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

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

The AP [10/2/2025 7:0 2 PM, Aamer Madhani and Lisa Mascaro, 37974K] reports President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them, according to a Trump administration memo obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday, following recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean. The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the United States amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force — a new rationale for past and future actions. “The President determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations,” the memo says. Trump directed the Pentagon to “conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict.” “The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations,” the memo says. Besides signaling a potential new moment in Trump’s stated “America First” agenda that favors non-intervention overseas, the declaration raises stark questions about how far the White House intends to use its war powers and if Congress will exert its authority to approve — or ban — such military actions. “The United States is taking a much more dramatic step — one that I think is a very, very far stretch of international law and a dangerous one,” said Matthew Waxman, who was a national security official in the George W. Bush administration. It “means the United States can target members of those cartels with lethal force. It means the United States can capture and detain them without trial.” The U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against boats in the Caribbean that the administration accused of ferrying drugs. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela. Those strikes followed up a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent times. The Navy’s presence in the region — eight warships with over 5,000 sailors and Marines — has been pretty stable for weeks, according to two defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. The memo did not include a timestamp, but it references a Sept. 15 U.S. strike that “resulted in the destruction of the vessel, the illicit narcotics, and the death of approximately 3 unlawful combatants.” “As we have said many times, the President acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans,” the White House said. Reuters [10/2/2025 5:23 PM, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, 45746K] reports that the U.S. military has blown up at least three suspected drug boats in the past month and killed at least 17 people, in what critics say is the latest effort by Trump to test the scope of his powers as U.S. president. The document describes those killed as "unlawful combatants." The document did not appear to provide any new legal rationale other than what Trump and his allies have said publicly, arguments that some former military lawyers say fail to satisfy requirements under the law of war. It was not clear if the determination was intended to provide a justification for future military strikes on cartels, or if it was mainly to explain past actions. Trump said on Tuesday his administration is considering attacking drug cartels "coming by land" in Venezuela, actions that could raise further legal questions. The document said Trump had determined that drug cartels were effectively non-state armed groups whose actions "constitute an armed attack against the United States." Legal experts have questioned why the U.S. military is carrying out the strikes instead of the Coast Guard, which is the main U.S. maritime law enforcement agency, and why other efforts to halt the shipments aren’t made before resorting to deadly strikes. The Washington Post [10/2/2025 4:32 PM, Noah Robertson, Alex Horton, Ellen Nakashima and Karen DeYoung, 29079K] reports that some lawmakers and experts have said the notification is a dubious legal justification for what have been unlawful military strikes on alleged civilian criminals in the Western Hemisphere, a far cry from combatants engaged in direct battle with American forces. Trump directed the Pentagon to conduct operations pursuant to the law of armed conflict after he “determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations” that have helped kill U.S. citizens through drug trafficking, according to a sensitive notice transmitted to Senate leadership and Congressional committees this week and reviewed by The Washington Post. The administration has described recent strikes against alleged traffickers at sea as targeting Venezuelan gangs, though the notice to Congress did not name any specific organizations. The Hill [10/2/2025 9:01 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 12414K] reports that the Pentagon also has not provided a list of the designated organizations that are part of this effort, which reportedly frustrated some of the lawmakers who were briefed. Citing a U.S. statute requiring the sitting administration provide reports to Congress about attacks or hostilities involving the U.S. military, the notice again lays out Trump’s earlier claims that it was acting in self-defense in striking the boats, thus "eliminating the threat posed by these designated terrorist organizations.” It also presents several new assertions, including that the administration has determined that the cartels’ actions constitute an ongoing armed attack against the United States. The notice also justifies the U.S. military’s most recent publicly disclosed strike on a boat, the Sept. 15 attack on a vessel that killed the three people onboard, who the administration labeled as "unlawful combatants.”

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CNN [10/2/2025 8:17 PM, Michael Rios, 23245K] reports Venezuela on Thursday said it had detected five US fighter jets flying near its Caribbean coast. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino described the incident as a “provocation” by the United States that posed a threat to national security. “They are combat aircraft. Combat aircraft that US imperialism has dared to approach the Venezuelan coast,” Padrino said in comments broadcast on state TV. Later on Thursday, the Venezuelan government issued a statement saying the aircraft had been detected 75 kilometers (about 46 miles) from its coastline, miles away from standard territorial waters which are typically 12 nautical miles from the coast. Padrino described the planes as US F-35 fighter jets flying at a speed of 400 knots and an altitude of 35,000 feet. He said they were detected by air defense systems in the Maiquetía flight information region, a large expanse of sky that extends northward over the Caribbean Sea encompassing the entire airspace of Venezuela and beyond into international airspace. Padrino said the crew of an international airliner flying in the area also reported to Maiquetía air traffic controllers that it had seen the US aircraft. CNN has reached out to the US Department of Defense for comment and to the Venezuelan Defense Ministry for the exact positions of the flights.

CBS News [10/2/2025 9:22 PM, Nicole Sganga, 45245K] reports the Department of Homeland Security and FBI have issued a joint intelligence bulletin obtained by CBS News that warns of attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and facilities, including by "domestic violent extremists" claiming to respond to immigration enforcement activities. The memo — circulated to state and local law enforcement nationwide on Wednesday — assesses that since June, extremists in at least three states have conducted targeted, pre-planned violent attacks against ICE personnel and facilities. It says the attacks represent "an evolution in tactics and an escalation in violence compared to [domestic violent extremists’] past attacks, which primarily resulted in property damage.” The Trump administration has warned of a surge in threats against ICE agents and facilities in recent months, as immigration arrests and deportations rise. The administration has floated sending personnel from other agencies to guard ICE facilities, and has weighed military deployments to Chicago and Portland, Oregon — drawing stiff opposition from local officials. Wednesday’s memo points to an attack last week in which a gunman identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn fired from the roof of a building into three ICE transport vehicles and windows of a Dallas ICE facility. The attack wounded three detainees, one of whom died at the scene and another of whom succumbed to his injuries six days later. According to the bulletin, the gunman "conducted prior surveillance of the ICE facility, enabling him to identify areas where ICE personnel likely would be located." Authorities say Jahn died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The bulletin also references a Fourth of July attack on the ICE Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, that saw one alleged domestic violent extremist open fire on a local law enforcement officer from a concealed position. The attack occurred around 11 p.m. on the holiday, outside the sprawling ICE detention facility, which houses between 1,000 and 2,000 immigration detainees. The bulletin says investigators have found the group of people allegedly responsible for the shooting used an identified encrypted communication platform and a local residence to conduct pre-operational planning. "As of September 2025, the FBI has arrested 20 individuals involved in the Prairieland Detention Center attack, including the alleged gunman and individuals who helped the gunman evade law enforcement after the attack," the memo noted. The bulletin also cites "additional unplanned, reactive violent attacks that took advantage of First Amendment-protected activity.” "Since at least June 2025, small groups of threat actors, some of whom are [domestic violent extremists], have leveraged large, lawful protests in the Los Angeles, California area and in multiple cities in Oregon to engage in violent activity targeting ICE property," the report indicated. "These individuals have caused damage to ICE facilities in Portland and Eugene, Oregon, and engaged in violent confrontations with law enforcement.”

The New York Times [10/2/2025 11:30 PM, Chris Cameron, 153395K] reports Apple has removed from its App Store several programs that alert users to sightings of immigration agents amid a furious pushback from the Trump administration over the services. Most prominently, ICEBlock, a free app with hundreds of thousands of users, was no longer available as of Thursday evening to download on the App Store. ICEBlock allows people to anonymously share the locations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within a five-mile radius, and its creators had recommended the App Store as the only safe venue from which to download and use it. In a statement, Apple said it had taken down ICEBlock, and other similar apps, after being contacted by “law enforcement,” but it did not specify which agency or agencies had contacted it and did not say which other apps it had removed. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump administration officials have issued several legal threats over the use of ICEBlock — or even simply reporting on it. Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, said in July that the Justice Department was investigating whether it could prosecute CNN for reporting on the app’s existence, arguing that it amounted to “actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities.” It is unclear what crime that would amount to. NBC News [10/2/2025 11:34 PM, Steve Kopack and Phil Helsel, 43603K] reports that the app was launched in April, around three months after President Donald Trump was inaugurated following a campaign in which he vowed to crack down on people in the country without legal authorization. Downloads took off in June, the month immigration raids were launched in Los Angeles. Fox Business, which first reported that the app had been pulled Thursday, reported that Justice Department officials asked Apple to remove ICEBlock at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. Bondi said in a statement to Fox Business, "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so.” Bondi told the news outlet that "ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons also criticized the app in July. A message seeking comment from ICEBlock’s founder or others affiliated with the app, which was sent through its website, was not immediately returned Thursday night. The app is being removed a little more than a week after a 29-year-old Texas man, Joshua Jahn, opened fire on people at a Dallas ICE facility sally port, killing two detainees and himself. No ICE agents were injured. After the shooting, Marcos Charles, the ICE field office director of enforcement and removal operations, said Jahn used ICE tracking apps. He did not say which ones. There have been more than 1 million downloads of the ICEBlock app, according to app tracking firm Appfigures. Downloads took off in June, according to the firm. That month, ICE ramped up immigration raids in Los Angeles. Demonstrators protested the raids, and some downtown stores were looted. The Trump administration sent the National Guard to the city without a request from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a controversial move that critics called political theater and an attempt to intimidate and terrorize residents. A federal judge ruled Sept. 2 that the deployment of National Guard personnel and Marines to Los Angeles was illegal. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled that it violated a 19th century law that prohibits the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement activities.

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Chicago Tribune [10/3/2025 1:28 AM, Tess Kenny and Dan Petrella, 5352K] reports that, after weeks of protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, state and county authorities are implementing designated protest areas around the building, officials said. At the request of Broadview police, Illinois State Police and the Cook County sheriff’s office - with assistance from the state and county emergency management agencies - have established a "unified command" to address public safety concerns outside the holding facility, according to a news release from state police Thursday evening. Officials are setting up designated areas "where people can safely exercise their rights," according to state police. The areas stretch along either side of Beach Street down to Lexington Street with a safety lane in between to allow for emergency vehicle access, according to a state police map. There is also an additional designated "restricted area" along existing fencing outside the facility, the map shows. Last week, federal officials erected fencing outside the building, citing a need for public safety. In turn, Broadview officials demanded that the Department of Homeland Security take down the fence. In a letter to DHS, acting Broadview Fire Chief Matthew Martin said the fence was built without a permit along the public street outside the facility at 1930 Beach St., blocking Fire Department access to the road. Uniformed officers will be on site to direct people to the designated areas, according to state police. The goal of the unified command, state police said, is to "protect the health and safety of all individuals, including nearby Broadview residents and businesses, and enable the peaceful expression of First Amendment rights." State police could not be immediately reached for further comment. Gov. JB Pritzker’s chief of staff, Anne Caprara, said during a Politico event Thursday that the decision to establish a protest zone was made in response to the escalation of conflict between federal personnel and protesters in Broadview last weekend and the increasingly aggressive tactics by agents at the ICE facility, including a pepper spray ball being fired at TV reporter in her vehicle. State and local officials are acting independently due to an ongoing lack of communication from the federal government, a stark contrast to past events that have drawn much larger protests, including last year’s Democratic National Convention. "We spent a year, a solid year, meeting with the FBI, meeting with the Secret Service, meeting with DHS, meeting with state police, meeting with Chicago police to make sure that that event went off safely, and then also people were able to protest and exercise their constitutional rights," Caprara said.

