman nearby collapsed to her knees, wailing, and a poster lay on the ground with a drug cartel’s warning: “You know who is next.” Mr. Soto, though, showed no trace of emotion as the man went still. “He is dead,” he said. “He is dead.” Then he asked the sobbing woman if she was family and needed funeral services. For a quiet fraternity of funeral workers in Mexico’s Sinaloa State, each day begins and ends with death. But what was once a dignified profession, they say, guiding the bereaved through the disorienting maze that follows a death, now puts them at the center of the carnage engulfing their state. Warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most powerful criminal groups, are vying for control of its multibillion-dollar empire. The Mexican government, under intense pressure from the Trump administration, has begun an aggressive crackdown on the cartel, too. The battle has sown chaos in the state, leaving more than 1,900 dead and 2,000 missing over the last year, according to official data. For the barely 30 funeral home workers of the state capital, Culiacán, the business of ferrying the dead, whether cartel gunmen or innocent people caught in between, has never been busier or harder to bear. “I live alongside death, day in and day out,” said Josué Nahum García, an employee at the San Martin Funeral Home. “Not only do I see it every day, but I feel it too — in the pain and tears of the families who have lost their loved ones.”

Federalist [10/24/2025 7:21 AM, Helen Raleigh, 785K] reports the recent collapse of the prosecution in a major China spy case has unfolded as one of the most significant scandals for the U.K.’s Labour government since it assumed power last year. At the center of this case are Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash, British citizens who both have connections to China. Witness statements from Matthew Collins, the U.K.’s deputy national security adviser, reveal that Berry was recruited by China’s spy agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), to gather intelligence on the U.K. parliament while he was teaching in China. At the time, Cash, Berry’s friend, was a researcher at the China Research Group (CRG), a think tank co-founded by conservative members of parliament (MPs) Tom Tugendhat and Neil O’Brien. With CRG members primarily holding hawkish views on China and its Communist Party (CCP), it is no surprise that Beijing has sanctioned the CRG and several conservative MPs since 2021. Collins reveals that Berry’s Chinese handler, code-named "Alex," is associated with the MSS. Their operation went like this: Alex directed Berry to enlist his friend Cash at the CRG as a subsource to extract vital intelligence about the British parliament’s inner workings and spy on MPs’ activities. The goal was to sway the U.K. government’s policies on China. Cash reportedly provided sensitive details, including the names and photos of Taiwanese defense ministry officials who visited the U.K. in 2022 to discuss defense strategies against potential Chinese aggression. During the Conservative Party’s leadership election in 2022, a senior CCP official instructed Alex, via Cash and Berry, to gather intelligence on Conservative MPs one by one. The goal of the CCP’s overseas influence operation was to allocate resources to prevent known China hawks from securing key government positions that could shape Britain’s China policy. Collins stated that this incident highlights how China’s espionage operations threaten the integrity of the U.K.’s democratic institutions. The most notable aspect of this espionage case is the swift transfer of intelligence from Westminster to Beijing, along with its significant reach inside the CCP. As Collins pointed out, "on one occasion, only thirteen hours passed between Mr. Berry receiving a task, consulting with Mr. Cash, and then reporting back to ‘Alex.’" This level of efficiency is concerning, particularly because some of the intelligence reached a senior CCP leader who is a confidante of General Secretary Xi Jinping, enabling the CCP’s "real-time" decision-making.

The Hill [10/24/2025 8:35 AM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K] reports President Trump defended his decision to call off trade negotiations with Canada on Friday, accusing the U.S.’s northern neighbor of attempting to "illegally influence" a pending Supreme Court case over tariffs. "CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!" Trump posted to Truth Social. "They fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs, when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY." "Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country," Trump wrote. In a second post, the president suggested the U.S. is "WEALTHY, POWERFUL, AND NATIONALLY SECURE AGAIN" because of his tariffs, and called the looming case, "THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE EVER.” In a third post, Trump argued that the stock market was now "STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF TARIFFS!". The latest clash between Trump and Canada began with an ad campaign launched earlier this month by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The advertisement shows former President Reagan delivering an address in 1987 about the tariffs on Japanese imports and warning against the risks of long-term trade disputes. "High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens," Reagan said in the ad. "Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs." In response, Trump said Thursday: "ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

FOX News [10/24/2025 7:32 AM, Rachel Wolf, 40621K] Video: HERE reports two Spanish fighter jets were scrambled while on NATO air policing missions after Russian aircraft violated Lithuanian airspace. The Lithuanian armed forces said that at approximately 6:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, two Russian aircraft — an SU-30 and an IL-78 — flew about 765 yards into Lithuanian airspace, The Associated Press reported. The aircraft allegedly flew away after approximately 18 seconds. "This evening, Russian military planes violated Lithuanian airspace. This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania. Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defense readiness," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda posted on X. Nausėda announced that the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs would summon representatives from the Russian embassy in Vilnius "to protest against reckless and dangerous behavior." The ministry later confirmed on X that the Russian charge d’affaires was summoned in protest of the airspace violation. "Russia must cease its aggressive behavior, respect international law and the borders of neighboring states," the ministry said in a post on X. Russia’s defense ministry denied Lithuania’s claim, saying that SU-30 fighter jets were conducting training flights over the Kaliningrad region in strict compliance with the rules, the AP reported. "The aircraft did not deviate from their flight route or violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring means," the ministry said, according to the AP.
[Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [10/24/2025 6:00 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt, 36480K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump will test his deal-making prowess in a region battered by his hardball trade policies on a trip to Asia next week, as doubts hang over his highly anticipated meeting with China’s Xi Jinping. Trump, who leaves Washington on Friday night, is set for a five-day trip spanning Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first to the region and his longest journey abroad since taking office in January. The Republican leader hopes to pile up trade, business and ceasefire deals before turning to the toughest challenge, a face-to-face with Xi on Thursday in South Korea. The trip comes as Trump works to maintain the signature foreign policy achievement of his second term, a fragile ceasefire he helped strike in the Israel-Gaza conflict, while the Russian war in Ukraine rages and a trade war with China shows little sign of abating. Washington and Beijing have hiked tariffs on each other’s exports and threatened to cut off critical minerals and technologies altogether, putting markets on edge. The trip was formally announced by the White House on Thursday and details remain in flux, including the meeting between leaders of the world’s two largest economies. Neither side expects a breakthrough that would restore terms of trade that existed before Trump’s second-term inauguration in January, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Instead, talks between the two sides to prepare for the meeting focused on managing disagreements and modest improvements.

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