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.

Bloomberg [10/8/2025 5:25 PM, Lauren Dezenski, 18207K] reports President Donald Trump instructed members of his cabinet to move to declare Antifa a foreign terrorist organization at an event that highlighted his efforts to crack down on the loose collective of far left-wing groups. “I think it’s the kind of thing I’d like to do,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House in response to a question about whether he would make that designation. “If you agree, I agree. Let’s get it done.” Trump was joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem among other officials, as he hosted what was cast as a gathering of journalists who said they had been victims of violence and intimidation by Antifa. “There are extensive foreign ties, and I think that would be a very valid step,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller added but without offering any details on those purported links. The president last month signed an executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist group and directing federal agencies to use “all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions” conducted by Antifa or anyone claiming to be acting on its behalf. That order sparked confusion over how the administration would implement it because there is no such provision for domestic groups. Federal law does allow for international groups to be labeled as foreign terrorist organizations. Such groups are designated by the secretary of State as a means of imposing financial sanctions, travel restrictions and other penalties on organizations deemed as engaging in terrorism. The Daily Caller [10/8/2025 6:07 PM, Staff, 835K] reports Trump convened a White House roundtable on Antifa on Wednesday to pledge an aggressive crackdown against the group. The event followed his order and Federal Register entry listing Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization — no State Department action has yet placed "Antifa" on the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials at the roundtable also likened Antifa to recognized terror or criminal outfits. "Their agenda is to destroy the American people and our way of life, and this president is standing in their way," Noem said. Any move to place Antifa on the Foreign Terrorist Organization list would have to come from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. As of Wednesday, Antifa still does not appear under the FTO roster, though it is listed as a domestic terror organization in the Federal Register. Reuters [10/8/2025 6:15 PM, Trevor Hunnicutt, 36480K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were among the attendees. Several of the attendees pointed to ongoing threats against law enforcement as they spoke about antifa. The threats, and crime, have been cited by Trump as reasons why he has sought to deploy National Guard troops to cities like Portland, Orgeon. Speaking at the roundtable, Bondi highlighted steps being taken by the Trump administration to combat antifa and threats toward law enforcement, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Breitbart [10/8/2025 8:31 PM, Nick Gilbertson, 2416K] reports President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would designate Antifa a foreign terrorist organization after a roundtable on the far-left extremist group with independent journalists, Jack Posobiec, Nick Sortor, and others who have delivered tremendous on-the-ground reporting on Antifa. Trump invited both Sortor, who Portland police arrested last week while he covered Antifa at an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest, and Posobiec to speak during the roundtable. Sortor brought an American flag he saved from radicals who set it ablaze in the Portland street and displayed it before Cabinet officials and reporters in the room. After Sortor told Trump he could identify the man who burned the flag, Trump told him to give the information to Attorney General Pam Bondi to "start prosecutions.” Posobiec zoomed in on Antifa’s existence dating back a century, the messages on the bullet casings of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, and the appalling leftist celebration in the aftermath of Kirk’s murder. "Thank you for mentioning the fact that one of the bullet casings read, ‘Hey fascist! Catch!’ on it. One of the other bullet casings right next to that had ‘Bella Ciao’ written on it. Now, ‘Bella Ciao’ is a song that is known in Antifa circles as the international anthem of Antifa," he said. "And Mr. President, I think the situation is getting worse. When you look at people like Luigi Mangione in his twenties, Thomas Matthew Crooks, of course, who took a shot at you sir, the ICE shooter in Dallas, and now this Tyler Robinson, we’re starting to see a pattern of more and more murderous violence," he added.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [10/8/2025 12:06 PM, Emma Colton Fox, 40621K]

Daily Wire [10/8/2025 1:14 PM, Cameron Arcand, 2494K] reports President Donald Trump hosted a roundtable discussion at the White House with journalists impacted by violence from Antifa, a far-left group recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization by the president. The decentralized group is most known for instigating violence and chaos at major protests, including anti-ICE protests in Portland, Oregon, which led the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard to the city. Currently, that order is blocked by United States District Judge Karin J. Immergut at the time of this writing. "The epidemic of left-wing violence and Antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade," Trump said on Wednesday. "These are agitators, anarchists, and they’re paid," he later added. Conservative journalists and personalities, including Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt, Julio Rosas, Brandi Kruse, Savanah Hernandez, and Jack Posobiec, joined the roundtable with Trump administration officials. "The Biden administration let them commit these crimes with total impunity for years," Attorney General Pam Bondi said, adding that "weak Democrats have turned a blind eye to their actions.” Bondi vowed to "destroy the entire organization from top to bottom," saying they will use a similar approach to how they crack down on drug cartels. FBI Director Kash Patel said that "they are harming everyday citizens in every single one of our communities.”

Washington Examiner [10/8/2025 6:58 PM, Naomi Lim, 1394K] reports President Donald Trump on Wednesday pledged to bring the full force of the federal government down on antifa, a left-wing anti-fascist, anti-racist political movement. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Trump convened a White House roundtable on political threats from left-wing groups to highlight the danger of antifa if left unchecked. "They have been very threatening to people, but we’re going to be threatening to them, far more threatening to them than they ever were with us, and that includes the people that fund them," Trump said Wednesday. "We’re going to be looking very strongly at the people funding these operations.” During the roundtable, Trump asked the participating conservative and independent reporters for information regarding their exchanges, some of them violent, with alleged members of antifa. At one point, the president asked participants what the "worst" mainstream news outlet was. The fact that Kirk’s alleged killer referenced anti-fascist ideology, including inscribing an unfired bullet casing with the words "Hey fascist! Catch!", has provided ammunition for Trump and his administration to crack down on left-wing groups. For example, Wednesday’s roundtable comes after Trump last month designated antifa as a terrorist organization and directed his departments and agencies to "utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations" with respect to antifa. Trump signed a presidential memorandum days later, underscoring that "a new law enforcement strategy that investigates all participants in these criminal and terroristic conspiracies, including the organized structures, networks, entities, organizations, funding sources, and predicate actions behind them, is required.” That memorandum directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure domestic terrorism prosecution priorities include politically motivated terrorist acts, such as organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder. The memorandum also directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to identify and upend financial networks that fund domestic terrorism and political violence and, in his capacity as acting Internal Revenue Service commissioner, to make certain that no tax-exempt organizations are directly or indirectly financing the same.

The New York Post [10/8/2025 6:31 PM, Steven Nelson, 42219K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Wednesday that the Antifa movement is "just as sophisticated" as Hamas, ISIS and MS-13 — as the Trump administration threatened to launch a crackdown on the far-left street fighters. "This network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them," Noem said at an Antifa-focused White House roundtable chaired by President Trump. "They are just as dangerous. They have an agenda to destroy us, just like the other terrorists we’ve dealt with." Noem made the claim after visiting Portland, Ore., earlier this week, where she observed from a rooftop a group of anti-ICE protesters, including a demonstrator in a large chicken costume. Trump, responding to a reporter’s question, said he was willing to declare Antifa to be a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) on top of his recent domestic declaration. FOX News [10/8/2025 6:24 PM, Peter D’Abrosca, 40019K] reports “I want to thank the new journalists here today for telling their stories and for being able and willing to go to the streets and to cover what’s happening here in America. Many times, the legacy media has looked the other way, refused to tell the stories," Noem began. "The networks have not really focused on what this is and what damage it is doing to our country and how this network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TdA, as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them," she continued. Noem visited Portland on Wednesday, where left-wing agitators have been rioting outside an ICE facility for months, noting that dozens of Antifa members from all around the country have been arrested under the Trump administration. She said that authorities recently arrested the girlfriend of the founder of Antifa in Portland, and that investigators are trying to garner more information from her about the network of newly-labeled "domestic terrorists" during their prosecution. Noem said the administration’s explicit goal is to "eliminate [Antifa] from the existence of American society." "These individuals do not just want to threaten our law enforcement officers, threaten our journalists and the citizens of this country. They want to kill them," Noem said. "Their agenda is to destroy the American people and our way of life," she said. "And this president is standing in their way. He is stopping them from bringing their death. And there’s destruction to the individual citizens in this country that just want to raise their kids and their grandkids in peace and in safety."

NewsNation [10/8/2025 5:55 PM, Zach Kaplan, Nancy Loo, 8017K] reports U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was in Portland on Tuesday, where she visited an ICE facility and met with the Oregon governor, Portland mayor and local law enforcement. Protests have been ramping up outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in recent months. After meeting with the mayor, Noem told Fox News that if security measures around the ICE facility in Portland do not intensify, "We’ll send four times the number of federal officers here so the people of Portland can finally have some safety and security." The Trump administration is targeting Portland and other Democratic run cities in part due to protests outside of ICE facilities, which Trump has described as "under siege from attack by antifa, and other domestic terrorists." He has also repeatedly referred to protestors as "insurrectionists." U.S. Northern Command told NewsNation that approximately 200 federalized National Guard troops sent to Oregon from California remain on the ground in Portland. Additionally, 200 more Oregon National Guard troops are on standby. Oregon gov. Tina Kotek has called for both Oregon and California troops stationed near Portland to return home. The Trump administration is seeking a pause on the temporary restraining rulings that went in favor of Oregon, barring National Guard troops from any state from being deployed to Portland. Oregon and the Trump administration are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. If it issues a stay, President Trump would be permitted to deploy National Guard troops in Portland as the case plays out. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hold an initial hearing on the case on Thursday, Oct. 9. The court challenges to deployment could be why Noem is threatening to send more federal protective services to Portland, rather than the military.

The Hill [10/8/2025 6:14 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 12595K] reports a federal appeals court on Wednesday lifted a judge’s order blocking President Trump from calling Oregon National Guard troops into federal service, but he still may not deploy them, for now. The temporary, administrative stay puts U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut’s order halting Trump’s federalization of the National Guard members on hold while the appeals court weighs whether to extend the pause as it considers the administration’s appeal. But it keeps in place her second order barring the president from sending the troops anywhere in the state. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit wrote in a brief order Wednesday that the decision best preserves the "status quo.” "The effect of granting an administrative stay preserves the status quo in which National Guard members have been federalized but not deployed," they wrote. The panel — made up of two Trump appointees and an appointee of President Clinton — will hear arguments Thursday about whether to pause Immergut’s order until ruling on the administration’s appeal. The Trump administration had urged the appeals court to act by Monday, contending Immergut "impermissibly second-guessed" Trump’s military judgments. "The district court’s order improperly impinges on the Commander in Chiefs supervision of military operations, countermands a military directive to officers in the field and endangers federal personnel and property," DOJ lawyers wrote in Sunday court filings. Immergut ruled Friday that Trump’s reasoning for calling up the National Guard troops in Portland, Ore. was "simply untethered to the facts" and temporarily barred implementation of a Defense Department memorandum authorizing federalization and deployment of 200 federalized Oregon troops. But the president then moved to send hundreds of federalized troops from California and Texas to Portland instead. At a hearing Sunday night, Immergut questioned how the move was not "in direct contravention" of her earlier order. California joined Oregon’s legal bid to keep the federalized troops out of Portland, and Immergut granted their request to block Trump from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon at all. That order remains in effect.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [10/8/2025 5:12 PM, Ella Lee, 12595K]

Washington Examiner [10/8/2025 7:28 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 1394K] reports NOEM: ‘I’VE BEEN DEALING WITH … A BUNCH OF PANSIES’: The dueling realities of the Trump administration and state and local officials about crime in blue states were on vivid display Tuesday, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited “war-ravaged” Portland, while Attorney General Pam Bondi rebuked Democratic senators in congressional testimony over the murder rate in Chicago. Noem arrived in Portland to oversee illegal immigration enforcement operations and was seen in social media posts peering down from the rooftop of an ICE facility at a small group of protesters, including a man in a chicken suit. “Our goal is that people would peacefully protest, but that we would still be able to enforce the law.” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) said she only learned of Noem’s visit through "unofficial channels" and reached out to request a meeting with her. "We talked about safety. We talked about safely allowing folks to peacefully protest. No one in Oregon is interested in seeing military policing on our streets when people are protesting peacefully," Kotek said on CNN. "I also brought up the issue of the use of tear gas. We have some very strict laws in Oregon about how we interact with protesters and people who are lawfully demonstrating.” "So, it was a straightforward conversation," Kotek said. "I’m glad she is here on the ground to assess the situation, because she needs to see what the reality is here." Later, Noem went on Fox to rail against Portland’s leadership, including the city’s mayor, Keith Wilson. "What I told him is that if he did not follow through on some of these security measures for our officers, we were going to cover him up with more federal resources and that we were going to send four times the amount of federal officers here so that the people of Portland could have some safety," Noem told Fox News host Jesse Watters. "What is shocking to me about these leftist politicians is just how they ignore the people who elected them, jeopardize their safety, and continue to disrespect our law enforcement officers," she said. "So one of the things I’ve been dealing with all day here in Portland is a bunch of pansies that are elected into political office who won’t make a decision to keep their citizens safe.”

FOX News [10/8/2025 6:09 PM, Madison Colombo, 40621K] reports "Border czar" Tom Homan announced that Texas National Guard troops began operations Tuesday in Illinois to protect federal immigration officers amid what he described as a sharp rise in attacks targeting ICE personnel. "They’re on the ground, and they started working last night," Homan confirmed on "America Reports" Wednesday. About 200 members of the Texas National Guard were mobilized for the mission, which the Pentagon says is intended to protect federal "functions, personnel and property.” The deployment follows more than a dozen arrests near an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, where anti-ICE protests have continued for several days. "Thank God for Governor Abbott," said Homan. "He’s sending troops out there to help protect ICE officers who have [seen] over [a] 1,000% increase in attacks.” But Illinois leaders have strongly opposed the move. Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have accused federal immigration officers of both harassment and racial profiling. "Let me be clear, Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities," Pritzker said Monday, standing alongside Johnson. "The state of Illinois is going to use every lever at our disposal to resist this power grab and get Noem’s thugs the hell out of Chicago.” Homan blasted the governor’s comments as "disgusting," arguing that this level of rhetoric has fueled recent violence against law enforcement. He pointed to three separate attacks in Texas, including an officer shot in the neck at a detention facility in Alvarado and a sniper attack in Dallas that killed two detainees. The Department of Homeland Security also pushed back on Pritzker’s claims, calling them "reckless" and "categorically false.” In a statement, DHS said agents have arrested more than 1,000 illegal immigrants in Illinois, including convicted pedophiles, child abusers and gang members. "What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity," they wrote in a statement online.

NPR [10/8/2025 5:37 PM, Michael Puente, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports military troops from Texas have started to arrive outside of Chicago as part of the Trump Administration’s battle with Chicago over immigration enforcement.

New York Times [10/8/2025 6:29 PM, Mattathias Schwartz, 135475K] reports a federal judge in Chicago has imposed new limitations on the ability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to make arrests without warrants, siding with plaintiffs in a long-running class-action lawsuit against ICE. The ruling, which stems from a consent decree struck by the Biden administration in 2022, is unrelated to the pending legal challenges to President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard troops in Chicago and Portland, Ore. But it signals that another judge is skeptical about the Trump administration’s willingness to adhere to legal requirements as the president ratchets up his mass deportations. The decision, issued on Tuesday, is confined to Chicago and will expire in February, but it could influence the courts’ interpretations of ICE’S legal authorities in similar cases elsewhere. The 52-page ruling from Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings challenges the legal basis for one of ICE’S tools for making arrests — blank warrants that are often filled out by officers in the field. Under Tuesday’s order, those forms can be used only as a basis to arrest someone who has already received a notice to appear before an immigration judge. That change alone sharply limits ICE’S authority to make “collateral arrests” of unknown individuals who officers encounter in the field, unless the agents have probable cause to believe those people are likely to escape before a warrant can be issued. “If ICE can’t arrest them without a warrant, that really limits the use of racial profiling,” said Mark Fleming, a lawyer at the National Immigrant Justice Center, which represented the plaintiffs. Judge Cummings highlighted the importance of probable cause after a recent Supreme Court interim ruling that allowed immigration authorities to continue to stop people and question them based on factors like their ethnicity. “Citizens, non-citizens with legal status, and foreign nationals are interwoven throughout ICE’S Chicago Area of Responsibility and American society in general,” Judge Cummings wrote. Under the Supreme Court’s ruling, he wrote, U.S. citizens and legal residents could now be questioned or detained for sharing “commonalities” like ethnicity and language with “Latino foreign nationals.” That, he said, heightens the need for ICE agents to show probable cause. Mr. Fleming praised the decision. “We’re seeing more people who have deep community ties — families, loved ones, people with jobs, some of them U.S. citizens — being taken into ICE custody,” he said. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that the department “complies with all lawful court orders and is addressing this matter with the court.”

