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.

CBS News [4/15/2026 4:30 PM, Dan Raby, 51110K] reports Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has responded to a series of shootings in metro Atlanta that killed a DHS employee and another woman and left a man in critical condition. In a statement posted on X, Mullin described the shootings on Monday as "an act of pure evil" and said that the department has been "devastated" by the violence. The first victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds near a Checkers restaurant on Wesley Chapel Road at around 1 a.m. Monday. She was taken to a hospital but died, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said at a news conference. Police have not publicly identified her. Just before 7 a.m. and more than 10 miles away in the suburb of Panthersville, officers responding to a call found a woman with gunshot and stab wounds, Patrick said. The woman, identified as DHS employee Lauren Bullis, died at the scene. A third victim, described only as a 49-year-old homeless man, was critically injured after being shot in a Kroger parking lot in Brookhaven. Investigators in Brookhaven say they determined that the three attacks were connected and believe that at least the male victim was targeted at random. Authorities are still looking into whether Bullis and the other woman were also picked randomly. Using information about a silver Volkswagen Jetta that police say was seen leaving the first crime scene, officers took 26-year-old Adon Abel into custody during a traffic stop in Troup County. Abel is charged with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault, and additional firearms counts. The Department of Homeland Security identified Abel as a native of the United Kingdom who was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022, when Democrat Joe Biden was president. Mullin, who took over DHS last month after Kristi Noem was fired, said in his statement that Abel has a criminal record that includes a sexual battery conviction, battery against a police officer, and assault. Abel remains in custody and waived his initial court appearance on Tuesday. NewsMax [4/15/2026 11:26 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports Mullin, in a statement posted to X, highlighted the suspect’s extensive criminal history, which includes convictions for sexual battery, assault, obstruction, and vandalism. "He now stands accused of murdering DHS employee Lauren Bullis by shooting and stabbing her while she walked her dog," Mullin wrote, calling the acts "pure evil." Mullin said DHS is cooperating fully with the investigation, while offering condolences to the victims’ families. The AP [4/15/2026 10:53 PM, Sarah Brumfield, R.J. Rico and Julie Watson, 34146K] reports that the killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, and shootings of the two other victims on Monday led Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue a statement raising concerns that the 26-year-old defendant, U.K.-native Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022, when Democrat Joe Biden was president. Court records show that Olaolukitan Adon Abel, whose name appears in different variations in court and government records, pleaded guilty in California in October 2024 to assaulting two police officers with a deadly weapon and attacking another person when he was stationed at Naval Base Coronado. Authorities have said they believe at least one victim in this week’s shootings was targeted at random, and possibly more. The first victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds near a restaurant in the Decatur area at around 1 a.m. Monday. She was taken to a hospital but died, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said at a news conference. Police have not publicly identified her. About an hour later in Brookhaven, an Atlanta suburb about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of the first attack, a 49-year-old homeless man sleeping outside of a grocery store was shot multiple times, Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said. The man, whose name hasn’t been released, remains hospitalized in critical condition. “It is apparent to us that it was a completely random attack on a member of our unhoused community,” Gurley said. Just before 7 a.m. and more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in the suburb of Panthersville, officers responding to a call found Bullis with gunshot and stab wounds, Padrick said. She died at the scene. Investigators in Brookhaven determined that the three attacks were connected, Gurley said. Adon Abel was taken into custody later Monday during a traffic stop in Troup County, which borders Alabama. He is charged with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault and firearms counts, court records show. He waived an initial court appearance Tuesday, and a public defender listed as his attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Toyin Adon Abel Jr., the defendant’s brother, said he did not want to talk about his brother when reached by phone but expressed sympathy for the victims. “I feel terrible for the victims, their families and their connections,” he said. “It’s a horrible thing.” ABC News [4/15/2026 1:00 PM, Luke Barr, 34146K] reports Lauren Bullis was walking her dog on Monday, when she was randomly attacked, allegedly stabbed and shot by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old born in the United Kingdom who was naturalized in 2022, Mullin said. "He possesses a prior criminal record that includes convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, and assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and now stands accused of murdering @DHSgov employee Lauren Bullis by shooting and stabbing her while she walked her dog," Mullin wrote on X. Mullin said Abel was arrested for reportedly shooting a woman to death outside a restaurant before "randomly shooting a homeless man multiple times" outside a supermarket. ABC affiliate WSB reported that man is in critical condition. The AP [4/15/2026 11:25 PM, Staff, 35287K] reports that the attacks rattled the Atlanta suburbs of Decatur, Brookhaven and Panthersville in the early morning hours Monday. The first victim, who has not been identified publicly, was found with gunshot wounds near a Decatur-area restaurant around 1 a.m. She was taken to a hospital but died, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said. Then, a 49-year-old homeless man was shot multiple times while sleeping outside a Brookhaven grocery store, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of the first attack, Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said. The man, whose name hasn’t been released, remains hospitalized in critical condition. DHS worker Lauren Bullis, who was out walking her dog more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Panthersville, was found around 7 a.m. with gunshot and stab wounds. She died at the scene, Padrick said. Investigators in Brookhaven determined that the three attacks were connected, Gurley said. Authorities have said they believe at least one victim was targeted at random. Bullis served in multiple roles at DHS Office of Inspector General, including as an auditor and an innovation team leader. DHS posted on social media that she brought “a genuine sense of care to her colleagues each day.” Her family said in a statement that she loved running, reading and traveling, and “her warmth and generosity touched everyone surrounding her.” Fellow DHS auditor Ashley Toillion of Denver described Bullis as “the nicest, sweetest, most encouraging person I’ve ever met.” Military records show the defendant enlisted in the Navy in 2020, last serving in the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron in Coronado, California, and as a petty officer received a Navy “E” Ribbon for superior performance for battle readiness. Adon Abel pleaded guilty in October 2024 to assaulting two police officers with a deadly weapon and attacking another person when he was stationed in Coronado, according to California court records. He faces malice murder, aggravated assault and firearms charges in Monday’s attacks, court records show. He waived an initial court appearance Tuesday, and a public defender listed as his attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [4/15/2026 10:38 AM, Natalie Neysa Alund, 70643K]
Univision [4/15/2026 6:08 PM, Staff, 4937K]
Washington Examiner [4/15/2026 10:18 AM, David Zimmermann, 1147K]
Blaze [4/15/2026 2:15 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1556K]
Daily Caller [4/15/2026 11:07 AM, Derek VanBuskirk, 803K]
Daily Wire [4/15/2026 4:20 AM, Leif Le Mahieu, 2314K]

Breitbart [4/15/2026 10:22 PM, Ian Hanchett, 2238K] reports that, on Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s "Ingraham Angle," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that he has "a hard issue with TPS to begin with, because we don’t ever end it. We always extend it." And said that there are already "pretty generous" asylum laws for people who need help. Mullin said, [relevant remarks begin around 5:30] "Unfortunately, TPS turns into a permanent status. We have people that [have] been here for 30 years, and then when we say we’re going to end protected status for you, they end up coming in and saying, well, wait a second, it’s inhumane because we’re married, we have family, we have kids here, we have grandkids here, and we work here, and now we’re going to send you back home. But it was never supposed to be permanent. And that’s the problem, is, that, when you start extending these programs, they become permanent.” He added, "I have a hard issue with TPS to begin with, because we don’t ever end it. We always extend it. We have asylum laws here, and if you need asylum and you can prove that you have asylum, we’re pretty generous [with] that.”

FOX News [4/15/2026 8:49 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticizes California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer’s comments about I.C.E. and more on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [4/15/2026 3:55 PM, Bhargav Acharya, 38315K] Video: HERE reports the U.S. government has released all funds allocated for ‌security at the soccer World Cup, but the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has affected planning and coordination, a department official told a Senate hearing on ​Wednesday. Intelligence briefings reviewed ​by Reuters last month warned of the potential for extremists and criminals to target the World Cup, with officials working on preparations for the soccer tournament sounding the alarm ​on a delay in allocation of approved security funds. Tomney said the Federal ​Emergency Management Agency has now distributed the $625 million earmarked for security. When asked how specifically the shutdown has hampered the agency’s ability to organize the event, Tomney pointed to the departure of hundreds ⁠of ​transportation security officers from the Transportation Security Administration. Bloomberg [4/15/2026 12:26 PM, Ken Tran, 111K] reports that the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown has "significantly impacted" security planning efforts for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, an agency official told senators Wednesday. The department won’t be able to quickly replace transportation security officers who left during the shutdown, and the funding lapse has hindered federal cooperation with state and local governments, Office of Homeland Security Situation Awareness Director Christopher Tomney said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. "We just can’t replace that expertise overnight," Tomney said. "It has reduced our planned efforts." DHS funding lapsed in mid-February as Democrats pushed for immigration enforcement changes and it’s unclear when it will be restored. The Senate passed a deal late last month to fund all of DHS except ICE and Border Patrol, which the House hasn’t considered yet. "I would assume that not having those funds available does negatively impact," Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told Tomney, urging lawmakers to end the DHS shutdown. "The faster we get those things to you, the better and easier it is to do your job." An order from President Donald Trump to keep paying DHS workers through the shutdown has taken pressure off House Republicans to pass the Senate’s deal, though it’s also unclear how long the administration can keep unilaterally paying employees without Congress.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2026 3:42 PM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump of creating a toxic environment that threatens to spoil FIFA’s 2026 World Cup matches. During a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on the soccer event, which the United States is hosting alongside Canada and Mexico, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) heralded the games as "a great unifier." Van Hollen agreed but said Trump and his administration are doing little to foster such an atmosphere. The Maryland Democrat warned that policies set by the Department of Homeland Security, including those regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, could discourage some people from attending or participating in the games, impacting the event’s success. Britt questioned witnesses during the hearing, which focused on how the partial DHS shutdown is affecting planning for the event. Chris Tomney, director of DHS’s Office of Situational Awareness, said the shutdown had "significantly impacted" the government’s ability to prepare for the World Cup, which he described as "the most complex and widespread sport event in the history of the world." Tomney said there are a "multitude of threats" to prepare for prior to hosting the World Cup. He said increasing counter-drone capability would be vital, after the agency warned in February that with FIFA events being held across a multitude of U.S. cities, there are "many" locations lacking such resources.

NPR [4/16/2026 4:44 AM, Juliana Kim, 34837K] reports at a Senate hearing on the upcoming World Cup, lawmakers raised concerns about how travel, tourism and safety preparations are going. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

CBS News [4/15/2026 11:34 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports three people were killed Wednesday in yet another U.S. strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the eastern Pacific, the Pentagon reported. U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America, said in a social media post that the "lethal kinetic strike" in the eastern Pacific targeted "a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations," killing "three male narco-terrorists." An unclassified video of the strike was included with the post. On Tuesday, a similar U.S. strike against an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific killed four people, while a strike Monday killed two people, SOUTHCOM said. Two strikes Saturday on two separate vessels left five people dead and one survivor, SOUTHCOM reported. The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for the survivor. Wednesday’s strike brings the death toll to at least 178 since the operations began in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean in early September. At least 53 vessels have been targeted. President Trump has said the U.S. is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing "narcoterrorists." The strikes began months ahead of the U.S. raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty. Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U.S. over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India. The Washington Examiner [4/16/2026 4:06 AM, Staff, 1147K] reports Southern Command announced its latest strike late Wednesday night in a press release and on its social media platforms. “On April 15, at the direction of the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” read the release. Keeping up with their pattern of explaining how U.S. forces were aware the people on the vessel were known drug traffickers, Southern Command said their identities as “narco-terrorists” were confirmed by U.S. intelligence reports, highlighting the boat’s presence along “known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.” “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” read the Southern Command press release. “Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed.”

Washington Examiner [4/16/2026 4:06 AM, Staff, 1147K] reports U.S. Southern Command announced on Wednesday another military strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Eastern Pacific. It was the fourth strike conducted by the military in the Southern Hemisphere in the last five days. Three suspected “narco-terrorists” were killed in the latest operation, putting the total of the number of people killed in the last week at 14. Southern Command announced its latest strike late Wednesday night in a press release and on its social media platforms. “On April 15, at the direction of the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” read the release. Keeping up with their pattern of explaining how U.S. forces were aware the people on the vessel were known drug traffickers, Southern Command said their identities as “narco-terrorists” were confirmed by U.S. intelligence reports, highlighting the boat’s presence along “known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.” “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” read the Southern Command press release. “Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed.”

FOX News [4/15/2026 12:25 PM, Alex Miller and Adam Pack, 37576K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown entered its 60th day on Wednesday, but House Republicans are standing in the way of reopening much of the agency. Congress returned in full on Wednesday, but there is no sense of urgency to end the longest government shutdown in history. Instead, the House is mired in a fight over extending the federal government’s spying powers, which expire next week. The House did not schedule a vote on the Senate DHS bill for this week after returning to Washington following the Easter recess. Though it’s an issue started by congressional Democrats in the dead of winter, Republicans have now been passed the buck to finish it and are eyeing a party-line maneuver to fund immigration enforcement — the main sticking point in the ongoing back-and-forth — for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. "Republicans have been forced to do this the hard way," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. Part of the problem on the DHS funding front is that House Republicans are frustrated that they are being forced to consider the Senate’s Homeland Security funding bill, which carves out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The only deal that can pass with Democrats’ support is to remove funding for those agencies, while Republicans say they’re being cornered into defunding law enforcement. In the meantime, the solution is to produce a "skinny" budget reconciliation package that funds ICE and Border Patrol, cutting out Democrats from the process entirely.

