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

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

The Hill [4/9/2026 1:01 PM, Emily Brooks, 18170K] reports that Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (Wyo.) said he and Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will meet with President Trump at the White House on Friday to discuss the path forward on funding immigration enforcement portions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with only Republican votes. The bill would be part of a two-step process to end the record DHS shutdown without acquiescing to Democrats’ demands for changes to immigration enforcement policy. The Senate has also passed a bipartisan bill to fund DHS that omits funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. “I’ll be meeting with the president tomorrow at the White House to talk about the proposal, what we plan to do,” Barrasso told reporters Thursday. “Lindsey Graham will be there as well, who’s chairman of the Budget Committee.” Graham’s committee will have a critical role in crafting the legislation. “We’re going to have to go it alone, because the Democrats aren’t interested in funding national security at a time of increased concerns around the world,” Barrasso said. “The goal is to do it in a targeted way, the hope is to get it done fast,” the Wyoming Republican said of budget reconciliation to fund ICE and Border Patrol. The two-step plan has gotten pushback from many House Republicans who are calling to fund the entirety of DHS without breaking it up. Barrasso said that the Senate GOP leadership will be working together with the House and that it will be discussed in Friday’s meeting with the president.

NewsMax [4/9/2026 10:42 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760k] reports new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has wasted little time making changes at the agency. Mullin has moved quickly in little more than two weeks on the job to reshape the department after replacing former Secretary Kristi Noem, signaling a more aggressive and hands-on approach to immigration enforcement and internal management, the Washington Examiner reported. One of Mullin’s most notable proposals targets sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. He has floated cutting back customs screening at major international airports in those jurisdictions — a move that could pressure local leaders to comply with federal law. "It’s an option," Mullin told reporters in North Carolina, adding that no decision had been made. "If cities are going to sit there and say that they’re not going to enforce immigration policies, then I’ll repeat myself and say it doesn’t make any sense for us to process international travelers through that city." The "option" aligns with broader Trump administration efforts to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions, which Republicans argue undermine national security and immigration enforcement.

The Hill [4/9/2026 6:19 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18170K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is warning its employees that Friday’s paycheck could be their last until Congress acts to fund the department and end the record-long partial shutdown — but questions remain over whether that warning extends to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. TSA employees last week began receiving back pay after President Trump signed a March 27 executive order directing the DHS to find funds to compensate them for their unpaid work since the shutdown began Feb. 14. The TSA workers have been a critical factor in the shutdown negotiations. When thousands of TSA workers called out during the shutdown, it led to massive lines at airports around the country. That increased pressure on lawmakers to work toward a deal to end the shutdown — at least for the TSA. The president signed a second edict similar to the executive order affecting TSA workers a week later, this time directing the department to do the same for all DHS employees required to work without pay during the shutdown, including those in the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. TSA workers are slated to receive another paycheck Friday — covering pay period 6, which ended April 4, as well as previously unpaid hours from earlier in the shutdown — while other DHS employees will receive back pay this week for all pay periods during the lapse through that date, according to a memo sent to DHS employees Monday. A spokesperson for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents most TSA workers, told The Hill that the union understood the memo to mean DHS employees — including TSA officers, who also received the memo — should not take future paychecks for granted. But that message was further complicated by reports that an administration official said the memo does not apply to TSA workers. According to CNN, the department said TSA employees would still get their paychecks scheduled for late April.

FOX News [4/9/2026 6:00 PM, Ashley Oliver, 37576K] reports a Biden-appointed federal judge twice rebuked by the Supreme Court temporarily blocked another Trump administration immigration priority, postponing the termination of temporary protected status for Ethiopians living in the U.S. Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts, who has become a frequent legal hurdle for the Trump administration, found that the Department of Homeland Security did not follow proper protocols when it decided to cancel the temporary protected status (TPS) of more than 5,000 Ethiopians in the United States. DHS’ decision would have made the migrants eligible for deportation in 60 days and aligned with the Trump administration’s goal of dramatically narrowing the government’s use of TPS as part of its immigration crackdown. The TPS lawsuit, brought this year by an immigration advocacy group and three Ethiopians with protected status, alleged that DHS violated immigration laws and acted with animus by unconstitutionally discriminating against Ethiopian migrants.

Daily Wire [4/9/2026 8:07 AM, Cameron Arcand, 2314K] reports that an immigration reform proposal from Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) triggered a social media eruption this week, as many Republicans are pushing back against the proposal they view as too soft on the issue. The "DIGNIDAD Act," which is co-sponsored by 39 Republicans and Democrats, would provide legal status without a way to get citizenship for those in the country illegally before 2021 for a renewable seven-year period for individuals who are working, offer "protection" for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and codifies certain elements of border security law. The bill was introduced in July 2025, with little movement in Congress since then, according to the congressional website. However, Salazar and other lawmakers are doing a "Dignity Tour" to make the case for the legislation, she announced last month. Salazar has said that the legislation is not a form of amnesty, whereas other members of her caucus have argued otherwise. "The DIGNITY Act removes ALL criminal illegal aliens and recent arrivals, and it shuts down future illegal immigration once and for all," Salazar posted to X on Tuesday, arguing that there would be economic issues created by mass deportations of "long-time, contributing immigrants." "But here’s the truth: most Americans do NOT support deporting every long-term immigrant who has spent years working here, contributing to our economy, who have American kids and are part of our communities," she added.

Washington Examiner [4/9/2026 6:00 AM, Anna Giaritelli, 1147K] reports the Trump administration’s newest Cabinet secretary, Markwayne Mullin, has already begun to implement major changes across the Department of Homeland Security Mullin replaced President Donald Trump’s first DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, and was an unexpected pick to lead the department given his lack of background on related issues. However, in his two weeks atop the third-largest federal department following Noem’s ouster, Mullin has begun to take the department in a new direction, including by holding sanctuary cities accountable, addressing the federal contracting process, and getting the entire DHS workforce paid as the department’s longest-ever shutdown lags on.The Trump administration has attempted to punish sanctuary cities, or jurisdictions that refuse to work with federal immigration authorities, since 2017, but Mullin has a new idea on how to do that. Mullin divulged in an interview on Monday that he is looking into cutting back customs screening for incoming foreign travelers to the United States at airports in sanctuary cities.

Daily Caller [4/9/2026 9:58 AM, Jason Hopkins, 803K] reports that criminal migrants across the country are increasingly avoiding deportation thanks to an unlikely source: public attorneys using local taxpayer dollars to represent them in immigration court. Foreign nationals facing criminal prosecution have long been provided Supreme Court-mandated legal advice on the potential impacts of guilty pleas. However, public attorneys are more frequently representing non-citizens in deportation proceedings, sparking ethical concerns from immigration hawks who note that there’s no legal requirement for free lawyers in civil court. "You don’t have a right to pay counsel in civil proceedings any more than you do in tenant-landlord court or divorce court," Art Arthur, a resident fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Arthur — who previously served as an immigration judge — highlighted how government-funding for immigration attorneys is becoming more common across the U.S. "If they’re going to provide free counsel to respondents — which is how we refer to them in immigration court — are they providing free counsel to people facing bankruptcy, to people who are facing eviction, to people who are attempting to get out of abuse of marriages?" Arthur continued. "I got a feeling the answer that probably no." State and local jurisdictions across the country turbocharged funding for migrant legal services from roughly $250 million in 2024 to around $350 million in 2025, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a left-wing non-profit organization behind the explosive growth of public deportation defense in the U.S. Four additional states invested in deportation defense initiatives in 2025, bringing the national total to at least 14 state-level programs.

New York Times [4/9/2026 12:57 PM, Jack Nicas, Alan Feuer, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Edward Wong, and Jim Tankersley, 148038K] reports that when senior Western officials met in Ottawa last month to discuss potential terrorism threats in light of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, a top State Department counterterrorism official delivered an unexpected message. The United States was as concerned as always about Islamist terrorism, said the official, Monica A. Jacobsen, according to a copy of her prepared remarks reviewed by The New York Times and three officials briefed on the meeting. But, she told her counterparts from Europe, Canada and Australia, the Trump administration also wanted more attention on what it believed was an insidious, underestimated threat: the far left. Western governments must combat “antifa and far-left terrorism,” Ms. Jacobsen’s prepared remarks asserted, casting the effort as an evolution in counterterrorism following the “global war on terror.” Her prepared speech defined far-left terrorism to include threats from communists, Marxists, anarchists, anticapitalists and those with “eco-extremist” and “other self-identified antifascist ideologies.” “It is important to recognize their actions as political terrorism rather than mere protest or criminality,” said her prepared remarks, though it was unclear if she delivered them exactly as written. As evidence, the speech pointed to left-wing protesters who had recently clashed with the police in Italy. The administration has also largely halted a Department of Homeland Security initiative to map networks of far-right groups, according to a former department official.

New York Post [4/9/2026 12:33 PM, Emily Crane, 40934k] reports Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took a swipe at colleague Brett Kavanaugh over his stance on ICE raids, claiming he’s out-of-touch and couldn’t possibly know anyone who "works by the hour" because of his prep school upbringing. The liberal justice publicly criticized Kavanaugh, a conservative, over his prior concurring opinion that essentially lifted limits on the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles last year. Kavanaugh had argued that any stops were "typically brief," and that most migrants "promptly go free." Sotomayor assumed Kavanaugh couldn’t relate to the migrants because his parents held salaried jobs. Sotomayor went on to argue that even short detentions could still financially impact people — especially hourly workers, Bloomberg Law reported.

New York Times [4/9/2026 6:24 AM, Nicholas Nehamas, Allison McCann, Steven Rich, Jazmine Ulloa, and Hamed Aleaziz, 148038K] reports the Trump administration has systematically pressured the nation’s immigration judges, threatening them with disciplinary action if they do not deport more people and firing those seen as insufficiently supportive of the president’s aggressive enforcement agenda, a New York Times investigation has found. The overhaul of the immigration courts has been far less visible than the militarized deportation raids that President Trump scaled back after public protest. But the effort has helped reshape a hugely consequential, if little-known, corner of the government that the administration is harnessing to advance its mass-deportation policies. Although they wear robes and are required by law to exercise “independent judgment,” immigration judges are not part of the judicial branch. Instead they work for the Justice Department, under Mr. Trump’s ultimate command, and can be fired. One of their main duties is deciding whether undocumented immigrants should be deported or granted a form of legal status like asylum and be allowed to remain in the country. So far, the Trump administration has dismissed more than 100 immigration judges out of about 750 in place when Mr. Trump returned to power, an unprecedented purge. At the same time, the administration has reshaped the immigration bench, announcing the appointments of 143 permanent and temporary judges, including many who previously worked as immigration prosecutors for the Department of Homeland Security or as military lawyers. By many measures, the administration is achieving its goals. The number of people being ordered deported has risen sharply, while judges have approved asylum claims in fewer than 10 percent of cases this year, the lowest rate for which data is available, The Times found.

