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

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

NewsMax [9/9/2025 9:32 AM, Eric Mack, 4779K] reports the Department of Homeland Security released a memo Tuesday morning clarifying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not raid or target schools. "ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement. "ICE is not going to schools to make arrests of children.” However, if there are criminals "hiding" in schools, the Trump deportation force will intervene, she added with a caveat — emphasizing that while ICE agents are not stationed at schools, they retain discretion to act if public safety is at risk. "Criminals are no longer able to hide in America’s schools to avoid arrest," her statement continued. "The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense. "If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety. "But this has not happened." The Washington Times [9/9/2025 9:08 AM, Stephen Dinan, 964K] reports the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that immigration agents will enter schools to make arrests in only “extremely rare” circumstances and not to target children, as the department sought to push back on a rash of news reports suggesting some kids are avoiding their classrooms. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the deportation agency, earlier this year loosened rules on where officers can make arrests, giving them more freedom to be near — or in some cases at — courthouses, clinics, churches and schools. With children returning for a new academic year, news coverage has been awash in stories of school systems saying they have seen a drop in attendance or detailing steps they’re taking to confront ICE officers should they show up. But Homeland Security said there’s no cause for the outrage. “ICE does not raid schools,” the department said. “The facts are DHS’s directive allowing ICE to go into schools gives our law enforcement the ability to do their jobs. Our agents use discretion. Officers would need secondary supervisor approval before any action can be taken in locations such as a school. We expect these to be extremely rare.” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin gave examples of cases. “If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety. But this has not happened,” Ms. McLaughlin said. She blamed the media for “attempting to create a climate of fear.” and called the news coverage a “smear” against law enforcement. She said it’s helping fuel a growing resistance to ICE that’s led to a surge in reported assaults on officers.

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Axios [9/9/2025 10:47 AM, Avery Lotz, 14595K]

AP [9/10/2025 4:18 AM, Sam McNeil, 37974K] reports U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to meet Tuesday with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in the port of Antwerp to discuss maritime security and bilateral efforts to fight transnational drug smuggling. De Wever, a former mayor of Antwerp, has traveled internationally to tackle surging drug trafficking through northern Europe, Belgium’s national broadcaster reported. The meeting with Noem “will underscore the close cooperation between Belgium and the United States in the area of security and the fight against international organized crime,” his office said. More drugs flowed through Antwerp’s port than any other European facility, according to the 2025 annual report by the European Union Drugs Agency. The report found cocaine seizures in Europe in 2023 hit a record for a seventh straight year, with 419 metric tons (462 tons) of cocaine confiscated by authorities. Belgium led with 123 metric tons (135 tons), followed by Spain with 118 metric tons (130 tons) and the Netherlands with 59 metric tons (65 tons). The three countries with major ports accounted for 72% of the total grabbed by agents.

NBC News [9/9/2025 6:57 PM, Julia Ainsley, Didi Martinez, and Laura Strickler, 43603K] reports for more than 15 years, before they conducted any operation to arrest an immigrant in the United States, officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division have been required to fill out a form with details about their target — name, appearance, known addresses and employment, immigration history, any criminal history and more — and give it to a supervisor for approval. This year, in a sign of how the agency has moved from targeted enforcement to broad street sweeps under the Trump administration, that policy has been ended, six current and former officials and agents of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News. “It’s hard to fill out a worksheet that just says, ‘Meet in the Home Depot parking lot,’” one of the former ICE officials said. The policy shift sheds light on the way ICE is now operating ahead of anticipated immigration crackdowns in Chicago and Boston, and it helps explain the seemingly spontaneous nature of recent arrests in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Top Trump administration officials, like border “czar” Tom Homan, have said they are prioritizing detaining and deporting immigrants with criminal histories — people whom Homan calls “the worst of the worst.” But that kind of focused work is at odds with President Donald Trump’s promises to conduct the largest mass deportation in American history, sending “millions and millions” of people out of the country. As a result, ICE has been under immense pressure to quickly increase the number of immigrants it is arresting, with less regard for whether they have any criminal histories. After initial publication, however, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin sent NBC News a statement in which she did not directly address whether the requirement that officers complete an FOW had been eliminated. “ICE replaced this inefficient and outdated paperwork with a streamlined tech-based platform. This more efficient system cuts down on time and allows our law enforcement officers to spend more time out in the field,” she said. “We still have the same information of who we are targeting well ahead of time-including name, appearance, known addresses, employment, immigration history, and criminal history. The only change is instead of manual paperwork-we now are using technology to make our officers more efficient.”

FOX News [9/9/2025 8:00 AM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 40019K] Video HERE reports White House border czar Tom Homan pushed back on Monday against claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Border Patrol agents racially profiled suspects during raids. Speaking with reporters outside the White House, Homan reacted to the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing immigration raids to continue in California while a case against them moves forward in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Calling the ruling a "great decision," Homan praised ICE and Border Patrol agents while criticizing the federal judge who had originally blocked the raids. He also rejected claims in the case and in media reports that ICE agents relied on racial profiling or acted without reasonable suspicion. "Despite what the media said, mischaracterizing me when I said, ‘Well, you can have reasonable suspicions based on looks alone.’ I never said that," Homan said. "I said looks are one of many factors you have to consider. It’s a multitude of factors to establish reasonable suspicion. But if the illegal alien has an MS-13 tattoo on his head, that’s certainly going to be one of the factors that we consider when we add a bunch of factors together. It’s a culmination of factors. Not one factor, different factors." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [9/10/2025 12:36 AM, Staff, 4932K] reports that, Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), spoke with Univision Noticias about the operations deployed in sanctuary cities such as Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles. She was also questioned about the arrest of people with no criminal record and racial profiling in raids. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [9/9/2025 9:48 AM, Nicole Silverio, 985K] reports Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin tore into The New York Times on Monday over its "wildly inaccurate" report about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) relying on a person’s ethnic background to make "indiscriminate stops" in Los Angeles, California. The justices granted the Trump administration’s request to remove restrictions on the ICE raids in Los Angeles, stating that the high court "does not set immigration policy or decide enforcement priorities." In response to the Times’ framing of the high court’s decision, McLaughlin said the outlet has continued to "humiliate itself" with its inaccuracies. "The @NYTimes continues to humiliate itself and showcase its incompetence. ‘Indiscriminate stops’ is wildly inaccurate. The Supreme Court simply applied longstanding precedent regarding what qualifies as ‘reasonable suspicion’ under the Fourth Amendment. What makes someone a target of ICE is if they are illegally in the U.S. DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice," McLaughlin said.

Chicago Tribune [9/9/2025 6:02 PM, Richard Requena, 5352K] reports ahead of another announced surge in immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, the city of Evanston announced Monday there is a strong likelihood that immigration agents will also be present in the north suburban city in the next few days. Mayor Daniel Biss told a news site he had been alerted that a helicopter operated by the Department of Homeland Security was reported flying around Evanston’s lakefront Monday afternoon. President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security dubbed the renewed efforts in the Chicago area "Operation Midway Blitz." Evanston Now’s Matthew Eadie posted on X Monday evening that a reported helicopter owned by the Department of Homeland Security circled the lakefront above the North Shore suburbs and the North Side of Chicago.

FOX News [9/9/2025 4:37 PM, Cameron Arcand, 40019K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to make major arrests of illegal immigrants in Boston under "Operation Patriot 2.0." The Boston area has become a primary focus of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, along with other cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles. The news of the arrests comes as the preliminary elections in the Boston mayoral race are on Tuesday night. "On September 6, ICE launched ‘Patriot 2.0’ to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens living in the state of Massachusetts, following the success of Operation Patriot in May," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Wu and the city of Boston are getting sued over the city’s sanctuary policies. All of the arrests occurred this past weekend, as the original "Operation Patriot" in May resulted in roughly 1,500 arrests by ICE.

Daily Caller [9/9/2025 11:41 AM, Nicole Silverio, 985K] reports Border czar Tom Homan set the record straight on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids as MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski attempted to stump him on immigration raids. ICE is conducting a federal immigration enforcement operation prioritizing the arrest and deportations of the "worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" in Massachusetts. Brzezinski, on "Morning Joe," demanded that Homan provide data to show that ICE agents are arresting heinous criminals and not harmless people, prompting the border czar to outline the criminals that have been arrested in the raid in Boston, Massachusetts. "Right now, I see on the show this morning, you had [Democratic Massachusetts] Governor [Maura] Healey on the show talking about ICE doing enforcement operations at a church. False. Didn’t happen," Homan said, leading to pushback by Brzezinski. "But to say that and to push that out there puts fear in the immigrant community.” Brzezinski then accused ICE agents of instilling fear in the immigrant community by parking in front of a church in Massachusetts during an operation. Homan then went down the list of the illegal immigrant criminals arrested who had committed heinous acts in Massachusetts. "Let me tell you in the last couple of days [about] what’s happened in Boston. They’ve arrested Victor Gomez Perez, a 33-year-old criminal alien from Guatemala with charges of aggravated rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, indecent assault and battery on a victim 14 years or younger," Homan told Brzezinski. The border czar then detailed the arrests of a Colombian national who faced charges of "aggravated assault on a pregnant victim" and a 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic for drug trafficking, resisting police, disorderly conduct and drug distribution. Another illegal immigrant recently arrested committed assault and battery on a child. "This past year, I’ve seen innocent Americans raped and murdered by people who are not supposed to be here. So rather than going back and forth and saying, ‘well, ICE has got a car parked near a church,’ that is ridiculous. They’re out there looking for people like this," Homan continued. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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Blaze [9/9/2025 1:55 PM, Julio Rosas, 1559K]

FOX News [9/9/2025 2:52 PM, Paul Steinhauser, 40019K] Video HERE reports voters in New England’s most populous city are casting ballots Tuesday in a mayoral election amid a new crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Massachusetts. The voting comes as Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston, who’s seeking re-election to a second four-year term, is pushing back against federal immigration enforcement in the city. The Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday that "ICE launched ‘Patriot 2.0’ to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens living in the state of Massachusetts, following the success of Operation Patriot in May.” And taking aim at Wu, the statement argued, "Sanctuary policies like those pushed by Mayor Wu not only attract and harbor criminals but also place these public safety threats above the interests of law-abiding American citizens. ICE is arresting sex offenders, pedophiles, murderers, drug dealers, and gang members released by local authorities." "They are wrong on the law, and they are wrong on safety," Wu charged. "This is why Boston has been the target. Boston is going to continue to uphold the Boston Trust Act, our state law, and the clear separation where our local officials and our city government does not cooperate in the mass deportation efforts that this federal administration is trying to push.” And the mayor claimed, "For months, ICE has refused to provide any information about their activities in Boston and refuses to issue warrants, while we hear reports of ICE agents taking parents as they are dropping their kids off at school. That does not make our community safer." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [9/9/2025 4:53 PM, Peter Pinedo, 40019K] reports ICE agents arrested 57 illegal immigrants at a New York candy factory — including some accused of child endangerment, DUI and repeated illegal re-entries — in a raid that New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul blasted as "cruel." A Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital that an ICE workplace enforcement operation at Nutrition Bar Confectioners in Cato, New York, resulted in the arrests of 57 illegal aliens, including some with prior criminal convictions or pending charges, including child endangerment, DUI and multiple illegal re-entries. The spokesperson said, "These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets, and threaten American communities." Hochul, however, has said she is "outraged" by the workplace operations, which she said "fly in the face of New York’s values." Hochul criticized the operation, saying that "parents of at least a dozen children are at risk of returning from school to an empty house." Despite the criticism from Hochul and other Democrats, the DHS spokesperson called worksite enforcement "a cornerstone of our efforts to protect public safety, national security, and economic stability while rescuing individuals who may be victims of labor trafficking or exploitation."

FOX News [9/9/2025 11:07 PM, Emma Bussey, 40019K] reports a dramatic standoff in upstate New York between immigration agents, roofers and protesters ended with officials leaving the scene with slashed tires Tuesday. The confrontation happened at a residential job site where one worker was detained and others refused to come down from a rooftop in Rochester’s Park Avenue area. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agencies arrived at the sanctuary city home to carry out a removal operation of the suspected illegal immigrants. One roofer was taken into custody, while others stayed on the rooftop, WXXI News reported. The incident escalated quickly when more than 100 protesters gathered at the scene, according to the NPR radio station. Some were heard chanting "shame" and called the agents "gestapo," according to the outlet. At one point, a CBP vehicle, the station reported, was allegedly forced to retreat on four slashed tires as the crowd clapped. A few blocks away from the scene, the SUV was towed, WHAM reported. The four-hour standoff saw federal agents abandon their attempts to detain other workers. Late last month, the Rochester City Council voted unanimously to codify the city’s sanctuary policy. The Western New York Coalition of Farmworker Serving Agencies helped mediate the standoff, according to WXXI. "The coalition is committed to standing alongside farmworkers, immigrants, and migrants to ensure dignity, fairness, and access to justice," coalition Executive Director Irene Sanchez said in a news release. The incident came as the Trump administration has increased immigration enforcement across the country. "President Trump’s been clear we’re going to prioritize public safety threats and national security threats, and data shows that’s exactly what we’re doing," White House border czar Tom Homan told reporters Tuesday. "But if you want me to sit here and bless someone being here illegally, I’m not going to do that because they cheated the system.” CBP and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

New York Post [9/10/2025 1:42 AM, Joe Marino, 43962K] reports the NYPD is probing an alleged bomb threat as it prepares to increase security presence at "critical" locations around the city ahead of the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, the United Nations General Assembly and the upcoming Jewish high holidays. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch noted that while threats "typically increase" around the jam-packed weeks bookended by the 9/11 anniversary, UN General Assembly and Jewish High holidays, the department will be taking extra precautions this year. Specifically, the top cop said the NYPD will be monitoring threats to the Big Apple’s "critical infrastructure," including bridges and tunnels linking Queens and Manhattan. The connectors between the two boroughs were highlighted as a loosely planned target for a "group" of unidentified criminals, sources told The Post. A vague threat that popped up on the NYPD and FBI’s radar indicated passages between Manhattan and Queens were marked as possible intended targets for unspecified terror attacks in New York, the sources said. The would-be attackers may have ties to Iran, they added, but there were no specifics about the timing or methods of the threats. An NYPD spokesman added that they were all "unspecified, uncorroborated threats" — but enough to raise eyebrows among the top executives. "As always, we take all threats seriously, and we are working with our federal partners through our Joint Terrorism Task Force, as we investigate. Out of an abundance of caution, we are surging resources, and you can expect to see an increased police presence at critical infrastructure locations," Tisch said. The security hike comes after a summer of scares in the Big Apple. In July, a gunman opened fire inside a Park Avenue office tower that housed the NFL headquarters and other companies, killing four people in the city’s single deadliest shooting in the last 25 years. The gunman, Shane Tamura, stormed into the building, wielding an assault rifle in an attempt to target NFL executives he blamed for his mental health issues, reportedly spurred by injuries sustained playing high school football. Instead, he accidentally wound up on the floor that houses Rudin Management. There, he shot and killed a young Cornell graduate before turning the gun on himself. Just last month, Times Square was shut down after a suspicious package was left near the NYPD’s small location in the heart of Manhattan. The suspect, who was on probation, was taken into custody and underwent a psych evaluation. New York City’s ICE field office building was also forced to evacuate last month after five envelopes containing white powder were discovered in a mail room. The powder was later determined to be boric acid.

CNN [9/9/2025 8:14 PM, Donald Judd, Kristen Holmes, Samantha Waldenberg, 662K] reports President Donald Trump dined at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, DC, Tuesday evening, his first foray to an outside eatery in the district since taking office in January. Trump has eschewed the capital’s restaurant scene since returning to Washington, choosing instead to dine at the White House or occasionally at his nearby golf club in Sterling, Virginia. He was joined Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Upon entering the restaurant, Trump was met with applause from diners. The president remarked to the group gathered in the dining room that DC is "a safe city" and that they should "enjoy" themselves. "We have a safe city, so that’s good. Enjoy yourself. You won’t be mugged going home," the president remarked to diners. As Trump was sitting down to dine, he was approached by protesters chanting "Free DC" and "Free Palestine.” In video obtained by CNN, a handful of protesters begin chanting, "Free DC, free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time" as the president makes his way through the dining room. The protesters are booed by others dining in the restaurant, and the president ultimately came within a few feet of the protesters before the video ends. CNN witnessed the protesters being removed from the venue as they continued to chant. Speaking to reporters outside the restaurant before he entered, Trump said his administration’s crackdown on DC crime was instrumental in his decision to dine out and suggested he’d announce an operation in another city as soon as tomorrow. "We’ll be announcing another city that we’re going to very shortly — we’re working it out," Trump said. "The governor of a certain state would love us to be there, and the mayor of a certain city in that same state would love us to be there. We’ll announce it probably tomorrow, and it’s going to be something where we’ll do like we did here.” Trump has repeatedly waffled on whether he would send federal troops to Democratic-controlled cities like Chicago and Baltimore, and he enjoys unique authority in DC, which is not a state. He hailed his own efforts there just before sitting down for dinner. "I wouldn’t have done this three months ago, four months ago, I certainly wouldn’t have done it a year ago," Trump said. "This was one of the most unsafe cities in the country. Now it’s as safe as there is in the country, so we’re here with Cabinet members having dinner, and everybody should go out.”