AP [10/9/2025 1:44 AM, Sudhin Thanawala, 30493K] reports President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois faces legal scrutiny Thursday at a pivotal court hearing that will occur the day after a small number of Guard troops started protecting federal property in the Chicago area. U.S. District Judge April Perry will hear arguments over a request to block the deployment of Illinois and Texas Guard members. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and local officials strongly oppose use of the Guard. An "element" of the 200 Texas Guard troops sent to Illinois started working in the Chicago area on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details not been made public. The spokesperson did not say where specifically the troops were sent. The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, arrived this week at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been activated for 60 days. The Guard members are in the city to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, according to Northern Command. Trump earlier sent troops to Los Angeles and Washington, and a small number this week started assisting law enforcement in Memphis. Those troops are part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a collection of about a dozen federal law enforcement agencies ordered by Trump to fight crime in the city. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee supports using the Guard. The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law. Chicago and Illinois have filed a lawsuit to stop the deployments, calling them unnecessary and illegal. Trump, meanwhile, has portrayed Chicago as a lawless "hellhole" of crime, though statistics show a significant recent drop in crime. The Republican president said Wednesday that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Pritzker, both Democrats, should be jailed for failing to protect federal agents during immigration enforcement crackdowns. In a court filing in the lawsuit, the city and state say protests at a temporary ICE detention facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview have "never come close to stopping federal immigration enforcement.” "The President is using the Broadview protests as a pretext," they wrote. "The impending federal troop deployment in Illinois is the latest episode in a broader campaign by the President’s administration to target jurisdictions the President dislikes.”

Reuters [10/8/2025 7:48 PM, Emily Schmall, Susan Heavey and Daniel Trotta, 36480K] reports some 500 National Guard troops were deployed near Chicago on Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s orders despite the objections of the Chicago mayor and Illinois governor, who decried the militarization of their city as an unnecessary provocation. Trump in turn called for the jailing of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, neither of whom has been accused of criminal wrongdoing. Both have emerged as prominent opponents of Trump’s immigration crackdown and deployment of National Guard troops in Democratic-leaning cities. The National Guard said on Wednesday roughly 200 soldiers from Texas and 300 from Illinois had gathered in the Chicago area, and were ready to protect federal personnel, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and federal property in the city. While Trump administration officials have sounded the alarm over what they call lawless and violent protests in cities such as Chicago and Portland, Oregon, demonstrations over Trump’s immigration policies have been largely peaceful and limited in size, far from the "war zone" conditions described by Trump. Several hundred people marched in downtown Chicago on Wednesday evening, protesting the deployment of National Guard troops and reflecting increasing anger at the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago area. In a new addition to the usual slate of protest chants, people shouted "Todos somos Silverio" or "We are all Silverio" after the fatal shooting of immigrant Silverio Villegas Gonzalez by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb in September. Otherwise, the streets of downtown Chicago hummed with normal commuter traffic on Wednesday, except for the frequent drone of helicopters overhead, a feature of Chicago’s skies since the Trump administration’s federal incursions began last month. In Latino and Black neighborhoods of Chicago, where immigration agents have been most visible, people have come out of their homes and businesses to criticize the perceived mistreatment of their neighbors by federal officers. Johnson, the Chicago mayor, signed an executive order on Monday creating an "ICE Free Zone" that prohibits federal immigration agents from using city property in their operations. "This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere," Johnson said on social media. Governor Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, likewise said he would not back down. "Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?". Trump’s call to imprison the two elected officials comes as another high-profile political rival, former FBI Director James Comey, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges. Trump has frequently called for jailing his opponents but Comey is the first to face prosecution. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaking at a White House event on Wednesday, said federal officers in places like Portland and Chicago had come under threat "on a regular basis.” "Any elected official that allows this to happen ... should absolutely be prosecuted, in my opinion," Noem said after Trump directed a reporter’s question about arresting Democratic leaders to Noem.

Washington Post [10/9/2025 3:39 AM, Rachel Pannett, 32099K] reports Texas National Guard troops began operations in the greater Chicago area on Wednesday evening, after President Donald Trump spent a good part of the day seeking to build his case for deployments to cities including Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Around 200 Texas National Guard soldiers and 300 soldiers from the Illinois National Guard have been mobilized for an initial period of 60 days, according to the military unit in command of the troops. “These forces will protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property,” the U.S. Army Northern Command said in a statement Wednesday evening. The Trump administration is sending federalized National Guard troops to Illinois against the wishes of state officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who described the planned deployment of Texas troops over the weekend as an “invasion.” The highly unusual deployment of one state’s Guard in another state against its wishes marks the latest expansion in the Trump administration’s use of National Guard members to crack down on what it has portrayed as lawless and crime-ridden cities. Trump said earlier Wednesday he would pursue designating antifa — a political protest movement composed of unaffiliated groups — a “foreign terrorist organization” as his administration seeks to crack down on what it views as a surge of far-left activists operating in Democratic-run cities. The president also called for Democratic officials in Chicago — including Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — to be jailed, accusing them without evidence of “failing to protect” ICE officers who have been sent to the city.

NBC News [10/8/2025 2:55 PM, Courtney Kube, Katherine Doyle, Carol E. Lee, and Garrett Haake, 34509K] reports that White House officials have held increasingly serious discussions in recent days about President Donald Trump invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that gives the president the power to deploy active-duty troops inside the U.S. for law enforcement purposes, five people with knowledge of the talks told NBC News. The discussions come as Trump has sought to deploy National Guard troops in several major cities — including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon — saying they’re needed to reduce crime and protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from protesters. Critics have said that the Trump administration is exaggerating issues in those cities. A decision to invoke the act is not expected to be imminent, one senior administration official said. Were it to happen, it would be a notable escalation. The guard is currently deployed in limited support roles since active-duty members of the military are forbidden from conducting civilian law enforcement actions, such as conducting searches and making arrests. But the Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy troops inside the U.S. for that purpose. Talk inside the White House about invoking the act has ebbed and flowed since Trump took office again in January, said the five people, who include the senior administration official, two people familiar with the discussions and two people close to the White House. But the debate inside the administration has shifted recently, from whether it makes sense to invoke the act to more deeply exploring how and when it might be invoked, both people close to the White House said.

Politico [10/8/2025 5:53 AM, Myah Ward, 2100K] reports President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if federal courts bar him from sending National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. It’s a tactic the president has been anxious to use, but several key allies and White House officials don’t think he’ll need it. At least for now. They are confident the Trump administration will prevail in court after a federal judge twice blocked the White House’s efforts to send troops into Oregon because she ruled that the president’s move lacked legal basis. The administration has appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and would almost certainly take the case to the Supreme Court if needed. “To be frank, if somebody wants 20-1 odds that this temporary restraining order would survive Supreme Court review, I’d give it to them,” said Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at The Article III Project, a Trump-aligned legal organization founded in 2019. “That’s how strongly I think this is doomed to be reversed.” But even as the White House insists the president is on firm legal ground, Trump has made clear he has a plan B: the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that gives the president emergency powers to deploy troops on U.S. soil to quell what the president deems an insurrection. “If I had to enact it, I’d do it,” Trump said in the Oval Office Monday. “If people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.” Trump declined to invoke the Insurrection Act earlier this year in the context of the emergency at the southern border, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended against it. But in recent weeks, the White House has been increasingly building the case to use the move in blue cities, with Trump repeatedly calling rioters in Portland “insurrectionists.”

Bloomberg [10/8/2025 6:48 PM, Patrick Howell O’Neil and Jeff Stone, 19085K] reports the US Department of Homeland Security has shifted hundreds of national security specialists, including cyber personnel, into jobs that support President Donald Trump’s deportations and said it would dismiss anyone who refuses to go along, according to current and former DHS employees. Compulsory reassignments have gone in recent weeks to workers within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, who had focused on issuing alerts about threats against US agencies and critical infrastructure, current and former employees said. They described the orders on condition of anonymity over fears of retaliation. Affected CISA staffers have been shuffled to agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which received a $150 billion infusion to carry out Trump’s immigration crackdown, the employees said. CISA workers have been moved to Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protective Service, a domestic police force working with ICE and CBP on deportations. Changes have hit particularly hard in CISA’s Capacity Building team, which writes emergency directives and oversees cybersecurity for the government’s highest value assets, the employees said. Reassignments have largely targeted senior CISA staffers, who are forbidden from joining unions because they work on national security issues, according to one person. Refusing a new role would be considered grounds for termination, according to two copies of letters from DHS human resources seen by Bloomberg News. Mandatory job changes often include disruptive geographic relocations and give affected workers a one-week deadline to either accept or resign, employees said. A DHS spokeswoman broadly defended the moves but declined to comment on individual cases. “DHS routinely aligns personnel to meet mission priorities while ensuring continuity across all core mission areas,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a statement. She said the agency covers relocation costs for moves of more than 50 miles. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “Americans have never been safer than they are under President Trump.” She referred other questions to DHS.

Washington Post [10/8/2025 2:21 PM, Perry Stein, 24149K] reports that nearly a quarter of FBI agents across the country are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing to upward of 40 percent in the nation’s largest field offices, according to data from the FBI obtained by Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia) and shared with The Washington Post. The large number of reassignments reflect a vast reshaping of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency, which has focused on national security threats since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The intense focus on immigration has raised alarm among current and former FBI agents who say morale is low across the bureau as agents have less time to dedicate to the often complex cases they were hired to work on. The Trump administration has long said that more of the FBI’s time is going into immigration enforcement, but the figure of almost 25 percent is the first precise recording of how big the shift has been. Warner requested the data in his role as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Agents have been pulled from duties related to cybercrimes, drug trafficking, terrorism, counterintelligence and more, the statistics show. Agents assigned to immigration enforcement are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to locate and arrest people in the country illegally. The total amount of FBI resources devoted to immigration is probably higher than even the 25 percent figure.

Reported similarly:
Axios [10/8/2025 7:04 PM, Jason Lalljee, 12972K]

Axios [10/8/2025 3:07 PM, Melissa Santos, 12972K] reports Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed executive orders yesterday outlining how local police will respond if President Trump deploys troops to Seattle, while also attempting to rein in the actions of federal immigration agents. The Seattle Police Department "will maintain functional independence" should federal troops arrive in the city, and "not act at the direction of the National Guard or federal authorities," according to the first executive order signed by Harrell Wednesday. Seattle police will "report daily" to the mayor on the known actions of any deployed federal troops, the order adds. It also creates a city task force aimed at preparing for troops to arrive, while directing Seattle officials to ready a lawsuit to challenge any such deployment. The order also addresses possible protests against federal troops, saying the city "shall offer to work with organizers to keep protests peaceful" and "minimize the potential for conflict." In the other executive order, Harrell pledges to submit an ordinance to the City Council banning federal civil immigration enforcement activities on city property. The mayor will also propose an ordinance to ban the use of face masks by federal law enforcement agents, the order says, citing recent "warrantless arrests and detentions by masked and un-uniformed individuals" under the Trump administration.

The AP [10/8/2025 1:42 PM, Michelle L. Price and Sophia Tareen, 2416K] reports that President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation’s third-largest city. The officials said they would not be deterred. The Republican president made the comment in a social media post, the latest example of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up — a break from longtime norms as the Justice Department traditionally has strived to maintain its independence from the White House. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker "should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!" It was a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was not immediately clear what Trump was objecting to. Johnson, in a post on X, said, "This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere." Pritzker, also on X, said" I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when asked what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had committed, failed to identify any, but she said they "have blood on their hands" and pointed to Chicago Police Department reports that at least five people were killed and 25 shot over the weekend. "Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue and attack the President for wanting to help make their city safe again," Jackson said. Politico [10/8/2025 3:39 PM, Jacob Wendler, 2100K] reports Trump has repeatedly criticized both leaders as weak, decrying the Midwest city as a hotspot of crime despite falling crime rates in Chicago. Texas National Guard troops arrived in the Chicagoland area Tuesday, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called up 300 Illinois National Guard troops Saturday to be deployed for at least 60 days despite objections from Pritzker and Johnson. During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Pritzker condemned the president’s call for his and Johnson’s arrest and warned the president: “If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.” “This is a convicted felon. Think about that. [He] is threatening to jail me. I got to say, this guy’s unhinged. He’s insecure. He’s a wannabe dictator,” Pritzker told reporters outside of the federal building in downtown Chicago. Pritzker also encouraged residents to protest the Trump administration’s immigration moves and document federal actions on the ground. “We want everybody to pull out their phones and the Android, iPhone, whatever you’ve got, and film everything you see, because we take that to court, and we also show it to the whole public,” he said. Johnson also pushed back on the threats, writing that “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” The Daily Wire [10/8/2025 10:16 AM, Zach Jewell, 2494K] reports that on Sunday, Pritzker responded to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s description of Chicago as a "war zone," accusing the Trump administration of "making it a war zone." "They need to get out of Chicago if they’re not going to focus on the worst of the worst, which is what the president said they were going to do," Pritzker added. Over the weekend, federal immigration agents driving in Chicago were rammed and surrounded by 10 vehicles in an area where anti-ICE protesters had taken to the streets. One of the drivers accused of ramming into the agents’ vehicles "was armed with a semi-automatic weapon," according to Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. The federal agents fired at the armed agitator, "who drove herself to the hospital to get care for her wounds," McLaughlin said. The armed suspect, identified as 40-year-old Marimar Martinez, was on Border Patrol’s radar after she allegedly doxxed federal agents and threatened to "f*** those mother f***ers up." After Martinez was released from the hospital, she was taken into FBI custody, according to the DHS. No federal agents were injured in the apparent attack, according to McLaughlin, who also accused the Chicago Police Department of refusing to assist federal law enforcement "in securing the area." According to internal dispatch obtained by Fox News, Chicago Police Department officers were told by their chief of patrol not to respond to the incident.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [10/8/2025 10:36 AM, Anthony Blair, 42219K]
CNN [10/8/2025 9:47 AM, Andy Rose and Alisha Ebrahimji, 23245K]
Blaze [10/8/2025 4:50 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K]
Chicago Tribune [10/8/2025 3:28 PM, Jake Sheridan, 4829K]

The Hill [10/8/2025 1:09 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12595K] reports that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), responding to President Trump’s remarks that he and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) should be arrested, called Trump "unstable" and "unhinged." "First of all, this president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that, quite frankly, is a threat to our democracy," Johnson said during an appearance on CNN’s "The Situation Room." "And it’s certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of Black man unjustly. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay firm as the mayor of this amazing city, which was voted nine years in a row the best big city in America, and we’re going to defend all of Chicago," he added. Earlier in the day, Trump said Johnson and Pritzker "should be in jail for failing to protect [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Officers!" His comments come after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said there had been resistance to the uptick in federal agents in the Windy City. Pritzker and Johnson have both rejected the push to deploy hundreds of National Guard soldiers to Illinois in an effort to quell criminal activity and crack down on immigration enforcement. "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" Pritzker said in a Wednesday post responding to Trump’s remarks alleging he should be jailed.