Washington Examiner [10/3/2025 5:16 AM, Christopher Tremoglie, 1563K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were the victims of attacks in two separate incidents in Illinois on Thursday when two illegal immigrants allegedly used their cars as weapons in an attempt to injure the officers. “In Bensenville, Illinois, and again in Norridge, Illinois, criminal illegal aliens weaponized their vehicles in deliberate attempts to ram and injure officers carrying out their sworn duty to uphold our nation’s immigration laws,” read a press release by the Department of Homeland Security. In the first incident in Norridge, Illinois, an illegal alien from Mexico, Miguel Escareno De Loera, allegedly twice drove his car into an ICE vehicle before jumping a curb and crashing into a stop sign, DHS said. In the second incident in Bensenville, Illinois, Widman Osberto Lopez-Funes, an illegal alien from Guatemala, allegedly drove his automobile at ICE agents on an illegal immigration enforcement assignment. Both suspects would eventually be arrested. The two incidents mark the latest violence against ICE officers in the country related to illegal immigration enforcement. There have been multiple incidents of attempts to kill and harm officers in recent months, including the September sniper attack on a Dallas ICE facility and Molotov cocktails being thrown at ICE officers in Los Angeles, California, in June, among others. DHS denounced acts of violence that endanger or harm ICE officers in their line of duty. The federal organization also blamed the "anti-ICE" rhetoric of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for the increase in violence. "The continued anti-ICE rhetoric spewed by Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson contributes to ICE law enforcement facing a more than a 1000% increase in assaults against them," DHS read in the release. "Thankfully, none of our law enforcement was killed because of these deranged criminals’ attacks on law enforcement," added Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "This is exactly what happens when Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, and other sanctuary politicians demonize ICE and encourage illegal aliens to resist law enforcement. Our ICE law enforcement is facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults — including cars — being used as weapons against them." McLaughlin emphasized that anyone caught trying to harm or injure any law enforcement officer will endure significant consequences. "Secretary Noem has been clear: anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," McLaughlin added. In light of the latest violence against ICE officers, DHS reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the nation’s communities "from criminal illegal aliens." "DHS will restore law and order and continue to protect American communities from criminal illegal aliens who choose violence," noted the release.

AP [10/3/2025 12:04 AM, Julie Watson and Amy Taxin, 27036K] reports the Trump administration is tapping National Guard and Army Reserve lawyers to be temporary immigration judges after firing dozens of existing judges, the latest step in a broader plan that experts warn could harm immigration courts and the military justice system. Training for the first group of Army lawyers begins Monday and training for the second group is expected to start in the spring, several former and current military reserve lawyers said they were told. Roughly 100 Army Reserve lawyers are expected to participate, with 50 beginning a nearly six-month assignment immediately after their training, according to a Sept. 3 email sent to an Army Reserve attorney and reviewed by The Associated Press. The administration wants to bring in as many as 600 military-trained attorneys to help make decisions about which immigrants can stay in the country. Advocates are alarmed by the move to use military lawyers to bolster staffing in the backlogged immigration courts as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up immigration arrests. Those courts have yearslong waits for hearings, and the number of pending cases has more than doubled in the past four years to 3.4 million. Both the Army and National Guard said they hope to fill the assignments with volunteers. "This assignment provides the opportunity to gain judicial experience in a high tempo, nationally significant setting," an email sent to members of the Army’s Reserve Legal Command stated, adding that locations and other details will be released later. A notification seeking volunteers sent Sept. 6 to active-duty and reserve National Guard members said "ideal candidates will possess experience in administrative law, immigration law, service as a military judge" or a related field. Applicants should have sound judgment, impartiality and a "suitable temperament for the role," it said. The Trump administration increasingly has turned to the military to support its crackdown on illegal immigration. That has included troops patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, National Guard members being sent into U.S. cities to support immigration enforcement efforts, housing people awaiting deportation on military bases, and using military aircraft to carry out deportations.

Wall Street Journal [10/2/2025 9:22 PM, Lara Seligman, Alexander Ward and Siobhan Hughes, 646K] reports senators on both sides of the aisle pressed the Pentagon’s top lawyer in a closed-door meeting to provide a better legal explanation for striking alleged Latin American drug boats in the Caribbean, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In a classified Senate Armed Services Committee briefing Wednesday, the Pentagon general counsel, Earl Matthews, detailed the legal basis for the military’s attacks ordered by President Trump. Matthews repeatedly referred to Trump’s designation of some Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, which he said granted the Defense Department unilateral authority to use military force against them, some of the people said. Matthews refused to provide a written justification for the strikes, which legal experts say is necessary for transparency and accountability. A day after the closed-door briefing, Trump declared Thursday in a confidential notice to Congress that the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with the cartels. In the document, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the administration dubbed the cartels as “designated terrorist organizations” and said it “determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.” The New York Times earlier reported the confidential notice. Some of the Republican and Democratic lawmakers who attended Wednesday’s Armed Services Committee briefing expressed concern about the administration’s rationale and urged officials to devise a stronger legal case, some of the people familiar with the discussion said.

CBS News [10/2/2025 5:19 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Nicole Sganga, 45245K] reports while President Trump billed the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital as an effort to crack down on violent crime, internal government data obtained by CBS News shows nearly 40% of over 3,500 arrests made since the operation began in early August were strictly immigration-related. The federal government statistics indicate that, as of Sept. 29, federal and local law enforcement officials assigned to the Trump administration’s high-profile operation in Washington, D.C., had reported making just over 3,550 arrests. Nearly 1,400 of those arrests were counted as administrative arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, the federal agency spearheading Mr. Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Those arrests involve immigrants ICE seeks to deport because of alleged civil violations of federal immigration law, like entering the U.S. illegally or overstaying a visa. It’s unclear how many of those arrested by ICE had criminal histories in addition to their alleged civil immigration violations. The rest of the arrests, the data indicates, had a criminal nexus. The federal figures also suggest ICE agents have visited over 130 work sites in Washington. Those visits can be precursors to investigations into whether individuals are working in the U.S. illegally. Although Mr. Trump’s emergency order requiring local D.C. police to assist federal officials has expired, immigration and other federal agents continue to operate in the district.

Univision [10/2/2025 5:43 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports residents of Chicago’s South Side, a region with a high Hispanic population density, are living in fear of the intense federal deployment ordered by Trump to pursue undocumented immigrants. Federal agents descended from Black Hawk helicopters, a model regularly used in war zones, onto the South Shore building early Tuesday morning, causing alarm among residents. Some 300 federal agents thus launched an operation allegedly aimed at arresting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, classified as a terrorist organization by the Donald Trump administration. ICE agents then ordered everyone into the hallways to answer questions, for no apparent reason. According to local media, the actions intensified in that area during Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Tuesday’s operation resulted in the arrest of 37 people, some of them allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang. On Wednesday, the intense federal action continued at a shelter for about 260 people, frequented by undocumented immigrants and homeless people in the Bronzeville area, about 7 miles north of the South Shore apartments. According to witnesses, Wednesday’s operation at the shelter resulted in the arrest of four people. A fifth person was briefly detained but released, according to reports reported by local media.

NewsMax [10/2/2025 10:44 PM, Mark Swanson, 4779K] reports the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, stood empty Thursday after the Trump administration transferred the last 18 migrants awaiting deportation, New York Times reported. The Department of Homeland Security transferred the remaining migrants on a charter flight to the U.S. on Wednesday, although the exact destination was not disclosed. Since February, more than 600 U.S. government workers — mostly military personnel and 120 Homeland Security civilians — have supported the base’s migration operations. Fewer than 700 migrants in total have been detained there, far short of the facility’s envisioned capacity of tens of thousands. The largest number of migrants held on a single day was 178 on Feb. 19, the Times reported. But the standard range of detainees was 1 to dozens, according to the report. Military officials said 61 people remained in ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) custody at Guantanamo at the end of July. Since then, 16 deportation flights have taken detainees either back to the United States or on to other destinations, the Times reported. On Jan. 29, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum directing the defense secretary and the homeland security secretary to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity. The stated goal was to provide additional detention space for "high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.” The first group of migrant detainees was flown to Guantanamo in early February, shortly after the execution of Trump’s directive. The detainees were transported via U.S. military cargo aircraft. The initial flight reportedly carried 10 detainees, classified as "high threat" and destined to be held in cells inside the naval base. Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.

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AP [10/2/2025 12:57 PM, Staff, 3790K] reports that a 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to throwing a Molotov cocktail at Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies during protests against immigration raids across the region last spring. Emiliano Garduno Galvez, a Mexican national who authorities say is in the U.S. illegally, pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing an unregistered destructive device and civil disorder connected to his actions June 7 in Paramount, a city near LA. He faces up to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced Jan. 30. Sheriff’s deputies responded to a large protest that day at which demonstrators were throwing rocks and other items outside a Home Depot where U.S. Border Patrol agents had gathered. According to the plea agreement obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Galvez admitted that he went behind a wall, lit the Molotov cocktail and then hurled it toward where he had seen the deputies. The incendiary device landed in a grassy area near the foot of a protester and about 15 feet (4.5 meters) from the deputies, according to the plea agreement. Galvez said he then ran away. Galvez threw the device "intending to obstruct, interfere with, and impede the LASD deputies who were lawfully engaged in performance of official duties," according to the agreement. Many demonstrations against the June immigration crackdown were peaceful, with marchers chanting slogans and carrying signs, though others led to clashes with police, hundreds of arrests and the use of chemical irritants to disperse crowds.

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New York Times [10/2/2025 4:31 PM, Carol Rosenberg, 143795K] reports no migrants were being held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday, a day after homeland security officials cleared out the last 18 men who were there awaiting deportation. The men were removed from the base on a charter flight to the United States on Wednesday. Their final destinations were not known, but immigration authorities have in the past moved migrants back to the United States to consolidate deportation flights. More than 600 U.S. government workers, most of them military members but also 120 civilians working for the Homeland Security Department, are on temporary assignment to the base’s migration operations, which was set up in February. Since then, fewer than 700 foreign citizens have been held there awaiting deportation in an operation that was initially established with a vision of holding tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants in tent cities. The operation never reached that capacity. The largest number of migrants held there on a single day was 178 on Feb. 19 — all of them Venezuelans — before they were all removed, all but one to repatriations. Since then, the deportee population has ranged from a single migrant to dozens.

New York Times [10/2/2025 3:41 PM, Mitch Smith and Ernesto Londoño, 143795K] reports Ian Roberts, the former public schools superintendent in Des Moines, was charged with possessing firearms while being in the United States without legal status in a criminal complaint that was unsealed on Thursday. Dr. Roberts, who had led the school system in Iowa’s capital city since 2023, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday and has been held in Iowa jails since then. According to the charging document unsealed on Thursday, officials found a handgun wrapped in a towel inside the Jeep Cherokee that Dr. Roberts was driving before he was taken into custody. Immigration officials said that Dr. Roberts, who was born in Guyana, was living and working in this country without authorization and had been ordered deported in 2024. His arrest came as a shock to members of the school board, parents and students in Iowa, some of whom held protests. Dr. Roberts resigned from his post on Tuesday. Alfredo Parrish, a lawyer for Dr. Roberts, said in an interview on Thursday that the complaint was only an allegation. He said he was continuing to work to understand the details of his client’s background. “I think the government is doing the same thing we’re doing: trying to get to the bottom of what I said earlier in the week was a very complicated, difficult case,” Mr. Parrish said. On Tuesday, Mr. Parrish said that Dr. Roberts was seeking to have the deportation order against him stayed and was working on a motion to reopen his immigration case. He has declined to discuss the history of his client’s work authorization status in detail. The charging document unsealed on Thursday represented the fullest account yet from federal officials of Dr. Roberts’s immigration status since 1999, when they said he entered the United States on a student visa. That student visa expired in 2004, officials said. During his time in the United States, according to the court documents, Dr. Roberts submitted at least four applications to become a permanent resident, most recently in 2018, shortly after he married an American citizen. None of his applications were successful, court records said. His immigration status between the expiration of his student visa in 2004 and his arrest last week remained mostly unclear. During those years, Dr. Roberts worked as a teacher, principal and administrator in school systems across the country, and enrolled in programs at several universities.