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The Hill [9/9/2025 8:13 PM, Alex Gangitano, 12414K]
NewsMax [9/9/2025 9:27 PM, Will Weissert, 4779K]

NBC News [9/9/2025 11:46 PM, Raquel Coronell Uribe, 43603K] reports President Donald Trump’s rare outing to a local restaurant Tuesday night got off to a rocky start when he came face to face with protesters. Trump, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other administration officials, arrived by motorcade at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab less than a quarter-mile from the White House. Trump briefly spoke to reporters on the street outside the restaurant, where he was met with cheers and some chants of "free Palestine.” Once he was inside, as he greeted restaurant patrons, a group of protesters holding Palestinian flags began chanting, "Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.” The activist group Code Pink claimed credit for the protests. In a video on its social media accounts, Trump is seen approaching the protesters before he stands in front of them and smiles. He then gestures for them to leave, and they are escorted out of the restaurant as a protester says, "He’s terrorizing communities in D.C.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the interaction. Trump has claimed recently that D.C. restaurant attendance has increased amid his crackdown on crime in Washington, which has included a surge in federal law enforcement and the deployment of armed National Guard troops. Before he entered the restaurant, Trump said that the city was now "crime free" and that he will announce a similar crackdown in a new city as soon as Wednesday. "We wanted to take some of the members of the Cabinet out to dinner, and here we are — we’re standing right in the middle of D.C., which, as you know about, over the last year was a very unsafe place, over the last 20 years actually was very unsafe. And now there’s virtually no crime. We call it crime-free," Trump told reporters. The restaurant appearance came a few days after a reporter asked Trump whether he would dine out in D.C., noting that he had not gone to a restaurant during either of his terms as president, though he regularly ate at Trump International Hotel during his first four years in office. In response, Trump said, "I might," and then asked the reporter, "Do you want me to prove you wrong?". Joe’s Stone Crab, which was first opened in Miami Beach, Florida, has locations in Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas and Washington, featuring crab dishes that exceed $100. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed what the group ordered Tuesday night. "The President and his team enjoyed crab, shrimp, salad, steak, and dessert. The food was phenomenal and the service was fantastic. Thank you, Joe’s!" Leavitt said in a statement.

Washington Post [9/10/2025 5:00 AM, Tim Carman and Warren Rojas, 32099K] reports in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s takeover of D.C. police, restaurant workers have been picked up by immigration officials while walking home after their shifts. They’ve been detained while going to work. Some have even been pulled out of Ubers. The immigration crackdown has aggravated the city’s already struggling dining scene, leaving restaurant owners scrambling to staff kitchens and keep their doors open in a city where tourism is down and locals aren’t in the mood to celebrate. The Washington Post talked to more than 20 D.C. chefs, owners and immigration lawyers who shared details about workers who have apparently been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Together, these people shared information about 23 workers — dishwashers, line cooks, food runners, a prep cook and a butcher, many of them from Latin American countries — believed to be in ICE detention or, in some cases, already deported. “It’s hard to run a restaurant if your employees are afraid to come into D.C. because ICE and federal agents are waiting at Metro stops,” said Paul Haar, managing attorney at D.C.-based Immigration Counsel. Restaurateurs say that everyone in this industry reliant on immigrant labor is aware of the risks employees are taking just to get to work. Case in point: On Aug. 20, a Honduran native had just parked his car when immigration authorities nabbed him at the northwest corner of Lamont Street NW, minutes before he was scheduled to start his morning shift as a dishwasher at a restaurant in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. As with many of these cases, loved ones and managers alike had no idea where the dishwasher was in the hours after his arrest.

Washington Examiner [9/9/2025 9:12 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1563K] reports a federal grand jury in Washington declined to indict a lawyer accused of threatening National Guard troops patrolling the city as part of President Donald Trump’s federal crime surge, adding to a growing list of felony rejections facing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office. Paul Anthony Bryant, a West Point and Columbia Law School graduate, was arrested on Aug. 24 after allegedly shouting "I’ll kill you" and slamming his shoulder into a Guardsman. Prosecutors charged him with threatening a federal official and making threats to injure — felonies carrying maximum penalties of 10 and 20 years. His attorney called the case "baseless" and said there is no video evidence due to National Guard troops not wearing body cameras. Pirro’s office told a magistrate judge Tuesday that grand jurors had returned a no true bill for Bryant, two people familiar with the matter told a local CBS affiliate, WUSA9. The government subsequently dropped its appeal of the magistrate judge’s decision to release Bryant pending his trial, according to a notice on the docket Tuesday evening. The grand jury’s no true bill is at least the eighth felony case rejected since Trump’s federal takeover of Washington law enforcement, prompting concerns of jury nullification. Pirro has warned of a "politicized jury," noting jurors previously declined to indict those who threatened to assassinate the president and assaulted federal agents. Prosecutors could now ask a magistrate judge at Bryant’s Wednesday hearing to find probable cause and re-present the case to another grand jury. Alternatively, they may file misdemeanor charges, which do not require grand jury approval. Bryant, who carried a legally owned firearm at the time of his arrest, was not charged with any gun-related offenses. He remains out on bond but turned himself in on Tuesday concerning a warrant out of Maryland. Neither Pirro’s office nor Bryant’s legal team responded to requests for comment.

CNN [9/10/2025 5:07 AM, Gabe Cohen, 23245K] reports President Donald Trump’s 30-day emergency declaration in Washington, DC, expires at the end of Wednesday, the mayor’s office says, but the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital is expected to continue. Once the emergency ends, Trump will lose his broad authority under the DC Home Rule Act to commandeer local police services for federal purposes. In recent weeks, the administration has ordered DC’s mayor to provide police support for federal operations such as immigration enforcement. The Trump administration can still deploy federal law enforcement and National Guard troops across the city, a presence officials say will continue. The military has already extended the National Guard deployment in DC through at least the end of November, though the president could end it sooner. Since Trump’s emergency declaration on August 11, Bowser — a Democrat and Trump critic in the past — has largely cooperated with the administration and federal law enforcement to avoid provoking the president and risking a more aggressive federal intervention. That could include the administration pulling federal funding, federal control over local schools or law enforcement, or even a full revocation of DC’s home rule — steps some Republican lawmakers have openly advocated. Bottom line: When Trump’s emergency order expires on Wednesday, his power to control DC’s police will end. But for now, there’s no sign that the federal surge is going away. Some city leaders may welcome aspects of the continued support, but the uneasy partnership between local officials and the Trump administration could lead to more clashes in the weeks ahead.

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Axios [9/10/2025 5:00 AM, Cuneyt Dil, 13599K]

AP [9/9/2025 3:07 PM, Gary Fields, 20690K] reports one month after President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital, there may be less crime. There are fewer guns on the streets and fewer homeless encampments, according to official figures. But for some who work or live in Washington, D.C., the operation has sparked fear and prompted a change in how they see their place in the United States — and how they think the United States sees them. Without an extension by Congress, the 30-day emergency declaration issued by President Trump that federalized the district’s police force expires Wednesday. The National Guard deployment continues, at least for now. The president has lauded his surge as a resounding success. But reality is less clear cut. According to data released by the White House, there have been more than 2,100 arrests from August 7, when federal law enforcement began their deployment, through September 8. Mayor Muriel Bowser has mostly avoided the kind of biting rhetoric and personal attacks against the president that has been typical of other high-profile Democratic leaders. Instead, she cooperated with the administration’s efforts, including having MPD officers work more closely with federal immigration agents, as Trump has demanded. Last week, in a nod to continued collaboration, she issued an order to continue the work of an emergency operations center the city set up in response to the federal law enforcement surge. She also backed up the administration’s claims on the success of the surge. Bowser said crime was falling before Trump issued the emergency order. But she acknowledged the federal surge had a "significant" impact on crime. Asked about future plans, a White House spokeswoman said the details of the continued law enforcement involvement "are subject to change to meet law enforcement needs as the operation continues.”

AP [9/10/2025 3:27 AM, Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung, 27036K] reports a South Korean charter plane left for the U.S. on Wednesday to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia last week. A total of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Koreans, were rounded up in the Sept. 4 raid at the battery factory under construction at Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant. U.S. authorities released video showing some being shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists, causing shock and a sense of betrayal among many in South Korea, a key U.S. ally. South Korea’s government later said it reached an agreement with the U.S. for the release of the workers. South Korean TV footage showed the charter plane, a Boeing 747-8i from Korean Air, taking off at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it was talking with U.S. officials about letting the plane return home with the released workers as soon as possible. But it said the plane cannot depart from the U.S. on Wednesday as South Korea earlier wished due to an unspecified reason involving the U.S. side. The Korean workers are currently being held at an immigration detention center in Folkston in southeast Georgia. South Korean media reported that they will be freed and moved to Atlanta to take the charter plane. South Korean officials said they’ve been negotiating with the U.S. to win “voluntary” departures of the workers, rather than deportations that could result in making them ineligible to return to the U.S. for up to 10 years. The workplace raid by the U.S. Homeland Security agency was its largest yet as it pursues its mass deportation agenda. The Georgia battery plant, a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, is one of more than 20 major industrial sites that South Korean companies are currently building in the United States. Many South Koreans view the Georgia raid as a source of national disgrace and remain stunned over it. Only 10 days earlier, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump held their first summit in Washington on Aug. 25. In late July, South Korea also promised hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments to reach a tariff deal. Experts say South Korea won’t likely take any major retaliatory steps against the U.S., but the Georgia raid could become a source of tensions between the allies as the Trump administration intensifies immigration raids. U.S. authorities said some of the detained workers had illegally crossed the U.S. border, while others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working. But South Korean experts and officials said Washington has yet to act on Seoul’s yearslong demand to ensure a visa system to accommodate skilled Korean workers needed to build facilities, though it has been pressing South Korea to expand industrial investments in the U.S.

Breitbart [9/9/2025 12:25 PM, Neil Munro, 2608K] reports many Korean companies sneak their employees into U.S. jobs via visa programs that do not allow travellers to work, Korean business leaders admitted to the AFP news service. The labor smuggling "was a normal practice" and is "deeply rooted in business operations, a source from Korea’s battery industry told the news service. "But this may have to change from now on," the source said. The admission comes after President Donald Trump’s deputies detained roughly 300 Korean workers at a taxpayer-backed Hyundai factory construction site in Georgia. The workers got through the U.S. borders by using B-1/B-2 visa for tourists and business travelers, or by getting approval via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) process.

The Hill [9/9/2025 3:41 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12414K] reports South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at the Hyundai manufacturing plant in rural Georgia last week an "unjust infringement" and said he is working with the U.S. to ensure it will not happen again, according to multiple reports. Nearly 500 people were detained at the site, including more than 300 South Korean citizens, according to South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, who departed for Washington on Monday evening to work out the final details of a deal to bring the detained citizens home. Lee’s office announced Sunday that a deal had been finalized for the South Korean government to charter a plane to bring home the detained Koreans who choose to depart on a "voluntary" basis. Lee said the government would work with the U.S. to prevent a repeat of the situation.

Los Angeles Times [9/9/2025 3:14 PM, Max Kim and Nilesh Christopher, 12715K] reports the immigration raid that snatched up hundreds of South Koreans last week sent a disconcerting message to companies in South Korea and elsewhere: America wants your investment, but don’t expect special treatment. Images of employees being shackled and detained like criminals have outraged many South Koreans. The fallout is already being felt in delays to some big investment projects, auto industry executives and analysts said. Some predicted that it could also make some companies think twice about investing in the U.S. at all. Analysts and executives say the recent raid is making companies feel exposed, all the more so because U.S. officials have indicated that more crackdowns are coming. "We’re going to do more worksite enforcement operations," White House border advisor Tom Homan said Sunday. Many South Korean companies have banned all work-related travel to the U.S. or are recalling personnel already there, according to local media reports. Construction work on at least 22 U.S. factory sites has reportedly been halted. The newspaper Korea Economic Daily reported Monday that 10 out of the 14 companies it contacted said they were considering adjusting their projects in the U.S. due to the Georgia raid.

(B) The National News Desk [9/9/2025 9:31 AM, Staff] reports that South Korea’s foreign minister is in DC trying to help deport more than 300 South Korean nationals who were detained during the immigration raid at the Hyundai battery plant in Georgia last week. The White House is expected to release those workers once the deal is finalized. That raid could cause a rift between the United States and South Korea. DHS Secretary says the immigration raid will not deter any future investment in the United States.

Bloomberg [9/10/2025 1:10 AM, Heesu Lee and Hyonhee Shin, 19085K] reports the detention of hundreds of South Korean workers at a battery plant in Georgia last week raises questions about how aggressively firms can invest in America when the Trump administration takes a harder line on visa paperwork. The surprise immigration raid on Sept. 4 at the flagship joint venture between Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution Ltd. left roughly 300 skilled engineers and subcontractors in custody. A few weeks earlier, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a summit to bolster their alliance and secure a trade deal, with a promise of hefty investment in the US. Seoul pledged a $350 billion investment package in the US, a commitment now clouded by the prospect of visa disputes and tighter immigration scrutiny that could disrupt the flow of Korean labor critical to getting such projects off the ground. What visas did the South Korean workers at the battery plant hold? Most of the workers were in the US under a 90-day visa waiver program, commonly referred to as ESTA, or on B-1 visas, officials said. Building multibillion-dollar plants requires hundreds of foreign engineers and subcontractors, but companies such as Hyundai and LG have struggled to secure work visas under Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. Prolonged delays, especially for subcontractors, have made it harder to coordinate travel and carry out essential technical work on site, the people said. What is a B-1 visa and what kind of activities does it allow or not allow? The B-1 is a short-term, non-immigrant visa intended for business purposes such as attending meetings, conferences, contract negotiations, or conducting market research. In limited cases, it can also cover specialized tasks like supervising projects or installing equipment if those activities are explicitly outlined in a contract. It doesn’t permit direct labor, construction work, or employment by a US entity. Why did this become a problem? To bring in skilled staff more quickly, companies often turn to B-1 visas — or the visa-waiver program — as longer-term visas such as H-1B, L-1, or E-2 are more difficult to obtain and take months to process. Workers who perform tasks beyond the permissible scope of a B-1, such as technical or hands-on work, may be violating their status, exposing them to detention or removal. Workers considered to have undertaken unauthorized employment can also face multi-year re-entry bans and complications in securing future visas. The Korean government has said it is pressing through diplomatic channels Washington to minimize or waive penalties.

AP [9/10/2025 12:03 AM, Mike Schneider, 27036K] reports Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a funding dilemma over the immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" built in the Florida Everglades. Last week, an appellate court panel temporarily blocked a lower court decision ordering the governor’s administration to wind down operations at the facility. But the ruling sets up a predicament: The state can either pass up federal reimbursement for hundreds of millions of dollars spent to build and operate the facility, or take the money and face an environmental review, which would risk halting the center’s operations. That’s because a majority of the three-judge appellate panel decided for the time being that the facility doesn’t have to undergo a federally required environmental impact study normally needed to build on sensitive wetlands. Why? Because Florida has yet to receive federal money for the project, despite officials having promised it. If Florida takes the federal money, then the state may need to conduct the environmental analysis, the judges wrote in their 2-to-1 decision. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media this summer that the facility would largely be funded by FEMA’s shelter and services program. The law makes clear that "the absence of federal funding renders an action ‘non-federal’" and not subject to an environmental review, the appellate panel majority said. The decision stayed a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordering the detention facility to wind down operations by late October while the case made its way through court. The stay is in effect pending appeal. "Here, no federal dollars have been expended on the construction or use of the facility," the appellate panel said. "So the Florida-funded and Florida-operated detention activities occurring at the site do not conceive a ‘major federal project’ either.”