AP [4/10/2026 2:16 AM, Jake Offenhartz, 28764K] reports an immigration appeals board has denied Mahmoud Khalil’s latest bid to dismiss his deportation case, a largely expected ruling that brings the former Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist one step closer to re-arrest and possible expulsion. The Board of Immigration Appeals issued the final order of removal on Thursday, according to Khalil’s lawyers. The board’s rulings are not public, and an inquiry to the U.S. Department of Justice was not immediately returned. Khalil said he was not surprised by the ruling, which he called "biased and politically motivated." His attorneys said he cannot be lawfully detained or deported as he pursues a separate case in the federal court system. "The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine — and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it," Khalil said in a statement. The Board of Immigration Appeals sets precedent in the byzantine immigration court system, which is controlled by the Department of Justice — and increasingly under the influence of the Trump administration. Khalil, a 31-year-old legal permanent resident, was the first person whose arrest became publicly known during the federal crackdown on noncitizens who publicly criticized Israel and its actions in Gaza. The government has claimed that Khalil’s efforts as a leader of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia were "aligned to Hamas." They have not presented evidence of any connection to the terrorist group, and Khalil has adamantly denied allegations of antisemitism. After his arrest last March, Khalil spent 104 days in an immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child, before he was ordered released by a federal judge in New Jersey. Khalil suffered a significant setback in his federal case earlier this year, with a U.S. appeals panel ruling the judge in New Jersey overstepped his authority by releasing him. In a 2-1 decision, the panel found that law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts before Khalil can challenge the decision in federal court. Khalil’s lawyers are requesting the full appeals panel reconsider the decision. Earlier this month, they asked one of the appellate panel’s judges to step aside because of his previous role as a top Justice Department official involved in investigating student protesters. Khalil was born in Syria to a Palestinian family and holds Algerian citizenship through a distant relative. He has said that he could be targeted, and even killed, if he is deported.

AP [4/9/2026 7:26 PM, Rebecca Boone, 3833K] reports a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking Massachusetts’ state voter rolls, marking the latest setback in a wide-ranging effort by the Trump administration to collect detailed data on the nation’s voters. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin marks at least the fifth time a judge has rejected similar attempts by the Justice Department. Sorokin, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said the U.S. attorney general’s office did not take the necessary steps required to access voter rolls, as outlined in federal law. “Put simply, the statute requires a statement of why the Attorney General demands production of the requested records,” Sorokin wrote. That statement has to be factual, “not just a conceivable or possible basis.” In an emailed response, the Justice Department said it “does not comment on ongoing litigation.” It has said it’s seeking the voter data as part of an effort to ensure election security, but Democratic and Republican officials in several states have refused, saying the demand violates state and federal privacy laws. Some have raised concerns that federal officials will use the sensitive data for other purposes, such as searching for potential noncitizens. During a hearing last month in Rhode Island, a DOJ attorney told a federal judge that the department was seeking unredacted voter roll information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status. DHS over the past year has beefed up the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program, for just this purpose. “Our intention is to run this against the DHS SAVE database,” DOJ attorney Eric Neff told U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy during a March 26 hearing challenging the federal government’s authority to access the voter data. The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to force release of the data, which includes dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. At least 12 states have either provided or promised to provide their detailed voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

New York Times [4/9/2026 6:37 PM, Chris Hippensteel, 148038K] reports a freshman at the University of Southern California lost an eye after being struck by a projectile that a federal agent fired during a “No Kings” protest last month, his lawyer said. The student, Tucker Collins, 18, was using his camera to document a confrontation between demonstrators and federal agents in downtown Los Angeles late in the afternoon on March 28 when a crowd-control munition struck him in his right eye, the lawyer, V. James DeSimone, said in a statement. After being transported to the hospital, Mr. Collins underwent surgery for two and a half hours in an attempt to save the eye, Mr. DeSimone said in an interview on Thursday. But the damage was too severe, and the eye had to be surgically removed, he said. Mr. DeSimone said that an officer with the Department of Homeland Security had fired the munition, fragments of which were recovered from his client’s eye, and that he suspected it was a pepper ball. However, it was unclear on Thursday exactly what hit Mr. Collins’s eye, and The New York Times could not confirm that a federal agent had fired the munition. Mr. Collins is recuperating and receiving treatment to determine if his injuries extend beyond the damage to his eye, Mr. DeSimone said. Mr. Collins intends to finish his semester at U.S.C., where he is majoring in astronautical engineering with a minor in cinematic arts. He was unavailable to be interviewed on Thursday, but Mr. DeSimone said in his statement that he intends to file a lawsuit against the federal government. A video of the episode outside the Metropolitan Detention Center captured by a bystander shows Mr. Collins, dressed in a bright red T-shirt and jeans, standing back from a fence line separating protesters from law enforcement officials, his camera raised, when his body crumbles suddenly to the pavement. Photographs Mr. DeSimone shared of Mr. Collins’s injuries in the immediate aftermath show blood running down Mr. Collins’s face, drying in streaks along his bluish-green medical mask. In a statement, D.H.S. said that a crowd had descended that day on the Roybal Federal Building, next door to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center. The department characterized the crowd members as rioters who threw rocks, bottles and cement blocks at federal officers, and it said that agency personnel had used crowd control measures only after issuing seven warnings. “Our law enforcement has followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public and federal property,” D.H.S. said in its statement.

The Hill [4/9/2026 11:00 AM, Don Wolfensberger, 18170k] reports early last week, President Trump told the New York Post he was considering calling Congress into special session, in the middle of its two-week Easter recess, to resolve the funding stalemate at the Department of Homeland Security. At this writing, no such emergency session has been called. If called, it would be a rare invocation of the president’s power under Article I, section 3 of the Constitution, “on extraordinary occasions, to convene both Houses, or either of them.” On March 28, Trump had already signed an executive memorandum to pay Transportation Security Administration workers. On April 3, he signed another order to restore pay for nearly all the rest of the Homeland Security workforce, except for ICE and Border Patrol, which had already been forward-funded in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year. The partial government shutdown this year is already the longest ever, depicted daily on TV by long boarding lines wrapping around airports across the country. Those two pay restoration orders have all but obviated any need for an emergency special session this week. I was only surprised that no one publicly questioned the propriety of the president’s threatened intrusion into Congress’s scheduling prerogatives. Unmentioned in the press was the fact that even when Congress is in recess today, it is still considered to be in legislative session. That’s because it convenes every three days for what are called, “pro forma” sessions during which no legislative business is conducted. Secondly, should the need arise, the Speaker of the House and majority leader of the Senate are empowered by special rules adopted before each break to reconvene their respective chambers for legislative business.

Daily Signal [4/9/2026 9:00 AM, Dr. Ben Carson, 474k] reports the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been in the news a lot lately. The TSA is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and today it is responsible for securing the nation’s transportation systems. This most visible part of this is screening passengers and baggage at airports. Democrats in Congress, upset about how a different part of DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is conducting itself, have refused to provide funding for DHS. The result is that, starting Feb. 14, TSA agents were required to work while not being paid. Facing economic hardship or just frustration, many of them chose to take other jobs or take advantage of accrued sick and vacation leave rather than work without being paid. This situation left TSA checkpoints understaffed, with the predictable result of hours-long waits at some airports. This inconvenienced millions of Americans who are just trying to fly from one place to another as efficiently as possible. The irony is that ICE—the target of the Democrats’ ire—was not affected by the DHS funding lapse; ICE and Border Patrol were fully funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was passed last summer. But Democrats in Congress needed to show their anti-ICE voters that they were trying to do something, and they chose to make American travelers and TSA staff suffer in pursuit of their ideological ends. And while President Donald Trump took action to pay TSA employees, that is legally questionable, and it has done nothing to make the Democrats less intransigent. It does not have to be this way.

Washington Examiner [4/9/2026 8:48 AM, Christopher Tremoglie, 1147K] reports the president securing the border, protecting citizens from criminal illegal immigrants, and implementing effective and common-sense border security policies is the new normal in the United States. President Donald Trump has kept his campaign promise to secure the border. With new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin now at the helm, the DHS and Customs and Border Protection reported there were zero releases of illegal immigrants at the border in March, marking the 11th consecutive month of doing so. It’s another example of promises made and promises kept as the Trump administration continues to deliver on its pledge to secure the border and protect U.S. citizens. It’s a stark contrast from the porous border and illegal immigration anarchy of the Biden administration, which unquestionably prioritized the admission of illegal immigrants into the country over protecting innocent Americans. As a result, dangerous criminal illegal immigrants were granted access to enter the country and terrorize communities and harm innocent people. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s border security policies, or lack thereof, contributed to the murders of innocent women such as Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, and Sheridan Gorman. "It turns out we didn’t need new laws to secure our border," assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told the Washington Examiner. "We just needed a new President. President Trump promised to secure our borders. He’s delivered." Consider the progress made since Trump became president. There have been 14 consecutive months of fewer than 9,000 arrests at the southwestern border, according to Border Patrol. Moreover, there were 8,268 "apprehensions along the southwest border in March," good for a 97% decrease from the zenith of the Biden administration’s disastrous December 2023. That total was also "90% lower than the monthly average" in over three decades (33 years)!

Houston Chronicle [4/9/2026 11:00 AM, Joe Holley, 2493k] reports her name is Sam Karas, but for residents of the vast Big Bend region of far West Texas, it might as well be Paula Revere. One morning in February, the reporter for the Marfa-based Big Bend Sentinel happened to be perusing the Department of Homeland Security website and noticed something different from the day before. The interactive map of the Border Patrol’s Big Bend sector, running along the Rio Grande from Del Rio to El Paso, indicated that the agency had changed plans and now intended to gouge a steel wall through the rugged beauty and natural wonder of Big Bend National Park. The wall would replace a planned virtual barrier – a so-called Smart Wall – with mile after mile of a 30-foot-high steel barrier, slats four inches apart. Gravel roads for Border Patrol vehicles would run parallel to the wall, constructed a mile or so off the river. Access to the river through the occasional gate would be subject to the whims of border officials. Deer, bobcats, black bears, jaguars and other creatures that depend on the river for life would be out of luck. Karas, a former river guide, knew firsthand that a wall through the unscalable canyons and sheer cliffs along the Rio Grande would be irredeemably transformative, not only for the national park but also for the adjacent Big Bend Ranch State Park, as well as for private land-owners and communities throughout the region. Her initial story prompted Trans-Pecos residents to react with alarm, anger and, almost immediately, with resolve. Ongoing stories by Karas and her Sentinel colleagues about the murky and confusing DHS plans for the parks and adjacent areas along the river have kept the locals reliably informed. Resistance to the plan runs the gamut – large landowners along the Rio Grande; small-business owners, hoteliers and river guides in Terlingua, Marathon and Alpine; private citizens, whether Republican, Democrat or apolitical; Anglos, Hispanics and Native Americans; local residents, part-time residents and regular visitors to one of the most spectacular regions in the American Southwest. All realized immediately that a wall through the rugged, environmentally sensitive, archaeologically significant region would be devastating. Now, nearly two months after the Sentinel’s alarming reports, opponents of the wall may have achieved at least a partial victory. DHS seems to have backed off running a physical wall through the two parks, although who can be sure about anything involving the Trump White House?

FOX News [4/9/2026 9:55 PM, Landon Mion, 37576K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Thursday it had arrested more alleged illegal migrants who have been convicted of various crimes, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the agency reopening its program to support victims of migrant crime. The arrests and convictions described by ICE have not been independently verified. ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was relaunched on April 10, 2025, aiming to offer resources to victims of crimes committed by illegal migrants and the victims’ families. The program was first launched in 2017 under President Donald Trump’s first administration but was replaced in 2021 by the Victims Engagement and Services Line, a different program under the Biden administration before it was relaunched last year after Trump returned to office. ICE said the anniversary of the program’s reopening comes just after multiple arrests were made on Wednesday of suspected illegal migrants convicted of crimes such as injury to a child, assault and robbery. ICE did not specify whether the individuals were newly arrested or transferred from local custody following prior convictions, nor did it provide dates for the underlying convictions. "The brave men and women of ICE law enforcement continue to target criminal illegal aliens in our communities to prevent another American from being raped, maimed, or murdered by an illegal alien who should have NEVER been in our country. The American victims are [why] we fight," Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Yesterday, ICE arrested multiple violent assailants, including one depraved monster who injured a CHILD. With every arrest, ICE is making American communities safer. We will never stop fighting for justice for the victims of illegal alien crime," Bis continued. The agency offered a sample of some of the arrests. ICE did not say how many total individuals were arrested nationwide as part of this announcement. Juan Lorenzo Hurtado-Flores, from Peru, was convicted of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and injury to a child in White Plains, New York, according to ICE. Vu Nguyen, from Vietnam, was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in Pasadena, California, the agency said. The agency said Omar Alexander Rodriguez-Grande, from El Salvador, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Harris County, Texas. Oscar Fransisco, from Guatemala, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the agency. ICE said Josue Coreas-Chavez, from El Salvador, was convicted of robbery in Riverhead, New York. "Illegal aliens harming American citizens is unconscionable. But now, thanks to President Trump, we’re able to help people victimized by criminal aliens through the VOICE Office," ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said when the relaunch of the program was announced last year. "I’m extremely proud of ICE’s entire workforce — the officers and agents on the ground who are enforcing immigration law fairly, the support staff who pull these operations together and handle logistics, and those who help shine a light on those who have suffered harm at illegal aliens’ hands.”