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The AP [10/2/2025 12:37 PM, Travis Loller, 662K] reports a U.S. immigration judge has denied a bid for asylum from Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has become a proxy for the partisan power struggle over immigration policy. The judge in Baltimore on Wednesday rejected an application to reopen Abrego Garcia’s 2019 asylum case, but that is not the final word. Abrego Garcia has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The Salvadoran national has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager. In 2019, he was arrested by immigration agents. He requested asylum but was not eligible because he had been in the U.S. for more than a year. But the judge ruled he could not be deported to El Salvador, where he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. He was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by President Donald Trump’s administration in March and was held in a notorious prison, and his case soon became a rallying point for those who oppose the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. Facing a ruling from the Supreme Court, the administration returned him to the U.S. in June, only to immediately charge him with human smuggling. Abrego Garcia faces criminal charges in Tennessee, based on a 2022 traffic stop. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also seeking to deport him to a third country, proposing Uganda first and then Eswatini, a small country in southern Africa where the king still holds absolute power. His attorneys have denounced the criminal charges and the deportation efforts, saying they are an attempt to punish him for standing up to the administration. Trump administration officials have waged a relentless public relations campaign against Abrego Garcia, repeatedly referring to him as a member of the MS-13 gang, among other things, despite the fact he has not been convicted of any crimes. His lawyers have filed motions requesting a gag order and say he will not be able to receive a fair trial because of the “highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements” made about him. While the federal judge in Tennessee can order prosecutors there not to make any prejudicial statements about Abrego Garcia, it is unclear whether the judge’s authority extends to the Department of Homeland Security, which posted about the immigration court ruling on X on Wednesday. “His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country,” according to the post. USA Today [10/2/2025 1:49 PM, Eduardo Cuevas, 64151K] reports Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the ruling means Abrego Garcia’s final removal order stands. "His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S., but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country," McLaughlin said in a statement. Abrego Garcia, whose wife and children are American citizens, has lived in Maryland since he was a teen. In 2019, immigration agents arrested him at a Maryland Home Depot parking lot. His request for asylum then was denied, but an immigration judge prevented his deportation because of threats he received from a gang in El Salvador that targeted his family. As the case remains ongoing, he was released from Tennessee jail and then promptly placed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. DHS said in August that Abrego Garcia would be processed for removal to Uganda. Officials have also indicated sending him to Eswatini or Costa Rica. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers in August petitioned the Baltimore immigration court to reopen his asylum claim. Records show he’s now held in the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center, in Pennsylvania.

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Breitbart [10/2/2025 1:58 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2608K]
The Hill [10/2/2025 4:13 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12414K]
CBS News [10/2/2025 2:24 PM, Melissa Quinn, 45245K]
Daily Caller [10/2/2025 10:50 AM, Jason Hopkins, 985K]
Blaze [10/2/2025 11:25 AM, Cooper Williamson, 1559K]

Washington Post [10/2/2025 1:23 PM, Joanna Slater and John Hudson, 29079K] reports when Rumeysa Ozturk was grabbed by masked federal agents outside her Massachusetts home in March, the video of the Turkish graduate student being handcuffed and hustled into an unmarked vehicle spread around the world. A federal trial that ended Tuesday revealed for the first time the story behind the images, showing how the government assigned a special team to target Ozturk and other pro-Palestinian activists, laying the groundwork for their highly unusual arrests. Ozturk had committed no crime, yet her detention was a priority for the new Trump administration. U.S. officials used the immigration system in unprecedented ways to covertly research and detain noncitizen students, relying on an investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security whose work traditionally has focused on crimes such as drug smuggling and human trafficking. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston ruled that the push to target Ozturk and other students was blatantly unconstitutional. The White House vowed to appeal the decision. The bench trial — decided by a judge rather than a jury — generated thousands of pages of depositions, court transcripts and filings that provided a detailed picture of the machinery that led to the arrests. Among the findings: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a top ally of President Donald Trump and architect of his mass deportation campaign, spoke with senior officials at the State Department and DHS more than a dozen times in March to discuss student visa revocations.

Axios [10/2/2025 6:20 AM, Steph Solis, 14595K] reports "Trump has pardons and tanks. What do you have?" said a postcard sent to William G. Young, a federal judge in Boston. "Alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty," Young volleyed. "Together, we ... you and me — have our magnificent Constitution." The exchange came in what Young called perhaps the biggest case the Boston federal court has faced. And he shared it in a blistering 161-page ruling blasting the Trump administration for what he called attacks on the Constitution. The ruling, issued by Young this week, affirms international students’ rights to free speech despite the administration’s efforts to deport them. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, criticized Young for "smearing and demonizing ICE law enforcement, likening them to terrorists" less than a week after the attack targeting the ICE facility in Dallas. Officers face "an unprecedented surge in assaults and doxxing," McLaughlin tells Axios, saying they’re being "stalked and targeted by not just violent rioters, but the dangerous criminals who they work to get off of America’s streets: terrorists, MS-13, Tren de Aragua and criminal rings."

Univision [10/2/2025 3:31 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports the U.S. government shutdown is causing fear among immigrants, as it could paralyze immigration courts and delay thousands of cases affecting entire families across the country. During the historic shutdown of 2019, more than 80,000 cases were suspended. Today, with a record 3.4 million pending cases, experts warn that the impact could be much more severe. Immigration attorney Alex Gálvez explained that, traditionally, courts for non-detained immigrants are closed in these settings and hearings are postponed, increasing the backlog. However, he clarified that procedures such as family petitions, citizenship, and residency applications remain valid because they are funded by applicant fees. The same applies to processes at consulates and embassies. Meanwhile, ICE confirmed on its official X account that its operations will not be interrupted, so raids and arrests will continue to take place normally during the closure.

NBC News [10/2/2025 12:48 PM, Shannon Pettypiece, 43603K] reports that Jenna Norton drove out of the parking lot of the National Institutes of Health office in Maryland on Wednesday morning with a lump in her throat, leaving behind her research on kidney disease patients and not knowing when she’d see her colleagues or a paycheck again. "I feel really sad," said Norton, who is among the roughly 750,000 federal employees furloughed this week as part of a government shutdown. "It was weird walking out the door and saying goodbye to everyone and not knowing when I’ll see them again." We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of shuttered services in your everyday life. Those furloughed employees won’t be paid until Congress passes legislation to fund the government, with neither side showing signs of budging as the shutdown entered its second day. While most of the furloughed employees won’t be allowed to work during the shutdown, others who are deemed essential — such as members of the military and airport security screeners — will have to continue working without pay. Federal workers typically receive back pay once the government reopens, but that requires congressional approval. On top of the uncertainty around when workers will see a paycheck again, the Trump administration has threatened to use the shutdown as a pretext to carry out more mass firings. One State Department employee in his 20s said he was planning to deliver food for DoorDash and drive for Uber to pay his bills. The wife of a Department of Homeland Security worker in Ohio said she had to borrow $600 from a colleague to cover her co-pay on a set of leg braces she needed to pick up this week for her disabled child. She said her oldest daughter has already asked if the shutdown will mean they will lose their home and have to move in with relatives and change schools. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [10/2/2025 7:09 PM, Max Rego, 12414K] reports Comedian Theo Von said a "high government official" offered him security amid backlash he received for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) featuring him in a video it used to promote deportation efforts. Recounting online harassment he received over the video during Thursday’s episode of the "This Past Weekend" podcast, Von said he was growing "paranoid" and even closed the curtains in his house. "I woke up the next morning to a text from a high government official saying, ‘Hey, if you need some extra security in your neighborhood, or some extra police cars on patrol, let me know,’" Von recounted. "And I’m like, what? What are you talking about?". The video, which the department posted on Sept. 23 to its various social media platforms, showed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials detaining immigrants and Von saying, "I heard you got deported, dude. Bye.” Von, in a since-deleted post on the social platform X the same day, said, "Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this. I know you know my address so send a check. And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos," in response to the video. The video was taken down on Sept. 25, although it was unclear whether it was done so by DHS or X. On Thursday, Von said one of his "prized possessions" are his father’s immigration papers when he came to the U.S. from Nicaragua. He added that he has "a lot of thoughts" on immigration, and called DHS’s "bookkeeping efforts" a sign that the U.S. is a "surveillance state." In his since-deleted X post from September, Von also wrote that his "thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced" than the DHS video portrayed.

NewsMax [10/2/2025 11:44 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4779K] reports Democrats forced the current government shutdown because they want health benefits for illegal migrants, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on Thursday. Flanked by fellow Republican lawmakers, Johnson spoke at a press conference on day two of the shutdown, which began after enough senators refused to support a clean 24-page continuing resolution that was passed by the House. "They have made a decision that they would rather give taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens than to keep the doors open for the American people to keep vital services, veterans’ services, healthcare, and nutrition for women, infants, and children," Johnson said. "They would rather not pay the troops and TSA agents and Border Patrol agents. They would rather stop services of FEMA in the middle of a hurricane season than to do the right thing — for partisan political purposes," he said, referncing the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "It is selfish, it is reprehensible, and it is exactly the opposite of what they have all said themselves, in their own words, very passionately every day until now.” Johnson said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., not only rejected the CR, he also filed a counterproposal.

FOX News [10/2/2025 4:19 PM, Cameron Arcand, 40019K] reports as the federal government shutdown continues, a clip from the 2019 Democratic presidential primary went viral when the candidates were asked if they support providing healthcare to those in the country illegally. "Is JD Vance a liar or just woefully ignorant when claiming that Democrats want to give health benefits to undocumented immigrants?" disgraced ex-Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken posted to X on Wednesday, leading to the clip being posted in the comments by one user. "Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants," NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie asked while moderating the June 2019 debate followed by all ten Democrats on stage raising their hands. Franken’s post triggered a range of responses, including from conservatives. "You should stick to intimate photography," GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X, referring to the disgraced ex-senator’s scandal that included a photo of him smiling while posing and groping radio host Leeann Tweeden, who was sleeping in the photo. "Why don’t we let Democrats answer that?" Heritage Action said, posting the debate clip. The clip, which included multiple current members of Congress like Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also garnered the attention of billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who posted "lol" in response to the debate video, which means "laugh out loud.” Part of the ongoing government shutdown debate centers on subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which would lead to a rise in premiums that opponents say prove that the program is unsustainable. Illegal immigrants are unable to get insurance on the ACA marketplace, but Emergency Medicaid is covered as well as several states that use state taxpayer dollars for illegal immigrants to enroll in Medicaid.

Chicago Tribune [10/2/2025 8:44 AM, Staff, 5352K] reports for consecutive Fridays, the federal detention facility in southwest suburban Broadview has been the site of confrontations between immigration enforcement agents and protesters. Scenes of mobs of protesters attempting to forcefully impede federal vehicles, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel shooting pepper balls and tear gas into crowds of people protesting peacefully, display a situation that is getting increasingly out of control. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons have pointed fingers at each other, with Thompson accusing the feds of emulating Vladimir Putin and Lyons accusing Broadview of putting his officers at risk. Both parties in our view have reason to complain. ICE agents in many cases have proven themselves poorly trained for conflict, throwing demonstrators to the ground, for example, and in one viral moment over the past weekend almost comically chasing a man on a bike around downtown Chicago after he taunted them. But state and local police haven’t done enough either to keep demonstrators and federal law enforcement from coming into physical contact with each other at Broadview. We do appreciate Thompson encouraging protesters to "raise your voices and not your fists." But we believe state and local authorities can do more to defuse the growing tension and fear, and allow protesters to make their voices heard while enabling ICE to carry out its enforcement responsibilities without simultaneously having to control demonstrators.