ABC News [9/9/2025 6:54 PM, Pierre Thomas and Luke Barr, 27036K] reports federal agents descended on Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood on Tuesday as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s "Operation Midway Blitz," a surge of immigration enforcement in the city. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents arrested three men they say are suspected gang members. ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas spoke with the head of the ICE operation targeting criminal offenders who are in the U.S. illegally. "We’re talking anywhere from the most egregious child sex offender to homicide, burglary, assault, domestic violence, it runs the gamut. It’s everybody that’s committed crime, but the ones we’re going to primarily focus on, the ones that we want to get off the streets are going to be our heinous criminals," Marco Charles, acting director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, told ABC News. ATF Assistant Special agent in Charge Jonathan Maniff said they are investigating possible gun trafficking by the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. "This investigation started through our crime gun intelligence center with our 15 partner agencies that include ICE. And during this operation, we identified 30 TdA suspected gang members that were selling firearms in the Chicagoland area," Maniff said. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, "DHS is launching Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in Illinois by a criminal illegal alien who should have never been in our country." The operation, which was announced Monday, is part of a 30-day federal immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago area.

Washington Post [9/10/2025 5:00 AM, Kim Bellware, María Luisa Paúl, and Daniel Wu, 32099K] reports the Department of Homeland Security announced the start of a stepped-up immigration enforcement operation in Chicago on Monday as President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric about the city and pledged to crack down on violent crime. Before “Operation Midway Blitz” began, Trump signaled he may also send National Guard troops to Chicago — a deployment that would mark the third time in recent months that he has moved to federalize the Guard over the objections of state and local leaders. The president’s critics say the push is unconstitutional overreach meant to punish Democratic-run cities. Protests and lawsuits followed ramped-up immigration enforcement and National Guard deployments to Los Angeles in June and D.C. in August. While Trump had more latitude in the nation’s capital to send the Guard to work alongside police, the governors of California and Illinois have challenged Trump’s authority to use their Guard troops to enforce civilian laws. A federal judge ruled Sept. 2 that Trump’s deployment to Los Angeles was unlawful, in a narrow opinion that does not apply to other states.

CBS Chicago [9/9/2025 5:45 PM, Megan De Mar, 45245K] Video: HERE reports fear has been spreading fast in Chicago’s immigrant community since the Trump administration officially launched its deportation effort, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz. A day after the Department of Homeland Security officially announced its crackdown on illegal immigration in Chicago, CBS News on Tuesday confirmed the man behind this summer’s controversial immigration enforcement operation in southern California has arrived in Chicago. Gregory Bovino appeared to preview his deployment in a post on social media last week — to the tune of Willie Nelson’s "On the Road Again" — saying he’d be "taking this show on the road, to a city near you.” "We’re gonna trade these palm trees for some skyscrapers, and the mission continues," he said. Meantime, a community group canvassing in the Pilsen neighborhood said they always want members of the immigrant community to understand their rights and have an emergency plan, but stressed it’s particularly important with the federal immigration crackdown underway. "The first question should be, ‘Am I free to go?’ If the answer is no, then you should say, ‘I am exercising my right to remain silent,’" said Tovia Siegel, director of organizing and leadership for The Resurrection Project. Another key point people should not allow people have the right to deny entry to their property if an agent does not have a valid warrant signed by a judge, and that if the person, if somebody is detained, they have the right to speak to a lawyer and to make a phone call. Siegel led a coordinated canvassing effort in Pilsen on Tuesday afternoon. Members of the nonprofit, based on the city’s Southwest Side, handed out "Know Your Rights" business cards to residents and knocked on the door of local businesses, asking to hang "Know Your Rights" posters across the area. The canvassing effort comes after the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters on Tuesday that they are specifically targeting public safety and national security threats. "We’re not out sweeping neighborhoods. We’re not out looking for non-criminals. Now, if we run into a non-criminal during these operations, they’re absolutely going to be taken in custody," Homan said.

The Hill [9/9/2025 3:46 PM, Lee Ann Anderson, 12414K] reports Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Monday railed against President Trump’s latest immigration operation in Chicago, stating the administration did not give the governor’s office a heads-up. Launched on Monday, Operation Midway Blitz is part of a national effort to curb illegal immigration in sanctuary cities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal law enforcement agencies have already been deployed in Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; and just recently Boston. Pritzker over the weekend shared "Know Your Rights" pamphlets in multiple languages and encouraged people who witnessed arrests to record and share with media outlets. On Sunday, Trump said he is not "going to war" with Chicago, but is instead "going to clean up our cities." The Department of Homeland Security said it launched the operation in Chicago in honor of Katie Abraham, who was reportedly killed in a drunk driving incident by a Guatemalan immigrant.

NPR [9/9/2025 6:00 PM, Steve Inskeep, 34837K] Video: HERE reports President Donald Trump has promised to crack down on crime in Chicago. NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep spoke with Governor Pritzker in Chicago about the potential for racial profiling.

Daily Caller [9/9/2025 10:14 AM, Harold Hutchison, 985K] reports that Democratic Mayor Daniel Biss of Evanston, Illinois, told CNN host Erin Burnett on Monday that his city turned off certain public safety tools in an effort to thwart United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). President Donald Trump hinted at stepped-up federal enforcement efforts in Chicago in an Aug. 25 post on Truth Social, following it up with a meme based on a famous character from the "Apocalypse Now" posted Saturday, which included a reference to the quote "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from the Francis Ford Coppola-directed film. Biss, a Democratic candidate for Congress, told Burnett that he’d ordered license-plate cameras to be turned off. "The reason that we communicated with our residents this morning is that I got information from a senior state official last night indicating that they had good intel, that they thought it was likely that ICE would be coming to Evanston today and in the coming days, and we just felt that we had a responsibility to let our residents know so they could work to protect themselves," Biss claimed. "We’ve been doing everything we can to protect our residents from before Donald Trump took office, passing strong sanctuary laws to make sure our police are not cooperating with federal civil immigration enforcement," Biss continued. "Protecting our data, switching off our license plate cameras when we learned that that data was being shared. But we also need to make sure our residents know as much as possible so they can take the steps they need to protect themselves."

CBS Chicago [9/9/2025 8:24 PM, Marissa Sulek, 45245K] Video: HERE reports activist groups and protestors took to the streets of downtown Chicago on Tuesday afternoon to rally and march against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown underway in the city. Organizers with the coalition against the Trump agenda are calling an "emergency protest.” Protest organizers said the real criminals are the people in the White House, not the immigrants the administration is going after. It all comes after President Trump announced his plan to enforce "Operation Midway Blitz" on Monday. The push targets undocumented people with criminal records in Illinois, specifically Chicago, because it is a sanctuary city. Husam Marajda, who is a member of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said President Donald Trump is just trying to appeal to his base. "He did the same thing in L.A. and D.C., but Chicago is different, and we’re going to hold it together and show a lot of resistance," Marajda said.

AP [9/9/2025 6:19 PM, Christine Fernando, John O’Connor and Sophia Tareen] reports the streets in some of Chicago’s liveliest neighborhoods are quiet these days. Public schoolteachers want online learning for families scared to venture out. And houses of worship are urging people to carry identification everywhere they go. As the nation’s third-largest city awaits a much-hyped federal intervention, residents are making changes in their daily routines. President Donald Trump has promised Chicago will see a surge in deportations and National Guard troops as he targets Democratic strongholds. While the feeling of being vulnerable isn’t new, especially among immigrants, many say this time the fear is deeper and the preparations more drastic. Celebrations for Mexican Independence Day, which Chicago commemorates for weeks with car caravans, parades and festivals, have been muted. One festival was canceled while others added security. Immigration attorneys say their clients are afraid to attend appointments, including at court. Churches with large immigrant populations are starting to notice an attendance dip. Fueling Chicagoans’ fear is the lack of information about what the Trump administration plans to do. Activists said five people in a predominantly Latino area, including a longtime flower vendor, were targeted by armed and masked federal agents. Federal officials said the arrests were part of ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and resulted in the detention of four people with previous criminal arrests. The arrests came a day before the Department of Homeland Security announced a new operation in Chicago because of its so-called sanctuary laws, which limit cooperation between local police and federal agents. It was unclear what role the operation would play in the broader threats of federal intervention, but activists and elected officials said it felt like things were ramping up. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson object to any federal surge and have promised to sue.

Univision [9/9/2025 5:28 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports the Trump administration paid El Salvador $4.76 million to admit up to 300 migrants to the maximum-security prison Centro de Confinemiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) under conditions that included not providing assistance to asylum seekers, according to documents released Tuesday. The release of the agreement between the two governments is part of a lawsuit challenging the use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to expedite deportations of immigrants and was obtained following a request from Democracy Forward and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. The details of this previously secret agreement have fueled debate over rapid deportations and respect for migrants’ rights, amid lawsuits against the U.S. State Department seeking to curb these practices. According to the document published by Democracy Forward, one of the groups suing the State Department, the agreement stipulated that El Salvador was to use the $4.76 million exclusively for the custody of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang detained at the Cecot prison. The document reveals that this financial transfer was conditional on El Salvador agreeing not to use the funds to provide reproductive health care or assist asylum seekers in accessing resources or legal counsel. The agreement was signed just before mass deportations from the United States began without due process, despite court orders to the contrary.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [9/9/2025 3:55 PM, James Morley III, 4779K]

Bloomberg [9/9/2025 11:38 AM, Zoe Tillman, 19085K] reports the Trump administration offered $4.7 million to El Salvador to imprison deported Venezuelan migrants earlier this year, but restricted the money from being used in ways that conflict with President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, diversity and abortion, according to a newly disclosed copy of the March agreement. The document was released late Monday as part of a court fight over the administration’s efforts to send people arrested in the US to El Salvador’s prison facilities, including Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, known as CECOT, a large prison infamous for its dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Trump and other US officials have spoken publicly about the deal with El Salvador, but the administration originally designated the four-page document as confidential in the litigation, according to court filings. The Justice Department later agreed it could be released with some information blacked out after the challengers who sued objected. kye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of the groups in the case, said in a statement that the agreement showed the administration didn’t take steps “to meaningfully ensure” that people send to CECOT “were protected from torture, indefinite confinement, or other abuses, while it went to lengths to ensure that the funds the US provided to El Salvador not be used to provide reproductive health care or to assist asylum seekers in accessing resources and counsel.” A spokesperson for the State Department and from El Salvador’s embassy in the US did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday morning. The administration has faced a wave of lawsuits over Trump’s use of an 18th-century war powers law to send more than 200 Venezuelan migrants suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador. The court fights have persisted even after the migrants were sent to Venezuela and set free over the summer. The Trump administration has disputed it had legal authority over the individuals once they were in El Salvador’s custody. The grant agreement is dated March 22, one week after the original flights that brought the Venezuelans to El Salvador. It says that the State Department would pay $4,760,000 for El Salvador’s “law enforcement and anticrime needs,” including costs associated with housing Tren de Aragua members. At least some of the migrants sent to El Salvador have denied being part of the gang. The document states that El Salvador confirmed on March 14 that it would accept approximately 300 people for at least one year, around the time Trump signed the proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly remove alleged gang members. The identities of US and El Salvadoran officials who signed are redacted.

FOX News [9/9/2025 3:39 PM, Charles Creitz, 40019K] reports after President Donald Trump directed a rare U.S. defense posture toward Latin America with a military strike in the Caribbean against alleged drug-smuggling gang members and a bounty on the head of a Central American strongman leader, the nation’s only Cuban-born lawmaker called Tuesday for new attention to Havana as well. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who fled dictator Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1960 as a young boy, called on the Department of Homeland Security to act upon or at the least investigate a list of dozens of people his office and/or human rights organizations had identified as tied to the current regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel or the deceased Castro brothers. Gimenez, who also represents the congressional district closest to Cuba in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, warned DHS Secretary Kristi Noem of the "presence of agents of the murderous Castro regime and the Communist Party of Cuba currently residing in the United States." A spokesperson for DHS indicated Tuesday the department was looking into the matter. The Miami lawmaker asked Noem to provide a report by Sept. 26 detailing whether DHS has investigated the listed names, pursued deportation or removal proceedings, and, if not, why no action was taken.

DailySignal [9/9/2025 10:30 AM, Virginia Allen, 668K] reports the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration carried out an operation targeting "one of the world’s most violent and powerful drug cartels" that resulted in 617 arrests, according to the agency. From Aug. 25 through 29, the DEA conducted an operation across all of its 23 divisions targeting the Sinaloa Cartel. President Donald Trump designated the criminal cartel, based out of Mexico, as a foreign terrorist organization in February. "The Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the most significant threats to public safety, public health and our national security," according to the DEA. During the August operation, authorities seized 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, over 700,000 counterfeit pills, over 2,000 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 7,500 kilograms of cocaine, and 16.55 kilograms of heroin. Additionally, the DEA seized over $11 million in currency, over $1.6 million in assets, and 420 firearms. "These results demonstrate the full weight of DEA’s commitment to protecting the American people," Terrance Cole, DEA administrator, said in a statement. "Every kilogram of poison seized, every dollar stripped from the cartels, and every arrest we make represents lives saved and communities defended. DEA will not relent until the Sinaloa Cartel is dismantled from top to bottom."

Reported similarly:
CBS News [9/9/2025 11:42 AM, Emily Mae Czachor, 45245K] Video: HERE

Washington Examiner [9/9/2025 7:29 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 1563K] reports in an unannounced visit to Puerto Rico on Monday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth told U.S. troops they are on the front lines of a coming battle with drug cartels that are “poisoning the American people.” “Make no mistake about it, what you’re doing right now is not training. This is the real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interest of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people,” Hegseth told the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Iwo Jima. “You’re trained. You’re prepared. You’re ready, and you’re lethal, and the American people are counting on you. … Narco terrorists and drug traffickers are on notice.” The short, highly produced video, complete with a dramatic music score and posted on Hegseth’s X page, was the only official account of the visit, and no transcript of his remarks has been posted on the Pentagon’s webpage. "It’s not if, it’s when you’re on mission," Hegseth said. "The full power of the American military, used precisely, with a clear mission, will be used to ensure the American people are kept safe." Hegseth’s pep talk to the troops at an Air National Guard base east of the capital of San Juan, and embarkation on the Iwo Jima, comes as the U.S. reportedly is preparing to move 10 top-of-the-line F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico for the counternarcotics mission. Word of the deployment came after Venezuela flew two aging F-16s over U.S. ships in the Caribbean in response to last week’s U.S. drone strike on a speedboat suspected of carrying 11 Venezuelan smugglers from the Tren de Aragua drug cartel.

The Hill [9/9/2025 11:40 AM, Tara Suter, 12414K] reports President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan defended the administration’s military approach to address drug trafficking on Monday, days after the U.S. military deployed several warships and fighter planes to the Caribbean in a warning to drug cartels. "I support it. There’s a reason the president designated terrorist organizations," Homan told NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer on Monday. "These cartels have killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world combined.” He added, "They’ve killed more Americans than any war. So, yeah, we’re at war in the cartel.” The U.S. military raised the stakes against cartels in the southern Caribbean last week by striking a "drug vessel." The "kinetic" attack killed the 11 people on board, which the administration claimed were terrorists from the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua organization. "Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump said in a post on Truth Social last week. "TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere," he added.

FOX News [9/9/2025 5:40 PM, Jamie Joseph, 40019K] reports a bipartisan group of lawmakers fresh off an Arizona border tour said Tuesday Washington is deporting longtime illegal immigrants "who go to church on Sundays," instead of targeting cartels, pushing a moderate plan just weeks after President Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" became law. The push comes just weeks after Congress passed H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which funneled more than $140 billion into border walls and tougher security, detention beds, and thousands of new ICE and Border Patrol agents. But the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus said during a news conference the law did little to fix the asylum backlog or protect longtime illegal immigrants working in the U.S., a point Hill Democrats also flagged in the law. The caucus argued migrants are often pawns in cartel operations that charge $10,000 a head and use mass crossings to slip in drugs and trafficked children. While Trump and the majority of the House Republican Caucus applauded H.R 1’s passage, the problem solvers argued a bipartisan, piecemeal approach stands a better chance than sweeping bills that may face the threat of collapsing under partisan pressure later on.

FOX News [9/9/2025 10:31 AM, Emma Colton Fox, 40019K] reports a handful of Democratic governors are cracking down on crime as President Donald Trump threatens to send the National Guard into blue cities struggling with persistent crime waves that have left residents killed or injured and businesses shuttered. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) — who has traded barbs with Trump over objecting to the president’s calls to activate the National Guard in the long crime-riddled city — announced on Friday that the Maryland State Police will bolster the Baltimore Police Department’s efforts to crack down on crime. "We are proud of the progress that we’ve been able to make, and we’re all very, very concerned about how much work still needs to happen," Moore said on Friday after ordering state police to assist its Baltimore law enforcement counterparts. "If one person does not feel safe in their neighborhood, that is one too many." Just days after Trump federalized Washington, D.C.’s police department, Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in Rio Arriba County, the city of Española and local Pueblo communities in response to a "significant surge in violent crime, drug trafficking, and public safety threats that have overwhelmed local resources." "We are making every resource available to support our local partners on the ground and restore public safety and stability to these areas that have been hardest hit by this crisis," Lujan Grisham said in an Aug. 13 press release. In California longtime Trump political foe Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state’s highway patrol would deploy new "crime suppression" teams to the state’s massive cities seeing crime trends, including San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. The announcement followed a similar crime crackdown initiative in Oakland, Bakersfield and San Bernardino, the governor said at the time.

