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.

ABC News [1/21/2026 1:11 PM, Staff, 30493K] reports the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that it is increasing its stipend for those who are in the United States illegally and self-deport by $1,600. Previously, DHS offered $1,000 to those who use the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to self-deport, but now, it’s raising that number to $2,600. DHS claimed that since January 2025, 2.2 million people who are in the U.S. illegally have voluntarily self-deported -- with "tens of thousands" using the CBP app. A report from the Brookings Institution released last week called DHS’ data into question, saying the department’s numbers "should not be considered a serious source.” "To celebrate one year of this administration, the U.S. taxpayer is generously increasing the incentive to leave voluntarily for those in this country illegally- offering a $2,600 exit bonus," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a release. "Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.” The increased amount is to mark to the first year of President Donald Trump’s term in office, and may only be temporary, DHS said in the release. NewsMax [1/21/2026 6:03 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports that eligible illegal aliens who register through the CBP Home app will receive the stipend upon departure, along with transportation arranged and paid for by the government. Participants may also qualify for forgiveness of certain civil fines and penalties related to failure to depart the country. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the initiative reflects the administration’s push to reduce enforcement costs while accelerating removals. Noem warned that those who decline the offer face enforcement action. DHS said the average cost of a single enforced deportation is $18,245. By contrast, the department estimates the cost of a self-deportation through the CBP Home app, including the stipend and travel, at about $5,100, a savings of more than $13,000 per case. DHS reports that nearly 100,000 people have already used the CBP Home app, which allows users to submit departure information and coordinate travel directly with the department. More than 675,000 deportations were carried out during Trump’s first year back in office.

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The AP [1/21/2026 6:36 PM, Rebecca Santana, 31753K] reports federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches. The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections and upends years of advice given to immigrant communities. The memo itself has not been widely shared within the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint, but its contents have been used to train new ICE officers who are being deployed into cities and towns to implement the president’s immigration crackdown. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure. It is unclear how broadly the directive has been applied in immigration enforcement operations. When asked about the memo, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to the AP that everyone the department serves with an administrative warrant has already had “full due process and a final order of removal.” CBS News [1/21/2026 6:11 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 39474K] reports that the directive, signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, says, "Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose.” Lyons’ memo empowered ICE officers to use the "necessary and reasonable amount of force to enter the alien’s residence" if the targets of operations do not allow them inside. Before any forced entry, ICE officers should knock on the residence’s door and identify themselves. The memo also directed officers to conduct such operations targeting those with deportation orders after 6 a.m. and before 10 p.m. The New York Times [1/21/2026 9:59 PM, Hamed Aleaziz, 135475K] reports that the [whistleblower] group released a copy of a memo dated May 12, 2025, and apparently signed by Todd Lyons, the acting leader of ICE, that advises agents that they can enter homes on the basis of an administrative warrant. An administrative warrant is different from a judicial arrest warrant. It is typically drawn up after an immigration judge has ordered someone deported, and serves as the basis to arrest them. A judicial arrest warrant is a court order based on probable cause that a crime was committed. Whistleblower Aid said the guidance violates the constitutional protection from unreasonable search and seizure. “D.H.S.’s new policy to permit arrests in an alien’s residence, without a judicial warrant or consent, is a complete break from the law and undercuts the Fourth Amendment and the rights it protects,” Whistleblower Aid said in a statement. “As far as our clients understand, D.H.S. has failed to articulate any change in the law to allow for a policy reversal of this magnitude.” The Times has not independently verified the memo or spoken to the whistle-blowers involved, who are described as two U.S. government officials. One Homeland Security Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had not seen the memo but said their understanding was that the idea was piloted in one or two locations earlier this year. The whistle-blower group said that the memo was not widely distributed within ICE. Rather, some ICE officials were provided an opportunity to read the memo in the presence of a supervisor and give it back. One of the whistle-blowers, according to the group, said that agents were entering homes without judicial warrants in Texas, and that the practice was carried out there because of the conservative judges in the area. Department of Homeland Security officials did not contest the specific allegations made by the whistle-blower group. “Every illegal alien who D.H.S. serves administrative warrants/I-205s,” said Tricia McLaughlin, an agency spokeswoman, has had “full due process” and a final order of removal from an immigration judge. “The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause,” she added. “For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.” The Wall Street Journal [1/21/2026 9:29 PM, Michelle Hackman and Jack Morphet, 646K] reports that, if continued, the policy shift could prove a potent tool for the administration in its continuing push to enact President Trump’s promise of a mass deportation. Immigrant advocates and legal aid groups have advised immigrants not to open their doors for immigration agents without judicial warrants. Groups around the country hosted know-your-rights workshops for immigrants soon after Trump took office last year, a tactic that led officials such as Tom Homan, the White House border czar, to complain that they amounted to organized opposition obstructing immigration enforcement. “I’ve seen many pamphlets from the NGOs, ‘here’s how you escape ICE,’” Homan told CNN last year. “They tell you how to hide from ICE. Don’t open your door, don’t answer questions.”

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Bloomberg [1/21/2026 7:29 PM, Jimmy Jenkins, 18207K] reports US Senator Richard Blumenthal is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security after whistle blowers disclosed a new policy that would let immigration agents forcibly enter homes without a judge’s warrant to carry out arrests. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Blumenthal said an “anonymous” disclosure to his office revealed a May 12, 2025, memo from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ICE document instructs officers they may arrest people with final orders of removal inside their residences by relying on Form I-205 — an administrative warrant signed by immigration agents or deportation officers. The approach departs from long-standing rules, which generally require a judicial warrant executed by a judge. “Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door and storm into your home,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “It is a legally and morally abhorrent policy that exemplifies the kinds of dangerous, disgraceful abuses America is seeing in real time.” The memo, signed by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, acknowledges DHS has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to make arrests inside homes but says new guidance from the department’s lawyers concluded there is no legal prohibition on doing so. A copy of the memo, which was provided by Blumenthal, could not be independently verified. “Every illegal alien who DHS serves administrative warrants/I-205s have had full due process and a final order of removal from an immigration judge. The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed response to questions on Wednesday. “For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”

CBS Chicago [1/22/2026 12:35 AM, Charlie De Mar, 39474K] reports a newly obtained memo suggests immigration agents have been entering people’s homes without a warrant and empowers them to do so. For years, advocates have advised people that they were safe in their homes, and said this is a violation of their rights. The internal ICE memo authorizes federal agents to forcibly enter homes with an administrative warrant instead of a warrant from a judge. The memo was presented to Congress by whistleblowers who said this directive goes against not only the law but standard training. ICE agents smashed their way into a Minnesota home on Sunday, allegedly searching for two convicted undocumented sex offenders. Instead, detaining a U.S. citizen dressed in just a blanket and boxers. "They didn’t ask for my id or anything until after they handcuffed me..." said St. Paul resident Chongly Thao. Homeland Security later said Thao refused to show any id and was later released when his identity was verified. Searches like these historically required a judge’s approval, but not anymore, according to an internal ICE memo from last May disclosed by two us government whistleblowers, permitting agents to use force to enter the homes of immigrants with final deportation orders. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, in part: "The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause. For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement." For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups, and local governments, including Chicago and the state, have urged people not to open their doors to immigration agents unless they are shown a warrant signed by a judge. The 4th Amendment has long been interpreted to prevent searches without a judicial warrant, including immigration cases. Legal challenges are expected. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsNation [1/22/2026 12:42 AM, Katie Pavlich and Michael Ramsey, 6811K] Video: HERE reports Mahmoud Khalil, the Syrian-born activist the Trump administration has sought to deport over pro-Palestinian demonstrations he helped organize in New York, will be retaken into custody and sent to the North African country of Algeria, a top official with the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday. Khalil and his attorneys for months have legally challenged the White House’s efforts to remove the green card holder, who is of Palestinian heritage, saying it would violate the Constitution. An appellate court decision last week, however, was widely seen as a victory for the Trump administration. “It looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now,” Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, told “Katie Pavlich Tonight” when asked about Khalil. “It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country — act like it,” she added. “It is a privilege, not a right, to be in this country to live or to study.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Los Angeles Times [1/21/2026 5:55 PM, Ruben Vives, Clara Harter, and Brittny Mejia, 14862K] reports a federal immigration agent shot at a suspect during a targeted operation in South L.A. on Wednesday morning, drawing a crowd of protesters to the shut-down street and intensifying safety concerns in the immigrant heavy community. A federal agent opened fire at a man after he rammed federal law enforcement with his vehicle while attempting to evade arrest during an immigration operation in Compton, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The man was not wounded, but a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent sustained unspecified injuries. At 7:05 a.m., Homeland Security officers conducted an operation to apprehend William Eduardo Moran Carballo, a citizen of El Salvador who is accused of being in the U.S. illegally and “participating in a human smuggling operation,” according to a department spokesperson. In an attempt to flee, Carballo “weaponized his vehicle” and rammed law enforcement, who fired at Carballo in defense, the spokesperson said. Carballo was not hit and tried to run but was apprehended by law enforcement, according to the spokesperson. He has two prior arrests for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and was ordered removed by a judge in 2019, the spokesperson said. After the shooting, officers with the California Highway Patrol arrived to investigate the crash — located at 126th Street and Mona Boulevard in Willowbrook — while sheriff’s deputies provided traffic control. USA Today [1/21/2026 3:13 PM, Paris Barraza, James Ward, 67103K] reports that, according to DHS, Carballo "weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement." A DHS agent "fearing for his life and safety" fired defensive shots. Carballo was not hit, officials said, and he was later taken into custody. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was injured, though DHS did not provide details on the officer’s condition. DHS said the incident remains under investigation and that "more information is forthcoming.

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FOX News [1/21/2026 5:40 PM, Greg Wehner, 40621K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched "Operation Catch of the Day" across Maine, arresting criminal illegal aliens convicted of violent crimes as part of a crackdown ordered under President Donald Trump and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem. The operation was launched on Tuesday and focuses on individuals convicted of violent offenses and crimes involving public safety and child welfare. On the first day, ICE arrested over 50 people, and according to ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde, there are about 1,400 targets in Maine. DHS said the initiative prioritizes individuals it describes as the most dangerous offenders – including criminal illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child – residing unlawfully in the state. DHS said the operation follows ongoing disagreements with Maine officials over cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and comes as the administration increases pressure on jurisdictions it says limit arrests of criminal illegal aliens. The New York Times [1/22/2026 3:20 AM, Hamed Aleaziz, 330K] reports the Trump administration this week started arresting immigrants in Maine as part of a new federal operation targeting the state, the Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday. Two U.S. officials said the operation was intended to target immigrants from Somalia, along with other immigrants. People from countries including Sudan, Guatemala and Ethiopia were swept up on the first day of the operations, according to a department statement. “We arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the department, said in the statement. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are no longer allowing criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens.” The operation comes after an enforcement surge in Minnesota, which set off protests. Thousands of D.H.S. officers and agents were deployed there, and their actions have come under scrutiny in the wake of the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis this month by an ICE officer. A number of asylum seekers from African countries who arrived in the United States during the Biden administration have settled in Maine, joining a Somali population that started arriving there in the early 2000s, when refugees from the country began settling in Lewiston. Yet Maine remains an overwhelmingly white state, with one of the oldest populations in the country. Some employers have begun looking to immigrants to fill labor gaps, as native-born employees have either left the work force or retired. Democratic lawmakers in Maine, including the mayors of Portland and Lewiston and Gov. Janet Mills, who clashed with Mr. Trump last year, have been warning residents of ICE’s plan to focus on Maine since last week. In a video message last week, Ms. Mills, addressing federal immigration agents, said, “If your plan is to come here to be provocative and to undermine the civil rights of Maine residents, do not be confused: Those tactics are not welcome here.” In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Mark Dion of Portland described the immigrants in his community as “anxious and fearful,” adding, “We believe in their right to be safe and we’ve tried to direct resources their way to support their capacity to stay here in Portland.” Mr. Dion said his early impression was that the operation in Maine would not involve “groupings of agents just patrolling,” and that it would instead focus on tracking down certain people “on the basis of an actual court warrant.” He also warned residents against intervening in ICE’s actions, saying, “The best thing you can do is to be the best possible witness, should the facts that come before you be needed by any future investigation.” Politico [1/21/2026 5:21 PM, Jacob Wendler, 13586K] reports [Tricia McLaughlin] also called out Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, alleging that the governor “and her fellow sanctuary politicians in Maine have made it abundantly clear that they would rather stand with criminal illegal aliens than protect law-abiding American citizens.” Mills said in a statement that “many people across Maine are fearful” in the wake of ICE launching its operation in the state. “If the Federal government has warrants, then it should show them. But if they are separating working mothers from young children, solely because they sought freedom here and have committed no crime, then the Federal government is only sowing intimidation and fear and fostering division and suspicion among neighbors – none of which is welcome,” she said. Portland City Councilor Pious Ali said most of the people arrested by ICE on Tuesday were from Maine’s greater Portland area, including South Portland, Westbrook and Lewiston. ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde told Fox News in Scarborough, Maine, on Tuesday that the operation was targeting approximately 1,400 individuals— including immigrants from Senegal, Somalia, Honduras, Guatemala and the Congo — and that authorities arrested more than 50 people during its first day. The AP [1/21/2026 7:41 PM, Patrick Whittle and Rodrique Ngowi, 31753K] reports that many businesses have posted signs saying ICE agents aren’t welcome. “While we respect the law, we challenge the need for a paramilitary approach,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said at a news conference Wednesday where he was joined by other local officials. “This council doesn’t stand apart from our immigrant communities, we stand with them.

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Washington Post [1/21/2026 4:26 PM, Riley Beggin and Marianna Sotomayor, 24149K] reports House Democrats plan to vote against a negotiated funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday to protest Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s aggressive actions against U.S. citizens in Minneapolis and other cities. Thousands of ICE agents have been sent to Minnesota since December as part of a crackdown that DHS has described as the largest immigration enforcement effort in the agency’s history. An ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renée Good this month, prompting mass demonstrations in the Twin Cities. A week later, another ICE officer shot an undocumented Venezuelan man in the leg during an arrest. ICE also began an operation in Maine on Wednesday. ICE agents have increased their presence across the country over the past year, which President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem have said is necessary to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records. But agents have been taped on camera aggressively detaining individuals, including many U.S. citizens or undocumented immigrants without violent criminal records. House Democrats were initially poised to support the DHS funding bill because congressional appropriators worked in a bipartisan manner to cobble together the dozen individual pieces of spending legislation necessary to pass before the Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government and prevent another shutdown. But Good’s death incensed many Democrats and became a red line for the caucus, forcing Republican leaders to delay the measure’s consideration and put the bill on the floor for a stand-alone vote.

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NewsMax [1/21/2026 11:45 AM, Brian Freeman, 4109K] reports as House Republicans moved Wednesday to avert a partial government shutdown, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told Newsmax the chamber will take up the final four appropriations bills this week to complete funding for the federal government. "We’re bringing the bill Thursday, and it includes the remaining four," the Louisiana Republican said on "Wake Up America." "There’s 12 bills that fund all of government. The House has passed eight of those. Six of them are signed into law. The remainder of the four were negotiated over the weekend. Republicans and Democrats by the way, negotiated these bills." Scalise added: "Let’s establish some normalcy and do the basics of governing — funding the government at appropriate levels." The final package includes funding for the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, both of which Scalise described as critical priorities. He said the spending levels are lower than last year’s. "Every year under Biden, it was the question of how much more Washington was spending than the year before," Scalise said. "That drove inflation and massive deficits. Now we’re finally bringing spending down and we’re bringing economic growth up." If the House passes the remaining funding bills as planned, Congress would avert a shutdown and complete the annual appropriations process. Scalise tied the funding effort to a broader defense of President Donald Trump’s first year in his second term, crediting the administration with improved economic conditions. He pointed to falling inflation, lower interest rates, and reduced energy and grocery prices as evidence of progress. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Politico [1/21/2026 5:21 PM, Jacob Wendler, 13586K] reports Vice President JD Vance will visit Minneapolis on Thursday, amid heightened tensions between the Trump administration and local officials and activists due to the president’s immigration crackdown. Vance will host “a roundtable with local leaders and community members” and deliver remarks “focused on restoring law and order in Minnesota” during his trip to the city, the vice president’s office announced on Wednesday. He will also meet with ICE agents “to reinforce the White House’s unwavering support for federal immigration officials,” according to the White House. The trip comes as local and state officials have called for ICE agents to leave the Minnesota after an officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in her car earlier this month. Following Good’s shooting, Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told the agency to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis,” accusing ICE of “recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.” “People are free to come to Minneapolis, including the Vice President — that’s how this country works,” Frey said in a Wednesday statement. “But if the Vice President actually wanted to help, he should be focused on stopping federal agents from targeting and harming our neighbors in ways that clearly cross constitutional lines. That’s what Minneapolis wants.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, has also repeatedly condemned ICE’s operation in the state, which the Department of Homeland Security has sought to tie to a widespread investigation into allegations of government program fraud involving some Somali Americans. In the wake of the shooting, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem doubled down on the need for a heightened presence of federal law enforcement, vowing that “hundreds more” officials would be deployed to Minnesota in addition to the more than 2,000 agents already there.