FOX News [10/8/2025 8:24 AM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 40621K] reports Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday he "can’t believe anything" that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says and suggested ICE officers were breaking the law. Pritzker told the "Raging Moderates" podcast that he has encouraged prosecutors to investigate ICE activity in Chicago. He claimed one example that needed to be investigated was a recent report of an armed woman being shot by ICE officers during a protest in Chicago. According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the woman, a U.S. citizen identified as Marimar Martinez, was accused of ramming into a law enforcement vehicle, blocking officers from moving. Pritzker claimed that ICE officers antagonized her. "Well, it now comes out her attorney says there is bodycam footage that shows that actually she was rammed by an ICE agent in their vehicle and that ICE agent started yelling at her, calling her the b- word and other things," Pritzker said. "And right after that, there was this shooting that ensued. They claimed in their release from ICE that she was the aggressor and that she was pointing a gun or pulling out an automatic weapon." He continued, "So you can’t believe anything ICE is doing, and I believe that we can go after ICE and those agents when they are committing felonies or any kind of breach of the law in the state of Illinois.”

Breitbart [10/8/2025 3:55 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K] reports Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both radical Democrats, have responded to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that they should be arrested for obstructing the legal actions of federal law enforcement. "I will not back down," Pritzker wrote in a bellicose post on X immediately after the president posted his comment. Johnson threw the race card saying that Trump loves arresting black men. On Wednesday morning, the president took to his Truth Social account and railed at Pritzker and Johnson for their constant attempts to obstruct, threaten, and attack federal law enforcement agents working to clean up the Windy City. Both Illinois Democrats quickly responded to the president’s criticism.

FOX News [10/8/2025 2:00 PM, Taylor Penley, 40621K] reports that Chief Border Patrol agent Gregory Bovino unloaded on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Wednesday, responding to the Democrat’s claim that the Trump administration launched an "unconstitutional invasion" of Chicago by conducting federal law enforcement operations to mitigate crime. "I doubt the governor could fill custard in a pie factory if it came down to it, but what he is adept at is placing his citizens, his law enforcement officers, and his state in jeopardy at the hands of criminals," Bovino said on "Fox & Friends First." "It’s plain and simple: he doesn’t care," he added. "He has not mentioned bounties on federal law enforcement. He’s not mentioned those individuals that you talked about at the beginning of the segment that prey on American citizens that are walking the streets. He needs to get with the program because he’s not doing it right now." While speaking in Springfield on Monday, Pritzker thanked state Attorney General Kwame Raoul as well as his staff, general counsel and legal team for preparing federal lawsuits in anticipation of what he called the Trump administration’s "unconstitutional invasion of Illinois." "I refuse to let Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, and Gregory Bovino continue on this march toward autocracy," Pritzker said on the heels of President Trump ordering National Guard deployments to Chicago. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fired back in a press release on Monday, insisting that the "reality" is the agency’s moves are "neither unconstitutional nor an invasion." DHS also rebuked Pritzker’s claim that the agency is targeting racial minorities rather than criminals as well as his claim that U.S. citizens have been targeted in such operations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [10/8/2025 1:05 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, Adam Goldman, and Anna Griffin, 135475K] reports that on Sept. 27, President Trump described Portland, Ore., as a “War ravaged” city that was “under siege from attack by Antifa” mobs protesting ICE raids. But here is how federal officers described the scene outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in southwest Portland on Sept. 25: “low energy.” The next day the same: “low energy.” Internal reports from the week before Mr. Trump ordered troops into Portland show that, by and large, the officers observed displays of civil disobedience, including protesters standing in front of vehicles on the road, playing loud music and “flipping a bird,” and an older woman using chalk to write on a wall. They also described some tense incidents, such as at least two confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters and a suspicious car that “lurched” at Department of Homeland Security officers. But local officials have said the city is well equipped to manage the demonstrations, and that an infusion of federal troops is not warranted. “We ultimately have a perception versus reality problem,” Caroline Turco, a lawyer for the city, argued in court on Friday. “The president’s perception is that it’s ‘World War II out there.’ The reality is this is a beautiful city and with a sophisticated police force that can handle the situation.”

Reuters [10/8/2025 8:52 PM, Richard Cowan and Nolan D. McCaskill, 36480K] reports the U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked a preliminary move to terminate President Donald Trump’s use of the military to destroy boats carrying alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers, unless he gets authorization from Congress. The effort, spearheaded by Democratic Senators Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia - and with the backing of Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky - was stopped by a vote of 48-51. One other Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined in the effort, which was a procedural step to bring up the legislation for a vote on passage by the full Senate. "Using the U.S. military to conduct unchecked strikes in the Caribbean risks destabilizing the region, provoking confrontation with neighboring governments and drawing our forces into yet another open-ended conflict without a clear mission or exit strategy...because of one man’s impulsive decision-making," said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee and sits on the Armed Services panel, said the president is simply following through on a campaign pledge. "President Trump stated very clearly and repeatedly during the campaign that he would attack these cartels if necessary. This is simply him keeping his word to the American people," Cotton said, adding that the "strikes were lawfully sound and extremely limited.” The U.S. military has carried out at least four strikes in the Caribbean Sea against vessels allegedly carrying illegal drugs, most recently on October 3 just off the coast of Venezuela. At least four people were killed in that attack, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump in recent days has dangled the possibility of land attacks as well. At least 21 individuals, still unidentified, have been killed, according to U.S. officials. Earlier on Wednesday, Kaine told reporters that during a classified briefing for Senate Armed Services Committee members last week, administration officials provided no information on why the U.S. military has been ordered to attack and destroy these vessels, rather than intercept them. He and Schiff said the attacks could mistakenly be launched on innocent people, including those who are victims of human trafficking. Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday said the latest vessel bombed by the U.S. was Colombian with Colombian citizens aboard. But further information on those citizens was not immediately available. Previously, counter-drug operations have been generally carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, the main U.S. maritime law enforcement agency, not the U.S. military.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [10/8/2025 11:13 PM, Filip Timotija, 12595K]
NewsMax [10/8/2025 9:22 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K]

Daily Caller [10/8/2025 9:10 PM, Adam Pack And Caden Olson, 835K] reports two Senate Republicans crossed party lines Wednesday evening in a failed effort to block President Donald Trump from launching military strikes on alleged drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean. The resolution, sponsored by multiple Senate Democrats and Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, would have restricted Trump’s authority in conducting such strikes, citing Congress’s sole authority to declare war, and it accuses the Trump administration of not providing justification for the military attacks on drug cartels. The bipartisan measure’s defeat comes as the vast majority of Americans say they support Trump’s decision to blow up ships bringing drugs into the United States. (Americans Overwhelmingly Support Trump Admin Blowing Drug Boats Out Of Water: POLL). Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman broke ranks to support Trump’s use of military force to combat drug trafficking into the United States. The Trump administration has labeled several drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and has begun engaging in armed conflict against traffickers attempting to smuggle drugs into the country. Trump has launched four military strikes on Venezuelan drug cartel Tren de Aragua ships near Venezuela over the past month. Those strikes have killed at least 21 individuals. The strikes are one of Trump’s most popular policies with 71% of Americans backing the destruction of drug boats, according to a September Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. The White House urged Republicans to reject the war powers resolution on Wednesday, arguing the military strikes are within Trump’s executive branch authority. It is not clear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson would allow a similar resolution to receive a vote in his chamber. The measure would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump in the event it cleared the House. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday that Trump has the authority to unilaterally order these strikes because "these are targeted strikes against imminent threats against the United States.” "This resolution aims to strip President Trump of his constitutional authority to protect Americans by authorizing military strikes against narco-terrorists, the Houthis, and other Iranian proxies," Rubio said on X Wednesday. "This is dangerous — it puts our children, citizens, soldiers, and allies at risk.” Still, two Republicans bucked the president to limit his ability to target drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean. "Coast Guard statistics show that 25% of the time when they do an inspection of a boat suspected of drugs that there are no drugs, which kind of concerns me," Sen. Paul told reporters Wednesday. "If 25% of the time when they board a ship, there’s no drugs, what about the ones that are being blown up without being boarded?". "Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them?" Paul asked later on the Senate floor. "To know what evidence exists of their guilt?".

CBS News [10/8/2025 11:11 PM, Joe Walsh, 39474K] reports the president of Colombia alleged Wednesday that a boat struck by the U.S. military in the Caribbean Sea last week carried Colombian citizens, a claim a White House official called "baseless and reprehensible.” The U.S. military has hit at least four alleged drug boats since last month, with the most recent known strike on Oct. 3 killing four "narco-terrorists" in a vessel off the coast of Venezuela, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Trump administration argues the attacks are necessary to halt drug trafficking, but critics say the administration lacks legal approval to carry out the strikes. On Wednesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X: "Indications show that the last bombed boat was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside it.” Petro did not specify the source of his information or why he believes the people on the boat were Colombian citizens, though he said he hopes their families come forward. The U.S. military has not publicly identified the boat’s passengers. The White House quickly denounced Petro’s statement. A White House official told CBS News the U.S. "looks forward to President Petro publicly retracting his baseless and reprehensible statement so that we can return to a productive dialogue on building a strong, prosperous future for the people of [the] United States and Colombia.” The White House official also described Colombia as an important U.S. partner despite "policy differences with the current government.” The first leftist elected president of Colombia in decades, Petro has periodically clashed with the Trump administration. He denounced the strikes on alleged drug boats in a speech before the United Nations last month, and days later, he encouraged members of the U.S. military to "disobey" Mr. Trump’s orders during a New York protest — leading the State Department to announce it would revoke his visa. Meanwhile, the U.S. has accused his government of not cooperating on anti-drug trafficking efforts. Petro’s most recent allegation adds to mounting scrutiny of the Trump administration’s campaign of strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean. President Trump has cast the strikes as part of a broader gambit to combat drug smuggling and stem the flow of deadly narcotics into the U.S. His administration has designated several cartels and Latin American gangs as terrorist organizations, and since August, several U.S. Navy vessels have been stationed in the Caribbean as part of an anti-cartel mission — drawing stiff backlash from the Venezuelan government. "Every one of those boats is responsible for the death of 25,000 American people and the destruction of families," Mr. Trump said in a speech in Virginia marking the Navy’s 250th anniversary over the weekend. "So when you think of it that way, what we’re doing is actually an act of kindness." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
Telemundo [10/8/2025 7:17 PM, Staff, 2218K]
Washington Examiner [10/8/2025 7:04 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K]

Federal News Network [10/8/2025 4:47 PM, Justin Doubleday, 986K] reports DHS’s Science and Technology directorate works to ensure emergency communications technology is compatible across different agencies. The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is advancing on multiple fronts to help gear innovation toward emergency and first responder communications technologies. The S&T directorate is at the center of several projects aimed at advancing new technologies and ensuring interoperability across a wide range of use cases. They include Next Generation 911 (NG911), which will replace analog 911 infrastructure with a digital, internet-protocol based system. Many states and localities are already planning the transition to NG911. The system is expected to be faster, more resilient, and allow for voice, photos, video and text messages to flow over the network to call centers. But the transition to a new system with more complex capabilities raises the potential for interoperability challenges.

AP [10/8/2025 5:39 PM, Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick] reports the Senate was voting Wednesday on legislation to put a check on President Donald Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels, as Democrats and at least one Republican tried to counter the administration’s extraordinary assertion of presidential war power to destroy vessels in the Caribbean. It was the first vote in Congress on Trump’s military campaign that has so far has destroyed four vessels in the Caribbean, killed at least 21 people and stopped narcotics from reaching the U.S., according to the White House. The war powers resolution would require the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes on the cartels. The Trump administration has asserted that drug traffickers are armed combatants threatening the United States, creating justification to use military force. But that assertion has been met with some unease on Capitol Hill. Some Republicans are asking the White House for more clarification on its legal justification and specifics on how the strikes are conducted, while Democrats insist they are violations of U.S. and international law. It’s a clash that could redefine how the world’s most powerful military uses lethal force and set the tone for future global conflict. The White House has already indicated Trump would veto the legislation, and the Senate vote Wednesday was not expected to succeed, but it provided lawmakers an opportunity to go on the record with their objections to Trump’s declaration that the U.S. is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels.

AP [10/8/2025 6:14 PM, Aamer Madhani, Seung Min Kim, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin] reports the Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that alleged drug-smuggling boats targeted by the U.S. military in a series of fatal strikes were in fact carrying narcotics, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. As bipartisan frustration with the strikes mounts, the Senate was voting Wednesday on a war powers resolution that would require the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes on the cartels. The military has carried out at least four strikes on boats that the White House said were carrying drugs, including three it said originated from Venezuela. It said 21 people were killed in the strikes. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly about the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the administration has only pointed to unclassified video clips of the strikes posted on social media by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and has yet to produce "hard evidence" that the vessels were carrying drugs. The administration has not explained why it has blown up vessels in some cases, while carrying out the typical practice of stopping boats and seizing drugs at other times, one of the officials said.

Axios [10/8/2025 11:41 AM, Kate Santaliz, 12972K] reports that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday ruled out taking up legislation to ensure military paychecks keep flowing during the government shutdown, telling reporters the House "already had that vote." Why it matters: Troops are slated to miss their Oct. 15 paycheck if Congress doesn’t act. "The job in the House is done," Johnson said. The stance reflects the GOP’s larger strategy to make the shutdown as painful as possible for Democrats to pressure them to reopen the government. "Hakeem Jeffries and the House Democrats ... are clamoring to get back here and have another vote, because some of them want to get on record and say they’re for paying the troops. We already had that vote. It’s called the CR, " Johnson added. The details: The bill, introduced by Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans (R), has 122 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and would cover members of the armed forces, including the Coast Guard. Active duty troops are expected to continue working without pay but will receive back pay once the government reopens. State of play: Johnson has kept his members out of town during the shutdown, and the House hasn’t voted since Sept. 19. Johnson’s argument is that the House already done it’s job by passing a clean stopgap measure, and now the ball is in the Senate’s court. "It does us no good to be here dithering on show votes." Johnson said Wednesday when asked directly about Kiggans’ bill. Catch up quick: Congress has previously stepped in during shutdowns to protect military pay. FOX News [10/8/2025 11:54 AM, Elizabeth Elkind, 40621K] reports that the government shutdown is in its eighth day. "I want everybody to listen to me very carefully. [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.] and the House Democrats… are clamoring to get back here and have another vote because some of them want to get on record and say they’re for paying the troops," Johnson said. "We already had that vote. It’s called the [continuing resolution]. Every Republican and at least one Democrat had the common sense to say, ‘Of course, we want the government to stay in operation. Of course, we want to pay our troops and our air traffic controllers and our Border Patrol agents, TSA, and everybody else.’ We did have that vote." The GOP-led CR that passed the House would roughly keep federal funding levels steady through Nov. 21, with an added $88 million in security spending for lawmakers, the White House and the judicial branch. But that bill has stalled in the Senate, having failed five times so far as Democrats continue to insist on pairing any CR with an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are poised to expire at the end of 2025. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [10/8/2025 9:15 PM, Derrick Bryson Taylor, 135475K]
After Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, criticized new lyrics by the country music star Zach Bryan warning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “is going to come bust down your door,” the musician pushed back on Tuesday, saying that his lyrics had been “misconstrued.” It was the latest flashpoint in an increasingly bitter clash between conservatives and popular entertainers over the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Many far-right commentators have recently denounced the N.F.L. over its selection of the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny as the headliner of the Super Bowl halftime show in February. Noem had called Bryan’s song “completely disrespectful,” and in pointed remarks aimed at him said she was “very happy that I never once gave you a single penny to enrich your lifestyle.” In a snippet of the untitled song, which Bryan posted to Instagram last week, he sings: “The middle finger’s rising, and it won’t stop showing. Got some bad news. Thе fading of the red, white and blue.” Asked on Tuesday by the right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson what she thought of Bryan’s lyrics, Noem replied that the song disrespected not only law enforcement officials but also “every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms.” The song, Noem said, “attacks individuals who are just trying to make our streets safe.” “Zach, I didn’t listen to your music,” she added. “I’m happy about that today.” In an Instagram story on Tuesday evening, Bryan suggested that listeners would understand the context of the new lyrics once he released the entire song, though he did not say when that would be. “Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are,” Bryan wrote. “We need to find our way back.”