Breitbart [9/10/2025 5:02 AM, Joel B. Pollak, 2608K] reports the California State Assembly passed a bill Tuesday aimed at federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that makes it a crime for any law enforcement officer to wear a mask in the course of his or her duties. SB 627 “would make it a crime for a law enforcement officer to wear a facial covering in the performance of their duties,” and specifically applies to federal officers as well, though the state lacks jurisdiction over them. “The bill would define a law enforcement agency for these purposes as any entity of a city, county, or other local agency, that employs anyone designated by California law as a peace officer, any federal law enforcement agency, or any law enforcement agency of another state,” the preamble to the law states. The language specifically excludes state police, such as the California Highway Patrol (CHP), who are currently providing protection to former Vice President Kamala Harris. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) assigned CHP officers to protect Harris after President Donald Trump declined to extend her Secret Service protection. The bill was co-sponsored by State Sen. Anthony Weiner (D-San Francisco) — who often authors the state’s most radical legislation, including a “sanctuary state” law for transgender surgery, and another law (since repealed) that decriminalized loitering, which led to an explosion in child prostitution and exploitation.

NBC News [9/9/2025 5:37 PM, Lawrence Hurley, 43603K] reports the Supreme Court ruled Monday that immigration agents can resume roving patrols in the Los Angeles area that target people of Latino origin, again granting an emergency request by the Trump administration without offering any explanation. It was the 18th time since President Donald Trump retook office in January that the court has sided with his administration in an emergency ruling. The court has rejected the president just twice, prompting considerable criticism within the legal community, including from lower court judges. Last week, 10 federal judges told NBC News that the Supreme Court needed to do more to explain such decisions at a time when they are increasingly facing violent threats and harsh criticism from Trump and his allies. The frequent rulings for Trump at the Supreme Court can at least appear to validate allegations that some judges are biased against the president, those judges said. Trump administration officials quickly touted Monday’s decision as a major victory even though it technically applies only to a single case in Los Angeles and does not set a nationwide precedent. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described it on X as "a win for the safety and security of the American people and the rule of the law." The cryptic nature of Monday’s Supreme Court decision gives little guidance to lower court judges on how to handle future cases. It did not, however, displace court precedents restricting racial profiling, which remain on the books, a point made by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissenting opinion. Asked how Monday’s decision would guide future immigration enforcement actions, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that law enforcement "will not be slowed down" but would make arrests only when there is reasonable suspicion as required under law.

FOX News [9/10/2025 5:00 AM, Emma Colton, 40019K] Video: HERE reports a handful of California Democrats, who are also longtime political foes of President Donald Trump, slammed a Supreme Court ruling that lifts restrictions on the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles as "un-American" and opening the door to a "parade of racial terror." "@realDonaldTrump’s hand-picked SCOTUS majority just became the Grand Marshal for a parade of racial terror in LA. His administration is targeting Latinos — and anyone who doesn’t look or sound like @StephenM’s idea of an American — to deliberately harm our families and economy," California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted to X on Monday evening. Newsom, who has sparred with Trump stretching back to the president’s first administration, was reacting to a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling on Monday that the Trump administration can continue deploying immigration raids in California, which blocked a lower court’s ruling that halted such raids in the state. The case was punted to the Supreme Court after a federal judge in July blocked ICE from conducting raids in Los Angeles County, citing that they were likely unconstitutional as federal agents were detaining individuals for "apparent race or ethnicity," or speaking Spanish. Immigration activists had accused the federal government of targeting Latinos based on criteria such as speaking Spanish. The Ninth Circuit upheld the July order before the Supreme Court weighed in. The Trump administration celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday. "This is a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law," Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, according to Politico. "DHS law enforcement will not be slowed down and will continue to arrest and remove the murderers, rapists, gang members, and other criminal illegal aliens… ." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [9/9/2025 3:31 PM, Barnini Chakraborty, 1563K] reports immigrant rights advocates have been moving across California to create a coalition of activist groups with hundreds of volunteers fanning out across car washes, Home Depots, and other frequently known locations that have become targets for federal enforcement agents. The mass mobilization was ramped up following Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that allowed immigration agents to stop and detain anyone they suspect of being in the United States illegally. In a 6-3 vote, the justices granted an emergency appeal and lifted a Los Angeles judge’s order that prohibited "roving patrols" from picking up people off the streets based on how they look, the language they speak, where they work, or where they happen to be at the time. The ruling was met with immediate backlash from California Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Newsom, a rumored 2028 Democratic presidential contender, told the Washington Examiner that "[President Donald] Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court majority just became the Grand Marshal for a parade of racial terror in Los Angeles.” "This isn’t about enforcing immigration laws — it’s about targeting Latinos and anyone who doesn’t look or sound like [White House deputy chief of staff] Stephen Miller’s idea of an American, including U.S. citizens and children, to deliberately harm California’s families and small businesses," he added. Outside a Home Depot near MacArthur Park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, organizers, lawyers, and local lawmakers gathered to say LA residents would not be intimidated by the Trump administration. MacArthur Park has been the site of multiple raids by federal agents in recent months. Community groups have organized everything from bringing food to immigrants staying in their homes to helping Latino businesses that have seen a sharp drop in customers. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, touted Monday’s ruling as "a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law.” "DHS law enforcement will not be slowed down and will continue to arrest and remove the murderers, rapists, gang members and other criminal illegal aliens that Karen Bass continues to give safe harbor," she said.

AP [9/9/2025 6:05 PM, Alanna Durkin Richer and Erik Verduzco, 37974K] reports the Justice Department on Tuesday charged a man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina commuter train last month with a federal crime that could carry the death penalty. The federal charge comes amid growing questions about why Decarlos Brown Jr. was on the street despite 14 prior criminal arrests before he was accused of pulling out a knife and killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in an apparently random attack captured on video. The case has become latest flashpoint in the debate over whether cities such as Charlotte are adequately addressing violent crime, mental illness and transit safety. The Trump administration says the killing shows how local leaders, judges and policies in Democratic-led cities are failing to protect their residents from violent crime. “Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man.” Zarutska had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the U.S. to escape the war, according to relatives, who described her as determined to build a safer life. Video released Friday shows Zarutska entering a light-rail train on Aug. 22 and taking a seat in front of Brown, who was seated behind her. Minutes later, without any apparent interaction, he pulls out a pocketknife, stands and slashes her in the neck, investigators said. Passengers scream and scatter as she collapses.

Reported similarly:
Axios [9/9/2025 6:23 PM, Rebecca Falconer, 14595K]
CNN [9/9/2025 2:42 PM, Cindy Von Quednow and Hannah Rabinowitz, 23245K]

ABC News [9/9/2025 4:07 PM, Megan Forrester, 27036K] reports the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian woman on Charlotte’s light rail system late last month is now facing federal charges that would make him eligible for the death penalty, according to the Justice Department. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who was arrested on Aug. 22 after he fatally stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which could make him eligible for the death penalty, the DOJ said on Tuesday. "This brutal attack on an innocent woman simply trying to get to her destination is an attack on the American way of life. Of course, crimes like this affect the victim the most -- Iryna deserves justice, and we will bring justice to her and her family," U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said in a statement on Tuesday. During a press conference on Tuesday, Ferguson described the incident as a "terroristic act" and said he and North Carolina FBI Special Agent James Barnacle Jr. spoke to Zarutska’s mother and uncle to alert them of the federal charges. Ferguson said the family is "suffering like any of us would be.” "No one should sit in fear while on the light rail," Ferguson said as he held back tears.

FOX News [9/9/2025 10:02 AM, Elizabeth Elkind, 40019K] reports Republican members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation are calling for the removal of a state judge who released a man now accused of stabbing a Ukrainian refugee to death on a Charlotte train. All 10 House GOP members from the Tar Heel State signed a letter urging formal proceedings to remove Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes. They cited her decision earlier this year to release Decarlos Brown "based solely on his ‘written promise’ to appear for a future court date.” Brown is now charged in the Aug. 22 stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who fled Ukraine in 2022 after Russia’s invasion. Republicans argued Stokes ignored Brown’s lengthy record when she freed him without bail. They argued that the release "was made despite Brown’s extensive criminal history, which included at least 14 prior arrests for serious offenses such as possession of a firearm by a felon, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and physical assault of his sister.” Brown, who was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been charged with a misdemeanor in January after calling 911 and demanding responding officers investigate "man-made" materials inside his body controlling him, according to KATV. He called 911 again after being angered by the police’s refusal, and was subsequently arrested and charged with a misdemeanor, according to the outlet. But the homeless man’s case is now the latest example being held up by Republicans of big cities having too lax a justice system in dealing with crime, including on mass transit. "Ms. Zarutska’s murder was not only a profound personal tragedy but also a direct result of a failure of judicial responsibility. By releasing a repeat violent offender on nothing more than his written promise to appear, Magistrate Stokes displayed a willful failure to perform the duties of her office and engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice," the lawmakers, led by Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., wrote.

Houston Chronicle [9/9/2025 12:45 PM, John Wayne Ferguson, 2356K] reports eight Salvadoran members of MS-13 have pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection to a series of brutal murders, including the dismemberment of a 14-year-old girl, in Houston in 2017 and 2018, the Justice Department announced Monday. The men — Walter "Mejia" Antonio Chicas-Garcia, Wilson "Discreto" Jose Ventura-Mejia, Miguel "Darki" Angel Aguilar-Ochoa, Marlon "Chinki" Miranda-Moran, Luis "Destino" Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza, Edgardo "Largo" Martinez-Rodriguez, Carlos "Garcia" Alexi Garcia-Gongora and Wilman "Inquieto" Rivas-Guido — pleaded guilty in hearings Monday and on Aug. 11. The men were among a dozen people indicted on racketeering charges in 2022 and were facing a possible death penalty if convicted. According to their plea agreements, the men will spend between 35 and 50 years in prison. No sentencing dates have been scheduled. All the men are natives of El Salvador and were living in Houston without legal permission. The criminal cases have been playing out since 2018, when Houston and Harris County officials announced the arrests of 20 MS-13 members and associates in connection to a series of connected, violent crimes. Federal prosecutors said the gang violence was part of an effort to gain power, reputation and territory as it attempted to make money through extortion, drug trafficking and robbery. The victims include police informants and rival gang members, authorities said. "The defendants committed these unthinkable acts to maintain their status in a gang that spread fear in local neighborhoods and targeted those brave enough to cooperate with law enforcement," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a statement.

Washington Post [9/9/2025 5:44 PM, Staff, 32099K] reports the One Big Beautiful Bill that Congress passed in July included $45 billion for immigration detention facilities. This more than tripled the detention budget for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, surpassing allocations for the entire federal prison system. So it’s fair to say the Trump administration has the resources to address alarming conditions in the federal detention system. Yet it seems to have little interest in improving the appalling treatment of immigrants. Unlike prisons for criminals, immigration detention facilities are not supposed to be punitive. They’re meant to provide temporary beds for people whose immigration status is under review in court. Yet for years, many of these centers have kept detainees in unacceptably poor conditions. A 2024 investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general uncovered mold in showers, nonfunctioning toilets and broken sinks, among other unsanitary amenities. It also revealed staff shortages that made it difficult for detainees to receive medical care and other essential services. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda has exacerbated these problems. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied that facilities have poor conditions. “ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” she told us. At other times, however, DHS officials have reveled in the harsh environment of their makeshift detention camp in the mosquito-infested Florida Everglades, known as Alligator Alcatraz. (The facility has since been closed due to a legal dispute over whether it violated environmental laws.)

Bloomberg [9/9/2025 5:24 PM, Jessica Karl, 19085K] reports with Immigration and Customs Enforcement rounding up more undocumented immigrants with each new dawn, it’s no surprise to hear they’re on a hiring spree. But they’re not just searching for new agents at their career expos. They’re in need of flacks, too. There is a job posting for an ICE “Public Affairs Specialist” that dropped this week. The successful candidate will prepare news releases, talking points, speeches, scripts, newsletters, photographs and videos that, and I quote, “effectively communicate agency activities, programs, and policies to a variety of internal and external audiences.” The gig pays anywhere from $88,621 to $171,628 per year, and dental insurance is included — pretty solid, considering the state of the job market. But according to LinkedIn, only six people have clicked to apply. Why? Well, maybe it has to do with the fact that the Trump administration is still reeling from what Mary Ellen Klas calls its latest “bumbling, high-profile error.” No amount of PR spin is going to smooth over the chaos that went down at the Hyundai battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia last week — which now takes the cake for the largest single-site immigration raid in US history. The surprise raid was a colossal mess for many reasons. The optics — video of South Korean nationals being handcuffed and shackled with no translator in sight — are ugly. The fallout — a ticked-off South Korean president fresh on the heels of a $350 billion trade deal— is even uglier. And the target — Georgia’s biggest development project to date — makes zero sense. As Mary Ellen says, it “underscores a major flaw in Trump’s immigration policy. He would like to use his heavy-handed tariff policy to incentivize foreign investment in multibillion-dollar manufacturing plants, but building those facilities requires companies to bring engineers and contractors to the US to help complete the job. The Trump administration has done nothing to make it any easier for the South Korean companies involved with the Hyundai Metaplant America site to secure the work visas needed.”

Bloomberg [9/9/2025 6:00 AM, Mary Ellen Klas, 19085K] reports it doesn’t make any sense. Last week, the Trump administration executed the largest single-site immigration raid in US history at a Hyundai Motor Co.-LG Energy Solution Ltd. battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia. The surprise raid antagonized South Korea, one of America’s closest allies and a country that had signed a $350 billion trade pact with President Donald Trump just weeks earlier. It contradicted Trump’s stated immigration policy of removing the "worst of the worst" by detaining workers employed to help meet Trump’s goal of expanding manufacturing in the US. And by releasing video footage of South Korean nationals shackled at the wrists and ankles, Immigration and Customs Enforcement managed to humiliate South Korean businesses and investment firms that had recently pledged billions to expand operations in the US. What’s the upside? It’s hard to see one. Automakers with factories in the US are counting on EV battery deliveries to meet demand. Trump is hoping to stimulate foreign investment in American manufacturing. This raid helps achieve neither. Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan told CNN on Sunday that there will be “more worksite enforcements” because “it’s a crime to hire an illegal alien.” Homan is correct, but he is also a master at sidestepping the real problem. It’s not clear that “illegal alien” is even an accurate term to describe the people seized from the plant.

NewsMax [9/9/2025 10:40 AM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 4779K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dropped a requirement that officers prepare written reports identifying targets before making arrests, ending a process that had been in place for more than 15 years, according to current and former agency officials. ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told NBC News that the policy was eliminated earlier this year, reflecting a shift toward broader operations in public spaces and residential areas, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, and Boston, the network reported Tuesday. Darius Reeves, former director of ICE’s Baltimore field office, said the worksheet had been standard for nearly every arrest, except when officers were assisting local police. Reeves, who left the agency in May, said DHS leadership communicated the decision before his departure. However, he noted that some officers continue to use the forms voluntarily out of concern for potential legal liability. Administration officials, including former ICE acting director Tom Homan, have emphasized targeting immigrants with criminal convictions. At the same time, President Donald Trump has pledged large-scale deportations, and officials have described pressure to increase arrests. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said ICE operations are based on investigations and casework, while ICE Director Todd Lyons told NBC News the agency is conducting "targeted enforcement operations." Some former officials, however, said the term "targeted" is being applied broadly to describe operations in which officers may not know the identity of those taken into custody in advance.

Reported similarly:
(B) NBC News Daily [9/9/2025 2:15 PM, Staff]

Federalist [9/9/2025 6:13 PM, Staff, 982K] reports as Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents go up against some of the most violent criminals on the planet, liberal politicians and their allies in corporate media continue their campaign to villainize the law enforcers. Is it any wonder that assaults on ICE officers have surged this year compared to the open-border days of President Joe Biden? DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tells The Federalist that Monday’s ICE arrests, including in the new Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, nabbed pedophiles, drug traffickers, burglars and other violent aliens. ICE agents, she said, are doing their jobs to protect communities across America despite a barrage of hatred and false reporting from the left and its allies in the propaganda press. "The media’s vile smears demonizing ICE is leading to our officers facing a 1000% increase in assaults against them as they carry out enforcement operations to make America safe again," McLaughlin said in a release on the "worst of the worst" offenders taken into custody Monday. The report was exclusively provided to The Federalist.