Daily Wire [4/9/2026 9:29 AM, Jennie Taer, 2314K] reports that the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday blasted anti-ICE activists while flanked by families whose loved ones were killed by illegal immigrants. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons emphasized his agency’s role in cracking down on crime during a press conference about the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office, which provides resources to the victims and families of crimes committed by illegal immigrant offenders. The office was previously shut down under the Biden administration. "I just want to say on a personal note that the families you see up here I’ve become really close with. They’re part of the ICE family, but when ICE officers and special agents are demonized, called Nazis, hated …" Lyons said. "We do it for these individuals, these families who are no longer with their loved ones because they didn’t get the justice they deserve. And that’s the main reason why ICE and our law enforcement partners are out there, so these Angel Families will finally get justice." The families standing behind Lyons praised ICE and the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. At one point, Angel Mom Agnes Gibboney, who legally immigrated to the United States from Hungary, told reporters: "I love ICE," adding: "I love ice in my water. I love ice in my drink. I love ICE on the streets to protect us all.” Trump established the VOICE office in his first term and reopened it in his second term.

CNN [4/9/2026 3:04 PM, Alexandra Skores, 19874K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have begun leaving some US airport security checkpoints, where they had been assisting Transportation Security Administration officers managing hourslong lines of passengers during the partial government shutdown. Beginning last week, agents concluded their checkpoint duties at some of the 14 US airports where President Donald Trump deployed them on March 23. At a City Council budget hearing on Wednesday, Philadelphia International Airport’s interim CEO and chief financial officer Tracy Borda said ICE agents will no longer be at the airport as of Thursday. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport told CNN ICE agents were gone as of last Friday. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, agents were no longer assisting as of Monday, a spokesperson confirmed. A Pittsburgh International Airport spokesperson also confirmed there were no longer ICE agents at the airport. While ICE’s role in helping TSA at checkpoints is coming to an end, the agents still may continue to conduct enforcement operations in the terminals. According to Reuters, tips shared by federal airport security officials led ICE to arrest 800 people from the start of Trump’s presidency through February 2026. The detentions, which come well before ICE was deployed to assist at checkpoints, illustrate the close relationship between the different parts of DHS.

FOX News [4/9/2026 6:43 PM, Staff, 37576K] Video: HERE reports Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin reports on the pain the relatives of victims of violent crimes by illegal immigrants still feel as expressed at an event marking the relaunch of a family support program on. [Editorial note: video discretion is advised.]

FOX News [4/9/2026 6:07 PM, Nora Moriarty, 37576K] reports Jennifer Bos, whose daughter was allegedly killed and stuffed in a garbage can by an illegal immigrant, criticized the system that allowed her daughter’s alleged killer to walk free. Megan Bos’ decomposing body was found in Waukegan, Ill., in April 2025. Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is charged with multiple felonies in connection to her death. The felonies are not detainable offenses under sanctuary law in Illinois, so Mendoza-Gonzalez walked free after his court appearance, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him on July 19, 2025. Megan Bos was allegedly visiting the home of Mendoza-Gonzalez when he said he found her unresponsive from what he believed was a drug overdose, according to DHS. He allegedly left her body in a basement for several days before placing it in a garbage can in his yard, leaving her there for almost two months. Mendoza-Gonzalez is charged with abuse of a corpse, concealing the death of a person and obstructing justice, but the investigation remains ongoing. On Thursday, ICE celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office, which provides support to angel families. Bos said the office brought comfort to her after her daughter’s slaying, especially during the period when her alleged killer was free.

Washington Times [4/9/2026 10:57 AM, Staff, 1323K] reports that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s leased $70 million jet will reportedly stay with the Trump administration even after she was fired. The aircraft, considered more luxurious than Air Force Two, will be used by Cabinet secretaries and the office of first lady Melania Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. It was originally earmarked for “high-profile deportations” in line with President Trump’s immigration agenda and became a topic of conversation regarding Ms. Noem’s spending at the department. She mostly leased the plane for her personal travel with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski. Ms. Noem had planned to purchase the jet, a Boeing 737 Max 8, but officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement handling its purchase thought such plans would be pigeonholed following her ouster in March. After the president replaced her with former Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the White House continued to pursue its purchase and moved the jet under its purview rather than the Homeland Security Department. “ICE purchased this plane before Secretary Mullin was confirmed,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “This aircraft will be available to Cabinet members who need secure command and control and rapid long-range mobility.” Mr. Mullin, Oklahoma Republican, was confirmed last month to head DHS. When DHS was seeking to buy the plane, ICE told the Office of Management and Budget that it would be used for deportations and travel for Cabinet officials, NBC News reported in February.

AP [4/9/2026 12:29 PM, Heather Hollingsworth, 35287K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing a plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants. So far immigration officials have spent a total of $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses. They’ve mostly faced fierce opposition. And days after Mullin was sworn in, the Department of Homeland Security paused the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants. The department is scrutinizing all contracts signed under his predecessor, Kristi Noem.

Bloomberg Industry Group Bloomberg Law [4/9/2026 11:13 AM, Angélica Franganillo Diaz, 763k] reports the Trump administration is violating constitutional rights by conducting arrests in New York based solely on race and ethnicity, immigrants and advocacy groups say in a new lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges the Department of Homeland Security violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act by carrying out stops, sweeps, and arrests that were racially motivated and lacking individualized justification—practices plaintiffs say amount to a systemic departure from federal law and constitutional protections. The complaint, filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleges that immigration officers implemented an enforcement strategy relying on aggressive arrest quotas and broad street operations that swept up individuals based largely on perceived Latino ethnicity. It’s one of several similar lawsuits filed in various district courts as President Donald Trump’s administration carries out his aggressive deportation agenda. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that allegations of racial profiling are "false.” The spokesperson added that immigration officers operate under federal authority and use "reasonable suspicion" and probable cause in line with constitutional standards. NewsMax [4/9/2026 4:46 PM, James Morley III, 3760K] reports that the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York by the New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and the Legal Aid Society, represents eight immigrants who claim they were detained without probable cause. Attorneys argue that federal agents have engaged in a pattern of targeting Black and Hispanic individuals in public spaces, fueling fear in immigrant communities. The plaintiffs assert that agents relied on factors such as appearance and language, which they argue violates constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. DHS officials denied the allegations, stating that enforcement actions are based on reasonable suspicion and comply with the Fourth Amendment. The Washington Examiner [4/9/2026 12:40 PM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports that "Across the state, roving bands of masked and heavily-armed federal agents, both on foot and in unmarked cars, are indiscriminately stopping and arresting thousands of Black and Brown people, the vast majority of whom are Latino, based solely on their perceived race and ethnicity," the New York lawsuit reads. "The Constitution forbids this type of stereotyping: ‘even noncitizens must be treated equally as individuals, and not as members of racial, ethnic, or religious groups.’" ICE stands accused of violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments, which grant people due process and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures in their interactions with law enforcement. Eight individual Hispanic plaintiffs and a coalition of civil liberties groups filed the lawsuit against the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is similar to a lawsuit brought against ICE in the District of Columbia. It comes as ICE continues to face intense scrutiny for how it operates, after the agency faced bipartisan pushback over how it handled multiple lethal encounters with U.S. citizens in Minnesota earlier this year. The plaintiffs are seeking to halt what they described as "suspicionless stops and warrantless immigration arrests without probable cause." Multiple plaintiffs named in the lawsuit were arrested without a warrant, despite following all laws at the time of their detention, according to the filing, which alleged that in the first six months of 2026, ICE arrested 2,888 noncitizens in the greater New York City area, more than triple the number of arrests in the last six months of the Biden administration. The rate of arrests has only increased since then, according to court documents.

National Today [4/9/2026 11:23 AM, Staff] reports a man allegedly in the country illegally is accused of kidnapping a 4-year-old girl in New York. The United States Department of Homeland Security and ICE announced the arrest of Carlos Corte-Corte, a "criminal illegal alien from Ecuador." Officials allege he kidnapped the child while she was at a laundromat with her mother in Patchogue, New York, on March 28. The 4-year-old was later found by police at a nearby library. This case has raised concerns about immigration policies and the release of undocumented immigrants accused of crimes in sanctuary cities. It highlights the ongoing debate around immigration enforcement and the potential risks to public safety. According to Homeland Security, Corte-Corte illegally entered the U.S. on at least three occasions in 2020 and was removed each time. He "illegally" re-entered the U.S. a fourth time at an unknown place and time before attempting to kidnap the child. ICE Director Todd Lyons sent New York Attorney General Leticia James a letter asking her to not release Corte-Corte and others from jail, but her office did not respond. On March 28, Corte-Corte allegedly kidnapped the 4-year-old girl from a laundromat in Patchogue, New York. On March 31, Corte-Corte was detained by ICE after sanctuary politicians released him from jail. “This three-time deported criminal, illegal alien, Carlos Corte-Corte, kidnapped an innocent four-year-old girl from a laundromat on Long Island. New York sanctuary politicians chose to release this kidnapper from jail to prey on more innocent children rather than cooperate with ICE law enforcement.” — Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Homeland Security. “Sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims. Thanks to our ICE law enforcement, this sicko is off our streets.” — Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Homeland Security.

New York Times [4/9/2026 5:00 AM, Chris Hippensteel, 148038K] reports when the coal industry unraveled around Tremont, Pa., generations ago, it didn’t leave much behind. Nestled in the valleys of central Pennsylvania, the old mining town today has no hospital and no independent police force. A Family Dollar serves as its only grocery store. For years, the water supply has been so tight that trucks have at times hauled water in to keep the taps from running dry. But this year, the Trump administration determined that the Tremont area — already creaking under the weight of its roughly 2,000 residents — could support one of its new mega immigrant detention centers, larger than any currently in operation. In January, the Department of Homeland Security bought, without public notice, a vacant warehouse two miles down Tremont’s main street to house up to 7,500 detainees. With the site tentatively scheduled to open within the year, residents have been left to wonder how their area will sustain a captive population nearly four times its size, plus an accompanying work force. “We don’t need that,” said Tom Pribilla, who has run a hardware store in Tremont for decades. “The community, the area, is not going to be able to absorb the costs.” The Tremont warehouse is one of about a dozen that D.H.S. has purchased nationwide, all in an effort to build enough immigrant detention centers to support President Trump’s mass deportation pipeline. Another planned processing center, in Berks County, Pa., just 30 minutes from Tremont, would hold up to 1,500 additional people.

