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

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

Reuters [9/5/2025 11:06 PM, Hyunjoo Jin, Heekyong Yang, Ted Hesson and David Shepardson, 45746K] reports hundreds of workers at a Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) car battery facility under construction in Georgia were detained in a major raid by U.S. authorities late on Thursday, stopping work on a plant that is one of the Korean automaker’s major investments in the U.S. About 475 workers were arrested, according to U.S. immigration officials, the largest single-site enforcement operation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) history. President Donald Trump’s administration has been escalating a crackdown on immigrants, disrupting businesses around the country, even as the White House has encouraged more inflows from foreign investors. The arrests could exacerbate tensions between Washington and Seoul, a key ally and investor in the U.S. The countries have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes $350 billion of investments. At a summit last month, South Korea pledged $150 billion in U.S. investments - including $26 billion from Hyundai Motor. Homeland Security officials said the workers arrested at the Ellabell, Georgia site were barred from working in the U.S. after crossing the border illegally or overstaying visas. The investigation took place over several months, Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of investigations for Georgia, said during a press briefing. The facility, a joint venture between LGES and Hyundai Motor, was due to start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES. Georgia’s Democratic Party condemned the raid, calling it part of "politically-motivated fear tactics designed to terrorize people who work hard for a living, power our economy, and contribute to the communities across Georgia that they have made their homes." In a statement, a spokesman for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said: "In Georgia, we will always enforce the law, including all state and federal immigration laws.” NBC News [9/5/2025 7:26 PM, Nicole Acevedo, Laura Strickler and Gary Grumbach, 43603K] reports everyone arrested, most of them South Korean nationals, were "illegally present in the United States or in violation of their presence in the United States, working unlawfully," Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, said at a news conference Friday morning. It was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations, Schrank said, adding it "underscores our commitment to jobs for Georgians and Americans.” A sea of agents from HSI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies showed up Thursday to a construction site in the town of Ellabell, where the South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are jointly building a battery plant next to their manufacturing facility for electric vehicles. Videos on social media showed agents lining up hundreds of workers at the construction site. Schrank said they questioned everyone about their immigration status, reviewing their documents and conducting background checks. "This was not a immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses. This has been a multi-month criminal investigation," Schranck said. No criminal charges in connection to the investigation had been filed as of Friday. On Friday afternoon, a judge in the Southern District Court of Georgia unsealed the 15-page search warrant allowing federal agents to go into "the lithium battery cell manufacturing plant" on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America campus "that is currently under construction.” The warrant authorized federal agents to seize employment records and immigration documents as well as ownership and management records related to the construction site. According to the warrant, authorities were also looking for four individuals, but the reasons why the federal government was specifically interested in them remains under seal. U.S. Attorney Margaret E. Heap said in a statement that more than 400 agents participated in the massive enforcement action, part of the broader nationwide initiative "Operation Take Back America," described as an effort "to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations.” The South Korean government responded to the detentions of many of their nationals in a statement Friday. "In the course of U.S. law enforcement, the economic activities of our investment firms and the rights and interests of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed upon," said Lee Jae-woong, a spokesperson for South Korea’s foreign ministry. "We conveyed our concern and regret to the U.S. Embassy today and urged them to take special care to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals are not violated.” The Washington Times [9/5/2025 1:24 PM, Stephen Dinan, 964K] reports that “the goal of this operation is to reduce illegal employment and prevent employers from gaining an unfair advantage by hiring unauthorized workers. Another goal is to protect unauthorized workers from exploitation,” she said. Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, led the raid, joined by the Georgia State Patrol and over half a dozen other federal agencies, including the IRS and the Labor Department’s inspector general. Prosecutors said as agents were serving their search warrant, a handful of people ran into the sewage pond on the premises. Then came the attempt to flip the boat. “These people were captured and identified as illegal workers,” the U.S. attorney’s office said. The raid drew condemnation from the Georgia AFL-CIO, which pronounced itself “outraged.” “This raid is the latest in an ongoing campaign of harassment that has targeted immigrant Georgians as they try to earn an honest living,” said Yvonne Brooks, president of the state AFL-CIO. She said when illegal immigrants are detained, it “increases the workload burden” on the other workers. She said several people have died during operations at the plant, which she said begs for more labor safety oversight rather than action by ICE.

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Reuters [9/5/2025 7:08 PM, Staff, 45746K] reports the Trump administration will enforce laws that require foreign workers have proper authorization to be in the United States, the White House said on Friday after immigration authorities raided a Hyundai (005380.KS) facility in Georgia. "Any foreign workers brought in for specific projects must enter the United States legally and with proper work authorizations," said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. "President Trump will continue delivering on his promise to make the United States the best place in the world to do business, while also enforcing federal immigration laws."

Reuters [9/6/2025 5:02 AM, Hyunjoo Jin, 45746K] reports South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered all-out efforts on Saturday to respond to the arrests of hundreds of the nation’s citizens in a U.S. immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) car battery factory. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the government has set up a team to respond to Thursday’s arrest of over 300 Koreans at the facility in the southern state of Georgia and that he may go to Washington to meet with officials if needed. "I am deeply concerned. I feel heavy responsibility for the arrests of our citizens," Cho told an emergency government meeting. The arrest of some 475 workers at the plant near Savannah, part of President Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on immigrants, was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s history. The incident could exacerbate tensions between the Trump administration and Seoul, a key Asian ally and investor in the U.S. They have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes $350 billion of South Korean investment in the United States. LG Energy Solution (373220.KS), which is working with Hyundai to build the factory, said it had asked employees to return from U.S. business trips while suspending travel to the United States except for customer meetings. LG Energy Solution said 47 of its employees and about 250 workers for contractors at the joint venture factory were detained.

Bloomberg [9/6/2025 4:39 AM, Soo-Hyang Choi, 19085K] reports South Korea’s top diplomat said he will travel to Washington if needed over a US migrant raid at a Hyundai Motor Co. manufacturing complex, confirming that more than 300 among 475 people detained under the operation are its citizens. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun presided over an emergency response meeting in Seoul on Saturday after US federal agents carried out the sweep at a construction site for an electric-vehicle battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, this week. “The president has emphasized that the economic activities of our companies investing in the US must not be unduly infringed upon in the course of US law enforcement,” Cho said at the start of the meeting. “We will review promptly dispatching a senior official to the site, including myself traveling to Washington to engage in consultations with the US administration, if needed.” South Korea has expressed concerns and regret to the US via its embassy in Seoul, Cho said. The raid was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Homeland Security Department’s investigative arm. It’s part of a broader push by the Trump administration, which has promised the largest deportation campaign in US history. South Korea has been emerging as a major investor in the US, a trend fueled by the nations’ recent trade deal. That agreement includes a $350 billion fund to help Korean companies enter the US market, with $150 billion dedicated to the shipbuilding industry. Private companies are also set to directly invest another $150 billion in the US, a pledge announced as President Lee Jae Myung held his first summit with President Donald Trump last month. The federal action occurred at HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution Ltd. that’s intended to supply Hyundai’s new electric-vehicle production hub — a cornerstone of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s economic development strategy.

CNN [9/6/2025 5:55 AM, Alaa Elassar, Isabel Rosales, 23245K] reports a sprawling Hyundai manufacturing plant in a quiet southeast Georgia community became ground zero on Thursday for one of the most extensive immigration raids in recent US history. The operation, months in the making, ended with 475 arrests, most of them Korean nationals. As state troopers blocked roads leading to the plant and set up a security perimeter, nearly 500 federal, state and local officers poured into the sprawling battery production facility, still under construction. Agents moved swiftly, lining up workers along the walls. Word of the raid spread across the property, triggering a scramble among workers who attempted to flee, with some running to a sewage pond and others hiding in air ducts. The officers spoke with each worker, one by one, working to determine which were in the US legally, allowing some to leave and taking the rest into custody, moving them off-site and transporting them to the Folkston ICE Processing Center, officials said. By 8 p.m., their work was done. The high-stakes raid in Ellabell, about 25 miles west of Savannah, Georgia, was the result of what authorities characterized as a meticulously coordinated investigation involving multiple federal and state agencies and weeks of intelligence gathering, all converging in a pivotal day, marking the largest sweep yet in the current Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at US worksites. Federal agents descended on the Hyundai site Thursday morning like it was a “war zone,” a construction worker at the electric car plant told CNN Friday. The worker, who asked not to be named to protect his privacy, said he was part of the first group of people rounded up by federal agents. “They just told everybody to get on the wall. We stood there for about an hour and were then taken to another section where we waited. Then we went in another building and got processed,” the employee said. Masked and armed agents gave orders to construction workers wearing hard hats and safety vests as they lined up while officers raided the facility, video footage obtained by CNN showed. Agents asked each worker for their Social Security number, date of birth and other identifying information, the employee said. Workers who were cleared were then given a piece of paper stating “clear to depart” to show officers at the gate when leaving the plant, according to the employee. Another worker told CNN affiliate Univision he hid in an air duct to evade capture. “Everyone came out running and told us immigration has arrived,” the unidentified man said. “We hid ourselves in an air duct and it was really hot.” During the raid, several people tried to flee, including some who “ran into a sewage pond located on the premises,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said. “Agents used a boat to fish them out of the water. One of the individuals swam under the boat and tried to flip it over to no avail,” the US Attorney’s Office said. “These people were captured and identified as illegal workers.” The video shows workers at the Hyundai plant in Ellabell, Georgia, being detained after attempting to flee during Thursday’s raid. All 475 people taken into custody were illegally in the US, said Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge. Some crossed into the US illegally, some had visa waivers and were prohibited from working, and some had overstayed their visas, he said. The majority are Korean nationals, Schrank said, adding he did not have a breakdown of the nationalities of those arrested. Schrank noted some of the workers may have been contractors or subcontractors. A Hyundai spokesperson told CNN he does not believe anyone arrested was a direct employee of Hyundai Motor Company. “We are reviewing our processes to ensure that all parties working on our projects maintain the same high standards of legal compliance that we demand of ourselves. This includes thorough vetting of employment practices by contractors and subcontractors,” the company said in a statement Friday night, adding, “Hyundai has zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the law.”

Politico [9/5/2025 6:17 PM, Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein, 2100K] reports a federal judge has barred the Trump administration from revoking the temporary legal status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan and Haitian immigrants, calling the administration’s bid to cast them out of the country “unlawful” and based on false rationales. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to terminate the “temporary protected status” afforded by the Biden administration was “preordained without any [meaningful] analysis and review.” The ruling is the latest episode in litigation that has ping-ponged through the federal courts for months. In an earlier phase of the case, the Supreme Court permitted one of Noem’s decisions on the subject to stand while the litigation proceeded in the lower courts. That emergency order from the justices lifted a previous block that Chen had imposed on the TPS revocations. Chen, an Obama appointee based in San Francisco, said his new ruling did not conflict with the Supreme Court’s prior order because, at that point, the case was in a preliminary posture, and the justices’ decision applied only to a temporary block he had issued. The high court, he wrote, did not prevent him from fully considering the merits of the case and rendering a final judgment on the challengers’ argument that Noem’s policy change violated the federal law that governs agency decisionmaking. Acknowledging the certain appeal from the Trump administration, Chen made his ruling effective immediately, citing the “significant rights of the Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders who have lost or will lose status in the absence of relief.” The AP [9/5/2025 6:28 PM, Janie Har, 27036K] reports that Chen scolded Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for revoking protections for Venezuelans and Haitians that the judge said would send them "back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel to their home countries.” He said Noem’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, and she exceeded her authority in ending protections that were extended by the Biden administration. Presidential administrations have executed the law for 35 years based on the best available information and in consultation with other agencies, "a process that involves careful study and analysis. Until now," Chen wrote. Plaintiffs and their attorneys welcomed the news Friday, although it’s unclear if it would help people who have already been deported. "In recent months, people have suffered unspeakable harm — including deportation and family separation — due to the Supreme Court greenlighting Secretary Noem’s discriminatory and harmful agenda," said Emi Maclean, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California. "That must end now.” A DHS spokesperson said in an email that the program has been "abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program" and that "unelected activist judges" cannot stop the American people’s desire for a secure country. "While this order delays justice, Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans," the email read. Breitbart [9/5/2025 8:27 PM, Staff, 2608K] reports "The Secretary’s action in revoking TPS was not only unprecedented in the manner and speed in which it was taken but also violates the law.” The decision only temporarily halted the agency from deporting them. But Chen said he expects Venezuelans will be able to renew this status while the case goes through the courts, including appeals, and ultimately the Supreme Court. Earlier, he halted a TPS order for several hundred thousand Venezuelans. But the Supreme Court in May allowed the Trump administration to end the program as it goes through the courts. Chen said his new decision concerned only preliminary relief, and the high court didn’t bar him from deciding on the case based upon its merits under the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the rule-making process of the agency. In planning to appeal, Noem said the government will "use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans.” "For decades the TPS program has been abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program. Its use has been all the more dangerous given the millions of unvetted illegal aliens the Biden Administration let into this country," the statement obtained by CBS News read.

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ABC News [9/5/2025 6:28 PM, Laura Romero, 27036K] reports after the Trump administration previously said it would seek to remove Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador if a judge granted his attorneys’ request to reopen his immigration case, the government said on Friday it now plans to deport him to Eswatini, Africa. The update came in an email from an official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, saying that his claim of fear of persecution in Uganda is "hard to take seriously" because he also claimed fear of persecution or torture in at least 22 other countries. The countries listed in the email include El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti. The email comes after the Trump administration said in a court filing on Thursday, obtained by ABC News, that it would remove Abrego Garcia to El Salvador again if a judge grants his attorneys’ request to reopen his immigration case. A federal judge last month blocked Abrego Garcia’s deportation until at least early October. He is currently detained at a detention center in Farmville, Virginia. The court filing, submitted to the Baltimore Immigration Court on Thursday, was filed after Abrego Garcia’s attorneys moved to reopen his case to seek asylum. If proceedings are reopened, Abrego Garcia will be required to establish "eligibility for any forms of relief or protection from El Salvador," the government said. In the filing, the government also argued that the request to reopen Abrego Garcia’s immigration case should be denied because it "fails to show that country conditions in El Salvador have materially changed, and it further fails to establish that he" is eligible for asylum. According to the emergency motion filed last month to reopen the case, his attorneys argue that because Abrego Garcia was deported and then brought back to the U.S., he is now eligible to apply for asylum within one year of his last entry into the U.S. In the filings, the government called Abrego Garcia a member of a foreign terrorist organization, arguing it makes him ineligible for asylum. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and families have repeatedly denied accusations that he is a member of MS-13. CNN [9/5/2025 10:47 PM, Kaanita Iyer, Priscilla Alvarez, 662K] reports that an ICE official confirmed that Abrego Garcia will be deported to Eswatini, telling CNN, "TRUE: An immigration judge ordered him removed and ICE will comply with that order.” Abrego Garcia is currently in ICE custody after being brought back to the US to face human smuggling charges, but the Trump administration is trying to quickly deport him again, even before the trial concludes. Last week, the federal judge overseeing Abrego Garcia’s case ruled that he cannot be deported until at least early October, after Trump administration officials are expected to testify about the government’s efforts to re-deport him. Abrego Garcia has said he prefers to be sent to Costa Rica, a country that has said it would be willing to give him some form of legal status should he be sent there. The administration previously offered to eventually deport Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica in exchange for a guilty plea, his lawyers told the judge overseeing his human trafficking case last month. However, Abrego Garcia did not accept the offer, according to a source familiar with his case. Eswatini — formerly known as Swaziland — is located in Southeast Africa and is roughly the size of New Jersey. Governed by a monarch who has absolute power, Eswatini is one of four African countries that have struck a deal with the Trump administration to receive foreign deportees, along with Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. Abrego Garcia is also separately seeking to renew his bid for asylum, a process that will play out before an immigration judge within the Justice Department. CBS News [9/5/2025 7:07 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 45245K] reports Africa’s sole remaining absolute monarchy, Eswatini is one of several nations that has agreed to the Trump administration’s requests to accept deportees who are not their citizens from the U.S. Earlier this year, the U.S. sent a small group of deportees from Asia and Latin America who had been convicted of violent crimes to Eswatini. Attorneys say the men are being held incommunicado in a prison there. A 2019 immigration court ruling barred the government from sending him to the Central American country, citing a risk of persecution by gangs. But in a filing obtained by CBS News, the government argued those legal protections would be voided if Abrego Garcia’s request to reopen his immigration court case is granted. Despite that legal protection issued in 2019, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March, which government lawyers acknowledged was an "administrative error.”