FOX Business [9/9/2025 11:25 AM, Staff, 9194K] Video: HERE reports Boston Globe Editorial Board Member Carine Hajjar joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to break down ICE’s ‘Patriot 2.0’ crackdown, Boston’s sanctuary policies and criticism of Rep. Ayanna Pressley over her multimillion-dollar real estate holdings.

Reuters [9/9/2025 10:06 AM, Sarah N. Lynch, 45746K] reports the U.S. Justice Department is in talks with Homeland Security Investigations about transferring the sensitive voter roll data it has collected from states for use in criminal and immigration-related investigations, according to government documents seen by Reuters. The voter registration data was gathered over the last several months by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which has sent requests for voter registration-related information to at least 24 states. Of those, the division requested a complete list of all registered voters from at least 22 states, according to a tracker maintained by the Brennan Center for Justice and letters reviewed by Reuters. Homeland Security Investigations, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, intends to run the voter roll data against other information in its law enforcement databases for use in criminal and immigration probes, documents show. DHS is undergoing a sweeping transformation to become the main hub for vetting domestic intelligence. Details about how the data will be shared with HSI are still being ironed out, but at least some government lawyers believe the data collected by the Civil Rights Division can be lawfully transferred to HSI because it would be used for civil and criminal investigations, the records show.

ABC News [9/9/2025 5:05 AM, Laura Romero, 27036K] reports the Trump administration is suing migrants with removal orders and issuing fines of up to $1.8 million to pressure them into self-deporting, immigration attorneys tell ABC News. In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has revived a rarely enforced 1996 law, using it to issue fines to migrants with deportation orders as part of the administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The notices order them to voluntarily leave the U.S. to avoid the monetary penalty. Merle Kahn, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said the fines were never used until 2017, during the first Trump administration. She told ABC News that during Trump’s first term the fines were rarely used, and when Joe Biden took office as president, he rescinded all of them. "Now, they have started issuing the fines again, and they’ve increased them," Kahn said. "They could be fined over $1.8 million if they have an outstanding deportation order and didn’t leave." "There’s zero consideration of the circumstances surrounding why the person didn’t leave," Kahn said. "It doesn’t matter if they never got notice, and the process for challenging these fines is really truncated.". ICE and DHS officials did not respond to request for comment from ABC News. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement in June that the fines apply to individuals who enter the U.S. illegally, ignore or delay removal orders, or "do not honor agreements to comply with judges’ voluntary departure orders." "Financial penalties like these are just one more reason why illegal aliens should use CBP Home to self-deport now before it’s too late," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.

Washington Examiner [9/9/2025 12:29 PM, Emily Hallas, 1563K] reports illegal immigrants who have lived as long-term residents in the United States have been most affected by the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, according to a new report. People who have lived in the U.S. for over a decade accounted for 44.4% of people deported in recent months, while more than 50% of deportees have made their home in the country for at least six years, according to a Kino Border Initiative case study focused on Mexican migrants removed to a temporary Mexican government facility in Nogales, Sonora. The analysis investigating roughly 300 sample cases at the facility from May through July indicates many of those targeted for removal at President Donald Trump’s direction did not cross into the U.S. during the Biden administration, which oversaw record levels of illegal immigration from 2021 through 2025, but rather appeared to come into the country dating back to the Obama administration and prior periods. When looking at federal data from the last 25 years, illegal immigration peaked in 2000 under former President Bill Clinton, capping off years of surging illegal immigration that sparked in the 1990s following a marked drop in border crossings due to an amnesty package signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Illegal crossings generally trended down following 2000, but began surging again under the Biden administration, when they broke records in 2023. In the wake of the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal residents, local and state law enforcement have played a critical role in targeting migrants, according to the KBI case study. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement has become the focal point of deportation operations, 33% of deportations started with a regional or state law enforcement stop, according to the organization’s analysis of survey participants in Nogales.

FOX News [9/9/2025 2:54 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40019K] reports a federal raid in upstate New York led to the arrests of 57 illegal workers, five of whom now face criminal charges for illegally reentering the U.S. after previously being deported. Five of the illegal immigrants were charged by criminal complaint with illegally reentering the country: Alex Ben Chipin, 39, Argentina Juarez-Lopez, 50, Luis Jom-Morales, 27, and Gregorio Baldemar Ramirez-Perez, 45, all of Guatemala, and Francisco Salvardo-Mora, 22, of Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. The remaining 52 illegal immigrants were detained administratively pending immigration proceedings, officials said. Acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III said the Sept. 4 raid in Cayuga County, New York, was one of the largest worksite enforcement actions in recent history. He added employers across the Northern District of New York must understand they risk criminal investigation if they are employing noncitizens who are not authorized to work in the U.S. "Across Upstate and Central New York, there are hard-working Americans in need of well-paying jobs, especially in Cayuga County where unemployment is relatively high," Sarcone wrote in a statement. "Our worksite enforcement actions will ensure that those jobs go to people who are authorized to work in the United States, and not to aliens who illegally re-enter our country after prior deportations.” Erin Keegan, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo special agent in charge, reiterated the agency’s goal of uncovering possibly dangerous or abusive business practices. "While this continues to be an active and ongoing criminal investigation, HSI remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and upholding U.S. laws, including by identifying and addressing exploitation in the workplace, ensuring compliance with labor and immigration laws, and safeguarding the integrity of our nation’s workforce," Keegan wrote in a statement.

Daily Caller [9/9/2025 10:21 AM, Jason Hopkins, 985K] reports that a Manhattan judge on Monday struck down an executive order by New York City Mayor Eric Adams that allowed immigration agents onto Rikers Island. New York State Supreme Court Justice Mary Rosado declared Executive Order No. 50 — a decree that reopened an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on the Rikers Island prison complex — to be unlawful and void, according to court documents. In a scathing 7-page ruling, the Democrat judge suggested the order was tainted by the "appearance" of a conflict of interest between the Trump administration and Adams. "The timeline of public statements and the ongoing criminal prosecution so clearly demonstrate an impermissible appearance of a conflict of interest," Rosado said, referring to Adams’ decision to allow ICE agents back into the mega-prison after federal prosecutors dropped a criminal investigation into his office. "The appearance of this conflict and Mayor Adams’ failure to recuse himself fully tainted the entire process by which Executive Order No. 50 was issued, making it null and void," the judge continued. A spokesperson for Adams’ office did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about Rosado’s ruling. The decision marks the latest setback for Adams, who led the Big Apple during the Biden-era immigration crisis and is now waging a long-shot re-election bid.

FOX News [9/10/2025 3:29 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 40019K] reports that, what started as an investigation into a deadly hit-and-run at a Florida trailer park over the weekend turned into an immigration bust as police came across six Guatemalan men in the U.S. illegally. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the Willow Oak Mobile Home Park after someone called 911 early Sunday morning to report a 21-year-old man dead inside his home. When law enforcement got to the house and checked out the man, who has not been identified, the sheriff’s office said his injuries were "consistent with being run over by a vehicle.” The department’s Traffic Unit began investigating the man’s death and learned that he had been run over in a driveway Saturday night during a party at one of the trailers where "nearly everyone" was drinking alcohol. A witness told traffic homicide detectives that the man was lying down in the driveway when Ponciano Cinto-Ramirez, 52, got inside a van that was parked in the driveway, put it into reverse and backed over him – and continued driving off. Partygoers yelled at Cinto-Ramirez to tell him that he ran over a person, according to the witness, but he drove to lot #32 and went inside the trailer on that property. At some point, the victim was dragged into his home, but police did not state how that took place or who may have taken him inside. Deputies went to lot #32 to speak with Cinto-Ramirez and found "several people inside" the trailer who refused to come out. "Eventually, one by one, they came outside but refused to give deputies information or cooperate," the PCSO said, adding that two men who came out gave them fake identification. During in-custody interviews, deputies learned that all six men are in the U.S. illegally, which enhances their charges. Cinto-Ramirez was charged with resisting arrest, driving without a license causing death and leaving the scene of a crash involving death. All three charges are felony counts. Rigoberto Lopez Morales, 22, and Jacinto Lopez Morales, 46, were both charged with resisting arrest. Alfredo Cinto-Ramirez, 48, and Leonel Cinto Lopez, 24, were both charged with resisting arrest and giving false information to law enforcement. Ramiro Cinto Lopez, 23, was charged with those same two charges and possession of an altered firearm. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said all six men "are facing serious felonies" and are under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holds to "hopefully" be deported back to Guatemala. "What started out as a neighborhood party ended up with a 21-year-old man dead and a group of illegal aliens going to jail," Judd said. Police have responded to reports involving "large gatherings" at the Willow Oak Mobile Home Park several times over the years, according to FOX 35 Orlando, but it was not stated if this specific group of people has been reported in the past. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

(B) Local News Live [9/9/2025 2:35 PM, Staff] reports that the Trump administration is naming new detention centers to hold undocumented immigrants and they included Louisiana Lockup at the largest supermax prison in the US. Local news reports that some immigrant rights advocates are calling this new detention center overkill. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said they wanted criminal illegal aliens to know there are consequences for breaking the law.

Breitbart [9/9/2025 1:50 PM, Amy Furr, 2608K] reports that a man in suburban Chicago is accused of making violent threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, the news coming as President Donald Trump plans to crack down on illegal immigration in the city. Federal agents arrested the suspect, 33-year-old Michael Stover, on Friday in a Downers Grove apartment parking lot, ABC 7 reported. The outlet noted Stover also allegedly made threats against well known political figures. He is facing a felony charge of making a credible threat against ICE and public officials. FBI Chicago shared images of agents on Friday after they apprehended the suspect: Stover is not the first individual to be accused of such threats. In July, a man from New York was charged with threatening to murder an ICE agent and his children, while another man from Ohio was accused of making violent threats against ICE agents and a federal official online, Breitbart News reported. According to a criminal complaint unsealed late Friday afternoon, Stover is accused of writing multiple threatening social media posts, including threats to kill ICE agents earlier this year, as well as threats against the U.S. President. "The us president just said he wants to purpose build concentration camps for his political enemies," Stover allegedly wrote online back in April. "Its war right here and now against this attacker or we die in slavery. Put down your posters and selfie sticks and pick up a weapon!" Stover is also accused of sharing an image of several rifle bullets with the names of well-known U.S. political figures written on them. Authorities had been monitoring Stover’s social media activity for several months leading up to his arrest. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [9/9/2025 12:06 PM, Griff Jenkins and Stephen Sorace, 40019K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago this week, arresting multiple criminal illegal immigrants as Fox News joined agents for an exclusive ride-along. On Tuesday, ICE agents arrested a Mexican national on a federal criminal arrest warrant for multiple felony re-entries into the United States. Fox News learned that the individual had been deported twice to Mexico and returned a third time to the U.S. He is also facing charges for assault in a previous case. Fox News cameras followed agents as they approached the Mexican national outside his home. The individual tried to enter his car to avoid arrest, forcing ICE agents to break its window and extract him from the vehicle. He then appears to continue resisting arrest. The Mexican national will face federal criminal prosecution before he is deported, potentially spending time in jail, Fox News learned. On Monday, Fox News followed ICE agents as they apprehended a 43-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico who was convicted last year of forcibly sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13. He remains in custody. The operation has already resulted in multiple arrests, and ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan told Fox News that they will "continue going after the worst of the worst.” "These criminal aliens have wreaked havoc on the American people for years and that time is over," ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan told Fox News. "And even when we have pushback from Democratic leadership, that’s not going to stop us." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federalist [9/9/2025 2:49 PM, M.D. Kittle, 982K] reports that a lot of things about Jan. 19, 2025 haunt Joe Abraham’s dreams. But one fact in particular about the way in which his 20-year-old daughter, Katie, was senselessly killed that day in a hit-and run crash keeps him up at night. "They didn’t just kill Katie. They killed Katie’s kids, Katie’s kids’ kids. Her legacy is no longer there. She has been stopped," Abraham, of Glenview, Ill., told The Federalist in an interview Monday evening. "You just can’t get past that," the grieving father added. "Not only did she get a death sentence and we all got a life sentence, but her whole chain has been broken. And the silence [from Illinois government] is killing my ears." On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) smashed the silence in the name of Katie Abraham. The Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz in lawless Illinois, targeting "the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor [J.B.] Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets," according to a DHS press release. As The Federalist reported, Katie Abraham was pronounced dead at the scene of the January hit-and-run car crash near the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana. A friend, 21-year-old Chloe Polzin, died from her injuries later at the hospital. "DHS is launching Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham who was killed in Illinois by a criminal illegal alien who should have never been in our country," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the press release. "This operation will target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago."

NewsNation [9/9/2025 6:41 PM, Ben Bradley, 6811K] Video: HERE reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement have stepped up operations targeting Chicago-area courthouses and jails. NewsNation local affiliate WGN has obtained video that shows the Trump Administration’s increased efforts plus the confrontations – and concern – that come from these encounters. In mid-July, Chicago’s western suburbs, a man who had been arrested for speeding while driving on a suspended license was released from the Kane County jail. What he didn’t know was ICE agents were waiting in the lobby. They had apparently compared the publicly available court docket with their immigration arrest list. After a short debate, it turned physical and one officer was allegedly bit during the takedown. "We know they’re releasing public safety threats back in the community every day. We’re going to go where the biggest problems are. The biggest problems are sanctuary cities," Trump Administration border czar Tom Homan said. In the western suburbs, suspected ICE agents have been known to stake out the jail lobby waiting for people on their lists to be released. Video obtained by WGN Investigates shows agents surround a man and his family as they leave. Sheriff Ron Hain says it’s a recipe for danger for everyone involved. "I’m very concerned that someday, someone is going to be harmed with the inability to communicate and the ICE agents trending toward a clandestine approach," he said. "We’re prioritizing public safety trusts and national security threats," Homan said. :We’re not out sweeping neighborhoods. We’re not outlooking for non-criminals. Now, if we run into a non-criminal during these operations, they’re absolutely going to be taken in custody.”

The Hill [9/9/2025 7:25 AM, Ali Bradley, 12414K] reports cities like Chicago and Boston remain center stage for increased immigration enforcement operations beginning this week, but Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources say Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is "everywhere.". White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that cities led by Democrats across the country can "absolutely" expect to see ramp-ups in ICE activity in the coming days. In Chicago, city leaders have been bracing for more ICE activity for over a week. On Monday, DHS officials announced that it would begin "Operation Midway Blitz" in honor of an Illinois woman who was killed in a hit-and-run accident involving an undocumented immigrant, officials said. "This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets," DHS officials wrote in a social media post announcing the operation. Meanwhile, in Boston, ICE launched Patriot 2.0 last week, with more than 300 arrests being made since Thursday. Although ICE is conducting operations all over the nation, sources told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, that the highest concentration of officers and agency officials is in Chicago and Boston along with Washington, D.C., where President Trump has continued to credit the presence of National Guard troops for drops in crime since troops have been patrolling the streets.

AP [9/9/2025 5:54 PM, Staff, 37974K] Video: HERE reports just days after organizers announced it would be postponed due to fears of increased ICE activity, El Grito Chicago, a downtown Mexican Independence Day festival, has been rescheduled for September 15 at a neighborhood church.

FOX News [9/9/2025 10:53 AM, Charles Creitz, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, one of the most visible figures in President Donald Trump’s first term, told Fox News Digital exclusively that she will announce a plan Tuesday to deploy dozens of National Guard to help in the deportation process for captured illegal immigrants. The Republican, who served as White House press secretary during the last Trump administration, will work with the Department of Homeland Security under federal Title 32 powers that allow guardsmen to remain under her control but be funded by Washington. "Violent, criminal illegal immigrants have no place in Arkansas," Sanders said. "I signed the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act to hold these criminals accountable and slap enhanced penalties on illegal immigrants who commit additional crimes while in our state, and I look forward to our guardsmen working with the Trump Administration to enforce federal immigration law." Sanders said her former boss has skillfully secured the border and praised his efforts to "clean up the streets" in major cities, to the chagrin of Democratic municipal leaders. "Arkansas stands with him every step of the way," Sanders added. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [9/9/2025 6:25 PM, Staff, 40019K] reports a massive immigration enforcement operation in southeast Texas netted over 800 illegal immigrants, including gang members, convicted murderers, child predators and foreign fugitives, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency said the arrests were a result of a week-long operation that ran from Aug. 17 to Aug. 23, focused on enhancing public safety in southeast Texas after the region was heavily impacted by former President Joe Biden’s open-border policies. In total, 822 illegal aliens were arrested, including five transnational gang members, seven child predators and three criminal aliens convicted of homicide-related offenses, according to an ICE statement. The agency said that 330 of those arrested have previously been ordered removed from the U.S. and approximately 112 were previously deported and illegally reentered the U.S. at least once. "During the past four years, transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and other violent criminal aliens took advantage of the crisis at our southern border to illegally enter the country," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. Martinez said that many of these criminal illegal aliens "remained in the Houston area and have gone on to wreak havoc in our local communities.”