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FOX News [1/21/2026 8:15 PM, Greg Wehner, 40621K] reports a federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily lifted restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ use of force against protesters in Minnesota, handing a short-term win to President Donald Trump’s administration as it challenges a lower-court ruling. The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an unsigned order placing an administrative stay on limits imposed by a district judge after protesters filed suit. The move pauses those restrictions while the appeals court considers the government’s request to block the injunction during the appeal. The ruling comes as federal immigration enforcement tactics face growing legal scrutiny nationwide. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the court’s decision, calling it a "victory.” "A liberal judge in Minnesota tried to handcuff ICE agents who are enforcing the Nation’s immigration laws and responding to obstructive and violent interference from agitators," Bondi said on X. "The 8th Circuit just granted an administrative stay HALTING these restrictions, which were designed to undermine federal law enforcement. "This DOJ will protect federal law enforcement agents from criminals in the streets AND activist judges in the courtroom.” The Associated Press reported that ICE is operating under an internal memo asserting broader authority to use force during arrests, including entering homes with administrative warrants rather than warrants signed by a judge. In a Jan. 16 ruling, U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez issued the preliminary injunction at the center of the appeal, siding with protesters and legal observers who sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE over their treatment during immigration enforcement operations. Menendez found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that federal agents violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights during protests and observation of ICE activity tied to Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. The judge cited a pattern of confrontations in which ICE agents allegedly used pepper spray, pointed weapons, made arrests and conducted traffic stops against individuals who were peacefully observing or protesting immigration enforcement. Menendez’s ruling temporarily barred agents from using force or making arrests against peaceful protesters and observers absent probable cause, prompting the Trump administration to seek emergency relief from the 8th Circuit. The decision on Wednesday put a pause on those restrictions as the appeal moves forward. The New York Times [1/21/2026 3:47 PM, Mitch Smith, 135475K] reports that the protesters’ lawsuit, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, described a “federal campaign to besiege cities across the United States in an unprecedented attack on civil liberties.” It said the suit’s purpose was “to ensure that Minnesotans can assemble, observe, document, and criticize defendants’ activities, safely and unburdened by the fear of retaliation.” Kyle Wislocky, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, noted in a statement that an administrative stay is not a decision on the merits of the appeal. He said that the plaintiffs planned to respond to the appeal soon, and to request a swift ruling “so that protesters and observers can again be protected by the district court’s injunction.” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, called the appellate court’s stay “a win for the safety of the public and every law enforcement officer.” She added that “D.H.S. does not use force against peaceful protesters or stop cars without reasonable suspicion of a crime.”

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FOX News [1/21/2026 12:28 PM, Greg Norman-Diamond, 40621K] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared that arrests are coming after an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mob targeted a church in Minnesota over the weekend. In a post on X, Noem said the individuals were "emboldened by the reckless rhetoric from Minnesota’s sanctuary politicians and the media," and that, "The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting.” "Arrests coming," she wrote, sharing a clip of a Newsmax appearance Tuesday during which Noem said the arrests would be happening "in the next several hours.” "This administration is committed to upholding federal law and defending the rights of all Americans. These agitators will be held accountable," she also wrote. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Video showed the group chanting "Justice for Renee Good" inside Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a service began Sunday, raising concerns among law enforcement and religious leaders about agitators targeting houses of worship amid escalating anti-ICE demonstrations across the Twin Cities. In one video circulating online, agitators can be heard chanting, "Justice for Renee Good," and "Who needs justice, we need justice," as they stood inside the church during the service.

FOX Business [1/21/2026 7:20 PM, Staff, 10085K] reports DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin discusses anti-I.C.E. protests in Minnesota and ongoing immigration enforcement across the nation on ‘The Evening Edit.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News.com [1/21/2026 12:18 PM, Lindsay Kornick Fox, 40621K] reports anti-ICE agitator William Kelly is daring U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to arrest him after she launched an investigation after him and other protesters who stormed a Minnesota church. Anti-ICE agitators stormed Cities Church sanctuary on Sunday, causing chaos and insisting that one of the pastors is the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul field office. People were heard shouting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good" in the middle of services in front of shocked churchgoers. William Kelly, who goes by "DaWokeFarmer" on TikTok, was identified as one of the protesters after the incident and has since stood by his part in the protest in several videos criticizing Bondi. In a TikTok video, he antagonized Bondi and the Trump administration using explicit language. "They wanna come after me?" Kelly posted on his TikTok. "F--- ‘em. How can they live so comfortably while the f---ing people from Somalia that are in this country legally, they have f---ing citizenship, can’t even go to their mosque and pray? How do they deserve any f---ing different? F--- those f---ing Nazis. Come and get me Pam Bondi, you f---ing traitorous b----. All power to the people.” In another clip that was posted online Tuesday, Kelly also taunted Bondi. "What we’re seeing around this country is they’re using their political influence to attack people that disagree with them," Kelly said. "They’re gonna come at me with charges, and I’m not scared of that. There’s no basis for these charges. I did not block them, you know, from their service. They welcomed us in. They never asked us to leave. The police never came and removed us, so we didn’t stop their service. In fact, people were still praying the entire time. The music was still playing the entire time.”

FOX News [1/21/2026 8:32 AM, Peter Pinedo and Cameron Cawthorne, 40621K] reports far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was one of the organizers of the storming of a Minnesota church to protest ICE on Sunday, raked in over $1 million during six years leading a Minneapolis civil rights nonprofit that addresses anti-poverty issues. Armstrong, whose website identifies her as a civil rights lawyer and "scholar-activist," helped to organize the storming of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. In a Facebook post, she claimed that one of the church’s pastors is a leader at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The demonstration is one of many throughout the Twin Cities in protest of the federal government’s surge of immigration enforcement officials to crack down on widespread fraud taking place in the state. Armstrong, who is currently the founder and CEO of a cannabis company called Dope Roots, led the nonprofit as executive director for at least six years, from 2019 through 2024, according to tax filings by the Wayfinder Foundation.

Washington Examiner [1/21/2026 9:12 PM, Mia Cathell, 1394K]
A paid left-wing provocateur, who operates a travel fund that covers expenses associated with accosting “Nazis,” joined the takeover of a Minneapolis-area church as part of an activist coalition’s protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. William Kelly, an anti-Trump agitator traveling across the country to sites of political conflict, appeared to be a central figure in the shutdown of Sunday services at Cities Church, a Christian parish in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kelly, alongside a mob of activists, allegedly stormed Cities Church over the weekend, disrupting a Sunday sermon based on allegations that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, is an ICE official. A man with the same name and likeness serves as ICE’s acting director for the agency’s St. Paul field office. Afterward, on social media, Kelly said he had "the honor of protesting David Easterwood’s church with Nekima Armstrong and the Racial Justice Network!". Nekima Levy Armstrong, head of the Minnesota-based Racial Justice Network, was the chief coordinator of the well-organized church protest. Armstrong later thanked Kelly and former CNN host Don Lemon in a Facebook post for their efforts. Lemon, Kelly, and other "independent journalists" were reportedly privy to operational plans kept under wraps until the so-called "surprise operation" actually unfolded. At the church, Lemon and Kelly recorded the protesters carrying out the "clandestine mission," adding narration that couched their conduct as constitutionally protected activity. Notably, when the activists initially assembled in a nearby parking lot, the protest’s staging grounds, Lemon met them there and began livestreaming before they barged into Cities Church that morning. Kelly, during the demonstration, filmed himself directly confronting lead pastor Jonathan Parnell and shouting in the faces of parishioners, even following them to their cars with crying children in tow. "I had no idea I was going to the church that day," Kelly said when contacted by the Washington Examiner. "I saw a flyer for a protest and showed up to support the Black Community.” A staple in the anti-ICE activism scene, Kelly appears at pop-up protests all around the country, deploying confrontational tactics intended to provoke his political opponents. Most recently, Kelly left Minneapolis for an anti-Tesla rally in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 16, took a red-eye flight to Chicago for a protest outside an ICE facility on Jan. 17, and jetted back to Minneapolis in time for the Cities Church occupation on Jan. 18. In a message to supporters, Kelly told his followers, "I plan on organizing some larger movements across the country! I will do my best to come support every city being attacked by fascism!". Kelly, known as "DaWoke Farmer" on TikTok, crowdfunds financing for his cross-country trips through a standing campaign on GoFundMe, originally titled "Help Me to Continue Agitating the Nazis.” "Road Trip!! Help me travel the Nation scolding the Gestapo for their bad decisions!" Kelly, who also collects contributions on CashApp, captioned the fundraising campaign. "No rest for demons!". To date, the GoFundMe page has raised over $43,000 in donations, many of them coming in after the Department of Justice threatened to file federal charges against the organizers and collaborators of the church protest.

AP [1/21/2026 6:35 PM, Staff, 31753K] Video: HERE reports Greg Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has led the administration’s big-city immigration campaign, was seen on video warning protesters “Gas is coming!” before throwing a canister that released green smoke into a Minneapolis crowd Wednesday.

Daily Caller [1/21/2026 6:28 PM, Mariane Angela, 835K] reports Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and other U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were refused service Wednesday at a Speedway convenience store. Video circulating on social media shows Bovino and other federal agents turned away at a Speedway near Minneapolis. A Speedway worker reportedly told the commander and his team they would not be served because staff members "don’t support ICE.” Independent journalist Cam Higby shared footage showing him questioning a Speedway employee after Bovino and other federal agents were denied service at a Minneapolis location. In the video, Higby asks the employee whether they work at the store and whether they refused service to the agents. The employee answered and said the decision was intentional. "You guys kicked him out?" Higby asked. "Yeah, I did. Because I wanted to. We don’t support ICE. Nobody here does. Neither do I," the worker said. Higby then turned to Bovino and asked whether it is legal for a business to deny service to federal agents. "If it is, I personally don’t care," the Speedway worker interjected. Protests against ICE intensified across the United States following the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good, after an ICE officer fired as she accelerated her vehicle toward him. Demonstrations spread nationwide. A video that circulated Friday on X shows anti-ICE activists misidentifying a man as an ICE agent because he was driving a vehicle similar to those commonly used by the agency.

FOX News [1/21/2026 8:04 PM, Stepheny Price, 40621K] reports a federal jury is weighing a case centered on whether a Chicago man’s Snapchat messages amounted to a genuine murder-for-hire plot targeting a senior U.S. Border Patrol official or reckless talk shared online. The defense rested Wednesday in the federal trial of Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, who is accused of soliciting the murder of Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino by offering cash rewards through Snapchat, according to The Associated Press. Espinoza Martinez did not testify. U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow sent jurors home for the day and told them to return Thursday morning for closing arguments, after which the case is expected to be handed to the jury, the AP reported. Prosecutors allege Espinoza Martinez unknowingly sent Snapchat messages to a government informant, offering $2,000 for information on Bovino’s whereabouts and $10,000 "if you take him down." Jurors were shown screenshots of the messages, some of which included a photograph of Bovino, according to testimony cited by the AP. Federal prosecutors argued in opening statements that the messages went beyond angry rhetoric or political speech and represented a deliberate attempt to solicit violence against a federal law enforcement official. "This case is not about someone expressing strong views about immigration enforcement," Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin told jurors, according to the AP. Prosecutors maintain the messages showed intent, not a joke or gossip. Defense attorneys countered that Espinoza Martinez, a carpenter with little money in his bank account, was merely repeating rumors circulating on social media and in his neighborhood. His attorneys argued the messages amounted to "neighborhood gossip," not a real plan to harm anyone, the AP reported. The government’s first witness was Adrian Jimenez, a construction company owner who had communicated with Espinoza Martinez about work and later turned over the Snapchat messages to authorities. Jimenez testified that he took the messages seriously and contacted a Homeland Security investigator he knew, according to the AP. Jimenez acknowledged under questioning that he had a prior felony conviction, had served prison time and had previously been paid as a government informant, though he did not provide details, the AP reported. Defense attorneys questioned whether Jimenez truly believed the messages were a solicitation for murder. "You’re not somebody that commits murder for hire, right?" defense attorney Dena Singer asked Jimenez. Espinoza Martinez’s younger brother, Oscar Espinoza Martinez, also testified for the defense, saying he saw a Facebook post about a rumored bounty before receiving the Snapchat messages and took them as a joke. "Nobody’s going to do that for $10K," he testified, according to the AP. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also addressed the case after the arrest. "Depraved individuals like Juan Espinoza Martinez — who do not value human life and threaten law enforcement — do NOT belong in this country," McLaughlin said. "We will not allow criminal gangs to put hits on U.S. government officials and our law enforcement officers. Thanks to ICE and our federal law enforcement partners, this thug is off our streets and behind bars. "These attacks on our brave law enforcement officers must END," McLaughlin added. "Secretary Noem has been crystal clear: If you threaten or lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Reported similarly:
CBS Chicago [1/21/2026 7:44 AM, Elyssa Kaufman, 39474K]
(B) Great Day on FOX26 [1/21/2026 12:34 PM, Staff]

Chicago Tribune [1/21/2026 2:50 PM, Jason Meisner, 4829K] reports shortly after his arrest in early October, Little Village construction worker Juan Espinoza Martinez was led by three federal agents into a windowless interview room, still dressed in a green work T-shirt and carrying a small bottle of water. “You’re probably a little confused about what’s going on today, so I’m gonna try to explain it all to you,” Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Christopher Perugini told Espinoza Martinez at the outset of the Oct. 6 videotaped interview, which was played for a federal jury Wednesday. “Feel free to ask me any questions you want.” Then, the agents laid it on Espinoza Martinez, a 37-year-old father of three, why he was there. “Murder for hire?” Espinoza responded, holding up his hands questioningly. “Correct, so that’s what the charge you’re charged with,” Perugini said. “I’ll explain it to you as we’re going.” The agents then confronted Espinoza Martinez with text messages he’d sent an acquaintance that included a photo of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, who was then the face of Operation Midway Blitz, along with what agents characterized as cash bounties for Bovino’s kidnapping and murder. Over the course of the interview, the agents pressed Espinoza Martinez repeatedly on how he thought the messages looked. He said over and over he meant nothing by it, that they were nothing more than social media chatter, and that he had no intention of making any actual offer for Bovino’s killing. “I’m really confused about this,” Espinoza said at one point in the interview. “I have no gang affiliation…I’m not nowhere around there. I work for a living every day. I’m a union worker. I work concrete, so I don’t know.” Portions of the videotaped interview were played for jurors in court Wednesday as the trial of Espinoza Martinez got underway before U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow.

Washington Examiner [1/21/2026 4:23 PM, Claire Carter, 1394K] reports Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) took to social media Wednesday to accuse the Department of Homeland Security of inflating the number of illegal immigrant arrests in Minnesota. In a post on X, Walz alleged that DHS is misleading the public by taking credit for the law enforcement world that occurred before the start of Operation Metro Surge in December. The governor’s comments were fueled by a report from Minnesota Public Radio News that examined lists shared by DHS officials on Jan. 12. The investigation by the outlet alleges that many of the people DHS claimed as new arrests had actually been transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody immediately following the completion of their prison sentences in Minnesota. According to the report, these transfers occurred before the Dec. 1, 2025, start of the intensified ICE operations in Minnesota, with some cases dating back several years. The dispute highlights the deepening rift between the state of Minnesota and the federal government.

CBS News [1/21/2026 12:19 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE reports the Justice Department subpoenaed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over alleged obstruction of immigration enforcement operations. CBS News homeland security and justice correspondent Nicole Sganga has more.

FOX News [1/21/2026 7:53 AM, Greg Norman-Diamond, 40621K] reports Minnesota Democrats who were served grand jury subpoenas as part of a federal investigation into an alleged conspiracy to obstruct or impede federal law enforcement during ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations are now speaking out, saying the justice system is being weaponized against them. The criticism comes after the Justice Department and the FBI served the subpoenas Tuesday to six offices, including the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Minneapolis Mayor’s Office. "Less than two weeks ago, federal agents shot and killed a Minnesotan in broad daylight. Now, instead of seriously investigating the killing of Renee Good, Trump is weaponizing the justice system against any leader who dares stand up to him," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement, adding that his office received a subpoena for "records and documents related to my office’s work with respect to federal immigration enforcement.” "Let’s be clear about why this is happening: Donald Trump is coming after the people of Minnesota, and I’m standing in his way," Ellison added. "I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump’s campaign of retaliation and revenge." Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in his own statement, "The State of Minnesota will not be drawn into political theater."