Axios [10/8/2025 1:42 PM, Herb Scribner, 12972K]reports that Country music star Zach Bryan urged fans not to weaponize his new song, even as federal agencies attacked him online for its pointed criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Why it matters: A clip of the song sparked conservative backlash, the latest flare-up in a recurring fight against celebrities who criticize the Trump administration. Bryan joins others who have challenged President Trump’s immigration policy as ICE faces widespread scrutiny, protests and legal challenges. "I served this country," Bryan posted in an Instagram story Tuesday, referencing his Navy service. "I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou a--hole, just a 29-year-old man who is just as confused as everyone else." Catch up quick: Bryan released a teaser for a new song, reportedly titled "Bad News," on Instagram over the weekend. The song included the lyrics: "ICE is gonna come bust down your door. Try to build a house, no one builds no more, well I got a telephone. Kids are all scared and all alone." Some Trump supporters accused Bryan of betraying his fan base. Flashback: Bryan first shared an acoustic snippet of the song on July 12 without backlash. Driving the news: Bryan addressed the backlash in an Instagram Story Tuesday night. "This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media," Bryan wrote. "This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. "Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back." Breitbart [10/8/2025 11:20 AM, Paul Bois, 2416K] reports that the Trump White House responded to country star Zach Bryan’s recently released song attacking the administration’s immigration policies. The song, titled "Bad News," went viral over the weekend, specifically for its one particular verse that appeared to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson replied with a mashup of Bryan’s song titles. “While Zach Bryan wants to Open The Gates to criminal illegal aliens and has Condemned heroic ICE officers, Something in the Orange tells me a majority of Americans disagree with him and support President Trump’s great American Revival.” Jackson told Newsweek. “Godspeed, Zach!” As noted by Variety, Bryan has been photographed with Trump in the past and also lamented the president’s assassination attempt in June of last year. “I don’t support Trump or Biden, but the man got shot in the ear, head, whatever you guys want to call it. And then: fist bump in the air! That is sick, dude!” he said in a video at the time.

Breitbart [10/8/2025 9:15 PM, Alana Mastrangelo, 2416K] reports U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem slammed country star Zach Bryan over his anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) song, "Bad News," calling it an attack on the very people "who are just trying to make our streets safe.” Noem told conservative commentator and podcast host Benny Johnson that she was "extremely disappointed" after listening to Bryan’s new track, adding, "I hope he understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement, but to this country.” "To every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms, he just compromised it all by putting out a product such as that — that attacks individuals who are just trying to make our streets safe," Noem continued. "So, Zach, I didn’t listen to your music, I’m happy about that today. That makes me very happy, that I never once gave you a single penny to enrich your lifestyle if you truly believe what that song stands for," the former South Dakota governor added. Noem went on to say that she is instead going to "download some Jason Aldean songs, some John Rich songs, Kid Rock.” "Those guys know what it means to stand up for freedoms," Noem asserted. "So, [I’m] glad I didn’t waste any money on Zach.” Johnson then pointed out that Zach Bryan is protected by law enforcement while he performs at his concerts, adding, "It seems relatively disrespectful to go after federal law enforcement in this song.” "Well, that’s what’s so special about law enforcement, is that they don’t pick and choose who they defend when they do their jobs," Noem replied. "They will even defend and protect people that don’t respect them or stand up for them.” Noem spoke to Johnson in Portland, Oregon, after federal agents arrested several illegal immigrants, including an accused child rapist, the podcaster noted. The country singer posted a snippet of his controversial new song targeting the ICE to social media, alongside the caption, "The fading of the red white and blue.” The lyrics go on to say, "I heard the cops came, cocky motherfuckers, ain’t they? And ICE is gonna come bust down your door, try to build a house no one builds no more.”

NewsMax [10/8/2025 11:26 AM, Staff, 4109K] reports country music star Zach Bryan "needs to get his facts straight" about the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement rather than penning a song that criticizes the federal agency’s actions, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Newsmax on Wednesday. Lyons acknowledged on "National Report" that he hasn’t heard Bryan’s song, "Bad News," which includes lyrics that describe ICE agents as "busting down doors" and leaving children frightened and alone after the arrests of their parents. But he said he’s not interested in giving the song a platform, even while agreeing that Bryan has a right to his opinion. "That’s what America is built on, right?" he said. "People can have their own opinions, write their own songs, and that’s good for him. But he really needs to get his facts straight.” Bryan said the backlash after he posted a snippet online was misplaced, adding that his song reflects his patriotism and will be better understood once the full version is released. ICE agents, Lyons said, are focused on enforcing the law and protecting communities, not the narratives being pushed by celebrities or politicians.

NewsMax [10/8/2025 1:51 PM, Mark Swanson, 4109K] reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ripped the NFL’s selection of Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Bad Bunny as the headlining performer at February’s Super Bowl, calling it a "terrible decision." Johnson instead suggested a "role model" like country music star Lee Greenwood. The NFL has faced backlash from conservative commentators and MAGA influencers over the halftime pick. Bad Bunny has stirred repeated controversy with lyrics and videos that many critics call explicit and politically charged. Songs like "Safaera" and "Callaíta" feature coarse sexual content typical of reggaetón’s club scene. His tracks "El Apagón" and "Pa Ti" attacked Puerto Rican leaders and foreign investors, earning political backlash. While fans hail him as progressive and outspoken, others see his music as crude, profane, and divisive. President Donald Trump assailed the pick as "absolutely ridiculous" in an interview with Newsmax on Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has vowed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be at the Super Bowl. "So yeah, we’ll be all over that place," Noem told podcaster Benny Johnson. "We’re going to enforce the law. I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they are law-abiding Americans who love this country."

The Hill [10/8/2025 2:00 PM, Bernard Goldberg, 12595K] reports that I know more about Bugs Bunny than I will ever know about Bad Bunny. But here’s what I do know: Bad Bunny is a wildly popular rapper from Puerto Rico. He’s no fan of Donald Trump — surprise, surprise — and he’ll be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show next February in Santa Clara, Calif. Bunny tends to attract a big Latin crowd. So Kristi Noem, who heads up Homeland Security, has come up with what she seems to think is a brilliant idea. She says she’s going to send Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents to the Super Bowl to look for and arrest (presumably Latino-looking) people who might be in the U.S. illegally. Sound insane? That’s because it is. Noem was a guest on conservative podcaster Benny Johnson’s show and he asked her point-blank whether there would be "ICE enforcement" at the Super Bowl. Without missing a beat, Noem said, "There will be." ICE agents, she assured us, would be "all over" the event. And then came the kicker. "People should not attend the game," she warned, unless they are "law-abiding Americans who love this country." Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager and one of Noem’s top advisors now, also weighed in, flexing some tough-guy rhetoric for the podcast audience. "There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are here illegally," he declared. "Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else."

Just the News [10/8/2025 1:33 PM, Ben Whedon] reports the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday corrected Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., over his portrayal of a viral image of an ICE officer apparently pointing a gun at an American citizen. "This is out of hand. These agents are there to cause trouble and violence, not to keep people safe. These are the scenes that play out in war torn, destitute countries - not America," Durbin said, responding to the image. "Here’s the real story: As Border Patrol was conducting a targeted enforcement, a vehicle started aggressively trailing our officers and intentionally veered into their vehicle in an apparent attempt to ram law enforcement’s vehicle," posted DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "Despite the barrage of violent attacks on [DHS] law enforcement, these agents fully followed their training—this is a pepper ball gun used for riot control without causing lethal injuries," she added. "Aggressors and violent activists who wish to harm and intimidate our officers should not be surprised when protective measures are displayed to prevent violence against our officers. We aren’t playing." The incident occurred as anti-ICE activists have begun harassing agents in a bid to impede President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

Blaze [10/8/2025 10:30 AM, Rebeka Zeljko, 1442K] reports Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas is doing his part to ramp up deportation efforts across the country. Gill introduced landmark legislation on Wednesday that would effectively close loopholes and expand expedited removal authority to cover violent criminal aliens, according to bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News. The bill also mandates the detention and expedited removal of violent criminals, gang members, and terrorists while also ensuring they are unable to abuse asylum protections. The current law primarily limits expedited removal to migrants who recently crossed within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of entry. Because of existing loopholes and procedures, criminal aliens are often sorted into slower and more standard removal proceedings. In contrast, Gill’s legislation addresses the removal of criminal aliens with urgency. "Our number one priority should be to protect American communities," Gill told Blaze News. "America should never be a safe haven for gang members, terrorists, or violent offenders."

Breitbart [10/8/2025 11:29 AM, Sean Moran, 2416K] reports Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) hired an open borders aide as his senior counsel ahead of his vote to shut down the government as Democrats continue fighting to give illegal aliens health care. Ossoff hired a pro open borders leftist, Katie Shepherd as his senior counsel ahead of the pivotal vote wherein Democrats voted to shut down the government in late September. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and other Democrats have admitted the Democrats shut down the government in part to make it easier for illegal aliens to secure taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits. Shepherd, like Ossoff, has a history of opposing efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. Ossoff’s now-senior counsel used to work at the American Immigration Council, a pro-open borders group. Before joining Ossoff’s congressional office, Shepherd worked at the Biden Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigates alleged complaints of abuse in immigrant detention.

New York Times [10/8/2025 9:38 AM, Ruth Igielnik and Jazmine Ulloa, 135475K] reports that nine months into President Trump’s mass deportation campaign, registered voters largely support the idea of removing immigrants who have arrived in the country illegally, even as majorities say they feel his methods have gone too far, according to the latest survey from The New York Times and Siena University. Since Mr. Trump returned to power, his administration has enacted a new travel ban, sought to pull temporary humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of people, flown immigrants to countries where they are not from and deployed federal law enforcement officers to Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other major cities in a made-for-TV show of force to combat crime and illegal immigration. In that time, the share of registered voters who favor deporting immigrants living in the country illegally — 54 percent — has remained unchanged. More than 90 percent of Republicans, 52 percent of independents and nearly 20 percent of Democrats continue to broadly support the idea of deporting those here illegally. More specifically, 51 percent said they thought the government was deporting mostly people who “should be deported,” while 42 percent said the government was deporting the wrong people. More than half of voters, 53 percent, think the process of deporting people has not been fair; 44 percent said it was mostly fair. A similar share — 52 percent — disapprove of Mr. Trump’s handling of immigration; 46 percent approve. And 51 percent said his actions around immigration enforcement had gone too far.

New York Times [10/8/2025 12:08 PM, Zach Montague, 135475K] reports that most federal sting operations follow a familiar sequence: Undercover agents set up a staged scenario or transaction, make an arrest and document what took place to show a judge. But reports that Tom Homan, President Trump’s “border czar,” accepted $50,000 in cash from undercover F.B.I. agents in an apparent public corruption investigation that was later closed present a novel twist. Public corruption experts and former prosecutors who have built cases off similar operations said that if he remains in possession of the money as a top official in the administration, even without criminal charges or a conviction, there would still be few avenues for the government to seek the return of the cash. But the government would have to be willing to use them. On Tuesday, when asked directly by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, about Mr. Homan during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Pam Bondi evaded questions. Ms. Bondi declined to say whether Mr. Homan ever received the funds, whether he declared them as taxable income or where the money might be today. “The investigation of Mr. Homan was subjected to a full review by the F.B.I., agents and D.O.J. prosecutors,” she said. “They found no credible evidence of any wrongdoing.” A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether Mr. Homan accepted the money, still had it in his possession or would be willing to return it to the government.

New York Times [10/8/2025 8:15 PM, Elizabeth Dias and Elisabetta Povoledo, 135475K] reports that, in his nascent papacy, Pope Leo XIV has so far skirted a direct confrontation with the White House over its treatment of immigrants. But on Wednesday Pope Leo made some of his strongest comments yet, urging U.S. bishops to strongly support immigrants as President Trump escalated his deportation campaign, including in Chicago, the pope’s hometown. With National Guard troops expected to arrive in Chicago, Pope Leo met with a group of Catholics from El Paso. The group gave the pope more than 100 handwritten letters, written by immigrants — mostly undocumented individuals but also mixed families — living in Catholic communities across the United States. The letters were tied together with twine and included a small yellow note that read, in Spanish, “Pope Leo, please listen to the clamor of those who are being marginalized.” Bishop Mark J. Seitz, long an outspoken supporter for immigrants in the United States, was among those in the group. “We could see his eyes watering up a little bit,” he said about the pope. “He said, ‘I am happy to stand with you.’” Pope Leo did not specifically mention Mr. Trump, Bishop Seitz said, or Chicago. But the crisis unfolding in the church in America — where a third of the church is Hispanic and families have told priests they are uneasy about going to Mass for fear of being apprehended by officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — was the obvious backdrop. The group and the pope discussed the challenge of wanting to avoid the political fray while still speaking boldly for their beliefs, and how to translate that to action, Bishop Seitz said. “To have the United States changing so radically is something that calls for attention,” he said. Pope Leo said “that he would love to see a statement from the conference of bishops,” Bishop Seitz said, adding that one was already in progress. The bishops are scheduled to meet in Baltimore next month for their annual conference, where the issue is expected to be a central focus. Pope Leo told the group it was critical that the church speak “forcefully and in unity” about these issues, said Dylan Corbett, the founding executive director of the Hope Border Institute, who attended the meeting with the pope. The Trump administration has said its tactics on immigration are necessary to protect public safety because some illegal immigrants are violent criminals. Some conservative Catholics support the president’s position despite church teaching on immigration, similar to how some progressive Catholics support abortion rights, which also contradicts church teaching. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism six years ago, said in an interview shortly after Pope Leo’s election that immigration “at the levels and at the pace that we’ve seen over the last few years” has destroyed “social solidarity.” “That’s not because I hate the migrants or I’m motivated by grievance,” he said. “That’s because I’m trying to preserve something in my own country where we are a unified nation.”

Reported similarly:
CBS News [10/8/2025 4:49 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE

Washington Times [10/8/2025 3:43 PM, Staff, 852K] reports Kristi Noem met with Portland’s police chief Tuesday, and the homeland security secretary is still unhappy. Politicians who run the deep-blue city won’t let cops back up the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who have been under siege for months. Black-clad, soy-fed antifa rioters have been disturbing the peace, blocking roads and violently resisting all attempts to relocate the foreign intruders who moved into the liberal Oregon enclave. Portland police officers are under orders to do nothing about left-wing violence. President Trump chose to dispatch the National Guard to liberate the federal facilities. Infuriated state officials sued, acknowledging the existence of the 10th Amendment for the first time in their lives to make a persuasive case. U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut agreed. She issued an emergency injunction Sunday to stop the mobilization. She opined that “regular forces” were enough to quell disturbances in June when the situation was more volatile, so the soldiers weren’t needed now. That’s a fair assessment, but it’s not her call. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to make laws to provide for “calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union.” The statute Congress passed grants the president discretion to summon troops “in such numbers as he considers necessary” to enforce federal statutes. Neither the Constitution nor Congress says the commander in chief should consult a low-level magistrate before acting. In a strange twist, this particular black-robed functionary isn’t an obstructionist Democratic appointee. Mr. Trump nominated Judge Immergut in 2018, but she has always been a political chameleon. A registered Democrat, she changed allegiance so President George W. Bush could appoint her as Oregon’s U.S. attorney in 2003. When political winds shifted and President Obama moved into the Oval Office, Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, handed Ms. Immergut a cushy Multnomah County judgeship. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley served as her champions in Mr. Trump’s first term, and the Democratic duo weren’t shy about using blue slips to preclude better candidates. Hopefully, the administration has fortified its personnel review process because this isn’t a close call as a legal matter. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the administration’s appeal Thursday. Even though it’s the most liberal jurisdiction in the country, the judges gave Mr. Trump a win on military deployments in June. Sending an army to beat down ungovernable factions has been a core power of the chief executive from the beginning of our republic. President Washington personally led 13,000 militiamen to Pennsylvania to suppress the band of 500 unruly protesters who torched the federal tax collector’s house in the Whiskey Rebellion.