Breitbart [9/9/2025 1:50 PM, John Binder, 2608K] reports that over the weekend ICE agents arrested illegal alien Miguel Barrera-Corona of Mexico, who had 49 past arrests, including convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, vehicle theft, criminal threats to terrorize, drunk driving, shoplifting, carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, trespassing, property damage, vandalism, petty theft, and carrying a concealed dagger. "Over the weekend, ICE arrested drug traffickers, human traffickers, child predators, and sex offenders. One of the criminal illegal aliens was previously arrested 49 times," the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Sanctuary politicians allowed this serial criminal to terrorize American citizens. President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to arrest the worst of the worst and get these criminal illegal aliens out of our country. Other illegal aliens arrested by ICE agents over the weekend include: Carlos Guzman-Santiago of Mexico, convicted of second-degree forcible sex offense. Glenda Molina-Sorto of El Salvador, convicted of child abuse and possession/purchase for sale of narcotics. Benigno Carrillo-Hernandez of Honduras, convicted of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. Karen Hernandez-Medrano of Mexico, convicted of alien smuggling. Miguel Perez-Herrera of Mexico, convicted of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

New York Times [9/9/2025 8:15 PM, Jill Cowan and Ana Facio-Krajcer, 143795K] reports that, for much of the summer, undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles region had lived in fear of being swept up in federal immigration raids. Many rarely ventured out as masked, heavily armed agents arrested thousands of people as they went about their daily lives. In recent weeks, however, a sense of normalcy had quietly returned after a judge in Los Angeles temporarily blocked what local officials and activists had described as random, indiscriminate raids. Most of the National Guard troops and Marines whom President Trump had deployed to the city had been withdrawn, and the president seemed to have shifted his attention to other Democratic-led cities. Street vendors in Los Angeles returned to sidewalks, workers returned to construction sites, and families hosted birthday parties at local parks. Now, immigrants, local officials and activists said, the nation’s highest court has ripped away that thin veil of safety. On Monday, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court order and allowed the Trump administration to resume immigration stops based on factors that include race or ethnicity, or speaking Spanish. “We all thought the raids were over,” said Roberto Cordero, 67, an undocumented immigrant who lives in the Los Angeles area. “With this decision, we lost confidence in the courts.” Hours after the decision on Monday, at a park in East Los Angeles, one of the largest Mexican American communities in the United States, children still practiced soccer and snack vendors pushed carts brimming with bags of chips and chicharrones. But residents said their community was suddenly facing a fresh round of panic and confusion. Mr. Cordero said he had come to the United States from Mexico at 23 and had lived in the region for more than four decades. Since then, he said, he has worked almost nonstop, and currently installs flooring. The Supreme Court, he said, had given immigration agents “the green light to treat us all the same, like criminals.” He added, “People are going to be afraid, and they’re going to stop going to work.” Federal officials declined to discuss their specific plans for the Los Angeles operation after the Supreme Court ruling. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, answered questions on Tuesday by referring to a Monday statement that celebrated the decision as “a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law.”

Bloomberg [9/9/2025 11:19 AM, Patrick Sisson, 19085K] reports at around 6 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, Amanda Trebach was standing outside Terminal Island, a gated federal facility inside the Port of Los Angeles that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been using as a Southern California staging ground. A 39-year-old nurse from Long Beach, Trebach volunteers with the Harbor Area Peace Patrol, a newly created community group that monitors immigration enforcement activity in the neighborhoods near the port. Equipped with lawn chairs and mobile phones, members of the grassroots community group have been taking photos and videos of vehicles coming in and out of the facility, posting images to their roughly 7,800 followers on Instagram with terse captions — "kidnapper cars leaving TI 9/5 am" — to alert locals to potential immigration raids. That morning, things escalated. Trebach says she was filming a convoy of SUVs departing the facility when masked agents emerged from the vehicles and yelled at her to stop impeding their work; they arrested her, dragging her into a van and driving her into the detention center in Terminal Island. According to a Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson, Trebach jumped in front of the vehicles and struck them with a sign she was carrying; she was arrested for obstructing federal agents. Trebach, who disputes that account, was then taken to the federal detention center in downtown LA, where protesters gathered outside to demand her release. Late on Saturday, a day after her arrest, a Homeland Security official dropped her off at Union Station downtown. Her phone was taken, and she says she was told it would be returned in 30 days. She has yet to be charged. The immigration enforcement campaign that President Donald Trump is waging is unprecedented in its scale and costs: In a quest to ramp up deportations of undocumented US residents, ICE will receive $75 billion in new funding over the next four years, and the federal government has earmarked $45 billion to expand the federal immigration detention system, with a goal of building enough camps to hold 100,000 people. In LA and other cities now seeing intensifying ICE operations, this vast operation often plays out in smaller-scale digital skirmishes between civilians and the federal law enforcement apparatus.

Breitbart [9/9/2025 12:48 PM, John Binder, 2608K] reports Democrats of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are comparing the Supreme Court’s recent order permitting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce federal immigration law in Los Angeles, California, to Plessy v. Ferguson which endorsed racial segregation. As Breitbart News reported, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled in a 6-3 decision that overturned a lower court’s order that had prevented ICE agents from carrying out raids in the Los Angeles metro area. "Immigration stops based on reasonable suspicion of illegal presence have been an important component of U. S. immigration enforcement for decades, across several presidential administrations," Justice Kavanaugh wrote for the majority. In response, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) compared the SCOTUS order to cases that promoted racial discrimination against black Americans, such as Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson. Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials praised the decision. "This is a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law," DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin said. "DHS law enforcement will not be slowed down and will continue to arrest and remove the murderers, rapists, gang members, and other criminal illegal aliens that Karen Bass continues to give safe harbor."

SFGate [9/9/2025 1:10 PM, Lester Black, 11503K] reports immigrant rights activists are warning that the Trump administration is transporting immigration detainees to a private prison in the California desert that is operating illegally and could put detainees in danger. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began transporting detainees on Aug. 29 to the California City Correctional Facility, located approximately 100 miles north of Los Angeles, and it’s now become a key part of the federal government’s deportation strategy, according to Marcela Hernandez, a director of organizing at Detention Watch Network. "This opening is going to mean more violent raids across southern and northern California," Hernandez said. She later added that "Anybody who gets targeted in the Bay Area or in northern California could be sent here.” The California City facility is run by the private prison company CoreCivic. It formerly operated as a state corrections facility but deactivated in March 2024, according to the state. Now, it’s in the process of becoming the largest immigration detention center in the state, with over 2,500 beds. Those beds could become vital to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled immigration raids can continue in LA. Detention facilities have become a flash point across the country as the Trump administration ramps up its violent crackdown on immigrants. The city of Leavenworth, Kansas, has sued to try to block CoreCivic from reopening a prison in Leavenworth. The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, was arrested at a private detention facility that he said he was observing. And the infamous "Alligator Alcatraz" built hastily in Florida was ordered to be shut down after a court found it violated environmental and tribal laws, although a higher court later ruled it could stay open while the lawsuit continues. Dolores Huerta, a longtime labor activist in California, compared the California City facility to Alligatory Alcatraz and said it violated state and local laws. California law requires municipalities to give 180 days of public notice and hold public hearings prior to any immigration detention center opening. Hernandez said the city is in violation of that law, as it never conducted the required hearings, and that CoreCivic is currently operating without a permit. Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, confirmed with SFGATE that the facility is now housing detainees from ICE and the United States Marshals Service. He did not say if the facility has a valid business license or if it’s in violation of California’s disclosure laws. "We have submitted all required information for the business license and continue to maintain open lines of communication with city officials," Gustin said.

AP [9/9/2025 11:09 AM, Amy Taxin and Anne D’Innocenzio, 37974K] reports at a Home Depot parking lot, a man patrols on a bicycle for federal immigration agents, toting a megaphone on his hip so he can blast a warning to day laborers waiting to land a landscaping or construction job. The workers from Mexico, El Salvador and elsewhere carry whistles to also sound the alarm, while activists swap details over two-way radios about whether cars whizzing by could be unmarked vehicles carrying officers preparing for a raid. Their work is cut out for them. Agents have raided the lot outside the 108,000 square-foot Home Depot store in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles at least five times since June, rounding up some immigrants and sending others running in search of safety. Home Depot stores in Southern California have long been an informal job-seeking hub for day laborers in the country both legally and illegally. Now the locations have become a prime target for immigration agents. In fact, Home Depot was reportedly mentioned as a target for immigration raids by Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and chief architect of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, earlier this year. At least a dozen Home Depot stores have been targeted, some of them repeatedly, in Southern California since the administration stepped up its immigration crackdown this summer. Immigrant advocates sued over the raids but on Monday the Supreme Court cleared the way for federal agents to continue conducting sweeping immigration operations for now in Los Angeles, the latest victory for the Trump administration at the high court. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it "a win" for the rule of law, while advocates swiftly criticized the ruling. In response to questions about raids at Home Depot stores, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the agency has made more than 5,400 arrests in the Los Angeles area since early June and is targeting immigrants based on their legal status, not their ethnicity. "Every day, DHS is enforcing our nation’s laws across all of Los Angeles, not just Home Depot," she said.

AP [9/9/2025 4:48 PM, Rebecca Santana, 37974K] reports a new rule allowing a U.S. immigration agency to scrutinize a person’s “anti-American” views when applying for a green card or other benefits isn’t designed to target political beliefs, but to identify support for terrorist activity, the organization’s director told The Associated Press. In a wide-ranging interview on Monday, the director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, delved into the agency’s contentious policy — announced last month — which allows officers to decide whether a foreigner applying for a certain benefit has endorsed what they believe are anti-American views. Edlow also detailed problems he sees with a training program that’s popular with international students, but hated by some Trump supporters. He described how and why he’s thinking of changing the process by which hundreds of thousands of people become American citizens every year.

AP [9/9/2025 3:24 PM, Staff, 37974K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Citizenship and Immigration director Joseph Edlow is defending a new rule targeting ‘anti-American’ views in immigration benefits, saying it doesn’t target political beliefs.

Daily Wire [9/9/2025 5:50 AM, Leif Le Mahieu, 3184K] reports a Texas Republican introduced legislation Tuesday that he says would protect millions of American jobs from illegal aliens. Congressman Brandon Gill’s "Domestic Jobs Protection Act" would strip the executive branch of authority to grant work authorization to illegal aliens. Gill said that his bill would stop future administrations from using federal law to hand out jobs to people who illegally crossed into the United States. "President Trump has done more for American workers and their families than any other president," Gill told The Daily Wire. "It is crucial that we prevent any future administrations from doing anything to stand in the way of their success, including using work permits to usher in more illegal immigration." Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Homeland Security can issue work employment authorization documents to illegal aliens who have been given temporary protected status, are part of the DACA program, or are part of other similar initiatives. Gill’s office said that this work authorization creates a "powerful jobs magnet" for illegal immigration.

Washington Examiner [9/9/2025 12:46 PM, Mia Cathell, 1563K] reports as part of the Trump administration’s push to apply capital punishment “where possible,” the Justice Department is aggressively pursuing the death penalty against an alleged member of the anarchist “Zizian” cult charged with the January murder of a Border Patrol agent in Vermont. The federal prosecution of Seattle native Teresa “Milo” Youngblut, 21, who pleaded not guilty Friday to murdering Border Patrol agent David Maland, further signals the Trump DOJ’s zero-tolerance policy for violence against federal agents amid a surge in assaults on law enforcement officers. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the DOJ has cast Youngblut’s case as a fitting opportunity to flex its recently revived death penalty policy, an aggressive approach to capital punishment that marks a stark reversal from former President Joe Biden’s final days in office, when dozens of federal death row inmates had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. Should the Trump DOJ secure a conviction and eventual execution, it would constitute one of the first instances of federal capital punishment in years, as well as in Vermont, which effectively ended the death penalty for state sentences decades ago.

CBS News [9/9/2025 4:16 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 45245K] reports that the U.S. Border Patrol official who led controversial immigration enforcement raids in southern California this summer has arrived in Chicago, a new target of the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on illegal immigration, two people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The official, Gregory Bovino, is in the Chicago area as federal officials vow to initiate a blitz of arrests in the region targeting immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. Bovino was the top Border Patrol agent in California’s El Centro sector until he was given command of a broader immigration enforcement campaign across the state in June. Over the past several months, Bovino has become one of the most visible public faces of the Trump administration’s aggressive effort to detain those living in the country unlawfully. He has accompanied rank-and-file agents on arrest operations and posted slickly edited videos of those sweeps on social media. In California, Bovino oversaw an effort by Customs and Border Protection, dubbed Operation At Large. In Chicago, Bovino is expected to lead operations by CBP. The Trump administration has tasked the agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, with being more heavily involved with interior immigration enforcement amid a historic drop in illegal crossings at the southern border in recent months. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has traditionally overseen immigration enforcement in the U.S. interior, this week launched an operation in the Chicago area that officials say will target immigrants in the U.S. illegally who also have criminal records. Officials have called the effort Operation Midway Blitz.

Univision [9/9/2025 4:55 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) reported the arrest of a man accused of human trafficking for illegally transporting 11 Mexican immigrants in Webb County. The arrested man was identified as Nicolás Alejandro Ramírez Reyes, 24, originally from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, who was driving a white Ford F-250 pickup truck. According to authorities and a video released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the man tried to flee at high speed down Santa Maria Avenue, which sparked a chase. When the vehicle stopped, the 11 migrants traveling hidden under a tarp in the back of the truck ran away, but were secured by TxDPS agents and handed over to the Border Patrol. Ramírez Reyes was arrested on September 3, 2025, and faces charges of human smuggling and evading arrest. Additionally, it was reported that he had an active ICE warrant and a history of drug distribution. The case remains under investigation, and the detainee has been transferred to a detention center pending trial.

Univision [9/9/2025 11:19 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports the U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued an alert about an alleged illegal migration route being promoted on TikTok, specifically targeting people seeking to reach Los Angeles, California, from Puebla. According to official information, a group identified as "Los Trejos de Nuevo Laredo" is posting videos on the platform showing a journey that combines different modes of transportation: car, light aircraft, and a final crossing by boat. The US diplomatic mission reported that these videos promote departures from Tehuacán, Puebla, and provide details on the logistics of these irregular journeys. The promoters claim to have technology such as cell phones and drones to monitor the presence of the Border Patrol and evade the security systems installed on the border between Mexico and the United States. "Don’t take any chances. Even if your trip seems well prepared, border security is tighter than ever and you won’t be able to get through," the embassy said on social media. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [9/9/2025 4:14 PM, Leah Douglas and Courtney Rozen] reports an online disaster management tool that U.S. emergency managers use to communicate may no longer be supported Wednesday, according to a notice posted and later deleted from a federal government website. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Preparedness Toolkit website on Tuesday displayed a banner that said, "Note: This site may no longer be supported after Sept. 10. PLEASE back up your information as soon as possible, as it may not be accessible after that date." The notice disappeared from the website after Reuters contacted FEMA for comment. The contract that funds the operations, maintenance and development of the toolkit website expires on September 10, according to a federal contract record reviewed by Reuters. If FEMA does not extend it, the contract will lapse in the middle of U.S. hurricane season.