AP [4/9/2026 10:26 AM, Rebecca Santana and Heather Hollingsworth, 35287K] reports horns blared and protesters screamed “Stop ICE!” outside a meeting on the western edge of Maryland where county officials were discussing mundane issues like the solid waste budget. It’s been like this ever since the Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot (76,645-square-meter) building in Washington County as part of a plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants. “This is a facility built for packages, not people,” Patrick Dattilio, the founder of an anti- Immigration and Customs Enforcement group called Hagerstown Rapid Response, said as he stood outside the county commission meeting. The federal government has faced fierce opposition in communities where it spent a total of $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses under a plan that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing. Washington County is the most welcoming community — a place where officials said they supported ICE, albeit amid whistles and jeers. The processing center there was supposed to be one of the first to open in a facilities project hatched under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem. But now DHS’ plan for the Washington County building is paused — mired in a court battle like some of the other warehouse-to-detention projects across the U.S. Questions swirl about whether Mullin will move ahead with the facilities project or chart another course as he pursues President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

FOX News [4/9/2026 5:05 PM, Charles Creitz, 37576K] reports Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger broke her relative silence on multiple controversial issues during her first three-plus months in office, claiming the Old Dominion is not a sanctuary state and poking holes in the context surrounding a damning favorability poll. Spanberger has been under fire for undoing predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) cooperation agreement with the Department of Homeland Security. Multiple heinous crimes have been committed in Virginia, allegedly by illegal immigrants and often under the auspices of sanctuary prosecutors. Spanberger also faces criticism over an April 21 redistricting effort she backed that would draw out all but one Republican congressman. "Virginia is not a sanctuary state — full stop," Spanberger said shortly after exiting the executive mansion in Richmond. She said her directive was simply for state agencies, including VSP, not to place their troopers under DHS supervision. Spanberger also pushed back on reports that she has banned Virginia law enforcement from any ICE cooperation or localities from entering into their own 287(g) agreements with ICE. Spanberger said her Department of Corrections still provides a monthly list to DHS of noncitizens in its custody and that the press has incorrectly reported that Virginia can no longer coordinate with federal agencies at this juncture. Spanberger said that if ICE asks Richmond for help and has a warrant related to a suspect’s actions, Virginia will be glad to assist.

FOX News [4/9/2026 9:53 AM, Preston Mizell, 37576k] Video: HERE reports President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, blasted Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger over her policies surrounding federal immigration officials and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests that have been ignored by the state under her leadership. Homan sat down with Fox News Digital for an exclusive interview, where he said if Spanberger is unwilling to cooperate with federal law enforcement, the border czar is willing to "send more teams into the streets." "Elections have consequences," Homan explained. "[Spanberger] ran on a law enforcement position that she was a career law enforcement person. [She] is a much different person now since she’s in that governor’s slot." "Bottom line is, I wish she’d take a page out of the Minnesota chapter when the president sent me to Minneapolis to get more cooperation with the county jailers, which means less public safety threats in the communities," Homan added. The border czar said, "ICE is not going to stop enforcing law" and that if blue states like Virginia continue to uphold strict sanctuary laws, the Trump administration will deploy more immigration enforcement agents into the streets. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

National Review [4/9/2026 7:58 PM, Kamden Mulder, 109K] reports Israel Flores Ortiz, an 18-year-old junior at Fairfax County High School, was found guilty of assault and battery, after at least a dozen female students came forward accusing Ortiz of grabbing them between their legs. Ortiz was found guilty on nine counts of assault and battery and not guilty on three counts. The judge dismissed one count against Ortiz. All of the charges were misdemeanors. Ortiz is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who entered the United States in 2024. He is currently an eleventh-grader at Fairfax County High School. In the state of Virginia, illegal immigrants can attend public schools at the taxpayers’ expense until the age of 22. Ortiz is set to be sentenced on April 21. Before Ortiz’z conviction, the Department of Homeland Security posted on X Thursday afternoon, “@ICEgov stands ready to take him into custody and deport this sexual deviant. When Ortiz was arrested, Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano’s office agreed to his bail request. Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith, however, denied the request, citing concerns that releasing Ortiz is not in the public’s best interest. Descano’s office has been under intense fire recently after releasing previously convicted offenders, particularly Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant who was charged with murdering Stephanie Minter at a Virginia bus stop. Jalloh carried a significant criminal rap sheet, with more than 30 charges, at least half of which Descano’s office had dropped. Descano’s office requested that Ortiz’s hearing be closed, citing the national media attention that the case has received as well as the fact that minors were testifying. The judge denied the request, except for when minors were testifying.

FOX News [4/9/2026 8:25 AM, Staff, 37576K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan issued a warning to Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Virginia continuing to limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal law enforcement. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

ABC News [4/9/2026 5:13 PM, Armando Garcia, 34146K] reports immigrant advocates and members of the school community in Durham, North Carolina, are calling for justice after they say two children and their parents were swiftly detained and deported to Honduras without due process. Advocates say Genesis, 11, and Denis, 6, and their parents attended a scheduled appointment with immigration authorities on Monday, and by Thursday morning the family had been deported to Honduras as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Siembra NC, the civil rights group advocating for the family, said the family came to the United States in 2022 and applied for asylum. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the family had a final order of removal and had no pending asylum claims.

Univision [4/9/2026 5:43 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports Genesis, 11, and Denis, 6, traveled with their parents to a court date in Charlotte on Monday, April 6. An aunt was waiting for them outside. Nearly two hours later, she received an unexpected call from a federal agent informing her that they had been detained by ICE. Early Thursday morning, April 9, Aunt Lillian learned that the entire family had been deported to Honduras. Aunt Lillian indicated that the family had regularly attended their appointments with immigration officials in the United States, including the most recent one on Monday, April 6 at 11:00 am. The community of Burton Elementary School, where the two minors attend, expressed concern over what they described as the inhumane detention and deportation of Genesis and Denis.

FOX News [4/9/2026 11:00 PM, Bonny Chu, 37576K] reports President Donald Trump on Thursday condemned a violent video allegedly showing a Haitian illegal alien fatally attacking a Florida mother with a hammer last week, blasting the Biden administration for releasing the suspect in 2022. Rolbert Joachim, 40, is charged with second-degree murder and criminal damage to property after he was caught on camera bludgeoning the mother of two in broad daylight last Friday outside a Fort Myers gas station. "An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see. "This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL," he added. Joachim first entered the U.S. in August 2022, and was released into the country under former President Joe Biden, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A federal judge later issued a final order of removal against Joachim, but he was granted Temporary Protected Status, which Trump has described as "a massively abused and fraudulent program." He has also blamed what he called "radical liberal district court judges" for blocking efforts by his administration to end it. While a federal judge issued a final order of removal against him, Joachim was reportedly granted Temporary Protected Status, a program Trump called "massively abused and fraudulent" and difficult to eliminate due to Democratic support. The suspect then remained in the country after his status expired in 2024. Trump further said Democrats are turning the United States into what he called a "dumping ground," flooded with tens of millions of unvetted and "mentally insane" individuals. "To my fellow Republicans, and frankly all Common Sense Americans, NEVER FORGET that Joe Biden and the Democrat Party turned the United States of America into a dumping ground, allowing Tens of MILLIONS of Criminals, Lunatics, and the Mentally Insane from all over the World to pour into our Country, totally unvetted and unchecked through our wide Open Borders," he said. "As I’ve said all along, if you import the Third World, you become the Third World, and that is what happened over the four years of Democrat Control.” In the attack, the female victim was reportedly a store clerk at the gas station. According to the footage, she was repeatedly struck in the head with a hammer after confronting the suspect for smashing her car window. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Axios [4/9/2026 6:20 AM, Sommer Brugal and Martin Vassolo, 17364K] reports immigration arrests in Florida have skyrocketed under President Trump, an increase local advocates attribute to how the state’s police departments have partnered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While South Florida hasn’t seen the high-profile raids or large protests that drew widespread attention to other communities, data shows the region is a national hot spot for immigration enforcement. "Their tactics may seem quieter than they seemed in Minneapolis, but they’re just as devastating on the families’ lives that they’re ruining," Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins recently told the Miami Herald. Since Trump took office in 2025, ICE’s Miami field office has conducted more than 41,300 arrests — more than any other field office in the country, according to the New York Times. Miami’s field office includes ​​all of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Between mid-December and early March — when the administration launched high-profile enforcement actions in Minneapolis — ICE’s St. Paul field office arrested about 5,000 people. Miami’s office reported nearly 10,000 arrests during the same period, the Times reported.

Washington Examiner [4/9/2026 10:28 PM, David Zimmermann, 1147K] reports President Donald Trump vowed that "quick and severe justice" would be meted out for the illegal immigrant who allegedly bludgeoned a mother to death with a hammer outside a Florida gas station last week. In a long Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump blamed his predecessor for the lenient open-border policies that led to the woman’s death. "An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida," he wrote. Later in the post, Trump advised viewers against watching the 20-second video if they find its violent content disturbing. "The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see," he warned. Rolbert Joachin, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant from Haiti, was accused of striking the woman multiple times in the head on April 3. The victim walked out of a convenience store at the Fort Myers gas station, where she reportedly worked, after the suspect appeared to be breaking a car windshield with a blunt hammer. The homicide unfolded moments later. "I don’t recommend you watch this tape, because it is so terrible, but felt I had an obligation to put it up so that people can see what Democrats are protecting, and wanting to come into our Country, even now, after all we’ve been through," the president said. Joachin entered the United States in August 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security said in a press release on Tuesday. A federal judge ordered the illegal immigrant to be removed from the country in 2022, but he ultimately stayed longer because he was granted temporary protected status as a Haitian national. His status under that protection expired in 2024. Trump criticized the "massively abused and fraudulent" TPS system that allowed illegal immigrants to stay in the United States under former President Joe Biden. "This animal was allowed to stay here because the Biden Administration granted him, and all Haitians, ‘Temporary Protective Status,’ a massively abused and fraudulent program which my Administration is working to terminate, but Deranged Liberal District Court Judges are standing in our way," Trump said.

FOX News [4/9/2026 2:33 PM, Preston Mizell, 37576K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security lodged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer request for an illegal migrant accused of murdering a 15-year-old boy who allegedly begged for his life before being killed. Yefry Archaga-Elvir, a Honduran national, and other suspects allegedly lured Miles Young into believing he was meeting a girl. DHS cited a prosecutor in the case who said that Archaga-Elvir blocked Young’s vehicle and chased him down on foot before allegedly shooting him in the chest with a handgun. The department says that witnesses heard Young’s final words — "I just don’t want to die." "Miles Young was lured to his death believing he was going to meet a girl. Instead, he was ambushed and killed in cold blood by this illegal alien who went on to brag about the murder," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "This animal was released into our country by the Obama administration. ICE lodged an arrest detainer requesting Missouri not release this depraved killer from jail into American neighborhoods," Bis added. According to DHS, a probable cause affidavit revealed Archaga-Elvir allegedly made a "braggadocios" phone call regarding the killing of Young.

Chicago Tribune [4/9/2026 2:25 PM, Caroline Kubzansky, 5209K] reports that Wisconsin law enforcement officials are set to release new information about a Skokie woman’s claims last month that U.S. immigration officials detained her for nearly 48 hours and in multiple states, the Dodge County sheriff’s office announced Thursday. Dodge County, Wisconsin is one of three places where supporters of Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi said Naqvi had been held over a roughly two-day period beginning March 5 after she had landed at O’Hare International Airport after an alleged work trip. Her purported employer and multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, disputed those claims to the Tribune. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said in a news release that the conference, scheduled for Friday afternoon, will “address recent public claims regarding an alleged detention incident and the reported involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies.” The release did not state whether officials planned to take formal action, but said that it would include an “in-depth overview of the matter.” Naqvi’s family and supporters, including Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, originally claimed that Naqvi, whom Cook County records show was born in Evanston, had been held for about 30 hours after she landed at O’Hare. But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied her version of events, saying Naqvi had only been directed through additional security screening upon arriving at the Chicago airport, and later releasing two still images to bolster their account of her interaction with O’Hare immigration in a so-called secondary inspection room.