Breitbart [1/21/2026 11:22 PM, Ian Hanchett, 2416K] reports during an interview aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated that the city won’t work with ICE or any federal government agency with immigration enforcement work, partially because of “the moral imperative here,” but also due to “the fact that I want our police officers focusing on safety.” Frey said, “In Minneapolis, we will not cooperate with ICE or any federal agency around immigration enforcement work, we will not. And there’s a good reason, by the way, that we won’t, and it’s not just the moral imperative here, it’s also the fact that I want our police officers focusing on safety.” He continued, “I want our police officers arresting perpetrators of violent crime and preventing carjackings from taking place and doing that basic work of 911 response. You know what I don’t want our police officers doing? Spending a single minute going after some father who just dropped his kids off at daycare, is about to go work a 12-hour shift, who happens to be from Ecuador.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link] Breitbart [1/21/2026 11:22 PM, Ian Hanchett, 2416K] reports during an interview aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded to a question on if he’d help the federal government when they’re looking for violent criminals who are in the country illegally by saying that “I’m not going to agree to anything right now on the spot, simply because there’s not a lot of trust that’s baked in. They’re saying this is about murderers and rapists, and, like, if it were, again, there would be very obvious mechanisms to work together. This is not what it’s about.” Host Chris Cuomo asked, “[I]f the vice president comes and says, will you guys work with us so that we can identify the violent criminal people who are not supposed to be in the country, will you help us with that, what will you say?” Frey responded, “Well, working with the federal government to prosecute and arrest violent criminals is nothing new here in Minneapolis. We’ve been doing this for years. Look, I’m going to take about the easiest position I could possibly take, in Minneapolis, we’re anti-murder, we’re anti-rape. And when you murder or rape, we will work with the DEA and the FBI and the ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s office, and we have done that to successfully drive down crime. … But what we’ve seen is what this federal government is doing right now, it’s not about safety, it’s not about reducing crime. If it were, then there are very important mechanisms where we would work together to do that.” [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [1/22/2026 3:20 AM, Mitch Smith and Maia Coleman, 330K] reports federal investigators said in court documents unsealed on Tuesday that a man shot and injured by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week had assaulted that agent before the gun was fired. A federal complaint and affidavit filed in court by an F.B.I. agent differed in some details from the description provided by the Department of Homeland Security after the shooting last Wednesday. Two men, Alfredo A. Aljorna and Julio C. Sosa-Celis, who are Venezuelan nationals, were accused in the court records of assaulting the agent with a broom before the agent opened fire, striking Mr. Sosa-Celis. Both men appeared on Wednesday in Federal District Court in St. Paul, where a judge found probable cause for the case to proceed. Neither man entered a plea or spoke about the incident. The shooting happened a week after another immigration agent shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, on a residential street in a different part of Minneapolis. Both shootings touched off protests in the city, which the Trump administration has flooded with immigration agents in recent weeks. The newly unsealed court records provided the government’s fullest account yet of the second shooting, which an F.B.I. agent said happened after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on a temporary assignment in the state ran a license plate on a Ford Focus and found that its Minnesota tag was registered to someone in the country illegally. The two ICE agents believed that the driver, Mr. Aljorna, was the person who owned the vehicle, the F.B.I. agent wrote, but that turned out not to be the case. The affidavit said that the ICE agents, driving an unmarked vehicle, turned on their lights and siren to pull over the Ford. The F.B.I. agent said that Mr. Aljorna instead sped off and “recklessly zig-zagged through traffic” in a chase that lasted between 15 and 20 minutes. The affidavit noted that the ICE agents “were not familiar with the area,” and said that they eventually lost track of Mr. Aljorna until discovering that he had crashed into a light pole. The agents said they then saw Mr. Aljorna run toward a nearby apartment building, and that one of the ICE agents chased after him. Another person, identified in the affidavit as Mr. Sosa-Celis, was standing on the porch and urged Mr. Aljorna to run faster, officials said. The F.B.I. agent wrote that Mr. Aljorna eventually fell, and an agent caught up to him. The two then fought on the ground, the affidavit said, before Mr. Sosa-Celis grabbed a broomstick and started hitting the agent in the face. The affidavit said that the agent thought he saw another man, who was not named, approach holding a snow shovel, and that the agent was also struck with the shovel. Mr. Aljorna eventually freed himself from the agent, the affidavit said, and grabbed the broom. The ICE agent, the affidavit said, was “exhausted, alone, on the ground and in fear.” The agent sustained a gash on his hand while deflecting a blow, the F.B.I. agent wrote. Frederick Goetz, Mr. Aljorna’s lawyer, said his client expected to plead not guilty if a grand jury indicted him. He said that the hearing on Wednesday had raised questions about the legality of the agent’s use of deadly force. A lawyer for Mr. Sosa-Celis did not immediately comment in detail. The account of the incident relayed by the F.B.I. agent largely matched what federal officials said in the immediate aftermath, as protesters were gathering at the scene and clashing with law enforcement. But it also included notable differences from that initial description and from a more detailed statement released by the Department of Homeland Security the following day. In earlier descriptions, federal officials said that the incident started with “a targeted traffic stop in Minneapolis of an illegal alien from Venezuela,” but did not mention that the driver the agents were trying to stop was not who they first believed him to be.

NBC News [1/21/2026 11:34 PM, Tim Stelloh, 34509K] reports an autopsy commissioned by the family of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an immigration officer in Minneapolis this month, found that she suffered three clear gunshot wounds, including one to her head, lawyers for her family said Wednesday. One of the injuries was to Good’s left forearm, the lawyers said in a statement, while another gunshot struck her right breast without piercing major organs. Neither of those wounds was immediately life-threatening, the attorneys said. A third shot entered the left side of Good’s head near the temple and exited on the right side, according to the statement, and she also appeared to have sustained a graze wound. The attorneys said the autopsy was conducted by a "highly respected" and credentialed independent medical pathologist. "We believe the evidence we are gathering and will continue to gather in our investigation will suffice to prove our case," lead attorney Antonio M. Romanucci said in the statement. "The video evidence depicting the events of January 7, 2026, is clear, particularly when viewed through the standards of reasonable policing and totality of circumstances.” The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released its findings about Good’s death to her family or their legal team, according to the attorneys. A search of cases on the medical examiner’s office website Wednesday night did not yield any results for Good’s death. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of being a "domestic terrorist" without providing evidence and said Ross acted in self-defense. He was treated at a hospital for injuries he sustained in the incident and was released soon after, Noem said shortly after the shooting. A DHS official later told NBC News that Ross sustained internal bleeding but did not elaborate on his injuries. In an email Wednesday night, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Good of refusing to comply with officers’ commands. "If you impede law enforcement operations, ignore law commands, and use a deadly weapon to kill or cause bodily harm to a federal law enforcement office there are dangerous, and in this case deadly, consequences," McLaughlin said. "This was entirely preventable.”

AP [1/21/2026 10:20 PM, Michael Biesecker and Ryan J. Foley, 31753K] reports a Cuban migrant held in solitary confinement at an immigration detention facility in Texas died after guards held him down and he stopped breathing, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday that ruled the death a homicide. Geraldo Lunas Campos died Jan. 3 following an altercation with guards. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the 55-year-old father of four was attempting suicide and the staff tried to save him. But a witness told The Associated Press last week that Lunas Campos was handcuffed as at least five guards held him down and one put an arm around his neck and squeezed until he was unconscious. His death was one of at least three reported in little more than a month at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility in the desert on the grounds of Fort Bliss, an Army base. The autopsy report by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office found Lunas Campos’ body showed signs of a struggle, including abrasions on his chest and knees. He also had hemorrhages on his neck. The deputy medical examiner, Dr. Adam Gonzalez. determined the cause of death was asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. The report said witnesses saw Lunas Campos "become unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement." It did not elaborate on what happened during the struggle but cited evidence of injuries to his neck, head and torso associated with physical restraint. The report also noted the presence of petechial hemorrhages — tiny blood spots from burst capillaries that can be associated with intense strain or injury — in the eyelids and skin of the neck. Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic pathologist who reviewed the autopsy report for AP, said the presence of petechiae in the eyes support the conclusion that asphyxia caused the death. Those injuries suggest pressure on the body and are often associated with such deaths, he said. He said the contusions on Lunas Campos’ body may reflect physical restraint and the neck injuries were consistent with a hand or knee on the neck. Last Thursday, after Lunas Campos’ family was first informed the death was likely to be ruled a homicide, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin amended the government’s account, saying he had attempted suicide and guards tried to help him. "Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life," she said. "During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness." After the final autopsy report was released Wednesday, McLaughlin issued a statement emphasizing that Lunas Campos was "a criminal illegal alien and convicted child sex predator." In addition to Lunas Campos, ICE announced that on Dec. 3 an immigrant from Guatemala held in Camp East Montana died after being transferred to a El Paso hospital for care. While the cause of death was still pending, the agency said Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, was suspected to have died of liver and kidney failure. On Sunday, ICE announced that Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old immigrant from Nicaragua, died at Camp East Montana on Jan. 14 of a "presumed suicide." The agency said Diaz was detained by ICE earlier this month during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons to brief Congress about the recent deaths.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/21/2026 9:59 PM, Pooja Salhotra, 135475K]
Washington Post [1/21/2026 9:45 PM, Douglas MacMillan, 24149K]
CBS News [1/21/2026 11:56 PM, Staff, 39474K]

Federal News Network [1/21/2026 8:12 AM, Michele Sandiford, 986K] reports Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is facing calls to ramp up oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats on the committee are calling on him to investigate the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. They said Paul should issue subpoenas if necessary and have senior officials like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testify in front of the panel. Their letter comes in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota.

USA Today [1/21/2026 3:42 PM, Eduardo Cuevas, 67103K] reports the United States has quickly eroded human rights safeguards a year into the second Trump administration, according to Amnesty International. The human rights organization released its report Jan. 20, one year since President Donald Trump took office, saying the nation has adopted increasingly authoritarian practices against citizens and migrants alike. The report cited militarized responses to protests against immigration enforcement, most recently in Minnesota. "What we are witnessing is a full-blown human rights emergency that has actually emerged pretty quickly over this past year," Paul O’Brien, executive director of the nonprofit Amnesty International USA, said in an interview. "By shredding norms and by concentrating power, President Trump and his administration are making it harder and harder for anyone to hold him accountable." The White House dismissed the report in response to emailed questions. "Amnesty International clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. "No one needs to waste their time reading this report to know that it’s a bunch of left-wing nonsense." "Under President Trump’s leadership, America is stronger than ever," Jackson said, "our border is secure, crime is dropping, the economy is growing, and the best is yet to come!" Stressing Amnesty’s role as nonpartisan, O’Brien said he doesn’t believe many Americans support cruelty, chaos and attacks on vulnerable groups. Amnesty has issued prior reports on the United States, including on its asylum process and years-long secret detentions at Guantanamo Bay.

Washington Post [1/21/2026 6:35 PM, Emmanuel Felton and Cleve R. Wootson Jr., 24149K] reports President Donald Trump took his crusade against Somali migrants to the world stage on Wednesday, questioning the intelligence of a community that has become a frequent target of his tirades. Speaking before foreign dignitaries and corporate executives at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the president alluded to an ongoing fraud scandal in Minnesota involving dozens of Somali residents, continuing a pattern of attacks against African migrants that has spanned both of his administrations. “Can you believe that? Somalia — they turned out to be higher-IQ than we thought,” Trump said. “I always say these are low-IQ people. How do they go into Minnesota and steal all that money?” His statements in Davos echo his repeated broadsides against migrants from majority-Black countries that some community members have said led to harassment and bomb threats. Trump’s acerbic words about certain minority groups frequently become policy that disadvantages a much larger swath of people, said Andre Perry, the director of the Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institution. “These comments about immigrants, Somalis or whoever, eventually that becomes policy,” Perry said. “When we kind of just let this go as, ‘Oh, that’s just Trump being Trump.’ No, that’s Trump foreshadowing policy.” In a closed-door meeting in 2018, Trump questioned why the United States was accepting immigrants from “shithole countries” such as Haiti, El Salvador and several African countries and not from places such as Norway. During a 2024 presidential debate, he amplified debunked claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pets, adding that they were “destroying” the city. Trump’s antipathy toward the Somali community in Minneapolis dates back to at least 2016, when he pointed to a stabbing rampage in the region carried out by a Somali immigrant and called it part of a bigger problem. Many Somali refugees fled three decades of government instability and repeated droughts. The vast majority came to the United States legally, and many even voted for Trump during the 2024 presidential election, said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Daily Caller [1/21/2026 1:04 PM, Jason Hopkins, 835K] reports President Donald Trump’s use of military lawyers as immigration judges appears to be helping boost his mass deportation goals. Ever since the Trump administration amended official policy in 2025, which allows military personnel to act as temporary immigration judges, illegal migrants have been ordered deported or pushed into voluntary departure at higher rates, according to newly released data. These judges could prove to be major players as the president follows through on a pledge to conduct the largest deportation operation in U.S history. Military lawyers, also known as judge advocate generals (JAGs), issued deportation orders in 78% of cases throughout November, the first full month JAG judges began issuing rulings, according to information provided by Mobile Pathways, a California-based nonprofit organization that advocates for migrants. This rate was notably higher than the roughly 62% rate of removal orders handed down by regular immigration judges during the same time period. December data also showed the trend continued, with 95% of cases heard by a JAG judge ending in departure or removal orders, according to Mobile Pathways. During the final month of 2025, roughly 54% of foreigners who appeared before a JAG judge were ordered removed, while another 41% ended their case in voluntary departure. In general, foreign nationals are roughly 1.5x less likely to receive relief before a JAG judge. Border hawks, including those who have previously served as immigration judges themselves, have welcomed the tougher rulings. "It is highly likely that the temporary Immigration Judges seconded from the armed forces have lower approval rates because they aren’t pursuing an ideological agenda, they’re simply reading the relevant statutes and applying them to the facts of their cases in the manner intended by Congress," Matt O’Brien, deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "And that clearly demonstrates that the Trump Administration is justified in removing career IJs [immigration judges] whose inordinately high approval rates indicate that they are deciding cases on the basis of their ideological preferences rather than on the basis of what the law actually says," O’Brien stated.

Washington Examiner [1/21/2026 8:11 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 1394K] reports Senior Trump administration officials, including a Cabinet member, tried to force out President Donald Trump’s top border official over disagreements about how to reach the president’s deportation goals and ethical concerns, eight sources alleged during conversations with the Washington Examiner. Those involved said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, a special government employee at DHS and Noem’s close ally, have waged an aggressive campaign to make U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott so uncomfortable at work that he would resign. The lengths that the officials have gone to nudge Scott toward the exit were described by two people as “evil.” The tactics, the sources said, included actions that would negatively impact the families of senior CBP staff. Noem and Lewandowski view Scott as a threat to their success atop the 260,000-person department because Scott, a federal agent of three decades, has voiced concerns about the approach the duo has taken to enforce immigration laws. “[Scott] asks questions or challenges them when they make decisions that they may not have knowledge of, or should I say, have no experience with,” the first source wrote in a text message. Noem and Lewandowski plotted to promote two Border Patrol agents viewed as loyalists who would continue the flashy, sometimes questionable tactics CBP personnel have used while assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “This is supposed to be the time that we’re supposed to be elbows to elbows and rising to the top with all the support that we have from the president, but now we have to deal with this BS instead of trying to really fix the immigration system,” said a second person. Noem and Lewandowski are not without their reasons. DHS has been under pressure from the White House to increase deportations and expeditiously install the border wall, among many other responsibilities. Getting the president’s agenda done is the priority, according to administration officials.

SFGate [1/21/2026 10:28 AM, Staff, 13945K] reports a federal judge Tuesday found that a group of cities and counties lead by the city of San Francisco could proceed with their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration for threatening to withhold or terminate federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. The term "sanctuary jurisdictions" is sometimes used to describe cities and counties that decline to assist federal agents in enforcing national immigration laws. Shortly after his inauguration in January 2025, Trump issued two executive orders ("Protecting the American People Against Invasion," and "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders") that directed the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and other federal agencies to withhold federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. Those orders raised issues San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu recently described as "existential" because San Francisco receives approximately $3.7 billion in annual funding from the federal government, and a loss of those funds would wreak havoc on the delivery of critical city and county services. San Francisco believed that by unilaterally imposing conditions on congressionally authorized grants, the Trump administration was breaching a number of provisions in the U.S Constitution and essentially usurping Congress’ "power of the purse."

FOX News [1/21/2026 8:02 AM, Preston Mizell, 40621K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed record website traffic to the agency’s official site, with one of the most visited pages on the site including information on self-deportation through the CBP Home App. DHS reported a 68.49% increase in traffic from 2024. The department reports that its website received 102 million pageviews last year and 67 million unique visitors — an increase from 40 million pageviews in 2024. "Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS celebrated one of the most consequential periods of action and reform in American history in 2025," a spokesperson from DHS told Fox News Digital in a statement. "From delivering the most secure border ever and removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens, to fixing disaster response and ushering in a golden age of travel, DHS will continue to build upon this success and innovate to find ways to deliver for the American people." The agency is also planning to launch a new website that will enhance transparency about DHS and ease navigation. "This redesigned website is another example of that commitment to innovation and being the most transparent administration in American history," the spokesperson added. "In President Trump’s first year back in office, nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations and more than 675,000 deportations," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. The agency says that U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) apprehensions over the past 12 months were the lowest in USBP history, and the total number of apprehensions over the past year were less than the average monthly apprehensions during the Biden administration.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [1/21/2026 12:35 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K]

Washington Post [1/21/2026 6:11 PM, Stewart Verdery, 24149K] reports when it comes to reining in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, something is better than nothing. Yet House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) seems to care more about showing that he’s fighting President Donald Trump than actually enacting needed reforms. Democrats have raised valid questions about the training and oversight of ICE agents following the killing of Renée Good in Minneapolis, and House negotiators coalesced around a compromise bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The legislation must pass before the end of January to avert another government shutdown. This bipartisan appropriations package would keep ICE funding steady while adding more oversight of its operations. It would reduce the budget for enforcement and removals while adding money for conflict de-escalation training and independent oversight of detention facilities. Another win in the compromise is $20 million for the purchase of body cameras for DHS agents to wear when interacting with the public. As Americans grow wary of masked ICE agents’ secretive deportations tactics, body cameras are something everyone should be able to get behind. Having this footage will make it easier to hold ICE accountable when things go wrong while giving the agency a tool to exonerate agents if they are falsely accused. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who helped negotiate the spending compromise, argues that it’s better to secure some oversight provisions than falling back to what’s called a continuing resolution. That would keep funding levels in place without any reforms. So-called “CRs” also give the administration more flexibility in how to allocate money. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, pointed out more is at stake than just ICE’s budget. “If we allow a lapse in funding, TSA agents will be forced to work without pay, FEMA assistance could be delayed, and the U.S. Coast Guard will be adversely affected,” she said in a statement. Meanwhile, ICE’s operations would continue without any changes thanks to $75 billion that was allocated in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Yet most House Democrats are preparing to vote against the compromise when it comes to the floor on Thursday. This includes Jeffries, who claims it wouldn’t do enough to thwart Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Meanwhile, some Republican members have voiced frustration with the compromise for going too far the other direction, making its passage without Democratic votes uncertain, given the GOP’s dwindling majority in the House.