NewsMax [4/15/2026 5:40 PM, Solange Reyner, 3760K] reports Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Newsmax Wednesday that Democrat opposition is hindering efforts to fully fund the federal government. He said that the efforts are forcing Republicans to pursue alternative funding approaches for key Department of Homeland Security agencies amid disputes over immigration and law enforcement. Thune told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" that Democrats have made it "virtually impossible" to pass comprehensive government funding measures, citing what he characterized as an "open borders" approach and support for reducing law enforcement resources. "They clearly have made a conscious decision that they want to play politics," Thune said, adding that he believes Democrats are responding to pressure from their political base. He specifically cited funding challenges for two DHS agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Thune said Republicans anticipated the current impasse and took steps last year to ensure those agencies would continue operating. "They are funded today," he said. "Thankfully, we had the foresight last summer to know that this was probably going to be a problem.” According to Thune, lawmakers had already funded portions of DHS, including ICE and CBP, and he warned similar measures may be needed if funding agreements remain out of reach. "We’re having to come up with a different way of funding ICE and CBP into the future," he said.

NewsMax [4/15/2026 10:36 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports Senate Republicans need to keep a second reconciliation bill "narrow and targeted" due to their slim majority in the chamber, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Wednesday. Appearing on Newsmax’s "Wake Up America," Johnson said GOP leaders must stay focused if they want to deliver key priorities, particularly funding for border security and immigration enforcement, amid unified Democrat opposition. "The reason we want to keep it narrow and targeted is we have very slender majorities," Johnson said. "We need to keep it focused so everybody’s on the same page, and we can actually pass that." Johnson emphasized that Republicans can move forward using reconciliation, allowing them to bypass a Senate filibuster, but only if the legislation remains narrowly focused. He said a broader package risks fracturing GOP support and delaying action. The Wisconsin senator also blamed Democrats for the ongoing funding standoff involving the Department of Homeland Security, arguing they have refused to support resources for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a time of heightened national security concerns. "Democrats want to defund ICE and CBP," Johnson said. "That’s the reality we face, and we have to deal with it.”

NPR [4/16/2026 4:44 AM, Sam Gringlas and Leila Fadel, 34837K] reports op Republicans in Congress have a plan to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. But to do so, they’ll need to circumvent Democrats and limit defections within their own ranks. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

CBS News [4/15/2026 6:48 AM, Staff, 51110K] reports the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued sanctions against three individuals and two casinos for their alleged links to Mexico’s Cartel del Noreste, one of several criminal groups designated last year as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. Washington has intensified its crackdown on the Cartel del Noreste - heir to the former Zetas - which has been accused of trafficking weapons, drugs and people, and is characterized by its violent practices and extortion. Its base is Nuevo Laredo, the busiest commercial port on the U.S.-Mexico border. Among the entities sanctioned is Casino Centenario, a gambling venue in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which the U.S. claims functions as a drug storage hub and a mechanism for laundering money through gambling activities. The Treasury also sanctioned Diamante Casino, headquartered in the northern city of Tampico - also in Tamaulipas - which operates an online betting site. Sanctions were also leveled against high-profile enablers, including Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez - the alleged "gatekeeper" of the cartel’s human smuggling routes into Texas - and attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, cited for providing illicit support.

CNN [4/16/2026 5:01 AM, Priscilla Alvarez, 19874K] reports a facility in New York that housed migrant children faces allegations of physical abuse, including placing some children in isolation in a so-called "red room," according to multiple sources who spoke with CNN about what’s unfolded at the shelter. The accounts from federal sources and child welfare experts describe a heavy-handed approach to punishment for potential behavioral issues in recent years, prompting an internal review by the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is charged with the care of migrant children, according to two of the sources. The shelter, called the Children’s Village, has multiple locations across New York serving kids, including US citizens, though the abuse allegations stem from their treatment of migrant children at the Dobbs Ferry location. The Children’s Village has served unaccompanied migrant children since 2004. Children were allegedly beaten by a "special" unit, akin to a security team, including at times, out of the view of cameras. They were also allegedly held in restraints for several minutes, beyond protocol in place to ensure safety. Children were also involuntarily taken to a room as punishment, according to a source familiar with the situation. In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the Children’s Village said: "We have zero tolerance for any form of punishment." "All teens in our care deserve the highest level of care, support, and professionalism from every adult responsible for their well-being. Allegations of employee misconduct are deeply distressing, and if received, we make an immediate report to the authorities. We will take all necessary steps to ensure that any staff member found to have engaged in misconduct is addressed appropriately and without hesitation," the spokesperson added.

Axios [4/15/2026 3:37 PM, Alexandria Sands, 17364K] reports nearly five months after the Trump administration surged Border Patrol agents into North Carolina, the Department of Homeland Security has shared little about Operation Charlotte’s Web and its reported 1,300-plus arrests beyond what lawsuits have revealed. The federal agency that for more than two weeks disrupted daily life, prompting economic upheaval and public school absences, appears to answer to few, critics say, and may be violating transparency laws fundamental to U.S. democracy. Much of the information about Operation Charlotte’s Web, launched Nov. 15, has emerged from lawsuits. DHS put out several news releases, handpicking arrestees to identify to back up its claim that the Charlotte operation was targeting the most violent criminals, blaming the region’s Democratic leaders for not honoring ICE detainers. Among the first 44 people detained, for one of the "worst of the worst," DHS mentioned only a bench warrant and an illegal entry charge. Greg Bovino, who oversaw the Charlotte operation but was removed from his role as Border Patrol chief earlier this year, defended the agency’s local actions as necessary for protecting the public. According to an NC Local analysis, just 30% of the more than 1,100 people arrested in North Carolina operations between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31 had been convicted of a crime.

Less than 40% had pending criminal charges. DHS is exempt from releasing names and identifying information due to privacy concerns, an attorney with the Deportation Data Project tells Axios. However, DHS maintains a "Worst of the Worst" webpage where it highlights some arrests, but it has stopped updating an online dashboard with neutral statistics. Immigration attorneys say they are increasingly struggling to get FOIA requests fulfilled to represent their clients. The American Immigration Council is suing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for rejecting requests for A-files, records of immigration history.

CNN [4/15/2026 2:22 PM, Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, 19874K] reports that as immigration authorities carry out what President Donald Trump has promised will be the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, several states are passing laws to keep children out of foster care when their detained parents have no family or friends available to take temporary custody of them. The federal government doesn’t track how many children have entered foster care because of immigration enforcement actions, leaving it unclear how often it happens. In Oregon, as of February two children had been placed in foster care after being separated from their parents in immigration detention cases, according to Jake Sunderland, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Human Services. "Before fall 2025, this simply had never happened before," Sunderland said. As of mid-February, nearly 70,000 people were being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The record 73,000 people in detention in January represented an 84% increase compared with one year before. According to reporting from ProPublica, parents of 11,000 children who are U.S. citizens were detained from the beginning of Trump’s term through August. The news outlet NOTUS reported in February that at least 32 children of detained or deported parents had been placed in foster care in seven states. Sandy Santana, executive director of Children’s Rights, a legal advocacy organization, said he thinks the actual number is much higher.

CNN [4/15/2026 7:08 PM, Staff, 612K] reports the California college student who lost his right eye after being struck by a projectile while filming at a "No Kings" protest said Wednesday he was only recording and heard no warning before he was hit — an account disputed by federal authorities, who say officers issued multiple warnings before deploying force. Tucker Collins, 18, who lost his right eye as a result of being hit, said he was documenting the protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on March 28. Wearing a black eye patch Wednesday, he spoke to reporters after his attorney announced the filing of a federal tort claim act. The claim seeks compensation from the Department of Homeland Security and gives the agency six months to respond. It is a precursor to a potential civil rights lawsuit. "One moment I was recording, and then the next thing I know, I can’t see. I’m on the floor screaming in agony," the University of Southern California freshman said. "There was no warning. I didn’t hear dispersal order. There was no one throwing anything next to me.” DHS previously said that seven warnings were issued before crowd control measures were deployed and that "rioters threw rocks, bottles, and cement blocks at officers.” DHS on Wednesday directed CNN to their earlier statement when reached for comment on the federal tort claim filing and Collins’ allegations. Collins was hit in the eye by a less-lethal projectile he says was fired by a DHS agent, "destroying his eyeball and fracturing the bones in his eye socket," his attorney V. James DeSimone told CNN. Collins maintained he was there to exercise his First Amendment rights and that the use of force by federal agents was not warranted. "There was no way in which I was doing anything at all except just taking photos, taking videos," Collins said. "What I got from that is I lost an eye.” Collins had followed the protesters to the detention center with the intention of documenting it, given his interest in photography and short films, DeSimone said. Although a tall black metal barrier separated the crowd of protesters and the law enforcement agents, and Collins stayed back from the front lines of the protest, he was still hit, his attorney said. DHS did not say whether the agency provided treatment or had been in touch with Collins since his injury.

Los Angeles Times [4/15/2026 9:53 PM, Summer Lin, 12718K] reports attorneys representing a USC student shot and blinded by a Department of Homeland Security officer at a "No Kings" rally announced Wednesday plans to file a federal claim against the agency — the first step in filing a federal civil rights lawsuit. On March 28, Tucker Collins was shot with a projectile fired by a Department of Homeland Security officer and blinded in his right eye while taking a video of the rally, according to his attorney V. James DeSimone. The demonstration that drew thousands to downtown Los Angeles culminated at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Shortly after the shooting, a Homeland Security spokesperson issued a statement, saying a group of about 1,000 protesters surrounded the Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles and "threw rocks, bottles, and cement blocks at officers." Seven warnings were given "before the deployment of crowd control measures," according to the statement. Collins spoke out for the first time at a Wednesday news conference since being blinded at the rally. "There was no way in which I was a danger to anyone," Collin told reporters at the conference while wearing an eye patch. "There’s no way in which I was doing anything at all except just taking photos, taking videos. DeSimone announced at the conference that his firm filed a federal tort claim against Homeland Security, the first step in filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the agency. He did not discuss the dollar amount he may seek. "Here was an 18-year-old college student standing back and documenting what was happening when a DHS officer shot him in the eye and changed his life forever," DeSimone said. "The law does not allow federal officers to permanently maim someone who is peacefully documenting a public protest and expect no accountability. And neither should the public.” Federal judges have issued preliminary injunctions restricting Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from using tear gas, pepper-ball munitions and other less-lethal projectiles against protesters — banning the targeting of the head, neck or torso, except when deadly force is justified.