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AP [9/5/2025 5:52 PM, Ben Finley] reports the Trump administration is fighting Kilmar Abrego Garcia ‘s bid to apply for asylum in the United States, arguing that he’s ineligible as a member of the MS-13 gang. The Department of Homeland Security on Friday released immigration court documents that outline its arguments against Abrego Garcia applying for asylum or receiving it. A primary argument is that Abrego Garcia is a member of a designated foreign terrorist organization, MS-13, an allegation that Abrego Garcia denies and for which he hasn’t been charged. Abrego Garcia filed a motion in Baltimore immigration court last month to reopen his 2019 immigration case and apply for asylum again. He was denied the first time because his request came more than a year after he arrived in the U.S. Immigration experts have said that Abrego Garcia’s new asylum application could lead to a green card and a path to citizenship. But by reopening his 2019 case, he also risks being sent back to El Salvador. The Trump administration stated in court documents this week that it would pursue returning him to his native country if he successfully reopens his previous immigration case.

Washington Post [9/6/2025 12:46 AM, Andrew Jeong, 29079K] reports a federal immigration board said Friday that immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally are ineligible for bond hearings while they challenge deportation proceedings in court. The decision, rendered by Judge Keith E. Hunsucker at the Board of Immigration Appeals, affirms a previous July order from Todd M. Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who told ICE officers in a memo that such immigrants should be detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” which can take months or years. Lawyers say the policy will apply to millions of immigrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border over the past few decades, including under the Biden administration, Washington Post previously reported. In the past, immigrants residing in the U.S. generally have been allowed to request a bond hearing before an immigration judge. But the Trump administration had “revisited its legal position on detention and release authorities” and determined that such immigrants “may not be released from ICE custody,” Lyons wrote in the July 8 memo. In rare exceptions, immigrants may be released on parole, but that will be up to an immigration officer, not a judge, Lyons wrote. The authority of Lyons’s memo was tested when Hunsucker reviewed an appeal filed by Jonathan Javier Yajure Hurtado, a Venezuelan who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and has resided in the country since. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted Hurtado temporary protected status in 2024, but that expired on April 2. He was apprehended by immigration authorities days later. After his request for a bond hearing was denied by an immigration judge, Hurtado appealed that initial decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which is part of the executive branch. Hunsucker said Hurtado’s appeal boiled down to a straightforward question: “Does the [Immigration and Nationality Act] require that all applicants for admission, even those … who have entered without admission or inspection and have been residing in the United States for years without lawful status, be subject to mandatory detention for the duration of their immigration proceedings … ?” “Under the plain reading of the [Immigration and Nationality Act], we affirm the Immigration Judge’s determination that he did not have authority over the bond request,” he noted. Hunsucker said his decision to deny a bond hearing was partially based on a section of immigration law that says unauthorized immigrants “shall be detained” after their arrest, which “usually connotes a requirement,” unlike the word “may,” which would imply discretion. Historically, that section of immigration law has applied to those who recently crossed the border and not longtime residents. The board’s decisions are binding for all Department of Homeland Security officers and immigration judges, unless modified or overruled by the U.S. attorney general or a federal court, according to its website. Most of the board’s decisions are subject to judicial review in the federal courts.

The Wall Street Journal [9/5/2025 12:58 PM, Isabella Simonetti, 646K] reports the CBS program “Face the Nation” will now only broadcast full, unedited interviews following backlash over how it edited a recent interview with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews,” a CBS News spokesperson said. That policy is “subject to national security or legal restrictions,” according to the statement. The network said it would continue to post full transcripts and unedited video online. “Face the Nation,” a Sunday morning news show, has been on air for more than 70 years. In an interview that aired Aug. 31, Noem addressed the topic of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man the Trump administration had mistakenly sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador and then returned to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling. Noem later took to social media to call out CBS for what she described as “shamefully” editing the interview to “whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.” Noem said that her response detailing the allegations against Abrego Garcia was misleadingly excluded from what aired. The Department of Homeland Security issued a press release the day the interview aired, saying CBS “removed more than 23%” of Noem’s answer about Abrego Garcia and “deceptively” edited the piece. The decision follows a wave of litigation by President Trump against media outlets, and criticism by his administration over media coverage. Earlier this year, with its Skydance merger pending before the Federal Communications Commission, CBS parent Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump over its editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The New York Times [9/6/2025 3:37 AM, Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin, 330K] reports CBS News initially defended its handling of the interview with Ms. Noem, issuing a statement that the segment “met all CBS News standards.” The full interview, which lasted 16 minutes and 40 seconds, was released online, along with a transcript; the version that aired on “Face the Nation” lasted 12 minutes and 15 seconds. But Paramount and CBS executives began reconsidering that stance after ongoing public pressure from the Trump administration, according to two people who requested anonymity to describe internal conversations. The Department of Homeland Security issued a formal rebuke of CBS that accused the program of leaving out key comments by Ms. Noem, including a variety of disparaging descriptions of Mr. Garcia, some of which have been disputed. After reviewing the interview with Ms. Noem, George Cheeks, the chief executive of CBS, concluded that the network needed to take steps to ensure that a similar situation would not reoccur, the people said. He consulted with Tom Cibrowski, the president of CBS News, and the move was endorsed by David Ellison, the chief executive of Paramount.

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FOX News [9/5/2025 3:33 PM, Rachel Wolf and Lucas Y. Tomlinson, 40019K] Video: HERE reports the Defense Department confirmed on Thursday night that two Venezuelan aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. The incident, which the department called a "highly provocative move," comes as the Trump administration ramps up its anti-narco-terrorism efforts. "Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations," the Defense Department wrote in a statement posted to X. "The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military." The Pentagon is deploying 10 F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico for counter-narcotics tasking in the Caribbean, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News. Venezuela’s actions followed an unprecedented U.S. Marine strike Tuesday on a cartel-operated vessel. The Trump administration later said 11 members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – a U.S.-designated terrorist organization – were killed in the strike. Prior to the strike on Tuesday, U.S. efforts to counter cartels and international gang organizations had taken place largely in the form of seizure and apprehension operations. The strike, however, appeared to signal that the Trump administration was shifting towards a tougher new approach. On Thursday, during a visit to Ecuador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that two gangs were being reclassified as foreign terrorist organizations. Rubio also slammed the Venezuelan leadership’s involvement in the drug trade. He went on to condemn Nicolás Maduro as an "indicted drug trafficker" and a "fugitive of American justice." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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Breitbart [9/5/2025 10:56 AM, Christian K. Caruzo, 2608K]
The Hill [9/5/2025 12:10 PM, Filip Timotija, 12414K]

New York Post [9/5/2025 10:46 PM, Victor Nava, 43962K] reports President Trump is reportedly considering carrying out military strikes inside Venezuela to hit drug cartel targets and destabilize dictator Nicolas Maduro’s grip on the South American country. Trump, 79, has not yet decided whether to order strikes on the mainland, but Tuesday’s sinking of a drug smuggling boat linked to Venezuelan narco-terrorists is just the start of a larger campaign aimed at eradicating drug cartels and forcing Maduro out of office, multiple sources told CNN Friday. "The preferred course of action is for Maduro to leave on his own, to read the tea leaves," a source with knowledge of the Trump administration’s plans told the outlet. "And then I think the message is ‘Do you want it to be easy or do you want it to be hard?’". A White House official told the outlet: "If there is an opportunity to kill terrorists, [Trump] will immediately give them the green light to do so.” The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment. The Pentagon and State Department declined to comment on the possibility of military action inside Venezuela. The US Navy has deployed at least eight warships to the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks as part of Trump’s effort to crackdown on narcotics trafficking conducted by Venezuelan drug cartels that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations. On Trump’s orders, US forces conducted an airstrike Tuesday on a drug boat operated by "positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists," killing all 11 people on board. Two days after the strike, Venezuelan warplanes flew over a Navy ship in the region in a "highly provocative move," the Pentagon said Thursday. "I don’t want to talk about that, but if they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shot down," Trump said of the threatening show of force Friday.

Univision [9/5/2025 8:40 PM, Staff, 4932K] reports Nicolás Maduro said Friday that his country is ready to move "to a stage of armed struggle, planned and organized by the entire people" in case of attack, after Donald Trump threatened to shoot down Caracas planes that endanger US military personnel deployed in the Caribbean. Amid escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela, however, Maduro also took time in a speech delivered in military uniform to reach out to the White House for dialogue. "Venezuela has always been willing to talk, to engage in dialogue, but we demand respect," Maduro said. "I respect Trump, I invite him to dialogue. Hopefully he will reconsider." His words come hours after Trump warned that Venezuelan aircraft posing a threat to US forces in the Caribbean could be "shot down," after fighter jets sent by Caracas flew over a US ship in the area and the White House considered it "a highly provocative move." "If they put us in a dangerous situation, they will be shot down," the president said. "They will get into trouble. We will let them know," the Republican said. "If they fly in a dangerous position, they can make the decisions they think are appropriate," he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was renamed "Secretary of War" on Friday after signing an executive order. Tension in the Caribbean, for the moment, does not seem to be easing. On Friday, multiple media outlets reported that the U.S. government ordered ten F-35 fighter jets to be deployed to an air base in Puerto Rico to fight drug trafficking in the area. "None of the differences we have had and continue to have (with Trump) can lead to military conflict," Maduro said in a conciliatory tone at a military event. "There is no justification for it." According to CBS News, the Venezuelan aircraft identified by the White House were two F-16 fighter jets that flew over the USS Jason Dunham, a US Navy guided missile destroyer that is part of the US’s extensive military deployment in international waters. The White House argues that this deployment, which on Tuesday launched a missile against a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela and left 11 suspected "narco-terrorists" dead, aims to curb drug trafficking out of the South American country. "I will tell you that boat traffic in that area has dropped substantially" since Tuesday’s attack, Trump said without providing figures or evidence. Despite his statements, journalists asked him if what he really wants with this operation is a change of government in Caracas, as Maduro claims. "We are not talking about regime change. We are referring to the fact that they had a very strange election, to put it mildly," he replied. "We don’t want drugs that kill our people," the president insisted. Maduro, however, said Friday that "those intelligence reports that are being passed on (to Trump) are not true. Venezuela today is a country free of coca leaf and cocaine production and is a country that fights drug trafficking." The Venezuelan leader warned Trump that "some of his officials" are seeking "regime change in Venezuela," which he considers "a mistake." Although he did not name names, Maduro and his government have harshly criticized the role played in this conflict by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in recent days. "The United States of America must abandon its plan for violent regime change in Venezuela and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and respect the sovereignty, the right to peace, and the independence of our countries," he concluded.

Washington Times [9/5/2025 11:21 AM, Staff, 964K] reports only days after President Trump announced that U.S. military forces destroyed a drug-carrying boat that had left Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said the mission was not a “one-off” and that other narco-traffickers heading to the U.S. could be targeted. U.S. officials said the strike killed 11 members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based criminal gang that the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The White House said the boat was in international waters when it was bombed. “We smoked a drug boat, and there are 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean,” Mr. Hegseth told The Washington Times during a one-day visit to this Army base. “When other people try to do that, they’re going to meet the same fate.” The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denied the U.S. claims and said the video of the strike released by the White House was an artificial intelligence ruse. Mr. Hegseth said, “We knew exactly who they were, exactly what they were doing, what they represented, and why they were going where they were going. We have plenty of ways to determine who we know who is who.” He said 100,000 Americans were killed each year under the Biden administration because of “an open border and open drug traffic flow.” The practice amounted to an assault on the American people, he said, adding that organized narcotics organizations are on the same level as al Qaeda and will be treated as such during the Trump administration. “Every boatload of any form of drugs that poisons the American people is an imminent threat,” Mr. Hegseth said. “At the [Department of Defense], our job is to defeat enemy threats.” He noted that the authority to destroy a suspected narcotics-trafficking vessel operating in international waters will be held at the highest levels because of the strategic implications. He added that his goal is to push down to the operational level as much authority as possible to authorize deadly force in certain circumstances.

Washington Examiner [9/5/2025 12:18 PM, Staff, 1563K] reports that federal agents made history by seizing the largest volume of precursors used to produce methamphetamine after interdicting two shipments from two ships on the high seas. U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents working overseas seized more than 300,000 kilograms (nearly 700,000 pounds) from two ships that departed Shanghai, China. They were headed to Mexico to be used in clandestine labs run by the Sinaloa Cartel, federal authorities said. "We intercepted them on the high seas and now the Sinaloa Cartel will not be able to use them to make methamphetamine," U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro said. Because the Trump administration designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the designation "gave us the ability to move quicker and seize quicker," Piro said. The precursors were seized as part of the administration’s efforts to target terrorist organizations. "Every day, tons of chemicals that are used to create synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl are shipped from China to Mexico in China’s undeclared war against America and her citizens," Piro said. Those aiding and abetting the Chinese and Mexican cartels are providing material support to terrorism, she said.

New York Post [9/5/2025 2:16 PM, Diana Nerozzi, Emily Crane and Caitlin Doornbos, 43962K] reports the US has ordered 10 F-35 fighter jets to be deployed to Puerto Rico as part of its drug cartel fight, sources told The Post Friday — just days after a lethal strike by US forces wiped out nearly a dozen Venezuelan narco-terrorists. The fighter jets, which will only boost the US military’s presence in the southern Caribbean region, are due to arrive next week, a source close to the Trump administration said. The jets are being deployed as part of President Trump’s vow to crack down on designated narco-terrorist organizations. The military has already deployed warships to the area in recent weeks. The development comes just days after Trump revealed the US military had killed 11 people in a "drug-carrying boat" off the coast of Venezuela. Trump insisted those obliterated in the strike were members of the notorious Tren de Aragua criminal gang.

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [9/5/2025 5:22 PM, Staff, 985K]

NewsMax [9/5/2025 5:40 PM, Staff, 4779K] reports Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told Newsmax on Friday that the Department of Defense’s rebrand back to its original name, the Department of War, is a bold declaration that the U.S. is again focused squarely on homeland defense under President Donald Trump. On "The Chris Salcedo Show," Wilson said the shift underscores Trump’s commitment to protecting Americans from threats that have long crossed the southern border, including illicit drugs and cartel violence. She added that the White House views China’s influence in the Western Hemisphere as another top priority. Wilson also addressed the symbolism of Trump restoring the original name to the Department of War, which existed from 1789 to 1947. She said the change, which became official on Friday, makes clear that the U.S. military exists to fight and win wars, not become mired in "endless defense." Wilson said the change reflects the Trump administration’s renewed emphasis on lethality, warfighting, returning to basics, and the warrior ethos.

New York Times [9/5/2025 6:21 PM, Eric Schmitt, 143795K] reports the rapid U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean Sea culminated this week with a deadly strike against a drug vessel that the Trump administration said had departed from Venezuela. U.S. officials said the attack on a speedboat on Tuesday killed 11 drug traffickers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said the military would carry out more strikes in the coming weeks as part of a counternarcotics and counterterrorism campaign. But on Thursday, two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets buzzed a Navy guided-missile destroyer in the region in a show of force, dialing up tensions between Washington and the government of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. In response, the Pentagon dispatched 10 F-35 stealth fighters to Puerto Rico on Friday to deter more Venezuelan flyovers.

New York Times [9/5/2025 9:30 PM, Julie Bosman, Jazmine Ulloa, and Hamed Aleaziz, 153395K] reports the Trump administration is expected to begin a large-scale crackdown on illegal immigration in the coming days in Chicago, a push that could bring hundreds of additional federal agents to the city and ignite tensions in Latino communities. President Trump has been mentioning the effort for weeks as part of his broadening immigration enforcement across the country, which aims to arrest people in cities including Chicago that typically don’t coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Recently, Mr. Trump has described Chicago as a “mess,” the latest volley at a city that he has long criticized for its Democratic leadership and crime rate. He has already sent federal agents and troops to Los Angeles and Washington, and has said the moves are necessary to fight street crime and enforce immigration laws. An internal document obtained by The New York Times indicated that Department of Homeland Security officials would arrive at the Naval Station Great Lakes this week and that there would be 30 days of operations in the Chicago area. In recent weeks, ICE officials have sought significant resources for the operation, including thousands of handcuffs, belly chains, leg irons, as well as a number of gas masks, license plate readers and buses, according to an official with knowledge of the plans. Hundreds of Chicago residents have vowed to gather in protest downtown at the first sign of ICE raids, and metal barricades were placed around the federal courthouse on Thursday night in the heart of the Loop. In the suburbs north of Chicago on Friday morning, protesters unfurled banners in opposition to ICE along on a highway that leads from a naval station that is being used as a staging ground for the federal government’s operations. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, a Democrat, said that his administration was ready to fight Mr. Trump in court if the president expanded the operations beyond immigration and ordered National Guard troops to enter the city.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [9/5/2025 5:20 PM, Luke Barr, 27036K]
(B) NBC 5 News at 11:00am [9/5/2025 12:01 PM, Staff]

Breitbart [9/5/2025 5:57 PM, Lowell Cauffiel, 2608K] reports tough talk and threats of a lawsuit by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have not slowed preparations for an illegal immigrant roundup by the Trump administration in the Windy City. According to an internal federal memo obtained by CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked the Department of Defense (DOD) to house roughly 250 federal agents and 140 vehicles at an Illinois military base in anticipation of an expected increase in illegal alien arrests in the Chicago area. In a request for assistance to the Department of Defense, a top Homeland Security official indicated the Naval Station Great Lakes — the largest military base in Illinois and the Navy’s largest training station — would be used as a staging area to oversee "removal operations" in the metropolitan Chicago area targeting immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. The memo called for portions of the naval station to be used by Homeland Security agents as a command post and tactical operations center, citing the infrastructure at the base and its location near a highway. It also requested storage for medical supplies and less lethal munitions. The crackdown could last for weeks, suggested by the memo’s request to use the base for 30 days.