New York Times [1/21/2026 5:03 AM, Carlos Lozada, 135475K] reports the Trump administration is eager to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship, and the reasons seem to vary wildly. Official grounds include fraudulent citizenship applications, financial wrongdoing, violent crime and ties to gangs or drug cartels. But the president has also added justifications that are more subjective and idiosyncratic. “I’d do it in a heartbeat if they were dishonest,” he said in a recent interview with The Times. Or if they “complain” too much or “cause trouble” or if they “hate our country.” The administration is even setting a quota for how many denaturalization cases it hopes to take up: 100 to 200 per month. This escalation of what had become an uncommon practice — the United States denaturalized an average of 11 citizens per year from 1990 to 2017 — would do more than reaffirm the hypocrisy of a president and a party that long claimed to support lawful immigration. It reveals a willful misunderstanding of what it means to become an American citizen, of all that propels people to leave the place where they were born and to embrace a new one, this one, as their own. And it reiterates the administration’s zeal to redraw the limits of belonging in this country. When you redefine who gets to be American, you are also redefining what it means to be America. Naturalization is not merely a bureaucratic transaction. It is not just about filing paperwork or applying for a blue passport. It is the commitment to an idea, the culmination of a personal and political transformation, the fulfillment of a long-held ambition. I became an American citizen in 2014, at age 43, when I stood in a federal building in Maryland and swore an oath to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies.” But I’ve slowly been becoming one all my life.

New York Times [1/21/2026 5:30 AM, Radley Balko, 135475K] reports police agencies in the United States kill more than 1,000 people each year. After many of those deaths, the agencies involved put out statements. Those statements often use what’s known as the exonerative voice to minimize officers’ involvement. The first statement from the Minneapolis Police Department after George Floyd’s death, for example, said that the officers at the scene “noted that he appeared to be suffering from medical distress.” Quite the understatement. These communications often cast events in a light most favorable to the officers involved, sometimes to the point of deception. Too often, they’ll try to smear the deceased by citing a criminal record or suggesting a drug addiction or gang affiliation. I have been covering policing for more than 20 years and have read and parsed a lot of these statements. The Department of Homeland Security’s response after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis this month is something else entirely. For all their flaws, typical communications from police officials usually include a modicum of solemnity. There are assurances that there will be a fair and impartial investigation, even if those investigations too often turn out to be neither. There’s at least the acknowledgment that to take a human life is a profound and serious thing. The Trump administration’s response to Ms. Good’s death made no such concessions. There were no promises of an impartial investigation. There was no regret or remorse. There was little empathy for her family — for her parents, her partner or the children she left behind. From the moment the world learned about her death, the administration pronounced the shooting not only justified but an act of heroism worthy of praise and celebration. It isn’t just the lying; it’s that the lies are wildly exaggerated and easily refutable. All the evidence we’ve seen so far, including a meticulous Times forensic analysis of the available footage, makes clear that at worst, Ms. Good mildly obstructed immigration enforcement, disobeyed ambiguous orders or perhaps attempted to flee an arrest. None of those are capital crimes, nor do law enforcement officers get to dole out punishment in such cases. At one point, President Trump justified her shooting by claiming she’d been “very disrespectful” to immigration officers. That isn’t a crime at all. The lies this administration is telling about Ms. Good aren’t those you deploy as part of a cover-up. They’re those you use when you want to show you can get away with anything. They’re a projection of power.

Bloomberg [1/21/2026 8:24 AM, Beth Kowitt, 18207K] reports when Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in November 2024, corporate America took it as yet another sign that it had misjudged the political landscape. Many companies scrambled to roll back whatever remained of their DEI efforts and watered down sustainability goals. Executives apologized for past corporate activism, saying they had gone too far and promised to root out “wokeness” from their cultures. The moves were designed to appease the new administration and avoid its wrath. But they were also attempts to realign with where management teams believed broader society had moved — sharply toward Trump and to the right. A year or so later, signs are emerging that corporate America’s attempted recalibration has turned into an overcorrection. And the clearest example of how executives misread the room is playing out right now in Minneapolis as ICE roils the city. Start with national retailer Target Corp., one of the largest employers in its hometown of Minneapolis. In the entryway vestibule of its store in the suburb of Richfield, an employee was tackled by ICE agents and hauled off in a van while shouting that he was a US citizen. In the widely circulated video, you see an unsuspecting customer nearly caught up in the scuffle. Ultimately, two Target employees were taken by ICE during the episode; both were US citizens, a local lawmaker said, and were later released. (The Department of Homeland Security said one of the individuals was arrested in connection with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers.”) What does Target have to say about all this? No comment. Its executives might think their silence is broadcasting neutrality, but to customers and employees it more likely suggests cooperation or collusion — a position that puts the company very much at odds with public sentiment. It also does not help the broader crisis in trust toward corporate America. A recent Gallup poll found that the share of Americans who view business as the biggest threat to the US matches a high that was last hit more than two decades ago.

FOX News [1/21/2026 7:10 AM, Dr. Sandeep Gopalan, 40621K] reports should we tolerate the chaos and violence in Minnesota as a sign of a vibrant democracy or crush it as an "insurrection" or "domestic violence" that "hinders the execution of the laws"? President Donald Trump has been unequivocal that it is an insurrection, and has threatened to deploy armed forces using the Insurrection Act to crush the protests. It turns out that he may well be within his powers to do just that. Here’s why. The power of the president to deploy armed forces against insurrections dates back to the Calling Forth Act of 1792, which was passed by the 2nd Congress of the nascent United States. Chapter 28, sec. 2, of that law stated, "whenever the laws of the United States shall be opposed, or the execution thereof obstructed, in any state, by combinations … it shall be lawful for the President … to call forth the militia … to suppress such combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed."

USA Today [1/22/2026 5:03 AM, Jake Braun, 67103K] reports after the United States successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump has demonstrated why the operation really happened: oil. Not fentanyl. Despite political rhetoric, Venezuela is not a major player in the fentanyl crisis. Venezuelan cartels traffic oil, migrants and cocaine. The center of fentanyl production is not Caracas. It is in northern Mexico, particularly the "golden triangle" region, which is the Sinaloa Cartel’s stronghold. While the Maduro operation may have a positive effect on global energy markets, Americans should not mistake it for progress in the fight against fentanyl. That fight remains unfinished – and urgent.

NewsMax [1/21/2026 8:22 AM, Eric Mack, 4109K] reports Leftist agitators are forcing the Trump administration to take a harder line, effectively learning the consequences of obstructing law enforcement, as President Donald Trump has, in the words of Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons, "taken the handcuffs off the cops" and put them on criminals and those who interfere. "Right now, President Trump’s taking the handcuffs off the cops," Lyons told Newsmax on Tuesday night. "He’s allowing us to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act the way it’s written.” Lyons joined the show to describe what he said are numerous ways leftist agitators are obstructing law enforcement and forcing officers into situations that the media then portrays negatively, distracting from what he called the administration’s lawful operations. "Most of the national media leaves out the important part of why we were there," Lyons said. "Go back to look at the known suspected terrorists, the TdA gang members, the fentanyl dealers that ISIS taken out of our neighborhoods and communities." Democrats, he said, are also contributing to the obstruction by drafting legislation in Democrat strongholds that would bar ICE officers from future careers in law enforcement. "To demonize them and then not let them be local or state law enforcement after they’ve done their ICE career and when they want to continue to serve, that’s automatically assuming that ICE officers are in the wrong and that just can’t happen," Lyons lamented. He urged critics to "lead, follow, or get out of the way," adding that ICE will continue its work undeterred by what he described as obstruction, defamation, and slander. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [1/21/2026 3:31 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested illegal alien sex offenders, convicted burglars, and drug traffickers in the agency’s latest nationwide sweep taking criminals off American streets, Breitbart News has learned. "Every single day ICE law enforcement officers are risking their lives to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists from American neighborhoods," the Department of Homeland Security’s Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Washington Examiner [1/21/2026 6:00 AM, Rachel Schilke, 1394K] reports Congressional Republicans have agreed to cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and impose new restrictions on the agency in order to secure a bipartisan deal to fund the government and avoid a shutdown — a concession that comes even as President Donald Trump escalates ICE enforcement nationwide. The cuts were tucked into a 1,059-page Homeland Security funding bill negotiated by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and made public Tuesday. The bill cuts $115 million from ICE’s immigration enforcement and removal operations. It reduces the number of detention beds in migrant holding facilities by 5,500 and cuts funding for Customs and Border Protection by $1.8 billion. The legislation also earmarks $20 million to equip ICE agents with body cameras and money to provide agents with training for conflict de-escalation tactics. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) chalked up the cuts to what was needed to "get a deal" on funding the government and avoid another shutdown. "Nobody gets everything they want. If Rosa [DeLauro] got to write this bill by herself, it’d be a very different bill. If I got to write it by myself, it’d be [different] — we don’t get to do that," Cole said. "So we’ve got to find ways to work together."

CNN [1/21/2026 6:01 AM, Audrey Ash, 18595K] reports a CNN investigation found immigration officers are using cellphone cameras in unconventional ways in the heat of tense encounters -- namely, for facial recognition and to document their actions, often in the place of body cameras. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CNN [1/21/2026 6:00 AM, Yahya Abou-Ghazalaa, Isabelle Chapman, Priscilla Alvarez, Evan Perez, Audrey Ash, Thomas Bordeaux, and Sean Lyngaas, 18595K] reports from Chicago to Minneapolis, federal immigration agents deployed on Trump administration crackdowns have relied on an unlikely tool in the heat of tense operations — cellphone cameras. That practice came under national scrutiny this month when the agent who fatally shot Renee Good recorded the encounter, including during the shooting, on his phone. What’s been less clear, though, is exactly what the agents are doing with these devices in scenarios when many experts say law enforcement officers are better served having both hands free and their attention undivided. A CNN review of dozens of videos provides the clearest picture yet of federal immigration agents’ at-times unconventional use of personal and government-issued phones and cameras in the field, which agents are widely using to deploy facial recognition software and to capture video – either for social media content or to document their actions. In particular, the videos provide new insight into how the agents are using Mobile Fortify, a recently developed Department of Homeland Security app that allows officers to scan faces and retrieve detailed personal information. The app was intended to help quickly process immigrants targeted by operations – though it’s also now being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in street encounters with protesters and civilians alike. US Customs and Border Protection agents are using cellphones in a similar way during operations, videos show. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that "the Administration is using all the tools in our toolbox to share the truth with the American people." DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN on Friday that the agency plans to use money from Trump’s major policy bill, which includes $75 billion for ICE, to expand body-camera access for agents – but did not address whether new policies would require their use. In a statement to CNN, McLaughlin said that "providing our ICE law enforcement officers with body cameras is a priority for DHS," citing an increase in assaults against agents in the field. She added that "all ICE candidates are subject to months of rigorous training and selection at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center." A group of senators has called for ICE to stop using Mobile Fortify, and in a letter to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, asked what tests the agency conducted, if any, before deploying the app. Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, who led the inquiry, said he hasn’t received a response from ICE. "It’s draconian, dangerous, and deceptive," Markey said in a statement to CNN. "Our faces are not barcodes for ICE to scan and track.”

Reuters [1/21/2026 3:18 PM, Staff, 36480K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has never employed former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has said, contrary to an online narrative that he appeared on a list of ICE agents. The narrative emerged after a website called ICE List published what it says are the leaked personal details of around 4,500 ICE and Border Patrol employees, including nearly 2,000 frontline enforcement agents. The ICE List wiki describes itself as a journalistic project by the Crust News website, which says it collects and shares information related to federal immigration enforcement in the U.S. Reuters could not independently verify the accuracy of the list or how the data was obtained. However, the list does not identify Tarrio as an ICE agent. It does not say he is affiliated with any government agency. "This individual was never hired by ICE," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an email to Reuters.

CNN [1/22/2026 4:01 AM, Isabel Rosales, Karina Tsui, and Ray Sanchez, 18595K] reports one day after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, a Minnesota immigrant advocacy group reported a threefold increase in the number of people signing up to become legal observers. "To say this: The killing of Renee Good lit a fire under the community, would be an understatement," said Ryan Perez, a leadership and organizing director with the advocacy group COPAL, part of a network of 5,000 trained civilians who monitor immigration enforcement. "It really is a remarkable moment." As the Trump administration deploys thousands of federal officers to carry out turbocharged immigration operations across the country – with the Minneapolis area now the epicenter – growing networks of volunteers who call themselves ICE observers appear to be intensifying their efforts. Volunteers document arrests, some tail ICE agents in vehicles, while others blow whistles warning community members of ICE enforcement –– tactics under increased scrutiny since the fatal shooting, which has led to more aggressive enforcement operations and sparked protests across the US. Experts say while some practices by volunteers are acts of nonviolent civil disobedience, others may fall into murkier legal territory. ICE watch activities and protests appear to be escalating as aggressive arrests become more common in public, with some federal officers using tactics such as shattering car windows and tackling their targets. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has said agents who "put their lives on the line every day to enforce the law" are facing "smearing" by claims they’re employing "harsher approaches.” "ICE and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and themselves," McLaughlin told CNN. "Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training."

Washington Post [1/22/2026 5:00 AM, Michelle Boorstein, 24149K] reports the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis is revealing divisions among Christian leaders across the country about appropriate religious responses to ICE’s most aggressive enforcement tactics. Episcopal bishops in New Hampshire and Minnesota have in recent days told their flocks to be prepared even for death in order to protect the vulnerable. Clergy members are among those, along with union leaders and others, calling for a general strike Friday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A network of progressive groups that had urged members of the clergy to come to Minneapolis later this week said its event was spurred by “a crisis of faith communities failing to live into a vision of Beloved Community,” advertising the call to action as an extension of the religious mantle of the 1960s civil rights marches. But an anti-ICE protest that took place inside a St. Paul church Sunday has drawn outrage from conservatives as well as skepticism from some ICE critics, who say a sacred space shouldn’t be a protest target. The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation of the noisy demonstration inside the Southern Baptist church, including the organizer, who is also an ordained minister. “No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in the house of God,” Kevin Ezell, head of the Southern Baptists’ missionary arm, wrote in a statement Monday. Some say that failing to protest — even in uncomfortable ways — is a betrayal of basic Christian precepts. “I believe that if someone professes to represent the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to preach it, that they should not be allowing ICE agents to drag people out of their homes,” Nekima Levy Armstrong, who led the protest at Cities Church on Sunday, said on the left-leaning show “Democracy Now!” The Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, which has resulted in the arrest of more than 3,000 people in the Twin Cities in less than two months, is putting new pressure on age-old tensions between the Christian mandate to aid the poor and vulnerable and the conservative views of many U.S. Christians who want to show support for law enforcement. While many agree with the administration’s stated goal to arrest and deport undocumented people who have committed crimes, nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose such treatment of people who have no criminal record, the firm PRRI found last month. That split is pressuring Christian Americans to choose how to respond to ICE’s behavior and the increasingly confrontational actions of protesters.

New York Times [1/21/2026 5:03 AM, Eric Asimov, 135475K] reports while discussing the protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in American cities, David Marcus wrote in a Fox News Opinion piece last week that “organized gangs of wine moms” were using “antifa tactics to harass and impede” ICE agents. He also referred to those mothers as “self-important white women,” a comment echoed by another Fox News personality, Will Cain, who spoke of “a weird kind of smugness” among them. “Wine moms” conjures up ludicrous images — women holding babies in one arm and brandishing bottles in the other, legions of them marching forth in zombie lock step. The term, an update of the old “moms who need wine” stereotype, popped up on social media during the pandemic to refer to mothers stuck at home with children and self-medicating with wine. But a few short years later, the phrase has been repurposed. Rather than referring to mothers who appreciate a little break, “wine mom” has now taken its place along other wine-related tropes used to flag self-righteous elitism. Wine may be a beverage cherished by humanity for thousands of years, but in the United States it’s a handy signifier for snobbery. For decades, political conservatives derided the “Brie and Chablis set,” presumably liberals who, over their wine and cheese, sneer at ordinary beer-drinking Americans.