FOX News [4/15/2026 10:08 AM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] Video: HERE reports President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, revealed that he would "welcome" a discussion with Pope Leo XIV amid the administration’s ongoing spat with the Vatican over disagreements on immigration policy and the Iran conflict. Differing from Vice President JD Vance, who said that "in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality," Homan said he is "open to discussion with any of them." Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Homan, a "lifelong Catholic," said, "I wish they’d stay out of immigration, they don’t know what they’re talking about." However, Homan asserted that the pope’s opinion would change if he understood that "illegal immigration is not a victimless crime." "If they wore my shoes for 40 years, and talked to a 9-year-old girl that got raped multiple times, or stood in the back of a tractor trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet, including a 5-year-old boy that baked to death, if they understood the atrocities that happened on the open border, I think their opinion would change," he said. Trump’s border czar went on to say that despite intense criticism over the president’s immigration policy, "He’s saving thousands of lives a year because he has a secure border." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [4/15/2026 8:43 PM, Victor Nava, 40934K] reports Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) called on House Republicans Tuesday to impeach District Judge James Boasberg after a federal appeals court ordered the jurist to end his criminal contempt probe against Trump administration officials. The majority on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals found Boasberg’s efforts to bring contempt charges against former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other top executive branch officials – over their involvement in the deportation of hundreds of suspected Tren De Aragua gang members to El Salvador last March – were a "clear abuse of discretion," "intrusive" and a "legal dead end.” "The DC Circuit ruled Boasberg’s contempt crusade against Trump officials is an ‘improper investigation’ and ‘clear abuse of discretion,’" Schmitt wrote on X. "He tried to imprison Trump officials for deporting Venezuelan gang members," the senator continued. "I’m calling on the House: Impeach Rogue Judge Boasberg.” The process for impeaching a federal judge is the same as it is for a president. The House would launch an impeachment inquiry, likely headed by the House Judiciary Committee, and then draft and vote on articles of impeachment. If the House passes the articles of impeachment, the Senate would handle the impeachment trial and vote to convict or acquit the judge. It’s unlikely the Senate would be able to muster the two-thirds majority necessary to convict Boasberg, in the event he’s impeached. In a separate post, Schmitt argued that Boasberg "forced himself onto" the case last March involving President Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal Venezuelan migrants with alleged gang ties "just a few days after trying to foment a constitutional crisis at a Judicial Conference meeting.” The senator was referring to comments the Obama-appointed judge allegedly made during a March 11 judicial conference attended by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and other jurists. "While there, Judge Boasberg attempted to improperly influence Chief Justice Roberts and roughly two dozen other federal judges by straying from the traditional topics to express his belief that the Trump Administration would ‘disregard rulings of federal courts’ and trigger ‘a constitutional crisis,’" then-Justice Department official Chad Mizelle wrote in a misconduct complaint filed last July with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Telemundo [4/15/2026 9:10 PM, Pilar Niño, 26K] reports there is confusion among some people upon learning of the announcement that the immigration court located on Montgomery Street in San Francisco will close on May 1st. Telemundo 48 spoke with a Colombian woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, who said her immigration court hearing was rescheduled last year because the judge was fired. It was rescheduled for May 27 at 100 Montgomery Street, but she has now learned that the court is closing. “I’m uncertain because I don’t know,” the woman said. So he logged into the system and realized that his hearing had been changed again to July 12, 2028. “I have to show up at Montgomery Street at the same time of 9:00 am, and I understand that they are going to close that location,” the woman said. Although one of the things people can do is call to confirm when the next hearing will be, in this case it didn’t help much. "That’s what I called, because I was confused and I ended up even more confused, she gave a completely wrong date, in 2023," the immigrant said. She also contacted her lawyer. “My lawyer told me directly that they have not been notified,” he said. The situation this immigrant is going through is already worrying community organizations that fear the transition of cases from the San Francisco court to Montgomery could become chaotic. “It is not clear whether these people will be transferred to Concord or another location,” said Sergio Lopez, spokesman for the Safe Center Advocacy Program. That’s why they recommend paying attention to your emails and frequently checking when your next hearing is, and in case of inconsistencies, make sure to save evidence. “It could be a screenshot from the automated system on the website, also a recording from the phone when they call, they can record the message, and also save every court notification,” López asserted. This would be useful in case you lose your audience due to this conflict. “If for some reason they lose their hearing and a deportation order is issued, they can easily prove it wasn’t the person’s fault but that they didn’t have the correct information,” López said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [4/16/2026 3:36 AM, Louis Casiano, 40934K] reports a Navy reservist accused of murdering his wife in Virginia and fleeing the country has been arrested and is expected to be extradited to the United States. David Varela, 38, sparked an international manhunt after the body of Lina Maria Guerra, 39, was found inside a freezer in their Norfolk home on Feb. 5. He was arrested overseas, FBI Director Kash Patel announced. "More big news today… @FBI is announcing the successful overseas apprehension of David Varela, a 38-year-old Navy reservist who is wanted for first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Lina Guerra," Patel wrote on X. "Mr. Varela has been on the run for over two months attempting to avoid prosecution for these heinous crimes, but justice doesn’t forget.” Patel did not specify where Varela was captured, but he was believed to have fled to Hong Kong. Investigators said Varela left the US on or about Feb. 5, the same day Guerra’s body was discovered. She had been reported missing by her brother after he had not heard from her for two weeks. Detectives had also been unable to reach Varela, an active-duty Navy reservist, and his Navy supervisor told police it was unusual for him not to return calls. Guerra’s death was later ruled a homicide. Virginia authorities issued two arrest warrants charging Varela with first-degree murder and concealing a dead body. Federal investigators determined Varela boarded a flight to Hong Kong, and emergency disclosure requests from WhatsApp showed location information originating from there. Authorities said Varela has family in Colombia but no known ties to Hong Kong or China. Guerra’s loved ones told WTKR-TV that Varela was jealous and barred his wife from working, having friends or socializing alone. "I want to emphasize that there had been violence before from David," Guerra’s sister-in-law, Paola Ramirez, told the news outlet through a translator. "He had hit her previously, but she didn’t tell us because she didn’t want to worry us. He appeared to be very religious, very calm, normal. That’s why this is so shocking. We never imagined he’d do something like this.” The news station reported receiving a tip from a woman who said she possibly met Varela in Hong Kong, where he allegedly asked her out. "I was in Hong Kong with my friends. We met this man while waiting in line at an attraction," she told the station through a translator. "He introduced himself as David and said he was looking for a Russian wife.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Washington Post [4/15/2026 5:15 PM, Staff, 24826K] reports President Donald Trump’s argument for mass deportations was built on valid concerns about open borders and sanctuary laws that protect criminals. Yet overreach by Washington has given states like Maryland the political cover to limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Since the start of last year, the administration has deported nearly 20,000 people in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. Sixty percent of them had no prior criminal record. This has caused an uproar in deep-blue Maryland, and on Monday, the Maryland Senate approved a new version of the Community Trust Act. The bill would limit state and local law enforcement cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It could take effect as soon as it’s signed by Gov. Wes Moore (D). Barring some exceptions for serious convictions, the bill mostly prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE to turn over illegal immigrants in their custody, unless there’s a judicial warrant. A healthier immigration debate would focus less on whom to deport and more on whom to welcome into the country through a more orderly legal system. Ambitious 2028 presidential candidates would be wise to focus on the positive case for more immigration, and the economic growth that would come with it, rather than pandering to the liberal base.

New York Times [4/16/2026 1:01 AM, Linda Greenhouse, 148038K] reports the surprise wasn’t that the Supreme Court last month agreed to decide whether the Trump administration can revoke Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants. Federal District Courts had deemed the revocations improper, and similar cases were pending as Kristi Noem, then the homeland security secretary, methodically revoked or denied extensions of grants of protected status that immigrants had received under previous presidents. The situation seemed tailor-made for the Supreme Court’s intervention. The surprise in that Supreme Court order lay in what the court didn’t do. The justices turned down the administration’s request for an immediate pause of the district court decisions. That means that while the Supreme Court considers the cases — Trump v. Miot and Mullin v. Doe have been consolidated for a single argument on April 29 — these Haitians and Syrians remain protected against deportation, free to work legally and live openly. In other words, at least for now, they get the benefit of their lower-court victories. That relief is something the Supreme Court has denied other winning parties by routinely granting the administration’s requests to put adverse decisions on hold. The justices have failed to explain themselves in granting earlier stays and in denying this one. So we are left to guess at their reasoning and to wonder at the apparent unanimity of the latest order, which was issued without noted dissent.

DailySignal [4/15/2026 4:00 PM, Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, 474K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday arrested criminal illegal immigrants for crimes including sexual contact with a child, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and sexual assault, and child molestation, The Daily Signal has learned. "Every day, the courageous men and women of ICE risk their lives to arrest criminal aliens to safeguard American communities," acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. "Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting pedophiles, kidnappers, and violent criminals. Every single day, our officers are removing heinous criminals from our community," she added.

Daily Signal [4/15/2026 7:21 PM, Fred Lucas, 474K] reports two mothers who lost their sons and another whose daughter remains permanently injured will testify before Congress on Thursday about how these tragedies—each involving illegal aliens—could have been prevented through stricter enforcement of immigration law. This forum could be uncomfortable for House Democrats who oppose enforcing immigration laws, said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, which is holding the hearing. "People keep arguing the legal loopholes and technicalities. I want members of this committee who don’t believe in enforcement to look these mothers in the eyes," Van Drew told The Daily Signal. "We are not going to have lawyers, not analysts, but real people.” Van Drew said illegal immigrants charged or convicted of serious crimes should be returned to their country of origin. Instead, many blue cities and states refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I hope that those colleagues on the other side of the aisle who don’t believe in detention or deportation of criminal illegal aliens—people who have been indicted or convicted of major crimes like drug distribution or rape—will see the toll of sanctuary policies," Van Drew said. Van Drew pointed to Minnesota and California as states with some of the worst sanctuary policies. He also included his own state of New Jersey, which bars state and local law enforcement from assisting ICE.

NBC News [4/15/2026 6:17 PM, Laura Strickler, 42967K] reports until late last year, when an immigrant died in a U.S. detention center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would release a detailed three-page report on the circumstances. As the number of detainee deaths swelled, those reports have been cut to four-paragraph summaries. Agency policy had been that ICE notified the public and Congress within two days of a detainee’s death, and then within 90 days all reports about in-custody deaths were posted on ICE’s website. The information typically included detailed timelines, with timestamps of medical observations, regular medications, emergency medications administered and the times and causes of death. But starting in mid-December, that changed. When a report is released now, it generally includes a brief synopsis of the circumstances that led up to the death. The Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump has promised to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible, and holding facilities are increasingly overcrowded, hot and plagued by illness. ICE accounts of the conditions in detention facilities often differ dramatically from those of migrants held inside. DHS did not address the changes directly, but it said in a statement that the death rates were a very small percentage of the overall detained population. "All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens," it said.

Washington Post [4/15/2026 5:00 AM, Marissa J. Lang, 24826K] reports by the time Tax Day rolls around every April 15, accountant María José Solís usually has more to do. More clients. More paperwork. More phones ringing, more emails and WhatsApp messages pinging. But this year, she said, more than 550 of her regular clients have disappeared. That’s about 15 percent of her customer base at Toro Taxes, the bilingual firm in Wheaton, Maryland, that Solís runs. These numbers continue a trend that could cost the government billions of dollars in unpaid taxes. Solís and her staff said they began to notice the shift last year, shortly after the IRS agreed to share personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, including the addresses of about 47,000 immigrant taxpayers who were subject to deportation. The Trump administration’s decision to reverse a long-standing practice to keep IRS information walled off and encourage undocumented immigrants to file tax returns has stoked fear and distrust — and led to a marked decline in the number of immigrants willing to engage in the tax system amid a parallel escalation of ICE arrests. ICE agents made nearly 20,000 arrests in D.C., Maryland and Virginia since the start of President Donald Trump’s second administration last year through early March, according to a Washington Post analysis of recent federal data. That was nearly five times the amount of similar arrests that took place in the last full year of President Joe Biden’s term. “It has been crazy for us,” Solís said earlier this week. “I mean, we still have a few more days to go, but my clientele is like 80 percent Latino. So we have been very impacted.”

NBC News [4/15/2026 3:12 PM, Nicole Acevedo, 42967K] reports a high school senior in Connecticut is spending his days in immigration detention after ICE picked him up last week on the first day of his spring break. Rihan, 18, who’s being identified by his first name by his attorney, would have been starting senior year activities and preparing for upcoming final exams at Cheshire High School. Instead, he’s being held at a detention facility in Massachusetts, about 170 miles away from his home. An Afghan national, Rihan legally entered the U.S. with his family in October 2024 and was granted humanitarian parole, which was set to expire in October of this year. According to one of his attorneys, Lauren Petersen, humanitarian parole was approved due to direct threats to the family after Rihan’s father, Zia, served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News in an email that ICE arrested Rihan "on federal immigration violations and issued him a Notice to Appear before a judge. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. All his claims will be heard, and he will receive full due process." The spokesperson added that DHS will continue "going full throttle on vetting illegal aliens who came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs." Rihan and his family entered legally through the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program.

CBS Baltimore [4/15/2026 2:19 PM, J.T. Moodee Lockman, 51110K] reports that a federal judge ruled Wednesday to temporarily limit construction on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility that’s in the works in Maryland. The immigration facility in Washington County has sparked numerous concerns from state and local leaders, along with a lawsuit from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson approved a preliminary injunction, temporarily limiting ICE’s progress in renovating the building, pending more court hearings. According to Hurson, the decision was made due to the impact of the project, which state leaders say could house 1,500 people. "No one, not even the federal government, is above the law," Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. "Today’s preliminary injunction is a major victory that stops federal authorities from irreversibly damaging our waterways, our environment, and our communities before our lawsuit is even decided. And it ensures that the federal government cannot rush through the legal process required to open this facility in its frenzy to carry out its deportation goals.” WJZ has reached out to ICE for comment. Under the judge’s ruling, ICE can make some interior renovations to the building, including adding security cameras, fiber optic cables, and drywall. Judge Hurson’s ruling also allows for an eight-foot security fence. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the purchase, saying, "It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space."

The AP [4/15/2026 6:27 PM, Heather Hollingsworth, 35287K] reports that a federal judge on Wednesday prolonged a pause to transform a massive Maryland warehouse into an immigrant processing center, in a fact that comes as federal immigration officials review a plan to house tens of thousands of people in converted industrial buildings. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January purchased the 76,645-square-meter (825,000-square-foot) building near the Washington County town of Hagerstown for US$102.4 million. Among the 11 warehouses acquired across the country, the Maryland facility was supposed to be one of the first to open, with a capacity to house 500 to 1,500 detainees. But the federal government has faced such fierce opposition across the country that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is already reviewing the warehouse plan. And while Washington County authorities approved a proclamation in which they declared their “unwavering support” for DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the state filed a lawsuit. The Maryland lawsuit alleged that the federal government did not conduct the required environmental reviews. It is said that the building is on a floodplain and that the federal government did not request public comment on its plans until more than a month after the building was purchased. Several groups expressed concerns before the public comment period closed on March 5. But the lawsuit indicates that ICE, with abundant resources after a huge congressional allocation, issued a 113 million-dollar contract for the building the next day, and those works were expected to conclude on May 4. Finally, a federal judge issued a short-term temporary restraining order that stopped work to adapt the building. After a hearing on Wednesday, the judge accepted a preliminary precautionary measure of longer duration that will only allow the realization of limited work, such as the installation of a fence and heating and cooling work, until the case is resolved. DHS said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the ruling. “Let’s be honest about what’s going on,” the statement read. “This has nothing to do with the environment. It’s an attempt to stop President Trump from making America safe.” The Washington Examiner [4/15/2026 8:26 PM, Christine Valora, 1147K] reports that the proposed design includes converting the warehouse into a 1,500-bed ICE detention facility. The state cites that Washington County’s sewage system is nearly at capacity, with estimates of nearly 400 gallons a day in overalloted waste. The state pointed to federal law requiring agencies to conduct environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. The attorney general’s office said the lawsuit alleges that DHS and ICE violated NEPA by purchasing the Washington County property and moving forward with construction plans without conducting any of the required steps, along with skipping consultations with state officials. The state’s attorney, Steven Goldstein, warned that if the ICE facility opens, raw sewage will back up and leak into homes, businesses, and waterways, causing an immediate public health emergency and irreversible property damage. State calculations estimate that this will result in an exponential increase in sewage output, as a typical warehouse facility would generate 25,000 gallons of raw sewage a day, whereas a 1,500-bed facility would generate 188,000 gallons. However, Department of Justice attorneys Sean C. Duffy and Hayley Carpenter argued on behalf of the federal government that the state has no standing. "The agency does have to comply with state and local law," Duffy said, admitting that "an environmental review must be done.” Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) issued a statement on the ruling, citing the preliminary injection "is a major and welcome step forward.” ICE could be amending its proposal due to environmental constraints, according to recent court filings, while DHS has not responded to the lawsuit.