CNN [9/9/2025 8:35 PM, Ted Barrett, 662K] reports Republican Sen. Ted Budd blasted FEMA for "stonewalling" funds to his state to recover from Hurricane Helene and said that he plans to use his leverage in the chamber to stall Department of Homeland Security nominees until the issue is addressed. The North Carolina lawmaker voted to filibuster a top DHS official Tuesday, and his spokesman issued a statement saying that the senator is "deeply concerned" over the relief effort. "Sen. Budd is deeply concerned by the slow approval and distribution of funding from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA for Hurricane Helene recovery," said Budd’s spokesman Christian McMullen. Budd, whose state was hit hard by Helene last year, was the only Republican to vote with Democrats in a failed bid to block Robert Law from being under secretary for strategy, policy and plans at DHS. Later, Budd told CNN that he will put holds on all DHS nominees until this issue is resolved. He said a main problem in getting funds to his storm-struck constituents is that Secretary Kristi Noem must personally sign off on any expenditure over $100,000. He said has pressed them to change that policy and is flummoxed why they won’t. A hold would prevent quick action to confirm a nominee without Budd’s consent. "We’ve let leadership know we’re going to place holds on all DHS nominees until we get an appropriate dialogue and response on the outstanding invoices that have not been paid to western North Carolina from FEMA," he said. "So, it’s been very slow. But going back to December is when we appropriated the money, when we voted for the money and approved it there. But now here we are, nine months later, we still haven’t seen the reimbursements.” "I know that in each county, every item almost is over $100,000. That’s every single thing that runs through a rather significant agency. I just don’t think that’s the way you navigate this. I think there are very competent, even Senate-approved people that can share the load and approve things," he said. "Choke holding this thing or stonewalling states that are hurt by hurricanes is not the way to get rid of waste fraud and abuse.” CNN has reached out to DHS for comment. Asked if he had reached out to Noem to encourage her to change the policy, Budd noted that they were former colleagues in the House but said it’s been difficult to arrange a meeting. "We’ve been reaching out for quite a while and have had some difficulty," he said. "We’ve reached out multiple times to schedule. It shouldn’t be difficult. And I can tell you that every other Cabinet secretary has been wonderful to work with and very easy to work with, and I look forward to that from Sec. Noem.” In June, CNN reported Noem was tightening her grip on her department’s purse strings, ordering that every contract and grant over $100,000 must now cross her desk for approval. A DHS spokesperson said at the time that "Secretary Noem is delivering accountability to the U.S. taxpayer, which Washington bureaucrats have ignored for decades at the expense of American citizens.” In July, CNN reported that FEMA’s response to flooding in Texas was slowed by Noem’s cost controls, according to officials inside the agency – an assertion that DHS pushed back on. The enormous devastation of Hurricane Helene became a political flashpoint during the 2024 presidential election. Donald Trump criticized then-President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris over the federal response, while vowing to help those impacted by the hurricane.

AP [9/9/2025 1:25 PM, David A. Lieb, Sophie Bates, M.K. Wildeman, Alex Rozier and Illan Ireland, 37974K] reports as an ominous storm approached Buddy Anthony’s new home, he took shelter in his Ford F-250 pickup parked under a nearby carport. Seconds later, a tornado tore apart the one-story brick house and damaged the truck while lifting it partly in the air. Anthony emerged unhurt. But he had to replace his vehicle with a used truck that became his home while waiting for President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration allowing federal money to flow to individuals reeling from loss. That took weeks. Disaster survivors are having to wait longer to get aid from the federal government, according to a new Associated Press analysis of decades of data. On average, it took less than two weeks for a governor’s request for a presidential disaster declaration to be granted in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties. It’s taking more than a month, on average, so far during Trump’s current term, the AP found. The delays mean individuals must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in disaster declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local officials uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure. The AP collaborated with Mississippi Today and Mississippi Free Press on the effects of these delays for this report. "The message that I get in the delay, particularly for the individual assistance, is that the federal government has turned its back on its own people," said Bob Griffin, dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany in New York. "It’s a fundamental shift in the position of this country.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump is making sure federal tax dollars "are spent wisely to supplement state actions, not replace them," during disasters. "President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him," Jackson said in a statement to the AP. "Gone are the days of rubber stamping FEMA recommendations — that’s not a bug, that’s a feature."

AP [9/9/2025 5:32 PM, Staff, 37974K] reports Tropical Storm Kiko was creating high surf and rip currents for parts of Hawaii even as the system weakened just to the north of the islands, forecasters said. Kiko would continue to pass to the north of the Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The tropical storm was not expected to take a direct hit on the state, but forecasters urged people in Hawaii to monitor the storm’s progress in case circumstances change. With maximum sustained winds around 40 mph (65 kph), Kiko was centered roughly 220 miles (355 kilometers) north of Hilo, Hawaii, and about 220 miles east-northeast of Honolulu. The storm was traveling west-northwest at 14 mph (23 kph). Waves were forecast to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather service said. Forecasters warned of life-threatening surf and rip currents, but no coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

ABC News [9/9/2025 2:50 PM, Beatrice Peterson and Tesfaye Negussie, 27036K] reports that U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Secret Service hosted what officials say was one of the nation’s largest civil disturbance unit trainings, with more than 600 officers taking part. The exercise, held Friday at the James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, drew officers from more than a dozen state, county and city agencies, with other federal partners including National Guard and Homeland Security observing the drills -- an effort formed by the security concerns of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Capitol Police Officer Aaron Davis, who responded on Jan. 6, helped lead the exercises. "We want it to be as real as possible, we wanted this to be the environment where we make our mistakes," he said. "We want to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is what we did wrong, this is what we need to correct.’" Capitol Police Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher said the agency is preparing for unprecedented dangers. "We’ve taken lessons of the past, incorporated them into these scenarios, the goal with this is to be proactive, not reactive, to be ready for anything that should occur on Capitol grounds," Gallagher said. The training marked the third joint exercise between Capitol Police and the Secret Service, according to law enforcement leaders. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the event has helped strengthen interagency ties. "Training like this is incredibly important; this is the opportunity to build relationships," Sullivan said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [9/9/2025 9:32 AM, Peter Charalambous, 27036K] reports that the notoriety surrounding the man who is accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on his golf course last year is affecting efforts to pick a jury in his criminal case. One hundred and twenty potential jurors are in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, Tuesday for the second day of jury selection in the criminal trial of Ryan Routh, who is representing himself despite not being a lawyer and having limited legal experience. At least one potential juror told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that she could not be fair because of her affinity for Trump and her preexisting knowledge of the case. "I am MAGA," said the juror, who recalled seeing the news of the attempted assassination. "I feel it would be very hard to sway how I feel." The juror, an older woman who works in the insurance industry, is all but guaranteed to be removed from the pool of prospective jurors as each side questions the prospects to determine their fitness to serve. As of Tuesday morning, 21 prospective jurors had signaled that they have scheduling issues or financial concerns that would merit their removal from consideration. Judge Cannon -- who oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases -- said she hopes to have a jury finalized by Wednesday afternoon, with the trial expected to take approximately three weeks. The jury selection process so far has gone slowly, with Routh requesting to ask potential jurors questions that Cannon deemed "politically charged" and irrelevant. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [9/10/2025 1:57 AM, Landon Mion, 40019K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) captured, burned and sank a suspected "drug boat" over the weekend, video released on Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) showed. As part of Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard conducted three interdictions in one night in which nearly 13,000 pounds of cocaine were seized and seven suspected drug smugglers were apprehended. "Over the weekend, as part of Operation Pacific Viper, the @USCG Cutter Stone conducted three interdictions in a single night—seizing nearly 13,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehending seven suspected drug smugglers," the agency added. The video showed the "drug boat" being blown up. The vessel was seen catching fire as it was repeatedly shot at. Last week, the Coast Guard announced it has seized more than 40,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since Operation Pacific Viper was launched early last month, averaging more than 1,600 pounds interdicted per day. "Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where significant transport of illicit narcotics continues from South America," the Coast Guard said in a press release on Thursday. "In coordination with international and interagency partners, the Coast Guard is surging additional assets—cutters, aircraft and tactical teams—to interdict, seize and disrupt transshipments of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs.” The sinking of the boat comes after a Marine strike on Sept. 2 hit a vessel in the southern Caribbean Sea while allegedly carrying members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua smuggling narcotics headed for the U.S. This also comes as the U.S. military is bolstering its Navy presence near Venezuela, as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to stop drug trafficking from the Latin American country. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [9/9/2025 10:55 PM, Hailey Gomez, 985K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a video Tuesday on X showing the U.S. Coast Guard capturing a "drug boat" before burning and sinking it. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has led a massive crackdown on drug cartels, designating certain international cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations through an executive order in January. In a post to X, the DHS said that the U.S. Coast Guard’s Cutter Stone, the ninth Legend-class cutter, conducted three interdictions in a single night over the weekend as part of Operation Pacific Viper. Among the interceptions, officials seized "nearly 13,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended seven suspected drug smugglers." The DHS post included a video showing the "drug boat" being blown up and repeatedly shot at, with flames engulfing the vessel as the shots hit. Over the weekend, as part of Operation Pacific Viper, the @USCG Cutter Stone conducted three interdictions in a single night—seizing nearly 13,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehending seven suspected drug smugglers. pic.twitter.com/wHRGUGYtTw. In early August, the U.S. Coast Guard launched Operation Pacific Viper and had since interdicted a daily average of over 1,600 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to a press release. Due to the operation launch, the U.S. Coast Guard has accelerated its "counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where significant transport of illicit narcotics continues from South America.” The bust of the "drug boat" comes after Trump announced on Sept. 2 that the American military sank a vessel belonging to Venezuelan drug cartel Tren de Aragua, killing 11 cartel members on board. The strike, conducted by the U.S. Southern Command in international waters, took place near three Aegis-class missile boats stationed alongside other assets to disrupt the Latin American cartel’s drug trade routes. In a post about the hit against the organization, Trump wrote that the drug cartel has been "operating under the control of [Venezuela President] Nicolas Maduro," who is "responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere.” Since Trump’s pushback on cartels, Democrats have since sided with the members of Tren de Aragua drug cartel. In an MSNBC interview Thursday, Independent Veterans of America founder Paul Rieckhoff called Trump’s decision "alarming," "unprecedented" and "dangerous," accusing him of trying to "overextend and abuse military power." Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler also demanded Trump "face criminal charges," saying he acted as "the judge, jury and executioner" in the strike against the terrorist group.

ABC News [9/9/2025 5:37 PM, Doc Louallen, 27036K] reports dozens of shipping containers tumbled off a ship and into the water at the Port of Long Beach on Tuesday morning when a cargo vessel listed to one side, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. The incident occurred at 8:44 a.m. when containers aboard the vessel Mississippi began collapsing at the Pier G container terminal, according to Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders. They reported that 20 containers fell into the water, while another 50 containers tumbled out of place, but did not fall into the water. No injuries or pollution were reported, but cargo operations were temporarily suspended as emergency crews responded to the scene, Port of Long Beach spokesperson Art Marroquin said. The U.S. Coast Guard established a safety zone around Pier G-232 while multiple agencies, including the Long Beach Fire Department, Police Department and Port Police, rushed to the terminal. A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Ventura conducted initial aerial surveillance of the area, Coast Guard officials confirmed. Aerial footage captured by ABC News’ Los Angeles station, KABC, showed the Mississippi tilting to one side after two stacks of containers collapsed.

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [9/9/2025 8:45 PM, Andrew J. Campa, 12715K]
Bloomberg [9/9/2025 6:22 PM, Laura Curtis, 19085K]
AP [9/9/2025 5:12 PM, Jaimie Ding, 37974K]

CyberScoop [9/9/2025 6:30 PM, Tim Starks] reports the top cyber official at the National Security Council said Tuesday that he’s dismayed by the lag in security technology embedded in critical infrastructure, saying it pales in comparison to the tech in modern smartphones. “I worry a lot about critical infrastructure cybersecurity,” Alexei Bulazel said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit. “I also think about the technology that’s deployed in critical infrastructure contexts. This is not the best-in-class software or hardware.” Bulazel mentioned the energy sector in particular, given the potential for hackers to turn off the power in the United States. It’s a sector that relies in large measure on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems to monitor and control industrial processes. “I think about the phones in our pockets — Android, iPhone, doesn’t matter — really amazing feats of engineering,” he said. “Imagine if our critical infrastructure, if the SCADA system that ran the power or the water or whatever, was as secure as the phone in your pocket. I think a lot of these threats are mitigated; only the absolute apex predator, top-tier actors can get in.” As a “White House policymaker,” Bulazel said, many of the questions he deals with go away if the technical mark is raised in critical infrastructure. It’s one of the reasons the Trump administration — despite frequently discussing the need to go on offense in cyberspace — is focused on defensive strategies like secure-by-design, he said. “We are unapologetically unafraid to do offensive cyber,” he said. “It’s an important tool in the toolbox. It’s not the only tool.”

FedScoop [9/9/2025 6:40 PM, Madison Alder, 56K] reports the U.S. government’s acting chief information security officer outlined his three priorities for federal cyber officials over the next year at a cybersecurity event in Washington on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for collaboration across the government. During a fireside chat at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit, acting cyber chief Michael Duffy said focusing enterprise cyber defense, increasing operational resilience, and securing a modern U.S. government are the areas he’s outlined as priorities for the next year in conversations with the federal cyber leaders on the CISO Council. He also previewed an upcoming tabletop exercise the CISO Council will be doing in the next month to address operational resilience. That exercise will be a “frank conversation” among the CISOs about readiness and is intended to extend beyond just technology and to processes as well. For example, they’ll assess whether agencies have the right people on call for an incident that needs interagency collaboration and if those leaders know what collaboration should look like if an incident occurs within the agency. “That’ll help me better understand where we need to shape the policy perspectives — the changes in the mechanisms that we have as an interagency — for the foreseeable future,” Duffy said of the exercise.

HS Today [9/9/2025 6:50 AM, Staff, 38K] reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will have an exciting lineup of cybersecurity experts and senior leaders speaking on a wide range of topics at the 16th Annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit this week in Washington. The summit will feature a fireside chat with Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala on CISA’s role defending the nation against cyber threats. CISA’s new Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Nick Andersen will deliver his first public remarks via a fireside chat, in which attendees will get a first-hand look at his primary strategic objectives and concrete actions to drive CISA towards serving as America’s primary cyber and critical infrastructure defender.

CyberScoop [9/9/2025 5:30 PM, Matt Kapko] reports Microsoft addressed 81 vulnerabilities affecting its enterprise products and underlying Windows systems, but none have been actively exploited, the company said in its latest security update. The company’s monthly bundle of patches includes one high-severity vulnerability and eight critical defects, including three designated as more likely to be exploited. The most severe defect disclosed this month — CVE-2025-55232 — is a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability affecting Microsoft High Performance Compute Pack with a CVSS rating of 9.8. Microsoft said exploitation is less likely, but researchers warned organizations to prioritize patching. “A remote, unauthenticated attacker could achieve code execution on affected systems without user interaction, which makes this potentially wormable between systems with the HPC pack installed,” Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness at Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, said in a blog post. Childs noted that Microsoft has disclosed about 100 more vulnerabilities at this point in the year than it did in 2024. “We’ll see if this level of patches remains high throughout the rest of the year,” he added.

CyberScoop [9/9/2025 11:37 AM, Tim Starks] reports the United States needs a “new, coordinated strategy” to counter its cyber adversaries and “shift the burden of risk in cyberspace from Americans to them,” National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said Tuesday. “Collectively, we’ve made great progress in identifying, responding to and remediating threats, but we still lack strategic coherence and direction,” he said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit. “A lot has been done, but it has not been sufficient. We’ve admired the problem for too long, and now it’s time to do something about it.” The Biden administration produced its first cybersecurity strategy in 2023, with its Office of the National Cyber Director leading the writing of that document. It was part of a broader Biden administration approach to shift the cyber burden from individuals to more powerful institutions like the private sector. “The Trump administration will drive a new coordinated strategy that will advance U.S. interests and thwart our adversaries in cyberspace,” Cairncross said in a speech that marked his first public remarks since his confirmation in August. “America has the best talent, the most innovative private sector, the brightest research universities, broad academic resources and powerful government capabilities. “We have all the tools, and now we have the political will in place to address these challenges,” he said. “We must work together, using all of our nation’s cyber capabilities, to shape adversary behavior and, most importantly, shift the burden of risk in cyberspace from Americans to them.”

Federal News Network [9/9/2025 1:30 PM, Anastasia Obis, 1147K] reports that the Pentagon has long pushed against the idea of a stand-alone cyber service to fix its cyber problems. But the Trump administration is more open to establishing a separate cyber force — and a new think tank report provides a roadmap for how to build it. The report, co-authored by Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Erica Lonergan, adjunct fellow at FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, outlines practical steps for establishing the new service and provides a framework for navigating the challenges of creating a cyber force. "There’s a chance that President Trump makes the decision in six to 12 weeks. And if that’s the case, someone needs to have done a blueprint," Montgomery told reporters Tuesday. If this administration makes the decision to create a separate cyber branch, "we don’t want to be scrambling to sort of build the aircraft as we’re flying it," Lonergan said. "What we are trying to do in this monograph is really articulate a set of core principles and philosophies and vision that should guide the building of this service. There are a lot of additional decisions that will need to be made if a service is created. But our hope is that this product can provide the blueprint to help guide whatever team is responsible for ultimately making those tough decisions," she added.