Washington Post [10/8/2025 1:50 PM, Max Boot, 24149K] reports that with less publicity and less pushback than the high-profile deployments of the National Guard to U.S. cities, the Trump administration has undertaken another legally dubious, and strategically problematic, use of military force: against narco-cartels in the Caribbean. Since the beginning of September, the Defense Department has announced that it has blown up four suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, killing 21 people on board, most recently on Friday. Last week, the administration notified several congressional committees that President Donald Trump had decided that the drug cartels are engaged in “an armed attack against the United States” and that drug smugglers are “unlawful combatants” who can be killed on sight. Lawmakers from both parties, to say nothing of legal scholars both conservative and liberal, are highly skeptical of the administration’s justification for this use of force. Drug cartels are undoubtedly evil organizations that cause considerable harm to Americans, but they are hardly engaged in “armed conflict” like al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. When the administration claimed that the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua cartel was waging war on the United States at the behest of the Maduro regime, the U.S. intelligence community dissented. “The administration is saying it can kill people simply by designating them as terrorists and then declaring there is an armed conflict,” former State Department legal adviser Brian Finucane told the NOTUS website. “That is extremely concerning. It is a license to kill based solely on the president’s authority.” While the armed forces are now blowing up drug boats, the U.S. Coast Guard remains engaged in more traditional, and more clearly lawful, interdiction efforts: boarding boats and arresting their crews. On Aug. 25, for example, the Coast Guard reported off-loading 76,140 pounds of illicit narcotics, valued at $473 million, in Port Everglades, Florida, after 19 boat interdictions over the previous two months in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

The Hill [10/8/2025 11:00 AM, Royce Hutson and Brian Gran, 12595K] reports that the recent shooting of Charlie Kirk is a chilling reminder: Terrorism and violent extremism remain a clear and present danger to our national security. Yet just as threats grow more sophisticated and diffuse, the Trump administration is quietly dismantling some of our most effective tools to prevent attacks before they happen. Programs like the Department of Homeland Security’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention initiative and the State Department’s Office of Countering Violent Extremism have been gutted or eliminated. Long-serving experts have been fired, reassigned or resigned — taking with them decades of hard-won knowledge about what works in preventing terrorism. The result: a less secure America. The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that attacks and plots against government targets driven by partisan beliefs nearly tripled from 2016 to 2024 compared to the previous 25 years combined. Meanwhile, the global landscape of terrorism has shifted. While the U.S. successfully degraded core al-Qaeda and ISIS leadership, splinter groups have adapted, grown and forged new networks — targeting U.S. interests abroad and inspiring "homegrown" terrorists here at home. FBI and Homeland Security assessments have concluded that the greatest terrorist threat to the homeland increasingly comes from lone actors radicalized online.

The Hill [10/8/2025 7:00 AM, Artem Kolisnichenko, 12595K] reports since January 2025 at least 16 people have died in ICE detention centers — the highest number since 2020, when the pandemic exposed the system’s weaknesses. At the same time the number of migrants in custody passed 60,000 in August, double the number last year. The expansion of detention centers correlates with the rise in deaths, showing that conditions are not ready for the pressure. Official reporting about "safe oversight" does not match reality, pointing to a gap between the number of arrests and the ability of centers and staff to provide even basic care. In 2024, with an average of about 35,000 people in custody, 13 deaths were recorded — about 3.7 per 10,000 detainees. In 2025, with custody numbers doubling to more than 60,000, 16 deaths by September comes to 2.7 per 10,000. If trends hold, the annualized rate could reach 4.0 per 10,000 by year-end, surpassing last year. On paper, the rate looks similar, but the reality is different. A bigger system means more preventable deaths overall. As detention expands, the strain on weak medical staffing and overcrowded facilities guarantees that the absolute number will keep rising. The main problem is clear: overcrowding. According to DHS, many centers are designed for 400 to 600 people but hold several times more. Recent TRAC data show that about 25 percent of facilities are operating above planned capacity, which in practice means not enough space, staff, or timely medical care.

New York Times [10/8/2025 4:00 PM, David Wallace-Wells, 135475K] reports among the earliest signs that the second Trump administration might be precipitously different from the first were the masks. Almost the first thought I had, in watching videos of federal agents snatching campus protesters and opinion writers, among many others seized somewhat violently on camera this year, was about what looked like a new anonymity protocol. There were agents wearing masks and others without visible name tags or badges, many operating in plain clothes. “ICE goes masked for a single reason — to terrorize Americans into quiescence,” a federal judge, William Young, wrote in a blistering 161-page First Amendment ruling handed down last week.

FOX News [10/8/2025 7:00 AM, Jillian E. Snider, 40621K] Video: HERE reports calling in the National Guard and federal law enforcement isn’t a solution — it’s a signal that the system has cracked. Chicago is learning the hard way what happens when outdated police hiring practices collide with political cuts. Since 2019, more than 2,100 police positions have been eliminated, while the city added layers of bureaucracy. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) still has 795 unfilled vacancies, compounded by 833 position cuts under Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and 614 by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The result: President Donald Trump is now sending in the National Guard to cover gaps created by years of slow hiring pipelines, endless vacancies and deliberate downsizing. Memphis tells the same story. The city’s police force is at its lowest level in two decades, leaving patrols thinner, response times slower and detectives drowning in unsustainable caseloads. Temporary federal surges can help in the moment, but they don’t rebuild a police force or restore long-term safety. National Guard troops aren’t trained to investigate murders, de-escalate volatile domestic calls, or build trust with residents. Their presence is proof of failure, not a strategy for success. The problem is deeper than just headcount. Police hiring itself is outdated. A national survey found that the single biggest reason applicants walk away isn’t pay — it’s bureaucracy. Paper applications, months-long background checks and silence from recruiters leave motivated candidates in limbo. By the time departments finally respond, those recruits have already taken jobs elsewhere. A broken process is bleeding away willing officers. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Wire [10/8/2025 8:00 AM, Jason Snead, 2494K] reports that news broke last week that Ian Andre Roberts, an illegal alien arrested in Iowa while serving as superintendent of Des Moines schools, appears to be an active registered Democratic voter in Maryland. All Roberts apparently had to do was sign a form "under penalty of perjury" claiming to be a United States citizen. Then, Maryland officials registered him and left him on the rolls for nearly a decade. Were it not for his high-profile arrest, he would likely have stayed on the rolls. This latest discovery of a noncitizen on our voting rolls — and not even in the state where he was illegally working and residing — should end the debate: It is time for Congress to pass the SAVE Act and require proof of citizenship to register and vote. When it comes to verifying that voters are citizens, Americans deserve better than an honor system. Federal law, shaped by years of partisan lawsuits, ties the hands of states. Even if Maryland officials wanted to verify claims of citizenship before registering a voter — and there is every reason to believe they do not — federal law bars them from doing so. All noncitizens like Roberts have to do to register is check a box. That is simply not good enough. That is not to suggest that Maryland officials are free from blame. It is scandalous that a noncitizen was apparently left on the rolls for so long, doubly so given that Roberts had not lived in Maryland for years. That is a series of failures that warrant investigation.

Breitbart [10/8/2025 1:17 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is continuing to arrest illegal aliens with violent criminal records across the United States despite the government shutdown. This week, as the federal government remains shut down after Democrats made a list of demands from the Trump administration, ICE agents arrested a series of illegal aliens, some of whom have been convicted of child sex crimes, manslaughter, and domestic violence, among other crimes. "Our brave ICE law enforcement will not be deterred by the Democrats’ government shutdown or by violence against them from removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our communities," the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: Our officers continue to risk their lives every day to arrest criminal illegal aliens despite not getting paid and the more than 1000% increase in assaults against them. Just yesterday, DHS arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted of child sex crimes, assault, domestic abuse, manslaughter, drug trafficking, and burglary. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem criminals are not welcome in the United States. [Emphasis added]. In particular, ICE agents arrested illegal alien Jose Alberto Hernandez-Alvarado of Mexico, who has been convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Dallas County, Texas.

Daily Signal [10/8/2025 2:15 PM, Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, 558K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, working without pay due to the government shutdown, arrested pedophiles, human smugglers, and thieves across the country on Tuesday. “During the Democrats’ government shutdown, our ICE law enforcement officers are working without pay to arrest pedophiles, human smugglers, and other violent criminals from our streets,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. ICE agents are considered essential workers during the shutdown, so they are required to report for work without receiving paychecks for their service. About 200,000 officers have been working for free during the shutdown, now in its seventh day. They will be paid retroactively after the shutdown ends. “We will not let the government shutdown slow us down from making America safe again,” McLauglin continued. “Our law enforcement officers are working around the clock to arrest and remove heinous criminals from our country.” As the government enters Week Two of the shutdown, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem urged Americans to thank law enforcement officers for working without pay. “We’re into the second week of the Democrats’ shutdown,” Noem said. “Our brave men and women of law enforcement—with families, bills, and car payments to make—continue to defend our homeland against violent criminals without pay. They are heroes.”

DailySignal [10/8/2025 1:54 PM, Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, 549K] reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, working without pay due to the government shutdown, arrested pedophiles, human smugglers, and thieves across the country on Tuesday. "During the Democrats’ government shutdown, our ICE law enforcement officers are working without pay to arrest pedophiles, human smugglers, and other violent criminals from our streets," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. ICE agents are considered essential workers during the shutdown, so they are required to report for work without receiving paychecks for their service. About 200,000 officers have been working for free during the shutdown, now in its seventh day. They will be paid retroactively after the shutdown ends. "We will not let the government shutdown slow us down from making America safe again," McLauglin continued. "Our law enforcement officers are working around the clock to arrest and remove heinous criminals from our country." These criminals, which DHS describes as the "worst of the worst," include Jose Estrada-Hidalgo, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age in Tarrant County, Texas. As the government enters week two of the shutdown, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem urged Americans to thank law enforcement officers for working without pay. "We’re into the second week of the Democrats’ shutdown," Noem said. "Our brave men and women of law enforcement—with families, bills, and car payments to make—continue to defend our homeland against violent criminals without pay. They are heroes."

NewsMax [10/8/2025 10:35 AM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4109K] reports Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons pushed back Wednesday on Newsmax against what he calls "outrageous misinformation" about a recent immigration operation in Chicago, saying false claims and political rhetoric are putting federal agents at risk. Appearing on "National Report," Lyons denied allegations that ICE agents zip-tied children during a raid on a Chicago apartment complex, calling the accusation "completely false." "First off, they had these outrageous photos of these poor kids zip tied, which wasn’t even a part of that operation," Lyons said. "There’s just so much misinformation out there that the American public is not actually hearing exactly what ICE does on a daily basis.” Lyons said the operation targeted gang members tied to a foreign terrorist organization and that officials should have applauded the effort. "You would think that elected officials would be happy that Homeland Security Investigations, the Border Patrol and FBI took control of an apartment complex that was taken over by gang members," he said. "But instead you have comments like that, that we were zip-tying children, arresting American citizens."

Breitbart [10/8/2025 11:44 AM, John Binder, 2416K] reports a historic reduction in the nation’s foreign-born population in the first seven months of President Donald Trump’s second term is due to record-low levels of illegal immigration as well as migrants returning to their home countries, researchers say. Current Population Survey (CPS) analysis by Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler of the Center for Immigration Studies details that from January through August of this year, the foreign-born population has dropped by 2.2 million across the United States. Significantly, the illegal alien population has declined by 1.6 million over that period, indicating that the Trump administration’s increased interior immigration enforcement has had swift and large results. Camarota and Zeigler say that although some analysts could chalk up the numbers to "a statistical fluke," they believe the numbers are very much real and mostly thanks to the Trump administration’s record-low illegal immigration levels as well as self-deportations. Last month, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said 1.6 million illegal aliens have self-deported from the United States, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have deported more than 400,000 illegal aliens.

Telemundo [10/8/2025 8:41 PM, Miryam Villarreal, 20K] reports what you post on social media could end up in the hands of ICE; the new strategy is to expand its digital surveillance program. According to reports, the information collected would be used to identify, investigate, and locate individuals who, according to ICE, pose threats to public or national security. "I don’t know how we should react because obviously the first thing we would do is not post much, stop doing it, because sometimes you post where you are and people come, just like what happens at Home Depot, guys who know there are a lot of Latinos looking for work and they go there, and ICE spends a lot of time in those places that are talked about a lot," said Erick Jorge, a resident of San Jose. Telemundo 48 spoke with immigration lawyer Andrew Newcomb, who explained the purpose of this measure. "The purpose of this action is to identify individuals who allegedly pose a threat to national security and to locate them, as well as to search for associated family members," Newcomb said. Newcomb said this action is already causing concern. "The concern of several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, is that ICE will use this as a pretext to invade the privacy of many documented and undocumented individuals," Newcomb said. Given this, the recommendation is to think twice before hitting the publish button. "Be cautious about what you post, especially if you have loved ones or close friends who are in the process of adjusting their immigration status. Be careful because we have seen that immigration authorities are currently looking for excuses to deny cases," said Newcomb. What if you witness a situation involving the agency? Newcomb recommended that recording ICE agents is legal and something that experts have emphasized in the past as a constitutional right, in addition to doing so responsibly. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [10/8/2025 12:49 PM, Julia Ingram, 39474K] reports tensions at Manhattan’s immigration courts are reaching a boiling point. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reinstated the officer who was initially relieved of duties after shoving an Ecuadorian woman to the ground as he arrested her husband. The next day, ICE agents shoved journalists, sending one to the hospital. "Every single week I would ask myself, is this when everything is going to fall apart and explode, and I’m still waiting for it, but we’re getting closer," said Allison Cutler, an immigration attorney from New York Legal Assistance Group who is in court at 26 Federal Plaza almost every day. New York City has seen 460 ICE arrests this year through July that likely took place in immigration court, more than in any other city, a new analysis of federal data found. The estimates, by mathematician Joseph Gunther, are the first attempt to quantify arrests in immigration courts at a national level. Gunther identified nearly 2,400 ICE arrests likely made in immigration courts across the country, a total he said may still be an undercount. The analysis fills a gap left by the lack of DHS reporting on how many arrests ICE has made in or around courts. Those arrested very rarely had criminal records, the analysis found. Over 90% had only civil immigration charges, such as crossing the border illegally. ICE did not respond to a CBS News request for comment about the analysis, but Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a May news release that "arrests of criminal illegal aliens in courthouses is common sense." "It conserves valuable law enforcement resources because they already know where a target will be," she said. "These illegal aliens have gone through security and been screened to not have any weapons."