Reported similarly:
CBS Baltimore [4/15/2026 6:29 PM, Staff, 51110K] Video: HERE
Washington Times [4/15/2026 3:06 PM, Stephen Dinan, 1323K]

AP [4/15/2026 5:47 PM, Heather Hollingsworth, 35287K] reports a federal judge extended a pause Wednesday on transforming a massive Maryland warehouse into a processing facility for immigrants in a development that comes as federal immigration officials review a plan to house tens of thousands in converted industrial buildings. The Department of Homeland Security purchased the 825,000-square-foot (76,645-square-meter) building near the Washington County town of Hagerstown in January for $102.4 million. Among the 11 warehouses purchased nationwide, the Maryland facility was supposed to be one of the first to open, capable of housing 500 to 1,500 detainees. But the federal government has faced such fierce opposition nationwide that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing the warehouse plan. And while officials in Washington County approved a proclamation declaring their "unwavering support" for DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the state sued. The Maryland lawsuit alleged that the federal government didn’t conduct the required environmental reviews. It said the building is in a flood plain and the federal government didn’t seek public comment on its plans until more than a month after the building was purchased. Several groups raised concerns before the public comment period closed on March 5. But the suit said Immigration and Customs Enforcement, flush with cash from a massive congressional appropriation, issued a contract the very next day worth $113 million to renovate the building, with that work expected to wrap up by May 4. Ultimately, a federal judge issued a short-term temporary restraining order soon afterward that halted work to retrofit the building. After a hearing Wednesday, the judge agreed to a longer-term preliminary injunction that will allow only limited work, like the installation of a fence and heating and cooling work, until the case is decided. DHS said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the ruling. The Maryland lawsuit is one of three pending in federal court, and officials elsewhere have tried to block warehouse conversions by arguing that water and sewage infrastructure is inadequate.

FOX News [4/15/2026 5:59 PM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] reports Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has been asked not to release yet another criminal illegal immigrant as northern Virginia, a major suburb of Washington, D.C., continues to be rocked by a migrant crime spree. Fox News Digital has learned that the Department of Homeland Security has asked Spanberger and "sanctuary politicians" in Arlington, Virginia, to honor a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer on a Guatemalan illegal immigrant charged with attempted rape. The illegal immigrant, Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran, 28, faces charges of abduction of a person with intent to defile, sodomy by force or victim helplessness and assault in an alleged attempted rape, according to DHS. Since Arlington has several sanctuary policies limiting local cooperation with ICE, DHS said the agency filed a detainer request with the Arlington County Jail to ensure that Garcia Moran is not released back into the community. DHS said Garcia Moran entered the U.S. illegally on an unknown date. Citing Arlington County Court records, the agency said he has "at least" 25 prior charges dating back to 2020, including nine counts of being intoxicated in public, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer and several probation violations. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis claimed it was "Virginia’s sanctuary policies [that] allowed this illegal alien to go on a crime spree." "Despite prior arrests by law enforcement, this criminal was released from jail multiple times before he went on to commit this heinous rape," Bis said. "We are calling on Arlington County sanctuary politicians and Governor Abigail Spanberger to commit to not releasing this criminal from jail back into our communities.

AP [4/15/2026 4:54 PM, Jack Brook] reports the French government is pressing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to release the 86-year-old French widow of a military veteran from immigration custody after she was detained earlier this month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Marie-Therese Ross in Alabama on April 1 after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to DHS. Ross is now being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Louisiana. Rodolphe Sambou, Consul General of France in New Orleans, told the AP that the French government has “fully mobilized” to push for her release. He said he has visited her in detention twice so far. Ross married Alabama resident William Ross in April last year, Calhoun County marriage records show. Ross died in January, according to an obituary from his family, which says he was a former captain in the U.S. Army.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [4/15/2026 4:04 PM, Christopher Cann, 70643K] r

CBS Miami [4/15/2026 7:06 PM, Chelsea Jones, 51110K] Video: HERE reports new data shows South Florida is leading the nation when it comes to immigration arrests, often without the high-profile raids seen elsewhere. An analysis by New York Times found Florida is quietly outpacing the rest of the country, with the Miami-based field office averaging about 120 arrests a day. Experts say that trend is not entirely new. A former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says South Florida has historically seen higher enforcement numbers because of its large immigrant population, combined with strong cooperation between local law enforcement and federal agencies. For one South Florida family, those numbers are more than just statistics. Brandon Garrison’s wife, Gabriela Sousa, came to the United States from Venezuela in April 2023 under a humanitarian parole program. Just two days before that status was set to expire, the couple got married — believing it would allow her to remain in the country legally. It didn’t. "The I-130 is pending. Literally everything I could possibly do to adjust her status and make her legal," Garrison said. Six months after their wedding, the couple was arrested by Hollywood police following a domestic dispute. That case has since been closed, but Sousa was transferred into ICE custody. That’s known as a custodial arrest. According to the same New York Times analysis, roughly half of ICE arrests in 2025 fell into that category.

AP [4/15/2026 4:54 PM, Jack Brook, 35287K] reports the French government is pressing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to release the 86-year-old French widow of a military veteran from immigration custody after she was detained earlier this month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Marie-Therese Ross in Alabama on April 1 after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to DHS. Ross is now being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Louisiana. Ross is among the thousands of people targeted by the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda that has detained the spouses of U.S. soldiers and military veterans who previously received greater leniency under scrapped policies. Rodolphe Sambou, Consul General of France in New Orleans, told the AP that the French government has “fully mobilized” to push for her release. He said he has visited her in detention twice so far. “Given her age, we really want her to get out of this situation as soon as possible,” Sambou said. “We want to get her out of jail.” Sambou said that he has been communicating frequently with Ross’ family and French officials in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Paris to try and coordinate Ross’ release and ensure she has access to sufficient food and health care. He said the French government has also contacted DHS. He declined to comment on her legal status or other details of her case.

Univision [4/15/2026 6:51 PM, Staff, 4937K] reports Marie-Thérèse, an 86-year-old French woman, traveled to the United States after reconnecting with a love that had been suspended for more than half a century. What began as a romantic story between two people who met again after widowing ended up becoming an immigration case, a family dispute and an arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which today keeps it in a detention center in Louisiana. They married last year and she moved to Alabama while processing her permanent residence in the United States. But the process was unfinished. Billy passed away in January before Marie-Thérèse received her “green card,” leaving her immigration status in a legal limbo. In parallel, a dispute arose over the inheritance with Billy’s son, which led to family tensions, allegations of intimidation and basic service cuts in the home, according to the family of hers to the French media Ouest-France. Marie-Thérèse was detained by ICE in early April in Anniston, Alabama, a day before a court hearing. He has since been in custody in a detention center in Louisiana. According to the Department of Homeland Security, his detention occurred after exceeding the allowed time of his 90-day visa. His case is framed in a context of stricter immigration policies in the United States and an increase in detentions related to irregular immigration status. The case has already escalated at the diplomatic level. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally intervened and has requested his release, in addition to consular access and medical care. French consul General in New Orleans, Rodolphe Sambou, told the AP that the French government has “fully mobilized” to address the situation and that the woman has already been visited in the detention center. “Given his age, we earnestly wish him to get out of this situation as soon as possible,” Sambou said. “We want to get her out of jail.” The diplomat added that they maintain constant contact with U.S. authorities and Marie-Thérèse’s family to manage his release, while his health is being assessed, which includes heart and back problems.

FOX News [4/15/2026 2:19 PM, Alexandra Koch, 37576K] reports that a Venezuelan migrant charged in the March killing of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman appeared in court on Wednesday, where a judge ordered him to provide a DNA sample and approved requests tied to his medical treatment ahead of trial. Illegal immigrant Jose Medina-Medina, 25, is accused of fatally shooting Gorman, 18, at a Rogers Park pier March 19. He limped into court on Wednesday after federal prosecutors earlier this month charged Medina-Medina with illegally possessing a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. In addition to the federal charge, he faces state-level charges including murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and illegal possession of a weapon. On the murder charge, the state requested that the court order the defendant to submit a DNA sample to state police. The public defender objected, but the judge granted the motion. The public defender also requested a trial and submitted a healthcare order noting a bullet fragment lodged in Medina-Medina’s nasal cavity. They asked that his medical records be collected from multiple hospitals where he has received treatment, though no specific facilities were identified. The state did not object, and the judge granted the healthcare orders. Records indicate he did not have a valid U.S. address or identification and was unable to provide a verifiable point of contact. His arraignment is scheduled for April 29.

CBS News [4/15/2026 9:02 PM, Doug Myers, 51110K] reports ten people have been arrested, with nine additional suspects still under investigation, following a Fort Worth Police Department‑led, multi‑agency sting targeting child predators. The three‑day undercover operation, held April 1-3, focused on adults who investigators say were attempting to solicit minors online, authorities said Wednesday. Investigators used multiple online platforms to identify suspects seeking sexual contact with children under 17. Participating agencies included the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Crowley Police Department, Carrollton Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Secret Service, and the FBI. Police used the announcement to urge parents to stay alert to their children’s online activity. "This operation is a strong reminder that law enforcement is already working to find anyone using the internet to target children," the Fort Worth police said in a social media post, "and to encourage parents to always be involved in who your children might be communicating with online or through social media platforms. Through continued collaborations, we remain committed to protecting our most vulnerable and holding offenders accountable." More information from Operation Spring Cleaning is not being released due to the sensitivity and ongoing nature of the cases, police said. Among those arrested, according to a Fort Worth police social media post, are the following: Jose Montalvan, 41. Stephen Milliken, 30. Humberto Aldana Caballer, 23. James Klump, 61. Jordan Kammerer, 26. Joel Stroud, 33. Santiago Luque-Calix, 28. Jose Morales-Puentes, 25. Michael Schweitzer, 48. William Johnson, 19.

CBS News [4/15/2026 8:08 PM, Shanelle Kaul, 51110K] reports that, in the Batra family home near Brownsville, Texas, siblings Amrita, Lucas, Aaryan and Jasper are making lunch without their mother, 53-year-old Meenu Batra. "It doesn’t feel right being in here without her," Amrita told CBS News. Meenu Batra, a single mother of four adult U.S. citizens, was arrested March 17 by federal immigration officers at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas, while on her way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a work trip. Batra has been a certified court interpreter for more than 20 years, and her language skills in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu are requested nationwide. "They told me you’re here illegally," Batra told CBS News of her arrest in an exclusive interview Wednesday from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, located near the U.S.-Mexico border. "And I said, ‘No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.’". Batra was born in India. When she was a teenager, her parents were killed because of their Sikh religion. She fled to the U.S. roughly 35 years ago and applied for asylum. In 2000, she was granted an immigration status known as "withholding of removal," which differs from asylum. Unlike asylum, withholding of removal recipients cannot apply for permanent U.S. residency. It also does not protect them from being deported to a third-party country. Batra’s attorney told CBS News that his client’s status allows her to remain and work legally as long as she doesn’t leave the U.S. or commit a crime. Batra said her understanding of her immigration status was that she was in the U.S. legally. "I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about," Batra said. "And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do.” In a statement provided to CBS News, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called Batra an "illegal alien," adding that "employment authorization does not confer any type of legal status.” Batra said the uncertainty is the "worst part.” "Every single day, you can’t sleep because you’re afraid when you go to bed, where you’re going to wake up," Batra said. Her arrest comes just months after her youngest son, Jasper, joined the U.S. Army. He said it feels like a betrayal. "I thought, you know, I would serve my country and serve my people," Jasper told CBS News. "But I didn’t know the people was everyone except my mom. I thought she was included, but I guess not.”