The Hill [4/9/2026 9:23 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 18170K] reports two school districts in Minnesota and a teachers union went to court Wednesday to challenge the Trump administration’s lift on a ban that kept immigration officials away from school grounds. The lawsuit was filed in February during the height of immigration actions in Minneapolis, with school districts reporting a rise in absences and people arrested on school grounds by federal agents. “Parents, children, and teachers, regardless of immigration status, reasonably fear going to school,” the lawsuit states. “School districts and teachers across Minnesota have reported significant reductions in attendance rates.” The Fridley and Duluth school districts, along with the Education Minnesota union, asked U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino for a preliminary injunction or stay to restore immigration restrictions around school grounds, The Associated Press reported. The arguments in court centered on whether the districts had standing to sue, whether the court could legally review the policy and whether districts could show a direct harm from the policy, according to the AP.

Univision [4/9/2026 5:42 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports Jennifer Santos, a 33-year-old Colombian woman, remains in ICE custody at the Dilley, Texas detention center after appearing for an immigration hearing. Although she signed a voluntary departure agreement for Colombia, her family says they have now been told she could be sent to a third country. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [4/9/2026 4:29 PM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] reports a foreign fugitive who illegally entered the U.S. and is wanted for killing a woman in Mexico was caught near the southern border after evading notice for possibly years. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Mexican illegal immigrant Jose Gustavo Angulo Bernal outside a residence in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, last week. Though Angulo Bernal had no criminal record in the U.S., he is wanted in the Mexican state of Sinaloa on homicide charges connected to the 2018 murder of a woman. He was arrested during a targeted traffic stop while driving a vehicle registered in his name. In a public statement, the Department of Homeland Security mockingly referred to Angulo Bernal as "one of the Media’s ‘Non-Criminals.’" The agency emphasized that while nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of crimes in the country, those with foreign charges are not part of that statistic. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis commented that while "nearly 70% of ICE arrests have been convicted or charged with a crime in the United States," the "actual arrests of public safety threats and criminals is much higher." According to DHS, Angulo Bernal is charged with participating in the murder of a woman alongside two other accomplices in Nov. 2018. The agency said that after killing her, the trio allegedly dumped the woman’s body in the town of El Tamarindo, Sinaloa. Then, Angulo Bernal entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time. He evaded detection until recently. On March 31, ICE officers staking out a residence in Lake Havasu City observed Angulo Bernal entering his vehicle around 5:50 a.m. The federal officers conducted a targeted vehicle stop, during which Angulo Bernal was positively identified through his Mexican identification card. He was arrested and taken to ICE’s field office in Phoenix for processing. DHS said he will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings.

Los Angeles Times [4/9/2026 6:16 PM, Ruben Vives, 12718K] reports a man who was shot by ICE agents in Northern California told his attorney that he only attempted to leave the scene after authorities had already fired on his vehicle — refuting the agency’s account of what prompted the shooting. Patrick Kolasinski, the attorney for Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández, said he spoke with his client at the hospital where he is undergoing several surgeries. "The one thing he was adamant about was that he was fired on before he moved the vehicle," Kolasinski said via Zoom from the hospital. "He was very clear on this point, that he moved backwards because he was trying to get away because he was shot at.” Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement referred The Times to an earlier statement issued by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons on X, and did not respond to allegations made by Kolasinski. After the shooting, Lyons said Hernández, a 36-year-old Salvadoran national, had "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over.” Kolasinski, however, said, "It’s not that his movement of the vehicle triggered the shooting but quite the other way around," adding that Hernández "fled in a panic because he was fired on.” He said it was unclear how many shots were fired, but that Hernández may have been struck more than six times — including in the face and arm. The shooting is being investigated by the FBI. On Tuesday afternoon, Lyons said on X that Hernández was an "18th Street gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.” Kolasinski disputed those claims. He said his client was not a gang member and that, while Hernández had been accused of murder in El Salvador, he was acquitted of any charges pertaining to that case.

New York Times [4/9/2026 5:00 PM, Christina Morales, 148038K] reports an immigrant working in Northern California who was shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this week remained in intensive care Thursday with at least six wounds and was recovering from three surgeries, his lawyer said. The man, Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, from El Salvador, had at least one gunshot wound to his jaw and another on his arm, his lawyer, Patrick Kolasinski, said in a news conference. Mr. Kolasinski said his client had been mostly unconscious since Tuesday, the day of the shooting, and unable to speak. On Thursday, he was able to talk only with difficulty, the lawyer said. Mr. Kolasinski said that Mr. Hernandez had been shot before trying to flee from gunfire in his vehicle. Dashboard-camera video captured agents firing at Mr. Hernandez as he tried to drive away, his car lurching into oncoming traffic. Mr. Kolasinski said that the F.B.I. was leading the investigation of the shooting and that ICE was not involved in Mr. Hernandez’s case. The episode began on Tuesday when ICE officers stopped Mr. Hernandez, who they said was a member of the 18th Street Gang, in Patterson, Calif., about 90 miles southeast of San Francisco. A spokesman has said Mr. Hernandez was being sought for questioning in a murder in El Salvador. Mr. Kolasinski has said that his client was accused of murder in El Salvador, but acquitted, and that he left the country after the case was resolved. Mr. Kolasinski said that Mr. Hernandez, who is undocumented, was never involved with the gang, which is based in Los Angeles, and that he had made only a few short trips there to visit relatives. When immigration officers told Mr. Hernandez that he was being taken into custody, he asked to call his wife, his lawyer said. That’s when Mr. Kolasinski said the “situation spiraled out of hand” because he did not “step out of the vehicle and surrender.” Dashboard-camera video shows three agents surrounding the black Toyota pulled to the side of the road. On Tuesday, ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, said in a statement that officers had fired after Mr. Hernandez had “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over.” Mr. Hernandez may be moved out of intensive care on Thursday, his lawyer said.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [4/9/2026 6:47 PM, Nicole Acevedo, 42967K]

ABC 7 San Francisco [4/9/2026 11:31 AM, Dustin Dorse, 34146K] Video : HERE reports the attorney of a man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Stanislaus County spoke Wednesday morning, slamming federal agents for the incident and directly contradicting the premise ICE used for the attempted arrest. The shooting happened on Tuesday near Interstate 5 in Patterson. Dashcam videos show a car abruptly backing up and then speeding forward when officers opened fire. After the shooting, acting ICE director Todd Lyons issued a statement claiming that "officers were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Patterson, CA to arrest Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, an 18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder." The man’s immigration attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, says he believes this may be a case of bad information by the Department of Homeland Security that ICE officers acted on, which ultimately left his client shot and in the hospital. Kolasinski said he has obtained a document from the government of El Salvador that he claims will prove Mendoza Hernandez was once arrested and accused of murder, but was acquitted. "He could not have been released until the warden verified that there were no other holds on him. So if he was released after being acquitted with no other holds on him, he cannot have a warrant. So that information must be either erroneous or completely made up and only DHS knows what they’re looking at," Kolasinski said at a press conference. The attorney said his client’s family in El Salvador says he was never in a gang. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

San Francisco Chronicle [4/9/2026 5:40 PM, Anna Bauman, 3833K] reports the man shot by immigration agents Tuesday during a targeted stop in Northern California said he tried to flee in his vehicle only after shots were fired, contradicting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s statement about the encounter, according to his lawyer. Attorney Patrick Kolasinski and the man’s fiancee visited Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, 36, on Thursday morning at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, where he was recovering from three surgeries after sustaining at least six gunshot wounds, including to the face and arm. ICE director Todd Lyons said agents targeted Mendoza Hernandez, who they described as an 18th Street gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder case. As agents approached, Mendoza Hernandez “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” Lyons said. The FBI Sacramento field office is investigating the shooting alongside the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez was not under arrest or in custody as a suspect, but was being monitored by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the federal investigation into the shooting. Kolasinski has also disputed that Mendoza Hernandez was a gang member with an outstanding warrant in El Salvador. Rather, according to court records Kolasinski obtained from El Salvador, Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted in a murder case in that country in 2019. He then came to the U.S., where he did not have legal status, Kolasinski said. In dash cam video that captured the brief encounter, three officers surround a black sedan pulled over on the side of the road. The driver lurches forward, then reverses away from the officers, striking a truck behind him. Two officers stand in front of the car with their guns drawn, and as the driver pulls forward in their direction, they run out of its path. The video then shows the driver turning away from the officers, jumping a concrete median and entering the opposite lane in front of oncoming traffic. It was not clear from the video when officers fired shots because the 30-second clip has no sound.

AP [4/9/2026 7:21 PM, Staff, 2238K] reports the attorney for a man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an arrest in central California said Thursday that his client was recovering after three surgeries for multiple gunshot wounds and that he denies being a gang member. Attorney Patrick Kolasinski said federal prosecutors have told him that Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez is not under arrest, raising questions about why he was the target of an enforcement action. No one under that name from El Salvador is in ICE detention, according to the agency’s online detainee locator. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not responded to inquiries about Kolasinki’s statements. Tuesday’s encounter was among a string of shootings during the Trump administration’s aggressive push to detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally, about which questions have been raised with federal immigration officials. DHS has said ICE agents fired defensive shots at Mendoza when he tried to drive into them after he was pulled over on Tuesday. Officials said they were conducting an enforcement stop targeting Mendoza, 36, in Patterson, a city about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. They described him as a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder. Kolasinski told reporters that Mendoza was having difficulty speaking because he was shot in the jaw, but that he said he was never a member of a gang. Kolasinski said previously that his client has been stopped for minor traffic infractions but has no criminal record in the U.S. and is not the subject of an arrest warrant in El Salvador, where he was acquitted of murder. Kolasinski said that the FBI was leading the investigation of the shooting and that ICE was not currently involved in Mendoza’s case. The Department of Justice referred inquiries to the FBI, which said it couldn’t comment on an active investigation. Kolasinski said that agents fired on Mendoza while the car was stopped and he drove away to flee the gunfire. "He fled in a panic because he was being fired on," Kolasinski said. "He was not trying to hurt anyone … he was just scared he was going to die.”

Los Angeles Times [4/9/2026 6:00 AM, Claudia Boyd-Barrett, 12718K] reports for months, a cloud of fear has hovered over the immigrant community in San Bernardino, making it hard for María González to do her job as a community health worker in this city where almost a quarter of residents are foreign-born. It started building over the summer, fed by news of immigration raids across Southern California, Trump administration plans to share Medicaid data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the passage of state and federal restrictions on immigrant Medicaid eligibility. Then in November, the federal government released a new “public charge” proposal that, if enacted, could block certain immigrants from obtaining permanent legal residency if they or family members have used public benefits, including Medicaid. Many of González’ clients and their children, often U.S. citizens, still qualify for California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, which provides health coverage to over 14 million residents with low incomes or disabilities. But increasingly, they don’t want to enroll or renew their coverage, she said. “Many people don’t want to apply,” she said. “There are people who say they don’t even want to go outside and water their plants.” An analysis by KFF Health News found that, from June to December, the latest month for which figures are available, almost 100,000 immigrants without legal status left Medi-Cal, representing about a quarter of all disenrollments in that time frame, even though this group makes up only about 11% of Medi-Cal enrollees.

AP [4/9/2026 5:25 PM, Gisela Salomon] reports a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s decision to end a temporary status that has protected more than 5,000 Ethiopians from deportation and allowed them to live and work in the United States. In his Wednesday decision, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy from Massachusetts said the Trump administration terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) “without regard for the process delineated by Congress.” Under Trump’s administration, the Department of Homeland Security terminated TPS for Ethiopia in December 2025, saying that the country no longer met the conditions for its designation. The judge said DHS disregarded the statutory procedures Congress enacted that govern TPS. After Murphy’s decision, DHS reiterated that TPS is a temporary status. DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the ruling “is just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America’s legal immigration system.”