FOX News [10/8/2025 9:15 PM, Emma Bussey, 40621K] reports an illegal immigrant from El Salvador has been sentenced to 30 years for repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl in Virginia Beach, local officials said Wednesday. The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office shared Ricardo Leonel Mejia’s custody status on X and cited "numerous public inquiries" about Mejia’s case. "Mejia, a citizen of El Salvador, will serve his 30-year sentence at the Virginia Department of Corrections before being transferred to ICE custody," the post read. The case has sparked debate among Virginia’s leaders who are disputing whether the state should limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger says that one of her first acts in office would be to reverse Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s immigration enforcement policies making Virginia a "sanctuary state," according to the Republican Governors Association. This policy would prevent local law enforcement from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in cases like Mejia’s, where ICE has issued a detainer for an undocumented immigrant convicted of serious crimes. Virginia GOP governor candidate, Winsome Earle-Sears reacted by sharing a post on X and said she was "sickened beyond words.” Meija, 35, was convicted of multiple counts of raping a child under 13, indecent liberties with a minor, and statutory burglary after pleading guilty in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, according to documents seen by Fox News Digital. The assaults happened in 2024, when Mejia was hired to renovate a family’s bathroom. The abuse came to light when the victim’s mother discovered him in her daughter’s bed after forcing open a locked door with a butter knife. Mejia fled the home through a window, but was later identified and arrested. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Mejia was in the country illegally and has issued a detainer. Following his sentence at the Virginia Department of Corrections, ICE said he will be transferred to custody for further proceedings. During his sentencing, Mejia apologized to the victim, saying, "I know I am not the only one experiencing hard times. I’m sorry for the pain she is going through in this process.” Records show Mejia was booked into the Virginia Beach Correctional Center on Oct. 9, 2024. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [10/8/2025 6:06 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports an illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to killing a South Carolina college student in a hit-and-run will be released next year after completing his one-year sentence. Rosali Fernandez-Cruz was admitted to the state Department of Corrections on Aug. 14, 2025, according to South Carolina Department of Corrections records. His projected release date is March 2, 2026. Fernandez-Cruz pleaded guilty to hit-and-run resulting in death — the most serious charge against him — according to Robert Kittle, communications director for the state attorney general’s office, who spoke with Fox News Digital. There was no plea agreement, and prosecutors informed the judge of other traffic-related charges against Fernandez-Cruz, Kittle said. Fernandez-Cruz, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, received the light sentence for the April 2 death of Nathaniel Baker, 21, in Columbia. Baker was a junior at the University of South Carolina and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Fernandez-Cruz was accused of failing to yield and striking Baker, who was riding a motorcycle. He then fled the scene, authorities said. Fernandez-Cruz was wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before the accident, police said. After his release, Fernandez-Cruz will be taken into ICE custody to begin deportation proceedings.

New York Post [10/9/2025 12:53 AM, Anna Young, 42219K] reports an illegal immigrant who killed a University of South Carolina student in a horrific hit-and-run crash was quietly handed a slap-on-the-wrist sentence this summer — despite the tragedy sparking national outrage. Rosali Fernandez-Cruz, 24, has been serving out his one-year stint at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia since August, when three of his charges were discreetly dropped and he pleaded guilty to the remaining most serious count for killing 21-year-old Nathaniel Baker, according to jail records and reports. "The judge decided the sentence, which was one year," a spokesperson for Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson told Fox News, adding that Baker’s forgiving family was consulted before the lenient sentence was given and wanted to keep the agreement hush-hush. "They did not want this to be politicized or highly publicized. They were in agreement with the guilty plea and sentence.” Fernandez-Cruz, a native of El Salvador who has been on the run from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement since 2018, was also credited with 131 days served — despite fatal hit-and-runs carrying up to a 25-year maximum sentence in the Palmetto State, The State reported. He is expected to walk free on March 2, 2026, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Wilson’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. Fernandez-Cruz was nabbed shortly after failing to yield and striking Baker, a USC junior and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity member, who was riding his motorcycle near the college’s Columbia campus. The careless motorist, who was allegedly driving without a license, fled the scene and later abandoned his pickup truck before being captured by a nearby cop — who then notified ICE of the arrest after his name was found in the National Crime Information Center database, police said at the time. Fernandez-Cruz illegally crossed the US-Mexico border on an unknown date and was later arrested by Border Patrol in Texas in 2016, a Department of Homeland Security source told The Post in April. Two years later, a North Carolina immigration judge ordered that he be sent back to his home country. The migrant was charged with hit-and-run resulting in death, failure to give information and render aid, failure to yield the right of way, and driving without a license. He only pleaded guilty to hit-and-run resulting in death — with the other charges reportedly dismissed. It’s unclear whether he will be deported back to El Salvador once his jail term is complete. DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Chicago Tribune [10/8/2025 3:07 PM, Jason Meisner, 4829K] reports that a federal grand jury has refused to indict a Chicago couple arrested during a violent protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview last month, a rare move that prompted prosecutors to abruptly drop the case and signals government overreach in bringing the charges in the first place. After the charges were officially dropped in court Wednesday morning, Richard Kling, the attorney for one of the defendants, called the grand jury’s rejection of the case an "extraordinary happenstance," especially in Chicago’s federal court. "I think the grand jurors in the Northern District (of Illinois) stood up for the First Amendment right to protest, and also reject gestapo-like troops on the streets of Chicago and neighboring communities," Kling said. Ray Collins, 21, and Jocelyne Robledo, 30, a husband and wife from the South Side of Chicago, were each allegedly carrying loaded guns with them as they scuffled with officers who were trying to widen a security perimeter during a melee in late September. Both have lawful permits to carry the firearms, but they were facing felony charges of assaulting or resisting a federal officer in performance of official duties, which carries up to 8 years in prison. Their case had been set Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, which rarely goes forward because the U.S. attorney’s office typically seeks an indictment from a grand jury. Instead, prosecutors abruptly filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss the case.

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CBS Chicago [10/8/2025 4:27 PM, Todd Feurer, 39474K]

CBS Chicago [10/8/2025 3:53 PM, Sara Tenenbaum, 39474K] Video: HERE reports a federal judge’s ruling is a legal win for people wrongfully arrested in recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol sweeps. The ruling extends a consent decree that further limits ICE’s ability to arrest people without warrants or probable cause. Those arrests include Abel Orozco Ortega of west suburban Lyons, Illinois, and hundreds of other people taken off the streets by federal agents without warrants or probable cause. The consent decree will remain in effect until at least Feb. 2, 2026. Attorneys for the National Immigration Justice Center said ICE officials had suggested that they were no longer bound by the agreement limiting their arrest powers. The agreement dates back to 2022. The judge ruled that ICE has violated the decree repeatedly, and improperly told its field offices over the summer that the order had been cancelled when it had not.

Washington Times [10/8/2025 9:07 AM, Stephen Dinan, 852K] reports at least one murder case and multiple sexual assault and domestic violence prosecutions are being endangered because of the heavy presence of immigration officers seeking to arrest illegal immigrants at a courthouse in Chicago, a prosecutor said. Assistant State’s Attorney Jose Villareal made the revelation in court papers filed as Illinois and Chicago sue to stop President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard. Mr. Villareal said in the murder case, the wife of the victim has told prosecutors she “is afraid to come to court and testify for fear that she could be arrested by Homeland Security agents.” “Their fear of arrest makes it more likely that her husband’s murderers will go free and justice will be denied,” Mr. Villareal said. He also said in one aggravated child sexual assault case, the mother of the two victim children has repeatedly rescheduled a meeting with prosecutors because she fears bringing her children with her. And in another case, the sex assault victim’s mother won’t bring the child to court to an offer meeting out of fear of an immigration arrest. Mr. Villareal also cited one domestic violence case where the victim declined to cooperate because she feared her spouse — the person accused in the case — would be deported. “In my experience as an assistant state’s attorney, noncitizen victims of crime more freely cooperated with prosecutions by my office before the recent surge in immigration enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security,” the prosecutor said.

Daily Wire [10/8/2025 8:43 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports that an illegal immigrant gang member on the run for allegedly killing a man in California went on to kill a woman in Texas before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were able to apprehend him, The Daily Wire has learned. Cambodian citizen Savin Seng, 41, is wanted in California for allegedly murdering 20-year-old Gabriel Isiguzo outside a North Hills strip club in 2022, according to ICE. Authorities said the killing was "unprovoked," while reports at the time suggested the shooting stemmed from an argument over a handicapped spot outside the club. Seng then went on to allegedly kill 47-year-old Charminy Lewis in Victoria, Texas, on Friday, authorities said. He was later caught by the Victoria County Sheriff’s Department while walking down the highway with a loaded pistol. Seng, who goes by the moniker "Two-Face," admitted to authorities that he’s a member of the Asian Boyz gang and said that he desired to return to his home country, according to court documents. When asked how he obtained a firearm, Seng told officers "that he wasn’t a snitch" and that the "gun fell from the sky and he picked it up." "For the second time in three years, this violent criminal alien gang member has allegedly murdered someone and then attempted to flee from authorities," Homeland Security Investigations Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. "Within just 36 hours, the law enforcement community in Southeast Texas banded together leveraging our various resources to successfully locate him and safely take him into custody before he could harm anyone else," Plantz added.

CBS News [10/8/2025 6:42 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE reports the mother of a man killed in the recent Dallas ICE facility shooting is speaking out for the first time. She traveled from El Salvador to Texas to bury her son and demand justice, saying she wasn’t informed of his death until three days after the shooting. Her son, who was in federal custody, was one of the victims killed when a gunman opened fire at the facility two weeks ago. She met with attorneys in Dallas on Wednesday, saying she believes her son wasn’t properly protected.

World Tribune [10/8/2025 7:25 PM, Staff] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, arrested 91 illegal alien truck drives on one stretch of I-40, a report said. The Trump Administration is crediting the 287(g) program, a partnership between local law enforcement and ICE, for the arrests during the three-day operation, The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on Oct. 6. “ICE’s 287(g) program clearly demonstrates how federal and local law enforcement agencies can work together to make America safe again,” Madison Sheahan, ICE Deputy Director, said in a statement. “Illegal aliens have no business operating 18 wheelers on America’s highways.” “Our roads are now safer with these illegal aliens no longer behind the wheel,” Sheahan added. “We encourage more state and local law enforcement to sign 287(g) agreements to help remove public safety threats and receive reimbursement funds available to our law enforcement partners.” The operation, conducted between Sept. 22 and 25, also resulted in the arrests of illegal aliens allegedly associated with money laundering, human smuggling, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, illegal re-entry into the U.S. and a litany of other alleged crimes, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Telemundo 48 - Area de la Bahia [10/8/2025 3:34 PM, Eduardo Orbea, 20K] reports U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that some applications can now be completed and fees paid online, without the need to mail documents. On its website, USCIS announced that some of its most commonly used forms can now be completed online, such as the I-130, to apply for an immigrant visa for a relative, or the N-400, to apply for citizenship. You can also complete Form I-90 online to apply for a green card. Another form that can be completed online is the one used to apply for asylum, which includes withholding of removal. Interested applicants can also complete the I-129 form online for nonimmigrant work visas. Another form that can be completed online is the I-539 to request an extension of stay as a nonimmigrant or to change status. The list includes the popular Form I-765 used to apply for employment authorization, which is often completed alongside a petition for adjustment of status or other immigration benefit. TPS benefits can also be applied for online using Form I-821.

Axios [10/8/2025 5:08 PM, Josephine Walker, Russell Contreras, 12972K] reports the Trump administration is warning Americans of a looming food crisis brought on by its own crackdown on undocumented farmworkers. To offset the fallout, the administration pushed through an emergency rule last week that could gut the paychecks of domestic farmworkers by replacing them with foreign guest workers subject to lower wages. The rule change, first reported by The American Prospect, would decrease what foreign nationals who want to work in the U.S. as temporary agricultural workers under the H-2A program are paid. The Labor Department said that the pay changes are necessary to counter the cost of the "significant disruptions" the president’s immigration raids are causing on the "stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S consumers." The rule change is effective immediately and could push some farmworkers’ hourly wages below the minimum wage for their state.

New York Times [10/8/2025 5:00 AM, Madeleine Ngo, 153395K] reports President Trump’s $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas will have major consequences for tech companies and financial firms. But the effects of the new fee will also ripple across the education system and show up in classrooms across the country. Higher education leaders and public-school superintendents say the steep fee will hurt schools that depend on foreign workers to fill critical teaching roles. Some university and college presidents said it would impede their ability to hire faculty members through the visa program, which allows educated foreign citizens to work in “specialty occupations.” Others said their school districts could not afford the fee, making it harder for them to find math and special education teachers. The change is yet another blow to colleges and universities that have been squeezed by the Trump administration’s barrage of attacks on higher education. Federal officials have frozen billions in research funds, demanded hefty payments from top schools, intensified vetting of student visas and pursued civil rights investigations into dozens of universities. Administration officials say the H-1B visa program lets employers sideline American workers and suppress their wages. They have argued that the new fee will help counter that by encouraging employers to prioritize hiring domestic workers. But some education leaders said they worried the change would make institutions less competitive and restrict their ability to hire the best candidates.

CyberScoop [10/8/2025 3:55 PM, Derek B. Johnson] reports voting rights groups are asking a court to block an ongoing Trump administration effort to merge disparate federal and state voter data into a massive citizenship and voter fraud database. Last week, the League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and five individuals sued the federal government in D.C. District Court, saying it was ignoring decades of federal privacy law to create enormous “national data banks” of personal information on Americans. On Tuesday, the coalition, represented by Democracy Forward Foundation, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Fair Elections Center, asked the court for an emergency injunction to halt the Trump administration’s efforts to transform the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements into an immense technological tool to track potential noncitizens registered to vote. Until this year, SAVE was an incomplete and limited federal database meant to track immigrants seeking federal benefits. “This administration’s attempt to manipulate federal data systems to unlawfully target its own citizens and purge voters is one of the most serious threats to free and fair elections in decades,” Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, said in a statement. “The League is asking the court to acIn an Oct. 7 court filing, the groups said an immediate injunction was needed to prevent permanent privacy harms due to the “illegal and secretive consolidation of millions of Americans’ sensitive personal data across government agencies into centralized data systems” through SAVE.t swiftly to stop this abuse of power before it disenfranchises lawful voters. Every citizen deserves privacy, fairness, and the freedom to vote without fear of government interference.”

Federalist [10/8/2025 3:29 PM, Brianna Lyman, 785K] reports on Tuesday, the second anniversary of the horrific Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that claimed 1,200 lives, terrorist sympathizers took to the streets to declare that the violence was not "enough.” "We did not act enough! We did not act enough. Repeat after me, ‘We did not act enough.’ If we acted enough, the headline behind me would read, ‘Gaza has been liberated,’" one man yelled. "So our work is not done. We will show up, stronger than we did the first Oct. 7. Louder than we did the first Oct. 7 to make it clear that we are not going anywhere. We will keep fighting until Palestine is free, from the river to the sea, within our lifetime.” That scene played out, not on the other side of the world, but in the streets of Manhattan. Other demonstrators cheering Hamas’ rule in Gaza have chanted, "Death to America" in U.S. cities. Some of these people violently cheering for Islam are on student visas, like the infamous Mahmoud Khalil, but others have been granted citizenship by a country to which they clearly have no allegiance. Texas Rep. Chip Roy says the Islamic ideology that underpins these calls for violence is "incompatible" with American society. Roy introduced legislation on Wednesday entitled: "Preserving A Sharia-Free America Act," according to a copy of the legislation obtained exclusively by The Federalist. The legislation would prevent foreign nationals who adhere to Sharia Law from entering or remaining in the United States. "Any alien in the United States found to be an adherent of Sharia law by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, or Attorney General shall have any immigration benefit, immigration relief, or visa revoked, be considered inadmissible or deportable, and shall be removed from the United States," the legislation reads in part. The legislation would permit the revocation of immigration benefits and ensure that any foreign national who lied about his adherence to such belief system would be considered inadmissible or deportable and be removed. The legislation would also create a provision that states: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any determination made by the aforementioned Department heads under this Act shall be final and shall not be subject to review by any court.” In a statement to The Federalist, Roy said: "America is facing an existential threat — the spread of Sharia Law. From Texas to every state in the union, instances of Sharia Law adherents have threatened the American way of life, seeking to replace our legal system and Constitution with an incompatible ideology that diminishes the rights of women, children, and individuals of different faiths.”

Telemundo51 [10/8/2025 5:49 PM, Yuniesky Ramírez, 182K] reports Christopher Josué Ramírez Delgado was looking forward to the moment, but that family petition interview at the USCIS office in Miami ended in a cell at the so-called Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades. Since then, Ramírez Delgado has been detained at the facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz." Ramírez Delgado, 27, originally from Nicaragua, arrived in the United States in 2018. In 2021, his asylum claim was denied, but he says he has been waiting for a response to his appeal ever since. He was filing for a family marriage petition when he was arrested. Darse also claims that her son requires regular medical treatment after lung surgery a year ago and is not receiving adequate care at the detention center.