USA Today [10/2/2025 6:01 AM, Staff, 64151K] reports ICE raids, detainments, deportations. Immigration headlines flood our screens. Enforcement may be happening in your town, or it may be hundreds of miles away. But the impact on your family will be felt every time you head to the grocery store. Fresh apples, crisp vegetables, milk and meat. All of the items you expect to be available to take home are at risk because of a growing labor crisis – a crisis farmers have been forced to address by hiring workers from outside of the United States. Every August I stand in the orchards of my family’s farm in Henderson County, North Carolina, looking at over 6 million pounds of apples on the trees. I’m consumed with worry and anticipation. Without enough workers to harvest on time, those apples and months of hard work could spoil right in these orchards. I’m a third‑generation farmer. Along with apples, my family grows corn and hay and raises beef cattle. To keep food moving from our farm to schools, restaurants and grocery stores, I rely on both year‑round and seasonal employees. Finding enough people to fill positions on U.S. farms is nearly impossible. I try to hire domestic employees from the community, but the reality is farm work is physically demanding and requires long hours. Americans clearly don’t want farm jobs, or they’re looking for a job that lasts longer than a season. On the rare occasion they do apply, few decide it’s the right fit for them and most resign quickly. I’ve turned to the federal H-2A program to fill my farm vacancies.

Breitbart [10/2/2025 12:26 PM, John Binder, 2608K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials say arrests and deportations of criminal illegal aliens will continue despite a government shutdown. "Despite a lapse in funding, ICE will continue to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens, including rapists, pedophiles, murderers, gang members, and terrorists from our country," the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “Thanks to the Trump administration’s signature piece of legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, we will continue to hire, train, and deploy law enforcement across the country to make America safe again. Democratic politicians have villainized our brave ICE law enforcement calling them the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and kidnappers, and now they are putting our officers’ families under financial strains. They might put politics first, but we won’t — the deportations will continue. We will continue to put the safety of the American people first.”

The Chicago Tribune [10/2/2025 2:01 PM, Muri Assuncao, 5352K] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are expected to attend Bad Bunny’s halftime Super Bowl performance to potentially arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, according to Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski. ICE confirmed the move in a statement to TMZ on Thursday. "There is no safe haven for violent criminal illegal aliens in the United States," an agency spokesperson told the outlet. Lewandowski - the fired Trump campaign manager who is now seen as the "muscle" behind the work of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem - spoke with right-wing commentator Benny Johnson during his podcast, "The Benny Show," on Wednesday. When asked whether ICE would "have enforcement" at next year’s Super Bowl for the Bad Bunny performance, Lewandowski was emphatic: "Benny, there is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else." The NFL confirmed Sunday that the 31-year-old reggaeton superstar would perform at Super Bowl LX, set for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. "We will find you. We will apprehend you," Lewandowski said, referring to potential ICE targets at the show. "We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you. That is a very real situation under this administration, which is completely different from how it used to be," he added. Lewandowski also criticized the NFL for picking an artist "who seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime show," calling the decision "shameful." The Daily Caller [10/2/2025 12:13 PM, Leena Nasir, 985K] reports that a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Independent "there is no safe haven for violent criminal illegal aliens in the United States" when asked if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would appear at the game.

Reported similarly:
Blaze [10/2/2025 1:30 PM, Andrew Chapados, 1559K]
(B) NECN News 3 pm [10/2/2025 3:14 PM, Staff]

CBS News [10/2/2025 10:22 AM, Dan Raby, 45245K] reports that a federal court has denied journalist Mario Guevara’s emergency attempt to stop immigration authorities from deporting him to El Salvador. Guevara, who was arrested while covering a "No Kings" protest in Fulton County in June, has been in ICE custody for more than 100 days while the legal battle over his detention continued. On Wednesday night, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Guevara’s deportation could go forward, finding that, while the journalist did have the First Amendment right to report on the protest, he had not filed the proper paperwork to apply for permanent residency. "In April 2025, Guevara’s son filed a Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, which allows a United States citizen to establish a qualifying relationship with a noncitizen relative who wishes to stay in the country permanently and apply for a green card. If the citizen-sponsoring relative is the child of the noncitizen beneficiary, as is the case here, the beneficiary may concurrently file for an adjustment of status while the I-130 petition is pending by completing an I-485 Application To Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status," Judge Embry Kidd wrote in his concurring opinion. "Critically, Guevara did not file an I-485." With the ruling, Guevara is at risk of being sent to El Salvador at any time and remains in custody. Police in DeKalb County arrested Guevara while he was livestreaming a "No Kings" rally protesting President Trump’s administration on June 14, charging him with obstructing police, unlawful assembly, and improperly entering a roadway. Within days, prosecutors dismissed the charges. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office then took out warrants charging Guevara with reckless driving and other counts, but the county’s solicitor’s office declined to prosecute the case. ICE took custody of Guevara a few days after his arrest and refused to release him. He remains in custody at the Folkston ICE Processing Center.

Reported similarly:
Axios [10/2/2025 4:43 PM, Kristal Dixon, 14595K]

CNN [10/2/2025 6:00 AM, Allison Gordon, Rob Kuznia, and Kyung Lah, 23245K] reports the woman in a black jacket and an ICE shirt hid her eyes behind sunglasses and her face behind a mask as she stepped up to the hotel desk clerk. When she pulled out an ID card that seemed to show she was an immigration agent, she made it clear to the frightened young clerk that she had no choice but to follow her out to a silver sedan. But this was no immigration raid. It was a kidnapping, police say. And the woman in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform, authorities say, was no federal agent. She was a jilted ex-lover using the cover of the government’s expanding deportation efforts to commit a serious crime and try to eliminate a romantic rival. A CNN review of court filings, social media posts and local news stories has found two dozen incidents of people posing as ICE officers in 2025, in cases that range from political agitators seeking to intimidate immigrants to others using the guise of authority to allegedly kidnap, rob, assault or rape victims. That represents a notable jump -– more incidents than during the prior four presidential terms combined, dating back to President Barack Obama’s first term in office, CNN’s review found. Some experts and public officials have tied this rise in imposters to the Trump administration’s aggressive use of ICE agents – in particular the use of masks by agents, who often wear plain clothes during raids that have been widely captured on social media. When agents wear masks, it sows confusion about how to identify real agents, opening the door for imitators, critics argue. "It’s very easy for somebody to just play dress up and go out acting like these agents," said Mike German, a former FBI agent. "And because these agents have been so aggressive in public without identifying themselves, it creates fear and that fear is an opportunity for a criminal."

Wall Street Journal [10/2/2025 7:06 PM, Victoria Albert, 646K] reports Mario Guevara, a Georgia-based immigration reporter, is set to be deported to El Salvador on Friday, his legal team said, following a battle over whether his detention violated his First Amendment rights. Homeland Security transferred Guevara to a facility in Louisiana from Georgia, where he had been detained for more than three months, his lawyers said. The Salvadoran national and Spanish-language reporter was well-known for documenting immigration-enforcement efforts in the Atlanta area. He was arrested while reporting on a “No Kings” protest in June and transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody soon afterward. Free speech advocates argue the Trump administration is using immigration enforcement to target critics of its policies. Guevara sued the Trump administration in federal court in August, alleging his detention was retaliation for his reporting. “Mario’s treatment should terrify any person in this country that cares about a free press,” said Scarlet Kim, one of his attorneys. Homeland Security repeatedly has denied Guevara was targeted for his journalism. The department said previously he was held in ICE custody because of his immigration status.

ABC News [10/2/2025 6:44 PM, Ely Brown, 27036K] reports an attorney representing a U.S.-born citizen who was twice detained by immigration authorities in recent months is disputing the government’s contention that Leonardo Garcia Venegas was detained because he interfered with agents who were making an arrest. Garcia Venegas, who was born in the United States, was detained in May at an Alabama construction site by armed agents in camouflage who "went straight for the Latino workers," his attorneys claimed in a lawsuit filed against the federal government this week that accuses authorities of violating the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. According to the suit, Garcia Venegas was detained again two weeks later on another private construction site "when another immigration patrol saw him working and assumed, without reasonable suspicion, that Leo was undocumented," the suit said. Jaba Tsitsuashvili, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips on Thursday that Garcia Venegas "just wants to work in peace.” "Two times now, immigration officers have barged onto work sets where he was working and detained him without any reason to think that he had done or was doing anything unlawful," Tsitsuashvili said. "The first time, they violently tackled him to the ground, kept him in handcuffs for over an hour, and then he had to take two, almost two weeks off from work because he was so terrified and traumatized by what happened. He was scared to go back.” "Finally, he gathers up the courage to resume working after a couple of weeks. And it turns out his fears were justified, because it happened again," said Tsitsuashvili, who said that immigration officers entered a nearly fully constructed house where he was working and forced him outside. "As the last time, he showed him his Real ID and said, ‘I’m a citizen,’" Tsitsuashvili said. "They refused to accept it. They refused to believe it, and again, they marched him down several blocks where they kept him detained for this time, for about a half an hour, and they finally released him without any apology, without any explanation.” "Both times he showed them the officers his Real ID; both times they said, ‘We don’t care. We’re going to keep you detained anyway,’" Tsitsuashvili said. A statement released Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security said that during a targeted worksite operation, "Garcia Venegas attempted to obstruct and prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien.” "He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands," the statement said. "Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest.” "ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Wednesday. "Any U.S. citizens arrested are because of obstructing or assaulting law enforcement.”

AP [10/2/2025 5:17 PM, Ed White, 37974K] reports federal authorities refuse to release a Michigan man in a pending deportation case, despite his life-threatening leukemia and the inconsistent health care he’s received while in custody since August, his lawyer said Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking a bond hearing for Jose Contreras-Cervantes, which could allow him to return to his Detroit-area family and doctors while his case winds through immigration court. He’s currently being held at a detention center about three hours away. Contreras-Cervantes, a 33-year-old married father of three who has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years, but not legally, was arrested at an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Macomb County, near Detroit. He had no criminal record beyond minor traffic offenses, said ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman. Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, said his wife, Lupita Contreras. “The doctor said he has four to six years to live,” she said. His detention is a consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing to agree to bond hearings for immigrants if they entered the U.S. illegally, even if they lack a criminal record. The policy is a reversal of past practices and it has been successfully challenged, including this week in Washington state. “We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key,” Aukerman said. “Judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and noncitizens. ... Immigration cases can take months or even years.”