CBS News [9/5/2025 9:30 AM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 45245K] Video HERE reports the Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon to accommodate roughly 250 federal agents and 140 vehicles at a military base in Illinois ahead of an expected increase in immigration roundups in the Chicago area, according to an internal government memo obtained by CBS News. In a request for assistance to the Department of Defense, a top Homeland Security official indicated the Naval Station Great Lakes — the largest military base in Illinois and the Navy’s largest training station — would be used as a staging area to oversee "removal operations" in the metropolitan Chicago area targeting immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. The memo called for portions of the naval station to be used by Homeland Security agents as a command post and tactical operations center, citing the infrastructure at the base and its location near a highway. It also requested storage for medical supplies and less lethal munitions. The request was officially made last week, and Homeland Security personnel and equipment began arriving at the naval station earlier this week, a U.S. official familiar with the operation told CBS News. The naval station is located about 50 miles north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. CBS News and other news outlets reported late last month the Trump administration had made internal preparations to soon mount a major immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago area, mirroring the operations that triggered massive protests in Southern California earlier this year. Officials said the operations could start as early as Friday. The internal memo said Homeland Security officials would need the base for 30 days, suggesting the immigration crackdown in Chicago could last for weeks. It’s unclear where exactly in Chicago the immigration sweeps could take place, but the campaign is expected to be spearheaded by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. CBP played a major role in the immigration roundups in the Los Angeles region earlier this year, dispatching agents to raid Home Depot parking lots, workplaces and other locations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
CBS News [9/5/2025 9:28 AM, Staff, 45245K] Video: HERE

Chicago Tribune [9/5/2025 4:04 PM, Steve Sadin, 5352K] reports three members of Illinois’ congressional delegation arrived at Naval Station Great Lakes Friday morning, hoping to meet with naval personnel and officials of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They ended up only meeting with the Navy. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, got to the base and saw the office building DHS and ICE will be using, but there was no one around. Denied the opportunity to meet with DHS and ICE officials, Durbin, Duckworth and Schneider got assurances from the Navy and talked about their expectations on Friday near the entrance to the North Chicago naval base. Above all, Durbin said nothing DHS or ICE is doing at the naval base can interfere with its mission which includes putting thousands of men and women through boot camp to become sailors. It is the only such facility in the country. Assuring the Navy will put everything in writing, Durbin said they learned DHS and ICE have permission to use the office through Oct. 5. He believes the presence of DHS and ICE has little to do with reducing crime. Schneider said getting a written record of what is planned is vital to finding out precisely what DHS and ICE will be doing at Naval Station Great Lakes for the next month. They know there will be no lethal weapons kept there. North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. joined Durbin, Duckworth and Schneider. He said people in his city and nearby communities are worried about what ICE may do. CBS Chicago [9/5/2025 8:03 PM, Sabrina Franza and Sara Tenenbaum, 45245K] Video: HERE reports U.S. Senators for Illinois Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), were in Chicago’s northern suburbs on Friday to discuss the plans to use nearby Naval Station Great Lakes as a base for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The lawmakers said they did get some answers from the U.S. Navy, but when they tried to get more information from the Department of Homeland Security, they were turned away. "DHS fled. They fled, and they’re hiding, and that is a clear indication of how secretive they want to be on this effort, and so we are deeply concerned, and we are going to stay on top of it," Duckworth said. The Department of Defense has officially approved the base for use in immigration enforcement operations. Leaders in the north suburbs are concerned about the impact ICE operations could have on their community. The mayor of North Chiago said he’s been told by base officials that agents will be focused south on Chicago, but it’s uncertain what the impact of their presence may be on the surrounding communities. The base will not be used to house federal agents, nor will it be used as barracks for anyone taken into ICE detention. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security will have office space and parking at the base to run the immigration operation in Chicago. "The Navy personnel are not involved in anything else beyond providing office space and parking," Schneider said.

AP [9/5/2025 3:43 PM, Staff, 37974K] Video: HERE reports Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth met with Navy officials and toured the Great Lakes Naval Training Station Friday, which the Department of Homeland Security intends to use for logistical support on expected immigration operations this week.

Chicago Tribune [9/5/2025 7:26 PM, Sam Charles, 5352K] reports Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling said he still had no information Friday afternoon about a promised sweeping federal immigration crackdown that could potentially bring the National Guard to city streets. Before what is expected to be a deluge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arriving in the coming days, Snelling again stressed the city’s police officers will not assist federal immigration authorities. But still, even after President Donald Trump promised to target Chicago, Snelling said he could not predict what that action might look like. The Chicago Police Department, city and state leaders expect "some activity," the superintendent said, but as of Friday, one possible start date for the federal effort, the federal government still hadn’t shared any plans. "It’s important for me to make sure that we have some level of communication (with the federal government), because without that communication we’re going to continue to be in the dark," Snelling told the Tribune in an interview Friday at CPD headquarters. "And as the head of the Chicago Police Department, the last thing I need to be is in the dark. The last thing our department needs to be is in the dark." The superintendent also reiterated that a person’s immigration status has no bearing on whether or not CPD officers respond to a 911 call. "When someone calls for emergency services, someone is hurt, we’re CPD, we’re going to show up. That’s our job," Snelling said. "Our job is to keep everybody safe: ourselves, our residents and anyone who’s visiting this city." "So does that include federal agents? Yes, we have to make sure that when we get a call of violence, we have to restore the peace," he added.

Chicago Tribune [9/5/2025 12:17 PM, Jason Meisner, 5352K] reports that one of the first visible signs of President Donald Trump’s expected immigration-enforcement push went up overnight in downtown Chicago in the form of 10-foot high fencing surrounding the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in the Loop. The fencing, which surrounds the high-rise courthouse at 219 S. Dearborn St. and is buttressed by concrete barriers, offers added protection should protests break out across the street at Federal Plaza, officials said. The block has been the site of numerous rallies challenging Trump administration initiatives, particularly immigration. Anyone seeking to enter the courthouse Friday morning was being directed to a single entrance through the fence on the northeast corner of Dearborn and Monroe streets. Once past it, however, there was no additional visible security inside the building. During the Democratic National Convention last year, the courthouse was subjected to numerous layers of security, including not only fencing but a tight screening process inside requiring those with business in the building to leave their IDs with officers in the lobby. Courthouse officials said in a statement Friday that the fencing was "temporary" and meant to help those who need to enter the building to "do so safely." The courthouse remains open and accessible, the clerk’s office will be open for its regular hours and in-person proceedings will continue as scheduled by the assigned judge, the statement read.

CNN [9/5/2025 12:13 PM, Isabel Rosales, Shawn Nottingham and Emma Tucker, 23245K] reports Florida has opened its second immigration detention site, dubbed "Deportation Depot," amid an ongoing legal battle over its controversial "Alligator Alcatraz" facility. The facility is at a temporarily closed state prison, the Baker Correctional Institution, which is housing 117 detainees with the capacity to hold 1,500 people, according to the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis. It is about 45 miles west of Jacksonville near the Osceola National Forest. "Deportation Depot" opened a day after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a judge’s order requiring the state and federal government to shut down "Alligator Alcatraz," located deep in the marshy wetlands of the Everglades. A number of states have announced similar sites to supplement what the Trump administration has described as limited capacity in immigration detention centers nationwide. "Deportation Depot" is part of that equation and just one part of the Florida governor’s push for an expansion of the state’s detention centers to hold immigrants. DeSantis is doubling down on his plans to build a third detention site in Florida’s panhandle, which he has called "Panhandle Pokey," along with another facility at a Florida National Guard training center known as Camp Blanding, roughly 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville. Other proposed immigration facilities include Indiana’s "Speedway Slammer" and Louisiana’s "Camp 57," located at the country’s largest maximum-security prison. The Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola, is an 18,000-acre facility situated an hour north of Baton Rouge. The new detention facilities are emerging as the White House continues to push authorities to make at least 3,000 immigration-related arrests per day as part of the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

The Hill [9/5/2025 7:41 AM, Filip Timotija, 12414K] reports the Justice Department (DOJ) sued Boston and its Democratic mayor, Michelle Wu, on Thursday over the city’s sanctuary law, arguing that it is illegal and helps release dangerous criminals who should be deported. "The Boston Police Department was once a cooperative partner with ICE’s immigration enforcement efforts. Throughout 2015, the Boston Police Department honored all civil immigration detainer requests from ICE," the DOJ said in a complaint. "But every year since then—as the national crisis with illegal immigration reached its peak—the City of Boston directed its law enforcement to become obstructionist by refusing to honor any of ICE’s civil immigration detainers," the DOJ stated in the 17-page court filing. Last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent out letters to over 30 state and local governments, known as "sanctuary jurisdictions," including Boston, arguing their funding could be frozen if they do not cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Wu, at the time, said Boston would not "bow down to unconstitutional threats or unlawful coercion" from the administration. The Trump administration has sued other cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and others, looking to topple their so-called sanctuary city policies. Wu said Thursday night that the DOJ’s "unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [9/5/2025 1:35 PM, Staff, 2608K]
Washington Examiner [9/5/2025 9:16 AM, David Zimmermann, 1563K]

Daily Caller [9/5/2025 9:22 AM, Jason Hopkins, 985K] reports the Trump administration on Thursday sued Boston over sanctuary laws that make it more difficult for federal immigration enforcement to target illegal migrant criminals in the city. The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and the City of Boston for sanctuary laws that, according to federal prosecutors, undermine law enforcement and the safety of communities, according to court documents. The lawsuit comes just weeks after the DOJ demanded Boston leaders begin complying with federal immigration authorities, or else face the possibility of reduced funding or a civil lawsuit. "The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America – they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a public statement. "If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will," Bondi continued. In its lawsuit, the DOJ specifically cites the Boston Trust Act, an ordinance that directs police officers to refuse Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, which the administration argues is "essential" for enforcing immigration law. The Boston ICE field office has lodged detainer requests — which notify local law enforcement of the agency’s intent to assume custody of a foreign national — against migrants with "violent and serious" criminal charges, such as homicide, sexual and drug-related offenses, according to the lawsuit. "Not only are Boston’s sanctuary city policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, Boston’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities results in the release of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, onto the streets," the DOJ stated in a press release.

Telemundo [9/5/2025 10:07 PM, Staff, 2782K] reports President Donald Trump said Friday that although he "didn’t have it on his list" of cities where he wants to send the National Guard, he is now considering deploying troops to Portland, Oregon. This, according to Trump, is because he recently saw some images of protests against the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city that made him feel that the place is like "living in hell." In recent weeks, several people have been arrested when they attended their immigration appointments at an ICE building in the South Macadam area of Portland, sparking protests. In some of these protests, demonstrators were arrested on charges such as "failing to follow orders" and accusations of damaging federal property. Trump said Friday from the White House that he is certain the protesters are "hired terrorists," citing as alleged evidence that, in his opinion, the protest signs look too well made. "So when we go, if we go, to Portland, we’re going to eradicate them, they’re not going to be there anymore," Trump said of the protests. "Because they’ve ruined the city [...] the place is like living in hell." Portland Mayor Keith Wilson told local media that "like other local governments across the country, I have not requested or need federal intervention." Wilson said that there has been "sporadic violence" in protests outside ICE facilities in the city, but that "Portland police have dealt with these incidents while successfully protecting freedom of expression." Wilson’s administration, through the state attorney general’s office, announced that if Trump attempts to federalize the Oregon National Guard to bring troops into Portland, they will file a lawsuit challenging the move as unconstitutional. A similar lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles government was successful in court this week. The Trump administration has already sent National Guard troops to the Democratic cities of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Officials such as Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, have said they will soon have a presence in Chicago, also governed by Democrats. This week, Trump stated that he is also considering sending troops to Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; and New Orleans, Louisiana. All of these cities have Democratic administrations. The president has tried to justify all these actions and possible deployments by arguing that crime is out of control in these cities, even though official data from law enforcement agencies does not support this claim. With the deployment of troops already underway, more raids than usual have been carried out in places such as Washington.

AP [9/5/2025 6:53 PM, Mary Clare Jalonick, 37974K] reports Congress is expected to allow President Donald Trump’s temporary takeover of Washington’s police department to expire next week as the 30-day limit comes to an end and Mayor Muriel Bowser pledges to maintain close coordination with federal law enforcement. Trump took control of the Metropolitan Police Department in August in addition to deploying hundreds of National Guard troops, saying he was going to "take our capital back" from criminals. He invoked a section of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in an executive order to declare a "crime emergency" so his administration could temporarily take over the police force for 30 days. That order expires on Sept. 10. Congress would have to approve an extension, and Republicans on Capitol Hill have no plans to do so in the next week. Still, House Republicans plan to move forward with a raft of bills that would tighten federal control over the city, including tougher sentences for criminals and a Trump-led effort to "beautify the district" by removing graffiti and restoring public monuments. Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said that "together with President Trump," the panel will "fulfill its constitutional duty to oversee District affairs and make D.C. safe again.” Bowser issued an order last week to continue the work of an emergency operations center that the city set up in response to the law enforcement surge. The mayor said police would work with federal law enforcement agencies and credited the surge with bringing down the level of crime in the city, including an 87 percent drop in carjackings. GOP leaders in the House and Senate haven’t seen a reason to act, given that Bowser is working with federal authorities, according to aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, and Trump has so far not publicly urged them to seek an extension. Congressional Democrats have protested the takeover. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s nonvoting representative, has pushed legislation to give the city full control of its police department. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen introduced a similar bill in the Senate, saying that Trump is "playing dictator in our nation’s capital.”

Washington Post [9/5/2025 7:19 PM, Dana Munro and Erin Cox, 29079K] reports with President Donald Trump’s threat to send National Guard troops into Baltimore in the air, Maryland leaders said Friday that they will pour more of their own resources to further bring down crime in the state’s largest city. The open-ended increase in public safety efforts, announced by Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Mayor Brandon Scott (D), builds on an existing partnership that has already funneled cash to violence-interrupter groups and state prosecutors, an effort that the two men credit with helping drive Baltimore’s homicide count to its lowest in 50 years. “We can do this ourselves,” Scott said Friday evening at a joint news conference with the governor outside St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. “We do not need an occupation. We do not need troops on our streets.” He called the city’s population “a resource to be invested in, not a problem to be solved.” Trump has characterized Baltimore as a “hellhole” and pointed to the city, along with Chicago and New Orleans, as a place he may want to replicate his intervention in D.C., where he declared a “crime emergency” Aug. 11 and sent nearly 2,200 National Guard troops alongside a surge of federal law enforcement agents. Even as Trump this week softened his language about activating the Guard over the objections of local officials elsewhere, the president continued to stress the need for crime reduction in Baltimore. “The people in Baltimore, the people in all the places we talk about, they want to see us there. And I think we’re pretty much waiting until we get asked,” Trump said. At the news conference Friday, Moore said the focus on enhancing public safety doesn’t have anything to do with Trump: “Nothing we’re doing is inspired by the president. The president does not inspire us.”

CNN [9/5/2025 3:23 PM, Gabe Cohen] reports Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser privately pressed the city’s attorney general to delay a lawsuit aimed at halting President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops, according to two sources familiar with the conversation. DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb ended up filing the lawsuit anyway on Thursday. The dispute reveals the deep divisions within DC government over how best to confront the administration’s aggressive anti-crime crackdown in the nation’s capital. The mayor urged him to wait until after September 10th – the date when Trump’s 30-day federal emergency declaration for DC is set to expire unless Congress intervenes to extend it. Bowser – who has publicly criticized the National Guard presence in recent weeks, but who has also walked a fine line with the Trump administration – warned that a premature legal fight could antagonize Republicans and jeopardize the end of the emergency, both sources told CNN. But Schwalb, unconvinced by what he saw as the mayor’s vague and overly optimistic approach, pressed ahead with the lawsuit, citing mounting evidence that the National Guard will remain in DC well beyond next week, one of the sources said.