CyberScoop [9/9/2025 3:30 PM, Greg Otto] reports the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against a Ukrainian national alleged to be central to a ransomware campaign affecting hundreds of companies worldwide. Volodymyr Viktorovych Tymoshchuk, known online as “deadforz,” “Boba,” “msfv,” and “farnetwork,” is accused of developing and deploying ransomware variants Nefilim, LockerGoga, and MegaCortex, all of which have been used in attacks on prominent organizations in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere since at least 2018. According to the indictment, filed in the Eastern District of New York, Tymoshchuk and his alleged co-conspirators are believed to have extorted more than 250 companies across the U.S. and hundreds more globally, generating tens of millions of dollars in damages. Victims suffered not just the loss of data and disabling of business operations, but high mitigation and recovery costs. Among the targets were blue-chip corporations, health care institutions, and major industrial firms. Prosecutors detailed how the group tailored attacks to entities with annual revenues exceeding $100 million, sometimes specifically seeking out companies in the U.S., Canada, or Australia. Additionally, the State Department announced rewards totaling up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Tymoshchuk, with a separate reward of up to $1 million for information on other key leaders of the groups deploying the ransomware variants.

Axios [9/9/2025 2:05 PM, Sam Sabin, 14595K] reports a former WhatsApp security leader filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that the Meta-owned messaging service neglected major security and privacy flaws that left users’ data and accounts vulnerable. The whistleblower complaint — the latest in a series against the tech giant — alleges that those security flaws resulted in more than 100,000 accounts being hacked every day. Many people turn to WhatsApp, which provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, for the added privacy benefits. Attaullah Baig, former security executive at WhatsApp, claims in the lawsuit that about 1,500 engineers had unrestricted access to sensitive user data and that the company did not have adequate internal auditing and monitoring tools to see who accessed what data or to detect data breaches. The lawsuit, which was first reported by the New York Times, also alleges that he faced retaliation and was eventually fired for sharing his concerns with top executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Breitbart [9/9/2025 1:39 PM, Jeff Poor, 2608K] reports that Monday on FNC’s "Hannity," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller decried Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies, citing that Govs. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and Gavin Newsom (D-CA) are part of the problem. Miller blamed those policies for acts of crime committed against Americans, which he called "terrorism." "[W]ell, I mean a lot of crimes are being committed by illegals, unvetted, allowed in by Harris and Biden and Mayorkas," host Sean Hannity said. "All right. So last weekend, it was 58 shot, eight dead. This weekend, 18 shot, and — I’m sorry, 19 shot and seven dead or eight dead now I get — I guess at this point. So, I mean, the crime continues. They don’t seem to care. Illegal immigrant crime continues. They want open borders. They don’t want any vetting. And they want criminals to stay on the street. Maybe you could do that which Sean Duffy and myself cannot do. Maybe you can explain the mentality." Miller replied, "The Democrat Party, Sean, is terrorizing the American people. Just think about what is happening in our major cities, the bloodbaths every single weekend. One victim after another, one shooting after another, one murder after another. When you have Democrat politicians like Pritzker and Newscum that are freeing illegal alien pedophiles, illegal alien child abductors, illegal alien murderers back into our streets to kidnap people, to beat them senseless, to stab them and shoot them to death — this is terrorism being waged against the American people."

New York Times [9/9/2025 7:13 PM, Alexandra E. Petri, 143795K] reports a Tennessee man motivated by white supremacist ideology pleaded guilty on Tuesday to attempting to use a drone carrying an explosive device to destroy a Nashville energy facility, prosecutors said. The man, Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tenn., plotted a November attack against a Nashville power substation as a way to promote “accelerationist” ideology, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a news release. Accelerationism is a white supremacist belief that calls for the complete collapse of society. Mr. Philippi was arrested in November 2024, just moments before he planned to carry out the attack. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Nashville on Tuesday to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and to attempting to destroy an energy facility. He will face a maximum possible term of life in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 8, 2026. John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said Mr. Philippi had spent months planning and acquiring the materials for a “devastating attack” on Nashville’s energy system. “Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted ‘to do something big,’” Mr. Eisenberg said. “Instead, the F.B.I. disrupted his plans, and Philippi now awaits sentencing.” R. David Baker, a public defender listed for Mr. Philippi in court records, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint, the F.B.I. had been watching Mr. Philippi since June 2024, when they learned from a confidential source that he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA facility near Columbia, Tenn. About a month later, Mr. Philippi discussed the potential impact of attacking large interstate substations with a different confidential informant, saying that a large scale attack at various locations would “shock the system” and cripple the power grid, according to the complaint. In a July 17 text, Mr. Philippi told the informant that “if you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack high economic, high tax, political zones in every major metropolis,” according to the charging document. Mr. Philippi continued to discuss his plans to attack the grid with undercover agents, including buying what he believed were active explosive materials from them to build the bomb, the complaint said.

Federalist [9/9/2025 11:19 AM, Joy Pullmann, 982K] reports newly released pages from a Nashville child murderer’s diary show the gender-confused Christian school shooter calling herself "the Devil’s apprentice," writing in multiple personas, and taking the persona of demons. The newly released pages also include drawings of upside-down crosses and the demonic number "666." On Sept. 8, thanks to a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty (WILL), the FBI released 525 more heavily redacted pages from writings of the individual who murdered six, including three children, at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee in March 2023. Under President Biden, the FBI had attempted to keep the transgender murderer’s writings sealed, obscuring her motives. In this latest release, the shooter declares would-be mass killers like her want to shoot up churches because of the Christian doctrine that men and women are different. In the wake of the shooting, Biden’s FBI sent a memo to local police advising against releasing any information that could turn public opinion against LGBT-identifying people. Four days after the shooting, President Biden issued a statement claiming "Transgender Americans shape our nation’s soul.” It appears the 28-year-old child murderer agreed with that but depicted the "soul-shaping" entirely in a demonic direction. Her notebooks are replete with references to the demonic and suggest the shooter may have believed she was demon possessed.

CNN [9/9/2025 4:42 PM, Lauren Mascarenhas] reports when police arrested a 13-year-old boy in Washington state last week accused of making threats to kill, they found he had "everything ready to go to commit a mass shooting" – including a trove of more than 20 guns in his home. He was arrested after the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office received information Friday from an internet watch group that reports threatening online posts, Deputy Carly Cappetto told CNN. When a SWAT team descended on the boy’s home, located in a suburban area of Parkland, Washington, around 1 a.m. Saturday, they found a collection of 23 firearms, several boxes of ammunition, loaded magazines "with school shooter writings on them," as well as clothing and writings typical to a mass shooting scenario, Cappetto said. Guns had no serial numbers and some appeared 3D printed. What investigators found in the boy’s bedroom revealed what they describe as an obsession with past school shooters. He "imitated similar behaviors, with photos and inscriptions spread throughout his room," the sheriff’s office said. "It is unknown who or what the intended target was going to be, but it’s clear it was a matter of time before a tragic incident occurred," the sheriff’s office said. The boy, who is detained at a juvenile detention center in Tacoma, pleaded not guilty to five charges in juvenile court Monday, including one count of a threat to bomb or injure property and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, CNN affiliate KOMO reported. Outside the courtroom, his parents told KOMO the situation is a misunderstanding. His mother suggested his social media posts were an attempt to "be cool" among peers, and his father said he had no intention to harm anyone, KOMO reported. The boy’s parents had not been arrested as of Tuesday morning, though police still need to conduct many interviews with the adults who were in the home, Cappetto said.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [9/9/2025 5:27 PM, Anna Young, 43962K]

CNN [9/9/2025 4:32 PM, John Fritze and Elisabeth Buchwald, 662K] reports the Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear arguments over President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, taking up a fast-moving appeal that deals with the centerpiece of the administration’s economic agenda. In the meantime, the tariffs will remain in place while the court hears the case. Trump is pressing the justices to overturn a lower court ruling that found his administration acted unlawfully by imposing many of his import taxes, including the "Liberation Day" tariffs the White House announced in April and tariffs placed this year against China, Mexico and Canada that were designed to combat fentanyl entering the United States. The case puts a major component of the American economy on the conservative court’s docket. And it raises a fundamental question about the power of the president to levy emergency tariffs absent explicit approval from Congress. The Supreme Court said it would hear arguments in the case during the first week of November. A decision would normally be expected by the end of June. But in this case, the court said it would expedite review. The case follows a divided decision in late August from a federal appeals court in Washington that found Trump overstepped his authority by relying on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose the tariffs. The power to impose taxes, including tariffs, is "a core congressional power" that the Constitution left to the legislative branch, the appeals court ruled. But the appeals court also allowed the administration to continue to impose the tariffs until the Supreme Court resolves the case. Despite that, Trump asked the Supreme Court to hurry things up. The administration appears to be doing so in part because of uncertainty about what will happen to already-collected duties if the court rules against him. Delaying a decision until June, the government told the court, could "result in a scenario in which $750 billion-$1 trillion in tariffs have already been collected, and unwinding them could cause significant disruption.” Figures published by US Customs and Border Protection show that tariff collections for the 2025 fiscal year were around $475 billion as of August 24, however. Of that total, $210 billion in revenue stems from the tariffs being questioned. "The fact of the matter is that President Trump has acted lawfully by using the tariff powers granted to him by Congress in IEEPA to deal with national emergencies and to safeguard our national security and economy," White House spokesman Kush Desai told CNN. "We look forward to ultimate victory on this matter with the Supreme Court.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [9/9/2025 6:40 PM, Ann E. Marimow and Adam Liptak, 143795K]
Washington Post [9/9/2025 4:51 PM, Justin Jouvenal, 29079K]
Bloomberg [9/9/2025 5:44 PM, Greg Stohr and Zoe Tillman]
Bloomberg [9/9/2025 5:44 PM, Greg Stohr, 19085K]
The Hill [9/9/2025 4:31 PM, Zach Schonfeld, 12414K]
AP [9/9/2025 8:30 PM, Lindsay Whitehurst, 37974K]
National Review [9/9/2025 7:32 PM, Dan McLaughlin, 109K]

Breitbart [9/9/2025 11:37 AM, Sean Moran, 2608K] reports the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Trump administration’s statement on the Senate version of a must-pass defense authorization bill, stating it thwarts President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct diplomacy and rein in immigration. The OMB sent the Statement on Administration Policy (SAP), which was obtained by Breitbart News, to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, about the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026. The letter states that the Trump administration has three priorities with the Department of War: "re-establish deterrence, rebuild the military, and revive the warrior ethos." Both chambers of Congress are working to advance their versions of the NDAA. The Senate last week set up voting to advance the legislation, while the House Rules Committee met Monday to discuss moving its version through Congress’s lower chamber. Congressional defense leaders hope to find a compromise bill that can be crafted before Thanksgiving. The Trump administration’s SAP articulates the president’s view on the current status of the bill and outlines changes it wishes to see to the bill. The SAP argues that the bill, as currently written, "adheres to a status quo that has been used against the Administration in the past authorizing an increase in discretionary appropriations for defense".

New York Times [9/9/2025 4:31 PM, Julian E. Barnes and Maggie Haberman, 143795K] reports Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, took the unusual step of ordering the National Security Agency to retract an intelligence report on Venezuela, according to people briefed on the matter. The report, which remains classified, described work on Venezuela by Richard Grenell, a former top intelligence official in the Trump administration who is now leading the Kennedy Center. News of the recall came amid a debate over the Trump administration’s policy toward the country. Mr. Grenell, who serves as an envoy to Venezuela, has advocated negotiations with its authoritarian government, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed for a more hard-line approach. But other officials said the recall of the report had little to do with competing camps in the Trump administration and was more about improperly identifying a senior official in an intelligence document. The report focused on Mr. Grenell’s conversations and negotiations with Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the matter. The report and the recall were issued several months ago, at a time when Mr. Grenell was negotiating the return of undocumented immigrants to Venezuela, according to people briefed on the report. President Trump had appointed Mr. Grenell as an envoy to Venezuela and asked him to lead negotiations. Mr. Rubio was working on a different track on Venezuelan negotiations. The original report was circulated throughout the intelligence community. But more recently, the White House has ordered spy agencies to limit the number of people receiving intelligence on Venezuela.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [9/9/2025 4:16 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12414K]
CNN [9/9/2025 4:29 PM, Kaitlan Collings, Zachary Cohen, and Kristen Holmes, 23245K]

Wall Street Journal [9/9/2025 9:44 PM, Michael R. Gordon and Brett Forrest, 646K] reports Elizabeth Tsurkov’s ordeal began more than two years ago when the Princeton University Ph.D. candidate was kidnapped from a cafe in Baghdad where she had gone to carry out field research. It ended Tuesday when she appeared unexpectedly near the American embassy in Baghdad showing the wear and tear of her 903 days in captivity, a U.S. official said. Her release was announced on Truth Social by President Trump, who said that she had been held by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia group, and is “now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months.” Trump didn’t elaborate on her condition and noted that her sister is an American citizen. A dual Israeli and Russian citizen, Tsurkov entered Iraq using her Russian passport, as Israel and Iraq don’t have diplomatic relations. She had almost completed her research and was planning to return to Princeton to finish her dissertation when she was taken hostage. The circumstances of Tsurkov’s release are unclear. Adam Boehler, the U.S. special envoy for hostage response, traveled to Iraq earlier this year to seek the help of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who has been eager to preserve a modicum of American support for fear that Islamic State might make a comeback and once again threaten the Iraqi state. But securing Tsurkov’s release wasn’t easy.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [9/9/2025 6:10 PM, Brady Knox, 1563K]

CBS News [9/9/2025 9:27 PM, Joe Walsh, 45245K] reports President Trump said Tuesday he’s "not thrilled" and is "very unhappy" after Israel’s military said it targeted senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization in strikes in Qatar’s capital of Doha. The strikes drew condemnation from the Qatari government and pushback from the White House. The Israel Defense Forces told CBS News the operation was dubbed "Summit of Fire" and targeted leaders of Hamas who the IDF said had for years "led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel.” The move put the Trump administration in an unusual position because both Israel and Qatar are close U.S. allies, with Qatar hosting the Middle East’s largest American military base. Qatar has also hosted Hamas’ political offices for years, and the Gulf monarchy has been involved in mediating ceasefire talks between the Israeli government and Hamas. Speaking to reporters Tuesday night outside a restaurant in Washington, D.C., Mr. Trump said he was "not thrilled about the whole situation," calling it "not a good situation.” "I was very unhappy about it, very unhappy about every aspect," the president said. The president also emphasized that he is aiming to secure the release of the remaining hostages that Hamas captured during the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. Mr. Trump has pressed Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal that could pause fighting in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of dozens of Israeli hostages who are still in the Palestinian enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said 20 of those captives are still believed to be alive. In a joint statement Tuesday on the strikes, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they "believed that the action was completely justified in light of the fact that this Hamas leadership was the one who initiated and organized the October 7 massacre, and has not stopped launching murderous actions against the State of Israel and its citizens since then.” Netanyahu said Israel takes full responsibility for the strike. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [9/9/2025 9:18 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 12414K] reports Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against Israel for its strike against Hamas’s political leadership based in Doha. "The State of Qatar is committed to act in a decisive way with anything that would target its territories and will reserve the right to retaliate and will take all the needed measures to retaliate," al-Thani said at a news conference on Tuesday, through a translator. The Qatari prime minister said his minister of State will convene a meeting on Wednesday to "review all the policies and directives in order to deter such actions and measures in the future so that it cannot happen again.” Al-Thani called the strike on Doha "state terrorism" by Israel and took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who al-Thani said threatened regional security and violated the sovereignty of nearby nations. "I think that we have reached a decisive moment. There should be retaliation from the whole region in the face of those barbaric actions that only reflects one thing: It reflects the barbarism of this person that is leading the region, unfortunately, to a point where we cannot address any situation and we cannot repair anything, and we cannot work within the frameworks of international laws. He just violates all those international laws," al-Thani said through the translator, referring to Netanyahu. Israel escalated its war against Hamas on Tuesday by launching an assassination strike on Hamas’s political leadership based in Qatar. The move appeared to end any efforts to release hostages through negotiation, which have been taking place in Qatar and with the help of its leaders. Even as Qatar vowed to retaliate, the country maintained that it would not abandon its role as a mediator in many regional negotiations. The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates. "Mediation and Qatari diplomacy is part of its identity, and it will continue, and nothing will deter us from persisting in this role across the various issues around us in the region, in order to achieve the stability of the region and ultimately the stability of our peoples," al-Thani said on Tuesday.

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