Reported similarly:
ABC News [10/2/2025 6:40 PM, Staff, 27036K]

CBS Chicago [10/2/2025 7:11 PM, Sabrina Franza, 45245K] Video: HERE reports a Chicago area attorney is telling the story of his detention inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, where immigrants have been taken pending deportation proceedings amid the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration in the Chicago area. On Saturday, at least five protesters were arrested outside the ICE facility in Broadview and charged in federal court. While several other people had been detained during protests there in recent weeks, those five were the first to face federal charges. Robert Held, 68, was among the protesters who were detained but not charged with a crime. He said he was never one to regularly attend protests, but that changed recently. "I started showing up about two weeks ago, roughly, because I’m outraged about what the administration and several agencies of this administration are doing; not just to immigrants, but to people with lawful status and people that were born here as well". On Saturday, he and other protesters were in front of the ICE gate on public land when agents sought to clear the area. Agents shouted orders for people to move. "I was backing up and filming what was happening, and eventually decided I needed to clear the street, and when I ran off the street, I was chased and arrested by federal authorities," he said. Held continued filming as he was down on the ground, taken away in handcuffs, placed in a vehicle and taken into ICE custody. "The vehicle was driving back into the facility, and they stopped. They opened the door and Greg Bovino, the chief enforcement officer of the Border Patrol, looked straight at me and he said, ‘Now what do you want to say to me?’ I didn’t respond to that, but my sense was – and it was pretty obvious based on his tone and language – that he was trying to show his authority over me," Held said. Held said, before demanding the crowd clear the street, Bovino and a group of masked agents wearing body armor and helmets had opened a gate outside the ICE facility to disperse the crowd "not to enforce any law, not for any immigration-related duty, or Border Patrol, or ICE, the FBI, the ATF, or anybody else.” "He opened it for political theater. He had his own cameras running," Held added.

Chicago Tribune [10/2/2025 7:08 PM, Cam’ron Hardy, 5352K] reports days after a 70-year-old Air Force veteran was among five people charged while protesting outside a suburban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, fellow veterans and others gathered Thursday at the same spot in Broadview to speak out against ICE’s increased presence in the Chicago region and the Trump administration’s increased use of military tactics. Nearly two dozen people attended the event sponsored by the veteran and military organization Common Defense, of which the veteran, Dana Briggs, was a member. Briggs, of Rockford, was protesting on Saturday outside the two-story ICE building in Broadview when he was accused of making contact with a border protection agent’s arm while trying to hand his cellphone to another protester, allegedly "causing pain" to the agent’s wrist. Briggs is facing a felony count of assaulting a federal officer. Earlier this week, he was ordered released on an appearance bond. The Broadview facility has become a flashpoint for protests over the Trump’s administration’s ongoing crackdown against illegal immigration. Since "Operation Midway Blitz" began in early September, ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol have made more than 800 arrests, according to a statement on Wednesday from the Department of Homeland Security. On Thursday, the group of protesters in Broadview said they were rallying to bring attention to the arrest of Briggs. They said actions by ICE and the Border Patrol are undermining democracy and civil rights. Demi Palecek, a member of the Illinois National Guard, also said the surge of immigration officers is scaring communities.

(B) NBC News Daily [10/2/2025 1:24 PM, Staff] reports that several immigration advocacy groups along with the Illinois Latino Caucus gave an update on what they are seeing during increased ICE operations in Chicago. They are sharing some statistics they have collected since the start of Operation Midway Blitz. They are tracking the requests for legal assistance and nationalities of those arrested. The group also talked about concerns over the conditions detainees say they are experiencing in the Broadview ICE processing facility. The group plans to update ICE removal statistics every week.

Chicago Tribune [10/2/2025 10:02 AM, Steve Sadin, 5352K] reports that as fears mount in northeast Lake County and other places in the area over the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents seeking undocumented residents, some parents are worried about their children waiting at school bus stops. North Chicago School District 187 Superintendent John Price said principals at the district’s schools are receiving calls from parents who are afraid to have their children wait outside before school. Price said school officials are making an effort to allay those fears by finding alternatives for children of concerned parents to get to and from schools. A more widespread effort is not necessary at this time, he said. “We are trying to get them rides with other families in their neighborhood who are taking their kids to school and bringing them home,” Price said. “Primarily our principals are doing it at this point.” Area school districts continue on an ongoing basis to find ways to help parents worried about Operation Midway Blitz in Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion, Round Lake and other areas to make families feel safe and allay their fears. Theresa Plascencia, the superintendent of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, said in an email that concerns expressed by parents about children waiting at bus stops are not common, but “it has been mentioned occasionally at some of our schools.” “We are certainly mindful of this issue and know that weather and safety are always important considerations for families,” she said.

Axios [10/2/2025 7:20 AM, Carrie Shepherd, 14595K] reports Chicago’s Catholic Church leader thinks today’s parishioners are "politically homeless" because of their views on politically charged topics like immigration and abortion. The increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol officers in the Chicago area has made some immigrants fear that work, school and even church are no longer safe. "We have noticed some reduced participation in parish activities from immigrant families, which is understandable given the current climate of fear and uncertainty they are facing," Archdiocese spokesperson Susan Thomas told Axios. Sen. Dick Durbin (IL-D), a Catholic, announced this week he would not accept the church’s Keep Hope Alive award after receiving backlash over his reproductive rights beliefs that are in conflict with Catholic teachings.

FOX News [10/2/2025 8:35 PM, Emma Bussey, 40019K] reports an illegal immigrant was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after he entered their Houston office parking lot carrying a knife and crack pipe, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. Jose Andres Rodriguez-Torres voluntarily identified himself as Mexican when officers approached him, ICE confirmed. When he dropped to the ground, ICE agents noticed a sheathed knife at his waist before arresting him. Another search uncovered a glass pipe usually used to smoke crack cocaine. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin condemned the incident, calling it a stark reminder of the daily risks officers face. "A criminal illegal alien — released by the Biden Administration and previously removed four times — armed with a knife in a restricted parking lot outside an ICE office in Houston," McLaughlin said. "These are the threats our officers face every day. Violence against federal law enforcement must end.” The Mexican national was previously encountered by officers in Seattle in October 2024 after a burglary arrest but was released, ICE records show. ICE records confirm Rodriguez-Torres has illegally entered the United States five times, making him a repeat offender under federal law, including one time in 2012 and three times in 2014 and another when he reentered the U.S. without inspection at an unknown date. Houston is home to one of the largest ICE field offices in the nation. Rodriguez-Torres’ arrest comes amid reports that threats and assaults against ICE officers have surged by more than 1,000% in recent years. Rodriguez-Torres will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Telemundo [10/2/2025 4:48 PM, Staff, 131K] reports after a week of hospitalized with gunshot wounds he received during the attack on the ICE office in Dallas, a Venezuelan immigrant was released but was placed in the custody of immigration authorities again. José Andrés Bordones-Molina, 33, entered the United States illegally on August 12, 2024. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sept. 24 after being released from Hurst City Jail, where he was being held for a traffic violation. After arriving at the ICE office in Dallas that morning, Bordones-Molina was injured when a sniper opened fire on the building, directed against ICE agents. While being shot, ICE agents managed to evacuate Bordones-Molina from the van, which was also being set on fire, and put him to safety. They evaluated his injuries and provided care until emergency medical personnel arrived. He was taken to Parkland Health Hospital, where he received treatment for his injuries," a statement from the corporation said.

Telemundo [10/2/2025 11:47 PM, Staff, 2782K] reports at least five secondhand clothing stores in the city of McAllen, Texas, were raided by federal, state, and local agents as part of operations during which several people were taken away in buses. One of the stores targeted by authorities allegedly belongs to the wife of Rodolfo Castillo, a McAllen city commissioner, whose home was also reportedly raided. A lawyer representing the Castillo family told Noticias Telemundo that he will be investigating the details of this criminal investigation announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At least five secondhand clothing stores in the city of McAllen, Texas, were raided by federal, state, and local agents as part of operations during which several people were taken away in buses. One of the stores targeted by authorities allegedly belongs to the wife of Rodolfo Castillo, a McAllen city commissioner, whose home was also reportedly raided. A lawyer representing the Castillo family told Noticias Telemundo that he will be investigating the details of this criminal investigation announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In addition to ICE, several federal, state, and local agencies in the region participated in the operation, Pruneda added, who did not disclose further details and stated that the investigation is ongoing. "The only thing they told me was that they don’t know if they’re going to take [the detainees] to McAllen. Those who have visas, residency, and citizenship will be released little by little. Everyone else will be taken away," a witness to the operation told Noticias Telemundo. This is not the first time federal authorities have targeted a used clothing store. A federal operation took place last March when agents raided Leo’s Clothing on Produce Park Lane in Hidalgo. On that occasion, an unknown number of people were removed from the premises by bus. National Security agents and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived at the store. People who witnessed the operation told Telemundo 40 McAllen that federal agents arrived at the scene, lined people up, and then read out several names. Those on the list were put on a bus. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [10/2/2025 6:01 AM, Madison Colombo, 40019K] Video: HERE reports federal immigration officials say they are preparing to deploy agents to Portland as groups they describe as Antifa-linked have escalated attacks on personnel and facilities. ICE officials warned they will act if local authorities fail to intervene. "It’s been a consistent battle every night with Antifa in Portland," Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said on "America’s Newsroom" Wednesday. "We’ve called on local and state officials to help, but we just haven’t seen the help.” Portland has seen protests outside the city’s ICE facility, drawing federal attention. Lyons said some arrests have been made but added that more support is needed. "We’re out there every night battling people that are bringing sticks, bats, shields, throwing their own CS grenades at us. So it’s not a peaceful situation," he said. The warnings come after an ICE facility in Dallas was attacked by a gunman on Sept. 24, 2025. Authorities said two detainees were killed and another was hospitalized, and the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. President Donald Trump announced plans to send 200 National Guard troops to Portland to support immigration authorities. Officials said the troops would be stationed near protest areas. The state of Oregon has filed a federal lawsuit to block Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops, calling the move "unlawful." Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek criticized the proposal. "In my conversations directly with President Trump and Secretary Noem, I have been abundantly clear that Portland and the State of Oregon believe in the rule of law and can manage our own local public safety needs," Kotek posted on X. "There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [10/2/2025 8:37 PM, Greg Wehner , Bill Melugin, 40019K] reports federal immigration officials say their Portland, Oregon, facility has come under nightly attack, with little help from local police because of political directives from city leaders. In an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Cammila Wamsley, director of Portland’s ICE office, said the facility has faced violence for more than 100 consecutive nights, with Portland police largely absent under guidance from the mayor and city council. "I just, I can’t figure out what’s happening at the FDA. I’m totally baffled by it," Wamsley said, describing her frustration at seeing federal staff attacked outside the building while officers inside lack jurisdiction to intervene. "It’s frustrating for us to watch people be attacked on the street and know that we don’t have the authority to be able to really step in unless there’s some nexus to federal law.” She said nightly protests have escalated beyond chants and signs, with bottle rockets striking the ICE building, rocks shattering windows, lasers targeting officers’ eyes and barricades blocking vehicles. Wamsley said protesters have followed ICE staff members home and doxxed at least six employees. "Later, towards the evening and around dark, there are a lot of folks that come up dressed in all black," she explained. "They are here to wreak havoc. They’ll block our cars, throw paint, damage property and even try to follow our folks home.” She warned that when crowds swell quickly, the violence becomes more dangerous. "We’ve seen it before. The folks here can go from a crowd of 50 to a crowd of 1,000 in 30 minutes," she explained. "Sometimes we only have 20 officers here. We would not be able to defend the building with that show of force.” Wamsley said the Portland Police Department has been slow to respond — and sometimes doesn’t respond at all — because of city policy. She explained that assaults have occurred outside and across the street from the building, but police have either taken too long to arrive or not shown up at all. "That is not the stance they would take six blocks from here, but it is the stance they take with us because of guidance from the mayor and city council," Wamsley said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Portland mayor’s office and police department for comment. Still, Wamsley said ICE staff remain committed to their mission despite the unrest. "The people that work here are here to serve the American public," she said. "They are here to enforce the same immigration laws we’ve had in place since the 1950s. Nothing has changed in that regard. We come to work every day. We do our job the way we have been doing it, and we’ll continue to do that.” Todd Rignel, assistant special agent for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Oregon, said federal agencies are targeting Antifa-linked groups they blame for organizing much of the unrest. "They’re not just facing HSI. They’re facing the FBI, ATF, DEA, IRS — all of these agencies," he said. "That’s a force to be reckoned with.”