New York Times [9/5/2025 2:15 PM, Jesus Jiménez and Julie Bosman, 143795K] reports President Trump has sent federal agents and troops to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and he has vowed to send them to Chicago and other cities. The president and his supporters see the influx of agents and soldiers as a means to curb crime and crack down on illegal immigration. Critics say Mr. Trump is using the deployments to punish Democratic-led cities and spread fear in immigrant communities. The move has prompted lawsuits, demonstrations and a scramble among local officials to respond. The Trump administration is making plans for escalated arrests of undocumented immigrants, using hundreds of federal agents who are being sent to the Chicago area. They are expected to use a naval base outside of the city as a staging area for operations. Local officials and immigrant advocacy groups are on high alert, reminding residents of their rights and urging caution. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois said he believes the Trump administration is timing its crackdown to coincide with the city’s traditionally expansive Mexican Independence Day celebrations, which begin this weekend. Whether Mr. Trump will send the National Guard into Chicago is murky. In Washington, D.C., the president deployed the National Guard as part of his security takeover there. But Washington is a federal district and not a state, and governors normally have control of their state Guard troops. Mr. Trump bypassed state control in California, where he federalized National Guard troops and sent them to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom. In Illinois, however, there has been no civil unrest in Chicago that might require National Guard assistance. For weeks, Illinois officials have loudly objected to the Trump administration’s rumored plans, holding news conferences and rallies to make their position clear: They do not want the military in Chicago. “There is no emergency that warrants deployment of troops,” Mr. Pritzker said, standing alongside other elected officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Kwame Raoul, the state’s attorney general. “He is insulting the people of Chicago by calling our home a hellhole, and anyone who takes his word at face value is insulting Chicagoans, too.”

The Hill [9/5/2025 4:15 PM, Filip Timotija, 12414K] reports Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking personal financial disclosure forms from President Trump’s former campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski, who now works at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a senior adviser. "The lack of this public financial disclosure undermines transparency and erodes public trust in government" Garcia said in a three-page letter Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. "As the Secretary of Homeland Security, we request that you release Mr. Lewandowski’s financial disclosure report to the Committee and make it publicly available as required by law." DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill on Friday that Lewandowski’s time at the department is being kept by a "career DHS employee who submits the paperwork on a bi-weekly basis" and that he has completed all the "required Office of Government Ethics forms, including a full financial disclosure and any investments by his family." Lewandowski does not receive a salary nor any federal government benefits, according to McLaughlin, adding he "volunteers his time to serve the American people." Garcia also sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics, asking acting Director Eric Ueland to release Lewandowski’s financial disclosure report to the Oversight Committee and "make it publicly available as required by law."

Reported similarly:
Axios [9/5/2025 11:16 AM, Brittany Gibson, 14595K]

ABC News [9/5/2025 6:54 AM, Beatrice Peterson, 27036K] reports some Washington, D.C. residents fanned out across the halls of Congress on Thursday, urging lawmakers to end President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital. The demonstrations came the same day the U.S. Army extended orders for the Washington, D.C., National Guard to remain on active duty in the nation’s capital through Nov. 30, two U.S. officials told ABC News. In small groups of five, demonstrators carried a letter from advocacy group "Free DC" to congressional offices calling on lawmakers to "do everything in your power to end the occupation of Washington, D.C., as swiftly as possible.” The letter, obtained by ABC News, described Trump’s declaration as "an ongoing and increasing danger to D.C. residents" and a "direct threat to democracy in the United States and the governing power of the U.S. Congress." "This is an active military takeover of the capital. It is a textbook indicator of backsliding democracy and intensifying authoritarianism," the letter stated. "This might come off as alarmist, but in the last 100 years of history, the pattern is clear and we are witnessing it in real time." White House Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to ABC News on Thursday, "Cracking down on crime should not be a partisan issue, but some Democrats and activists are trying to make it one."

CNN [9/6/2025 5:00 AM, Angélica Franganillo Díaz and Veronica Stracqualursi, 23245K] reports Yakson had a delivery to pick up in Washington, DC’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, but first he scanned the street for immigration officers. A white truck parked nearby looked suspicious. He lingered, peering through the truck window for signs of an agent. Only when it seemed clear did he dart inside the restaurant, rushing the pickup. "People are scared," he told CNN, his eyes still on the truck. The Trump administration’s move to surge federal law enforcement into Washington, DC, has reshaped the daily rhythms of immigrant life in the nation’s capital. With ICE now riding alongside local police, many food delivery drivers – a workforce that includes many Venezuelan migrants – say they no longer feel safe waiting on street corners for orders. Some have switched from mopeds to bikes to avoid attention or potential stops for traffic violations, while others have left the city altogether, leaving local businesses struggling with delayed orders, vanishing customers, and steep drops in sales. Dozens of delivery drivers in DC used to gather outside businesses while waiting for their phones to "ping" to signal the next pickup. Street corners that once pulsed with salsa, reggaetón and lively chatter have fallen silent since the start of Trump’s law enforcement push in the capital. CNN has reported that in the first two weeks of Trump’s crackdown last month, there was a more than tenfold increase over the typical ICE arrest numbers for the district. Many residents in migrant-heavy neighborhoods now worry about being picked up by ICE, with delivery drivers especially fearful.

New York Times [9/6/2025 5:02 AM, Alan Feuer, 153395K] reports in the three weeks since President Trump flooded the streets of Washington with hundreds of troops and federal agents, there have been only a few scattered protests and scarcely a word from Congress, which has quietly gone along with the deployment. But one show of resistance has come from an extraordinary source: federal grand jurors. In what could be read as a citizens’ revolt, ordinary people serving on grand juries have repeatedly refused in recent days to indict their fellow residents who became entangled in either the president’s immigration crackdown or his more recent show of force. It has happened in at least seven cases — including three times for the same defendant. Given the secretive nature of grand juries, it is all but impossible to know precisely why this has been happening, but the persistent rejections suggest that grand jurors may have had enough of prosecutors seeking harsh charges in a highly politicized environment. Courthouse wits have long quoted Judge Sol Wachtler, the former New York jurist who said that prosecutors are in such complete control of grand juries that they could get them to indict a ham sandwich. But that old saw did not hold true in the rebellion in Federal District Court in Washington, where grand jurors seem to have taken a stand in defense of their community. “First of all, it is exceedingly rare for any grand jury to reject a proposed indictment because ordinarily prosecutors use discretion in only bringing cases that are strong and advance the interests of justice,” said Barbara L. McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Detroit who teaches at the University of Michigan Law School. “I have seen this maybe once or twice in my career of 20 years, but this is something different.” “My guess,” Ms. McQuade went on, “is that these grand jurors are seeing prosecutorial overreach and they don’t want to be part of it.” While crime has fallen in Washington since National Guard troops and federal agents started to police the streets in large numbers in mid-August, the deployment has chafed many local residents, who have found their presence to be a source of anxiety, not security. And because of the deployment, a flurry of defendants have been charged with federal felonies in cases that would typically have been handled at the local court level, if they were brought at all. Many of these cases have recently been downgraded or dismissed altogether after failing in grand juries, a tacit acknowledgment by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington that they were overcharged to begin with. The most prominent example is the case of Sean C. Dunn, a former Justice Department paralegal who was charged with felony assault after he threw a sub-style salami sandwich at a federal agent on patrol near the corner of 14th and U Streets. His charges were knocked down to a misdemeanor last week after prosecutors were unable to indict him.

Daily Caller [9/5/2025 11:08 PM, Mariane Angela, 985K] reports Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News Friday and announced a major breakthrough in the murder case of the young Washington, D.C. intern who was fatally shot just a mile from the White House on June 30. A gunman shot and killed Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, a University of Massachusetts Amherst student interning for Republican Kansas Rep. Ron Estes, near the Mount Vernon Square Metro Station on June 30. Bondi said on "Hannity" that federal and local law enforcement arrested two juvenile suspects who will be charged as adults. "They made an arrest, thanks to the FBI. Kash Patel did incredible work since June 30 when this happened [and] arrested two juveniles. They’re 17. They will be charged as adults," Bondi told host Sean Hannity. Bondi used the moment to highlight a broader law enforcement initiative she said was launched under President Donald Trump’s directive. "This was horrific, and that’s why we had to make D.C. safe again. That was President Trump’s directive. There have been over 1900 arrests since we’ve started taking D.C. back and making it safe," Bondi added. Bondi said the wave of arrests and gun seizures across Washington, D.C. proves the city’s crime crisis is being brought under control. "Over 198 guns have been taken off the street. Just last night, 10 more guns and 73 arrests were made in D.C. That shows how prevalent it has been and what a difference that’s being made right now in our nation’s capital. And not only that, President Trump wants to make it beautiful again and especially make it safe. That’s what’s been so important. These families should never have to go through what Eric’s family is going through," Bondi said. Local media reported that authorities charged two unidentified 17-year-olds as adults in the June shooting that killed Tarpinian-Jachym with a stray bullet. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro reportedly pointed to the suspects’ criminal histories as evidence of what she called D.C.’s dangerously lenient juvenile crime laws. (RELATED: Parents of Murdered Congressional Intern Tearfully Thank Jeanine Pirro After Teens Charged). Trump cited juvenile crime as a major driver of violence in Washington, D.C. before launching a federal law enforcement crackdown across the city in August. Since then, he has deployed additional federal agents, taken operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department, and stationed National Guard troops in key public areas.

New York Times [9/6/2025 3:37 AM, John Ismay, Charlie Savage and Kirsten Grind, 330K] reports the Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to use military lawyers as temporary immigration judges, sending a flurry of messages to uniformed attorneys this week seeking volunteers for the assignment. New York Times reported last week that the administration was considering a proposal to send about 600 military lawyers to work temporarily as immigration judges, as the White House pushes to increase the rate of deportations. Several versions of emails sent to active-duty officers and reservists this week, obtained by The Times, showed that the military has started the search for volunteers to serve temporary duty assignments of 179 days presiding over immigration hearings, even as many details about how the assignments will work remain unclear. “While a formal tasking is still pending, along with specific details regarding the duration and location of these assignments, we are seeking volunteers for this unique opportunity,” a message sent on Wednesday to active-duty Army lawyers said. With the Trump administration seeking to carry out mass deportations, the backlog of immigration cases is a significant bottleneck. As of July, there were nearly 3.8 million pending immigration cases. Temporarily using military lawyers as additional immigration judges could increase the rate at which cases are processed. Immigration courts are part of the executive branch, and their judges are employees of the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. Last week, the Justice Department published a rule change relaxing criteria for who can serve as a temporary immigration judge. The change eliminated a requirement that such judges have substantial experience in immigration law, or that they must already be serving as administrative law judges at other agencies. Instead, the rules now allow the department to designate “any lawyer” to serve in such a position for six months. The messages sent to military lawyers said the Justice Department would provide training in immigration court procedures. Several said that ideally volunteers would already have relevant experience, but one sent to Air Force attorneys explicitly said that experience in immigration law, while desirable, was not required. Seven active duty and reserve judge advocates, who had all seen a version of the messages, expressed concern that they would be expected to simply rubber-stamp deportations of migrants as the White House’s desired outcome. They spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

AP [9/5/2025 8:46 AM, Luis Andres Henao, 37974K] reports members of California’s Sikh trucking community say a deadly crash involving one of its own, which triggered heated national debates over immigration, has led to a spike in anti-Sikh rhetoric. On Aug. 12, Harjinder Singh, an India-born truck driver, made a U-turn on the Florida Turnpike that authorities say caused a crash that killed three people. The crash and subsequent investigations stirred arguments between Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. It also sparked online vitriol denigrating members of the monotheistic religion, who often covet high-paying trucking jobs that allow Sikh men to wear beards, uncut hair and turbans. "There are a lot of negative comments online," said Prahb Singh, a truck driver in Riverside, California, who isn’t related to the driver. Estimates of the Sikh population in the U.S. range up to 750,000, with the largest concentration in California. Many work in the trucking industry and related businesses, including restaurants and trucking schools along major routes. "I’ve been talking to a lot of truck drivers, and they’ve been saying, ‘People look at us different now,’" said Sukhpreet Waraich, a trucker who owns an interstate freight carrier in Fontana, California. Others in the Sikh trucking industry worry about becoming scapegoats in the country’s bitter fight over immigration. "This is a tragedy; it was an accident, and every Punjabi, every Sikh, feels for the victims’ family," said Harsimran Singh, CEO of Gillson Trucking in Stockton, California, who is not related to the driver. "But the way that this case has been handled … has many, many people in my community fear for their future in this country."

AP [9/5/2025 5:02 PM, Regina Garcia Cano and Juan Arraez] reports María Alejandra Rubio hasn’t seen her son in five months. They were separated in the United States when she was detained to be deported to her native Venezuela and he was sent to live with a family friend. Heartbroken, Rubio is now part of a group of Venezuelan mothers and grandmothers appealing to U.S. first lady Melania Trump to help them see their children and grandchildren again. Members of the group, backed by Venezuela’s government, say they sent Trump a letter seeking her assistance last month. Venezuela’s government on Thursday told the AP the letter, dated Aug. 18, was sent to the White House via a private mail delivery service. Maduro’s government has said more than 10,000 migrants, including children, had returned to the South American country as of mid-August. But not all parents have traveled with their children. Like Venezuelan government officials, mothers and grandmothers who signed the letter seeking the return of children to their home country are characterizing their stay in the U.S. as kidnappings.

Reported similarly:
AP [9/5/2025 4:46 PM, Staff, 37974K] Video: HERE

FOX News [9/5/2025 10:07 AM, Staff, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Fox News’ Brooke Taylor provides details on an HHS team’s efforts to identify and locate unaccompanied migrant children who were placed with sponsors under relaxed vetting policies during the Biden administration.

New York Times [9/5/2025 6:20 AM, Lydia DePillis 153395K] reports for Cesar Zapata, a celebrated chef with four restaurants in Miami, the wave of migrants who arrived between 2021 and 2024 came at the perfect time. After the pandemic, few American workers were eager to bus tables and wash dishes, even as people flocked to Florida in search of looser Covid-19 restrictions. But plenty of Nicaraguans, Guatemalans and Hondurans were eager to do the work. And they often had legal permission to do so, under rules issued during the Biden administration, allowing Mr. Zapata to keep his tables turning over. Two years ago, Florida enacted a law requiring larger employers to screen workers for their immigration status, which scared some of them off. “They just left — they didn’t come to work — so we started having issues again,” Mr. Zapata said. With the return of President Trump and news of immigrant arrests across the city, staff departures mounted quickly. It’s now very difficult to find workers again, or at least ones who will accept a wage that Mr. Zapata can afford. In a sense, however, this crackdown was also well timed. Restaurant traffic has plunged in recent months, as foreigners have avoided tourist hot spots and even locals watched their wallets. Mr. Zapata pared his menus and slowed backfilling staff who left. He is now personally subbing for one of his prep cooks, an Ecuadorean immigrant who left a few months ago because she didn’t want to risk going to work. “Last year was one of our best years ever, and this is one of our worst years,” Mr. Zapata said. “The fact that we haven’t been able to hire people kind of helped a little bit, because we were able to scale down on labor.” That uneasy equilibrium holds true across the American economy. Very slow job growth has been offset, for now, by Mr. Trump’s aggressive campaign to expel immigrants from the country. With fewer people available to work, the unemployment rate has remained stable, in what Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, recently called “a curious kind of balance.”

FOX News [9/5/2025 11:26 AM, Brooke Singman, 40019K] reports the Biden administration "weaponized the full weight of the federal government against Christians," according to Trump leadership, laying out in a new report the "numerous instances" of past anti-Christian bias and recommendations to protect faith in America. Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the report published by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, created by President Donald Trump and chaired by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The task force had a clear mandate to ensure that "any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified.” The task force was directed to deliver an initial assessment, which Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Friday. The report provides an overview of "the damage that can be done when religious liberty is not protected and preserved for all Americans.” "The Task Force makes this commitment: the federal government will never again be permitted to turn its power against people of faith," the report states. "Under President Trump and Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, in partnership with all members of this Task Force, the rule of law will be enforced with vigor, and every religion will be treated with equality in both policy and action.” The report added: "The days of anti-Christian bias in the federal government are over. Faith is not a liability in America—it is a liberty.” After a preliminary review of federal agencies and departments, the task force uncovered "numerous instances of anti-Christian bias during the Biden administration.” "Joe Biden weaponized the full weight of the federal government against Christians and trampled on their fundamental First Amendment rights," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. "Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump is protecting Christians, not punishing them.”