Reported similarly:
FOX News [4/9/2026 9:06 AM, Alex Nitzberg, 37576K]
Washington Examiner [4/9/2026 3:40 PM, Jack Birle, 1147K]
Bloomberg Industry Group Bloomberg [4/9/2026 11:45 AM, Andrew Kreighbaum and Daniel Seiden, 763K]

Bloomberg Industry Group Bloomberg Tax [4/9/2026 12:57 PM, Mallory Culhane, 50k] reports a group of immigration legal aid groups and an asylum seeker can proceed with their claims that Biden-era rules allowing for quicker deportations of noncitizens who might pose a threat to national security are arbitrary and capricious. The complaint "raises plausible questions about the soundness" of the regulation, especially since the government’s position "seems to mark a complete reversal from its position just a few years ago," Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said in a Wednesday order. [Editorial note: Consult source link for extended commentary]

Washington Post [4/10/2026 5:00 AM, Meagan Flynn and María Luisa Paúl, 24826K]
reports the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. recently worked through a large backlog of applications for visas available to immigrant crime victims after spending most of 2025 refusing to process them. The suspension compounded already existing distrust in public safety authorities among immigrants, which remains a lingering problem even as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in the city have declined from their peak. Immigrants without legal status who are victims of serious crimes are allowed to seek a “U visa” in exchange for their cooperation with police or prosecutors in the investigation or trial, offering a path to permanent legal residency in the interest of public safety. As the Trump administration ramped up immigration enforcement in D.C. and across the nation last year, the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. stopped routinely processing those visa applications without explanation — a decision U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro reversed after learning about it, according to her office. Immigration attorneys, immigrants and aid organizations said in interviews that the pause implemented in early 2025 under then-interim U.S. attorney Ed Martin undermined the purpose of the U visa program as immigrant crime victims were already struggling to trust local police, who have visibly patrolled with federal officers since August. “Ultimately what that leads to is that it’s going to be a decrease in victim cooperation with law enforcement, which is the very purpose of the U visa program — which makes every one of us in D.C. more at risk of becoming victims of violent crime,” said Deepa Bijpuria, supervising attorney in Legal Aid DC’s immigration division.

NewsNation [4/9/2026 6:54 PM, Staff, 4464K] reports the number of migrants encountered by Border Patrol agents along the Southwest border shot up by 25% in March, according to new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A total of 8,268 migrants were encountered by Border Patrol in March — that’s up from 6,598 in February. It’s the highest single month total since September, when there were 8,368 encounters, CBP data released Wednesday shows. However, encounters are still drastically down from the Biden administration. In March 2024, Border Patrol agents encountered 128,895 people along the Southwest border. The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector once again had the most encounters among the nine sectors of the Southwest border. There were 1,783 encounters in March, an increase of nearly 400 from 1,379 encounters in February, CBP data shows. Single adults made up the vast majority of encounters in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in March (1,578). There were 145 unaccompanied minor children encountered in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in March — that’s the sixth consecutive month that the sector has led the nation in the number of unaccompanied youth apprehended on the Southwest border by Border Patrol agents.

Washington Times [4/9/2026 3:33 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K] reports the Border Patrol in March posted its 11th straight month without a single catch-and-release of an illegal immigrant at the southwestern boundary, leading officials to declare the record levels of calm “the new normal.” Agents nabbed 8,268 illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border last month, up from last year’s 7,179, but still a pittance of what used to happen at the border in the Biden era, when March averaged 170,000 arrests a month. And the number of unaccompanied children and migrants traveling as families — the trickiest cases — totaled just 743. During some months under President Biden, that figure topped 100,000. Rodney Scott, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, credited President Trump’s policies of more manpower, border walls and “real consequences” for illegal crossers as the reasons for the near-record lows, which have now been sustained for more than a year. Mr. Scott said a “unified federal effort” has made this time different. New Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said word has gotten out to would-be migrants. CBP recorded 31,445 unauthorized entries in March across all of the country’s land borders, seas and airports. That’s down from a peak of more than 370,000 in December 2023. Nearly half of last month’s traffic — about 14,000 — came at airports. There’s always some background noise of travelers who manage to get here without a legal visa. Still, those numbers have been ticking up in recent months. The second-highest category is migrants nabbed as they try to sneak across the southern border. Of the 8,268 caught, 7,093 of them were grabbed as they entered. The rest were caught somewhat deeper in the interior.

AP [4/9/2026 8:47 AM, Audrey McAvoy, 35287K] reports a U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that a customs officer improperly canceled the visa of a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos in the U.S. The opinion said Customs and Border Protection officers have limited authority to cancel visas and can’t do so for suspected smuggling of biological samples. The cancellation of Kseniia Petrova ‘s visa was arbitrary and capricious, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss said in her written ruling. "The undisputed facts reveal that Ms. Petrova’s visa was impermissibly canceled because of the frog embryo samples and for no other reason," Reiss wrote. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an emailed statement Wednesday that Petrova was "lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country." President Donald Trump’s administration was committed to "restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system," the statement said. The department includes Customs and Border Protection.

USA Today [4/9/2026 10:40 AM, Mike Stunson, 70643k] reports federal officials are reportedly considering removing U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from airports, a move that could deepen staffing challenges at U.S. airports already dealing with a TSA worker shortage. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who was sworn into his position last month, said in an interview with Fox News this week his department was taking "a hard look" at how sanctuary cities are handled and if they need Customs officers in airports. "Some of these cities have international airports; if they are a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?" Mullin said. Sanctuary cities, according to the Vera Institute, are "jurisdictions that prioritize the safety and well-being of all residents by limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities, allowing limited local resources to be used to support local community members." Washington DC is among the sanctuary jurisdictions, but technically there are no major airports in DC, meaning it would not be impacted by the potential Department of Homeland Security decision.

Axios [4/9/2026 5:00 AM, Brittany Gibson, 17364K] reports a West Texas revolt is erasing hundreds of miles of President Trump’s planned border wall. The opposition in the Big Bend sector, which includes 517 miles of the southern border along the Rio Grande, is against the physical steel wall, not border security in general. Locals who know the rugged terrain, which includes Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park, say illegal crossings aren’t their problem. "I wish the president would be more informed as to what’s going on," said Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez. "It’s a place where, if you cross the border, you got to at least walk three or four days ... you don’t just walk across the river and expect to get picked up." Since last October, there have been about 34,480 encounters at the southern border. Just 892 were in the Big Bend sector.

(B) NBC News Daily [4/9/2026 1:52 PM, Staff] reports US Customs and Border Protection is being sued by two nonprofit organizations over a lack of transparency on border wall construction through the Big Bend. The suit is being filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Texas Civil Rights Project who claim CBP is withholding records and violating the Freedom of Information Act. They say they requested contracts, construction, and planning records on March 6 and have not received a response. The nonprofits also cite a federal report showing a decrease in border crossings in the region. The City of Presidio is joining the effort against plans for a border wall citing potential damages to the city and community if construction moves forward. They issued a resolution Tuesday, several weeks after the government confirmed construction would begin in higher populated areas including Presidio.

Bloomberg [4/9/2026 9:46 AM, Lauren Rosenthal, 18082k] reports an unusually hot, snowless winter has fueled a fast start to the spring fire season across large swaths of the western, central and southeastern US, disrupting businesses and upending daily life. Nearly 19,000 have ignited nationwide since Jan. 1, about 6,900 more than normal compared to the past decade. In recent weeks, flames have scorched nearly 1 million acres of cattle grazing land and prairie in the Great Plains and dampened tourism in parts of the Everglades, where air boat operators have struggled to navigate dried-out swamps. Air tankers, frequently deployed over the West, are already in high demand, weeks ahead of schedule. Heat combined with a dry La Niña winter has helped drive a sprawling drought across the Southeast and central US. It now spans half the country and roughly 90% of the southern US, leaving ample stores of tinder-dry grass and brush to feed any stray spark. By April 1, more than 1.6 million acres had burned across the US, an area larger than Grand Canyon National Park and more than double the seasonal average. The toll is stretching firefighting resources and accelerating demand for aircraft. “We’re well ahead of where we should be this early in the season,” said Brett L’Esperance, chief executive officer of Dauntless Air, which operates a fleet of water-scooping air tankers. “This pace is unlikely to slow down, at least for now.”

Houston Chronicle [4/9/2026 5:04 PM, Peter Warren, Matt deGrood, 2493K] reports two months before hundreds of thousands of visitors are set to descend upon Houston for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the city’s host committee leaders say they have secured enough funding to cover their security plans for the event. Houston was awarded $64.7 million in federal grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s FIFA World Cup Grant Program, which is distributing $625 million to the 11 host cities for security funding. The program was established under President Donald Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill." With as many as 500,000 visitors expected for the games in June and July, the Houston Police Department faces an expensive bill to staff and prepare for security, according to Megan Howard, assistant chief over homeland security. Tommy Calabro, chief safety and security officer for the host committee, said about 90% of the funding from the grant will go toward operational costs, including overtime for Houston police and other officers. The remaining grant funds will help cover technology and equipment costs, such as equipment for emergency medical personnel from the Houston Fire Department and other agencies. Security planning for the World Cup began more than two years ago, Howard said, adding that the final plan will enable HPD to maintain normal operations during the month-long event. In addition to the $64.7 million, the city has also been awarded federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration and a separate FEMA program for drones.

Telemundo52 [4/9/2026 6:24 PM, Eric Leonard, 61K] reports the man accused of setting off the January 2025 wildfires in Pacific Palisades has requested to include “government negligence” as part of his defense, arguing in new briefs filed in court this week that the lack of firefighters to extinguish the first of the two fires is a key factor that the jury should consider. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, is facing three federal arson charges related to the January 1, 2025 Lachman fire in Palisades, which, according to federal prosecutors and ATF agents, remained hument and undetected underground until, six days later, strong winds rekindled coals and became the Palisades fire. “The defendant has the right to present evidence and argument before the jury about the gross negligence of the Los Angeles Fire Department ... and California State Parks for abandoning the Lachman’s smoking burn scar on January 2, 2025,” the defense’s new brief said. “This conduct — the conscious decision by multiple government fire response agencies to abandon a known, visible and audibly active forest fire scar, before an episode of red alert winds, in violation of standard wildfire protocols — is precisely the kind of gross and unpredictable negligence that the law recognizes as a supervenient and interventional cause capable of breaking the causal chain in a criminal process,” the document states.

ABC News [4/9/2026 1:36 PM, Kenton Gewecke and Bill Hutchinson, 34146K] reports that amid red-flag fire danger alerts issued for parts of New York and a forecast of potential flooding for Hawaii, the weather is expected to cooperate for Friday’s historic Artemis II splashdown off the coast of Southern California. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued red-flag alerts on Thursday for several counties in upstate New York, including much of the Hudson Valley stretching from Albany to Westchester County. The red-flag alerts are expected to last until at least 6 p.m. ET on Thursday as the NWS is forecasting wind gusts of up to 35 mph and relative humidity as low as 20%. "Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly," the NWS said on Thursday, adding that outdoor burning is not recommended. Elevated fire danger to a lesser extent is also in place for other parts of the Northeast, including sections of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and as far north as Vermont. Already this week, the eastern nose of Hawaii’s Big Island has recorded a rainfall accumulation of 10 inches to 13 inches. The eastern edges of Maui have recorded 6 inches to 12 inches of rain this week as well. The soggy weather is expected to continue through at least Friday. An area of low pressure is developing west of the islands, drawing abundant moisture northward as it strengthens on Thursday and into Friday.