FOX News [10/2/2025 7:19 AM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Portland City Council member Angelita Morillo this week advised residents to buy a burner phone and use encrypted messaging apps to avoid being tracked by immigration officers and federal agents. In a nearly three-minute video posted to her Facebook account, Morillo offered ways people could "protect" themselves in response to President Donald Trump deploying the National Guard to Portland to defend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. "Your phone? You should consider this a tracker and a listening device at all times," Morillo said in her video. "With your phone, they can track your location. They can see who you met with. If you happen to organize with a bunch of different people and you all took the bus to the same secure location, guess what? They have a pattern of who you organize with, who you talk to, and how long and why." She continued, "So you should get a Faraday cage, which blocks the signal from your phone. You should disable fingerprint and facial recognition technology to unlock your phone. And you should have a pin that is longer than four numbers. If you’re going to regularly protest, I also highly recommend going to your local grocery store and buying a burner phone in cash, and using encrypted apps like Signal to communicate with people, and having disappearing messages on." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [10/2/2025 4:42 PM, Staff, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reports on the latest in the ongoing protests in Portland, Oregon and when the National Guard may be sent over on ‘America Reports.’

Daily Wire [10/2/2025 2:27 PM, Leif Le Mahieu, 3184K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were targeted in two separate car attacks during enforcement operations in the Chicago area on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told The Daily Wire. Illegal aliens "weaponized their vehicles in deliberate attempts to ram and injure" agents making arrests in Bensenville and Norridge, Illinois, DHS said Thursday. The attacks occurred as ICE continues to carry out "Operation Midway Blitz," a massive illegal alien crackdown targeting the Chicago area that has yielded over 900 arrests. "Thankfully, none of our law enforcement was killed because of these deranged criminals’ attacks on law enforcement. This is exactly what happens when Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, and other sanctuary politicians demonize ICE and encourage illegal aliens to resist law enforcement," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire. In the first instance, Miguel Escareno De Loera, an illegal alien from Mexico, rammed his car into an ICE vehicle twice before jumping a curb and crashing into a stop, according to DHS. It is unknown when Escareno De Loera entered the United States, as he was not stopped at the border. In the second attack, Widman Osberto Lopez-Funes, an illegal alien from Guatemala, slammed his vehicle into ICE agents during an enforcement operation before running on foot to his home in Bensenville, DHS said. He was later taken into custody. It is also unknown when Lopez-Funes illegally crossed into the United States. Both men are expected to face criminal charges for assaulting federal law enforcement and will remain in ICE custody as they face deportation. "Our ICE law enforcement is facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults—including cars being used as weapons against them. Secretary Noem has been clear: anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," McLaughlin said. The Trump administration has faced backlash from leftist protesters as they carry out operations around Chicago. Democrats, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, continue to voice their opposition to the efforts to clean up the city.

AP [10/2/2025 1:42 PM, Matthew Lee, 37974K] reports the State Department will increase staffing at certain U.S. embassies and consulates to accommodate an expected major jump in visa applications from soccer fans wanting to attend World Cup matches in the United States next year. The department said Thursday will send hundreds of additional consular officers to “designated countries” to handle the demand for visa interviews. The number of staffers and the countries where they will go have yet to be determined because the 48-team field for the 2026 World Cup has not been finalized. Tickets for the tournament hosted by U.S., Canada and Mexico went on sale Wednesday amid concerns over the Trump administration’s crackdown on migration and temporary visas that offer permission to enter the United States. The new visa policies have already seen the deportations of numerous foreigners deemed to have engaged in activity or speech that the Republican administration says run counter to its positions. Those policies include enhanced checking of applicants’ social media accounts and other public statements. World Cup travelers coming to the U.S. from the mainly European and Asian countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program will not likely require an interview. But fans from countries not enrolled in the program and who do not already hold valid tourist or business visas will need to apply, a process that requires an in-person interview and enhanced security screening. The State Department said it “is prepared to meet the demand while maintaining rigorous vetting requirements.”

Reuters [10/2/2025 1:17 PM, Kaylee Kang, Jaimi Dowdell, and Helen Coster, 45746K] reports that DePaul University has told faculty it will immediately reduce spending following a 30% decline in international enrollment this fall. The move is the latest by U.S. colleges to cope with the disruptive education and immigration policies of President Donald Trump. The amount of the reduction is to be determined, but measures could include a hiring freeze, executive pay cuts and discretionary spending limits, university president Robert Manuel wrote in a memo to faculty on Tuesday. Overall international enrollment at the private Catholic university in Chicago decreased by 755 students compared to last year, Manuel said. The number of first-year international graduate students fell at an even steeper pace — by nearly 62%. DePaul enrolled some 21,000 students last year, about 2,500 of them from abroad. Manuel attributed this year’s decline to students having difficulty getting visas and losing interest in studying in the U.S. following changes in federal policy. Complete enrollment figures are not yet available, but early numbers collected by Reuters suggest many first-year international graduate students are choosing to study elsewhere. Student visas also have been in Trump’s crosshairs. Some visas have been revoked, and students seeking new visas have faced delays. "This isn’t that hard," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. "If you are living and studying in the United States on a visa, you are a guest in this country. Act like it. If you are a foreign student pushing Hamas propaganda, glorifying terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, harassing Jews, taking over buildings, or other anti-American actions that we have seen lately on these campuses, you can book yourself a ticket home. You can expect your visa will be revoked."

Politico [10/2/2025 12:48 PM, Nick Niedzwiadek, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Simon J. Levien, 14810K] reports hospitals and medical groups around the country are pleading with the Trump administration to exempt doctors and other health workers from a new $100,000 fee for high-skilled visa holders, warning the policy could decimate an already fragile workforce in rural communities. Some are even enlisting the help of Republican lawmakers despite the party’s antipathy toward the visa program. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said in interviews Wednesday that hospitals in their states — which have the highest rates of immigrant visa-holders working in health care — have asked them to push for a carveout. “It alarmed a lot of people,” said Capito, adding that West Virginia University’s health system was particularly worried about the impact on their medical staff. “In rural areas, this is critical health care delivery. We’ve got to keep it.” President Donald Trump’s directive gives the Department of Homeland Security the power to exempt individual workers, companies or even entire industries from his H-1B visa fee if it deems doing so is “in National Interest.” The White House has said a carveout for health workers is possible but has not yet made any commitments. “There’s just not enough certainty around it,” lamented Capito. Without an exemption for the health care sector, hospitals around the country would be affected, but those in red states with rural populations that voted overwhelmingly for Trump are set to be the hardest hit. Nearly a quarter of the nation’s physicians are international medical graduates, and they are overrepresented in places that tend to have doctor shortages. While large states with Democratic governors have the highest total number of health workers on H-1B visas, a study published this summer found that three GOP-led states – Iowa, North Dakota and West Virginia – employ the highest percentages of such physicians. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told POLITICO that he has not yet heard concerns from hospitals in his state, but wants to ensure the new policy does not make provider shortages worse. “It’s important that we make sure that they’re able to get medical professionals, whether it’s doctors or nurses,” he said. The American Hospital Association and 50 groups led by the American Medical Association argued for exemptions from the fee in recent letters to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, writing that the country’s health care workforce depends on foreign-born and foreign-trained clinicians who supplement rather than displace American workers. “With the U.S. already facing a shortage of doctors, making it harder for [international medical graduates] to train and practice here means patients will wait longer and drive farther to get care,” AMA president Bobby Mukkamala said in a statement.

DailySignal [10/2/2025 12:45 PM, Mary Mobley, 668K] reports that “birthright citizenship” finds itself back in court yet again, with the administration asking the Supreme Court to decide whether President Donald Trump can constitutionally ban the practice. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed petitions Friday asking the court to take up two separate cases in which lower court judges blocked Trump from eliminating birthright citizenship. “The government has a compelling interest in ensuring that American citizenship—the privilege that allows us to choose our political leaders—is granted only to those who are lawfully entitled to it,” Sauer wrote. “The lower court’s decisions … confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people.” Birthright citizenship is the theory that anyone born in the U.S. automatically receives citizenship privileges under the 14th Amendment. The Trump administration and others say that’s not what the 14th Amendment means—so on Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies not to issue identification documents to children born to illegal or temporary aliens on or after Feb. 20, 2025. The high court already considered that order earlier this year in Trump v. CASA. But in that case, the court shied away from addressing whether Trump can constitutionally ban birthright citizenship, instead focusing on whether federal judges could issue universal injunctions preventing the administration from carrying out the president’s orders nationwide—as opposed to simply preventing the orders within their own district boundaries. In the CASA case, the Supreme Court said that federal courts likely do not have the authority to issue such injunctions. Now, Sauer asks the court to consider birthright citizenship again—and this time, to decide whether Trump can ban the practice.

Federalist [10/2/2025 1:50 PM, Brianna Lyman, 982K] reports that Democrats forced a government shutdown this week to preserve health care for illegal aliens who should have been deported by the Biden administration but were instead "paroled" en masse in one of the greatest abuses of executive power in modern times. Under federal immigration law, foreign nationals who illegally enter the United States must be detained and deported. However, the law also grants the Department of Homeland Security secretary the authority to parole certain illegal aliens on a case-by-case basis, based on "urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit," according to the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS). As explained by the USCIS, parole "is not intended to be used solely to avoid normal visa processing procedures and timelines, to bypass inadmissibility waiver processing, or to replace established refugee processing channels." That’s what makes the Biden administration’s decision to parole millions of otherwise inadmissible aliens into the U.S. so egregious. The administration twisted the law beyond recognition, handing out parole status to nearly 3 million illegal foreign nationals. According to a report from the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, the Biden administration — in an attempt to cover up the border crisis it provoked — "created, without Congressional authorization, what it called ‘lawful pathways’ for illegal aliens to enter the U.S.” The report explains that the administration created a parole program specifically for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV).

Univision [10/2/2025 5:36 PM, Patricia Clarembaux, 4932K] reports Juan Carlos Cerda has lived in Texas for 25 years. He grew up there, attended elementary and high school, and lives there with his wife. But his future in Dallas-Fort Worth is not guaranteed. He is a beneficiary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an immigration protection that could be limited for Dreamers in that state, depending on what a federal judge decides in the coming months. The future of DACA in the state rests in the hands of Southern District of Texas Judge Andrew Hanen, after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in January that parts of the program were unlawful, specifically the component that grants work permits to recipients. The court limited implementation of that measure to Texas, which led the lawsuit against DACA. Hanen must now determine how the appeals court’s order will be implemented through a consultation process with the parties, which has already begun. This week, the administration’s proposal for continuing DACA in Texas and the rest of the country was announced.

Washington Post [10/3/2025 4:00 AM, Supriya Kumar, 32099K] reports Kaushik Raj felt like his future was falling into place. He’d just won a $100,000 scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in journalism at Columbia University. A U.S. visa was the only thing that stood between him and a new life in New York. Raj, 27, wasn’t overly concerned. He had completed every stage of the traditional application process. As a last step, he had to allow American authorities to vet his “online presence.” He wasn’t too active on social media, he said, and refrained from publicizing his personal feelings about hot-button global issues, such as Israel’s war in Gaza. He had, however, spent four years working as a journalist and would post links to his stories, which often focused on hate crimes and were critical of India’s treatment of its Muslim minority. On Aug. 21, two months after the new social media screening policy was announced by the Trump administration, he received a letter from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi telling him his application had been rejected. The letter, which he shared with The Washington Post, did not cite his online activity. Instead, it stated he had not demonstrated sufficient ties to India that would “compel” him to return home after his time in the United States. It came as a shock to Raj, who was born and raised in India and had made clear during the application process that his entire family lives in the country. It was “clearly because they have gone through my social media,” he said. “I will apply to the U.K. now.” Raj’s story is not unique. Three other Indian students who applied for American visas after the recent policy change shared strikingly similar accounts with The Post, along with supporting documentation. All said they had made it through every other stage of the application process and were rejected after the social media review. All were told by U.S. authorities that they had failed to prove strong enough ties to India despite having spent their whole lives there. The ramifications are potentially enormous for young Indians, who accounted for nearly 30 percent of all international students in the United States in the 2023-2024 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education. What was once a relatively swift and straightforward process is now characterized by weeks or months of “administrative processing,” students and immigration experts said — requiring applicants to open up their online lives for review by U.S. authorities, without any guidance on what they might deem disqualifying.