NBC News [4/15/2026 9:30 PM, Suzanne Gamboa and Mike Hixenbaugh, 42967K] reports a mother of five held at an ICE detention center in Texas was taken to the emergency room in "excruciating" pain, weeks after she was refused a CT scan by center officials for a lump in her chest, according to her attorney. The woman, Hayman El Gamal, has been pleading for medical attention for the abnormal growth, which has caused severe pain, since Feb. 17, according to a court document filed Wednesday by her attorney, Eric Lee. Lee says in the document, filed in federal court in the Western District of Texas, that El Gamal was initially denied a CT scan recommended by a doctor at the Dilley Detention Center. A subsequent CT scan conducted when she was taken to the ER found she has fluid around her heart, or pericardial effusion. The emergency room doctor recommended an ultrasound, but DHS, ICE and CoreCivic, which manages Dilley, denied the request, the court filings say. CoreCivic said in a statement that it couldn’t comment specifically on El Gamal’s case because of ongoing litigation and medical privacy issues. DHS and ICE didn’t respond to requests for comment on El Gamal’s case and the children’s detention. DHS has previously called allegations about poor care "mainstream media lies" and said parents and children are "housed in facilities that provide for their safety, security and medical needs.” The agency also has previously said the families have access to full medical staff, including a pediatrician, and it described the care as "the best healthcare" some detainees have received "in their entire lives.” Lee said he asked three physicians to independently review El Gamal’s medical records. In the court document, they stated that she should receive further testing for cancer, autoimmune disease and cardiac issues, and they raised concerns over her medical condition. They concluded that ICE and CoreCivic "are systematically denying Ms. El Gamal medical care, but also that this poses an urgent threat to Ms. El Gamal’s health and potentially her life," according to the documents. El Gamal and her children, ages 5 to 18, were detained June 3 following the arrest of the children’s father, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, whom El Gamal was married to at the time and has since divorced. Soliman is charged in connection with a fatal firebomb attack in Colorado and is accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at demonstrators who were calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. His family have said they knew nothing of his activities or his plans for them and have condemned his actions. The administration is trying to deport the family.

Telemundo [4/15/2026 10:48 AM, Nataniel González, 19K] reports that, four days after the arrest of Venezuelan doctor Rubeliz Bibi Bolívar by immigration authorities at McAllen airport , her family continues to face the consequences of this process. On Tuesday, Milena, the doctor’s daughter and a U.S. citizen, who is only 5 years old, managed to reunite with her father in California, after a long and agonizing journey that included her time in a detention center, two flights and almost two days of uncertainty. The emotional reunion left mixed feelings. Her father, Milenko Farías, expressed that the happiness of having her back by his side was indescribable. However, he also acknowledged the pain of her mother’s absence, as she remains in custody. The child, though young, is aware of the situation. During the trip, according to her father, she asked about her mother and expressed that she missed her, while the family tried to explain the situation to her as carefully as possible. The arrest occurred as the mother and daughter were traveling from McAllen Airport to California , an incident that has deeply affected the girl. Even before traveling, she expressed fear that something similar could happen to other members of her family, according to her father. In the midst of the crisis, the organization Proyecto IMG helped cover the travel expenses of the minor and her grandfather, facilitating the family reunion. The case has also generated political reactions. Congressman Joaquín Castro publicly criticized the arrest , stating that these types of actions affect professionals who serve the community and end up separating families, and therefore called for Dr. Bolívar’s immediate release. Currently, the woman remains detained at an immigration center in Raymondville. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Houston Chronicle [4/15/2026 1:30 PM, Benjamin Wermund, 2493K] reports that Gov. Greg Abbott’s office is investigating Texas cities that limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials after the Republican governor threatened to pull $110 million in public safety grants from Houston this week. A spokesman for Abbott did not specify which cities were under investigation, but told Hearst Newspapers the governor’s public safety office is “looking into allegations that other cities may be in violation of their contract with the state.” “Every city in Texas that enters into an agreement with the Governor’s Public Safety Office must follow the same standards applied to the City of Houston,” Andrew Mahaleris said. A state law passed in 2017 bans so-called “sanctuary” policies and requires local police to cooperate with federal immigration officials. Still, some cities across the state have sought to manage how much local police interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive. The Houston City Council last week voted to scrap a policy that requires officers to wait 30 minutes for ICE officers to pick up someone with a civil immigration warrant. The city’s new policy also requires the department to make reports to the council about its cooperation with ICE. Abbott distributes $580 million in state and federal grants to local law enforcement agencies each year, one of the biggest pots of police grant funding in the state. The attorney general’s office, which is led by Republican Ken Paxton, is also investigating the Houston and Austin policies.

Houston Chronicle [4/15/2026 6:26 PM, Ryan Nickerson, 2493K] reports Mayor John Whitmire has called a special Houston City Council meeting Friday to vote on whether to repeal an ordinance that changed how the Houston Police Department interacts with federal immigration agents. The move comes after Gov. Greg Abbott said Houston must revoke its policy or lose $114 million in public safety grant funding. The issue has thrust the typically low-profile City Council into the center of a statewide political fight over immigration enforcement. Abbott’s office has also begun looking into whether similar policies in other Texas cities violate state law. Houston officials have debated the right response to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown for months, but the discussion has accelerated over the past month. Among the factors was a March 5 Houston Chronicle investigation that the found Houston police in at least two cases detained drivers and transported them to ICE agents — actions legal experts said could violate the Constitution. ICE administrative warrants are civil documents that do not on their own give officers the authority to make arrests. Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz and Whitmire acknowledged those cases violated city policy, and on March 11 announced a new policy, requiring officer to wait up to 30 minutes for ICE to respond to administrative warrants. Some council members felt that change did not go far enough, and a week later, three members proposed an ordinance to further limit how long officers could detain people in those situations. City Council approved parts of the proposal by a 12-5 vote on April 8.

Houston Chronicle [4/15/2026 8:08 AM, Neena Satija and Julián Aguilar, 2493K] reports last fall, Hayam El Gamal and her five children were about to walk out of a Texas immigration detention center after a judge ruled in their favor. The immigration judge, Justin Adams, determined that the family – citizens of Egypt who had lived in Kuwait – could be released as long as they paid a $15,000 bond. In a memo explaining the decision, he noted they had lived in the U.S. since entering with tourist visas three years earlier, had no criminal record, provided “numerous letters of support from their local community” and were engaged in “diligent efforts” to obtain asylum. It was a huge relief for El Gamal and her kids. Three months earlier, her husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was accused of an antisemitic firebombing attack in Colorado, and the Trump administration publicly vowed to deport the whole family. But multiple federal agencies acknowledged that neither El Gamal nor any of her children had anything to do with the attack. (El Gamal and Soliman are now in divorce proceedings.) “I don’t see danger as an issue,” Adams told a prosecutor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the family’s bond hearing last September, according to a transcript. Adams, himself a former prosecutor for the agency, also noted that the family was “cooperating with law enforcement” and that ICE’s contention that they were a flight risk was “very shaky.” But El Gamal and her children, whose ages range from 5 to 18, were never released. They’ve now been in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center — the only ICE detention center in the nation that currently holds kids and their parents — for 10 months. That’s far longer than any other family in ICE detention during the Trump administration, according to one of the family’s lawyers, Eric Lee.

Tampa Free Press [4/15/2026 3:28 PM, Maria Hernandez] reports a multi-state manhunt ended in a North Dakota jail cell this week after federal agents tracked down a Honduran national wanted for a fatal shooting in North Carolina. Carlos Anuel Medina-Robles was taken into custody in Minot on April 9, 2026. Shortly after the arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a formal detainer with local authorities to prevent his release. Medina-Robles is currently the primary suspect in a Durham County, North Carolina, murder case involving a firearm. Records show this arrest marks the end of a years-long cycle of illegal entries and deportations for the suspect. Medina-Robles first arrived in the United States in August 2018 and was deported three months later. He returned illegally in September 2022, resulting in a second removal from the country. Federal officials stated he managed to enter the U.S. a third time at an unknown date and location prior to the alleged killing in Durham. “This twice-deported criminal illegal alien from Honduras is wanted for a murder in North Carolina,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement released Wednesday. “The brave men and women of ICE are fighting every single day to get dangerous criminals like this off of our streets and out of our country.”

Washington Post [4/15/2026 3:43 PM, Annie Gowen, 24826K] reports a lawyer for the former wife of an Egyptian man accused of attacking a rally in Colorado last year said she has been in acute pain from a chest mass for weeks and that doctors at the Dilley family detention center in Texas have denied her proper medical care. Hayam El Gamal has been in immigration detention since shortly after her then-husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly launched makeshift incendiary devices at a rally for the release of Israeli hostages, injuring several people, one of whom died weeks later. El Gamal’s lawyer, Eric Lee, said she repeatedly sought help from doctors at the federal facility over several weeks. Doctors brushed aside her concerns, Lee said, giving her ibuprofen and telling her not to lift heavy objects. Lee said they are waiting to see if the federal judge considering the family’s imprisonment case could weigh in on the medical situation. El Gamal, 42, and her five children — ages 5 to 18 — were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year soon after Soliman’s arrest.

Univision [4/15/2026 10:46 AM, Staff, 4937K] reports that the uncertainty surrounding interactions between Harris County Sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may be on the verge of facing unprecedented political scrutiny. This Thursday, the Commissioners Court will discuss a proposal seeking to clarify the immigration policies followed by Sheriff Ed Gonzalez’s Office and to establish clear ground rules. The initiative, spearheaded by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, comes in response to a persistent outcry from the community. "Many people call my office to say they fear for their family members due to unfair ICE practices," Ellis noted. Last year, the Harris County Jail handed over 5,396 individuals to ICE custody—representing a steady flow of nearly 15 transfers per day. However, unlike the Houston Police Department (HPD), the Harris County Sheriff’s Office does not maintain a log of the calls its officers make to the federal agency, creating a transparency gap that is difficult to oversee. For its part, the Sheriff’s Office has confirmed to N+ Univision 45 that it does not possess a written policy specifically regulating interactions with immigration agents in the field. "Deputies adhere to existing policies and follow all applicable state laws when interacting with other agencies and with the community," reads the statement received by N+ Univision 45. In practice, this means that many officers rely on their own judgment—and their interpretation of state laws—when deciding whether or not to collaborate in immigration enforcement operations during the course of their routine duties.

Daily Wire [4/15/2026 6:20 PM, Drew Berkemeyer, 2314K] reports the illegal immigrant charged in the fatal shooting of a Loyola University student in Chicago last month was ordered by a judge Wednesday to submit a DNA sample, as prosecutors continue building their case in a killing that has drawn national attention. Jose Medina, 25, a Venezuelan national accused of murdering 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, must provide a buccal swab and fingerprints to the Illinois State Police for inclusion in the state’s DNA database. The order came over the objection of Medina’s public defender during a court appearance focused on pretrial motions and evidentiary procedures. Medina faces multiple charges at both the state and federal levels, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful possession of a weapon. Federal prosecutors have separately charged him with illegal firearm possession, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Authorities allege that on March 19, Gorman was walking with friends near a Rogers Park pier along the lakefront when Medina stepped out and opened fire. Gorman was struck and killed at the scene, while her friends escaped unharmed. In addition to the evidentiary dispute, Wednesday’s hearing also addressed concerns over Medina’s medical condition. His public defender requested court intervention, stating that a bullet fragment lodged in his nasal cavity is causing ongoing pain and visible distress. The defense argued the fragment may require surgical evaluation and removal. Medina’s attorney also told the court that he suffers from lasting injuries stemming from a prior shooting in Colombia in 2018, where he was allegedly shot in the head during a robbery. According to the defense, the incident left him with significant brain damage and physical impairments, including a spinal injury that requires the use of a cane. The judge granted a request for medical evaluation and ordered Cermak Health Services, which oversees inmate care in the Cook County jail system, to coordinate with Medina’s legal team regarding treatment and access to medical records. Medina has remained in custody since his initial court appearance in late March. His arraignment is scheduled for April 29. The case has also become a flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration enforcement, as previously reported details show Medina was released into the United States in 2023 despite being flagged by federal authorities as a potential flight risk with no valid asylum claim.

San Francisco Chronicle.com [4/15/2026 7:00 AM, Ko Lyn Cheang, 3833K] reports when Senait Kifle visited her brother at California’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on April 6, she screamed at the sight of him — he was barely recognizable. In the three weeks since her last visit, he’d deteriorated to the point where he needed a wheelchair, she said. His eyes were jaundiced, his legs were swollen, his face was so bloated that his chin looked "connected to his chest," she said, and he told her he hadn’t been able to pee in some time. "They are waiting for him to die," she told the Chronicle about the staff at California City Detention Facility in Kern County. Her 48-year-old younger brother, Yebio, is intellectually disabled, she said, and suffers from conditions including congestive heart failure, according to medical records that she provided to the Chronicle. His experience is not unique. In ICE detention centers across the country, medical delays and misdiagnoses have driven record deaths, a recent Chronicle investigation found. Detainees like Kifle and their families said they have struggled to get help from detention staff, who are required to provide adequate medical care to people in custody. Many detainees have resorted to litigation. Immigrants at California City Detention Facility — where Yebio Kifle has been held since being arrested in Sacramento in November — sued ICE and the Department of Homeland Security in November, alleging inhumane conditions and inadequate medical care, including a diabetic who did not receive insulin and a cancer patient who didn’t receive treatment for months. ICE and DHS disputed the allegations in the lawsuit and said conditions at the facility comply with national detention standards. ICE did not respond to a request for comment for this story. A DHS spokesperson said ICE provides "comprehensive medical care" to detainees. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously said in a statement in response to the judge’s order in the lawsuit that "This is the best health care that many aliens have received in their entire lives.”