CBS News [10/9/2025 12:14 AM, Ken Molestina, Lexi Salazar, Katie Standing, 39474K] reports reports that, in the small town of Gordon, Texas, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, Pastor Albert Oliveira is preparing to leave the country and his congregation behind. Like many other foreign-born religious leaders across the United States, a visa backlog has forced him to make the difficult decision to self-deport. After two years of effort and legal fees, trying to figure out a way to stay in the country, Oliveira, his wife and young son have booked a November flight to Brazil. "I was in denial for a long time," Oliveira said. "Personally, we feel scammed.” Not only is his upcoming departure a disruption to Oliveira’s life, but it’s also a blow to his congregation. "When you live in a very small community as this is, it’s very difficult to get a pastor to come out to relocate," said Rebecca Sue Collins, a member of the church. "We don’t have that kind of money to get a lot of big pastors.” Originally from Brazil, Oliveira first came to the United States on a student visa in 2011. He built his life here — marrying German national Caroline Schuster Oliveira and moving to Gordon seven years ago, initially to serve as a youth minister. "This church saw potential in me and they believed in me," Oliveira said. "This church has opened the door for me to be a leader.” Three years ago, Oliveira became the church’s pastor. Since then, he and his parishioners say they’ve seen the congregation flourish. At one point, members thought the church would close because there weren’t enough worshipers in weekly attendance. Today, up to 150 people fill in the pews every week to hear Oliveira’s sermons. Oliveira jokes that while by some measures it’s a small church, it’s a megachurch in a town of 500. "I’ve watched our church grow because of your leadership and your love for people," said parishioner Janis Mills during a bible study CBS News Texas attended in September. "And it just means so much to us.” For the past five years, Oliveira and his family have been in this country on an R-1 visa, which is a temporary visa given to religious workers. He currently is applying for an EB-4 visa, which is a pathway for immigrants seeking a green card. Immigration attorney Lance Curtright, who is not involved in Oliveira’s case, said this has been standard for immigrant religious workers seeking permanent status in the U.S. for years. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [10/8/2025 7:32 AM, Michael Dorgan Fox, 40621K] reports the Trump administration has announced it closed out fiscal year 2025 with the lowest U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions since 1970. The preliminary enforcement figures, announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), reveal 237,565 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025 compared to 201,780 in fiscal year 1970. The historically low figures come despite 72% of the total occurring during the last 111 days of the Biden administration. Fiscal year 2025 ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The numbers are also 87% below the average of the last four fiscal years, which was 1.86 million, with DHS touting the feat as a testament to the Trump administration’s success in restoring control at the border "despite the handicap of more than three months of Biden’s open-border chaos at the start of the fiscal year." "Fiscal year 2025 shows what happens when we enforce the law without compromise," said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. "For too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies. Today they are empowered to do their jobs – and the result is the lowest apprehensions in more than five decades, and the most secure border in modern history." September also marked the fifth consecutive month with zero illegal immigrant releases by the Border Patrol along the southwest border, compared to 9,144 releases in September 2024.

USA Today [10/8/2025 5:10 PM, Lauren Villagran, 67103K] reports illegal crossings in 2025 have plunged to the lowest level since 1970 amid an aggressive crackdown by the Trump administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Border Patrol recorded roughly 238,000 migrant apprehensions in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, down from more than 1.5 million apprehensions in fiscal 2024. Migration flows at the border peaked under the Biden administration at over 2 million apprehensions in 2022 and 2023 – an unprecedented wave of human migration that angered many American voters and helped sweep President Donald Trump back to power. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem touted the decline, saying the Trump administration has produced "the most secure border in American history." DHS said there were an average of 279 apprehensions per day in September, amounting to nearly 8,400 apprehensions for the month. The downward trend recently reversed. Migrant apprehensions ticked higher in both August and September from a low of nearly 4,600 in July, according to DHS data.

Reported similarly:
Telemundo [10/8/2025 10:01 PM, Marinee Zavala, 57K]

NBC News [10/8/2025 3:23 PM, Didi Martinez, Julia Ainsley and Maricruz Gutiérrez, 34509K] reports as he looked out over the murky waters of the Rio Grande one day last week, Mike Banks, the head of U.S. Border Patrol, mused on the difference nine months can make. The quiet, Banks said, is a stark contrast to what he saw more than two years ago, in fall 2023, when border crossings were at a peak and the border sector where Eagle Pass is located would encounter 2,000 migrants a day. That number is now just about 20 a day. Across the border, Customs and Border Protection apprehended the lowest number of immigrants crossing the border in the past year than at any point since 1970, DHS said in a statement on Tuesday. His goal, he said, is full "operational control" of the border, with no one passing through undetected. He refers to those people as "gotaways." Another big reason for the drop is Trump’s stringent asylum policy. Under a special provision of immigration law that allows the president to temporarily suspend immigration into the U.S. under certain circumstances, Trump signed an executive order to block entry even for asylum-seekers and those crossing at legal ports of entry. That order is being challenged in court, but for now the Trump administration is allowed to deny asylum at the border and send migrants back rather than releasing them into the U.S. with pending court dates, as previous administrations had done.

Breitbart [10/8/2025 8:32 AM, Bob Price, 2416K] reports the commander of the Department of Homeland Security’s illegal alien operations in Los Angeles and Chicago reacted to the arrest of the man who allegedly offered a bounty for his kidnapping or murder. He stated that violent gangs are "feeling way to comfortable" in sanctuary cities like Chicago when they believe they can threaten to kidnap and kill law enforcement officers. "When violent gangs can plot to kidnap and kill law enforcement officers in a U.S. city like Chicago, that means they are feeling way too comfortable," Border Patrol Commander Op At Large Gregory Bovino wrote in a post on social media. "Time to make them feel uncomfortable.” Bovino’s comments followed the arrest reported by Breitbart News’ John Binder of alleged Latin Kings gang member Juan Espinoza Martinez, who is accused of posting a bounty for the kidnapping or death of Chief Bovino. During an interview on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show, Bovino reacted to the threat, saying, "It’s a war zone out there… That $2,000 to kidnap, $10,000 to kill senior Border Patrol officials and senior ICE officials here in Chicago. Now, Sean, what happens between the kidnapping and the killing portion? That’s something out of a third-world country. Is this America?" On America Reports, a visibly shaken Bovino said, "This is something out of a third-world country." "Is this America?" the chief asked.

Reuters [10/8/2025 7:50 PM, Renee Hickman, 36480K] reports a woman who was shot multiple times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents did not ram them with her car and had her weapon stored in her purse at the time of the incident, according to her lawyer, contradicting accounts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that described the shooting as an act of self-defense. Marimar Martinez, 30, was charged on October 5 with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon after she followed a vehicle driven by border patrol agents with her car in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side. The vehicles made contact, and a federal agent fired their weapon at Martinez, a U.S. citizen, according to a criminal complaint. DHS said Martinez was armed with a gun, but Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, said that she never brandished it. The incident on October 4 is at least the second time that federal agents have fired their weapons at Chicago-area residents since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration launched an aggressive immigration sweep in Chicago last month. Parente told Reuters that Martinez was on her way to donate clothes when she learned from a community group that immigration agents were nearby. She began following a Border Patrol vehicle. "I call her sort of a Paul Revere of today," said Parente. "She’s trying to tell neighbors, ‘Hey, be careful.’". In the criminal complaint filed in U.S. district court in Chicago, prosecutors said Martinez tailed the agents, repeatedly yelling "la migra," a Spanish term for immigration authorities. A statement released by DHS that day said nine other cars were also following the federal agents, including one driven by Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, who was also charged. Parente says Martinez was not acting in coordination with anyone else. Parente said body camera footage from one of the border patrol agents in the car showed an agent saying "Do something, bitch" as Martinez drove alongside them, with the agent’s finger resting on the trigger of an assault rifle. DHS said Martinez and the other drivers "boxed in" the agents. While prosecutors allege that Martinez drove her car at the border patrol agents’ vehicle and struck it, Parente said Martinez would show at trial that the federal agents actually struck her. Parente said footage showed the driver of the border patrol vehicle turn the steering wheel to the left, toward Martinez’s vehicle. After the vehicles made contact, the agents stepped out and one fired at Martinez. "Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fired defensive shots at an armed U.S. citizen," DHS said in its statement. DHS initially misstated the location of the incident as Broadview, a Chicago suburb where protesters have scuffled with federal agents outside an immigration processing center. DHS also said Martinez drove herself to the hospital, but Parente and U.S. prosecutors said an ambulance transported her from the repair shop.

Breitbart [10/8/2025 12:31 PM, Randy Clark, 2416K] reports that heavy rains and high temperatures have made the walk from Tapachula, Mexico, to Mexico City even more difficult. The more than 1,200-strong migrant caravan that intends to stay in Mexico due to the new stringent border policies under President Trump includes one Cuban national who says staying in Mexico is a privilege when compared to conditions in her native Cuba. A Spanish-language report by Noticias Voz e Imagen de Chiapas (NVI) highlights the story of Estela Matus, one of hundreds of Cubans marching toward Mexico City. Despite the group’s realization that the welcome mat at the U.S./Mexico border laid by the Biden administration has been pulled, Matus told NVI that staying in Mexico is still a privilege that offers freedom and a sense of protection that does not exist in her native Cuba. "Staying in Mexico, we feel privileged, it is not our fault that in Tapachula there is no work, but Cuba is ugly and there is much police abuse against Cubans, we can’t have a business because they take it away from us, only the government officials live well," she told NVI. Matus, like more than 1,200 others in the migrant caravan, is marching in protest of the slow-moving refugee and asylum process in Mexico. Many in the group remained in the southern Mexican border city of Tapachula for months, awaiting permits needed to regularize their immigration status in the country.

CNN [10/8/2025 9:43 AM, Pete Muntean, Aaron Cooper, Rebekah Riess, Dalia Faheid, 606K] reports the Federal Aviation Administration is again reporting short staffing at air traffic control operations as the government shutdown continues in its eighth day. On Wednesday evening, six major air traffic control facilities will be short-staffed, according to a publicly available FAA operations plan. Shortages were reported at control towers near Washington, DC, and Denver, facilities that control planes arriving or departing at Newark and Orlando, along with parts of centers that control airspace based in New Mexico and California. While acknowledging controllers may be "stressed out" by the economic realities of the shutdown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said controllers "got to go to work.” "I’m encouraging air traffic controllers to show up for work. They need to go to their jobs. They need to control the airspace," he told CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday night. Over the past nine months, he noted 5% of air travel delays were caused by staffing shortages, but today it was 53%. The control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will not have its normal complement of controllers from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. local time Wednesday night. Delays for flights heading to the airport are "probable" and could average 31 minutes, according to the FAA. Controllers at the airport have been under scrutiny since the airport was the site of a January 29 deadly collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people and a subsequent series of close calls. The air traffic control tower in Denver will also not have all of its staff from 9 p.m. to midnight ET, Wednesday. The controllers who handle flights arriving and departing Newark Liberty International Airport will also be short staffed from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. with estimated delays of up 30 minutes. Earlier Wednesday, the facility was short-staffed for two hours, starting at 7 a.m. local time. It was the only operation to report a so-called "staffing trigger" for the morning shift, according to an FAA operations plan. The facility handling flights approaching Newark, which is based in Philadelphia, also saw staffing shortages earlier this year when communication and radar outages caused five controllers to take trauma leave, resulting in thousands of canceled flights. The number of controllers is expected to be below normal levels at the approach control, which handles flights landing and taking off at Orlando International Airport between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Two air route traffic control centers, that manage airspace for flights across a wide region will also have staffing shortages. Albuquerque Center will be short controllers until 10 p.m. ET and Los Angeles Center will not have a full staff from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET. TSA reports ‘no delay in operations’ due to callouts. The Transportation Security Administration, which operates security screening checkpoints at US airports, has not seen slowdowns due to officers calling out sick. "TSA has not experienced any delay in operations due to callouts, and remains fully capable of facilitating safe and secure travel for passengers," the agency said in a statement.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [10/8/2025 6:11 PM, Al Weaver, 12595K]

AP [10/8/2025 3:36 PM, Kevin Freking] reports the first week is the easy one. The pressure to resolve the federal shutdown will gradually build as the shutdown enters its second week — and as government workers miss paychecks and important programs run out of money. Paydays for civilian federal workers depend on the agency. The Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-partisan think tank, says a majority of civilian workers will see a partial paycheck arrive between Oct. 10-15, reflecting days worked before the shutdown began. That includes air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents manning airport security checkpoints. One paycheck missed will be a big deal. Two paychecks missed will bring the political pressure to a boil. There has already been a rash of delays at a number of airports across the country. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there has been an uptick in air traffic controllers calling out sick since the shutdown began. The biggest problems so far have been at the smaller airports in Burbank, California, and Nashville, Tennessee, with delays stretching longer than two hours, but those didn’t create massive ripple effects nationwide. But there have also been delays at the major hubs in Chicago, Newark, New Jersey, and Denver because of staffing problems, and more problems are possible because of the ongoing shortage of controllers. Even the absence of a handful of controllers in a key location could cause major disruptions. Earlier this year, the absence of just five controllers who took leave after a radar outage, snarled traffic in Newark.

The Hill [10/8/2025 3:17 PM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K] reports the Department of Justice unveiled Wednesday that a Florida man previously working as an Uber driver was arrested in connection with the deadly Palisades Fire that struck Los Angeles in January. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Melbourne, Fla., was charged with destruction of property by means of fire, acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli’s office said in a statement. The suspect was scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Wednesday afternoon. The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres Jan. 7-31, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. At least 12 people died and thousands of homes were destroyed. Investigators determined the blaze was a "holdover" from the Lachman Fire that started Jan. 1. While firefighters contained that fire, it "continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation." Days later, heavy winds caused the underground fire above the soil, according to the press release. Through witness statements, video surveillance, cell phone data and fire patterns and dynamics, investigators also determined that Rinderknecht "maliciously set the Lachman Fire just after midnight on Jan. 1," Essayli’s office said.

Reported similarly:
NPR [10/8/2025 5:03 PM, Steve Futterman, 28013K] Audio: HERE

Telemundo52 [10/8/2025 7:02 PM, Staff, 76K] reports the Los Angeles Fire Department on Wednesday released a report after the Palisades fire, nine months after the start of the ninth deadliest wildfire on record in California. The report, detailing the fire, which began Jan. 7 with a powerful windstorm in Santa Ana, and the city’s response in the hours and days that followed, was released the same day authorities announced the arrest of Florida’s 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht in connection with the fire. Post-intervention reports are typically commissioned to provide a full account of fire-related actions, such as alerts, warnings, evacuations, and responses from fire departments and law enforcement. The reports also provide recommendations on policies and procedures to improve response to future emergencies. The LAFD said the release of the report, hours after the suspect’s arrest announcement, was made in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. The report released Wednesday focuses on the fire department’s response during the first 36 hours of the wildfire. "Our firefighters were brave and did a phenomenal job," acting LAFD chief Charlie Villanueva said in an interview Wednesday afternoon on the report. "The answer we had was unheard of. "Firefighters saved one in two homes. 33,000 people were evacuated. Save lives. That’s the important thing. Were there challenges? Definitely. The intensity of the fire and the wind of that day are unheard of things, and everything coincided that day.

Los Angeles Times [10/9/2025 12:41 AM, Clara Harter, 14862K] reports a construction team made a shocking discovery at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday afternoon when they inadvertently unearthed a World War II-era explosive device, authorities said. The eight-decade-old shell was found at one of the port’s six container terminals, according to a port spokesperson. The Long Beach police and fire departments and the U.S. Coast Guard evacuated the terminal and established a safety perimeter, while the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad responded and assessed the situation. The remaining terminals continued to operate as normal during that time. A U.S. Marine Corps ordnance disposal team then determined that the device was safe to transport and moved it off site, where it was deactivated. The port resumed normal operations Wednesday night.