NewsMax [9/5/2025 6:12 AM, Debra J. Saunders, 4779K] reports in his own fashion, President Donald Trump helped CBS News join the transparency bandwagon. You could see it after White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe interviewed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on "Face the Nation" Sunday. Guest host O’Keefe was fine — better than the usual host, Margaret Brennan. It’s the editing of a question and answer about a deported Salvadoran national that set off social media — and gave Noem the perfect opportunity to bash the once-hallowed network. As Noem posted on X, "This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety." "Face the Nation" did air Noem’s comments about criminal charges hanging over the Salvadoran and her pledge to "make sure that he doesn’t walk free in the United States." But the live broadcast edited out her assertion that Abrego Garcia is a "known human smuggler, an MS-13 member" and a wife-beater and that he solicited nude photos from minors —all un-adjudicated charges that can be culled from government documents. In May, a federal prosecutor charged Abrego Garcia with conspiracy to transport aliens, including MS-13 members, aka human smuggling. The Salvadoran has not had his day in court. Back to "Face the Nation." Noem accused CBS of a "whitewash" — and I’d be inclined to agree except for one thing. A CBS News spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Secretary Noem’s ‘Face The Nation’ interview was edited for time and met all CBS News standards. "The entire interview is publicly available on YouTube, and the full transcript was posted earlier this morning on CBSNews.com."

Washington Examiner [9/5/2025 5:23 PM, Pedro Rodriguez, 1563K] reports since President Donald Trump promised to rescue Americans from illegal immigrant crime, Democrats have gone to great lengths to block him, only fueling his determination and that of his allies, a supporter of Trump’s America First agenda," told the Washington Examiner. Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner that Democrats "absolutely" orchestrated a "judicial coup" against the Trump administration’s efforts to protect American lives. As stated by the Hebrew Hammer, "Democrats will stop at nothing to make it happen," and that is why Trump Republicans will fight tooth and nail to ensure that every illegal immigrant is deported. In August, Obama-appointed Judge Kathleen Williams ordered the shutdown of Alligator Alcatraz, a temporary holding center for dangerous migrants. After her ruling, instead of shying away from immigration enforcement, the Trump administration increased efforts. In the month following the judge’s ruling, President Donald Trump’s enforcement of the law has led to the detainment of over 60,000 illegals in August alone, for the first time in American history.

Los Angeles Times [9/6/2025 12:00 AM, Gustavo Arellano, 14672K] reports you may think you’ve seen the worst of ICE’s commercials touting their crusade against your local pushcart vendor and car wash employee. Grainy footage of handcuffed immigrants. Soft-focus, slow-motion portraits of agents. Menacing intonations about an invasion that must be stopped at all costs. Repeated declarations of going after the “worst of the worst,” even if they’re mostly — and very clearly— not. But ICE has now entered the cops-poaching part of their deport-a-thon. And the latest migra ad befouling L.A.-area television stations is the most pathetic — and chilling — one yet. “Attention law enforcement” a robotic voice announces over an opening scene of a flashing siren in what looks like a tough part of an unidentified city. The camera cuts to a blue-tinted law enforcement badge as the words, “You took an oath to protect and serve” flash on the screen. The deep-toned announcer repeats the words. Over 30 seconds, ICE claims “dangerous illegals walk free” in cities due to sanctuary policies not allowing police and sheriff’s departments to go after them. But if you join la migra, the commercial asserts, cops can finally “catch the worst of the worst” and “join the mission to protect America.” Promises — a $50,000 signing bonus, the forgiving of student loans and “generous” benefits — pile on top of each other toward the end of the ad with a plug for ICE’s website. “Fulfill your mission,” it concludes, Terminator-like. Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when ... they stop coming for you — because cops decide they’re going to start chasing after a tamale lady or a gardener with three sons in the U.S. Marines. The commercial pushes the Trumpian idea that undocumented immigrants are the ne plus ultra of criminality in this country, even though study after study over decades have shown that they’re less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. It absurdly implies that arresting actual criminals — being in this country illegally is generally a civil matter — isn’t enough for local law enforcement to consider themselves true defenders of public safety. And it suggests that ICE is the only government agency that truly lives up to the oath to protect and serve Americans.

New York Times [9/5/2025 5:02 AM, Robert A. Pape, 153395K] reports with Department of Homeland Security agents preparing to assemble in Chicago for an expected crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration is starting down a dangerous road. Its incursion into Chicago may begin with pursuing undocumented immigrants, but with its threat to also deploy National Guard troops or active-duty military to combat crime more broadly in the city — over the objections of Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois — the administration risks provoking large-scale civil unrest. I have studied democracies’ military occupations of regions within their national borders, focusing on cases that existed in or started after 1980: Britain and Northern Ireland, Spain and the Basques and others. These occupations occurred for a range of reasons, and often started out suppressing violence, but they ended up provoking or exacerbating widespread civil unrest, political violence and terrorism. There are, of course, many ways in which a de facto military occupation of Chicago would differ from these cases, but the general lessons I’ve learned remain applicable: Occupying forces rarely, if ever, call their activities an occupation, but they are widely perceived as such by the local population. Occupation often lasts longer than expected and leads to involvement beyond its original stated purpose. Protests happen. Suppression of protests happens. The occupying forces must withdraw in disgrace or double down in hopes of pacifying the uprising. Things usually escalate. This kind of exercise of military force, regardless of the legitimacy of its aims, inevitably intrudes on the political rights and economic livelihoods of ordinary people. Even if an occupation starts out with apparent success, it typically leads to chaos and generates defiance in the local community.

The Hill [9/5/2025 7:00 AM, Artem Kolisnichenko, 12414K] reports Fort Bliss, the U.S. Army base that encompasses parts of West Texas and New Mexico near El Paso, has become the center for deploying a temporary "soft-sided" camp for detained migrants. The new camp is believed to hold about 1,000 people, with expansion to 5,000 in the near future. According to official statements, the facilities there will be used as short-term processing centers for people in the process of removal, under the responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Defense only provides the land and logistics. Funding contracts included $231.8 million, awarded to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a company with no prior experience in such work. The new camp, named Camp East Montana, is temporary on paper, offering even a prayer area for those inside — but in reality it is the largest immigration detainment facility in U.S. history. Housing migrants on a military base entails a lack of transparency in detention. Fort Bliss is a restricted-access site where journalists, independent observers, and human rights advocates will not be admitted. This creates a "black zone" where those in custody are left without witnesses and without oversight.

Roll Call [9/5/2025 7:00 AM, Ted Yoho, 511K] reports as Americans debate the rising cost of prescription drugs and the safety of global supply chains, one overlooked threat is quietly gaining ground: China is reshaping the rules of global drug regulation and using them as a tool of influence. Beijing’s expanding footprint in low- and middle-income countries through its Belt and Road Initiative now includes not just roads, ports and power plants — it also includes the regulatory systems that govern food and medicine. In dozens of countries, China is training regulators, rewriting technical standards and providing equipment and infrastructure all aligned with its own state-centered model of governance. This isn’t just about pharmaceuticals. It’s about geopolitical leverage, and the United States needs to act. For decades, the U.S. has led efforts to build science-based regulatory capacity in developing countries. Agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, alongside the State Department and U.S. technical partners, have quietly worked to ensure that the world’s food and drug supply chains are governed by principles of transparency, scientific rigor and rule of law. These efforts have supported global trade, protected American consumers and helped countries grow their economies while upholding international norms. But that leadership is now at risk. China’s model prioritizes speed over safety and political loyalty over independent oversight. The spread of these standards could fragment the global regulatory system in ways that directly harm U.S. national interests.

Breitbart [9/5/2025 4:30 PM, Bob Price, 2608K] reports acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is sounding the alarm on the public safety risks posed by sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States. In Part Two of an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Lyons detailed how local governments that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement are endangering communities and forcing ICE agents into increasingly dangerous operations. Breitbart asked Lyons about the difference in operating in non-sanctuary jurisdictions, like Texas, versus the sanctuary jurisdictions like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston. Director Lyons praised Texas for outlawing sanctuary policies and mandating statewide 287(g) cooperation, calling it a model for the nation. Lyons urged sanctuary jurisdictions to reconsider their stance, even if only for the most egregious offenders. He also warned that ICE is ramping up resources to respond to non-cooperative cities. The director went on to describe the revolving door afforded to criminal aliens in the Boston area — another prominent sanctuary city.

New York Times [9/5/2025 5:02 AM, Sabrina Tavernise, 153395K] reports one of the defining images of President Trump’s second term so far has been security officers in masks. Whether detaining a Turkish student on the street in Boston, raiding Home Depot parking lots in Los Angeles or, now, arresting immigrants on the streets of the capital, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in tactical gear and with their faces obscured have become a strange new national pageant. The Homeland Security Department says that in an era of extreme polarization and rising political violence, masks are necessary. “ICE officers wear a mask because they’ve been doxxed by the thousands,” Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s border czar, told my colleagues at “The Daily.” “Their families have been doxxed. ICE officers’ pictures show up on trees and telephone poles. Death threats are sky-high.” Masking, the argument goes, is simply the practical response. Lawmakers in liberal states say the practice should be banned, and this summer, Democratic elected officials in California, New York and Pennsylvania proposed laws to do just that. At the end of July, Virginia’s Democratic senators introduced a bill to ban the use of masks nationally. The issue also got the attention of a federal judge, who, in a ruling on Tuesday against Mr. Trump’s use of the military in Los Angeles, noted disapprovingly that the armed forces’ identity “was often obscured by protective armor.” As I watched all of this, I found myself wondering about masking by law enforcement and whether it has a history in the United States. Something about it seemed at once familiar and foreign. That’s because I associate the practice with Russia.

FOX News [9/5/2025 6:03 PM, Staff, 40019K] Video: HERE reports Fox News correspondent Molly Line takes a ride along with immigration officials as they conduct operation in Boston on ‘America Reports.’

AP [9/5/2025 8:14 PM, Michael Hill, 37974K] reports Federal agents forced open the doors of a snack bar manufacturer and took away dozens of workers in a surprise enforcement action that the plant’s co-owner called “terrifying.” Video and photos taken at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant Thursday showed numerous law enforcement vehicles outside the plant and workers being escorted from the building to a Border Patrol van. Immigration agents ordered everyone to a lunchroom, where they asked for proof the workers were in the country legally, according to one 24-year-old worker who was briefly detained. The reason for the enforcement action was unclear. Local law enforcement officials said the operation was led by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, which did not respond to requests for information. Nutrition Bar Confectioners co-owner Lenny Schmidt said he was also in the dark about the purpose of the raid. “There’s got to be a better way to do it,” Schmidt told The Associated Press on Friday at the family-owned business in Cato, New York, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Syracuse. The facility’s employees had all been vetted and had legal documentation, Schmidt said, adding that he would have cooperated with law enforcement if he’d been told there were concerns. “Coming in like they did, it’s frightening for everybody — the Latinos, Hispanics that work here, and everybody else that works here as well, even myself and my family. It’s terrifying,” he said.

Breitbart [9/5/2025 2:24 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2608K] reports that dozens of illegal aliens were detained in sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Cato and Fulton, New York, on Thursday. Nearly 60 individuals were taken into custody at around 9 a.m. at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners factory in Cato, and according to the Post-Standard agents even used a crowbar to break through locked doors to enter the facility. ICE officials told the media that the raid on the factory was a "court-authorized enforcement action," according to WTVH-TV. "While we cannot comment further about this specific ongoing criminal investigation at this time, ICE HSI remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and upholding U.S. laws," an ICE spokesman added, according to Spectrum News 1. Cayuga County, New York, Sheriff Brian Schenck said his officers helped with traffic and security for the ICE officers but did not take part in the entrance to the factory. He added that it was an operation of the Department of Homeland Security. The owner of the factory, Mark Schmidt, reportedly told the New York Times that the raid was "overkill," and claimed, "We’ve done everything we can to vet people we hire." He did not explain how many of his workers were still illegal aliens. At the same time that ICE officers appeared at the Cato factory, a business in Fulton, New York, was also raided for illegal alien workers. New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul blasted the raids and claimed that parents of school age children were impacted by the arrests.

The Washington Post [9/5/2025 12:29 PM, Jasmine Golden and Lateshia Beachum, 29079K] reports a man who was living in the United States illegally has been arrested and charged with murdering a 19-year-old Maryland woman who had been missing, local officials and state police announced Friday. Aisha Braveboy (D), the county executive in Prince George’s County, where the alleged murder of Dacara Thompson occurred, said she learned that federal park police stopped the suspect, Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, in April for driving under the influence and let him go. “The U.S. government has made status of individuals relevant,” Braveboy said during a news conference, referring to the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants who have entered the country illegally. “This was someone who was in their custody, and they made the decision to release him.” Spokespeople for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Park Police did not immediately respond to a requests for comment about Hernandez-Mendez and Braveboy’s statement. Prince George’s County police launched an investigation into Thompson’s disappearance after her family reported her missing on Aug. 23, having last seen her the day before, the department’s interim police chief George Nader said on Friday. The family found Thompson’s abandoned car in the Hyattsville area, Nader said. A week later, on Aug. 31., Maryland State Police troopers responded to a report of a disabled vehicle along Route 50 in Anne Arundel County and found a woman’s body, Nader said. The state police opened a death investigation in collaboration with county police, said Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler. Thompson’s family later identified the body as Thompson, Nader said. The disabled vehicle troopers responded to was unrelated to the death investigation of Thompson, Butler said. FOX News [9/5/2025 3:18 PM, Stephen Sorace, 40019K] reports Hernandez-Mendez is an illegal immigrant and had a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer issued on Thursday, according to WJLA-TV. Prince George’s County Police Department told Fox News Digital the department was not releasing the immigration status of Hernandez-Mendez. Thompson’s family reported her missing on Aug. 23. On Sunday, her body was discovered dumped in a grassy area near Route 50 in Anne Arundel County. Hernandez-Mendez lived at the home in the bedroom where authorities say the killing happened. Police said he also has access to the black SUV that Thompson was seen entering. Hernandez-Mendez was charged with first- and second-degree murder in Thompson’s death. The 19-year-old’s cause of death has yet to be determined, though police said it may be ruled a homicide based on the evidence collected. As the investigation remains active, police said detectives are working to determine whether Hernandez-Mendez and Thompson knew each other before the day she went missing. Hernandez-Mendez is being held without bond by the Maryland Department of Corrections. NewsNation [9/5/2025 6:50 PM, Staff, 6811K] reports An ICE spokesperson told WGXA, "Hugo Rene Hernandez-Mendez is a criminal alien from Guatemala charged with first-degree murder in Prince George’s County, Maryland. On Sept. 4, ICE Baltimore lodged an immigration detainer against Hernandez with the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, who is historically uncooperative. "During an interview with Hernandez, ICE officers determined that he illegally entered the United States on an unknown date and location and without inspection or admission by a U.S. immigration official. Local officials, like Prince George’s County endanger the safety of its residents by refusing to honor ICE detainers and releasing criminal illegal aliens back into the community to reoffend. We can only hope that’s not the case with Hernandez-Mendez. "ICE Baltimore will continue to monitor this situation and ensure criminal illegal aliens are kept off the streets of Maryland. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE will relentlessly prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from American communities.”

AP [9/5/2025 4:23 PM, Ana Despa and Lucas Lin, 20690K] reports in a unanimous vote Tuesday, Durham City Council passed a resolution to make the North Carolina city a “Fourth Amendment Workplace,” increasing protections for city workers against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against arbitrary searches and arrests and serves as the basis of search warrants with a probable cause of crime. The resolution directs city staff to “uphold the 4th amendment at their workplace and city agencies and report back to Council any barriers to effective training on the 4th Amendment for any departments.” The resolution says the city has “historically pursued equity and safety for all residents” and the trust of Durhamites is essential to the city carrying out its operations. It says the threat of “unconstitutional seizure” has prevented immigrants in Durham from “safely engaging in public life, including pursuing employment and education.” The move comes less than two months after four ICE agents appeared at the Durham County Courthouse to detain an undocumented individual charged with felony. The officers donning plain clothes did not arrest anyone, but their presence sounded alarms among Durham residents and council members alike. “Our residents witnessed ICE agents in our community, instilling widespread fear and uncertainty,” Mayor of Durham Leo Williams said of the event. “While local leaders cannot legally override the federal government’s use and weaponization of ICE, we can and must stand in strategic solidarity with our neighbors.” That same day, Durhamites organized a peaceful demonstration and march from the Durham County Courthouse against immigration enforcement. The Fourth Amendment Workplace resolution was introduced by council member Javiera Caballero and supported by Siembra NC, an organization that supports Latino immigrant workers across North Carolina. Notably, Siembra NC also organized the rally for Duke bus driver Luis Alonso Juárez, who is at risk of losing his legal status in the U.S. after the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for Hondurans.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [9/6/2025 3:15 AM, Landon Mion, 40019K]

FOX News [9/5/2025 12:55 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40019K] reports that a Georgia fugitive accused of torching an ICE building during the 2020 riots is wanted on fresh federal charges, with the FBI noting he may be disguising himself in women’s clothing. Federal charges were unsealed Thursday against convicted felon Ronald Scott Watson, 28, of Kennesaw, Georgia—who also goes by the names of Sarah Watson, Miranda Kyle and Emily Smith, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Watson is charged with arson and destruction of government property in relation to a summer 2020 attack on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in downtown Atlanta, according to the DOJ. Just before midnight on July 25, 2020, a crowd gathered at the Atlanta ICE building and protested outside a fenced area. Meanwhile, several masked people wearing dark clothing breached the fences and vandalized the building, according to officials and court documents. The rioters allegedly used rocks, cinder blocks, modified fireworks, Molotov cocktails, lighter fluid bottles, and other materials to cause more than $78,000 in damage. Inside the building, law enforcement found blood near a broken window and a lighter fluid bottle near an undetonated Molotov cocktail, according to the DOJ. Officials said law enforcement identified Watson as one of the people in the group, based on evidence collected following his January 2023 felony conviction for assaulting a public safety officer in Oregon. Steven Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said those who attack government institutions "with fire and violence" will be held accountable.