Wall Street Journal [4/15/2026 2:54 PM, Brian Schwartz and Michelle Hackman, 646K] reports President Trump was walking into the lobby of one of his Florida golf clubs earlier this year when a group of associates with ties to his businesses approached him with a proposal to increase the number of visas for seasonal guest workers, according to people familiar with the matter. Bernd Lembcke, the former manager of Mar-a-Lago who recently retired after a 30-year stint working at Trump’s properties, and Peter Petrina, a longtime Mar-a-Lago member, made the case to the president in January that the hospitality industry needed more workers ahead of the winter and spring peak tourism season. Adrian Tudor, a manager at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, helped facilitate the conversation, the people said. The January meeting came after the administration late last year announced it planned to cut the number of seasonal worker slots, known as H-2B visas, to roughly 30,000 below the previous year’s nearly 65,000. Weeks after the meeting, the administration quietly reversed itself and released the maximum number of visas allowed under the law. Trump’s businesses have long relied on the program to hire temporary foreign workers at some of his properties across the country, including Mar-a-Lago.

NBC News [4/15/2026 11:05 PM, Kyla Guilfoil, 42967K] reports the House voted Wednesday to advance a measure that would reinstate temporary protections for Haitians living in the U.S., with six Republicans voting alongside Democrats to oppose a key component of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. The measure, brought forward through a parliamentary move known as a discharge petition by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, won a key procedural vote to advance to a final vote set for Thursday. The legislation seeks to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to eligible Haitian immigrants for three years. "This is a critical step forward in our fight for immigrant justice and delivering our Haitian neighbors the protections they deserve—and it’s a testament to the strength of our broad, diverse, and bipartisan coalition," Pressley said in a statement, adding that she was "grateful" to her Republican colleagues who voted for the measure. The legislation was first introduced in the Republican-controlled House by Reps. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., last year. "The State Department claims it is too dangerous for American citizens to go to Haiti because of kidnapping, gang violence and widespread chaos, but yet, the administration has said it’s safe for Haitians to return there," Gillen said Wednesday on the House floor. She said that "removing our neighbors would not just be a humanitarian catastrophe; it would hurt our economy," adding that Haitian immigrants "work in critical sectors like health care, education, caregiving, supporting our elderly and working in local hospitals.” Temporary Protected Status allows foreign nationals from countries facing war, environmental disasters or other unsafe conditions to live and word in the U.S. for a certain time. The Trump administration tried to terminate the Temporary Protected Status of about 350,000 Haitian immigrants last summer, but a federal judge halted the move. The administration appealed the decision shortly after the judge indefinitely postponed the terminations in an order in February. It is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court this month. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday’s vote. The House voted 219-209 on the discharge petition to force a vote on Lawler and Gillen’s bill, with Republican Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Carlos A. Gimenez of Florida, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York voting in favor alongside 212 Democrats and one independent. Members can use discharge petitions to get around leadership that is opposed to holding votes on legislation. "Removing TPS status for Haitians living in the United States would cost 350,000 workers their ability to work at a time when we’re already facing serious workforce shortages," Bacon said on X. "I don’t see the goodness of deporting people who are here legally, working, and contributing to our country.”

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [4/15/2026 2:15 PM, Lauren Kaori Gurley and Mariana Alfaro, 24826K]
NewsMax [4/15/2026 6:03 PM, Sam Barron, 3760K]
Daily Wire [4/15/2026 8:02 AM, Leif Le Mahieu, 2314K]

Breitbart [4/15/2026 5:09 PM, Jasmyn Jordan, 2238K] reports "Squad" member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is leading more than 20 House Democrats in pressing the Trump administration to reverse its decision ending Temporary Protected Status for Yemen, arguing that Yemeni nationals living in the United States would face arrest, deportation, and dangerous conditions if returned. Along with her post, Tlaib included a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which she and 23 other House Democrats urged the administration to extend and redesignate Yemen for TPS before the current designation expires on May 4. The lawmakers said that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) February 13 decision to terminate Yemen’s TPS designation was "utterly disconnected from the reality of the dire security and humanitarian conditions in the country." The letter states that approximately 1,380 Yemeni TPS holders would face "imminent arrest and deportation" if the administration’s termination is allowed to take effect. The lawmakers argued that conditions in Yemen have worsened rather than improved, writing that the country’s humanitarian crisis has been "further inflamed by repeated direct bombings of Yemen by third countries, including our own," which they said have occurred regularly over the past year. Then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Yemen no longer met the legal requirements for TPS and that keeping Yemeni beneficiaries in the United States was "contrary to our national interest." DHS also said Yemenis without another immigration status would have 60 days to self-deport from the United States once TPS is ended. Those who refuse to self-deport would be subject to arrest and deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Telemundo [4/15/2026 7:20 PM, Staff, 2524K] reports U.S. citizenship approvals plummeted: from about 78,000 in October 2025 to 38,862 in January 2026. Among the causes of this fall are the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions to nearly 40 countries. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federalist [4/15/2026 7:30 AM, Brianna Lyman, 540K] reports a new report from the Cato Institute shows Trump has not only delivered on illegal immigration — he’s delivering on legal immigration too. "The cut to legal entries was 2.5 times as large" as the cut to illegal entries, David J. Bier wrote in his report, noting that illegal entries have also fallen under Trump. But "cuts in legal immigration broke the trend of rising legal immigration from 2021 to 2024." While the report counts asylum claims processed at official ports of entry as part of "legal" immigration and therefore inflates the "legal" category, the data still shows a sharp decline in traditional pathways used in mass migration. The report shows that refugee admissions have dropped roughly 90 percent, with roughly 12,500 refugees having been admitted in late 2024 compared to just 1,300 admitted by March of 2026. Notably, the Trump administration has adopted a refugee admission policy that balances sustainability and cultural cohesion. Trump also capped refugee admissions to 7,500 per year, meaning only about 500 refugees can be admitted each month. Asylum claims at legal ports of entry fell a whopping 99.9 percent after the president scrapped the CBP One App, according to the report. Put another way, there were around 40,000 asylum claims made in December of 2024, and just 26 made in February of 2025. Bier notes other aliens trying to enter at legal ports of entry (known as "inadmissible") "also fell in 2025.”

Telemundo 48 El Paso [4/15/2026 4:44 PM, Staff, 19K] reports the Venezuelan doctor who was taken into custody by immigration authorities while traveling with his husband, a U.S. citizen, to Houston from McAllen, Texas, will be released from an immigration detention center. Ezequiel Véliz Cáceres was detained at the Sarita, Texas immigration checkpoint after losing his TPS and consequently his job at the McAllen hospital where he was doing his professional internship. According to his immigration lawyer, Victor Badel, a court hearing was held on April 15 in which he explained the reasons why Dr. Ezequiel Veliz Caceres should be released. The husband stated that Ezequiel Véliz Cáceres, 32, had to resign from his position after his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was canceled, even though he was in the process of obtaining a work visa. He says he is now doing everything possible to get out of the Immigration Detention Center in McAllen.

Washington Examiner [4/15/2026 1:01 PM, Jack Birle, 1147K] reports that the Trump administration told a federal court this week that it plans to launch its system for issuing tariff refunds on Monday, two months after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. Officials at Customs and Border Protection told Judge Richard Eaton, of the U.S. Court of International Trade, that they are "on track" to launch the first phase of the refund system on Monday. The Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system will process refunds of duties imposed by the administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the Supreme Court struck down 6-3 on Feb. 20. The CAPE system set to be launched by CBP will give importers one consolidated payment, with interest, rather than refunds for each individual item’s IEEPA duty. Eaton noted in an order discussing what happened at the closed-door conference that the CAPE system would be open to all importers affected by the IEEPA tariffs, not just those who have not filed claims to the Court of International Trade. In a filing to the federal court on Tuesday, Brandon Lord, director for the Trade Programs Directorate at the CBP Office of Trade, said 56,497 importers have already completed the process to receive refunds for IEEPA duties imposed on their products, for a total of roughly $127 billion in refunds if all those importers use the CAPE tool launching next week. Eaton ordered the government to offer another update to the court about its refund process for the IEEPA tariffs by April 28, continuing the regular updates he has demanded from the administration on how it has worked to complete the refunds.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [4/15/2026 12:12 PM, Erik Larson, 18082K]

FOX News [4/15/2026 8:00 PM, Breanne Deppisch, 37576K] reports Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be restored as early as July, signaling a rapid pivot by the Trump administration after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s IEEPA-based tariffs earlier this year, forcing the administration to turn to other trade authorities. "We had a setback at the Supreme Court in terms of the tariff policy," Bessent said Tuesday at an event hosted by the Wall Street Journal. "But we will be implementing or conducting Section 301 studies — so the tariffs could be back in place at the previous level by [the] beginning of July.” His remarks come after the Supreme Court ruled in February that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not authorize tariffs. Trump has billed tariffs as "life or death" for the U.S. economy — underscoring the outsize importance the administration has placed on the issue. Bessent’s comments also come as the U.S. collected more than $133 billion in IEEPA tariff duties as of mid-December, according to data published by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, a figure that later grew to roughly $166 billion by early March 2026. The administration moved to preserve tariffs in the weeks since the Supreme Court’s ruling to find new ways to implement the import fees, invoking several provisions of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 in order to do so. Bessent’s remarks, first reported by Bloomberg, are a sign that the Trump administration plans to enact a combination of statutes under the trade law as it looks to move past the high court’s ruling and find new ways to sustain U.S. tariff pressure. The strategy, long-term, appears to focus largely on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office (USTR) to implement "retaliatory import restrictions" against a country that is found to have engaged in unfair or "discriminatory" trade policies or practices towards U.S. businesses. Section 301 allows the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate and respond to "unfair" foreign trade practices flagged by the president, though they require a formal period of notice and public comment, delaying enforcement. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Trump administration has initiated a flurry of more than 75 investigations under Section 301, according to a report from Alan Wm. Wolff, a senior fellow for the Peterson Institute for International Economics — far outpacing the average annual number of Section 301 investigations initiated during the past five decades.

FOX News [4/15/2026 9:06 AM, Michael Dorgan, 37576K] reports a Chinese researcher was sentenced to more than four months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) into the United States, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Youhuang Xiang, 32, a former Indiana University postdoctoral researcher and Chinese national, admitted to concealing E. coli DNA in a shipment from China that was falsely labeled as women’s underwear, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana. Prosecutors said the FBI also uncovered evidence that Xiang was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and had lied about that affiliation to immigration authorities. Authorities said the case raises concerns about public safety and the integrity of federally funded research. "Such conduct poses a very serious threat to public safety and to the health of our agricultural economy," U.S. Attorney Tom Wheeler said.

Chicago Tribune [4/15/2026 2:46 PM, Jason Meisner, 5209K] reports that a suburban Chicago man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge stemming from a traffic altercation with Border Patrol agents in Brighton Park in October, marking the first federal conviction involving the protests and unrest sparked by Operation Midway Blitz. Anthony Gonzalez Alvarez, 27, of Lyons, entered his plea to one count of failing to report knowledge of a felony, which carries up to three years in federal prison. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors have agreed to recommend no prison time for Alvarez when he is sentenced July 22. However, U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt said she wants to wait to see the presentencing report for Alvarez — who has a criminal record — before accepting the arrangement. As of Wednesday, 20 of the defendants had been cleared, either through a grand jury refusing to indict, the dismissal of charges by prosecutors, or, in the one case that went to trial, a not guilty verdict by a jury. The U.S. attorney’s office has entered into deferred prosecution agreements with three others that are on track to end without a criminal conviction. Charges are pending against eight others, including the four defendants left in the “Broadview Six” conspiracy case against protesters who allegedly blocked and damaged an ICE agent’s vehicle outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in September.

FOX News [4/15/2026 11:19 AM, Peter Pinedo, 37576K] reports Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said border officials under the Biden administration released alleged illegal immigrant killer Jose Medina-Medina into the country "due to lack of space." Judiciary Republicans criticized Democrats over Medina-Medina’s release, saying they "knew" the threat he posed. Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela who entered the country under the Biden administration, is facing state and federal charges related to the killing of 18-year-old Chicago student Sheridan Gorman. The charges include first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm. The killing, which took place on March 19, has sparked outrage and renewed calls for an end to sanctuary policies such as those in Chicago. Critics say these sanctuary policies protect illegal immigrants over innocent citizens. On Tuesday, Judiciary Committee Republicans posted on X excerpts of what appear to be court documents filed by a Border Patrol agent revealing the agency’s assessment of Medina-Medina before he was released into the country. The excerpt shows that Medina-Medina admitted to officials that he did not face a threat to his life in his home country and that the agency assessed he was "likely to abscond" if released. The excerpt shows officials encountered Medina-Medina in the El Paso sector of the southern border. The document notes, "the subject was asked and responded that they do not fear harm or persecution should they be returned to their home country." The excerpts also note that Medina-Medina "has close family ties or roots in this country yet are likely to abscond.” Despite this, the excerpts show Medina-Medina was "processed for a Notice to Appear and released on recognizance … due to lack of space."