DailySignal [10/2/2025 2:00 PM, Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, 668K] reports that construction of President Donald Trump’s southern border wall is moving full-speed ahead during the government shutdown. Though 40% of the federal workforce is on unpaid leave due to the government shutdown, border wall construction isn’t taking a break. "Even during a government shutdown, the work to strengthen our defenses moves forward," a Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told The Daily Signal. "Border wall construction continues at full speed, because securing America’s border is nonnegotiable." The shutdown went into effect Wednesday after 43 Senate Democrats voted against the Republicans’ continuing resolution to keep the government funded for several more weeks while Congress hammers out a more permanent spending consensus. Democrats are demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of 2025. Republicans say Senate Democrats are trying to put controversial "extraneous issues" in the stopgap funding bill, such as public benefits for illegal immigrants. As a result, essential law enforcement officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and other Border Patrol personnel are doing their jobs unpaid. However, they will get paid retroactively when the shutdown ends.

NewsNation [10/2/2025 2:15 PM, Ali Bradley and Jeff Arnold, 6811K] reports that Operation Midway Blitz has been ongoing for weeks now around the greater Chicago area, but President Donald Trump’s promise to deliver a federal show of force has become more visible in recent days. U.S. Border Patrol agents were present along Michigan Avenue and other popular downtown destinations last week, led by commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who is heading the Chicago operation. Department of Homeland Security officials have reported that hundreds of arrests have been made as federal officers continue to target what the administration refers to as the "worst of the worst." This week, NewsNation got a firsthand look at an early-morning enforcement operation in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, where sources say that 37 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally, including suspected Tren de Aragua gang members, were taken into custody. On Thursday, three migrants who Customs and Border Protection officials say are in the United States illegally were arrested after they ran after a federal vehicle pulled up near a homeless shelter in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. An agency spokesperson said that federal officers did not enter the shelter but that they detained those who ran. Yet as federal officials, including Bovino, insist that they are making Chicago safer, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson continue to vehemently oppose the presence of federal troops, which will remain ongoing despite the government shutdown. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Chicago [10/2/2025 7:24 AM, Adam Harrington, Greg Kelly, and Aunya Butler, 45245K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were involved in a crash Wednesday on Chicago’s West Side. Chicago police said at 2:36 p.m., a white sedan with an unknown driver was headed east on Congress Parkway at California Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, while a black sport-utility vehicle being driven by a 49-year-old woman was headed north on California Avenue. The white sedan hit the black SUV. The woman driving the black SUV suffered injuries to her shoulder, neck, and hip and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said. The driver of the white sedan fled, police said. While on scene, Chicago police supervisors learned border patrol agents had detained someone connected to the crash. An investigatory stop report was completed and the person was released at the scene. Border patrol said they believed the person detained was the driver of the white sedan who fled, and was suspected of stealing construction equipment nearby. A construction foreman said someone stole a saw worth $5,000, border patrol said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Diego Union Tribune [10/2/2025 8:56 PM, Teri Figueroa, Alexandra Mendoza, 1648K] reports federal immigration agents took several people into custody during sweeps outside Home Depot stores in Encinitas and San Marcos on Thursday. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said that it was a Border Patrol operation. Border Patrol officials did not return requests for information about the arrests. The operation came on the second day of the federal government shutdown, in which federal law enforcement officers are generally deemed essential and were told to continue working on deferred pay. Border Patrol has said its operations will continue during the shutdown. People who remained at the San Marcos site after the sweep estimated that agents, who pulled up in unmarked SUVs, took away 15 to 20 people. Activist group Unión del Barrio issued a statement on social media noting the incident happened about 8:30 a.m. It also reported immigration enforcement activity about a half hour later at a San Marcos office/education building about a mile away on Rancheros Drive, where the group said witnesses saw agents detain about 10 people. The group said it also received reports of enforcement activity shortly after 10 a.m. at a Home Depot in Encinitas. It said witnesses reported about 10 people were detained. Some said agents wore face coverings during the San Marcos operation. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill banning federal and local law enforcement from wearing ski masks or other extreme facial coverings — with exceptions — but it does not go into effect until Jan. 1. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security — the parent agency of the Border Patrol — said on social media platform X last month that it will not comply with what it called "Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban.” Video on social media shows agents in the parking lot of the home-improvement store in San Marcos, including one arresting someone near the entrance to the store. At least one agent appeared to be masked and carrying a long gun. A handful of people are seen in handcuffs, and some are placed inside SUVs. One man told the Union-Tribune that he was in the lot when agents swarmed the site. "They got here and surrounded everything," he said in Spanish. "They were masked, armed and everything.” The man said one agent grabbed him by the collar, but he squirmed out of the shirt and took off running. "The thing is, if they get me, there’s no way of knowing where they’ll send me," he said. "I don’t know if they’ll catch me and send me there with the crocodiles.” The Trump administration’s newest immigration detention center is in the Florida Everglades and has been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz.” Subscribers are entitled to 10 gift sharing articles each month. These can be shared with friends and family who are not subscribers.

Breitbart [10/2/2025 2:42 PM, Randy Clark, 2608K] reports that a group of roughly 1,200 migrants has begun the long march from Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala in hopes of reaching Mexico’s capital city. The group has made clear they are hoping to receive asylum status in Mexico City and deny any intention of heading to the United States. A Spanish-language report in Agencia EFE, the leading Spanish-language news agency, described the group as consisting of hundreds of Cubans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Venezuelans, and Haitians. The intention of the group, according to EFE, was to seek better employment opportunities than those found along the southern border of Mexico in the state of Chiapas. EFE spoke to one member of the caravan, Yovani de Jesus, a Venezuelan citizen who says the group left in mass on Wednesday from the border city of Tapachula, near Guatemala, to protest Mexican government officials who have failed to grant the members legal status. Yovani says she has been in Mexico for more than seven months and is still in an illegal status. Yovani told EFE that the refugee agency in Mexico, known by the acronym COMAR has not taken any steps to grant her request for refugee status in Mexico. Without the documents required to demonstrate legal refugee status in Mexico, Yovani says she cannot work in factories or shops and is ineligible for social security benefits from the Mexican government. A lack of legal status also creates a situation that allows employers to exploit the migrants’ labor.

The Hill [10/2/2025 3:52 PM, Filip Timotija, 12414K] reports the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) asked travelers for patience and warned the public about possible longer wait times at airports in light of the federal government being shut down. TSA said about 61,000 of the 64,000 workers are considered excepted or exempt and that the agency will "continue operations to keep the travelling public safe." The rest of the employees will be temporarily furloughed, according to the TSA spokesperson. Most of the TSA workers will not be paid until the end of the shutdown battle, although those deemed working in "essential" roles have to work and will get back pay once the government is funded. TSA blamed the "partisan politics" of Democrats in Congress for the latest shutdown, the first one in the last six years.

FOX News [10/2/2025 6:52 PM, Staff, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Empower Oversight president Tristan Leavitt joins ‘The Will Cain Show’ to break down the Transportation Security Administration’s controversial ‘Quiet Skies’ surveillance program, which was shut down by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

CBS Miami [10/2/2025 6:56 PM, Joan Murray, 45245K] Video: HERE reports it is day two of the federal government shutdown and Transportation Security Administration officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport remain on the job without pay. TSA workers are considered essential employees, meaning they must continue to work through the shutdown even as their paychecks are delayed. Charlie Evans, traveling through Fort Lauderdale on his way to JFK and then on to an international flight, said he worries about what comes next. "I hate long lines, but I also hate the fact that people have to not show up because of this shutdown," Evans said. With Congress deadlocked on a funding deal and the White House warning of possible mass layoffs, the uncertainty is hitting the federal workforce hard. "It’s terrifying for the federal workforce," said TSA union representative John Hubert. "People will be making sacrifices. Some can’t pay rent. In survival mode.” Hubert said some TSA officers have already started taking second jobs as a stopgap measure. The union is also preparing to assist its members in South Florida by coordinating with local food banks. "We are reaching out to food banks in advance," Hubert said.

CNN [10/2/2025 7:18 PM, Gabe Cohen, 662K] reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency has halted the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency preparedness grants, requiring states to prove their population counts before they can access the money, the agency told CNN. The agency contends that states may be getting inflated payments because most of the money is distributed proportionately based on state population. The funds — called Emergency Management Performance Grants — totaled more than $300 million last year and help local communities prepare for disasters by paying for emergency management staff, training, equipment and public education. The new rule adds another layer of bureaucracy and uncertainty for states already struggling to secure previously awarded federal funding as they face a series of grant program pauses, delays and rule changes at FEMA, several current and former FEMA officials told CNN. States began receiving notices Tuesday that they must now submit a population certification as of September 30 detailing their methodology and confirming that individuals removed under US immigration laws are not included in the tally. According to the notice, which CNN obtained, "FEMA will rescind the funding hold upon its review and approval of the State’s methodology and population certification.” FEMA has historically used US Census data to measure state populations and determine grant allocations. Asking states to prove their populations is unprecedented, multiple FEMA officials told CNN. "Recent population shifts, including deportations of illegal aliens, create a need for updated data to ensure equitable distribution," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday. The notices to states were sent hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from diverting similar FEMA grants away from about a dozen Democratic-led states. The FEMA spokesperson said the new requirement "applies to all states and is unrelated to recent federal court rulings.” FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, have not made clear to states how they will decide if a state’s population report is acceptable. Moreover, the ongoing government shutdown could create further delays, as many FEMA employees are furloughed. For months, the Trump administration has threatened some blue states with funding cuts, especially those with so-called sanctuary immigration enforcement policies. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the administration from permanently redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars in preparedness and homeland security funds away from 11 Democratic-led states and Washington, DC. The funding at issue in the case includes the grants targeted in FEMA’s new directive. FEMA had told the states they would get less than half of the expected $460 million in homeland security funds. New York and Illinois lost more than $130 million combined.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [10/2/2025 7:54 PM, Staff, 4779K]

Axios [10/2/2025 4:08 PM, Shafaq Patel, 14595K] reports more than a year after Hurricane Beryl hit Houston, the storm’s impact still lingers in the daily lives of many residents, per a new report. Roughly 1 in 8 of residents say they still haven’t recovered — with lower-income households bearing the brunt of long-term disruption, according to a Kinder Institute report released Thursday tracking the region’s Beryl recovery effort. About one-third of households making under $25,000 reported being fully recovered, compared with 80% of those earning more than $100,000. 72% of residents now say they feel moderately to extremely prepared for another major storm, but perceived preparedness was closely linked to income and recovery status. Federal aid has largely run its course. FEMA delivered about $495 million in household relief to Harris County, but experts say it fell short of long-term needs. A final $150 million in federal housing repair aid is expected, but experts say it will cover only a fraction of the unmet costs.