Axios [1/21/2026 3:45 PM, Steph Solis, 12972K] reports a bill on Beacon Hill could make it harder for federal agents to detain someone at a courthouse over civil immigration violations. Supporters say these arrests erode the due process rights of people showing up to court, like the man who was detained in an alley behind the East Boston courthouse in November. Sen. Lydia Edwards, a Boston Democrat, filed a proposal to make federal agents present a judicial warrant before detaining someone on courthouse grounds. The bill would also require a judicial warrant for agents detaining people on their way to or from a court proceeding. The bill has similar restrictions as those passed in Connecticut and New York, where a federal judge upheld a state law barring immigration agents from courthouses. The Massachusetts Trial Court recorded at least 614 arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at courthouses in 2025.

Bloomberg [1/21/2026 12:24 PM, Nacha Cattan, 18207K] reports the Trump administration plans to buy a warehouse linked to billionaire investor Carl Icahn for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, stirring opposition in a small town in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Department of Homeland Security said in January that ICE is pursuing the purchase of a warehouse in Chester, New York, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan. The location was acquired by a subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises LP, according to property records showing a sale date of Dec. 29, 2021. Icahn said in a telephone interview he first learned of the transaction through a local newspaper article earlier this month, declining to comment further. The property currently has a market value of about $25 million, according to Orange County records. DHS didn’t say how it would utilize the site but a description on its website suggested a potential use as a detention center. The agency said in a public notice that the project would include a small guard building, upgraded security fencing and an outdoor recreation area. It’s located about 15 miles from the nearest airport. The proposed purchase has drawn pushback from residents and elected officials in Chester, a town of about 13,000 people. Hundreds of people protested the plan earlier this month at a town event, and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, a Republican, said he strongly opposed converting the warehouse into an ICE facility. “The last thing Orange County residents want to see here is what is unfolding right now in Minneapolis,” Neuhaus said in an emailed response to questions. He said the site would be better suited for economic development such as light manufacturing or a film studio, and warned that an ICE site would strain local emergency services and first responders.

CBS Baltimore [1/21/2026 11:19 PM, Adam Thompson, 39474K] reports a man who was shot by immigration enforcement officials in Maryland on Christmas Eve is facing federal charges of resisting arrest, according to court documents obtained by WJZ. Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins was shot as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were conducting a field operation in Anne Arundel County. ICE says Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins is an undocumented immigrant from Portugal who came to the U.S. in 2008. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/21/2026 4:42 PM, Stepheny Price, 40621K] reports an illegal immigrant accused in a fatal DUI crash that killed a beloved college soccer player and his girlfriend in North Carolina had a prior DWI charge dismissed years earlier — a history now fueling renewed debate over immigration enforcement, court records show. Court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show Juan Alvarado Aguilar, 37, was charged with driving while impaired in Cabarrus County on Nov. 5, 2020. The case was dismissed with leave by the district attorney, a procedural move under North Carolina law that removes a case from the court docket without terminating it and allows prosecutors to reinstate the charge under limited circumstances. The unresolved status of that prior DWI charge has drawn renewed scrutiny following the fatal crash that killed Fletcher Harris, 20, and Skylar Provenza, 19. According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the crash happened late Friday night when Aguilar crossed the center line and collided head-on with another vehicle on Amity Hill Road. Aguilar appeared in court Tuesday with the assistance of a Spanish translator and faces two counts of felony death by vehicle and one count of driving while impaired in connection with the Jan. 16 crash, according to WCNC. Prosecutors requested Aguilar’s bond be increased from an initial $250,000 to $2 million, citing his criminal history and concerns he could flee. The judge exceeded that request, setting bond at more than $5 million. During the hearing, prosecutors revealed Aguilar has two prior failures to appear in court and a previous DWI charge on his record. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has also been placed on him, according to WCNC, with prosecutors arguing he posed a significant flight risk. Jail records show Aguilar is being held at the Rowan County Detention Center with his next court appearance scheduled for March 2.

New York Times [1/21/2026 7:45 PM, Jesus Jiménez, 135475K] reports that, on the South Side of Chicago last fall, dozens of federal immigration agents swarmed an apartment building in the middle of the night. Some of them rappelled down from a Black Hawk helicopter and banged on doors. Many residents were restrained outdoors and forced to wait while agents checked their identities. By the end of the night, at least 37 people, mostly Venezuelan nationals, had been arrested, and the building was left in disarray. The Sept. 30 raid was one of the most aggressive in the early months of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. It raised questions about why a random, blighted building in Chicago’s predominantly Black neighborhood of South Shore had been targeted for such a large show of federal force. At the time, Trump administration officials said they were targeting a number of unauthorized Venezuelan immigrants living in the building, some of them with purported ties to criminal gangs. But on Wednesday, Illinois officials said they have opened a new investigation into claims that building managers had contacted the federal government with a tip about Venezuelan immigrants who were not authorized to be living in the building. State officials say it may have been an illegal attempt on the managers’ part to force Black and Hispanic tenants, including U.S. residents, out of the building. In the aftermath of the raid, residents described years of conflicts among tenants, building management and city officials over claims of inadequate maintenance, safety hazards and frequent instances of crime. The building’s ownership has countered that it had spent $2 million on repairs, maintenance, security and evictions since 2020, but had been unable to keep squatters and criminals out. In a document filed to support the new investigation, state officials said that the building’s management had tipped off federal officials in September that Venezuelans “who were unauthorized occupants and had threatened other tenants” were living in the building without the owners’ permission. During the raid, the document said, federal agents removed dozens of Black and Hispanic tenants from their homes and separated them outside the building based on race and national origin. State officials said they would look into whether the tip about Venezuelans was in fact an attempt to “intimidate and coerce the building’s Black and Hispanic tenants, as well as the Venezuelan immigrants, into leaving the building.” The state said the raid effectively targeted the entire 130-unit building, “terrorizing all tenants, knocking down doors, clearing units and destroying tenants’ property.”

CNN [1/22/2026 5:30 AM, Amy O’Kruk, Koko Nakajima, Renée Rigdon, Byron Manley, Janie Boschma, Sharif Paget and CJ Riculan] reports tensions are high in Minneapolis after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her SUV earlier this month. Good’s death sparked outrage against ICE’s continued presence and the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive tactics by armed, masked agents in the Twin Cities — in both immigration enforcement operations and crackdowns on protesters. DHS has poured thousands of federal agents into the cities, greatly outnumbering the combined sworn police officers that Minneapolis and St. Paul have, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents had arrested 3,000 “criminal” undocumented immigrants in Minnesota over the last six weeks, as of January 19. “DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN. The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota, according to a Trump administration source, while state officials have mobilized — but not yet deployed — the Minnesota National Guard. CNN reviewed and geolocated videos that demonstrate just some examples of federal agents’ tactics in the Twin Cities. They have detained both suspected undocumented immigrants and US citizens, used pepper balls, tear gas and pepper spray against protesters, and stopped a citizen to ask for identification and where he was born because of his accent. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [1/22/2026 2:22 AM, Andrew Jeong, 24149K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota have detained at least four children from the same school district this month, including a 5-year-old boy, school officials in a Minneapolis suburb said Wednesday. The events have inflamed tensions between residents and ICE officers, sparked by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renée Good by an ICE officer this month. The Trump administration has sought to justify the presence of ICE agents by saying that the officers are detaining immigrants convicted of violent crimes. “Why detain a 5-year-old?” Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public Schools district, located just north of Minneapolis, said at a news conference. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.” Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, whom the Department of Homeland Security identified as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias in an emailed statement, were detained in their driveway Tuesday afternoon, just as they were returning from the child’s preschool, according to a news release from Columbia Heights Public Schools. The father fled on foot when ICE officers approached him, DHS said. “For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,” it added. After detaining the father, ICE officers then asked Liam to knock on the door to see if any other people were inside the home, “using a 5-year-old as bait,” according to the school district. Another adult living in the home who was outside at the time, “begged the agents” to leave the child with them, the school district said. ICE agents refused. Liam’s middle-school-aged brother returned home 20 minutes later to find that his younger brother and father had been taken away. Liam and his father are now in San Antonio in the custody of Homeland Security authorities, the family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, said in an email. They are not U.S. citizens but “have been following the legal process perfectly, from presenting themselves at the border to applying for asylum and waiting for the process to go through,” he said. DHS said it was not targeting Liam and that ICE’s policy is to ask parents if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person designated by a parent. It was not immediately clear why ICE officers had not left Liam in the care of the adult whom school officials say had begged the officers to leave Liam there.

USA Today [1/21/2026 8:42 PM, James Powel, 67103K] reports an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent entered a Thai restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his handgun drawn while claiming to look for a "kid," the restaurant’s owners said. Footage from Eastside Thai taken Jan. 19 shows a federal agent step out of a vehicle, draw the gun and enter the restaurant after a person is seen running past the restaurant’s front door. Elle Lee, one of the restaurant’s owners, told Storyful that the agent was "shouting at us" as he entered. Kou Lee, the restaurant’s other owner, said in a Facebook post that "the ICE agent accused us of hiding the kid.” A witness seen in the video eating as the agent enters the restaurant, identified on Facebook as Sherminator Vang, said in a comment on the post that agents had "been circling around the block looking" for the person. USA TODAY has reached out to the witness for further comment. The agent is seen exiting the restaurant and then returning with his weapon still unholstered. He speaks with Elle at the threshold of the restaurant and then renters before quickly leaving and returning to his car. Cellphone video taken by Elle after the agent leaves shows a vehicle abandoned just out of the way of an intersection. In his post Kou said that everyone in the restaurant was unharmed. Elle told Storyful that multiple customers and staff members were traumatized by the incident. "My business was disrupted, and now my staff are hesitant to come to work, while those still needing to pay bills are showing up feeling worried and scared," Elle said. USA TODAY has reached out to the restaurant owners for further comment. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her did not provide an immediate response when contacted by USA TODAY about the incident but told PBS Newshour in a Jan. 21 interview that, "people are afraid, they are frustrated, they are angry.” USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and Customs and Border Protection for comment on the incident. Aggressive, and often contentious, immigration operations have increasingly reshaped life in the Twin Cities, particularly after an ICE agent shot and killed resident Renee Nicole Good. In an interview with CBS News’ "Face the Nation" on Jan. 18, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called immigration agents in the city an "occupying force." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Blaze [1/21/2026 10:10 AM, Joseph MacKinnon, 1442K] reports Democrats and their friends in the liberal media have worked overtime to demonize U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have in recent months faced a massive spike in death threats and attacks. President Donald Trump confronted the legacy media on Tuesday with insights into the real villains — those degenerate criminal noncitizens whose removal from Minnesota streets leftists have fought and in at least one case died obstructing. At the outset of a press conference, during which he highlighted some of what he accomplished in his first year back in office, Trump noted that it was appropriate to shine a spotlight on some of the individuals whom ICE has arrested "because Minnesota is so much in the fray." He produced a stack of illegal alien mugshots, then began showing them one by one. "They’re apprehending murderers and drug dealers and a lot of bad people," said Trump. "And these are just some of the more recent ones that we have, and I could show you some of the people — vicious, many of them murderers. These are all out of Minnesota.” Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz was one of the illegal aliens whose mugshots Trump showed reporters. Guerrero-Munoz is an illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal from 2015. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Guerrero-Munoz is "a criminal illegal alien who has been incarcerated on the taxpayer’s dime since 2004 following a 32-year prison sentence for the intentional murder of his three-month-old son." During his time in Stillwater Prison, Guerrero-Munoz assaulted a fellow inmate, resulting in another conviction. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Monday that ICE has "arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children, and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals.” Noem indicated further that "vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals" were among the 3,000 criminal illegal aliens captured over the past six weeks during Operation Metro Surge.

Daily Caller [1/21/2026 12:32 PM, Nicole Silverio, 835K] reports "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin complained on Wednesday that President Donald Trump held up mugshots of black and brown illegal aliens who have committed heinous crimes. Trump held up several mugshot photos of illegal immigrant criminals in Minnesota during a White House briefing on Tuesday, many of whom are registered sex offenders, committed domestic abuse offenses and possessed drugs. Hostin accused Trump of falsely accusing these criminals of committing heinous acts because of their skin color, and suggested there is no proof that these crimes were committed. "I thought what was so distasteful and disgusting, quite frankly, was the fact that he was holding out pictures, generally of black people and of brown people, and calling them predators and calling them rapists and calling them murderers," Hostin said. You know, to the world, the president of the United States, there is no data that says that those people are rapists and criminals. In fact, if you look at whatever data that we have, 70 percent of the people that ICE has detained don’t have criminal convictions, don’t have any criminal record." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released photographs of several of the "worst of the worst" illegal aliens in Minnesota who had committed crimes such as molestation, rape, domestic violence and making terroristic threats. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin stated that while Minnesota’s sanctuary policies released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens onto the streets, President Donald Trump’s administration has arrested over 10,000 illegal aliens in Minnesota alone.

CBS News [1/21/2026 9:49 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports a top Minnesota law enforcement official is rejecting repeated accusations by the Department of Homeland Security that state authorities have been releasing hundreds of dangerous criminals into the streets, rather than turning them over to federal immigration agents. Paul Schnell, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, called the claims "fundamentally false" and warned that such federal messaging risks undermining public trust in both immigration enforcement and public safety. "We cooperate with ICE and ICE detainers," Schnell told CBS News in an interview on Wednesday. "We have, as a matter of policy, done that for a long, long time. How they can say otherwise is unbelievable." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [1/21/2026 6:30 PM, Nicole Acevedo and Maggie Vespa, 34509K] reports Kaohly Her took office as the first woman and the first Asian American mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, the week an immigration officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen who lived nearly 15 miles west of her city. "Nobody ever comes into an office and within the third day of being in office there’s an ICE shooting," Her told NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis in an interview Tuesday. "But I also understand that this is the moment in which you are asked to lead, and so you step up and you lead. ... I hope I’m rising to the moment.” Born in Laos, Her is the first person of Hmong ancestry to become the mayor of St. Paul, which is home to the country’s largest urban Hmong population, according to Pew Research. Neighbors in that community raised concerns this week over a rise in immigration raids targeting people of Hmong descent, with outrage growing after the arrest of ChongLy Scott Thao, a naturalized U.S. citizen who is also a Hmong immigrant. Videos of the incident Sunday show immigration officers breaking down the door to Thao’s home, arresting him and escorting him out in freezing conditions wearing only shorts, a blanket and sandals. Thao, 57, was returned to his home later in the day. Her recognized Thao when she saw the images. He is her friend Louansee Moua’s brother-in-law. Moua had written a Facebook post decrying what happened to Thao. "When I saw what she had posted, I called her immediately, and the next morning she and I touched base and talked about what had happened," Her said. "It was heartbreaking to watch somebody get dragged out of their home.” "I don’t know how anybody looking at that could ever justify the treatment of another human being that way," she added. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Monday that Thao’s arrest was part of a targeted operation seeking two sex offenders who lived at his address. On Tuesday, the agency identified two men from Laos and said both are wanted on suspicion of sexual assault. It was unclear Tuesday whether the two men were the targets when officers entered Thao’s home Sunday. Thao’s family said in a statement Monday that the agency’s account did not reflect their firsthand knowledge of the events or the living situation at the residence. "The only individuals residing at the home are Mr. Thao, his adult son, his daughter-in-law, and his young grandson. The family does not know the individuals referenced in DHS’s statement," the family said. They also said officials did not present a warrant or request ID before he was detained. McLaughlin of DHS told NBC News in an email Wednesday that "allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE." She said DHS has the legal authority to use "‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests, as allowed under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has already vindicated us on this position.” "A person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity," McLaughlin added.

AP [1/21/2026 6:20 PM, Safiyah Riddle, 31753K] reports businesses across large swaths of Minneapolis have taken a hit as President Donald Trump’s administration carries out a massive immigration operation that has spurred protests. As staff and customers stay home and protesters target businesses they see as aiding federal immigration enforcement, countless stores have temporarily closed, canceled events or reduced hours. Some hotels that housed federal immigration officers and saw protests have stopped accepting reservations altogether, while Minneapolis-based Target Corp. also has seen protests. And the economic pressure shows no signs of abating as plans for a general strike planned on Friday to protest the immigration crackdown has gained momentum. The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities cited devastating economic impacts in a lawsuit filed this month imploring a federal judge to halt the immigration operations. The lawsuit asserted that some businesses have reported sales drops up to 80%. In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pointed to the protests and what she called "the fact sanctuary policies won’t allow us to work with state and local law enforcement" when asked about the economic concerns.

Reuters [1/22/2026 4:30 AM, Blanch Ancla, 36480K] reports a Minneapolis coffee shop and a long‑established sex toy store have become informal aid centers for immigrant families as community members say fear of federal immigration enforcement has prompted residents to stay indoors and rely on neighbors for basic necessities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NPR [1/21/2026 5:16 PM, Jasmine Garsd, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports in Minnesota, there is an extensive network of community members who are volunteering en masse to help one another. NPR’s Jasmine Garsd tells the story of one family who needed to run one errand…and how it turned into a complex underground operation.