FOX News [4/15/2026 8:24 PM, Stepheny Price, 37576K] reports a hoax drawing comparisons to Jussie Smollett’s case is at the center of a lawsuit after a Wisconsin sheriff said a woman fabricated a story about being in ICE detention for 40 hours. Investigators point to hotel records, surveillance video and text messages that contradict her claims. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt announced the legal action after a weekslong investigation into claims by Sundas "Sunny" Naqvi that she was held by federal authorities in Illinois and Wisconsin, including at the Dodge County Jail. Those allegations, first raised publicly last month, claimed Naqvi, a U.S. citizen from Skokie, Illinois, was detained at O’Hare International Airport, transferred to an Illinois center and later transported across state lines to Wisconsin, where she was allegedly held and released without documentation. The allegations quickly gained traction online, where some commentators drew comparisons to past high-profile hoaxes, including the case involving Smollett, an actor who fabricated a story in 2019 that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. The X account Libs of Chicago wrote that "Skokie has themselves their very own Jussie Smollett," alleging Naqvi lied about being detained by federal authorities. Another user similarly described the situation as a "Jussie Smollett-esque hoax.” The Department of Homeland Security previously said Naqvi’s claims were "false.” After reviewing records from multiple agencies, Schmidt said the claims "did not occur," adding he set out to present "fact versus fiction" after the allegations gained widespread attention despite what he described as a lack of verified evidence. "There is no record of booking, detention or release involving Ms. Naqvi in Dodge County," the sheriff’s office said, adding there was no coordination with federal or out-of-state agencies and that she was never in local custody. The lawsuit also details statements made by Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, who publicly amplified the claims and alleged Naqvi and five other individuals were transported across state lines by immigration agents, assertions Schmidt disputes. The complaint further alleges Morrison accused the sheriff’s office of a "cover-up" and said officials "have been lying from the very start of this.” Fox News Digital reached out to Morrison for comment. Investigators laid out what they describe as a verified timeline that directly contradicts the allegations. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection records, Naqvi entered secondary inspection at O’Hare around 10:46 a.m. March 5 and was released at approximately 11:42 a.m. Federal authorities say she was not detained or transferred after leaving the airport. Records show that, just over an hour later, Naqvi checked into a Hampton Inn & Suites in Rosemont, Illinois, at 1:17 p.m., where she remained during the period she later claimed she was in custody. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo Amarillo [4/15/2026 5:09 PM, Staff, 2K] reports a van driver who claimed he was transporting "parts" was detained on suspicion that he was actually transporting people. Border Patrol agents indicated that the truck stopped at a checkpoint near Laredo. A police dog alerted agents to activity in the cargo area, and they used bolt cutters to break the seal. Instead of parts, the agents found seven people hiding behind a mattress in the cargo area. Authorities indicated that these individuals were in the country illegally and will be processed for deportation. The driver, a U.S. citizen with a criminal record, now faces federal charges for illegal trafficking.

San Diego Union Tribune [4/15/2026 8:00 AM, Alexandra Mendoza, 1257K] reports for some cross-border students living in Tijuana, the daily commute to school means sacrificing hours of sleep to wait in line at the often unpredictable border crossing to make it to class in San Diego on time. But that could soon change for eligible higher education students. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now accepting applications for a pilot program that allows students who regularly cross the border to use designated lanes at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa pedestrian ports of entry. "This program could be a turning point in the history of binational students," said Joel Pilco, director of binational and international programs at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. He estimated that border wait times for those enrolled could shrink from hours to just minutes. A CBP spokesperson did not provide a start date for the program, but said more information would be provided as it becomes available. However, students can now apply to participate through the CBP Link mobile app, the spokesperson added. For now, the program is only available to students at Southwestern College, San Diego State University and UC San Diego. However, officials said there is potential for it to expand to other schools and age groups in the future, though there are currently no definitive plans.

FOX News [4/15/2026 5:14 PM, Brittany Miller, 37576K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized more than $2.8 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine in back-to-back busts involving suspected drug smugglers at the southern border. CBP officers discovered more than 430 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in California, April 7 and 8. They first seized cocaine after a 51-year-old man from Mexico driving a Toyota Prius was referred for a secondary inspection. Following an alert from a canine team, officers found 44 packages of cocaine concealed within the vehicle’s doors, back seat and rear quarter panels during a physical inspection. In a news release shared with Fox News Digital, the drugs weighed about 124 pounds and had an estimated value of $2.4 million. The following day, a U.S. citizen described by CBP as a 21-year-old man driving a Nissan Frontier was also referred for secondary inspection. A canine team and imaging system scan alerted officers to a compartment in the truck bed, where they discovered 25 packages containing about 307 pounds of methamphetamine. The estimated value of the drugs was $491,200, according to the CBP. Both drivers were arrested and will face federal prosecution.

San Diego Union Tribune [4/15/2026 11:51 AM, Alex Riggins, 1257K] reports that three Mexican boat captains pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges in connection with two separate incidents that occurred last year, in which small vessels carrying undocumented immigrants capsized off the coast of San Diego County, leaving a total of nine people dead—including a 14-year-old Indian boy and his 10-year-old sister. Jesús Iván Rodríguez Leyva, 27, and Julio César Zúñiga Luna, 31, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in San Diego to charges related to the May 5 incident. Prosecutors stated that Rodríguez was acting as the boat’s captain, while Zúñiga served as the co-captain and was also responsible for fueling the vessel. Both pleaded guilty to charges of bringing in aliens resulting in death and bringing in aliens for financial gain. On the day the two men were indicted last year, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urged the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty against them. Prosecutors never took that extraordinary step—which would have been unprecedented and would have sparked fierce resistance from the defendants’ attorneys—given that other boat captains convicted in similar incidents involving the deaths of multiple migrants have been sentenced in San Diego federal court to prison terms of less than five years. “This case is a tragedy compounded by the unprofessional and unjustified comments made by former Secretary Kristi Noem,” Knut Johnson, one of the private attorneys appointed by the court to represent Zúñiga, told the *Union-Tribune*. “Had it not been for her interference, this case would have concluded months ago, providing a more timely sense of closure for the victims’ families.”

Reuters [4/16/2026 3:24 AM, Staff, 38315K] reports China’s foreign ministry on Thursday issued a notice warning citizens of security risks traveling ‌to the U.S. and advised citizens not to enter the country from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The Chinese ministry said recently about 20 ⁠Chinese scholars traveled to the U.S. to attend an academic conference, but were subjected to "unreasonable questioning" by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Seattle airport and were denied entry The Chinese scholars were holding ‌valid ⁠U.S. visas, the ministry said Nationals planning trips to the U.S. should "strengthen safety awareness, avoid entering through this airport ... and make ⁠all necessary preparations," the ministry said, citing "repeated incidents of malicious questioning and harassment ⁠targeting Chinese scholars" at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. If questioned by U.S. law ⁠enforcement officers, nationals should respond calmly and rationally, the ministry said.

USA Today [4/15/2026 1:50 PM, Frank Witsil, N’dea Yancey-Bragg, and Doyle Rice, 70643K] reports Michigan, a state surrounded by water, began to feel like a state under water, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer placed the entire state under an energy emergency, flood-prone communities began evacuations and roads washed out as rivers and reservoirs kept rising. At one point late April 14, the entire state was under a flood watch, and by about 6:30 a.m. on April 15, much of the state still was. And more storms were forecasted: with another 1-2 inches or even up to 3 more inches of rain over the next two days. "Many areas of Michigan are currently experiencing severe flooding as melting snow and rain have caused rivers to breach their banks," Michigan State Police had warned on April 14. "Conditions could worsen in flooded areas and result in additional areas of flooding and even flash flooding." The Cheboygan Dam was about 8 inches away from spilling over as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and state officials have identified at least six other northern Michigan dams as critical infrastructure under threat from the rising water. In northern Michigan, some residents were being evacuated and rescued. To expedite aide, Whitmer declared a statewide energy emergency, which suspended some regulations to allow faster responses.

AP [4/15/2026 7:16 PM, Mike Householder and Corey Williams, 1323K] reports fowerful storms ripped through parts of Michigan overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, tearing part of the roof off an ice arena, flooding streets and uprooting trees near the University of Michigan’s main campus. National Weather Service crews were surveying damage in places, including Ann Arbor, to determine whether one or more tornadoes touched down, but none had been confirmed as of Wednesday morning. Instead, the damage appears to have been caused by a line of thunderstorms that moved into Michigan from Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, meteorologist Sara Schultz said. A 70 mph (112.6 kph) wind gust was reported early Wednesday at the university’s football stadium, while gusts of 69 mph (111 kph) and 62 mph (99.7 kph) were reported at Willow Run Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Schultz said. Another round of strong storms with potentially damaging winds was moving into the area Wednesday from states to the west. Streets in many southeastern Michigan communities also were left flooded Wednesday. Some public school buildings in Ann Arbor suffered structural damage and many lost power. The district was closed Wednesday because of a fiber outage impacting fire, phone and camera systems, and building access. Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said structural engineers were assessing damage to a wall at the city’s Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena. Part of the roof was torn from the university’s Yost Ice Arena.

New York Times [4/16/2026 1:13 AM, Dan Watson and Erin McCann, 148038K] reports flooding across Milwaukee has forced freeway closures and left vehicles stuck in rising water, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said, as severe storms brought heavy rain across the Midwest on Wednesday night. Authorities urged residents to stay off the roads across southwest Wisconsin. The sheriff’s office said that southbound Interstate 43 was closed near the Mitchell Interchange, south of downtown Milwaukee, although some parts were beginning to reopen, they said just after 11 p.m. In addition, a northbound closure was expected. The highway runs directly through the city, serving as one of its main north-south corridors and linking downtown to suburbs. Marquette University police warned of flooding on campus and in the area. Social media posts showed parts of the roof at American Family Field leaking during a Brewers baseball game, and local media reported flooding along a major thoroughfare that handles stadium traffic. Milwaukee County, which includes the city of Milwaukee, sits along Lake Michigan. On Wednesday night, a smattering of tornado and flash flood warnings dotted the Great Lakes region. Milwaukee had been under a flash flood warning from just after 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., and forecasters had warned that heavy rain could reach up to two inches in just a few hours. The storms were the latest in a week of severe weather, including floods, tornadoes and hail, stretching from Texas to the Great Lakes, as a parade of systems moved across the country. On Monday, a tornado touched down in Miami County, Kan., a rural area of 35,000 residents about 30 minutes south of the Kansas City metro area, damaging 100 buildings and leaving at least half uninhabitable, said Matthew P. Kelly, an undersheriff. In Michigan, emergency officials and residents were closely watching rising waters at several dams after a levee breach near Cheboygan forced evacuations on Tuesday. Thursday is expected to be calmer across the Midwest, with the threat of the most severe storms shifting into the Northeast. But by Friday, storms are expected again, with parts of Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma likely at the center of a bull’s-eye where forecasters expect the highest chance of hazardous weather.

CBS News [4/15/2026 11:53 AM, Nicole Sganga and Dan Raby, 51110K] reports that the U.S. Secret Service determined there were no credible threats to Tuesday’s Turning Point USA rally at the University of Georgia, even as a planned co-appearance by Erika Kirk was canceled over unspecified security concerns, a person familiar with the matter tells CBS News. During the evening’s rally at the Athens university, Turning Point executive Andrew Kolvet said that the Kirk had received "some very serious threats in her direction," that led her to cancel her plans to appear with the vice president. Vance said he’d been worried that the event would be canceled altogether. "I talked to the Secret Service, and obviously, these guys do a very good job. And I said, ‘You know what? Let’s let Erika do what she needs to do for herself and her family,’" Vance told the crowd. Kirk cited threats and concerns raised by her security team, the person told CBS News’ homeland security and justice correspondent Nicole Sganga, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. However, the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the vice president, was not tracking any specific or credible threats tied to the venue or to Vance, the person said. According to the source, the site was secure, and there were no known threats to the protectee. While Kirk may have received hostile or threatening messages, including on social media, those were not part of any identified or actionable threat stream monitored by federal authorities, the person told Sganga.

ABC News [4/15/2026 3:23 PM, Meredith Deliso, 34146K] reports four people, including a child, who got trapped on an ice floe during a seal hunting expedition in Alaska were safely rescued, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday, calling it one of the most "challenging missions" the helicopter crew has ever flown. The daring rescue occurred early Sunday, approximately 10 miles west of Chefornak, a remote village in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in southwestern Alaska. Alaska State Troopers reported to the Coast Guard at 4:24 p.m. on Saturday that a "group of four people on a subsistence seal hunting expedition required assistance after being trapped on the ice for over 24 hours," the Coast Guard said in a press release. The group managed to free the 18-foot vessel overnight, but moving ice prevented it from reaching the shore, the Coast Guard said. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak reached the scene at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday, and all four people -- three adults and one child -- were safely hoisted aboard, according to the Coast Guard, which released video footage of the rescue. The individuals were transported back to Chefornak with no reported injuries, the Coast Guard said.

ABC News [4/15/2026 9:15 AM, Emily Shapiro, 34146K] Video: HERE reports cadaver dogs are heading to help with the search for Lynette Hooker, an American woman who’s missing in the Bahamas, according to police. The K-9 team from the U.S. Coast Guard will be on the ground in Hope Town on Wednesday morning, Advardo Dames, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police, told ABC News. Lynette Hooker has been missing since she went overboard on a dinghy on the evening of April 4. When the 55-year-old Michigan woman and her husband, Brian Hooker, departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay, bad weather caused her to fall off the dinghy, her husband told authorities. Brian Hooker, 58, was arrested on April 8 and questioned by police. He was released on Monday without charges. Brian Hooker told ABC News on Tuesday that he’s staying in the Bahamas with a "sole focus" of finding his wife, "no matter how likely or unlikely that is." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
New York Post [4/15/2026 12:45 PM, Anthony Blair, 40934K]

CBS News [4/15/2026 9:36 AM, Staff, 51110K] reports Brian Hooker remains in the Bahamas after police released him from custody, and his wife, Lynette Hooker, remains missing. CBS News’ Cristian Benavides has the latest confirmed information. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [4/15/2026 10:20 AM, Peter D’Abrosca, 37576K] reports Bahamian authorities intend to wrap up their search for missing American woman Lynette Hooker in the near future, while the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that its criminal investigation into her disappearance continues. The island nation’s military says the search could be suspended as early as Thursday, according to an NBC report. After analyzing "tide, drift and wind," authorities say they are running out of locations to search, the report said. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that its criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s husband, Brian Hooker, remains ongoing. Meanwhile, Hooker’s attorney, Terrel Butler, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday morning that Brian is waiting for Bahamian police to return the keys to his boat before he resumes his own search for Lynette.