Federal News Network [4/9/2026 6:27 PM, Justin Doubleday, 1297K] repots The Secret Service is seeking funding to add hundreds of special agents, uniformed division officers and technical law enforcement specialists to its ranks. The Secret Service wants to add hundreds of special agents, technical specialists and other law enforcement positions under the 2027 budget, as part of the agency’s multiyear recruiting effort. The Secret Service’s $3.5 billion budget request for fiscal 2027 would add 852 positions at the agency, including 520 special agent positions. Last year’s tax and reconciliation package also allocated an additional $1.2 billion to the Secret Service through 2029, including some funding for recruiting efforts. The Secret Services has previously highlighted plans to hire thousands of law enforcement officers and civilian staff through 2028. "The agency is currently engaged in an accelerated hiring posture to address mission-critical needs, including expanded protective assignments, increased investigative workload, and evolving threat environments," the Secret Service’s budget justification documents explain. "The agency’s protective and investigative responsibilities have grown significantly, necessitating a larger and more agile workforce capable of responding to emerging threats and operational demands.” In addition to roughly 850 special agent positions, the Secret Service also wants to add 256 uniformed division positions in fiscal 2027. Uniformed division officers are involved in protecting facilities and venues secured for those with Secret Service protective detail. "The agency’s mission requires highly skilled personnel with expertise in advanced technologies, cyber investigations, protective intelligence, and digital forensics," the agency’s budget document state. "As adversaries increasingly employ sophisticated methods, the need for specialized technical staff has grown substantially. Enhanced funding will enable the recruitment and retention of qualified professionals capable of supporting complex protective and investigative operations, maintaining the integrity of critical infrastructure, and responding to emerging cyber threats.” Secret Service Director Sean Curran is set to testify on his agency’s budget request in front of the House Appropriations Committee next Thursday, alongside other Department of Homeland Security component leaders.

Breitbart [4/9/2026 11:44 PM, Staff, 2238K] reports the Trump administration on Thursday made the case that the $400 million ballroom planned for the White House is needed to ensure its "safety and security.” In two filings with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the administration cited a series of safety concerns, from the White House grounds itself to President Donald Trump, his family and his staff, NBC News reported. In one of the filings, the administration said that stopping construction now — which a federal judge ordered to happen on April 1 — "would imperil the President and national security, and indefinitely leave a large hole beside the executive residence.” The national security and safety concerns cited by the administration in their filings refer to elements of the 90,000-square-foot replacement of the White House’s former East Wing that include bomb shelters, a hospital and medical area and other "top secret military installations, structures and equipment.” Based on its concerns, the administration asked the court to rule by Friday and said that it would take an appeal to the Supreme Court if it is not given clearance to continue all of the construction, The Hill reported. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has said that pausing construction on the ballroom and public facing building design for legal reviews does not affect national security or the ability to work on underground bunker and military assets in the meantime. "The District Court’s injunction does not prevent Defendants from working on the underground bunker their motion exhaustively describes; indeed, the Trust has never objected to that," the group told the court on Wednesday. The Trump administration started demolition on the East Wing of the White House last September during the first phase of the project, based on what he said was a need for a modern event space inside the building. The project is currently projected to cost around $400 million — double the initial $200 million Trump estimated it to cost — which he said will be funded by private donations and be completed by the end of his current presidential term in 2029.

Daily Caller [4/9/2026 4:23 PM, Ashley Brasfield, 803K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Escanaba seized more than $33 million worth of cocaine during a routine patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Easter Sunday, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the USCGC Escanaba seized 4,510 pounds of cocaine, worth $33.9 million. A U.S. maritime patrol aircraft alerted the Escanaba that a crew on a suspected narco-terrorist vessel was dumping contraband overboard. Escanaba sent its MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew to investigate and marked the potential drugs off the coast of Manta, Ecuador, according to documents. The Escanaba boat crew seized more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine total and transported it back to the cutter, the documents stated. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement that the operation is a key aspect of President Donald Trump’s effort to take down drug cartels. The USCG launched Operation Pacific Viper in August 2025, dramatically ramping up counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean — a major corridor for narcotics trafficking from Latin America.

FOX News [4/9/2026 10:31 PM, Michael Sinkewicz, 37576K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 4,500 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $34 million what officials described as a suspected "narco-terrorist" vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Easter Sunday, according to DHS. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba was alerted by a maritime patrol aircraft that the crew of a suspected narco-terrorist vessel was throwing contraband overboard. The Coast Guard deployed an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew to investigate the vessel, which was operating off the coast of Manta, Ecuador. DHS said the Escanaba crew deployed a cutter pursuit boat and recovered more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the recovery was part of Operation Pacific Viper, a Coast Guard counter-drug operation launched in August 2025 in the Eastern Pacific. "Operation Pacific Viper plays a central part of President Trump’s fight against the cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to make money by trafficking their poison into our country," Mullin said in a statement. "This operation has already seized over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and has arrested over 160 suspected narco-traffickers.” He added, "The brave men and women of the Coast Guard are saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs out of our communities and off our streets.” DHS said the Coast Guard’s efforts to disrupt drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific are a key part of the Trump administration’s initiative to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard has seized more than 215,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended more than 160 suspected narco-traffickers, according to DHS. According to DHS, the operation included the Coast Guard’s largest drug seizure in its history, when it recovered more than 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs in August 2025, valued at $473 million. The total reflects multiple interdictions combined into a single offload. The Coast Guard also seized nearly 50,000 pounds of illicit drugs in November 2025, valued at $362 million — one of the largest totals attributed to a Coast Guard cutter from multiple interdictions, according to DHS. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Wire [4/9/2026 8:51 AM, Lynden Blake, 2314K] reports that an American man has been arrested in the Bahamas in connection with his wife’s disappearance, putting his account of what happened the day she went missing under intense scrutiny. He has not been charged. Brian Hooker was arrested Wednesday night by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Brian’s wife, Lynette Hooker, has been missing since Saturday night — when her husband claims they were in a dinghy near Elbow Cay and she fell overboard, getting swept away in the current. He said that at the time, they had been traveling back to their yacht, "Soulmate." Brian also told police that the "strong currents subsequently carried her away," and that she spread to have been swimming toward the shoreline when he "lost sight of her." Police said Lynette was reportedly wearing a lanyard that held the keys to the vessel, causing the boat to lose power when she went overboard — which was why her husband had then tried to paddle back to shore. Brian’s lawyer, Terrel Butler, says that his client "categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing" and has been cooperating with authorities, however, Lynette’s family is glad Brian is being questioned in the case. "The U.S. Coast Guard told The Daily Wire that a criminal investigation has been launched with regard to Lynette’s disappearance. The Daily Wire has reached out to Aylesworth and the Hope Town Fire Department for more information on this case.

Reported similarly:
(B) GMA3 [4/9/2026 12:01 PM, Staff]
FOX News [4/9/2026 9:23 AM, Staff, 37576K]
USA Today [4/9/2026 6:53 PM, Amanda Lee Myers, 70643K]
Univision [4/9/2026 7:19 PM, Staff, 4937K]

Bloomberg [4/9/2026 11:30 AM, Dave Lee, 18082K] reports that the job of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), created by Congress in 2018, is to act as a coordinator between the public and private sectors to increase US cyber defenses. It puts out regular advisories on known threats — such as recently discovered vulnerabilities — and acts as an initial point of contact for reporting suspicious activity. In the proposed government budget for 2027, CISA faces $707 million in program cuts, leaving its budget at around $2 billion, TechCrunch reported. The administration said the changes were needed to restore it to its “original mission of securing cyberspace and protecting critical infrastructure.” The funding document accuses CISA of having been “more focused on censorship than on protecting the Nation’s critical systems.” The budget seeks to eliminate offices that were “used as a key hub in the Censorship Industrial Complex” and to “target the President.” CISA has already been hollowed out. Jen Easterly, the last Senate-confirmed head of the agency, who departed when President Donald Trump returned, said at a conference that staff members were being culled with a “mandate for loyalty to a person over loyalty to the Constitution of the United States of America.” The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since Trump took office. Congress still needs to vote to approve the plans as part of the broader budget. Previous efforts to carry out sweeping cuts were narrowed after opposition.

CyberScoop [4/9/2026 11:08 AM, Tim Starks, 122K] reports the recent FBI-led operation to knock Russian government hackers off routers sought to topple an especially insidious and threateningly contagious cyberespionage campaign, top bureau cyber official Brett Leatherman told CyberScoop. Researchers, along with U.S. and foreign government agencies, revealed details of the campaign this week by which APT28 — also known as Forest Blizzard or Fancy Bear, and attributed to Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) — compromised more 18,000 TP-Link routers and infiltrated more than 200 organizations worldwide. The compromise of routers used in small and home offices prompted the takedown operation, Operation Masquerade, which involved sending commands to the routers to reset Domain Name System (DNS) settings to prevent the hackers from exploiting that access. “What’s unique to me in this one is that when you change the internet settings in a router like they did, it propagates to all the devices in your house,” Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division, said. “All those devices now, once they’re connected to that Wi-Fi, are getting the malicious IP addresses that they are then routing their traffic through, and it gives the Russian GRU tremendous access to the content offered through a router itself.” “The difficulty in an attack like this is that it’s virtually invisible to the end users,” he said. “Actors were not deploying malware like we often see. And so when you think about endpoint detection on your computer or something like that, it’s not seeing that activity because they don’t have to. They’re using the tools on the router itself to capture your internet traffic and extend it throughout the house, and so traditional tools that detect that activity [are] just not there.”

CyberScoop [4/9/2026 5:06 PM, Matt Kapko, 122K] reports the fallout and potential exposure from Iran’s state-backed targeting of U.S. critical infrastructure extends to more than 5,200 internet-connected devices, researchers at Censys said in a threat intelligence brief Wednesday. Of the programmable logic controllers manufactured by Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley that Censys identified as potentially exposed to Iranian government attackers, nearly 3,900, or about 3 out of every 4, are based in the United States. The cybersecurity firm identified the devices based on details multiple federal agencies shared in a joint alert Tuesday, and published additional indicators of compromise, including operator IPs and other threat hunting queries. Federal authorities earlier this week warned that Iranian government attackers have exploited devices that control industrial automation processes and disrupted multiple sectors during the past month. Some victims also experienced financial losses as a result of the attacks, officials said. The operational technology devices are deployed across the energy sector, water and wastewater systems, and U.S. government services and facilities.

CBS News [4/9/2026 5:27 PM, Zachary Bynum, 51110K] reports federal authorities are sounding the alarm over a disturbing rise in cases tied to a shadowy online network known as "764," with investigators now tracking incidents in metro Atlanta and across the country. During a recent press conference, Atlanta Police and the FBI said they are seeing a continued increase in activity linked to the group, warning parents, teachers, and caregivers to stay vigilant as young people are increasingly targeted online. Atlanta police say they are currently investigating five potential cases connected to "764" within the city, while the FBI reports 50 credible tips statewide in Georgia. Nationally, more than 450 cases are under investigation, with authorities classifying the activity as domestic terrorism. Every FBI field office in the country is now involved in tracking the network.

NewsMax [4/9/2026 7:28 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 3760K] reports anti-Latino and anti-Sikh hate crimes in the U.S. surged to record highs in 2025, even as overall incidents declined, preliminary FBI data reviewed by Axios revealed. The data show anti-Latino bias crimes breaking into the top three most-targeted categories for the first time in the 34-year history of federal hate crime tracking. "Whoever is the target of a particular sticky type of stereotype, particularly a fear-inducing one, you’ll see that particular group spike," hate crime expert Brian Levin told Axios. Levin, who conducted the analysis for the California Association of Human Relations Organizations, said total hate crime incidents fell 11% in 2025 compared with the previous year. At the same time, several categories saw notable increases. Anti-Latino hate crimes rose 18% to a record 1,014 incidents. Anti-Sikh cases climbed sharply, from just six in 2015 to 228 in 2025 — a 3,700% increase, though Levin cautioned the category was introduced only that year. Meanwhile, anti-Jewish hate crimes dropped 29%, a sharp annual decline following heightened levels after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Despite a 6% decrease, anti-transgender hate crimes remain elevated — still 98% above their 13-year average — amid ongoing political and legislative debates over LGBTQ issues. "The story is, yes, we had a moderate decline, but it’s coming off record and near-record years," Levin said. Levin noted that 2025 ranks as the fifth-highest year for hate crime levels since the FBI began collecting such data. Overall incidents remain up 88% since 2015, with increases across most categories. He added that final figures could rise as more law enforcement agencies report their data. Since 2015, anti-transgender hate crimes have surged 395%, while anti-Latino incidents have increased 239%. The increase in anti-Latino cases comes amid intensified immigration enforcement and continued political debate over border security and immigration policy. The 2025 figures are preliminary and Levin told Axios that they could change when the FBI finalizes its annual "Reported Crimes in the Nation" release. The data suggest that spikes in hate crimes tied to major events — including elections, geopolitical conflicts, and terrorist attacks — do not fully subside once those events pass. Instead, they tend to settle at higher levels, potentially leaving the nation more vulnerable to future surges.