CBS News [1/21/2026 9:12 PM, Nicole Sganga, 39474K] reports St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, a Hmong American who represents the city with the largest concentration of Hmong in the United States, says fear of immigration enforcement has led to a devastating economic impact. In Minnesota’s Hmong Village, empty stalls now line a once-busy marketplace as the Trump administration continues its "largest immigration operation ever" in the Twin Cities area, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Mayor Her says it’s a sign of "an enormous amount of fear" among immigrant communities. "On a normal day ... all of these stalls would be open," Her told CBS News. "Individuals are fearful. They’re afraid to leave their homes. They’re afraid to let their children go to school.” Vendors at Hmong Village Shopping Center — which include retail shops, restaurants, a farmer’s market and other public services — and are worried about their customer base and their own safety, Her said. "Many of them are telling me their business is down 60 to 70%," she said. "And many of them are saying our rent is due. One of these small booths is like $1,400 a month, and if you have no sales, you can’t pay your rent." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federalist [1/21/2026 7:17 AM, John Daniel Davidson, 785K] reports the videos coming out of Minneapolis, of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers apprehending illegal immigrants in the streets while having to fight off aggressive and sometimes violent anti-ICE activists, are the predictable result of a Democrat strategy that amounts to nullification. I mean nullification in the historical sense, like the Nullification Crisis of 1832 when South Carolina declared federal tariffs to be null and void within the boundaries of the state, and President Andrew Jackson threatened to send in the U.S. Army to enforce federal law. What the Democrats of South Carolina did back then is essentially what the Democrats of Minneapolis are doing today, fomenting a 21st century nullification crisis by making it nearly impossible to enforce federal immigration law in the territory under their jurisdiction. Trump, who has ordered 1,500 active duty troops stationed in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, is well within his rights (and within historical precedent) to respond in the same vein as Jackson did to what amounts to a nullification crisis. Indeed, the whole point of so-called sanctuary laws is to make it difficult or impossible to enforce federal immigration laws — to nullify them. Sanctuary policies like the ones operative in Minneapolis (and many other Democrat-controlled cities) prohibit state and local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities. Under normal circumstances, when an illegal immigrant commits a crime the local authorities notify federal immigration officials before the offender is released, so that ICE can take custody and begin the process of deportation. The handover occurs between law enforcement agencies in a controlled, orderly, safe manner. But in places where Democrat lawmakers have created sanctuary jurisdictions, local law enforcement is barred from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement in this way. Instead of handing over illegal immigrants to ICE, the police simply release them. That means ICE agents have to go out into the community, into neighborhoods and businesses, to track down and arrest illegal immigrant criminals wherever they might be. This is obviously a much more volatile and dangerous way to enforce federal immigration law. And in Minneapolis, it’s even more volatile and dangerous thanks to anti-ICE activists and vigilante mobs attempting to disrupt, impede, and in some cases attack ICE agents. Indeed, it’s a recipe for violent clashes between ICE and anti-ICE mobs.

AP [1/21/2026 6:46 PM, Hannah Fingerhut, 31753K] reports the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district is expected to plead guilty Thursday in federal court to charges that he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessed firearms, a plea agreement shows. Ian Roberts had a two-decade-long career as an educator and school administrator in districts across the U.S. before becoming superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, a district of 30,000 kids where he was beloved for his charismatic and exuberant leadership style. Just weeks into the school year, Roberts was arrested on Sep. 26 in a targeted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation that stunned community members and attracted national attention. He was placed on leave a day later in a unanimous vote by the Des Moines school board in a meeting that lasted just three minutes. Roberts resigned Sept. 30. School board president Jackie Norris said at the time, "I want to be clear, no one here was aware of any citizenship or immigration issues that Dr. Roberts may have been facing. The accusations ICE had made against Dr. Roberts are very serious, and we are taking them very seriously.” A native of Guyana, in South America, Roberts initially pleaded not guilty to the two charges, which together carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Now Roberts is expected to plead guilty to both charges, according to a plea agreement signed by Roberts and released Wednesday. The plea agreement also indicates that Roberts is aware he could face deportation after he serves his sentence. Federal officials said Roberts first entered the U.S. in 1994 on a non-immigrant visa. They said he returned in 1999 on an F-1 student visa, which was set to expire in March 2004. He was denied a green card application in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. His next listed interaction with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was in 2018, when he ultimately obtained work authorization. Authorities said his second application for work authorization was approved, expiring in December 2020, and that he has not had work authorization since then.

FOX News [1/21/2026 3:17 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports an Oklahoma man has been federally charged with threatening to kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, "MAGA Republicans" and politicians in a series of comments posted on YouTube, the Justice Department said. Taylor Ryan Prigmore, 30, was arrested Monday after being accused of posting the comments in several videos between May 9, 2025, and Jan. 17, federal prosecutors said. "As attacks on law enforcement rise around the country, this Department of Justice will continue to identify and prosecute violent threats against the brave men and women who keep us safe," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "Hiding behind a screen will not protect you from severe legal consequences." On Saturday, the FBI was alerted by Google regarding several threatening statements made by a YouTube user alleged to be Prigmore, according to a criminal complaint. "Based on the content of comments that were uploaded to the YouTube video service, Google believes that there presently exists an emergency involving imminent death or serious bodily injury to a person or persons, and that immediate disclosure to you of certain information is required to avert the emergency," the message from Google to the FBI states. "The comments have been deleted but are attached to this message for your convenience, as well as information on the account associated with the comments." Under the username "Adrian Tepes," Prigmore posted threats in the comments sections of several videos, prosecutors said.

FOX News [1/22/2026 2:08 AM, Landon Mion, 40621K] reports federal immigration authorities approved the self-deportation of a suspect in a $100 million jewelry heist, allowing him to avoid trial and escape potential prison time. Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, was one of seven people charged last year with following an armored truck to a rural freeway rest stop in California and stealing diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches in July 2022, which is believed to be the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history. Flores was facing up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipments and theft from interstate and foreign shipments. He pleaded not guilty. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Flores late last month after he asked for a voluntary departure, prosecutors said in court filings. The jewelers that the suspects stole from are also seeking answers from immigration authorities. "When a defendant in a major federal theft case leaves the country before trial, victims are left without answers, without a verdict, and without closure," Jerry Kroll, an attorney for some of the jewelry companies, told the Los Angeles Times. Flores’ attorney, John D. Robertson, motioned to dismiss the indictment against his client, asking for the charges to be permanently dismissed and for the case to be closed. Federal prosecutors said they still want to bring Flores to trial, asking for the charges to be dropped "without prejudice" to allow for a future criminal prosecution. While Flores was a lawful permanent resident and released on bail, he was transferred to ICE custody in September, according to court filings. Federal prosecutors said they were unaware he had an immigration detainer. Robertson argued that this violates his client’s criminal prosecution rights and justifies his motion to dismiss his case. Flores requested deportation to Chile during an immigration hearing on Dec. 16, according to court documents. The judge denied his voluntary departure application but issued a final order of removal. He was then deported to Ecuador.

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [1/21/2026 1:01 PM, Brittny Mejia and Richard Winton, 14862K]
AP [1/22/2026 1:02 AM, Hannah Schoenbaum and Jaimie Ding, 19051K]

FOX News [1/21/2026 4:00 PM, Nora Moriarty, 40621K] reports a California man whose daughter was left unable to walk or speak after a crash involving an illegal migrant truck driver says California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ignored his repeated pleas for help, for years. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the crash was caused by Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India who was driving a commercial 18-wheeler. Singh reportedly failed to stop in a construction zone, triggering a multi-vehicle pileup, hitting the Coleman family’s vehicle. Critically injured in the crash was then 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman. She spent three weeks in a coma and was left with severe, life-altering injuries. Now 7 years old, Dalilah is nonverbal and relearning how to walk, requiring intensive and ongoing therapy. Coleman said the only acknowledgment they’ve seen from Newsom came in the form of a social media post accusing President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem of politicizing the tragedy – a message he says "totally neglected" his daughter’s suffering. He argued that, as governor, Newsom is responsible for addressing incidents like Dalilah’s and shared a message for the California leader.

FOX News [1/21/2026 10:31 AM, Max Bacall, 40621K] reports author Peter Schweizer warned that China is engaged in "civilizational warfare" and is exploiting birthright citizenship by sending Chinese elites to have children in the U.S., who are then raised in China and later return to America as citizens in adulthood. Schweizer, author of the book "The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon," claimed China has "bought off" large portions of America’s political elites, Wall Street and the entertainment industry. He contends that China is "at war with the Christian civilization of the United States, with its emphasis on individual rights, so they have carried out a series of policies of birth tourism that’s happening on a massive scale.” Birthright citizenship is drawn from the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Schweizer claimed China has "created an industrial model" to exploit this provision. "China began about 13 years ago pushing for this, pushing for the Chinese elite to come to the United States and have children here," he said on "The Ingraham Angle" Tuesday. "Our federal government has no idea how many Chinese nationalists have done this because we do not collect data [regarding the nationality of one’s parents] on birth certificates.” He claimed that "approximately 100,000 Chinese have been born in the United States" in each of the last 13 years, calling them "children of the elites.” "The parents take them back to China where they are raised in CCP schools... And when they turn 18, which is going to start a couple of years from now... they are going to be able to vote, they are going to get government jobs, they will be able to do a whole host of things even though they have absolutely no connection to the United States whatsoever," Schweizer said.

Daily Caller [1/21/2026 8:55 AM, Jason Hopkins, 835K] reports President Donald Trump would like to see Somali-American criminals denaturalized at a much larger scale, but that wish is easier said than done. While federal immigration officials have highlighted the apprehension of numerous Somali illegal migrants accused of serious offenses in recent days, the crackdown on criminals who’ve already obtained citizenship could prove more difficult, given historical trends and no clear language addressing post-naturalization crimes. Despite the roadblocks, the Trump administration is prioritizing the issue and a growing number of GOP lawmakers are calling for denaturalizations. "If the review of an applicant for naturalization’s alien registration file results in the discovery of some material misrepresentation committed in furtherance of obtaining an immigration law benefit that wasn’t previously discovered, the failure to disclose the fraud on the naturalization application can result in not only criminal prosecution, but denaturalization and removal from the country," Matthew Kolken, a New York-based immigration attorney, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. But the process to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans is cumbersome and there have been relatively few denaturalizations over the years. There are more than 100,000 Somalis estimated to be living across Minnesota, with more than 80,000 of them living within the Twin Cities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than half of them were born in the U.S, but of those who migrated from Somalia, 87% are naturalized American citizens. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently overseeing a surge of immigration enforcement agents across the Minneapolis region, home to the largest Somali community in the United States. While deportation officers are apprehending Somali nationals and other criminal illegal migrants in growing numbers, the president has expressed interest in expanding the crackdown to those who’ve already become naturalized Americans. "I would do it in a heartbeat if they were dishonest," Trump declared in an Oval Office interview earlier in January. "I think that many of the people that came in from Somalia, they hate our country.” The White House previously confirmed that the administration was not afraid to denaturalize Somali-born Americans convicted of fraud.

Washington Post [1/21/2026 10:11 AM, N. Kirkpatrick and Nick Mourtoupalas, 24149K]
The Trump administration has paused issuing immigration visas for people from 75 countries, further limiting legal migration pathways into the United States. The countries affected span every region of the globe with countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East impacted the most. The order, announced last week, does not affect processing for nonimmigrant visas such as those traveling temporarily. Nor does it revoke current immigrant visas. [Editorial note: consult source link for extended commentary]

Washington Examiner [1/21/2026 11:28 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 1394K] reports Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Wednesday backtracked a leaked letter to a constituent to support proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. A letter from Grassley’s office began circulating online Tuesday. While the name of the constituent is blacked out, it is clear that Grassley was writing in response to a constituent concerned about election integrity. "I agree with you that it is important to make sure that our country’s elections occur without fraud. As a senator, I have opposed partisan efforts in Washington, D.C. to federalize elections in order to undermine election integrity," Grassley’s letter reads. Grassley addressed the letter in an X post on Wednesday to say that he supports the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act. "Dont believe everything u read on the internet Im not opposed 2 SAVE Act In fact Ive been fighting alongside Iowa Scty of State Pate 2hold Biden admin accountable for their hiding immigration/citizenship voter data in 2024 election ELECTIONS MUST B SECURE W ONLY CITIZENS VOTING," Grassley wrote.

AP [1/21/2026 6:20 PM, Eléonore Hughes, 31753K] reports Brazilians nursing the dream of moving to the United States and obtaining a green card say they were frustrated at the suspension of immigrant visas that came into effect on Wednesday. But they are trying to keep their spirits high by hoping that it is temporary. Last week, the U.S. State Department announced it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, among them Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Somalia and Brazil. The Trump administration deemed likely that nationals from these countries will require public assistance while living in the United States. The step builds on earlier immigration and travel bans by the administration on nearly 40 countries and is part of U. S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for foreigners. Many Brazilians reacted to the inclusion of their country on the list with surprise and disappointment. Among them was Rodrigo Perenha, a 44-year-old co-founder and senior executive at the fintech Kamino, who wishes to relocate to the U.S. with his wife and two children. Perenha had a first application for the EB-2 NIW immigration visa — a category for candidates whose work could be considered in the national interest of the United States — refused last year. Determined to try again, he had been preparing for months to apply for a different type of visa intended for professionals with an outstanding career track record when news of the suspension broke. “Doing this process takes a lot of work. You must look for references, you ask for help with letters... It’s a very long process,” he said. “The feeling is sadness for everything that was done and then, eventually, having it frozen without knowing what’s going to happen.”

CBS News [1/21/2026 3:08 PM, Stephen Smith, 39474K] reports a charter boat captain in the Florida Keys was arrested this week for allegedly selling cocaine that was reportedly found at sea, authorities said. Bradford Todd Picariello, 65, of Marathon, Florida, was arrested after allegedly selling a kilogram of the drugs to undercover detectives for $10,000 in cash on Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Tuesday. Authorities seized a total of 23 kilograms of cocaine, a 38-foot boat and $8,000 in cash, the sheriff’s office said. A .40-caliber handgun was also confiscated. Authorities released an image on social media, showing about 20 packages of the alleged drugs, including some labeled "332." Picariello was charged with trafficking, selling and possessing cocaine. The investigation was assisted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Drug and Enforcement Administration, and CBP Air and Marine Operations. Picariello was taken to jail and his case is expected to be prosecuted federally, the sheriff’s office said.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [1/21/2026 10:37 AM, Jeanine Santucci, 67103K]

New York Post [1/21/2026 4:52 PM, Chris Nesi, 42219K] reports a deranged anti-ICE worker at a dog kennel in Minneapolis was so triggered that a dog under their care was a Customs and Border Protection K-9 they couldn’t resist the urge to scrawl an anti-immigration enforcement message on the pooch’s feeding chart. The kennel was not identified, but the comments section of the post blew up with outraged comments about the juvenile act. The chart vandalism comes as tensions continue to heat up between anti-ICE protesters and immigration authorities, who have arrested over 3,000 illegal immigrant criminals in the Twin Cities in the last six weeks alone, including murderers, rapists and child molesters.

New York Times [1/21/2026 6:51 PM, Adam Sella, 135475K] reports the acting director of the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday defended her agency’s practice of sharing information about travelers suspected of having deportation orders with agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a House oversight hearing. “It is not new policy to share information between the agencies of the Department of Homeland Security,” the acting T.S.A. director, Ha Nguyen McNeill, told lawmakers in a hearing before the Homeland Security Committee. She said her agents were “absolutely” allowing ICE agents access to passenger data to help with their deportation efforts. The New York Times reported in December that the agency was collaborating with ICE to identify air travelers subject to deportation orders, allowing immigration agents to detain them at airports and quickly deport them. The practice came under scrutiny after it led to the arrest of Any Lucía López Belloza, a college student detained by immigration authorities at Boston Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 as she prepared to fly home to Texas for Thanksgiving. She was deported to Honduras two days later, despite a court order preventing her removal. The Trump administration later acknowledged that it made a mistake by deporting her. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of thousands of immigrants since President Trump returned to the White House a year ago, and the harsh methods of ICE agents carrying out the crackdown has incited protests across the nation. The complaints about ICE tactics have intensified, especially from Democrats, after an immigration agent shot and killed an unarmed U.S. citizen, Renee Good, in Minneapolis earlier this month. The Trump administration has defended the shooting, and conservatives, citing a video of the incident, have said the agent had reason to fear for his life. Democratic officials in Minnesota have used words like “propaganda” to describe the federal government’s account of the shooting. During the hearing on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers repeatedly expressed frustration that the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, declined a request to testify and so was not there to face questioning. “The urgency in this country right now is what’s going on with ICE,” said Representative Dan Goldman, Democrat of New York. “Why are we having a hearing with Department of Homeland Security officials who know nothing about ICE?” With no ICE official to put on the stand, the Democrats peppered Ms. McNeill with questions about her agency’s involvement in immigration operations.

FedScoop [1/21/2026 5:40 PM, Lindsey Wilkinson, 56K] reports a Transportation Security Administration official confirmed Wednesday that the agency is helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement with its deportation efforts — but pushed back on claims that it sends personally identifiable information of all passengers to ICE. “That is not what is occurring,” Ha Nguyen McNeill, a TSA senior official performing the duties of the administrator, said during a House Homeland Security hearing. “We don’t send the information to ICE; we help ICE check against information.” McNeill said TSA is acting within its authority to share information across the department to further its national security mission. “We are supporting the mission of our colleagues at the Department of Homeland Security, and that includes enforcement of immigration laws,” McNeill said. TSA’s passenger data represents just one element of the massive data estate that ICE is working to build to advance deportation efforts.