Blaze [9/5/2025 8:50 AM, Julio Rosas, 1559K] Video: HERE reports the target, who agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were looking for, was no stranger to them. The Mexican national had been previously convicted of aggravated battery on a pregnant woman and was deported earlier this year. Apparently managing to be one of the few gotaways at the southern border, the man was once again back in Florida. Blaze News was embedded with the ICE team that was sent to arrest him so he could face federal charges for allegedly illegally re-entering after being deported. After giving the pre-dawn morning briefing, agents staged themselves outside of the home, waiting for the man to be picked up for work by a white pickup truck. The lead agent said it was possible to encounter other illegal aliens in the pickup. Close to 6:50 a.m., the target was confirmed and intercepted down the road. The man was apprehended without incident. There were two other men in the truck, one from Mexico and another from the Dominican Republic. The other Mexican quickly admitted he was not in the U.S. legally and was taken into custody. The Dominican, however, insisted to agents he had a permanent resident card, also known as a green card, but did not have it on him. The Dominican offered to take the agents back to his house to show them the card that was in his passport. The agents agreed and went to look at the card. After entering the residence and locating the card, it was quickly determined to be a fake, so the man was officially taken into custody. The agents were in disbelief that he would willingly show them an allegedly fake green card since presenting it to them is a felony. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [9/5/2025 6:21 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40019K] reports an illegal immigrant who was released into the community under the Biden administration was recently arrested after a 14-year-old Florida girl reported being sexually assaulted by him multiple times. Eduardo Rivera-Villarreal, 53, is charged with human trafficking, lewd and lascivious battery, and rape of a victim under 17 years old, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. Rivera-Villarreal allegedly met the 14-year-old girl on or about Aug. 20 when he pulled over at a Pasco County bus stop where she was sitting and offered her a ride, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. When she got in the car, he allegedly propositioned and paid her for sex. Rivera-Villarreal continued to meet with the girl, who allegedly told him she was underage, on multiple occasions and at several different locations between Aug. 20 and Sept. 2, according to the sheriff’s office. During the meetings, deputies claim Rivera-Villarreal paid the victim for sex in exchange for alcoholic beverages and money. In one instance, when the girl tried to leave, Rivera-Villarreal allegedly held the girl down, put his hands over her mouth, and forcibly raped her, according to officials. After their last meeting, deputies said she was noticeably intoxicated from alcoholic beverages given to her by Rivera-Villarreal, and another adult took her to the hospital. She told the adult about the alleged sexual assault, and detectives quickly arrested Rivera-Villarreal. Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference that this is the second case his office has investigated this year involving an illegal immigrant accused of raping a child. "This young, 14-year-old girl would not have been a victim had this person who entered this country illegally been stopped at the border," Nocco said. "To the young girls out there—you are special. You are loved. … God loves you. Jesus Christ loves you. You are priceless, worth way more than any money or material things on this earth.”

Daily Caller [9/5/2025 4:36 PM, Jason Hopkins, 985K] reports federal immigration authorities are jailing illegal migrants convicted of incredibly serious crimes under a new partnership with Louisiana, the latest in a growing list of state collaborations with the Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday unveiled the opening of "Louisiana Lockup," a new facility within the Louisiana State Penitentiary that has expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention space by more than 400 beds. Of those currently being locked up at the new site, more than 50 individuals have been convicted of heinous offenses, according to a list exclusively shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. Among those jailed are illegal migrants convicted of murder, rape, sexual exploitation of minors and other shocking conduct, according to DHS. Among the 51 names shared with the DCNF, 26 have been convicted of murder, eight have been convicted of rape, another eight were convicted of sexual exploitation of minors and nine were convicted of sexual assault against minors.

Daily Caller [9/5/2025 1:04 PM, Derek Vanbuskirk, 985K] reports that prosecutors charged eight Michigan men with "running a sophisticated car theft and international smuggling operation," according to a statement Thursday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. The unsealed indictment alleged that the men conspired from July 2023 to August 2025 to obtain stolen vehicles at one of four commercial or industrial lots, where the cars were placed into shipping containers and transported with freight or rail, according to the statement. If the vehicles made it to a port city without law enforcement intervention, they would then be shipped overseas, authorities said. "Stolen cars have no place in interstate commerce and foreign trade," U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said while announcing the arrests. All eight men were charged with one count of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles and at least one count of transporting a stolen vehicle, for a total of 12 indictments, according to the statement. If convicted of conspiracy, each man faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. If found guilty of transporting stolen motor vehicles, each of the accused could serve up to 10 years in prison and face another $250,000 fine, according to the statement. The Dearborn Police Department began the investigation with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also provided aid. The ICE has not yet responded to the Daily Caller’s request to verify the immigration status of the alleged conspirators.

NewsNation [9/5/2025 5:33 PM, Jeff Arnold, Xavier Walton, 6811K] reports as Chicago braces for what is expected to be a large-scale federal immigration enforcement-focused operation that could last six weeks, a suburban Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center is already seeing activity. Protests on Friday began at the ICE processing center in west suburban Broadview, where the mayor had warned residents earlier this week that the facility would serve as the main processing hub for the looming multi-agency operation, expected to involve up to 300 ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers in Chicago. Protesters blocked the entry to the processing center and sat in the street, forcing ICE vans to turn away. Broadview police officers attempted to get protesters to move from blocking the entrance, but were unsuccessful, forcing the detention vehicles to change course. Also on Friday, Chicago’s FBI field office announced that a suburban Chicago man had been arrested by task force officers after officials alleged that the man made death threats against federal law enforcement officers. In a statement, FBI officials said that the agency has "zero tolerance" for anyone who compromises the safety of federal officers. While the federal officers will be based at Naval Base Great Lakes near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, the ICE processing center is expected to see a daily stream of activity seven days a week for the next 45 days, Broadview Mayor and Village President Katrina Thompson wrote to residents this week.

Chicago Tribune [9/5/2025 11:49 AM, Rebecca Johnson, 5352K] reports that Dozens protested outside an immigration processing center in Broadview on Friday morning as the mayor of the near-west suburb said in a letter to residents that Trump administration officials have told her and other leaders in town that a “large-scale enforcement campaign will soon be underway” and is likely to continue for about 45 days non-stop. The two-story brick building used by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will be the “primary processing location” for the expected federal immigration incursion, according to the letter from Mayor Katrina Thompson to residents. The letter follows two weeks of threats and declarations from President Donald Trump and members of his administration that an influx of federal agents was set to arrive in Chicago. Trump has also said he has considered sending National Guard troops to Chicago to focus on crime in the city, even though crime numbers have declined in recent years. A deployment of ICE and U.S. Border Patrol agents is expected to be more focused on the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on immigration. Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and dozens of other mostly Democratic officials have vehemently voiced their opposition to any additional federal enforcement measures, especially the positioning of Guard troops on the streets of the nation’s third-largest city.

NewsMax [9/5/2025 12:18 PM, Jim Mishler, 4779K] reports that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in the Chicago suburb of Broadview drew a crowd of protesters who began blocking vehicles entering the site Friday, according to Fox32 TV. One of the protesters told the station, "We’re hoping to literally stop the processes happening here, like very unapologetically." The protester, who identified herself as Akeisha Lee, said, "We believe this place has no place in our community and we want to say as community members we’re not for it." Fox32 reported the activity began around 9 a.m. No violence or physical altercations have been reported. However, the protesters successfully blocked a vehicle from entering the Broadview ICE facility. The driver reportedly wore a mask and was also partially shrouded by a hood. The ICE processing site is about 10 miles due west of downtown Chicago and just north of the popular Brookfield Zoo. The station reported that protesters began setting up tents around the perimeter of the site, but local police moved in and removed the tents. Chicago has been targeted by President Donald Trump as a prime location for enhanced government immigration and crime enforcement. He’s regularly mentioned the potential of deploying National Guard troops to the area to assist with protecting U.S. government assets and enforcement in general.

CBS Chicago [9/5/2025 1:38 PM, Darius Johnson and Elyssa Kaufman, 45245K] Video: HERE reports protesters prepare to demonstrate outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Illinois, on Friday. The windows of the ICE facility were boarded up on Wednesday night, possibly in preparation for the protests taking place outside. As federal immigration enforcement ramps up, the building on Beach Drive, is expected to operate as a 24-hour processing center. Activists call the conditions inside inhumane - pointing to reports of people being held here for days without beds, blankets, or basic hygiene. Demonstrators say they are speaking for those inside the facility. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [9/5/2025 7:20 PM, Ian Hanchett, 2608K] reports that, on Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) discussed potential forthcoming immigration enforcement crackdowns in the Chicago area said that President Donald Trump is trying to create conditions where he can “unilaterally occupy the streets of our cities and interfere in the next election,” and cities in Illinois have been clear that they “will not cooperate with DHS and ICE unless there is a federal warrant, not one of these fake ICE warrants, but a federal warrant.” While discussing speaking with federal officials about possible immigration crackdowns in Illinois, Duckworth said, “Overall, the city of North Chicago and the surrounding communities have made it clear to their law enforcement officers that they will not cooperate with DHS and ICE unless there is a federal warrant, not one of these fake ICE warrants, but a federal warrant. And that they’re not going to participate [in] and support ICE actions in basically harassing and intimidating everyday people on the streets of our cities.” She added that “this President is setting the conditions so that he can actually unilaterally occupy the streets of our cities and interfere in the next election, do what he wants.”

FOX News [9/5/2025 4:46 PM, Staff, 40019K] Video: HERE reports former National Guardsman Dennis White joins ‘America Reports’ to break down reports that I.C.E. is preparing to expand operations in Chicago ahead of Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

NBC News [9/5/2025 4:23 PM, Izzy Stroobandt, 43603K] reports the popular El Grito festival in downtown Chicago has been postponed amid concerns over the potential for heightened U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement operations. The two-day event was slated to be held Sept. 13-14 in the city’s Grant Park, but officials and organizers said they decided to postpone "due to possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and a potential National Guard deployment," saying the festival’s location made it a "more visible target.” "This was a painful decision; however, with the heightened political tensions and given our location in downtown Chicago, we need to keep our community safe," organizer German Gonzalez said in a statement. "To proceed in spite of the advice we’ve received directly from city and state officials and potentially expose our community to becoming collateral damage would be irresponsible. That’s a risk we are not willing to take.” Organizers urged participants to still celebrate Mexican Independence Day "in a safe, respectful and responsible way and to support Mexican American businesses around the city and state.” No future date was given for the celebrations and the festival’s website said it was issuing refunds for all tickets. "Full refunds will begin immediately to everyone who purchased tickets through our website or TicketSignup," the website stated. "Refunds will go back to the original form of payment. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for processing.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he respects that organizers are doing "what they believe is in the best interests of the city and the Mexican community.” "It is shameful that the President’s reckless, militarized immigration enforcement tactics have forced organizers of El Grito to postpone the celebration this year," Johnson said in a statement. "Chicago honors, celebrates, and loves its cultural communities, and that will not change.” Johnson clarified that the city did not recommend cancelling or postponing the event, adding that "the City believes strongly that the decision to proceed with or cancel events this month is in the hands of the organizers and the communities hosting them.”

FOX News [9/5/2025 8:00 AM, Louis Casiano, 40019K] Video: HERE reports California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been on the opposite end of many Trump administration policies, from combating illegal immigration to his economic agenda. He most recently evoked support for businesses, possibly including marijuana growers, earlier this month when federal agents arrested dozens of illegal immigrants, some of whom were minors working alongside other migrants with convictions for murder, burglary, kidnapping and rape. Glass House Farms is not under investigation following raids at sites in Camarillo and Carpinteria. Of the 361 illegal immigrants arrested at both locations on July 10, at least 14 were minors who were rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking, the Department of Homeland Security said. "Instead of supporting the businesses and workers that drive our economy and way of life, Stephen Miller’s tactics evoke chaos, fear and terror within our communities at every turn," Newsom posted on X at the time of the raids, referring to President Donald Trump’s White House deputy chief of staff. "At Miller’s direction, Trump’s agents continue to detain U.S. citizens and racially profile Americans, ripping families apart and disappearing parents and workers into cruel federal detention centers to meet their self-imposed arrest quotas," he added. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, Newsom’s director of communications, told Fox News Digital that the governor was not defending pot farms. "It is simply a commentary on the tactics federal immigration officials are using to fulfill their massive detention quotas, which are causing a ripple effect within our society and economy," she said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [9/6/2025 1:00 AM, Jeanne Bonner, 662K] reports that, in travel news this week: a look inside North Korea’s answer to Waikiki, a taste of Turkey’s beloved brew, plus fees for travelers to the US will rise at the end of September. Visitors to the US from some of the nation’s closest allies will soon be required to pay higher fees outlined in the Trump administration’s "One Big Beautiful Bill." Specifically, a hike to the fees associated with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which processes travel applications from residents of more than 40 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program. Those countries include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and most of Europe, as well as a handful of countries in other regions, including Qatar in the Middle East. Prior to the passage of President Trump’s signature legislation, applicants to the ESTA system, as it’s known, paid $21. Now that mandatory fee will nearly double on September 30 to $40. It’s one of several fee increases associated with travel to the US from abroad. Travelers arriving through a land border will also see their fees go up with an increase in the I-94 Arrival/Departure Record cost. Right now, travelers required to pay the fee only have to part with $6. That amount jumps to $30 at the end of the month. Lastly, travelers from China will be asked to pay a $30 enrollment fee for the Electronic Visa Update System. The September 30 effective date for the fee increases was outlined in a recent notice in the Federal Register. The increase in fees, combined with the looming $250 "visa integrity fee" for many travelers from non-visa waiver countries, comes at a time when travel to the US from abroad is in a major slump. The new visa integrity fee has not yet been applied. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security repeated to CNN that it "requires cross-agency coordination before implementation.” Houston-based immigration attorney Steven Brown said he didn’t think the increase in fees will be much of a "hindrance" for most travelers. But he said the visa integrity fee is an entirely new thing. "It will be intriguing to see because lots of questions are out there," he told CNN Travel. "So we pay the fee, but how does it get refunded? Who is tracking compliance? How do you prove compliance?".

Bloomberg Laws [9/5/2025 9:49 AM, Andrew Kreighbaum, 75K] reports more than a quarter million Venezuelan migrants in the US will lose legal status Nov. 7, the Department of Homeland Security said as it continues to lean heavily on national interest to justify removal of protections. They’re the latest group of immigrants to have protections under the Temporary Protected Status program targeted by the Trump administration as it pursues a broader effort to remove humanitarian relief for more than a million immigrants in the US. DHS has already terminated TPS designations for immigrants from six countries, including another group of 350,000 Venezuelans who lost protections earlier this year. The agency previously announced the termination Sept. 3. TPS allows immigrants without another legal status to remain in the US with legal work authorization for up to 18 months when it’s deemed unsafe for them to return to their home countries because of conditions like armed conflict and natural disasters. DHS, which is already fighting legal challenges for multiple TPS terminations, in a Federal Register notice released Friday that the economic outlook in Venezuela had sufficiently improved to remove the protections. Even if extraordinary conditions remained that prevented a safe return home, the agency said it’s "contrary to the national interest" to allow Venezuelans covered by a 2021 TPS designation to remain. The agency argued the program is a "pull factor" for immigration to the US and linked TPS recipients to the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua.

Breitbart [9/5/2025 4:54 PM, Neil Munro, 2608K] reports President Donald Trump’s deputies plan to upgrade the test that migrants must pass to win a share of citizenship from Americans. "This test is just too easy," said Joseph Edlow, the director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency. Some migrants are cheating their way through the test, Edlow told a public event organized by the Center for Immigration Studies. Edlow said the staff at USCIS supports his goal of upgrading the citizenship test.