Federal News Network [10/8/2025 4:35 PM, Justin Doubleday, 986K] reports CISA and INL aim to scale free OT cybersecurity services to protect critical infrastructure, as even small orgs need resilience against rising cyber threats. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working to expand the reach of its cybersecurity services geared toward operational technology systems, as CISA and other agencies warn of the increasing cyberthreat to U.S. critical infrastructure. CISA offers a range of free cybersecurity services to partners across the public and private sector. Matthew Rogers, OT cyber lead at CISA, said more than 10,000 critical infrastructure organizations have signed up to use the agency’s free vulnerability scanning services. And the agency is "at the limit of our current capacity" for risk assessments that it offers to outside organizations. But Rogers, who is focused on helping organizations secure the operational technology that runs most critical infrastructure, said CISA wants to expand to more organizations.

Federal News Network [10/8/2025 3:14 PM, Justin Doubleday, 986K] reports the new CISA cyber chief is refocusing the agency on its core mission: defending federal networks and critical infrastructure — even as budgets tighten. The new leader of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cyber Directorate is looking to build on CISA’s past successes, while focusing on the agency’s core responsibilities — despite a smaller staff and budget. Nick Andersen became CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity September 2025. In a wide-ranging interview with Federal News Network, Andersen said his focus is on "the core operational norms of what CISA is supposed to be delivering" amid a wave of staffing departures at the cyber agency. The Trump administration has also proposed cutting CISA’s annual budget by nearly $500 million.

Washington Examiner [10/9/2025 5:00 AM, Mia Cathell, 1563K] reports several high-profile antifa leaders have fled the country or are actively making plans to abscond overseas. News of their escape comes after President Donald Trump designated antifa as a domestic terrorist threat and directed federal authorities to dismantle terrorism networks operating within the United States. Mark Bray, a financier of transnational antifa operations and antifa’s foremost thought leader in America, announced he is fleeing to Europe, settling in Spain specifically, under the pretext of safety concerns following negative media attention. Before his departure, Bray issued an apparent call-to-action, urging widespread militancy. “Only mass antifascism, legal or not, can save us,” Bray declared on Bluesky, a popular platform on the political Left. Bray, an assistant professor at Rutgers University, will continue teaching classes on “Terrorism” and the “History of Antifascism” remotely, despite a Change.org petition from students calling for his firing.

Washington Times [10/8/2025 5:19 PM, Matt Delaney, 852K] reports Federal data undercounts both the number of active shooter incidents across the country and how often concealed carry holders stop gunmen before police can, says a leading crime researcher who investigated the numbers. The FBI’s database of active shooter incidents either misclassifies or leaves out several instances that meet its own criteria of the kind of crime that grabs headlines and influences legislative changes around gun laws, according to a recent study by John Lott from the Crime Prevention Research Center. Between 2014 and 2024, the agency recorded 374 active shooting incidents, with armed citizens stopping just 14 of those attacks. Active shootings are defined by the FBI as a gunman killing or attempting to kill people in a public place. Gang slayings and homicides stemming from other crimes, such as robberies or carjackings, are not included in the statistics. After combing through media reports over that same time frame, Mr. Lott said in his study published at the end of September that the true number that meets the FBI’s own standards is 561 active shooting incidents. But of those, 202 — or 36% — were thwarted by a concealed carry holder who happened to be in the area. The FBI’s incomplete data, Mr. Lott said in an interview with The Washington Times, is a reference point for media coverage, courtroom arguments, academic research and policy debates that frequently seek to curtail gun ownership by means such as gun-free zones. “This flawed data that they use is used constantly in those things,” he continued. “It just seems if we care about trying to make people safer, then we’ve got to have accurate data on these things.” The researcher said gun-free zones create an easy target for successful mass shooters. Robin Westman, the gunman who killed two children and wounded 21 other people in an August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, said in his manifesto that he drew inspiration from other killers who sought out places where firearms were banned. “I recently heard a rumor that James Holmes, the Aurora theater shooter, may have chosen venues that were ‘gun-free zones.’ I would probably aim the same way,” Westman wrote in a manifesto linked to him. “Holmes wanted to make sure his victims would be unarmed. That’s why I and many others like schools so much. At least for me, I am focused on them.” Mr. Lott said the mass shooters share some fairly similar qualities — most feel underappreciated, are suicidal and are seeking attention. He said gun-free zones offer them soft targets to get that attention, and many don’t plan on living through their attacks. But outside those zones, Mr. Lott said, it’s not as rare for a concealed-carry holder to jump into action. The best-known such incident was when Elisjsha Dicken shot and killed a gunman Jonathan Douglas Sapirman just seconds after he started his 2022 rampage at a mall in Greenwood, Indiana. Sapirman killed two and wounded three others before Mr. Dicken fatally shot him.

Washington Post [10/8/2025 9:18 AM, Anumita Kaur, 24149K] reports faced with a stream of death threats, a Rutgers University history professor who teaches about antifascism said he is moving out of the United States just a month into the fall semester. Mark Bray, who has taught at Rutgers since 2019, told his students Sunday that his courses would move online immediately. “Since my family and I do not feel safe in our home at the moment, we are moving for the year to Europe,” Bray said in an email to students. “Truly I am so bummed about not being able to spend time with you all in the classroom.” Several far-right activists and other social media users homed in on Bray in late September, after he was quoted in news stories about President Donald Trump’s executive order designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.” Bray has written four books on anarchism and antifa — a far-left decentralized global movement whose proponents oppose fascism. One online activist called Bray a “domestic terrorist professor,” and another shared the address of his home in New Jersey. The campus’s chapter of the conservative student group Turning Point USA then launched a petition Thursday to demand that the university fire him, referencing Trump’s executive order and claiming Bray is a risk to their safety. Bray has received three death threats since Sept. 26, including one threatening to kill him in front of his students, according to screenshots of emails reviewed by The Washington Post. The threats and the publication of his address compelled Bray to move his family to Spain for the remainder of the academic year, he said. Rutgers said Tuesday that it was aware of the petition to fire Bray and his message to his students. “We are gathering more information about this evolving situation,” the university said in a statement.

AP [10/8/2025 2:15 PM, Michael Kunzelman, 31753K] reports that a New Jersey man has been arrested on charges that he had explosive materials in his possession near a Washington, D.C., church that was preparing to celebrate an annual Mass marking the start of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term, according to police and court records. Louis Geri, 41, of Vineland, New Jersey, was charged with possession of a destructive device after his arrest on Sunday outside St. Matthew’s Cathedral, court records show. Some Supreme Court justices usually attend the annual Red Mass. No justices went to this year’s celebration, a court spokesperson said. Police officers were clearing the area near the Roman Catholic church before the ceremony when they saw Geri setting up a tent on steps leading into the church. Geri had been barred from the premises previously and was arrested when he refused to move his tent off church property, police said. Geri told police that he had explosive devices and said, “You might want to stay back and call the federales,” according to a police report. Geri also was holding a butane lighter and had a bag containing vials of a yellow liquid, police said. In the tent, investigators found what appeared to be parts for making a “destructive device,” a court filing says. Geri “described his devices as grenades and explosives containing (nitromethane) with a rubber band securing a fuse to be used for detonation,” the filing says. A D.C. Superior Court judge ordered Geri held without bond until a hearing on Thursday.

AP [10/8/2025 2:56 PM, Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, and Miachel Kunzelman, 2416K] reports that James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump, with lawyers for the former FBI director saying they plan to argue the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed. The arraignment lasted less than half an hour, but it was nonetheless loaded with historical significance given that the case has amplified concerns the Justice Department is being weaponized in pursuit of the Republican president’s political enemies and is operating at the behest of an administration determined to seek retribution. Comey’s not guilty plea to allegations that he lied to Congress five years ago kick-starts a process of legal wrangling that could culminate in a trial months from now at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of Washington. Defense lawyers said they intend to ask that the case be thrown out before trial on grounds that it constitutes a vindictive prosecution and also plan to challenge the legitimacy of the appointment of the prosecutor who filed the charges just days after Trump hastily appointed her to her position. “It’s the honor of my life to represent Mr. Comey in this matter,” one of Comey’s lawyers, Patrick Fitzgerald, a longtime friend who served with him in President George W. Bush’s Justice Department, said in court on Wednesday.

FOX News [10/8/2025 6:31 PM, Kim Komando, 40621K] reports this isn’t a ripped-from-the-headlines new Netflix series. This really happened in a quiet neighborhood called Litchfield Park that’s about a 20-minute drive from Phoenix. Christina Chapman, 50, looked like your average middle-aged suburban woman. But inside her humble home? A secret cyber ops center built to help North Korean IT workers buy equipment and tools for their military by infiltrating hundreds of U.S. companies. That picture above was just a small part of her setup. North Korean workers aren’t browsing LinkedIn or applying at Google, Amazon and Meta. They can’t. Sanctions block them from working for American companies, at least legally. So what do they do? They steal real Americans’ identities, including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and more. Then, they use them to pose as remote IT workers, slipping into U.S. companies under anyone’s radar. But when companies send out laptops and phones to their "remote new hires"? Those devices can’t exactly be shipped to Pyongyang. Over the course of three years, Christina turned her suburban home into a covert operations hub for North Korea’s elite cybercriminals. She received more than 100 laptops and smartphones shipped from companies all across the U.S. These weren’t no-name startups. We’re talking major American banks, top-tier tech firms and at least one U.S. government contractor. All thought they were hiring remote U.S.-based workers. They had no idea they were actually onboarding North Korean operatives. Once the gear arrived, Chapman connected the devices to VPNs, remote desktop tools like AnyDesk and Chrome Remote Desktop, and even rigged up voice-changing software. The goal? To make it seem like the North Koreans were logging in from inside the United States. Chapman also shipped 49 laptops and other devices supplied by U.S. companies to locations overseas, including multiple shipments to a city in China on the border with North Korea. These fake employees "showed up" every day, submitting code, answering emails, taking meetings, all from halfway around the world. In reality, they were siphoning U.S. tech and cash straight into Kim Jong Un’s regime. When HR teams requested video verification, Chapman didn’t blink. She jumped on camera herself, sometimes in costume, pretending to be the person in the résumé. She ran the whole operation like a talent agency for cybercriminals, staging fake job interviews, coaching the operatives on what to say and even laundering their salaries through U.S. banks. Her take? At least $800,000, paid as "service fees.” Eventually, the scam began to unravel. Investigators noticed odd patterns like dozens and dozens of remote hires all listing the same Arizona address, or company systems being accessed from countries the workers supposedly had never visited. Chapman was arrested and sentenced in July 2025 to 102 months in federal prison.

Breaking Defense [10/8/2025 12:49 PM, Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, 690K] reports that in response to an American buildup in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has pledged there is "no way" the US could invade the South American nation, as the nation was well prepared to defend its sovereignty. And while Maduro may be handing out weapons to civilians to aid any fight on land, the potential for conflict — and the presence of US Navy ships in the region — also raises the question of Venezuelan capabilities at sea. While official statistics are hard to come by, videos and statements uploaded by the Venezuelan government and military, as well as analysis by experts, provide an idea of what works. Or rather, floats. The analysts told Breaking Defense that what’s formally known as the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela likely has limited capabilities in the open water, as questions remain regarding the fleet’s marquee vessels like submarines and frigates. The service likely has "brown and green water capabilities, so [the fleet] can conduct operations at a limited range," Andrea Resende, a maritime security scholar and professor of international relations at Belo Horizonte University in Brazil. Most recently, the coastal defense Exercise Luisa Caceres de Arismendi took place last weekend, and a video uploaded by the service shows transport vessels Los Llanos and Goajira transporting amphibious landing vehicles. In September, the Navy conducted Exercise Sovereign Caribbean 200 (Caribe Soberano 200) close to La Orchila Island, during which Los Llanos also participated, as well as the amphibious landing ship Capana. Also in September, Exercise Cumanagoto 200 took place.

Wall Street Journal [10/8/2025 11:48 PM, Summer Said, Anat Peled, and Abeer Ayyoub, 646K] reports Israel and Hamas agreed Wednesday to a deal that would release all Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip in the first step toward peace after two years of war in the Palestinian territory. President Trump said the hostages will be released soon, and that Israel will withdraw its troops in the strip to an agreed-upon area. Hamas confirmed that a broad deal, steered by U.S. envoys, had been reached to end the war, allow more humanitarian aid and facilitate “a prisoner exchange”—a reference to the release of Israeli hostages for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Egyptian officials who mediated the talks said Hamas would let the remaining living hostages go as soon as Sunday morning. Trump said in an interview with Fox News that the hostages would probably be released on Monday. “This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site. The president’s announcement marks a breakthrough in what had been eight months of stalled negotiations after he took office, bringing Trump closer to a top foreign-policy goal of ending the war in Gaza. It came together in less than a month after an Israeli strike on Qatar—a U.S. ally that harbors Hamas officials—led to heightened fears the war was spinning out of control and brought new pressure on Israel from Trump and on Hamas from leaders in the Muslim world.

Politico [10/8/2025 4:02 PM, Eli Stokols, 2100K] reports President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the conflict in Gaza is “very close” and suggested that he may travel to the region this weekend. “Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas. And it seems to be going well,” Trump said during a White House roundtable. “I may go there some time toward the end of the week,” he said, noting that travel plans were still in flux and that he could depart late Saturday or early Sunday. “We’ll see, but there’s a very good chance that negotiations are going along very well.” An announcement appeared to be imminent, judging from a photo by an Associated Press photographer at the White House that captured a note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the president. In part, it read: “Very close. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” The developments came shortly after Trump’s lead negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, wrapped up their first day of talks in Egypt with the two parties and other Arab partners.

Washington Examiner [10/8/2025 10:19 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K] reports that, after announcing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he expects all remaining Israeli hostages to be released from Gaza early next week. "The hostages are going to be released — our time would be probably Monday. They’re in a terrible situation there," he told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "As we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed," Trump said. "We think they’ll all be coming back on Monday, and that’ll include the bodies of the dead.” Of the remaining 48 hostages, 20 are believed to be alive and the rest dead. They have been held captive in Gaza since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel two years ago. The announcement of the peace deal came one day after the attack’s two-year anniversary. A senior White House official confirmed to multiple news outlets that the hostages will be released on Monday, although that could happen sooner than anticipated. The deal is expected to go before the Israeli Cabinet for approval on Thursday. The agreement requires Israel to withdraw from most of Gaza as part of the ceasefire’s first phase. "Once they vote yes, Israel has to withdraw to the line, which should take under 24 hours," the official told CNN. "Then the 72-hour clock begins, and Hamas will try to go earlier if possible.” Trump said, as part of the next phases of the deal, he expects Gaza to be rebuilt and a "Council of Peace" to be formed. The council would help ensure lasting peace in the Middle East. The body echoes the "Board of Peace," which was outlined in Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. "It’s going to be very powerful and it’s going to really, I think, to a large extent it’s going to have a lot to do with the whole Gaza situation," Trump said. "People are going to be taken care of. It’s going to be a different world.”

AP [10/9/2025 4:08 AM, Matthew Lee, 42219K] reports the State Department said Wednesday that it has fired a U.S. diplomat over a romantic relationship he admitted having with a Chinese woman alleged to have ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The dismissal is believed to be the first of its kind for violating a ban on such relationships that was introduced late last year under the Biden administration. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that in the waning days of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency, the State Department imposed a ban on all American government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens. Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement that the diplomat in question was dismissed from the foreign service after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed the case and determined that he had “admitted concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party.” “Under Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we will maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any employee who is caught undermining our country’s national security,” Pigott said. The statement did not identify the diplomat, but he and his girlfriend had been featured in a surreptitiously filmed video posted online by conservative firebrand James O’Keefe. In Beijing, a Chinese government spokesperson declined to comment on what he said is a domestic U.S. issue. “But I would like to stress that we oppose drawing lines based on ideological difference and maliciously smearing China,” the Foreign Ministry’s Guo Jiakun said at a daily briefing.

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