Reuters [1/21/2026 2:08 PM, David Shepardson, 36480K] reports the senior official at the Transportation Security Administration said on Wednesday that about 6% of U.S. air travelers are not displaying IDs meeting stricter federal standards, as the agency prepares to begin charging passengers without enhanced identification $45 to access flights from February 1. In May 2025, the TSA began enforcing the standards known as "REAL ID" but gave warnings and conducted enhanced screening for passengers without the new identification. TSA announced the new fee in December, urging passengers without REAL IDs to obtain them or pay the charge before arriving at the airport. The $45 fee will cover travel for a 10-day period. TSA Deputy Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil said at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing that compliance has improved slightly from about 93% last year to 94% today. She also said the Trump administration had decided to hike the fee from $18 to $45 after reassessing the costs of dealing with travelers without "REAL ID." There are about 2.5 million daily air travelers in the United States. McNeil said the fee is meant to address the costs of processing people without acceptable ID and "to ensure they do not pose a threat to our skies." The $45 will be nonrefundable and it may take travelers up to 30 minutes to pay the fee to go through security if they fail to pay before arriving at the airport.

Los Angeles Times [1/21/2026 4:59 PM, Karen Garcia, 14862K] reports starting next month, travelers who want to board a domestic flight without a Real ID will have to pay $45 to have their identity verified through the Transportation Security Administration’s new security screening program. On Feb. 1, if you attempt to get through an airport security checkpoint without a Real ID, or another TSA-approved form of identification, you have the option to verify your identity through the modernized alternative-verification program, officially called TSA Confirm.ID. If you choose to use Confirm.ID you will be charged a $45 fee. "Because it keeps terrorists, criminals, and illegal aliens out of the skies and other domestic transportation systems such as rail," said Adam Stahl, acting deputy administrator for the agency. "The vast majority of travelers present acceptable identification like Real IDs and passports, but we must ensure everyone who flies is who they say they are." More than 94% of passengers currently use their Real ID or other acceptable form of identification, according to TSA.

The Hill [1/21/2026 5:36 PM, Rachel Frazin, 12595K] reports a funding bill released this week would claw back hundreds of millions of dollars passed to fund electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure passed under the Biden administration. The bill in question, released Tuesday, would fund the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies. Meanwhile, lawmakers are also seeking to rein in the administration’s cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A joint explanatory statement accompanying the funding bill calls for restoring positions eliminated over the past year and retaining staffing levels needed for the agency to complete its statutory missions, including Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery (CORE) staffers. The statement comes amid reports that the administration is considering eliminating half of its staff and that it is not renewing some CORE staffers’ positions. It also calls for FEMA to not be eliminated or reorganized.

AP [1/22/2026 12:03 AM, Jeff Martin, 31753K] reports millions of Americans from New Mexico to the Carolinas are bracing for a potentially catastrophic ice storm that could crush trees and power lines and knock out power for days, while many northern states all the way to New England could see enough snow to make travel nearly impossible, forecasters say. An estimated 100 million people were under some type of winter weather watch, warning or advisory on Wednesday ahead of the storm, the National Weather Service said. The storm, expected to begin Friday and continue through the weekend, is also projected to bring heavy snow and all types of wintry precipitation, including freezing rain and sleet. An atmospheric river of moisture could be in place by the weekend, pulling precipitation across Texas and other states along the Gulf Coast and continuing across Georgia and the Carolinas, forecasters said.

Daily Caller [1/21/2026 6:58 PM, Andrew Powell, 835K] reports a gargantuan winter storm, aided by a deep surge of Arctic air, is forecast to affect over half of the population in the United States, delivering widespread hazardous weather such as heavy snow and ice accumulations. According to the most recent short-range forecast discussion from the National Weather Service (NWS), an Arctic cold front will usher in "frigid sub-zero and single digit temperatures" across two-thirds of the nation by Sunday. This bitterly cold air mass will assist the generation of what forecasters are describing as "a major winter storm." The event is expected to impact areas from the central and southern Plains to the East Coast starting Friday, and persist through early next week. Significant uncertainty remains, particularly regarding the storm’s exact track, as meteorologists continue refining models to determine how far north the heaviest precipitation will extend. Snowfall could potentially develop Friday across the South, with winter weather spreading into the Southeast by Saturday, per the FOX Forecast Center. Dangerous levels of icing are anticipated throughout the event, possibly affecting over a dozen states stretching from Texas to Delaware.

AP [1/21/2026 10:46 AM, Staff, 31753K] reports Riverbend Homes, a leading design and build firm serving the Texas Hill Country since 1996, has completed construction of The Birdhouse at Cat Hollow, a custom single-family residence for homeowners Julie and Chad Fluhman. Located at 819 Cat Hollow Club Drive in Spicewood, the two-story home sits on approximately 1.56 acres in Travis County. The completed residence features 2,353 square feet of heated living space and 1,709 square feet of covered main floor area. The property includes a lower floor with outdoor kitchen, covered parking, and screened storage areas, with primary living spaces on the main floor and a clerestory level providing additional natural light throughout the home. According to Mr. Ben Neely, Owner and Spokesperson of Riverbend Homes, the completed project represents the firm’s continued commitment to quality custom home construction in the Texas Hill Country region. The site, situated in Flood Zone X outside the 100-year floodplain according to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designations, offered opportunities for the design to incorporate outdoor living spaces. The lower floor layout includes concrete stoops and covered areas that extend the usable living space beyond the home’s interior footprint.

Houston Chronicle [1/21/2026 11:07 AM, Sondra Hernandez, 2983K] reports ahead of a winter storm forecast to blanket Texas this weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott has activated a state emergency response in coordination with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Arctic air will dip into the southern states bringing freezing rain, sleet and the possibility of some snowflakes to the state including Houston Saturday and Sunday. Abbott’s action is the most recent response to help Texans prepare for a natural or man-made disaster. Here’s what to know about a state emergency response, when one is used and what they mean. The code defines a "disaster" as "the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made cause, including fire, flood, earthquake, wind, storm, wave action, oil spill or other water contamination, volcanic activity, epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought, infestation, explosion, riot, hostile military or paramilitary action, extreme heat, cybersecurity event, other public calamity requiring emergency action."

Federal News Network [1/20/2026 5:58 PM, Justin Doubleday, 986K] reports some lawmakers were frustrated with a lack of information from acting CISA director Madhu Gottumukkala on the impact of steep staffing cuts at CISA. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s acting director testified that CISA is "getting back on mission," but he provided few specifics after the agency lost nearly a third of its staff over the past year. Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala testified in front of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. Asked by Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) about reports of plans for a reorganization at CISA, Gottumukkala said there are no plans to reorganize the cyber agency. "We do have a lot of changes in the last year, but we have not planned any organizational changes," Gottumukkala said. "But we are continuing to look at how we rescope our existing work that we have so that we can get back on our mission of protecting the critical infrastructure. And if there is any organizational changes, I will assure that we will communicate with you.” CISA has gone from roughly 3,400 staff at the start of last year to 2,400 employees at the end of December. Most of CISA’s workforce departed as part of the Trump administration’s workforce reduction programs, with many leaving government service earlier than planned due to uncertainty at the agency under the Trump administration. Gottumukkala is leading CISA as the Senate has yet to approve Sean Plankey to serve as director. During Wednesday’s hearing, Gottumukkala declined to provide details on recent reports that he failed a polygraph exam needed to access a sensitive cyber program and that he had worked to oust CISA’s chief information officer. Gottumukkala also said multiple times that CISA was "getting back on mission." But he said little about what the agency was doing differently with markedly less staff. "The way we are supporting back on mission is to make sure that we are protecting our critical infrastructure from physical and cyber threats, and our divisions are properly equipped, and we are making sure that we are aligning our existing resources," he said.

CyberScoop [1/21/2026 4:10 PM, Tim Starks, 122K] reports the acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency faced pointed questions from lawmakers Wednesday over CISA personnel decisions and staffing levels. Members of the House Homeland Security Committee asked Madhu Gottumukkala about a reported attempt to fire the agency’s chief information officer, efforts to push out a large number of staff and whether CISA had enough people to do the job. Gottumukkala at times sidestepped the questions, with the probing coming from both sides of the aisle. However, Democrats exhibited deeper worries about the agency’s workforce and its ability to do its job. Cutbacks at CISA after employees were “bullied into quitting” — among other methods of reducing CISA’s size — have “weakened our defenses and left our critical systems and infrastructure more exposed, and the American people more vulnerable,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va. Said Chairman Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y.: “This committee supports the administration’s goal of aligning department [of Homeland Security] resources towards urgent homeland security priorities. At the same time, workforce continuity, clear leadership and mission readiness are essential to effective cyber defenses.” The extent of those CISA personnel reductions was something lawmakers wanted Gottumukkala to be exact about in his answers.

Cybersecurity Dive [1/21/2026 5:30 PM, Eric Geller, 75K] reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s acting leader used a hearing on Wednesday to defend the Trump administration’s mass layoffs at CISA and reassure lawmakers that the agency was still prepared to defend government and critical infrastructure networks from hackers. “A disciplined mission requires the right workforce — not a larger one, but a more capable and skilled one,” Madhu Gottumukkala said during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that featured him and two other Department of Homeland Security officials. In the coming year, Gottumukkala added, “CISA will continue targeted hiring in mission critical roles while remaining aligned with [DHS’s] broader efforts to control costs and maximize return.” For now, though, he said, “we have the staff that we need.”

MeriTalk [1/21/2026 4:01 PM, Weslan Hansen, 21K] reports Acting Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Madhu Gottumukkala denied failing a polygraph test, pushing back on claims during his testimony before a congressional panel on Wednesday. Gottumukkala told House Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., that he did not fail a polygraph test administered by six agency officials, as first reported by Politico. That test was administered after Gottumukkala requested access to highly sensitive cyber intelligence information. “I do not accept the premise of the characterization, and I’m not going to discuss the testing outcomes or issues [that] are handled through the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) adjudication processes, which are currently underway,” Gottumukkala said. “You’re in a very sensitive area, and CISA is important to us, and I think we need to have people who are in that space that pass the standard test,” Thompson told Gottumukkala, adding that he will pursue the matter later.

NewsMax [1/21/2026 10:32 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K] reports a high-ranking leader of a Mexican drug cartel that was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration was arraigned Wednesday in Washington, D.C., on federal drug charges. Armando Gomez Nunez, a senior leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed Wednesday with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine for importation into the U.S. and with carrying and using firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices, in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, prosecutors said. If convicted on all charges, Gomez Nunez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the drug conspiracy count, plus a mandatory consecutive term of at least 30 years to life on the gun charge, as well as millions of dollars in potential fines and forfeiture. "President Trump has made it clear that we will pursue every legal avenue to hold transnational criminal organizations accountable for their crimes against the American people," said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in a news release. "Now one of the most dangerous criminals in Mexico is in U.S. custody as we continue our fight against one of the largest, most violent drug trafficking organizations in the Western Hemisphere.” Federal prosecutors alleged that Gomez Nunez, also known as "Delta 1" and "Maximo," is the reputed leader and commander of Los Deltas, a violent enforcement and assassination cell of CJNG, and helped oversee a yearslong conspiracy to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, with knowledge the drugs would be unlawfully imported into the U.S. Prosecutors further alleged that in furtherance of the drug trafficking operation, Gomez Nunez used, carried, and possessed weapons, including machine guns and destructive devices, to protect the cartel’s activities and enforce its operations. Mexican authorities arrested Gomez Nunez in December. He was one of 37 Mexican nationals who arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday after their expulsion by Mexican authorities under that country’s national security law. CJNG is one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations operating in Mexico and is responsible for exporting large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamines, and illicit opioids into the U.S., the Department of Justice said. CJNG was designated by the State Department in February 2025 as a foreign terrorist organization for conducting acts of violence, including attacks on Mexican military and police with military-grade weapons, the use of drones to drop explosives on Mexican law enforcement, and assassinations or attempted assassinations of Mexican officials.

AP [1/21/2026 6:31 PM, Gary D. Robertson] reports an 18-year-old pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges for a mass shooting in North Carolina, acknowledging that he carried out a 2022 killing rampage that left five people dead, including his older brother and a police officer. Austin David Thompson, who was 15 at the time of the attack that authorities say began in his Raleigh neighborhood, had been poised to go on trial in state court in less than two weeks. Instead, Thompson’s attorneys, who for months had filed pretrial motions designed to limit certain testimony and evidence, announced Tuesday that he planned to plead guilty to all charges against him. His attorneys wrote that avoiding a trial would “save the community and the victims from as much additional infliction of trauma as possible.” He pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assault of an officer with a gun. Ridgeway set a sentencing hearing for Feb. 2, which could last several days as testimony and evidence are reviewed. Thompson and his attorney acknowledged in court that no plea agreement had been reached with local prosecutors.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/21/2026 5:05 PM, Eduardo Medina, 135475K]
FOX News [1/21/2026 9:55 PM, Greg Wehner, 40621K]

New York Times [1/22/2026 1:23 AM, Edgar Sandoval, 135475K] reports that, more than three years after a gunman massacred 21 people at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, a former school police officer was found not guilty of abandoning or endangering children. Adrian Gonzales, the first officer to arrive at the school, was facing 29 counts of abandoning or endangering children, 19 for the dead and 10 more for survivors, after seven hours of deliberations Wednesday. The verdict delivered a devastating blow to families of the victims and survivors who have clamored for accountability for the delayed police response on May 24, 2022. During the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that Mr. Gonzales, 52, failed to stop the gunman despite a witness alerting him to his whereabouts moments before the assailant stormed two connected classrooms. Defense lawyers persuaded the jury that Mr. Gonzales had done the best he could with the information he had and that at least three other officers had arrived seconds later and also failed to stop the gunman. They also presented evidence that Mr. Gonzales had rushed into the building minutes after arriving, but retreated with the other officers after shooting began. Some members of the victims’ families cried and shook their heads in disappointment in the courtroom after the verdict was read, but did not otherwise react. Mr. Gonzales hugged defense attorneys after he learned of his fate and wiped tears from his eyes. Bill Turner, a special prosecutor, told the jury during closing arguments of the much-anticipated trial that Mr. Gonzales had failed to act within the first two minutes of the attack, which is the time he believed most of the children and teachers died. Some of the children were shot more than a dozen times, some at close range, an expert for the prosecution testified. “You can’t stand by when a child is in danger,” Mr. Turner told the jury during closing arguments. “Police officers have a special duty.” “Stop the killing. Stop the dying, even if you are the only one there,” he added. The Uvalde police response has become a lesson in what not to do during active shooter situations. Police departments in Texas and elsewhere have revised their training, including more aggressive tactics that ask officers confronting an active shooter to risk their own safety to protect civilians. In all, about 370 officers were involved in the police response that day in Uvalde. Dozens crammed into a school hallway, near the two classrooms under siege, but most officers remained outside the campus. Only two officers have been charged, though others were fired or left their jobs.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/21/2026 10:18 PM, Joanna Slater, 24149K]
CBS News [1/21/2026 9:49 PM, Staff, 39474K]

Breitbart [1/21/2026 12:26 PM, Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby, 2416K] reports the government of Mexico sent 37 cartel operatives to the United States this week in yet another attempt to appease the Trump administration over American claims that authorities south of the border are not doing enough to stop cartels. Despite their "peace offerings," Mexican military and government officials continue protecting the country’s top cartel boss, Ruben Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera — the leader of the terrorist organization Cartel Jalisco New Generation. Mexico’s top security officials announced that they sent a plane full of 37 cartel operators to the United States, all facing drug trafficking and other federal charges. The move is the third of its kind, where Mexican government officials have bypassed regular extradition measures under the claim that the issue is a national security matter. So far this year, Mexico has sent more than 90 cartel bosses and operators, including well-known figures such as Rafael Caro Quintero, the man allegedly responsible for the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. However, in this third installment of prisoners, the majority of the individuals are not top-level cartel figures, but easily replaceable mid-level lieutenants or regional bosses. Additionally, despite the numerous claims of seizures and enforcement actions being made by Mexico’s security chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch, the reality is that authorities remain unwilling to pursue the head of CJNG. As Breitbart Texas has reported in the past, Mexican officials have received actionable intelligence on El Mencho. Any attempts to capture him have been unsuccessful.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [1/21/2026 11:49 AM, Claire Carter, 1394K]

AP [1/21/2026 4:47 PM, Megan Janetsky, 31753K] reports Mexico sent 37 cartel members to the United States at the request of the U.S. Justice Department, with President Claudia Sheinbaum saying Wednesday that it was a “sovereign decision” by her government. Sheinbaum responded to criticism from analysts and opponents who said that the transfers on Tuesday were the result of mounting pressure from Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to take military action on cartels. Sheinbaum said that although the transfers were made at the request of the U.S. government, the decision was taken by the National Security Council after analyzing what was “convenient for Mexico” and in terms of its “national security.” “Mexico is put first above all else, even if they ask for whatever they have to ask for. It is a sovereign decision,” she said at her regular morning news briefing. Sheinbaum, who has been praised for her level-headed management of relations with Trump, has been forced to walk a fine line between making concessions to the Trump administration and projecting strength both domestically and internationally. Observers say that the Mexican government has used the transfers as a sort of pressure valve to offset demands by Trump and show authorities are cracking down on criminal groups. Tension has only mounted since the U.S. carried out a military operation in Venezuela to capture then President Nicolás Maduro to face charges in the United States in an extraordinary use of force that set leaders across Latin America on edge.