FOX Business [9/5/2025 2:34 PM, Staff, 9194K] Video: HERE reports ‘The Big Money Show’ panel discusses major changes to the U.S. citizenship test for immigrants.

Daily Caller [9/5/2025 12:52 PM, Jason Hopkins, 985K] reports that foreign nationals who rely on government services will soon find it much more difficult to become permanent residents or even enter the U.S. under new guidance from the Trump administration. Federal officials are being directed to more heavily scrutinize and weed out migrant applicants who are deemed likely to become dependent on welfare or other taxpayer-funded government services, otherwise known as a "public charge," according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The new directive marks the latest action by the Trump administration to tighten immigration enforcement. "The current public charge inadmissibility policy reinforces the longstanding principle that individuals seeking admission to the United States or adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident must be able to support themselves financially or rely on the resources of their families, their sponsors, and private organizations, and not become a burden on U.S. taxpayers by relying on public resources," USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. "We are reaffirming our commitment to this core principle of U.S. immigration law after years of neglect," Tragesser continued. A determination is based on a foreign national’s likelihood to become a "public charge" — or becoming dependent on the government for cash assistance or other long-term welfare programs at the taxpayers’ expense, according to USCIS.

Breitbart [9/5/2025 12:50 PM, John Carney, 2608K] reports that the number of foreign-born workers in the United States has declined by nearly one million since President Donald Trump took office in January, reversing a trend that had driven much of the country’s job growth in 2024, according to Labor Department data released Friday. The foreign-born population dropped by 1.9 million people between January and August, from 50.4 million to 48.5 million, while employment among foreign-born workers fell by 1 million over the same period, government data show. The decline represents a stark turnaround from 2024, when the foreign-born workforce expanded by more than 2 million people. The shift coincides with the Trump administration’s renewed focus on border security and immigration enforcement, suggesting that policy changes are reshaping the composition of the American workforce in ways that could have lasting economic implications. This represents a dramatic reversal from 2024, when foreign-born workers were essentially the entire source of labor force growth. The data, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment surveys, captures all foreign-born workers regardless of legal status. The surveys do not distinguish between those in the country legally and illegal aliens. The timing of the workforce shift aligns closely with Trump’s inauguration and the implementation of stricter immigration policies. Since taking office, the administration has increased deportations, expanded workplace enforcement, and tightened rules for asylum seekers and temporary workers.

Washington Times [9/5/2025 12:26 PM, Stephen Dinan, 964K] reports federal prosecutors said they have busted a lucrative and massive migrant smuggling ring that brought thousands of Cubans to the U.S. while instructing them how to deceive border guards to get in and fake asylum claims to win more permanent status. It started out small but grew to become a multimillion-dollar operation, collecting at least $18 million over the 4 1/2 years it was in operation. It charged $1,500 to $40,000 to help unauthorized migrants burrow into America. The outfit even chartered planes to move migrants around, with financial records showing it spent $2.5 million on flights alone from January 2021 to June 2025, the Justice Department said. Twelve people were charged by indictment, three of them living here illegally. Two are listed as currently in Cuba. “This criminal organization operated a front for fake asylum claims, churning out frivolous applications around the country,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The outfit advertised on social media with what authorities called “flashy” ads and videos of migrants being smuggled. Migrants were told how to pose as Europeans so they could enter the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program. The outfit also maintained an arm it advertised as helping with legal immigration services. Asesoria Y Servicios Migratorios LLC said it could help people procure work permits or file for asylum. But the asylum applications were “boilerplate” and contained false narratives and histories for why asylum was justified, the prosecutors charged. The indictment said thousands of fraudulent asylum applications were produced. Almost all members of the ring were charged with conspiracy to smuggle aliens. Five were charged with conspiracy to commit asylum fraud. Eight of the 12 were also charged with money laundering. “This indictment exposes a criminal organization that smuggled people into the United States on a massive scale, and then fraudulently secured immigration benefits for them,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [9/5/2025 5:23 PM, Jim Thomas, 4779K]

ABC News [9/5/2025 7:17 AM, Chris Boccia, 27036K] reports twelve years after he first applied for a special immigrant visa to the U.S., Basir Sediqqi, a former combat interpreter for U.S. special forces in Afghanistan, continues to fight for a right to settle in the U.S. Four years after the last American service member left the country, he and his Navy SEAL partner say Sediqqi’s service entitles him to the visa that would allow him to do so. The SEAL who "depended on" Sediqqi, retired Lt. Chris Sanchez, told U.S. authorities Sediqqi would have a place to stay with him if they allowed him to enter the country and end his yearlong limbo outside of both Afghanistan and the U.S. Sediqqi’s special immigrant visa was approved and advanced to a final interview stage, which he decided to do in a third country for his family’s safety, he told ABC News. He’s among some 40 Afghans who moved their families to Rwanda, where he’d face less risk of deportation compared to other options like Pakistan and Iraq. In Rwanda, Sediqqi was handed a denial of his visa. Sediqqi says his visa was rejected by the State Department in Rwanda because of "unfitful services" -- an apparent reference to a policy infraction that led to Sediqqi’s termination in 2013. Sediqqi told ABC the issue was "trivial" -- he says he called his parents from an internet cafe on the American base, where interpreters had until just prior been permitted access to the internet there. Sanchez has taken up Sediqqi’s case -- channeling messages to U.S. Embassy officials in Rwanda and searching for answers from attorneys. The U.S. has long treated interpreters of its forces in Afghanistan with priority in its effort to shield American partners from danger posed by the Taliban after it recaptured the country in 2021.

AP [9/5/2025 7:00 AM, Holly Ramer and Amanda Swinhart, 37974K] reports a member of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent is set to make her first court appearance since prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against her. Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Seattle, is among a group of radical computer scientists focused on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence who have been linked to six killings in three states. She’s accused of fatally shooting agent David Maland in Vermont on Jan. 20, the same day President Donald Trump was inaugurated and signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions. Youngblut initially was charged with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon, crimes that were not punishable by the death penalty. But the Trump administration signaled early on that more serious charges were coming as part of its push for more federal executions, and a new indictment released last month charged her with murder of a federal law enforcement agent, assaulting other agents with a deadly weapon and related firearms offenses. Youngblut is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges Friday afternoon.

NewsNation [9/5/2025 1:13 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 6811K] reports that a federal judge in South Texas has sentenced two men to prison for trafficking firearms and smuggling goods from the United States, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said. Esteban Rios Reyes, 35, a legal permanent resident of Silverhill, Alabama, and Alex Santos Lopez, 22, a U.S. citizen residing in Oaxaca, Mexico, both pleaded guilty to the charges. Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane, of the Southern District of Texas, sentenced Santos to 90 months and Rios to serve 87 months in federal prison, Ganjei said. Rios faces deportation after serving his term. Both were part of an organization that exported weapons and coordinated across several states for several months, according to court testimony in McAllen. Authorities say on Sept. 6, 2023, Santos attempted to drive a truck towing a utility trailer across the border from South Texas into Mexico. But an outbound inspection of the vehicle led to the discovery of 270 firearms, 251 firearm magazines, nine sights and 1,541 rounds of ammunition. The weapons were a combination of "assault rifles," shotguns, pistols and rifles, many of them disassembled. Crane said they were both leaders in the smuggling organization and said they went to great lengths to conceal their behavior. Officials say the pair had been smuggling firearms since 2022 and included routes through Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Tennessee. The goods were disassembled and wrapped and concealed in trailers in stash houses in Texas before being taken across the border into Mexico, law enforcement said.

NPR [9/5/2025 5:41 PM, Marian Summerall, 34837K] Audio: HERE reports family lanes are popping up at airport security There are new family friendly security lines popping up at airports around the country. It’s a way to give people traveling with children extra time to get screened with less stress.

USA Today [9/5/2025 9:33 AM, Eve Chen, 64151K] reports the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration have been flagging devices like portable power banks, laptops and cell phones for a while, urging travelers to carry them on board instead of checking them with their bags. What may be surprising is that this also applies to electronic toothbrushes, as TSA recently reminded travelers on Sept. 4. According to TSA, electronic toothbrushes are allowed in both carry-on and checked baggage, but there are special instructions. In general, those with lithium-ion or lithium-metal batteries should also be carried on board, where flight crews can recognize and respond to lithium battery fires, according to the FAA. TSA adds, "Any spare or uninstalled lithium batteries must be placed in a carry-on bag.” If travelers want to check electric toothbrushes or other lithium battery devices in with their luggage, the FAA says "they must be completely powered off and protected to prevent unintentional activation or damage.” In August, TSA updated its rules to ban some hair styling tools, such as cordless curling irons, from checked luggage on planes.

USA Today [9/5/2025 7:37 PM, Dinah Voyles Pulver, 64151K] reports if you’re one of those worrying about the tropical wave about 2,000 miles east of Puerto Rico that’s drifting slowly westward, take a deep breath. Any answers about this potential storm’s eventual track or intensity may not be immediately forthcoming. The National Hurricane Center on the afternoon of Sept. 5 downgraded its forecast for potential storm formation within the wave, dropping the chances of a tropical depression or tropical storm developing over the next five days, first from 90% to 70%, and then to 60% in an 8 p.m. update. Many of the latest forecast models emerging indicate that if anything at all develops out of the tropical wave, that it would only be a tropical depression, and may never even make it to named storm status. So the eventual path and strength of any organized storm that does develop is still very much an uncertainty. "A drier air mass is limiting the potential for development over the next couple of days, and environmental conditions will remain only marginable favorable thereafter," the center said. A few models still suggest it could become a named storm or even a minimal hurricane, so interests in the northeastern Caribbean are being advised to continue monitoring the forecast. The forecast scenarios have been shifting daily, in part because there’s not yet a developed center or structure, which makes a forecast much more difficult. The name due up for the next named storm – Gabrielle – may have to wait for the next storm that appears.

CBS New York [9/5/2025 6:32 AM, Staff, 45245K] reports that the fire started Tuesday in West Milford, and officials say it’s burned through 185 acres. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Hill [9/5/2025 3:07 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12414K] reports Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed several pieces of legislation Friday to ensure camper safety after more than a dozen people were killed at Camp Mystic, a camp for children in the center of the state, during floods earlier this year. Abbott on Friday signed the Youth CAMPER Act, which requires youth camps to adopt and annually update emergency plans, train staff, orient campers and notify parents of floodplain risks with signed acknowledgment. Another bill, titled the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act, in honor of the 27 campers and staff members whose lives were claimed by sweeping floods earlier this summer, will prohibit the state from licensing youth camps with cabins in floodplains designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with limited exceptions, and creates an online registry of licensed youth camps. The third piece of legislation established a governor-funded grant program that will pay for the installation of early-warning sirens in areas prone to flash flooding in cities, counties and other government entities across the Lone Star State.

ABC News [9/6/2025 6:34 AM, Jon Haworth, 31733K] reports a state of emergency has been issued in Hawaii ahead of possible inclement weather posed by Hurricane Kiko, officials said. Hawaii’s acting governor, Sylvia Luke, issued the emergency proclamation on Friday afternoon, declaring a state of emergency across the entire state. “The proclamation activates emergency measures and resources to protect public health, safety and welfare. Tropical storm-force winds, heavy rainfall and high surf associated with Hurricane Kiko could begin affecting portions of the state as early as Monday, September 8, 2025,” the governor’s office said in a press release. As of Friday, Hurricane Kiko remains a major hurricane located approximately 1,200 miles east-southeast of Hawaii and is forecast to approach the islands as a tropical storm early next week, officials said. “To ensure the safety and preparedness of our communities, the state and counties will stand ready to mobilize resources to clear debris, secure infrastructure, and respond quickly to any possible damage caused by the storm,” said Luke. “We urge residents and visitors to monitor updates, follow official guidance and prepare accordingly.”

AP [9/5/2025 5:52 PM, Staff, 37974K] reports Hurricane Kiko regained intensity to a Category 4 system on a path toward Hawaii over the next several days as post-tropical cyclone Lorena soaked Mexico’s Baja California peninsula with heavy rain, forecasters said Friday. Kiko had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph), and the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said it could strengthen more Friday afternoon and evening. The major hurricane was about 1,195 miles (1,925 kilometers) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, but forecasters said Kiko could have impacts on the state next week. The hurricane was moving west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph), forecasters said. Some Hawaiian Islands could experience swells that cause life-threatening surf and rip currents, as soon as the end of the weekend. Other impacts from Kiko were possible, but forecasters said it was too early to know exact locations or the intensity. No watches or warnings were in effect, however people in Hawaii were advised to monitor the hurricane’s progress.

Washington Post [9/5/2025 10:41 AM, Matthew Cappucci, 29079K] reports Hurricane Kiko is ambling toward Hawaii. The major hurricane remained at a strong Category 3 strength as of Friday morning, with 125 mph winds. The system had rapidly intensified in recent days, becoming a 145 mph Category 4 monster before fluctuating in strength as it continues to track westward. It’s still too early to pin down specific impacts the storm will have on Hawaii, but Kiko will likely make a close pass to the archipelago toward the middle of next week — albeit in a weakened state. Heavy rains, strong winds and very large waves are anticipated sometime in the Tuesday-into-Wednesday time frame. There’s also a second area to watch behind Kiko, but it is currently unlikely to develop. The National Hurricane Center projects only a 20 percent chance of the second tropical wave earning a name. Kiko is the 11th named storm of the 2025 eastern Pacific hurricane season. Activity is still running about 18 percent below average, but Kiko is likely to make up for some of that lost ground by churning through “ACE,” or accumulated cyclone energy. That’s a metric used to estimate how much heat energy a storm extracts from the ocean and converts to strong winds. Meanwhile, hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean has been relatively calm, though there are signs it may pick up soon. As of Friday morning Eastern time, Kiko was about 1,300 miles east-southeast of Honolulu, moving due west at 9 mph. Its minimum central air pressure was 955 millibars, or about 6 percent lower than the atmosphere’s average, which is 1,015 millibars at sea level. That means about 6 percent of the air is missing from the middle of the storm, which explains the hurricane’s powerful inward suction and strong winds. Maximum winds were estimated at 125 mph. Kiko is a compact storm. Hurricane-force winds extend outward only 25 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds about 70 miles from the center.

AP [9/5/2025 5:13 PM, Michael Kunzelman, 37974K] reports Justice Department prosecutors are dropping their federal case against a woman who was charged with threatening to kill President Donald Trump — the latest in a string of self-inflicted setbacks for prosecutors during President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital. A grand jury refused to indict Nathalie Rose Jones before U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office asked a judge on Friday to dismiss her case in district court. A one-page court filing by Pirro’s office says dismissing the case against Jones “is in the interests of justice,” but it doesn’t elaborate. Jones was due back in court Monday for a preliminary hearing. Her attorney, Mary Petras, asked the court to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” which would prevent prosecutors from reviving the case. It is extraordinarily rare for a grand jury to balk at returning an indictment, but it has happened at least seven times in five cases since Trump’s surge started nearly a month ago. Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Indiana, was arrested Aug. 16 in Washington on charges that she made death threats against Trump on social media and during an interview with Secret Service agents.

FOX News [9/5/2025 9:45 AM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 40019K] reports President Donald Trump should avoid dining at Washington, D.C., restaurants to prevent a "political maelstrom" of controversy, a local D.C. magazine warned Thursday. Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman reported that Trump suggested Wednesday he might dine at a D.C. restaurant to demonstrate how safe the nation’s capital has become following his crime crackdown. "I think it’s something we could consider doing. Love to do it. I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It’s safe," Trump told reporters. "The problem?" Sidman wrote. "Pretty much any D.C. restaurant that the president might visit would immediately find itself in a losing situation.” She argued that "since the political temperature is now hotter than a pizza oven," a restaurant could face boycotts or threats—regardless of whether Trump was welcomed or turned away by the owners. "In deep-blue DC, there is no shortage of restaurateurs who privately (and not-so-privately!) would not want to host Trump. Turning the President away, however, would ignite a firestorm of online hate, irate phone calls, Yelp-bombing, and death threats," she wrote, citing the backlash against Virginia’s Red Hen restaurant after its owner kicked out then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2018. Sidman added, "Trump, though, isn’t likely to go somewhere he’d be turned away, especially given the advance work required by Secret Service. And most restaurants would serve him because that’s just what restaurants do. Still, they would undoubtedly face boycott threats from locals and an onslaught of online and real-life rage.”