CyberScoop [4/15/26 305 PM, Tim Starks, 122K] reports National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross expects more executive orders coming from the White House as part of implementing the national cybersecurity strategy, he said Wednesday. Staffers on Capitol Hill and others in the cyber world have been awaiting the implementation guidance the Trump administration had proclaimed would come to accompany the strategy published last month. Asked at a Semafor event about whether that would include executive orders, Cairncross answered, “I think that that’s the case.” The administration released an executive order on fraud the same day it released its cyber strategy on March 6. Some of that order touched on cybercrime. “This is rolling forward actively, and you should expect that there will be more execution and action in line with our strategic goals,” he said. Cairncross cited another administration activity that fit into the strategy, such as the first conviction last week under the Take It Down Act, a law First Lady Melania Trump advocated for that seeks to combat non-consensual AI-generated sexually explicit images, violent threats and cyberstalking. He declined to preview any future implementation plans, and said he expected they would be coming “relatively soon.”

Homeland Security Today [4/15/2026 6:05 AM, Staff, 38K] reports The U.S. Department of Energy’s FY 2027 budget frames cybersecurity as a core pillar of national energy security, embedding it directly within efforts to protect and modernize critical infrastructure. The request allocates US$160 million to the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response to enhance the security of energy infrastructure and its supply chain, while deploying experts to respond to energy crises. This underscores CESER’s role in safeguarding the grid and responding to energy-sector crises amid surging demand from data centers, AI workloads, and advanced manufacturing. The DOE move reflects a growing recognition that grid reliability and cybersecurity are now inseparable, particularly as system strain and digital interdependencies expand the attack surface. The budget signals a shift from viewing cybersecurity as a supporting function to treating it as foundational infrastructure across civilian energy systems and defense operations. From securing supply chains and energy delivery systems to protecting nuclear assets and enabling digital transformation initiatives, the DOE aligns cybersecurity spending to protect national security and maintain operational continuity in an increasingly contested and interconnected threat landscape. To secure U.S. energy infrastructure, CESER programs coordinate with energy infrastructure owners and operators. This collaboration also extends to state and local governments to identify, understand, mitigate, and develop practical guidance and tools to enhance the security and resilience of the energy sector. This proactive approach, embedding cybersecurity considerations into the development of new energy technologies, is fundamental to preventing the introduction of future vulnerabilities and safeguarding the energy system that underpins our national security.

Telemundo [4/15/2026 10:42 PM, Chuck Goudie, 162K] reports the Sinaloa Cartel has controlled and operated the main illegal drug network in Chicago for decades. With drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera, "El Chapo," in the Supermax federal prison in Colorado, two of his sons are running the criminal organization from Mexico while facing formal charges here in Chicago. And now, the government is offering a total of $20 million in rewards for both of them. Following the shootout a decade ago in which billionaire drug lord El Chapo was arrested, his succession plan in Sinaloa was set in motion. El Chapo’s four sons—known as the "Chapitos"—took command. But since then, two of them have been taken into federal custody in Chicago, leaving brothers Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar in charge. And now the United States government has just doubled the reward for Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, from $5 million to $10 million. "It’s obviously a family-run criminal organization. And, if you look at it, right now he’s at the top," said Mike Gannon, former assistant special agent in charge of the Chicago Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Gannon claims that both Chapitos have $10 million bounties on their heads. A fitting total reward of $20 million for the drug-trafficking brothers who flaunt their wealth on social media: from jewelry and weapons to exotic cars and large mansions. "Even though they’re rubbing those goods in your face, at the end of the day it’s hard to enjoy them when you end up in a cell," Gannon said. Prison is where prosecutors want the top Sinaloa cartel leaders to end up. Five were charged Tuesday in Southern California with smuggling untraceable ghost guns and trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine. "Whether it’s drugs, weapons, or human trafficking, at the end of the day they’re ruthless, brutal people who don’t care about the lives they affect," said Gannon, who retired from the DEA after more than 25 years with the agency pursuing cartel operatives. "They’ll do anything to make money." Gannon argues that Mexico’s new president has been more helpful to U.S. efforts against the cartels than the previous administration, at least if judged by the number of drug traffickers extradited to the United States. Gannon believes that increasing the rewards can help bring El Chapo’s sons to justice in the United States by tempting someone close to them to do the right thing, for the right price.

New York Times [4/15/2026 6:20 PM, Wesley Parnell, 148038K] reports two teenagers pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of trying to support ISIS with a failed homemade-bomb attack outside the New York City mayor’s residence last month. Their brief appearance in Manhattan federal court was the first time that the defendants, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, had spoken in an open courtroom since being charged with planning a deadly attack in the name of ISIS, also known as the Islamic State. The charges against them include providing material support to a terrorist organization and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted on the highest charge, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The two young men, both from Pennsylvania, were arrested on March 7 after a device packed with explosive material was thrown at an anti-Muslim protest outside Gracie Mansion, the Manhattan home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji. The mayor and his wife were not home at the time; the device did not detonate, and no one was injured. Both defendants pledged allegiance to ISIS while in custody, according to an indictment, and Mr. Balat told officers he had hoped to plan an attack “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing. Jane Chong, a prosecutor, told the court that federal agents in Pennsylvania had seized over a dozen electronic devices from the defendants’ homes and were combing through their social media accounts. Ms. Chong said that she expected a large cache of evidence to be extracted from the devices. They are due back in court on June 16.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [4/15/2026 5:24 PM, Kyle Schnitzer and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, 40934K]
Washington Examiner [4/15/2026 5:48 PM, Claire Carter, 1147K]

Washington Post [4/15/2026 5:15 PM, Salvador Rizzo, 24826K] reports federal prosecutors have added terrorism and weapons-of-mass-destruction charges against the Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees in 2021, and he could now face a harsher prison sentence if found guilty. Brian Cole Jr. was arrested in December after a nearly five-year investigation into the explosives placed near the U.S. Capitol the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He gave a detailed confession to FBI agents on the day of his arrest, according to court documents, then pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with transporting explosives across state lines and maliciously attempting to detonate them. Those initial charges, if proved in court, would have required a prison sentence of seven to 40 years. Federal prosecutors in D.C. this week obtained a superseding indictment adding two more counts: attempting to use weapons of mass destruction and committing an act of terrorism while armed. Cole, 30, now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. Attorneys for Cole said in a court filing this month that they might rely on a discredited conspiracy theory — that a Capitol Police officer planted the explosives — as his trial defense. The defense also has asked to have the case dismissed, arguing that President Donald Trump’s blanket pardon of Jan. 6 rioters covers Cole.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [4/15/2026 12:50 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1147K]
NewsMax [4/15/2026 3:08 PM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 3760K]
Daily Caller [4/15/2026 4:48 PM, Hudson Crozier, 803K]

NPR [4/15/2026 9:30 AM, Tom Dreisbach, 28764K] reports in the latest move to rewrite the history of the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice has filed papers seeking to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers extremist groups, who previously received commutations rather than full pardons from President Trump. About a dozen defendants who received lengthy sentences for their roles in planning and executing the riot were released from prison once Trump returned to office, though the felony convictions remained on their records. If approved by the federal courts, the move would wipe out those convictions and among other things, restore the defendants’ right to own guns. On Tuesday, the Trump administration described the decision in court filings as "in the interests of justice." Members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys celebrated.

FOX News [4/15/2026 5:54 PM, Julia Bonavita, 37576K] reports the two terror suspects accused of hurling homemade bombs outside New York City’s Gracie Mansion in an ISIS-inspired attack pleaded not guilty to federal charges Wednesday. Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, allegedly threw live explosive devices into a protest outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence on March 7, after traveling from Pennsylvania. The bombs did not detonate and no one was injured. Appearing in federal court Wednesday, both Balat and Kayumi pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors told the judge they are continuing to comb through the "voluminous" discovery in the case, and asked to be granted an additional three weeks to review evidence. Authorities are also still working to gather information from multiple electronic devices seized from the pair’s vehicle and their respective homes. If convicted, both Balat and Kayumi face the possibility of life in prison. The pair are due back in court on June 16.

FOX News [4/15/2026 1:23 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports that President Donald Trump is pushing for a clean reauthorization of FISA Section 702, highlighting its necessity for national security and military protection overseas. House Speaker Mike Johnson supports this extension, but some Republicans seek amendments due to American citizens’ personal data concerns. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, clarifies reforms already made, emphasizing FISA’s critical role against foreign terror threats. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Daily Caller [4/15/2026 1:00 PM, Ashley Brasfield, 803K] reports that bipartisan senators are warning that a privacy threat tied to artificial intelligence (AI) could result in mass surveillance of American citizens if the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) does not include sufficient guardrails. Efforts to renew the federal surveillance law ahead of its expiration have been complicated as House GOP leaders scramble to secure enough support to pass a clean 18-month extension aligned with President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s requests, according to a Politico report. Both are pushing to reauthorize the law without changes before Monday’s deadline. The growing power of AI is driving new worries among both Republicans and Democrats about government agencies’ warrantless purchases of Americans’ sensitive data. Commercially available information obtained from data brokers for criminal investigations, military operations and national security circumvents constitutional restrictions on information agencies can gather from Americans, Politico reported. Although agencies’ surveillance capabilities were once constrained by the labor and expertise needed to analyze vast amounts of data, AI is enabling officials to easily sift through millions of data points, Politico reported. That shift has prompted a bipartisan group of lawmakers to push for warrant requirements before agencies can purchase such data.

AP [4/15/2026 3:55 PM, Kevin Freking, 3833K] reports that an effort to ramp up U.S. weapons production and build more ships, planes and drones will require a massive upfront investment, President Donald Trump’s budget director told a House committee Wednesday. The testimony from Russell Vought jump-starts the White House’s push to increase defense spending to nearly $1.5 trillion in the next budget year, up from nearly $1 trillion this year, while cutting health research, heating assistance and scores of other domestic programs by about 10% overall. Such cuts do not cover mandatory spending, which includes such programs as Social Security and Medicare. The debate over Trump’s proposal underscored the sharp divide that will shape some of the most significant policy debates going into a midterm election that will give voters the ultimate say on the direction of the country. "For the industrial base to double or triple and build more facilities, not just add shifts, it requires multiyear agreements to purchase into the future," Vought told lawmakers. "That cost has to be booked in this first year." The White House is calling for about $1.1 trillion for defense through the regular appropriations process, which typically requires support from both parties for approval. An additional $350 billion would come through a separate bill that Republicans can accomplish on their own, through party-line majority votes.

Telemundo [4/15/2026 9:57 PM, Ernesto Grillo, 162K] reports the case of Víctor Manuel Rocha is once again at the center of the conversation after the revelation of new details in the podcast Inside the FBI , produced by the FBI. The episode, titled “Catching a Cuban Spy , “ was recently released on the FBI’s official platforms and website, and features firsthand accounts from two key players in the investigation: a special agent and an intelligence analyst who were involved in the case. Both offer an inside look at how one of the longest-serving infiltrators in modern American history was unmasked. For more than forty years, Rocha led a nearly perfect double life. In public, he was a respected diplomat with a solid career within the State Department. In private, he maintained a quiet commitment to Cuba. What baffles investigators most is not just the scale of the deception, but how long it lasted. How could someone remain undetected for so long? At first glance, he was just another diplomat: he dressed formally, participated in high-level meetings, and represented the country abroad. However, that image concealed one of the longest and most surprising infiltrations in modern espionage, marked by discretion, divided loyalties, and extraordinary patience. Far from the stereotype of the spy driven by money, Rocha’s story begins with convictions. Rocha didn’t start out of financial ambition. According to the podcast, in the 1970s, while a student at Yale, he was drawn to the leftist movements that shaped the political climate of the time. For him, Cuba was not just a country, but a symbol. That vision led him to make a life-changing decision: in 1973, he voluntarily presented himself at the Cuban embassy in Chile to offer his help. From that moment on, he was contacted by Cuban intelligence agents and began his training. Although he received training in espionage techniques, there was something that made him different. He wasn’t an expert in technology or clandestine devices. His true talent was human: he knew how to listen, adapt, and build trust. According to the voices on the podcast, that ability was his most powerful tool. Over the years, Rocha obtained U.S. citizenship and joined the State Department. He carefully chose his path, avoiding processes that included tests such as the polygraph. From there, his rise was steady. He held key positions, including high-level diplomatic posts and roles related to national security. Meanwhile, he secretly continued to report information to Cuba.

Reuters [4/15/2026 10:44 AM, Fiona Jones, 38315K] reports the United States said on Wednesday (April 15) its military had completely halted trade going in and out of Iran by sea, while President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran on ending the war could resume this week, sending oil prices down for a second day. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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