CBS News [1/21/2026 6:52 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE reports a major agenda item for President Trump’s second term has been tariffs. The president has used levies against countries that have opposed his economic or national security priorities. A new study by economists at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows how much revenue the tariffs have generated over the last year and who paid for them.

Bloomberg [1/21/2026 6:02 AM, Staff, 18207K] reports US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says there will be discussions on Greenland at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking to Bloomberg’s Annmarie Hordern, he adds Denmark cannot defend Greenland "in an adequate way" as compared to how the US can. He also talks about Ukraine peace talks and says he will travel to Moscow on Thursday with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. He speaks on Bloomberg Television. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [1/21/2026 4:03 PM, Perry Stein, 24149K] reports government officials may not examine electronic devices seized from a Washington Post reporter until litigation stemming from the search of her home is settled, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Wednesday. The ruling from U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter was issued hours after The Post demanded in a court filing that federal law enforcement officials return the electronic devices the government seized from staff reporter Hannah Natanson’s home last week. The extraordinary search “flouts the First Amendment and ignores federal statutory safeguards for journalists,” The Post told the court. Federal agents executed a search warrant on Jan. 14 at Natanson’s home in Virginia, seizing a phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive and a Garmin watch. Law enforcement officials said the search was part of an investigation into a government contractor who is accused of unlawfully obtaining classified materials. In his brief order, Porter wrote that The Post and Natanson had “demonstrated good cause in their filings to maintain the status quo” and would not allow the government to access Natanson’s data until he is able to fully review and rule on the matter. He ordered the government to respond to The Post’s filing by Jan. 28 and scheduled a hearing early next month. It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to conduct searches at reporters’ homes. The law allows such searches, but federal regulations intended to protect a free press are designed to make it more difficult to use aggressive law enforcement tactics against reporters to obtain the identities of their sources. The search marked the first time the government has raided a journalist’s home as part of a national security leak investigation, First Amendment advocacy groups have noted. “The outrageous seizure of our reporter’s confidential newsgathering materials chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on these materials,” The Post said in a statement. “We have asked the court to order the immediate return of all seized materials and prevent their use. Anything less would license future newsroom raids and normalize censorship by search warrant.”

FOX News [1/21/2026 12:43 PM, Rachel Wolf and Gillian Turner, 40621K] reports a "limited number" of U.S. personnel are operating in Caracas as Washington looks to resume diplomatic relations with Venezuela after the historic capture of Nicolás Maduro, Fox News has learned. A senior State Department official told Fox News that the Trump administration plan to resume official diplomacy with Venezuela is under way. This is the first time a State Department official has commented on reporting about the diplomatic team on the ground.
"A limited number of U.S. diplomatic and technical personnel are in Caracas conducting initial assessments for a potential phased resumption of operations," the official said. The official did not specify exactly what "a limited number" meant, and it is not immediately clear exactly how many people are on the ground. The phased resumption of operations would include the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy and consulate offices in Venezuela. Since Maduro was captured, the Trump administration has been cautious in its approach to Venezuela. President Donald Trump initially said that the U.S. would "run" the country for an undetermined period of time. Since then, Trump has met with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who he said he doubts has the support necessary to take over the country. After her meeting with Trump, Machado spoke at a news conference hosted by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, in Washington, D.C. She said that Venezuela would hold "free and fair" elections "eventually." However, she did not offer a timeline for how long the current interim government would be allowed to rule, only that elections would happen "as soon as possible.”

FOX News [1/21/2026 6:25 PM, Emma Bussey Fox, 40621K] reports President Donald Trump dramatically reversed course Tuesday on a U.K. plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while warning it could jeopardize U.S. access to the Diego Garcia military base. Trump’s reversal highlights what a defense expert called a "new Trump Doctrine" before linking the president’s opposition to the Chagos deal with his Greenland push and citing fears Mauritius could later back out. Writing on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump called the U.K.’s Chagos decision "an act of great stupidity.” "Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER," Trump wrote. "There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.” "Trump has done a 180, partly because of the U.K.’s support for Denmark’s sovereign claims over Greenland and partly because of a new strategy outlined by the White House," John Hemmings, director of the National Security Center at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital. "These moves are linked and part of a ‘new Trump Doctrine’" outlined in November’s National Security Strategy," he explained

FOX News [1/21/2026 9:44 AM, Emma Colton Fox, 40621K] reports President Donald Trump declared from Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday that the U.S. is the only nation that is in the position to control and secure Greenland. "All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland," Trump said Wednesday from his speech at the World Economic Forum. "Where we’ve already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago after we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians and others in World War II, we gave it back to them.” Trump added that he does not want to use force as he pressures NATO allies on Greenland. "We never asked for anything," Trump said of the U.S. working with NATO. "And we never got anything. We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that. Okay, now everyone say, ‘oh good.’ That’s probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.” Greenland — the world’s largest island — sits in the Arctic and governs its own domestic affairs while remaining within the Kingdom of Denmark. The president said he has "tremendous respect for both the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark," but that the U.S. must control the island from a national security standpoint. "And the fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States, with a great power much greater than people even understand," he said. The White House has reiterated that Trump views Greenland as a national security priority, and officials have not ruled out the use of the U.S. military as the administration weighs options for acquiring the territory. Trump was asked Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, how far he would go to Greenland, responding with a terse "you’ll find out" response.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [1/21/2026 11:47 AM, Staff, 4109K]

NewsMax [1/21/2026 6:47 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump revealed few details Wednesday of a framework for a future deal with NATO over Greenland, but said it would include access to mineral rights for the U.S. and its European allies, as well as collaboration on the Golden Dome missile defense system. "They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we," Trump told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. When asked how long the deal would last, Trump said, "Forever.” Trump ruled out using force to acquire Greenland and called for immediate negotiations on the semi-autonomous island’s status during his address to the World Economic Forum earlier Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, Trump said he reached a framework for a deal with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, adding that he would not impose tariffs on Denmark and other European countries that had been set to take effect Feb. 1. The European Union had halted a trade deal with the U.S. in response to Trump’s tariff threat. Trump declined to provide further details to CNBC, including whether the framework involved any degree of U.S. ownership of the Danish territory, describing the concept as complex. Rutte said the issue of whether Greenland will ‍remain with ‍Denmark did not come up ⁠in his conversation with Trump, according to Reuters. "It’s a little bit complex, but we’ll explain it down the line," he said. However, the Daily Mail and New York Times reported that the framework could involve granting the U.S. sovereignty over small pockets of Greenlandic land for military bases, similar to British bases in Cyprus. New York Times cited three senior officials familiar with the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Greenland provides strategic access to the Arctic, where China and Russia have expanded their geopolitical presence amid increased access to shipping lanes and natural resources. The island is also rich in oil, gold, graphite, copper, iron and other rare-earth elements. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said in a statement that further discussions would focus on ensuring Arctic security, including talks among Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. "aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold — economically or militarily — in Greenland," Washington Post reported.

FOX News [1/21/2026 6:25 PM, Staff, 40621K] Video: HERE reports NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expands on the Greenland ‘framework’ announced by President Donald Trump on ‘Special Report.’

Reuters [1/21/2026 6:58 PM, Staff, 36480K] Video: HERE reports NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (January 21) that "your allies will be with you" if the U.S. is ever attacked. "There is absolute guarantee," Rutte said.

Reuters [1/21/2026 6:58 PM, Staff, 36480K] Video: HERE reports U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday (January 21) from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, and said a deal was in sight to end the dispute. This report produced by Jillian Kitchener.

Wall Street Journal [1/21/2026 6:11 PM, Michael R. Gordon and Jared Malsin, 646K] reports the U.S. is rushing to move captured Islamic State fighters out of northeast Syria amid fears that tensions between pro-government forces and a Kurdish-led militia could lead to a security breakdown and the escape of thousands of militants. A group of 150 ISIS fighters who have been held at a prison in Hasakah were flown on a U.S. C-17 Wednesday to an undisclosed location in Iraq, U.S. officials said. As many as 7,000 additional ISIS fighters could be moved to Iraq in the coming days, the officials added. The transfer shows the challenges in building a new order in Syria after the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 and fears that ISIS remnants might seize on instability to attempt a comeback. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a deal earlier this week with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that established a cease-fire and called for the integration of individual SDF members into the Syrian army and interior ministry. The speedy transfer of detainees reflects fears that the truce might collapse or that security at detention centers could fray. “This is because there is little confidence that this cease-fire is going to last,” said Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “It is also reflective frankly of the fact that the U.S. does not have the troop capacity to take charge even temporarily of the facilities themselves.” The Wednesday transfer of the ISIS detainees caught many observers by surprise and appeared to reflect the fraught security in northeast Syria after the government offensive. Sunday’s tenuous cease-fire followed a rapid offensive against the SDF, which collapsed as Arab factions flipped sides to join the government. “Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the leader of the Central Command, said in a statement.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/21/2026 1:33 PM, Dan Lamothe, 24149K]

New York Times [1/22/2026 3:20 AM, Ben Hubbard and Carlotta Gall, 330K] reports that, for more than a decade, they were the United States’ closest allies in Syria, fighting against the Islamic State, guarding American bases and running internment camps and prisons that held tens of thousands of jihadists and their relatives. That alliance is now disintegrating. The United States has turned away from its longtime allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces, or S.D.F., and thrown its support behind the new government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Without U.S. backing, the S.D.F., a Kurdish-led force, has wobbled and beaten a retreat as the government moves troops into northeastern Syria to seize control, ending a standoff that has endured since President al-Sharaa took power in December 2024. The collapse of the S.D.F. marks a turning point in Syria’s political transition after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad and now paves the way for the government to take over the strategic region, its oil fields and rich agricultural lands. The pivot by Washington is a huge win for Mr. al-Sharaa, who has struggled to pull the country back together, as well as for Turkey, which vehemently opposed American support for the S.D.F. and backed Mr. al-Sharaa. But for the S.D.F. and its supporters, including U.S. officials who worked closely with the group, it feels like a betrayal of those who fought loyally alongside the United States and lost many thousands of combatants in the process. The bleakness of the S.D.F. position was laid out by Ilham Ahmed, a senior leader of the Kurdish-led civilian administration in northeastern Syria, when she appealed at a news conference last week for the United States to stop playing both sides and to take a clear position to stop an offensive against its positions by Syrian government forces. “If there is no reaction it is easy to presume they gave a green light,” she said of the American position on the government offensive. “They should take a clear stance.” Ms. Ahmed also appealed for wider international support to enforce a cease-fire and support the political demands of the Kurdish administration. But she said that Arab states supported the al-Sharaa government and that reactions from European countries had been weak. “The entire world owes these troops who fought against ISIS,” she said.

Free Beacon [1/21/2026 6:15 PM, Adam Kredo, 411K] reports the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday discovered a weapons cache in southern Gaza, suggesting Hamas is rearming even as the United States moves toward phase two of President Donald Trump’s peace plan—a plan that requires Hamas disarmament. Israeli forces found "dozens of weapons" in an underground depot near the ceasefire line, "including AK-47s, RPGs, and magazines," according to the IDF. The buildup indicates that Hamas may be gearing up for a renewed offensive, a possibility the Jewish state is preparing for with plans of a spring ground operation should Hamas launch widespread attacks. Eyal Zamir, chief of the general staff of the IDF, said Monday that the Israeli military is ready "for the possibility of a surprise war.” Trump himself told reporters on Wednesday in Davos that Hamas must disarm or "be blown away very quickly.” "They agreed to it, they’ve got to do it," Trump said. "And we’re going to know over the next two or three days—certainly over the next three weeks—whether or not they’re going to do it. If they don’t do it, they’ll be blown away very quickly.” A Trump administration official told the Washington Free Beacon that Trump is not bluffing, saying, "President Trump has been very clear on what happens if Hamas decides for some reason not to disarm.” Israel, though, remains "skeptical that Hamas will disarm and that the Palestinian people want peace," a U.S. official involved in the talks acknowledged in a small briefing with reporters late last week. The next step, the official said, "will be engaging in conversations with Hamas on the next phase, which is demilitarization," and with Israel "on what amnesty program can be given to Hamas if they do this.”

NewsMax [1/21/2026 11:24 AM, Mark Swanson, 4109K] reports President Donald Trump is continuing to press his national security team for "decisive" military options against Iran, even after holding back on launching strikes last week, The Wall Street Journal reported. The discussions come amid Iran’s brutal crackdown on nationwide protests, with thousands reportedly killed as the government tightens its grip as the economy collapses. While no final decision has been made, Trump’s insistence on "decisive" action has prompted senior Pentagon and White House officials to refine a range of military options, the Journal reported. These reportedly include both limited strikes — such as targeting facilities tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — and more expansive plans aimed at crippling or even toppling the regime. The United States is significantly boosting its military posture in the Middle East.

Breitbart [1/21/2026 7:00 AM, Olivia Rondeau, 2416K] reports New York Times bestselling author and Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer details in his new book how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is "using our openness and generosity against us" by sending thousands of future military pilots posing as civilians to the United States to learn how to fly. Schweizer’s latest exposé, The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon, delves into the little-known concern of Chinese pilots being sent to the U.S. for training with "virtually no oversight" before returning and serving in their own country’s military. "The People’s Republic of China has a pilot problem," the investigative journalist writes in The Invisible Coup. "Beijing needs five thousand pilot cadets every year to meet the demand for both military and civilian pilots. Because the Chinese military tightly controls the country’s airspace, it can domestically produce only about 1,200 pilots a year. So, Beijing quietly erected a system to train three thousand of them a year in the United States." "Across the US, at least sixteen flight schools, operating out of taxpayer-funded airports, are training Chinese cadets—sometimes without disclosing their foreign military ties," he continues. "They do so by sending future military pilots to the United States posing as civilians to learn how to fly." This also applies to Chinese helicopter pilots, who receive American training by the thousands after entering the country on student visas with "minimal scrutiny," Schweizer writes. "How this happened is a testament to Chinese ingenuity in manipulating our immigration system for subversive purposes and using our openness and generosity against us. It is also a tribute to American innocence, or at worst, ignorance." One of the several flight schools that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sends future military pilots to is Sierra Academy of Aeronautics in Atwater, California — where most of the students are Chinese nationals. Schweizer argues that this is not by mistake, but rather by design. A similar situation is happening near Phoenix, Arizona with a company called Aeroguard, which is also training hundreds of Chinese pilots, as Schweizer recounts in The Invisible Coup: In 2022, the company signed an agreement to train pilots for the Chinese government-controlled Cathay Pacific airline, with plans to train "hundreds of cadet pilots" at its campus in Phoenix, Arizona. The deal was even approved by the US Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration, thanks to the work of local congressman Greg Stanton. As AeroGuard put it in a press release, "Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton, [a] member of the House Subcommittee on Aviation, assisted AeroGuard in securing and expediting the training program approval with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Representative Stanton’s support was invaluable in making sure the approvals were obtained in a timely fashion."

Reuters [1/22/2026 4:13 AM, Ryan Woo, 36480K] reports China is keen to deepen cooperation with Malta in shipping and port logistics, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, eager to leverage the island’s strategic location in the Central Mediterranean. In an economic and trade cooperation meeting in Beijing, the ministry also told representatives from Malta that it was willing to strengthen "strategic alignment" with the country, one of the European Union’s 27 member states. China and Malta have developed a close relationship since bilateral ties were established in 1972, with Valletta keen to help a major investor country promote relations with the EU, including access to the region’s vast single market. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative to build up global trade routes to China, state-owned and privately held Chinese companies have invested in Malta’s infrastructure, including a stake in Malta Freeport Terminals, a major trans-shipment port in the Mediterranean, held by China Merchants Port Holdings. Malta was one of the five EU nations that voted against imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles in 2024.

Reuters [1/22/2026 4:49 AM, Karen Lema, 36480K] reports the Philippines, as ASEAN chair, will insist that a long-delayed Code of Conduct with China on the South China Sea explicitly references the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as it works to complete the document by this year, its foreign minister said on Thursday. "The UNCLOS issue is something that we insist on, not only the Philippines, but other ASEAN member states," Ma. Theresa Lazaro told Reuters in an interview. The idea of a formal code of conduct to ease tensions in the South China Sea was first raised more than two decades ago, but only in 2017 did the parties commit to start the drafting process. However, little substantive progress has been made since then. The issue remains highly sensitive. China’s Southeast Asian neighbours want the code to be grounded in international law, which Beijing has repeatedly been accused of disregarding as it asserts its sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea. Lazaro reiterated Manila’s position that the code must be legally binding, although she acknowledged this issue will require "further and deeper discussion" among ASEAN member states and China. With the Philippines determined to use its position as ASEAN chair to complete the code of conduct this year, it plans to propose a set of strategies to fellow ASEAN members, Lazaro said, including increasing the frequency of negotiations.

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