The Hill [9/5/2025 5:00 PM, Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld, 12414K] reports a trial over President Trump’s attempted assassination as he golfed in south Florida last year is set to begin Monday, where the man accused of plotting the political hit is expected to defend his own case. Ryan Routh, the defendant, faces five criminal charges including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say that, after a 12-hour stakeout nearly a year ago, he pushed the muzzle of a rifle through the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, near its sixth hole. A Secret Service agent saw him and fired, and he fled without firing a shot. The case’s dynamics have shifted sharply since Routh fired his public defenders and began representing himself, as the defendant has offered a series of unconventional resolutions to the case. NewsMax [9/5/2025 6:17 PM, Solange Reyner, 4779K] reports that Routh, who faces five criminal charges, plans to represent himself, though court-appointed attorneys will remain as standby counsel. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon confirmed during a hearing Tuesday that Routh would be dressed in professional business attire for the trial. She also explained to Routh that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, but he would not have free rein of the courtroom. "If you make any sudden movements, marshals will take decisive and quick action to respond," Cannon said. Jury selection is expected to take three days, with attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors. They’re trying to find 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday, Sept. 11, and prosecutors will begin their case immediately after that. The court has blocked off four weeks for the trial, but attorneys expect to need less time.

Chicago Tribune [9/5/2025 6:15 PM, Jason Meisner, 5352K] reports a Downers Grove man who allegedly kept bullets in his home scrawled with the names of political figures was charged Friday with posting a series of increasingly violent social media messages declaring "war" on President Donald Trump and threatening to shoot immigration agents on sight. Michael Stover, 33, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of making threats over interstate commerce, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. He was arrested Friday morning, and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Weisman dressed in a blue T-shirt, telling the judge he works in "air conditioning." Prosecutors are seeking to keep Stover locked up pending trial as a danger to the community. Weisman set a detention hearing for Wednesday. According to the charges, Stover caught the attention of federal officials in February when the U.S. Secret Service learned he’d posted a photograph of five rifle bullets - each with a first name of a "well-known" U.S. political figure written on it in black marker - sitting on top of two hunting knives. In an interview at his home, Stover told agents "he had anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder" and was sorry for the post and would "rub the names off of the bullets," the complaint alleged. In April, however, Stover made more violent posts on his Bluesky account, this time aimed at Trump, according to the complaint. A month later, Downers Grove police went to Stover’s home following a domestic disturbance call and seized five rifles, a shotgun, six handguns and the rifle rounds that still had the names of political figures on them, the complaint alleged. No charges were filed at that time. The complaint alleged that Stover’s social media threats picked up once again in July, this time with a focus on immigration. The final post cited in the complaint was from July 21, seven weeks before Stover’s arrest by the FBI.

Axios [9/5/2025 10:41 AM, April Rubin, 14595K] reports the Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol will provide former Vice President Kamala Harris with protection until another plan is established, the LAPD confirmed to Axios on Friday. President Trump recently revoked Harris’ Secret Service protection, which had been extended beyond the usual six months provided to vice presidents. "This temporary coordinated effort is in place to ensure that there is no lapse in security," an LAPD spokesperson said.

NewsMax [9/5/2025 10:11 PM, Jim Thomas, 4779K] reports the Coast Guard has seized an unprecedented 40,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific, releasing striking images of crew members standing watch over a burning vessel — a vivid testament to the heightened campaign against drug trafficking, CBS News reported. In its most ambitious effort yet, the Coast Guard has confiscated 40,000 pounds of cocaine in the world’s largest ocean in a monthlong surge under Operation Pacific Viper, officials announced Thursday. The series of operations included more than a dozen interceptions since Aug. 8, resulting in the arrest of 36 suspected drug smugglers and an average interdiction of over 1,600 pounds of cocaine per day. The Coast Guard credited the operation’s early success to coordination across cutters, aircraft, and tactical teams. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Douglas Schofield, acting deputy commandant for operations, said, "We are leveraging our full range of capabilities to disrupt transnational criminal organizations and cartels and prevent the scourge of illicit drugs from reaching our communities.” Officials did not say what caused the vessel’s fire. In addition to the 40,000-pound seizure, the Coast Guard’s cutter Hamilton recently offloaded 76,140 pounds of illicit drugs — including 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana — at Port Everglades, Florida, marking the largest offload in the military service’s history. These results reflect 19 interdictions across the international waters of the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea. The operations are part of a broader push to project maritime law enforcement presence and thwart the shipment of bulk drugs from South America into U.S. territory. The Trump administration has taken steps to address transnational criminal threats, including the designation of certain cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The Hill [9/5/2025 10:52 AM, Patrick Djordjevic, 12414K] reports the Coast Guard is mandating a fitness test for all members, and it has opened the test up for the American public. All Coast Guard military members must take a physical fitness assessment by the end of the year. The test involves push-ups, a plank hold, a 1.5-mile run, a 12-minute swim and a 2000-meter row. Standards vary across genders and age groups. The highest benchmark across each category is as follows: Push-Ups: 29, Planks: 1 min 18 seconds, 1.5-mile run: 12 minutes 29 seconds, 12-minute swim: 500 meters and 2000-meter row: 9 minutes, 20 seconds.

(B) Oregon News Now Midday [9/5/2025 2:33 PM, Staff] reports that a boat capsized Sunday evening off the coast of Gold Beach. The Creek County Sheriff’s Office says they continued the search effort after the US Coast Guard suspended their search on Wednesday morning. The sheriff’s office was able to return the capsized vessel to the Port of Brookings, allowing a diver to locate one of the missing men on the boat. There was no sign of the last missing person.

DefenseScoop [9/5/2025 4:20 PM, Jon Harper, 150K] reports President Donald Trump has tapped Rear Adm. Heidi Berg to command U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, Navy Space Command and 10th Fleet, the Pentagon announced Friday. If her nomination is confirmed by the Senate, she’ll also pin on a third star. Fleet Cyber Command is the Navy’s component command to U.S. Cyber Command and is responsible for Navy information network operations and offensive and defensive cyberspace ops. Navy Space Command is charged with planning, integrating, coordinating and conducting “full-spectrum” operations for U.S. Space Command, according to the Navy. 10th Fleet exercises operational control over Fleet Cyber Command-assigned forces. Berg, a Naval Academy graduate, is currently serving as deputy commander of those organizations. Her previous assignments include director of strategy, plans and policy (J-5) at Cybercom, deputy for plans and policy at Fleet Cyber Command, and acting director of the Navy Digital Warfare Office, among others, according to her Navy bio.

CyberScoop [9/5/2025 1:17 PM, Derek B. Johnson] reports researchers at New York University have taken credit for creating a piece of malware found by third-party researchers that uses prompt injection to manipulate a large language model into assisting with a ransomware attack. Last month, researchers at ESET claimed to have discovered the first piece of “AI-powered ransomware” in the wild, flagging code found on VirusTotal. The code, written in Golang and given the moniker “PromptLock,” also included instructions for an open weight version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT to carry out a series of tasks — such as inspecting file systems, exfiltrating data and writing ransom notes. ESET researchers told CyberScoop at the time that the code appeared to be unfinished or a proof of concept. Other than knowing it was uploaded by a user in the United States, the company had no further information about the malware’s origin. Now, researchers at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering have confirmed that they created the code as part of a project meant to illustrate the potential harms of AI-powered malware. In a corresponding academic paper, the researchers call the project “Ransomware 3.0” and describe it as a new attack method. This technique “exploits large language models (LLMs) to autonomously plan, adapt, and execute the ransomware attack lifecycle.”

FedScoop [9/5/2025 12:18 PM, Matt Bracken, 56K] reports the vast majority of agencies do not have a handle on their cybersecurity contractor workforce, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office that paints a broader picture of lackluster data collection on federal cyber staffing. Per the GAO’s audit, 22 out of 23 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies reported either partial or no data on the size and costs of their contractor cyber workforce. The review, conducted from February 2024 to September 2025, did not include the Department of Defense. The Office of Personnel Management was the lone agency that reported to GAO what it believed to be a comprehensive picture of its contractor cyber workforce, while 14 agencies submitted partial data and eight agencies had no data to report at all. “Generally, agencies attributed their data gaps to either the lack of an agency-wide reporting mechanism or the structure of their contracts,” the GAO noted. “Agency officials stated that obtaining data on their contractor cyber workforce required an agency-wide data call or manual review.”

FOX News [9/5/2025 5:17 PM, Emma Colton Fox, 40019K] reports President Donald Trump’s D.C. crime crackdown has led to 1,914 arrests since Aug. 7, including dozens Thursday night. Among them was an illegal immigrant on a terrorist watch list and a person of interest tied to a gun found abandoned on school property, Fox News Digital has learned. Hundreds of National Guard members, the Metropolitan Police Department and personnel from federal agencies, such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Capitol Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have taken to the streets of D.C. to conduct sweeps and root out crime since August as part of Trump’s crackdown on rampant crime. Law enforcement officials arrested 73 individuals Thursday evening, including an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who is on the terrorist watch list; an illegal immigrant from Colombia and confirmed Florencia 13 gang member with prior arrests for grand theft, carjacking and bringing narcotics/alcohol in detention facility; an individual arrested on a warrant for attempted first-degree murder (knife), first-degree assault; another arrested on warrant for assault with intent to kill while armed; and an illegal immigrant from Bolivia arrested with prior criminal arrests for domestic batter/abuse, felonious assault, abduction by force without justification and driving while intoxicated. Another unnamed individual was arrested Thursday evening for carrying a firearm without a license and a violation of the National Firearms Act. That individual was identified as a person of interest in an incident involving an abandoned gun found at a school Sept. 3, Fox News Digital learned. Law enforcement contacted the suspect via phone, and the suspect agreed to surrender to officers, according to the White House.

AP [9/5/2025 5:15 PM, Steve Karnowski] reports there are "rays of hope" for a 12-year-old girl critically injured in last week’s deadly shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, though her neurosurgeon cautioned Friday it is still hard to predict whether she will survive. Sophia Forchas was the most seriously wounded child among those who survived after a shooter opened fire at the Church of the Annunciation on Aug. 27. The church was full of students from the affiliated Annunciation Catholic School who had gathered for their first Mass of the academic year. Two students were killed, and 21 people were injured. The shooter died by suicide, police said. Sophia remains in intensive care at Hennepin Healthcare, a trauma hospital that has treated many of the victims. Her neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich, said at a news conference that a bullet, which remains lodged in her brain, caused severe damage, including to a major blood vessel. Surgeons had to remove the left half of her skull to relieve the pressure inside her head. Sophia is still being kept in a medically induced coma most of the time to control the swelling, Galicich said. She is opening her eyes and showing some level of awareness of her surroundings, and has some slight movement in her right leg, but she’s still not responding to commands, he said.

ABC News [9/5/2025 6:46 PM, Shannon K. Kingston, 27036K] reports President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order creating a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" designation to be used against foreign governments that unjustly hold U.S. nationals or support non-state actors that do. Senior administration officials say it creates a new tool they claim will be a game-changer in preventing and resolving cases involving Americans held captive abroad. "We’ve gotten a lot of people out and we’ll continue," Trump said at an Oval Office order signing. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move an "unprecedented action to impose new consequences on those who wrongfully detain Americans abroad.” Rubio said the designation could be accompanied by a range of "severe penalties," including "economic sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign assistance restrictions, and travel restrictions for U.S. passport holders.” "No nation should want to end up on this list," he added. "The bottom line: Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price.” Officials say the designation could potentially be used against both internationally recognized governments that detain Americans as well as other entities that control large territories of land, such as the Taliban. It could also be used against governments that support non-state actors that hold U.S. citizens captive. The secretary of state will have the power to impose the designation, as well as the ability to lift it if the impacted entity demonstrated signs of improvement. Ahead of the signing, senior administration officials touted the measure, saying it would greatly expand the U.S. government’s ability to exert pressure on foreign powers that unjustly detain U.S. citizens.

Daily Caller [9/5/2025 3:22 PM, Ashley Brasfield, 985K] reports several Chinese nationals with ties to U.S. colleges and universities have been arrested over the past five years, sparking national security concerns. President Donald Trump announced on August 25 that 600,000 students from China will be permitted to study in the United States. In an August interview with Daily Caller White House Correspondent Reagan Reese, Trump said that allowing Chinese students to study in America is the "right thing to do." He said in June that Chinese students could benefit U.S. schools, so long as they do not pose security risks. Trump’s remarks mark a sharp shift from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s May 28 announcement that the U.S. would begin revoking visas for certain Chinese nationals, including students linked to the Chinese Communist Party or studying sensitive fields. Yet, even as the president has defended allowing Chinese international students at American universities, multiple cases over the last five years reflect a broader pattern of Chinese nationals being arrested, charged or detained in the U.S. over alleged national security risks and violations. In recent months, several incidents have involved Chinese students and researchers in the U.S. allegedly attempting to smuggle biologically hazardous materials from China.

Reuters [9/5/2025 8:51 AM, Yuliia Dysa and Max Hunder, 45746K] reports President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday thousands of troops could be deployed to Ukraine under security guarantees proposed by its allies once Russia’s war on his country ends. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that 26 countries had pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land and sea and in the air. Macron initially said those countries would deploy to Ukraine, but later said some of them would provide guarantees while remaining outside Ukraine, for example by helping to train and equip Kyiv’s forces. "It is important that we are discussing all this ... it will definitely be in the thousands, not just a few," Zelenskiy said after meeting European Council President Antonio Costa in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine on Friday. He said in response to a journalist’s question that it was too early to comment on specifics. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Moscow to attack. In Uzhhorod, Zelenskiy said he had "coordinated steps" in Ukraine’s European Union accession talks with Costa. Kyiv sees EU membership as key to its security and recovery after the war.

New York Times [9/5/2025 8:41 PM, Liam Stack, 153395K] reports Israel expanded its preparations for a full-scale assault on Gaza City on Friday and destroyed a high-rise building that was a prominent local landmark, a day after a military spokesman said it was in control of almost half the city. A broad evacuation order has yet to be issued for the city, where hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be sheltering in ruined buildings and tents. But on Friday, Israel warned people to leave the building in Gaza City shortly before it destroyed it in a military strike. It was unclear how many people had been killed or injured in the attack. Announcing the evacuation order on social media, Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, said: “The gates of hell are being unlocked in Gaza City.” After the strike, Mr. Katz posted a video of the tower collapsing along with the words: “We started.” Israel said the building had been used by Hamas for military and intelligence-gathering activities. Hamas denied the accusation and said Israel had targeted “residential towers densely populated by displaced persons.”

New York Times [9/5/2025 3:44 PM, Julian E. Barnes, 143795K] reports Democratic lawmakers warned on Friday that severe staff cuts at an intelligence office that monitors foreign threats to U.S. elections would leave the country vulnerable to interference and subversion from Beijing, as Chinese companies use artificial intelligence as a new weapon in information warfare. In a letter to Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and André Carson of Indiana cited a New York Times story about technology developed by the Chinese company GoLaxy that aims to use artificial intelligence to make influence and information operations far more effective. The representatives, who both serve on the House China committee, said the cuts at Ms. Gabbard’s office were “stripping away the guardrails that protect our nation from foreign influence.” In the letter, the Democrats noted that the Trump administration had also dismantled the F.B.I.’s Foreign Influence Task Force, the State Department had shuttered its office that called out foreign propaganda and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency had fired officials who had worked on countering election interference.

Reuters [9/5/2025 12:34 PM, Davi Shepardson, 45746K] reports that the Trump administration plans to issue rules to restrict or potentially bar imports of Chinese drones and medium and heavy-duty vehicles after an earlier crackdown on cars and trucks, citing national security concerns. The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday said it plans to issue rules as soon as this month to address national security risks involving information and communications technology that is integral to drones and their supply chain, as well as vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds from countries like China and other foreign adversaries. It did not give details on what the import rules would be. The Commerce Department and Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. Chinese imports account for the vast majority of U.S. commercial drone sales. More than half come from DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer. The planned restrictions on drones and heavy-duty vehicles follow on from similar rules already scheduled on imports of cars and other trucks. Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration finalized rules in January that will effectively bar nearly all Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market starting in late 2026, as part of a crackdown on vehicle software and hardware from China. The Commerce Department in January said it could also target for restrictions drone systems like onboard computers, communications and flight control systems, ground control stations, operating software and data storage.

AP [9/5/2025 7:39 AM, Jim Gomez, 37974K] reports Filipino forces transported food, fuel and new personnel to a Philippine territorial outpost in a fiercely disputed shoal in the South China Sea, two Philippe officials said. Friday’s delivery was carried out despite tensions that flared recently at the atoll after China staged water cannon drills and deployed additional coast guard and suspected militia vessels nearby. Two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press that a new Armed Forces of the Philippines delivery of supplies and navy and marine personnel to the Second Thomas Shoal was successfully “completed without any untoward incident” Friday. The officials did not elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One of the officials said the delivery to the strategically significant submerged reef was postponed for a few weeks to ensure its security and success.

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