Washington Post [10/2/2025 6:00 AM, Joseph Menn, 29079K] reports the lead U.S. agency for protecting the electric grid, water supply and other critical services from hacking has furloughed most of its already trimmed-down staff in the government shutdown, just as a decade-old law giving companies leeway to collaborate on cyberdefense expired. The twin impacts leave employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and outside professionals unsettled as they try to fend off a surge in sophisticated hacks from China as well as continued ransomware threats. CISA is set to keep 889 employees, or 35 percent of the workforce it had in May, according to a planning document released by its parent department, the Department of Homeland Security. More will be available for emergencies, DHS said. “CISA remains fully committed to safeguarding the nation’s critical infrastructure,” agency spokeswoman Marci McCarthy wrote in an emailed statement. “While a government shutdown can disrupt federal operations, CISA will sustain essential functions and provide timely guidance to minimize disruptions.” The shutdown comes at a precarious time, however, and not only because China-backed hacking groups have been emboldened to target more entities, in some cases without the prior approval of the Beijing government. By unhappy coincidence, the main law that shields companies from antitrust and other liabilities for sharing what they see about cyberattacks with other companies and the government expired Tuesday at midnight. Both parties and the White House enthusiastically supported renewing that information-sharing law, known as CISA 2015. The continuing resolution that passed the House and would have kept the government open included a reauthorization. But it was collateral damage in the spending standoff that led to it failing to pass the Senate.

Federal News Network [10/2/2025 5:28 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1147K] reports the cyber community is on edge as "Cybersecurity Awareness Month" begins, with many government staff furloughed under the ongoing shutdown and key authorities now lapsed amid the funding impasse. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency typically marks October’s awareness month with a range of public engagements and outreach campaigns. But under the ongoing government shutdown, CISA has furloughed nearly two-thirds of its staff and curtailed most public communication. CISA is not actively managing its website under the shutdown. But the agency did establish a landing webpage for cybersecurity awareness month prior to the shutdown, detailing the campaign’s theme and linking to a toolkit. CISA Director of Public Affairs Marci McCarthy said, "CISA remains fully committed to safeguarding the nation’s critical infrastructure," as part of a statement. CISA staff, like other federal employees, will receive backpay when the shutdown ends.

CyberScoo [10/2/2025 11:14 AM, Tim Starks] reports researchers have found two Android spyware families masquerading as messaging apps Signal and ToTok, apparently targeting residents of the United Arab Emirates. ESET revealed the spyware campaigns Thursday in a blog post, saying that researchers discovered it in June but believe it dates back to last year. They dubbed the campaigns ProSpy and ToSpy, with the first impersonating both Signal and ToTok, and the second just ToTok. ToTok has been effectively discontinued since 2020, after The New York Times reported that the app itself was a spying tool for the government of the UAE. The spyware was posing as an enhanced version of the app, ToTok Pro, ESET said. Upon download, the spyware requests permission to access contacts, text messages and stored files, and once granted, it can start exfiltrating data, according to the researchers. That includes the data for which it sought permission, but also device information, audio, video, images and chat backups.

CyberScoop [10/2/2025 9:10 PM, Matt Kapko] reports emails sent to Oracle customers by members of the Clop ransomware group assert that the cybercriminals are solely interested in a financial payout, framing the extortion as a business transaction rather than a politically motivated attack. The extortion emails were sent to executives of alleged victim organizations earlier this week, with attackers claiming they would provide victims copies of any three files or data rows upon request to verify their organization’s data was stolen. “But, don’t worry,” the attackers wrote in an extortion email, which CyberScoop obtained a copy of Thursday. “You can always save your data for payment. We do not seek political power or care about any business.” Broken English and poor spelling appears throughout the email. The sender begins the message by introducing themselves as “CL0P team” and encourages the recipient to search for information about Clop on the internet if they haven’t heard of the highly prolific threat group.

Washington Post [10/2/2025 6:00 AM, Derek Hawkins, 29079K] reports houses of worship throughout the country are increasing security in response to deadly attacks on religious communities, using methods honed by law enforcement and protective agencies to shield their congregants from targeted violence, according to security experts. Religious leaders have worked in recent months with specialists to install bulletproof film on windows, reinforce doors, erect fences and bollards in parking lots, and set up surveillance systems designed to detect potential threats during services. One security consultant said he had placed ballistic material in a pulpit to protect a pastor who was worried about armed threats. Churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship are also stepping up training for members and staff on how to respond to a potential attack, recognizing that physical security is not always sufficient, experts said. Some have conducted active-shooter drills, studied de-escalation techniques, and participated in medical and firearms classes. Synagogues and other Jewish institutions will be on elevated alert during Yom Kippur, the most important Jewish holiday, which runs through sundown Thursday.

Bloomberg [10/2/2025 12:28 PM, Bob Van Voris and Chris Dolmetsch, 75K] reports that New York state won a temporary order forcing the Trump administration to hold off redirecting $33.9 million in anti-terrorism security funds. The funds were awarded under a post-9/11 program designed to help protect against chemical, biological, radiological and explosive threats, the state said in papers filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. The funds are also intended to improve transit security and evacuation systems. "Obviously New York is no stranger to the risk of terrorist attacks and it’s not just 9/11 that tells us that," US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said in a hearing Wednesday, pointing to the day when "3,000 people died within sight of this courthouse." New York is suing to restore the money, which was earmarked by the US for mass transit security. The funds were blocked because of the state’s immigration enforcement policies, which Trump says are in conflict with those of his administration. The judge agreed with New York that the funds were required to be allocated to states "based solely on risk" of terrorist attack. The Federal Emergency Management Agency "is focused on aligning its grant programs with the Trump Administration’s priorities to streamline federal resources and reduce the burden on the American taxpayer," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. "Our goal is to ensure communities remain secure while making the system more effective and accountable, moving away from the fraud, waste, and abuse of the past." The New York case is New York v. Noem, 25-cv-08106, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan); the multi-state case is Illinois v. Noem, 25-cv-00495, US District Court, District of Rhode Island (Providence).

CNN [10/2/2025 6:34 PM, Leigh Waldman, Matthew J. Friedman and Shimon Prokupecz, 662K] reports more than 2,000 pages of documents were released Wednesday by the school district in Uvalde, Texas, weeks after CNN’s exclusive reporting showed the district’s lawyers withheld records the school board and a court had ordered to be released in the wake of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in May 2022. CNN previously reported Uvalde school officials withheld these documents, which outlined warnings about school safety issues and details about a payout to the sacked school district police chief, even after the court ordered such documents to be made public. That reporting led the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, or UCISD, to hire new attorneys who say they are now working to release additional records. The documents the school district shared on Wednesday provide additional insight into the issues plaguing Robb Elementary School, dating back years before the shooting that killed 19 fourth graders and two of their teachers. Dozens of pages of documents, including email correspondence, detail the discussions around the termination of former UCISD police chief Pete Arredondo, who is at the center of the failed law enforcement response that took 77 minutes to challenge the gunman after he walked in the school, even though officers were in the building within just three minutes. CNN exclusively reported on the existence of these documents, and talk of a million dollar settlement, in September. The newly released documents show Arredondo’s former attorney George Hyde asked for a settlement of $1.1 million, a $25,000 relocation allowance, the remainder of his salary for the ongoing school year, more than $78,000 in legal fees to be paid and an Honorable Discharge be filed with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. "Many ignore that Chief Arredondo is a victim in this event as well," Hyde wrote in an email at the time to the district’s attorney, Robb D. Decker with the firm Walsh Gallegos. In response, Decker said, "only the Board of Trustees, as a whole, can consider a settlement offer that included terms that included paying your client over a million dollars.”

FOX News [10/2/2025 8:00 AM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, 40019K] Video: HERE reports prosecutors in the Tyler Robinson case wasted no time in declaring they had already gathered "voluminous" evidence against Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin. "There is a substantial amount of discovery in this case, Your Honor. It’s voluminous, to say the least. And we’re working on a process where we can exchange information as quickly as possible and be efficient in that process," Utah County Chief Deputy Attorney Chad Grunander said Monday during Robinson’s court appearance. To better understand the strategy behind that phrase, Fox News Digital spoke with Dan Gerl, a Washington state-based defense attorney at Next Law, who previously served as a prosecutor and has more than 20 years of courtroom experience. Gerl said the prosecution’s emphasis on the volume of material was no accident, and it sets the stage for how the case may unfold in the months ahead. Prosecutors have already pointed to multiple forms of evidence, according to Gerl. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [10/2/2025 5:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1563K] reports Republicans are warning of a threat to national security as they seek to heighten the political pressure on Democrats opposing a GOP-led proposal to reopen the federal government. The Trump administration is keeping all employees it deems essential on the job, meaning critical operations at the Department of Homeland Security will not stop during a shutdown. More than 90% of agency employees are expected to continue working despite the lapse in funding, according to planning documents. But the prospect of border agents or TSA officers going without pay, or certain programs lapsing in the absence of new funding, is being highlighted by Republicans as a standoff in Washington, D.C., enters its second day. "Senate Democrats’ decision to shut down the government in order to score cheap political points — while not surprising — is incredibly disappointing given its implications for our homeland security," Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement. "Amid heightened threats from America’s adversaries, a lapse in government funding will dangerously undermine the Department of Homeland Security’s core mission to protect the American people," he added.

NBC News [10/2/2025 8:06 PM, Dan De Luce, Gordon Lubold and Keir Simmons, 43603K] reports the Trump administration plans to provide additional intelligence to Ukraine to help Kyiv strike at oil and gas facilities inside Russia, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. It would be the first time the United States has expanded intelligence assistance to Ukraine since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. The Wall Street Journal first reported the administration’s plans. Trump’s rhetoric on Russia has shifted over the past month. He has criticized Moscow, calling it a "paper tiger" that has proved unable to defeat its smaller neighbor. After Trump publicly clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, the United States suspended intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in March for about a week. The suspension rattled Ukraine’s government and European allies because Kyiv heavily relies on American intelligence for its war effort. With increasingly sophisticated drones and missiles, Ukraine has stepped up sabotage attacks on pipelines, refineries and other energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory. The attacks are beginning to inflict significant damage on Russia’s energy sector, analysts say. U.S. intelligence could make those strikes even more effective, and Ukraine hopes the Trump administration will agree to its requests for longer-range U.S.-made missiles. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Sunday that the administration is considering Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of 1,500 miles. In August, the administration announced the sale of Extended Range Attack Munitions for Ukraine, with NATO member countries buying the weapons on Kyiv’s behalf. Those missiles have ranges of 150 to 280 miles. Russia played down the Trump administration’s plans to expand intelligence-sharing. "The U.S. transmits intelligence to Ukraine on a regular basis online. The supply and use of the entire infrastructure of NATO and the U.S. to collect and transfer intelligence to Ukrainians is obvious," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. But Peskov warned the United States that any shipments of Tomahawk cruise missiles would represent "a new, serious round of tension that will require an adequate response from the Russian side.” The missiles can travel up to 1,500 miles, putting Moscow in range. In his annual foreign policy address Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was in a conflict with all of NATO. "Many countries are fighting against us. All the NATO countries are fighting against us. They’re no longer hiding it," Putin said.

Reuters [10/2/2025 6:04 AM, Gleb Stolyarov, 45746K] reports the Kremlin said on Thursday that the United States and the NATO alliance were already supplying intelligence to Ukraine on a regular basis, in response to reports that Washington would provide intelligence on Russian energy targets to Kyiv. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets inside Russia as it also weighs whether to send missiles to Kyiv that could be used in such strikes. "The United States of America transmits intelligence to Ukraine on a regular basis online," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "The supply and use of the entire infrastructure of NATO and the United States to collect and transfer intelligence to Ukrainians is obvious."

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