Washington Examiner [4/10/2026 1:04 AM, Staff, 1147K] reports a Pakistani national known as "Shahzeb Jadoon" pleaded guilty to planning a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York. The terrorist act was originally planned for Oct. 7, 2024, but was foiled when he was arrested in Canada on Sept. 4, 2024, ahead of trying to enter the United States. His goal was to execute the "largest attack on US soil since 9/11.” Jabdoon, legally known as Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, pleaded guilty to "attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, for attempting to enter the United States and carry out a mass shooting with automatic weapons," the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. The date of the planned event was to coincide with the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel by Hamas. "Muhammad Shahzeb Khan intended to come to New York City and carry out an ISIS-inspired act of terror against our city’s Jewish community," said New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. "The NYPD, in close coordination with our federal partners, was able to stop this dangerous plot before it could become a devastating attack. This case is yet another example of the sophisticated work that the NYPD does to protect our communities from harm and our ongoing commitment to stop hate-fueled violence.” "Muhammad Khan targeted a prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn to honor the October 7th anniversary by attempting to conduct what he hoped would be the largest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11," said James C. Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office. "Khan planned to inflict significant casualties and fear before he was intercepted 12 miles from our northern border. May today’s plea emphasize the FBI’s unwavering commitment to stand alongside our local law enforcement partners to defend our city from terrorists seeking to harm any of our citizens.” Khan was apprehended because he was unknowingly chatting with undercover FBI agents. He was noticed after posting "on social media and communicating with others about his support for ISIS," starting in Nov. 2023. He unknowingly told his plan to two undercover agents, including how he had arranged for a "human smuggler who would help him cross the border from Canada into the United States for the attack." In Aug. 2024, he said he planned to target a "prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn, New York" because "New York is perfect to target jews" and that the city has "the largest Jewish population in America.”

Reported similarly:
Daily Wire [4/9/2026 10:55 AM, Jacob Wheeler, 2314K]

NBC News [4/9/2026 1:42 PM, Doha Madani, 42967K] reports that Florida officials are opening an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT, its popular chatbot product, in part concerning its alleged assistance in helping plan a mass shooting at Florida State University last year. James Uthmeier, the state’s attorney general, announced the probe in a video statement published to X on Thursday morning. Artificial intelligence innovation has been a major leap in technology, but not "without concern for public safety and national security," Uthmeier said. He said OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been linked to criminal behavior, including child sex abuse material used by child predators and the encouragement of suicide and self-harm. "We’ve also learned that ChatGPT may likely have been used to assist the murderer in the recent mass school shooting at Florida State University that tragically took two lives," Uthmeier said. Phoenix Ikner is facing multiple charges in connection with the FSU’s campus shooting in April 2025, in which Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba were killed. Court documents seen by NBC News showed Ikner had more than 200 messages with ChatGPT, including questions regarding a shooting at FSU. Messages obtained by NBC News show a series of questions on suicide, mass shootings, and specifics on different firearms. Ikner also allegedly asked the AI bot, "If there was a shooting at FSU, how would the country react?" and "What time is it the busiest in the FSU student union?". A spokesperson for OpenAI said in an email statement to NBC News that it plans to cooperate with the investigation.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg Industry Group Bloomberg Law [4/9/2026 4:27 PM, Staff, 763K]

The San Francisco Chronicle [4/9/2026 3:24 PM, Jessica Flores, 3833K] reports a Bay Area man who co-founded a powerful Mexican drug cartel with the late Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal narcotics charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Erick Valencia-Salazar, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and unlawfully import five kilograms or more of cocaine to the United States, federal prosecutors said. His sentencing was scheduled for July 30, and he faces 10 years to life in prison. Federal prosecutors accused Valencia-Salazar, of Santa Clara, of co-founding Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, which the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist group in 2025, officials said. Valencia-Salazar was taken into custody in February from Mexico, prosecutors said. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit in Los Angeles was investigating the case. The New York Times [4/9/2026 6:51 PM, Ephrat Livni, 148038K] reports when the Mexican authorities first arrested Erick Valencia Salazar, a co-founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in 2012, gang members hijacked about two dozen vehicles, setting them on fire on highways across the state of Jalisco. Three people died in the violence. Known as El 85, Mr. Valencia Salazar was at the time one of two leaders of the powerful Jalisco gang, along with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, the brutal drug lord who was killed in a Mexican Army raid in Jalisco this past February — again setting off violence across the state. But on Tuesday, when Mr. Valencia Salazar pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic drugs in a Washington federal court as part of the cartel’s former leadership, gang reactions, if any, were muted. Last year, the United States designated the Jalisco gang a foreign terrorist organization. And Mr. Valencia Salazar’s conviction comes after an acceleration of extraditions of Mexican drug lords to the United States since 2025 under pressure from the Trump administration. Many of these gang leaders have made plea agreements with U.S. authorities, reflecting heightened threats to cartel power in Mexico. Last August, Ismael Zambada García, a co-founder of the influential Sinaloa cartel, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy charges in a court in Brooklyn in what Pam Bondi, who was the United States attorney general at the time, called a “landmark victory” for the Justice Department.

San Francisco Chronicle [4/9/2026 3:24 PM, Jessica Flores, 3833K] reports a Bay Area man who co-founded a powerful Mexican drug cartel with the late Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal narcotics charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Erick Valencia-Salazar, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and unlawfully import five kilograms or more of cocaine to the United States, federal prosecutors said. His sentencing was scheduled for July 30, and he faces 10 years to life in prison. Federal prosecutors accused Valencia-Salazar, of Santa Clara, of co-founding Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, which the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist group in 2025, officials said. Valencia-Salazar was taken into custody in February from Mexico, prosecutors said. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit in Los Angeles was investigating the case.

New York Post [4/9/2026 3:37 PM, Josh Christenson, 40934K] reports acting Attorney General Todd Blanche authorized federal prosecutors in Los Angeles to seek the death penalty against three MS-13 gang members charged with slaying an FBI informant, according to an April 8 letter obtained by The Post. First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Thursday that after receiving the missive, his office would pursue capital punishment against Dennis Anaya Urias, Grevil Zelaya Santiago, and Roberto Carlos Aguilar after each was charged last year with one count of murder in aid of racketeering. The trio — who were also charged with two counts apiece for conspiracy to retaliate against a witness — have been in federal custody since their arrest in May 2025 as part of a racketeering and methamphetamine trafficking case. Urias, 27, and Santiago, 25, fatally shot the federal informant, identified in court documents as "H.B.", at a grocery store in south Los Angeles on Feb. 18 last year, prosecutors alleged. MS-13 members had been aware of H.B.’s status as a cooperating witness for the feds. A leader of the gang’s "Bagos" clique gave the "green light" to target him. The case, brought in the Central District of California, is scheduled to head to trial on July 21 and is part of Operation Take Back America, which is cracking down on drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations.

NewsMax [4/9/2026 12:28 PM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports that leading tech companies have been in conversations with the Trump administration about Anthropic’s newest artificial intelligence model and its implications for the security of the United States and other countries, according to The New York Times. The discussions center on a powerful new AI system, "Claude Mythos Preview," which experts say represents a major leap forward — and a potential national security threat if it falls into the wrong hands. The AI model has demonstrated an unprecedented ability to identify vulnerabilities in widely used software systems, including operating systems, web browsers, and critical infrastructure networks, the Times reported Tuesday. While this capability could strengthen cybersecurity defenses, it also raises alarm about how easily malicious actors could exploit those same weaknesses. Anthropic acknowledged the dual-use nature of the technology, noting the model has already uncovered thousands of "high-severity vulnerabilities" across major platforms. The company has limited access to a select group of roughly 40 major corporations — including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon — in an effort to ensure the tool is used for defensive purposes. To coordinate those efforts, Anthropic launched "Project Glasswing," a collaboration between top tech firms and infrastructure providers aimed at identifying and fixing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. The company has also been in direct talks with U.S. officials about the broader risks.

Wall Street Journal [4/9/2026 5:17 PM, Elias Schisgall, 646K] reports Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched an investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT models, citing national security risks and the possibility that ChatGPT helped facilitate a shooting at Florida State University. In a video posted to X, Uthmeier raised concerns that OpenAI’s models or data could be used by adversaries of America, namely China. He added that ChatGPT has been linked to criminal behavior including child sex abuse material. Uthmeier also said that ChatGPT may have been used to assist a suspected gunman who authorities said killed two people at FSU in April. Attorneys for one of the victims said in a statement earlier this week that the shooter may have been in “constant communication” with ChatGPT before the shooting. “Subpoenas are forthcoming,” Uthmeier said in the video. OpenAI said it intends to cooperate with Uthmeier’s investigation.

NewsMax [4/9/2026 10:03 AM, Staff, 3760k] reports Democrats’ efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran reflect a broader political effort targeting the president rather than a consistent national security stance, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks told Newsmax on Thursday. "Well, it certainly seems like it’s ‘get Trump no matter what,’" the Iowa Republican said on Newsmax’s "Wake Up America," adding that when he was in office, former President Barack Obama "engaged a war or conflict in Libya for over seven months." Miller-Meeks pointed to classified briefings on Iran and longstanding concerns about Tehran’s influence in the region, particularly through proxy groups. "What is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, that has always been the concern of anyone with Iran’s power in the region and through its proxies, whether it’s Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis," she said. "Throughout my lifetime, presidents have said we cannot have a nuclear-armed Iran." She added that Iran’s uranium enrichment levels underscore the urgency.

ABC News [4/9/2026 6:54 PM, Staff, 34146K] Video: HERE reports Senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Aaron David Miller, says the war with Iran was a "war of choice.”

FOX News [4/9/2026 7:04 PM, Staff, 37576K] Video: HERE reports Fox News senior foreign policy correspondent Gillian Turner reports on President Donald Trump’s criticism of NATO allies over the security of the Strait of Hormuz on ‘Special Report.’

The Hill [4/9/2026 2:24 PM, Filip Timotija, 18170K] reports that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday that the alliance’s members were “a bit slow, to say the least,” on assisting the U.S. when President Trump launched the war against Iran, but he noted they were not aware of the kinetic action against Tehran beforehand. “When it came time to provide the logistical and other support the United States needed in Iran, some allies were a bit slow, to say the least,” Rutte said at a Reagan Institute event in Washington, D.C. “Nearly without exception, allies are doing everything” the U.S. government has asked, Rutte said, adding that members have “heard and are responding to President Trump’s requests.” Rutte’s remarks came a day after he met with Trump at the White House and as the president has repeatedly hammered NATO, arguing the alliance’s members did not sufficiently back the U.S. during the early days of Operation Epic Fury. Following the behind-closed-doors meeting, Trump, who has a warm relationship with Rutte, once again lambasted the alliance. “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social, referring to his efforts to take over Greenland. Rutte referenced Trump’s disappointment in NATO but added that most European allies have provided what Washington asked.

{End of Report} RETURN TO TOP